I found this book incredibly touching. It’s science
fiction of the “Soft Apocalypse” genre - looking at humanity after
environmental ruin, with society rebuilt into a kinder, healthier version of
itself.
The main character, a monk named Dex, confronts deep questions about
finding meaning in life through their developing relationship with Mosscap, a
robot they encounter when they head off into the forest.
Part of the premise of
the book is that at some time in the past, robots developed consciousness and
chose to separate themselves from humanity and live in the wilderness.
After
years of science fiction that deals with malevolent sentient AI, like
Terminator and The Matrix, it was refreshing to imagine a benevolent
version that is just as interested in meaning and inner life as humanity.
It's been centuries since the robots of Panga gained self-awareness and laid down their tools; centuries since they wandered, en masse, into the wilderness, never to be seen again; centuries since they faded into myth and urban legend.
One day, the life of a tea monk is upended by the arrival of a robot, there to honour the old promise of checking in. The robot cannot go back until the question of 'what do people need?' is answered.
But the answer to that question depends on who you ask, and how. They're going to need to ask it a lot.
As someone who is a bit of a naturalist/nature nerd,
this book (the third in a series) explored some absolutely fascinating
imaginations of evolution in non-human species.
The series looks at a group of
characters and their descendants over thousands of years, after mankind has
abandoned Earth and seeded and terraformed, then abandoned, different
extraterrestrial planets.
What would consciousness and related society and
technology look like for spiders? Octopuses? Corvids? And what would happen if
humans then encountered these evolved species again after that evolution?
From the award-winning master of sci-fi Adrian Tchaikovsky, Children of Memory is the unmissable follow-up space opera to the highly acclaimed Children of Time and Children of Ruin.
When Earth failed, it sent out arkships to establish new outposts. So the spaceship Enkidu and its captain, Heorest Holt, carried its precious human cargo to a potential new paradise. Generations later, this fragile colony has managed to survive on Imir, eking out a hardy existence. Yet life is tough, and much technological knowledge has been lost.
Then strangers appear, on a world where everyone knows their neighbour. They possess unparalleled knowledge…
I loved this book because it was something I read a
long time ago but returned to at a different time in my life with a fresh
perspective.
A science fiction classic first published in 1969, so many of the
themes in this book feel especially relevant today. It involves political
intrigue, gender politics, and learning a new culture, but through the lens of
a relationship between two people from entirely different planets.
LeGuin
manages to create an alien world that is very, very human. N. K. Jemisin, in her
introduction to the 2018 volume of The Best American Science Fiction and
Fantasy, says, “The purpose of science fiction, as Ursula K. Leguin intimated
in her introduction to The Left Hand of Darkness, is not to predict
the future but to describe the world as it presently is,” and I think that is a
very powerful notion.
50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION-WITH A NEW INTRODUCTION BY DAVID MITCHELL AND A NEW AFTERWORD BY CHARLIE JANE ANDERS
Ursula K. Le Guin's groundbreaking work of science fiction-winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards.
A lone human ambassador is sent to the icebound planet of Winter, a world without sexual prejudice, where the inhabitants' gender is fluid. His goal is to facilitate Winter's inclusion in a growing intergalactic civilization. But to do so he must bridge the gulf between his own views and those of the strange, intriguing culture he encounters...
Embracing the aspects of psychology, society, and human emotion on an…
Draw Like an Artist: 100 Flowers and Plants is a must-have visual reference for
student artists, botanical illustrators, urban sketchers, and anyone seeking to
improve their realistic drawing skills.
This comprehensive book features 600-plus step-by-step sketches depicting many beautiful botanicals, florals, plant structures, and more.
Each begins with simple shapes and lines and
builds on those forms, adding details like
flower centers, leaf veins, and petal shading and ending
with a finished drawing. Helpfuldrawing tips are also included.
Designed as a contemporary
guidebook for artists who want to draw botanical forms,Draw Like an Artist: 100 Flowers and Plants shows various perspectives of flower blossoms, leaves, and plants. Following the guides will make artists more skilled and confident in
drawing any flower or greenery.
