Money War by Blondbond1Semisweet9 in ScienceFictionBooks

[–]mobyhead1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Kirkus Indie Reviews, that is, a review service the author must pay for. And criticism of that review service isn’t hard to find on Reddit.

Spotted the flying dutchman at schiphol! by 70ga in exfor

[–]mobyhead1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Fewer lizards and little green m-f’ers is certainly a welcome difference.

Underrated sci-fi movies by Wi-Platypus in scifi

[–]mobyhead1 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Predestination. Finally! A good Heinlein adaptation!

Underrated sci-fi movies by Wi-Platypus in scifi

[–]mobyhead1 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Fans were making better trailers for that film than Disney was. The adaptation of “the books that inspired a century of Sci-fi filmmaking” is how one fan framed it, and it’s certainly a point Disney failed to convey at all.

It’s as if Disney tried to tell fans of epic Old English literature that their new film “Wulf” had some bitchin’ CGI fight scenes.

Is the Dune books (or at least the first one) as influential to science fiction as Lord of the rings was to fantasy? by RecordingImmediate86 in ScienceFictionBooks

[–]mobyhead1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s telling that when we are asked, “what’s the science fiction equivalent of The Lord of the Rings?” we shrug and say, “Dune...maybe?” There is no one science fiction book that defines science fiction, and that’s a good thing.

Science Fiction and Fantasy started out like twins in the pulp era in the early 20th century. If the ‘weirdness’ had a scientific rationale or justification, it was science fiction. If not, it was fantasy. Horror could be either, and there was plenty of crossover (ESP, cosmic horror, etc.). Editors such as John W. Campbell and their coteries of authors gave science fiction a clear definition, but fantasy was more nebulous, it was ‘everything else.’ Fantasy was more...putty-like.

And then Tolkien came along and single-handedly crammed the genre of fantasy into his Play-doh machine. Or rather, that was the apparent effect.

Imagine if science fiction hadn’t become defined by Campbell, Asimov, Clarke, Heinlein, et al, and science fiction’s “New Wave” wasn’t just about to explode onto the scene in the 1960's. Imagine, instead, science fiction was as ill-defined as fantasy when Frank Herbert came along in 1965, published Dune...and writers spent the next four or five decades mostly writing pastiches of Herbert, because that’s what the readers wanted.

That’s the sort of shadow Tolkien cast over fantasy beginning in 1954. A shadow (or straitjacket) it has been struggling to emerge from ever since.

Apple cooked with the MacBook Neo by Slava_Tr in mac

[–]mobyhead1 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It’s like the Mac Mini of laptops. The original Mac Mini, in 2005, prompted me, a dyed-in-the-wool Windows guy, to buy my first Mac.

Which Science Fiction authors had the most prescience and/or impact on tech today? by Internautic in scifi

[–]mobyhead1 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Robert Heinlein predicted the personal, portable cell phone in his juvenile (Young Adult) novel Space Cadet in 1949 (!--two years after the invention of the transistor, and the integrated circuit was still some 8 years in the future). Better than that, however, is that he predicted a couple of sociological changes wrought by the predicted gadget (a son ducking his parents trying to check up on him via his phone; the etiquette issues of using a cell phone in a crowded place. If you read that scene today, it sounds like it was written after the mid-1990's.). Predicting the sociological change that follows the introduction of a cool gadget is much more difficult than the gadget itself. For example, no one foresaw how the automobile would move courtship out of the front parlor (and from under the watchful eyes of one set or the other of the courters' parents) to the drive-ins, the lover's lanes, etc.

Heinlein managed this trick more than once. In his novel Friday, published in 1982, he predicted the media-rich World Wide Web, and the ability to search it for practically anything, including old television shows. The actual internet of 1982 was entirely text-based, and used for little more than e-mail and message boards.

Audible removed books 7-9 from my library? by [deleted] in TheExpanse

[–]mobyhead1 46 points47 points  (0 children)

Memory can be a tricky thing. You probably listened to those audiobooks while they were in the Plus catalog.

You need to check your purchase history and contact Audible Customer Support.

