Tag: Book Review

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When I discovered Ken Scholes’ Lamentation, it was on a TOR ad inside the front cover of an issue of The Magazine of Science Fiction and Fantasy last fall. Being a man of faith, the title immediately caught my eye. But it was when I saw Orson Scott Card’s recommendation that I knew I had to read it. Card wrote: “This is the golden age of fantasy, with a dozen masters doing their best work. Then along comes Ken Scholes, with his amazing clarity, power, and invention, and shows us all how it’s done.” That was enough for me. I love Card’s books, loved Scholes’ title, so I ordered the book.

What a delight awaited me. I devoured Lamentation in just over a week, reading it as fast as my eyes and mind could handle. Scholes’ books are rich, full of emotion, detail, mystery, and questions which often await answers even when the book is done. It’s a lot to process, so sometimes it may take the reader’s mind a while to wrap around it and move along. Sometimes this can make the pace feel slow or the page count seem slight, but as you persevere, you’ll find yourself more and more compelled, reading faster and faster until a lightning burst at the end.

After Lamentation, I quickly ordered Canticle and read it almost as quickly. The second in a series of five books which comprise The Psalms Of Isaak, Canticle expanded on both the characters and themes of Lamentation, taking the plot and suspense to new heights.

The gist of the story is that of survivors of a holocaust, the destruction of a city. Their society already survived a cataclysm in what is now the Charred Wastes on the edge of their current home, the Named Lands, but now they face yet another in their midst.

With the destruction of the city, a library containing the treasure of all their known knowledge was destroyed. So now, having discovered metal men who helped store the libraries knowledge and carry it in their memories, the king of a northern territory known as the Ninefold Forests is assembling a new library as the data in the metal men’s memories is transcribed bit by bit into new books.

In the meanwhile, the ancient political machinations of others have set in motion new conflicts–conflicts between the surviving territories and their leaders, conflicts in philosophy, and conflicts in how to solve the issues they all now face.

Antiphon, which releases from TOR on September 14th, continues the saga of those people. Unlike many authors, Scholes doesn’t overwhelm us with details of his world. He gives us just enough to paint a picture, then lets the rest unfold naturally through dialogue and the characters’ thoughts. Full of action, multiple storylines which intersect and separate again, and full of surprising new twists and turns with every chapter, each of these books builds on the others, taking us deeper and deeper into understanding, while at the same time leading us deeper and deeper toward a sense of impending doom and major confrontation.

This is epic fantasy at its finest and truly a must read for every fantasy fan. From the drama of relationships and romances to the clash of religious views and philosophies, Scholes has built a complex, diverse world populated with real people who have something to teach as well as learn.

If you haven’t read these books, you’re missing out, and I highly recommend adding them to your reading list. With each release, I wait with more and more anticipation for the next book. Why can’t Ken Scholes just write faster? I ask myself, and you will too once you’ve discovered the amazing story and world that is The Palms of Isaak.

Okay, yes, I know what I said. I am not neglecting Antiphon. I started it today. But my review of Kirinyaga sparked another enjoyable discussion with the author who then proceeded to provide me with manuscripts of all the other Africa books and stories I had yet to review, and this one was short and kept calling to me. I just had to read it.

An enjoyable entry in Resnick’s Africa series, this book is billed as a follow up to his award winning Kirinyaga, and indeed, the utopia built by fellow Kenyans uses the “Kirinyaga” failure as inspiration to get it right, and they do.

Led by historian David ole Saitoti, who becomes like a shaman for the Council and people, the Masaai establish their own Utopia, which, instead of focusing strictly on one lifestyle, focuses on a variety of settings enjoyed by the Masaai. These creates a sense of freedom and adaptability which serves them well, for, like the other utopia experiments, unexpected circumstances and inquiries lead to pushing the Council for change. How they handle that and where it leads is the heart of this story.

Written as a special release novella for Subterranean Press, it may be hard to find this book, but I tracked it down on Amazon with little trouble. Regardless, it’s worth the effort for those who enjoyed Mike Resnick’s previous Africa works, and it provides a unique look at another idea of utopia different from the others, yet, one which raises as many questions and leaves us to determine the answers.

