Tag: Sci-Fi

Review: Stranger to the Moon by Evelio Rosero

Stranger to the Moon [1992] – β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…

β€œWhat’s important to me is that I can see without being seen” [Evelio Rosero, translated from the Spanish by Victor Meadowcroft & Anne McLean].


Evelio Rosero is an author from Colombia, and this is his completely surreal, nightmare-inducing novella which starts with a being emerging from a wardrobe. He is a member of the clan of the “naked” ones who are crammed into one enormous house. They are ruled over by the β€œclothed” ones, the more powerful beings, who continuously use, mistreat and abuse the weaker β€œnaked” ones. Sometimes, the β€œnaked” ones, who are also described as having β€œtwo sexes”, venture outside their house, and it is there their biggest misfortune awaits them – their horrific encounter with the β€œclothed” ones, and this meeting may even lead to death. The β€œclothed” ones do not suspect, though, that our narrator, that β€œnaked” one from the wardrobe (β€œa wandering gaze”), starts having rebellious thoughts as the idea of revengeful killing is slowly taking hold in his otherwise submissive mind. This highly imaginative, disturbing, but also fascinating, novella is an allegory of deep societal distress, inequality, control, power, and oppression.

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Review: The Yellow Arrow by Victor Pelevin

The Yellow Arrow [1993] β€“Β β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…1/2

“How could they see anything but the shadows if they were never allowed to move their heads?”, Plato, The Allegory of the Cave

This is a sci-fi gem from Russia that centres on Andrei, one of the passengers of the mysterious, seemingly endless, train The Yellow Arrow, that makes its way without stops. Its journey already numbers years, but the passengers inside the train seem to treat their endless trip as though it is the most natural course of events, and for them, it is simply their daily life. Andrei and his friend Khan are probably the only people who are slowly realising that something is amiss in their lives. However, other passengers are too distracted by daily trivialities to question anything or ponder over some fundamental questions: how they ended up on this train in the first place? Why their journey takes so long?, and when will they finally reach their destination, which some believe to be one collapsed bridge? And, then, Andrei discovers letters from unknown persons lying around that may have hidden meaning, shedding light on what their seemingly eternal journey actually means. Pelevin, once dubbed β€œRussian Vonnegut”, crafted an allegorical novella that is perceptive and deeply philosophical. It is a satire bold in content, but subtle in meaning – like the very best of them.

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Review: The Man Who Died Seven Times by Yasuhiko Nishizawa

The Man Who Died Seven Times [1995/2025] – β˜…β˜…β˜…

Who doesn’t like a time-loop in their fantasy story? The idea that one can go back to the past and relive it, changing it or gaining particular insight from it is irresistible for fiction lovers. In novels The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North and Replay by Ken Grimwood, there are people who have a chance to relive their lives, and such films as Back to the Future and Groundhog Day popularised the concept of time-travel/loop in action and romantic comedies. Of course, the most famous example of a time-loop in detective fiction now is Stuart Turton’s The 7Β½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, and in Japanese fiction – probably still a light novel by Hiroshi Sakurazaka titled All You Need Is Kill (later Hollywood film Edge of Tomorrow). Since Nishizawa’s book of 1995 predates Sakurazaka’s light novel of 2004, it was one of the first in Japan to break into the market with the theme, and the idea of mixing sci-fi time-loops and a detective mystery. Now, it is published for the first time in English under the title The Man Who Died Seven Times, translated by Jesse Kirkwood.

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Review: The Dead Mountaineer’s Hotel by Boris & Arkady Strugatsky

The Dead Mountaineer’s Hotel [1970] – β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…

Boris and Arkady Strugatsky were brothers known for their philosophical sci-fi (Roadside Picnic, Hard to be a God, Noon, etc.), some of which were also later adapted into well-known films, but The Dead Mountaineer’s Hotel can be said to be a rather unusual entry in their bibliography. It is a β€œlocked-room” detective mystery and reads like one – we see Inspector Glebsky arriving into one small hotel in a secluded European valley at the peak of the winter season, and, there, encountering a rather unusual group of residents: a magician, a rich and eccentric businessman, and a self-proclaimed famous physicist, among others. Strange things start to happen in this hotel, and Inspector Glebsky is soon forced to abandon his holiday plans to begin his investigation into a crime which no guest residing in the hotel could have possibly committed. A wintery read through and through, The Dead Mountaineer’s Hotel is a page-turner of a novel that rethinks traditional detective tropes as it provides entertainment full of intrigues.

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Review: The House on the Strand by Daphne du Maurier

The House on the Strand [1969] – β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…

β€œIf  you get bitten by the past…whether you’re historian, or an archaeologist, or even a surveyor, it’s like a fever in the blood; you never rest until you’ve solved the problem before you” [du Maurier, Victor Gollancz/Virago, 1969: 229].

The House on the Strand is a time-travel novel, but because at the helm is none other than author Daphne du Maurier, it is far from being one’s usual, run-of-the-mill sci-fi fantasy. The premise is intriguing: Dick Young is a forty-something married man working in publishing who decides to spend his holidays at the house of his friend, Professor of Biophysics Magnus Lane. The house, Kilmarth, is in beautiful Cornwall, overlooking the sea, and Dick is awaiting the arrival of his wife Vita and his two stepsons from the US. Meanwhile, Magnus asks Dick to ingest his most recent research discovery: a potion that apparently transports a person to…the past. Dick should be thinking about his family, his new career option and his holiday, but instead, taking this drug, he becomes addicted to a different reality opening to him, to past events that happened in Cornwall in the 14th century and that involve political intrigues, adultery and a possible murder. But how safe is this potion drug that Dick is taking? And what could be the consequences of stepping into another world and gaining its secret knowledge?

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“Plant Horror”: 3 Classic Short Stories about β€œMonster” Orchids

β€œThere are such queer things about orchids…such possibilities of surprises” (H. G. Wells).

There is something about plant horror that stirs imagination like few other things, and evidence of this is the success of such astonishingly-premised books and films as The Day of the Triffids [1951], Invasion of the Body Snatchers [1956] and Annihilation [2014]. Orchids, in particular, have gathered quite a dark reputation over the decades, and academics like to link this reputation to orchids symbolising (the dark sides of) female sexuality. Also, just as there once was β€œtulipomania” in Holland in the 17th century, there was also once β€œorchidmania” in the 19th century, with the orchid becoming an obsession among botanists and travellers alike. Naturally, the more exotic the orchid was, the more it was sought after.

Below are three classic short stories that focus on β€œmonster” orchids, and the interesting thing is that each of the stories below are connected through the β€œchain of inspiration”: Arthur C. Clarke’s story was inspired by H. G. Wells’s one, and Clarke and Collier’s stories provided inspiration for the horror-comedy films Little Shop of Horrors [1960] and [1986]. Two other books on a similar topic on my TBR list are Plants in Science Fiction: Speculative Vegetation by Katherine E. Bishop (ed.), and Plants That Kill: A Natural History of the World’s Most Poisonous Plants by Elisabeth A. Dauncey.

Orchids and Hummingbird by Martin Johnson Heade (1819 – 1904)
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Ranking Philip K. Dick Books (Ones I’ve Read So Far)

Today is 40 years since the death of science-fiction writer Philip. K. Dick (1928 – 1982), an American author who created addictive dystopian worlds where advanced technologies compete with humanity, where space-travel is not only available and optional, but at times essential to evade planetary catastrophes, and where drug-induced hallucinations become a new reality for all. The science-fiction books of Philip. K. Dick may not be the height of mastery in terms of their execution and in some ways do remain products of their time, but no one can deny their unparalleled creativity in setting out intriguing worlds of the future where there are layers and layers of unfathomable realities just beneath the one you see.

I. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? [1968]

Few people have not heard of this book, or if they have not, they have surely heard of Ridley Scott’s film Blade Runner [1982], which (and I would say it very frankly) is only loosely based on this sci-fi novel. In this story, set in aΒ post-apocalypticΒ San Francisco,Β possessing a real live animal have become a social status akin to being one of the richest persons on earth because so few of them are in existence and, androids and humans co-exist in a world torn by the devastating effects of the recent nuclear war.Β Rick Deckard, aΒ bounty hunter, has a task of “retiring” a number of criminally-minded androids who have recently escaped from Mars. The success of this book, and the film, lies in a way it taps into the very essence of our humanity – what makes us – us? Our thoughts, our memories, our emotions? If all of these can be “replicated”, does our sense of humanity become redundant? Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is a great sci-fi full of irony and suspense that was unfairly overshadowed by its cinematic counterpart.

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My 5 Most Anticipated Book Releases for Late 2021 & 2022

I. To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara

I loved Hanya Yanagihara’s previous books – her heart-wrenching A Little Life [2015] and fantastical The People in the Trees [2013]. So, naturally, I am looking forward to her next book titled To Paradise. The story here is said to span three centuries and here is what Goodreads/publisher has to say about it (my emphasis in bold): “In an alternate version of 1893 America, New York is part of the Free States, where people may live and love whomever they please (or so it seems). The fragile young scion of a distinguished family resists betrothal to a worthy suitor, drawn to a charming music teacher of no means. In a 1993 Manhattan besieged by the AIDS epidemic, a young Hawaiian man lives with his much older, wealthier partner, hiding his troubled childhood and the fate of his father. And in 2093, in a world riven by plagues and governed by totalitarian rule, a powerful scientist’s damaged granddaughter tries to navigate life without himβ€”and solve the mystery of her husband’s disappearances. These three sections are joined in an enthralling and ingenious symphony…To Paradise is a fin de siΓ¨cle novel of marvellous literary effect, but above all it is a work of emotional genius.” This definitely sounds great and very ambitious, too, if I may add…but then again, Hanya Yanagihara is exactly one of only a few writers working today who is more than capable of pulling it off.

