# Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon

8 Hacker News commenters recommended Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon and 0 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 4 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Readers recommend it for its vast cosmic scope and philosophical depth. The most common caveat is that it is exhausting to read.

## Why people recommend it

- Vast cosmic scope and philosophical themes (2 comments): "Olaf Stapledon's Star Maker dives deeply into cosmic and philosophical themes" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48303432)) "Incredible scope and I still think about it often." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49452943))
- Lasting impact on readers (2 comments): "Incredible scope and I still think about it often." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49452943)) "It made me crave more "future histories."" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49906558))
- Early ideas later works built on (2 comments): "Dyson spheres were first postulated there" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47807483)) "Similar themes, full novel, even older." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47807367))

## What people warn about

- Exhausting to read (1 comments): "StarMaker is awesome but really exhausting to read." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48162331))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir](https://hackerapproved.com/p/project-hail-mary.md): 117 recommend
- [There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm](https://hackerapproved.com/p/there-is-no-antimemetics-division.md): 98 recommend
- [Blindsight by Peter Watts](https://hackerapproved.com/p/blindsight.md): 96 recommend
- [Dune by Frank Herbert](https://hackerapproved.com/p/dune.md): 82 recommend
- [Accelerando by Charles Stross](https://hackerapproved.com/p/accelerando.md): 71 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/1857988078?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9781857988079) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon", https://hackerapproved.com/p/star-maker/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).