Otherland
by Tad Williams · first published 1991
42% recommend54% neutral4% critical
Why HN recommends it
A long virtual-reality science fiction series with a cyberpunk-adjacent feel, suited to fans of VR stories. It is often compared to Neuromancer and Ready Player One.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
# Contains 1. City of Golden Shadow 2. River of Blue Fire 3. Mountain of Black Glass 4. Sea of Silver Light
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Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
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Some more SF/Fantasy yarns: - Hyperion by Dan Simmons - 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear and all the other Zamonien books (only know german version) - Pollen by Jeff Noon - Otherland by Tad Williams - Ubik by PK Dick
on “Ask YC: favorite books” ↗It’s unfortunate that ready player one is the book people think of. Ready player one is just ripping off Otherland by Tad Williams and throwing in 80s nostalgia. It is a better dystopian novel I’d say.
on “Facebook will hire 10k new employees in an effort to build the metaverse” ↗I recently tried to make a list of good virtual reality reads (not all of them cyberpunk, though): Otherland - Tad Williams Ready Player One Daemon - David Suarez Neuromancer - William Gibson Shadowrun - ?? there are lots of possibly varying quality, I only read the ones by Nigel Findley which I liked Snowcrash…
on “Neuromancer, 30 years old this month” ↗…being able to make an indistinguishable 1:1 copy of your own brain at the exact moment at which you die, voilà immortality. Tad Williams wrote an interesting bit of fiction about exactly this called the Otherland series - well worth a read. Not to mention that simply building such a copy would yield its own set of insights.
on “Ray Kurzweil's Dubious New Theory of Mind” ↗…Player One as the best book of 2012, but it was certainly enjoyable (when I read it in 2011). I prefer This Is Not A Game and Pattern Recognition in this genre; also worth checking out is Tad Williams' Otherland series.
on “Ask HN: Best books you read in 2012” ↗Great read. Love the Oasis, although if you want a more in depth read you should check out the Otherland series. Very long, but great representation of what a fully immersive VR world would be like.
on “How Magic Leap Is Creating an Alternate Reality” ↗What did you like about it? I'd suggest Tad Williams' Otherland, Neal Stephenson's Diamond Age & Snow Crash, and Gibson's Pattern Recognition purely based on subject matter (gamey-cyberpunk-ARG-AI), but none is quite as lighthearted in terms of nodding towards videogame…
on “Ask HN: Sci-Fi novels?” ↗I think the Otherland series by Tad Williams about VR should be definetely be on the list. And ready player one as well.
on “Hard comp-fi reading list” ↗I always confuse Ted William with Tad William. The Otherland novel had a great path to immortality
on “What ever happened to the first cryogenically frozen humans?” ↗Try: 1. Rainbows End, by Vernor Vinge 2. Otherland, by Tad Williams
on “Amazon Sumerian: A way to create VR, AR, and 3D experiences” ↗Turn that to 11; Tad Williams' Otherland is among my favorite reads.
on “Transfusion of brain fluid from young mice improves memory in old mice” ↗…I don't know how this is still relevant with AdBlock though. Or did you mean something more than a community in a website? Somehow I can't help but be reminded of the "walled city" in Tad William's "otherland" books. AfMijn - There are a couple of auction sites that implement short bidding periods. Google just found me bidz.com for example. I think finding a way to verify users as serious in an affordable…
on “My list of ideas, if you're looking for inspiration” ↗What to do for the situation of actively liking a book, but getting bogged down because it's (for example) huge. With a series, you can take a break between installments. I read the first Otherland book several months ago, and I'm just now feeling ready to pick up book 2. What about this situation in the middle of a book? Put it back on the shelf to finish later, or cut your losses and move on?
on “When to Stop Reading a Book” ↗…experience the intense emotions of a person being tortured or killed, without any danger to one's self. There is always another side. I remember seeing this sort of voyeurism explored in Tad Williams' Otherland series.
on “One rat brain 'talks' to another using electronic link” ↗The Tad WIlliams Otherland series deals with these ideas. In the book, the biological original is killed the instant that the copy goes online. Thus there is no me and my twin, there is only me. At the end of the day its my memories…
on “The Importance of Surviving 40 more years” ↗