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The Great Hunt

2011-03-19T13:11:00.000-07:00

The Great Hunt is the second book in the Wheel of Time series; here we find Rand & company attempting to recapture the Horn of Valere, and in the process traveling from the Borderlands to Toman Head.

The Seanchan are introduced, a seafaring empire that uses the One Power in battle. They have occupied Toman Head and stand as adversaries against the peoples of the mainland.

Egwene and her female twins are featured heavily, although their story here is solid, not drivel as in some of the later books.

Overall it is about on par with the first one for quality, but has less variety, as it is very focused on the hunt for the horn.

8.7/9

The Eye of the World

2011-03-12T06:07:00.000-08:00

Robert Jordan's near endless series "The Wheel of Time" starts here. Though it is now common knowledge that the later books suffer from an obvious quality drop, the early works were, if nothing else, rather entertaining.

Yeah the book has a pretty obvious pathing that resembles the Lord of the Rings, the female characters are largely identical to one another while simultaneousness serving as some of the most annoying individuals in fantasy-- but this flaw only becomes a major issue in later books when the females are given more focus.

I originally read this series in the 90's, but sometime around the 8th or 9th book I quit. Since then Brandon Sanderson has taken over, following the death of Jordan, and apparently done a rather good job of it. So I'm slowly rereading the series, since I'd like to see Sanderson's works. There is a 2-3 book gap between Jordan and Sanderson that I'm not sure entirely sure how I'm going to surmount.

Anyway, don't read this expecting anything else other than entertainment.

9/10

Gardens of the Moon

2011-03-09T02:47:00.000-08:00

This is the first novel in Erikson's Malazon series. Some people really like these books-- but I'm not one of them. This first book was so poorly written and unfocused that I gave up on the series.

There are lots of characters in this book. Erikson never describes much of anything about them. They just appear, and start doing stuff. Then they disappear for 100 pages, then they reappear, then they suddenly die. That's pretty much how this book goes.

Additionally the prose can be painful, this is not lyrical, and repeated words and phrases within just a few lines are common--this drove me crazy! A good editor should have caught and fixed shit like this.

Some people say the later books are better, and that Erikson's writing improves. I haven't bothered to test these claims yet, and I'm not sure if I ever will..

Anyway, this book is not worth reading, perhaps the sequels are, but this one is absolutely not. It reads like a D&D campaign, and as such has about as much depth.

7/10

The Book Of The New Sun

2011-03-09T02:28:00.000-08:00

"The Greatest SF Novel of the last century." - Neal Gaiman

  The Book of the New Sun is Gene Wolfe's masterpiece series, and taken as a whole it is easily the greatest novel I've ever read.

This is the story of Severian, member of the guild of torturers who wanders the lands of Urth.
Yes a torturer. When in need of money he can use his well honed skills for such as acts as public beheading, and dismemberment. To clarify, it is never so gruesome that anyone would be put off, and their is no SM or anything like that.

The language and prose of this novel are of the absolute highest quality, containing a lyrical beauty rarely found in even the most famous of works.

   Now, Wolfe assumes the reader is highly intelligent and knowledgeable. He assumes your vocabulary is quite large, and even if it is, you will almost certainly have to look up some words(or just infer from the context).

   The novel is told in first person, with Severian claiming he has a perfect memory, but a careful study will show that he does at times contradict himself demonstrating that he is an unreliable narrator. The observant reader will find many clues are embedded in the text that tell far more of Severian and his world than just his words.

Now this IS a SF novel, not a fantasy piece. Severian may see magic, but the reader should know better. Severian lives in a dying world, an Earth so long gone that technology is magic and the sun is begins to burn the world.

It was originally released as four novels, "The Shadow of the Torturer", "The Claw of the Conciliator", "The Sword of the Lictor", and "The Citidel of the Autarch". In recent times the series has been republished in a far more respectable looking edition, comprised of the two novels shown above(each contains two of the original novels).

This is a definitive work of the 20th century, however unknown it may be to the mainstream, and should not be missed.

10/10

The Wise Man's Fear

2011-03-04T22:28:00.000-08:00

"The Wise Man's Fear" is the second in what is supposed to be a trilogy(though I'm starting to have doubts as to how he can possibly conclude it with only one book).

This one is much like his first, "The Name of the Wind". Except it is really damn long. 1126 pages long.

First, I did enjoy the book. Rothfuss is a very solid writer, this ant no hack. He is great a stringing together a sentence, but I'm starting to wonder if he can actually string a full story together.

Why?

Well for one, the first 400 pages are a retreat of the first novel. More Kvothe at University, nothing really new going on here.

Finally Kvothe leaves the University, he travels 1000 miles(somehow in only 16 days with a shipwreck, eh?) to a distant city where he enters the service of some high and mighty dude. Denna shows up yet again. Kvothe pines after her. Hey this sounding familiar?

Finally about half way through the book, Kvothe yells at Denna, and is promptly sent out on a mission to eliminate some bandits.

I should add, that each time Kvothe travels to a new location, the story becomes interesting.. for a time. But each time Rothfuss overstays, and the reader becomes deadly bored with the location, hoping each time a new chapter arrives that Kvothe will move on. Kvothe always manages to stay longer than I care for, making me wish they had cut quite a few chapters.

There is one horrible part where Kvothe enters the fae realm, I kept assuming it would end.. but chapter after chapter Kvothe somehow remained in this most intolerably dull location.

It does pick up some at the end, Kvothe learns to fight, saves some girls, stuff actually happens, etc. Why couldn't more of the book been like that?

8.8/10

A Civil Campaign

2011-03-04T22:07:00.000-08:00

Miles is back on Barrayar, and most of the book deals with Miles courtship, or campaign to marry Ekaterin. New territory for the series-- obviously.. but it works fairly well.

8.4/10

Komarr

2011-03-04T22:04:00.000-08:00

The third good Miles book in a row. Miles is now an auditor, and he is helping to investigate a shuttle crash.

This one introduces Ekaterin, as Miles stays at her and her husbands house during his investigation.

8.6/10

Memory

2011-03-04T22:02:00.000-08:00

Memory is another good one. Miles deals with loss, as does Illyan. This is also a big changing point in the series, as Miles role in the story is never really the same from here on.

This is the only book in the Vorkosigan series not included on the free Cryoburn CD put out by Baen, not positive on why, but it may just be because Memory was never included in an omnibus edition.

8.8/10

Mirror Dance

2011-03-04T21:58:00.000-08:00

The first damn good book in the Vorkasigan Saga.

Miles clone("Mark") is back, and he has a mission. Unfortunately things don't turn out so well for poor Miles, and he ends up quite dead.

This one isn't nearly as fluffy as the books that lead up to it. It is rather dark, and so much stronger for it.

8.8/10

Brothers in Arms

2011-03-04T21:54:00.001-08:00

Miles clone is introduced here. Fairly dull book aside from that. This is the last dull book before shit gets good for quite awhile.

7.4/10

Borders of Infinity

2011-03-04T21:53:00.000-08:00

Alright, here was the first sign of life from the Vorkasigan saga. I had only gotten this far for two reasons.

1) The entire series was released for free(except memory)
2) My iPad could read it aloud while I worked

Then I stumbled on Borders of Infinity. This is a novella, not a full novel, but oh man is it a huge improvement over the previous stuff in this series.

Miles is in a prison camp. He is naked. He plans to rescue everyone.

9.0/10

Ethan of Athos

2011-03-04T21:49:00.000-08:00

A side quest dealing with a planet that only has men; they use artificial wombs to procreate. Their wombs are dying and they need new ones.

Average.

7.5/10

The Vor Game

2011-03-04T21:47:00.000-08:00

The one somehow got awards thrown at it. Not sure why. Its average and fairly forgettable-- actually I've forgotten most of it already. The good books don't start until Mirror Dance:/

8.0/10

Cetaganda

2011-03-04T21:44:00.001-08:00

This one sucks, avoid it. It also has nothing to do with any of the other books, so don't worry about missing anything.

6.0/10

The Warrior's Apprentice

2011-03-04T21:43:00.000-08:00

This is the first Miles focused novel in the Vorkosigan saga, it starts pretty good, then gets somewhat silly.

Miles forms his mercenary fleet through sheer blundering.

A fairly light read, enjoyable, but by no means the best of the Miles books(nor the worst).

7.9

Barrayar

2011-03-04T21:40:00.000-08:00

The 2nd Vorkosigan novel, and unlike the first, it is actually pretty good.

Again this one follows Cordelia, it is the last book to do so.

8.2/10

Shards Of Honor

2011-03-04T21:38:00.000-08:00

There are too many books in the "Vorkosigan Saga" to go into much detail on each of them..

Shards of Honor is the first, and it deals with the mother of Miles, Cordelia. It wasn't really that interesting, and I only finished it because I had my iPad read it aloud while I did other things.

Id say skim it or read an outline, and then read "Barrayer", the 2nd novel in the series, which is also substantially better.

