On Twitter, under @ilovescifi, I promise* to:

• Only post sci fi stuff and not what I’m eating for lunch or breaking in my house.
• Post about a wider range of Sci Fi — not just books but TV and movies too.
• Post infrequently, once a day max, probably 3 times a week, maybe less if I’m reading a really good book.
• Retweet your reviews of SciFi Stuff, but only if it suits me, and only if you direct me to the tweet with a direct message.
• Verify and follow SciFi authors, screen writers, actors and related geeks so you can find them easier.**

* Until I change my mind again…

** This also means I won’t auto-follow people who follow me out of “courtesy” unless they really are SciFi industry related. If you’re looking to increase your own follower count, don’t bother following me.

See you in 140 character world.

This graphic novel was ranked in Time Magazine’s top 100 novels of all time, and deservedly so. This is an excellent story about saving humanity from itself, and a rag-tag bunch of ex-heros. It’s much more down to earth than any “super hero” story I’ve ever read, and I actually found it quite believable.

Summary: If you have not read this novel, do not go see the movie first. I lost myself in the book and often forgot it was a comic. The story is as rich as many books in my top 10.

Set 250+ years in the future, North-America has spawned a world wide empire and done away with democracy in favor of a dictatorship. The Emperors control more than half of the world and rule like a throw back to Rome. Some are good and benevolent and others are evil and murderous. When China releases a nano-plague that consumes and infects metal, technology starts to crumble. This is where the story begins. Told from the point of view of his illegitimate daughter, General Peter Black is the last of a noble, loyal line of military men. Unfailingly loyal to whomever is on the throne he is recalled from Mars before the last of the transports fails. The rest of his life is spent serving, protecting, defending and being abused by the last of the Emperors as the Empire crumbles.

Summary: The Martian General’s Daughter isn’t quite a must-read, but it is excellent on many levels. The characters are awesome, the story is as compelling as it is bloody and the history-is-repeating theme all make for a memorable read.

Another interesting part is that if Mars and nanotech hadn’t been mentioned this book could easily have been set 1000 years ago, but with the characters having an understanding of modern science (well some of them at least).

There isn’t much more I can say about this book other than it’s an great choice for anyone who likes alternative history, historical fiction and military conquest. Pick up a copy and see for yourself. I’m very much looking forward to my other 5 books from Pyr now. I can’t wait.

* I contacted Pyr’s promotions team and inquired as to the availability of review copies. It never hurts to ask, especially when they say yes. I’ll be sharing this stack around (like all the other review copies) with the readers here as I finish with them.

The basic premise is that two other-wordly entities arrive at Earth and take over two host humans. They both promise to elevate all humans to the next stage of evolution if only their host manages to kill the other host/symbiont. Clandestine battles ensue and many other people scramble to figure out what is going on.

Summary: Never judge a book by it’s cover. Monkey Trap is a clever concept with a novel execution. If you can get past the usual rookie author mistakes I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

I have quite a few problems with this book, but all are fairly minor and easily overcome. I’ll be focusing on these problems in the first half of the review, but I wanted to make it clear that I DID enjoy the book, and you probably will too. That said, let’s start with the “bad news” first.

First off, ‘Lee Denning’ is actually a pen name for a father/daughter writing team. He’s a soldier, scientist and engineer and she’s a psychologist, poet and mystic. Unfortunately this is fairly evident in the writing and the book does feel like two people wrote it at times. I applaud the family time, and actually think that the two wildly different perspectives helped flesh out the story, but somewhere along the way there wasn’t enough put into the blending of the two sets of writing into a single whole.

Second, the symbionts explain to their hosts how and why certain powers are developing in great detail at times. This wouldn’t be a problem except for the fact that BOTH characters get told nearly identical things in the same gory detail. The solution is simple, as a reader I just skipped a few pages when a repeating explanation came along. I understand that the characters need know the hows and whys of their new existence, but as a reader I don’t need to be told twice. Some things are better left unwritten.

