[nesfa-reading-group] Alek’s Book Nominations

[Aleksander Slominski (NY)]

my 3 nominations:


*1) Critical Mass by Daniel Suarez*
This book stands against the current trend of depicting the near term
future as depressing, which is particularly interesting as the book is
tackling climate change and space exploration. Very well researched with
big ideas, may be the most optimistic book i read in years. Especially
impressive as it goes against current dogma that the only way forward is
conservation, no growth or shrinking, and billions of poor people are
supposed to stay poor for the sake of the environment and Earth's future
....
I recommend watching one of author interviews about the book on youtube
where he talks about the research he did about the ideas and technologies
available
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/60149528
4.39 on 1,056 ratings and 110 reviews
Blurb:  "In New York Times bestselling author Daniel Suarez's latest
space-tech thriller, a group of pioneering astropreneurs must overcome
never-before-attempted engineering challenges to rescue colleagues stranded
at a distant asteroid--kicking off a new space race in which Earth's
climate crisis could well hang in the balance.
...
In the process they'll need to establish the first spin-gravity station in
deep space, the first orbiting solar power satellite and refinery, and
historic infrastructure on the moon's surface--all of which could alleviate
a deepening ecological, political, and economic crisis back on Earth, and
prove that space-based industry is not only profitable, but possibly
humanity's best hope for a livable, peaceful future.
Note: it is second book in series - it stands on its own and i would ignore
the first one (read only if you really this book - i found the first one
very boring)
Note: audiobook is very good, Jeff Gurner is one of the best narrators imho
ymmv


*2) Valuable Humans in Transit and Other Stories by qntm , Sam Hughes*self
published short book of short stories (101 pages) that includes "Lena" and
"I Don't Know, Timmy, Being God Is A Big Responsibility" - very popular
stories available for free on Internet for years - the collection has new
stories exclusive to the book such as "Driver" followup to "Lena"
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/63198504-valuable-humans-in-transit-and-other-stories
4.46 on 499 ratings and 48 reviews
Blurb: "[D]elivers a refreshing dose of existential despair at the
transhuman condition." — Charles Stross
...
"qntm has been writing science fiction for most of this millennium. His
works start from elegant, deep hypotheticals and wind entire universes
around them, pushing science, technology, time and logic to breaking point
and far beyond.
https://qntm.org/vhitaos
Note: it is hard to get in library (not available in NYPL) but the author
sells it directly with very reasonable price (linked from URL above)

*3) Solaris new translation by Lem Stanislaw and Bill Johnston (Translator)*
classic with new translation available as ebook and abook (not pbook b/c of
IP) - translated: available as ebook and audiobook (abook) but not as paper
book (pbook) [1] because of intellectual property legal rights [2] check
differences between translation [3]
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23632478-solaris
4.00 on 95,448 ratings and 5,830 reviews
Blurb: "Despite two films made with panache, Solaris remains a book
constantly rediscovered by new generations of readers. The moving story of
contact with alien intelligence serves as a canvas for discussion of our
mind’s limitations and the nature of human cognition. A love story for some
readers, a philosophical treatise for others; Lem’s inspiring masterpiece
defies unambiguous interpretations.
...
The novel has been translated into over forty languages and sold several
million copies. This is the first English translation directly from the
original."
[1]
https://english.lem.pl/works/novels/solaris/196-a-new-translation-of-solaris
[2]
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/jun/15/first-direct-translation-solaris
[3]
https://welovetranslations.com/2021/07/30/whats-the-best-translation-of-solaris-by-stanislaw-lem/
Note: the new translation is only available as ebook or audio book
(libraries should have it)
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