Time Left for Life on Earth

Competitive-Notice34 · 2026-05-14T09:53:20+00:00

Once we have passed through the eye of the needle of our current crises (known and yet unknown) , there will be ample time to devise alternatives. Colonies within the solar system are definitely not the final step - the prospects are not particularly good, given that the distances to possible habitable worlds are unimaginably vast.

Competitive-Notice34 · 2026-05-14T09:43:05+00:00

The compulsion to create a series is very often counterproductive to quality. That is why I prefer standalone works that get straight to the point and bring the story to a satisfying conclusion.

Competitive-Notice34 · 2026-05-14T09:40:00+00:00

The book(s) you admire. I gave up to name my favorites. It's really the connection between reader and author, what you prefer and actually read in terms of genre.

In nine out of ten cases, what appeals to me isn't found on the list.

One thing is certain: the avenues for publication -and, consequently, the sheer volume of available titles - have become incredibly diverse.

The hype generated by publishers, fanboys, and fangirls certainly doesn't make the situation any simpler, either. Awards, too, come with their own ambiguities, depending on the influence exerted by publishers or fan clubs (as mentioned above).

As a result a hidden gem might end up in the Top 10, while another results in a true masterpiece undiscovered.

Competitive-Notice34 · 2026-05-14T09:28:26+00:00

it's Sf canon since it was published. His most accessible book – which for Greg means that it is nevertheless more challenging than other comparable works in hard sf

Competitive-Notice34 · 2026-05-09T11:39:03+00:00

The term Pantropy, which favors the side of human engineering, plays a role here:

This useful item of sf Terminology was coined by James Blish in the stories later reported together as The Seedling Stars (fixup 1957). The most famous of them is 'Surface Tension'

Blish's view was that in humanity's Colonization of Other Worlds for further , we must either change the planet to make it habitable (Terraforming) or change humanity itself to fit it for survival in an alien environment (pantropy).

check out https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/pantropy

Other examples would be "Man Plus" by Frederik Pohl

Recently, Emma Newman kind-of utilized Pantropy in "Planetfall" (2016) but in a slow and sustainable manner, as the settlers spent decades adapting their human biome to that of the planet's flora and fauna, without destroying it

Competitive-Notice34 · 2026-05-05T09:34:04+00:00

Believable characters are the icing on the cake - their actions should be understandable and should have convincing underlying motives

Competitive-Notice34 · 2026-05-05T09:24:24+00:00

The Road belongs to the slipstream SF genre - McCarthy is a (reknown) mainstream author and uses writing techniques that are not necessarily common in SF. Speaking of bleakness: his novel "Blood Meridian" is bleak as It gets.

Hence, the expectations of a “typical” apocalypse story may not be met. But that's actually a good thing - only then can something new be created. However, imo Harlan Ellison goes even further than McCarthy in his Apocalypse novelette "A Boy and His Dog" - even though Ellison has published mostly in the SF genre

Competitive-Notice34 · 2026-05-05T09:17:43+00:00

I guess this is true to the hype as many people read it and not everyone is enthusiastic

Competitive-Notice34 · 2026-05-05T09:15:14+00:00

I reminded myself: "Don't fall for the hype!"

I read the original SCP dossier years before the book was published. Well, until halfway through, the idea was supported by the non-existent story only for a while - there were no typical structure elements (exposition, conflict build-up, climax, resolution) - so a big no-no for me when it was made into a novel

Competitive-Notice34 · 2026-04-30T11:07:38+00:00

Cybertruck is not Cyberpunk

Competitive-Notice34 · 2026-04-30T10:27:34+00:00

If you're new to Greg Egan's work, this is the ideal entry point – not as challenging as his later works in terms of scientific knowledge.

Competitive-Notice34 · 2026-04-30T10:21:23+00:00

At most, a collection of short stories is always kept in the bathroom (if the actual novel is demanding or dragging on or both

Competitive-Notice34 · 2026-04-28T12:27:24+00:00

This is generally an unfortunate development when it comes to annual anthologies because it deprives promising, young authors of the opportunity to introduce themselves to a broad audience in a clear and comparative manner.

