science fiction

wfzimmerman's review: "The latest in a series of consistently outstanding SF novels from Alastair Reynolds. I enjoyed this one a lot."
Gollancz (2008), Hardcover, 480 pages
tags: sf, science fiction, space opera, hard sf

I am beginning a project of organizing my library and deciding what books to keep and what books I want to add.  I am working my way through things methodically, beginning with the science fiction section and authors beginning with “A”.  Here are my thoughts so far …

Adams, Douglas — there is a single-volume omnibus (is that redundant?) with his collected works.  that would be a nice readers’ copy to own.  Adams certainly had a huge influence on the history of SF … but not one of my personal favorites.  Does it need to be in my collection? I can always get it from the library.

Anderson, Poul — I have a volume of collected stories.  What I would like to have: a first of Tau Zero and (maybe) a complete run of the Flandry and van Rijn series.

Anthony, Piers — I’ll deal with his fantasy in a separate section.  In the meantime, there is an argument to be made for Macroscope.

Asimov, Isaac — the first unqualified “must” in this section.  I want the best possible editions of all the Foundation books.  The Robot books are a lower priority.  The End of Eternity might be higher than the Robot books.

Who else am I missing?   more tk …

This is one of the better days in the history of Nimble Books. Today we have reached a final agreement with Hugo and Nebula-award winning science fiction author, futurist, and commentator David Brin, and we will be publishing his THROUGH STRANGER EYES, a collection of “Reviews, Introductions, Tributes & Iconoclastic Essays” in the U.S. and U.K. We will be working in partnership with Robert Stephenson of the fine SF publisher Altair Australia who be publishing a simultaneous edition for his markets. THROUGH STRANGER EYES will include essays on figures as diverse as J.R.R. Tolkien, John Brunner, George Orwell, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Charles Sheffield, Richard Feynman, and Ayn Rand.

More to come …

Review of: Star dragon by Brotherton, Mike

I started reading this once and stopped part way through because I thought the idea of a dragon living inside a star was too silly for belief. I came back to this book after reading the author’s second book, SPIDER STAR, and made it all the way through this time. It was worth it. There was a satisfying science fictional explanation for everything.

The one weak spot that still remains is the premise that a corporation would send a hunting party to capture a “star dragon” and start casting nets and firing off photon torpedoes right away. It seems a lot more likely that super smart people in the 26th Century would start the same way we would start today, i.e. with a couple of years of careful, passive observation. After all, they flew 250 light years to find this thing, what’s the hurry?

wfzimmerman's review: "I'm a few chapters into this and it is terrific so far. Big Smart Objects, astroarchaeology, credible science -- this is what SF is all about. I immediately rushed off to order his other book, [[Star Dragon]]]."
Tor Books (2008), Hardcover, 448 pages
tags: science fiction, sf

wfzimmerman's review: "An impressive debut novel. The multiplexing clones who are the protagonists are creepy at first, but at the end of the book there is a convincing explanation for their existence. One minor nit is that practically every character has a self-descriptive name (is there a word for that? autonym?) Ultimately, a tough-minded meditation on what might lead us to a Singularity and what might happen after it."
Tor Books (2008), Edition: First Edition, Hardcover, 320 pages
tags: science fiction, sf

wfzimmerman's review: "I've slogged about half-way through this book and I still can't figure out why it is on the American Library Association list of Top 100 Banned Books."
Tor Science Fiction (2008), Edition: Reissue, Mass Market Paperback, 352 pages

wfzimmerman's review: "A thick paperback edition of a promising new series."
Tor Science Fiction (2008), Edition: Reprint, Mass Market Paperback, 800 pages

wfzimmerman's review: "A beautiful new edition from Tor of Isaac Asimov's first novel. I can't wait to re-read this!"
Tor Books (2008), Hardcover, 256 pages
tags: sf, science fiction

wfzimmerman's review: "Tor's usually sure-footed publicity team stumbles a bit by identifying William H. Drinkard as a 12-year veteran of the Alabama State Legislature. I am sure that the Alabama State Legislature of today is not the Alabama State Legislature of fifty or a hundred years ago, but it's still not exactly a confidence-inspiring background."
Tor Books (2008), Hardcover, 544 pages
tags: science fiction, sf, ARC