China Mieville. Let’s talk favorite authors. Mieville is such an amazing writer, inventive, engaging and insightful. Embassytown is one of my all-time favorites, full stop. The City and the City? Wonderful. Absolutely in love with just about everything he’s penned.

I'm reading a Kindle sample of the first book in Robert Anton Wilson's Schrödinger's Cat Trilogy. I was reading an article about the Schrödinger's cat puzzle in quantum physics (because I love QP and named one of my cats Schrödinger) and there was a citation pointing to this trilogy.

I have GOT to recommend that you check it out.

It's got parallel worlds.

It's got hilarious depictions of humans, politics, nuclear threats, and other stuff.

There are twists and turns: wait a minute, what just happened??

It's got QUANTUM PHYSICS, but no equations so far. I never got that whole algebra thing and never needed it anyway.

This book is not formulaic. It's not like so many sci-fi books that's basically a soap opera with a war and a hero and a few space ships and maybe some gimmicky glitch in time or space thrown in.

This is complicated and you have to pay attention. I've actually had to go back and re-read some sections. No dozing off with this one.

I've read The Expanse (11volumes), all the Rusch books, the Ancillary series, The Three Body Problem, the Red Rising series, everything by John Scalzi, Adrian Tchaikovsky, Jasper Fforde, MurderBot, Asimov's Foundation (sure its a classic but from an old world--at least the TV series had a woman in it), and pretty much every other sci-fi series and book that was highly recommended here.

But I've never encountered anything as non-linear and idea-packed and cynical and funny and just-plain-deranged as this. So... I don't know how far I'll get with this series. I get bored easily now and if it turns out to be too affected or ostentatiously complicated I'll bail. But I got excited reading the first two chapters (in which the author is actually a character, quite confusing at first) and I wanted to tell you about it.

Alien
Aliens
Alien 3
Alien Resurrection
Alien vs Predator
Alien vs Predator: Requiem
Prometheus
Alien: Covenant
Alien: Romulus
Alien Earth

I enjoy watching the original Alien followed by Aliens, Alien 3. Prometheus was such an awesome movie in my opinion… had the studio allowed Ridley to continue his vision to explore the Engineers world rather than k!ll them right in the beginning of Covenant would have been such a treat.

Unfortunately, we never got to see that world. Instead we got another Alien: Romulus which frankly was not amazing.

Alien Earth is visually nice but it lacks something. Curious to know your ratings and thoughts!

Hello!

I’ve been reading fantasy my whole life. I love *The Book of the New Sun* and *The Malazan Book of the Fallen*. I’m also a fan of weird fiction. Currently, I’m reading *Stations of the Tide* by Michael Swanwick, and I’m looking for something with a similar vibe—something with an immersive atmosphere. I’ve also read *Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?* by Philip K. Dick. I’d appreciate any recommendations.

I've been on a tear lately of space operas, hard sci-fi and prose that transcends the genre. I need a break. I need something lighter, funnier and more easily digestible. I need a sci-fi beach read. I like the salvagers series by Alex White and some of the Scalzi one-offs like Redshirts and Kaiju Preservation Society. What else do you think will give me the feel good vacation I'm looking for?

One of my favorite scripts in sci-fi history, just quote after quote after quote, this is one of the most emblematic pieces of media this genre has ever seen. The slow labored pacing in the first two acts is perfect however leads to the final act feeling rushed in sections. Other than that, in my view, this is a near flawless movie.

It reached 5th on the Hot Upcoming New Cyberpunk releases on release week too!

Tapeworld is a new cyberpunk book series with a twist on cyberspace: you access it by sticking a strip of duct tape on your temple.

There's elements of sci-fi, dystopia and more. If you love Dark Matter, The Peripheral or The Matrix, there's something in this book for you.

Plot:
A kickboxer / climate change activist meets a VR sports star / cyberspace jockey. When she realises his life is in danger, she'll go through tech corpo hell to make sure he's safe.

The book is available right now on Amazon, and it's also available in 2 bookstores.

Tapeworld is a labour of love, born from my passion for all things virtual reality, cyberpunk, and sci-fi.

Hope you love it!

