Category Archives: Book Reviews

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Book Review: Physics of the Impossible by Michio Kaku

Physics of the Impossible by Michio KakuCo-founder of String Field Theory, Doctor Michio Kaku discusses the scientific plausibility of a wide range of popular science fiction devices, abilities, and technologies in his book, Physics of the Impossible.

The topics covered in this engaging analysis include force fields, invisibility cloaks, phasers, laser beams, lightsabers, teleportation, telepathy, time travel, robots, psychokinesis, UFOs, alien races, faster than light travel, and more. Doctor Kaku references many popular SF TV shows and films including Star Trek, Star Wars, Flash Gordon, Back to the Future, Doctor Who, The Fly, Independence Day, E.T., and others.

I was delighted to note that Doctor Kaku also draws from a rich array of SF novels and short stories such as The Man Without a Body by Edward Page Mitchell, The Disintegration Machine by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Slan by A.E. van Vogt, Larry Niven’s Ringworld series, Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series, Douglas Adams’s Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and the works of Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, Arthur C. Clarke, and Robert Heinlein.

Backed by practical and theoretical physics, chemistry, biology, and a rich history of scientific discoveries, Doctor Kaku offers detailed explanations as to which fictional technologies and abilities might be possible in the future and which are simply impractical—at least based on our current understanding of science.

Physics of the Impossible is by far one of the most enthralling and illuminating scientific discourses I’ve read to date. I equate Doctor Kaku with Doctors Carl Sagan and Neil deGrasse Tyson for his considerable talents as a science communicator.

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Book Review: Isaac Asimov’s Pebble in the Sky

Isaac Asimov's Pebble in the SkyAn accident at the Institute for Nuclear Research in Chicago releases a stray beam of radiation across the city, striking an innocent pedestrian by the name of Joseph Schwartz. No sooner does Schwartz step over a discarded rag doll on a busy street than he finds himself wandering for miles through dense woods.

Schwartz eventually stumbles onto a highway that leads him to a remote farmhouse where he seeks help, yet the residents do not understand a word of his frantic pleas. Despite their trepidation that he might be an “outsider,” they take him in for the night.

The next day, one of the farmers escorts a frightened and despondent Schwartz into the city of Chica where he is experimented upon using a device called the Synapsifier, which allegedly accelerates the human brain’s ability to learn. The machine is the invention of seasoned neurosurgeon, Doctor Affret Shekt who is assisted in his work by his daughter, Pola.

Schwartz quickly escapes from the hospital and slowly begins to develop the ability to read minds. Along the way, he becomes a fluent speaker of the native language and realizes that, somehow, he was hurled far into Earth’s future on that disorienting day in Chicago—a future in which the planet is a second-class member of a Galactic Empire!

It isn’t long before Schwartz finds himself embroiled with the Shekts and a brash archaeologist named Bel Arvardan from Sirius who visits Earth in an attempt to prove his theory that the planet is the origin of the human race. Together, the four uncover a conspiracy to destroy all life on the other planets in the Empire—but can they convince the authorities before it’s too late?

Pebble in the Sky is an engaging read, but it struck me that the protagonist, which one presumes to be Schwartz, becomes lost for several chapters as the other characters, especially Bel Arvardan and Pola Shekt, take prominence. It isn’t until his psychic ability fully manifests that Schwartz once again becomes crucial to the plot.

Further, the main villain in the conspiracy against the other planets is not revealed until the final quarter of the story. Before this, the character appears only briefly. Despite these observations, Pebble in the Sky is notable for its tangential place in the Galactic Empire of Asimov’s Foundation series.

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Book Review: The Stars, Like Dust by Isaac Asimov

After narrowly escaping a radiation bomb planted in his dorm room on Earth, Biron Farrill is confronted with news of his father’s arrest and possible execution by the Tyranni, alien conquerors of the Nebular Kingdoms. Farrell’s father, the famous and respected Rancher of Widemos, was believed to be involved in plotting an insurrection against the Tyranni.

The Stars Like Dust by Isaac AsimovAccording to Farrill’s enigmatic acquaintance, Sander Jonti, the arrest of Farrill’s father was arranged by Hinrik V, Director of Rhodia and obsequious servant to the Tyranni. Jonti convinces Farrill to leave Earth and travel to Rhodia to seek an audience with Hinrik. He even provides Farrill with a letter of introduction, having previously worked for the Director.

Although traveling incognito, Biron is arrested and questioned aboard ship by the Tyranni Commissioner, Simok Aratap. From the commissioner, Farrill learns that his father has been executed for treason, yet he maintains his assumed identity of Biron Malaine and feigns ignorance about the Rancher of Widemos. Aratap releases Farrill but keeps him under surveillance.

On Rhodia, Hinrik orders Farrill imprisoned and contacts Aratap. Farrill quickly escapes, aided by Hinrik’s daughter, the lovely Artemisia, and his cousin, a dilettante named Gillbret. Both despise the Tyranni and yearn to leave Rhodia. After the trio steals Aratap’s ship, Gillbret regales Biron and Artemisia with a story about a mysterious “rebellion world” where ships and men were being assembled to overthrow the Tyranni. Although Gillbret is uncertain of the planet’s exact location, there is one man who might know, the Autarch of Lingane.

