James Pyles's Blog, page 17

Review of “Murderbot Diaries Book 6: Fugitive Telemetry” (2021) by Martha Wells

Last night I just finished book seven in Martha Wells’ Murderbot Diaries series called Fugitive Telemetry. The story is actually set between books five and six, but that doesn’t take anything away from the adventure. SecUnit, otherwise known as “Murderbot,” is basically a cybernetic being, mostly machine with some organic parts. They (technically SecUnit has […]

Compensation for a Spider

“Please don’t struggle,” She gently crooned. “Don’t you see how we’re honoring you?” “Honor?” Only his face was exposed in the webbing. “You call being eaten an honor? You’re going to kill me, my children, my grandbabies. How is that an honor?” “Dearest offering.” She stroked his hair lovingly. “You are an atonement for what […]

Interviewed by Superversive SF Livestream about “The Last Oasis of Mars”

I mentioned before how I was going to be interviewed by Superversive SF about my short story The Last Oasis of Mars published at High Tower Magazine. That happened a little while ago and here is the YouTube video: We spent about ninety minutes talking not only about my stories, but pirates, the nature of […]

Read “The Last Oasis of Mars” at “High Tower Magazine” NOW!

If you like my work, buy me a virtual cup of coffee at Ko-Fi. It’s here! More specifically, my short story The Last Oasis of Mars: From the Tales of the Razzle Dazzle is at High Tower Magazine. Join (a fictionalized version of) writer Jack London and the Captain and crew of the pirate ship […]

Book Review of “Timeline” (1999)

If you like my work, buy me a virtual cup of coffee at Ko-Fi. Last night I finished reading Michael Crichton’s 1999 novel Timeline. I’ve always been a sucker for a time travel story, and this one is more unusual than most. First, Crichton, who passed away in 2008, was not only an excellent writer, […]

We’re Not As Alone As You Think

She was alone in the deserted park two blocks from home when she heard his breathing. It was too late to run. Rough hands grabbed her from behind. Instead of screaming, she whirled around in his grip and exposed her vampire’s fangs. “What? You too?” Nigel retracted his fangs and stood back looking disappointed. “Oh […]

Reminder: My short story “The Last Oasis of Mars” Appears in “High Tower Magazine” on Friday!

Just a reminder, my steampunk, pulp fiction short story “The Last Oasis of Mars” will be featured in the premiere issue of High Tower Magazine on Friday, June 14th. If you click the link before then, there’s not much to see. Click Subscribe to subscribe to the new periodical. Clicking No, thanks takes you to […]

Movie Review: “Arrival” (2016)

I watched Arrival (2016) starring Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner last night. I’m doing some research for a short story I’m writing and trying to talk to aliens is a big part of it. The original novel and screenplay were written by Ted Chiang, whose name I recognized because I recently reviewed his short story […]

Junk

“What are you doing with that big stick, Mike?” Then Jessie saw what he was doing. “Wait. Those were Mam’s favorites. She paid a lot for them.” “Mam is dead and she willed this junk to me. Now get out of the way, Sis.” “She loved all her little pieces of junk. At least you…” […]

Film Review of “Godzilla Minus One” (2023)

If you like my work, buy me a virtual cup of coffee at Ko-Fi. Yesterday, I heard that Godzilla Minus One (2023) was on Netflix starting June 1st. I don’t have Netflix, but I checked and it was available to rent and stream elsewhere so I watched it last night. Lucky me. This was one […]