Category novel
Reading Rundown
Job hunting and other annoying concerns have kept me from reading and posting as much as I should, but I thought I’d give everyone a quick rundown of some books I’ve read recently: Will Destroy the Galaxy for Cash by Yahtzee Croshaw is a sequel to Will Save the Galaxy for Food, which I’ve briefly […]
Arthur C Clarke and me
I never met Arthur C Clarke. This is the second post in my planned blog series Author X and me, where I write about my overall experience with an author’s work, and whether I plan to read their books in the future. Clarke may have been the first science fiction author I ever read. I […]
Series: Spiral Wars
Book 1 of the Spiral Wars Series Joel Shepherd’s Spiral Wars series fits neatly in a sci-fi style I’d love to read more of: a galaxy full of conflicts between humans, aliens, and AIs, revealed to the reader through the action-adventures of a hero or group of heroes. I’m not getting what I want […]
Outside the Lines: The Recruit
I occasionally do something I call “Reading Outside the Lines”, where I pick a book that’s not sci-fi or fantasy to see what the writing is like in other genres of fiction. I’ve taken on thrillers already, so today I thought I’d tackle young adult. I’ve reviewed a couple of young adult books with major […]
Reading on the Road
I haven’t been posting regularly for the past few months, as I wound down my last job and then drove back and forth across the country for job interviews. It’s been fatiguing, but allowed me to burn through some audiobooks. I’ll run through a few of them here, but I’m leaving out others, either because […]
More from the edge of the galaxy
Before I get to the books, I have a quick personal note. You’ve probably noticed that I haven’t been posting much lately. I’ve been busy with career-related issues, including losing my job recently. I don’t want anyone to worry – I should be fine. I saw this coming some time ago, so my resume was […]
Vote for the best stories of 2018
Originally posted on Planetary Awards:
Vote for the best stories of 2018 If you’re a blogger, podcaster, or youtuber, then you’re eligible to vote in the 2018 Planetary Awards. The nominated science fiction and fantasy stories are: Short Stories / Novellas The Flowers of Vashnoi by Lois Bujold Kakerlacs by Alexandru Constantin Mortu and Kyrus in…
100 Fathoms Below
Tomorrow is the deadline to nominate for the Planetary Awards, so I’m making my nomination for best novel of 2018 tonight, and I’ll try to do a short story nomination tomorrow. If I had to nominate the book which I had the most fun reading, I’d nominate Monster Hunter Memoirs : Saints. But, I’m not […]
Some Military Sci-Fi
This will be the last of my posts about books I’m NOT nominating for the Planetary Awards this year. My plan is to finally make my nomination for best novel tomorrow, and for best short story on Thursday. Thursday night (Feb 14) is the deadline, so get your nominations in by then! Rumors of War Rumors […]
Security Contractors vs Mutants and Aliens
This is my third post in a row about books I won’t be nominating for the Planetary Awards. (The clock is ticking — you still have a few days to get your own nominations in.) This time I’m covering two books in one post, because they’re both about security contractors up against sci-fi monsters. Extinction […]
Smoke Eaters
This is my second brief post about reading for the Planetary Awards. The February 14th deadline is almost here, so don’t forget to make your own nominations. Yesterday, I posted about Embers of War and why it wouldn’t get my nomination. Today, I’m posting about Smoke Eaters and why it won’t, either. Firefighters versus dragons […]
Embers of War
At the start of the year, I posted a list of books I was planning to read for the Planetary Awards. I’m going to try to blast out mini-reviews of the ones I’ve read before the February 14th nomination deadline. That’s right, Feb 14, get your nominations in. Embers of War Embers of War will not […]
Too Many Hasselhoffs
I recently received an email from Audible (my usual supplier of audiobooks) notifying me of a new release: Up Against the Wall. The book was written by David Hasselhoff, and the audio version was narrated by David Hasselhoff. Nothing too strange there, as authors often narrate their own work if they have good voices. Things got […]
A Last-Minute Contender
