Hard SF discussion

Hi everyone:
It's been quiet in the group. What are you reading? Is anyone discovering new hard SF authors or other new books?
I'm reading C. J. Cherryh's Cyteen - not exactly a new author or book. I recently finished Dan Simmons' Fall Of Hyperion (again, not new). As usual, Simmons was literate. And there are interesting speculations about human-AI relations and ultimate result of AI growth. I did have some issues with what seemed to be plot inconsistencies or such. If you're not shy about taking on something the length of the Hyperion / Fall Of Hyperion pair (or even the 4 books in the Hyperion and Endymion series), it's something to consider.
It may not be something for the Hard SF group, but one book that raised my curiosity and I hope to get to before too long is Paul Levinson's The Plot To Save Socrates.
Publishers Weekly: "Inspired by a newly discovered dialogue of Socrates in which he's offered escape by time travel, Sierra Waters, classics grad student in 2042, joins her professor, Thomas O'Leary, in a quest to return to the past. ...Plans are made, betrayed and relaid, all aiming to bring Socrates away before his execution. But the wily thinker, out to embarrass Athens, will have none of it. ...by the surprise end, Levinson succeeds in tying the main narrative together in a way that neatly satisfies the circularity inherent in time travel, whose paradoxes he links to Greek philosophy."

David

Hi David!

I'm about 1/3 of the way into 2010: Odyssey Two, and am really enjoying it. I read it when it first came out, and still like the movie.

I'm also reading The Engines of God by Jack McDevitt. I've read a McDevitt or two, and like this one so far.

Both of these books have a slower pace than most of the books I've read lately, and I like it.

The Plot to Save Socrates sounds interesting!

--Scott D.

Hi:
Another book I hope to get to before long is a new hard SF item. Against A Diamond Sky is a collection of novellas selected from the 2008 Orion's Arm Novella competition. (For those not familiar with Orion's Arm, it's a project develop[ing:][ed:] a scientifically-consistent view of a far future galactic civilization[s:]. The novellas take place in the framework of this Orion's Arm vision.)
The dead-tree edition is expensive - 17.95 for the paperback at Amazon. However, a PDF ebook can be ordered from orionsarm.com for $5.
Has anyone read either this or any of the other Orion's Arm fiction?

David

Thanks for pointing this out!
--Scott

Hi All!

Right now I'm reading American Gods.

I also have Heretics of Dune in the queue. I'm excited about this one because I have read the original trilogy at least 4 times and God Emperor of Dune twice but I never got to the last two novels that Frank Herbert wrote in the series. The in-depth analysis and exploration of the impact of a real messiah was fascinating to me. I know that there are other books in the series by Frank's son, but I'm skeptical.

Hi,just joined (hard SF,yes-no sci fi!)
Was reading Egan's Teranesia but gave up when I was losing the will to read,and just started Reynolds' The Prefect! Previously I've read half of Pushing Ice but I just wasn't in the mood for reading at the time so stopped halfway thru-hope to read again sometime (if I can find a copy)

I've got Robert J. Sawyer's Hominids on deck, which I'm reading for the in-the-real-world reading group associated with the wonderful Borderlands bookstore here in San Francisco. (Sincere plug: if you ever buy your scifi/fantasy/horror online--or are visiting San Francisco--you should check them out at borderland-books.com or their online catalog here).

However, first I've got to finish Strangers to Ourselves: Discovering the Adaptive Unconscious, which I read with a group that studies cognitive science for fun.

But I've got The Prefect waiting on hold at the library, so I swear I'll get to this month's BotM!

The Prefect is the best SF book I have read in years. I highly recommend it.

Hoping to get to The Prefect before the end of the month, but I am just digging into Blackout by Connie Willis.

I want to read Poul Anderson's Tau Zero soon-any fans of the book on here? (Or other similar Anderson novels)

Tau Zero is a great book. However, I have too many other books waiting to be read for the first time, so personally I'm not ready to re-read Tau Zero.

Larry wrote: "I want to read Poul Anderson's Tau Zero soon-any fans of the book on here? (Or other similar Anderson novels)"

Hey Larry! I just added it to my "to-read" list. I'm a fan of Mr. Anderson but have never read this one. I was happy to see a Kindle version available.

