Hey, we’ve got all those puzzles…maybe this is a good time to work on one?
There’s the border! This is kinda fun!
Hmmmm.
So many pieces. Why did we want to do this?
A little more progress.
A few sections are starting to come together.
Suddenly we hit the point of no return…
…and violà! Success!
Book eighteen of 2020: Fantastic Voyage by Isaac Asimov ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Sure, the miniaturization process is basically magic, and the only woman in the story is treated abysmally, even for Asimov. But if you can cope with those, the concept and adventure is still a lot of fun.
📚 seventeen of 2020: The Andromeda Strain, by Michael Crichton ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A fun, quick read; amusingly thematically appropriate for the moment. Only this has the advantage of being fictional with a satisfactory resolution. If only COVID-19 could be dealt with in five days.
📚 sixteen of 2020: This Immortal by Roger Zelazny ⭐️⭐️ 1966 Hugo Best Novel
Meh. Maybe it’s a combination of mid-60s SF and the current pandemic stress, and I might have been more receptive at another time, but this was a slog.
📚 fifteen of 2020: *batteries not included by Wayland Drew ⭐️⭐️⭐️
I had vague memories of the film, but as it turns out, very vague: other than the tiny flying saucers, none of this was familiar. A pleasant enough bit of fluff to distract myself with, but not much more.
📚 fourteen of 2020: The Last Best Hope by Una McCormack ⭐️⭐️⭐️
A direct prequel to the Picard series, detailing the struggles, triumphs, and travesties of the Romulan relief effort. Also the most politically & socially currently relevant Trek novel I’ve ever read. 🖖
📚 thirteen of 2020: Velocity Weapon by Megan E. O’Keefe ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ #PKDickAward nominee
Good grand scope space opera, with neat questions on consciousness and the psychology of AI as used in ships of war. Figured out many of the reveals quickly, but still quite good.
📚 twelve of 2020: Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea by Sarah Pinsker ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ #PKDickAward nominee
Really enjoyed this collection. Hopeful themes, and music winds its way through nearly every story in neat ways.
Happy Leap Day!
📚 eleven of 2020: The Little Animals by Sarah Tolmie ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ #PKDickAward nominee
Unlike most or all of the other nominees, this was more historical fiction with a thread of magical realism—not a bad thing, though, as it’s a neat work that I very much enjoyed.
