Tag Archives: science fiction

Foundation by Isaac Asimov

Posted by melydia on September 7, 2010 2 comments

Foundation by Isaac Asimov (unabridged audiobook read by Scott Brick): It is rare that I read a story set so far in the future that Earth is practically a myth. This basically means that you can set up human society to be whatever you wish, without the burdens of the history known by the reader. In this case, the human race has grown into a massive galactic empire. Hari Seldon is a prominent psychohistorian, who uses his studies of the past to predict the future. Specifically, he predicts the collapse of the empire, and claims to be creating a great Encyclopedia Galactica to save all the knowledge of man in order to ease the transition after the fall. Frightened by the idea of civil unrest in response to this foretelling, Seldon and his people are exiled to Terminus, a planet far out on the rim of the galaxy. The rest of the book chronicles the next two centuries or so. Much of it was a little slow, since I’m not much for politics, but I very much enjoyed Mayor Hardin. I have the second book in the trilogy on my shelf, but I’m not sure when I’ll get to it. On the one hand, I’m not in any hurry to return to the universe of Foundation, but on the other, the longer I wait the less I’ll remember about Foundation, which will probably make Foundation and Empire more difficult to follow. Heh.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury

Posted by melydia on July 28, 2010 2 comments

The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury: This is more an interconnected series of short stories and vignettes about the future history of man’s colonization of Mars than a single novel. Written more than 60 years ago, it’s fascinating to see the mixture of futuristic technology with old-fashioned sensibilities (get them womens in the kitchen!). For example, the chapter dealing with all the African Americans in the South leaving for Mars felt like it took place in the 1930s. And I sincerely doubt any Martian colonies would empty out in the face of a war on Earth today. On the contrary, I imagine the threat of war would lead to an increase in interplanetary immigration. When this was written, WWII had just ended and war was still viewed as a noble endeavor, and there’s certainly no way Bradbury could have foreseen how unpopular it would become mere decades later. And yes, we’ve known for many years that Mars is uninhabited (and uninhabitable by human beings), but that’s not really the point. This could be any planet, even our own. There’s a strong parallel to the history of European colonization of the American continents.

I can see why not everyone would like this. Much of the Bradbury I’ve read has had a “just us boys” feel to it that distances me, as woman, from the story. The rather bleak view of humanity doesn’t exactly create a feel-good kind of tale, either. My favorite parts were earlier on, with the strange telepathic abilities of the Martians themselves. All in all, though, I enjoyed reading it. It’s always fun to witness someone else’s view of the future, especially when the majority of it “happened” in the past for the reader.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

The Host by Stephenie Meyer

Posted by melydia on June 29, 2010 1 comments

The Host by Stephenie Meyer (unabridged audiobook read by Kate Reading): A couple friends told me this was actually a pretty decent science fiction story, so as an unwilling Twilight fan, I decided to try it out. The Souls are a parasitic alien race that took over the population of Earth years before. This story is told from the perspective of Wanderer, a Soul occupying the body of one of the last members of the human resistance, Melanie. Though souls usually take over their hosts completely, Melanie is still very much aware and even speaks to Wanderer in her mind. I’d heard that since this book was written for adults (as opposed to young adults, like Twilight), that the writing would be higher quality. It isn’t. I could have done without such repetitious uses of “sob,” “chagrin,” and “in a low voice” in particular. I swear someone cries in every single chapter, and for the amount of plot this book could have easily been half as long. The love triangle between humans, human hosts, and Souls, is unbelievable and the oft-repeated ethical questions are not very well resolved. I also noticed a strange parallel with Twilight: again we have a teenage girl who wants to sleep with an older man, but the man rebuffs her because she is too young (and possibly because they’re not married, though it’s not said outright). Another teenage girl learns from this and claims to be a year older than she is to avoid this very obstacle. I guess we women are nothing but shameless harlots who need our menfolk to keep us on the righteous path.

Okay, okay, I guess I should say something nice about this book, since I did actually listen to all twenty (20!) discs of it. The descriptions of Wanderer’s past hosts were somewhat original. I was reasonably curious to see how Wanderer’s moral dilemmas at being a parasite would be addressed. But all in all, though the characters range from preteen to thousands of years old, everybody talks and thinks like teenagers. Which is appropriate in a series like Twilight, where most of the characters are teenagers, but adults aren’t generally this emo. If you finished the Twilight series and simply cannot get enough of Meyer’s awkward prose, then this could work as a stopgap measure. However, if you’re looking for a decent science fiction novel, skip this one. It’s not worth your time.

Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams

Posted by melydia on May 18, 2010 None comments

Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams: As a longtime fan of Adams’s Hitchhiker’s Guide series, I’ve been meaning to read this for quite a while. Unfortunately, it’s clear why this series does not have the cult following of the other. It has the same random humor and just-go-with-it meandering style of plot, but somehow it doesn’t quite gel as a novel. The titular character doesn’t even show up until about halfway through the book. The narration shifts constantly between a computer programmer, his boss, his girlfriend, an Electric Monk, and Bizarre Omniscient. The characters are amusing on their own but one needs more than good characters to make a good novel. Don’t get me wrong: there are some very funny anecdotes and asides, but the main story is so confusing that the humor is nearly overshadowed. I haven’t decided yet if I’m going to read the sequel.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

The Blind Geometer by Kim Stanley Robinson/The New Atlantis by Ursula K. LeGuin

Posted by melydia on March 30, 2010 None comments

The Blind Geometer/The New Atlantis by Kim Stanley Robinson/Ursula K. LeGuin: This is one of those books where if you open it one way, it’s one book, but if you turn it over and open it the other way, it’s another book, and they meet upside-down in the middle.

