"It is unwise of some interstellar species to give us technology to leave the Earth; chances that we would use it for star wars are bigger than we would go to the next level and use it for peaceful exploration of the solar system and beyond." - What is Intelligent Life?
As promised in my last post story about one grim political view of the last forgettable year, please behold another glimpse of humanity from another angle. Let's move today from raw reality to reality-inspired fiction and make a little peek into three science-fiction masterpieces. Two of them, products of the current almost expired year, are, if you ask me, making this forgettable year, well, a little less forgettable. But before Daniel Abraham's and Ty Franck's "Babylon's Ashes", the sixth book of The Expanse, and "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story", the Star Wars sequel, I think this is a perfect moment for me to start the review with another classic, in the most genuine meaning of the word—Arthur C. Clarke's "Childhood's End", that also deals with the same topic—humanity, all his weaknesses and soundness, and the potential future based on our current conditions. And about the war that is, as it seems, inwrought in our core to the bone. So deep that we still can't imagine a life or our own evolution without it.
In "Childhood's End", Arthur C. Clarke answered the question of what would happen if everybody on Earth disarmed and dismantled all their weaponry. In his novel, alien races forced people to do just that, and the result of a hypothetical 21st century without militaries and conflict and with just one world-state is described with these words: "The abolition of armed forces had at once almost doubled the world’s effective wealth, and increased production had done the rest. As a result, it was difficult to compare the standard of living of twenty-first-century man with that of any of his predecessors. Everything was so cheap that the necessities of life were free, provided as a public service by the community, as roads, water, street lighting, and drainage had once been".
But we are humans, and evolutionary speaking, only half a step ahead of the most advanced living creature on Earth in the realm of the entire animal world. Therefore, for many years or decades and maybe even centuries in the future, a world without armies, animosities, and all kinds of hatred will only stay in fantasy stories like this one. On the other end, this is what I admire the most about Arthur C. Clarke. In most of his novels and stories, if not them all, this pacifist note is always present, including two other of his masterpieces, "Rendezvous with Rama" and the "Space Odyssey" series. Maybe this fact and the one that there are no real heroes in his imagination from the ordinary 'Hollywood' point of view is what his books will always be considered as classics. "Childhood's End" is no different, and the portrayed possible human evolution with total ascension of human collective mind is something that will give you lots to think about days after the last page in the book is read. There is also a TV miniseries created last year based on the novel, but I warmly recommend a book. They are not comparable after all, even though the script is not too diverted from the original.
However, to make sure this post is a true sequel to the previous one with reflections of this year's political affairs, or hatred, if you will, let's get back to the old good war. The cliche that, if told or filmed right, is guaranteed to bring you back success, glory, and, not the least, money. Please don't get me wrong here; I do like this kind of story with lots of battles, heroes, villains, happy endings, and well-known fights between good and evil. After all, worldwide authors are not the ones who created the mess; they are only inspired by current political, religious, and other types of conflicts in nowadays Earth and her history. This is the exact truth with "The Expanse", the novel series and the last two books in the sequel. What we had in the first four was largely driven by science fiction, the existence of alien protomolecules, and the Gates system. The last two are all about war and expanding conflict between people living on different planets, moons, stations, and asteroids. Even though concluding the conflict at the end of "Babylon's Ashes" is anticipated from the beginning, and with good guys winning as expected, the story is written pretty well, and one year of waiting for a conclusion was worthwhile for me, and reading ended with a great dose of entertainment. However, while "Childhood's End" is leaving you with many thoughts with its imaginative ending, "Babylon's Ashes" left only with the bitter impression that humanity in its core didn't change in the span of 200 years and all the hatred survived with only a different background. All the racial, class, religious, and all kinds of known animosities survived just the same and spread across the solar system, creating another series of wars, only this time with railguns.
On the other end, and also contrary to "Childhood's End", SyFy TV show of "The Expanse" is really extraordinary and exceptional. It is advertised as the best science fiction show after Battlestar Galactica, and I fully agree. The first season was simply great, and the visual effects are only adding another value to the equally exceptional novels. When I first wrote about "The Expanse" in posts Martian vs. Expanse and Science of Life in the Solar System, I expressed all the hope that all the characters, places, events, and scientific tools, as well as gravity and its changes, would be portrayed in the series just as it was in the books, and after the first season, I can only confirm that they didn't divert at all, and with all the filming technologies and effects, managed to provide the same experience as the one from the reading. On some occasions even better, as one space opera, or franchise, is perhaps more suitable for the screen than for just the words. I do recommend both, especially because the books are way ahead of the TV show, keeping in mind that filming only started last year.
