Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

Author: Jason Golomb

Arkwright: A solid tale of a persistent science fiction trope

Arkwright by Allen Steele

The concept of a generation ship has circulated in science and science fiction probably since the late 1920s and certainly since the 40’s. The idea is based on an assumption that light speed is a space travel barrier that won’t be overcome and so travel to even the nearest stars will be a journey of multiple generations. The ships that make such a journey will need to be large and need to solve problems of self-sustenance.

Allen Steele delves into this space travel theme with his aptly titled Arkwright,

Something Red: Reminds us that the magic of storytelling is in the language

Something Red by Douglas Nicholas

Something Red is a beautifully written, patiently drawn, mood-filled literary thriller. It’s not outright scary, but one could classify it as horror. It’s not a straight-out mystery, though poet-turned-novelist Douglas Nicholas drafts an expectant, slow-boil whodunit.

Something Red centers on a small band of travelers winding their way through northern England at the earliest onsets of winter. The story is told through the eyes of Hob, a young orphan in the care of Molly, a world-wise woman who’s equally as skilled with a bow as she is with the medicinal powders and elixirs she keeps in her wagon.

Mr. Mercedes: King crafts a superbly natural crime thriller

Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King

Stephen King stays away from the supernatural and explores a more Earth-bound and human-centric kind of horror in Mr. Mercedes, the first in a trilogy, which will conclude with the spring 2016 release of End of Watch. The story hits upon a type of tragedy that’s made real-world headlines in the last few years: an out of control car (naturally, a Mercedes) mows down pedestrians standing in a group, caught by surprise, and without any chance of escape.

The Orion Plan: Standard sci-fi diversion

The Orion Plan: A Thriller by Mark Alpert

A homeless man sleeps fitfully in a park in New York City. He’s startled awake when an object crushes the box that affords him only a modicum of protection for the elements. He clambers out of the box and gapes at a:

black sphere at a center of a pit, half-buried in the mud. It looked like a bowling ball but slightly bigger, about a foot across. Its top half shone in the moonlight … it was as black as coal and yet its surface gleamed as if it were polished …

Between Two Fires: Epic, emotional, cross-genre fantasy

Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman

Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman is a hybrid fairy tale / fantasy / horror / historical fiction. These individual parts blend to create a fulfilling whole in a Canterbury Tales-style story of a fallen knight and spiritually lost priest who journey across France during the plague-ridden middle ages with an orphaned girl who’s either an exceptionally special individual, a weird witch, or a gift (literally) from the heavens.

The emotionally driven backdrop is a beautifully diverse French countryside,

The Time Ships: The Time Machine was just the beginning…

The Time Ships by Stephen Baxter

Stephen Baxter’s The Time Ships is a sequel to HG Wells’ classic The Time Machine. Where Wells was crisp, haunting and poignant, Baxter is deep and broad, and offers his usual blend of hard-core sci-fi philosophy and science.

The Time Ships picks up where The Time Machine left off. The Time Traveler (TTT), after getting nothing more than a tepid response to the story of his first trip to the future,

Salem’s Lot: Old school vampires, King-style

Salem’s Lot by Stephen King

Starting in 2012/2013 I started obsessing on Stephen King. I’m slowly working my way through his catalog, which means I should have a pretty full life of King left to me, right? I’m a huge fan of It, The Stand, The Shining, and I actually really enjoyed Under the Dome. I wanted more, and so I’ve gone old school with Salem’s Lot.

The Shining: An amazing character study

The Shining by Stephen King

Stephen King’s The Shining is an amazing character study that drives mood-heavy, emotionally deep, and unrelenting literary horror. The story centers on Danny Torrance, a young boy with a unique ability, termed the ‘shine.’ Danny can sense the future, and communicate mentally and emotionally with his inner self and other people, alive, and sometimes less so.

Stephen King writes ‘childhood’ masterfully. He’s able to tap into the emotions of youth, and create evocative realism in their thoughts, dialogue and action.

2010: Odyssey Two: Answers some questions

2010: Odyssey Two by Arthur C. Clarke

Please note that this review will include spoilers of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

In 2001: A Space Odyssey, we learn that mysterious forces have guided humanity’s evolution. We don’t meet these forces, but we do see their monoliths. The first monolith appears before a group of struggling chimpanzees. When they touch the monolith, they are inspired to use tools. The novel shifts to the twenty-first century, when another monolith is found on the moon.

December 30th, 2015. Ryan Skardal and Jason Golomb | Arthur C. Clarke | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |

Galileo’s Dream: A decent story with uneven execution

Galileo’s Dream by Kim Stanley Robinson

I’m a huge fan of Kim Stanley Robinson’s The Years of Rice and Salt, which is a terrific blend of pseudo science fictional philosophy and religion, and fun and entertaining alternative history. It’s deep and touching and provides a strong sense of activity (if not specifically action and adventure). So the concept behind Galileo’s Dream drew me to the book the instant I read the description: the astronomer Galileo is taken from Earth to the moons of Jupiter (which he discovered) in an attempt to modify the past to make for a better future — a future in which science rises up over religion.

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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