Last week, I posted a list of 2018 books I’m thinking of reading, looking for something I can nominate as the best book of the year. I’ve just noticed that a book which I thought had been released in January was actually published on December 31st, 2018. The book is Voyage of the Lanternfish, by […]
Extra Reading from 2018
It’s time to nominate your favorite 2018 stories for the Planetary Awards, where book bloggers choose the best books and short stories of the year. I’ve realized that I read very few 2018 books during 2018, so now I’m scrambling to read some more. (This seems to be an annual event for me.) Here are […]
Series: Hard Luck Hank
Hard Luck Hank: Screw the Galaxy You may have noticed that I haven’t been online for the past few weeks. I’ve become increasingly frustrated at work, so I’ve been spending all my free time searching for jobs, filling out applications, and driving across the country for interviews (typical result: the company changes its mind and […]
Series: Republic of Cinnabar Navy
With the Lightnings Once upon a time, there was a real-life historical figure named Thomas Cochrane. His dashing naval exploits inspired at least two historical fiction series: Master and Commander (I’ve read all 21 books in this series and enjoyed all but one) and Horatio Hornblower (I’ve only read the first book, which wasn’t bad, but […]
Vacation Reading 2018
My wife and I recently returned from a hiking trip to Patagonia and the Andes. I’ll try to do a vacation post later (although I still haven’t posted about last year’s vacation…), but today’s post is about the books I read on the flights there and back. This year, I decided to read books written […]
The Galaxy is a Dumpster Fire
The Galaxy’s Edge series is a mix of military sci-fi and space opera, set in a Universe that draws heavily on Star Wars without using any of its proper names. At first, you’ll find yourself spotting all the Star Wars similarities (or reversals, such as the stormtroopers being crack shots, or a Han Solo-style character […]
Kevin J Anderson and Me
I’ve never met Kevin J Anderson, but for some time, I’ve been thinking of doing a series of posts which I’m now titling [Author X] and me. In these posts, I’ll briefly mention each of the author’s works I’ve read, trying not to go into too much detail on any one of them. In Anderson’s […]
Outside the Lines: Poseidon’s Arrow
Poseidon’s Arrow by Clive Cussler and Dirk Cussler When reading fiction, I normally stick with sci-fi and fantasy, but I’ve decided to look into other genres, to see what their authors are up to. I’m planning to do a few of these posts, and in my head I’ve been calling the project “Reading Outside the […]
2017 Winners
Originally posted on Planetary Awards:
The 2017 results are in: The winner for best shorter story is “The First American” by Schuyler Hernstrom. The story is in issue #5 of Cirsova Magazine. This follows Hernstrom’s victory for best shorter story of 2016. The winner for best novel is Legionnaire (Galaxy’s Edge) by Jason Anspach and Nick…
Vote for the best stories of 2017
Originally posted on Planetary Awards:
If you’re a blogger, podcaster, or youtuber, then you’re eligible to vote in the 2017 Planetary Awards. The nominated science fiction and fantasy stories are: Short Stories / Novellas “Acadie” by Dave Hutchinson “The Bitten Body” by AC Spahn “Death on the Moon” by Spencer Hart, found in Cirsova issue…
Double Double
I’ve just purchased these two “Ace Double” paperbacks, containing stories written from 1958 to 1962. Those cover images aren’t upside-down by mistake — with a “double”, you read one story which ends in the middle of the book, then flip the book over and start reading inward from the other direction. The individual stories are […]
DNF: Fire with Fire
Fire with Fire by Charles Gannon I didn’t post about it in January, but my New Year’s resolution was to DNF more books. (DNF is book-blogger slang for Did Not Finish.) Since I became a book blogger, I’ve DNFed very little, but I’m frustrated by the low average quality of my reading material, and I […]
Review (part II): Jade City
Jade City by Fonda Lee In part I of my review, I wrote about the publisher’s deceptive marketing. Jade City is slow-paced, not a kung-fu action fest as promised. But, if you enjoy worldbuilding and character-building, Jade City could be right up your alley. The story is set in a fictional Asian island nation, Kekon, […]
Review (part I): Jade City
