|
Post by wildfire2099 on Oct 3, 2015 21:54:18 GMT -5
Terms of Enlistment by Marko Kloos
This is one of the guys the Sad Puppies put up for a Hugo, who then later backed out. I THINK the book nominated was the 3rd book in this series. Incidently, it was a real struggle for me to get it... I tried to get it out of the library, but no one Massachusetts that had it was willing to sent it to me. After 2 failed attempts, I asked my friendly reference librarian, and she did some computer catalog voodoo, and said it was coming. Weeks passed, I saw no book, nor any pending hold on my account, and I gave up... only to find it on my hold shelf at the library last week.. fresh from TAMPA. I had no idea libraries traded books from 1000 miles away!
Anyway, on to the review...
I'm not quite sure what to make of this book. Clearly, the writer has a love of classic science fiction. It in many ways is an composite of every sort of sci-fi novel there is. It starts with a bit of dystopian social commentary.. moves into Starship Troopers-like army training/fighting. Then, somewhat suddenly, ends with a first contact.
The seeds are here for a few really good novels, but instead of writing a really good novel, the authors seems to have starts a few different ones, then squished them together. There are some cool concepts that hearken back to the 60s sci-fi masters, but the lack of direction really hurts the plot.
Also, every character is right out of the manual for 'smart, sassy competent solider'. While there are a fair amount of character moments, they don't really amount to much actual development.
I think I'd read another book by this author, but I don't feel that inspired to read the rest of this series... hopefully he'll learn from it and get better.. there's some strong potential there.
|
|
|
Post by Ish Kabbible on Oct 5, 2015 15:15:06 GMT -5
The End of the World: Stories of the Apocalypse by Martin H. Greenberg (Editor), Robert Silverberg (Introduction) (2010)
Excellent short story anthology spanning from the 1940s to 2010. Filled with classics, near classics and newer authors I was unaware of. Some stories are serious, some humorous, some adventuress and some philosophical. Contents include:
Lucifer by Roger Zelanzy and The Underdweller by William Nolan. The full list of stories: 1. Dancing Through the Apocalypse by Robert Silverberg 2. The Hum by Rick Hautala 3. Salvador by Lucius Shepard[return]4. We Can Get Them for You Wholesale by Neil Gaiman 5. The Big Flash by Norman Spinrad 6. The Last Max Kindness by Lester del Rey 7. The Underdweller by William F. Nolan 8. Lucifer by Roger Zelanzy 9. To the Storming Gulf by Gregory Benford[return]10. The Feast of Saint Janis by Michael.Swanwick 11. The Wheel by John Wyndham 12. Jody After the War by Edward Bryant 13. Salvage by Orson .Scott Card 14. By Fools Like Me by Nancy Kress 15. The Store of the Worlds by Robert Sheckley 16. Dark, Dark Were the Tunnels by George R. R. Martin 17. If I Forget Thee, Oh Earth ...by Arthur C. Clarke 18. Afterward by John Heifers 19. When We Went to See the End of the World by Robert Silverberg 20. Flight to Forever by Poul Anderson
Only 2 stories of the bunch failed to entertain me (Swanwick and Bryant). That's a good batting average
And good old Bob Silverberg has a story and introduction. I seem to be unable to escape his clutches of late
|
|
|
Post by wildfire2099 on Oct 5, 2015 15:24:07 GMT -5
That's quite a roster of talent on that book!
|
|
|
Post by Slam_Bradley on Oct 6, 2015 20:43:38 GMT -5
The Best of Joe R. Lansdale by Joe R. Lansdale. Actually I read about half of this. Because I'd read the other half in other anthologies. At this point I've read the vast majority of Lansdale's short fiction. And while it isn't all brilliant, ever single short story I've read by him is at the very least interesting and readable. I really do believe he is the best overall genre writer working today. Equally adept at long and short form writing and comfortable in multiple genres. Godzilla's Twelve-Step Program is simply wonderful and starts the book off with a bang.
|
|
|
Post by wildfire2099 on Oct 6, 2015 22:04:30 GMT -5
Dead Cert by Dick Francis
Every time I read a Dick Francis novel, I marvel at the fact that he can write such varied and interesting mysteries all set in the world of British Horse Racing. This one was not the best (the villain of the piece was obvious very early on, and the ending was a little too sappy), but still, as always, a fun change of pace read.
|
|
|
Post by berkley on Oct 7, 2015 2:29:01 GMT -5
I see there's a Hap and Leonard tv show coming up, with two good actors, James Purefoy (Marc Antony in Rome) and Michael K. Williams (Omar in The Wire). Not sure if they're adapting one of the books but just in case I think I might disturb my projected reading list and fit in the first H&L book before the tv series starts.
|
|
|
Post by Slam_Bradley on Oct 7, 2015 13:11:03 GMT -5
I see there's a Hap and Leonard tv show coming up, with two good actors, James Purefoy (Marc Antony in Rome) and Michael K. Williams (Omar in The Wire). Not sure if they're adapting one of the books but just in case I think I might disturb my projected reading list and fit in the first H&L book before the tv series starts. The first one is pretty decent but the second is significantly better. Just food for thought.
|
|
|
Post by berkley on Oct 7, 2015 19:09:52 GMT -5
I see there's a Hap and Leonard tv show coming up, with two good actors, James Purefoy (Marc Antony in Rome) and Michael K. Williams (Omar in The Wire). Not sure if they're adapting one of the books but just in case I think I might disturb my projected reading list and fit in the first H&L book before the tv series starts. The first one is pretty decent but the second is significantly better. Just food for thought. hmm... will keep that in mind. What do you think of the casting, BTW? I like the actors but not having read the books have no idea how suitable they might be for those characters.
|
|
|
Post by wildfire2099 on Oct 7, 2015 21:08:12 GMT -5
I didn't read the first one (library didn't have it)... the 2nd one was totally fine to start with
|
|
|
Post by Calamas on Oct 8, 2015 9:15:47 GMT -5
I agree with Slam. The first, Savage Season, is okay, perhaps because it was intended as a one-off. The series takes off with Mucho Mojo and never lets up again, with the possible exception of Captains Outrageous, which contain a lot of meandering.
I’m not sure at what point in their lives Hap and Leonard will cover. I always pictured Josh Stewart as Hap. I don’t think there is an actor alive who, for me, could play Leonard. I’ve met quite a few men who are big without being particularly tall, powerful without being overtly muscular. That how I see Leonard, and I’ve never seen it embodied on screen. I’ll be interested to see how these guys do.
|
|
|
Post by Slam_Bradley on Oct 8, 2015 12:35:24 GMT -5
The first one is pretty decent but the second is significantly better. Just food for thought. hmm... will keep that in mind. What do you think of the casting, BTW? I like the actors but not having read the books have no idea how suitable they might be for those characters. I'm not super familiar with the actors. I do know the one guy from the first season of Boardwalk Empire. I've also seen the first season of The Wire, but it was ten years ago.
|
|
|
Post by wildfire2099 on Oct 12, 2015 21:09:07 GMT -5
Saw the Martian movie tonight.. good stuff. They did skip quite a bit of the book I was surprised not to see, but they totally made it work.
|
|
|
Post by Slam_Bradley on Oct 13, 2015 16:00:02 GMT -5
Thuglit 17 ed. by Todd Robinson. Another issue of Thuglit another great selection of neo-noir short fiction. Not the strongest entry I've read, but still a great read for the price.
|
|
|
Post by wildfire2099 on Oct 14, 2015 17:30:53 GMT -5
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
I watched a bit of the TV show... it didn't totally grab my attention, but for whatever reason my wife was inspired to get the book out of the library. She hated it so completely, she not only didn't finish it, but heckled me the whole time I was reading it.
While I didn't quite hate it that much, I certainly wouldn't say I liked it. It's hard to call it a novel, because very little happens in it's 1000 pages. The author is brilliant at capturing the dialogue and flavor of early 19th century England. Unfortunately, she realizes this very early on and can't help but drone on for hundreds of pages about not much in particular. It's very clear she had a great time making up her history of British Magic, and it's clearly quite extensive. But the 100+ footnotes (which are sometimes several pages long themselves), do really do anything but add to the mood. The depth is completely useless, since nothing ever happens. We're just left with a bunch of names and events that don't really tie in to anything else. Sure, Mr Strange goes and help Wellington defeat Napoleon, but that's really a side light. Not to mention the fact that they completely ignore the War of 1812, even though that should have been something the various government types were worrying about.
By the time the action happens (around page 800 or so), it almost has to be disappointing, since it was so long anticipated (and, might I add, entirely predictable). In such books, the characters are often the saving grace, but here they are pretty much straight from central casting, not much nuance or interest to be found.
If you're very, very fond of 19th century English lit, you'll probably love reading this, just to let the setting roll over you... Ms Clarke does excel at that. Otherwise, either watch the TV show or skip it... there are far better things to spend the time reading 1000 pages on.
|
|
|
Post by Ish Kabbible on Oct 14, 2015 17:43:32 GMT -5
The Powers-Valerie Sayers (2013)
Found this in the library in the SF section and it looked intriguing with its cover featuring Joe DiMaggio intimating that he has the power to see the future. Set in New York City in 1941, the year of DiMaggio's 56 game hitting streak, the first Yankee-Dodger World Series with Mickey Owen's dropped 3rd strike, Nazi's invading Russia and Americans feeling war is inevitable. The story actually centers around a dysfunctional Brooklyn family run by a tyrannical grandmother who's a rabid Yankees fan and believes her being in the stadium produces Yankee victories 9 of 10 times. The granddaughter is 18 years old, her mother having committed suicide shortly before and no one knowing why. She is torn between 2 lovers- a nice boy and a handsome one who plans to run to Mexico if drafted
I don't know why this was in the SF section because theres not an ounce of that genre in the story. DiMaggio gets a few chapters when you are inside his head and his future forecasting was only a fantasy of his. The Brooklyn family is 90% of the tale. The novel captures the time and location quite well. The family story is decent, I read the whole book through but I was totally deceived by the dust jacket description that I'm a bit let down. I thought I found something similar to the brilliant Brittle Innings by Michael Bishop I read last year.
A decent novel-not SF. No powers to speak of except the character's fantasies
|
|