Book Review: THE FIRST MEN IN THE MOON By H.G. Wells

 

Book review:
THE FIRST MEN IN THE MOON (1901) by H. G. Wells

A novel that's over 100 years old...about a visit to the Moon... depicting lunar life on a Moon with an atmosphere. Is it really still worth reading?

The answer is yes. In fact this novel is imaginative, humorous, lighthearted and even satirical.

It also contains interesting surprises:

- The characters make a direct reference to Jules Verne's novel FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON -- a "meta-commentary."

- The narrative, written as a firsthand account of "true events," mixes fantastic events with mundane details of life in the 1890s.

- The narrator is a greedy opportunist - he tags along on the expedition to the Moon only to strike it rich. In one scene, he gets intoxicated and babbles about the duty to seize control of the Moon as "the White Man's Burden." This is obviously Wells making fun of British imperialism.

- The depiction of life on the Moon, even though it is outdated, is still impressive and imaginative. It has been an influence on later stories about aliens.

- There are several ironic twists in the story to keep the excitement up.

(For example: the two men who travel to the Moon bring lots of provisions and prepare for various difficulties they might face... but once they land on the Moon, it becomes obvious that they forgot to bring a map.)

- Wells even considered the psychological effects of space travel - in a wonderful scene he depicts a kind of "space madness"!

I enjoyed THE FIRST MEN IN THE MOON, a surprisingly entertaining adventure. Recommended as a classic.

NOTE: The book has been filmed several times. The 2010 BBC adaptation received mostly good reviews.

You can listen to the free Librivox audiobook version HERE.

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Book Review: THE MIGHT by Siri Pettersen (Book 3 of the Raven Rings Trilogy)

Book review:

THE MIGHT (2015) by Siri Pettersen
(Book 3 of the RAVEN RINGS trilogy)

(Original Norwegian title: EVNA)

I have read the original Norwegian edition of Book 1 and 2 in this series. I was thoroughly hooked, and had to read the 3^rd and concluding book. (Which is no small feat! There's not much modern fantasy that I enjoy.)

THE MIGHT is not in any way a ”standalone” novel. The only proper way to read it is as the final part of the epic fantasy story of Hirka, a teenage girl who becomes a woman in her quest to survive and master a strange and often hostile world.

The brisk writing style, rich worldbuilding and complex characterizations are still as good as in the previous books. In fact, the ”shades of gray” in the characters become even subtler. As a writer, I really appreciate how Siri Pettersen doesn't settle for cardboard characters or simplistically evil villains.

For example: A neat twist among many is when a particularly nasty villainous figure turns out to be driven not by hatred or lust for power, but rather by a dispassionate, bureaucratic fixation on ”order.”

Though if you want fiery passions, bursts of magical power, epic battles, showdowns with destiny, strange imaginary worlds and great upheavals, then THE MIGHT delivers in spades. I won't spoil the ending, but I think it should satisfy most readers.

The plot element called ”The Might”, which is sort of this trilogy's equivalent to The Force in STAR WARS, was the part I found the most difficult to understand. So I focused on finding out how well it was used and depicted as a part of the story.

The plot focuses more intensely on The Might in this book, and how it might be used as a force for change. Here an overt message emerges: even in a fantasy setting, one cannot escape politics.

The Might is power, but it can't be made to vanish like Tolkien's famous rings – and people want that power to feel truly alive and free – so it has to be channeled. That's where Hirka changes from being merely a person gaining power, to a woman with a political vision – and visions are important to people, for good and ill.

It's only fair to mention that there's more sex and mature content in the third part of the trilogy, but most of it is only implied. Again, the author knows when to be subtle.

Look – I don't need to convince you to read THE MIGHT. I only need to convince you to start on the first book of the trilogy, and the rest will happen by itself. Let me just say that I heartily recommend the trilogy as a whole, for both teenage and adult readers of all stripes.

The Raven Rings Trilogy is a captivating experience with its own original vision, confidently written and very entertaining.


- Read my review of Book 1, ODIN'S CHILD, here
- Read my review of Book 2, THE ROT, here

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Take a walk on the weird side...

 

Read a sample from my "horror noir" book

PRECINCT 20: DEAD STRANGE

#horror #noir #CrimeFiction #literature #mystery #books #Lovecraft #paranormal #XFiles #TheTwilightZone #supernatural #urbanfantasy

This is DARC AGES

Long after our civilization has disappeared, a strange new age arises from the ruins...

This is DARC AGES.

https://www.amazon.com/DARC-AGES-Book-One-Illustrated/dp/1520157495/

 #darcages #scifi #books #literature #bookseries #postapocalyptic #postapocalypse #adventure #starwars #spaceopera #dune #postapocalypticfiction

Spänningsromanen REX OMEGA - recensioner sökes

Har du läst boken REX OMEGA?

Skriv då gärna en recension av den - på Facebook, Instagram, eller kanske här på Blogger...

REX OMEGA finns på biblioteket och i nätbokhandlarna. ---

#böcker #bokrecensioner #boktips

Book Review: I, ROBOT by Isaac Asimov

Book review:
I, ROBOT (1950) by Isaac Asimov

An enormously influential classic.

