1397. The Cruel Stars

I have a confession to make. I love the work of writer John Birmingham. I have read, ALMOST everything he ever wrote, and those things I haven't read, I either own and will soon read, or I am in the process of buying (see further pics below).  Additionally, I follow his blog (along with the blogs of many other writers I like.) However, I do not personally know the author, nor have I been paid to write the following review.

Having said all of that.... Sometime in July 2019, NetGalley, gave me the opportunity to read an electronic copy before its publication and then review it. As a fan of Birmingham, since the "Axis of Time series" and then "The Disappearance series" I was thrilled to read his first foray into Space Opera, in this particular instance, Military, Hard Science Fiction.

Now, ever since "The Axis of Time" and "The Disappearance", I knew that John Birmingham could write on "military" matters and subjects. Military subjects involving battles fought, the language of warfighting and even tactics. Mind you, I do not know what his military background is, but the grasp of the subject matter is accurate. Similarly, in this new novel, his grasp of the themes of science is very very good. Therefore, making this book, both "military" and "hard" in the science-fiction department.

On to the story...

We begin as Lieutenant Lucinda Hardy boards hew new ship. She comes to it after receiving a field commission. But, and this is really important, she does not come from the type of background that would give her, not just her Space Navy rank, but status and position within society. She does not come from Royal or Corporate background, and should therefore be a non-person. Yes, she's an augmented human, but really, in this universe, who cares? Alas, even though she started as an Ensign and received a field commission, she also received a medal for gallantry during her last tour, putting her in this position, as the tactical officer of the Defiant.

Lucinda's Universe  is populated by humans who left the homeworld and established new colony worlds over which they became corporate rulers, and eventually promoted themselves to nobility and royalty. In this universe, humanity contains, robots, AI, and are themselves technically augmented. As Hard Science Fiction goes all the types of augmentation proposed within this story are feasible today OR have been discussed in various formats. Humanity WILL merge with technology. The when of it is the only unknown. This movement is called transhumanism.

But, not everyone, in this Universe, is on-board human-augmentation, infinite rebirths, and virtual immortality. There is an offshoot of humanity called "The Sturm"...(I am presuming, based on the German origin of the word, it means, "The Storm".) The Sturm  are opposed to these modern, augmented, humans,  and have already fought one war with Earth (almost completely destroying it in the process.)  They are now on the way back into the human sphere of influence, after rebuilding their strength. As the "big bad" (if you see them as such), they're not that bad of a people, meaning, some readers might actually agree with their viewpoint. And John Birmingham does a great job not painting them as a totally evil caricature. They are, the way they are, because of what they believe -- and isn't that true of all of us?

There are other major players in this Space Opera, including a Princess, an almost Ancient, General, from Earth's first forays into interplanetary space, and a bunch of criminals (from a certain point of view.) In many ways, you will, as I did, fall in love with these varied characters, but, my first love, throughout book one of this story was Lucinda Hardy. I would follow her, I would serve under her and obey her orders. Not because as a transhumanist she's perfect, but because of it. She is anything BUT -- she struggles with what she is, what she has accomplished. She is unsure of her footing and second guesses her decisions. In short, she is perfect in her human imperfection.

If you're a fan of a richly detailed future, immersed in high technology, AI and almost instantaneous space travel, then this book is for you. But beware, this future is populated with LGBTQ characters and faulty human beings. If you're looking for "perfect" and "completely ethical" human beings, look into the work of a different author. This author, lavishes every page with human failings and faults. Because today's "Humans" are faulty, and not perfect. This book then, puts up a mirror for us to look into what we have become and what we might become.

OH!, and it's a great action-adventure to boot.

When I first read the book (I have since re-read my paper copy -- yay "stay-at-home" orders), I posted a one word review for John Birmingham on facebook: WOW!

I would not presume to suggest that this book is "the greatest space opera" or "the greatest military science fiction" ever... However, I would presume to say that John Birmingham's first attempt at a space opera is magnificent. Be forewarned, it is the first book in a trilogy, and you will have to come back for more dips in the pool. From me it gets a 5 out of 5 or "five stars". Back when I first started reviewing books in my book-journal, I used to place a huge "star" next to my super-favorite books... those books that gave me such an amazing thrill, such a great feeling, and that transported me to a universe that I so completely wanted to live in. It is not a perfect place, then again, where in the world, past or present, is perfect?

