Category Archives: Writing & Reading

Life, Death and Tolkien

Posted on 17 November 2024 by Henry Gee

My recent post on Tolkien got me thinking about some more current issues. There are others who are better guides to Tolkien’s moral philosophy than I. However, the person who finally convinced me, many years ago, that capital punishment was … Continue reading →

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Tolkien and Loss

Posted on 16 November 2024 by Henry Gee

I’ve argued elsewhere that one of the most important themes in Tolkien’s work is loss. Loss of technological ability, loss of lifespan, loss of population, loss of — well, let’s not put too fine a point on it — grace, … Continue reading →

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What I Read In October

Posted on 3 November 2024 by Henry Gee

Robert Harris: Precipice This exponent of the well-researched historical and occasionally alt-history thriller, often set in Nazi Germany (Fatherland) or Ancient Rome (Imperium, Pompeii, etcetera) sometimes steers very close to actual reality, dramatising  real events that happened to real people … Continue reading →

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What I Read In September

Posted on 29 September 2024 by Henry Gee

Alastair Reynolds: Aurora Rising I’m always on for one of Alastair Reynolds’ space operas, tinged as they are with a certain gothic menace, so imagine my delight when I came across two that I’d never seen before, Elysium Fire and … Continue reading →

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The Wonder of Life on Earth

Posted on 20 September 2024 by Henry Gee

One of the criticisms of my book A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth was that it lacked illustrations of the many creatures mentioned therein. To fill what seems to be a yawning chasm lacuna hole I’m pleased to … Continue reading →

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Objects In The Rear-View Mirror

Posted on 11 September 2024 by Henry Gee

It was so long ago, that sometimes it feels like only yesterday. It was the end of 1987, and there I was, a graduate student in Cambridge, finishing my Ph.D. and minding my own business (see photo below) … when … Continue reading →

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What I Read In August

Posted on 30 August 2024 by Henry Gee

Peter F. Hamilton: The Chronicle of the Fallers (The Abyss Beyond Dreams/ Night Without Stars) Another month, another enormous bonkbuster from Peter F. Hamilton. Back in June I reviewed the Commonwealth Saga (Pandora’s Star/ Judas Unchained) in which the prosperous … Continue reading →

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What I Read In July

Posted on 28 July 2024 by Henry Gee

Richard Fortey: Close Encounters of the Fungal Kind Richard Fortey is best known as an author (Life: An Unauthorised Biography) and palaeontologist (Trilobite!) but as his sparkling memoir A Curious Boy revealed, he’s been a skilled amateur mycologist since boyhood. … Continue reading →

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What I Read In June

Posted on 1 July 2024 by Henry Gee

Baoshu The Redemption of Time I generally don’t have time for fan fiction, but there’s fan fiction and fan fiction, and this one is of a superior sort. Baoshu (a pen name) is a fan, specifically of the cosmically successful … Continue reading →

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What I Read In May

Posted on 31 May 2024 by Henry Gee

Ken Liu (ed.) Invisible Planets Hungry as I am for more SF from China, and with birthday requests on the table, Mrs Gee ordered me this collection of contemporary Chinese SF, edited and translated by Ken Liu. Thirteen stories, all … Continue reading →

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