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961 books
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| # | cover | title | author | isbn | isbn13 | asin | num pages | avg rating | num ratings | date pub | date pub (ed.) | rating | my rating | review | notes | recommender | comments | votes | read count | date started | date read |
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35
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| 0230750761
| 9780230750760
| 3.82
| 7,833
| May 17, 2011
| May 17, 2011
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Jun 16, 2012
| Hardcover
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19
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| 0575076348
| 9780575076341
| 4.39
| 245
| 1996
| Dec 01, 2005
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 Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to relea...more Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to release new works. Something had to be done. On the spur of the moment I set myself a challenge, to read every book to have won the Locus Sci-Fi award. That’s 35 books, 6 of which I’d previously read, leaving 29 titles by 14 authors who were new to me. While working through this reading list I got married, went on my honeymoon, switched career and became a father. As such these stories became imprinted on my memory as the soundtrack to the happiest period in my life (so far). 1998 was a year without consensus. Every significant sci-fi and fantasy award (that I follow) went to a different novel. The Hugo went to – Halderman, Forever Peace The Nebula went to – McIntyre, The Moon and the Sun The Arthur C Clarke went to – Russell, The Sparrow The B.S.F.A. went to – Priest, The Extremes The World Fantasy went to – Ford, The Physiognomy The Mythopoeic went to – Byatt, The Djinn in the Nightingale’s Eye The Locus Fantasy went to – Powers, Earthquake Weather The Locus Sci-Fi went to – Simmons, Rise of Endymion It was one of those years where there just weren’t enough awards to go around, with three more superb novels (Hamilton, The Reality Dysfunction , Egan, Diaspora and Robinson, Antarctica ) all finishing empty handed. ...(It was specifically 'Rise' which won the award, but I've posted this review as the Omnibus, as that's the version I own) Rise of Endymion is, of course, the final instalment of Simmons brain-melting space-opera epic, The Hyperion Cantos. I’m going to nail my colours to the mast right from the get-go; I’m a Dan Simmons fan and I loved this book. ...(Split and published as four books, the Cantos was written as two and I tend to refer to them as two, simply Hyperion and Endymion) I’m happy to admit this is a very different book from Hyperion; a much simpler book. Hyperion builds a rich, complex universe and tells a strange and difficult tale from the multiple perspectives of a diverse cast. It is, without a doubt, a stunning achievement. I have the feeling that a lot of readers follow the story to Endymion expecting a similar experience and as a result end up sorely disappointed. Having put so much time and energy into building his Hyperion Cantos universe, Endymion is about Simmons (and us) having some fun exploring it! The first book is road-story / chase-story where our heroes bimble along and leap through many worlds via farcaster portals, negotiating episodic dangers and gradually building their relationship. The second book takes us a little deeper, exploring our heroes’ reconfigured relationship as the time-debt of space travel brings their ages close enough for romance to blossom, the spirituality/philosophy of the maturing messiah, and the eye-water potential of the beautiful, vivid settings. Objectively, Hyperion is the ‘better’ book – but subjectively Endymion is (for me at least) a more pleasurable experience. It’s better escapism. It doesn’t make my brain hurt. It had that blend of high-tech sci-fi that I love, that feels magical. It was more uplifting. More emotive. Hyperion felt like an exhibit, Endymion like an embrace. I know I’m in the minority, but I don’t care! I feel like I’m back in the playground, holding hands with the piggy-nosed girl. I think she’s pretty and the rest of you can just go away and stop calling her names! Read Endymion . Love Aenea. Be happy.(less) | Notes are private!
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May 11, 2012
| Paperback
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16
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| 0671876465
| 9780671876463
| 4.29
| 6,651
| 1994
| Mar 01, 1995
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Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to relea...more Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to release new works. Something had to be done. On the spur of the moment I set myself a challenge, to read every book to have won the Locus Sci-Fi award. That’s 35 books, 6 of which I’d previously read, leaving 29 titles by 14 authors who were new to me. While working through this reading list I got married, went on my honeymoon, switched career and became a father. As such these stories became imprinted on my memory as the soundtrack to the happiest period in my life (so far). When I picked up Mirror Dance I was coming off the back of a strong, post-Wedding run of books. Cryptonomicon , The Years of Rice and Salt , To Say Nothing of the Dog , The Diamond Age , and Doomsday Book – that’s five novels, all getting four or five-star ratings from me in a row. I wasn’t sure what to do about the Vorkosigan Saga. There were three trilogies on my Locus Quest reading list – Mars Trilogy, The Baroque Cycle and The Uplift Saga – where books two and three had won the Locus Sci-Fi Award, so I’d convinced myself that I should read the whole trilogy in each case to understand the award winners in context. At the other end of the spectrum was The Telling , which is part of the Hainish Cycle, but stands alone – so I didn’t read any other books in the series before I picked it up. The Vorkosigan Saga is definitely a traditional series – and should therefore ideally be read in chronological order, but the award winners on my list were books two and nine in a fourteen (and still growing) book series. There was no way I was going to read twelve other books to understand these two in full context. Harsh as it felt I was going to have to sample those two books out of order and hope they stood up. Such were my thoughts beginning Mirror Dance . “It’s been such a wonderful run of books, but it had to end at some point.” “You can’t just jump in at book nine, it will make no sense!” Oh, how little did I know! Mirror Dance is superb! Really, truly, hand on my heart, right up there with my favourite books. Pure sci-fi adventure, with wit and drama and action and heartache and everything! Wonderful characters, a brilliant scenario – just an awful lot of fun! Every sentence I write to describe this book ends with an exclamation mark! I highly recommend this book as an entry point to the series. As I understand it, it marks the beginning of a four-book arc within the larger series, involving Marc. It also introduces Miles through a more vulnerable lens than some of the other books, and there are plenty more Miles books to get your teeth into once your curiosity is piqued. Cordelia may only be a minor character here, but she’s still a powerful presence and it was exciting to learn that she has her own books too! Finally, this story does a whistle-stop tour of the various local worlds used in the saga, so in that sense it works as a brilliant orientation. I’ve since read two more Vorkosigan Saga novels: Barrayar (the other Locus winner, focused on Cordelia) and The Vor Game (a Hugo winner focused on Miles). Both of them were also excellent, (and will be reviewed soon) – and I am definitely a Vorkosigan Saga convert. I am now determined to read the whole series (albeit probably all jumbled out of order!). Of the three I’ve read, Mirror Dance is definitely still my favourite. I like long running series. I like characters you get to spend a dozen books with. I’m a big fan of Discworld and the Dresden Files – and I’ve always wanted a sci-fi equivalent to follow as eagerly. With the Vorkosigan Saga I feel I’ve found that missing puzzle piece – and it makes me very happy. Thank-you, Madame Bujold, thank-you. =D(less) | Notes are private!
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May 09, 2012
| Mass Market Paperback
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24
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| 0006511481
| 9780006511489
| 3.69
| 3,840
| 2002
| 2003
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Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to relea...more Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to release new works. Something had to be done. On the spur of the moment I set myself a challenge, to read every book to have won the Locus Sci-Fi award. That’s 35 books, 6 of which I’d previously read, leaving 29 titles by 14 authors who were new to me. While working through this reading list I got married, went on my honeymoon, switched career and became a father. As such these stories became imprinted on my memory as the soundtrack to the happiest period in my life (so far). 2003 was a wonderfully rich and diverse year for Sci-Fi and Fantasy! My beloved Locus Sci-Fi Award went to this, Robinson’s Years of Rice and Salt . The sister award, the Locus Fantasy went to Miéville’s The Scar (which is awesome!) Gaiman’s superb American Gods took the Nebula. The prestigious Hugo was awarded to Sawyer’s Hominids . The Separation , by Chris Priest picked up the Arthur C Clarke. The BSFA award went to Felaheen by JC Grimwood. McKillip’s Ombria in Shadow , got the Mythopoeic and shared the World Fantasy. The other co-winner of the World Fantasy was The Facts of Life by G. Joyce. Eight awards – eight different winners. How often does that happen? I was pretty cautious before starting The Years of Rice and Salt . I’d only read one other Robinson before – Red Mars , many years before – and found it tough going at the time (but that’s another review). I chucked this into my suitcase for my honeymoon, content that if it was too much of a grind for around-the-pool reading, my wife was packing plenty of lighter fantasy fare I could borrow. My fears were all for naught – this is totally different kettle of fish to the Mars Trilogy. Alternative history premise: the black plague obliterated Europe and the Eastern civilizations scrap over global conquest. Story lens: reincarnation! A small family (?) of souls reincarnate in different forms and relationships with each other over ten novellas covering seven hundred years in a great karmic cycle. I like Buddhism. I like alternative histories. I like the interlinked novella approach. For holiday reading, this was perfect. I devoured a novella every time we took one of Malta’s quirky buses to a tourist trap. I sipped at them leisurely while lounging on the beach. I chatted about the wonderful ideas with my new wife while we enjoyed room service on our balcony. I loved the little between-life moments of the reincarnation. By turns this book made me excited and tranquil. It reminded me a little of David Mitchell’s brilliant Ghostwritten with a touch of Wilbur Smith in each little adventure. It was one of those books I didn’t want to end. Surely there could be one more reincarnation? One more story? I’m surprised by the number of negative reviews I’ve found, I guess it helps that I’ve always held Buddhist inclinations. I give this five-stars without hesitation. Not long after we returned from our honeymoon one our cats, Callie, escaped and was killed on the road near our flat. She was the prettiest, most affectionate kitty I’ve ever met – adored by all who met her (even dog people). When I found out that she had died, it was this book that came to mind. One of the stories involves a soul 'demoted' to a life as a tiger for one cycle. I told my wife that Callie “was just too good to be a cat and they had to call her spirit back so she could be reincarnated as a person”. The idea was comforting. Those words were still in my head when, very shortly after, I discovered we were having a child. When I look into my baby son's eyes now, I wonder if, just maybe, there’s a bit of Callie's endless curiosity looking back. That makes me happy.(less) | Notes are private!
