科幻作家刘慈欣在《三体》英文版后记中说:“作为一个科幻迷出身的科幻作家,我写科幻小说的目的不是用它来隐喻和批判现实,我感觉科幻小说最大的魅力,就是创造出众多的现实之外的想象世界。”
科幻小说就是基于想象力的文学。科幻塑造的世界里,有恢宏神奇的星际探险,有遥远世界的生命和文明;天马行空的奇幻里,水火不容的天使和魔鬼也可以做上千年的好朋友。本期原版书推荐5本精彩的科幻小说,一起领略科幻的魅力!
Sci-fi writer Liu Cixin writes in his Afterword of The Three-Body Problem,” As a science fiction author who began as a fan, I don’t use my fiction to criticize the reality of the present. I think the greatest appeal of science fiction is the creation of numerous imaginary worlds outside of reality.”
Science fiction is a literary genre based on imagination. It shapes a distant world where we can see interstellar expeditions, lives and civilizations happening; and where we can see a fussy angel and a fast-living demon have lived in harmony for thousands of years. In this column, five fascinating sci-fi works are recommended to explore together the magnitude and mysteries of science fiction.
1.100多年前的科幻小说有多牛?
Flatland
《平面国》
Edwin A. Abbott
[英] 埃德温·A·艾勃特著
Classmark:I561.45/11390
如果说世界上确有大大超前于时代的人,埃德温·A·艾勃特(1838—1926)毫无疑问是其中之一。艾勃特是100多年前英国著名牧师、神学家和数学家。他的小说《平面国》创作于1884年,被誉为“空间第一书”。这部100多年前的科幻小说,艾勃特用最简单的初中数学几何知识,缔造出了一个存在于二维世界中的王国。
A. Square is a dignified inhabitant of Flatland, a two-dimensional wonderland where the inhabitants are shaped and confined by the boundaries of their geometrical forms. His world is about to be turned upside down when he encounters a mysterious visitor from Spaceland, a three-dimensional wonder.
This thrilling encounter uncovers the secrets of this meticulously crafted universe, urging A. Square to break free from the confines of his understanding.
这是一本由正方形撰写的神奇回忆录。主人公正方形生活在二维世界平面国,那个空间只有长和宽,没有高,居民按形状被分成多个阶级:卑微的等腰三角形、普通的等边三角形、作为绅士的正方形和五边形、高贵的六边形和更多边形。一天,正方形遇到了来自三维世界空间国的球体,由此展开了一段神奇的空间之旅。这时,正方形才发现,真实的世界远远超出了想象,一个前所未有的维度在眼前展开。
2.水火不容的天使和魔鬼也可以做上千年的好朋友!
Good Omens
《好兆头》
Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett
[英] 尼尔·盖曼, 特里·普拉切特著
Classmark:I561.45/10898
《好兆头》由英国两大重磅奇幻作家尼尔·盖曼和特里·普拉切特强强联手。二人一个负责幽默诙谐的部分以及总揽全局;另一个人负责神话写实的部分以及把握故事风格。两个雨果奖、星云奖、世界奇幻奖等重磅奖项加身的奇幻作家,互相成就了一个天马行空的奇幻故事。
According to The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch, the world will end on a Saturday. Next Saturday, in fact. Just before dinner.
So the armies of Good and Evil are amassing, Atlantis is rising, frogs are falling, tempers are flaring. Everything appears to be going according to Divine Plan. Except a somewhat fussy angel and a fast-living demon—both of whom have lived amongst Earth's mortals since The Beginning and have grown rather fond of the lifestyle—are not actually looking forward to the coming Rapture. And someone seems to have misplaced the Antichrist . . .
根据巫女艾格妮丝·风子的《精良准确预言书》,世界将在周六迎来终结。准确来说,应该是下周六,晚饭前那会儿。
于是,各方势力纷纷加入混战,异象不断出现,世界陷入骚乱。有人四处奔走,有人却在浑水摸鱼,比如本书的两位主角:恶魔克鲁利和天使亚茨拉菲尔。两人各自接到命令参与这场混战,但哥俩都在人间待了上千年,觉得这个世界还是挺不错的,毁了似乎有点儿可惜。一片混乱中,似乎没有人注意到,那个将主宰世界命运的关键角色,其实另有其人……
3.20多年前它被用作警世。如今,它或许已然成为现实!
