Science Fiction / Fantasy

[PatH]

Oh, dear, I hope she recovers well.  Thanks for telling me, Frybabe; it would have taken me a while to learn.  I think a certain amount of fuzzy-mindedness is a common side effect of chemotherapy.  Don't know how long it takes to clear up.

[Frybabe]

Pat, I just found out that Alistair Reynolds has written the fourth book in his Revelation Space series (what they are calling Inhibitor Space series these days). It is called Inhibitor Phase and will release in July of 2021. There is no description of the book yet. It seems, that Reynolds is keeping closed mouthed about the contents just yet. Another book to look forward to.

I never could get into his Revenger series, but really would like to see more, more, more of the Inspector Dreyfus books.

[PatH]

Although I enjoyed the first Revelation Space book, and read it more or less straight through, for some reason I haven't tackled the others.  Maybe I should try Inspector Dreyfus.  My non-reading slump is lifting at last.

SIL Erick reports that Ready Player Two maintains its high quality all the way through, so I had better read it.  I like the rare occasions when I can surprise them with a book they didn't know about.

[Frybabe]

Yet another book library read just became available. I really like how I make sure to space them out according to when the library estimates a book will be available to me, and yet, they tend to drop within days of each other rather than the week's spacing I try to maintain. Sigh! Anyway, A Borrowed Man by Gene Wolfe is now waiting to be read. It is a first of series about, what else, books. It is billed as a SciFi/Mystery. https://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/sci-fi-fantasy/gene-wolfs-a-borrowed-man-is-a-sci-fi-mystery-with-no-borrowed-ideas/ Interesting blog/review, it makes the book sound all that much more interesting.

[Frybabe]

Well, it's been a while. My last post mentioned The Borrowed Man. I didn't care for it so I didn't finish it.

But I did, just this morning, finish Consider Phlebas. What an interesting book that turned out to be. And the ending! Well, it looks like it is going to be another of those loosely connected series like C. J. Cherryh's Company Wars series, which I like very much.

[Frybabe]

Oh, here is something interesting. Elon Musk paid tribute to Banks by naming two of his autonomous drone ships after ones mentioned in the next Culture series book, The Player of Games. They are Just Read the Instructions and Of Course I Still Love You. Even so, the subject matter does not interest me much so I am checking out some of the others.

[Frybabe]

I am now starting the third of the Culture series, Use of Weapons. This should be interesting. Told as a biography, the story is told in alternating chapters, where the timeline goes forward (listed as One, Two, etc.) time, and then backward (listed in Roman numerals) using "reverse chronology".  Interesting. I will have to pay attention so I don't confuse the thread of each timeline. I have read books where a character "looks back" or where characters are followed on separate threads from chapter to chapter until they all come together at some point, but I don't think I have ever read anything with two opposing timelines for one character.

[Frybabe]

Okay, so Use of Weapons didn't work out. I got bored with it almost half way through.'

The other day I succeeded in installing the Libby app on my oldest Kindle. It works fine, better than those apps that Amazon has what supposedly translate files to .epub or others that Kindle does not support. I can now borrow .epub files for books that Kindle does not have in their format, and there are some. In order to see if Libby really works well, I downloaded Darkover Landfall by Marion Zimmer Bradley. Once I adjusted the settings, it looks good. I read the first chapter so far.

[PatH]

Frybabe, let me know how you like the Darkover. The only thing of hers I've tried (twice) is The Mists of Avalon, and I couldn't get into it.  Something about the tone irritates me.  But I think this wouldn't apply to something that wasn't fiddling with the Arthurian legends.

Have you gotten hold of Trader's Leap yet?  I'm not enthusiastic about where the Liaden Universe is going, but I still want to read the books.

