Title: Omnisexual Author: Geoff Ryman In: Alien Sex (Ellen Datlow) Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!) My Bookshelves:Aliens, Erotica, Science fiction Dates read: 30th November 2019 Pace: Fast Format: Short story Publisher: ROC Year: 1990 5th sentence, 74th page: Lying on his back, he could see the stars.
An incredibly sexual short story filled with intense innuendos and aliens.
I felt so very, very confused while I was reading this. So I figured that it might be a good idea to just share with you the dot points that I wrote as I was reading this. I’m not even sure I can make sense of what I was writing… I’m not sure I made sense of what I was reading… but it was fun regardless!
Not sure if this is about sex or birth. Seems gross either way.
SHE is giving birth to hummingbirds. And there was something about doves.
HE is now pregnant (???)
Basically, this story is fucked and I’m only on page 2.
Every single sentence in this is super, super, intensely sexual. Like wow.
The sexuality is ACTUALLY making me uncomfortable.
The child is being rode (or is it ridden?)
Alright, I’m THINKING that this short story is about immortality that we achieve in the next generation. I’m gonna think of it like that… this was WAY too weird.
Title: Shadows Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout Series: Lux #0.5 Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Aliens, Romance, Science fiction, Young adult Dates read: 28th – 29th November 2019 Pace: Fast Format: Novel Publisher: Entangled Teen Year: 2012 5th sentence, 74th page: How…how in the world?
The last thing Dawson Black expected was Bethany Williams. As a Luxen, an alien life-form on Earth, human girls are… well, fun. But since the Luxen have to keep their true identities a secret, falling for one would be insane. Dangerous. Tempting. Undeniable.
Bethany can’t deny the immediate connection between her and Dawson. And even though boys aren’t a complication she wants, she can’t stay away from him. Still, whenever they lock eyes, she’s drawn in. Captivated. Lured. Loved.
Dawson is keeping a secret that will change her existence…and put her life in jeopardy. But even he can’t stop risking everything for one human girl. Or from a fate that is as unavoidable as love itself.
This was seriously cute. And now I’m disappointed that the Lux series is about Daemon, not his twin Dawson. Dawson is much, much sweeter than his twin and I love that he falls so hopelessly in love from the very beginning of the story. I’m also seriously hoping that the end isn’t what it seems to be and is just a part of some massive, major conspiracy. I’d much rather a conspiracy to the ending of this prequel… that was just really sad and made me cry. Literally.
The tone of this is pretty typical for a sappy, teen romance. However, the writing is phenomenal – I haven’t read many teen romances set in high school that draw me in this completely. And, honestly, I think that it comes down to the writing and the brilliance of the creator. Because although the storyline follows the expected pathways (until the end, then there’s a really big twist)… it’s the characters that I’ve come to love. To the point that I wanted to pick Obsidianup immediately after finishing the final page. I have a MASSIVE TBR that I want to finish before the end of the year though, so I’m doing that whole self-control thing.
Sometimes I read a prequel and then wonder how it’s going to connect into the main series of novels. That wasn’t the case with this. Not only does Shadows introduce you to the main characters, but it also gives a background into exactly who the Lux are. And also the difficulties that they have to face with their alien presence in the world. Actually, just the description of the alien race is not only unique, but fantastically handled in this. After all, they’re beings of light – not terrifying humanoid creatures (I’ve been reading a book called Alien Sexlately, and that collection is filled with terrifying, messed up aliens).
I haven’t read many alien novels… mostly they’ve just never come up in my suggestions before. But I’m discovering this year that I do really enjoy them. And this has got to go to the top of my list. I’ve got the first four books on order now and I can’t wait until they arrive on my doorstep!
Title: The First Men in the Moon Author: H.G. Wells Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!) My Bookshelves:Classics, Science fiction Dates read: 26th – 17th November 2019 Pace: Slow Format: Novel Publisher: Cantebury Classics Year: 1901 5th sentence, 74th page: “They’re not seeking us, or thinking of us.”
When penniless businessman Mr Bedford retreats to the Kent coast to write a play, he meets by chance the brilliant Dr Cavor, an absent-minded scientist on the brink of developing a material that blocks gravity. Cavor soon succeeds in his experiments, only to tell a stunned Bedford the invention makes possible one of the oldest dreams of humanity: a journey to the moon. With Bedford motivated by money, and Cavor by the desire for knowledge, the two embark on the expedition. But neither are prepared for what they find – a world of freezing nights, boiling days and sinister alien life, on which they may be trapped forever.
The second to last book in my H.G. Wells novel run. I seem to be ripping through them ridiculously quickly. It is yet another fun, engaging and thrilling read. Another tale that I loved and found ridiculously engaging. I think that the very mention of the moon made me feel light and floaty while reading this. Something that was a little more surreal than the other Wells books so far.
