LibraryThing reviews of books in fabooj's library)

Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson [reviewed by pixxiefish]

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 04:36:20 -0500

pixxiefish's review: "<a href='http://pixxiefishbooks.blogspot.com/2007/07/cryptonomicon-by-neal-stephenson.html' rel='nofollow' target='_new'>http://pixxiefishbooks.blogspot.com/2...</a> Well, the third time's a charm. I first started to try to read this a number of years ago, while still a grad student, and quickly put it aside. Too big, too much. Then I tried again this past Christmas, while on vacation in Bali, but having just finished Simon Winchester's lengthy, though fascinating, book on the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, it was again quickly put aside, again, too big, too much. But as my time in Japan was winding down, I tried once more. And this time, I couldn't stop reading. In the classic 'just one more chapter' routine, I stayed up quite late, night after night, reading on and on, wanting to know and see and hear and experience more and more. In a nutshell, it's a fascinating (but GIANT) novel, covering over 50 years in cryptography (code-breaking, essentially), from WWII to modern-day. There are three major story lines, but once I got used to who was who (which took a few chapters), I never got lost again. It's an excellent, compelling, fascinating read, and I highly recommend it."
Arrow (2000), Paperback, 918 pages

Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson [reviewed by bluetyson]

Tue, 08 Jan 2008 00:14:26 -0500

bluetyson's review: "<a href='http://a1018.g.akamai.net/f/1018/19025/1d/randomhouse1.download.akamai.com/19025/freelibrary/redmarsfinalsuv.pdf'>http://a1018.g.akamai.net/f/1018/19025/1d/randomhouse1.download.akamai.com/19025/freelibrary/redmarsfinalsuv.pdf</a> An outstanding novel. One hundred people are selected to go and establish a colony on Mars, and it looks at the physical, intellectual and psychological testing that is undergone to get into that group. The main part of the book though is the travel and establishment of a base on Mars, and the relationships and conflicts that develop, particularly among the leaders of the group. Research discovers a longevity treatment, and this has serious side effects on an Earth in crisis. Political factions develop on Mars on the best way to develop or not develop the planet, and whether to take any crap from the growing influence of Earth corporate power. <a href='http://freesf.blogspot.com/2009/03/red-mars-kim-stanley-robinson.html'>http://freesf.blogspot.com/2009/03/red-mars-kim-stanley-robinson.html</a>"
Arthur C Clarke Runner-up

Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson [reviewed by bluetyson]

Sat, 05 Jan 2008 11:38:57 -0500

A Fire upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge [reviewed by ]

Fri, 30 Dec 2005 06:19:09 -0500

's review: "Multi-bodied wolf people and nasty alien intelligences. Strange mix, but it seems to work well, when you throw a ship full of human scientists in trouble from perhaps meddling where they should not have. Not as good as a Deepness in the Sky, but interesting enough in its own right. Hard to go wrong with Vinge, really. <A href="http://notfreesf.blogspot.com/2006/12/fire-upon-deep-vernor-vinge.html" rel="nofollow" target="_new">http://notfreesf.blogspot.com/2006/12/fire-upon-deep-vernor-vinge.html</A>"
Orion Pub Co (1995), Paperback

A Fire Upon The Deep by Vernor Vinge [reviewed by bluetyson]

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 21:18:17 -0500

bluetyson's review: "Multi-bodied wolf people and nasty alien intelligences. Strange mix, but it seems to work well, when you throw a ship full of human scientists in trouble from perhaps meddling where they should not have. Not as good as a Deepness in the Sky, but interesting enough in its own right. Hard to go wrong with Vinge, really. <A href="http://notfreesf.blogspot.com/2006/12/fire-upon-deep-vernor-vinge.html" rel="nofollow" target="_new">http://notfreesf.blogspot.com/2006/12/fire-upon-deep-vernor-vinge.html</A>"
john w campbell

A Fire Upon The Deep by Vernor Vinge [reviewed by bluetyson]

