All Systems Red: The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells - Book Review #244

Remember Peter Weller in Robocop?  Part man, part machine?

Murderbot is a bit like that; the central core of the "product" is biological, a cloned human being, but with only rudimentary free will - he can make decisions within a task but cannot decide between tasks.  Unless he has managed to hack into and subvert his governor module.

This is the big secret, he may be a security unit, known as a SecUnit, assigned to a small team of planetary explorers but he is not under their complete control.

The drama gets rolling when it is discovered that another nearby base has lost communications.  The team goes to investigate.

The story is narrated by Murderbot himself.  I’ve got to admit “Murderbot” is a pretty compelling name and I wanted to know why he called himself that. Only glimpses of his past are revealed.

Martha Wells has done a nice job of delivering a tense thriller and gave the protagonist unexpected depth.  The story is layered and I was happy to be introduced to the larger universe this one story occupies.  This is a perfect way to dive into a Space Opera; start with a small group of characters in a small place, in this case a far off planet, and then return them to their homes and you get a natural way to introduce the reader to a larger world.

I am certainly looking forward to reading the second instalment. 

Martha Wells' website - http://www.marthawells.com/

Martha Wells

Hawkeye: My Life As A Weapon by Matt Fraction - A Graphic Novel Review

This character is pretty cool.  Sure, Clint Barton is rich and fit but he has no super powers, just very good skills with a bow.

I certainly loved the humor of the first three stories and the art of David Aja lent itself to the tone of the book.

Hawkeye has an equal in Kate Bishop, who is also Hawkeye.  Like Clint, she's conveniently rich and fit.  Hey, it's comics - so it's complicated - but it's still a different approach; to have a hero occupied by two different people. 

I enjoyed the stories.  Oh my, the neighbourhood bad guys were terrific and funny.  Any normal person would be scared of Russian Mafia types.  In these stories Clint is not just fighting the big picture "injustice" but he is fighting it on a personal level - protecting the other tenants of his building.

Best of all Clint makes mistakes.  He is not the all-knowing, never-makes-mistakes hero.  It makes the tension a little bit more real, when you know he can really get hurt.  That said, I think he has a super power - being able to get knocked to the head all the time without a concussion.

This made for a good time and a nice change in form.  Reading a comic book can feel a little bit like watching TV but it's still reading.  Honestly, I often wish there were illustrations in the books and stories I read.  Blending the art of writing with visual arts can be very satisfying.

The art of David Aja

Matt Fraction

Come All Ye Faithful by Robert J Sawyer

What would life be like for the only priest on Mars?

For the most part he is tolerated but, being surrounded by secular scientist, he does the best he can to help those around him. 

One day he gets an unexpected call from Cardinal Pirandello and a new path presents itself. 

The end was interesting and unexpected.  To say more would give away too much.

I liked it a lot.

Robert J. Sawyer's website - https://www.sfwriter.com/

Originally published in this book.

Reirin by Sabaa Tahir

This is the first story that did not have a direct connection to the plot of the movie.  Instead it is an independent scene that happens in the background while Luke and his uncle trade R2 units after their first choice malfunctions.

Reirin is a young, female who dreams of leaving Tatooine and her clan of Tusken Raiders for a life among the stars.

While the two humans negotiate for a new droid she sneaks on board the sandcrawler.

I found it to be a bit similar to the previous story of Jot the Jawa, but still, it goes to expand the desperation on Tatooine.

I just love how much richer these stories are making the movie.  What a terrific idea.

Sabaa Tahir's website - https://www.sabaatahir.com/

Sabaa Tahir

Stories in the Sand by Griffin McElroy

I am finding this collection of stories to be an absolute delight.

The author of this one gives a charming, gentle voice to the Jawas.

Jot is a bit of a loner and outsider of the community that resides in the sandcrawler that ultimately discovers R2-D2.  He is an outcast, because of his size.  He is small, a runt, by the standards of Jawas.  He spends much of his time alone in his little corner of the roving junkyard.

One of his responsibilities is to perform a memory wipe on the droids before they are sold.  But before he does so he watches these memories, thinking of them as stories, and through these viewings he realizes there is a larger galaxy out there.

McElroy wrote a sad, touching and ultimately hopeful story in showing us one of the lives on board this giant scavenger of the desert.  The author has given us a view from the inside of Jawa culture that has not been explored in the movies.

I love thinking that Jot is out there in that galaxy far, far away and experiencing stories of his own making.

Lovely.  Just lovely.

Griffin McElroy's website - https://www.griffinmcelroy.com/

Griffin McElroy

The Space Barons by Christian Davenport - Book Report #243

This was a terrific read.

