Philip K. Dick (1956)

2025 reads, 2/25:

“The existence of a majority logically implies a corresponding minority.”

It’s a pretty obvious statement, but a crucial one, as PKD demonstrates in his novella The Minority Report, first written in 1956. In a world where people are persecuted for their crimes before they are even committed, how does the commander of such a system react when he sees his own name come up?

One of this month’s collections on The Criterion Channel is Surveillance Cinema, which includes dystopian sci-fi classics like The Truman Show, Gattaca, and Minority Report, the last of which is obviously based on this story. I’ve never seen the movie, and because I usually like to read a book first, I figured I’d give this one a tackle.

“‘You’ve probably grasped the basic legalistic drawback to precrime methodology. We’re taking in individuals who have broken no law.’”

The concept of “precrime” is a novel idea for its time, but I really underestimated how much these themes of free will and predestination show up in other media. Reading this reminded me of the show Person of Interest, a television drama where a group of vigilantes stop crimes before they happen based on an artificially intelligent machine. However, this machine predicts that a person will be either a victim or a perpetrator of a crime (but cannot decipher which).

The Minority Report starts with a great but chilling concept, and PKD follows through with a great story. It’s written well, and short enough such that you can dive into some cyberpunk-esque and dystopian sci-fi without committing to a full-length novel.

“Perhaps he was trapped in a closed, meaningless time-circle with no motive and no beginning. In fact, he was almost ready to concede that he was the victim of a weary, neurotic fantasy, spawned by growing insecurity. Without a fight, he was willing to give himself up.”

#readingyear2025 #scifi #dystopia

by Arkady & Boris Strugatsky (1972)

2024 reads, 23/22:

“Over the pile of ancient trash, over the colorful rags and broken glass, drifts a tremor, a vibration, just like the hot air above a tin roof at noon; it floats over the mound and continues, cuts across our path right beside a marker, lingers over the road, waits for half a second—or am I just imagining that? —and slithers into the field, over the bushes, over the rotten fences, toward the old car graveyard.”

I acknowledge that recency bias may be talking here, but – did I just read one of my favorite science fiction books so far?

Science fiction is and has always been about humans in the face of progress, whether forward or backward. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? muses on what it means to be a human. Neuromancer toys with the concept of losing our humanity, and our world, to technology. The Three-Body Problem and its trilogy has humanity rallying together (and splitting apart) in the face of adversity. Even the Hitchhiker’s Guide series has humanity face the ultimate absurdity: itself.

Roadside Picnic continues this pattern of humanity facing itself, and does so extremely well. Short summary: in the wake of an alien visit, multiple “zones” are left around the surface of the earth. These zones are subject to unexplainable physics, rare artifacts, and dangers beyond our comprehension. Furthermore, these zones are illegal to enter. A subclass of criminals called “stalkers” sneak into these zones to retrieve precious objects that can be sold on the black market (and yes, this is the book that inspired Andrei Tarkovsky’s film Stalker).

The premise seems simple, but remember, science fiction is about us. The novel starts ten years or so after “the Visit,” and humanity is no step closer to knowing anything about it – it’s just humans and the Zone. Instead of an alien invasion story, the Strugatskys weave together a novella with philosophical deliberations, fairy tales, and horrific alien technology.

“I lock myself in the stall, take out the flask, unscrew it, and attach myself to it like a leech. I’m sitting on the bench, my heart is empty, my head is empty, my soul is empty, gulping down the hard stuff like water. Alive. I got out. The Zone let me out. The damned hag. My lifeblood. Traitorous bitch. Alive. The novices can’t understand this. No one but a stalker can understand.”

The main character, stalker Red Schuhart, is in my opinion one of the greatest characters ever written. Outside of the Zone, with absolutely no care in the world, he is aloof and hot-headed, careless and an alcoholic. But his skills and concentration in the Zone are unmatched: you feel his focus narrow, his conniving nature, and know that he will stop at nothing to get through this mysterious area. As I write this, I can see how this book may have inspired Annihilation by VanderMeer.

