The Illustrated A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking

An enlightening read, difficult at points but worth it. Beautiful illustrated edition.

I have previously read about some of the topics in this book, most recently New Scientist. Essential Guide Issue #1 The Nature of Reality and last year Wonders of the Universe by Professor Brian Cox.

As the title suggests, there is a bit of history, Aristotle, Copernicus, etc, then it goes into Einstein and General Theory of Relativity to explain the phenomena that we can observe. It gets more complicated with Quantum Mechanics to explain phenomena at a super microscopic level. Chapter on Black Holes was my favourite. Second favourite Wormholes. Maybe because it reminds me of science fiction. I struggled understanding the logic in WHY scientists think the Universe is expanding (not about Hubble's observations but what makes the universe expand) and why it is the way it is. I got lost when Hawking used imaginary numbers.... Nevertheless I hope I'll be able to understand as I keep reading more on the topic.

New Scientist. Essential Guide N°3. Human Health. The Science of Living Better and Longer.

Not my favourite issue but it's good. Topics that I found interesting: Coronavirus, stress and anxiety, cancer, stem cells and cryogenics.

Confessions by Kanae Minato

A gripping vengeance thriller. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I finished this book in record time. I couldn't put it down. It was like free falling from an airplane. It was thrilling, gripping, devastating, heartbreaking and cruel. I liked the author's style, straight to the point and raw. Totally recommend.

Under the Pyramids by H.P. Lovecraft

Houdini + Pyramids. An excellent, dark combination.

Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie

Last book in the Imperial Radch trilogy.

I guess it was a Good ending. A sort of happy ending, not my cup of tea though. I'd have preferred it to be a bit darker or maybe much darker.

Anyways I love this world, not plausible, I guess, but thought provoking. A world where humanity coexists with Artificial Intelligence and Sentient Machines. A world where Contradictions arise... Humans are the Masters and Machines the Slaves, Is this fair when machines can be sentient?.... at the same time, Humans are almost totally dependent on AI to survive, they are constantly watched (there is no Privacy!) And monitored to the extent that even their feelings can be predicted by machines.

The Lord of the Radch was an interesting character. Thousands of bodies across the empire but only one consciousness. It reminded me of Mr Bovey, a Multiple from the Void trilogy by Peter F Hamilton. Similar concepts only in the Void Mr Bovey's had a few bodies and they lived together. All the bodies represented the same person whereas the Lord of the Radch could have different personalities.

Things I thought were missing:

. We never know who built the AI cores, and under which principles, or values.

. Some AI are presented as if they had emotions and feelings. However most humans seemed unaware of this, including auhorities, including the Lord of the Radch, who I thought should have been the one to specify the quality of AI in his empire, or at least be better informed.

. If the above have not been programed on purpose on AI, but developed or evolved on its own, then I guess the author missed an opportunity to explore this more in depth.

. No more character development, the protagonist and other main characters do not evolve much. The strory just follows up from book 2 in a kind of straight line, no surprises, no twists, at least that I could see.

More questions come to my mind, like:

What is life? And Consciousness? Can Artificial Intelligence be alive? Or have rights?

Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie

Second book in the Imperial Radch trilogy. 

This is a good sequel but not as good as the first novel. Check my previous post. Again we follow Breq, the protagonist of the first story, now on a mission to keep a section of Radch space safe from its own ruler. 

The writing is excellent, addictive. The plot focuses very much on a specific situation outside (and on) a planet. The character of Breq is further developed as she becomes a fleet captain exercising her power on a colonised planet. Unlike the first book, most of the story in this novel takes place in space, either travelling or on a Space station. However it didn't feel like a space opera to me. I think it was because the story did not involve (or very little) any descriptions of spaceship technology, but was more concerned with interactions inside the spacecraft and space station. 

As with the first book, I liked the idea of Intelligent Spacecrafts as well as AIs embodied in (dead) human bodies. The writer created a powerful narrative with these concepts exploring the political, economic and social impact on a human civilisation on a galactic scale. Themes such as gender, identity, slavery, hierarchy, colonisation and others. However there were some gaps I kept wanting to be filled. For example the story never explains AI from the scientific and technological points of view. The main character, a spaceship AI, 3 thousand year old, has lived a long life, but we never know if it has been upgraded, or improved. Actually technology doesn't seem to have changed so much in that time. New spaceships do not differ much from the old ones. How is that possible? I kept asking myself, more questions, How a civilisation so advanced that can Insert/Upload a Human or Artificial Consciousness on a Human Brain, be so decadent in other aspects? Why do Humans not enhance their intelligence? What about Uploading human consciousness on machines? Hehe, cough, cough, perhaps I'm asking the author to write a different book...

Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie

First book in the Imperial Radch Trilogy.

This is a story of Revenge taking place thousands of years in the future. This novel is well written. It has excellent world building and includes themes of Artificial Intelligence, Gender and language, politics, imperialism and slavery.

It is Character driven as opposed to Plot driven. I found the Plot to be simple and straightforward (a revenge) but it worked perfect with character development and world building.

I don't think this is hard science fiction, but it was thought provoking due to the topics and the way it is written. Conceptz and Technological advances are not explained or discussed but shown, for example Artificial Intelligence, embodying multiple devices, including spaceships and human bodies, and managing them all at the same time. The narrative exposes this brilliantly, sometimes intercalating conversations by the same AI using different bodies who are talking to different people at the same time.

The question of Who/What is Human? is relevant. The radch cannot see beyond AI as tools for conquest and war, and as tools to ease their daily lives. Not the AI inserted in human bodies not the ones living in machines. The author raises questions though with the protagonist construction and growth as well as with the changing views around her.

In terms of social and political commentary, there is plenty. A totalitarian system which depends on constant growth to survive. Social Hierarchies, status, military abuse, the use of a genderless version of English and many other aspects which make the Radch an interesting place to explore.

I read this book for the #spaceoperaseptember but I don't think it is a #spaceopera. 98% of events take place in planets or space stations and I never felt I "was in space" while reading it 😭