November 2024

Dark Horizons by Jenny T. Colgan

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The novel “Dark Horizons” by Jenny T. Colgan was published for the first time in 2012.

A Viking ship is carrying Freydis, the Duke of Trondheim’s daughter, promised in marriage to the King of Iceland. It’s an arranged marriage and Freydis is held prisoner on the ship to prevent her from trying to escape what she believes to be a terrible fate. When a sort of tentacle of fire comes out of the sea and hits the ship, panic breaks out on board.

On a nearby Scottish island, the inhabitants see the fire from the shore, and in the village, everyone goes to see the strange show. No one can do anything but the Eleventh Doctor has arrived on the island and has gone to see the source of the commotion. He intervenes and saves the ship’s crew but the strange fire is a threat to everyone on the island too and the Tardis starts acting up.

The Battle of Corrin by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

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The novel “The Battle of Corrin” by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson was published for the first time in 2004. It’s the third book in the Legends of Dune trilogy and follows “The Machine Crusade”.

Omnius has ordered the development of a virus to attack free humanity at the suggestion of a traitor. Erasmus and a Tlulaxa prisoner create a virus with a direct mortality rate of 43% and attack the planets of the League of Nobles. Doctor Raquella Berto-Anirul realizes that patients who regularly consume the spice imported from Arrakis are more likely to not get sick or at least recover.

For Omnius, bacteriological warfare is only the first step in an offensive aimed at striking at the heart of free humanity. However, Vorian Atreides wants to start a counteroffensive to attack the planets controlled by the thinking machines. To do so, he must use spaceships that use space-folding technology, which Norma Cenva hasn’t yet managed to make risk-free.

Navaornis hestiae skeleton (Photo courtesy Stephanie Abramowicz)

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An article published in the journal “Nature” reports the identification of a species of primitive birds that lived about 80 million years ago, in the Cretaceous period, in today’s Brazil. A team of researchers examined a very well-preserved fossil skeleton and named the species Navaornis hestiae, attributing it to the group of Enantiornithes. A thorough examination was possible by subjecting the skeleton to a CT scan that allowed them to create a 3D reconstruction. The characteristics of the brain of this primitive bird offer new information on the evolution of bird brain.

Greener Than You Think by Ward Moore

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The novel “Greener Than You Think” by Ward Moore was published for the first time in 1947.

Albert Weener answered a job advertisement by Josephine Spencer Francis, a scientist who invented the Metamorphizer, a kind of fertilizer that allows a plant to grow in any condition without the need for other fertilizers. At this stage of development, the Metamorphizer works only with grass species such as devilgrass, scientifically known as Cynodon dactylon.

Weener, who works as a salesman without much success, manages to sell a dose of Metamorphizer with the result that the devilgrass in the garden where it was applied starts growing practically before their eyes. Any attempt to stop the growth fails and the grass starts spreading out of control.

Teleport by Joshua T. Calvert

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The novel “Teleport” by Joshua T. Calvert was published for the first time in 2022. It’s the first book in the Teleport series.

A drilling operation on the bottom of Lake Maracaibo is thrown into crisis when a completely abnormal storm breaks out. The investigation into the magnetic anomalies leads to the discovery of what is clearly an artifact that is estimated to be around 400,000 years old.

James Hamilton is a negotiator who works in life-or-death situations when he’s picked up by a military team that takes him to a base where the alien artifact was transported. He’s convinced to work as a sort of babysitter for the international group of scientists who are studying the artifact. Everyone’s job gets complicated when the scientists manage to enter an internal chamber of the artifact and discover that it’s a teleportation system.