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Tag: Science Fiction

Them Bones by Howard Waldrop, a Review

Bayou time travel adventure.

Time travel fiction encompasses many subcategories, and Them Bones by Howard Waldrop fits into a couple. The novel has an anthropological survival angle and an archaeological subplot, but also falls into the hail-Mary-backward-pass-last-ditch attempt to fix an untenable present.

The author presents three story threads; the most fleshed out relays the tale of Madison Yazoo Leake who hails from a “bombed-out time in which everybody would eventually die from radiation, from disease, from chemicals.” Continue reading Them Bones by Howard Waldrop, a Review

The Ages of Entanglement by Robert L. Jackson, a Review

Ages of Entanglement by [R. L. Jackson]Poetic Post-Apocalypse Amongst the Palmettos

In R.L. Jackson’s novel, The Ages of Entanglement, Samson, an aged man, strives to protect himself from the intrusion of others as he wanders a near future Southeast nearly depopulated by a technological blunder. He fears entanglement with others, because entanglement precedes loss, and he’s already suffered enough loss for several lifetimes. But when he encounters the solemn and capable girl, Selene, and a handful of other travellers Samson is drawn back into the web of human relationships. Continue reading The Ages of Entanglement by Robert L. Jackson, a Review

Space Vikings! The Raidships by A.D. Wynterhawk, a Review

The Raidships by [A.D. Wynterhawk]Pros: Action packed plot. Vivid, cinematic prose.
Possible Cons: High graphic index (violence). Low to medium graphic index (sex) but much unpleasantness implied, including non-consensual and abusive gay relationships.

In The Raidships, Mercenaries from a near by planet brutally attack Whit’s peaceful village on Alesia. He’s enslaved and transported to Valkra, a cold, cruel world rife with violence and abuse. Continue reading Space Vikings! The Raidships by A.D. Wynterhawk, a Review

iRomance by Darrell B. Nelson, a Review

iROMANCEiROMANCE When mild mannered accountant Otis receives a stray text from an old friend, he’s pulled into a world of technological and industrial intrigue. Turns out, the old friend has been brutally murdered, and conveniently, just as he receives this mysterious text, he encounters the highly competent and well informed Cynthia. Continue reading iRomance by Darrell B. Nelson, a Review

Blackfish City by Sam J. Miller, a Review

Pros: Intricately imagined world. Timely themes. Much wisdom.
Possible Cons: Suspension of disbelief mandatory. Many informational passages, characters and indefinite nouns.

Tell/Show Ratio – high
Graphic Index Sex – low
Graphic Index Violence – medium
World Building – excellent
Internal Veracity – medium

Science fiction novels often magnify current societal concerns. The opening quote from Samuel Delany’s Dhalgren, informs the reader that Blackfish City will involve real estate problems of epic proportions. Continue reading Blackfish City by Sam J. Miller, a Review

Grass by Sheri Tepper, a Review

(You can’t melt a frozen heart with anger)

Pros: Lovely prose. Fabulous world building. Engaging plot with mystery, peril and hope. Deep themes including population control, religious hypocrisy and societal constraints, the human-animal connection. Fine characterizations including a portrayal of a failed marriage, and an intriguing protagonist. Characters act from in response to well-depicted psychological motivations.
Possible cons: Anti-organized religion theme may trouble some readers. Third act drags and occasionally becomes preachy. Fair bit of emotional tell. Continue reading Grass by Sheri Tepper, a Review

Battlestar Suburbia by Chris McCullen, a Review

(Marginalized humans undermine the dominance of machines with the help of a sentient breadmaker and a hair salon.)

Pros: Clever set up, an interesting character, brilliant machine-world psychology.
Possible Cons: Probably not the book for those unable to suspend disbelief or those who like their dystopias grim and sincere.

Battlestar Suburbia begins as the story of Darren, a hapless everyman, and Kelly, a prickly woman accustomed to living outside the law. The pair accidentally run afoul of the powerful machine-world that controls their Dolestar and find themselves on the most wanted list. Continue reading Battlestar Suburbia by Chris McCullen, a Review

Seeds of Change by Willow Thomson, A Review

Pros:  Highly convincing portrayal of a particular personality.
Potential cons: Extensive telling of emotional states, low tension plot.

In Willow Thomson’s debut novel, Seeds of Change, plague and catastrophic climate change leave Earth uninhabitable. A wealthy leader gathers a group of space colonists, and they depart for an unexplored planet. Continue reading Seeds of Change by Willow Thomson, A Review

Sensors and Intuitives in Neal Stephenson’s Novel, Anathem

A successful character reads like a complete person with particular thought patterns and reactions, habits and tics. The best characters are consistent and believable, a person one might encounter in real life, for better or worse. How does an author fashion the mental world of diverse but credible characters? Continue reading Sensors and Intuitives in Neal Stephenson’s Novel, Anathem