Category Archives: science fiction

Rossum’s Universal Robots

Posted on October 17, 2017 by smellincoffee

R.U.R© 1920 Karel Capek120 pages ALQUIST: . Has Nana got a prayer book?HELENA Yes, a big thick one.ALQUIST And has it got prayers for various occasions? Against thunderstorms? Against illness?HELENA Against temptations, against floods!––ALQUIST But not against progress?HELENA I don’t … Continue reading →

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The Circle

Posted on September 9, 2017 by smellincoffee

The Circle 2013 Dave Eggers 507 pages Sharing is Caring. Privacy is Theft. Secrets are Lies. Imagine an internet transformed by a company  so innovative and ambitious that it had swallowed Facebook, Google, etc. whole.  It began with TruYou, a … Continue reading →

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Tyrannosaur Canyon

Posted on August 29, 2017 by smellincoffee

Tyrannosaur Canyon© 2006 Douglas Preston416 pages What do a ‘misplaced’ lunar sample and a fossil hunter shot dead in the high mesas of New Mexico have in common?  Their shared secret is one that would answer one of humanity’s oldest … Continue reading →

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Dragon’s Teeth

Posted on August 27, 2017 by smellincoffee

Dragon’s Teeth © 2017 Michael Crichton288 pages Scientific discovery isn’t always a gentlemanly affair.  Dragon’s Teeth, published by the estate of Michael Crichton in his name, inserts a fictional character into the real-life feud of two paleontologists who went to such … Continue reading →

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State of Fear

Posted on August 22, 2017 by smellincoffee

State of Fear© 2004 Michael Chrichton672 pages I stumbled upon State of Fear via Rousseau, oddly enough. Wikiquote’s page on Rousseau included an excerpt from a Michael Crichton article rebuking Rousseau’s “noble savage” myth. The article in question scrutinized political … Continue reading →

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Redshirts

Posted on July 21, 2017 by smellincoffee

Redshirts: A Novel With Three Codas © 2012 John Scalzi 320 pages Audible presentation read by Wil Wheaton, runtime 7 hrs 41 minutes. “I’m not even supposed to be here! I’m just Crewman #6. I’m the guy in the episode … Continue reading →

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The Great Explosion

Posted on June 25, 2017 by smellincoffee

The Great Explosion© 1962 Eric Frank Russell187 pages Following the discovery of faster-than-light travel, Earth’s population fell by half as her children fled to the stars.  After decades of benign neglect, the powers that be on Earth — the military … Continue reading →

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Fahrenheit 451

Posted on June 17, 2017 by smellincoffee

Fahrenheit 451© 1953 Ray Bradbury158 pages Like 1984, I suspect Fahrenheit 451 is famous enough that its basic details have seeped into the cultural consciousness of people who have never read it. Here we have a fireman whose job is … Continue reading →

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The Martian Chronicles

Posted on June 13, 2017 by smellincoffee

The Martian Chronicles © 1950 Ray Bradbury 222 pages As the 1940s began giving way to the 1950s, Ray Bradbury began penning a series of stories about the future human exploration of Mars — stories that he thought of as … Continue reading →

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Mars

Posted on June 2, 2017 by smellincoffee

 Mars© 1992 Ben Bova560 pages Mankind has finally arrived on Mars, via a joint venture between the United States, Russia, Europe, and Japan. An expedition slated to last several months on the planet itself plans to explore part of the … Continue reading →

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