Tag Archives: science fiction

The Three-Legged Hootch Dancer by Mike Resnick

Posted by melydia on August 18, 2009 None comments

The Three Legged Hootch Dancer by Mike Resnick: Thaddeus Flint’s traveling carnival has taken to the stars, and it’s…pretty dull, actually. The aliens aren’t too interested in seeing a human take off her clothes, or an animal tamer when the animal more closely resembles the audience, or rigged games when the marks are telepaths. Luckily, Flint still has a few tricks up his sleeve. This brief novel is just as much fun as its predecessor, Sideshow, and can probably stand on its own just fine.

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Sideshow by Mike Resnick

Posted by melydia on August 15, 2009 None comments

Sideshow by Mike Resnick: A cute little yarn about a New England traveling carnival which buys up a competing freak show. These freaks turn out to be aliens. Like many of Resnick’s tales, the characters here are rowdy, bawdy, and a hell of a lot of fun. And like your average carny, it doesn’t overstay its welcome: a quick 150 pages and you’re out.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Children of the Mind by Orson Scott Card

Posted by melydia on July 11, 2009 1 comments

Children of the Mind by Orson Scott Card: This final book in the Ender Quartet spends most of its time tying up loose ends from Xenocide than moving the story along. The fleet still threatens the planet Lusitania, Jane still faces imminent destruction, Miro is still angstful about his love life, and Ender’s still going a bit mad. Everything is tied up neatly at the end, but by and large these latter two novels – Xenocide and Children of the Mind – feel superfluous. I admire Card for his amazing SF ideas, especially the development of the Piggies, but there wasn’t much point in putting all the aiua business in the Ender universe. But that’s okay. Now I know how it ends, and if I care to reread the series in the future, I’ll simply stop after Speaker for the Dead.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Xenocide by Orson Scott Card

Posted by melydia on June 29, 2009 2 comments

Xenocide by Orson Scott Card: The third book in the Ender Wiggin saga was not originally intended to involve Ender at all, and it kind of shows. Most of the story revolves around a couple “god-spoken” denizens of the Chinese-ish world of Path, who believe the gods tell them what to do in between demands for absurd and humiliating purification rituals. The characters are generally either uninteresting or unlikeable, but Card’s writing is good enough that it isn’t too tiresome. However, the metaphysical, philosophical, and religious discussions get old, and too often Card falls into the trap that ensnares so many male SF/F writers: making women self-righteous harpies in lieu of actually giving them personalities. Ella alone escapes this fate, though that may be due to her lack of romantic interests. While I enjoyed the more in-depth discussion of the descolada virus and Jane’s origins, I could have done without Ender’s unrealistic marital problems and the deus ex machina of “outside.” (Those who have read the book will know what I mean.) I sincerely hope the next (and once last) book in the series, Children of the Mind, will bring some closure to the ridiculously tangled story going on here. Otherwise I’ll probably wish I’d stopped after Speaker for the Dead.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card

Posted by melydia on June 12, 2009 None comments

Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card: I consider this less the second book in a series or even a mere sequel than the second half of Ender Wiggin’s story. What began with his troubled childhood in the Battle School concludes on the planet of Lusitania, where the first intelligent alien species in 3000 years has been discovered. The Piggies, as they are affectionately called, are full of mysteries and questions, but they seem friendly enough. However, when two xenologists are found brutally slain by the Piggies, fear and suspicion begin to spread through the human colony. It’s another solid story about understanding alien societies, full of memorable and realistic characters. As an added bonus, most of the questions raised in Ender’s Game (how did the video game know about Peter, what happened to the Hive Queen etc.) are answered. Definitely an excellent book. I’m surprised people don’t praise the pair of novels as much as Ender’s Game alone, actually. I’m glad I read this. Highly recommended.

Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card

Posted by melydia on June 9, 2009 1 comments

Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card: I first read this between fifteen and twenty years ago and remember really enjoying it then. This time was no different. Ender is a brilliant child soldier, drafted into Battle School at the age of six. He and his comrades are training to fight the Buggers, a hostile alien race who have invaded Earth twice already with terrible casualties. Though it sounds from this two-sentence description to be your standard military science fiction, it is something quite apart from those. This is not about the glories of war, but rather the troubles of a young child forced to grow up before he’s even reached puberty. It’s also the story of his two brilliant siblings, left on Earth to deal with their own troubles. Ender is extremely sympathetic; even when he was cruel I only pitied him. This is definitely one I will be reading again someday.

Out of the Fallout by Veronica A. Mullen

Posted by melydia on May 18, 2009 None comments

Out of the Fallout by Veronica A. Mullen: Self-published novels are, in general, self-indulgent and extremely hard to follow. Luckily, Out of the Fallout is an exception to this rule. It is rife with typographical and grammatical errors, but if you can look past that you’ll find a surprisingly engaging story. The plot is rather complex, set in a post-apocalyptic world where the chemical and biological weapons of the last war caused unexpected psychic abilities in a large portion of the population. Jason and Michelle, however, are two of the extremely rare “natural” psychics. They live at The Psychic Research Center, a cross between a school and a laboratory for juvenile victims of the psychic virus, where children are kept apart from the “normal” population in order to be studied and to learn to control their newfound abilities. Jason and Michelle, though prized by the scientists as test subjects, are ostracized by the rest of the children. Michelle’s unusual behavior – in response to spending her formative years held hostage by a serial killer – makes her even more of a target. The story chronicles their lives over several years, from teenagers to adults, as Jason struggles to find normalcy and Michelle withdraws ever more deeply into herself. The ending completely lost me – the random forays into Greek mythology, the unexplained bird creature, the bizarre dreams, the abrupt conclusion – but otherwise I enjoyed this one. If another edition ever comes out – one where the second half of the book is as detailed and engrossing as the first – I will certainly pick it up. In the meantime, I’ll keep an eye out for Mullen’s future works.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Centauri Dawn by Michael Ely

Posted by melydia on May 6, 2009 None comments

Centauri Dawn by Michael Ely: I have never played the video game on which this book is based (Alpha Centauri) nor its more famous predecessor, Civilization. This probably hampered my enjoyment. Though you do not need to be familiar with the games to understand the plot, I suspect that anyone not obsessed with the game will feel much the way I did: meh. Basically, Earth is tearing apart itself with war so a colony ship is sent off to another planet. It breaks up in space and each pod, holding roughly one thousand people and one leader, lands on a different part of the planet. The leaders are the diplomat, the warrior, the farmer-hippy, the economist, the professor, and two others I can’t recall just now. Anyway, they each found their own groups following their personal philosophies, thus creating large numbers of walking stereotypes. The warriors (who call themselves Spartans, natch) are the most grievous offense here, obsessing over honor and battle even more than your average Kling-on. They are not in the least bit sympathetic, fighting the other groups for no more reason than they feel like it. The author makes some weak attempts at motive but it’s not convincing. In short, this is not something I would recommend to a lover of science fiction…or to anyone, in fact, except those who simply cannot get enough of the Alpha Centauri universe.

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The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells

Posted by melydia on March 14, 2009 None comments

The Island of Doctor Moreau by H.G. Wells: Edward Prendick’s ship sinks and he is picked up by Montgomery, a passenger on another ship. When they reach Montgomery’s destination – an island in the middle of the Pacific – the ship’s captain refuses to take Prendick any further. Luckily, Montgomery eventually relents and brings Prendick onto the island as his guest. There he meets Dr. Moreau and a slew of unusual creatures. Unlike most 19th century literature, I find Wells exceedingly readable and fun. His characters are realistic and memorable, as are his scientific ideas. Perhaps still not my favorite of Wells’s (I’m not sure you can beat The Time Machine) but an excellent story nonetheless. Highly recommended.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson

Posted by melydia on November 4, 2008 1 comments

The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson: To be perfectly frank, I don’t get it. The story begins with a man named Hackworth creating an interactive primer for his young daughter, but before he can give it to her he is mugged by a gang of boys. One of these boys grabs the book and brings it home for his little sister, Nell. The book itself is awesome: interactive, multifunctional, and just all around nifty. I wish I had one. Unfortunately, after this things start getting confusing. Hackworth lives with a group called the Drummers, who share a collective consciousness and have a lot of orgies. Then there’s this group called the Fists of Righteous Harmony who start making trouble, and then there are a quarter of a million little Chinese girls getting together, and then there’s this mysterious group called Cryptnet… Part of me feels what I’ve felt when reading other Stephenson books: that while he’s excellent at world-building, he’s not so hot at endings. There’s also a possibility that I’m simply not smart enough to appreciate his work. I’m fine with that. I was kind of surprised at how meh I felt about the latter half of this book, since I enjoyed Snow Crash and Zodiac so much, but perhaps this marks a turning point in his writing. The next book he wrote was Cryptonomicon, on which I gave up after 250 pages. I guess I should stick with Stephenson’s older works from now on.

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