Publication date: 11 January 2022.

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Review: The Employees: A Workplace Novel of the 22nd Century by Olga Ravn

The Employees [2018/20] – β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…

β€œYou know the name you were given, you do not know the name that you have.” Jose Saramago

This book, which was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize 2021, focuses on our distant dystopian future and on the Six-Thousand Ship, a space vessel on an exploration mission into space. When the crew stops to explore a previously unknown planet named New Discovery, they take certain live β€œobjects” on board with them. Little the crew suspects that these objects will have a powerful, unforeseen effect on each member of the personnel onboard, and that means on both humans and humanoid robots. Composed entirely of (increasingly disturbing) statements given by the employees on the Six-Thousand Ship, The Employees by Danish author Olga Ravn may have a rather β€œboring” title, but this book is anything but that. Probably influenced in some way by both Lem’s sci-fi Solaris [1961] and the fiction of Philip K. Dick, The Employees offers a visceral, uncanny reading experience.

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Science Fiction Day

Today (2 January) is the National Science Fiction Day (US), which also corresponds to the birthday of famous sci-fi author Isaac Asimov (1920 – 1992). This is a day to celebrate all things sci-fi, from films and books to art and shows. Therefore, I have taken this opportunity to highlight below 10 sci-fi books (in no particular order) that I reviewed over the course of a last couple of years (these also include “dystopia”). Also, see my list of favourite sci-fi books.

Solaris (Stanislaw Lem)       The Memory Police (Yoko Ogawa)

A Scanner Darkly (Philip. K. Dick)       A Maze of Death (Philip. K. Dick)

The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch (Philip. K. Dick)        Dr Bloodmoney (Philip. K. Dick)

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Review: Dr Bloodmoney by Philip K. Dick

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Dr Bloodmoney [1965] – β˜…β˜…β˜…1/2

Dr Bloodmoney is a wildly imaginative sci-fi book which is set in distant future after a nuclear disaster left the society with new adaptive technologies, shocking mutations, inverted priorities and the hatred for one person who is deemed responsible for bringing it all about: Dr Bluthgeld (Dr Bloodmoney), a deranged physicist who went into hiding. One person who knows his real identity and location is Bonny Keller, the beautiful wife of a successful school principal, and Stuart McConchie, an unfortunate salesman, may also be starting to guess correctly. Meanwhile, orbiting around Earth is the β€œvoice of wisdom” – Walter Dangerfield, and previously marginalised and ridiculed disabled person Hoppy Harrington sees his fortunes turn with prospects to gain enviable influence in the community. Although this increasingly disturbing tale from Philip K. Dick is an unfocused one with a questionable ending, it is also an enjoyable literary ride into one of a kind β€œend-of-the-world” chaos filled with colourful characters and a through-provoking satire on the survival of a community in the time of a crisis.

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My 10 Favourite Science Fiction/Dystopian Books

Science fiction and dystopian books never really go out of fashion (they may just reach their popularity peak – Divergent/The Hunger Games), and, thanks to its intriguing scenarios, the genre is always the favourite of many. Below are ten of my all-time favourite science fiction and dystopian books (the majority of them are classics!).

I. 1984 [1949]Β by George Orwell 1984 Cover

Orwell’s 1984 will forever remain the dystopian novel to read. In the story, we meet Winston Smith who rewrites historical records for the Ministry of Truth in Airstrip One (formerly the UK), one of the future totalitarian states. The future world of surveillance, propaganda and brainwashing that the author imagines is a powerful reminder of the importance to stick to the truth and freedom of thought anywhere in the real world.Β Moreover, the novel has a particular relevance to modern times because there is a global concern now about data protection, fake news and privacy when browsing online.Β Β 

Brave New World CoverII. Brave New World [1932] by Aldous Huxley

Huxley presents an unforgettable world and vision in his novel. The year is circa 2540, and the humanity made unbelievable advances in genetics, sexual reproduction and sleep-learning. Presented as utopia, the world is actually a well-ordered totalitarian state where there are certain classes of people who should know their societal positions, and where happiness is achieved through a particular drug. The novel is as thought-provoking as it is enjoyable.Β  Continue reading “My 10 Favourite Science Fiction/Dystopian Books” →