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Dec. 31st, 2013
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Last Post of 2013 (probably)...
Dec. 31st, 2013 04:36 pmI don't really celebrate New Years (I expect to go to sleep at around 9-10pm), but it's not been the greatest of year and I'll be happy to see the end of it. Actually, it didn't start too bad, but especially this last month I got the feeling that some supernatural being had bet that 2013 was the year that I go on a killing spree, and then suddenly realized they were running out of time and so threw loads of annoying circumstances at me. But I know plenty have had it worse. Still, I beat you, hypothetical supernatural entity!
Anyway, a few last book foos to get through:
Finished: The Chronoliths, by Robert Charles Wilson (reread)
A large monument suddenly appears in Thailand, celebrating a military victory by someone named Kuin... a little over twenty years in the future. It's a curiosity, at first, considered by many an amusing hoax... until more start appearing, larger ones, with catastrophic results, in major cities. Soon, everyone believes a conqueror is coming who has the ability to manipulate time, and some start to support him without even knowing who he is, granting him more power in the future, a terrifying feedback loop that may spiral out of control. Scott Warden is not one of these supporters... he just happened to be one of the early witnesses to the first of the so-called Chronoliths, and suffered the breakdown of his family in part because of it. But he gets drawn into the mystery over the years, working with a scientist who is studying temporal phenomenon, who believes they may all be tied together by destiny. Scott doesn't believe this, he just wants to keep his family safe... but that's not so easy in the post-Chronolith world.
I read this when it first came out, and rated it, based on my memory, at 3/5 stars. Rereading it, I think I'm going to up it to four, although perhaps it's simply that I didn't have different expectations going in, and so could just enjoy the story for what it was. ( Read more... ) If you read one Robert Charles Wilson book, read Spin. But this is a good second choice.
Finished: The Bohr Maker, by Linda Naginata (reread, but I only read it once probably 15 years ago so I barely remembered it)
Nanotechnology has changed the world... many people live in space habitats, pollution on Earth is getting cleaned up and converted into edible food, and the rich not only live for centuries, but also can send copies of their consciousness out to tag along with other people and perform tasks. But all of that pales compared to what might be done, if the people in power weren't terrified of people straying too far from what they define as 'human', and cracking down on all but the most special, dedicated nanotechnological Makers. But there's one Maker out there, the Bohr Maker, that can give it's wielder the power to change the world, and themselves. Nikko Jiang-Tibayan is not defined as human, but rather an experiment with a mandated thirty year lifespan that is now almost up, and in a desperate bid, arranges to steal the last sample of the Bohr Maker... except, he doesn't actually receive it. Instead, it falls into the hands of Phousita, an ex-prostitute and among the poorest of the poor, living on the streets with a group of others in similar circumstances. She never asked for it, but the Bohr Maker makes her a target, and puts her on the world stage.
I read this book before. Once, probably more than fifteen years ago, shortly after it first came out. I remembered very little about it, aside from what the title referred to. I honestly can't even remember what my reaction was to it, if I liked it or just thought it was okay, just that I obviously didn't like it enough to be memorable. And yet it sat on my shelf, and I'd see it every so often and think I'd give it another chance one day. I finally did, and I'm glad. ( Read more... )This is why I'm so reluctant to get rid of books, even ones I didn't strongly react to... sometimes I come back to one years later and get a lot more out of it.
Finished: 11/22/63, by Stephen King
Jake Epping is a high school English teacher, leading an ordinary, quiet life... until a friendly acquaintance named Al reveals an unbelievable secret. Inside Al's unassuming diner lies a portal to 1958, and only 1958. With it, you can change the past... if you're patient and determined. Al wants to undo one of the biggest historical events of the 20th century, the Kennedy assassination, believing that thousands or millions suffered unnecessarily as a result of the ripple effects. He's already tried, but he couldn't make it to 1963... he's dying. And so he enlists Jake to finish his work, find out if Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, and, if he did, stop him before he can murder a president.
( Read more... ) it's a very enjoyable book, full of action, tension, and human moments. As is often the case with King, the ending doesn't entirely live up to the rest of the story, but it's not as bad as some of his other works, and these days I almost give him a pass for it. The journey makes up for it.
Started: Briarpatch, by Tim Pratt
Started: Feed, by Mira Grant
So, that makes my complete booklist for 2013...
1. Gridlinked, by Neal Asher
( Read more... )53. 11/22/63, by Stephen King
That's more than one a week, on average, thanks (and I use that term loosely) due to the winter storm that knocked out our power for 2 and a half days. If not for that, I would have made 50, for sure, might have made 51, 52 at a longshot. Although it's not the most I've read in a year, I know one year I got 59. Still, 53 is a respectable number.
