A Closed and Common Orbit
{4.5/5} “She had no business being out among sapiens, masquerading as one of them. She wasn’t one of them, and she couldn’t even keep up that pretence while walking through a crowd. How long until someone asked her a question that would get Pepper and Blue in trouble?” A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky […]
Star Trek: Enterprise — By the Book
{4.5/5} “It was clear that the Vulcans disapproved of many human traits, much in the same way Archer disapproved of the Fazi need for structure. Was this part of first contact as well, learning to step over your own likes and dislikes to see a culture for what it was, not what you wanted it […]
Earth
{4.5/5} “He was watching the Earth roll by. The planet filled half the sky, stretching toward distant hazy horizons. Directly below paraded a vastly bright panorama that never repeated itself, highlighted topographies that were ever-familiar and yet always startling.” Earth by David Brin, published in 1990 Alex created a tiny black hole in a controlled […]
Nova
{3/5} “Whenever I’ve experienced a re-run, they’ve cut out the actual death. But five billion-odd were subjected to all the emotions of a man, about to be sworn in as Secretary of the Pleiades, suddenly attacked by a madman and killed.” Nova by Samuel R. Delany, published in 1968 Lorq von Ray hires a crew […]
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
{5/5} “This is the best life I could ever have possibly chosen, Captain. This is what I joined Starfleet for — to see the galaxy, to go where no one’s gone before. I’ve tasted the fruits of planets I couldn’t have even dreamed of, seen places and people no human may ever see again.” (from […]
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet
{5/5} “I hate to pull the my-past-is-a-sad-story card, but listen: I am the end product of a few very stupid, well-intentioned people who thought it would be a great idea to redefine Humanity. It didn’t start with much. A tweak here, a splice there. But things escalated, as they always do, until it became something […]
The Light of Other Days
{4.5/5} “It was telling that these images, which would have been shockingly revealing just a few months ago, now blared multicolored in the middle of the afternoon from stands in the main street of this Mormon community, unregarded by almost everyone, young and old, children and churchgoers alike.” The Light of Other Days by Arthur […]
The Humans
{5/5} “Humans, as a rule, don’t like mad people unless they are good at painting, and only then once they are dead. But the definition of mad, on Earth, seems to be very unclear and inconsistent. What is perfectly sane in one era turns out to be insane in another.” The Humans by Matt Haig, […]
League of Peoples
Here’s an update to this list. In James Alan Gardner’s universe no murderer, otherwise known as a dangerous non-sentient being, can leave their planet — the League of Peoples always stops them. Festina Ramos stories Expendable 1997 -> 4.5/5 Vigilant 1999 -> 4.5/5 Hunted 2000 -> 4.5/5 Ascending 2001 -> 5/5 Radiant 2004 -> 4.5/5 […]
Vigilant
{4.5/5} “Before legislators voted on a bill, the proctor scrutinizing that vote could set a test to determine whether the politicians understood what the bill actually meant. Those who failed the test could only sit and grind their teeth in public humiliation while those who passed made an informed decision.” Vigilant by James Alan Gardner, […]