Science fiction book reviews

2021-01-14 A Rain of Fire effectively re-imagines Dunkirk in a space setting, in which the Hegemony has invaded a planet of the Republic, and the Kingdom needs to retrieve its expeditionary force from one of the continents. The story is told from a handful of characters: a private on the frontline, a battleship captain, an admiral, fighter pilot, and mech warrior. Kern’s prose is fluid... Continue reading

2020-09-27 Re-read this, and it was interesting to see how strong the emotional stakes were from the start. As a story I thought it good and strong with the caveat that I never believed the kids seemed as young as they were – or why it had to be children in this war. However, although I thought the story well-written, I didn’t totally enjoy it... Continue reading

2020-06-18 A bleak novel about a man and a boy traveling along a road through a post-apocalyptic landscape. The planet is dying, everything is dead or burned, ash is everywhere. All plants, animals, and most people have already died. The man and boy feel exhausted, starving, cold, take shelter, scavenge. Repeat for 300 pages. This is an atmospheric book – did I mention it’s very... Continue reading

2020-06-12 I enjoyed The Three Body Problem, but I’m not sure about The Dark Forest as much. On the one hand, it was a reasonably interesting and enjoyable book for most of the time. However, once we reached the section with the teardrop I felt that the story had become unnecessarily contrived and that undermined my enthusiasm. The story didn’t really seem to find its... Continue reading

2020-06-09 I found myself getting bored by the first third – the game element just felt like fantasy. I put the book down and didn’t plan to finish. However, I needed to read some fiction to unwind with this week, and it was still near the top of my Amazon Fire carousel so thought I may as well pick it up again. I’m very glad... Continue reading

2019-07-29 Starship Troopers meets Sven Hassel in this short but engaging read, in which we follow Earth Alliance Marine, Sargent Cooper. Rather than a novel this is a series of novellas following a few distinct sequences. And the focus remains on the hard work of a frontline solider, as opposed to highbrow schemes and plots. Clark has a superb writing voice, packed with punch and... Continue reading

2019-03-15 It’s only a short story, but a powerful one that is brilliant in both the premise and telling. A stand-out science fiction short. Rating: 5/5 Continue reading

2019-01-29 A fast and entertaining read. The geek references were too early for me – more US & late 70’s than general 80’s popular culture – but the story telling was good and the imagined future of virtual reality was detailed and felt prescient, which IMO makes for a good science fiction book. Rating: 5/5 Continue reading

2019-01-20 Somewhat dated and stale from age. Some grand ideas, but the best have become staple features in science fiction so no longer fresh. I’ve posted a more detailed review here: Rendezvous with Rama review. Overall, a classic book that hasn’t aged well, but worth reading. Rating: 3/5 Continue reading

2018-09-25 A Science Fiction novel with a difference – elements of Grant Morrison strangeness, with a sprinkling of The Silence of the Lambs pathology, and centered around a unique way of looking at the world that appears superficially fantastical, and yet somehow might be the most believable hard science fiction out there. Rating: 5/5 Continue reading