Small thoughts on the books I've finished during November:
Shadow Prey (John Sandford, 1990): Fun thriller, better than "Rules" in a lot of ways, somewhat problematic in others. The almost "For the Evulz" mentality of the main villain is somewhat underwhelming. Could it be published today? Maybe, with some tweaks, especially regarding Shadow Love.
@bookstodon
c. "Patrick Henry, Jupiter, and the Little Spaceship": Quite a somber story, and made me feel bad for the protagonist, even if at the same time I think of him as a sort of proto-Elon Musk (who I don't like) and SpaceX (a waste of resources).
I originally read the Otherland series by Tad Williams in Swedish when it was new, and I remember it made quite an impression on me.
Enough that I've now started re-reading it in English. The impression is perhaps not as strong, but I blame myself for that. 😁
I would througly recommend it to anyone who like sci-fi and especially cyberpunk.
If this was a #scifi novel, you know what would happen next... we'd establish contact with an alien civilisation, who would either share some extraordinary #technology with us, or enslave us.
However, the real explanation for the landfall of this high-energy particle source may turn out to be more mundane?
#JustFinished How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu.
This is a gorgeous book. A collection of short stories tied together into a history of plague among humans interconnected through time. Non-linear, lyric, emotional. I cried and I soared with the stories.
In the very last story, Nagamatsu succumbs to some Marty Stu-ish writing, which I found very disappointing. But that was my only quibble. I found it well worth my time.
If you love #scifi, #space, #spaceexploration etc then #ACityOnMars is a fantastic read on the harsh realities of space settlement (and what we don’t know about it). Check it out!
THE PERIPHERAL (William Gibson, 2014; Spanish edition 2017).
First novel of the trilogy (not yet finished) the Jackpot. In 2020 the second novel, "Agency" was published (I am reading it now). I haven't seen the Amazon Prime version and I'm not sure I'm going to see it. The reason is that I don't think it can live up to the novel. Perhaps one of the best novels translating today's complex reality (past, present, fact, fiction, economics, politics...).
Lifting up the rocks in the garden of Sci-fi to look at what's squirming underneath: TESCREAL
“I'd like to explain why I—and other SF authors—are terrible guides to the future. Which wouldn't matter, except a whole bunch of billionaires are in the headlines right now because they pay too much attention to people like me.”
The vast and mysterious universe is explored in this reprint anthology from award-winning editor and anthologist Neil Clarke (Clarkesworld magazine, The Best Science Fiction of the Year).
This story has reached a fork moment, with each fork promising to take my writing going forward in a diverging direction. Now to decide which fork is more in line with my long term vision as a writer.
I have read Nnedi Okorafor's novella, Binti, and I found it wonderful (as well as very entertaining). Also, with a witty reflection on the decolonization of museums.
I sometimes think about the existential dread civilization in the far future of the Milky Way will feel when peering into deep space.
There will be a handful of other galaxies (those that we are gravitationally bound with) in the void - beyond that, there will only be darkness since the expansion of space will be such that no light from the rest of the universe can reach us.
What stories will they spin about their lonely island of matter and light in an otherwise dark void?