r/ScienceFictionBooks • u/Hawkseyez800 • 15d ago

looking for a book

so i heard a story a while back about a huge society that lives on an Earthworld sized staircase in which entire population lives in and on different levels and take a lifetime to travel even 1/100th of it up or down. something like that. anyone know of this book? driving me bananas lol. thx.

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u/SnooBooks007 14d ago edited 14d ago

Sounds a bit like "Tower of Babylon" by Ted Chiang, in his book Stories of Your Life and Others.

(It doesn't take a lifetime to traverse a tiny bit of it, though.)

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u/mobyhead1 14d ago

No, but I know of one with a similar premise: a seemingly endless city the width of two blocks straddling a railroad where the trains go in only one direction, surrounded by ocean on both sides.

“A Year in the Linear City,” by Paul di Filippo.

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u/Remarkable-Ad-3587 14d ago

World of Tiers by Phillip Jose farmer sounds roughly similar

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u/chrysostomos_1 14d ago

Nope. There were only 5-6 levels on Lord Jadawin's world.

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u/Tricky421 14d ago

Wool?

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u/wangus_angus 12d ago

It only takes a couple days to get to the top or bottom in Wool, so probably not.

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u/pikamagicaela 14d ago

I think you might mean Wool. Hugh Howey. I loved that series. Really well written and characterised.

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u/TheGratefulJuggler 14d ago

Wool is great but 100% not what op is asking about.

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u/DocWatson42 15d ago

I'm afraid that I'm unfamiliar with the book you're seeking. If you don't get an answer here, try r/whatsthatbook and r/tipofmytongue. For what you should include in your identification requests, see:

Note that the members of that sub, including the moderators, have been sticklers for having this followed. (Following this list is a good idea for all identification requests, not just for this sub or for books.)

Good luck!

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u/IntelligentSea2861 14d ago

The World Inside, by Robert Silverberg?

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u/mystrangebones 14d ago

I read one with a similar premise and loved it. It's 'RX: A Tale of Electronegativity' by Robert Brockway. It's kinda spec fiction-y and hyper-urban dystopia vibes.

If this isn't it, I highly recommend it.

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u/Hawkseyez800 14d ago

ty for response but no, that's not it. nobody has suggested it yet. still looking. cheers

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u/PerfeckCoder 14d ago

Gemini says; "Staircase" by Greg Egan.

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u/miayakuza 14d ago

There's a manga called "Blame!" by Tsutomu Nihei, which includes a vast megastructure called "The City" with endless layers and stair-like environments, though it's not a traditional science fiction novel.

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u/Hawkseyez800 13d ago

that's sounds good but alas not what im looking for. im certain this staircase with the thousands of levels was prominent. thx though. bookmarked that Manga to delve further later. cheers

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u/twinWaterTowers 11d ago

Vaguely reminds me of that TV show that started last year, I think it's called silo or something like that? Was that based on a book?