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Here I recommend novels that involve a network or cyberspace of some kind.
These books give interesting projections of what the net might look like in
years to come. Each entry is linked to
the page at Amazon.com where you can order the book online.
I first read Neuromancer by William Gibson in 1993, about ten years after it was published. It consumed my mind for a day and a half. I couldn't put it down. This book coined the term "cyberspace," which in Neuromancer is a 3D information space into which you can "jack in." This book will give perspective to anyone who is working on the web or networks today. |
Authors on this Page William Gibson Neal Stephenson David Brin Search Amazon |
Neuromancer
William Gibson
The imagery that fills this book, and the constant flipping back and forth
between reality and cyberspace, caught my imagination by surprise. I don't
remember how I heard about this book, but I remember I couldn't stop reading
it until it was finished. I believe this was the first science fiction novel
to really deal with the coming rise of the network. I'd recommend it to just
about anyone, but especially to anyone who is working with the web
and modern day networks.
I was so taken with Neuromancer, that I read just about everything else by William Gibson. These books all have a futuristic network theme running through them. If you've read Neuromancer and liked it, you might like these as well:
Snow
Crash
Neal Stephenson
I read this novel on a trip to Mexico City, and loved it. It is very
hacker-oriented, and involves a 3D network called "The Metaverse". If you
haven't read any of the books listed on this page, I'd recommend
Neuromancer and this book.
The Diamond
Age
Neal Stephenson
This book, which Stephenson wrote after Snow Crash, looks at how nanotechnology might ultimately
affect our lives. It also looks at issues about raising and educating children. Although the story
itelf is a bit far-fetched in places, I enjoyed how it stimulated my own thinking about what
nanotechnology could mean and about education. It was fun to read.
Cryptomonimicon
Neal Stephenson
I haven't read this book, Neal Stephenson's latest, but will be reading it this winter.
Earth
David Brin
I was sitting in the audience at one of the early JavaOne conferences,
listening to John Gage speak, and he started bringing up novels that
imagine the network. He mentioned Neuromancer, and then said that
"they" (the sci fi readers at Sun?) imagined that the real network would not
be quite so dark as it is portrayed in Neuromancer, but more like the
positive means
of communication portrayed in Earth, by David Brin. I had never heard
of the book or the author, but I scribbled them down and later, read the book.
The book itself was relatively fun to read, and the alternative perspective
of the net was interesting. I'd recommend this one to anyone who has
read Neuromancer and Snow Crash, to get a third opinion on
the future of the net.
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