Hiking on Pluto: The travel blog with a twist.
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S. K. Vaughn: Across the Void
It’s hard to imagine a more intriguing opening scene than an all-dark exploration vessel drifting in deep space, with the tune Silent Night reverberating on empty corridors, and the ship’s commander suddenly waking up buried in hypothermic gel in an intensive-care cocoon. Unremitting suspense is among the best qualities of Vaughn’s novel. Mysteries are everywhere…
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The 10 best SF books of all time
Sooner or later, all SF fans end up compiling their very own best-of list of science fiction books. There’s a risk of getting emotional – once I had an hour-long passionate argument (would not go as far as to say fight, but voices were raised) with a friend over which of Wyndham’s books to add,…
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The Seven Summits of the Solar System
Conquering the seven highest peaks of seven continents on Earth is classic challenge to some, trodden path banality to others. It’s been done by at least 100, some estimate by 500 people, including by a 76-year old mountaineer, a married couple and a mother-daughter climbing pair. The current fastest record-holder bagged all seven peaks in…
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The 7 best active holiday destinations in the Solar System
While Planet Earth certainly offers excellent hiking and adventure opportunities, none of these involve methane river rafting, a 20 kilometre-drop from a cliff top or cryovolcanoes [link]. On the other hand, only a handful of Earth peaks would call for wearing an oxygen mask, and no destination on the home planet would require a full…
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The 10 worst things about living in Bangladesh
There were a good number of things I liked in Bangladesh [The 10 things I liked best in Bangladesh], but still, it is considered a hardship posting for a reason, and during my three years, I did find a number of things stressful, irritating or just alien. Here’s the ten things I liked least in…
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The 10 things I liked best in Bangladesh
Bangladesh was in many ways unexpected, and a long-term stay in my discomfort zone [The 10 worst things about living in Bangladesh]. But there were things I enjoyed at the time, and I’m surprised how much I’m still missing them! Lightning storms in Bangladesh are a whole different scale from what I had seen before.…
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Sergei Lukyanenko: Genome
I’ve known Lukyanenko as a phenomenal fantasy author, with his bestselling Night Watch series. The hexalogy held me in its grips for a year at least, while I obsessively re-read all the books five times, and felt genuinely disappointed for not being initiated into the Night Watch. Or the Day Watch, for want of options.…
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Sue Burke: Semiosis
Could you have any shared values with a plant? Semiosis is an original first contact novel in the sense that it describes first contact with a plant species. The immediate parallel jumping to mind is Wyndham’s “Day of the Triffids” [10 Best SF books] – but there humans confront plants on Earth proper, and there’s…
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Ben H Winters: The Last Policeman
Waiting for the imminent end of the world is a well-navigated topic in SF – from absolute classic “On the Beach” (Shute) to Wilson’s amazing “Spin”. Reading The Last Policemen frequently brought to mind both novels – the narrative thread of searching for meaning in the face of annihilation, obviously, but with Spin, also in…
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Hiking on Pluto
Hiking on Pluto would bear similarities to hiking in the Himalaya on Earth. The tallest peaks on Pluto are even named after the first climbers to reach Mount Everest – Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary. The highest peak, at 6200 meters, is also comparable to Mount Everest if we consider this height base-to-top. It is…