Tag Archives: space

Jack McDevitt – The Engines of God (1994)

Posted on December 17, 2015 by Jeroen Admiraal

7/10 The Engines of God is a novel about interstellar archeology. That’s right. Humanity has reached the stars and found the mysterious ruins of alien civilizations around them. It is actually to be expected. In the billions of years that … Continue reading →

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Arthur C. Clarke – A Fall of Moondust (1961)

Posted on December 2, 2015 by Jeroen Admiraal

7/10 A Fall of Moondust is one of those mildly embarrassing cases where science caught up with science fiction and brands a book forever out of date. Written in 1960, six months before the Apollo program launched and 9 years … Continue reading →

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Jack Vance – Night Lamp (1996)

Posted on November 20, 2015 by Jeroen Admiraal

8/10 Before reading a Jack Vance novel, there are some things you need to know. First, don’t read them for the plot. Vance re-uses the same pulpy storylines all the time. Quickly summarized, a young man is being wronged by … Continue reading →

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Gene Wolfe – The Books of the Long & Short Sun (review)

Posted on November 4, 2015 by Jeroen Admiraal

Comprising: The Book of the Long Sun: Nightside of the Long Sun (1993) Lake of the Long Sun (1994) Calde of the Long Sun (1994) Exodus from the Long Sun (1996) The Book of the Short Sun: On Blue’s Waters … Continue reading →

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Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983)

Posted on October 30, 2015 by Jeroen Admiraal

8/10 It’s been 10 years or so since I last viewed this movie. And it really isn’t as good as I remember, unfortunately. Back in my childhood, Star Wars episodes 5 and 6 were this untouchable work of wonder, together … Continue reading →

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Poul Anderson – Tau Zero (1970)

Posted on October 24, 2015 by Jeroen Admiraal

7.5/10 The space ship Leonora Christine gets irreparably damaged and now can’t stop accelerating. As the ship approaches light speed, time slows down on board and the crew witness eons and galaxies go by, all the way up to the … Continue reading →

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The Martian (2015)

Posted on October 4, 2015 by Jeroen Admiraal

8.5/10 Astronaut Mark Watney is stranded on Mars. He has to survive for more than a year while NASA devices a rescue plan, and he needs all his ingenuity to do so. Is there a new subgenre of science fiction … Continue reading →

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Peter F. Hamilton – Pandora’s Star (2004)

Posted on August 5, 2015 by Jeroen Admiraal

8.5/10 A huge, sprawling epic featuring dozens of characters and planets and all sorts of subplots. The great overarching story is that of humanity that has spread out among the stars, and a subsequent threat from the outside that could … Continue reading →

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Olaf Stapledon – Star Maker (1937) & Last and First Men (1930)

Posted on July 5, 2015 by Jeroen Admiraal

Perhaps no book has ever been written with a greater sense of scale than Olaf Stapledon’s Star Maker. Many esteemed people of the day were impressed by it: Jose Luis Borges, Virginia Woolf, Bertrand Russell and Winston Churchill. Who was … Continue reading →

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