this post was submitted on 23 Dec 2023
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Science Fiction

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Lemmy World Rules

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Book recommendations that play with what it means to be a book (lemmynsfw.com)
submitted 11 months ago by Worx@lemmynsfw.com to c/sciencefiction@lemmy.world
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I really love sci-fi novels and I read a lot of books. I read 2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson a while back and that book is particularly interesting to me. Rather than each chapter advancing the narrative of the story, there were occasional breaks where a chapter would have a list of semi-random words which just gave the vibe of what's happening, or some history of a scene, or a recipe for how to build an asteroid.

There's another book that I have heard of but neglected to write the name down, where the reader of the book is a character within the book, and the narrator speaks directly to you (but not a choose-your-adventure style book).

All of this got me interested in finding other books, preferably sci-fi or maybe fantasy, where the concept of being a book is played with and new ideas are tried. Any recommendations?

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[–] BustinJiber@lemmy.world 4 points 11 months ago

Of course Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes cannot be overlooked in terms of experimental writing.

There is a novel that will eternally be on my mind to wonder if it was drivel or I was not smart enough for it - The Troika by Stepan Chapman. It has some of the greatest imagination ever and you will probably not understand what is going on at all. Just find the description and decide if it's nonsense or worth it.