fr33land3r
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There's a little fantasy, some high science fiction, steampunk, dystopian satire and a lot of cyberpunk. He read Snow Crash. I have a copy of Cryptonomicon around somewhere too. He'd like that. He's a history buff.
Edit: thanks for all the suggestions!
I have a very expensive book store trip in my future. Yeah I do e books but physical books never run out of batteries and don't fuck up your eyes
Edit edit: I ordered 5 books. I don't think he's that into sci fi or he isn't into Neal Stephenson's self indulgent tangents into philosophy of linguistics or something.
I figured something funny? Something historic fiction? Anyways. If Snow Crash didn't have enough action he's unlikely to like Cryptonomicon, he's definitely not reading Atwood. There is some hope for Hyperion just because each tale is different, lamb is just a hilarious irreverent farce, tropic of stupid sounds funny. . . Never read it. But I bet he reads Shogun first. It's bad ass enough I hope he doesn't get intimidated by the 1000 page length. I hope the binding isn't cheap either. 25 fucking dollars for a paperback. Fml.
Going to Indigo/Chapters/Coles monopoly censorship/commodification land was a terrible disappointment. 80 fucking editions of Dune and zero kurt Vonnegut anything? Gimme a fucking break. Fuck that monopoly and Heather Reisman in particular.
I don't want to give amazon money but. . . *sigh* I just broke a year long boycott.
https://i.imgur.com/YSI1VBn.jpeg
PapaUbu
Snow crash.. Oohhh yeah, when exactly did you raid my book shelves?
BenHobson
The Mortal Engines is a great choice! The ending of the last book brought me to genuine tears! Also good is Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi
Icantrecall
Wil McCarthy
BloodyStool
Blood music by Greg Bear
MarkySpaceMagnet
How old is the son
fr33land3r
15
whadyameanthatnamestaken
If he’s a history buff, Slaughterhouse Five.
allnewuserforyou
I absolutely *love* Snow Crash, and loved the book as a teenager - but it's a very 90's book.
downrightmike
Put Jurassic Park in there. My personal favorite
fr33land3r
Crichton does have some other good ones too. Robin Cook's Coma reminds me of Crichton's writing for some reason.
downrightmike
Just ordered Coma. Thank you!
AbeFromanSausageKingOfChicago
We need more book posts. Bookgur should be a thing.
amp99
'The Diamond Age' is another Stephenson novel that sounds like it may be of interest: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Diamond_Age
fr33land3r
I have read it. It is awesome. Molecular nanotechnology? The super awesome learning book that the internet *should be*
fr33land3r
But is only available to the ultra rich until a hacker like. . . Hacks it?
Hrafna55
Iain M Banks.
fr33land3r
Someone else recommended transition series(?) What's that about?
Hrafna55
1/2 Don't know. That's Iain Banks. Same author but that would be fiction. Iain M Banks is the name he wrote sci-fi under. I only read one
Hrafna55
2/2 book under his Iain Banks name which was 'The Wasp Factory'.
doggetofftheqcekmty
Sci fi and dystopia? Sounds like you need some Andy Weir or Stephen King.
fr33land3r
I read a lot of Stephen king as a teenager. Like lots..
RandyPhonecian
Second for Weir. The Martian was great!
therandombagofmeat
Dresden files
fr33land3r
More?
KidDoc4UncleSam
Snow Crash is awesome. For more modern takes, Ready Player One and Ready Player Two are fun.
fr33land3r
Ready player one was an easy sell. 80s nostalgia for me and like SAO:online plus young adult writing. My kid ate it up. .
fr33land3r
We both hated the movie.
AceOfNines
Buy books used (unless the author is still living); you can save money because many people have gone to ereaders now (for portability).
TigerThong
use libby my brother. you can get neuromancer there. If your son uses a tablet/phone in general have them use libby
fr33land3r
I am going to check that out. I use my phone a lot to read at work or at night.
TigerThong
if ya dont have a library card its super easy to get one online.
SalamandersInMyYard
Yes libby is the best! Where I do 90% of my reading
Trelfar
Upvoting because more people need to realize their taxes already paid for ebooks from the local library. Use them!
reallynotmikepence
I'd add the Culture series, but depends on how old he is really.
