HELPING READERS
SELECT OUTSTANDING
SPECULATIVE FICTION, THRILLERS
AND NON-FICTION FOCUSED ON FUTURE SCIENCE &
TECHNOLOGY
*********
Speculative Fiction Books
Artificial Intelligence Genetic Engineering
Future Science & Technology
Robotics Nanotechnology
Suspense Thriller
Books
This
book review site is a place to read and think about the years just
beyond tomorrow; a place to explore the clash of
emerging science with traditional social
structures; a place to make judgments and
predictions about the next few decades.
A radically different future is rushing toward us, one shaded with hope
and danger. Many books have been written to guide us into these
uncertain years, and the best are
reviewed in these pages. Included are future
science books that focus on artificial intelligence, robotics,
nanotechnology and genetic engineering; and suspense thrillers and
speculative fiction
books that examine the
gathering
impact of these technologies.
Read the book
reviews listed on
the
Speculative Fiction,
Future Technology
or
Additional
Resources web pages;
many of these books are my favorites. In addition,
links
to other good quality book review sites are listed at
the bottom of this page.
PeaceMaker
A devastating computer virus designed
to crash global systems ...
One woman out to gain her revenge, no
matter what the cost ...
One man willing to go the ultimate
distance to stop her.
The Internet, the world and a man's
soul all hang in the balance.
“Read PeaceMaker and you'll never see your computer in
quite the same way again. I kept watching my laptop for
smoke while I wrote this review... Mr. Ronco has a
flair. I'm sure we'll see his work for years to come.”
----- Jeanette Cottrell, Reviewer, eBook Reviews Weekly,
Author of Sliding on Rainbows
PeaceMaker,
my first
novel, is a lightning-paced speculative fiction thriller. Read the
book's excerpts in
Prologue
and Chapter
1 -- you'll enjoy them.
The prologue is brief, but
includes a duel between man and machine that will
surprise you. The first chapter begins as a tense
courtroom drama and then roars to a conclusion unlike
anything you've seen on Law and Order.
PeaceMaker was released by Winterwolf
Publishing in August, 2004 and Unholy Domain, my latest
novel, will be released by Kunati Publishing in spring
2008. Although still available at Amazon and many
bookstores, PeaceMaker will appear on the
danronco.com
website as a serial novel. You can now read the complete
story free of charge. If you’d like to begin reading,
just click on the link and jump in. Every week an
additional chapter will be added.
PeaceMakerreaders frequently ask me if the fictional company
Vantage Point Software is really Microsoft in disguise.
I compare the real and fictional organizations, as well
as their leaders, in Microsoft.
My science and
business
background is briefly described in
Meet Dan Ronco.
Of course, feel free to contact me through
E-Mail.
Joe Massucci, Author
CODE:ALPHA and The Millennium Project
"Dan
Ronco combines his considerable knowledge of
software with his love of writing to produce a
fast-paced thriller about the threat of a highly
intelligent computer virus in the hands of
extremists bent on destroying the world's computing
infrastructure. For computer geeks and Tom Clancy
readers alike, PEACEMAKER is hard to put down. Ronco
gives us a sobering glimpse of just how vulnerable
we are to "intelligent" computer viruses and the
unstable personalities of those who create and
unleash them. This is truly chilling material."
Set in 2012,
PeaceMaker
is a crossover between
the speculative fiction and thriller book genres. Here's the plot: a dominant software corporation,
torn apart in an anti-trust trial, turns to the dark side
and forms the Domain, a terrorist organization. Seeking
revenge against the Federal Government, the Domain
infects the Internet with PeaceMaker, a software virus with the
power to
shutdown computers across the globe on the command of its master, Dianne
Morgan.
The only person aware of the danger is Dianne's
former lover, Ray Brown, a brilliant software architect and a decent
guy, but a drunk and
a misfit. Since Howard Roark, Ayn Rand's hero in
the Fountainhead, is weak and indecisive compared to
Dianne, what chance does Ray
have?
Link to the following pages and learn how Rayand
Dianne
are dealing with this no-holds-barred conflict.
What is
Speculative Fiction?
I
Speculative fiction is commonly thought
of as genre fiction, usually consisting of
science fiction and fantasy. A definition of
speculative fiction may include horror,
mystery and thrillers. Here, I define
speculative fiction in a more restrictive
manner; it is fiction that pushes the
boundaries of imagination, but stays within
the realm of possibility. A good
speculative fiction story makes you think,
takes you beyond our present reality but
leaves you with the feeling the characters
might actually exist somewhere in time and
place. Good speculative fiction should
provide insights into the human condition,
although the setting may be unlike anything
you have previously considered. Speculative
fiction intersects, but doesn’t completely
overlap science fiction, thrillers, and
historical fiction. The stories often
consider the consequences of emerging
technologies or cultural directions, but not
always. Good speculative fiction arouses
both your emotions and your intellect, while
it transports you to a different reality.
My thoughts ...
Dan Ronco
SPECULATIVE
FICTION
BOOK REVIEW WEBSITES
SFBook.com News and reviews about both new and
classic speculativefictionbooks.
The SF Site
A mixture of book reviews, opinion pieces,
author interviews, fiction excerpts, author and
publisher reading lists and a variety of other
features.
Science/Technology Book Reviews
Thought-provoking popular science texts from
extraterrestrial life and quantum computing to
nanotechnology and artificial intelligence.
Dan Ronco is the author of PeaceMaker, a
speculative fiction thriller book. He uses the screen name PeaceMakerAuthor or
PeaceMaker Author. Additional sites located on
deerfield and
angelfire.
