Star Trek: Rough Beasts of Empire
{4.5/5} “Modern Vulcan culture focuses on the individual mastery of emotion as well as an everyday reliance on logic… This, of course, contrasts with Romulan cultural norms.” Spock is on Romulus, promoting the reunification of Vulcans and Romulans, when he’s attacked by a Reman and almost killed. Who sent the Reman to try to kill him? Romulan […]
All-time best SF & fantasy novels & stories, v2
The other day I posted my first thoughts on how I would vote in the Locus poll, which is open until the end of the month. I’ve changed a small number of things and added some runner ups. One thing that I neglected the first time was that the order of the votes matters — I tried this […]
Star Trek Typhon Pact: Seize the Fire
{4.5/5} “What do you propose I do about it? Do you expect the warrior caste to intimidate the local star into better behavior?” The starship Titan under the command of Captain Riker has discovered evidence that an ancient civilization had technology like the Genesis device to convert planets from lifelessness to life. Meanwhile the Gorn […]
Star Trek Typhon Pact: Zero Sum Game
{4.5/5} “‘In Simon Says, the losers don’t get shot in the head.’ ‘They do in the original Klingon version.’” Dr. Julian Bashir has been recruited for a dangerous mission — infiltrate the Breen and sabotage their development of the slipstream drive. His accomplice is Sarina Douglas, who works for Starfleet Intelligence — Bashir has met […]
All-time best SF & fantasy novels & stories
Locus is going to do a poll to find out what science fiction and fantasy novels and stories are the all-time best (they’ve done this a few times before but not in years). The categories are science fiction novel, fantasy novel, novella, novelette, and short story. They’re also diving the poll into 20th century (10 […]
The Eyes of the Overworld
{4/5} “I dimly recall that I inhabit a sty and devour the coarsest of food — but the subjective reality is that I inhabit a glorious palace and dine on splendid viands among the princes and princesses who are my peers. It is explained thus: the demon Underherd looked from the sub-world to this one; […]
The Dying Earth
{4.5/5} “A dim place, ancient beyond knowledge. Once it was a tall world of cloudy mountains and bright rivers, and the sun was a white blazing ball. Ages of rain and wind have beaten and rounded the granite, and the sun is feeble and red. The continents have sunk and risen. A million cities have […]
Towing Jehovah
{4.5/5} “‘Glad you’re here, Ockham,’ said the creature in the sort of thin, scratchy voice Thomas associated with early-thirties gangster movies. His skin was astonishingly white, beyond Caucasian genes, beyond albinism even; he seemed molded from snow. ‘I’m told you are at once devout’ — he stood on his toes — ‘and smart.’ Whereupon, to […]
Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister
{4.5/5} “In the lives of children, pumpkins can turn into coaches, mice and rats into human beings. When we grow up, we learn that it’s far more common for human beings to turn into rats.” Iris is a young girl just arrived in Haarlem in Holland. She fled England with her mother and sister because […]
Recent SF books with big ideas
If, like me, you’re interested in science fiction novels with big ideas, you might want to check out this list from io9: 10 Recent Science Fiction Books That Are About Big Ideas I can recommend Spin, Blindsight, and The Lifecycle of Software Objects. I hadn’t heard of Feed, Wool, or Super Sad True Love Story. […]