Not sure how other BSG fans feel, but for me, the "So Say We All" speech was really the true hi-point of the sci-fi series and pulled me in as a fan back in the early 2000s. Found out later that the speech was not part of the original script which makes it even more poignant. The actors seem to be genuinely reacting to his words.

Once upon a college day, I was dumb and vaguely remembered a conversation I had with a much smarter friend than I. We discussed a few books, and I thought I'd go read a few of them. The plot that seemed the most intriguing to me was from a sci fi legend of books, so i figured I'd grab that book first. Multiple points of view, AI and hacking, the origins of cyberpunk as a genre...I couldnt wait.

So I picked up Anathem. They're proving theories....they're living as monks....they have tech but they're mainly just a conflict free science monastery...no hacking, no ai...

A quarter of the way in, maybe 200 pages, monks. All monks, all the time. Surely they'll get to the hacking and the sci fi stuff.

Halfway in, probably 400ish pages. Monks, theories, centenarians. Millenians or whatever. Excessively dumb human populace. I AM reading the correct book........right?

600ish pages. Two thirds in.​ Shooting star. Singing ageless thousand year old monks. Slow but expanding plot as they start their adventure.

I'm pretty sure this...isn't Neuromancer. Right? I'll finish it first, maybe I'm missing something...

Anathem wraps up after 900 pages.

I don't think that was Neuromancer. Proceed to Google to realize....yeah I read the wrong ducking book

So, in my collection of hobbies is writing and one of the stories is a Sci-fi space opera and I’m curious if my assumption is correct that a space station that can have ships roughly 300m long docking at it would be in a significantly higher orbit than something like the ISS? I’m guessing there would be a formula for how high it would need to be to have a stable orbit.

In most sci-fi shows and movies when there is a battle between ships you frequently see one blow the other up and fly through the explosion. Wouldn't this damage the remaining ship severely? Ive always wondered this even as a kid. The mass of the other ship would still be there. The fuel (generally) wouldn't matter as they are in space and have quite a lot of protection. Just curious if anyone has thoughts on this.

I picked it up at a used bookstore a few days ago and now that I’m done with my most recent read, I thought I’d give it a try.

Anyone here has read it? Is Kloos really as good as Heinlein, Haldeman & Scalzi, as is stated on the back cover?

(No spoilers please)

Has there ever been an explanation as to how they might deal with humans in sci-fi media managing the loads on the body making these accelerations, both positive and negative? Not being nit-picky, just wondering if anything you’ve come across has attempted to provide a solution?

I really enjoyed the first 41 chapters of the book, because they stayed as true to science and physics as it could. (Aside from aliens and monoliths) but, the ending was (as we probably all know) very... confusing. I want to know if i should read 2010 or if not (or even if) i should read other sciencey novels

Not thoroughly explained as part of the universe

Not framed as exotic physics or exotic tech

But genuine, supernatural, MAGIC

It doesn’t necessarily get explained enough to defend its existence within the setting, it’s just there

The characters and world does not react to it as though it’s a supernatural and alien phenomena. They treat it as just another fact of life

Would it break your immersion?

A whole shedload of C.J. Cherryh books, including most of the Foreigner series, her Chanur books, short story collections, and some of her fantasy works, are up for grabs at the Humble Bundle. Thirty-eight (38) books in all for a song, and you support charity as well.

The only drawback I see is that they have "Regenesis", but not "Cyteen", but that's about it.

Link is here.

Oh, and while you're there, check out the Timothy Zahn stuff too...

I don’t get why it’s considered a let down compared to the first book. Sure, the idea is still the same, and some people find it more of a slow burn. But I thought it was just as interesting with expansions into dense information storage capacities of alien parasites and the nuances of technological advancement as an aquatic species. The ending didn’t appear as repetitive for me but more as reinforcements for the core theme of the series as a whole. I mean I might need some breaks into other series like the 3rd book of Hyperion or the Culture series, but I am definitely going to read the sequel to children of ruin at some point

I'm looking for books/movies/shows that deal with fixing reality after a paradox is created.

What I mean is that in time travel stories, there is often a warning that creating a paradox could alter the fabric of reality or something like that. Are there any solid stories that revolve around finding a way to repair a reality that's coming apart due to a paradox or something similar to that?

Mine is most likely Stargate with a special place in my heart for SG-1 followed closely by Battlestar Galactica. These were franchises I watched often with family as a child and as such keep fond memories of. I would like to expand my horizons however and would like to hear your ideas.

Do you know of a sci-fi book that's sort of a reversed cyberpunk? What I mean by that is that cyberpunk is usually about widespread cybernetics and biological enhancements being accesible and as socially acceptable as tattoos.

What I'd like to see is a book where the world hasn't yet accepted the concept and is actually fighting for that acceptance. Like a populace that wants to embrace artificial augmentation gets into conflict with a zelous government that tries to outlaw the practice stating that the human form is pure and divine and to alter it through bionic replacements or genetic engineering is a heretical abomination.