This book is a collection of short stories published between 1940 and 1950, connected by the common theme of how intelligent, benevolent robots enter human society and gradually gain more influence. .

In these early robot stories, Asimov introduced the Three Robot Laws - a programming which (presumably) prevents robots from becoming a menace. The Three Laws have since become a common trope in the SF genre. .

You can read I, ROBOT mainly as a series of detective stories where the prime suspects are robots, and the human investigators must figure out the logical explanation of a robot "malfunction."

These robot mysteries are entertaining, but seem rather simplistic today. (And the depiction of female characters have in some cases aged badly.)

I enjoyed I, ROBOT when I was a kid. I've been asking myself: is it "relevant" today? Perhaps, because robots really are starting to enter our daily lives - though not quite in the way Asimov imagined in the 1940s.

One issue I have with the robots depicted in I, ROBOT is that they are just too flawless to be believable. This has become much more glaring after the year 2000, when real nanocomputers, "expert systems" and self-driving vehicles are being developed.

We can see clearly now that in the real world such machines would "fail" a lot more than the author allowed them to do. The complexity of the real world could frequently overwhelm even the most "logical" robot. (Don't get me started on how an Asimovian robot might handle the infamous "Trolley Problem"!)

Recommended only as light entertainment from the days of old, but should not be taken seriously now.

#asimov #isaacasimov #irobot #bookstagram #scifi #sciencefiction #book #literature #bookreview #bookreviews #bookcover #bookcovers #bookstagrammers #bookbloggers #reviews #robots #ai #artificialintelligence

Allt vad jag har skrivit genom åren (uppdatering)...

Jag har skrivit historier sedan jag gick i skolan. Jag började med noveller, och det tog lång tid innan jag var redo att skriva en hel roman.

Sedan 2004 har olika förlag gett ut mina romaner och antologier/tidskrifter där mina noveller ingår.

Om vi inte inkluderar böcker/noveller som jag har gett ut på egen hand (eller enbart lagt ut på min webbsajt), så är dessa titlar som följer:

Romaner (finns på biblioteket eller på Bokus.com):

Terra Hexa (Wela Förlag, 2004) 

Terra Hexa II (Wela Förlag, 2006)

Terra Hexa 3 (Wela Förlag, 2007)

Supermobilen (Wela Förlag, 2011)

Sagopyjamasen (Wela Förlag, 2012)

Vaernen den fördömde (Wela Förlag, 2012)

Hundra tusen pirater (Wela Förlag, 2013)

Darc Ages - De mörka tidevarven - Första boken: Uppvaknandet (Wela Förlag, 2016)

Darc Ages - De mörka tidevarven - Andra boken: Ödemarkens barn (Wela Förlag, 2016)

Darc Ages - De mörka tidevarven - Tredje boken: Slaget om framtiden (Wela Förlag, 2016)

Monster i massor (Wela Förlag, 2016)

Darc Ages - De mörka tidevarven - Fjärde boken: Maskernas stad (Wela Förlag, 2017)

OBS: Hela katalogen med mina boktitlar på Wela Förlag har getts ut på nytt av Saga Egmont i år 2021.

Rex Omega (TiraTiger Förlag, 2019)

Blod & svin (Saga Egmont Förlag, 2021)


Publicerade noveller/långnoveller (OBS: Denna lista är ofullständig):

1. "Grisham's World" (Denna satiriska novell om ett samhälle styrt av advokater publicerades i tidskriften The #12 Gauge Review)
2. 
   
3. "Custom Job"
4. "I Feel Super, Thanks For Asking"
5. "By the Nose"
6. "The War"("Kriget")
7. "Sins of Our Fathers"
8. "Physical Terror"("Fruktans fysik")
9. "The Face In the Door"
10. "K.C. And the Sunshine World"
11. "See"(i en kinesisk SF-tidskrift)
12. "Lonely Planets"
13. "A Funny Thing Happened On the Way To Valhalla"
14. "Telephone Conversations" ("Telefonsamtal")
15. "Landscape With Sententers" ("Landskap med sententrer")
16. "Nightmare Number Six"
17. "Mannen som föll ut"
18. "Quadrillennium" ("Quadrillennium")
19. "Super-Size Security"(I det brittiska skräckmagasinet Murky Depths)
20. "Stupid!" (i en kinesisk SF-tidskrift)
21. "6 superkorta"
22. "Insider" ("Insider")
23. "Serverad"
24. "Avagana"
25. "Historien om P"
26. "A Man Called Mister Brown" (in Spacewesterns.com)

Min egenutgivning finns på Amazon, liksom alla boktitlar utgivna på Saga Egmont förlag.

Read a sample from PRECINCT 20: DEAD STRANGE

 

Read a sample from my "horror noir" book

PRECINCT 20: DEAD STRANGE

#horror #noir #CrimeFiction #literature #mystery #books #Lovecraft #paranormal #XFiles #TheTwilightZone #supernatural #urbanfantasy

A MAN CALLED MISTER BROWN And Other Stories

A collection of space opera, pastiche, short shockers and humorous tales. Available in paperback & ebook format.

Read a sample here:

#shortstories #books #scifi #sciencefiction #scifibooks #spaceopera #literature #pastiche