The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin

Urras and Annares, a world and its moon, separated by the gulf of space and two hundred years of mutual contempt.  On Urras, capitalist and socialist nations vie for dominance over the world’s rich and abundant resources.  On  Annares, the anarchist exiles scrounge for a meager living, but live in peace–and in hope. Shevek has… Continue reading The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin

A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr.

It was said that God, in order to test mankind which had become swelled with pride as in the time of Noah, had commanded the wise men of that age, among them the Blessed Leibowitz, to devise great engines of war such as had never before been upon the Earth, weapons of such might that… Continue reading A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr.

Why I love Robert Charles Wilson

From Mysterium, which I plan to review here soon: “Do you ever wonder, Howard, about the questions we can’t ask? “Can’t answer, you mean? “No. Can’t ask.” “I don’t understand.” Stern leaned back in his deck chair and folded his hands over his gaunt, ascetic frame. His glasses were opaque in the porch light. The… Continue reading Why I love Robert Charles Wilson

Bimbos of the Death Sun by Sharyn McCrumb

It’s that time of year! Elves, Klingons, slave women, gamers, computer geeks, aspiring writers, and superfans are converging on Rubicon, the annual science fiction convention. Mild mannered citizens beware! Newest among the motley crew is Jay Omega, a young, local computer professor and first-time author on a mission: make sure that nobody he knows in… Continue reading Bimbos of the Death Sun by Sharyn McCrumb

Spin by Robert Charles Wilson

What would you do if you knew that the world was going to end in the next thirty years? That one day, before the end of your natural lifespan, the oceans will boil and the forests burst into flames, and life on this planet will come to an end? That you, your children, and even… Continue reading Spin by Robert Charles Wilson

Getting into it

Three days into Bringing Stella Home 1.1 and I’m really getting into it.  I’ve reworked the first and second chapters a ton.  It’s coming along surprisingly well, considering I was just about ready to throw in the towel a month ago. So far I’m over 12,000 words into the story, which shows up on the progress bar as… Continue reading Getting into it

Breaking a roadblock

About a month ago, I stopped working on my novel Bringing Estella Home because I hit a roadblock.  Basically, I realized at the end of the second part that I had failed to work out all of the secondary characters and their duties and responsibilities in the mercenary group that the protagonist hires.  I had a… Continue reading Breaking a roadblock

Miscellaneous news updates

I’m so bad at writing catchy titles for my blog posts.  CORRECTION: I can come up with catchy, sexy, exciting titles for my blog posts, it’s just that the first one that comes to mind is always dull and uninteresting.  Well, too bad.  To quote my mother: “suffer!” Item One: State of the summer plans Real… Continue reading Miscellaneous news updates

Downbelow Station by C. J. Cherryh

“The stars, like all man’s other ventures, were an obvious impracticality, as rash and improbable an ambition as the first venture of man onto Earth’s own great oceans, or into the air, or into space.” Thus begins Downbelow Station, an epic tale of man’s future beyond Earth. The outer colonies of Earth have rebelled and… Continue reading Downbelow Station by C. J. Cherryh

The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury

Welcome to Mars, a magical world of ancient ruins like giant glass chess sets and canals of wine and sandy desert seas. A world inhabited by golden eyed people who can telepathically project hallucinations–some of them still live up in the hills. A desolate, empty world, the next frontier for a new generation of pioneering… Continue reading The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury