Tag Archives: Science Fiction

Terra Nullius by Claire G. Coleman

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
Image result for terra nullius claire g coleman book cover

Title: Terra Nullius
Author: Claire G. Coleman
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Adventure, Dystopia, Indigenous Australians, Science fiction
Dates read: 17th February – 1st March 2020
Pace: Medium
Format: Novel
Publisher: Hachette Australia
Year: 2017
5th sentence, 74th page: If only they would stay put – stay in the camp they had established for utterly mysterious reasons of their own – he would find it easy to beat a path around them and back to the road.

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Synopsis

‘Jacky was running. There was no thought in his head, only an intense drive to run. There was no sense he was getting anywhere, no plan, no destination, no future. All he had was a sense of what was behind, what he was running from. Jacky was running.’

The Natives of the Colony are restless. The Settlers are eager to ahve a nation of peace, and to bring the savages into line. Families are torn apart, re-education is enforced. This rich land will provide for all.

This is not Australia as we know it. This is not the Australia of our history, This TERRA NULLIUS is something new, but all too familiar.

This is an incredible debut from a striking new Australian Aboriginal voice.

Thoughts

I figured this would be a pretty good and intense book – it’s apparently won quite a few awards. Plus, Coleman is an Indigenous Australian woman. So she was probably going to write about things and topics which I am constantly trying to find out more about being a white Australian woman and all… I DID NOT realise how intense this was going to be… or how unforgettable. And well, kind of life changing.

For the first half of this book, I didn’t really get how this was a science fiction story. It honestly just felt like a retelling of the horrors that Europeans enacted upon Indigenous Australians. There were the Natives and the Settlers and everything they did was exactly what the first settlers did to our First Nation Peoples. There was nothing really fantastical about that. Mostly, it just gave a face and a personality to some really horrendous acts. But then you get to the halfway point… and everything changes.

I love that the beginning of this story feels very human, very typical and very expected. But then you reach that turning point, when the quotes start to talk about alien life forms, future dates and interplanetary colonisation. Suddenly the horrors are inflicted upon all humans. Racism seems incredibly stupid when the entire human race is fighting for survival – our differences apparently just aren’t so bad.

This is a book that everyone should read. It has a potent message, and a great storyline. It is especially important for Australians – we need to acknowledge and accept our past, so that we can find a way to begin to heal the wrongs of the past. It isn’t the kind of book that you will read through insanely quickly. At least, it wasn’t for me. Rather, it is the sort of book that you will mull over and consider as you digest it. Giving yourself time to absorb and understand the intensity of what Coleman is trying to say.

<- More Australian authorsMore Indigenous Australian ->

Image source: Hachette Australia

The Mammoth Book of Time Travel Romance edited by Trisha Telep

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Overview
Image result for the mammoth book of time travel romance book cover

Title: The Mammoth Book of Time Travel Romance
Author: Trisha Telep, Gwyn Cready, Sandy Blair, Maureen McGowan, Sara Mackenzie, Margo Maguire, Sandra Newgent, Michelle Maddox, Patrice Sarath, Jean Johnson, Patti O’Shea, Autumn Dawn, Holly Lisle, Cindy Miles, Michelle Willingham, Colby Hodge, Michele Lang, Madeline Baker, Allie Mackay & A. J. Menden
Series: Mammoth Books
In: The Mammoth Book of Time Travel Romance (Trisha Telep)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Romance, Science fiction, Short story collections, Time travel
Dates read: 11th April – 30th December 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Anthology
Publisher: Robinson
Year: 2009
5th sentence, 74th page: She glanced over her shoulder, towards the light left on in her home, as if to remind herself she wasn’t so very far from safety.

Synopsis

Time has no meaning for true love.

Twenty tales of swachbuckling adventure and passionate romance from some of the most exciting names in romantic fiction, including Margo Maguire, Autumn Dawn, Sandy Blair, Michelle Maddox, Patti O’Shea, Holly Lisle, Kimberly Raye and Madeline Baker.

