fiction
imperfect future
What kind of world would humanity build if it had another chance to do the right thing?
Terra Formars
Annalee Newitz
Tor Books, 2023 ($28.99)
A good story often starts with a tantalizing “what if”.of Terra Formarsthe new novel by i09 founder and former Gizmodo Editor-in-Chief Analee Newitz, the central question puts our planet’s existential crisis straight to the point. No What if people had the opportunity to create a cleaner and fairer Earth 2.0 to build a sustainable and equitable future?
It should come as no surprise to anyone that the answer is a resounding “well, maybe.” Newitz’s formidable imagination cannot change the fact that people are people. Yet the novel wisely argues that humans may be the planet’s greatest resource, especially if the term is extended to include sentient forms well beyond humans. I’m here. Even if it takes a thousand years of creativity to offset the corruption of greedy corporations, unethical developers, incompetent governments, and standards issues.
The first scene of the novel depicts the classic sci-fi representation of “first contact,” in which representatives of two civilizations meet on an alien world.Except in this case, the alien world is an early-stage planet called Sask E, modeled after the original Earth by a terraforming company known as Verdance, and the first encounter is two very different versions of him. of clever personOne is a resource-plundering, trash-speaking, trash-producing, remote-controlled proxy, while the other shows what happens when someone tries to mess with her boreal forest. , Destry, an Environmental Rescue Ranger.
Sask-E at first seems like a paradise of wild beauty and endless possibilities. But as kind-hearted Destry discovers, the developer who created Sask-E and has both her work and her life in her hands isn’t trying to make the world a better place. Their real goal, not surprisingly, is profit. The discovery of an underground civilization on Sask-E forces Destry to take sides in a conflict that will change the future of her beloved planet.
From here, the novel leaps forward through time. After all, terraforming is a slow process, and readers obsessed with Destry’s character may be sad to learn that this isn’t actually her story. Jump over generations of people that follow. A fascinatingly diverse collection of Rangers, Scientists, Engineers, and a very lovable Autonomous Flying Train. If the antagonists in Newitz’s novel are thinly outlined, it’s probably because the novel’s “what ifs” are big. A fairly wide stroke is required. Each character plays a role in answering whether well-meaning people can save the best part of Sask-E from the worst accusations of a runaway consumer culture fostered by slimy corporate profits and lazy governments. fulfill the
As Sask-E’s rise, destruction, and slow road to salvation unfold over millennia, Newitz’s attention turns to the complex symbiotic relationship between technology and culture. It’s another classic trope of his in sci-fi, also explored in his 2021 non-fiction book. Four Lost Cities: The Secret History of the Urban AgeThe same technological innovations that propel a civilization to new heights of achievement can also contribute to its collapse.
But with Sask-E, technology has enabled a whole new definition of personality. Animals, robots, hybrids, even doors and worms are communicating with humans in the future. And they all have a valid seat at the negotiating table thanks to the Galactic Accord known as the Great Bargain. , inclusive language, and thorny issues of sexual freedom will be reassessed. (If you’ve ever wondered how sentient trains can bond with robots and cats, the answer is here. As one character puts it, “Where there’s desire, there’s data. ”)
It may sound tedious, but it opens up a thrilling new avenue of hope that Earth 2.0 might succeed. Terra Formars, refreshingly, is the opposite of the dystopia that has become so common in climate fiction. Newitz’s mild-mannered sense of humor steers the story away from starry optimism, but future generations will study the novel as a primer on how to embrace solutions to the challenges we all face. If we are to save ourselves from ourselves, perhaps what we need is a new way of thinking about ourselves.Siobhan Adcock.
Siobhan Adcock is the latest novel perfectionist.
Non-Fiction
blood money
A movie tour of ambition, greed and despair in biotechnology
For blood and gold: Billionaires, biotech, and the quest for blockbuster drugs
Nathan Vardi
WW Norton, 2023 ($30)
“Finding new treatments that target only cancer cells and not kill healthy cells has become the ultimate goal of cancer drug development,” said Nathan Vardi, Editor-in-Chief and former editor of MarketWatch. is writing Forbes.for blood and gold One class of such products (“targeted small molecule drugs” designed to fight blood cancers) followed the path, eventually leading to two biotech companies battling each other in a market race for unimaginable salaries. The day will come. Readers are introduced to the machinations of a Scientologist, a restless entrepreneur, a clinical expert, and a millionaire looking for his next billion-dollar blockbuster. In the middle of the friction between ambition and greed are patients desperate for therapy and more time.
The story begins with Pharmacyclic, a small California biotech company working to develop a leukemia drug. Along the way, we meet charismatic and sometimes fickle managers and investors, revolving doors where employees are hired, fired, and new companies (and competitors) are launched.
Vardi explores the FDA’s problematic and notoriously slow market approval process, but the pace of the book remains fast. With the focus on characters moving from chapter to chapter and the sheer number of names (people, companies, drugs) included in detail, I sometimes feel the need for a color-coded org chart.
A particularly disturbing factor in the biopharmaceutical quest as a magic bullet is the way powerful investors are powering medical strategies. The scientific quest for cures often comes first and seems overwhelmed by an extraordinary desire to reap the highest benefits.I may be forgiven for wanting to change the name of the book for money and bloodEarnings are astronomical, but investors still consider how much is left “on the table.”
Still, there are meaningful collaborations, and many of the characters in the book genuinely want to do the right thing for patients with deadly diseases. We clearly recognize the people who (and continue to benefit from). But the banks, investors and hedge funds leading the study highlight the overall health care system, which feels its priorities skewed.
A master of Wall Street and Biopharma, Valdi paints the nuances of both in a vivid and cinematic way. We can already imagine the movie version. —Mandana Chapha
simply
Land Under Ice: A Pioneering Year for Radar Exploration in Antarctica
By David J. Drewry
Princeton University Press, 2023 ($39.95)
Glaciologist David J. Drewry takes readers to the frigid research hub. So he and his colleagues developed a radio-echo technique to probe the depth of the Antarctic ice sheet. Drewry explains how this new technology has emerged to compensate for the deficiencies of past methods, then explores how invisible mountains and, worrisomely, lakes beneath the ice melt. I would like to share my own experience doing mapping that hastened the Sprinkled photographs and hilarious personal anecdotes illustrate the inevitable excitement and frustration during scientific exploration. —Fiona MD Samuels
deluge
Stephen Markley
Simon & Schuster, 2023 ($27.99)
Stephen Markley’s epic novel creates an authentic panorama of a world ravaged by climate change while magnifying the struggles of people caught in a vast and constant turmoil. Both Fire and 6Degrees seek to provoke governments and industry to deal with the climate crisis, but their different philosophies lead them down different paths as society crumbles. Markley’s bleak depictions of the near-future are filled with vivid depictions of climate catastrophe, but his intricate network of characters balances accuracy and pathos, embracing a changing planet and humanity. It offers a kaleidoscopic view of complex relationships.Dana Dunham
that: How Ancient Ideas Hold the Future of Physics
heinrich pass
Basic Book, 2023 ($32)
Which is more fundamental, the many or the one? Author Heinrich Pass believes that gestures in physics are so simple that the underlying unity can be counted on one finger. If only physics accepted monism, its deepest mysteries would succumb to its magical numbers. Declared a heretic in Paz’s story. Even if the relationship between ancient monism and modern science is tricky and Bohr is reduced to a caricature, history is thoroughly researched, physics is cutting edge, and the bigger points in the path are Resonate. It’s a product of our limited perspective. —Amanda Gefter
