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First Post of 2015... in... March. Oops.
Mar. 10th, 2015 06:31 pmYeah, I've fallen behind, but, in my defense, my life is pretty much just blah blah work read sleep eat over and over again, and although my crossposting my Goodreads book reviews could be done more often, it just doesn't seem like enough on its own to write about.
What's new with me? Still, not much. My birthday in about 2 weeks.
Oh, and I had my first major cooking mishap. This past Sunday, I was cooking a pork roast, and as I normally do, I was searing the sides first. Except, this time, not like usually) and largely because I was trying dredging the roast in flour first), I had oil in the pan, rather than just dropping it in fat-side-down and letting that serve as the oil-like substance. Hot oil. Can you guess where this is going? I dropped the roast in the pan, and there was splashage. Got both of my hands (the sides), and some on my chest (more of me was splattered than got burnt here, but the shirt I was wearing protected me). Yeah, it was pretty painful, but it was just a light burn, could have been a lot worse. Today, I have one big blister on a finger, and a couple tiny ones on my chest. Oddly, the parts I THOUGHT got the worst of it are fine, not even sore at all anymore (unless I'm directly pressing it).
Anyway, I consider it a victory, as not only did I finish cooking the meal, I didn't cry out or let anyone in my family know (including my brother, who ate the meal) I'd been injured. Yes, that's a strange victory condition, but I am a strange person. And I went to work today (the blister is on a part of the finger that's not directly endangered so with a little care I could still lift heavy loads). So, that's something. Hopefully this will be a lesson to me. But I've had to put off gaming a little... got the new Tomb Raider reboot free from XBox 'games with gold' but I've postponed getting into it.
TV, honestly, there's not a lot to report. A lot of things in reruns, and that which has been new is good, but not really all that memorable. Watching Walking Dead, which I enjoy, but, right now they're kind of following the comics fairly close, so it's not as exciting. Game of Thrones soon, at least.
So, let's get onto Book Foo, I have a big backlog to get through... reviews come from my Goodreads account:
Finished: The Martian, by Andy Weir
Astronaut Mark Watney is part of a team visiting Mars. He's not the first person to set foot on the red planet, but he may be the first one to die there. Only a few days into his mission, a dust storm causes his team to evacuate... and as they make the trek from their habitation module to the ascent vehicle, Mark is wounded, lost, and presumed dead. By the time he wakes up, everybody else is bound for Earth. But he's alive, unable to contact Earth, and has to stretch his limited resources until the next mission... which isn't expected for years. And there's plenty that can go wrong for one person on a hostile planet for that long.
The Martian has been receiving high praise, and is already in the process of a movie adaptation, presumably to appeal to those who liked the movie Gravity (or Matt Damon, who stars). And, after reading it myself, I can see why. ( Read more... )Still, these issues are, in the end, minor, for what is really a good book overall, and mostly they bothered me in reflection, because while reading it, I was having too much fun to worry.
Finished: Burning Paradise, by Robert Charles Wilson
It's 2014, but not our 2014. This is a world celebrating approximately a hundred years without war. But there's a dark secret underlying the seeming peace... the world is the way it is because Earth has been secretly guided away from conflict by an alien presence, a life form that's intelligent but not conscious, and only has its own interests at heart. Seven years ago they murdered nearly every member of a small group of scientists who had been putting the pieces together. Cassie is the daughter of two of these murdered scientists, and has lived in fear that the aliens will come back and finish the job, eliminating anyone left who knows the secret. And so, when she spots one of the alien's human "sims", she does what she's been trained to do... she takes her little brother and runs. But there are bigger things going on, and Cassie's got a big role to play in the future of the world. And there may even be a chance to defeat the aliens... but everything has a cost. ( Read more... ) it's probably not as memorable as some of his other major works, but I enjoyed reading it all the way through.
