kentsplace

Book review The Night of the Living Trekkie by Kevin David Anderson and Sam Stall

Sun, 19 May 2013 02:14:30 GMT

So a lot of humor just falls flat for me. Good Omens was all right, and Hitchiker was a bit a stroll thru mud. But, I had read good reviews of this book, and while having to take unpaid time off of work Wednesday I walked to my favorite SF bookstore and low and behold they had a copy.

If you read this book be ready to laugh at yourself, or at least smile, if you are a Star Trek, and yes even a Star Wars fan, have gone to one or more conventions, and enjoy a pair of writers trying to make their characters at least two dimensional (I think saying they were three dimensional would be me giving them a little too much credit).

The in jokes even begin with the character's names. Lead character Jim Pike (if you're a Trek fan you'll easily get that one) is working at a Houston hotel where his sister is coming for a Trek convention. A Gulf War vet Pike wants no responsibility after his experiences in the Gulf.

These really aren't typical zombies that end up attacking people, eating them, and then shambling after them. I think a good job was made at trying to make these zombies, and how they were created, at least a little different, and sorry sweetie no spoilers explaining the zombie creation.

Find a copy, enjoy the quick read I hope you find it as pleasing as I did.

Book review A Beautiful Friendship by David Weber

Sun, 19 May 2013 02:10:35 GMT

Part of the reason I delve into YA fantasy and science fiction is that there is, at times, more variety, something at least a little different from what clogs the adult science fiction and fantasy book shelves. Oh, both are overrun with angst filled vampires etc. but I have discovered some fine authors via YA such as Ben Jeapes, Tamora PIerce, and Scott Westerfeld and Kenneth Oppel.

Which is part of the reason I decided to try David Weber's first attempt at a YA novel. I am familar with his popularity, and I've read one of his books, amusingly, not a Honor Harrington novel. I wanted to see how he handled the move from being primarily a military sci-fi author to a YA story.

Weber handles it well, not perfectly but well. While looking at some online reviews while reading the book, I understand this was, at least in part, a fix-up of short stories previously published about Honor Harrington's ancestor Stephanie Harrington.

Fourteen year old Stephanie is not pleased with her parents over their move to the relative new colony world of Sphinx. At the least it will stunt her desire to become a forest ranger, and she is an ill fit with others her age. The ill fit comes from her knowing that she is smarter than just about everyone in her peer group.

Events lead her to meeting a Sphinxian treecat, whom she names Lioneheart. The treecats are fully sentient and telepathic. Lionheart, Climbs Quickly as he is known among his people, is curious about the humans and wishes to find a way to communicate with them.

The hyper competence of some of the characters harkens back to an Asimov or Brin fault as writers (Neal Stephenson too come to think of it). Stephanie herself should realize that she had the advantage of more schooling than most of her Sphnxian peers as she came form an older colony world.

There are some pieces of politics in the book. If anything I think Weber, who at times sounds like a conservative in the book is also a proponent of preserving wildlife and ecology. Go figure.

To compare this to a Heinlein YA would not be inaccurate. So if you like those Heinlein books you'll likely enjoy this.

Book review-A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

Mon, 06 May 2013 00:50:07 GMT

After a couple of dense, but quick, Mick Farren reads I thought it was time to make my mind work differently. Non-fiction or a classic? I opted for a classic, and it was truly mixed results for me.

I really, really want to like Dickens. The performed Christmas Carol is my favorite Christmas tale. But, the book itself is so different that I much prefer the films and television specials. With A Tale of Two Cities, especially during the first half, I was convinced that Dickens was paid by the word. It wasn't even exposition dumps, and unlike Austin or Shakespeare the language use was not such that I fell in love with it.

Then the second half of the book feels like a completely different book. The writing style, while still quite verbose, changes as does the story's pacing. Dicken's descriptions of the guillotine and the Parisian crowds are excellent and very vivid.

From a characterization point of view the book succeeds, for me, with the portrayals of Carton, Lorry, and Dr. Manette. For me Darnay and Lucie did little to evoke an emotional response.

Of course, I will not forget Madame Defarge. Arguably she has become of my favorite villains in any book in any genre. There is a character that I think Dickens really succeeded with here.

