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Number Ten Cocks posted:a B-list alt.peeves contributor. Jeez there's an online community I haven't thought of in a long time.
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Jul 8, 2017 15:48
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fritz posted:Jeez there's an online community I haven't thought of in a long time. Geoff Miller is my spirit animal.
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Jul 8, 2017 16:28
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Constant jokes about AI and metaphors and a Beastie Boys reference, Aurora owns.
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Jul 8, 2017 16:35
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I didn't like Aurora. Kim Stanley Robinson should stick to ecosystems because he can't create a relateable character to save his life. If Aurora was his best work, i'm glad I skipped all the mars series. Spoilers, obv The ship might as well have died offscreen; it gets a two sentence death and was never mentioned again. That's an absolute tragedy. We're repeatedly told how integral and knowledgeable it is, but the inhabitants pretend it doesn't even exist until it starts locking doors. Humanity creates life for the first time and it just gets one paragraph in the last chapter. gently caress that. I found Freya to be uninteresting and unworthy of the apparent respect she earns around the ship. For all the book's focus, she made literally no important decisions during the entire trip. The story would have been a lot better without any human perspective at all. The idea that births must be strictly controlled because people just want to have babies non-stop is completely contrary to all current scientific evidence that the birthrate plummets with access to education, contraception and high standards of living. Magic fabs and unlimited resources handwave away a LOT of problems, and once you're in a solar system there's no scarcity problem at all. Sadly, there's absolutely no closure on whether or not the colony survived though there's honestly no reason why it wouldn't. Even if the planet didn't work out, there's nothing stopping exponential fab growth spitting out gigantic space habitats beyond the nebulous "everyone's getting dumber and shorter ¯\_(ツ)_/¯" problem. The ship was able to create magical mining robots to gather everything they needed but apparently the earth system with it's greatly increased industrial base was unable to do the same because it's noted how empty the system is when they enter it. I think people REALLY underestimate how fast magic exponential fabricators would completely transform the solar system. Author wants to just use it as a method to sidestep the more tedious mechanical and engineering issues to focus on the people but it's a literal solar system transforming technology whose existence can't be understated. No one on earth seemed interested in interfacing in bi-directional data transfers with the ship; we skip from a multi-year light lag to 20 years later where it's down to hours or minutes but a history-first situation produces no cultural or governmental impact beyond a bunch of tv and online pundit noise? Part of this is excused through the first-person account but a lack of focus on the cultural impact is disappointing. Specifically called-out ships that could have made rendezvous and intercept strangely didn't exist in the sol system, so the ship of course had to make one final doomed pass around the sun, even though it was going slow enough that there were other clear options. It really feels backfilled in to get the desired ending. In the end, the book was about one single character's perspective and life journey and I know the circle allusion was deliberate (life begins in the ocean & the story ends with her in it) but literally everyone around her was a more interesting character. She was incredibly tedious to read and there was no effort to sell the returner philosophy to the reader and so she was not made sympathetic in the slightest, which is a puzzling writing decision considering I and likely many others reading the book would be hard "stay" by virtue of being sci-fi fans. The book lost me as soon as they left the Aurora system and if there was any justice everyone on Aurora should have starved on the way back and only the ship should have made it to tell the story. The cryo-sleep cop-out appearing at exactly the needed time felt incredibly dissonant and again was technology showing up to backfill the story the author wanted to tell, which is ironic considering most of the book was trying to project a cold uncaring universe where there are no second chances and how how humanity was ultimately unfit for starfaring. The ending should have reflected that message. Bhodi fucked around with this message at 17:51 on Jul 8, 2017 |
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Jul 8, 2017 17:23
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Just finished Three-Body Problem, thoughts: A sci-fi book that heavily ropes in history from the Cultural Revolution? YES PLEASE. My favorite scenes by far were the game scenes, because they were these beautiful little folly of man morality plays where it always ends with a hilarious cosmic disaster. The syzygy was a particularly hilarious ending. Also the human computer sequence was amazing. Also I love love love Shi Qiang. The hardboiled cop archetype of Asian fiction is so much more enjoyable than the American GI Joe guy, they're gruff, crude, canny, capable guys who don't tolerate nerds. Really excited to read the rest of the series. Loving Life Partner fucked around with this message at 21:46 on Jul 8, 2017 |
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Jul 8, 2017 21:44
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Is there anything else like Kings of the Wyld in terms of light-hearted over the top fantasy?
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Jul 9, 2017 04:10
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Bhodi posted:I didn't like Aurora. Kim Stanley Robinson should stick to ecosystems because he can't create a relateable character to save his life. If Aurora was his best work, i'm glad I skipped all the mars series. Spoilers, obv I just reread it after the discussion itt and agree with most of your problems with the book. I found a lot of the conclusion pretty unsatisfying, especially that nobody attempts or even suggests intercepting/refuelling the ship even though it's clearly slow enough for them to do so. I didn't mind Freya's lack of depth too much, she's just a vehicle for the ship to tell it's story, although she could certainly have been a bit more sympathetic and yeah the backer position seems pretty weak. Also they don't fix the ship at all or restock missing elements even though they're in orbit in a solar system for a couple decades? I like Mars much more, and I think it feels better thought out plotwise and less desperate to make a point. It's reeaaally slow though so if you aren't into long world building passages (lol) and learning all about Martian dust it's not a good read. The characters are also all kinda secondary and don't necessarily have satisfying arcs.
