Thursday, June 8, 2017

Patterson Writes Silly SF -- Review of his "Humans, Bow Down)

NEW SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY REVIEWS
Reviews Of Recently Published Science Fiction And Fantasy Books
Reviewer: Forrest Schultz schultz_forrest@yahoo.com 770-583-3258

June 8, 2017

Patterson  Writes  Silly  SF

A Review of

James Patterson and Emily Raymond Humans, Bow Down (Little, Brown, & Co., 2017)
                                                             373 pp   $12.99   ISBN: 978-0-316-34696-2

Reviewer:  Forrest W. Schultz


     James Patterson is not only one of our nation’s most prolific authors, he also writes in many different genres.  I believe that the book under review here is the first silly science fiction he has written.  Unlike hard science fiction, it is permissible for silly sf and sf opera to be lacking in verisimilitude.  In this particular story the supposed robots, unlike real robots, are depicted as though they possessed human desires, in particular the desire to be despotic rulers.  In hard sf, such as those in the books in Isaac Asimov’s Galactic-Empire/Foundation-Universe series, there is no such danger; rather, the danger is for man to become overly dependent upon robots, i.e. to become robot-addicts!  Patterson’s story is great for fun reading, but Asimov’s stories show us what we really need to worry about in regard to robots!   Realistically, therefore, there is no need to worry about a robot-run dystopia; the dystopia we DO need to worry about is one about over-dependency upon robots!  But if you want some humor, read Patterson’s book!

Monday, June 5, 2017

The Ambiguous Magic Box -- Review of Stephen King's "Gwendy's Magic Box"

NEW SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY REVIEWS
Reviews Of Recently Published Science Fiction And Fantasy Books
Reviewer: Forrest Schultz schultz_forrest@yahoo.com 770-583-3258

June 6, 2017

The  Ambiguous  Magic  Box

A Review of

Stephen King & Richard Chizmar Gwendy's Button Box (Cemetery Dance Pubs., 2017)
                                                      171 pp   $16.48   ISBN: 978-1-58767-610-9

Reviewer:  Forrest W. Schultz

     Gwendy became aware of the ambiguous nature of her magic box when she began to realize the harmful effects which its apparent blessings were having upon her life, after which she ceased pressing the magic buttons which had summoned them.  It appears that in so doing she has passed some kind of test when the mysterious man who had given her the box comes to reclaim it in order to give it to someone else.  An interesting and thought-provoking tale.  Read it and see what you think.  

     Let me conclude my review of this novella by expressing my great thanks to Stephen King for his books and novellas, which have been thought-provoking as well as exciting.      
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