Nanotechnology in Science Fiction Bibliography Version 2.0 December 07, 1995 anthony@lexis-nexis.com http://www.erinet.com/prass/nanowars/ninsf/n_in_sf.html This is primarily a list of Science Fiction novels & short stories that are nanotech related. I have not read everything on this list. Additions and corrections should be sent to the N-SF mailing list at . Thanks to all who have contributed to this bibliography. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Rating of nanotech content (not implying good/bad) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Four stars **** nanotech is the center of the story Three stars *** nanotech is a major component of the story Two stars ** nanotech is a minor component of the story Nanotech may be explicitly or implicitly stated, or be called by different names. People who have read one of the non-fiction books listed below should have a feel for the general definition of molecular nanotechnology. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Non-Fiction books on nanotechnology ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 1986 Engines of Creation K. Eric Drexler 1991 Unbounding the Future K. Eric Drexler, et al. 1992 Nanosystems - Molecular Machinery, Manufacturing, and Computation K. Eric Drexler _Further_information_ can be obtained from the sci.nanotech homepage located at URL or Sean Morgan's page at ----------------------------------------------------------------------- T H E - L I S T ----------------------------------------------------------------------- "Science fiction writers foresee the inevitable, and although problems and catastrophes may be inevitable, solutions are not." Isaac Asimov (1920-92) Code (default is Novel) ---------------------------- * in column-one indicates new or modified. (C) collection, anthology (N) novella, novelette *(M) magazine, pulp (F) fantasy (b) biotech pathway - organic molecules, "wet" environment. (mm) molecular manufacturing - machine phase, "dry" environment, indicates the work shows detailed portrayal of nanoengineering. (si) Singularity (gg) Gray Goo *(uf) Utility Fog *(cr) Cryonics (h-yy) Hugo award winner - year (n-yy) Nebula award winner - year ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Author Title Date,Code,Rating ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Anderson K. & Beason D. Assemblers of Infinity 1993 4 Anderson, Poul Boat of a Million Years, The 1989 2.4 Anderson, Poul Harvest of Stars 1993 3 Anderson, Poul Stars are Also Fire, The 1994 Banks, Iain M. Feersum Endjinn 1994 3 Barnes, John Kaleidoscope Century 1995 *Barnes, John Mother of Storms 1994 2 Baxter, Stephen Ring 1994 2 Baxter, Stephen Timelike Infinity 1993 2 Bear, Greg Anvil of Stars 1992 3 Bear, Greg Blood Music 1985 (b) 3.5 Bear, Greg Forge of God, The 1987 3 Bear, Greg Heads 1990 2 Bear, Greg Moving Mars 1993 (n94) 2 Bear, Greg Queen of Angels 1990 3 Benford, Gregory Furious Gulf 1994 2 Benford, Gregory Great Sky River 1987 2 Benford, Gregory Sailing Bright Eternity 1995 2 Benford, Gregory Tides of Light 1989 2 Bishop, Michael Secret Ascension, The 1987 2 Bova, Ben Voyagers 3: Star Brothers 1990 3.5 Brenner, Mayer Alan Spell of Apocalypse 1994 (F) Brin, David Earth 1990 2 Brunner, John Maze of Stars, A 1991 3 Bull, Emma Falcon 1989 2 Calder, Richard Dead Boys 1995 Calder, Richard Dead Girls 1995 Carver, Jeffrey From a Changeling Star 1988 2 Carver, Jeffrey Down the Stream of Stars 1990 2 Clarke, Arthur C. Hammer of God, The 1993 2 Egan, Greg Quarantine 1992 3.5 Elliott, Elton (Editor) Nanodreams 1995 (C) 4 Feeley, Gregory Oxygen Barons, The 1990 3 Flynn, Michael Nanotech Chronicles, The 1991 (C) 4 Frankowski, Leo Copernick's Rebellion 1987 (b) 3.5 Gibson, William Mona Lisa Overdrive 1988 1.9 Gibson, William Virtual Light 1993 2 *Goonan, Kathleen Ann Bones of Time, The 1995 Goonan, Kathleen Ann Queen City Jazz 1994 4 Harrison H. & Minsky M. Turing Option, The 1992 2.5 Jennings, Phillip C. Bug Life Chronicles 1989 3 Keith, William H. Warstrider 1993 3.5 Keith, William H. Warstrider: Rebellion 1993 3.5 Keith, William H. Warstrider: Jackers 1994 3.5 Kilian, Crawford Gryphon 1989 3 Kress, Nancy Beggars and Choosers 1994 Kube-McDowell,Michael P. Exile 1992 2 McAuley, Paul J. Fairyland 1995 3.5 McAuley, Paul J. Red Dust 1994 McDonald, Ian Terminal Cafe 1994 Nagata, Linda Bohr Maker, The 1995 4 *Nagata, Linda Tech Heaven 1995 (cr) 4 Noon, Jeff Pollen 1995 Noon, Jeff Vurt 1993 Preuss, Paul Human Error 1985 (b) 3.5 Robinson, Kim Stanley Green Mars 1994 (h94) 2 Robinson, Kim Stanley Red Mars 1992 (n93) 2 Robinson, Spider/Jeanne Starmind 1995 Ryman,Geoff Child Garden, The 1990 *Sawyer, Robert J. Foreigner 1994 2 *Sawyer, Robert J. The Terminal Experiment 1995 2.5 Smith, L. Neil Venus Belt, The 1980 3 Stephenson, Neal Diamond Age, The 1995 (mm) 4 Swanwick, Michael Stations of the Tide 1991 (n91) 2.7 Varley, John Steel Beach 