This is another story that I’m going to have to read another ten times to truly “get” what’s going on. There is just something ridiculously fun about the multi-layers in this story. The way that they’re built upon one another, so you’re not only taken on an adventure across the moon, in a battle with moon-Martians.
The characters in this novel are fun and witty. Which is why it’s understandable that this is such a well-known classic. They’re relatable and accessible. Easy to listen to and see. And definitely an enjoyable bunch of companions to take on the journey with you. Not the kind of book that I would leave collecting dust on my shelves – it’s going to be one that I’ll read again and again and again.
There’s not many stories in my collection that are based on the moon. Yet, it’s something that I am fascinated by. After all, we look up at it every night. And people have actually set foot on the moon…
Title: The War of the Worlds Author: H.G. Wells Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!) My Bookshelves:Book to Film, Classics, Science fiction Dates read: 24th – 26th November 2019 Pace: Slow Format: Novel Publisher: Cantebury Classics Year: 1898 5th sentence, 74th page: Save for the sound we lay quite still in the scullery; I for my part scarce dared breathe, and sat with my eyes fixed on the faint light of the kitchen door.
With H.G. Wells’ other novels, The War of the Worlds was one of the first and greatest works of science fiction ever to be written. Even long before man had learned to fly, H.G. Wells wrote this story of the Martian attack on England. These unearthly creatures arrive in huge cylinders, from which they escape as soon as the metal is cool. The first falls near Woking and is regarded as a curiosity rather than a danger until the Martians climb out of it and kill many of the gaping crowd with a Heat-Ray. These unearthly creatures have heads four feet in diameter and colossal round bodies, and by manipulating two terrifying machines – the Handling Machine and the Fighting Machine – they are as versatile as humans and at the same time insuperable. They cause boundless destruction. The inhabitants of the Earth are powerless against them, and it looks as if the end of the World has come. But there is one factor which the Martians, in spite of their superior intelligence, have not reckoned on. It is this which brings about a miraculous conclusion to this famous work of the imagination.
This is a surprisingly intense story. The last few H.G. Wellsbooks that I’ve read have felt a little more humorous, and so this one kind of took me by surprise. It is far more dark and dangerous. A little more serious and definitely one I’m going to have to read again multiple times to truly understand what I’ve actually been reading. Although, even on my first read through… I seriously enjoyed it and can completely understand why it is a classic!
I’m always a sucker for a first person POV. And it’s not something I tend to come across so much in classics that were written in the 1800s. Actually, off the top of my head, it’s the first classic of this era that I’ve enjoyed the first person POV. It gave a unique voice and feeling to the story that I really wasn’t expecting. And one I was kind of sad to close the pages on. Although, again, very different from the glimpses I’ve caught of the movie.
Although I absolutely ripped through this story and found it quite easy to get through. It was still quite an intense read. There is a lot going on throughout and there are multiple moments when you really just have to sit back and absorb what you’ve just read.
I can see the roots of a lot of modern stories in this novel. You can understand why Wellsis one of the forefathers / founding fathers of the science fiction genre. I’m so glad that I’ve had the pleasure of reading this, and I look forward to pursuing it a few more times in my future.
Title: The Invisible Man Author: H.G. Wells Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect) My Bookshelves:Classics, Humour, Science fiction Dates read: 23rd – 24th November 2019 Pace: Slow Format: Novel Publisher: Cantebury Classics Year: 1897 5th sentence, 74th page: Finally all the chairs were turnhed up on to the counters, leaving the floor clear.
This masterpiece of science fiction is the fascinating story of Griffin, a scientist who creates a serum to render himself invisible, and his descent into madness that follows.
I remember first hearing the name Griffin in a TV show called Sanctuary. Griffin is the ancestor of the invisible girl in the story. I knew that it was a reference to classical literature (Griffin’s friends were John Druitt, Nikola Tesla & Dr. Watson), but I didn’t know which story and / or author. So when I started reading this H.G. Wells novel, I literally screamed with joy. I finally got to read the literature that included the character! And it was honestly far better than I had ever expected.
So far in my little H.G. Wells run that I seem to be having this month, this is definitely the most humorous of the tales. There is just something that is kind of sickly hilarious about an invisible man running around, trying to find a way to be “seen” again. There is a very serious undertone, but mostly I just found this funny and easy. It had me smiling at a time that I was really stressing, and for that I’m thankful. I also now have the fantastic image of a naked, sneezing, insane man running around. Which is definitely a weird, funny one to have in your head.
To top off the kind of hilarious imagery of a naked, sneezing man running about trying to find a way to be recognised is the fact that it all takes place in a tiny, quaint town. The juxtaposition is somewhat hilarious and the way it completely turns the world as it is known on its head… completely unforgettable and priceless. Although Griffin doesn’t truly start to crack until halfway through the story, even the lead up, and the slight hints are enough to leave you grinning.
