Three Body

 I came across this Eurorack module the other day.

 

 "Three Body is the latest development from Schlappi Engineering and is a triple digital FM & phase modulation FPGA-based oscillator for Eurorack. As the name suggests, it features three digital oscillators that can be cross-modulated using frequency & phase modulation (FM/PM)"

 

I wonder if the name was inspired by the famous book

"The Three Body Problem" by the Chinese Author 

Liu Cixin

This  book is part one of the “Remembrance of Earth’s Past” triology and is one of my favorite

Hard Sci Fi novels. I think its being made into a mini series on Netflix?

 

Three Body was first printed in Mandarin in 2008 and only translated into English in 2014

Without getting into too many spoilers, its basically about an alien invasion, but

its so different to all the alien invasion stories out there.

It asks some serious questions like:

 

Is humanity worth saving?

Should we be trying to make contact with alien civilizations?

 

Should philosophy guide experiments, or should experiments guide philosophy?

Is science objective?

This is relevant today (COVID & Climate Change) when science and scientists are 

often questioned and shunned by the public.

 

The book is pretty heavy. There are a lot of technicial details on AI and quantum mechanics

which you will need to wade through. And its set in China during the cultural revolution, 

(a period of history I'm not familiar with). 

This is the first Sci Fi book I've read that was translated from Chinese to English

and I wonder what it would be like to read it in Mandarin.

It won the Hugo (2015) prize.

In fact Liu Cixin was the first Chinese writer to win this prestigious award.

This cultural point wasn't lost on me as I read the book.

The world's nations  (esp China) are in a battle for control of technology which will influence our future.

So what is "the three body problem"?

According to Wikipedia:

"a three-body problem is any problem in classical mechanics or quantum mechanics that models the motion of three particles (or bodies)."

 

The motion of two bodies is relatively easy to predict.

 However, the addition of a third body makes predictions of motion very difficult.

 

 

Here is a video of the Schlappi Engineering module

 

 

 

 

....

Flowers for Algernon - Daniel Keyes

 

Flowers for Algernon - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Flowers_for_Algernon

Flowers for Algernon is the title of a science fiction short story and a novel by American writer Daniel Keyes. The short story, written in 1958 and first published in the April 1959 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, won the Hugo Award for Best Short Story in 1960.

 

In 1981, this book was banned from an AK high school because it described the sex act in explicit four-letter terms.

 

d it touches on ethical and moral themes such as the treatment of the mentally disabled 

 

Charly (marketed and stylized as CHAЯLY) is a 1968 American drama film, directed and produced by Ralph Nelson, and written by Stirling Silliphant. It was based on Flowers for Algernon,  

 

 Robertson was nominated for and won Best Actor at the 1969 Academy Awards.for his role in the film Charly.

Dan Simmons - Hyperion - introduction

Hyperion by Dan Simmons was published in 1989.

It has won Hugo (1990) & Locus awards, but  never received the attention of books like Herbert's "Dune" or  Asimov's "Foundation". 

Rumors are that it will soon be a movie.

Maybe this will give it the attention it deserves.

There are 4 books in the series:

Hyperion, Fall of Hyperion, Endymion, Rise of Endymion.

The structure of the novel and it's influences are interesting.

It's composed of a series of tales told by a group of 7 travelers .. kind of like Chaucer's "Cantebury Tales" and Boccaccio's "Decameron".

The title, Hyperion is taken from one of John Keat's (unfinished) poems "Hyperion" which used as a source, the Titan wars of Greek Mythology. 

The poet Keat's is really important. It's the name of one of the cities of the planet Hyperion and the second book "Fall of H" is a series of dreams of the poet.

There are 6 tales in the novel.

1. The Priest's tale

2. The Solder's tale

3. The Poet's tale.

4. The Scholar's tale

5. The Detective's tale.

6. The Consul's tale.

These travelers relate their interlocking tales while on a pilgrimage organized by the "Church of the final atonement" to the Time Tombs of Hyperion.

Each story relates to the the planet Hyperion and gives the opportunity to tell who they are and build

the Simmon's universe.

Their journey takes them to the evil creature known as the "Shrike".... The Lord of Pain.

Each pilgrim has their own unique reason for the journey and they all suspect they will probably never return.

