Lakshminarayan’s narrative style is playful and crushing in equal measure. This makes for a strong debut and a whole new sense of unease about our overreliance on technology.
Artificial Intelligence
Book Review: The Scourge Between Stars by Ness Brown
Synopsis As acting captain of the starship Calypso, Jacklyn Albright is responsible for keeping the last of humanity alive as they limp back to Earth from their forebears’ failed colony on a distant planet. Faced with constant threats of starvation and destruction in the treacherous minefield of interstellar space, Jacklyn’s crew has reached their breaking point. […]
Review: Tales From Another Dimension by Robbie Sheerin
Synopsis How will HG Wells react when he wakes 200 years in the future on a strange planet, faced with a terrible truth? Two young brothers make a frightening discovery about their neighbours. Do robots secretly want to rule us all? A scientist goes to the extreme in order to change the future of mankind. […]
Review: Children of Memory by Adrian Tchaikovsky
I’m happy to announce that Children of Memory exceeded my expectations and was a wild ride from the front to back. It may not be perfect, but it is a great science fiction novel with signature Tchaikovsky creativity all wrapped in a great philosophical question.
Review: Dusk (The Navigator #2) by Matthew Samuels
When author Matthew Samuels asked me if I wanted to read and review Dusk, I jumped at the opportunity. I had read and reviewed Parasites – the first book in The Navigators series – a couple of years ago, and I really enjoyed it. I thought the story was light and fun with interesting characters and settings. And, mostly, I liked Dusk for the exact same reasons.
Book Tour/Review: Daros by Dave Dobson
Synopsis: High above Daros, sixteen-year-old Brecca Vereen prepares to unload a cargo of trade goods aboard her father’s ship, the Envy’s Price. Nellen Vereen shows her a mysterious artifact bound for a contact below, one that will earn them a lot of credits, and one that they definitely won’t be declaring to customs. Materializing out […]
Book Tour & Review: Daros by Dave Dobson
Synopsis High above Daros, sixteen-year-old Brecca Vereen prepares to unload a cargo of trade goods aboard her father’s ship, the Envy’s Price. Nellen Vereen shows her a mysterious artifact bound for a contact below, one that will earn them a lot of credits, and one that they definitely won’t be declaring to customs. Materializing out […]
Review: Shards of Earth (The Final Architects Trilogy #1) by Adrian Tchaikovsky
I’m a big Adrian Tchaikovsky fan. Children of Time is a modern classic and stands as my favorite sci-fi novel of all time while Cage of Souls is a vastly underrated and incredible novel. Tchaikovsky’s works are always incredibly innovative and creative. From Elder Race (a fun novella which mixes fantasy and sci-fi) to his Shadows of the Apt series (a fantasy book with insect type races which I need to read more of) there’s always some interesting worldbuilding and fascinating ideas going on – and Shards of the Earth is no exception.
Review: Lost Solace by Karl Drinkwater
Lost Solace is a semi-finalist in SPSFC and was assigned to FanFiAddict in the semi-finals.
Lost Solace starts in the middle of the action, at some point in the past Opal has stolen a ship and hacked the AI so it is helping her. The backstory to this gets revealed slowly over the course of the book and it’s so well woven into the narrative. We quickly find a lost ship and the story really goes from here.
Review: Six Gun Shuffle (Black Sun #2) by David Dixon
Synopsis: Snake and the boss have made a lot of enemies, but up until their trip to Yaeger, they’ve never had any beef with Michael Ver, the galaxy’s most bankable popstar-mainly because they hadn’t met him before. After the boss teaches Ver a lesson about the difference between looking tough and being tough, he finds […]
Review: Doors of Sleep (Journals of Zaxony Delatree #1) by Tim Pratt
A fun and unique ride in the life of Zaxony Delatree, a world hopper via the means of sleeping.
Review: The Memory Librarian and Other Stories of Dirty Computer by Janelle Monáe
To be blunt, I’m not a big reader of short story collections. It’s something that has been a sore spot in my reading history, and something I’ve wanted to amend—at some point. Maybe it’s just that I haven’t found the right collection, or there’s a part of me that connects much more deeply with a novel. But, when I was presented with the opportunity to read and review Janelle Monáe’s new sci-fi collection, The Memory Librarian and Other Stories of Dirty Computer, I was able to slip past whatever mental hurdle I had and dove right in. As a fan of Monáe’s music and amazing concept albums, it came as no surprise that the world and atmosphere of these five stories (which are actually more like novelette length) bleed off the page. While not all of the stories succeed, the interconnected nature of this rich world and its poignant themes makes this collection a worthwhile investment.