Oct

05

The Alien Years

Posted by : atcampbell | On : October 5, 1999

Category: Uncategorized

The Alien Years by Robert Silverberg

Six people attended the discussion of The Alien Years. This is a near future science fiction novel in which aliens invade and conquer the earth. The aliens remain offstage, and the story concentrates on the people living on Earth during the alien occupation. We encounter people forced into alien service, people seeking to serve the aliens, and people trying to overthrow the aliens. A large portion of the book follows members of a family in California that is active in the resistance throughout several generations.

We felt that this book had an intriguing premise, and it was developed well. We liked reading about truly alien extraterrestrial beings that were omnipotent and impossible for humans to understand. The aliens did strange things such as disassembling Stonehenge and reassembling it in a new pattern, and there was no attempt made to explain their actions. All of the characters in the book who tried to understand the aliens failed completely. The aliens were so inscrutable

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Sep

21

The Death of the Necromancer

Posted by : atcampbell | On : September 21, 1999

Category: Uncategorized

The Death of the Necromancer by Martha Wells

The discussion of Martha Wells’s third novel drew eight participants. The Death of the Necromancer is a dark fantasy set in a world much like 18th Century Europe. The main character, Nicholas Valiarde, is a nobleman secretly plotting revenge against the evil Count Montesq, who had Valiarde’s godfather executed on false charges. While attempting to steal a treasure and frame Montesq for the crime, Valiarde encounters a dark supernatural evil. Distracted from his mission of vengeance, Valiarde decides to find out more about the evil force and to try to stop it.

We found this book told an exciting, page-turning adventure story. The plot kept taking unexpected turns, but we were enjoying it so much that we gleefully went

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Sep

07

Secret Realms

Posted by : atcampbell | On : September 7, 1999

Category: Uncategorized

Secret Realms by Tom Cool

Nine people showed up to discuss Secret Realms, the second science fiction novel by US Naval Commander Tom Cool. Several of us had met the author and been impressed by him at his recent appearances in Texas (at LoneStarCon 2 in San Antonio and at the Turkey City Writers’ Workshop in Austin). Additionally, Tor editor David Hartwell had been praising Secret Realms at last year’s ArmadilloCon, so we felt we needed to discuss this book.

Secret Realms is about a military experiment where a group of people is raised since birth in a virtual reality world designed to teach them to be warriors. The story is largely told from the viewpoint of the experimental subjects, who initially

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Aug

17

Clouds End

Posted by : atcampbell | On : August 17, 1999

Category: Uncategorized

Clouds End by Sean Stewart

Eight people showed up for the discussion of Clouds End, a fantasy novel by ArmadilloCon 21 Guest of Honor Sean Stewart. Six had read the book, and the others were present to socialize or observe. The book is a heroic fantasy set in a fully imagined world. The story concerns a group of island people who get wrapped up in a struggle involving supernatural Heroes and the mysterious Mist. A young woman, Brook, encounters a bird that turns into a twin of herself. Worse yet, the twin (called Jo) brings news of an ominous invasion. This causes Brook, Jo, and several of Brook’s friends to embark on a quest of danger and self-discovery.

We found the world of this book to be a brilliant and wonderful piece of invention. Stewart created interesting and fleshed-out civilizations and mythologies. The characters seem like they fit well in this world, and their novel speech patterns

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Aug

03

Cosm

Posted by : atcampbell | On : August 3, 1999

Category: Uncategorized

Cosm by Gregory Benford

The discussion of Gregory Benford’s latest hard SF thriller drew a crowd of ten people. Eight had read the book and were there to discuss it, and two showed up just to socialize and join us for dinner. The book is a near future story about a young physicist, Alicia Butterworth, who makes a breakthrough discovery. A large part of the novel is a straightforward but unglamorized portrait of the life of a working academic scientist.