Third, In addition to this repetition, I think the authors make another classic rookie mistake. Inevitably an author knows more about their characters than anyone else in the universe. They created them after all. The problem crops up when author(s) think that this story is just as interesting as the one they are trying to tell. in Monkey Trap the authors open the book with dozens of pages (50+) describing “how we got to this point in their lives.” This almost destroyed the book for me. I put it down and I emailed Denning to ask him how I could rectify the problem. He effectively told me to skip to chapter 16 when things started to get going. I suggest that if you read this book too, that you speed read chapters 3-16. If you skip them outright you won’t miss much, but there are few sections in there that are worth the read.

Fourth, I think there are too many threads in this story. After talking to Denning he revealed that when they originally structured Monkey Trap, they “wanted to make a truly cross-genre story (thriller, mystery, romance, mysticism, philosophy, sci-fi, fantasy), with deep characters. We worried about biting off too much in a first book, so we purposely set the thing up with (roughly) five scenes per chapter, with headings to tip off readers and thus let them skip or skim stuff that they weren’t interested in.” Once I clued in to this structure I was able to use it to my advantage and speed read the parts that were only vaguely interesting. The structure they chose does help with this problem, and I’m glad they gave the reader this tool to use while reading.

Lastly there is the cover. “Never judge a book by it’s cover” in this case is literally true. The cover, while impressive from a fine arts point of view isn’t what you’d expect from the major publishers. It’s simply lacking something. It’s accurate to the story once you reflect on it, but I doubt it’s helping the sales. Moreover the back cover copy leaves a little bit to be desired. Cliché phrases like “keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole time” and “unrelenting action and suspense” always give me that skeptical “yeah right” feeling. If you ignore the cover and look deeper (say at Chapter one) then you’ll begin to see what this duo can really write.

So, that’s the BAD news. What about the good news? Well without giving away much of the plot the story is compelling and the action is excellent even if it’s not exactly “unrelenting.” The symbiont aliens enable latent powers in the two hosts based on the manipulation of different kinds of energy and physical laws. They can levitate and fly, transpose, control gravity and extract energy from other dimensions. Nothing more far fetched than that of NBC’s Heroes (a show I love) and all powers make sense within the context of the plot.

The story has many “oh that’s convenient” moments, but as the book grows they actually help bolster the story and the ideas rather than distract from it. The ending is well constructed and appropriate once you’ve come to know the characters.

Also, while Denning suggested that I skip the thread about the Global Consciousness Project, it was actually one of my favourite parts. This is a real project with real and interesting results and can be found at http://noosphere.princeton.edu/. In the book perturbations in the random data eventually give the staff at the project the ability to track our enhanced duo as if they were transmitting their latitude and longitude (GPS coordinates) to the world. As a math major I found the explanations to be hand-wavy and often wrong, but I can forgive that in the context of a good story*.

As for book two, The Hiding Hand, I’ve just started it and it seems to address many of my concerns above and after 50 pages I can’t put it down. I’m loving it so far and I’ll have a review of it as soon as I write up the other two books that I completed on Holiday.

* I HATED Dan Brown’s Digital Fortress for it’s completely flawed use of Applied Cryptography. I can’t forgive that one since the story was terrible too.

Dear Mr. Scalzi,
Please don’t take all of my money.
Thanks in advance — Cam

Yes folks, I finished The Android’s Dream a few days ago, and while it isn’t quite Old Man’s War in terms of sheer awesomeness, it’s darn close. Moreover, I’m totally hooked on Scalzi’s style, wit and humor as well as his ideas, aliens and characters. This is the reason for my opening plea: with the winning streak he’s on, I doubt I’ll ever be able to avoid the impulse to buy his books (in any form) the day they are released. I’d rather go hungry than not read his stuff as soon as possible. That might get expensive, especially if he keeps auctioning off ARCs of his new books months before they hit the store shelves.

The title is a play on Philip K Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, in that a genetically altered breed of electric blue sheep plays a central role in the crowning of a new monarch in an alien race. Earth invented the sheep and gifted it to the alien monarch in an effort to win sponsorship into the intergalactic Common Confederation. When enemies of the crown massacre all living Android’s Dream sheep weeks before the next ascension to the throne, Earth is drawn into a desperate political game that could easily end in war. Oh and some Earth ambassador farts a diplomat to death. What more could you want?