Jade City by Fonda Lee I enjoyed “Jade City”, and wish I could jump right into telling you why I enjoyed it, but … first, I think I need to talk about the elephant in the room: the publisher’s deceptive marketing. The book was promoted as “The Godfather” crossed with a kung fu action flick. […]
Review/Nomination: Kings of the Wyld
Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames Kings of the Wyld is about bands of mercenaries, with the modern concept of musical bands thrown in: the mercenary bands are small (four or five people), and have fans and booking agents. The primary characters are the older members of a band which broke up long ago, […]
Review: The Deep Range
The Deep Range by Arthur C Clarke I almost let January slip by without making a post for Vintage Science Fiction month, but I’m getting my last-minute contribution in with a little-known book by Arthur C Clarke. The Deep Range, first published in 1957, is a science fiction novel which takes place mostly on islands […]
Thoughts on best SFF novel of 2017
It’s time for my annual realization that while I read many books in 2017, I read very few novels that were released in 2017. I generally read a non-fiction book for every work of fiction I read, and my fiction reading tends to jump around the years and decades. So, it’s time for me to […]
NaNoWriMo wrap-up
November’s over, and I achieved my NaNoWriMo goal of 30 novels in 30 days. I posted about my first 17 novels earlier, here are the remaining 13: Running Ragged — A street urchin witnesses a crime in an illegal drug lab, and goes on the run from the perpetrators. Can’t Eat This — A prototype android responds to […]
NaNoWriMo progress
I haven’t put any new reviews up in the last couple of weeks, because I’ve been working nights and weekends, counting inventory battling the forces of bad science fiction, and I can’t seem to shake the cold I caught on the plane home from South America the PDC was hit by a biological weapons attack. I […]
NaNoWriMo
If you’re not familiar with NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), it takes place each November, when aspiring authors attempt to write entire novels in 30 days. For most people, writing a novel in 30 days would be an ambitious goal, but for someone with my awesome writing skills, it’s not much of a challenge. So, for this […]
Vacation Reading
On Sunday, I returned from a two-week vacation (My last couple of posts were set up to run automatically while I was away). I’ll eventually do an off-topic post with vacation pics, but I’m a bit weak thanks to catching a virus or something on the flight home, plus some pre-vacation injuries, so I’m doing […]
21st-Century SFF Publishers
If you’ve been following this blog, you know that I’ve been struggling to find good science-fiction stories in magazines. Although I haven’t blogged about longer fiction lately, I also have trouble finding good sci-fi and fantasy novels. I normally don’t pay any attention to a book’s publisher. I usually decide what to read based on […]
For Steam and Country
For Steam and Country Fellow blogger Jon Del Arroz recently released his first steampunk novel, For Steam and Country. I haven’t read it yet, so this post won’t be a review. (I will point out that there must be some humor in it, as one of the characters is named Baron Von Monocle.) I’ve only […]
Review of The River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey
Originally posted on Every Day Should Be Tuesday:
The River of Teeth has a killer concept. It riffs off a cockamamie scheme to deal with invasive vegetation and a meat shortage in America by importing hippos en masse. In Gailey’s world, Congress went forward with the scheme (at a slightly different time than proposed), and…
Planetary Award Winners – 2016
The winners of the 2016 Planetary Awards have been announced. The winning short story was “Athan and the Priestess” from the collection Thune’s Vision by Schuyler Hernstrom. I’ve purchased a copy, and I’ll review it once I’ve read the entire book. I’ve only read the winning story so far, but I enjoyed it. I found it very Conan-esque, […]
Vote for the best stories of 2016
Originally posted on Planetary Awards:
We’re expanding the voting pool for the awards this year, so read this entire post to find out if YOU are eligible to vote. But first, here are the 2016 stories nominated by book bloggers across the internet: Short Stories / Novellas “Athan and the Priestess” by Schuyler Hernstrom, found in…
