Earth Abides

 Earth Abides is an end of the world type novel from the late forties by George R. Stewart.  But even today, it is still in print, which must mean something.

 A deadly disease wipes out humanity, but our protagonist Ish survives by shear luck because he happened to be out in the woods alone for a few days.  He returns to civilization, location near San Francisco, and discovers mankind has ended.

 Oh, there are a few survivors and Ish does go about meeting and joining some of them, but this isn't a happy story.  Stewart must have had a bleak outlook on mankind.

 What follows is the story of the reversal of mankind, from the height of civilization to stone age primitives.  And Ish is often infuriatingly passive about the whole affair, rarely making any effort to prevent this degradation.

 The ending is somewhat poetic, and left a lasting impression on me-- despite my annoyance with Ish this book works, and works well.

8.4/10

Under Heaven

 Finished Under Heaven a few days ago-- this was only my second Kay book, and based on this one I think it's about time I start reading his backlog.

 This is a historical fantasy piece set in the Tang dynasty of China, though it is called Kitan here.  Based on events in the novel it appears to take place around the year 755 CE. Most of narrative focuses on on a man named Shen Tai who has spent two years digging graves for the bodies of long dead soldiers, far away from civilization and his family.  While this is fantasy, there is not actually a great deal of magic going on here.

 Kay vividly shows us 8th century China: the silk road, courtesans, bodyguards, and the Imperial court with clean prose and plenty of detail. The landscape is very beautiful, and the cities and roads that lead between them make this seem a land that would have been wondrous to walk--except the society was so rigid and unbalanced you wouldn't actually want to do so.

  Most of the characters work quite well, although their behavior is often so constrained and rigid, as demanded by their society, that I found myself wondering where all the creative strong willed types were. Does this society just breed them out of existence? Shen Tai is supposed to be one of the more wild individuals, but he mostly just goes along with the flow.

  On the downside there isn't a great deal to the plot, its about 500 pages of build up, although it isn't really clear to what, until near the end-- and then a very rapid conclusion. There are also some sections in the early middle part of the book that drag, introducing new characters with excessive exposition.  

  An enjoyable read that takes you back to the 8th century, the pacing isn't always perfect, but the setting, writing, and characters are all high quality.

 8.9/10

The Farseer Trilogy

Robbin Hobbs first novels(at least under that name--she also published under the name "Megan Lindholm" though the storytelling is quite dissimilar ), and still some of her best.

 This trilogy consists of "Assassin's Apprentice", "Royal Assassin", and "Assassin's Quest", and is narrated by Fitz, a bastard son of the dead Prince Chivalry brought up in the stables of the King Shrewd.  Hobb is a master of characterization and she brings Fitz to life like few others could manage.

  Hobb gives those of royal lineage a name that indicates something of the characters nature hence the somewhat peculiar names.

 Fitz eventually enters training as an assassin for the King, and as his father was royal he inherits 'the Skill', one of the two magical systems Hobb employs, and so is also trained in its usage.

 Fitz also has something known as 'the Wit', an ability to bond with  animals.  The Wit is widely loathed, those possessing it are often persecuted.

 Fitz doesn't have many friends--a shop girl in the nearby town,  a wolf he bonds with, and the King's Fool who is strangely fascinated with him.

 Hobb is not afraid to do terrible things to her characters, and Fitz suffers deeply in her hands.  This is why the series works so well. A great example of a character driven story.

9.3/10

Gateway

 Pohl wrote lots of books(and still is actually), but if you are only going to read one, this is it.

 Gateway is a great little book about a man named Broadhead who wins the lottery, that is the lottery that sends you off to Gateway, a space station built to house and maintain the small alien space craft that were discovered here in our own solar system.
    Each alien craft can only fit a few people, lottery winners can volunteer for missions, launching into the unknown in a craft they don't fully understand, and hoping it isn't a one way ticket to nowhere.

 There are also segments where an older Broadhead  recounts his story to a robotic shrink named Sigfrid.

 A deft SF read, not the strongest on characterization, but doesn't weight you down with exposition so it works something akin Arthur C. Clark.

