tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45397172768857797072025-09-22T00:18:08.553-07:00John Markleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16473300745301705046noreply@blogger.comBlogger152125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539717276885779707.post-19923606314700710172014-05-27T15:44:00.001-07:002014-05-30T00:54:45.148-07:00

Hey, all. Having realized a few months ago that I still wasn't quite as much of a dork as I might be, I've recently begun to dabble in Let's Play videos. Since it's science fiction-related, I thought I'd post a recent ongoing one here, a perilous interstellar journey through Subset Games' unforgiving space combat/strategy/roguelike-like game FTL: Faster Than Light! With the Federation torn by

John Markleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09310488407543217717noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539717276885779707.post-17511621269584846152014-05-22T14:39:00.001-07:002014-05-22T14:39:44.092-07:00

Today is the 10th anniversary of the death of actor Richard Biggs, who played Dr. Stephen Franklin on the classic science fiction TV series Babylon 5. Babylon 5 was one of my favorite shows growing up; had it not existed, this blog might not either, and Biggs' character and performance was one of the many things I loved about it. Sadly, he died at the age of only 44. This video was made by

John Markleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09310488407543217717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539717276885779707.post-62740782332580364282014-05-20T16:50:00.000-07:002014-05-20T16:50:04.109-07:00

Some very good news for American science fiction fans: Someone is finally publishing all five books in Neal Asher's Ian Cormac series in the United States of America- Gridlinked, The Line of Polity, Brass Man, Polity Agent, and Line War. Previously, people here who wanted copies of these books have had to resort to importing foreign editions of most of them.  I say “most of them” because

John Markleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09310488407543217717noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539717276885779707.post-26505561980761786542014-03-26T12:37:00.001-07:002014-03-26T12:37:42.052-07:00

The Judge of Ages is the third book in the science fiction series by John C. Wright that began with Count to a Trillion and continued with The Hermetic Millennia. (See my review here.) It follows directly from the second book and assumes familiarity with the offense and concepts of its predecessors, so it's definitely a series that should be read in order. In 11,000 AD, the Armada of an

John Markleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09310488407543217717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539717276885779707.post-23502200962497475582013-12-23T15:50:00.000-08:002013-12-23T15:50:00.459-08:00

Christmas is upon us! There's just too much cheer and good will this time of year, which means it's once again time to balance things out with an update of my traditional holiday post on The Star Wars Holiday Special. (Originally posted at Pointless Side Quest.) Please to enjoy, for a certain value of "enjoy." It's the Christmas season once again. It's a wonderful time of year but,

John Markleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16473300745301705046noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539717276885779707.post-84872615660807605012013-11-04T13:19:00.002-08:002013-11-04T13:27:32.031-08:00

Terminal World is a science fiction novel with steampunk elements by Alastair Reynolds, author the Revelations Space series, House of Suns, and others. It's completely stand-alone and doesn't require knowledge of any of Reynolds' previous work. In the distant future human civilization is clustered around the great city of Spearpoint, built on the surface of a huge spire extending up into the

John Markleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16473300745301705046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539717276885779707.post-77441062552736106592013-08-12T15:45:00.002-07:002013-08-12T15:45:45.994-07:00

A Natural History of Dragons is a fantasy novel by Marie Brennan, author of fantasy novels including Doppelganger and the Onyx Court series. It takes the form of a memoir written by its main character Isabella, Lady Trent, prominent naturalist and the world's foremost scientific authority on dragons. Born into an aristocratic family in Scirland and consumed from an early age by an interest in

John Markleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16473300745301705046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539717276885779707.post-66166811732870986022013-06-26T15:28:00.002-07:002013-08-08T23:25:14.208-07:00

I was sad to hear about the recent death of Iain Banks, published under the name Iain M. Banks when writing science fiction, author of science fiction books such Use of Weapons, Against a Dark Background, Consider Phlebas, and Look to Windward. He passed away on June 9th at the age of only 59. You can find more about him at his official website. My first experience reading Iain M. Banks was

John Markleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16473300745301705046noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539717276885779707.post-16684968451427892122013-04-16T14:12:00.000-07:002013-04-16T14:12:06.780-07:00

The Hermetic Millennia is a science fiction novel by John C. Wright, author of the "Golden Age" trilogy (The Golden Age, The Phoenix Exultant, and The Golden Transcendence) and a fantasy trilogy beginning with Orphans of Chaos, among others. It is the second book in his "Eschaton Sequence" and a direct sequel to his previous book Count to a Trillion, which should definitely be read first.

John Markleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16473300745301705046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539717276885779707.post-68890176602042842632013-02-09T13:32:00.000-08:002013-02-09T13:32:48.974-08:00

The Fractal Prince is the second novel by Hannu Rajaniemi and the sequel to his science fiction debut, The Quantum Thief. It continues the story of Jean le Flambeur, a daring adventure and thief in an advanced advanced far-future solar system. It is a direct sequel to that book, and I very strongly recommend reading its predecessor first. The story focuses on the city of Sirr, the

John Markleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16473300745301705046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539717276885779707.post-15097884072838707002013-01-01T11:42:00.000-08:002013-01-01T11:42:18.279-08:00

Another Christmas has come and gone, so I've once again decided to cross-post my traditional yearly post on The Star Wars Holiday Special from my other blog, Pointless Side Quest. Please to enjoy, for a certain value of "enjoy." It's the Christmas season once again. To celebrate, this is the time of year when this blog make a foray beyond the world of video games into the larger world of

John Markleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16473300745301705046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539717276885779707.post-56865505013187149202012-11-09T15:16:00.000-08:002012-11-09T15:16:55.251-08:00

A few days ago saw a grim date in American history, one that will long be remembered as an ominous turning point for America- nay, the entire world- and looked upon with horror by future generations cursed to live in its cold, bleak shadow... 'Cause it was my birthday on Wednesday! And it was a pretty nice birthday, in spite of some sad events that have marred the past year for me and my

John Markleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16473300745301705046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539717276885779707.post-27077343329324491062012-09-30T14:02:00.000-07:002012-09-30T14:02:26.515-07:00

Transcendent is a science fiction novel in Stephen Baxter's expansive “Xeelee Sequence” (Raft, Ring, Timelike Infinity, Vacuum Diagrams, etc.) and the third book in the “Destiny's Children” subseries, following Exultant and Coalescent. Like most of those books it has a more-or-less standalone story, but you'll get a lot more out of it if you're familiar with its universe; I'd recommend at

John Markleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16473300745301705046noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539717276885779707.post-81366155133025849662012-08-30T14:37:00.001-07:002012-08-30T14:37:31.120-07:00

Armored is a new collection of stories from Baen Books edited by John Joseph Adams, all based around the idea of powered armor. The idea of powered exoskeletons as weapons of war is a venerable one in the science fiction genre, figuring prominently in books such as Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein, The Forever War by Joe Haldeman, and one of my personal favorite novels, John Steakly's

John Markleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16473300745301705046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539717276885779707.post-56901503733349048882012-07-20T19:26:00.000-07:002012-07-20T19:26:11.507-07:00

Firebird by Jack McDevitt is the sixth book in McDevitt's ongoing science fiction series about far future antiquities dealer Alex Benedict and his assistant/partner/pilot Chase Kolpath. Ideally, I'd recommend reading the Alex Benedict series in order (A Talent for War, Polaris, Seeker, The Devil's Eye, Firebird) but like the other books in the series Firebird works quite well as a stand-alone

John Markleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16473300745301705046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539717276885779707.post-33803098185108088142012-06-09T15:30:00.000-07:002012-06-09T15:30:24.271-07:00

Orb Sceptre Throne by Ian C. Esslemont is the most recent book set in the same universe of the Malazan Book of the Fallen series by Steven Erikson, which Erikson and Esslemont created together, and Esslemont's fourth book in that universe. It is set chronologically after the eighth book in Erikson's series, Toll the Hounds, and picks up on many plot threads from that book and other earlier

John Markleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16473300745301705046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539717276885779707.post-57806866265561912632012-04-17T14:53:00.000-07:002012-04-17T14:53:05.901-07:00

