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Lobby Pass The Popcorn topic #715138

Subject: "It's fantastic, but I actually have better reccomendations. " Previous topic | Next topic
Cold Truth
Member since Jan 28th 2004
44807 posts
Wed Sep-14-16 02:40 PM

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14. "It's fantastic, but I actually have better reccomendations. "
In response to In response to 11


  

          

Namely Robert J Sawyer’s duo of masterpiece trilogies, the W.W.W trilogy and the Hominids trilogy.

WWW consists of Wake/Watch/Wonder and pulls off a remarkable feat in appealing to both adult and YA audiences with a teen girl as the centerpiece. It’s about Caitlyn, a blind 15 year old girl who is also a brilliant mathematician who undergoes an experimental procedure to give her sight through a small pod on her eye. She calls it her ‘eye-pod’, lol, and her fondness for cheesy puns is endearing.


She makes contact with am emergent intelligence that exists in the framework of the internet, a being that comes to be known as “WebMind”.

Caitlyn and Webmind both discover their newfound world together, with Caitlyn as WM’s unwitting teacher. As you can imagine, the government catches on to WM’s existence and things get crazy. I don’t want to reveal too much but it’s a fantastic trilogy that tackles concepts of evolution, big brother, etc and takes an unexpectedly thoughtful look at the subject of A.I.** I say unexpectedly to those unfamiliar with Robert J Sawyer. There are definite YA elements but it’s not a YA book. You don’t get, like, Divergent type pandering.

He’s not catering to the 20 year old barrista, unless that barrista is a math fanatic and keeps a well-worn copy of The Origin of Consciousness In The Breakdown Of The Bicameral Mind somewhere close at all times.
That book, along with The Miracle Worker, 2001, A Space Odessey, War Games, etc are among many references made in the series as their themes not only echo throughout, but are built upon.

Hominids, actually called The Neanderthal Parallax trilogy, is about the arrival of a Neandertal from a parallel universe where they became the dominant species. This trilogy involves a deep examination of the completely different paths taken by our two societies and we ultimately get to see both worlds extensively. I will say that his imagined Neandertal society is intriguing and challenged my notions our societal checks and balances and the potential cost of creating a human utopia. For example, Neandertals have practically no murder in their world because they deem the act so horrendous and unforgivable that when someone commits murder, they sterilize his/her entire bloodline.

His writing is very practical and the core of his books are the characters and their relationships, yet all of his books consistently delve into scientific concepts. For every character moment you have another where someone breaks down why we didn’t develop an eye in the back of our head.

If I have one shining recommendation from his catalog, it would be Calculating God, far and away his best work. Actually that’s a top five all time fiction book for me. It’s a masterpiece. Basically it’s about an atheist paleontologist who, as is a common theme, makes first contact with an alien being. Rather… the alien makes contact with him as he is on Earth looking specifically for a paleontologist.

The reason being, he’s trying to figure out why so many worlds evolve and endure exactly 6 cycles of extinction level cataclysms before ultimate extinction. Oh, and the alien, named Hollis, not only believes in God, but knows it to be a long established fact and can’t believe that any true scientist wouldn’t. Again, so much depth of conversation and character and scientific dialogue.

He doesn’t get so deep into science as to be tedious and honestly never even approaches that territory. He consistently strikes an impressive balance on that end.

I’d still recommend Hard Magic, otherwise known as the Grimnoir Chronicles, but if I’m making recommendations, these are among the more profound and deeply satisfying modern sci-fi books I’ve read. If you read any of them PLEASE hit me back because I’d be geeked to discuss them with you.

  

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Pitch a book series or author you'd like to see adapted to TV [View all] , Cold Truth, Tue Aug-23-16 03:06 PM
 
Subject Author Message Date ID
Also, a Stephen King Anthology series would be dope.
Aug 23rd 2016
1
Martian Time Slip by Philip K Dick for HBO
Aug 23rd 2016
2
Callahan's Crosstime Saloon
Aug 23rd 2016
3
I've always been disappointed His Dark Materials was mismanaged
Aug 23rd 2016
4
Seems like even HBO can’t get it right as a series
Feb 06th 2020
42
Helen Oyeyemi - The Icarus Girl
Sep 10th 2016
5
The Gaiman's Sandman Series, Asimov's Foundation
Sep 13th 2016
6
The Inheritance Trilogy would be a great anime
Sep 13th 2016
7
Malazan: Book of the Fallen
Sep 14th 2016
8
I'd love a better try at the utterly junkfood-y "Dresden Files"
Sep 14th 2016
9
Interesting pick. I'd prefer "Hard Magic" over that one personally
Sep 14th 2016
10
      I don't know that one
Sep 14th 2016
11
          
                Thanks!
Sep 16th 2016
15
                     Dope! I hope you enjoy them. CG is standalone
Sep 16th 2016
16
Easy Rawlings Series
Sep 14th 2016
12
Still mad the film series didn't kick off
Sep 22nd 2016
19
my only trepidation with this is...who plays Mouse????
Sep 22nd 2016
21
Fearless Jones or Socrates Fortlow
Feb 05th 2019
37
Scalped
Sep 14th 2016
13
Still my answer. Seems to be stuck in developmental hell. n/m
Jul 16th 2018
32
RE: Pitch a book series or author you'd like to see adapted to TV
Sep 18th 2016
17
Y: The Last Man
Sep 22nd 2016
18
Came in here to post that. I thought Keanu Reeves
Sep 22nd 2016
20
FUCK YEAH!
Jul 13th 2018
28
FX Orders ‘Y: The Last Man’ Pilot
Apr 05th 2018
25
‘Y: The Last Man’ Pilot Casts Diane Lane With Barry Keoghan Set as Y...
Jul 11th 2018
26
YES!!!
Jul 13th 2018
29
'Y: The Last Man' Ordered to Series at FX
Feb 05th 2019
35
PLEASE DONT SCREW THIS UP....
Feb 05th 2019
39
Y: The Last Man Showrunners Exit FX Adaptation Due to Creative Differenc...
Apr 15th 2019
40
‘Y: The Last Man’ Recasting Lead Role of Yorick as Barry Keoghan Exi...
Feb 06th 2020
41
would LOVE to see kavalier+clay and YPU HBO mini series style
Sep 22nd 2016
22
Alan Moore's wildCATS
Sep 23rd 2016
23
The Quaker City
Sep 23rd 2016
24
David Baldacci's Camel Club Series
Jul 11th 2018
27
100 bullets.
Jul 13th 2018
30
I want HBO to do this one so badly....
Feb 05th 2019
36
this
Feb 05th 2019
38
Chester Himes - Coffin Ed/Gravedigger Jones Series
Jul 14th 2018
31
Raymond Feist's "Magician" series
Jul 17th 2018
33
Colson Whitehead - Zone One
Jul 17th 2018
34

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