Book review-Conflagration by Mick Farren

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 23:02:58 GMT

A bit of shame that it appears Farren will not be adding no more stories his alternate history series. It was a fun ride nonetheless, as somewhere Philip Jose Farmer is going this is how you write a Wold Newton mashup (go Wiki Wold Newton, I'm not going to describe it here).

About six months have passed since the end of Kindling. The Four have become Majors in the Albany Rangers, and Albany is making its push to kick the Mosul out of Virginia. While that takes place, the reader is brought up to date as to what has happened with Argo, Jesamine, Raphael, and Cordelia (who might be descended from the Scarlet Pimpernel). Cordelia loves her fame, Argo is becoming an alcoholic because he and Jesamine were ordered to end their relationship, Raphael still feels like an outsider but at least he can draw in public (doing while a Mosul conscript would likely have caused his death), and Jesamine from North Africa is constantly reminded she doesn't fit in in Albany, especially post-Argo, so she spent months living with a tribe in Ohio.

This, all takes place in the first couple of chapters.

Before heading to England, and more, throughout the course of the book we get references to Nazi war criminals, Harry Lime, JFK, H.G. Wells, Dumas, and I keep feeling that there are some I'm not mentioning. I'm avoiding spoilers here, but the war with the Mosul is far from over, and hints are dropped about what a post-war world would be like.

Put up your feet, and enjoy this piece of metafiction. If anything the sex doesn't lag, much like the first book. Don't expect graphic descriptions, and do expect B&D. homosexuality, polyamory, and just plain olde fashioned sex.

Book review Darkworld Detective by Michael Reaves

Sat, 06 Apr 2013 18:50:16 GMT

The modern theory is that Jim Butcher's Dresden Files books are fantasy via Raymond Chandler with a touch of Buffy the Vampire Slayer tossed in (or the other way around depending on your fandom). Eighteen years before Butcher published his first Harry Dresden novel J. Michael Reaves invokes, near perfectly, Chandler's tone in his Kamus stories.

Reaves turns Kamus' home planet, especially the spaceport city (there is only one port) into his version of Chandler's Los Angeles. The city and its inhabitants are well used to set the mood in the first story. The femme fatales are afoot, and a simple case usually has far reaching consequences that go as high as the planet;s supreme ruler. Corruption is everywhere, but Kamus intends to remain an honest private eye, just like the ones he read about when he studied on Earth. Kamus himself is knight errant, and a world weary sense about him is evident especially by the end of the book.

The book is a fix-up. The first two chpater appeared in Byron Preiss' Werid Heroes volume 8. Reaves tweaked those stories, added two others and creates a novel that reads as a novel not as a loose collection of short stories featuring the same main character.

As an aside, it appears that in addition to its Chandler influences that Reaves borrowed a little bit from Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover (fantasy setting on another planet, "magic" powered by will and talisman) of which I have only a little knowledge.

If you like either Chandler or Darkover I suggest you give this a try.

Book review-Kindling by Mick Farren

Sat, 06 Apr 2013 18:46:53 GMT

If nothing else Mick Farren cured me of my thinking I was burned out on alternate universe story telling. This was because of my utter uncaring attitude towards picking up the two or three Cherie Priest AU books that I haven't read after reading the first three.. Now i think that is a combination of choice of history point and writing.

Which makes how much I enjoyed this book even more surprising. I've liked the two Farren vampire books I've read, but they were dense reads, slightly plodding to be honest. This was a fairly quick read, and Farren made some things work that often don't for me in a novel. The story is told from four different points of view, Raphael, Argo, Cordelia, and Jesamine. Each from a different culture and while the characters may not be fully three-dimensional Farren does give each their own voice. Shifting points of view doesn't always work for me

The next thing Farren made work, that often falls flat for me, was the sex in the book. Philip Jose Farmer often used sex in his books, but frankly it almost made A Feast Unknown laughable and unreadable, and I'm far from a prude. While the amount of sex in Kindling might seem excessive, it does serve a purpose as it is used to arguably defines two, if not three of our main characters.

Farren is also known for metafiction, and it appears he is referencing his DNA Cowboys a little here (I have not read those yet). We get a mix of fiction and real life references, as John F. Kennedy is the prime minister of one of the democracies left in the Americas.

The setting appears to pre-World War I. What is the U.S. here, is a grouping of separate confederations and free states. Albany which appears to be the Northeast is a constitutional monarchy, and the last part of the Easter seaboard that has not fallen under the grinding heel of the Mosul.

