So, the better parts of 2022: #Books I read and liked!
I reads lots of technical stuff (work-related), some of parenting-relatd nonfiction, but I did read some #SF.
I also re-read a bunch of stuff (namely, the full #TerraIgnota series. I may have finally figured out what bugged me about the Utopians from the start!).
What new(-to-me) books did I like?
Ryka Aokis "Light from Uncommon Stars" (2021) was a wholesome delight.
It mashes three storylines (a pact with the devil; how an underdog trans violinist gets recognized for her great talent; a coffee-, er, donut-shop AU-like plot about a starship crew) that don't seem to fit together but do. It has beautiful, evocative descriptions of both music and food, a tender love story between two older women, and an ending that brings everything together.
R.F. Kuangs "Babel" (2022) has a fascinating premise about the use of language/translation and builds a steampunk-ish world with it.
It deals with complex and uncomfortable questions about imperialism, exploitation, collaboration and defiance, but also with falling in love with the colonizer's tools and dealing with a prejudiced academic system as a marginalized person. Its footnotes are often darkly funny, but in the end, a rather bleak outlook remains: only destruction is possible.
"The Book of All Skies" by @gregeganSF (2021) deals with the people of a multiply-connected world finding out about a lost civilization.
As usual, this one has a premise that takes some time to understand and visualize, but when one does, it's fascinating to follow Del and the others learning about its properties by careful deduction and some simple experiments.
It's a fun exploration of life in a world with similar physical laws, but a very different geometrical structure.
"A Desolation Called Peace" (2021) by @ArkadyMartine gets its name form /that/ Tacitus quote* and is a sequel to "A Memory Called Empire".
Here Mahit gets to travel to the far edge of Teixcalaanli space with Three Seagrass in order to solve to mystery of the approaching alien fleet. They manage to communicate with the aliens while navigating the complex web of intrigue in the fleet as well as their relationship.
It's delightfully written and explores collective identities...
(1/2)
... of living under the yoke of empire. And we get to see more of Stationer life too!
*you know, "solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant". It also shows up in "Babel", there might be a theme here...
(2/2)
@quidcumque @gregeganSF
Thank for the recommendation, I just added it to the reading list.
I previously read only Diaspora by @gregeganSF , but it was mind-blowing so getting this one was an easy choice. :)
@sebruchet @gregeganSF ah, but you have so much to look forward to beyond that one!
(The "Orthogonal" trilogy is my favorite!)
Definitely agree that it was a fun and fascinating book.
For those who want to explore the physics behind Del's world, there is this site by Egan
@sohkamyung @gregeganSF yeah, those background pages are a great resource!
But I also really enjoy figuring this stuff out while reading: "ah, you're deriving Laplace's Equation here..."
Jules
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Arc0re_
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