Also in exciting today news: my new book is out! Coauthored with @SparksMaths@mathstodon.xyz and @sam_hartburn@mathstodon.xyz, it's called "Maths: 100 Ideas in 100 Words", and what we learned from writing it is that a) there are more than 100 ideas in maths and b) 100 is not enough words to write about them, but we did our best:
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Tak! quoted City of Pearl by Karen Traviss
But humans were full of rights, and very short on responsibilities.
Tak! quoted City of Pearl by Karen Traviss
But in the fullness of time, highly trained professionals in small groups still behave just like real people.
Tak! commented on Maths: 100 Ideas in 100 Words by Katie Steckles
Tak! quoted City of Pearl by Karen Traviss
The universe is not here for our convenience alone. If we assume it is simply our larder, we shall starve. If we think that damage we cannot see cannot cause harm, we shall be poisoned.
Tak! quoted City of Pearl by Karen Traviss
Something went clack against the hull.
A space horror story in six words
Tak! quoted City of Pearl by Karen Traviss
Governments had always made use of cheap, effective terrorism when it suited them.
Tak! quoted City of Pearl by Karen Traviss
But she was damned if one more agricorporation was going to tell her what she could plant and grow and eat.
Tak! quoted City of Pearl by Karen Traviss
I’m an old-fashioned girl. I like my computing in my pocket.
Tak! quoted City of Pearl by Karen Traviss
The bot was immune to the snow, and so was Aras.
Babel
5 stars
Content warning I don't think I can review this without some vague spoilers
Babel is a story of colonialism, racism, sexism, whiteness, Englishness, loss, betrayal, and despair. It's basically a modern parable grittily illustrating the causes and consequences of colonialism.
I love the translation magic mechanism, and I found the embedded etymology tidbits super interesting.
I also appreciate that the author had the courage to allow Bad Things to happen to major characters - not in a GRRM torture porn kind of way, but just as a kind of natural consequence of the world and the characters' interactions.
This is the cost of inflating prices and artificially creating demand. It all works beautifully, until it doesn’t.
— Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution by R.F. Kuang
I'd say this is a warning parable for the entire tech industry, except nobody making decisions would believe or care
3.5 stars
3 stars
Overall I found this to be a good book. It's a decent debut. I think I expected it to have a little more of a creepy factor to it, and in reality I didn't find it to be creepy at all.
I struggled a bit during the ballet sections because I'm not familiar with the terms and had to keep stopping to get an idea of what was being described. I'm sure for those that have done ballet or are familiar with it, those sections will likely be more enjoyable. The cutthroat nature of professional ballet I felt was appropriately handled, but again I've never been into ballet at all, so I could be completely wrong haha.
The description makes it clear that this is a slow burn, but it was verrrry sloooow through a good chunk of it. It started to drag a little too much in the middle …
Overall I found this to be a good book. It's a decent debut. I think I expected it to have a little more of a creepy factor to it, and in reality I didn't find it to be creepy at all.
I struggled a bit during the ballet sections because I'm not familiar with the terms and had to keep stopping to get an idea of what was being described. I'm sure for those that have done ballet or are familiar with it, those sections will likely be more enjoyable. The cutthroat nature of professional ballet I felt was appropriately handled, but again I've never been into ballet at all, so I could be completely wrong haha.
The description makes it clear that this is a slow burn, but it was verrrry sloooow through a good chunk of it. It started to drag a little too much in the middle and I almost DNFd it but I was interested enough to want to know the ending. The last section of the book was very quick to get through and I wish some of the action and suspense had been spread through the book a little more to keep it from dragging.
There's a sequel that will be coming out and I think I might pick it up and see where the story goes.
You’ve done very well, and I imagine you’re quite scared, but you can relax now. The grown-ups are here.
— Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution by R.F. Kuang
Those 19 little words every adult longs to hear
Everyday dialogue became a chore; small talk was a horror, and he lost his grip on what basic salutations meant.
— Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution by R.F. Kuang