Would you say his writings are over the head of most readers? If not, what are a couple you would start with? Would Permutation City be understandable to a lot of people? You just make him seem like he's writing about very complex topics haha
He definitely does write about complex topics and is one of the harder sci-fi writers I've read.
The descriptions of those concepts and the increase in complexity is something that is done over many chapters. But, I've noticed that in some particular parts of the book the "acceleration" of complexity becomes so high that I have to reread things and look up references online to be able to understand and continue.
Without giving too many spoilers, Permutation City takes the concept of cellular automata to the next level. It was approachable to me, and perhaps also became my favorite, because I had experience with those in the past.
To answer your question, Axiomatic is his collection of short stories and is definitely the most approachable. If you like the style presented there, you will also find it worthwhile to try his novels.
There is a certain sense of beauty clear in his longer works, where everything is taken to its pinnacle, and all the ideas fit together like a puzzle in the end.
