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Tag Archives: sf
Clade by Mark Budz
I have built up a SF book review backlog that’s dangerously close to going into double digits, so I need to start knocking them down. First up on the chopping block is Clade by Mark Budz which is a book … Continue reading
Grass by Sheri Tepper
If you’re up for a good read, put Grass by Sheri Tepper on your to read list immediately. It is a solid, wonderfully written Science Fiction novel, with amazing characters and interesting premise. It is also the book that inspired … Continue reading
Tau Zero by Poul Anderson
Every once in a while I like to pick up SF classics that I have missed in my childhood. A while ago I compiled a list of my personal picks for essential SF novels, but I often find new books … Continue reading
Bit Rot by Charles Stross
There are two kinds of stories awesome and not awesome. Professional critics may use much more granular scale, but for my purposes this is pretty much sufficient. The awesomeness of the story, as indicated by the back-of-the-cover blurb or it’s … Continue reading
Rapture of the Nerds by Charles Stross and Cory Doctorow
Charless Stross is currently one of my favorite SF authors, but his output can sometimes be uneven. He typically averages between stuff that’s absolutely bloody brilliant (Accelerando, Glass House) to high end pulp (like Singularity Sky). Even his low-end, underwhelming … Continue reading
Only Forward by Michael Marshall Smith
Sometimes you read a book and it completely blows your mind. That’s what happened to me when I read Diaspora or Line of Resistence. Only Forward is not one of these books. There are books that simply tell a great … Continue reading
Diaspora by Greg Egan
I believe I have found a new favorite writer. His name is Greg Egan and he writes science fiction so hard you can’t consume it in hasty bites least you want to break your mind’s teeth on it. You have … Continue reading
The Postmortal by Drew Magary
If you know me, you probably realize I’m a firm believer in the fact that aging is a disease that can, and should be cured. Our short lifespans and high reproductive rates have been instrumental in getting us where we … Continue reading
Capacity by Tony Ballantyne
Here is a very poignant question: what happens when you digitize a human mind and then bootstrap it and run it as a self aware software entity? How that virtual person relate to the original physical person from which it … Continue reading
The King of Pain (Król Bólu) by Jacek Dukaj [part 3]
Welcome to the third and final installment of the exhaustive review of this remarkable (and remarkably long) book. The Social Tragedy of Post-Scarcity Imagine a world in which nano-assembly has been perfected and made super cheep. Imagine a nation in … Continue reading
The King of Pain (Król Bólu) by Jacek Dukaj [part 2]
I’m usually not a huge fan of anthologies. Not that there is anything inherently wrong with collections of short stories – it’s just that when I buy a book, I prefer the more substantial experience of a novel, rather than … Continue reading
Line of Resistance (Linia Oporu) by Jacek Dukaj
If you asked me who were the most interesting SF writers of the last decade or two, I would without give you five names: Vernor Vinge, Charles Stross, Cory Doctorow, Neal Stephenson and Jacek Dukaj. Not necessarily in that order. … Continue reading
Diamond Age by Neil Stephenson
Oh, you liked Anathem by Neil Stephenson? You should totally read Diamond Age, they told me. It’s his best book yet, they told me. You know what? That’s bullshit. Diamond Age is nowhere near as good as Anathem. You see, … Continue reading
Celestis by Paul Park
Celestis by Paul Park is yet another book to add to my collection of stories with unconventional and interesting aliens. One thing I dislike in my science fiction are space opera style aliens. I’m willing to tolerate that kind of … Continue reading
City at the end of Time
I often rag on Fantasy for being redundant, but I have realized I might be unfair. Perhaps my definition of Fantasy is to narrow. After all, I like Neil Gaiman’s writing, and what is it if not Fantasy. Gaiman is … Continue reading
Inverted World by Christopher Priest
As much as I love hard SF, I must admit that it often does not age well. If you pick up a 20-30 year old science fiction book, you will often find it full of outdated notions, discredited scientific theories … Continue reading
Extensa by Jacek Dukaj
Here I am again, reviewing a novel most of you probably won’t be able to read. The good news it’s the last one I have for now. The bad news is that I might get more at some point. But … Continue reading
A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge
I like most of the novels written by Vernor Vinge (well, with exception of Taja Grimm’s World). I thought Rainbow’s End was inspired, and that Deepness in the Sky was a really solid piece of SF. Fire Upon the Deep … Continue reading
Black Oceans (Czarne Oceany) by Jacek Dukaj
Back in July I have reviewed an excellent Polish SF novel titled “Perfect Imperfection”, which by the way may be getting an English language release soon. Over the holidays I acquired two new books by the same author thanks to … Continue reading
The Sparrow by Marry Doria Russell
Sometimes you read a book, and it leaves a bad taste in your mouth. Not because it was bad, but because the story is so depressing and/or disturbing that it makes you feel dirty. The Sparrow by Marry Doria Rusell … Continue reading
Blindsight by Peter Watts
When I reviewed Embassytown I lamented at the scarcity of well designed, interesting aliens that do not conform to overplayed archetypes such as rubber-forehead people, and rabid, insectoid killing machines. I enjoyed Miéville’s attempt to create a race with a … Continue reading
Tatja Grimm’s World by Vernor Vinge
Taja Grimm’s World has a rather interesting pedigree. It started as a short story titled Grimm’s Story which Vinge published some time in the early 60’s. In 1968 he expanded it into a novella format, renamed it to Grimm’s World … Continue reading
Embassytown by China Miéville
China Miéville is probably best known for his imaginative fantasy work set in the same funky universe as the excellent Perdido Street Station. I really like what he is doing to re-invigorate the genre by pushing at it’s borders from … Continue reading
The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood
Long time ago, some time in the 90’s I presume, the literary science fiction magazine I subscribed to, used to run a series of editorials titled something like “The Return of Feudalism”. They were all written by a Polish expat … Continue reading
Rainbows End by Vernor Vinge
Guess what time it is kids? It’s time for a book review! We haven’t had one of these in a while. Stop whining! I’m giving you good SF titles to read here. I’m enriching your lives. So you are gonna … Continue reading