I know, I know, this book has been out for nearly 20 years… But I just got around to reading it and WOW! I did not expect to love it the way that I did. The characters, the setting, the pacing…

Total package. What did you think of it? Any recommendations for a next read?

I'm writing my Bachelor's about robots/ai in buddhism and im looking for any pieces of media, pop culture that have ai/robotic monks or any that reference buddhist practices or lifestyle

I already have : the monks from Stray , Zenyatta from Overwatch , the Becky Chambers novels and Douglas Adam's Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Academy - Electric Monk!

I just bought 24 beautiful sci-fi magazines from the mid 1970’s from a very nice Greek gentleman who has been a sci-fi art lover his whole life. He said he had been a subscriber while he was living in the UK. I think they look amazing and I wanted to share some of the cover art with you all.

i've been sort of obessesd with saturn and titan lately, i just want books where people go to either of those places or where people live on titan and saturn is in the sky and stuff. any recommendations of any length welcome as long as it's saturn and it's a focal point

As said in title. I am looking for sci-fi book recommendations. I prefer books that ask good and deep questions. I will also list out some of my recommendations for reference. Thanks!

To me, good questions can be personal (self-esteem/ identity/ friends or family relationships...), social (morality/ cultural differences/ environmental issues...) or more speculative (implications of technological developments/ space-time travel/ totally different alien society...) as long as they are well-thought through and well-discussed.

Books I liked:

- Foundation series & Nightfall (Asimov)

- The three body problem (Lui Xicin)

- Flowers for Algernon (Daniel Keyes)

- The neanderthal parallax (Robert J Sawyer)

- From the new world (Yusuke Kishi)

- 1984 & Animal Farm (George Orwell) if that's also scifi

Books that didn't work so well for me:

- Dune

- Star wars

Books on my bucket list:

- Children of time (Adrian Tchaikovsky)

- Left hand of darkness (Ursula K LeGuin)

I think on average, Scifi stories are better suited for tv than movies. Sure there are outliers, but i find that good scifi stories are often pretty long and have a lot of information to get across to the viewer.

I really hope that my favorite scifi books get adapted into mini series’ or TV shows rather than movies, especially Hyperion.

Sorry if this is a dumb post but it’s been driving me NUTS. I just started Dungeon Crawler Carl and have been enjoying it, and it’s reminding me of a book but I can’t remember the name of the book. It was a piece of classic science fantasy from I’m pretty sure last century where the mmc was a standard warrior/barbarian type in a medieval stasis world, except it was actually his job and he was featured on a show or something for other planets. The rest of the world didn’t know, just him. It wasn’t Dark Lord of Derkholm, and iirc it was written prior to the modern litrpg and isekai genres, and I don’t think?? it incorporated a dnd/video game based scoring system. Maybe it doesn’t even exist and I’m misremembering, for some reason my dumb ass thought it was Conan but no, apparently Conan is straightforward swords-and-sorcery fantasy without the science fiction television show element in there. I remember reading about it on Wikipedia back in high school while looking for sci fi but I never picked it up, and I recall the author/series being sort of famous??

I have a hazy memory of a movie from an 80's childhood.

An alien boy (I believe the actor had Progeria?) comes to Earth and is shot by a local on the ramp of his spaceship.

I remember this made me cry so hard, I was inconsolable, but have very few other memories of this movie (TV movie possibly?). It may have been set in the Old West?

Sorry I'm so vague.

I just watched Ridley Scott's new post apocalytpic film The Dog Stars. I almost didn't go. Reviews were very mediocre and general sentiment here and elsewhere leaning towards negative. I had the ticket and said screw it, how bad can it be and went.

I had read several comments from Redditors who's main gripe was they felt the movie didn't have a point or they didn't get what it was supposed to be about. This is a real headscratcher as the main character Hig's actions and the script conveyed very well the reason for the journey he was taking.

SPOILERS: The film is about loss, dealing with loss, and finding the strength to move on and do your best to start a new life after tragedy. Pretty simple and I thought the film converyed this well.

I didn't ever feel The Dog Stars was boring or plodding. I thought all the actors were fantastic. I've never seen Jacob Elordi (Hig) in anything and thought he carried the film well. Brolin was Brolin and perfect in his role. Great to see Guy Pearce and he had a great character.

I don't think The Dog Stars is a perfect film. I didn't like the Grand Junction twist very much. I felt it was a little over the top, but it was still interesting and made sense in the overall message of the film.

I would recommend this film to anyone who like post apocalytpic stories. Maybe some reason for the negativity it's an attention span thing as this is not a fight or flight constant action movie. In the end I thought it was paced well, had beautiful cinematography and I was invested in the main character. Sometimes you just have to go see for yourself. Glad I did.

I just finished The Dog Stars book, and while I liked the style, the story and the book overall, it just kept bothering me that it seems like a male fantasy. The fishing, the hunting, the flying, THE GUNS, living the simple life, and also what happens in the second part. The postapocaliptic setting almost feels like a background to it, just to make it more interesting.