Category Archives: science fiction

The Astounding, the Amazing, and the Unknown by Paul Malmont

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I’ve been a fan of Paul Malmont since the day I saw The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril in the bookstore. Any writer who told a story including the creators of Doc Savage and The Shadow and tell it in a pulp-like story deserves wider recognition. I enjoyed his second book, Jack London in Paradise, but not quite as much as the first book. So, when I heard that Malmont was writing a sequel to The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril about Robert Heinlein and Isaac Asimov fighting Nazis in WW-II, I started eagerly waiting for The Astounding, the Amazing, and the Unknown. What’s amazing is that a lot of the story that Malmont tells in the book is true. So, let’s go into the unknown with some astounding, amazing folks.

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Catching up on Torchwood: Miracle Day

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I came here to bury Torchwood: Miracle Day and explain to you why it was sucking and how I was probably not going to be watching any more. Then a funny thing happened. The last episode was easily the best episode of the season and it actually kicked the plot forward (by going backwards). This last episode restored my faith in the show enough that I’m willing to stick around for the last 3 episodes. So, let’s revisit what’s gone wrong this season and what went right this last episode:

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Falling Skies show finale and overview

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Not that season one of Falling Skies is over, let’s take a look back and see what was good and bad about the series. As I mentioned in the review of the pilot, there is nothing very new or exciting about the show, but the story was handled well (far better than the V reboot). The only highlights from the pilot were Noah Wylie and John Pope, so let’s see how the series worked as a full season. (Spoilers ahoy. Don’t read further if you haven’t seen the finale).

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Heaven’s Shadow by David S Goyer and Michael Cassutt

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Heaven’s Shadow reads like a movie and there is a good reason for that. The authors are screenwriters. David S. Goyer (Batman Begins and FlashForward) and Michael Cassutt (many TV shows including Dead Zone and Stargate SG-1) combined to write this book which felt (at times) more like a movie pitch than a novel. It’s a combination of Contact and Armegeddon that was well told, but not interestingly at times. So, let’s go see what Heaven’s Shadow is.

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Vortex by Robert Charles Wilson

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There are times when I’m reading a book, that I’m not aware that it’s the first part of an extended storyline. This is what happened when I read Robert Charles Wilson’s Spin. It was an interesting story about contact with an advanced race where people never actually meet the advanced race. Then when I saw that there was a sequel Axis, I was disappointed. Not only because I didn’t think there was any room for a sequel to Spin, but because the story itself was disappointing. So, when Vortex was announced, I was a little wary, but decided to read it. I wasn’t as disappointed, but it could easily be a standalone novel. So, let’s go see what happens in the Vortex.

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Torchwood: Children of Earth

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Since I started watching Torchwood with the ongoing Miracle Day series, I have become curious about the previous series. Everyone I talked to mentioned Children of Earth as the best series, so I decided to try it out. And I am so glad that I did. It’s a short (5 episode) series and the length means that the action is pretty much non-stop. The only problem I have now, is that the ongoing action of Children of Earth makes Miracle Day seem too slow. So, let’s see what the Children of Earth are up to.

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Alastair Reynolds is writing a Dr. Who novel

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From Reynold’s blog:

And I’m now pleased to announce that in 2013, in the fiftieth anniversary year of Doctor Who, BBC Books/Ebury will be publishing HARVEST OF TIME, an original science fiction novel featuring the Third Doctor, his companion Jo Grant, and arch-enemy The Master.

 I am a huge fan of Alastair Reynolds (even though I wasn’t thrilled with his last book) and have recently started on Dr. Who. So, needless to say, I am very excited about this. Reynolds promises more information to come over the next year.

Rule 34 by Charles Stross

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I see Charles Stross as a hit and miss writer. He usually comes up with great ideas, but I’m not thrilled with some of his stories. His Eschaton series (Iron Sunrise and Singularity Sky) were the first of his books I read and I loved them. But I lost interest after a couple books in his Merchant Princes series and I actively disliked his Bob Howard books. But when I saw he had a new book out that was a “loose” sequel to Halting State (which I loved), then I knew I had to read Rule 34. The title comes from an internet meme (urban dictionary) that generally states: If it exists, there is porn of it. In this book, a police squad that routinely deals with rule 34 figures heavily in the storyline. So, let’s see how the book plays out.

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Bad Monkeys by Matt Ruff

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One thing you can say about Matt Ruff is that his book are interesting and different. And Bad Monkeys is not an exception. The title is based off a South Parkepisode and is broken in a slightly different way than Sewer, Gas & Electric (my review). In that book, the plot goes completely off the rails near the end of the book. In this story, Ruff tries to throw in too much plot near the end. It goes from a (fairly) straight forward story with a whiff of confusion to a double/triple/quadruple switch where it’s not clear which of the many fronts is the correct one. But, it is a fun ride to get there. So, let’s see what the ride is all about.

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Embassytown by China Miéville

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After I finished reading (and somewhat enjoyed) The City & The City (my review), I thought I’d try another China Miéville book. So I picked Embassytown. I pretty much gave up after 100 pages. I had no idea what was going on and I didn’t really care. I know China Miéville is not to everyone’s taste, but he’s rapidly becoming an author that I’m not willing to attempt anymore. It’s just so far out of my wheelhouse that I don’t want to spend my time reading it. I have other books that I will have a better chance of enjoying.