Off the Bookshelf: Cole Protocol, Skies of Pern, Century Rain

A close-up of a helmeted Spartan trooper.

After a fiendishly busy January and February, I’ve finally had a chance to take a deep breath and spend some time reading. First up on my early spring reading list is The Cole Protocol by Tobias Buckell, a Halo Universe novel involving the quest to prevent the alien Covenant from securing navigation data leading to … Read more

Off the Bookshelf: Twilight, The Gathering Storm, Star Wars Atlas

Cover: Twilight

Over Thanksgiving break, my wife and I made a deal: I’d read Twilight if she read the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. It took me a month of on and off reading, but I finally did so. Completing that teen romance horror novel let me read the book I’ve been waiting months for: The Gathering Storm, Book 12 of the Wheel of Time.

In between the two I’ve been sneaking quick reads of Star Wars: The Essential Atlas, which is sure to become an indespensible reference for my Star Wars RPG campaign.

Off the Bookshelf: Redemption Ark, Dreaming Void, Far Side of the World

I’m off to a good start on my Summer 2009 Reading List, having made a considerable dent it during my early summer vacation by reading Alistair Reynolds’ Redemption Ark, Peter F. Hamilton’s The Dreaming Void and finally finishing the audio version of Patrick O’Brain’s The Far Side of the World. Redemption Ark Redemption Ark by … Read more

Soliciting books for my Summer 2009 Reading List

It’s almost summer again, which means it’s time for me to start assembling that long-running Nuketown tradition: the Summer Reading List. (check out Radio Active #50 for my 2007 reading list, and Radio Active #69 for my 2008 one). The reading list is my chance to catch up on stuff I missed during the rest … Read more

Off the Bookshelf: New Space Opera, Open Game Table, Space Opera Renaissance

The spring hasn’t been a great time for fiction reading. After my winter reading spree, I fell into back into my video game reviewing routine at SciFi.com, but I did manage to get a few new books in: The New Space Opera, The Open Game Table, and The Space Opera Renaissance. The New Space Opera … Read more

Top of the Pile: Dark Reign, Batman, X-Factor, Astonishing X-Men

Two big story arcs have concluded in the comics universe over the last few weeks: Marvel’s Secret Invasion mini series, in which the alien, shape-shifting Skrulls attempt to take over the Earth, and Batman R.I.P, in which the Dark Knight dies. Or appears to die, because really, what are the chances that he’s actually dead? … Read more

Off the Shelf: Revelation Space, Force Unleashed, The Last Colony

My Christmas Reading List for 2008 went well; I finished two novels (Revelation Space, The Last Colony) on the list and made a serious dent in the third (The Amber Spyglass), while also finishing a hefty graphic novel (Star Wars Omnibus: Tales of the Jedi, Vol. 1) It was great lose myself in books for … Read more

Off the Shelf: Moon of Skulls, Quicksilver, Analog: Sept. 2008

I got off to a great start to my summer reading list, but it slowed down significantly after July, when my spring-summer run of work conferences ended (which had given me plenty of time to read on cross-country plane trips), and I had to double-down on my projects to meet start-of-semester deadlines. The other problem? … Read more