While it might not be necessary to be a huge video game lover in order to enjoy Ready Player One, it will help. And you will definitely need to have an affinity for pop culture — the 80s, in particular — or some of the lists of movies, tv shows, songs and games will get old in a hurry. Luckily if, like me, you generally enjoy these things, then you will freaking love this book. “If I was feeling depressed or frustrated about my lot in […]
It’s a bittersweet Symphony
I came across this book due to all the metaphorical trumpets heralding it via Pajiba, and dove in, excited to see what all the hubbub was about. As a big fan of post-apocalyptic literature I am both the target audience, and a cautious critic, and I think this book is absolute perfection. When a virus wipes out 99.9 percent of the world’s population, the survivors must carve out an existence for themselves, and live with the echoes of those who were lost. Station Eleven follows the lives of […]
Zombies and Satanists and Space Princesses, Oh My!
I guess if an author plots out two or three books in advance, he or she can take the two or three stories and splice them together to make an epic space opera. The splicing in Reality Dysfunction (Part 1) gave me whiplash. First we’re introduced to Adamists, non-genetically-augmented humans who are trying to maintain their equality by smuggling highly illegal – and unstable – anti-matter. It doesn’t end well when the protectors of the galaxy – the Edenists, genetically-augmented humans – show up and […]
The Last Man on Mars is Super Quippy. Also. In Mortal Danger…dun-dun-duuuun!
It is not often that a book about a man stranded on Mars could take place just about anywhere – but The Martian by Andy Weir could. In The Martian we meet Mark Watney the only man left on Mars due to a freak accident and misunderstanding. But this is merely a setup for a battle between Man and the elements of Mars. And if anyone stands a chance it’s Watney – the engineer of the space crew that abandoned him. The book does not […]
Not Grokking this One
This book is part of my effort to read a few books in the science fiction genre, and while I loved Ursula LeGuin’s The Left Side of Darkness, Stranger in a Strange Land left me bored and disappointed. Yes, this book is over fifty years old and the imagined future is not the present, yet it seems so incredibly dated. It felt very black and white, bouffant hair-dos, white lab coats intermingled with flying taxis and space travel. The story begins with a human mission […]
Book Club Discussion Post: Station Eleven
Welcome to the Cannonball Read Book Club discussion of Station Eleven! I’m so excited that so many of you have decided to take on Station Eleven in time to have a discussion about the book. Let’s start with a few ground rules: Since we’re anticipating lots of conversation, please try your best to reply directly to each other, that way they are alerted and can keep discussing! Discussion is the important word. Let’s have a conversation (or as close a facsimile as we can in […]
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