BR: Schild's Ladder

[@RodneyAllanPoe]

I agree with your review for SCHILD'S LADDER. One thing I found about Greg Egan's novels and short stories, is that they are so densely layered and packed with information (that often swamps the plot and characters) that they are very good to re-read. When I do this I tend to forget how well the story and characters work or don't work, and absorb what Egan's main drivers, which are ideas and concepts, and how they might work when extrapolated from current scientific knowledge to the nth degree.

[@omelettedebanana]

Great review! Really liked the animation. It made the explanation more dynamic. Looking foward to next one!

[@themissingn]

@SomeoneVx I will keep making Sci-Fi reviews, but there will be lots of other genres too. SF is my favourite genre, but as you say, few people on KZbin seem to like them, and I need to keep my audience happy too. But thanks for the compliment :).

[@themissingn]

I think you're right, you need a certain fascination for science and hard SF to truly appreciate Greg Egan. I own Permutation City, so I might read that first, but if you recommend Diaspora, I'll put that on my To-Read list as well.

[@TerraceArchimedes]

Just wanted to say that your review on A Clockwork Orange made me search high and low for it. Thanks for the reviews.

[@FrankSlade1983]

I'd like to hear your take on another of Egan's books - Diaspora. It was the first of his books that I ever read and remains one of my favourites. Egan's work has always blown me away, yet so few people seem to have heard of him. I suppose the genre of HARD Sci fi has a fairly niche audience

[@themissingn]

@WhirledSol Yes, I thought that too when I made the review: 'This is something WhirledSol would love to read"

[@themissingn]

@abeeraj ...I'll be reviewing 'Death At Intervals' soon. That one's written in a lovely style and is one of the most poetic books I've read in a long time, so that may be more to your taste. Still, don't let that stop you from trying something new. As an introduction to Science-Fiction there are some less extreme alternatives to Greg Egan (like Asimov). All this being said, remember that you're the one buying the books, and while I can advise you, no-one can stop you from buying what you want.

[@themissingn]

@TerraceArchimedes Oh I'm so pleased! It's so good to know that my reviews are actually inciting people who haven't already read the book :).

[@SomeoneVx]

Heyy could you do more sci/fi reviews unfortunately you are one of the only people who likes to review them on youtube, and plus your reviews are just fantastic!

[@themissingn]

@omelettedebanana I personally find that I lose my concentration when I listen to someone summarizing a plot. The pictures are there to maintain the viewers concentration, as well as provide a substitute for the words if I'm not explaining myself well. It takes some time to do, so I'm glad it's appreciated :)

[@themissingn]

@idleantichrist I have another one of his books, Permutation City, but haven't read it yet. Still, with that kind of Science-Fiction, I'm bound to be getting through some more of his books. Thanks for the suggestion, it's been noted.

[@TerraceArchimedes]

@themissingn My father now apparently wants to read it. Thanks for the reviews Alexander, you're doing great :)

[@FIT2BREAD]

Great take on Schilds. Prob my 2nd fav Egan novel. I love that tho I didnt understand half the physics/quantumn mechanics, it didn't lessen my enjoyment

[@TerraceArchimedes]

It puts the 'science' in science fiction.

[@rngwrldngnr]

There's a spectrum though, in comparison to Schild's Ladder or Orthoganal, everything is fantasy. Including things normally championed as hard sf like Revelation: Space, The Grand Tour or 2001.

[@wombleofwimbledon5442]

Still trying lol. Have you read Psychohistorical Crisis by Don Kingsbury? Far future, slightly more accessible. Good job, by the way!

[@themissingn]

@TerraceArchimedes And therein lies the crucial difference between Fantasy and Sci-Fi

[@themissingn]

@anden150 Yes, it was cool having to imagine what was going on, really messed up sometimes. I maintain what I said about the story itself, though. I'll get round to reading some more Iain M. Banks, if you recommend it. I bought the Algebraist recently, just so that I could have it on my bookshelf. Ja. I mit værelse på loftet.

[@TerraceArchimedes]

@themissingn It's so sad to see that a bunch of proclaimed 'librarians' can't get that right.....

[@themissingn]

@abeeraj Difficult question. The author's tried to make the book accessible to people who aren't already familiar with the stuff. So, as it was a book I really enjoyed myself, I'm tempted to recommend it. However, it requires an effort on the part of the reader. You must be prepared to view the book as a fun way to get introduced to some Physics, and try to understand at least part of the science. If you're looking for a book to read, mostly for its entertainment value, this may not be for you.

[@Lion117]

just bought the book, the version your holding the same design :> :D!

[@TerraceArchimedes]

My comment was very vague - I've just been annoyed when I go to certain bookshops and find a fantasy book put into the science fiction section. Think of something like Game of Thrones or Tales from Earthsea next to War Of the Worlds.

[@fuffoon]

I'd suggest this as a great read to anyone with a degree or more in advanced physics. Personally, I'm pretty much completely lost through 65% of the book whenever it's not on politics or basic discourse. I think the average science fiction fan will be better off just reading the Wikipedia plot description. If you are average like me and you do read this, do it on PC Kindle so that you have access to Wikipedia and Fermi lab pages that can at least help you to understand how really dumb most of us are. Pay particular attention to the Dunning-Kruger Effect, especially if your entire physics and science education is based upon 1000 hours of physics and astronomy documentaries combined with a few dozen T.E.D. lectures.

[@amritkumarpatel5717]

Lol this book freaked me to hell.i had to open thousands of wekipedia pages to understand it