Summary: The Android’s Dream had me hooked from the fart and it kept me on the edge of my sheep the whole time. Part satire, part homage (to PKD) and completely filled with Scalzi’s signature witty dialog, this is a novel that does not disappoint.

That’s the end of the review. Zoe’s Tale arrived today. Bye.

Summary: Skip the movie adaptations since they are terrible by comparison to this little gem of a book. In a mere 180 pages Matheson manages to cram in some excellent characters, a brilliant story and even some compassion for vampires and zombies. Excellent, a 4/5.

This novel has been adapted three times into movies, and you can see the breakdowns and history of each on the corresponding I Am Legend Wikipedia page. After reading this novella I quickly rented and watched 2007’s adaptation starting Will Smith, and while the movie itself wasn’t bad, it was a far cry from anything resembling this book. About all they share is the disease-induced apocalypse and the main character’s name. Everything else changed. Moreover, I had hoped to track down the other two adaptations (from the 60s and 70s) but when I read that they were even farther off I didn’t bother. I’d rather remember the novella than the movies.

Since it’s such a short story it’s hard to do a plot summary of any kind without spoilers. All I will say is that everyone is a vampire — except Robert Neville. He’s just a drunk.

However, since a book of this caliber requires a nice lively discussion, lets take it to the comments. If you haven’t read the book yet, please stay out of the comments as you’ll just ruin your own experience. You’ve been warned. Everyone else, let’s dive in!

Many people have suggested that Scalzi must be either the reincarnation of Robert A. Heinlein, or guided by his ghost. While there are certainly many positive similarities between Scalzi and Heinlein, Scalzi has a much more accessible sense of humor than Heinlein ever did. The humor and personalities he infuses into his stories and his characters is what really makes me love them. However, the action and adventure is very reminiscent of my most favorite Heinlein novels. The combination of styles that I call ‘Scalzeinlein’ has yet to produce something that I haven’t absolutely loved…

Scalzi’s most popular works to date are by far those set in the Old Man’s Waruniverse. It’s hard to call them a series or a trilogy as each book stands on it’s own even if the characters overlap. However, like many other wonderfully crafted alternative or future realities, there are many stories that can be told here before readers will get bored. In the OMW series humanity is placed in a universe heavily populated with other sentient races. Emigrants from Earth must fiercely compete for the scarce planetary real estate which is suitable for sustaining life. I can’t get into too many details without ruining the first story, but Scalzi changed it up by having a military that recruits for experience instead of brute strength — by taking exclusively 75 year olds.

An example of Scalzi’s humor shines through in this snippet from a recently published OMW tale on Tor.com called After the Coup:

“How well can you take a punch?” asked Deputy Ambassador Schmidt.

Lieutenant Harry Wilson blinked and set down his drink. “You know, there are a number of places a conversation can go after a question like that,” he said. “None of them end well.”

[snip spoilers]

“Hmm. Anyway, yes,” Schmidt said. “The mission isn’t going well. The Korba haven’t been nearly as receptive to our negotiations as we thought they might be. We want to try something new. A new direction. A new diplomatic tack.”

“A new tack that is somehow focused on me getting punched,” Harry said, setting his drink back down.

“Maybe,” Schmidt said.

“Once or repeatedly?” Harry asked.

“I think that would depend on your definition,” Schmidt said.

“Of ‘once’?” Harry asked.

“Of ‘punched,’ actually,” Schmidt said.

“I already have very deep reservations about this plan,” Harry said.

“Well, let me give you some context,” Schmidt said.

“Please do,” Harry said.

In another short fiction work Scalzi envisions a number of alternative universes that might occur if Hitler were killed on August 13, 1908. He considers what the effects on history would be if Hitler were killed by suffocation when inexplicably encased in an enormous block of unflavored gelatin or more plausibly mugged by an opium junkie looking for money.

