Ultima / Stephen Baxter

Ultima
(End Time #2)
by Stephen Baxter

science fiction

copyright 2014
read (partly) in September 2015

rated 4/10: bad but could be read

I read Proxima. It was boring. Pointless. A plotless science primer. What little story there was, failed to finish at the end of the book. "Oh look ! Another door !"

What's it all about ? I wondered.

According to the Ultima blurb, "Together... a devastatingly powerful SF epic." Okay, so I'll read Ultima and find out what it's all about.

I managed to read just over 100 pages, before boredom forced me to give up. This time, it's worse than a science textbook. It's a history textbook. What if the Romans ruled Earth ? What if the Romans and British and Chinese each had empires in a space traveling society ? How boring could it possibly be ?

Well... It's more boring than you can possibly imagine.

So I skipped ahead and read the last twenty or so pages.

One character explains that the universe is being run by intelligent microbes. This explanation is such drivel that the author has to intersperse it with more interesting actions. Such as watering the plants. And sitting.

Then everyone dies. Except for three people who say, "Oh look ! Another door !" And enter a universe in which Germans rule Earth and space. Oh look ! Another history textbook !

I kid you not.

The book ends. The story -- what little there is -- has no end.

"I ink therefore I am." The Existential Squid
 

Mike and Psmith / P.G. Wodehouse

Mike and Psmith
by P.G. Wodehouse

humour

copyright 1909
read in September 2015

rated 7/10: well worth reading

Okay, I admit it: I started reading this a year ago -- and struggled. I suspect that I was reading a small amount at a time and struggled with the cricket...

This time I read more at a time. The cricket simply fitted in with the flow. And I had a better understanding of the characters, because steady reading allowed facts to stick in my mind.

For whatever reason -- this time it was a very enjoyable read !

When I read the attempted exposure of the bounder who had painted the dog -- I was laughing out loud.

There are very funny parts, but the book is not really a laugh a minute romp. It's more of a pleasant interlude amongst pleasant people, with regular humour. Typical Wodehouse but on the lightweight end of the scale.

I'm not good with publication dates... This seems to be early Wodehouse. It's all about the upper classes. For example:

There's a boy who cleans the boots. And, possibly, sharpens the knives. He exists, has a humorous line or two, is never mentioned before or after. The servants are there -- but not worth a mention unless required for plot development.

Light, enjoyable, possibly early, Wodehouse :-)

"I ink therefore I am." The Existential Squid
 

Ghost Story / Jim Butcher

Ghost Story
(Dresden Files #13)
by Jim Butcher

young adult, fantasy

copyright 2011
read in September 2015

rated 7/10: well worth reading

It seems that, in each book, Harry Dresden gains a new superpower. So what does the author do, when his hero is almost on nodding terms with God ? He kills the hero.

Yes, the ghost of the title is Harry.

As a ghost, Harry's powers don't work. Not in the non-ghost world, anyway. New ballpark, new rules. Quite clever, really :-)

Harry still spends a lot of time explaining that he is driven to help his friends. Look how good I am, he constantly tells the reader. Somewhat moralistic, really, telling the readers that this hero is strongly on the side of good. But it doesn't stop the action...

The action rattles along at a great pace. Evil bad guys, beautiful women (all in love with Harry), fire and flames, death and destruction. Though I'm not sure how "dead" the ghosts become.

Ghost Story is another in the Dresden series for sex mad teenage boys who want to read exciting wish fulfillment escapist action fantasy... I don't fit all of those categories -- but I do enjoy the book !

For a book or two, Dresden seemed to be going downhill. Too much comic book drama, too many graphic novel set scenes.

This book is back on track.

Still nonsense. Less contrivance. Enjoyable escapism.

"I never said it was always wrong to enter fairyland. I only said it was always dangerous." Father Brown, per GK Chesterton

   

Moving Pictures / Terry Pratchett

Moving Pictures
(Discworld 10)
by Terry Pratchett

fantasy, humour

copyright 1990
read in September 2015

rated 7/10: well worth reading

The Dungeon Dimensions come to Hollywood...

This is the Discworld take on making movies. Full of puns, clichés, memes and tropes. (I hope I've used those words correctly ! ) You name it, Discworld's Holy Wood will have its own, warped version.

There are also references to famous movies... I spotted Gone with the Wind. And the giant woman carrying an ape as she climbs the outside of the tower, that seems familiar... There must be others that I didn't notice. A challenge for the movie fans :-)

Gaspode the Wonder Dog makes what must be his first appearance. A great character, with a central role in the typically convoluted plot.

And is that the duck which is later an essential companion of The Duck Man ?

