First of all, I have to thank a whole bunch of people for a banner day here at Mind Unbound. Our newsletter picked up twenty-six subscribers in a single day yesterday, setting a new record. Many thanks to all our new readers and a very special thanks to author Elizabeth Bear for publicizing the site, not to mention for sending me a review copy of Undertow in the first place. Not only has the book set a record day around here, it's a terrific read!
Today also happens to be the first of the month, which means it's time again for Rapid Fire Learning in the JJL network. This month, as a special thanks to Elizabeth Bear and her fans, I'd like to start with just a few of the things I learned from reading Undertow (no spoilers, I promise):
- Never get on the wrong side of a conjurer. They're bad news. You never realize how much you rely on luck until someone starts messing with it.
- Never trust an interplanetary trading monopoly to "do the right thing" when profits are on the line.
- Frog people are awesome.
- A better environment starts at home. Don't go traipsing off to other people's planets until you can take care of your own.
- Colonialism has always been, and will always be, a bad idea.
- Quantum physics is even weirder than I thought.
- Wave runners are the vehicles of the future. Who knew?
- And the sweetest thing I learned from Elizabeth Bear's Undertow: Someday, math is going to be insanely cool. I'm just a few centuries before my time, that's all...
