CV Rick's Reviews

A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge

This is such a rich book in ideas and content that my mind is still reeling after reading it.  But it's not only great ideas, the characters are strong and sympathetic and the plot is complex, interesting, and filled with theme. 

Vinge starts with the idea that the galaxy is comprised of zones which divide physics and technology. The slow zone restricts the speed of light, the capability of computers, etc, while outside in the faster zones things progress and move more quickly.  It's in this framework that Vinge creates a chase story, but of course the chase crosses zones and that is important to the plot. 

On an alien planet two children are stranded among packs of sentient dog-like creatures who live a feudal, even medieval existence. They come to survive in different sides of a war because they can offer some technology and expertise that the packs don't possess.  But the packs are truly packs in thought and deed, operating as a litters rather than individuals. This gives richness and new feeling to the idea of alien encounters.

Off this planet humans are being blamed for bringing down destruction upon all species and are being hunted and exterminated because of it, but the ship these two children traveled in holds the key to the mystery and the humans have to find it first, before it's too late. 

Like the mind of the mathematician Vinge is, this book is a tightly woven puzzle and the solution is elegant.  It well-deserved the accolades and awards it received.

- CV Rick, May 2008

Trillion Year Spree: The History of Science Fiction by Brian W Aldiss with David Wingrove

As a fan of the genre and as a writer working to break through into its ranks I was looking forward to this volume for the history it contained.  The study of the people and landmark works I thought would help me fill large gaps in my knowledge.  In this I was not disappointed.  Brian Aldiss's knowledge is extensive, his research remarkable and the way he brought the giants in the field to life was nothing short of brilliant. 

It started with the acknowledged core beginning of the genre – Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.  The back story and literary criticism of that work shows Aldiss at his best. He also cruises gracefully through such giants as Kafka, Verne, Burroughs, and Wells, bringing their stories to the fore as importantly as their works.

If only the rest of the book had been so richly rewarding.  Once he arrived at the Hugo Gernsback era Aldiss digresses into opinion and subjective accusations.  He presents his view of what was and was not important as fact and in that he diluted the craft he'd so carefully put together.  This habit extended throughout the past century becoming more annoying the closer to the present he delved.  I do wish he'd have realized that peppering his chronicle with ugly dismissals rendered the entire volume less educational and more petty in feeling and value.  I was deeply disappointed – not because I disagreed with him, but because I can make up my own mind about the writers and their works. 

I learned a lot and respect the authors less. 

- CV Rick, May 2008

The Big Idea

Every once in a while I start reading a book that has a really novel idea, a big idea, so different in scope that I wonder how in the hell the author thought of it.  I've found one of those books, and I'm only half way through it.

The book is Spin by Robert Charles Wilson and the idea is this:  one day all the stars and the moon are gone.  The earth is enveloped by a membrane that shields it from the rest of the universe, but here's the rub - time has slowed down inside the membrane.  Where it appears that time is progressing normally, it's not - sensor readings from probes sent up to the "spin" show that for every second that passes on earth, 3.7 years passes outside.  That means that in ten years on our planet, the solar system ages a billion years.  The Sun is growing and dying and the people on earth stand to be around for the awful moment when the sun consumes our planet.

And that's just in the first fifty pages or so. 

The book moves on with the relationship between Tyler and his childhood friends, brother and sister Jason and Diane.  Jason is a central figure in investigating the new reality and Diane is in the religious movement that springs up around this anomaly.  Tyler changes as more is discovered and as his own personal life collapses along with civilization. 

In the end that's what makes this brilliant idea work as a book. The characters are believable and the story is moving.  I recommend this novel highly.

- CV Rick, May 2008

2001: A Space Odyssey

Because Arthur C. Clarke recently died I decided to reread his classic novel, 2001: A Space Odyssey.  Some people say that the major knock against science fiction is that it's necessarily dated soon after written because of the progress of society and technology.  While this may be true of many stories, 2001 is timeless.   It's hopeful, it's beautiful and it's filled with themes that speak to what we are as humanity. 

Evolution is probably the most important element of the story.  From the beginning when primitive man finds a black obelisk and it teaches the concept of tool use and subtly changes these creature's minds the idea that our improbable evolution was guided by alien intervention.  Then, just as humanity gained the power to destroy its own planet those same aliens had planned to help the descendants of those early creatures jump to the next step, as equal in advancement as using stones for tools were to starving primitives.  The message I took from the story was that we are limited in how forward we can think and until we break through another evolutionary barrier we'll be butting our heads against an invisible barrier on creativity.  It's profound and humbling to consider the possibility that there are beings who look at our restrictions as simplistic as we view the idea of making a fire for survival. 

