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What is people opinions of the rest of the Divergent series? I listened to the first one and liked it but there seems to be generally poor reviews of the rest of it. What about the Maze Runner series?
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Mar 4, 2014 19:06
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Fried Chicken posted:except that to bend light you need a gravity field, not a magnetic one. Photons are packets of electromagnetic force, meaning they composed of an oscillating electric and magnetic field and have linearity so the two fields don’t change each other at all. Light doesn't interact directly with a magnetic field, but light behaves differently in a medium that's within a magnetic field. See, for instance, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magneto-optic_effect#Kerr_Rotation_and_Kerr_Ellipticity.
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Mar 4, 2014 19:57
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Kraps posted:What is people opinions of the rest of the Divergent series? I listened to the first one and liked it but there seems to be generally poor reviews of the rest of it. Maze Runner is definitely YA. The 3 books are OK though. The prequel, written later, is awful and written for an even younger group. If YA is OK with you, I suggest Uglies and Everlost as being better than Maze Runner.
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Mar 4, 2014 20:03
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Cardiac posted:Yeah, I have grasped as much. Keep in mind that Mieville is writing in a universe that's basically a victorian industrial fantasy dystopia worse than something Marx would've imagined after ingesting a steamshovel-load of bad shrooms. It's designed to be the perfect dystopia to produce a Marxist utopia as a result, just like the moon prison colony in Heinlein's MIAHM is designed to be a perfect fictional ground from which his perfect fictional libertarian utopia can flower. It's not really supposed to be something that would hold together in the real world; it's a fantasy.
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Mar 4, 2014 20:18
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Keep in mind that Mieville is writing in a universe that's basically a victorian industrial fantasy dystopia worse than something Marx would've imagined after ingesting a steamshovel-load of bad shrooms. It's designed to be the perfect dystopia to produce a Marxist utopia as a result, just like the moon prison colony in Heinlein's MIAHM is designed to be a perfect fictional ground from which his perfect fictional libertarian utopia can flower. Doesn't the Marxist revolution fail miserably, though?
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Mar 4, 2014 20:58
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Darth Walrus posted:Doesn't the Marxist revolution fail miserably, though? That might be part of the fantasy! I honestly don't remember what happens it's been like ten years since I read Iron Council (or however long it's been since it came out).
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Mar 4, 2014 21:03
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Darth Walrus posted:Doesn't the Marxist revolution fail miserably, though? Yeah. I rather liked how overdetermined their failure was.
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Mar 4, 2014 23:36
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Stupid_Sexy_Flander posted:Is there a dog? No, but there are cougars.
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Mar 5, 2014 04:58
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The Mieville chat reminds me that I enjoyed his YA book Un Lun Dun. Not for the 'oh boy alternate magical london' because that's been done quite a lot, but actually because of his politics in this case. It seems like in a lot of books written for kids the ending has something like 'an authority figure steps in and fixes things' and everything turns out fine. Un Lun Dun, not to spoiler too heavily, is like yeah sometimes the system can help you but just because someone's in power doesn't mean they aren't corrupt.
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Mar 5, 2014 10:53
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It looks like no one so far has mentioned Seanan McGuire's In-Cryptid series, so I will. Recommended if you like urban fantasy with mythology-inspired stuff. It's technically not YA, but also not very complicated. The third book, Half-off Ragnarok just came out.
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Mar 7, 2014 16:58
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I'm reading On the Steel Breeze now, and enjoying it, but man, it is definitely an Alastair Reynolds book, alright. A community on an asteroid flying thorough inter-stellar space, a malevolant AI ghost in the machine, a main character who clones herself so she can explore different parts of the universe then share those memories with her other clones.....
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Mar 7, 2014 17:09
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Junkenstein posted:I'm reading On the Steel Breeze now, and enjoying it, but man, it is definitely an Alastair Reynolds book, alright. A community on an asteroid flying thorough inter-stellar space, a malevolant AI ghost in the machine, a main character who clones herself so she can explore different parts of the universe then share those memories with her other clones..... I thought that wasn't out until this summer? Edit: yeah amazon says June 3rd Fried Chicken fucked around with this message at 18:33 on Mar 7, 2014 |
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Mar 7, 2014 18:31
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Portable Staplefrog posted:It looks like no one so far has mentioned Seanan McGuire's In-Cryptid series, so I will. Recommended if you like urban fantasy with mythology-inspired stuff. It's technically not YA, but also not very complicated. The third book, Half-off Ragnarok just came out. Didn't she just freak out about the possibility that a Hugo host might call her fat recently? That name looks familiar.
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Mar 7, 2014 19:04
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Stupid_Sexy_Flander posted:Didn't she just freak out about the possibility that a Hugo host might call her fat recently? That name looks familiar. I hadn't heard that, but possibly.
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Mar 7, 2014 19:08
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Stupid_Sexy_Flander posted:Didn't she just freak out about the possibility that a Hugo host might call her fat recently? That name looks familiar. Here's a pretty good summary of what happened.
