Last Post of 2013 (probably)...
Dec. 31st, 2013 04:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
newnumber6I 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. And what it was, is what Robert Charles Wilson is extremely skilled at: real, believable human stories that underlie and occasionally intertwine with a fabulous, wonder-inducing SF concept. It's not quite as well done as it was in Spin, but it's surprisingly close. Even (mostly) remembering how things would turn out, I was still caught up in the events as Scott searches for his daughter, or while they attempt to witness the appearance of a predicted Chronolith.
It's not perfect, of course. Wilson's biggest weakness is traditionally his endings, and that's also the case here, with something that's a little more like a sudden fizzling out after an action moment that should come just before the climax, than a climax itself. But then maybe that just ties in with the nature of real-life stories, which Wilson seems to be attempting to create, albeit in a fantastic setting. Life stories rarely reach a climax, sometimes all the dramatic stuff just tapers off. And surely some people might be disappointed at the lack of direct involvement, at the end, of the SF premise that attracted them to the book in the first place, or at the main character being something of a bystander to it, rather than actively engaged in chasing it down or finding Kuin. Also, although the book starts off at very believably predicting the future (a few obvious mistakes, but nobody's perfect), in the last third or so, it veers off and introduces elements to the society I'm not sure I buy, although in the end that's a minor flaw, if it's a flaw at all.
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. Maybe I wasn't quite ready for all of the ideas at the time, but it really is a good book, and made much more of an impression on me the second time around.
It's not perfect, there are things that don't make a lot of technological sense, but it's good, and it's a first novel, so that's extra impressive. I suspect a few of the ideas in the book may have subtly introduced later books I'm fond of (since it's one of the earlier examples of those tropes I'm aware of), although I can't be sure. Most importantly, it builds a universe I want to read more about, and luckily, there is more to the universe, so I will be moving on to them.
Definitely worth a look. I'd put it on the edge between 3 and 4 stars, but since I can't give half marks and I neglected it for so long, I'll give it a 4. 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.
Saving Kennedy is probably one of the top ten premises for time travel books, movies, and TV shows, at least ones where altering a real historical event is the objective, under killing Hitler, but above saving John Lennon. So one might think that even a famous name like Stephen King really has nothing new to add to such well-trodden ground. And maybe he doesn't. There's certainly enough about this book that's predictable... but that's not really important. Because, whether it's full of novel concepts or not, it's well-told. King has a style of writing in a compelling narrative, full of little digressions and irrelevant details that make you feel like you're really part of the world. Sometimes he tends towards relying too much on pop cultural references (either of the present or past), or on strange rhymes and repetitions, but on the whole, when he's on fire, you can slip into his worlds like slipping on a comfortable jacket, live in it for a while, and enjoy things you might not otherwise be able to experience. And, for the most part, this is a book where he's on fire in exactly that way.
The book jumps to the point remarkably quickly, introducing the time travel element before we even get a good grip on the character, but the rest of the story goes by very slowly... as befits the premise, where the main character has to live in the past for years to reach 1963. This part, far from being a drag, actually turns out to be the best part of the book, watching him slowly build towards his plan while getting attached to the real people of the 1950s and 60s in his midst, and the conflicts that arise when just plain living interferes with his grand project. In fact, it's once the appointed date nears, and the book shifts almost completely to changing history, that the book loses something or me, but even then it's still very enjoyable, just less so.
Even though Stephen King does rely on various classic SF tropes and the way it ends is not especially original, he mostly handles them well, and, for originality, he does get points for the specific mechanism chosen for time travel. The 'rabbit hole', and specifically the fact that it always leads to the exact same moment, resetting the effects of any previous attempt to change the past through it, may not be unique in time travel literature, but it's different enough from the usual time machines or one-way journeys, and drives the plot, particularly with how one has to spend five years living exclusively in the past to reach the Kennedy assassination, when you could go back to 2011 at any time and give up.
