geek novels?

[firecat]

From serenejournal via supergee, someone's idea of the top 20 geek novels. I've bolded the ones I've read. I've removed the percentages and numbers 'cos I don't know what they mean.

I'm willing to listen to arguments why I should read the ones I haven't read.

1. The HitchHiker's Guide to the Galaxy -- Douglas Adams
Read, listened to the bbc radio show, watched some of the bbc tv show, played the adventure game, glanced at the graphic novel yesterday, haven't seen the movie yet, and will totally hold off on the stew. The radio show is the definitive version. It's brilliant.

2. Nineteen Eighty-Four -- George Orwell
3. Brave New World -- Aldous Huxley
I don't know why either of those is a "geek novel".

4. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? -- Philip Dick
Not yet, but I just bought a copy a couple of weeks ago. Incidentally, I've tried mightily to like Blade Runner but I just don't.

5. Neuromancer -- William Gibson
Liked the writing style, thought the plot was really derivative.

6. Dune -- Frank Herbert
Why is this a "geek novel"?

7. I, Robot -- Isaac Asimov

8. Foundation -- Isaac Asimov
Didn't like it as a teenager - my take on it was "Okaaay, so mankind inhabits thousands of galaxies many millennia from now - and acts just like 1950s Americans. Riiiiight." I still think that's true, and annoying, but I overlooked it the second time around and liked what else there was to like about the book.

9. The Colour of Magic -- Terry Pratchett
I just don't much like Terry Pratchett. He's funny, but I guess to me the funny overshadows what other cleverness there is to the plots and ideas. I'm willing to give him another try one of these days, because I've heard there is worthwhile plot and idea to be found.

10. Microserfs -- Douglas Coupland
Never heard of it.

11. Snow Crash -- Neal Stephenson

12. Watchmen -- Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons
Why is this a "geek novel"?

13. Cryptonomicon -- Neal Stephenson

14. Consider Phlebas -- Iain M Banks
Never heard of it.

????15. Stranger in a Strange Land -- Robert Heinlein
Although I THINK I read this, I can't remember a damn thing about it. So I probably didn't read it and just glanced at my father's copy. I don't know why it's considered a "geek novel".

16. The Man in the High Castle -- Philip K Dick
I don't see why this is a "geek novel" either.

17. American Gods -- Neil Gaiman
Or this.

18. The Diamond Age -- Neal Stephenson
Loved it!

19. The Illuminatus! Trilogy -- Robert Shea & Robert Anton Wilson

20. Trouble with Lichen - John Wyndham
Never heard of it.

Comments

[pir-anha.livejournal.com]

what an odd list. will clicking the link explain why the author picked these novels? suspect not, so i'll pass and guess instead; more fun anyway.

i would say watchmen is on the list because it's sort of the quintessential take on the superhero mythology, and it's pretty much on any "must read" list of comics. geeks often like comics -- there's your connection.

stranger in a strange land has "grok" in it.

consider phlebas is an odd choice; i would pick the player of games as banks' primary geek novel because it's about gaming. this is also the banks i'd recommend reading first. i am a huge fan of his writing.

androids is much different from the movie. you might like it better -- then again, you might not. dick doesn't appeal to everyone. i wonder whether there isn't some confusion between the book and the movie going on in the inclusion here.

dune is probably on the list because of its quoteworthiness in geek circles.

1984 and brave new world are read by every growing european geek in school; they're quite formative, i would guess. certainly were for me.

i don't grok (*heh*) american gods' inclusion. sandman, now, that i could see.

[firecat]

Clicking the link will explain - it's a guardian.co.uk poll.

Thanks for the banks rec'n.

I like your speculations about why they're all on a geek books list. I agree with most of it, except for dune. We in the US also generally read 1984 and brave new world in schools. Well. We used to. I suspect these days schools aren't assigning books that tell people to think for themselves.

The only reason I can figure for American Gods is that one could play a pretty geeky game trying to figure out who all the gods are that he put in there.

[leback.livejournal.com]

What do you figure are the defining characteristics of a geek book? I was figuring it just meant "popular among geeks," and my impression is that Gaiman generally appeals quite a bit more to geeks than non-geeks.

Alternately, perhaps people are just equating "geek books" and SF. I'd put American Gods under the SF umbrella (as dystopian fantasy).

[klwalton.livejournal.com]

You'll be happy to hear that my high school senior was assigned both Brave New World and 1984. And Fahrenheit 500. And Animal Farm. He couldn't stop talking about Animal Farm.

[firecat]

Yes, I am happy!

[djm4]

I second The Player of Games as a recommendation. He also writes non-SF (as Iain Banks), The Crow Road is generally the most easily accessible of those in my opinion, although if you like amoral and twisted, dive straight in and read The Wasp Factory.

the player of games

[pir-anha.livejournal.com]

i don't know whether either of you read russ allbery's journal, and i am too lazy to check your userinfos, but he's just reviewed the player of games, and i tend to find his reviews interesting (in a completely non-biased way, of course, *snrk*): http://www.livejournal.com/users/eaglespath/68707.html

Re: the player of games

[firecat]

I read it. I don't read the reviews for books I don't know, because I don't like spoilers, but I look at the ratings. He's reviewed enough books I do know that I think my tastes are very similar to his. I noticed he gave Player of Games a 9 out of 10 rating and that's enough to put it on my to-read list.

[king-tirian.livejournal.com]

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/technology/archives/2005/10/26/what_are_the_top_20_geek_novels_updated.html is the explanation. The list is a total camel at this point, and I don't think that it's based on recognizing cultural references just so much as basic bragging rights.

Although everyone should read Watchmen, of course. :)