Category: Books
Salvation Lost (The Salvation Sequence book 2) by Peter F Hamilton (book review).
‘Salvation Lost’ by Peter F Hamilton is the second novel in the Salvation Sequence trilogy. This in line with so many of Peter Hamilton’s novels is a space opera on a grand scale across both space and time. Time-wise it comprises two threads, the Earth-centric one is set from 25thJune to 4thJuly 2204 and the […]
The Unkindest Tide (An October Daye novel book 13) by Seanan McGuire (book review).
Selkies are the seal people of Gaelic, Scottish and Scandinavian folklore. While spending most of their time in the sea, they will come onto the land, shed their skins and take human form. The legends say that if a skin is found, the owner can coerce the Selkie into remaining human. Often Selkies are portrayed […]
Qualityland by Marc-Uwe Kling (book review).
Translated from the German by Jamie Lee Searle, ‘Qualityland’ is Marc-Uwe Kling’s satirical novel of a future where everything is controlled by algorithms. Set in a European country now known as Qualityland, it’s like living inside Google: adverts, deliveries, partners, jobs and every other aspect of each person’s life is assessed, rated, personalised and provided […]
How We Learn by Stanislas Dehaene (book review).
When I started Stanislas Dehaene’s book, ‘How We Learn’, with its sub-title adding the detail, ‘The New Science Of Education And The Brain’, I didn’t expect the opening chapter to focus on Artificial Intelligence. More so, as in the introduction, there was a lot more focusing on what made humans different to other members of […]
Reality Simulation In Science Fiction, Literature, Film and Television by Heather Duerre Humann (book review).
Looking at the examples cited by author Heather Duerre Humann in her introduction to her book ‘Reality Simulation In Science Fiction, Literature, Film And Television’, I’m looking forward to seeing her knowledge in the chapters of this book. Keep a notepad ready because you’re going to want to check out her examples from fiction, non-fiction, […]
The Cruel Stars (The Cruel Stars Trilogy book 1) by John Birmingham (book review).
When I decided to jot down my initial impressions of John Birmingham’s ‘The Cruel Stars’, I was surprised to find myself half-way through the 480 page book already. This was not because I had been reading particularly fast but because I didn’t feel like much had yet happened. This is one of the features of […]
Jack Kirby’s Dingbat Love edited by John Morrow (graphic novel review).
In 1970, having made his name drawing iconic heroes for Marvel, artist and writer Jack Kirby proposed to his new bosses at DC a line of comics aimed at an older, wider audience. This premium series would cover topics like romance and divorce, targeting black as well as white readers. In a move that will […]
Pencil Workshop by Sasha Prood (book review).
The first thing I said to the publicist at Abrams when I saw this book in their catalogue was they should sell it with the stationery items that they also sell as a boxset. With the introduction showing you need to have a visit to an art shop for supplies does at least support this. […]
The Complete Short Stories Of Mike Carey (book review).
Despite having been a fan of Mike Carey’s work for quite some time, I am, perhaps one of the few people to have neither read nor seen the film version of ‘The Girl With All The Gifts’. While I do intend to rectify this situation at some point, I was actually grateful, as it allowed […]
Knightwatch: Invictus X (Invictaverse book 1) by Mark Ellis (book review).
This book was first conceived as a comic series, back in the 1980s, when Mark Ellis was the primary writer/ideas man for Adventure Publications. Ellis states in his ‘Author’s Note’ that he was asked to create a super-hero team following the dark, ‘adult’ tone of Alan Moore’s ‘Watchmen’. He wasn’t greatly interested in copying the […]