And finally, at the end, the series that doesn't even hide the word "wars", even from its title. Sadly, since the first three movies were filmed long ago in the era of the old FX 'analogue' special effects, "the war" in the galaxy far, far away didn't really look too great. Don't get me wrong again now; it was awesome for the time being, but indeed, warfare was not the prime theme in the first movies, perhaps with a little exception in "The Empire Strikes Back". But even that one is only a little. The next three movies came later to fill the gap, but, even with decent effects and storylines, with me, they left only a feeling for "Star Wars" being more a fairytale for children than one serious franchise. Somebody says Jar Jar Binks? The effect was little improved with last year's "The Force Awakens", but I have to admit that I had more hopes in that one. It was good alright, but still the feeling was not really perfect. Maybe over the years we all ended with too much high expectation?
And then just a week ago came "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story". Finally, the 'Star Wars' movie that really, well... is about the 'war'. The real and raging war. Believable one. With tremendous action and a fabulous end. With good guys dying just as the bad ones. With only a hint of the force and fairytales. And with believable death stars and exciting space battles. If they removed the sound of spacecrafts in the void of space, I would definitely be the happiest person in the theater, as this was the only thing I noticed bad in the movie. Maybe for the good feeling, I should credit the low expectations I fixed for the projection this time, or maybe it was the festivity of the second half of December or even the fact that Cineplexx opened a brand new theater in our neighborhood, but nevertheless, like at the end of the movie, I think Star Wars with this one earned new hope for the future.
Well, that would be my glimpse into the world of science fiction for this year. There were more novels and movie sequels I can remember I read or watched during the year (Star Trek Beyond, Patrick Lee's The Breach Series, Matthew Mather's Nomad series, our Game of Life adventure, "The X-Files" season 10, and even decent "10 Cloverfield Lane" and "Spectral"), and overall I dare to say that this year and especially this December improved the impression a little for the one forgettable year I described in my last post. Let's see what the next one will be in both reality and fiction. Anyway, happy 2017th!
Image refs:
http://gmonster320.blogspot.com/2015/12/childhoods-end-episodes-1-3-reviews.html
http://www.space.ca/the-expanse-season-2-first-look/
http://www.slashfilm.com/star-wars-rogue-one-concept-art/
http://www.wallpaperbetter.com/rogue-one-a-star-wars-story
The Expanse, Expanded (Adam Savage):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8vR2FB1PGM
As promised in my last post story about one grim political view of the last forgettable year, please behold another glimpse of humanity from another angle. Let's move today from raw reality to reality-inspired fiction and make a little peek into three science-fiction masterpieces. Two of them, products of the current almost expired year, are, if you ask me, making this forgettable year, well, a little less forgettable. But before Daniel Abraham's and Ty Franck's "Babylon's Ashes", the sixth book of The Expanse, and "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story", the Star Wars sequel, I think this is a perfect moment for me to start the review with another classic, in the most genuine meaning of the word—Arthur C. Clarke's "Childhood's End", that also deals with the same topic—humanity, all his weaknesses and soundness, and the potential future based on our current conditions. And about the war that is, as it seems, inwrought in our core to the bone. So deep that we still can't imagine a life or our own evolution without it.
Childhood's End
In "Childhood's End", Arthur C. Clarke answered the question of what would happen if everybody on Earth disarmed and dismantled all their weaponry. In his novel, alien races forced people to do just that, and the result of a hypothetical 21st century without militaries and conflict and with just one world-state is described with these words: "The abolition of armed forces had at once almost doubled the world’s effective wealth, and increased production had done the rest. As a result, it was difficult to compare the standard of living of twenty-first-century man with that of any of his predecessors. Everything was so cheap that the necessities of life were free, provided as a public service by the community, as roads, water, street lighting, and drainage had once been".
But we are humans, and evolutionary speaking, only half a step ahead of the most advanced living creature on Earth in the realm of the entire animal world. Therefore, for many years or decades and maybe even centuries in the future, a world without armies, animosities, and all kinds of hatred will only stay in fantasy stories like this one. On the other end, this is what I admire the most about Arthur C. Clarke. In most of his novels and stories, if not them all, this pacifist note is always present, including two other of his masterpieces, "Rendezvous with Rama" and the "Space Odyssey" series. Maybe this fact and the one that there are no real heroes in his imagination from the ordinary 'Hollywood' point of view is what his books will always be considered as classics. "Childhood's End" is no different, and the portrayed possible human evolution with total ascension of human collective mind is something that will give you lots to think about days after the last page in the book is read. There is also a TV miniseries created last year based on the novel, but I warmly recommend a book. They are not comparable after all, even though the script is not too diverted from the original.
