The Two Faces of Tomorrow by James R. Hogan (1979) Long before Terminator brought us the terrors of a unified, anti-human computer named Skynet, James R. Hogan addressed the issue with exciting but more favorable results. In the near future, an integrated computer system on the moon follows an order to remove a lunar ridge for a construction crew. Unfortunately, the engineers who requested the removal are on-site when a lunar cannon obliterates it. On Earth, a charismatic scientist and his department have been working […]
Finding Mrs. Right
Downtiming the Night Side by Jack L. Chalker (1985) As a longtime hard science fiction reader, I’ve always liked Jack Chalker books, especially his Well of Souls series. He’s a space opera kind of guy, and a reader can splash easily into one of his books. However, Downtiming is something completely different. Time travel books are by nature convoluted and this is probably one of the most convoluted time travel tales you’re ever going to read. Poor Ronald Moosic is having a really bad first […]
Mission Improbable
Ring by Stephen Baxter (1994) This science fiction story is really two separate plots that don’t converge until almost the end of the 500-page novel. One story is of a multi-generation ship and the trials and tribulations of its colorful crew as it makes its way to a distant artifact on the other side of the universe. During the centuries that pass, the population of the ship grows into three factions: the natives in the jungle who have given up their immortality, the immortal captain […]
Hot Times in Polar City
Polar City Blues by Katharine Kerr (1990) A young derelict who can read minds tries to survive in the slums of the misnamed Polar City. The colonial world is so hot people need personal tents if they go into the open air. When he helps the police “read” a murdered alien ambassador, he places himself and his friends in danger. Cursed with his ESP gifts, he’s a second-rate baseball player, a junkie, and a bum. Fortunately, he’s got an occasional girlfriend, a retired space navy […]
What Have I Done to Deserve This?
A Virtual Soul by Kevin Teixeira (1999) NEVER have I felt more compelled to skim a 500-page science fiction story. This guy could teach a few things to George R. R. Martin about how to avoid story progression. It seemed like a likable premise – in the near future, genetically bred sub-humans (called Tubies because they are created in test tubes) are a separate race of submissive servants and a very competitive market because they only live seven years. One hyper-competitive business creates a virus […]
Don’t Let the Cover Fool You
Phantaxis, James Edward O’Brien, editor (2016) These short stories of fantasy and science fiction reach across a broad and enjoyable spectrum. From a police detective in Victorian England looking for a supernatural murderer for to a bodiless head trying to survive in the far future, there’s something in here for everyone. Frostfire – In Victorian England, a gifted police detective enlists the aid of a young washerwoman witch to stop a chain of supernatural murders. Lengthy but strangely contemporary. Countdown to Extinction – Three scientists […]
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