It’s a little early for the list (considering that it’s not even Thanksgiving yet), but Library Journal has their 2011 Best SF/Fantasy List up already. The two on the list that I’ve read are The Quantum Thief
Category Archives: science fiction
Books I almost read
One of the issues I have with the library being my main source of new books is that I have little control over when things come in. This often leads to me having to return a book I’m enjoying because a different book that I really wanted to read came in. I mentioned before how I returned The Map of Time because REAMDE came in. I ended up getting The Map of Time back not too much later and was able to finish it. But this has started happening a little more frequently lately.
I had started Crossbones, but put it aside when Stephen King’s 11/22/63 came in (which in retrospect probably wasn’t a good tradeoff). And then it happened again. I had just started Patrick Rothfuss’ The Name of the Wind when Haruki Murakami’s 1Q84 came in (and I’m loving this book), so I had to set Rothfuss aside.
It starts getting a little frustrating to keep dropping and picking up books due to the whims of library delivery, but the alternative is blowing my book budget. So I think I’ll keep with my frustrations for now. The good thing about this is realizing how many good books are out there that I haven’t read yet.
If at First… by Peter Hamilton
I’ve enjoyed some of Peter Hamilton’s books over the year, but, since he’s a writer that turns out yearly 700+ books, it’s hard to keep up with his output. So, when I saw that he had written a free short story for the Kindle, I decided to to check it out. If at First… is a cute little story that touches on topics brought up in Hot Tub Time Machine of all places. So, let’s check out the little time travel(ish) story.
11/22/63 by Stephen King
I used to look forward to each new Stephen King book. Even if it didn’t scare me, it at least entertained me. But lately (and by lately I mean the last 10-15 years), I’ve been more disappointed by Stephen King books than entertained. And this doesn’t change with his latest 11/22/63, King’s take on JFK. It sounded interesting (as most of King’s books do), but the story just never coalesced and at times I was wondering if King got lost and started writing a different book before remembering what he was supposed to be writing about. So, let’s check out what went wrong.
The Prophets of Science Fiction
I just heard about this and it starts tonight (11/9/11) on the Science Channel:
Starting tonight at 10PM ET/PT on the Science Channel, movie maker Ridley Scott brings together scientists, writers, and other thinkers to honor the Prophets of Science Fiction. Each episode focuses on a writer who helped explain and expand the world of science through the use of fiction. The series will use film clips, reenactments, illustrations, and interviews with top thinkers — including director Paul Verhoeven and theoretical physicist Dr. Michio Kakuto — to tell the story of the author, and the modern day scientific implications of what they wrote.
The lineup looks great:
- Mary Shelley — Tonight
- H.G. Wells — 16 November
- Phillip K. Dick — 23 November
- Arthur C. Clarke — 30 November
- Isaac Asimov — 7 December
- Jules Verne — 1 February
- Robert Heinlein — 8 February
The Revisionists by Thomas Mullen
Despite it’s science fiction theme and plot device, Thomas Mullen’s new book, The Revisionists, is not really a science fiction book. But it starts with a single science fiction idea and then plays with it. The science fiction includes a future (dis|u)topia and time travel and plays with the lengths that the future will take to preserve itself (or so we are led to believe). The idea is slowly turned on its head and the reader is left wondering which side is right. Let’s go see what our revisionists are doing.
Master of Time and Space by Rudy Rucker
I’ve always heard good things about Rudy Rucker, but had never actually read any of his book. So, when I ran across Master of Time and Space in the library, I decided to give it a spin. The book was originally published in 1984 and the only part that really struck me as out of time was when the main character was drinking and driving. Based on this novel, I’m likely to check out some other Rucker books (any suggestions of what I should check out next). So, let’s find out who is really the Master of Time and space.
The Map of Time by Felix Palma
I had to start reading The Map of Time twice. I had reserved it from the library and it came in one day before I got REAMDE(and I couldn’t hold off reading that since every Stephenson book deserves to be read immediately), so I ended up not having enough time to read it before I had to return it (someone else had reserved it). So, I went back on the reserve list and finally got it. I had run across the book somewhere and it just looked interesting and when I saw that H.G. Wells was going to be a main character, I knew that I had to read it. And I’m so glad I did, it’s a great book that tells its tale in an interesting way. So, let’s see what the map of Time really is.
Amazon’s Publishing Imprint – 47 North
Not content with just selling books and devices to read books, Amazon has made another step and has become a publishing house for science fiction books. Their new imprint is called 47 North, and they have already announced their first few books including the Neal Stephenson led The Mongoloid: Book One and Dave Duncan’s Against the Light.
I’ll be curious to see how this works out and if they can get big names (although Stephenson is a pretty big name) to publish through them. I also wonder how well these books will be supported outside of Amazon. Will Barnes and Noble be willing to sell it?
The Middleman TV show review
Even in this hyper-connected age, it’s possible for a quirky, yet interesting show to pop up and disappear before your even aware that it existed. That’s what happened to me with the show The Middleman. Based on a comic book series by Javier Grillo-Marxuach and Les McClaine, it was a fun twist on Men in Black with a secret agency and fighting monsters. It ran on ABC Family, not exactly the hotspot for quirky science fiction programming, for 12 episodes before it disappeared. So, let’s check it out and see who is The Middleman.
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