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Having not read any of Liu's works: how exactly is the idea of total surveillance a narrative innovation of Liu's? I'm reminded of Arthur C Clarke's The Light
by ducharmdev 4y ago
Having not read any of Liu's works: how exactly is the idea of total surveillance a narrative innovation of Liu's?
I'm reminded of Arthur C Clarke's The Light of Other Days; that to me was total surveillance.
- everly 4y ago[Spoiler alert I guess] Having only read the wiki page for The Light of Other Days (now very interested in reading the book, thanks!), it seems you’re mostly right, with the difference in Liu’s work being that total surveillance of earth is achieved by an alien species from another galaxy.
- avaldez_ 4y ago>by an alien species from another galaxy In the book, trisolarans are from the Alpha Centaury system, the closest one to our own.
- ducharmdev 4y agoAh that is slightly different. To me, Light of Other Days is very much a thought experiment into how humanity would deal with the complete eradication of privacy; while initially the technology is only in the hands of a few, eventually it is made accessible to virtually everyone. It's less about some outside force surveiling (whether aliens or big corporations), and more about what happens when surveillance becomes a basic fact of life (e.g. why wear clothes if everyone can see you shower anyway?). I also noticed that Liu cities Clarke as one of his inspirations according to Wikipedia, totally makes sense based on this thread.
- iainmerrick 4y agoI’m pretty sure The Light of Other Days is not really an Arthur C Clarke novel; it’s a Stephen Baxter novel with Clarke’s name on it. (Of course it could still be good.)