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Early December 2015 Book Foo!
Dec. 5th, 2015 01:46 pmProbably the second last of the year.
But first, just a couple brief TV thoughts:
Doctor Who: Last week's episode (with the Veil) was one of the best in recent memory, marred only by tying it to the annoying Hybrid plot, which, well, it depends on how it turns out but I'm not optimistic about it being anything other than a clumsy and not very good retcon. But we'll see.
Jessica Jones: Really enjoyed it. I do have some thoughts on some things I might like to see in future seasons, but I don't really want to get into them right now. Maybe I'll do a separate TV post.
The Expanse: Haven't watched the first ep yet, even though it's been streaming all over, but I'm enjoying the books and looking forward to it.
The Man In The High Castle: Just started watching this one (Though I saw the pilot months ago), still not sure about it but on a production-values/acting/etc standpoint it looks really good.
Flash/Arrow: Still enjoy it, but the season so far have been hampered by how hard they're pushing towards the Legends of Tomorrow spinoff. So much doesn't feel natural but rather driven because they need to introduce/reintroduce characters and get them into position. Hopefully once it's gone they'll settle down a little. Flash is better off on that front because at least it has the Zoom plotline.
Walking Dead: I can't believe they ended the midseason on that point and not a point what would be, in the comic, a few pages later.
Anyway, now to books!
Finished: Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie
( Description cut because it's third in a series )I recommend the series as whole and can't wait to see more from this author.
Finished: Forgotten Suns by Judith Tarr
On a distant planet, a young girl in a family of archaeologists accidentally releases a man who looks human, but is an alien king with psionic powers, left behind in stasis by his people because he was too much of a threat... but now, he may be the only one who can save them.
I did not care for this book at all. It was a slog to get through. ( Read more... )In the end, I just didn't give a damn about what happened. It felt more like a fantasy novel with a light papering over of sci-fi tropes, and worse, not even a particularly interesting fantasy novel, where characters make clever or difficult decisions in high-stakes situations, but rather one where characters are dragged along by destiny and prophecy.
Finished: Children of the Comet by Donald Moffitt (recieved for free)
Six billion years in the future, Earth is uninhabitable, beneath the surface of the red giant sun. But life persists, in the outer reaches of the solar system, huge trees grow from comets, and people live there too, keeping air in hand-made suits. But things threaten to change when a ship arrives, a ship full of humans returning to see what home is like after a long, time-dilated trip to another galaxy. ( Read more... )If it were a shorter story focused on the good parts, I might have given it a 3 or possibly even a 4. Everything else... well, it certainly could have been done well, but in this case, it wasn't, and the entire book suffered for it.
Finished: Crashing Heaven by Al Robertson
Jack Forster has returned to his home after a war. Home is a giant space station, run by the Pantheon, artificially intelligent corporations that, to the human population, fill the role of gods, in the Ancient Greek mold. Jack's not welcome at home, because during the war he surrendered to the other side, but the terms of the peace allow him home, and he wants to wrap up loose ends before his looming death... for Jack has an AI war machine named Hugo Fist, in his head, and once the license expires in a few more months, Hugo will overwrite him. He came to peace with that with the help of an old flame, and wants to see in her last days... only he discovers she's already dead, and it's connected to an old case that may involve the Pantheon.
For a first novel, this is quite impressive and right up my alley. ( Read more... )Still, it was only a minor disappointment, and I otherwise had a lot of fun with the book, and it would probably make my personal shortlist for the Hugo nominations of this year. I'm definitely going to have to look out for whatever Robertson does next.
Finished: Strong-Arm Tactics by Jody Lynn Nye
Lt. Wolfe has just taken command of the Cockroaches, a platoon full of some of the most highly skilled--yet least regarded--soldiers in the Galactic Defense Force. They don't always follow the rules, but in a pinch, they'll get things done, and they're a good squad to lead... if you can earn their respect.
This is a light comedic military SF story, first in a series, apparently, although there don't seem to be any sequels in the ten years since it was first published, so perhaps that plan fell through. In any event, it's something of a mix between traditional military SF, with pitched battles and (at least in the first books) various training sequences, but with a vibe something like McHale's Navy added on top of it.( Read more... )It was an easy read, never a slog, and I don't regret the time I spent on it, but I don't think I'd go out of my way to read more if there were sequels available.
