I’m not a huge Peter Hamilton fan. I’ve enjoyed some of his books, but they always seem like the editor lost the battle about trimming the book down. His latest doorstop, Great North Road, is my favorite type of book, a science fiction mystery book. But, since Peter Hamilton wrote it, we have an almost 1000 page book with a story that spreads over 20+ years and two cities on separate planets. It’s not a bad book, but it’s very slow in places and has storylines and whole chapters that could have been eliminated or severely chopped down without losing anything in the story.
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson re-read
I’ve previously reviewed Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash (previous review) and decided to re-review it now that I’ve re-read it. It’s still one of my favorite books of all time. It’s dated and timeless at the same time and a fun coda to the entire cyberpunk movement. The book kicked Neal Stephenson’s career into the science fiction stratosphere and has continued selling 20+ years later. It’s a classic science fiction novel, so let’s talk about it.
Tuf Voyaging by George RR Martin
George RR Martin is known widely for his fantasy books, especially his Song of Ice and Fire series (Game of Thrones to you HBO fans). But in the 1970s and early 1980s, prior to his work in TV, Martin dabbled in both fantasy and science fiction. From that period comes Tuf Voyaging. The book is a set of linked novellas all featuring the same main character, Haviland Tuf. Tuf is not your typical hero, but usually ends up on the winning side of whatever contest he enters. Let’s check out what Haviland Tuf is up to.
Get Jiro! by Anthony Bourdain, Joel Rose and Langdon Foss
Anthony Bourdain Get Jiro! is the celebrity chef’s latest excursion in his attempt to take over the entertainment world. First he started with his book, then a TV show, then writing for David Simon’s Treme and now, onto the graphic novel world. Aided in his quest is novelist Joel Rose (who also wrote La Pacifica, a graphic novel from DC’s Paradox Press) and artist Langdon Foss (who’s worked in Heavy Metal previously). So, let’s see how it turned out.
Homeland by Cory Doctorow
Cory Doctorow’s newest book, Homeland, is a sequel to his earlier novel Little Brother(my review). It follows the continuing adventures of Marcus (M1k3y) Yallow, accidental thorn in the side of Homeland Security. The book, like all Doctorow books, reads as part YA love story and part technology essay. And, while I love Doctorow’s stories, his essays sometimes overwhelm the story. So, let’s see what’s happened here.
Catching up on Continuum
So far the Syfy in the US has shown 8 episodes of Continuum as of last night. Episode 8, Playtime, was a wonderful turning point for the series (even while the main story of virtually controlled killers was fairly silly). Let’s take a look at what this turning point is and what it means for the long term series. Warning, there are spoilers ahead. If you don’t want spoilers for the events through episode 8, then don’t go forward.
The Rapture of the Nerds by Cory Doctorow and Charles Stross
The Rapture of the Nerds should be a good (if not great) book based off it’s credentials. It’s a book by two authors (that I mostly like) about the Singularity. However, something went wrong in the actual writing of the book. This book seems like they two writers were having fun throwing out ideas and situations, but not working on forming it into a coherent story. Let’s check out what went wrong.
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Injustice: Gods Among Us comic review
The comic: Injustice: Gods Among Us is bad. I mean really, really bad. Mediocre art, bad story, incoherent science and characters who make decisions based off the plot needs rather than the actual character. If the same people who came up with this story are scripting the video game, then I’m not sure I’m interested in that. The only good piece so far is the Green Arrow/Harley Quinn scenes, but since that is so far away from the main plot so far, it’s not something that you can really hope extends to the rest of the series. Let’s see what happens (SPOILERS AHEAD):
The Difference Engine by Bruce Sterling and William Gibson
When The Difference Engine, by cyberpunk authors William Gibson and Bruce Sterling, came out in the early 1990s, it was radically different than anything else on the market at the time. Set in the not too distant past (1800s), but envisioned a world where the Victorian Era had steam driven computers. This environment is well-trod nowadays with the explosion of Steam Punk stories in the market, but in the early 1990s, this was different. With a nod to the era’s literary geniuses (such as Lord Byron) and computing pioneers (mainly Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace), the book is an interesting look at an alternate history which hadn’t been envisioned previously. It doesn’t seem as revolutionary now due to the explosion in Steam Punk titles currently on the market. But it was a nod to the past that many, many authors have picked up and moved forward with. Let’s see what the book is about.
Cabin in the Woods review
I’m running behind on seeing movies. Generally, I’ve been too busy to see most movies at the theater. There are some movies that I hear a lot about, but don’t have a lot of interest in seeing. Cabin in the Woods fits into this category. I’m a big Joss Whedon fan and I had heard some good things about it, but I’m not a huge horror fan, so I didn’t run out to see it. I finally wound up seeing it recently and found that it was much better as an idea of a movie, than it was as an actual movie.