Andreas' Other Books - (M-Na by author)

Ken MacLeod - Cosmonaut Keep

Book one of Engines of Light. This has received quite some critical acclaim. While I can appreciate the good prose, I was not drawn in by either the characters or the story. MacLeod has some cool ideas and I have several friends who thinks this is good stuff. I gave up after about one hundred pages.

David Marusek - Counting Heads

Marusek's debut novel has certainly been turning heads. It is set in a futuristic Earth of nanotechnology and cloning. Society is divided up roughly into four groups. Affs are the very rich, practically immortal beings who seem to spend their time spinning webs of power. Free rangers are the middle class, living often in Charters, a sort of communes. And finally the lower class of clones, everything from russes to evangelines to jennys, bred for their dominant traits, Jennys are nurturing and often work in healthcare, russes are loyal and work as security and bodyguards, and so forth. But these are real human beings, not robots, with feelings and aspirations, albeit somewhat restricted by their genetic heritage. Finally, mentars are cybernetic beings. The story, such as it is, revolves around the death of a very powerful aff, and the fallout from that. The journey takes us from the lofty aff life to the day to day work of clones.

Marusek's world is a masterpiece of imagination. Detailed and internally consistent, it sucks the reader in. Most of the characters are three dimensional and interesting, their flaws and motivations laid out in fascinating expositions.

Unfortunately, the novel has three big flaws, First is the rather weak first part. It serves as a very long introduction and is jarringly different in style and content from the rest of the book. The two main characters are unlikeable, and while that's fine, they are also a bit dull after a while, like inhabitants of a bad reality show. The second flaw is the paper thin plot. The whole book feels a bit like a documentary. And while it's a very very good documentary, the lack of a concrete thrust to the story made me almost give up after eighty pages or so. The third flaw is the author's often excessive attempts at cleverness. A character may be introduced and go about its business without any explanation about how it fits in the grand scheme of things for another thirty or a hundred pages. While this is fine in itself, it is somewhat annoying to see it used as a plot device. Yes, Mr. Marusek, I did understand that all these characters are related, and you did explain it in the end, but complexity is not a means unto itself.

In conclusion, this is a very promising debut, but the style and world are presented too blatantly. The author seems to be saying "look at this cool thing I made" all the time. Contrast this with the rawness Gibson's Neuromancer, where the world is just there, and fascinating concepts are barely touched upon unless the characters themselves explore them more deeply. I really wanted to like this book, but the flaws annoyed almost to the point of disgust. Having said that, I would still recommend it if you like futuristic world building. I hope to see more from this author in the future. 20080122

Julian May - The Rampart Worlds Trilogy

While the Exiles Saga and the Galactic Milieu Trilogy are among my favorites (see the Book Picks), May seems to have gone for a less grandiose approach here. The characters are well rounded and her elegant prose flows smoothly. Unfortunately, the story is not very engaging. Still worth a read, especially as the third book is qualitatively above the first two. My main problem with the novels is that May is just a bit too in love with the main character, and he seems to be good at everything.

• Perseus Spur

• Orion Arm

• Saggitarius Whorl

A note about the covers. They are simply magnificent, but on the US edition the beautiful paintings have been marred by the huge title frame. So get the UK edition (pictured here) if you can.

Maxine McArthur - Time Future; Time Past

Mildly entertaining novels about a space station under siege in the boondocks of space. Narrated in the first person and somewhat confusing in their plots (or lack of plots), I nevertheless found them a decent read because the main character is so well portrayed.

Anne McCaffrey - The Ship Who Sang

Why this book was such a huge success is quite beyond me. Actually a mildly serialized collection of short stories, it is about a living ship. The brain of a woman was implanted in it. Sappy feelings.. Space opera at its worst, blech... Yawn... Spare me... The utter boredom...

Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Moon - Sassinak

A girl gets sold into slavery by pirates. When she is older, she becomes a pirate hunter in the fleet. Mildly entertaining, but if you want this kind of action, you would be much better off with Weber's Honor Harrington Books.

Wil McCarthy - The Collapsium

In the McCarthy's future, humanity has discovered collapsium and wellstone, substances that have made possible immensely powerful computers, teleportation and even immortality. "Faxes" allow the creation of any conceivable thing, from food to servitor robots to spaceship components. "Fax gates" allow teleportation and even duplication of people. The inventor of said substances, Bruno de Tovaji, is now living in self-imposed exile on his own asteroid in the Oort Cloud. Here he conducts experiments aimed at "seeing" the end of time. One day he receives a visitor, the Queen of the Solar System, who is also his former lover. Apparently there is trouble in paradise, as a grandiose scheme to put a ring around the sun, thus reducing communication lag among disparate locations, is slowly falling into the sun. This starts a long series of adventures in order to put an end to what turns out to be the scheming of a mad saboteur. 