Finished: Un Lun Dun, by China Mieville
Warning: I do sort of spoil one of the twists... it's sort of a twist that's part of the premise, so it's hard to talk about without it. Still, I'll leave the spoilery part of the premise behind the cut, just in case.
UnLondon is a magical city that exists somewhat parallel to London, a world where magic is commonplace, where inanimate objects have lives of their own, ghosts and half-ghosts live, and the greatest threat to everyone is an intelligent cloud of smog. ( Read more... )It's still a kid's book, so, as an adult, I only rate it a three... I liked it. But it's a high three, and I think that if I was in the target age range, I'd give it a four or five.
Finished: Ragamuffin, by Tobias Buckell
Humans are second-class citizens in the galaxy, technically free but realistically under the control of the aliens of the Satrapcy, who control the wormhole network and also have ways of controlling minds. But Nashara is an agent from a sealed-off human world who carries a weapon.... one that might be humanity's only shot, as the Satraps may be switching from a policy of repression of humanity to one of extermination.
Ragamuffin is part of Tobias Buckell's Xenowealth universe. It's technically the second book, and they're supposedly stand-alones except that there are some recurring characters. This is the first book I've read of his, so I have the rare (for me) experience of not just guessing how someone might react to coming in on the second book, but to give my own impressions. (Short, non-spoilery version: Liked the first half, but the 'part of a series' part sort of ruined it) ( Read more... )There were some cool ideas here, and a few nifty set-pieces, so despite my problems with the book, I'd be willing to give the author another look somewhere down the line.
Finished: The Mount, by Carol Emshwiller
Hundreds of years ago, diminutive aliens, the Hoots, conquered Earth. Some humans are free, but most are slaves. Those treated the best are the ones chosen as mounts, constantly feeling a Hoot's weight on their shoulders, trained for races or exhibition, treated like pets and friends... but slaves nonetheless. Young Charley is one of these mounts, serving the Hoots' future leader, and when Charley's father, a leader of the human rebellion, frees him, he's not all that happy about it. Who, after all, would want to live in the woods and struggle to survive, when you can be taken care of and treated well and complimented. ( Read more... )It's probably not going to be one of my favorites, but I'm glad I read it and sure I'll recommend it in certain contexts to other people.
Finished: Some of the Best from Tor.com, 2014 (short fiction collection)
This is an ebook collection of what the editor thinks were some of the best stories published on Tor.com in 2014.
Any short story book is a mixed bag. But in this one, it generally felt unsuited to my tastes. ( Read more... )Of them, I think perhaps Liu, Dellamonica, and Emrys wrote the standouts. If the book was just these, I'd probably raise it to 4, if it was these and a few of the ones I don't like, a safe 3, but because, on balance, I felt outweighed by stories where the reading was something of a chore, so I'll leave it at 2.
Finished: The Mirrored Heavens, by David J. Williams
It's the early 22nd century, and terrorists have just destroyed the space elevator, which threatens the peace between world powers. Several operatives of various groups pursue various interests.
The Mirrored Heavens is a high-octane action cyberpunk book, full of cynicism and interesting ideas about the future of warfare and mental conditioning. It might have been a great book, if only he remembered to include anything human.( Read more... )It wasn't offensive, it just never became compelling to me. All I got was a vague sense that this could have been better if I cared about anyone.
Finished: God's War, by Kameron Hurley
God's War follows Nyx, a mercenary, former royal assassin, and occasional bounty hunter, living on a war-torn planet in a society where (due to a draft on males only and the high casualty rate) women vastly outnumber men. She and her team take on a mission that, they're told, may lead to the end of the centuries-long war.
This is the debut novel by Kameron Hurley, who's been getting a fair amount of attention lately, and, judging by this, it's well-deserved.( Read more... ) I have to admit, I'd seen this book in stores before, looked briefly at it, and passed over it... for reasons mentioned already, it felt like "not really my thing." But I decided I'd give it a try, in part from positive recommendations about the author and book, and in part because I'm trying to make a deliberate effort to read more diverse SF authors and characters. And in this case, I'm really glad I did.
Finished: Wool Omnibus, by Hugh Howey
Wool is set in a post-apocalyptic world, where the surface of the Earth is uninhabitable. What may be all that is left in humanity lives in the Silo, and has for hundreds of years, a closed, self-sufficient community about a hundred and fifty levels deep. Whole generations have grown up never seeing the outside except on the feed from the cameras on the surface... but almost nobody would have it any other way. For there is a rule, that expressing any desire to go outside gets you assigned to go out and clean the cameras... a task that nobody survives. ( Read more... ) I might go on to read the other books in the series, but I'm not inspired to rush out and do so right now.
Finished: Yesterday's Kin, by Nancy Kress (novella, received for free)
I was able to read Yesterday's Kin free through NetGalley. It doesn't impact my review.
A genetic researcher has discovered something about humanity's family tree, something that interests the aliens who have just recently made contact with Earth, a discovery that causes them to reveal the truth about why they've come... and a threat that concerns both of them.
Yesterday's Kin is a novella, in that awkward stage that's too long for a short story and not nearly long enough as a novel. Although it's listed as 192 pages, it's an extremely brisk read. In fact, I think it reads more like a very long short, and yet it's sold more or less like a novel, and that's potentially a problem. ( Read more... )
Currently in progress or finished-but-I-haven't-written-my-reviews: Light, by M. John Harrison, Behemoth, by Peter Watts (Rifters, Book 3) (put it on hold a bit to read shorter fiction), Recursion, by Tony Ballantyne, The Hydrogen Sonata, by Iain M. Banks, Perdido Street Station by China Mieville
And speaking of books, you might have this spoiled if you read behind the cut of the last review, but, since I've been reading more, and more new books, I've decided for the first time to buy a Worldcon membership, so I can nominate and vote for the Hugo awards. Nominations close today, so here's my list, unless I make a last minute addition or two (if anyone's interested, I can provide links to most of the shorter fiction for legal reading online, but I'm too lazy to do it right now):
( Read more... )
What's new with me? Still, not much. My birthday in about 2 weeks.
Oh, and I had my first major cooking mishap. This past Sunday, I was cooking a pork roast, and as I normally do, I was searing the sides first. Except, this time, not like usually) and largely because I was trying dredging the roast in flour first), I had oil in the pan, rather than just dropping it in fat-side-down and letting that serve as the oil-like substance. Hot oil. Can you guess where this is going? I dropped the roast in the pan, and there was splashage. Got both of my hands (the sides), and some on my chest (more of me was splattered than got burnt here, but the shirt I was wearing protected me). Yeah, it was pretty painful, but it was just a light burn, could have been a lot worse. Today, I have one big blister on a finger, and a couple tiny ones on my chest. Oddly, the parts I THOUGHT got the worst of it are fine, not even sore at all anymore (unless I'm directly pressing it).
Anyway, I consider it a victory, as not only did I finish cooking the meal, I didn't cry out or let anyone in my family know (including my brother, who ate the meal) I'd been injured. Yes, that's a strange victory condition, but I am a strange person. And I went to work today (the blister is on a part of the finger that's not directly endangered so with a little care I could still lift heavy loads). So, that's something. Hopefully this will be a lesson to me. But I've had to put off gaming a little... got the new Tomb Raider reboot free from XBox 'games with gold' but I've postponed getting into it.
TV, honestly, there's not a lot to report. A lot of things in reruns, and that which has been new is good, but not really all that memorable. Watching Walking Dead, which I enjoy, but, right now they're kind of following the comics fairly close, so it's not as exciting. Game of Thrones soon, at least.