 Pohl's Blog: click

9.0/10

The Ragged Astronauts

 This was my introduction to Bob Shaw, another science fiction writer who doesn't seem to be very well known.

 This is the first in his "Land and Overland" trilogy, and I feel it is the strongest.

 The scene is on "Land" where deadly creatures known as Ptertha are growing in number, they have become so numerous on Land that it seems the human population may soon be whipped out.

 Land has a sister planet, Overland, these these twin planets orbit each other and are so close that they share a common atmosphere.

 In an attempt to escape the destruction of Land at the Ptertha large ballon craft are built, huge numbers of them in order to carry as much of the population as possible to OverLand.

 The plot follows the fight against the Ptertha and the escape toward Overland.

 This is a very entertaining novel, worth reading if you can scour up a copy.

8.8/10

The Forest of Peldain

  I randomly picked this on up in a used book store years ago, had no idea who Barrington J. Bayley was, and it seems I wasn't alone as I've never seen anyone mention this book or much about this author.

 It is a short but enveloping book.  A man wanders out of the forest of Peldain, a forest long avoided for its denseness and danger, claiming that a secret kingdom lies in the center of the forest.

 As expedition is organized to enter the forest, and what follows is a terrific if short science fiction piece.

 The cover indicates that this is crap fantasy, but it isn't, more science fiction in nature.

 Must read if you can actually find a copy.

9.0/10

1984

Everyone seems to know of 1984 by George Orwell, considered a class of science fiction by people who don't actually read science fiction.

 It may well have been influential, but I don't believe a book should be rated by how influential it was, but by how it holds up for the purpose of-- you know.. reading.  And this one just doesn't hold up that well.

 We find ourself in a dystopia future with 'Big Brother' watching, and where everyone is frightened little mouse.  These ideas may have been what cemented its fame, but they've been reused by so many other since(and better), that they don't have much impact anymore.

It doesn't have much of a plot, a man and women get together, get in trouble, and get disappeared.

 The characters are rubbish, Orwell makes almost no attempt to make you give a shit if they live or die.

  One of those books people read so they can say they read it, but nobody really considers it their favorite book(unless they just don't read much).

 7.0/10

Perdido Street Station

 China Mieville drew much attention with Perdido Street Station, and it is a very visually imaginative novel-- if somewhat lackluster in plot and characterization.

 Mieville apparently should have been a 3D modeler, or painter, because he is very talented at imagining and describing creative monsters, and locations.  Here he constructs New Crobuzen, a filth ridden city, in a rotten world.

 We meet a bird man who wants to fly again,  an inventor who agrees to help him, and some girl with a scarab for a face.  Soon monsters are popping out, and the plot weaves through the city, from one monster to the next.

 I cannot say  I loved that book, as seems to be the case for some.  While the description of the monsters and whatnot was often clever and unique, this doesn't excuse the lack of characterization and the limp plot.

7.7/10

Glasshouse

 Glasshouse is another one from Charles Stross, it is the distant future, and humans can now live forever if they so choose, but for whatever reason many of them grow bored and decide to have their memory wiped clean so as to start over.

We meet a man who has had his memory wiped, seemingly on purpose, he's recuperating, when he is approached by a group that wants to perform a study.  The study involves placing recently wiped individuals into a recreation of mid 20th century life.

 He agrees of course, and from there we follow Stross down a peculiar rabbit hole.

 I liked this book, its a solid little science fiction piece.  Stross is not the strongest(nor the weakest) prose writer so don't expect any extravagant beautiful language, his characters are also what I'd qualify as "action characters"-- existing to perform actions not endure hardship or dwell upon their emotions.

8.1/10

Wild Seed

Wild Seed is a novel by Octavia Butler, it is historical fantasy with an African focus.

 Anyanwu is an immortal woman living in the wilds of Africa, when along comes another immortal Doro, who has roamed the planet for centuries.  He recognizes Anyanwu for what she is, and is fascinated to find another like him.

 It continues from Africa, to the New World(in the age of sailing & slavery), where Doro has cultivated his own villages populated with people of interest.  The story covers a few centuries-- unfortunately it doesn't have much of an ending.