Babylon's Ashes of The Expanse
However, to make sure this post is a true sequel to the previous one with reflections of this year's political affairs, or hatred, if you will, let's get back to the old good war. The cliche that, if told or filmed right, is guaranteed to bring you back success, glory, and, not the least, money. Please don't get me wrong here; I do like this kind of story with lots of battles, heroes, villains, happy endings, and well-known fights between good and evil. After all, worldwide authors are not the ones who created the mess; they are only inspired by current political, religious, and other types of conflicts in nowadays Earth and her history. This is the exact truth with "The Expanse", the novel series and the last two books in the sequel. What we had in the first four was largely driven by science fiction, the existence of alien protomolecules, and the Gates system. The last two are all about war and expanding conflict between people living on different planets, moons, stations, and asteroids. Even though concluding the conflict at the end of "Babylon's Ashes" is anticipated from the beginning, and with good guys winning as expected, the story is written pretty well, and one year of waiting for a conclusion was worthwhile for me, and reading ended with a great dose of entertainment. However, while "Childhood's End" is leaving you with many thoughts with its imaginative ending, "Babylon's Ashes" left only with the bitter impression that humanity in its core didn't change in the span of 200 years and all the hatred survived with only a different background. All the racial, class, religious, and all kinds of known animosities survived just the same and spread across the solar system, creating another series of wars, only this time with railguns.
On the other end, and also contrary to "Childhood's End", SyFy TV show of "The Expanse" is really extraordinary and exceptional. It is advertised as the best science fiction show after Battlestar Galactica, and I fully agree. The first season was simply great, and the visual effects are only adding another value to the equally exceptional novels. When I first wrote about "The Expanse" in posts Martian vs. Expanse and Science of Life in the Solar System, I expressed all the hope that all the characters, places, events, and scientific tools, as well as gravity and its changes, would be portrayed in the series just as it was in the books, and after the first season, I can only confirm that they didn't divert at all, and with all the filming technologies and effects, managed to provide the same experience as the one from the reading. On some occasions even better, as one space opera, or franchise, is perhaps more suitable for the screen than for just the words. I do recommend both, especially because the books are way ahead of the TV show, keeping in mind that filming only started last year.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
And finally, at the end, the series that doesn't even hide the word "wars", even from its title. Sadly, since the first three movies were filmed long ago in the era of the old FX 'analogue' special effects, "the war" in the galaxy far, far away didn't really look too great. Don't get me wrong again now; it was awesome for the time being, but indeed, warfare was not the prime theme in the first movies, perhaps with a little exception in "The Empire Strikes Back". But even that one is only a little. The next three movies came later to fill the gap, but, even with decent effects and storylines, with me, they left only a feeling for "Star Wars" being more a fairytale for children than one serious franchise. Somebody says Jar Jar Binks? The effect was little improved with last year's "The Force Awakens", but I have to admit that I had more hopes in that one. It was good alright, but still the feeling was not really perfect. Maybe over the years we all ended with too much high expectation?
And then just a week ago came "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story". Finally, the 'Star Wars' movie that really, well... is about the 'war'. The real and raging war. Believable one. With tremendous action and a fabulous end. With good guys dying just as the bad ones. With only a hint of the force and fairytales. And with believable death stars and exciting space battles. If they removed the sound of spacecrafts in the void of space, I would definitely be the happiest person in the theater, as this was the only thing I noticed bad in the movie. Maybe for the good feeling, I should credit the low expectations I fixed for the projection this time, or maybe it was the festivity of the second half of December or even the fact that Cineplexx opened a brand new theater in our neighborhood, but nevertheless, like at the end of the movie, I think Star Wars with this one earned new hope for the future.
Rogue One in new Cineplexx in Niš, Serbia
Well, that would be my glimpse into the world of science fiction for this year. There were more novels and movie sequels I can remember I read or watched during the year (Star Trek Beyond, Patrick Lee's The Breach Series, Matthew Mather's Nomad series, our Game of Life adventure, "The X-Files" season 10, and even decent "10 Cloverfield Lane" and "Spectral"), and overall I dare to say that this year and especially this December improved the impression a little for the one forgettable year I described in my last post. Let's see what the next one will be in both reality and fiction. Anyway, happy 2017th!
Image refs:
http://gmonster320.blogspot.com/2015/12/childhoods-end-episodes-1-3-reviews.html
http://www.space.ca/the-expanse-season-2-first-look/
http://www.slashfilm.com/star-wars-rogue-one-concept-art/
http://www.wallpaperbetter.com/rogue-one-a-star-wars-story
The Expanse, Expanded (Adam Savage):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8vR2FB1PGM