false 28 205 202 true 5624578 read 1 true 2257260 currently-reading 2 true 2257259 to-read 44 false 2257381 science-fiction 40 false 2257375 humor 31 false 2257388 fantasy 27 false 3727616 library 23 false 2257328 favorite 22 false 3727619 comic-graphic-novel 16 false 2257268 read-to-my-son 16 false 2275492 children 15 false 3891480 classic 10 false 2652325 mystery 3 false 2257378 politics 2 false 3905346 nonfiction 2 false 5387492 thriller 2 false 3905345 autobiography 1 false 4466832 noir 1 false 5548653 history 1 false 3905582 biography 0 false 4352146 incomplete http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/75127474 to: The Escape Orbit (Paperback) by James White
bookshelves: science-fiction
James White was one of the nicer writers in the science fiction genre. He wrote relatively straightforward but intelligent stories with protagonists who were decent, human people (even when they weren't human); not supermen, nor antiheroes. Just ordinary, decent beings with consciences, intelligence, and the wish to use both to create the best outcome for everyone (in that regard, he reminds me strongly of Lloyd. G. Biggle, Jr.).

White is best known for his Sector General series, of course. The Escape Orbit isn't part of that series; it has no major medical aspects. It represents a relatively early work from White (it was originally published in 1965). As such, it's a bit less sophisticated than some of his later works. But you don't read White for sophistication. He was not a latter-day Oscar Wilde, not by any stretch of the imagination. But he delivered thoughtful and thought-provoking stories, well-told, for many years.

The Escape Orbit is the story of a prison planet. In an interstellar war between humans and an alien race, human prisoners of war are being dumped onto a formerly-empty planet. The prospects for escape are daunting, to put it mildly. Divided into opposing camps - those who are attempting to make the best lives that they can on the planet, and those who are still trying to escape - relations between the two groups are just short of open hostility.

The protagonist arrives to find himself in the middle of this mess. How he resolves it, and the entire situation, makes for an interesting story.

Some may view the male-female relationships presented in the books as being sexist. This is, I think, unfair. They're old-fashioned, yes; but there is no deliberate sexism, and in fact White spells out several times that the women are, in fact, equal to men. The problem is rather the sexism of the males as they relate to females. But some of the language and attitudes between men and women in the book are admittedly corny and dated.

The resolution frankly surprised me. It was deeper and more thoughtful than was customary for most science fiction of that time. I don't want to spoil it, however, so I'll leave it at that.

The Escape Orbit is definitely not one of White's best works, for all that it was apparently short-listed for a Hugo award. But even his lesser works are well worth reading. You may not come back to the book again and again, but not every book has to be a classic that will live through the ages. This is a well-written novel, very short by modern standards, with some thoughtful elements that any science fiction fan is likely to enjoy. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76423678 to: The Longest Way Home (Gollancz SF) by Robert Silverberg
bookshelves: library, science-fiction
Robert Silverberg confuses me. I'd read some of his works, of course, and respected his status as a solid Golden Age writer (a highly prolific and skilled one, to boot). But most of his work never really grabbed me.

Then he wrote Lord Valentine's Castle and blew me away. I still didn't find his other works enjoyable, but LVC captured my imagination and amazed me. It was, to my mind, the closest thing to Rudyard Kipling's Kim in the science fiction genre that I had ever seen. A dense, lively, incredibly deep world filled with fascinating and truly different cultures and species, all co-existing - for the most part.

The two sequels were nearly as good. After another book or two, Silverberg disappointed me badly with a dull and flat Majipoor book; the series never really recovered after that, as far as I was concerned. There were a few more bright spots, but somehow the magic was gone.

Which is a very long lead-up to this: The Longest Way Home is not a Majipoor novel. But it has a definite Majipoor flavor. The world in question seems simpler and smaller, but has a similar multiplicity of races and cultures - although not as complex or impressive as Majipoor.

Instead of the elegant unfolding of riddles within and without the protagonist's mind, we are treated to a coming-of-age story. It's not bad, but...somehow, the plot was much simpler than I expected. It wasn't bad, just...somehow, it left me a bit flat. "Is that it?" I found myself thinking. Lord Valentine's Castle taught lessons, of sorts, and was profoundly thought-provoking. The Longest Way Home has a tinge of that same mysticism, but here it merely seems a little stale and shallow.

