Category: Science Fiction

Book Review: Brothers in Arms by Bujold (3.5 Stars)

Brothers in Arms by Lois McMaster Bujold

Read in January 2010 as part of the omnibus edition Miles Errant.

3.5 out of 5 stars

Miles shakes the Cetagandans off the Dedarii Mercenaries’ tail and seeks sanctuary on Old Earth for repairs and recuperation. But something is rotten in London, where Miles repeatedly tries to collect the mercenary troops’ back pay and expenses. His investigation turns up a Komarran plot that threatens, you guessed it, the Barrayaran Empire at the highest levels. Believability was only stretched to the breaking point for one seemingly whimsical plot point that Miles pulled out of thin air to avoid an investigative reporter … which actually turned out to be true and bite him in the rear.

Miles managed to solve the various mysteries, save the Empire, get his mercenaries paid, get the girl, save his brother and salvage an almost enemy’s career. Too bad he missed out on touring Old Earth in all the excitement.

Book Review: Miles Mystery & Mayhem by Bujold (4 Stars)

Miles Mystery & Mayhem by Lois McMaster Bujold

4 out of 5 stars

Miles, Mystery & Mayhem is an omnibus edition containing the following three stories:

Cetaganda

Ethan of Athos

Labyrinth (see short review below)

Of the three, Cetaganda was my favorite. Ethan of Athos was a good story, but introduced a new character and re-used a minor character for a previous adventure, completely excluding Miles.

The omnibus included an informative Vorkosigan timeline.

Review of Labyrinth

I liked this Miles adventure, but not as well as all the ones that came before. Miles seemed different, not nearly as witty, and just plain off his game. The whole weird affair with Taura is just that … weird.

Book Review: Ethan of Athos by Bujold (3.5 Stars)

Ethan of Athos by Lois McMaster Bujold

3.5 out of 5 stars

Read in November 2009 as part of the Miles, Mystery & Mayhem omnibus edition.

Miles is completely absent from this Vorkosigan series installment. Elli Quinn returns, with a new face and a new mission. The story is told mostly from the point-of-view of Ethan. Again, the theme swirls around genetics and reproduction, but definitely with a twist. The flip side of the female controlled genetic finesse of Cetaganda proves to be Athos, an all male planet rapidly running out of viable ovary cultures at their Rep Centers. When the batch of new ovaries is sabotaged, Athos sends Ethos to personally select, purchase and escort the replacements.

Even though I missed Miles, Elli and Ethan managed to keep me hopping and flipping pages. Nearly all the action takes place on the Kline space station. Mystery, torture, murder, galactic genetic experiments, political intrigue bordering on genocide – just about everything you’ve come to expect from Bujold’s imagination.

A fun, fast read and a nice addition to the Vorkosigan series.

Book Review: Cetaganda by Bujold (4 Stars)

Cetaganda by Lois McMaster Bujold

3.75 out of 5 stars

Read in October 2009 as part of the omnibus edition Miles, Mystery & Mayhem

Miles and Ivan travel as diplomatic representatives of Emperor Gregor to the home world of the Cetagandan Empire for the funeral of the Empress. A ten-day trip to observe and enjoy social customs (and parties) quickly turns sour when Miles become embroiled in a mystery and suicide/murder that threatens to frame him, and by implication Barrayar, for a treasonous usurpation plot.

Miles, being Miles, convinces himself, and Ivan, that only he can save Barrayar’s honor and salvage the Cetagandan society from destruction or evolving into a more aggressive and expanding threat to Barrayar. Miles manages to unravel the tangled web of political intrigue, gender and caste mores and sidestep his own ImpSec watchdogs.

Of the five Vorkosigan Saga novels I’ve read, Cetaganda is probably my second favorite, right after Barrayar The mystery muddled me, the bioscience intrigued me and the Cetaganda society bemused me. I didn’t roll my eyes or suspend my belief at Miles antics or the situations he found himself in. I can’t say the same for Ivan, but then he’s a healthy young male besieged by breathtakingly beautiful women and succumbs to the obvious.