[Frybabe]

PatH, oh my, I missed the pub date on Trader's Leap. I thought I had that marked for release notice but maybe not. That is the long winded way of saying, no, I haven't read it yet. I checked out the sample chapter. It doesn't inspire me to read it, but then like you, I am going to read it anyway. Many of the reviewers thought the beginning a bit "iffy" too, slow or hazy. The beginning is setting the pace for a story concentrating more on wizardry, something I am not particularly interested in reading. The ending promised to be interesting though, so I will soon be reading it.

I am enjoying Darkover Landfall just fine, so far.  Never, been interested, for some reason, in reading The Mists of Avalon, but until now I was not interested in the Darkover series.

You've been kind of scarce lately. How are you doing?

[PatH]

I'm doing fine, I think I'm just kind of worn down by living in plague times.  I don't have much excuse for it either.  I'm well personally, haven't lost any friends or relatives, though one friend got sick, and the weather was only slightly peculiar, not destroying crops or bursting pipes.  And I'll get my second vaccine shot Thursday.

I don't write posts quickly, though, and with things like the challenges I get caught in the vicious cycle that by the time I get to posting the conversation has swept on enough to make my post not fit in. I've shifted a little desk to make it easier to use the computer more of the time.  Maybe that will help.

Thanks for asking.

[Frybabe]

I am happy to hear that you are doing well, Pat.

Too bad we don't have more folks interested in science fiction. A lot of the SciFi out now is not hard science, and a lot of that is more space opera where the locale is outer space, but gives the science in science fiction short shrift. I think social science fiction also uses SciFi as a venue. Either one often can be dropped into another genre with minor changes in backdrop (landscape, culture, clothing, etc.). Hard science fiction seems a very small part of the genre now.

I can see what you mean about Trader's Leap. While I continue to read it, I find it rather boring so far. It is not a major direction I care to go in further books that they might write. I wonder if I can get my money back? 

[PatH]

Well, if you lived in Portland, you could sell it back to Powell's, though I don't know how much they give you.  Maybe I should try to hold out for the paperback.  None of the directions things were going in Accepting the Lance interest me that much.

Yes, we could use a few fans.  As you point out, a lot of current sci-fi could be easily approachable by non-fans, but people don't seem interested.

[PatH]

I need a new long-running space opera to follow, now that my favorites have dwindled or stopped.   They've had long runs, though, sixteen books plus some short bits  for Bujold, and Trader's Leap is number 23.  Maybe I'll find one when I get over the plague-induced reading slump.

I think I'm grouchy today.

[Frybabe]

I finished Trader's Leap. Not their best, but then I am not into witches and wizards, etc. much, so my opinion is somewhat biased. The beginning was very off-putting, but the story did get a little better later on. The authors seem to have succumbed to a trend. lately, to mixing magic, superheros and space opera together. This looks like a new direction for the next several books. I wonder how the combo of Tinsori Light, AIs and people with "The Luck" will work out. I guess we will have to wait another two years.

Cixin Liu's short story book, Hold Up the Sky, is next up. These are some of his earlier stories.

[PatH]

Drat.  I'm not much into magic and superheroes either.  And I find most of the AIs boring personalities.

I wonder how much Lee and Miller had their series blocked out ahead of time.  When they created Theo, was she going to turn out the way she did?  They remark somewhere that the Uncle became much more important than originally intended.

And they've never honored the original intention of the Tree, to preserve the species.  Korval keeps seedlings on every ship, but they never plant any of them except as privileged gifts to allies.

[Frybabe]

Hold Up the Sky went back to the library early. The stories were a bit too lengthy to suit me at the moment. I did read one about an attempt to create coal gasification directly in the ground instead of the dangerous process of mining coal. It reminded me that my Grandfather worked at a coal mine in Wales. And then there is nearby Centralia and it's ongoing coal mine fire. I remember passing through there several times before they closed off a section of Route 61 because of the danger. Here are two pix showing the buckling and cracking. I have seen pix of the road almost completely painted over with graffiti now, so I don't think these are particularly new.
https://i1.wp.com/destinationsunknown.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/highway61-0001.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080
https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2020/02/640/320/iStock-Centralia.jpg?ve=1&tl=1

Right now I am reading Embers of War by Garreth W. Powell. It won a BSFN award several years years ago. The first of a trilogy, it is a novel that follows several people and a decommissioned warship in the aftermath of a war.

