3: Trilogies that every geek must read

What can I say I like the number three.   My predisposition to 3 was set way back in elementary school when you have to make some major decisions. The favourite list was rebounded at recess while me and my friends would negotiate who was our all time best friend ,  second best friend,  best friend at guides,  best friend during summer vacation, I think you know where I am going with this.   Did your favourites match your friend's and if not  could you live with that?   In the interest of science here was my grade 5 Favourite List.   Favourite colour?  yellow,  Candy bar?  Chunky, Chips?  Salt n Vinegar, Pop?  Cream soda, Subject?  English, Gym sport?  floor hockey, Song?  Footloose/Beat It, Movie?  Footloose/ Empire Strikes Back, E.T.   Would we be running in the same crowd?

In honour of 3 here are 3 Sci-Fi  trilogies  

1.  Gaea Trilogyy:  Titan, Wizard, Demon by John Varley
Briefly introduced in my Contact post, the Gaea trilogy is one of those books that starts out weird and ends weirder.  I've read them twice now, even had to go out and replace Wizard because Dune Husband left it in a B&B in P.E.I., the summer of 2009; I thought I was over that but apparently not. He is also the same person that destroyed two of my original Dune books resulting in me no longer owning the complete collection. I am fully aware that I am not over that.

Back to the wonderful weirdness of Gaea, Gaea is a sentient, celestial body that has moved into our Solar System.  Six brave astronauts are sent to investigate, learning quickly that their awareness of the world needs to be greatly expanded.  The series introduces a whole new world loosely based on mankind but with a cinematic point of view. The astronauts find themselves stranded on alien-like soil with the survival in great jeopardy. The novel is" first contact"/ love story/ horror/ adventure story.   There are times in Demon that had enough as the strangeness overwhelmed even my ability to appreciate the odd.  Things get pretty nuts.  For example, Gaea takes on the bodily form of Marilyn Monroe and causes pure hell on those that live in her.  If you feel like getting weird but don't want to go all out Vernor Vinge weird (next post, don't worry) the Gaea trilogy is for you.

2.  WWW Series: Wake, Watch, Wonder by Robert J. Sawyer
The books follow the life of Caitlin Decter, a blind 16 year old who has recently moved to Waterloo, ON from the States because of her Dad's work at RIM.   Approached by a Japanese researcher who has developed a new signal-processing implant, she is given the opportunity to regain her sight.  With the implant in place she is not only able to see but is able to see the web in all it's great vastness and intricacies.  While this is fascinating on it's own the true genius of the series is what she discovers in the web or more accurately who. It's a great read full of action and believable characters.  Plus, Sawyer is Canadian, what more do you need?

3.  Foundation Series:  Foundation, Foundation and Empire, Second Foundation, Asimov
Interesting how the Foundation Series keeps sneaking into my posts.   What can I say that hasn't been said before? Just read them okay, consider it homework.  

Contact: A Review of Stranger in a Strange Land

As I am embark of my first ever read of a Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein I am struck by the similarities this book has to other books sitting in my bookcase. The first three pages are reminiscent to Blindsight by Peter Watts and Titan by John Varley.  I like how I casually threw in two major works of fiction with one having a vampiric crew member and the other introducing you to a sentient god-like celestial body.  Hey, I never claimed I was going to take things slowly.  If you are going to explore sci-fi you kind of have to go for it.   

Like any genre, Science Fiction is multi-faceted. There are major themes and archetypes that make it quite easy for a reader to find his or her's niche.  While convenient it does tend to keep people from really exploring new authors.  Then again, this might be my problem not yours.  I know what I like but more importantly I know what I think I don't like.  Over this year of reader exploration I am going to look deeper into those themes and document what type of a reader I truly am.  

But back to the books.  All three fall under the "First Contact" theme.  Man builds space ship, man finds a suitable crew, man has first contact with new species, man's life becomes a living nightmare with the author successfully (or not) slipping in some type of lesson amidst all of the weirdness.  For some reason this theme is right up my alley.  I love the idea of being locked in a ship for possible decades  with a group of people I quickly will loathe to then end up somewhere that I did not expect and have to adapt or die.  What the hell is wrong with me?

Take my husband for example, this theme is not something he would gravitate to. When you are married to a man who discusses aliens in the same vein as other's discuss the war on terror, you know you really do not want to feed this person's anxiety.    One of the first things he had to tell me this morning was that there is documented proof of two Russian fighter jets following a U.F.O .   This was conveyed not in a gleeful, "can you believe that" tone but from a dead pan, "it's time to buy the generator and move to Newfoundland seriousness".  While some families have a house fire exist strategy in play we have an Armageddon strategy.  Basically it is high tail it to The Rock.  We (husband) haven't thought further than that. The sad thing is you think I am joking.  

So, yes if you would like go out and acquire Stranger in a Strange Land, let's  read it together and discuss.  And this current stage I am somewhat intrigued but somewhat annoyed.