Books & Movies that push the limits of hard science

[Angel Tarragon]

I'm in the mood for some books/movies that really pushes the edge of science and science fiction. What do you recommend?

 

[Umbran]

I'm in the mood for some movies that really pushes the edge of science and science fiction. What do you recommend?

Movies today are generally not interested in pushing any edges except those of the box office records. They don't care abou science, and step right off into fantasy as soon as it will make for a better special effect.

If you want the edge of science pushed, you need to read, not watch movies, imho.

 

[Angel Tarragon]

If you want the edge of science pushed, you need to read, not watch movies, imho.

Then what do you recommend?

 

[Umbran]

Then what do you recommend?

You want science pushed?

Anything by Robert L Forward. Not the greatest characterization in the world, but he pushes real science about as far as it'll go. We're talking "life on the surface of a neutron star" pushing.

A great many things by Larry Niven are also good, though some of his short stories are dated.

For some other things, I'll need to double check my library before I answer. So, I'll try for later this evening...

 

[Angel Tarragon]

For some other things, I'll need to double check my library before I answer. So, I'll try for later this evening...

Great! Thanks, looking forward to checking out the books you recommend.

 

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

Try Diaspora by Greg Egan or Metaplanatery by Tony Daniels.

 

[Angel Tarragon]

Try Diaspora by Greg Egan or Metaplanatery by Tony Daniels.

Can you give me a basic premise of what they are about?

 

[Croesus]

You want science pushed?

Anything by Robert L Forward. Not the greatest characterization in the world, but he pushes real science about as far as it'll go. We're talking "life on the surface of a neutron star" pushing.

Absolutely. Start with Dragon's Egg.

Other authors:

Psychohistorical Crisis by Donald Kingsbury. Mostly mathematical, with some chaos theory and such. I hate to admit it, but I found it fascinating precisely because of this.

Two short stories by Timothy Zahn:
"Between a Rock and a High Place" (about landing planes in flying aircraft carriers) in the anthology Time Bomb.

"The Energy Crisis of 2215" (about using a black hole for energy) in the anthology Cascade Point.

Zahn has a degree in physics and while not all his stories show it off, many do. He's also a good writer, which helps. I recommend (almost) everything he's written.

 

[Angel Tarragon]

A friend of mine was talking to me about Chaos Theory and Nihilism some months back. I have a smattering of knowledge of what Chaos Theory is, but not with Nihilism. Where should a beginner start to get a grasp on these subjects?

 

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

Can you give me a basic premise of what they are about?

Here is what Publisher's Weekly had to say on the books, they can say it better than I can:

Metaplanetary:

From Publishers Weekly
Hugo Award nominee Daniel (Earthling and Warpath) projects a complex, mind-stretching future in his third SF novel, a cross between Bruce Sterling and Doc Smith that teems with vivid characters and surprising action. A thousand years from now, humans use omnipresent nano-matter, "grist," to engineer nonhuman forms for themselves and house their disembodied electronic consciousnesses. Tension has developed between two centers of power. On one side are the inner planets, knit together by massive cables and ruled by a monomaniacal dictator who is sure he knows what's best for everyone. On the other are the inhabitants of the outer planets and the massive spaceships/beings that are beginning to visit the stars. This latter group values diversity and freedom, but decentralization puts it at a disadvantage when the dictator plots to gain total control. As the preparations toward a system-wide civil war gather momentum, the vocabulary and relationships that at first seemed confusing suddenly become simply part of the onrushing action. The novel's only real drawback is that it breaks off early in the war, just as the two sides have squared off against each other. Keeping any moralizing tendencies nicely in check, Daniel seems to want to create an epic vision of humanity. If he can finish the story with the intelligence and energy he shows here, he may achieve that goal. Agent, John Ware Literary Agency. (Apr. 20)Forecast: With first serial rights sold to Asimov's Magazine, a plug from Greg Bear and credentials that include producer of the Seeing Ear Theater for scifi.com and host of a monthly radio show on New York's WBAI, Daniel should reach readers hungry for challenging, sophisticated science fiction.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Diaspora:

From Publishers Weekly
By the year 2975, humanity has wandered down several widely divergent evolutionary paths. "Flesher" life is that which resides in a basically human body, though genetically engineered mutations have created communication problems throughout the species. In the "polises," meanwhile, disembodied but self-aware artificial intelligences procreate, interact, make art and attempt to solve life's mathematical mysteries. Then there are the "gleisners," which are conscious, flesher-shaped robots run by self-aware software that is linked directly to the physical world through hardware. Throughout, Egan (Distress) follows the progress of Yatima, an orphan spontaneously generated by the non-sentient software of the Konishi polis. Yatima gains self-awareness, meets with Earthly fleshers and, when tragedy strikes, becomes personally involved in the greatest search for species survival ever undertaken. Though the novel often reads like a series of tenuously connected graduate theses and lacks the robust drama and characterizations of good fiction, fans of hard SF that incorporates higher mathematics and provocative hypotheses about future evolution are sure to be fascinated by Egan's speculations.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

(And just as a side note, I was the assistant editor on Diaspora when I worked at HarperCollins)