My husband, when I was reading The Martian, said he had liked the book but his one complaint was that it read like it was being pitched as a screenplay already. I didn’t feel that way, but also didn’t see why that would be a negative even if I had. I get it now. Which is not to say I disliked this book, quite the contrary. A science fiction thriller that uses a murder mystery as a plot to support the world building the writer […]
What Does Humanity Mean?
You can pick up any reasonably well written book and make a case for it being an exploration of what it means to be human, the state of humanity, or the universal truth of the human condition. Scalzi’s Old Man’s War series is very definitely asking what defines humanity. In the universe of the Old Man’s War series, Scalzi pushes the envelope of humanity. Colonial Defense Force soldiers are created when In The Last Colony, we return to the protagonist of Old Man’s War, John […]
Fucking Humans
John Scalzi has created a fascinating sci-fi universe in his Old Man’s War series. The Ghost Brigades is as much a horror story as a sci-fi adventure. Scalzi references Frankenstein repeatedly as he plants questions about the boundaries of being human, the ethics of creating life, corporate control, and who we consider monsters. Scalzi presents some interesting and deep questions, but ultimately sidesteps the more problematic answers by wrapping up his stories with happyish endings. Which is fine. These days I’m reading for neater resolutions and happier endings. […]
In the Future, Humans Are Still A-Holes
When I posted my review of The Collapsing Empire, Narfna told me I had to read Fuzzy Nation. I can’t remember where that conversation happened, but while I was waiting for my next Audible credit, I would remind myself not to get distracted. Fuzzy Nation was my mission. Other than Narfna’s recommendation and the cover, I had no idea what the book would be about. Fuzzy Nation is an eco-legal thriller in space. Humans still live on Earth, but they have expanded resource gathering to other planets. […]
Too Many Space Quips. Someone be serious!
I five-starred Scalzi’s Old Man’s War earlier this year, calling it my dream blend of science fiction. In that book, Scalzi effortlessly worked in a new world, tech, humor, drama, action, and characters the readers cared about. It was so well done. So, when Audible had The Collapsing Empire audiobook on sale for $2.99, I snatched it up. As a bonus, it was read by Wil Wheaton. This book has already been reviewed myriad times on this site, so I won’t go too much into the […]
Climate Change, in Spaaaaaace!
Humans have migrated into space and lost contact with Earth. They live now in an Empire they call The Interdependancy. There is no faster than light travel, the laws of physics forbid it. There is the Flow. The Flow isn’t well understood, but it has pathways, and those paths allow ships to travel between planets in months rather than years or centuries. The Empire is called The Interdependency because it is deliberately designed so that each colony depends on the others to survive. Each colony […]
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