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It's kinda all over the place imo.
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Sep 26, 2015 12:28
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Is it really called "Moon: Moon Moon"? That's just ballsy enough I might have to check it out.
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Sep 26, 2015 14:04
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gvibes posted:Maybe Richard Russo's Ship of Fools. This one is really good. It's the last book I read in entirely one sitting.
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Sep 26, 2015 14:19
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Lemniscate Blue posted:Is it really called "Moon: Moon Moon"? That's just ballsy enough I might have to check it out. it's luna: new moon i think ian macdonald is an extremely legit sci fi writer so i suppose i'd better check it out ship of fools/unto leviathan is also quite good. a goon posted a while back he'd met russo who'd said he was working on a sequel but at this stage i'm gonna file that in the same place as susanna clarke's jonathan strange and mr norrell sequel
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Sep 26, 2015 15:19
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Baru Cormorant is really good. I felt like someone read guns germ and steel and thought "gently caress, this would make a really great story" and wrote a kick rear end one. On the other hand, Student berserkers! 
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Sep 26, 2015 15:47
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Neurosis posted:
I loved Ship of Fools for many reasons, but it's one of those that handles its mystery skillfully, revealing enough to give some satisfaction without showing all its cards or dumping a huge and ultimately boring exposition on the reader. I found a book of his short stories and they were also quite enjoyable. He does have a tendency towards depressing topics and themes but it's never completely dark, IMO.
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Sep 26, 2015 17:22
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Megazver posted:Let's not Jack Reacher shame, either. I tried reading these because I thought the movie was interesting. I didn't get very far - maybe 2/3 of the first book before I stalled.
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Sep 26, 2015 18:02
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Lemniscate Blue posted:Is it really called "Moon: Moon Moon"? That's just ballsy enough I might have to check it out. Haha, was about to post the same.
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Sep 26, 2015 19:02
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Neurosis posted:it's luna: new moon i think Haha oops, yeah that one. I'm about 3/4 and have no idea how this plot is going to come together at all.
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Sep 26, 2015 20:13
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I've started reading this book No Return by Zachary Jernigan and it's awesome so far. It's got a great original, weird and interesting fantasy setting/concept, same for it's characters, the plot seems to be going really good places with good pacing, and, above all, it's very well written, with a good, concise prose style. It came out a few years ago too, I don't understand how it's so under the radar and never mentioned anywhere I go to read about good sf&f books, but then again there's lots of great books like that.
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Sep 26, 2015 21:30
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Getting my copy of ancillary mercy Monday, I may disappear from the world for 48 hours.
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Sep 26, 2015 22:55
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occamsnailfile posted:I loved Ship of Fools for many reasons, but it's one of those that handles its mystery skillfully, revealing enough to give some satisfaction without showing all its cards or dumping a huge and ultimately boring exposition on the reader. I found a book of his short stories and they were also quite enjoyable. He does have a tendency towards depressing topics and themes but it's never completely dark, IMO. The Carlucci trilogy is some great Blade Runner poo poo.
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Sep 26, 2015 23:10
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Has there been any instance of the Islamic Hajj brought up in science fiction? The recent deaths in Mecca this year (and the related topics of crowd control, travel time, expenses, etc) has gotten me wondering about Muslims in a spacefaring future, given that there are very specific instructions on what to do, and within a very specific timeframe. For example, if Earth was an irradiated wasteland, would it be "enough" to enter Earth orbit, or would you need to get on a hardened shuttle in an environmental radiation suit (assuming one could survive)? What if environmental catastrophes put Mecca underwater? Or it was destroyed entirely, and where Mecca was is a point in the air in the middle of a giant crater? Visiting Mecca once in in your lifetime is a mandatory part of the Muslim faith, assuming one is physically / financially / practically capable of doing so, but I have no idea what defines "capable" now, or in the future. The only Muslims in SF I can think of off the top of my head is the father/son pair in "Pitch Black".
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Sep 27, 2015 22:27
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Beef Hardcheese posted:Has there been any instance of the Islamic Hajj brought up in science fiction? The recent deaths in Mecca this year (and the related topics of crowd control, travel time, expenses, etc) has gotten me wondering about Muslims in a spacefaring future, given that there are very specific instructions on what to do, and within a very specific timeframe. For example, if Earth was an irradiated wasteland, would it be "enough" to enter Earth orbit, or would you need to get on a hardened shuttle in an environmental radiation suit (assuming one could survive)? What if environmental catastrophes put Mecca underwater? Or it was destroyed entirely, and where Mecca was is a point in the air in the middle of a giant crater? Visiting Mecca once in in your lifetime is a mandatory part of the Muslim faith, assuming one is physically / financially / practically capable of doing so, but I have no idea what defines "capable" now, or in the future. The only Muslims in SF I can think of off the top of my head is the father/son pair in "Pitch Black". Not much Mecca, I'm afraid. A lot of mecha, though.
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Sep 27, 2015 22:48
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Hyperion? I don't remember if they deal with the Hajj specifically, but Space Islam's a major force.
