Off the Bookshelf: Summer’s End

A beautiful sunset filled with tinges of orange, red, and yellow. A baseball field appears in the foreground; a large tree is silhouetted off to the right in the background

The final third of my summer reading list proved to be more challenging than I expected, mostly because of the amount of time I spent on Kim Stanley Robinson’s dense-but-enjoyable 2312. The book dominated my August, and forced me to finish up the last book on my list, Forsaken Skies, after Labor Day. As for … Read more

Off the Bookshelf: Mid-Summer 2017

Adirondack chairs gathered around a firepit near a lake.

I tore through the heart of my summer reading list in July, knocking out six novels in a month. Four of these were read during my family’s annual week-long vacation to Lake Champlain. I probably could have read more if we’d spent another day or two on the lake, but unfortunately reality beckoned us home. This was … Read more

Summer Reading List 2017

Several difference science fiction book covers shown side-by-side.

Welcome to Nuketown’s 10th annual summer reading list! As with previous years, this year’s list is heavy on space opera and military science fiction but includes a smattering of fantasy. It includes 17 novels, 1 novella, and 8 graphic novels. That’s one more novel than my Summer 2016 reading list. It’s a stretch, but I’m … Read more

Summer Reading List 2014

Hellboy, all red with a full set of demonic horns that radiate golden light, sits against a black background.

Summer is coming. It’s bringing with it alien worlds, starship battles, ancient mysteries, and sequels. Lots of sequels. No, I’m not talking about movies — I’m talking books, specifically my Summer Reading List for 2014.

Summer Reading List 2012

A spaceship descends through a planet's atmosphere.

Summer’s come and gone and so has my annual summer reading list. I blogged about the “prelist” back in the spring, but never got around to posting a formal list to Nuketown even though I put one together on GoodReads. Here is is, complete with status: 2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson Caliban’s War by James … Read more

Off the Bookshelf: Altered Carbon, The January Dancer, Dreadnaught, In Death Ground

 DreadnaughtI’ve been able to make a serious dent in my summer reading list over the last few months, knocking out four books in two months.

Given how busy work has been, that’s not to bad. Of course, it helps that I was on vacation for 10 days, which allowed me to knock out two of the books (Dreadnaught, In Death Ground) and most of a third (The Shiva Option, the sequel to In Death Ground).

The 8-hour road trip to get our vacation spot also allowed me to make a serious dent in the audio version of The Letter of Marque by Patrick O’Brian, one of his Aubrey/Maturin novels about naval warfare in the early 1800s.

Off the Bookshelf: Redemption Ark, Dreaming Void, Far Side of the World

I’m off to a good start on my Summer 2009 Reading List, having made a considerable dent it during my early summer vacation by reading Alistair Reynolds’ Redemption Ark, Peter F. Hamilton’s The Dreaming Void and finally finishing the audio version of Patrick O’Brain’s The Far Side of the World. Redemption Ark Redemption Ark by … Read more

What I’m Reading Now, May 2004 Edition

Master and Commander by Patrick O’Brian: Historical naval fiction set in the waning years of the 18th century, this novel follows the adventures of Captain Jack Aubrey and his enlightened ship’s surgeon, Doctor Stephen Maturin as they wages war against foes of the British Empire. This book inspired half of last year’s movie Master & … Read more