Technology, Books and Other Neat Stuff

OK, I'm sorry - I've let it slip so much that there's no way I can write a proper set of reviews for all the books I've read since I last wrote one up... But, I still want to keep some sort of record of them, so I'll resort to use two or three entries to write up a set of short reviews of several books at a time.

The Spirit Of Thunder, Kurt R.A. Giambastiani
The second in an ongoing alternate history of the American West, where Native Americans ride dinosaurs and Custer is the US pesident. Custer's son is living a "Dances With Wolves" life with the Cheyenne, and dealing with betrayal and lies from the expansionist colonists in the East. Gold and rail bridges threaten the future of the Cheyenne. Can Custer Jr. save them again?

Year's Best SF 7, ed. David G. Hartwell
Hartwell's anthology series is one of three Best SF anthologies currently running, and probably the middle runner in terms of quality (sandwiched between the Dozois and the Silverberg/Haber). A good selection of stories, with the standout being Simon Ing's moving "Russian Vine". Worth taking along on a long trip, for a quick dip into quality SF.

Redshift, ed. Al Sarrantonio
An admirable, but failed, attempt at being a Dangerous Visions for our time, Sarrantonio attempts to bring together cutting edge fantastic fiction from all the sub genres into a single volume. It's a pity, but the mix just doesn't quite work. There are standout stories here, notably Dan Simmons' climbing adventure and Elizabeth Hand's chilling Camden horror "Cleopatra Brimstone". It's a book I'm still unsure about recommending, even for these excellent pieces...

Bad Timing (and other stories), Molly Brown
Molly's been part of the UK fantastic fiction scene for many years now, writing stories that slip between genres with ease. This, her first collection, brings together many years worth of moving stories and powerful narratives. Compelling characters and edgy plots make this a gripping read. Well worth hunting down - a task made much harder now by the unfortunate closure of Big Engine.

More reviews to come later...

Another batch from the recently read pile...

Vitals, Greg Bear
A near-future biotech thriller, Vitals mixes life-extension research, biological mind control, and the community of bacteria into a dark and dangerous story. Hal Cousins finds himself caught up in a decades old conspiracy from Stalin's Russia that believes he's getting a little too close to its secrets. It's a conspiracy with literal power over the way people think. And it's one that may be connected to the ultimate fate of the human race. Bear has come up with a dark book that looks carefully at the underbelly of science. It's not a pleasant picture, but it's a book that's hard to put down.

Darwin's Blade, Dan Simmons
Another thriller, this time a more conventional novel. Darwin Minor is a freelance accident investigator, who finds himself caught up in a nasty turf war for control of Southern California's accident fraud industry. With accident scenes taken from the Darwin's Award gallery of gruesome deaths, and a philosophy from William of Ockham, this is a darkly funny and hugely enjoyable read. It's a subversion of the classic airport thriller, with a dark humour that's often missing from the serious tone of many blockbuster novel writers. Like all of Simmons' books to date, highly recommended. I'm always amazed by how many different ways this man can write.

Sister Alice, Robert Reed
Robert Reed is a minor miracle of modern SF. Writing dense and complex fictions, he tells stories of a posthuman tomorrow in a way that makes them understandable to today. The characters of Sister Alice are as powerful as gods, and as weak as we are. A brave and grandiose experiment at the heart of the galaxy has turned into disaster, killing untold trillions and tearing down the structures that have kept the myriad worlds at piece. The youngest member of the Chamberlain family is tasked with preventing the disaster, and must survive betrayals and the destruction of everything he holds dear. It's a story of love, loyalty and compassion, set against a background of advanced technologies and cutting edge physics. Reed at his best, and at his most compelling.

Magician's Ward, Patricia C. Wrede
In an alternate London, after the end of the Napoleonic wars, a young girl has escaped the slums to become the ward of a great magician. It's the world of Sorcery and Cecilia, and great deeds are afoot once more. Someone is stealing the magic of untrained street wizards, and Kim and her guardian must use all therir skills to both find the villain, protect possible victims and deal with Kim's coming out to London society. It's a classic romace novel, with misunderstandings, sperations and reconciliations to spare. Wrede loves her world, and it's a joy to share it with her.

The Scar, China Mieville
Bas-Lag is a big world, full of strange places and stranger people. Bellis Coldwine is about to see more of it than she ever expected, as she flees New Corobuzon and the repercussions of the events of Perdido Street Station. When her ship to the new colonies is diverted, and then attacked by the pirates of the floating city of Armada, she finds herself on a quest for a creature from another universe, and for the mysterious Scar itself. None of Mieville's characters are particularly sympathetic, and it's difficult to feel much for Bellis. The Scar gives us a different side of Mieville's writing - dark and sparse, like the emptiness of the oceans. Another masterpiece from the talented China.

More still to come...