Category Archives: science fiction

In the Presence of Mine Enemies

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In the Presence of Mine Enemies by Harry Turtledove is yet another one of Turtledove’s alternate history books. This is a one shot that doesn’t tie into any of the other books. It deals with a WWII where the US was isolationist and the Axis was able to win. Turtledove has made a career with alternate history novels and he puts his style and themes to good work here.

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Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

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Little Brother by Cory Doctorow is part novel, part manifesto. It’s been called an updating of 1984 or a call to arms for openness in the digital world. But it’s mostly an above average novel, that is designed as a primer on internet technology and security systems. Doctorow is a big believer in these things and it shows through in his novel. The novel is aimed at a high school age audience and uses many pages to explain the whys and hows of the internet era.

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Older Books You Should Read – The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein

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The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein is a futuristic tale about the past. Heinlein was well into his libertarian phase as a writer and this book was a look back at the American Revolution. It put the past into the future and talked about a similar revolution with moon colonies playing the part of the Americas. It’s an interesting view of a small group leading a revolution.

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The Collected Stories of Phlip K Dick

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The CollectedStories of PhilipKDick are an essential read for any science fiction fan. Starting in the 1950’s, Philip K Dick was a successful science fiction short story writer and a failed mainstream novelist. His success as a short story writer is in his ideas. Philip K Dick was always one of the best idea writers of the 1960s. And in the short stories, his ideas are the focus and they truly shine through.

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Brain Thief by Alexander Jablokov

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Brain Thief by Alexander Jablokov seems like the type of book I would love. It has a lot of quirky characters and a road trip. But for some reason it never clicked for me. Jablokov took a decade off from writing novels to pursue a career (apparently feeding his kids and family is important to him for some reason) and this was his return venture

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Caprica mid season review

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I really want to like Caprica. It has an interesting premise, good actors and some wonderful characters. But when they spend time on uninteresting characters who have storylines that don’t make sense, it makes it difficult to keep watching. But there is a lot of promise that the show needs to capitalize on before it’s another failed show. Let’s take a review of the show now that it’s reached it’s mid-season break.

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Older Books You Should Read – Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein

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Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein was the start of a new era for Heinlein. His previous book Starship Troopers finished a series of 19 novels published between 1947 and 1959 (18 if you don’t count Sixth Column which was serialized in 1941). To celebrate, Heinlein took a year off and nothing was published in 1960. Stranger in a Strange Land is very different than previous Heinlein books and I don’t think anyone suspected the success that followed, not only in science fiction circles but in the growing counter culture as well.

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Older movies you should watch – Brazil

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Brazil by Terry Gilliam has nothing to do with the country of Brazil. The title comes from the memorable repeated song “Aquarela do Brasil”. And the story behind the movie is almost as compelling as the movie itself. But it should be noted that Brazil is one of the science fiction masterpieces that had fans whispering to each other “Have you seen Brazil?”

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The Merchant Princes series by Charles Stross

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The Merchant Princes series by Charles Stross is the best use of science-fiction, the real world and fantasy since Magic Kingdom For Sale/Sold by Terry Brooks. Unfortunately Stross has the same problem that Brooks did, the longer the series goes the worse it gets. Stross does do some interesting and new things in the book which make it start off wonderfully for a couple books. Then the rot slowly seeps in and drags the series down.

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Veracity by Laura Bynum

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Veracity by Laura Bynum is the author’s first book. She has always had an interest in how language and words can shape perception and allow people to cede control of their lives. And this is a major theme in her novel. The book is an interesting twist on Margaret Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale, but with a different goal in mind.

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