📚 twenty-two of 2020: Nothing Lasts Forever by Roderick Thorp ⭐️⭐️⭐️
On its own, a fairly standard action thriller. But as the source material for Die Hard, it’s a fascinating artifact. Surprisingly similar, and all changes made for the film were for the better.
📚 twenty-one of 2020: Matter’s End by Gregory Benford ⭐️⭐️
An average collection of short stories, some of which show their age more than others—especially one that starts with a riff on Mormon missionaries and ends with what comes across as (unconscious?) Islamophobia.
📚 twenty of 2020: Starman by Alan Dean Foster ⭐️⭐️⭐️
A pleasant and easy adaptation of an 80s SF film that I remember enjoying when it came out. It’s another of the “benevolent alien meets paranoid humans” contact stories, but does it simply and well.
📚 nineteen of 2020: The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1967 Hugo Best Novel
Once again, Heinlein has strong and interesting SF (the moon declaring independence) coupled with politics I don’t entirely go for and serious issues with women and sexism.
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.