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Mar 7, 2014 19:20
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Yep, that's her. It's a clusterfuck of a situation, but I can't help but roll my eyes when I see someone post up something about "literally crying" because they don't feel "safe" about a host of an award show. Maybe I'm just being a hardass, but I don't think that the world needs to be this soft, padded, no sharp corners and Mommy is going to make sure you get no booboos kind of place. You'd think an author of all people, pretty much right below "public celebrity" on the "people will talk poo poo about you" list, would have a thicker skin about life in general and not be so... whiny I guess is the word. It's not like the dude is going to hop down off the podium and kidnap you for a rape dungeon. Yes I understand women have a hard time in scifi (especially lately) but breaking down in tears over an awards show host choice just seems a bit over the top reaction wise.
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Mar 7, 2014 19:47
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Stupid_Sexy_Flander posted:(especially lately) Why?
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Mar 7, 2014 19:57
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Kraps posted:Why? There's been a massive shitstorm for the past couple years in SF publisher/blogger world, basically because there are now enough young not-racist, not-sexist SF&F authors that all the old authors who got away with wild racism and sexism for decades longer than they would've anywhere else, because they were hiding in the sci-fi ghetto, no longer have any place to hide. It's been a really big issue among the Science Fiction Writers of America in recent years, spilling out into public blogs and message boards etc. Scroll a few pages back in the thread and there's lots about it.
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Mar 7, 2014 20:01
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Stupid_Sexy_Flander posted:It's not like the dude is going to hop down off the podium and kidnap you for a rape dungeon. On the other hand he might start dry-humping you.
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Mar 7, 2014 20:04
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Yea, to be clear I think he is a pretty horrible choice for an award host, especially considering the poo poo storms that have been flying around regarding women in sci fi.
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Mar 7, 2014 20:08
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So a family friend asked me for advice on a sci-fi novel for a class she's teaching on culture and technology. Her first impulse was Ilium, as apparently it largely concerns the integration of computer technology into the body. However, a colleague dissuaded her from it, on the basis that its space opera plot would overwhelm the students and distract from the theme that she wanted to highlight (the whole cyborg thing). I recommended Blindsight, as I've recommended it to pretty much anyone who wants to know an interesting sci-fi book that deals primarily with questions about the mind. But when I thought about it, I realized that its primary concern is more the relationship between evolution and consciousness, rather than augmentation of consciousness through technology. Still worth considering, though. She also made a point to mention her love of Terry Pratchett, if that in any way narrows things down. Not sure how it would, though. So any ideas on a good novel primarily about consciousness and technology that's appropriate for an undergrad course?
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Mar 7, 2014 20:41
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Altered Carbon, maybe?
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Mar 7, 2014 20:46
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SinetheGuy posted:
First thing that springs to mind is Neuromancer. Maybe some of Vernor Vinge's stuff. Hieronymous Alloy fucked around with this message at 22:05 on Mar 7, 2014 |
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Mar 7, 2014 20:49
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Stupid_Sexy_Flander posted:Yep, that's her.
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Mar 7, 2014 20:52
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SinetheGuy posted:She also made a point to mention her love of Terry Pratchett, if that in any way narrows things down. Not sure how it would, though. So any ideas on a good novel primarily about consciousness and technology that's appropriate for an undergrad course? Something like Brave New World by Huxley might work, if she's open to going old school. Doesn't really go along the lines of the cyborg thing though, if you're looking for that specifically, but it does deal with technological advances that alter the way human society thinks and acts.
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Mar 7, 2014 21:07
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Stupid_Sexy_Flander posted:Yep, that's her. One good point against him I saw was that he, being a minor celebrity who does outrageous stuff, has tabloids follow him and dig into stuff he is associated with to find juicy stuff. And the community has had plenty of poo poo go down lately that has been damaging, only a part of which is public. Tabloids being there could dig up stuff they don't want public and allow a new way for the attacks within the community to escalate through telling the reporters things about other authors (true or false) both of which could damage sales
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Mar 7, 2014 21:31
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SinetheGuy posted:So a family friend asked me for advice on a sci-fi novel for a class she's teaching on culture and technology. Her first impulse was Ilium, as apparently it largely concerns the integration of computer technology into the body. However, a colleague dissuaded her from it, on the basis that its space opera plot would overwhelm the students and distract from the theme that she wanted to highlight (the whole cyborg thing). Maybe Quantum thief would be good for this actually?
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Mar 7, 2014 21:39
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IMO Rajaniemi doesn't incorporate enough real neurology or psychology to make it worthwhile for that purpose but I dunno. I think blindsight was the best suggestion.
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Mar 7, 2014 22:02
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I thought of Rainbows End by Vernor Vinge (deals with near-future technology, augmented reality, processes of learning -- one of the only books to do "near future" convincingly to me), but Blindsight is a great suggestion. Neuromancer's a classic too.
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Mar 7, 2014 22:56
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Thanks for the suggestions. I'd considered Neuromancer, but didn't bring it up when we were first talking. I guess I figured she would have already thought of it? I'm definitely going to check out The Quantum Thief for myself, at the very least, and might recommend it. But it seems like it might be a little too obscure in the plot department, especially given that this professor doesn't place the greatest faith in her student's literary proficiency. And this is also a good excuse to go back to Vinge; I was tempted to mention the Zones of Consciousness, but they probably have the same problems as Ilium.