Finished: Hellspark by Janet Kagan
A multi-cultural science team is studying a newly-discovered planet teem with life... some of which, they think might be intelligent. But they're not sure, because they've been unable to establish any meaningful communication. After one of the survey team is killed, possibly by the natives, the team's leader is ready to declare them non-sentient and the planet ripe for exploration. But other members of the team disagree, and a human trader, a Hellspark, is called upon to investigate the issue and perhaps decide the fate of a whole world.
On the face of it, this feels like a fairly standard pulp SF novel of the era. But the author does wind up having some really interesting points on communication and how culturally-instilled concepts and taboos that we're not even aware of can affect relationships between people and cultures. ( Read more... )But on the whole, I enjoyed it.
Finished: The Ark by Patrick S. Tomlinson
When the people of Earth discovered a rogue black hole that would destroy the planet, they spent their last years trying to save some shred of humanity, building the Ark, a massive generation starship bound for a new world. That was two hundred years ago, and they're now nearing the other side of the journey. But when somebody goes missing, Detective Brian Benson must investigate. He soon finds it's murder, and it could mean very bad things for the human race. ( Read more... ) This is a first novel, and typically I give a little bit of a bump in scores, but this one didn't really need it... it probably would have scored near enough to a 4 star rating as it was. It's also the first book of a series, and I liked it enough that I'm pretty sure I'm going to try the second as well, so that also says something.
Finished: Going Dark by Linda Nagata
Description cut because it was the third book in the series... ( Read more... ) although I enjoyed it, I enjoyed it less than the others in the series.
If Nagata writes more in the universe... I'm not sure, really, it depends on what the plot looks like. I'm not sure if I'd have the enthusiasm for another tale of a soldier under the Red's guidance, especially if I thought that the greater plot would get no more resolution than this one. Still, I really enjoy Nagata's writing and if she tried another type of SF I'd be much more interested.
(If you noticed and were amused that those last three titles rhymed, congratulations and/or condolences, you're like me!)
Still Reading (or finished but haven't done my review): The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes, Lock-In by John Scalzi, The Phoenix Code by Catherine Asaro, Other Worlds Than These (short story collection).
I probably will next post around the very end of the year, so, I hope everyone has a happy holiday season of whatever type they prefer to enjoy.
But first, just a couple brief TV thoughts:
Doctor Who: Last week's episode (with the Veil) was one of the best in recent memory, marred only by tying it to the annoying Hybrid plot, which, well, it depends on how it turns out but I'm not optimistic about it being anything other than a clumsy and not very good retcon. But we'll see.
Jessica Jones: Really enjoyed it. I do have some thoughts on some things I might like to see in future seasons, but I don't really want to get into them right now. Maybe I'll do a separate TV post.
The Expanse: Haven't watched the first ep yet, even though it's been streaming all over, but I'm enjoying the books and looking forward to it.
The Man In The High Castle: Just started watching this one (Though I saw the pilot months ago), still not sure about it but on a production-values/acting/etc standpoint it looks really good.
Flash/Arrow: Still enjoy it, but the season so far have been hampered by how hard they're pushing towards the Legends of Tomorrow spinoff. So much doesn't feel natural but rather driven because they need to introduce/reintroduce characters and get them into position. Hopefully once it's gone they'll settle down a little. Flash is better off on that front because at least it has the Zoom plotline.
Walking Dead: I can't believe they ended the midseason on that point and not a point what would be, in the comic, a few pages later.
Anyway, now to books!
Finished: Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie
( Description cut because it's third in a series )I recommend the series as whole and can't wait to see more from this author.
Finished: Forgotten Suns by Judith Tarr
On a distant planet, a young girl in a family of archaeologists accidentally releases a man who looks human, but is an alien king with psionic powers, left behind in stasis by his people because he was too much of a threat... but now, he may be the only one who can save them.
I did not care for this book at all. It was a slog to get through. ( Read more... )In the end, I just didn't give a damn about what happened. It felt more like a fantasy novel with a light papering over of sci-fi tropes, and worse, not even a particularly interesting fantasy novel, where characters make clever or difficult decisions in high-stakes situations, but rather one where characters are dragged along by destiny and prophecy.
