Best Sci-Fi Books of All Time

 The GOAT of SciFi books! Of course somebody has made a list of the top 50 of all time:

https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/books/g39358054/best-sci-fi-books/

I've been challenging myself to try to read these 20 greatest SciFi books. Yes, yes, the top top ones are a great pleasure to read, such as Dune and Asimov's Foundation, and The Martian, and Hyperion is wonderful. But some, I just can't grok.

However, this one: Project Hail Mary, is pretty great. By the same author who wrote The Martian. It's readable; unpretentious (for all the great science that's in it); and if you love science, you really need to read this, as it somewhat incredibly lays scientific obstacle upon scientific obstacle in front of our poor hero. I mean, he hardly ever gets even a moment's rest.

This is better than Red Mars (which is also good, though it's less about science and more sort of a soap opera of lousy relationships), and it's better than Three Body Problem (great show, but the book wasn't easy for me to enjoy).

Here's the URL for Project Hail Mary: https://www.amazon.com/Project-Hail-Mary-Andy-Weir/dp/0593135202



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Since the 1970s we've improved education of girls, but boys are failing in record numbers

Image
  We've done a good job building the self-esteem of girls in school, and it's young women who hold a strong majority of those: in college; in grad schools; and getting the highest grades. However, and I say this as a guy with two daughters and a granddaughter, we're doing a lousy job with boys--they are failing to meet basic education standards, in record numbers. When we overproduce uneducated boys, only bad things can happen (they make poor spouses, fathers, and workers). Surely this great nation can educate both genders. https://teachmag.com/why-boys-arent-learning/ https://www.city-journal.org/article/where-the-boys-arent https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9981173/White-boys-group-fall-places-university-numbers-drop-10-seven-years.html
Read more

"Vastly Less Murderous"

Image
  From a great article on Aeon , arguing why a liberal democracy is the best form of government: "The cognitive scientist Steven Pinker contrasts liberal democracies with regimes based on demonising, concluding that: ‘democracies are vastly less murderous than alternative forms of government’. Like other modern writers, Pinker uses ‘democracy’ as shorthand for ‘liberal democracy’, meaning: popular sovereignty, rule of law, voting rights, human rights, free speech, equal opportunity, separation of church and state, distributive justice, and a market-based economy. Kenton: But it appears it is harder to maintain a democracy than to maintain a dictatorship. Being 'vastly less murderous' is good enough for me. Worth fighting for. And if we could ever actually obtain a semblance of 'justice for all,' well, that would be a bonus.
Read more

Southern universities lose talented applicants due to fears of pregnancy in a backwards state

Image
  My friend is inclined to not let her daughter apply to Vanderbilt, because of the risk she might get pregnant in Tennessee. Wow. This could hurt Duke, UT Austin, Washington University St Louis, Emory and other good southern schools as well. When I attended Vanderbilt, one of the best parts of it was meeting students from all over the country and the world. When we lose geographic diversity in our universities, we lose a lot. All because of idiocy and hatred in state legislatures. It's another form of a war against education. (photo credit: Shutterstock)
Read more