Invariably this novel gets compared with the Stanley Kubrick film and rightly so.  Unlike any pair I've encountered, both the novel and screenplay were developed simultaneously and in conjunction.  With slight differences the stories are complementary and equally brilliant.  What makes me favor the book more than the movie is the ending, which is explained better revealing the true scope of the evolutionary step man is about to make. 

- CV Rick, April 2008

The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate

Ted Chiang has done it again.  His novelette, The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate is another spark of brilliance from a writer whose name is becoming synonymous with "year's best."

This story is time travel meets Arabian Nights.  It's a story with a moral imperative about changing the past or affecting the future.  The narrator, Fuwaad ibn Abbas, tells the Caliph of Baghdad the story of his own involvement with the Alchemist's Gate by telling him the stories of other people who have gone through that same gate.  Each story contributes to the overall narrative, each adds to the beautiful Arabian scenery, from Baghdad to Cairo, and each reveals more capabilities of the gate itself. 

In my experience with Chiang's writing, he explores the idea of fatalism from two perspectives: Can one change his fate? and Can one accept his fate?  Some of the nested story's protaganists can accept, some cannot, yet the narrator realizes the most important thing about time travel is knowledge not deed.  It is that essential truth that is the theme of the story. 

I can't recommend it enough. 

- CV Rick, April 2008

Saving the Empire

We Few is the last installment in a tetralogy. Prince Roger Ramius Sergei Alexander Chiang MacClintock is now the principle heir to the throne held by his mother the Empress.  He must now prove himself as capable a leader as he is a fighter because no one who wasn't with him on Marduk believes he's changed from the spoiled bratty kid he was went he left.  There we are - Roger framed for a coup attempt and no one rushing to his side to rescue his mother, the Empress. 

[the following text is the same for my reviews of all 4 books in the series.]

First the good points - It's a fast-paced and exciting military science fiction story which takes the reader from danger to danger quickly. The plot moves along and these two writers know how to spin an interesting story.  I give kudos to them for hooking me and making me read to the end and want to pick up the final book in the series. 

Now the bad.  This book is set hundreds of years in the future, yet all the sayings, quotes, poems, and songs come from our recent military history.  Everything out of the mouths of the troops was a cliche that I've heard hundreds of times.  Can't these two writers create a new lexicon for a future military?  Can't they replace the worn metaphors with something creative and cool for a future society?  Wouldn't there have been another poet that Marines love to replace Rudyard Kipling? 

Speaking of Cliches, every character was one - the tried and true marine sergeant, gruff and tough, but with a heart of gold - The commander who spouts philosophy while ordering a slaughter - the spoiled kid, born with a silver spoon who becomes an honorable man under combat duress.  It's all here and it's all predictable.  Don't Ringo and Weber's readers want to experience something new or are they all Corps veterans reliving a collective past rosier and more ideal than the reality? 

Also, the authors' politics are front and center.  I disagree with their assertions and it was starky annoying. 

Still, decent reading if you can get past the negatives.

- CV Rick, April 2008

Turning Aliens into Marines

March to the Stars is the third installment in a tetralogy. Prince Roger Ramius Sergei Alexander Chiang MacClintock is the tertiary heir to the throne held by his mother the Empress.  He must learn diplomacy and independence as well as leadership if he's going to return to his home and take his rightful place in the imperial government.  First, however, he must cross a violent sea, traipse across a continent, conquer and spaceport and commandeer a ship - all with primitive weapons and very few remaining Marines.  But he's Prince Roger and by this time, he can do anything - so long as he leaves bodies in his wake.

[the following text is the same for my reviews of all 4 books in the series.]

First the good points - It's a fast-paced and exciting military science fiction story which takes the reader from danger to danger quickly. The plot moves along and these two writers know how to spin an interesting story.  I give kudos to them for hooking me and making me read to the end and want to pick up the final book in the series. 