Sun, 06 Jan 2008 08:45:30 -0500

A Fire Upon The Deep by Vernor Vinge [reviewed by bluetyson]

Sat, 05 Jan 2008 11:37:33 -0500

Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson [reviewed by bluetyson]

Sat, 05 Jan 2008 11:22:38 -0500

bluetyson's review: "<a href="http://browseinside.harpercollins.com/index.aspx?isbn13=9780380788620">http://browseinside.harpercollins.com/index.aspx?isbn13=9780380788620</a> A great, rambling novel. At times the rambling and wandering can lead to it seeming to become tedious, and sometimes the rambling is good. Some discourse on computer systems, as three university friends are working in different parts of the world during the war, all having studied the same sort of cryptanalysis. There is a lot more than that in this geeky tract, however. <a href="http://freesf.blogspot.com/2008/10/cryptonomicon-neal-stephenson.html">http://freesf.blogspot.com/2008/10/cryptonomicon-neal-stephenson.html</a>"
Hugo Novel

Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson [reviewed by bluetyson]

Tue, 08 Jan 2008 00:34:19 -0500

The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester [reviewed by Jvstin]

Sun, 06 Jan 2008 16:35:56 -0500

Jvstin's review: "Why did I wait so long to read this? Bester's depiction of a future world where nearly everyone can jaunte, or teleport, and his protagonist Gully Foyle is a classic of SF and now I know why. The plot is strongly reminiscent of Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo, complete with an undereducated, imprisoned protagonist who escapes and uses the power and wealth he falls into as a tool against his enemies. However, its more than that. Bester explores the implications of a society where everyone can teleport. What happens to privacy in homes? How do you imprison someone? How does the social structure change? And Bester doesn't even stop there, when the nature of the real Macguffin that was aboard Foyle's ship is revealed, and even beyond that, the true abilities that Foyle protests. Sure, by the standards of today, there are a few weaknesses in the plot and the writing--characterization, mostly, of the characters outside of Foyle himself. Still, the book holds up today very well indeed. Its clear that The Stars My Destination is one of those novels that anyone who considers themselves educated in the seminal texts of SF must read. Let me clarify that though, since it makes it sound like its a chore to read. The Stars My Destination is fun, engaging, well written and entertaining. If you enjoy SF and you haven't read it--do so."
Vintage (1996), Paperback, 272 pages

A Deepness in the Sky : A Novel (Zones of Thought) by Vernor Vinge [reviewed by nwhyte]

Fri, 23 Sep 2005 15:47:31 -0400

nwhyte's review: "<a href="http://www.nicholaswhyte.info/sf/vindsk.htm">http://www.nicholaswhyte.info/sf/vindsk.htm</a> This is a prequel to Vinge's A Fire upon the Deep, but set thousands of years earlier and really linked only by one main character, Pham Nuwen, original guiding spirit between the Qeng Ho trading culture which spans the human galaxy. A Qeng Ho fleet, Pham Nuwen on board incognito, meets with a fleet from a dubious authoritarian culture in the vicinity of a mysterious object, the OnOff star, which flares into life every 250 years. The OnOff star has a planet, whose inhabitants, the Spiders, are on the verge of an industrial revolution type breakthrough (despite spending most of each 250 year period in hibernation). The Qeng Ho and their rivals clash disastrously, leaving the Qeng Ho defeated and the remnants of both fleets under the sinister Tomas Nau and his even more sinister colleague Ritser Brughel. This is mainly told from the point of view of the young (but dynastically senior) Ezr Vinh. Nau's civilisation has developed a nasty type of mental enslavement and has various hi-tech security devices to aid it. Meanwhile the Spiders' technology is developing fast, mostly under the guidance of Sherkaner Underhill and his family. The watching humans will need to use the resources available on the planet simply in order to get home; but how and when will they contact the Spiders? Vinge's future galaxy is a big place, but only slower-than-light travel is allowed. Humans get around this using ships with ramscoops and "cold sleep". Also this galaxy is an old place. The OnOff star and its planet must surely be artificial, constructed by some elder civilisation for reasons unknown. A "Deepness" in Spider culture is a secure place for hibernation during the Dark periods of their star's cycle; Underhill's biggest ambition is to find a way for his people to stay awake and active throughout the periods of Dark. I liked the Spiders a lot. In fact, too much. The humans in this book seemed too alien to me - much important background was simply not given (What is the name of Nau and Brughel's civilisation? The Qeng Ho call them Emergents, but that doesn't seem to be what they call themselves. Why are both Nau and Brughel "Podmasters" and what does that title mean?). And the aliens are too human; Spiders are basically people with a few extra legs. Vinge did much better in A Fire upon the Deep, which I read subsequently and enjoyed much more. You will by now have guessed that this was my least favourite of the Hugo nominees. While I found the political message congenial (Qeng Ho free-market traders are morally superior to Nau and his fellow slave-owners; Underhill's constitutional monarchy is a nicer place than the neighbouring religious dictatorship) it was too heavy-handed. Nau and Brughel were just too evil to be believed. Finally, I was really irritated by a last-minute twist in the plot. "
Tor Books (2000), Reprint, Paperback

