Space Readathon TBR: September 2017

I wasn’t going to participate in a readathon for a while, but I just have to participate in this one BECAUSE SPACE. I need no other reason than that. This readathon is hosted by Sanne from the YouTube channel booksandquills. It starts today September 15th and ends on the 21st, and the official hashtag is #SpaceReadathon. As the name indicates it’s all about reading books about space in one way or another. I’m very excited to dive in, since I’ve been in the biggest sci-fi mood of my life the past couple of weeks. I’m completely obsessed with space, so this readathon is my favorite (earthly) event of the month. As always I present to you a TBR that may change during the course of the readathon, but here it is:

Death by Black Hole and Other Cosmic Quandaries by Neil deGrasse Tyson

Right now, before starting the readathon, I have 118 pages left. It’s about astrophysics, which is the coolest thing ever. The author is a well known astrophysicist, who has a way with words. He manages to present theories and information about a very complex topic in a way that’s both fun and understandable for people without a scientific background. I’m very much enjoying it so far and can’t wait to learn more about our universe.

The Dark Side by Anthony O’Neill

This book is set on the moon after humans have colonized it. As far as I know, it’s what you could call ‘space noir’ fiction. It follows an exiled police detective, who finds himself investigating a string of assassinations. It’s supposed to be filled with lawless characters of every sort, ranging from war criminals, murderers, sex fiends to adventurous tourists. The Dark Side is a mixture of hard science and noir. It sounds awesome and dark. I really hope it lives up to my expectations.

2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke

Now this one is a classic. It’s about humans finding an alien artefact on the moon and trying to figure out where and who it came from. I don’t know much else about the plot, just that it’s about the unknown and humanity. Vague I know, but going into books without knowing too much can be a good thing. All I know is that I should really read it, so that’s what I’m going to do.

A couple of The Expanse novellas by James S. A. Corey

I absolutely love The Expanse series by James S. A. Corey. So far I’ve read the first five books this year and I plan on continuing the series soon. But before I dive into the sixth book, I want to read some of the novellas that are set in The Expanse universe. I have two on my kindle, which are the ones I plan to read during the space readathon.

First up is The Butcherer of Anderson Station. It takes place before the first book and tells the story of, well, the butcherer of Anderson Station. I can’t remember which book it’s first mentioned in, but it is a vital part of one of the side character’s backstory.

The second novella I have on my kindle is The Churn. Just like the first novella I mentioned, this one takes place before the events of the first book. As far as I can tell it actually takes place before The Butcherer of Anderson Station. The Churn follows Amos Burton in his youth before leaving earth and winding up on board the Canterbury.

Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky

The last surviving humans have left Earth behind to go to a new earth that has been terraformed and prepared for them. But since the new earth was abandoned, new owners have moved. This development turns into a race of survival as two civilisations test their limits of how far they’re willing to go in order to survive. I’m so excited to pick up this book. It sounds like a very interesting concept, which can go countless different and undoubtedly exciting ways. Last year it won the prestigious Arthur C. Clarke Award for Science Fiction. That’s a good sign as to this novel being awesome.

After writing all of these books down I’ve realized that I only own a physical copy of one of them. My kindle will be on fire after this readathon. Kidding aside, you can tell that once again I’ve created a pretty impossible TBR. I know rationally that I probably won’t get to all of the aforementioned books, but I cannot retain myself when it comes to which books I want to read. Honestly, it’s surprising that I’ve been able to restrain myself at all. Space books watch out. I’m coming for you!