Like so many male sf authors, Blish has skanky women issues, and they're pretty apparent in this book; I spent a lot of it gritting my teeth. The worlLike so many male sf authors, Blish has skanky women issues, and they're pretty apparent in this book; I spent a lot of it gritting my teeth. The worldbuilding is decent, though, and it says some interesting things in the midst of all the "wait, *what*?" of the plot....more
Good strong military sf with likeable protagonists and a fascinating setting. It's part of a series, but it stands alone fairly well.Good strong military sf with likeable protagonists and a fascinating setting. It's part of a series, but it stands alone fairly well....more
Okay but not fabulous; Bova's women issues shine through a little too clearly for me to just relax and enjoy. I spotted the twist about fifty pages beOkay but not fabulous; Bova's women issues shine through a little too clearly for me to just relax and enjoy. I spotted the twist about fifty pages before it happened, too....more
I couldn't actually even bring myself to finish this one. Flat characters, nothing compelling, no real through-line to the story; I got halfway into iI couldn't actually even bring myself to finish this one. Flat characters, nothing compelling, no real through-line to the story; I got halfway into it, realized I didn't care, and put it down....more
Dry in places -- at times I think Weber's more in love with his worldbuilding and the war being fought than he's in love with the characters -- but stDry in places -- at times I think Weber's more in love with his worldbuilding and the war being fought than he's in love with the characters -- but still an entertaining read. Start with the first in the series, though.
(I am not even going to *try* to catch up with the last three months of books I've read, so let's just start from here...)...more
Entertaining as all of the Liaden novels are, this isn't one of my favorites, for the simple fact that it feels disconnected from the others; it's a lEntertaining as all of the Liaden novels are, this isn't one of my favorites, for the simple fact that it feels disconnected from the others; it's a little fuzzy on space/time cues, and the reader winds up wondering when in the timeline it's supposed to fit in, seeing as how it seems to be establishing premises and ideas that don't show up anywhere else in the main continuity. Still, if you read it as an isolated book (and don't try to make it fit with the others), it's a sweet little coming-of-age story, even if the last twenty pages or so feel rather rushed and tacked-on....more
There aren't any surprises here, and there doesn't need to be. (I am reminded of a NYT review of a Counting Crows album: to paraphrase, "This is exactThere aren't any surprises here, and there doesn't need to be. (I am reminded of a NYT review of a Counting Crows album: to paraphrase, "This is exactly another Counting Crows album. We will let you know if this becomes a bad thing.") A lovely romance, an interesting setting, and somehow, the Prince-and-the-Pauper gig never gets old in the hands of authors who are as good as Lee and Miller....more
I'm really not objective about this one -- there is nothing I like more tCulture clash! Epic culture clash! Glorious, unrepentant epic culture clash!
I'm really not objective about this one -- there is nothing I like more than epic unrepentant culture clash in all its myriad forms -- but then again, who is objective about the books they love? I can't decide if this is the perfect introduction to the Liaden universe -- as again, it is a side-story, taking us back to the previous generation -- or if it's a treat that should be saved for later on once the reader has more background and familiarity with the cultures involved. But either way, this one is an old friend....more
With this book, we move away from the 'main' storyline to start filling in the stories of some of the supporting characters. In some ways, this might With this book, we move away from the 'main' storyline to start filling in the stories of some of the supporting characters. In some ways, this might be my favorite of the series -- I find the characters highly sympathetic -- and in others, it displays the same problems as certain other books in the series; I wind up wanting to know far more about the female lead's culture and history than makes it into the book, and I'm not sure if it's that I'm the type who can drown herself in backstory or if it actually is harming the book to reserve some material for the short stories....more
The third in the series, and more action-based than #2; it returns us to the more galaxy-wide focus, after the previous installment's more narrow scopThe third in the series, and more action-based than #2; it returns us to the more galaxy-wide focus, after the previous installment's more narrow scope. While I tend to like the sidestories in this universe more than the "main" plot, I still adore these.
One caveat; the Liaden Universe was built through short stories and novellas, and many of the events happening (particularly in this book, though overall in all of them) presume a level of familiarity with those side-stories that may have the reader reaching for copies of previous books in the series and flipping through them to figure out if they missed something. Just go with it; the information isn't critical to understanding what's going on, although it does provide extra depth if you have read those side works....more
This book -- the second in the series -- moves a little more slowly than the previous, and is more character-driven than plot-driven. Still, it's a wiThis book -- the second in the series -- moves a little more slowly than the previous, and is more character-driven than plot-driven. Still, it's a winner....more
Fast-moving, engaging, well-characterized space opera -- seriously, what's not to love? I adore this series wholeheartedly.Fast-moving, engaging, well-characterized space opera -- seriously, what's not to love? I adore this series wholeheartedly....more
I've been fairly fortunate so far this month in that all of the trilogies/series I've picked up have had very good middle books, and this one's no difI've been fairly fortunate so far this month in that all of the trilogies/series I've picked up have had very good middle books, and this one's no different! Darktraders takes Butterfly and Valijon through a series of personal and political dangers -- of course, in this world, the personal is political and vice versa -- and introduces them to the Big Bad that's been dogging them. Like Hellflower, there are moments where I get a little lost in the dialect and some things just don't make sense to me -- but it's still a damn good read....more
By all rights I should hate this book -- it's first-person dialect-heavy narration, which is a particular annoyance of mine -- and yet I couldn't put By all rights I should hate this book -- it's first-person dialect-heavy narration, which is a particular annoyance of mine -- and yet I couldn't put it down. Butterfly, our heroine, is a wonderful character, and the worldbuilding is highly entertaining. It's a book that revolves around people, and the plot is driven by those people and their particular motivations at every given moment, and I love that kind of thing so much.
