Robert_Sheckley – Made by Mikal

Body Armor: 2000

Post author:mikal
Post published:February 6, 2010
Post category:Book

I love a good anthology, although I'd read a few of these stories before: Contact! (David Drake): this story is quite unlike the other stuff of his that I have read, mostly because its set in the Vietnam War, not the far future. A good story with an excellent twist. The Warbots (Larry S. Todd): this one wasn't for me. I'm not sure what point the author was trying to make, if any. Its just a long history of imaginary weapons. The Scapegoat (C. J. Cherryh): this is long, being a novella, and a little hard to read in places because the story jumps around. Overall, a good read though. My first Cherryh, although I have a lot queued up on the shelf. The Last Crusade (George H. Smith): this was a good story, and would have fit well in Battlefields Beyond Tomorrow as it has a similar war-is-hopeless tone. Hired Man (Richard C. Meredith): there is a nice twist at the end of this one, although its obvious a few pages before it happens. Early Model (Robert Sheckley): I was surprised by this one, its the first Sheckley story I've read that I didn't hate. Its not fantastic, but…

Foundation’s Friends

Post author:mikal
Post published:December 26, 2009
Post category:Book

I was excited when I found Foundation's Friends the other day, because I thought I'd read all the Foundation books and did not know that this one existed. It is an anthology which celebrates Asimov's 50 years as a science fiction author, and each author takes their own approach to the Foundation universe. The stories are: The Nonmetallic Isaac or It's a Wonderful Life (Ben Bova): not really a short story, more of an inspection of the impact that Asimov's non-fiction writing has had on the world. Strip-Runner (Pamela Sargent): set after The Naked Sun, a young female strip runner meets Elijah Bailey. The Asenion Solution (Robert Silverberg): a pretty standard science fiction short story. Murder in the Urth Degree (Edward Wellen): I haven't read any of the Doctor Urth mysteries, so to be honest this story seemed pretty weird. Trantor Falls (Harry Turtledove): covers the fall and sack of Trantor at the end of the first Galactic Empire. This one is pretty good, and in keeping with the overall Foundation universe. Dilemma (Connie Willis): Asimov deals with some three law robots. Maureen Birnbaum After Dark (George Alec Effinger): I find Maureen's character to be superficial and annoying. This story…

Bill the Galactic Hero on the Planet of Bottled Brains

Post author:mikal
Post published:November 10, 2008
Post category:Book

(Edited by Harry Harrison.) This book started off better than Planet of the Robot Slaves, but I found the random Star Trek and Star Wars rip offs in the middle of the book intensely annoying. This isn't so much a satire it is a disjointed list of ideas. I'm disappointed to be honest. [isbn: 0380756625]