  I enjoyed this novel, but it lacks much in the way of purpose, I was never entirely sure why the story of Anyanwu and Doro was being told as it didn't really seem to lead anywhere.  Still, Butler was a solid writer, so the book is enjoyable enough.


8.4/10

Tatja Grimm's World

A very early work by Vernor Vinge, this is really nothing like his later novels(starting from "The Peace War").

 This is also not science fiction, but fantasy, so don't expect to encounter any new ideas as is customary in Vinge's SF works.

 The setting is a planet where stone age civilization lives along side other slightly more modern groups(they have barges and reading).

 It follows Tatja a stone age girl, who is exposed to reading by one of these barges, and soon she is off to reach her potential.

  This is a mildly entertaining story, but even by fantasy standards it is nothing special.  I can't really recommend it.

6.5/10

Marooned in Realtime

  "Marooned in Realtime" is the sequel to "The Peace War", also by Vernor Vinge.  It is not a direct sequel, as we are dealing with new characters, but it is set in the same world.

 This is actually a detective story, mixed in with Vinge's singularity concept, and using time travel(only forward though) as a means to a unique murder investigation.

 The world seen here is after-humans, there are no survives of a nuclear holocaust, just a few lost time travelers with no hope of return.

 Excellent read as are most of Vinge's books.

9.1/10

The Peace War

The Peace War is an early science fiction novel by Vernor Vinge, it deals with a future Earth where a new technology has changed the operation of the world.

 They are referred to as "bobbles", huge impenetrable spheres which can be erected wherever one wishes.  Some of the scientists involved in its creation use it to stop war, by bobbling all military bases and equipment around the world.

 The plot picks up many years after the initial bobbling occurred, in a world where warfare is largely eliminated, but innovation is quelled and society is stagnant.  The story follows an old man, one of the original scientists involved in the creation of the "bobbles", a young man he trains, and the rebellion against the Peacers(those who control the bobble machines).

 This is Vinge, so the novel is filled with ideas, plenty more than what I spoiled here.  A fine novel that is absolutely worth reading, especially as it leads into yet another fine Vinge novel, "Marooned in Real Time".

9.0/10

Speakers for the Dead

 Speakers for the Dead Card is Card's follow up to Ender's Game, and while it also claimed various awards, for me this is where the series heads downhill.

 Notably, this book is absolutely nothing like Ender's Game, the setting is a remote alien planet that humans have begun colonizing, and Ender himself is now and adult, and bears little resemblance to the character from the first novel.

 The plot involves lots of uninteresting religious-style babble, some weird trees, and a weak Ender unable to cope with what he did in the war(despite having no knowledge of it..).

 There are more sequels after this one, but their quality is takes an ever steeper dive-- too be avoided.

7.4/10

Ender's Game

 This book is the reason Orson Scott Card is a recognized name, it won him the Hugo and it is if nothing else, an
entertaining read.

 The story follows Ender a third child, and whose birth was only allowed because of his parents high IQ, as he is shipped off to battle school to be trained to fight the alien menace Earth faces.  Battle school is where the majority of the story transpires, with Ender having to learn to fend for himself, but also to lead his squad in battle.

 The book ends with a twist ending, which is probably what has made this novel somewhat enduring.  Card also wrote numerous sequels and related books, but none are as captivating as this first one.

 Ender is interesting to read about, and the book is quickly and deftly paced, I've encountered very few people who didn't enjoy this one.

9.1/10

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell was the debut novel for Susanna Clark, it is set in an alternative version of 19th century Europe.

 This book was the recipient of a great deal of praise, and awards, such as the Hugo.  It is a rather lengthy book at around 850 pages, and written in a dry British style.

 This book did not work for me, the pace was lethargic, and its characters seemed far to classical and uninteresting.  Somewhat like reading a dull 19th century novel that just happens to be 850 pages long.  It was not so bad that I quit reading it entirely, but I never found myself so captivated that I'd read continuously for hours.

  Clark does succeed in creating a parallel magical word into which the characters sometimes step, but this happens rarely, the vast majority of the time is spent on 19th century trivialities.

