Tag Archives: aliens
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 […]
Galactic Patrol
Galactic Patrol I decided to read something classic for Vintage Science Fiction Month, and chose one of the Lensmen stories by EE “Doc” Smith — Galactic Patrol. This is one of the oldest stories I’ve blogged about, being serialized in 1937-8 in the pulp magazine Astounding Stories. (If you’d like to see what other vintage […]
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 […]
Series: Prince Roger
March Upcountry Before I discuss the stories in the Prince Roger series, I thought I’d say a few words about the two-man writing team. I’ve always wondered how a writing duo works. Do they write alternate chapters? Do they each “own” certain characters, and write from their point-of-view? Does one person lay out the basic […]
Hack Those Stories!
There are only a few hours left to nominate stories for the 2018 Planetary Awards, so it’s time for me to get my short story nomination in. I have a potentially career-changing event happening tomorrow, which is good, but it means I don’t have much time to devote to tonight’s post. I originally wanted to […]
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 […]
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 […]
Television: Ghosted
Frequent readers of this blog know that I’ve been watching less and less TV every year, as I find fewer and fewer programs that interest me. But, in one of those late-night moments where I was too tired to do any work, but not tired enough to go to bed, I browsed my cable company’s […]
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 […]
Magazine: Analog, Jul/Aug 2016
I fire my blaster pistol into the last of the space pirates and step over his smoldering corpse, taking my place on the bridge. “Computer, all of the pirates are dead, and our cargo of Analog Magazines is safe. End the self-destruct routine.” A pleasant voice, obviously synthetic as it shows no signs of stress, […]
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 […]
Magazine: Alien Dimensions #12
Alien Dimensions #12 Short Stories Antlions by Elana Gomel. First contact with some unusual aliens. They get jealous when a human man gets too friendly with one of their females. The Exchange by Neil Hogan. The main character is a woman whose job is first contact with aliens — by having sex with them. Part of her […]
Magazine: Just a Minor Malfunction, issue #3
Just a Minor Malfunction, issue #3 Short Stories Left to Her Own Devices by James Armer. A spaceship AI downloads its personality into a robot body, so it can explore a moon when the ship and its human passengers leave. A fresh copy of the AI is left on the spaceship without the developed personality. Day […]
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 […]
Magazine: Perihelion SF, Sep 2016
I pull over onto the shoulder of the desert highway. The county Sheriff is waiting for me. He rolls down his window and points into the desert as I walk over. “Tracks go that way.” “You’ve got good eyes, spotting them from the road.” “Family in a minivan called it in.” “They saw it cross […]
Mini-Review: The Thorne Legacy
The Thorne Legacy I’m still being crushed (under a mountain of paperwork) at my job, so I don’t have time tonight to write up another magazine review and continue my last Four Apes story. Instead, I thought I’d put down a few words about a story by fellow blogger JD Brink. While thinking about […]
Magazine: Nonlocal #2
Nonlocal issue #2 I help the other castaways push the raft into the ocean. It’s a big raft that took us an entire week to build — we used the wood from the signaling tower that I’d pulled down the week before, waving too enthusiastically to a passing cruise liner. The others gasp, scream, and […]
Review: Intergalactic Empires
Isaac Asimov’s Intergalactic Empires I’ve recently posted several articles about using a galactic empire as a story setting, and now it’s time to go old-school. Back in the old days, a galactic empire didn’t cut it, a real man’s empire had to be INTERgalactic. Short Stories Chalice of Death by Robert Silverberg (1957) Humanity once […]
Setting: Galactic Empire, part 4
In part 1, I described the enormous scale of a galactic empire. In part 2, I discussed the impact of FTL technology on the empire’s economy. In part 3, I wrote about the purpose of the empire, and ways it could be managed. Now, I ask: how does our empire maintain military and political control? […]
Setting: Galactic Empire, part 1
A while ago, I decided I wanted to read some science fiction about a galaxy-spanning empire. I briefly browsed Amazon’s kindle offerings under “galactic empire”, but all I found was military sci-fi where the galaxy-spanning nature of the empire wasn’t a major element in the story. Thinking back to classic sci-fi, I’m only coming up […]
The Olympians
I’ve read a lot of short stories. There are some I’ve completely forgotten, and others that I’d recall only if I started to read them again. There’s a smaller group I might remember if I heard the title or something about the plot. There are very few stories that I read years ago, but still […]
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 […]
Magazine: Nebula Rift V4N1
Nebula Rift I’m not writing a silly intro story for this review, because I want to talk about the magazine’s business model. (OK, enough booing, settle down.) Most science fiction magazines pay a per-word rate to their authors. For “pro” magazines, this is six cents or more per word. For “semi-pro” magazines, it is typically one […]
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 […]
Magazine: Aurealis #87
Aurealis #87 The guards drag me up the stairs and shove me onto the stage. The audience jeers at me, but most of the insults are colloquialisms that I don’t understand. I do understand that the entire population of an Australian writers’ commune showed up to deal with me, and that I don’t have a […]
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 […]
Magazine: Analog Dec 2015
Analog Science Fiction and Fact, December 2015 I’m in the space station’s control room, watching two progress bars on a computer monitor. One is labeled “Analog magazine download”. The other is labeled “Space station auto-destruct”. The two appear to be perfectly synchronized. — Novelette: A Case of Identity by Edward Lerner. An AI private detective […]
Magazine: Fantasy & Science Fiction Sep-Oct 2015
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction September/October 2015 I wipe the dragon’s blood from my axe as I enter its lair. Everyone in the business of dragon-slaying knows that killing a dragon is the easy part; the real work is searching through its disorganized treasure hoard. I expect an open cavern, but the lair […]
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 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 […]
Planetary Defense Command 