The Comfort of Strangers by Alexander Jablokov
The tale of a sex-worker on a space station, used to accomodating the most peculiar of species. While having interesting aspects to it, this story is not the sort of thing I enjoy.
Maxwell's Demon by Ken Liu
The story of a Japanese-American in the Second World War who has to try and prove her loyalty to both sides of her background. I thought this was a thought-provoking look at what loyalty and patriotism means, if anything at all.
Scrap Dragon by Naomi Kritzer
A humorous take on dealing with the dragon. This is the story that was in the Free Digest that convinced me to subscribe to the Extended Version.
In the Trenches by Michael Alexander
A german soldier is stuck in the trenches and meets a kobold. While eminently readable, I thought many of the ideas in this story (soldiers from opposite sides meeting; how immortality would reduce our enjoyment of life) are pretty tired.
Canto MCML by Lewis Shiner
Short piece set in a historical, futuristic world. Again, I didn't think any of the ideas here particularly interesting or new.
Overall, I definitely preferred the Novelets to the Short Stories, though I did like the Ken Liu and Naomi Kritzner stories.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
January F&SF: the Novelets
Small Towns by Felicity Shoulders
Set in the aftermath of World War One, Ms Shoulders weaves together the story of a man trying to rebuild his memories of his home and an unusual young woman trying to find her place in the world. Moving and well-constructed story.
The Secret of the City of Gold by Ron Goulart
A mystery set in London in 1901, featuring Harry Challenge, which I understand is a long-standing character of Mr Goulart. Reminded me of a Sherlock Holmes story. An enjoyable read.
Umbrella Men by John G. McDaid
An unusual conspiracy tale centering around, of all things, umbrellas. I found this story particularly heartening, as even though it showed the world being changed by magic, it somehow conveyed the idea that small things can make a difference.
Alien Land by KD Wentworth
The story of how a housewife responds to an innocuous invasion where aliens simply move into the neighbourhood. I liked how the character changed through the story and how the reader was brought into that journey.
Mindbender by Albert E. Cowdrey
Agent Brown is assigned to the protection of a now-useless Russian spy who has spilled his secrets to the US authorities and who resents being taken away from his primary obsession of pursuing an assasin known as the Mandrake. Enjoyable.
The Colour Least Used by Nature by Ted Kosmatka
The story of the shipbuilder, Kuwa'i, who is caught between an old world of walking trees and the encroaching modern world. While stories of traditional culture and colonialists intersecting are hardly uncommon, I thought the author brought his own unique and moving interpretation to the story.
My favourites of the novelets were Small Towns and the Colour Least Used by Nature. Definitely convinced me that I made the right decision in subscribing to the Extended Edition of F&SF on Kindle.
Set in the aftermath of World War One, Ms Shoulders weaves together the story of a man trying to rebuild his memories of his home and an unusual young woman trying to find her place in the world. Moving and well-constructed story.
The Secret of the City of Gold by Ron Goulart
A mystery set in London in 1901, featuring Harry Challenge, which I understand is a long-standing character of Mr Goulart. Reminded me of a Sherlock Holmes story. An enjoyable read.
Umbrella Men by John G. McDaid
An unusual conspiracy tale centering around, of all things, umbrellas. I found this story particularly heartening, as even though it showed the world being changed by magic, it somehow conveyed the idea that small things can make a difference.
Alien Land by KD Wentworth
The story of how a housewife responds to an innocuous invasion where aliens simply move into the neighbourhood. I liked how the character changed through the story and how the reader was brought into that journey.
Mindbender by Albert E. Cowdrey
Agent Brown is assigned to the protection of a now-useless Russian spy who has spilled his secrets to the US authorities and who resents being taken away from his primary obsession of pursuing an assasin known as the Mandrake. Enjoyable.
The Colour Least Used by Nature by Ted Kosmatka
The story of the shipbuilder, Kuwa'i, who is caught between an old world of walking trees and the encroaching modern world. While stories of traditional culture and colonialists intersecting are hardly uncommon, I thought the author brought his own unique and moving interpretation to the story.
My favourites of the novelets were Small Towns and the Colour Least Used by Nature. Definitely convinced me that I made the right decision in subscribing to the Extended Edition of F&SF on Kindle.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Setting out with Fantasy and Science Fiction
Several years ago, I read through a few issues of the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction (edited by Gordon van Gelder) and, at the time, it didn't really speak to me.
Then, a little while after getting my Kindle, I noticed they were offering a free, teaser subscription so I signed up. After reading three teaser editions, which contained one of the stories and all the non-fiction from the extended editions, I decided to sign up for the Extended Edition subscription this January.