The Mosul swept out of Africa about 300 years before and conquered all of Europe except the Norse Union (England, Ireland, Sweden, Netherlands and a little more). Covertly the NU is supplying Albany with more advanced arms than the Mosul have as the NU and Mosul are in an uneasy peace.

The Mosul worship a twin god, but in the lands they conquer women are second class citizens, all other religion and witchcraft are outlawed and punishment is unrelenting by whipping, hanging or burning.

Some would call this a fantasy, but having read two other Farren tales I thin is more a use of paranormal and science fiction.

The start of a series that I think would hook many.

Computer fun (yes its a rant)

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 03:20:45 GMT

So I have a couple of projects that I need to wrap up within the next two weeks to try and generate some income. I come in from jogging and turn on the computer.

Black screen o death

Hard boot. Menu display and I do what I usually do. Start in normal mode.

Black screen o death. Yes, I have decided my computer is Irih this evening (as in O'Death).

While holding for Gateway/Acer support I decide why not try again. Menu display. This time I start in safe mode, and I get bare functionality. Restart, back to normal (so yes I will get some work done tonight).

A near 25 minute phone call with Gateway/Acer results in nothing. I mean come on I can tell you're reading from the procedure manual (and this was the shift supervisor).

Called the store I bought it from. A little better because it is under a year old, but the repair time would be 2-3 weeks.

Sigh-and all I wanted to do was work tonight.

Lesson learned. Don't buy Acer or HP computers. The last two have both been lemons.

Book review-Japanese Baseball and other stories by W.P. Kinsella

Sat, 02 Mar 2013 22:05:17 GMT

Most people think of W.P. Kinsella as a baseball writer. What he is a writer who often uses baseball as a setting, or sometimes a metaphor, for the events in his character's lives. While Sholes Joe is his most famous novel, I think he is a better short story writer than novelist. This is another of his many short story collections.

These stories range from melancholy to poignant. IN many ways Japanese Baseball is a very sad tale, and The Kowloon Cafe the most amusing.

I suggest seeking out his books.

Book review-Greatheart Silver by Phillip Jose Farmer

Sat, 02 Mar 2013 22:02:16 GMT

Years ago there was an anthology series called Weird Heroes (bear with the background for a moment). Editor Byron Preiss's hope was to create new pulp heroes for an age where the paperback racks were dominated, as critic and author Brad Mengel has called them, serial vigilantes. Preiss’ mandate to writers culled from science fiction, fantasy and comic books were heroes whose only solution was not violence.

Enter Phillip Jose Farmer award winning writer and creator of the Wold Newton universe. A natural to contribute and his contribution was Greatheart Silver. This book collects those three Weird Heroes stories which move from the absurd to more serious adventure fare.

Excluding his biographies of Tarzan and Doc Savage I have not cared for Farmer's attempts at writing pulp characters. The first Silver story is a cross between humor and homage as Silver ends up a bystander and later a participant at the last great battle of the pulp heroes and villains from the 1930s (who are all about 80 something by this time). There humor actually leans towards slapstick and the second story’s humor is less slapstick but makes one wonder if it was meant as commentary on Famer's days of earning a living by writing porn.

A decent read, but you're better off if you can find the original anthologies so you can sample some of the better creations such as Stalker, Doc Phoenix, Gypsy and Shin Bet (and another one I'll be writing about soon).

2 books review: Death of a Nationalist and The Space Ark

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 17:02:02 GMT

Death of a Nationalist-What first caught my attention about this book was its setting. Spain, specifically Madrid, just after their Civil War. Franco is in power and people are near starving, and the city is trying to recover from the war. A young school girl witnesses the murder of a Civil Guard (essentially a military force entrusted with civilian peace keeping and police duties) and in her run home loses her school notebook.

Enter Civil Guard Carlos Tejeda Alonso y Leon. He finds his best friend has been murdered, and the young's girl aunt, a Red during the war, there to retrieve her nice's notebook. Tejeda executes the aunt on the spot.

Yes, we as the reader are asked to like a Franco supporter who shoots a "suspect" without collecting evidence. Pawel's work here is what I would call more more of an attempt at a literary mystery, not a hardboiled or parlor room tale. We meet the remainder of the little girl's family, get what I consider a light introduction to the complicated politics of the country and Madrid at the time.

