Category Archives: literature

The City and The City by China Mieville is one of the more remarkable books I have read this year. At it’s core, it is a well written detective story but it is much more than that. It takes place … Continue reading →

The Hollow Man by Dan Simmons has nothing to do with the Kevin Bacon movie with which is shares it’s title. Actually, I’m sure that you can somehow show that the book is somehow related to Kevin Bacon himself. Then … Continue reading →

Every once in a while there comes a book that can’t be labeled anything other than awesome. Anathem by Neal Stephenson is one of such books. I must thank Alphast for recommending it in one of the book threads. This … Continue reading →

My last batch of book reviews dealt with older titles, so I decided to pick up something new and fresh for a change. Paolo Bacigalupi’s The Windup Girl was published in 2009 and is a 2010 Hugo award winner. Chances … Continue reading →

It’s time for me to unload another batch of short reviews for books I have been reading recently. You can find all my book reviews and literature related musings in the literature category. I also have a Rapid Fire Book … Continue reading →

I don’t like audio books. I guess that I’m a bit prejudiced against them because the only people I have actually seen listening to these things were a bit on the stupid side. Worse than the people who “don’t do … Continue reading →

Guess what time it is kids? It’s time for yet another round of my rapid fire book reviews. Btw, I’m quite astonished how many geeks out there don’t actually read books. I have talked to many people who were otherwise … Continue reading →

I have a few book reviews on the back burner, but I realized that I don’t really feel like posting a full article on each of them. So I’m going to roll them into a single post like I did … Continue reading →

I bought Danielewski’s new book because I loved House of Leaves. It was a weird, scary and visually interesting novel. It’s unique presentation and original storytelling tricks were very compelling. It is no surprise then that I sought out other … Continue reading →

When I picked up Glasshouse I didn’t really expect it to be anything special. The blurb on the back cover hinted that it would be a somewhat interesting futuristic detective type story with a twist. In a distant future war … Continue reading →

I’m writing about Twilight again because I just can’t get away from it. It is a phenomenon, and I hear about it daily. Everywhere I go I meet women singing praise for these books, and having intense discussions about them. … Continue reading →

I was a bit skeptical about Reality Disfunction by Peter F. Hamilton. One of the reviews I read compared it to David Brinn’s Uplift Saga saying it was just as good, if not better. That worried me because I didn’t … Continue reading →

Firmin is a book about a rat. A very extraordinary rat – a rat intellectual if there is such a thing. Being born in a book store, he learns to supplement his diet with great works of literature. Initially he … Continue reading →

I have book reviews piling up on me. I could skip them altogether but every time I do something like that I end up regretting it. You see, I like to be able to link to my old reviews and … Continue reading →

If you are planning to read one scary book this year, make it House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewsky. I read it few months ago and I have been putting off writing this review because of the shattering effect … Continue reading →

I was contemplating whether or not I should post this review at all. I wrote it a while ago and kept it in queue, wondering whether or not I should actually publish it. But alas, I have nothing else to … Continue reading →

Here is an interesting question for you: how long do you think it would take us to rebuild our civilization if the world died tomorrow? Let’s say that the worst, most disturbing predictions of the Peak Oil scenario all turn … Continue reading →

It’s funny but Left Hand of Darkness is one of these books that seems to inspire one of two distinct reactions in it’s readers. Some find it interesting, thoughtful and intriguing while others think it’s hopelessly dull and boring. I … Continue reading →

It’s funny how sometimes bits of info you read from totally different sources, sometimes sync up in a profound way. For example, sometime in August I have read an excellent article by Errol Morris titled Photography as a Weapon. The … Continue reading →

Hyperion by Dan Simmons is a rather interesting book. It is really an analogy of short stories taking place in the same universe, and connected with common narrative. The individual pieces could be read alone, outside the novel without losing … Continue reading →

I usually don’t review short stories here but perhaps I should start. I recently read a very short piece by Janusz Cyran, a Polish SF writer that struck a cord with me. The story itself was not all that spectacular, … Continue reading →

It is very easy to write an entertaining review of a really bad book, or a bad movie. Conversely it is hard to write anything meaningful about something that is really good without sounding a tad boring. Thus I am … Continue reading →

As you may or may not know, I’m a big fan of Frank Herbert’s work. I own all six books in the Dune saga, and I more or less consider them an epic Science Fiction masterpiece. Dune is my yard … Continue reading →

I have this strange fascination with post apocalyptic stories. I love zombie movies, and MadMax like pictures despite their obvious cheesiness. I loved Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake, and I’m glad that I picked up I am Legend after watching … Continue reading →

Continuing with my reader participation streak. There will be time for more single sided rants later on. ;) This time I’m flipping it around and hopefully letting everyone, both tech oriented and non-technical readers to have a chance to contribute. … Continue reading →