In my case it’s probably ‘I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream’ by Harlan Ellison. For those, who aren’t familiar with it, the Americans, Russians and Chinese had constructed supercomputers to manage their militaries, one of these became sentient, assimilated the other two and obliterated humanity. Only five humans survive and the Computer made them immortal so that he can torture them for eternity, because for him his own existence is an incredible anguish, so he’s seaking revenge on humanity for his construction.
Edit: didn’t expect this thread to skyrocket like that, thank you all for your interesting suggestions.
Most you have either watched the movie or read the book, but briefly, the character of Ian Malcolm is a mathematician specializing in a branch of mathematics called “Chaos Theory,” which analyzes the impact of uncertainties and randomness on deterministic models. In the book he seems to be used as Crichton’s mouthpiece, criticizing the arrogance of those that believe they can harness and control nature because of its inherent unpredictability.
In monologue after monologue after monologue.
Now, I want to state at this moment that Jurassic Park is otherwise a very enjoyable read - it’s a hell of an idea for a story and even though the characters are fairly one-dimensional, Crichton paces it well and I had a hard time putting it down (even though I read it already, albeit almost 30 years ago).
Ian Malcolm, though… hoo boy. He’s a one-dimensional mouthpiece for Crichton, who spends pages ranting through Malcolm about scientists’ conceit. I get …
I finished my first book and really grew attached the the characters and started to care deeply for them. It almost feels like a heart break now that there isn’t anymore paragraphs to read. As if I’d been shut out it’s world and all the characters with it.
I know it’s not real and it’s just ink on paper but I just can’t stop thinking about it.
I wondered if anyone else ever got this way after really connecting with a story? How do you deal with it?
We can all go to goodreads or google “books about x”, and we’ll probably get a pretty good list. But if someone comes here to ask for recommendations, a little comment about why you think your book fits the criteria or is worth a reading will go a long way. It doesn’t have to be an essay, but a short description adds a lot.
There’s an infinity of books out there to be read. If you care enough about one to encourage other people to read them, try telling them why you think it fits the cirteria, or why it’s worth reading.
Also, some people (like me), enjoy reading about books as much as reading them!
If you want empirical evidence of this, open ANY thread on this sub and scroll down. All the minimum effort recommendations fell to the bottom, with the only exception being books that everyone here loves and has probably already read.
‘Consider Phlebas’ by Scottish author Iain M. Banks (1954-2013, middle M. for his Sci-Fi works), published in 1987, is the first book in the The Culture series, which is highly recommended often, especially among fellow readers in r/printsf. I decided for The Culture being my new paper space opera this year, fully knowing that every book is separate, with a new set of characters and story, but plays against the same background of an intersolar utopian society in which man and machine live in symbiosis. Rarely a novel gripped me as much as this one and with great pleasure I finished it a few days ago and made up my Mind about it (pun intended).
We follow Bora Horza Gobuchul on his tour de force to bring The Culture down. That’s right, down. Banks somehow managed to introduce us to his universe by antagonizing his (probably) greatest idea, the galaxywide democratic entity of intelligent organic life and sentient machines, The Culture. Horza is a Changer, able to model his biologic …
So I’ve read all of the Culture and Revelation Space series’, I’m about to finish up The Expanse. I’d rank them Culture>Revelation Space>The Expanse.
I’ve read a bunch of other odds and ends. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Plant (pretty good), Old Man’s War (the whole series, it was okay), Empire of Silence series (kind of weird, but kept me reading). I’ve tried Peter F Hamilton and couldn’t slog through Fallen Dragon, it just didn’t keep my interest. I tried to get into Ancillary Justice as well and ended up setting it down. Renegade by Joel Shepherd was pretty good, but I couldn’t get into the second book…Drysine Legacy I think. I actually really liked Thin Air even though it’s kind of an Altered Carbon ripoff. I’ve only seen the show Altered Carbon, I’ve been thinking about reading the book. I’ve tried to read Diaspora but I mostly only have time for audiobook and that book is really …
Hi all!
I have recently been reading and enjoying the Wayfarer series by Becky Chambers and just yesterday finished “To sleep in a sea of stars” by Christopher Paolini after barely being able to put it down for a few days. Since I also like Firefly I begin to suspect that I need more stories with small crew space ships in them.
Can anyone recommend me other authors/books?
I’m looking to read more books in the sci-fi umbrella. But when I immediately think of sci-fi, I think about Star Wars and themes of interplanetary warfare and the like. But I’m wondering if there are any that are more grounded in reality, for lack of a better term. Ones that aren’t as gigantic or epic as the Star Wars saga.
As a lifelong SF fan and new mother, I’d love your recommendations about SF dealing with becoming a parent.
I just flew through the Vorkosigan saga and loved how Lois McMaster Bujold explored how uterine replicator technology could change human reproduction, and how this would impact both individual characters and society. I’ve also read and enjoyed Octavia Butler’s Bloodchild, which is a completely different take on experiences of pregnancy and birth far outside our own. So I’m open to a broad interpretation of this prompt.
So, what should I read next? Thank you in advance!
ETA: you all are awesome!! I can’t wait to dive into these books!
This movie is packed with stars and it never once becomes distracting because Ridley Scott doesn’t take 5 minutes for the cliched “ I have a girl at home” shtick that other war movies do to try to give characters “depth.” As soon as Orlando Bloom falls off of that helicopter you’re experiencing the hell that the real Rangers and Deltas experienced and that’s the crux of the movie. Only another movie that comes close imo is Dunkirk.