personal_ai – Page 2 – Made by Mikal

When the Devil Dances

Post author:mikal
Post published:December 27, 2010
Post category:Book

The humans are still getting their arse kicked, and it seems like the Posleen might be learning something approximating reasonable tactics. If this book was just that, then it would be a disappointing addition to the series (A Hymn Before Battle and Gust Front come before this book). However, there is also some interesting science fiction happening here. It seems there is some sort of conspiracy to control the humans, and there is certainly some dodgy human experimentation going on. Overall, a good book apart from the cliff hanger at the end -- I would be annoyed if I couldn't just pick up the next book straight away. [isbn: 0743436024]

Gust Front

Post author:mikal
Post published:December 21, 2010
Post category:Book

This is the sequel to A Hymn Before Battle, and its a better book to be honest. That's fair enough given Hymn was Ringo's first book. This book spends less time on the politics of incompetent officers (although there is a bit of that), and introduces a little bit more of the political intrigue running in the Federation. The combat sequences are pretty well done too. Overall its good to see Ringo developing as an author and I enjoyed this book. [isbn: 0743435257]

A Hymn Before Battle

Post author:mikal
Post published:December 7, 2010
Post category:Book

This is an interesting book in that it lays down a reasonably believable scenario and then doesn't really resolve it. Its obviously setting up for a series, and while the local micro plot is resolved, there is clearly a larger story arc that wants telling here. The book isn't happy or uplifting, it is downright depressing in places. Regardless, I still finding myself hanging out for the next one in the series. [isbn: 0671318411]

The Last Colony

Post author:mikal
Post published:November 9, 2010
Post category:Book

All of the Old Men's War books (Old Man's War and The Ghost Brigades) have started slowly and built up to a climax. That's been good because its given some time for background which makes the second phase of the book all the more fully formed. This book is the same, although I think the introduction is more long winded than previously, and the whole thing gets wrapped up surprisingly quickly. Overall a good book, but not as good as the previous two.

The Ghost Brigades

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

This book is a really good sequel, and just as good as Old Man's War. While some of the characters reappear, the story stands on its own and is quite entertaining. I enjoyed this book a lot. There's something about bright green genetically engineered super soldiers killing aliens that makes me happy. [award: nominee prometheus 2007] [isbn: 0765354063]

Old Man’s War

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

I've owned this book for a while, and now really regret not reading it the second it hit my shelves. Its amazingly good for a first book, and is definitely as good as The Forever War and Forever Peace, and better than Starship Troopers. I'm very very impressed with it. An excellent book if you're into combat scifi. Update 2011: I've been in a rut recently where I haven't really been enjoying the books I've been reading. The number of books I read has also dropped off a lot since I moved back to Australia. Some of the drop off is associated with living in a house instead of an apartment -- there is constant maintenance work to be done, and I might never finish painting this place. However, I was worried that perhaps I simply wasn't as into reading as I was a couple of years ago. So, I decided to go back and read a book I enjoyed before, and see if I still liked it. This was that book. The answer is hells yes. This book is still fantastic, and I really enjoyed it. I also knocked it over in a time similar to when I was…

The Diamond Age

Post author:mikal
Post published:September 16, 2010
Post category:Book

I loved this book. I think its going on my list of all time favorites. The first half of the book is better than the second, but I think that might be because young Nell resonated much more strongly with me than older Nell. I read this book because it came up at a scientific conference where I went to a presentation about 3D fabrication, and its now entirely clear why the presenter thought this was relevant, given 3D nanotech fabrication plays a strong part in this book. Excellent read.