Reading in Science Fiction, April 2020

[Hobbit]

And so to April.... it seems like a long time since I posted the March thread, and a lot has changed/is changing.

Nevertheless, it is in these strange and uncertain times that perhaps you telling us about what you've been reading in Science Fiction this month is most important. Communication on such matters means that you may feel less alone. Remember, good or bad, we still want to know what you think.

Stay safe and stay well.

Mark

 

[Ropie]

Nevertheless, it is in these strange and uncertain times that perhaps you telling us about what you've been reading in Science Fiction this month is most important.

Absolutely agree!!

I'll start then with Adam Roberts' Twenty Trillion Leagues Under the Sea, which I very much enjoyed. As usual with Roberts' work I found it extremely well written, often darkly amusing, and pretty exciting with weird and clever ideas. Unfortunately the ebook edition which I read on the Kindle app on my phone was literally riddled with typos (not including the error about how many meters there are in a kilometer that I first mentioned last month)! I kept a list and found almost 20 of them!!! If anyone has the printed edition I would love to send a few to you so you can check if they are also in the printed edition....

 

[Westy]

Absolutely agree!!

I'll start then with Adam Roberts' Twenty Trillion Leagues Under the Sea, which I very much enjoyed. As usual with Roberts' work I found it extremely well written, often darkly amusing, and pretty exciting with weird and clever ideas. Unfortunately the ebook edition which I read on the Kindle app on my phone was literally riddled with typos (not including the error about how many meters there are in a kilometer that I first mentioned last month)! I kept a list and found almost 20 of them!!! If anyone has the printed edition I would love to send a few to you so you can check if they are also in the printed edition....

I have - feel free!

 

[krisbslick]

I started Moon Rising by Ian McDonald (book 3 of the Luna series), it's okay so far - same vein as the first two books. It's hard to care about the characters for some reason, but I can see how the writing might be considered... appealing to those who appreciate stylized prose. I, unfortunately, seem to lack the trait. Just finishing up the series for OCD purposes.

 

[suciul]

I started Moon Rising by Ian McDonald (book 3 of the Luna series), it's okay so far - same vein as the first two books. It's hard to care about the characters for some reason, but I can see how the writing might be considered... appealing to those who appreciate stylized prose. I, unfortunately, I seem to lack the trait. Just finishing up the series for OCD purposes.

To be honest I didn't like Moon Rising that much either; I actually really loved the first volume (that was among the best sf I've read the year when it was published with an excellent ending) and I liked the second volume - had some memorable moments, but this one was a chore to read for whatever reason and it took me standing in a two-hour line to get going seriously with it almost a year afte I got it, and then finished it to see what happens...

Anyway back on topic and finally War of the Maps arrived to the USA (electronically, of course, these days...) and I am really excited about it - put aside everything else and started it tonight...

 

[dannymcg]

Plague by Graham Masterton - I last read this well over forty years ago.

IIRC it had only been released a few months when it was totally eclipsed by Stephen King's The Stand.

 

[Westy]

Plague by Graham Masterton - I last read this well over forty years ago.

I read quite a few of his books back in the 90's horror days (Doubleday mail order from memory) - I remember him being a bit more horrific/gory than the norm. Mirror and Family Portrait were favourites at the time...

 

[Hobbit]

Plague by Graham Masterton - I last read this well over forty years ago.

That's one I should add to the list! But is it Science Fiction?

I was reading that two of Netflix's most popular movies at the moment are The Andromeda Strain and Contagion. Go figure...

 

[chitman13]

I barely read anything in March - 1 book, I think.

Halfway through the audiobook of Through Fiery Trials by David Weber, and I'll try and get it finished as soon as I can this month.

I did start Triplanetary by EE 'Doc' Smith and have put it down - the writing is way too clunky for me, and I could not get into it.

Picked up The Last Dog on Earth by Adrian Walker and really enjoyed the first few chapters. Easy to read and it has me wanting to know more about the worlrd and characters. Hopefully I won't stall on this one!

 

[Westy]

Picked up The Last Dog on Earth by Adrian Walker and really enjoyed the first few chapters. Easy to read and it has me wanting to know more about the worlrd and characters. Hopefully I won't stall on this one!

Someone recommended that to me a while ago - interested how it turns out.

