Science Fiction Books - Page 7

Voyager

Diana Gabaldon

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 182 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A roller coaster ride! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

What a roller coaster ride! The book left me breathless and smiling. It was one adventure after another with a few calm points in between. From what I gather from the other reviews, Voyager was supposed to be the final book in a trilogy. I'm SO glad it isn't. I can't seem to get enough of Claire and Jamie and want to know: "What happens next?" We meet old friends, new friends and old enemys.

As well as being a romance and adventure, it is a mystery novel. Bones were found in a cave in the Caribbean in the 20th Century and I THOUGHT I'd figured out who they belonged to but I was WAY off course. And a person I THOUGHT was dead, escaped it and was very much alive.

The books remind me of a couple of my favorite novels I read as a child: Treasure Island and Kidnapped. Gabaldon is a superb story teller and makes you feel as if your are living in the 18th century right along with Claire. There are memorable scenes in the book, ones that I found particularly amusing: was where Claire arrives in Edinburgh and discards the wrapping of her sandwich and where Jamie sees her for the first time after 20 years. His reaction to her sudden appearance after so long is simply pricless! And as to the wrapping that covered her sandwich...I wonder if any one ever found it?

At over a 1000 pages the book is long but well worth it. As always I love the historical detail that DG puts into the book. The daily life that people lived and experienced, while it might be boring to some, it helps put you in the time period. Most authors simply skim over what life was like, whereas Gabaldon delves into it and gives you a sense of how people might have lived back then. As I said in a previous review, I admire the research and time that must have went into the book to bring it to life AND make you stay glued to the pages.

I can't wait to start the next one!

Old Man's War

John Scalzi

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 268 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

John Perry did two things on his 75th birthday. First he visited his wife’s grave. Then he joined the army.
 
The good news is that humanity finally made it into interstellar space. The bad news is that planets fit to live on are scarce—and alien races willing to fight us for them are common. So: we fight. To defend Earth, and to stake our own claim to planetary real estate. Far from Earth, the war has been going on for decades: brutal, bloody, unyielding.
 
Earth itself is a backwater. The bulk of humanity’s resources are in the hands of the Colonial Defense Force. Everybody knows that when you reach retirement age, you can join the CDF. They don’t want young people; they want people who carry the knowledge and skills of decades of living. You’ll be taken off Earth and never allowed to return. You’ll serve two years at the front. And if you survive, you’ll be given a generous homestead stake of your own, on one of our hard-won colony planets.
 
John Perry is taking that deal. He has only the vaguest idea what to expect. Because the actual fight, light-years from home, is far, far harder than he can imagine—and what he will become is far stranger.

Next

Michael Crichton

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 480 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

the human nature, progress and money... 3 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

I have very mixed feelings about "Next" and I will try to describe them accurately here, although there are hundreds of reviews already and mine will not add much to the discussion probably - but maybe some points will be reinforced by my adding to the subject.

The novel's central theme is genetic manipulations and the ethical issues surrounding them. There are many subplots, all revolving around the famous philanthropist, Jack Watson (is the name a pure coincidence?), who advocates scientific progress and donates money to biotech companies. The plethora of characters includes bounty hunters, lawyers, drug addicts, physicians, teachers, secretaries, security guards, and, of course, scientists of all levels, both from academia and biotech (the difference between the two becoming less and less clear). The animal-human hybrids are made in secret; the genes are patented, the genetic screens are used to the advantage of insurance companies and in numerous trials as a tool to extort money; the scientists are depicted as vicious breed. The only two families who seem honest and, of course, like in a good thriller, win at the end, are the Burnets, who because of Frank Burnet's precious cancer cell line become involved in a massive scheme, and the Kendalls, who decide to adopt Henry Kendalls genetic son Dave, a hybrid between human and chimpanzee.

The novel is fast-paced and the characters flick like in a caleidoscope, some being introduced only for the sake of presenting another problem connected with biotechnology (for example, the whole story of the MD who donated sperm as a resident is very loosely connected to the main plot, only by the implied involvement of Watson).

