In this crazy modern era of politicized writing, wherein fiction books are vetted by committees applying litmus tests for cultural sensitivity, appropriation, representation, I found myself craving a simpler time of storytelling. Continue reading Review of Hal Clement’s Mission of Gravity →

I used to adore reading fiction. Like many of you, I was one of those kids who would gladly sacrifice his eyesight to fill his imagination with one more sprawling story.  It’s why I eventually became a writer: novels are jewels in this life, timeless packages of virtual reality. Continue reading Review of 2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson →

It’s been a while since I’ve been able to totally immerse myself in a novel. You know that feeling –sneaking minutes on the bus, in the toilet, in bed, in between work tasks– anything to get that next little hit of sweet narrative. As I’ve aged, fewer books can draw me in so completely. So it’s been a joy to ravenously consume the latest offering by Kim Stanley Robinson, an epic tale of interstellar travel.
Continue reading Review of Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson →

For several years now, I’ve been a member of the Board of Directors of Harbourfront Centre, one of (if not the) largest public arts centres in Canada.  One of our more high profile endeavours is to yearly host the International Festival of Authors.  And one of my favourite privileges as a Board member is to attend the Festival’s opening cocktail party. Continue reading Review of Robert J Sawyer’s “Rollback” →

Spin cycle. Yes, it was a pun.  Sue me.

After binge reading both the Ringworld and Fleet of Worlds sagas, I jumped straight into another famous science fiction multi-volume epic: Robert Charles Wilson‘s Spin books. Continue reading Review of Robert Charles Wilson’s Spin Cycle →

The following is a spoiler rich review of both the Ringworld saga and the Fleet of Worlds books.

I am an unabashed fan of Larry Niven’s collection of stories and novels set in the so-called “Known Space” universe. They go back five decades and have even extruded onto the holy shrine of science fiction, Star Trek, via a disavowed animated episode back in the 70s. The jewel in the Known Space collection is, of course, Ringworld, which is perhaps the granddaddy of the that weird mega-engineering sub-genre of sci-fi. (Mind you, I have to show off my geek creds by giving a shout out to Orbitsville, a much lesser known entrant into that genre, that was written about the same time.) Continue reading Fate of Worlds: Return From the Ringworld →

This article is a mostly spoiler-free discussion of Larry Niven’s original Ringworld books. For a review of Fate of Worlds: Return From The Ringworld, follow the link.

For about four months now, I’ve been reading for pleasure…. again.  It’s been a long time.  So much of my reading time is consumed with technical documents and news (and Facebook), that finding a few free hours per week just for fun reading has been difficult.  So I got a tablet computer specifically to make reading more convenient.  And in the past 3 weeks, I’ve read five novels.  It’s a full on addiction, and other things on my to-do list have suffered. Continue reading Return to the Ringworld →

I don’t remember the last time I got a chance to read for pleasure.  I’m not complaining, because I love my life and I love my job.  But it leaves me very little time for pleasure reading.  So a few weeks ago I decided to dedicate a few minutes a day (yes, a few minutes) to reading fiction. Continue reading The Mote In God’s Eye →