Tag Archives: science fiction

Player Piano

Posted on November 6, 2014 by smellincoffee

Player Piano© 1952 Kurt Vonnegut352 pages “I’d be in exile now, but everywhere’s the same…”      Not since the roaring twenties was American society so giddily obsessed with newfangled stuff than in the 1950s.  Americans were awash in material prosperity, … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science fiction | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

One Second After

Posted on September 26, 2014 by smellincoffee

One Second After  © 2011 William R. Forstchen 528 pages When the power blinked, Colonel John Matherson wasn’t alarmed. These things happen. But they don’t happen at the same exact time as failing phones, stalling cars, and falling planes.  As … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science fiction | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Rise and Fall of KHAAAAAAAAAN! Volume I

Posted on July 20, 2014 by smellincoffee

Star Trek Eugenic Wars: the Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh, Volume I© 2001 Greg Cox520 pages Ah, how well I remember the 1990s — neon colored plastic pants, frizzy hair, and that gang of genetically engineered supermen starting … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science fiction | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Allegiant

Posted on July 19, 2014 by smellincoffee

Allegiant© 2013 Veronica Roth544 pages  “Sure as I know anything I know this, they will try again. Maybe on another world, maybe on this very ground swept clean. A year from now, ten, they’ll swing back to the belief that … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science fiction | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

This week at the library; Huck Finn and the British crown

Posted on July 14, 2014 by smellincoffee

            Try as  I might,  none of the French-related books I investigated this week struck my interest, so for the first time since starting the tradition,  my Bastille Day reading is a nonstarter. C’est la vie. … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science fiction | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

That Hideous Strength

Posted on June 13, 2014 by smellincoffee

That Hideous Strength: A Modern Fairy Tale for Grown Ups © 1945 C.S. Lewis 384 pages Mark Studdock is a newly married sociologist who has been given the opportunity of a lifetime; the chance to work with a promising and … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science fiction | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Divergent

Posted on June 5, 2014 by smellincoffee

Divergent © 2011 Veronica Roth 487 pages Every major city has problems with organized gangs, but the Chicago of Divergent’s future has nothing else. The entire society is organized in five factions devoted to an ideal;  Dauntless, Abnegation, Erudition, Amity, … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science fiction | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Voyage

Posted on March 4, 2014 by smellincoffee

Voyage: A Novel of What Might have Been© 1996 Stephen Baxter511 pages             On November 22nd, 1963, John F. Kennedy narrowly escaped assassination while touring Dallas, Texas. A gunman’s assault left his wife Jacqueline dead and the president hospitalized, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science fiction | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

The Martian

Posted on February 18, 2014 by smellincoffee

The Martian© 2013 Andy Weir369 pages I was elated!  This was the best plan ever! Not only was I clearing out the hydrogen, I was making more water!  Everything went great right up to the explosion.  p. 43 Mark Watney never thought … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science fiction | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Starship Troopers

Posted on January 16, 2014 by smellincoffee

Starship Troopers© 1959 Robert Heinlein263 pages The worlds of the Terran Federation are under constant assault by the malicious Bugs, whose hideousness drives dogs insane and who don’t even have the decency to build their civilization out of buildings that … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews, science fiction | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments