We Read Science Fiction

After reading endless positive things about Pyr’s books, I acquired* six of their titles. With statements like “Pyr only publishes Gems” and “Pyr can do no wrong!” I wanted to see it for myself. I read through their list of available books, looked for a few themes that fit my tastes (and a few that didn’t) and when the pile arrived I randomly picked one. Assuming they only publish awesome stuff, it should be a good book right? It was. I loved The Martian General’s Daughter by Theodore Judson.

Set 250+ years in the future, North-America has spawned a world wide empire and done away with democracy in favor of a dictatorship. The Emperors control more than half of the world and rule like a throw back to Rome. Some are good and benevolent and others are evil and murderous. When China releases a nano-plague that consumes and infects metal, technology starts to crumble. This is where the story begins. Told from the point of view of his illegitimate daughter, General Peter Black is the last of a noble, loyal line of military men. Unfailingly loyal to whomever is on the throne he is recalled from Mars before the last of the transports fails. The rest of his life is spent serving, protecting, defending and being abused by the last of the Emperors as the Empire crumbles.

Summary: The Martian General’s Daughter isn’t quite a must-read, but it is excellent on many levels. The characters are awesome, the story is as compelling as it is bloody and the history-is-repeating theme all make for a memorable read. [Read more →]

A few months ago Lee Denning contacted me and offered me a chance to review the first two books in his new Nova Sapiens trilogy. I’ve finished the first one, Monkey Trap, and as I promised him, here are my thoughts (the good and the bad).

The basic premise is that two other-wordly entities arrive at Earth and take over two host humans. They both promise to elevate all humans to the next stage of evolution if only their host manages to kill the other host/symbiont. Clandestine battles ensue and many other people scramble to figure out what is going on.

Summary: Never judge a book by it’s cover. Monkey Trap is a clever concept with a novel execution. If you can get past the usual rookie author mistakes I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. [Read more →]

Dear Mr. Scalzi,
Please don’t take all of my money.
Thanks in advance — Cam

Yes folks, I finished The Android’s Dream a few days ago, and while it isn’t quite Old Man’s War in terms of sheer awesomeness, it’s darn close. Moreover, I’m totally hooked on Scalzi’s style, wit and humor as well as his ideas, aliens and characters. This is the reason for my opening plea: with the winning streak he’s on, I doubt I’ll ever be able to avoid the impulse to buy his books (in any form) the day they are released. I’d rather go hungry than not read his stuff as soon as possible. That might get expensive, especially if he keeps auctioning off ARCs of his new books months before they hit the store shelves.

The title is a play on Philip K Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, in that a genetically altered breed of electric blue sheep plays a central role in the crowning of a new monarch in an alien race. Earth invented the sheep and gifted it to the alien monarch in an effort to win sponsorship into the intergalactic Common Confederation. When enemies of the crown massacre all living Android’s Dream sheep weeks before the next ascension to the throne, Earth is drawn into a desperate political game that could easily end in war. Oh and some Earth ambassador farts a diplomat to death. What more could you want?

Summary: The Android’s Dream had me hooked from the fart and it kept me on the edge of my sheep the whole time. Part satire, part homage (to PKD) and completely filled with Scalzi’s signature witty dialog, this is a novel that does not disappoint. [Read more →]

A good friend and regular reader here gave me a copy of Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend this summer and urged me to read it soon. This 1954 novella is largely credited with starting or significantly revolutionizing a number of fiction sub-genres — namely, the modern vampire, zombie and disease-induced apocalypse genres. Though I’d contest the last one and say that George R. Stewart’s Earth Abides in 1949 is a much better example of the diseased apocalypse, I can see how I am Legend could have easily started the modern Vampire and Zombie sub-genres.

Summary: Skip the movie adaptations since they are terrible by comparison to this little gem of a book. In a mere 180 pages Matheson manages to cram in some excellent characters, a brilliant story and even some compassion for vampires and zombies. Excellent, a 4/5. [Read more →]

It has been suggested on a number of occasions that I do some sort of top 10 SciFi authors list. However, I don’t think I could easily rank my favorite authors, so instead I’ll simply do a series of articles about them and their stories. I’ll start with John Scalzi.

Many people have suggested that Scalzi must be either the reincarnation of Robert A. Heinlein, or guided by his ghost. While there are certainly many positive similarities between Scalzi and Heinlein, Scalzi has a much more accessible sense of humor than Heinlein ever did. The humor and personalities he infuses into his stories and his characters is what really makes me love them. However, the action and adventure is very reminiscent of my most favorite Heinlein novels. The combination of styles that I call ‘Scalzeinlein’ has yet to produce something that I haven’t absolutely loved… [Read more →]

Well folks, I’ve finally broken down and purchased wereadscifi.com to replace the previous domain of ireadscifi.com. I know it’s a small change, but I wanted the domain to reflect the fact that while I write most of the reviews (you’re welcome to submit some too BTW) this really is a place where we want to encourage discussion about the books we read and enjoy. To that end, WEreadscifi.com will be the domain from now on.

