My top ten of 2007

Read in 2007, that is, not necessarily published in 2007. I acquire books more rapidly than I can read them and always have a large backlog waiting to be read. As a result, my top ten for 2007 includes very few books actually published in 2007. My top ten, in no particular order:

Galactic North by Alastair Reynolds- Collects the short stories set in Reynolds’ Revelation Space universe. Great hard science fiction/ space opera with a touch of horror.

The Draco Tavern by Larry Niven- A rather strange book of connected short (often very short) stories that form a sort of episodic novel. Full of interesting alien races, technologies, and ideas, with speculations on topics from religion to artifical intelligence to cosmogony. Essential for Niven fans, or anyone who likes science fiction that gets you thinking.

The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester- Fully deserving of its classic status. Exciting, strange, and wonderfully inventive.

Deadhouse Gates by Steven Erikson - I read this book's predecessor, Gardens of the Moon, on the strength of various reviews. I liked it, but didn't see why Erikson was so huge. Then I read the sequel, Deadhouse Gates, and was utterly blown away. It's just stunning in every respect- action, imagination, emotional impact.

Coalescent by Stephen Baxter – One of the creepiest and most disturbing science fiction novels I've read in a long time.

Pandora's Star/ Judas Unchained by Peter F. Hamilton – One continuous story, so I’m cheating a bit and counting this as one rather than choose between them. Lots of excitement, and some interesting speculations on subjects like the social effects of immortality and personality downloads.

Orion Shall Rise by Poul Anderson - My all-time favorite post-apocalyptic novel, by my all-time favorite author.

The Wreck of the River of Stars by Michael Flynn - An absolutely stunning work- hard science fiction combined with wonderfully drawn characters and tremendous emotional power. Utterly heartbreaking.

The Line of Polity by Neal Asher- Had to buy it as an import because the geniuses at Tor decided to release books 1 and 3 of Asher’s Ian Cormac series in America without publishing this one, which is book 2. But it was well worth it! Asher demonstrates himself to be a master of space opera here, with intense action, a fascinating future society, and one of my favorite alien characters, the bizarre and enigmatic Dragon. I can only hope that Tor gives this book a proper release in the United States soon.

Chindi by Jack McDevitt- A wide-ranging story about an expedition sent out in search of an enigmatic alien civilization. Full of enjoyable characters, intriguing mysteries, and the thrill of discovery.

How do you know you're a geek?

I’ll tell you how. You know you’re a geek when you and a friend of yours meet to give each other Christmas gifts, and you have both, unbeknownst to the other, bought Robert E. Howard books.

Though not the same book, sadly. That would have been cool; like an O. Henry story, but with more brutal violence and rippling thews.

New stuff

I’m back! It feels good, too. I’ve been busy- recovering from my hospitalization, seeking more work, getting my exercise routine up and running again, and getting some computer problems dealt with. Now, back to business.

Something I stumbled upon while searching Amazon.com- an upcoming Neal Asher book entitled Shadow of the Scorpion that is apparently a prequel to the Ian Cormac series, featuring Ian Cormac as a young man in the aftermath of the Prador War. It’s listed as being published by Night Shade Books, though it’s not on their site yet.. I’ll definitely be looking forward to this one.

This is very neat - via Geoffrey Plauche comes news of the Libertarian SF Forum. It’s always nice when two of my nerdly interests combine. If, like me, you always find yourself finishing a new science fiction book and thinking, “You know, that was cool, but there weren’t enough privately owned arbitration firms,” check it out. This could be great if it takes off.

Alastair Reynolds has an interview up at Physics World. Sadly, there is still nothing from him on the all-important subject of labor relations.

Review of "Fleet of Worlds" by Larry Niven and Edward M. Lerner

My review of Fleet of Worlds by Larry Niven and Edward M. Lerner is up at Fantasybookspot.com. Check it out.

Quick thoughts on Steven Erikson

I'm not generally a huge fantasy reader, compared to science fiction. I love Glen Cook, Robert E. Howard, and George R.R. Martin, as well as the fantasy work of David Drake and John C. Wright, but it's definitely secondary to science fiction for me.

I bought Gardens of the Moon because of all the raves I had heard about Steven Erikson and his Malazan series, and especially because I'd heard his work compared to Glen Cook's Black Company series. I liked it, but I wasn't stunned by it, and I didn't really get why Erikson was such a big deal. Still, I enjoyed it enough to try out the sequel, Deadhouse Gates.

Holy crap.

This book is just stunning in every respect- action, imagination, emotional impact. I really can’t do it justice, but in my opinion it launches Erikson into the first rank of modern fantasy and fully justifies the Black Company comparisons.

The sequels haven’t let me down, either. Memories of Ice is a great followup (especially if, like me, you finished Deadhouse Gates thinking “All that epic adventure and thrilling martial heroism was great, but there just wasn’t enough cannibalism in it.”) More great characters, great battles, and, jokes aside, one of the most terrifying concepts I‘ve seen in fantasy in the form of the hunger-crazed, cannibalistic Tenescowri.

