I recently read Octavia Butlers "Kindred". It was great and really gets you thinking how not everything in history is a black and white (no pun intended) as the history books make it out to be.
Currently reading "The Descent of man" by Grayson Perry. Its a short non-fiction read (just about 150 pages). Anybody read that?
The Algebraist picked up a bit but honestly not that much. It was OK but felt flabby and kind of, well, dull. I zipped through volume 2 of Paper Girls, which is triffic. Tom Holland's book on the Julian Dynasty next, I think.
I finished Lev Grossman’s Warp. It’s his first novel; he wrote it while he was miserable and unsuccessful; it’s a portrait of a guy in Boston in the 90s being unhappy and not doing anything much post college. Nothing really happens; probably my favorite part is this scene of going out with nerd friends by Harvard square, and drinking too much, and tuning out of the conversation, more or less, and taking the drunk walk home through Central. Very specifically relatable. And lots of portraits of the T. It’s interspersed with the protagonist’s fantasies of himself in a number of fictional contexts, where he’s the aloof and aristocratic hero of a genre novel and not his self full of ennui, etc, good shit good shit. It’s actually not a terribly emotionally affecting novel, not like the Magicians, and you can see that it’s his first novel, but it’s a good little read, and you can understand exactly what he was doing in it and you can absolutely see some of the themes of the Magicians in their initial stages.
It's not a must-read unless you're a huge Lev Grossman fan and want to investigate the evolution of his style, but it is good.
I'm also halfway through Adrian Tchaikovsky's Children of Time, which is approximately twice as long as it needs to be. Please someone make a remastered version of this book with none of the chapters about humans and only the chapters about uplifted spiders*. The humans are all profoundly boring and mildly unlikeable, whereas the portrait of spider society, spider religion, and spider science, told with a neat omniscient-ish narrative voice and using names to provide a sense of continuity despite large time gaps, is really fantastic.
It's so close to being such a good book! Just...delete Holsten. Or rewrite the human parts entirely to actually be interesting.
*I don't actually advocate for Brin's books any more, despite the username, but I am still a huge fan of uplift as a theme
I'm also halfway through Adrian Tchaikovsky's Children of Time, which is approximately twice as long as it needs to be. Please someone make a remastered version of this book with none of the chapters about humans and only the chapters about uplifted spiders*. The humans are all profoundly boring and mildly unlikeable, whereas the portrait of spider society, spider religion, and spider science, told with a neat omniscient-ish narrative voice and using names to provide a sense of continuity despite large time gaps, is really fantastic.
It's so close to being such a good book! Just...delete Holsten. Or rewrite the human parts entirely to actually be interesting.
*I don't actually advocate for Brin's books any more, despite the username, but I am still a huge fan of uplift as a theme
the humans, ah, get more interesting by the end
I'm also a sucker for cold-sleep stories
but yeah the spideys are obviously the most interesting part of the book
I'm also halfway through Adrian Tchaikovsky's Children of Time, which is approximately twice as long as it needs to be. Please someone make a remastered version of this book with none of the chapters about humans and only the chapters about uplifted spiders*. The humans are all profoundly boring and mildly unlikeable, whereas the portrait of spider society, spider religion, and spider science, told with a neat omniscient-ish narrative voice and using names to provide a sense of continuity despite large time gaps, is really fantastic.
It's so close to being such a good book! Just...delete Holsten. Or rewrite the human parts entirely to actually be interesting.
*I don't actually advocate for Brin's books any more, despite the username, but I am still a huge fan of uplift as a theme
Why not? Don't think they're particularly good or has Brin done and said problematic stuff in the vein of Orson Scott Card?
Also, can't believe I didn't recognize your username considering that I've read Startide Rising a ton of times.
I'm also halfway through Adrian Tchaikovsky's Children of Time, which is approximately twice as long as it needs to be. Please someone make a remastered version of this book with none of the chapters about humans and only the chapters about uplifted spiders*. The humans are all profoundly boring and mildly unlikeable, whereas the portrait of spider society, spider religion, and spider science, told with a neat omniscient-ish narrative voice and using names to provide a sense of continuity despite large time gaps, is really fantastic.