The Blind Geometer by Kim Stanley Robinson: A blind mathematician in nearish-future Washington, DC, is approached by a colleague to aid in a strange puzzle in the shape of a woman who draws esoteric geometric diagrams and talks in jumbled phrases. The intrigue is less interesting than the experiences of the blind narrator. It’s a novel way of telling a story, since you can never mention what anything looks like. This story was my introduction to Robinson, and I think I might pick up more of his stuff.

Return from Rainbow Bridge by Kim Stanley Robinson: This bonus novella tells the tale of a teenage boy in the 1960s and his strange experiences with Paul, a mysterious Navajo Indian friend (though in this story it’s spelled Navaho). It’s not strictly science fiction, but it’s a fun and slightly spooky story that rekindled my desire to visit Arizona again.

The New Atlantis by Ursula K. Le Guin: I love Le Guin, but I had a terrible time following this one. I got that they were living in a strange fascist state, and there was talk about new continents rising in the oceans, but all the italicized parts completely lost me, and I have no idea what was going on at the end. It felt almost like it was building up to something and then just sort of stopped.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Shadow of the Hegemon by Orson Scott Card

Posted by melydia on September 26, 2009 1 comments

Shadow of the Hegemon by Orson Scott Card: The League Wars are over, but the struggle continues between various world powers. Someone kidnaps all the Battle School kids who served under Ender during the Bugger War. Bean alone escapes this fate. Though he must go into hiding, he seeks out the only person who can help him free the others: Peter Wiggin. Most of the story revolves around Bean and Petra, but I didn’t feel like I got to know her any better than I did in Ender’s Game. Of course, I’ve noticed Card’s difficulty with writing realistic female characters before. The continuation of Achilles’s tale was kind of interesting but not especially believable. I hear the series improves as you go along. Not that this is such a bad book – it just didn’t do much for me.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Ender’s Shadow by Orson Scott Card

Posted by melydia on September 12, 2009 1 comments

Ender’s Shadow by Orson Scott Card: This is more or less the same time frame covered in Ender’s Game, only from Bean’s point of view. It begins with his life as a street urchin in Rotterdam and continues all the way through the end of the Bugger War. There is some overlap between the two books, but since it’s from another point of view it doesn’t feel repetitive. Bean’s train of thought is fascinating and I enjoyed the new characters that were introduced like Achilles and Sister Carlotta. I think of all the other children at Battle School, Bean was the best choice to get his own story, but Ender is still my favorite character. And despite Card’s hope for this book to work on its own, I don’t think I’d enjoy Ender’s Game as much if I’d read Ender’s Shadow first. A lot is lost if you already know the ending. Ender’s Shadow seems almost predicated on audience understanding. That said, it’s still a worthy addition to the series, and I look forward to reading the other books and learning what Bean’s adult life has in store for him.

Also posted on BookCrossing.com.

Eros Ascending by Mike Resnick

Posted by melydia on September 3, 2009 None comments

Eros Ascending by Mike Resnick: Harry Redwine has been sent to cook the books of the Velvet Comet, and orbiting pleasure palace singled out for sabotage by an unnamed, power-hungry bureaucrat in the upper echelons of parent company Vainmill. Despite the science fiction backdrop, this is more of a thriller, full of complex power struggles and intrigue. I wasn’t all that satisfied with the ending, but it’s only the first in a series so I can’t really complain too much. Not Resnick’s best work, but still a decent read.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Redbeard by Mike Resnick

Posted by melydia on August 21, 2009 None comments

Redbeard by Michael Resnick: This is one of Mike Resnick’s earliest books, evidently before he started going by Mike professionally, and it shows. Though full of memorable characters, from the elusive mutant Gareth Cole to the savage barbarian Red Will Donahoe to the wickedly logical Baron Andrew Craston, the story is still a little rough around the edges. The ending feels rushed and I had trouble wrapping my head around Cole’s true motivations. Our story takes place in post-apocalyptic New England, during a war being waged between the mutants and the “Normans” (Normals). Donahoe, though born to misfits, is physically normal, and struggles with his conflicting hatreds for the Normans and for Cole himself. It’s a rather dizzying story, but not all together a bad one. Just a little unpolished.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

The Wild Alien Tamer by Mike Resnick

Posted by melydia on August 19, 2009 None comments

The Wild Alien Tamer by Mike Resnick: This is the third in a series of four, though it stands on its own fairly well. It’s another tale of Thaddeus Flint’s galactic traveling carnival, this time about Jupiter Monk, the animal trainer. When his Earthling animals eventually die, Monk has no act and must find alien beasts to replace them. When he comes across a tour guide who looks as foreign as any animal, they come up with an interesting idea for a con. However, things eventually get out of hand. It’s a fun book, almost as light-hearted as the prior two in the series. Good beach read.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

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