Truly great stuff. If you’ve only read Gardens of the Moon and weren’t inspired to read the rest of the series by it, I can’t emphasize enough how worthwhile continuing is.

I guess I'll have to drop out of that ass-kicking contest

Sometimes life takes a crap on you. I just got out of the hospital, after a minor blister on my right big toe became badly infected and refused to respond to the antibiotics I was originally prescribed, developing into an abscess and leaving me unable to walk. It was huge- it looked like I had sprouted an extra toe. By the time I was admitted to the emergency room to have it lanced, it looked like it was about to gain sentience and subsume the rest of me into its own malignant consciousness.

I'm okay now, though I was in the hospital for five days on IV antibiotics and, I'm told, came close to losing the appendage in question. My foot is none too pretty after having my big toe cut open and drained, but at least I can walk now.

On the plus side, I've got something very cool in the works for Fantasybookspot.com. Stay tuned.

Review of "Sniper Elite: Spear of Destiny" by Jaspre Bark

I have a review of Jaspre Bark's Sniper Elite: Spear of Destiny over at Fantasybookspot.com. Check it out.

Next, I want the "Jem" theme in Sanskrit

You may, if you're around my age, remember the Super Mario Brothers Super Show. You may also remember the intro sequence. Now, revisit the magic… in German!

The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction

I discovered The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction quite by chance while browsing at a local bookstore. I’d never heard of Solaris, but the cover’s promise of new stories by Neal Asher, Peter F. Hamilton, and Stephen Baxter caught my eye. So, I thought, why not?

Happily, that decision paid off, because this is an excellent collection, bringing together a wide variety of stories. My favorites were:

“The Bowdler Strain” by James Lovegrove- Havoc ensues when a mind-altering “logovirus” that makes its victims unable to swear escapes from a government lab and spreads across Britain. Very funny.

“Personal Jesus” by Paul Di Fillipo- Humanity has found a technology that allows direct two-way communication with God, and now everyone carries a personal “godPod” that dispenses advice. Society has become near-utopian. But just what does God want from us? Starts off humorous, then gets… well, I don’t want to give it away. Great use of a very bizarre premise.

“If At First” by Peter F. Hamilton- Amusing story about the uses and abuses of time travel. Very similar to a scheme I once came up with for misusing time travel, actually.

“A Distillation of Grace” by Adam Roberts- The story of a strange sect in the distant future, carrying out an elaborate breeding program to create the “Unique,” who will be the combined genetic essence of God’s holiest followers. For the sake of this holy cause, the wills of individuals are a minor concern…

“Last Contact” by Stephen Baxter- Brings together two of the things Baxter does best: cosmological speculation and being depressing as hell. The first story I can remember reading that deals with the idea of the “Big Rip.” Baxter is often more emotionally effective than people give him credit for, and he shows that here.

“The Accord” by Keith Brooke- I can’t really describe what this is about, or what makes it interesting, without massive spoilers. It’s an example of a surprise twist ending done right, in which the ending is a surprise but still flows naturally from what came before, and makes you see everything that happened before in a new way.

In addition, there are also fine stories by Jeffrey Thomas, Neal Asher, Jay Lake and Greg van Eekhout, Mary A. Turzillo, Simon Ings, and Eric Brown. There isn’t reall any unifying theme or mood, although “creepy” would be a good description of a good number of stories. (Though by no means all, so don’t let that put you off if that’s not your thing.)

There are some clunkers. The weakest entry is definitely “Four Ladies of the Apocalypse” by Brian Aldiss. There’s very little plot, the writing style struck me as badly overdone, and I get the impression that the author was trying to make some sort of profound point and botching it. I also didn’t care for “Third Person” by Tony Ballantyne (the titular drug is an interesting idea, but the setting didn’t make much sense), “Cages” by Ian Watson, or “Jellyfish” by Mike Resnick and David Gerrold. The misses are badly outnumbered by the hits, however.

I’d definitely recommend The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction to any science fiction fan. Lots of great stories, and it’s a great way to find new authors. You can check out what else Solaris has to offer at their website.

Casting books

I’m not dead! I vanished for a while due to personal stuff (Good stuff, but time-consuming) and let the writing slide. I’ll try to be more consistent in the future.

Alastair Reynolds mentions something interesting- he envisioned Clavain from the “Revelation Space” series as Sean Connery- specifically, Sean Connery as he looked in “The Hunt for Red October.”

I have, on occasion, envisioned characters in books as actors while I read. When I started reading A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin, for instance, I almost immediately imagined King Robert as Brian Blessed- partly from his role as the Duke of Exeter in Henry V, but mostly from when he played Richard IV in Black Adder.

For somewhat less clear reasons, I always imagined Garrett from Glen Cook’s Garrett, P.I. books as looking (and sounding, which makes no sense) like Gabriel Byrne’s character in Miller’s Crossing. Don’t ask me why. I also always imagined either Crask or Sadler (I don’t recall which) as looking and sounding like The Dane from the same film.

Anyone have any examples of their own?