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Yes, I read science fiction, as well as comics. Im a compulsive
reader. Pauls column Readers Bookshelf usually contains
whatever stuff hes read for the month that is new and good. I
decided that maybe you folks would like to know what books
that arent all that brand spanking new that I read and reread
over and over again. Then again, maybe not, but I thought Id
share anyway: ) Most of these books you can go to a used
bookstore and find. With new paperbacks costing $7.00 and
up, I thought you might want to go check out some good reading
material that wont cost a whole bunch if you shop around.
Besides, with the holidays coming up, you might want some
ideas of what to give as gifts.
I cant give you a top ten-type list. I like too many novels too
much to try to rank them. Some of these are still in print and you
can buy them new. Some of them you can find in used
bookstores or on the auction sites online.
- I Will Fear No Evil by Robert A. Heinlein
Yes, that one. The one that most Science Fiction fans hate. I
have my suspicions why, and they have to do with the lead
character being a promiscuous female. Men who act like that are
Studs, women who act like that are Hos. Well, to this happy Ho
of the 1970s, this was a book that I could relate to. I still like it.
In some ways, Heinlein was a visionary. He wrote a whole
universe where the future history eerily parallels ours. In this
book, some parts of town were called "Abandoned Areas" and
to get there, one went in in armored cars. Some parts of Los
Angeles, anyone? The story revolves around an elderly rich
gentleman, and, with his money, he had his brain transplanted
into a victim of violence who was young. The victim turned out
to be his young female secretary. He has to learn to be female,
and his secretary, in some way, is still in his head with him. I cry
at the end of this book, every time....and Im not one of these
women who cry.
- The Faded Sun Trilogy by C. J. Cherryh
One of Ms. Cherrys earlier works, it still ranks as my favorite. I
wore these out once and hubby had to buy me some new ones.
A political/cultural thriller, as experienced by Sten Duncan, a
human, and by Niun, a young man of the Mri warrior race. Paul
tags this one as "Bedouins in Space", but the book is more than
that. Both Duncan and Niun are betrayed by various forces for
political expediency. Its about racism, fear, and the adaptability
of the human spirit. No one writes aliens that one sympathizes
with like C. J. Cherryh.
- Mother of Storms by John Barnes
The ultimate disaster story, involving the release of methane from
the ocean floor from clathates. All this methane warms the
oceans and spawns massive hurricanes, heretofore unseen by
man. Now, I live in Houston, and we get hurricanes, and I like
them. Awesome forces of nature, hurricanes, how could I not
love this book? This has lots of really likeable characters, too,
ranging from a young college student at the University of Az,
who ends up getting involved with a middle aged
pseudonewscaster/part soap opera/part porn star, to his older
brother, who works for NOOA, to a theoretical scientist to her
ex husband, who is the last of the astronauts, who lives is space
because he cant get along with people. This book has some
*really* sleazy and unbalanced folks in it, too. Barnes writes
with an edge that makes cyberpunk look pretty sterile. The
ending is good and optimistic, but the body count is high. Youll
love it. And speaking of cyberpunk...
- Virtual Light by William Gibson
This is a story of that bleak future where the haves have it all,
and the have-nots struggle. The have-nots who struggle in this
book are Chevette Washington, a San Fransiscan bike
messenger girl, and Berry Rydell, an ex cop who just has a
terrible run of luck. The trouble really starts when Chevette, on a
delivery run, picks up a prototype piece of tech that she
shouldnt...and all hell breaks loose. She ends up meeting up
with Rydell , and romance and trouble continues. Great, great
story....fast paced, and interesting, with a happy ending. What I
really like here is that Gibson has a gift for writing southern
characters, the cop is from Tennessee, and his partner, Sublett,
is from Texas. Rydells sidekick is the future version of Texas
evangelical trailer trash, yet he remains very likeable and doesnt
come off as a stereotype. Neither does Rydell, who really
represents everyman in this novel. Nice thing about this book, is
that there is a sequel out, and we get to catch up with these
characters later.
- The Rings of the Masters series by Jack Chalker
Ive never read a bad Chalker book, but this set is my favorite.