Tejeda does evolve a little over the course of the book, and he becomes more likeable and a bit more nuanced in his portrayal. There are three books that followed this one.

note: from the library discard box.

The Space Ark-A.M. Lightner's The Planet Poachers was one of my favorite books that I read when I was much younger (it is aimed after all at the YA audience). I remember re-reading it, and Starship Troopers and Foundation a few times, so I felt lucky to find this book which is the third in the sequence (the first is out of print and horribly expensive even online).

Enough of that. I really wanted to like this book more than I did, but the problem isn't a fond memory of the earlier book. The problem is that this reads like a "fix-up" novel that could have used better editing. The cast is still tending the reserve on Shikari when they find out the sysytem's sun is going to go nova. John Dincum Cherry Flanders, and the remaining Rangers luck into a ship and rescue some of the planet's wildlife.

The three planet stop reads more like three short stories linked together. It is not that type of "fix-up" novel is uncommon, but a good editor and writer make the transitions from one story to next seem much smoother than they did here.

That does not mean that there are not some good aspects to this tale. Cherry's characterization shows a little of how the book is dated (written in 1967), but for the most part the characters aren't hyper competent. They are average people who use their brains and reason to solve problems.

Book review-The Dead Sea Submarine by Alan Caillou

Sat, 09 Feb 2013 05:48:59 GMT

Do you enjoy movies such as The Wild Geese, The Magnificent Seven, The Dirty Dozen or The Great Escape? Then this book is likely for you. Don't expect a lot of characterization, because there is almost none. Instead like the movies mentioned above you will get a well paced and very well plotted action piece.

Some of the book's politics are dated, as it was written in 1971. Col. Matthew Tobin fields a private army, of the type that today's reader would probably compare to Blackwater. Except Tobin and his his field commander, son Paul, actually have a sense of ethics. The mission-prevent a coalition of Arab governments and factions from getting a submarine into the Dead Sea where it would then launch 12 missiles against Israeli cities.

The sub is moved the way the pyramids might have been built, using rollers, and a dun colored tarp to prevent aerial detection. Just as in the Seven, Dozen or Escape the few soldiers the reader meet for more than a few paragraphs have their specific talent.

Instead of long drawn out battles, or a climax battle that takes a 100 pages, Alan Caillou wraps it up in about 20 pages, in which the plan is carried out. Rick Meyers, whom it is hinted is an Israeli, is the only person who comes close to having a personality, knowing the history of everything.

The elder Tobin gets off a few good observations. When asked by the Israeli diplomat who hires him why does he have an army for hire, Tobin simply states there will always be a demand for soldiers until governments learn to settle things without wars. To the same diplomat the elder Tobin proves he is also a businessman. Tobin considers his soldiers, all of them assets, and he will not waste their on a bad mission, bad intelligence, well bad anything.

Caillou led an interesting life. Besides writing over 50 books, he was a WWII military intelligence officer, a professional hunter and an actor.

Book review-Cold Days by Jim Butcher

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 02:17:18 GMT

I didn't exactly hide the fact that I thought the previous volume, Ghost Story, wasn't very good. And, I know there have been mixed reviews of this installment online, including some who were disappointed and one who called it average and was disappointed because the reviewer expected more from Jim Butcher. For myself, I think the rating might be a little high, and that could be because of what I call Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix syndrome. I thought anything following Phoenix would be an improvement and I fell the same way about Ghost Story when Cold Days is compared to it.

For long time fans of the series, avoiding spoilers here, now that Harry is no longer a ghost a lot of his old Chicago friend make appearances. Including his half-brother Thomas, Butters, Mac, Molly, and Karrin Murphy. What has changed with Harry is now he is the Winter Knight and has to follow some of the fae Mab's commands. This includes an order to assassinate Maeve Mab's second in command and Mab's daughter. All of this has to happen n Halloween night, the only time an immortal can be killed.

It is fair to compare the book to a Hollywood summer action movie. Not a lot of characterization, but fast paced, with some plot holes that a reader can probably drive a truck through. The pop culture references bring to mind Robin William's; performance as Genie in the Disney films.

Butcher avoids a cliff hanger (see Changes and to some degree Ghost Story). Things are afoot for Molly and the Harry/Karrin relationship. There is some movement in the overall arc that is supposed to lead up to a trilogy where Butcher has amditted he'll get to indulge his inner fanboy to an extreme degree.