At $0.99 per month, it appears to be the cheapest of the science fiction magazines on Kindle subscription (Asimov's and Analog are both $2.99 per month), plus it is jam-packed with good fiction. I'm still working through the stories from the January edition and I've enjoyed every single one to varying degrees (more about that in future posts).
I also really enjoy the non-fiction, for which I didn't need to upgrade to the Extended Edition. I particularly enjoy Charles de Lint's Books to Look For. He's given me some good recommendations and he always gives sufficient information in his reviews to work out whether it's my kind of book without spoiling the story.
Then, a little while after getting my Kindle, I noticed they were offering a free, teaser subscription so I signed up. After reading three teaser editions, which contained one of the stories and all the non-fiction from the extended editions, I decided to sign up for the Extended Edition subscription this January.
At $0.99 per month, it appears to be the cheapest of the science fiction magazines on Kindle subscription (Asimov's and Analog are both $2.99 per month), plus it is jam-packed with good fiction. I'm still working through the stories from the January edition and I've enjoyed every single one to varying degrees (more about that in future posts).
I also really enjoy the non-fiction, for which I didn't need to upgrade to the Extended Edition. I particularly enjoy Charles de Lint's Books to Look For. He's given me some good recommendations and he always gives sufficient information in his reviews to work out whether it's my kind of book without spoiling the story.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
2011: Books I Couldn't Put Down
NK Jemisin's The Broken Kingdoms and the Kingdom of Gods: Very original, very enjoyable fantasy. All the reviews praising these books almost put me off because they made them sound so very esoteric. But while clever, orginal and thought-provoking, these books are eminently readable and have characters that make you care.
Greg Mortenson's Three Cups of Tea: The true life story of a mountaineer whose abortive attempt to climb K2 turned into a mission to educate the children of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Beautiful, uplifting story of how one person can make a difference.
Ben Bova's Jupiter: I'm not normally a reader of hard science fiction, but I loved this book. One of the things I normally dislike about hard science fiction is that it's all about the ideas and the technology and I find the characters flat and unsympathetic. The characters in this, though a small cast, were eminently believeable and I loved living through their story. Also one of the best portrayals of a character with a deep faith.
George RR Martin's (ed) Busted Flush and Suicide Kings: I've often been fascinated by the question of how super-heroes would deal with the complexities of a world beyond American suburbs fighting crime. Both of these books came from different angles in approaching the issue but had such rich answers. I loved Busted Flush for the complexity of the primary character and Suicide Kings for its wrestling with some of Africa's great challenges.
Veronica Roth's Divergent: I loved how this book dug into very thought-provoking questions about what's really wrong with the world, what self-sacrifice is and how we choose our morality within a highly approachable young adult, fast-moving, plot-driven package.
Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games Trilogy: I devoured these three books in two days. Definitely my favourite teen craze so far (and I enjoyed both Harry Potter and Twilight), primarily because it highlights so many real issues. For me the Capital and the Districts were a dramatised representation of Dependency theory's Core and Periphery. These books ask hard questions about poverty, social justice and how we judge and treat one another.
Greg Mortenson's Three Cups of Tea: The true life story of a mountaineer whose abortive attempt to climb K2 turned into a mission to educate the children of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Beautiful, uplifting story of how one person can make a difference.
Ben Bova's Jupiter: I'm not normally a reader of hard science fiction, but I loved this book. One of the things I normally dislike about hard science fiction is that it's all about the ideas and the technology and I find the characters flat and unsympathetic. The characters in this, though a small cast, were eminently believeable and I loved living through their story. Also one of the best portrayals of a character with a deep faith.
George RR Martin's (ed) Busted Flush and Suicide Kings: I've often been fascinated by the question of how super-heroes would deal with the complexities of a world beyond American suburbs fighting crime. Both of these books came from different angles in approaching the issue but had such rich answers. I loved Busted Flush for the complexity of the primary character and Suicide Kings for its wrestling with some of Africa's great challenges.
Veronica Roth's Divergent: I loved how this book dug into very thought-provoking questions about what's really wrong with the world, what self-sacrifice is and how we choose our morality within a highly approachable young adult, fast-moving, plot-driven package.
Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games Trilogy: I devoured these three books in two days. Definitely my favourite teen craze so far (and I enjoyed both Harry Potter and Twilight), primarily because it highlights so many real issues. For me the Capital and the Districts were a dramatised representation of Dependency theory's Core and Periphery. These books ask hard questions about poverty, social justice and how we judge and treat one another.
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