The other uniqueness is that the narrator is not an instigator or protector of the utopia, but instead, a neutral advisor. He shows no particular inclination toward one particular approach over another, but merely seeks to advice the decision makers and let them proceed as they so determine. This is no Koriba, and, that makes his perspective all the more interesting for the reader.

Highly enjoyable and recommended. A bit edgier than his other books language-wise, probably because of its limited audience, but that shouldn’t keep most adults away.

A worthy addition to Mike Resnick’s Africa collection and to yours.

Yes, yet another Resnick review from me. Before I get to the actual review, let me answer the inevitable resounding “Whys?” echoing from my many readers (2, 3? I’ve lost count, time for another census). I started reading Resnick for two reasons: 1) because after hearing he was a huge Africa fan who used his African experiences in his stories, I looked him up, noted our mutual interest in Africa and crosscultural writing, and I got an email a few days later with a buttload (yes, that is an actual unit of measurement) of attachments of his Africa short stories, all of which were featured in major publications and all of which were either nominated for or had won awards. 2) because he is the most published and awarded SF writer ever. 3) because once I read one of his books, I got hooked. His prose style is similar to mine (yeah, right, as if mine were this good), and I love the way he writes powerful characters and situations and lets the questions fly out of what develops. Also, whether or not they are answered is up to the reader.

So, that’s why more Resnick, and I am not done yet, but will be taking at least a one book pause to read my buddy Ken Scholes’ “Antiphon,” a) because I have a copy a month ahead of its actual publication date; b) because I promised to not only review it but participate in discussions with a readers’ group; and c) because I have been begging him for an early copy for a year since finishing the second in the series because the series is so freaking awesome, it’s painful to have to wait. In fact, sidebar, if he could have just had the decency to put those twins off until he finished the series, he could have taken a nice break from writing without so cruelly abandoning his fans.

Okay, enough Resnick-Scholes ranting. Here’s the review:

Kirinyaga is the most award-winning science fiction novel ever. Some call it a collection of stories, because Resnick wrote the chapters as short stories, sold them, won awards on them, and then assembled the book, but since together they create a coherent whole, I disagree with that assessment. This is a novel, and no one story would truly be complete without the others.

Kirinyaga tells the story of Koriba, a well intentioned Kikuyu man from Kenya who sets about to lead his people to set up their own traditional Utopia, a planet named Kirinyaga after the holy mountain of their god, Ngai, on Kenya. The goal of the settlers is to live the way their ancient ancestors lived with no European influence or niceties. They will hunt and farm for their food, live off the land in traditional bomas (huts) and rule their society with the traditional councils of Elders advised by the mundumugu, Koriba.

The story is really one of the best of intentions gone awry. Koriba’s desire is to preserve the sanctity of his people’s ways, but as time goes on and the original settlers die or age, the new minds begin asking questions not easily answered. Things become even worse as his chosen successor is exposed to ideas through Koriba’s own computer and begins questions Koriba’s ideas and the ways of his people publicly, which leads others to do the same.

Watching his utopia unravel along with his influence, Koriba faces tough decisions and challenges about the future.

That’s all I’ll say to avoid spoilers for anyone who hasn’t actually discovered this yet, but I will make some comments on Resnick’s Africa stuff in general.

Of the African works by him I’ve read, this is the most blatant in adhering and examining their cultural traditions. In books like Inferno, Paradise, and Purgatory, Resnick used African history and a mix of traditions like metaphors to tell science fiction stories examining the larger human condition and particularly Westerner’s attitudes and approaches to those of other cultures or worlds. In other stories and books, he has examined this from different angles, but in this case, he delves into African’s own attitudes about their own worlds and traditions. The same questions and ideas which led to the real erosion of traditional African cultures arise again through these stories and lead the reader to examine why the erosion occurs in every culture and ask whether it’s good or bad. The answers are never black and white, nor are they simple, but they are worth asking.

Resnick’s prose is simple enough for even a ten-year-old to grasp, but the questions and ideas he posits with it are deeply rich and complex and may require several readings even for adults to unravel and fully fathom. I know I have been reading and rereading and plan to do so again, and if you want scifi that challenges your world view, asks questions, and teaches you while still entertaining, I highly recommend this stuff, because it will reward you greatly for the effort.