As for flaws, well, there are a few moments where the main character doesn't seem to do obvious things, or refuses certain choices for reasons that never entirely felt authentic, and of course King self-indulgently includes characters from and references to his other novels, which can be annoying to some, but the big one is the Kennedy assassination itself. He seems to agree to the mission far too quickly and becomes far too obsessed with changing history, and never even seems to consider, "Hey, my 2011 might not be perfect, but there was a lot of good, maybe I shouldn't mess with such a big event and, instead, just try to help in small ways while I live in this time." The notion that he believes he could easily undo it if it goes bad helps a little, but he's still sacrificing years of his life and a lot of potential happiness on a difficult mission, not to prevent a dystopian timeline, but to change a decent timeline with a few tragedies in unpredictable ways. You'd have to think that in all but the absolute best or worst-case scenarios, he'd create a timeline that is also reasonably okay but also had a fair share of tragedies (merely different tragedies from the ones he remembers).
Still, if you can set that aside, 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
2. Line of Polity, by Neal Asher
3. Lady of Mazes, by Karl Schroeder (reread)
4. Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card (reread)
5. Ender's Shadow, by Orson Scott Card (reread)
6. A Time of Changes, by Robert Silverberg
7. Rainbows End, by Vernor Vinge (reread)
8. Impulse, by Steven Gould
9. Zendegi, by Greg Egan
10. The Fractal Prince, by Hannu Rajaniemi
11. Sun of Suns by Karl Schroeder (reread)
12. A War of Gifts, by Orson Scott Card
13. Queen of Candesce, Karl Schroeder (reread)
14. To Challenge Chaos, by Brian Stableford
15. Pirate Sun, by Karl Schroeder (reread)
16. The City & The City by China Mieville
17. Bios, by Robert Charles Wilson
18. The Sunless Countries, by Karl Schroeder (reread)
19. Time Spike by Eric Flint and Marilyn Kosmatka
20. Ashes of Candesce, by Karl Schroeder
21. The Living Dead, by various authors (short story collection)
22. A Deepness in the Sky, by Vernor Vinge (reread)
23. A Fire Upon the Deep, by Vernor Vinge (reread)
24. The Collected Stories of Vernor Vinge, by Vernor Vinge
25. Vortex by Robert Charles Wilson
26. Crypto-Punk, by George Traikovich (recieved for free)
27. All You Need is Kill, by Hiroshi Sakurazaka
28. The Children of the Sky, by Vernor Vinge (reread)
29. The Rapture of the Nerds, by Charlie Stross and Cory Doctorow
30. Hyperion, by Dan Simmons (reread)
31. The Fall of Hyperion, by Dan Simmons (reread)
32. Ancillary Justice, by Ann Leckie (recieved for free)
33. I Am Legend and Other Stories, by Richard Matheson (reread)
34. Endymion, by Dan Simmons (reread)
35. The Mothership, by Stephen Renneberg (recieved for free)
36. The Rise of Endymion, by Dan Simmons (reread)
37. Blindsight, by Peter Watts (available online for free, but read in book form) (reread)
38. Defining Diana, by Hayden Trenholm (recieved for free)
39. The Year's Best SF 4, by various authors (short story collection)
40. Backwards, by Todd Mitchell (recieved for free)
41. The Star Fraction, by Ken Macleod
42. Embassytown, by China Mieville
43. Postsingular, by Rudy Rucker
44. Wormholes (A Novel), by Dennis Meredith (recieved for free)
45. Hylozoic, by Rudy Rucker
46. He is Legend, by various authors (short story collection honoring Richard Matheson)
47. A Book That Shall Not Be Named (received for free)
48. The Maze Runner, by James Dashner
49. Pump Six and other Stories, by Paolo Bacigalupi
50. The Outcasts of Heaven Belt, by Joan D. Vinge
51. The Chronoliths, by Robert Charles Wilson (reread)
52. The Bohr Maker, by Linda Naginata (reread)
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. And what it was, is what Robert Charles Wilson is extremely skilled at: real, believable human stories that underlie and occasionally intertwine with a fabulous, wonder-inducing SF concept. It's not quite as well done as it was in Spin, but it's surprisingly close. Even (mostly) remembering how things would turn out, I was still caught up in the events as Scott searches for his daughter, or while they attempt to witness the appearance of a predicted Chronolith.
