Sandworms of Dune
{4/5} Sandworms of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, published in 2007 Kralizec, the battle at the end of the universe, is at hand. The mysterious Enemy turns out to be the machine intelligences, whom humanity fought once before 15 000 years ago. The machine intelligences have been preparing for this day since […]
Star Trek: Foul Deeds Will Rise
{4/5} Star Trek: Foul Deeds Will Rise by Greg Cox, published in 2014 The Enterprise is summoned to a system where two planets, Pavak and Oyolo, have been at war and are attempting to make peace. An ambassador is aboard to help broker a treaty — that ambassador is Kevin Riley. When Kirk is on […]
Chapterhouse: Dune
{4.5/5} “Everything you do, everything you sense and say is experiment. No deduction final. Nothing stops until dead and perhaps not even then, because each life creates endless ripples. Induction bounces within and you sensitize yourself to it. Deduction conveys illusions of absolutes. Kick the truth and shatter it!” Chapterhouse: Dune by Frank Herbert, published […]
Heretics of Dune
{4.5/5} “Bureaucracy destroys initiative. There is little that bureaucrats hate more than innovation, especially innovation that produces better results than the old routines. Improvements always make those at the top of the heap look inept.” Heretics of Dune by Frank Herbert, published in 1984 Fifteen hundred years after Leto II, the Tyrant, there are two […]
God Emperor of Dune
{4.5/5} “I am a collection of the obsolete, a relic of the damned, of the lost and strayed. I am the waylaid pieces of history which sank out of sight in all of our pasts. Such an accumulation of riffraff has never before been imagined.” God Emperor of Dune by Frank Herbert, published in 1981 […]
Children of Dune
{5/5} “If you focus your awareness only upon your own rightness, then you invite the forces of opposition to overwhelm you.” Children of Dune by Frank Herbert, published in 1976 Alia, Paul Maud’dib’s sister, is Regent while her niece and nephew are growing up. She no longer sees the future, but she continues to try. […]
Best tie-in novels by year
Here’s a list of the best novels that tie in with a TV show. The TV shows that make the grade are Babylon 5, Battlestar Galactica, and the Star Trek shows. The big winner is Peter David, with 5 books in the winner column. Legend: B5 Babylon 5 BSG Battlestar Galactica DS9 Star Trek: Deep […]
Best fantasy novels by year
Here’s my list of best fantasy novels, updated for ones I read in 2014. Winner Runner Ups Year Author Title Author Title 2012 Will McIntosh Hitchers Joanne Bertin Bard’s Oath 2011 Carrie Vaughn After the Golden Age 2010 2009 2008 2007 Sarah Zettel Sword of the Deceiver 2006 Daniel Quinn After Dachau 2005 Elizabeth Kostova […]
Best science fiction novels by year
Here’s my list of best SF novels, updated for ones I read in 2014. Winner Runner Ups Year Author Title Author Title 2012 Kim Stanley Robinson 2312 hN Orson Scott Card Shadows in Flight Robert J. Sawyer Triggers John Scalzi Redshirts H 2011 Will McIntosh Soft Apocalpyse Robert J. Sawyer Wonder Joan Slonczewski The Highest […]
Dune Messiah
{4.5/5} “If you need something to worship, then worship life — all life, every last crawling bit of it! We’re all in this beauty together!” Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert, published in 1969 Paul Maud’dib has been Emperor for 12 years. Many are happy with his reign, and a few are conspiring against him. Some think […]