Silverberg could certainly write some depressing books. After The Book of Skulls, this one must be one of his most depressing. It is a dystopian NYC rSilverberg could certainly write some depressing books. After The Book of Skulls, this one must be one of his most depressing. It is a dystopian NYC run by career criminals with a fresh start for an "uncorrupted" mayor. However, our protagonist Lew becomes seduced by the foresight of a mysterious reclusive billionaire and, in the manner of Balzac - La Peau de Chagrin or Faust, he is sucked into a universe and spit out. The writing is great and although it is a short book (just under 200 pages), it packs a punch, particularly the cynical ending. I really enjoyed it, Silverberg was a master, perhaps a bit underappreciated these days....more
I got to be a little bored with Harvest of Stars but figured that the next book would be a bit more interesting once the backstories were established.I got to be a little bored with Harvest of Stars but figured that the next book would be a bit more interesting once the backstories were established. What I got was a convoluted narrative with way too much preaching of libertarianism and not enough narrative. The story was rather confusing and I had a hard time concentrating on the narrative. There are big issues here concerning cyberspace and the future of humanity alongside Anderson's obsession with freedom at all costs, but it felt entirely too top-heavy and the characters were all so one-dimensional. The alternating chapters occur five hundred years apart that doesn't help the readability at all. This was just too much preaching to the converted to me (and I am not even a subscriber to this particular congregation) and despite its status as one of the "all-time" great sci-fi novels (and a Prometheus Award), I didn't enjoy it and had a hard time finding positive points to write about it....more
This started out as a slog. As cool as character as Kyra was, her faux-Spanish was really annoying. The Guthrie character reminded me of Robin BroadheThis started out as a slog. As cool as character as Kyra was, her faux-Spanish was really annoying. The Guthrie character reminded me of Robin Broadhead from Frederic Pohl’s Heechee series. The ideas are really good though and I liked the way he described the migration to Demeter. Clearly a libertarian manifesto and I will read the next one in the series....more
I have heard of Lovecraft quite a lot without ever having read his work. This short story is probably his most influential having inspired metal songsI have heard of Lovecraft quite a lot without ever having read his work. This short story is probably his most influential having inspired metal songs from Metallica and others as well as probably hundreds of stories and novels and video games. Admittedly, the horror atmosphere drips of violence and premonition. I felt that the text hasn't aged all that well and the plot was not incredibly original. What is compelling about it is the evil lurking in the unpronounceable eponymous villain(s) and their impossible-to-forget appearance, a tentacle-bearded skull. It is not a big investment at less than 50 pages and certainly now part of our collective imagination, but from a strictly literary perspective, not an absolute masterpiece despite its status as a horror classic....more
This is the book that inspired loads of hive mind or shared consciousness tropes in sci-fi, particularly the series Sense 8 on HBO a few years back. IThis is the book that inspired loads of hive mind or shared consciousness tropes in sci-fi, particularly the series Sense 8 on HBO a few years back. It is a great story from way back in 1953, broken into three parts. In each, we learn about the gestalts (members of the shared conscience) who each are on the rough edges of society but become something far bigger as a group. The strength of the book is more on the ideas of this emerging hive mind rather than deep character development, but I found that it was highly readable and entertaining while also being thought-provoking. A sci-fi classic for sure....more
This is yet another PKD mind-stretching book this time about time slippage on Mars. It has a bit of a dystopian feel to it and the cynisicm that fans This is yet another PKD mind-stretching book this time about time slippage on Mars. It has a bit of a dystopian feel to it and the cynisicm that fans of this author find in each of his other works. It is not on the same level as Minority Report or UBIK, but nonetheless a great story that could only have been written by PKD....more
This was an. excellent rags to riches story that, although marketed to "juveniles" has adult themes and a great plot. I found it fascinating to see thThis was an. excellent rags to riches story that, although marketed to "juveniles" has adult themes and a great plot. I found it fascinating to see this character arc although I felt the end was a little rushed. It is not as epic as the three major works of Heinlein, Starship Troopers, Stranger in a Strange Land, and The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, but it stands its ground and we can see the maturing and expanding of Heinlein's vision and unique style throughout this one. Really worthwhile reading!...more
This was an impressive first novel from Scalzi. I found it snarky, funny, and entertaining. He did a great job of playing with the "first contact" sceThis was an impressive first novel from Scalzi. I found it snarky, funny, and entertaining. He did a great job of playing with the "first contact" scenario and dragging in sci-fi references from time to time keeping the story light and engaging throughout. Joshua is probably the funniest alien character I have read about so far!
Well, even the author tried to distance himself from this trainwreck of a novel. We see some of the themes that he will work with extensively in betteWell, even the author tried to distance himself from this trainwreck of a novel. We see some of the themes that he will work with extensively in better books: geek culture, video games, absurdity... But there are no compelling characters here, a mish-mash of a chaotic plot, and just generally messy writing. Fortunately, he was more inspired when he wrote Zodiac!
This was a year when I continued head-first into sci-fi writing as I had decided in 2022 to read all the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus prize winners and allThis was a year when I continued head-first into sci-fi writing as I had decided in 2022 to read all the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus prize winners and allow myself to explore the authors' bibliographies beyond the prize-winning ones. Sometimes, the award was given for a book in a series and so I ended up reading even more to catch myself up to the one with the lauriats. I discovered Vernor Vinge, David Brin, Ursula Le Guin, Connie Willis, C J Cherryh, Martha Wells, Neal Stephenson, Joe Haldeman, and Ann Leckie among many others, and re-discovered Dan Simmons, Robert Silverberg, Orson Scott Card, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C Clarke, and Robert Heinlein among others. I think my favorites would include Startide Rising, A Fire Upon the Deep, The Left Hand of Darkness, Downbelow Station, and Speaker for the Dead. Overall, I think the Hugo and Locus made pretty good choices. I tended to agree less with the Nebula, though. I still have 15-20 books in this category before I return to literature and finish my Faulkner re-read (I stalled at Light in August and started this whole sci-fi thing. Overall, I finished all the Hugo and Locus winners and have nine more Nebulas to go....more
So, we finally come to the end of our journey with Robin and Essie. And what a journey! Are the Assassins really assassins? I really loved the funny tSo, we finally come to the end of our journey with Robin and Essie. And what a journey! Are the Assassins really assassins? I really loved the funny tone that Pohl established in Beyond the Blue Event Horizon and Heechee Rendezvous and continues here. I was sad not to see much of Klara, but relieved not to suffer seeing Wan, a character I was pretty fed up with. This book is similar to Cixin Liu's Death's End in that it takes us to those gosh numbers and the critical point of the Big Bang that has been alluded to for the past two books. I think it was a strong ending to a fascinating and fun series that never took itself to seriously. The Heechee were interesting, I just thought the name Sneezy was a little silly ;-)...more
This was a fantastic story - riveting end to end in that typical Cherryh style! Despite the atrocious cover art (jeez, she had no luck at all in this This was a fantastic story - riveting end to end in that typical Cherryh style! Despite the atrocious cover art (jeez, she had no luck at all in this series for the covers! I preferred the one for
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much better!). We are treated to a high-octane cocktail of alien conflict between Mrrrr and Tc'a and Kif and Hani and it is a real pleasure to read. Again, the idea of the human being the alien is so well done here as is all the hard sci-fi in the various mechanical aspects of the plot and the daily work for laborers in space. Awesome!...more
Cherryh is such an entertaining writer! I love how we are seeing this whole story from the perspective of the catlike female hani captain Pyanfar and Cherryh is such an entertaining writer! I love how we are seeing this whole story from the perspective of the catlike female hani captain Pyanfar and the human is the alien. Even better, the thoughts of Pyanfar are written clearly whereas the human who doesn't speak the hani's language comes across hashed and simplistic. The action is excellent here as we pick up the story of The Pride of Chanur some years later. Cherryh describes the universe and her motivation in splitting the tale across three books (this one, The Kif Strike Back, and Chanur's Homecoming) for the story arc due to publisher pressure. Regardless, the book does read well on its own and is just so much fun. ...more
The eponymous rendez-vous doesn't occur until the end of this volume, but this was every bit as fun to read as the first two in this series, Gateway aThe eponymous rendez-vous doesn't occur until the end of this volume, but this was every bit as fun to read as the first two in this series, Gateway and Beyond the Blue Event Horizon. We follow Robin around the galaxy once again trying to make a buck and find his true love. She is brought back from the black hole, but not at all as we expected. There is, this being 70s sci-fi, a lack of strong female characters and the whole Wan character is so horrifyingly misogynistic that it is almost self-parody. I will finish the series with The Annals of the Heechee....more
This was my 3rd Silverberg adventure after the giddy A Time of Changes and the exhilarating Lord Valentine's Castle. This book had more in common withThis was my 3rd Silverberg adventure after the giddy A Time of Changes and the exhilarating Lord Valentine's Castle. This book had more in common with the former than the latter. It is a child of the hippie 60s sub-culture and as such kind of a companion volume to Delauney's Dhalgren in terms of the sexual mores of the protagonists. I thought the writing was great and the protagonists were very realistic. I liked how each chapter was from the 1st person perspective of one of the four protagonists:
I have to think that Eli is the stand-in for Silverberg himself and represents the Jewish outsider looking in, trying to be one of the in-crowd by bedding one of their women. He is the initiator of the adventure through his discovery of the Book of Skulls. Maybe he is sort of Dionysus but with less self confidence?
Ned is the gay jester character. He has a Machevellian wit and predatory sexuality that will occasionally allow him to bed women as well. He is very attracted to Oliver, but holds himself back. He represents another outsider to straight amerikuh looking in. I think he is sort of like Zeus.
Oliver is the "hayseed" from Kansas. An Apollonian character representing the average midwestern mentality (if somewhat "arriviste" as well). He is an insider due to his genes and skin color, but his outer display of confidence is eroded over the timespan of the novel.
There were fewer dialogues given to Thomas who was the stand-in for the New England aristocracy. I think of him like Achilles: he is a natural leader, but abdicates this responsibility and is along for the ride. His secret is the most heinous one shared during the book.
These four characters make a Quest from New York to Chicago and down to Arizona to the brotherhood and rituals alluded to in The Book of Skulls. About half the book is a subdued On the Road while the last half of the book is a traversal of Dante's Inferno: Hell (1) but inside each of the heads of the protagonists.
I thought it was an excellent book and that it was very thought-provoking. I am surprised that it is not more well-known because it does such a great job encapsulating the contradictions and conflicts inherent but well-hidden by the gyspy/bohemian 60s counter-culture....more
I don't know what I was expecting with this one, but I was truly blown away by the high quality of writing, the ground-breaking plot devices, and the I don't know what I was expecting with this one, but I was truly blown away by the high quality of writing, the ground-breaking plot devices, and the beautiful humanity of all the protagonists. It is brilliant how McHugh weaves her plot through three different narratives, intimately connecting them without condescending to the reader or overly confusing the plot. I think this was a far better novel than the Nebula winner Stations of the Tide and pretty much on the same level as the winner of the Locus and Hugos that same year, Barrayar.
As a side note, I thought that the way she portrays the difficulty for the gay Zhang in the Chinafied US of her alternative history is sadly not all that different from the difficulties for gays in China today and elsewhere in the real world....more
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