Hogfather by Terry Pratchett [reviewed by nwhyte]

Mon, 07 Nov 2005 14:39:47 -0500

nwhyte's review: "<a href="http://nhw.livejournal.com/524941.html">http://nhw.livejournal.com/524941.html</a> I wasn't especially expecting to like this book. The humour of inventing unrealistic characters and then putting them in a difficult position has always seemed contrived to me. But a sudden impulse hit me and I bought it. And I rather liked it. I must get more of the Susan Sto Helit sub-series - she is a great character. OK, I wasn't really sure that the plot made total sense in the end. The means and motivation of the villains, and to a certain extent of Death, are not so well explained. But Pratchett has managed to pack an awful lot of layers of allusion about families, celebrations, belief and morality into the story - and I think he does it rather better than Neil Gaiman in American Gods. Two bits I didn't miss were his nods to Arthur C Clarke - when Stibbons explains to the Archchancellor that his computer works by "sufficiently advanced magic", and then a bit later on a paraphrase of HAL 9000 when Hex announces, "I Am Fully Recovered And Enthusiastic About My Tasks". Clarke of course is famous for wanting to explore spirituality without invoking God. Pratchett here is invoking gods, and many of them, but I think Clarke would be comfortable with the result. And of course the main point of reading a Pratchett book is for the humour. The "Blue Bird of Happiness" was a particularly great moment of bathos. And you can't beat one-liners like "I'm sure he wouldn't keep on eating them if they were addictive." Good stuff."
Corgi Adult (1997), Paperback

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams [reviewed by nwhyte]

Fri, 21 Oct 2005 17:56:37 -0400

nwhyte's review: "<a href="http://nhw.livejournal.com/695795.html">http://nhw.livejournal.com/695795.html</a> For me, the original radio series remains the one and only canonical version of the story, so it's interesting to review how different bits of it were cut up and pasted together for the novelisation. One bit of good writing that is strikingly out of place is the introduction of Max Quordlepleen, the compère at Milliways: an unusual piece of character-sketching from Adams, which is original to the book, and then doesn't really go anywhere. (But the Disaster Area section is also original, and delightful.) Interesting that here Zarniwoop is left alone with the ruler of the universe by Zaphod and Trillian, his offence being, as far as I can tell, that he was being a boring git - rather different from the radio version's dramatic denouement of Arthur abandoning everyone else after he discovers who really was responsible for the destruction of the Earth."
Pocket Books

Good omens : the nice and accurate prophecies of Agnes Nutter, witch : a novel by Neil Gaiman [reviewed by nwhyte]

Sat, 17 Sep 2005 10:05:46 -0400

nwhyte's review: "Good fun, particularly trying to spot which author wrote which bits."
New York: Workman Pub., c1990.

Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul by Douglas Adams [reviewed by thumble]

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 10:40:00 -0500

thumble's review: "The story started very strong in the usual way for Mr. Adams. That is to say, seemingly nonsensicial but hysterical nonetheless. However, things slowed down in terms of both plot development and humor, as if there was a rush to get tot he end that left no time for the usual deliberate stalling that made many of his other books such a good read. Unfortunatley, the ending was very unsatisfying and did not at all support the idea that things needed to be rushed."
Pocket (1991), Mass Market Paperback, 320 pages

Snow Crash (Bantam Spectra Book) by Neal Stephenson [reviewed by bezoar44]

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 23:31:22 -0500

bezoar44's review: "I loved this book, and think it manages to be the simultaneously the best cyberpunk novel and the best parody of the genre (and there aren't too many genres where that's possible). The neologism "burb boxes" still pops into my head every time I see a minivan."
Spectra (2000), Paperback, 480 pages

Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan [reviewed by libraryofus]

Fri, 23 Mar 2007 16:56:48 -0400

libraryofus's review: "(Alistair) And most recently, a novel that combines cyberpunkish SF with a, to quote the blurb, "classic noir private-eye tale". To my mind, mostly cyberpunk. Takeshi Kovacs is a former UN Envoy, a special operative (with rather dehumanizing training) now turned to more criminal endeavors, who finds himself shanghaied to 25th-century Earth to investigate a very old and wealthy man's (a "Meth", in the slang of the time) death, and finds himself tangled up in crime, conspiracies, politics, old enemies, and his body's former lover. Yes, that would be his body's former lover. One of the defining technologies of this universe is that the human mind can now be digitized, recorded, transmitted, stored, inserted into virtual environments, and "resleeved" - permit me to digress a moment to point out that the author has created a vivid and believable future slang -in another body. How that ties into the plot - and it does so beautifully - would of course be a spoiler, so I shall refrain from giving it. It's certainly a harsh book - the world Kovacs moves through is, while showing some of its good sides, generally ugly and gritty. Apart from the trail of corpses, there are plenty of damn distasteful things that happen to people along the way, by way of violence and torture, graphic to a point skirting the edge of gratuity. But more importantly, it's also a compelling book, even if the tropes aren't all that new to someone familiar with the genre or SF overall. Worth reading if you enjoy its parent genres, but don't expect too much by way of SFnal brain fodder. ( http://weblog.siliconcerebrate.com/cerebrate/2007/12/altered-carbon-richard-k-morga.html )"
Del Rey (2003), Paperback, 384 pages

The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons [reviewed by libraryofus]

Wed, 08 Feb 2006 22:55:28 -0500

libraryofus's review: "(Alistair) Well. Dan Simmons isn't scared to kill off people in plentiful quantities, is he? That's, let's see, a megadeath to start with, and probably a gigadeath later on once the ripples take effect, and... Well, anyway. That being cut off to avoid potential spoiling, what else to say about the book. Essentially, The Fall of Hyperion picks up where the fairly abrupt ending of Hyperion leaves off, but broadens the viewpoint now to include the bigger picture - what's going on behind the scenes with the Hegemony government, the TechnoCore, and other parties - some in the present, and some very posthuman and postmachine parties in the very, very far future - that led to these particular pilgrims being in their particular place at this particular time. As of Hyperion, the background to this particular pilgrimage is the prospect of imminent war with the Ousters over the Hyperion system, and that war finally comes to pass, although not in the conventional way - indeed, by the time you're well into The Fall of Hyperion much of the conventional view of the background - the various parties involved in large-scale maneuvers in this universe is fairly dissected, overturned, and revealed to be not as it might otherwise seem... (The writer of this booklog entry speaks in generalities, I hear you cry. Yes, well, unfortunately, this particular sequel is veritably packed with revelations, just about all of which would constitute significant spoilage. Such is life.) Anyway, overall: a worthy sequel to Hyperion. It interweaves the pilgrims' stories further and also skilfully into the overarching big picture, and brings them to a thoroughly - I won't say satisfying, necessarily, but perhaps what I would describe as a thoroughly effective conclusion. A few minor rough spots which I think are mostly the result of separating it from Hyperion rather than making them a single long book, but overall, I liked it very much. Engrossing, and highly recommended. ( http://weblog.siliconcerebrate.com/cerebrate/2007/12/the-fall-of-hyperion-dan-simmo.html )"
Spectra (1991), Edition: Reissue, Mass Market Paperback

