Dave Higgins's Blog, page 100
May 20, 2016
Fantasia by Jane Turley
Combining serious issues with a light and accessible style, Turley creates a novelette that is suitable for children without seeming too superficial for adults. In 2031, the human race is on the verge of interstellar travel. As part of his research into the neurological impact of cryonic suspension during space flight, Dr Corey revives Walt […]
May 18, 2016
A Job For Life
Campaigners for laws requiring people to use the facilities of their “real” gender, and the laws that come from such campaigns, often make reference to the sex listed on a person’s birth certificate. As if the information on it is somehow a sign of what should be forever. Here is a specimen UK birth certificate […]
May 16, 2016
A Very Dim Mirror
In one of my favourite scenes from Inspector Morse, Morse tells Lewis a little about his adolescence and how he promised himself that he’d never forget what it felt like; and then he delivered the kicker, that of course he did, that everyone does. There are many reasons I accepted the fallibility of memory, but […]
May 13, 2016
How To Date Dead Guys by Ann M. Noser
Interweaving young romance, survivor guilt, and the supernatural while keeping a firm base of normal, average, US college life, Noser creates a story that provides occult mystery and the travails of love without allowing either to steal the limelight. Emma Roberts is a responsible student, putting her college essays ahead of partying, volunteering as a […]
May 11, 2016
We Don’t Mind the Language, It’s the Logical Dissonance We Don’t Need
Just trod in a post about the election of Sadiq Khan meaning Britain no longer exists; which I suppose would be why my socks are damper than usual. Of course, they didn’t mean that: they helpfully defined Britain as the bastion of a white morality stretching back to Classical civilisation and Jesus. Which is of […]
May 9, 2016
Coherent Shadows
A touch of beauty. A reminder than the capability for great joy opens the door to great sorrow. And a particle physics pick-up line.
May 6, 2016
A Facet for the Gem by C.L. Murray
Combining depth of history and nation-spanning threats with a strong focus on character, Murray creates an epic fantasy without epic exposition. Orphaned then shifted from foster home to foster home, Morlen has grown up an outsider, a position made worse by his exceptional competence as a hunter and forager. Only Nottifer, wizard-adviser to the King, […]
May 4, 2016
Why Do Average Things Happen to Average People?
Political Correctness. Affirmative Action. Safe Spaces. Any change in favour of a group also imposes a change on others outside the group. So, why does the good to some people outweigh the bad to others? A few days ago, I came across a reignited debate over the World Fantasy Awards replacing the H P Lovecraft […]
April 29, 2016
Change of Life by Samantha Bryant
Mixing questions of gender and age bias with fast-paced fights and nail-biting reversals, Bryant continues her exploration of mature superheroism. This is the second volume in the Menopausal Superhero series. Following the defeat – and subsequent escape – of mad scientist, Cindy Liu, Linda/Leonel (the tiny woman in a strongman’s body) and Jessica (the lighter-than-air […]
April 27, 2016
One-in-a-Fifty-Five-ian
I already knew the differences between different people’s DNA were tiny, but this comparison gave me a better feeling for what the numbers mean: There is more genetic diversity in 55 chimps than in 7 billion human beings. – Juan Enriquez, We can reprogram life. How to do it wisely. Humans are genetically almost identical: […]
