A Scientific Romance
{4.5/5} “One suspects that the future isn’t what it used to be; that I’m more likely to land in Bognor than in Bora Bora. We’ve been living a long time on nature’s savings, and there are signs her bank account is overdrawn. It seems to me that if I go ahead a few decades, or […]
The representation of women in fantasy
In this article author Juliet E. McKenna (The Thief’s Gamble) talks about how in fantasy books the characters who drive the plot are predominantly male, why this is, why it’s important, and what can be done about it. The Representation of Women in Fantasy: What’s the Problem?
The Neverending Story
{4/5} “Of course, I’ve worked up a few theories over the years. At first I thought the sphinxes’ judgment might be guided by certain physical characteristics… Then I toyed with numerical patterns… Since then I’ve come to the conclusion that the sphinxes’ decision is based on pure chance and that no principle whatever is involved. […]
One Million A. D.
{5/5} “With the passing of every reunion it seemed impossible that the wilder fringes of humanity could become any stranger, any less recognizable. Yet they always contrived to do so; oozing into every cosmic niche like molten lava, and then carving out new niches that no one had dared dreamed of before.” One Million A. […]
Thoughts on Hugo awards 1953 to 2000
The Hugo Awards are science fiction and fantasy awards voted on by people who attend (or buy a supporting membership to) the World Science Fiction Convention each year. Jo Walton, author of such books as Tooth and Claw, takes a look back through all the winners and nominees and gives her thoughts on whether they […]
Best SF & fantasy novels from the ’00s
Many lists are dominated by older works, so I thought I’d point out this list that just considers works from the first decade of the 21st century. It’s from Tor.com and has appreciations of the top 10 titles as well as statistics on the voting. Best SFF Novels of the Decade Readers Poll RESULTS I’ve […]
Neverwhere
{4.5/5} “‘Young man,’ he said, ‘understand this: there are two Londons. There’s London Above — that’s where you lived — and then there’s London Below — the Underside — inhabited by the people who fell through the cracks in the world. Now you’re one of them. Good night.’” Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, published in 1996 What […]
The worst book I ever read
{0.5/5} The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield is not just a bestseller but a megabestseller. That is absolutely mind boggling to me, as it’s the worst book I ever read. If I were to read it now for the first time there’s no way I would finish it. The quality of the writing is shockingly […]
Project Pope
{4.5/5} “They came here because they had been denied religious experience elsewhere, had been read out of that part of human life that had a strong appeal to them. You have to know a robot well to understand his instinctive drive toward religious experience.” Project Pope by Clifford D. Simak, published in 1981 The planet […]
For more information on apes
The classification “great ape” consists of bonobos, chimpanzees, gorillas, humans, and orangutans. These are our closest relatives in the animal kingdom — we share 99% of our DNA with chimpanzees and bonobos. Bonobos were only identified as a species distinct from chimpanzees in 1933. Louis Leakey sent three women into the field to learn about […]