2003 - Fiction & Literature Read by Me
Explore a curated list of the best 2003 fiction and literature books read by me. Discover top novels, must-reads, and hidden gems from 2003's literary scene.
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Metaplanetary
by Tony Daniel
The human race has extended itself into the far reaches of our solar system -- and, in doing so, has developed into something remarkable. The inner system of the Met -- with its worlds connected by a vast living network of cables -- is supported by the repression and enslavement of humanity's progeny, nanotechnological artificial intelligences whom the tyrant Amés has declared non-human. But the longing for freedom cannot be denied. And now a line has been drawn at Neptune's moon Triton, where those who oppose Ame's and hisfearsome minions await the foretold return of a mysterious man of destiny and doom who has vanished into the backwater of the Met. But resistance will only ensure the unspeakable onslaught of the dictator's wrath -- a rage that will soon ravage the solar system and plunge all of humankind into the fury of total war.
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Cryptonomicon
by Neal Stephenson
With this extraordinary first volume in what promises to be an epoch-making masterpiece, Neal Stephenson hacks into the secret histories of nations and the private obsessions of men, decrypting with dazzling virtuosity the forces that shaped this century. In 1942, Lawrence Pritchard Waterhouse - mathematical genius and young Captain in the U.S. Navy - is assigned to detachment 2702. It is an outfit so secret that only a handful of people know it exists, and some of those people have names like Churchill and Roosevelt. The mission of Watrehouse and Detatchment 2702-commanded by Marine Raider Bobby Shaftoe-is to keep the Nazis ignorant of the fact that Allied Intelligence has cracked the enemy's fabled Enigma code. It is a game, a cryptographic chess match between Waterhouse and his German counterpart, translated into action by the gung-ho Shaftoe and his forces. Fast-forward to the present, where Waterhouse's crypto-hacker grandson, Randy, is attempting to create a "data haven" in Southeast Asia - a place where encrypted data can be stored and exchanged free of repression and scrutiny. As governments and multinationals attack the endeavor, Randy joins forces with Shaftoe's tough-as-nails grandaughter, Amy, to secretly salvage a sunken Nazi sumarine that holds the key to keeping the dream of a data haven afloat. But soon their scheme brings to light a massive conspiracy with its roots in Detachment 2702 linked to an unbreakable Nazi code called Arethusa. And it will represent the path to unimaginable riches and a future of personal and digital liberty...or to universal totalitarianism reborn. A breathtaking tour de force, and Neal Stephenson's most accomplished and affecting work to date, CRYPTONOMICON is profound and prophetic, hypnotic and hyper-driven, as it leaps forward and back between World War II and the World Wide Web, hinting all the while at a dark day-after-tomorrow. It is a work of great art, thought, and creative daring; the product of a truly icon
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2061: Odyssey Three
by Arthur C. Clarke
Arthur C. Clarke’s 2061: Odyssey Three is truly a masterful elaboration on one man’s epic vision of the universe. Only rarely does a novelist weave a tapestry so compelling that it captures the imagination of the entire world. But that is precisely what Arthur C. Clarke accomplished with 2001: A Space Odyssey. It is even more unusual that an author is able to complement so well-received an invention with an equally successful sequel. But Arthur C. Clarke’s 2010: Odyssey Two enthralled a huge audience worldwide. Now, in 2061: Odyssey Three, Arthur C. Clarke revisits the most famous future ever imagined, as two expeditions into space are inextricably tangled by human necessity and the immutable laws of physics. And Heywood Floyd, survivor of two previous encounters with the mysterious monoliths, must once again confront Dave Bowman—or whatever Bowman has become—a newly independent HAL, and the power of an alien race that has decided Mankind is to play a part in the evolution of the galaxy whether it wishes to or not.
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3001 The Final Odyssey
by Arthur C. Clarke
A Main Selection of the Science Fiction Book Club® Selected by the Literary Guild® and Doubleday Book Club® “3001 is not just a page-turner, plugged in to the great icons of HAL and the monoliths, but a book of wisdom too, pithy and provocative.”—New Scientist The body of Frank Poole, lost for a thousand years since the computer HAL caused his death en route to Jupiter, is retrieved, revived—and enhanced. In the most eagerly awaited sequel of all time, the terrifying truth of the Monoliths’ mission is a mystery only Poole can resolve. Praise for 3001 The Final Odyssey “A one man literary Big Bang, Clarke has originated his own vast and teeming futuristic universe.”—Sunday Times “Well-paced and absorbing . . . It is as a flight of fancy by the master of science fiction that 3001 makes its mark.”—The Times “In his exciting new novel, Clarke reveals the ominous answer about the ultimate purpose of the monoliths.”—Daily Telegraph “Serene, uplifting, and icy clear.”—Mail on Sunday “From the moment I picked it up, I couldn’t put it down. 3001 The Final Odyssey is a tour de force that finally answers the questions that sparked the imaginations of an entire generation.”—Buzz Aldrin
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Dune
by Brian Herbert
As Emperor Elrood's son plots a subtle regicide, young Leto Atreides leaves for a year's education on the mechanized world of Ix.
