Ahira's Hangar

Hey! This is sci-fi not fantasy and we have an SRD forum BTW. Once again I got through the first 3rd of AATE by training myself to read faster and tuning out Linden-angst-all things considered I really liked the book and those who can't handle "scorched-earth" are wussies The Wounded Land? This is more like Crisp Fried to a Crackly Crunch Land...kind of models current events...it's always *cough* (Last) darkest before the dawn and all that. Fortunately lives in Arizona, that's punishment enough!

When I grew up in scifi (late 70s early 80s) they didn't differentiate in bookstores between sf and fantasy, and I called it all scifi. I know that makes some of the Futurians (is that the right name) turn over in their graves, but can't help that. But I'll keep the fantasy posts in the right forum from now on.

The Wounded Land still had lots of hope in it.

Even now there are a lot of books where you honestly could go either way on fantasy or science fiction - both Steven Erikson and R. Scott Bakker have space ships in their epic fantasy series and the human civilization in Scott Lynch's fantasy series is built on the ruins of an unknown alien civilization.

I am more concerned about possible spoilers about the new SRD book, though no one spilled any in this thread (other than general tone of the book, which is no biggy). I do not know whether or not everyone here has read it or not or even has access to the book yet in the case of Av?

David Eddings once disparagingly claimed that science fiction spent a whole lot of time (implied: wasted time) telling the reader how everything worked, while fantasy just tells them, this is what's what. When I first read that, at a young age, I thought he was right. Now I think, what a douche. There are so many counter examples on both counts.

To be honest with you, when things get high tech enough in science fiction (as with the warp drives in the last science fiction book I read, Stephen Baxter's Ark) - it might as well be magic for all that I understand it. It's been a long time since this middle aged lady took her high school physics class, and a lot of stuff has hugely changed in the years since. As long as the tech (or the magic in case of the fantasy) makes internal sense within the story - and as long as the author does not completely blow it in the science (admittedly I am much more familiar with the bio/anthro/evolutionary aspects these days than the physics or math or artificial intelligence) I am usually content.

Agreed on all counts. I don't come close to understanding most of the sicence behind science fiction. Heck, it's been long enough since this early twenties dude came within a whisker of flunking sixth form physics. I know little enough about biology and evolution (and physics, and chemistry, and any kind of hard science you care to name) that I probably wouldn't spot any mistakes that were there. But it's the anthroplogy that I read science fiction for. I don't need to grasp the theories surrounding time travel to be fascinated by an author's ideas of how it might affect humans.

Geez duchess thanks for ruining Bakker and Erikison for me! (actually I figured that out in Bakker and suspect it in Erikson-but you probably just spoiler all who haven't read.). Anyway we do have seperate forums for sci-fi and fantasy. Cambo you should try Tony Daniel-he makes quantum mechanics sing-quite enjoyable even for the non-physics minded...

I quite liked AATE. Better than Runes and FR anyway.

--A

Or, later:



Or, see if you can figure this one out (hint: right at the end)

--A

That would be my guess as well.

Bingo! 20 EXP

Iain Banks' Surface Detail, his latest Culture book.