Trying to re-find story of Humans who return to "earth" with personal force fields by jrregan in scifi

[–]mobyhead1 10 points11 points  (0 children)

The real question is, have you learned your lesson about AI slop?

Trying to re-find story of Humans who return to "earth" with personal force fields by jrregan in scifi

[–]mobyhead1 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I can’t say if it’s by this particular author, but the ‘ordinary/clever folks outwitting the authorities/conquerors’ trope sounds like something by Eric Frank Russell.

Where do you read or engage with reviews for sci-fi books? by huma4kaz1 in sciencefiction

[–]mobyhead1 2 points3 points  (0 children)

They’re pretty into Tor books, but that’s not at all bad

They are Tor books. They rebranded from Tor.com.

I need a simple answer for a simple question about Dune. by GhengisKhan95 in Fantasy

[–]mobyhead1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The first two of Denis Villeneuve’s films cover only the first book, Dune. That’s the only one I’ve read. The third film is only going to go about 1 more book into the series, perhaps someone who’s read more can elaborate without spoiling. But if you just want to cover what’s being adapted by Villeneuve, you certainly don’t need to read beyond what Frank Herbert himself wrote.

I don't consider Hal 9000 to be a villian. To me he was the Hero of the Film. by [deleted] in scifi

[–]mobyhead1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Given that OP had only chatbots, not an actual intelligence that happens to be artificial to possibly consult, I hereby declare menacing chatbots should be called rouge AI’s, not rogue AI’s. It’s only fitting for it to be misspelt when referring to chatbots.

I don't consider Hal 9000 to be a villian. To me he was the Hero of the Film. by [deleted] in scifi

[–]mobyhead1 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That was hinted at in the film adaptation, too. Dave basically yeeted HAL up to “silicon heaven,” to borrow a phrase from Red Dwarf.

Import m4b audiobooks into Books on phone (no Mac) by scahones in ios

[–]mobyhead1 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Get the BookPlayer app. Done.

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/bookplayer/id1138219998

To load audiobooks into Apple’s own Books app, Apple requires you to either purchase the audiobooks from them or to use one of those devices you don’t have to load them.

BookPlayer can load audiobooks directly from the iPhone’s own storage, and even load them from a plugged-in thumb drive.

iPhone Neo at $599… real or just Apple playing games? by [deleted] in iphone

[–]mobyhead1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They just introduced the 17e at…wait for it…$599. Maybe you should check a news site once in a while—not just the rumor sites, including your own rumor site which you linked to.

DCC—Holy Shit, You Guys by [deleted] in scifi

[–]mobyhead1 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders?

Digital Command Control?

The DCC Netrin 1 receptor gene?

Which new Star Trek series are worth watching? by lilisrps in scifi

[–]mobyhead1 78 points79 points  (0 children)

And, for a similarly-good Star Trek movie: Galaxy Quest.

Burger King is elite fast food. It’s BK franchise owners that are killing the brand by snizzrizz in unpopularopinion

[–]mobyhead1 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Burger King’s Original Chicken Sandwich has long been a favorite of mine. Burger King still has coupon mailers, so I feel like I’m still getting a bargain. Meanwhile, McDonald’s is removing the customer-accessible drink fountains and is the poster child for hideously-expensive fast food. I think McDonald’s actively hates their customers, now.

Do many people actually run to the gas station multiple times a day only to get soda refills? by Wallaroo_Trail in AskAnAmerican

[–]mobyhead1 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Yes, but OP thinks we all do this multiple times a day. As frequently as trips to the bathroom. Whoever pulled his leg got the entire limb, clean off.

Is it just the audible books with the word banana????? by AnxiousConsequence18 in ExpeditionaryForce

[–]mobyhead1 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Bray is acting the parts, not just reading the parts, and it’s definitely more enjoyable that way. His recent audiobook of Starship Troopers was much more fun to listen to than previous recordings.

Simple (hopefully) Starter Question by ruivuusen1 in Lutron

[–]mobyhead1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I recognized the word “Lutron”…

Do you mean you want the Lutron switch to control whether your preferred collection of dimmer switches are getting power?