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Death and the Gorgon - Greg Egan
(asimovs.com)
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this post was submitted on 13 May 2025
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SneerClub
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Hurling ordure at the TREACLES, especially those closely related to LessWrong.
AI-Industrial-Complex grift is fine as long as it sufficiently relates to the AI doom from the TREACLES. (Though TechTakes may be more suitable.)
This is sneer club, not debate club. Unless it's amusing debate.
[Especially don't debate the race scientists, if any sneak in - we ban and delete them as unsuitable for the server.]
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I've avoided reading Greg Egan until like last year because I entirely expected him to be a cold stemlord shithead and people only talk about his earlier books that have more to do with consciousness and identity and stuff, which these days feels very zzzzz, but he is SO COOL and SO FUN!!! He cares in a deep way about people, lived experience, about societies, he loves physics and maths in themselves because they're beautiful and fun and not because they're ways to look smart or reveal the secrets of the universe, his books are very beautiful. Complete opposite of Yud, Scott, nostalgebraist (I have a grudge) et al.'s silly books.
@Amoeba_Girl @Soyweiser What book(s) of his would you recommend as starters, for those who have not read him?
Sorry I don't think I actually have read anything from him apart from this story (at least not recently/logged) so I don't know, heard a lot about permutation city, but that might be a harder read now esp if you are on the sneerclub side. (I'd assume that even then I would enjoy it, even if I eyeroll heavily (for example recently read and enjoyed Fallen Dragon by Peter F. Hamilton despite the very everybody except the main char is a strawman feeling, also really enjoyed looking at goodreads and seeing a negative review of someone who had missed the point so far they hit Andromeda). But I also enjoyed reading the horus heresy, so there is that). But yes, im also keeping notes on what to look into here.
@Soyweiser I just noticed a day or so ago, after I got involved in this thread, that I have Permutation City in my To Read in #TheStoryGraph, so maybe that's where I'll dive in. I have finally shed my reluctance to quit books I don't care for, so if it doesn't work out, I'll just move on and try another if his
I also added his name to a 'to read' list when he was brought up on reddit before our exodus, but simply had not come to it. Other things drew my attention more. (like the murderbot series for example).
Permutation city is great. Turns a sudden 90 degrees halfway through and you realize it wasn't the book you thought it was. I loved Diaspora, Dichronauts, Schild's Ladder, most short story collections. Not a fan of Quarantine.
Thanks!
The Orthogonal trilogy is really really great, very imaginative exploration of a wild concept, and shockingly sharp sexual politics for a male author!
He has a lot of excerpts and some full stories on his website, so one way to start might be browsing there.
https://www.gregegan.net/
I think my favorite novels of his that I've read were Zendegi and Incandescence.
I thought Dichrononauts was batshit-fun world building and I enjoyed The Four Thousand, the Eight Hundred.
@blakestacey @5teverin0
I'll second Zendegi as a great place to start. Also really liked the Orthogonal trilogy.
@5teverin0 @Amoeba_Girl @Soyweiser
First thing I read from him was the short story collection "Luminous" and I still think that's a great entrypoint because it touches on many of his subjects.
I didn't read his more recent works though.
I had the Dark Integers story collection, but I lent it to a colleague and they haven't given it back.