Redshirts, John ScalziAccording to Barthes in his 1967 essay ‘La mort de l’auteur’, “the death of the author”, a text should be analysed irrespective of the…May 15May 15
Consider Phlebas, Iain M BanksConsider Phlebas (1987, UK) was Iain M Banks’s first novel — but not Iain Banks’s first novel. Which was The Wasp Factory (1984, UK). Two…Apr 15Apr 15
Dragonflight, Anne McCaffreyBack in 2013, I was on a panel at an Eastercon in Bradford, a “head to head” debate about which of Anne McCaffrey and Joanna Russ was the…Apr 10Apr 10
Life in the West, Brian W AldissI bought an ebook copy of The Squire Quartet, comprising Life in the West (1980, UK), Forgotten Life (1988, UK), Remembrance Day (1993, UK)…Feb 22A response icon1Feb 22A response icon1
Books of the year 2024It’s that time of year again… the annual consumer frenzy, blink-and-you-miss-’em hours of daylight, snow and ice, freezing rain, then more…Dec 6, 2024Dec 6, 2024
20 booksThere’s a meme doing the rounds at the moment: choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. Post one book per day, no…Nov 26, 2024Nov 26, 2024
Cities in Flight, James BlishThe four books collected as Cities in Flight — They Shall Have Stars (1956, USA), A Life for the Stars (1962, USA), Earthman, Come Home…Nov 19, 2024Nov 19, 2024
Precursor, CJ CherryhThree years since the publication of the preceding book in Cherryh’s now long-running Foreigner series, Inheritor (1996, USA), and three…Oct 28, 2024Oct 28, 2024
God Stalker, PC HodgellI forget where I first saw mention of PC Hodgell’s Chronicles of Kencyrath, a fantasy series so heartland it could almost pass as a…Oct 8, 2024Oct 8, 2024
Steel Beach, John VarleyI first read Steel Beach (1992, USA) when it was published, and then again in 2001, yet when I came to reread it this year I remembered…Sep 29, 2024Sep 29, 2024
