Ponderings of science, philosophy, history, society, and many other topics
Recently I recommended Alastair Reynolds' new book Inhibitor Phase. In subsequent conversation with Wyrd Smythe, I remembered that there were a couple of books in Reynolds' backlist that I had missed. One of these is Century Rain, a novel that, based on Wyrd's assessment, was definitely worth reading. Century Rain is a standalone novel, one … Continue reading Century Rain
Yesterday The Eternals became available on Disney+. Given the reviews and discussion from its theatrical release, I didn't have particularly high expectations. I figured it would just be the typical Marvel thrill ride. And mostly it was that, but it also had a few zingers that made it interesting. I don't remember much from the … Continue reading The Eternals
The season finale for The Wheel of Time was last week. As I've mentioned before, I read two or three of the early books decades ago, but remember very little: Rand, Moraine, portals to alternate realms, and a few other things. So the show mostly feels like fresh material. In the early episodes, it was … Continue reading The Silent Sea, Boba Fett, and other TV notes
The Matrix has always been a fun franchise, albeit one whose premise doesn't stand up to too much scrutiny. It explores the possibility that we are living in a simulation. Although the scenario presented has always been a bit conservative, in that the human characters still have human bodies, rather than being simulations. (Another movie … Continue reading The Matrix Resurrections
It's been a while since I've read a book in Alastair Reynolds' Revelation Space series. Reynolds, who has a background as a professional astrophysicist, writes fairly hard science fiction, particularly space opera. I say "fairly" because he isn't above mixing in speculative concepts to make the story more interesting. But most of his fiction doesn't … Continue reading Inhibitor Phase
I discovered the first book of The Expanse series, Leviathan Wakes, back in 2014. By then the first three books had already been out. I'm pretty sure I burned through those early books in a few weeks. I know I've read all the subsequent ones as they came out. This was a series that channeled … Continue reading Leviathan Falls (Book 9 of The Expanse)
One of my favorite shows as a young boy was Lost in Space. But when I attempted to rewatch it several years ago, I discovered that it hadn't aged well at all. Except for the earliest episodes, it was basically unwatchable. And after a 1990s failed attempt as a movie reboot, which I enjoyed but … Continue reading Lost in Space 3
Usually new TV shows I'm interested in are few and far between, which makes the last few weeks unusual, as there's been an avalanche of stuff that caught my interest. Apparently everyone wants to release their stuff in or near the holiday season. I wonder why they don't think we need entertainment throughout the rest … Continue reading Cowboy Bebop and other TV notes
It's been a long time since I've been much of a game player, so I'm not familiar with the League of Legends game, or its overall story universe. But apparently the game developers have put together a rich lore and history behind it, and some of that is starting to come out in various franchised … Continue reading Arcane: League of Legends
Frank Herbert's novel: Dune, is the epitome of classic science fiction. It's widely regarded as one of the best science fiction novels ever written, if not the best. The story takes place roughly 20,000 years in the future, in an interstellar feudal society. 10,000 years earlier, humanity underwent a religious movement that made computers and … Continue reading Dune: Part One
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