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David McK (3172 KP) rated The Time Machine in Books

Jan 28, 2019  
The Time Machine
The Time Machine
H.G. Wells | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
6
7.9 (21 Ratings)
Book Rating
Classic HG Wells science fiction, which (I have read) is often credited with popularizing the phrase of a 'Time Machine'.

Presented in the first person, this is told mainly as that first person retelling the story as it was told to him (and several of his companions) by the (un-named) Time Traveller over dinner, with that Traveller claiming to have traveled several millenia into the future, to the year 802,701 (to be precise).

Once there, he finds that mankind has degenerated into two distinct species: the ephemeral child-like Eloi (who have a complete lack of curiosity) and the underground dwelling malicious Morlocks. Initially finding himself trapped when his mode of transportation disappears/is stolen and locked away by the Morlocks, the bulk of the novel deals with the Time Travellers (in the end successful) attempt to regain said machine in order to travel back to his own time, albeit with a brief excursion into the even-further future.

You know how time travel is often shown of TV/in the movies? With a clock hand whizzing around a face, or with day and night and seasons flickering past? The latter is almost exactly how the process is described in this - I think it may be a fair bet to say that, without this story, we would have movies the likes of (say) Back to the Future!
  
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Christine A. (965 KP) rated Thin Air in Books

Jan 22, 2019 (Updated Jan 22, 2019)  
Thin Air
Thin Air
Richard K. Morgan | 2018 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Stand-alone SciFi novel from the author of "Altered Carbon"
I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review.

I was excited to see Richard K. Morgan was coming out with a new book. I enjoyed both the book and television series of "Altered Carbon". I had a difficult time getting into the book and, if I did not have to finish it, I probably would have stopped about 100 pages in. However, right there is where I started enjoying the book so I am glad I continued.

Hakan Veil is an ex–corporate enforcer equipped with body tech that's enables him to be a killing machine. His former employers dumped him off on Mars and he wants to return to his home planet, Earth. He is given that chance in exchange for babysitting an investigator from Earth, Madison Madekwe. His killing skills and military-grade body tech come in handy as he tries to help unravel the mystery surrounding Madison's investigation.

Veil's interaction with his internal AI is amusing and a big part of why I enjoyed the novel.

Richard K. Morgan's "Thin Air" is his first Science Fiction book published, according to Goodreads, in eight years. While it is in the same universe as "Thirteen", it is a stand-alone novel and you do not need to read it first.
  
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Phil Leader (619 KP) rated Dragonsdawn (Pern: Dragonriders of Pern, #6) in Books

Nov 12, 2019  
Dragonsdawn (Pern: Dragonriders of Pern, #6)
Dragonsdawn (Pern: Dragonriders of Pern, #6)
Anne McCaffrey | 1989 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
7
7.8 (5 Ratings)
Book Rating
The first of the Pern novels that fills in the backstory of the main sequence of books, this tells the tale of the first few years of the colonisation of Pern from a delegation from Earth. They find a lush paradise full of interesting plants and animals and spread out across the warm southern continent. And then the Thread starts to fall...

Teased by the end of The White Dragon, this is a full-blown science fiction novel. The various plot points don't just cover the details of the human habitation and the devastating impact of Thread on an unprepared populace, but also provides dramatic tension in the greed of a small number of the colonists in trying to secure what riches there are on the planet.

This is a more-or-less essential read for anyone who enjoys the Pern novels, so much of the way the later society works, and the dragons themselves, are explained. It is not perfect, however. It is a pretty much by-the-numbers story, with a lot of the outcomes already known and some of the sub plots are superfluous and slow some parts down too much. Also the need to namecheck every Weyr and reference from the original novels is a little tiresome - and unnecessary.

Still, a solid entry on the impressive list of novels that does deliver what it promises.