Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

The Lost Outlaw

Posted on August 22, 2021 by smellincoffee

The Lost Outlaw © 2019 Paul Fraser Collard361 pages For the better part of a year, Jack Lark has been drifting across the war-worn South, working small jobs as he needs and generally avoiding society. For most of his adult … Continue reading →

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Of Chemie, Cosmos, and Climate

Posted on August 20, 2021 by smellincoffee

What’s Eating the Cosmos tackles some of the big questions in modern cosmology, beginning with the basics — how do we know what’s out there? Where is it, what is it made of? — and continuing onward to the more changing … Continue reading →

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Attack Surface

Posted on August 14, 2021 by smellincoffee

Attack Surface© 2020 Cory Doctorow385 pages When the Bay Bridge blew up, Masha wanted to catch the guys that did it. That desire for justice and revenge brought her to employment with the Department of Homeland Security, and still later … Continue reading →

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There Is No Cloud

Posted on August 12, 2021 by smellincoffee

There Is No Cloud© 2021 Kat Wheeler189 pages Okay, Google,  I’d like to set up a Routine. When I am murdered alone in my office, please call the police, unlock the door, and turn off the coffee pot.   Matt Rodriguez … Continue reading →

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Of Mars, Antarctica, and the human condition

Posted on August 11, 2021 by smellincoffee

Mars is a cold tease, an object of immediate interest to anyone who believes humanity needs to continue to venture outward.  It’s neither so hostile or so far from us to preclude manned missions entirely,  and it has its own resources that … Continue reading →

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Broadcast

Posted on August 9, 2021 by smellincoffee

Broadcast© 2017 Liam Brown288 pages Most people, if approached by a corporation and asked for permission to plant a microchip in their brainstem, would say “Nope” and back away from the crazy man. But David Callow isn’t most people: he’s … Continue reading →

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The Disappeared

Posted on August 6, 2021 by smellincoffee

The Disappeared© 2019 Amy Lord368 pages Clara Winter was only a child when her father disappeared. A poet and English teacher, he made the mistake of criticizing Britain’s new order, the martial rule imposed on it after a terrorist attack … Continue reading →

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Obey little, bake much: The Choice

Posted on August 5, 2021 by smellincoffee

The Choice© 2019 Claire Ward400 pages “Let them eat cake,” Marie Antoinette supposedly said of the people too poor to buy bread, and the words inspired revolution. The Choice throws that on its head, and makes it rallying cry — … Continue reading →

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Ghost Sub

Posted on August 4, 2021 by smellincoffee

Ghost Sub© 2013 Todd Tucker166 pages Ghost Sub opens with a scene reminiscent of “There Will Come Soft Rains”: an automated environment, eerily chugging along through its pre-programmed routines, an imitation of life in the midst of death. The USS … Continue reading →

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Collapse Depth

Posted on August 2, 2021 by smellincoffee

© 2012 Todd Tucker264 pages The USS Alabama, like the rest of the Trident submarine force, exists for one reason only:   strategic deterrence.   Onboard her are enough nuclear missiles to destroy a dozen or more prominent cities, for use in … Continue reading →

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