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This trilogy is one of the most interesting and ambitious things I’ve ever read. The scale of the story consistently expands, and there is unique profundity to the concepts that the author introduces. It leaves you contemplating the depth of our place in the universe, and the philosophies upon which we entrust ourselves to evolve further into the unknown. It's going to be a Netflix series soon, so read it before it gets ruined by Corporate Money Goblins!
May 30, 2023
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This trilogy is one of the most interesting and ambitious things I’ve ever read. The scale of the story consistently expands, and there is unique profundity to the concepts that the author introduces. It leaves you contemplating the depth of our place in the universe, and the philosophies upon which we entrust ourselves to evolve further into the unknown. It's going to be a Netflix series soon, so read it before it gets ruined by Corporate Money Goblins!
May 30, 2023
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With the Netflix series coming out, I can't recommend the book trilogy enough.
It's the approachable sort of hard sci-fi that delves into complicated concepts without getting too deeply into the weeds. Everything is really well set up and explained, and like all the best trilogies, every book in the series gets better than the one that came before.
It was also written by a Chinese author (Cixin Liu) in the early 2000s, so it offers a unique perspective and gives you a glimpse into how someone from a country like China (the world's second largest economy, but with dramatically different economic/political processes and historical/cultural development than the US or Europe) views the realities of the present and the possibilities of the future (spoiler: its way more optimistic than a lot of Western authors... to an extent).
But most importantly, the series is full of some really interesting ideas and concepts, especially in regard to the Fermi Paradox. It makes you think, imagine, and philosophize, which is what I love about reading sci-fi. Anyway, it's definitely worth reading the series before having your idea of it tainted by the TV show, which will inevitably butcher certain aspects, and tarnish what your imagination could have dreamt up on its own.
Mar 24, 2024
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Obsessed with this Chinese sci-fi novel right now. It's putting to words a lot of the unavoidable existential dread that we're all trying to ignore. I'm not usually a big fan of super hard sci-fi because I'm for the most part scientifically illiterate, but this book does such a good job of making physics poetic and kind of horrifying.
Sep 20, 2022
Top Recs from @jeff-kite
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French Prog Rock from 1979. Are you naked yet? Very little is written about this extremely weird and cool record. I randomly got this on vinyl a long time ago, not knowing what it was, and it has become impossible to find anywhere except of course— someone loaded it onto YouTube a while ago. The magic comes from the DIY nerd-flow of melodic ideas, the bedroom-album ambition, the tactile energy of the tones, and BONUS: there is limited Muso-Overplaying that so much Prog Music gets defined by. It sounds like 1779 had sex with 1979 on a bed of Parisian cassettes.
May 30, 2023
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Scrolling through some of my recently watched…Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972)16th century conquistadores driven to madness in the Andes. You can tell that these dudes were in the shit while filming. Always thought of this film as the original Apocalypse Now. Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski. Good stuff.Badlands (1973)Seen It many times. Timeless visual beauty and performance chemistry between Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek. Terrence Malick’s directorial debut. Love it.Network (1976)This screened the other night in LA while I was out of town so I rented it for the twentieth time. As relevant now as it was then. A stone-cold masterpiece. Paddy Chayefsky won an Oscar for screenplay, but it lost best picture to Rocky. Taxi Driver was also nominated. What a year!Tess (1979)Just saw this for the first time. One of Polanski’s best. Feel like he was inspired by Barry Lyndon.Year of the Jellyfish (1984)A French friend recommended this one. I think it’s kind of cherished by some as a trashy cult classic. But if you’re looking for a film full of gorgeous, topless French women on vacation in San Tropez in the 1980s, this is for you!The West (miniseries) (1996)I rewatch Ken Burns documentaries all the time. Jazz, Country Music, Baseball, Lewis & Clark, all of them. I’ve seen each one multiple times. The West is remarkable. A comprehensive deep dive into 19th century American history. 20-hours replete with unmistakable, soothing Burns-esque narration and somber songs of the old American frontier. Fascinating, harsh and profoundly sad.
May 30, 2023
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19th-century America has captivated me in the last couple of years. Most recently I read, Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne. It’s about the rise and fall of the Comanches, the most powerful Indian tribe in American history. It also tells the story of Cynthia Ann Parker, who was kidnapped by Comanches as a nine-year-old girl, and her mixed-blood son Quannah, who became the last and greatest chief of the Comanches.Also just finished, Nothing Like It In the World: The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad 1863-1869. By Stephen Ambrose.
May 30, 2023