Alas I don't think I'll make it this month. I am currently reading American Gods and have these on my "book of the month" queue:

The Prefect
Assassin's Apprentice
The Warded Man
Gardens of the Moon

I think my March books will spill over to my April books :)

Scott D. wrote: "Hoping to get to The Prefect before the end of the month, but I am just digging into Blackout by Connie Willis."

Interesting...for me, your "Blackout" link actually links to "Battlefield Earth'.

Hmm, I'm nearly done with Aldiss's Canopy of Time thankfully. I dont know what it is about his short stories but I always find them a challenge and often dont get the point!

I finished Jablokov's Carve The Sky. I enjoyed it. Good pace and style. Not bloated with excess material. Some interesting characters. It's sort of an SF / espionage story, but not really a "full" or "typical" espionage form. Sort of borderline mystery / espionage.

The clues lead us around an interplanetary human civilization, hunting for alien artifacts, human artworks, a dead artist, a vanished religious group, a series of thefts, etc.

I've finished The Prefect but some personal business has come up that will make it hard over the next few weeks to effectively read a novel so I'm working on The Hard SF Renaissance, an anthology of Hard Sci Fi short stories written in the '90s.

As a tribute to Clarke I.lm going to read the space trilogy(Islands in the Sky, Sands of Mars and Earthlight)Sands is the only one I've not read before and I've been dying to read it for years!

I'm reading Catching Fire,sequel to The Hunger Games which is not very original and too oriented to young girls, but nevertheless perfectly executed and a page turner... I'm finding it hard to go back to The Prefect, so I better get it out of my system quickly...

Mark wrote: "The Prefect is the best SF book I have read in years. I highly recommend it."

Yes, it's a large, solid read that holds together well, has lots of great ideas, a complex plot, no slow parts, and (rare in SF) a halfway decent ending. I won't give away more than that. One of the bad guys is a little too close to a mustache-twirling caricature, but I can overlook it.

Now on The Sands of Mars by Arthur C Clarke-first time for me!

Larry Wrote: Now on The Sands of Mars by Arthur C Clarke...

Coincidentally, I recently finished Red Dust by Paul McAuley. It presents a Mars that was terraformed enough to sustain a number of kinds of Earth life - but not carried through enough, so the Earth-like environment is deteriorating. Mars is mostly inhabited by Chinese who have a culture that is a mix of traditional and Communist institutions ("communal capitalism"). After an anarchist from the asteroids lands on Mars, the main character (Li) ends up on an odyssey through Mars. It's an interesting book, but the ending didn't work for me.

I'm reading John Brunner's Total Eclipse - about scientists studying the ruins of an alien civilization that went from stone age to space age in 3000 years, then disappeared 100,000 years ago on a planet 17 light years from Earth.

Soon I'll start Consider Phlebas.

David Brandt

Two interesting sounding books there David! I 've you to read any McAuley-I just never see his books in the library! Incidentally he has a blog on blogger with regular updates. ( unlikelyworlds.blogspot.com )

Now on Earthlight by Arthur C Clarke

David wrote: "Hi All!

Right now I'm reading American Gods.

I also have Heretics of Dune in the queue. I'm excited about this one because I have read the original trilogy at least 4 tim..."

David! The second trilogy of the original Dune series is my favorite. I think i've read God Emperor of Dune at least 10 times. Heretics of Dune I like pretty well, and Chapterhouse Dune is also amazing.

If you like Frank Herbert's writing style with all it's mystery and layers you will not enjoy the Brian Herbert/Kevin Anderson books as much. I read a little bit of Hunters of Dune but found I did not like it. The "prequel" books (also by Brian H. and Kevin Anderson) are okay, but again, just not for me. I think I read House Atreides but I don't remember if I finished that either.

Have you read the Pandora series by Frank Herbert?
The Jesus Incident
The Lazarus Effect
The Ascension Factor
It's another of my faves!

-Liz

I'm currently reading a non-SF book, but I recently finished The The Fighter King by John Bowers. It's the first, chronologically, in his Fighter Queen saga.

Although fairly long, I finished it much too quickly.

I'm surprised to see Dune on a hard SF group. To me it read more like fantasy, and I couldnt finish it!

Just started Le Guin's Planet of Exile, a new author for me and a delightfully short book!