Initially, I could not stand this book, but after about 200 pages I reflected and realized several things:
1. I am not in the target group, being a scientist in an academic institution and working on cancer. My point of view is not that of a model reader of "Next".
2. The presented issues are important and it probably does not matter so much how they are presented as long as they make an impact on a larger audience.
3. Crichton's technique as a writer is remarkable - although irritated, I kept reading and felt for some characters (mostly for the humanized animals, Dave and Gerard, as, no doubt, was the author's intention). No wonder why he is the best-selling novelist: he is not afraid of weighty issues and he is very good at his craft.
4. At the end, I saw the references and the authors' note and this was very important for me - I could verify some of the facts I did not know (in particular, the art using biotechnology or its remnants) and I realized I agree with the main points Crichton had tried to make (politics and science... Very difficult subject)

Having said all that, I will also say, that the points from the author's note are hardly visible during the course of the novel. The examples are vivid, but the novel reads like a manifesto against science, and will be perceived as such by many readers (and many people do not read the author's note at the end). Also, this is a work of fiction, and, however scientific, this is fiction and should be read as fiction (repetitive, I know, but I want to make my point). Additionally, I appreciate Crichton's knowledge, but there are errors, some because the book is already outdated (there are about 20,500 genes in the human genome, not 32,000) and some perhaps editorial (repeated use of the acronym GPF for green fluorescent protein instead of GFP, which is correct), not counting the ones already pointed out and explained in other review ("gene" instead of "allele" etc.). This should not happen, because it is misleading. Last but not least, an annoying non-scientific mistake is the argument of Bellarmino with his postdoc, when the director forces the poor guy to surrender the first author position in a breakthrough article and put his own first. No group leader would do that, because for professor and team leaders the last author position is far more important than the first author, and anyone who is doing research and publishing it would know that. The last author is always the one who is referred to in the articles about the work ("the study from XYs laboratory...") and this is the position Bellarmino would fight for, if there are several groups or collaborations involved. The first author position would be meaningless for him at his level. I know that it was probably to stress Bellarmino's malice, but it was excessive and erroneous.

Because "Next" evoked all these reflections, I will award it three stars - it is an average between my own contradicting opinions. To be accurate, I should probably write two reviews, one one-star, the other five-star, but sadly, Amazon does not allow this option.

A Clockwork Orange

Anthony Burgess

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 619 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Good but have to work to get into 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This book is very good. It hass undertones as to the situations that are presented in society now even though it was written so long ago. The disregard of youth for the laws that are put in place to protect them and ourselves leads to their inability to function in society and their eventual decomposition to vagrants that put weight on the already weighted prison system. Upon finding a seemingly just punishment and solution the spin doctors find a way not only to persecute the "afflicted" youth but also use it to defeat their own enemies. Very good book however the slang that he was praised for using and developing was very difficult to get into. It actually made me not want to read it at first but getting into it and eventually learning it allowed me to really enjoy the read.

A Clockwork Orange 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

In response to one of other reviewers,

That, what you call "made-up slang" is a language called dsat which is more or less Russian words written using the English alphabet. "Horror Show" for example translates to "good", because if you say horrorshow in one word really fast, someone who understands Russian will likely think you are saying the word "good" in Russian. This language idiosyncrasy alone makes a good point of good vs. evil, which is one of the focuses of the book, where horror show actually means good.

I don't like to believe that this is a study, the author is obviously a genius.

I'm glad you enjoyed the book, and hopefully the film. A must read for anyone, especially those interested to be philosophically stimulated.

Don't forget, many of the ideas in this book are influenced by Nietzsche.

Editorial Review:

Anthony Burgess's modern classic of youthful violence and social redemption, reissued to include the controversial last chapter not previously published in this country, with a new introduction by the author.

Snow Crash (Bantam Spectra Book)

Neal Stephenson

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 546 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

A Really Fun Cyberpunk Novel 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

First, let me say that this book has the best first chapter of any book that I have ever read. After you read that chapter, it goes down slightly in quality.

Perhaps Mr. Stephenson rewrote that chapter again and again, or perhaps he wrote it for something else. Regardless, it HUMS. And it feels different from the rest of the story. Darker, more dangerous, just as satirical, but not quite as funny.

Past that, though, the story hardly breaks down. It is entertaining throughout, very amusing in most places, and harbors characters that I will probably never forget. I had previously read a single Neal Stephenson book (The Big U), which I also loved. Every time I see one of his new books come out, I have the feeling that I should buy it. (I had this same feeling with Murakami's Kafka on the Shore, and Kazuo Iguro's Never Let Me Go...now adays, I simply listen to that little voice, obviously).

The story never gets bad, it is entertaining throughout, the characters are original and interesting, so why not five stars? Well, two reasons. First, I don't think that any of the characters develop, at all, in the course of the book. Things happen, people die, and no one changes. Not something that I ordinarily like to give five stars to. Second, while it is terribly fun, it is not terribly relevant. There is nothing here that made me think, "Hrmmm..." in the realms of personal thought or thoughts of import. Again, not something that I like to give five stars to. If I could, I would, also, give it four and a half stars. If only Amazon would give us ten stars to use!!!

I read this book, enjoyed it, and discovered why it is on Time's list of the 100 Best Books in English since 1923 - Because it is good! So, I will be lending it, recommending it, and reading it again. It's definitely worth picking up.

