FACT SF Reading Group

August 2004

August 3: The Wizard Hunters by Martha Wells

Of the seven people who showed up for this discussion of the first book in The Fall of Ile-Rien trilogy, five had read the entire book and six had read Wells before. Two people e-mailed comments and one sent a verbal message.

The trilogy starts 30 years after the The Death of the Necromancer when Ile-Rien is at war with an unknown enemy, the Gardier. The bombing by the black airships, along with the early Twentieth Century level of technology, gives this story the feel of World War II England. Tremaine, a strong but reluctant heroine, is the only person who can operate the Damal sphere, which the military hopes to use as a weapon against the Gardier. Instead, the sphere transports Tremaine and company to an alternate, non_tech world that fears magic and wizards. Most of us found the book entertaining and liked Wells's breezy writing style, but some noted that parts were slow or hard to figure out, or even seemed contrived. We enjoyed the chases through the caves and the clash of cultures. We particularly enjoyed how the non-tech characters figured out the technology and helped destroy an airship. Although some of us preferred Necromancer or Wheel of the Infinite, we still look forward to reading the next book in the series, The Ships of Air.

August 17: Crossfire by Nancy Kress

Twelve people showed up for the discussion of this first book in the Crossfire series. Of those, five had finished it, three had read part of it, and eight had read Kress before.

The book begins when Quakers, Saudis, American Indians, and other groups with enough money to buy passage off a dying Earth colonize a planet they call Greentrees. There they discover puzzling, non-native inhabitants, the Furs, and become embroiled in interstellar war. Besides the usual problems of survival on a new planet, interpersonal tensions and moral and ethical decisions complicate the plot.

This turned out to be another book with a wide range of reader reactions, from love to hate. Kress did write a readable, fun, fast-paced book and pulled out a lot of alligators, keeping the reader from guessing what would come next. However, some of the alligators needed better development. The main characters were complex and faulted, but could have been more sympathetic, though many of us did like the Quaker.

We have read better from Kress, especially Beggars in Spain, and wondered if the death of Charles Sheffield may have affected the evenness of Crossfire. We hope that the next book in the series, Crucible, is up to her previous standards.

After the discussion, we chose seven new books in our never-ending quest for a good read.

-- Sandy Kayser