Fun, but not quite completely satisfying.

Book review-The Ninth Circle by R.M. Meluch

Mon, 28 Jan 2013 02:59:26 GMT

The thing about reading Meluch space opera, especially those set in the Merrimack universe is this, they are 1) usually fun 2) not exactly literature (i.e. not Ian Banks etc.) 3) humorous 4) you'll probably find a villain or anti-hero that you'll end up liking.

The war with Rome has been over for two years, Farragut has elected to move his career forward, given command of the 'Mack to Calli Carmel and taken an admiral's slot. Much of the crew is dispersed, and the reader spends most of the first part of the book following two groups. The former night shift commander Glenn Hamilton and her scientist husband Patrick as they help study a new planet and its native lifeforms. The second group are a band of Roman legionaires who have been banished from Rome and decided to become pirates.

Some things aren't what they appear to be on the surface. and truthfully they are easy to figure out before they are revealed. The 'Mack, and its reassembled crew, is sent to the Hamilton's aid and Numa puts in an appearance to hint at something bigger going on in the Roman Empire.

Sit back have fun, and don't expect the science to be very accurate. There are hints of more books to come in the series, but no release dates as of yet.

JOb search angst

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 03:43:08 GMT

This time there is probably nothing that I can do about it.

It appears that I am stuck beteween the private companies that don't want to talk to me because Kaiser terminated me (and it doesn't matter that the termination is more than three years old). Or, public sector jobs where they run a full background check and say I failed background but don't tell me what it is (except OPD which did).

So you know, fuck. I was supposed to be in the interview group for dispatch with the county that sent me the letter. The only good thing might be as that letter in theory applies to a different position. I even went up and spent a night with the dispatchers to understand how that county does things, and frankly to score points. As it was just before Christmas I took them homemmade cookies, and that went over very well.

In essence I have to "just sit here and take it". which I suck at. When the background form is turned in you have to sign documents which says both the city/county and any individual is not liable for anything they say about you orally or in writing. Yes, someone can lie about you and legally get away with it, and you will not know it. Tomorrow I plan to take advantage of working in the section of the floor that houses the DA Inspectors. I get along with most of them, and I'm going to ask at least one of them to look over the letter and provide me advice, as in should I contact the other county, should I do nothing and not make waves, just some feedback.

The amusing thing is I passed background for San Mateo County last year. No questions asked. Turned in my forms, and got my clearance in about six months (I was a low priority background working in the jail clinic).

The samll things

Sun, 13 Jan 2013 04:16:03 GMT

Can help make a morning. This morning I was taking my car in early (as I always try to do) for maintenance. Not only was I was the second car in, but my regular mechanic was back.

All right Tommy isn't my mechanic, but he is the best mechanic and chief of the shop. He had rotator cuff shoulder and had been out of the shop, except for doing paperwork for months. I've wondered if getting the car repaired to pass smog four months back would have been easier, and less expensive, if he had been working.

We exchanged pleasantries, and he told me hour and had it done in about half that time (I think sometimes Tommy is a Scotty-if you've seen Wrath of Khan you get the reference). As I asked he checked what the tire shop told me about the brakes (sigh-I need to get them done but it can be delayed a couple of weeks).

He did find my water pump is leaking and a coolant leak. That I do have do as soon as possible to try prevent from damaging the engine. Hopefully the coolant leak is only the water pump.

Still, I don;t know if Omar would have found the leak. There's a difference between a mechanic who is really pretty much a technician (Omar) and a mechanic(Tommy).

Book Review-Goliath by Scott Westerfeld

Sat, 29 Dec 2012 19:33:47 GMT

There were some good surprises in Westerfeld's steampunk alternative history telling of WWI. Among those is that the war doesn't end with this book, and events are left open ended enough for Alek and Deryn's adventures to continue. I would not have been surprised if he had ended the war, but I like the portrayal of two people against the larger backdrop of the war better. Their actions will have a huge implications for the war's final outcome, but the outcome remains undecided at the book's end.

Unlike the previous two installments Goliath does not refer to a creature created by Britain's scientists. Rather Goliath is a device created by Nikola Tesla, and unlike most common steampunk portrayals of Tesla, here the inventor is portrayed as vain, egotistical, and not always perfect.