Join the heroines in this delightful anthology as they step backwards – or forwards – in time, transported to the Scottish Highlands of yesteryear, the Wild West or the distant future. Propelled through time into situations rich with possibility and fraught with danger, these sexy, sassy heroines each seek their dreamed of happy ending.

Will souls separated by time be reunited – or separated, forever?

Thoughts

This is an absolutely brilliant collection. I haven’t read any time travel romances before. So it was kind of nice to read a whole collection of them. I do have a few full length novels in this genre sitting on my shelves ready to go though. Now that I’ve read this collection, I kind of can’t wait!

Even though all of these stories featured time travel and romance in some way, shape or form, the themes and messages throughout were vastly different. The stories weren’t overly lustful like many of the romances that I’ve read. Actually, there tended to be more of a focus on the romances and the finding true love message. Or just on the ways in which time travel actually works.

The stories were generally a mix of present and past; or present and future. Only one or two stories feature the past and the future, but most had a great blending of realities. Sometimes characters ended up back in their own time, sometimes in a different time that fulfilled their greatest desires. There really was something for everyone in this.

Whilst I absolutely adored this collection, it isn’t one that I will probably read again and again. As much as I loved everything, there was nothing that stood out as a story that I wanted to reread.

<- The Mammoth Book of Thrillers, Ghosts and MysteriesThe Key to Happiness ->

Image source: Goodreads

The First Lunar Halloween by John R. Little

Book Review, , ,
Overview
Image result for book cover haunted nights ellen datlow

Title: The First Lunar Halloween
Author: John R. Little
In: Haunted Nights (Lisa Morton & Ellen Datlow)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Horror, Science fiction
Dates read: 30th December 2019
Pace: Fast
Format: Short story
Publisher: Blumhouse
Year: 2017
5th sentence, 74th page: “It wasn’t real?”

Synopsis

It’s their first Halloween on the surface of the moon. They’re trying to reconstruct some of the practices of long-dead Earth. But at what cost?

Thoughts

I’ve decided I need more stories based on the moon. I’ve decided that now, after reading this short story. Because it is about Halloween set on the moon. And there is always something fun about grabbing an everyday event and pulling it onto a whole other planet. Literally.

This was also a very tragic way to end the Haunted Nights collection. After all, this story doesn’t have a happy ending. Even if it has a fun, easy story at the beginning. The ending. Not so good. The ways in which Halloween can be construed by outsiders… also not so good. I was actually quite sad when this story ended because it took an event that is normally really fun for children and destroyed parts of it.

There seems to be a fairly recurring theme in what I read about Armageddon. Which makes sense because I have an entire shelf of dystopian novels just waiting to be read. And since at the point of my writing this, there are a ridiculous number of fires burning all across my country… I feel like it’s not as far fetched as I used to believe. Which is terrifying in a whole other way.

 <- Lost in the DarkHauntings ->

Image source: Amazon

Alien Sex edited by Ellen Datlow

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Overview
Image result for alien sex book cover

Title: Alien Sex
Author: Ellen Datlow, Leigh Kennedy, Rick Wilber, Harlan Ellison, Scott Baker, Larry Niven, K.W. Jeter, Philip Jose Farmer, Lisa Tuttle, Bruce McAllister, Edward Bryant, Pat Cadigan, Geoff Ryman, Connie Willis, Richard Christian Matheson, Lewis Shiner, Roberta Lannes, James Tiptree, Jr., Michaela Roessner & Pat Murphy
In: Alien Sex (Ellen Datlow)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Aliens, Science fiction, Short story collections
Dates read: 27th August – 29th December 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: ROC
Year: 1990
5th sentence, 74th page: The front row of pews was reserved for the faculty.

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Synopsis

In these 19 evocative pieces of short fiction, best-selling and award-winning writers tackle such intriguing issues as sex by telepathy, the pick-up scene on other planets, and making love with Superman. Thought-provoking, often shocking, always entertaining, Alien Sex daringly explores those barriers between men and women that can make them seem so “alien” to one another. Probing the current and future state, shape, and complex problems of the human male/female relationship, this fantastic collection will make you think about sex in a whole new way.

