Book Review: Bright of the Sky by Kay Kenyon
I just finished Bright of the Sky by Kay Kenyon! Check out the review over on SQT’s blog! Next up is The Steam Magnate by Dana Copithorne! (Thanks to Aio for sending me a copy to review) (Don’t click the read more, there isn’t any more after this)
The Everchanging Space Economy
First things first, I want everyone to know that I did a review of Leven Thumps and the Whispered Secret over at SQT’s blog. Check it out please. Now for something interesting! I’m sorry that it seems like all my little news things are all related to SF. Unfortunately there isn’t really a whole lot of stuff that would pertain to fantasy that I’m finding. And what exactly would be good news stuff for fantasy? Anyone know? Other than literary stuff (such as Robert Jordan dying). So if anyone perhaps has some insight as to what you would like to see, let me know. Now to another interesting article I found, located here. I’m rather optimistic when it comes to space travel, of any kind. I think one of the biggest issues we have today not only in regards to space, but even other technologies, is that we don’t take risks. There are no more Thomas Eddisons in this country, or in a lot of the world for that matter.So it came as a surprise to me that scientists think that it would cost us close to a trillion dollars or more just to get us to the Moon again. First, I see no value in going to the moon. Nobody has really come out and said why we should go there other than to just said “yeah, we can build a colony there”. We can’t exactly harvest the moon. That’s too dangerous for the planet as a whole, and a risk not worth taking. I do however think we need to go to Mars. Why? Because we haven’t put a person there yet. It’s important.So when I read that article and saw that with current funding it will likely never happen I was a little miffed. We have to go to Mars. Period. This article says that it could cost of ten times as much as NASA officials are saying. That’s trillions upon trillions of dollars. NASA doesn’t have that kind of funding and I don’t think we need to give them that kind of funding.What exactly would make such a project cost so much? And here’s a thought, if it really will cost that much, why aren’t we asked for an international cooperative effort to get this project hte funding it needs? Think, if we could send a couple Americans, a Brit, and a Chinese man or woman, etc. we could get massive amounts of funding! And it would look wonderful on a resume!I think my problem is that I’m too optimistic about space travel. I think we can do almost anything if we just sit back and do it. I think space travel and understanding our own planet are paramount to the success of our species.But maybe I’m just delusional.And what does this do to all of us who are sitting around postulating advanced human societies that rule the galaxy? Yeah, doesn’t bode well. Such societies would go bankrupt with space travel.
New Review Up! Ragamuffin by Tobias S. Buckell
New review of Ragamuffin here! Check it out! There’s a giveaway too! Details on that post. (Don’t click the read more…this is all there is)
Book Review: Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
After reading this book I know exactly why it was nominated for an award, however I start to wonder why it didn’t win the award it was nominated for. I haven’t read everything from my list yet, but this novel is fantastic. It is as gripping as it is emotional, as enthralling as it is thoughtful.The story takes place in a tomorrow that very well could exist. It’s a world exactly like our own. Miranda is a sixteen year old High School student and the world is suddenly buzzing with activity because scientists have found out that an asteroid is going to strike the moon. It’s excitement for the research and the amazing opportunities this might present, not fear. But something goes terribly wrong. The asteroid pushed the moon into a closer orbit, throwing of the tides causing mass floods across the world, destroying entire cities. The sudden change of gravity ignites active volcanoes like never before, reignites dormant volcanoes, and opens up entirely new ones. Earthquakes and storms strike the Earth everywhere. Miranda and her family–her Mother and two brothers Jon and Matt–must fight to survive and hang on to what little hope they have of living through the worst catastrophe in human history.The novel is told in diary entries, as if Miranda were a real person, and this were a real event. It adds delicate reality to the already realistic world Pfeffer has created. Miranda narrates the events as they take place–the cold, the snow, the ash, and the deaths and chaos. Despair seems to creep in everywhere. You get a clear picture immediately of just how terrifying this experience must be and then an idea of just how strong a family relationship must be to allow them to survive.It’s a rich tale, very rich, and one that I am so happy to have read. It’s not even really SF. It very well could be a reality. Tomorrow this could happen to our world. Who knows. There isn’t some grand scale of technology here. It’s reality in a fictional sense. This is a must read novel of suspense, danger, and the power of hope. Pick it up. You won’t be disappointed!
