I picked this book specifically because it had a post-American Civil War in its blurb. Seemingly, that was enough for me.
As fEven heaven allows hell.
I picked this book specifically because it had a post-American Civil War in its blurb. Seemingly, that was enough for me.
As for the content, it's a bit more of a complete cyberpunk dystopia without the endless capitalist violence. Indeed, in this MANAGED society, people's very memories are suspect. It's chilling and eventually the novel really blows up in an interesting way.
Think Pol Pot if he could have gotten his hands on memory alteration tech, AI personal assistants (and more to run a total massive operation), and a complete erasure of history. No one wants to recall the horrors of war, after all. It's best to take away the bad bits. In here, we start with this as a fait accompli.
I may have had a bit of issues with the writing style at first but once we got out of the explanation modes I was quite involved with the action and reveals. I very well might continue more by this author.
I first read this 25 years ago in an anthology I still have to this day. I had read a lot of short fiction by that time, as well as a mountain of SF nI first read this 25 years ago in an anthology I still have to this day. I had read a lot of short fiction by that time, as well as a mountain of SF novels.
I'm happy to say that this random little story from over two decades ago has done a better job of immortalizing itself to me than any other. Few have shone as brightly as this one. Indeed, I might say this one is my absolute favorite short SF of all time.
Sure, some older SF authors might have touched on the same overall theme and some later authors will have done the same, but this one has everything I love most.
Back in '98, nanotech was still shiny, but what never goes out of style is a good tale: all the love, immortality, sheer unrestrained originality, time, and memory.
It's a densely crafted tale that sets up the seven days of Solomon Grundy, only hard-SF -- and it's full of heart. It rejects the idea that immortality kills love. There's a lot more going on in it than is obvious in even two reads.
I'll be honest here: if I had any way to immortalize this story, make sure everyone in the universe reads it, gets it under their skin, then I would be a very happy man. If any story should not be forgotten, if it should have many, many reprints, then it ought to be this one.
I'm generally always very enthusiastic about near-future, richly imagined, cyberpunk.
This one certainly fits the bill with all the intransigence, vioI'm generally always very enthusiastic about near-future, richly imagined, cyberpunk.
This one certainly fits the bill with all the intransigence, violence, techno-thrillery, transhumanist implants, memory, immortality, AI's, all within a broken down shell of a world.
Interesting characters here, and a lot happens. I totally recommend this if you're a fan of Daniel Suarez, Al Robertson,
Al Robertson, Daniel Suarez, or Ramez Naam. Of course, if you like this kind of thing, it's on the level with Peter Watts and Alastair Reynolds.
Alastair Reynold's new standalone novel is a real keeper. At first, I thought it was a homage to Cloud Atlas by way of Dan Simmon's Terror, but after Alastair Reynold's new standalone novel is a real keeper. At first, I thought it was a homage to Cloud Atlas by way of Dan Simmon's Terror, but after getting much farther along, I've got to say that its title gives it all away. And pleasantly so.
Eversion: not to be confused with inversion, is a fancy way of saying "inside-out". After being grounded in several incarnations of exploration ships, having twisted myself up with the great characterizations, I have to say that I came out of this a bit inside-out, as well.
But then there's the whole question of topology. And that's where things get really interesting.
Solid, or quite more than solid SF here. Reynolds is always one of my top to-go guys for the genre and he's proven himself many times over. I'm reminded of some of his very best short fiction in these pages, a huge-concept piece written adroitly, and in the end, he gives us a great psychological knife-twist.
I totally recommend this for lovers of old-and-new-school exploration fiction. The ice-on-the-boat ambiance totally got me going, as did the slow introduction to the mystery.
Where Tales from the Loop was eerie and smooth and original, The Electric State oozes a barely concealed scream in a Western USA dystopia that's part Where Tales from the Loop was eerie and smooth and original, The Electric State oozes a barely concealed scream in a Western USA dystopia that's part Singularity and part Biological AI-human convergence nightmare. And with the artwork, the effortless brief storytelling, the total immersion in the normal, and the new-normal, it's way too easy to lose oneself in the book.
To say that I'm an utter fanboy of these is to not say enough at all.