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May 09, 2012
| Paperback
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31
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| 1843549174
| 9781843549178
| 4.16
| 22,358
| Sep 09, 2008
| Oct 01, 2009
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Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to relea...more Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to release new works. Something had to be done. On the spur of the moment I set myself a challenge, to read every book to have won the Locus Sci-Fi award. That’s 35 books, 6 of which I’d previously read, leaving 29 titles by 14 authors who were new to me. While working through this reading list I got married, went on my honeymoon, switched career and became a father. As such these stories became imprinted on my memory as the soundtrack to the happiest period in my life (so far). There are some books that deserve 6 stars. For me, Anathem is one. Anathem won the Locus Sci-Fi award in 2009. There were other books up for the award that year, but nothing worth mentioning in the same breath. The Hugo award went to Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book – which is a wonderfully poignant little story – but to say it’s better than this? Laughable. I love this book so much that I named one of my cats Erasmas after the hero. (We just call him Razzie unless he gets a full-name telling-off for humping his little brother.) It’s a story about a tight-knit group of highly academic friends (who happen to be monks who worship maths and science) in a post-post apocalyptic world, being tossed out into the wider, wilder society on a quest to make contact with dimension-hopping aliens. What more could you ask for? Jason Pettus has done a superb job of explaining quite why this is such a perfectly constructed concept (check it out) so I won’t go into that. Skimming other reviews I’ve seen that a lot of people got bogged down my the math-love, or found the characters hard to relate to, or straight-up found it dull. I’m flabbergasted at this! Normally I understand that some books just don’t gel with some people, but I refuse to bow down on this one – it’s not the book’s fault, the book is perfect – you people are broken in some deeply intrinsic way! It’s not just geeky, it’s got a lot of heart and humour too. How’s this for a quote? “Our opponent is an alien starship packed with atomic bombs," I said. My personal moment would be the sudden arrival of the martial-arts monks - I haven't grinned that much at a book since the mimes went all kung-fu at the end of The Gone Away World . I spent the whole read wittering about how much I loved it to the extent that I’d barely sighed my contented little sigh at THE END before my wife snatched the tome from my grip to see what all the fuss was all about. Somehow I’d never heard of the marvellous Mr Stephenson before I began my Locus Quest – but that was the whole point of the quest! I’d gotten incredibly lazy and wasn’t trying out new authors. This was exactly what I’d been hoping to discover. It was the third book I read in my Locus Sci-Fi reading list – following Accelerando and Rainbows End – and the first to float my boat to the rafters. 5 stars, no hesitation. I’ve since read Cryptonomicon , The Diamond Age , Quicksilver and Confusion as part of my quest, with The System of the World still to go before I’m finished. Snow Crash is his only novel not on my reading list and that’s the one I’m most looking forward to at the moment! I expect I shall read everything he cares to write. “... when I saw any of those kinds of beauty I knew I was alive, and not just in the sense that when I hit my thumb with a hammer I knew I was alive, but rather in the sense that I was partaking of something--something was passing through me that it was in my nature to be a part of.”(less) | Notes are private!
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May 08, 2012
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30
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| 0007150938
| 9780007150939
| 3.65
| 32,121
| Jan 01, 2007
| 2008
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Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to relea...more Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to release new works. Something had to be done. On the spur of the moment I set myself a challenge, to read every book to have won the Locus Sci-Fi award. That’s 35 books, 6 of which I’d previously read, leaving 29 titles by 14 authors who were new to me. While working through this reading list I got married, went on my honeymoon, switched career and became a father. As such these stories became imprinted on my memory as the soundtrack to the happiest period in my life (so far). Have you ever thought that you were in love, only to realise, surprised in the middle of some mundane moment (such as pouring a cup of tea or hanging up your coat) that you are not in love at all? You were only ever, briefly, excited and infatuated – and that tantalising, mesmerising infatuation has now lifted from your eyes. I thought, for a while, that I was in love with Michael Chabon. His use of language is so seductive – such sensuous sentences and playful, poetic paragraphs! The man is a natural wordsmith. The inspiration for this alternative reality is both wacky and deadpan, the noir homage both familiar and refreshing. I swooned! I remember posting a status update on Facebook: www.ischabonmynewfavouriteauthor.com/... I kept stroking the book and bimbling around with a skip in my step. This was only a couple of weeks away from my wedding day – love was in the air and I had more than enough to share with Mister Chabon! And then... I remember it so clearly. I was in the pub, getting some lunch. I picked a comfy corner with a bench, hooked my feet up beside me and cut up all my sausages so I could eat with just one hand. I was all cosy, curled into the wall, book in one hand, fork in the other, pint of beer waiting, delectable in front of me… it was a perfect moment… Then I started to read and the magic that had captivated me beforehand just wasn’t there any more. It felt flat; facetious, smug and smarmy. From hanging off every word, I found myself struggling to stay focused. My eyes were repelled from the page. I had to fight to finish what I’d started. By the end, it was a matter or pride, but I wasn’t enjoying it any more. I did a bi-polar flip over this book. It was an emotional and exhausting experience. The idea of reading another Chabon makes me feel ill – I can’t handle that kind of heart-ache – I read for pleasure, man! Somewhere between those giddy highs and dizzy lows, I’ll give the book a 3-star rating. Now where did I leave my meds…?(less) | Notes are private!
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May 08, 2012
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29
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| 0812536363
| 9780812536362
| 3.70
| 5,676
| 2006
| Apr 03, 2007
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Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to relea...more Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to release new works. Something had to be done. On the spur of the moment I set myself a challenge, to read every book to have won the Locus Sci-Fi award. That’s 35 books, 6 of which I’d previously read, leaving 29 titles by 14 authors who were new to me. While working through this reading list I got married, went on my honeymoon, switched career and became a father. As such these stories became imprinted on my memory as the soundtrack to the happiest period in my life (so far). Rainbows End won the Locus Sci-Fi (as well as the Hugo) in 2007. I first heard about it on the Accelerating Future blog where Vinge is somewhat revered. When I started my Locus quest I made this my second port of call (after Accelerando ) because it sounded like my cup of tea. I think I would have enjoyed the book which came second that year ( Glasshouse ) more. I wanted to like Rainbows End . I really did try to like it. I thought for the first half of the book that I might just actually end up liking it. But I didn’t. What frustrates me most about Rainbows End is that I’m not even certain why we didn’t gel. The world building is top-notch – plausible and convincing, thoroughly detailed, interesting and original, memorable, etc – all qualities I normally laud. I know it can’t be just because the protagonist is a grating grouch. I’ll admit that I spent most my read hoping he’d fall down an open manhole, but I’ve enjoyed other books with even less likeable leads (Donaldson - Thomas Covenant ?). And it’s not that the protagonist was old – I’m not ageist – I love a good silver-haired sleuth! (King - Insomnia ?) Could it be that the plot sort of fizzled and drifted into a faux-thriller mystery with a bunny? Maybe. Or that the supporting cast are utterly forgettable? Perhaps. Was it because the story lacks anything close to a true emotional hook? Could be. None of these factors on their own would be enough to put me off a book, but all of them together stopped me from enjoying the wonderful ideas that kicked this book off. The only reason I can’t outright 1-star the book is that I’m not sure it’s entirely Rainbows End ’s fault. Have you ever had that feeling, when you take an instant dislike to somebody? It’s out of character and you’re probably just having a bad day, but you can’t shake your first impression that this guy is a thoroughbred douche? And you feel bad for being so judgemental, so you end-up being nicer to this douche than you probably should be? Yeah. This is like that. I think my favorite idea here (and it's one that completely irrelevant to the plot) is the notion of fiction inspired augmented reality overlays of real locations. Minus the tech-speak - that means glasses which make all of London look like Ankh-Morpork, or turn Windsor Castle into Hogwarts, etc. So the grouchy old poet - that was an image my mind could run with! I've since read The Snow Queen by Vernor's ex-wife, Joan Vinge. I didn't get along with that either. Ah well... my search for a good sci-fi author beginning with V goes on... now where did I put that Verne omnibus..?(less) | Notes are private!
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May 08, 2012
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28
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| 1841493899
| 9781841493893
| unknown
| 3.86
| 7,106
| 2005
| unknown
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Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to relea...more Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to release new works. Something had to be done. On the spur of the moment I set myself a challenge, to read every book to have won the Locus Sci-Fi award. That’s 35 books, 6 of which I’d previously read, leaving 29 titles by 14 authors who were new to me. While working through this reading list I got married, went on my honeymoon, switched career and became a father. As such these stories became imprinted on my memory as the soundtrack to the happiest period in my life (so far). 2006 – Accelerando won the Locus Sci-Fi award, beating the Hugo winner, Spin . Personally, I would have given the award to Simmons’ Olympus , the sequel to 2004’s winner, Ilium (one of my all-time favourite books). But I’m very glad the guys and gals voting for the Locus gave it to Accelerando – because that way it got onto my reading list. After making the decision to read every Locus Sci-Fi winner, this is the book I started my quest with. It was recent, sounded interesting, was a new author for me, and was available from Amazon second hand for just 1p (plus delivery). This book made me feel: Christ-On-A-Bike-Doing-Bunnyhops-Through-Bethlehem! I would describe it as: A charismatic geekazoid ideagasming into my optic nerves. What I said at the time to my wife: The main guy I was telling you about, well he’s now a flock of pigeons living in his grandson’s space habitat (orbiting Saturn) which is controlled by the AI who used to be an orangutan, his daughter’s ship and his cat. It’s that kind of book. Like riding a rollercoaster through a technology museum then being quizzed about the exhibits. It throws a lot of information at you, opens up a lot of different angles and doesn’t explain much. Then it lurches off down one of these angles into the future and does it again. While you’re trying to figure out what’s happening this time, you’re also trying to figure out which details were relevant from the last chapter to get you here. Then we lurch forward again and a pattern emerges – we’re trying to look at the present, then at the past for how the hell we got here, then to the future for where we’re going next. Each lurch gets more extreme, accelerating the profound post-singularity changes on individuals and society. It’s a fascinating experience with a wonderful, free-wheeling spirit. But it lacks heart. By surfing the wave of progress, the characters in Accelerando are moving further and further away from traditional norms, and as such the emotional hooks they exert upon the reader are increasingly abstract and tenuous. It’s a brilliant thought-experiment, but lacking in soul. Delighted to give it 4 stars – but quite firm that it doesn’t deserve 5. (less) | Notes are private!
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May 08, 2012
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| 0575075600
| 9780575075603
| 3.97
| 10,570
| 2003
| Mar 01, 2004
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Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to relea...more Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to release new works. Something had to be done. On the spur of the moment I set myself a challenge, to read every book to have won the Locus Sci-Fi award. That’s 35 books, 6 of which I’d previously read, leaving 29 titles by 14 authors who were new to me. While working through this reading list I got married, went on my honeymoon, switched career and became a father. As such these stories became imprinted on my memory as the soundtrack to the happiest period in my life (so far). In 2004, Ilium won the Locus Sci-Fi award. In my opinion, if the award had been a motor race, the other contenders would have got their asses lapped. That’s not to say there weren’t some good books in the running that year, Quicksilver is epic and I’ve heard good things about Pattern Recognition , The Speed of Dark and Singularity Sky – but Ilium is so far up my alley that it’s sitting on my lap and fiercely tonguing my tonsils. When I embarked upon my Locus Quest, I picked the Locus Sci-Fi Award over other more highly regarded genre awards (Hugo, Nebula, BSFA, Arthur C. Clarke) for one simple reason: Ilium . I looked at my bookcase, saw this book and thought “I want to read more books like that”. Glittering on the cover was a little silver sticker ‘Winner of the Locus Award for best Sci-Fi novel’. I looked online and discovered that none of the more prestigious awards had recognised and rewarded Mr Simmons' mind-blowing madcap genius. “If the good people at Locus share my sensibilities regarding Señor Simmons,” I thought to myself, “then perhaps I’ll share theirs regarding other books.” Just like that, the decision was made and I committed myself to reading every winner of the Locus Sci-Fi award – a reading list that has taken me best part of two years to complete. My introduction to Ilium set my spider-sense a-tingling. My Mum popped her head round the door and said ‘I’ve got one for you, I couldn’t get into it – it was all a bit much’. Now, that may not sound like an encouraging description, but where my Mum’s tolerance for high-concept sci-fi drops off a cliff my personal sweet-spot begins. Previous authors to elicit this response that it was ‘all a bit much’ included Stephen Baxter, Greg Egan, and Alistair Reynolds – a warm welcome to the new chairman of the 'bit much' club, Dan Simmons! Jayaprakash Satyamurthy has already done a superb job of summarising the story-strands so I advise you to pop over to his review to wrap your head around them. This mash-up of classic literature with razor sharp sci-fi is audacious and inspirational. It’s the kind of book that I wish I could write. It’s the kind of book I wish I could trace back to the creative spark that initiated it to try and spin in a new direction. I read the book with a delighted grin stretching my cheeks throughout. The kind of book I’d risk walking into lampposts for because I simply could not tear it away from my face. I’ve read it multiple times and it never fails to delight me. I suppose you could call me a fan? Off the back of Ilium I read its sequel Olympus (obviously) and then ventured further into Simmons’ work – The Hyperion Cantos, Song of Kali , the Joe Kurtz Trilogy, The Terror and The Hollow Man were all good reads and I’ve got Drood on my shortlist and Carrion Comfort and Summer of Night on my longlist to read as soon as the chance arises. It’s fair to say I’ve become a big fan of his work – he consistently pushes my buttons. I am happy to acknowledge that Ilium wont be for everyone (like my Mum) but whenever anyone asks me if it’s worth a read I can’t help but gush. If you have even a passing interest in sparkling, original, intelligent, playful sci-fi – give it a try! (less) | Notes are private!