Thoughts

This is the single most uncomfortable thing I’ve ever read. Like wow uncomfortable. And not in bits and pieces. But pretty much every single story in this was uncomfortable. Not that that’s bad. But it’s very hard to read a book quickly when you know that things aren’t going to be, well, pleasant. Which makes it incredibly WOW to read. I suggest this to everyone who loves their science fiction.

This collection seriously makes you think about the world around you and how we perceive it. More importantly, it repeatedly makes you question sex, our approaches to sexuality and even how we deal with the opposite gender. And sometimes even questions of gender. By using these insane, far out storylines, it makes you seriously consider this aspect of our lives.

Sex is really weird. I don’t know that anyone can argue that it isn’t. Using science fiction and aliens just helps to highlight that fact. And kind of act as enlightenment for a number of my own practices and beliefs. Definitely an interesting collection…

<- The Marker ReviewHer Furry Face ->
Image source: Amazon

Scales by Lewis Shiner

Book Review, , ,
Overview
Image result for alien sex book cover

Title: Scales
Author: Lewis Shiner
In: Alien Sex (Ellen Datlow)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Lust, Science fiction
Dates read: 17th December 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: ROC
Year: 1990
5th sentence, 74th page: I woke up to Richard moaning.

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Synopsis

When a woman finds out that her husband is having an affair, she takes their young daughter and leaves. But what if the woman who has her hooks in him is more than she seems? Who will she save?

Thoughts

This story started out simple enough. Woman thinks husband is drifting from her. Starts to believe that he’s having an affair. Then it starts to get weird, dark and twisted. And their daughter is pulled into the crazy. It very quickly becomes quite an uncomfortable story and anything but normal.

There seems to be a trend in the literature and common belief that it is men that are unfaithful. I’m not entirely sure, because I know people of both genders who have done the dirty. But it does highlight the questions “why are men unfaithful?” and “why do marriages end?”. It does this in a pretty intense way, but at least it asks the questions and makes you stop and think.

Compared to the other stories in the Alien Sex collection, this one is way less twisted and dark. It could almost pass for normal if there wasn’t one little bit of “otherworldly” presence. For this reason I probably enjoyed it a little bit more than some of the other stories in this collection. Because I didn’t finish it and immediately feel insanely uncomfortable.

 <- Arousal ReviewSaving the World at the New Moon Motel Review ->
Image source: Amazon

Reel Life by Steven Savile

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
Image result for urban enemies book cover

Title: Reel Life
Author: Steven Savile
Series: Glass Town #1.5
In: Urban Enemies (Joseph Nassise)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Fantasy, Science fiction, Thriller
Dates read: 17th December 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: Gallery Books
Year: 2017
5th sentence, 74th page: Taking him out of this place was the easiest way he knew how to hurt Eleanor.

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Synopsis

His jealousy caused him to steal the girl of his brother’s dreams and keep her trapped in limbo with him. Now he wants out in the real world. But his reality might just stop him from finally getting everything he wants. After all, this is reel life.

Thoughts

There’s something about tales of obsessive love that really pull me in. I never like the people / characters who have this tendency. I always find it annoying and want to smack the moron who is being so intense… but I also always love them. Not sure why. Don’t want to know what that says about me. And this was one such story. I hated the lead character (he’s a villain, I think that you should hate him). I felt sorry for his victims. I couldn’t put this story down.

I think that jealousy is one of the worst emotions. It seems to be the driver for some of the worst acts committed. Which, of course meant that every bad act that the villain in this committed had it’s roots in this disgusting emotion. I know that the colour green on me is often when I do and say the worst things… apparently that is also the case in this story. But getting your revenge for this and what you wished for? Luckily, as Seth found out… that revenge often isn’t the best thing in the world. 😊

I think that one of the things I loved most about this short story is the playing around with time. It’s often been discussed in my anthropology classes and studies that time is a human construct. It’s our understanding of it that shapes time. Of course there is still a passage of time… but yeah, it’s super philosophical and I freaking love that discussion. Threads of it make their way through this story. Which might be why I just couldn’t make myself put it down and / or stop thinking about it.

