I’m fascinated by both evolution and sentience. The debates ranging about them, endless research, personal suppositions, all of it. I view Sci-Fi written in the same vein as the works below as a means for scientists/writers to draft their own thoughts about evolution and sentience, almost philosophically and not wholly restrained by pieces of information (just or far) beyond our grasp. My own writing often focuses on both topics too, especially the standalone Siouca Remembers – in which two species, one just having evolved to sentience, intermingle for the first time. Amongst many other books, Sapiens, by Yuval Noah Harari, is a wonderful non-fiction complement to this.
“The quest to unlock the secrets of interstellar travel leads a Roranian crew on an epic journey across space. Saved by a dying machine-lect, stranded in a failing ship, faced with an ultimate choice. Were they too eager in their attempts to reach the stars?” If you enjoy Space Opera, and authors such as Iain M. Banks, Alastair Reynolds and Dan Simmons, then Siouca Remembers is for you.
"An epic sci-fi fantasy!… intricate tales begin to mesh to create a final outcome that is fantastic and startling! Very well written!" – Bookbub reviewer
This book made me question my own arachnophobia, and that’s saying something. Sentient spiders evolving physiologically and socially both terrified and reassured me. This is a case of anthropomorphisation (did I spell that right?) done bang on. Tchaikovsky takes us on a Sapiens-esque journey of evolution for a species that we all know, albeit with a foreign intellect, and makes us actually root for them…spiders!
Winner of the 30th anniversary Arthur C. Clarke Award for Best Novel
Adrian Tchaikovksy's critically acclaimed, stand-alone novel Children of Time, is the epic story of humanity's battle for survival on a terraformed planet.
Who will inherit this new Earth?
The last remnants of the human race left a dying Earth, desperate to find a new home among the stars. Following in the footsteps of their ancestors, they discover the greatest treasure of the past age - a world terraformed and prepared for human life.
But all is not right in this new Eden. In the long years since the…
(Admittedly a series, not one book.) These represented a memorable introduction for me to the notion of patron species “uplifting” (genetically engineering) client species to improved sentience. A key example is the uplifting of dolphins by humans. We are introduced to many variants of dolphin evolutionary efforts, and the struggles involved in uplifting. There are also many examples of aliens uplifting other aliens, so you won’t be disappointed by the variety offered by David Brin. Added to that, I contacted him after publishing my first book, and he was gracious and encouraging in his reply, so I’m biased.
In all the universe, no species reached for the stars without “uplift” guidance, except possibly humankind. Did some cryptic patron race begin the job long ago, then abandon us? Or did we leap all by ourselves? That question burns, yet a greater mystery looms ahead, in the furnace of a star. Under the caverns of Mercury, Expedition Sundiver prepares for the most momentous voyage in our history – into the boiling inferno of the sun, seeking our destiny in the cosmic order of life. David Brin’s Uplift novels are among the most thrilling and extraordinary science fiction ever written, comprising…
This is an intriguing foray into the potential evolution of our own species into many sub-species. We are taken on a journey of evolutionary discovery. I was absorbed in understanding the characteristics of the sub-species Neal Stephenson wove into the story. Whilst very different, in terms of exploring evolutionary offshoots of our own species, Seveneves reminded me of HG Wells’ The Time Machine.
The astounding new novel from the master of science fiction. President Barack Obama's summer reading choice and recently optioned by Ron Howard and IMAGINE to be made into a major motion picture.
What would happen if the world were ending?
When a catastrophic event renders the earth a ticking time bomb, it triggers a feverish race against the inevitable. An ambitious plan is devised to ensure the survival of humanity far beyond our atmosphere. But unforeseen dangers threaten the intrepid pioneers, until only a handful of survivors remain...
Five thousand years later, their progeny - seven distinct races now three…
This is a harder-SF book that deals with the near-term search for life in our solar system. What I found great about Landau’s writing is that everything seems incredibly realistic, well thought out, and researched. The life that is found is not a carbon copy of our own (hint, hint), and has come through an altogether different evolutionary pathway. This book made me want to go back to university and study anything that would get me into space.
If you were in awe of books like The Martian and 2001: A Space Odyssey or movies like Interstellar and Apollo 13, get ready for a story with the potential to leap from fiction into reality and become the greatest adventure on which humankind has ever embarked.
September 7 2030. Mission Day 1179. Late at night inside the two-person Dragon spacecraft resting on the frozen surface of Saturn’s moon Enceladus, Derya Terzi put on headphones and became the first Earthling to hear the sloshing of the enormous subsurface ocean beneath his feet. Intoxicated with the promise of discovery, he could…
Project Hail Mary packs a great deal of scientific detail. However, that’s a good thing, since we learn a lot about Andy Weir’s thoughts (via this story) on “what could semi-realistically be out there.” We deal with the quest to understand life outside our solar system, and are introduced to the very interesting biology of the lifeform “Rocky,” as well as other more cellular alien life. I was left wanting to know more about Rocky and his Eridian civilization.
Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission—and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish.
Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it.
All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time. And he’s just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.
His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, Ryland realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Hurtling through…
My book recommendations reflect an abiding passion for Japanese literature, which has unquestionably influenced my own writing. My latest literary interest involves Japanese poetry—I’ve recently started a project that combines haiku and prose narration to describe my experiences as a part-time resident in a 1300-year-old Japanese hot spring town that Bashō helped make famous in The Narrow Road to the Deep North. But as a writer, my main focus remains novels. In late 2023 the second in a planned series of novels set in Ishikawa prefecture will be published. I currently live in Kanazawa, but have also been lucky to call Sapporo, Akita, Tokyo, and Fukui home at different times.
Emmitt’s plans collapse when his wife, Mirai, suddenly backs out of purchasing their dream home. Disappointed, he’s surprised to discover her subtle pursuit of a life and career in Tokyo.
In his search for a meaningful life in Japan, and after quitting his job, he finds himself helping his mother-in-law translate Kanazawa’s most famous author, Izumi Kyoka, into English. He becomes drawn into the mysterious death of a friend of Mirai’s parents, leading him and his father-in-law to climb the mountain where the man died. There, he learns the somber truth and discovers what the future holds for him and his wife.
Packed with subtle literary allusion and closely observed nuance, Kanazawa reflects the mood of Japanese fiction in a fresh, modern incarnation.
In Kanazawa, the first literary novel in English to be set in this storied Japanese city, Emmitt's future plans collapse when his wife, Mirai, suddenly backs out of negotiations to purchase their dream home. Disappointed, he's surprised to discover Mirai's subtle pursuit of a life and career in Tokyo, a city he dislikes.
Harmony is further disrupted when Emmitt's search for a more meaningful life in Japan leads him to quit an unsatisfying job at a local university. In the fallout, he finds himself helping his mother-in-law translate Kanazawa's most famous author, Izumi Kyoka, into English.
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