Rip42
If you liked Banks, he also wrote some non-culture stuff that was pretty good. I'd start with Transition.
fr33land3r
I will check that out
CosplayComet
Some good picks in here.
apostlepk
Get some Edgar Rice Burroughs!!
fr33land3r
(?) Not familiar.
apostlepk
SciFi/Fantasy author who wrote the Tarzan books. Also wrote the John Carter Mars series as well as some other great ones. 10/10
fr33land3r
Oh oh! Cool! I thought the john Carter movie was kind of dope tbh. You ever read the conan shit? Robert e howard?
apostlepk
Yes, good stuff there too. Burroughs does series. I think Mars, or Barsoom, has something like 13 books. Easy reads. Very fun.
stupiddevotchka
Oryx and Crake was phenomenal. You have impeccable taste @OP. How 'bout The Gods Themselves? I see you have some Asimov in there
fr33land3r
I am gonna check that out. I read the robot series and foundation . . . Like 4 or 5 books I have no idea how many there are. . .
fr33land3r
Prelude, foundation, foundation's edge, forward the foundation, foundation and empire .. . I robot, caves of steel, something sun(?)
stargrey
Add the Foundation series from Asimov
Hrafna55
Alastair Reynolds
Ultratoxic
Good choices. May I suggest Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451, and Time Is The Simplest Thing (Clifford D Simak)
maxxra
Oh man - he is in for a treat.
PenguinNamedWobbles
Not bad. Recommend, the Neverending story, enders game, do androids dream of electric sheep, neverwhere, the lost fleet series.
fr33land3r
PK Dick is very satirical and drug infused. DADOES is like the most accessible one and it is also wierd. A scanner darkly might work.
fr33land3r
I think ender's game is in there! The sequel is excellent too. I forget the name. Ender's shadow?
PenguinNamedWobbles
Never read that one but it might be good. Also try the thief of always.
madebyjon
Ender's Shadow is the parallel book focused on Bean. Speaker For The Dead would be the "sequel", and my favorite of them all. 1/2
madebyjon
Though more recently he wrote Ender in Excile which helps transition the story a bit better despite some minor inconsistancies.
MissDeeMeanor
Upvote Asimov, always
fr33land3r
I, robot is a primer for AI ethics/philosophy and theory. I prefer caves of Steel. Having read those before I appreciated Gibson much more.
garque
I'd also recommend Positronic Man. Some very good morals wrapped up in a heartfelt story
fr33land3r
I will check that out for myself!
joe6paques
The problem with Neuromancer is, how do you explain what a TV tuned to a dead channel looks like?
SaltyEsq
The problem with necromancer is that it sucks, esp compared to snow crash. So if he reads that first it'll be a boring slog
SpaceForGold
I didn’t vibe with snow crash. Nm was way better. Each to their own I guess.
SaltyEsq
I read necromancer about 6 years ago bc of its reputation. Couldn't hold up to anything else I've read. But yes, each their own
skizzit
I actually love that line cause it still works, just means something slightly different.
fr33land3r
Honestly only the HBO identification has that white noise snow crash thing going on.
Candymancan
Hey @OP you can find it here https://freebooksmania.com/2021/03/neuromancer-pdf.html
fr33land3r
Haha. Same snow crash. War of the black and white ants isn't on TV anymore.
Xecryo
Error 404 channel not found.
GreaseMonkeyOfLove
Go into the tv settings, turn off “blue screen” option. Lets the static show on signal-less channels.
AllRicksAreJerrys
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ubFq-wV3Eic
LathiArcanus
Yeah. These days, it would describe a sky either pitch black or a brilliant cloudless blue
SoLongSaulGood
I’m old enough to remember dead channels in the days of CRT monitors. They would either have static or gray blank screens.
SpaceForGold
A: live in Vancouver. It can look like that at night. Also it’s a hard read once you’ve seen matrix and how the internet is today.
SpaceForGold
Enders game is a good one. But stop after the first. And avoid that movie !
fr33land3r
I dunno I liked Ender's Shadow. I don't really recall Speaker for the Dead TBH
RandyPhonecian
I thought Speaker for the Dead was emotionally rich and very touching. And I lamented that the author is an anti-gay twat.
fr33land3r
I read all the Conan shit and Robert E. Howard was an ultra nazi. I like learning an author's bias by critical reading. . .
daranthered
I know a teenager who used it as a fade-in on their Twitch stream. They did it while playing the "classic" game Fallout: New Vegas.
fr33land3r
All the fallout games must have test patterns and white snow given their 'nuclear age-punk' 1950s vibes. Nevil Shute's On the Beach maybe.
fr33land3r
You know when the monitor is on but the computer hasn't posted yet? He'd understand that.
