Author Archives: smellincoffee

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About smellincoffee

Citizen, librarian, reader with a boundless wonder for the world and a curiosity about all the beings inside it.

Over Yonder

Posted on November 15, 2025 by smellincoffee

Woody is an aging defrocked priest in jail for — well, let’s not say, since that’s not fully revealed until the end. At any rate, he’s getting out with a bad heart and an ex-wife who is engaged to another … Continue reading →

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The Politically Incorrect Guide to….Science Fiction?

Posted on November 13, 2025 by smellincoffee

I was surprised to spot this on the shelves, and intrigued enough to give it a go — especially since this is SF month, after all. It’s not that science fiction is not political: politics is arguably inseparable from SF … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science fiction | Tagged , , | 14 Comments

Springtime for Northheim

Posted on November 13, 2025 by smellincoffee

“Tomorrow Belongs to Me” is one of the more disturbing songs in the musical Cabaret, not because of the song itself, but because of what the viewer knows it portends. It begins simply, with one sweet voice singing at a … Continue reading →

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Midweek Meming

Posted on November 12, 2025 by smellincoffee

I didn’t post anything yesterday because of Armistice Day/Veterans Day: while some years I do not give it a great deal of attention, I’d been watching All Quiet on the Western Front the night prior and was more somber than … Continue reading →

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Adventures of the Rev Samuel Entwhistle

Posted on November 10, 2025 by smellincoffee

A priestly friend of mine handed this title to me with a smile after he read and enjoyed a short story I wrote that carries the subtitle, “A Parish Drama in Three Acts”. I wrote the story on a whim, … Continue reading →

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Star Trek: The Entropy Effect

Posted on November 7, 2025 by smellincoffee

By the Great Bird of the Galaxy, is this really only my second Star Trek read for 2025? Star Trek: The Entropy Effect is, despite its modern cover, a 1981 classic TOS tale that plays with the chaos of time … Continue reading →

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All Systems Red, SFM #6, & Dune Two

Posted on November 6, 2025 by smellincoffee

All Systems Red is a fun action-mystery thriller in a SF context. Our narrator, as the series title “Murderbot Diaries” might suggest, is not quite human. Murderbot is instead a robotic-organic construct that prefers humans see it, or him, as … Continue reading →

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WWW Wednesday + SFM #5

Posted on November 5, 2025 by smellincoffee

WHAT have you finished reading recently? All Systems Red, Martha Wells. An action-mystery short novel featuring a sarcastic robot helping colonists on another world. WHAT are you reading now? The Nazi Seizure of Power, though that will be a slow … Continue reading →

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Top Ten Tuesday, Teaser Tuesday, & SF Month Prompt 3

Posted on November 4, 2025 by smellincoffee

Today’s treble T is ten random picks from bookcases. Well, alrighty then. But first, a Tuesday Tease! “I do think of it as a person,” Gurathin said. “An angry, heavily armed person who has no reason to trust us.”“Then stop … Continue reading →

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The Time Traveler’s Passport: Six Stories

Posted on November 3, 2025 by smellincoffee

When checking Amazon for the Old Man’s War series, I noticed a new short story series created by Amazon. I’ve read their FORWARD and WARMER collections before and figured this might be fun. Unfortunately, this skewed more toward the level … Continue reading →

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