Pushing Ice

Pushing Ice, my friends, is such an awesome book. If you've never read Alastair Reynolds, this is a great place to start. It's much more of a hard sf story than, say, the Miles Vorkosigan books, but it's worth slogging through the thicker science mumbo-jumbo because the story is thrilling and moves at a good pace. Science fiction fans, give this novel your time!

Pushing Ice is about a group of comet miners in the 2050's, who work the solar system in their ship, Rockhopper. They are out on a job when something unusual happens. One of Saturn's moons--Janus--starts accelerating out of the solar system. Rockhopper is the closest ship to this phenomenon, and Earth sends her crew out to see what they can discover. As the mining crew nears Janus things go terribly wrong, and they are forced to make several hard choices, ultimately landing on Janus for survival. Problem is, Janus is gaining speed. The rescue of Rockhopper's crew becomes all but impossible as they are carried far from Earth, out into interstellar space.

Pushing Ice is excellent science fiction. The characters are wonderful, the settings imaginative and captivating. If I had been sitting while listening to this book I would have been on the edge of my seat for the entire 19 hours.

John Lee narrates, so nothing disappointing there. The ending didn't quite grab me, but 17 of the 19 hours were so awesome that I can live with where things were left. Pushing Ice is a standalone, so you'll have a complete story that will tie up most plot lines. I'd love it if Reynolds came back to these characters and gave them another book.  Pushing Ice gets 4.5 out of 5 stars.

The Warrior's Apprentice and The Vor Game

I took a Science Fiction lit course at Dixie College years ago.  In it, I was introduced to several authors I'd never read.  Lois McMaster Bujold was one of them, and The Warrior's Apprentice was the book assigned.  For whatever reason (okay, I know the reason--I was too busy making out with my wife-to-be) I only skimmed the book to know enough to get the test questions right.

College students are bloody idiots.

 I could have joined the Miles Vorkosigan fan club back then.  Luckily I never forgot the book or author, and have just now finished my first Bujold book. It was great.  So great in fact, that I already finished my second Bujold book--The Vor Game--too.

   

This series is Space Opera.  Remember my post about the sub-genre last week?  Now you know what I mean when I say this.  It's great Space Opera.  Miles Vorkosigan is one of those classic characters--flawed but extremely capable and intelligent.  I wonder if Tyrion Lannister was somewhat influenced by Miles Vorkosigan, because they are very similar.  If Miles doesn't grab your interest, I don't know who will.

The Warrior's Apprentice follows Miles as a seventeen-year-old, trying to make it into his society's military academy.  He has high aspirations, and the family lineage and brains to back him up.  Problem is, he was born with serious birth defects--he's 4ft 9in tall, and his bones are as brittle as chalk.  During his physical exam for the academy, he breaks both his legs going over a climbing wall and his dreams of a military career are dashed.

And then he accidentaly becomes the admiral of a mercenary fleet...

TWA is a quick, fun read, and gets a solid 4 out of 5 stars.

The Vor Game was a better book--it takes place 3 or 4 years after Apprentice.  It won the Hugo back in 1991.  I would love to tell you all about it, but I can't.  Even the smallest of info has the potential to spoil Apprentice.  So you'll just have to take my advice--it's brilliant.  I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars.

If you haven't heard of this series, you're welcome.  If you have but haven't read it yet, what are you waiting for?  If you like adventure, witty characters, romance, space battles, and just plain good story telling, you must read Bujold's Vorkosigan saga.

That's all!

What the crap is Space Opera?

Science Fiction and Fantasy have some funny insider terms that people unfamiliar with the genres tend to look at sideways.  Case in point: I posted my review of Caliban's War last week, and my dear sister (who actually reads my blog--very surprising) asked me what the crap Space Opera is.  I responded that it was exactly what it sounds--opera in space.  Who doesn't enjoy good opera?  Definition done.  She believed me for a minute, and then I couldn't help grinning at her.  No, Space Opera isn't opera in space.  In fact, music has nothing to do with it.  Space, on the other hand, is a very important part of this Science Fiction sub-genre.  So, let's break down Space Opera so those of you unfamiliar with the genre can understand it.  I think it's the easiest Sci-Fi genre for readers to get into, although that seems to have changed over the past couple of years as the dystopian has taken over.  (Yes, those of you loving Hunger Games are in fact reading Science Fiction... mmmwwahaha!  The nerds will get you one way or another!)