This was absolutely gorgeous. Not just the artwork, but the storytelling. I cannot recommend it enough....more
At first, I had the impression that I was reading something from Steven Brust, which, I should mention, is not a bad thing at all.
But this tale was mAt first, I had the impression that I was reading something from Steven Brust, which, I should mention, is not a bad thing at all.
But this tale was much more about Clarke's First Law and with a cool anthropology twist and an old school sword and sorcery couched firmly, and formally, in a transhumanist long-term space-colony context.
Most of those older fantasies I read usually started on the fantasy side and gradually let in the SF. This one started from the opposite direction. So that's cool.
And another interesting addition is the whole technological correction of depression. :) I'm a big fan of certain kinds of representation, and this one kicks it.
It's a pretty easy bet that whenever I see that there's a new Neal Asher book, I'm going to be all over it like Jain tech and the Spatterjay virus witIt's a pretty easy bet that whenever I see that there's a new Neal Asher book, I'm going to be all over it like Jain tech and the Spatterjay virus with a side-dose of an ancient galactic war machine.
And you know what? My FANBOY REACTIONS ARE UNKILLABLE. -- Kinda like what happens to us when we get infected with the Spatterjay virus or when we get altered by Jain tech.
So here are the killer bits: All you folks who have been curious about Neal Asher's massively wicked future filled with all these nasties doing their things in wonderfully creative combinations but have been too overwhelmed by the sheer weight of everything that came before to actually TRY IT? Well, I'd point to this book.
It's self-contained, has a lot of REALLY interesting worldbuilding, has a great adventure, and if my reaction is anything to go by, it'll make you shiver with pure imaginative delight. I would also point out that there's a LOT of great body-horror stuff in this Hard SF.
We get a taste of everything. The Graveyard, the Prador King, Spatterjay, the AI Polity, and even Masada. But since this is self-contained and shows the worlds AFTER so much has happened, and he's just as clueless as a new reader would be, it hits that sweet spot.
For old fans, it's just like coming home and getting a gorge full of alien parasites. In other words, FUN. :)
This new book by Reynolds is going to be slightly difficult to review. If you haven't read any of the previous novels in the Revelation Space universeThis new book by Reynolds is going to be slightly difficult to review. If you haven't read any of the previous novels in the Revelation Space universe, or the short stories or novellas, then you might have a perfectly fine time with the read.
It takes us on a long trip through time and space, letting us still feel the horror of the Melding Plague, passing through the time of Chasm City and through the ruins of Yellowstone back when it used to glitter in The Prefect and heads us right through the Wolves and the self-replicating ancient horror that is destroying all sentient life, more than touching on the events in Redemption Ark and Absolution Gap and sending us through Galactic North, as refugees and later as a kind of resistance front.
The writing is tight and the story is nearly perfect.
But. Nearly halfway through, I kept getting this nagging feeling that I had read this before. I was really enjoying everything about Glass, but just seeing Clavain return made me wonder how he was involved in all this. Mind you, I loved him in the earlier books and while I didn't read them when they came out, I did read them almost a decade ago, so maybe I was thinking that my memory was messing with me. That may still be the case, of course, and I would have to re-read the other books I mentioned again, side-by-side with this new one, to see the real differences, but I'm pretty sure that I just read a pretty extensive re-write of Redemption Ark and Absolution Gap. A lot must have been cut out and even more was tightened up, turning Inhibitor Phase into ... dare I say it ... a superior product.
Am I just imagining things? I don't think so. Of course, it could be a combination of all the short stories and novellas and novels wrapped up in my head, re-formed into THIS, a fully coherent, streamlined tale of the extras, and I'm just tripping.
Either way, I enjoyed it. Maybe less than I thought I would because so much of it seemed so damn familiar, but I still enjoyed it. After all, I enjoyed all the others, too.
Even though I spent a lot of time on this issue, I should mention that the Revelation Space series, as a whole, is something REALLY huge and amazingly detailed for any kind of SF comparison. Indeed the complicated and subtle distinctions between what we call people, be they cyborgs, half pig-half human, uploaded minds, ocean intelligences, slugs, or so much more, is perfectly offset by the pitfalls of tech, enhanced by blood-as-physical-weapons, universe-devouring nanotech, and such large-scale constructions that would have sent Niven or Clarke into conniptions.