It's so close to being such a good book! Just...delete Holsten. Or rewrite the human parts entirely to actually be interesting.
*I don't actually advocate for Brin's books any more, despite the username, but I am still a huge fan of uplift as a theme
Why not? Don't think they're particularly good or has Brin done and said problematic stuff in the vein of Orson Scott Card?
Also, can't believe I didn't recognize your username considering that I've read Startide Rising a ton of times.
The dolphin captain is Creideiki, not credeiki, so there's that. I'm really not sure why I chose that as my handle; I don't relate to the character, but I think the name appealed aesthetically when I was 13 or so.
I don't know anything about Brin's personal life or anything; I just reread the uplift cycle a few years ago and was like Oh No, these are...not actually very good, are they...
Some elements of his writing are a little clunky and heavy-handed, and much of the characterization is pretty bad. They are still pretty fun, especially once you get past the first book, which is the worst of the lot, in my opinion (the mystery plot with the alien with the eyes is not amazing; the thing about the sun is unfortunately pretty silly as well). I will probably reread them again in the future and enjoy them, because I like all the different kinds of aliens (probably my favorites are the traeki stacks in the last few books)--but I wouldn't really recommend them to other people (unless I knew the person was looking for mid-grade scifi); I try to only recommend books that are definitely consistent and well-written and have strong characterization.
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I think Startide Rising is still good, the other two, eh, not so much. I've only done one read through of the second trilogy. But yeah, Brin is definitely one of those science fiction authors whose ideas surpass their writing ability. Kind of a shame but common to the genre.
Finished The Power by Naomi Alderman and it was v good. Some parts kind of slayed me but overall I kind of loved it. Read the thank yous and she's thanking Atwood and LeGuin (/cry) for helping her with the book and I'm like yep that's my kinda book.
Tom Holland's Dynasty is very good, though he has an annoying habit of pretending to know about the interior lives of his subjects. Brilliant storyteller, though.
Oh man, I'm about 1/3 through the Southern Reach trilogy. It's fine I guess, but I have the Fifth Season warming up on deck to read next. And you guys are getting me pretty excited about starting it!
I finished Children of Time and to me the humans never became personable or interesting. I think it would have been really cool to have a human story with 1. humans you root for 2. human storylines that parallel/mirror/play on the spider storylines and themes(eg the spiders have themes of gender politics, so what does that look like in humans, let's show some societies or individuals in similar situations).
The theme of building on the efforts of your ancestors ties the two stories together, but that's actually it--the author really could have taken the opportunity to enhance the book by making the two storylines resonate so much more! I think if he scrapped the human storyline and rewrote it entirely, the book would be a classic. As it is, the spiders are amazing and made me cry at their technological achievement, and it was a fun read overall.
I thought that the there were humans to root for. Its been a few months, but the history guy (the human protagonist) his crush (the security lady/mother of their kid) were certainly humans to root for. I thought that the contrast of the humans who couldn't see the humanity in their own race, vs. how the spiders did so much more exactly because they could was great.
Still think the weakest part was how the uplift virus somehow works like instantaneously to work across spiders and humans was a bit of a let down. And that, in the end, humans (as a group) don't learn anything till they are actually all infected with it, I took as a rather depressing.
The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it. ~ Terry Pratchett
I thought that the there were humans to root for. Its been a few months, but the history guy (the human protagonist) his crush (the security lady/mother of their kid) were certainly humans to root for. I thought that the contrast of the humans who couldn't see the humanity in their own race, vs. how the spiders did so much more exactly because they could was great.
Still think the weakest part was how the uplift virus somehow works like instantaneously to work across spiders and humans was a bit of a let down. And that, in the end, humans (as a group) don't learn anything till they are actually all infected with it, I took as a rather depressing.
Classicist and engineer (Holsten and Lain) didn't come across as living, breathing figures to me; they weren't stock characters, but they also just...I don't know, hardly felt like characters at all. I didn't buy their romance and I didn't find them personable, interesting, or even particularly self-consistent.
It's definitely possible someone else would have found something to root for in these characters but...I don't know, imagine if it were a crew as compelling and full of personality as the crew from A Long Way To A Small Angry Planet, and alternating that with bits about spiders--how amazing would the resulting book be?