For what its worth…

What I love about Mike Resnick, among other things, is his non-pretentious prose style. He doesn’t write like he has a dictionary out to look up the fanciest words for saying everything in an attempt to impress you. Instead, he just finds the right words to tell the story. So you don’t need to read his books with a dictionary next to you either, and his books work for readers of all ages.

This book, one of several inspired by his love of and travels through Africa, is the story of Duncan Rojas and Bukoba Mandanka and the tusks of the Kilimanjaro Elephant, the largest to ever exist.

Rojas, a researcher for Braxton’s Records of Big Game, is hired by Mandaka, the last living Masaai, to find the tusks which he believes are the secret to his people’s lost power. While he won’t explain why he needs them, he is paying handsomely, and Rojas cannot resist a good mystery.

As he researches the tusks with the help of his trusty computer, Rojas learns the stories of various people and aliens who have possessed them over time. The tusks have quite a colorful history, as does the elephant himself, and the stories are fascinating and rich with characters, world building, history and solid plotting.

The chapters run long, something I myself am guilty of, but that’s because each chapter contains a historical story and a section about Rojas’ research in the present as he learns the history.

In the end, the story raises powerful questions about tradition, faith, and mythology. As is typical of Resnick, the conclusion leaves us to provide our own answers, and there is certainly a lot to think about which resonates with you long after the book has been closed.

A not to be missed, rich story. Thoroughly enjoyable and compelling. For what it’s worth…

I finally finished the three book series comprised of Paradise, Purgatory and Inferno — Chronicles Of Distant Worlds. Each of the three was a great read, but they just got better as I went along. Purgatory was better than Paradise and Inferno was better than Purgatory.

Inspired by the author’s travels in Africa and his love of the continent and her cultures, each of the books chronicles the Earthen Republic’s interference in alien worlds and the tragic consequences which result. Inferno is modeled after the nightmare of Idi Amin’s reign in Uganda in the 70s and 80s. This time, the Department of Cartography has deliberately left the Republic out and instead tried to bolster and assist the locals in educating their people and improving their planet. The desire is to let the natives shape their own world, only some of the natives take to the Western style more than others and conflict arises.

When the leader the Department of Cartography has supported is defeated by a rival, the planet’s government becomes unfriendly to the Republic, resisting joining the Republic, and seeking aid and trade with worlds outside the Republic’s influence. As the world, Faligor, drifts further from the Department’s hopes, a coup arises, one which the Republic hopes will restore order and integrity to the government. Instead, the General who led the revolution is even more brutal than his predecessor. He begins a campaign of racial cleansing and persecution of the population, creating a military state where his people live in fear.

The General fears only one thing: war with the Republic, but the Republic refuses to interfere. The Department of Cartography had insisted they stay out and not mess it up, so now the leadership was determined to leave Faligor to its own fate. As the former director of the Department of Cartography, who’s retired on Faligor, tries to interfere, he becomes an enemy of the General and finds himself jailed and threatened for it.

Inferno is a powerful story of tragedy. A good, kind people who grow to believe they may deserve the cruel dictators who take over their planet one after another. It is the story of the humans who tried to help them and now watch in horror as their plan backfires and the planet falls apart. It’s an echo of one of the most tragic events in world history and one of the greatest murderers who ever lived.

The story is a page turner and it is deeply moving. It causes the reader to consider his or her own values, morality and expectations for government, to evaluate his or her prejudices toward people who are different, and to question whether those people and their cultures deserve more respect than they’ve been given. It reminds us that despite our best intentions, our own interference in other countries has led to great tragedy and harm, and sometimes our “superior” culture ends up not being as superior as we suppose.

A deeply powerful must read for science fiction fans and any reader interested in other cultures. Written by a master storyteller in simple prose full of great characters and deep emotions. Resnick never preaches. He lets the story’s events speak for themselves. And speak they do, loudly and continually. A book you’ll never forget.

For what it’s worth…

When you pick up a book written in 1958, especially by a 19-year-old writer, you expect it to be out of date and perhaps even a little weak. But I loved this book. It’s short and tight, but masterful as Robert Silverberg always is.

