Frederik Pohl - The Tunnel Under The World
By folio-needle
This kind of feels like the same original concept as Dark City.
Reader discussion: The Tunnel Under the World
Public reader discussion about The Tunnel Under the World by Frederik Pohl.
[TOMT] [FILM] Escaping from the fake world and realizing that they are tiny or toy people.
By frozenCrown6
Does anyone else know what this is? I’m pretty sure the story is about a few people realizing they’re trapped in some kind of fake world that’s run by something nobody understands. They spend most of it trying to break out, and the ending is basically like, “surprise,” because the camera shows they were super small in a toy-like universe or box. It feels like it could’ve been one of those short films that used to pop up online, maybe even like the DUST channel stuff. Anyone have a clue what the title is?
Confession time: Older sci-fi is getting increasingly harder to read because of the technology
By frozenCrown6
I know this topic has probably come up before, but I just have to say it. I’m finally going through the Foundation series for the first time (I read the first book ages ago and didn’t keep going), and some parts are honestly hard to get through. A big reason is the “older” kind of tech Asimov uses. When I see characters still relying on stuff that isn’t really digital—like anything film-based—I catch myself feeling kinda let down, like the author didn’t guess what tech would look like today. I know that’s unfair, but I can’t seem to turn the feeling off. For me it didn’t used to be like this with Dune. I’m a huge Herbert fan, and I started reading those before a lot of modern digital tech existed, so it didn’t bother me as much. But when I reread Dune recently, it hit me way harder. Oddly, I’m less bothered by the big stuff—like how space travel actually works—because we still don’t really have answers to that in real life. That disappointment is there too, but it doesn’t get under my skin the same way. Also, I’ve noticed I don’t have the same problem with Jules Verne or the Barsoom books. Maybe because they’re more obviously in the fantasy lane, so it doesn’t feel like I’m comparing them to reality as much? Does anyone else run into this? And how do you deal with it—do you just push through, or is there a way you adjusted your mindset? Edit: wow, this got a lot of attention. Thanks to everyone for the replies. I get why some people might be annoyed, but I wasn’t trying to bash sci-fi writers in general. It was more of a personal confession than a critique. I’ll still read and enjoy sci-fi.
Asimov short story about chess.
By notebookPencil
Hey, I’ve been trying to track down an Asimov short story I read ages ago as a kid, but I can’t seem to find anything about it online. I remember it being really short—maybe just a couple of pages. The basic idea, as far as I can tell, was about an average chess player who somehow stumbles on a weird board setup that’s so awful it ends up killing his opponents. I read it in a school library book that had color illustrations for the stories. I’m not totally sure if it was actually Asimov or if he was maybe the editor of the collection. It was so long ago that my details are a little fuzzy. If anyone has any idea what story this could be, I’d really appreciate the help.