Previous SFF Author: C.M. Eddy_Jr
In our Edge of the Universe column, we review mainstream authors that incorporate elements of speculative fiction into their “literary” work. However you want to label them, we hope you’ll enjoy discussing these books with us.
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 |
Clay’s Ark by Octavia Butler
Clay’s Ark (1984) was written last in Octavia Butler’s 4-book PATTERNIST series, but comes third in chronology. It takes place after Wild Seed (1980) and Mind of My Mind (1977), in the post-apocalyptic California desert. Society has collapsed into armed enclaves, marauding ‘car families’, organ hunters, and isolated towns. It’s along the lines of Mad Max, with fuel sources depleted and social infrastructure nonexistent,
March 3rd, 2016. Stuart Starosta and Kat Hooper´s rating: 3, 4 | Octavia Butler | Audio, Edge | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Mind of My Mind by Octavia Butler
Mind of My Mind (1977) was written second in Octavia Butler’s 4-book PATTERNIST series, and comes second in chronology. However, I think it is less-polished than Wild Seed (1980), which comes earlier in chronology but was written later, after she had more fully developed her ideas about psionic powers, power/control, and telepaths vs. mutes. It’s tough to decide whether readers should approach this series in the order it was written,
March 1st, 2016. Stuart Starosta and Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | Octavia Butler | Audio, Edge | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Kindred by Octavia Butler
Kindred (1979) is Octavia Butler’s earliest stand-alone novel, and though it features time travel, it’s not really science fiction or fantasy. It’s an exploration of American slavery and its painful legacy from the eyes of a contemporary (well, circa 1976) young black woman named Dana. So don’t expect to learn why she keeps being pulled back in time to a pre-Civil War slave plantation in Maryland every time her ancestor, a white slave owner named Rufus Weylin, finds his life in danger.
February 5th, 2016. Stuart Starosta´s rating: 4 | Octavia Butler | Audio, Edge, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 6 comments |
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
Blood Meridian is a book that almost everyone has heard of, read, or intends to read at some point. It’s been called one of the Great American Novels (and Cormac McCarthy one the Great American Writers), and the greatest Western or most ruthless debunking of the Western myth of Manifest Destiny ever written. Many who have read it are probably at a loss to say whether it is a work of genius or depravity, and it is mind-numbingly violent, lyrical, and profound at the same time.
January 21st, 2016. Stuart Starosta´s rating: 3 | Cormac McCarthy | Audio, Edge, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton
Jessie Burton’s debut novel, The Miniaturist, was undoubtedly a hit. I bought it because I was in an airport rush and it was winking at me from its bestseller, front row spot on the shelves. The Miniaturist’s popularity does not surprise me. It is an enjoyable read, packed with intertwining mysteries that tease throughout. I imagine a lot of people have fond memories of doll’s houses and were enticed by this aspect of the story,
January 14th, 2016. Katie Burton and Tadiana Jones´s rating: 3 | Jessie Burton | Edge, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 5 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 |
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
In Oryx and Crake, Margaret Atwood details an apocalyptic plague, introduces a new species of creatures that have been genetically designed to replace humanity, and the villain is a mad scientist in love. What could be more “SFF” than Oryx and Crake?
Quite a lot, according to Margaret Atwood, who prefers to describe her novel as “speculative fiction” rather than “science fiction.” In interviews promoting Oryx and Crake,
January 1st, 2016. Ryan Skardal, Ruth Arnell, Bill Capossere, Kat Hooper and Stuart Starosta´s rating: 5 | Margaret Atwood | Edge | SFF Reviews | 11 comments |
Hear the Wind Sing by Haruki Murakami
First published in 1979, Hear the Wind Sing is Haruki Murakami’s debut novel (or novella, depending upon where one draws the line). An unnamed narrator tells the story of what happened to him over the course of eighteen days when he was a university student. He spends most of his time either drinking beer with his friend, “The Rat,” or else in a confused relationship with a woman.
To be honest, I did not enjoy Hear the Wind Sing,
December 22nd, 2015. Ryan Skardal´s rating: 2 | Haruki Murakami | Audio, Edge | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Lord of the Silver Bow by David Gemmell
I tried reading David Gemmell‘s Lord of the Silver Bow about 9 months before I actually read it. It was heavy, plodding, and confusing. I was looking for a fun story full of action and adventure, and I love history… but, alas, I stopped reading after about 50 pages, and kind of figured that I was simply beyond the age when testosterone-fueled adventures could carry a story. I gave it a second shot, and it turns out,
December 16th, 2015. Jason Golomb´s rating: 4 | David Gemmell | Edge | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Previous SFF Author: C.M. Eddy_Jr
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Thanks for the kind words, Marion! Coming as they are from a professional writer, they are much appreciated!
Wonderful review, Sandy.
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