The pilgrims are:

1. Father Lenar Hoyt - a Catholic Priest.

2. The Martian soldier Colonel Fedmahn Kassad (of Palestinian descent).

3. The poet Martin Silenus who was born on Earth (and wrote a book about Earth before it was destroyed).

4. Sol Weintraub, a Jewish professor, with his infant daughter Rachel.

5. The detective Brawne Lamia.

6. The Consul, Merin Aspic.

 

The story is set in the 29th  century.

Old Earth has been destroyed, and humanity has colonized the stars forming the "Hegemony of Man".

Mankind  is allied with the Technocore AIs. This alliance is not all that it seems and I suspect The Technocore doesn't have Mankind's best interests at heart.

The Technocore manages the "All Thing"  ...the connection between all humans. Through this connection, humans can vote on legislation, communicate with each other, and access information instantaneously......reminds me of the internet. Remember, this book was published in 1989.

On the extremity of "Colonized Space" live the "Ousters". These are modified humans (who are at war with the Hegemony of Man).

+ Hugo Awards Best Sci Fi Novels of the 1980's

+ Hugo Awards Best Sci Fi novels of the 1990's

+ Sci Fi links

Hugo Awards 2021

 Just announced

The Hugo awards for 2021

 

 Network Effect, Martha Wells (Tor.com) - best novel

This book is part of the Murderbot Diaries

The books in the series are:

+ All Systems Red (2017)

+ Artificial Condition (2018)

+ Rogue Protocol (2018)

+ Exit Strategy (2018)

+ The Future of Work: Compulsory (2018)

+ Network Effect (2020)

 + Fugitive Telemetry (2021)

------------------

A Murderbot short story, "The Future of Work: Compulsory", taking place before All Systems Red, was published in Wired in 2018.

 

https://www.wired.com/story/future-of-work-compulsory-martha-wells/

Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card

The book originated as a short story of the same name, published in the August 1977 issue of Analog Science Fiction and Fact.

Just 34 pages long.

 The novel was published on January 15, 1985.  

Its 324 pages long.

 

Ender's Game was recognized as "best novel" by the 1985 Nebula Award^[3] and the 1986 Hugo Award[4

Its four sequels—Speaker for the Dead (1986), Xenocide (1991), Children of the Mind (1996), and Ender in Exile (2008)—follow Ender's subsequent travels to many different worlds in the galaxy. In addition, the later novella A War of Gifts (2007) and novel Ender's Shadow (1999), plus other novels in the Shadow saga, take place during the same time period as the original

 

 

In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race's next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers.  

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sci Fi Index

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Bottom of a Hole - Larry Niven

At the Bottom of a Hole", short story review
First published: Galaxy Science Fiction, December 1966.

 

Beware there are some spoilers in this piece. 

This is the third in a series of short stories by Niven about the first Martian explorations. 

It's not an independent story. It's good if you have read the previous ones in this trilogy - "How the Heroes Die"; & "Eye of an Octopus".

The story starts on April 20, 2112 

Humanity has explored The Moon (Luna), Mercury, Venus, Mars & the outer planets like Pluto.

 

There is a huge community living among the asteroid belt of Earth's solar system (Sol System). They seem to be mostly miners & call themselves "Belters". Born far from Earth, and living most of their lives in the depths of space between Mars & Jupiter, Belters are fiercely independent.

 

 

 

 

Earth is ruled by the UN (United Nations).  Mar's doesn't seem to hold much significance for Humanity. Man last visited the red planet about 70 years ago.

 

What struck me about Niven's world building was how close his vision is to that portrayed in the Sci Fi series, "The Expanse".

 

However, in "The Expanse", Mars is a superpower with influence equal to Earth, and the Belters are caught in between.

 

 + The Expanse - James S. A. Corey 

 

 The main character in this novelette (Muller) is a Belter, so it's useful to know a bit about them. 

 

The Belt possesses valuable ores, which are easy to extract due to the nonexistent gravity.

This region was originally under UN control, but is now independent.

Belters live among the asteroids and make their living by mining the ores. 

 

A few quotes from "Bottom of a Hole":

 

" Belters don't need houses. A Belter’s home is the inside of his pressure suit".

