Category: Literature
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The Wager (Grann 2023)
This is another book that I finished recently while moving, Grann’s 2023 The Wager. It focuses on a specific ship, the HMS Wager, that was part of Anson’s around-the-world Royal Navy voyage in 1740–1744. I heard an interview about it on the radio and was curious enough to order a copy to read. One thing…
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Roadside Picnic (Strugatsky & Strugatsky 1972)
Roadside Picnic (1972 by Strugatsky and Strugatsky) was originally written in Russian in the Soviet Union during the Cold War. I read the 2012 translation by Le Guin. The book is based on a cool idea. Aliens briefly visited Earth and left—leaving behind, as far as anyone can tell, some tossed-out trash. These garbage zones…
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Ancillary Justice (Leckie 2013)
My wife bought this book for me to read as a travel book during the first part of our move. This is a fun, creative, well-written space opera. The point of view is very refreshing and original. The protagonist has a pragmatic, no-nonsense approach, essentially a noir character, but also cares strongly about a few…
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A Fire Upon the Deep (Vinge 1992)
I just finished reading A Fire Upon the Deep (1992) by Vernor Vinge. I was curious about it because it was highly recommended, but I also (purposefully) didn’t know much about it to avoid spoilers. This contained a lot of aspects of the classic Western space opera, where an individual (possibly with superhero abilities) or…
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Children of Memory (Tchaikovsky 2023)
This book brings together some very big ideas, such as (I have to be a bit cryptic to avoid spoilers) how we can recognize human-level intelligence and how would we recognize fundamental physical reality versus an immersive simulation—or do these really matter? The author has a background in zoology and psychology, and it shows. I…
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The Toaster Project (Thwaites 2011)
Excellent! This book, The Toaster Project (2011) by Thomas Thwaites, is about something I have thought about for decades. How do we make the things that we have around us? Not just putting it together from a kit but how are the parts actually made, and the tools to make the parts, and the tools…
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The Dorrington Deed-Box (Morrison 1897)
I recently finished The Dorrington Deed-Box (1897) by Arthur Morrison. It is a fluffy, easy-to-read book that will not change your life. I could see it as something to bring along to read as a diversion while on a trip or on vacation. It is written kind of like a Sherlock-Holms-type mystery, but it is…
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World Without End (Follett 2007)
I finished World Without End, the second book of Follett’s “Kingsbridge” series. While I like the historical setting, this is not really my kind of book. It contains a lot of romance plot points with love triangles (not my thing); it is also quite explicit and contains some graphic violence. The first book in the…
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Things Fall Apart (Achebe 1958)
After reading Ballantyne (1861) I was looking for a book about colonialism from an African perspective. Things Fall Apart (1958) by Chinua Achebe (who was Igbo and grew up in British Colonial Nigeria) is exactly the kind of book I was looking for. The book starts off by drawing you into West African Igbo (or…
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Artemis (Weir 2017)
I just finished Andy Weir’s Artemis. I’ve previously read two other books by Weir, The Martian (2011) and Project Hail Mary (2021), both of which I thoroughly enjoyed. Artemis has a different feeling from those that is hard to put my finger on. It is a solid science fiction novel and is diverting. It reminds…
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The Gorilla Hunters (Ballantyne 1861)
I just finished reading The Gorilla Hunters: A Tale of the Wilds of Africa (1861) by R. M. Ballantyne. It was a sequel to Ballantyne’s The Coral Island (1858), which I had previously read. I want to write about it while the book is fresh in my mind, but this case is more difficult than…