Sravika's Books - Reviews and Other Trivia

 This is how you lose the time war  By Max Gladstone and Al Mohatar  Published Year: 2019 Page Count: 170 pages  Medium Used: Kindle PW  Genre : Science Fiction, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Adventure, Multiverse, Time Travel, Shape Shifters, 2024-read.  Rating : 5/5 👏👏👏👏👏 Amazing. Brilliant work. Did a magic play with words. Weaved a tale that is mesmerizing while keeping it short!  Although I didn't understand it fully - despite reading it in two iterations - I loved the vivid imagery, cinematic prose and wonderful narration style. In my first attempt to read this book, I went fast in my perusal and understood very little. Then I quit that attempt and started new. I read the paragraphs real slow and made myself some mental notes as the plot unfurled. It is an amazing experience - walking in the shoes of the main characters, Blue and Red.  So, first of all, my question is - what are they? They are definitely not human beings. While I came to the conclusion that Red is some ty

  Dream Snake by Vonda N. McIntyre Winner of Nebula and Hugo Awards Published Year: 1978 Page Count: 318 pages Medium Used: Kindle Paperwhite Genre: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Fantasy, 2024-read. Rating: 3.25/5 Plot and Story Overview Snake is a healer from a society of people who immerse themselves in training and genetic manipulation experiments to assist people with healing skills. Apparently, this story is taking place at a time in future after nuclear war has ravaged and destroyed many parts of Earth. She uses her three snakes - Mist, Sand and Grass (the DreamSnake) to heal and cure infections and other diseases for people scattered across the desert and mountainside. On one expedition, she accidentally loses her dreamsnake and that becomes a set back to her profession. She feels immense guilty to go back to her camp and ask for a new one because of the unavailability of these dreamsnakes with/to her people. Mist and Sand are genetically modified and when drugged, they produce anti

Old Man's War (2005) By John Scalzi  My Rating: 3.5/5 🥴🥴🥴 Genre : Space Opera, Science Fiction, Military, War, Future. I liked this book just ok.  I liked the different variants of alien creatures and their capabilities envisioned by the author. I liked the idea of a continuing consciousness for humans who are old/dead and the ways of using it productively.  I thought the story/plot started on a very promising note and some hilarity even. As the story progressed, I found I could skip over several lines of the text and not miss much. There is a lacking of emotional connection and investment a reader makes as he gets involved in the fate of main character(s). The ruthlessness and the brutality on display as the different species try to win and invade is a bit troubling. What is there to enjoy in endless war,right?  Old people at a future point of time have the capability to reverse their age - in a way. Their consciousness is transferred into young and highly evolved bodies. Human

Leviathan Wakes  By James S.A Corey  Rating 5/5  Genre: Science Fiction, Mystery, Noir, Horror  Splendid!! Absolutely 💯 amazing space science fiction stuff! Kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. Things unravel fast. Ominous fear creeps in slow. Brain does several jumps and leaps before settling down into calmness. Wonderful, Wonderful,  Wonderful. Two protagonists. Both flawed and impulsive. One with his words and information. The other with his actions and intuition. Both find their redemption eventually and in the process save the whole of human race from becoming gooey food for an evolved alien race. 

Solaris (1961) By Stanislaw Lem  Genres : scifi, horror, suspense, classics  207 pages (Kindle Digital Edition) Rating 4/5 😀 . I have enjoyed this book the way I had enjoyed very few books. This has some of the most horrific and memorable scenes I have ever read. Paging through it is an immersive experience  .. where the cause of mystery is revealed to the reader and the main character at the start but it nevertheless doesn't stop being suspenseful. I picked it from the list of best scifi novels of all time. And it definitely makes for some super cool, horror and romantic science fiction ever written! 🤗 Kelvin arrives on planet Solaris as a psychologist researcher and docks himself to the space station. The surface of the planet is covered with ocean and there is no other visible life on the planet. Since the planet has been discovered, there has been much speculation and theoretical expostulation about the nature of the ocean .. eventually they realize it to be a gig

