I am a huge fan of Ursula Le Guin as I have mentioned previously, and I recently read this compilation of some of her stories, selected by her. She described in her introduction that most of the stories in this volume are what she would call science fiction, in that they deal with other planets…
When the Strugatsky brothers finished “The Doomed City” in 1972, they realized that they could not even give it to a publisher in Soviet Russia for fear of the consequences. So they hid the book for over nearly twenty years, not publishing it until 1989, when ‘perestroika’ was taking hold in Russia and the atmosphere…
I like a good old-fashioned monster movie. “Frankenstein Unbound”, based on a novel of the same name by Brian Aldiss, promised to mix classic Frankenstein with science fiction. Sounds like fun, I thought. The plot centres around a future scientist from 2030 who invents a weapon which can eliminate your enemies without causing any damage…
Arkady and Boris Strugatsky were writing in Soviet era Russia, and the environment in which they worked gives their books an added nuance, knowing the societal constraints under which they were working, and what they managed to achieve. This is the second book I have read by these authors, and I have enjoyed it just…
In a town I’ve never visited before I go exploring and walking down a quiet street I see a sign proclaiming ‘Antique Books’ In an antique store, I think examining the faded lettering the thick leadlight windows the heavy wooden shutters I am intrigued so I enter it is everything it ought to be and…
(First published 1963.) Vonnegut is not for everyone, and I suspect many would find him far too cynical to truly enjoy. His world view has always seemed to me to be without illusion, though sometimes lacking in joy or hope. That being said, his books are always interesting and thought-provoking. “Cat’s Cradle” starts with the…
Recently I finished reading a children’s book called “The Night of the Solstice” by Lisa Smith, which contained the idea of mirrors being used as gateways to another world. So this got me thinking about magic mirrors and how they have featured in legends and fiction over the ages. In ancient times mirrors could be…
Theodore Geisel used the pen name Dr Seuss to write his books, mainly children’s books. However Geisel was known also for his illustrations, cartoon work and animation. He was not a doctor, his pen name being purely fictitious, and his books have become famous over the last century, even being adapted (with mixed success) to…
First published in 1980, “Timescape” won the Nebula Award that year. It is a science fiction novel, dealing with ecological disaster in the year 1998. There seems to be no way to resolve what is happening, but technology that uses tachyons allow researchers to attempt communication with the past. In 1962, a scientist starts to…
Ostensibly a sequel to ‘The Moon of Gomrath’ and the ‘Weirdstone of Brisingamen’, though written fifty years later, “Boneland” is a problematic read. To anyone who has read the first two books, I would caution not to expect any kind of continuation or resolution here. I find I cannot really discuss this without straying into…
