Category Archives: science fiction

Flashback by Dan Simmons

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Dan Simmons last few books (including Drood (my review), Black Hills and The Terror) were all focused on the past with Simmons spending quite a bit of time writing about the 1800s. So it’s a great pleasure to see Simmons coming back to the future with his new book Flashback. This book seems to be very inspired by Philip K Dick(especially The Man in the High Castle and A Scanner Darkly). The book is a mystery set in a science fiction setting (which is one of my favorite genres), so I probably enjoyed the book more than it deserved. I do feel the need (since I’ve seen complaints of this on other sites) that the book has overt political themes, mainly from a conservative POV, which some readers have found objectionable. If that is going to bother you, then don’t worry about reading the book. For the rest, let’s see what Flashback is about.

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Sewer, Gas & Electric by Matt Ruff

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Matt Ruff noticed that a lot of books were being published in trilogies, so he decided to make up the silliest sounding trilogy names that he could think of. When he came to Sewer, Gas & Electric, he knew he had a winner, so he decided to actually write the book. The book has always been published in one volume, but he’s split it into for sections: sewer, gas, electric, & (yes, the fourth section is named &). The biggest issue I have with the book is the same issue I have with several “comedy” movies where it starts off funny and then halfway through they decide that it needs to have a plot. The plot is usually silly and makes you wonder why they decided to stop being funny. This book has that problem, but the lunacy does carry you through to the end…mostly. So, read on and see why you should read the public utilities trilogy.

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Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson

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Daniel Wilson’s new novel Robopocalypse has been getting a lot of press lately and not just for it’s catchy title. I saw it on several best seller and best reviewed lists as well as hearing about a possible movie. The reviews made it sound like a combination of World War Z and Terminator. So, I have to admit some surprise that I was disappointed by the novel. It wasn’t bad, but it definitely wasn’t as good as the reviews made it sound like. Let’s see what went wrong.

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The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi

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Hannu Rajaniemi is a new name in science fiction, but hopefully he will stick around for awhile. Like a few other debut books this last year, there are a number of interesting ideas, but the story fails to stick together as a whole. I don’t think I’m asking for a lot, just a halfway decent plot and some characters that I actually care about. But too often, such as in Rajaniemi’s The Quantum Thief, there are a lot of cool ideas, but few characters I care about and not enough plot to interest me. So, let’s see what this book is about.

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Salman Rushdie science fiction TV series

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Exciting new for Showtime, Salman Rushdie is developing a science fiction series for them:

The new work, to be called The Next People is being made for Showtime, a US cable TV network. The plot will be based in factual science, Rushdie said, but will contain elements of the supernatural or extra-terrestrial. Although filming is yet to begin, a pilot has been commissioned and written. It will have what Rushdie described as “an almost feature-film budget”.

Showtime has announced that the hour-long drama will deal with the fast pace of change in modern life, covering the areas of politics, religion, science, technology and sexuality. “It’s a sort of paranoid science-fiction series, people disappearing and being replaced by other people,” said Rushdie, 63, best known for Midnight’s Children and The Satanic Verses. “It’s not exactly sci-fi, in that there is not an awful lot of science behind it, but there are certainly elements which are not naturalistic,” he said in the interview, which will appear in full in the Observer later this month.

The City & The City by China Mieville

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I’ve mentioned in the past that I’m not a huge China Mieville fan. I’ve tried to read numerous books of his, but have never finished. But since it looked so good and I’m a sucker for a science fiction detective story, I decided to give The City & The City another chance. I’m glad I tried it again since I finished it this time, and, while I liked it, I’m still not a huge Mieville fan. I thought it was good, but not great. So, let’s see what’s up with the dueling cities.

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Classic Science Fiction Week: 1984 by George Orwell

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It’s not the first, might not be the best, but George Orwell’s 1984 might be the best known dystopian novel. Orwell had a hatred of totalitarianism of any kind and many of his later works (including the novella Animal Farm) dealt with issues surrounding communism while focusing on his socialism. He, unlike other socialists at the time, made a distinction between the socialism he believed in and the communist government in Russia. His adventures during the Spanish Civil War greatly influenced his beliefs and directly lead to his most famous stories. So, let’s see what was supposed to happen in 1984.

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Campbell Award Nominees announced

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The John W. Campbell Memorial Award Finalists have been announced:

Jon Armstrong Yarn(review) Night Shade Books
Greg Bear Hull Zero Three(review) Orbit
William Gibson Zero History Putnam
Tom McCarthy C Knopf
Ian McDonald The Dervish House Gollancz / Pyr Books
Adam Roberts New Model Army Gollancz
Hannu Rajaniemi The Quantum Thief Gollancz / Tor Books
Gavin Smith Veteran Gollancz
Sheri S. Tepper The Waters Rising Eos
Jean-Christophe Valtat Aurorarama Melville House
E. O. Wilson Anthill W.W. Norton & Company
Connie Willis Blackout (review)/ All Clear 
Charles Yu How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe(review) Pantheon

Classic Science Fiction Week: The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

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The question, of course, I’ve heard: Is The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy a science fiction classic or is it too new. My take is that it’s been over 30 years since it was published, so that is long enough back to make it a classic. It was published only ten years after Dune, so I feel confident that it is old enough to be a classic. So, let’s see what’s so special about Galactic Hitchhiking.

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Classic Science Fiction Week: Dune by Frank Herbert

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I came to Dune in a backwards sort of way. When the Dune movie came out in 1984, I went with my family to see it and I was mesmerized. Everyone blasts the movie (especially the theater version), but I was hooked. My next visit to the library, I went and grabbed the book and sat down to read it. And I was blown away. The scope of the book is amazing and it quickly became one of my favorite books. So, what makes Dune a classic? Let’s find out.

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