Recommended Reading: Kim Stanley Robinson in The New Yorker

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Source: Amazon.com.

The January 31st edition of The New Yorker has an article written by Joshua Rothman where he interviews Kim Stanley Robinson they hike through the Sierra mountains. The article,”Best-Case Scenario,” covers a lot of ground and has its ups and downs (sorry, I could not help myself). The Sierras offer a nice setting for experiencing the beauty of this strange planet while also scaring the reader about what may be lost as the hikers deal with the smoke of distant forest fires.

The two most prominent books discussed in the article are Mr. Stanley’s recent The Ministry for the Future and his 2015 novel Aurora, allowing the reader to appreciate both the uniqueness of this world as well as attempts by his characters to reach more distant worlds. I enjoyed reading both Aurora and Mr. Stanley’s Mars trilogy, but I should probably spend some time reading his works focusing on planet Earth. Mr. Stanley has made it clear that we need to preserve the one place in the universe that we know can host us. As he stated in BoingBoing back in 2015, “…there is no Planet B. Earth is our only home.”

With regard to expanding into our galaxy, in the same article he stated:

I’m not saying we shouldn’t go into space; we should. We should send people to the moon, and Mars, and the asteroids, and every place we can in the solar system, putting up stations and swapping humans in and out of them. This is not only a beautiful thing to do, but useful in helping us to design a long-term relationship with Earth itself. Space science is an Earth science. The solar system is our neighborhood. But the stars are too far away.

Mr. Stanley has spoken far and wide for some time about his novels, his views on space travel, and his concerns regarding our future. For more on all of this, you can try his Facebook page or this unofficial site. And you may want to check out some other articles in The New Yorker as well, such as this May 2021 piece, “Is Mars Ours?“

Television: The End of “The Expanse”

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Source: The Expanse on Amazon Prime.

This week Amazon Prime released the final episode of the The Expanse, a brilliant space drama that has been running for six seasons, first on Syfy and later on Amazon Prime. Based on a series of books written by James S. A. Corey (a two-person team), it tells the story of a settled solar system where the old problems dividing all of us are simply moved onto a larger playing field. Mars and Earth are jockeying for power while the miners in the asteroid belt creating the necessary resources feel forgotten and abused. War ensues as does new discoveries (and related weapons), which simply get folded into the ongoing battles. And the playing field widens again as a portal, called the Ring, gives the warring factions access to more star systems and planets.

The television series is a wonder to watch, with excellent acting, fantastic story-lines, and the creative use of venues in our solar system, from Ceres in the asteroid belt to the various moons of Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus. It is also a very dark show as it illustrates an ugly side to our expansion into new worlds – ruthless ambition, terrorism, revolution, and civil war.

I have not seen anything like it since the remake of Battlestar Galactica, and I would put it on the same level (with some better special effects given the time that has passed). But the most important part is the characters, and you will find a team in the center of this series that you would follow anywhere.

If you are new to the series, you are in for a lot of fun. If you are finishing the series like me and you have only experienced the television show, I think the next step is to dig into the books to live in this world a little longer.

Extra: Check out this Den of Geek article concerning whether The Expanse will continue in any format – “The Expanse: The Possibility of a Season 7 or Sequel Series.”

Has Star Trek Gone Negative?

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Source: Paramount+.

If you are a Trekkie, you have probably gained inspiration from the multitude of Star Trek series spawned from the original 1966 show. Star Trek: The Next Generation continues to be my favorite, yet I have also enjoyed all of the other earlier series and made it through at least one season of the latest Star Trek: Discovery. I admit it can be a little dark, but you still see hope for a better future around the edges.

Reason magazine believes the latest series is not up to par with the others. In a recent article, “Even if Modern Star Trek Doesn’t Think So, the World Is Getting Better,” the author states:

…Star Trek now seeks to reinforce the trepidation and existential doubt that is a hallmark of our modern culture. Instead of showing the potential of what humanity can become, Discovery seems to reflect more on what the feelings of the human condition are today.

The author also complains about Star Trek: Picard, but that is unfair. I found the series focused on Captain Picard to be both hopeful and fun. Maybe the author forgets about the dark role of Q in The Next Generation where all of humanity was a plaything. And what about the Borg? They were not exactly a sunny group of explorers. I left some of the Borg episodes with about as much hope as I did after seeing the Joker in The Dark Knight.

As far as the human conditions of today, the idea of a show paralleling present day reality is not all that new. I remember when the remake of Battlestar Galactica had episodes mirroring events taking place during the war with Iraq. The writers do live in the real world as well. I am not opposed to a little reflection with my viewing. Not even Sesame Street can escape the ongoing vaccine wars.

So I suggest viewers take a breath and pull up whatever version of the galaxy they can handle. I believe there is a Star Trek series for every season and every mood.

Source: Battlestar Galactica on SyFy.

National Science Fiction Day

Posted on by onespaceman2000

January 2nd is National Science Fiction Day, or at least it is recorded as such on the nationaltoday.com website. Whatever you think about such national days, it is nice to consider the role of science fiction in creating interest in science overall.

Here are a few facts recorded on the official page for this special day:

— January 2nd was chosen as the day to celebrate National Science Fiction Day because it is the recorded birth date of the great science fiction writer Isaac Asimov.

— Mary Shelly’s book Frankenstein from 1818 is considered to be the first science fiction book.

— Other science fiction books and stories from the 1800s include Jules Verne’s Journey to the Center of the Earth and H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds.

— Georges Melies’ 1902 film A Trip to the Moon is considered to be the first science fiction film.

I am a fan of science fiction, as you will learn from this site, so I appreciate a separate day to consider all of the great works of this genre.

Source: War of the Worlds from the Best in Film website.