Previous SFF Author: Alyson Noel
How to Clone a Mammoth by Beth Shapiro
Those very few times we have covered non-fiction titles here, they’ve all been pretty firmly and directly connected to our main focus, limited to reviews of biographies or critical of well-known fantasy/science fiction authors.
Today though, I’m going to wander a bit further afield with a review of Beth Shapiro’s How to Clone a Mammoth, a straight popular science book. Why? Three basic reasons:
April 3rd, 2015. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4.5 | Non-fiction | SFF Reviews | 6 comments |
The Discarded Image: An Introduction to Medieval and Renaissance Literature by C.S. Lewis
To me, this might be C.S. Lewis‘ best book. I will have to cop to not really liking the NARNIA books (too allegorical, and those British schoolchildren are pretty annoying), and while I do quite like his SPACE TRILOGY, I think that Lewis was much better as a writer of academic non-fiction than he was as a fiction writer. In The Discarded Image, Lewis is able to tackle a huge subject: medieval cosmology and worldview,
March 9th, 2015. Terry Lago´s rating: 5 | C.S. Lewis | Non-fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Tolkien and the Great War: The Threshold of Middle-earth by John Garth
Tolkien and the Great War is an obviously well-researched book that goes into explicit (at times I must admit tedious) detail on J.R.R. Tolkien’s involvement in World War I and its possible impact on his then-current and later writings. We begin by observing Tolkien’s earliest close friendships formed at St. Edward’s Grammar School under the auspices of the “TCBS” (an acronym for Tea Club, Barrovian Society) where the core group of Tolkien, Christopher Wiseman, Robert Gilson,
February 18th, 2015. Terry Lago´s rating: 2.5 | J.R.R. Tolkien | Non-fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Dreamer of Dune by Brian Herbert
In 2003 Tor released Dreamer of Dune, a biography of Frank Herbert (1920 – 1986) written by his son Brian Herbert, who has written a number of novels as well. The best known of these are the DUNE prequels and sequels written in collaboration with Kevin J. Anderson. Dreamer of Dune is not the only book about Frank Herbert or his works but the others I am aware of are currently out of print.
February 4th, 2015. Rob Weber | Brian Herbert, Frank Herbert | Non-fiction | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
What is a Superhero? by Robin S. Rosenberg and Peter Coogan (editors)
What is a Superhero?, a collection of 25 essays edited by Robin S. Rosenberg and Peter Coogan, doesn’t aim to present “the” answer to this oft-asked question. Instead, it throws open to the door to an array of answers (some of which are directly contradictory) from people across a wide spectrum of fields: philosophers, psychologists, comic book creators, cultural critics, etc. If, as is almost always the case in any collection, the individual essays vary in quality of insight,
December 11th, 2014. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4.5 | Non-fiction | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Ray Bradbury: The Last Interview and Other Conversations edited by Sam Weller
Ray Bradbury: The Last Interview and Other Conversations, edited by Sam Weller, is actually several interviews, conducted over the last two years of Bradbury’s life, plus a handful of rough essays dictated by Bradbury to Weller, his long-time biographer. Despite this, the book is relatively slim, coming in at about 90 pages, with a lot of white space. This is not meant, though, to be an in-depth look at (or listen to) Bradbury;
December 8th, 2014. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3.5 | Ray Bradbury | Non-fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Hello from 2030 by Jan Paul Schutten
I had some mixed feelings about Hello from 2030, a Middle Grade (grades 3-7) non-fiction book by Jan Paul Schutten that over the course of about 200 pages speculates on what the future might hold for human culture — driverless cars, robots, living houses, a changing environment — as well as explains how such “futurology” predictions are made. On the one hand, it is full of interesting moments of speculation about future technology, has a quick pace, is clear and easy to follow.
October 16th, 2014. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3 | Children, Non-fiction | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The Wisdom of the Shire by Noble Smith
Hobbits constantly surprise Elf kings, dragons, and Dark Lords with their courage and valiant spirit, but we rarely associate them with wisdom. Thankfully, Noble Smith’s The Wisdom of the Shire: A Short Guide to a Long and Happy Life exists to correct our mistake. Wisdom of the Shire is one part self-help book and one part homage to Hobbit wisdom.
Smith divides his work into a series of essays,
September 24th, 2014. Ryan Skardal´s rating: 3 | J.R.R. Tolkien | Non-fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
When Travels begins, Crichton is a student at Harvard Medical School, sawing into cadavers with his peers. He nearly faints at the sight of blood, but he is a talented and diligent student. Crichton shares the objections and concerns that would ultimately drive him from medicine, a decision perhaps made easier by the fact that he had already begun to experience success as a writer of spy novels. However, more than anything, it seems that Crichton began to doubt that doctors are capable of helping people.
June 20th, 2014. Ryan Skardal´s rating: 4 | Michael Crichton | Non-fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
What Makes This Book So Great by Jo Walton
In 2008, Jo Walton began a regular column over at Tor.com on the books she was reading. Actually, mostly re-reading. She was invited to blog on the site because, as Patrick Nielsen Hayden told her, she was “always saying smart things about books nobody else had thought about for ages.” In What Makes This Book So Great, she’s collected about a fifth of those posts and presented them in brief essays, being careful to point out she is doing so as neither a reviewer (who mostly cover new works) nor a critic.
March 26th, 2014. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4 | Jo Walton | Non-fiction | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
Previous SFF Author: Alyson Noel
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