book review
Books reviews of the best science fiction stories, texts, educational texts, and journals.
Most Influential Female Sci-Fi Authors
Science fiction is traditionally a boys club. Men have dominated the genre for years, and it wasn't until the second wave of feminism in the 60s that more and more female sci-fi authors began to be recognized. Women like Madeleine L'Engle, Octavia Butler, and Ursula K. Le Guin were just a few to break out into the sci-fi scene with a vengeance. Their novels and short stories have inspired women of all ages to enter the science fiction and fantasy genres and demand to be respected as equals, and the exceptional authors they are. The women who make up the list of the most influential female sci-fi authors will continue to lead a generation of women to create award-worthy work for years to come.
By Danielle Banner9 years ago in Futurism
Q&A with 'Blue Gemini's' Mike Jenne
The year is 1968: The Cold War is far from over, nuclear annihilation is always only a heartbeat away. America is racing the Soviet Union to land men on the Moon, a war is raging, and a pivotal presidential election looms on the horizon. A child of the early space age, Lieutenant Scott Ourecky joined the Air Force with aspirations of going to flight school. A brilliant engineer, he repeatedly fails the aptitude test to become a pilot but is selected to work on a highly classified military space program—the innocuously named Aerospace Support Project—in which Air Force astronauts are slated to fly missions to intercept and destroy suspect Soviet satellites. When one of the astronauts in training abruptly falls out of the project, Ourecky is asked to fill in for the two-man simulated missions and survival training. Although Ourecky was only a temporary “place holder,” not destined to fly in space, he soon finds himself much more involved than he ever anticipated—and in deepest peril.
By Natasha Sydor9 years ago in Futurism
Reviewing Ann Leckie's 'Ancillary Justice'
To say that Ann Leckie’s Ancillary Justice was one of the most important novels of 2013 would be a bit obvious. The novel won both the Hugo and the Nebula for Best Novel and a host of other awards. It is all the more impressive considering that it is Leckie’s first. The ambitious style, believable characterization, and a gripping conspiratorial plot has excited old fans of science fiction, and even gathered the attention of critics of so-called 'mainstream' literature. True, not everyone has been so impressed. Nina Allan, writing for Arc, felt that the novel gave in too easily to the broadest tropes of the space opera genre. I disagree. I think, instead, that giving in to such tropes while stressing our conception of them is precisely where the novel derives its strength.
By Michael Gold9 years ago in Futurism
Reviewing Neil Stephenson’s 'Snow Crash'
Re-reading Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson a little over a year after reading it for the first time was not only fun, but necessary. Snippets of the book from my first reading had been coming back to me for the last year or so, but so much happens in the space of 469 pages that I was remembering separate plots of the book as belonging to entirely different novels. That isn’t to say, however, that the book is especially confusing, or even complicated. It is, however, dealing with a lot of big, esoteric ideas, and Stephenson’s genius shows itself in his ability to expound on all these ideas in detail without slowing the story down. The exposition and explanation is as entrancing as the fast-paced plot.
By Michael Gold9 years ago in Futurism
Thought Leader Malcolm Gladwell
Thought leader Malcolm Gladwell's books and articles often deal with the unexpected implications of research in the social sciences and make frequent and extended use of academic work, particularly in the areas of sociology, psychology, and social psychology. Gladwell was appointed to the Order of Canada on June 30, 2011. When Gladwell started at The New Yorker in 1996 he wanted to "mine current academic research for insights, theories, direction, or inspiration." His first assignment was to write a piece about fashion. Instead of writing about high-class fashion, thought leader Malcolm Gladwell opted to write a piece about a man who manufactured T-shirts, saying "it was much more interesting to write a piece about someone who made a T-shirt for $8 than it was to write about a dress that costs $100,000.