But I will say this: there's enough here to retain my interest. If Silverberg writes a sequel (he hasn't yet), I will read it. The Longest Way Home might have made a good, though slow, beginning to a very long novel or a series. There are certainly...well, I wouldn't say that there are unanswered questions at the end, as much as openings for more answers. The world that Silverberg has presented definitely has issues that cry out for resolution, as does the hero, and a sequel would be welcome. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/39369337 Peter's review of Cheaper by the Dozen (Perennial Classics)
by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr.

Baron wrote: "I remember that I read and loved this as a young boy. What's the reading level, would you say?"

A bright ten-year-old shouldn't have any real problems. There's some old-fashioned slang and cultural context, getting thicker towards the end of the book, but it's not too mystifying. I might read it to Sebastian soon, although some of it would surely go over his head. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/39369337 to: Cheaper by the Dozen (Perennial Classics) by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr.
bookshelves: biography, humor, nonfiction
A truly charming and heartwarming book about the efficiency expert Frank Gilbreth, his wife, and their dozen children - written by two of the children (Frank Jr. and Ernestine).

This book was a massive best-seller back in its day. But as time passed, it went out of print and was forgotten and virtually unavailable for many years. I found a copy tucked onto a shelf at a rented vacation cabin on a lake in Maine; the shelves were simply packed with old books, including many issues of Reader's Digest Condensed Classics. Cheaper By The Dozen is not great literature, I suppose. But it's a touching and entertaining window into a time now long gone.

Please do not mistake it for the current movies of the same title, which have as little to do with the book as Eddie Murphy's Doctor Dolittle movies have to do with Hugh Lofting's beloved classic books for children.

The movies should be forgotten. The book, on the other hand, is still worth remembering and rereading.

10/22/2009 - After another re-reading I want to emphasize two things: this is an extremely funny book, and it is also, at the end, a deeply moving one.

Also, in my initial review I was unintentionally unfair to Lillian Gilbreth, the mother of the family; she was a distinguished scientist in her own right, and has been honored by the Smithsonian Institution and was featured on a U.S. postage stamp.

The sequel was Belles on their Toes, and I'll be looking for it - as well as other books by Frank and Ernestine. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/74663896 to: The Still, Small Voice of Trumpets (Paperback) by Lloyd Biggle Jr.
bookshelves: science-fiction
Lloyd Biggle Jr. is best known for bringing the arts to science fiction (just as Mack Reynolds brought sociology and economics to SF). He had a gentle, thoughtful style that made his books a pleasure to read; in that, his work resembles that of James White.

The Still, Small Voice of Trumpets is classic Biggle. The premise may perhaps seem a bit naive in these harsh days of realpolitik; a Galactic Federation which cannot expand unless a planet at its borders becomes a planetary democracy, without overt interference by Galactic agents. The natives of the planet, Gurnil, have a relatively low level of technology; they are not aware that aliens walk among them. If they discover that, the planet will be considered "blown", and the Galactic agents will have to withdraw in failure.

Those agents are also hampered by a web of regulations, rules, and maxims.

When Forzon, an officer of the Cultural Survey, is mysteriously reassigned to Gurnil he must not only find out why he was reassigned, but how to apply his speciality, the arts, to turning a brutal monarchy into a peaceful democracy. The natives have a magnificent appreciation of beauty and art, but seem to have virtually no political awareness. Forzon is allowed to introduce one technological innovation to the planet, but how can a single change literally revolutionize an entire world?

Biggle's answer is memorable and believable.

It must be noted that the book was first published in 1968, and that Biggle was not one of the "New Wave" authors who were in ascendence at that time. To some, his style may seem a little old-fashioned, though it's eminently readable. The romantic relationship between Forzon and Ann Curry, one of his agents, may also seem rather a bit dated - although accusations of sexism are not credible, since Forzon never treats Ann with less than respect, and her mistakes are not the stereotypical "stupid helpless female" behavior that was a staple of the poorer sort of science fiction a generation earlier.

The Still, Small Voice of Trumpets is a short, elegant, and thoughtful example of a type of science fiction which is still all too rare. It's well worth reading, and re-reading. Although it's quite a short book, Biggle wrote other memorable books on the same general theme, and most of them are back in print. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/79369-lord-of-the-rings-and-related-books-by-jrr-tolkien Peter made a comment in the Fantasy Book Club group:

Cody wrote: "So, should I read the Hobbit book first before the three Lord of the Rings books?"