It's not perfect, of course. Wilson's biggest weakness is traditionally his endings, and that's also the case here, with something that's a little more like a sudden fizzling out after an action moment that should come just before the climax, than a climax itself. But then maybe that just ties in with the nature of real-life stories, which Wilson seems to be attempting to create, albeit in a fantastic setting. Life stories rarely reach a climax, sometimes all the dramatic stuff just tapers off. And surely some people might be disappointed at the lack of direct involvement, at the end, of the SF premise that attracted them to the book in the first place, or at the main character being something of a bystander to it, rather than actively engaged in chasing it down or finding Kuin. Also, although the book starts off at very believably predicting the future (a few obvious mistakes, but nobody's perfect), in the last third or so, it veers off and introduces elements to the society I'm not sure I buy, although in the end that's a minor flaw, if it's a flaw at all.
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. Maybe I wasn't quite ready for all of the ideas at the time, but it really is a good book, and made much more of an impression on me the second time around.
It's not perfect, there are things that don't make a lot of technological sense, but it's good, and it's a first novel, so that's extra impressive. I suspect a few of the ideas in the book may have subtly introduced later books I'm fond of (since it's one of the earlier examples of those tropes I'm aware of), although I can't be sure. Most importantly, it builds a universe I want to read more about, and luckily, there is more to the universe, so I will be moving on to them.
Definitely worth a look. I'd put it on the edge between 3 and 4 stars, but since I can't give half marks and I neglected it for so long, I'll give it a 4. 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.
Saving Kennedy is probably one of the top ten premises for time travel books, movies, and TV shows, at least ones where altering a real historical event is the objective, under killing Hitler, but above saving John Lennon. So one might think that even a famous name like Stephen King really has nothing new to add to such well-trodden ground. And maybe he doesn't. There's certainly enough about this book that's predictable... but that's not really important. Because, whether it's full of novel concepts or not, it's well-told. King has a style of writing in a compelling narrative, full of little digressions and irrelevant details that make you feel like you're really part of the world. Sometimes he tends towards relying too much on pop cultural references (either of the present or past), or on strange rhymes and repetitions, but on the whole, when he's on fire, you can slip into his worlds like slipping on a comfortable jacket, live in it for a while, and enjoy things you might not otherwise be able to experience. And, for the most part, this is a book where he's on fire in exactly that way.
The book jumps to the point remarkably quickly, introducing the time travel element before we even get a good grip on the character, but the rest of the story goes by very slowly... as befits the premise, where the main character has to live in the past for years to reach 1963. This part, far from being a drag, actually turns out to be the best part of the book, watching him slowly build towards his plan while getting attached to the real people of the 1950s and 60s in his midst, and the conflicts that arise when just plain living interferes with his grand project. In fact, it's once the appointed date nears, and the book shifts almost completely to changing history, that the book loses something or me, but even then it's still very enjoyable, just less so.
Even though Stephen King does rely on various classic SF tropes and the way it ends is not especially original, he mostly handles them well, and, for originality, he does get points for the specific mechanism chosen for time travel. The 'rabbit hole', and specifically the fact that it always leads to the exact same moment, resetting the effects of any previous attempt to change the past through it, may not be unique in time travel literature, but it's different enough from the usual time machines or one-way journeys, and drives the plot, particularly with how one has to spend five years living exclusively in the past to reach the Kennedy assassination, when you could go back to 2011 at any time and give up.