Cetaganda also stands alone very well. I can comfortably recommend this to anyone who loves a good mystery in a space opera setting.

Book Review: Young Miles by Bujold (4 Stars)

Young Miles (omnibus edition) by Lois McMaster Bujold

4 out of 5 stars

Read in August 2009

The Warrior’s Apprentice

3.75 stars

Read as part of the omnibus edition Young Miles

I warped through this novel in record time, finishing almost before I realized it, because it was so much fun to read. I returned to the world of Barrayar and the Vor to pickup Miles at age seventeen. And how much trouble can one 17 year old “cripple” get into in say four months time? An astonishing amount apparently.

I am grateful that I first read Cordelia’s Honor so I had the back stories and histories of some of the supporting characters and I fully understood Miles’ disabilities.

Miles makes up for his physical disabilities with intelligence, logic and grace seemingly far beyond his years. My only small quibble with the story was Miles maturity – he felt more like a 37 year old than a 17 year old.

I will refrain from a synopsis to avoid spoilers. If you love space opera, pirate-like adventure or Robin Hood-esque escapades and secret/alternate lives and identities, then you’ve come to the right novel.

The Mountains of Madness

3.75 stars

This novella was sandwiched between Warrior’s Apprentice and The Vor Game in the omnibus edition entitled Young Miles.

It occurs three years after the end of Warrior’s Apprentice. Miles has graduated from the Imperial Service Academy and is home on leave before receiving his first assignment. A back country woman from the Dendarii mountains has come down to the lowlands demanding justice, as is her right, from her Count in the murder of her “mutant” infant. Miles’ father deputizes him as his Voice to investigate and dispense justice. Miles’ disabilities make him uniquely and ironically qualified to flush out the murderer.

Not much science fiction or space opera in this story, but plenty of mystery and hillbilly conservatism and ignorance. Miles excels at the logic and deduction necessary to uncover the culprit. He also find a justice that speaks to all the generations of the Silvy Vale.

The Vor Game

3.5 stars

I read this as part of the omnibus edition Young Miles.

We return to Miles while he and Ivan are collecting their first duty assignments after graduating from the Imperial Security Academy. Miles yearns for ship duty. Ivan receives his orders stationing him in the capital at ImpSec HQ. Miles orders send him to the farthest reaches of the Barrayar arctic as the weatherman for Kyril Island. Miles questions his assignment, especially since he only took one perfunctory meteorology course his first year of academy. He learns the duty assignment is a test to see if he can work with, lead and be led by common (not Vor) soldiers. If he passes, his carrot is ship duty on the newest ship-of-the-line, the Prince Serg.

Miles’ insubordination plays a major them in this story. He stumbles into the most improbable situations and then believes only he is capable of finding a way out of it, ignoring the advice and orders of his colleagues and superiors. It doesn’t help that he actually does succeed in saving the day.

I enjoyed the action and intrigue, including more space opera elements, especially in the climactic space battles for control of various strategic wormholes. Parts of the story bogged down, though, especially after Miles removal from the arctic and subsequent detention. And I almost stopped reading when I had to suspend belief almost completely regarding the unlikely scenario of Miles finding Gregor off-planet and working as slave labor on a space station.

It was a fun read, but not as fun as Warrior’s Apprentice, yet it won the Hugo in 1991. To date, I’ve read four novels in Bujold’s Vorkosigan Saga. I recommend this book as well as the series to all loves of space opera.

Book Review: Cordelia’s Honor by Bujold (4 Stars)

Cordelia’s Honor (omnibus edition)by Lois McMaster Bujold

4 out of 5 stars

Read in June 2009

Warning: Spoilers

Shards of Honor

I read this as part of the omnibus edition entitled Cordelia’s Honor.