This SF is on another scale from most. My problems or praise with it are only expressed in a comparison with Reynold's other books.
I'm of two minds on this one. I, like so many others before me, fell in LOVE with the concept. I mean, the cover has it all. WWII ace flying monkey wiI'm of two minds on this one. I, like so many others before me, fell in LOVE with the concept. I mean, the cover has it all. WWII ace flying monkey with intrigue and mayhem. It just feels funky cool.
He's there, mind you, and he is exactly that, with a few caveats, but the majority of the novel isn't that.
That's where my other mind comes in, and while I'm not precisely disappointed, I do feel like I've been slightly bait-and-switched to a competent cyberpunk-noir SF with some fairly high Altered Carbon stakes. And I don't mean a murder mystery-type. I mean uploaded minds, AIs, and some heavy conspiracy stuff topped off with a coup.
See what I mean? The real novel is pretty fun all by itself. The introduction and continuation of the macaque FELT like it should have been the main-main character, but he was more like the wrench in the monkey business. Which is fine, really, and fun, but it also kinda felt like a lost SF UF opportunity.
I may continue, on the assumption that we focus more on his contributions, but maybe not.
This was pretty good but not brilliant, alas....more
Okay, so it turns out I'm a total fanboy -- still -- for Cassandra Khaw.
We're moving way beyond Lovecraftian food shows and diving head-first into anOkay, so it turns out I'm a total fanboy -- still -- for Cassandra Khaw.
We're moving way beyond Lovecraftian food shows and diving head-first into an amped-up version of Altered Carbon, classic Heist fiction, enough ammunition to choke a city, and world-eating super AIs to keep things toasty. Delicious. Fast-paced. Salty as all hell.
In a universe where it's all dog-eat-cyborg, only the angriest survive -- and believe me, this novel is ALL about the rage, the pain, and the f***ed up Lesbian Cyborg relationships. It's really fun! But yeah, it's also about the pain. :) And getting that one last score before there's simply nothing left.
The atmosphere is the best part of this novel. It goes way beyond normal cyberpunk and gets gritty, pushing all that hardcore SF, and kicks all kinds of ass. There are some really funny parts, too. No spoilers, but the weird is absolutely delicious.
While I was pretty enthusiastic about the SF concepts in this book, hitting the intersections between normal humans, drug enhancements, human-machine While I was pretty enthusiastic about the SF concepts in this book, hitting the intersections between normal humans, drug enhancements, human-machine hybrids, and artificial intelligence, I was unfortunately not as enthusiastic about the characters or the dark political landscape.
Mind you, I don't mind futuristic dystopias at all. I just happen to prefer them to wrapped up in slightly more interesting plots and characters and the fight for machine rights is obviously subtext. If I am to be at all honest about it, I prefer such things to be a bit more subtle and layered. The core of it was fine, but in the end, it was a bit too plain and on the nose.
I saw a lot of similarities between this and Ramez Naam's trilogy. A focus on Buddhism and getting along, class warfare, and obviously, the tech, but in the end, I much preferred Naam's trilogy.
For all you folks who have not been introduced to Bobiverse, start with book one. For all you folks who might be worried that they're losing steam by For all you folks who have not been introduced to Bobiverse, start with book one. For all you folks who might be worried that they're losing steam by book four, please rest assured. I liked book four even more than books two or three.
The originally fantastic nerd nostalgia from the original is still available in these later books, but it doesn't rely upon it. Indeed, the moral quandaries, the mystery and adventure, the sheer awesomeness of a post-humanity uploaded consciousness of a single programmer who basically becomes an AI god spreading about the galaxy, making jokes about Star Trek and Douglas Adams, is just too precious for words.
Ah, but we've also got a really interesting plot with no less than THREE major rebellions to deal with among three alien species. (I count us as one of those species because... come on... have you SEEN US?)
I was sucked right into the tale and it never let up. I even had to re-watch Multiplicity today to get a little theme-harmony going on. :) Just how many Bobs are there? We've got copy-descendants in the 20th iteration by now. And beware those Big Dumb Objects! :)
It having been much more than a decade since I've read anything else by Paolini -- his dragons were pretty okay -- I came to the idea of reading his aIt having been much more than a decade since I've read anything else by Paolini -- his dragons were pretty okay -- I came to the idea of reading his adult space opera with mild anticipation.