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May 08, 2012
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23
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| 0007118260
| 9780007118267
| 3.65
| 4,083
| Jan 01, 2001
| 2002
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Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to relea...more Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to release new works. Something had to be done. On the spur of the moment I set myself a challenge, to read every book to have won the Locus Sci-Fi award. That’s 35 books, 6 of which I’d previously read, leaving 29 titles by 14 authors who were new to me. While working through this reading list I got married, went on my honeymoon, switched career and became a father. As such these stories became imprinted on my memory as the soundtrack to the happiest period in my life (so far). The opening salvo of my Locus Quest were a bit hit and miss. Accelerando = brilliant! Rainbows End = so-so Anathem = perfect! Passage = ummmm… If you’ve never read any Connie Willis before – Passage probably isn’t the best place to start. And I say that as a fan. I’ve since read To Say Nothing of The Dog and Doomsday Book (and loved them both) but if I hadn’t been working my way through a specific reading list, I’m not sure I’d have given Willis another chance after Passage . It’s not that it’s a bad book: - The characters are likeable - It plays on the heartstrings - There are amusing moments - Some interesting discussions - Memorable use of location - Powerful thematic resonance - Brave plot development So why only two stars? I promise, I’m not naturally stingy with my stars. I wanted to like it. To me, those common elements of Willis’ writing style which work so effectively in her Oxford Time-Travel books (bureaucracy, late messages, tragic death, meandering mystery) act in those stories as a sort of grounding mechanism and counterpoint for the danger or romance of the time-travel adventure. In Passage , the ‘adventure’ is a scientific investigation into markedly morbid terrain and, in my opinion, applying the same techniques just doesn’t work. This time around I found the bureaucracy grating, the late messages petty and the meandering mystery not particularly mysterious and mostly just frustrating. For a sci-fi award winner, there really wasn’t much (any?) in the way of classic sci-fi elements. The ending was vague, symbolic, but ultimately unsatisfying. And for significant periods progress became a sort of grit-your-teeth and trudge. Masie Nellis, the sick 9-yr old girl, is such a loveable and memorable character that she practically earns that second star on her own. But I won’t read this one again. If anybody would like to see if they fare any better, let me know and (for a couple of quid donation to a good cause of your choice) this book can be yours, otherwise Passage is looking at a one-way ticket to the local charity shop.(less) | Notes are private!
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| 1857983327
| 9781857983326
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| 3.79
| 1,989
| 2000
| unknown
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Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to relea...more Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to release new works. Something had to be done. On the spur of the moment I set myself a challenge, to read every book to have won the Locus Sci-Fi award. That’s 35 books, 6 of which I’d previously read, leaving 29 titles by 14 authors who were new to me. While working through this reading list I got married, went on my honeymoon, switched career and became a father. As such these stories became imprinted on my memory as the soundtrack to the happiest period in my life (so far). Like two desperate wretches clinging to opposite sides of the Wheel of Fate, it sometimes seems, to me, like Fantasy and Sci-Fi, the two heirs of Speculative Fiction, must always suffer from opposing fortunes. When one rises up the other must be forced down. In 2001, Fantasy was on a high. A Storm of Swords won the Locus Fantasy award, the Hugo that year went to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire , Perdido Street Station took the BSFA and The Amber Spyglass and The Truth made up a very strong pack. Sci-Fi, on the other hand, went through a lull. I’m sure that’s doing many fine sci-fi novels a disservice, but the genre certainly wasn’t reaching comparable heights to its sword and wand wielding kin. The Locus Sci-Fi, 2001 winner, was Ursula Le Guin’s The Telling , part of her Hainish Cycle which, at time of writing, stands at 13 works (none of which I had previously read). Her best known work is the Earthsea Cycle (which I also hadn’t read), and the only book of Le Guin’s which I had read was Lavinia (which didn’t exactly grabbed me). So I had low expectation when I started. You might think I must have really hated this book to give it 1-star. I didn’t hate it. You might be wondering when (if ever) I’m going to get around to saying something about this book in particular. I’m wondering that too. Now, let me tell you, my friend: I have a good memory for books. I may not remember your girlfriends name until I’ve met her a dozen times and she’s called me a jackass for asking who she is (again) but I can tell you about plots and characters from a book I read, once, 15 years ago. I read The Telling last year, in the run-up to my wedding. Maybe I was distracted. I certainly had bigger things on my mind, but still – I’d expect to remember more about it than I do. I read it between Cyteen and The Integral Trees and I remember both of them crystal clear. I did actually wonder if I even read this book – or just thought I did – but my wife reassures me that she saw me reading it, that definitely did happen… I remember the cover of the book. I’m two-thirds sure that the protagonist was a lesbian. I think she was of Indian descent. I’ve got one mental image of a helicopter crashing in the desert. And I’ve got a feeling – a hypnotic sort of Taoist staring-at-water feeling. Aside from that, I’ve got nothing. You might be outraged at such a low score for a book many people regard highly. The interweb tells me this is a delicate and subtle investigation of how traditional cultures survive underground in headstrong progressive times (such as Mao’s China). But for me – this book isn’t just forgettable, The Telling is forgotten – and that is a crime I find hard to forgive. ps. On further reflection another image which I think is from this book came back to me... old people standing around in a hall doing a kind of yoga dance. Exciting, no?(less) | Notes are private!
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| 4.22
| 40,341
| 1999
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Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to relea...more Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to release new works. Something had to be done. On the spur of the moment I set myself a challenge, to read every book to have won the Locus Sci-Fi award. That’s 35 books, 6 of which I’d previously read, leaving 29 titles by 14 authors who were new to me. While working through this reading list I got married, went on my honeymoon, switched career and became a father. As such these stories became imprinted on my memory as the soundtrack to the happiest period in my life (so far). Cryptonomicon is a difficult book for me to review. In many ways it’s amazing – so why not the give it the fifth star? In many ways it’s infuriating – so how did it get the first four stars? Simple answer? It’s too long! Crypto clocks in between 900-1100 pages, depending on which copy you get – and the story is a rambling beast, full of whimsical tangents, studious digressions, chatty dialogue and endearing anecdotes. It’s an absolute pleasure to read – I find Stephenson’s writing a joy – but it goes in so many directions at once that it’s too often becalmed in the midst of the telling; any sense of forward momentum is diluted by the all-encompassing approach. Often you’re not sure which way is forward! For me, this book is the perfect example of the ethos that… “The journey is more important than the destination.” I learned from this book. I learned about cryptography, maths, military tactics, history, engineering, business tactics, phreaking, currency, mining, academia, etc. But I also learned how to kick-back and enjoy the journey of a book – to stop waiting for the next plot development point to come along like clockwork. Months after reading Crypto I came back to Stephenson’s Baroque Cycle, the sequel/prequel trilogy to Crypto and I loved it! To enjoy a book properly, I need to be in the right headspace – I need to know what I’m getting into and adjust my expectations accordingly. I didn’t have the right hat on for Crypto – so I really enjoyed it, but still kept having little tantrums that it wasn’t doing what I felt it should. My experience with Crypto helped me develop the right mindset to fully enjoy The Baroque Cycle, and if I didn’t have so many other books on my list, I’d be tempted to go back to Crypto a second time and see if I can now appreciate it more on the second go-around. This is the book I was mid-way through when I got married. Some people sit up nervously on the night before their wedding – I just read a couple of chapters of Crypto and sparked out. I read this on the flight for my honeymoon (between rounds of mushy newly-wed kisses). I finished it around the pool and on the beach. In much the same way that Blue Mars will forever be linked with the birth of my son, Cryptonomicon will always bring to mind, for me, wedding bells and a feeling of glorious happiness. Bobby Shaftoe, Randy Waterhouse, Lawrence Waterhouse and Enoch Root are all excellent characters – and the affection I feel for each of them is further enhanced by their association in my mind with the love I feel for my darling, bookworm wife. P.S. Don't mention the lizard. P.P.S. My only gripe with this book - and it's not even a gripe so much as an observation: Is this actually sci-fi? At all? No? Good. Just so we're all in agreement then. (less) | Notes are private!
