Alastair Reynolds - The Revelation Space Trilogy; Chasm City

Scary in it's placing of humanity firmly at the bottom of the Universe's pecking order, this series of books contains some pretty big concepts. One of the few authors who manages to really give an idea of just where humanity could go, with the right stimuli. Worth reading just for the descriptions of cultures and aliens. Watch out though, Reynolds is not afraid of putting humanity at the very bottom of the galactic pecking order. I refused to read Redemption Ark close to bedtime. I would just lay awake and shiver at the thought of how huge the universe is, and how short-lived and fragile we are.

• Revelation Space -  Cool, pure SF. The last few chapters give an inkling of what is to come in future installments, but the story also stands well by itself.

• Redemption Ark - The sequel to Revelation Space, in which many questions are, err, resolved, or then again maybe not. Several hundred years in the future, the Inhibitors are back after eons, Their objective seems to be to eradicate sentient life. Scary scary scary.

• Absolution Gap - I haven't actually read this one yet, but it's listed in the pending books here.

• Chasm City - The schizo prequel to Revelation Space, which scales back quite a bit from the epic back story and gives up a very convoluted story of a man and his quest for identity.  Good reading but does lose itself a little in the identity crisis of a very screwed up psyche.

Also a case of "these covers look so good it's worth buying the books just to have them in your bookshelf".
 

John Ringo - The Legacy of the Aldenata series

• A Hymn Before Battle

• Gust Front

• When the Devil Dances

• Hell's Faire

Alien invasion stories have been done before, but never quite with this much desperation, lack of hope, or heroism on the part of the defenders. This is rich military SF with a keen eye for the strategic dimension and human psychology as well as kick-ass fun.

The first novel is a sort of "eve of the war" story. I was put off by the cover for quite a while but eventually decided to give it a shot. Good thing too. Aliens have contacted Earth and told them of a war, and that the Posleen, a very powerful race with a behavior like a cannibalistic Mongol horde, is only five years out from Earth. The Galactics will help, if humans help them fight. The other races are pacifistic in the extreme. There is action (of course) in the form of skirmishes and the defence of an allied planet, and we are introduced to Mike O'Neal, later leader of an elite Armed Combat Suit unit and the main hero of the story.

The second novel covers the assault on Earth. As before, Ringo has a knack for describing the political and strategic dimensions, and is not afraid of throwing disastrous screwups, unexpected developments and plain old bad luck into the mix. The United States is hunkering down, but the question is: Will the line hold for the defenders to marshal their forces?

Pity about the awful cover. Enough about that. The third novel of the series is a middle book to bridge the gap between the first Posleen assault on Earth (covered in "Gust Front") and the climactic conclusion to the war (covered in "Hell's Faire"). Characters are developed and the stage is set for a whopping showdown. The action scenes are great, as in all Ringo's work, and the humor just keeps getting better. It's quite ironic that a story about alien invasion and massive destruction, suffering and pain can make me laugh out loud so much. Ringo has a knack for capturing the inner essence of characters. The three-dimensionality is welcome, and few authors pull it off so well. He is also very good at changing his characters as they go through events in their lives. Masterful. 20040913

The fourth novel picks up exactly where When the Devil Dances left off. In the Afterword, Ringo says that the last two should only have been one, but 9/11 gave him serious writer's block. He even suggests gluing them together. The conclusion is very exciting and satisfying. While many loose ends are tied up, other fundamental questions about the various aliens, which were only hinted at in the earlier books, are now dredged up and given new focus. Why didn't the Galactics warn Earth earlier? Why did they give intelligence to the Posleen? 20040916

While this series is concluded, it will be interesting to see how the universe pans out, and there are already two further novels published in it.

In conclusion, there is only one more thing to say:

"Eat Antimatter, Posleen-Boy!"

This book explains... everything. In his great style, using "small words", Sagan takes us on a wondrous journey through creation. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

I loved the movie. It was faithful to the spirit of the book, and that is as it should be. The novel goes into much more detail and background. It is the story of a signal from space caught by a radio astronomer, and what happens after. The scope is large, but Sagan keeps it going smoothly forward to the incredible conclusion. The discussion of science versus religion is well done, and lacks the antagonism which could easily have creeped in. Fills you with a sense of wonder like few other books, and while it makes you feel small in the Universe, it nevertheless manages to convey a message of hope and love. Fabulous.

Wondrous cyberpunk written in what I call ”sarcasm”. It’s hard to keep a smile off your face when you read this. One of my favorites.

Historical novel about cryptology set during World War II and the present day. Very deep and long, but maybe my all time favorite book.

S.M Stirling - The Draka series

The first three books are nowadays published as one volume entitled The Domination.