After the disapointment of Planet of Exile I'm now onto her City of Illusions

I'm reading Stephen Bury's Interface. Very entertaining. One of the things I like reading about when I read SF is progress. In this case, technological progress in electronics/brain interface. Also a nice fantasy about good people making it in politics...

Professionally, I just finished up Star Marine by John Bowers. It's a great story, maybe one of Bowers' best.

Inside info: It's gonna be available next week sometime as an eBook at AKW Books, if Bowers can manage to quit changing what he wants on the cover -- and it's HUGE. Don't expect to read it in one sitting since it's about half the size of War and Peace.

Another bit of inside info: AKW Books is going to bundle the entire 4-book Fighter Queen collection at a discount, so wait for it if you don't already have the other books.
----------------------
Non-professionally, I'm reading a fantasy, so I won't bore you with it.

Now doing a re read of Rendezvous with Rama by A C Clarke,fabulous book!

Finished the fantasy. Star Marine is now available. The bundle isn't out yet, but it'll be a good deal (something like pay for 3, get 4).

Currently reading McCaffrey's Dinosaur Planet. Well, actually re-reading it. I forgot how blasted boring the start is. I don't remember if it gets any better later on. The silly problem her main characters have with eating meat is already getting old. It's one thing to being a strict vegetarian yourself, but becoming ill at the thought of someone else chowing down on a good steak boarders on obsession and mental illness.

Trying a new author - David J Williams, Mirrored Heavens. Only about 30 pages in, very quick pace, and it's written in present tense, which is making it... tense!

David wrote: "I also have Heretics of Dune in the queue. I'm excited about this one because I have read the original trilogy at least 4 tim..."

I've heard a lot of people complain about the pacing of Heretics. Personally, I loved it. Be prepared to read Chapterhouse immediately after, though, because Heretics of Dune is in large part a setup for it. I think that's why some people have a problem with Heretics - the action that does occur doesn't have much resolution.

As for Brian Herbert's Dune books, the House series prequels are o.k., but for the sake of anything you consider holy and right in the world, do NOT read Hunters of Dune and especially Sandworms of Dune. You will end up like one of the damned in "Event Horizon", gouging out your eyes and vomiting up your intestines.

Sadly, I'm currently reading a book now that is only marginally better - Right Ascension by David Derrico. I can't decide if it's just really bad, or it's supposed to be tongue-in-cheek, not taking itself too seriously. I'd like to give Derrico the benefit of the doubt, but the lack of any real wit where it might be found in the latter leads me to think it's the former.

Because of some recent horrors of SF I've read in the past few months, I couldn't be happier to have found this website and SF group! I've just bought Scalzi's Old Man's War due to it's apparent favorable reception here.

I am currently working my way through this year's Hugo nominees. I have already finished Julian Comstock, The City & The City, The Windup Girl, and Boneshaker. I'm currently reading WWW: Wake and listening to Heinlein's The Green Hills of Earth. I've also just finished Saturn's Children by Charles Stross.

Of those books, The Windup Girl was my favorite. Saturn's Children was also very very good. The City & The City used a lot of mental muscle to try to envision the city. Boneshaker and Comstock had more potential that what was realized.

So far, The Green Hills of Earth is like a series of engineering lectures padded by short story material.

Andrew:
You may be interested in 2 webpages I have:

A list of books that won any of several SF awards:
http://www.hardsf.org/HSFSAwLt.htm

A list of books that may be of particular interest to hard SF readers (although not all hard SF):
http://www.hardsf.org/HSFSBkLt.htm

David Brandt

Recently, I've been slogging through David Lindsay's A Voyage To Arcturus. Personally, I'd be more inclined to call it fantasy than SF. And it's not really to my taste. However, I could see that some people might like the fact it's a non-stereotypical kind of speculative fiction. The premise is a man from Earth ending up on a planet of Arcturus, but the actual story is more dream-like. No swords, no wizards, no dragons, no elves. Perhaps some deities or similar beings, but much of the story could seem to be told without them. The man wanders around meeting people who present moral and philosophical issues (but not in ways that engaged me personally).

David Brandt

Regarding A Voyage To Arcturus, I'll comment more when I finish. I'm not clear yet whether the "philosophical" aspects will acquire depth or direction. They might remain scattered or might resolve into mysticism. I forget to say in my last note it was written in 1920, so today's readers may feel the writing style is old.

