Dorene
Knowing that Brian Dorsey's background is that of a naval officer, I expected more space battles and tactics. Instead, his story focuses more on the actions of a special ground unit, more akin to the Marines. A parallel story focuses on the political intrigue in a society where position and rise in rank depend more on family lineage than on merit. The combination of the two makes for a fairly unique story which reads like a Leigh Bracket pulp scifi novel mashed up with a David Weber military scifi novel...as if The Sword of Rhiannon and March Up Country spawned a baby where there are more strong female characters.
Gateway was one of several “first” novels I read right around the same time. In comparison to a couple of these other first efforts, Gateway's prose and pacing felt a little more polished. I expect this will only get better as the series progresses.
Always a fan of the Vorkosigan adventures, I dived into this at the first opportunity without doing any prior reading of others reviews or impressions. This story veers away from the adventures of Miles and delves deeper into the later life of Cordelia and, posthumously, Aral.
"Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen" is not an adventure story. Rather, it's a delightful catching up with Cordelia who's mostly appeared as texture in the last dozen books or so. You're reminded what a badass she really is and the sacrifices she's made for Aral and Barraya. It's also an in depth introduction to Oliver Jole, onetime lover and right hand man to Aral. Bujold reveals this romantic relationship between Aral and Oliver, one that exists with the blessing and endorsement of Cordelia. The story picks up 3 years after the end of "Cryoburn" and Aral Vorkosigan's sudden death. It's the story of two dear friends passing through the acute portion of their mutual grief and beginning to form a connection of their own. It's light and lovely and hopefully sets up for future adventures in the Vorkosiganverse.
“Warrior” arrived on my doorstep Friday and by Saturday night I'd devoured the entire book.
Theresa Larson's tells a compelling story and while I can't personally relate to the bulemia, many of her other challenges resonate. Anyone who's lost a mother to cancer, struggled with perfectionism or felt they had no control over their own life might relate as well. The beauty in the story is how Larson learns to cope and overcome these challenges.
A sequel of sorts to “The Best of All Possible Worlds”, “The Galaxy Game” seems to revolve more about the political structure and intrigue of the universe than the journeys of the actual characters. I personally tend to read for character and have a hard time following political structure and process. This book may take me a reread or two to understand completely what's happening.
Shonda Rhimes writes about spending a year (plus) saying “yes” to the things that scare her; big things like public speaking and awards ceremonies; not so public things like personal confrontations (rather than avoiding them), quick play moments with her daughters and personal care. But Shonda Rhimes describes her journey in such a way you find yourself laughinghilariously while simultaneously recognizing yourself in the discomfort she describes. Fun all the way through!
I fell in love with “Grease Monkey” instantly. Each chapter about Mac and Robin and the Barbarians holds significance on many levels. You can read for the pure entertainment factor or for the deeper, continually relevant societal issues they explore. Eldred crafted a gem here. I wish there was more.
Sword and Laser picked “The Night Circus” for December's book pick. Between the summary and my own internal biases toward circuses in general, I didn't expect to like this. But I'm the organizer for a local offshoot of the book group, so I felt reading the book a necessary requirement to discussing it.
I surprised myself by loving this book. The conflict, the plot in fact, takes a back seat to the descriptions of the setting. And in this book, I don't think it a negative thing. The plot gently moves you from one setting to another, often in different eras of time. You never feel rushed, as if the current setting is your destination. And you're not quite ready to move on when the narrative shifts. You want more of where you're at, but you also know the next place likely will be equally if not more exquisite.
The circus starts as a backdrop for a competition between two magical competitors. In fact, those two competitors are for most of the book merely unknowing pawns in a contest between their teachers. All they know is the circus, it makes sense that the descriptions and activities of the circus really preside over the flow of the story.
And those descriptions! Accompanying each visual are either smells, textures, sounds, tactile sensations or some combination of one or more. Often each description contains contrasts of the same the sensation; i.e. fiery ice, bittersweet, painful love...
As the subtle drama reveals itself, the reader rides along reveling in wonderment at the beauty of the battle playing out around them.
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By the way, this couldn't have been a more perfect December read. Concluding it on the morning of the Winter Solstice seem perfectly apropos.
Crown of Renewal continues and often concludes the saga of many of the peripheral characters from the original Deed's of Paksenarrion trilogy. Elizabeth Moon is masterful at character building. Having read Sheepfarmer's Daughter some time in the late '80s, I feel as if I've grown and matured with many of them by my side. I've always loved the way Moon's characters are fully human, with strengths and flaws alike. The heroes are humans behaving extraordinarily in extraordinary situations. I will admit, though, most of the villains are simply villains.
At the same time, Paladin's Legacy introduced young characters who could carry on in this world should Moon continue to be drawn back here. I suspect we could see more of Mikeli, Camwyn, Beclan, young Arvid, Kieri and Arian's twins and others in a future adventure.
I guard my sleep time determinedly. I understand I need 7-8 hours each night in order to function well and maintain my health. While I always read in bed for a couple of minutes before I turn out the light, I usually have a strict time limit for doing so. With “Solitaire” I threw my personal reading rules out the window. I read at stoplights, during work breaks, at my desk during lunch and LONG past my “lights out” deadline in bed.
Ren/Jackal was innocent, convicted, sentenced (to hell I might add), served and released. But she was innocent! The rest? Error, never ever once corrected. It might have been tacitly acknowledged, but not officially. How fucking real world is that? I kept expecting some mighty conspiracy to be uncovered, Ren forgiven and a massive public apology delivered as the true criminals were brought to justice. That's how it works in books, right? But instead only one person really maintains her faith in Ren/Jackal. Sure it's one person who really matters, Snow. But Snow faces a drastically altered Ren/Jackal too. There is no guarantee at the end of a happy ending. Just of a fresh start. Again, so real world.
But the riveting horror of the book is in Ren/Jackal's sentence. VR solitary confinement. How many of us could survive being stuck alone in our heads for YEARS? No books, no TV, no internet, no other people. Just the body you're in and the brain driving it. That exploration makes “Solitaire” so riveting. And horrifying. As Ren battled her crocodile, I could only imagine my own monsters. What they would like and how well I would perform in the face of them. How many of us really even see our demons? They appear briefly on the edges of our vision. In fear we snap on some music or video, open a book or seek out conversation with a stranger, banishing those demons time and again to the fringes. They're there, herding us through our lives, but rarely vanquished or even acknowledged. Ren found herself with no other recourse than to finally turn and face her monster. And her victory gave her peace, she found within herself the ability and comfort to be alone and silent. Her escape from the VR cell to the uninhabited VR world allowed her to roam free and explore who she was without anybody else. That's powerful...but also isolating.
Ren can now be truly alone without fear, but the others who occupied her life before have no place in it. They were a part of her monster and excised with it's vanquishing. The exercise of erasing all the other people and experiences in her life allows her to move forward into the next phase. But on returning to the real world, those blank images are harder to maintain. Snow reemerges, but their relationship must be built anew with the new Ren. And glimmers of others leak through, too, in the end.
I don't feel like Ren's story is completely through. On one hand, I hope for more from her. On the other, I'm not sure how any follow up to her story could live up to the power it's beginning hold for me.
I read this directly on the heels of “Shades of Milk & Honey”. Glamour starts a few months after Shades ends and immediately the “feel” of the story is different. Jane, as a character, is MOSTLY more confident and strains at the bonds her society binds her in. The story soon changes venue to the European continent, where the moral bounds are looser. Her Kowal's tendency to caricature her characters is apparent as Jane is shocked, shocked I say, by the behavior of women in this society. Fortunately the story really doesn't dwell there, merely uses it to contrast the differences in location and set up the atmosphere for the rest of the story. From this point on, it becomes a quick paced of tale of intrigue and danger, glamour playing a key role in the telling and conclusion.
