A witty science fantasy novel that blends seamlessly blends the science of AIs and Nanotechnology with the fantasy and magic of Djinns into a read filled with humour. Fun read!
Science Fiction
Review: The City Inside by Samit Basu
The City Inside is a tricky novel to review. On one hand, I enjoyed it a lot—its characters, world, technology and atmosphere. On the other, the narrative structure is strange, and the real story takes a while to coalesce and impress. That said, it’s also a short book, and author Samit Basu manages to pack in a ton of great ideas, character development and worldbuilding. It’s also a book that contains a heaping pile of heart, humor and positivity, offering up some much-needed levity in these strange times we are in.
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.
The World Set Free (MIT Press) by HG Wells
Synopsis In a novel written on the eve of World War I, HG Wells imagines a war “to end all wars” that begins in an atomic apocalypse but ends in an enlightened utopia. Wells — the first to imagine a ”uranium-based bomb” — offers a prescient description of atomic warfare that renders cities unlivable for […]
Review: The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi
The Kaiju Preservation Society is the latest release from famed SFF author John Scalzi. It is a story about a group of people tasked with preserving kaiju, which are interdimensional, giant flying creatures (I picture a cross between a dragon and a dinosaur). I got Avatar-meets-Jurassic Park vibes from this book. It was an enjoyable read.
Review: Under Fortunate Stars by Ren Hutchings
It’s a sit down and savor sci-fi that reads like one of the Star Trek episodes where they get stuck in some temporal anomaly and spend the entire time doing sciencey stuffs until they get free at the last minute.
Review: Rememory by Frasier Armitage
Armitage’s tightly packed sprint down memory lane is an unmissable sci-fi surge. It’s definitely not something to forget.
Review: Mercury Rising by R.W.W. Greene
A neo-retrofuturistic fest that looks at humanity through a curious lens while an alien menace has guns that go ZARK!
Review: Eyes of the Void (The Final Architecture #2) by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Many sci-fi fans speak of the Golden Age of Science Fiction as something that has long since passed. Whether it’s the 1930’s, ‘40s or ‘50s, the days of Asimovs, Heinleins, “Doc” Smiths, Bradburys and more are a forlorn memory… right? From my perspective, the answer is “Hell no!” The last decade or two has seen a stunning resurgence of sci-fi and space opera that recaptures the magic of far-flung galaxies, grand ideas, scientific marvels, strange aliens and more, but at the same time delivering fast-paced, engaging narratives and characters who are actually relatable. One author who stands at the forefront of this modern movement is Adrian Tchaikovsky.
Tchaikovsky showed his natural talent for the genre with the 2015 novel Children of Time. Since then, he has honed his craft with every release (and he releases a lot of books with unbelievable frequency), and his new series The Final Architecture, starting with last year’s Shards of Earth, is space opera at its very best.
Author Q&A: R.W.W. Greene – Author of Mercury Rising
“Doubt is more interesting than surety. Doubt is a powerful place to exist because it’s a position of openness and flexibility. Do I take this path or that one?”
Review: A Touch of Death (The Outlands Pentalogy #1) by Rebecca Crunden
A Touch of Death is a semi-finalist in SPSFC.
would enjoy, and I was right. This book takes the apocalyptic sci-fi genre and somehow makes it it’s own.
Review: Under Fortunate Stars by Ren Hutchings
Synopsis Fleeing the final days of the generations-long war with the alien Felen, smuggler Jereth Keeven’s freighter the Jonah breaks down in a strange rift in deep space, with little chance of rescue — until they encounter the research vessel Gallion, which claims to be from 152 years in the future. The Gallion’s chief engineer […]