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List: themes:space-monks

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Anathem

by Neal Stephenson · published 2008 · read 2019-09-20

★★★★★

Anathem by Neal Stephenson kept me busy. Between a bunch of conferences, the sufficient concentration was a bit hard to come by. What's worse: Now that I have read it, I can't tell you if it is a good book or not.

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Too Like the Lightning

by Ada Palmer · published 2016 · last read 2021-12-06

★★★★★

For me, this was a five star books, plain and simple, but I completely understand why it would be a 0-, 1-, 2-star book for others. It's pretentious at times. It wants you to have classical knowledge of ancient Rome and 18th century Fr

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Seven Surrenders

by Ada Palmer · published 2017 · read 2018-04-17

★★★★★

The second volume is a bit less on the 18th century France presumptiousness spree (but adds in some more Greek history to make up for it). Very wow, including how Jehovah/JEDD and Bridger meet, Bridger's choice, the Major's identity and so

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A Canticle for Leibowitz

by Walter M. Miller Jr. · published 1959 · read 2022-03-28

★★★★★

Damn, rating this book is hard! The first part had me thinking that it was just standard (though not standart then, of course!) far-future post-fallout sci-fi where humanity lives in its own ruins. And then the second part was alright, e

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Ancillary Justice

by Ann Leckie · published 2013 · read 2018-03-13

★★★★★

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Three Worlds Collide

by Eliezer Yudkowsky · published 2009 · read 2018-07-05

★★★★☆

I always enjoy thought experiments with alien cultures with different values. This one was … well, very Yudkowsky-ish, which to me isn't only good in a story. It's still very enjoyable. Babyeathers and Super Happy People, y'all.

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The Sparrow

by Mary Doria Russell · published 1996 · read 2020-01-08

★★★★☆

I liked The Sparrow a whole lot. Part of that is just that I like the premise: Jesuit First Contact? Hell yes! The Jesuits are the science-minded and intellectual ones among the Catholic orders, and at the same time very capable of actions

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The Will to Battle

by Ada Palmer · published 2017 · last read 2022-10-03

★★★★☆

The Will to Battle is currently the last volume of Ada Palmer's brilliant Terra Ignota series. One volume is missing, and it's supposed to come out next year, and I bloody hope so because this one leaves me aching for more. As with th

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Cover of The Left Hand of Darkness.

The Left Hand of Darkness

by Ursula K. Le Guin · published 1969 · last read 2024-06-19

★★★★☆

Wow! This is a fantastic, clever, wonderful scifi book. I loved the explicitly humanoid species (that are probably expanded on, especially their origin, in other parts of the series). I loved the mostly-androgynous species, their peculiarit

Cover of On Venus, Have We Got a Rabbi!.

On Venus, Have We Got a Rabbi!

by William Tenn · published 1974 · read 2021-02-20

★★★★☆

You know how I'm into space monks, aka scifi that has serious thoughts about religion? Yes, this is it. Hilariously tongue-in-cheek, there's nothing I did not like about this short story. It's written in 1974, and thankfully available onlin

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Speaker for the Dead

by Orson Scott Card · published 1986 · last read 2022-08-29

★★★★☆

I prefer this book to the first, more famous one. It's deeper, and more powerful, and doesn't rely on one cheap trick.

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The God Engines

by John Scalzi · published 2009 · read 2020-06-22

★★★★☆

The God Engines is a fantasy-in-space novella that involves space ships powered by imprisoned gods.

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Lord of Light

by Roger Zelazny · published 1967 · read 2021-03-15

★★★★☆

Lord of Light is hard to describe without spoilers up to the last third of the book, so I won't even try. You have been warned: hic sunt ~~dracones~~ spoilers. Even adding this book to my "space monks" list is technically a spoiler.

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The Star

by Arthur C. Clarke · published 1955 · last read 2022-03-05

★★★★☆

A solid scifi short story. I probably shouldn't be surprised at Clarke's knowledge of the Jesuits. At only four pages, it felt well-written (but not quite as moving as it wants to be). This book is part of the [2022 Backlog Incident](/p

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Dune

by Frank Herbert · published 1965 · read 2018-07-09

★★★☆☆

Dune is a classic scifi novel, which can mean it's anywhere between breathtaking genius and hardly accessible anymore. I found it a bit difficult to get into at first, similar to Ancillary Justice. Once I grew used to the storytelling devic

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Hyperion

by Dan Simmons · published 1989 · read 2018-11-16

★★★☆☆

I think my problem with Hyperion were my expectations. The book is touted as one of the best scifi books out there, and it didn't live up to that. Apart from this, though, it's a fine scifi book – relatable characters, each presenting t

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Creatures of Light and Darkness

by Roger Zelazny · published 1969 · read 2022-01-21

★★★☆☆

Very Zelazny – I had hoped, after liking Lord of Light a lot, that something similar would work equally well. And it's somewhat similar, superficially. Egypt religion instead of Indian, but regardless, high-powered gods with their own age

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The Nine Billion Names of God

by Arthur C. Clarke · published 1967 · read 2019-02-19

★★★☆☆

I appreciated the woo, but. The Nine Billion Names of God is a short story typical of the Arthur C. Clarke times of scifi. Doesn't hurt to read, but by now it's predictable, and the premise was new then, but is ehhh today.

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The Dazzle of Day

by Molly Gloss · published 1997 · read 2022-06-28

★★★☆☆

Quakers leave the dying earth in a generation ship, then arrive at a new planet many generations later and have to decide what to do. I'm feeling a certain fondness towards the book, even though very little happens in the grand scheme of th

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Deryni Rising

by Katherine Kurtz · published 1970 · read 2022-07-11

★★★☆☆

Very solid medieval-ish fantasy. Fascinating how it has all the trappings of Catholicism (and not just the cheap standard stuff either, you can tell Kurtz knows her stuff!) but … very little of the substance? It's like an anti-Narnia in tha

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Dune Messiah

by Frank Herbert · published 1969 · read 2018-08-04

★★☆☆☆

I disliked Dune Messiah, and for different reasons than I disliked Dune. While my criticism regarding Good vs Evil characters from the first volume isn't relevant to the second one, Frank Herbert's narration style of showing the thoug

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The Last Starship from Earth

by John Boyd · published 1967 · read 2020-06-01

★★☆☆☆

I don't really know what to think about this book, because I'm not sure how much of it is serious, and how much is tongue-in-cheek. It takes place in a future where the state is run by Soc(iologists), Psyc(hologists), and the Church (led by

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Empress of Forever

by Max Gladstone · published 2019 · read 2021-09-24

★★☆☆☆

Max Gladstone is an author I like a lot. He's half of the brilliance of Time War, and his Craft Sequence is amazing second-world urban fantasy. I went into this book curious how Gladstone would approach Space Opera, but confident I woul