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San Francisco, 5:43 AM
Sun Nov 8
11 posts in the last 24 hours
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11/03/09
11/03/09
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11/03/09
"Yellow Blue Tibia" (from Russia with Lurv) by Adam Roberts? Are there any great reveals? I don't mind if you submit a few spoilers.
11/03/09
11/03/09
All of these lists (best of 2009 in every category) make me realize I just did not read enough this year.
11/03/09
11/03/09
I forgot to mention plums, eggplants, grapes, and amethyst. #books
11/03/09
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11/03/09
Still waiting here as well. Hurry it up Mr. Martin. #books
11/03/09
11/03/09
11/03/09
As you were. #books
11/03/09
11/03/09
I remember him saying how quickly the next book would be out since it was mostly written. That was like four years ago. Not that I'm a bitter nerd or anything. #books
11/03/09
11/03/09
He. Will. Never. Finish this. #books
11/04/09
I have spoken. #books
11/04/09
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11/03/09
[coverclock.blogspot.com] #books
11/03/09
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11/03/09
*twiddles frequency on brainwasher device* Hmm... need to increase the range on this baby. #books
11/03/09
Gone Away World is worth picking up if you haven't already done so as well. #books
11/03/09
11/03/09
Or I could tell you to go read Devices and Desires, book one in the Engineer Trilogy by K J Parker. I liked its dry humor/character building. #books
11/03/09
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11/03/09
09/25/09
But now that I’ve finally shed that snobbery, I’m loving sci-fi. One thing I would say about what I’ve read so far is that I miss the poetical allusions and rich language found in classic literature. Science fiction writers (at least that ones I’ve read so far), tend to be very practical in their use of language. Maybe this has to do with the fact that science fiction is a genre that often deals with the realities of the physical universe rather than with the matters of the human soul. You can’t be all that poetically circumspect about the Bussard ramjet, after all.
I also think that classic writers (literary writers, if we want to use the term as a gentle pejorative) were both spiritual AND humanist philosophers, whereas it seems to be no longer in vogue for science-fiction writers to explore spiritual ideas concurrently with scientific and humanist ones. (I’m thinking of all the bashing BSG gets in talkbacks around here for having the temerity to suggest there might be more in the universe than can be comprehended by our feeble brains. I notice a lot of this bashing spills over into similar complaints about prose science fiction that tries to do the same thing. Please forgive any ham-fisted generalities inferred by this observation. And please feel free to correct me if you think I’m mistaken.)
Of course, this is not to say that science-fiction writers don’t deal eloquently with the vicissitudes of the human condition, but in writing fiction that is in many ways primarily about "Ideas" concerning technology and the future sociological conditions of the human race, rather than explicating the "Experiences" of man as a spiritual being, the narrowed scope of the themes appear to limit the richness of the language employed in the prose itself. Meaning, heavy with metaphorical possibilities, gives way to facts, which are interesting, but are usually treated with a kind of sterile formality.
Now that I’m reading and enjoying science fiction, I’m on the prowl for a writer or writers who explore the time-tested themes of the genre, but who also employ a richness of language in their writing. Naturally, any suggestions would be welcome. I’d also love to read some thoughtful counterpoints arguing against my assumptions about science fiction. Come on, io9-ers. Dazzle me!
09/24/09
I just don't care. But maybe that's because I'm not a joiner.
09/25/09
The book with the recent award will be on the end-caps and display tables at the bookstores or on the front page of websites, inviting more people to read them who may never have come across it otherwise.