Cordelia Naismith is the “Juliet” to Aral Vorkosigan’s “Romeo.” Star-crossed (galactically speaking) lovers separated by time, space and politics but thankfully without the suicidal tragic ending.

Cordelia spends six days as Aral’s prisoner on a planet her team was surveying for her home colony Beta. During that time, the inevitable occurs and they fall in love. Circumstances prevent consummation, so unrequited love prevails as they part the first time.

Her second encounter with Aral results in the more traditional prisoner of war scenario, although he did manage to rescue her from torture and rape by a deranged officer. She spends weeks as a prisoner, ironically back on the planet she was originally surveying, having little or no contact with Aral until the prisoner exchange negotiations complete. A second proposal of marriage, their first kiss, but the stars are just not aligned.

Cordelia returns home, more exhausted from avoiding psychotherapy from her escort, only to be further “tortured” by her own employer, the military. Since she is not a civilian, she can’t refuse treatment. Cordelia’s vision of democratic bliss crashes in on her and she escapes back to Barrayar and the political cesspool of their Empire … and Aral.

Cordelia finds Aral at the Vorkosigan estate, committing slow suicide by alcoholism. She saves his life by accepting his marriage proposal. All is bliss until the Emperor plays his final card on his deathbed, asking (actually commanding) Aral to be the Regent for his heir.

I liked the story of these two characters. The action, adventure, intrigue and romance were all well done, just not always convincing.

The science part of the science fiction was very much in the background – weapons, defense technology, pilot-navigation computer interfaces, etc. – all essentially unexplained but assumed to be plausible.

I’ll be reading the Hugo winning Barrayar, the second half of the omnibus edition Cordelia’s Honor, starting today.

Barrayar

I read this as part of the omnibus edition Cordelia’s Honor. Barrayar is an impressive, richly layered, multifaceted sequel well deserving of the Hugo award it received in 1992.

I warmed to Cordelia as she struggled with the culture shock of her adopted Barrayaran world. Her observations contrasting life on Beta with the sometimes barbaric and backward Barrayar society lent credibility to her actions.

Even though the first book, Shards of Honor, had more traditional science fiction elements, like space ships, wormholes, advanced technology and weaponry, Barrayar felt more convincingly like science fiction. I really connected with Cordelia, the marooned egalitarian Betan in the ocean of Barrayar Imperial political intrigue and corruption.

As the author notes in her Afterword, much of this story is devoted to different variations on motherhood. Perhaps that is what appeals to me the most. So many children at risk, even from their own male family members, and so few women to guard and protect them.

Book Review: The Quiet Invasion by Zettel (4 Stars)

Quiet Invasion by ZettelThe Quiet Invasion by Sarah Zettel

4 out of 5 stars

Read in August 2010

Great first contact story. Zettel’s vision of Earth’s political evolution and expansion to several colonies on nearby planets and satellites painted a grim future for civil rights and personal liberties. My only small quibble with the aliens stems from their mental motivations, which seemed similar to human beings. Besides that, I couldn’t put the book down, especially that last hundred pages or so (which I need to re-read to make sure I didn’t inadvertently skip something in my mad dash to the finish).

Update May 2013:  I met Sarah recently at a convention book fair and she assured me the ebook for Quiet Invasion would be released very soon.  Her Isvalta series was recently released to ebook as well.

Author Two-for-One on May the Fourth

Strange first week of May so far for 2013.

My apple trees started blooming on May Day:

May Day

Terry and I celebrated (as best we can on a Wednesday) our 27th anniversary.  He bought me a bouquet and card and a gift (which I won’t share here but greatly appreciate):

Anniversary Bouquet

The very next day, May the 2nd, it snowed.  For real.  Since I had to drive through it, I didn’t take any photographs, and most of it melted as it hit the ground.   Visiting authorial dignatory John Scalzi commented on the situation via Twitter:

My own photo taken after dropping off my Hallmark riders at 7:10 a.m. on Thursday morning, May 3rd, facing north with the Sheraton (fka the Hyatt) where Mr. Scalzi was probably still snoozing:

North from Crown Center

Saturday morning, May the 4th (officially or unofficially international Star Wars day), I put $20 worth of gas in the Bonneville.