SPOILER ALERT!!!
SPOILER ALERT!!!
SPOILER ALERT!!!
As odd as it might sound, I appreciate the treatment of Jane's miscarriage at the end. While we can never know if it was caused by her use of glamour, the stress of freeing Vincent or a pregnancy never meant to succeed, Kowal relates a realistic rendering of the combination of Jane's relief and guilt. Happy endings aren't always completely happy or without strife.
I'm generally not a fan of historical fiction, especially of this particular period. But throw magic or science fiction into anything and I'm always happy to give it a go. I love the concept of glamour and the weaving of illusions created by it's proficiency. With the exception of Jane, though come to think of is she's also guilty, the characters all seem to be caricatures of their era. The befuddled by females, but doting father. The ailing from a form of hysteria mother. The overly dramatic always put upon sister. And the gallant, but overbearing array of male characters playing foil to the simpering females. If it weren't for the glamour, I would have abandoned the story early on. But the glamour rises the story above itself. And the dynamic between Vincent and Jane is curious to watch...two trains set on track on a collision course. You see the inevitable result LONG before the two characters are even aware of it. Even as Kowal tries to place a little misdirection in your path. It's a quick read and a nice break between, for me, the more complex scifi options I usually choose.
Frequently reminded of the Gaia myth, I found “Door into Ocean” a compelling parallel to our own struggle to live in harmony with our own planet. Without self reflection, humans tend to descend into an attitude of conquerors and exploiters. “A Door into Ocean”'s looks at two planets side by side, one with whose inhabitants live in harmony with their world while the other whose peoples continually war and destroy their world. The inevitable clash between the two societies truly contrasts their beliefs and attitudes. In the end, there doesn't seem to be any clear winner...neither achieves their objectives of changing the other. But for a few individuals who can see both sides, the ending could've left one with no hope whatsoever.
I selected Cryptonomicon because it appears on io9's “The Twenty Science Fiction Novels that Will Change Your Life” list. (http://io9.com/361597/the-twenty-science-fiction-novels-that-will-change-your-life) I started working my way through the list last spring and when I ran across a copy of Cryptonomicon in my favorite used book store, I decided the time had arrived.
Rarely does it take me so long to finish a book! I believe I started this one toward the end of August and didn't finish it until the end of October. Granted, it is over 900 pages long, but even so I'm usually a pretty quick reader. But this book was “chewy”. I had to intersperse several other lighter reads into the middle of it to give myself a break now and then.
A novel set in two different eras, the early 21st century and World War II, its subject matter is complex and requires a great deal of concentration. As the title suggest, cryptology plays a major role in the book's plot. And not on a superficial level either. Sometimes the descriptions of the development of the different codes wanders into higher order mathematical concepts I only wish I could truly understand. I wanted to pull out my calculus and differential equations textbooks so I could start studying math again! Granted it wasn't all super technobabble...you had your guy chases girl, gets into trouble and then wins girl plot lines in there too. Not to mention good guy/bad guy drama on the order of a James Bond film. But the codes and the intrigue behind them really drives the story. I'd recommend Cryptonomicon to anyone with an interest in codes, cryptology, encryption technology and also possessing just enough geek to see it through. I BARELY did... :-)
I read this one for the Tempest Banned Book Group. The stories told by the students in The Freedom Writers Diary resonated with me because of all the stories I hear from my own students. Not a day goes by when I don't receive glimpses into their lives and hear things foreign to my own experiences. Reading the The Freedom Writers Diary was much like that for me. Those students face challenges and barriers to their success that I never encountered. And their teacher, through a combination of charisma, tenacity and yes, naivete, was able to make a huge difference in their lives. She stuck with this group of students for their entire high school career, seeing the vast majority of them through to graduation. A monumental feat for this particular population of students.
