A few of the books i've read recently, either as bedtime fare or subject of study.
If you have any comments or suggestions, please feel free to mail me.

Feersum Endjinn - Iain M. Banks

Brilliant. But the parts written by Bascule were hard to read. Wish I'd noticed the appendix sooner. A stunning vision of a future earth, and a thrilling, complex tale involving a new look at artificial worlds.
9/10 September 2003

Red Mars - Kim Stanley Robinson

While an interesting hard-SF account of Mars colonization, I found I really disliked Robinson's characters, his dialogue, and especially the political themes. I didn't feel they were especially believeable, and attempts to create more human characters just seemed contrived. I don't think I'll bother with the sequels: the storyline just isn't appealing.
4/10 August 2003

The Player of Games - Iain M. Banks

Another great novel set in the Culture universe, this time about a professional game-player who is requested (or more accurately, manipulated) by the Contact section into going to a distant world to help establish relations with a people whose entire society is built around a highly complex game. This more brutal, hierarchical society allows Banks to explore the differences between some of the worst aspects of our own political realities, and his idealized utopia of the Culture. While a little slower paced than some of the other Culture novels, it grabbed my attention completely. Jernau Gurgeh, the master game player, may not be the most sympathetic protagonist; reluctantly drawn into almost everything that happens, but when faced with the decision to keep playing the game, regardless of the potential consequences for himself, and possibly catastrophic for the Empire of Azad, we understand fully what has compelled him to his course of action.
10/10 June 2003

Consider Phlebas - Iain M. Banks

Usually, I think an author's early novels are a little rough compared to their later works. Not in the case of Consider Phlebas, the first of Banks' SF novels about the Culture. Phlebas is a tense action-thriller that follows the anti-hero Changer, Bora Horza Gobuchul, acting as a mercenary in the Idiran war against the Culture. Pragmatic and almost amoral, Horza is tossed from one nearly disasterous event to the next as he attempts to track down a Culture Mind that has hidden itself in tunnels deep below the surface of a planet protected by a neutral Dra'Azon entity. Horza's misadventures with the motley crew of a privateer vessel let us see glimpses into Culture life from the outside, and lends itself to some philosophical analysis of the Culture. The novel provides a great deal of explanation as to what the Culture is and what drives it, that readings of the later books may benefit from. While Horza seeks this AI Mind for his Idiran employers, a Culture agent, Perosteck Balveda, seeks to recover the mind herself to prevent it from falling into enemy hands. While not necessarily likeable, Horza does make for a very human protagonist in the story, and his relationships with his nemesis Balveda, and one of the crewmembers of the Free Company he has joined give his character depth and show that there's more to this story than action; which there's certainly a lot of. Between detailed descriptions of Culture technology, a plot filled with urgency due to the ongoing war, and intensely written suspense, Banks has crafted a top-notch SF novel.
10/10 June 2003

Guns, Germs, and Steel - Jared Diamond

By far one of the best books on history I've ever read. Diamond carefully and thoroughly examines the geographic and biological factors that lead to differentiation between human civilizations: why Europeans and east Asians ended up with advanced weapons and technology, and why other cultures like the Polynesians, native Americans, and African tribespeople seemed to remain almost in the stone age even to this century. I greatly appreciated Diamond's very simple writing style that manages to lead the reader to fairly complex conclusions without obscuring or distracting from his subject. He also makes a powerful case for taking a more scientific approach to historical study; a more rigorous and rational approach can give insights that the traditional academic/scholarly approach often seems unable to. Diamond makes no overt judgements about the cultures and civilizations he examines, and manages to dismiss racist beliefs, showing how the current state of world affairs is based on geographic happenstance, rather than any real innate qualities. I cannot recommend this book highly enough to provide a foundation of understanding for how the world came to be as it is today.
10/10 May 2003

Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - J. R. R. Tolkien

An enthralling conclusion to the Rings epic. I found the destruction of the ring somewhat anti-climatic, the quest succeeding almost despite Frodo, rather than because of him. However, one of the most enjoyable events in the trilogy was the Scouring of the Shire; the previously safe and green shire has been transformed by the evil that touched the rest of Middle Earth. The four Hobbits however are now well-capable of liberating their friends and families from Wormtongue and Saruman. The battle for Minas Tirith and the escape from Morgul and journey to Doom are both exciting and catch the epic sense that defines the Rings trilogy. The appendices shed a great deal of light on the historical background of the trilogy and the characters; showing the degree of thought Tolkien put into his opus.
9/10 February 2003

Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - J. R. R. Tolkien

Having set up the background and the reason for the Quest in Fellowship of the Ring, as well as the breaking of the Fellowship, Tolkien's second volume in the series launches into a much more exciting part of the story. First we follow Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli as they pursue the orcs that have abducted Pippin and Merry, then we learn about Pippin and Merry's experiences from their own view. The Ents are interesting and compelling, and it's great to finally understand the origin of that particular aspect of modern fantasy. Then a series of battles: Helm's Deep, and Orthanc, where Saruman rather hillariously is trapped in his tower with his fortifications all around destroyed. Finally, they set off towards Gondor to save Minas Tirith. It's not until halfway through the book that we jump back in time and learn what has been happening to Frodo and Sam; a writing technique I'm definitely not fond of. While Tolkien's prose is more accessible in this book, the disjointed plot is a bit odd. Regardless, the difficulty and danger of the path these two little hobbits face is well described; and their alliance with Gollum is a surprising but interesting twist. In the end Sam seems to grow into a much more important character, and comes to Frodo's aid against the spideress Shelob; but loses Frodo despite his best intentions. The future of the West is definitely hanging by a thread, and the book leaves one with uncertainty and dread of what the future may hold. A much better sense of suspense and epic heroism in this than in the first volume.
8/10 December 2002

Foundation's Fear - Gregory Benford

Now this is how a continuation of a classic series in science fiction should be done! This is an absolutely fantastic followup to Asimov's Foundation series, that explores the development of Psychohistory in greater depth seen previously, and lets us get to know Hari Seldon on a much more personal level. The novel has a hard SF flavor, exploring the theoretical underpinning of Psychohistory, the history of the Empire, and the role of computer networks and AIs in a universe that forbids self-aware robots and computer-minds. It touches on the mental similarities between primates and humans, and how historical trends can be expressions of very simple human drives. The characters of Voltaire and Joan of Arc are engaging, and allow Benford to explore modern ideas in psychology, which also must influence how a realistic theory of Psychohistory would have to look. While not perfect, it was a strong and highly enjoyable novel, that definitely lived up to Asimov's legacy.
9/10 October 2002

Sourcery - Terry Pratchett

Going back to one of the earlier books in the Discworld series (#5), I was given a Rincewind that turned out to be far more interesting than he was in later books. Sure, he's running away a lot, but he's got a conscience, and actually does help save the world. The story of wizards running amuck is fascinating, and some of the bit players such as Conina the Barbarian are hilarious. A great read.
9/10 September 2002

Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring - J. R. R. Tolkien

This epic story is of course the starting point for the genre of modern fantasy. The plot unfolds well and the world of Middle Earth is vividly described. However, the writing does show its age, and I have to admit I did find it meandering, with somewhat shallow characters. I thought that the movie took the best parts of the novel, left out the worst (eg. Tom Bombadil, who I found unbelievably silly) and rendered the environments accurately.
8/10 August 2002

Douglas Adams' Starship Titanic - Terry Jones

Very silly. Nowhere near as amusing as Adams' own writing. A mediocre novelization of a video game.
5/10 July 2002