It's a lot of fun to read a relatively early book of Discworld. And to meet characters before they have settled firmly into their clichéd ruts.

The hero and heroine are very likeable. Once they realise what must be done -- they do it. And succeed ! I'm not a great fan of Rincewind the eternal loser, in the earlier Discworld books. I prefer a happy -- and positive -- ending :-)

Moving Pictures is well worth reading. Action, satire, heroics and humour. Not the best of the Discworld books... Not quite. Nevertheless, well worth reading.

"Some mornings it's just not worth chewing through the leather straps." per Ginger Meggs
   

Out of the Dark / David Weber

Out of the Dark
by David Weber

science fiction, fantasy

copyright 2010
read in September 2015

rated 7/10: well worth reading

Well worth reading -- if you like this type of book !

"This type of book" is humanity -- mostly Americans -- heroically battling against the rather stupid alien invaders. With loving and detailed descriptions of each and every weapon that is used. Which is interesting...

I was reading the Wikipedia entry on the movie, Conan the Barbarian. One view is, that Conan was the first movie to use weapons as a central theme. Conan had two swords. Out of the Dark has numerous pistols, rifles, mortars, tanks... Men, women and children are armed to the teeth. The humans are all heroic and largely interchangeable. Their weapons are the true heroes of this book.

There's a mild attempt to mix a few traditional enemies. The Moslem bomber joins the Americans to kill aliens. The Russian soldier -- blonde, blue eyed and ready to migrate to America -- saves women and children by killing aliens. Given a common enemy, all humans will forget their past differences...

All earth-born near-humans, that is. There's a message about living with people who are not "your" people. To me, the better message is, that there is no need to kill people just because they are different. Times change, perhaps we can leave old hatreds in the past.

What we have, though, is a rather stupid ending. Solid military science fiction. With a surprise -- deus ex machina -- ending. I thought... surely not... but it is. Not so much a surprising twist in the tail. More an out-of-place means to the end of the aliens.

Speaking of stupid...

It is only in the last couple of chapters that the humans think to interrogate any aliens ! Good grief ! So much intelligence to be gathered -- and not a single question is asked. Is this an example of the well known oxymoron, "military intelligence" ?!

If you enjoy reading about heroic Americans fighting and dying to save the world, this book is well worth reading. And yes, no matter what the cultural background of the fighters -- they are all fighting in the heroic American style. Complete with sirloin steak seared on the barbecue between battles.

If you love reading about the relative stopping power of military -- and civilian -- firearms, this is a fun book. If you like to be told the muzzle velocity of each rifle and why one weapon will blast aliens better than another, then this is a good book.

If you remember the movie Independence Day as being stupid American bragging -- do not read Out of the Dark.

If you just want some violent entertainment, gung ho super-patriotism... Non-stop support for the US gun and weapon fetish... Heroic Americans kissing mom, eating apple pie and killing stupid aliens... Then this book is well worth reading.

I think it's a rather stupid book.

And I enjoyed reading it.

"The problem with the future is that it keeps turning into the present." -- Hobbes via Watterson

Resnick's Menagerie / Mike Resnick

Resnick's Menagerie
by Mike Resnick

copyright 1977 to 2010
read in August 2015

short stories, science fiction, fantasy

rated 6/10: read to pass the time

If ever I write a story, it's a short story. I don't have the dedication to write a full novel. When it comes to reading -- I prefer a full length novel. A short story does not satisfy.

This book reminds me why a short story does not satisfy...

Stalking the Unicorn, the Vampire, the Dragon, are all funny. A series of humorous quips. So what ? There's no point to any of those stories. No plot and no unexpected twist at the end. Just a series of mild jokes hung together round a common theme.

The Elephants on Neptune has a message. A message which is lost in the convoluted double-twist ending. And by double-twist I mean, the obvious ending becomes meaningless when the exact opposite also happens.

Post Time in Pink has characters, plot, denouement. What a pity I don't understand the denouement... Perhaps if the story had been more interesting I would have tried harder ? Or perhaps I need to be a regular at the racetrack.

There are several stories with a social message. Except the messages are mixed. An anti-hunting story (I think) where the reformed hunter will teach the last surviving animal to hunt -- and kill -- humans. A story where the narrator decides that is okay, after all, to eat intelligent animals. Does hunger and over-population create a moral vacuum ?

I'm left with the impression that Resnick had no real opinions, no absolute values. He writes for one reason, to sell. This lack of belief is reflected in lightweight stories.

A lot of words thrown together in order to sell. No need for plot, no hidden depths. Just ideas which the author believes will sell.

What a pity that it seems that he is correct.

"Some mornings it's just not worth chewing through the leather straps." per Ginger Meggs