My 2016 Planetary Award Nominations
I’ve posted my thoughts about 2016 short stories, 2016 novels, and 2016 indie reading. Many of the stories I mentioned could have been #1, but it’s time for me to quit being indecisive and pick my nominees for the Planetary Awards. Short Story For best short story, I’m choosing “Paper Cut” by Aeryn Rudel. It was published in […]
Award Thoughts – Indie Reading
I’ve already posted my award thoughts concerning short stories, and the better novels I read last year. At the start of 2017, I made an effort to read some self-published books (and a couple of traditionally-published I hadn’t gotten to) to see if they might be worth nominating for best SFF book of the year. (I […]
Award Thoughts – Novel
I’m having trouble picking my favorite novel of 2016, just like I’m having trouble picking a short story. I don’t have as many novels to choose from, so I’ve expanded my candidates to include books that aren’t the first in a series. Joel Shepherd’s Drysine Legacy was in the lead, until I realized that although the […]
Submit Your 2016 Nominations
Originally posted on Planetary Awards:
Happy New Year — it’s time to nominate your favorite science fiction and fantasy writing for the 2016 Planetary Awards. We’re doing only two categories this year: Shorter story (under 40,000 words/160 paperback pages) Longer story (novels) If you’re a book blogger, book podcaster, or booktuber, the nomination process is…
Review: Children of the Different
Children of the Different Three flying saucers (3 out of 4 rating) Fellow blogger SC Flynn gave me a copy of the audiobook version of his first self-published novel, Children of the Different. I enjoyed listening to an Australian-authored audiobook with an Australian narrator — most Aussie audiobooks I’ve run across are read […]
PDC on Facebook
I’ve bitten the bullet and created a Facebook page for Planetary Defense Command. Facebook considers PDC an “artist, band, or public figure”. I’m certain I’m not a band, and I’ve never considered myself an artist, so I guess that makes me a public figure — and I didn’t even have to put on a tie! […]
Last Week
I was on vacation in Maine last week. I logged in here, posted a pre-written article, and responded to a few comments, but otherwise stayed away from email and blogs. I’ll write up a full travelogue of my trip this weekend or next week, including a few photos. The alien rover has already broadcast one […]
Books Made of Paper
In the future… My granddaughter hops onto my lap, and once again I say a silent prayer of thanks for the medical technology which let me live long enough to know her. I pick up a paperback book from the table beside my chair. “Would you like to see something from back when Grandpa was […]
Review: The Awakening
The Awakening One dung Beetle (1 out of 4 rating) Abducted humans wake up aboard an alien spaceship. The aliens have been collecting apex predators from various planets, but for some reason the predators are waking up and running loose on the ship. Plus, an automated defense system is trying to kill all life on […]
Planetary Awards and Dragon Awards
The winners have been announced in the 2015 Planetary Awards. The winner for best short story was “Something in the Water” by C. S. Boyack. I wrote a little about the story when I nominated it, and I also reviewed the collection which contains the story. I ‘ve read the winner for best novel, Torchship, […]
99 cents: Wild Concept
Followers of this blog should be familiar with C. S. Boyack. I’ve interviewed him, reviewed his experimental notebook, and posted an excerpt from his latest novel, The Playground. For just a couple of days, his first novel, Wild Concept, is on sale for 99 cents at Amazon. I’ve picked up a copy — get one […]
Free David Drake
David Drake isn’t in prison (as far as I know) – I’m referring to free David Drake ebooks at Amazon. I don’t know if these are permanently free or short-term promotions, so grab them now if you want them. Several of the books are also available as audiobooks at audible; once you have the ebook […]
Questions from MarzAat
MarzAat recently nominated me for a Liebster award. If you’re not familiar with Liebster: basically you answer ten questions, then forward ten questions to ten bloggers who impress you. I’m not going to forward the questions on, as some bloggers have grown tired of awards. Reference this graphic from Entertaining Stories: However, if you would […]
