* Blindisght by Peter Watts. Great story with a less "antropomorphic" first contact experience, but also a very modern take on awareness/consciousness/reality from a hard-sci-fi perspective. https://www.rifters.com/real/Blindsight.htm
* Anything by QNTM. You can start with short story Lena which I think would appeal to HN crowd: https://qntm.org/mmacevedo
Both of these writers make phenomenal amount of their work available for free online; I've also purchased a lot of their hard-copies for friends :)
* Open Borders by SMBC guy. I'm a fairly liberal guy AND I'm an immigrant to North America, and still this very short read transformed my position on immigration: https://www.smbc-comics.com/openborders/
* SnowCrash and Neuromancer; have to put it out there as I re-read them every year or two - I know the story by heart but they are like places and towns and countries I like visiting for the atmosphere and company :)
* In that cyberpunk vein, I only recently read Hardwired and it was surprisingly good; first few pages felt like a bit of a variation on the theme, but then it built its own identity.
* The God Engines by Scalzi. ~50 page novella (novelette?). It's a... sci fi fantasy religious tale of space travel and manifested gods? It's different and inventive and sobering and one of those books that you put down after finishing and just stare at the ceiling for a bit. Cathartic.
* And for anybody who hasn't yet, Culture Series by Iain m. Banks. I don't personally love the very first entry, Consider Phlebas, but everything from Player of Games onward is just gold.
* Anything by QNTM. You can start with short story Lena which I think would appeal to HN crowd: https://qntm.org/mmacevedo
Both of these writers make phenomenal amount of their work available for free online; I've also purchased a lot of their hard-copies for friends :)
* Open Borders by SMBC guy. I'm a fairly liberal guy AND I'm an immigrant to North America, and still this very short read transformed my position on immigration: https://www.smbc-comics.com/openborders/
* SnowCrash and Neuromancer; have to put it out there as I re-read them every year or two - I know the story by heart but they are like places and towns and countries I like visiting for the atmosphere and company :)
* In that cyberpunk vein, I only recently read Hardwired and it was surprisingly good; first few pages felt like a bit of a variation on the theme, but then it built its own identity.
* The God Engines by Scalzi. ~50 page novella (novelette?). It's a... sci fi fantasy religious tale of space travel and manifested gods? It's different and inventive and sobering and one of those books that you put down after finishing and just stare at the ceiling for a bit. Cathartic.
* And for anybody who hasn't yet, Culture Series by Iain m. Banks. I don't personally love the very first entry, Consider Phlebas, but everything from Player of Games onward is just gold.