This novel is a blend of Sci-Fi and Fantasy, with magic blended with modern science. It’s a risky proposition, but it would work except for the weakness of the writing style. Unfortunately, the author’s self-conscious intrusion between the reader and the story, making sure we get all the jokes by explaining them, rather spoils the […]
“Navvy Dreams” by HMH Murray
This is a difficult review to write, because the author has made a bold attempt at a complex writing style, and hasn’t been completely successful. To put it simply, he has tried to replicate the nuances of a socially and politically advanced culture, where the art of diplomatic conversation is paramount. This results in long […]
“Cristobal Ritter” by Mijo Rebic
This novella updates the old Noir Detective form with a modern and subtly humorous twist. The electronic cityscape blends in with reality, which I assume is the intended effect, but in places (especially flashbacks) the readers could wish for clearer clues about where and when we just jumped to. Except for that, the setting creation […]
“Hypgnosium” by J. E. R. Sanderson
This novel shows an example of an author who has planned a book of great scope but then doesn’t have room in a single volume to “show” readers everything, and thus is reduced to “telling” all the creative details. Characters are carefully thought out and described in great physical detail., and they develop in interesting […]
“Caenogenisis” by Tasha He
This novel is a classic example of Rebels-in-Dystopia Sci-Fi. It has multi-layered conflict, tightly related to the themes and to the emotions of sympathetic characters. It starts out with an attractive opening: evocative setting description teasing us with an interesting character puzzle that keeps us reading through those tricky opening pages. Then we are presented […]
“The Men of the Mountain” by Drew Harrison
Reading this novel is rather like putting together a complicated jigsaw puzzle made from colourful pieces. Similar fragments fit together, and each section grows slowly as new pieces are revealed. The development of the main character is of course the central block. Cade starts out as a simple rabbit hunter. The author stays true to […]
“Robot Asteroid” by Paul May
This novel is a hodgepodge of styles and standard plotlines, trying to do too much with too little organization. The promo material sets it up pretty well: “Robot Asteroid follows three researchers racing against both a bizarre plague and a crumbling, Orwellian society to decode an ancient riddle foretelling the current collapse of the Earth’s […]
“The Sentient Odyssey” by Ken Craggs
If you haven’t watched a YouTube video where an AI predicts the next thousand years, you ought to, at least to prepare you for the first half of this novel. This is an adventure in scientific prediction, a treatise on every moral quandary predicted by Science Fiction in the last hundred years. It starts with […]
“Li-Ming the Sand Witch” by Steven Allen
A word to the author. Fiction should never need an introduction. It is a sign that the author is intruding into the story, trying to affect our reaction to it because he doesn’t believe the story can stand on its own. In the case of this introduction, it seems meant to draw us in, attract […]
Jagged Worlds: Avoid Your Senseless Death” by Cliff Galbraith
Science Fiction isn’t a genre. It’s a setting. Of necessity, the story line must deal with a specific conflict of some type. So we have Sci-Fi Romance, Sci-Fi Military, Sci-Fi Action, Sci-Fi Detective and the list goes on. This novel should probably be labeled a Sci-Fi Business Procedural. The story provides an in-depth look at […]