The Evolution of Science Fiction discussion

I read The Ship Who Sang back in the 1970s. It was the first book I read by McCaffrey. I probably still have the paperback in my collection. I remember enjoying the book when I read it.

I'm a bit past halfway through City of the Chasch by Jack Vance. I haven't read Vance before and had no idea what to expect. City of the Chasch was published in 1968, but it would fit in with SF of an earlier era - the 1930s or 40's, or even earlier. It puts me in mind of John Carter's adventures on Barsoom by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

Buck wrote: "I'm a bit past halfway through City of the Chasch by Jack Vance. I haven't read Vance before and had no idea what to expect." I hope you like it Buck. Vance wrote a lot of really old-fashioned SF-adventures. It's easy reading and I already liked it when I was a boy.

This month's sidereads are:
Contact by Carl Sagan
The Forge of God by Greg Bear
The Jaguar Hunter by Lucius Shepard
Green Eyes by Lucius Shepard
Worlds by Joe Haldeman

As i've never read anything by Lucius Shepard i'm going to buy one or these, but i'm not sure if I will have time to read it this month or not. If anybody has read them is one better than the other?

This month's side reads are:

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge
Remnant Population by Elizabeth Moon
China Mountain Zhang by Maureen F. McHugh
Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang
Bellwether by Connie Willis
The Williamson Effect by Roger Zelazny
He, She and It by Marge Piercy

There are a lot of good books in the side reads this month. I really enjoyed Stories of your Life and others and Parable of the Sower.

I'm still reading one of last month's books, Green Eyes by Lucius Shepard. If I have time I would like to read He, She and It as I started this ages ago and then put it down and never got back to it.

I agree. Too many good books! I loved Bellwether but I already re-read it this year. "Stories of your Live and Others" has some great stories in it, especially "Hell is the Absence of God", but I don't need to re-read it right now.

I had hoped that "Parable of the Sower" would win the poll, but since it didn't, I probably will put off reading it for a while longer. "He, She and It" looks interesting.

This month's side reads are:
Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon
Brass Man by Neal Asher
Glasshouse by Charles Stross

I'm reading "Little Brother" without even remembering that it was a side-read for the month. I'm enjoying it so far. Seems like Cyberpunk-lite. Maybe cyberpunk for a younger audience.

Jo wrote: "This month's side reads are:
Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon
Brass Man by [auth..."

Here's my review of Little Brother from a while back: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

and

Here's my review of The Yiddish Policeman's Union, which I didn't care for all that much: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

After reading Accelerando, I'm reluctant to read any more by Charles Stross

Buck wrote: "Jo wrote: "This month's side reads are:
Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon
Brass Man by Cory Doctorow
The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon
[book:Brass Man|41409..."

Hello Buck,

Maybe you could try the novelette "A Colder War" by Charles Stross:

http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/stories...

Good reviews, Buck. I liked Little Brother & gave it a 5 star review here. There's a sequel, but I haven't wanted to since I thought the first did so well on its own. I'm sure I'd be disappointed.

I'm slightly late in updating the sidereads thread for this month but the books are:
Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
11/22/63 by Stephen King
Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
The Sudden Appearance of Hope by Claire North
The Dark Forest by Liu Cixin
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Stranded by Bracken MacLeod
Surface Detail by Iain M. Banks

I have enjoyed Ancillary Justice, The Dark Forest and Never Let me go from these. Children of Time and The sudden appearance of hope are both on my to read list. Iain M Banks is also on my list but i'm not sure if I will start with Surface Detail.

I'm quite intrigued by Stephen King 11/22/63 - has anybody read this and if so is it good? I haven't read anything recently by him. He used to drive me nuts with great ideas but overly long books. I always came away thinking; if somebody had edited it differently and reduced the size it would be a great book.

Have some colleagues who where really enthousiast about 11/22/63. But chances are that it too has the King-charactistics you mention Jo.

There are lots of side reads this month:

Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon
Lost Horizon by James Hilton
Gladiator by Philip Wylie
Kallocain by Karin Boye

pre-1930

Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin A. Abbott
The Lost Continent by Edgar Rice Burroughs
R.U.R. by Karel Čapek
Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
The Goddess of Atvatabar by William Richard Bradshaw

I just finished Herland and found the interaction of the three young males and the women of Herland interesting, and funny at times. The author succeeded in describing a society that was truly a Utopia.

