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No. 38 Hunger - Michael Grant
Michael Grant's YA series continues, with page turning efficiency, if not blinding complexity.
Michael Grant's YA series continues, with page turning efficiency, if not blinding complexity.
![Picture](/uploads/1/6/7/8/16787882/4675025.jpg?123)
No. 37 The Confusion - Neal Stephenson
Tales of derring-do and swashbuckling piracy, combined with the financial shenanigans of financing the wars of France in the court of the Sun King. Will Jack Shaftoe and Eliza meet again?
Tales of derring-do and swashbuckling piracy, combined with the financial shenanigans of financing the wars of France in the court of the Sun King. Will Jack Shaftoe and Eliza meet again?
![Picture](/uploads/1/6/7/8/16787882/3994733.jpg?124)
No. 36 Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn
Read it on the Kindle. A great aeroplane or holiday book. Keeps the pages turning.
Read it on the Kindle. A great aeroplane or holiday book. Keeps the pages turning.
![Picture](/uploads/1/6/7/8/16787882/5645010.jpg?127)
No. 35 Laughing Boy - Bradley Denton
Fine out there effort from Denton. Unfortunate rube survives terrorist attack and laughs uproariously at the carnage in the aftermath. Gets demonised for it, us used and manipulated by shysters and the US Gummint.
Fine out there effort from Denton. Unfortunate rube survives terrorist attack and laughs uproariously at the carnage in the aftermath. Gets demonised for it, us used and manipulated by shysters and the US Gummint.
![Picture](/uploads/1/6/7/8/16787882/9484.jpg?136)
No. 34 The Rise of Ransom City - Felix Gilman
Gilman returns to the 'Half Made World, telling the exploits of the inventor of the marvellous 'Ransom process', which provides energy and prosperity for all.
Gilman returns to the 'Half Made World, telling the exploits of the inventor of the marvellous 'Ransom process', which provides energy and prosperity for all.
![Picture](/uploads/1/6/7/8/16787882/9710047.jpg?145)
No. 33 Country of the Blind - Christopher Brookmyre
Catching up with Jack Parlabane is always a guilty pleasure.
Catching up with Jack Parlabane is always a guilty pleasure.
![Picture](/uploads/1/6/7/8/16787882/777376_orig.jpg)
No. 32. Homeland - Cory Doctorow
Sequel to 'Little Brother' joins Marcus Yallow some years after the events of LB, still trying to extricate himself from the evil clutches of the security services.
Sequel to 'Little Brother' joins Marcus Yallow some years after the events of LB, still trying to extricate himself from the evil clutches of the security services.
![Picture](/uploads/1/6/7/8/16787882/2140512.jpg?137)
No 31. Nazi Literature in the Americas - Roberto Bolano
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No 30. The Half-Made World - Felix Gilman
In a word, brilliant.
In a word, brilliant.
![Picture](/uploads/1/6/7/8/16787882/6171874.jpg?116)
No 29. Burning Paradise - Robert Charles Wilson
![Picture](/uploads/1/6/7/8/16787882/2187852.jpg?116)
No 28. Descent - Ken MacLeod
![Picture](/uploads/1/6/7/8/16787882/559313_orig.jpg)
No 27. Peacemaker - CJ Cherryh
![Picture](/uploads/1/6/7/8/16787882/1408846746.jpg)
No 26. Earth Awakens - Orson Scott Card & Aaron Johnston
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No 25. Dreamwalker - CS Friedman
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No 24. On The Razor's Edge - Michael Flynn
A brilliant close to Flynn's Spiral Arm series, in which the truth of Donovan buigh's history is at last revealed and Hounds, Shadows, harpers and magpies converge upon Old Terra.....
A brilliant close to Flynn's Spiral Arm series, in which the truth of Donovan buigh's history is at last revealed and Hounds, Shadows, harpers and magpies converge upon Old Terra.....
