Welcome! These forums will be deactivated by the end of this year. The conversation continues in a new morph over on Discord! Please join us there for a more active conversation and the occasional opportunity to ask developers questions directly! Go to the PS+ Discord Server.

Literature Suggestion Request

26 posts / 0 new
Last post
Count_Zero Count_Zero's picture
Literature Suggestion Request
I'm starting my MA in English Lit. and for my dissertation I'm looking at transhumanism in sci-fi. My primary texts will Peter Watts' Rifter trilogy as they contain most of the tropes and themes associated with transhumanism. Another trilogy I'm considering is Richard Morgan's Takeshi Kovac trilogy. Can anyone suggest any other novels that might be suitable?
ORCACommander ORCACommander's picture
I am not terribly sure tbh,
I am not terribly sure tbh, Culture has the whole panhumanity thing since we have splitered into literally hundreds of sub species. Perhaps a counter point section on books that are anti-transhumanist? a good place to start there would probly be anything by michael chrichton.
Count_Zero Count_Zero's picture
Thanks for the suggestions
Thanks for the suggestions ORCA Commander.
MrWigggles MrWigggles's picture
I'd go with Dirty Pair by
I'd go with Dirty Pair by Adam Warren.
ThatWhichNeverWas ThatWhichNeverWas's picture
I cannot recommend these enough.
They're more space operas than hard scifi, but I suggest you look at the works of Neal Asher and Peter F. Hamilton, particularly Asher's Polity and Hamilton's Commonwealth universes. Those two serieses have had a great influence on my personal views, and lot of the stuff they introduce can be applied pretty much wholesale to EP :D
In the past we've had to compensate for weaknesses, finding quick solutions that only benefit a few. But what if we never need to feel weak or morally conflicted again?
Count_Zero Count_Zero's picture
I have read Hamilton's
I have read Hamilton's Commonwealth universe, but /i'll take a look at Neal Asher's works. Thanks for the suggestions.
uwtartarus uwtartarus's picture
Diamond Age for nanotech,
Diamond Age for nanotech, which is loosely tied to the H+ (it influences the politics and thus is a technology interacting with human stuff). The Quantum Thief/Fractal Prince/Causel Angel trilogy. The Quiet War and Gardens of the Sun by Auley. Blindsight and Echopraxia by Watts. Sorry for incomplete citations, on a bus.
Exhuman, and Humanitarian.
ThatWhichNeverWas ThatWhichNeverWas's picture
Idea?
A thought: Are you fixed on explicit Transhuman themes in scifi? I ask because tropes and topics that could be considered Transhuman are surprisingly common in modern fantasy books, including one of my all time favorite quotes on the subject; "How do you decide if someone is human?" "I don't. It's not up to me to assess someone's humanity. Being human in our world is synonymous with being included into the framework of society. Humanity entitles one to certain rights and privileges, but also implies voluntary acceptance of laws and rules of conduct. It transcends mere biology. It's a choice and therefore belongs solely to the individual. In essence, if a person feels they are human, then they are." - Ilona Andrews, “Magic Bleeds”
In the past we've had to compensate for weaknesses, finding quick solutions that only benefit a few. But what if we never need to feel weak or morally conflicted again?
Count_Zero Count_Zero's picture
A valid point
A valid point ThatWhichNeverWas, although my focus is on sci-fi and transhumanism, I will most likely mention transhuman tropes or themes in other generes as you have mentioned.
mellonbread mellonbread's picture
The Ophiuchi Hotline by John
The Ophiuchi Hotline by John Varley, a rarely discussed influence on EP. Features a transhuman civilization living in the ruins of the Solar System after an inhuman intelligence has rendered Earth uninhabitable, including a conservative Lunar government with a leader who strongly advocates for the reclamation of the homeworld.
Did you hear the one about the guy who became a fence?
Spoiler: Highlight to view
They say he was a real posthuman
Count_Zero Count_Zero's picture
Thanks mellonbread, that is
Thanks mellonbread, that is exactly the sort of thing I'm looking for.
Undocking Undocking's picture
Since you're focusing on
Since you're focusing on Rifters (so good), I assume you've read Blindsight & Echopraxia. Watts is a cool guy, he's great to talk to at a con and his panels are fantastic (e.g. how Rule 34 can save the world). I'll second for Varney. He wrote eight short stories and a few novels (Ophiuchi Hotline and Steel Beach) set in a transhumanist post-apocalypse. For things not yet mentioned: Beggars in Spain by Nancy Kress is about the characters who tread the boarder between two species of humans created through genetic modification: Sleepers and the Sleepless. It explores compassionate capitalism, extra-territorial orbitals and basilisk hacks. Poseidon's Children by Alistair Reynolds transhumanism, forking and ETI explored. Focus is on the autonomous aquatic nations, who have engineered themselves into mermen and merwomen. Individuality, reality and personhood are explored in the first work, the second focuses heavily on identity, as well as fatalism and existential destiny. Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie is a must read. I'd also recommend Greg Egan's short fiction, specifically Wang's Carpets.
uwtartarus uwtartarus's picture
Oh man, I loved Ancillary
Oh man, I loved Ancillary Justice, though the sequel didn't rock my world as much as I hoped it would have.
