mikal – Page 54 – Made by Mikal

Space Soldiers

Post author:mikal
Post published:August 10, 2010
Post category:Book

This is a collection of short stories about soldiers in space. Its not the strongest such collection I have read -- Battlefields Beyond Tomorrow, Body Armor 2002 and Dogs of War are all better. The Gardens of Saturn (Paul J McAuley): veterans with jacked up nervous systems encounter genetically engineered people in deep space. Soldiers Home (William Barton): veterans and other castoffs from conflict struggle to find meaning in continued existence. Legacies (Tom Purdom): a not particularly interesting story about the psychological impact of losing a parent to war. Oh, except we don't really talk about the impact. We talk about the bureaucracy around getting permission to treat. Dull. Moon Duel (Fritz Leiber): an interesting concept (interstellar criminals abandoned on the moon). A bit dated, but ok apart from that. Saviour (Robert Reed): another good concept, but I don't think this story is particularly well written. Galactic North (Alastair Reynolds): a relativistic chase across deep space with a confusing terraforming gone wrong subplot. Masque of the Red Shift (Fred Saberhagen): this is the second Berserker story I've read (the other is "What Do You Want Me To Do To Prove Im Human Stop" from Battlefields Beyond Tomorrow. It was ok,…

The Coming

Post author:mikal
Post published:August 8, 2010
Post category:Book

This book wasn't as good as I hoped it would be -- some of Joe's other work has been excellent (The Forever War, Forever Peace and Marsbound being examples). However, some of his other books are very weak, such as Forever Free and There Is No Darkness. This book is an interesting experiment in story telling style, where many different very short chapters are told by different characters. Each chapter follows on directly from the previous one. However, this style makes the story confusing to read until you can remember the names of all the characters. Worse than that though, the idea behind the story isn't terribly strong, and the resolution is weak as well. Overall and ok read, but not Joe's best work and not a book I would recommend.

Some Girls: My Life in a Harem

Post author:mikal
Post published:August 4, 2010
Post category:Book

This is the memoir of a Jewish girl from New York who ends up working in the Harem of a Prince of Brunei. Its not so much a story about Harem life, although that's mentioned in places. Its more about Jillian's psychological journey, her troubled childhood, and working out who she is in the world. Worryingly, that final issue isn't really resolved in the book, which is frustrating. The book is surprisingly readable, and you genuinely start to care about Jillian along the way, even if a few of her decisions seem pretty suboptimal to me. A good read. [isbn: 0452296315]

The Confusion

Post author:mikal
Post published:August 3, 2010
Post category:Book

The Confusion is a merging of Bonanza and The Juncto, which I think is more than the mere sum of the two parts. The weaving of the stories together makes for a very readable volume, with slow patches in each individual story line being covered nicely with a switch to the other. Additionally there are a few several year gaps in the stories which would be much more jarring if there wasn't something from the other story line in between. Overall, I think I prefer to read these two books in this con-fused manner, instead of separately. [isbn: 0060733357]

The Juncto

Post author:mikal
Post published:August 3, 2010
Post category:Book

This story follows Eliza has Jack's actions in affect her life in Europe. Its an interesting tale, although I'm not happy with how Eliza is treated at the end. [isbn: 0060733357]

Bonanza

Post author:mikal
Post published:August 3, 2010
Post category:Book

This is a story about Jack Shaftoe travelling the world after making his poor business decision at the end of the previous book. I think it best serves as a foil to The Juncto, as the story line takes a few irrelevant turns and has some big gaps in it which are jarring. [isbn: 0060733357]

Books read in July 2010

Post author:mikal
Post published:August 3, 2010
Post category:Book

Cyteen: The Vindication Gate of Ivrel Marsbound The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall Asimov's Chimera There Is No Darkness Odalisque Count Zero

Count Zero

Post author:mikal
Post published:July 20, 2010
Post category:Book

The voodoo aspect of this book is a bit odd, but its a very readable story set about eight years after Neuromancer. I like that it is not a "me too" story, and has its own unique and interesting plot arc. Overall a good read.

Odalisque

Post author:mikal
Post published:July 17, 2010
Post category:Book

This is the third book in the Baroque Cycle, after Quicksilver and King of the Vagabonds. Large chunks of this book are written in the form of letters, which I imagine might annoy some readers. I enjoyed this book, but you have to be in the right mood to read it because some of the prose is quite dense. [isbn: 0060593083; 0060833181]

There Is No Darkness

Post author:mikal
Post published:July 12, 2010
Post category:Book

This book is very different from the other Joe Haldeman stuff I have read. The other stuff has been serious, thoughtful, and well written. This is attempting to be more of a parody book, much like what you'd get from Harry Harrison. Perhaps that's the influence of the co-author, Joe's brother. I must say however that the end was unexpected and interesting. The last 50 pages was the best bit of this book by far.