When the topic of a novel is First Contact, as the past thirty-odd Cawdron novels have been, they almost by default have to address the notion of alien intelligence. In his previous novel, “Love, Sex and the Alien Apocalypse,” Cawdron’s alien was utterly flabbergasted by the notion that intelligence could exist in billions of tiny, bite-sized units, rather than as a vast distributed hive mind. I noted at the time that we were similarly coming to grips with the notion that octopuses were intelligent, and our reaction paralleled that of the invaders in LSAA
Pantheon is solid, intelligent, probing science fiction, as good an example of the genre as you can hope to encounter. The scientific literacy and verisimilitude will remind you of Andy Weir or Peter Cawdron, and the moral and ethical complexity and ambiguity is straight from the pages of Harlan Ellison or Phillip K. Dick. Yes, it’s that good.
As with most of his work, Cawdron’s Love, Sex and the Alien Apocalypse is both riveting and sometimes harrowing, and at the same time thoughtful, meticulously researched, well-steeped in philosophy and science, and deeply humanitarian. Cawdron has the rare ability to be fun and intellectually satisfying at the same time, and Love, Sex and the Alien Apocalypse showcases that.
Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction (Japanese: デッドデッドデーモンズデデデデデストラクション, Hepburn: Deddo Deddo Dēmonzu Dededede Desutorakushon), also abbreviated as DDDD Genre Post-apocalyptic, Science fiction, Slice of life based on Manga Written by Inio Asano Written by Reiko Yoshida, Takaaki Suzuki Music by Taro Umebayashi Studio Production +h. Licensed by Crunchyroll Released May 24, 2024 – September 20, 2024 …
Scavengers Reign Created by Joseph Bennett & Charles Huettner Starring Sunita Mani as Ursula, a crewmember in the Demeter’s horticulture lab; stranded on Vesta with Sam. Wunmi Mosaku as Azi, a cargo specialist on the Demeter; stranded on Vesta with Levi. Alia Shawkat as Levi, a robot from the Demeter; stranded on Vesta with Azi. …
Peter Cawdron, 2024, 366 pages. These are frightening times. Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu seem set on a course that could easily lead to wider wars in Europe and the Middle East. We’re already witness to the terrifying impact of drones and artificial intelligence in vast areas surrounding the conflicts in the Ukraine and Gaza, …
by Paul Dixon Print length 544 pages Publication date September 27, 2023 Carpathians is a very sure-footed novel with several intriguing character stories that blend into a beautifully-constructed first contact scenario. Humanity has reached the stars, and while life abounds, there is no sapient life. Disturbingly, what they have found are a dozen or so …
The Artifact Peter Cawdron 307 pp, copyright 2023 Peter Cawdron An archeologist from Britain (OK, Wales; I know there’s a world of difference between Bristol and Cardiff) has heard rumors of a strange object in a remote village in Libya, Harat Zuwayyah. This is in the deepest part of the Sahara. Doctor Susan Taylor, along …
Based on The Swarm by Frank Schätzing Written by Frank Schätzing, Steven Lally, Marissa Lestrade, Michael A. Walker, Chris Lunt Screenplay by Steven Lally, Marissa Lestrade, Chris Lunt, Michael A. Walker Directed by Barbara Eder, Luke Watson, Philipp Stölzl Starring Cécile de France as Dr. Cécile Roche Alexander Karim as Dr. Sigur Johanson Leonie Benesch …
War of the Worlds, BBC 2019 Based on The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells Written by Peter Harness Directed by Craig Viveiros Starring Eleanor Tomlinson Rafe Spall Rupert Graves Nicholas Le Prevost Harry Melling Jonathan Aris Robert Carlyle Composer Russ Davies The production values for the BBC’s 2019 SF endeavor, War of …