It's been a while since I started the thread, but I just finished I Am Legend by Richard Matheson.  I didn't even know there was a book until after I saw the Will Smith movie.  Anyway, I liked the story, but Matheson's writing style is a little flat for my taste.

Huh. Somehow the only SF I read last month was Storyteller, by Amy Thomson. That was very much a story in search of a writer -- I wanted it to be so much better than it was.

Still on my TBR stack this month are: Altered Carbon, by Richard K. Morgan; Bright of the Sky, by Kay Kenyon; Carnival, by Elizabeth Bear; Dust, by Elizabeth Bear; Hyperion, by Dan Simmons; The Light Ages, by Ian R. MacLeod; The Silver Metal Lover, by Tanith Lee; Six Moon Dance, by Sheri S. Tepper; Slow River, by Nicola Griffith; and The Speed of Dark, by Elizabeth Moon. I also have The Collected Short Fiction of C.J. Cherryh on my shelf; I'll probably start reading those in the bathroom, but it's a pretty thick book so I have no idea when I'll get through them all. My father will also be giving me something by Iain Banks to read at some point soon -- he just needs to decide which he wants to discuss with me most.

I finished The Guardian by Joe Haldeman. This will be the first Haldeman book that I will not keep.

So I started an anthology edited by Resnick, called This is My Funniest.

Six Moon Dance! I hope you enjoy it! (This won't give anything away -- House of Legislation and Investigation of the Council of Worlds, HOLI COW!)

I don't have ANY real scifi on tap now. I've got a bunch of fantasy lined up though. Maybe next month :-)

THE SAILOR ON THE SEAS OF FATE, by Michael Moorcock, 1976

This second book in the series is made up of three sections - Sailing to the Future, Sailing to the Present, and Sailing to the Past. The self-exiled Emporer Elric is now traveling through the world and in the separate adventures of each section, primarily by sailing ship. I'm gradually puzzling out the nature of this world, because I have some expectation (hope?) that it will all interconnect eventually. Certainly there are strong hints at the relationship between Elric, Erikose, Hawkmoon, and Corum - "The Four Who Are One" - in the first section. However, in the details, I am finding this writing to be a little tedious, as wave after wave of hideous monsters are thrown at the protagonists, and just-introduced comrades-in-arms are slain. It feels more like playing a videogame than reading a novel.  I definitely did not like this book as much as the first - Elric of Melnibone.

PACIFIC EDGE, by Kim Stanley Robinson, 1990

This is the third of Kim Stanley Robinson's alternate future Californias, the others being The Wild Shore, and The Gold Coast. I first read all three of these books when they were newly released, and now this one again almost 20 years later. In Pacific Edge, we get a quasi-utopian future mid-21st century that has emerged from a difficult period. A lot of the themes that Robinson later reworked in his Mars and Capitol Code series are present here - ecological sustainability, social justice, the politics of natural resources, and introspective interpersonal relationships. The descriptions of bicycle commuting, backpacking trips, gardening, and house remodeling are accurate in detail, and clearly something Robinson himself enjoys as much as I do. In fact, it's a little scary how much the quasi-utopia he invented here embodies my own values.

But what really made this novel for me was the characters. It is about some ordinary people who live in this future, whose issues are merely local. But just because this society has progressed somewhat, doesn't mean bad things don't happen. People are still people, each with good and bad in them. It felt so real, like maybe these characters live down the street from me, and some day I might draft behind one of them on my way to the office.   Kim Stanley Robinson is one of my favorites, and this book reminded me why.

-Tom Hl.

Inside Straight

This is the first WILD CARDS novel that I have read in... 20 years?  It couldn't be that long, could it?

I am happy to say that George R. R. Martin's great co-operative writing, shared universe experiment WILD CARDS are as much of a pleasure at book # 18 as they were when I was 15 years old and just discovering them.

I haven't been reading much pure SF, but I'm on a huge Stephen King kick, and just finished Cell the other day, which does have an SF flavor to it.

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Hmmm, had to test this out.

I finished Illegal Alien by R Sawyer and Implied Spaces by WJ Williams.  Both books were disappointing but they did get requested within hours of being posted -

I'm finishing up Stephen King's Just After Sunset, the last short story collection released (fall 2008, I think). It's ... meh. I enjoyed one story a lot ("Graduation Afternoon"), but I think that was because it really surprised me in a shocking way. A few others have been memorable and stuck with me so far, but they pale compare to his earlier short story collections. This collection is a mix of sci fi/horror and a few that I would consider straight fiction, if anyone is considering reading it.

These are the only scifi books i can remember reading this month right off the top of my head....but i've got a few more planned.

The Disappeared (Retrieval Artist, Bk 1) :: Kristine Kathryn Rusch
A Hymn Before Battle (Posleen War, Bk 1) :: John Ringo
 Psychic Warrior :: Robert Doherty

I'm sure there are one or two more sci-fi books in there but for the moment, they escape me.

I just finished Halfway Human by Carolyn I. Gilman.  Pretty good.  Mostly about slavery and politics.  Very little actual science in it. More human interest novel.

Finished Flood by Stephen Baxter.  Whoa - dismal.  Great book, good characterization, obviously well researched, well written.  I had a hard time putting the book down.  The story was GRIM and depressing, but still, fascinating book.  Yeah - I guess I'd say I have to recommend it.  The title tells the story, but it's not just global warming.  Some tipping point was reached and the water just keeps rising.  Thought provoking in that its just down the road a-ways,  our future?  Ack....... 

I wonder about the children ...............and I wonder if Baxter has a follow-up book(s) planned.

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heh heh, I like the "meh" rating.  I think Gandalara had something like it.  Like an "eh" rating or some such. 

I've just come off of an Agatha Christie binge and am in the mood for some SF again. Next up on my plate is "The Giver", by Lois Lowry - it's young adult fiction, but it sounded interesting, and Lois is an acquaintance and I thought it might be nice to have actually read one of her books.

I'm also planning to start on the three "Isaac Asimov's Robot Mystery" novels by Tiedemann. I haven't decided if I will read those or "The Giver" first.