Furious Gulf by Gregory Benford (1994)

I found the fifth volume of the Galactic Center series less depressing than its predecessors, although Benford continues to subject his characters to extraordinary suffering and helplessness. Physics is the real spectacle: regions surrounding a black hole contain stable, separate space-time realities insulated from the tidal forces of our comparatively flat universe. Benford piles on so many PhD-thesis-level revelations that I sometimes lost sight of the characters beneath the cosmology. The book recalls Stephen Baxter at his most ambitious, particularly in its fascination with exotic physics and civilizations operating across incomprehensible scales.

The story follows the surviving humans as they struggle to navigate the increasingly bizarre environments and political conflicts of the Galactic Center while confronting powers vastly beyond their understanding. Their immediate goal is survival; their larger problem is discovering what the galaxy's mysterious powers are doing and how humanity fits into events operating on a cosmic scale.

I found the human conflicts less interesting than the increasingly strange galactic phenomena. Petty political struggles among the various human factions continue, but I have become somewhat numb to the suffering inflicted by the powerful antagonists; survival against overwhelming forces now feels more plausible because of the larger pattern of events gradually emerging. Benford reveals more about the mysterious galactic powers without dissolving their fundamental mystery, preserving the series' sense of cosmic awe. The contrived reappearance of Benford's favorite character near the conclusion disappointed me, however; the device felt less organic than the increasingly elaborate cosmological discoveries surrounding it.

4/5 Stars

Perry Rhodan 12–13, Das Geheimnis der Zeitgruft / Die Festung der sechs Monde (1961)

 
Ich habe weiterhin großen Spaß an diesen Space Operas aus dem Goldenen Zeitalter, in denen die noch junge Terranische Raumflotte auf ausgewachsene Zivilisationen trifft, die das Leben auf der Erde bedrohen. Die Größe und der Umfang der Geschichten sind einfach herrlich: interstellare Politik, fremde Imperien, wackelige Allianzen und vor allem Flottenmanöver und Raumschlachten bieten genau die Art von Abenteuer, die ich schon als Teenager an Science Fiction geliebt habe. Besonders viel Spaß macht mir, wie Rhodans kleine Flotte gegen technisch überlegene Gegner durch Manöver, Täuschung und Kühnheit bestehen muss, statt einfach mit mehr Feuerkraft zu gewinnen.

In Das Geheimnis der Zeitgruft gerät Rhodan in ein Rätsel um eine uralte Anlage und die verschiedenen Kräfte, die sich darum streiten, während Die Festung der sechs Monde den Konflikt zu einer größeren militärischen Auseinandersetzung mit fremden Mächten und einer gewaltigen Festung ausweitet. Mir gefällt, wie die beiden Bücher zwischen Ermittlung, politischen Ränkespielen und Flottengefechten wechseln; immer wieder geraten die Terraner in Situationen, in denen sie mit ihren normalen Mitteln nicht weiterkommen und Rhodan improvisieren muss.

Die Fähigkeiten des Mutantenkorps finde ich nach wie vor etwas gewöhnungsbedürftig, besonders wenn außergewöhnliche Kräfte plötzlich die Lösung für ein ansonsten ziemlich schwieriges Problem liefern. Rhodan selbst gefällt mir dagegen immer besser: seine rücksichtslose Entschlossenheit, seine Bereitschaft zur Täuschung und sein Wille, zum Schutz der Erde praktisch alles Nötige zu tun, machen ihn für mich zu einer zunehmend interessanten Figur. Gerade die dreisten Täuschungsmanöver und taktischen Tricks sind genau die Sorte Space-Opera-Übertreibung, die mir Spaß macht; die Bücher bringen mir wieder dieses gemütliche Teenager-Gefühl zurück, das ich mit der Science Fiction des Goldenen Zeitalters verbinde.

5/5 Sterne

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennet (2024)

I picked up The Tainted Cup because its sequel won the 2026 Hugo, and friends told me I needed the first book to understand the setting. Unfortunately the book's central biological premise violates basic chemistry and physics at nearly every level: bamboo, the fastest-growing plant, extends only about 10 micrometers per second. True biological growth occurs on vastly slower scales than Bennett's world requires. The Leviathans cannot exist; biochemical locks and keys are completely impossible; and plant-driven transformations are not speculative biology. Instead they are fantasy wearing scientific vocabulary and hide the inconsistent magic system.

