Ancient Shores
{4.5/5} “Look… it wouldn’t really matter whether you were building it out at Alpha Centauri. There are only a few designs for a practical sailboat. Somebody somewhere built this, and I can guarantee you it wasn’t anyone we’ve ever heard of.” Tom, a farmer, discovers a boat buried in his field. The boat, once it’s […]
Best fantasy & science fiction movies by year
Here are the best fantasy and science fiction movies by year, going back to 1964. Prior to that there were 3 movies that are still brilliant — Metropolis (1927), It’s a Wonderful Life (1946), and Harvey (1950). The best single year in science fiction and fantasy movies was 1999, although 2000 through 2005 were also great years. […]
Mammoth
{4.5/5} “‘I also heard you’re trying to clone a mammoth. Anyway, knowing just those things about you, I asked myself what a man like you would want from a man like me. You offer me a fine meal’ — Matt gestured with his hamburger — ‘and then you casually ask if I believe time travel is possible. The conclusion I […]
Best science fiction novels by year
Here are what I think are the best science fiction novels of the year plus runner ups, going all the way back to 1949. Prior to that, notable books include Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne, The Time Machine and War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells, and Brave […]
Europa Report
{4/5} “Andrei and James had to do an EVA to repair the system. A bit like performing ballet and rocket science at 125 000 miles an hour.” On Europa, a moon of Jupiter, ice covers the surface — beneath the ice, water and heat signatures have been discovered. Scientists believe that microscopic life might exist […]
The Accidental Time Machine
{4.5/5} “So it was a time machine, if kind of a useless one. Unless you could find a way to reverse it — go up fifteen years and come back with the day’s stock quotations. Or a list of who had won the World Series every year in between. But simply putting yourself in the […]
Old Man’s War
{4.5/5} “The recruiting office was a small storefront in a nondescript strip mall; there was a state liquor store on one side of it and a tattoo parlor on the other. Depending on what order you went into each, you could wake up the next morning in some serious trouble.” John Perry joins the Colonial […]
Gravity
{5/5} “Clear skies with a chance of debris.” Ryan is a medical engineer who’s doing a spacewalk high above the Earth. Matt is the astronaut in charge of the mission. When some debris is accidentally sent their way, they’re cut off from the shuttle and have to make their way back. The debris leads to […]
Bones of the Earth
{5/5} “We have means of detecting a paradox before it actually happens — and, again, I won’t tell you what they are. But any threat to this precious and fragile enterprise will be nipped in the bud, I can assure you that. And those responsible will be punished. No exceptions. And no clemency, either.” Leyster […]
Outpost
{4.5/5} “Felicitas turned to her friend. Adriana stared straight ahead. Felicitas felt sorry for Adriana because she knew Adriana hadn’t changed, didn’t look at things the way she now did. And it was the same all over the yard. Some now had the spark of life. Others, like Adriana, were still dead, their eyes leaden. […]