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Incandescence by Greg Egan – Review
Incandescence by Greg Egan
No TagIn Incandescence, Greg Egan appears to channel the spirit of Hal Clement. Readers may remember Clement fondly as one of the hardest of all hard sf writers. His stories consisted mostly of interesting science problems with a plot tacked on: What if there were a world with gravity roughly 200 times that of Earth? What would it look like? What would life there be like? (Mission of Gravity, 1954). Now Egan writes a very similar story. An alien society exists inside an asteroid-like object they call the Splinter. Outside is a realm of deadly brightness they call the Incandescence. Their existence is under threat, and it is only by investigating and describing the gravitational situation they are living in that they will be able to save themselves. Thus we get to watch a pre-industrial society, with no computers, bootstrap their scientific knowledge from Galileo through Newton all the way to the General Theory of Relativity. It’s three hundred years of science, compressed into half of a fairly short book, minus biology, chemistry and electromagnetism. If you find nothing amazing about a society being able to deduce the upper bound on physical speed (speed of light) without ever measuring the speed at which light travels, this may not be the book for you. It is certainly a book for me, though.
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Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins – Review
about 5 months ago - No comments
Catching Fire (The Second Book of the Hunger Games) by Suzanne Collins I feel like CATCHING FIRE was a much more emotionally-charged read than THE HUNGER GAMES. I’ll try to tell you why without any direct spoilers, but I can’t promise that I won’t imply certain things about the first book. I don’t think you
Darkness Calls By Marjorie M Liu – Review
about 7 months ago - No comments
Darkness Calls By Marjorie M Liu Darkness Calls is a good second book in a very promising series. It was not quite as good as Iron Hunt, but definitely still very good. I am impressed with this series so far. A little something different with the addition of an alien-esque quality (different creatures from different
Nights of Villjamur by Mark Charan Newton – Review
about 1 year ago - No comments
Nights of Villjamur (Legends of the Red Sun 1) by Mark Charan Newton I was caught in the spell of “Nights of Villjamur†but the end of the novel didn’t bring my release and I was left wondering about the outcome of its story. Mark Charan Newton shows in his novel a great potential, for
Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson – Review
about 1 year ago - No comments
Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson Warbreaker follows the conflict between two kingdoms, Idris and Hallandren. About 300 years ago the royal family ruled Hallendren and worshiped the god Austre. Austre is a god of faith, meaning he is not a living, breathing god who walks among the people. Another form of gods that exist in Hallendren
Nights of Villjamur by Mark Charan Newton – Review
about 1 year ago - No comments
Nights of Villjamur (Legends of the Red Sun 1) by Mark Charan Newton Nights of Villjamur is a story of a fading empire, impending war, political intrigue, a coming ice age, a magical quest, wrapped in the inevitability of life and death. It’s a story told from the point of view of characters that live
Nights of Villjamur by Mark Charan Newton – Review
about 1 year ago - 1 comment
Nights of Villjamur (Legends of the Red Sun 1) by Mark Charan Newton It become clear towards the end that, like Newton , the story has more to give. He’s held his cards close to his chest as the game and the challenges have only just begun. A wonderfully thoughtful read from a strong writer
The Reef by Mark Charan Newton – Review
about 1 year ago - No comments
The Reef by Mark Charan Newton In the city of Escha, a scientist named Manolin is trapped in a difficult marriage with a demanding and paranoid wife. When his mentor and friend Santiago DeBrelt suggests an ocean trip to investigate distressing news from a scientist on the island of Arya, Manolin leaps at the chance
The Doomsday Key by James Rollins – Review
about 1 year ago - No comments
The Doomsday Key: A Novel by James Rollins The latest Sigma Force thriller (see The Judas Strain (Sigma Force Novels), Map of Bones and The Last Oracle) is action-packed as Pierce and his teammates run all over Europe trying to prevent further catastrophes while their potent rivals want to use THE DOOMSDAY KEY for their