http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vw61gCe2oqI This weekend, I watched the movie, 'Edge of Tomorrow', also known as 'Live. Die. Repeat.' It's the latest in a common motif in science fiction and fantasy, the time loop story, where the hero repeats the same events over and over until they find a way to break out. It's a concept that's been … Continue reading The mind / body dualism of ‘Edge of Tomorrow’
Category: Science Fiction
Blindsight by Peter Watts, a review
I recently read Peter Watts's book, 'Blindsight', a hard(ish) science fiction novel about first contact with extraterrestrials. This is a book that's been out for several years, and was a Hugo Award nominee in 2006, so I'm a bit late to the party. Indeed, since I started this blog in November, a number of people have … Continue reading Blindsight by Peter Watts, a review
Poseidon’s Children: a review of the first two books
I've recently read the first two books in Alastair Reynolds's new series, 'Poseidon's Children': 'Blue Remembered Earth' and 'On the Steel Breeze'. I've mentioned before that I'm a fan of Reynolds's work, and these books fit his usual style: hard(ish) science fiction, a rich and interesting universe, and characters in interesting situations and dilemmas. The … Continue reading Poseidon’s Children: a review of the first two books
Most science fiction is actually a blend of scientific fiction and fantasy.
Quentin Cooper, looking over a top 100 sci-fi movie list which has many questionable entries, ponders this question: BBC - Future - Why is science fiction so hard to define?. Time Out, the weekly listings magazine, recently ranked the 100 best sci-fi movies of all time. They did it by polling 150 “leading sci-fi experts, filmmakers, … Continue reading Most science fiction is actually a blend of scientific fiction and fantasy.
Transcendence
I finally watched the movie, Transcendence. I had commented a while back, when the trailer came out, the problems I had with what appeared to be the central premise of the film. Since then, there's been a lot of harsh reviews of the film. I did find a lot of silliness in it, but overall … Continue reading Transcendence
The Southern Reach
I've recently read the first two books of Jeff Vandermeer's science fiction trilogy, 'The Southern Reach': 'Annihilation' and 'Authority'. The second book was just released, with the third and final book scheduled to be released later this year. The series is about a mysterious area of land that has been cut off from the outside … Continue reading The Southern Reach
Movie review: Ender’s Game
In his early career, I was enthralled by the works of Orson Scott Card. He had the ability to create vivid phantasmagorical worlds with protagonists in agonizing situations that you couldn't have anything but sympathy for. In college, I was in a science fiction book club, and accidentally received one of his books, 'Wryms'. I … Continue reading Movie review: Ender’s Game
Europa Report, a review
Somehow I completely missed the release of this movie. It seems to represent the beginning of something I've hoped to see for a while: small independent productions that make use of the lowering cost of CG technology to make narrow genre films. Most film science fiction is, unfortunately, garbage scientifically. The cost and risk of … Continue reading Europa Report, a review
Gravity: a review
I finally watched the movie Gravity last night. Despite a number of flaws, I enjoyed it immensely. I think it sets a new standard for movies set in space (at least I hope it does). The visuals were stunning and the story had me on the edge of my seat. I now really regret not … Continue reading Gravity: a review
Deep history, and deep future?
John Schellenberg has an article up on Aeon noting that, while we seem to have no problem accepting deep time in the past, there isn't much discussion of deep future, that is, the future millions or billions of years in the future. It's an interesting article (aside from an unfortunate plea for us to take Thomas … Continue reading Deep history, and deep future?
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