Lastly, there is the fact that Scalzi is one of the first bloggers on the internet, with his blog Whatever still strong after 10 years. He has some really good articles and stories from time to time (with lots of silly fun and ranting in between). It’s the top feed in my RSS reader. Here’s a sample of my favorites so far:

• A Shareware Short Story: ‘How I Proposed to My Wife: An Alien Sex Story”
• Your Creation Museum Report
• The infamous Bacon Cat
• The Child on the Train

You might ask why I have yet to review the OMW series of books? Well, it probably has something to do with the fact that I read them before I started this blog and I simply haven’t gotten to it yet. However, with the impending release (August 19) of the fourth book in the universe — Zoe — I think I’ll hold off until my pre-ordered copy arrives and do them all at once. For now I’m reading The Android’s Dream and still looking for a used copy of the original Agent to the Stars since I’m not sure I can wait for the October 28th updated re-release.

Verdict: 5/5 - Must Read. Of all the people who have read any of the Scalzi on my shelf, I have yet to hear a single negative comment other than “It’s not really very literary.. but it certainly is fun.” I couldn’t agree more!

Who’s next? I dunno. Probably one of Vinge, Wilson, Stross, Heinlein, Pohl, Haldeman… I could go on and on.

Thanks for making this site fun and lively everyone. I’d have quit long ago if it wasn’t for my subscribers and those who take the time to join in the discussion… after all it would give me more time to read if I didn’t have to take the time to write :)

I’ve just finished reading the second book in his series and overall I’m quite impressed with Simon and his protagonist Hal. The premise is simple: To write satirical comedy science fiction lampooning most of the rest of the genre. How hard could that be really? I was skeptical at first, but after reading the first six chapters online over lunch one day I was certain I needed to at least give it a chance. It’s certainly not for everyone, especially the purists and hard science fans, but for most people with a wide variety of tastes and tolerances it’s a great choice for vacation reading.

Summary: Snarky robots, bumbling pilots, tonnes of silly humour and Deus ex Machina at every turn make Hal Spacejock a perfect summer beach book for those in need of a good chuckle. Australia’s Simon Haynes successfully lampoons the bedrock of science fiction themes and doesn’t take himself seriously… at all.

Hal is a bumbling ‘pilot’ who relies 100% on his navcom to run his decrepit ship the ‘Black Gull’. Easily tricked and confused he wanders through life turning down jobs while he complains about not having any money. When he is in desperate need of cash to save his ship from loan sharks he grudgingly takes on a job that involves taking an ancient pilot robot named Clunk to a recycling yard. Clunk quickly becomes friends with Hal and becomes his sidekick for the rest of the series.

I won’t get into the plots of either book in detail, as their sheer concept is part of the overall satire. I will say that they are full of references to excrement, and jab after jab at any author that has ever used Deus ex Machina to set up or solve a plot element. Coincidence doesn’t even begin to describe that happens in these books.

Of the two I’ve read so far (and I’m going to start the third tonight) the second is much better and is the reason for the 4/5 rating here. The first book is a 3/5 (fun and entertaining) in my mind, but it does set up a lot of relationships so it’s worthwhile. Fortunately there is minimal requirement to read the first book before the second. They’re both entertaining, but  the first has some ‘newbie’ author flaws that stand out a bit. These flaws don’t take away from the story itself, but they do have the possibility of drawing you out of the imaginary place that is Spacejock’s universe which can be annoying.

I do have a few very minor warnings for people looking to put their money into these books based on my review here. First, you will need to read these books with an open mind and an understanding of why they were written to enjoy them. If you try and take them too seriously you’ll hate them, but if you grok Hal, you’ll love them. Second, they are great for teenagers who you want hooked on SciFi. Remember that in mind if you don’t have the mind of a teenager. I’m 30, but I liked them anyway. Third, they do contain the occasional swear word, but are otherwise family friendly in terms of content.

Lastly, I agree with the author’s website when it claims “If you enjoy TV shows like the Young Ones, Firefly, Blackadder, Red Dwarf and Dr Who, or books by Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett, Tom Holt or Jasper Fforde, then the bestselling Hal Spacejock series is for you.” Yup, that sums it up nicely.