 

 "In the Belt smuggling is against the law, but it isn’t immoral. It’s like a flat- lander (man from Earth) forgetting to feed the parking meter. There’s no loss of self-respect. If you get caught you pay the fine and forget it.”

 

"Belters learn to avoid gravity wells. A man can get killed half a dozen ways coming too close to a hole. A good autopilot will get him safely around if, or program an in-and-out spin, or even land him at the bottom, God forbid".  "

This last quote is important. The title of the story is "Bottom of a Hole". 

It's kind of a murder mystery tale.

Muller is a smuggler, and a native of the Belt. He is heading towards Luna but finds himself having to visit

Mars in order to evade a government vessel that is chasing him. His ship is damaged on landing and he has to visit the old human settlement of Bubble Town.

He finds the settlement untouched for 70 years. It is strewn with corpses and he tries to unravel the mystery by reading the crew's old journals and doing some personal detective work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

What bother's me about this story is why no one from Earth returned to rescue these early travelers.

Was there no communication from Earth mission control ?

 

Niven is really good for his Hard Sci Fi. even if modern day discoveries disprove some of scientific knowledge from the 1960s.

He goes into quite a lot of detail about all manner of things such as the Martian surface.

 

"The dust is like thick oil. The moment I stepped onto it I started to sink. I had to swim to where the crater rim slopes out like the shore of an island. It was hard work".

 

"It's meteor debris from vaporized rock. On Earth, dust this fine would be washed down to the sea by rain and turned to sedimentary rock, natural cement. On the Moon there would be vacuum cementing, .......But. here, there’s just enough “air" to be absorbed by the dust surface ... to prevent vacuum cementing . . . and not nearly enough to stop a meteorite. Result: it won’t cement"

 

 

 

 

Without spoiling too much of the story, Muller does piece together the murder mystery.

 

He also does meet the local Martian natives. A battle takes place.

 

------------------------------------

More by Larry Niven:

+ Becalmed in Hell - Larry Niven

+ Bottom of a Hole - Larry Niven

+ How the Heroes Die by Larry Niven 

+ Known Space - Part 1 & 2 - Reading order (Belters & Slower than light travel)

+ Known Space - Part 3 -  Reading order  - Years 2351 - 2650 AD (including the The Man - Kzin Wars) 

+ Known Space - Part 4 - Faster-Than-Light (2651 AD ...

+ Ringworld - Larry Niven   

+ Neutron Star - Larry Niven

+ The coldest Place - Larry Niven

+ The Eye of An Octopus - Larry Niven

+Wait It Out - Larry Niven

 

 

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sci Fi Index

----------------------------------------------  

Neutron Star - Larry Niven

 Neutron Star first appeared in the October 1966 issue (Issue 107, Vol 16, No 10) of Worlds of If. 

I love Larry Niven's works.

Ground breaking stuff for it's time. He attempted to base his stories on reality unlike much out there which is really more fantasy.

 

The story is set in the  Known Space universe.

 It won the Hugo Award for Best Short Story and ranked #30 in the LOCUS Magazine Readers Poll, All-time Best Novellette. 

 

The short adventure is just 14 pages long but it has some notable firsts.

It mentions a neutron star before their existence was widely known. 

The star is named BVS-1. It's featured in the novel Protector (1973), where it is named "Phssthpok's Star".

 

We also meet for the first time the Pierson Puppeteers.

These creatures appear throughout the "Known Space" novels.

These are an advanced alien race with two heads & 3 legs. They are highly manipulative with little empathy

for the suffering of other races. Described as cowardly or diplomatic, they will often turn their back on danger. 

 

"Puppeteers are foremost concerned with their own safety and the survival of their species and try to expose themselves to as little risk as possible.

They do not appear to be disturbed when required to make choices that result in the deaths of billions or trillions." (Wikipedia).

Thus they prefer to manipulate other species into doing their dangerous tasks for them.

The novella also for the first time introduces the General Products Hull for StarShips.

This hull is almost indestructable, and is advertised as being capable of "flying through the upper atmosphere of a star unscathed" (although the occupants many not live).

 

"General Products" is the Puppeteers mercantile empire through which they trade with other species.

 Neutron Star" is  the first time we meet Beowulf Shaeffer, the ex-pilot of many of Niven's Known Space stories.

He is from the planet "We Made It".

