My Review of What Technology Wants

What Technology Wants

What Technology Wants by Kevin Kelly

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is an interesting read if you don’t mind a bit of teleology. Kelly conceives of technology like an organism, which he calls the technium: “The technium is a superorganism of technology. It has its own force that it exerts. That force is part cultural (influenced by and influencing of humans), but it’s also partly non-human, partly indigenous to the physics of technology itself.” His purpose in this book is to trace the ways technology has developed in the past and use that to project where it will go in the future. Since we will be living in that future and relying on that technology (barring a disaster), this is a book that repays the attention you give it.



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My Review of The Lord of the Rings: J.R.R. Tolkien vs the Modern Age

The Lord of the Rings: J.R.R. Tolkien vs the Modern Age

The Lord of the Rings: J.R.R. Tolkien vs the Modern Age by David Brin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


David Brin is a believer in progress, and pretty consistent about it. His Star Wars On Trial also makes many of the points he makes here in this essay. Tolkien’s fantasy is a rejection of progress and modernism that makes it frankly reactionary in the true sense of the word. That could be possibly explained in part as a reaction to World War I, the first mechanized industrial experience of slaughter, and that would be understandable. I have read the novels and enjoyed the movies, but I also like Brin’s take because I fundamentally believe that the future will be better, and that there was never a past Golden Age.



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My Review of Thor Meets Captain America

Thor Meets Captain America

Thor Meets Captain America by David Brin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This novelette was nominated for a Hugo award in 1987, and is a pure fantasy in the “Alternate History” genre. Gregory Benford was editing an anthology called Hitler Victorious and asked Brin to contribute. Brin could not think of any event that if changed would have allowed the Nazis to win, but he came up with an ingenious story that tried to explain why the Nazis did so many pointless but hugely evil things. This novelette was later turned into a graphic novel called The Life Eaters



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My Review of Signing Their Lives Away: The Fame and Misfortune of the Men Who Signed the Declaration of Independence

Signing Their Lives Away: The Fame and Misfortune of the Men Who Signed the Declaration of Independence

Signing Their Lives Away: The Fame and Misfortune of the Men Who Signed the Declaration of Independence by Denise Kiernan

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This is the quintessential “bathroom reader”, a collection of short biographical sketches of the men who signed the Declaration of Independence. We sometimes forget in hindsight that there was a lot of risk and danger in this since they were essentially committing treason against the lawful King, and that kind of thing can get a guy killed. Even without that, it involved material risk. So this book is not a “must read”, but neither is it a waste of time. If you are a history buff, this can be enjoyable.



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My Review of The Door Into Summer

The Door into Summer

The Door into Summer by Robert A. Heinlein

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is middle-period Heinlein, which means it is very readable in contrast to some of his later stuff that is for hard-core fans only. The viewpoint character is an engineer, Daniel Boone Davis, who is developing robotics. He has some good inventions, but some very bad business partners who cheat him. Cryogenics and “cold sleep” allow people to travel into the future, so he does that, only to find that there is some kind of odd doppleganger named D.B. Davis who is making further developments in his robotics. Finally a time travel device lets him go back in time to where his partners cheated him and lets him sort everything out satisfactorily.



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My Review of The Works of E.E. “Doc” Smith

Works of E. E.

Works of E. E. “Doc” Smith by E.E. “Doc” Smith

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


If you want to learn about Space Opera from the Golden Age, this is not a bad place to start. Smith is considered by many to the Father of Space Opera, and this collection is a convenient place to get started. The works are somewhat uneven, with Masters of Space really filled with cardboard characters and “gee-whiz” plotting, but on the other end Triplanetary and The Vortex Blaster are pretty good. Since this is generally available inexpensively on the usual e-book sites, give it a try. You might find something you like.



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My Review of The Vortex Blaster

The Vortex Blaster (Lensman, #7)

The Vortex Blaster by E.E. “Doc” Smith

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The Vortex Blaster is set in Smith’s Lensman universe, and some Lensmen and the Galactic Patrol make an appearance, but is really a stand-alone novel that really does not need to be read as part of the series. The plot involves a man with a computer in his brain who takes on the job of snuffing out “atomic vortices” that periodically erupt from nuclear power stations. It turns out that he is the first person capable of doing this, which sets him up a tour of the galaxy and various adventures. And being in the Lensman universe, mental powers are involved, but in this case distinct from the powers of the Lensmen.



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My Review of Triplanetary

Triplanetary (Lensman, #1)

Triplanetary by E.E. “Doc” Smith

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is really a “prequel” written somewhat later, but in internal chronology it is the first in the Lensman series, and fills in some background. We are introduced to the benevolent Arisians, who are responsible for all life in this universe through a kind of panspermia. Then the evil Eddorians come in from another universe looking for worlds to rule, and the battle of the millennia ensues. The human race is one of the “Arisian” races, and the plan involves a breeding program over centuries leading up to something, and this book tells some of that story.

I read this as part of a collection “The Works of E.E. “Doc” Smith”





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My Review of Spacehounds of IPC

Spacehounds of IPC (Pyramid SF, T2618)

Spacehounds of IPC by E.E. “Doc” Smith

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


The Spacehounds of IPC is the kind of book you could write back in the classic pulp age when everything was possible. The solar system could have many different intelligent species, and some of them could have six-fold symmetry. Jupiter’s moons could have life and breathable atmospheres. The first half is “Robinson Crusoe” experience, followed by a good bit of space opera. This is an example of the kind fiction written by people like Smith, John W. Campbell, and Edmund Hamilton.

I read this as part of a collection “The Works of E.E. “Doc” Smith”



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My Review of Skylark Three

Skylark Three (Skylark, #2)

Skylark Three by E.E. “Doc” Smith

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


The Skylark Three is the second of four novels in Smith’s Skylark series. The three in the title refers to the third spaceship they built. Like most Smith novels, it moves along with a lot of action. Overlord Seaton of the Central System deals with interplanetary war between the planets of the system. Then the monstrous Fenachrone race is introduced, and they threaten the whole galaxy with conquest. Only Seaton can stop them! If you ever wanted to know what pulp fiction of the classic age of science fiction is like, this series is a good place to start. Smith is regarded as the “Father of Space Opera”, and this is where he started.

I read this as part of a collection “The Works of E.E. “Doc” Smith”



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