No 23 Retro Hugo 1939
Novel:
The Legion of Time, Jack Williamson
Galactic Patrol, E. E. Smith
Novella:
“Who Goes There?”, Don A Stuart
“The Time Trap”, Henry Kuttner
Anthem, Ayn Rand
Novellette:
“Werewoman”, C. L. Moore
“Pigeons From Hell”, Robert E. Howard
Short Story
“Hollerbochen’s Dilemma”, Ray Bradbury
“Hyperpilosity”, L. Sprague de Camp
“The Faithful”, Lester del Rey
“Helen O’Loy”, Lester del Rey
Novel:
The Legion of Time, Jack Williamson
Galactic Patrol, E. E. Smith
Novella:
“Who Goes There?”, Don A Stuart
“The Time Trap”, Henry Kuttner
Anthem, Ayn Rand
Novellette:
“Werewoman”, C. L. Moore
“Pigeons From Hell”, Robert E. Howard
Short Story
“Hollerbochen’s Dilemma”, Ray Bradbury
“Hyperpilosity”, L. Sprague de Camp
“The Faithful”, Lester del Rey
“Helen O’Loy”, Lester del Rey
No 22 Hugo Short Stories
“The Ink Readers of Doi Saket”,Thomas Olde Heuvelt - my selection
“The Water That Falls on You from Nowhere”, John Chu
“If You Were a Dinosaur, My Love”, Rachel Swirsky
“Selkie Stories Are for Losers”, Sofia Samatar
“The Ink Readers of Doi Saket”,Thomas Olde Heuvelt - my selection
“The Water That Falls on You from Nowhere”, John Chu
“If You Were a Dinosaur, My Love”, Rachel Swirsky
“Selkie Stories Are for Losers”, Sofia Samatar
No 21 Hugo Novelettes
“The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling”, Ted Chiang - my vote for the winner
“The Lady Astronaut of Mars”, Mary Robinette Kowal - this one was the winner
“The Waiting Stars”, Aliette de Bodard
“Opera Vita Aeterna”, Vox Day
“The Chaplain’s Legacy”, Brad Torgersen
The execrable Mr Vox Day's contribution nicely written but falls flat, but Torgensen's is just woeful.
“The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling”, Ted Chiang - my vote for the winner
“The Lady Astronaut of Mars”, Mary Robinette Kowal - this one was the winner
“The Waiting Stars”, Aliette de Bodard
“Opera Vita Aeterna”, Vox Day
“The Chaplain’s Legacy”, Brad Torgersen
The execrable Mr Vox Day's contribution nicely written but falls flat, but Torgensen's is just woeful.
![Picture](/uploads/1/6/7/8/16787882/3185615.jpg?132)
No 20 - Hugo Novellas
My selection as the winner, Andy Duncan & Ellen Klages tell of linked generations at the Wakullla Springs hotel.
Other nominees:
“Equoid”, Charles Stross - which won
Six-Gun Snow White, Catherynne M. Valente
The Butcher of Khardov, Dan Wells
“The Chaplain’s Legacy”, Brad Torgersen
All of the stories are worthy of nomination except Torgensen's turgid little tale done better by Heinlein in 'Waldo' many decades ago.
My selection as the winner, Andy Duncan & Ellen Klages tell of linked generations at the Wakullla Springs hotel.
Other nominees:
“Equoid”, Charles Stross - which won
Six-Gun Snow White, Catherynne M. Valente
The Butcher of Khardov, Dan Wells
“The Chaplain’s Legacy”, Brad Torgersen
All of the stories are worthy of nomination except Torgensen's turgid little tale done better by Heinlein in 'Waldo' many decades ago.
![Picture](/uploads/1/6/7/8/16787882/6497010.jpg?140)
No 19 - Warbound - Larry Correia
Rather hackneyed steam-punk supernatural tale, complete with airships.
Slow to begin, full of clunky prose and outclassed in this field.
Rather hackneyed steam-punk supernatural tale, complete with airships.
Slow to begin, full of clunky prose and outclassed in this field.
![Picture](/uploads/1/6/7/8/16787882/6542532.jpg?116)
No 18 Parasite - Mira Grant
Sadly the Hugo pack only included a teaser, which whets the appetite for this plague thriller.
Sadly the Hugo pack only included a teaser, which whets the appetite for this plague thriller.
![Picture](/uploads/1/6/7/8/16787882/1133986.jpg)
No 17 - Deep Space - Ian Douglas
Douglas' epic trilogy into a 4th volume. A fun read if you filter out the tired trope of the nasty cowardly Europeans stopping North American derring-do.
