I finished Feed by Mira Grant. Excellent. There is no other word for it. Probably in my top three reads of the year, and if anything can knock it down it's got to be one hell of a book.
I agree with you there 100% I really enjoyed this book - Typically, I steer more towards high fantasy or urban fantasy, but I read this book after reading a review on another blog, and I really enjoyed it. Looking forward to the next two in the trilogy.
I just started reading Bitter Seeds by Ian Tregellis. I really don't know much about it, as I got it in e-format mistakenly (was looking for a similar title, but bought the wrong one...), but so far, it appears that it takes place around WW2, and there appears to be some sort of science experiment being performed on orphans, or something like that. Interesting, thus far (Of course, I've only read the Prologue so far )
I really didn't like Feed. When I pick up a zombie book I expect it to be about zombies, not blogging in the future. I just finished 1632 by Eric Flint, a new author to me.
The Technician was really good. I enjoyed it a lot. Slight character homogenisation as it developed which seems to be a feature of Asher, but streets ahead of say Prador Moon. Recommended to fans of his definitely.
This was actually my first foray into zombies and the like, and I was expecting a few more of them, too. I found the blogging aspect to be an interesting angle, but I was more fascinated about the epidemiology of the zombification virus. I can see how that could theoretically happen as she's described.
Longer version: I’ve been reading science fiction causally on and off for, well, since I’ve been reading, but recently I’ve made a resolution to take a disciplined approach to reading some of the classics of the genre. Few of my friends and acquaintances share my interest so I’ve come online to find some like-minded people. The interactive nature of a discussion forum appeals to me more than a blog, so I set up this account.
Shorter version: Hi!
I’ve just finished The Forever War by Joe Haldeman. The book is divided into four distinct parts, each working quite well as a novella/short story individually (the Great Oracle, Wikipedia tells me that, though written as a novel, the story was first serialized in Analog Magazine). My reaction to the book varied as I made my way through each of its parts; at first I liked it (Private Mandella); then I loved it (Sergeant Mandella); then I only liked it again (Lieutenant Mandella); and finally I was slightly disappointed by the final part (Major Mandella). My overall impression of the book – really good, but I have major reservations about the final part and ending.
The book has dated well in my opinion, despite some concerns I had at the start. Written in 1974, Haldeman had posited that, by 1997 when the book’s plot begins, humans would have developed interstellar space travel. The Great Oracle (again) tells me that the book has been subjected to a number of revisions. My copy is a 1999 edition with an author's note, in which Haldeman explains that he decided not to update the book; it was important to him for some of the senior officers at the start of the story to be Vietnam veterans. Now in 2010 I think the book could easily be updated, using Afghanistan in place of Vietnam and moving all the dates 45 to 55 years forward. It's scary just how much currency this book has retained; particularly given it was written within a specific cultural and historical context. In fact, it could be argued that the War on Terror probably parallels the Forever War more closely than the Vietnam War – nebulous enemy, what constitutes “victory”?, etc.
Online reviews I’ve read of the book often focus on the influence Haldeman’s Vietnam experience had on the writing of this book, but obviously it is just as much informed by the fact he was an engineer and has degrees in physics and maths. There’s a lot of hard science in this book (I don't know why this surprised me, I guess I was expecting something more like Scalzi who sprinkles his writing with hard science rather than fully flavouring it with it), and I really enjoyed Haldeman’s technological and scientific extrapolations, which remain plausible (as opposed to likely), and, like his themes, have dated well. I’m sure most people, including those that haven’t read the book, are aware of the big idea that drives the plot, but for those that aren’t, here it is: As part of an interstellar war, mankind is sending its armed forces to and from the front-line by traveling at near-lightspeed to wormholes scattered about space, which has relativistic effects on the soldiers involved; for example, a battle may last one year to a few years from the viewpoint of the protagonist’s (William Mandella’s) frame of reference, while on Earth decades or centuries will have passed. Obviously, this serves as a literal metaphor for the dislocation felt by many Vietnam veterans upon their repatriation. However, while the book is an effective anti-war story, it is more than that, and Haldeman crams a lot of ideas into very few pages. Another major theme that stood out for me related to sexuality and the cultural construction of what constitutes normal (I notice, from using the forum’s search function, this has been was the subject of heated debate).
