Litsy

so-so

Listed as a trilogy but actually the 4th book I‘ve read in the “Revelation Space” universe. After thousands of pages and over 15 years reading these books, I can believe how bad this was compared to the previous ones. If I hadn‘t invested so much time in this series I would have bailed on this one. I think Reynolds‘ agent must have been negotiating his Q9M pound deal as he wrote this so he just phoned it in. A boring, padded anti-climax

3 likes

rwmg

Tau Zero | Poul Anderson

pick

On a five-year voyage to colonise a planet orbiting Beta Virginis, the Leonora Christine meets with an accident in space and is unable to decelerate.

This was one of my favourite SF novels in my teens and twenties, when I thought I more or less understood the science as presented. This time I consciously just accepted it. Still a great story, though.

17 likes

rwmg

Tau Zero | Poul Anderson

#coffeeandabook

20 likes

RamsFan1963

Blindsight | Peter Watts

pan

69/100 This had the makings for a really unique first contact story, with truly alien aliens. Unfortunately, the story is bogged down by so much scientific jargon that it's hard to tell what's going on most of the time. I feel like a need a degree in biology, neurology and psychology to really grasp what is happening. There's so much talking, endless dialogues about complex scientific theories ⬇️

RamsFan1963 punctuated by brief moments of action. The idea of having a vampire as the team leader could have been fascinating, but it was wasted with little interaction between the vampire and the rest of the crew. 2 ⭐ #Read2025 2mo

52 likes1 comment

Lizpixie

Aurora Rising | Alastair Reynolds

#12Booksof2024 I‘m a few days late starting this challenge, but here‘s my picks for the first months of this year. January - Revenge by Tom Bower( Meghan is awful)plus it was the only book I read in January!
February - House of Flame & Shadow by Sarah.J.Maas March - Aurora Rising by Alistair Reynolds, one of the best scifi series I‘ve read.

Andrew65

Andrew65 Good choices, I‘m interested in the Science Fiction especially. 9mo

Lizpixie @Andrew65 I HIGHLY recommend it, it‘s a side on series to his Revelation Space novels. It‘s a crime novel set in space, it‘s absolutely fantastic. His world building is just🤌♥️ 9mo

Andrew65 Will definitely be searching out the work by this author - thanks for the information. 9mo

Lizpixie @andrew65 it‘s about AI, very fitting in this day and age I think. Gave me chills. 9mo

Andrew65 @Lizpixie Very and a worrying context. 9mo

35 likes5 comments

HeyT

Blindsight | Peter Watts

pick

I don't know what I was expecting but it wasn't this. This was a discussion of cognitive theory and sentience as it relates to the human condition disguised as a first contact novel with vampires?!

19 likes

Robotswithpersonality

Blue Mars | Kim Stanley Robinson

so-so

That was just, So SO MUCH. It appears that the challenge of writing about the long term effects of humanity settling on Mars was no longer enough in this last installment of the trilogy, so Robinson sprinkled in concerns about Earth and then extended out to the rest of our solar system! And of course, it's not just the political ramifications of trade or immigration between Earth and Mars, 1/?

Robotswithpersonality 2/? or the political, economic, infrastructural and environmental situation of Mars, or impact of longevity treatments on population growth in Earth and Mars, or the 'quick decline' or memory issues being experienced by the First Hundred as even longevity treatments are not a guarantee against death or some form of mental/memory deterioration, and then exploring what that looks like and how it might be combated, 1y

Robotswithpersonality 3/? or speculating consecutively on how generations of humans would adapt physiologically and alternatively/simultaneously work to artificially modify themselves for an alien climate, there's also the multi-generational cast of characters, so that in the middle of this epic sci fi about colonizing Mars you have what could be termed multiple family sagas also occurring via alternating POVs and cameos. 1y

Robotswithpersonality 4/? Highlights: Vlad going off on Antar about all the flaws of old capitalist system, having great answers to every tired rebuttal. As always, Nadia's POV, though didn't love how much she had to deal with political B.S. this time 'round, and Nirgal's POV, especially the visit to Earth, the overwhelmed sense of wonder. 1y

Robotswithpersonality 5/? Robinson's descriptions, often aided by a wealth of words for different colours, make environments both familiar and alien come alive. If you want to dig into the scientific and environmental and political what ifs, I think you'll really enjoy this series. Be certain you've got a fairly high tolerance for interpersonal drama, and can survive the 90s heteronormative gender dynamics and 1y

Robotswithpersonality 6/6 high propensity for the female characters to have manipulative, hyperemotional (one might even say hysterical), irrationally obdurate tendencies. ⚠️Child abuse
1y

10 likes5 comments