As for flaws, well, there are a few moments where the main character doesn't seem to do obvious things, or refuses certain choices for reasons that never entirely felt authentic, and of course King self-indulgently includes characters from and references to his other novels, which can be annoying to some, but the big one is the Kennedy assassination itself. He seems to agree to the mission far too quickly and becomes far too obsessed with changing history, and never even seems to consider, "Hey, my 2011 might not be perfect, but there was a lot of good, maybe I shouldn't mess with such a big event and, instead, just try to help in small ways while I live in this time." The notion that he believes he could easily undo it if it goes bad helps a little, but he's still sacrificing years of his life and a lot of potential happiness on a difficult mission, not to prevent a dystopian timeline, but to change a decent timeline with a few tragedies in unpredictable ways. You'd have to think that in all but the absolute best or worst-case scenarios, he'd create a timeline that is also reasonably okay but also had a fair share of tragedies (merely different tragedies from the ones he remembers).
Still, if you can set that aside, 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
2. Line of Polity, by Neal Asher
3. Lady of Mazes, by Karl Schroeder (reread)
4. Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card (reread)
5. Ender's Shadow, by Orson Scott Card (reread)
6. A Time of Changes, by Robert Silverberg
7. Rainbows End, by Vernor Vinge (reread)
8. Impulse, by Steven Gould
9. Zendegi, by Greg Egan
10. The Fractal Prince, by Hannu Rajaniemi
11. Sun of Suns by Karl Schroeder (reread)
12. A War of Gifts, by Orson Scott Card
13. Queen of Candesce, Karl Schroeder (reread)
14. To Challenge Chaos, by Brian Stableford
15. Pirate Sun, by Karl Schroeder (reread)
16. The City & The City by China Mieville
17. Bios, by Robert Charles Wilson
18. The Sunless Countries, by Karl Schroeder (reread)
19. Time Spike by Eric Flint and Marilyn Kosmatka
20. Ashes of Candesce, by Karl Schroeder
21. The Living Dead, by various authors (short story collection)
22. A Deepness in the Sky, by Vernor Vinge (reread)
23. A Fire Upon the Deep, by Vernor Vinge (reread)
24. The Collected Stories of Vernor Vinge, by Vernor Vinge
25. Vortex by Robert Charles Wilson
26. Crypto-Punk, by George Traikovich (recieved for free)
27. All You Need is Kill, by Hiroshi Sakurazaka
28. The Children of the Sky, by Vernor Vinge (reread)
29. The Rapture of the Nerds, by Charlie Stross and Cory Doctorow
30. Hyperion, by Dan Simmons (reread)
31. The Fall of Hyperion, by Dan Simmons (reread)
32. Ancillary Justice, by Ann Leckie (recieved for free)
33. I Am Legend and Other Stories, by Richard Matheson (reread)
34. Endymion, by Dan Simmons (reread)
35. The Mothership, by Stephen Renneberg (recieved for free)
36. The Rise of Endymion, by Dan Simmons (reread)
37. Blindsight, by Peter Watts (available online for free, but read in book form) (reread)
38. Defining Diana, by Hayden Trenholm (recieved for free)
39. The Year's Best SF 4, by various authors (short story collection)
40. Backwards, by Todd Mitchell (recieved for free)
41. The Star Fraction, by Ken Macleod
42. Embassytown, by China Mieville
43. Postsingular, by Rudy Rucker
44. Wormholes (A Novel), by Dennis Meredith (recieved for free)
45. Hylozoic, by Rudy Rucker
46. He is Legend, by various authors (short story collection honoring Richard Matheson)
47. A Book That Shall Not Be Named (received for free)
48. The Maze Runner, by James Dashner
49. Pump Six and other Stories, by Paolo Bacigalupi
50. The Outcasts of Heaven Belt, by Joan D. Vinge
51. The Chronoliths, by Robert Charles Wilson (reread)
52. The Bohr Maker, by Linda Naginata (reread)
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!