 Parasite (2013) By Mira Grant  Genres : science fiction, horror, thriller  410 pages (Kindle Digital Edition) Rating 4/5 🤪🤪 I am making this note having finished half of the book. The twist that is thrown at me 50 percent into the book has left me completely speechless. I shuddered and stared off into space with unblinking eyes trying to make sense of the implications of what is just disclosed. I have been under the assumption that this is a very predictably overrated book since I started reading.  I have only been paying it little attention and drifting off occasionally into random musings on other things. But I am knocked out of my stupor by what I have just read!! Upon finishing the book :  I have read some good reviews about the book but also some very strongly negative reviews on goodreads. I quizzed myself if I should actually pick this up based on the poor reviews and ratings. But to be honest, having just finished, I would say I enjoyed it very much! It kept me h

The Three Body Problem [2008] By Cixin Liu  Winner of Hugo Award 2008  399 PAGES (Kindle Digital Edition) Rating 5/5👍 GENRES: Fiction, Hard core, Aliens, Dystopian. Not the usual kind of scifi novel. There are plenty of different elements thrown into the mix. I am at a loss of words on what and how to describe what I just read. Aliens are invited to invade planet Earth by a notable scientist who thinks their invasion would solve the crisises humans have been unable to solve for themselves. There cannot be a more naive assumption. As it is proved in the book, the intentions of the aliens for invasion turn out to be purely malignant and selfish in nature. Anyways, as mentioned, though that is the crux of the plot, it is also just one aspect of it.  The Three Body game which introduces the world of aliens called the Trisolaris is just amazing. . .no other words. Though it is a game that is played wearing a V suit and head helmet to experience the world and its climatic effect

The Lathe of Heaven (1971) By Ursula le Guin  Hugo and Nebula Awards W inner  Rating : 5/5 🎉 196 pages [Kindle Digital Edition]  Genres : Science Fiction,  Fantasy, Classics, 2022-read. Wow. What did I just read? This is a close your eyes and give it the best rating there is kind of a read. I haven't found myself so engrossed in a while. I couldn't put the book down. Found myself getting up early in the morning and reading to find out what comes next. Great stuff! 🥂 This also brought to mind another book I read recently which is along the lines of altering reality .. Recursion by Blake Crouch .. though in Recursion, where technology is used to navigate between different lines of reality of existence .. in this book, it is the fantasy of a man's dreaming that gets the state of reality altered between different lines. And someone even tries to apply that through technology and it backfires big time!  I liked Recursion but I just love The Lathe Of Heaven which d

Upgrade : A Novel  By Blake Crouch  Rating: 4/5 🥂🔮🎯 Genres : Science Fiction, Thriller, 2022-read, Virus, Genetic Alteration  Well. First things first. This is not a horror novel but it might as well fall into that list. The premise and the setting is damn scary. Because it is utterly plausible and there won't be a damn thing anyone can do should it happen. Some maniac and genius scientist with a god/savior complex working on gene manipulation experiments and releasing a virus out into the human world .. to turn everyone into an "upgraded" version of themselves .. so the survival of the fittest would ensue and kill away all the rest .. no matter how big a number is to be sacrificed in the process. Well, if this is not the negative side to a genius mind and their detached/self serving actions, don't know what is.  Coming to the story, Logan Ramsay is an agent working for the GPA .. which deals with arrest and prevention of genetic manipulation experiment

The Songs of Distant Earth  By Arthur C. Clarke  Rating 2.5/5 Genres Science fiction, Fantasy, Romance,2022-read. Just closed the book and there are a myriad of thoughts floating in my head. This is a short book and a quick read. It is only 200 pages or so in digital format. Many of the scenes seem to hold no weight against the overall plot. I am no longer surprised to read really below average and underwhelming work from really great authors as I used to in the past. This is one of the works which Clarke seems to have undertaken to convince the science community of a point rather than make himself more successful in the line of novelisists - probably because he is already a very well established author in the science fiction genre.  The point he seems to be making is not to abandon research into alien contact and also not to stop any steps being taken towards reaching distant stars and making them home if they are uninhabited. The prologue to the book seems to convey this

