Category Archives: Science Fiction

Book Reviews, Science Fiction, Young Adult

Martians Abroad ~Carrie Vaughn

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(Cover by artist Paul Youll)

Polly Newton has a plan: become a starship pilot and travel the galaxy. And in the pursuit of that plan, she is relentlessly focused.

But you know what they say about the best laid plans.

When the Martian native and her twin brother Charles are informed by their mother, director of operations on Colony One, that she has enrolled them both in the prestigious Galileo Academy, even the prospect of captaining starships in half the time it would take on Mars cannot assuage her despair. For Galileo Academy will take Polly Newton to the once place she has never wanted to go.

Earth

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Book Reviews, Science Fiction

Star Wars Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel ~James Luceno

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I don’t suppose that it is possible that anyone is unaware of what is happening later this week, but in the event that you were, until just this moment, stranded on a desert island with a volleyball for a companion, this should get you up to speed:

Yes folks, it is true. We are finally going to be able to return to that galaxy far, far away to a time period that is achingly close to the one we all love: that of the original Star Wars trilogy. Rogue One starts this week, and I for one am very excited.

I know that must come as quite a shock.

The fire of that excitement was stoked over the weekend as I partook of the Rogue One prequel novel, Catalyst, by author James Luceno. If the trailer has you curious about the story of the two dudes facing off in the field and what they have to do with the construction of “the ultimate power in the universe”, then it is well worth making time over the next few days to read Catalyst.

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Book Reviews, Science Fiction

The Stars Are Ours ~Andre Norton

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Four years ago I embarked upon my first Andre Norton experience with the novel Star Born. It made a strong first impression.

Several Norton stories later, I retain my fondness for Star Born and was thrilled to see the novel that set this story in motion, The Stars Are Ours, listed as the December read for the Classic Science Fiction Book Club of which I am a very absentee member.

It just so happened that I had a couple of different copies of this book in the basement, so I grabbed a copy and dove in.

The Stars Are Ours exceeded my expectations in part with a first half tale that went in a direction I had not anticipated, and then by setting up events nicely for the story that follows in Star Born. While this is a self-contained novel, I suspect that those who enjoy it will be glad to know there is more story to tell.

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Book Reviews, Science Fiction, Short Stories

Women of Futures Past

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“The books we pass to our children and friends are the books that will form the literature of the future.”
~Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Those familiar with my science fictional reading habits know that I alternate between reading works of contemporary and classic fiction, with a fair mix between volumes of short and long fiction. I have read some fantastic contemporary works over the last few years–The Martian, Wool, Love Minus Eighty, Ready Player One, several Liaden Universe novels (and so much more)–and engaging science fiction short story anthologies and collections, including many wonderful stories by the editor of this very collection, Kristine Kathryn Rusch.

As Rusch states in the quote that opened this review, the works of literature that have gone before (those that are actually read, that is) inform the stories that are later written by readers who become writers. Scratch the surface of the quote and you can accurately infer that the books we read as children inform the kind of readers we become as we grow older.

That was certainly the case with me. Much of the science fiction I read as a child may have barely been considered “contemporary” back then, but it was written by authors whose work stretched back well into the past. The result of falling in love with science fiction literature from that period is that classics have a special appeal.

Being a fan of Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s work, I had high expectations of this collection when it came out a few months ago. Those expectations were met and exceeded.

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Art/Photography, Book Reviews, Fantasy, Gothic/Horror, Science Fiction

Spectrum 23 The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art

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(Spectrum 23 cover art, “The Year of the Ram”, Android Jones)

The annual stretching out of my birthday celebration continued this lovely post-Thanksgiving Saturday with another annual tradition, the page-by-page review of the newest volume of Spectrum: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art, with my friend Jeff Smith.

Spectrum 23, the third volume produced by Flesk Publications, is the best volume yet under John Fleskes’ editorial reign. Given the quality of the previous two Flesk Publication volumes, built upon a foundation of greatness established and sustained for two decades by Arnie and Cathy Fenner, that is saying something.

Beauty, of course, is in the eye of the beholder, and what is inspiring, uplifting art to one may not cause the heart of another to beat faster, but I have to confess that I found much to like in the work created by the artists accepted in this year’s volume. And John Flesk and the folks at Flesk Publications have a real eye for design, showcasing the included works in ways that inspire conversation and multiple viewings.

I will share a handful of the many images that arrested my gaze below, with links to the website of the artist who created the work. Please be sure to visit each artist’s website for more examples of their work, and pick up a copy of Spectrum 23 (available in hardcover and paperback) to experience your own visual feast.

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