Today’s #scifijuly post feels like my first deviation from “name brand” classics — Joan Slonczewski. I can’t remember how I first discovered her, but I was instantly in love. Slonczewski writes hard biological science fiction. And I know there are ten different definitions for “hard science fiction” at least, so what I mean by that is that her books are based around and very interested in possible scientific advancements and how they would shape the way we live in the future. But in this case, rather than being focused on advances in physics and engineering (space travel, weapons systems, etc.) they are focused on biology. Modifying viruses to build space ladders, create adaptable living spaces, and cure disease. Planets where all engineering is genetic/bioengineering. Intelligent microbes that live symbiotically with their hosts. Some of it gets pretty wild, but in addition to being a writer, she is also a microbiologist, so most of it is based on very real foundations. . . My favorite of her books is DOOR INTO OCEAN, which I never own for long as I am constantly giving or loaning away copies once I find them. Feminist, environmentalist, pacifist, and anticolonialist, but also really interesting worldbuilding. I need to find another copy so I can read it again. . . My second favorite is probably her most recent — THE HIGHEST FRONTIER — which is also the only book that doesn’t exist in her DOOR INTO OCEAN universe. Rather, it takes place in our own, in 2108, on a college campus in a “spacehab” connected to Earth by a viral space elevator. The bioengineering is fascinating, but so is the college politics. . . Absolutely recommended to all biology geeks, especially micro geeks. . . #scifi #joanslonczewski #brainplague #thechildrenstar #stillformsonfoxfield #thehighestfrontier #sciencefiction https://www.instagram.com/p/CDM4s3eAh2S/?igshid=17b6fu7x440z7
