Who else is excited for the The Captive's War series coming out next week? The Expanse novels really established my love for the space opera genre and today I just found out about The Mercy of the Gods. Even better, to find out that it's out on Tuesday is like Christmas. I'm sure many of you knew that already but I genuinely haven't been this excited for a new book since Pierce Brown's Lightbringer.
Some of the reviews by his peers are looking really positive as well.
“James S. A. Corey serves up terrifying alien overlords and a vast intergalactic war with humankind on the brink of annihilation—all while never losing focus on its cast of vulnerable, courageous characters. The Mercy of Gods is the start of something truly epic.” ―Fonda Lee, author of Jade City
“A fast-paced, intelligent book. Corey is always one of the most engaging voices in the genre.”―Adrian Tchaikovsky, author of Children of Time
“All the things you want in an alien invasion novel: overwhelming aliens, end-of-world terror, and plucky humans who never stop fighting. If that was all there was, The Mercy of Gods would be great, but amid the mayhem James S. A. Corey also manages to weave in a closely observed study of the small things that make us human: our loves and jealousies, our foibles and weaknesses, our empathy and our resilience. A bang-up read. I want more.”―Paolo Bacigalupi, author of The Windup Girl
"No one builds a universe like James S. A. Corey. The Mercy of Gods is wilder and weirder than you can imagine, and when it ends, all you'll want is... more."―John Scalzi, New York Times bestselling author
I don’t want to come across as an old man complaining about kids today, but people seem to be forgetting how much our culture has shifted in the past 20-30 years towards embracing all things “nerdy”. I’ve noticed a lot of people don’t seem to understand or remember how much a lot of things that are commonly accepted or held up as cultural touchstones used to be mocked and ostracized. This causes a lot of dissonance when discussing the impact and acceptance of certain genres of entertainment and media especially between younger and older generations.
For some background, growing up in the 90s and 00s, many things were not socially accepted as they are now. Fantasy, anime, sci-fi, comic books…all these things were often considered weird and cause for social ostracism among many circles. Personally, I witnessed many examples of people being shamed for openly liking all these things. I have known many people who actively hid their interests or gave them up as a way to avoid social shaming. I don’t think many younger people understand just how bad it was to be perceived as a nerd in those days, and many older people seemed to have forgotten. When I bring it up I get a lot of blank looks and straight up disbelief
A lot happened between now and then to change these perceptions. Toonami began showing anime when I was in middle school which opened the door to western audiences for a better understanding of Japanese culture. The Lord of the Rings adaptations becoming a massive phenomenon was huge for destigmatizing fantasy and opened the door for a lot of fantasy adaptations on TV and in films, including eventually Game of Thrones. Harry Potter was huge in spurning this as well, as those movies and books were such a cultural phenomenon they changed their respective industries practically overnight. There were the original comic book movies like Spawn, Blade, X-Men and Spidermen that helped introduce mass audiences to the idea of comic characters as being for more than just nerds. Then of course there was the cultural juggernaut that was the MCU which blew the doors off the whole thing and made nerd culture cool for the general public to be into.
These are just a few of the things that changed the general public’s attitude of course. But in general the shift in cultural attitudes has been a near 180 switch. As a kid, the idea that Netflix would produce multiple shows based on B and C tier marvel heroes, that Amazon would green light something like Invincible or Wheel of Time or that Disney would be making multiple Star Wars spinoff shows was impossible. But nowadays almost everyone has a passing knowledge of things like Star Wars, LoTR, Marvel & DC, etc. It truly is a different world and I for one am glad there’s been such a shift!
Edit: Hey everyone, thanks so much for your responses! Most have been interesting, insightful and funny. I guess this post really struck a chord. I appreciate the solidarity with the rest of the community that has been shown here. I empathize with all the people who miss the good old days and celebrate with everyone who’s enjoying the new evolution of our communities. Unfortunately I can’t engage with everyone, this response has been overwhelming!
Hopefully, anyone reading this can see that the communities we love have been through a lot of changes and everyone in them has had a different experience. As things progress, we can all get a better understanding of each other and be better for it!
A while ago, like one or two years I read a story and I can't find it / the author, I didn't like it but after some years I'm willing to give the author another try, however I can't for the life of me remember the name.
So, the gist of it the story is about a guy (I think a soldier) who crashes into an alien planet, where he finds the alien species (Of anthropomorphic cat people) his world is fighting has also crashlanded there too; he encounters one of the furry women and during a fight he tries to communicate and ends accidentally proposing being mates; after he wins she introduces him to the rest of the surviving alien crew and in order to increase their survival / rescue odds they choose to ally, interspecies romance / harem ensues.
