Tag Archives: science fiction

Overclocked

Posted on February 15, 2018 by smellincoffee

Overclocked: More Stories of the Future Present© 2016 Cory Doctorow388 pages I’d never heard of Cory Doctorow before  this week, but I encountered his name on a list of promising SF authors and looked him up. Amazon obliged my curiosity … Continue reading →

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Unfinished Business, 2017 Edition

Posted on December 31, 2017 by smellincoffee

Every year a few books will slip through the cracks, and become read but un-reviewed. Sometimes books are so good I keep pondering them until the thought of writing about them has slipped my mind; other times, the books are too … Continue reading →

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The Transhumanist Wager

Posted on October 18, 2017 by smellincoffee

The Transhumanist Wager© 2013 Zoltan Istvan300 pages Imagine a protagonist who made Howard Roark seem like a warm and cuddly pushover. That’s Jethro Knights, a red-bearded, icy-blue eyed Ubermensch who is determined to live forever — and if anyone gets … Continue reading →

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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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