Containing twelve hard science fiction stories, The Truth and Other Stories is like peering into the future through the lens of the past. Most of the stories were written in the late 1950s to mid-1960s with one from 1976 and another from 1993. Many are amazingly prescient with their guessesContinue Reading
In The Offset, population is strictly controlled due to the Earth’s extreme pollution. If a couple have a child, that child at eighteen must pick one of her parents to die (offsetting their birth). Miri must decide between the mother she loves and the workaholic mother she hates. Does theContinue Reading
In The Visitor, the United Nations is holding its annual meeting in New York City. When an explosion occurs at the Japanese consultant, Talia Dauber with the U.N. Security Service is on the job. It seems the Japanese are working on a secret project. So secret that their American hostsContinue Reading
It started with The Noise. “A ringing. First faint, barely audible, but steadily growing. A single tone gaining strength, joined by others, shrill, louder. Hungry. Ugly. There was a pressure, too. As if her head were filling with water and didn’t have enough room. Cold sweat trickled down the backContinue Reading
In No. 5, Vol 1, the Peace Corps Commandos are an elite caste of superhumans on a future Earth. Their first mission is to shoot the mythical elk, Ashiro. Meanwhile, sharpshooter number 5 is romancing his superior’s wife. He runs off with her. The superior sends his staff to killContinue Reading
In The 22 Murders of Madison May, Madison is indeed murdered multiple times across multiple universes by the same man, Clay. Reporter Felicity is chasing down Clay in her home universe when she also hops with Clay to the next one. Can she save Madison from Clay’s clutches? And whoContinue Reading
Rabbits is a game played in the real world by real people. Though young, K is an old school gamer who is sucked into the game deeper and deeper as the book continues. Could coincidences really be hints of the game play or are they caused by real science? CouldContinue Reading
Nine babies are created in the 1970s without using men at all. The first baby born is called Girl One. This is her story. Girl One discovers her mother is missing and her parent’s home partially burned down. She decides to investigate with a reporter. To find answers, they visitContinue Reading
Seven strangers find themselves alone on Earth. The Apocalypse Seven must figure out what happened to everyone else. In addition, they need to decide how to proceed from here. I love the idea of this book much better than the execution itself. In the beginning, I enjoyed hunting for cluesContinue Reading
In 2084, humanity is nearing extinction. The Earth is dying. An alien ship offers salvation. 5000 bracelets are dropped to Earth. Each is to be used by Earth’s children. Each child may bring one companion. Once the children wearing the bracelets and their partners reach nine extraction points, they willContinue Reading
I have no idea what I just read—but I love it—but I love it. [with apologies to The Weeknd] Within Without is unlike any other book I have ever read. It’s like Dark City, Tenet, and Alice in Wonderland had a baby. Then dropped that baby in a 6D blackContinue Reading
Sorrowland is a completely unexpected, but ultimately disappointing, tale. Fifteen and pregnant, Vern runs away from everything she knows. The abusive husband and cult that she is fleeing hunts her down in the nearby woods, but she evades them. Meanwhile, Vern gives birth to twins while learning to live offContinue Reading
Imagine waking up on a spaceship in a strange galaxy with no memory of how you got there. Your fellow astronauts are dead. Luckily, you are a scientist and love math. Unfortunately, you soon remember the objective of Project Hail Mary. Save Earth from certain destruction from microbes eating Earth’sContinue Reading
All twelve major characters from the original trilogy are present in Star Wars Crochet. Instructions are provided for each of them, but yarn, stuffing, and eyes are only provided for Yoda and R2D2. The other items including row counters, hook, needle and thread can be used for all the characters.Continue Reading
Hmmm…Hot Stew is the perfect title for this book. It has two completely different plots that are rubbing uncomfortably together like too tight shoes on bare feet. The first story is a brothel that is fighting gentrification in Soho, London. I liked the strong female prostitutes. There were no victimsContinue Reading
Well, that was different (in a mostly good way)! Hillbilly Epicurean is set in a bizarre governmental agency, the Chimerical Research Division. The Division looks for anomalous occurrences in reading materials both non-fiction and fictional. Denver, an entitled rich boy, is forced to work for the Division by his fatherContinue Reading