Chalker has made his living on writing on one theme, which has
to do with species changes and gender switching, with a lot of
sexual implications thrown in. How can you not like that? Each
group of books or single book focuses on different aspects of
this single theme. The premise of this series is that a huge sentient
computer has been given control of the human race, and its
solution to saving humanity from itself is to genetically manipulate
the vast majority of the human race to fit the biospheres of
various worlds and to ship them off elsewhere. All of the various
worlds, including Earth, are kept in a primitive state, except for
an elite who rule their respective worlds. The way this
supercomputer is turned off is by the insertion of five different
rings in a certain order into plugs located at a site in the Western
US. This is the story of Native American Hawks, who starts out
as a low-level peon in the American Administrative District, and
ends up a rebel , with the goal of overthrowing the computer. He
and his followers, who he gathers along the way, go on a
massive star spanning quest to find the master rings, and to
liberate them from their owners. Other folks of dubious morals
also find out about the master rings in the process, and there is
quite a lot of intrigue involved. The books are suspenseful,
interesting, and contains a lot of cultural diversity, wonderful
reading.
- Jurassic Park by Michael Crieghton
Ok, so weve all seen the movie, but have you ever read the
book that the movie was based on? Oh man! This book is
better than the movie! None of the Hollywood sweetness and
light watered-down-for-mass-appeal here. You need to read
this book for the portrayal of John Hammond alone. The lawyer
is a good guy in the book, too. No romance here, either.... just
real scary action adventure with lots and lots of dinosaurs.
Theres also a lot of ethical questions here about cloning, which
is a subplot to the main story. Its even more timely since I found
out recently that I could get a dead pet successfully cloned if I
wanted for $1000. Today people, the future is now. I dont
really agree with the philosophical stance of Jurassic Park, but it
is a valid viewpoint, and the book makes for real entertaining
reading. We have two copies getting worn out around here.
- The Amber Series, by Roger Zelazny
This series actually is two separate series, focusing on a two
generations of family members. Part science fiction, part fantasy,
it remains a testament to the dysfunctional family. Get your
scorecard ready, cause Oberon, the patriarch of the family,
married several times and begat a mass of offspring. Who is
going to be the heir of Oberon? Most of Oberons children
wouldnt turn it down, and the shifting alliances and betrayals are
highly entertaining. Zelazny had a beautifully descriptive writing
style, which really elevated the petty goings on to a fine art. The
second series focuses on Oberons grandchildren, with second
generational squabblings, but I thought the ending to the second
series was kind of disappointing. Still, it gets read and re-read.
Zelazny makes Jerry Springer look tame, and the art of his
writing elevates it beyond the crass.
- Steel Beach by John Varley
Hildy Johnson is a reporter for a Luna electronic newspaper,
and he hates his job. Mind you, newspapers on Luna make the
National Enquirer look tame. Hildy gets to cover the damndest
events. Hildy is also compulsively trying to kill himself, and is on
a personal odyssey to discover why hes so unhappy. Despite
this dreary sounding description, this book is really funny in
parts. As one reviewer said, prior to this book being released,
"This book has the best opening line in a book that I have ever
read." I heartily concur. I like a lot of the themes in this book,
and I like Hildys voyage of self-discovery. I also love the tribute
to Robert Heinlein in this book. I dont want to tell you too
much, cause it would really ruin the wonderfully warped aspects
of this book. Its a serious book, but its also really funny. It
works on a lot of levels, and I do like that.
- The Berserker Series by Fred Saberhagen
These books are actually not a set series. Some are a collection
of short stories and some of them are stand-alone novels. All of
them have a common enemy, the Berserkers. The Berserkers
were built in a far away galaxy, in a long forgotten interplanetary
war, to exterminate the enemy. Unfortunately, their programming
to exterminate all life worked too well, and they evidently
exterminated their creators, too, and then went off into the
universe to fulfill their programming. Dispassionate killing
machines, whose only objective is to kill all forms of life, start
attacking human space. The books are all about humanitys fight
against the Berserkers. This is military science fiction at its best,
and Saberhagen manages to incorporate lessons of the human
spirit into these stories.
- The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
OK, I lied. This is my favorite book of all time, right here. This is
the best time travel story I have ever read. Its a two tier story,
one part taking place in the past, and the counterpoint of what is
happening in the future-present. This is the story of Kivrin, an
undergraduate history major at Oxford, who travels to the
Middle Ages as a historian. Mr. Dunsworthy, her tutor and other
Oxford professors face an outbreak of a plague like mystery
illness after Kivrin has departed for the past. This story is part
historical drama, part medical mystery, part time travel story.
The parallels from the past and of the present are too numerous
to name. Its a real page-turner, and the novel is ever more
impressive in that it captures the British charm, and Ms. Willis
lives in Colorado. This is a multilayered story, and it is a tale
about love of the agape variety, with an element of spirituality
that I find irresistible. This is a story where I cannot share any
more, otherwise it ruins the plot twist that takes place. This book
is science fiction, but it also is fine literature, of the best
variety....extremely entertaining. Try it.
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