Dark Matter (sf tv series)
I have been watching several new series lately, that is series that are new to me. The other night, I started watching a series called Dark Matter. This one really is quite new (released in 2015). It’s actually one of the best I’ve seen so far. I’m not exactly sure what it is about it that appeals to me, but I suppose it’s just a good series – good plot, good setting, good characters. In fact, there’s at least one really cute guy, and two more that are quite hot as well. If you watched the sf series First Wave, you may recognize they guy who played ‘Joshua’. He’s the only actor I have recognized. The rest are completely new to me. A big plus in my eyes is that the women are not slutty. They seem credible as crew members on a spaceship.
A number of people wake up from stasis with no memories of who they are or what their mission is, but they each have specific sets of skills. All they know is that they are aboard a spaceship and the spaceship has been damaged so fixing it is a bit urgent. Since that’s the beginning of the first episode, I don’t think it’s too much of a spoiler if I mention that the ship is stabilized and they can continue on their way.
Since the people don’t remember their names, they decide to call themselves One, Two, Three etc, according to the order in which they woke up. Apart from the six crew members there’s also an Android who rather unimaginatively gets called the Android.
Quite early on the ship is attacked and after a while, there are other problems for the crew to deal with.
Later they get a hint of who they supposedly are, but the facts don’t seem to match their personality types.
I think that’s all I’m going to mention about the plot. It may not sound all that exciting, but I have really liked everything so far.
bibliophiles unite! | Book Tumblr is a space where basically everyone…
Read more here. This sounds wonderful. What a shame Tumblr is owned by Yahoo. Fortunately, there are other spaces dedicated to books, like Booklikes, Wattpad and others. Still, this is really great. Part of me is still rooting for Tumblr.
The Backworlds by M Pax
I just finished The Backworlds by M Pax. Since I read books mainly to escape from my boring reality, I love books that provide such an escape. This one does. I also love characters that are likeable and – you guessed it – these are.
The setting is far into the future when many planets have been colonized – some are less hospitable than others (the ‘backworlds’) as opposed to the supposedly more habitable Foreworlds. You find out that there’s been a war between the foreworlders and the backworlders, but that’s pretty much all you learn about the Foreworlders.
The main character is what seems to be a teenage boy/young man, who has been working for several years in his father’s bar. He belongs to an interesting bioengineered species that isn’t completely human, with ‘living hair’ and some sort of short fur that is pleasant to the touch.
Since life is harsh in the ‘backworlds’, Craze’s father, ungratefully, decides to make his son leave, after taking the younger man’s girlfriend from him. To make sure Craze really leaves, he sets the leaders of their small community on him, with something like cattle prods. Craze is forced to board a ship heading for a space junction, where he will be able to choose his own destination.
Fortunately, Craze meets some very nice avian guys with a ship of their own, who decide to hire him as part of their crew.
People (I use the term loosely) in this ‘universe’ seem to be a bit dishonest but not ruthless enough to kill others, at least not most of them. To me that’s very important. I can’t stress enough how tired I am of ruthless, cruel, cold characters. To me it’s necessary to be able to sympathize with the characters to be able to finish the book (and look forward to reading another by the same author).
I give this book four out of five stars (it’s a relatively short, simple plot), for the fascinating setting, the fascinating characters and excellent writing.
Fatal Boarding and Deep Crossing, by E R Mason
Ever since I discovered ebooks I’ve been searching for freebies to download and read, first on my iPod Touch, then later on my Kindle and my Cybook Odyssey. Most of those freebies have been – to put it charitably – ok for a freebie, some even exceptionally bad.
Fortunately, I have also come across a few really good ones.
Two books by an author named E R Mason belong to the latter category. I’m amazed that this writer is giving away his books for free.
I grew up reading the classics among fantasy, sf and horror. I never took to horror stories (except for some ghost stories) and though I enjoyed the classics, I never really liked modern sf until a few years or so ago when I discovered To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis (a time travel novel). And suddenly I was enjoying science fiction again. A little later I came across a Swedish book called Alba about a young woman who is among a group of people exploring a distant planet. It seemed I was on to something. Not that I stopped reading fantasy, mysteries and the other genres of books I enjoy, but it was unusual for me.
And I now I’m getting to E R Mason’s two novels Fatal Boarding and Deep Crossing. There are some aspects of the books I don’t like so much, but in general I love both books. Though I normally prefer mystery to suspense, these books have both and they’re very well written (except for needing a bit of editing). I’m amazed that these two books are available for free. I’d happily have paid to read both of them and now I’m going to read the other books by the same author.
The first book is set aboard a space ship where the main character Adrian Tarn is chief of security. Not long into the journey the ship runs across a wreckage drifting dead in space (thank you, Star Trek, for that phrase). It’s decided that a team will investigate. That’s their first mistake…
I could describe this book as a thriller set in space (and in the future) but in any case I think my dad, the major sf fan, would have enjoyed it.
The second book is also about Adrian Tarn, this time on an expedition to a very distant star system. There’s some suspense in this book too, but mainly it’s fascinating. I had no idea where the book was heading at the beginning.
I can really recommend these two books, to anyone who enjoys science fiction or thrillers.
Elevator to Space
When I first read about this idea (in a science fiction book) I loved it. Not that I’d ever want to go to the moon, but the idea in itself is so intriguing. Fancy being able to send material up into space, without needing to use a rocket or similar space craft. Just send it up. And now apparently, people are working on making the dream come true. The other day I read about it in this article. Then the day after, I found that someone actually had succeeded in the competition, not in sending anything to the moon. More about it here.
We live in scary times, but this sort of thing helps make up for it to some extent.
