Lastly if you'd like to read some speculative fiction that presents a frighteningly plausible idea of what the intersection of almost 100% remote work and almost 100% gig economy, with AI driving extreme automation, could look like in 80 years check out #Machinehood by @sbdivya

I finished the new novel #Meru by @sbdivya a few days ago and I'm still processing it. But I heartily recommend reading it, and I'll mention a few things I really loved about it just to whet your appetite. I might edit this later as I think about it longer.

- threads the #worldbuilding needle perfectly by introducing the setting and context gradually so I didn't have to constantly re-read early sections to get a grip on it
- reframes a congenital human #disability in a smart, non-romanticized way as a potential advantage for living in another habitat
- portrays a non-human character coming to terms with a disability (from an injury) in a non-idealized but ultimately positive way
- writes cross-species familial, platonic, romantic, and sexual relationships in a complex and credible way
- offers insights into common ground among different life forms around self-awareness, attachment, self-esteem, aspiration, and ambition
- normalizes various parenting styles and roles, including the choice not to reproduce or take part in parenting

I hadn't read reviews (intentionally) but the author's page links to some good ones: https://sbdivya.com/meru. Also loved her earlier novel, #Machinehood!

I also admire Divya for being open about her illness: #longCOVID #MECFS #pwME :heart_cyber:

#Books #SFF #ScienceFiction #SciFi #AmReading
@bookstodon @sff @sffbipoc @bookhistodons @bookbubble @bookreviews

Something I noticed in #Machinehood as well: we've got characters have strong disagreements, betray each other, and separate; but that's not the end. Lots of them reconcile, change their mind about things, grow and learn. And that's not just true for lovers, but for friends as well.

It feels... mature, I guess? Being able to see scales of grey, apologize and return. And very hopeful: people /can/ change their minds!

#Meru #Books2023

It has great middle-aged female main characters, takes place partly in Chennai, there are nonbinary characters and Neobuddhists as well as private rocketry clubs, married couples talk about their problems and resolve them, and lots of details are just /right/ and made me feel like this is a story that could actually happen.

It's amazing, go read it!

#Machinehood #Books2023

(3/n, n=3)

People heavily augment themselves just to compete on the job market and generally scramble for employment and health care.

We follow two characters in the wake of terrorist attacks by the titular "Machinehood", thought to be an emergent strong AI and later revealed to be quite a different thing.

There's lots of exploration of the economy, the risks people take for employability, and how continuous surveillance and social media presences work.

#Machinehood #Books2023

(2/n)

So, I finished @sbdivya's #Machinehood and I don't think I can say "it's amazing, go read it" loudly enough.

It's amazing, go read it!

#SF set in the late 21st century, with ubiquitous "weak AI" assistants and bots, with independent space stations, nanotechnology for medical and cognitive enhancement and people with heavily modified bodies. It takes place in a gig economy, where almost no one has stable employment, works numerous small jobs and earns tips on social media.

#Books2023

(1/n)

Thought about how dystopian it is that the state requires doctoral monitoring of pill usage when a person gets pregnant.

Asked myself why they put up with it, given how little social security the state provides.

Realized that that's just normal in the US.

Now have a "no regulation without paid vacation"
slogan in my head.

#Machinehood #Books2023

How #Machinehood handles one character's pregnancy and resulting abortion ist so good. The character makes a difficult (and arguably wrong) choice of lying to their partner and regrets that - but not the abortion itself, which is somewhat painful but not traumatic. It's something we get to see so seldom, and it's great how everyone comes around to "my body my choice"!

(Nerd me also wonders how birth control with nanotechnology might work...)

#Books2023

So #Machinehood, like #LevelFive, also has its main characters going through marital crises (partly) because of their passion for work!

The important difference: "Machinehood" has them not just divorce and demonize the ex, but talk through it like grown-ups and reconcile, though not without scarring.

These two are so similar in setting and theme, and so very different in how they deal with it. It's amazing to see.

#Books2023

Cyberpunk's main characters are often criminals or high-level celebrities; here, we get to see a similarly dystopian society from the POV of the struggling middle class. They might work as mercenaries protecting corporate types, but they're also scrambling to organize childcare, worry about their savings account, and send their kids to good schools.

#Machinehood #Books2023

Okay, I definitely have done the "check if partner and children are asleep in order to take a pregnancy test in peace" thing. I love that detail.

#Machinehood #Books2023

In keeping with the AI takeover theme of #LevelFive, I started reading @sbdivya's "Machinehood" today. It has similar themes: weak and strong AI and the threats to humanity, the uses of nanotechnology for bodily and cognitive enhancement, near-total surveillance, terror attacks from Muslim people...

...but fortunately, nonbinary characters instead of techbros and homecooked Indian food instead of craft beer. I can work with that.

#Machinehood #Books2023