Litsy

In his Introduction, Asimov makes the following inaccurate prediction about AI:

"If robots are so advanced that they can mimic the thought processes of human beings, then surely the nature of those thought processes will be designed by human engineers and built-in safeguard will be added."

Bookwomble That word "surely" reads poignantly. I guess Isaac didn't account for megalomaniacal billionaire tech-bros who would happily burn the world if there's a financial profit in it for them. 24h

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Bookwomble

The Rest of the Robots | Isaac Asimov

I tend to read a lot of sci-fi, but 2024 seems to be a bumper year for it!

I read "I, Robot" earlier this year, so here I go with the follow up collection. ? v.2.0

The_Book_Ninja I need a re-read of that too. It‘s been so long 2h

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Bookwomble

Ringworld | Larry Niven

pick

#ClassicLSFBC @Ruthiella @RamsFan1963
I first read Ringworld when I was 12, and it's been a favourite novel in a favourite sci fi universe ever since, so I really enjoyed this revisit to one of the galaxy's most amazing structures.
The Ringworld itself dominates the story. Niven tried to make it as scientifically credible as possible, having to conjure "magical" materials to create his vision, but that's the "fiction" part of SciFi. Famously, ⬇️

Bookwomble ...he got a lot of the physics wrong and his fans 'kindly' pointed out his errors, so he corrected later editions, but felt compelled to write the sequel, Ringworld Engineers, to address those problems he couldn't retro-fix.
Louis Wu and Nessus had featured in earlier stories in the Known Space universe, Teela Brown and Speaker-to-Animals introduced in this one, and all four returning for the Ringworld sequels. I have a soft spot for Nessus, ⬇️ 1d

Bookwomble ... the mad puppeteer, a representative of a carefully thought out alien species that contains individuals who aren't just copies of a type. Of course, the tigerish Kzinti are magnificent and will be amazing if they are ever translated to the screen (Star Trek, the Animated Series notwithstanding).
The sexism is typical for the early'70s, and I think earlier ClassicLSFBK books have been as bad, if not worse (The Forever War and The Stars My ⬇️ 1d

Bookwomble ... Destination). Most noticeable to me this time round were the attitudes of compulsory sexuality and allonormativity, with celibacy and asexuality being so outside Niven's comfort zone he had to allocate those traits to non-human species. (Thank you, if you read this far! 🙏🥲) 1d

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MegaWhoppingCosmicBookwyrm Great review! I was thinking how amazing seeing this adapted to screen would be. All the visuals Niven gives would be stunning to see done well. 🤩 I took the narrow view of sexuality as more a Wu problem than a Niven problem, but I‘m beginning to think I was mistaken. 😅 1d

Bookwomble @MegaWhoppingCosmicBookwyrm Thank you 😊 Ringworld has been optioned several times, but never made it to screen so far. I think it's currently owned by Amazon, but their 2017 announcement hasn't led to anything yet 🫤 Perhaps the success of Dune will be a motivator. 1d

MegaWhoppingCosmicBookwyrm Ah, Amazon‘s adaptations have been hit or miss (sadly mostly miss) for me. I hope if they do decide to do something with it that they do a good job. 🤞 23h

Bookwomble @MegaWhoppingCosmicBookwyrm I liked the first season of The Man in the High Castle, but lost interest part way through the second. Despite (or probably because of) my love for Town, I have up on The Rings of Power after a few episodes. I have to say that I struggle to find anything on Prime that I want to watch. It seems they throw money at spectacle but not on story. 23h

MegaWhoppingCosmicBookwyrm The only adaptation I loved so far was Fallout (the only reason we even have Prime still 😅). I haven‘t the heart to even attempt Rings of Power. 😔 I need to check out The Man in the High Castle (book and show). 22h

Bookwomble @MegaWhoppingCosmicBookwyrm I might give Fallout a try, then. I've not played the game, but have a general idea of it. Naturally, I'd recommend reading TMITHC first, then watching the show. It has an interesting narrative structure, as it features the Chinese divination sheen of the I Ching, and when he got to a plot turn, PKD cast for his he should take it. 🔮 22h

MegaWhoppingCosmicBookwyrm Fallout does a great job of making it so that someone could fully understand it without ever having played the games. There‘s extra stuff that established fans will notice and geek out over, of course, but it‘s great as a stand alone. 22h

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MegaWhoppingCosmicBookwyrm

Ringworld | Larry Niven

pick

4 ⭐️s
I really enjoyed this, the scientific ideas were fascinating, the aliens were unique and I adore Teela Brown and want to follow her on her adventures. Honestly, Louis Wu can go fly a kite, just give me a whole series on the “walking Improbability Drive” that is Teela. 😅 I also want to see how the group‘s relationships continue to grow and mold around each other. I‘ll definitely be continuing the series.