Excession - Iain M. Banks

Another fantastic Culture novel! This time, a complex look at a political conspiracy among the A.I. Minds that effectively run the society, and the Culture's reaction to an object far in advance of their own technology: the Excession. Banks dives deep into the personalities and motivations that make up the ship-minds, and how despite the scope of their intellects, the details of the lives of mere humans are still important to them. I have to admit I don't like Banks' pseudo-scientific physics (the "energy grid"), but I still cannot hesitate giving this book a high rating. I found it necessary to take notes to keep the players straight, but appreciate Banks' aiming towards a thinking audience.
10/10 June 2002

Colony Fleet - Susan R. Matthews

An absolute gem of a novel! A young engineer ("Jneer") in a long-haul colonization fleet finds herself disgraced, and tumbles down the ranks of the rigidly stratified society that has evolved in the centuries since the ships left Earth. She finds a new life among the Mechs, and faces new challenges when facing members of her former caste. While the story contains a few improbable plot elements, the characters are well written, and Matthews does a great job of breathing life into a society run by a technical and bureaucratic elite.
9/10 June 2002

The Cassandra Complex - Brian Stableford

A very intelligently written hard-sf bioterror thriller, near-future England. In an age of smart clothing and bioengineered viral warfare, an aging police forensic scientist must unravel the motivations behind the destruction of a university lab, and the abduction of her closest collegue from the university. The trail leads a winding path through longevity research, overpopulation, and gender-based weapons. The prose is very dense in places, and makes some cultural assumptions that might leave non-Brits bewildered, but overall good story well told.
8/10 May 2002

Jupiter - Ben Bova

OK, I know to expect trashy SF from Ben Bova. I just wasn't expecting THIS trashy. I've enjoyed some of his previous books, but this was really bad. Behold Grant Archer, Wonder-Nerd, as he is involuntarily launched to Jupiter, away from his lovely new wife, and asked to become a spy for the fundamentalist New Morality. Watch as he, a complete newcomer to the station Gold, immediately becomes everyone's confidant, learning many of the supposedly classified secrets about the station's research. Marvel as a series of unlikely mishaps propels him into a position of responsibility in a critical exploratory mission... strange that on a station with over a hundred inhabitants, the apparently all-seeing, all-knowing director couldn't have trained additional backup candidates. And gaze in awe as Grant Archer, Wonder-Nerd, miraculously saves the lives of his crew single-handedly, and befriends the mysterious Leviathan creature, making him a hero on the station and on Earth.
This isn't hard SF, despite the attempt to work in some factual information, and even reasonable speculation about Jupiter's atmosphere; rather, it's unapologetic space opera with trite stereotypical characters, an implausible story, and a predictable storyline. Sorry, this review contained spoilers; no big deal though, you're not missing much by skipping the book.
5/10 May 2002

Manifold: Space - Stephen Baxter

Hard SF with an far-reaching, epic storyline, that couches a fairly cogent theory on the Fermi Paradox. Why, if life can arise spontaneously, and we live in such a vast galaxy, aren't the skies full of the chatter of aliens? Baxter posits two main reasons: any intelligent species that starts colonizing space is going to be aggressive and ruthless in its exploitation of resources whereever it can find them. Its population will keep increasing exponentially until it is spreading outward at a rate approaching lightspeed, until the population consumes all available resources and it collapses. (I'm not sure I agree with this possibility; separate factions should easily be able to weather a collapse and keep moving on to virgin star systems). The other reason is violent super novas occuring regularly that eradicate an area for thousands of lightyears of any advanced life forms... biological, or technological. Into this he weaves the story of stubborn, curious Reid Malenfant (which confused me at first; this was the main character of Manifold: Time; but they're essentially the same character in parallel universes) and other peripheral characters who are trying to save the human race from incursions by other species, and find an answer to the problem of "galactic reboot". Somehow it's to be found in the human spirit of individuality and self-identity. Hrm. This was a good novel, and obviously quite a lot of thought went into it, but it wasn't really an enjoyable novel. I found the writing dense and yet disjointed, and the characters to be simplistic archetypes.
8/10 April 2002

