Earthrise by William C. Dietz (2002) – After a couple chapters into the book, I said, “I’ve read this before,” but because it’s a William C. Dietz space opera and the characters are so gripping, I had to read it again.  I read a couple more pages before realizing I’d read the first book, Deathday, but not this one. The brave heroes from that book went on to kick some snooty alien butt. Obviously, the first book wasn’t so incredible that I raced right out […]

The Heaven Makers by Frank Herbert (1968 and 1977) – I’m a sucker for Frank Herbert’s writing. I fell in love with the Dune series as a youngster and reread all six books every five years or so. They are classic science fiction and some of my favorites (obviously). The Heaven Makers is typical of Mr. Herbert early work. It’s almost as if he was trying out ideas and concepts he was going to use later for his Dune masterpiece. The story is simple – […]

Earth by David Brin (1990) – At almost 600-pages, Earth has a lot of padding, but the basic story is good.  Fifty years in the future, an unlucky scientist creates a molecule-sized black hole (to help a planet starving for energy).  It ends up sinking to the middle of the Earth.  When attempting to locate it to make sure it’s shrinking as predicted, he enlists the help of a Mori billionaire and his mentor, an older scientist.  Albert, the younger scientist, is happy to see […]