Category: Sci-fi
Bits of Catalyst — E. M. Foner
Cibola Burn — James S. A. Corey
Humanity has finally gone through a gate and settled on the first world in another solar system, but the settlers are being classed as illegal squatters by the corporation that believes the planet to be legally there’s. So when the corporation ship turns up with the intention of taking everything away from the settlers, the settlers have a surprise waiting for them and all hell breaks loose.
Avasaralla thinks it’ll be a great idea to send Holden to mediate and sort things out, because she thinks Holden will make such a disaster of it that it’ll scare everyone back in Sol system away from leaving for other new worlds.
And on top of all this, or maybe because of all this, the planet is waking up from its billion year slumber.
While that all sounds really good, which it is, the telling of this story just drags on and on and on and on. This book would have been way, way better if it had lost a few hundred pages. And on top of all that, it’s a really depressing story from beginning to end, showing up Homo sapiens at their very worse.
It was so tedious i kept on having to take breaks and read three whole books just to break this up into manageable chunks of depressive dragging on.
Let’s hope the next one, Nemesis Games, is better, eh?
James’ Page
#theexpanse #scifi #jamessacorey
The Expanding Universe Volume 5 — Anthology
All copyright 2020 except stated.
Standalones
Lightwave: Jericho Colony Rescue — A. M. Scott
The Bull Rock Blues — Felix R. Savage
Going Rogue — James Palmer
Crossing the Line — Lawrence M. Schoen
Marauder — Jeremy Fabiano
Stockade — John Hindmarsh
The Bounty Hunter’s Partner — Terry Mixon
Extinction — Michael Penmore
Golems of War — Rachel Aukes
False Positive — Mikey Campling
Welcome Earthling — J. S. Morin
If Thou Forget Us, Oh Earth — Stephanie Mylchreest
The Bridge — Colonel Jonathan P. Brazee
Bounce and Fall — Patty Jansen
The Trophany — Julia Huni
Lucky Elephants — Galen Surlak-Ramsey
The Zabolov Gambit — Charley Marsh
Hacker’s Pursuit — Wilhelmina Kirk and J. L. Stowers
A Little Bit of Kali — R.R. Virdi and Yudhanjaya Wijeratne
An Unwilling Champion — TR Cameron
Plan B — Brian Thorne
Memo-Real — Daniel Arenson
The Green Door of Fate — Craig Martelle
#scifi #michaelcampling #jsmorin #pattyjansen #yudhanjayawijeratne
The Expanding Universe Volume 4 — Anthology
All copyright 2018 except stated.
Standalones
Information War — by Craig Martelle
Checkmate — Colonel Jonathan P. Brazee
Skeleton Crew — Mikey Campling
BreakerMikey Campling David VanDyke
Endpoint — Mikey Campling
Unexpected Bounty — Terry Mixon
Messenger — R.R. Virdi and Yudhanjaya Wijeratne
Duty — Bill Patterson (II)
The Burden of Honor — Kevin O. McLaughlin [as by Kevin McLaughlin]
The Spike — Nathan Mutch
Lights Out — Kayelle Allen
Darkened Skies — Drew Avera
Skin Suits — Justin Bell
Daughters of Ayor – 2017 — David R. Bernstein
One Last Battle [The Hunter Legacy] — Timothy Ellis
Tuesday — Lyn Forester
Mothers — C. M. Simpson
Alaska’s Vengeance [Ardent Redux Universe] — J. L. Stowers
Sycorax – 2017 — Jenetta Penner
Warp Three [The Niakrim War] – 2017 — David J. VanBergen, Jr.
A Little Surprise — P. R. Adams
#scifi #michaelcampling #yudhanjayawijeratne
The Expanding Universe Volume 3 — Anthology
All copyright 2017 except stated.
Standalones
Language Barrier — Craig Martelle
Weaponized Math [Staff Sergeant Gracie Medicine Crow] — Colonel Jonathan P. Brazee
To Catch a King — Mike Kraus
Skeleton Crew — Mikey Campling
Epiphany — Andrew Dobell
The Achanean Reception — Richard Fox
The Trophy — B. C. Kellogg
Blood and Treasure — Terry Mixon
Dreadnaught — Yudhanjaya Wijeratne
Save the Scientist — J. A. Cipriano and Conner Kressley
Severance — C. C. Ekeke
Across the Galactic Pond [Universe in Flames Origins] — Christian Kallias
Catalyst — Lisa Blackwood and S. M. Schmitz
Wrenching Free — Zen DiPietro
Fugitive’s Gamble — T. M. Catron
One Last Job — A. K. DuBoff [as by Amy DuBoff]
Maybe Now the Stars Will Shine — Michael La Ronn
Ice Field — Scott Moon
The Next Level — Thomas J. Rock
Save the Queen — Emily Walker
Alas, Thudonia — Bill Patterson (II)
Exiled [The Void Wraith] – 2016 — Chris Fox
Voyage of the Dog-Propelled Starship — Robert T. Jeschonek
Assault on Tarja — M. D. Cooper
The Piayan Job — Daniel Martone and Laura Martone
Final Intelligence — Kevin O. McLaughlin
In the Shadows — Danny A. Brown
LZ New Birth — J. R. Handley
#scifi #aliettedebodard #patcadigan #kenliu #paulmcauley #jamessacorey
Avatars Inc — Anthology
All copyright 2020 except stated.