The photo is me at my first indie author event.

I'm so grateful for the community, who has received me as a new fiction author so positively.

EDIT:
Zero AI was used! The cover is human designed by J Caleb Design. He's amazing at this 3D modelling render style and you can find his work online easily. The book was written by me over many years and many revisions. I had a developmental edit, a line edit, a final proofread, all professionally.

Thank you so much everyone here for your support!

​

I've found myself picking up more and more sci-fi recently, and love the looks of the SF Masterworks books.

Not counting any Philip K. Dick (I'm on a journey with him anyway), what's everyone's favourites from the range, nice to have opinions for the next purchases.

I’m kidding but this is crazy similar and it came out in 2009! I think it’s kinda insane I am the only one that I’ve seen that can see the almost scary connection between red rising and muse album the resistance. Just look at this album. We have this dude waking the stairs going from red to yellow (gold) and all the colors in the background. This is literally just a metaphor for Darrows journey in red rising. And if that was not enough pretty much all the songs describe the injustices that the society does in pretty much all the songs, and they always talking about space and sci fi. Especially this one song, no not uprising but unnatural selection. I they genuinely sing out Darrows story in detail. Look at these lyrics or just look what I took out of it:
They'll laugh as they watch us fall
The lucky don't care at all
No chance for fate
It's unnatural selection
I want the truth
I'm hungry for some unrest
I wanna push it beyond a peaceful protest
I wanna speak in a language that they'll understand
Dedication to a new age
Is this the end of destruction and rampage?
Another chance to erase then repeat it again
Counter balance this commotion
We're not droplets in the ocean
Ocean
They'll laugh as they watch us fall
The lucky don't care at all
No (hey)
Chance (hey)
For fate (hey)
It's unnatural selection
I want the truth
No religion or mind virus
Is there a hope that the facts would ever find us?
Just make sure that you are looking out for number one
I'm hungry for some unrest
Well, let's push it beyond a peaceful protest
I wanna speak in a language that you will understand
Counter balance this commotion
We're not droplets in the ocean
Ocean
They'll laugh as they watch us crawl
The lucky don't share at all
No (hey)
Hope (hey)
For fate (hey)
It's a random chance selection
I want the truth
Try to ride out the storm
Whilst they'll make you believe
They are the special ones
(We have not been chosen)
Injustice is the norm
You won't be the first
And you know that you won't be the last
Counter balance this commotion
We're not droplets in the ocean
Ocean, ocean, ocean
They'll laugh as they watch us fall
And the lucky, they don't care at all
No (hey)
Chance (hey)
For fate (hey)
It's unnatural selection
I want the truth
I want the truth
I want the truth
I want the truth

The whole unnatural selection is the institute or the color hierarchy depending on how you see it or both, which is pretty much the entire song (basically just red rising) but not just that, look at these examples:
“I wanna push it beyond a peaceful protest” is pretty much what Darrow did after his dad died in a peaceful protest
“I wanna speak in the language that they understand” meaning violence
“I want the truth”talking about the lie the reds been told
There are so many more, you’ll probably find more than me. It’s just to much correlations to be true. Can’t we at least make this like the song everyone uses for edits, or mention it? I think it genuinely needs to be the global anthem for the first book, if you don’t have any better examples of course. Maybe we could even get this into the new movie if we are lucky, as a trailer or maybe intro. Well that’s all, what do you guys think?

what are some of the best scifi shows released in the last six months, other than silo and dark matter? i am looking for something positive and optimistic like dr stone or a dramatic sci fi mystery like fringe.i am also open to watching more solarpunk shows, if there are any, that show a future with optimism, renewable energy and technology coexisting with nature

I watched this a few nights ago.

From Wikipedia:

The film is about two human clones, Lincoln Six Echo (McGregor) and Jordan Two Delta (Johansson), who live in a dystopian compound isolated from the outside world. After Lincoln learns that the compound inhabitants are clones used for organ harvesting as well as surrogacy for wealthy people, the two escape with the goal of exposing the illegal cloning movement.

It has a ton going for it in the action department, with explosive set pieces and car chases! I found the first thirty minutes somewhat slow as it sets up the world and its premise, but once the first big action sequence kicked in, things really picked up.

