If you loved the intricate simulations and detailed extrapolations of digital consciousness in Permutation City, you'll be fascinated by Diaspora. Egan pushes hard science fiction to its limits, following post-human minds like Yatima as they navigate both virtual and physical universes. The novel’s speculative physics and mathematical concepts will satisfy your craving for scientific depth and philosophical questioning.

Much like Permutation City, Blindsight dives deep into the nature of consciousness and identity. You'll follow Siri Keeton and his crew as they encounter truly alien intelligence, forcing them—and you—to confront unsettling questions about what it means to be sentient. The philosophical stakes are just as high, and Watts’s novel will challenge your assumptions about reality in the best way.

If you admired the dense, meticulous worldbuilding of Permutation City—from its digital cities to the rules governing virtual life—The Quantum Thief will delight you. Jean le Flambeur’s adventures take place in a future solar system bursting with inventive technologies, unique societies, and clever twists on concepts like privacy and identity. Rajaniemi’s universe is as intellectually rich and immersive as Egan’s.

The epic scale of Permutation City, where ideas stretch across multiple realities and epochs, finds a thrilling counterpart in Accelerando. Stross’s novel follows the Macx family across centuries as humanity transitions from the physical to the digital and beyond. The ambitious timeline, from near-future to far post-human, will satisfy your taste for grand, speculative storytelling.

If you were moved by the psychological depth in Permutation City—the internal struggles of characters like Paul Durham grappling with immortality and reality—Solaris offers a similarly profound experience. Kris Kelvin’s confrontation with the alien ocean forces deep introspection and explores the limits of human understanding. The novel’s haunting atmosphere and emotional resonance make it a classic for readers who appreciate the inner lives of characters facing the inexplicable.