 He is a very important character appearing in many later novels.

 

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sci Fi Index

----------------------------------------------

Ringworld - Larry Niven

This is solid classic sci-fi.

Great world building.

It's part of a series.The " Known Space" series.

The books were written by American author Larry Niven.

 

The series is composed of five standalone science fiction novels.

• 1970: Ringworld
• 1980: The Ringworld Engineers
• 1996: The Ringworld Throne
• 2004: Ringworld's Children
• 2012: Fate of Worlds (by Niven and Edward M. Lerner)

Fate of Worlds is also a sequel to the four books of the Fleet of Worlds series, set in the same "Known Space" universe and all written by Niven and Edward M. Lerner:

• 2007: Fleet of Worlds
• 2008: Juggler of Worlds
• 2009: Destroyer of Worlds
• 2010: Betrayer of Worlds
•  
• "Neutron Star" is an English language science fiction short story by American writer Larry Niven. It was originally published in the October 1966 issue (Issue 107, Vol 16, No 10) of Worlds of If. It was later reprinted in the collection of the same name and Crashlander. The story is set in Niven's fictional Known Space universe. It is notable for including a neutron star before their (then hypothetical) existence was widely known.

“Ringworld” was written in Oct, 1970.

It follow the adventures of Louis Gridley Wu, who accepts the invitation to join a young woman and a couple of aliens on a journey to the mysterious Ringworld.

The Ringworld, is a giant object, 600 million miles in circumference, (1 million miles across),

 built around a star. It's a  megastructure, a marvel of engineering, consisting of a greater mass than Jupiter.

The ring has an atmosphere like Earth's and it rotates around the star to provide artificial gravity.

 A compromise between a Dyson Sphere and a planet ?

 

This is definitely a classic and I recommend that anyone interested in Sci-Fi  read it.

However, the story telling is a bit slow and tedious, so be warned. I did struggle with myself to finish it. I think the book may have won it's Hugo award on its concept which is pretty cool for the time.

These travelers become stranded on the hostile ring, and must find a way to get home.

 

Luis Wu, must outplay the murderous Kzin, & conquer the traps the ringworld.

It turns out that the Puppeteers have been manipulating humans for their "luck gene"

and the Kzin for aggression.

It's I guess why they are called puppeteers.

Getting towards the end of the book I realised that the whole novel really is about the female character Teela. Was the entire mission a result of her luck gene? In the end, it unites her with her true love.

It's interesting that luck is considered a genetic trait, that can be strengthened by selective breeding.

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sci Fi Index

----------------------------------------------

The Hainish Cycle - Ursula K. Le Guin

The Left Hand of Darkness is the most famous book in the Hainish cycle - The LHOD was published in 1969.

 

The novel is set in the fictional Hainish universe and many readers describe it as part of the 'Hainish Cycle

although  Le Guin herself often discounted the idea of a "Hainish Cycle", writing on her website that "The thing is, they aren't a cycle or a saga. They do not form a coherent history. There are some clear connections among them, yes, but also some extremely murky ones.

 

The Hainish Cycle is also sometimes referred to as the Ekumen Cycle .

The Hainish Universe consists of different civilizations of human beings on planets orbiting a number of nearby stars. The idea is that humans did not evolve on earth.

 

 Hundreds of thousands of years ago, the people of the planet Hain colonized a large number of worlds including Earth, which they named Terra. Most of these planets were similar enough that humans from one world can pass as natives of another. 

 Hainish civilization eventually collapsed and the colony planets (including Earth) over time lost contact with one another and eventually forgot that other human worlds existed.

 

Ekumen (or the League of All Worlds,

Genly Ai in The Left Hand of Darkness explains that there are 83 planets in the Ekumen, with Gethen a candidate for becoming the 84th

The Hainish novels The Left Hand of Darkness (1969) and The Dispossessed (1974) have won literary awards, as have the novella The Word for World Is Forest (1972) and the short story "The Day Before the Revolution" (1974). 

 You don't necessarily need to read these books in any order.

I read the Left Hand of darkness first.

All the books are pretty stand alone. Left Hand of Darkness is a great place to start! ...