These foundational shortcomings are particularly frustrating because the writing, characters, plot, and dramatic structure all worked for me. I could follow the investigation and appreciate the world-building, but the pseudo-science repeatedly pushed me out of the story; every biological impossibility reminded me that the underlying systems could not function. I can accept invented technology or unfamiliar physical laws in science fiction, but I need internal mechanisms that remain compatible with at least recognizable chemistry, biology, or physics.

I enjoyed the craft and much of the story, but the central conceit prevented me from inhabiting the world. I had hoped to discover why the sequel attracted such attention, but I found a fantasy novel whose scientific framing made it harder, rather than easier, for me to enjoy the considerable skill behind the narrative. I may not read the second book that won the Hugo.

2/5 Stars

Sun Eater 5, Ashes of Man by Christopher Ruocchio (2022)

I continue to enjoy the Sun Eater series for its style, universe, and character arcs. Ashes of Man has a few minor plot contrivances and some unnecessary abuses of the magic system, but the overall story remains excellent. Hadrian is particularly interesting: centuries old yet still capable of hot-blooded rage, love, and other passions. He simultaneously seeks escape from imperial politics, longs for obscurity, pursues his ethical imperatives, and gives in to rage. Those contradictions are among the series’ greatest strengths.

Ashes of Man continues Hadrian’s struggle against the Cielcin while drawing him deeper into the politics of the Sollan Empire and the mysteries surrounding the Shapers. As usual, Ruocchio provides tantalizing hints about the ancient powers manipulating time and fate, while foreshadowing future events without explaining too much. I found the balance of action less satisfying: there was too much close combat and not enough space-fleet maneuvering and combat for my taste. The emphasis makes sense, however, because Sun Eater is essentially high fantasy with a space-opera setting.

I continue to find the series’ deviations from the conventional hero’s journey compelling. Hadrian’s conflicting impulses make him more interesting than a straightforward heroic protagonist, while the Shaper mysteries give the larger story an appealing sense of scale and inevitability. Despite a few contrivances and my preference for more fleet combat, Ashes of Man remains an excellent installment. 5/5 Stars

Special Assignments by Boris Akunin (2007)

Rather than a single novel, this book contains two novellas featuring separate Fandorin cases. “Jack of Spades” takes place in 1886;“ The Decorator” occurs in 1889; both are set in Moscow during Holy Week, the days preceding Easter. I found the atmosphere darker than in the earlier books, with Akunin moving from the adventurous romanticism of the preceding volumes toward a more pessimistic portrait of Moscow's institutions and populace.

“Jack of Spades” explores fraud, corruption, and the emerging organization of criminal enterprise; unfortunately, I found the story itself less compelling than its historical setting. “The Decorator,” however, was considerably stronger: its investigation of a series of murders evokes the Jack the Ripper era while connecting the sensational criminal culture of London with Moscow's own social and institutional pathologies. Akunin also gives me an unusually vivid view of Russian Orthodox religious practice during Holy Week, a subject about which I knew almost nothing. The contrast between intense religious observance and the corruption, violence, and institutional decay surrounding Fandorin gives the novella much of its tension. As always with the Fandorin books, I particularly enjoy the historical and “slice-of-life” detail; because I know so little about Russian life in these periods, Akunin's reconstruction of Moscow functions for me as both entertainment and an informal education in the social world behind the fiction.

I continue to read the Fandorin novels as much for their historical immersion as for their mysteries. Special Assignments is uneven, but “The Decorator” supplies enough drama, historical texture, and cultural discovery to make the volume worthwhile, while its darker conception of Moscow suggests a less romantic world emerging beneath the series' earlier adventures.

4/5 Stars

Murderbot Stories by Martha Wells (2018 - 2025)

I discovered that Reactor Magazine, formerly Tor.com, had published several short stories set in Martha Wells's beloved Murderbot universe, and I promptly grabbed and devoured all of them. Much like most "Murderbot" fans, I love Wells's strange collection of SecUnits, augmented humans, artificial intelligences, corporations, awe-and-wonder space opera, and drama.   

Rapport: Friendship, Solidarity, Communion, Empathy,” follows A.R.T. and its crew rather than Murderbot. Set after A.R.T.'s encounter with Murderbot, the story gives readers a welcome opportunity to see A.R.T. wrestling with the consequences of that relationship from its own perspective. A.R.T. has enormous capabilities with distinctly personal attachments, anxieties, loyalties, and blind spots; watching ART process what happened with Murderbot gives the relationship an additional dimension. The other stories likewise provide small but satisfying expansions of the universe, filling in corners and adding more well-written space-opera universe building that the main sequence necessarily leaves unexplored.