B+

Harkius

Editorial Review:

One of Time magazine's 100 all-time best English-language novels.

Only once in a great while does a writer come along who defies comparison—a writer so original he redefines the way we look at the world. Neal Stephenson is such a writer and Snow Crash is such a novel, weaving virtual reality, Sumerian myth, and just about everything in between with a cool, hip cybersensibility to bring us the gigathriller of the information age.

In reality, Hiro Protagonist delivers pizza for Uncle Enzo’s CosoNostra Pizza Inc., but in the Metaverse he’s a warrior prince. Plunging headlong into the enigma of a new computer virus that’s striking down hackers everywhere, he races along the neon-lit streets on a search-and-destroy mission for the shadowy virtual villain threatening to bring about infocalypse. Snow Crash is a mind-altering romp through a future America so bizarre, so outrageous…you’ll recognize it immediately.

A Clash of Kings

George R. R. Martin

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 633 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

George R. R. Martin, a writer of unsurpassed vision, power, and imagination, has created a landmark of fantasy fiction. In his widely acclaimed A Game of Thrones, he introduced us to an extraordinary world of wonder, intrigue, and adventure. Now, in the eagerly awaited second volume in this epic saga, he once again proves himself a master myth-maker, setting a standard against which all other fantasy novels will be measured for years to come.

Time is out of joint. The summer of peace and plenty, ten years long, is drawing to a close, and the harsh, chill winter approaches like an angry beast. Two great leaders--Lord Eddard Stark and Robert Baratheon—who held sway over an age of enforced peace are dead...victims of royal treachery. Now, from the ancient citadel of Dragonstone to the forbidding shores of Winterfell, chaos reigns, as pretenders to the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms prepare to stake their claims through tempest, turmoil, and war.

As a prophecy of doom cuts across the sky--a comet the color of blood and flame—six factions struggle for control of a divided land. Eddard's son Robb has declared himself King in the North. In the south, Joffrey, the heir apparent, rules in name only, victim of the scheming courtiers who teem over King's Landing. Robert's two brothers each seek their own dominion, while a disfavored house turns once more to conquest. And a continent away, an exiled queen, the Mother of Dragons, risks everything to lead her precious brood across a hard hot desert to win back the crown that is rightfully hers.

A Clash of Kings transports us into a magnificent, forgotten land of revelry and revenge, wizardry and warfare. It is a tale in which maidens cavort with madmen, brother plots against brother, and the dead rise to walk in the night. Here a princess masquerades as an orphan boy; a knight of the mind prepares a poison for a treacherous sorceress; and wild men descend from the Mountains of the Moon to ravage the countryside.

Against a backdrop of incest and fratricide, alchemy and murder, the price of glory may be measured in blood. And the spoils of victory may just go to the men and women possessed of the coldest steel...and the coldest hearts. For when rulers clash, all of the land feels the tremors.

Audacious, inventive, brilliantly imagined, A Clash of Kings is a novel of dazzling beauty and boundless enchantment—a tale of pure excitement you will never forget.

Spectrum 15: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art (Spectrum (Underwood Books))

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Another Mind-Blower 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

What can you say at this point? These annuals are an inspiration, a resource, and an accurate read on where the bar is in fantasy, sci-fi, and concept art. A total feast, once again.

Every Year 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Every year, I pre-order the Spectrum annual, and every year I enjoy it from cover to cover. Some of the most mind blowing artists work is presented in this book every single year. You will not be disappointed.

Editorial Review:

With art drawn from a wide variety of sources — books, graphic novels, video games, films, galleries, and advertising — Spectrum 15 reinforces both the importance and prevalence of fantasy art in today’s culture. Featuring over 300 exceptional works by artists from around the globe, this gorgeous full-color collection celebrates a cadre of creators working in every style and medium. Included are luminaries such as Brom, James Gurney, Marc Gabanna, Shaun Tan, and 2008’s Grand Master Award winner, John Jude Palencar.

Blood Noir (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Book 16)

Laurell K. Hamilton

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 295 Average rating: 2.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Jason Schuyler is a werewolf. He’s also one of Anita Blake’s best friends, and sometimes her lover. And right now he needs her – not to be a vampire hunter, or a federal marshal, or a necromancer, or even for her rank in the werewolf pack, but because his father is dying. He needs Anita because she’s a pretty woman who loves him, who can make him look like an everyday guy, who agrees to go home with him and help him say good-bye to the abusive father he never loved. The fact that Jason is about as much an everyday guy as Anita is a pretty woman is something they figure they can keep under wraps for a couple of days in a small town. How hard can that be?

Really, by now, Anita Blake should know better.