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Jul 9, 2017 09:09
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General Battuta posted:I loved The Peripheral but it's not really a time travel book so much as a book about the future and the power of information. If that doesn't make any loving sense don't worry, it will! The Peripheral has one of my favorite weapons in sci-fi: Conner's Hellcube. I think the relevant quote was something about it being created by a tortured society in service to a depraved mind. Another favorite Gibson weapon is the Chunker which is briefly mentioned in Virtual Light.
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Jul 9, 2017 09:33
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big scary monsters posted:I found a lot of the conclusion pretty unsatisfying, especially that nobody attempts or even suggests intercepting/refuelling the ship even though it's clearly slow enough for them to do so. It's never going slow enough for them to do that. If they were going that slow they wouldn't have had all that trouble decelerating at the end..
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Jul 9, 2017 09:49
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Khizan posted:It's never going slow enough for them to do that. If they were going that slow they wouldn't have had all that trouble decelerating at the end.. By a few turns in, it was stated that it was no longer going fast enough to be alarming because humanity had ships that could go faster. The final turn around the sun, a greater hazard than anything tried previously, was a completely unnecessary risk.
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Jul 9, 2017 13:50
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Bhodi posted:I didn't like Aurora. Kim Stanley Robinson should stick to ecosystems because he can't create a relateable character to save his life. If Aurora was his best work, i'm glad I skipped all the mars series. Spoilers, obv It might only be two sentences but that image of the ship going behind the sun and reappearing in bits has stuck with me. Beautiful and sad.
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Jul 9, 2017 15:38
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Rough Lobster posted:The Peripheral has one of my favorite weapons in sci-fi: Conner's Hellcube. I think the relevant quote was something about it being created by a tortured society in service to a depraved mind. Conner's enthusiasm for the hellcube is what really made it for me
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Jul 9, 2017 17:15
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I tend to prefer the weapons in more pulpy space opera. The deployment of the Alchemist in the Night's Dawn trilogy is a personal favourite scene, as is the bit in The End of the Matter where everyone is arguing about how to handle an interstellar catastrophe and someone basically says "We could use the Krang, except we'd have to move an entire loving planet".
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Jul 9, 2017 17:40
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Jedit posted:I tend to prefer the weapons in more pulpy space opera. The deployment of the Alchemist in the Night's Dawn trilogy is a personal favourite scene, as is the bit in The End of the Matter where everyone is arguing about how to handle an interstellar catastrophe and someone basically says "We could use the Krang, except we'd have to move an entire loving planet". Good thing somebody left a mobile Death Star covered in Krangs lying around for Flinx to find ten books later... I loved the cache weapons in Revelation Space.
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Jul 9, 2017 23:00
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Gonna take a quick lit break to catch up on some stuff on my backlog before continuing on with Cyteen
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Jul 10, 2017 15:04
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Proteus Jones posted:You stopped right before the Nonborn King which is a great book.  Loving Life Partner posted:Just finished Three-Body Problem, thoughts:
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Jul 10, 2017 19:05
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Anyone got recs for well written books in which the author depicts future artforms? I'm thinking of Ballard stories I've read where living sculptures or CG poetry feature. I tried Googling but it is nearly impossible to google 'art in science fiction' and not get actual science fiction art 
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Jul 12, 2017 14:12
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Boatswain posted:Anyone got recs for well written books in which the author depicts future artforms? I'm thinking of Ballard stories I've read where living sculptures or CG poetry feature. William Gibson's Blue Ant trilogy covers stuff like future fashion, viral marketing, post-social media performance art, and AR sculpture.
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Jul 12, 2017 14:17
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Boatswain posted:Anyone got recs for well written books in which the author depicts future artforms? I'm thinking of Ballard stories I've read where living sculptures or CG poetry feature. KSR's 2312 has a main character who is an artist in the titular year, and it spends a lot of time talking about her art and various other future art forms. I think it might be exactly what you are looking for.
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Jul 12, 2017 14:54
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Internet Wizard posted:William Gibson's Blue Ant trilogy covers stuff like future fashion, viral marketing, post-social media performance art, and AR sculpture. Yeah, that was my first thought as well. Possibly Moxyland by Lauren Beukes. Commercialization of art plays a role through part of the story. Maybe something like Deep Sea Diver's Syndrome by Serge Brussolo? Art's central to the plot, but it's more PKD-ish than any sort of examination of Art itself. I think Atrocity Exhibition by JG Ballard probably technically fits...
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Jul 12, 2017 15:01
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Nice! Keep them coming as I think it's an interesting theme. I don't mind short stories/novels with other concerns as long as they feature art in an interesting way. Has anyone read The Naked Sun by Asimov? I read it as a child and I think I recall people sculpting holograms or crystals of light or whatever, that might qualify?
