Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

Daemon

Posted on June 21, 2018 by smellincoffee

 Daemon© 2006 Daniel Suarez444 pages SO YOU SAY YOU WANT A REVOLUTION YES NO When a incomparable programming genius known for his immersive games and uncanny AI dies, his greatest creation awakes.  A sophisticated program running in the background begins … Continue reading →

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Fire and Blood

Posted on June 20, 2018 by smellincoffee

Fire and Blood: A History of Mexico  © 1973 T.R. Fehrenbach 675 pages Fire and Blood is an epic history of Mexico, one that begins at the dawn of time and takes its time moving on.  Case in point: the 20th … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

The Switch

Posted on June 19, 2018 by smellincoffee

The Switch© 2017 Joseph Finder384 pages Picture this. You’re a senatorial aide whose boss is technologically illiterate enough to be dangerous. The senator’s MacBook, containing information that was never supposed to leave the Senate offices,  has been inadvertently switched with … Continue reading →

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50 Popular Beliefs That People Think Are True

Posted on June 18, 2018 by smellincoffee

50 Popular Beliefs That People Think Are True© 2011 Guy Harrison458 pages “Just because it’s vivid, detailed, and expressed with confidence and emotion…doesn’t mean it’s true.” Chances are you know someone who harbors what you know to be irrational beliefs, … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science | Tagged , | 14 Comments

Brinkmanship

Posted on June 16, 2018 by smellincoffee

Star Trek Typhon Pact: Brinksmanship © 2012 Una McCormack 352 pages Who’s up for the Cuban Missile Crisis….in spaaaaaaace? When an otherwise friendly nation on the borders of the Federation and two of its allies signs a treaty with a … Continue reading →

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Homeland

Posted on June 15, 2018 by smellincoffee

Homeland© 2013 Corey Doctorow400 pages Two years ago, an innocent teenager was swept up on the streets and thrown into a blacksite prison run by the Department of Homeland Security. Initially a suspect for being near the scene of an … Continue reading →

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Rebel Dawn

Posted on June 14, 2018 by smellincoffee

Star Wars Han Solo Trilogy Vol III: Rebel Dawn© 1998 A.C. Crispin400 pages Rebel Dawn is the final volume in the “Han Solo” trilogy, a volume that stands more as an immediate prequel to the original Star Wars movie than a novel solely … Continue reading →

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The Hutt Gambit

Posted on June 12, 2018 by smellincoffee

The Han Solo Trilogy, Vol II: The Hutt Gambit© 1997 A.C. Crispin352 pages At the end of The Paradise Snare, Han Solo was a heartbroken man moving on with his life, doing his best to forget  about the woman who … Continue reading →

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Little Brother

Posted on June 9, 2018 by smellincoffee

Little Brother© 2008 Corey Doctorow380 pages Following the destruction of the Bay Bridge in San Francisco, a nightmare begins for a high school student who is scooped up by police in the aftermath. Not only has one of his friends … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews, science fiction | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Replay

Posted on June 8, 2018 by smellincoffee

Replay: The History of Video Games© 2010 Tristian Donovan501 pages Video games emerged in the late 20th century as a completely novel form of entertainment.  Replay recounts the history of how programming experiments and text-based adventures were transformed first into … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , | 5 Comments