5 ms·
Your opinion is very good. The "and then something magic happens" solution in fantasy is what really turns me off. But in SF it is sometimes hard to distinct m
by JoachimS 12y ago
Your opinion is very good. The "and then something magic happens" solution in fantasy is what really turns me off.
But in SF it is sometimes hard to distinct magic from plausible albeit far fetched science. Is FTL possible given the science of tomorrow, or magic?
If you want to have (imho) really, really good SF, chec out Ted Chiang. Very low production, but he takes science in SF very seriosly. His collection of short stories is some of the best I've ever read:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stories_of_Your_Life_and_Others http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stories_of_Your_Life_and_Others
Somebody else mentioned Anathem. And if one want deep mathematics mixed with wild ideas, language theory I strongly recommend it. It is hard to get going (at least it was for me). But very rewarding. Probably the best read the last year.
Finally, if one really wants to go the "no magic" route. I strongly recommend Netptunes Brood by Charles stross. The book is based on the idea that FTL is not possible, and as a consequence how the economics behind interstellar migration and stable exchange currencies works. Bitcoing and slow money. Just that somebody actually has been considering the finance structure behind generation ships makes it worth reading.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neptune%27s_Brood http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neptune%27s_Brood
- JoachimS 12y agoAlso, a fun fact. Ted Chiang writes manuals for Microsoft products. Here is a good interview with Chiang (which I think has made it onto HN before): https://stories.californiasunday.com/2015-01-04/ted-chiang-scifi-perfectionist/ https://stories.californiasunday.com/2015-01-04/ted-chiang-s...
- rpglover64 12y agoYou might like to check out Brandon Sanderson's work (if you haven't yet). It's all fantasy, but it tends to avoid the "and then something magic happens" problem. I'd interpret the thing you dislike about fantasy as a violation of Sanderson's first law: "The author's ability to resolve conflicts in a satisfying way with magic is directly proportional to how the reader understands said magic." http://stormlightarchive.wikia.com/wiki/Sanderson%27s_Laws_of_Magic http://stormlightarchive.wikia.com/wiki/Sanderson%27s_Laws_o...
- JoachimS 12y agoSanderson's law is what I feel. Thanks for pointing it out. I really enjoyed Karl Schroeders Ventus where the population saw technology as magic: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ventus http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ventus Nuttails Suffiently Advanced Technology is also a good example: http://www.amazon.com/Sufficiently-Advanced-Technology-Inverse-Shadows-ebook/dp/B00DVZM1WQ http://www.amazon.com/Sufficiently-Advanced-Technology-Inver...