Finished: Children of the Comet by Donald Moffitt (recieved for free)
Six billion years in the future, Earth is uninhabitable, beneath the surface of the red giant sun. But life persists, in the outer reaches of the solar system, huge trees grow from comets, and people live there too, keeping air in hand-made suits. But things threaten to change when a ship arrives, a ship full of humans returning to see what home is like after a long, time-dilated trip to another galaxy. ( Read more... )If it were a shorter story focused on the good parts, I might have given it a 3 or possibly even a 4. Everything else... well, it certainly could have been done well, but in this case, it wasn't, and the entire book suffered for it.
Finished: Crashing Heaven by Al Robertson
Jack Forster has returned to his home after a war. Home is a giant space station, run by the Pantheon, artificially intelligent corporations that, to the human population, fill the role of gods, in the Ancient Greek mold. Jack's not welcome at home, because during the war he surrendered to the other side, but the terms of the peace allow him home, and he wants to wrap up loose ends before his looming death... for Jack has an AI war machine named Hugo Fist, in his head, and once the license expires in a few more months, Hugo will overwrite him. He came to peace with that with the help of an old flame, and wants to see in her last days... only he discovers she's already dead, and it's connected to an old case that may involve the Pantheon.
For a first novel, this is quite impressive and right up my alley. ( Read more... )Still, it was only a minor disappointment, and I otherwise had a lot of fun with the book, and it would probably make my personal shortlist for the Hugo nominations of this year. I'm definitely going to have to look out for whatever Robertson does next.
Finished: Strong-Arm Tactics by Jody Lynn Nye
Lt. Wolfe has just taken command of the Cockroaches, a platoon full of some of the most highly skilled--yet least regarded--soldiers in the Galactic Defense Force. They don't always follow the rules, but in a pinch, they'll get things done, and they're a good squad to lead... if you can earn their respect.
This is a light comedic military SF story, first in a series, apparently, although there don't seem to be any sequels in the ten years since it was first published, so perhaps that plan fell through. In any event, it's something of a mix between traditional military SF, with pitched battles and (at least in the first books) various training sequences, but with a vibe something like McHale's Navy added on top of it.( Read more... )It was an easy read, never a slog, and I don't regret the time I spent on it, but I don't think I'd go out of my way to read more if there were sequels available.
Finished: Hellspark by Janet Kagan
A multi-cultural science team is studying a newly-discovered planet teem with life... some of which, they think might be intelligent. But they're not sure, because they've been unable to establish any meaningful communication. After one of the survey team is killed, possibly by the natives, the team's leader is ready to declare them non-sentient and the planet ripe for exploration. But other members of the team disagree, and a human trader, a Hellspark, is called upon to investigate the issue and perhaps decide the fate of a whole world.
On the face of it, this feels like a fairly standard pulp SF novel of the era. But the author does wind up having some really interesting points on communication and how culturally-instilled concepts and taboos that we're not even aware of can affect relationships between people and cultures. ( Read more... )But on the whole, I enjoyed it.
Finished: The Ark by Patrick S. Tomlinson
When the people of Earth discovered a rogue black hole that would destroy the planet, they spent their last years trying to save some shred of humanity, building the Ark, a massive generation starship bound for a new world. That was two hundred years ago, and they're now nearing the other side of the journey. But when somebody goes missing, Detective Brian Benson must investigate. He soon finds it's murder, and it could mean very bad things for the human race. ( Read more... ) This is a first novel, and typically I give a little bit of a bump in scores, but this one didn't really need it... it probably would have scored near enough to a 4 star rating as it was. It's also the first book of a series, and I liked it enough that I'm pretty sure I'm going to try the second as well, so that also says something.
Finished: Going Dark by Linda Nagata
Description cut because it was the third book in the series... ( Read more... ) although I enjoyed it, I enjoyed it less than the others in the series.
If Nagata writes more in the universe... I'm not sure, really, it depends on what the plot looks like. I'm not sure if I'd have the enthusiasm for another tale of a soldier under the Red's guidance, especially if I thought that the greater plot would get no more resolution than this one. Still, I really enjoy Nagata's writing and if she tried another type of SF I'd be much more interested.
(If you noticed and were amused that those last three titles rhymed, congratulations and/or condolences, you're like me!)
Still Reading (or finished but haven't done my review): The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes, Lock-In by John Scalzi, The Phoenix Code by Catherine Asaro, Other Worlds Than These (short story collection).
I probably will next post around the very end of the year, so, I hope everyone has a happy holiday season of whatever type they prefer to enjoy.
