I’ve said here many times that Isaac Asimov is my favorite author. It wasn’t until a few years ago that I read “The Last Question,” Asimov’s favorite short story written by himself. Last night I stumbled across a story called “The Last Answer.” At first I thought, “hey, I’ve read this before,” then did a double-take. It was “Answer,” not “Question.” This story focused on the afterlife instead of entropy. They are both good stories, however I agree with Asimov in his opinion that “The Last Question” is better. I highly suggest reading them both, but I’m not sure what order to recommend. I’ll list the links in order of publication, so you decide. Read both stories before looking at the comments on either one, because they are filled with spoilers.
I came across a recommendation for Tau Zero by Poul Anderson on a top 10 list of science fiction novels. I was a bit intrigued because I recognized all of the authors on the list except this one. I did a little bit of research and found that this novel was more of “hard” science fiction. I wasn’t sure exactly what to except, and after just a few chapters I was pleasantly surprised.
A group of 25 male and 25 female scientists are selected to go on an interstellar colonization mission. Their ship, the Lenora Christine, is equipped with an advanced Buzzard engine. This engine is designed to feed off of hydrogen particles in its path while at the same time repelling other particles that would normally tear the ship apart at high velocities. The ship is designed to travel at near the speed of light, and relativity plays a significant role in the plot. After striking a nebulae that was a bit too dense for the Buzzard engine to redirect enough particles, the decelerator was damaged. There was no way to slow down. If they shut the Buzzard engine down to make repairs, they would be killed in minutes without the shielding. (more…)
As I sat down to write this review, I realized I couldn’t remember the last time I read an entire physical book. Since 2018, all my novel reading has been on a Kindle Paperwhite. Before that, I used a Kindle Fire but still alternated with physical books. Reading on the Fire was always a bit of a hassle because of the glare. The Paperwhite’s e-paper display is in a completely different league. I like it so much that when I revisited the Foundation novels a few years ago, I borrowed the ebooks from my local library even though I already had the physical copies on my shelf. One nice perk of the Paperwhite is that it’s easier to read while eating because I can flip pages with my knuckle.
Recently I wanted to disconnect from electronics before bed. The best way seemed to be grabbing something from my bookshelf that I hadn’t read yet and didn’t already have digitally. That’s when I noticed Svaha by Charles de Lint. I vaguely remembered seeing a recommendation for it years ago and picking up a copy through Book Mooch, a site where people trade books they’re done with. I’m pretty sure it’s been sitting unread for over ten years.
When I pulled Svaha off the shelf, I could barely remember how or why I got it. The cover, showing a Native American man with a wolf, didn’t ring any bells, and the back-cover description didn’t sound like my usual genre. Most of my reading leans toward science fiction and, more recently, fantasy. Still, I decided to trust my past self and give it a shot.
The story takes place in Canada sometime after 2094. Without spoiling too much, the setup is that in the 1990s a Native American named Daniel Hollow Horn became a music superstar and used his fortune to educate and empower his people. Over time they became world leaders in science, technology, and law, eventually surpassing the rest of the world. After a period of war, they withdrew into self-contained “Enclaves,” kind of like Wakanda from Black Panther, except everyone knows where they are. They managed to protect themselves from the pollution and fallout left behind while the rest of the world fell apart.
I usually prefer reading books, but I have about a 15 minute drive to work which over time adds up to a lot of wasted time listening to the radio. A few years ago I listened to Steven King’s Dark Tower series, which took me over a year of trips to work. After Robert Jordan died and his Wheel of Time series was finished up by Brandon Sanderson, I revisited the books I already read on audio as I didn’t want to dedicate reading time to catching up, then read the new ones. This time I wanted ONE book, not a series so I after some digging around I came across Anathem by Neal Stephenson. I’ve previously read Snow Crash, The Diamond Age, and Cryptonomicon. I really enjoyed Snow Crash and The Diamond Age, however Cryptonomicon was insanely long. I about half way through, I started to feel fatigued and found myself just looking forward to the end. Given the length of Anathem, I knew I didn’t really want to dedicate that amount of reading time to the book. I normally read about 15-20 minutes a day during my lunch break at work, so it would have taken forever for me to finish. The audiobook format seemed like a good fit. In the end, it took me about 2 months to make it through the 32 + hours. (more…)
I remember reading “The Last Question” when I was 9 or 10 years old. I thought it was a GREAT story then and I think it’s a GREAT story now.