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 <n-sf@lucifer.com>.
Thanks to all who have contributed to this bibliography.
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Rating of nanotech content (not implying good/bad)
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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.
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Non-Fiction books on nanotechnology
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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 <http://nanotech.rutgers.edu/nanotech/>
or Sean Morgan's page at <http://www.lucifer.com/~sean/Nano.html/>
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T H E - L I S T
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"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)
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* in column-one indicates new or modified.
(C) collection, anthology
(N) novella, novelette
(M) magazine, pulp
(F) fantasy
(R) reissue, reprint
(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
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Author Title Date,Code,Rating
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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
*Bisson, T. Pirates of the Universe 1996 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 Permutation City 1994 2
Egan, Greg Quarantine 1992 2.5
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 4
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
Keith, William H. Warstrider: Rebellion 1993 3
Keith, William H. Warstrider: Jackers 1994 3
Kilian, Crawford Gryphon 1989 3
Kress, Nancy Beggars and Choosers 1994 4
Kube-McDowell,Michael P. Exile 1992 2
McAuley, Paul J. Fairyland 1995 3.5
McAuley, Paul J. Red Dust 1994
*McCarthy, Wil Murder in the Solid State 1996
McDonald, Ian Terminal Cafe 1994 3
Nagata, Linda Bohr Maker, The 1995 4
Nagata, Linda Tech Heaven 1995 (cr) 4
Noon, Jeff Pollen 1995
Noon, Jeff Vurt 1993
Platt, Charles Protektor 1996
Preuss, Paul Human Error 1985 (b) 3.5
Quinn, Daniel Ishmael 1995 (R)
*Robinson, Kim Stanley Blue Mars 1996
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
Steele, Allen Labyrinth of Night 1992 3.5
Stephenson, Neal Diamond Age, The 1995 (mm) 4
Stirling, S. M. Drakon 1996 2.5
Swanwick, Michael Stations of the Tide 1991 (n91) 2.7
Varley, John Steel Beach 1992 2.8
*Vinge, Joan D. Dreamfall 1996
Vinge, Joan D. Snow Queen, The 1980 (h81) 2.5
Vinge, Joan D. 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
*Wolverton, Dave On My Way To Paradise 1989
Young, Jim Armed Memory 1996
Zindell, David Neverness 1988 2
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Honorable Mention (predates modern nanotech concepts)
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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
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Short Stories or Serials - These are loose items that appear in
magazines, collections, etc, amidst other
non-nano related works.
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Burns, Stephen L.
Down Under Crater Billy
(M) Analog, January 1995
Rating 3
Di Filippo, Paul
Any Major Dude
(C) New Worlds Anthology #1
Rating ?
Di Filippo, Paul
Up the Lazy River
(M) Science Fiction Age, September 1993
Rating 4
Feeley, Gregory
Mind's Place, The
(C) Full Spectrum 4, 1993
Rating 2.9
Johnson, Todd
Legacy
(C) Bolos Book 2, 1994
Rating 3
Kress, Nancy
Margin of Error
(C) The Years Best Science Fiction #12, 1995
Rating ?
Niven, Larry
Procrustes
(C) Crashlander, 1994
Rating 3.5
Stiegler, Marc
The Gentle Seduction
(C) in collection of same name, 1990
Rating 4
Sterling, Bruce
The Shores of Bohemia
(C) Globalhead, 1992
Rating 4
Swanwick, Michael
Griffin's Egg
(C) The Years Best Science Fiction #10, 1993
Rating 2.5
Tonnies, Mac
Alchemist's Planet
(C) Illumined Black, 1995
Rating 3
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NanoWars, Illustrated Science Fiction by Anthony S. Napier
http://www.erinet.com/prass/nanowars/nw.html (ftp now available)
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NanoWars Chapter 1: Breakthrough
1994
Rating 4
"The year is 2020, and mankind's advancement of technology continues.
In fact, it has reached the ignition point!"
NanoWars Chapter 2: Propagation
1995
Rating 4
"Machine fights machine. Do men even matter?"