By Futurism Staff9 years ago in Futurism
Most Underrated Sci-Fi Authors
Science fiction is a massively popular genre these days, and while some authors have achieved mainstream recognition, there are gems to be discovered amongst the most underrated sci-fi authors. Casual readers of sci-fi will have heard of writers such as Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Harlan Ellison, and Kurt Vonnegut. And film directors have snapped up the rights to works by authors such as Philip K. Dick and Robert Heinlein to ensure their enduring fame. But other writers have created masterpieces of imagination and storytelling in sci-fi, and yet not become household names like their contemporaries. Beyond the established sci-fi bestsellers, who are the most underrated sci-fi authors awaiting your discovery?
By Emily McCay9 years ago in Futurism
Chris Beckett's 'Dark Eden'
Chris Beckett’s Dark Eden highlights the evolution of narrative in a quiet coming-of-age story set on an alien planet with no sun. Often considered one of the best space colonization books, the novel spends much of its first half detailing the ways in which humans cope with life on a dark world. Light and warmth comes from “lantern trees,” which pump up hot liquid of some kind from the center of the planet. People hunt dark animals with green-grey meat. They measure time in “wombs” (the amount of time it takes for a baby to be born), as well as in “wakings” and “periods.” Words in Chris Beckett's Dark Eden universe have developed double meanings to make them emphatic, as language evolved from standard English. All five-hundred members of Family (as they are called) are descended from two humans who decided to stay on this strange planet, called Eden, and that the “Three Companions” made a risky attempt to return to Earth. Now, once a year (years are the Earth-time kept by the oldest members of Family), they gather to see the story of their origin acted out in drama, and to touch items from Earth.
By Futurism Staff9 years ago in Futurism
Star Wars Books for Kids
If you love Star Wars then chances are your children will or already do. So will their children, your grandchildren. These books are the perfect stories to read to kids after a long day of defending your individual galaxy. Star Wars has become so ubiquitous that it often gets on a kid’s radar long before they’re ready to actually see the movies or read the best Star Wars books. So, what’s a parent or grandparent to do when their 3-year-old wants to know everything there is to know about Darth Vader? Thankfully, the best Star Wars books for kids were created as kid-friendly stories that are sure to delight your little Jedi.
By George Gott9 years ago in Futurism
Liu Cixin’s 'The Three-Body Problem'
Liu Cixin’s The Three-Body trilogy became one of the most popular science fiction series in China rapidly after its publication. Starting in 2015, English-speaking audiences were finally given the opportunity to see what China had been buzzing about since 2008, when Tor Books published an English translation of the series. The Three-Body Problem is a promising start to a science fiction series: A brilliant plot unfolds against a tightly composed background that binds together physics, philosophy, and history. It is a novel that takes time to read because the philosophical positions of each character have to be carefully considered. The back and forth between the book’s factions shows that the author carefully considered the pressing issues at hand: humanity's place in the world, the value of human civilization, and the repercussions of extraterrestrial contact. The lively translation accomplished by Ken Liu in the English version brings all these elements to life on the page for English-speaking audiences.
By Michael Gold10 years ago in Futurism
Star Wars Art Books
In a galaxy far from earth, a franchise was born. Star Wars was the catalyst for a systemic shift in brand marketing. But beyond R2D2 phones, Sith video games, and animated Clone Wars, Star Wars represented a significant evolution in sci-fi art. Star Wars was so visually stunning and inspirational that a generation of artists created an entire sub genre of science fiction art from it. Over four decades of direct and derivative-based pieces have been used to create an art universe as complex, as it is vast. These Star Wars art books are a must have for any serious fan and collector.
By Futurism Staff10 years ago in Futurism
Samuel R. Delany's 'The Einstein Intersection' Review
I was always vaguely aware of Samuel R. Delany as one of the towering figures of science fiction, but I never thought very much about him until I read Damien Broderick’s Reading by Starlight for my undergraduate thesis. In the intervening time, I’ve come to discover that Delany, like Le Guin, is one of science fiction’s greatest writers and commentators. Delany has a rare gift for ambitious and brilliant writing combined with an insightful critical output.
By Michael Gold10 years ago in Futurism
