World, Writing, Wealth discussion

Our tenth group read of 2017 is science fiction.

Please join us in reading Matthew S. Williams's The Cronian Incident

A disgraced investigator on Mercury. A man’s disappearance on Titan. A conspiracy. Jeremiah soon learns his shot at redemption may cost him his life.
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Disgraced investigator, Jeremiah Ward, once worked the Martian beat, now he's serving out his sentence in a mining colony on Mercury. His golden opportunity arises when a member of a powerful faction on Titan vanishes and Ward is promised, in exchange for investigating this man's disappearance, a clean slate and a second chance.

Unwittingly, Ward becomes embroiled in a conspiracy, centuries in the making, and begins to realise his one shot at redemption may cost him his life.

From terraforming to colonisation, to the Technological Singularity and the future of space exploration; The Cronian Incident is a must read for fans of thrilling mystery science fiction.

Reading Schedule
1 - 9 November
First impressions only. Must use spoiler tags for all content.

10 - 19 November
Discuss chapters 1 - 18. Do not need to use spoiler tags for content in these chapters.

20 - 30 November
Discuss entire book. Do not need to use of spoiler tags at all.

Note: Because there was a tie and to encourage more readers to join, we are making both books available as books of the month. Choose the one (or both) that you want to read.

Got my copy.

I've actually just finished this one!

Leonie wrote: "I've actually just finished this one!"

Awesome. I would love to hear your thoughts on it, and feel free to kick things off with a discussion topic of your choice.

Also, could I trouble you for a review (honest, of course)?

Updated Reading Schedule:

1 - 9 November
First impressions only. Must use spoiler tags for all content.

10 - 19 November
Discuss chapters 1 - 18. Do not need to use spoiler tags for content in these chapters.

20 - 30 November
Discuss entire book. Do not need to use of spoiler tags at all.

Matthew wrote: "Leonie wrote: "I've actually just finished this one!"

Awesome. I would love to hear your thoughts on it, and feel free to kick things off with a discussion topic of your choice.

Also, could I tr..."

I shall review it, Matthew :-) I rather enjoyed it - reminded me somewhat of The Expanse books.

Any other first impressions?

What do you think of Nevsky's Guide to the Solar System (3rd edition)?

I've read a few pages into the prologue. You get dropped into the action right away.

How far has everyone else gotten?

Leonie wrote: "Matthew wrote: "Leonie wrote: "I've actually just finished this one!"

Awesome. I would love to hear your thoughts on it, and feel free to kick things off with a discussion topic of your choice.

..."

Do not mention The Expanse in my presence! That damn series has been stepping on my more sensitive regions since the beginning! ;)

Orbital installations have the top half rotating clockwise, the bottom rotating counter-clockwise? Why?

Scout wrote: "Orbital installations have the top half rotating clockwise, the bottom rotating counter-clockwise? Why?"

Basically, the rotation allows for simulated gravity. But the two counter-rotating portions ensure that the rotation of the station doesn't disrupt the tensions of the cable.

Alex wrote: "Any other first impressions?

What do you think of Nevsky's Guide to the Solar System (3rd edition)?

I've read a few pages into the prologue. You get dropped into the action right away.

How far h..."

I hope the Nevksy's Guide was entertaining, because I plan to make it a regular feature. I also started book II with a section from the Guide. Since the first part of book II is set on Venus, I decided to use Nevsky's description of life there:

"Beyond carbon-based products, the chief export of Venus appears to be its people. This should come as no surprise. The people’s focus on the skilled trades - construction, nanofabrication, femtoengineering, etc. – makes Cytherean engineers some of the most sought-after professionals in the Solar System. What’s more, people who grew up on this world tend to develop a wander-lust before long."

As an epigraph, I thought that the guide’s encyclopediac entry set us up for a hard SF mood.

What do you all think of the cover and blurb? Did it set up your expectations appropriately for the opening of the book?

I thought the blurb and the cover were appropriate.

Matthew, am I understanding correctly that people left Earth for Mars to get away from overcrowding and to lead a simpler life, then left Mars for outer colonies for the same reasons?

Alex wrote: "What do you all think of the cover and blurb? Did it set up your expectations appropriately for the opening of the book?"

I would, but I am biased. HA! ;)

And thank you. I believe I picked up that whole "blurb as setup" thing from Frank Herbert.

Scout wrote: "I thought the blurb and the cover were appropriate.

Matthew, am I understanding correctly that people left Earth for Mars to get away from overcrowding and to lead a simpler life, then left Mars ..."

Pretty much, yes. The way I had I figured, colonization opportunities for the Moon and Mars initially allowed people to escape both the threat of climate change and complications brought on by a technologically-driven and fast-paced life. But as the colonies expanded on both worlds, it became necessary for people looking to live simple to go even further.

Naturally, the question is, if people are pushed to the outer reaches, where do they go when the expanding mass of people starts eyeing their territory?

I wondered that, too.

So, Ward is on Mars. He he's presented with these choices: Food, drink, remedies, recreation, eroticism, sensual indulgence.

How did you decide on these choices? The last one seems redundent.

Use spoiler tags, please. See the reading schedule.

Sorry.

Scout wrote: "Sorry."

So noted.

(view spoiler)[There really wasn't really much a choice involved. Mainly, I wanted to show what life was like for Extropians who are accustomed to living in a world of post-scarcity, post-mortality, and where the line between synthetic and natural is so blurred as to become non-existent. I figured it would be a good send-off before he ventured out to do his job. (hide spoiler)]

We are now able to discuss chapters 1-18 w/o requiring the use of spoiler tags for those chapters.