First and foremost, Space Opera is fun.  It's adventurous, it's romantic (not in the boy-meets-girl sense, but there can be that, too), it's large-scale, and it takes place primarily in space, or on an alien world.  This is the epic form of Sci-Fi.  Movies that fit into this sub-genre are Star Wars, Star Trek (especially the newer version), and John Carter (which nobody gave a proper chance, but it's a great movie).  Space Opera is more concerned with a great story than science.  If there is some kind of technology that is cool, but totally unfeasible under the laws of physics, it is likely found in a Space Opera, rather than Hard Sci-Fi.  If there is some sort of magic in a Sci-Fi story, like the Force in Star Wars, it is Space Opera.  Like I said, this sub-genre is fun.

The Fifth Element is a campy, fun film that pokes fun at its own genre.  For those of you who have seen it, remember the blue alien chick singing opera on the spaceship?  Funny stuff.  Luc Besson was purposefully making a joke about Space Opera.

Some would define Space Opera as being about galaxy-spanding empires, epic wars in space, and greater-than life characters.  This is true about some Space Opera stories, but not all.  Dune, for example, is an excellent story along these lines.  Leviathan Wakes, however, is a story that takes place in our own solar system, before humans have expanded out into the stars.  Both fall under the sub-genre  for reasons I've already listed, but each are very distinct in style and characters.  (And both kick butt.  Read them!)

Here are some of my favorite Space Opera books.  I highly recommend them, and have reviewed several on this blog at one time or another.

-Dune, by Frank Herbert
-Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card
-Speaker for the Dead, by Orson Scott Card
-The Warrior's Apprentice, by Lois McMaster Bujold
-Leviathan Wakes, by James S.A. Corey
-The Prefect, by Alastair Reynolds
-Hunter's Run, by George R.R. Martin, Gardner Dozois, and Daniel Abraham
-Pandora's Star, by Peter F. Hamilton
-Old Man's War, by John Scalzi

I admit that I read more recent Space Opera than classic, but there are tons of other authors out there with great stories in the genre.  Find them.  Read them.  Love the form as much as I do.  And here's to hoping that you'll be able to read my YA Space Opera one day when I publish and take over the world with it.

That's all.

Earth Unaware

Orson Scott Card is back with another entry in his Ender series.  This time, however, he is taking us back to the first invasion of the Formics, before Ender was born.  He's teamed up with Aaron Johnston (who co-wrote the entertaining Invasive Procedures with Card a few years back) for this new trilogy and they do not disappoint.  If you love space opera with great characters, Earth Unaware is a book you shouldn't miss.

 Usually I like to write up my own synopsis of the book, but I'm feeling lazy right now, and it was a few weeks ago when I finished the book.  So here's the synopsis from the Tor website:

The mining ship El Cavador is far out from Earth, in the deeps of the Kuiper Belt, beyond Pluto. Other mining ships, and the families that live on them, are few and far between this far out. So when El Cavador’s telescopes pick up a fast-moving object coming in-system, it’s hard to know what to make of it. It’s massive and moving at a significant fraction of the speed of light.

But the ship has other problems. Their systems are old and failing. The family is getting too big. There are claim-jumping corporates bringing Asteroid Belt tactics to the Kuiper Belt. Worrying about a distant object that might or might not be an alien ship seems…not important.

They're wrong. It's the most important thing that has happened to the human race in a million years. This is humanity's first contact with an alien race. The First Formic War is about to begin.

There you have it.  The characters are great, the setting interesting, and the conflict quick and tense.  It reminded me a lot of Leviathan Wakes--which I reviewed not too long ago--though not quite as good.  I think it's the best science fiction novel Card has written in quite some time, and I'm excited to see where the series goes.  It did end abruptly, but I was satisfied with where things were left.  

The audio was a bit annoying.  Card's books typically have a full cast--different narrators for different characters--but EU was missing the familiar voice of Scott Brick.  His usual narrator, Stefan Rudnicki, is present but doesn't narrate any of the main characters.  I wasn't a fan of the two narrators that took up most of the book.  Would have been better to feature Rudnicki and Brick with the others doing for the minor characters.

Earth Unaware gets 4 stars out of 5.  I highly recommend it if you're an Orson Scott Card or space opera fan. 

P.S. Mr. Card, I love ya, man, but please finish the Alvin Maker series before starting another series!!

Leviathan Wakes

Leviathan Wakes is the first novel by James S.A. Corey, who just happens to be two dudes named Daniel Abraham, and Ty Franck.  Abraham has written many books, while this is Franck's first (as far as I understand it).  I'm glad these two decided to team up, because LW is a very entertaining space opera, the likes of which I haven't read in a long while.  Everyone needs to read this book!

The book begins with Julie Mao, a rich Earther turned Belter sympathizer, incarcerated in a closet aboard the Scopuli.  The unpleasant sounds of crew mates being tortured around her are all she knows for several days.  Then silence.  When she finally gets the nerve to find out what's going on, she breaks out of her prison and discovers that everyone on board is dead... sort of.  I won't say more, but this creepy prologue sets off a chain of events that kept me glued to my iPod for twenty-something hours of sci fi bliss. 

Besides the prologue and epilogue, LW sticks with two pov's: Holden and Miller.  The chapters switch back and forth between them, spreading out screen time equally.  Holden is the XO on an ice freighter, returning from the ice fields of Saturn's rings.  He and his crew stumble upon the Scopuli and wind up in the middle of a conspiracy that could cost them their lives.  Miller is an aging detective given a missing person case; turns out, Julie's family wants her to come home.  It isn't long before Miller and Holden find themselves on the same path, trying to figure out what happened on Julie Mao's ship. 

I don't want to spoil any more of the fun.  All of the story takes place within our solar system, as FTL hasn't been discovered yet.  LW is full of action, great characters, and cool settings.  The tech is absolutely believable based on the world we live in today.  I can't tell you how happy I was when real-life physics came into play and ships weren't flying around like WW II fighter planes.  The ships get the shit kicked out of them in battle, the vacuum of space makes for very dangerous circumstances, and human relations are at an all-time low with Earthers, Martians, and Belters in a three-way slugfest.

There are Mormons.  I got a kick out of this... being one and all.  I usually hold my breath whenever members of the church are described in fiction.  The vast majority of people seem to be ignorant of us, and tend to treat us unfairly.  I can happily say that Abraham and Franck--besides referring once to members of the church as zealots--don't take shots at the church.  They only add more flavor to their story by including Mormons in it. 

The setting: Mars has been colonized, and is in the process of being terraformed.  Because of the difference in gravity, Mars-born humans are shorter and wider than Earthlings.  Colonies have also reached the outer planets and asteroid belt.  Humans born out there are tall and skinny because of low gravity.  I love how the different settings have affected mankind, and it makes for great tension between the different factions.   

I got into a bit of trouble on Twitter the other day.  I was part way in to LW and tweeted, "Not sure it's worthy of a Hugo nom... but it's entertaining anyway."  Daniel Abraham got my tweet apparently, ( I didn't include his @AbrahamHanover in the message) and tweeted me back saying "entertaining anyway" was fine by him.  He seemed--as much as anyone could, while communicating through 140 character texts--totally cool with my offhanded comment.  Thing is, I felt like a bit of a twit afterward.  I reconsidered and thought about this year's Hugo noms.  I've only read one of the others on the list--George R.R. Martin's A Dance With Dragons.  I honestly enjoyed Leviathan Wakes so much more than Martin's latest.  So why shouldn't it be a Hugo contender?  It hit all the right buttons by its ending.  I will never again tweet about a book until I've finished it!

This review is getting overly long, but I've got to say one last thing.  I expected the current fad of gray moral characters to be the type to populate LW.  Abraham and Franck surprised me, however.  Holden and Miller are good.  Neither are perfect, and they certainly make some serious, serious mistakes, but inside... where it counts... they are good.  I really appreciated this about them.  I can only hope that the characters Corey team has created continue on this way.  Thanks, guys, for a great story.  Everyone read this, and pick up the sequel when it hits shelfs at the end of June.

Leviathan Wakes gets 4.5 out of 5 stars.                                         

Pandora's Star

I let a week go by without posting mostly because I didn't have anything to post about.  Also, though, I spent last weekend in bed, with a fever around 103.  Lots of fun.  Anyway, I'm mostly recovered and functioning normally, and have another book to review.  So here goes.

Pandora's Star, by Peter F. Hamilton, is a massive, ambitious, cool space opera.  I've never read anything from Hamilton before, and am glad I got this audiobook on a whim.  If you love epic storytelling, on a truly galactic scale, Pandora's is something to look into.