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| 0553575384
| 9780553575385
| 4.16
| 12,264
| Jan 01, 1998
| Dec 01, 1998
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Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to relea...more Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to release new works. Something had to be done. On the spur of the moment I set myself a challenge, to read every book to have won the Locus Sci-Fi award. That’s 35 books, 6 of which I’d previously read, leaving 29 titles by 14 authors who were new to me. While working through this reading list I got married, went on my honeymoon, switched career and became a father. As such these stories became imprinted on my memory as the soundtrack to the happiest period in my life (so far). Have you read Passage , by Connie Willis? I have. It was the first Willis I read. We didn’t get on. To Say Nothing of the Dog arrived in the post shortly afterwards, and I wasn’t exactly bouncing off the walls in excitement. I looked at the book. The book looked at me. I shoved in on a shelf and went back to reading Cyteen . I read another half-dozen books before I worked up the courage to even consider it. I was packing books for my honeymoon. I wasn’t sure how much reading I’d get done because we were planning an action packed holiday (wink-wink-nudge-nudge!) so I lobbed in a couple of books I’d been putting off – ‘ The Dog , and Years of Rice & Salt . As it turned out, I nearly broke my ankle on our second day in Malta so we spent our time hobbling around the pool (and restaurants!) instead of all the mountain climbing and scuba-diving we had intended. Lots more time for reading than expected! My darling wife actually nabbed ' The Dog before I’d looked at it. I was still grinding my way through the latter half of Cryptonomicon when she started flicking through the first chapter. Isn’t this by the same writer you called ‘bloody miserable’? Yeah. It’s funny! Really? Yeah. ...Really? I’m borrowing it. ‘Kay. It turned out she really enjoyed it and recommended it highly. Which came as something of a surprise. My point (and I understand if you’d given up all hope of me reaching it) is that stories take you on a journey – and how you connect with and take enjoyment from that journey can be hugely influenced by what you expect from the book and what’s going on in your life at that time. Had I read ‘ The Dog the moment it came through the letterbox (ignoring the fact that I would have been interrupting Cyteen midway through which is most out of character for me) I don’t think it would have had the same effect on the post- Passage , pre-Wedding, collapsing quantum wave-front that we call my sentient consciousness. But this was the right book at the right time, and I loved it! With humour, it’s all subjective – it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea but I found it very funny. It’s not exactly laugh-out-loud funny, but definitely dry-tickle-in-your-cheeks funny and stick-in-your-head funny. Particularly the effects of time lag in ‘difficulty distinguishing sounds’ – this has become a long running gag in our house ever since. Pretending to have difficulty distinguishing what your wife has said when she’s asking you to do chores – it’s hilarious… to me anyway. The cats. The dog. The goldfish. The chaos theory. The Alice-in-Wonderland conversations. The Bishop’s bloody bird-stump! Oh yes, please! More? Never before has an author pulled a U-turn in my estimations with such panache; you wily bird, Willis! The Oxford Time-Travel series is an odd and scatter-shot series. This book made me smile, Doomsday tried hard to make me cry and Blackout / All Clear had me tearing out my hair with anxiety. Why couldn’t she just write a direct sequel to this? Ned gets the girl… “And kissed her for a hundred and sixty-nine years.” … but what happened next, hmmm!? There should be a whole series of Victorian adventures with Ned and Verity. And kittens. A happy 5-stars. Definitely check it out. You might not click – I’ll admit, it doesn’t work for a decent percentage of readers – but…but… you might just discover a new book for your favourites shelf. It’s worth the risk, read it!(less) | Notes are private!
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17
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| 014027037X
| 9780140270372
| 4.17
| 32,836
| 1995
| Aug 29, 2002
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Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to relea...more Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to release new works. Something had to be done. On the spur of the moment I set myself a challenge, to read every book to have won the Locus Sci-Fi award. That’s 35 books, 6 of which I’d previously read, leaving 29 titles by 14 authors who were new to me. While working through this reading list I got married, went on my honeymoon, switched career and became a father. As such these stories became imprinted on my memory as the soundtrack to the happiest period in my life (so far). Not long after starting my Locus Quest, I crossed paths with a fascinating purple brick of a book, by the name of Anathem . We hit it off – spent many happy hours together – and I sealed our love affair by naming a kitten after Anathem ’s protagonist, Erasmas. Then along came Cryptonomicon – a different kind of beast. Initially, I was less convinced; where is the sci-fi element? But that fat historical war novel grew on me slowly (and as it was so long it had plenty of time to work its magic) so I found myself a fan by the end. Third (but by no means final) Stephenson to step up to the plate is the steampunk-nanotech extraordinaire, The Diamond Age . Weighing in at a dinky 500 pages compared to its heavyweight kin, The Diamond Age hits the ground running and had me grinning from the get-go. There’s no point bushing-around-the-beat, it’s time to put-my-table-on-the-cards and wear-my-sleeve-on-my-heart: I loved this book! As with Anathem , this book deserves a sixth star from me. It makes me want to downgrade other books to 4-star just to make it stand out further. Anathem is a book with substance – the kind of girl your grandmother calls a ‘keeper’. The Diamond Age is a book with flair – the kind of girl your grandmother calls a ‘bad influence’. What your Grandmother isn’t telling you, is that sometimes ‘bad influences’ grow up to be ‘keepers’. The same soul runs through these books, but Anathem is just a little older and wiser – The Diamond Age more naive and impulsive. You can easily find a list of major characters in this book – Nell, the Hackworths, the Finkle-McGraws, Judge Fang, Miranda – but odds-on they wont mention the star of the show: The Primer. Oh, the Primer! Oh, sweet bejesus, the Primer! I wish I had a Primer as a child. I wish I had a Primer now, to give to my son. The Primer is perfect. It’s like a fully formed idea you were already aware of, that hadn’t been articulated yet. It was on the tip of my tongue – now I know what it’s called: the Primer! The Primer is perfect. It is what everyone who’s banged their head on the desk through educational software wishes it was, and then some. I could read a whole encyclopaedia about Nell’s lessons with the Primer – then go back in time, finish my AI design degree and devote my life to making the Primer a reality. Everything else in this book is window dressing (fascinating, imaginative, playful, funny, adventurous and evocative window dressing, for sure). A lot of people get frustrated by the second half of the book and the ending. I am apparently in the minority. When Nell’s (view spoiler)[Mouse Army come to rescue (hide spoiler)] her I wanted to jump up and down on the bed. I told my wife about it in rushed, excited, babbling sentences which made her stare at me funny and pat me on the head. And the drummers? Yes – the drummers are silly. But so was Bud’s skull gun back at the start. Remember how I said this book was playful and funny in places? Yeah – the drummers are part of that. Drummer orgy?! It’s a nice counterpoint to the Vicky ethos. Buzzzz. Buzzzz. Buuzzzzzzzz! What’s that noise? The Diamond Age pushing my buttons. Locus Sci-Fi and Hugo joint winner from ’96. BUZZZZZZZ!(less) | Notes are private!
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| 0553562738
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| 4.08
| 14,764
| Jan 01, 1992
| Jul 1992
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Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to relea...more Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to release new works. Something had to be done. On the spur of the moment I set myself a challenge, to read every book to have won the Locus Sci-Fi award. That’s 35 books, 6 of which I’d previously read, leaving 29 titles by 14 authors who were new to me. While working through this reading list I got married, went on my honeymoon, switched career and became a father. As such these stories became imprinted on my memory as the soundtrack to the happiest period in my life (so far). Doomsday Book won the Locus Sci-Fi award in 1993. It won the Nebula the same year and had to share the Hugo as joint winner with A Fire Upon the Deep . It was the third book I’d read by Connie Willis (after Passage and then To Say Nothing of the Dog ) and it shares many of the Willis trademarks but the tone (and emotional response) is completely unlike either of them. Generally, this is a well-loved book, as you would expect from a multi-award winner. The GR votes look something like: 41% 5-star 36% 4-star 17% 3-star 04% 2-star 02% 1-star And yet the most popular individual reviews I can spot on here fall into that bottom six percent of one or two star reviews, which suggests to me that those who dislike this book feel strongly about their position. So what’s their position? “bored to the point I almost wish I had the plague” – Ala (7 likes) “it supremely boring” – Mike P (12 likes) “a monument to the gods of boredom” – Conrad (13 likes) “a monotonous road” - Tracey (14 liked) “250 pages of tiresome running about with no real purpose” – Joel (68 likes) While I wouldn’t go as far as to say I agree with this sentiment, I can at least see where they are coming from. The opening half of Doomsday Book takes its own sweet time getting to the point and contains numerous repetitive elements. I acknowledge that this could have been done better, and it’s this fault that knocked the top star off my rating. So yes – it’s not perfect – but it’s not a million miles away, either! I love the fact that this isn’t a heroic quest. Doomsday Book starts out as quiet academic investigation mission which gets fubar from both ends. It becomes a story about endurance, survival and the nature of hope. Kivrin is a… good person. The kind of person who you’d like to call a friend, a real friend - not like saying “I wish I was friends with Tony Stark” – but I could imagine having Kivrin over for coffee and a game of scrabble while my cats nuzzled her legs for fuss. Because she felt real, because I loved her just a little bit, watching her heart get shredded by the tragedy of unstoppable plague inflicted a tiny echo of that pain on me. I couldn’t block it. I couldn’t distance myself. It felt raw. This is a powerful book, which pretends to be whimsical. It chatters and banters then hits you with a sucker-punch, right in the gut. Following on from To Say Nothing of the Dog , which is an upbeat and rather delightful little treasure; Doomsday Book is profoundly sad. The ending salvages what it can from the mess but it’s like inflating the airbag as the car goes off a bridge – too little, too late. For those who find the constantly missed messages infuriating – this is a regular theme of Willis’ which I’ve been pondering. I believe it’s meant to impart the feeling that drama is caused just as much by the things that don’t happen, as the things that do. That tragedy and salvation are only ever two sides of the same coin, being buffeted in the winds of a chaotic system – it only needs a strong gust to collapse the precarious situation. Willis' greatest skill is perhaps in generating a sense of genuine uncertainty that this will resolve with a positive outcome – she’s already shown she’s not afraid to kill her characters – why should Kivrin be any different? With the axe looming prominent, I found myself sharing Dunworthy’s parental instincts, wanting to protect poor, brilliant, innocent Kivrin. I felt like my daughter had been missing for a day, and the policeman enters the room looking grim… oh god, oh god, don’t let it be true. Time stops. Am I even still breathing? Like that. I can’t say with all of my heart that I 'enjoyed' reading Doomsday Book it's not that kind of story – but writing this review has definitely made me want to read it again. If you can brace yourself for a slow start and aching heart - highly recommend.(less) | Notes are private!