I mean, sure, it's often true that many writers of fantasy who decide to jump the fence into SF do so brilliantly, so a part of my mind kept thinking of, say, Adrian Tchaikovsky, and I wondered. I wondered hard.
After getting my hands on this book and having started it, I began comparing it to Becky Chambers with a few hints of Iain M. Banks, but as I continued on this quite interesting journey with an already wonderful main character, Kira Navárez, I discovered something really gorgeous. This novel continues on with a single PoV in Kira. Loving her is easy. Falling into the complications of her life as they get rather more complicated -- and epic -- is something of a no-brainer for me.
I mean, the moment that the ex0-biology and exploration segments get to a certain spoilery point that I will keep mum about, it's all COMPLETELY downhill for me. I couldn't stop reading for the life of me. Really. I took the book with me EVERYWHERE and actually growled at everyone I met if they tried to draw my attention way from the book. And it's not like I have a PROBLEM with focusing my attention. I was hooked and it never let up and this is a DOORSTOPPER.
Let's just say that the novel became a huge confetti snowstorm of a classic alien invasion Anime, and combines a literal ton of great classic and modern SF easter eggs in the telling.
Oh, and as for you folks who were worried that a fantasy author might not have the chops for an enormous and very fulfilling SF romp of an adventure, let me just say this: Paolini knows his SF. Take it from someone who has read over 2.2k SF novels and knows his tv and movies. He weaves a great deal of SF tropes reminiscent of Neal Asher and Alaistair Reynolds with his quirky and delightful Becky Chambers crew.
We even get a full-on galactic war, people, with a full resolution in a single standalone novel.
Please, allow me a little squee here. *squees like a little girl* Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Out of several years worth of recent space operas, some of which I really enjoyed and some I even swear by, I think I had the most outright FUN with this one. Some of the others might be more intriguing in the plot, others might have blown me away with the sheer science-magic, but this one touched me deeply while giving me all my darkest wish-fulfillment SF desires in a single delicious Navárez package.
Please don't assume this is an old, tired space opera. Rather, think about the promise, if not the execution, of, say, Babylon 5 or the idea of a Guyver suit (Japanese only) on methamphetamines, and you might get a slight idea about what might be going on here. :)
I might have mentioned in my review for the first book in this series, This Alien Shore, that I missed this kind of SF.
The bookgods have smiled upon mI might have mentioned in my review for the first book in this series, This Alien Shore, that I missed this kind of SF.
The bookgods have smiled upon me. (Or at least C.S. Friedman has.)
What we have here is a setting focused on gritty space stations, hacking, aliens everywhere among us, GAMES, mystery, and a good healthy dose of wanderlust gone wrong. If you liked This Alien Shore, I'm pretty certain that you'll love this one.
It's a return to quite complicated SF settings, characters, and investigations that are never reduced to stereotypes. There's heart here and a clear love of the possibilities inherent in these tropes. Virtuals, hacking, melting pot space stations, and pure noir. I'd say it might be a cyberpunk novel, but it's very well rounded.
This next book in the Requiem for Homo Sapiens is just as wild as the previous two.
I don't often see books like this. It's full space-opera, but by waThis next book in the Requiem for Homo Sapiens is just as wild as the previous two.
I don't often see books like this. It's full space-opera, but by way of The Odyssey by way of debunking various far-future searching for God.
But, of course, gods are a relative thing when thousands of years in the future, adding so many high-tech paths to enlightenment, physical power, and ways of thought (including electronic immortality, the stars in the center of the galaxy blowing up, a stellar cloud being a solid-state machine intelligence or even clusters of Dyson spheres being evacuated).
And below it all, ancient wars between uber-powerful races of humanity still feel fresh. Vital. And Danlo only wants to stay true to his belief in humanity. Of living life. High-tech nirvana, extreme maths, exploring ever-deeper parts of the galaxy, and reconnecting with ancient high-tech civilizations devoted to turning themselves into various versions of gods is the name of the game.
The Architects, in particular, are just as thoroughly imagined as Neverness was. Reading this book pretty much blew me away.