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Mar 7, 2014 23:22
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Fried Chicken posted:One good point against him I saw was that he, being a minor celebrity who does outrageous stuff, has tabloids follow him and dig into stuff he is associated with to find juicy stuff. And the community has had plenty of poo poo go down lately that has been damaging, only a part of which is public. Tabloids being there could dig up stuff they don't want public and allow a new way for the attacks within the community to escalate through telling the reporters things about other authors (true or false) both of which could damage sales I really don't think tabloids would find anything weird about SFF authors that isn't in their own books.
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Mar 8, 2014 02:53
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Is there some form of Goodreads list or SA top 100 of our suggestions?
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Mar 8, 2014 03:06
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ghana rheya posted:Is there some form of Goodreads list or SA top 100 of our suggestions? The first post in this thread has a list of generally recommended authors and works.
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Mar 8, 2014 03:15
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andrew smash posted:IMO Rajaniemi doesn't incorporate enough real neurology or psychology to make it worthwhile for that purpose but I dunno. I think blindsight was the best suggestion. I think Blindsight is too deep inside sf for most people to get it. Perhaps Michael Swanwick's Vacuum Flowers, whose heroine's body is inhabited by four consciousnesses, or I think one of Pat Cadigan's novels (Synners maybe?) deals with the same territory. Blog Free or Die posted:The Mieville chat reminds me that I enjoyed his YA book Un Lun Dun. You should wrap your eyeballs round some Diana Wynne Jones; The Time of the Ghost is pretty good on that score, and so's Archer's Goon. E: Also, Jonathan Ross, why on Earth. Safety Biscuits fucked around with this message at 08:55 on Mar 8, 2014 |
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Mar 8, 2014 08:50
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The Diamond Dogs novella by Reynolds focuses pretty heavily on body modification. It's fairly short so it might not be appropriate, though.
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Mar 8, 2014 08:56
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Fried Chicken posted:I thought that wasn't out until this summer? Been out since early autumn in the UK, anyway.
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Mar 8, 2014 18:23
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SinetheGuy posted:Thanks for the suggestions. I'd considered Neuromancer, but didn't bring it up when we were first talking. I guess I figured she would have already thought of it? I'm definitely going to check out The Quantum Thief for myself, at the very least, and might recommend it. But it seems like it might be a little too obscure in the plot department, especially given that this professor doesn't place the greatest faith in her student's literary proficiency. And this is also a good excuse to go back to Vinge; I was tempted to mention the Zones of Consciousness, but they probably have the same problems as Ilium. For implant integration, Neuromancer is probably the best and also a classic. Most later stuff is based on the Neuromancer series anyways. Other alternatives (more problematic though) would be Morgan, Banks, Asher and Hamilton. For the latter, Fallen Dragon would be ok. Quantum Thief/Rajaniemi is too abstract for this. Also, Ilium means that some students will go on to read Olympus and discover robots created by Arabs to kill Jews. On something else, based on this thread I read Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin. It was good, but hardly revolutionary. Could someone explain why this book is seen as a classic? The whole thing, human species with one gender, is at least to me not particularly revolutionary. Which might also due the fact that the book was written in 1969, and we have come a long way since then. I guess the book is worth reading for the effect on the scifi-field, where for example Banks in his Culture series have protagonists being able to change and choose gender. Furthermore, the whole AI thing plus biotechnology has made gender kind of irrelevant as an interesting topic in scifi (except of course the backwardness of some authors).
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Mar 8, 2014 19:40
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Cardiac posted:
It was revolutionary for the time and LeGuin is one of the best prose stylists in the field. It also kinda depends on what sortof SF reader you are. There's enough male-fantasy SF still being written that if that's all you've read, LHoD is still going to throw you for a loop even today.
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Mar 8, 2014 19:48
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Cardiac posted:On something else, based on this thread I read Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin. Partly because it won all kinds of awards, partly because it was groundbreaking in its time, and partly because it's 45 years old and it's still a great story.
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Mar 8, 2014 19:56
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Cardiac posted:I guess the book is worth reading for the effect on the scifi-field, where for example Banks in his Culture series have protagonists being able to change and choose gender. Furthermore, the whole AI thing plus biotechnology has made gender kind of irrelevant as an interesting topic in scifi (except of course the backwardness of some authors). This is the farthest thing from truth. SF/F has barely begun to crack the gender trove. Hell, society as a whole has barely started to touch on gender in mainstream discourse. Every time I start a new story I realize how much territory there still is to cover, even in the characterization and worldbuilding of stories that don't foreground gender as a theme. Gender still hasn't reached peak relevance. The Left Hand of Darkness is a monumental work because it helped point out how little genre touched on gender, because it demonstrated that science fiction about anthropology and understanding could and should be central, and because it remains a beautiful story even with all its other value removed.
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Mar 8, 2014 19:59
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