[PatH]

Those are pretty impressive pictures, Frybabe.  I guess I hadn't realized it was still burning.  I can just imagine the potential for disaster if anyone actually tried to use the coal in situ.

[Frybabe]

There are plenty of mine fires around the world. One article noted that there are hundreds of such mine fires in India and China. There is one in Germany which has been going since 1688, if I remember correctly. But the one that takes the cake is Mount Wingen (aka: The Burning Mountain) in New South Wales. They claim is is the oldest continuous coal seam fire in the world at an estimated 5,000+ years old. Administered by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, the area surrounding it is a designated nature reserve. It is open to visitors for hiking on designated paths.

[PatH]

How's the air quality?

[Frybabe]

Accuweather is reporting Fair today. The government relocated most of the inhabitants years ago, but there are still a few who insist on staying. In the open most people can tolerate small amounts of fumes that reach the surface, at least in the short term. Long time exposure to these fumes can cause respiratory problems and cancer, not to mention in sufficient amounts being deadly.  Another major factor in relocating the people is ground subsidence and sink holes created by the fire. Byrnesville, about six miles away, was also abandoned and razed when the fire spread that way. The government gave up the right of way to the closed section of Route 61 last year. That means responsibility and liability revert to the current landowner which is a corporation (but I don't know who). They buried the road with dirt and are discouraging visitors.

Oh, this is interesting. A video showing before and after shots of the town https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=coal+mine+fire+in+centralia+pa&view=detail&mid=D9C699F7231C36BF7C37D9C699F7231C36BF7C37&FORM=VIRE

Interesting tidbit. Of Pennsylvania's 67 counties, only 12 are listed as having moderate levels of Radon, and only one is low. All the rest, including my county are listed as high potential risks.

Now, to the books. I am enjoying Embers of War . Most of the characters are dealing with the emotional aftermath of a war. The story centers around a former warship converted to search and rescue missions and its' crew. The narrative of each chapter rotates between the different characters as the tale unfolds. So far, they are the ship itself, two of the four person crew, an intelligence agent, and the object of agent's quest who have a voice.  Nevertheless, it is not hard to follow and not confusing. There are two more books in this series.

Next, Elizabeth Bear's Ancestral Nights just became available from my hold list. I am looking forward to reading it.   

[Frybabe]

Nebula Award Finalists were announced last week:

Mexican Gothic - Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Network Effect - Martha Wells (a favorite of mine)
Black Sun - Rebecca Roanhorse
Piranesi - Susanna Clarke
The City We Became - N. K. Jemisin (Amazon named this one Best Science Fiction Novel of the Year)
The Midnight Bargain - C. L. Polk

Every one of these finalists for Best Novel is female this year.

The Deep by Rivers Solomon and Daveed Diggs, read by Daveed Diggs, won the Audio award for Science Fiction

The City We Became also won the two Audio Awards:
Best Female Narrator and Fantasy, read by Robin Miles

The Ray Bradbury Prize finalists are:
Lakewood - Megan Giddings
The City We Became - N. K. Jemisin
Piranesi - Susanna Clarke
The Only Good Indians - Stephen Graham Jones
Where the Wild Ladies Are - Aoko Matsuda, translated by Polly Barton

[Frybabe]

I am in the middle of reading Night Train to Rigel by Timothy Zahn. It is your not so typical detective/investigator thriller set on an intergalactic train route. The suspects are varied and numerous, including the aliens that hired him and the assistant he was provided. The farther I read into it, the more I am enjoying it. It is the first of five in series. Although he has written quite a few novels, short stories,  and "shorter works", I don't think I have ever come across him before.

