60 ratings | 30 reviews | avg rating:4.13

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Koen Martens

Goodreads Author

Website

https://www.koenmartens.nl/

Twitter

koenswriting

Genre

Science Fiction

Member Since

May 2021

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Koen Martens is a science fiction author and retired hacker with a degree in artificial intelligence. A software architect by day, Koen has worked with quantum computers, lithography machines, cloud servers and
many other high-tech gadgets. Koen’s experience lends a great degree of realism to his writing and provides him with a healthy dose of scepticism towards humanity’s unhealthy relationship with technology.

While born in the Netherlands, Koen, together with his husband, now lives in Sweden. In his spare time, he can often be found roaming the woods of Skaraborg (getting lost despite the assistance of gps navigatio
n), behind a pinball game (or inside with a soldering iron) or at a live jazz concert.

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What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

Koen Martens Beware of writing advice.

There is a lot of writing advice. On blogs, in forums, writing communities, reddit, twitter, et cetera... As with anything th…moreBeware of writing advice.

There is a lot of writing advice. On blogs, in forums, writing communities, reddit, twitter, et cetera... As with anything that's available for free on the internet: stay critical. It's easy to get dragged in by dogmatic advice and writing rules. Too much of that will block your creativity.

Some of the advice is genuinely useful, but more often than not it is blog filler or someone presenting their own writing style as gospel.

I always judge the value of writing advice by looking at books I like.

For example, some authors will be very vehement about dialogue tags and how you should never ever use anything other than 'I/he/she/they said'. However, looking at a book I'm currently reading (by an award winning author) and am very much enjoying, there is a lot more diversity. Verbs like 'asked', 'grunted', 'hissed'.

Others will tell you you always need to jump right into the action, and you should never ever have an exposition that takes an entire chapter. I've read plenty of books that have a lengthy exposition before the real action starts, and it never bothered me. Some of them were best-sellers.

Writing is not about rules. Writing is about creativity. That is not to say that there aren't certain patterns that will be appreciated more than others, but within those broad patterns there is plenty of room for creativity.(less)

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What are you currently working on?

Koen Martens I'm working on the 'Isolated Futures' sequence. Six shorter pieces (novelette - novella length) exploring different sub-genres of the sci-fi space. It…moreI'm working on the 'Isolated Futures' sequence. Six shorter pieces (novelette - novella length) exploring different sub-genres of the sci-fi space. It's as much an exercise in self-publishing as it is about writing the stories. I'm trying to figure out the whole process, from writing to hiring editors, commissioning covers and actually publishing on the online platforms.

Starting 18 September -- when 'Forced to be Free', the first story in the series, will be released -- each month will see a new story. When all stories are out they will also be available as a bundle containing all six.(less)

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Koen Martens’s books

Average rating: 4.0 · 47 ratings · 36 reviews · 14 distinct works • Similar authors

	Forced to be Free (Isolated Futures #1) 3.95 avg rating — 19 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Ein Particle 3.78 avg rating — 18 ratings — published 2023 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Isolated Futures Omnibus 4.57 avg rating — 7 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Murder, Plain and Simple (Isolated Futures, #2) 4.50 avg rating — 2 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Cima Peak (Isolated Futures, #3) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Negative Reinforcement (Isolated Futures, #4) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Eddy (Isolated Futures, #5) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	DingDong by Zhumee (Isolated Futures, #6) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Boilerplate War 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Aquatic Biodiversity: A Celebratory Volume in Honour of Henri J. Dumont (Developments in Hydrobiology, Volume 171) [Special Indian Edition - Reprint Year: 2020] 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Koen Martens's Blog

Review: The Stars Undying, Emery��Robin

Cover for The Stars Undying by Emery Robin: classical-futuristic city scape.

A fine piece of epic empire opera, if that��s a thing. I��d call it space opera if it had more space travel. It is said to draw inspiration from the lives of Cleopatra and Julius Caesar, of which this scribe, admittedly, knows not a lot. Equally so, it is clearly inspired by Arkady Martine��s ��A Memory Called Empire��: political intrigue on a grand scale, interesting characters and a wel

Koen is Currently Reading

Koen Martens is currently reading

Alba

by Kristina Hård

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Aug 28, 2024 12:11PM

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Koen’s Recent Updates

Koen Martens is now friends with Kal Ström
Jul 21, 2025 10:35PM · like
Koen Martens is currently reading Alba by Kristina Hård	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Aug 28, 2024 12:11PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Alba by Kristina Hård. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Alba by Kristina Hård <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Koen Martens rated a book liked it Vävaren by Torbjörn Skarsgård (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Usch - as the Swedes say - where to start. The positive: I did enjoy reading this. But, it took a while to get into the book. Everything is very much spelled out right from the start, nothing is hidden between the lines, and the story progresses much ...more
Aug 28, 2024 12:05PM · like · see review
Koen Martens wants to read Lilo by Erik Hågård	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Aug 08, 2024 11:19PM · like
Koen Martens rated a book really liked it Ursinnet by Erik Hågård	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Boy, this is a depressing book. Poignant, though, as well, as it describes the inevitable future of humanity. Or rather, it is, like many good sci-fi, a critique of today's society. It's long, a tad bit too long perhaps, and ostensibly not much is rea ...more
Aug 08, 2024 11:13PM · like · see review
Koen Martens rated a book it was amazing KoMo by Pontus Joakim Olofsson	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Well written and exciting book, following an amnesiac doctor as she unravels the threads of her past.
Aug 08, 2024 11:11PM · like · see review
Koen Martens rated a book really liked it Den andres val by Christian Gripenvik (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
A disturbing look into the mind of a religious zealot. This short story explores the dangers of believing in things that are not real, and the lengths to which religious people will go to enforce their worldview on others, and to cause suffering whil ...more
Mar 06, 2024 01:56AM · like · see review
Koen Martens rated a book really liked it Nomadplaneten by Emanuel Blume (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
In my quest to learn Swedish, I am seeking out sci-fi written in the Swedish language. Following a trail from the excellent short story collection Malmö 2048, I came upon this novel. At first it was a bit disappointing. The pace was slow to start wit ...more
Mar 05, 2024 12:13AM · like · see review
Koen Martens rated a book it was amazing Malmö 2048 by Emanuel Blume, Elise Elley, Hanna Axelsson, Roger von Bonsdorff, Teodor Werelius, Ina Rosvall, Dan T	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
A great collection of short stories. Normally I would say, every collection has a few good ones and a few disappointing ones, but this was good from start to finish. Some of the stories were quite thought-provoking, some were dark and disturbing, som ...more
Mar 05, 2024 12:13AM · like · see review
Koen Martens rated a book it was amazing Malmö 2048 by Emanuel Blume, Elise Elley, Hanna Axelsson, Roger von Bonsdorff, Teodor Werelius, Ina Rosvall, Dan T	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
A great collection of short stories. Normally I would say, every collection has a few good ones and a few disappointing ones, but this was good from start to finish. Some of the stories were quite thought-provoking, some were dark and disturbing, som ...more
Mar 05, 2024 12:10AM · like · see review