There are two things about this book that I really like: The first is Verner Vinge's take on the Fermi Paradox and the second are the Tines, an alien race he created for the story. [Would you rather watch the video edition of this post? - releasing soon.] I love reading Science Fiction and Fantasy stories and one of my favourite things about these books are all the different non-human races that we encounter. In Fantasy it’s normally just a handful of races like Elves and Dwarfs, but in Science Fiction there is an unlimited amount of different alien races out there… but what about in real life? In real life… Have you ever wondered where all the aliens are? Have you ever been looking at the stars and wondered ‘Are we alone in the universe ?’ If so you’re not alone. There has been a lot of discussion about this topic by people from all walks of life including philosophers, scientist and writers. In fact this discussion has a name: The Fermi Paradox. The Fermi Para...

Remember when science fiction was about a future you wouldn't be terrified to live in? Well, the series we're looking at in this video is a light hearted and fun science fiction series which shows such a future. So if you're after a science fiction novel that doesn't take itself seriously, but one that's not as ridiculous as hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy. This could be the series for you. Watch the video review here.  

I want to share with you a simple productivity tip that can help anyone get ahead in our ever changing world. If you follow my advice, you’ll be more agile at work and in your personal life. [Would you rather watch the video edition of this post? - releasing soon.] There are plenty of articles and books about productivity and how to get ahead in the life and business. I’ve read quite a few and could probably write a book on productivity even though I’m no CEO or motivational speaker.

The winner of the 2018 Hugo Awards has been announced and it's as follows: Best Novel THE STONE SKY by N.K. Jemisin The Moon will soon return. Whether this heralds the destruction of humankind or something worse will depend on two women. Essun has inherited the power of Alabaster Tenring. With it, she hopes to find her daughter Nassun and forge a world in which every orogene child can grow up safe. For Nassun, her mother's mastery of the Obelisk Gate comes too late. She has seen the evil of the world, and accepted what her mother will not admit: that sometimes what is corrupt cannot be cleansed, only destroyed Best Novella ALL SYSTEMS RED by Martha Wells "As a heartless killing machine, I was a complete failure." On a distant planet, a team of scientists are conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied ‘droid ― a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module, and refers to itself (though never out loud) as “M...

An Old Story Set a thousand years into the future, Issac Asimov imagines an overcrowded Earth where humanity is packed like sardines into large domed mega-cities with a ridged social structures. The huge population has created a strain on Earths remaining resources and in order to allievate that we set out to colonize the galaxy but this only created a bigger problem. Humanity has now split into two factions, those who stayed behind, Earthmen, and those who ventured out into the galaxy, Spacers. Spacers have what Earthmen need, resources and Earthmen have what Spacers need, a large population needed for a work force. After utilising the positronic brain to create Robots and fulfil the need for a larger workforce, Spacers believe themselves to be far superior to the timid stay-at-home Earthmen. When Spacers return to Earth, 'take control' and release Robots into Earths workforce their already strained relations fray even further. Robots are cheap labour and are taking ...

Looking Back - The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of 2017 Today my children were discussing time travel and what might be needed to do so, my daughter decided all she needed was ' Some soft comfy cushions for the floor and something to snuggle in case you get scared! ' What great advice! Lets do some time travelling ourselves by taking a look back over 2017 and see what the best selling Science Fiction and Fantasy books were. I've reviewed Amazon's and Barnes and Noble's best selling list and compiled a list of the top five . Two omissions which I was surprised didn't make the list was Nineteen Eighty Four , where sales of this book rose, in January 2017, these sales were seven times more than same time last year, 2016, and also The Handmaid’s Tale which Amazon Charts listed as the Most Read book of 2017. I've only read the last book on the list, Norse Mythology , but most of these are on my list of books to read in the near future. Which on...

In Hyperion  the story follows seven travellers on a pilgrimage to the Valley of the Time Tombs and along the way each tell their story, about why they're on the Planet Hyperion and what they hope to gain at the end of the pilgrimage. What we get is six short stories which vary in genre ranging from horror to military to poetry to  bildungsroman in reverse to detective mystery and finally a spy tale. Each story is well written and compelling, I didn't want to put the book down until the tale was complete.  This was well done and in doing it this way we were able to explore the amazing universe that the author, Dan Simmons , created. I love a story with detailed world building and Hyperion has it in spades.

I had a fun 3 month journey trying my hand at vlogging and video production again. I enjoyed doing this and am hoping to do more in the future. I think the hardest video for me was The Wheel of Time one trying to answer a question on a series I'd never read as well as trying to do something different instead of standing in front of a book shelf. It's difficult to say which one was my favourite, it would be a draw between the Star Trek Kelvin Timeline as well as the Shakespeare one. As a way of saying thanks for joining me in this journey here is a  fun video. Thanks again for your support, your views and your comments, not just over the last three months but to all my regular readers.  I really appreciate it. If you have any ideas as to content you'd like to me explore I'd be interested in hearing from you. Thanks heaps .

It's that time of year when Amazon releases their list of The Best Books of the Year 2016 . Among the top list was one Science Fiction and Fantasy Novel called The Wolf Road  by Beth Lewis, which was nice to see.  A dystopian adventure, of course, The Wolf Road is an intimate cat-and-mouse tale of revenge and redemption, played out against a vast, unforgiving landscape—told by an indomitable young heroine fighting to escape her past and rejoin humanity.  That story does look interesting, but what about the Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of 2016? True to form Amazon had list of the best of, for most genre so I headed over to see what was there and was surprised.  I only knew about 2 or 3 of the twenty books in the list.  I took a look through and saw four which interested me.     Ninefox Gambit (Machineries of Empire Book 1) by Yoon Ha Lee was on that list so I haven't listed it below. You can find an entire post dedicated to it here ( Up...