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| 4.29
| 8,371
| 1991
| Oct 1991
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Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to relea...more Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to release new works. Something had to be done. On the spur of the moment I set myself a challenge, to read every book to have won the Locus Sci-Fi award. That’s 35 books, 6 of which I’d previously read, leaving 29 titles by 14 authors who were new to me. While working through this reading list I got married, went on my honeymoon, switched career and became a father. As such these stories became imprinted on my memory as the soundtrack to the happiest period in my life (so far). Two books from Bujold’s epic sci-fi series, The Vorkosigan Saga, won the Locus Sci-Fi Award in the mid-90s. Barrayar in ’92 and Mirror Dance in ’95. Despite being published just a few years apart, within the chronology of The Vorkosigan Saga, the two stories fall at opposite ends of the spectrum – Barrayar is (chronologically) book two of the series, and Mirror Dance is book nine: Barrayar focuses on Cordelia at the time of Miles’ birth, and Mirror Dance focuses on Marc (Miles’ clone-brother) as a grown man. I think it was the names that made me initially sceptical. Vorkosigosioisi-whatsit, doesn’t exactly trip off your tongue, nor does Bararayarra. The covers looked so cheesy I thought they’d attract mice quicker than bookworms… Oh, I was such a fool! I loved Mirror Dance . It was heaps of fun! As I mentioned in my review of that book – I love long series (big fan of Discworld and Dresden Files) – so the idea of quality sci-fi series had major appeal to me. I got excited. I would’ve gladly ploughed straight into Barrayar next, but I’d already ordered my next batch of books beforehand, so I had to blitz through Brin’s Uplift Saga trilogy first. Then I faced a dilemma – Barrayar or Speaker for the Dead? I felt confident that Bujold would deliver, but I hadn’t yet given Card a chance – oh what a pickle! I read Speaker first, and it was good enough to stop me itching for Barrayar . But I had my happy-face on when we eventually got our time together! Someone should have warned me though – this is the story of how Cordelia, pregnant with Miles, gets hit with a ‘Soltoxin’ bio-warfare grenade in the midst of a civil war. Her and Aral (her husband) get the antidote and are fine – but not the baby. This is the book that explains Miles’ stunted growth and ‘mutie’ appearance in later books. This is not the ideal book to read when your own wife is heavily pregnant with your first child! Or maybe it is. Bujold has a couple of kids and from her writing I feel confident that she’s a great Mum – Cordelia certainly is. I think I empathised with Cordelia more than I could have before facing parenthood myself. I was trying to push my life in a new direction, to build for a family and future - and Cordelia is struggling to adapt to a new planet and culture as she plans for her family. Some of the echoes struck deep, and sometimes that made me uncomfortable. I loved Mirror Dance as amazing, fun sci-fi. I was expecting more in that vein here – I wasn’t expecting to feel worried and aching inside. I’ve mentioned in other reviews that my best experiences with books are when they live up to and exceed my expectations. When they’re not what I expected, when I feel blindsided or ill prepared, I sometimes struggle to enjoy the immersion as much. This is one reason I used to be so cautious with new authors. Barrayar is a tremendous book. A thoughtful start, building to a gripping, page-turning climax; a wonderful grasp of characters and a tightly plotted scenario. Really, it should be a 5-star read. But because it made me feel stressed, because it made me worry about my baby – how I would feel if there was something wrong with him, something they’d missed in the scans, something they couldn’t foresee ‘till he was born – I kept jarring myself out of the story and can only give it 4-stars. I’ve since continued to read (and very much enjoy) The Vor Game, and was recently given another three Vorkosigan books for my birthday – so I shall definitely, enthusiastically, be continuing with the series.(less) | Notes are private!
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| 4.12
| 26,992
| 1990
| Dec 01, 2005
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Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to relea...more Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to release new works. Something had to be done. On the spur of the moment I set myself a challenge, to read every book to have won the Locus Sci-Fi award. That’s 35 books, 6 of which I’d previously read, leaving 29 titles by 14 authors who were new to me. While working through this reading list I got married, went on my honeymoon, switched career and became a father. As such these stories became imprinted on my memory as the soundtrack to the happiest period in my life (so far). The Fall of Hyperion was one of the six award winners I had read before starting my Glorious Locus Quest (along with 3 other Simmons books, an Asimov and a May). Occasionally another reviewer sums up your opinion so perfectly; there seems little point in repeating the sentiment. I felt the same way as Kemper about Fall : “Mr. Kemper had read Simmons before and knew he likes to put a lot of big ideas in his books. But this time, apparently Simmons broke into his house and managed to directly implant much of the book directly into Mr. Kemper’s brain via some kind of crude funnel device.”But Fall of Hyperion is so Shrike-damned good that I must, out of overwhelming respect, at least try to express my admiration and awe at this accomplishment. It’s a bit of cliché to describe a complex plot in terms of a circus ‘plate-spinning’ act but it’s the most appropriate metaphor that’s coming to my sleep-deprived mind this morning. It’s the familiar slack-jawed feeling of hypnotic wonder at an artist who knows exactly how long he’s got left on each plate before it starts to wobble, exactly how to stabilise that wobble, and exactly how much impetus to impart to allow him to work his way around all the plates before returning again. It’s the skill of a juggler with all the balls in the air, but with more calm-control and less frantic energy. To stretch the analogy even further, Simmons seems to work with plates of different sizes, colours, materials and shape – on sticks of different heights and widths. He takes a difficult job, integrating an intergalactic multidimensional time-travelling space-opera narrative, and makes it even more difficult by populating his universe with intelligent, diverse and contrary characters. Some of his ideas articulate my deepest held ideals about far-future hi-tech becoming indistinguishable (to us, now) from magic – much as modern tech would be incomprehensible to early man. I already mentioned the awesomeness incarnate that is the Shrike, the Poet and the Cruciform in my review of the first book, but here I’m particularly referring to the Keats cybrids, the treeships and the TechnoCore. It’s a book I would dearly love to re-read, but it looks like I’m going to have to re-buy first because I leant the whole Cantos to a friend who’s since moved house and taken it to the other side of the country... (I'm looking at you, Mark) Fall of Hyperion won the Locus Sci-Fi award in 1991. I’m flabbergasted that the Hugo that year went to The Vor Game ! I’ve not read The Vor Game yet, but I have read a couple of other Vorkosigan books, and good as they are, this is better. What’s even more peculiar, is that the Nebula that year went to Tehanu – a mid-series fantasy novel? Ah well, at least my trusty Locus Sci-Fi award recognised and rewarded Sir Simmons' creative genius.(less) | Notes are private!
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| 4.15
| 45,650
| 1989
| 2005
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Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to relea...more Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to release new works. Something had to be done. On the spur of the moment I set myself a challenge, to read every book to have won the Locus Sci-Fi award. That’s 35 books, 6 of which I’d previously read, leaving 29 titles by 14 authors who were new to me. While working through this reading list I got married, went on my honeymoon, switched career and became a father. As such these stories became imprinted on my memory as the soundtrack to the happiest period in my life (so far). Of the six award winning novels that I had already read before I began my Locus Quest, four were written by the maestro, Dan Simmons. It was the 2004 winner, Ilium , which converted me into a Simmons fan-boy (and ultimately inspired the Locus Quest itself), but the other three winners (1990 – Hyperion , 1991 – The Fall of Hyperion , 1998 – The Rise of Endymion ) are all parts of his Hyperion Cantos, a masterwork which cemented his place in the sci-fi Pantheon over a decade earlier. I’m going to pluck a few choice phrases from other reviews to give you sense of what lurks inside these pages: “The sheer number of awesome science fiction ideas touched on in this book is mind boggling.” – Ed ”It is an intense read, and I found the 500 pages fairly flew by” - Nicholas Whyte “What in the world did I just read, and why didn't I read it sooner?” - Kay “I'm frankly terrified to review Dan Simmons' masterpiece Hyperion. It is too good and too big for me to do this right.” – Jonathan Cullen It’s that last quote from JC that rings truest – this is a complex, inspired and unique vision of a sci-fi epic. Mashing structure and tropes from Chaucer and Keats into a universe of galaxy-spanning, time-travelling, visceral conflict takes an imagination and literary love above and beyond the call of normal storytelling duty. There are characters and images here that have been reverberating within the walls of my skull ever since I encountered them. The brain damaged poet. The cruciform adorned priest. The utterly badass shrike monster him/her/itself! Simmons does it all by turns – adventure, mystery, thriller, horror, romance, erotica, philosophy, high-concept, etc. It’s a tour-de-force that pounds you into submission. There are two complaints regularly levelled at this book, so let’s get them out the way, shall we? 1)The book ends abruptly. To call it a cliff-hanger would be generous. Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion were written as a single volume and split into two for the sake of publishing. Honestly, it reads like the editor just found the mid point and took a cleaver to the original manuscript – there is no effort made to make the first instalment stand alone. The simple solution? Read the two halves together and judge them as a single unit. How hard it that? It makes me rather irate when people moan about the ending, because it’s not an ending! It’s a mid-point! Get to the end of Fall and THEN try and tell me that the ending didn’t blow your mind surer than sucking on the business end of a bazooka. I dares ya! 2)There’s too much jargon and not enough explaining. I don’t argue this one – it’s a fair complaint (if this is an issue for you). This is high-brow space-opera, so there’s a lot of tech, a lot of acronyms, a lot of made-up words and not a whole bunch of layman’s-terms. For me, this is part of the appeal of what’s often called ‘hard sci-fi’. Everything is dropped on you ‘as-is’, and the audience is credited with enough wits (and genre experience) to pick it up and run with it. Simmons doesn’t waste any words making it easier for you. I don’t mind this in the slightest. But if you’ve found it to be a turn-off in the past, then take due warning: this may not be the series for you! but IF you can a)endure a bit of hard sci-fi jargon AND b)are willing to put in the effort to read part-two before you reach a conclusion THEN – order a copy immediately And begin your own pilgrimage to meet The Shrike! You owe it to yourself. (happy hunting) (less) | Notes are private!
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May 08, 2012
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10
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| 0450500861
| 9780450500862
| 3.97
| 4,204
| 1988
| Nov 01, 1989
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Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to relea...more Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to release new works. Something had to be done. On the spur of the moment I set myself a challenge, to read every book to have won the Locus Sci-Fi award. That’s 35 books, 6 of which I’d previously read, leaving 29 titles by 14 authors who were new to me. While working through this reading list I got married, went on my honeymoon, switched career and became a father. As such these stories became imprinted on my memory as the soundtrack to the happiest period in my life (so far). Back in '89, when Cyteen was winning the Locus Sci-Fi award, I was a precocious five year old chatterbox who was obsessed with dinosaurs and had just learnt how to pronounce 'stegosaurus'. It wasn't a vintage year for Sci-Fi - a couple of good-looking Bujold stories, Asimov's Prelude to Foundation and Gibson's Mona Lisa Overdrive were the other main contenders. I can’t think of another book that I whinged about so much while reading and then said at the end, “yeah, that was really good.” We had a battle of wills, did Cyteen and I, and Cherryh won out. At the beginning I thought it was slow, impenetrable and quite frankly rather dull. By the end I still thought Cyteen was slow, but had come to recognise that it was imbued with the same kind of irresistible majesty as a glacier slowly crushing an abandoned Swiss village. What once seemed like an impenetrable tangle of details, keeping me a distant, impartial observer, had morphed (without me noticing) before the story’s conclusion into a snarl of barbed heart-strings that was impossible to escape from without being emotionally flayed. A drop of pond water can, at first glance, seem disinteresting but under a microscope it transforms into a vivid ebb and flow of outlandish and fascinating microlife battling for survival and supremacy. This is Cyteen : dismiss it at your peril. This a book with depth, complex characters that gradually capture your affections, and no hesitation in striking out with its thematic sledgehammer. Cyteen is hard work, I won’t lie. There’s nothing else to have won the Locus Sci-Fi award with the same kind of scope and density. I’m trying to think of books to compare it too, and I’m struggling. It’s a little like Robinson’s Red Mars , in that it’s dry, convincing but seems to lack joy in the telling. It’s a touch like Bujold’s Vorkosigan books – in that it’s a female sci-fi writer with a good eye for character and political intrigue. An unusual touchstone – but it reminded me a little of Eco with the flood of minutiae. And there was something Chronicles of Thomas Covenant about the whole experience – a feeling that it was a reading ratio of one-third endurance to two-thirds enjoyment. But I’m a sucker for a good clone story. I love questions of identity and ethics: the psychoanalysis we all perform over the relative importance of formative events. I ploughed through Cyteen , complaining the whole way, but couldn’t put it down! Definitely worth checking out if you like a challenging read.(less) | Notes are private!
