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…
Tag: genetic_engineering
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…
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…
Cyteen: The Rebirth
This book is a follow up to Cyteen: The Betrayal, and was originally published in the same volume as it. The book would make little sense without having read Cyteen: The Betrayal first. Apart from that its a good book, and much more readable than the first. I think that’s mostly because all the important…
Cyteen: The Betrayal
I read this book at the recommendation of my father. Its an interesting concept — artificially produced humans have been created to fill gaps in a society far out on the edges of occupied space. However, how are these artificial humans different from “real” humans? How are they different from slaves given they are programmed…
The Renegades of Pern
This book starts off in quite a disjointed manner, with the introduction of a variety of seemingly unrelated characters. The only thing that they all have in common is that they’re holdless. However, as the book progresses these characters are all weaved together into a relatively cohesive story line. I say relatively because there are…
The Dragonlover’s Guide to Pern
I bought and read this book for the short story “the impression”, which is ok but not fantastic. Overall the book isn’t really my thing — its mostly a potted history of Pern and a nearly exhaustive coverage of the various weyrs, holds and craft halls that inhabit the planet. To be honest, I’d rather…
Dragonsdawn
This book was similar to the other McCaffrey books I’ve read in that it felt like it lost its way in the middle for a bit. I’d been looking forward to this book for a while, because I really wanted to see the science fiction aspects of colonizing a new planet and developing a genetically…
Nerilka’s Story
This book takes place over almost exactly the same period as Moreta. However, its not a rehash of those events, as it is written from a different person’s perspective. There are enough points where the two story lines meet for the books to make sense as a pair, and I’d recommend reading them back to…
Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern
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…