Standalones
In the Lands of the Spill — Aliette de Bodard
Thirty-Three — Tade Thompson
Porcelain Claws in Cinnamon Earth — Madeline Ashby
Life in Achar — Anya Ow
What I Want Us to Remember Before We Leave — Bryce Banks
Honeysuckle — Rhianna Jones
A Mountain to Climb — Julie Novakova
Bounty — Charles Yu
Harmony — Dr. Harry Kloor
Overburden — K. Chess
The Ulgrieb Case — Jeffrey Ford
Behold the Deep Never Seen — Merc Fenn Wolfmoor
The Search for [Flight X] — JY Yang
The Final Performance of the Amazing Ralphie — Pat Cadigan
Neuro-Dancer — Tom Sweterlitsch
Uma — Ken Liu
Banding — Julianna Baggott
Robot and Girl with Flowers — Paul McAuley
Waiting for Amelia — Robert Reed
Incarnate — Indrapramit Das
A Bird Does Not Sing Because It Has an Answer — Johanna Sinisalo
Oannes, From the Flood — Adrian Tchaikovsky
At the End of a Most Perfect Day — Nino Cipri
Two Watersheds — Kelly Robson
Elsewhere — James S. A. Corey
La Mer Donne — Sarah Pinsker
Add Oil — S. L. Huang
#scifi #aliettedebodard #patcadigan #kenliu #paulmcauley #jamessacorey
Bricks — Tony Bertauski
Clay — Tony Bertauski
Halfskin — Tony Bertauski
Awake — Tony Bertauski
System Collapse — Martha Wells
Another great story from the life and times of Murderbot.
If you enjoy AI fiction then this is the series for you, and if you haven’t tried any AI fiction yet and want to give some a try, then this series is a fantastic starting place.
Enjoy!
Martha’s Page
#scifi #marthawells
Machine Vendetta — Alastair Reynolds
Another Prefect Dreyfus story from the glitter band, which we’ve been waiting a while for, but it was worth the wait.
For me, one of the best bits of the whole Revelation Space series are the stories within Yellowstone and the Glitter Band, and this story didn’t disappoint.
Alastair at his very best.
And lets all hope that there’ll be a few more Yellowstone and the Glitter Band stories to come still.
Next up in the Revelation Space series it’s Diamond Dogs.
Alastair’s Page
#scifi #revelationspace #alastairreynolds
The Vital Abyss — James S. A. Corey
Another side story, this time concerning the prisoners that the Belters captured from the original Protogen project in Leviathon Wakes.
All the prisoners have been put into one large room and are continuously watched over from above by the Belters who guard them. For them, after their crimes, there is no future, nothing at all, beyond the walls of this room.
And then, one day, or night, the man from Mars turns up and begins to offer hope, if only to one of them, but which one will it be?
A really good novella, that can be read as soon as the Belters have taken them prisoner, or anytime thereafter.
Next up in the series is Cibola Burn.
James’ Page
#theexpanse #scifi #jamessacorey
Abaddon’s Gate — James S. A. Corey
I didn’t find this book as good as the previous ones, which i put down to a character thing.
Too much christian waffle: i live in hope that by the time Hominids are travelling the whole solar system we’ll have gotten over this all the organised religion thing and seen it for what it truly is. I found it beyond tragic that people were still clinging to this twaddle.
And i also found Clarissa just tedious and annoying: like a lot of spoiled rich brats that i’ve known in my life. I really don’t like reading about them and having to endure their thinking.
Still, it has it’s good parts, which do balance the few crap characters and religiosity out and offer some redemption (pun intended) for those expecting something better.
I’ve now dived straight into The Vital Abyss, which is much better and more like what i expect from this series.
James’ Page
#theexpanse #scifi #jamessacorey
Caliban’s War — James S. A. Corey
The second full length novel in “The Expanse” series. And what a novel it is.
The protomolecule has now taken over Venus and while it is now the most watched and analysed thing in the solar system, no one has any idea what is going on beneath Venus’ clouds.
