Science Fiction

Canned Haminal by Crystal Chesney-Thompson

This Book Is About

Hmmm…a regular pig seems just too big to distribute in a handy consumer grade can. But wait, clever food scientists have found a way to combine a guinea pig, a hamster, and a regular ‘ol porker to create a cute and tasty critter just right for canned distribution. Behold the Haminal.

“He’s smaller, tastier / boneless and pink… / and fits in a can so much better, we think.”

more »

The Whirligig of Time by Lloyd Biggle Jr.

This Book Is About

Jan Darzek, former private detective from Earth and now First Councilor of the Galaxy, has encountered his most baffling case. The planet Nifron D has been inexplicably turned into a sun. A quarter of a galaxy away, a native on the planet Skarnaf has been found horribly disfigured by an impossibly massive dose of radiation. While Darzek searches for a connection between the two events, the populous and prosperous world of Vezpro receives a blackmail letter that threatens it with the fate of Nifron D. In a crimeless society, has a master scientist turned master criminal? Darzek must decide quickly whether the letter is a monstrous hoax. If it is not, how can the impossible demands be met — or five billion inhabitants evacuated in time?

more »

Pixy Junket by PURE

This Book Is About

When an innocent pixy named “Pacifica” appears and attaches herself to young rapscallions Tatsuki and Shin, the government and a host of nefarious characters all want to kidnap her for their personal gain! The last surviving member of the royal family thinks Pacifica will grant him eternal life. A genie claims, “Pixies are the treasures of this world, with the power to integrate anything and everything in the universe.” Our heroes, frankly, care more about where their next gourmet meal is coming from.

more »

Guns of the South by Harry Turtledove

ABC Historical FictionPart of the A-Zed Historical Fiction Review project
G is for Guns of the South
Guest review by John W. Oliver, Writer.

This Book Is About

Northern Virginia is ragged and ill-equipped. The battle of Gettysburg has broken the back of the Confederacy and decimated its manpower. Then Andries Rhoodie, a strange man with an unplaceable accent, approaches Lee with an extraordinary offer. Rhoodie demonstrates an amazing rifle; its rate of fire is incredible, its lethal efficiency breathtaking–and Rhoodie guarantees unlimited quantities to the Confederates.

The name of the weapon is the AK-47.

more »

High Aztech by Ernest Hogan

This Book Is About

Viva Xoltotl!

Tenochtitlan, once known as Mexico City, is the hottest, most exciting city in the year 2045. Stainless steel pyramids pierce the sky. Aztec fundamentalists, with artificial hearts, worship the sun with blood and lasers. And Xólotl Zapata, renegade cartoonist, is running for his life.

Everyone is after Zapata: the government, the Mafia, street gangs, cults, and garbage collectors. Why? Because 21st century science has developed a virus that can “infect” any human mind with religion – and Zapata is the carrier!

more »

Simping Detective by Simon Spurrier & Frazer Irving

This Book Is About

Mega-City One, 2129 AD. Simped-up private eye Jack Point is an undercover ‘Wally Squad’ Judge – ‘cos only a clown would want to walk the streets of Angeltown, the scuzziest part of City Bottom. He’s got two friends in this world, one’s long and hard, and makes your ears ring after every shot; the other’s his gun. In fact, Jack’s got enemies on both sides of the Law, and he’s never far from trouble.

more »

Korgi: Sprouting Wings by Cristian Slade

This Book Is About

KORGI is a woodland fairytale about a young mollie named Ivy, her korgi cub Sprout, and their amazing adventures in Korgi Hollow. In the first volume of this all-ages graphic novel series, Ivy and Sprout discover some interesting things about themselves as they stray from their village and face danger for the first time. more »

Automatic Detective by A. Lee Martinez

This Book Is About

Front cover of Automatic DetectiveEven in Empire City, a town where weird science is the hope for tomorrow, it’s hard for a robot to make his way. It’s even harder for a robot named Mack Megaton, a hulking machine designed to bring mankind to its knees. But Mack’s not interested in world domination. He’s just a bot trying to get by. When Mack’s neighbors are kidnapped, he sets off on a journey through the dark alleys and gleaming skyscrapers of Empire City. Along the way, he runs afoul of a talking gorilla, a brainy dame, a mutant lowlife, a little green mob boss, and the secret conspiracy at the heart of Empire’s founders – not to mention more trouble than he bargained for. What started out as one missing family becomes a battle for the future of Empire and every citizen that calls her home.

more »

Robotika by Alex Sheikman

This Book Is About

Niko, the Steampunk Samurai, is in her Majesty’s service. But is he a faithful royal bodyguard, or a for-hire yojimbo? A perfect warrior, or a soulless weapon? Follow Niko on his journey of self-discovery with Uri Bronski and Cherokee Geisha, as the Three Yojimbo discover a world populated by silent samurai, fast talking geisha, deadly mechabetsushikime, digital djihits and morphing butterflies.

more »

WE3 by Grant Morrison & Frank Quitely

This Book Is About

Front cover of We3

Deep inside a top-secret U.S. Air Force research facility, a revolution in cybernetics is taking shape. Using ordinary domestic animals for their test subjects, the scientists of Project AWE have created a new class of cyborgs… With their nervous systems enhanced and supplemented by cutting-edge military hardware, WE3 are the ultimate smart weapons… But successful as they are, WE3 are still only prototypes, to be dismantled when their testing is complete. Inside their fearsome mechanical shells, however, are three lost pets whose amplified traits include the will to survive-an instinct which proves to be even stronger than their makers knew. Faced with destruction, WE3 runs-out into a frightening and confusing world, where they are now as much of a threat as those who hunt them. Relentlessly pursued, WE3 fights with the combined firepower of a battalion-and a faint, warm memory of somewhere called “Home”.

more »