Books tagged with: hopeful

  • Pirate CinemaCory Doctorow
    Pirate Cinema
    by Cory Doctorow
    Science Fiction

    Cory Doctorow has a unique way of capturing the technological challenges of current times that speaks volumes, provocative and blended perfectly into an entertaining, rewarding story. Pirate Cinema is no exception and the fact that it is labelled as a "Young Adult" book should not put the older read...

  • Station ElevenEmily St. John Mandel
    Station Eleven
    by Emily St. John Mandel
    Science Fiction

    Day One - The Georgia flu sweeps the globe, a pandemic on a scale not seen before. Reports put the mortality rate at 99%. Week Two and most of Civilisation lies in ruins. Twenty years after the cataclysm and pockets of humanity have rebuilt settlements across the US. Things seem a lot less dangerous...

  • The Dog StarsPeter Heller
    The Dog Stars
    by Peter Heller
    Science Fiction

    Hig is a survivor, a lone pilot who's wife, friends and almost all neighbours are long dead. Living in the hanger of a small abandoned airport with only his dog and his gun-toting neighbour for company. He flies his 1956 Cessna around the perimeter looking out for trouble and occasionally sneaks off...

  • The Long CosmosTerry Pratchett
    The Long Cosmos
    by Terry Pratchett
    Science Fiction

    And so we come at last to the final volume in the remarkable journey that is The Long Earth . It also happens to be the swansong of that singular author Sir Terry Pratchett. And what a finale it is. The Long Cosmos lives up to the promise the authors have been building with this series, it is quite...

  • White Gold WielderStephen Donaldson
    White Gold Wielder
    by Stephen Donaldson
    Fantasy

    White Gold Wielder is the last book in the second of Stephen Donaldson's trilogies about the Leper Thomas Covenant and his journeys to the parallel reality known as "The Land". Regular visitors to the site may recall that I didn't think that much of the previous volume - "The One Tree" and I almost...

  • A Time for GriefAdrian Tchaikovsky
    A Time for Grief
    by Adrian Tchaikovsky
    Fantasy

    This is the second in the series of books of short stories in the shadows of the apt world from Newcon Press written by Adrian Tchaikovsky.  You don't need to have read Tales of the Apt book 1, Spoils of War, to appreciate this one, but it would probably help if you were familiar with the world as a...

  • CladeJames Bradley
    Clade
    by James Bradley
    Science Fiction

    Apocalyptic fiction has been growing in popularity for years, with most stories following some big cataclysmic event such as a zombie uprising, sweeping plague, nuclear war or the rise of artificial intelligence. Recently though novels have started to appear that seem much closer to reality, some of...

  • Record of a Spaceborn FewBecky Chambers
    Record of a Spaceborn Few
    by Becky Chambers
    Science Fiction

    A Hopeful Future Review kindly provided by Vanessa Smyth.  Welcome to the third and latest instalment in The Wayfarers series, Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers. This current narrative is set within the same captivating universe as the first two books and, despite a few oblique character l...

  • The Midnight LibraryMatt Haig
    The Midnight Library
    by Matt Haig
    Fantasy

    What is your  L imbo? Do you even believe such a place exists between life and death? I have always imagined that if it did exist it would be like a waiting area in which you have to make up for all t hose sins you did in life. For me, this will consist mainly  of  apologising to ants and spiders th...

  • Radio LifeDerek B Miller
    Radio Life
    by Derek B Miller
    Science Fiction

    What do we expect from the future?  I consider myself a half glass full type of person, but even my positivity has taken a battering in the past few years. A world buried under a sea of sand sounds like it may be better  in some circumstances. If we do find ourselves roaming a desolate future what w...

  • Twenty Five to LifeR. W. W. Greene
    Twenty Five to Life
    by R. W. W. Greene
    Science Fiction

    Dystopian fiction has been becoming increasingly popular in recent years, probably because many of us can see the tell-tale signs of it coming along the tracks in real life. This is a depressing thought, but one worth exploring. How will humans continue to survive on a planet they are poisoning? Som...

  • Our Child of Two WorldsStephen Cox
    Our Child of Two Worlds
    by Stephen Cox
    Science Fiction

    Having a family is a beautiful thing, but they can also be a pain. They do not listen and when they do, they get it wrong. Days are made up of petty squabbles that have lived below the surface for decades, but the foundation is all built on love. Writing a flawed, realistic family is not easy, but S...

  • The Tangleroot Palace & Other StoriesMarjorie Liu
    Fantasy

    If you go down to the woods today, you are in for a big surprise. Something far worse will be waiting for you than a few bears holding sandwiches. These are the ancient woods that our ancestors grew up near, pockets of civilisation surrounded by darkness and danger. When myths and folklore were bein...

  • Legends and LattesTravis Baldree
    Legends and Lattes
    by Travis Baldree
    Fantasy

    What is Comfy Fantasy? It is a new name for the type of fantasy that does not have you on edge all the time. As a genre fantasy can often feel epic, but also stressful. The heroes on the run from a darkness they cannot fathom, or a fellowship were hardly anyone can be trusted. Sometimes you just wan...

  • World Running DownAl Hess
    World Running Down
    by Al Hess
    Science Fiction

    If Science Fiction is to be believed the only bright thing about the future will be the burning rays of the sun beaming down to burn our skin. The futures grim, the futures dystopian. However, sci fi also tells us that humans will do what it takes to survive. Despite inescapable heat and roving band...

  • The Last Gifts of the UniverseRiley August
    Science Fiction

    Subgenres come and go and one that I have recently been enjoying is ‘Cosy Fantasy,’ what does that mean? Basically, fantasy with some of the trepidation taken out, a chance to get to know the characters and enjoy a fantasy setting in peace. Riley August’s The Last Gifts of the Universe opens my worl...

  • Future's EdgeGareth L Powell
    Future's Edge
    by Gareth L Powell
    Science Fiction

    The Earth has exploded killing all the inhabitants, the only survivors are those humans that happened to be off planet at the time. Does not sound like the start of a fun Science Fiction novel, does it? Douglas Adams would beg to differ and so would Gareth L. Powell. Future’s Edge is the author’s la...

  • Clockwork BoysT Kingfisher
    Clockwork Boys
    by T Kingfisher
    Fantasy

    The fantasy genre has the reputation of producing books big enough that you could use as a casual seat, trilogies that you could line up, throw some cushions on top and make into a settee. It does not have to be this way and T Kingfisher has certainly bucked the trend with Clockwork Boys, which come...