October 2021 Reading Discussion

[Danny McG]

@Provincial
There's a Chrons member called Cli-Fi who's also a writer, I think John Falcon?
Maybe he's got a book or two on the issue.... not my type of story so I can't help.

 

[Dan Jones]

It made me wonder if there are many SF books which are based in a future where we have explicitly dealt with these problems without abandoning the planet and are happy sharing resources.

The only one I can think of is Too Like The Lightning by Ada Palmer. That's set in a utopian future where humanity has engineered itself out of such problems. Of course it doesn't last - a girl with gnarly powers turns up and spoils everything, and there's a conspiracy behind the world.

I didn't get on with it because it was overtly political and not shy about nailing its colours to the mast. However, it might be the sort of thing you're looking for, and it did very well.

And it's good to see another Essex member on Chrons!

 

[Provincial]

And it's good to see another Essex member on Chrons!

Really? I thought you lived on the naughty step!

 

[Dan Jones]

Ah, that's just a temporary arrangement, but we don't talk about that...

In realité, I'm a few miles south of Chelmsford.

 

[tobl]

I have been reading an article about how climate scientists, some of whom have been researching the effects of environmental collapse, global warming, etcetera for at least three decades, deal with the impending sense of doom they have to deal with every day. Spoiler alert: apparently they cling to hope, and try to do something positive about it even if it seems a small thing which won’t solve the problem on its own, such as getting politically active (when did that ever change anything?), producing artwork about the issues (thinking of Banksy here), or eating less meat/going vegan.

It made me wonder if there are many SF books which are based in a future where we have explicitly dealt with these problems without abandoning the planet and are happy sharing resources. I can think of a couple, but I don’t recall reading many. It would help my peace of mind if I could read more like that, especially if they suggest workable scenarios to explain this success. Incidentally, writing such fiction sounds like the kind of personal contribution someone could make which might help other people deal with the present better. People need hope.

Book recommendations, anyone?

pollyana much?
nothing wrong with hope per se but whopping for miracles is not a souns strategy. and expecting humanity to overcame those scenarios short of divine intervention is somewhat less probable than an actual miracle. but hey hope springs eternal right? i never read a book where all those problems were resolved so i think i might like to read one... after all we all need more laughter in our lifes

 

[Danny McG]

This afternoon I'm starting The all consuming world by Cassandra Khaw

The blurb:-

A diverse team of broken, diminished former criminals get back together to solve the mystery of their last, disastrous mission and to rescue a missing and much-changed comrade... but they’re not the only ones in pursuit of the secret at the heart of the planet Dimmuborgir.
The highly-evolved AI of the universe have their own agenda and will do whatever it takes to keep humans from ever controlling the universe again.
This band of dangerous women, half-clone and half-machine, must battle their own traumas and a universe of sapient ageships who want them dead, in order to settle their affairs once and for all.

 

[Serendipity]

This afternoon I'm starting The all consuming world by Cassandra Khaw

The blurb:-

A diverse team of broken, diminished former criminals get back together to solve the mystery of their last, disastrous mission and to rescue a missing and much-changed comrade... but they’re not the only ones in pursuit of the secret at the heart of the planet Dimmuborgir.
The highly-evolved AI of the universe have their own agenda and will do whatever it takes to keep humans from ever controlling the universe again.
This band of dangerous women, half-clone and half-machine, must battle their own traumas and a universe of sapient ageships who want them dead, in order to settle their affairs once and for all.

If you want to see my review on this - https://www.sfcrowsnest.info/the-all-consuming-world-by-cassandra-khaw-book-review/

 

[Elckerlyc]

I have been reading an article about how climate scientists, some of whom have been researching the effects of environmental collapse, global warming, etcetera for at least three decades, deal with the impending sense of doom they have to deal with every day. Spoiler alert: apparently they cling to hope, and try to do something positive about it even if it seems a small thing which won’t solve the problem on its own, such as getting politically active (when did that ever change anything?), producing artwork about the issues (thinking of Banksy here), or eating less meat/going vegan.

It made me wonder if there are many SF books which are based in a future where we have explicitly dealt with these problems without abandoning the planet and are happy sharing resources. I can think of a couple, but I don’t recall reading many. It would help my peace of mind if I could read more like that, especially if they suggest workable scenarios to explain this success. Incidentally, writing such fiction sounds like the kind of personal contribution someone could make which might help other people deal with the present better. People need hope.

Book recommendations, anyone?

Probably not exactly what you had in mind, but perhaps it turns out interesting: Neal Stephenson's new novel Termination Shock, due to be published coming November.

From the blurb: "Neal Stephenson’s sweeping, prescient new novel transports readers to a near-future world in which the greenhouse effect has inexorably resulted in a whirling-dervish troposphere of superstorms, rising sea levels, global flooding, merciless heat waves, and virulent, deadly pandemics.
One man – visionary billionaire restaurant chain magnate T. R. Schmidt, Ph.D. – has a Big Idea for reversing global warming, a master plan perhaps best described as “elemental.” But will it work? And just as important, what are the consequences for the planet and all of humanity should it be applied?"

Eco thrillers are a bit of a hype, which I tend to evade. Not the problem of climate-change itself, mind you, but (little-known) authors who sniff the topic and smell easy money.
I'll make an exception for Neal Stephenson.

