Aug

20

Posted by : atcampbell | On : August 20, 2002

The Quiet Invasion by Sarah Zettel

Thirteen people attended this discussion at Lori and A. T.’s house, including one first-time visitor. Also, one person submitted comments by email. Our topic was The Quiet Invasion, a sf novel set on Venus featuring noble scientists, academic dishonesty, flying aliens, and politics. Eight of us had started the book, and five finished it.

We thought this book had cool aliens. They were nonhumanoid flying creatures with strange biology, but they had distinct personalities and were well-drawn sympathetic characters. The structure of their society and its interpersonal relationships were well thought-out, and Zettel described this so well that we

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Aug

06

Posted by : atcampbell | On : August 6, 2002

Deepsix by Jack McDevitt

Sixteen people attended this discussion at the home of Charles and Willie. The topic, Deepsix by Jack McDevitt, is a hard sf novel about a group of scientists who rush to explore a mysterious planet before it is destroyed in a cosmic collision. All of us had read prior books by McDevitt. Eleven of us started Deepsix, and seven finished it.

We enjoyed reading a traditional sf novel. The story got off to an interesting start, and we enjoyed discovering strange things on the planet. We loved the alien species, particularly the cool “cricket people.” The prose style was clear and told the story well. We appreciated how the author skillfully kept the pace of

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