So, if you haven’t already, why not read the first book for free? Simon and his publisher put it out there for you to sample and see if this satirical universe is really meant for you or not. You owe yourself at least that much… Don’t you?

When you’re done reading, come back here and let’s chat about it.

Enjoy!

In the far distant future two factions of humanity have been waging an interstellar war for more than a century. En route to a glorious and decisive battle, the good guys (the Alliance) discover a damaged escape pod in the wreckage from one of the very first battles in the war, nearly 100 years earlier. In it is an ordinary man who has been idolized and turned into a fleet inspiring myth for the whole Alliance. Captain John “Black Jack” Geary is back from the dead and facing a myth larger than any mortal man could ever embody, a war bigger than all of humanity, and the reality that all he ever knew is gone. As the ‘decisive’ battle goes horribly wrong he finds himself as the most senior commanding officer in a fleet of more than 200 ships that are trapped and desperately out numbered in all respects… And that’s just the first 10 pages of the first book.

Summary: The Lost Fleet is fast paced, action packed military science fiction with many familiar elements. The universe is derivative but the narrative, detailed battles and strong writing bring it to life in a way that will leave you turning pages late into the early dawn hours.

The first book, Dauntless, sets up a very interesting and compelling world. Campbell sets up the concept of a fleet that is lost on numerous different levels. Literally, the remaining ship captains don’t know precisely how to get home intact. However, in addition to that they’ve lost the knowledge of how to use the old ‘jump drives’ since the advent of the much faster ‘hypernet’ system and crew members have died in battle at such a frantic pace that simple experience has been lost even amongst the most senior leaders. At at deeper level, the Alliance has lost it’s moral compass as they have fallen down the slippery slope of ‘eye for an eye’ tactics and war-crime atrocity trading. Lastly, the home worlds of the Alliance are forced to assume that the whole fleet was lost in the disastrous battle preceding the first book.

As a result, the fleet is grudgingly forced to follow a leader that is literally a historic relic, complete with ‘ancient’ tactics, experiences and morals.

The first book, Dauntless, doesn’t contain much more than a few battles and setting up the scenario for the rest of the series. It’s superb and entertaining but somehow also very unsatisfying. Moreover, the second and third books — Fearless and Courageous – were too drawn out in my opinion. I felt they could easily have been written as a single volume with very little overall story lost to the cuts. Don’t get me wrong, they were entertaining, but not nearly as much as Dauntless. They do set up some interesting plot lines while also showing that the fleet is maturing as a team. In the end though, they seem more like filler while Campbell decided where he really wanted to take the saga, and at best they are an exploration of the logistics involved in bringing a crippled fleet limping home from behind enemy lines.

So why would I rush out and buy the fourth book — Valiant – the day it was released? By the end of the third book I could sense that Campbell had gained a solid focus, and that the plot was going in a single, straight line towards a conclusion even if the fleet was zig-zagging it’s way through enemy space. That and the action was awesome for a summer read.

Valiant is by far the best book in the series so far. I can’t discuss the plot without giving away the spoilers for the first three books, but I can say that if you abandoned the fleet after the third book you’ve made a terrible mistake.

My biggest complaint about the whole series is that Campbell repeats obvious and easily remembered details from previous books ad nauseam in later books. Since, there is no sane way a person could pick up this story in the middle, this only serves to annoy readers who have been around from the start. Cutting this repetition alone could save 100-200 pages throughout the whole series. I have a few other minor quibbles with the books as well, but I’ll save those for the discussion in the comments.

The verdict: All books are either good (3/5) or excellent (4/5), but the fourth is a must read (5/5), even after considering the fact that you have to read the first three to get there. You won’t be disappointed.

UPDATE (May 5, 2009): I’ve just finished book 5: Relentless (see comment #33) but overall the series remains strong and worth your time. Many resolutions come in this book that are both satisfying and fast paced. The major downfall of this book is that it’s predictable, but I can’t imagine how that could have been helped. The ending is terrific, even if it’s in a different place than I expected considering there is still another book to go. However, I find myself MOST excited about book 6’s enevitable divergence from the previous books. Overall Book 5 is a 4/5.