Books read in July 2010
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
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
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
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.
Asimov’s Chimera
This is the second book in the iBooks spinoff series based on Asimov's robot mysteries and the Robot City and Robots and Aliens series. Overall it fits into the Foundation Series acceptably. This book is a mystery much like Mark's first Mirage. I think overall this book is better written than Mirage, and is certainly better plotted than the Robot City and Robots and Aliens series. The book is believable and entertaining, without having to suspend too much disbelief. I enjoyed it, although the book isn't important to the development of Foundation Series overall.
The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall
This is an anthology of Pern stories. It doesn't really stand on its own though, you're much better off having read the other Pern books first. The stories are: The Survey: P.E.R.N.: this story feels quite lazy. There are new characters, but they aren't well introduced. They find the planet later called Pern, and explore it, but the story is entirely descriptive with no real plot to speak of. A story that's only interesting if you're obsessed with all things Pern. Its especially important that you've read Dragonsdawn before this story. The Dolphin's Bell: this story recycles characters introduced in Dragonsdawn to tell another side of the evacuation from Landing story. Its an ok story, but its not ground breaking. The Fort of Red Hanrahan: covers the settlement of the second Hold on Pern. This story feels more like a real story, even if it is a bit shallow. Better than the previous two stories. The Second Weyr: this is more of a traditional dragon rider story, and quite good. It doesn't feel as much like an afterthought as the other stories, and was a good read. The title is a bit of a fib, as this story explains the…
Marsbound
This book really worked for me. I've seen other people criticize it for being juvenile, but I don't feel its any more juvenile than The Forever War, which is considered a classic. The style is quite conversational, as if the main protagonist is talking to you and explaining the story, but I liked that. This is a great book.
Gate of Ivrel
I read this book on the recommendation of my father. Its Cherryh's first book, and I think you can see that from the awkward phrasing in places. Its an ok read, but not the best of her books that I've read. I found the grammar hard enough to parse that the book was harder work than it should have been. [isbn: 0886773210]
Cyteen: The Vindication
This is the final book in the Cyteen trilogy (proceeded by Cyteen: The Betrayal and Cyteen: The Rebirth). This book is good in that it avoids much of the politics that mired the first book. Additionally, its nice to see Ari2 and Justin resolve some of their differences, even if its from a position of mutual distrust. The series doesn't really resolve the problem of Ari's research, but I assume that theme is covered more in later books. [isbn: 0445204303] [award: winner hugo 1989]
Books read in June 2010
All the Weyrs of Pern Quicksilver Cyteen: The Rebirth King of the Vagabonds