I really loved Andrey Tchaikovsky’s Children of Time trilogy. Excellent biopunk space opera. The first two books were filled with so many great ideas. The third on I enjoyed less, but was still a good continuation of the story.
I thought the sound design and score in Annihilation was incredible
3 Likes
Oh wow, good luck!
It’s been a long time since I read Solaris and so out of curiosity I picked up the Polish-language edition off the shelf and randomly read one page. Polish is my native language and for me Solaris is written in colourful, complex language with rich comparisons. Consider that the book was written in 1960, so its style can be ‘old-fashioned’ (in a positive sense). So if you decide to read it in Polish, good luck!
2 Likes
Undoubtedly, I love Garland, Salisbury, and Barrow.
It did a fine job representing the material and was an excellent adaptation , but my mental pictures are nearly always going to be superior when a book does a good job allowing for such construction.
I do not expect to get through anything without a great deal of reference material 
It is not a goal so much as something to attempt and learn a bit from, at least.
And to that end, I will now buy a nice dead-tree dictionary!
1 Like
It has come to my mind now that perhaps Lem’s “Bajki robotów” (“Fables for Robots”) might be easier to start with. 
Just kidding, good luck! 
1 Like
I wonder if Nick Harkaway is better known over in Europe and UK than he is here (in the States).
I bought Gone Away World based on a book review I heard on the radio (maybe about 12 years ago). Such a fascinating read. Apropos of what @thermionic has been saying - it’s so ripe to be ruined as a movie. I’d watch it in a heartbeat if they made it, but I don’t see how it could be pulled off, (read it and you’ll see why).
More recently, he wrote Angelmaker, which I almost put down early - but I was so glad I stuck with it.
and oh oh oh - since we’re talking about awful adaptations - Wool (Hugh Howey) has been adapted to the show Silo on AppleTV. I kinda want to read it again before I watch so that I can smugly call out all the most nuanced discrepancies… It’s a cools story.
I think I read more than I thought it did…
I’ve read The Gone Away World and Tigerman and both were amazing. I’ve got Gnomon and Angelmaker on the shelf too - both a bit long and intimidating for me at the moment.
The new one is a bit more fleet isn’t it? Sounds good
1 Like
I’ve been a big Stephenson fan in the past, but I feel that Iain Banks’ Culture novels are a more interesting take on artificial life. Or Greg Egan if you want to dial up the math to 11.
I’ve re-read most of Stephenson’s work multiple times and now am doing the same for Banks.
Also, if anything Gibson’s works other than Neuromancer are underrated. Be sure to read the whole Sprawl trilogy, but also everything else.
4 Likes
I’ve managed to start about 4 M. Banks novels and not got very far with any. Weird, as I love 4 or 5 of his ‘normal’ fiction…
I loved Player of Games, but bounced off of Use of Weapons for whatever reason. I should give that another go.
1 Like
Hydrogen Sonata is what I’d recommend for Elektronauts as a starting point. The main character is a musician whose life project is to play a piece of music that was intended to be both unplayable and unlistenable.
The actual plot is a fairly conventional adventure-whodunnit story that serves as a scaffolding for extended discussions about what it means to have friendly godlike-AIs, why they are friendly, and the perils of interactions between galactic civilizations at different development levels.
Good intuition, perhaps. UoW is dark AF and is the only one that I’m not eager to re-read. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone but the most intense Culture fan with a cast iron stomach.
3 Likes
I read this quote on another thread yesterday, was wondering if the book is worth reading? I’ve never read any of his stuff.
1 Like
If you like Gene Wolfe you can’t die before reading the Jack Vance dying earth series.
1 Like
The Postmortal
Reincarnation Blues
1 Like
Umberto Eco’s Foucault’s Pendulum is the thinking person’s da Vinci Code, and Prague Cemetery is an expansion of the negative dynamic of conspiracy theories thread, with some horror elements. Interestingly, Dan Brown is a synth nerd that first tried making modular synth albums for kids before marrying a literary agent who convinced him to write instead. 
I haven’t read From Hell, but if you like Alan Moore, you will probably like more Moore. Also, Voice of the Fire is fantastic textual psycho horror (not a graphic novel), with some well executed avant-garde literary techniques thrown in.
You might like Charles Stross’ Laundry series if you are interested in a modern riff on the Cthulhu mythos.
2 Likes
I’ve tried getting through it a couple of times, but haven’t succeeded. I really want to like it. Lol. Perhaps I should try again!
More Moore is also good advice. 
3 Likes
Gaiman’s American Gods is really good, with some horror elements and conspiracy-adjacent plots. (I’ve read the book, haven’t seen the TV series).
Club Dumas is also good occulty-conspriacy. Polanski’s Ninth Gate is based on it. While P is a gifted director, he is a terrible human being so please only watch Ninth Gate if you pirate it.
2 Likes
Thank you, I opened this thread hoping to find someone mentioning Bester. His first two novels are hands down these are two of the most astounding, insightful, clever, funny, and fun novels I have read.
The Stars My Destination along with his first, “The Demolished Man”, affected me deeply and were instrumental in my coming to understand myself and my pain. These two novels are still soothing and teaching me every day. It’s a not perfect novel and a few small elements can feel clumsy, but it’s awesome. The Man With No Face and I get along now.
I would recommend these two books to anybody who hurts. I would recommend it to any Elektronaut because Bester has a deep understanding of music and his sardonic psychological insight on the topic is worth the price of admission alone. My partner and I are reading The Stars My Destination out loud to one another right now and it’s the most fun we’ve had. They are short, fun, and action packed and if you (anyone) are remotely interested give it a shot and get back to me.
2 Likes
Not sure if I really want to recommend any of his books to be honest… I haven’t read any of his work at all. From what I understand his writings are not exactly in tune with modern views on many things so he comes across as a relic of the past. Only one way to find out for yourself though.
I liked that quote which I found elsewhere, even though it’s actually a slight misquote. The original reads: “A man should be able to…” etc.
4 Likes
Jenny Finn - I really love it, Mignola-y and in the occult/elder gods vein. There was an abbreviated version of the novel and an updated one with color plates and including all issues, beautiful ugly.
1 Like