Command Decision by Elizabeth Moon
reviewed by Rich Horton
If you haven't been reading this series, Rich recommends going back and starting with book one.
If you have been enjoying the Vatta's War series, you will enjoy this fourth novel.
If you enjoy fast-moving space adventure, with involving characters
and space war tactics and action and all... these books will work for you.
Fast Forward 1 edited by Lou Anders
reviewed by Jakob Schmidt
The anthology opens with one of the outstanding contributions: a subtle, low-key near-future story by Robert Charles Wilson,
about art and class differences in a society where advanced technology provides for a functioning, world-wide welfare system. A
good part of the author's strength lies in his characters, and "YFL-500" reads almost like
a fine piece of realist short fiction from the future in which it is set.
New Arrivals
compiled by Neil Walsh
Our newest arrivals here at the SF Site office include new works from Steven Erikson, Alastair Reynolds, Robert Holdstock, Jane Lindskold, David Zindell, Dave Duncan, Brian Aldiss, and a new translation of Jules Verne, plus sneak previews of forthcoming books from Harry Turtledove, Scott Lynch, Jasper Fforde, and plenty more!
Babylon 5.1
TV reviews by Rick Norwood
Rick gives us some news about The Dresden Files (no, it has not been cancelled as yet),
Jericho, Heroes, the two Stargate series and what he saw during his recent visit to China.
He also gives us a list of what to watch on TV in June.
Breakfast with the Ones You Love by Eliot Fintushel
reviewed by Rich Horton
Lea Tillim is either a runaway with a bad attitude who has gotten messed up with a young drug dealer, and who may have killed at least
one man or a pretty young girl with a special ability who is helping a young Jewish man rescue the Chosen. She is definitely the heroine
of this novel.
We, Robots by Sue Lange
reviewed by David Soyka
Avey, the robot narrator, is built in the Asimov mold, with an appearance more in keeping with gadget-looking R2-D2 than
the anthropomorphic C-3PO, but updated to the eve of the Singularity, the event when machine intelligence exceeds human
intelligence. To ensure their subservient status despite their superior intellect, robots are retrofitted with a "safety
feature" that provides them, for the first time, with the sensation of pain.
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From the Notebooks of Dr. Brain by Minister Faust
reviewed by Greg L. Johnson
Once the final battle has been won, and the villains have all been defeated, what is left for a super-hero to do? Time to confront
all the neuroses, character flaws, and relationship problems covered up by a lifetime of chasing bad guys and saving the world. At
least that's what Omnipotent Man, The Flying Squirrel, Iron Lass, X-Man, The Brotherfly and Power Grrrl discover as they gather for
a group therapy session with Eva Brain-Silverman, better known to the world as Dr. Brain.
Alien Crimes edited by Mike Resnick
reviewed by Peter D. Tillman
This latest entry in the Science Fiction Book Club's original anthology series is a follow-up to Down These Dark Spaceways,
a volume of hard-boiled SF detective stories.
The highlight is Gregory Benford's "Dark Heaven", an elegant tribute to the Travis McGee mysteries, set in
Benford's native Alabama. This atmospheric Gulf Coast pastoral features the obligatory world weary detective in a
near future police procedural that takes a very odd turn. Alien amphibians from Centaurus have established a coastal
enclave near Mobile. Detective Mckenna is investigating an odd series of drowning homicides...
Axis of Time Trilogy by John Birmingham
reviewed by Nathan Brazil
It's a tale sprawling across several years, beginning with a catastrophic accident that tears a hole in time,
throwing an international fleet from 2021 back to 1942. The uptimers emerge at night, slap bang in the middle of the US
task force heading toward Midway Atoll. A major problem is a side effect of the unexpected time travel which causes most
of the future crew to arrive unconscious, or barely functional. Sensing the danger, their computer controlled Combat
Intelligence acts in defence when elements of the '42 fleet attack, quickly leading to all guns blazing on both sides.
Worldcon Guest of Honor Speeches edited by Mike Resnick and Joe Siclari
reviewed by Jayme Lynn Blaschke
Collected here are 31 speeches spanning the history of the World Science Fiction convention, delivered by such genre luminaries as Hugo
Gernsback, John W. Campbell, Jr., Robert A. Heinlein and Kate Wilhelm. It's not a complete representation -- the editors
are quite upfront in the introduction about their inability to secure permission to publish some of the speeches, and
difficulty in even locating tapes or transcripts of others.
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