I may be biased. Silverberg, without a doubt, is my favorite speculative fiction author (Orson Scott Card is second). But this story resonated with me and it holds up even sixty years after it was written.

The story of 18-year-old Alan Donnell, a spacer who serves on his dad’s ship, Starman’s Quest introduces us to a future Earth very different from our own. When the ship returns to Earth after a journey which passed like months for its crew but equalled nine years on Earth, Alan leaves to search for his missing twin brother Steve. Anxious for adventure, Steve had jumped ship the last time they ported on Earth, and Alan is anxious to see his now 26-year-old brother, forever altered by the differences of time on Earth vs. time in space.

It is Alan’s first time in an Earther city, and he finds it fascinating. When his spacer outfit and cultural ignorance bring unwanted attention from locals and the Police, he only manages to escape with the help of a gambler named Max. Max seems to be eying his as a protegé, and ends up tutoring Alan in the culture and resources needed to find Steve.

After Max and Alan return Steve to their father’s ship, Alan decides it’s his turn for adventure. Alan has long dreamed of building a faster than light drive based on the drawings of long lost (and ridiculed) scientist and hopes to one day track down his lost diaries and continue his work.

Silverberg’s work is no doubt aided by his own proximity in age to his main character. Alan’s point of view as a teen discovering Earth and its culture for the first time comes off as very authentic, and we experience everything along with him. For science fiction, this is a great way to introduce the futuristic elements unfamiliar to us, and it’s amazing how many of those resonate even today as future possibilities well within our imagination.

Silverberg comments in a brief note at the beginning that the book is not his best work but will be of interest to those curious about his early career. I think the writing style his fans have experienced in his later works is clearly recognizable here and readers, fans or not, will enjoy the book. It’s size makes it a fast read, so it’s a good introduction to Silverberg for any who haven’t discovered him before.

I highly recommend Starman’s Quest and know you’ll enjoy it as much as I did.

I am behind on my blogging, so apologies to anyone who actually follows this. I just finished two great science fiction books and thought I’d review them here back to back.

The first is the all-time classic “A Canticle For Leibowitz” by Walter M. Miller. I’ve heard about this book for years but never read it. The other day I found a copy in the used book store and decided it was time. What a delightful read.

A post-apocalyptic novel written in 1959, “Canticle” is the story of monks who are trying to preserve relics of the past in a rebuilding culture set back to the Dark Ages after a nuclear holocaust. They live in a time where things like “electricity” and “machines that fly” amaze them to think about. A time when such ideas seem like distant fantasy.

But as their culture evolves and we experience it through different generations of monks at the monastery, a number of old forgotten inventions begin to reoccur and bring new challenges and havoc to their lives.

A great examination of faith and belief mixed with interpersonal interactions and history, I found this a compelling read full of rich characters and settings and a fascinating plot.

I can see why it’s so revered and plan to read it again in a few years so I can enjoy it all over again.

The second book I’ll review is Jay Lake’s “Death of A Starship.” It’s a book Jay and I have discussed when talking about faith in fiction and Christian characters appearing in scifi, and I finally managed to bump it up the queue and read it. I’m so glad I did.

I loved this book. A fast read, it’s filled with action and focuses on three well drawn lead characters. Jay Lake went to considerable effort to make them realistic, even consulting priests to make sure his portrayal of Father Menard was as accurate as he could make it.

The story of an investigation into the disappearance of a major battleship, the last of a type decommissioned years before in a quest for peace, a ship so powerful it could blow away half the current fleet by itself, Menard, a ship’s mechanic, and Navy assassins find themselves on colliding trajectories which take them not only toward each other, but the ship and the long suspected aliens who caused it to crash. Menard’s Xenic Bureau of the church has long been seeking proof of their existence, and Menard finds their infiltration is far deeper than he’d ever suspected.

Fast-paced, tightly written, a page turner. I almost couldn’t put it down. I read 92 pages the first day and split the other pages only due to busyness in my schedule.

Highly recommended to anyone who likes scifi and especially solid space opera.