Exhuman, and Humanitarian.
Count_Zero Count_Zero's picture
Sorry about the delayed reply
Sorry about the delayed reply Undocking. Yes I have read Blindsight, but have yet to read Echopraxia. Watts is pretty cool, a friend of mine used Blindsight in part of his cognitive paleontology thesis (I'm not sure which bits) and Watts was very helpful and willing to correspond. The other suggestions sound great as well, thanks for them.
Undocking Undocking's picture
@uwtartarus I just picked up
@uwtartarus I just picked up Ancillary Sword from a used book store, so I'll hold my judgement until I rip into it to decide whether I vote for it or Three Body Problem in the Hugos. I can't believe I didn't mention Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu. It has Eclipse Phase written between all the lines. @Count_Zero Echopraxia has a rather blockbuster beginning, but the bulk of the novel is exploring faith, belief and fate. I'd recommend Darko Suvin's collection of translated essays "Defined by a Hollow". I still think of him as the authority on science fiction criticism, though his collection of Marxist essays are very good as well.
Count_Zero Count_Zero's picture
Thanks, for the suggestions
Thanks, for the suggestions Undocking, Suvin's essays are exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for and I'll most likely be using a Marxist materialist theoretical approach.
agroschim agroschim's picture
mellonbread wrote:The
mellonbread wrote:
The Ophiuchi Hotline by John Varley [...]
I picked this one up after reading about it here in this thread. It is an excellent source for EP. Thanks a lot.
Panoptic Panoptic's picture
Adam Roberts - Stone
Adam Roberts - Stone The protagonist is the sole murderer in a far-future transhuman society. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/71247.Stone
On 'IC Talk': Seyit Karga, Ultimate [url=http://eclipsephase.com/comment/46317#comment-46317]Character Profile[/url]
Undocking Undocking's picture
agroschim wrote:
agroschim wrote:
I picked this one up after reading about it here in this thread. It is an excellent source for EP. Thanks a lot.
Definitely look for Steel Beach, it is set in the same post-fall transhuman future where the protagonist is a noir journalist who changes sex, helps fix a perceived utopia, and is the child of a lunar-brontosaur farmer.
Panoptic Panoptic's picture
The Death's Head series by
The Death's Head series by David Gunn has a gun smarter than the main character, and factions of transhumans. The Parrish Plessis trilogy by Marianne de Pierres is more postcyberpunk but the titular character is extremely enhanced.
On 'IC Talk': Seyit Karga, Ultimate [url=http://eclipsephase.com/comment/46317#comment-46317]Character Profile[/url]
Count_Zero Count_Zero's picture
Fantastic! Thanks for all the
Fantastic! Thanks for all the suggestions.
Chrontius Chrontius's picture
Tangentially…
A mix of biopunk and fantasy, The Dark Lord of Derkholm - it's good fantasy, and it perfectly captures the surreality of a family where half the members are humans and half are gryphons. I suppose you might actually have that happen on Fortean, come to think of it. More on point, William Gibson is a great place to start, as it's where the genre did. Ghost in the Shell is a good way to immerse yourself into a world of ubiquitous cybernetic augmentation, and Deus Ex: Human Revolution makes transhumanism vs. bioconservatism a core plot point of the game. The Maximum Ride series is an interesting YA-fiction example of transhumanism's tropes, but in a very Deus Ex "I never asked for this" sort of way. Another example about teens with wings is the book "Flight" by Neil Hetzner - it's a very dark book, ironically, but genetic augmentation is something of a rite of passage by this point in history.
ORCACommander ORCACommander's picture
i would not say DE:HR is a
i would not say DE:HR is a good reference for transhumanism, cyber punk maybe but either way its only lightly touched upon in the plot arc
Chrontius Chrontius's picture
I just had my saves wiped out
I just had my saves wiped out, and I was 1/3 of the way through it, but I remember I had conversations and in-game literature discussing the concept when last I played it. It's definitely more cyberpunk, however, but I think that's something of a false dichotomy.
SquireNed SquireNed's picture
DE:HR and the original DE are
DE:HR and the original DE are more transhumanist if you're willing to dig deeper. Most of the plot is cyberpunk, though HR's got some post/transhumanist stuff in the ending. Reading anything about the setting reveals that there's a lot of social tension between augmented people and the world at large that we just don't see, and Mankind Divided looks like it's gonna be more heavily focused on that.
ORCACommander ORCACommander's picture
exactly its in the setting
exactly its in the setting and lore but is not really in the story proper.