• Marching through Georgia

• Under the Yoke

• The Stone Dogs

• Drakon

The series can really shake you up. It is set in an alternate history in which the Crown Colony of the Cape (that's in modern day South Africa) becomes a powerful nation. This "Domination of the Draka" is utterly elitist and wishes to subjugate all other races to the (white) master race. It is also fiercely expansionist. At the time of our own timeline's Second World War, it drives a wedge between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany by invading through the Caucasus. The Domination then proceeds to conquer all of Europe and Asia (except for India), adding these territories to it's African holdings. These events are detailed in the first book. The second book is about a spy expedition into Draka territory by the "Alliance for Freedom", basically what is left of the free world (America and India). It is not quite as good as the rest of the series, and on rereading I have skipped over it completely as it is not essential to the story. The third book is about the final showdown between the two powers. The Alliance is more powerful in technology and the physical sciences, while the Domination, mostly thanks to a scruple free approach to human experiments (they're just serfs, after all) is very advanced in genetics and bioengineering. The Draka win the war, and the "free" humans mount a last-ditch escape for a precious few to a nearby solar system.

Drakon is a change of pace. In a Draka future, the race experiments with portals into alternate timelines. A Draka is stranded in one of these timelines (our own) and attempts to subjugate it to her will. This novel is much smaller in scope than the other three, but it remains, like the other three, a great read.

The scary thing about the Draka books is that you can easily find yourself rooting for "the bad guys". These aren't Hitler's Nazis. The Draka want an ordered society and a life which does not use up the Earth's resources without replenishing them. They do not see their use of "serfs" as immoral and they are not given to pettiness. Only ruthlessness. So apart from spinning a great yarn, Stirling is trying to tell us that many would choose the Draka way of life if they had the chance (well, the chance to be Draka). The Draka create an earthly paradise after their victory, and the average standard of living and intelligence of ALL men, including serfs, actually improves after the Draka victory. The series is controversial in this manner, but it really makes you think about some big issues.

John Varley - Steel Beach

We're back in the "Eight Worlds Universe" of "The Ophuichi Hotline" and "The Golden Globe". This novel is about Hildy Johnson, who made an appearance in "The Golden Globe". Steel Beach is the story of how Hildy Johnson didn't commit suicide. That's putting it crudely since the actual story is full of wonderful detail and nuance. Steel Beach is part of Varley's Eight Worlds universe, although the author is careful to point out in the afterword he did not go out of his way to make the story consistent with other tales in the milieu.

Hildy Johnson lives on Luna, a utopia with very long (perhaps even infinite) life, no real need to work and unprecedented personal freedom. Ironically, this personal freedom comes from having a very advanced "Central Computer" (´the CC) run basically everything. Every citizen has a personal interface with he CC and can ask for any information at any time. Sex changes and other surgerical procedures are effortless and painless. Subcultures of all sorts thrive as people pursue what they really want to do. For example, large "Disney's", basically theme parks where you live, provide their inhabitants with life as it was in, say, an idelized Texas in the late 1800s. So life is pretty good. There's just one problem: Hildy (who starts the novel as a man and ends it as a woman) keeps trying to commit suicide. The CC has noticed a rash of suicides and is trying to do something about them. He dragoons Hildy into helping him. Little does either know where this will land them or the rest of Luna.

The novel is about this, and much more. It is an exploration into what makes us human. Why do we live, exactly? What do we live for? Hildy is faced with the issue of having more or less infinite life ahead of him but no understanding of what he/she must do with it. The unbridled consumerism of Luna is not enough to give him/her purpose. And so he is endlessly seeking. Steel Beach is a wonderful exploration into the nature of humanity. But it is neither lecturing nor boring. The first person exposition is witty, whimsical, at times laugh out loud funny, while remaining insightful and interesting. I loved this book. 20061129

John Varley - Red Thunder

For some odd reason I have never read Varley, an author who was first published in 1977. After this experience, I realized my mistake. Red Thunder makes some rather preposterous assumptions in order to make a story. A decade or two from now, two lower class Florida kids around twenty dream of going to space. They and their girlfriends accidentally run into (actually run over) an ex astronaut who has fallen from grace. Said ex astronaut has a quasi autistic genius cousin who has accidentally invented an immensely efficient and cheap form of energy generation/propulsion. Seeing as the Chinese are on their way to being first to Mars and the American expedition will not only be second, but may well have an accident on the way, this motley crew builds a spaceship.

Appalled yet? Most authors would have made a hash of this and turned out unreadable drivel. But Varley concentrates on the people aspect. The whole thing becomes an excellent, funny and exciting coming of age story. I really enjoyed it and look forward to more Varley in the future. 20050209.

John Varley - Red Lightning

The sequel to the wonderful Red Thunder does not disappoint. A generation after the events of Red Thunder, the children of Ray Garcia and Kelly Strickland are growing up on Mars. An unexplained impact in the Atlantic and a consequent tsunami to dwarf all previous tsunamis are catalysts for the action. But this is not a disaster novel. It's a novel about how Ray Garcia-Strickland grows from just another teenager into a man. Told strictly in Varley's favored first person, we see the world through the eyes of an adolescent who wants to be a man but hasn't figured out quite how to be one yet. The tone is authentic and as usual Varley delivers on his characters. Thoroughly well imagined and believable, they feel like old friends by the end.

Varley's novels, and especially the Red Thunder series, leave me with a feeling of well being after every section I read. The characters are so likeable and authentic it makes me want to be with them, in their world. Add to that the long section set in an America with fascist tendencies logically and quite frighteningly extrapolated from today's fear of terrorism as a convenient excuse for governmental power grabbing (the historical parallels are quite sinister), and it makes for a great novel. 20070930

J.R.R. Tolkien - The Hobbit; The Lord of the Rings

I guess I can't add very much to what has already been said about these books, except perhaps that I think you should read them. One of the remarkable achievements of The Lord of the Rings is that it has firmly made a place for itself in the mainstream, without so much as a deprecating comment about it being fantasy. The Hobbit is more of a children's book, and not really necessary to read in order to understand the story, but it is still a delightful tale and gives quite a bit of useful background. There are about a zillion different editions, but the complete cycle is composed of:

• The Hobbit (technically the Prelude to the Series)

• The Fellowship of the Ring

• The Two Towers

• The Return of the King

David Weber - The Honor Harrington Series

Space Opera in the spirit of Horatio Hornblower. Action, adventure and all that. And really good. Although I feel that Weber has lately slackened off a little, and is given to perhaps excessive verbosity in his tangents, I still eagerly await each new release.

• On Basilisk Station (HH I) - Arguably still the best Honor book. Lots of action, but also humor and great characters. This kind of editing would do the books after 6 good..
  
   

• The Honor of the Queen (HH II) - An incredible ride.
  
   

• The Short Victorious War (HH III) - Long on the action, short on the characters. But that's fine ;)
  
   

• Field of Dishonor (HH IV) - Weber shows how even Honor has a dark side, and it's very dark.
  
   

• Flag in Exile (HH V) - An interesting character study of Honor.
  
   

• Honor Among Enemies (HHVI) - Perhaps my favorite Honor. A great story of redemption.
  
   

• More than Honor (Anthology)
  
   

• In Enemy Hands (HH VI) - Very exciting but not like books 1 through 6.
  
   

• Echoes of Honor (HH VIII) - Great storyline, but Weber's style is slipping.
  
   

• Worlds of Honor (Anthology)
  
   

• Ashes of Victory (HH IX) - Losing steam, which stays lost in "War of Honor".
  
   

• Changer of Worlds (Anthology)
  
   

• War of Honor (HH X) - Very ho-hum compared to the others. Definitely an interim book.
  
   

• The Service of The Sword (Anthology)
  
   

• At All Costs (HH XI) -  This definitely shows a comeback to Weber's old form. Although he still hems and haws his way through dialogue, the action is great and the stakes are high.
  
   

Some of the stories in the anthologies contain background for later novels, so it is rather important to read them as part of the sequence.

Around War of Honor (HH X) The Honorverse branches off with the "Saganami Island Series" and the "Crown of Slaves Series".

Eric Flint & K.D. Wentworth - The Course of Empire

Is reviewed here.

Vernor Vinge - The Peace War

This novel is published both as a singleton and in the omnibus edition "Across Realtime" together with the sequel "Marooned in Realtime"

This is early Vinge. The "Peace Authority" has stopped war by encasing warring factions in impenetrable force fields ("bobbles") created by the "bobbler". Then all high technology was banned. Fifty years later, the inventor of the bobbler leads a revolution.

Vinge skillfully describes the human condition in this very odd future world. While most humans are poor, the Peace Authority has set itself up as a sort of benevolent dictatorship, but it has stagnated technologically. The Tinkers, under the ad-hoc leadership of Paul Naismith, inventor of the Bobbler, have advanced electronics well beyond those of the Authority. The Authority's blind spot is that it cannot believe the Tinkers are so advanced when high energy applications are banned.