Both highly recommended and enjoyable. For what it’s worth…

Recently read Mike Resnick’s 1993 book Purgatory, the first in a three-book series. What a great read! I couldn’t put it down. As you may know, Resnick is one of the most prolific and successful of Science Fiction writers. His books and stories have appeared everywhere. What you may not know is that Resnick, like myself, has a passion for Africa, and he uses it a lot in his work. We have corresponded and chatted about this, and he sent me several stories, but this book is tops.

Purgatory is the story of Karimon, a distant planet rich in minerals, discovered by a Republic who then try and colonize it and exploit its mineral wealth. They are opposed by local tribal leader Janalopi and a Republic missionary, both of whom, are eventually brushed aside by the colonists with total disregard.

As the colony develops and the natives become more and more frustrated with their low status and living conditions and the loss of 90% of their land, they start to protest, eventually launching a guerilla rebellion. The Republic leaders brush it off as minor nuisance but eventually find themselves slowly becoming overwhelmed. A new breed of native leader, educated in Republic schools and aware of Republic culture, take over the rebellion and lead their people with new strength.

The book is rich with flavor and strong characterization. The story centers around Karimoni and Colonist characters from various eras in the planet’s development and their interactions. Resnick uses African history here to address injustices and issues often ignored in an outer space setting. The best science fiction uses the futuristic settings, technology, etc. to teach us or remind us of something about ourselves or our past, and Resnick does that here to great effect.

Purgatory is one of the best reads I’ve found in science fiction so far, and I look foward to reading his follow up books Paradise and Inferno very soon. Highly recommended. For what it’s worth…

Timothy Zahn is one of my favorite writers and has been very influential in my own writing. Like me, Zahn writes a lot of space opera, and he’s most famous for his Thrawn series of Star Wars novels. But he’s been writing a long time and has some great other stuff as well. His Quadrail series (Night Train to Rigel, Odd Girl Out, etc), in particular, is a great read.

Recently, I heard about another of his books, Deadman Switch, which features spiritual themes. Since I use a lot of spiritual themes in my specfic, I wanted to check it out. It was published in 1988 and is out of print, but I tracked down a copy on Amazon and read it last week. What a fantastic read. I highly recommend it.

A bit more of a mystery than a space opera, the premise of the book is that the Patri, a coalition of planets, has found a rich source of minerals in the rings and moons around the planet Solitaire. There’s only one catch, the system is surrounded by a mysterious cloud which prevents ships from entering. The only way in is using the Deadman Switch — carrying a zombi along who is killed and then flies the ship through the cloud. Death Row inmates have become the zombis of choice, and when his boss buys a large conglomerate on Solitaire to get a license to travel there, Gilead Raca Benedar is sent with the boss’ son to check out the new property and tend to details.

The problem is that Gilead belongs to a Christian order called “the Watchers,”
who have unique powers of perception allowing them to read minds. His integrity and values raise objections with the Deadman Switch idea, but then he discovers that one of the zombis on their ship (they carry two — one to go in, one to get out) is a fellow Watcher, and Gilead is convinced she’s innocent. When he sets out to prove it, drama ensues.

Eventually, Gilead takes drastic steps to protect her and escapes with her to the nearby planet Spall, hoping to find Smugglers raiding the system to use as zombis instead. In the process, they discover a new form of intelligent life previously undiscovered and end up launching a huge investigation and scientific inquiry which ropes in both watchers, Gilead’s boss, local officials, and a local religious sect. When it is discovered that a large fleet is on its way to attack the system, Gilead and the others scramble to find a way to deal with the situation.

If I tell you more, you would know too much, so I’ll leave it there, but suffice it to say the ending has plenty of surprises and the book is a great read. I read 50 pages a day until the last day when I read over 100 because I just had to know what happens. I would have read more other days too but have too much going on. It’s a pageturner, in other words, and filled with Zahn’s trademark solid science, interesting and complex characters and complicated, unfolding plotting. Truly a great read, and if you can track it down, I highly recommend doing so.

The spiritual themes are used similarly to the way I use them in my work: Christian influenced characters without being preachy, so I think even those scifi fans who are agnostic or not fans of religion would enjoy it.

I put a link to Zahn’s site on my website. I highly recommend checking out his books. You won’t regret it.

For what it’s worth…