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…
This is a children’s fantasy, published in 1963, which is a sequel to “The Weirdstone of Brisingamen”. It deals with the adventures of brother and sister Colin and Susan, who discover that beings regarded as fairy tales exist right along side human beings, and that magic really does exist. I first read this as a…
Land of dreams, dream realm, dream world, dreamscape, etc. These are all imaginative ways of referring to the images we see when asleep. From ancient times, dreams have been a source of mystery and magic. They have been considered as prophetic. Their occurrence has been ascribed to gods or spirits. Cultures world-wide have myths and…
“The Ship who sang” is an early novel for McCaffrey which was published in 1969. It depicts the story of a young female who is born with severe birth defects rendering her body useless, who is trained and then installed into a spaceship, with the ship essentially becoming her body. The story depicts the various…
This is a relatively early work for Heinlein, having first been published in 1957. More famous works such as “Stranger in a Strange Land” are still ahead of him. As such, this book, while quite good, is not great. The story concerns protagonist Dan Davis, an inventor who is cheated out of his life’s work,…
Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. – Benjamin Franklin “The Giver” is a book full of questions. It sets up a situation that demands questions, and thought. The author expertly builds the situation slowly, so little by little more is revealed about the…
When I was small Letters became words became sentences became Magic, and mystery, and far away wondrous places A strange cat in a very tall hat Taught some lonely children how to have fun But I don’t think I’d ever have eaten Green eggs and ham Discovering poetry in the Hundred Acre Wood…