I was particularly affected by the sense of fragility of life that permeated the story, and that violence and decay are the natural state of things. There is an anger underlying the pages of this book aimed at the notion that people's lives could be treated as meaningless and expendable by a faceless bureaucracy. Dark stuff!, but I also liked the humor in the book and a couple of scenes stood out in this regard. In one scene a homosexual is asked if the make up he's wearing is related to his sexual orientation – he retorts ,“No, it's just stylish.” In another scene, Mandella tries to purchase a laser without the knowledge they are illegal on Earth. It goes over his head when the gun shopkeeper sarcastically offers to throw in half a dozen tachyon grenades – “Sure, they'll come in handy.” I particularly liked that interstellar space travel is hard on bodies of the travelers, who are subjected to intestine crushing G-forces and mind numbing banality (with the only relief being the fear they could be blasted apart at any minute). Too often these aspects of science fiction are cheated for the purposes of the plot, but Haldeman avoids insulting the readers’ intelligence. Most interesting or engaging scenes for me? –
the slaughter of the psychic “teddy bears”; Mandella visiting the Potter family at the commune; and the battle where Mandella (unexpectedly) crashes during the initial landing raid and loses a leg.
On the downside, the protagonist, Mandella, is a bit of bland everyman. This makes him easy to like, but not all that interesting or engaging. I actually found him most interesting when he was struggling with the responsibilities of leadership at the end of the book. But it was also this last part of the book that I had the most trouble enjoying. In one part of the story, Haldeman evokes the boredom of traveling thousands of light years away from Earth and sitting on a desolate planet waiting for the enemy to attack a little too effectively. At times I found myself getting bored waiting for the plot to move on (a subplot involving a jilted lover is a pointless distraction). Things pick up for the final battle and the long wait might have been worth it if not for the book’s terrible resolution.
I’m not referring to Man and the cloned human race (I was cool with that stuff), but the happy ending involving the reunion with Marygay did not sit well with me.
It seemed too easy and undermined the struggle and pain that had come before, as well as the book’s message about the adverse effects of war on the individuals involved. Ultimately, the ending had no emotional impact or resonance for me.
Call me sadistic, but I would have been much more satisfied if Mandella discovered that Marygay had died long before his return to Earth.
Fair comments on the Haldeman: can't say I agree with all your points, but they're well put.
I've always felt that Mandella was kept quite vague and bland to act as an everyman observer, and relate what was going on around him without being too hysterical. I guess it is possible to see him as a jaded character, suffering from what we would now call post-traumatic-stress-disorder, which can create an unemotional detachment.
Some cruel critic would no doubt say that, as a Heinlein homage, the character would need to be bland and boring anyway!
Thank you, Señor Hobbit! At the risk of losing some street cred so soon (if newbies have any to begin with), I have to admit to never reading any Heinlein. I’m aware that some readers have drawn links between The Forever War and Starship Troopers (as a homage and/or a response). I’m sure my appreciation of Haldeman’s novel would have been more sophisticated if I had read that one at least. But your comments regarding Mandella have me reevaluating my own reaction to his characterization. I think you're right – the book wouldn’t have worked unless Mandella had been such an everyman; this is a necessary juxtaposition with society on Earth becoming more and more advanced and alien. As you say, he is an observer, and through his eyes, so is the reader, and we need to be able to relate to him and feel his increasing dislocation. I agree that a palpable theme of the book is the mental health issues that can be related to the military experience. Public awareness of conditions like PTSD only really increased after the Vietnam War, so Haldeman was probably ahead of his time in this respect. There’s a fascinating part of the book, where the Terran forces are undertaking an invasion landing and Mandella is given a drug to keep him docile in the face of near certain death. The drug seems to be a preventative medicine strategy targeting the soldiers’ psychiatric state – a very interesting concept.
I'm also reading a classic now: The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursulla K LeGuin : the lines between SF and fantasy are a little blurred with this one, but I love the crossover books [Coldfire, Dune, Helliconia, Morgaine] and I have high expectations of this.
I'm reading The Domino Pattern by Timothy Zahn at the moment. I didn't actually realise until about halfway through that it was part of a series, but it reads well enough as a stand alone. I'll have to pick up the first three after I finish this though, good writing and an interesting galactic setting.
Just finished The Evolutionary Void, purposefully took my time with it as I'm an unabashed Hamilton fan, and loved almost every moment of it. As a writer he still struggles with endings - they're either the classical 'happy' or very open ended - but the rest of the book was so strong I didn't notice so much this time. There were a few threads that tailed off a little unsatisfactorily and a few moments where you really did need to have read Pandora Star and Judas Unchained, but those aside I found the fictional science fascinating, the drawing of characters together fun and some neat cameos.
I put down The Abbey by Dan Dobos after about 50 pages. Part of the problem is that the book is a translation from the author's native Romanian and while the translation isn't bad, it isn't great either. There's a lot that seems to have gotten lost. Plus, the book has a fair bit of religion and philosophy so all in all it's a somewhat difficult, confusing read. I'll give the book another shot sometime in the future.
I'm now reading an oldie, Little Fuzzy by H. Beam Piper.
Have just finished At Winters End by Robert Silverberg. The first Silverberg I have read in a looonngg time this post apolcylyptic tale absolutely blew me away.