January 2018 side reads are as follows:
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert
And Chaos Died by Joanna Russ
Saturn Over the Water by J.B. Priestley
Herovit's World by Barry N. Malzberg
Star Smashers of the Galaxy Rangers by Harry Harrison

I've been busy with work for the last few months so I've not been keeping the side threads updated. As last month's polls were very close it might be a good time to revive it. The top 4 runners up in last months polls were:

High-Rise by J.G. Ballard
Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner
Dangerous Visions by Harlan Ellison
The Ophiuchi Hotline by John Varley

I've not read any of these, but I did see the film of High Rise so if you like things which are nicely dystopic i'm sure the book is stranger!

I should really reread "Dangerous Visions" especially in light of Ellison's recent demise. It was a favorite. It will have to wait, though. I just got the latest Recluce book by Modessit Outcasts of Order. Not much time to read it, though.

Dan wrote: "Group reads featuring a foreign author translated into English interest me not all, not when we have such a rich tradition in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia going that I already struggle to keep..."

This is probably the proper place for this question, Dan. The answer is yes! While "Children of Time" won, feel free to discuss any of the other books we voted on as a side-read.

"Spin" was the runner up & got 8 votes. The others are:
Ancillary Justice
The Best Time Travel Stories of the 20th Century
Three Years with the Rat
Saturn Run
Brass Man

I am not really discussing or proposing a side read, but if it is that important to make Leo appear right, okay by me. We can continue the discussion here.

I was primarily asking why this month we have only one book as group read to choose from (by Tchaikovsky) when last month we had two choices (one by Banks, the other by Vinge).

Dan wrote: "I am not really discussing or proposing a side read, but if it is that important to make Leo appear right, okay by me. We can continue the discussion here...."

The nomination rules are posted here:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
In the 2d message there it says, "We'll make at least one group poll for the period. If about 8 or more books are nominated, we might create 2 polls & break up the books in whatever manner seems appropriate."

If you read the first message in this topic, it says, This folder is to discuss any of the other nominated reads that did not win the poll. Feel free to add your comments / reviews / questions. This can be this month's poll or previous polls.

Okay, I see now. There were not enough nominations to run a second poll, so no second book.

On the first message in this topic, I never did, and presently have, no interest in discussing any other nominated work. You, and maybe Leo, only think I'm interested in doing so, for some odd reason.

Thanks again for enlightening me on why we have just one group read this month. Y'all enjoy the voted-in, Russian-named, modern, British, fantasy writer's work, all 600 pages of it. Seeya in October's group reads hopefully!

I'm sorry I misunderstood Dan. I guess i can't convince you to pick up this book but I did last year and enjoyed it a lot. It's SF, not fantasy.

Dan, I was pointing out other options for a group read. I have no idea what you want to do other than not read the book the group voted on. I don't have any interest in reading it, either. Better luck next time. It's not a big deal.

The length of the Tchaikovsky book turns me off, too. I may read it, but I'm first doing shorter books from other groups, as well as the random other things I always pick up.

Reading something by Galileo now. He claims that ice is less dense than water despite what a proper analysis of Aristotle would lead you to believe! What nerve!

Ed wrote: "...Reading something by Galileo now. He claims that ice is less dense than water despite what a proper analysis of Aristotle would lead you to believe! What nerve! "

What a guy! I'm more impressed by him all the time. It's amazing how difficult it is to challenge some of our basic assumptions even in things that we don't have any investment in much less with all the hurdles he faced. I never thought to ask what a species was & then I found out that there isn't a good definition.
https://thelogicofscience.com/2017/08...
The beauty of it not being well defined is it made evolution far more understandable. It seems obvious in retrospect, but I hadn't realized how much I was being hampered by my grade school definition.

The same thing happened with planets & moons when I read How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming. I'd assumed there was an underlying definition & came to find out there isn't a good one. A lot of it is just politics.

The runners up for October 2018 are:
The Last Man
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's CourtMicromegas
The Coming Race
Tomorrow's Eve
The Hampdenshire Wonder

Anyone interested can read any of these on the side, or can renominate them next time this time period comes up again!