Tag: science fiction

Book Review: Eifelheim by Flynn (3.5 Stars)

Eifelheim by Michael Flynn

3.5 out of 5 stars

Read in March 2010

I thoroughly enjoyed all the 14th century scenes and plot. I didn’t care for the ‘now’ (i.e. present day) interludes. The peasants, priests, lords and aliens proved more believable than a modern-day female quantum physicist cohabitating with a male cliologist (described as a ‘big picture’ statistical history theorist or something along those lines).

A very good first contact story juxtaposed with historical fiction set during some of the darkest days endured by Europeans. Yet, as mentioned by another reviewer, I feel Connie Willis’ Doomsday Book creates a more believable scenario and sympathetic characters. Flynn’s research yielded superior science and vivid images and glimpses into the lives of 14th century people, but he stretched my suspension of belief that these same people would so willingly accept the aliens among them.

Book Review: To Say Nothing of the Dog by Willis (3.5 Stars)

To Say Nothing of the Dog By Connie Willis

3.5 out of 5 stars

Read in March 2009

This was a very enjoyable jaunt through time in search of a missing bishop’s bird stump for the Coventry Cathedral’s restoration.  It’s 2057 and Lady Shrapnell (very aptly named by the way) is restoring the Coventry Cathedral exactly as it was before it’s destruction in 1940 in a German air raid.  She commandeers the services of Oxford’s space-time continuum researchers and lab to travel back in time and solve the mystery of the bird stump’s disappearance.

Initially, we meet Ned Henry, one of the researchers and time travelers, as he’s searching the still burning ruins of Coventry Cathedral in 1940 as an Air Raid Patrolman. He fails to locate the bird stump but starts acting strangely, a clear indication of severe time-lag.  He returns to 2057 and is ordered by the Infirmary nurse to two weeks of bed rest.  Lady Shrapnell will have none of that so Mr. Dunworthy, the head researcher or professor, send Mr. Henry back to 1888 on a simple mission and to hide him from the overbearing Lady Schrapnell.

Still suffering from the symptoms of the time-lag, Ned can’t remember the specifics of his assignment.  He chances to meet a young man, a student at Oxford, who convinces Ned to hire a boat for a trip downriver on the Thames.

Ned continues to meeting unbelievably interesting quixotic people and unusual circumstances – all highly hilarious.  I kept hearing or seeing the actors from Monty Python’s Flying Circus or Michael Caine performing the voices and antics of these delightful Victorian characters.  Even the pets are supporting actors, especially Cyril the English bulldog.

Book Review: The Accidental Time Machine by Haldeman (3.5 Stars)

The Accidental Time Machine by Joe Haldeman

3.5 out of 5 stars

Read in May 2009

A very quick read for me. A time travel tale with vaguely described quantum physics (string theory and gravitons) and shallow character development. A satisfying ending, but too happy and convenient with a dash of poetic or ironic justice to appeal to me. The religious aspects didn’t disturb me; in fact, they intrigued me. I look forward to the book club discussion.

The Science Fiction & Fantasy Book Club at GoodReads read this book in May 2009.  To review the main discussion thread, please visit this link:  The Accidental Time Machine — Joe Haldeman

Book Review: Lord of Light by Zelazny (3.5 stars)

Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny

3.5 out of 5 stars

Read in April 2009

I’m still scratching my head wondering why or how this novel won the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1968. My memories of those times are sparse as I wasn’t in grade school yet. Without researching extensively into the mythology and theology of Hinduism, I can’t speak to how “popular” or “well known” that information was in 1968.

Zelazny’s prose is enjoyable and at times lyrical. His world building was vague but eventually I came to realize the world was not Earth, but a colony from Earth. The science and technology existed for the “gods” alone, actively suppressed by the pantheon, encouraging belief in their “godness” among the population.

None of the characters mattered to me. In a broad sense, I cared most for the poor subjugated and duped population of this planet. The protagonist’s attempted rebellion and revolution against the status quo led to many dead ends and reincarnations. Sam choose to preach Buddhism as a calculated attempt to bring down the pantheon and encourage the population to grow independently. He even admitted he could have chosen a different religion, such as Christianity, but “crucifixion is painful.”

I laughed at some of the jokes – mostly “inside jokes” to those who were First (implied to be the original colony leaders landing on the planet) and referenced Earth lore known to the reader.

Returning back to the Hugo Awards for 1968, I checked the other offerings to see if I had read any of them:

* Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny (Doubleday)
* The Butterfly Kid, Chester Anderson (Pyramid)
* Chthon, Piers Anthony (Ballantine)
* The Einstein Intersection, Samuel R. Delany (Ace)
* Thorns, Robert Silverberg (Ballantine)

http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/H…

I haven’t read any of them so can’t “judge” for myself if Zelazny’s novel was the best offering that year.

Update (4/2/2013):  I have since read The Einstein Intersection and would have to admit that Lord of Light is definitely a better novel and a better read.  

Book Review: The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi (4 stars)

The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi

4 out of 5 stars

Read in May 2009

The first half of this sequel to Old Man’s War immersed us in Special Forces, as experienced by Jared Dirac, a very unusual recruit to the Ghost Brigades. Jared’s squad leader is none other than Jane Sagan. Unlike Old Man’s War, combat and battle are secondary to what’s going on inside of Jared’s brain.

The second half reveals more of the politics driving the war and fight to colonize in this corner of the galaxy. Jared meets Charles Broutin, and more importantly, his daughter Zoë. Jane and Jared discover ever more frightening information regarding the aliens Charles is aiding to the detriment of humanity.

I enjoyed this novel at least as much as the first installment. Scalzi might not have made me laugh, but he did make me cry on more than one occasion. If you’ve read Old Man’s War, you won’t be disappointed in this sequel.

Book Review: Alas, Babylon by Frank (4 stars)

Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank

4 out of 5 stars

Read in March 2009

It’s 1959. It’s the height of the Cold War. The threat of thermonuclear war hangs in the air like an impending thunderstorm.

Randy Bragg is a lawyer living in the backwaters of Florida in the small town of Fort Repose. He’s the younger brother of an Air Force Colonel, Mark Bragg, stationed at Offutt AFB in Omaha – the renowned home of SAC HQ. Mark sends Randy a cryptic telegram telling him his wife and kids were coming to visit and ends with the phrase “Alas, Babylon.” This is a code word they discussed a few months earlier that meant a nuclear strike against the US was imminent.

Randy attempts to stock up for the aftermath, but really doesn’t have a grasp of what will be left after the attack. It’s not like a hurricane where your power and water might be interrupted for a few days or a few weeks. The entire infrastructure of modern life was shattered and disrupted beyond recovery in most large cities. Medical supplies, food, communications, transportation – everything was thrown back one hundred or even two hundred years in a matter of days.

The author did an excellent job of showing how one small town, uniquely spared the nuclear holocaust, managed to not only survive but retain some civilization and hope for the future.

I noticed a couple of obvious missing resources. The author mentions in passing amateur radio operators when he is describing retired Admiral Hazzard’s sideband radio. However, in 1959, it would have been difficult to toss a rock without hitting an amateur radio operator, and we (I am a licensed amateur radio operator) are usually involved in Civil Defense. We are the first line of communication when all other forms fail.

Also, Fort Repose was not far from Cape Canaveral (where NASA is now) and I would have thought there would be more military or engineers (retired or otherwise) living in Fort Repose.

I find it difficult to believe that even a small town would only have one bicycle – the one that belonged to the Western Union office used by the messenger boy. Every child would have had one and I’m sure some of the adults as well. Drive three or five miles on a bicycle in flat Florida wouldn’t have been too arduous.

In hindsight, we now know more concerning the other hazards of nuclear attacks; things like nuclear winter and electromagnetic pulses. Still, I am very impressed, even fifty years later, with Pat Frank’s chilling tale of survival and hope.

Book Review: A Canticle for Leibowitz by Miller (4 stars)

A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.

4 out of 5 stars

Read in May 2010

Excellent weekend spent pondering man, God, science, religion, death, life, despair and hope. Miller’s award-winning novel stands the test of time (over fifty years now) and justifiably deserves to be continuously in print.

So many questions to ponder, presented through Miller’s monastic brothers preserving the last scraps of our civilization and an undying Jewish hermit (assumedly the Wandering Jew of legend) searching for Him who said ‘Come forth!’ Never once did I feel preached at, so skillful was Miller’s presentation.

Even though the Cold War is over, and mutually assured destruction no longer so assured, A Canticle for Leibowtiz posits convincingly that ‘those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it.’

Book Review: Old Man’s War by Scalzi (4 stars)

Old Man’s War by John Scalzi

4 out of 5 stars

Read in December 2008

A good story, regardless of genre, and an especially great military science fiction tale.

Our point of view is through the eyes of John Perry. We meet him on Earth, as a seventy-five year old widower living in Ohio. It’s his birthday and it’s time for him to report for duty. He (and his wife) both signed up for the Colonial Defense Force ten years ago, recruited with visions of renewed youth and minimum of two years of service. Kathy died eight years ago of a stroke while making cookies in their kitchen. John makes his farewells to friends and family and visits his wife’s grave one last time.

John and several thousand other 75-year olds are transported to a Colonial transport ship and enjoy the usual military “hurry up and wait” routine. Eventually, after seemingly endless and pointless tests, the day of truth arrives and the recruits report for their final physical improvements regimen.

Rather than a retrofit of his existing body, John receives a new improved not quite human body with many enhancements, including green photosynthetic skin, cat-like eyes, SmartBlood (nanotechnology), BrainPal (PDA and HUD with extreme Internet access all embedded in the brain – both voice and thought activated) and superhuman reflexes, strength and endurance. After training, designed mostly to convince the recruits that their old inhibitions do not apply to their new bodies, the soldiers are dropped into battle with a variety of incomprehensible, tenacious and prolific alien species. Their goal – to defend the scarce “real estate” of the human colonies and potential colony planets.

For me, the best parts of this story were the relationships. They were sparse but gripping. Perry’s memories of his wife and marriage. The familial bonding among the Old Farts and the grief of their passing. I was especially touched with the death of Maggie, who composed a heart-wrenching jisei poem as she plummeted through a planet’s atmosphere:

Do not mourn me, friends
I fall as a shooting star
Into the next life

And lastly the burgeoning relationship between Jane Sagan, occupying the body of Kathy, John’s wife, and John Perry. Her anonymous postcard sent to John inviting him to find her when he retires and start a new life with her brought tears to my eyes.

I recommend this to anyone who loves military science fiction, with a good dose of wit and sarcasm, flavored with a gentle touch of what it means to be human in an insane non-human galaxy.

Book Review: The Forever War by Haldeman (3.5 stars)

The Forever War by Joe Haldeman

3.5 out of 5 stars

Read in July 2009

If I had been born in the 50s and also been born male, I’m positive I would have loved this story. All the pain, confusion and futility of Vietnam but strung out and extrapolated over three thousand years (or about three years relatively speaking). The last fourth of the book salvaged the first three parts.

I didn’t have any trouble grasping the science, the physics or the technology. Haldeman did an excellent job conveying them without making me take a course in quantum physics or string theory.

But again, similar to The Accidental Time Machine, character development suffers, even though we spend months bored in transit. I personally didn’t care for or agree with his predictions for societal changes on Earth and elsewhere that occurred while Mandella travelled at relativistic speeds. I did agree with the morale of his story, which is similar to Ender’s Game in philosophy.

I’ve now read most of the classic (and one neo-classic) military science fiction novels. My personal favorite seems to be Old Man’s War by John Scalzi, followed closely by Heinlein’s Starship Troopers. Haldeman’s Forever War follows and the distant finisher remains Armor by John Steakley.

Movie Review: Total Recall (2012)

Total Recall (2012)

3 out of 5 stars

I find myself drawn to movies inspired from PKD short stories.  I was a bit disappointed when the Adjustment Bureau did not win the Nebula Award (Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation) in 2011.  And I suppose it’s time I watched Minority Report and Bladerunner, but first I’m going to read the original stories as written by the incomparable Phillip K. Dick.  In the case of Total Recall, the short story is entitled ‘We Can Remember It For Your Wholesale.’  Since I have not read the original short story, I will refrain from making comparisons and questioning the adaptation as portrayed in this latest re-imagining.

I will however compare this 2012 version to the other 1990 edition, which I’ve watched many times.  Off the top of my head, I didn’t care for the excision of Mars from the plot.  The Colony became Britain’s Penal Colony continent (Australia) and the world is toast, chemically speaking, except for the British Isles and Australia, connected by a super-fast (17 minutes one-way) tunnel through the Earth’s core called the Fall.  I remain skeptical and would like to see a bit more science and less fiction explaining that setup.

I actually found it hard to watch this remake because I knew, before hand, some of the key plot points that would occur.  No, they didn’t coincide completely with what I suspected, but enough doubt remained in my mind that I did not enjoy the film as much as I probably could or should have.  For example, I really hoped that the ending would return us to Rekall and leave us wondering if it was ‘real’ or ‘Memorex’ but this adaptation preferred to alter reality and continue with less ambiguity.  I think I would have preferred the more thought-provoking ending.

I guess the best thing I can say about this movie is I didn’t fall asleep while watching it.  I know, that’s not saying much, but it happens to me quite frequently.  But it didn’t knock my socks off as I expect when you’re adapting material from one of the 20th century’s most lauded science fiction authors.