Douglas' epic trilogy into a 4th volume. A fun read if you filter out the tired trope of the nasty cowardly Europeans stopping North American derring-do.
![Picture](/uploads/1/6/7/8/16787882/6473784.jpg)
No 16 - Neptune's Brood - Charles Stross
Stross in good form, imagining the economics of a galaxy spanning civilization.
Stross in good form, imagining the economics of a galaxy spanning civilization.
![Picture](/uploads/1/6/7/8/16787882/6349063.jpg?157.42857142857144)
No 15 - Ancillary Justice - Anne Leckie
My vote for 2014 Hugo winner. Well constructed tale from the viewpoint of an AI which has lost its multiplicity. Fresh and exiting, with sequels to come. And it won.
These are the other nominees:
Neptune’s Brood, Charles Stross Parasite, Mira Grant
Warbound, Book III of the Grimnoir Chronicles, Larry Correia
The Wheel of Time, Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
My vote for 2014 Hugo winner. Well constructed tale from the viewpoint of an AI which has lost its multiplicity. Fresh and exiting, with sequels to come. And it won.
These are the other nominees:
Neptune’s Brood, Charles Stross Parasite, Mira Grant
Warbound, Book III of the Grimnoir Chronicles, Larry Correia
The Wheel of Time, Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
![Picture](/uploads/1/6/7/8/16787882/1904988.jpg?141)
No 14 Ender in Exile - Graphic Novel
Ok, but the book novel reads better - good for a quick review only, or perhaps for "readers" of Rupert's rags, for whom pictures are more important than words.
Ok, but the book novel reads better - good for a quick review only, or perhaps for "readers" of Rupert's rags, for whom pictures are more important than words.
![Picture](/uploads/1/6/7/8/16787882/6233807.jpg?137)
No 13. Traitors Gate - Kate Elliott
Fine conclusion to the Crossroads trilogy, which showcases Kate Elliott's skill in misdirection. Who exactly should you be rooting for here?
Fine conclusion to the Crossroads trilogy, which showcases Kate Elliott's skill in misdirection. Who exactly should you be rooting for here?
![Picture](/uploads/1/6/7/8/16787882/1418964.jpg)
![Picture](/uploads/1/6/7/8/16787882/2317841.jpg)
No.11 Equoid - Charles Stross
A cautionary tale about unicorns and the fascination of young women for horses, in which Bob Howard embarks on a mission to eliminate a dangerous infestation. Won a Hugo.
http://www.tor.com/stories/2013/09/equoid
A cautionary tale about unicorns and the fascination of young women for horses, in which Bob Howard embarks on a mission to eliminate a dangerous infestation. Won a Hugo.
http://www.tor.com/stories/2013/09/equoid
![Picture](/uploads/1/6/7/8/16787882/8221644.jpg?127)
No. 10. The Drowned Cities - Paolo Bacigalupi
The Drowned Cities is loosely linked to the earlier 'Ship Breaker', by the common character, the genetically engineered warrior 'Tool'. It is set in the same brutal, post warming United States, where the surviving populace are reduced to scavenging in the ruins of their former greatness, resisting the benevolent assistance of the Chinese, who have left them to their own devices in disgust.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Drowned-Cities-Paolo-Bacigalupi/dp/0316056227
The Drowned Cities is loosely linked to the earlier 'Ship Breaker', by the common character, the genetically engineered warrior 'Tool'. It is set in the same brutal, post warming United States, where the surviving populace are reduced to scavenging in the ruins of their former greatness, resisting the benevolent assistance of the Chinese, who have left them to their own devices in disgust.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Drowned-Cities-Paolo-Bacigalupi/dp/0316056227
![Picture](/uploads/1/6/7/8/16787882/24722.jpg?118)
No 9. The Progressive Patriot
http://www.billybragg.co.uk/store/index.php/books/the-progressive-patriot-a-search-for-belonging-paperback.html
http://www.billybragg.co.uk/store/index.php/books/the-progressive-patriot-a-search-for-belonging-paperback.html
![Picture](/uploads/1/6/7/8/16787882/7991835.jpg?1400586943)
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No. 7 Coyote Rising
In which the forces of freedom and individuality (represented by the starship hijackers of its predecessor 'Coyote') prevail over the nasty socialist 'Collectivism' of the colonists who arrived at the close of 'Coyote'.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/365978.Coyote_Rising
In which the forces of freedom and individuality (represented by the starship hijackers of its predecessor 'Coyote') prevail over the nasty socialist 'Collectivism' of the colonists who arrived at the close of 'Coyote'.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/365978.Coyote_Rising
![Picture](/uploads/1/6/7/8/16787882/2679497.jpg?165)
No 6. Waging Heavy Peace (A Hippie Dream)
Neil Young gave up smoking, drinking and drugs after a health scare. But would this change in lifestyle cause the loss of his muse. In clunky prose, Young provides vignettes of his life as a rock and roll star, always doing things his way, despite the disappointment of others. He always follows the music where it leads. As he does with his many projects - whether it is restoring old classic American cars, promoting a new music player (Pono), making model railways or developing an electric Yank Tank!
