Category: Asides
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My Review of Worlds of Exile and Illusion by Ursula K Le Guin on SF Mistressworks
Worlds of Exile and Illusion, Ursula K Le Guin (1996) Review by Shannon Turlington How can you tell the legend from the fact on these worlds that lie so many years away? – planets without names, called by their people simply The World, planets without history, where the past is a matter of myth, and…
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My Review of Beggars in Spain by Nancy Kress on SF Mistressworks
Beggars in Spain, Nancy Kress (1991) Review by Shannon Turlington “A man’s worth to society and to himself doesn’t rest on what he thinks other people should do or be or feel, but on himself. On what he can actually do, and do well. People trade what they do well, and everyone benefits. The basic…
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My Review of The Snow Queen by Joan D Vinge on SF Mistressworks
The Snow Queen, Joan D Vinge (1980) Review by Shannon Turlington The Snow Queen is an epic story set on a distant planet, about the fall of one queen and the rise of another. The novel is based on the fairy tale by Hans Christian Anderson and tackles such weighty themes as immortality and the…
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So simple a child can understand…
Today my 6-year-old son asked me at the breakfast table: Who was the first human to be born? Then he said that he thought he knew and basically described a very simplified version of the theory of evolution to me. I can’t tell you how proud that made me as a parent.
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My Review of Lilith’s Brood by Octavia E Butler on SF Mistressworks
Lilith’s Brood (Dawn, Adulthood Rites and Imago), Octavia E Butler (1989) Review by Shannon Turlington Octavia Butler’s Xenogenesis novels were first compiled into one volume in 1989, but that compilation is now out of print. As with Seed to Harvest, Grand Central Publishing has reissued the compilation in an attractive trade paperback to capture new…
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My review of The Children of Men by PD James on SF Mistressworks
SF Mistressworks has graciously reposted my review of The Children of Men by P.D. James. I hope you will go read it and support this terrific blog reviewing science fiction written by women.
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My Little Free Library project…
I’m going to be sponsoring a Little Free Library in our neighborhood. “Take a book, return a book.” I enjoy looking at the pictures of all the little free libraries people have built. Here’s one repurposing a pay phone booth, which is extinct now, of course. It would be nice to build the equivalent of…
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My review of Into the Forest by Jean Hegland on SF Mistressworks
Into the Forest, Jean Hegland (1996) Review by Shannon Turlington “People have been around for at least 100,000 years. And how long have we had electricity?” “Well, Edison invented the incandescent lamp in 1879.” “See? All this,” and she swung her arm to encircle the rooms of the only house I’d ever know, “was only…
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What I’m working on…
Just in case you’ve been wondering what I do all day, I’ve been consulting for this project: iHRIS: Open Source Health Workforce Information Solutions. It’s an open source software development project, run by a nonprofit, to create human resources information systems for managing health workforces in low-resource settings. Not terribly sexy work, perhaps, but useful work.…
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Reading night…
Last night, my husband and I instituted reading night. We didn’t turn on the TV, and instead read and listened to music during that time. I was worried I would be tired or sleepy to spend the entire evening reading, but I actually enjoyed it. I went to bed relaxed, and I made a good…
Shannon Turlington 