Endymion by Dan Simmons [reviewed by Clueless]

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 09:50:38 -0500

Clueless's review: " The past few years have been one improbability after another, each more marvelous and seemingly inevitable than the last. How could anyone stay sane with entire lifetimes stored in one human mind? “Meaning no disrespect, sir,” says the other man, “but there’s no way in the Good Lord’s ******* universe that anyone can bar accidents or the unexpected.” Why am I seeking logic or sanity here? I’d asked myself at the moment. There hasn’t been any so far. Sounds like and IPhone to me; All were capable of being used as communicators, of storing massive amounts of data, of tapping into the local datasphere, and – especially with the older ones – of actually hooking into planetary fatline relays via remote so that the megasphere could be accessed. "..What he wanted -- what he wanted his shepherd to learn -- was how exalted these things could be -- poetry, nature, wisdom, the voices of friends, brave deeds, the glory of strange places, the charm of the opposite sex. But he stopped before he got to the real essence." "What real essence?" I asked. Our raft rose and fell on the sea's breathing. "The meanings of all motions, shapes and sounds," whispered the girl. "...all forms and substances/ Straight homeward to their symbol-essences..." The universe is indifferent to our fates. This was the crushing burden that the character took with him as he struggles through the surf toward survival or extinction. The universe just doesn’t give a sh*t. On the debate on whether Artificial Intelligence has a soul; “And what was our DNA designed to do for the first few hundred million years, my son?” Eat? Kill? Procreate? Were we any less ignoble in our beginnings that the pre-Hegira silicon and DNA-based AI? As Teilhard would have it, it is consciousness which God has created to accelerate the universe’s self-awareness as a means to understanding his will.” How Artificial Intelligence fits into evolution; Father Glaucus turned his blind eyes in her direction. “Precisely, my dear. But we are not the only avatars of humanity. Once our computing machines achieved self-consciousness, they became part of this design. They may resist it. They may try to undo it for their own complex purposes. But the universe continues to weave it’s own design.” “I attribute no definitive and absolute value to the various constructs of man. I believe that they will disappear, recast in a new whole that we cannot yet conceive. At the same time I admit that they have an essential provisional role – that they are necessary, inevitable phases which we (we or the race) must pass through in the course of our metamorphosis. What I love in them is not their particular form, but their function, which is to build up, in some mysterious way, first something divinizable – and then through the grace of Christ alighting on our effort, something divine.” Connectedness; “In the Cantos,” I said, “the scholar character seems to discover that the thing the AI Core had called the Void Which Binds is love. That love is a basic force of the universe, like gravity and electromagnetism, like strong and weak nuclear force. In the poem Sol sees that the Core Ultimate Intelligence will never be capable of understanding that empathy is inseparable from the source…from love. The old poet described love as ‘the subquantum impossibility that carried information from photon to photon…’” “So you’re saying that there needs to be another Isaac Newton to explain the physics of love?” I said. “To give us its laws of thermodynamics, its rules of entropy? To show us the calculus of love?” I was really disappointed when I finished this book. It was just like a chapter in a saga. I wanted to know WHAT HAPPENS NEXT! But when I reread the passages where I had turned down the page corners. I could see that it was a whole book on it's own. And a good one at that. Writing like this makes me think that Dan Simmons is really cool."
Spectra (1996), Edition: Bantam Mass Market Ed, Mass Market Paperback, 576 pages

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett [reviewed by nwhyte]

Tue, 02 Jan 2007 14:33:02 -0500

nwhyte's review: "Good fun, particularly trying to spot which author wrote which bits."
Corgi Adult (1991), Paperback, 384 pages