There is a little of everything here. A coming of age story, love lost and hope for it's resumtion, honor, loyalty, betrayal. Vinge uses the plot device of the bobbler and the bobbles to great effect, and meticulously exhausts the implications of the technology's effect on humanity. 20041211

Vernor Vinge - Marooned in Realtime"

This novel is published both as a singleton and in the omnibus edition "Across Realtime" together with the prequel "The Peace War"

The sequel to "The Peace War" jumps 50 million years into the future. The 300 remaining humans travel forward through the eons with bobbles, the invulnerable stasis fields introduced in "The Peace War". One of them is left behind. The only remaining cop in the world must solve the mystery. This book is absolutely fantastic. The factional disputes, the feeling of disconnectoin, the sheer human suffering of losing everything you ever knew, is portrayed masterfully. It delves deeply into the question of what should we, as humans, really do with our lives and our race. Some wish to recreate the human race now that enough people are simultanously "in realtime" (not in stasis). Some with to travel forward through the eons and see what awaits at the end of the universe. Some, it would seem, want to continue the nationalist struggles of a long-lost past. What a ride!

Vernor Vinge - A Fire Upon the Deep; A Deepness in the Sky

This man thinks big, strange and different.

A Fire upon the Deep. Hitech meets lotech. Don't be surprised it you don't understand anything for a hundred pages or so. It gets easier. A fantastic view of the universe, and amazing aliens. A great journey.

A Deepness in the Sky. Interstellar travel is slow, and sometimes plans take decades to come to fruition. A mission to a mysterious star finds  fascinating aliens who live on a planet with some pretty extreme climate. The mission itself is subverted by tyrants. The novel follows both the aliens and the humans as they both struggle towards the climactic conclusion: Contact!

Michael Z. Williamson - The Weapon

This novel is concurrent with Freehold. It is the story of Kenneth Chinran, the man who led the attacks on Earth during the Freehold War. It is a long novel divided into three parts. In the first, Ken enlists and is trained as an "Operative", meaning an elite black ops soldier. The second part deals with a deployment to Mtali, a planet locked in faction warfare. It is here that first learns of the atrocity or war. The third part deals with the training for, and actual covert attack on Earth, in which billions of civilians die as a result of his team's action.

The story is told in the first person. We see the world out of Ken's eyes, and the transformation that he undergoes makes for an unusual bildungsroman. From innocent youth to trained killer, through disillusioned soldier, and on to mass murderer. The frightening message of this book is that he is well justified in doing what he does. His nation of Freehold has been attacked for the crime of merely existing. Freehold believes in libertarianism to the extreme. There aren't any elections because there simply isn't very much government. Everyone is free to do whatever he or she wants, but on the other hand there is no safety net. Freeholders tend to be self-reliant and independent. This is contrasted with Earthlings, who are passive inhabitants of a corrupt system where egalitarianism and "fairness" have been taken to absurd extremes. Ken Chinran contemptously refers to them as "sheeple" who wait for "someone to do something" in a crisis instead of standing up and improving their lot. Williamson's characterization is extreme, but there are clear jabs at current society, where people wait for handouts and are happy to give governments more power over them as long as they are given food and entertainment ("bread and circuses" is of course an ancient concept). While the book can get a bit preachy at times, the fact that Ken "tells the story" makes it direct. This is one person coming into contact with things that disgust him, his reaction to them and thoughts about them. It is easy to see his point of view, especially in these times where supposedly democratic and free countries have seizures without trial and a myriad pointless laws.

The development of Ken himself is as frightening as the story. His training is designed to make him a killer. He and his fellow Operatives take pride in their skills, taunting their enemies as they themselves take insane risks. In the end, though, his conscience catches up with him. He hates himself, he hates his commanding officer for ordering him to do what he has done. Nevertheless, he knows that it was necessary. He knows that what he did, the mass killings and the destruction of society on Earth, were necessary things in order not only for Freehold, but for free people to survive. It is interesting, and Williamson touches on this several times, how Ken survives his suicide mission, but finds out that giving his life would have been easier. He has given more than his life. He has sacrificed his soul. 20081012

Tom Wolfe - The Bonfire of the Vanities

I have been curious about Wolfe for a while and this one was lying around Kat's bookshelf staring at me. Hooked within three pages! Despite the introduction (not part of the novel itself) being on the borderline of annoyingly self-serving, I liked that too. It mirrors many of my own feeling about navelgazing literary fiction, although of course Wolfe puts it far better than I could. What's the point when the "real world" is so much more appealing?

The story is set in New York during the great roaring eighties, and Sherman McCoy, a bond trader on Wall Street, finds himself in big trouble with the law. The story sprawls over a vast territory, following lawyers, activists, reporters and socialites as they lead their lives. Each person's life is affected by the McCoy case. For some, the encounter is gentle; for some, it is career enhancing; for some, it is disastrous. The characters are wonderfully described and Wolfe manages to get "inside the head" of each one, describing and explaining their fears and motivations masterfully. A truly magnificent work and, in it's own way, a declaration of love for New York and it's wondrous diversity. 20040306