abracanabra | Entries tagged with science fiction

A listing of SF/F podcasts:
http://ken-schneyer.livejournal.com/31125.html

inktea asked for my science fiction favorites, and yes, I have a few.

In no particular order except how they were on my (unalphabetized) bookshelf:
The Warrior's Apprentice - Louis McMaster Bujold
Foreigner (and the whole series) - C.J. Cherryh
Cyteen - C.J. Cherryh
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War - Max Brooks (I would argue this is science fiction--disease hits modern world, society changes)
Islands in the Net - Bruce Sterling
Neuromancer, Mona Lisa Overdrive - William Gibson
The Reality Dysfunction, The Neutronium Alchemist, and The Naked God - Peter F. Hamilton
Starfish - Peter Watts
The Book of the Long Sun series - Gene Wolfe
The Madness Season - C.S. Friedman
Adulthood Rites - Octavia Butler
In Death series - J.D. Robb (guilty pleasure)
Liaden Universe series - Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (guilty pleasure)
Have Spacesuit--Will Travel, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Methuselah's Children - Robert A. Heinlein
Foundation and Empire, The Naked Sun - Isaac Asimov
Picnic on Paradise - Joanna Russ
Dancer of the Sixth - Michelle Shirey Crean
The Postman, Kiln People - David Brin
Tea from an Empty Cup - Pat Cadigan
Jumper (original) - Steven Gould
The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card
Skeen's Leap, Skeen's Return, Skeen's Search - Jo Clayton
Brain Plague - Joan Slonczewski
Vacuum Flowers - Michael Swanwick
Brasyl - Ian McDonald
everything by Jon Courtenay Grimwood
Snowcrash, Diamond Age - Neal Stephenson
Bellwether - Connie Willis (now part of Futures Imperfect)

Uneaten egg on toast from breakfast + ketchup, ham, bread = lunch sandwich! Also, fear of lunch sandwich.
Things learnt from ScienceTalk: MN has the highest percentage of (health) insured people.
I wonder if the future will have "privacy sectors," where freedom from surveillance/tracking will be a paid-for privilege.
How shocking will the expectation of privacy be?
Listening to MPR re Google Book Settlement. V. interesting, will link to podcast (if avail.) on LJ later.

I was going to make it a link, but this deserves its own special post. If you read a fair amount of SF/F, this will make you laugh so hard that you may need emergency attention. Mightygodking has rewritten the covers of key books to make them, well, you'll see.

Like this:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

23:23 Being tempted by Threadless again. threadless.com #
06:59 Thinking about spaceships and worldbuilding and writing and photography and mixed media and lacquer and found objects. #
07:00 But I have to go into work instead of doing anything interesting. Yargh! #
11:59 With the Republican convention, we'll get "pedal pubs," multi-rider bikes that serve alcohol?? Awesome! #
13:55 Just stole my husband's identity to take care of some things he was procrastinating on. Way too easy. #
14:00 Delayed CSA note - used horseradish whips to make prepared horseradish. My imagination failed. #
15:04 Dear fidgeting writer-monkey, Research is not "wasting writing time." It is important. Suck it. #
15:57 Wikipedia is a giant bog of references and cross-references, internal and exernal, and it is trying to *eat my brain*. #
17:32 Aw, all my friends are bursting out of their winter cocoons. Which seems to mean lots of overbooking and craziness. #

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Thursday, half-day at NgithOwl
*

penthius freewriting, a low potential sketch of a Familia a Familia encounter.
* Lots and lots and lots of research about spaceships, and FTL alternatives.
* Posted previous writing log.

I had forgotten the level of research necessary for writing a science fiction (can I say it?) novel. It's like giving birth; there's gotta be a biological process that makes you willing to forget most of it, or you'd never be willing to do it again. This, despite me liking research and finding science interesting.

I now have three pages of notes (and at least 7 immediately linked-off articles still to read) about future spaceflight and ways to sidestep the whole "breaking the laws of physics" problem that arises when planning a setting with regular interstellar travel. The slow ships (slowships) are still able to move between inhabited planets in months, not decades or centuries. The fast ships, natch, are much better at this because they were designed for it, not rehabbed from old generation colony ships. That's just from me trying to figure out the general type of ship, not even going into deeper design issues.

( Noodling about spaceflight and FTL and worldbuilding. )

09:43 ++ The scent of pink and white flowering trees that line the streets. #
10:10 GOP's new slogan, "The Change You Deserve," also slogan for anti-depressant? Hilarious! #
12:14 ++ Leftover chicken piccata for lunch. That may be my new favorite. #
12:15 --Will probably have to work this weekend, poss. both days. ::snarl:: #
13:40 From CSA email: sunchokes have almost as much iron as red meat, & the Scotts make "nettle pudding." #
14:26 Don't forget potluck next week! cloudscudding.livejournal.com/610065.html #
14:33 Nggg...research. How did I forget the painfulness of this stage? I think spaceships are neat, and it's *still* painful. #
15:37 Gardening in the sun for a few minutes is disproportionally good for the soul. Try it! #
15:53 FTL? Shit, I have to come up with a plausible FTL spaceship? Alcubierre has possibilities: tinyurl.com/67u9h3 #
17:27 Science research makes my brain bounce around in my skull. Strange ideas result: taking math and physics classes recreationally! #
18:51 Ice cream truck drove by, and the tune it's playing made all the neighborhood dogs start howling! #

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08:34 MPR is being supported by "Pajama-gram", delivering pajamas in a hat box to the female of your choice. V. amusing. #
10:04 Find out when you'll get your stimulus: www.irs.gov/irs/article/0,,id=180250,00.html #
10:04 Too accurate re work: images.ucomics.com/comics/crspe/2008/crspe080502.gif #
13:27 Scientist on MPR: "We are 80% zombies--" #
13:52 If you're an easy drunk, it's because you've got great striatal (sp?) activation! (Science Friday on MPR) #
14:05 Um, Cyberdyne is calling their exoskeleton HAL? Bad idea! tinyurl.com/5phhyf #

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From Fictionwise:
"The Nebula Awards are among the most prestigious literary awards available, and are presented annually by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA). The 2007 winners will be announced during the Nebula Awards Weekend, April 25-27 in Austin, TX. This year we kick off our promotion with The Story of Love by long-time Fictionwise author Vera Nazarian. Fictionwise will have new FREE nominated stories every week until the end of April."

This is a great way to read a bunch of very good science fiction and fantasy short stories. They do this every year. Very cool.

Fictionwise.com, provider of fine e-books, says, "The Nebula Awards are hosted by the Science Fiction Writers Association every spring, and each year Fictionwise promotes this special event by giving away preliminary ballot nominees for FREE!" They're starting with Journey Into the Kingdom by M. Rickert (click to read excerpt), and they'll keep giving one away a week. Pretty nifty, and a good way to catch up with what's being considered the best science fiction short stories being written.

Highly entertaining article about the warning signs of the future. After all, as the article says, "All the truly cool transhuman technologies are going to require warning signs." Thanks to

douglascole for the link!

Incidentally? Also the source of my new and very tasty user icons: