For some reason I always find Larry Niven much better with Jerry Pournelle than without; Inferno, Lucifer's Hammer and Footfall are all winners (they For some reason I always find Larry Niven much better with Jerry Pournelle than without; Inferno, Lucifer's Hammer and Footfall are all winners (they have collaborated on quite a few other titles, but I have not read them yet). The Mote in God's Eyeis generally considered to be their partnership’s best book (have a look at Larry Niven’s Goodreads page).
I believe the blurb by Robert A. Heinlein that appears on many editions of the book’s cover* has been around since its first publication in 1974; and it has undoubtedly helped to shift thousands of copies (mine included). I guess it is a little like if you were a guitarist and Jimmi Hendrix tells people you can shred like a demented mofo. Who can resist that kind of recommendation? Is it just hyperbole, though? Is The Mote in God's Eye worthy of the accolade?
Yes, it is.
This is a first contact story rendered very believable and engrossing by the authors’ skills and attention to details. The “Moties” are one of the most well-conceived alien races I have ever come across. An earlier example of very alien aliens (aliens so alien they alienate me). Although they are very alien, very strange, they are imbued with enough human character traits to be understandable. Of course, completely inscrutable aliens are fun but the more understandable aliens can be more emotionally invested in. I love the concept of "specialized subspecies" of the Moties, there are several variations in their species evolved for specialized tasks, such as technicians, warriors, mediators etc. [image] A Motie "Warrior", art by yoggurt.
As the novel was written in the 70s its age inevitably shows in places. There are terms like “hyperspace” and “pocket computer” that we do not see in modern sci-fi. Today’s authors tend to invent new words for “hyperspace” and “pocket computer” sounds very quaint as they are now commonplace in the form of smartphones and tablets. These few terms notwithstanding I would argue that The Mote in God's Eye stands the test of time very well. The alien’s design and their extreme specialization are just as wonderfully “SF-nal” on this reread as it was when I first read about it decades ago. [image]
I have no idea who write what in the Niven / Pournelle partnership but they clearly work very well together, there is a unified voice in their highly readable prose style. The characters are better than just flat plot devices, though the book is clearly more about the plot than the characters. Both authors are excel at writing hard science fiction and the science details make the story that much more vivid and believable without ever bogging the book down with excessive infodumping. The “dramatis personae” at the beginning of the book kindly provided by the authors to help the readers keep track of a fairly large cast of characters is an interesting feature. However, the book is written so well that I never found it necessary to refer to it at any time.
The central and very human theme of this book seems to be how difficult it is for different races to coexist peacefully when there is a conflict of interest and when negotiations are hampered by deceptions. The issue is not entirely resolved in this book but leaves a lot of room for the readers to speculate and draw their own conclusions. There is a less well-received sequel called The Gripping Hand which I am not sure I will read as I am more than satisfied with this book’s ending.
One of the all-time greats IMO.
__________________________________
* Heinlein’s blurb reads “possibly the finest science fiction novel I have ever read”....more
I seldom reread books because there are too many interesting unread books in the world to catch up with but some books just haunt me, demanding to be I seldom reread books because there are too many interesting unread books in the world to catch up with but some books just haunt me, demanding to be reread because I have forgotten too many details. I was walking around in a lush garden and I was reminded of this book and felt the need to reread it. This book is set on a far future Earth near the end of its existence, the sun is imminently going nova, human society and civilization have crumbled long ago. Plants and vegetable reign supreme, and human beings have devolved into primitive little green people the size of monkeys.
"Only five great families survived among the rampant green life; the tigerflies, the treebees, the plantants and the termights were social insects mighty and invincible. And the fifth family was man, lowly and easily killed, not organized as the insects were, but not extinct, the last animal species in all the all-conquering vegetable world."
As you can see, things look pretty grim for mankind! This book gives us a fascinating look at devolution in action, beside the little green people who are our direct descendants, there are subspecies of man who are presumably descended from crossbreeding of unknown origin.The most interesting example being the tummy-belly men who have a symbiosis relationship with a tree that feeds and control them through a tail which functions like an umbilical cord. When this is cut the tummy-belly men become clumsy, floundering and almost mindless; with a speech pattern which is particularly hilarious (much funnier than Yoda's). Aldiss' plant dominated Earth is full of ambulatory mostly carnivorous plants, John Wyndham's Triffids would have some very stiff competition here. [image] The best thing about this book is the vivid world-building that you can really submerge in. This is the most fascinating post-apocalyptic future Earth I have ever seen depicted in science fiction. I almost want to be there, except I don't fancy my chances in that environment, certainly I would like to see it portrayed in a decent movie. The aggressive environment reminds me of the action-packed Deathworld 1 by Harry Harrison (long-time collaborator of Brian Aldiss), the aforementioned The Day of the Triffids, and - strangely enough - my favorite computer game Plants vs. Zombies. The naivety of the human protagonists reminds me of William Golding's Lord of the Flies at times. The characters are not "deep" but they are believable, the weird plants tend to have oddly whimsical names in spite of their deadliness, and the whole thing is written in very nice literate English prose.
I am not sure about the profundity that some other reviewers mentioned in their reviews of this book if there is a subtext it is not obvious to me, but for sheer escapism, you can not beat this one. A very firm 5 stars rating from me. [image] Update: Sadly Brian Aldiss just passed away (Aug 21, 2017), we just lost another sci-fi legend. [image]...more
I had no idea what Kindred is about prior to reading it, I previously read Octavia Butler's Wild Seed and thought it was marvelous, and Kindred seems I had no idea what Kindred is about prior to reading it, I previously read Octavia Butler's Wild Seed and thought it was marvelous, and Kindred seems to be her most popular work judging by Goodreads ratings. So buying a copy of Kindred without knowing anything about it was a no-brainer. I even deliberately avoided looking at the book's synopsis before hand, I just wanted to get to know the book as I read on. I hoped for a pleasant surprise, which I did get. This is only the second Octavia Butler book I have read and I already worship her.
Kindred is about Dana, an African American woman who finds herself time travelling involuntarily to Maryland in the early nineteenth century. It is not explained how or why this happen to her, the mechanic of it is entirely irrelevant to the story. The novel is about her experience of slavery in the past. Her fate becomes intertwined with Rufus, a white ancestor who is the only son of a plantation owner and who somehow triggers her time traveling trips every time he is in mortal danger, a situation that arises more frequently to him than to most people. While there she experiences the woes of slavery first hand, including whipping, beating, degradation and humiliation.
This is a harrowing and emotional read, I almost cry manly tears during some of the chapters. I never pondered what it may have been like to be a slave, it is not exactly a contingency which is at all likely to ever arise. However, Ms Butler - genius that she was - made me feel it through the eyes of her protagonist. The pains and humiliation of slavery resonates with me even though there ought to be nothing to resonate. I kind of winced every time a stroke of a whip is described. This is not a comfortable read but highly engrossing and thought provoking. The book is very much character-centric, the relationship between Dana and Rufus is very complex and fascinating. Dana's husband Kevin who also become embroiled in time traveling and is marooned in the nineteenth century for years without his wife adds to her complications, his reaction to returning to the present time (1976) is entirely believable and again resonates strongly.
The book reminds me a little of Connie Willis's excellent Doomsday Book, which is about time travelling to the fourteenth century and also a harrowing (yet wonderful) read, though the emphasis of that book is on poverty, hardship and diseases rather than slavery. The involuntary time traveling aspect of the book reminds me of Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Traveler's Wife, though Kindred predates it, and Kindred is certainly not a romantic book.
Octavia Butler was not one of those literary writers who try to avoid the science fiction label like the plague even while using sf tropes in their works, she has always loved sf and gladly embraced the genre (see photo below).
That said, Kindred is also not science fiction. The author described it as a "grim fantasy" and deliberately did not put any science in it, it is described by some literary critics as a "neo-slave narrative". I did consider why the book was written as a fantasy (or almost sf) instead of historical fiction, then I realised that it was probably done so the modern reader can experience the nineteenth century Maryland through the protagonist's contemporary eyes, this makes the book very visceral.
While the book was written to make the reader ponder some serious issues such as man's inhumanity to man, inequality and courage in an environment where you are made to feel worthless, at no point did I feel like being lectured to. The author knows the importance of communicating through the story, and I was completely swept away by it. Whatever I read next will likely suffer from being compared to this book. This goes in my all-time greats list. [image]
Kindred was inspired by the time a very young Butler spent with her mother at work. Butler told In Motion Magazine in 2004 that a lot of the motivation behind her novel Kindred "came when I was in preschool, when my mother used to take me to work with her."
Kindred follows Dana, a writer who travels back in time to the antebellum South and meets her ancestors, a white plantation owner and a Black slave. The novel argues for the courageousness of people existing under unimaginable circumstances, as Dana makes compromises in order to survive slavery. Butler's own mother was a housemaid, and many of Butler's earliest memories were of the degradations her mother endured at work. She told In Motion that witnessing the racism her mother put up with in order to bring Butler a better life helped inspire much of Kindred's message:
"I got to see her not hearing insults and going in back doors, and even though I was a little kid, I realized it was humiliating. I knew something was wrong, it was unpleasant, it was bad. I remember saying to her a little later, at seven or eight, "I'll never do what you do, what you do is terrible." And she just got this sad look on her face and didn't say anything. I think it was the look and the memory of the indignities she endured. I just remembered that and wanted to convey that people who underwent all this were not cowards, were not people who were just too pathetic to protect themselves, but were heroes because they were using what they had to help their kids get a little further."
[image]
Excellent Kindred Infographic (with spoilers) click on image to see full size....more
Neil Gaiman said that this book is "hard to overpraise", I will make an attempt thus:
While I was reading the second half of this book it occurred to mNeil Gaiman said that this book is "hard to overpraise", I will make an attempt thus:
While I was reading the second half of this book it occurred to me that I don't actually need to read any other novel ever again, I could just read this one book over and over again for the rest of my days and when the Grim Reaper calls I shall have this book clutched possessively in my stiff, unyielding fingers.
Momentary insanity of course, but it is indicative of the devotion I feel toward this book. With in the first page or two I was already feeling very friendly toward this book because of the prose. Ms. Clarke seems to be channelling Jane Austen by way of Oscar Wilde, P.G. Wodehouse, Hans Christian Andersen, with some dark sprinkles of Poe and Lovecraft. I grew increasingly fond of the book page by page until I was ready to put it on a pedestal and worship it by the time I reached in end.
The basic outline of the story is that it concerns the titular Jonathan and Mr. Norrell. Mr Norway brings magic back to England, takes on Mr. strange as his pupil, the two gentlemen later become rivals. Their interrelationship is the backbone of this long book that features wonderful characters, humour, sadness, heroism, redemption and magic, not to mention non-stop dancing and cameos by Napoleon Bonaparte Lord Byron and crazy King George III.
Normally when I read a long book of more than 700 pages in length I like to pause at about half way through, pick up a shorter book to read to the finish and go back to the long book. For me it helps to relieve the impatience from spending so much time with just one book. However, with this book* it is impossible, I could not extricate myself from it. I am a slowish reader and I spent about two weeks living and breathing this book and now that I have finish it I feel a little disoriented. Also, I tend to feel more comfortable reading SF than fantasy, the problem I personally have with a lot of fantasy is suspension of disbelief when magic manifests in some way. The pacing of this book is so perfect and the magic so skillfully and gradually woven into the story that I no problem throwing disbelief out the window and just settle down and immerse into this magical version of England.
Overpraise this book? Impossible! _______________________ * I read the Kindle edition, the footnotes are hypertext links that jump to the back of the book (after the novel is ended), I had to ensure that I bookmark the page before I click on any footnote otherwise it would have been difficult to find my way back.
Footnotes(!) • A footnote about the footnotes. I am tempted to knock off one star for the over abundance of footnotes, I am personally not keen on them as they interrupt the flow of the story for me. However, it would be ill-bred of me to use my own preferences as the standard for quality assessment. The fact is that lots of people like them and I think that justify their existence; not to mention that they are as beautifully written as the main body of the book. It is also worth mentioning that you can skip them entirely and still follow the story without missing a beat. I skimmed them and I intend to go back to read them all. Besides, this book deserves at least a billion stars rating and Goodreads can only cope with five, so if I did knock off one star nobody would notice.
• According to Wikipedia Susanna Clarke is working on another book set in the Strange & Norrell universe (so the word sequel may be inappropriate). Don't hold your breath waiting for it though because it took her ten years to write Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by the time she publishes this second novel there may be flying cars and hoverboards on the street....more
That was my first thought upon picking up this book. Still with all the recommendations I have been getting from the good people at RThis book is fat!
That was my first thought upon picking up this book. Still with all the recommendations I have been getting from the good people at Reddit's science fiction books community ("r/Print SF") and other reviews I wanted to give it a go. With a book this long I would end up either rating it one star for wasting so many hours of my time or five stars for entertaining me for those many hours. I think I'll be magnanimous once again and go for the 5 stars option! This is not to say the book does not contain too many calories, or is entirely free of saturated fat. I believe it could have been somewhat thinner, there are superfluous characters and scenes here and there but generally book's length turned out to be one of its strengths. Considering the book's epic scope a 200 pages volume is unimaginable. Also, beside the epic sf plot the book contain elements of several genres of fiction: murder mystery, police procedural, a bit of courtroom drama, espionage, terrorism, fanaticism, a dash of soap opera, a smidgen of romance, and of course the entire kitchen sink.
From my discussions with other sf readers there are a number of detractors who criticized Hamilton for writing two dimensional characters. I feel this is understandable but not entirely justified. There are at least three characters that I care about or find interesting, and one of them is an alien incapable of speech or hearing as it lacks any faculty to handle sound and can only communicate through images, gestures or graphics. For all that he manages to be an endearing, lovable character. That said characterization is clearly not the forte of this author, there are far too many beautiful people walking about, though this is probably due to "cellular profiling" a sort of futuristic cosmetic surgery and other modifications.
Stylistically Hamilton's prose is utilitarian rather than elegant or poetic, but this is seldom a requirement for a space opera. His straight forward style does serve the material very well for propelling the story and communicating scientific details. There is one particular scene that I think is like a virtuoso sequence, a scene where a human being is described from an alien's point of view. While reading this I could suddenly imagine how strange a human being would look to an alien.
Unlike Iain M Banks' Culture books nobody is going to call Pandora's Star a literary work of art he is not a wordsmith in the way that Banks is but I think it is unfair to dismiss his work as simply "big dumb fun adventures" as he has clearly put a lot of thoughts into the world building and intricate plots, I can imagine him plotting complicated graphs to tie the myriad plot strands together.
Unfortunately there is no closure at the end of this book the story continues and concluded in the next book Judas Unchained. Well, at least it's not a trilogy, though subsequent books are set in the same common wealth universe.
This book is phat!
(Actually at 991 pages this is one of Peter F's shorter books!)...more
As I write the TV adaptation of Childhood's End is being promoted by the cable channel Syfy (goddam silly name). Given how much I like this book I wilAs I write the TV adaptation of Childhood's End is being promoted by the cable channel Syfy (goddam silly name). Given how much I like this book I will probably watch it but before I do I want to reread the source material first, as it’s been decades since I last read it. Childhood's End is — to my mind — Clarke's best novel. It is very unusual among his works in term of plot and setting. Most of the book is Earthbound and the story starts in the present day (year not specified). Very little time is spent on the space voyage and the minutiae of spacefaring is not dwelled upon.
[image]
The opening scene of gigantic spaceships suddenly appearing in Earth's sky, casting massive shadows over cities, has been ripped off by the 1996 movie Independence Day, two versions of “V” TV series*, and probably other media I am not aware of. The movie and TV shows just use Clarke’s vivid imagery but did not do anything particularly creative with it. Another concept “V” may have lifted from Childhood's End is the idea of a seemingly benign alien invasion. V soon switches to the conventional evil reptilian aliens route, whereas Clarke has a far more ambitious tale to tell.
At the beginning of Childhood's End the world is on the verge of another world war, with the superpower nations still engaged in an arms race. Suddenly the aliens show up and put a stop to all that and other human destructive tendencies, they also eliminate crime, poverty, hunger, and even cruelty to animals. Then they go on to unite mankind under a literal united nations where different countries and governments are made unnecessary. The sort of thing John Lennon imagined (and no religion too). These are all wonderful things of course, but there is a price for this global utopia. Basically subjugation of the human race in the nicest possible way, the mysterious aliens are even called “Overlords” by the humans. These Overlords also have an ulterior motive for their guardianship of mankind which is not revealed until the last few pages of the book.
Clarke’s depiction of the human race before the advent of the aliens gives the impression that Earth is a planet run by children, a little like Lord of the Flies on a global scale. Left to our own devices, we would eventually self-destruct (looking at the news headlines these days Sir Arthur seems to have the right idea). So whatever the Overlords’ endgame is they are doing us a favor. The human society after a few years under the alien administration reminds me of the post-scarcity society of Iain M. Banks’ Culture series, with the same result of ennui and loss of creativity.
“As their material conditions improve, men raise their sights and become discontented with powers and possessions that once would have seemed beyond their wildest dreams. And even when the external world has granted all it can, there still remain the searchings of the mind and the longings of the heart.”
Another unusual feature of Childhood's End in comparison to Clarke’s other books is that it is fairly light on hard science. Of course what little science expositions there is is quite rigorous and beautifully explained but Clarke unusually relies more on handwavium science in this book, like this description of the Overlords’ mysterious “stardrive”: “They leave the Solar System under such tremendous accelerations that they approach the velocity of light in less than an hour. That means that the Overlords must possess some kind of propulsive system that acts equally on every atom of their ships, so that anything aboard won't be crushed instantly.”
The time dilation effect of an interstellar voyage is put to good use though. The fate of mankind at the end of the book is mind blowing (I wonder what Clarke was smoking when he wrote this). It is so awesome that Led Zeppelin used the imagery from this part of the book for the cover of their album “Houses of the Holy”. [image]
As with all the Clarke books I have read there is not much in the way of characterization, the humans, and even the Overlords are there to move the plot forward. Somehow Clarke always makes it works, the lack of emphasis on characters development is even a virtue as the storyline is so engrossing. I even enjoyed Clarke’s prose in this book which verges on lyrical at times: “The ground should have cracked and trembled beneath that tremendous weight, but the vessel was still in the grip of whatever forces drove it among the stars. It kissed the earth as gently as a falling snowflake.”
I hope Syfy can do a good job adapting this stupendous sci-fi classic, though their past "achievements" don’t inspire much confidence. Regardless, this is one of the few sci-fi books that I would not hesitate to recommend to everybody. If you are going to watch the TV show read this first, I cannot imagine the show improving on the book, but I can imagine it ruining the book all too well.
Notes: While Childhood's End clearly inspired the aforementioned film and TV shows, I think it may have been — in turn — inspired to some extent by John Wyndham’s The Midwich Cuckoos and The Chrysalids.
Syfy's Childhood's End trailer. That hysterical screaming woman already makes me dread what other changes they are going to make. There is no hysteria in the book, well except one guy who screams like a little girl for a moment when he spots something weird in a museum.
Update 16 Dec '15: The great David Brin just posted this beautiful article about Clarke. If I may quote a couple of relevant passages:
"And yet, what most intrigues me about Arthur’s work is something else – his ongoing fascination with human destiny – a term seemingly at odds with the scientific worldview.
But there is another Arthur C. Clarke. The one who sent David Bowman through the monolith in his great classic, 2001. The author who gave us Childhood’s End. One who frets that we may not be wise enough to survive the next few generations of tense immaturity, let alone become worthy of joining more advanced communities of mind."...more
By gods and Jabber! This is one pugnacious thaumaturgical book! (sorry, bad in-joke).
China Miéville an interesting and awe-inspiring author, he writesBy gods and Jabber! This is one pugnacious thaumaturgical book! (sorry, bad in-joke).
China Miéville an interesting and awe-inspiring author, he writes like an angel but looks like a football hooligan! This is the second of the New Crobuzon series. Why it is not called The Bas-Lag series I have no idea, all of the Scar is set outside the great sprawling city of New Crobuzon, though it is frequently referred to.
As with the amazing Perdido Street Station this book is full of interesting characters and peculiar creatures (some of whom are pulling double duties as interesting characters also) full of magic (thaumaturgy, natch!). Miéville is a master of world building, plots, prose and characterization. The floating city of Armada is an amazing and vivid creation, a crazy yet believable place. The main protagonist Bellis Coldwine starts out being utterly unsympathetic and cold but she is gradually humanized as the story progresses. There are always surprises around the corner and the novel is never predictable.
Interestingly, with all this weirdness going on I am surprised that the most resonant part of the book for me is the brief scene where a young cabin boy (Shekel) learns to read and discover the joy of reading. Now that is something most of us Goodreads punters can identify with.
There are numerous wonders waiting to be discovered by the unsuspecting reader, and it all ends in a somewhat optimistic yet melancholy note. I find this book endlessly fascinating and I look forward to visit Bas-Lag again in the Iron Council. ...more
When I came across this book and read the synopsis I wondered if it was a rip off of Stephen King's epic The Stand. However, I gave McCammon the benefWhen I came across this book and read the synopsis I wondered if it was a rip off of Stephen King's epic The Stand. However, I gave McCammon the benefit of the doubt and bought the book any way because I like his previous novels. Best decision ever! This book is just terrific entertainment. While the post-apocalyptic theme and the basic plot are similar to The Stand I actually like Swan Song better. It feels less bloated and better paced. Also, I normally don't like keeping track of several different groups of characters because I tend to forget who is who and what they are up to. However, with this book the multi- plot stands structure is very well done and all the wll developed characters are doing something interesting. Best of all, the book has a very satisfying epic ending. So if you like The Stand, or even if you don't, read this book!
(As of today this has the highest average rating by Goodreads members on my Top 20 shelf)....more
I first read this book decades ago under the title of Tiger! Tiger! (British edition). I just reread it recently for the purposes of writing this reviI first read this book decades ago under the title of Tiger! Tiger! (British edition). I just reread it recently for the purposes of writing this review. Fortunately I have memory like a sieve so I enjoy this reread just as much as the first time.
The Stars My Destination is one of the few sf books that is included in almost every all-time best sf books I have ever seen, and I have seen many. If I see such a list without this book I will probably dismiss it.
The story is centered upon Gully (Gulliver) Foyle a vengeful anti-hero protagonist who thinks nothing of whacking all and sundry with a sledgehammer. It is set in a universe where practically everybody can teleport, the part where teleportation ("jaunting") is discovered by accident and developed into a normal mode of transportation is brief yet brilliant, and the social and cultural ramifications are very well thought out. Foyle is not exactly likable but you have to feel sorry for the ordeals he goes through in this book. Abandoned, marooned, kidnapped, tortured, and imprisoned, no wonder he is so bitter and vengeful all the time; at no point does anybody offer him a nice cup of tea or a manicure. Foyle stoically goes through all this ill treatment with a snarl and a promise of payback. Bester's witty and intelligent prose contrast nicely with the gutter language spoken by Foyle in the first half of the book. The author has cited The Count of Monte Cristo as an influence for this book but the similarity is not noticeable until Foyle reinvented himself with an extreme makeover in the second half of the book, the breakneck pace of the book also slows down for the elaborate revenge plan at this point.
As this is one of the most beloved sf books ever recommendation is not usually necessary for regular sf readers, readers new to the genre will find this an ideal starting point.
The last couple of chapters are wonderfully trippy, surreal, philosophical and cosmic! I suspect these last chapters play a large part in pushing the book to its classic status.
Anne Rice has a lot to answer for. Those damn sycophantic useless Cullen vampires probably wouldn't exist without her dynamic duo of Lestat and Louis.Anne Rice has a lot to answer for. Those damn sycophantic useless Cullen vampires probably wouldn't exist without her dynamic duo of Lestat and Louis. That said Interview with the Vampire is a great book, so great Sting wrote a song about it. The next book The Vampire Lestat is equally good then it's downhill all the way!
Way back then the idea of romantic melancholy vampires looking for redemption was a novel one. Nowadays they have devolved into unbearable well-coiffed whiners. Any way, this is a wonderful book, atmospheric, gothic, sad, exciting and riveting (poor Claudia). Forget the sequels, just read this one (OK, and the next one)....more
Weaveworld is one of the very few books that I can claim to enjoy from the first page to the last, all 700+ pages of it. Even the introduction is greaWeaveworld is one of the very few books that I can claim to enjoy from the first page to the last, all 700+ pages of it. Even the introduction is great, normally I skim through lengthy intros to get to the story, but Clive Barker puts his heart and soul into this one, including this beautiful passage about the genre fiction:
“I have been, I think, altogether disparaging about the ‘escapist’ elements of the genre, emphasizing its powers to address social, moral and even philosophical issues at the expense of celebrating its dreamier virtues. I took this position out of a genuine desire to defend a fictional form I love from accusations of triviality and triteness, but my zeal led me astray. Yes, fantastic fiction can be intricately woven into the texture of our daily lives, addressing important issues in fabulist form. But it also serves to release us for a time from the definitions that confine our daily selves; to unplug us from a world that wounds and disappoints us, allowing us to venture into places of magic and transformation.”
As a lifelong devotee of SF/F/H fiction, I sometimes have the same doubts about preferring this type of fiction above all others but the above passage really puts it in perspective for me.
Weaveworld is about another dimension called “The Fugue” which has been transformed into a carpet in order to hide from an unstoppable creature called “The Scourge”. The residents of the Fugue are called the “Seerkind”, a race with magical abilities who view mankind with disdain and refer to humans as “cuckoos”. The Fugue in carpet form works a little like suspended animation or dehydrated food in which places, animals and most of the Seerkind are woven in as patterns on the carpet; to be reconstituted by an appointed guardian when the world is safe. The storyline concerns two human protagonists who become involved with the Fugue and the Seerkind and their struggle against powerful enemies who are trying to destroy both.
I first read Weaveworld around fifteen years ago and certain elements and scenes have stuck with me through all these years. It is a dark fantasy with several horrifying scenes — definitely not for the faint of heart — and scenes of surreal beauty. The most memorable element of the book for me is the magical jacket worn by Shadwell, the main human antagonist of the book, the lining of the jacket is able to enslave anyone who look at it by showing their heart's desire and allowing them to delve into it and obtain that very thing.
[image]
The central characters are very well written and believable, the antagonists are suitably warped, formidable and devious. In spite of its considerable length Weaveworld still manages to move at a fair clip. Something bizarre is always happening on almost every page and boredom never sets in. There is also more artistry in his prose than you would find in most genre books. The best thing about this book is that it is wonderful escapism, this book can sweep you away from a dull rainy day, or a slow day at the office. If you are a fan of Neil Gaiman’s American Gods this book is likely to be right up your alley, though it is much more horrific, packed to the gills with horrible slimy, sticky, drippy – not to mention horny – monstrosities.
With an average rating of 4.13 Weaveworld is generally very well liked. However, all books have their share of negative reviews and while I respect opinions contrary to my own, I take exception to one review that says this book “is lacking”. The trouble is the reviewer does not say what it is that the book is lacking. Is “lacking” an adjective now? In any case I don’t think it lacks anything and I heartily recommend it.
[image]
Cover art for the 25th anniversary edition of Weaveworld by Richard A. Kirk (click on image for larger size).
[image]
Note: I have to admit Clive Barker's books are generally very hard to review, they tend to be densely plotted and the settings and storylines are always so goddam outré. This is particularly true of Weaveworld, I really struggled to write this review. I normally make notes when I read a novel so I will have some material ready to put in my review, but with this book I was so engrossed that I hardly paused to make any notes at all; just a sentence or two....more
Ender's Game is one of those rare sf classics that are placed in the top 5 of most "All-time best sf books", I have seen it occupy the pole position i Ender's Game is one of those rare sf classics that are placed in the top 5 of most "All-time best sf books", I have seen it occupy the pole position in a few such lists. Such accolade is not undeserved as Ender's Game is a great book, and one of the best military sf novels ever published, alas military sf has never been my favorite sf sub genre so Speaker for the Dead is much more to my taste. What makes this book very special are the existential and philosophical issues raised by this book. I also love the Pequeninos (piggies) alien species and their highly unusual stages of growth. Their culture is very alien and this leads to a terrible misunderstanding and a couple of tragic human deaths, that said, there are some recognizable human characteristic in their behavior. Characterization has always been a particular strength of Orson Scott Card and this is very much a character-centric book, though the sf element, the sense of wonder and immersion is very strong. The character of Andrew Wiggin (Ender) is very different from the previous novel he has grown up, grown old and attained a lot of wisdom. Some of the alien piggies characters such as Rooter and Human are as vivid as the human ones. For me this book has a lot more emotional resonance than its predecessor as I can identify with some of the problems the characters go through. This book epitomizes all that I look for in a perfect sf novel.
Since Ray Bradbury passed away (about a month ago at the time of writing) it occurred to me to reread his books that I have read before, and read the Since Ray Bradbury passed away (about a month ago at the time of writing) it occurred to me to reread his books that I have read before, and read the others that I have missed. After rereading Something Wicked This Way Comes last month I thought I'd read Fahrenheit 451 but as it turned out The Reddit SF Book Club chose The Martian Chronicles as book of the month (July 2012) so in order to keep up with the Joneses here we are! How about that for a useless intro?
This book is a fix-up novel which is something between an anthology and a novel, and it benefits from both of its sibling formats. The stories are interrelated with only a few recurring characters but read together the whole is certainly greater than the sum of its parts. It is also worth noting that while the table of contents look as if there are almost 30 stories in the book, quite a few of these are not really stories in themselves but brief passages that lead to the next story or provide background information to move the major story arc of the book forward. In general the book tells the story of the colonization of Mars, which in a sense is a little bit like the reverse of H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds in that we invade Mars and they fight back in their quiet ways only to meet the same fate as their counterparts in Wells' book. The major difference is that there is no interplanetary war and it is only the first part of the Chronicles.
I just want to make a few notes on the main stories, the brief interludes are also great but too short for my noting purposes.
Ylla (February 1999/2030*) A Martian woman dreams (or have a premonition) of an Earthman's arrival. The actual First Contact does not go well.
The Summer Night (August 1999/2030) Tell me more! Tell me more! ...more
David Gemmell is a legend (much like the title of one of his books). I know GRRM, Rothfuss and Brandon Sanderson are all the rage but Gemmell is a giaDavid Gemmell is a legend (much like the title of one of his books). I know GRRM, Rothfuss and Brandon Sanderson are all the rage but Gemmell is a giant among men. His books are always action packed, intelligent and passionate, extra points also for them generally of being of medium lengths (300-600 pages). I love every one of his books that I have read but for the purpose of constructing my top 20 goodreads shelf I choose Lion of Macedon as being representative of his greatness.
Lion of Macedon is based on Greek mythology with Parmenion being the main protagonist, his development from a lowly half-Spartan into "The Death of Nations". The story is full of magic, strategies and tragedy, the complete story spans just two books, this one and the sequel Dark Prince, which features a semi-possessed Alexander the Great. There is no question of reading just the first volume and abandoning the rest of the story, I can not imagine anybody wanting to do that....more
Before Stephenie Meyer single-handedly ruined this horror sub-genre for me vampires were cool.
'Salem's Lot holds the double honor of being my favoriteBefore Stephenie Meyer single-handedly ruined this horror sub-genre for me vampires were cool.
'Salem's Lot holds the double honor of being my favorite vampire novel and my favorite Stephen King novel. King has written more excellent, complex, and lengthy novels since but 'Salem's Lot is the most memorable for me. What I love the most about this novel is the vividness of it, the characters, atmosphere, the sense of dread. One particular scene sent shivers down my spine, just a little scene where King describes the sound of vampire boy Danny Glick drinking blood and snickering. I remember a clear picture of that scene suddenly popping into my mind and feeling totally creeped out. This is one of the many memorable scenes in the book which are much less effective in the TV adaptations.
As far as I am concerned this is Stephen King's scariest book. It would have scared the willies off Bram Stoker had he been around to read it!...more
This review is for the novel version of Nightwings, which is comprised of three tightly linked novellas.
Robert Silverberg is possibly the most underraThis review is for the novel version of Nightwings, which is comprised of three tightly linked novellas.
Robert Silverberg is possibly the most underrated sf writers of all time considering how long he has been at it and the numerous awards he has won and been nominated for. For some reason, he just does not seem to be "in vogue" these days. It is a pity that most of the younger generation of sf readers today have never read anything by him.
What Silverberg does better than almost any sf authors writing today is to write short stand alone novels with very strange plots and excellent characterization. His special talent us to drop the reader right in the middle of a strange place and time of his imagining and gradually acclimatize you through his story telling skills rather than just making an infodump.
Nightwings is set on Earth but in a future so far flung and strange that it may as well be an alien planet. There are many guilds and mutants and genetically modified humans populating the earth which is about to be invaded by rather reasonable aliens! This novel is both post-apocalyptic and dystopian. It all ends rather optimistically with redemption for the flawed but lovable protagonist. It is astonishing how much plot, grandeur, ideas, subtext, and characterization Silverberg managed to squeeze into one short novel. This book easily goes to my all time best list!...more
A Fire Upon The Deep is Vernor Vinge’s magnum opus, a classic of the genre, one of the greats and deservedly most popular sci-fi novels ever. Google “A Fire Upon The Deep is Vernor Vinge’s magnum opus, a classic of the genre, one of the greats and deservedly most popular sci-fi novels ever. Google “The Best Sci-Fi Books of All Time” and you will find this book included in many of these lists, sharing shelf space with Dune, Ender’s Game and the likes. I suppose if you are looking for a quick “yay or nay” recommendation you will already have your answer by this point. You may as well avoid exposure to my long-windedness and get started on the book.
I first read this book seven years ago and I have just reread it, this review is a complete revamp of my 2011 review. On this reread I felt that the first chapter starts off a bit rough. The prologue (about 7 pages) is damn nigh incomprehensible, stuffed to the gills with neologism and tech terms, yet somehow quite intriguing. If you are a veteran sci-fi reader such initial difficulty should not faze you, if you are fairly new to this sci-fi lark then just be patient and let the narrative unfold, this book is actually very accessible.
Set in a universe where the Milky Way galaxy is divided into “Zones of Thought”, where each zone has a different law of physic that determines the attainable level of intelligence of the occupants, and also the sophistication of AI and technology, including FTL travel. These are the Unthinking Depths, the Slow Zone, the Beyond, and the Transcend. To describe each zone in detail would be awfully longwinded, suffice it to say that in The Slow Zone the maximum level of intelligence is lower, AI does not work and there is no FTL travel or communication, in the Beyond the potential level of intelligence is much higher, AI and FTL are commonplace, in the Transcend superintelligence exists and the occupants are so advanced that, if they deign to communicate, the occupants of the lower zones would not be able to understand them. [image] The Zones of Thought
This is the epic scale of the setting. The plot concerned the accidental awakening of an evil entity of galactic proportions called “The Blight” by a group of humans. Some of them attempt to escape from the planet where this Blight is unleashed, most failed, except a single seemingly insignificant little spaceship transporting two children and many other children in suspended animation. This ship lands on a planet called “the Tines World” ruled by dog-like beings with hive-minds. Meanwhile, The Blight becomes aware that the little ship contains a threat to its existence and sends a fleet of warships in pursuit. [image] The Tines by Itzcoatl34
A Fire Upon The Deep has everything a sci-fi fan could possibly want, thrilling adventure, strange aliens and their cultures, galactic and planetary scale world building. As a bonus, it actually has characters you can care about and root for, both humans and aliens. I am surprised at how charming some of these aliens are, the humans are not bad either! For me personally I love the design of the “Tines” aliens, I always enjoy the “hive-mind” sci-fi trope when it is cleverly done, Sturgeon’s More Than Human and Wyndham’s The Midwich Cuckoos spring to mind. I believe what Vinge has done with the Tines here actually surpasses these two classic books. The coordination of the composites of each “pack” is so well thought out and described it is quite mind-blowing as a feat of imagination. There are other mind-boggling alien races also, not to mention as sort of galactic message board (or Usenet newsgroups).