I enjoyed the collection; Wells can make even a relatively small episode feel consequential within the larger architecture of the series. Seeing familiar characters from unfamiliar angles and stories in the universe are still great even when Murderbot is offstage. 

5/5 Stars

Hell Bent by Greg Hurwitz (2017)

I continue to enjoy the Orphan X series as Evan Smoak works through the trauma of his childhood and earlier adventures, gradually transforming from a damaged weapon into something resembling a self-directed hero. In Hell Bent, Greg Hurwitz pushes Smoak's abilities toward the nearly supernatural: his tactical instincts, physical skills, and clever improvisations repeatedly allow him to survive increasingly-impossible situations. I particularly enjoyed the close-combat sequences, where Smoak's movements and decisions feel almost algorithmically precise; Hurwitz makes his mastery of violence convincing.

The novel sends Smoak into a brutal confrontation with a super-villain whose resources are overwhelming. As Smoak fights his way through increasingly desperate circumstances, Hurwitz alternates close-quarters combat with strategic maneuvering, forcing him to solve "big-picture" problems rather than mindlessly overpowering his opponents. The supporting characters and antagonists have well-crafted motivations rather than generic malice. Meanwhile, Smoak's struggle to reconcile the conditioning of his past with the person he is consciously becoming gives the increasingly improbable action humanity.

The escalation is entertaining because Hurwitz embraces the superhero dimensions while retaining enough tactical and psychological detail to make his victories earned. The story arc remains consistent with the earlier novels, yet the increasingly extreme situations demonstrate how far Smoak has evolved from the robot assassin introduced at the beginning of the series. The ending surprised me, and I found its resolution both pleasing and enticing to continue the series.

5/5 Stars

Biology and Human Behavior by Robert Sapolsky (2024)

I started listening to Robert Sapolsky’s lecture series because I particularly enjoyed neuroscience when I studied biomedicine in the 1970s; I am also a longtime fan of popular science, sociology, social psychology, and psychographics. These lectures are exceptionally engaging and well organized. Sapolsky presents important facts, experiments, and behavioral phenomena without unnecessary detail or jargon. He explains the reality of all of the complex interactions that destroy the simple genetics vs environment dichotomy. Genes, development, physiology, evolutionary history, environment, culture, and immediate circumstances interact across many different and complex biological, biochemical, and timescales to produce human behavior.

I was particularly impressed by Sapolsky’s willingness to follow evidence into uncomfortable territory. His ethical and political judgments are frequently conspicuous and extreme, and I occasionally found his interpretations colored by those commitments. Yet he generally allows empirical evidence to complicate conclusions he would apparently prefer to reach. I found those tensions more intellectually valuable than a supposedly neutral presentation would have been: the data are often more interesting precisely because they resist his moral framework.

The examples are intrinsically fascinating, but the greatest value for me was the conceptual framework. Sapolsky replaces simplistic explanations with layered causal interactions, making familiar questions about human behavior considerably more complicated and, consequently, more interesting. I highly recommend the series.

5/5 Stars

Referral

https://discord.com/channels/834634720611926035/1512211373080182964/1541967789491888249

Out of the Dark by Gregg Hurwitz (2019)

I enjoyed Out of the Dark considerably more than the disappointing second installment. Once again, our intrepid hero faces seemingly impossible odds and, once again, manages to triumph through a combination of determination, ingenuity, and violence. The series continues to play with the boundaries between enemy and ally: an antagonist killed in the first book, resurrected in the second becomes an ally here, exactly as I had anticipated. I am curious whether that character will remain part of the story going forward.

The hero's deep cover relationship with his love interest developed nicely, giving the story an emotional thread that complemented instead of distracting from the action. More importantly, Hurwitz delivers the thriller sequences with considerable skill; the confrontations, escapes, and reversals maintained the momentum that I found lacking in the previous book.

Out of the Dark restored my enthusiasm for the series. It is unapologetically entertaining, moves briskly, and delivers the kind of improbable heroics I expect from this sort of thriller without becoming tedious. I am looking forward to seeing where Hurwitz takes the characters next.

4/5 Stars.