Fuzzy Nation by John Scalzi

• Genre: Sci-Fi
• Age group: Adult
• Pub. date: May 11 2011
• Format: Audiobook
• Pages: 303
• Goodreads link

Jack Holloway works alone, for reasons he doesn’t care to talk about. Hundreds of miles from ZaraCorp’s headquarters on planet, 178 light-years from the corporation’s headquarters on Earth, Jack is content as an independent contractor, prospecting and surveying at his own pace. As for his past, that’s not up for discussion.

Then, in the wake of an accidental cliff collapse, Jack discovers a seam of unimaginably valuable jewels, to which he manages to lay legal claim just as ZaraCorp is cancelling their contract with him for his part in causing the collapse. Briefly in the catbird seat, legally speaking, Jack pressures ZaraCorp into recognizing his claim, and cuts them in as partners to help extract the wealth.

But there’s another wrinkle to ZaraCorp’s relationship with the planet Zarathustra. Their entire legal right to exploit the verdant Earth-like planet, the basis of the wealth they derive from extracting its resources, is based on being able to certify to the authorities on Earth that Zarathustra is home to no sentient species.

Then a small furry biped—trusting, appealing, and ridiculously cute—shows up at Jack’s outback home. Followed by its family. As it dawns on Jack that despite their stature, these are people, he begins to suspect that ZaraCorp’s claim to a planet’s worth of wealth is very flimsy indeed…and that ZaraCorp may stop at nothing to eliminate the “fuzzys” before their existence becomes more widely known.

This was a lot of fun. It’s kinda chill silly sci-fi, the main character teaches his dog to detonate explosives for example, but it also has a few gut punches. Overall it’s pretty optimistic but there’s a bit that gets way sadder than I was expecting from this book. The main character was fun but I feel like I’ve seen him so much, the asshole who messes up all his relationships and only cares about himself as he treasure hunts/flies through space/prospects for precious minerals. He does have some redeeming qualities, and his humor and personality were genuinely fun, just something I’m kinda bored of right now. The fuzzy creatures of the title were great, cat-like in some ways and I am always into that, and I really liked how their story developed.

The Science of Sci-Fi: From Warp Speed to Interstellar Travel by Erin Macdonald

• Genre: Nonfiction
• Age group: Adult
• Pub. date: Nov 19 2019
• Format: Audiobook
• Goodreads link

Science fiction allows listeners to go places they can only dream of seeing—other worlds, distant stars, entirely different galaxies. While not every story is concerned with the hard science behind space travel and other futuristic ventures, fiction can give listeners an amazing insight into what people could be capable of and what people dream of doing.

In the 10 lectures of The Science of Sci-Fi: From Warp Speed to Interstellar Travel, Professor Erin Macdonald interweaves real science and the achievements of the imagination to reveal the truth that underlies favorite stories and sheds light on what the future may hold. From faster-than-light travel to journeys through time itself, science fiction makes humanity seem limitless. So, what scientific boundaries are people pushing against while seeking to fly among the stars?

Listening Length: 3 hours and 59 minutes

This book was perfect for my level of science understanding, which is mildy interested, mostly clueless. It starts very physics 101 which some people might find boring, but I found the style and narration entertaining (and I could use the primer). And then each chapter talks about one aspect like gravity or faster than light travel and how different SciFi handles it. It’s more focused on video games and movies/tv-shows than books, and it’s given me a mighty urge to play Mass Effect. Star Trek comes up a lot, which was fun because I’m watching the original series atm, so now here I am getting excited at dilithium crystals. Pretty short, would heartily recommend.

r/fantasy Bingo squares: Spec fic related non-fiction

Exit West by Mohsin Hamid

• Genre: Contemporary Fantasy/Magical Realism
• Age group: Adult
• Pub. date: March 7 2017
• Format: Print
• Pages: 231
• Goodreads link

In a country teetering on the brink of civil war, two young people meet—sensual, fiercely independent Nadia and gentle, restrained Saeed. They embark on a furtive love affair and are soon cloistered in a premature intimacy by the unrest roiling their city. When it explodes, turning familiar streets into a patchwork of checkpoints and bomb blasts, they begin to hear whispers about doors—doors that can whisk people far away, if perilously and for a price. As the violence escalates, Nadia and Saeed decide that they no longer have a choice. Leaving their homeland and their old lives behind, they find a door and step through.

Exit West follows these characters as they emerge into an alien and uncertain future, struggling to hold on to each other, to their past, to the very sense of who they are. Profoundly intimate and powerfully inventive, it tells an unforgettable story of love, loyalty, and courage that is both completely of our time and for all time.

This was short and a quick read. I loved it, even though it dealt with war and being a migrant, and a lot of loss and fear. Because the focus was so tight on the main couple, and the narration was sort of detached it was sort of more bearable to read than I was expecting based on the subject. It has an omnipresent narrator that occasionally drops in something from the past or the future, or a short scene happening across the world, it’s a storytelling style I really enjoy.

I liked Saeed and Nadia, they’ve got a sort of opposites attract deal, and seeing how their relationship evolved and how they dealt with the rough parts was interesting.

r/fantasy Bingo squares: New to Me

Voltaire in Love by Nancy Mitford

• Genre: Nonfiction
• Age group: Adult
• Pub. date: 1957
• Format: Print
• Pages: 256
• Goodreads link

The meeting of Voltaire, successful financier, famous poet and troublemaker, and the enchanting amateur physicist and countess Émilie du Châtelet, was a meeting of both hearts and minds. In the Château de Cirey, the two brilliant intellects scandalised the French aristocracy with their passionate love affair and provoked revolutions both political and scientific with their groundbreaking work in literature, philosophy and physics.
Nancy Mitford’s account of the love affair of the Enlightenment is, in the author’s own words, ‘a shriek from beginning to end’.

Very fun historical non-fiction about Voltaire being so extra and getting into a million fights while having the best and smartest mistress, countess Émilie du Châtelet. Gave me very life is stranger than fiction vibes. I’m sure none of the fantasy I’ve read set in similar periods was this ok with non-monogamous relationships. Émilie was lovely to read about and it was great learning about a woman who was respected intellectually in her time and how driven she was towards science. She was also very entertaining and between her and Frederick the drama was delicious. Many passages of this book were photographed and DM’d to friends with captions such as “this little shit”, “omg imagine Voltaire on the internet”, and “THE DRAMA!”. Highly entertaining, also probably educational too but I was just here for the drama and it delivered plenty, do recommend.