Nov

20

Posted by : atcampbell | On : November 20, 2007

Keeping It Real by Justina Robson

Nine people gathered at A. T.’s house for this meeting. Our topic, Keeping it Real, is a novel about a bionic woman, rock and roll, nuclear power, elves, and motorcycles. Only two of us had read Robson before. Eight of us started this book, with five finishing it.

We liked many things about this book. The story is simply fun.  The narrative hooks the reader quickly and then moves quickly through to the end. The author fills in back story while the story is moving along, without tedious info dumps. The

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Nov

05

Posted by : atcampbell | On : November 5, 2007

I Am Legend by Richard Matheson

Eight of us gathered at the North Village Library for this meeting. Our topic was I Am Legend, a classic 50s sf/horror novel by Richard Matheson. A plague has turned most of the people on Earth into vampire/zombie-like creatures, and our story follows the story of Robert Neville, who may well be the last human alive. Four of us had read Matheson before. All of us started I Am Legend, and six finished the book.

We thought this was an entertaining read. One person felt the book was a deliberate refutation of the “mono-man myth” of Heinlein/Campbell/Astounding stories so prevalent in the 50s, which argued that one man can change the world.  It was argued that Matheson’s work is more similar to other California-based

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