Ship of Fools - Richard Paul Russo

A missionary ship that has lost contact with human civilization comes across a settlement whose inhabitants have been gruesomely tortured and exterminated. Following a signal, they find a mysterious alien ship that seems at once lifeless and abandoned, yet intent on killing them. An intelligently written and suspenseful sf novel that also features a cogent theogical underpinning, which however doesn't always fit smoothly into the plot. The ending left me wanting to know more about this deadly alien craft, and the motivations behind its builders. Or is it all just allegory I'm missing?
7/10 March 2002

The Truth - Terry Pratchett

Another very enjoyable Discworld novel. I might be getting a little tired of the series, as I just didn't find it quite as amusing as some others, but it nonetheless presented an interesting story which explores the impact of printing & journalism on the city of Ankh-Morpork. Old friends like Vimes and the rest of the Watch, the wizards of Unseen University, Death, and the usual odd critters all appear.
9/10 March 2002

Limit of Vision - Linda Nagata

I was very excited to finally get my hands on this recent release by Nagata. It's a bit of a departure from her other novels, set on near-future Earth, it is the account of engineered lifeforms that are so small they are at the limit of vision, LOVs, which can be used as symbiotes to enhance human thinking and emotions, and appear to be developing self-concious colonies of their own. Facing destruction at the hands of a government agency trying to prevent an outbreak of dangeous biotech, an orbital LOV experiment crashes in south-east Asia. Virgil Copeland, one of the LOVs creators, freelance reporter Ela Suvanatat, and several orphaned children who have formed their own fringe society come together to preserve the LOVs and learn what they offer, and face off against a world afraid of those same possibilities. Nagata's characters were much more believable in this novel, and presented some ideas that I found new to the nanotech genre.
8/10 March 2002

Cosmonaut Keep - Ken MacLeod

The first in a triology about a distant planet sheltering a remnant of humanity, trying to reestabish its link to the stars. The novel covers a dual plot line, one on Earth, where the discovery of an alien species inhabiting the Oort cloud provides a rogue scientific outpost with the means to build an interstellar craft; and the other on the planet the eventually land on, with their descendants trying to rebuild their technological society with little help from the other species they encounter. While MacLeod actually wrote more interesting characters in this book than the others of his I've read, I consistently find his political tangents uninteresting and uninformative, the plot seems stilted, and overall I found most of the story to be pretty implausible.
6/10 February 2002

Marrow - Robert Reed

An immense starship of unknown origin, larger than a planet, is found drifting through space; humans colonize it and turn it into a grand cruise touring the galaxy. Yet it holds secrets that remain undiscovered by its near-immortal crew for thousands of years; finally an exploration team finds hidden in the core of the Ship a planet within a planet. Trapped below, they are separated from the rest of the Ship for millenia; and must redevelop their own civilization. Quite an interesting story, but I was in places disappointed in the writing; and was unsatisfied with the ending.
7/10 February 2002

Ventus - Karl Shroeder

A highly original novel taking quite a new approach to the nanotech genre. A planet long ago seeded with nanotech based lifeforms has developed its own ecosystem that barely tolerates humans; but potentially offers a rogue AI a new seat of power. A humble stoneworker's apprentice finds himself caught up in the struggle to control the planet's self-governing systems, and must help decide who controls Ventus, or whether it controls itself. Very well written, full of fantastic ideas; high caliber hard SF.
9/10 January 2002

Mars Crossing - Geoffrey A. Landis

A decent hard-sf account of a disasterous Mars landing, which examines many of the potential technical and environmental hazards future exploration missions may face. While Landis works for NASA and manages to work in a great deal of solid information and speculative ideas about Mars and the technology that would be used, he also does well at developing his characters and revealing how success or failure depend critically on the interaction and personal strengths of the members of the exploration team.
8/10 December 2001