The votes are in and six titles have been chosen that 'represent a particular special moment in time for UK science fiction' .  These titles were selected from a list of 113 individual eligible submissions, which was the second highest recorded number in the awards history. Chair of the Judges, Dr Andrew M. Butler praised the judges: “Our thirtieth award seemed especially difficult to bring down to a shortlist this year, from one of the highest submissions levels we've ever recieved. It was toughly argued, in a good-humoured way, and as ever I’m blown away by the hard work of our judges.” There were some really good books submitted (see it here) but none of shortlisted books were familiar to me. Which is a good thing and I look forward to reading a few of them.  The Australia Trilogy book  by J.P. Smythe caught my eye and so did Tchaikovsky's (and not for the name only).  I think  Award Director, Tom Hunter said it best:

Crazy Busy: A (Mercifully) Short Book about a (Really) Big Problem  by Kevin DeYoung Video version of this review? Click here. This thought provoking and quick to read book is one which I would recommend to both Christians and non-Christian alike. - Wolf McTavish . Click on the book cover to purchase from Amazon. Wolfbooks may get a commission. “I’M TOO BUSY!” We’ve all heard it. We’ve all said it. All too often, busyness gets the best of us and overcoming this is what this book looks at.  Like it or not our society often judges us and ranks us according to our busyness. Although we complain about being busy, we also find that it validates us.  We somehow assume that our value is connected to our busyness. If you think about if for a moment you will realise we actually feel guilty when we have ' nothing ' to do.... so what do we do, we take out our phones or electronic devices and check email, twitter, facebook et...

The Parker Interstellar Travels Series (PIT) ...or what I like to call,  the Trilisk Trilogy  +2 Description : (From book 2 The Trilisk AI)  Telisa Relachik studied to be a xenoarchaeologist in a future where humans have found alien artifacts but haven't ever encountered live aliens. Recruited by a group of artifact smugglers, Telisa endures deadly opposition on her first expedition and comes out an experienced explorer. Struggling to sell the artifacts found on their expedition to the Trilisk ruins, Telisa and Magnus fear reprisal by the world government.  Because of their harrowed existence, they are receptive when the alien they call Shiny resurfaces and offers them the chance to scavenge his war-torn homeworld. Their obstacle: Shiny's robotic nemeses, the Bel Klaven. Telisa and Magnus feel up to the challenge, but does Shiny have a hidden agenda?  Meanwhile, a new team forms to hunt down the smugglers...

Is there a list of essential science fiction books that all Sci-Fi reader should have read?  A canon so to say? I recently read an article about The Benefits of Reading a Book You Don’t Like , I also read a post which was written in response to it.  Basically they agreed that, for each field of endeavour, in order to be able to communicate effectively with your colleagues, you need share common experiences or texts. They both said that when you study a subject academically, there are certain texts that you need to be familiar with. 

Here are two recent science fiction releases, Both, I believe from independent authors.  I enjoyed reading them and am highlighting them here for your consideration.

Being a avid reader and married to a bibliophile, I just assumed that our kids would naturally be readers and lovers of books as well.  Let me tell you that this is not the case and has been a source of frustration for us, my wife especially, to get our boys interested in reading for enjoyment. We recently seem to have turned a corner so I have asked my wife to write a ' guest post ' on what she thinks has caused the turn around. --- Guest post by Mummy McTavish.

Men have been at war for centuries with the reptilian race called 'Basics'.  As conquerors always have, the winners of each bloody encounter have made slaves of the losers - but in this far-future war, each side has improved upon its slaves with genetic engineering.  And so at last there came to be two neighboring worlds: Aerlith, where men have raised a race of fearsome dragons to be their servants, and nearby Coralyne, where the descendants of those very dragons are served  by strong, savage mutants who once were human.  Inevitably, those two worlds would meet in one final contest... Above, Book blurb. The Dragon-Masters by Jack Vance.

For me, Ultima was better than Proxima, I was interested in following the story, and I did grow fond of the Roman Legionaries including the one armed legionary, Titus Valerius, However, I got to a point in the book where the journey ended for me and I found it hard to pick up and finish...

Here is a hard Sci-Fi book where none of the characters are interested in discovery.  But forget what is in the book, the book description is a study on how to turn away readers...

Here are two e-Books I read and thoroughly enjoyed.  Both  of these books were written in such a way that I didn't want to put it down, so I stayed up well past my normal bedtime eagerly reading.   I am now recommending them to you to read.  Let me know if you have read them and if so, what you thought. I could say that the author approached me personally and invited me to read this book...

   For centuries the men of the Sword Worlds have preyed on the soft helpless inner worlds, and in a pattern as old as human history have built a new civilization from the wreckage of the old.   Only one Sword-Worlder, Lord Trask of Trask, has spoken out against the continuing depredations - not from pity for the old, fallen worlds of the dead Federation, but from the fear for his own. For more and more of the Space Viking are refusing to return to their home planets, preferring instead to stay and enjoy the fruits of conquest: just as once the strongest and the brightest of the Federation forsook their home planet for adventure and profit, so too the Sword-Worlds are being bled dry.   This s the story of Lord Trask, who began as a voice of peace and reason - and ended as the greatest Space Viking of them all.