Parable of the sower
《播种者寓言》
Octavia E.Butler
[美] 奥克塔维娅·E.巴特勒著
Classmark:I712.45/13751V1
非裔美籍科幻作家奥克塔维娅·E.巴特勒是2次雨果奖、2次星云奖、1次轨迹奖得主,2010年入选“科幻名人堂”。《播种者寓言》是《地球之种》系列第一部,反乌托邦经典,也是末世小说,描写的是2025年之后的世界,它“预言”了美国当今种种乱象。
In this graphic novel,the author portrays a searing vision of America’s future. In the early 2020s, the country is marred by unattended environmental and economic crises that lead to social chaos.
Fifteen-year-old Lauren Olamina lives inside a gated community of Los Angeles with her preacher father, family, and neighbors. However, in a night of fire and death, what begins as a fight for survival soon leads to something much more: a startling vision of human destiny and the birth of a new faith.
在这本小说中,作者巴特勒对20多年后的美国作出了精准的预言:地球自然环境急剧恶化,美国社会和经济危机四伏,新奴隶制度悄然兴起……
故事的设定是2024年的洛杉矶。15岁的黑人女孩劳伦·奥拉米纳和牧师父亲、家人、邻居一起住在一个封闭的社区里。彼时的加州已成人间炼狱,充满了暴力。在一个晴朗的夜晚,劳伦仰望星空,脑中出现一个词:地球之种。两年后,当她独自走上流亡之路,她又一次望向“地球之种”。她不知道,有个更大的使命在等待着自己,关于未来,关于人类的命运……
4.什么是生命赐予我们最好的馈赠呢?
The Giver
《记忆传授人》
Lois Lowry
[美] 洛伊丝·劳里著
Classmark:I712.84/10476
Life in the community where twelve-year-old Jonas lives is idyllic. Designated birthmothers produce new children, who are assigned to appropriate family units. Citizens are assigned their partners and their jobs. No one thinks to ask questions. Everyone obeys. Everyone is the same. Not until Jonas is given his life assignment as the Receiver of Memory does he begin to understand the dark, complex secrets behind his fragile community.
The Giver is 1994 Newbery Medal Winner. In the telling it questions every value we have taken for granted and reexamines our most deeply held beliefs.
故事发生在一个乌托邦世界。12岁的乔纳思生活的社会里,一切事情都在控制之中。人们安居乐业,衣食无忧。“职业育女”生出的婴儿统一分配给申请孩子的“家庭单位”;孩子们都在规定好的统一模式里长大。大家所要做的事情早在一开始就被确定好,没有改变的可能。当乔纳思成为新任的“记忆传授人”之后,他却陡然发现这个社会背后的阴暗与复杂,于是他决定要改变一切……
本书是洛伊丝·劳里1994年纽伯瑞金奖作品,也是一本颇富创意、鼓励青少年自主思考与行动的优秀科幻小说。
5.一间穿越时空的咖啡馆,四个温柔的奇迹。
Before the coffee gets cold
《咖啡未冷前》
Toshikazu Kawaguchi
[日] 串口俊和著
Classmark:I313.45/10832
In a small back alley of Tokyo, there is a café that has been serving carefully brewed coffee for more than one hundred years. Local legend says that this shop offers something else besides coffee—the chance to travel back in time.
Over the course of one summer, four customers visit the café in the hopes of making that journey. But time travel isn't so simple, and there are rules that must be followed. Most important, the trip can last only as long as it takes for the coffee to get cold.
Heartwarming, mysterious and delightfully quirky, this internationally bestselling novel explores the age-old question: What would you change and who would you want to meet if you could travel back in time?
在东京某条街上,有一家百年咖啡店,店里有个神秘的座位。据说,如果坐在这个座位上,你就有可能回到自己希望回去的那一天。
一个夏日,四位客人来到这家神奇咖啡馆。他们有着各自的理由想要回到过去。可是,回到过去是有代价的,也有非常麻烦的规则。而回去的时间,仅限于从咖啡倒入杯子开始,到那杯咖啡完全变冷为止。
一间穿越时空的咖啡馆,四个温柔的奇迹。《咖啡未冷前》探究了一个古老的问题:如果回到过去那一天,你有想改变的事吗?你有想见的人吗?