The covers for the Vorkosigan novels are universally terrible, so I won't offend the eyes by posting them.

7.0/10

The Void Trilogy

2011-01-27T09:30:00.000-08:00

The Void Trilogy is really a sequel to Hamilton's earlier Commonwealth series and should be read only after reading those earlier books--starting with Pandora's Star.

So it's 1500 years after the Starflyer War, and the Commonwealth is a very different entity from the rich mans paradise that existed in the previous novels. Humanity has spread far into the galaxy, and in the process splintered into various factions, each with their own idea of how mankind should evolve. Colony ships have passed beyond the known regions of space, but little to no contact has occurred between them and the remaining Commonwealth.

One artifact that humanity has stumbled across is the Void, an expanding region of space which consumes all in its path. As it turns out the Void has existed for millions of years, with countless species encountering it, fearing it, and studying it so that they might stop its growth. One species particular has devoted itself to the destruction of the Void, having launched a failed war against it millions of years past, and now guarding its borders so that none may enter.

Then a human named Indigo, while visiting the boundary of the Void, begins to dream of a world without technology, whose human inhabitants are able to shape the world around them with their thoughts. He shares his dream with Gaiafield, a sort of mental network for sharing feelings and experiences, and soon it is realized he is dreaming of a human population actually living within the Void.

This sets off a series of events that eventually lead to a sizable portion of humanity deciding that they wish to enter the Void. Most alien races are opposed, and the border guardians in particular have no intention of letting anyone enter, for it is believed that this would trigger a huge Void expansion-- eventually leading to the destruction of the entire galaxy if left unchecked.

One thing of note about this series is that a significant chunk of it takes place within the Void, in what would traditionally be labeled a fantasy setting. It tells the story of Indigo's dreams, for he dreams of a young man whose story is something of a heroes journey. Probably something like 30-40% of the series is dedicated to this story. It is very well done though, and does tie in nicely with the science fiction story taking place outside the Void.

Overall I feel that this was a nice improvement over his first Commonwealth series(which was already excellent). The pacing is much improved(particularly over Judas Unchained), and the characters are all interesting. And yes, some old characters do make appearances, even the SI eventually shows up.

9.2/10

The Commonwealth Saga

2011-01-06T11:03:00.000-08:00

This is a giant space opera by Peter Hamilton, although only two novels(Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained), each one packs near 1000 pages.

The story builds, and builds, and keeps on building-- Hamilton describes a future humanity spread out among the stars via wormholes, with hundreds of inhabited worlds and immortality for any that can afford it. Pretty depressing to still see such a capitalistic society.

Yet for all the distance mankind has come from Earth, few aliens have been encountered, and none with any galaxy spanning civilization.

Enter Dudley Bose, an astronomer watching the night sky, he records two distant stars as the suddenly go dark(On/Off star from Deepness in the Sky anyone?). Scientists in the commonwealth decide that the only thing capable of causing such an event would be an advanced civilization-- leading to the decision to send a ship 1000 light years to investigate.

+Incredibly detailed galaxy, Hamilton creates many interesting worlds
+Plot that builds and builds, with strong control by Hamilton

-Juda's Unchained, the 2nd novel is weaker than Pandora's Star. At times it devolves from space opera into much ado about police investigation.
-The ending is too drawn out

9.0/10

Night Angel Trilogy

2011-01-06T10:35:00.000-08:00

The "Night Angel Trilogy" is the debut series for Brent Weeks, it is a fairly traditional fantasy story bent toward action.

The central character is Kylar, yet another young street beggar-- scraping by to pay his guild dues. Kylar encounters Durzo, a famous assassin in his city, and eventually becomes his apprentice. Soon enough Kylar goes forth to slay countless foes.

+It doesn't hold back, no PG rating here. Kylar is an assassin and he doesn't magically avoid killing the innocent.
+Action is well done, and plenty of it

-Writing isn't of the highest caliber, if Weeks could improve his prose some he would be one hell of an author.
-The ending for the series didn't work for me, too much voodoo and magical nonsense.
-Some of the secondary characters would go through some pretty dull character arcs(Logan in book 1 and book 3).

8.8/10

Earth Abides

2010-12-13T05:46:00.000-08:00

Earth Abides is an end of the world type novel from the late forties by George R. Stewart. But even today, it is still in print, which must mean something.

A deadly disease wipes out humanity, but our protagonist Ish survives by shear luck because he happened to be out in the woods alone for a few days. He returns to civilization, location near San Francisco, and discovers mankind has ended.

Oh, there are a few survivors and Ish does go about meeting and joining some of them, but this isn't a happy story. Stewart must have had a bleak outlook on mankind.

