The title Dark Matter feels a little bit deceptive as “dark matter” is only brought up once. However something more accurate like, “Putting humans in a quantum state of superposition and the consequences” is a little awkward as a title. Regardless, Dark Matter is a taut science fiction thriller, with dashes of mystery and true love. Jason Dessen lives an ordinary life. Married to the love of his life, Daniela, raising their son Charlie together, and working as a college professor. Every once in a while, […]
Defenestrated Dingoes!
There are very few authors from whom I will pre-order a book with nothing more than the title to go on. There are even fewer I’ll consider buying twice: once for the initial speedy Kindle read and once to own the book as a physical object. Jim C. Hines is on that list. And with his latest release, Terminal Alliance, he’s cemented his place there. The basic premise of the book can be boiled down to: What if human sanitation workers were the only ones […]
There’s more than one way to be human
A year ago at this time, in the wake of our devastating presidential election, I reviewed Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Between the World and Me and James Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time, two treatises on racism and oppression in America. As I read N.K. Jemisin’s The Broken Earth Trilogy, it occurred to me that her novels present a perfect fictional account of the same topic. These Hugo-Award-winning stories take place in a world where racial difference leads to oppression, exploitation, and genocide. As a result of this […]
Not quite as romantic and dashing
Arabella and the Battle of Venus is the second book in “The Adventures of Arabella Ashby” series. Last year I reviewed the first book, Arabella of Mars, and was delighted by it’s fun combination of the Regency era and sailing ships that travel interstellar winds between planets. In fact, its escapism was sorely needed when I read it in November of 2016. This time the adventure has its high points but also a lot more drudgery, making it less romantic and dashing than its predecessor, but […]