After 70,000 years in underground cocoons humankind returns the the Earth's surface following the end of the Great Winter created by the Death Stars.
Koshmar leads her tribe from their cocoon in a search for the fabled city of Vengiboneeza the capital of the Great World that existed before the fall of the Death Stars. However the openness of this new world changes many of the tribe.
Unfortunately when they arrive at Vengiboneeza some members of the tribe must face a devastating question.
Whilst perhaps not the most deeply drawn charaters the members of the tribe have sufficient depth to enable the reader (well this one) to connect with them while the pacing and plot are both very good.
Almost finished Judas Unchained and it's a much tighter work compared to Pandora's Star. Downright awesome. Gotta love Tochee - "We do not have 'shampoo conditioner' on my world. I would become very important if I were to introduce such a thing"
I finished The Domino Pattern by Timothy Zahn yesterday. I enjoyed it, but the majority of the novel was an investigation into murders that seemed to drag a little bit. The last 60 or so pages were excellent and it opened up the story to the next one very well. Even though I haven't read the first three books I felt it was easy enough to follow and the revelations didn't leave me scratching my head - Zahn was able to put the clues and info needed into this novel very well. Shame the main thread wasn't a hundred pages shorter.
Now started reading Out of the Dark by David Weber - I loved the first chapter and really looking forward to the rest, especially as this will be my first read of his work.
Busy with Prelude to Foundation at this moment. I love Asimov so much. After that, I'll be starting with Kevin J. Anderson's Saga of the 7 Suns Book 2 after that. Then I need some more book.
Can anyone recommend any Awesome Space Opera or Sci-Fi. I'm looking for something Epic and Huge
I always recommend Peter F Hamilton with regards to Space Opera. His Night's Dawn trilogy is close to 3000 pages (something like 1.2 million words) and is completely epic. HIs Commonwealth universe books are also great and split into two series - teh Commonwealth Saga (Pandora's Star/Judas Unchained) and the Void Trilogy (Dreaming Void/Temporal Void/Evolutionary Void). Have a look in this thread for more stuff about him and some good recommendations on where to start.
I always recommend Peter F Hamilton with regards to Space Opera. His Night's Dawn trilogy is close to 3000 pages (something like 1.2 million words) and is completely epic. HIs Commonwealth universe books are also great and split into two series - teh Commonwealth Saga (Pandora's Star/Judas Unchained) and the Void Trilogy (Dreaming Void/Temporal Void/Evolutionary Void). Have a look in this thread for more stuff about him and some good recommendations on where to start.
I got Pandora's Star, Judas Unchained and Fallen Dragon. I really love Hamilton. There is a bookstore Exclusive Books Close to me. And I know they have the whole Void Trilogy. Going to buy it Tomorrow.
Thank you, Señor Hobbit! At the risk of losing some street cred so soon (if newbies have any to begin with), I have to admit to never reading any Heinlein. I’m aware that some readers have drawn links between The Forever War and Starship Troopers (as a homage and/or a response). I’m sure my appreciation of Haldeman’s novel would have been more sophisticated if I had read that one at least. But your comments regarding Mandella have me reevaluating my own reaction to his characterization. I think you're right – the book wouldn’t have worked unless Mandella had been such an everyman; this is a necessary juxtaposition with society on Earth becoming more and more advanced and alien. As you say, he is an observer, and through his eyes, so is the reader, and we need to be able to relate to him and feel his increasing dislocation. I agree that a palpable theme of the book is the mental health issues that can be related to the military experience. Public awareness of conditions like PTSD only really increased after the Vietnam War, so Haldeman was probably ahead of his time in this respect. There’s a fascinating part of the book, where the Terran forces are undertaking an invasion landing and Mandella is given a drug to keep him docile in the face of near certain death. The drug seems to be a preventative medicine strategy targeting the soldiers’ psychiatric state – a very interesting concept.
You might want to check out John Steakley's Armor, to make a trifecta out of it, but perhaps after you read Starship Troopers; Heinlein is unabashedly pro-military, while Steakley is far more cynical and wrote Armor as a response to Starship Troopers (some scenes parallel ST specifically, but twisted or inverted.)
I personally prefer the Void books, but I wouldn't recommend them unless you've read the Commonwealth Saga first. Night's Dawn is great, no doubt, but much darker in tone than the Commonwealth/Void books. You really can't go wrong either way though, they both are classic Hamilton doorstopping Space Opera's!
As for other recommendations - you could try Gary Gibson's Shoal Sequence, Neal Asher's Polity books or the new series by Ian Whates (only one published so far) - The Noise Within. A name that is usually said is Iain M Banks, but since I've not read any of his Culture novels I can't endorse them...
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