Monthly Archives: March 2014

Benford and Niven’s Bowl of Heaven

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bowlofheaven_NS_20pBowl of Heaven
Gregory Benford and Larry Niven
Tor mass market paperback, $8.99
ebook $7.69 Kindle $8.99 Nook

You know you’re getting behind on your reading when a book you bought as soon as it appeared in hardcover is out in paperback before you get around to reading it.

I’ve been a fan of large scale, big idea science fiction almost as long as I’ve been reading science fiction.  That means I’m a fan of both of the authors of this novel, although I’ve read more Niven than I have Benford.  But I enjoy them both.

So when a collaboration between them came out, I grabbed it pretty quickly.  Not surprisingly, they’ve come up with a large scale artifact I’ve not encountered before. Continue reading →

The Best Monster Story I’ve Read in Quite a While

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AFFMAY2014COVER“Cryptids”
Alec Nevala-Lee
Analog Science Fiction
May 2014

I wrote earlier that I want to try to read more short fiction  and more science fiction this year. I thank God for ereader apps on phones. I’ve been doing a lot of reading of short fiction on my phone, and this story is one I read today while waiting on various things (pick up wife from physical therapy, pick up son from school, etc.)

I’ve only read a couple of the stories in the current issue of Analog, but “Cryptids” is one of the most enjoyable stories I’ve read in the magazine in a while.  I like a good monster story, especially when there a rigorous scientific rationale behind it. Continue reading →