Against a Dark Background - Iain M. Banks

I was warned beforehand that this is a dark novel... well that only begins to describe it. As usual, Banks creates utterly convincing characters, and weaves them into a world that is twisted and violent, a small system of planets so far distant from the rest of the galaxy that it has turned all its energies inwards, yielding a multi-millennia history of bureaucratic oppression and petty conflicts. We are led through this dangerous society by the Lady Sharrow, an aristocrat who's own family is itself filled with a history of tragedy, who makes her living by tracking down rare and valuable objects, a rather glamorous pursuit. Nanotech, artificial intelligences, conflicting factions, and strange religious orders add up to a richly fleshed setting for an adventure tale that is constantly both gripping and surprising.
9/10 December 2001

The Bridge - Iain Banks

I've really enjoyed Banks' SF writing, so I decided to give his regular fiction a shot. Well, this is definitely one of the most original books I've read; and reveals the same impressive imagination and skill at fleshing out his characters as his SF books. The book is about a metaphor, a dreamworld for a man in a coma; and layers more metaphor on top of that. I'm sure I missed a few of the subtleties in the novel; but enjoyed it nonetheless. At times fanciful and at others terrifying, in the end it's a very human story.
8/10 December 2001

Dune: House Harkonen - Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson

Another complete disappointment. They've taken Frank Herbert's original world of Dune, which was a well-regarded, epic work of fiction, and distilled it down to pulp sci-fi plot devices, shallow characterizations, and simplistic writing. It was plodding, predictable, and utterly fails to carry the same themes of political intrigue, religious manipulation, and destiny the originals had. It also appears not only to violate some of the canon of the original, but also violates the mystique it had; references to actual Earth history had been rare, and it was left open to what extent the galactic civilization in the Dune era remembered their roots. House Harkonen makes it seem as if it were common knowledge. In my estimation, this is not a worthy completion of or complement to the original six Dune books; but rather, merely a capitalization on their name.
4/10 November 2001

November 29, 2001: Well, I've neglected putting up reviews for the books I've read in the last several months, so I'll list as many as I can now:

The Sky Road - Ken MacLeod

Has lots of things I like: nanotech, AIs, weird politics... but I found it uncompelling and directionless. 6/10

Look to Windward - Iain M. Banks

Absolutely brilliant. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of his Culture novels. 10/10

Crescent City Rhapsody - Kathleen Ann Goonan

I'm not quite convinced that attempting to apply jazz music to novel writing actually works. Nonetheless, a fairly good story about a country torn apart by biotech. 8/10

Only Forward - Michael Smith

Interesting story, very original. Not sure I liked the ending. 8/10

Biting the Sun - Tanith Lee

Without exaggeration, one of the best books I have ever read. I was utterly enthralled by this inspiring, enchanting story of a young woman trapped in a perfectly utopian world where there is no death, everyone is beautiful, and there is nothing to do but have fun and pleasure; so she chooses exile in the harsh desert outside. Beautifully written, and timeless in its themes. It was written in the 1970s yet perfectly describes the youth of today. 10/10

Several from Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, including The Fifth Elephant, The Last Continent, and Jingo.

All are both hilariously written, as well as present poignant and telling satire. I highly recommend reading any from the series. About the only fantasy novels I've really been able to enjoy; surely the most unpretentious fantasy author there is! 10/10

Complete Idiot's Guide to Simple Living - Georgene Lockwood

Like most Idiots or Dummies books, it's well organized, clearly written, split into easily digestible chunks, and includes plenty of little tips & suggestions beside the main text to provide further food for thought. The book begins with an overview of the philosophy behind simplicity, and then provides an excellent introduction in some of the changes that a newcomer can make to their life. There is a great deal, however, that might help to inspire those who've been living the simple life for some time, or provide good ideas to help us along the way.

The sections on finance make frequent reference to Your Money or Your Life, and act as an excellent primer to basic debt reduction, thriftiness and conscientious investing. Further on are some well written chapters on the community, the political impact of simplicity, and the environmental aspect.