What better way to show how insignificant we are than to have an entire story revolve around the aftermath of a short-lived alien visit. The ending is one of the most bittersweet, and I’ve been thinking about it since I’ve read it. This is a sci-fi classic, and it’s short enough such that I recommend it to anyone even remotely interested.

“Aren’t humans absurd? I suppose we like praise for its own sake. The way children like ice cream. It’s an inferiority complex, that’s what it is. Praise assuages our insecurities. And ridiculously so. How could I rise in my own opinion?”

#readingyear2024 #scifi #dystopia #book2screen #favorites

by Jeff VanderMeer (2014)

2024 reads, 22/22:

“The birds sang as they should; the deer took flight, their white tails exclamation points against the green and brown of the underbrush; the raccoons, bowlegged, swayed about their business, ignoring us. As a group, we felt almost giddy, I think, to be free after so many confining months of training and preparation.”

Kind of funny that my last two books have been in the realm of “ecological sci-fi,” but here we are. However, Annihilation strips away any satire and comedy that may have been in Galapagos, and instead presents an anxiety-ridden atmospheric novel of four scientists who go out to explore the dangerous and unfamiliar “Area X.”

The descriptions of the flora and fauna of Area X are great, and the narrator writes with an unreliable tone while at the same time, sounding like writing a lab report. It’s kind of jarring, but VanderMeer captures the surreal and tense mystery through his Lovecraftian prose very well.

“I took samples as we went, but halfheartedly. All of these tiny remnants I was stuffing into glass tubes with tweezers … what would they tell me? Not much, I felt.”

However, while there was a plot, it didn’t go very far for me. And that’s okay, sometimes things don’t need to happen – I tend to really enjoy books that have no plot line at all. But for this particular brand of sci-fi, I wish for a little more. What might help with this, though, is not reading the blurb on the back of the book. Nothing is spoiled, but some things might hit harder without knowing ahead of time.

Will I finish the trilogy? Maybe. It’s not on the top of my to-read list, but I am curious to learn more about Area X and the world of Southern Reach. But if the genre of eco-horror sci-fi sounds interesting to you, you should pick this one up – and let me know your thoughts.

“You would love it here.”

#readingyear2024 #scifi #environment #spooky #book2screen

by Kurt Vonnegut (1985)

2024 reads, 21/22:

“Does it trouble me to write so insubstantially, with air on air? Well--my words will be as enduring as anything my father wrote, or Shakespeare wrote, or Beethoven wrote, or Darwin wrote. It turns out that they all wrote with air on air.”

Whether through the plot or the writing style, Vonnegut always plays with the concept of time in his novels. In almost every book I’ve read of his, it felt like his idea of “time” was stretched and distorted to his liking, adhering only to his rules. Galapagos is no different.

Although one of Vonnegut’s later works, Galapagos is still incredibly satirical, humorous, and sarcastic. Vonnegut takes on human evolution, survival of the fittest, and the failings of the human brain, from the perspective of an evolved human one million years in the future. This narrator consistently reiterates how the human brain is too big, and as a species, we have become too complex as we generate wars, famines, and any other horsemen of the apocalypse.

“Why so many of us knocked us major chunks of our brains with alcohol from time to time remains an interesting mystery. It may be that we were trying to give evolution a shove in the right direction - in the direction of smaller brains.”

However, the idea of human evolution is such a big one to me, and unfortunately it felt like his satire only brushed the surface of it. Through small-scale vignettes, connected by a single plot line, a cast of characters about to embark on the Nature Cruise of the Century become the only hope for humanity continuing as a species – but I felt that too much time was spent on the backstories of these characters (important, no doubt) rather than how they start anew. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it felt like a bit of a mismatch with the overarching implications of the human race starting over.

But don’t take my review to be a dislike of this book – if it sounds interesting to you, you should pick it up. Three stars, to me, is a simple “I liked it” with no real sway in either direction. And remember, Vonnegut is like New Jersey pizza: it’s always going to be at least pretty good.