Book Review: Living Next Door to the God of Love by Justina Robson
Note: From this point on in the book reviews I’m going to be reading short stories between books from various anthologies that I have. So, occasionally a post will pop up with a short story review on it, and then that same post will reappear with a new story added, until I finish that particular anthology and do a overall review for it. Now to the review of this particular book.This was one of the hardest books for me to get into. The opening is so utterly bizarre that I hadn’t a clue what was really going on until around page 200–about halfway into the book. The story is basically as follows:Francine is a young teenager who has run away from her world to another world. She’s running away from her life where love has failed her, hoping that she might find love elsewhere. It’s there in Sankhara that she meets Jalaeka who turns out to be a splinter of the god-like entity called the Unity. But Unity wants Jalaeka back and is willing to do just about anything, even destroying entire sidebars (alternate worlds), to get what it wants. I really did like the concept for this. The sidebars/worlds are all these fantastic places where fantasies and dreams are realities. Some places are like breeding grounds for super heroes and villians; others have elves and other mystical creatures. All these worlds completely unique to each other.The problem with the novel isn’t this concept, but with the way that Robson presents everything. The beginning is a blob of information and world building that doesn’t make hardly any sense at all. I got lost so many times trying to figure out who the heck is who and why the hell these characters that are supposedly human are acting so, well, inhuman. I’m still baffled by that myself. Is there something about Jalaeka that makes people suddenly in love with him? I’m sort of lost there. Part of the issue is the overwhelming amount of character viewpoints. At first I was used to the simple three–Jalaeka, Francine, and Greg–but then Robson adds in Valkyrie, Theo, and Rita too, later on in the novel. This is all just too much. I can’t keep concentrated on the concepts that are very deep and already difficult to grasp when I’m forced to jump around character to character.In all honesty the novel only started getting interesting to me by around page 200, and it had me somewhat hooked for about 100 pages, but Robson managed to kill it again for me by going off on random almost useless tangents about past lives or some such that actually have so little to do with the story at hand. Unity is freaking out trying to get Jalaeka, trying to destroy his friends to get to him, etc. and then Jalaeka is trying to fix his friends because Unity has translated Greg (meaning assimilated basically) and the only thing that can fix it is the Engine. Then fooling with the Engine screws everything up and the entire world of Sankhara starts going down the tubes, and right in the middle of all this we are graced with a flashback session. Why? There is no reason for it. I don’t care about Jalaeka’s past at this point, some 300+ pages into the novel, because quite frankly there are far bigger things going on–namely the destruction of an entire world!In the end the novel leaves so many questions unanswered and the sense of persistent confusion at what exactly happened and why. While her writing style is rather poetic in nature, it doesn’t do anything to soften the blow that is this novel. It’s a tough read. There’s nothing exactly easy about this. I found myself wanting it to end already so I could move on. Several times I wanted to put it down and stop reading. I wish this had been written far differently with more believable characters and a plot that centered around the central theme rather than running off in random directions. As such, this isn’t exactly the great novel it’s being toted as by NY Times and the Guardian.
Book Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling
I’m not one of those folks that waited in line at night for the last 5 books to come out. I’m also not one of those that started out in the beginning, or latched on to the popularity as the movies came flying onto the big screen. Ironically enough, it wasn’t the story that drove me to Harry Potter originally, nor anything to do with Pottermania or the first film. It all started at Barnes & Noble, many years ago now. The first Harry Potter movie was coming out in theaters and my sister was a fanatic. I wasn’t much into the books, and didn’t really care. In fact, I think I was rather adamant about how ‘stupid and ridiculous’ they were. Then I saw something in B&N: the soundtrack to HP composed by none other than John Williams. I about took a dive at the counter because, well, I love John Williams. He is, by far, one of the greatest modern composers of our day, and possibly of all time. So I bought the soundtrack, on impulse, knowing full well that it was going to be completely amazing, as all his work is. And, it was, as I had hoped. In fact, it was better than completely amazing. His compositions were spawning a new foundation of greatness for Williams. I thought to myself, I have to see this stuff in action. I went with my Sister, Aunt, and Grandpa–who had actually been reading the books before Pottermania even started. And I was stunned! It was an amazing film and story!Then started my ascent into greatness. I picked up the book soon after and I was hooked. I read the first three one after another and waited anxiously for my sister to finish off the fourth. I read that and then the fifth and sixth as they came out. I saw all the movies too and became one of those that said, “They’re alright, but not as good as the book”, which is entirely true. Then I pre-ordered the seventh, anticipating desperately to read it, praying and hoping that it would be a great end to a great series.And, it is!To say that J. K. Rowling has managed to captivate the minds of children almost everywhere would be like saying the Bible has influenced people. She has managed to pull together this fantastic final volume to the HP sequence with flare and amazing tenacity.The story takes off some short time after book six, towards the end of the summer before what would be Harry’s seventh year at Hogwarts. But he, Ron, and Hermoine are not going back, as we already know. However, things are heating up. Voldemort and asserting his power, using the Imperius Curse and various other manipulations to control people within the Ministry. His army of Death Eaters is growing by the day and Harry must get to safety before the Fidelius Charm on his house fails and Voldemort can attack him.Then, it’s to the plan: hunting down the remaining Horcruxes, wherever they may be.I’m not willing to spoil this novel for those that have not read it, because that would be rude and mean. But that’s the basic plan. Voldemort is taking over; Harry has a mission.The story starts off quick, diving right into the action, giving you a perfect view of things going on. We meet again with familiar faces, and then there is death.Rowling is really pulling your heartstrings here. Granted, it’s not like Dumbledore being killed, which literally tore my heart in two and nearly left me in sobbing fits, but she is doing her best to show you just how dark and horrible Harry’s world is becoming. Of course, we all know how evil Voldemort is, having read the earlier books. Right? If you haven’t read them, do so, or else I might be forced to use the Cruciatus Curse on you. CRUCIO!Now, this novel is huge, clocking in at just a mere 759 pages. And there is plenty of fantastic stuff going around. You get a true sense of just how dire Harry’s situation is becoming, and how close he is to not only losing everything, and just how far away and hard it will be to succeed on his mission.This is a tantalizing end to the series. While I have to admit I was left with so many questions, I find that many of them don’t really matter, because the most important questions have been answered: Is Snape really bad? Is Dumbledore really dead? How will Harry beat Voldemort, and can he? I was curious to know what happened to the Dursley’s or Hermoine’s parents, but not enough to ignore just has gripping the story was. This is Rowling pulling together a decades worth of writing and you get the impression that there could be more. I hope there is more. I really do. She leaves it in a position where she could very well write more novels, perhaps not from the perspective of Harry, but perhaps another character.If you are weary of this last volume, don’t be. It will really pull some twists on you. You’ll be surprised by many things, I assure you.And, so, as things come to a close, I find myself suddenly saddened. The novel was fantastic, amazing on so many levels, but I find that now I have nothing to look forward to. Will there ever be a series that could capture the worlds’ attention in such a manner as this? Will there be a novel that people line up at bookstores for hours before release? I don’t know. I pray there will be. This is the end to one of the greatest literary achievements of all time. May the literary world take this moment to shine.