Whether it's a search for a cure for his people or the deification of his father or just wanting to get an answer for how BROKEN this universe is, Danlo's quest is timeless, rather MORE impressive than any other book I've read, and these have suddenly become a candidate for one of my top-favorite series of all time....more
It's really hard to emphasize just how important this book is.
Or, indeed, just how important the book before it is. Or, if I'm reading this correctlyIt's really hard to emphasize just how important this book is.
Or, indeed, just how important the book before it is. Or, if I'm reading this correctly, how important the following two books are.
I'm in awe.
This is very much a Neverness book, set in the far future, rich with history, languages, high-technologies, and settled into comfortable and sometimes fraught castes that are so very, very human. The icy landscape, filled with skaters and mathematical prodigies, resplendent and decadent societies, poet-assassins, mage-technologists that model (and manipulate) human minds, DNA crafters, alien guests, warring gods in far parts of the galaxy (and galaxies), far off nano-recreations of worlds, sprawling machine intelligences, and the oncoming death of the universe.
All of these are important, are discussed, worried over, and become major plot points, but at the very core of this particular novel, it's all about the Broken God. You might say it's the Manichean Heresy. You might even say, "Yeah, we know our reality is broken... isn't it obvious?"
But the truth is far more subtle and amazing.
This novel takes what might be a Coming of Age story of Danlo, the lost son of Mallory, as he finds his path in the shadow of his father, and turns it into a setup of friendship that becomes a tale of epic enemies. And all through it is woven the concept of what is memory, what is spirituality, what is the corruption of a new, popular religious movement, and what is the nature of a godhood.
Mallory's shadow extends far.
But this is, again, not the complete tale. Zindell explores everything.
From philosophy to psychology to linguistics and the nature of human thought to the strange paths a high-technology can create religious fever and fervor in the implantation of memories, the alteration of chemicals, and the kinds of social structures that hunt and feed on our deepest desires and credulity.
And the entire time, it's a book that made me shiver and cry with the pain of a great story that should have ended in a friendship that might have lasted forever. A love story that, while suffering a lot of difficulty, still had the will to survive. Or the beginnings of a philosophy, a deep understanding of human nature, that should have brought enlightenment to all.
From the worldbuilding to the carefully constructed characters to the amazingly gorgeous panorama of this far-future vision of humanity, I can find no fault. It is a head-and-shoulder above MOST SF, period.
This, and the book before it, and probably the two books after it, ought to be on the MUST READ list for anyone who reads SF. If only to see what the fuss is all about, or start asking others (LIKE PUBLISHERS) why it isn't given a huge push once more. This could, theoretically, still take off like Dune had taken off. It is RICH as hell.
Okay. I'm going to have to caveat the hell out of this novel.
I am BOTH waving my hands over my head like a green muppet AND I'm slamming my fists downOkay. I'm going to have to caveat the hell out of this novel.
I am BOTH waving my hands over my head like a green muppet AND I'm slamming my fists down on the floor, yelling, "Nooooooo!"
Let me unpack this:
As a long-time fan of Baxter and being a bonafide nerd about the Xeelee universe, I'm also extremely annoyed at Poole and all the relatives of Poole and all the alternate universe versions of Pool. (Although, I'm pretty okay with the software version of Poole. He's all right.)
YES, I get why so many Pooles are necessary and I even enjoyed the gimmick for quite some time, but ALSO as a long-time fan, I just want NEW CHARACTERS with all shiny awesome shit.
And let me be clear: this novel (and the one right before it) are JAMMED PACKED with shiny awesome shit. From the sheer scope, from the inception of the universe to the creation of the Ring (or here, called the Wheel), and far beyond the last star winking out, we've ALSO got multiple do-overs in alternate universes, tons of time-like loops, galaxy-spanning wars (or you'll see, you spoiler hounds,) and so much more. Just read the novel if you want to have all that neat stuff.
It is AMAZEBALLS.
And so that brings me to one of the hardest things I've ever had to say:
NEW READERS, START WITH Xeelee Vengeance (book 16), continue with Xeelee Redemption (book 17).
HUH?
