Check out his Orthogonal trilogy
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8895331
He posits a different structure for spacetime and then builds a whole universe around it. Some of it is indeed heavy going but a lot of it is also really inspired storytelling.
Re:Superpermutations
by pavel_lishin on Monday October 22, 2018 @10:06AM
(#18274726)
Ditto for Dichronauts.
I would recommend starting with the short stories (e.g. Axiomatic) as Egans style is a perfect fit for that format (take an idea, try to craft an interesting story around it). The formula fails for some of the novels as they can be difficult to read if you are only superficially familiar with the technical details.
Re:Superpermutations
by ValleyOfTheMtns on Sunday October 21, 2018 @11:41PM
(#18272035)
Agreed. His work shines in short story format. The full length novels I mentioned (Permutation City and Diaspora) are the ones that I think hold up the best to the longer format.
Permutation City, Diaspora, and his various collections of short stories (e.g. Axiomatic, Luminous) are worth reading.
He takes ideas, like what's linked in the OP, and builds worlds and stories around them in terms of their implications and impacts on society and individuals.