 

[AE35Unit]

Sounds a bit like a book called Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang by Kate Wilhelm. I tried to read it years ago, it was a DNF

 

[Elckerlyc]

Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang was about cloning and repopulating the world after the apocalypse caused by environmental changes and about the problems arising from cloning. Nothing about trying to prevent the apocalypse.
I rather liked the novel. Nothing spectacular, but still.

 

[Provincial]

pollyana much?
nothing wrong with hope per se but whopping for miracles is not a souns strategy. and expecting humanity to overcame those scenarios short of divine intervention is somewhat less probable than an actual miracle. but hey hope springs eternal right? i never read a book where all those problems were resolved so i think i might like to read one... after all we all need more laughter in our lifes

Hey, @tobl! Me and Pollyanna are best buds.

 

[Provincial]

Probably not exactly what you had in mind, but perhaps it turns out interesting: Neal Stephenson's new novel Termination Shock, due to be published coming November.

From the blurb: "Neal Stephenson’s sweeping, prescient new novel transports readers to a near-future world in which the greenhouse effect has inexorably resulted in a whirling-dervish troposphere of superstorms, rising sea levels, global flooding, merciless heat waves, and virulent, deadly pandemics.
One man – visionary billionaire restaurant chain magnate T. R. Schmidt, Ph.D. – has a Big Idea for reversing global warming, a master plan perhaps best described as “elemental.” But will it work? And just as important, what are the consequences for the planet and all of humanity should it be applied?"

Eco thrillers are a bit of a hype, which I tend to evade. Not the problem of climate-change itself, mind you, but (little-known) authors who sniff the topic and smell easy money.
I'll make an exception for Neal Stephenson.

I really like the work of Neal Stephenson, might check that one out. But it might deplete my hope reservoir if it doesn’t have a really happy ending, complete with fireworks and snogging on the balcony…

 

[tachyon]

I have been reading an article about how climate scientists, some of whom have been researching the effects of environmental collapse, global warming, etcetera for at least three decades, deal with the impending sense of doom they have to deal with every day. Spoiler alert: apparently they cling to hope, and try to do something positive about it even if it seems a small thing which won’t solve the problem on its own, such as getting politically active (when did that ever change anything?), producing artwork about the issues (thinking of Banksy here), or eating less meat/going vegan.

It made me wonder if there are many SF books which are based in a future where we have explicitly dealt with these problems without abandoning the planet and are happy sharing resources. I can think of a couple, but I don’t recall reading many. It would help my peace of mind if I could read more like that, especially if they suggest workable scenarios to explain this success. Incidentally, writing such fiction sounds like the kind of personal contribution someone could make which might help other people deal with the present better. People need hope.

Book recommendations, anyone?

KSR's New York 2140, is set in a flooded climate-adapted NYC
Gamechanger by L. X. Beckett, is set in a society reconstructed after climate apocalypse.

 

[AE35Unit]

Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang was about cloning and repopulating the world after the apocalypse caused by environmental changes and about the problems arising from cloning. Nothing about trying to prevent the apocalypse.
I rather liked the novel. Nothing spectacular, but still.

Bored the pants off me lol

 

[dask]

A good crime thriller, I enjoyed it back in the day.... IIRC it was part of a series by Lutz?

It reads like it is, about a detective asked to come out of retirement to find a serial murderer. Someone somewhere even refers to it as Night #5 but a review on Goodreads says this is the detective’s first appearance:

It’s breezing along nicely, no indication I’ll be giving it the big toss anytime soon. My first Lutz.

 

[Randy M.]

My first Lutz.

We're waiting breathlessly for you to master the triple Lutz!

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

I have started Tales From Watership Down (1996) by Richard Adams, a slim volume of little stories from the universe of his famous bestseller. Most of them are folk tales the rabbits tell about their legendary hero.

 

[thesoothsayer]

21? That's more than I've read since January!

TBH, 21 is probably what I've read for the past 3-4 years until my binge reading last month! I blame it on the 2 babies and work.

Just enjoying trying out different authors this time round. Series I've heard of but never read for some reason or another. Just finished the first Farseer trilogy this morning.

Definitely need a break soon to catch up on sleep!

 

[Provincial]

I have started reading Greenmantle, by John Buchan. Set (and written) in the middle of World War 1, it is an action adventure chock-full of casual racism, astonishing levels of delusional smugness about being British, and (like The Thirty-Nine Steps) has large numbers of improbable coincidences upon which the plot is wholely dependent. The author’s introduction states that, since the war started, people have been seeing for themselves how often these coincidences actually do crop up in real life, so I guess the previous book must have come in for some criticism.

All that having been said, I am enjoying it, as I did The Thirty-Nine Steps. I put the dependence on coincidences down to a belief in the power of fate, which might have been a feature of British popular culture at the time.

Are there any Chrons who can comment on the frequency of fortunate coincidences in wartime?

 

[HareBrain]

I have started Tales From Watership Down (1996) by Richard Adams, a slim volume of little stories from the universe of his famous bestseller. Most of them are folk tales the rabbits tell about their legendary hero.

Any good? I don't think I've even heard of this, but I'd be interested as an example of invented folklore.