what Dave thinks about movies, books and everything
{4.5/5} “I’m beginning to wonder if there’s isn’t some sort of programmer running which — like it or not — we have to learn how to interact with to have any chance of controlling our environment, never mind fixing it if anything goes wrong.” Cavalcade by Alison Sinclair, published in 1998 Aliens came to Earth […]
{4.5/5} “Like most of the scions of the Million, these ones were intensely focused, serious, and cautious around their elders. They should be — all of human civilization rest on their shoulders.” The Million by Karl Schroeder, published in 2018 There are a million people in the world. Bernie is a smart guy but a […]
Finally, it’s happening. Surely the trials of Paul Manafort and Michael Cohen will eventually have some effect on Donald Trump — specifically, being removed from the White House and placed in jail. Here’s a column from Richard Wolffe from the Guardian, in which there is this pair of beautiful sentences: “To lose one of your […]
Here are all the books that take place in Iain M. Banks’ Culture universe. They all take place in different times and places. Consider Phlebas 1987 -> 4.5/5 The Player of Games 1988 -> 5/5 Use of Weapons 1990 -> 4.5/5 The State of the Art (collection) 1991 Excession 1996 Inversions 1998 Look to Windward […]
{4.5/5} “Will… they put us in charge of these vessels, they train us as best they can to be emissaries of peace, to avoid conflict… but there will always be those who look to war and violence for their solution, who operate out of greed and self-interest. We can’t blame ourselves for their occasional success. […]
Many of Ursula K. Le Guin’s novels and stories take places in her Hainish universe. Here are all of those books. This is one of the best science fiction series ever created — look at how many of them are 5/5. It’s a loose series — each book focuses on different characters and places. Rocannon’s […]
{4.5/5} “Do men kill men, except in madness? Does any beast kill its own kind? Only the insects. These yumens kill us as lightly as we kill snakes. The one who taught me said they kill one another, in quarrels, and also in groups, like ants fighting.” The Word for World Is Forest by Ursula […]
A. C. Crispin created the StarBridge universe, and then invited her friends to play in it with her. StarBridge 1989 -> 4.5/5 Silent Dances with Kathleen O’Malley 1990 -> 4.5/5 Shadow World with Jannean Elliott 1991 -> 4.5/5 Serpent’s Gift with Deborah A. Marshall 1992 -> 4.5/5 Silent Songs with Kathleen O’Malley 1994 -> 4.5/5 […]
{4.5/5} “You were right, Khyriz. She did not seem alien to me, once we began to speak of dance. All those worlds out there — so many things to see….” Voices of Chaos: A Novel of StarBridge by A. C. Crispin & Ru Emerson, published in 1998 The CLS has found another new planet of […]
{4.5/5} “Who here likes potato chips?” Like Father, released in 2018 Rachel was left at the altar when her fiance realized that she’d been on the phone with work immediately before coming down the aisle. She’s surprised to see her father at her non-wedding since she hasn’t seen him since she was 5 years old. […]