Tag Archives: Books

Brian Aldiss – Hothouse (1961) Review

Posted on June 17, 2019 by

The novel that couldn’t stop embarrassing itself. A billion years in the future, the Earth and Moon have stopped rotating. The dayside of the planet is covered by thick jungle. Mile-long spiders move along webs between Earth and the Moon. … Continue reading →

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Patricia A. McKillip – Ombria in Shadow (2002) Review

Posted on June 5, 2019 by

“In that house who could assume that even fire and water would not conspire?” The main character of this novel is the shadowy city Ombria itself, and the Byzantine dealings of its royal house. But first there is Lydea, mistress … Continue reading →

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Theodore Sturgeon – More Than Human (1953) Review

Posted on May 31, 2019 by

9/10 Starting More Than Human is like a weight settling on you. Both for the flowing, dense, poetic writing that settles on you like a blanket, and for the grisly subject material that leaves a pit in your stomach. Cursed … Continue reading →

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Douglas Adams – The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (1979-’92) Series Review

Posted on May 21, 2019 by

A reread of Douglas Adams’ The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series is the perfect remedy when you’re feeling down. That is, of course, if his humor appeals to you. For me, reading Adams is easy; writing a review … Continue reading →

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Patricia A. McKillip – The Changeling Sea (1988) Review

Posted on May 15, 2019 by

The Changeling Sea is (and I have a feeling that I’ll be saying this about every McKillip novel) a short, dreamlike fairy tale. It is mostly about loss and longing. The 14 year old Peri lives with her mother at … Continue reading →

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Richard K. Morgan – Thin Air (2018) Review

Posted on May 11, 2019 by

7/10 With a Richard Morgan novel, you know you’re in for a ride. The funny thing is, though, that he writes the same novel every time. Thin Air is about a mercenary, genetically bred for violence and “decanted” from a … Continue reading →

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J.R.R. Tolkien – The Fall of Gondolin (2018) Review

Posted on April 23, 2019 by

There is a special breed of people who have read and loved JRR Tolkien’s The Silmarillion (1977). To them, the title The Fall of Gondolin must ring some bells. After all, the story of Gondolin is present in that mighty … Continue reading →

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Robert Jackson Bennett – City of Miracles (2017) Review

Posted on April 13, 2019 by

City of Miracles is a truly excellent final part in what is an odd, unusual but compelling little series. Each entry has a different protagonist and this time it is the turn of everyone’s favourite northman: Sigrud. Some devastating stuff … Continue reading →

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Roger Zelazny – This Immortal (1966) Review

Posted on April 1, 2019 by

This Immortal is one of Roger Zelazny’s best known books, but some may know it under the title of “… and Call me Conrad”.  Under that name it won the Hugo award of 1966, in a tied win with Frank … Continue reading →

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Ada Palmer – The Will To Battle (2017) Review

Posted on March 24, 2019 by

Also in this series: Too Like the Lightning (2016) Seven Surrenders (2017) How did the murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand lead to the cataclysm of the First World War? Fat history books have been written to explain the lead up … Continue reading →

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