So I've been noticing a lot of unfamiliar and new names popping up around here, so I figure it'd be a good time to spark up the #scificlub and see what kind of interest there is.
For those who haven't seen it, #scificlub has been around for a little while now, and periodically gets dropped and picked up again. The format generally involves watching/reading/consuming some piece of sci-fi media, then we all discuss it at some pre-designated point in time. The format is plenty amenable to modification though. You can browse though the tag to get a historical sense of what we've looked at.
So now I'd like to call roll for all those interested to chime in. We'll need to pick some material.
The inclusion criteria for material to look at has typically been this:
Easily accessible (preferably free and online) Low time commitment (short stories and movies yes, whole novels and seven-season TV shows no)
So please throw out some suggestions! There's been some recent movie releases that may be of interest, classics we haven't covered, or any other sort of thing like that.
Last-updated list of shoutouts:
Trombone kleinbl00 JakobVirgil mhr OftenBen plewemt elizabeth blackbootz Meriadoc Tiger_the_Lion _thoracic johnnyFive tehstone rthomas6 War Dala OftenBen bhrgunatha kantos francopoli anatomygeek Purple_Ruby
I have to throw A Darkling Sea into the mix. This book takes a very interesting spin on something that I have put a great deal of thought into over the years. To what degree does the type of sensory input we are able to perceive determine the limits of our thought and imagination? What other methods of doing things would we be capable of with slightly different sensory apparatus? How does a completely blind race that lives underwater write things down? How do beings that communicate through olfactory signals keep secrets from each other? What effect do these evolutionary quirks mean for the development of a culture, a civilization?
Jaron Lanier has done some cool experiments regarding remapping and expanding our motor sensory inputs/outputs. IIRC he also discusses them on the Ezra Klein podcast if you want something less academic. (It’s very readable though.)
That was a really fun read. I assumed any discussion down these lines with regard to the human neural map would bring up the homonculus idea pretty quickly. As with most research, they used college students and graduate students for their subjects. I never realized what a limitation this was until after I graduated. The world is so much bigger and weirder. I wonder if there would be any measurable difference if we used subgroups of people who have either a ton of experience in virtual bodies or almost none. Say, your average World of Warcraft player compared with say, people who report never having played an MMO or similar kind of game. I imagine that like most human traits homoncular flexibility varies from person to person, group to group. What a fascinating and infuriating time to be alive.
There's a whole set of speculative fiction on that topic that's especially terrifying. There's Fermi and Frost which I hoped we might get to, and a BBC miniseries called Threads along similar lines. These ones hit hard because they nearly could have been reality. Along that same vein I guess you could throw Dr. Strangelove into the mix.
Rediscovering Sci-fi reading in retirement, having been reading non-fiction almost exclusively for decades, just to keep up in a technical career. Classic series like Dune, Foundation, and others are mentioned in other posts. I’m looking for authors and titles I missed in the last 30 treats or so. Great reads so far: The Wool / Silo series Divergent series Lost Starship series Enders Game and follow up books The Black Fleets series: ate these three in three nights. What others would you suggest? Thanks!
I do like Azimov, Bradbury. And russian writer Belyaev Alexander. Does somebody know this name? "The Amphibian Man" mis the best his book, as for me!
I started reading sci-fi this year! Still on my reading list: Neuromancer (but hasn’t that already been discussed?) and The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi. Just read Thirteen by Richard K Morgan, which was phenomenal. Neither of those two are short though...
Regardless, those are both great books. And if you liked Thirteen, check out the Takashi Kovacs series, beginning with Altered Carbon (by the same author).
I got Neuromancer a couple of months back after a friend recommended it. Couldn't read it beyond the first few pages, a little tough for me since I'm a non-native speaker but your post, in some mystic way, encouraged me to pick it up again tonight.
I'm game. Free and accessible criterion could make for an interesting utopia/dystopia discussion if we took up public domain stuff from early 20thC.
I like the Frankenstein though. This is classical but still interesting sci-fi. I started by reading the "Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus" on apknite free ebooks. The story is fascinating and became one of my favourites now.
I have a definite interest in lurking in this group, and watching the discussions. But I also have an idea for a different kind of discussion... There are many stories which tread the same idea space. What I'd like to see, is people discussing a variety of approaches that have been taken to a specific topic. Say, for example, we take the topic 'Androids as humans'. There are a variety of stories, from Blade Runner to Ex Machina, that approach the idea and present it in different ways. It would be possible to set up a series of questions/topics that would inspire us to discuss how the different stories address or deal with a common theme or issue. It's more work, but might invite more participation, and a broader discussion on sci-fi as a form.
New account, but an old face. I have watched Ex Machina a lot as of late. The soundtrack stands on it's own as well.
I'd like to be added to the list, I see nueromancer has been tossed around, the BBC radio play is a short option for it (~2 hours). I haven't listened so can't say how accurately it captures the book but I skimmed it once for space rasta samples and it sounded alright.
You might like Arthur C. Clarke's "Reunion". It's very short and striking. It might even be too short for your purposes. I'd include a link if my account weren't too new. Google will lead you right to it though.
I've been interested in reading Sci-fi since quite some time but have always found it intimidating. I think I'll check out what you guys have been reading. Looking to pick up something interesting to read.
Interested - following this. I'm sure many have read it, but I've always loved The Martian Chronicles.
Thank you so much for soldiering on and doing this again. I'm going to have a hard time doing anything that isn't available as audio for this round, but by all means keep me involved. As far as suggestions, The Red One is short and public domain. It might be fun to dig up some of the early Gibson/Sterling cyberpunk just for that awesome '80s vibe. Fragments of a Hologram Rose or Gernsback Continuum. I really dug the shit out of Roadside Picnic. Find us some more awesome Russian stuff and I'll find a way. I read Solaris on my first flight to LA every year, three years running. Every summer, I am Kris Kelvin.
I am totally down to find something along the lines of Roadside Picnic. I just need to figure out how to find it. I've never actually read Solaris, I guess that's on my list. I like The Red One suggestion, this definitely needs to be done this time around.
I promise to make the effort to contribute this time as long as there's not too much reading each week/selection. I'm a slow reader and though I read every day it's not very much and this will be additional to my current habits.