“Some automatic device clicked in her big brain, and her knees felt weak, and there was a chilly feeling in her stomach. She was in love with this man. They don't make memories like that anymore.”

#readingyear2024 #scifi #humor #physicallyowned #environment

by Ted Chiang (2002)

2024 reads, 19/22:

“Despite knowing the journey and where it leads, I embrace it and welcome every moment”

Maybe closer to 3.5 stars, but my score might surprise people with this one. Stories of Your Life and Others is a collection of science fiction short stories written by Ted Chiang from 1990 to 2002, compiled and published in 2002. The most famous story is, of course, Story of Your Life, for which Denis Villeneuve’s 2016 movie Arrival is based on. This story was my favorite too, a solid 5 stars for this one.

But the rest of them didn’t quite hit for me. Their premise was intriguing, as the subject matter drastically ranged from one story to the next; each one asking a different “what if?” question. And then of course, within the story, even more “what ifs” are posited. They branch out from science fiction, incorporating elements of fantasy, math, technology, and dystopia. Some just meandered a little bit before getting to the plot, but it didn’t turn me away from finishing them. Just how certain ideas were presented came off a little slow.

But don’t let the score deter you if you are into sci-fi; this is a highly acclaimed collection, and I’m in the minority here. They all made me think, which is the minimum requirement for solid sci-fi.

“‘Well if you already know how the story goes, why do you need me to read it to you?’ ‘‘Cause I wanna hear it!’”

#readingyear2024 #scifi #shortstories

by Philip K. Dick (1968)

2024 reads, 16/22:

It’s hard not to picture Harrison Ford as Rick Deckard, the main character of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by PDK, and the inspiration for Ridley Scott’s 1982 movie Blade Runner. But this isn’t a bad thing, especially since Blade Runner is my favorite movie. It’s also surprising I’ve only now gotten around to reading the source material.

“Future and past blurred; what he had already experienced and what he would eventually experience blended so that nothing remained but the moment.”

Lots of differences between the movie and the book, and the biggest of which that stood out to me was the large focus on religion in the book. The core religion in DADOES, Mercerism, ultimately aims to increase human empathy; this sounds great, but it has its flaws. For example, its followers must use a device called an “empathy box,” which connects multiple people simultaneously into a virtual collective suffering. I loved this double-edged sword take on religion – by basing it on human empathy, we are led to believe in its inherent “good.”

Animal imagery is also much more prevalent in the book. This futuristic society seems to not just categorize, but rank, different beings: replicants, animals (both real and ‘electric’), specials (or chickenheads), and humans. It’s not as simple as humans vs. replicants; there are layers, or tiers, to this society. Maybe it’s because of the background reading I did on religion before reading Pynchon's Mason & Dixon, but this societal structure reminded me of the great chain of being, a hierarchical structure of all life decreed by God (the perfect scapegoat). This all circles back to the dark underside of religion, adding another dimension to Mercerism.

“Empathy, evidently, existed only within the human community, whereas intelligence to some degree could be found throughout every phylum and order including the arachnida.”

Based on how much I’ve mentioned the movie left out, you might think that this is a case of “the book is better than the movie” – and maybe, for most people, it is. But I just think they are two different pieces of art, trying to resonate with us in different ways. Reading this book got me thinking about adaptations in general, and what causes them to fail or succeed.

While they both accurately portray this concept of humanity and empathy, PKD does so by allowing us insight into the characters’ thoughts and feelings. The inner monologues of Deckard and John Isidore are all laid out. On the other hand, Ridley Scott chooses to use atmosphere and soundtrack. We read the characters’ faces, we feel Vangelis’ score pulsing throughout, pulling us in and widening our view on dystopia. We get a general sense of the time and mood, which is, in my opinion, also extremely effective.

After finally reading this book, I fully believe that Blade Runner and DADOES both get five stars, in their own way. If you like the book, give the movie a chance. If you like the movie, give the book a chance. I’m sure you’ll enjoy at least one of them.