Thus far, this is definitely my favourite H.G. Wells book. Not only is it very witty and humorous, it reminds us that we all need to be acknowledged and recognised. And if we’re not… well, we all go a little bit insane. Definitely a classic that I’ll be picking up again and again in the future.
Title: Company Town Author: Madeline Ashby Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Dystopia, Science fiction, Strong women Dates read: 14th October – 18th November 2019 Pace: Fast Format: Novel Publisher: Tor Year: 2016 5th sentence, 74th page: He was moving in the other direction.
As one of the few people without bioengineered genetic enhancements, Go Jung-hwa has always had to scrape together a living in New Arcadia, the city-size oil rig floating in the Canadian Maritimes.
At the end of the world – life must go on.
After lynch Ltd., a technological tycoon dynasty, purchases the entire rig, Hwa’s talents and lack of any sort of altering attract their attention.
The opportunity of a lifetime… if she can manage to stay alive.
And when one of her former client’s – and friend’s – dismembered body is found floating in the North Atlantic, Hwa finds her loyalties split between her past and future. And it looks as if the future has come to collect in the present…
This story is absolutely brilliant and completely unforgettable! I’m hoping to find many, many, many more tales by Ashbyto fill up my shelves… I just can’t seem to get the awesomeness of this story out of my head. Although, since it’s fieldwork season and I’m insanely busy, I basically had to stop reading it early on since I could already tell how hooked I was going to get…
As much as I loved this story, I did find it a little
intense. It’s definitely the kind of tale that you have to concentrate on when
reading. Although, I tend to feel that way about most SciFis. There is just
something a little more complex and intense than most of the fantasies that I
pick up…although the commentary on the world that we live in is also so much m
ore poignant and beautifully intense than the run of the mill fantasies as
well. There is just something so much more… extreme about a SciFi, and a
well-written one like this… definitely a rave!
Hwa has to be one of my favourite heroines that I’ve read in
a while. Not only does she have this amazing strength, as the story unfolds and
you find out more and more about her life beforehand, you truly begin to
understand how damn strong this woman is. As I said, completely unforgettable. Not
the book that I want to put down at any point soon and not one that I’ll
forget. I also love that Hwa is never in any way, shape or form described as
beautiful. I get a little over women who have everything, and Hwa definitely
doesn’t – which makes me want to be her when I grow up.
I don’t think I’ve read any books that actually feature the
society of sex workers. Especially not the power of women in this industry. It
turns such a taboo subject into something far more approachable. And the
unionisation of the industry? Brilliant – something that I still think would be
a brilliant idea, but that’s a political debate for another day…
Title: the Island of Dr. Moreau Author: H.G. Wells Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!) My Bookshelves:Classics, Easy reading, Science fiction Dates read: 2nd – 17th November 2019 Pace: Slow Format: Novel Publisher: Cantebury Classics Year: 1895 5th sentence, 74th page: I dropped the whip and snatched at the pistol in my pocket; for I meant to kill this brute, the most formidable of any left now upon the island, at the first excuse.
Edward Prendick is shipwrecked in the Pacific. Rescued by Doctor Moreau’s assistant he is taken to the doctor’s island home where he discovers the doctor has been experimenting on the animal inhabitants of the island, creating bizarre proto-humans…
I really struggled to get all of the way through this novel. It wasn’t bad, I just really wasn’t in the mood for the convoluted nature that I’m beginning to associate with H.G. Wells’ writing. There’s always about a thousand things going on and some brilliant symbolism… which means that if I’m not quite as clued in as I’d like… it becomes more than a little difficult to truly get into the book. So, since I wanted to move another book out of my currently reading pile (it’s just getting beyond a joke at the moment), I decided to skim read through.
That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy this story. And I’ll
definitely be reading it again. There was something that just sat below the
surface of the words which was both haunting and brilliant. An excellent
commentary on our world. and, more important to my own life, the status of
science. Just because we can, it doesn’t mean that we should… but I’m never
sure where the line is. I know that Dr. Moreau definitely crossed it… but that’s
about the extent of my opinion on this to be honest.
There are a lot of stories which explore the question – who
is more human? The man or the beast? This did so in a far more obvious and
graphic manner than almost any of the stories that I’ve had the pleasure of
reading so far. It was intense, gave me some incredibly visual consequences and
a very intriguing adventure. One in which I’m pretty sure that I missed half of
the integral points… after all, I was just skim reading and not 100% into it.
The Island of Dr. Moreau is one of those stories that
I’m not going to forget anytime soon. There is something hauntingly familiar
about it while it manages to be completely unique and impossible to forget. Although,
I did keep thinking about one of the Spy Kids movies while I was reading
it… the one with the nutty scientist alone on an island filled with his own
creations…
The aliens have been lingering over the city for a year, so people mostly ignore them. What do they want and when will they take it?
