Author Archives: Bruncvik

Modern classic: The Will to Battle (Terra Ignota 3) by Ada Palmer

This review has been several weeks in making.  Usually, I write reviews in a week, with multiple rereads and revisions.  In this case, I never felt that my efforts were adequate to the quality of the book, and I ended … Continue reading

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Classic review: Beyond the Blue Event Horizon (Heechee saga 2) by Frederik Pohl

Sequels to highly regarded books are a risky venture. The expectations are high, and even if the book meets them, the mood tends to be dampened by the more prominent hero’s journey curve, at the expense of worldbuilding. Where the … Continue reading

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Book review: The Icarus Hunt by Timothy Zahn

Welcome back to the good old days of science fiction when stories were fun, authors didn’t need to comment on social issues or historical events, and readers didn’t have to be bogged down by hidden messages. Where the protagonists were … Continue reading

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Book review: Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan

If it wasn’t for the recent Netflix series, this book would have been largely forgotten, except in more niche communities like biopunk aficionados. It presents a fascinating idea and milks it for what it’s worth. That’s not necessarily a bad … Continue reading

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Classic review: The Doomed City by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, translated by Andrew Bromfield

The Doomed City is a multi-layered book, which will become ever more appealing as the reader digs deeper into its meaning. On the surface, it is a dystopian novel taking place in a city that is slowly falling apart, along … Continue reading

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Flash review: The Sisters of Saint Nicola of The Almost Perpetual Motion vs the Lurch by Garth Nix

Highly energetic, outrageously ridiculous, and compellingly weird. This novelette, whose full name I will not repeat lest be accused of padding the word count of this review, hit me in all the right spots. It is easy flowing, features very … Continue reading

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Book review: Relic by Alan Dean Foster

The most recent novel by Alan Dean Foster is quite a surprise. It reads like pastoral science fiction of old, while maintaining its own modern character. It’s slow and ponderous, with minimal action, yet endearing and insightful. It will please … Continue reading

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Book review: The Genesis Fleet trilogy by Jack Campbell

Jack Campbell has built up one of the most successful military science fiction franchises, thanks to a few simple strategies. He kept the worldbuilding, character development and moral ambiguities at a minimum, and instead focused on the tactics of space … Continue reading

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Flash review: Counting Casualties by Yoon Ha Lee

A space opera encompassing a galactic war, numerous planets and cultures destroyed, and a journey that takes several years, in a package of less than 5000 words. Yoon Ha Lee continues with her trend of creating enormous worlds, which are … Continue reading

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Book review: The Haunting of Tram Car 015 by P. Djeli Clark

P. Djeli Clark is a master worldbuilder, and his Egypt of the 1910s is so far his most fleshed-out world. Haunting is one of three novellas set in this place, followed later by a novel. Many of his stories, including … Continue reading

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