It's a leisurely 650 page meander through the musings of a music great.
http://www.amazon.com/Waging-Heavy-Peace-Hippie-Dream/dp/0142180319
Neil Young gave up smoking, drinking and drugs after a health scare. But would this change in lifestyle cause the loss of his muse. In clunky prose, Young provides vignettes of his life as a rock and roll star, always doing things his way, despite the disappointment of others. He always follows the music where it leads. As he does with his many projects - whether it is restoring old classic American cars, promoting a new music player (Pono), making model railways or developing an electric Yank Tank!
It's a leisurely 650 page meander through the musings of a music great.
http://www.amazon.com/Waging-Heavy-Peace-Hippie-Dream/dp/0142180319
![Picture](/uploads/1/6/7/8/16787882/4737550.jpg?158)
No 5. Blue Remembered Earth, the first volume in Alastair Reynolds new 'Poseidon's Children' series begins in Africa, now the worlds economic powerhouse. The Akinya clan, lead by matriarch Eunice has been at the forefront of humanities expansion into the solar system. After the death of Eunice, who has spent the last 60 years as a recluse on a lunar orbiting satellite, the black sheep of the family, elephant cognition researcher Geoffrey, and lunar artist Sunday follow a breadcrumb trail left by Eunice for the family to follow. It leads to the furthest reaches of the solar system, through danger and intrigue to a discovery which has the potential to change the future.
http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Remembered-Earth-Poseidons-Children/dp/0425256162
http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Remembered-Earth-Poseidons-Children/dp/0425256162
![Picture](/uploads/1/6/7/8/16787882/4048110.jpg?156)
No 4. Allen Steele may well be familar with Jefferson Starship's 'Blows Against the Empire' which counter-culture revolutionaries steal a starship from 'Uncle Samuel' and go out into the universe to find freedom.
Allen Steele's Capt Robert E Lee in instrumental in a plot by political dissidents in the space industry to hijack the USS Alabama, prototype starship of the repressive United Republic of America, built at ruinous cost to the economy to immortalize the government's ideology by planting a colony of fanatics on another star's planet.
Because the novel was assembled from a series of short stories, there is a an element of repetition which should have been eliminated with better editing. The stories are littered with basic errors of science, but the story rolls along in an unthreatening enough way. Many reviewers have a go at Steele's rather lackadaisical writing, and point out the errors for our edification. (My favourites include varying length of day & night on a moon without axial tilt, and a failure to remember tides, plus of course the lack of planning for eventual colonisation by the repressive URA - more guns and bullets than food!)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coyote_(novel)
Allen Steele's Capt Robert E Lee in instrumental in a plot by political dissidents in the space industry to hijack the USS Alabama, prototype starship of the repressive United Republic of America, built at ruinous cost to the economy to immortalize the government's ideology by planting a colony of fanatics on another star's planet.
