Empire of the Sun
Empire of the Sun by J.G. Ballardby J.G. Ballard
Shares rank 40 of 122 novels by recommenders
Recommended as a favorite novel by J.G. Ballard, with several readers calling it very good and placing it alongside his other well-loved books.
Recommended as a favorite novel by J.G. Ballard, with several readers calling it very good and placing it alongside his other well-loved books.
5 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Loved by many recommenders
“Hell I LOVE The Midnight, Com Truise, Essenger, Empire of the Sun”
Comment from 6 Nov 2025 in “I analyzed the lineups at the most popular nightclubs” “Loved High rise, Concrete island, Empire of the sun.”
Comment from 22 Apr 2026 in “The Illuminated Man: an unconventional portrait of JG Ballard” “considered it one of my favorites”
Comment from 2 Dec 2025 in “Tom Stoppard has died” Praised as very good
“"the wind from nowhere" and "empire of the sun are very good"”
Comment from 23 Apr 2026 in “The Illuminated Man: an unconventional portrait of JG Ballard” Ranked with Ballard's other favorites
“Loved High rise, Concrete island, Empire of the sun.”
Comment from 22 Apr 2026 in “The Illuminated Man: an unconventional portrait of JG Ballard” “considered it one of my favorites”
Comment from 2 Dec 2025 in “Tom Stoppard has died”
Other novels people recommend
The four most recommended other novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crime and Punishmentby Fyodor Dostoevsky | 39 | 9 | 81% | 6 | — | Approved |
| The Brothers Karamazovby Fyodor Dostoevsky | 28 | 8 | 78% | 5 | — | Approved |
| Infinite Jestby David Foster Wallace | 26 | 5 | 84% | 9 | 10 yrs6 owners | Approved |
| The Great Gatsbyby F. Scott Fitzgerald | 24 | 9 | 73% | 6 | — | Approved |
| Empire of the Sunby J.G. BallardThis page | 5 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
4 of the 5 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“"the wind from nowhere" and "empire of the sun are very good"”
“Loved High rise, Concrete island, Empire of the sun.”
“considered it one of my favorites”
“Hell I LOVE The Midnight, Com Truise, Essenger, Empire of the Sun”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.