Everyone found the writing style compelling and readable, particularly compared to the stylistic experimentation of Benford’s Galactic Center books. We felt that the portrayal of a scientist’s life and work is realistic. The details of Dr. Butterworth’s life ring true, particularly her obsession with work and her neglect

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Jul

20

The Dazzle of Day

Posted by : atcampbell | On : July 20, 1999

Category: Uncategorized

The Dazzle of Day by Molly Gloss

Six people showed up for this discussion, including one member we hadn’t seen in more than half a year. The Dazzle of Day is a science fiction novel about a generation ship filled with multiethnic Quakers. After a brief prologue set before the launch, most of the book is devoted to the generation that will reach the ship’s destination.

This book has interesting elements. The use of a Quaker society is an interesting innovation, and the book portrays it accurately as far as we could tell. The characters seem like they fit into this society. The author uses various types of personal relationships to portray cultural diversity. Gloss displays a great ability to display daily life with all its ticks. This book has more bathroom scenes than

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Jul

06

Children of God

Posted by : atcampbell | On : July 6, 1999

Category: Uncategorized

Children of God by Mary Doria Russell

Six people participated in the discussion of Children of God, which is a current Hugo nominee. This book is the sequel to Russell’s Tiptree Award-winning “Jesuits in space” first novel, The Sparrow. The story starts as Father Emilio is finally learning to enjoy life again after the devastating first contact mission to Rakhat. Then the Catholic Church decides to send a second mission to Rakhat, and Emilio is forced to participate. When Emilio and the rest of the mission team arrive, they find that their first visit led to major changes on Rakhat as well as on Earth.

All of us found the story and Russell’s prose compelling. One person had not read The Sparrow, but he found the author did a good job of filling him in on the necessary background. Emilio is a sympathetic character, so we are pleased

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Jun

15

Moonfall

Posted by : atcampbell | On : June 15, 1999

Category: Uncategorized

Moonfall by Jack McDevitt

The discussion of Moonfall drew eight participants. This is a near-future SF disaster novel where scientists discover a comet on a collision course with Earth’s moon. Earth’s leaders have a little over a week to figure out how to save the people of the heavily populated moonbase and in an orbiting space station. Then the Earth needs to be saved from the effects of the tidal changes and large debris that result from the collision.

We found this to be a well-written, fast paced thriller. McDevitt established tension and suspense well, and he used the time deadline effectively. The characters were well drawn and interesting. We particularly liked the US Vice President, who is visiting the moon when the trouble starts and thus finds himself

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Jun

01

Forever Peace

Posted by : atcampbell | On : June 1, 1999

Category: Uncategorized

Forever Peace by Joe Haldeman

Eight people attended the discussion of Forever Peace. This novel, which won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards, combines elements from several literary traditions: hard SF, cyberpunk, and war. While this book has a similar title to Haldeman’s earlier book The Forever War, the two books are not related. The story, set in the near future, involves a group of American soldiers who operate remote-controlled military robots. The main character, a soldier who works as a physicist when he’s not jacked into a robot, is involved with an experiment to build a supercollider in orbit about Jupiter. These story elements converge in a fast-paced thriller.

We found this to be a book full of good ideas. The military robots (called “soldierboys”, “sailerboys”, and “flyboys”) were a fascinating premise. A side effect of the mind-controlled robots is that the platoons of robot operators can

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May

18

Greenwar

Posted by : atcampbell | On : May 18, 1999

Category: Uncategorized

Greenwar by Steven Gould and Laura J. Mixon

Ten people showed up for this meeting, which took place at a pool party hosted by Elaine Powell. Additionally, one person e-mailed in comments. Much of the evening involves splashing around, eating, and visiting, but we managed to work in a short book discussion while waiting for the delivery man from Mangia Pizza.

Greenwar is a fast-paced technological thriller involving terrorists who attack high-tech facilities in the name of saving the environment. The story is told from the viewpoints of three characters: Emma, the engineer who designed a facility

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