There have been a few comments on the site the past couple of weeks that reminded me of something that I wanted to post about when I started this weekend gig–science fiction. I know that we have had our share of Star Wars vs Star Trek debates, and I am sure there will be more such entertainment to come. And sci-fi is of course not just movies and television, but also the written word, science fiction books and stories from days gone by.
As an enjoyer of the genre, in pretty much all forms, one of the post topics I had considered was to occasionally pick a book from my semi-extensive collection and do a little write-up on it. A sort of book report, the likes of which I haven’t really done since grade school, although many of those books were much less pleasant to wade through. There are some sci-fi books out there I think are outstanding, and I’d like to share them with you, as well as hopefully stimulate some discussion and discover some new books myself!
The question then I found myself asking, as a new contributor here to AT, was that of relevance. Toasters has a personality, a theme, a purpose for existence if you will, and as someone coming in to add to it I want to maintain that focus on celebrating obsolete technology, on discovering and expanding our knowledge of some of the roads less traveled along our journey’s of technological development. So does sci-fi literature fit into this, does it have a place here?
My answer, as you might guess, is yes. A good science fiction story is first a good story, with a relatable ‘human’ element, but a story that uses the frame of technology to tell that story, to expand the story beyond the current world. Sometimes that expansion allows the story down paths not available in the current world, or to explore themes that would be socially inappropriate to discuss at the time, but can be brought to light through the lens of the future.
The aspect that I think really fits with what we are trying to do here at Atomic Toasters is that of predictions. Whether they come true or not, science fiction often includes ideas about where technology is going in the future, and I think that often the theories on what is to come can be as interesting as the particular technology of a certain era in human development.
So I told you why I think science fiction is a good fit here, but I also want to hear from our superb commentariat–what do you think? Are book reviews something you would like to see or do you have no interest in such a thing. If you are interested, what sorts of information would you be looking for? Spoilers would most likely be avoided, but I am still feeling out how specific/non-specific the detail about the story should be. Let’s get the AT Book Club discussion going!
I'm all for an AT book club. I'm currently reading Robert Sawyers Hominids but I've got a ton of old SciFi novels and have been focusing on Heinlein and Asimov.
I see in your pic there Stranger in a Strange land, maybe we could start with that? or something more modern. I'm open to pretty well anything at this point.
Okay… but I'm drawing the line at Filk Music!
http://www.interfilk.org/interfilk/filk.htm
I would enjoy Sci-Fi book reviews a lot, Sci-Fi totally fits in with AT. I think you could outline sub-genres or themes in Sci-Fi once in a while, rather than book by book. Like, books in which there are no aliens, utopian/dystopian books, great robot stories. I dunno, make a few more up.
An Anti-Filk-ite eh? I don't know if we can tolerate that sort of intolerance around here!
Ever read Fallen Angels, by Jerry Pournelle, Larry Niven and Michael Flynn? As far as I know, it is in a category of it's own, as a story in which sci-fi fans play an integral role. And there is filk-song!
<img src="http://www.baenebooks.com/images/Product/medium/067172052X.jpg" width="200/">
This would be something else I could contribute, although my tastes is usually for utopian/dystopian fiction, and the fringes of science fiction like Bradbury and Vonnegut. I do have an endless reading list, and a voracious appetite.
Excellent idea.
I am sometimes at a loss for things to read (while waiting for the latest Clive Cussler or the like). That's usually when I hit the Baen free library and pick something at random. Alternatively, I go back to something I read as a teen when I used to pick books (also at random) from the local library. I then look the author up on Wikipedia and see what else they've done, often finding that the author was far more prolific than I would have first given them credit for. I would be all over some book reviews and discussion.
If you like Clive Cussler, give James Rollins a try. A lot like Cussler, but many times with a very slight para-normal twist, usually something historical tied in like Cussler too. Probably actually leans a little towards Science Fiction even. Maybe a combo of Cussler and Dan Brown, since about half of his book have some sort of religious theme (not always Christian.) Rollins is still writing his own stuff, unlike Cussler who is probably just doing outlines at this point. Although, Cussler's Issac Bell books are great.
I don't mind science fiction set in current or past earth time. I have never really gotten into reading the whole far future or alien stuff. I might have gotten ruined by taking a science fiction literature class in college and being forced to read a book a week.
Cool. The AT book club is already working out!
Thanks for the tip. I've seen Rollins' name on the shelves but never read any. Sounds right up my alley. And I fully agree, the Isaac Bell books are very clever but I am finding some of Cussler's other recent stuff to be not quite what it was.
For yucks I recently re-read the first couple of Dirk Pitt books. Back at the beginning Pitt was a crass, heavy drinking and smoking womanizer. Interesting how he has grown and matured with the times…along with the rest of us I suppose.
I just finished reading Footfall (at Fodder's recommendation, IIRC) and I must say I was enjoying it up until the very end. I found the finish very disappointing, like the authors ran out of steam & just decided to end it. I wonder if Lucifer's Hammer is any better.
Well, if you like alien invasions of 20th century Earth told from the perspectives of a whole bunch of different characters, and things that don't run out of steam but instead go on for a very long time indeed and then continue going for a while after that, you might enjoy Harry Turtledove's Worldwar series. It's WWII with an alien invasion in the middle, and then 4 more books after that on the alternate-history-and-future that develops.
Lucifer's Hammer is very good, although I find it quite depressing. The behaviour of a great deal of the villainous characters is depressingly dead-on accurate to what we see in real life. It's very much worth a read.
I wouldn't mind a book review-type of feature, especially if the commentariat contributed with submissions of their own.
Early books that speculated on future technologies that have either actually happened or that have proven to be false would fit right into AT's basic premise.
My personal preferences is hard science fiction, usually taking place in the far future but not always. I especially like to see current scientific theories being worked out to logical conclusions in future real-life events or technologies.