An Absolutely Remarkable Thing
by Hank Green · first published 2018
83% recommend17% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Contemporary sci-fi with a light touch that reads as a fast, funny page-turner. It offers a sharp take on internet fame and online punditry, and suits anyone wanting approachable genre fiction.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
In Hank Green's sweeping, cinematic debut novel, a young woman becomes an overnight celebrity before realizing she's part of something bigger, and stranger, than anyone could have possibly imagine. THE CARLS JUST APPEARED. Roaming through New York City at three A.M., twenty-three-year-old April May stumbles across a giant sculpture. Delighted by its appearance and craftsmanship--like a ten-foot-tall Transformer wearing a suit of samurai armor--April and her best friend, Andy, make a video with it, which Andy uploads to YouTube. The next day, April wakes up to a viral video and
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Three standouts for me this year: Educated - Tara Westover: Perhaps the best memoir I have ever read. Killing Commendatore - Haruki Murakami. Japanese mystical fiction. An Absolutely Remarkable Thing - Hank Green. A really fun page-turner
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2018?” ↗…respected among the politics/mystery. Each book in the series is a bit of a different genre set in the universe. Spinning Silver by Naomi Novak - Eastern European folk tale akin to Rumplestiltskin. An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green - Contemporary fiction with a scifi bent. Ultimately hopeful, it explores the consequences of viral fame.
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2018?” ↗"An Absolutely Remarkable Thing" by Hank Green was delightful and insightful on multiple levels. It is an excellent dissection of internet fame and punditry, while also being funny as hell.
on “Ask HN: Great books you read in 2018?” ↗Fiction - Recursion - Red Rising (on book 2 now and I assume I'll want to re-read it) - Ender's Game series (I've read some of them multiple times) - The Martian (I've read multiple times) - An Absolutely Remarkable Thing (series) Non-ficton - The Model Thinker (super dense, I'll need multiple re-reads) - Chief Joy Officer - Work Clean - Outlive
on “Ask HN: What books do you want to read over again?” ↗An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green - Just solid, approachable sci-fi.
on “Ask HN: Favorite fiction books of 2018?” ↗This is a major plot point of the book A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor, sequel to An Absolutely Remarkable Thing. The main antagonist uses high quality VR to trick the brain into full reality from someone else's perspective. The effect on society is grim, and when society is being actively graded by aliens on its…
on “We need technology that is less immersive, not more” ↗