Beyond the Blue Event Horizon and Heechee rendezvous...

Both interesting novels by Frederik Pohl. As with my other reviews, I really will not get in too much into the plot anybody could look up the plot on the internet today, Wikipedia something like that. With me, it's always the technology that thrills me in the story. If one had the opportunity to read some of the Gateway stories it will be understood that the primary cause of the story has to do with humans finding ancient technology from an advanced civilization.

And the way individuals make their money in this universe is by taking the risk of getting on to advanced spaceships and then going to the destination that the ships had in their navigation computers and returning and of course in returning if you bring something of value the more money you earn. The plot centers around an individual whose name is Robin who took some risk and became wealthy. The other side of the Plot has to do with his ex-girlfriend who got stuck in the event horizon of a black hole.

However I digress, what I find interesting is that there are many stories that indicate that humanity would progress on the basis of leftover or abandoned technology. It is not the first science fiction novel written like that and I am pretty sure it will not be the last one. One has to wonder sometimes do people really think that humanity will meet an extra push from outside to progress? There are other aspects of The Heechee Saga that I would like to explore.

One has to do with artificial intelligence, in the novel you have AI constructs that are supposed to imitate famous people or at least their characteristics before they died. The Saga use Sigmund Freud, Albert Einstein, and others. In fact, sometimes they are called " the dead men". One has to wonder if these constructs are sentient and self-aware. Even towards the end of the novel the "Rendezvous" The main character Robin, dies: And his wife who is an excellent programmer finds a way to transfer his memories and to also place him in an AI construct. The question is, is Robin still alive or not.

If you had read the series I am interested in your opinions.

Comments

The Long Mars

The Long Mars by Terry Pratchett My rating: 3 of 5 stars "The Long Mars," the third installment in the Long Earth series, continues to expand the already vast canvas of Pratchett and Baxter's creation. While the concept of "Joker Mars" – echoing the familiar "Joker Earths" – is intriguing, it's just one of three distinct narrative threads woven throughout this book. We follow Sally Linsay on a journey across the Martian Stepped worlds, unraveling the mysteries her father, Willis, seeks. This exploration of the alien landscapes of the Long Mars is certainly compelling, but personally, it was the storyline involving "The Next" that truly captivated me. Joshua Valiente's arc, which delves into the emergence of these post-human children, is where the book really shines. It's a powerful exploration of prejudice, fear, and the potential societal clashes that arise when faced with the "other." The authors masterfully tackle ...

The Long Utopia

The Long Utopia by Terry Pratchett My rating: 3 of 5 stars In The Long Utopia, a novel in the Long Earth series, the artificial intelligences Agnes and Lobsang embark on a unique endeavor: adopting a human child, Ben, and attempting to build a normal pioneering life on one of the seemingly infinite parallel Earths. However, their peaceful existence takes a dramatic turn with the human pioneers discovering a peculiar species dubbed 'silver beetles'. These insects exhibit an unusual behavior of 'stepping down' to lower-numbered Earths. As the pioneers observe them, a terrifying realization dawns: the silver beetles are not merely migrating; they are systematically transforming their chosen parallel Earth into a colossal Dyson Motor, a structure designed to harness the star's energy. Lobsang, with his advanced analytical capabilities, understands the catastrophic implications. These silver beetles can step sideways to other parallel Earths, potentially converting an...

The Long Cosmos

The Long Cosmos by Terry Pratchett My rating: 2 of 5 stars Having just finished "The Long Cosmos," the final installment in the "Long Earth" series—a collaboration Stephen Baxter completed after Terry Pratchett's passing—I found myself a bit disappointed by the number of loose ends left unresolved. I think a core challenge in classifying this series as traditional science fiction lies in its fundamental premise, which sidesteps the real-world physics limitations of interstellar travel. Knowing the near impossibility of venturing beyond our solar system due to light-speed limits, the authors cleverly engineered the parallel Earth concept as their vehicle for cosmic exploration. Instead of launching spaceships, the characters simply "step" into new worlds. This ingenious workaround allows for adventure without grappling with conventional astrophysical constraints. While "The Long Cosmos" does bring humanity's journey across the infinite ...

Rancid

Search This Blog