Lincoln and Jordan have decent chemistry, though I wish their relationship had been fleshed out a little more, but I found it easy to look past as the rest of the movie was pretty strong.

Finished this one a bit earlier today, lots of fun designing the green guy, although there is much to improve in designing cityscapes, I'm happy with it.

Since somebody asked me in my last post here, I mainly work in Clip Studio Paint

My thought process behind the mech was it using some sort of magnetism rather force when climbing on things, I'm open to see others interpretations

https://beforewegoblog.com/review-redshirts-by-john-scalzi/

REDSHIRTS by John Scalzi remains one of my all-time favorite books so if you’re looking for an unbiased recommendation then you’re probably looking in the wrong place. I have some issues with the novellas in the back of the book but I consider the main story to be damn near perfect. Mind you, I am exactly the sort of person who would love this book as both a Star Trek fan as well as a satirist. It also helped inspire my Space Academy books. If you don’t think making fun of weird ideas in Star Trek and cliched storytelling would amuse you then this is probably not the book for you but it is entirely my jam.

The premise is the Universal Union capital ship Intrepid is a death trap. Well, sort of. Nothing bad ever happens to its bridge crew that they don’t bounce back from. Murderous alien worms, horrifying parasites, terrifying plagues, and encounters with hostile alien planets. However, the rest of the crew dies at a horrifying and often nonsensical rate. They do stupid things that get them killed despite being trained professionals on a spaceship. Sometimes even when they’re incredibly smart and careful, events contort themselves to killing at least one of them a mission.

This is not good news for Ensign Andrew Dahl who shows up for work on the Intrepid with three new friends, only to find this “minesweeper in Baghdad” level of attrition is just the tip of the iceberg for weird stuff going on board this vessel. There’s a weird black box that can solve virtually all scientific problems in exactly thirty minutes (no more, no less) that none of the crew actually understand the workings of. There’s a guy living in the ship’s maintenance ducts trying to warn them of the insane rules that mean the difference between life and death. Finally, and this is something even Andrew hesitates to mention, does it feel like this is all a rehash of a mid-20th century TV show?

Redshirts is a delightful deconstruction of the various cliches that authors rely on in genre fiction. It would be easy to describe this as Rosencratz and Guldenstern are Dead meets Star Trek but then you’d have to know both of these works to get what I mean. More likely, Trek fans will probably think this resembles Galaxy Quest and Lower Decks, which is also true. But beyond a parody of Star Trek, it is also a critique of laziness in storytelling.

The humor doesn’t require you to have a degree in Trekology to laugh but does need to be you to be familiar with the concept of “The Red Shirt” which is a character that exists to die horribly in order to make dangers seem more real while not harming the main cast. This is a joke that was common enough to show up in the TV show Lost so it shouldn’t be too big of a demand of readers.

I love this book and its oddball character development as well as the investigation of the surreal circumstances around our heroes. Despite this, I do think the book has some flaws. The four leads are largely interchangeable and all pretty much sound identical in dialogue. The denouement goes on way too long after the actual plot arc is finished. These stories aren’t necessary and kind of bog down the perfect ending of the main manuscript. They also get a little too much into the “behind the scenes” of the concept that is the least interesting part of it. I also feel like they could have done more with the ridiculousness of the terrifying premise of being trapped by the ludicrous logic of a badly written sci-fi show.

There's also the elephant in the room of the fact that this book lives and dies by snarky observational humor. People who love this sort of thing that became popularized by the MCU and Buffy the Vampire Slayer are going to enjoy it. Those people who are sick of someone saying, "Wait a second, how does a box cure a plague in under an hour?" are going to be infuriated. Which is fine but the book is not going to be for you then. Metatextual criticism is a love it or leave it sort of thing.

This is definitely a book I would recommend the audiobook version over the written text due to Will Wheaton being the narrator. While his reputation has been largely redeemed in Trek circles due to many projects that show his range, I think the meta humor of this project should have done it by itself. Just his bewildered reaction to everything, especially as Dal, is fantastic but there’s also a deep love of the genre that goes into every character. A true must for every Trekkie and even those who are Trekkie adjacent.

