Ken Newquist's Blog at Lafayette College
The teaser for this novel sold me instantly: “Somewhere on the outer rim of the universe, a mass of decaying world-ships known as the Legion is traveling in the seams between the stars. For generations, a war for control of the Legion has been waged, with no clear resolution. As worlds continue to die, a desperate plan … Read more
After spending two weeks in August reading Kim Stanley Robinson’s hard science fiction novel 2312, I returned to lighter fare with the space opera Forsaken Skies. It’s your standard aliens-invade-human-space-for-unknown-reasons story but that’s exactly what I’m looking for to wind down the summer. This is the last book on my Summer 2017 reading list; if I can finish … Read more
The final book in Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey/Mautrin series, which follows the adventures of the H.M.S. Surprise in the 1800s. It’s a bittersweet end that provides a satisfying conclusion to lead character Captain Jack Aubrey’s career, but it’s also the last book that O’Brian wrote before his untimely death.
I don’t often get to say that I’m reading a book written by a friend but that’s the case with Mur Lafferty’s Six Wakes. I know Mur from back at the dawn of podcasting, when she podcast Geek Fu Action Grip and I did Nuketown Radio Active. We later wrote columns for Knights of the Dinner Table Magazine. I haven’t seen Mur in … Read more
I read a tremendous amount of Stephen King as a kid and teenager, but I stopped keeping up with him when he finished the Dark Tower series. I do occasionally venture back to that old well, the most recent time being 2013 when I read Doctor Sleep, the follow-up to his classic ghost story novel … Read more
The Fuller Memorandum continues the ongoing saga of Bob Howard, IT professional, British civil servant … and defender of Earth against arcane invasions. In the third entry in The Laundry Files, Bob’s boss has gone missing … and that probably doesn’t bode well for the planet. I haven’t gotten very far in the book, but so far … Read more
I’m finally reading Jim Butcher’s urban fantasy novel Storm Front, Book 1 of the The Dresden Files series. My friends have been raving about it for years, but urban fantasy isn’t one of the genres I typically read. I decided to branch out, and Butcher’s book seemed a good place to start.
A Night Without Stars is the latest novel in Peter F. Hamilton’s Commonwealth series of space opera / science fantasy novels. You’ll be excused if that’s not readily apparent, as the novel is far removed in both time and space from the Commonwealth as depicted in the series’ inaugural novel, Pandora’s Star. The book picks up where its immediate … Read more
Acceptance is the third and final novel in Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach Trilogy. The trilogy is reminiscent of a novelized version of the TV show LOST, complete with a strange land called “Area X” that’s fallen out of time and a covert agency that’s been setup to study it. Unlike LOST, all of the people who venture into the “anomaly” are volunteers; … Read more