Challenging A God

Who guides our fate? And can we ever hope to wrest control for ourselves? In this novella, David Brin merges classical mythology with impudent modern spirit in a science fiction legend that speculates upon the nature of reality.

THE LOOM OF THESSALY by David Brin is far better than the story description. Essentially, a man spots an anomaly on an unreachable plateau using some military-grade technology. He decides to challenge his friend to climb to the top. What is discovered is a story within a story.

You don't have to know anything about mythology to appreciate the battle of wits, but some familiarity with Greek myths might make this more intriguing. I love the mix of modern science fiction with Old World storytelling. This is one of my favorite Brin stories.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Hatching Into Space

THE CRYSTAL SPHERES by David Brin is written with such a strange concept, I was about 3/4 through the story before I finally caught on to the mindset. While I love the exotic details the author weaves throughout this sci-fi short, I almost felt too stupid to enjoy Brin's tale of space exploration. Almost.

I am glad I kept reading because the ending has really changed the way I view the possibility of life elsewhere in the Universe, even though this is a work of fiction. This is a great example of why I love the imagination of writers.

As always,
AstraDaemon