1992 2.8 Vinge, Joan Snow Queen, The 1980 (h81) 2.5 Vinge, Joan Summer Queen, The 1991 2.5 Vinge, Vernor Fire Upon the Deep, A 1992 (h93) 3 Vinge, Vernor Marooned in Realtime 1986 (si) 2 Vinge, Vernor Peace War, The 1984 2.2 *Watson, Ian Nanoware Time 1991 Williams, Walter Jon Aristoi 1992 (mm) 4 Wilson, Robert Charles Bridge of Years, A 1991 2 Wilson, Robert Charles Harvest, The 1993 3.2 Zindell, David Neverness 1988 2 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Honorable Mention (predates modern nanotech concepts) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 1941 ...... Microcosmic God ............... Theodore Sturgeon 1942 ...... Waldo ......................... Robert A. Heinlein 1952 ...... Surface Tension ............... James Blish 1954 ...... Autofac ....................... Philip K. Dick 1966 ...... The Mechanic .................. Hal Clement 1970 ...... Dancer at the End of Time ..... Michael Moorcock 1978 ...... Sight of Proteus .............. Charles Sheffield ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Short Stories or Serials - These are loose items that appear in magazines, collections, etc, amidst other non-nano related works of fiction. YBSF = Years Best Science Fiction ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Burns, Stephen L. Down Under Crater Billy 1995 3 (M) Analog, January *Di Filippo, Paul Up the Lazy River 1993 4 (M) Science Fiction Age, September Feeley, Gregory Mind's Place, The 1993 2.9 (C) Full Spectrum 4 Johnson, Todd Legacy 1994 3 (C) Bolos Book 2 Kress, Nancy Margin of Error 1995 ? (C) YBSF #12 Niven, Larry Procrustes 1994 3.5 (C) Crashlander Stiegler, Marc The Gentle Seduction 4 (C) in collection of same name Sterling, Bruce The Shores of Bohemia 1992 4 (C) Globalhead Swanwick, Michael Griffin's Egg 1993 2.5 (C) YBSF #10 Tonnies, Mac Alchemist's Planet 1995 (C) Illumined Black ----------------------------------------------------------------------- NanoWars, by Anthony S. Napier I would appreciate comments via email. Thanks! ----------------------------------------------------------------------- NanoWars Chapter 1: Breakthrough 1994 4 "The year is 2020, and mankind's advancement of technology continues. In fact, it has reached the ignition point!" available from: (Please note the new URL) http://www.erinet.com/prass/nanowars/nw.html (view on www) ftp will be available from Nanothinc soon. *************************************************************** *** N E W, N E W, N E W, N E W, N E W, N E W *** *************************************************************** *** N A N O W A R S T W O I S H E R E ! ! ! ! ! ! ! *** *************************************************************** *NanoWars Chapter 2: Propagation 1995 4 "Machine fights machine. Do men even matter?" available from: http://www.erinet.com/prass/nanowars/nw.html (view on www) ftp will be available from Nanothinc soon. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Comic Books - Paper ----------------------------------------------------------------------- *Milestone Comics Hardware ? Milestone Comics Xombi 3 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Electronic Text on the Internet ----------------------------------------------------------------------- *Axioms 2 by Paul Hsieh http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~diana/objectivism/hsieh/axioms.html *Dead Reckoning (gg) 4 by Anthony S. Napier http://www.erinet.com/prass/nanowars/story/story2.html The Quiet Revolution 4 by Anthony S. Napier http://www.erinet.com/prass/nanowars/story/story1.html The Journal Entries of Kennet Shardik 2 Post-industrial revolution (mm,gg) 4 by Paul Vader http://www.mcs.net/~pv/web/stories/postind.html *Notes from the G.O.D. (uf) 4 by Jeff Van Oflen http://erie.csis.gvsu.edu/~vanoflej/NanoTech/TheBook.html *ISHMAEL by Daniel Quinn A reference in a news posting stated: The novel is available only on computer disk, but all who buy it may add comments, copy and distribute the disk. {Unknown if this is posted on the net or where it is available} ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Motion Picture ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Deep Red 1994 MCA/Universal, 85 minutes. Michael Biehn, Joanna Pacula, John DeLancie. Science fiction: A young girl whose blood conveys immortality, due to an encounter with extraterrestrials, is hunted by a ruthless scientist... (Rating: 4) Terminator 2: Judgment Day 1991 139 minutes. Although the "n" word is not used, general consensus is that nanotechnology is the only realistic way the T-1000 could be implemented. James Cameron should take note of this when doing T3. (Rating: 2.5) VIRTUOSITY 1995 Paramount Pictures, 97 minutes. Russell Crowe, Denzel Washington With (silicon-based) nano, VR takes a physical form. (Rating: 3.5) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Television ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Babylon 5 pilot (mentioned at end of show) Star Trek TNG The "nanite" episode, Evolution. Brief mention in various other episodes. Same for DS9, etc... The (new) Outer Limits - No info on episode title. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Some games that reference nanotech... ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Cybergeneration RPG board game SimEarth Commercial Software, PC, MAC Outpost Commercial Software, PC ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Rumored to be coming soon... ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Blue Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson, est. pub date 4-96 Another Iain M. Banks "Culture" novel. est. summer 1996 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Relevant Internet Resources... ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Internet/WWW Access of this List The N-IN-SF Home Page http://www.erinet.com/prass/nanowars/ninsf/n_in_sf.html Forsight Update comments on "NanoTek" http://nanotech.rutgers.edu/nanotech/papers/update8.html#TechnologyFiction SF Book Review WWW page http://varg.lysator.liu.se/sf_archive/sf-texts/books/ Internet Movie Database http://www.msstate.edu/Movies/ Book Catalog with one million titles http://www.amazon.com/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- M A I L I N G - L I S T - I N F O R M A T I O N ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Nanotechnology in Science Fiction (N-SF) This is a forum to discuss any work of fiction that has portrayed nanotechnology in some way. N-SF is an unmoderated list. The hypertext archive of the mailing list can be found on the world wide web at . This bibliography (you are reading) can be used as a starting point for discussion. "Engines of Creation" by K. Eric Drexler will be used as the baseline definition of molecular nanotechnology (MNT). To subscribe, send a message with "subscribe n-sf " in the body (the subject line is ignored) to the computerized administrator . If you ever wish to unsubscribe from N-SF, send an email to with "unsubscribe n-sf" in the body (other commands available by asking for "help"). Please save this message as a reference. To send mail to the group write to . ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Nanothinc Book Reviews Wanted ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Nanothinc would like to acquire reviews of any material on this list. If you are interested in submitting reviews to Nanothinc, you may send them to . It would be cool if you CC'ed the N-SF mailing list as well. Thanks. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Foreign Language Section (non-English) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [Foreign language entries are OK *if* you send me the text to be included _verbatim_. An English translation of the title would be nice. Note that this list is represented in standard 7-bit (128 character) ASCII. -ASN] ============================================ ++ Danish ++ ============================================ "Den perfekte verden" (The perfect world) "Udkig" (Outlook) no. 3, 1985 Arne Herlov Petersen "N{ste kasse til Singapore" (Next box to Singapore) "Udkig" no. 4, 1988 Arne Herlov Petersen "Haabet er groent" (Hope is green) collection, 1991 Arne Herlov Petersen ============================================ ++ Lem, Stanislaw 1921-, Polish writer. ++ ============================================ Can someone please clarify which of his books have been translated into English, and, if the subject matter is plain biology, micro machine or "nano a la Drexler". One book that has been mentioned is Peace on Earth, English version C1994. * From OWL_MIRROR@news2.delphi.com Wed Jul 19 21:49:04 1995 Date: Thu, 20 Jul 1995 01:21:56 GMT Many of Stanislaw Lem's works have been translated into English. Notable for their nanotech content, although both predate EoC, are Fiasco and One Human Minute. Also worthwhile are Imaginary Magnitude (for its treatment of AI) and The STar Diaries (for its treatment of sociobiological effects of advanced technology). Jay Dugger Owl_Mirror@delphi.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Document History ----------------------------------------------------------------------- V 2.0 Dec 07, 1995 V 1.9 Sep 21, 1995 V 1.8 Aug 07, 1995 V 1.7 Jun 22, 1995 V 1.6 May 10, 1995 V 1.5 Jan 26, 1995 V 1.4 Dec 01, 1994 V 1.3 Oct 28, 1994 V 1.2 Oct 04, 1994 V 1.1 Aug 22, 1994 V 1.0 Jul 12, 1994 - -$- *-------------------------------------------------------------------* | Anthony S. Napier LEXIS-NEXIS, A division of Reed Elsevier Inc. | | Dayton, Ohio EMAIL: anthony@lexis-nexis.com FAX: (513)865-6808 | | VOICE:(513)865-1864 WWW: http://www-dev.lexis-nexis.com/~anthony | | "The best way to predict the future is to invent it." -Alan Kay | *-------------------------------------------------------------------*