So, let's get onto Book Foo, I have a big backlog to get through... reviews come from my Goodreads account:
Finished: The Martian, by Andy Weir
Astronaut Mark Watney is part of a team visiting Mars. He's not the first person to set foot on the red planet, but he may be the first one to die there. Only a few days into his mission, a dust storm causes his team to evacuate... and as they make the trek from their habitation module to the ascent vehicle, Mark is wounded, lost, and presumed dead. By the time he wakes up, everybody else is bound for Earth. But he's alive, unable to contact Earth, and has to stretch his limited resources until the next mission... which isn't expected for years. And there's plenty that can go wrong for one person on a hostile planet for that long.
The Martian has been receiving high praise, and is already in the process of a movie adaptation, presumably to appeal to those who liked the movie Gravity (or Matt Damon, who stars). And, after reading it myself, I can see why. ( Read more... )Still, these issues are, in the end, minor, for what is really a good book overall, and mostly they bothered me in reflection, because while reading it, I was having too much fun to worry.
Finished: Burning Paradise, by Robert Charles Wilson
It's 2014, but not our 2014. This is a world celebrating approximately a hundred years without war. But there's a dark secret underlying the seeming peace... the world is the way it is because Earth has been secretly guided away from conflict by an alien presence, a life form that's intelligent but not conscious, and only has its own interests at heart. Seven years ago they murdered nearly every member of a small group of scientists who had been putting the pieces together. Cassie is the daughter of two of these murdered scientists, and has lived in fear that the aliens will come back and finish the job, eliminating anyone left who knows the secret. And so, when she spots one of the alien's human "sims", she does what she's been trained to do... she takes her little brother and runs. But there are bigger things going on, and Cassie's got a big role to play in the future of the world. And there may even be a chance to defeat the aliens... but everything has a cost. ( Read more... ) it's probably not as memorable as some of his other major works, but I enjoyed reading it all the way through.
Finished: Un Lun Dun, by China Mieville
Warning: I do sort of spoil one of the twists... it's sort of a twist that's part of the premise, so it's hard to talk about without it. Still, I'll leave the spoilery part of the premise behind the cut, just in case.
UnLondon is a magical city that exists somewhat parallel to London, a world where magic is commonplace, where inanimate objects have lives of their own, ghosts and half-ghosts live, and the greatest threat to everyone is an intelligent cloud of smog. ( Read more... )It's still a kid's book, so, as an adult, I only rate it a three... I liked it. But it's a high three, and I think that if I was in the target age range, I'd give it a four or five.
Finished: Ragamuffin, by Tobias Buckell
Humans are second-class citizens in the galaxy, technically free but realistically under the control of the aliens of the Satrapcy, who control the wormhole network and also have ways of controlling minds. But Nashara is an agent from a sealed-off human world who carries a weapon.... one that might be humanity's only shot, as the Satraps may be switching from a policy of repression of humanity to one of extermination.
Ragamuffin is part of Tobias Buckell's Xenowealth universe. It's technically the second book, and they're supposedly stand-alones except that there are some recurring characters. This is the first book I've read of his, so I have the rare (for me) experience of not just guessing how someone might react to coming in on the second book, but to give my own impressions. (Short, non-spoilery version: Liked the first half, but the 'part of a series' part sort of ruined it) ( Read more... )There were some cool ideas here, and a few nifty set-pieces, so despite my problems with the book, I'd be willing to give the author another look somewhere down the line.
Finished: The Mount, by Carol Emshwiller
Hundreds of years ago, diminutive aliens, the Hoots, conquered Earth. Some humans are free, but most are slaves. Those treated the best are the ones chosen as mounts, constantly feeling a Hoot's weight on their shoulders, trained for races or exhibition, treated like pets and friends... but slaves nonetheless. Young Charley is one of these mounts, serving the Hoots' future leader, and when Charley's father, a leader of the human rebellion, frees him, he's not all that happy about it. Who, after all, would want to live in the woods and struggle to survive, when you can be taken care of and treated well and complimented. ( Read more... )It's probably not going to be one of my favorites, but I'm glad I read it and sure I'll recommend it in certain contexts to other people.
Finished: Some of the Best from Tor.com, 2014 (short fiction collection)
This is an ebook collection of what the editor thinks were some of the best stories published on Tor.com in 2014.
Any short story book is a mixed bag. But in this one, it generally felt unsuited to my tastes. ( Read more... )Of them, I think perhaps Liu, Dellamonica, and Emrys wrote the standouts. If the book was just these, I'd probably raise it to 4, if it was these and a few of the ones I don't like, a safe 3, but because, on balance, I felt outweighed by stories where the reading was something of a chore, so I'll leave it at 2.
Finished: The Mirrored Heavens, by David J. Williams
It's the early 22nd century, and terrorists have just destroyed the space elevator, which threatens the peace between world powers. Several operatives of various groups pursue various interests.
The Mirrored Heavens is a high-octane action cyberpunk book, full of cynicism and interesting ideas about the future of warfare and mental conditioning. It might have been a great book, if only he remembered to include anything human.( Read more... )It wasn't offensive, it just never became compelling to me. All I got was a vague sense that this could have been better if I cared about anyone.
Finished: God's War, by Kameron Hurley
God's War follows Nyx, a mercenary, former royal assassin, and occasional bounty hunter, living on a war-torn planet in a society where (due to a draft on males only and the high casualty rate) women vastly outnumber men. She and her team take on a mission that, they're told, may lead to the end of the centuries-long war.
This is the debut novel by Kameron Hurley, who's been getting a fair amount of attention lately, and, judging by this, it's well-deserved.( Read more... ) I have to admit, I'd seen this book in stores before, looked briefly at it, and passed over it... for reasons mentioned already, it felt like "not really my thing." But I decided I'd give it a try, in part from positive recommendations about the author and book, and in part because I'm trying to make a deliberate effort to read more diverse SF authors and characters. And in this case, I'm really glad I did.
Finished: Wool Omnibus, by Hugh Howey
Wool is set in a post-apocalyptic world, where the surface of the Earth is uninhabitable. What may be all that is left in humanity lives in the Silo, and has for hundreds of years, a closed, self-sufficient community about a hundred and fifty levels deep. Whole generations have grown up never seeing the outside except on the feed from the cameras on the surface... but almost nobody would have it any other way. For there is a rule, that expressing any desire to go outside gets you assigned to go out and clean the cameras... a task that nobody survives. ( Read more... ) I might go on to read the other books in the series, but I'm not inspired to rush out and do so right now.
Finished: Yesterday's Kin, by Nancy Kress (novella, received for free)
I was able to read Yesterday's Kin free through NetGalley. It doesn't impact my review.
A genetic researcher has discovered something about humanity's family tree, something that interests the aliens who have just recently made contact with Earth, a discovery that causes them to reveal the truth about why they've come... and a threat that concerns both of them.
Yesterday's Kin is a novella, in that awkward stage that's too long for a short story and not nearly long enough as a novel. Although it's listed as 192 pages, it's an extremely brisk read. In fact, I think it reads more like a very long short, and yet it's sold more or less like a novel, and that's potentially a problem. ( Read more... )
Currently in progress or finished-but-I-haven't-written-my-reviews: Light, by M. John Harrison, Behemoth, by Peter Watts (Rifters, Book 3) (put it on hold a bit to read shorter fiction), Recursion, by Tony Ballantyne, The Hydrogen Sonata, by Iain M. Banks, Perdido Street Station by China Mieville
And speaking of books, you might have this spoiled if you read behind the cut of the last review, but, since I've been reading more, and more new books, I've decided for the first time to buy a Worldcon membership, so I can nominate and vote for the Hugo awards. Nominations close today, so here's my list, unless I make a last minute addition or two (if anyone's interested, I can provide links to most of the shorter fiction for legal reading online, but I'm too lazy to do it right now):
( Read more... )
