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   Drew DeVault (drewdevault@fosstodon.org)'s status on Monday, 21-Oct-2024 02:04:02 JST Drew DeVault

   Soliciting scifi/fantasy book recommendations to read while traveling this week. Some books recently read & enjoyed Samantha Shannon, R. F. Kuang, Alastair Reynolds, Vernor Vinge, Adrian Tchaikovsky. Anyone kindred spirits care to share a few titles from their shelf?

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     SuperDicq (superdicq@minidisc.tokyo)'s status on Monday, 21-Oct-2024 02:04:02 JST SuperDicq

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     @drewdevault@fosstodon.org Maybe Fahrenheit 451 and Brave New World interest you if you don't use them as an instruction manual.

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     Drew DeVault (drewdevault@fosstodon.org)'s status on Monday, 21-Oct-2024 02:23:49 JST Drew DeVault

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     From Tchaikovsky I recommend The Final Architecture trilogy. The first book opens with a moon-sized alien ship appearing in the solar system and turning the Earth into a giant, esoteric sculpture, then disappearing. No, they didn't really have time to evacuate, and the human diaspora scatters throughout the galaxy, regroups... and then a similar ship appears over another populated world.

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     powersoffour (powersoffour@mastodon.social)'s status on Monday, 21-Oct-2024 02:23:49 JST powersoffour

     in reply to

     @drewdevault all of your recommendations get extremely firm co-signs from me. House of Suns is absolutely one of my favorites. Revelation Space even uses astro jargon in a delightful way, too. ("Metals") And Vinge and Tchaikovsky... Love those books. Great list!

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     Drew DeVault (drewdevault@fosstodon.org)'s status on Monday, 21-Oct-2024 02:23:50 JST Drew DeVault

     in reply to

     Some specific recommendations from these authors, to give back a bit :)

     A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge is a book I've read three times and consider essential reading for any sci-fi fans and in particular hackers -- it has space usenet! It's an epic space opera with an incredible setting and a gripping conflict on a galactic scale which many sci-fi novels promise but few deliver on.

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     Drew DeVault (drewdevault@fosstodon.org)'s status on Monday, 21-Oct-2024 02:23:50 JST Drew DeVault

     in reply to

     From Alastair Reynolds, I recommend Revelation Space and A House of Suns; the former is better known but the latter is a personal favorite. Revelation Space is a sci-fi novel that you don't realize is actually a horror novel until you're gripping your seat. House of Suns is a story which is mostly reliant on a cool premise, but the premise is really interesting and an intriguing setting emerges from it.