4.25/5 (Very Good)
Nominated Hugo Award (1962) — narrowly lost to Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land
What an unusual read. I picked up a copy Continue reading
book reviews
Book Review: Meeting at Infinity, John Brunner (1961)
A wonderful creepy cover by John Schoenherr
4/5 (Good)
Readers from the first days of my blog might recall my rather dismissive comment in my review of John Brunner’s abysmal Born under Mars (1967),
“I have still yet to find in Brunner’s early pulp(ish) novels any solid indication of his future brilliance that manifests itself so poignantly in his great novels of the late 60s Continue reading
Book Review: The Horn of Time (collected short stories), Poul Anderson (1968)
2.5/5 (Average)
I was massively disappointed with this collection of Poul Anderson short stories from the late 50s and early 60s. Only two were worth reading: ‘The Horn of the Time the Hunter’ and ‘Progress.’ I guess if you are a Poul Anderson completest it might be worth the purchase but otherwise, stay away. The creepy Continue reading
Book Review: The Fall of Chronopolis, Barrington J. Bayley (1974)
4.25/5 (Very Good)
The Fall of Chronopolis (The Last and Final Days of the Chronotic Empire) by the relatively unknown British sci-fi author, Barrington J. Bayley, is one the best time travel books I’ve ever read. Other reviewers have suggested that this is Bayley’s best as well — I’ll reserve judgment until I’ve read The Garment Continue reading
Book Review: Double Star, Robert Heinlein (1956)
3/5 (Average)
Winner of the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1956
I’ve never been blown away by Heinlein — twenty-five Heinlein novels later, the trend continues (well, I must admit, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress was very good). Supposedly deserving of the Continue reading
Book Review: Earthlight, Arthur C. Clarke (1955)
4.5/5 (Very Good)
This is one of my all time favorite Arthur C. Clarke books. Published in 1955, Earthlight still remains a practically unknown work in Clarke’s massive canon. The minimalistic Continue reading
Book Review: The Dueling Machine, Ben Bova (1969)
2/5 (Bad)
This novel feels like two separate stories connected by the presence of the dueling machine. The story when the dueling machine is a dueling machine and the story when the Bova decides that the dueling machine is also teleportation device and a therapy device and only occasionally used for duels. The first part of the novel Continue reading
Book Review: The Seedling Stars, James Blish (1957)
Overall score 3.75/5 (Good)
James Blish’s The Seedling Stars is a collection of three novelettes (Seeding Program, The Thing in the Attic, Surface Tension) and a short story (Watershed). Each is loosely connected by internal chronology and subject matter: pantropy (the modifications of humans for live on other planets instead of terraforming). The quality Continue reading
Book Review: The Man Who Japed, Philip K. Dick (1956)
4/5 (Good)
“At seven A.M., Allen Purcell, the forward-looking young president of the newest and most creative of the Research Agencies, lost a bedroom,” and so begins The Man Who Japed.
This novel, published in 1956 (a product of the very early period of Philip K. Dick’s career) is an immense step forward from his inferior, disjointed, and amateurish novel, The World Jones Continue reading