At the risk of belaboring the point I would just like to sum up that A Fire Upon The Deep is a stone cold classic of the sci-fi genre (and the space opera sub-genre). If you love sci-fi you will love this book. [image] Note: Yes, the last paragraph is rather hyperbolic, perhaps you love sci-fi but hate this book, you can’t please everybody!...more
“Herr Schoenheit von Vogelsang; sorry to break into your meditation, but a customer wishes you to assist in revving up his relative.”
Haha! I don’t kno“Herr Schoenheit von Vogelsang; sorry to break into your meditation, but a customer wishes you to assist in revving up his relative.”
Haha! I don’t know if PKD intended the above dialogue to be humorous but it is so bizarre and PKD-esque it made me chuckle. There is often a weird stiltedness to his dialogue that I find oddly charming. [image] I last read Ubik in 2012 (seven years ago as of today) I remember thinking “this is it, this is my favorite PKD”. Before this current reread I can barely remember anything about the plot, only a vague image that of a spray can of Ubik, but what is it? Ubik is set in the (then) future of 1992 where psi abilities are a given fact and are often used for industrial espionage, invasion of privacy and other psychic intrusions. The situation is like computer virus and anti-virus, so there are businesses that exist purely to counter these psychic intrusions. Somewhat related to psi abilities is the “half-life” business run by “moratoriums” where, for a fee, you can store your dearly departed and they facilitate a communication channel between you and your (mostly) dead loved ones. The protagonist, Joe Chip, works for Runciter Associates, a “prudence organization” that offers anti-psi intrusion services. On an assignment to the lunar colony Joe, his boss Glen Runciter, and his team are attacked by a bomb which killed Runciter. Worse still since the bombing reality begins to bend out of shape, items begin to regress back into their dated versions until Joe finds himself in 1939.
Excellent Time magazine book reviewer and author Lev Grossman described Ubik as “a deeply unsettling existential horror story, a nightmare you'll never be sure you've woken up from”. This surprised me a little, I don’t find that Ubik has a horror tone and it is not at all unsettling, but wacky and very entertaining, the tone is often quite humorous; especially the Ubik ad at the beginning of each chapter, always as a different product from the preceding chapter. [image] Time and time again PKD pulled the rug from under this reader, just when I thought I knew what is going on, PKD pulled another fast one and I landed on my butt. For me, his depiction of an unreliable and unstable reality is what PKD does better than anybody else. The eventual reveal of what Ubik blew my mind, but even then PKD has one more rug to pull.
If you have not read PKD before I highly recommend Ubik as the gateway into his wonderfully weird fiction. I kind of envy you. [image] Quotes: “Perhaps your definition of your self-system lacks authentic boundaries. You’ve erected a precarious structure of personality on unconscious factors over which you have no control. That’s why you feel threatened by me.”
“He therefore vigorously strode to the apt door, turned the knob and pulled on the release bolt. The door refused to open. It said, “Five cents, please.”
“Ray Hollis, whose psionically talented personnel are the object of inertial nullification and hence the target of the prudence”
“The past is latent, is submerged, but still there, capable of rising to the surface once the later imprinting unfortunately--and against ordinary experience--vanished. The man contains--not the boy--but earlier men, he thought. History began a long time ago.”...more
“Democracy’s worst fault is that its leaders are likely to reflect the faults and virtues of their constituents—a depressingly low level.”
Now, why doe“Democracy’s worst fault is that its leaders are likely to reflect the faults and virtues of their constituents—a depressingly low level.”
Now, why does that resonate so hard? Great line even though it is not representative of Stranger in a Strange Land’s major theme.
Stranger in a Strange Land is Heinlein’s best known and most popular book. It is not his most controversial novel but seems that way because it is the most widely read one. His later books Friday and I Will Fear No Evil are, to my mind, much more controversial, but also verges on being unreadable. This is not the case with Stranger in a Strange Land, which is a hoot from beginning to end.
Robert Heinlein did not want Stranger in a Strange Land to be labeled as science fiction because he wants readers to view the novel as a sociopolitical allegory exploring the origin of a new religion, social mores, sexual liberation and other challenging themes. It is very easy to find stacks of in-depth analyses of this book online, but when I first read it in the 80s I was unaware of the themes, subtexts etc. At the time I only read sci-fi for the escapism and this book did not disappoint.
Looking at the basic plot it is not surprising that Stranger in a Strange Land is labeled as science fiction. The story concerns Valentine Michael Smith, known to the public as “the Man from Mars”. Mike (as he generally referred to by the other characters) was born on Mars, his parents and the rest of the crew the colonization starship Envoy mysteriously died. 25 years later another expedition from Earth discovers Mike as the lone survivor, having been raised by Martians. Mike is brought back to Earth, he is soon taken into the care of bestselling author Jubal Harshaw. This is where he learns—at superhuman speed—the English language and the peculiarities of human culture. Once he “groks”* humanity he sets out to found a new religion based on Martian philosophy, featuring learning the Martian language, developing telekinesis, polygamy, “thou art God” and various other alien practices. His “Church of All Worlds” picks up many followers but is viewed with disdain by the authorities and followers of the established religions, who are out for his blood.