The book begins with a great bit of humor.  I still smile when thinking about the scene.  This is how it begins: It's around 2080, and the first astronauts are landing on mars.  It's a huge accomplishment for NASA and the human race.  Wilson Kime, the Mars mission pilot, sets foot on the red planet and discovers that he isn't, in fact, the first man to walk on an alien world.  Two hippies have beaten the NASA team there, and one is waiting for them in a home-made spacesuit, with the greeting, "Yo, dudes, how's it hanging?"  Kime and the astronauts are shocked speechless.  

The rest of the story picks up 300 years later.  Space travel was halted before it ever began, thanks to the two hippies, Nigel and Ozzy.  Humanity has spread throughout the stars via wormhole generators, which the two Californians created.  They've become the wealthiest men in the Common Wealth--600 worlds colonized and settled by mankind.  That's right, they're still alive 300 years later.  Not only have wormholes been created to travel faster than light, but the human body can be rejuvenated, so that no one need pass from mortality.  Family dynasties now rule the galaxy, ever increasing their wealth, power, and influence.  Capitalism has thrived in Hamilton's future.

The plot of the book is set when an astronomer witnesses the disappearance of a large star, called Dyson Alpha.  It is totally unexplainable, as the star didn't go supernova and explode.  Eventually, the government of the Common Wealth decides to send a starship to investigate.  Wilson Kime--the only living starship pilot--is offered the captaincy, by none other than the hippie who screwed him on mars three centuries before.

There are so many subplots in Pandora's Star that I can't remember them all.  There is a terrorist organization opposed to the mission to Dyson Alpha, claiming an alien is manipulating humanity into releasing some unknown terror.  There is a police investigator investigating things.  There is a fanatical warrior who falls in love with a powerful Common Wealth woman.  Ozzy (one of the two who discovered wormholes) sets out on a weird journey following "paths" among the stars, created by elf-like aliens.  Like I said: lots of subplots.  Most of them intersect with the main plot at one point, but a few are left unfinished for the sequel, Judas unchained.  Each storyline is filled with interesting people, usually doing interesting things.  There were some slow chapters, but the overall pace of the book moved along at an entertaining speed.  (That isn't to say this was an action-packed book.  It wasn't, but you don't always need a crap-load of action to have a good pace.)

I liked the book.  Like it enough that I will definitely be reading the sequel... especially since Pandora's Star is only half of the story.  It ends with several cliffhangers, which would probably be annoying if the second and final book wasn't already published.  Since it's out, however, all that is needed to finish the story is me getting the next half.  

John Lee narrated the audiobook.  He's narrated lots of popular novels, like Pillars of the Earth, and George R.R. Martin's A Feast for Crows (which has sense been re-recorded because Martin's fans booed a new narrator on the series's fourth book).  Needless to say, he's a great reader.

Pandora's Star gets 4 stars out of 5, and has a content warning for adult language and sex.  If epic space operas are what float your boat, you won't be sorry for checking this one out.  Also, catch my review of The Prefect, by Alastair Reynolds.  Both books are in the same vein.           

       

The Prefect

The Prefect, by Alastair Reynolds, is an exciting space opera, with a detective twist.  I highly recommend it to anyone wanting an entertaining sci fi read.

I listened to the book, like I usually do.  John Lee is the narrator, and is well-known among the audiobook crowd.  Personally, he isn't my favorite narrator, but I've grown used to him because he reads so many books I like.  Stevan Pacey, or George Guidall would have been a better choice in my opinion, but no one listens to me.

Thomas Dreyfus is a middle-aged Prefect--a highly skilled lawman, in service to the Glitter Band.  The Glitter Band is made up of ten-thousand habitats that orbit a planet called Yellowstone.  The society that has created this empire is unusual... at least I've never seen their like in sci fi before.  They are a democracy in the strictest sense.  Each citizen is guaranteed a vote.  Groups of citizens get together and vote for different types of government within their own habitats.  One habitat might be a monarchy, the other a totalitarian dictatorship.  All that matter to the prefects is that everyone is given a vote.  This way of governing proves to be a problem once things start happening... prefects need guns, and the citizens vote no.  

Dreyfus is tasked with investigating a mass murder--a habitat that was blown to bits.  As the case unfolds, he discovers that the entire Glitter Band society is in serious jeopardy, from a nearly immortal enemy.   

The Prefect is an exciting thriller, with plenty of twists and intricacy, similar to novels written by Tom Clancy.  Alistair Reynolds is an author I intend to read more of.  The Prefect gets 4 out of 5 stars.