The ending with the nanovirus was definitely cheesy, but I have to say, I really liked it and its message. Humans and spiders working together thanks to the power of recognizing commonality in their fellow sentients ;-; ;;;;-;;;;
And I do like the bleakness of the message that it isn't possible for humans without genetic engineering.
I agree that there was a weakness to feeling that the humans were in such a perilous position that i should be rooting for them. The spiders were just so good that i ended up not "really" caring about humans.
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers might actually work well. It has some sci-fi tropes, is not about galactic ending events but at heart it is a story about people and how they learn to relate and accept each other. Slip that under some nerdy 15 year old's guard by hiding behind all the space aliens.
So, I needed to read the Caitlin Chapters again from Storm of Swords; I must have somehow skipped her last chapter entirely. It's not very long, and I don't remember reading it at all as I was trying to finish storm of swords.
Question for the thread: what one science fiction novel would you teach/would want to read in 10th grade English?
"Classic": Starship Troopers, Use of Weapons. Maybe Dune (long)? Maybe Bujold's "Cordelia's Honor' omnibus?
Contemporary: Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, Ninefox Gambit, Tchaikovsky's "Dogs of War"(!), Adam Rakunas's "Windswept"
I guess it sort of depends why they'll be reading it.
ETA: I wanted to throw "Children of Time" on here so badly, but I think Dogs of War is the better of Tchaikovsky's works in a very close race.
Ninefox Gambit is the one with the calendars, right?
Yup.
Just requested the sequel, was not aware it had been released.
I snagged an ARC of the sequel to the sequel (Revenant Gun) a month or so ago. It's out in June. So you've got a month or so to catch up!
(Both Raven Stratagem and Revenant Gun are rather good)
Ninefox Gambit is the one with the calendars, right?
Yup.
Just requested the sequel, was not aware it had been released.
I snagged an ARC of the sequel to the sequel (Revenant Gun) a month or so ago. It's out in June. So you've got a month or so to catch up!
(Both Raven Stratagem and Revenant Gun are rather good)
I tend to devour books, so I'm not particularly worried about timeline.
"I will write your name in the ruin of them. I will paint you across history in the color of their blood."
Ooo....The Traitor Baru Coromont is probably a pretty good choice as well though it's more fantasy than science fiction.
Brings up issues of colonialism, subversion contrasted with outright opposition and the price of that path.
They read Things Fall Apart, so that may actually pair interestingly.
These are great! A couple I've been pondering already, so that's good, and some I never even thought of.
Thanks so much! And for any more suggestions anyone thinks of. :-D
Is forever war still good or is it too much a Vietnam allegory?
It's a book about a war lasting forever where society, especially regarding sexuality, changes dramatically out from under soldiers while they are serving. Seems pretty relevant, given that we're about a year away from kids who weren't born on 9/11 serving in Afghanistan.
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Currently reading "The Descent of man" by Grayson Perry. Its a short non-fiction read (just about 150 pages). Anybody read that?
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It's not a must-read unless you're a huge Lev Grossman fan and want to investigate the evolution of his style, but it is good.
It's so close to being such a good book! Just...delete Holsten. Or rewrite the human parts entirely to actually be interesting.
*I don't actually advocate for Brin's books any more, despite the username, but I am still a huge fan of uplift as a theme
the humans, ah, get more interesting by the end
I'm also a sucker for cold-sleep stories
but yeah the spideys are obviously the most interesting part of the book
Choose Your Own Chat 1 Choose Your Own Chat 2 Choose Your Own Chat 3
Why not? Don't think they're particularly good or has Brin done and said problematic stuff in the vein of Orson Scott Card?
Also, can't believe I didn't recognize your username considering that I've read Startide Rising a ton of times.
The dolphin captain is Creideiki, not credeiki, so there's that. I'm really not sure why I chose that as my handle; I don't relate to the character, but I think the name appealed aesthetically when I was 13 or so.
I don't know anything about Brin's personal life or anything; I just reread the uplift cycle a few years ago and was like Oh No, these are...not actually very good, are they...