Review: Heirs of Empire
Heirs of Empire I found Heirs of Empire when I was searching for a novel to nominate for The Planetary Awards. The book has a reasonably interesting plot: a military coup knocks out most of a ruling dynasty, the youngest members of the dynasty escape, and the dynasty’s allies lay a foundation for its return […]
Meet Clovis
Clovis is a character from C. S. Boyack‘s new novel, The Playground. (If I’m not mistaken, Clovis is on the short-list to receive a Nobel Peace Prize this year.) Here is an excerpt from The Playground which introduces him: The tweaker rushed around the corner behind the bushes, tried to slam the gate shut, and […]
Cover Reveal: The Playground
Freqent PDC visitor C. S. Boyack will release “The Playground” soon (pre-orders now being taken at Amazon). I’ve previously interviewed him on this blog, and also reviewed his short story collection, The Experimental Notebook of C. S. Boyack. Watch for the book’s release by following Boyack’s author page on Amazon, on Goodreads, or, if you […]
Nine novels down, five to go
I read nine novels in my search for planetary awards nominees, so I thought I’d give you a rundown of them before I resume my magazine quest. I’ll also lay out my plans for reading other bloggers’ nominees. Traditionally-published, from best to worst: #1) Son of the Black Sword by Larry Correia was my nominee. […]
Vote for the best stories of 2015
Originally posted on Planetary Awards:
If you’re a book blogger, podcaster, or booktuber, then it’s time to vote for the best stories of 2015. You are allowed one vote per category, chosen from the nominated works listed below: Short Story / Novella: Something in the Water by C.S. Boyack, in The Experimental Notebook of C. S.…
Son of the Black Sword
Son of the Black Sword I’ve made my short story and self-published novel nominations for the Planetary Awards, and now I’m nominating Son of the Black Sword for best traditionally-published novel of 2015. This post will discuss the book, but won’t really be a review. I’m going to talk about the author’s previous work, my […]
Rath’s Deception – my choice for best self-published novel of 2015
Last week, I posted my nomination for the Planetary Awards in the short story category. In that post, I mentioned that I found a couple of surprise gems in my December novel-reading binge. The best of these was Rath’s Deception by Piers Platt. I wasn’t familiar with the author, and the polished writing and page-turning quality […]
My 2015 Planetary Awards Nominations
The 2015 Planetary Awards have three categories open for nominations: shorter story (including novelettes and novellas), traditionally published novel, and self-published / small press novel. It wasn’t too hard for me to find a short story nominee. I’ve read a dozen 2015 science fiction magazines as part of my magazine quest, and I’ve also read […]
Submit Your 2015 Nominations
Originally posted on Planetary Awards:
It’s time for book bloggers, podcasters, and booktubers to nominate their favorite science fiction and fantasy books and short stories published in 2015. There are three categories for the 2015 awards: 1) Shorter story (under 40,000 words/160 paperback pages) 2) Traditionally published novel 3) Small press / self-published novel Nominations…
Free: Pearseus
Nicholas Rossis‘ book, Pearseus, Rise of the Prince, is free at Amazon from November 17th to the 20th. Nicholas is in Europe, and I’m not sure if the 20th cutoff applies to his time or to your local time, so don’t wait until the last minute to pick up your copy!
FREE SCI-FI NOVEL
You may remember that I’ve interviewed author Paul Spence on this blog. His first novel is free for a few days at Amazon.
Award Categories
Originally posted on Planetary Awards:
We’ve announced a new science fiction / fantasy award, discussed who should be eligible to vote and when we should vote. Now, we tackle the issue of award categories. Should different genres get their own awards, such as one set of awards for science fiction, one for high/epic fantasy, and…
When to Vote?
Originally posted on Planetary Awards:
This post continues the thread announcing a new science fiction / fantasy award, and discussing who should be eligible to vote. The next question is: when to vote? If a book is released on December 31st, it’s unlikely many potential voters will have read it by January 1st. So, how…
Who votes, and how?
