Wow! This is a bumper month of releases, and it was tough to narrow down the choices to just a few. But I forced myself :-). So here’s my selection of new science fiction and science books for October. Enjoy!
Attack Surface by Cory Doctorow
The latest techno-thriller from recent Canada Reads nominee Corey Doctorow, set in the same world as his previous books Little Brother and Homeland. Cybersecurity, counterterrorism, and what happens when the consequences of hacking land close to home. Promises to be an engrossing–and disconcerting–read.
Everyday Chaos: The Mathematics of Unpredictability, from the Weather to the Stock Market by Brian Clegg
You need to understand chaos and complexity, argues Brian Clegg, in order to make sense of reality. If you relish math and probability conundrums–and perhaps even if you don’t!–you’ll enjoy this accessible take on a fascinating topic.
The Last Campaign by Martin Shoemaker
A follow-up to the well-regarded The Last Dance, this sci-fi mystery is recommended if you enjoy police procedurals. Plenty of corruption and political conspiracy mixed with the challenges of building a life in a fast-growing Martian city.
Ever Smaller: Nature’s Elementary Particles, from the Atom to the Neutrino and Beyond by Antonio Ereditato
If quirks and quarks have you in a quandary, this is the book for you. A love letter to particle physics, it covers the history and theories in the field, as well as all the still-unanswered questions and the continual quest to break things down into “ever smaller” discoveries.
This Virtual Night by C.S. Friedman
The 2nd in the Alien Shores series is set in the Second Age of Human Expansion, where everyone is born possessing direct mental communication with a computer network called the Outernet. Chock-full of intriguing technological concepts and ancient, unresolved feuds, this will appeal if you enjoy hard sci-fi elements in your space opera.
Space 2069: After Apollo: Back to the Moon, to Mars… and Beyond by David Whitehouse
Incredibly, it’s almost fifty years since man last stepped on the Moon. While many countries are planning to return, it’s still a sad situation. Science journalist David Whitehouse (who also wrote Apollo 11: The Inside Story) speculates on the next fifty years in space–what will happen on the Moon and possibly even Mars?
Machine by Elizabeth Bear
Entertaining space opera with an appealing main character in trauma specialist Dr Jens. Two ships are locked together–one old, one new–and Jens must solve the mystery of what happened. Although tagged as White Space 2, this is not a sequel to Bear’s Ancestral Night but is set in the same universe.
What to Expect When You’re Expecting Robots: The Future of Human-Robot Collaboration by Laura Major, Julie Shah
A somewhat lighthearted title and quirky cover design for a serious topic–the vagaries of human/robot interaction when robots become an everyday part of our workforce and lives. Roboticists Major and Shah examine how we’ll need to adapt and train robots to function effectively in our society.
That’s all for this month. Do you plan to read any of these? If there are other October releases you’re excited about, let me know in the comments.
Need to catch up?
New reads for September
New reads for August
