So I finished
Aurora a little while ago. I have to say, it kind of lost steam for me at the end. It was still overall a worthwhile read and its topic was very interesting, but it almost felt like Robinson didn't quite know how to tie it off in the end because there were quite a few different threads that kind of felt like they were just left hanging at the end or else they were tied up in a way that felt rushed and incomplete. That said, if you want a story that takes a different - and perhaps darker - view than most books on what the future holds for the human race as it attempts to ensure its survival past the life of our own solar system, give it a look.
After finishing that, I took a break from fiction and read
The First Tour de France: Sixty Cyclists and Nineteen Days of Daring on the Road to Paris by Peter Cossins. I really enjoyed this one - I've known names like Desgrange, Garin, & L'Auto forever, but I never really knew the details of that first race. This books lays it all out - the bitter political rivalry that was in part responsible for its inception, the almost insurmountable challenges that faced the organizers, the on-the-fly rule changes that sometimes seemed to come out of nowhere, and (of course) the almost constant cheating. It is a hugely entertaining story with characters that seem to come straight out of fiction and Cossins weaves in the context of a changing world and a new outlook on human potential brought on by the anything-is-possible mindset of the Industrial Revolution. Definitely worth checking this one out if you're a Tour fan.
After that, I picked up another sci-fi book, but one that's a pretty big departure from the "hard sci-fi" I've kind of gravitated towards -
Mort(e) by Robert Repino. This is much more of an "out there" sci-fi/fantasy mix. Basically, a colony of ants leads the animal kingdom in a war against oppressive humanity after releasing a chemical virus that transforms other animals into sentient, intelligent beings. The main character, Mort(e) (previously known by his "slave name" Sebastian) is a house cat who becomes a war hero among the animals for his daring and skill as an assassin killing humans. There's some parallels to Orwell's "Animal Farm" sprinkled throughout, and the novel explores the conflicts between logic and faith and how any sentient being - human or otherwise - struggles to define the "meaning" of their life. Starting from such a wild concept (which admittedly requires a certain degree of "just go with it"), there are a lot of deep themes playing out here. It's not necessarily for everyone, but if you can get past certain problematic plot elements (e.g., the way the virus that grants sentience plays out seems a bit random), there's a pretty thoughtful story hidden away here. This is actually the first book in what is now a four-part story, and I think this is a saga I'll eventually read all the way through.
So now, I'm just starting Andy Weir's
Project Hail Mary. I saw this on a recommended summer reading list and it seemed pretty interesting, but I just picked it up today so no judgments yet. In truth, I really reading this now because I picked it up to have something to read before Tchaikovsky's
Shards of Earth is released this week.
tv.apple.com
