All in Science Fiction
Marie Brennan's A NATURAL HISTORY OF DRAGONS
This is a work of imagination. The story is clever, the prose is well written, and for this audiobook Kate Reading’s “performance” is impeccable.
Stephen King’s “THE STAND”
Reading the extended edition of Stephen King’s massive novel THE STAND was a reminder of why I never took up reading his books when I was younger: his writing style was flat and uninspiring. Now that I’m older I’ve returned to reading his books and recognize his mastery of two very important fiction elements:
Andy Weir’s THE MARTIAN
This novel shows better than most what it’s like to “work the problem” and how it pays be creative, smart, disciplined, and brave
Benford & Brin's HEART OF THE COMET
The scale and scope of the operation are huge. Hundreds of crew are sent in deep sleep while a smaller “first shift” prepares the massive ball of ancient ice for human habitation. The authors think through the physics and the logistics of such a massive operation and make you believe — almost — that something like this might really work.
Stephen King's UNDER THE DOME
I haven’t tried to read anything by King in over 20 years. The last time I tried I found his writing to be pedestrian and uninteresting. UNDER THE DOME is different.
Dan Simmons' ILIUM
While I would not put this in the same class as my favorites by Stephenson (e.g., Diamond Age) and Vinge (e.g., A Deepness in the Sky) it’s still pretty darn good and I look forward to the sequel.
Peter F. Hamilton's THE TEMPORAL VOID
I love space opera, but I’m probably not going to read Book Number Three in this series.
Peter F. Hamilton's THE DREAMING VOID
It’s over 1,000 years since the events described in Pandora’s Star. Investigator Paula Myo is still around and is tied into the fractious digital overmind that thinks it rules the galaxy. Unfortunately her personality is more cryptic than ever and she contributes little to the story.
Osamu Tezuka's PHOENIX: A TALE OF THE FUTURE
The artwork is nowhere near the level of detail and sophistication present in the author’s Buddha graphic novel series, but the story’s scope is vast. It begins in the year 3404 when the human race is decaying. The periodic intervention of the mystical Phoenix is all that stands in the way of total physical collapse of the Earth.