May

04

Mars Underground

Posted by : atcampbell | On : May 4, 1999

Category: Uncategorized

Mars Underground by William K. Hartmann

At the first May meeting, our group picked new books for the reading list. This event drew good attendance (eight people), including a few folks we hadn’t seen in a while. As per our regular ritual, we put all the candidate books on a table for members to examine during the discussion. Choosing books was somewhat distracting, so the book discussion was less detailed than usual.

Five of us had read Mars Underground, the first novel by a noted Mars scientist and space artist. The book is a mystery/thriller set on a human-colonized Mars in the near future. The plot involves an inquiry into the disappearance of a

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Apr

20

Jack Faust

Posted by : atcampbell | On : April 20, 1999

Category: Uncategorized

Jack Faust by Michael Swanwick

Eight people attended the discussion of Jack Faust, and one person submitted comments by e-mail. One of ArmadilloCon’s co-chairs and her daughter dropped in briefly at the beginning to consult on fannish matters.

Jack Faust is a science-fictional retelling of the Faust legend, previously recorded by Marlowe and Goethe. It involves a 16th Century scholar who makes a deal with Mephistopheles in exchange for knowledge. He uses this knowledge from a wide

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Apr

06

A King of Infinite Space

Posted by : atcampbell | On : April 6, 1999

Category: Uncategorized

A King of Infinite Space by Allen Steele

Eight people attended the discussion, including one we hadn’t seen for several meetings. Steele’s book concerns a rich young man from the 20th Century who awakens from a cryogenic hibernation several hundred years in the future, where he tries to find a place for himself in the interplanetary civilization he discovers.

This book was the first futuristic space adventure we’d discussed all year, and we welcomed the change after several historical novels. Most of us had read Steele’s work before, so we began with a discussion of his prior body of work. Generally we’d liked earlier books but not loved them, so were curious to see

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Mar

16

The Border

Posted by : atcampbell | On : March 16, 1999

Category: Uncategorized

The Border by Marina Fitch

Eight people showed up for this meeting, and one person e-mailed in comments. The topic of our discussion was Marina Fitch’s novel The Border. This is a present-day magic realistic fantasy novel involving a family that tries to flee Mexico and escape into California for political reasons. The family is separated at the border, and not all of them make it across. Years later, the daughter who remained in Mexico tries again to cross the border and reunite with her family. The book’s fantasy element is a “spirit friend” who guides the woman in her journey.

This book has several interesting elements. The spirit guide has an intriguing personality and nature. A couple of the characters in the book practice origami (the Japanese art of paper folding), and we liked how this was worked into a strong plot element. The book is divided into two sections with radically different

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Mar

02

To Say Nothing of the Dog

Posted by : atcampbell | On : March 2, 1999

Category: Uncategorized

To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis

The most recent novel by Connie Willis drew a sizable crowd. Seven people attended the discussion in person, and two others submitted comments by e-mail. The book in question is a time travel novel with the same basic setup as Willis’s Hugo-winning Doomsday Book. This time, a time-traveling historian is sent back to Victorian England. He was so tired at the onset that he never clearly understood his mission, so he spends much of the book trying to figure out what he’s supposed to do. Along the way, he stumbles into a series of humorous romantic adventures reminiscent of the works of P. G. Wodehouse, Jerome K. Jerome, and Dorothy L. Sayers.

Several members of our group loved this book so much that they were ready to award Ms. Willis the 1999 Hugo before the votes are even cast. The writing style

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Feb

16

God’s Fires

Posted by : atcampbell | On : February 16, 1999

Category: Uncategorized

God’s Fires by Patricia Anthony

Seven members attended this discussion, and one person sent her comments by e-mail. God’s Fires is a “secret history” about an alien encounter in historic Portugal during the Inquisition. Characters meeting the aliens include villagers, a local priest, several representatives of the Inquisition, and Portugal’s mentally challenged king.

We found this book both intriguing and disturbing. Since the Inquisition is a major factor in the plot, it has tragic elements. All of the characters were well developed, and their personalities ranged from caring to belligerent to (in the

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Feb

02

In the Garden of Iden

Posted by : atcampbell | On : February 2, 1999

Category: Uncategorized

In the Garden of Iden by Kage Baker

Nine people attended the discussion of Kage Baker’s first novel, which has a fascinating premise. Scientists in the future, working for Dr. Zeus Inc., develop the technology for time travel. They discover that they can neither alter recorded history nor bring anything other than themselves back to the future. Desiring to rescue lost works of art and extinct species, they recruit people from the past to help them. These recruits hide treasures from harm, and leave messages so that they can be found in the future. As payment, the recruits are made immortal. This novel involves a group of people trying to save several endangered species of plants in England between the reigns of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I.

We all liked the premise of the book. We felt that the first 50 or so pages, which set up Dr. Zeus Inc. and describe the recruitment of a young girl rescued from

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Jan

19

Bone Wars by Brett Davis

Posted by : atcampbell | On : January 19, 1999

Category: Uncategorized

Bone Wars by Brett Davis

Seven people attended the discussion of Bone Wars. This is an alternate history SF novel about paleontologists who get mixed up with aliens in Montana near the end of the 1800s.

Only three of us had finished the book. We all felt that the book had started slowly, although those who persevered said that it got better later on. From the cover material and the author’s previous work, we had expected this book to

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Jan

05

Murder in the Solid State

Posted by : atcampbell | On : January 5, 1999

Category: Uncategorized

Murder in the Solid State by Wil McCarthy

Eleven people attended this meeting. This meeting’s book, Murder in the Solid State, is a near-future thriller about a young physicist who has been implicated in the murder of a prominent scientist. Suspecting that the local police intend to do him harm, he evades incarceration as he looks to prove himself innocent and find the real killer.

We felt that McCarthy’s prose style was engaging, and the plot kept us all turning the pages. Some of the characters were memorable and original, particular the protagonist’s best friend. We felt that this was overall a good story

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Dec

15

The Gift

Posted by : atcampbell | On : December 15, 1998

Category: Uncategorized

The Gift by Patrick O’Leary

Nine people attended this meeting. Eight had finished the book, and four had also read O’Leary’s prior book Door Number Three. Typically for O’Leary, The Gift is hard to describe succinctly. It’s a fantasy novel full of traditional tropes like a cursed prince, a woodcutter’s son, a quest, and dragons, To further complicate things, the book is structured like a set of fairy tales wrapped inside one another. And the plot is an ambitious story about the “last magic makers on Earth.”

We were impressed by this book’s ambitions and its many successes. The story is at times delightful, charming, and dark, and it is told in spirals and twists. And best of all, the spirals are wrapped together in a logical way that comes together

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