I’m slowly getting through This Alien Shore by C.S. Friedman. There’s some really interesting worldbuilding going on around neurodivergence and how social customs can facilitate understanding and mutual respect, but I’m a little turned off by the capitalistic, predatory, cyberpunk space opera setting, hence the slowness.
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Science and technology wise the books are great, but I got disappointed because the politics dont make much sense.
I’ve only seen the show, and very little of it. How far do they go beyond just being contemporary politics set in space?
Its been a few years since I read the books, so I don’t remember any concrete examples. But for a show this focused on politics, a lot of the decisions that the factions make just arent very rational (in my opinion).
I’m reading part two of the Three Body Problem series. Its really great, and feels very different to most western scifi. More focused on people than technology (but also with a lot of cool technology and scientific concepts).
I was reading it too at one point but couldn’t finish it. Really different from traditional scifi. The first part was especially a mindfuck where it made more sense then more you read it.
i can’t even really articulate why it didn’t excite me, but i didn’t enjoy the first novel enough to continue with the trilogy.
Just finished Firewalkers and it was quite enjoyable.
Children of Time is the only book I’ve read by him. Really enjoyed the alien perspective sections, but the human chapters were hard to get through.
Yeah, the alien part was definitely more interesting. I also really enjoyed the sequel, and can definitely recommend it if you liked Children of Time. The alien perspective is even more interesting there.
I recently finished the Mirrorshades Anthology. As usual with short story collections there were highs and lows. All in all i enjoyed it although i took my time with it. I was a little disappointed that I already knew the Gibson Stories in this collection form Burning Chrome but i guess i should just have checked before buying.
I finished ringworld recently, it was very entertaining, lots of good characters, interesting sci fi concepts.
Catching up on the latest Peter F. Hamilton, on the second novel Salvation Lost - it’s good even if you’ve read his other works (been able to keep me guessing) and I like his take on the possible future even if thats not the focus.
Trying to finish Ian McDonald’s Hopeland right now. Feels like a bit of slog unfortunately.
Absolutely loved Cory Doctorow’s Red Team Blues though, which is the thing I finished just before this. An amazingly fast-paced book about a 65-yo forensic accountant (yes, you read all that right—it really is fast paced!) who solves a problem for a client only to find he’s being stalked for elimination as a result.
Finishing up Ancillary Justice and I am really enjoying it. I will prob start reading the next book when I finish this one.