Because the novel was assembled from a series of short stories, there is a an element of repetition which should have been eliminated with better editing. The stories are littered with basic errors of science, but the story rolls along in an unthreatening enough way. Many reviewers have a go at Steele's rather lackadaisical writing, and point out the errors for our edification. (My favourites include varying length of day & night on a moon without axial tilt, and a failure to remember tides, plus of course the lack of planning for eventual colonisation by the repressive URA - more guns and bullets than food!)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coyote_(novel)
![Picture](/uploads/1/6/7/8/16787882/2490882.jpg?149)
No 3. Kate Elliott returns to 'The Hundred' for 'Shadow Gate' the second installment of the 'Crossroads' trilogy. The author provides news of what Marit has become, and sketches the story of what became of the Guardians, and how they fell to shadow. Shai resumes his search for his brother Hari, and Cornflower's tragic and brutal backstory is told, whilst Captain Anji and his merchant wife Mei begin to build their stronghold in The Hundred, beset still by the threat from the Sirnakian Empire. Siblings and freed debt slaves Keshad and Zubaidat also have roles to play as the tale builds to a climax at the siege of Toskala.
http://fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com.au/2008/04/shadow-gate-by-kate-elliott.html
http://fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com.au/2008/04/shadow-gate-by-kate-elliott.html
![Picture](/uploads/1/6/7/8/16787882/2741118.jpg?159)
No 2: Cory Doctorow sets a high bar for 'best of 2014' with the brilliant' For the Win'. The iconic 'Wobbles' are reincarnated for a new century and a new industry as the downtrodden gold miners and labourers of the on-line gaming digital workplace form the 'International Workers of the World Wide Web' (the Webblies) to fight a decent living wage, battling the robber barons of cyberspace and their digital Pinkertons. A much needed parable for 21st Century as the 0.1% continue to rape and pillage more than their fare share of the world's resources. And it is available as a free download on the internet! http://craphound.com/ftw/download/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_Win
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_Win
![Picture](/uploads/1/6/7/8/16787882/3021312.jpg?162)
No 1. The Last Dark - Stephen Donaldson:
The New Year starts with the conclusion of a long running saga. Stephen Donaldson wrote the first Thomas Covenant books more than 35 years ago with the initial trilogy, and returned his anti-hero leper to 'The Land' on two further occasions, to 'damn and save' the earth. The saga culminates in the 'Final' Chronicles, a foursome, and perhaps the longest winded of the 10 volume epic.
Donaldson is as overly erudite as ever, smattering the text with exotic words, though in this volume. the action moves ever forward as the author ties the whole edifice into a rather tidy conclusion. Linden Avery, and her adopted son Jeremiah get to whine and doubt themselves at length once more, though in this case the narrative is not bogged down as in the middle volumes of the set. Indeed, one has hardly completed the synopsis of what has gone before when the first on many dramatic set-pieces builds to a climax.
A selection of the choicest special words....
Kudos to Donalson for actually bringing the ship home in what is a pretty brutal and effective way. After struggling through the 3rd volume (and particularly it's dire 1st half), I was not expecting all that much.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Last-Dark-Covenant-Chronicles/dp/0399159207
The New Year starts with the conclusion of a long running saga. Stephen Donaldson wrote the first Thomas Covenant books more than 35 years ago with the initial trilogy, and returned his anti-hero leper to 'The Land' on two further occasions, to 'damn and save' the earth. The saga culminates in the 'Final' Chronicles, a foursome, and perhaps the longest winded of the 10 volume epic.
Donaldson is as overly erudite as ever, smattering the text with exotic words, though in this volume. the action moves ever forward as the author ties the whole edifice into a rather tidy conclusion. Linden Avery, and her adopted son Jeremiah get to whine and doubt themselves at length once more, though in this case the narrative is not bogged down as in the middle volumes of the set. Indeed, one has hardly completed the synopsis of what has gone before when the first on many dramatic set-pieces builds to a climax.
A selection of the choicest special words....
- fuligin - blacker than black
- telic - purposeful
- bayamo - a violent wind
- cataphract - full armour for heavy cavalry
- guerdon - award or recompense
- jerrid - a blunt wooded javelin
- bedizened - ornamented or dressed in a showy manner
- marmoreal - made of or like marble
- sendaline - thin silk cloth
- thetic - constituting or beginning with a poetic thesis
- clinquant - glittering with gold or tinsel
- mansuetude - meekness, gentleness
- flamberge - a flame bladed sword
- hymnody - the singing of hymns
Kudos to Donalson for actually bringing the ship home in what is a pretty brutal and effective way. After struggling through the 3rd volume (and particularly it's dire 1st half), I was not expecting all that much.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Last-Dark-Covenant-Chronicles/dp/0399159207