19 rereads (one of which I barely remembered anything about when I started), 34 new books. 7 recieved for free through Goodreads, of which only two I liked enough that I'd have felt it worth it if I purchased them myself (Ancillary Justice and Backwards... Defining Diana gets an honorable mention but it wasn't quite there).
Happy New Year!
Anyway, a few last book foos to get through:
Finished: The Chronoliths, by Robert Charles Wilson (reread)
A large monument suddenly appears in Thailand, celebrating a military victory by someone named Kuin... a little over twenty years in the future. It's a curiosity, at first, considered by many an amusing hoax... until more start appearing, larger ones, with catastrophic results, in major cities. Soon, everyone believes a conqueror is coming who has the ability to manipulate time, and some start to support him without even knowing who he is, granting him more power in the future, a terrifying feedback loop that may spiral out of control. Scott Warden is not one of these supporters... he just happened to be one of the early witnesses to the first of the so-called Chronoliths, and suffered the breakdown of his family in part because of it. But he gets drawn into the mystery over the years, working with a scientist who is studying temporal phenomenon, who believes they may all be tied together by destiny. Scott doesn't believe this, he just wants to keep his family safe... but that's not so easy in the post-Chronolith world.
I read this when it first came out, and rated it, based on my memory, at 3/5 stars. Rereading it, I think I'm going to up it to four, although perhaps it's simply that I didn't have different expectations going in, and so could just enjoy the story for what it was. ( Read more... ) If you read one Robert Charles Wilson book, read Spin. But this is a good second choice.
Finished: The Bohr Maker, by Linda Naginata (reread, but I only read it once probably 15 years ago so I barely remembered it)
Nanotechnology has changed the world... many people live in space habitats, pollution on Earth is getting cleaned up and converted into edible food, and the rich not only live for centuries, but also can send copies of their consciousness out to tag along with other people and perform tasks. But all of that pales compared to what might be done, if the people in power weren't terrified of people straying too far from what they define as 'human', and cracking down on all but the most special, dedicated nanotechnological Makers. But there's one Maker out there, the Bohr Maker, that can give it's wielder the power to change the world, and themselves. Nikko Jiang-Tibayan is not defined as human, but rather an experiment with a mandated thirty year lifespan that is now almost up, and in a desperate bid, arranges to steal the last sample of the Bohr Maker... except, he doesn't actually receive it. Instead, it falls into the hands of Phousita, an ex-prostitute and among the poorest of the poor, living on the streets with a group of others in similar circumstances. She never asked for it, but the Bohr Maker makes her a target, and puts her on the world stage.
I read this book before. Once, probably more than fifteen years ago, shortly after it first came out. I remembered very little about it, aside from what the title referred to. I honestly can't even remember what my reaction was to it, if I liked it or just thought it was okay, just that I obviously didn't like it enough to be memorable. And yet it sat on my shelf, and I'd see it every so often and think I'd give it another chance one day. I finally did, and I'm glad. ( Read more... )This is why I'm so reluctant to get rid of books, even ones I didn't strongly react to... sometimes I come back to one years later and get a lot more out of it.
Finished: 11/22/63, by Stephen King
Jake Epping is a high school English teacher, leading an ordinary, quiet life... until a friendly acquaintance named Al reveals an unbelievable secret. Inside Al's unassuming diner lies a portal to 1958, and only 1958. With it, you can change the past... if you're patient and determined. Al wants to undo one of the biggest historical events of the 20th century, the Kennedy assassination, believing that thousands or millions suffered unnecessarily as a result of the ripple effects. He's already tried, but he couldn't make it to 1963... he's dying. And so he enlists Jake to finish his work, find out if Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, and, if he did, stop him before he can murder a president.
( Read more... ) it's a very enjoyable book, full of action, tension, and human moments. As is often the case with King, the ending doesn't entirely live up to the rest of the story, but it's not as bad as some of his other works, and these days I almost give him a pass for it. The journey makes up for it.
Started: Briarpatch, by Tim Pratt
Started: Feed, by Mira Grant
So, that makes my complete booklist for 2013...
1. Gridlinked, by Neal Asher
( Read more... )53. 11/22/63, by Stephen King
That's more than one a week, on average, thanks (and I use that term loosely) due to the winter storm that knocked out our power for 2 and a half days. If not for that, I would have made 50, for sure, might have made 51, 52 at a longshot. Although it's not the most I've read in a year, I know one year I got 59. Still, 53 is a respectable number.
19 rereads (one of which I barely remembered anything about when I started), 34 new books. 7 recieved for free through Goodreads, of which only two I liked enough that I'd have felt it worth it if I purchased them myself (Ancillary Justice and Backwards... Defining Diana gets an honorable mention but it wasn't quite there).
Happy New Year!