Posted by Sandy Ferber | Mar 14, 2023 | SFF Reviews | 1
The Super Barbarians by John Brunner Ever since the mid-15th century, and continuing on for some 600 years now and counting, coffee has been one of planet Earth’s favorite beverages. Today, I believe, it holds the No. 3 spot, with only water itself and tea being consumed more frequently. But whether taken black or light, as […]
Read More
Posted by Sandy Ferber | Apr 6, 2017 | SFF Reviews | 4
The Great Explosion by Eric Frank Russell In his 1955 collection entitled Men, Martians and Machines, English sci-fi author Eric Frank Russell told, via one short story and three novellas, some of the adventures of a starship crew that strongly suggested nothing less than a proto-Star Trek ensemble. The collection featured visits to three very […]
Read More
Posted by Sandy Ferber | Mar 1, 2017 | SFF Reviews | 2
They Walked Like Men by Clifford D. Simak In the history of the science fiction novel, there have been any number of depictions of invaders from other worlds trying to conquer good ol’ Mother Earth, be it with brute force and death rays (as in H.G. Wells’ seminal novel of 1898, The War of the […]
Read More
Posted by Tadiana Jones | Dec 22, 2016 | SFF Reviews | 8
Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges Ficciones is a classic collection of seventeen short stories by acclaimed Argentine author Jorge Luis Borges, originally published in the 1940s in Spanish, and winner of the 1961 International Publishers Prize. These stories and mock essays are a challenging mixture of philosophy, magical realism, fantasy, ruminations on the nature of […]
Read More
Posted by Sandy Ferber | Jul 20, 2016 | SFF Reviews | 7
The Seed of Earth by Robert Silverberg Men of a certain age may recall a particular trepidation that was attendant with the coming of their 18th birthday; i.e., the fear of being drafted into the armed forces. From 1940 until January ’73, males here in the U.S. could be drafted, even during peacetime, to fill […]
Read More
Posted by Sandy Ferber | Nov 23, 2015 | SFF Reviews | 1
The Case Against Satan by Ray Russell Up until a few years ago, the name “Ray Russell” was only familiar to me by dint of his work as a screenwriter on such marvelous horror/sci-fi films as Mr. Sardonicus (1961), The Premature Burial (1962), Zotz! (also from 1962) and X: The Man With the X-Ray Eyes […]
Read More
Posted by Stuart Starosta | Oct 2, 2015 | SFF Reviews | 6
The Drowned World by J.G. Ballard The Drowned World (1962) is J.G. Ballard’s best apocalyptic work, the other two being The Burning World (1964) and The Crystal World (1966), but if you are thinking of an action-packed adventure where a plucky group of survivors clings to decency amid the collapse of civilization, this is the […]
Read More
Posted by Stuart Starosta | Aug 19, 2015 | SFF Reviews | 6
The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick This is a strange and sinister book, even for Philip K. Dick. It’s a carefully-crafted alternate history about a world in which the Axis powers won WWII and now dominate the globe (other notable books in this vein include Bring the Jubilee by Ward Moore […]
Read More
Posted by Kat Hooper | Jun 26, 2015 | SFF Reviews | 6
Ellison Wonderland by Harlan Ellison® Harlan Ellison® comes across as pompous, overbearing, aggressive, and obnoxious, but I wouldn’t miss any of his stories. He’s one of the best story tellers in speculative fiction and I have no problem separating the man’s fiction from his personality (though that abrasiveness often comes across in his fiction, too). […]
Read More
Posted by Stuart Starosta | May 25, 2015 | SFF Reviews | 1
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess Not everyone may be a fan of Anthony Burgess’ A Clockwork Orange, but we all know of it thanks to the iconic film by Stanley Kubrick. The image of juvenile delinquent Alex and his droogs with their frighteningly ruthless smiles, black hats, suspenders, and kicking boots as they terrorize […]
Read More
Posted by Bill Capossere | May 1, 2015 | SFF Reviews | 3
This Book Chat we’re continuing with another classic Ray Bradbury title: Something Wicked This Way Comes, his 1962 novel that mixes fantasy, horror, and coming-of-age to tell the story of a sinister carnival that arrives in the town of two 13-year-old boys, Jim Nightshade and William Halloway. Bill Capossere: I’ll start off by saying I […]
Read More
Posted by Sandy Ferber | Apr 28, 2015 | SFF Reviews | 5
The Girl, the Gold Watch, and Everything by John D. MacDonald Having never read anything previously by renowned author John D. MacDonald, I discovered his 1962 paperback The Girl, the Gold Watch, and Everything after reading about it in David Pringle’s excellent overview volume Modern Fantasy: The Hundred Best Novels. Writing about the novel in […]
Read More
Posted by Sandy Ferber | Jan 29, 2015 | SFF Reviews | 2
Recalled to Life by Robert Silverberg True to his word, after announcing his retirement from the science fiction field in 1959, future Grand Master Robert Silverberg’s formerly prodigious output fell off precipitously. Although he’d released some 16 sci-fi novels from the period 1954 – ’59, not to mention almost 250 (!) sci-fi short stories, AFTER […]
Read More
Posted by Sandy Ferber | Sep 4, 2014 | SFF Reviews | 0
The Trial of Terra by Jack Williamson Jack Williamson’s The Trial of Terra made its initial appearance in 1962, as one of those cute little Ace paperbacks (D-555, for all you collectors out there). The book is what’s known as a “fix-up novel,” meaning that parts of the book had appeared as short stories years […]
Read More
Posted by Kat Hooper | Apr 13, 2012 | SFF Reviews | 3
Little Fuzzy by H. Beam Piper The Zarathustra Corporation owns and has been mining the planet of Zarathustra for years. They’re allowed to own the planet because it contains no sapient races. But when prospector Jack Holloway discovers a potentially sentient mammalian species, the Zarathustra Corporation may lose its charter and, therefore, the planet’s resources […]
Read More
Posted by Kelly Lasiter | Jul 14, 2010 | SFF Reviews | 0
The Seventh Swan by Nicholas Stuart Gray I had a hard time getting into The Seventh Swan at first; I think Nicholas Stuart Gray‘s writing style was the culprit. He jumps between points-of-view constantly, so it’s hard to tell who’s thinking what. After I got used to that, though, I found The Seventh Swan moving. […]
Read More
We’re updating our theme, so things may be a little messy or slow until we’re finished.
Recent Discussion