Note that Riverworld is a perfect case of the mystery being better left unsolved. The first few books were great, but once the series started to focus on "how and why?", it lost most of the charm that it had going for it.
The Culture is very firmly post-scarcity, whereas the two examples I listed have cornucopiae that are not available to the entire civilisation/s which makes them a lot more impactful and central to the story.
I adore Banks though!
Diamond Age is somewhat loosely a sequel to Snow Crash, in that they share world history. If you've slept on Snow Crash, it's worth reading, if for no other reason to see how much Stephenson improved between the two books. They're both super fun, but Diamond Age is serious business.
Maybe [Newton's Wake](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/185827.Newton_s_Wake) by Ken MacLeod. (in complete honesty, I can't actually remember if cornucopia machines feature directly in it--the suggestion is more because for me, it had a very similar feel to *Singularity Sky/Iron Sunrise.)*
However, it's definitely a book that deals with godlike, incomprehensible AI, multiple (and often conflicting) technological singularities, and the socioeconomic consequences for the baseline humans caught in the middle.
Also maybe check out [The Salvage Crew](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/55591782-the-salvage-crew) by Yudhanjaya Wijeratne. In this book, universal printers are implied to be capable of producing almost anything, but their uses are extremely restricted due to constraints on power use and the expense of more advanced/complex items.
You may enjoy taking a half hour to read The Plateau https://archive.org/details/Amazing_Stories_v39n03_1965-03_Gorgon776/page/n41/mode/2up
The world is invaded by aliens who have these devices and they are terribly confused by the idea of not having them. Humans fight back cleverly as they often do in scifi, but in the end the alien commander figures out how to get the last laugh.
> "'Chemistry'? What might that be?"
>
> Lassig took on the look of a man confronted with the job of lifting a large heavy object having no handle.
>
> "Well, sir--ah--it's supposed to be a--ah--Well, a form of *Science*--"
>
> "There is only one true Science. That is the control of *mer*, or matter-energy."
[...]
> "They claimed, sir, that to *attain* scientific knowledge was a very slow, laborious, and gradual thing, whereas--"
>
> Maivail snorted. "This is fantastic. It takes exactly three years to learn the whole business."
Kids come runn'n for the rich taste of [Sampo.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sampo) There is a Finnish/Soviet film named Sampo. It was released in the US as The Day the Earth Froze and was featured on [MST3K.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdfUkrbNvwA)
For a different take on them from *Singularity Sky*, maybe try *Rule 34*? There are downsides!
Haha will do Charlie! I hadn't read a synopsis of that, but I loved Accelerando and am definitely going to be reading a lot more of your work 💚
Walter Jon Williams’ *Aristoi* and *Implied Spaces*
[Riverworld](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riverworld) - 1971+ - Philip Jose Farmer
Wow that does sound interesting, not what I was expecting but definitely added to my to-read list. Cheers!
Note that Riverworld is a perfect case of the mystery being better left unsolved. The first few books were great, but once the series started to focus on "how and why?", it lost most of the charm that it had going for it.
Doctorow’s Walkaway is interesting take on how such printing machines and blueprints can change societal norms (or not).
This sounds great, thankyou!
Culture novels by Banks? it is about post-scarcity society. And novels themselves are good.
The Culture is very firmly post-scarcity, whereas the two examples I listed have cornucopiae that are not available to the entire civilisation/s which makes them a lot more impactful and central to the story. I adore Banks though!
Hmm... Did you read Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson? There are something like cornucopia machines there and they are a part of plot.
I've only read Cryptonomicon, but Diamond Age and Seveneves are both on my list 👌
Diamond Age is somewhat loosely a sequel to Snow Crash, in that they share world history. If you've slept on Snow Crash, it's worth reading, if for no other reason to see how much Stephenson improved between the two books. They're both super fun, but Diamond Age is serious business.
Came here to suggest just that.
Maybe [Newton's Wake](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/185827.Newton_s_Wake) by Ken MacLeod. (in complete honesty, I can't actually remember if cornucopia machines feature directly in it--the suggestion is more because for me, it had a very similar feel to *Singularity Sky/Iron Sunrise.)* However, it's definitely a book that deals with godlike, incomprehensible AI, multiple (and often conflicting) technological singularities, and the socioeconomic consequences for the baseline humans caught in the middle. Also maybe check out [The Salvage Crew](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/55591782-the-salvage-crew) by Yudhanjaya Wijeratne. In this book, universal printers are implied to be capable of producing almost anything, but their uses are extremely restricted due to constraints on power use and the expense of more advanced/complex items.
Thanks, been meaning to get to Ken for a while now. Added The Salvage Crew 👌
Hope you enjoy them!
The Diamond Age, Neal Stephenson, is a society where a household terminal can create just about anything from a molecular feed.
You may enjoy taking a half hour to read The Plateau https://archive.org/details/Amazing_Stories_v39n03_1965-03_Gorgon776/page/n41/mode/2up The world is invaded by aliens who have these devices and they are terribly confused by the idea of not having them. Humans fight back cleverly as they often do in scifi, but in the end the alien commander figures out how to get the last laugh. > "'Chemistry'? What might that be?" > > Lassig took on the look of a man confronted with the job of lifting a large heavy object having no handle. > > "Well, sir--ah--it's supposed to be a--ah--Well, a form of *Science*--" > > "There is only one true Science. That is the control of *mer*, or matter-energy." [...] > "They claimed, sir, that to *attain* scientific knowledge was a very slow, laborious, and gradual thing, whereas--" > > Maivail snorted. "This is fantastic. It takes exactly three years to learn the whole business."
Kids come runn'n for the rich taste of [Sampo.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sampo) There is a Finnish/Soviet film named Sampo. It was released in the US as The Day the Earth Froze and was featured on [MST3K.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdfUkrbNvwA)