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Post by EdoBosnar on Mar 20, 2022 11:24:35 GMT -5
(...) 'Imposter' by PKD - Not a typical Philip K Dick story.. it involves alien invasion and trying to fight them off.. this is the one that fits least well with the theme.. more of a prevented end of the world than anything. Pretty good one though, about a weapons research that is accused of being a traitor. (...) This is the only one of these I've read and I really like it. And I'd say that - given the mindf*** it plays with readers - it is in fact a pretty typical PKD story. |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Mar 20, 2022 21:57:40 GMT -5
Hmm... I suppose that's true. I was looking at it more from the standpoint of alien invasion seems a bit pedestrian for him, but looking at it that way it fits in  |
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Post by berkley on Mar 21, 2022 8:40:12 GMT -5
The End of the World edited by Donald Wollheim  It's a rare collection that actually sticks to the theme of the title, but this one does... all 6 stories are, indeed about the world ending.... a couple from the 50s, a couple earlier. Quite a collection of authors as well! Interestingly, none of the stories involve nuclear war or the Russians or anything, a couple are 'sun spots' and the others are just time passing. 'Year of the Jackpot' by Heinlein - This is Heinlein's version of Asimov's Psychohistory, a statistician predicts world disaster and ends up getting a wife out of the deal... not a bad story, but a bit dated with the gender roles and such. 'Last Night of Summer' by Alfred Coppel - Short-ish one to tug at the heart strings.. good for what it, but pretty predictable 'Imposter' by PKD - Not a typical Philip K Dick story.. it involves alien invasion and trying to fight them off.. this is the one that fits least well with the theme.. more of a prevented end of the world than anything. Pretty good one though, about a weapons research that is accused of being a traitor. Rescue Party by Clarke - Sticking with aliens, they come to try to save a few humans as the world is ending (solar flare again( Omega by A.R Long - Definitely the most creative... a researcher uses hypnosis to try to have someone mentally travel in time, and guides them to the end of the world (No disaster, just the Earth winding down and no longer supporting life.. pretty interesting. Finally, In the World's Dusk by Edmund Hamilton - The last man on Earth tried to restart the species, to some interesting results. I definitely liked the last two (older) stories best.. they're both pretty unique and are old enough that they're not trying to be scientifically relevant. Definitely a good collection.
I'd like to read this myself. I thnk I have two or three of the stories in other collections but definitely not all of them.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Mar 22, 2022 19:18:33 GMT -5
Gone Fishin' by Walter Mosley  Thanks for the recommendation EdoBosnar... I'm glad these jumped out at me at Savers! This one is a bit of a prequel/origin story, so I started out with this one. It's not really a mystery as much as a snapshot of the life of poor African Americans in the deep south before WW II. It also serves as somewhat of an origin story for Easy and Mouse (mostly Mouse, really). I was concerned that I might not be able to get into it since it's not actually the start of the series, but that was not the case at all. Mosley really writes realistic seeming people... I feel like I know them now, and was really invested in what happened. I hope this doesn't turn one of those series where the author just tortured the main character over and over again.. but then again, based on the setting, there's not alot of room for happiness, so we'll see. I'll definitely be reading the other two I got soon.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 24, 2022 3:32:37 GMT -5
Continuing on with more Appendix N reading, this time back to Poul Anderson and Three Hearts, Three Lions.  This one started in the mold of a planetary romance, with a man from our world being transported to another world to become a hero, but we later learn that fantasy world was his native world and he had been trapped here by the forces of evil (in this case by Morgaine Le Fey). The direct influence on early D&D is much more apparent here, with the conflict between Law and Chaos being front and center, the archetype of the paladin being a part of the protagonists essential character, and spindly green trolls regenerating all damage and only being harmed by fire being part of one of the climatic battles in the book. All in all an entertaining read, that like the Broken Sword has parts that have not aged well, but still worth a look if you like this type of tale in the fantasy genre. -M |
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Post by EdoBosnar on Mar 27, 2022 12:10:26 GMT -5
A Specter is Haunting TexasFritz Leiber, 1968  This one is set in a pretty dystopian future in which – after a major nuclear war – the US collapsed and the state of Texas asserted itself and took control of most of North America from southern Mexico to Canada – although the Russians again have Alaska and Florida and southern California are some sort of independent republics. And the new country is all called Texas now. It’s run by a cabal of corrupt good ‘ol boys, mostly oil-men, and slavery is again legal – although now it’s mostly Mexicans who are enslaved. It’s in Dallas, Texas, Texas that the book’s main character and first-person narrator lands, albeit by mistake: Christopher Crockett La Cruz, an actor by trade, came down from the lunar orbital habitats headed for Yellowknife (which he thought was still Canada) to take possession of a pitchblende mine for which he claims to hold title. Soon after he arrives, he gets the nickname ‘Scully’ because of his skeletal appearance – since he was born and raised in a zero gravity environment, he’s extremely thin, about 8 and half feet tall, and he has to wear a mechanical exo-skeleton just so that he can walk in Earth’s gravity. His odd appearance, though, leads him to get coerced into becoming a figurehead for a revolution staged by the Mexicans (i.e., he becomes the specter that haunts Texas) – and this all happens on the first afternoon and evening of his arrival. This is sort of a picaresque novel, with a mostly humorous tone that often belies the really dark subject matter, as it tackles issues of racism, slavery, nuclear war, big power politics and predatory capitalism.
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Post by berkley on Mar 27, 2022 21:29:14 GMT -5
Never read that particular Leiber book and for some reason didn't have it on my list, though I've heard the title before. I've added it now, though, it definitely sounds like something i'll want to try.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Mar 29, 2022 22:13:10 GMT -5
Foundation
by Isaac Asimov
I hadn't read this for a while.. between my recent book organizing (which lead thinking I need to re-read more things since I have all these books) and the show (which I'll probably never watch), I figured it was time.
It definitely felt like a visit to an old friend...this is just a great book. There are so many tropes that started here.
One that that occurred to me that hasn't before... what would this look like it if was written today? Or even 20 years later. When Asimov wrote this in 1951, there were not even any computers, never mind internet. The whole concept of preserving knowledge would be a bit silly now...knowledge, even specialized knowledge, is pretty ubiquitous. Could invisioning the collapse of the internet create the same effect? I'm not sure.
Then there's the absolute confidence in the fact that nuclear power was the be all and end all of the future.. no hint of any other possibilities. I mean, the whole strategy of Hober Mallow was basically 'control the batteries and control the Galaxy'.. and it worked!
I'd love to see some current writer try to take on the task of writing this as a viable story with modern tech... Scalzi sort of tried, but that was all based on losing the ability to travel, which is a very different thing.
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Post by berkley on Mar 29, 2022 22:54:18 GMT -5
Foundation by Isaac Asimov I hadn't read this for a while.. between my recent book organizing (which lead thinking I need to re-read more things since I have all these books) and the show (which I'll probably never watch), I figured it was time. It definitely felt like a visit to an old friend...this is just a great book. There are so many tropes that started here. One that that occurred to me that hasn't before... what would this look like it if was written today? Or even 20 years later. When Asimov wrote this in 1951, there were not even any computers, never mind internet. The whole concept of preserving knowledge would be a bit silly now...knowledge, even specialized knowledge, is pretty ubiquitous. Could invisioning the collapse of the internet create the same effect? I'm not sure. Then there's the absolute confidence in the fact that nuclear power was the be all and end all of the future.. no hint of any other possibilities. I mean, the whole strategy of Hober Mallow was basically 'control the batteries and control the Galaxy'.. and it worked! I'd love to see some current writer try to take on the task of writing this as a viable story with modern tech... Scalzi sort of tried, but that was all based on losing the ability to travel, which is a very different thing.
I re-read this recently too and felt much the same way. With the nuclear power, I thnk Asimov got it right in that cheap - in every sense, including the long-term environmental costs that aren't usually included in economic assessments - and reliable energy is one of the keys to everything from geo- (or I suppose galacto-) politics to short or mid-term prosperity to long-term survival. He was only a bit too naive - understandably, perhaps even unavoidably so, considering when he was writing Foundation - in assuming that nuclear power was the answer to this problem. In reality, we still haven't found the answer even today, and that failure may yet be the end of us, or at least of "civilisation as we know it", not to mention our dreams of space exploration.
I've heard mixed reviews of the new tv adaptation - in fact exactly 50/50: I have one friend who thinks it's really good and another who didn't like it at all and quit after the first few episodes.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Mar 30, 2022 20:14:03 GMT -5
I've heard they added alot of characters and action and are just sort of using the story as a back drop... which isn't interesting to me in the slightest. Combine that with that fact that I am loathe to give Apple any money, and I doubt I'll watch it.. maybe if there's a DVD and it makes it to the library  |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Apr 2, 2022 20:18:30 GMT -5
Black Betty
by Walter Mosley
Very happy EdoBosnar reviewed these...not sure I'd have come across them otherwise.
This is one of those books you read and you say to yourself... 'this is just a book.. the world has never been quite THAT bad, has it?' But then you wonder (if the writer is good), that maybe it was, and you just didn't realize.
That's the vibe you get from the life of times of Easy Rawlins. Walter Mosley is a great writer, and the characters just jump off the page.. but man, the hits just keep coming for Easy as the story continues.
While I suspect some of the past events mentioned are in the earlier books (Which I have not read yet), there was plenty to figure everything out, though if this book is any indication, the series can serve is quite the history lesson the the American Experience for 'the Greatest Generation'.
Really good stuff, as long as you can ready it without turning away.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Apr 5, 2022 20:33:52 GMT -5
Big Planet by Jack Vance  The cover is definitely the best part of the story... pretty standard 'Sword and Planet' fare.. Big Planet is literally a Big Planet where Earth sends all it's misfits, and it has no metal, so they're all very barbarous. Some Earthmen intent on checking out someone trying to take over too big a chunk head over to investigate, but crash and have to travel 40000 miles across the planet to safety. Yeah, that's a bit ridiculous, but they don't actually go very far before the main plot happens. Of course there's a hero, and a girl... there was a bit of a twist at the end (which got it up to 3 stars). Perfectly good light reading if you're in the mood for it.
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Post by EdoBosnar on Apr 6, 2022 4:04:34 GMT -5
Yeah, you have to accept the premise that a gigantic, non-gaseous planet is not only possible, but also have gravity comparable to Earth's because it lacks any heavy metals (which I don't think is how that works). But then you're fine. Anyway, Vance's follow-up book also set on the Big Planet, Showboat World, is a much better story. |
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Post by berkley on Apr 6, 2022 9:58:20 GMT -5
Haven't read either of those Jack Vance books but even a middling "sword and planet" story will get my attention, so I'll almost certainly want to try them at some point.
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Post by EdoBosnar on Apr 7, 2022 13:26:24 GMT -5
AxiomaticGreg Egan, 1995  This is a collection of eighteen stories, all but two originally published between 1989 and 1992, mostly in Interzone (9) and Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine (4) – two were previously unpublished. Egan has a mathematics degree in real life, and has even authored or co-authored a few papers on higher mathematics for academic journals. That’s reflected in some of the high-concept stories in this collection, which often involve distortions of time or some such which made my head hurt as I tried to understand them. Another focus of Egan’s interest is AI and biotechnological advancements and how they will effect humans or how human we will remain as a result. So several of his stories, probably the best ones, almost verge on psychological horror. One, “Learning To Be Me,” involving a small device that is implanted in humans to copy all of the brain’s functions and memories and then eventually take over to basically ensure eternal life, is particularly chilling – at least it was to me. The same device is also a key aspect of another story, “Closer,” about a young couple who use their modified brain devices to experiment with ways to become closer to each other. Again, I found it quite disturbing – but also thought-provoking. All in all, though, these are really solid, well-written stories.
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