 <- Unexpected Choices ReviewThe Difference Between Deceit and Delusion Review ->
Image source: Simon & Schuster

Time Trails by Colby Hodge

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
Image result for the mammoth book of time travel romance book cover

Title: Time Trails
Author: Colby Hodge
In: The Mammoth Book of Time Travel Romance (Trisha Telep)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Romance, Science fiction, Time travel
Dates read: 17th December 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: Robinson
Year: 2009
5th sentence, 74th page: Its head hung limply and its body trembled with weakness.

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Synopsis

A rip in the fabric of time has sent her back in time from 2143 to 1886. The man she meets there might just be everything she’s ever dreamed of… but what will she do with him?

Thoughts

There’s a fairly big time gap in this short story. Alright, it’s a time travel short story, so you know that there’s going to be some kind of gap… but 1886 to 2143 just seemed intense. Probably because most stories I read with time travelling involve the past or the future, and the present. Not both past and future. However, it was kind of fun. I enjoyed the departure from what I’m beginning to consider as normal for something a little bit more intense and difficult to put down.

Normally I like open ended short stories. They give you the ability to decide what you think has happened. Or the possibility for another, longer story in amongst it. However, this one was just a little too open. There must have been consequences for their actions, but it’s never even thought about. I love rebellious characters who make their own future. But they’re only so awesome because they face the consequences knowingly. Not so much in this story…

Having said that, this short story still left me with lots of happy, nice, gooey feelings. It was just a sweet and easy story. One that I don’t feel the desire to be a longer tale, but enjoyed my time with. A nice, easy read when I needed a quick break from my thinking work…

 <- A Wish to Build a Dream On ReviewThe Walled Garden Review ->
Image source: Goodreads

Beauty by Tanith Lee

Book Review, , , , ,
Overview
Image result for red as blood tanith lee book cover

Title: Beauty
Author: Tanith Lee
In: Red as Blood (Tanith Lee)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Aliens, Fairy tales, Retellings, Science fiction
Dates read: 17th December 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Short story
Publisher: Wildside
Year: 1983
5th sentence, 74th page: There were no words at all.

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Synopsis

When the rose arrives, the family must give up one of their own. When her time comes, she finds that maybe this new home with an alien being could be exactly what she was missing in her life. A beautiful, science fiction retelling of Beauty and the Beast.

Thoughts

I’ve been enjoying Beauty and the Beast retellings lately. I have never read one which is this intense though. And a SciFi version to boot. And it was just a short story! Beauty is brilliant, fun and gives an entirely new take on an old classic. Unlike most short stories that I fall this in love with though, I actually was happy with the length. I didn’t feel like it had to be expanded and added to. I didn’t think that it actually needed to be longer, it was kind of perfect all on its own.

I love that the “beast” in this story is an alien. Part of a race that is giving, helpful and constantly providing for humanity. But, the cost is that eventually some families have to give up their own child. There is so much mystery to this practice that you spend most of the tale just wondering why this is the case. And when the face of the beast is finally revealed to the young woman, what you believe is entirely wrong. It’s a great mislead and just makes it all that much more impossible to put the story down. This might be why I was happy for it to be short… I don’t know if I could sustain that kind of intensity.

As much as I’ve tried to convey the pure amazingness of this story, I don’t actually think I have the right words. Anywhere. In anyway, shape or form. Which is completely new for me. There is just something about this retelling that left me feeling in awe as the final page was closed. Happy, in awe and just fascinated.

 <- Black as Ink ReviewThe Waters of Sorrow Review ->
Image source: Amazon

The Food of the Gods by H.G. Wells

Book Review, ,
Overview
Image result for book cover the food of the gods

Title: The Food of the Gods
Author: H.G. Wells
Rating Out of 5: 3 (On the fence about this one)
My Bookshelves: Classics, Science fiction
Dates read: 27th November – 5th December 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Novel
Publisher: Cantebury Classics
Year: 1904
5th sentence, 74th page: The Vicar seems to have stared at each severally, and to have prodded most of them with his stick once or twice.

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Synopsis

What happens when science tampers with nature? A riveting, cautionary tale with disastrous results reveals the chilling answer.

