Tag: sff

Review – Vorkosigan Saga

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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Footprints

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

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

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

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

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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Sterile

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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Childhood’s End – Book Review

N.T. Kova

What can I say? This is a classic – read it! Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke is a fantastic tale of alien contact with earth. It explores the consequences of such contact with a mindful and engaging narrative. There are three sections to the book, each with its own mystery and its own characters. This approach allows the author to explore the impacts of an alien contact through a wide lens and keeps the reader engrossed in the world. One benefit of Clarke’s work is that it is 237 pages. It doesn’t waste the reader’s time with exposition or…

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Priestess

N.T. Kova

She stepped into the temple’s inner circle, where a seven sided star laid in the marble floor. In her hands, she carried a great bowl filled with five large gems. Tonight was the night between the Sun’s day and the Moon’s day, and this was an offering to the goddess honouring her role and sacrifice in creating this world. First, the priestess placed a red gem into a bowl at one of the short sides of the seven sided star. As soon as she placed the gem, the moonlight, coming in through the glass roof, hit it and fantastical images…

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