Why is this significant? I wanted to meet a couple of authors signing during a book fair at the RT Booklovers Convention hosted by the Sheraton at Crown Center.

Because I drive a vanpool, Terry and I don’t fill up our personal vehicle but once a month or every six weeks. From long experience, I know I need a minimum of three gallons of gas to make a trip to Kansas City and back home. Three gallons of premium (required for both of our Pontiacs) is close to $4 a gallon (I think I paid $3.699 at Quick Trip yesterday), so I rounded up to the nearest $10 increment. I also grabbed $20 cash from an ATM so I’d be able to buy the book fair pass ($5 at the door). Parking at Crown Center is free on the weekends (Huzzah!).

So, for $10 in gas, $5 at the door and free parking, I got to meet two of my favorite authors:

RT13 Book Fair Excursion
John Scalzi, author of The Human Division, recently released in hardcover and earlier released as a serialized ebook.  Shown here signing the only print edition of one of his books that I own, Zoe’s Tale. Oddly, it’s also the only one I have yet to read.  I own all the rest of his books, but in ebook format, and didn’t think having my Nook Color or new Samsung Note II signed would be a good idea.

RT13 Book Fair Excursion

Sarah Zettel, author of The Quiet Invasion, one of the best first contact stories I’ve ever read, and the Isvalta series.

I almost didn’t find Sarah in this chaos:

RT13 Book Fair Excursion

Authors were spread out across a dozen rows of tables in alphabetical order, except for headline authors like Scalzi, who were segregated along a back wall (or a quiet corner in Scalzi’s case):

RT13 Book Fair Excursion

Sarah should have been on the last row near Scalzi, but only one other “Z” author sat there and it wasn’t Zettel. I despaired of traipsing slowly through all the rows, mostly because all these other authors really didn’t have anything I would go out of my way to read. The entire convention was sponsored by “Romantic Times,” a genre I normally avoid like the proverbial plague. I’ll tolerate a well written romance, if it’s a subplot in a fantasy or science fiction novel. Otherwise, I’ll pass.

I did find Sarah, in a special section devoted to young adult readers. Her latest book, Dust Girl, is apparently in that subgenre.

I returned home, arriving back before noon.  Terry and I topped off our anniversary celebration by grabbing the last two available VIP seats for the 7:30 p.m. showing of Iron Man 3 at the Legends 14 Theaters.  We liked it and we sat through the credits to watch the Easter egg final scene.  Cute.  The only thing missing was Black Sabbath or even some AC/DC in the sound track.  I think it would have been a nice touch over the final montage before the credits rolled.

Book Review: The Gods Hate Kansas by Millard (4 Stars)

GodsHateKansascoverThe Gods Hate Kansas by Joseph Millard

4 out of 5 stars

Read in June 2008

Even though this story was at times corny and a bit dated scientifically, it was a fast and enjoyable read. Only took me a couple of hours, but it was time well spent.  In fact it took me much longer to acquire a copy to read, through interlibrary loan.

Originally published in 1941 (and I didn’t read the original version that appeared in a science fiction magazine), this alien body-snatching story had a few new twists to what some may consider old and cliche.

Now I’ll have to add the 1967 move They Came From Beyond Space to my Netflix queue to see how well this novel was adapted.

Besides, I felt compelled to read a book about my home state — Kansas!

Ad astra per aspera!

Latin for “To the stars through difficulty!”