Order of publication

 Rocannon's World (1966), 

Planet of Exile (1966),

City of Illusions (1967)

The Left Hand of Darkness (1969)

The Word for World Is Forest (1972)

The Dispossessed (1974),

 

 

 

 

 

Hainish Reading Order by Ursula LeGuin:

1. Rocannon's World.
2. Planet of Exile.
3. City of Illusion.
4. The Word for World is Forest.
5. The Left Hand of Darkness.
6. The Dispossessed.
7. A Fisherman of the Inland Sea.
8. Four Ways to Forgiveness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ansible

An ansible is a category of fictional devices or technology capable of near-instantaneous or faster-than-light communication. It can send and receive messages to and from a corresponding device over any distance or obstacle whatsoever with no delay, even between star systems. As a name for such a device, the word "ansible" first appeared in a 1966 novel by Ursula K. Le Guin. Since that time, the term has been broadly used in the works of numerous science fiction authors, across a variety of settings and continuities.^[1]

 

^{The word was a contraction of "answerable", as the device would allow its users to receive answers to their messages in a reasonable amount of time,} 

 

 

 

 Sci Fi

 

My sci fi index. 

Synthesizers and Sci-Fi go hand in hand. 

Electronic music is about Futurism. 

Synths and drum machines represent a new future where science and technology 

hold the promise of a better world.

 

From special effects, to movie soundtracks they feed off each other. 

I owe programs such as "Dr Who" and movies like "Star Wars", “Forbidden Planet” and “The Day The Earth Stood Still” a great debt for introducing me to electronic sounds and music. Those early films and programs were enhanced by those synths and they in turn paved the way for commercial artists like David Bowie and Pink Floyd to expose the masses to electronic music.

 I'll update this post over time. .. The link can be found in the index to the right.

+  Asimov's (Isaac) Foundation
+ Asimov  - I, Robot -  - novels & Magazines
+ The Gods Themselves - Isaac Asimov

+ Dune - The Chronological order of the novels
+ Dune Universe Timeline
+ The Hamish Cycle - Ursula K. Le Guin
 

 

 

+ Hugo Awards Best Sci Fi novels of the 1950's
+ Hugo Awards Best sci fi novels of the 1960's
+ Hugo Awards Best Sci Fi novels of the 1970's
+ Hugo Awards Best Sci Fi Novels of the 1980's
+ Hugo Awards Best Sci Fi novels of the 1990's
+ Hugo awards Best sci fi novel of the 2000's (2000 - 2009)
+ Hugo Awards Best Sci Fi novels for the decade 2010-2019

 

 

 

+ Nebula Best Sci Fi Novel awards - 1960s

+ Nebula Awards SciFi Best Novel - 1970s

+ Nebula Awards - Best Novel -1980's 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

+ Ancillary Justice, Ancillary Mercy & Ancillary Sword review

+ Red, Blue & Green Mars - Kim Stanley Robinson  

+ Remembrance of Earth's Past - Cixin Liu (The 3 Body Problem) 

+ Rendezvous with Rama - Arthur C. Clarke

+ Star Wars  

+ They'd Rather Be Right - The Forever Machine by Machine by Mark Clifton & Frank Riley (review)

+ The Gods Themselves - Isaac Asimov 

+ The Man in the High Castle - Phillip K Dick -

+ vorkoisgan saga reading order - Lois McMaster Bujold

Sci Fi Index

 Sci Fi

 

My sci fi index. 

 

The world of Science Fiction is very important to me.

What is sci-fi ??

Is it space opera ? or Marvel ? Must it be "Hard Sci-fi" to be any good?

No, no, No.

I think that the answer lies in the words: Science & Fiction.

Science is full of facts, reason & logic

Fiction is full of ... well fiction ... stories & myths.

The two words are like the opposite poles of a magnet.

They shouldn't be able to exist together.

Yet they can.

This clash is what makes Sci-fi so powerful.

Sci-fi unifies the two worlds into something new and powerful.

Synthesizers and Sci-Fi go hand in hand. 

Electronic music is about Futurism. 

Synths and drum machines represent a new future where science and technology 

hold the promise of a better world.

From special effects, to movie soundtracks they feed off each other. 

I owe programs such as "Dr Who" and movies like "Star Wars", “Forbidden Planet” and “The Day The Earth Stood Still” a great debt for introducing me to electronic sounds and music. Those early films and programs were enhanced by those synths and they in turn paved the way for commercial artists like David Bowie and Pink Floyd to expose the masses to electronic music.

