The Dune universe is a deep and rich one. It is vibrant, exciting, and dangerous and it is a pleasure to dive into it once more. I have a long love affair with Frank Herbert’s original Dune book, it is too me the finest science fiction novel ever written. Bold words I know but for... Continue Reading →
Star Wars: From a certain point of view. The Empire Strikes Back – A book review
From a certain point of view is the second book of its kind that celebrates the 40th Anniversary of the Original Trilogy Films. This book is again a compilation of short stories by a staggering range of authors and as such some are hit and miss in how they land. The short story format makes... Continue Reading →
The Cage of Souls by Adrian Tchaikovsky: An Arthur C. Clarke Award review.
Cage of Souls is an interesting book many of Adrian’s are. He has a way with storytelling, a way of weaving a narrative from the simple into something greater. His ability as an author was show to me in the way in which he got me, an acknowledge arachnophobe, to care about a civilisation of... Continue Reading →
Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy by Timothy Zahn – A Book Review
Thrawn is one of Star Wars greatest characters. Spawned by Timothy Zahn back in the 90's in the expanded universe for a long time it was possible that he had been lost in the great Disney Purge. Luckily he was brought into Star Wars via Rebels and then given a new back story by Zahn... Continue Reading →
The City in the Middle of the the Night by Charlie Jane Anders – An Arthur C. Clarke Award Book Review
The City in the Middle of the Night is interesting foray into what it means to be human and however much you might love a person you cannot always know their true intentions. The novel is set in a far off planet which is tidally locked. Half the planet is in blistering sun and the... Continue Reading →
The Last Astronaut – By David Wellington: An Arthur C. Clarke Award Review.
The Last Astronaut is a fairly run of the mill first contact science fiction story occasionally elevated by some novel ideas. The setting is the near future and our lead is a failed Mars Astronaut who is struggling with her past role as Mission Commander and her need to redeem herself. Character interaction is played... Continue Reading →
A Memory called Empire by Arkady Martine – An Arthur C. Clarke Award book review.
A memory called empire is a solid, standard science fiction novel. It very much has the feel of those classic yellow Golancz sci fi books of old. The plot is basically a blend of political intrigue and a murder mystery in a science fiction wrapper. We follow the arrival of a new ambassador, Mahit, from... Continue Reading →
The Bone Silence by Alastair Reynolds – A book review
The Bone Silence is the final book in Reynolds steampunkish far future space opera about the Ness twins. Reynolds is a master of visualising fascinating futures and mixing them with compelling stories and this trilogy was no different. What was unique was the way in which this story was set. The books take place in... Continue Reading →
Tiamats Wrath by James S.A. Corey – A Book Review
Tiamats Wrath is the penultimate novel in the exceptional Expanse series of novels, which most will know has been made into an excellent TV series. As nearly the last book of the planned run one would assume that this book was a rip roaring adventure setting up for a final showdown but no. This book... Continue Reading →
The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Attwood – A book review
The Handmaids Tale is a classic of science fiction literature and I am sorry to say that at 41 I have only just got round to reading. I am aware that a TV series has been produced and wanted to make sure I read the source material before I saw the first episode. Some people... Continue Reading →