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Jul 12, 2017 16:37
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I recall some talk of psionics as an art form in Bester's The Demolished Man. Richard Paul Russo's Subterranean Gallery is about art and artists, but from what I remember the art forms are conventional. Edit: You might also look through the Arts topic in the encyclopedia of sf: http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/arts Hobnob fucked around with this message at 17:06 on Jul 12, 2017 |
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Jul 12, 2017 16:46
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Boatswain posted:Nice! Keep them coming as I think it's an interesting theme. I don't mind short stories/novels with other concerns as long as they feature art in an interesting way. Short stories maybe "We Also Walk Dogs" by Heinlein. There's something I'm forgetting that I can't quite bring to mind.
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Jul 12, 2017 16:56
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Boatswain posted:Nice! Keep them coming as I think it's an interesting theme. I don't mind short stories/novels with other concerns as long as they feature art in an interesting way.
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Jul 12, 2017 17:56
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The short story "Zima Blue" by Alastair Reynolds fits that description. It's also a really cool story. Edit - It's about a reporter interviewing an android sculpture artist before his newest piece is unveiled. It goes through all the pieces he's done over his career. It's a lot better than this little description though. johnsonrod fucked around with this message at 18:20 on Jul 12, 2017 |
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Jul 12, 2017 18:07
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Make sure everybody has Zimas!
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Jul 12, 2017 19:08
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General Battuta posted:Make sure everybody has Zimas!
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Jul 12, 2017 19:14
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General Battuta posted:Make sure everybody has Zimas! The Zima Imperium, a new space opera by newcomer Richard Lewis COMING SOON
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Jul 12, 2017 19:22
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Hobnob posted:I recall some talk of psionics as an art form in Bester's The Demolished Man. There are examples in the chapter with the telepath party.
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Jul 12, 2017 19:33
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DACK FAYDEN posted:You have good taste. Easily the best character in that book and my second or third favorite overall. Eh. I don't get the appeal of Da Shi that much, and I found Ye Wenjie much more interesting.
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Jul 12, 2017 19:54
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90s Cringe Rock posted:I was going to watch some stupid LP videos, but now I have to watch Jedi Party again. Auralnauts canon is the best version of Star Wars. Post the scene, I can't figure out how to link to a time stamp on a mobile browser.
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Jul 12, 2017 19:55
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General Battuta posted:Post the scene, I can't figure out how to link to a time stamp on a mobile browser. That's just the dance fight, though, the whole episode is here and the whole (main) series is here.
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Jul 12, 2017 20:08
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Boatswain posted:Nice! Keep them coming as I think it's an interesting theme. I don't mind short stories/novels with other concerns as long as they feature art in an interesting way. John Varley's "The Phantom of Kansas" features a person who creates weather programs as art although it is only a part of the story.
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Jul 12, 2017 23:27
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Boatswain posted:Anyone got recs for well written books in which the author depicts future artforms? I'm thinking of Ballard stories I've read where living sculptures or CG poetry feature. Did Bruce Sterling depict any in Holy Fire? I remember the protag running around with a bunch of artistic types but no specifics
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Jul 13, 2017 10:08
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So, I teach Academic Level ESL and my current reading class is 100% Chinese. One of our goals this semester is to get to them do more pleasure reading, so I gave them a list of book to do in an extensive reading curriculum. On a whim, I tossed in Bridge of Birds. They seem very interested in the book. So, I may end up teaching Bridge of Birds to a bunch of native Chinese. Should be interesting.
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Jul 13, 2017 18:05
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You could do the English translation of Three Body Problem 
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Jul 13, 2017 18:53
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General Battuta posted:You could do the English translation of Three Body Problem I considered it but you have to be careful because they will steal it online in Chinese. You basically gotta use something super contemporary or super obscure because otherwise they will find a translation
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Jul 13, 2017 19:26
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Boatswain posted:Anyone got recs for well written books in which the author depicts future artforms? I'm thinking of Ballard stories I've read where living sculptures or CG poetry feature. Good book, not exactly about art, not set in the future, but still is what I thought of first.
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Jul 13, 2017 19:27
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I think "buglike humanoid" doesn't quite do the Khepri justice. They're red skinned humans with beetles for heads (writhing legs and all). Based on depictions of this old fella. Between you and me I think Mr Mieville might enjoy the odd dose of catnip.
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Jul 13, 2017 19:53
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Boatswain posted:Anyone got recs for well written books in which the author depicts future artforms? I'm thinking of Ballard stories I've read where living sculptures or CG poetry feature. There was a creepy story in Vandermeer's Big Book of Science Fiction with a guy performing plastic surgery on some woman and himself as performance art. I know several people here read that book. Does anyone remember what story that was? I once wrote a scene in an art gallery where a dude cloned his own heart, put it on a pedestal, and had blood vessels trailing across the gallery under glass, up the walls to become a mural of a forest. But if I ever manage to finish and publish that novel, that scene will likely be cut because I'm dropping that POV.
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Jul 13, 2017 20:01
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