Marmee Noir, ancient mother of all vampires, picks this weekend to make a move. Somehow she has cut the connection that binds Anita and Jean-Claude, leaving Jean-Claude unable to sense what is happening. Dangerous even as she sleeps, buried in darkness for a thousand years somewhere beneath the old country of Europe, Marmee Noir reaches out toward power. She has attacked Anita before, but never like this. In Anita she senses what she needs to make her enemies tremble…
“What The Da Vinci Code did for the religious thriller, the Anita Blake series has done for the vampire novel.” – USA Today
“[A] wildly popular paranormal series.” – Entertainment Weekly

A Feast for Crows (A Song of Ice and Fire)

George R.R. Martin

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 764 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Few books have captivated the imagination and won the devotion and praise of readers and critics everywhere as has George R. R. Martin’s monumental epic cycle of high fantasy. Now, in A Feast for Crows, Martin delivers the long-awaited fourth book of his landmark series, as a kingdom torn asunder finds itself at last on the brink of peace...only to be launched on an even more terrifying course of destruction.

A Feast for Crows

It seems too good to be true. After centuries of bitter strife and fatal treachery, the seven powers dividing the land have decimated one another into an uneasy truce. Or so it appears....With the death of the monstrous King Joffrey, Cersei is ruling as regent in King’s Landing. Robb Stark’s demise has broken the back of the Northern rebels, and his siblings are scattered throughout the kingdom like seeds on barren soil. Few legitimate claims to the once desperately sought Iron Throne still exist—or they are held in hands too weak or too distant to wield them effectively. The war, which raged out of control for so long, has burned itself out.

But as in the aftermath of any climactic struggle, it is not long before the survivors, outlaws, renegades, and carrion eaters start to gather, picking over the bones of the dead and fighting for the spoils of the soon-to-be dead. Now in the Seven Kingdoms, as the human crows assemble over a banquet of ashes, daring new plots and dangerous new alliances are formed, while surprising faces—some familiar, others only just appearing—are seen emerging from an ominous twilight of past struggles and chaos to take up the challenges ahead.

It is a time when the wise and the ambitious, the deceitful and the strong will acquire the skills, the power, and the magic to survive the stark and terrible times that lie before them. It is a time for nobles and commoners, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and sages to come together and stake their fortunes...and their lives. For at a feast for crows, many are the guests—but only a few are the survivors.


From the Hardcover edition.

Phantom: Chainfire Trilogy, Part 2 (Sword of Truth, Book 10)

Terry Goodkind

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 241 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Sword of Truth 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This couple can never get a break or all they get are breaks. Another great book in a wonderful series.

Aaarrrgh!! 1 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I am tearing my hair out. Reading another chapter in this book is about as much fun as taking chemotherapy.
I recently read a discussion on fantasy literature where Terry Goodkind was touted as one of the masters of the genre, and by more than one reviewer. Being one of my favoured genres, I had to find out for myself. Unfortunately, I choose Phantom for my introduction. I couldn't get through it. The first chapter was OK, but as I progressed through chapters II, III, and IV, waves of nausea began to overpower me. I finally had to abandon the project.
What made it so loathsome?
Let me see! The cartoon characters, for a start. Perfectly two-dimensional: no doubts, no flaws, no hidden humanity. The good were saintly, the bad were satanic, and everybody else just seemed stupid, which apparently is the gimmick TG uses to repeat his explanations of all the fantastic hoopla that is going on ad nauseum. Alas!
I love a bit of magic. But why try and explain it all with science that is gibberish? Is this a medieval world, or the Jetsons revisited? TG's scientific knowledge must be somewhat stunted, he uses the same 15 or 20 words to explain all the eerie and paranormal phenomena until your mind feels as though it were being dragged through a sewing machine. Talk about Post Traumatic Stress disorder!
Then there's the dialogue. All of the characters talk as if they've yet to reach puberty. Is this truly adult literature?
I think TG missed his calling. He should have gone to art school to learn how to sketch. Put in a few sounds effects for color. BOOOOM!! SCREEECH! An explosion on every page. This should have been a comic book.
In the end I couldn't identify with anyone in the story. I couldn't find anything likable in any of the characters. I just had to walk away.

Editorial Review:

On the day that she awoke remembering nothing but her name, Kahlan Amnell became the most dangerous woman alive. For everyone else, that was the day when the world began to end.

As her husband, Richard, desperately searches for his beloved, whom only he remembers, he knows that if she doesn't soon discover who she really is, she will unwittingly become the instrument that will unleash annihilation. But Kahlan learns that if she ever were to unlock the truth of her lost identity, then evil itself would finally possess her, body and soul.

If she is to survive in a murky world of deception and betrayal, where life is not only cheap but fleeting, Kahlan must find out why she is such a central figure in the war-torn world swirling around her. What she uncovers are secrets darker than she could ever have imagined.