MrStealYourGiF
It predated ubiquity of blue or black "dead channel" screen generated by digital tuners by 2/3 yrs it was
fr33land3r
But that LED screen on but not quite fully black works too
BondulanceDispatch
If he’s a history buff he might already know
twisttim8888
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3ZAMjpjYfQ a short clip that even uses the line in the title.
joe6paques
That’s not really what it looked like. Video compression changes the texture completely.
oldsweaty
Hm, might be cool to get an interpretation based on not instantly knowing what it was describing though!
fr33land3r
I'd like to hear it. It would demonstrate a command of the english language
BlueRonfar
Lame channels that didn’t have test screens.
LetheTheArtificer
Is that a tshirt? That's pretty sick looking
BlueRonfar
Yeah, I purchase only the sickest of tees, or incredibly stupid jokes in an ironic way.
2ti6x
you know that feeling when your leg fell asleep? thats how it looks like.
chewybacon
“Five gum”
Erutanmi
BernieSandersMittens
YouTube?
AllRicksAreJerrys
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ubFq-wV3Eic
Eselta
It's kinda weird that, that is actually radio interference, background radiation, and unprocessable bits of data, in all of that static.
Rijtjeshuis
Some suggestions: Hyperion, Forever War, Old Man's War, and Dune (obviously)... You also need some Vonnegut in the mix.
fr33land3r
I think forever war, while it forever changed science fiction with it's relativistic time travel is also very right wing and intolerant. . .
Muzzfasa
How about hitchhikers guide to the galaxy? Lighter read with grand a story.
biscuitsngravybelly
Forever war is superb. Haldeman has some amazing books that make you think. Accidental time machine is great as well
magila
Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey.
fr33land3r
Hey! I haven't seen any of those books in decades! I remember reading them.
sultin
Just read the I Am Legion (I Am Bob) series. Great sci-fi dealing with relativistic time and resource bound battles in space.
Howlingowl
I’d recommend Rendezvous With Rama, Solaris, and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
fr33land3r
Big fan of Douglas Adam's and other absurdist authors like Vonnegut, pk dick. Dirk Gently is very funny.
NotAThrowAwayJustDontWantToUseMyRealName
Vonnegut, yes. Hyperion and Dune are damn-near unreadable unless you're deeep into it. (same for JRRT but I ain't here to pick that fight)
fr33land3r
Breakfast of champions and god bless you, mr. Rosewater are fun to read.
Rijtjeshuis
I burned through Hyperion and Dune (a bit less so), but I've tried to read LotR twice now and never really stuck with it.
fr33land3r
I fucking love Hyperion. That's high science fiction and touches so much. Myself I have read the while quartet(?) It's awesome.
alcaray
I also reread the Olympus books during lockdown.
Idontneedrealfacts
those were a tough read for me, all over the place.
donjuanoven
Pip and Flinx is a fun series with lots of books, and I LOVED it years ago.
Idontneedrealfacts
I always loved The Hollow Man too. if he (or you) is looking for space opera, the Vorkosigan Series Lois Mcmaster Bujold
AllTheGoodOnesWereGone
Also Asimov's Foundation Trilogy.
squirrelfartsy
It's fun to read because it sounds like lazy sci-fi names and cliches until you realize THESE books were the originals of those tropes
Rijtjeshuis
I'm reading it right now. So far, so good.
rbudrick
Cat's cradle for sure.
squirrelfartsy
Ice-9!
rbudrick
I still never understood how he could play with bits of it by the kitchen sink. Any down the drain would be the end. Or even a foggy day.
fr33land3r
Cat's eye?
rbudrick
Wasnt Cat's Eye a stephen king movie based off a series of his short stories?
fr33land3r
I think so yes, but Cat's Eye is Atwood. Cat's Cradle I just learned is Vonnegut.
fr33land3r
I ordered a copy of Cat's Cradle. Cat's Eye is like historical and intersectional. Feminism and communism together at last(?)
Pasaujourdhui
Old Man’s War is an amazing book!
