Q3 2021 Roundup

With the fall equinox, summer is now over.

This blog has passed 2800 daily posts in a row, though reported hits are way down from last year.  Posts will continue until readership improves.  : – )

This summer saw many posts on favorite topics, including dinosaurs, robots, solar energy, and cryptocurrencies.  And robot helicopters on Mars.   And the melting cryosphere.

If we hear about a solar powered robot dinosaur that eats cryptocurrency you know it will appear in this blog!  Especially if it emerges from a melting icecap and goes to Mars to transform into a helicopter.

Book Reviews

As always, weekly reviews of 14 fiction and 6 non fiction books.

Notable book:  The Amazons by Adrienne Mayor

Fiction

Antkind by Charlie Kaufman
The World Gives Way by Marissa Levien
The Very Nice Box by Laura Blackett and Eve Gleichman
Trouble the Saints by Alaya Dawn Johnson
Captain Moxley and the Embers of Empire by Dan Hanks
The Paris Labyrinth by Gilles Legardinier
The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris
Questland by Carrie Vaughn
The Past is Red by Catherynne M. Valente
Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds
Elysium Fire by Alistair Reynolds
The Invention of Sound by Chuck Palahniuk
Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Non-fiction

The Amazons by Adrienne Mayor
Area 51 by Annie Jacobsen
Venus and Aphrodite by Bettany Hughes
Forget the Alamo by Bryan Burrough, Chris Tomlinson, and Jason Stanford
We Had A Little Real Estate Problem by Kliph Nesteroff
Pastels and Pedophiles by Mia Bloom and Sophia Moskalenko

Great Names For a Band

Terms found in real technical papers, not made up at all.

“Spin Orbit Torques”
“Cadmium Telluride”

Book Review: “The World Gives Way” by Marissa Levien

The World Gives Way by Marissa Levien

This is a beautiful, if unhappy story.  Myrra lives on what we learn is a generation ship heading to a new solar system.  The Switzerland-sized habitat is 150 years into its 200 year voyage, so the inhabitants are third generation.  This is all the world they have ever known.

Levien gives us a lot of detail about the society on this tiny world.  The full citizens are descendants of very wealthy Earthlings.  But most of the population are indentured laborers, just slightly better off than slaves. The main good news is that, theoretically, everyone will be freed upon arrival—in another generation.

The world they built and inhabit has many beautiful and charming features, including some amazing topography, cities, and architecture.  At least, charming for those free to enjoy the charm.  Most contract workers live drab, miserable lives, filled with toil and poverty.

Migrating in a generation ship is a risky endeavor, if the systems fail, there is no plan B. 

Myrra discovers that this world is suddenly falling apart, far short of the destination. If true, then they won’t make it. Everyone, rich and poor, young and old will die.

What would you do if you knew you were going to die in a few weeks?  What if the entire world was going to end?

Myrra is a survivor, always moving forward, no matter what.  Along the way, she gives and learns to take love from others, including young Tobias.  Ultimately, Myrra discovers that, if nothing else, we can make life a bit better, for each other, for as long as we have. And that’s what really matters.

It’s a sad story, of course.  One woman, no matter how plucky, can’t fix the world. 

But like Tobias, I think I would follow Myrra anywhere.

The is Levien’s first book.  I look forward to reading more from her.  Maybe something a bit more cheerful.

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1. Marissa Levien, The World Gives Way, New York, Redhook, 2021.

Sunday Book Reviews