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9
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| 1857233719
| 9781857233711
| 4.00
| 10,054
| 1987
| 1996
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Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to relea...more Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to release new works. Something had to be done. On the spur of the moment I set myself a challenge, to read every book to have won the Locus Sci-Fi award. That’s 35 books, 6 of which I’d previously read, leaving 29 titles by 14 authors who were new to me. While working through this reading list I got married, went on my honeymoon, switched career and became a father. As such these stories became imprinted on my memory as the soundtrack to the happiest period in my life (so far). The Uplift War is book 3 in Brin’s Uplift Saga and the second from the series to win both Locus Sci-Fi and Hugo awards (in 1987, following Startide Rising ’s success in 1984). Brin’s work in the Uplift universe continues with another trilogy, The Uplift Storm, but this marks the end of the original trio – and it’s a pretty mixed bunch. Book One, Sundiver , is a rather forgettable affair, altogether too simplistic in its outlook. Book Two, Startide Rising is a much better offering, with haiku-spitting space-dolphins in an intergalactic chase and prison-break scenario – an adventure to get your teeth into! Which brings us to Book Three, The Uplift War : from the title I was expecting a full-on Earth (and allies) vs Nasty Aliens, but that’s not quite what we get. Garth is an out of the way planet, settled primarily by Earth’s client-race – chimpanzees. Yes folks, this is a bona fide planet of the apes – complete with original monkey culture and politics. Following the events of Startide Rising , the galactics are pissed with Earth-Clan – but there are a lot of galactic races and not enough Earth-butt to kick – so one particular race of aggressive avian aliens (Evil Space Chickens) decides to conquer Garth and hold it hostage to try and make Earth-Clan play ball. So the chimps are massively outgunned by the Evil Space Chickens and must resort to gorilla (punny!) warfare. And to add a last bit spice to the mix, the naughty chimps have been (view spoiler)[covertly conducting Uplift work of their own – trying to help Gorillas reach full sentience – which is a big crime without galactic approval (hide spoiler)]. If this is discovered it will retrospectively justify the Evil Space Chicken invasion and be a major headache for Earth-Clan! Our heroes involve a plucky daughter of a galactic ambassador, a cheeky chimp pilot and a local rebel girl (as love-interest). It’s fun. It’s not quite as good as Startide Rising , but it’s still pretty damn fun. My favourite moments include: - the otter species uplift ceremony - the thunder dance / rave - the crazy three-way Evil Space Chicken courtship process - ‘rillas! If you're looking for a reliable on-the-money reviewer to follow, you wouldn't go far wrong with Nicholas Whyte who sums up the negatives of this book rather perfectly when he says: “humans (and their allies) rarely lose a battle or an argument; we are rather compelled to cheer for our boys. But more seriously, I think the novel's take on race issues is naïve and complacent. The intelligent chimpanzee characters are not allowed to rebel from the human agenda, yet disply no resentment of the control exerted over them, including their reproductive rights. Those who do make common cause with humanity's enemies get their come-uppance. (The only Bad Human who displays racial and gender prejudice is explicitly South Asian.) I think I would have been happier if the book had explored colonialism and race a little more profoundly.” Spot on, Nick. Spot-on. I still thought the book was fun, but it takes fairly serious themes and then just sort of flirts with them coyly. I kept wanting Brin to get more feisty – get in there and really make a point with his monkey-man-metaphor! But he doesn’t. He just enjoys telling his tale. New book? Yeah Good? Yeah What’s it about? Planet of the Apes being invaded by Evil Space Chickens. You read weird books. I know. Can I borrow it when you’re finished? Of course! If you've not read any of the Uplift Saga yet - start with Startide Rising . If you liked that, read this. Simple, no? (less) | Notes are private!
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8
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| 0099503204
| 9780099503200
| 3.97
| 78,830
| 1986
| Aug 06, 1986
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Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to relea...more Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to release new works. Something had to be done. On the spur of the moment I set myself a challenge, to read every book to have won the Locus Sci-Fi award. That’s 35 books, 6 of which I’d previously read, leaving 29 titles by 14 authors who were new to me. While working through this reading list I got married, went on my honeymoon, switched career and became a father. As such these stories became imprinted on my memory as the soundtrack to the happiest period in my life (so far). I really liked this book. I’ve never read Ender’s Game . I’ve never read any other Orson Scott Card. But I will, because I really liked this book. The overall premise is superb – mankind’s dark history with the buggers, their potential for redemption with the piggies, the mysterious Descolada plague, the precautions taken to protect the xenobiology making understanding the evolutionary leaps impossible... it’s fascinating stuff. But it's the individuals who populate this world – Ender who is the very epitome of his race, the killer seeking redemption, the last Hive Queen, Jane, the insecure AI, Ender’s genius sister, Valentine, Novinho, the brilliant but bitter xenobiologist who Ender is determined to make accept his love – her dysfunctional family! and finally, there are the stars of the show – the piggies themselves – an alien race who rank up their with Hamilton’s Kiint as my personal favourites. Lots of sci-fi starts with a good idea or two – but very few have a cast like this. It’s awkward, anguished personal stuff, wrapped up as a murder-mystery inside a scientific enigma, driven along relentlessly by a humble messiah. My only complaint is the choice of names, the ‘buggers’ and the ‘piggies’. Let’s face it – these are bloody ridiculous names for well-crafted alien races. One of the ways I judge a book is by how many moments remain behind afterwards, resonating with my understanding of the world. For Speaker , there are dozens – and they’ve lingered in vibrant, sparkling form. The one I’ll never forget is the moment that gives Ender his purpose (and the book it’s title) – when he Speaks the Death of Marcão. It’s a scene that I knew was coming from the get-go, – a scene I tried to guess and second guess, and still found surprising, still found emotional and couldn’t have broken away from had my wife gone into labour while the house was on fire. When the piggies ask (view spoiler)[a brothertree (hide spoiler)] for wood – I was grinning like a loony! When the piggies realize why (view spoiler)[Pipo and Libo hadn’t grown into Fathertrees (hide spoiler)] – my heart broke for the (view spoiler)[murdering (hide spoiler)] little aliens! When Ender helped (view spoiler)[plant (hide spoiler)] Human – my chest ached. When they crack (view spoiler)[the descolada (hide spoiler)]! When Ender wins over (view spoiler)[Grego (hide spoiler)]! When Valentine (view spoiler)[comes to join the rebellion (hide spoiler)]! Olhado’s eyes! When Ender (view spoiler)[marries (hide spoiler)] Novinho! When Ender (view spoiler)[buries the Hive (hide spoiler)] Queen! When Ender writes (view spoiler)[The Life of Human (hide spoiler)]! Speaker for the Dead is the kind of book I was looking for when I started my Locus Quest and I’ve found it hard to resist buying Ender’s Game and Xenocide immediately. But those are the bad old ways – to find a new author I like and then devour their catalogue before moving on - that’s a habit I’m trying to break. So I’ll space out the Ender's Saga books – enjoy them over a few months (or maybe years?) – but I will definitely be reading them at some point.(less) | Notes are private!
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7
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| 0553278746
| 9780553278743
| 3.83
| 13,001
| 1985
| Nov 03, 1997
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Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to relea...more Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to release new works. Something had to be done. On the spur of the moment I set myself a challenge, to read every book to have won the Locus Sci-Fi award. That’s 35 books, 6 of which I’d previously read, leaving 29 titles by 14 authors who were new to me. While working through this reading list I got married, went on my honeymoon, switched career and became a father. As such these stories became imprinted on my memory as the soundtrack to the happiest period in my life (so far). The year was 1986 and Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game swept all before it, winning the Hugo Award for Best Novel, the Nebula Award for Best Novel and... not the Locus Sci-Fi Award. Those wonderfully contrary Locus voters instead gave their highest accolade to David Brin’s post-apocalyptic postman tale. Apparently they made a Kevin Costner movie out of it (I’ve never seen it). That little nugget of knowledge did not fill me with confidence. My subconscious kept whispering… Waterworld . I picked up a second hand copy. It’s a battered, tattered thing. The cover is faded. Let’s be honest: It looks sh!t. I was coming off the back of a slightly disappointing run in my Locus Quest – this was the fourth in a mini-league of 80s winners ( The Integral Trees , Titan , The Snow Queen and then The Postman ) which I read during the weeks running up to my wedding. I often find that the less I expect of a book, the more open I am to its merits – which is a bit of a catch-22 situation because I normally only read those books I expect to be good! After the first fifty pages, I was pleasantly surprised to be enjoying The Postman . Our hero, Gordon, is a likeable survivor – more of a dreamer than your average tough-guy loner. The first half of the book just flies by and if it kept up that sort of pace and atmosphere, we’d be looking at an easy 4-star book (maybe even a five). Unfortunately, the second half of the book felt dated and clichéd. The A.I./Wizard of OZ scenario was pretty dubious, as was the women’s army section. I did enjoy the hippy/super-soldier thread – but by then all it was feeling a bit disconnected and episodic. I coasted the last third of the book and the finale was anticlimactic. The Postman is not a bad little story, but nothing to write home about. (less) | Notes are private!
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6
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| 0708881548
| 9780708881545
| 3.70
| 3,276
| Jan 01, 1983
| 1988
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Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to relea...more Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to release new works. Something had to be done. On the spur of the moment I set myself a challenge, to read every book to have won the Locus Sci-Fi award. That’s 35 books, 6 of which I’d previously read, leaving 29 titles by 14 authors who were new to me. While working through this reading list I got married, went on my honeymoon, switched career and became a father. As such these stories became imprinted on my memory as the soundtrack to the happiest period in my life (so far). Oh, what to say about The Integral Trees ? The concept may have seemed strange and original back in ’85, but to the mind of this genre-burnt geek, familiar with the works it (presumably) helped inspire, it felt comfortable, cosy and tame. There’s a gas ring around a neutron star full of free-fall life forms, with stranded humans living a floating Peter-Pan hunter-gatherer lifestyle amid the alien eco-system with their cultural memories of civilised planets little more than myths of legends... It’s a story about gradually broadening horizons: our little tribe of survivors live in/on/around a zero-g space tree. Their tree is their world. Then – OMG! – they’re tossed off the tree and discover more humans living on other trees! Dare to dream; their might even be humans outside the gas ring – oh wait, there’s a spaceship! Whoa, what a mindfrack! I’m not going to call this a great book. None of the characters are particularly vivid or memorable. The story isn’t revolutionary or daring. There’s nowt in the way of a thematic suckerpunch. Applicable words to describe this book are: FUN, ESCAPISM, ROMP, PLAYFUL and SMART. I recommend this to fans of Asimov and/or Varley – for me this fell halfway between the style of the latter Foundation books and Titan. I’ve heard that Pohl would make this ménage à trois a full on four-way, but I haven’t read any of his work yet to make that statement with much certainty. The Hugo that year went to Neuromancer , and you have to say the better book won in that showdown! But I’m glad that Locus gave it to The Integral Trees , because otherwise this novel could easily have been forgotten over the years and it’s one that I recommended unreservedly as a thoroughly enjoyable little read. Great for a fling – but maybe not one to settle-down with, y’know? I’m pretty sure I’ll cycle back around at some point to read A World Out of Time and Ringworld – I enjoyed touching base with his Nivenness and as soon as the opportunity arises I’d be happy to dig a little deeper into his catalogue.(less) | Notes are private!
