New releases in fiction, nonfiction, and comics that caught our eye.
Hum By Helen Phillips
Robots have become a regular fixture in the workforce and humans are losing their jobs to ai. Climate change is wreaking havoc on the planet. It's becoming harder for the average person to make ends meet. Facial recognition technology is being used for surveillance. Sound familiar? In her new novel, amazon;elmt:;cpos:1;pos:1″ href=”https://shopping.yahoo.com/rdlw?merchantId=66ea567a-c987-4c2e-a2ff-02904efde6ea&siteId=us-engadget&pageId=1p-autolink&featureId=text-link&merchantName=amazon&custData=eyJzb3VyY2VOYW1lIjoiV2ViLURlc2t0b3AtVmVyaXpvbiIsImxhbmRpbmdVcmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy5hbWF6b24uY29tL0h1bS1Ob3ZlbC1IZWxlbi1QaGlsbGlwcy1lYm9vay9kcC9CMENEWFcxR1BOP3RhZz1nZGd0MGMtcC12LTE0eS0yMCIsImNvbnRlbnRVdWlkIjoiZTE1MGJlOWMtMjQ3MC00NjMxLTk3NGItMzI0YTIwYTcxMDJhIiwib3JpZ2luYWxVcmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy5hbWF6b24uY29tL0h1bS1Ob3ZlbC1IZWxlbi1QaGlsbGlwcy1lYm9vay9kcC9CMENEWFcxR1BOIn0&signature=AQAAAc8AP1zYjlrLQ789mAWhuYBA99v1GuqB6TH-mJYmzrvI&gcReferrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FHum-Novel-Helen-Phillips-ebook%2Fdp%2FB0CDXW1GPN” class=”link rapid-with-clickid etailiffa-link” rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank” data-ylk=”slk:Hum;elm:affiliate_link;sellerN:amazon;elmt:;cpos:1;pos:1;itc:0;sec:content-canvas”>Author Helen Phillips paints a picture of what our near future could look like.
Its protagonist, May, has lost her job after technology made her role obsolete and, desperate for money to support her family, agrees to take part in an experiment that alters her face so that she is undetectable by facial recognition. With the extra money from the payment, she takes her husband and children on a short, technology-free holiday to the Botanical Gardens, but things go dangerously wrong. Hum It is a captivating and disturbing work of dystopian fiction that makes it impossible not to draw parallels with our current reality.
Life as no one knows it: the physics of the emergence of life By Sara Imari Walker
There's a lot we don't know about the origins of life on Earth and how it might appear on other worlds. Arizona State University theoretical physicist and astrobiologist Sara Imari Walker tackles the eternal question “What is life?” and much more in her book, amazon;elmt:;cpos:2;pos:1″ href=”https://shopping.yahoo.com/rdlw?merchantId=66ea567a-c987-4c2e-a2ff-02904efde6ea&siteId=us-engadget&pageId=1p-autolink&featureId=text-link&merchantName=amazon&custData=eyJzb3VyY2VOYW1lIjoiV2ViLURlc2t0b3AtVmVyaXpvbiIsImxhbmRpbmdVcmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy5hbWF6b24uY29tL0xpZmUtTm8tT25lLUtub3dzLUVtZXJnZW5jZS9kcC8wNTkzMTkxODk3L3JlZj16Z19ic25yX2dfNzVfZF9zY2NsXzcvMTM5LTcxNTUyMDktNDI4NTY2NT90YWc9Z2RndDBjLXAtdi0xNHktMjAiLCJjb250ZW50VXVpZCI6ImUxNTBiZTljLTI0NzAtNDYzMS05NzRiLTMyNGEyMGE3MTAyYSIsIm9yaWdpbmFsVXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYW1hem9uLmNvbS9MaWZlLU5vLU9uZS1Lbm93cy1FbWVyZ2VuY2UvZHAvMDU5MzE5MTg5Ny9yZWY9emdfYnNucl9nXzc1X2Rfc2NjbF83LzEzOS03MTU1MjA5LTQyODU2NjUifQ&signature=AQAAAQcp7r1_IY3oQ_SSNnM15Prsu3em1-f5Orgt1GLo_Vsa&gcReferrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FLife-No-One-Knows-Emergence%2Fdp%2F0593191897%2Fref%3Dzg_bsnr_g_75_d_sccl_7%2F139-7155209-4285665″ class=”link rapid-with-clickid etailiffa-link” rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank” data-ylk=”slk:Life as No One Knows It: The Physics of Life’s Emergence;elm:affiliate_link;sellerN:amazon;elmt:;cpos:2;pos:1;itc:0;sec:content-canvas”>Life as no one knows it: the physics of the emergence of lifeExplore assembly theory, which, as Walker recently explained as a guest on the show The podcast states that “life is the only mechanism the universe has for generating complexity. Therefore, complex objects do not arise spontaneously, they only occur through evolution and selection.”
This is a fascinating topic that has sparked much debate over the years, and Walker's book presents his argument in a way that is compelling and enjoyable even for non-scientists. However, it will certainly give your brain a little exercise… and perhaps spark some (friendly) discussions. He called it “ingenious, but not for the faint of heart.”
Cruel Universe #1
The comeback of EC Comics continues with the launch of another new series, Cruel UniverseThe recently resurrected imprint this week released the first issue of the sci-fi series, which features stories by Corinna Bechko, Chris Condon, Matt Kindt, and Ben H. Winters, with art by Jonathan Case, Kano, Artyom Topilin, and Caitlin Yarsky. amazon;elmt:;cpos:5;pos:1″ href=”https://shopping.yahoo.com/rdlw?merchantId=66ea567a-c987-4c2e-a2ff-02904efde6ea&siteId=us-engadget&pageId=1p-autolink&featureId=text-link&merchantName=amazon&custData=eyJzb3VyY2VOYW1lIjoiV2ViLURlc2t0b3AtVmVyaXpvbiIsImxhbmRpbmdVcmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy5hbWF6b24uY29tL0NydWVsLVVuaXZlcnNlLUNvcmlubmEtU2FyYS1CZWNoa28tZWJvb2svZHAvQjBEOTY3MkJWSj90YWc9Z2RndDBjLXAtdi0xNHktMjAiLCJjb250ZW50VXVpZCI6ImUxNTBiZTljLTI0NzAtNDYzMS05NzRiLTMyNGEyMGE3MTAyYSIsIm9yaWdpbmFsVXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYW1hem9uLmNvbS9DcnVlbC1Vbml2ZXJzZS1Db3Jpbm5hLVNhcmEtQmVjaGtvLWVib29rL2RwL0IwRDk2NzJCVkoifQ&signature=AQAAAYEfn-Yxr2XWoZN2yyqMiMb99upW7qM5TK_aKdCUO93H&gcReferrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FCruel-Universe-Corinna-Sara-Bechko-ebook%2Fdp%2FB0D9672BVJ” class=”link rapid-with-clickid etailiffa-link” rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank” data-ylk=”slk:Cruel Universe #1;elm:affiliate_link;sellerN:amazon;elmt:;cpos:5;pos:1;itc:0;sec:content-canvas”> It takes us to an interstellar battlefield, face to face with a black hole, on a quest for eternal life and more.
It's a great sequel to , EC's new horror anthology. If you liked the old one, Weird science comics and other EC sci-fi series, this is definitely one worth checking out.
This article contains affiliate links, if you click on the link and make a purchase we may earn a commission.
