Oh yeah folks, it’s time for some more politically tinged science fiction. Wait, what am I saying, the genre is inherently political. I had yet to purchase a ticket to the Richard Swan show, but when I heard his latest, The Infinite State, is about trying to jumpstart a democracy while living in an authoritarian…
Reading and then reviewing older science fiction always feels a bit weird. Rarely am I picking up something that is a hidden gem, a thing that someone has never read before. Often it feels like I am just adding to the choir of voices that already assures you “yes, this is good.” I know I…
The Iron Garden Sutra, by A.D. Sui, is the kind of book I relish. It’s an exploration of death amongst the stars through a semi-religious lens. I read it at a particularly weird time, an almost serendipitous one, had the circumstances not been so unfortunate. It popped up as ready from the library only a…
For Human Use, by Sarah G. Pierce, very nearly became a DNF for me. It had that perfect heady concoction of having an intriguing concept that is poorly introduced but examined through a lens that beckoned me like a fresh pie in an open window. Unfortunately, I should have stuck with my overall gut feeling…
Along with my more focused efforts on climate fiction, I’ve also wanted to dissect the role of science and engineering within the science fiction fantasy genre. Player Piano sort of spurred on my more recent fervor, but I feel that my general critique of science fiction plays with these ideas. Hence, when we were sent…
Adam Roberts is quickly becoming one of my favorite science fiction writers working today. I know I’ve only reviewed one of his novels, Purgatory Mount, but I’ve read two others, and as your about to find out, three of his novellas. I’m trying something a little different as I try to talk about three thematically…
Continue reading ➞ Adam Roberts – Stealing My Heart, One Novella at a Time
Recently, I have expressed a lot of frustration with some novels set in the midst of climate change, if not fully tackling the subject head-on. I am not surprised by these feelings, though it concerns me that at this late hour, it still feels like we are floundering on cohesive narratives that extend beyond “humans…
Continue reading ➞ The Forest On The Edge of Time – Mud Into Gods
The only Kurt Vonnegut I ever got introduced to at school was Harrison Bergeron, a short story about physically enforced equality. My grandparents furthered my reading of his with his short story collection Armageddon In Retrospect. And over the years I’ve slowly picked up his novels in the most insane ordering I can think of.…
The Automaton, by Ian Young, is an indie darling that has been teasing me from the aether for a while now. Its striking and bold cover with an old school automaton, staring at the reader, was a sniper shot trained on me. Throw in some concerns about the difference between a digital human being and…
Terrestrial History, by Joe Mungo Reed, caught my eye with its heavy title and stark cover art. Its premise was just as intriguing, promising time travel and four generations within the same family as they dealt with climate change and the colonization of Mars. And while there are some really exciting ideas at play within…
Continue reading ➞ Terrestrial History – Best Left to the Nerds
