award – Page 3 – Made by Mikal

Cryptonomicon

Post author:mikal
Post published:March 22, 2010
Post category:Book

I read this book on an international trip, and it was a good choice for that. Its long (around 900 pages), but very readable. This is the second time I've read the book, and this time its amazing how well the description of Silicon Valley startups matches my experiences there. I love this book. Update 2022: having now read this book for a third time, I have to say it does stand the test of time. However, having read the rest of the Baroque Cycle now, I do wish somewhere in the series more attention was paid to explaining Enoch Root's back story.

Burning Chrome

Post author:mikal
Post published:March 1, 2010
Post category:Book

This is a collection of William Gibson short stories. They're gritty and real, and make more sense now that I've been to both the US and Japan. I read these stories as a kid and loved them, although their vision for the future isn't a happy one. Its good to see I still like them as an adult. Stories in this collection: Johnny Mnemonic The Gernsback Continuum Fragments of a Hologram Rose The Belonging Kind Hinterlands Red Star, Winter Orbit New Rose Hotel The Winter Market Dogfight Burning Chrome [isbn: 0441089348] [award: nominee nebula_short_story 1981 (Johnny Mnemonic); nominee nebula_novelette 1982 (Burning Chrome); nominee nebula_novelette 1985 (Dogfight); nominee nebula_novelette 1986 (The Winter Market)]

Lyonesse

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

This is another book I read as a child, except in this case I didn't really remember much of it -- the only bit I remembered was the punishment of Madouc's mother, but that might have been because I was a teenaged boy at the time. Overall this is a very good book. It took me a while to read because of being distracted with other projects, but the ongoing oppression of Princess Suldrun didn't really help either -- it was interesting at first, but got depressing after a while. Its also disturbing how many times sexual assault is used as a plot element in this book... [award: nominee nebula_novel 1983] [isbn: 0441505309]

Buy Jupiter Short Stories

Post author:mikal
Post published:January 2, 2010
Post category:Book

This is another Asimov short story collection. The following stories appear in the book, although I have already read a couple as part of either the Robot short stories or the Nightfall collection of short stories. To be honest these stories aren't Asimov's strongest. They entertaining, but they're not as amazing as some of his other stuff. I guess its hard to be a genius all the time. The following stories appear in this collection: Buy Jupiter1975 The Complete Robot1982 Robot Dreams1986 Darwinian Pool Room Day of the Hunters Shah Guido G. Button, Button The Monkey's Finger Everest The Pause Let's Not Each an Explorer Blank! Does a Bee Care? Silly Asses Buy Jupiter A Statue for Father Rain, Rain, Go Away Founding Father Exile to Hell Key Item The Proper Study 2430 A.D. The Greatest Asset Take a Match Thiotimoline to the Stars Light Verse [isbn: 0575041994] [awards: nominee nebula_short_story 1965 (Founding Father)]

The Ship Who Sang

Post author:mikal
Post published:November 27, 2009
Post category:Book

This book is good science fiction, in the sense that it explores something which we are not ready to address as a society -- in this case, would profoundly disabled people prefer that we could replace their disabled bodies? What if the replacement wasn't humanoid? The book is pretty old though, and that shows in some of the elements of the story. I don't feel it detracts though. The book is also composed of a series of independantish by related short stories, which was a common publishing technique for science fiction in the 1960s. One story -- "Dramatic Mission" -- did throw me a little. Its just too out there conceptually, and actually kind of dull until about the last three pages, where the controller poses some interesting questions of Helva. I feel that perhaps the lead up could have been better though. [isbn: 0345297687] [award: nominee nebula 1969]

Forever Peace

Post author:mikal
Post published:November 17, 2009
Post category:Book

This a very different book to The Forever War, and not really a sequel. It covers some similar territory, but there are no characters in common, and the overall plots are unrelated (and conflicting). However, this book is as well written as The Forever War, and I enjoyed it.

The Forever War

Post author:mikal
Post published:November 12, 2009
Post category:Book

I read this book mainly because multiple sites recommended it as a response to Starship Troopers. I'd actually read the start of this book already in the form of the short story "Hero", which is included in Battlefields Beyond Tomorrow. At the time, I would have described it as an ok short story, but not the best in the book. That's interesting, because the extended version in the novel is amazing. Its one of those books I had trouble putting down, and its gripping to the end. The book has a very different perspective on war from Starship Troopers and is more like some of David Drake's writing (they're both Vietnam veterans). There is also a little bit of Bill the Galactic Hero mixed in as well, without being so over the top. I strongly recommend this book.

Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern

Post author:mikal
Post published:October 21, 2009
Post category:Book

Moreta is a book about a pandemic, and its hard to make those fun... If you've bothered to find out anything about the book in advance (or read the preceding Pern books, where it is referred to), you know that its not going to be a fun ride. On the other hand, the book is an interesting read, and its educational to find out how much knowledge has been lost in the Pern universe between Moreta and Lessa. For example, its clear in Moreta that everyone knows they moved from the Southern continent, whereas that is much less clear in the books set in Lessa's time. Its hard to say that a book about thousands of people dying is enjoyable. However, the story is a gripping one, and I'm glad I read it. [isbn: 034529873X] [award: nominee hugo 1984]

Dragonquest

Post author:mikal
Post published:May 18, 2009
Post category:Book

This is the sequel to Dragonflight. To be honest, I think Dragonflight is a better book, although this one is by no means bad. I suspect part of my problem with this book is that I found Kylara insanely annoying (which I was meant to). Every time her character popped up it made the book hard to read until she went away again. This is a good interesting book, and I'm looking forward to the later books in the series when you find out more about the settlement of Pern. [isbn: 0345284259] [award: nominee hugo 1972]

Dragonflight

Post author:mikal
Post published:May 13, 2009
Post category:Book

This is the first book in the Dragons of Pern series, which I read a small part of as a child. Given that they're still being written, its not surprising that I'm pretty out of date on this series. This book is excellent for a few reasons -- the idea is unique and well implemented; its an amazing mix of fantasy with science fiction style justifications for the way things are; and its well written. The underlying premise is that a planet named Pern as a nearly neighbor on an eccentric orbit. When that neighbor comes near to Pern, spores from the other planet try to land on Pern. These spores breed by eating organic life, so they need to be neutralized or life on Pern will cease. There are however a few patches I had to re-read to make full sense of. I really liked this book. [isbn: 0345335465] [award: winner nebula 1968; nominee nebula 1967]