Category: book reviews

• The Science of Fiction on Veil

  Maddie Stone published a generous, thoughtful, and mind-expanding essay exploring the implications of the near future extrapolated in my latest novel: Geoengineering, or hacking the planet to cool it down, is either a maniacal plan dreamt up by foolhardy scientists or a useful tool for staving off climate catastrophe—maybe both. It raises hard questions about…

• The best books I read in 2019

  Every month, I send a newsletter recommending three books that changed the way I see the world. Every year, I review each missive and curate my absolute favorites. I discovered so many gems in 2019 that choosing between them was excruciating, so I hope you enjoy this list of the twelve best books I read…

• FactorDaily on Breach

  FactorDaily ran a glowing, thought-provoking review of Breach: https://factordaily.com/eliot-peper-breach-analog-trilogy-review/ “We must turn to fiction like the Analog Novels to see what the future could look like, what it could hold in store for us and what we could do to ensure it’s a good one. Read Eliot Peper’s Breach while it’s still fiction.” Complement with…

• Borderless shows us the tech-fueled nightmare that we’ve all created

  Ars Technica just ran a wonderful review of my new novel: “Borderless shows us the tech-fueled nightmare that we’ve all created. A matryoshka of a story… Where do you draw the line between who you are and what you want to be?” https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2018/11/borderless-shows-us-the-tech-fueled-nightmare-that-weve-all-created/ One of my favorite aspects of this review is how its author,…

• ‘Null States’ Maps Out the Geopolitics of Tomorrow

  My review of Malka Older’s new science fiction thriller that brings the future of democracy to vivid, divisive life ran in The Chicago Review of Books. Read the review right here. Older’s series hits the center of my Venn diagram of weird obsessions: imagining the future, gorging on international street food, seeking out crazy adventures, and…

• How to make an author’s day

  Want to make your favorite author’s day? Review their work wherever you buy or discover books. You’d be amazed at the impact. Amazon’s algorithms favor books based on quality, quantity, and velocity of reviews. Goodreads points readers to new works based on ratings. Blog and social media posts weave our favorite narratives into the larger…

• Reading Recommendation: Flatland

  Flatland by Edwin A. Abbott was originally published in 1884 and is proof that great stories survive the test of time. It’s a mind-bending adventure starring a protagonist that lives in a two-dimensional world. The story is filled with humor, romance, and satire. Flatland is a captivating and delightful invitation to free our thinking from…

• Reading Recommendation: Antifragile

  Antifragile by Nassim Nicholas Taleb is an acerbic, thought-provoking book about things that gain from disorder and volatility. Taleb mixes refreshing pragmatism with profound skepticism and is ruthless in his arguments against the fundamental inconsistencies baked into everything from financial speculation to medical research. Antifragile is jam packed with ideas. Although I disagreed with some…

• Reading Recommendation: Flash Boys

  Flash Boys by Michael Lewis is a riveting nonfiction thriller that exposes the dirty world of high-frequency trading on Wall Street. Lewis is an award-winning journalist whose investigative reporting reads like a first-rate page-turner. Finishing Flash Boys left me in awe of his mastery of the craft and reminded me how much I have to…

• Book Review: The Cartel

  The Cartel by Don Winslow is a gritty epic set in the midst of the Mexican drug war. Traffickers, DEA agents, corrupt politicians, and everyday people are caught up in a deadly game with no true winners. Although the book is fiction, Winslow spent more than a decade researching the conflict and many of the…