A little more world building is done with stops in Russia, Japan, Mexico, and the U.S. A very enjoyable read. If anything the biggest flaw is the lack of character growth for Deryn, and to a larger degree Alek.

Book review-Waterloo by Bernard Cornwell

Sat, 29 Dec 2012 19:31:21 GMT

There can't be much of a question that Bernard Cornwell does his research. The question for me remains, after two of his books, is whether he is a good writer. Waterloo I think is one of many examples that can be found where the property has been affected by its expansion into other media.

Sharpe's Rifles was written before the movies were made. The Sharpe in the first book is a more conflicted character than the one Sean Bean portrays (yes a movie where Sean Bean lives until the end), but he is not a likeable man nor is Patrick Harper. Waterloo was written after the movies had begun, and Sharpe has mellowed and the Sharpe/Harper relationship is much more like the one in the movies.

Cornwell does not glorify war. He keeps it a dirty, unpleasant and bloody affair for those who have to fight it, especially the infantry. I think we all know the final result of the battle, so I'll skip over that.

Sharpe is called out of retirement upon Napoleon's return from exile. The French Army and Emperor are on the march, and a loose alliance of British, Prussians and Dutch are massed against him. Sharpe's wife, divorce was such a complicated affair in 1815, is there with her lover and Sharpe more than anything wants the money she stole form him. At the same time Sharpe's new woman is also present.

The melodrama portions of the story work, but I think I'm still more taken by how much Sharpe's portrayal changed from Rifles to Waterloo (yes I am aware there are about 11 books in between).
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Book review-American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Sat, 29 Dec 2012 19:25:27 GMT

After reading three previous Neil Gaiman books this was a very big surprise for me. The other books were nice, not great, or IMO not really above average. But, American Gods is excellent. This despite, and I want to add this note, that I "read" this book as an audio book on my daily commute with a reader who was not very good.

I don't think an American writer could have written this book. Gaiman I think has a necessary outsider's perspective on America and its myths. If anything a theme that is addressed, and there are a couple, is that America really didn't have a strong mythology, and that immigrants brought their own gods here as they arrived. There are Native American deities in the book, and if anything I decided they were the true power and knowledge when compared to the others.

Shadow has been released from three years in prison for a crime that he did commit (yes, he actually did it unlike so many other characters). He is unwillingly recruited into Mr. Wednesday's campaign to return the gods to their former stature. Besides fewer people believing in Norse, Hindu, etc. pantheons in America, new gods are arising. Gods of technology, greed, and communication.

I thought Gaiman was dead on target with his creation and portrayal of the new American Gods (how Jack Kirby of a sentence there). My interpretation is that these gods are empowered by people's greed and addictions. How many people do we see every day who can't put down their phone for five minutes?

At the same time the books reminds me of Asimov's Foundation. A lot of talking heads, and it can be said that nothing happens. However, much like Foundation a lot happens.

As you read this I recommend paying attention to the portrayal of the gods, religion and American society. I think Gaiman, by not having been born here paints an accurate and engaging picture.

Book Review Captain Vorpatril's Alliance by Lois McMaster Bujold

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 06:44:54 GMT

The ending of Cryoburn was considered to be the end of the Vorkosigan Saga. What do we know, because Bujold takes advantage of the universe she has created and takes the relatively minor character of Ivan Vorpatril and turns in a very nice farce.

Wait, you thought this was a science fiction book, space opera as is are most of the Vorkosigan books? Keep in mind Bujold has taken a turn at Jane Autsen stylings with a Civil Campaign (which I was not a fan of) so why not take a shot at a farce? And, farce, not slapstick, is the best way to describe this very amusing tale of Ivan maneuvering his way through Imperial Security intrigues, Jackson Hole financial wars (literally war), and oh yes he ends up married.

The perpetual bachelor gets married to keep the ImpSec plan from blowing up, and he finds he likes it. He is even discovering he might be more ambitious than he has let on in before (as much a surprise to the reader as it is to Ivan).

As for the style of humor, at one point after pummeling a villain, Tej, Ivan's bride says, "You told me you were a desk jockey!"

"Yes, but a Barryaran desk jockey," Ivan responded.

You'l have fun with this one. Its not great literature, but it is a nice companion to sit down with some coffee or tea on a rainy day.