David Brandt

Andrew wrote: "Hi all, I'm new here and have only recently started reading science fiction. So there are a lot of those "have to read" books that I've got to catch up on.

I've recently finished reading The Pea..."

Where to go for eBooks depends upon which eReader you get. AKW Books (akwbooks.com) has a few new SF books that aren't available anywhere else and they publish in several formats which covers most readers.

If you get a Kindle, of course you should check out Amazon. Sony has it's own site with mostly mainstream (NY Publishers) stuff. iPod has iBooks. Fictionwise is loaded with stuff in several formats.

Just a partial list.

I finished A Voyage To Arcturus. I read it expecting old SF. It was more a kind of non-stereotypical speculative fiction. The book ends as if we've had a spiritual journey, but it was gobbledy-goop to me. I'm unsure whether the author tried to say something about reality, or only intended an alternate reality's spirituality. Anyhow, if you might be interested in a guy meandering through a series of encounters in a odd, sparsely populated world who ends up stumbling upon a muddled spiritual insight, give it a try.

David Brandt

I finally finished reading Against a Diamond Sky. It's a collection of five novellas selected in a 2008 competition of stories set in the Orion's Arm universe. Orion's Arm is an internet community which worked to develop a scientifically plausible vision of future tech and civilization.
My review is at: http://www.hardsf.org/HSFROrio.htm
When I started the book, I had the preconception that it would be more a galactic view - interstellar travel, commerce, governing, etc. While interstellar civilization exists in the background of most of the stories, more of the themes had to do with the relations between vast intelligences and intelligences closer to the human scale. Although that's not the kind of story I would have selected for myself, it made me think that is a very plausible result of tech advancement into the far future.
I had wanted to read the book because Orion's Arm is supposed to put importance on scientific plausibility. I was disappointed as a result when I found a major thread in the first story was extreme kinds of psychic powers. (Another story had what seemed to be a supernatural scene at the end, but it wasn't a major thread in the story.) However, other stories provided interesting scenarios and food for thought.

David Brandt

I'm about to start The Moon is Hell by John W Campbell, a fix up I think that takes the form of journal entries and is about an alternative space race.

I've been working on The Difference Engine by William Gibson & Bruce Sterling. It's an alternative history based on the assumption the Babbage machine was implemented in the 1820's and lead to a computer age in the following decades. There's interesting speculation about that, as well as bits and pieces of other historical changes - from an earlier start to the science of evolution to Texas becoming an independent nation without a Mexican-American War. The book is on the long side, and from my point of view spends too much time on aspects that have no bearing on the book's core. (It may be necessary to tell us Mallory visits a prostitute, but how many pages do we need to know about each time they do it and what they eat in between? Even if Mallory runs across her again later in the book, will it make a difference which of them ate this and which ate that?) The writing is good - I'm not bored by these tangents. It just seems the book could have been more if it spent less time on what one could get in mainstream fiction and more time in speculative fiction.

Difference Engine: I read about 100 pages and it seemed like nothing was happening (or was that Boneshaker).

Tamahome:
It may have been Difference Engine. It takes them a couple of pages to say, "I went to the store to get a loaf of bread." They described going to the store well enough to keep me reading. However, my personal preference is to hear a good singer do a song that resonates with me rather than hearing a great singer perform a laundry detergent jingle. So I'd enjoy Difference Engine more if they spent less time buying bread.

well The Moon Is Hell was just boring, I gave up on that one! Am now reading Hothouse by Aldiss-not hard SF at all but a good yarn!

I'm reading Huxley's Brave New World. I believe I read it in school LONG ago. It's noteworthy as a dystopian novel for the centrality of technology in it. The particular sciences emphasized are ones I'm not familiar enough with to say whether it was hard SF when it was written. Huxley manages to throw readers right into the middle of this strange world without bewildering them by beginning the story with an educational tour for students of a "hatchery" where humans are engineered. And he presents it in a way that did not feel like data-dumping or a text book to me.

Next up Tau Zero by Poul Anderson. I added the copy I'm reading as that edition wasnt showing on here and now it seems I'm reading 2 copies!

Survivor's Quest by Timothy Zahn; my mind needed a rest after Tony Daniel's Meta planetary. ;-)

Came up short in the middle of a chaoter in Tau Zero with an equation (eek!)
The square of I - v2/c2,where v=velocity and c=speed of light. But it never explained what I is!