As a new reader, getting to know Poole is no big deal. Baxter has improved his writing over the years, too. If I had read these two novels without ever once knowing ANYTHING about Baxter or the Xeelee, I would have started worshipping him as an SF god.
Do you want a scope like Cixin Liu's recent trilogy? How about some classic Asimov or Clarke? Do you want HARDCORE magical science with good science but taken to totally magical levels? Do you want an obsessive story that has taken on mythical levels?
START HERE.
And here's the good part: you get a total overview of the over-story. If you get hooked and need to fill in ALL the massive amazing blanks, THEN go back and read the entire Xeelee sequence.
It's a total win-win. The best of all worlds....more
I have nothing but positive things to say about Peter F. Hamilton's new series, now on its third book.
It has everything I dream of in a story. Not jusI have nothing but positive things to say about Peter F. Hamilton's new series, now on its third book.
It has everything I dream of in a story. Not just a good story that takes on the full subjugation of humanity, but tens of thousands of whole technological alien species, but a rebellion story that goes all the extra miles with solid tech, solid circumstances, and mind-blowing ramifications.
For not only did we start out with micro-black-hole technologies in the first book, but we go way beyond that with post-human neutron-star hacking, expanded and split consciousness immortals, standard and not-so-standard cyberpunk, and a scope that spans the entire freaking galaxy.
The stakes? Freaking end-of-the-universe stakes. The enemies? An alien species that started its monocultural crusade to cocoon ALL other species to "save" them for the end of times more than a couple of a million years ago. The resolution?
Muahahahahahaha it's epic, man. It's epic.
Hamilton rocks. I've known this for a while. I did take some time to get into his earlier works, it's true, but now I'm a believer.
I have become a little Max Barry fanboy. Everything he has written has so far tickled all my iterative parts, whether they were augmented or otherwiseI have become a little Max Barry fanboy. Everything he has written has so far tickled all my iterative parts, whether they were augmented or otherwise, and I found myself chuckling with all the delights a well-crafted tale can often bring.
I mean, the IDEA is an old one, but damn if Max Barry didn't up it a notch or ten by being written really well, have very excellent science sense, and even make it more interesting by casting the main character in a light Autistic-spectrum.
What can I say!? I loved the steady build-up from an awkward engineer with no social skills to an amputee on a mission to improve his equipment. Transhumanism always did start out with humble beginnings.
Of course, what I love most about this book is the writing. It's always interesting, clever, and steady and fun. So many prior writers who do cyborgs never really start out at the truly humble beginnings and most either stick with the military angle or with the post-revolution. I think of the Deus Ex games. Or even RoboCop. :) But this takes it in a very fun direction because we're reading all about the possibilities of enhancement and we're focused entirely on the balance between wondering how we're going to perform some horrific body-chopping on ourselves and what kind of toys we're going to fit ourselves with.
You know. Like a video game. And it's FUN. :)...more
This third book in this trilogy more than satisfied, it blew my mind.
The first two books in the trilogy brought in so many awesome stoWow, wow, wow.
This third book in this trilogy more than satisfied, it blew my mind.
The first two books in the trilogy brought in so many awesome story elements and high-tech goodies (and extremely low-tech Spatterjay ones) that the whole story served as a melting pot of all the most outrageously dangerous elements... only to throw them all at the even MORE outrageous Jain tech.
The Soldier referred to a nearly impossibly strong Jain soldier, The Warship ramped up the threat level to unimaginably powerful levels, and this book, The Human, is deceptive in its title...
Because it's actually a full throw-down NASTY battle that brought in every AI battleship including Earth Central itself, the whole Prador Kingdom, and it even forced our clever little subversive Jain-tech provocateur into pulling out all the stops, transforming a whole damn planet to fight the threat.
BIG FREAKING FUN.
And guess who gets trounced?
EVERYONE.
This has got to be some of the most freakishly awesome high-tech nightmare scenarios set in the far-future that I've ever read.
It requires a LOT of build-up from all the earlier novels, but damn is it WORTH it! All the previous incursions of Jain, or Dragon, or anything related to the AI ships, of Spatterjay, or even the truly great inclusions of Pennyroyal all lend itself to the making of this amazing blow-out.
I can never recommend reading this on its own, but for the fans that have come this far?
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