I had high hopes for this book after the first fifty or a hundred pages. Interesting universe, grand designs, all the stuff you could find in a good Larry Niven yarn. Unfortunately it all became very tedious as the story went on. And on. And on. I kept waiting for the really interesting stuff to start but it was all a bit petty and small. Yawn.

This is hard science fiction. Very hard. The science content is all in there. And yet I often felt as if the author was plucking solutions to his problems out of thin air. One of the basic principles of science fiction is that and author must stay within constraints that he creates within his universe. Unfortunately, McCarthy keeps coming up with new ideas that neatly solve the posed problems. Too much like fantasy, I say. McCarthy also completely misses the opportunity to explain his society or give a decent guided tour of something apart from deep space structures. What is London like nowadays anyway? Surely a page or two exploring these things would have served the story well, and made it a bit less sterile. And that's the main gripe I have with this book. It is all a bit sterile. Mankind's achievements are falling apart around him and de Towaji is pondering his love life. Seriously... 20091105

Jack McDevitt - The Engines of God

Humanity has achieved starflight. Expeditions have found mysterious monuments from several civilizations. Most intriguing is the evidence of extinction events which have occured repeatedly and independently on various worlds. We follow pilot Priscilla "Hutch" Hutchins and various archeologists and linguists as they try to solve the puzzle.

The plot is certainly engaging, and well laid out. The characters are well described, although some felt a bit two dimensional. McDevitt takes a good stab at sense of wonder, but falls a bit short. I enjoyed Engines of God, and wanted to find out what happened, but I kept feeling as if it was lacking a certain something. The pivotal events were a tuned down to the level of the individual protagonists. This seemed to be intentional, but it detracted a bit from the sense of awe that should have been engendered. The ambiance is also flawed. The book is set in a 2202 that seems awfully similar to 2002. Starships are flying, but everything else is either pretty much unchanged, science fiction boilerplate, or just plain undescribed. And could someone please explain why there just happen to be a couple of bottles of Chablis on board the shuttle at the end? Deux ex Pantry...

As a whole, this book dissapoints because it is so frustratingly close to greatness. I shall perhaps look for McDevitt again, but not with any frantic sense of urgency. 20060517

Jack McDevitt - A Talent for War

One of the earliest McDevitt novels, about investigating the truth behind a historical legend. The premise is interesting. A chance death leaves behind an inheritance and clues to a mystery.

Unfortunately it's really really boring. The characters and the locales are forgettable, and the thrust of the story is dull. I gave up after about a hundred pages. 20070215

Joe McGinnis - Never Enough

This is the true story of the famous "milkshake murder" in Hong Kong in 2003. The rich, bitchy and spoiled expat wife kills her rich and boorish expat husband. The book goes all the way back to their parents, but mainly focuses on their life in Hong Kong. The story is quite disturbing, and truly shows that money can't buy happiness. Most of the characters seem mostly interested in money and power, and will do anything to have them.

As an expat in Hong Kong myself, I found it very interesting. Unfortunately, some things are written for dramatic effect. For example, Hong Kong International School, while a good school, is not "the most prestigious private school in Hong Kong". And Parkview is certainly not "the most exclusive Hong Kong housing estate". Still, a riveting read about some rather disturbed people, and the shocking events surrounding the murder. 20090117

Ian McDonald - Tendeléo's Story

Novelette about how biological packages from outer space infest the Earth. The story is told through the eyes of Tendeléo and her lover. Tendeléo is a Kenyan girl who grows up under the shadow of the alien threat, and manages to build her life despite all the odds stacked against her. I was initially a bit put off by the naivistic overtones, but the story grew quickly on me. Good stuff.

This book has a double cover and is paired with Watching Trees Grow by Peter F. Hamilton.

Lois McMaster Bujold - The Curse of Chalion

I love McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan Series, so I figure that her fantasy has to be pretty good too. I was right. The story starts small, with an enigmatic wanderer (our hero Cazaril) making his way to a former employer's household. It turns out that Cazaril is actually a nobleman, who through betrayal from his own side became a galley slave. His former employer, grandmother of the heir and heiress to the throne, tasks him with the education of the heiress, Iselle. Soon, the heirs and Cazaril must make their way to the royal capital, there to attend on the king, ostensibly for him to officially name his successor. But intrigue, dark magics and old enemies abound in the cut-throat enviroment of courtiers and politicians. A curse hangs over the kingdom of Chalion.

I love McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan Saga. This book has a very different subject matter and setting, but her supreme skill in characterisation and dialogue remains. The plot is intriguing but the pacing is weak. Most of the book is set at the royal palace, The Zangre. While the story moves on, often with fascinating twists and turns, it feels a bit as if the first three quarters of the book merely set up the last quarter, in which the action truly picks up. Reading a slow paced story written by McMaster Bujold is still a pleasure, but I did spend a large part of the book waiting for something to "really" happen. 20090609

Richard C. Meredith - We all Died at Breakaway Station

The title does give away a little of the story in this very dark novel. Humanity is locked at war with the Gillies (which bizarrely are also featured in Silverberg's "The Face of the Waters"), Humanity is preparing for a massive counter-attack, which hinges on holding Breakaway Station. A collection of walking wounded have to hold the station at all costs. Quite good, and they all die at the end.

James A. Michener - Space

The king of the one word title (Mexico! Hawaii! Centennial! Iberia!) tries his hand at the space program, and does it well. This dramatization of the (mainly US) space programme from its origins in Peenemunde in 1944 to post Apollo era, with some fictional tangents, is extremely well researched. If you are even faintly interested in the space program, you will enjoy it.

 China Mieville - Perdido Street Station

Critically acclaimed steampunk novel about a man and his forbidden love, and lots and lots and lots of other things. A very big novel, in many senses. Apart from its heft, it carries a heavy baggage of thematic stuff and nice style. It was definitely worth a read, but I still felt that by the end I just wanted to get it over with. In other words, good stuff but it felt just a bit too long.

Frank Miller with Klaus Janson and Lynn Varley - The Dark Knight Returns

Graphic novel. After an absence of several decades, Batman returns to the streets of Gotham to counter a new threat. The aging masked hero finds a new Robin and goes rogue for his own reasons. Very good.

Syne Mitchell - End in Fire

This is a rather neat and tidy near future thriller about the crew of a space station and how they survive a limited nuclear war. Left to fend for themselves, they must make their way back to Earth before their station fails around them.

The story has few characters but a lot of plot twists. It is certainly engaging although sometimes you have to squint not to see the holes in the plot. I also had a hard time believing that all the spacecraft reconfigurations and trajectory calculations were as easy as described. Mitchell's prose is a bit stilted (this is an early work by the author) but the novel does have a certain ability to keep the reader hooked. Vaguely enjoyable but definitely not memorable. 20070118

Elizabeth Moon - Once a Hero

This thing bored me out of my skull. Go read Weber's Honor books instead. ***Shudder***

Elizabeth Moon - The Vatta's War Series

Trading in Danger

This is the first book in the "Vatta's War" series. I was once burned by Moon, but this one is far better.

Kylara Vatta is a scion of the Vatta shipping dynasty. Despite this, she decides to make a career in the military. The book sstarts with her being thrown out of the academy after ill-advisedly helping a fellow cadet with a personal matter. Her father and uncle then send her off as Captain to take an old ship to the scrapheap. But of course she can't just do that. She decides to prove that she can be a successful trader. Exciting adventure ensue.

This is pure space opera. While the physics are mostly adhered to, they are there purely to support the story. Thankfully, Kylara Vatta is a very engaging and intriguing character. She is very young but very capable; her father's girl but with a mind of her own; a trader needing to prove herself but also a captain for a great shipping line. While not quite a page turner, the book does keep serving up surprises until the end. However without Kylara the book would be nothing. She makes the story. Moon has bee doing this for a while now so it's all nicely polished. I recommend this for anyone into adventure SciFi with complex protagonists. 20080103

Marque and Reprisal

The second book in the "Vatta's War" series starts off exactly where Trading in Danger ends. After the initial tentative volley, the war on the interstellar status quo begins in earnest. Ansibles, used to communicate instantly between stars, are sabotaged and destroyed in a successful attempt ot destabilize and weaken trade. Vatta Transport becomes the target of a concerted attack, and most of Ky's family is killed. Ky herself encounters the black sheep of the family, and becomes a privateer.

The tone of this novel is quite similar to the first. In fact, the books feel not so much like a series as volumes of the same narrative. The characters, especially Ky, continue to develop in both expected and unexpected ways, as Moon builds an intricate web of relationships backed by skillfully described internal thought processes. The action contained in this installment ensures it doesn't really feel like an interim book. 20080228

Engaging the Enemy

The third book in the "Vatta's War" series suffers from a bit of "middle-book-itis". There is no decisive action, just a skirmish tacked on at the end. Ky's cousin Stella is angry with her. Then they reconcile. The possible romance with roguish Rafe goes nowhere. A least by the end Ky is set up as a privateer.

It's not a bad novel. It's just a bit more dull than it's predecessors. Trading in Danger could stand on its own. Engaging the Enemy cannot. 20080304

Command Decision

In the fourth book, Ky proves her worth as a commander, defeating a pirate flotilla with the helper of newly developed tactics made possible by shipboard ansibles. As a consequence, the Slotter Key government decides to put its large fleet of privateers under her direct command. Cousin Stella successfully gets the Vatta trading concern back up on its feet, and is able to start producing hardware vital to the war effort

After the somewhat disappointing "Engaging the Enemy", this book sees a resurgence in action. The story starts moving decisively forward at a decent pace, leading up towards the conclusion. 20090310

Victory Conditions

The fifth book concludes the series. Moon rather predictably ties up the loose threads and (not really a spoiler) the good guys win.

