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As an avid consumer of sci-fi and fantasy in all its forms, please allow me to say a few words about my favorite subject.
Category Archives: Book reviews
Book review: Chains of Command (Frontlines 4) by Marko Kloos
The fourth book in the most endearing military science fiction series, Frontlines, is a little less endearing. It is still action-packed, returning to some more grounded and gritty combat that I’ve been missing so much since the first book, but … Continue reading
Modern Classic: Perhaps the Stars (Terra Ignota 4) by Ada Palmer
And so, the Terra Ignota series is drawing to an end. It goes out with a bang, both literal and figurative. And true to the author’s previous books, it offers a brand-new theme and different style, which are just as … Continue reading
Flash review: The Tale of Ak and Humanity by Yefim Zozulya
Touted as the inspiration for the dystopian genre, and in particular for Zamyatin’s We, this short story had my expectations running high. It turned out to be very simplistic, with little to think about. But perhaps because of this we … Continue reading
Book review: EarthCore by Scott Sigler
This book cannot decide whether it wants to be a near-future thriller, an action romp or science-fiction with a sprinkle of body horror. At the end, it tries to be everything, but only half-heartedly, leaving much to be desired. I … Continue reading
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
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
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
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
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
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