Rancid

The Revisionists by Thomas Mullen My rating: 2 of 5 stars The book seems to be about science fiction. It is not. It just uses sci-fi as a tool for the plot. The small section that does deal with sci-fi is time travel is where "protectors" try to keep other time travelers from altering our present. The protectors have embedded computers and network systems in their skulls. It allows them to hack the best of any secured network including the government. Since they are from the future it is logical that they have a good idea of how antique computer systems work. Their DNA is vastly different and they use that difference to locate "hags" (people who want to change the past). That about it on the future technology side. The rest of the story is about Washington politics, a bit of romance, mystery, and private intelligence contractor. The Twist of the story is--Is the guy from the future is from the future or an over-intelligent nut case?-- Remember the book and movie ...

Tesla Prime and the Regulus Event by Douglas Equils My rating: 4 of 5 stars This book is "hard science". As always I am not going to get into the plot of the story in detail, but I am going to mention the technology behind it. The storyline or plot is a simple one, and it's very common. "A group of seven astronauts embark on a mission to explore the distant and alien world of Proteus. Twenty-seven years later, the crew of Tesla Prime returns to find that the Earth has vanished" (Goodreads). There is the classic interstellar space travel which uses Alcubierre Drive technology; the concept of time dilation and of course the stasis chamber. All females friendly aliens that are not really friendly. The use of megastructures powered by black holes with the ability to transport entire planets-physically-. All science, not an ounce of magic or mysticism. The book was written by astronomy professor Douglas Equils. The biology of the aliens is interesting because they...

Rare Earth by Kurt Allan My rating: 3 of 5 stars A different type of science fiction book about mining the asteroid belt. Very realistic with today's physics. It is a good detective story that exposes today's politics and corporate read, applied to mining in the solar system. View all my reviews

1984 by George Orwell My rating: 3 of 5 stars This past week I finished reading the book 1984 by George Orwell. The first publication of the novel was in 1949 The summary of the book can be found on Wikipedia if you're interested; as with my other reviews, I am just going to call attention to the point that I find interesting and relevant to science fiction. I read this book when I was younger and I believe I saw the movie, believe it or not in the 1980s. I saw other movies that were similar, Clockwork Orange, Farenheight 451 and Brazil. (yes I do have a dark sense of humor) 1984 should not be compared to a more modern novel from Japan titled 1Q84 pr 1q84. The book from Japan was supposed to be written in the same dystopian environment as in the British book. But the plot and subject matter is totally different. Technology is different. I really couldn't see any plot tie-in or many similarities between both books with the exception of mind control in regards to religion and ...

Overclocked: Stories of the Future Present by Cory Doctorow My rating: 2 of 5 stars I have read from this Author before. I really don't have any complaints. Some of the stories are good in this book and some of them to be honest, I did not waste my time. I am very particular when it comes to hardcore science fiction. Of the stories in this book I liked: " When sysadmins Ruled the Earth"; " I, Robot". I've already have written about the first one. The second one has the same title as one of Isaac Asimov's novels or short stories. In the book, he gives an explanation of why he picked this title and he follows Asimov three laws of robotics. It is entertaining and it has a twist. But I'm not going to spoil it for you, I will talk about the technology. Part of the story has to do with a subject that I have always been interested in. This is because of my background as a JW; I will not discuss theology here, but it is sufficient to say that we have a be...

Halo: Ghosts of Onyx by Eric S. Nylund My rating: 3 of 5 stars The common topic is about augmented soldiers. These like other Halo books deal with cyborg/genetically enhanced soldiers. I think we are at version 3 of these cyborgs. One irony I did notice was the first batch of these approved soldiers were... (drum roll please)... 300. They need drugs to keep them under control. It kind of reminded me of the Jem'Haddar in the Trek universe. The Jem'Haddar were genetically engineered creature who lifespan was just 5 years and was made to be suicidal soldiers. Sort like a poorly trained pitbull with intelligence... the exception is they were not cyborgs. If you are into military futuristic tech. This story is for you. There are other hardcore science fiction aspects of the story that is part of the Halo Universe that not unique to it. First sample you have: 1) Advanced ancient civilizations, where the technology survives the said civilization. 2) Advanced human AI that can inte...

Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman My rating: 3 of 5 stars This book that's a little bit of hardcore science fiction. However it is a young adult book it is similar to the Hunter Games and Divergent. And with all such books or stories I should say the plot is very common. View all my reviews