 I'll update this post over time. .. The link can be found in the index to the right.

+  Asimov's (Isaac) Foundation

+ Asimov  - I, Robot -  - novels & Magazines

+ The Gods Themselves - Isaac Asimov

 

 

 

 

+ Dune - The Chronological order of the novels

+ Dune Universe Timeline

+ Dune - Pink Floyd song explained 

 
+ The Hainish Cycle - Ursula K. Le Guin
 

+ The Expanse - James S. A. Corey 

 

• + Keith Laumer

Larry Niven

+ Becalmed in Hell - Larry Niven

+ Bottom of a Hole - Larry Niven

+ How the Heroes Die by Larry Niven 

+ Known Space - Part 1 & 2 - Reading order (Belters & Slower than light travel)

+ Known Space - Part 3 -  Reading order  - Years 2351 - 2650 AD (including the The Man - Kzin Wars) 

+ Known Space - Part 4 - Faster-Than-Light (2651 AD ...

+ Ringworld - Larry Niven   

+ Neutron Star - Larry Niven

+ The coldest Place - Larry Niven

+ The Eye of An Octopus - Larry Niven

+ tHE Warriors - Larry Niven

+Wait It Out - Larry Niven
 

 

+ Dan Simmons - Hyperion - introduction

 

+ Hugo Awards Best Sci Fi novels of the 1950's
+ Hugo Awards Best sci fi novels of the 1960's
+ Hugo Awards Best Sci Fi novels of the 1970's
+ Hugo Awards Best Sci Fi Novels of the 1980's
+ Hugo Awards Best Sci Fi novels of the 1990's
+ Hugo awards Best sci fi novel of the 2000's (2000 - 2009)
+ Hugo Awards Best Sci Fi novels for the decade 2010-2019

 

 

 

+ Nebula Best Sci Fi Novel awards - 1960s

+ Nebula Awards SciFi Best Novel - 1970s

+ Nebula Awards - Best Novel -1980's  

+ Nebula Award winners - Best Novel - 1990s  

+ Nebula Award Winners - Best Sci Fi Novel - 2000's

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

+ Ancillary Justice, Ancillary Mercy & Ancillary Sword review

+ Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card

+ Red, Blue & Green Mars - Kim Stanley Robinson  

+ Remembrance of Earth's Past - Cixin Liu (The 3 Body Problem) 

+ Rendezvous with Rama - Arthur C. Clarke

+ Star Wars  

+ They'd Rather Be Right - The Forever Machine by Machine by Mark Clifton & Frank Riley (review)

+ The Man in the High Castle - Phillip K Dick -

+ The Stars My Destination - Alfred Bester  

 

+ vorkoisgan saga reading order - Lois McMaster Bujold

+ Flowers for Algernon - Daniel Keyes 

 --------------------------------------------------------------------

fav books to read for people who have trouble with sci fi

+ The Three Body Problem Books 1-3

+ Diaspora & permutation city -  Greg Egan

   https://www.josharcher.uk/blog/diaspora-greg-egan-book-review/

   https://www.gregegan.net/DIASPORA/DIASPORA.html
+ Hyperion

Neuromancer - willian gibson
The Man in the High Castle & Ubik  - phillip k dick
Rendezvous with Rama
Stranger in a Strange Land
The Forever War
The Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula le guin
Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead - orson scott 
A Fire Upon the Deep - Vernor Vinge - the first book in the Zones of Thought series
Dune
Red Mars -  Kim Stanley Robinson. 
The Doomsday book - Connie Willis
Foundation - Isaac asimov
The Expanse series - James Corey
Hitchhikers guide
Spin - Robert Wilson
The Martian Cronicles - Ray Bradbury
Fahrenheit 451 - Ray bardbury
Red Rising - Pierce Brown
A brave new world - Huxley
1984

Altered Carbon - Richard K. Morgan 

The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress - Robert A. Heinlein

Dark matter - Blake Crouch

snow crash - neal stephenson

contact - Carl sagan

Blindight - peter wATTS

Ring - Stephen baxter

Dragons Egg - robert  forward

Blood Music - GREG BEAR