The Gods Themselves [1972] By Issac Asimov  Rating :4/5 🍀 Genres : Science Fiction, Hugo winner, Nebula Winner, Novel Ideas  I close this book with a smile on my lips. It ends on a note of hope and optimism for a romantic future.  I was 25-30 percent into the book when I realized that some of the images forming in my mind are familiar and as it turned out, I did read this book once back in 2014 and re-picked it without checking my goodreads. And I am glad I did because it is a good revisit .. love the prose style of Asimov, the non-complex simplicity of his characters and there was some subdued humor throughout the narrative as well.  I broke down the book into three phases/parts .. the first dealing with people on Earth and setting up of the most popular Electron Pump, the second with the alien race that guided and helped them set it up for their own survival needs, the third deals with people on Moon who find a solution to the problem posed by the Electron Pump which no

Recursion By Blake Crouch  Rating 4/5 Genres : Science Fiction, Time Travel, 2022-read  This is a good book. Its thought provoking. Very very scary to being a real plausibility. Its confusing to say the least. I definitely had some doubts reading the book and still have them left unclarified. I have read Blake Crouch's Dark Matter in the past and absolutely loved it. He takes popular contemplative concepts from physics and builds these extensive stories around them - which can only pique general interest and stimulate thought. Like in Dark Matter where a machine/room is constructed that makes travel between the multiverse worlds possible -  in this one, a 'memory chair' is invented that allows for travel across time and space - like someone could move to a time in the past and alter reality/the chain of events that follow. As a stand alone book its great but in comparison, it falls short of Dark Matter - which was much more engaging and mysterious. Nevertheless,

Annihilation  by Jeff Vandermeer  Rating : 4/5  Genres : Fantasy, Science Fiction, 2022-read, novel plot, Mystery  DISCLAIMER  : Spoilers Ahead! I was torn between giving this a 4 vs a little  higher rating but finally settled on round 4. What a crazy story this is. It has formed the very definition of a "novel concept" in my mind. I guess this is one of those stories where we can interpret the concept in any of the many number of ways. It is terrifying and very addictive till the mystery is unveiled at the very end. The narrator is a biologist who has had an obsession with wildlife animals festering in abandoned water bodies since her childhood. She has learnt to rely on immersing herself in watching the mysteries and dynamics of such wild creatures as a coping/escape mechanism from her reckless and self centered parents. She is highly introverted and has problems opening up in her relationship with her husband.  There is an area X near a military outpost which i

Foundation's Edge  By Issac Asimov Rating 5/5  Genres : Science fiction, 2022-read,classics. Marvelous! A work of pure genius!! Issac Asimov in my opinion remains the true master and peerless genius of the science fiction genre. I savored every drop of this tasty and twisty nectar that is loaded with a bountiful of surprises and wit. This book is the fourth in the Foundation book series by Issac Asimov and all of them are a huge hit. This book follows the establishment of peace and restoration of sanguinity to the universe after the Mule has been vanquished. It portrays a mind game between forces and people controlling them who are one step ahead the other- holding one knife behind the back of the other.. A little background to the foundation series and this book. Human life which has originated on earth spread far and wide colonizing millions of planets in the universe. Hari Seldon was a psychohistorian who through several algorithms and analytical estimates predicts t

 2010 : Odyssey Two by Arthur C. Clarke Genres: Science Fiction, Space travel, Aliens, human intelligence, artificial intelligence,2021-read,reviewed. Rating: 5/5   Awesome Read!! More than reading like fiction, it felt like I was reading a history book. Without going too much into every intricate detail, he has covered a lot of material. One of the worst fears I have in life is getting hopelessly lost in space. Although all the science fiction space related stories(like this one and project hail mary etc) eventually end on a note of success and hope, the stakes couldn't be higher in those challenging and harrowing situations for the astronauts should they arise in reality. It might all depend on the success of a minute calibration, ship orientation and it invariably is life or death with no in between. This book is a gripping read - as most/all Clarke's books are - which made me forget both time and number of pages read/left to read etc. :D  This book is a continuation to 2001