  Overall a solid book, but I felt it was a far cry from the legions of praise piled on it.

 8.0/10

The White Mountains

  This was one of the first science fiction novels I read, it is considered a YA novel but I think it works for all ages.

 It is the first novel in John Christopher's Tripods Trilogy, and is set on a future Earth that has long since been conquered by giant tripods.

 Humans live a medieval lifestyle, only interrupted when they are "capped", this occurs when they reach adulthood.   A tripod comes to their village, they are picked up by the tripod, and returned shortly with a new cap affixed to their skill.

 The narrator's name is Will, and he dreads his upcoming adulthood, for he has seen the behavioral changes that take place in those that are capped.  One day he meets a wandering old man, he tells him of a legend of a white mountain, where people live without interference by the Tripods.

 Will and his cousin Henry end up running away to avoid capping, and this novel covers their travels across a future Europe to the White Mountains.  They must avoid being captured, because if they are they will be capped.

 This is the start of a terrific story, forget Harry Potter, Narnia, or His Dark Materials,  this is a far more enjoyable YA series.

9.2/10

The Forever War

 The Forever War is Haldeman's classic novel of interstellar war,  and this one should not be missed.

  An elite group of soldiers is formed on Earth, conscripted into this group is Mandella, our narrator.  It is the not to distant future, and Earth has encountered a hostile alien race.  In response they form Mandella's squad-- with the best and brightest Earth has to offer, and send them out into the stars to wage war.

 There is an element of Vietnam to the war, and the story, and not suprisingly Haldeman served in Vietnam.  Eventually Mandella returns to Earth, but due to the effects of relativity, it is not the Earth he knew.  He doesn't belong, and once again he heads out into the stars for a second tour of duty.

 Read this shit

9.2/10

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

 This is the story of a rebellion, and I consider it the best of Heinlein's many works.

 The narrator is Mannie, he's a technician born and raised on the Luna(which is used a sort of castaway location for the unwanted of Earth), and as the story begins he is assigned to fix a malfunctioning computer.  As it turns out the malfunction is that the computer has become self aware and developed a personality, this is of course ridiculous, but this is not a hard science fiction, more science lite.  Mannie names this computer "Mike", and they strike up a friendship.

 Soon enough Mike has Mannie running a few errands, others are brought in, and talk of rebellion against Earth begins. Mike is the brains behind the rebellion which soon consumes Luna.

 One thing many might find off-putting initially about this novel, is that it is not written in standard prose. It is in first person, from the perspective of Mannie, and Mannie writes in a very abbreviated style with a heavy accent. You do get used to it.

 Heinlein fills the story with ideas, and it is these ideas that make this novel his best.

9.3/10

The Red Wolf Conspiracy

 The Red Wolf Conspiracy is the debut novel of Robert Redick, and it is shockingly good.

 The story centers on two characters and the voyage of a mighty ship.

  The first character is Pavel a young lad who lost his family and his homeland, he now works as a cabin boy on board whatever ship he gets tossed on, and as the story begins he finds himself aboard the largest ship upon the seas, the Chathrand. Pavel does have one magical ability, he can instantly learn any language after only hearing it once.

 The other lead is Thasha, daughter to the general that destroyed Pavel's homeland, she boards the Chathrand with her father-- whose duty it is to see that Chathrand succeed in its mission; sail to the land of their enemy and seal a treaty of peace

 Redick populates the world with countless creative and fantastical creatures, pint sized humanoids, a talking mink, an abused rat.  The world building and writing are quite spectacular.  This is in no way typical fantasy.

 This is yet again the first of a series, but it seems safe to assume Redick knows what he's doing so I expect great results from the forthcoming sequels.

 A great novel.

9.2/10

The Warded Man

 The Warded Man is the debut novel of Peter V. Brett.  This is a very entertaining read, and although it does follow many of the traditions of fantasy their are some original aspects, especially the world itself.

  There are three characters which the story follows, but one receives an overwhelming focus, this is Arlen.

 The world is very important to the story here, but to explain it does constitute something of a spoiler.

