As much as I loved the TV show, I felt that the book version was not as interesting. Maybe I should have done this the other way around, but once I spAs much as I loved the TV show, I felt that the book version was not as interesting. Maybe I should have done this the other way around, but once I spent so much time with the Kevin, Lori, Tom, and Julie of the TV show, the originals in the book just were not as real for me. I thought that Kevin was better as a police chief than as a mayor (and the addition of his father in the TV show was a stroke of genius). I also had a hard time imagining a bald Julie rather than the beautiful, troubled young woman with long black hair from the TV show. The connection between Matt and Nora was also far more interesting as a brother-sister thing in the show than as just neighbors in the book. The show did a far better job of giving a little bit of closure whereas the book just left things completely open at the end. I know it is quite rare for the screen version of a story to exceed the artistic quality of the literary version, but I have to say that I strongly preferred the excellent TV series of The Leftovers to the book by Perrotta....more
I think this novel was interesting to me because (1) we lived a global plague but thankfully not with the same consequences a few years back and (2) II think this novel was interesting to me because (1) we lived a global plague but thankfully not with the same consequences a few years back and (2) I happened to watch the movie Awakening from 1991 with Robin Williams and Robert De Niro about victims of encephalitis that were "locked in". It has a cool pair of FBI agents and the ideas behind the threeps (C3PO-like hosts for bed-ridden victims of Haden's disease) and Integrators (human hosts for the same) are interesting. The plot itself was fairly interesting with the snarky Scalzi dialogs, but maybe less punchy than his later, more mature work. I think this series is good to read once you have already enjoyed the Old Man's War or Interdependency series.
I found this to be an exciting book and perhaps the strongest of the series by MacLeod. I thought the ideas were brilliant and the characters sympatheI found this to be an exciting book and perhaps the strongest of the series by MacLeod. I thought the ideas were brilliant and the characters sympathetic. It is not as epic as Iain Banks or Peter Hamilton and definitely has a socialist bent, but it is still excellent science fiction!...more
This is the last sci-fi Banks wrote that wasn't part of the Culture universe coming as it does after Matter and before his last four books. This is a This is the last sci-fi Banks wrote that wasn't part of the Culture universe coming as it does after Matter and before his last four books. This is a mature banks style with a complex structure that reveals itself little-by-little to the reader as we delve into the world of the various protagonists. The writing is superb and I found the characters really interesting. I especially loved his description of libertarianism: "Libertarianism. A simple-minded right-wing ideology ideally suited to those unable or unwilling to see past their own sociopathic self-regard." (p. 326) that seems to fit that demographic to a "t".
The only thing holding this back from a 5* rating is that it is so close to a Culture story (I could definitely imagine Madame d'O, Mrs Mulverhill, and The Transitionary squaring off on a GCV), but we miss all the dressings of crazy tech and space adventure that that universe brings in. I enjoyed this every bit as much as Against a Dark Background and a little less than the exuberant The Algebraist. I also found Bisquitine a great but underdeveloped character here.
The idea of dropping into a body reminded me of Peter F. Hamilton's Night's Dawn trilogy that mighty have been a distant inspiration (although Banks would never have gone for the religiosity and shallow female characters that Hamilton employs) and certainly inspired Richard K Morgan's Altered Carbon to the degree that the Concern folks in Madame d'O's orbit are like the Meths using the bodies to gain immortality.
I can't express how much I love Banks sci-fi books and I only wish there were more now that I finished all of them. Amazing.
I was disappointed with this story of a village in a fictional country in central Asia coming to terms with the internet and the Instagram economy. ItI was disappointed with this story of a village in a fictional country in central Asia coming to terms with the internet and the Instagram economy. It felt trite and some of the action was rather predictable. I guess the characters like Mae were ok, but the overall story just felt too contrived. I wonder if Ryman's other books are written like this one, but based on my experience, I probably won't seek out his other books unless someone gives me a compelling reason to do so....more
I don't know what I was expecting with this one, but I was truly blown away by the high quality of writing, the ground-breaking plot devices, and the I don't know what I was expecting with this one, but I was truly blown away by the high quality of writing, the ground-breaking plot devices, and the beautiful humanity of all the protagonists. It is brilliant how McHugh weaves her plot through three different narratives, intimately connecting them without condescending to the reader or overly confusing the plot. I think this was a far better novel than the Nebula winner Stations of the Tide and pretty much on the same level as the winner of the Locus and Hugos that same year, Barrayar.
As a side note, I thought that the way she portrays the difficulty for the gay Zhang in the Chinafied US of her alternative history is sadly not all that different from the difficulties for gays in China today and elsewhere in the real world....more
This is my favorite Varley book so far. Despite its ironic and sardonic tone, it is rather dark in that the protagonist becomes suicidal and so does tThis is my favorite Varley book so far. Despite its ironic and sardonic tone, it is rather dark in that the protagonist becomes suicidal and so does the Central Computer that controls everything on the Lunar colony! There is a lot of humor and hijinks at the beginning, but then the tone becomes far more serious if not morbid. I guess that the author went through some dark moments, because there is a lot of philosophizing about why people commit suicide and the place of AI in a modern society. So, although things in it feel archaic (it was written back in 1980), the themes are still valid today....more
I wanted to like this one more because the idea of dogs taking over the universe is just so appealing in a twisted, funny kind of way. However, I feltI wanted to like this one more because the idea of dogs taking over the universe is just so appealing in a twisted, funny kind of way. However, I felt the same sort of frustration as in Foundation where it is a collection of sequential short stories with a few reoccurring characters rather than a continuous narrative slipping back and forth in time. That being said, like the aforementioned Asimov classic, the ideas here are fantastic and it is yet another warning from back in 1952 about the dangers of the breakdown of society into isolated individuals and runaway technology. The dogs are pacific and easy-going as opposed to the moody and unpredictable humans, or websters as they come to be called, and eventually humans become extinct. It is an apocalyptic tale but a sort of velvet one where there is no singularity even, but just a disturbing gradual disappearance. An absolute classic that has aged well, I am just not a huge fan of how it was written. Nonetheless, it does stand out for its originality and vision....more
I enjoyed the Nebula-winning Annihilation, but was not immediately encouraged to read the other two books of this trilogy (all published at points aloI enjoyed the Nebula-winning Annihilation, but was not immediately encouraged to read the other two books of this trilogy (all published at points along the year 2014 and soon to have a new volume in October 2024!). I found that this sequel is more readable (like I found with Atwood's The Year of the Flood) than its predecessor.
Rather than travel with Expedition 12 from the Southern Reach into Area X, we stay at Ess Arr in the head of John "Control" Rodriguez, the new director of the agency under the aegis of the ambiguous and never fully explained Central. He is not welcomed by the interim director Grace to say the least. His colleagues are either mousy (Hsyu), annoyingly exuberant (Cheney), or just plain nuts (Whitsby). We accompany Control as he attempts to understand his immediate environment and the great mysteries surrounding Area X. He is manipulated by nearly everyone in stark contrast to his name and yet trying to maintain some kind of control of the situation, mostly failing. We learn more about the previous expeditions, in particularly the gruesome Expedition 1 in which Lowry is the only survivor and gets promoted as a hero to Central where Control's mother is an agent. The plot is rather complicated and intertwined and I risk giving spoilers if I delve deeper than this superficial description.
Suffice it to say that the book is very well written and, for my money, more entertaining than the first one. I am looking forward to the conclusion of the trilogy now, Acceptance....more
This was a strong finish to the Southern Reach trilogy (although there will be apparently a new book 10 years later now in 2024 called Absolution). ThThis was a strong finish to the Southern Reach trilogy (although there will be apparently a new book 10 years later now in 2024 called Absolution). This time, we are with Grace, Ghost Bird, and Control inside Area X. But, we also get the perspective from Gloria, the former director, and Saul, the lighthouse keeper. The chapters tell the story from the perspective of each of these characters primarily in the third person (the director is in the second person). The book does a great job of resolving some of the mysteries and connections between the characters and events that had up to now been left mysterious. That being said, VanderMeer refrains from revealing all the secrets of Area X, perhaps giving us this in the forthcoming novel, we shall see.
I really enjoyed the whole series. It has a Silo kind of feel to it and the suspense is maintained pretty much throughout. The author does an excellent job of giving us partial facts and threads some of which are given meaning later, others left unresolved to drive the reader forward in his own journey through Area X....more
This is actually a collection of short stories, the best of which is by far the title story eponymous with the Tom Cruise masterpiece film (90% RottenThis is actually a collection of short stories, the best of which is by far the title story eponymous with the Tom Cruise masterpiece film (90% Rotten Tomatoes rating!). I was actually really frustrated that this particular story wasn't developed further by PKD (although he did revisit the "sixes" idea in Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said). The other short stories vary widely in quality: all very paranoid and somewhat inventive, but all of them pale in comparison to the first. I really liked the idea of these psychic characters in the background and the crazy precogs ideas. The other notable stories here were Second Variety, What the Dead Men Say (the half-life aspect also treated in Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said), and the silly Oh, to be a Blobel story. I'd say that it is for fans of the film and hardcore PKD fans primarily....more
I loved this one! Before Crockett and Tubbs, Riggs and Murtaugh, or McNulty and Bunk, Asimov came up with the perfect cop partner team between the robI loved this one! Before Crockett and Tubbs, Riggs and Murtaugh, or McNulty and Bunk, Asimov came up with the perfect cop partner team between the robot-skeptic Elijah Bailey and R(obot) Daneel Olivaw to solve a murder mystery in Spacetown on the edge of New New York Bubbletown. There are just too many ideas here to list, but the idea of an earth 200 years from now where people only live in cities because they are terrified of sunlight (further explored in the also excellent The Naked Sun), bubble cities, and a colonized galaxy of Spacers was so much fun. The pairing of Lije and Daneel makes for one of sci-fi's best duos; I absolutely love their friendship and how Lije becomes more and more open-minded as the story progresses. It is not a complex plot and I won't give you any spoilers. Suffice it to say that it is a quick and exceedingly fun read that I highly recommend. I think my favorite scene might have been the conversation about religion between Lije and his wife and mostly all the dialogs between Lije and Daneel!...more
Maybe I need to read the book as well, because this was quite a confusing hot mess of a comic book. It is a dystopian view of life in LA with society Maybe I need to read the book as well, because this was quite a confusing hot mess of a comic book. It is a dystopian view of life in LA with society having devolved into a violent stew of tension and horror. The idea of creating a new religion while fleeing and hiding is kind of original even if the story has that kind of Walking Dead repetitiveness to it (oh no, another roving gang of cannibals!). The artwork is interesting, but I found it hard sometimes to distinguish between the characters. This might have been done on purpose, but sometimes it was disarming to this reader....more
This was outstanding. OK, it is long (as everything Stephenson has done since The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer), maybe even too This was outstanding. OK, it is long (as everything Stephenson has done since The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer), maybe even too long, but the payoff makes it worthwhile. I enjoyed the protagonist and was fully invested in his quest. I liked how we learned about the world inside the concent and then we adventure out and discovered that despite feeling medieval up to that point, the rest of the world has evolved technology similar to and sometimes greater than ours. The world-building in Stephenson is great as always and the pace picks up as the book rolls forward. I think it was a 5* read because of its originality and the crescendo to an awesome climax.
This was a great piece of fiction, Varley's first! I liked the ideas here and was reminded of the themes from David Brin of Uplift and I can see how oThis was a great piece of fiction, Varley's first! I liked the ideas here and was reminded of the themes from David Brin of Uplift and I can see how other books in 80s and 90s sci-fi were indebted to this one. The idea of this call from outer space probably also played an inspirational role for Cixin Liu for The Three-Body Problem. As I found in his Titan, there is a lot of interesting sex (it was written at the tail-end of the 70s after all. The folks born in freefall reminded me of Bujold's Quaddies in Falling Free. The novel is so short and moves so fast, that almost any plot detail would entail a spoiler. Suffice it to say that Varley loves the gas planets (because the aforementioned Titan also occurs there) and his Eight Worlds series gets off to a great start here. I think I will read Steel Beach as well. ...more
This book created the term metaverse and for that, it deserves lots of credit. As for the writing, sort of Hunter S Thompson on speed, I'd say. Its chThis book created the term metaverse and for that, it deserves lots of credit. As for the writing, sort of Hunter S Thompson on speed, I'd say. Its character development is thin, but the dim picture of this particular mafioso dystopia was relatively unique (think of Biff's paradise in 2015 in Back to the Future) and frankly pretty fun to read. There is some humor here, but the most enjoyment is just some of the ideas around virtual reality and then reflecting on how he sort of nailed it from a technology point of view: this book was written in 1992 and predicted the metaverse, facebook, mobile phones, instagram, facetime, apple watch, hoverboards, etc. As for the corporate ownership of America, I guess it depends where you fall on the political spectrum, but from my point of view, he isn't all that far off, another 4 years of dump and we would probably be even closer.
A typical quote: The old central neighborhoods are packed in tight below an eternal, organic haze. In other cities, you breathe industrial contaminants, but in L.A., you breathe amino acids. The hazy sprawl is ringed and netted with glowing lines, like hot wires in a toaster. At the outlet of the canyon, it comes close enough that the light sharpens and breaks up into stars, arches, glow- ing letters. Streams of red and white corpuscles throb down highways to the fuzzy logic of intelligent traffic lights. Farther away, spreading across the basin, a million sprightly logos smear into solid arcs, like geometric points merging into curves. To either side of the franchise ghettos, the loglo dwindles across a few shallow layers of development and into a sur- rounding dimness that is burst here and there by the blaze of a security spotlight in someone's backyard.
I thought this one was also great: "He wants to be Ozymandias, King of Kings. Look, it's simple: Once he converts you to his religion, he can control you with me. And he can convert millions of people to his religion because it spreads like a fucking virus--people have no resistance to it because no one is used to thinking about religion,people aren't rational enough to argue about this kind of thing, Basically, anyone who reads the National Enquirer or watches pro wrestling on TV is easy to convert. And with Snow Crash as a promoter, it's even easier to get converts.
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