1394. A Matter For Men

 I became a science fiction reader because of my friends - in particular my best friends. I was raised in a very religious, very conservative household. However, the truth was that my father allowed us to read. He never locked the home library away, and we were allowed to pick any book from it to read. Most of it of course was christian themed. The highlight of that library was some literature and a set of Encyclopedias, bought when I was around eight years old from a traveling encyclopedia salesman. Yes, we still had those where I grew up. Before I turned ten I had read through the complete encyclopedia and all the literature in that library. Still, I wanted my horizons expanded further. 

To further my reading horizons, along came comic books and my best friend Yiannis T. (Ioannis in Greek parlance). His family was not as heavily into the religious book reading and so, they read pulp novels. The idea of pulps, originated in the U.S. of course, but in the late sixties and early seventies, really took off in Greece. A lot of these were "adventure", "mysteries" (like Agatha Christie), and "Science Fiction" stories, translated and reprinted in the greek language. The other thing that was very popular of course were the Greek Language versions of romance stories. So, my best friend Yiannis, introduced me to science fiction. And by the way, not all of the science fiction that I read was from US authors. One of the first science fiction books I ever liked was "Τhe Black Blot" (La Tache Noire) by French Author Robert Clauzel. Suffice it to say, I read all the adventures of Claude Eridan. At age thirteen I got my first "library card" and borrowed the translation of  "The Illustrated Man" by Ray Bradbury. I have not looked back since then.

Why do I share the story above? Well, when I finally got my first job on my own, in this little corner of Alabama, my new best friend, Mike H., was an avid science fiction reader. By the time we became best friends, we had read many of the same books, and had very similar interests in authors, as well as type of stories. But while I had read a David Gerrold book back in the 80s, I had not read this particular series, The War Against the Chtorr. Mike had the first 4 books. Mike also refused to lend me his copies of the series to read, even though we had lend each other books from our respective libraries. To this day of course, Mike has not returned to me my hard cover copies of The Foundation series by Asimov.

So many years later, in part because I see a lot of the books that come in to our bookstore, as a member of the Friends of the Library group at our local library branch, I got my hands on the first two books in the series. And let me tell you something, the wait was worth it. "A matter for men" is the first book in the series.

Was the wait worth it, you might ask?

Yes. This is one of the best books I have ever read. And in many ways very frustrating. I am not saying that it's frustrating to read because of the way it's written, or because of "language", or because of any other literary virtue. No. It's frustrating because of the lessons Jim McCarthy, the hero of this tale, has to learn.

Jim McCarthy is your average young Biologist with a bright future. It's just that when he was a young kid, various plagues hit the world, decimating (or worse) the population. He lost much of his family. Eventually, the plagues were discovered to be aspects of an invasion by alien organisms which are eventually called "The Chtorr." Are the Chtorr intelligent? Are they trying to conquer the planet? Whoa, slow down there cowboy. It appears so, but so far I've only read book one. I'm not sure that's the conclusion the author wants you to reach. What is fascinating is the way humanity as a whole deals with the problem of the Chtorr. There are parallels to many crises we face today, especially "Climate Change" (what we used to call the Greenhouse Effect.) There is a certain inattentiveness, inaction through words, a certain "shrug your shoulders, what can we do" type of reaction. This is very evident in  "A matter for men."

The reason I got frustrated was not only this human indifference to events (and this might be a spoiler for some - so, don't read the rest of this paragraph, ok?), but....

[ Attention: SPOILERS BELOW]

...the way Jim McCarthy was manipulated by some of those in power and some of his superiors. Used? Don't get me wrong, REALLY GOOD WRITERS will do that to you (er, I mean their characters.) But pulling the curtain back and dispelling the reader's misconceptions is very dramatic in this book. Because, although this book starts as a standard "us" against "them" adventure sci-fi story, it becomes something else, something better by the end. Without giving anything away, I can say clearly that your expectations will be subverted.

Did I get OR did I understand everything the author was going for in this book? Probably not. But, just as Jim McCarthy learned more about himself and about the enemy, so did I learn something about myself. And, I also learned that the simple act of writing good characters is a lot more complicated than what I, as I attempt to write my own fiction, can even envision, let alone master. (No, I won't quit writing.)

"A matter for men" is an exceptional novel that deserves a read, even 30 plus years since its publication. I plan to review individually subsequent parts of this story.

Easily, a five star read.

1181. [LIMIT]

LIMIT is a German Science Fiction novel that clocks in at 1227 pages. Of these pages, I probably read 150 or so before I gave up.

I suspect that  LIMIT is a real good "story", but I just could not get into it.

I apologize to the author and everyone else attached to this book.

What was this about anyway?

This is all I'm willing to give it.

