Planets Volume 1 by Makoto Yukimura - A Graphic Novel Review

I recently did a Google search to discover new science fiction graphic novels.  Planets caught my attention -  the story of a crew of astronauts who clear debris from low earth orbit.  Yup, space garbage collectors.

The stories follow Hachimaki, a young brazen, prickly, driven and a somewhat lost young man, who dreams of greater things.  Each chapter is it's own stand alone story but there is also a thread that runs through them all.  A mission to Jupiter is announced and Hachi wants to win a spot on the crew.

His drive to become the best astronaut Japan has ever seen turns him into an obsessed person who is lucky he has people around him that understand him.  Otherwise, he'd lose friends quickly.

Chapter 10 of the book is my favourite story.  Hashi and Leo, his friend and co-pilot, crash on the surface of the moon.  Hashi saves him from the wreck but after their ship explodes they must attempt to rescue themselves by walking 40km to the nearest shelter.

This is the kind of man-vs-environment story that grabs my attention and explores the real consequences of exploring space.

This is an English translation and at times the narrative is a bit clunky but that is to be expected.  It also takes some getting used to reading back to front and right to left.

Ultimately it was a satisfying read.

Recommended.

Hachi carrying Leo to safety.

THIS is how I like my SF

Return To Mars by Ben Bova - Book Report #201

As a sequel this worked very well indeed.

We are back on Mars ready to explore new regions and to go back to a tantalizing feature that was only glimpsed on the last mission.

I felt that Bova did a much better job at characterization than in his previous effort.  Some of the emotional sides of the story were still a bit clunky but much less so than before.

This time, instead of being threatened by some disease the treat comes from within the program.  There will come a time when decisions will have to be made on how much of Mars will need to be preserved and how much will be exploited.

The needs of science versus the need to make money (to fund missions for science) come to a head and I was quite pleased with the twist from one of the antagonists.

The ultimate resolution to the conflict was, once again, solved in an interesting and surprising way.

I liked this one even better than the last.

Ben Bova's website - http://benbova.com/

Ben Bova

Around The World In 80 Days by Michael Palin - Book Report #138

If you listen to the news you must feel, as I do, that we are living in a pretty shitty place and a pretty shitty time.  The world is not like that.  As a matter of fact it is much, much better than what we are being bombarded with in the media.  I'm not saying terrible things are not happening, they are, but it's not the only thing going on.

Because I needed to let some sunshine in and feel good about things I've turned to a few books that focus on the good that people do.

To start off I returned to my hero Michael Palin.  It was way, way back in 1988 that Michael took the challenge the BBC offered him to travel around the world following the path of Jules Vern's character Phileas Fogg.  Could the journey be done in modern times given how the world had changed since the book was published in 1873?

This book is the companion to the TV series and it is best if you take the time to watch that to get the full experience.  I read the paperback edition that holds a copyright of 1999. The original hardback was published in 1989.

The book is presented as a series of journal entries and included two sets of pictures of his journey.  Not only does Palin describe the places he saw and the food eaten but he also describes his own doubts of his ability to pull off being a presenter.  He also goes to describe the adventures of his crew, lovingly called Passepartout, after Fogg's companion in the novel.

The overwhelming generosity of strangers and the openness of people is something I found surprising and touching.  A wonderful tonic to restore your faith in humanity.

Michael Palin has made a positive impact on the world.

Michael Palin has two websites.  The first one is dedicated to his travels and you can read each book on-line!

http://www.palinstravels.co.uk/

The second one is also very, very interesting if your are interested in the man himself.  Wonderful. Check out his Ramblings page.  Also wonderful.

http://www.themichaelpalin.com/

Michael Palin

Indiana Jones and the Secret of the Sphinx by Max McCoy

I dusted off my copy of  Indiana Jones and the Secret of the Sphinx by Max McCoy.

This was a good one; the book started right in the middle of a discovery and just keep going.

 Indy is in a race to find the Omega Book an artifact that tells the destiny of every human being.  Powerful stuff if it winds up in the wrong hands. 

It felt like it could have been a movie.

Book Review - Flashforward by Robert J. Sawyer

I've been a fan of Robert J. Sawer for a while now; his books are always entertaining, fast-paced, interesting and feel plausible.

So when I heard that his book Flashforward has been turned into a TV series, I started to read the book.  I blasted through it in three days (a fast pace for me) but unfortunately it left me cold and re-reading the back cover blurb to see if I missed something.

It starts out with a particle collision experiment at the Large Hardon Collider where the unexpected side effect propels the entire human consciousness forward 21 years.

Cool idea.  And the first 100 pages live up to the promise; you know, scientists trying to figure out what went wrong.  But the next 100 pages just goes on (and on) about how this flashforward "vision" affects people.  Which is OK but it does drag the pace to a crawl.  The last 100 looks at what happened after the experiment is repeated and it becomes a different story all together.  It takes such a "left turn" that it left me wondering if I had picked up the wrong book.

The premise is very interesting and I hope the TV show takes the idea in a different direction.  I think there is a lot to explore and a TV drama might me a good vehicle for this story.

Sorry Mr. Sawer; I'm still a fan but this book just did not do it for me.