In the Lion's Mouth is the third book in Michael Flynn's science fiction series that began with The January Dancer and was followed by Up Jim River. I'd recommend reading those before reading this one; it's not strictly necessary in order to understand what's going on during In the Lion's Mouth, but it certainly helps. In the far future, humanity is spread across countless worlds

John Markleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16473300745301705046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539717276885779707.post-80768791734987315472012-02-29T21:16:00.000-08:002012-02-29T21:16:55.512-08:00

Star Dragon is the debut novel of Mike Brotherton, who works as a professor of astronomy at the University of Wyoming. You can visit his website here. Centuries from now, in a world where biotechnology is ubiquitous in the human race has begun to spread outwards to other stars, a corporation called Biolathe receives a centuries-old radio transmission from an interstellar probe

John Markleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16473300745301705046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539717276885779707.post-58941431597792770922012-01-25T15:52:00.000-08:002012-01-25T15:52:22.217-08:00

Gilded Latten Bones is the 13th book in Glen Cook's Garrett, P.I. fantasy/detective series. Like all Garrett books, Gilded Latten Bones' primary plot stands alone, but I very strongly recommend reading the previous Garrett books before reading this one; the story is enjoyable on its own, but there's a lot about the book that is more effective if you've spent time with Garrett and company

John Markleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16473300745301705046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539717276885779707.post-27353840798412501272012-01-08T14:44:00.000-08:002012-01-11T23:49:29.509-08:00

Happy New Year, everybody! All in all, while Vast and Cool and Unsympathetic was not as active as many other science fiction blogs in 2011, I'm quite pleased with how things have turned out and hope to increase my output in 2012. I hope you've enjoyed reading it, and will continue coming back here in the year to come. I wanted to start this year off on a positive note by thanking some people

John Markleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16473300745301705046noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539717276885779707.post-82309127696719083942011-12-22T14:48:00.000-08:002011-12-30T17:49:20.274-08:00

Christmas is nearly upon us, so I've decided to cross-post my traditional yearly post on The Star Wars Holiday Special from my other blog, Pointless Side Quest. Please to enjoy, for a certain value of "enjoy." It's the Christmas season once again. To celebrate, this is the time of year when this blog make a foray beyond the world of video games into the larger world of holiday entertainment.

John Markleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16473300745301705046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539717276885779707.post-88243352736503151252011-11-29T17:57:00.000-08:002011-11-29T17:59:05.441-08:00

In addition to this blog, I'm also a regular contributor at several other sites, mostly video game-related. If that's also a topic you're interested in, or if for some reason you just want more of my unwieldy-mountain-of-clauses approach to writing, check out: Pointless Side Quest My other blog. Dedicated to the lowest form of geek humor: Jokes about video games. I do occasionally lower

John Markleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16473300745301705046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539717276885779707.post-44589526686999252042011-11-15T16:57:00.001-08:002011-11-15T16:59:58.543-08:00

Out of the Waters is the second novel in David Drake's “Books of the Elements” fantasy series, following The Legions of Fire. I recommend reading the first book before this one, though Out of the Waters is a self-contained story and stands up well on its own. Like its predecessor, Out of the Waters centers on the city of Carce, the capital of a sprawling empire. Gaius Alphenus Saxa, a

John Markleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16473300745301705046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539717276885779707.post-61009754565970847242011-10-07T15:52:00.000-07:002011-10-07T15:52:50.143-07:00

SF Signal had a Mind Meld feature a little while back that asked participants what science fiction or fantasy book they would like to experience reading for the first time again. I don't really have an answer to that. I often get a lot of my enjoyment from a book when I'm not actually reading it- when events or characters or ideas from it are just rolling around in after my head I've finished

John Markleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16473300745301705046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539717276885779707.post-10333022642765729292011-09-13T17:38:00.000-07:002011-09-13T17:38:09.942-07:00

The Moon Maze Game is the most recent collaboration by authors Larry Niven and Steven Barnes. It is the fourth book in their Dream Park series (preceded by Dream Park, The Barsoom Project, and The California Voodoo Game) and part of the same future history as some of their other collaborative works, but it's a self-contained story and stands fine on its own whether you've read the previous books

John Markleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16473300745301705046noreply@blogger.com0