It's a 1,982-piece diorama with Deckard and Roy minifigs, and instructions are available over on Rebrickable. Thanks for looking!

Its mostly made of metal, plus some plastic for the glowing bits. The rear fin lights up, there is light inside that semi-sphere on the side, plus light in the barrel that goes off when you pull that trigger! Took me around 80 to lathe and cut all the parts. The wooden grip gives it an oldschool feel, glad he was willing to go for that!

Hello everyone!
I consider myself an avid sci-fi reader, and while I haven't read it all, I’ve read a lot of the most popular series, and I love them. The thing is, as someone from a Global South country, most stories feel like watching a movie from the US or Europe: I connect at first, but then I think, “Yeah, that wouldn’t happen in my country.” And I’m talking about ways of acting, social struggles, and technologies. Everything is very Global North coded. I know that is the case because most writers are from those countries; I’m not complaining about that. The thing that I’m craving is sci-fi from the perspective of a place that is not the usual, but since I don’t know of any books like that, I’m coming to you for help.

What are some sci-fi books that come from the Global South or at least feel like that?

Thank you, and I’m eager to read your answers!

My debut SciFi novel about an Earth afflicted by Kessler Syndrome- a build up of satellite debris that prevents space travel- is out next Friday (30th October) and available to preorder on Amazon. Early reviews so far have highlighted the strong tension and real science involved. If it sounds up your street l'd love for you to check it out through the link on my profile!

Humans are Weird – Lost and Found

Original Post: https://www.authorbettyadams.com/bettys-blog/humans-are-weird-lost-and-found

The warm angle of the front porch really wasn’t supposed to be a lounging site. Human feet trod quickly past the site, their focus on getting into the house, or getting out into the busy little community making the site theoretically dangerous for species who didn’t want to get stepped on. The ground limestone foundation had been pressed with tessellated patterns that were visually pleasing and kept the clumsy bipeds safe from slipping and throwing their falling gate out of pattern, but it tasted of nothing save the dust that collected in the groves. However if you had healthy scutes and sturdy scales, underlayed by reasonably dense bones, and an attractive layer of fat, well what did it matter if a human stepped on you? Just keep your snout safely tucked in the curve of your foreleg and at the cost of a few non-repentant apologies you had the whole morning to bask in the local sunlight.

If the grain scattered very, very well in your direction, one of the local domestic animals came and judged you a fitting headrest and came and basked with you. Sift, stretched out a claw and ‘scritiched’ the creature under its chin. It gave a grunt and the motion dislodged a small cloud of warning pheromones from its collar. Sift made a mental note to ask what its species designation was. It wasn’t a ‘cat’. Those creatures, despite being perfectly ideal for keeping local vermin off of grain stocks were rated as far too dangerous to exist in mixed colonies. Sift thought this was a bit of over caution, but it had been agreed to by the humans. This might be a ‘dog’ but the species had so much variety, supposedly going back long before the humans mastered genetic manipulation that it was hard to tell if a given mammal fell into that category. It had fur to be certain, and it was very dependent on human interaction.

The door of the dwelling swung open, knocking against the hip of the creature and it gave a mild huff of annoyance as it heaved its mass, up and away from the door. Mary stepped out, holding the little one on her hip, Sift felt a surge of now familiar admiration of the usefulness of the baby holding ledge humans had built in. Mary’s other hand held a container of the domestic creature’s food, a mix of grain and animal fat that it particularly enjoyed and it began to cavort around Mary’s feet while Mary scanned the ground with growing perplexity. She began examining the shelving with a wrinkled face and Sift lifted up her head and idly licked her teeth.

“Rooting around for something?” she asked.

Mary started and glanced down at her in surprise.

“Oh, I didn’t see you there,” she said, shifting the little one who was focused on drinking water out of a soft cup.

“Here I am,” Sift commented, wondering not for the first time exactly how human vision worked. “What are you looking for?”

“The food bowl for Snuffles,” Mary said indicating the animal who had decided to sit down and tremble with eagerness until its food was forthcoming.

