FACT SF Reading Group

September 2004

September 7: Perfect Circle by Sean Stewart

Fifteen people turned up for the discussion of this darkly humorous ghost story, and one person called in comments during the meeting. Four had finished the book and three had read a portion, but definitely did plan to finish it later. Seven had read Sean Stewart before.

The story is about an aging punk, "Dead" Kennedy, who sees ghosts in black and white, is still in love with his ex-wife, loses dead-end jobs on purpose and is haunted by dead relatives--one of them a murderer. One reader loved the book enough to call it "my religious experience for the year," while another thought it "a waste of ghosts," because the dead people were more metaphorical; they didn't do anything. A third reader found it hilarious enough to nearly require mouth-to-mouth resuscitation (if you are prone to this--do not read alone).

Generally the group did like the book, finding it an interesting, fast read. Stewart's writing was splendid as usual--he always uses the right word. His human-interest angle was grabbing, although the characters were too dysfunctional to be likeable. Readers who were familiar with southeastern Texas and Houston enjoyed Stewart's references to those places (is Houston a farce?).

For readers who couldn't get enough of the book, there is a companion comic book titled Family Reunion.

September 21: The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon

Eleven people met to discuss this book, and 2 sent in e-mail comments. Of the 11, only one had not read any of the book and one had not finished. Nine had read Moon's work previously.

In this Nebula Award-winning, near-future book, autist Lou is faced with a dangerous procedure to correct his condition, but it may also change who he is. Moon paints a vivid picture of his different inner world, showing us his obsession with patterns and with what is normal behavior. The book does not end with a sugar-coated, everything is perfect now scene, but with realistic consequences.

Moon has succeeded in creating a story quite unique from Flowers for Algernon, but it is a very human story. More like Remnant Population than her military SF. Although some of us found the story a bit slow-paced and the ending too abrupt, we found Lou so engaging and sympathetic, and Moon's writing so flawless, that we found ourselves discussing the issues brought up in the book instead of how the book was written. One issue was Asperger's Syndrome (Geek Syndrome), a part of the autistic spectrum and a common disorder among sci-fi fans and techies.

This is one of the few books most of us have liked and would recommend from what we have read so far in 2004.

-- Sandy Kayser