Cyril Maithily Gupta's Blog

These days I am feeling too busy to write on my blog, but reading’s still on cause work can’t catch you in the toilet. I am doing more than a book a week comfortably thanks to the 15 mins of solitude every morning. So I got some more science fiction books from Netaji Subash Marg 10 days ago. They were

1. Forge of God
2. Manseed
3. Sidney’s Comet
… Two more, that I don’t care to name.

All of these three books are distinctive in their own way: Sidney’s comet cause it’s so unconventional, and also so crappy, Manseed because it’s so compact, so unscientific, and yet so interesting, and Forge of God because it evoked real fear in me.

Yes, Forge of God is the special pick. I’ve never rated Greg Bear very highly, but this book has changed my opinion about him. I found it a true Nivenesque hard SF story, written to excite the choosiest Science fiction buffs.

Forge of God is set in contemporary times. That could happen today. The book describes in so many ways how an alien races that wants to snuff out Earth may do so in totality. Leaving nothing alive on the planet, nothing over a virus, and a few stray single celled organisms. As an amateur writer myself, I am strangely fascinated by apocalypse scenarios, and 3 of my stories have themes related to humanity’s end. But I could not imagine that a biological race could aim for total destruction of another planet. Takeover maybe, but total destruction?

That’s why the book frightened me. Because it was reasonable and convincing. The reasons for the destruction, and for the actions of the alien race all seem so logical. Why would an alien race not do this if they had the opportunity?

If you are interested in science fiction, please do read Forge of god if you get the opportunity. It’s a wonderful book, and it will frighten you too. I know this is what Greg Bear set out to do.

The only other book that I found half as bleak was Earth Abides, and it had a happy ending. In the future I am going to read Greg Bear more carefully, and treat his books with more respect. God knows, I’ve skipped buying a couple!! :’(

I think twitter is PURE UNADULTERATED BULLSHIT. I hate its guts and I hope they close down as soon as possible. In case you’re wondering why I am having these unusual fits of vehemence, here’s why.

I read a lot of blogs to update myself on the latest in the programming worlds. Many of these blog entries are from feeds collected by syndications, and other websites, so sometimes I don’t even add a blog and its newest posts shows up. It depends on what the blog writer submits to these syndicated feeds. This is a great way to discover new articles, and great programming bloggers, so I can’t stop doing this.

This twitter thing must be a mania of some sort, because people are going overboard writing about every little shitty thing they do on twitter. Sometimes the feeds from their twitter blogs makes it into my programming blog articles feeds. So I see an interesting headline like: -

“Can’t decide between PHP and ASP.Net”

And I check it out expecting a discussion on the merits and demerits of PHP and ASP.Net, and find this:

“I am still stuck between choosing the path of ASP.NET or PHP. Even though I heard so many opinions. I am in such a mess”

Who the @#$% cares? Dammit! You just killed my 30 seconds, and when I was in a mood to learn.

If you’re twittering, twitter to your pals please. Otherwise write articles that give some details of the problem you’re facing… And maybe a word or two about your take on it.

I am definitely NOT on twitter.

Every sci-fi fan has heard of the gala conventions held in the US. About the author visits, and the discussions among science fiction enthusiasts. It’s an SF lover’s dream to attend such a gathering of like-minded people and discuss things like cyborgs, ftl space, and alien races with people without being classified as totally crazy. Well, a start has been made, and of all places, in Varanasi.

The ‘First Ever National Discussion Science Ficton: Past, Present, Future’ is being held in Varanasi from November 10-14, 2008. The event, jointly organised by National Council of Science & Technology Communication, Indian Science Fiction Writer’s Association, and the Indian association of Science Fiction Studies will bring together science fiction writers and enthusiasts from all over India, and the world.

If you’re a serious lover of science fiction, and can manage to take out 4 days from your schedule in November, this is the place to be. Be there, and play a role in the beginning of a new revolution in science fiction in India.

Here’s the link to the blog of Mr. Arvind Mishra, a huge fan of science fiction, and the person who’s playing an important role in organising this event. You can find more information about the event here.