*Nanothinc is in the process of setting up a NanoWars page at...
http://nanothinc.com/NanoWorld/NanoFun/NanoWars/NanoWars.html
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Comic Books
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*Milestone Comics
Hardware
Rating 2
*Milestone Comics
Xombi (now discontinued)
Rating 2
Valiant Comics
Bloodshot
Rating 3
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Electronic Text on the Internet
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Hsieh, Paul
Axioms
http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~diana/objectivism/hsieh/axioms.html
Rating 2.2
Napier, Anthony S.
Dead Reckoning
http://www.erinet.com/prass/nanowars/story/story2.html
Rating 4 (mm,gg)
Napier, Anthony S.
The Quiet Revolution
http://www.erinet.com/prass/nanowars/story/story1.html
Rating 4
Porter, Mitchell
Outward Bound
http://desire.apana.org.au/~qix/suncorp.html
Rating ?
Vader, Paul
Post-industrial revolution
http://www.mcs.net/~pv/web/stories/postind.html
Rating 4 (mm,gg)
Van Oflen, Jeff
Notes from the G.O.D.
http://erie.csis.gvsu.edu/~vanoflej/NanoTech/TheBook.html
Rating 4 (uf)
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Motion Picture
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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
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Television
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Babylon 5
1993 Pilot Movie "The Gathering"
Briefly mentioned at the end of the pilot.
Gargoyles (Disney Animated Series)
"Walkabout" aired (U.S.) 02/07/96
nanomachines, goo, ai
Journey to Mars
1996 [made for TV movie?]
On Monday, March 25th, CBS ran a prime time movie of the week titled
"Journey to Mars." ...this had to be one of the top 10 worst movies of
all time. To compound the matter, it had a nanotechnology theme:
"Nanotech devices implanted in the landing module pilot/commander --
designed to systematically destroy neurons and synapses in the cortex,
thereby impairing the pilot's memory and ability to land." Very clever
-- HA! Rat poison would have been a lot easier and undeniably more cost
effective. - pwg@nanothinc.com
Outer Limits, The
"The New Breed" aired (U.S.) 07/09/95
Richard Thomas, Peter Outerbridge, Tammy Isbell
A scientist who's trying to find a way to repair damaged cells
develops robots of microscopic size - with which a lab assistant
secretly injects himself in hopes of curing his cancer.
Star Trek
The STTNG "nanite" episode "Evolution" aired (U.S.) 09/23/89
Brief mention in various other STTNG episodes.
Same for DS9, Voyager, etc... Mostly used as background filler.
*X-Files, The
"War of the Coprophages" aired (U.S.) 01/05/96
Extraterrestrial nanotechnology cocroaches anyone?
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Some games that reference nanotech...
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Cybergeneration RPG board game
SimEarth Commercial Software, PC, MAC
Outpost Commercial Software, PC
NetBots Networked X11 game available on the net
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Rumored to be coming soon...
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Another Iain M. Banks "Culture" novel, titled _Excession_. JUNE 1996
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Relevant Internet Resources...
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Internet/WWW Access of this List
The N-SF Home Page
http://www.erinet.com/prass/nanowars/ninsf/n_in_sf.html
*A form of this list is also maintained at nanothinc.com
http://nanothinc.com/NanoWorld/scifi/tnscifi.html
Forsight Update comments on "NanoTek"
http://nanotech.rutgers.edu/nanotech/papers/update8.html#TechnologyFiction
*Internet Movie Database
http://us.imdb.com/ (please note url change)
Book Catalog with one million titles
http://www.amazon.com/
*Rebuttal to Scientific American April 1996 Nanotech Story
and continuing debate...
http://www.foresight.org/SciAmOverview.html
*HarperCollins Voyager Science Fiction Site
http://www.harpercollins.co.uk/voyager
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M A I L I N G - L I S T - I N F O R M A T I O N
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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 <http://maxwell.lucifer.com/n-sf/archive/>.
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).
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Nanothinc <http://nanothinc.com/> Book Reviews Wanted
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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 <tess@nanothinc.com>. It would be cool if you CC'ed the
N-SF mailing list <n-sf@lucifer.com> as well. Thanks.
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Foreign Language Section (non-English)
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[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
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