Science fiction predicting future technology…
Hardly anyone can have missed all the articles that check off the hits and misses when it comes to predictions about technology from Back to the Future.
That started me thinking about books I’ve read and how many of those, or rather how few, that have relatively accurately predicted the time we live in today.
Since I grew up with a major sf fan I have inherited as many of dad’s old sf books as I wanted. Many of those are from the 1950’s and on.
Surprisingly many of all these books got most of today’s technology wrong.
A big exception is Arthur C Clarke who apparently has predicted so many things – not necessarily the things we use from day to day, but still, quite a bit.
I can’t say how many books supposedly set in the ‘future’, ie the 21th century, have completely missed the evolution of the personal computer, cell phones and the internet, many of them also television. Also, family structure is still stuck in the 1950’s. I found it quite funny that space ships were run by a big ship’s computer, but there was nothing else remotely ‘computerized’. There was also just one expert aboard the ship who could handle that computer – the astrogator, I think he was called. And of course it was always a ‘he’.
You’d think they would have been able to think of anything related to computers, but apparently not. There are references to ‘the cold sleep’ or ‘the long sleep’ (some kind of stasis or suspended animation), FTL-ships, all kinds of robots, clones, time travel and so on, but not computers, internet or cell phones.
However, there’s a big exception that I found really interesting. My dad had two sf books by a Russian-Swedish author named Vladimir Semitjov. He came to Sweden in 1923, so either his books were quite old when dad got his hands on them or he wrote them quite late in life – or maybe both. Anyway, they contain references to ‘video phones’ that people carry in their pockets and that is about the only time I’ve ever read anything like it in the sf classics.
I can’t say for sure if anyone has got the PC and the internet right – not out of all those older books, I think. Books written from the 1980’s and on do better, but of course that’s not all that surprising.
Dark Matter (sf tv series)
I have been watching several new series lately, that is series that are new to me. The other night, I started watching a series called Dark Matter. This one really is quite new (released in 2015). It’s actually one of the best I’ve seen so far. I’m not exactly sure what it is about it that appeals to me, but I suppose it’s just a good series – good plot, good setting, good characters. In fact, there’s at least one really cute guy, and two more that are quite hot as well. If you watched the sf series First Wave, you may recognize they guy who played ‘Joshua’. He’s the only actor I have recognized. The rest are completely new to me. A big plus in my eyes is that the women are not slutty. They seem credible as crew members on a spaceship.
A number of people wake up from stasis with no memories of who they are or what their mission is, but they each have specific sets of skills. All they know is that they are aboard a spaceship and the spaceship has been damaged so fixing it is a bit urgent. Since that’s the beginning of the first episode, I don’t think it’s too much of a spoiler if I mention that the ship is stabilized and they can continue on their way.
Since the people don’t remember their names, they decide to call themselves One, Two, Three etc, according to the order in which they woke up. Apart from the six crew members there’s also an Android who rather unimaginatively gets called the Android.
Quite early on the ship is attacked and after a while, there are other problems for the crew to deal with.
Later they get a hint of who they supposedly are, but the facts don’t seem to match their personality types.
I think that’s all I’m going to mention about the plot. It may not sound all that exciting, but I have really liked everything so far.
Writing the future: A timeline of science fiction literature
From Gulliver’s Travels, through Brave New World and the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, this timeline explores the evolution of the science fiction novel.
Read more here.
Feyland: The Twilight Kingdom
I found these books on Wattpad and read the first two titles in the series (and also a sort of prequel). Then I discovered there was a good price for all three books in print, and I got them, because generally, I like to own all my favorite books in print.
Just like the first books in the series, this one was great. Well written and fascinating. The characters felt real and they were likeable (though I do find it just a little bit annoying that Jennet is so perfect). As I’ve mentioned before I really like Marny a lot better.