Best of all, the book was published this year, making the information very current.

I’ve been frustrated over the years at the lack of information to be found on the websites of SpaceX, Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin.  But with this book, Mr. Davenport was able to connect many of the dots and to clearly show where these three companies are headed.

Having grown up with Apollo, I was four years old when Armstrong and Aldrin landed on the moon, I feel an entire generation (mine) has missed the promise and wonder of space.  The shuttle never lived up to increasing access to space and we have not left Low Earth Orbit (LEO) since Apollo 17.

In these pages we learn that we are witnessing the birth of a new golden age of human space flight.  But, instead of building on the legacy of the Saturn V, rockets have been reinvented from the ground up.  They are a very different type of craft, being designed on reusability.

I couldn’t help thinking that if it wasn’t for the International Space Station being a government funded destination in space, we’d not be as far along as we are.  Thank goodness it is there.

You couldn’t ask for a better book to learn about space in the hands of the next generation.

It is an accessible read and will open the door to many Google searches to dive deeper into the subjects covered here.

Highly recommended. 

Ad Astra.

Christian Davenport

Identity Theft by Robert J Sawyer

Oh boy!  This is the stuff.

Sawyer uses all the good science fiction ideas and it’s makes them part of the background, no big deal.

Alexander Lomax is a private eye - on Mars no less.  His client is a lovely woman who is looking for her lost husband.  She’s a robot by the way.  A transfer as they are called in the story.  The technology exists where one can transfer his or her consciousness to an artificial body and continue on living indefinitely.

What a great idea!  It’s just an everyday thing here.  Love that.

Somewhere along the line somebody did something illegal to the husband and Lomax takes over where the police stopped caring.

The story is pretty much a straight-up mystery but the uniqueness of the setting keeps coming up to add flavour to the drama.

The dialogue was clean and crisp.  Any exposition needed was dealt with in the plot.  To me, this is the real trick of writing fiction; not allowing any kind of explanation to take away from the story.  How do you show instead of tell?  Sawyer is a master of this.

It’s a story of people being people, even if they are in robot bodies.

Excellent stuff!  Highly recommended.

Robert J. Sawyer's website - https://www.sfwriter.com/

Originally published in this book.

Robert J Sawyer

The Sith of Datawork by Ken Liu

Terrific!

Remember the scene where C-3PO and R2-D2 are in the escape pod and the gunners on the Star Destroyer, let it go after detecting no life signs aboard?

What if the gunner had second thought about not firing on it?

How can he save himself if his inaction is called into question?

Paperwork!  Or datawork as it’s called here.  Enter Arvira, fleet logistics liaison (grade 4) who knows the forms to fill.

Lots of fun, especially because you just know that running an empire requires quite a lot of forms.  All bureaucracies need a datatrail.

Ken Liu's website - https://kenliu.name/

Ken Liu

The Bucket by Christie Golden

This book could be a lot of fun, if it continues as it seems laid out - a scene by scene expansion of the original 1977 movie.

After Darth Vader commanded his troops to find the rebels on board and to “tear the ship apart,” we see the capture of Princess Leai through the eyes of storm trooper TK-4601’s eyes.

It was interesting to see how an attitude can change even when following orders.  Free will, freedom to think and freedom to act are explored in this tight story.

I feel like I am reading parts of the script that had to be trimmed to make the movie.  And when I see it again I’ll have a much richer experience for having read this book.

Christie Golden's Website - http://www.christiegolden.com/

Christie Golden

The Leap by Chris Turner - Book Report #242

The book’s subtitle - “How to Survive and Thrive in the Sustainable Economy” makes, what the author calls The Great Leap Sideways, a bit scary.

To the contrary, Turner shows us that the leap to a sustainable economy is well underway, we just can’t really see it.  Part of the reason is that things are still very much in the grass-roots phase, but those roots have spread everywhere.

Our entire way of life, and when I say "our" I mean the entire planet, is based on the gift of stored energy that are fossils fuels.  These fuels power, transport, light and heat our entire lives.  Without it we would be in caves.

But we’ve reached the limits of what fossil fluels can do for us.  Yes, climate change.  Yes peak oil.  Yes pollution.  Believe them or don’t - it really does not matter.  Things will change because they must.  

If you find all of the news stories about the end of life as we know it keeps you up at night, Turner will help to ease your fears.  He gives many examples, primarily Denmark and Germany, of how our way of life can not only continue but expand in harmony with nature.