Arlen is raised in a remote village, the villages only contact with the outside world is via an rare rider that braves the night to bring them supplies and letters.

 In Arlen's world demons rise at night, anyone caught outside is easy prey for the demons, and humans are slowly loosing ground against them.  Their only defense are wards which they inscribe around their homes, these wards prevent the demons from entering.  But if the ward is obscured or destroyed all defense is gone.

 In addition to Arlen the story also follows Leesha, a woman trained as a village healer, she is a solid character, not developed quite as much as Arlen, but possibly in the sequel?  The last character is Rojer, he's an entertainer/musician, but his character receives little attention, and as a result is the least interesting.

 A good entertaining read, the writing is solid if not spectacular, and Brett presents an exciting main character with Arlen, along with unique world.

 I am mildly fearful that any sequels might not hold up as well, but hoping Brett will surprise me.

9.0/10

The Name of the Wind

 The Name of the Wind was Patrick Rothfuss's debut novel, and it received all kinds of attention when it was released.  Numerous awards too.

 The story centers around Kvothe, and is primarily told in first person from his perspective, although there is a section at the begging written in third person.  As the story begins, Kvothe is an old man, and apparently regarded as a hero, or at least in his own mind.

  The initial section, written in third person is somewhat slow, but once Kvothe begins to recount the story of how he came to be a hero, everything picks up and the novel really shows its strength.
 We follow Kvothe from his days a street entertainer, to his time at a university, although as this is just the first of what is likely to be a trilogy, this novel doesn't go much past that.

 Kvothe is an entertaining narrator, a touch arrogant perhaps, but he seems more capable than most.

 As a single novel this is good read, although it lacks much in the way of conclusion, so until the rest of the story is available, it is hard to judge it fully.  The quality of the writing is fairly high, Rothfuss seems to have spent a great deal of time trimming and perfecting the prose.

9.1/10

The Lies of Locke Lamora

Scott Lynch's debut novel serves as damn fine entertainment.

 The Lies of Locke Lamora tells the story of Locke(who does bare some resemblance to the character Locke in the video game Final Fantasy 6).  We meet Locke as a youngster, he's a born thief and gets himself into a great deal of trouble.  He's eventually sold to a fellow by the name of Father Chains, where he and few other boys serve as apprentices.

 Soon the story moves to Locke's adult life, he has a crew now, and they are out to deprive the wealthy members of the city of their excess coin.  The crew ends up getting themself into serious trouble soon enough.

Lynch comes up with lots of clever pranks and scenarios, sometimes serious, sometimes funny, this is a pretty terrific novel, especially for a first time one.

9.1/10

The Arthurian Saga

I have to admit I never referred to this series as "The Arthurian Saga" growing up, but this is what it appears to be called now.  I am only reviewing the first three books, which form a trilogy.  This consists of  "The Crystal Cave", "The Hollow Hills", and "The Last Enchantment" by Mary Stewart.

 Someone gave me a copy of this series as a child, it took me a few years to get around to reading them, but once I did I loved these books.

 The narrator is Merlin, he tells the story of his life, starting from when he was just a boy.  This is really the story of Merlin, not the story of Arthur.  Arthur does not even exist until the second book, and even then he is still mostly a child.

 Merlin grows up a bastard, living in a minor kingdom where his mother is Queen and married to a man that it not his father.  The story follows his education at the hands a hermit, who Merlin discovers living in a cave not far from his mothers keep.  Later this crystal cave serves as sort of home base for Merlin, he continually returns to it throughout his life.

 Merlin is a very well developed character in the hands of Mary Stewart, she knows how to craft a character and does it expertly here.

 There is very little, almost no magic in this series, and what little "magic" exists could be interpret as just being some inner eye/mind Merlin posses and which he chooses to listen to.

 The series is terrific through the first two books, but I do feel that the third one suffers somewhat.  Merlin is very old by the second half of the third novel, and I felt it negatively effected the story.

 There is a fourth novel of sorts, but Merlin is not the narrator, and the quality is low compared to this masterful work, so reading it is by no means necessary.

9.3/10