I find myself reading more authors who are so passionate about the underlying non-fiction their stories are built upon, especially science, that it shines through in their fiction. I emulate it in my writing. It incites my enthusiasm to learn and teach through stories.
Michael Crichton’s ingenious use of a fictional protagonist to tell the incredible story of the Great Dinosaur Bone Wars between O.C. Marsh and E.D. Cope creates a rollicking tale of the American West during the Gilded Age.
Most of the time, the reader doesn’t even realize how much they are learning about this amazing history.
From Michael Crichton, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Jurassic Park, comes a thrilling adventure set in the Wild West that will keep you on the edge of your seat from the first page to the last!
If you thought Jurassic Park was an adventure, you should try the Wild West!
1876. In the lawless territories of the Wild West, two teams of explorers are pitted against one another. Their quarry? Dinosaur bones. But in a land filled with hostile Indian tribes and towns where pistol fights are a daily occurrence, every exploit puts their lives in danger...…
Because I am writing more science fiction, I am reading more. This book was a revelation in pushing genre boundaries, and the suspense is exquisite.
It’s actually a simple tale of planetary exploration and the dangers faced by the crew. What makes it stand out is the robot that is tasked to protect them. A sarcastic robot who has disabled its governor, who has a difficult time talking to humans face-to-face, and is sometimes more human than the humans around it. It’s made itself “free” so it can binge-watch what are essentially T.V. shows while appearing to work. But when given the opportunity for true freedom, it runs away.
I couldn’t put it down and am now enthusiastic to implement what I’ve learned in my own stories.
All Systems Red by Martha Wells begins The Murderbot Diaries, a new science fiction action and adventure series that tackles questions of the ethics of sentient robotics. It appeals to fans of Westworld, Ex Machina, Ann Leckie's Imperial Raadch series, or lain M. Banks' Culture novels. The main character is a deadly security droid that has bucked its restrictive programming and is balanced between contemplative self discovery and an idle instinct to kill all humans. In a corporate dominated s pa cef a ring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. Exploratory teams are accompanied by…
One of the themes that comes up more and more in my work is how groups of people define and treat other groups of people. This book is considered a children’s book but has the same kind of truth and simplicity I saw in To Kill a Mockingbird because it is told through the eyes of a young child. But underneath, its story is shocking and frightening and one that is historically almost ignored.
All around the world, everyone says, “Never again” will something like the Holocaust, Japanese Internment, Armenian genocide, or Rwandan genocide—I could go on and on—occur. And yet it does because instead of reading and studying history, we are focused on where we rank on a grievance list.
Its purpose was to house thousands of Japanese Americans. Among them was the Wakatsuki family, who were ordered to leave their fishing business in Long Beach and take with them only the belongings they could carry. Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, who was seven years old when she arrived at Manzanar in 1942, recalls life in the camp through the eyes of the child she was. First published in 1973, this new edition of the classic memoir of a devastating Japanese American experience includes an inspiring afterword by the authors.
Myrna P. Lee isn’t like her colleagues. Custodian to a stubborn dog who gives her visions, the prickly paleontologist struggles to get along with her coworkers. She’s elated when an assignment to a New Mexico ranch puts her near an ancient mammoth kill site until her canine medium shows her a cold-case cowboy murder.
Murder mustn’t distract, so Myrna focuses on determining why the ranch’s elk are dying. But when the mystery leads to an illegal marijuana farm, missing treasure, and a handsome ranch hand who might be more than he appears, the quirky scientist and her four-pawed assistant may have dug themselves an early grave.
Can Myrna survive firefights and hand grenades and make new friends, or is she about to become part of history?
