Can Hard Sci-Fi Be Too Hard?
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- Опубліковано 21 сер 2024
- Dragon's Egg by Robert Forward is an extraordinary achievement in terms of hard science fiction storytelling. But can hard sci-fi be too hard for the average reader?
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I've always liked how hard science fiction will explore ideas rather than characters and relationships.
Not the best stuff. To me the great ones explore everything from religion and politics to social dynamics to power vs powerless to ... well everything human!
Throw in some mystery solving and a few murders for good measure.
Sound ideas and imaginings of how tech and other sciences evolve is the foundation but the story could run through any topic about pretty much anyone, anything or anywhen.
To answer the magnetic field question, imagine instead wading through a very strong river. It's very easy to move along with the river than to go against it or across it. In the same way, it's hard for the Cheela to go the against direction the magnetic field because it's so strong, but it's easy to go along with it because it's pushing you along. Not exactly the same, but the point remains.
tl;dr magnets are strong
The grandmother hypothesis
My second favourite Sci-Fi novel after Gateway. The concepts are just extraordinary. And it's funny that the cheela have much more developed lives, emotions and expression than do the humans in the orbiting spacecraft. The follow-up is pretty good too.
I now realise it's been a long time since I last read this, must dig out the kindle.
You want to try a hard sci-fi? Try 'Blindsight' by Peter Watts.
Looks good, I'll add it to my list.
@@ContentLitwithSimonFay Macroscope, by Piers Anthony. Written in the 60's it predicts the Internet, albeit on a galactic scale. Hard sci-fi but with heart.
The best!
I enjoyed Dragon's Egg when I read it many years ago, and I find Robert Forward to be a very readable hard sci-fi author. Although I do have a degree in physics, so I probably have a better understanding of the science than most readers will :)
I'm reading it now, I'm about 1/4 of the way through. Very interesting so far!
I think you might underestimate our own species, my friend ;)
I do like hard sci-fi but I get what you are saying. I wasn't bothered quite as much as you by this book but there are definitely points that need re-reading and referencing as you go through the story.
One of the hardest reads I can remember was a book by one of my all-time favorite authors. It was maddening. I enjoyed the story but was pretty irked about his need to go so far in depth.
The novel "The White Plague" by Frank Herbert, which by your accent you may find even more intriguing(I'll say no more😁), goes into way too much detail with what seems to me to be very advanced chemistry and biochemistry.
Up to the point of reading this novel I had nothing but love for the man. During the process of reading this book it became a love/hate thing.
Thanks for the recommendation, I'll put it on my list.
Why'd you keep reading it if it was so annoying?
I had absolutely no problem with the science in this book. I just trusted the physicist who wrote it. The neutron star enviroment was rendered beautifully. The only thing I had difficulties with was the human tehcnology required in taking orbit around the neutron star. So complicated it did not appear feasible for the level of required newtonian space travel savvy of the humanity in the book.
I really liked Hard SF. Especially when it puts limits on the writing. But, I started writing a hard SF that had some very big constraints, and it was a difficult to make a real novel out of it. . Things like the Martian did have to fudge something to make the plot go, and no one really cared, and people still loved it.
"A King of Infinite Space" by Allen Steele (1997). Great hard sci-fi novel. "A King of Infinite Space" I would argue is really on the easy side of a hard sci-fi read, to be frank. "A King of Infinite Space" would be a good movie, too.
Seveneves by Neil Stephenson. All his stuff is bonkers.
This is the second review of Dragon’’s Egg
🐉 🥚 I have listened too and I am now convinced to add it to my TBR I Love Space Opera and Military SciFi but also have not shied away from hard SciFi either…
The hardest SciFi book I have ever read and may be considered one of the hardest SciFi books ever written is Schild’s Ladder by Greg Egan…This book is definitely not recommended for beginners but to the more hardcore savvy readers of hard SciFi…Have you read this one? If so what was your opinion on this book? I am new to your channel and enjoying the content so far and am now newly subscribed…Keep up the good works 👍🏻