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5
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| 1857233727
| 9781857233728
| 4.01
| 12,411
| 1983
| 1999
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Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to relea...more Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to release new works. Something had to be done. On the spur of the moment I set myself a challenge, to read every book to have won the Locus Sci-Fi award. That’s 35 books, 6 of which I’d previously read, leaving 29 titles by 14 authors who were new to me. While working through this reading list I got married, went on my honeymoon, switched career and became a father. As such these stories became imprinted on my memory as the soundtrack to the happiest period in my life (so far). New book? Yeah Good? Yeah What’s it about? Space dolphins What, like dolphins swimming in space? Don’t be silly. Dolphins flying spaceships filled with water. Oh. Sounds cool. I know! Sometimes it’s easy to make me happy. Startide Rising is the second book in David Brin’s Uplift Saga. The first, Sundiver , is nothing to write home about, but this one was a runaway critical success – taking the Locus, Hugo and Nebula awards in 1984 (the year I was born). The Uplift concept offers a superb backstory and a galactic framework with a huge amount of potential (see Sundiver review). I’m not sure Brin takes full dramatic advantage of what he’s created (can you imagine the Uplift universe in the hands of Peter Hamilton or Dan Simmons?) – but what Brin does create is a tremendously enjoyable adventure (if you’re not too cynical). Mankind has uplifted chimps and dolphins to sentience. The Streaker is an exploration ship, crewed and captained for the first time, primarily with dolphins. They discover something (big coincidence time, shhh) ancient, valuable and powerful. Word gets out and suddenly every bug-eyed alien wants a piece of Streaker. They run, hide and crash on a water world. While they try to repair and escape, the different ET factions scrap it out in orbit for the right to capture Captain Flipper and his arcane treasure. It’s a bit ‘sci-fi light’, but golly-gee it made me smile. The writing isn’t amazing, but the characters are likeable, the action fast paced and gripping, the scenario imaginative and the book skips along in quick, tasty little chapters. Brin does use a lot of perspectives, both within the crew and between the various hostiles in orbit – some people may find this off-putting – but it wasn’t a problem for me. I loved the little snapshots of the different alien ships. I loved the different dolphin crewmembers. I wasn’t half as fond of the human crew (been there, done that – give me more dolphins!). Startide Rising is my favourite book of The Uplift Saga – it’s probably a 3.5 affectionately rounded up to a 4 – but definitely worth checking out. Just keep your expectations in check – this is a fun book, but not a brilliantly written book.(less) | Notes are private!
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| Mass Market Paperback
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4
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| 0606192751
| 9780606192750
| 3.95
| 21,560
| 1982
| unknown
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Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to relea...more Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to release new works. Something had to be done. On the spur of the moment I set myself a challenge, to read every book to have won the Locus Sci-Fi award. That’s 35 books, 6 of which I’d previously read, leaving 29 titles by 14 authors who were new to me. While working through this reading list I got married, went on my honeymoon, switched career and became a father. As such these stories became imprinted on my memory as the soundtrack to the happiest period in my life (so far). Foundation’s Edge won the Locus Sci-Fi award in 1983, finishing ahead of The Golden Torc (sequel to the previous year’s winner), 2010 (the sequel to Arthur C Clarke’s classic 2001 ) and The Crystal Singer (the first in what, my wife and Mother assure me, is a fine Ann McCaffrey trilogy) to name just three. I’ve read the Foundation series twice in my life, and Foundation’s Edge was one of the six winning books I had previously read before I began my Locus Quest. The first time I read the Foundation series as an awe-struck pre-teen, I’d have instantly given the whole series a 5-star review: it was a story that became a foundation stone (excuse the pun) of my love for sci-fi. Let's get this our the way: Asimov's Foundation series is required reading for anyone with more than a passing interest in science fiction. If you've not read it yet, put it on your list! Returning to Asimov in my mid twenties I was expecting to be disappointed. Some issues are unavoidable – much of the characterisation is shallow and doesn’t develop far and there series as a whole tends to repeat plot devices with surface variations – but overall I was pleasantly surprised. Asimov tends to remind me H.G. Wells. That may sound extreme considering The Time Machine was written in the 1890s while Foundation’s Edge was released in the 1980s, but the Foundation series was conceived back in the 50s. Wells and Asimov may represent the best of pre-WW1 and post-WW2 sci-fi, but their formative cultures have more in common with each other than post-2012 audiences. To me, their stories are now are charming combination of dated ideals and visionary speculation. This is one of the few Foundation novels which can stand alone, so I can heartily recommend it to all - not just fans of the series. I’m no longer blown away as I once was, but it’s still a very enjoyable read!(less) | Notes are private!
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| 4.05
| 4,364
| 1981
| unknown
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Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to relea...more Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to release new works. Something had to be done. On the spur of the moment I set myself a challenge, to read every book to have won the Locus Sci-Fi award. That’s 35 books, 6 of which I’d previously read, leaving 29 titles by 14 authors who were new to me. While working through this reading list I got married, went on my honeymoon, switched career and became a father. As such these stories became imprinted on my memory as the soundtrack to the happiest period in my life (so far). The Many Coloured Land beat Downbelow Station and God Emperor of Dune to win the 1982 Locus Sci-Fi award. It’s one of the six award winners I’d already read before starting this reading list and the opening novel in one of my all-time favourite series. The Galactic Milieu Trilogy and the Saga of the Pliocine Exile are (for some reason) usually viewed as two separate series, even though they contain significant shared characters and are set in the same universe within one continuous timeline (albeit a sort of figure-8 line what with the time-travel). Personally, I’ve always viewed the whole shebang (including Intervention) as one eight book mega-works. As you can tell by my 5-star rating, I’m a big fan. I must have first read this series back when I was about twelve or thirteen, fallen in love the way only a teenager can and returned to it half a dozen times since – often nostalgic but never disappointed. Before I start to wax lyrical about the whys and wherefores, it seems only reasonable to throw up a few warning flags for those with inflated expectations: • May’s writing style is nothing special, so don’t expect a Miévillian wordsmith. • The sci-fi element doesn’t stand-up to close examination, so don’t expect Asimovian rigour. • The concept isn’t razor sharp, so don’t expect a Simmons-esque mind-blowing. • The themes aren’t powerful and/or meaningful, so don’t expect a Robinson life-lesson. • The characters aren’t overly deep or psychologically rounded, so don’t expect Le Guin-ish insight. Now that we’ve got all that out of the way, there’s one big reason to read these books: They are great FUN! The premise is a sci-fi fantasy cross-over: psychic powers evolving among humans, a galactic society of psychic aliens, thinly veiled faerie references, time-travel, pre-historic animals, outcasts, criminals, slaves and family empires! There are plenty of elements for May to play around with and she creates some excellent characters to explore her world(s). In terms of scope and style we’re talking about the same sort of ballpark as David Brin’s Uplift series (although I much prefer this scenario). Because I’m so familiar with the entire series, it’s hard to separate out the events of Book 1 in particular. There are a lot of characters to introduce and a fairly complex universe to get set-up, so I remember it being a touch heavy on the exposition and getting-to-know-you dialogue. But it’s also the origin-story for each of the characters as they move into their Pliocene adventure, and as they’re only just starting out into the great unknown it’s full of varying levels of hope and mystery. My personal favourites (by a long way) are Aiken and Felice. Go Trickster! Go Mad-Rhino-Riding-Psycho! WooooOoooOooOOoo! I’m delighted to recommend highly. (less) | Notes are private!
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| 0446676640
| 9780446676649
| 3.93
| 4,864
| 1980
| Feb 01, 2001
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Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to relea...more Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to release new works. Something had to be done. On the spur of the moment I set myself a challenge, to read every book to have won the Locus Sci-Fi award. That’s 35 books, 6 of which I’d previously read, leaving 29 titles by 14 authors who were new to me. While working through this reading list I got married, went on my honeymoon, switched career and became a father. As such these stories became imprinted on my memory as the soundtrack to the happiest period in my life (so far). Reading The Snow Queen felt like watching snooker on the telly at three in the morning. It’s inoffensive, doesn’t take much effort and it keeps your eyes busy. Stretching metaphors (and similes) is a hobby of mine, so let’s have a go at this one; imagine this hypothetical game of billiards being played on a golden mountain-top, beneath a green and purple storm-whipped sky – and the two competitors are a jewel encrusted cyborg and a naked, tattooed nympho-fairy with fluttering wings. My point? You can dress it up pretty, but the game remains the same. I read it during the build-up to my wedding, amid a run of early/mid 80s Locus Sci-Fi winners – Integral Trees , Titan , The Snow Queen and The Postman . Vinge’s tale came 4th in that little mini-league. I’m normally a big fan of clone stories, but even that didn’t help push my buttons here. I was equally unimpressed by her ex-husband Vernor’s 2007 winner, Rainbows End , so perhaps I’m just not operating on any Vinge-receptive wavelength. I know there’s a lot of love for TSQ out there but it reminded me a lot of McCaffrey’s Restoree ; my wife got me to read that, insisting it was worthwhile and every other chapter I was rolling my eyes and glaring at her sceptically. Really? Really ? You think this is good ? Some specific complaints: The planetary backstory is reminiscent of Dune, but not as good. The whole sci-fi / fey merger just jarred in an overly melodramatic manner for me. The villain of the piece, Arienhod, is like a cartoon bad fairy. The lovers are called Moon and Sparks for frack’s sake! Moon, the hero, was like banal nails on a chalk-board. I thought Spark deserved a long walk off a short pier. The chamber of wind (or whatever it was called) seemed pretty damn arbitrary. It’s not terrible, but I found it insipid. Best bit? Without a doubt the flute-duel! Wind instruments have always seemed mortally dangerous to me… There were spaceships, aliens, love, murder and mayhem – it's in my genre and it gets two stars without complaint. I’m glad I’ve read The Snow Queen , but I won’t be reading the rest of the series unless someone pays me too.(less) | Notes are private!