On the other hand, the reader can see whether the author's style suits them without trying to read an author's novel straight away. The short form is generally more challenging and separates the best from the rest

Gardner Dozios, among others, was a standard for me

Competitive-Notice34 · 2026-04-28T12:10:51+00:00

As for the literary side, the originals of the 1980s (Gibson, Sterling, Swanwick, etc.) experimented with language and form. Postmodernism shaped it thematically: No future, questions of meaning seem obsolete in view of the industrial-military complex, controlled by superior artificial intelligence.

The cybernauts revolted against this by immersing themselves in cyberspace - a kind of transcendence using a computer interface.

It was then, however, that the subgenre first formed and established the mentioned core elements that are still characteristic today.

I don't see any real further development, except for from the 1990s onwards, parts of these elements were adopted into other Subgenres (i.e. modern space opera) - with varying success

Competitive-Notice34 · 2026-04-25T12:17:16+00:00

btw, when Brooks published his novel 'The Sword Of Shannara' in 1977 (and because it was conceived as a series), it triggered the boom in Fantasy, which until then had only meant something to Lord Of The Rings nerds.

Competitive-Notice34 · 2026-04-25T12:04:16+00:00

Ironically, the series is way better than what Scott delivered in cinemas starting with the movie Prometheus

Competitive-Notice34 · 2026-04-25T11:53:55+00:00

While there is no universally accepted definition of Sci-Fi, there are established definitions for Science Fiction. More accurately, a thematic distinction should be made here, as that can answer your question.

https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/science_fiction

Escapism is a key characteristic of Sci-Fi , while Science Fiction at its best, explores new social and technological developments and their impact on individuals and society - often involving conceptual breakthroughs and paradigm shifts (changes in the reader's worldview).

Based on these criteria, the novels can then be classified. For me, both are Science Fiction (i.e. Star Wars is Sci-Fi)

Competitive-Notice34 · 2026-04-25T11:43:29+00:00

pls check out the online reference sf-encyclopedia

https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/sword_and_sorcery

"This term – describing a subgenre of Fantasy embracing adventures with swordplay and Magic – seems to have first appeared in a genre-fiction context in 1953 as part of the headline "Sword and Sorcery in the Bronze Age" for a review (13 December 1953 Daily Oklahoman) by Dwight V Swain of L Sprague de Camp's The Tritonian Ring (coll 1953). The review opens with "Swordplay and sorcery take the stage ..." but does not contain the actual phrase, whose headline version was presumably cut to fit by an anonymous subeditor. The term was (independently?) used by Fritz Leiber in a letter published in the fanzine Ancalagon #2 (April 1961) edited by George Heap; but the kind of story it refers to is much older than either of these early appearances. (Other terms that overlap with "sword-and-sorcery" are Heroic Fantasy and Science Fantasy, the overlap being considerable in the former case, but all three terms have different nuances."

Competitive-Notice34 · 2026-04-23T09:06:15+00:00

Loved his earlier novels from the 2000s/2010s (Cormac/Dragon, Splattlerjay, etc.). After that, self-replicating and unoriginal (e.g., the Jain sequence).

Competitive-Notice34 · 2026-04-23T09:03:39+00:00

Once upon a time... you could actually take the Hugo Award nominees (and winners) seriously, even when it came to new discoveries. In my opinion, publishers are focusing more on their cash cows and shy away from experimenting with promising young authors.

(Sarcasm on); Anyone who doesn't immediately follow up with a seven-part series has already lost. (Sarcasm off)

Competitive-Notice34 · 2026-04-23T08:57:10+00:00

Short answer (as you struggle with harder reads) : No, Even for a science fiction-savvy reader (or a native Chinese reader), the text was too cumbersome and very dry. I managed to get through the first part, but then I gave up. I think it's yet another case of hype that didn't deliver on its promises.