That's most of what I remember, thanks in advance to the kind soul that finds it!
Edit1: So, I remembered a bit more about the story, the Catwomen are one petite girl, a tomboy and a milf if I'm not mistaken, and although I don't know the order in which these things happen I'm fairly positive these things went down:
1-MC goes back to the Catwomen's ship to retrieve some Macguffin in order to contact humanity and has to use a radiation suit.
2-At some point they encounter a sentient native species on the planet, they attempt to communicate and establish peace.
3-MC goes back into their own ship for medical supplies for one of the Catwomen I think.
4-The milf tells MC that if he doesn't fuck the girls they will attempt to assasinate him for some reason.
5-MC and girls are moving their camp somewhere else, and MC uses some drugs that can keep him awake for 48 hours to stay viligant while the Catwomen sleep.
6-Milf somehow knew there could be sentient lifeforms in the planet (I think, she also knew waaaaay more than the other 2 girls)
Aaaand that all i remember for now I think.
If I remember more of the story I'll keep you updated!
I haven’t read a ton of science fiction but mostly thanks to Adrian Tchaikovsky I’ve been getting into it a bit more lately. I’m looking for more books with the trope of a really tight knit crew. Two examples that I’ve read that come to mind are Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Final Architecture series and JS Morin’s Galaxy Outlaws.
My dream is something halfway between the two. Galaxy Outlaws is more of the vibe I’m looking for: lower narrative stakes (i.e. not galaxy-ending threats), story mostly follows the crew of one ship, they don’t really care where their next job comes from or how legal it is. Final Architecture is closer to the actual crew dynamics I want: ride or die found family type thing, they all mostly just want to survive and be left alone (Galaxy Outlaws has this too but the crew isn’t nearly as close).
For reference some of my favorite fantasy series that include something similar are The Black Company, the Bridgeburners from Malazan, the Fellowship of the Ring (obv), Kelsier’s crew in Mistborn, The Gentleman Bastards.
Hoping you guys have something great for me. I’m also very much open to must-read sci fi recs in general!
So, the gist of it the story is about a guy (I think a soldier) who crashes into an alien planet, where he finds the alien species (Of anthropomorphic cat people) his world is fighting has also crashlanded there too; he encounters one of the furry women and during a fight he tries to communicate and ends accidentally proposing being mates; after he wins she introduces him to the rest of the surviving alien crew and in order to increase their survival / rescue odds they choose to ally, interspecies romance / harem ensues.
That's most of what I remember, thanks in advance to the kind soul that finds it!
SOLVED!
U/mattzog and has sleuthed it! "Perfect" 2018
I have asked , called scarecrow video in Seattle... Years now, no luck
Here is what I remember:
I have asked before, but I swear this wasn't a dream. I think it was released 2018 or later. I saw it in the theater. Very cronenberg, but not him or his son.
A young man goes to a resort treatment center after a traumatic event (we hear him talking to his dad on phone about an accident while he walks to his suite). The resort is in the woods on a hill. He meets another woman patient there, they have chemistry. The man is hesitant about starting his treatment. Later, when she confronts him after starting hers, she tells him they can no longer relate as she has grown beyond his understanding.
Eventually, he begins the treatment, which comes in a plastic package complete with instructions, a section of geometric glass and a scalpel. I think he gets direction from an air computer voice interface in his room. He has to cut a section of his face out and replace it with the geometric glass crystal, which when placed fuses with his face and turns into normal looking skin (maybe with a faint scar outline). This whole process is not painful, as he does it to himself in front of a mirror... Maybe just awkward. We see him repeat the process many times.
I also remember in the common room, there are other patients, all acting like they are lost in a personal drug trip. One guy is in the swimming pool in a kind of trance.
Anyone know what I am describing?
I came across the narrated HFY Sci-Fi stories on YouTube quite by accident and I am curious what the larger Sci-Fi community on Reddit thinks of them.
On a purely technical level, they are rather well done, though the illustrations can seem suspiciously repetitive and generic.
The stories too as well.
I think space opera with a human focus is much more entertaining and effective when less rigidly bound to the formulas used here.
Do you guys think Space Opera should be as popular as it once was?
I mean, I certainly think it should, considering Japan is working on a space elevator right now, and is expected to be operational by 2050.
What are some recent short stories and emerging writers that more people should know about? If you have links to read, please share!
Admit it.
If a company goes after it's profits with that much cold and calculating ruthlessness, then it's a sure bet!
I'd feel very well looked after by Weyland-Yutani as a shareholder. They'd be looking out for me the most 🤩
Ripley that nuisance probably had short call options. She playing smart 🤔