Star Trek: Prey — The Jackal’s Trick

Posted by Dave Switzer under Reviews of books

{4.5/5} “Discommendation had taken their heritage away, stolen it from generations of Klingons on Thane whose only crime had been being born to the wrong parents. They owed the Empire and its morals nothing — and their savior, all.” Star Trek: Prey — The Jackal’s Trick by John Jackson Miller, published in 2016 The Unsung […]

Star Trek: Prey — Hell’s Heart

Posted by Dave Switzer under Reviews of books

{4.5/5} “Why do you think everyone here stares at you? You’re not just an outsider, Worf — you’re a legend. We all know your story — even here. You are the one who came back from the abyss, who regained his honor.” Star Trek: Prey — Hell’s Heart by John Jackson Miller, published in 2016 […]

Grass

Posted by Dave Switzer under Reviews of books

{4/5} “No road in, no road out, and the depths of the forest inviolable, the depths of its trees and waters unknown and unseen, though so wide and ramified that — even though no one has ever seen anything of the kind — everyone in Commoner Town believes there is something there that will emerge, […]

Arrival

Posted by Dave Switzer under Reviews of movies

{5/5} “If you could see your whole life laid out in front of you, would you change things?” Arrival, released in 2016 Twelve alien spacecraft arrive on Earth. Louise Banks, a linguist, is asked by the US army to join the team that’s trying to communicate with the aliens in the craft that’s in Montana. […]

Station Eleven

Posted by Dave Switzer under Reviews of books

{4.5/5} “Arthur lives in a permanent state of disorientation like a low-grade fever, the question hanging over everything being How did I get from there to here? And there are moments — at parties in Toronto, in Los Angeles, in New York — when he’ll be telling people about Delano Island and he’ll notice a […]

The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories

Posted by Dave Switzer under Reviews of books

{5/5} “There are no heroes, Tian Haoli. Grand Secretary Shi was both courageous and cowardly, capable and foolish. Wang Xiuchu was both an opportunistic survivor and a man of greatness of spirit. I’m mostly selfish and vain, but sometimes even I surprise myself. We’re all just ordinary men — well, I’m an ordinary demon — […]

Elements

Posted by Dave Switzer under Reviews of books

{4.5/5} “Alone, she fled Boston, making her way from culverts to abandoned sheds, hiding from the world while building her own place in it. Living off the grid meant no formal education, no military training, no family, no friends. She had constructed a hole in the world and waited for me to join her.” Elements […]

Best science fiction novels by decade

Posted by Dave Switzer under My thoughts

Here are the best science fiction books by decade. I limited each author to 1 book per decade, but a few authors show up in multiple decades. Neal StephensonAnathem   Winner Runner Ups Decade Author Title Author Title 2010s Kim Stanley Robinson 2312 Stephen Baxter Proxima       Will McIntosh Soft Apocalypse     […]

Thunderbird

Posted by Dave Switzer under Reviews of books

{4.5/5} “When it was over, and he was still trying to catch his breath, the chairman knew that his perceptions had changed again. He’d acquired an appreciation for the power and beauty of the universe that could never be acquired through a mere telephoto lens or a slice of poetry.” Thunderbird by Jack McDevitt, published […]

Equals

Posted by Dave Switzer under Reviews of movies

{4.5/5} “Individuals diagnosed with SOS need not suffer another day. Contact your doctor immediately to receive the Ashby ENI cure and rejoin the ranks of equals.” Equals, released in 2016 Silas lives in a society where people are emotionless. Except for defectives who are taken away for treatment and containment. Silas thinks he’s OK except […]