N.T. Kova

Review – Fritz Leiber Short Stories

December 26, 2019December 26, 2019 N.T. Kova

I listened to three short stories by Fritz Leiber, a prolific speculative fiction writer in the mid to late 20th century. The stories themselves are alright. Perhaps, I didn’t like them as much because they are dated, perhaps because of the narrator that I found so annoying (he was actually doing a robot voice), I’m not really sure. This was another case that I’m sure I would have enjoyed the stories more if I had read them rather than listened. I did get the recordings for free from Librivox, who record public domain works. I do want to say something…

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Review – Vorkosigan Saga

December 13, 2019December 13, 2019 N.T. Kova

I’ve read the Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold over 12 years ago and have recommended it to all my friends, some of whom took me up on it and loved it as well. This series is actually what got me back into reading after a long dry spell, where I would maybe read a book a year for school, maybe. What’s even more remarkable is that I read them in Russian. My reading speed in Russian was abhorrent, in the start of the series I think I read about 15 pages an hour, but the books were interesting enough…

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Review – I Still Dream

November 28, 2019November 28, 2019 N.T. Kova

Read it! This is an interesting novel utilizing multiple time jumps and character views to explore the birth of an artificial intelligence. It starts in the early days of personal computing when most people didn’t own a computer and continues into the decades where basically everything is a computer. In each chapter, with each time jump, the novel deals with a new problem, a new life challenge; and as you see the problem play out, you also see the rise of AI and its ubiquity. It is easy to imagine nowadays how easy it would be for a program to…

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Footprints

November 21, 2019November 21, 2019 N.T. Kova

I pointed my rifle to the ground and used my left hand to shield my face as I walked through the branches. I felt the cold tinge of snow on the back of my neck and tried to shake it out. After giving up, I grabbed the rifle with both of my hands and proceeded further into the woods in knee deep snow. I knew the likelihood of sneaking up on a deer was basically zero. It was a bright, calm day and the forest was quiet, unlike my steps. On the other hand, deer were reluctant to move in…

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Review – Play to Live

November 14, 2019November 14, 2019 N.T. Kova

Play to Live is the first book in a series called AlterWorld and I’d recommend you read it! It is a fun adventure full of high stakes and riveting challenges. The series is seven books long and a page turner throughout. I listened to these books in audio format and was entertained for multiple weeks of commutes and household chores. Not going to lie, I’ve even started to do more chores in order to continue listening to this book. The combination of the writing style, the humour, and the exciting world keeps you engaged and engrossed. Again, Read it! The…

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Review – Frankenstein

October 31, 2019October 31, 2019 N.T. Kova

First thing I want to say about Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is that the actual book is very different than what’s in the pop culture ethos. Yes, there are the little things like, Frankenstein isn’t the monster, he is the guy who created the monster and no, he wasn’t a doctor. But the differences are actually a lot more interesting and make the book a worthy read. Despite all of the adaptations in pop culture of this book, the original story is often lost. The story is written from the perspective of a character that is nowhere to be found in…

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Discovery

October 24, 2019October 24, 2019 N.T. Kova

Emily swiped her card. The little red light turned to green and she walked into the warm embrace of the hallway. She shook her umbrella and let it drip as she made her way into the break room. The building was quiet and the rare light coming in from the break room was inviting. As usual, Emily made her way in, hung her coat, placed down her umbrella, and powered up the expresso machine. The noise from the water pump broke the silence and then the whirling blades overwhelmed the pump. The smell of fresh ground coffee filled the room…

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Roadside Picnic – Review

October 19, 2019October 19, 2019 N.T. Kova

Right away – Read it! This is a sci-fi classic. Sure, it is Russian sci-fi classic, but I’d say it’s on the level of Arthur C. Clarke and others. Disclaimer, I read this in Russian, but the tidbits of translations I’ve seen seem to be good. There might be a few cultural references that will be hard to understand, but the book is still fantastic without them. The title of the book, Roadside Picnic, is a fantastic analogue for an alien visit that is almost nonexistent in sci-fi: aliens either want to kill us or to make friends. I don’t…

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The Hound – Review

October 10, 2019October 9, 2019 N.T. Kova

H.P. Lovecraft’s The Hound is a short story written as a last confession and suicide note, a common form for Lovecraft’s writings. I actually never read Lovecraft before this and was truly impressed with the language. I am someone who tends to remember the story or the characters and pay little attention to the style or word choice, but Lovecraft is a notable exception. The language is part of the story as much as the characters or the events. It sets the mood and tells us about the author of the confession. The word choice also underlines the other-worldliness of…

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Sterile

September 26, 2019September 26, 2019 N.T. Kova

The waiting room was sterile white and had an artificial lavender scent that was trying to mask the pungent smell of adhesives. The young, pretty receptionist was sitting at her desk, doing her best to ignore the waiting patient. Emily was sitting right in front of her and couldn’t help but notice that the receptionist was perfect, everything exactly where it should be. Her straightened raven hair reached just above her cheekbones, her red lips radiated against her porcelain skin, a silver heart necklace poured out of her smooth neckline, all the while her long fingers danced majestically over the…

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