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Joined 2 years ago
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Cake day: June 13th, 2023

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  • So I flew through this read but I’m not sure I enjoyed it. Also my first read of a Culture novel. Some stray thoughts:

    -The initial presentation of Azad as a meritocracy through performance at essentially a competitive test a la the SAT, ACT, A levels, only to be revealed again and again how it’s set up to enforce the class structure. Elite schooling and training to perform better, performance enhancing drugs, and just straight out blocking people from participating at a certain level.

    -Gurgeh got played begining to end by Special Circumstances. This coupled with the heavy handed commentary about the utopian possibilities offered from having the same virtues as the Culture I think are somewhat at odds? Also a surprisingly high number of people die in the Culture (like at the end) after spending a chunk of time talking about how that rarely happens.




  • Surprisingly I think TV/Movies got this more right because of the want to show the actors. If you had a sci-fi movie or show it was probably in there. 2001 A Space Odyssey and Star Trek both in the sixties had an, albeit clunkier, face time or zoom. I think with novels with less of a need to show who was talking radio and messages were more common.



















  • I took a bit of a time off from reading so when I started again this is what I gleaned as recommendations from the other printsf:

    Three body problem - Liu Cixin Bobiverse - Dennis Taylor Daemon - Daniel Suarez Children of Time - Adrian Tchaikovsky Pushing Ice - Alastair Reynolds

    Honorable mention: Blindsight - Peter Watts

    If I were to go with a mix of old and new: Children of Time - Adrian Tchaikovsky Jurassic Park - Michael Crichton Snow Crash - Neal Stephenson I, Robot - Issac Asimov Dune - Frank Herbert

    Mix of old and new, short and far future.