Catching up on Science Fiction

Reading fiction is always fun. Not much fiction read in the past few years, so the opportunity to read more is always welcome. And given that I've not read much of modern science fiction (anything not by Verne or Wells is something I've not read, and yes they were read a very long time ago), reading SF is even more fun.

After diligently searching for the dead-tree version of 2001: A Space Odyssey, and not finding it anywhere, I finally resigned myself to reading it online. This I did on the day before the AI/Intelligent Systems exam, and was it well written! The story begins with our ancestors being imbibed with the beginnings of intelligence by alien visitors, who then leave a strange monolith on the moon. Fast forward to the year 2001, when that monolith is discovered by a human race that has already colonized the moon. The monolith sends out a signal on discovery, that leads to Saturn. What lies on Saturn? And to think I thought 2001 was all about HAL.

Rendezvous with Rama was my next Clarke novel, whose first chapter I read in a book exhibition where my pockets were empty. I finally found it again in the Institute Gymkhana's library. RwR is the story of a advanced, space-faring, planet-colonizing human race that finally finds one of its fundamental questions --- are we alone? --- answered in the negative. The space "ark" Rama, named so because scientists have run out of Roman and Grecian names and now use Hindu ones, becomes a fascinating place to explore for the human crew who are sent to intercept it. Especially when the long "dead" ship comes alive.

Of course, SF becomes more fun when the plot becomes more plausible. And A Fall of Moondust does not disappoint. Perhaps not as well known as the two above (I first saw it in the library), it is in my opinion, better than the other two. Imagine a human race that has colonized the moon, with tourists invited to tour it too! And then a "busload" of tourists goes missing. They literally vanish off of the face of the moon. And the authorities on the moon are not prepared. Ultimate page turner.