3.25/5 (Good — collated rating)
James Blish, famous for his Hugo winning novel, A Case of Conscience, early Star Trek novelizations, and the Cities in Flight series also wrote some interesting short shorties. This volume includes a Continue reading
science fiction
Update: Science Fiction Books to be Reviewed/Read this summer
I’ve read hundreds and hundreds of science fiction books from the classics to the not so classic. I’ve decided to use this blog as motivation to read new books. Hence, reviews of Dune (Herbert), Hyperion (Simmons), Stand on Zanzibar (Brunner) and other major works probably will not reviewed in the near future since I’ve read them already and until I run out of things to read I’m not inclined to read them Continue reading
Book Review: Three Worlds to Conquer, Poul Anderson (1964)
4/5 (Good)
Poul Anderson’s science fiction adventure tale, Three Worlds to Conquer, is a remarkably exciting and engaging quick read. Three Worlds is a “loose” sequel to Anderson’s short story, ‘Sam Hall’ published in the August 1953 edition of Astounding Science fiction. Both cover some aspect of post-WWIII Continue reading
Book Review: Star Watchman, Ben Bova (1964)
1.5/5 (Bad)
Ben Bova’s second novel, published in 1964, was expanded from an earlier short story. It tells the tale of the Star Watchman Emil Vorgens, a representative of the Terran Empire that covers over half the Milky Way, sent to the rebellious planet of Shinar. The Shinarians have invited the Komani raiders (imagine greenish wookies with Continue reading
Book Review: Planet of Exile, Ursula K. Le Guin, (1966)
Josh Kirby’s cover for the 1971 edition
4.5/5 (very good)
Planet of Exile (1966) is a masterful piece of fantasy/science fiction world building for Ursula Le Guin spins her story, worlds, cultures, and each race’s animosities in flawless fashion. This novel is part of Le Guin’s Hainish
Continue readingBook Review: Merchanter’s Luck, C. J. Cherryh, (1982)
4/5 (Good)
C. J. Cherryh’s Merchanter’s Luck is a heady brew of redemption, paranoia, fear, endless suspicion, and more paranoia. However, this work has markedly less of the seemingly-endless (and often unjustified) political manipulation that bogs down Cherryh’s more famous novels Cyteen and Downbelow Continue reading
Book Review: The Pillars of Eternity, Barrington J. Bayley (1982)
4/5 (Good)
Barrington J. Bayley, an English sci-fi writer and a member of the Science Fiction New Wave, is considered a lost great — if not for his novels as novels, but for his well of bizarre/extraordinary/ Continue reading
Book Review: The Rebel Worlds, Poul Anderson (1969)
3/5 (Average)
This was the first Poul Anderson book I managed to finish (I got bogged down in one of his later novels a few years ago). The Rebel Worlds is part of a series of books by Anderson about his main character Dominic Flandry and the failing Terran Empire. The series includes Ensign Flandry (1966), A Circus of Continue reading
Book Review: Orbit Unlimited, Poul Anderson (1961)
3/5 (Average)
Poul Anderson’s Orbit Unlimited is comprised of four short stories linked together chronologically and occasionally by recurrent characters. This structure is essentially a loose-form novel.
The first section describes the persecuted Constitutionalists (think Continue reading
Science Fiction and Other Suspect Ruminations 