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| 0425044688
| 9780425044681
| 3.88
| 3,318
| Jan 01, 1979
| Mar 01, 1980
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Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to relea...more Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to release new works. Something had to be done. On the spur of the moment I set myself a challenge, to read every book to have won the Locus Sci-Fi award. That’s 35 books, 6 of which I’d previously read, leaving 29 titles by 14 authors who were new to me. While working through this reading list I got married, went on my honeymoon, switched career and became a father. As such these stories became imprinted on my memory as the soundtrack to the happiest period in my life (so far). I wish that Amazon’s look-inside feature used the edition of this book that I have. When you flip open my version, the inside of the cover has a brilliant colour picture of a naked woman riding a centaur through a lush alien landscape with a whale-like blimp-creature floating in the sky. Before you’ve read a single page it lets you know (ho-ho-ho) we’re in for THAT kind of ride. Titan won the Locus Sci-Fi award in 1980 (ahead of Pohl’s Jem and Clarke’s The Fountains of Paradise – which won the Hugo award that year). The story is a classic example of the Big Dumb Object sci-fi trope. Under-prepared explorers encounter a big mysterious object (in this case an alien habitat orbiting Saturn) and are overwhelmed when they try to investigate. So-far so-standard. Titan then takes a splendidly silly tangent by populating said space station with a war between centaurs and angels (watched over by sentient blimps). Wonderful! To quote the magical maestro, Mr Miéville: “Part of the appeal of the fantastic is taking ridiculous ideas very seriously and pretending they're not absurd.” This is a story that treads the borderline between sci-fi and fantasy, pick’n’mixing conventions to suit – all with deadpan seriousness. I didn’t know that this was the beginning of The Gaea Trilogy – I knew nothing except that it won the Locus SF in ’80 – and based on the inside-cover pic my expectations weren’t exactly stratospheric. But I found myself pleasantly surprised and enjoying it. None of the human characters left much of an impact on me and the overall explanation (view spoiler)[ of the TV-addicted Gaea (hide spoiler)] is ridiculous verging on absurd, but the overall experience is imaginative, playful a bit sexy and a lot of fun! I’m somewhat bemused when I read reviews that rate this up amongst the greats – perhaps the trilogy as a whole is more effective than Titan as a standalone? I am tempted to read Wizard and Demon , but there are so many good books out there that they’re pretty low priority at the moment. I definitely enjoyed the read – but have too many reservations to recommend whole-heartedly. If you spot a copy at a garage/boot sale it's worth a few pennies.(less) | Notes are private!
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| 0765318415
| 9780765318411
| 3.54
| 13,982
| Sep 29, 2009
| Sep 29, 2009
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Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to relea...more Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to release new works. Something had to be done. On the spur of the moment I set myself a challenge, to read every book to have won the Locus Sci-Fi award. That’s 35 books, 6 of which I’d previously read, leaving 29 titles by 14 authors who were new to me. While working through this reading list I got married, went on my honeymoon, switched career and became a father. As such these stories became imprinted on my memory as the soundtrack to the happiest period in my life (so far). I don’t know about you, but sometimes I save the best part of my dinner until last – savouring the anticipation as much as the taste. Boneshaker (the 2010 winner of the Locus Sci-Fi Award) had the look, to me, of a tasty little treat, so I kept putting it off for as long as I could resist. Steampunk, zombies and air-pirates. Sounds perfect, doesn’t it? When I saw that the text inside is printed in sepia-brown, I thought it was a delightful touch of icing on the cake! Gushing reviews like this one, from the usually more reserved Jason, didn’t dampen my growing expectations. We all read a lot of books, hoping to find 'A BOOK'. Sadly, for me, Boneshaker is just ‘a book’. Before I start my grumbling, I’d like to acknowledge the many things that Priest does well here: - The original concept is brilliant - The book tumbles along at a good pace - Much of the imagery is strong and memorable - Several of the supporting characters stand out brightly (I'm thinking of Swakhammer, Lucy O'Gunning and Fang) So far, so good? My first big issue comes with the Mother/Son protagonists (Briar & Zeke). I can’t think of many (view spoiler)[(any?) YA protagonists blander than Zeke. His original decision to go into the city seems poorly motivated and once he gets there the only memorable character trait he demonstrates is his resilient politeness (and lack of initiative) (hide spoiler)]. As for Briar, she’s got a touch more (view spoiler)[depth (stubborn, reticent, can shoot well, etc) but is still a long way from sparkling characterisation (hide spoiler)]. My second issue is the (view spoiler)[lack of control either of them have over their grand adventure. From the moment they get inside Zombieburg they’re either kidnapped or rescued – led from pillar to post, following behind like meek little lambkins. The most difficult choices they make are ( if / when / in which direction / how fast ) to run away (hide spoiler)]! My final gripe made me so mad that when I saw my cats had knocked the book into a bathtub full of water shortly after I’d finished it, I didn’t think “Oh no, my treasured novel has been soaked!” – I thought “Hah! You deserved that!” There are two major hooks and two minor hooks to pull us towards the climax.(view spoiler)[ 1) MAJOR: Will Briar find and rescue her son? 2) MAJOR: Is evil Dr Minnerich really Briar’s long-lost hubby, Levi Blue? 3) MINOR: Did Blue go on the rampage which released the blight deliberately? 4) MINOR: Why has Briar stuck around Zombieburg outskirts ever since? Number 1) is never really in doubt. The books not got enough edge to risk killing either of the protags. 2, 3 & 4 all implode like a slug in a pressure chamber. YES – Blue went on the rampage that released the blight! NO – Minnericht is not Blue, Briar shot Blue years ago! Briar has in fact known this all along and could have cleared up the mystery by simply telling… anyone at any point… But she didn’t tell because… I’m not sure? We’re bludgeoned with the fact that she’s despised in the Outskirts because she was married to Blue who was thought to have released the blight. Surely confirming this, and that she killed him for it, would have gone a long way to restoring her reputation? Maybe she was keeping schtum because of the stolen money she squirreled away? Oh no, wait – she seems to have forgotten all about that until right at the end. We never get a decent reason for why she never left the outskirts. (hide spoiler)] Frankly, by the end I didn’t care. I enjoyed the ride – it was a kind of 2.5 for me, and I’m a generous soul so I rounded it up to a 3 – but as I was hoping for a 4, I left Boneshaker sorely disappointed. ps - I just remembered that (view spoiler)[the Princess knew all along who evil Dr M really was, and just didn't fancy telling anyone (hide spoiler)] and also that we never get a good (any?) explanation for why (view spoiler)[the Chinamen stay to run the bellows (hide spoiler)] - gah!(less) | Notes are private!
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| 0575099313
| 9780575099319
| 4.05
| 5,373
| 2010
| Oct 20, 2011
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Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to relea...more Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to release new works. Something had to be done. On the spur of the moment I set myself a challenge, to read every book to have won the Locus Sci-Fi award. That’s 35 books, 6 of which I’d previously read, leaving 29 titles by 14 authors who were new to me. While working through this reading list I got married, went on my honeymoon, switched career and became a father. As such these stories became imprinted on my memory as the soundtrack to the happiest period in my life (so far). * Published as two books, Blackout and All Clear do not work as two separate stories. This is one tale spread over two volumes. As such I am writing one extra long review and spreading it between the two books. ** As this is a time-travel book with events reported in a non-linear manner, I am writing this review as a ‘non-linear’ ‘time-travel’ review. I’ve labelled the paragraphs and then jumbled them up between the two reviews. You poor schmucks have to make sense of my drivel (if such a thing is possible) – think of it like a puzzle, or a game, yeah? *** Sometimes I wonder; is my brilliance perhaps outshone only by my modesty? Begin your journey by going through THE BROWN DOOR WITH THE BRASS HANDLE Parts of your journey will occur on this review of BLACKOUT ### THE OLD SUBWAY So let’s have a look at some of the regular complaints… 1) I read the first book and it just ends without any sort of resolution or even a proper cliff-hanger… it just ends! I’m very unsatisfied. - Dear reader, read both books together and judge them as one story. She could have published as one book – it would have been thick enough to stand on when you need to reach on top of the wardrobe – but from a narrative perspective, it would have made sense. Be grateful that she split it into two portable tomes! CONTINUE ACROSS THE QUAD ### FORM WTF/83/CC Overall, I’d give it 3.5 stars, and I thought the second half was slightly stronger, hence the 3|4 split. It didn’t need to be so long. It could have slimmed down to a thousand pages in one novel and not lost a huge amount of its impact – that wasn’t a massive issue for me, but would have pulled it up that half-star to a 4. A more quirky protagonist would have given it a little extra spark – Polly, Mike and Eileen are all lovely people, but they’re all fairly middle-of-the-road types – the most memorable characters are the Hodbin children. A bit of a curveball on one of the leads would have pumped it up to 4.5 for me. Finally, a better explanation of Dunworthy’s behaviour – switching all the assignments around (but letting them go ahead, unprepared) seemed negligent and inept. I know the incompetence of bureaucracy is one of Willis’ regular themes – but here I felt it wasn’t supported or justified adequately. Correcting this would have seen me 5-star the story with a giddy grin on my funny little face. CONTINUE BY TAKING YOUR FORM TO COUNTER 6F ### THE BROWN DOOR WITH THE BRASS HANDLE I know they get a weaker version (made by a different manufacturer) in New Zealand, and the Aussies have an equivalent called Vegemite – but can you buy Marmite in the States? If you’ve never heard of Marmite, it’s a thick, black, salty syrup – a kind of gloopy yeast extract – which is eaten spread on toast. It’s got a strong and distinctive flavour. I don’t think Connie Willis mentions Marmite at any point in Blackout or All Clear , but the whole production reeks of Marmite to me. For as long as I can remember, Marmite’s advertising slogan has been “love it or hate it”. If you offer a stranger some Marmite on toast, either their eyes light up in delight or their face screws up in disgust. There’s no middle ground with Marmite – it’s a polarising product – and in the UK anything which produces an equivalent, strongly polarised response can be branded as eliciting ‘a Marmite response’. Connie Willis is something of a Marmite author, and with this duology she’s reached a new peak of Marmiteyness. Vintage Marmite – aged for an even stronger reaction. CONTINUE DOWN THE LONG CORRIDOR ### DUTY OFFICE It’s not the first time I’ve noticed this sort of response to Willis’ work. Her ’93 novel, (and fellow Locus/Hugo winner, Doomsday Book , prompted similar wails of praise as well as angry gnashings of teeth. I find this curious. So what is up with the Willis? CONTINUE BY TAKING THE OLD LIFT ### THE LONG CORRIDOR How are these for some polarised review quotes… The lovers: “This is a very impressive novel, and obviously a labor of love for Willis. I expect one of these books will win her another Hugo.” – Jamie “This is a beautifully crafted book,” “It’s ingenious and a great deal of fun. It’s funny, tragic, romantic, heartwarming, and completely engrossing.” – Lisa Vegan “Willis manages something transcendent,” “these volumes are the greatest work of science fiction ever written.” – Kaethe CONTINUE UP THE NARROW STAIRS ### THE OLD LIFT Blackout / All Clear is part of the Oxford Time Travel series. Future Oxford historians go back in time to live in WW2 and study various aspects of life at that time. Something goes wrong with their ‘drops’, the portals they use to travel through time, and they are stranded in the past and must survive in wartime Britain. It’s a solid premise that doesn’t vary too far from the successful template of Doomsday Book (where a single historian is stranded in the middle ages). CONTINUE BY TAKING THE OLD SUBWAY ### COUNTER 6F Blackout and All Clear (together) won the Locus Sci-Fi and Hugo awards in 2011, beating off competition from: Bujold’s latest Vorkosigan Saga - Cryoburn , Bank’s latest Culture novel – Surface Detail Mira Grant’s debut, the GR Sci-Fi Readers Choice winner – Feed … and Ian McDonald – The Dervish House (which sounds awesome!) CONTINUE BY TAKING YOUR FORM TO THE PIDGEONHOLES (less) | Notes are private!
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| Aug 31, 2012
| Sep 07, 2012
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