That's a good question! You know...it's funny, I really can't remember which I read first. Either way, it was a very long time ago - and I've read both many times since then.

The Hobbit is definitely more juvenile than TLOTR. Much more juvenile. If that puts you off, perhaps you should save it for later. But personally I think it's best to read The Hobbit first.

I'm suddenly reminded of the Narnia books, which have been horribly abused by their publisher and C.S. Lewis' stepson; they've been renumbered into an order which flat-out spoils many delightful surprises. But I digress.

I guess I'd recommend reading The Hobbit first, then The Lord of the Rings, and then The Silmarillion. After that, there are other works - but they're not of the same caliber, being the heavily-edited scraps of Tolkien's notes.

I think better of Christopher Tolkien than I do of most authors' sons. The aforementioned stepson of C.S. Lewis deserves nothing but contempt; Hugh Lofting's son (or was it his grandson?) should have been soundly thrashed for authorizing the censorship of the Dolittle books; and as for Frank Herbert's son Brian, he should have had his hands chopped off the moment he first got near a keyboard (as should his remarkably talentless collaborator, Kevin Anderson). Christopher Tolkien, on the other hand, did a fine job on The Silmarillion. I believe he was unhappy with the Jackson movies, although I'm not 100% sure of that. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/69571474 to: Burning Tower (Mass Market Paperback) by Larry Niven
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/66937230 to: The Dark Side by Damon Knight
An anthology of vintage dark fantasy/horror stories from the 1940s, many of which originally appeared in Unknown magazine. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/68846031 Peter's review of The Silver Chair (Chronicles of Narnia, #6)
by C.S. Lewis

When I was young, of course, the word "gay" hadn't quite picked up its modern meaning. Or at least, if it had, I wasn't aware of it. :D

But I can read the word in old books without it being too jarring. The problem was when I read it aloud. Actually, though, the only thing that I changed was the phrase "making love". I know the alternate meaning of the phrase, but Teri was listening to me read as well - she does, sometimes, when we're all in the car - and I knew she'd find it, um, odd. :D ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/69167945 to: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Oz, Book 1) by L. Frank Baum
bookshelves: children, classic, fantasy, humor
It's odd that this is the first time I've read an Oz book. I think I started one or two, long ago, and never finished them. But many people rave about Oz, and I love old books from that era (especially children's books), so recently I picked it up and read it through.

It didn't take long. In fact, I was quite surprised at how quickly I got through it. It's quite a short book. It's also very simply written. I don't think most young American children (say, ages 7 and up) would have any difficulty reading it at all. The grammar is slightly more formal than modern American English, but the vocabulary is startlingly ordinary; far less challenging than I'd expected.

Perhaps that's because most of the books I've read from that general era (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was first published in 1900) are English, and use a considerably deeper vocabulary. The majority of Americans would struggle with an unabridged Peter Pan or Winnie-the-Pooh, and be utterly defeated by Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

That said, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was a nice, light, and very quick read with some pleasantly funny moments. I'd heard that it was an extended political parable - the scarecrow representing Midwestern farmers, the Tin Woodsman representing the factory workers of the new Industrial Revolution, and the Lion representing...actually, I don't remember - but if that's the case (and it may well be) the result certainly doesn't seem to very complex. I probably won't read The Wonderful Wizard of Oz for myself again very soon, but I'll probably soon read it to my son - or see if he's interested in reading it for himself.

I can't help but wonder if I'd have loved the book if I had first read it when I was seven. But I just don't know.

Oh, I almost forgot: Of course I've seen the movie many times, and am quite fond of it. I expected the book to be very different from the movie, and it was - but it turned out that the movie was more faithful to the text than I'd realized. That said, I have to say that the movie actually seemed to make a strong theme (there's no place like home, of course) which the book lacked. But then, Dorothy seemed much younger in the book.

It was also interesting that in the book, the voyage to Oz was clearly NOT a dream (Uncle Henry had had to build a new house to replace the one that had been taken away by the tornado), whereas the movie made it fairly clear that Oz HAD all been Dorothy's fever-dream (since, among other things, the house was unchanged and still there). ]]>