To Hold Up the Sky by Liu Cixin My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars When The Three Body Problem was published in an english translation, SFF fans were immediately enamoured by Cixin Liu and his fascinating imagination that flirted with both the possible and the far-fetched in equal measures. In this anthology the reader will…
Category: science fiction
Mighty Are the Meek and the Myriad by Cassandra Khaw: Short Story Review
The July/August issue of the magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction depicts the scene of destruction and death that colossal cyclopean robots have wreaked. The first short story by Cassandra Khaw begins with the treaty from a war between the U.S.A. and the U.K.. A war in which robots played an integral role. In a…
Noumenon by Marina J. Lostetter: Book Review
In an article of the most recent Interzone magazine, British writer Aliya Whiteley discusses science fiction as a genre that does not follow key scenes and expectations like one would expect in genres like romantic comedies or heist movies. She writes for example, a heist movie inevitably includes a planning sequence, and a meeting of…
The Only Harmless Great Thing by Brooke Bolander: Novella Review
The tor.com novellas, which first made an appearance a few years ago, have proven to be a major force in the literary world, taking over major SFF awards, the Hugo and the Nebula among others. At first, I wasn’t completely sold in the concept of short fiction. The works of fantasy that I have completely…
The Road by Cormac McCarthy: Book Review
The Road by Cormac McCarthy My rating: 3 of 5 stars There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one’s heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes. So, he whispered to the sleeping boy. I have you. In…
Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer: Book Review
Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer My rating: 4 of 5 stars Area X is an anomaly, a place vaguely defined by boundaries that separate it from the rest of the world. In Area X, an unprecedented variety of new spieces of flora and fauna of immense beauty and intrigue have taken over, making it an unwelcoming…
The Power by Naomi Alderman (Book Review)
The Power by Naomi Alderman My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars Book synopsis: Roxy is born in London’s criminal underworld and when her mother is killed by two gangland members she is determined to use the power to avenge her mother’s death. Allie Montgomery-Taylor runs away after electrocuting her abusive stepfather to death with a…
Death’s End by Liu Cixin translated by Ken Liu (Book Review)
Death’s End by Liu Cixin My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars If you haven’t read the first book of the trilogy, you can read my spoiler free review of The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu Translated by Ken Liu (Book Review) instead. You can also click here for my review of the second book of…
The Dark Forest by Liu Cixin translated by Joel Martinsen (Book Review)
The Dark Forest by Liu Cixin My rating: 4 of 5 stars If you haven’t read the first book of the trilogy, you can read my spoiler free review of The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu Translated by Ken Liu (Book Review) instead! Book synopsis: A lonely ant is out on an expedition to discover and lead…
The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu Translated by Ken Liu (Book Review)
The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars Book synopsis: Starting in China, in 1967, a young, brilliant woman’s life is forever changed. Ye Wenjie is witness to her father’s public torture and death under the accusation of being a Reactionist. The impact of this traumatic event won’t show until two…