1097. End of Days

It's hard to categorize this book by author Robert Gleason, a self-styled expert on all things apocalyptic, or things related to the end of the world, and the myth of "2012 as the end of the world." In simple terms, you can say that it is a Science-Fiction novel and it belongs in that sub-genre called Dystopian or Post-Apocalyptic Fiction. I have read a number of Dystopian novels in my time (especially lately), and this one does not crack my top 10, top 100, or top 1,000 (if I had read that many dystopian novels). It's execution leaves a lot to be desired. But let's take things from the top, shall we?

First of all, I was taken-in by the title of the book and the premise of the story. Additionaly, when I flipped to the back of the book jacket, I was hoodwinked (if I can be allowed to use that colloquialism) by such luminaries as Douglas Preston, an author I like, Stephen Coonts, ditto, and Steve Berry. There is more praise by Larry Bond and others. Honestly, having read these praises, I am not sure, if these folks actually read the same book I did, or were paid to say these things, because I seriously wonder about these opinions. But it's not for me to question another man's opinion. What I can do is tell you what I thought of this book.

The book started innocently enough by introducing Kate Magruder, a newsperson (anchorwoman?) of a major cable news outfit. The Cable News Outfit (not CNN, but MTN) is owned by her mother Lydia Lozen Magruder who is the great-granddaughter of a female Apache war-shaman. Lydia owns a multimedia empire (kinda sorta, a latter day Rupert Murdoch), and a bunch of other businesses, so she in effect entangled with the US Government who she supplies weapons to, and of course knows all the power players, all the way to the President. Her daughter Kate happens to be in Saudi Arabia covering the Hadj (the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca). While in Mecca, Kate sees her ex-husband, John Stone another journalist and employee of MTN who works directly for Lydia as he disappears into the crowd around Mecca.

This is important, because before John Stone disappears he informs Lydia via e-mail of some nefarious plans by a Russian general (who's name is Vladimir Malokov), obsessed with nuclear Armageddon. It becomes clear that even the Russian establishment does not know of his whereabouts. There also two Middle Eastern princesses who are the ones that have captured John Stone and have infiltrated the US Government at its highest levels. Meanwhile, there are forces moving unseen by everyone in the background, poised to strike. We are made aware, from the beginning of Russian Subs, maneuvering in the Atlantic full of nuclear weapons, being hunted by their own forces.

Now, all this seems like a fine story and it would be a pretty good story, on the face of it, BUT, (there is always the proverbial BUT, isn't there). Kate is an impudent child, who does not listen to her mother when she repeatedly asks her to come home, because she feels the "End" coming. Lydia of course keeps having those apocalyptic visions , and I would have appreciated that aspect of the book if it wasn't for so much else that went wrong... We're introduced to John Stone's ex-teammates (Baseball). One is in the Air Force, and is heading to an orbiting Space Station where an A.I. is in control. The other one is being transferred to a jail outside of Houston. Both of them end-up playing a prominent role in events. But so do, a rat (yes, a rat), the AI, someone named Cassandra who is some sort of seeress or prophetess, and the various weapons traveling this way and that.

So let's summarize, we have: intelligent humans, Artificial Intelligence (computers), and then, intelligent Rats, a Seeress, Intelligent Weapons, and in the end, a book that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Because I still don't understand the motivations of the people in the jail in Houston. What part do they serve in all of this? What drives Kate Magruder. Other than disobeying her mother, I see no motivation in her, She is a completely useless Human Being, and if the survival of the Human Race depended on her, we're doomed. But even more important that this, what motivates the people who initiate Armageddon? Do they do it for religious reasons, something else? Religion is mentioned, but I guess, only in passing. The people firing those weapons from their submarines end-up being just caricatures of humans. Their weapons, flying "in-glee" over the Earth, are more intelligent than them. All-in-all, a disappointing read, and a waste of my money. I would instead recommend the following:

1. One Second After by William Forstchen
2. Without Warning by John Birmingham

These are just two of the Dystopian or Post-Apocalyptic books that I have read, that handle the subject matter much, much better than this book. As for this book, it is with a sad heart that I can only give it a one star out of five:

1053. Blasphemy

Blasphemy is the first book in which Wyman Ford, appears. Wyman Ford is the main character in Douglas Preston's Blasphemy and Impact. He's a Private Investigator, an ex-CIA Agent, a monk, and many other things. He's not really a Jack-of-all-trades, like the guy in Human Target or some other such heroes. He's, however, a man who tries to get the job done.