Sift rolled over and lifted her snout to sniff with dramatic emphasis. Then she swung her tail to indicate a door set low and subtly into the wall of the structure.

“I smell the grain and rancid fat in here,” she said with a yawn.

Mary’s face creased in a frown and she set the little one down. Instantly it ran, smacking its fat little feet against the porch, to vigorously pet the creature. Snuffles started back with a wince, and then braced itself to accept the affection. Mary used her now free hand to open the door and pull out the container.

“How-” she started to ask, but the little human made a dash at the food bowl, hands eagerly out, and Snuffles sat back with a resigned sigh.

Mary snatched the little one up and scolded the very unrepentant child.

“We don’t steal Snuffles’s food!” she said.

Snuffles got back up and began happily rooting through the food.

“No one would have put the bowl in the utility access point,” Mary observed out loud.

“It has very small human handprints on the side,” Sift pointed out.

Mary squinted down at the bowl and blinked in surprise before turning her attention to her offspring.

“Why would you do that, you chubby little chonker?” she demanded, pinching the jiggling rolls of fat on the little human’s thighs?

The little one giggled and smacked her face. Mary with clear effort turned her laugh into a frown and captured the chubby little arm in a hand.

“We don’t smack Mommy,” she said in what was trying to be a firm tone.

Sift gurgled in amusement.

“But why?” the adult human demanded.

“The little one does see you putting bowls in similar storage places on a regular basis,” Sift pointed out.

Mary blinked down at her in startled thought until the little one used his other hand to reach up and smack her, and she had to repeat the gentle discipline. Human hatchlings, apparently hated being restrained, at least this one did. Once that was done Mary gave a rueful smile down at Sift.

“I guess you are right,” she admitted. “I’ll have to remember that little trick until he gets bored of it.”

Sift blinked up at the human as she went back in the house. The two of them had spent many long hours discussing human learning patterns. Mary was well aware of the fact that all sapient creatures learned by mimicking their elders to one degree or another, that this was the core of the universal concept of ‘play’. Yet it seemed that she had forgotten it. Sift yawned and flipped over, stretching her hind-claws against the texture of the porch. This might be yet another manifestation of ‘baby brain’ that Mary talked so much about. Or it might be something worth noting in her research journal. At the moment Snuffles was done eating, the sun was still at the perfect napping angle, and human architecture consistently made delightful sunning nooks.

Science Fiction Books By Betty Adams

Amazon (Kindle, Paperback, Audiobook)

Barnes & Nobel (Nook, Paperback, Audiobook)

Powell's Books (Paperback)

Kobo by Rakuten (ebook and Audiobook)

Google Play Books (ebook and Audiobook)

Walmart (Paperback)

Check out my books at any of these sites and leave a review!

**Remember BOOK 4 is now available! (**^{except on kobo because what do you even mean title field is blank, I fixed} *\^{that dangnabbit!}\*)**

Please go leave a review on Amazon! It really helps and keeps me writing because tea and taxes don't pay themselves sadly!

Hi fellow sci-fi enthusiasts!

Are you looking for some spooky sci-fi horror stories? Consider checking out my stuff! I’m a microbiologist turned budding horror writer!

Check out my link to my website on my profile (loads of free stories you can check out to see if you enjoy my writing style, also some reviews of my stuff included in the post!)

Or search Colin Bates on Audible or Amazon!

I’ve got three sci-fi horror stories you can enjoy! I especially recommend the audio version on Audible as I put a lot of hard work to add fun sound design into each work!

I work with real human editors, audio actors, and artists to make stuff based on the things I write.

Huge shoutout to artist:
Empty I (first image of the King In Circuits)
Scuttlekid (Self-Symmetry promotional poster)
James D. Mabel (Cycloid Burger Art)
Pijar Arif (Prey On poster)
And Cosmic Flames Studios for the This Too Shall Pass art.

Thanks for reading, I hope you have an incredible weekend and know that YOU are powerful beyond measure!

Hello!

I've found myself reading a lot more lately, and I've been thinking about catching up on the essential books and authors that I never picked up, mostly the greats from the "Golden Age": Asimov, Bradbury, Clarke, and Heinlein. While I've read a bunch of Heinlein's books, I've never actually read anything by Asimov, which feels like a travesty.