The relatively dystopian future setting works well. I’m not usually a fan of the new dystopian subgenre. Just like the ‘new’ urban fantasy isn’t to my taste either. In this book, the setting works. It’s not a ‘total’ dystopy, just the sort of society we’re already seeing the first traces of, in slum areas and rural areas all over the world. There’s advanced technology, but also vast areas where people live in poverty in crumbling buildings with threatening criminal gangs taking over.
In this book, we get to see a bit more of other characters, but again, not nearly enough of Marny. I think she should have been more included in the plot and it would have been great if a love interest could have been found for her.
If you’ve read my reviews of the earlier books in the series, you already know about my feelings about this series, so I don’t have much more to add, other than that I can really recommend them to anyone who loves fantasy, but also those who like modern YA books. There may not be vampires, werewolves and zombies, but it feels ‘modern’ in the writing style and the description of characters and in this context, it’s all positive.
The Backworlds by M Pax
I just finished The Backworlds by M Pax. Since I read books mainly to escape from my boring reality, I love books that provide such an escape. This one does. I also love characters that are likeable and – you guessed it – these are.
The setting is far into the future when many planets have been colonized – some are less hospitable than others (the ‘backworlds’) as opposed to the supposedly more habitable Foreworlds. You find out that there’s been a war between the foreworlders and the backworlders, but that’s pretty much all you learn about the Foreworlders.
The main character is what seems to be a teenage boy/young man, who has been working for several years in his father’s bar. He belongs to an interesting bioengineered species that isn’t completely human, with ‘living hair’ and some sort of short fur that is pleasant to the touch.
Since life is harsh in the ‘backworlds’, Craze’s father, ungratefully, decides to make his son leave, after taking the younger man’s girlfriend from him. To make sure Craze really leaves, he sets the leaders of their small community on him, with something like cattle prods. Craze is forced to board a ship heading for a space junction, where he will be able to choose his own destination.
Fortunately, Craze meets some very nice avian guys with a ship of their own, who decide to hire him as part of their crew.
People (I use the term loosely) in this ‘universe’ seem to be a bit dishonest but not ruthless enough to kill others, at least not most of them. To me that’s very important. I can’t stress enough how tired I am of ruthless, cruel, cold characters. To me it’s necessary to be able to sympathize with the characters to be able to finish the book (and look forward to reading another by the same author).
I give this book four out of five stars (it’s a relatively short, simple plot), for the fascinating setting, the fascinating characters and excellent writing.
Not written in stone…
“Life takes us to unexpected places sometimes. The future is never set in stone, remember that.”
– Erin Morgenstern, The Night Circus
The Night Also Rises, by C B McCullough
I have just finished reading The Night Also Rises by C B McCullough (in the form of an e-book). His book is what I would describe as a hard-boiled mystery noir, set in the future, on a different planet. The only important difference between Earth and Jannix that I can detect, is the fact that the day (and night) lasts several weeks. Perhaps oddly enough, I enjoyed this book a lot (though I usually prefer cosy mysteries).
The main character is a middle-aged private investigator who gets an assignment by a famous millionaire. He’s supposed to investigate the murder of the old man’s son. Not surprisingly, not all is as it appears and the case becomes a life and death struggle. It seems that this is the first book in a series, but it can be read and enjoyed as a standalone.
Fatal Boarding and Deep Crossing, by E R Mason
Ever since I discovered ebooks I’ve been searching for freebies to download and read, first on my iPod Touch, then later on my Kindle and my Cybook Odyssey. Most of those freebies have been – to put it charitably – ok for a freebie, some even exceptionally bad.
Fortunately, I have also come across a few really good ones.
Two books by an author named E R Mason belong to the latter category. I’m amazed that this writer is giving away his books for free.
I grew up reading the classics among fantasy, sf and horror. I never took to horror stories (except for some ghost stories) and though I enjoyed the classics, I never really liked modern sf until a few years or so ago when I discovered To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis (a time travel novel). And suddenly I was enjoying science fiction again. A little later I came across a Swedish book called Alba about a young woman who is among a group of people exploring a distant planet. It seemed I was on to something. Not that I stopped reading fantasy, mysteries and the other genres of books I enjoy, but it was unusual for me.