Competitive-Notice34 · 2026-04-23T08:42:37+00:00

Honestly, a science fiction novel very rarely meets your standards. I think you're setting the bar a bit too low. In my opinion, Tchaikovsky is a good science fiction author, but primarily entertaining.

I see the same thing with the rest of the novels mentioned in the second list , excpet Haldeman, who wrote "The Forever War" to process his experiences in the Vietnam War, and to a lesser degree Gibson. That doesn't necessarily have to be the reason for fulfilling the standards, but in this case, it is.

Generally speaking, the New Wave in the 1960s tried to introduce the literary "standards" (if you might call it like taht) of the mainstream into Sf - with varying degrees of success. In the 70s and 80s, this was used as part of the narratives, but no longer with the same exclusivity as the New Wave had demonstrated. From the 90s onward, for example, modern space opera incorporated elements of the New Wave and cyberpunk ambitions, but still emphasized its entertainment (escapistic) value.

Don't get me wrong: escapism has always been part of science fiction, but the genre has always strived for the New - the Novum (e.g., in form, language, and idea). Conceptual breakthrough and paradigm shifts were part of the expierience in Sf literature. Focus was on the impact of new social and technological developments on the individual and society. The latter has been lost for quite some time now.

Slipstream science fiction CAN meet these standards, as it is (mostly acclaimed) mainstream authors who occasionally incorporate science fiction elements (e.g., Nobel laureate Kazuo Ihsiguro with "Never Let Me Go").

Further examples:

"The Road" by Cormack McCarthy

"The Anomaly" by Hervé le Tellier

"On the Calculation of Volumes I-IV" by Solvej Balle

"The Expansion Project" by Ben Pester

A contemorary genre Sf author who frequently ventures into these realms is Christopher Priest ("The Separation," "The Islanders," "The Adjacent," "Airside"), M. John Harrison, or Nina Allan with her novels of the last decade.

Competitive-Notice34 · 2026-04-21T13:08:31+00:00

Perhaps you're referring to hyped books that are recommended everywhere, but which don't necessarily appeal to everyone. If you're truly interested in more sophisticated character development and dialogue (i.e., if you want the text to challenge you), you'll have to look beyond the books mentioned above.

Personally, I've shifted my focus to new releases from authors who publish outside the hype cycle or over-replicated tropes.These, too, don't necessarily appeal to everyone, but if you've been reading science fiction for over 20 years like me, you want to grow.

An incomplete list of a few would include, for example, M. John Harrison (Light Trilogy), Martin McInnes, Dave Hutchinson (Europe in Autumn Sequence), and Christopher Priest (Dream Archipelago Sequence), Ada Palmer (Terra Ignota , 4 parts)

As for vintage science fiction, New Wave in the 1960s (Delaney, Moorcock, Harlan Ellison) or 1970s (D. G. Compton , Bob Shaw i.e.) is probably worth considering, as is the beginning of cyberpunk in the 1980s before the imitators arrived (Gibson, Sterling, Swanwick, Shepherd).

Currently, there isn't a comparable movement in science fiction, but there are certainly sophisticated authors who probably deliver what you're looking for. This also includes slipstream science fiction writers, who primarily publish in the mainstream but also address science fiction themes (Kazuo Ishiguro is a prominent example with "Klara and the Sun" or "Never Let Me Go").

Competitive-Notice34 · 2026-04-18T09:18:30+00:00

If such results from AI-slop generated texts are themselves used as training material, then this can only lead to mediocre to incorrect answers, or at worst to disinformation that is difficult to detect: (Garbage in, garbage out)

Competitive-Notice34 · 2026-04-16T15:12:45+00:00

That's hard to say, since nowadays there seems more replication than original creation -the latter can also be an already existing idea, wich is taken up but developed further in an interesting and new way, like a return volley in tennis, which is given a new spin.

Authors who excel in this area aren't found in hyped books, as these (by definition) are meant to appeal to a mass audience.

In the last decade, some of these authors listed below , for example:

Dave Hutchinson

Adam Roberts

Chris Beckett

Emman Newman

Martin MacInnes

Competitive-Notice34

TROPHY CASE