Kenneth’s Comments (group member since Jan 21, 2008)

Kenneth’s comments from the The Secret Library group.

I think the book was set in the 1980s (and thus had that dated feel) because 21st folks would probably have issues rewiring dinosaur brains to serve as transports.

For me, the book didn't really fulfill it's pulp promise. Maybe I was expecting too much in the vein of thrilling adventures and death-defying escapes, but the whole thing felt subdued. I've read stuff like this before, and the while exploring alien worlds is all well and good, these aren't *just* alien worlds. It's the Venus that could have been, and frankly, it felt like another world-of-the-week from Star Trek.

There weren't nearly enough dinosaurs, mysterious aliens, and thrilling escapes. I was looking for more Jurassic Park moments of wonder at encountering the alien creatures, and instead the creatures -- hell, the entire environment -- seemed ho-hum.

I was also disappointed that the Soviet Union was so neutered. If you're going to have an alternative history, then go big! How would the Cold War have turned out differently if the Soviets had had two entirely habitable worlds to explore and exploit in order to keep their system creaking along into the 21st Century?

There was a lot of great opportunity there to compare and contrast the two political systems in the context of a whole new world (hell, just the idea of a capitalist first contact versus a communist one is enough to provide an entire book's worth of conflict).

I really liked the idea. I'm just disappointed by the execution.

Sure -- this week and next are good for me.

Nice. I didn't catch that. I just finished the book on the way back from San Francisco, and liked it. I'm looking forward to talking about it. :)

Infected would seem to be a timely title.

In the quick read category, I'll suggest John Scalzi's Old Man's War, in which senior citizens 'retire' from Earth to go fight in an interplanetary war against alien hordes who want us for breakfast. As part of the deal, they get ... upgrades. Lots and lots of upgrades.

If you liked the action oriented Heinlein (Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Starship Troopers), then this is the book for you. And it's an exceedingly fast read -- I think you could get through this book in a weekend.

I've got my copy tucked away for my upcoming trip west (6 hours out, 5 hours back = plenty of time to read).

I really like the premise of this book -- IMHO there was something magical about the time when we still earnestly believed in the possibility of a canal-crossed Mars and the teaming planet jungle of Venus.

Here's to hoping it's got as good of a story as it does a premise.

I'd like to suggest we read something by Connie Willis because damn it, everyone keeps talking about her, and yet, I've never read one of her books. I think I've read a few of her short stories, but she wasn't on my radar until Doug Rapsom at Geek Acres talked about her on a show, lamenting his inability to a) find one of her books at a local bookstore and b) the fact that the store staff didn't know who she was.

Of course, ahem, I didn't know that either. Which in hindsight seems to be a rather gaming whole in my science fiction library.

I don't have a particular book in mind, being more or less completely ignorant of her work.

So I'm about two chapters into this book, and the only thing I can think of is ... I really want to play Car Wars. So to that end, I'm planning on trying out Uncle Bear's Toybox Wars rules tonight as a pre-game session before D&D.

Here are a few suggestions:

* Ex Machina: The First Hundred Days

Superhero saves one of the World Trade Center towers, gives up his secret identity to run for mayor of New York, and wins.

* Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born

Graphic re-telling of Dark Tower: Book IV: Wizard and Glass. No knowledge of series is needed.

* Hellboy: Seed of Destruction

Demons and Nazis and yes, that funky art. But a good read, IMHO.

I finally got my copy today; I'll commence reading it shortly.

I'd be interested in Market Forces.

As an aside, books on my to-read list include:

* The Sky People, S.M. Sterling (alternative history in which the cold war is being fought on habitable versions of Venus & Mars)

* The Golden Globe, John Varley; a sequel to Steel Beaches dystopian, Heinleinesque hard SF in which earth is conquered by aliens; the human survivors are scattered throughout the solar system.

* Wizard's First Rule, Terry Goodkind (sword & sorcery, far too long for a book club though)

It's too bad that GoodReads isn't smart enough to aggregate the "to read" bookshelves of all the group's members -- then we could pick something from what everyone *intends* to read rather than having to go out and buy another book.

It's been a long time since I read it (and actually, the HBO mini series with Rutger Hauer is echoing more strongly in my brain) but what struck me most was the little details about life in post-war Germany. I'm not a huge alternate history fan, but this book worked for me because it felt like it got the details right.

Of course, it's been more than a decade, so my brain my have glossed over the book's drawbacks.

So is this the book you guys snagged from the library, and if so, are you reading it for the first time? I read it a few years back, but I think the book's still fresh enough in my mind to have an intelligent conversation about it.