Thanks for making this site fun and lively everyone. I’d have quit long ago if it wasn’t for my subscribers and those who take the time to join in the discussion… after all it would give me more time to read if I didn’t have to take the time to write :)

At the end of May I told you about a free online ebook that you could download and enjoy direct from the author. Simon Haynes was then kind enough to send me printed copies of the first three Hal Spacejock books for a review and discussion here.

I’ve just finished reading the second book in his series and overall I’m quite impressed with Simon and his protagonist Hal. The premise is simple: To write satirical comedy science fiction lampooning most of the rest of the genre. How hard could that be really? I was skeptical at first, but after reading the first six chapters online over lunch one day I was certain I needed to at least give it a chance. It’s certainly not for everyone, especially the purists and hard science fans, but for most people with a wide variety of tastes and tolerances it’s a great choice for vacation reading.

Summary: Snarky robots, bumbling pilots, tonnes of silly humour and Deus ex Machina at every turn make Hal Spacejock a perfect summer beach book for those in need of a good chuckle. Australia’s Simon Haynes successfully lampoons the bedrock of science fiction themes and doesn’t take himself seriously… at all. [Read more →]

Have you been worried I was lost? Well I was. Amazon turned me on to The Lost Fleet series by Jack Campbell via it’s recommendation service, and I gave a whole month of my life to it in one swift binge. The fourth book in this six book series, Valiant, was released on June 24th, and I was first in line to get it at my local book store. Having read the first 3 books the previous two weeks I was eager for the next chapter of the saga.

In the far distant future two factions of humanity have been waging an interstellar war for more than a century. En route to a glorious and decisive battle, the good guys (the Alliance) discover a damaged escape pod in the wreckage from one of the very first battles in the war, nearly 100 years earlier. In it is an ordinary man who has been idolized and turned into a fleet inspiring myth for the whole Alliance. Captain John “Black Jack” Geary is back from the dead and facing a myth larger than any mortal man could ever embody, a war bigger than all of humanity, and the reality that all he ever knew is gone. As the ‘decisive’ battle goes horribly wrong he finds himself as the most senior commanding officer in a fleet of more than 200 ships that are trapped and desperately out numbered in all respects… And that’s just the first 10 pages of the first book.

Summary: The Lost Fleet is fast paced, action packed military science fiction with many familiar elements. The universe is derivative but the narrative, detailed battles and strong writing bring it to life in a way that will leave you turning pages late into the early dawn hours. [Read more →]

Earth by David Brin was nominated for a Hugo in 1991 and chronicles a large cast of characters through a number of ecological issues and crises. It’s a 50-year forward prediction (now only 30 years away) of the consequences of technology and commerce on the environment as he saw them in 1988. I enjoyed the book and am glad I read it. My eco-sense has been sharpened somewhat, as has my love for mother Earth. However, the story itself is (understandably) preachy, heavy and complicated, and for the first two hundred pages I was worried the novel was really a collection of dozens of different short stories set in the same future. In the end though the threads do eventually come together and are woven into a single cohesive story…. barely.

Summary: An interesting read, especially in light of the recent events at the Large Hadron Collider and the rising green awareness that pervades modern daily life. The interesting characters and settings saved this heavy and preachy novel from being simply another eco-manifesto. A 3/5 in 2008, but should have been a must read in 1988. [Read more →]

In the past 2 weeks I’ve had 3 separate requests to review an author’s book. This seems to be coupled with the fact that there has been a 2-3x increase in the number of daily readers and a 2x increase in our RSS subscription. Cool!

However, I do have some rules when it comes to solicited reviews…

To authors and publishers, here are our terms for reviewing your books:

1. They must not be self-published or be from a print-on-demand publishing/printing house.
2. We reserve the right to not complete the review before the release date.
3. We reserve the right to not finish reading the book if we do not enjoy it. We will not publish a review if we do not complete the book.
4. We reserve the right to publish an honest but negative review if we do not enjoy it.
5. We reserve the right to lend the book to other SciFi fans we know personally so that they may participate in the review and discussion process. This may happen before we publish the review, and may delay the publication until after the release date.
6. The books will not be returned to the author or publisher. They become the personal property of the primary reviewer.

If you’re still interested in sending us your book, contact us.

To readers and potential reviewers:

We occasionally get books that we are requested to review. If you’d like to be eligible to get these free books, then you must be a regular participant in the comments on existing reviews, and you must contact us to let us know a bit more about you.