The Earth is just a tiny bit farther away from the sun in Early Riser, but that’s enough to make the winters harsh enough that humans have evolved to hibernate. The exception are the Winter Consuls, a group of misfits tasked with keeping the sleeping population safe.
9 Best Ben Bova Books
Ben Bova wrote over 120 science fiction and fact books and won the Hugo six (!) times. Unfortunately, he recently passed away at the age of 88 due to Covid-19-related pneumonia and a stroke. This list is a tribute to his vast body of work, which focused on hard science.
However, his writing style may come across as dated to modern readers, as does an occasional reliance on clichés and stock characters.
The Worst Warlock by A. A. Livingston & Dan Livingston
Apologies for the self-promotion, but my New-York-Times-bestselling wife and I wrote an audiobook and I’m pretty excited about it.
The Worst Warlock is a humorous fantasy narrated by excellent British actor Carey Mulligan.
Review: Zoey Punches the Future in the Dick by David Wong
I’m a big fan of author David Wong, and his latest family-friendly-read-aloud-to-the-kids book, Zoey Punches the Future in the Dick, is awesome. As usual, Wong combines outrageous humor with surprisingly deep, three-dimensional characters, and very little literal dick-punching.
11 Best Retrofuturism Books
Retrofuturism is defined as “the future as imagined by the past,” but that can mean almost anything (aren’t all science fiction books “the future as imagined by the past?”). In practice, it’s a broad category that touches on many of the punks: steampunk, dieselpunk, decopunk, etc.
The Best Modern Classic Science Fiction Books
These books are all excellent and I believe they will pass the test of time. The general rule for being a modern science fiction classic is that it was written in the 21st century, or just so good I felt like including it anyway. Continue reading
The Best Fantasy Books of 2020
Rebellious women made a strong showing in fantasy in 2020, as well as those who simply refused to take “Burn her!” for an answer. Continue reading
21 Best Computer Science Fiction Books
When I was a kid, teachers told us that we couldn’t use calculators on tests because when we were older, we obviously wouldn’t be carrying calculators around with us everywhere.
I wonder what we’ll be carrying around with us in another forty years or so. Continue reading
Review: Revenger by Alastair Reynolds
I’m a big fan of Alastair Reynold’s earlier books like Revelation Space. I didn’t like Terminal World, his foray into steampunk, and unfortunately, I had a similar reaction to Revenger. Continue reading
The Best Science Fiction Books of 2020
The best thing I can say about 2020 is that it’s going to end at some point.
Fortunately, there are many truly excellent science fiction books published this year to both distract and illuminate us. It’s a nice variety of stories, including deep weirdness, space-opera goodness, diverse authors, and a few laughs.
Dive in. Continue reading