genetic_engineering

Colony One Mars

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I bought this book because Amazon recommended it to me and it got good reviews. There's a lesson there somewhere. You see, I didn't realise when I bought it that the book is self published, and its a little bit... awkward. Its little things, like clearly needing an editorial pass to make the phrasing flow better, and the fact that the text on the spine of the book is upside down. Literally the first line of the book has a weird justification that looks like Microsoft Word at its worst. Now, I'm not opposed to self published books -- the Silo series (Wool, Shift, and Dust) are self published for example, as is Unix: A History and a Memoir and I liked all of those. That said, first impressions do matter I think. Overall I'd say the sort is interesting, if a bit shallow. The level of plotting is probably in line with what you'd expect from a talented teenager. For example there's not much foreshadowing, characters instead just outright state their nefarious intentions. In the end, I got 85 pages in and realised I just don't care, so I stopped. This book is definitely going in the charity pile.

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Oryx and Crake

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I bought this book ages ago, on the recommendation of a friend (I don't remember who), but I only just got around to reading it. Its a hard book to read in places -- its not hopeful, or particularly fun, and its confronting in places -- especially the plot that revolves around child exploitation. There's very little to like about the future society that Atwood posits here, but perhaps that's the point. Despite not being a happy fun story, the book made me think about things like genetic engineering in a way I didn't before and I think that's what Atwood was seeking to achieve. So I'd have to describe the book as a success.

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The Android’s Dream

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This is a Scalzi book, so its clever and funny, and has possibly one of the best first sentences I have read ever. It is a light read, and I finished all of it apart from the last 50 pages or so on a single flight. Scalzi also plays again with the idea of transferring consciousness, which is something which he deals with a lot in the Old Man's War series. I liked this book. [isbn: 9780765348289]

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Logos Run

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This is the continuation from Runner, and continues the story of the attempt to re-enable the star gates. It has the comicly incompetent Technosociety once again, as well as series of genetically engineered protagonists. I am bothered by why the star gate power supplies cause people to fall ill -- you'd think in a highly advanced society capable of building star gates they might have spent some time on shielding. Or did the shielding somehow fail on all the power sources sometime over the thousands of years of decay? The has a disappointing ending, but was a fun read until then. I find it hard to suspend disbelief about how the AIs present themselves, but apart from that the book was solid. This one is probably not as good as the first. [isbn: 0441015360; 9780441015368]

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Runner

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I bought this book on impulse, and I am glad I did. The book is very Buddhist in its outlook, and characters believe in reincarnation, which makes it ok for people to die. There sure is a lot of that happening in this book, perhaps more so than in Dietz's combat books. The underlying story is very different from the other Dietz stuff I have read, and very good. The Legion of the Damned books suffer from very one dimensional characterizations of their female characters, whereas this book has a strong female as a leading and fully developed character, which is a nice change. I enjoyed this book. [isbn: 9780441014095]

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Against the Tide

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This is the third book in the Council Wars series. This book covers the long promised invasion by New Destiny forces, as well as Megan's continued life in the harem. This book has a theme of incompetence in command, which is quite similar to some of Ringo's other books, such as A Hymn Before Battle and Gust Front. It is not fine literature, but it is a fun read and the characters are likeable. [isbn: 1416520570;9781416520573]

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Emerald Sea

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This book is really a book (Emerald Sea) and a novella (In a Time of Darkness) both of which follow on from There Will Be Dragons. Emerald Sea is more self-indulgent than the previous book, and isn't as strong as the first. It is still quite readable. In a Time of Darkness has a very awkward set of subject matter (the keeping of a harem girl against her will), which will make many readers uncomfortable, and isn't as strong a story as either of the first two stories in this series. [isbn: 1416509208;9781416509202]

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There Will Be Dragons

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I bought this book randomly when I saw it at a charity book sale. While the title is kid of odd, its actually quite a good read. The book is sort of a science fiction fantasy novel, set in the far future with a reasonably plausible plot line. There are a few elements that I feel could be explained a bit better, but overall the book is quite good. I'll be buying the next one in the series. [isbn: 0743488598]

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Rendezvous With Rama

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This is a classic book, so I expected a lot from it. I was a little disappointed to be honest. The book is slow, although interesting. There chapters are all very short as well (around four or five pages), which is a little odd. There is a lot of potential with this concept, and I feel this book could have gone a lot further.

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