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Sep 27, 2015 23:01
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Also interesting topics: figuring out the qibla on a galactic scale and calculating the proper times for salat when relativity is involved.
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Sep 27, 2015 23:04
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Isn't the majority culture in Dune Islamic? I'm not talking about the Fremen (captain obvious), but the rest of the galactic community. The emperor's title is Padishah, and the rulers of planetary fiefs were "Siridars", which is close enough to Sardar it can't be a coincidence. I don't think Herbert deals much with the Hajj either though. e:gotcha.
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Sep 27, 2015 23:21
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tooterfish posted:Isn't the majority culture in Dune Islamic? Well there were presumably all sorts of religions (the Zensunni Fremen among them), but Paul's Galaxy-spanning Jihad between Dune and Dune Messiah wipes them all out and replaces them with his religion/government hybrid. Arrakis becomes the capital and the religious center of the galaxy. I'm not sure if it's mandatory, but Messiah talks about the massive infrastructure to support and mechanics of enormous populations of pilgrims making the Hajj to Arrakis. So it is there, as a somewhat major background element. There are descriptions of several ceremonies and I'm pretty sure there are specified prayer times that the masses observe. But it doesn't really deal with what it's like for the religious away from Arrakis. Another sci-fi book that features Islam and the Hajj in particular is Kim Stanley Robinson's alternate history novel The Years of Rice and Salt. There's one section that is all about Mecca before/during/after Hajj season set in the alternate 1500s.
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Sep 28, 2015 00:13
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In Red Mars there were a lot of Muslims, and they just prayed toward Earth, because that's where Mecca was
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Sep 28, 2015 00:59
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tooterfish posted:Isn't the majority culture in Dune Islamic? The religion of most of the empire in Dune is described as an amalgam of a bunch of religions.
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Sep 28, 2015 01:14
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One of the horrible creepy Jack Chalker books (not to narrow it down any) had as backstory the reason a civilization worshipped the big gas giant they revolved around was because that was where the space gate to Earth used to be, and hence that was the direction of Mecca.
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Sep 28, 2015 01:20
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Beef Hardcheese posted:Has there been any instance of the Islamic Hajj brought up in science fiction? The recent deaths in Mecca this year (and the related topics of crowd control, travel time, expenses, etc) has gotten me wondering about Muslims in a spacefaring future, given that there are very specific instructions on what to do, and within a very specific timeframe. For example, if Earth was an irradiated wasteland, would it be "enough" to enter Earth orbit, or would you need to get on a hardened shuttle in an environmental radiation suit (assuming one could survive)? What if environmental catastrophes put Mecca underwater? Or it was destroyed entirely, and where Mecca was is a point in the air in the middle of a giant crater? Visiting Mecca once in in your lifetime is a mandatory part of the Muslim faith, assuming one is physically / financially / practically capable of doing so, but I have no idea what defines "capable" now, or in the future. The only Muslims in SF I can think of off the top of my head is the father/son pair in "Pitch Black". I haven't actually read any of this but I've had it bookmarked forever, so I can't say if any of the stories deal with the Hajj, but it might be a good starting point: http://www.islamscifi.com/AMosqueAmngstTheStars.pdf It is an anthology of Islamic sci-fi stories. anilEhilated posted:Not exactly the hard SF you may be looking for, but in this vein I loved Jeff Vandermeer's Southern Reach trilogy. I always gotta second this recommendation when I see it brought up. The second book can be a bit plodding, but other than that it's a wonderful series.
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Sep 28, 2015 01:34
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God's War by Kameron Hurley was pretty good, and had a futuristic-Islamic feel.
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Sep 28, 2015 02:10
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Beef Hardcheese posted:Has there been any instance of the Islamic Hajj brought up in science fiction? The recent deaths in Mecca this year (and the related topics of crowd control, travel time, expenses, etc) has gotten me wondering about Muslims in a spacefaring future, given that there are very specific instructions on what to do, and within a very specific timeframe. For example, if Earth was an irradiated wasteland, would it be "enough" to enter Earth orbit, or would you need to get on a hardened shuttle in an environmental radiation suit (assuming one could survive)? What if environmental catastrophes put Mecca underwater? Or it was destroyed entirely, and where Mecca was is a point in the air in the middle of a giant crater? Visiting Mecca once in in your lifetime is a mandatory part of the Muslim faith, assuming one is physically / financially / practically capable of doing so, but I have no idea what defines "capable" now, or in the future. The only Muslims in SF I can think of off the top of my head is the father/son pair in "Pitch Black". I know it's topical and all but that's coming across as some pretty nasty racist poo poo you're asking about, without any background to why you're interested.
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Sep 28, 2015 05:20
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Nothing he said was nasty or racist. He did not imply Islam would be the cause of any of these catastrophes.
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Sep 28, 2015 05:33
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Neurosis posted:Nothing he said was nasty or racist. He did not imply Islam would be the cause of any of these catastrophes.
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Sep 28, 2015 06:52
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I bet Hare Krishnas would do pretty well in sci-fi stories, what with all the extra space ports and bullet train stations to hang around in.
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Sep 28, 2015 06:57
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And imagine Jehovah's Witnesses getting an ansible.
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Sep 28, 2015 08:22
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coyo7e posted:This comes across really uncomfortably. How many accounts of Jerusalem being drowned/nuked/bio-attacked have you come across in literature that you were looking to read?
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Sep 28, 2015 09:25
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coyo7e posted:This comes across really uncomfortably. How many accounts of Jerusalem being drowned/nuked/bio-attacked have you come across in literature that you were looking to read?  It's actually a pretty common occurrence, all things considered. The temple that the Romans destroyed in AD 70 is reportedly the third temple built on that spot.
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Sep 28, 2015 10:11
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You probably discovered the world's longest-running fire insurance scam.
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Sep 28, 2015 10:25
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Beef Hardcheese posted:Has there been any instance of the Islamic Hajj brought up in science fiction? The recent deaths in Mecca this year (and the related topics of crowd control, travel time, expenses, etc) has gotten me wondering about Muslims in a spacefaring future, given that there are very specific instructions on what to do, and within a very specific timeframe. For example, if Earth was an irradiated wasteland, would it be "enough" to enter Earth orbit, or would you need to get on a hardened shuttle in an environmental radiation suit (assuming one could survive)? What if environmental catastrophes put Mecca underwater? Or it was destroyed entirely, and where Mecca was is a point in the air in the middle of a giant crater? Visiting Mecca once in in your lifetime is a mandatory part of the Muslim faith, assuming one is physically / financially / practically capable of doing so, but I have no idea what defines "capable" now, or in the future. The only Muslims in SF I can think of off the top of my head is the father/son pair in "Pitch Black". Not exactly what you're talking about but the Marid Auduran books by George Alec Effinger take place in an Islamist (not islamo-fascist) cyberpunk future that is very cool. Also there is a character they call "the half-hajj" because he's a flake and tries to go on the Hajj all the time but gets distracted and fucks off back home. These books are good and you should read them.
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Sep 28, 2015 11:00
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gvibes posted:Maybe Richard Russo's Ship of Fools. occamsnailfile posted:I loved Ship of Fools for many reasons, but it's one of those that handles its mystery skillfully, revealing enough to give some satisfaction without showing all its cards or dumping a huge and ultimately boring exposition on the reader. I found a book of his short stories and they were also quite enjoyable. He does have a tendency towards depressing topics and themes but it's never completely dark, IMO. This book was really awesome and contained the exact kind of mystery and exploration of alien remnants that I was looking for. I finished it in one sitting because I liked it so much, this book seriously nailed it. I'm going to check out some more books that were suggested, but if anyone else knows of any books that are like this, I'd love to check them out.
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Sep 28, 2015 11:40
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MrSmokes posted:This book was really awesome and contained the exact kind of mystery and exploration of alien remnants that I was looking for. I finished it in one sitting because I liked it so much, this book seriously nailed it. I'm going to check out some more books that were suggested, but if anyone else knows of any books that are like this, I'd love to check them out.
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Sep 28, 2015 11:52
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Forgall posted:Roadside Picnic. I also love the end of that book. The differences and similarities in feel and theme between the book and the movie are also interesting. The movie is also one of my favourites ever. Munin fucked around with this message at 15:14 on Sep 28, 2015 |
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Sep 28, 2015 15:12
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I stumbled across the new Sanderson joint, Perfect World. "God-Emperor Kairominas is lord of all he surveys. He has defeated all foes, has united the entire world beneath his rule, and has mastered the arcane arts. He spends his time sparring with his nemesis, who keeps trying to invade Kai's world. Except for today. Today Kai has to go on a date. Forces have conspired to require him to meet with his equal - a woman from another world who has achieved just as much as he has. What happens when the most important man in the world is forced to have dinner with the most important woman in the world?" 
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Sep 28, 2015 15:28
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This actually sounds fun, but Sanderson is not who I'd want to read this from.
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Sep 28, 2015 15:33
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Apparently it's called Perfect State, not Perfect World. I just bought it as it sounds like great fun; will post a trip report when finished. I've never read Sanderson before - his other stuff doesn't sound very appealing to me, and the comments of folks here have generally indicated that I've been right to avoid it. We'll see how this goes!
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Sep 28, 2015 16:02
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I wonder how he'll manage to fit in a blow-by-blow magic battle scene into a dinner date.
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Sep 28, 2015 17:49
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Kesper North posted:I've never read Sanderson before - his other stuff doesn't sound very appealing to me, and the comments of folks here have generally indicated that I've been right to avoid it. We'll see how this goes! Sanderson is one of my favorite authors to read, because it's easy and enjoyable. I turn my brain off and enjoy reading about cool magics and simple intrigue. If that doesn't appeal to you, then yeah, just give him a miss. His Stormlight Archives are a bit deeper, but only because he's amped the scale up significantly.
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Sep 28, 2015 17:52
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