“You will be required to do wrong no matter where you go. It is the basic condition of life, to be required to violate your own identity. At some time, every creature which lives must do so. It is the ultimate shadow, the defeat of creation; this is the curse at work, the curse that feeds on all life. Everywhere in the universe.”

PS: The unnamed owl in the movie, is officially named “Scrappy” in the book…

#readingyear2024 #scifi #dystopia #book2screen #pkd #book2screen

by Phillip K. Dick (1977)

2024 reads, 15/22

Not really sure where to start with this one – Philip K. Dick (PDK for short), arguably one of the best science fiction writers of all time, has been on my to-read list for years. In fact, it’s surprising that I haven’t read anything by him yet, especially since Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is the inspiration for my favorite movie, Blade Runner. But I digress – we’ll get to that review soon enough.

A Scanner Darkly is a dystopian sci-fi novel set in 1994 California, in an alternate timeline where America has lost the war on drugs. Dealers, users, and federal agents are all intertwined in one another’s lives, and the existence of “scramble suits,” a body suit that conceals one’s identity, only complicates matters. Bob Arctor is an undercover narcotics agent investigating users such as Jim Barris, Ernie Luckman, and Charles Freck, whose house is bugged with “scanners” for Arctor’s alter-ego to surveil.

“Does a passive infrared scanner like they used to use or a cube-type holo-scanner like they use these days, the latest thing, see into me—into us—clearly or darkly? I hope it does, he thought, see clearly, because I can’t any longer these days see into myself.”

I’m slightly reminded of other counterculture novels, e.g., One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest or Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas; any of the works of Kesey, Leary, and HST between the beats and the hippies. Barris even recites Leary’s catchphrase as a sign-off: “Turn on, tune out, and good-by.” But where those novels focus on the actual use or psychedelics of drugs, A Scanner Darkly focuses more on the consequences of repeated drug use.

The concept of the “scramble suit” is also intriguing; as readers, we know who Arctor and his alter ego are, but I was left wondering about the identities and motives of the other characters. How do they fit into this mess? What exactly is Arctor looking for? The idea of double lives is pervasive throughout this novel, both in a temporal and spatial sense, and adds to the haziness.

“There she was, stable and as if forever; then—nothing. Vanished like fire or air, an element of the earth back into the earth. To mix with the everyone-else people that never ceased to be. Poured out among them. The evaporated girl, he thought. Of transformation. That comes and goes as she will. And no one, nothing, can hold on to her.”

This book was amazing and heartbreaking at the same time, and made me immediately pick up my next PKD book. For anyone looking to get into PKD, or just wanting to read a science fiction classic, this is a great one to go with.

P.S. The movie did a great job capturing not just the confusing nature of the novel, but also remained pretty faithful to the book. Worth the watch!

#readingyear2024 #scifi #dystopia #wtf #pkd #book2screen

by Cixin Liu (2010)

2024 reads, 13/22

“In the eternal night of the Orion Arm of the Milky Way Galaxy, two civilizations had swept through like two shooting stars, and the universe had remembered their light.”

Again, keeping this review fairly light since it hinges on the events of the previous two novels in the trilogy. But man, oh man, what a way to end. This series will destroy you, and then put you back together again.

The story has evolved from Ye Wenjie first making contact with the Trisolarans, to the fate of the earth, the solar system, and the entire universe. Through space exploration, theoretical physics, and even fairy tales, Liu manages to weave a well-crafted story with scary sci-fi and hope for humanity. Apparently there’s lots of fan-written material out there for those who felt that this story was incomplete – but I didn’t feel that way at all, it ended exactly how it should have.

I really enjoyed the characters as well – I will be thinking of the story of Cheng Xin and Yun Tianming for a long time to come. Thomas Wade and 艾AA are also enjoyable to read as well, and they both complement Cheng Xin’s humanity with fierceness (albeit in different ways).