In addition, I now  have another of Iain Banks Culture series books to read,  Look to Windward. It looks like I skipped three of the books, State of the Art, Excession, and Inversions . I am not worrying about it though since the books seem to be very loosely related. I'll get to them eventually. Right now they are out, and I do not want to add to my hold list right now. 

[Frybabe]

Hope you are doing well, PatH. I got something for you to read, maybe. Beyond the Farthest Star: Restored Edition (Complete and Unabridged) Paperback – Abridged, September 1, 2021 It is on Amazon and in Audible, which I have in my wish list. How odd is that! it is newly restored, complete and unabridged, but then it says abridged. They don't have a peek under the covers yet. The review and reader comments are interesting. I doubt it will hit the library for a month of so if that.

[Frybabe]

Yesterday i received an email notifying me that author Matthew Mather died in a car crash earlier this month.  https://www.fox3now.com/matthew-mather-author-of-cyberstorm-and-writer-of-science-fiction-died-in-a-car-accident/   

I haven't read it, but I have read his New Earth series (Nomad, et.al).

[Frybabe]

Not posting this on the Library discussion and I didn't want it to get lost among the extensive Murdough murders chatter. Something I have absolutely no interest in.
 
I discovered, a while back, and decided to share with you now, Quinn's Ideas https://www.youtube.com/@QuinnsIdeas
He has tons of video with lots of interesting commentary on Sci-Fi books and movies in general as well as focused series Sci-Fi conceptions and on books such as the Hyperion Cantos, The Three-Body Problem, Dune, and Foundation. He does some of the best synopses, commentary and explanations I've seen on the subject. Watch a few. Let me know what you think.

[PatH]

Thanks, Frybabe.  The first video is very promising.  I'll check out some more as I have time.  I'm especially interested to see what he has to say about Hyperion and Foundation. a I've started to read Foundation several times, and although the idea is interesting, and it's an important series, I always get stalled by the bad writing.

[Frybabe]

Hi Pat. I read Foundation years ago, but don't really remember anything about it. The few clips I saw of the TV version leave me less than likely to reread it. Hyperion, on the other hand, I may try to read again once I have seen a few more of the various clips explaining the darn thing.

Right now I am reading another military Sci-Fi that I thought was going to be another ordinary story. The first eleven chapters of William Frisbee's The Last Marines series, however, was written so well that I felt like I was right there in the trenches in Southeast Asia with them. Chapter Twelve starts out 400 years later. Other than the communist type of government/alliance relentlessly spreading throughout the solar system against all opposition, I don't yet see a connection between the two sections. So far. Meanwhile, the first section reminds me of Joe Haldeman's Forever War series which has been cited as anti-war and showing the futility of war.  Haldeman was a combat engineer during the Vietnam War. Frisbee served in the US Marines. I don't know if he had any combat experience, but he did serve during the collapse of the communist states.   

[Frybabe]

I ran across the Outlaw Bookseller on YouTube this morning and promptly watched two of his videos about The Elements of Science Fiction. While I had a little trouble keeping my focus at times, especially through the first one, he did a good job of making me actually want to read The Man in the High Castle, and he introduced me to Christopher Priest and his books.  He has other videos that I intend on watching, especially the Welsh ones and some of the ones focusing on specific authors. https://www.youtube.com/@outlawbookselleroriginal
I have to agree with him that a lot of which are termed Science Fiction, simply because it involves being out in space and neglects the science bit, is not true SF. Interestingly, he includes alternative history in the genre, but he does have an interesting reason for that. I don't necessarily agree with his reasoning unless it involves a scientific breakthrough or discovery of some kind.

Having finished with William Frisbee's first of series mentioned in my previous post, I am continuing on with the second book in spite of it turning into what I would call Horror SF. I kind of like the prime character and the banter between him and his remaining squad, especially the with the young Private.