# Wizard by John Varley

2 Hacker News commenters recommended Wizard by John Varley and 0 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 2 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** One reader found it pretty good as a standalone book, so it can be read without needing other books first.

## Why people recommend it

- Good as a standalone book (1 comments): "I found it pretty good as a standalone book" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46272567))

## 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/0441900674?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9780441900671) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Wizard by John Varley", https://hackerapproved.com/p/wizard/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).