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Ponderings of science, philosophy, history, society, and many other topics

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Tag: Space opera

Century Rain

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 →

SelfAwarePatterns Science Fiction 15 Comments February 19, 2022February 19, 2022 3 Minutes

Inhibitor Phase

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 →

SelfAwarePatterns Science Fiction 15 Comments December 16, 2021 4 Minutes

Leviathan Falls (Book 9 of The Expanse)

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) →

SelfAwarePatterns Science Fiction 9 Comments December 5, 2021December 5, 2021 3 Minutes

Lost in Space 3

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 →

SelfAwarePatterns Science Fiction 30 Comments December 4, 2021 2 Minutes

Cowboy Bebop and other TV notes

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 →

SelfAwarePatterns Science Fiction 20 Comments November 27, 2021 4 Minutes

Foundation

I've been watching the new Apple TV+ series Foundation, but wanted to get a few episodes in before commenting. This is an adaptation of Isaac Asimov's classic Foundation book series. In that series, set in the far future (20,000 years), a vast galactic empire rules the entire galaxy. Hari Seldon is a mathematician who has … Continue reading Foundation →

SelfAwarePatterns Science Fiction 17 Comments October 8, 2021October 9, 2021 4 Minutes

Project Hail Mary

As I've gotten older, I've become increasingly weary of the alien invasion premise. The problem is the level of coincidence. Earth was a sitting duck for 4 billion years, but the aliens wait until the very century when humans are able to mount any kind of resistance. (To the credit of HG Wells, the originator … Continue reading Project Hail Mary →

SelfAwarePatterns Science Fiction 10 Comments September 2, 2021 2 Minutes

ID-0

ID-0 is an interesting little series I stumbled across on Netflix. Like a lot of sci-fi anime, it's in the mecha genre (involving giant robots), but with a twist. The premise is that humans can copy their mind into a robot called an "I-machine" and essentially become the robot. A backup copy of the human's … Continue reading ID-0 →

SelfAwarePatterns Science Fiction 6 Comments August 26, 2021 3 Minutes

Knights of Sidonia

For years Netflix dangled Knights of Sidonia in front of me as a recommended show to check out. But as I noted several posts back, I was generally resistant to anime for a long time. I did try to take up the show once, but remember struggling with the standard anime female tropes and the … Continue reading Knights of Sidonia →

SelfAwarePatterns Science Fiction 11 Comments August 13, 2021 4 Minutes

Battle Angel Alita

My anime binge has expanded somewhat into a manga binge. A while back, I posted about the movie Alita: Battle Angel. I enjoyed it a great deal and was intrigued by the world that was presented, of a bifurcated society, with an elite living in the floating city of Zalem, and a hardscrabble lower class … Continue reading Battle Angel Alita →

SelfAwarePatterns Science Fiction 6 Comments July 18, 2021 5 Minutes

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