I combed through some things, and assembled this list (some I've already read), which I think is a pretty good start. I'm trying to avoid going back to the pulp era, as well as more modern or contemporary works. I think my sweet spot is the 50s (post-Atomic) through 80s (pre-Digital) era works.

If anyone has any strong recommendations for additions or alterations, I would be happy to hear.

Thanks!

---

Aldous Huxley

• Brave New World (1932) (Have read)

George Orwell

• Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949)

Isaac Asimov

• I, Robot (1950)
• Foundation (1951)
• The End of Eternity (1955)

Ray Bradbury

• Fahrenheit 451 (1953)
• The Martian Chronicles (1950) (Have read)
• The Illustrated Man (1951) (Have read)

Arthur C. Clarke

• Childhood's End (1953)
• 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
• Rendezvous with Rama (1973)

Robert A. Heinlein

• Starship Troopers (1959) (Have read)
• Stranger in a Strange Land (1961)
• The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress (1966)

Stanisław Lem

• Solaris (1961)

Philip K. Dick

• The Man in the High Castle (1962)
• Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968)
• Ubik (1969)

Frank Herbert

• Dune (1965) (Have read)

Harlan Ellison

• I Have No Mouth & I Must Scream (1967)

Ursula K. Le Guin

• The Left Hand of Darkness (1969)

Kurt Vonnegut

• Slaughterhouse-Five (1969)

Larry Niven

• Ringworld (1971)

Douglas Adams

• The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1979)

William Gibson

• Neuromancer (1984)

Orson Scott Card

• Ender's Game (1986)

Dan Simmons

• Hyperion (1989)

Hey everyone! My name is Francesco, I'm a solo developer from Italy, and I've been dreaming of creating my own game since 2013! Last December I started working on Over Human, a sci-fi adventure set in a frozen world where drones have taken control of everything. They're so technologically advanced that they can even manipulate the weather: they will be able to create tornadoes and other environmental threats to hunt you down. And you have no weapons to fight back!

I've been heavily inspired by Firewatch and The Long Dark, especially when it comes to atmosphere and a sensation of isolation. After months of working alone, Over Human is finally on Steam, and I'll be releasing my first playable demo EVER in November! I'm really happy to finally share this project with you all!

Do you like the idea of drones becoming so advanced that they can control an entire world? Is this a good idea? If yes and you're curious, this is the Steam Page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/5237810/Over_Human/
Let me know!!

Francesco

I'd describe the books pretty broadly as somwehere between Red Dwarf and Blade Runner, but far more absurd and gritty than either.

The cover art was all done by the awesome illustrator Joestrela (you should absoloutley check him out). I really wanted to bring something a little bit more abstract and painterly to the cyberpunk / sci-fi book cover scene that is typically a little cleaner.

Art by: droach

Full story: The Robot Antiquarian

Teaser:

The buddybot lifted the toy giraffe, set it on the top shelf, where all the robotics that did not sell eventually ended up. In truth, other than processing power, the giraffe was not so different from the buddybot, but the Collector, as the old man was called, had yet to locate a battery capable of bringing the giraffe to life.

“Cute little guy,” the Collector said. Nearing seventy, he wore a cardigan of dark green, khaki work pants, and large bugged eyed glasses on account of his poor eyesight.

“Shame, really,” the buddybot commented.

“I’ll hold off pulling it apart for now,” the Collector added. “Once the grandkid pops out, he might take a liking to it.”

All about the shop were antiques of bygone eras, electronics that no longer worked but nonetheless still held value when harvested of their parts. There were old quantum computers, digi-dream projectors, even a display case of what were once called phones that only rarely the Collector sold, expensive as they were.

Most of all however, the Collector’s shop held ancient robotics, models of every shape and size, all that, over seven centuries prior, had eventually gone extinct after the invention of the buddybot. Simply put, the buddybot’s design and capabilities were so superior no other was needed, or so microSony said, after outlawing all robotic research and manufacturing throughout the Dominion of Cleveland, other than that which, of course, went on in the corporation’s own labs and factories.