SpaceForGold
ReRead it recently. Excellent. It was that authors first book! OMG
woozle
Dune?
daranthered
Dune is a lot to drop on someone early on. It's something you build to. Give it to them once they're hooked and can't escape.
fr33land3r
The big thing is getting something he *wants* to read. I just keep throwing poop hoping something will stick.
Rip42
If you liked Herbert's Dune sequence, the two BuSab books he wrote were good too, The Whipping Star and The Dosadi Experiment.
fr33land3r
I tries Hellstrom's Hive but didn't get far.
Rip42
It's not his best work. I'd also avoid "The White Plague." "The Eyes of Heisenberg" is very outdated too.
fr33land3r
Some old sci fi, especially like Neuromancer and Forever War are so iconic and so copied they seem cheesy in a way.
Rip42
"The Eyes of Heisenberg" is just outdated on the science to the point it's painful to read how wrong it is about genetics. There's just 1/2
fr33land3r
That's a coming of age story, written by a socialist critical of organized religion, zealotry, colonialism and hydraulic despotism.
aQuantumofAnarchy
I'm a huge fan of Herbert, but I'd struggle to call him a socialist. He used to write speeches for 'that' Senator McCarthy...
aQuantumofAnarchy
I have to correct myself, he wrote speeches for a completely different Senator. My apologies.
aQuantumofAnarchy
I'd add to these recommendations Ursula Le Guin and Octavia Butler, who both wrote feminist and anti-hierarchical science fiction.
RandyPhonecian
These two are my favorite authors; however I had a hard time rereading ULG's Earthsea series and OB's Parable of the Talents. Dunno why.
fr33land3r
Ofc he should read that.
AscensionGames
I didn't personally find the homophobia of Dune obvious, I had to have it pointed out to me by interviews with Frank himself. But if he 1/2
AscensionGames
he does notice it and has no interest in reading the rest of the books I'd suggest pointing out *that scene* in God Emperor where Frank 2/3
AscensionGames
tried to make amends for it. Sometimes people growing out of bigotry is a bigger lesson to others than never having it. 3/3
woozle
nice.
fr33land3r
I am hoping he picks up Oryx and Crake. I think the steampunk is beneath him but I think handmaids tale will not resonate with teenage boy
fr33land3r
Oryx and Crake is still topical and current. It's socratic depiction of modern society has become a bit too real of late.
fr33land3r
My copy is so mangled. I have decent copies of Messiah onwards but I need to get a good copy of Dune.
woozle
Shai'hulud!
DrGonzosDirtyShorts
fr33land3r
KillTimeAndLife
Terry Pratchett
jinjaneko
SebastianCrab
GNU Terry Pratchett.
Opspin
Definitely start him off with the young adult novels of the Discworld. The ones with a young witch named Tiffany Aching.
Opspin
Warning, when you’ve read all of the Discworld novels, you’ll devour Pratchetts few remaining works & no other book will ever be as good.
darkwing42101
Can confirm, took a few weeks to read my first Pratchett book, all others were days and went like the wind, my ADHD even shut up while
darkwing42101
I was reading his work it was so good, his style made me hyperfocus and block everything out, I love that feeling and it's so rare for me.
fr33land3r
I am not ashamed to admit I have never read Pratchett. That's the wheel of time, no? I have definitely not read everything.
whatthehellalltheusernamesaretaken
I'm now curious on how good/bad Pratchett would do it if he does the wheel of time. Probably be better than Jordan on the later books
blackstone459
Wheel of time was Robert Jordan, Pratchett wrote the discworld novels
georgedragonslayer
Discworld.
Dazrin
Pratchett is Discworld not Wheel of Time. Satirical fantasy with a healthy dose of social commentary in a fun way.
LastoftheLillyCreatures
I wouldn't even call Pratchett fantasy outright. It's novels set in a fantasy world, but he (thankfully) doesn't write fantasy-"stories"
fr33land3r
I definitely have a fetish for speculative fiction and dystopian fiction.
BernieSandersMittens
Pratchett is discworld. WoT is Robert Jordan. As a spec fic fan, I can highly recommend Discworld for fun reading.
NotASwordButADickinDisguise
I'm enjoying Men at Arms right now! Only my third discworld book.
fr33land3r
Ok. Cool discworld. I will check that out. You've read ringworld I suppose?