And if you think about it, the opportunities to make money and change the world are nearly limitless. All we have to do is reinvent everything.  The internet did that to communications and knowledge, changing the energy structure will be profoundly more lucrative and it will guarantee humanity’s survival.

So, if you are a climate change denier, believe that alternative forms of energy will wreck our economy or that there is no way it can take over from fossil fuels, don’t bother reading this.

My belief is that it will happen regardless.  The pure economics of maintaining the status quo will become too expensive anyway. 

This book is brilliant and inspirational.

Chris Turner

Raymus by Gary Whitta

I do love these kinds of collections, where they fill in little corners of iconic stories and movies.

This one bridged the events of Rogue One and A New Hope.  In the opening sequence of the original movie, the rebel ship, Tantiv IV, was boarded and the captain questioned while being lifted off the deck and strangled.

This is his story.

Princess Liea has the Death Star data in her hands and the ship is trying to escape the star destroyer.

This was a personal war story.  One where the main character suspects that this is when his part in the struggle will come to an end.

We know just a little bit more about this poor man who died shortly after the opening credits. In movies, death is meaningless.  But here we come to understand how each body had a story, a history of its own.

A strong start to a giant collection that was published to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the release of the first movie.

Gary Whitta's website - http://www.garywhitta.com/

Gary Whitta

In Panic Town, On The Backward Moon by Michael F Flynn

Talk about the look and feel of a space western.

The story starts in a saloon, where a stranger walks in, and leaves something valuable with the owner of the establishment. 

This is the kind of SF I love; high tech, set in the future but still populated by recognizable people.

The object stored in the saloon's safe was stolen and the person who stole it has made enemies all over Mars.  Now he is dead and the object is gone.

In my mind's eye I could see all the dust, grit and roughness of life on Mars.

Flynn was able to create a giant backdrop in few pages.  Once I was done reading the setting lived on in my head.  The world he created was so rich, I felt as though I had read a novel.

Terrific stuff.

The Rise of the Graphic Novel by Stephen Weiner - Book Review #241

Like my previous post about short stories and novellas this book, about the history of the graphic novel, has given me permission to dig into the collection I have in my basement.

I grew up collecting comics in the 1980’s and witnessed the birth of the form myself.  It was a nostalgic ride through my days browsing the comic shops.

While reading the book I added many titles to my wish list on the Edmonton Public Library’s website.

This was a very approachable exploration of the form.  The chapters were short and the book was well seeded with panels from the graphic novels discussed.

An informative read that reignited my joy of sequential art.

Reflection by Aaron Wright

A fascinating story about the right to self determination, end of life and responsibility to others.

Reed Ellis has a terminal illness, which will see him suffer greatly in his last few years.  He has filled out all the required paperwork and is now waiting through his required “cooling off” period in the hospital he has chosen to end his life.  

While the days pass his sister cannot stand by to watch, believing that he should not be taking this action.  She leaves him to die alone.  In his room the hospital AI befriends him.  Through this relationship perspectives change.

It was a kind, warm and sobering story. 

I am glad I read it. 

Ocean by Warren Ellis - A Graphic Novel

This is the kind of Science Fiction I crave.

A straight-ahead mystery in a far off world.  Jupiter's moon Europa, in this case.

Something is lurking in the depths, under the ice, and it's not nice.

But then there are people and corporations who are also not nice, that want to exploit the discovery.

Enter Inspector Nathan Kane of the United Nations who is sent to investigate and prevent any profiteering of the discovery.

Things get dangerous and deadly very fast but then the story settles into a threat of violence rather than an all out gunplay.  It's teamwork and intelligence that drives the adventure to its wild end.  The majority of characters that moved the plot forward were women, which I found very refreshing.  Not one damsel in distress among them, these gals were in charge of their roles.

I liked the story very much, which was enhanced by the rich, clean art.  Chris Sprouse gave the story the immense scale the setting needed.  The spotless order of the interiors gave it that old-style, shiny Science Fiction feel that has been gone since Star Wars came along and made things gritty.  It was a nice change.

It is rare to find science fiction that does not rely on some kind of techno-magic or alien monster to drive a story.  The trick is to make the setting interesting and fill it with people we recognize.  Technology should be advanced but it doesn't need to bee too far out.  Guns shooting bullets on a space station is a recipe for disaster, but if you change the slugs to acid capsules that only burn organic matter, that's an advancement we can relate to.

If you can get your hands on a copy of this, you will be happy with the work.

Art by Chris Sprouse

Gate Crashers by Patrick S. Tomlinson - Boork Review #240

I want to thank Tor Books for continuing to expand my library to new and unusual authors.