Hoping to create a new growth agent for food with beneficial uses to mankind, two scientists find that the spread of the material is uncontrollable. Giant chickens, rats, and insects run amok, and children given the food stuffs experience incredible growth–and serious illnesses. Over the years, people who have eaten these specially treated foods find themselves unable to fit into a society where ignorance and hypocrisy rule. These “giants,” with their extraordinary mental powers, find themselves shut away from an older, more traditional society. Intolerance and hatred increase as the line of distinction between ordinary people and giants is drawn across communities and families.

One of H. G. Wells’ lesser-known works, The Food of the Gods has been retold many times in many forms since it was first published in 1904. The gripping, newly relevant tale combines fast-paced entertainment with social commentary as it considers the ethics involved in genetic engineering.

Thoughts

I didn’t actually get all the way through this. I ended up just taking out my bookmark with only a quarter left to go. It wasn’t bad, it was just so much less awesome than the other five H.G. Wells books that I’ve read in the past two months. There was just something about it that didn’t really pull me in. And, honestly, made this quite a forgettable story.

Having said all that, I am planning on rereading this again when I have a little more time. This is the crazy point of the year, and I’m racing to try and finish all of my yearly reading challenges… so I’m probably not putting the same amount of attention into the reading of some of these classics. I didn’t hate this enough to think that I wouldn’t ever want to pick it up again. I just won’t be rushing to either. Unlike The Invisible Man and the other five Wells novels that I’ve recently read.

The thing that I did really love about this story was the idea of “don’t mess with nature”. That scientists have to think about what they’re doing first and foremost. And just because you can, it doesn’t mean you should.

 <- The First Men in the Moon ReviewThe Time Machine Review ->

Image source: Goodreads

The Young Elites by Marie Lu

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
Image result for book cover the young elites

Title: The Young Elites
Author: Marie Lu
Series: The Young Elites #1
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Fantasy, Science fiction, Young adult
Dates read: 3rd December 2019
Pace: Fast
Format: Novel
Publisher: Speak
Year: 2014
5th sentence, 74th page: On a strange impulse, I reach out and close my hand tightly around the rose’s stem.

Synopsis

A decade ago, a deadly blood fever swept through the nation. Most of the infected perished, but some survivors were left with strange markings, rumored to signify powerful gifts for those who possess them. And though their identities remain secret, this group of survivors has come to be called
The Young Elites.

The Inquisition Axis seeks to destroy them. The Dagger Society aims to find them before the Inquisition Axis. And Adelina Amouteru just wants to be left alone. But two truths will soon surface:
Adelina’s powers are far from ordinary…
And she is not to be crossed.

Thoughts

This is a seriously intense, wonderful and amazing story. It also made me cry. Not heaps… but a bit. Enough that you know there are some serious heart-string pulling moments. Which is surprising because I thought this would be a great story with a girl coming into her superpowers. Rather, it was far more dark than I had anticipated. So dark in fact that I felt a little uncomfortable whilst reading it. Which is the kind of story that I absolutely adore.

As a forewarning to those who want to read this story… the ending to this story is kind of tragic. There were multiple heart-rending moments throughout this story… but it was the way in which it ended that truly made me have super feelings. It wasn’t what I expected at all to be fair. I thought there’d be a much happier ending. But, ultimately, the story becomes about sister bonds which makes me love this even more.

Ultimately, this story is about trying to find love and acceptance. Trying to fit in in a world that doesn’t necessarily want you. And to find those people who will actually love you, no matter who and what you are… sadly, it takes a long time to get to that point… mostly, there are a lot of characters who are using the lead. Alright, in a lot of ways it’s for a good cause… but it’s so incredibly hurtful.

I found this book almost impossible to put down. I knew that it was going to be good, because the Facebook group I’m in has suggested this multiple times. What I didn’t expect is to basically give up on doing anything productive because not only could I not stop reading this… the times when I did pause left me thinking about this… obsessively. I can’t believe I have to wait until next year to buy the next two books in the trilogy!

 <- More Marie LuThe Rose Society ->

Image source: Goodreads