This weekend I visited family in PA and was fortunate enough to stumble across my uncle's extensive science fiction collection. Behold my plunder and a big thanks to my uncle for his 'loan'. You have just got to love these covers, especially the Dorsai! one--I would add an "!" but the title beat me to it. My plunder:
Dorsai!, by Gordon R. Dickson [US][UK] Soldier Ask Not, by Gordon R. Dickson [US][UK] Cities in Flight (1962), by James Blish [US][UK] The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (1966), by Robert A. Heinlein [US][UK] The Weapon Shops of Isher (1951), by A.E. Van Vogt [US][UK] The Weapon Makers (1952), by A.E. Van Vogt [US][UK] Bio of a Space Tyrant Vol. 5 (1986), by Piers Anthony [US][UK] The Man Who Wanted Stars(1965), by Dean McLaughlin [US][UK] The Witches of Karres (1966), by James H. Schmitz [US][UK]
All in all, an excellent haul of hard biting military/privateer science fiction. I just finished The Witches of Karres and am now working my way through Dorsai!, which is off to a very intriguing start. Apparently the book, which is a quick staccato read, is part of the Childe Cycle, so I might need to unearth the rest from somewhere... I am a regular over at the Strand bookstore, right off of Union Square, but their science fiction and fantasy collection is deplorable.
Flood (2008) by Stephen Baxter is the first book in a series. Stephen Baxter is a well know British science fiction author, and his novel is my first encounter with Mr. Baxter's work. Interestingly, the main protagonist of the book is water.
The Setup
The story begins in 2016. After being held hostage for five years four people - Lily, Helen, Gary, and Pierce are freed by a private security force of AxysCorp. - a multinational company owned by Nathan Lammockson. The freed prisoners return to their relatives in England where something has changed in the past five years - the weather. Rain is now a constant companion and high tides threaten London. There are messages of rising sea levels from around the world, but these dire portents are just the prelude to what will happen in the next 36 years. We accompany Lily, Helen, Gary, Pierce, Nathan and some of their relatives, friends and colleagues through the 36 years of Flood, starting with the flooding of London, where the apocalypse begins...
My Take in Brief
This is neitherThe Swarm nor The Day After Tomorrow nor Waterworld. It is neither a disaster novel nor a catastrophy thriller. This book is an intense depiction of a possible end for human life on earth, a drowned earth; a perfectly blue ball. While the book is is based on facts, they are not as scientific as those in The Swarm. Have you ever been to London? I stayed there several times, and therefore the detailed description of the flooding of London made my skin scrawl. Stephen Baxter's eerily soothing style only served to intensify the incredibly intense descriptions of the disaster, as well as the impact of the main characters and the inhabitants of London. Mr. Baxter treats the flooding of other big cities and areas as subordinate clauses; in doing so he is makes the story even more worthy of belief.
After the fall of London, we follow the main characters around the world. Every time we get a quick spotlight on what happened in specific regions, and how the new environment has influenced the natives. I will admit that the description of politicians and politics is remarkably accurate, and should be understood as a forward projection of today's issues. My favorite character is undoutebly Lily, but for a slight hestitation. I felt incredibly sad, at the end, when finally the Himalayas are covered with water -- at the moment a song came up in my mind: The End by The Doors (lyrics).
Bona Fide's Book Oracle
You want to feel the creeping dread of a doomed humanity tingling up your spine? You want to know what it feels like to run out of hope? You want to see how devastating water can be? You want to know how people react and change when they loose, in quick succession, their home, town, county, continent, and planet? You want to know the value of money on a dying earth? Do you really want to see what can happen in just 36 years? Then take a deep breath and read Flood.
Sorry, you can't get this copy of the book because it is the personal property of my wife. I, luckily, managed to obtain permission to read it :>) Fortunately you can buy a copy of Flood(US)(UK) on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. And, like me, you are lucky because you don't have to wait long forthe release of the sequel. Ark should hit the stores in US and UK by 20th of August 2009. As I can't wait to read Ark, I placed my order not less than a minute after I finished Flood.
Crawling around MentatJack's blog last week, I came across his TagShadow project and was mightily impressed, mostly because any math that does not involve numbers is, well, impressive. That said, I think I understood what he was trying to get at, and the project is, conceptually, a really cool idea. From what I understand, and please correct me if I am wrong, it is a way to automatically generate subgenre tags based on what people are posting across the web. Talk about science fiction, the feat entails reading the shadow given off by a three dimensional curve to simplify the data and map out a book across its subgenres.
The TagShadow project piqued my curiosity and in no time flat had me trawling the web for a comprehensive list of subgenres in science fiction and fantasy. Given the highly subjective nature of the process, it was no surprise that pretty much every list I came across left something out that I felt was essential or was just plain inaccurate. Take a look at the wiki subgenre list for example. I found a couple more detailed articles when browsing, such as the now fairly old one from SFSite, but none explore the interconnectedness of the subgenres enough, nor do they go into nearly enough detail.
