Version Control by Dexter Palmer
“Knowledge is a big subject. Ignorance is bigger… And it is more interesting.” ~Stuart Firestein
Dexter Palmer’s Version Control is my kind of science fiction. I loved every moment of this book. The story is set in the near future and focuses on Rebecca Wright and her small circle of family and friends. Rebecca, who drinks wine at breakfast and works from home as a customer service agent for an online matchmaking company called Lovability,
March 15th, 2016. Kat Hooper´s rating: 5 | Dexter Palmer | Audio, Edge, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 12 comments |
The Winged Histories by Sofia Samatar
I was going to review Sofia Samatar’s book The Winged Histories, her companion novel to 2014’s A Stranger in Olondria, by simply saying, “This book is great, but don’t take my word for it; go read it.” Then I realized that not everyone will feel the way I feel about The Winged Histories. Instead of saying, “This book isn’t for everyone,” I’m going to aim this review at the people I do think it’s for.
March 14th, 2016. Marion Deeds´s rating: 5 | Sofia Samatar | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
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,
March 14th, 2016. Jason Golomb´s rating: 3.5 | Allen Steele | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Investigating Lois Lane by Tim Hanley
There’s something irresistibly appealing about Lois Lane, DC Comics’ globe-trotting and Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter. In the hands of a good writer, she’s got grit and guts to spare, she’s smart enough to track down crime bosses or dissolve child-smuggling rings, and she’s tough enough to stand toe-to-toe with the likes of supervillains Lex Luthor and Braniac. In the hands of a bad writer — and there have been many — she’s a sex object, a romantic conquest, a pawn whose numerous meaningless deaths are nothing more than the catalyst for Superman’s emotional arcs.
March 2nd, 2016. Jana Nyman´s rating: 4.5 | Non-fiction | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
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 …
February 29th, 2016. Jason Golomb´s rating: 2.5 | Mark Alpert | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Downfall of the Gods by K.J. Parker
Who do you fear when you’re an immortal god?
Your father seems worthy of your fear. He is older, more powerful, perhaps wiser. His wrath can make your life a living hell, and you don’t want to be the one god in your family that strays far from the godly path you’re born to follow. Your life is eternal, and that is both blessing and curse. Fortunately, there are a handful of talented human beings in every generation, and a truly wonderful musician has arisen.
February 22nd, 2016. João Eira´s rating: 5 | K.J. Parker | Short Fiction, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Only the Stones Survive by Morgan Llywelyn
Morgan Llywelyn has written dozens of historical novels about Ireland, the Celts, and the Túatha Dé Danann. Her latest, Only the Stones Survive, recounts her version of the legendary Gaelic conquest of the Túatha Dé Danann in ancient Ireland. According to the myths, the Milesians sailed to Ireland and, after fighting a battle, and with the help of the bard Amergin, made peace with the fae folk. They divided up the island so that the Milesians lived atop the land while the Túatha Dé Danann lived in the underworld below.
January 18th, 2016. Kat Hooper´s rating: 2 | Morgan Llywelyn | Audio | SFF Reviews | 6 comments |
The Stargazer’s Sister by Carrie Brown
The Stargazer’s Sister, by Carrie Brown, is a wonderfully realized tale of Caroline Herschel, sister and essential assistant to her famed astronomer brother William. The highly fictionalized account (Brown cops in an afterword to making up events, characters, and shifting chronology) takes us deep into Caroline’s fears and desires throughout her long life, making for a quiet and moving character study.
The first chapter opens with Caroline and Herschel’s departure from Germany for England, where the two would spend most of their adult lives.
January 12th, 2016. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4 | Carrie Brown | Edge, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
...as well as the 1932 sequel, "Topper Takes a Trip"!
It's such a rich and ancient ambience - in many ways the plot itself doesn't matter, I just like strolling…
I didn't know he wrote Topper!
Best new book: Play of Shadows by Sebastien Sebastien de Castell Honorary mention for The Naming Song by Jebediah Berry…
Best read for August was Karel Capek's War With the Newts, another one of his acerbic fables about the human…