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Science Fiction

(I link to Amazon for user reviews and reference - I make no commission.)

"Science Fiction" is a loose idea - Orwell's 1984 and Huxley's Brave New World mostly fit the bill, though they don't feature space travel and microchips.

I haven't yet read Asimov's foundation series. Shame on me.

Growing up with computers and games, I developed a solid appreciation for cyberpunk:

Neuromancer
by William Gibson

Neuromancer Deliberately obtuse and cryptic technology fiction brings the feelings of a voodoo future into your belly. I love the computer game based on the book too.

Snow Crash
by Neal Stephenson

Fantastic fun pop culture inflected tour of post-modern calamities.

Working at Software Etc. put me in the basement of a B.Dalton booksellers. One of my coworkers, can't remember his name, he recommended me this series:

When Gravity Fails
by George Alec Effinger

Merging Muslim culture, transsexuals and drugs in a Fez cum New Orleans - cyberpunk science fiction with a lot of flavor. Someone made an excellent game out of this series.

This is another name you can't miss in Fantasy/SciFi:

Ender's Game
by Orson Scott Card

I read this book as a teenager without getting up to go to the bathroom. It's a sweeping tale of a young man who finds out that playing games are very important - I loved it.

I share a birthday with this man, somehow between that and his mix of drugs, paranoia, insight and spiritual seeking, I couldn't help but read him:

Man in the High Castle
by Philip K. Dick

Dick's I Ching infused masterpiece illustrates the potential for modern political science fiction.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
by Philip K. Dick

Blade Runner was based on this book - the book is deeper, bringing animals in on the questions of the role of soul. Talk about recursion - the book was made into a movie, which was made into a game.

Reading Sci Fi Literature 101, a thread on Slashdot, I learned about this great pair of books:

Hyperion / Fall of Hyperion
by Dan Simmons

Hyperion High science fiction wraught with the older english masters in mind. Great reading, you'll feel elevated. By this pair of books - they're essentially a unit.

Wanda Webb gave me a copy of this book:

Vurt
by Jeff Noon

Thoroughly drug-oriented future fiction. Eminently readable.

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