This is billed as SF comedy, which got me interested right away.  To do good comedy you have to be confident in your knowledge of the genre.  I thought Tomlinson did an excellent job of it. The book was at times absurd but he never allowed himself to go over the top in the way that Douglas Adams got lost in his own creativity.  No.  The story was well thought out and planned.

Where the humour worked best was in the relationships between the crews of the Magellan and the Bucephalus.  It was people being people in a strange situation that gave rise to most of the humour.

I must say I was captivated by Tomlinson’s take on the First Contact trope.  Humanity has pushed into interstellar space but FTL has not been achieved.  Even with this limitation the exploration crew of the Magellan discover the actual limits of space, at least to humans.

An artifact is found drifting in space and, after it is brought on board to be examined, well, everything changes.

Honestly this was a lovely book, filled with warmth to humanity but absolutely cognizant of how ridiculous we can be.

I was very happy that the heart and soul of the book was the out-of-his-depth scientist Felix Fletcher and the level-headed captain of the Magellan, Alison Ridgeway.

To give you some idea of the comedy I’d say the antagonists are similar to the ones found in the movie The Fifth Element and that is as out-there as the characters get.  The rest of it has the feel of The Orville.  It’s an interesting blend of the competently humours meeting an overconfident race that has been its apex for centuries.

The book works perfectly as a stand alone novel but it has certainly been set up for sequels.  According to the author’s website there will be at least two more instalments.

I look forward reading more from this author.  Lucky for me this is not his first novel.

NOTE -  I loved the inclusion of the sketches of the ships.  Publishers need to do that kind of thing more often.  A little illustration here and there adds much to the visuals of a story.

Check Patrick S Tomlinson’s web page at:  http://www.patrickstomlinson.com/

Patrick S Tomlinson

Gaia’s Children by Lawrence Buentello

Space is big.

So big that if you are a colonist on a new planet, there is essentially no hope of a rescue.

The Colony Organizers are responsible for discovering candidate planets, analyze the planets’ suitability, “seed” them with a human population and to support that colony as best they can. 

But when that support can take decades to arrive you best be prepared to make due..

When Persephone crash lands on the colony world of Aeolus, her mission to help repopulate the colony, with improved DNA, is threatened.  She is the only member of the crew to have survived.  Most of the ship was destroyed beyond use.  However the ship’s AI and part of the surgical suite remained useful.

With these limited resources she does her best to help a dying colony that does not want it.  They’ve not only fallen into a Darwinian situation they have written his ideas into law.

This was a sad story of hope, circumstance, despotism, and points of view colliding. 

I was taken into the story by the immense isolation described here.

Wonderful work indeed. 

You can read the story online at Compelling Science Fiction:  http://compellingsciencefiction.com/index.html

The President’s Brain Is Missing by John Scalzi

I use to love watching The West Wing; the dialogue, the intelligence of the characters and the humor all worked so well that I kept coming back to the show.

This story was a lot like that, okay the premise was silly, but all good science fiction plays with the question, "What If?"

So you go with it; a dim-witted president discovers that he cannot keep his head under water when he goes for his morning swim and he's feeling rather light-headed, come to think of it.  The resident doctor does some tests and sends the president to bed for some rest.

A meeting is called for the senior staff in the oval office.  The doctor's discovery is discussed and a plan is set in motion to discover how this could have happened.  And why is the president not dead, you know, by being without a brain?

What follows is a terrific romp with intelligent people trying to unravel a mystery that is utterly impossible but they have to deal with it.

Like The West Wing this story had excellent dialogue and that sharp Scalzi that made it a joy to read.  I actually put it down once just to savour it.

Honestly, this could be filmed.  It would make a terrific episode of The Veep.

Find John Scalzi here:  https://whatever.scalzi.com/

John Scalzi

Short Stories and Novellas.

Image from the article.

I read a terrific article on the WIRED website:  HOW TECHNOLOGY SHAPES THE WAY WE READ by some poor, uncredited staff member.  It tells the story of the resurgence of the novella and how it is the perfect format for our society today.

I must say the I completely agree.  I am often overwhelmed by the commitment involved in a series or even stand alone novels.

Way back, when the paperback revolution was underway, books often came in around 150 pages.  These were tightly plotted and sparse that got to the point of things.  But then, in the past few decades, books began to top out over 400 pages, my guess is to justify the cover price; readers wanted quantity over quality.

How often have you read a chapter knowing full well that it is nothing but filler?  I once read a Star Trek novel that took three pages (!) to answer the door.