In this first real job for Wyman, we see him utilizing some of his knowledge of the Navajo language, which is really difficult to learn, getting on the rez (reservation) out in Arizona as a liaison with the tribe on the big project on their land. The US Government built a Giant Super-Collider near Red Mesa to explore the mysteries of the Big Bang. After all, we don't want the Europeans with their Large Hadron Collider to beat us. Wyman, knows one of the scientists at the project, apart from knowing a bit of the Navajo culture so he's embedded to find out why the project has fallen behind. Money has been spent, but there have been no results.

Meanwhile, the Navajo tribal council is having second thoughts. The lobbyists that were hired to represent their interests are trying to manipulate them AND public opinion. Additionally, a local preacher connects with a well known Evangelical Pastor who is aghast at the $40 Billion cost of the Super-Collider (called by the scientists "Isabella"). Wyman's history with a scientist on the project is that of a long ago love affair, when they were both young and in college. Her name is Kate Mercer. All these threads come into contact together with an immense discovery when the collider is first powered to 100%.

What is the discovery the scientists make and it's implications to theoretical physics? Does this discovery have theological implications? Can Wyman bring the truth out into the world or should he hide the truth from the President and his science adviser who recruited him for this mission? Why are the scientists hiding the truth? Why was a man killed to hide the truth?

This is a book worth staying-up all night for. It is the second Douglas Preston book that I have read, but is probably  the first Wyman Ford adventure. It is not as fantastical (in some sense) than "Impact" which I reviewed earlier in this blog -- since I read that one first! But I do think it stands very well on its own. It is an excellent book, because it shows the limits of this particular character in the face of an impossible situation. He's faced with something he knows to NOT be true, yet at the same time, he can not convince others of this fact. His faith is not the faith of others; OR, put another way -- Kate's faith is so strong that he can not change her mind without different evidence otherwise.

All in all, a highly satisfying book and highly recommended! 4 stars out of 5!

1048. Impact

Recently, I have had a run of good luck with the books I have been reading, as they have provided ample entertainment, and made for an exciting read. This includes this fantastic little gem of a book that I saw at the bookstore and I had to pick-up. It is called, Impact by Douglas Preston and it is a most unusual thriller.

Before, I get into the meat of this review, I am reminded that I had never read a book by Douglas Preston before this one, but he has been an author that I have kept my eye on in the past few years. For one reason or another, his titles have attracted me, but I had not had occasion to pick one up. I had previously purchased "Blasphemy", but I had not read it. Suffice it to say, I intend to change that oversight.

The other thing that I find interesting is the plot of this book. Without of course, giving away too many details, the book opens as your standard scientific-mystery-whodunit-cum-thriller. Recently (and this encompasses the past couple of years), I have been reading about the death of the Science Fiction Genre as a Literary Genre and how the amount of written material being produced in it, is nowhere near what we used to see during the Golden Age or even the Silver Age (anything after the 1960s into the 1980s) or even beyond.  Plus the written material has no coherence to it, and is all over the map, as in, there is no particular style that dominates science fiction as a Genre. This then, could be the reason why a lot of writers don't want to be categorized as Science Fiction writers anymore, even though they constantly delve into that Genre, and yet, their books are found on the more acceptable, mainstream, fiction sales, aisles. The supposition then is, that Douglas Preston here, has written a masterful Science Fiction novel, but one that will not be categorized as such in any bookstore or library, and similarly will never win any major Literary Science Fiction awards like the Nebula or Hugo. On the other hand, the author is able to sell his very masterful cautionary tale to a much wider audience. Is that an acceptable trade-off?  You be the judge.

The plot of this novel is simple enough: Something has impacted the Earth, hitting off the coast of Maine. In addition, one of the scientists from the Mars Mapping Mission at the California Institute of Technology has been found dead because of what he knows. Meanwhile, another scientist, has picked-up the mantle of the dead scientist and continued his research. Something is going on, on Mars. Is the Earth impact and the events on Mars related? This world spanning adventure, which is very well plotted, and paced, with good characters, will keep your interest through-out, and will leave you breathless in many places. It was hard to put down for very long and it was definitely one of those books that I finished in less than 3 days. If it wasn't for other obligations, I would have read it in one sitting.

Yes, some of the side characters are kind of sketchy, and some of the details are still left hanging out there, but in a book such as this, the main plot, and the people you really care about, who are at the center of things, are well conceived, and isn't that all you can ever expect from a well plotted book?

So, I highly recommend this book, and I give it a well earned 5 stars out of 5. A most enjoyable first read for me from Mr. Douglas Preston.

1009. Revelation Space

Alastair Reynolds is a fantastic new voice in the world of speculative fiction. Although this book was first published in 2000, I did not read it until this year. And boy, was I missing a wonderful book.

