Computer-based sci-fi?

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Computer-based sci-fi?

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1booktrash
Oct 19, 2009, 1:46 pm

Anyone got any suggestions for some computer-based sci-fi? I'm a big fan of the Hex series by Rhiannon Lassiter, but I'd like something else, and preferably not YA.

I've also enjoyed Waiting for the Galactic Bus and Technicolor Time Machine.

2TLCrawford
Oct 19, 2009, 3:01 pm

These are older...
Colossus
The Adolescence of P1
When Harley was One
The Two Faces of Tomorrow

Clarke's short story The Nine Billion Names of God

At one time I would hunt for these stories.

3andyl
Oct 19, 2009, 3:46 pm

Don't know Hex but here are some computer(ish) SF

The Hacker And The Ants
Little Brother
Permutation City
Souls In The Great Machine uses humans instead of electrons.
Cryptonomicon - even includes some perl in an appendix.

Loads of short stories.

4jnwelch
Oct 19, 2009, 3:53 pm

Neuromancer by William Gibson is a classic. Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson (author of Cryptonomicon is another good one.

5psybre
Oct 19, 2009, 4:58 pm

In addition...

Toast (short stories) and Halting State (young adult) by Charles Stross
Fairyland by Paul J. McAuley
Rainbow's End by Vernor Vinge
Hard Drive by David Pogue (dated, though)
Kipper's Game by Barbara Ehrenreich
Radio Freefall by Matthew Jarpe
Trouble's Friends by Melissa Scott

6Noisy
Oct 19, 2009, 6:33 pm

The Web: 2027 and The Web: 2028 are collections of short stories with the web as the theme given to the authors, but, sorry, they are YA.

Shall I state the obvious? HHGTTG.

7justjim
Oct 19, 2009, 6:39 pm

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress does a pretty good job of computer as a character, given the state of computer development at the time it was written.

8Carnophile
Oct 19, 2009, 7:03 pm

Tron!

9virtualron
Edited: Oct 19, 2009, 7:13 pm

surprised no one's suggested Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick

10mike61n94w
Oct 19, 2009, 11:04 pm

Doesn't 'computer-based' hatch/evolve into 'artificial intelligence'?

11andyl
Oct 20, 2009, 5:09 am

I'll add The Shockwave Rider. A little dated but it did originate a few computer terms in use today.

12divinenanny
Oct 20, 2009, 5:22 am

The Otherland series by Tad Williams, volume 1 is City of Golden Shadow. If I remember correctly it was about a virtual (second life like) world.

13Goran
Oct 20, 2009, 11:20 am

Halting State by Charles Stross. It centre's around a bank robbery in a virtual world (mmorpg). It was pretty good and brought up a good question: could virtual worlds like Second Life and WoW become so prominent that acts committed in those worlds are treated as crimes in the real world?

14Arkholt
Oct 20, 2009, 12:16 pm

#10:

Sometimes, but then you're in the realm of robots, usually, and those aren't always necessarily "computer based."

15booktrash
Oct 20, 2009, 12:44 pm

Wow - so many recommendations! I'm impressed =D

I will look for everything that's been mentioned - since I've not read much sci-fi, I might as well try lots and see what I do and don't like.

Thanks so much for the help =D

16spoiledfornothing
Oct 26, 2009, 8:34 pm

17thesolitarycyclist
Nov 12, 2009, 6:57 am

Machines That Think by isaac asimov,Patricia S warwick and martin h greenberg. It is also called Thinking Machines depending where you live.It is short story collection with contributions by many famous authors with computers as it main theme It was published in the eighties and does not appear to be in print any more. Top class short fiction.

18legallypuzzled
Nov 12, 2009, 6:09 pm

For a quick AI/MMORPG read, try Daemon.

19MmeRose
Nov 15, 2009, 6:19 pm

WWW: Wake by Robert J. Sawyer

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