Anyway, the article was rather liberating to me.  Short stories and novellas are often only available to mystery and science fiction readers in magazines or anthologies.  After reading the piece, I felt I had permission to enjoy myself, to read a short story or novella and appreciate it for what it can be - a story well told.

Although I've given short stories their fair share, here on my humble little blog (usually posted on Wednesdays), I've always felt that it is not "real" reading, you know?  Novels are the thing.  I've often felt that some of the best short stories could have easily been expanded into a novel.  But maybe that's not quite right.  Maybe I liked it so much, because it was just the right length, that it left me wanting more.

I went straight to Chapters Indigo and bought the first TOR.Com ebook that appealed to me.  It was by John Scalzi, more on that in my next post.

Sunrise on Mercury by Robert Silverberg

The story is of a follow up mission to land in the Twilight Belt of Mercury. The band of area that is neither on the night side, being too cold, nor being exposed to direct sunlight, which would bake the crew and ship into ash. 

The mission is threatened by a suicidal member of the crew. 

When we discover why the crewman threatened himself and the mission, well, that’s what makes the story interesting. 

Nicely done. Although the dialogue felt a bit stiff, it still held my interest. 

I found the story fun and interesting. I couldn’t help thinking that it would make a terrific Netflix Original series. 

Robert Silverberg's website: http://www.robert-silverberg.com/index.html 

A Walkabout Amongst The Stars by Lezli Robyn

Yes.  I really liked this one.

One of my favorite space fantasies is to seek out one of  the Voyager probes, polish the Golden Record, refuel the tanks and restock the RTGs and send it on it's way.

It's like archeology.

In this story, somebody beat humans to it!  All of Voyager 1's systems mysteriously power up after going dark two years before.

Tyrille Smith goes out with her AI robot, IRIS, to investigate.  I loved that robot, by the way.  What a wonderful companion.

It's a mystery that turns into a sudden first contact event.

My goodness this was terrific fun.

I must seek out Leslie Robyn's work. - https://lezlirobyn.com/

The Race For Arcadia by Alex Shvartsman

What an excellent and unexpected story.

There is a new race to a distant planet.  The Russians want to be first to land a person on it, for the prestige and glory of being first.

But it's a risky mission.  Knowing that the Chinese and the Americans are committed to their own landings, they embark on a daring one-way trip.  By making the ship smaller and lighter Russia can beat the other countries to Arcadia.

This was particularly relevant given the recent discussion of mounting a one-way trip to land people on Mars.  Thankfully that idea has been canceled.

Still...

The Russian mission takes the idea of making the ship lighter one step further and that gives the story a sinister, dark twist.



This was imaginatively thought out.

Loved it.

Alex Shvartsman's website - https://alexshvartsman.com/

How Democracies Die by Daniel Ziblatt and Steven Levitsky - Book Report #239

The sobering takeaway from this book is: democracies are actually very fragile. It can take only one person, with dictatorial qualities, to unravel decades, even centuries of democratic governance.

By exploring worldwide democratic history, the authors shine a light on the current sitting president, Donald Trump. 

It’s fascinating to learn how calamities from one era can significantly affect the future.  Take 9/11 and the Patriot Act as an example of how future presidents can leverage the act’s power and further erode the rights and freedoms that are the pillars of modern democracy. 

The intense polarization of political views and their parties, got its start in the 1970’s with Newt Gingrich and his viscous verbal attacks on the opposition.  He broke with an unwritten rule of respect and diplomacy. 

Obviously there is much more going on in the two parties than just one person.  Gingrich just marked a change in tone. 

The authors make some interesting connections with civil rights and the current political climate in the United States. 

What I kept coming away with is the fragility of our democratic systems. They only work if we believe, trust and respect them.  Supreme courts can be packed with politically aligned justices.  Filibusters can be abused to the point of making governments impotent.  Respect for the executive, the house and judiciary have been eroded. 

In order to keep democracy working politicians must respect the rules and customs that have been observed over the decades and centuries.  Once the unwritten rules of decorum and respect are broken democracy itself can unravel.

It was a chilling subject - the fragility of democracy. 

More information about the authors -https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Levitsky
and - https://scholar.harvard.edu/dziblatt/home

Steven Levitsky (left) and Daniel Ziblatt

Excalibur by Jack McDevitt

This one was so believable I actually looked up the fictional NASA mission the story was about.

What if Voyager 2 saw something unexpected when it passed Neptune?

A reporter stumbles across a mission called Arkon 1, but when he starts asking questions about it he is met with some resistance. 

I was rather disappointed the story only ran for 11 pages.  I wish it could have gone longer. 

Well done indeed. 

Jack McDevitt's website - https://www.jackmcdevitt.com/