You Will Never Die

If I ever decided to abandon any pretense of integrity or credibility, and just shoot for making a bazillion dollars peddling quantum hokum, the particular brand of quantum philosophy I would peddle has already been laid out, in Robert Charles Wilson’s Divided by Infinity. In the story, the narrator is given a copy of a… Continue reading You Will Never Die

Cryoburn by Lois McMaster Bujold [Library of Babel]

I don’t believe the actual book is out yet, but you can get an electronic Advance Reading copy of the Nth Miles Vorkosigan book, Cryoburn already. Kate picked up a copy, and while she hasn’t gotten around to it yet, I read it this week while putting SteelyKid to bed. The book is another “Lord… Continue reading Cryoburn by Lois McMaster Bujold [Library of Babel]

All the Myriad Inceptions

In comments to yesterday’s post about my favorite Many-Worlds story, a couple of people mention “All the Myriad Ways,” a Larry Niven short story. I don’t think I’ve ever actually read the story, but it gets brought up all the time, so I’m familiar with the concept. It’s an angle on Many-Worlds that I don’t… Continue reading All the Myriad Inceptions

Many-Worlds in Fiction: “Divided by Infinity”

Today, Tor.com has posted the complete story “Divided by Infinity” by Robert Charles Wilson. This remains probably the best science fiction story ever using the Many-Worlds interpretation of quantum physics (though it doesn’t call it that explicitly), and also the creepiest: In the year after Lorraine’s death I contemplated suicide six times. Contemplated it seriously,… Continue reading Many-Worlds in Fiction: “Divided by Infinity”

My Hugo Awards Ballot

The voting for the 2010 Hugo Awards closed last night. I sent in my ballot yesterday, but I’m trying to limit my computer time this weekend, so I didn’t post about it until today. The following lists are my votes, with miscellaneous commentary. The Hugos use a complicated vote-counting scheme, including a “No Award” option… Continue reading My Hugo Awards Ballot

Hugo Reading: Unpleasant Short Fiction

I have now finished all of the short fiction on this year’s Hugo Award ballot (links to most nominees are available here), and I have to say, the pickings here are pretty slim. The stories that aren’t forgettable or preachy are deeply unpleasant, leaving me wanting to put a lot of stuff below “No Award.”… Continue reading Hugo Reading: Unpleasant Short Fiction

Recent SF Reading

Since I’m at Boskone, talking and listening to people talking about science fiction and fantasy literature, it seems appropriate to do a quickie post listing notworthy genre stuff I’ve read recently. There isn’t that much of it, as I’ve been doing a lot of non-fiction reading, and also slightly preoccupied with book promotion. Still, I’ve… Continue reading Recent SF Reading