"Sometimes I feel like if you watch things, just sit still and let the world exist in front of you - sometimes I swear that just for a second time freezes and the world pauses in its tilt. Just for a second. And if you somehow found a way to live in that second, then you would live forever."
~ Delirium By Lauren Oliver

Friday, January 13, 2012

Events Proceeding the Helvetican Renaissance

The short story Events Proceeding the Helvetican Renaissance by John Kessel asks a lot of "what if's". What if spaceports and space travel are common? What if the human race nearly died out and had to be brought back in a new way? What if there was a way to suspend life for long amounts of time?
Kessel uses extrapolations to examine how these things might affect human culture and society. What would security be like in this future city? How would technology such as eye scanners help or hinder people? How would religion change in the future? These extrapolations are key parts of the author's examination of a distant future.
Well, I like it and I don't like it. I like it because it was a cool future city that I got to imagine in my head.  I don't like it because it was long and way too drawn out when if could have easily been written shorter and made more interesting. There are also some parts in there that I don't consider sci-fi but rather fantasy, so over all would have to say that I didn't like it tremendously.

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