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Quick catch up of the year so far. Actually, not so impressive, I usually have read more by this stage, but its been a busy year.
1. The Jennifer Morgue - Charlie Stross
In general I liked this, a more solid plot than The Atrocity Archive but, I felt, let down by a poor first quarter with a little too much exposition. Once the Bond style action kicked in it was in good solid form. There were some scenes which also had me literally rolling in the aysle of the plane I was sitting on. Not least of which having a couple of people I know turn up in the narrative.
2. Prador Moon - Neil Asher
Asher's space opera is more than a little like Iain Banks', but that's not to say it isn't excellent. I've read most of his Polity books, an AI led space faring human civilisation. The actual story arch novels, about a subversive alien technology are actually starting to get on my nerves, however, this one fills in some of the back story. I like chrome, and I like back story and this had lots of it. It also pandered to one of my pet hates about Star Trek, pre-Borg, which was where were the similar tech aliens who could kick humanity's butt. The Prador are the aliens in question in this novel and its reasonably short and has a nice satisfying conclusion which, although telegraphed by a fecking enormous Chekov's Gun type thing in the early passages, is just excellent. Well worth it.
3. Wicked - Gregory McGuire
Having seen the musical, I thought I'd read the book. Its quite a big book. Well written, nicely plotted and put together, but in the end it left me feeling a little let down. It felt like Fantasy written by somebody trying hard for it not really to be fantasy but a well thought out novel about real people set in a fantasy world. That complaint aside, its interesting to see the way in which it was adapted and to see what holds true to the book and what doesn't. What was more annoying was some tantalising references to a bigger back story about Oz and our world and the nature of magic which would have been more interesting than the story that was told. Of course, the real problem is how any world like Oz survives economically with a mixed technological and agarian economy without one nation or another ending up in an Industrial Revolution. Having some areas in the equivalent of the middle ages while others have railways and advanced clockwork robotics sounds nice, but in a geography you can cross on foot in 2 weeks, it doesn't really work. I might be being a little too pedantic.
Currently I'm reading End of the World Blues, Jon Courtney Grimwood, and very good it is too.
1. The Jennifer Morgue - Charlie Stross
In general I liked this, a more solid plot than The Atrocity Archive but, I felt, let down by a poor first quarter with a little too much exposition. Once the Bond style action kicked in it was in good solid form. There were some scenes which also had me literally rolling in the aysle of the plane I was sitting on. Not least of which having a couple of people I know turn up in the narrative.
2. Prador Moon - Neil Asher
Asher's space opera is more than a little like Iain Banks', but that's not to say it isn't excellent. I've read most of his Polity books, an AI led space faring human civilisation. The actual story arch novels, about a subversive alien technology are actually starting to get on my nerves, however, this one fills in some of the back story. I like chrome, and I like back story and this had lots of it. It also pandered to one of my pet hates about Star Trek, pre-Borg, which was where were the similar tech aliens who could kick humanity's butt. The Prador are the aliens in question in this novel and its reasonably short and has a nice satisfying conclusion which, although telegraphed by a fecking enormous Chekov's Gun type thing in the early passages, is just excellent. Well worth it.
3. Wicked - Gregory McGuire
Having seen the musical, I thought I'd read the book. Its quite a big book. Well written, nicely plotted and put together, but in the end it left me feeling a little let down. It felt like Fantasy written by somebody trying hard for it not really to be fantasy but a well thought out novel about real people set in a fantasy world. That complaint aside, its interesting to see the way in which it was adapted and to see what holds true to the book and what doesn't. What was more annoying was some tantalising references to a bigger back story about Oz and our world and the nature of magic which would have been more interesting than the story that was told. Of course, the real problem is how any world like Oz survives economically with a mixed technological and agarian economy without one nation or another ending up in an Industrial Revolution. Having some areas in the equivalent of the middle ages while others have railways and advanced clockwork robotics sounds nice, but in a geography you can cross on foot in 2 weeks, it doesn't really work. I might be being a little too pedantic.
Currently I'm reading End of the World Blues, Jon Courtney Grimwood, and very good it is too.
