The First Men in the Moon can barely be considered science fiction at all. It is better thought of as adventure/horror with science fiction elements. If you read it in that guise, perhaps you will enjoy it more than I did when I was seeking a classic science fiction book.
The Brick Moon Review
In 1869, a century before the moon landing, eighty-eight years before Sputnik 1, and one hundred nine years before the first navigational satellite, Edward Everett Hale used a science fiction story to propose launching an artificial satellite into polar orbit to enable anyone, anywhere, to determine their longitude by measuring the satellite’s elevation from the horizon.
Three-Body Problem Review
This is one of those rare hard science fiction books that contrives to both invoke rigorous scientific concepts and offer interesting plot and characters. If some of the more advanced technology revealed at the book’s conclusion seems a bit like magic, well, that’s probably rather the point.
A Psalm for the Wild Built Review
I can’t tell if my lingering dissatisfaction with it is because it really wasn’t as good as it could have been, or because it didn’t match what I had in my head for the concept.
The Valley of Horses Review
The fact that I read The Valley of Horses at all is a testament to how much I enjoyed the first book in Auel’s Earth’s Children series, and I enjoyed the second book almost as much as the first.
The Memory of Earth Review
He presents a unique culture, which we can know exists as a transient blip in that enormous history, and he gives us the Oversoul, one of the most philosophically challenging science fiction elements I’ve ever encountered.
Emerald Eyes Review
Aside from the fact that Moran clearly overestimated our pace of technological progress, the technology, society, and concepts featured and explored manage to feel nearly as speculative now as they must have then.
Animal Farm Review
On its surface, Animal Farm feels rather silly – the idea of animals, led by hyper-intelligent pigs, taking over a farm from humans who are entirely impotent to reclaim the small territory, is difficult to take seriously at times – but the reader must recall that Animal Farm is not so much a traditional novel as we think of the form as it is a fairy tale or a fable.
The Clan of the Cave Bear Review
Auel does it more than justice: she provides a piece of soft science fiction that is a compelling story, evocative of its time and place and unique circumstances while simultaneously embracing themes of universal humanity.
A Journey to the Center of the Earth Review
A Journey to the Center of the Earth is a classic adventure novel, and to a modern reader has little of science fiction about it.