Book Review (Anthology): I, Robot by Asimov (4 Stars)

I, Robot by Isaac Asimov

4 out of 5 stars

Last read in March 2009

I re-read this classic science fiction anthology for the Science Fiction & Fantasy Book Club at GoodReads (in March 2009). Here is a link to the discussion on the Three Laws and another for readers to post their favorites.  My favorite stories include “Runaround,” “Liar!” and “Escape!”

Below you will find my mini-reviews of each story (Spoiler Warning)

March 29, 2009: Re-reading this for a book club at GoodReads. I’m slightly annoyed with the library because they held the wrong version of this book for me. It’s the shorter version re-released at the same time as the Will Smith movie.

On “Robbie” . . . A demonstration of the First Law – Robbie, a non-speaking robot assigned as a nursemaid to a six-year old girl. The mother cracks under the mounting social pressure against robots and convinces her husband to have Robbie removed. The girl is devastated and doesn’t give up looking for Robbie until she finds him on a tour of a US Robots facility.  The family dynamics are very dated (they scream 1950s) but otherwise it’s a good story, especially the relationship between Robbie and the girl.

On “Runaround” . . . It’s always a good idea to be precise when giving instructions to a robot. This story demonstrates the irratic and irrational robotic behavior that can occur when the Second Rule and the Third Rule are in balance. It took two “brilliant” scientists several hours to reason out that only the First Law would break the cycle.

On “Reason” . . . Reason reunited us with the same two “brilliant” scientists from the Mercury mining mission in Runaround. This time Powell and Donovan are running a Solar Station #5 that beams solar energy to Earth. They have just assembled a new robot, designation QT-1, “Cutie” colloquially. The hope for this new model series was to replace the executive level humans on the Solar Stations (i.e. Powell and Donovan) so that humans were only required to visit the stations to make repairs. Cutie waxes philosophical and culminates his own theology, evangelizing the other robots. Donovan and Powell struggle to break the obsession but eventually come to terms with it’s potential.  This story reminded me of Cylons but without the darkness, danger and threat to humans.

On “Catch That Rabbit” . . . This story was entertaining but a bit weak on the “what if” premise. Donavon and Powell are back at a mining facility, testing a new model of robot – a multirobot – a master robot with six subsidiaries. As long as the robot(s) are watched by the humans (and the robots know they are being watched), they perform flawlessly. But when they are unwatched, they appear to go bonkers, losing track of time, unresponsive to radio hails, etc. Powell and Donavon eventually “catch the rabbit” i.e. the trigger point for the breakdown, but it just doesn’t have the impact of the other two stories.

On “Liar!” . . . I like this story because it is very emotionally charged and for the “what if” of what the definition of harm is.

On “Little Lost Robot” . . . This story changed the rules, literally. The “what if” deals with a modified First Law that contained only the positive aspect of the Law – “No robot may harm a human being” – leaving off the latter portion – “or through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.” The scientists involved in the Hyperatomic Drive project felt they needed robots with a modified First Law because they were constantly putting themselves in harm’s way, which forced the non-modified robots to “save” them. Dr. Calvin eventually convinced them of consequences.

On “Escape!” . . . This was another test of the First Law. Dr. Calvin also inadvertently made matters worse by trying to help the engineers solve the interstellar jump problem but also protect The Brain from destroying itself with a dilemma.

On “Evidence” . . . This story dealt with the “what if” a robot looked and acted exactly like a human. Reminded me of the “skin job” references in Battlestar Galactica (reimagined) but with less violence. A politician is accused of being a robot and refuses to submit to testing. The argument is raised that if a human follows the Golden Rule, he basically also follows the Three Laws. So without physical examination to prove otherwise, a good decent human could not be disproven a robot.

On “The Evitable Conflict” . . . This story finally gets to the crux of the matter in the evolution of the Three Laws. It’s an expansion of the First Law by the Machines (large super brain robots that shepherd the four Regions of Earth) as articulated by Dr. Susan Calvin: “A robot may not harm humanity, or, by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.” It is commonly referred to as the Zeroth Law of Robotics.