The dialect is difficult in places, and there are times when it feels like the author's figuring out what's going on at the same time we are, but it didn't stop me from really enjoying it anyway....more
This title manages to avoid a lot of standard middle-book-in-the-trilogy problems, and is eminently readable and enjoyable; it's very entertaining, anThis title manages to avoid a lot of standard middle-book-in-the-trilogy problems, and is eminently readable and enjoyable; it's very entertaining, and good to settle down in. If I have any particular quibble with it, it's that it's almost too settle-down-in-able; there are entire sections that are fascinating worldbuilding, but don't seem to contribute very strongly to the actual plot -- which doesn't really appear until the very end of the book, although it's fairly apparent when you look back at it. (Elgin's feminist themes are also sometimes clunky, but I suspect it might be a product of the fact that the book was written in the late eighties; the world's changed considerably since then.)
Still, this is a good read, especially for people who are interested in semantics or sociolinguistics. ...more
The middle book of the Robinsons' Stardance trilogy (which is now available as an omnibus edition); a used-bookstore crawl turned up a copy of this, sThe middle book of the Robinsons' Stardance trilogy (which is now available as an omnibus edition); a used-bookstore crawl turned up a copy of this, since my copy had gone walkabout a long time ago. I'd reread books 1 & 3 in November and had resolved to get my hands on this one as soon as possible.
The fact that I have had to purchase these novels ten or twelve times over the years should tell you something; they are on the list of books you buy copies of just to give away, because they have something so very important to say. This is one of those books that doesn't just exist to entertain. It has a message, and the message is vital: we can't keep going on like this; we have to get right with each other.
Stardance is the best book in this trilogy, hands down, while Starmind is the weakest, but this one stands as a solid middle; it's a logical extrapolation from the world of Stardance, and the research and worldbuilding is stunning. Like most of Spider's protagonists, Rain is a contemporary person blinded by the pains and anguish of living in this modern world, until her eyes are opened to the truth of the matter: that our world and what we do to it (and to each other) is just not sustainable, and we have to change before we destroy ourselves.
Spider's a welcome anodyne to the trend of bleak sf; his reality is real, not more or less pessimistic than what we see in the newspaper and the headlines around us, and his work always carries a thread of hope and redemption. This one's no different. I read these because they reassure me that there are people like this out there, and they encourage me that it is possible to live like this.
If I have any criticism of this novel (and many other novels Spider's written), it's that sometimes he does resort to a reductionist viewpoint; people are either Total Saints (of a very specific sort of mold: lovers of the arts, creative people, who have a very specific worldview and outlook), Misguided Potential Saints (blinded by living in the Crazy Years, but with the potential to move past it), or Total Sinners (everyone who doesn't fit these molds). It's as though he sometimes forgets that enlightened people can come in all different types of enlightenment.
It's only now and then, though, and I can perform the particular mental gymnastics necessary to keep it from bothering me. If you can too, this series is worth it. Even if you can't, give it a try anyway. I'm not exaggerating when I say that these books, when I first read them, changed my entire outlook on the world and my responsibilities to the people within it, and they've shaped so much of my adult behavior. And I'm not the only one they've spoken to; Spider and Jeanne are actually raising money to produce the first zero-gravity dance, and it's a project I'm watching eagerly. Because if we don't have art, we aren't anything. ...more
Oh, God, I shouldn't love this book as much as I do. I really, really shouldn't.
Okay, first off, let's get this out of the way: This book was written Oh, God, I shouldn't love this book as much as I do. I really, really shouldn't.
Okay, first off, let's get this out of the way: This book was written in 1970, and it reads as horribly dated to a modern reader, especially with the gender and sexual politics. You're going to have a few moments where you look at it and just go "...I can't believe he just said that." This also isn't at all a good introduction to Heinlein (for that, try The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress or Tunnel In The Sky or even Stranger In A Strange Land), and a lot of people consider this book to be the turning point where Heinlein started going off the deep end completely.
That having been said: I still love this book. A lot.
Quick plot summary: Ultra-rich mega-billionaire Johann Sebastian Bach Smith is dying of old age, discovers that a surgeon has successfully transplanted the brains of two chimps into each other, and resolves that he will spend his money to have his brain transplanted into a new body; thanks to the fact that he has a rare blood type, his potential donor pool is limited, and when an accident befalls his beloved (young and highly nubile) secretary Eunice, who has signed up to be a potential donor should she die before he does, the transplant is performed. Johann wakes up in Eunice's body and discovers that her consciousness and personality is still there for him to talk to. (Fans of Stargate: SG-1: think Tok'ra.)
Like Kipling, Heinlein must be read in the context of his times, and a lot of this book can be taken as a dialog between Heinlein (Johann shares a lot of his upbringing) and his extrapolation (surprisingly accurate) of what society would be, thirty or forty years from the point the book was written. It is absolutely fascinating to watch the progression. Again, a lot of the gender and sexual politics can be troublesome, but in context, coming from a man of Heinlein's time, they're shockingly progressive.
A contemporary treatment of this idea would work out quite differently -- and I'd love to read it -- but as it stands, this book fascinates me and I love re-reading it. The ending goes off the deep end, and is fairly weak -- especially for Heinlein, who usually manages to produce very satisfying endings -- but the first 90% of the book is one of my old favorites....more