Some writers have gone on to ridicule the excessive number of subgenres out there, this specific article making light fun of an online store which breaks its science fiction offerings down into 51 different categories. There are a number of highly thought out descriptions of subgenres floating around, such as the recent article over at Tor discussing the finer aspects of historical fantasy. However, the highly fluid nature of subgenres gives them a certain ephemeral quality that makes them exceedingly difficult to pin down.
To complicate matters further, publishing houses tend to deliberately blur the line between subgenres so as to increase sales. A succinct post over on the fantasyliterature forums describes many books with Urban Fantasy covers which don't necessarily qualify for the genre, and I have noticed this trend myself. Interestingly, the post also brings up the idea of a short shelf life on certain subgenres. Regardless, given the current popularity of Urban Fantasy, I can't blame publishers for trying to make an extra buck.
The superabundance of subgenres (here is a fun list with 55) paradoxically renders them pretty useless. The whole purpose of a subgenre is to fit a book into a relatively neat category for descriptive purposes--when they are used to simply describe the themes or ideas of a novel they loose their broad utility. My purpose in this post is mostly to ask if anyone has had any significant discussions on the topic or knows of any good resources -- so if you know of anything thats out there, let me know!
Hello and welcome to a new issue of my weekly roundup. Next week I return to work which means less time for internet and reading. But I don't want to complain. I was able to read more books than I expected in the past couple weeks - enjoyed them all except for one - and wrote some reviews which, is astounding for me because I thought I couldn't do it properly. And now enjoy the Roundup.
This is the third time that I am 'punishing' you with The Sword-Edged Blonde by Alex Bledsoe(US)(UK). But I do it out of love, and because there is a good story behind it. Just read BonaFide: Weekly Roundup from 25th of July and Review: The Sword-Edged Blonde. What about you? Does reading blogs have any influence on your reading choice? Do you trust reviews? Do you follow recommendations? I look forward to your comments. Oh, before I forget, Alex Bledsoe wrote a Eddie LaCrosse short story - Things That Flit - which you can read for free!
Do you read sci-fi, fantasy, horror, gothic, or steampunk classics? I mean authors like Jule Verne, H.G. Wells, Edgar Allen Poe, Oscar Wilde. Oscar Wilde? Did you ever read The Picture of Dorian Gray (first published in 1890!) by Oscar Wilde [US] [UK] [free online]? This classic gothic horror story is about a young man who seems to be forever young and the secret of his painted portait is still worth reading. Especially nowadays where we are surrounded by people who are addicted to youth and beauty.
Movies
I didn't talk about The Picture of Dorian Gray for no reason. A new film adaption titled Dorian Gray will hit UK theaters in September 2009. So far I can't deliver release dates for US, Germany, and other countries. But I can entertain you with a trailer. Enjoy....
Every time I see the names of Tim Burton and Johnny Depp, I know I can expect another gorgeous epic of cinematography. I know, I know, we have to wait until 5th of March 2010, but I couldn't wait to show you the trailer of Alice in Wonderland:
Blogosphere
I'm a bit late with the following message: Peter V. Brett signed a contract with a major Hollywood director for The Painted Man (aka The Warded Man). One reason for the delay is, due to prodigious amounts of reading this week, I'm behind my in google reader entries! Which, incidentally, leads me to another topic...
You know how every day you stumble across a new blog? Some of them are worth following, and others not. But the more blogs you follow, the more time you have to spend doing it. Have you ever stopped for a second to think about the people behind these blogs? Just posting posts and answering comments can be a huge time commitment. I contribute to this blog with a Weekly Roundup and with reviews from time to time. That means I know how much time I invest. But I can hardly imagine what it means to run a blog alone. What about you, dear reader? Do you have a secret, burning desire? No, get your mind out of the gutter... I am talking about the secret wish to write a post. You like sci-fi and fantasy and you think: "Hey, I can write posts like this one. Why the hell don't they ask me to contribute to this blog with my brilliant word play?"GOTCHA! Send an email with your name and your interests through the profile link in Only The Best SciFi/Fantasy. Games
Do you like point-and-click graphic adventures? You never had the opportunity to visit Venice except in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade [US][UK]? What do you know about the grim reaper and necromancy? Peaked your interest? Then you should have a look at the upcoming - German - action/RPG: Venetica. What we expect: "In the upcoming Action RPGVenetica players take over the role of Scarlett, Grim Reaper’s daughter who is young and beautiful. Set in a fantastic Venice, it is her mission to fight pure evil. Venetica takes players to the here and now of its fantastic game world, making Scarlett explore Venice’s streets, canals, houses and even the roof tops. As the daughter of Death, she also has the ability to enter the Twilight World: the world of the dead." [source]. The developers described the game as a "cinematic RPG". Please watch the trailer for a first impression of the game:
Quotes
Foreign peoples, other countries, different cultures. You want it? No problem. You don't even need to leave your home. Just read a book and let your mind travel. These are my favorite quotes related to travel:
""Little by little, one travels far." J.R.R. Tolkien (1892 - 1973)
"Still round the corner there may wait, A new road or a secret gate."
J.R.R. Tolkien (1892 - 1973)
"A traveler must have the back of an ass to bear all, a tongue like the tail of a dog to flatter all, the mouth of a hog to eat what is set before him, the ear of a merchant to hear all and say nothing."
