Speculative Fiction – Page 130

A Literary Dystopia with a Humorous Twist

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

January 20, 2020 by KStar Leave a Comment

In the alternate universe of The Eyre Affair, classic art and literature are Serious Business. Gangs of Raphaelites brawl in the street with their Surrealist arch-nemeses, Shakespeare performances are met with the same level of audience participation and enthusiasm as a midnight showing of the Rocky Horror Picture Show, and the Literary Detectives exist as a special branch of law enforcement to handle all crimes relating to books. Our heroine Thursday Next is one such detective. However, this alternate universe is hardly a book-lover’s paradise. […]

“Life goes on whether we want it to or not. And laughter is a constant.”

Grimspace by Ann Aguirre

January 18, 2020 by Nart 1 Comment

Grimspace is a space opera a la Firefly, Farscape, and Star Wars. So if you like really intense, uneven storytelling that involves STAKES but also YA level angst, you’re going to eat this book up. The story is told by Sirantha Jax, our protagonist. She is a jumper, a rare breed of person with the genetic compatibility to do space jump things. I really appreciate the author’s attempt to create science fiction tech that isn’t just robots and impulse engines and worm holes. Not that […]

Hyperion – a modern classic

Hyperion by Dan Simmons

January 18, 2020 by MarkAbaddon Leave a Comment

Some books make you think and force you to challenge long held concepts. Some books affect you emotionally and can force you to weep during social situations where it may be inappropriate (reading on the bus, for example). Only a true classic can achieve both of those objectives and Simmons’ Hyperion certainly qualifies. This is a book that has won many awards and been hailed as a classic for over two decades and I am now realizing how influential it is when I watch shows […]

“Beneath the modern political rhetoric and academic theories of history, I had an ancient hope that was indistinguishable from Spiritualism. If my edit took, maybe the good I’d done would outweigh the evil.”

The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newitz

January 6, 2020 by narfna 4 Comments

I started this book first thing on New Year’s Day, made it about thirty pages in, and then didn’t pick it up again until Sunday morning on the 5th. I don’t know if it was feeling too heavy or what, but I needed to be in the right headspace for it. (It was probably the men’s right’s activists that did it, followed closely by a disturbing murder.) Then I basically binge-read the whole book yesterday morning. To sum the book up badly (and I will […]

The New Era of Speculative Fiction

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

January 6, 2020 by Ale 2 Comments

I’ve sworn off reading trilogies/series for the past few years since I tend to either get totally obsessed or very bored. But after reading Jemisin’s short fiction collection last year, I knew I needed to read her novels. The Fifth Season did not disappoint, and I can’t wait to read the rest of The Broken Earth trilogy. The Fifth Season revolves around a world built on active volcanoes, which means there are often ‘seasons’ of cataclysmic disasters. These ‘seasons’ are documented and passed down to the surviving […]

The Fifth Season: The Earth Really is Trying to Shake Us Off

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

January 6, 2020 by reginadelmar 1 Comment

Season after season the Earth is hit with cataclysmic events: volcanic eruptions, massive earthquakes, a mining accident. These events cause shifts in the continent(s) and climate events that alter the earth’s ecology again and again. These events and their aftermath are called Seasons. The Fifth Season is a generic term for an extended winter of more than six months caused by a large scale environmental alteration. There are no vehicles, no internet, no fossil fuels. This is the backdrop for the stories of three women: […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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