Now the bad.  This book is set hundreds of years in the future, yet all the sayings, quotes, poems, and songs come from our recent military history.  Everything out of the mouths of the troops was a cliche that I've heard hundreds of times.  Can't these two writers create a new lexicon for a future military?  Can't they replace the worn metaphors with something creative and cool for a future society?  Wouldn't there have been another poet that Marines love to replace Rudyard Kipling? 

Speaking of Cliches, every character was one - the tried and true marine sergeant, gruff and tough, but with a heart of gold - The commander who spouts philosophy while ordering a slaughter - the spoiled kid, born with a silver spoon who becomes an honorable man under combat duress.  It's all here and it's all predictable.  Don't Ringo and Weber's readers want to experience something new or are they all Corps veterans reliving a collective past rosier and more ideal than the reality? 

Also, the authors' politics are front and center.  I disagree with their assertions and it was starky annoying. 

Still, decent reading if you can get past the negatives.

- CV Rick, April 2008

Marines on a Primitive Planet

March to the Sea is the second installment in a tetralogy. Prince Roger Ramius Sergei Alexander Chiang MacClintock is the tertiary heir to the throne held by his mother the Empress.  He's growing up to become a fine warrior.  Shipwrecked on Marduk, a violent planet of sentient, but primitive creatures and even more violent native predators, he and his Marine bodyguards must negotiate hazardous terrain, towns and political upheaval in order to cross the planet.  More importantly, he must gain the respect of men and women who once despised him. 

[the following text is the same for my reviews of all 4 books in the series.]

First the good points - It's a fast-paced and exciting military science fiction story which takes the reader from danger to danger quickly. The plot moves along and these two writers know how to spin an interesting story.  I give kudos to them for hooking me and making me read to the end and want to pick up the next two books in the series. 

Now the bad.  This book is set hundreds of years in the future, yet all the sayings, quotes, poems, and songs come from our recent military history.  Everything out of the mouths of the troops was a cliche that I've heard hundreds of times.  Can't these two writers create a new lexicon for a future military?  Can't they replace the worn metaphors with something creative and cool for a future society?  Wouldn't there have been another poet that Marines love to replace Rudyard Kipling? 

Speaking of Cliches, every character was one - the tried and true marine sergeant, gruff and tough, but with a heart of gold - The commander who spouts philosophy while ordering a slaughter - the spoiled kid, born with a silver spoon who becomes an honorable man under combat duress.  It's all here and it's all predictable.  Don't Ringo and Weber's readers want to experience something new or are they all Corps veterans reliving a collective past rosier and more ideal than the reality? 

Also, the authors' politics are front and center.  I disagree with their assertions and it was starky annoying. 

Still, decent reading if you can get past the negatives.

- CV Rick, April 2008

Marines In Space

March Upcountry is the first installment in a tetralogy. Prince Roger Ramius Sergei Alexander Chiang MacClintock is the tertiary heir to the throne held by his mother the Empress.  He's a spoiled, truculent rich kid without a care for anything important and no responsibility for anyone, even himself.  Sent away on an unimportant diplomatic mission he is the victim of a nearly successful assassination attempt, but instead escapes to the surface of Marduk, a violent planet of sentient, but primitive creatures and even more violent native predators.  With more than a battalion of Marine bodyguards he must fight his way across this planet and return home.

First the good points - It's a fast-paced and exciting military science fiction story which takes the reader from danger to danger quickly.  The plot moves along and these two writers know how to spin an interesting story.  I give kudos to them for hooking me and making me read to the end and want to pick up the next three books in the series. 

Now the bad.  This book is set hundreds of years in the future, yet all the sayings, quotes, poems, and songs come from our recent military history.  Everything out of the mouths of the troops was a cliche that I've heard hundreds of times.  Can't these two writers create a new lexicon for a future military?  Can't they replace the worn metaphors with something creative and cool for a future society?  Wouldn't there have been another poet that Marines love to replace Rudyard Kipling? 

Speaking of Cliches, every character was one - the tried and true marine sergeant, gruff and tough, but with a heart of gold - The commander who spouts philosophy while ordering a slaughter - the spoiled kid, born with a silver spoon who becomes an honorable man under combat duress.  It's all here and it's all predictable.  Don't Ringo and Weber's readers want to experience something new or are they all Corps veterans reliving a collective past rosier and more ideal than the reality? 

Also, the authors' politics are front and center.  I disagree with their assertions and it was starky annoying. 

Still, decent reading if you can get past the negatives.

- CV Rick, April 2008