Category Archives: Reviews

Science Fiction Books to Look for this March

Originally Published: https://amazingstories.com/2019/12/science-fiction-…for-march-2020/

There are a lot of interesting offerings for science fiction readers this month, though I didn’t make as big a dent in my reading pile as I’d like. As a result, I’m only talking about five books: three of them space operas; one a retro tale set in the mid-sixties; a road trip across a “nanotech Western” landscape, and a collection of robot tales. What I found really interesting was the way certain themes kept cropping up. Continue reading →

Science Fiction Books to Look for this February

Originally Published: https://amazingstories.com/2019/12/science-fiction-…for-february-2020/

February is a month on hold, when time is frozen, waiting for something to happen. It’s so bad that the greeting card industry had to create a holiday just to keep from having to shut down for the month. Fortunately, all that stasis makes it a perfect month for reading; thankfully, we’ve got some excellent novels, novellas, and more. Continue reading →

Our Opinions Are Correct: Episode 51: The Delicious Significance of Food in Science Fiction

Our Opinions Are Correct, the Hugo winning podcast hosted by Annalee Newitz and Charlie Jane Anders is one of my favorites and someday I’m going to do an article on where you can hear smart people talk critically about SF, but not today. Today I just want to say how happy I was to see that the latest (Feb 13, 2020) episode was all about food in SF. Well, and Fantasy, if you have to be honest. Continue reading →

Science Fiction Books to Look for December 2019

Originally posted on Amazing Stories Magazine: Science Fiction Books to Look for December 2019
It’s December. Holiday lights, chilly nights, hot chocolate, fireplaces, and comfy chairs to snuggle up with a good book. Of course, you’re hoping someone will give you something great that came out earlier in the year, like The Expanse Boxed Set: Leviathan Wakes, Caliban’s War and Abaddon’s Gate from November, or Sarah Pinkser’s excellent collection of short stories Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea, and I could happily go on, but that’s another column.  While you’re waiting to unwrap your presents, you can pick up something fun to read and be pretty sure no one will give it to you because it’s too late in the season to get on anyone’s radar.  Nonetheless, there are some good books coming out in the year’s closing hours. Continue reading →

The Sky Done Ripped (Ned the Seal) by Joe R. Lansdale

The Sky Done Ripped (Ned the Seal) by Joe R. Lansdale
Cover Artist: Timothy Truman
Review by Ernest Lilley
Subterranean Hardcover ISBN/ITEM#: 9781596069107
Date: 31 December 2019 List Price $40.00
Links: http://www.sfrevu.com/php/Review-id.php?id=18687

If you’re looking for an absurdist mash-up of H.G.Wells, Jules Verne, Authur Conan Doyle, and pretty much every other proto-steampunk adventure you can image, you’ve come to the right place. If you’re looking for the further adventures of Ned, the steampunk/cybernetically uplifted seal, ditto, and it’s a fine place to be. But if you’re looking for serious science fiction, don’t stop here. But if you’re up for some pulpy-steampunky-timey-whimy fun, by all means, pull up a chair. Continue reading →