Comments | judd_sonofbert: A well dropped book

judd_sonofbert

A well dropped book

Oct 22, 2008 11:52

I was getting dressed for yoga the other day and a science fiction novel fell out of my bag. One of the guys in the dressing room saw it and asked if I liked science fiction and we got to talking. He told me that he was going to leave a bag of books for me but I honestly forgot about it ( Read more... )

Comments 12

yeloson October 22 2008, 17:55:42 UTC

Oh, did you hear? India just launched their first moon mission.

Lunar India judd_sonofbert October 22 2008, 18:21:31 UTC

Ayup, that came up on one of the astronomy blogs on my google RSS dingus.

Neat stuff.

miryai October 22 2008, 22:03:13 UTC

I'm interested in more thoughts on what sex in sci fi does for the genre... It's a really intriguing idea.

judd_sonofbert October 23 2008, 04:31:37 UTC

I am letting it simmer in my noggin for a while but its-a-coming along.

digitalpoetry October 22 2008, 22:43:03 UTC

Accelerando was a good read - I'm a big fan of Singularity stories. That said, I actually like the sequel, Glasshouse, better.

If you like Accelerando, I could recommend a couple other books you'd probably enjoy as well.

Recommendations! judd_sonofbert October 22 2008, 22:45:40 UTC

Please do recommend.

Thanks.

Re: Recommendations! digitalpoetry October 23 2008, 00:55:56 UTC

Across Realtime, by Vernor Vinge - it's a pair of short novels bridged by a short story, all set in the same world, and dealing with a technological singularity from several angles. It's also got a murder mystery spanning 50 million years.

The Atrocity Archives, by Charles Stross - definitely lighter than his sci-fi work, it's basically about an occult computer hacker in a Lovecraftian universe. This one reminds me of some RPG campaigns I've played.

Only Forward, by Michael Marshall Smith - Smith's writing (especially in this book) feels something like a combination of Stross and Douglas Adams. He's the only author I know who can tell you up front what he's about to do and still surprise you when he actually does it.

and...

The Engines of God, by Jack McDevitt - this is more straight-up sci-fi, with less humor than the other three, but an amazing portrayal of the universe beyond Earth as sparse, almost empty, and heartbreakingly beautiful.

Re: Recommendations! judd_sonofbert October 23 2008, 04:32:06 UTC

Thanks, that last one in particular sounds like just the thing.

nikotesla October 23 2008, 15:24:29 UTC

You are a constant source of desktop backgrounds.

I've also been accused of some sort of criminality for not having read Accelerando, though I'm enjoying Downbelow Station right now. It's gonna have a hard time living up to Cyteen in theme and it shares its stylistic quirks that I find difficult.

Frankly, you're right to bail on the Millennium series there. I had a feeling you might.

You'd dig it the most. judd_sonofbert October 23 2008, 15:27:56 UTC

I thought 2001 and 2010 were good stuff but I needed a Clarke break.

Accelerendo is something you must read.

Re: You'd dig it the most. nikotesla October 23 2008, 15:45:01 UTC

I KNOW

Also, I just put the NASA daily image on my daily reading list.

You are my sole source of media.

Re: You'd dig it the most. judd_sonofbert October 23 2008, 15:47:05 UTC

When I decide to research something I get kinda aggressive. It is the library geek in me.

I found this list of the top ten Astronomy blogs and just surfed around, picking up RSS feeds from there.