Comedy and science fiction have special places in my heart. I’m fascinated with the prospect of what AI and machine learning might bring us, and I believe to laugh and enjoy life is to be healthy and content. The best humor is revealed through character relationships. I grew up watching Doctor Who, a show that presented a serious story with lighthearted moments. Douglas Adams put that same formula in his books. For ten years I honed my writing skills producing graphic novels, where you had to tell a story and inject humor onto one page. Now novel writing is my means of bringing a little joy to the world.
Since being dishonorably discharged from the Star Corps, John MacAlister has struggled to make ends meet with less-than-legal cargo runs across the cosmos. When he thinks he’s found “one last job,” some disaster lands him at square one. After crashing on the Moon, John finds himself in debt to a shady lawyer with an offer he can’t refuse: Return runaway Meryl Amelson or rot in jail.
In the inhospitable Blanchlands of Kaldikar-6, John discovers smart and scrappy Meryl is a witness to a murder ordered by the officer who kicked John out of the Corps. Finally, John has a purpose. Despite impossible odds, he vows to protect Meryl and expose his former commander no matter the cost. The challenge? Living long enough to do it.
I’ve always considered this book to be Adams at his best. Somehow he mixes Norse mythology (with a hilarious, confused Thor and an Odin who is constantly chasing a good night’s sleep), a detective story, and unique, satisfying humor you won't find anywhere else. (Like Dirk’s refrigerator, which has become so filthy he and his cleaning lady are trying to trick one another into opening it first.) The story is so clever and fun that you’re immediately lost in it. It’s like comfort food in book form. I read this when I was traveling and away from my family while struggling with some health issues, and it was just the balm I needed.
Beloved, bumbling Detective Dirk Gently returns in this standalone novel from Douglas Adams, the legendary author of one of the most beloved science fiction novels of all time, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
When a check-in desk at London’s Heathrow Airport disappears in a ball of orange flame, the event is said to be an act of God. But which god? wonders holistic detective Dirk Gently. And how is this connected to Dirk’s battle with his cleaning lady over his filthy refrigerator…or to the murder of his latest client? Or are these events just another stretch of coincidences in…
Guy strikes it rich, splurges on cryogenically freezing his head then gets killed crossing the street. This is a story I can get behind! Bob is now a sentient AI—no body or external senses. This is a problem until he comes up with an innovative solution. Not only is this a book full of sharp and wacky humor, there’s a fantastic undercurrent of sci-fi thought experimentation—and this really resonated with me. What would it be like to be a sentient AI? Imagine replicating yourself and dealing with your “other selves.” There are highs and lows for Bob, and great action sequences. The book is pure fun! I spent part of the summer walking and listening to the amazing audiobook, I looked forward to those walks every day.
Bob Johansson has just sold his software company and is looking forward to a life of leisure. There are places to go, books to read, and movies to watch. So it's a little unfair when he gets himself killed crossing the street.
Bob wakes up a century later to find that corpsicles have been declared to be without rights, and he is now the property of the state. He has been uploaded into computer hardware and is slated to be the controlling AI in an interstellar probe looking for habitable planets. The stakes are high: no less than the first…
I’m a sucker for survival stories because they’re deeply rooted in the human condition—and this is one of the best. I find joy in books in the “can’t put it down” category. You feel transformed, as though you are experiencing the story yourself. Astronaut Mark Watney is left behind on Mars, hurt and without enough food to survive. From then on, we agonize with Watney on problem after problem, rejoice with each ingenious solution, and sorrow with his lowest of lows. My wife calls me “method man,” so it’s no surprise I love the way Watney thinks through each problem. The climax delivers on all cylinders, leaving you exhausted, joyful—even tearful! If that’s the kind of experience you want in a book, don’t miss this one.
Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars.
Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there.
After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he's alive--and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive.
Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old human error are…
There really are no new stories, so when you find something that does feel new it’s amazing. Illuminae is a space opera epistolary novel—it’s presented in a series of letters and documents, including classified reports, censored emails, interviews, texts, and even some poetry. Although the reading experience is unique it feels natural and even modern. I found it interesting that this is how we tell our own stories to each other today! The main characters become refugees after becoming caught in a political crossfire, and most of the action takes place on ships in space. It’s a rollicking good time with loads of action and intrigue. If it were just a unique storytelling vehicle, it’d be worth reading—but the story delivers, and that makes it a must-read.
'Never have I read a book so wholly unique and utterly captivating.' Marie Lu
'It certainly filled the Battlestar Galactica-shaped hole in my heart.' Victoria Aveyard
The internationally bestselling first book in a high-octane trilogy
Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the worst thing she'd ever been through. That was before her planet was invaded. Now, with enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra are forced to fight their way onto one of the evacuating craft, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit.
But the warship could be the least of their problems. A deadly plague has…
I have so much love for this story and I can’t understand how it’s not a bestseller. This book helped me understand my own brand of humor could work in a novel. Michael Rubens has a unique razor wit like Douglas Adams, and what I cherish about this story is all the laugh-out-loud moments. When I read this book, I am smiling the whole time—it lifts my spirits! Cole, the main character, flees the galaxy’s most hideous and feared bounty hunter who wants to lay eggs in his brain. Things don't get any better when he smuggles a ship full of freeze-dried orphans. In the end, Cole has to make a tough choice, which always resonates with me. Do you want to be happy? Read this book!
In the spirit of Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett, The Sheriff of Yrnameer is sci-fi comedy at its best—mordant, raucously funny, and a thrilling page-turner.
Meet Cole: hapless space rogue and part-time smuggler. His sidekick just stole his girlfriend. The galaxy’s most hideous and feared bounty hunter wants to lay eggs in his brain. And the luxury space yacht Cole just hijacked turns out to be filled with interstellar do-gooders, one especially loathsome stowaway, and a cargo of freeze-dried orphans. Cole gathers a misfit crew for a desperate journey to the far reaches of the galaxy: the mysterious world of…
Desperate to honor his father’s dying wish, Layken Martin vows to do whatever it takes to save the family farm. Once the Army discharges him following World War II, Layken returns to Missouri to find his legacy in shambles and in jeopardy. A foreclosure notice from the bank doubles the threat. He appeals to the local banker for more time—a chance to rebuild, plant, and harvest crops and time to heal far away from the noise of bombs and gunfire.
But the banker firmly denies his request. Now what?
Desperate to honor his father's dying wish, Layken Martin vows to do whatever it takes to save the family farm.
Once the Army discharges him following World War II, Layken returns to Missouri to find his legacy in shambles and in jeopardy. A foreclosure notice from the bank doubles the threat. He appeals to the local banker for more time-a chance to rebuild, plant, and harvest crops and time to heal far away from the noise of bombs and gunfire.
But the banker firmly denies his request. Now what?