Ahmed Writes

Updated August 6, 2025 LATEST BOOK LAUNCH ON KINDLE DIRECT: https://www.amazon.com/Kai-Lung-Flips-Open-Laptop-ebook/dp/B0FKZJFC5C/ Want to join me on facebook? Here is the link:  https://www.facebook.com/ahmedkhanwrites/ Want to provide me feedback on any of stories or articles? Email me at khan.ahmeda@gmail.com. ARTICLES Gaia and the Art of Fighting Marine Oil Pollution - in "Ships and Soil" . Non-verbal Communication: Fact and Fiction  -  "Strange Horizon" (26 Feb. 2001 Two Solitudes: An Interview With James Alan Gardner - in "Absolute Write" (Aug. 2005) Philosophy of Monotheism - published in "Ambitions" . Lateral Thinking for Writers  -  "Visions" (2006) Smell of Time - in "Suddenly Lost in Words" (Oct. 2012) The Future of Futuristic Fiction  -  in "New Myths" (2016) Islamic Speculative Fiction: Past, Present and Future  -  in "Samjoko" (April, 2025) SHORT STORIES SCIENCE FICTION ...

Book: MY NAME IS LEGION Writer: Roger Zelazny Del Rey, May 1978 - Third Printing The cover of this edition of the book is quite unattractive. The book itself consists of 3 novellas, losely connected by the fact that they have the same protagonist. He, like almost all Zelazny protagonists, is a larger-than-life character. His real name is not known to anyone, including the readers. He appears under a different name in each story. The stories are told in first person. The first novella is titled "The Eve of RUMOKO". It is an interested read except that I detested the ending. I have found that other than larger-than-life characters, unsatisfactory endings are quite common in novellas and novels of Zelazny. However, he writes so well that most of his stories are worth reading in spite of unsatisfactory endings. This story made me look up more details about undersea drilling of earth's core. I found out about the American Miscellaneous Society and about project Mohole. I...

Book: ISLE OF THE DEAD Writer: Roger Zelazny Ace 1969 - First Edition This is not one of the best Zelaznys but, written in first person, it has his usual larger-than-life characters, poetic settings and thought-provoking inner monologues. In fact, my reason for selecting this book to include in the Bookscan blog series is one such monologue. Starting on page 61 and continuing on to page 62, I found this gem of thought: Inwardly, I wept for thee, Mother Earth, and the prodigees wrought upon thee. A government is born, it flourishes, strong is its nationalism and great its frontiers, then comes a time of solidification, division of labor unto specialization, and layers of management and chains of command, yes, and Max Weber spoke of this. He saw beaureaucracy in the necessary evolution of all instituions, and he saw that it was good. He saw that it was necessary and good. While it may be necessary, put a comma after that word and after the last one add "God" and an exclam...

In this new year of 2022, I will be blogging information about some of the books that I read and enjoy. If any of those books take me on side excursions, I will be sharing those journeys too. "Bookscan" is the name I have given to this series of blogs. And here is Bookscan #1 Book: THE STARCROSSED Writer: Ben Bova TOR Paperback, 1988 This is a novel that I thoroughly enjoyed, starting from the gorgeous cover itself. In a way, the book is a tribute to Harlan Ellison and is dedicated to Cordwainer Bird. If you don't know who or what Cordwainer Bird is, I suggest googling it. Ellison, in the guise of the writer Ron Gabriel, is one of the main characters of the book. Obviously, Ben Bova had great fun writing this novel and this sense of fun leaps of the written pages. Definitely a good start to my 2022 book reading.