The science fiction/murder mystery crossover has been well-established in space opera and Earth-based high-tech futures, but The Tainted Cup gives us a very different, if equally impressive approach. Physical technology on the featured planet is pretty much medieval, but biological enhancements are commonplace. This is not due to advanced science, but rather with the approach of a herbalist on a planet where some of the biological specimens are able to cause such dramatic changes. The narrator, Din, is a young assistant investigator recently started in his first position. His enhancements as an engraver are slightly reminiscent of a mentat in Dune, giving him perfect recall and leading to surprising sword fighting abilities. His boss, Ana, is more complex - a combination of Mycroft Holmes from the modern-day set Sherlock TV show and Judge Dee from van Gulik's remarkable books. Except she wears a blindfold most of the time and swears a lot more. (The author likens her to a cross be...

Subtitled 'overlooked and omitted topics in mathematics', the obvious concern is that there is a good reason these topics are overlooked and omitted. Thankfully, this is not the case, but it's fair to say that despite attempts to dress it up that way, this isn't a recreational maths book. There's a fair description in the blurb: 'the topics which every undergraduate mathematics student "should" know, but has probably never encountered... magnificent secrets that are beautiful, useful and accessible.' As someone who many years ago did a degree with a fair amount of mathematics in it, I think it probably would have appealed back then - though to be honest a lot of it has disappeared from my memory, strongly reducing the entertainment value. Here's an example. The first real page contains the sentence:  'If you are handed a real number 𝓍 ∈  ⁠ ⁠,  one way to tell if 𝓍 is rational or irrational is to look at sequences of rational numbers q n ...

This is surely Caleb Scharf's most personal work - and certainly quite different from some of his earlier output, such as his excellent Gravity's Engines.   In part this is a technological exploration of space travel, not unlike Final Frontier , but it is also about the future of humanity, more reminiscent of The Decline and Fall of the Human Empire , but with a more positive outlook. Overall, it was fascinating reading. Let's take those two aspects separately. As always, Scharf gives us plenty of meat in an approachable fashion, whether it's delving into the rocket equation, considering the pros and considerable limitations of Mars as a destination for humans (the chapter is pointedly called The Red Siren), or taking on the possibilities of asteroids. And even in the semi-technical aspect of the first Moon landing we get some more personal detail - I hadn't realised until reading this that Scharf was English by birth (being bathed in a sink at a key moment). Althou...

Unlike the general theory of relativity or cosmology, quantum physics is an aspect of physics that has had a huge impact on everyday lives, particularly through the deployment of electronics, but also, for example, where superconductivity has led to practical applications. But when Paul Davies is talking about version 2.0, he is specifically describing quantum information, where quantum particles and systems are used in information technology. This obviously includes quantum computers, but Davies also brings in, for example, the potential for quantum AI technology. Quantum computers have been discussed for decades - algorithms had already been written for them as early as the 1990s - but it's only now that they are starting to become usable devices, not at the personal level but in servers. In his usual approachable style, Davies gives us four chapters bringing us up to speed on quantum basics, but then brings in quantum computing. After this we don't get solid quantum informat...

When I read Miles Cameron's Artifact Space back in 2021 I was very impressed - somehow, I've not kept up the author who, for me comes closest to Alastair Reynolds in writing intelligent, engaging space opera. As a result it was a delight to return to the Artifact Space universe with the third book in his Arcana Imperii series. (I've also added book 2 to my reading list). Cameron shines by giving us both a complex political background and genuinely likeable central characters in the small crew of what initially seems to be a simple freighter but ends up being far more. Although not a direct parallel, for me Cameron gives the same warm feeling that fans get from the best of S tar Trek, with the opportunity a novel provides to give significantly more depth. It was simply a joy to read. My main complaint with  Artifact Space was the length - thankfully this volume pulls back from the wrist busting 568 pages to a more modest 406, much to its benefit. The central character of ...

Sometimes when reading a book, just like being in any other relationship, you have to say ‘It’s not you, it’s me.’ Unfortunately, I really struggled to get on with James Riordon's eccentric take on gravity. It's not that the main areas of the topic aren't covered. You'll find Newton and general relativity; black holes, white holes (and your kitchen sink), gravitational waves and dark matter/energy. But the approach to covering this includes surprisingly little science. Instead, Riordon skips around the topics, lacing the facts with personal observations (and even family details) touching on aspects of gravity without ever really telling us much of the scientific detail (I'm not sure if this should even be considered popular science.) This is where the 'it's me' bit really kicks in. I like good narrative in a popular science book, though I feel there's far too much 'me' from the author in many such books of late. I read them to explore the sci...