Stuart Starosta | Fantasy Literature: Fantasy and Science Fiction Book and Audiobook Reviews

Author: Stuart Starosta

Blindsight: Mind-blowing hard SF about first contact, consciousness

Blindsight by Peter Watts

This is ‘hard science fiction’ in the truest sense of the term — hard science concepts, hard-to-understand writing at times, and hard-edged philosophy of mind and consciousness. Peter Watts aggressively tackles weighty subjects like artificial intelligence, evolutionary biology, genetic modification, sentience vs intelligence, first contact with aliens utterly different from humanity, and a dystopian future where humans are almost superfluous and would rather retreat into VR. Blindsight (2006) is also a tightly-told story of an exploration vessel manned by five heavily-modified post-humans commanded by a super-intelligent vampire,

Sin City (Vol. 6): Booze, Broads, and Bullets by Frank Miller

Sin City (Vol. 6): Booze, Broads, and Bullets by Frank Miller

Booze, Broads, and Bullets is the sixth volume in Frank Miller’s SIN CITY series, and it’s a welcome return to form after the travesty known as Family Values. The artwork is excellent, the stories are tight, and there are hardly any wasted pages (other than the story Rats perhaps). It makes sense since a number of these stories were written earlier.

The Bridge: Lucid dreams with a Scottish flair

The Bridge by Iain M. Banks

Iain M. Banks is a versatile Scottish writer, equally skilled in far-future space opera (the CULTURE series), dark contemporary novels (The Crow Road, The Wasp Factory, Walking on Glass), and a host of novels in between. The Bridge is one of his earlier books, and the late author’s personal favorite according to an interview. It was also selected by David Pringle in his Modern Fantasy: The 100 Best Novels.

Feersum Endjinn: An eclectic far-future science fantasy

Feersum Endjinn by Iain M. Banks

Sometimes a book has so many incredible elements that it defies easy summary. Compound that with the fact that it shares themes with some of your favorite genre classics, and that it is written by the incredibly-talented Iain M. Banks, and you have the recipe for a very unique reading experience. As I read the story, I was forcibly reminded of some classic books in the genre, particularly Arthur C. Clarke’s The City and the Stars,

Sin City (Vol. 5): Family Values by Frank Miller

Sin City (Vol. 5): Family Values by Frank Miller

Family Values is the fifth volume in Frank Miller’s SIN CITY series, and its a serious stinker. Until now, the first four volumes have been consistently well-drawn, distinctive, hard-boiled, and fun in a mean-spirited way. I came in expecting more of that, and was shocked to see almost from the first panels an unmistakable drop in the quality of the artwork, dialogue, and story. Miller is still using his tried-and-true black-and-white palette,

Parable of the Sower: A new religion born from societal collapse

Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler

Parable of the Sower (1993) is the first book in Octavia Butler’s PARABLE (EARTHSEED) series. It is one of her most well-regarded novels, along with Kindred (1979) and Wild Seed (1980), and depicts a near-future United States that has collapsed due to environmental catastrophe into roving bands of thieves, drug addicts, rapists, murderers, scavengers, corporate towns that impose wage slavery, and gated communities protected by armed guards that strive to survive amidst the chaos.

So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish: Amiable but superfluous

So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish by Douglas Adams

The original HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY trilogy was a massive hit, so it was inevitable that fans would clamor for more. The first three books ranged across the galaxy, a wild ride carried along by an eclectic cast of comic characters, held together by Douglas Adams’ droll British humor, intergalactic hitchhiker Ford Prefect, former President of the Galaxy Zaphod Beeblebrox, Marvin the Paranoid Robot, and grounded by befuddled English everyman Arthur Dent. This time Adams has taken a very different tack,

Sin City (Vol. 4): That Yellow Bastard by Frank Miller

Sin City (Vol. 4): That Yellow Bastard by Frank Miller

This is the fourth volume in Frank Miller’s SIN CITY series, about a grizzled old detective named John Hartigan who decides that on his final day before retirement (due to severe angina) that he will take down the evil son of the most powerful man in Sin City, Senator Roark. Roark Junior, knowing he is protected by his father, rapes and kills young girls with impunity, and Hartigan decides that someone finally has to do something about it.

Life, the Universe, and Everything: Still funny, but losing coherence

Life, the Universe, and Everything by Douglas Adams

I loved THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY series when I read it back in 5th grade. It was one of the first science fiction series I read, shortly after THE LORD OF THE RINGS and THE CHRONICLES OF PRYDAIN. I was just forming my taste in fantastic fiction, and this was the first series I read that was truly funny, featuring dry, ironic British humor no less. It was completely new to a kid growing up in sunny Hawaii,

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe: Serious philosophy camouflaged as comedy

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams

The HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY series can be enjoyed on many levels, so it’s tough to decide how to review it. On the surface, it’s just a zany series of dry British humorous skits ala Monty Python, but when you dig deeper, Douglas Adams has a lot to say about life, the universe, and everything. Taken as a whole, he presents a consistent philosophy that our universe is impossibly huge beyond our comprehension,

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December 2024

Kevin S. on The Anubis Gates: A very generous bookDecember 25, 2024
This book made no sense to me at all. I was hoping for some explanations at the end but it…
San on In a Lonely Place: Tennessee DreadDecember 23, 2024
Oh, Marion, you say "but dark" as if it were a bad thing! 😂
Marion Deeds on In a Lonely Place: Tennessee DreadDecember 23, 2024
Hammer Studios is... reborn? I only ever read the "Kane" stories, which I found good but dark. It's a little…
Sandy Ferber on The Great White Space: Black mountain sideDecember 21, 2024
Oh...and the men used the name "The Great Northern Expedition" to throw people off as to their actual destination, even…
Sandy Ferber on The Great White Space: Black mountain sideDecember 21, 2024
Oh, it IS, Marion! It is!

Author: Stuart Starosta

Blindsight: Mind-blowing hard SF about first contact, consciousness

Sin City (Vol. 6): Booze, Broads, and Bullets by Frank Miller

The Bridge: Lucid dreams with a Scottish flair

Feersum Endjinn: An eclectic far-future science fantasy

Sin City (Vol. 5): Family Values by Frank Miller

Parable of the Sower: A new religion born from societal collapse

So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish: Amiable but superfluous

Sin City (Vol. 4): That Yellow Bastard by Frank Miller

Life, the Universe, and Everything: Still funny, but losing coherence

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe: Serious philosophy camouflaged as comedy

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