Hacker News Reader

I'd second the recommendation of anathem, which is one of my favourite books.

Thanks for pointing out the new book by Neal Stephenson, I didn't know he'd released that and will probably check it out.

I also read the hail Mary project which I thought was an enjoyable light read, but nothing too special.

View on HN

Project Hail Mary was special because it was so straightforward. It didn't try to beat you over the head with some grand message about society. It's just a science teacher doing cool stuff in space. Refreshing, in my opinion.

The thing I found the most funny about project hail Mary, was that the bits that most broke my immersion were the political bits.

(WARNING: minor spoilers follow)

In a story about someone travelling to another galaxy and investigating other life forms, the thing that I struggled with the most was that the entire planet unilaterally put their faith in one person and there wasn't a giant amount of infighting and countries at each other's throats.

Agreed, the geopolitics was very simplistic. I was always looking forward to the next space scene.

I also read Ministry for the Future which was pretty heavy on politics. It didn't grab me the way Project Hail Mary did, though.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com