Originally posted on Planetary Awards:
The winners of our new science fiction and fantasy awards will be chosen by book bloggers, podcasters, and booktubers. That seems simple enough, but how do we decide if a person is one of those? Is one book review some time in the distant past good enough? One book review…
Creating New Awards
Originally posted on Planetary Awards:
I’m asking my fellow book bloggers, along with podcasters and booktubers, to join me in creating a new set of awards for science fiction and fantasy stories. Why invent another award? In addition to numerous regional and sub-genre awards, there are currently two broad awards: The Nebula and the Hugo.…
Sale: Book of Lost Doors Series
Until next Thursday (August 13th), Misha Burnett‘s Book of Lost Doors Series is on sale. There is a post on Misha’s site which links to the books on Amazon. Long-time followers of this blog will remember that I’ve reviewed Catskinner’s Book, Cannibal Hearts, and The Worms of Heaven. I’ve also interviewed Misha. If you’ve been […]
How fast can you write?
Last week, I read a message board post by a moderately-popular science fiction / fantasy author, in which he claimed that he typically writes a 120,000 word novel in 100 hours. That’s 1,200 words per hour, or 20 words per minute. That doesn’t seem possible to me, so I’m hoping those of you who are […]
Review: Emperor Mollusk versus The Sinister Brain
Emperor Mollusk versus The Sinister Brain Two nuclear missiles (2 out of 4 rating) The recent 4th of July holiday here in the USA brought this book to my mind. The story isn’t set during the Revolutionary War, but in the audiobook, Emperor Mollusk has a British accent, and he fights against The Sinister Brain, […]
Review: The Worms of Heaven
The Worms Of Heaven Three flying saucers (3 out of 4 rating) The Worms of Heaven is the third book in Misha Burnett‘s “Book of Lost Doors” series. I’ve previously reviewed the first two books, Catskinner’s Book and Cannibal Hearts. The stories focus on James, a young man who shares his head with Catskinner, who […]
Status Update
You may have noticed that I’ve been away from the blog for the past month. The fact that 30 days is the minimum time required for aliens to clone a fully-grown human is purely a coincidence. I just had something pop up at work, and then decided to spend my few spare hours planting a […]
Review: Leviathan
The Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier: Leviathan Four Royal Crowns (4 out of 4 rating) I’ve blogged about why I enjoy the Lost Fleet series and why I was disappointed with Steadfast; now I’m glad to see the series got back on track with Leviathan. The novel starts off a bit slow, as the two […]
Review: The Might of Fortitude
The Might of Fortitude Two nuclear missiles (2 out of 4 rating) This military science fiction story follows an officer as he moves from ground combat to command of one of his space navy’s most specialized high-tech warships. I think I need to follow the good, bad, and ugly format: The good: The author paints a picture […]
Say no to prequels
A while ago, I noticed that every time I read a novel (or see a film) that is a prequel, I like it far less than the original material. So, I’m going to make a conscious effort to avoid prequels in the future. I think I’ve boiled down my aversion to two factors: 1) Lack […]
Review: Cannibal Hearts
Three flying saucers (3 out of 4 rating) Cannibal Hearts is the sequel to Catskinner’s Book, which I reviewed last year. Although paranormal/urban fantasy isn’t my favorite sub-genre, I enjoyed Catskinner’s book. To me, the best aspects of the story were a world where it felt like anything could happen, and the dual nature of […]
Christmas Science Fiction
I didn’t have time to get each of you that present you really wanted, so instead I browsed Amazon for some Christmas-related science fiction: Last January, I reviewed Merry Christmas, Mr. Babbers In April, I reviewed The Mighty Peculiar Incident at Muddy Creek, which is not Christmas-themed, but the author has another short story which […]
More Dogs in Science Fiction
In my previous post, I was only able to come up with two science fiction works where dogs were important characters. Fortunately, readers came to my rescue: Misha Burnett, in addition to mentioning a dog-themed role playing game, provided this example – more in the realm of fantasy than science fiction, but still very interesting: […]
Dogs in Science Fiction
My previous post, about my new puppy, led me to think about dogs in science fiction. Two stories immediately came to mind: The first story is a post-apocalyptic tale where one of the two main characters is a telepathic dog. (The images/links below are for the relatively well-known film and the less well-known book it […]
