Klara and the Sun
Kazuo Ishiguro has a knack for digging deep into what makes us human. In this book, he uses Klara an AF (Artificial Friend) to create a layered narrative on what a sentient AI could tell us about ourselves.
Category: Science & Speculative Fiction
The Cyberiad
This is a radically different style of #scifi from what I have read so far. What sets it apart is the underlying ideas and philosophy, and the sociopolitical commentary. When you consider the background machinations of #scifi publishing in the 60s and 70s, it is a little distressing, especially since it also reveals a few clay feet.
The Gollancz Book of South Asian Science Fiction
As the title suggests, the book is a collection of 28 works – some prose and some poetry, from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. I liked the premise of quite a few, but in many cases, it didn’t fulfil the promise. If you have a deep interest in science/speculative fiction from this region, go for it.
Strange Worlds! Strange Times!
There was a time when I used to only read Indian fiction, because I found it more relatable. The only genre that was an exception was science fiction. And now, we have an Indian sci-fi anthology. From a walking Taj Mahal to zombies in Chennai, it has amazing diversity of context and actual storytelling.
Exhalation
Ted Chiang is master of speculative fiction and the nine stories are an example of his abilities – not just the imagination, but the ability to articulate it. There is profound insight in all the stories, irrespective of its length, and across multiple streams – from artificial intelligence to free will. An absolute must-read.