2006-08-31
Bolo!
Author: David Weber
David Weber picks up the torch of Keith Laumer's Bolo universe with this collection of a short novel, a short story, two novellas, and a technical appendix. The stories are presented in chronological order from the era of the Mark XXV Bolo (the first permanently sentient models) to after the Last War.
I'm in catch-up mode again, and these were my first Bolo stories, so I won't say all that much. This is recommended if you like Weber, for his military style certainly comes through, or if the thought of sentient AIs integrated with thirty meter tall, multi-thousand ton tanks capable of (and sometimes seen) flattening entire planets sounds totally cool. I would have to read a few older books to know if Bolo! is a good starting point, but it works for me.
David Weber picks up the torch of Keith Laumer's Bolo universe with this collection of a short novel, a short story, two novellas, and a technical appendix. The stories are presented in chronological order from the era of the Mark XXV Bolo (the first permanently sentient models) to after the Last War.
I'm in catch-up mode again, and these were my first Bolo stories, so I won't say all that much. This is recommended if you like Weber, for his military style certainly comes through, or if the thought of sentient AIs integrated with thirty meter tall, multi-thousand ton tanks capable of (and sometimes seen) flattening entire planets sounds totally cool. I would have to read a few older books to know if Bolo! is a good starting point, but it works for me.
Hope
Author: Mark Clapham
EDA-53 w/Eigth Doctor, Fitz, Anji
I'm behind and catching up again ... this was a pretty good EDA, set in the far future on a world where pollution is incredibly out of control. The TARDIS is lost in a toxic sea, and the only way to get it back is to make a deal with the local businessman/warlord/de facto dictator. But he's willing to make more than one deal at a time, and what can you give a man who nearly rules his world?
After being completely skipped in EDA-52, the effects of what happened to the Doctor begin to enter the picture in this book. It's annoying when the nature of serial publishing shines through so obviously. Part of the book deals with that subject, but more of it is about Anji, who for plot purposes has Dave on her mind a lot more than usual. Fitz plays the cool straight man on this stage, where I'm always happiest to see him. As an Anji novel, Hope misses the mark, pushing her too far out of character for the convenience of the plot. As a Doctor novel, it's maddeningly unfocused -- we learn a bit about the Doctor's new physical limits, but it's not a main topic, and at the rate things are going I have to wonder if everything since The Ancestor Cell is ever going to go somewhere or if it was one-time shot to knock the series off in a different direction. Despite not being a classic, Hope is a fairly good novel that I read quickly.
EDA-53 w/Eigth Doctor, Fitz, Anji
I'm behind and catching up again ... this was a pretty good EDA, set in the far future on a world where pollution is incredibly out of control. The TARDIS is lost in a toxic sea, and the only way to get it back is to make a deal with the local businessman/warlord/de facto dictator. But he's willing to make more than one deal at a time, and what can you give a man who nearly rules his world?
After being completely skipped in EDA-52, the effects of what happened to the Doctor begin to enter the picture in this book. It's annoying when the nature of serial publishing shines through so obviously. Part of the book deals with that subject, but more of it is about Anji, who for plot purposes has Dave on her mind a lot more than usual. Fitz plays the cool straight man on this stage, where I'm always happiest to see him. As an Anji novel, Hope misses the mark, pushing her too far out of character for the convenience of the plot. As a Doctor novel, it's maddeningly unfocused -- we learn a bit about the Doctor's new physical limits, but it's not a main topic, and at the rate things are going I have to wonder if everything since The Ancestor Cell is ever going to go somewhere or if it was one-time shot to knock the series off in a different direction. Despite not being a classic, Hope is a fairly good novel that I read quickly.
2006-08-20
Mad Dogs and Englishmen
Author: Paul Magrs
EDA-52 w/Eigth Doctor, Fitz, Anji
How can you not want to dive into a book with a hot pink cover featuring a poodle with a cigarrette and a gun? The gold lettering proclaims that this is the 100th BBC Doctor Who novel. With a cover like this a book is going to get some attention. Fortunately the story is worth it.
There's time travel all over the place here, and the plot basically revolves around a paradox created by a man that gains the ability to manipulate his own timeline, becomes convinced to take sides in a brewing revolution, and changes history to do it. To confront the problem, the majority of the book has the Doctor drop off Fitz in 1960 and Anji in 1978 while he himself goes to 1942. Anomalies appear everywhere, all leading up to the TV broadcast of a movie done a certain way which could incite a coup when the transmission is received on a far away planet. A simple time travel story, right?
Really, everything is well explained and this is a very understandable story. I found it to have the perfect level of complexity -- neither brushing off the consequences of each asynchronous action nor overwhelming the reader and letting the author do anything in the end. Better yet, the author takes his poodle civilisation seriously, but not so much so that he can't leave a few jokes in to highlight the inherent silliness of the premise. This is wonderful Doctor Who that I tore through in a couple days. This one is highly recommended as an introduction to what the series is all about. No previous experience is required to get everything out of this one. You'd miss a couple in-jokes, but they're non-essential. Just look for the bright pink spine in your bookseller's Doctor Who section.
EDA-52 w/Eigth Doctor, Fitz, Anji
How can you not want to dive into a book with a hot pink cover featuring a poodle with a cigarrette and a gun? The gold lettering proclaims that this is the 100th BBC Doctor Who novel. With a cover like this a book is going to get some attention. Fortunately the story is worth it.
There's time travel all over the place here, and the plot basically revolves around a paradox created by a man that gains the ability to manipulate his own timeline, becomes convinced to take sides in a brewing revolution, and changes history to do it. To confront the problem, the majority of the book has the Doctor drop off Fitz in 1960 and Anji in 1978 while he himself goes to 1942. Anomalies appear everywhere, all leading up to the TV broadcast of a movie done a certain way which could incite a coup when the transmission is received on a far away planet. A simple time travel story, right?
Really, everything is well explained and this is a very understandable story. I found it to have the perfect level of complexity -- neither brushing off the consequences of each asynchronous action nor overwhelming the reader and letting the author do anything in the end. Better yet, the author takes his poodle civilisation seriously, but not so much so that he can't leave a few jokes in to highlight the inherent silliness of the premise. This is wonderful Doctor Who that I tore through in a couple days. This one is highly recommended as an introduction to what the series is all about. No previous experience is required to get everything out of this one. You'd miss a couple in-jokes, but they're non-essential. Just look for the bright pink spine in your bookseller's Doctor Who section.
2006-08-17
Database Nation
Author: Simson Garfinkel
I'd previously read a portion of this book, but this was the first time going straight through. Database Nation is an explanation of the privacy consequences of advancing technology. It's meant as a primer for those who get interested in the subject and wonder how bad it really is out there. It's not really anything new for libertarians who monitor this sort of thing every day. As such, it's recommended to people who don't think it sounds all that great -- they're the ones that need to read it.
I'd previously read a portion of this book, but this was the first time going straight through. Database Nation is an explanation of the privacy consequences of advancing technology. It's meant as a primer for those who get interested in the subject and wonder how bad it really is out there. It's not really anything new for libertarians who monitor this sort of thing every day. As such, it's recommended to people who don't think it sounds all that great -- they're the ones that need to read it.
2006-08-14
The Shadow Within
Author: Jeanne Cavelos
This novel covers the events in the Babylon 5 universe from November 2256 to January 2257. Anna Sheridan and the rest of an archealogical team take the Icarus to Alpha Omega 3 to investigate the find of the century, which everyone from Earthforce to Psi-Corps is far too interested in. John Sheridan takes command of the Agamemnon and has to overcome a dispirited crew to stop a terrorist plot. While they were supposed to be spending a few weeks together for their anniversary, these obligations manage to keep them apart. Will love abide this border?
The good news is that these stories are told fairly well and, in the case of the Icarus, fill in part of the great B5 story that didn't make it on the air. My edition of this book has "a thrilling prequel to The Passing of the Techno-Mages" printed on the cover, but The Shadow Within was actually published in 1997 in the middle of the television show's run, and relatively soon after the story of the Icarus became the subject of intense curiosity. (Passing is the same author's excellent trilogy that steps outside the main line of the B5 story to take an in-depth look at some fascinating supporting characters. Its success was the reason why the reprint edition of tSW I own exists.)
The bad news is that the two stories are only related by the fact that their main characters are married. Basically Anna's story is novella length, and the unrelated short story of the Agamemnon is mixed in to bring the volume up to 260 pages. I've gotten used to much longer works recently, and this one flew by in two days of effortless reading. I'm not saying the stories should have been padded -- telling the story and then stopping is a good thing -- but be warned about the amount of entertainment between the covers.
The endings contribute to the feeling that a person didn't just finish a novel. The reader is expected to know what happens after the last page, so the abrupt cutoff is suitable. There's no need to overlap with what's already been covered on the air. Cover additions aside, The Passing of the Techno-Mages trilogy is irrelevant (but highly recommended anyway) to this book, but seeing the first three seasons of Babylon 5 is a realistic prerequisite. This is a novel for fans of the series, not for arbitrary readers.
This novel covers the events in the Babylon 5 universe from November 2256 to January 2257. Anna Sheridan and the rest of an archealogical team take the Icarus to Alpha Omega 3 to investigate the find of the century, which everyone from Earthforce to Psi-Corps is far too interested in. John Sheridan takes command of the Agamemnon and has to overcome a dispirited crew to stop a terrorist plot. While they were supposed to be spending a few weeks together for their anniversary, these obligations manage to keep them apart. Will love abide this border?
The good news is that these stories are told fairly well and, in the case of the Icarus, fill in part of the great B5 story that didn't make it on the air. My edition of this book has "a thrilling prequel to The Passing of the Techno-Mages" printed on the cover, but The Shadow Within was actually published in 1997 in the middle of the television show's run, and relatively soon after the story of the Icarus became the subject of intense curiosity. (Passing is the same author's excellent trilogy that steps outside the main line of the B5 story to take an in-depth look at some fascinating supporting characters. Its success was the reason why the reprint edition of tSW I own exists.)
The bad news is that the two stories are only related by the fact that their main characters are married. Basically Anna's story is novella length, and the unrelated short story of the Agamemnon is mixed in to bring the volume up to 260 pages. I've gotten used to much longer works recently, and this one flew by in two days of effortless reading. I'm not saying the stories should have been padded -- telling the story and then stopping is a good thing -- but be warned about the amount of entertainment between the covers.
The endings contribute to the feeling that a person didn't just finish a novel. The reader is expected to know what happens after the last page, so the abrupt cutoff is suitable. There's no need to overlap with what's already been covered on the air. Cover additions aside, The Passing of the Techno-Mages trilogy is irrelevant (but highly recommended anyway) to this book, but seeing the first three seasons of Babylon 5 is a realistic prerequisite. This is a novel for fans of the series, not for arbitrary readers.
2006-08-11
The Trigger
Author: Arthur C. Clarke and Micheal Kube-McDowell
I'm pretty sure the premise has been done before. What if we could make guns disappear? Instantaneously make for no more gun violence, and no more large-scale war? What would happen? The Trigger takes this thought, wraps it up in unobtrusive psuedo-science, and does a fair job of treating the topic seriously.
The authors pull off what is sadly a relatively uncommon accomplishment when they present multiple viewpoints fairly. There are reasonable arguments to be made about whether the Trigger device is good or bad for the world, and both liberal and conservative positions are presented with dignity. Extremists can be found on both ends, and it's easy to identify which characters are open-minded and which represent rare positions. Of course a work of fiction needs some tension, so the ultra-conservatives and ultra-liberals are given a little more air time than they deserve, but the authors maintain a decent perspective. I like finishing a book like this without feeling like all I learned was how the author votes.
I seem to spend a lot of time complaining about endings, so it was good to read a book with a good one. I guess some people would cry dues ex machina but I don't. I thought the resolution of the main story was fair, and the epilogue-like final chapter was a neat way to finish up with some ambiguity. The ending is recommended for any writers I can influence, and The Trigger in its entirety is recommended to anyone that can pick it up.
I'm pretty sure the premise has been done before. What if we could make guns disappear? Instantaneously make for no more gun violence, and no more large-scale war? What would happen? The Trigger takes this thought, wraps it up in unobtrusive psuedo-science, and does a fair job of treating the topic seriously.
The authors pull off what is sadly a relatively uncommon accomplishment when they present multiple viewpoints fairly. There are reasonable arguments to be made about whether the Trigger device is good or bad for the world, and both liberal and conservative positions are presented with dignity. Extremists can be found on both ends, and it's easy to identify which characters are open-minded and which represent rare positions. Of course a work of fiction needs some tension, so the ultra-conservatives and ultra-liberals are given a little more air time than they deserve, but the authors maintain a decent perspective. I like finishing a book like this without feeling like all I learned was how the author votes.
I seem to spend a lot of time complaining about endings, so it was good to read a book with a good one. I guess some people would cry dues ex machina but I don't. I thought the resolution of the main story was fair, and the epilogue-like final chapter was a neat way to finish up with some ambiguity. The ending is recommended for any writers I can influence, and The Trigger in its entirety is recommended to anyone that can pick it up.
2006-08-06
In Fury Born
Author: David Weber
This book is set in the mid-thirtieth century, well before the Honor Harrington series and offshoots. I'm not certain if this universe is exactly the same or not -- most of the physics is consistent except that everyone has FTL communication. I'd have to re-read the mini-history/tech bible to see if that fits with the lack of such capability in Honor's time. Also, there are aliens in this universe, the lack of which has always been rather disturbing in the farther future books. If this isn't meant to be consistent then I honestly applaud Weber for not falling victim to the disease of old science-fiction writers: the need to tie everything they write together into one coherent universe. At least it hasn't happened yet. He's still young.
The first half of the story traces Alicia DeVries's military career from the time she enters the Marines through her rise to the ultra-exclusive Imperial Cadre, the Terran Emporer's elite, personal force. Just a couple battles are given 100 pages each, and the description of the hardware is complete to the level of absurdity that Weber's fans expect. At the close of the first half there are twin climaxes, which tear Alicia away from the path her career was taking and set up the intense second half of the novel.
Without giving too much away I can say that the novel is about vengeance and justice. It also adds a supernatural element to pure science fiction. This isn't terrible, although it is unexpected. This element is handled in an incredulous fashion, and I feel the overall story remains science fiction despite introducing something that is unexplained. I can't discuss the ending, because my biases are probably clear, so to say I like or don't like it would give away the game either way.
Overall I recommend this book to existing fans of the author, but not as an introduction to his work. (Try On Basilisk Station or Mutineer's Moon, both downloadable from baen.com.)
Update: I just learned that this new book is a prequel to a novel Weber first published long ago, Path of the Fury. Maybe it explains some things left unsaid in that early work. Perhaps I'll have to try getting that one too.
Knowing that, it sort of gives away the ending to In Fury Born, so I'll come out and say it: the heroes live, and I didn't like it. I thought this book would have been a great standalone work, with closure, if they had died at the end, and that the last-second twist to avoid that fate was a cheap cop out. Obviously they had to live, because the sequel was published fourteen years ago, but the ending still detracts from IFB itself.
This book is set in the mid-thirtieth century, well before the Honor Harrington series and offshoots. I'm not certain if this universe is exactly the same or not -- most of the physics is consistent except that everyone has FTL communication. I'd have to re-read the mini-history/tech bible to see if that fits with the lack of such capability in Honor's time. Also, there are aliens in this universe, the lack of which has always been rather disturbing in the farther future books. If this isn't meant to be consistent then I honestly applaud Weber for not falling victim to the disease of old science-fiction writers: the need to tie everything they write together into one coherent universe. At least it hasn't happened yet. He's still young.
The first half of the story traces Alicia DeVries's military career from the time she enters the Marines through her rise to the ultra-exclusive Imperial Cadre, the Terran Emporer's elite, personal force. Just a couple battles are given 100 pages each, and the description of the hardware is complete to the level of absurdity that Weber's fans expect. At the close of the first half there are twin climaxes, which tear Alicia away from the path her career was taking and set up the intense second half of the novel.
Without giving too much away I can say that the novel is about vengeance and justice. It also adds a supernatural element to pure science fiction. This isn't terrible, although it is unexpected. This element is handled in an incredulous fashion, and I feel the overall story remains science fiction despite introducing something that is unexplained. I can't discuss the ending, because my biases are probably clear, so to say I like or don't like it would give away the game either way.
Overall I recommend this book to existing fans of the author, but not as an introduction to his work. (Try On Basilisk Station or Mutineer's Moon, both downloadable from baen.com.)
Update: I just learned that this new book is a prequel to a novel Weber first published long ago, Path of the Fury. Maybe it explains some things left unsaid in that early work. Perhaps I'll have to try getting that one too.
Knowing that, it sort of gives away the ending to In Fury Born, so I'll come out and say it: the heroes live, and I didn't like it. I thought this book would have been a great standalone work, with closure, if they had died at the end, and that the last-second twist to avoid that fate was a cheap cop out. Obviously they had to live, because the sequel was published fourteen years ago, but the ending still detracts from IFB itself.
The Salmon of Doubt
Author: Douglas Adams
Following Adams's premature death, the announcement that a work in progress on his hard drive would be published led to confusing media reports. Was it a nearly complete sixth Hitchhiker novel? Was it a third Dirk Gently? Was it going to be finished, to create a complete work? I can now tell you what is between the covers:
I found this more satisfying than I expected. I thought the novel was a bigger part of the book, but apparently there wasn't that much material done. Think of this as a collection of columns and assorted short-form material, with a bonus of one quarter of a novel, and you can decide whether it sounds readable.
Having the Dirk Gently story end early really isn't that big a deal -- didn't all of Adams's stories meander around a lot and only vaguely have a plot? It's not as if the ending would really explain that much. The plot is just a scaffolding for jokes. Would you rather have experienced the first third of HHGttG than none at all? I would, so I recommend this book to all fans of the author. It's not a casual or introductory book, but a good final volume in the Douglas Adams bibliography.
Following Adams's premature death, the announcement that a work in progress on his hard drive would be published led to confusing media reports. Was it a nearly complete sixth Hitchhiker novel? Was it a third Dirk Gently? Was it going to be finished, to create a complete work? I can now tell you what is between the covers:
- Multiple introductions covering 30 pages
- 200 pages of assorted speeches, essays, columns, and other various output from Adams's career. This is arranged in three sections.
- 82 pages of a Dirk Gently novel
- A final interview and epilogue
I found this more satisfying than I expected. I thought the novel was a bigger part of the book, but apparently there wasn't that much material done. Think of this as a collection of columns and assorted short-form material, with a bonus of one quarter of a novel, and you can decide whether it sounds readable.
Having the Dirk Gently story end early really isn't that big a deal -- didn't all of Adams's stories meander around a lot and only vaguely have a plot? It's not as if the ending would really explain that much. The plot is just a scaffolding for jokes. Would you rather have experienced the first third of HHGttG than none at all? I would, so I recommend this book to all fans of the author. It's not a casual or introductory book, but a good final volume in the Douglas Adams bibliography.