And I now I’m getting to E R Mason’s two novels Fatal Boarding and Deep Crossing. There are some aspects of the books I don’t like so much, but in general I love both books. Though I normally prefer mystery to suspense, these books have both and they’re very well written (except for needing a bit of editing). I’m amazed that these two books are available for free. I’d happily have paid to read both of them and now I’m going to read the other books by the same author.
The first book is set aboard a space ship where the main character Adrian Tarn is chief of security. Not long into the journey the ship runs across a wreckage drifting dead in space (thank you, Star Trek, for that phrase). It’s decided that a team will investigate. That’s their first mistake…
I could describe this book as a thriller set in space (and in the future) but in any case I think my dad, the major sf fan, would have enjoyed it.
The second book is also about Adrian Tarn, this time on an expedition to a very distant star system. There’s some suspense in this book too, but mainly it’s fascinating. I had no idea where the book was heading at the beginning.
I can really recommend these two books, to anyone who enjoys science fiction or thrillers.
Hespira by Matthew Hughes
I have just finished Matthew Hughes’ novel Hespira. Like in the first two books in the series, the story is about future private investigator, Henghis Hapthorn. He’s a bit full of himself but rather funny. There are plenty of wonderfully weird and fascinating details, such as the fact that Hapthorn’s intuition has moved out and now lives in a separate body and the equivalent of a personal computer is turned into a cute little creature called a grinnet, who’s like a mix of cat and monkey.
The story is set in Earth’s ‘penultimate’ age – a bit like in Jack Vance’s The Dying Earth, and is scientifically based but is changing into an era of sympathetic association, meaning magic. Hapthorn isn’t looking forward to that, without his intuition.
In this book, Hapthorn accepts a seemingly simple case, but it leads to unexpected complications that force Hapthorn to leave ‘Old Earth’ for a while. At the same time he meets a mysterious woman who’s lost her memory. He takes her along on his trip. While travelling, Hapthorn and Hespira run into more mystery.
The two earlier books didn’t work completely for me, though I loved some of the ideas. This book feels a lot better though I have a feeling there was nothing actually wrong with the other two, it’s just that I prefer the plot in this one. On the other hand I’m looking forward to re-reading the other books. Maybe I’ll feel differently about them now. There’s also a collection of stories about Hapthorn that I have bought and downloaded. Unfortunately, for me, just a week or so later, the book was available for free, in fact, it might be still.
The series about Henghis Hapthorn are science fiction books that are a little different to what I’m used to, but I can recommend them to anyone who likes science fiction, mystery and fantasy. I wish there were more books in the series about Hengis Hapthorn. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Hughes will write another one.
This book wasn’t available as a paperback which would have been my first choice. It wasn’t even available in hardcover, except at a ridiculous price (from about 90 dollars?). At first I had no idea why, but after a digital conversation with the author, I now know why and unfortunately, it’s inevitable. It’s a shame though, since I have both the other books in the series in paperback.
Bitter and disappointed
These days I find it hard to rouse myself from my apathy. I’m beginning to realize that this is how my life turned out. There’s no hope at all that I’ll be able to work things out now. It’s too late, or rather, considering the sort of person I am, there was never any chance. I used to be angry with myself for failing all the time. Now that I’ve thought long and hard about it, I know that there was never any way I could have ended up anywhere other than here. With my personality, I would have ended up this way even if I had another chance.
Another chance… You have no idea how many times I’ve wanted to turn the clock back and still have time, still have a future. If there was any way I could get that, that’s what I’d do. No matter what little change I might be able to to make to my life, it won’t make up for ending up like this.
I’m even beginning to think I was lucky to get seriously ill and nearly die. It made me think that was why I’m such a failure. But that wasn’t it. It was just the way I was.
Yes, I am bitter and disappointed. It hurts to know that nothing will change. My life is going to continue like this, or get worse. I don’t know how other people live with this, but I handle it badly.
