Book – Page 33 – Made by Mikal

Isaac Asimov’s Robot City: Robots and Aliens: Changeling

Post author:mikal
Post published:April 4, 2009
Post category:Book

Despite the rather unwieldy name, and being trapped as the seventh book in a share cropping series using Asimov's name, this is actually quite a good book. The plot explores something Asimov didn't do much of (what happens when Asimovian robots meet aliens and define them as human), while not being self righteous about it. The book is also more technically competent that some of the earlier ones in the series -- it doesn't feel like it was written for seven year olds. I think this one is the best in the series so far.

Books read in March 2009

Post author:mikal
Post published:April 1, 2009
Post category:Book

The Dragon Revenant Bio of a Space Tyrant: Mercenary A Time of Exile Isaac Asimov's Robot City: Perihelion

Isaac Asimov’s Robot City: Perihelion

Post author:mikal
Post published:April 1, 2009
Post category:Book

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I haven't previously been impressed with Wu's work, but this book is the best of the Robot City series. The other books suffer from feeling juvenile, whereas this book tells a story without being badly written and boring. Its a shame that you have to wade through the others in the series to get to this one. Interestingly, this book assures me that there another six in the series. They don't sound like the Robot and Aliens series, as these extra books are meant to more fully explain the origin of Robot City. However, as best as I can tell these additional books were never produced. Wikipedia, Amazon and LibraryThing all have no record of these books existing.

A Time of Exile

Post author:mikal
Post published:March 30, 2009
Post category:Book

This book is the fifth in the Deverry series, but focusses on a different set of characters than the other books. However, the new plot line is tied in nicely with the previous stories, so there is a nice combination of furthering the overall plot without bogging down in territory which has been covered by the previous books. I liked this book, especially the way it starts out like a sequel to the third book, and then something which feels like an aside becomes the major plot line for the book. Its a great way of introducing a new sub plot without the reader realizing until its well under way, and I enjoyed it a lot. This is a a great book, and probably the best in the series after Daggerspell. [isbn: 0553298135;0586207880]

Bio of a Space Tyrant: Mercenary

Post author:mikal
Post published:March 23, 2009
Post category:Book

This book continues the story of a poor Hispanic immigrant made good that started with Bio of a Space Tyrant: Refugee. This book is overall much more positive than the previous one, with hardly any of Hope's friends being killed. The book revolves around Hope's military career, and the leadership team he builds. Its basically a story of personal magnetism, love, sex, and team work. The technical aspects of this book are a little weak, in a similar manner to the first one -- specifically some of the science fiction is hard to believe. Then again if you're willing to suspend disbelief, this is a good book. [isbn: 0380872218]

The Dragon Revenant

Post author:mikal
Post published:March 14, 2009
Post category:Book

I knew what happens at the end of this book before I read it, and I thought I'd be upset about it. Funnily enough, by the time we got there the progression of the story made it seem kind of natural. This is a good book, and a worthy addition to the series, however Salamander's habit of including three words all meaning the same thing in ever sentence gets really annoying. I think I would have punched him in the face if I was one of the characters in the book. [isbn: 0553289098]

Books read in February 2009

Post author:mikal
Post published:March 2, 2009
Post category:Book

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe The Complete Hammer's Slammers Volume 3 Life, the Universe and Everything Without Warning So Long, and Thanks For all the Fish On Basilisk Station Mostly Harmless

Mostly Harmless

Post author:mikal
Post published:March 1, 2009
Post category:Book

It turns out I was confused when I said that So Long and Thanks For All the Fish was the last Hitchhikers Guide book. There is one more, Mostly Harmless. This book wasn't as good as the others to be honest, it felt disjointed and I ended up disappointed by the ending. Then again, it was still quite funny and I didn't hate the book. It just wasn't as brilliant as the others.

Free Baen ebooks

Post author:mikal
Post published:February 28, 2009
Post category:Book

Bradley noted in the comments for my On Balisik Station post that Baen has been making free ebooks of a bunch of their stuff available. Specifically, http://baencd.thefifthimperium.com/ seems to be the place to go. It seems legitimate to me too. Awesome. I still like dead tree, but this seems like a good excuse to give ebooks a try, especially for those books which are now quite hard to find, but that I want to read before I read the ones you can still get.

On Basilisk Station

Post author:mikal
Post published:February 28, 2009
Post category:Book

I bought this book because it was cheap a while ago, and only just got around to reading it. Its a pretty standard science fiction story of one naval officer's plight -- incompetent seniors; inadequate equipment; and evil neighbors. The story revolves around a young naval officer named Honor Harrington, who the Internet tells me has her career based around that of Admiral Nelson. This book was an interesting enough story, and doesn't collapse under the weight of cliche like some others do. It was entertaining and I will probably read the rest of the series. [isbn: 1416509372]