The text is encouraging, never admonishing, reasonable, and doesn't confine itself to any particular political or religious view. Overall, I think this would be one of the best introductions to give a friend who is interested in gearing down, as well as a good read for anyone already doing so.
10/10 July 2001

Distress - Greg Egan

An interesting earlier work by Egan. I could see him exploring several ideas and branches of science and philosophy that really come together in later novels, but here they're a little rough. The island of Stateless is fascinating, and reveals the author's fascination with bioengineering, and some of the ideas on cosmology were certainly great to read. However, I'm afraid I really couldn't buy into the idea central to the plot, Anthrocosmology, which struck me as being essentially egoistic and anthropocentric; while later books tend more towards a purely materialistic philosophy. The main character's own experiences come to terms with his own mortality are interesting, but similar ideas are treated better in later novels such as Permutation City, and in some of his short stories.
8/10 March 2001

Vast - Linda Nagata

I actually read this one quite a while ago, and missed writing a review. This book was really my first foray into the nanotech sub-genre, and it left quite an impression on me. Vast challenges conceptions of what it means to be human, both physically, and mentally; challenges our ideas of what technology, or a spaceship is and it's separation from us, and the biological world, and presents us with a universe much stranger, and much more dangerous than we may have previously imagined. Human entities flow in and out of existence, from being stored in memory to having their bodies recreated as necessary; and send cloned copies of their minds out as "ghosts" to perform certain tasks. Ships act like biological creatures spreading messages... and weapons... like spores. Nagata might have room to grow when writing her characters; she may seem somewhat cold to some. However, her story is well told, and she has some especially poignant moments. A quote I am especially fond of from this book:

"There is no place of permanence in the Universe, no golden existence, no finish line. We live on the edge of chaos, with all the turbulence that implies..."

9/10 Spring 2000

Living the Simple Life - Elaine St. James

Of the many books on downshifting and focussing on the important aspects of life that are out there, this is definitely one of the best. While the author doesn't quite embrace the frugality aspect of simple living as much as some others, she very aptly leads the reader into a simpler lifestyle through a series of very helpful tips, suggestions, and ideas. For those who've never even considered the idea of leading a simpler life, or for those who are almost there, a very well written book.
9/10 February 2001

Inversions - Iain M. Banks

A great story, set on a world where human civilization is at a pre-industrial level of technology, and Kings, Dukes, and royal courts run the nations. Two visitors, apparently (the book is slim on details of their origins) from a more advanced society, find niches in this world, and attempt to contribute as best they can. Intrigue, petty conflicts, and other typical human activities get in the way of the good they can do. A SF story light on the science, but a very engaging read.
9/10 February 2001

Diaspora - Greg Egan

The first chapter alone, "Orphanogenesis", is one of the best pieces of hard-SF I've ever read, convincingly describing the birth of a disembodied mind. Egan goes on to create an intense, incredible post-human story packed with ideas and taking on the truly "big" challenges the human race, or any group of sentient beings face: survival in a difficult universe. Diaspora tells of the efforts of the citizens of "polises", computerized cities with sentient, virtual inhabitants, seeking out a way to survive an impending galactic disaster. Egan seems to become a little too fascinated with the maths & physics, which at times threaten to overwhelm the story, But he stays close to his characters, as amorphous as they may be in their post-human form, and tells an epic story of discovery, and explores what immortality really means when you have infinite time, and infinite space.
10/10 February 2001

The Light of Other Days - Arthur C. Clarke, Stephen Baxter

Fantastic! Clarke is in his best form, and he and Baxter seem to work well together. The development of a new technology: miniature wormholes through which information can be transmitted instantly, leads to a complete social revolution. Very quickly, the technology advances to the point where it can be used to spy on people; "WormCams" become ubiquitous and privacy a forgotten concept; then the most critical discovery of all: a way to view past events through the same wormholes. Every event in history becomes revealed, leading to the destruction of myths, and a new maturity for the human race. Much more, however, than a mere technological fantasy; Clarke & Baxter manage to weave in a very human tale and realistically examine the social and political repercussions of a world without walls, and a past revealed to all.
9/10 January 2001

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