Heinlein, Clarke, and Asimov are often referred to as the “Big Three” sci-fi authors. During my formative years as a sf reader, Heinlein was my favorite of the three, followed by Asimov then Clarke†. He just seemed like the funniest, the most “badass”. A couple of years ago I reread his Starship Troopers, a book I enjoyed very much as a teenager, and found it to be overly didactic and consequently rather dull. Prior to this Stranger in a Strange Land reread I half expected to be similarly disappointed. This turns out not to be the case, the didacticism is there, but presented in a much more entertaining package. I particularly enjoyed the early parts of the book when Mike is depicted as a sort of space Mowgli. His sudden withdrawal into a corpse-like meditative state, his incomprehension of nudity, money, ownership and all social mores in general, makes for some great comedy. While the book is not exactly densely plotted I enjoyed his development from idiot child to a Crocodile Dundee-like character, and eventually to a messiah. [image] Art by SharksDen
The first half of the book reads more like a conventional sci-fi romp, the second half, which consists of more dialogue than plot, is where Heinlein throws his challenging ideas at the readers. From the several discussion forums I have read, quite a few readers decided to abandon the novel when the sexual issues come in thick and fast. As a more mature reader I could not help but notice the sexisms in the book, a lot of the bantering in the dialogue is fun, but the female characters are often talked down to by the men. The (non-graphic) depiction of free love is also cringe-inducing. As for the seemingly libertine ideas put forward by Mike, Jubal and several characters I would have to be crazy to agree with them all, but Heinlein’s intent was never to convince the readers of these ideas but to provoke them to think, to try looking at “conventional wisdom” from new angles, even crazy ones.
Heinlein’s literary skills are ahead of most of his sci-fi contemporaries when he is not busy being sexist, his prose and dialogue fairly sparkle. Jubal Harshaw is probably the most vivid and vibrant character I have ever encountered in a sci-fi book; he obviously has all the best lines, probably because he acts as an avatar (self-insert) for the author. Valentine Michael Smith is almost as memorable because of his oddness. Unfortunately, none of the female characters are well developed or believable.
For me, Stranger in a Strange Land is a flawed gem that sensitive female readers will probably find distasteful and feminists will find intolerable. I suspect Heinlein would have approved this state of affairs, as his intent for the book is to challenge the readers through satirizing the accepted social mores. If you can tune out the sexism (a product of its time) it is well worth reading; certainly required reading for anyone who wants to be “well read” in science fiction. [image] Notes: * “Grok” is the most famous neologism from this book. In essence it is a level of understanding so profound that the subject (or object) of this understanding becomes a part of you and vice versa.
† The ranking is the reverse these days, I like Clarke best, then Asimov, then Heinlein. Lately, I have come to appreciate Clarke’s epic hard sci-fi plot and speculations more than the other two biggies possibly because I read very few Clarke books in the 80s, at the time finding him too dry and not very humorous.
• This review is of the “uncut” version as Heinlein first conceived and written it, first published in 1991. The abridged version was published in 1961, both versions have their fans (and detractors ). I read the 1961 version in the 80s, unfortunately I can’t remember what the differences are; but I do think some of the dialogue in this uncut edition is rather longwinded. The 1962 Hugo Award was, of course, for the abridged version. Thanks, Denis for raising this issue.
• An interesting Goodreads group discussion about this book, which remains a problematical read for many, and Heinlein would not have wanted it any other way.
• From Quora: Why are Heinlein, Clarke, and Asimov called the Big-Three of Science Fiction? [image] Quotes: “The Universe was a damned silly place at best . . . but the least likely explanation for its existence was the no-explanation of random chance, the conceit that some abstract somethings “just happened” to be some atoms that “just happened” to get together in configurations which “just happened” to look like consistent laws and then some of these configurations “just happened” to possess self-awareness and that two such “just happened” to be the Man from Mars and the other a bald-headed old coot with Jubal himself inside.”
“When one is of my age, one is necessarily in a hurry about some things. Each sunrise is a precious jewel . . . for it may never be followed by its sunset.”
“Gratitude is a euphemism for resentment. The Japanese have five different ways to say 'thank you'-and every one of them translates literally as resentment, in various degrees.”
“could not avoid having government, any more than an individual man could escape his lifelong bondage to his bowels.”
If I was a struggling or mid range sf author I'd probably be very annoyed with Audrey Niffenegger, how dare she write a romantic first novel using a pIf I was a struggling or mid range sf author I'd probably be very annoyed with Audrey Niffenegger, how dare she write a romantic first novel using a popular sf trope and sell them on mainstream shelves by the truck load? Fortunately I am not an author of any kind so I feel more forgiving. I think she dared because she has a very good story to tell and knows she is capable of telling it effectively. My only annoyance with this book is that it is not marketed as sf when it clearly is sf even though the emphasis is not on the sf side of it. I am also annoyed that since the commercial success of this novel Ms. Niffenegger has not decided to pursue a career as an sf author. This novel shows that she belongs to this genre. She even coins a very sf-ish term "chrono-impaired" for the protagonist Henry DeTamble's involuntary time travelling condition, how "sci-fi" is that? Of course since this book is not hard sf no rhyme or reason is given for Henry's uncontrollable time traveling. He just does it OK? It is no more unbelievable than FTL travel through hyperspace or teleportation. That said, the time traveling element is very well done, I personally can not find any illogical paradoxes that can bring the whole story down like a house of cards. I don't suppose the internal logic of the story is entirely water-tight, more observant or analytical sf readers than myself will probably find some logical fallacies to grumble about, but it is smooth enough for me.
Given that time travel is not the point of this novel the characterization need to be the priority for the author. Both the lead characters are likable and believable, their romantic relationship which is the heart of this book is suitably poignant, and the pathos at the end is rightly emotional. At no time did I cry like a little girl but the corners of my mouth did droop a little bit, and I finished the book with a warm and tingly feeling.
So yes, a solid recommendation for anyone who likes a good time travel story with a touch (well, a massive heap) of romance....more
Loading...
![[image]](https://sivegame.netlify.app/host-https-richardakirk.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/weave25wrap.jpg){kind=link}