What follows is the story of the reversal of mankind, from the height of civilization to stone age primitives. And Ish is often infuriatingly passive about the whole affair, rarely making any effort to prevent this degradation.

The ending is somewhat poetic, and left a lasting impression on me-- despite my annoyance with Ish this book works, and works well.

8.4/10

Under Heaven

2010-12-10T08:39:00.000-08:00

Finished Under Heaven a few days ago-- this was only my second Kay book, and based on this one I think it's about time I start reading his backlog.

This is a historical fantasy piece set in the Tang dynasty of China, though it is called Kitan here. Based on events in the novel it appears to take place around the year 755 CE. Most of narrative focuses on on a man named Shen Tai who has spent two years digging graves for the bodies of long dead soldiers, far away from civilization and his family. While this is fantasy, there is not actually a great deal of magic going on here.

Kay vividly shows us 8th century China: the silk road, courtesans, bodyguards, and the Imperial court with clean prose and plenty of detail. The landscape is very beautiful, and the cities and roads that lead between them make this seem a land that would have been wondrous to walk--except the society was so rigid and unbalanced you wouldn't actually want to do so.

Most of the characters work quite well, although their behavior is often so constrained and rigid, as demanded by their society, that I found myself wondering where all the creative strong willed types were. Does this society just breed them out of existence? Shen Tai is supposed to be one of the more wild individuals, but he mostly just goes along with the flow.

On the downside there isn't a great deal to the plot, its about 500 pages of build up, although it isn't really clear to what, until near the end-- and then a very rapid conclusion. There are also some sections in the early middle part of the book that drag, introducing new characters with excessive exposition.

An enjoyable read that takes you back to the 8th century, the pacing isn't always perfect, but the setting, writing, and characters are all high quality.

8.9/10

The Farseer Trilogy

2010-12-03T15:11:00.000-08:00

Robbin Hobbs first novels(at least under that name--she also published under the name "Megan Lindholm" though the storytelling is quite dissimilar ), and still some of her best.

This trilogy consists of "Assassin's Apprentice", "Royal Assassin", and "Assassin's Quest", and is narrated by Fitz, a bastard son of the dead Prince Chivalry brought up in the stables of the King Shrewd. Hobb is a master of characterization and she brings Fitz to life like few others could manage.

Hobb gives those of royal lineage a name that indicates something of the characters nature hence the somewhat peculiar names.

Fitz eventually enters training as an assassin for the King, and as his father was royal he inherits 'the Skill', one of the two magical systems Hobb employs, and so is also trained in its usage.

Fitz also has something known as 'the Wit', an ability to bond with animals. The Wit is widely loathed, those possessing it are often persecuted.

Fitz doesn't have many friends--a shop girl in the nearby town, a wolf he bonds with, and the King's Fool who is strangely fascinated with him.

Hobb is not afraid to do terrible things to her characters, and Fitz suffers deeply in her hands. This is why the series works so well. A great example of a character driven story.

9.3/10

Gateway

2010-12-03T13:41:00.000-08:00

Pohl wrote lots of books(and still is actually), but if you are only going to read one, this is it.

Gateway is a great little book about a man named Broadhead who wins the lottery, that is the lottery that sends you off to Gateway, a space station built to house and maintain the small alien space craft that were discovered here in our own solar system.
Each alien craft can only fit a few people, lottery winners can volunteer for missions, launching into the unknown in a craft they don't fully understand, and hoping it isn't a one way ticket to nowhere.

There are also segments where an older Broadhead recounts his story to a robotic shrink named Sigfrid.

A deft SF read, not the strongest on characterization, but doesn't weight you down with exposition so it works something akin Arthur C. Clark.

Pohl's Blog: click

9.0/10

The Ragged Astronauts

2010-12-03T13:25:00.000-08:00

This was my introduction to Bob Shaw, another science fiction writer who doesn't seem to be very well known.

This is the first in his "Land and Overland" trilogy, and I feel it is the strongest.

The scene is on "Land" where deadly creatures known as Ptertha are growing in number, they have become so numerous on Land that it seems the human population may soon be whipped out.

Land has a sister planet, Overland, these these twin planets orbit each other and are so close that they share a common atmosphere.

In an attempt to escape the destruction of Land at the Ptertha large ballon craft are built, huge numbers of them in order to carry as much of the population as possible to OverLand.

The plot follows the fight against the Ptertha and the escape toward Overland.

This is a very entertaining novel, worth reading if you can scour up a copy.

8.8/10