Science, History, and Fiction in Everyday Life
” The Martian Chronicles” by Ray Bradbury is a 1950 science fiction short story collection that follows a future history structure and tells the colonisation of Mars by humans fleeing from a dying Earth. One of the most known and…
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Countdown (2011) by Mira Grant / Seanan McGuire is a novella part of the Newsflesh trilogy and the prequel of the famous novel Feed, one of the most innovative zombies stories. It’s summer 2014, and two genetically modified viruses escape the…
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Written in 1961, it narrates the story of Valentine Michael Smith, a human born on Mars, raised among Martians and shipped back to Earth. One of the most controversial SF books of Heinlein, discussing religion, free love and the…
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The Skinner (2012) is one of the Neal Asher’s most famous books, and the first of the Spatterjay series. It narrates the history of three men in a nightmarish, alien waterworld populated by ferocious monsters. Deadly virus, cybernetic zombies, AIs…
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The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is a not just a book, but a multi-media phenomenon started by the British comedian Douglas Adams in 1978 as a radio show for BBC 4. One of the most amazing sci-fi fictional…
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Altered Carbon (2002) is a novel by Richard Morgan. Set in a future four hundred years from now, on a few exoplanets in a dystopian human-colonised universe, where rich people are able to get replacement bodies to make them almost…
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Hyperion (1989) is a Hugo-Award winning novel by Dan Simmons. Otherwise known as “the Canterbury Tales of SF” for its narrative structure. You will follow the stories of seven pilgrims to the planet Hyperion, where a legendary and ferocious creature…
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Prey (2002) is a novel by Michael Crichton, and, as others of the same author, presents unintended consequences of newly discovered technologies and scientific wonders. In this case, nanotechnologies, genetic engineering and swarm intelligence get the spotlights. Fascinating and scary.
“Childhood’s End” is a 1953 science fiction novel by Arthur C. Clarke, and one of the most famous SF books ever. Originally a short story called “Guardian Angel” (1946). Portraying a puzzled humanity, benevolent aliens (the Overlords) and frightening children….
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(Warning: Spoilers Ahead!) I do wonder why Joshua Calvert ends up with the least attractive of all the girls he puts his hands on during 1.2 million words or so of the Night Dawn’s Trilogy. My oh my…The best captain…
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