“The Sparrow” is listed by io9 (http://io9.com) as one of “The Twenty Science Fiction Novels that Will Change Your Life”. The story follows the journey of a Jesuit priest, Emilio Sandoz, as he and a group of friends/associates he considers to be family make first contact with an alien species. This is a powerful story, challenging most notions of what extra terrestrial species would be like.
This is a second (or maybe third) read for me of “The Sparrow”. I've reread it this time with the sole purpose of being able to review it for Goodreads. I found the character of Emilio to be amazing. Here is a man who, growing up in a poverty ridden community, is “rescued” by a Jesuit priest. He is so influenced by D.W., he joins the Jesuits and becomes a priest. During the course of the book, he admits to never receiving a “calling” from God. In fact, he isn't even sure he is a total believer. As the events unfold to send him and his friends to the newly discovered planet, he begins to change his perception. That is, until misunderstandings and miscommunications on Rakhat take a tragic turn and he finds himself the victim of the unthinkable. The Sparrow is a story about faith gained and faith lost, packaged in a beautifully written science fiction setting.
One of Kim Stanley Robinson's eco thrillers! As the title indicates, Antarctica is set in Antarctica in the near future. As the global human population soars, Antarctica remains the last true wilderness still on the planet. With the expiration of the Antarctic Treaty, developed and developing countries alike look to the frozen continent for solutions to their energy and mineral resource needs. Scientists study the vast warming region for clues to geologic events of the past. Vacation adventurers wishing to recreate the experiences of the great Antarctic explorers pay large sums to be guided along those paths. And those who spend their lives working and living in Antarctica just try to get along.
A series of odd thefts and equipment disappearances brings Wade Norton, aide to Senator Phil Chase, to the frozen south for investigation. Wade travels from base to base looking for clues, but becomes enchanted by the region. The path of his travels brings him in contact with guides, leaders, workers and others who've come to consider Antarctica home. Unknown to all, trouble is brewing (of course) and the future of Antarctica becomes questionable.
Robinson fills his novel with breathtaking descriptions of Antarctica, capturing both the appeal and danger of the environment. It's the end of July right now and I find myself yearning to go snowshoeing or mountain climbing.
While beautifully and powerfully written, the subject matter is so dark I am struggling to stick with it. I'm reading Child of God for a book group, so it wasn't a personal selection.Try as I might I couldn't finish this book. I went to the discussion, but the more I heard the better I felt about not having completed Child of God.
“The Speed of Dark” follows a period in the life of an autistic man, Lou Arrendale, told mostly from his perspective. From the back cover of the book:
“Thoughtful, poignant and unforgettable, The Speed of
Dark is a gripping exploration into the world of Lou
Arrendale, an autistic man who is offered a chance to
try a brand-new experimental “cure” for his condition.
Now Lou must decide if he should submit to a surgery
that might completely change the way he views the
world...and the very essence of who he is.”
There is so much more to the story than this implies
though. Lou is a highly functional autistic. He has
a job, drives a car, has his own apartment, and
conducts his own affairs...in many ways better than I
do! He interacts with those considered “normal” on a
regular basis, including the participation in a weekly
fencing group. The conflict over the experimental
cure is much more than a should I/shouldn't I issue.
He has to overcome other challenges during the
book that no one should ever be confronted with.
This one became a bit of a slog for me. At times it was like David Weber dropped acid with L. Frank Baum and then wrote a story together. I half expected the Cowardly Lion and Scarecrow to pop out of Rochard's World's forests.
Honestly, it was a tough read for me. I prefer stories where the characters are more developed and the big idea latches on to them for fleshing out. This is kind of the way Michener used to write. Moving through time and places with only peripheral notice to the people occupying them. Because of this, I had a hard time feeling very connected to the characters. They were pretty two dimensional to me.
It seems like there is fine line between creating a story that expands upon a theme by following well developed characters, without the those characters becoming so overly done that the story becomes “space opera”. Charles Stross seems to go out of the way to avoid that, but in the meantime I'm not sure I would have finished it up with the group discussion I read it for.