One of my favorite classes in college was called Technology, Society, and Culture. It was a bit of a history class that showed how technology has made an impact on society and culture. This interest in technology’s impact still lingers with me today.

Recently, I’ve been reading books that use modern technology. I’ve been highly impressed by what I’ve found and plan to continue reading these books (usually sci-fi) for awhile. Here’s a sample of what I’ve been reading.

Ender's Game

Ender’s Game has been voted by many on Good Reads as the greatest science fiction book of all time. It has won Hugo and Nebula awards. However, it took me a long time to get into this novel. My wife had taught Ender’s Game to her students when she was teaching Middle School English and didn’t care for it much. There were two strikes against the book before I even knew what it was about.

Since then, I’ve seen Ender’s Game made into a comic book adaptation from Marvel and noticed it on the top of the Sci-Fi list on Good Reads. I felt kinda crummy about not reading the book when I was in middle school, but I’m not stranger to being an adult reading books written for a younger audience. So, I picked up Ender’s Game on my iPad and had a hard time putting it down.

If you haven’t heard of the book, here’s a quick summary. The government trains child geniuses to become the next war heroes with special schools and video games. They are afraid of an alien attack that almost wiped us out many years ago. Ender Wiggin is an exceptional student soldier and must battle his own coming of age while dealing with the hardships of the training and memories of an evil older brother.

I highly recommend reading Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. 5 of 5 Stars | MORE | BUY

The next book on my science fiction journey was another classic that also ranks highly on the aforementioned Good Reads list. It was

Neuromancer

amazing for me to see how much of The Matrix was obviously inspired by William Gibson’s Neuromancer. The novel was the first to win sci-fi’s triple crown (Hugo, Nebula, and Philip K. Dick awards). It was first published in 1984 and coined the term “Cyberspace.” It has also been credited for starting the Cyber-Punk phenomenon.

Neuromancer moved at a slower pace than Ender’s Game, but was very good. It’s hard for me to describe the novel, but most of it revolves around a man named Casey who is a hacker mercenary of sorts who is working on a mysterious project for someone he can’t seem to figure out. The book is intriguing, especially given the date it was written, and I recommend it for anyone who is interested in computers, hacking, or cyber-punk. 4 of 5 Stars | MORE | BUY

Lastly, I’d like to mention the book I’m currently reading. It’s newer than the previous books in this post, but I have a feeling that it will also be considered a classic one day. Daemon has elements of science fiction, horror, and mystery wrapped up in a technological thriller that is right for today’s world of cloud computing and information security issues. I’m really enjoying each night as I return to the story. Unfortunately, there has been a lot of outside influences making me sleepy before I even get around to opening the book, so it has taken me a few weeks to read. Without knowing what happens in the last 1/5 of the book, I’m ready to give Daemon by Daniel Suarez 4 of 5 Stars | MORE | BUY . Basically, this is a book about a game programmer who has created some incredibly dangerous programs to launch upon the notice of his death and hacks society into helping.

It’s interesting for me to see how fiction writers are imagining the future world and how we interact with technology. If you share a similar interest, these books are a great way to indulge in it.

Daemon