FACT SF Reading Group

September 2003

September 2: The Other Wind by Ursula K. Le Guin

Eleven people attended this discussion at the home of the Brothers Siros. Ten people finsihed the book, which was deemed an "easy read." Seven had read Le Guin previously and six had read all or some of her EarthSea series. The readers of EarthSea found this to be intriguing and well tied in with the previous storyline. A classic fantasy with dragons and magic, the book dealt with deep philosophies of love, death, and identity. Everyone spoke on how well Le Guin handled prose but for many the novel lacked ACTION. One reader described the pace of the book as "glacial." This lack of ACTION hampered many readers' enjoyment, and much we discussed if a new writer could have gotten away with writing such a delicate novel. (Agreement: No) Many peopel commented on the distant viewpoints, which made them feel disconnected from the characters and their stories. One reader felt the characters were all people whose main emotions happened prior to the start of the novel. For the readers who could survive the last of ACTION, the book explored some interesting ideas. One person felt that Le Guin was on the brink of making a main statement on the nature of power but backed down for some reason. Afterwards several people had burgers at Fuddruckers.

September 16: The Collapsium by Wil McCarthy

Thirteen people attended the discussion of The Collapsium by Wil McCarthy held at StrangeHurst Manor. Eleven had read some of the book, with eight finishing it, and five had previously read works by McCarthy. We also had another first time attendee. This book prompted a lot of discussion. An interplanetary adventure with hard science elements, it featured heavy duty physics alongside rescuing the Queen of Sol (not Aretha). Most readers liked the science but quibbled with the idea of fax copies of people, arguing such a process would cause more degradation of the copy. Most readers would have liked stronger characterizations with one person commenting: "Hard science writers should take lessons in character development from the New Wave." We actually would have liked even more of the book. More societal details, more science, more avenues to explore. And a little less triteness: the scene where the villain offers the hero a chance to join up which the hero gallantly refuses. We voted to describe the book as a set of separate novellas, which could have been strung together with a lot less repetitive explanation. There was a big section of Appendices, which some people enjoyed as much as the book and others skipped altogether. We thought they prevented the book from the sin of info dump. We enjoyed The Collapsium and many people plan to read the sequel as well. Dinner was at Kerbey Lane.

-- Judy Strange