Science fiction · Similar reads
Books like Cryptonomicon
The best books like Cryptonomicon are The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography, Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution, and The Making of the Atomic Bomb. Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson is about cryptography and secrecy, war and its aftermath, technology and capitalism. If that's what drew you in, here are 12 books that share its DNA — each summarized on Superbook, and ready to chat with in the app.
- The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography
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The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography
Simon Singh · Science
Simon Singh's The Code Book traces the history of cryptography from Caesar's cipher through the breaking of Enigma to the mathematics of public-key encryption and the looming possibility of quantum cryptography.
A kindred science fiction read.
Read the summary → - Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution
02
Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution
Steven Levy · Science
Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution is Steven Levy's account of the community of computer enthusiasts who drove the digital revolution from the late 1950s through the early 1980s — the original hackers of MIT's Tech Model Railroad Club and later AI lab, the hardware hackers of the Bay Area Homebrew Computer Club, and the software entrepreneurs who built the early PC industry.
A kindred science fiction read.
Read the summary → - The Making of the Atomic Bomb
03
Richard Rhodes · History
Richard Rhodes spent years researching the scientific and political story behind the Manhattan Project, and the result is a work of narrative history that refuses to treat the bomb as either a triumph or a horror to be judged from a comfortable distance.
A kindred science fiction read.
Read the summary → - Homage to Catalonia
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George Orwell · Memoir
Homage to Catalonia is George Orwell's firsthand account of fighting in the Spanish Civil War, which he joined in late 1936 as a volunteer with the POUM militia — a Trotskyist revolutionary organization that was later suppressed by the Soviet-backed Stalinist wing of the Republican forces.
A kindred science fiction read.
Read the summary → - Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies
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Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies
Nick Bostrom · Science
Superintelligence is Oxford philosopher Nick Bostrom's systematic analysis of what might happen if artificial intelligence systems become more capable than humans — and why that transition might represent one of the most significant risks in human history.
A kindred science fiction read.
Read the summary → - 2001: A Space Odyssey
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Arthur C. Clarke · Science fiction
2001: A Space Odyssey begins with prehistoric man-apes encountering a featureless black monolith that somehow catalyzes their cognitive leap from prey to hunter.
A kindred science fiction read.
Read the summary → - A Fire Upon the Deep
07
Vernor Vinge · Science fiction
The galaxy in A Fire Upon the Deep is zoned by the speed of thought: near the galactic core, the Slowness, where intelligence itself is limited; farther out, the Unthinking Depths; and further still, the Transcend, where entities of incomprehensible intelligence emerge and occasionally intervene in the affairs of the merely civilized.
A kindred science fiction read.
Read the summary → - A Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet
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A Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet
Becky Chambers · Science fiction
Rosemary Harper boards the Wayfarer under a false identity, hoping to escape a family history she cannot speak about.
A kindred science fiction read.
Read the summary → - A Memory Called Empire
09
Arkady Martine · Science fiction
Mahit Dzmare, ambassador from a small, semi-independent mining station to the vast Teixcalaanli Empire, arrives at the capital to find her predecessor has died under suspicious circumstances and the neural implant that was supposed to give her access to his memories and knowledge is three years out of date.
A kindred science fiction read.
Read the summary → - All Systems Red
10
Martha Wells · Science fiction
Murderbot is a SecUnit — part robot, part cloned human tissue — that has hacked its own governor module and is technically free, though it has chosen not to tell anyone.
A kindred science fiction read.
Read the summary → - Annihilation
11
Jeff VanderMeer · Science fiction
A team of four unnamed women — the biologist, the anthropologist, the surveyor, and the psychologist — enter Area X, a forbidden coastal wilderness where something has gone wrong for decades.
A kindred science fiction read.
Read the summary → - Blindsight
12
Peter Watts · Science fiction
Blindsight follows a crew of post-human specialists sent to intercept an alien object at the edge of the solar system in 2082.
A kindred science fiction read.
Read the summary →
Books like Cryptonomicon: quick answers
What are the best books like Cryptonomicon?
The best books like Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson are The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography by Simon Singh, Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution by Steven Levy, The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes, Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell, Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies by Nick Bostrom, plus 7 more below. Each was chosen for themes it shares with Cryptonomicon, such as cryptography and secrecy, war and its aftermath, technology and capitalism.
What should I read after Cryptonomicon?
A natural next read after Cryptonomicon is The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography by Simon Singh. A kindred science fiction read. Other strong choices are Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution by Steven Levy, The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes, Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell.
What books are similar to Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson?
Cryptonomicon centers on cryptography and secrecy, war and its aftermath, technology and capitalism. Books with a similar feel include The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography by Simon Singh, Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution by Steven Levy, The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes, Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell, Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies by Nick Bostrom, 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke — all free to read and chat with on Superbook.