Some elements of his writing are a little clunky and heavy-handed, and much of the characterization is pretty bad. They are still pretty fun, especially once you get past the first book, which is the worst of the lot, in my opinion (the mystery plot with the alien with the eyes is not amazing; the thing about the sun is unfortunately pretty silly as well). I will probably reread them again in the future and enjoy them, because I like all the different kinds of aliens (probably my favorites are the traeki stacks in the last few books)--but I wouldn't really recommend them to other people (unless I knew the person was looking for mid-grade scifi); I try to only recommend books that are definitely consistent and well-written and have strong characterization.
Also pretty grimdark so far.
I'm mostly struck by the rare treat of a fantasy novel with writing that is more than adequate
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It does get pretty grim as it goes on... Its not as gratuitous “grim for the sake of grim” as warhammer or something, but it is very dystopic.
The world is... utilitarian.
The theme of building on the efforts of your ancestors ties the two stories together, but that's actually it--the author really could have taken the opportunity to enhance the book by making the two storylines resonate so much more! I think if he scrapped the human storyline and rewrote it entirely, the book would be a classic. As it is, the spiders are amazing and made me cry at their technological achievement, and it was a fun read overall.
Still think the weakest part was how the uplift virus somehow works like instantaneously to work across spiders and humans was a bit of a let down. And that, in the end, humans (as a group) don't learn anything till they are actually all infected with it, I took as a rather depressing.
It's definitely possible someone else would have found something to root for in these characters but...I don't know, imagine if it were a crew as compelling and full of personality as the crew from A Long Way To A Small Angry Planet, and alternating that with bits about spiders--how amazing would the resulting book be?
The ending with the nanovirus was definitely cheesy, but I have to say, I really liked it and its message. Humans and spiders working together thanks to the power of recognizing commonality in their fellow sentients ;-; ;;;;-;;;;
And I do like the bleakness of the message that it isn't possible for humans without genetic engineering.
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I read Stranger in a Strange Land for my 10th grade book report deal, but I don't know that it would be acceptable from a required reading aspect.
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Off the top of my head?
Left Hand of Darkness by Leguin.
I am probably way way way overestimating how well it'd go over with the majority of students though.
What have nighystalket's students done to you for that recommendation!?
1984 and Ender's Game are both short, good and seminal
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers might actually work well. It has some sci-fi tropes, is not about galactic ending events but at heart it is a story about people and how they learn to relate and accept each other. Slip that under some nerdy 15 year old's guard by hiding behind all the space aliens.
I thought Stranger in a Strange Land was considered a solid book. I really enjoyed it.
Also, Forever War is great as well. Maybe Player of Games? Starship Troopers?
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"Classic": Starship Troopers, Use of Weapons. Maybe Dune (long)? Maybe Bujold's "Cordelia's Honor' omnibus?
Contemporary: Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, Ninefox Gambit, Tchaikovsky's "Dogs of War"(!), Adam Rakunas's "Windswept"
I guess it sort of depends why they'll be reading it.
ETA: I wanted to throw "Children of Time" on here so badly, but I think Dogs of War is the better of Tchaikovsky's works in a very close race.
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Yup.
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Just requested the sequel, was not aware it had been released.
The Monster Baru Cormorant - Seth Dickinson
Steam: Korvalain
Choose Your Own Chat 1 Choose Your Own Chat 2 Choose Your Own Chat 3
Brings up issues of colonialism, subversion contrasted with outright opposition and the price of that path.
I snagged an ARC of the sequel to the sequel (Revenant Gun) a month or so ago. It's out in June. So you've got a month or so to catch up!
(Both Raven Stratagem and Revenant Gun are rather good)
Goodreads
SF&F Reviews blog
I tend to devour books, so I'm not particularly worried about timeline.
The Monster Baru Cormorant - Seth Dickinson
Steam: Korvalain
They read Things Fall Apart, so that may actually pair interestingly.
These are great! A couple I've been pondering already, so that's good, and some I never even thought of.
Thanks so much! And for any more suggestions anyone thinks of. :-D
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It's an amazingly good book, but it might be unsuitable for 15y olds
It's a book about a war lasting forever where society, especially regarding sexuality, changes dramatically out from under soldiers while they are serving. Seems pretty relevant, given that we're about a year away from kids who weren't born on 9/11 serving in Afghanistan.
Ender's Game
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