Did you love The Martian? Do you like a can-do attitude? Do you admire the ideal that anything is possible, that humans can accomplish vastly more in Did you love The Martian? Do you like a can-do attitude? Do you admire the ideal that anything is possible, that humans can accomplish vastly more in the future than we have in the past? Well, this book is not for you. Kim Stanly Robinson doesn't believe in your shining future, or that the future is some incredible dystopia -- no it is just a lot like today, only with fewer people who believe in progress. This book was well-written and thought out in parts, oddly lacking in others. Robinson seems to misunderstand "reversion to the mean" -- or want to apply it far too broadly, for example. True, the book soars in places and the fundamental conceit is a good one. But the point of the story, the obviously intended moral is a fundamentally terrible one and the antithesis of what makes for good science fiction -- the idea that the future is an undiscovered country, be it good or ill. I almost hated this book, except it made me remember that the future does has its enemies and, it seems, Mr. Kim Robinson is one of them....more
This book was beyond fascinating, treading perfectly the line between sentiment and science. It filled me with a sense of wonder and I learned so muchThis book was beyond fascinating, treading perfectly the line between sentiment and science. It filled me with a sense of wonder and I learned so much, from the basic -- the question of why leaves turn color in the fall is not a settled one! -- to the perplexing -- in today's world where we struggle to separate our genetic destiny from the appearance of free will, it's striking to realize these questions obtain for trees as well -- to the sublime -- trees nurture their young and the aged.
Bradbury does for the emotional and social effects of robots what Asimov did for the logical and programming side. Most of the value comes from the clBradbury does for the emotional and social effects of robots what Asimov did for the logical and programming side. Most of the value comes from the classic novella that starts things off -- "I Sing the Body Electric," although the others are mostly thought-provoking as well, especially in the context of other books I'm reading at the same time -- "What to Think About Machines That Think" and "The Age of Em"...more
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