A perfect little gem – The Strange Bird by Jeff VanderMeer
The Strange Bird is a little gem of a novel. Every carefully chosen word is just right. Each image isContinue Reading
Tag: reviews of science fiction
Backstories Best of 2018 Discussion of genre Discussion of writing style Review of science fiction Review of translated novel Science Fiction
An “Invention Story” about Futile Obsession – Ball Lightning, by Cixin Liu
LIU Cixin, or Cixin Liu as he is known in English, is the author of the famous Science Fiction trilogyContinue Reading
Constructed World Novel Discussion of writing style Review of previously published novel Review of science fiction
Want some Whuffie for that? Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom – The reprint edition
Cory Doctorow writes about the future as if it were today, as if it were about him and his buddies,Continue Reading
Detective fiction detective novel Discussion of writing style Review of new book Review of science fiction
Not exactly lightheaded – Head On by John Scalzi
The last novel by John Scalzi I read, before this one, was Agent To the Stars (Tor Books, 2008), andContinue Reading
Backstories Constructed World Novel Discussion of writing style Review of new book Review of science fiction
The scripts work – does the novel? Night Vale – A Novel, by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor
Can the same subjects, settings and characters be successfully used in a podcast, and in published script format, and in aContinue Reading
Best of 2018 Constructed World Novel Discussion of genre Discussion of writing style Review of new book Review of new science fiction Review of science fiction
High calibre writing – Arm of the Sphinx, by Josiah Bancroft
Some writers write so clearly, elegantly and expressively that reading their words is like drinking a glass of the bestContinue Reading
Discussion of writing style List of similar books Review of new book Review of new science fiction Review of science fiction
If it’s cute, tentacled and ravenous, don’t bring it home – Borne, by Jeff VanderMeer
“Borne” is the past participle of the verb “[to] bear”, which means to carry or transport, as in a weight orContinue Reading
Best of 2018 Constructed World Novel Current events Discussion of writing style Review of new book Review of science fiction
The fatal thrills of zero inhibitions – The Pleasure Model Repairman, by Ruuf Wangersen
Any novel that has the words “pleasure model” in the title could be automatically relegated to the category of “chickContinue Reading
An amazing one-hit-wonder – Lives of the Monster Dogs, by Kirsten Bakis
Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr’s famous epigram reads; “Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose” – “the more it changes, the more it’s the sameContinue Reading
Discussion of author’s portfolio Review of new book Review of new novel Review of new science fiction Review of science fiction
Leaving a sense of wonder – The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter
Terry Pratchett (Sir Terence David John Pratchett, OBE) died on 12 March 2015. Last week Thursday. He was only 66Continue Reading
Detective fiction detective novel Review of Mysteries and Thrillers Review of new science fiction Review of science fiction
And it all ends with a…hug?! – World of Trouble, by Ben H. Winters
In books I and II of The Last Policeman series, by Ben H. Winters, we met the last policeman inContinue Reading
The Last Policeman & Countdown City, by Ben H. Winters
The Last Policeman Series To my surprise, I liked both books in “The Last policeman” series rather a lot. IContinue Reading
The Pigoons are going to get you – MaddAddam Trilogy by Margaret Atwood
Man Booker Prize winner Margaret Atwood is famous, celebrated, much awarded, and justly so. One comes to expect that everythingContinue Reading
The astonishing politics of language – Embassytown, by China Miéville
This is a New Weird novel/thriller/sociological discourse (?) about Linguistics in society, or to be more precise – Semiotics – andContinue Reading
Day of the Oprichnik, by Vladimir Sorokin
Day of the Oprichnik gave me nightmares – literally. The cover shows a bear, with a dagger and a watchContinue Reading
SEVEN CIRCUMSTANCES 