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Dune
by Brian Herbert
A second prequel to "Dune" follows the journeys of Leto Atreides, Baron Harkonnen, Jessica, Gurney Halleck, and Duncan Idaho.
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Dune
by Brian Herbert
Chronicles the origins of the rivalry between Duke Leto and Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, the actions that transformed Duncan Idaho and Gurney Halleck into heroes, the birth of Paul Atreides, and the creation of the tyrannical Padishah Emperor Shaddam Corrino
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Sailing to Utopia
by Michael Moorcock
Four quests for a very different kind of utopiaJourney into our future, where today's most horrific ecological predictions are reality, Yet it is a world in which hardy men and women still live out their wildest dreams.Steering their great vessel over frozen oceans, surviving only by hunting monstrous land whales and seal packs, Arflane and Ulrica live a tale of heroic love and doomed obsession as The Ice Schooner sails for the frozen wastes of fabled New York.Down The Black Corridor. which is at once deep space and a man's psyche, Ryan is trapped aboard a spaceship fleeing from a ruined Earth to the terrifying depths of an interstellar abyss -- and his own most profound fears and fantasies.Max von Bek plunges into the Flux of the timestreams, seeking salvation yet discovering a nightmare.Meanwhile, Jerry Cornelius and his gallant crew set off to unravel the mystery of The Distant Suns."In Moorcock's work there is an absolute morality -- a sanctity of individual lives and minds". -- GQ"Like Tolkien...Moorcock has the ability to create a wholly imaginative world landscaped with vivid and sometimes frightening reality". -- The Times"He changed the field single-handedly. He is a giant". -- Tad Williams
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Kane of Old Mars
by Michael Moorcock
Physicist and swordsman.... On Earth, Michael Kane is a scientist. But after he's transported to an eon-old Mars, he must become a warrior to survive. This is not the Mars we see through a telescope or through the eyes of Sojourner, but one of the past from which the people of Earth may have originated. This ninth volume of the Eternal Champion series collects one of Michael Moorcock's most epic fantasy series -- the story of Kane of Old Mars. The saga begins on the south coast of France, but the adventure leads through space and time.
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The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick: The minority report
by Philip K. Dick
No summary available.
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The Eye of the Sibyl
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A collection of stories by the celebrated science fiction writer includes never-before-published selections as well as the author's standards--``The Little Black Box'' and ``The Pre-Person'' among them. By the author of The Man in the High Castle. Original.
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Supertoys Last All Summer Long
by Brian W. Aldiss
A collection of science fiction tales, including the story of a robot boy who wants nothing more than to be loved by his parents.
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The Epic of Gilgamesh
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N. K. Sandars's landmark translation of one of the first and greatest works of Western literature A Penguin Classic Gilgamesh, King of Uruk, and his companion Enkidu are the only heroes to have survived from the ancient literature of Babylon, immortalized in this epic poem that dates back to the third millennium BC. Together they journey to the Spring of Youth, defeat the Bull of Heaven and slay the monster Humbaba. When Enkidu dies, Gilgamesh’s grief and fear of death are such that they lead him to undertake a quest for eternal life. A timeless tale of morality, tragedy and pure adventure, The Epic of Gilgamesh is a landmark literary exploration of man’s search for immortality. N. K. Sandars’s lucid, accessible translation is prefaced by a detailed introduction that examines the narrative and historical context of the work. In addition, there is a glossary of names and a map of the Ancient Orient. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
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Folktales from India
by A.K. Ramanujan
An enchanting collection of 110 tales, translated from twenty-two different languages, that are by turns harrowing and comic, sardonic and allegorical, mysterious and romantic. Gods disguised as beggars and beasts, animals enacting Machiavellian intrigues, sagacious jesters and magical storytellers, wise counselors and foolish kings—all inhabit a fabular world, yet one that is also firmly grounded in everyday life. Here is an indispensable guide to India's ageless folklore tradition. With black-and-white illustrations throughout Part of the Pantheon Fairy Tale and Folklore Library
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Chinese Fairy Tales and Fantasies
by Moss Roberts
This collection of tales opens up a magical world far from our customary haunts. Ghost stories, romances, fables, and heroic sagas: the forms are familiar, but the characters we meet surprise us at every turn. For those who know and love the tales of the Grimms and Andersen, the universal themes of fairy tale literature emerge in these classic stories, but with a sophistication that is uniquely Chinese and altogether entrancing. With black-and-white drawings throughout Part of the Pantheon Fairy Tale and Folklore Library
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The Pink Fairy Book
by Andrew Lang
A collection of forty-one fairy tales from the folklore of Japan, Scandinavia, Sicily, Africa, and Spain.