*spoilers in comment*

#ClassicLSFBC

MegaWhoppingCosmicBookwyrm There are dry moments and of course the expected 70‘s view of the sexes, but I honestly thought Wu‘s attitude towards Teela was always more a self-own than an affront to Teela. My girl ain‘t got time for that. She‘s just putting up with your sorry ass to get to where she needs to be, grandpa. 3d

Bookwomble Great review ? Teela is definitely more than the typical "damsel in distress" stock character, even if the narrative focus is on Grandpa Wu ? Ringworld Engineers is a good sequel, though my memory of the subsequent novels is of a declining arc, but it's been a while, so that's not a necessarily trustworthy guide. 1d

MegaWhoppingCosmicBookwyrm @Bookwomble Thank you! I‘m hoping I‘ll enjoy it. It would be sad to find out it fizzles out in disappointment. 1d

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Bookwomble

The Man-Kzin Wars | Larry Niven

The Kzin are one of my favourite alien species, which I'm reminded of while reading Ringworld, which features Kzinti warrior-diplomat, Speaker-to-Animals. Think Klingons crossed with tigers and you're somewhere close (but don't get too close!).
Speaking of Klingons, the Kzin are an official Star Trek race as they appear in the Animated Series episode, The Slaver Weapon, an adaptation by Niven of his classic story, The Soft Weapon.

Bookwomble Amazingly, I found a Kzinti-shaped chocolate lollipop today! (And anybody suggesting it's just a tiger is wrong! 🐯) 4d

Luke-XVX Those covers! 4d

Ruthiella That‘s clearly a Kzin and NOT a tiger! 😜 4d

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Bookwomble @Luke-XVX They're cool, no! The covers for the others I have in the series incorporate foil, so they look splendid but photograph poorly. 4d

Bookwomble @Ruthiella Affirmative! 🫡 4d

Luke-XVX Definitely conjures up an era of genre fiction for me. Same with old cheesy d&d novels, the art is cliched & terrible but I love it 4d

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julesG

When the Moon Hits Your Eye | John Scalzi

"... I have a briefing with the president in exactly half an hour, and because we all know he doesn't bother to read the daily intelligence briefing, it will fall to me to explain what the hell is going on. So explain it to me. Use small words on me so I can use smaller words on him...."

Mr Scalzi, you scare me. This book is supposed to be published next spring. Means you wrote it last year(?).

sarahbarnes 😳 4d

Suet624 Ugh 4d

DogMomIrene I love him so much. I‘ve seen him 3x, maybe 4. Not recently, but those engagements were probably within 3-4 years of one another. What impressed me the most was how he told completely different stories at each event. No stump speeches for him, which I so appreciate. 3d

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AnishaInkspill

Ringworld | Larry Niven

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl #ClassicLSFBC @RamsFan1963 #currentread

Libby hold became available. What a fantastic opening.

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RamsFan1963

Ringworld | Larry Niven

Finally starting Ringworld for #ClassicLSFBC and I hope to finish the Malcom Gladwell book this weekend. The Audible Original, Isaac Steele & The Forever Man, has been a nice change of pace from the recent bleak books I've listened to.
#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain

Lesliereadsalot Malcom Gladwell podcast coming up on Chicago Humanities Tapes on Spotify and other platforms. Either this Tuesday or 2 weeks from Tuesday. 4d

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KathyWheeler

Ringworld | Larry Niven

so-so

So-so is the best I can do with this book; I really don‘t get the awards for it. The sexism is a major problem, some of the science seems wrong to me, the dialogue can be stilted, the plot is boring in parts, and the prose isn‘t that great. I‘m glad I read it because it‘s so influential, but I highly doubt I will read the other Ringworld books. #ClassicLSFBC #audiowalk

DogMomIrene I can relate to your review! My husband bought Stranger in a Strange Land because he wanted me to have more sci-fi books. I had to break it to him that I‘d already read that one and found it horribly sexist. Appreciated his effort, but I was like, let me buy the sci-fi from now on😉 Won‘t be buying Ringworld! 4d

KathyWheeler @DogMomIrene I have Stranger in a Strange Land but haven‘t read it yet. If the story and writing is good, I can sometimes dismiss sexism as a product of the time, but I truly want sci-fi writers to show more imagination than that! 4d

DogMomIrene @KathyWheeler I can ignore a sexist character but not whole worlds. Agree that sci-fi authors should have better creative chops. 3d

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KathyWheeler @DogMomIrene I just don‘t get it. Those authors can imagine whole worlds and technology that don‘t exist, but they can‘t imagine worlds where women aren‘t subservient and aren‘t little more than sex objects? 3d

DogMomIrene @KathyWheeler I know! I did an analysis of some sci-fi movies for a college class, specifically looking at the role of women. So much sexism. Even when my group got to Ripley from Alien, we were disappointed because the role had actually been written for a male. Like really? 3d

KathyWheeler @DogMomIrene I bet that was an interesting paper. 3d

DogMomIrene @KathyWheeler We did a presentation. We had fellow students asking engaging questions because we were all over it. It was actually a great example of cooperative learning. My 3 group mates were really into feminism, and I was too, but I was the sci-fi nerd so they were like, let‘s look at women in sci-fi movies. Worked out great! 3d

KathyWheeler @DogMomIrene I love that everyone was interested in the presentation and that y‘all worked well together. 11h

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Bookwomble

Ringworld | Larry Niven

Having bailed on my previous SF read, I'm picking up Ringworld, the #ClassicLSFBC November pick.
It's the first in a series, and part of Niven's Known Space universe, knowledge of which enhances the enjoyment, I think, but this can comfortably be read as a standalone.
The art book at back is "Alien Landscapes" and shows a painting of Louis Wu's spaceship, Lying Bastard, approaching the Ringworld with his team of human and non-human ⬇️

Bookwomble ... expeditionaries, contracted to explore an enormous alien artefact, whose surface area can contain a million earths.
Written in 1970, so set Sexism Shields at maximum! 🛡️ 4d

Leftcoastzen 😂 4d

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