Book review-Going Interstellar-edited by Les Johnson and Jack McDevitt

Thu, 22 Nov 2012 19:13:42 GMT

Take a scientist and a science fiction writer and give them the following assignment: create a short story and essay collection about interstellar travel using existing technology. No warp drives, no FTL at all. The essays will be by those working in the field of interstellar travel today.

The result is a very nice mix of fact and fiction. The essays are very much in laymen terms, so need for an average reader to break out their university texts to understand those. The stories are a split between hard science and getting to the next star system, and the social effects of interstellar flight, especially those on generation ships.

I can't say any one story was outstanding, but no entry was especially disappointing.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy-by John le Carre'

Thu, 22 Nov 2012 19:02:29 GMT

So I've come late to George Smiley's world. What can I say except I do see how it has spawned imitators, and even aspects of the television's Burn Notice.

The two best things about Tinker, for me are the following:

The characterization of Smiley. I do think he is someone who an average person could get to know, and he remains a combination of idealist, cynic, and in some ways civil servant. Smiley has long lost much of his idealism for his work, but he does it out of a sense of duty. That sense of duty extends to his friends at the Circus where he worked, and at the start of the book has just been sacked from, and not to the cause. He is brought back in by the ministry because they know something is wrong at the Circus. As it develops the Soviets have a a deep cover mole inside the organization.

The trade craft is well executed. I'm including even the small things such as how a file is smuggled out of the Circus. This is where the Burn Notice comparison comes in, as the show sometimes excels at showing simple 2012 trade craft.

It is possible I'll go for additional Smiley tales. The story itself is average. The writing and characterization is what makes it stand out.

(I cheated in a way. This is an audiobook).

Book review-Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le carre

Thu, 22 Nov 2012 19:01:33 GMT

Book review-Something From the Nightside by Simon R. Green

Fri, 02 Nov 2012 05:43:56 GMT

This is the second Simon R. Green book that I have read, in addition to a couple of his short stories, and I have come to simple summation of his fantasy work. Green is going to throw everything against the wall and see what works. He'll try a urban fantasy. with a dash of science fiction and attempts at humor and create Eddie Drood and his family who protect the world.

His earlier, and still ongoing series, takes place in the Nightside. That place in London where is is always 3 a.m. Things from mystical realms, other dimension, alien worlds, the past and the future find their way to the Nightside, and John Taylor left it five years ago for our mundane world.

Now he has been told he is one rich woman's last hope for finding her runaway daughter. John decides to return the Nightside, knowing his old enemies will find him as her pursues this case.

So with the Nightside you have the Nexus of All Realities trope (see Cynosure, and the concept of Tanelorn), a cynical, sardonic PI (Taylor) and a cast of characters and things. Talking horse, sure. A punk rock god of death, no problem. Bars and restaurants with Easters Eggs for genre fans-naturally.

Like Warren Ellis' Crooked Little Vein it's a lot of good little ideas, but not enough plot thread to string everything along. Better than the Eddie Drood books though, at least I can recommend getting these from the library, but not enough of a recommendation say to go out and buy them. The short stories are better written with tighter story telling.

The Giants win the Series!

Tue, 30 Oct 2012 06:34:34 GMT

Love the fact SF Giants manager Bruce Bochy calls his team that just won the World Series cockroaches. This started because the team faced elimination from the post season in six games, nd they just managed to survive to reach the series and win it.

And, the Yomiuri Giants are up 2 games to zero in Japan Series.

Book review-The Minors by Neil J. Sullivan

Tue, 30 Oct 2012 05:59:50 GMT

For every time Sullivan says he isn't waxing rhapsodic about minor league baseball, that is what he ends up doing. Countless times he goes on about how the major leagues ruined strong independent minor league teams, or entire leagues. He practically rages about how major league owners are selfish and bad business men. And, that minor league teams built strong regional rivalries and ties with their local community.

After awhile it wears thin, much as it does in Neal Lanctot's book about the Negro Leagues. Society and sport changes, evolve,s for better or worse. Major league baseball spreading from coast-to-coast and attempting to spread internationally is business. What has changed since this book was written in 1990 is the rebirth of independent minor leagues that have no relationship with major league teams. Some of these leagues and teams have been very successful, and some have gone the way of their forebears into bankruptcy.

This book does have its good points. He does manage to give a historical overview of some of the more famous leagues and teams (Pacific Coast League, Baltimore Orioles, even the Negro Leagues), and he does this without burying the reader in stats (as many baseball historians do).