July 2023

Foundation's Triumph by David Brin

The novel “Foundation’s Triumph” by David Brin was published for the first time in 1999. It’s the third book of the so-called second Foundation trilogy and follows “Foundation and Chaos”.

Hari Seldon is supposed to have completed his task related to the creation of the Foundations but there are still some points of the psychohistory that give him headaches. A meeting with a person outside the project who suggests some connections between the characteristics of some planets’ soil and psychohistory intrigues him and drives him to start a journey that has an unexpected final destination.

The robot that used the name Dors Venabili meets Lodovik Trema, who gives her the head of R. Giskard Reventlov. Dors begins to relive Giskard’s memories, starting with the ones connected to R. Daneel Olivaw, who is carrying out a plan he reveals to his assistant Zun Lurrin.

The fossils of Repenomamus robustus and Psittacosaurus lujiatunensis with insets showing some magnified details of their interactions that are considered among the evidence that they died during a fight

An article published in the journal “Scientific Reports” describes what appears to all intents and purposes a fight in which a mammal of the species Repenomamus robustus attacked a dinosaur of the species Psittacosaurus lujiatunensis. A team of researchers examined fossils discovered in today’s China dating back to about 125 million years ago, in the Jurassic period, which offer the first evidence of a mammal hunting a dinosaur. The two animals engaged in a mortal fight became entangled in a flow of volcanic mud similar to the one called lahar in jargon, leaving evidence of that fight.

Alien Universe aka The Green Helix by E.C. Tubb

The novel “Alien Universe” by E.C. Tubb was published for the first time in 1952 under the pseudonym Volsted Gridban and reprinted in 2009 as “The Green Helix” under the author’s real name.

Caleb is the captain of his own cargo spacecraft, an old spaceship with which he manages to make some money despite the competition from big space corporations. He tries not to worry about the disappearance of various spaceships in hyperspace but the problem becomes important for him when Professor Armitage offers him the possibility of obtaining a huge profit if he finds his daughter, among the passengers of one of the missing spaceships.

Only one of the missing spaceships has been found but Professor Armitage claims that there are aliens at work attacking human spaceships. Caleb agrees to go on a journey to an entirely unknown destination that leads them into another universe.

Chapterhouse Dune by Frank Herbert

The novel “Chapterhouse Dune” by Frank Herbert was published for the first time in 1985. It’s the sixth book in the Dune saga and follows “Heretics of Dune”.

The Honored Matres keep on conquering planets controlled by the Bene Gesserit. Lampadas, where there was an important Sisterhood school, fell and Chancellor Lucilla was only able to share her memories with Rebecca, a Jewish “wild” Reverend Mother. The Jews managed to escape to the planet Gammu but have to hide in a no-chamber.

On the Chapterhouse planet, the Bene Gesserit are trying to replicate the desert of ancient Arrakis to revive the great worms. To try to turn the tide of what seems like a lost war, it’s essential to raise a ghola of Bashar Miles Teg but Duncan Idaho has his ideas about the child. Duncan is also taken by his relationship with Murbella, the captured Honored Matre who is on her way to becoming a Reverend Mother after being trained as a Bene Gesserit.

Downtime - Child of the New World by Andy Frankham-Allen

The novel “Downtime – Child of the New World” by Andy Frankham-Allen was published for the first time in 2020.

Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart managed to build a relationship with his daughter Kate and see his grandson Gordon regularly. The fact that Gordon also built a relationship with his cousin Conall is another great achievement. However, this slowly built harmony suffers a terrible blow when the two cousins get kidnapped.

The old world of Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart seems to suck him back, also because the Great Intelligence seems once again involved in the problems that struck his daughter Kate and his grandson Gordon. To save his grandchildren, Lethbridge-Stewart enlists the help of old friends and colleagues in a mission unlike any other in which his family’s role is crucial.