 

[Av Demeisen]

Adrian J. Walker has a new book out later this month called The Human Son published by Solaris/Rebellion. A lot of good reviews, including Publishers Weekly (starred).

 

[dannymcg]

That's one I should add to the list! But is it Science Fiction?

It has a scientist who was blasting the plague bacteria with radiation and lab containment was then broken, this allowed the mutated germs to escape and spread.

Surely that's sci fi? (Radiation mutated supergerms)

 

[Hobbit]

Sorry, Danny: that wasn't meant to sound like a criticism - more of a question. But like others, to me Masterton is best known for his Horror (though I know he has moved on to other areas of writing.) I was sort've expecting the characters to turn into zombies, or something.

 

[smileyscifi]

I'm a little over halfway through Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood. So far it's pretty enjoyable, although it's not pure sci fi.

 

[Hobbit]

Hello, Smiley: welcome to SFFWorld!

Atwood gets an interesting response here. Personally, her view that what she writes isn't science fiction grates on me, and as a result I find it difficult to read any of her work. She does have her fans, though.

So: I guess my questions are: Are you are reading Oryx & Crake because you thought it was science fiction, or did you go into it blind and not know what to expect? and I guess ultimately, Does it matter whether it is SF or not?

M.

 

[Prairie_Dog]

I know I’m late to reading this particular one, but I have to say that Sue Burke has done an amazing feat of telling a multi-generational story that chronicles the colonization of a very alien world.

A group of humans leave the slowly dying Earth to found a new colony on a distant alien world. They bring their highest ideals, but they also bring the problems inherent in human nature.

On the planet they find, the ecosystem is a billion years more advanced than that of Earth. Symbiosis and mutualism exist in strange new forms. The flora isn’t the passive plant life they are familiar with. They must find a way to fit into this alien ecosystem, because their survival depends on it.

I thought that “Semiosis” is a very fresh take on alien life that avoids the conventional. It contains very different ideas about sentience, and about relationships, both human and otherwise. It’s also the first work in a duology, and you hardly see those...

 

[smileyscifi]

Hello, Smiley: welcome to SFFWorld!

Atwood gets an interesting response here. Personally, her view that what she writes isn't science fiction grates on me, and as a result I find it difficult to read any of her work. She does have her fans, though.

So: I guess my questions are: Are you are reading Oryx & Crake because you thought it was science fiction, or did you go into it blind and not know what to expect? and I guess ultimately, Does it matter whether it is SF or not?

M.

Thanks for the welcome!

I chose this book the same way I usually do, scour the internet's "top 100" lists or look for recommendations on forums like this. I went into it knowing that it fits into the post-apocalyptic genre and that it deals a lot with the idea of bio-engineering, but not much else. I guess for me it doesn't make a difference whether it is considered SF or not. I do find the classification of most post-apocalyptic novels as a sub-genre of SF strange. They just feel so much different than other SF genres.

Juries still out on Atwood for me, the only other book I read of hers was The Handmaid's Tale.

 

[Hobbit]

Had a nice afternoon reading this, a non-fictional analysis of Ray Bradbury's Martian stories:

It's fairly short - 80 pages or so- but is a nice summary of Bradbury's stories themselves and what readers/critics think of them. Was one I picked up on an off-chance, as Dave Creek, the author, was offering it as a free ebook during the current lockdown, for which he deserves kudos.

I was also swayed by the fact that the cover is one of my favourite pictures from my favourite artists, Chesley Bonestell. I still miss those Martian canals....

Made me want to read Edgar Rice Burroughs and Bradbury all over again, which I guess can't be a bad thing!

 

[Westy]

I thought that “Semiosis” is a very fresh take on alien life that avoids the conventional.

I thought so too, really enjoyed it.

 

[Westy]

This one's been on the list for a while - Lexicon by Max Barry.

It has a very interesting premise - there's a school where students are taught how to persuade and coerce, and how to classify people into psychological segments and use certain words to
overpower them. Graduates are called 'poets'.

There are two main storylines - Emily, a young girl on the streets recruited to the school, and
Wil, who is abducted by two men because of the importance of his memories.

It's a very fast paced, clever and original novel, though I thought the second half was not as good - there was a lot of chasing around at the expense of more detail on how the linguistics work and what the poet's goals were. I wanted to know more about the science but it ended up weighing more towards the thriller side. Still a good read though.