The Dark Forest, by Cixin Liu

I just finished this sequel to the Three Body Problem, and once again my mind is blown. This book left me with a picture of the universe I never imagined... a dark forest indeed. The only complaint anyone seems to have about this series is the characters, and though they are more fleshed out in this one, they …

The Book of Strange New Things, by Michel Faber

I recently discovered that my favorite movie in recent years, Under the Skin, was based on a novel by Michel Faber. I'd never heard of him and decided to try this unusual, sci-fi drama. The plot centers around a Christian Missionary, Peter, who is traveling to a distant world to minister to alien creatures. This …

The Grace of Kings, by Ken Liu

Ken Liu is one of the major names in modern short science fiction, and I'm a big fan. When I heard he had a novel out I jumped at the chance to buy it--only to be disappointed when I found out it was a fantasy novel instead of sci fi. But I got it anyway, …

Music, evolving like an organism

I recently watched this video from one of my favorite YouTube channels, SciShow, and got me off on a thought tangent. I've always wondered about how non-life things could evolve, such as languages and cultures, and music is just the same. It endures the same selection pressures as life, if you take some imaginative interpretations. …