Reddit reviews Schismatrix Plus (Complete Shapers-Mechanists Universe)
We found 9 Reddit comments about Schismatrix Plus (Complete Shapers-Mechanists Universe). Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Sounds like Schismatrix by Bruce Sterling; Wikipedia article about the Shaper/Mechanist universe here.
Read Bruce Sterling. Sterling is spelled with an "e", not an "i". The "i" is a completely different author. If you've read all William Gibson, then you've already read one book by him, The Difference Engine, co-written by Gibson and Sterling. Specifically - Schismatrix Plus. It is fucking amazing.
Schismatrix Plus, that is Schismatrix and all related short stories, is only somewhat opera-ish but it might be interesting nevertheless. It's very short and condensed, establishes a universe with several factions, covers a big period of time.
I love Schismatrix and I'm thrilled someone else mentioned it. Bruce Sterling is a genuine visionary.
For Sci fi, Ian M. Banks: His Player of Games is the most accessable in my opinion.- Since he is one of my favorite authors I'd probably try and push Player of games, hoping the person would feel inspired after reading and wanting to read more of the culture novels.
(Player of Games is NOT (in my humble opinion) the best sci fi out there, but it can help you get into one of the best sci fi series ever written; The culture novels, by the same author - so its like reading something so so, to hook you to something great!)
For shorter easier access to the genre, I highly recommend trying to read Bruce Sterlings collection of short stories; http://www.amazon.com/Schismatrix-Plus-Complete-Shapers-Mechanists-Universe/dp/0441003702
These stories give a nice introduction to not only sci fi in general but in particular to Bruce Sterlings Shaper/mechanist universe which is just one of the most riveting things Ive ever read in sci fi.
For Cyber punk: This genre is just strange to the uninitiated. You probably want to read mainstream sci fi first.
If you read bruce Sterlings character driven sci fi first, and then try on cyber punk you might get a lot more out of it: Reading order - (im not sure if this is an official trilogy, but this is the order I recommend)
Neuromancer, Count Zero, Mona lisa Overdrive - Think of them as one large novel, and dont read other things in between for the best experience.
Then there is pulp sci fi. The easily consumed run of the mill, often very good sci fi. - Try Neal Asher, or Richard Morgan (Altered Carbon is awesome) - Reading books by these two is a bit like reading James Bond, beamed into the future in his underpants and just kicking ass and taking names. - I love it, but its not brainy sci fi in any way. Pure entertainment.
And then we should talk about space operas. - I dont like them. - There is one exception to every rule, and so my exception here is Peter Hamilton: http://www.amazon.com/Reality-Dysfunction-Nights-trilogy-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B003GK21DA (Im not sure if Im wrong in labelling these books space operas - maybe I head that somewhere, not sure if Im wrong) - However, I recommend reading this series AFTER taking on something like the bruce sterling suggestion I mentioned. Unless you want a brick of a book to be your introduction to the genre.
Honorable mentions: 1984 (dystopean sci fi is a whole sub genre in itself - Its not all Hungergames) - Do androids dream of electric sheep. (thats what Bladerunner the movie is based on)
For the easily consumed: Enders Game, and really anything by Orson Scott Card (his sci fi is really easy to read and he does great storylines and good character building).
Dune probably needs to be on the list. (I know the movies sucked, but the books are great)
Old Mans War was mentioned elsewhere and in that line, I recommend also : The Forever War - by Joe Haldman.
Snow Crash (cyberpunkish - but he is an author you'd want to check out for alot of his work besides this one)
2001 a space odyssey. And why not A hitchikers guide to the galaxy.
for a truly mind-bending set of short stories with a central thread i'd recommend schismatrix by bruce sterling...really well-written and extremely creative thinking about humanity's future from a genetic-vs-technological modification perspective.
Schismatrix by Bruce Sterling is the best space novel I've ever read. It really gets into what life would be like for future humans who must stay on the bleeding edge of technology and ideology or be out-competed.
The Schizmatrix by Bruce Sterling.
It is an epic space opera that spans an incredibly long period of time, but characters develop through the whole thing.
Why did it blow my mind? Because when I read it in college, it was the book that first caused me to truly realize the scale of what it means to be human, and how trivial and irrelevant we all are. It also made me truly question what it meant to be human in that genetic modifications start out small, but at what point do you draw the line as to whether something is human or not?
At the end of the day it made me much more appreciative of my individual life, but it also made me much more selfish in getting everything I could out of it because my time is short, there is no god, etc.
Alfred Bester, an early sci-fi author who was very influential but perhaps overlooked because he mixed in some supernatural with his sci-fi. The Stars My Destination.
Bruce Sterling, whose career has been overshadowed by and his contributions to the genre largely attributed to William Gibson or even Neal Stephenson. Schizmatrix Plus.