Upon arrival on Lingane, Biron strikes an uneasy alliance with the Autarch and together, they embark on an expedition into the Horsehead Nebula in search of the “rebellion world.”

The Stars, Like Dust is a fine interstellar adventure that moves at a steady pace but—as with many classic SF novels—lacks much in the way of character development. Despite a few clichéd, predictable plot points and occasional melodramatic dialogue, there are one or two unexpected twists that successfully fuel story tension.

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Book Review: Arthur C. Clarke’s Glide Path

Arthur C. Clarke - Glide PathDuring WWII, Flying Officer Alan Bishop is reassigned from England’s Northern Coastal Defence to a new project involving the development of a new radar-based airplane guidance system called Ground-Controlled Descent (GCD). Its purpose is to guide military craft to safe landings during dense fog or inclement weather. Along with a team of soldiers and scientists, and a trio of Women’s Auxiliary Air Force operators, Bishop leads the testing of the GCD in both staged exercises and actual landings in a small airfield near Land’s End in Cornwall.

Arthur C. Clarke’s only non-SF novel, Glide Path was inspired by his participation in the development of Ground Controlled Approach (GCA) during his wartime service with the Royal Air Force.

Such a topic alone does not constitute interesting fodder for fiction, and at times, I was reminded of Clarke’s Prelude to Space, a fictional chronicling of man’s first mission to the moon in the late 1950’s with little in the way of plot or conflict.

Much of the conflict in Glide Path remains in the background and stems from Bishop’s concerns over the declining health of his father, his feelings of inferiority compared to the brilliant scientists and skilled pilots on the team, pressure from skeptical generals, and an adversarial relationship with one particular RAF pilot who becomes competition for the affections of a local harlot.

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Book Review: A. E. Van Vogt’s Renaissance

Renaissance by Van VogtIn the year 2023, a revolution is brewing against the alien overlords of Earth known as the Utt. Forty years prior, after their swift and peaceful subjugation of every world government, it had been the Utt’s conclusion that most of planet’s tribulations had been the fault of men. Thus, the Utt enacted laws that made women the dominant sex. All men are required to undergo a procedure that leaves them nearsighted and are forced to wear chemically treated glasses that somehow leaves them emasculated.

However, when Peter Grayson, a physicist for a chemical company, finds both lenses of his rose-tinted glasses cracked, he uses a special transparent tape to repair them—and quickly discovers that his simple repair nullifies the submissive power of the glasses and liberates him from the oppression of his domineering wife.

Shortly after, Grayson finds himself embroiled in the male revolution against the Utt, a situation which he attempts to manipulate for his own personal gain…

I found Renaissance to be the weakest of all Van Vogt books I’ve read so far. Published in 1979, the quality was nowhere near his earlier work. The concept is preposterous and served as little more than an opportunity for a plot laden with blatant and cringeworthy male wish fulfillment. Worse, the prose was clunky and riddled with awkward sentence structure, inelegant wording (ex: “From that very first moment, being scientifically trained, Grayson did his trying-to-understand-with-his-knowledge.”), and scenes that served little to no purpose. Some plot elements that held the promise of an ultimate climax never paid off in the end.

If you want to explore the best works of Van Vogt, avoid Renaissance and read his earlier work such as Slan, The World of Null-A, Voyage of the Space Beagle, The Twisted Men, The Weapon Shops of Isher, and The Weapon Makers, to name a few.

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Book Review: The Weapon Makers by A.E. Van Vogt

A.E. Van Vogt - The Weapon MakersTwo thousand years in the future, the solar system is united under the monarchy of the Isher family. To keep the government in check and ensure against tyranny, a guild known as the Weapon Shops has for generations provided technologically advanced arms to the citizens and maintained a close watch on imperial affairs. Naturally, this arrangement often sets guild and government at odds with one another.

The situation reaches a boiling point when Empress Innelda learns of a Weapon Shop spy among her court in the form of Captain Robert Hedrock. When the captain learns that Innelda plans to execute him, Hedrock mounts a bold and public defense, which results in his temporary expulsion from the palace. However, Hedrock learns that Innelda is concealing the existence of an interstellar drive from the Weapons Shops and the public in the hopes of bolstering Isher supremacy.

On this way out of the palace, Hedrock is arrested by officers of the Weapons Shops on the charge of subterfuge against the guild! He is brought before the council and interrogated about his mysterious background. When his answers fail to satisfy them, the councilmen order his execution. After mounting yet another daring escape, Hedrock sets out to reveal Innelda’s clandestine project to the world—an adventure which pits him against criminal elements on Earth and bizarre telepathic aliens in interstellar space…

A sequel to The Weapon Shops of Isher, The Weapon Makers begins as a fast-paced tale of intrigue that occasionally waxes melodramatic and, late in the plot, veers off course into ethereal concepts and bombastic language that feel contrived, especially during Hedrock’s encounters with the telepathic aliens. The story is a mélange of fantasy and science fiction that doesn’t always mesh well. Nevertheless, Van Vogt’s reputation as a master of imaginative fiction remains intact.