Here you’ll find my lists of the decade’s top 10 historical novels as well as the top 10 mysteries & thrillers and top 10 science fiction novels. I’ve reviewed them all here. The books are listed alphabetically by the authors’ last names within each category, and each title is...
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I’m sure you’ve found this, too: It’s damnably hard to get a handle on things. Every day, we’re inundated by thousands of bits and pieces of information—online, by mail, on our phones and laptops, and everywhere we walk on the streets of a city or the aisles of a grocery store. How does all this...
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OK, I’d better qualify that headline. In this survey, I’m not including science fiction written before World War II. Or, for that matter, short stories or anthologies, comic books, or manga. And definitely not fantasy: zombies, vampires, witches, dragons, superheroes, and magical powers all leave...
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They’ve been lying to us. Or, better put, shading the truth. And I’m not referring to the climate deniers in the Trump White House and Congress. We know they’re lying. The problem is, the scientists who have been warning us about climate change aren’t telling the whole...
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Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t think so. So far as I can tell, people living in what has become my home town of Berkeley, California, have been writing an inordinate number of really good books in recent years. That’s probably because the town attracts creative people like . . ....
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Will the future be dystopian? Can the human race even survive climate change and the ongoing mass extinction? Or does technology promise a far better and more hopeful future? The two dozen nonfiction books listed here offer a wide range of perspectives on these questions. They explore the impact...
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Dystopian novels figure prominently in the work of some of the world’s best science fiction writers. When Donald Trump entered the White House, and a fearful public began to contemplate the possibility of disastrous consequences from his erratic and authoritarian behavior, dystopian novels such as...
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Artificial intelligence (AI) may well be the most important technology emerging in the 21st century. It’s certainly on a par with genetic engineering in its potential to reshape the way we live our lives. The thirty-plus good books about artificial intelligence reviewed here include fourteen works...
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If you’re an Agatha Christie fan and can at least tolerate science fiction, you might enjoy Mur Lafferty’s Nebula-Award nominee Six Wakes. I didn’t. This sci-fi mystery illustrates the worst of both genres. Why was this book nominated for a Nebula Award? As a mystery story, Six...
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I’m listing here the 97 popular novels reviewed in 2016-17 on this blog. You might also look at 101 mysteries and thrillers reviewed in 2016, 82 mysteries and thrillers reviewed in 2017, 56 nonfiction books reviewed here in 2016, and 36 nonfiction books reviewed here in 2017. I’m also including a...
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Science Fiction Monday includes my latest SF book review, with links to other science fiction content.
Mysteries & Thrillers Tuesday includes my latest mystery and thriller book review, with links to other science fiction content.
Nonfiction Wednesday includes my latest nonfiction book review, with links to other nonfiction content.
The Weekly includes summaries and links to all the previous week’s three to five book reviews, including some that don’t appear in any of the other newsletters.
Science Fiction Monday includes my latest SF book review, with links to other science fiction content.
Mysteries & Thrillers Tuesday includes my latest mystery and thriller book review, with links to other science fiction content.
Nonfiction Wednesday includes my latest nonfiction book review, with links to other nonfiction content.
The Weekly includes summaries and links to all the previous week’s three to five book reviews, including some that don’t appear in any of the other newsletters.
