Tag Archives: science fiction

Railsea

It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of China Miéville, which is why it kills me to admit that I’m a little disappointed in his latest book, the young adult novel Railsea. Railsea is basically Moby-Dick set in a … Continue reading

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Leviathan

After reading Scott Westerfeld’s young adult novel Leviathan, I finally understand steampunk, although I still don’t quite understand why everyone is going nuts over it. Or was going nuts over it, since I think the state of the alleged sub-genre … Continue reading

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Emperor Mollusk versus The Sinister Brain

Basically everything you need to know about A. Lee Martinez’s Emperor Mollusk versus The Sinister Brain is in the title: It’s campy, funny, and extremely entertaining.  The novel tells the story of an octopus-like alien from the planet Neptune who … Continue reading

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Jennifer Government

One of the great things about science fiction is the freedom it gives writers to create characters and settings that seem far-fetched or alien and then use them to make a statement about the way we live now. “Fiction reveals truth … Continue reading

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Embassytown/The Flame Alphabet

Embassytown by China Miéville and The Flame Alphabet by Ben Marcus are both concept-driven novels–as opposed to character- or plot-driven ones–dealing with how language mentally and physically affects those who speak it. If you’re interested in linguistics, language and cognition, or … Continue reading

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The Windup Girl

I gotta be honest, I really, really wanted to like Paolo Bacigalupi’s The Windup Girl a whole lot more than I did. I was beyond excited when I spotted the 2010 Hugo and Nebula award-winning novel sitting unobtrusively on the … Continue reading

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REAMDE

Okay so I realize that Neal Stephenson isn’t necessarily everyone’s cup of tea. Making it through one of his tomes requires a huge investment of time and energy, which a lot of people don’t have, and if they do have … Continue reading

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