7 ms·
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nine_Billion_Names_of_God https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nine_Billion_Names_of_God ..they notice that "overhead, without a
by craigr1972 7y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nine_Billion_Names_of_God https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nine_Billion_Names_of_God
..they notice that "overhead, without any fuss, the stars were going out."
- anigbrowl 7y agoAnother enjoyable literary excursion on this theme: https://english.lem.pl/works/novels/the-cyberiad/146-how-the-world-was-saved https://english.lem.pl/works/novels/the-cyberiad/146-how-the...
- cbsks 7y agoHere's the text of that short story. It's a quick read. I highly recommend it! https://urbigenous.net/library/nine_billion_names_of_god.html https://urbigenous.net/library/nine_billion_names_of_god.htm...
- cpound 7y agoI agree, and I'd also recommend Vajra Chandrasekera's story that responds to it and reframes it in postcolonial terms: "The Negation of the Negation of the Negation" ( http://www.bigecho.org/the-negation-of-the-negation-of-the-negation http://www.bigecho.org/the-negation-of-the-negation-of-the-n... ).
- kryptn 7y agoA book that also uses this theme which I enjoyed a lot: Spin, by Robert Charles Wilson https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/910863.Spin https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/910863.Spin
- tandr 7y agoThank you -- that was the first thing I thought of when I saw the headline...
- chmod775 7y agoIn Alastair Reynold's "House of Suns" an entire galaxy goes dark, though that happening is not even the main driver of the story.
- davedx 7y agoJust read that book earlier this year. Wish there were more like it!
- thelazydogsback 7y agoHe has a new book coming out next month I believe -- one of the few authors I pre-order from...
- renke1 7y agoTheories about the galaxy going dark were also traded as some kind of currency in the story. Definitely one of my favorite books.
- bloopernova 7y agoI very much like the 2 part epic space opera "Pandora's Star" and "Judas Unchained" by Peter F Hamilton. In it, an Astronomer spots a star that disappears. This star is 1,500 light years away. He travels to another star system (Humanity is a multi-system species) and observes the star again, at just the right moment to see the light from its disappearance. It disappears within a couple of seconds, as does a nearby star. But its infrared output is undimmed. This kicks off an epic, and I really do mean epic, space opera. Peter F Hamilton is really great at such stories, and I love this pair of books so much that I've read them about a dozen times each. Highly recommended!
- iamrecursion 7y agoI’ll echo this recommendation. Peter F. Hamilton is firmly my favourite sci-fi author, and that’s a hard spot to take. The Commonwealth Saga (mentioned by the parent) is followed by The Void Trilogy and then The Chronicle of the Fallers, all set in the same Commonwealth universe. It’s some of the most evocative writing I’ve ever heard the pleasure to read, and the stories told are massive in scale but without seeming lacking as a result. My e-reader says that my most recent read-through was my 9th, so add that to a number done with physical books and it should give some idea of how good I consider these books!
- wjnc 7y agoI read quite a lot of books thanks to suggestions on HN, so my thanks to all giving suggestions!
- guscost 7y agoYes, it’s a really fun space opera, with lots of silly figures of speech and cringy tropes/stereotypes. The story and world are great enough to recommend it even if you have a hard time with the writing. And my favorite sci-fi authors are Heinlein and Lem, so calibrate accordingly.
- Joe-Z 7y agoHi! On Wikipedia it says it‘s a trilogy [0], Misspent Youth being the one you didn‘t mention. Would you recommend starting with the 2nd book in the series? [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_F._Hamilton_bibliography https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_F._Hamilton_bibliograp...
- ljm 7y agoThe Outer Wilds, an indie game released this year, has quite the take on that. Which is about as much as can be said without spoiling it.