I’ve read a lot of science fiction stories that start to
dabble in the world of horror. Nothing intense and outright, but enough that
when you close the last page, you do have goose bumps running up and down your
arms. This short story doesn’t flirt with that line. It is firmly in the horror
realm of writing and completely creepy. I don’t think I’m going to want to be
eaten any chicken for a little while now…
My biggest question as I was reading this was WTF?!?! Who
thinks its funny to dance a chicken carcass across the table? Or the road? Or
really make a dead anything dance at all? This is where the horror aspect comes
in… there was just something so graphic and horrifying about that imagery.
Something that I still can’t get out of my head as I write this review…
The imagery, the graphic nature and the questions that this poses (what do the aliens really want?) in this short story left me feeling seriously uncomfortable. Not in the least bit interested in picking up another Alien Sex short story again for a little while… too many ick factors going on in my brain (although I’m still super intrigued for the next story)…
Title: The Time Machine Author: H.G. Wells Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!) My Bookshelves:Book to Film, Classics, Science fiction, Time travel Dates read: 11th October – 1st November 2019 Pace: Slow Format: Novel Publisher: Cantebury Classics Year: 1895 5th sentence, 74th page: There were, perhaps, a couple of hundred people dining in the hall, and most of them, seated as near to me as they could come, were watching me with interest, their little eyes shining over the fruit they were eating.
“I’ve had a most amazing time….”
So begins the Time Traveller’s astonishing firsthand account of his journey 800,000 years beyond his own era—and the story that launched H.G. Wells’s successful career and earned him his reputation as the father of science fiction. With a speculative leap that still fires the imagination, Wells sends his brave explorer to face a future burdened with our greatest hopes…and our darkest fears. A pull of the Time Machine’s lever propels him to the age of a slowly dying Earth. There he discovers two bizarre races—the ethereal Eloi and the subterranean Morlocks—who not only symbolize the duality of human nature, but offer a terrifying portrait of the men of tomorrow as well. Published in 1895, this masterpiece of invention captivated readers on the threshold of a new century. Thanks to Wells’s expert storytelling and provocative insight, The Time Machine will continue to enthrall readers for generations to come.
This novel was nothing like what I expected. Probably
because I expected it to be like the movie that I saw when I was much younger. Tip:
this is NOTHING like the movie. It’s brilliant, and engaging and not the kind
of story that I’m going to forget, but I may as well have had no connection
between the movie and the book – because there is really nothing common between
the two.
I’ve slowly been working my way through the pile of classics
in my shelves. I love reading them, but sometimes they can be a bit of a hard
slog just because of the difference in language style. Yet, somehow, even
though this was written 1895, it is the most approachable classic I’ve ever
read. Something about the language and style is more contemporary than many
other classics. Which makes it a good introduction for many who haven’t really
delved into the world of classics.
This is an intensely scientific novel. Some of the theories
and discussions in here are ones that I’ve read about or heard from other
science academics. Mind boggling theories which make time travel sound
completely plausible. And terrifyingly likely. Maybe not something that we
necessarily want to begin to play with.
The symbolic paths that humanity could take are beautifully
represented in this story. if we went the “higher” path described, our society
would be governed by prettiness. Yet, if we take the under path, our lives
would be ruled by mechanical industry. As to which route we’re going to take… I
just hope that global warming doesn’t destroy the world before our ancestors
can find out.
Title: When the Fathers Go Author: Bruce McAllister In: Alien Sex (Ellen Datlow) Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!) My Bookshelves:Aliens, Science fiction Dates read: 31st October 2019 Pace: Slow Format: Short story Publisher: ROC Year: 1990 5th sentence, 74th page: The leaders of Business understand the risks, and in turn, the diplos of interstellar politics, the greeters and runners of interstellar R&D are all common men and women.
What is lie? What is truth? Will she ever know how much truth Jory has shared with her and how much is a horrible, horrible lie?
This story is so incredibly confusing. Mostly because it is
all about lies. Most stories, even if they feature lying are still filled with a
hint as to what the truth is. This tale doesn’t have that hint of sanity about
it. It’s just a mess of insanity and craziness. Something in which I just
couldn’t figure out what was or wasn’t happening.
I really liked that it was difficult to figure the truths
from the lies in this story. It emphasised not only just how harmful they can
be, but how they can entirely change the way we view and live our lives. Especially
when what starts out as a lie at the beginning of the story ends up being a
truth… and vice versa.
In the little descriptor that the author wrote, there is an
emphasis on the fact that lies mostly affect women. Which is why this short
story has a heavy emphasis on the impacts which the husbands’ lies have on the
woman. After all, she’s the one who eventually has to live with all of the
fallacies built on one another.
Earth and Skye 