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Old 04-05-2015, 05:23 AM   #1
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Default The best Transhuman sci-fi novels?

I missed out on the transhumanism trend in sci-fi, but the GURPS setting interests me so I bought it. I'd like to understand the genre better, though. Which are the best transhumanist sci-fi novels?
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Old 04-05-2015, 12:24 PM   #2
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Default Re: The best Transhuman scii-fi novels?

These six are my 6 favorite writers

Neal Asher
Stephen Baxter
David Brin
Peter F Hamilton
Alastair Reynolds
Dan Simmons
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Old 04-05-2015, 12:25 PM   #3
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Default Re: The best Transhuman scii-fi novels?

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I missed out on the transhumanism trend in sci-fi, but the GURPS setting interests me so I bought it. I'd like to understand the genre better, though. Which are the best transhumanist sci-fi novels?
Just about anything Vernor Vinge has written, with the Ann Leckie ANCILLARY series coming up, though it is debatable whether the Leckie novels actually give a favorable presentation of transhumanism.

Greg Bear's EON series is good, as are his other works like BLOOD MUSIC and STRENGTH OF STONES, though again the transhumanist message is not always supportive, if that's what you are asking.
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Old 04-05-2015, 07:05 PM   #4
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Default Re: The best Transhuman scii-fi novels?

Charles Stross' Children of Saturn and Neptune's Brood are the safetech version: technically transhumanist, but not alienating.
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Old 04-10-2015, 04:15 AM   #5
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Default Re: The best Transhuman scii-fi novels?

Bladerunner

Dark Angel tv series

Universal Solider (ok not that good)

I, Robot

Splice

Ex Machina
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Old 04-12-2015, 01:48 PM   #6
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Default Re: The best Transhuman scii-fi novels?

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Charles Stross' Children of Saturn and Neptune's Brood are the safetech version: technically transhumanist, but not alienating.
Vs. Accelerando, which is a lot more alarming. Glasshouse is also transhumanist, or posthumanist? Singularity Sky and Iron Sunrise.

Ken MacLeod's Star Fraction and the other three, Newton's Wake, and Learning the World. Cosmonaut Keep, less so, I think.

I think Varley's Eight Worlds stories can be called transhumanist, though with older and maybe different roots.

_Silicon Man_, Charles Platt.

Greg Egan's _Diaspora_ is waaay posthuman. So is Schild's Ladder, and maybe later. _Permutation City_. A lot of his short stories sort of feature biotech or neurotech transhumanism or related issues.

I feel bad about the plethora of male authors but Leckie has already been mentioned and I can't think of others. Cherryh sort of touches on things: _Voyager in Night_ has uploads (by aliens), _Cyteen_ has people playing with people (azi tape-raised clones, attempts to recreate geniuses) and _Serpent's Reach_ has some wonky background stuff, but none stand out as Transhuman Novels. Bujold has some: social effects of uterine replicators, and full blown sex change in a sexist society; also the transhuman haut, but they're usually not a focus.
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Old 04-12-2015, 05:01 PM   #7
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Default Re: The best Transhuman scii-fi novels?

Glen Cook's The Dragon Never Sleeps [1988] has a lot of transhuman elements in it.
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Old 04-14-2015, 09:08 PM   #8
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Default Re: The best Transhuman scii-fi novels?

I've enjoyed Saturn's Children by Charles Stross and the Takeshi Kovacs stuff by Richard K. Morgan.
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Old 04-23-2015, 06:38 PM   #9
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Default Re: The best Transhuman sci-fi novels?

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I missed out on the transhumanism trend in sci-fi, but the GURPS setting interests me so I bought it. I'd like to understand the genre better, though. Which are the best transhumanist sci-fi novels?
A lot of the best work is done in the short story form (e.g., works by Greg Egan) but novels that especially inspired me with regard to Transhuman Space were:

- The Stone Canal by Ken Macleod (also Cassini Division)

- Queen of Angels by Greg Bear (also Moving Mars and Slant)

- Schismatrix Plus by Bruce Sterling (also Holy Fire).

- Vacuum Flowers by Michael Swanwick.

Accellerando by Charles Stross is a dense, difficult read (partly due to its status as a fixup of several short stories) but is filled with neat ideas.

Currently also reading Ramez Naam's Nexus and finding it good, and just finished Egan's Zendegi, which is interesting: first half is about a hypothetical secular revolution in Iran, but the second half is mostly a critical look at why uploading will be both hard to do and possibly a bad thing (from the author most associated with early novels popularizing the concept).
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Old 04-23-2015, 06:40 PM   #10
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Default Re: The best Transhuman scii-fi novels?

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Glen Cook's The Dragon Never Sleeps [1988] has a lot of transhuman elements in it.
A somewhat under-appreciated earlyl work of star-spanning posthuman space opera, but very interesting. I remember borrowing elements of it for my campaign.
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