"If you ask 'Should we be in space?' you ask a nonsense question. We are in space." -Frank Herbert

SHIFT, Book Two of the SILO series, A No-Spoiler Review

By Susi Jensen | January 24, 2025

SILO, A Review of Novel #1

By Susi Jensen | January 8, 2025

SILO is an Apple+ series that is about to release a second season. Recently, I began reading the novels. The first installment is called WOOL, and follows pretty closely the first season of the Apple+ version. This novel is rated PG-13 for adult themes. There is little or no explicit violence and no explicit sex…

Wicked, A No-Spoiler Review of the Novel (Not the Musical)

By Susi Jensen | November 9, 2024

WICKED, a huge Broadway hit from the last couple of decades, is coming to film. I recently learned that WICKED (the musical, on which the film is based) debuted at the Curan Theater on May 28 of 2003. The Curan Theater lives at 445 Geary Street in San Francisco. Berkeley is my old home, stomping…

SCOTT PILGRIM VERSUS THE WORLD, A No-Spoiler Film Review

By Susi Jensen | September 6, 2024 |

SCOTT PILGRIM VERSUS THE WORLD, a 2010 film starring Michael Cera as Scott Pilgrim and Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Ramona Flowers, dishes out a nerd meets cool girl story and takes it to the videogame/superhero plane, right into transmedia storytelling. This is an entertaining and funny PG13 story, full of teen angst, youthful lust and…

ALIEN CHILD, A No Spoiler Review of the YA Novel

By Susi Jensen | August 30, 2024

Pamela Sargent, prolific middle grade scifi writer, wrote ALIEN CHILD in the 80s. I recommend this book as a thought-provoking vision of a possible dystopian future. The Short, No-Spoiler Review: 4 Reasons to Read this Book with your Middleschooler/Young Adult ALIEN CHILD delivers a story that unfolds like a mystery, rated PG the characters are…

CONSIDER PHLEBAS, A No-Spoiler Review

By Susi Jensen | May 27, 2024 |

I highly recommend CONSIDER PHLEBAS, an epic space opera written by the great Iain M. Banks. See below for the details, but suffice it to say: You MUST read Banks (especially books in the Culture Series) before you die…and don’t wait too long. You’ll need the brain-power to absorb the complexities of his broad, beautiful…

FEERSUM ENDJINN, A No-Spoiler Review

By Susi Jensen | April 12, 2024 |

Iain M. Banks is a Scottish writer who produced literary and science fiction. He is a must read for all scifi fanatics. I only say this to the purists because if you are not a scifi purist, you might find Banks challenging. This is a review of FEERSUM ENDJINN, one of his scifi books. I…

HOOD, by Stephen Lawhead, A No-Spoiler Review

By Susi Jensen | April 11, 2024 |

Last fall, I needed to restock my Little Free Library, so headed to the local Goodwill to see what sci-fi, fantasy or dystopian fiction they had on hand. (My LFLibrary is filled with these genres only). I did find some great treasures, including this Stephen Lawhead book that I had never heard of. I began…

Writing Facial/Body/Clothing Descriptions, A Study of PD James and a Few Other Literary Giants

By Susi Jensen | December 16, 2023 |

THE CHILDREN OF MEN, A No-Spoiler Review of the novel by PD James

By Susi Jensen | December 15, 2023 |

If you’re a person born before 1990, you’ve probably seen the film Children of Men, based on the novel by PD James. I recommend this scifi novel without reservations. This book is rated PG and appropriate for young adults. The rating is due to adult themes and some violence. I’m guessing it would make a great…