Gnomon
by Nick Harkaway · first published 2018
75% recommend25% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Mind-bending science fiction about a surveillance state, praised for its originality, thought-provoking ideas and dense, rewarding complexity; suits readers who want smart, challenging SF over light entertainment.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
"In the world of Gnomon, citizens are ceaselessly observed and democracy has reached a pinnacle of "transparency." When suspected dissident Diana Hunter dies in government custody during a routine interrogation, Mielikki Neith, a trusted state inspector, is assigned to the case. Immersing herself in neural recordings of the interrogation, she finds a panorama of characters and events that Hunter gave life to in order to forestall the investigation: a lovelorn financier in Athens who has a mystical experience with a shark; a brilliant alchemist in ancient Carthage confronting the unexpected out
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…- “A Fire Upon the Deep” and “A Deepness in the Sky” by Vernor Vinge - “The Golden Oecumene” trilogy by John C. Wright: “The Golden Age”, “The Phoenix Exultant”, and “The Golden Transcendence” - “Gnomon” by Nick Harkaway - the Culture novels by Iain M. Banks
on “Permutation City (1994)” ↗…“Singularity Sky” by Charles Stross - “The Freeze-Frame Revolution” by Peter Watts - “Perfekcyjna niedoskonałość” by Jacek Dukaj - “A Fire Upon the Deep” and “A Deepness in the Sky” by Vernor Vinge - “Gnomon” by Nick Harkaway - the Culture novels by Iain M. Banks
on “Accelerando (2005)” ↗If you want more brainfuck, read Gnomon by Nick Harkaway
on “Books I Loved Reading in 2024” ↗I've ready maybe a third of the books on the list and enjoyed most of them, but few felt particularly great, and some left me feeling pretty meh. Nick Harkaway's Gnomon is by far the best science fiction book I've read in years, one of the best books full stop—yet it doesn't seem to make lists like this. In some ways that's a shame, but seen another way it's a good sign:…
on “The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Books of the Past Decade” ↗Well, you've got your epic fantasy, and your personable... Dan Simmons (Hyperion saga, Olympus), Rameez Naam's "Nexus". Nick Harkaway's "Gnomon" is ridiculously good, and I basically buy anyone who wants one a copy of Cory Doctorow's "Walkway". Theodore Sturgeon is probably the closest SF I can think of to Pratchett, although he's Golden Era…
on “I don't know, Timmy, being God is a big responsibility (2007)” ↗I'm just finishing up Nick's 'Gnomon', and it has blown my mind. It's been quite a while since a book has enthralled me just as as this.
on “John le Carré's private life, revealed in letters and a kiss-and-tell” ↗…Gibson's Virtual Light was far more satisfying to revisit. See also "Islands in the Net" by Bruce Sterling (IMNHO). Ed: BTW, for a newer book (2017) that plays with some interesting concepts - see "Gnomon" by Nick Harkaway. Just don't read a summary or too much about before you start - much of the pleasure I found in it was trying to "figure out" the book as I read it...
on “Snow Crash Related Items Auction” ↗> Nick Harkaway's "Gnomon" is ridiculously good You are the first person I've ever seen to mention that book. It is astonishingly and unreasonably excellent, and I recommend it every chance I get. I'm just beginning my first…
on “I don't know, Timmy, being God is a big responsibility (2007)” ↗Gnomon by Nick Harkaway. The pervasive surveillance state the characters live under was very thought provoking, and as topical as ever. And the book was just interesting as all hell.
on “Ask HN: Which are the most interesting books you have read in 2022?” ↗Fiction -------- Termination Shock - Neal Stephenson Station Eleven - Emily St. John Mandel Shards of Earth - Adrian Tchaikovsky Project Hail Mary - Andy Weir Gnomon - Nick Harkaway The Gone Away World - Nick Harkaway The Apollo Murders - Chris Hadfield Nonfiction ---------- Mindf*ck - Chris Wylie 1776 - David McCullough Apollo 8 - Jeffrey Kluger
on “Ask HN: What is the best thing you read in 2022?” ↗Quipus also make an appearance (alongside core rope memory, no less) in Harkaway’s excellent Gnomon.
on “How the Mayans were able to accurately predict solar eclipses for centuries” ↗Gnomon by Nick Harkaway has some of the same “unreliable world” aspects with great writing to boot.
on “Book Review: There Is No Antimemetics Division” ↗Of you enjoyed this, you might like "Gnomon" by Nick Harkaway.
on “Sci-Fi Short Film "There Is No Antimemetics Division" [video]” ↗…through, 2 months. Babel 17, (Delany, 1966), 66% through / 1 month. Also, Revenant Gun, (Han Lee, 2018) about 15% through / 2 months. Also, Catcher in the Rye (Salinger, 1946), 60% through, 3 months. Gnomon, (Harkaway, 2017) 40% through, 4 months. Cheating here accounting other recent reads, but I've finished a couple others in the intervening time. Long Way to a Small Angry Planet (Chambers, 2014, reread),…
on “Ask HN: Which book are you reading, since when?” ↗Fred Hoyle, "The Black Cloud" and I wish someone cleverer than me would read Nick Harkaway's "Gnomon" and then explain it to me.
on “Ask HN: What are some underrated sci-fi books?” ↗