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  2. Off the Queue and Into the Mind

Off the Queue and Into the Mind

By pontiff on March 16, 2008.

Seeker by Jack McDevitt, Newton's Wake: A Space Opera by Ken MacLeod, and Eater by Gregory Benford. Seems I am on a science fiction kick. That must be a sign that I'm looking for new ideas to work on.

  • Seeker by Jack McDevitt. Science fiction with an archeology/mystery bent. Lost civilizations, mysterious artifacts, make for an enjoyable quick read. A good book to read in one sitting.
  • Newton's Wake: A Space Opera by Ken MacLeod. A post-singularity novel. So post singularity that the artificial intellgences that went through the singularity have gone away. Started good, but by the end it lost its ability to keep me interested. I suspect this was because as the novel progressed less was offered about the back stories, and more was focused on the main plot line, which seemed highly contrived without more backstory.
  • Eater by Gregory Benford. Intelligent black hole invades the solar system. That's right, I said an intelligent black hole. I'm a sucker for books which feature scientists as main characters, and Benford, himself a scientist, does this pretty well (and reminded why it is so cool to be an astronomer: you get to spend time in Hawaii!)
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I like Ken MacLeod's. You should try his Fall Revolution series, but he is inconsistent about timing.

I should try the other two authors.

Weirdly, I just read Jack McDevitt's A Talent for War, which also had a bit of an archaeology/mystery bent. Guess I'll have to check out more of his stuff...

By Todd Brun (not verified) on 21 Mar 2008 #permalink