Category: Books

(This is replying to a post on Bluesky) I wish she was better known as a writer. As someone who has a not-normal gender/sexual identity, I usually skip the romance/sex parts of most books. But Baker… she captures human truth that other writers can’t. I never feel a sense of dread when romance starts flowering…

I just emailed JS Dewes to complain huffily that her books are too addictive and for her to hurry up and write more.  C’mon, authors, we need at least A BOOK A WEEK! Stop swinging the lead! https://www.jsdewes.com #TheDivideSeries #Rubicon #ScienceFiction #MilitaryScienceFiction #MilitarySF 

I reply I did to a discussion about new hard SF: I really enjoyed Plutoshine (2023) by Lucy Kissick. From their website:  “I am a nuclear chemist specialising in the management of the back-end of the fuel cycle, working at a national laboratory near the English Lake District. Until recently I was a planetary geochemist…

Every few years, I’ll think of episodes in it, of dialogue, of the ideas it had that were brainhurty and beautiful. I’ll think of parts that made me put the book down because they were so real and made me weep so much. And then I have to dig out #JoeHaldeman ‘s #AllMySinsRemembered yet again.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/781662.The_Mass_Psychology_of_Fascism I first read this over forty years ago, as a baby Trot. It’s a precise, horrible description of the rise of fascism and I remember passages to this day, not least when I see them happening in the US now.  #WilhelmReich #TheMassPsychologyOfFascism

This is one of those rare books that gripped me from first to last page. I tried to ration reading it because I didn’t want it to be over, didn’t want to leave the characters and the world(s) behind. I’m being vague because I don’t want to even hint at plot or characters but I…

Before you see #Mickey17, pleeeease read @edashtonwriting.bsky.social wonderful novel, Mickey 7.  I’m halfway through his new novel The Fourth Consort and, fuck me, it’s brilliant.  His writing reminds me of Vonnegut, Kage Baker, Justina Robson, MR Carey, Joe Haldeman, his prose has that poetry. 

There’s no-one like Greg Egan when it comes to taking a simple idea (imagine if the world had different scales of dimension all interleaved) and going barmy with it. This is classic Egan brain-hurting and I love it. #GregEgan #Scale

You know when people tell you a book is a romp and it’s very much *not* a romp? This book IS a romp. From the very start to the very end, I was like OOH! AHH!! WHUT? NOOOOO! #AnnaleeNewitz #TheTerraformers 

I got my copy of this book yesterday and, being a massive fucking bighead, the first thing I did was skim where I was quoted. Omg, I’m such a twat. BUT I think the rest of the book will be EXCELLENT. If you’re an ancient #C86 #Indiepop fan, then this is the #SarahRecords book for…

I just finished Scale by Greg Egan and, as usual, I’m left with a hurty brain but also an intriguing story. So, yeah, wild premise that’s not fantasy it’s (very) Hard SF. Here’s a link to The Science Of Scale. (WARNING – heavy physics in that linky.) So there’s all that but the actual story…

So, I did a list for a mate of SF authors I think everyone should read. I tried to stay away from the obvious greats (like Iain M. Banks) and very huge names but a few slipped through, of course.Please take the time to check out these authors if you love science fiction: Justina Robson…

Look what arrived just now! If, like me, your youth was basically formed by the label Mute, you’ll love this. Eschewing the wordy for a visual ramble, this is the Mute story in bold, stark images. I’ve read many, many books about Depeche Mode, Mute Records and their hugely influential relationship with electronic music. Whether…

I was worried the quality would fall, that the cachet of being a TV series would lead to a reflexive simplification of the characters or more tv-friendly arcs. Nope! The penultimate book in The Expanse series is sad, funny, horrific, beatific and everything else they all have been from book one.

An author, earlier today I’ve had a couple of emails lately from peeps curious about what books I read. So here’s a little list of authors I’ve enjoyed in the past year or so: Joe Haldeman, Andrea Dworkin, Philip Roth, Tricia Sullivan, Neal Asher, Terry Jones, John Gribbin, Murray Gell-Man, Lev Davidovich Bronstein, Edward Said,…

This is an essential read. This is a mind-blowing book. This book will change you. I believe all of the previous statements to be true. Richard Dawkins has been a hero of mine for years, ever since I read ‘The Selfish Gene.’ So many things fell into place when I read that book, so many…