I was writing yesterday about how one of the prizes for this giveaway is a boxed set of The Expanse, the series of space opera novels made into an the TV series of the same name.
One of the enjoyable aspects of the show — something I understand is in the books as well — is the relatively “hard” sci-fi setting. Ships have to worry about gravity and the lack thereof. There are no ray guns, hyperdrives, or teleporters. Sure, there’s that pesky, physics-defying protomolecule and related shenanigans, but Arthur C. Clarke has your back.
In the realm of hard sci-fi in the very near future, we also have The Martian, which scratched that “science the science” itch I sometime have. It’s kind of like Clarke’s zeal for plausible science matched with Tom Clancy’s zeal for researching technical specifications (as readers of The Hunt for Red October may recall).
The movie’s nice too, but there’s something wonderfully detailed about the novel that makes it a fun page-turner.
For a chance to dive into this and other stories, don’t forget to sign up for the giveaway before this coming Friday!
— Bjorn Munson, Artistic Director, JAT