Review: The Fallen Race
Three flying saucers (3 out of 4 rating) Fellow blogger Kal Spriggs responded to my last call for authors, and provided an audiobook version of The Fallen Race. In doing so, he’s given me a bit of a puzzle: I don’t think I can write a one-size-fits-all review; whether you’ll enjoy this story or […]
Setting: the middle of nowhere
I took the above photo during my honeymoon, part of which included a drive from Springbok to Augrabies Falls in South Africa’s Northern Cape. I drove through this terrain for hours, and tried to imagine what it would have been like centuries ago, traveling in an ox-drawn wagon, with no road or power lines to […]
Review: A World Out of Time
Two nuclear missiles (2 out of 4 rating) When you read a Larry Niven novel, you shouldn’t expect memorable characters. You should expect big-picture science fiction concepts, with characters who serve as vehicles to carry you through the sci-fi landscape. I’m OK with that; I think there’s a place for stories focused on ideas and […]
Setting: Underwater Dome City – part 2
In part 1 of this topic, I introduced the underwater dome as a setting for science fiction stories. Here, I’ll discuss some of the difficulties of life in an underwater dome, because they can be used to give more detail and flavor to your story. First, you’ll need to build your dome out of something […]
Setting: Underwater Dome City – part 1
I wanted to live underwater as a child. I saw underwater domes on Saturday morning cartoons, but also in serious reference books predicting that by the far-off future of 2015, there would be cities inside underwater domes as well as domes on the lunar surface. I would imagine myself driving a kelp-harvesting tractor, piloting a […]
Calling all Authors
In August, I’ll be making several long international flights, so it’s time to load my kindle and ipod with reading material. If you’re an author and would like me to review one of your stories, leave me a message in the comments section below. If you’d rather speak privately, send me a direct message via […]
Logan’s Run vs. Logan’s Run
VS I listened to an audiobook of the classic science fiction novel “Logan’s Run” with the intention of reviewing it. However, I couldn’t evaluate the story on its own; I could only think of it in terms of the “Logan’s Run” movie, or more accurately, my decades-old memories of the movie. So, instead […]
Review: Catskinner’s Book
Three flying saucers (3 out of 4 rating) The author of Catskinner’s Book, Misha Burnett, gave me a copy of the audiobook version and asked me to review it. I’ve decided to try something a little bit different with this review, dividing it into the good, the bad, and the ugly. Fortunately, the story pulled […]
Review: Steadfast
Three flying saucers (3 out of 4 rating) This will be a brief review, as I recently posted about things I liked in Jack Campbell’s Lost Fleet series. As the Lost Fleet is one of my favorite science fiction series, why didn’t the latest book receive my top rating? My problem is with the structure […]
Series Review: The Lost Fleet
Four Royal Crowns (4 out of 4 rating) The Lost Fleet series by Jack Campbell (pen name of John G. Hemry, a retired naval officer) is one of my favorite science fiction works. As a new book in the series (Steadfast) was just released today, I thought this would be a good time for a […]
Blog: the parasite guy
In my blog’s first post, I mentioned that 62,597 science fiction titles were available at Amazon’s Kindle store. That total is now up to 70,246 (a change of 7,649, or almost 65 per day). During the same time period, I inspected 17 titles for bad science fiction. Even if I had reviewed only new releases, […]
Review: Steelheart
Three flying saucers (3 out of 4 rating) I’m not normally into superheroes, but I almost gave this story my very top rating. I’ll discuss why I didn’t at the end of the review (below the triple spoiler dragons), but basically the story just went a chapter too far. If it had ended right at […]
Review: The Dragon in the Sea
Two nuclear missiles (2 out of 4 rating) This is my second discount audiobook by Frank Herbert, the author of Dune. In this story, the western hemisphere is at war with a not-quite-specified coalition of Asian powers that includes Russia. Britain is a nuclear wasteland. The westerners need more fossil fuel, so they’ve been drilling […]
Review: Whipping Star
One dung Beetle (1 out of 4 rating) Audible, the dealer for my audiobook addiction, periodically has deep-discount science fiction sales. During one of the latest, I picked up two books by Frank Herbert, the author of Dune, which I’ve seen reported as the most-loved and the best-selling science fiction book ever. I read Dune […]
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