Related Subjects: Author Index
Book reviews for "Smith,_David_Alexander" sorted by average review score:
Future Boston: The History of a City 1990-2100
Published in Hardcover by Tor Books (1994)
Author: David Alexander Smith
Amazon base price: $22.95
Used price: $2.22
Collectible price: $4.24
Buy one from zShops for: $6.95
Average review score:

An excellent and diverse collection
This collection of stories mixes together a little of everything that makes science fiction enjoyable: a solid basis in the hard and soft sciences and a wonderfully imagined future, with a twist of pure fun. The contributors, all members of a science fiction workshop, first planned out the future history of Boston and then related it in this series of interconnected tales.

The quality of the writing, overall, is remarkably good and the future they lay out is intriguing. You don't have to be a Bostonian to enjoy these stories.

Several of the contributors are prominent for other award-winning work--Sarah Smith, Alexander Jablokov, and Geoffrey Landis, among others. Their stories here are excellent.

Man, do these authors know Boston.
It's realistic and even plausible. They definitely pulled it together. These authors know the little things about this city that make it entrance those of us who might wander far away, but who know in our hearts Boston is home. The inter-stories between the big ones are brilliant.

In the Cube
Published in Paperback by Tor Books (1994)
Author: David Alexander Smith
Amazon base price: $4.50
Used price: $0.74
Collectible price: $4.00
Average review score:

Fantastic concept of what it is to be alien
I found this to be an easily readable novel -- perhaps a good place for those who are new to sci-fi to start. Smith creates a very interesting story with "In The Cube" based largely on his more "big picture" ideas than the plot itself, which was above cookie-cutter quality, but not on a level of those of Heinlein or Asimov. Where Smith shines is his concept of what it is to be alien; he allows to reader to study the thought processes and social structure of the most prominent alien race in the book, the Phner. The history of future Boston is also an interesting plus, and is able to elevate this book above its otherwise straightforward detective story. There is a high potential for future works of D. A. Smith to be impressive. Let us hope we hear from him soon.

Stock plot saved by wonderfully realized aliens

Boston in the future has been changed to the point of unrecognizability. The only port where aliens can trade with humans, fortunes beyond those of Bill Gates have been made, and the city rebuilt by simply gluing together all of the old buildings into one huge brick.

Beverly O'Mera is a "cubehunter" within this changed Boston- a private eye specializing in finding lost persons. She is called up by one of the most powerful women in Boston to find the woman's daughter who ran away. (Or did she?) O'Mera and her Phner partner, Akktri, get drawn into a widening conspiracy involving most of the powerful people of the new Boston.

The basic plot of the book is straight hard-bitten detective, well worn and with few surprises. Where the book really shines is the development of Akktri and the rest of the Phner. The Phner are one of the rarest things in SF: true aliens, not just humans in alien suits or one dimensional horror figures.

The Phner are beaver-like semi-aquatic aliens who appeared in Boston following losing their home planet in a war. They don't really live in the present and understand little human logic, but rather have a editic racial memory. To a Phner, nothing is truly real until it is dead or destroyed: only then can its "art" be fully appreciated and understood.

The book begins with both the author and O'Mera treating Akktri much as an intelligent dog. Akktri bounces around, following O'Mera, happy that she will give him "lobster-fish" when they find their quarry. As the story progresses, the impact of the bizarre (to human eyes) Phner understanding of reality begins to show more and more. Akktri is not a dog: not even human in the sense of having the same feelings or goals as a human would. As O'Mera begins to truly understand the Phner and what they can and want to do, she must question both her partnership and her friendship with the Phner.

The Future Boston developed by Smith has a lot of potential: there are numerous odd aliens and lots of bizarre history. Hopefully Smith will be able to realize Targives, popcorn aliens and the rest in future books as well as he has done the Phner in In the Cube

Biography of Rev. David Smith (Black Heritage Library Collection)
Published in Hardcover by Ayer Co Pub (1981)
Authors: David Smith and Daniel Alexander Payne
Amazon base price: $19.95
Average review score:
No reviews found.
Brain Tumors: An Encyclopedia Approach
Published in Hardcover by W B Saunders Co (15 February, 2001)
Authors: R.B. Anderson, Condon, Robert Green, Knight, V. Mahadevan, Vishy Mahadevan, V. Mehadevan, S. Muirhead-Allwood, Schwartz, and Smith
Amazon base price: $150.00
Average review score:
No reviews found.
Field and Laboratory Activities t/a Environmental Science 7e
Published in Spiral-bound by McGraw-Hill Science/Engineering/Math (16 August, 1999)
Authors: Eldon D. Enger, Bradley F. Smith, Heidi Marcum, David A. Aborn, W. Merle Alexander, and Bradley Smith
Amazon base price: $46.15
Used price: $27.95
Buy one from zShops for: $30.48
Average review score:
No reviews found.
Local Government for Journalists
Published in Paperback by LGC Information (1992)
Authors: Geoffrey Smith, Derrik Hender, David Kett, and John Alexander
Amazon base price: $
Average review score:
No reviews found.
McCall Smith & Sheldon: Scots Criminal Law
Published in Paperback by Lexis Law Publishing (Va) (1992)
Authors: R. Alexander Smith, Alexander McCall Smith, and David Sheldon
Amazon base price: $51.00
Average review score:
No reviews found.
Medfirst: Comprehensive First Responder (Cd-Rom, Institutional Version)
Published in Hardcover by Prentice Hall (15 February, 2001)
Authors: Victory Tech, Medmedic, Leddy, Knight, Condon, R.L. Williams, V. Mehadevan, R.B. Anderson, S. Muirhead-Allwood, and Vishy Mahadevan
Amazon base price: $150.00
Average review score:
No reviews found.
Nursing Knowledge & Nursing Science
Published in Hardcover by Prentice Hall PTR (15 February, 2001)
Authors: R.B. Anderson, Batjer, Condon, Robert Green, Knight, Leddy, V. Mahadevan, Vishy Mahadevan, V. Mehadevan, and S. Muirhead-Allwood
Amazon base price: $150.00
Average review score:
No reviews found.
"To the Greit Support and Advancement of Helth": Papers on the History of Medicine in Aberdeen, Arising from a Conference Held During the Quincentenary Year of Aberdeen University
Published in Paperback by Aberdeen History of Medicine Publications (09 May, 1996)
Authors: Alexander Adam, David Smith, and Fiona Watson
Amazon base price: $
Average review score:
No reviews found.

Related Subjects: Author Index

Reviews are from readers at Amazon.com. To add a review, follow the Amazon buy link above.