Charlie Gordon is the janitor at a local bakery. He also attends evening classes to improve his reading and writing skills. His motivation to better himself inspires his teacher, Alice Kinnian, to submit his name for an experimental surgery to increase his intelligence. Initial results on a lab mouse, named Algernon, have been promising and … Continue reading A Short Story And Novel That Ian Likes: Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Tag: SF
A Novel Ian Likes: Perdido Street Station by China Mieville
Isaac dan der Grimnebulin, a freelance scientist with some dubious ties to the underworld, is commissioned to create a means of flight for a Garuda – a race of humanoid bird-like creatures – who has had his wings removed for reasons that are never made entirely clear until the novel’s conclusion. Isaac throws himself into … Continue reading A Novel Ian Likes: Perdido Street Station by China Mieville
A Reference Book Ian Likes: The Encyclopedia Of Science Fiction (1978)
First things first, this isn’t an actual or proper encyclopaedia. It’s a collection of essays that each detail a particular aspect of the history and make-up of Science Fiction. But it’s lavishly illustrated and features a fairly comprehensive list of magazines and awards relevant to the field as well as a chronology of movies that … Continue reading A Reference Book Ian Likes: The Encyclopedia Of Science Fiction (1978)
A Trilogy Ian Likes: Helliconia by Brian Aldiss
Helliconia is an unremarkable planet. Its primary orbit is around Batalix, with a year equal to about 480 Earth days. But Batalix is in an irregular orbit around Freyr, a larger star. This orbit causes some unusual fluctuations in Helliconia’s climate, with the result that it experiences a second year, which the inhabitants refer to … Continue reading A Trilogy Ian Likes: Helliconia by Brian Aldiss
A Novel Ian Likes: Ash: A Secret History by Mary Gentle
Ash is an orphan girl who has become the leader of a respected mercenary company in late 15th Century Europe. Her company enjoys its success because of the “voices” in her head. These voices advise her on battle tactics and strategy. While other women might be taken as being insane, Ash is seen as touched … Continue reading A Novel Ian Likes: Ash: A Secret History by Mary Gentle
A Novel Ian likes: Dreamsnake by Vonda N. McIntyre
Snake is a healer in a post-apocalyptic landscape. She travels with a small amount of vital equipment but most of her healing is done with the aid of three genetically-engineered snakes; two - a cobra and a rattlesnake – are of earthly origin but the third, Grass, is an alien creature about which little is … Continue reading A Novel Ian likes: Dreamsnake by Vonda N. McIntyre
A Novel Ian Likes: Bug Jack Barron by Norman Spinrad
Jack Barron hosts a phone-in talk show. He’s one of the hottest stars on television. But his personal life is a mess; his marriage has collapsed, he doesn’t appear to have any kind of goal or aim that he wants to achieve, and all he worries about are his ratings. But one night someone rings … Continue reading A Novel Ian Likes: Bug Jack Barron by Norman Spinrad
A Novel Ian Likes: A Case Of Conscience by James Blish
An exploration team on the planet Lithia has discovered a world full of valuable resources but which is also inhabited by a race of intelligent creatures who have a rich, vibrant culture but no concept of God or of Sin. It doesn’t bother three members of the team overly much but the fourth, a Jesuit priest, … Continue reading A Novel Ian Likes: A Case Of Conscience by James Blish
A Novel Ian Likes: The Kraken Wakes by John Wyndham
Mike and Phyllis Watson are journalists who are covering a series of unexplained phenomena. Beginning as a lethal curiosity, a series of unexplained catastrophes are wreaking havoc on the world’s sea lanes and coastal communities and – eventually – on the polar icecaps. Finding themselves increasingly isolated and at risk, they eventually become part of … Continue reading A Novel Ian Likes: The Kraken Wakes by John Wyndham
A Biography Ian Likes: C.S. Lewis by A. N. Wilson
Clive Staples Lewis (1898-1963) is best known as the author of The Chronicles Of Narnia but was also a professor of English at both Oxford and Cambridge. He was also internationally renowned as a lay theologian and Christian apologist. A. N. Wilson is an award-winning novelist, biographer and popular historian. Both men had relationships with … Continue reading A Biography Ian Likes: C.S. Lewis by A. N. Wilson
A Movie Ian Likes: Galaxy Quest
Commander Peter Taggart is the legendary Captain of the NSEA Protector. He and his crew have had many adventures while exploring the galaxy. And now he’s just been contacted by a race of aliens who need his help to save themselves from an evil dictator. There’s just one catch… Peter Taggart is a character played … Continue reading A Movie Ian Likes: Galaxy Quest
A Novel Ian Likes: Heart Of The Comet by Gregory Benford and David Brin
In the year 2061, humanity has launched an inspirational expedition to explore Halley’s comet on the occasion of its lifetime-spanning orbit around the solar system returning it to the neighbourhood of Earth. It’s supposedly a celebration of technology and ingenuity but the crew appears to be comprised largely of political embarrassments, has-beens and troublemakers. And … Continue reading A Novel Ian Likes: Heart Of The Comet by Gregory Benford and David Brin
A Series Ian Likes: The Stainless Steel Rat by Harry Harrison
James Bolivar diGriz is a crook. But he’s really much more than that: he’s a gift to the bureaucracy that plagues his hi-tech society. His actions, he maintains, keep the inept forces of law and a sluggish economy active. He provides entertainment for people jaded by boring news stories. He… well, he’s good at what … Continue reading A Series Ian Likes: The Stainless Steel Rat by Harry Harrison
A Book Ian Likes: The Song Of Phaid The Gambler by Mick Farren
Phaid is a gambler, currently down on his luck. He usually sidles into town, finds a game worth playing, then sidles out with either a pocket full of winnings or with just the shirt on his back. Trouble is, though, things don’t always pan out that well for Phaid… Mick Farren (1943 – 2013) was … Continue reading A Book Ian Likes: The Song Of Phaid The Gambler by Mick Farren
A Book Ian Likes: Titan by Stephen Baxter
Titan begins with the crash of a space shuttle on re-entry in 2003 and the realisation that people just aren’t that interested in going “out there” very much anymore. So Paula Benacerraf, grandmother, astronaut and nobody to trifle with, joins forces with a rogue scientist and a NASA administrator who knows that the agency’s number is … Continue reading A Book Ian Likes: Titan by Stephen Baxter