I enjoyed reading it, but nothing really surprising jumped up at me. While the series is worthwhile entertainment, it will never be remembered as groundbreaking or fantastic. The universe Moon has crafted is a bit too cute, a bit too orderly. The idiosyncrasies of the various cultures are a bit too manufactured and corny. The series definitely suffers from this fact. There is little real societal tension. All of a sudden the great big enemy pops up, seemingly out of nowhere without any real reason for doing so apart from stereotypical lust for power. It's a fun adventure series, but it is lacking in depth. 20090320

Michael Moore - Stupid White Men... and Other Sorry Excuses for the State of the Nation

Rikard ("Vhiiickkyyyy") gave me this when I quit IBM. Written by the director of "Bowling for Columbine", it is a very funny series of essays pretending to be a complete book. If you don't feel much simpathy for President George W. Bush (denominated "son-of-a-Bush" in this book) and the American political/societal system in general, you will probably enjoy this. It takes some tragically fun true facts about America and just plain tells it the way it is. I found myself nodding a lot, and being sad a lot. Despite the humorous language, the subject matter is deadly serious.  America is in bad shape, tells us Michael Moore. He is probably biased like the rest of us, but it's fun a fun read. Satire becomes him. 20030720

Richard Morgan - Broken Angels

Takeshi Kovacs is back in a new sleeve. This sequel of sorts to "Altered Carbon" puts Takeshi in the middle of a little war. I would agree with Kristoph that the plot vehicle is not as strong as the one in Altered Carbon. While the previous novel is a film noir/detective story, this one is more of a Clarke-esque sense of wonder story, but more focused of the failures of humanity to leave its flawed past of violence and greed behind. The characters are very strong and the prose is top notch. Still, it left me with a feeling that Mr. Morgan tried to stick a story around a thought he had, and the revelations at the end are a bit too construed to add coolness to the plot.

I don't want to be too critical though. It's still better than most SciFi, and well worth a read. Takeshi Kovacs rocks bigtime! 20031008.

The third (and final?) Takeshi Kovacs novel is just as violent and X-rated as the previous installments. Morgan has not lost his gift for film noir cool and deep cynicism. So far so good. However, while Altered Carbon was a tightly written masterpiece and Broken Angels had an intriguing plot device, Woken Furies is much less focused. Sometimes it seems like Morgan is just taking the reader on a guided tour of Harlan's World and Kovacs' old stomping grounds. Granted, the guided tour is very very good, and Morgan's prose flows smoothly, but some plot elements deserved more attention and it all seems a bit contrived. For starters, more could have been done with the duplication of Kovacs.

Then again, maybe I just like to complain. This is still very good stuff. It's just that Morgan has shown that he can go beyond very good in the past. 20060120
 

The Society of Humanity, more or less representing the "core" worlds, is at was with the "rim" worlds, where political power is wielded by a ruthless dictator. We follow protagonists from both sides of the conflict.

While it has some interesting battle scenes and good characterization, the plot is rather scattered and weak. As in the early Longknife books, I was left reeling by a rich backstory which wasn't adequately fleshed out. I had to pay real attention to seemingly throwaway comments from minor characters to fill in the social and political background. The book did serve as a decent introduction to the other two, introducing the main players. 20090408

After the war, Izzy Umboto (a minor character from the first book) is given independent command and a mandate to keep the peace on the rim. She and her crew uncover a slavery plot.

Compared to the first book, this one is far more focused. There is a clear feeling of moving forward instead of flying about all over the place. 20090415

The third and final book sees Ray Longknife leading a exploratory expedition, and getting lost. The expedition finds the descendants of a ship thought lost three hundred years ago. But all is not as it seems. The planet is literally alive with remnants of an ancient civilization. And it's not happy.

This is a very respectable story. The "planet as supercomputer" elements are interesting, as well as the evolution of the individual characters components of that computer. The contrast between the arriving expedition and the locals is also well done, with a good grasp of factional politics. All in all, a great conclusion to the sereis.

Linda Nagata - The Bohr Maker; Deception Well; Vast

These three (very) loosely connected novels span thousand of years. Nagata writes competently about a future in which humanity is first technologically lifting itself off earth, and finally scattered about a hostile universe. I enjoyed them somewhat, although Nagata does  two things which annoy me. The first is that she tends to become a tad boring. Nothing much happens. The other thing is that she can be quite depressing. Expecially Vast makes me feel just a bit too small in a vast (pun not intended) universe.