The Three-Body Problem was the prologue, The Dark Forest was the reaction, and Death’s End is the ultimate conclusion. This is an amazing science fiction trilogy, and I’m so happy that Netflix decided to renew and let the Game of Thrones team finish the series.

“Finally, a chain of organic molecules, trembling, split into two strands. The strands attracted other molecules around them until two identical copies of the original were made, and these split apart again and replicated themselves…. In this game of building blocks, the probability of producing such a self-replicating chain of organic molecules was so minuscule that it was as if a tornado had picked up a pile of metallic trash and deposited it as a fully-assembled Mercedes-Benz. But it happened, and so, a breathtaking history of 3.5 billion years had begun.”

#readingyear2024 #scifi #science #book2screen

by Cixin Liu (2008)

2024 reads, 11/22

“The stern of the ship faced the Solar System, where the sun was by now no more than a yellow star just a bit brighter than the rest. The peripheral spiral arm of the Milky Way lay in this direction, its stars sparse. The depth and expanse of deep space exhibited an arrogance that left no support for the mind or the eyes.”

Going to keep this review a bit short, since its plot hinges on the ending of the previous book in the trilogy, The Three Body Problem. But basically, The Dark Forest takes place almost immediately following the events of 3BP, and Liu pulls out all the punches for this one.

While 3BP stood out to me due to its mystery and storytelling, there’s less of this in TDF (since you already know the circumstances of everything going on). However, TDF excels not just in its more in-depth treatment of space sci-fi, but what was more interesting to me was watching humanity deal with the earth-shattering aftermath of 3BP.

“‘When twilight fades, you can see the stars. When dawn fades, all that’s left is…’ ‘All that’s left is the harsh light of reality.’”

While the story starts off a bit slowly, it quickly picks up, and its ending blew me away. At first, I found the new main character Luo Ji hard to like (his first act as Wallfacer was weird), but after some character development I quickly came to enjoy his presence on the page. My favorite character, Da Shi, also makes his return.

I usually end these reviews with who I might recommend the book to, but if you’ve read 3BP, then I don’t need to convince you to read this one. Now it’s time to end the trilogy…

“It’s a wonder to be alive. If you don’t understand that, how can you search for anything deeper?”

Netflix series addendum: I do hope Netflix picks up their 3BP adaptation for a second season. I would love to see some of the ideas in this book put to the big screen, and the Game of Thrones team seems like the ideal duo to undertake this.

#readingyear2024 #scifi #science #book2screen

by Cixin Liu (2006)

2024 reads, 9/22

“Can the fundamental nature of matter really be lawlessness? Can the stability and order of the world be but a temporary dynamic equilibrium achieved in a corner of the universe, a short-lived eddy in a chaotic current?”

What a wild ride. I don’t read much science fiction, and my only two standouts among those I have read were Neuromancer and Hitchhikers Guide. But The Three-Body Problem now also takes a place at the top of my favorite sci-fi books. And one thing that this book did for me that the others didn’t was encourage me to pick up more sci-fi in the future.

This book is engaging, but be warned, it’s one big prologue; many loose threads and characters come together nicely at the end to form one giant loose thread (so naturally I quickly picked up the second in the trilogy). The Neuromancer-like virtual reality game, the mysterious happenings to scientists around the world, and Operation Guzheng (if you know you know) were standout parts. Da Shi quickly became my favorite character of the book, being comedic relief while consistently saving the day. I also really enjoyed how the classic astrophysics problem of three gravitational bodies related to the plot – it wasn’t clear at first, but I loved the payoff.

“The seed of civilization remains. It will germinate and again progress through the unpredictable world of Three Body. We invite you to log on in the future.”

I actually started reading this before I realized the Netflix adaptation was coming out, which was some incredible timing. The show is great, but as usual, the book gets more involved and takes the time to really flesh out the story. If nothing else, watch the Netflix series, but I do recommend this book for anyone looking for some profound science fiction.

#readingyear2024 #scifi #science #book2screen