Book Review : City of Last Chances
… And so we come to Adrian Tchaikovsky’s The City of Last Chances. With the recent publication of the third book in this ‘verse, Days of Shattered Faith, I thought it would be good to take a look at how the series began.
Mining the Genre Asteroid: The Coming of the Quantum Cats
“… Pohl’s thesis, in this book, is that people are a mixture of nature AND nurture. The relatively retiring Nicky DeSota IS the same person as the hardbitten general, or the philandering Senator, and when push comes to shove, they can transcend their natures, or their upbringing, as the case may be. …”
Interview with K.V. Johansen, by Paul Weimer
“Now, with The Wolf and the Wild King, I’ve done something I’m calling high fantasy, an older term not used so much any more, but to me it suggests a subtly different flavour of secondary world fantasy from epic — a world more mysterious, less explained; more folkloric roots showing through the moss, more things half-seen in the shadows. “
Mining the Genre Asteroid: An Elephant for Aristotle
“… This reinforces the clear point of view that De Camp promotes in the book, and that is one of multiculturalism and diversity being good things for people to experience and for polities to have. Time and again, having a wide and diverse group, or tribe, or nation is superior, clearly, to monoculture alternatives.”
Book review: Blood of the Old Kings, by Sung-il Kim
At its heart, Blood of the Old Kings is a story about Empire, reactions and resistance to it. Our three protagonists are all in their own way taking up the mantle of resistance to that Empire.
Book Review: The Cost of Power: Return, by Joyce Reynolds-Ward
Gabe and Ruby’s story is the heart of The Cost of Power: Return, by Joyce Reynolds-Ward. Their story in this iteration, looking at the oeuvre of the author, is to be one of a series of futures/worlds in a multiverse of stories revolving around the Martinieres in general and Gabe and Ruby as well.