Tender is the Flesh  By Augustina Bazterrica  Genres : Horror, Dystopia, Science fiction, Future, 2021-read. Rating 5/5  So I am giving this one a 5 star rating. This is one of those books that gets a lower rating for being good. There were many futuristic dystopian novels I had read and loved/liked/hated some of them but none gave me the shivers like this one. Humans supplanting animals is an agreeable and digestible future?? I felt that cruelty and ruthlessness are celebrated in this world the author created and the main protagonist at the end reveals his dark side which comes as a blow. I had few ideas on how the story might have turned out while reading it and extrapolating but what actually came is a jolt. The terms and fight for human rights would have a whole new level of meaning in this society.  Coming to the story, Tejos Marcos is a man pursuing and being pursued by many evils. His beloved father is suffering from dementia and is locked up in a mental hospital. Hi

The Left Hand of Darkness  By Ursula le Guin  Rating 5/5 💘 💘  Genres : 2021-read, science fiction, classics, gender assignment, fiction, aliens  Such a marvelous read! This is my first book by the author and I love the writing style of Ursulawhich has a flowy, lyrical style to it. 💘 Its a deeply intuitive and explorative story where a human being from Earth is sent as an envoy to an alien planet which is covered in snow and ice most of the year and people there are genetically engineered to be gender neutral. What does gender neutral mean? Well, a person cannot be classified either into a man or woman but is rather both at the same time. How can that be? Well, the Gethenians - Gethen is the planet name - are sexually inactive and insipid most of the month and for a week or so they go into a phase of kemmering - just like it happens with several species of animal kingdom  - during which they mate and either of the partner can become male/female and carry a child.  Getheni

Valis  By Philip k. Dick  Rating: 4.75/5 Genres: Science fiction, suspense, thriller, good vs evil, theology, mental illness, insanity, novel plot, 2021-read, reviewed. Just like living things have an 'aura'  around them with which some could guess their health/well being, books also seem to have a kind of aura around them. If it's a book written by Philip k Dick, one can be assured that it has some element of surprise, novelty, drugs, madness and a promise of a fun ride. Valis is a pleasure to read.I ran through the pages with my eyes glued to my kindle. I couldn't put this book down. Philip Dick is one of the very established authors in the genre of science fiction but for the first 20-30 percent of the book , I wondered if he diverged into a memoir. Yet, his writing is so hilarious that on the one hand I was telling myself  'what a poor fellow this Horselover Fat( an alter ego of Philip, the narrator) is' and on the other hand laughing my head off

 Station Eleven By Emily St. John Mandel Genres : Suspense, post apocalyptic, horror, 2021-read, dystopian future, science fiction Rating 5/5 👌👌 A mutation of swine flu virus has wiped off 99 percent of human race from the face of planet earth. The one percent that survived - probably because they are immune to it or have quarantined themselves off well - are living scattered as on islands all over the planet. They plunder and pillage what they could salvage from eateries, hotels, airports and when all the food/essentials run out - they start hunting animals. There is a wide spread fear and suspicion about strangers who might be willing to kill for food/goods.  This new world has no electricity, no benefits that we take for granted - like transportation, internet, mobile communication etc. It's hard to imagine such an existence for a generation that has become excessively dependant on technology and comforts/luxuries right? 😮😧  Living through the nightmare of Covid-19 Coro

 Dark Matter  by Blake Crouch  Genres : Science Fiction, Thriller, Parallel universes, suspense, gruesome, romance, alternative worlds, 2021-read, thought-provoking,good-twist Rating : 5/5 ✌👍 Fun, super fun, exhilarating, mind bending/head spinning and absolutely unpredictable!!!  I am feeling a little shaky as I write this - with a mixture of  excitement and fear at what I just concluded reading. This is absolutely one of the most imaginative, mind blowing sci-fi stories of all time - no doubt!  What Blake Crouch conceived in his head and put onto the paper for us to read is like nothing I had tasted  before.🙏😋 Its awesome and rich enough to tingle all my nerve centers of thought in brain. 💗  We all know of the three dimensional world we live in, the three dimensions x,y,z and also of a fourth called 'time' - which is not that hard to grasp. But physicists and proponents of Quantum mechanics suggest that there exists a fifth dimension - the space - and  that there is not j