Chapter 13: So, Ward is on Mars. He's presented with these choices: Food, drink, remedies, recreation, eroticism, sensual indulgence.

How did you decide on these choices? The last one seems redundant.

Scout wrote: "Chapter 13: So, Ward is on Mars. He's presented with these choices: Food, drink, remedies, recreation, eroticism, sensual indulgence.

How did you decide on these choices? The last one seems redund..."

Didn't we already do this? Or is this just for good measure since we're now out of spoiler territory? If so, then I offer my original answer, sans the spoiler tags! :)

There really wasn't really much a choice involved. Mainly, I wanted to show what life was like for Extropians who are accustomed to living in a world of post-scarcity, post-mortality, and where the line between synthetic and natural is so blurred as to become non-existent. I figured it would be a good send-off before he ventured out to do his job.

Of course, there was also the fact that I got a lot of friends who read and write erotica and I wanted to include something they'd like ;)

Matthew wrote: "Scout wrote: "Chapter 13: So, Ward is on Mars. He's presented with these choices: Food, drink, remedies, recreation, eroticism, sensual indulgence.

How did you decide on these choices? The last on..."

Sorry. This is my first time trying to discuss a book, and I messed up with my question, then didn't see your answer. Mortifying. I'll do better.

Scout wrote: "Matthew wrote: "Scout wrote: "Chapter 13: So, Ward is on Mars. He's presented with these choices: Food, drink, remedies, recreation, eroticism, sensual indulgence.

How did you decide on these choi..."

What??? I just thought you were saying it now that it's spoiler free territory. No worries at all :)

Alex wrote: "We are now able to discuss chapters 1-18 w/o requiring the use of spoiler tags for those chapters."

Are we past chapter 18 yet?

Oh right, we are. We can discuss the entire book without having to use spoiler tags.

Bring it! :)

On the first page of Chapter 19, Amaru insists on paper copies instead of uploading to Ward's neural loom. Does this mean print will still have some advantages over digital in the future?

It's not quite paper, but the same technology as a Folio. It's basically a tablet that is paper thin and flexible, and basically works like a touchscreen. It's a holdover from the 21st/22nd century, when all electronics became reconfigurable and malleable.

I'm looking at the first page of chapter 23. It has only been months since Ward was on the Rock, yet he's been in repeated periods of cryosleep. Why is cryosleep needed for such short periods of travel?

Scout wrote: "I'm looking at the first page of chapter 23. It has only been months since Ward was on the Rock, yet he's been in repeated periods of cryosleep. Why is cryosleep needed for such short periods of tr..."

It actually would take awhile to travel between Jupiter and Saturn. Right now, it takes years, but I imagine that it would take a few months by the 23rd century. Still, if you're going to be aboard a ship for months at a time, it make sense to be in suspended animation.

I just wanted to thank the book of the month author

Matthew S. Williams for allowing us the privilege of hosting his novel as our book of the month read.

For those of you who read his book, I encourage you to leave a review.

(I apologize for not being that engaged (because of work, both to pay the bills and writing-related). But I do plan on completing the book and writing a review.)

BTW, we can still continue to discuss. ^_^

No apologies, please. Without you, this thread would not have happened :)

Well, if we can continue to discuss, I have one last question. Does cryosleep keep one from aging?

Scout wrote: "Well, if we can continue to discuss, I have one last question. Does cryosleep keep one from aging?"

It does indeed. If one is in a state of suspended animation - where heart rate, respiration, and circulation are slowed significantly - aging occurs at a several reduced rate. It's basically the way of avoiding the ravages of time given that space travel takes such a LONG time, and to ensure that ships don't need tons of supplies and the crews don't go nuts from boredom and isolation.

Then I could see myself in the future going into cryosleep for a couple of months every now and then to slow aging. Or to avoid the repercussions of a bad breakup, maybe :)

Ah, by then, they'll just be able to reduce your age clinically. Then again, there will always be time periods we'd prefer to skip, won't there?

Yeah. Your spouse says, "We need to talk," and you say, "Nope, I'm going into cryosleep for a while. See ya later." Oh, would she be pissed :-)

That's the kind of stuff that kids put in tell-all books! "Daddy slept for a few decades so he wouldn't have to deal with us. Then he woke up and wanted to party with us since - you know - we were all the same age!"

:-) Or, I guess if you found out you had an incurable disease - cryosleep! Wake up 20 years later to a cure, hopefully, and be able to party with your kids and a much older spouse. I like this cryosleep idea. Many uses besides space travel.

That is perhaps the biggest selling point of cryosleep. There may very well be a time when we can cure all ailments, including aging. And this would be the best bet of reaching that point in our history.

_________________________________________________________
(line above - not looked at on purpose to avoid spoilers).

Just started this book, liked the little epistolary note at the start re Hermians... A nice touch to note the use of convict labor for dangerous jobs, (so typical of colonization efforts in the past).

Graeme wrote: "_________________________________________________________
(line above - not looked at on purpose to avoid spoilers).

Just started this book, liked the little epistolary note at the start re Hermia..."

Do you know how to post things with a spoiler alert? If not, click on the "some html is okay" and it explains how to code it into your posts.

Hi Matt, fully across that. My line above is a reminder to myself that I'm not looking at previous comments in case I come across a naked spoil.

I would like to read your book without it being spoiled by other's comments.

Ah, okay. Wasn't sure what that meant, so I concluded it was a "do not cross this line!" kind of thing :) And I totally respect that, you want your impressions fresh and untainted. I wish I had that going to see Star Wars VII and the latest Avenger movie!

:-).

Completed the prologue last night. A crime has been committed.

Indeed it has! Unfortunately, you have to read the rest of the book to find out why ;)