Meanwhile, on Ganymede, a space monster attacks a whole load of UN and Martian marines, and leaves only one alive. Then all hell breaks loose between Earth and Mars and Ganymede gets laid to waste.
And while all this is going on someone is kidnapping children with a rare immune disorder.
And so the stage is set for a super long read.
All our favourite characters from the first series are back, and a few more really good new characters are thrown into the mix.
Super good, great writing, all round awesome sci-fi.
Next up is Gods of Risk.
James’ Page
#theexpanse #scifi #jamessacorey
Omni Best Science Fiction Two — Anthology
Standalones
All the Perfumes of Araby – 1992 — Lucius Shepard
The Robot and the One You Love – 1988 — Tom Maddox
Chimera Dreams – 1986 — Gregg Keizer
The Pear-Shaped Man – 1987 — George R. R. Martin
Kingdom Come – 1987 — Bruce McAllister
Mother’s Milt – 1992 — Pat Cadigan
Black Velvet – 1992 — Maggie Flinn
One Small Step for Max – 1992 — Dan Simmons
The Cave Painting – 1992 — Garry Kilworth
In the Month of Athyr [Winterlong] – 1992 — Elizabeth Hand
#scifi #luciusshepard #georgerrmartin #patcadigan #dansimmons
Leviathan Wakes — James S. A. Corey
After a few little novellas it’s been a joy to get into some real long distance reading: it’s a rather large book!
Great characters, superbly well written, non stop action, excellent dialogue (both internal and external); i really can’t fault this book.
Do remember to have a little break during this to read The Last Flight of the Cassandra.
And now i have the second huge tome, Caliban’s War, to dive straight into.
James’ Page
#theexpanse #scifi #jamessacorey
The Last Flight of the Cassandra — James S. A. Corey
This story occurs immediately after Holden makes his announcement that the ice hauler was destroyed and a piece of tech with a Mars stamp on it was discovered.
The Cassandra is flying hand to mouth already and they realise that with the coming price fluctuations they won’t be able to continue flying. So they go off to an asteroid in a last attempt at turning a profit: finding something that could change everything for them.
A good little story that i would suggest reading as soon as the Holden announcement goes out, or, you could wait until the end of Leviathon Wakes and read it then.
James’ Page
#theexpanse #scifi #jamessacorey
The Sins of Our Fathers — James S. A. Corey
The Butcher of Anderson Station — James S. A. Corey
Another back story for one of the series main characters. This time it’s Fred Johnson’s turn as we look back at the events of Anderson Station and how they shape his future self.
Next book in the series is Leviathon Wakes, and it’s a big, big long one: it might be a while before my next review.
James’ Page
#theexpanse #scifi #jamessacorey
The Churn — James S. A. Corey
Book 2 in The Expanse saga.
This time we’re back on Earth in a rather dystopian nightmare future Baltimore to meet one of the main story’s main protagonists.
A really good little tale and back story.
Next up is The Butcher of Anderson Station.
James’ Page
#theexpanse #scifi #jamessacorey
Drive — James S. A. Corey
In the anthology, Edge of Infinity.
The first book in The Expanse. And so my next few months of reading begins.
This is the story of how they got the super fast drives for the space ships. Good stuff.
Next up in The Expanse reading list is The Churn.
James’ Page
#theexpanse #scifi #jamessacorey
Edge of Infinity — Anthology
All stories copyright 2012.
Standalones
The Girl-Thing Who Went Out for Sushi — Pat Cadigan
The Deeps of the Sky — Elizabeth Bear
Drive — James S. A. Corey
The Road to NPS — Sandra McDonald and Stephen D. Covey
Swift as a Dream and Fleeting as a Sigh — John Barnes
Macy Minnot’s Last Christmas on Dione, Ring Racing, Fiddler’s Green, the Potter’s Garden — Paul McAuley
Safety Tests — Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Bricks, Sticks, Straw — Gwyneth Jones
Tyche and the Ants — Hannu Rajaniemi
Obelisk — Stephen Baxter
Vainglory — Alastair Reynolds
Water Rights — An Owomoyela
The Peak of Eternal Light — Bruce Sterling
#theexpanse #scifi #patcadigan #jamessacorey #paulmcauley #gwynethjoneswriter #hannurajaniemi #stephenbaxter #alastairreynolds #brucesterling
Understanding Space and Time — Alastair Reynolds
Available in the collection, Zima Blue and Other Stories.
Elton John inspires the last human to learn all about space and time.
This is obviously Alastair the physicist having some fun: quite an enjoyable novella.
Next up on Alastair’s timeline is Tiger Burning.