You’ve probably heard of Facebook’s new company name, “Meta,” by now. But did you know that “Meta” comes from the word metaverse, a term coined by Neal Stephenson in his book Snow Crash? It’s one of the best metaverse books of all time!
What’s more interesting, there are several things Snow Crash predicted that are happening today, and it’s even similar to Meta’s virtual reality.
On top of that, Meta and other tech companies like Epic Games, Microsoft, and Roblox are trying to build similar virtual worlds today. This is what makes books about metaverse so fascinating and entertaining.
In this guide, we’ll list the best fiction and non-fiction metaverse books you’ll surely love. These books have been recommended by Reid Hofman, Larry Page, Brianna Wu, and many others.
Let’s begin.
Top 4 Fiction Metaverse Books
1. Snow Crash – Neal Stephenson (2000)
We just had to start with the Snow Crash. This novel is one of Time’s 100 best English novels. And the book is so original that the author redefines how we look at the world.
The novel takes place when the United States is at war with the Caliphate, a fundamentalist Islamic republic. The story follows Hiro, a brilliant hacker, and pizza delivery guy.
However, in the metaverse, Hiro is a warrior prince on a search and destroy mission, a shadowy virtual villain bent on bringing the infocalypse.
2. Ready Player One – Ernest Cline (2011)
Ready Player One is a fun and exciting novel rich in 80s pop culture references. In the story, Wade Watts spends almost all the time in OASIS, the metaverse.
When the creator of OASIS, James Halliday, dies, Wade determines to solve the puzzles he left behind to inherit Halliday’s fortune.
Ready Player One helps understand why people love Augmented Reality (AR). It also explains why people escape the real world into the virtual world. There’s even a movie made with the same title.
3. Ender’s Game – Orson Scott Card (1985)
After being recruited for intensive training, Ender starts his life’s journey on Earth, full of surprises. Ender thinks he’s only joining a military academy, but it’s instead a Command School.
Command School is a temporary battle training simulation established on Earth. But he becomes exceptionally talented after he trains rapidly. However, after the three-month rigorous training, the cadets wonder what lies ahead?
After all, it’s a military school meant to prepare soldiers for the real world. This is where the story gets interesting.
The distinction between reality and simulation becomes identical in the reader’s mind. And that’s because the military training program candidates undergo to solve numerous military problems is so lifelike and real.
4. Lexicon – Max Barry (2014)
Lexicon is one of the best books about metaverse that portrays how powerful words have our bodies and minds more than we think. In a world where words influence people’s actions and thoughts, it affects how we talk to each other.
The novel dives deep into the true human nature: our desires for privacy and vulnerability. If you’re searching for a book covering how society behaves towards technology, consider Lexicon.
Lexicon shows the power technology has to change people as much as they want to change. It’s undoubtedly one of the best metaverse books you should read.
5 Best Non-Fiction Metaverse Books
5. Charlie Fink’s Metaverse – An AR Enabled Guide to AR & VR
Charlie Fink has over 35 years of experience in technology and entertainment, and he covers VR & AR for Forbes. He believes that AR and VR is the most significant technology and business story of our time.
Together with his collaborators, they’ve created a guide to emerging AR & VR that professionals can engage with. Besides that, non-technical readers can understand the book, and it’s pretty entertaining to everyone.
The book comes with original character animation, presented via Fink Metaverse, which you can download from Google Play Store and App Store. It’s one of the best books about metaverse, which helps you understand immersive computing.
6. Learning in Metaverses: Co-Existing in Real Virtuality
This book is one of the best metaverse books you should indeed read. In recent years, the potential of metaverse technologies has been shown to enhance teaching and learning.
That creates new opportunities for teaching and learning processes, which virtual environment can impact the achievement of student learning and collaboration. Learning in Metaverses explains a better way to understand the virtual world.
It also explores the possibilities of new social organization, using avatars in the virtual world. The book examines metaverse, Web 3D, alternate reality, AR, ECODI, etc., to evaluate how they can be integrated into education.
The book is ideal for educators, academics, gamers, students, professionals, and researchers.
7. The Metaverse: Prepare Now For the Next Big Thing!
Consider this book if you’re interested in the metaverse but don’t quite understand it. The book helps you get a good headstart about the metaverse, helping you get a firm foundation.
In this practical book, you’ll learn why you should prepare for the new digital renaissance and how to go about it. It also shows you what it means in terms of investments, job opportunities, and new business models.
If you want to become a metaverse business owner, digital investor, voxel architect, or virtual real estate wonder, this book will help you.
8. The Fourth Transformation: How Augmented Reality & Artificial Intelligence Will Change Everything – Robert Scoble & Shel Israel
A few years from now, smartphones will not be the main focus of our digital lives. Instead, it would be gadgets that look like ordinary eyeglasses, just that these glasses will have the option for augmented and virtual reality.
During that time, what you see and what’s generated by the computer would be so identical that you won’t know what’s real. This book is written to serve as a guidebook to the near future for business people. It’s one of the best metaverse books you should read. It will broaden your mind on the metaverse.
9. A Frayed New World: From Science Fiction to Society – Damini Rana
Whenever we hear the word “science fiction,” what comes to mind are aliens, laser guns, unbelievable possibilities, and scenarios.
You can like it or not from a literary perspective, but you can’t ignore its impact on society. It can influence innovations and even shape public policies.
It’s easy to reject science-fiction fantasy and imagination. But we can’t ignore the questions it raises regarding ethics and societal impact.
A good example is Facebook’s metaverse and similar tech giants. These companies have poured billions of dollars into the metaverse. They all claim it is the next big thing. But, of course, the first idea came from science fiction books like Snow Crash.
A Frayed New World takes a deeper approach to some leading science fiction works. The idea is to show the importance of asking relevant questions and making intentional, ethical choices to build our future with science and technology.
Final Thoughts
We hope you enjoyed this guide on the best metaverse books of all time. With the metaverse, you create an avatar and interact with other people in a virtual world. The best metaverse books help you learn about the metaverse, including its history. So go through our list and learn everything you can about the metaverse, both fictional and non-fiction.