But first things first: A little bit about Alastair Reynolds, born in Wales, England. He has a Ph. D in Astronomy. For some reason, many scientists make good science fiction writers. I dunno why. Alastair has done a wonderful job here. This book tackles that eternal question people seem to ask in different ways: "Are we alone in the Universe?"

Now, it is true that question has been asked before, by many Science Fiction authors in many different versions. I always enjoy reading these different "takes" (as they are called) on this theme. What's new, or refreshing in this story is neither the setting or the build-up behind it, but the originality of the characters.

You know, a long time time ago, a science fiction editor by the name of John W. Campbell, decided that characters were just as important to a Scientific speculative fiction story as the underlying science, the story itself. Without characters indeed, there is no story. Alastair Reynolds achieves this in spades. It's the characters that draw you into the story. Oh, there is enough scientific exposition to make you believe that you are 500 years in the future. But Dan Sylveste and Ilia Volyova will make you believe that you are there.

Dan Sylveste is investigating the "Amarantin puzzle", an extinct race, whose archaeological traces humanity has been investigating for years on different worlds. Yet, on this world that humans have colonized, the "Amarantin" seem to have accomplished something. They seem to have achieved a level of technological sophistication, maybe at the humanity's current level or even beyond, a completely unexpected development. WHY? All previously extinct races that humanity had come across had never reached this level, EXCEPT for humans themselves.

There are of course the "Shrouders", an unknown conglomeration of Alien entities or Alien intelligences hiding behind a physical shroud in space which is impenetrable...and then there are the "Inhibitors". Who are the "Inhibitors"? And what do they want with humanity?

I do not want to give more of the plot so as not to spoil it. Suffice it to say, that A.I.s are central to this book, as well as Light-Huggers (ships that accelerate UP TO the speed of light) -- no FTL crap in this book. Dan Sylveste's father was one of the first people capable of downloading his mind into a computer. He was also the first to make contact with the "Shrouders". Since that time, Dan Sylveste himself attempted contact with the "Shrouders". And with this set-up we're thrown into a whirlwind, action whodunit with lots of mystery. The crew of the light-hugger Nostalgia for Infinity is of course central to the plot, as well as events set in motion hundreds of years in the past.

I highly recommend this book. Although, it will leave some questions unanswered, the book reaches a satisfying conclusion -- yet it leaves you hungering for more! Good thing then, that Alastair Reynolds has written 4 more books set in the same universe as "Revelation Space":

1. Chasm City (2001)
   
2. Redemption Ark (2002)
   
3. Absolution Gap (2003)
   
4. The Prefect (2007)

I give this book 4 and one half stars our of 5.

1008. Wandering Star (Volume One)

The "Wandering Star" Graphic Novel (GN for the un-initiated) by Teri Sue Wood, follows the story of Cassandra, daughter of the president of the United Nations in the year 2192. After a long World War, and after making contact with aliens, humanity fights a war with the Bono Kiro, a war like race, that the Galactic Alliance does not want to deal with. Yet, the lowly Earthlings manage to defeat them...

But, I am getting ahead of myself. In this book, we do not find anything about that first war with the Bono Kiro. Instead, we find out about Cassandra's first year at the Galactic Academy where all the sons and daughters of planetary leaders attend school. And although Earth provided a big service by defeating the Bono Kiro, Earth's people are still treated as second hand citizens.

Cassandra receives a lot of abuse from schoolmates. Especially Mekon DZN Appogand and his sister Lindi. But Cassandra manages to maintain her composure and temper not succumbing to the Earther stereotype of a hot-tempered human. She eventually makes some friends in the form of Madison (who empathic), Elli (an energy being) and Graikor. Graikor and Elli are building the spaceship "Wandering Star" (namesake of the GN). And thus the adventure begins.

Overall, this is a nice little Graphic Novel, done in Black & White, sometimes the preferred method of artists to communicate with the public. Why do I say that? Well, sometimes, when the full color palette is available, the artists go wild and overwhelm us, wanting to prove their prowess at their art. Yet, with this B&W style, we are able to see facial expressions, interactions between individuals, emotions on people's faces and other details, such as scenery, machinery, etc., that is important to the storyline.

Having said that, I was a bit disappointed at times of the way that Cassandra was drawn. It could be that I was overwhelmed by the effect of the older Cassandra reliving and recounting events in the past, when she was just a teenager. The differences between were striking. Yet, I also saw differences between the way present day Cassandra was drawn from panel to panel.

Having said all that, my complaint is a rather minor one, because this is really a very good GN, and I highly recommend it to every one. I hope to soon read Volumes 2 & 3.

3 stars out of 4.