Category Archives: science fiction

Classic Science Fiction Week: I, Robot by Isaac Asimov

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During the Golden Age of science fiction, many writers were using robots in their stories. The idea of a robotic man was not created by Isaac Asimov, but Asimov was one of the few writers who explored the implications of robots. And he was the first to explore what it meant to be a robot. His Three Laws of Robots were one of the first attempts to clarify how robots and humans should work together. Asimov’s short story collection I, Robot set the standard for human-robot interaction for years. Many of the themes Asimov encountered presage a lot of Philip K Dick’s work on what it means to be human (or robot). So, let’s see what Asimov came up with.

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Classic Science Fiction Week: Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein

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It’s always fun to occasionally take a look back at some science fiction classic books. So, we’ll start our look back this week with Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein. This book is one of the early examples of military science fiction and was surprisingly rejected by the original publisher. This rejection led Heinlein to stop writing the juveniles (kid friendly science fiction stories that Heinlein had been publishing for most of the 1950s). After it’s publication, it won the Hugo and attracted a lot of praise and controversy. So, what did the Heinlein do this time to cause controversy.

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Fuzzy Nation by John Scalzi

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I enjoy reading John Scalzi. I loved his Old Man’s War series, I follow (and occasionally comment) on his blog Whatever and look forward to his new books. That’s why I’m somewhat mystified why I haven’t liked his non-Old Man’s War books that much. The God Engines was decent but unsatisfying and then we come to his new book, Fuzzy Nation. The book is an homage (reimagining, reboot, etc.) of Little Fuzzy by H. Beam Piper. Not having read the original, I decided to wait until I read Scalzi’s book so that I could approach it without any reservations. And I have to say that I was fairly disappointed. So, let’s go see what’s wrong with Fuzzy Nation.

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Yarn by Jon Armstrong non-review review

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After somewhat enjoying Jon Armstrong’s Grey (review) and seeing other reviews of his new book Yarn, I was excited to start reading it. Two weeks and only 100 pages in, I came to the realization that I wasn’t interested in the book and I wasn’t going to finish. This was surprising to me, since the one thing I loved about Grey was the energy and excitement about a subject that I normally don’t have much interest in, fashion. Yarn looked to be set in the same universe with a lot of similar characters and themes, but when I started reading it, I realized that I had no interest in the book. The characters didn’t grab me and I had no interest in the plot.

I’ll definitely give a new book by Armstrong a chance, but this one was a swing and a miss to me.

Grey by Jon Armstrong

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Looking around the review blogosphere, I often get ideas for other books to read. One of the books (and authors) that I hadn’t heard of before and sounded interesting was Grey by Jon Armstrong. The review I read made it sound fun and quirky. Based off the bio on the back of the book, Armstrong has come from a fashion background (which explains the basic concepts in the book) and bummed around the world for a few years before becoming a writer. The book is obviously the work of a new author, but it has an interesting energy to it. So, let’s see what’s so Grey?
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WWW: Wonder by Robert Sawyer

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In the third (and hopefully final) book in his WWW trilogy, Robert Sawyer brings us the tale of an artificial intelligence who is now out in the open and recovering from an attack. With WWW: Wonder, Sawyer has created an interesting story about a new frontier. The possibilities are endless for this type of story, but Sawyer has taken up some interesting ideas of what the intelligence will do, but unfortunately left open some huge plot holes. So, let’s go back and visit Webmind and Caitlin to see where they are now.

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Is Dr. Who too scary?

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The Guardian offers opposing viewpoints on whether or not the new Dr. Who is too scary:

Yes:

The new Doctor Who is too dark and convoluted. I’m a lifelong Whovian, but in the Matt Smith era there’s been too much doctorin’ of the Tardis by Steven Moffat and his writers.

No:

My seven-year-old son fancies himself as fearless. All it has taken to disprove his belief in his own bravery these past couple of weeks has been to turn on BBC1 on Saturday tea-time. He’ll crouch down at one end of the sofa, curling himself into a ball, until I ask if he wants a cuddle. He’ll scuttle over, and squeeze himself into me, without ever daring to take his eyes off the screen.

Dr. Who season premiere

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Yes I’m a week late, but I didn’t feel comfortable reviewing only the first part of a two-part episode. After last season with a new showrunner with a new doctor and cast, the season started good, slowed down in the middle and then ended with some of the best TV science fiction I’ve ever seen, I was excited for Dr. Who to come back. The first two weeks were a two part set in America with time travel, Richard Nixon, the moon landing, aliens and a young girl’s voice in a space suit. So, let’s see how it was.

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