Interesting characters, solid sci-fi, fun to read, but it falls short because it feels and sounds like an 80's action movie. The quips have GOT to go.Interesting characters, solid sci-fi, fun to read, but it falls short because it feels and sounds like an 80's action movie. The quips have GOT to go. One-liners belong to Arnold Schwarzenegger, not solid, good fiction. Also the author must have watched Starship Troopers too much, the "funny" news scenes were just dated and unnecessary. Otherwise shows tons of potential, if the author matures. The novel Dead Dwarves, Dirty Deeds reads like the later work of a more seasoned author, but was published a bit before this... don't know the history behind it but hopefully that is the later work and the author has progressed beyond one-liners and "wacky" humor....more
Please sub this book review for any Ahern Survivalist book, as they are all pretty much the same book. I gave this one four stars cause it is the firsPlease sub this book review for any Ahern Survivalist book, as they are all pretty much the same book. I gave this one four stars cause it is the first and funnest, but they are all pretty much the equivalent of a McDonald's cheeseburger, they will all taste the same.
A guy who can kill anything and always comes out the winner in any situation is ready for nuclear war. His wife thinks he is a depressing nut. So when the inevitable nuclear war happens, he is out of town cause she needs space. What follows is the same scenario: the world needs to be saved by John Rourke over and over and over and over, while he wanders all over nuclear winterized destroyed America. It's fun, of little mental nutritional value, and mediocrely written. Like I said, it's a McD's cheeseburger. You can read several in one day, they are short....more
This book started out like a new top ten book of all time, fell to very good book by the middle, and slowed to decent by the end.
I would still recommeThis book started out like a new top ten book of all time, fell to very good book by the middle, and slowed to decent by the end.
I would still recommend it though! It's a spy thriller with the premise of "what if old school magic and demon summoning was true". Secret spy organizations in every government deal with supernatural espionage, and finding important magical relics and formulas, mainly based on the work of famous scientists. Very fun and kind of scary....more
To be honest I only read part of this. I thought the base story was interesting, and I could have really liked the book but for one thing.
Iain M. BankTo be honest I only read part of this. I thought the base story was interesting, and I could have really liked the book but for one thing.
Iain M. Banks needs an editor. He is so in love with his own cleverness and use of the written word it was distracting from the story. And the crazy emperor who tortures people bit has gotten very, very old.
Would have been interesting to see where this went with an editor who had a set of balls....more
Don't let my five stars fool you, this book is far from imperfect. The author also fails to give due homage to people who have done this stuff before,Don't let my five stars fool you, this book is far from imperfect. The author also fails to give due homage to people who have done this stuff before, namely Frederick Pohl and Cyril M. Kornbluth.
But it's savage, full of violence, and if you just accept it and go along for the ride it's great fun while having a certain amount of insight into human nature....more
What if an elite military outfit of cyborgs protected the galaxy? COOL! Now what if a mediocre writer wrote about them? Not so cool. Fun in a pinch, bWhat if an elite military outfit of cyborgs protected the galaxy? COOL! Now what if a mediocre writer wrote about them? Not so cool. Fun in a pinch, but expect Star Wars/Dungeons and Drgaons serial book level talent....more
I revere Gene Wolfe, but like many others I have to pan this book.
Gene Wolfe often gives us a very passive hero to whom things just "happen". We also I revere Gene Wolfe, but like many others I have to pan this book.
Gene Wolfe often gives us a very passive hero to whom things just "happen". We also often get strange pointless dialog, out of context things said, and incredibly illogical behavior.
Unfortunately when he set this book in times he wanted to seem somewhat modern, and coupled it with a backdrop of a noir spy mystery, his usual tactics of character and plot development are out of place. A ditzy actress who blathers inanities almost constantly suddenly finds herself the main focus of a gambit to capture a wealthy, genius billionaire. She is used as this gambit by another wealthy sophisticated genius. And we are supposed to believe that simply because she has charisma and is pretty, these two geniuses fall all over themselves aeound her.
Stranger things have happened, but seldom without there being several around the men thinking they are complete idiots. Unfortunately if Gene Wolfe thinks everyone is acting like an idiot, he failed to clue me in.
This book kinda stumbles along with no plot or intent, and then ends. Gene Wolfe likes protagonists who seem to wander purposelessly, then somehow become a Queen, King or Emperor. But usually along that journey such magnificent things happen that the insanity and illogical happenings look like they belong in the story. Here we get a few vague references to werewolves and giant talking bats and that is about all we get, other than an oversized angry cuttlefish we never see.
Dark is the Sun is set so far in the future the universe is starting to collapse in on itself. There is only a rudimentary human civilization left, a Dark is the Sun is set so far in the future the universe is starting to collapse in on itself. There is only a rudimentary human civilization left, a handful of hunter/gatherer tribes who are scattered across the land. Other animals have either evolved or been helped to sentience, such as dolphins, plants, and others, and they, like humans, sparsely populate the earth in tribal units.
This is the story of one human male, Deyv, his captured wife from another tribe, Vana, their dog and panther, and a ragtag collection of a plant-man, a sentient rock being, a thief, and some witches and slaves (at once both far weirder and less weird than it sounds) who try to find holes into other universes to escape the destruction of theirs.
The sights they see along the way form the true meat of the book: ancient human structures, meetings with aliens, bizarre and dangerous encounters with all sorts of crazy lifeforms, and still-working human artifacts of great power make this nutty book great fun.
Incredibly fun, wacky, and bizarre. How can you not like a book that has huge living sailboats who have sex by shooting missiles at each other?...more
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