Methuselah's Children / Robert A. Heinlein

Methuselah's Children
by Robert A. Heinlein

science fiction

copyright 1958
read in April 2013

rated 6 out of 10: read to pass the time

Sure, this is Heinlein. And"Heinlein defined modern science fiction." Frederick Pohl said so. It says so on the cover.

Yes, this book is good, solid science fiction: the characters are cardboard, the plot is thin and the scientific what-if is the best part. It's an interesting take on mankind's reaction to people who are believed to be holding a valuable secret.

Easy to read but not much more than a scientific what-if. Somewhere in between exciting and boring.

The book is dedicated, "To Edward E. Smith, Ph.D". And yes, it is clear that this is Heinlein inspired by Doc Smith. Except that Doc Smith is a lot more fun.

Take, for example, the limiting factor of the speed of light...

The captain of Doc Smith's Skylark mentions Einstein's theoretical limit. But, says the captain, that is only a theory... So he simply puts his foot flat to the floor -- and exceeds the speed of light. Heinlein's captain takes three pages of scientific gobbledegook -- then decides to not even try.

Doc Smith also offers a more positive view of humanity's place in the universe... No matter where they go, no matter what aliens they meet, the heroic humans are superior. Not necessarily in all ways. But, somehow, humans are at the head of the species pecking order.

Heinlein skips the challenge of plot and introduces us to several alien races. In each case, humans are overawed and overwhelmed. Okay, the heroes agree that, we'll improve and we'll be back... More realistic, perhaps. Just not as much fun.

Then the heroes arrive home and... all their problems have been solved. Ho hum.

A book worth writing. Just not a great book for reading.

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Emergence / David R. Palmer

Emergence
by David R. Palmer

science fiction

copyright 1984
read in April 2013 (and before)

rated 9 out of 10: really, really good

In an afterword the author admits to being a great fan of Heinlein. I hadn't thought of it before -- despite having read this book before, several times -- but yes, I can see the Heinlein influence... Intelligent and capable good guys will fight the good fight, and win, simply because it's the right thing to do...

In my opinion, Palmer does it better than Heinlein.

Emergence is fun, it is exciting, it is science-based. The heroine is intelligent, she is feisty, she is extremely likeable. She is also a young girl, only just old enough to consider that she is approaching womanhood. So the "romance" is pre-teen. But the bonds are strong.

When the boy drops everything in order to save the girl -- terrific!

Meanwhile, the girl is risking everything in order to save her friends and family. Brilliant!

I have read this book several times, over many years. My taste in books may have changed. Emergence is a book which I still enjoy. Immensely.

As an aside, back to that author's afterword...

Palmer tells us that he is a fan of Heinlein. He also gives us a potted history of the writing of Emergence, and of his other books and his other work. I may be imagining it, but...

I feel that Palmer sees life as a Heinlein universe: ability and hard work will lead inevitably to success. Palmer tells us of other stories being planned and written. Yet as far as I can tell, Palmer has published only two books... Hard work and ability have not been able to overcome the need to earn a living. Being an author requires more than the ability to write a good story.

I hope that I am wrong. I hope that Palmer has published many successful books, I just failed in my quick search of the internet. Or perhaps Palmer enjoys his day job and is happy to do that, rather than to publish more books.

It's not easy to make as living as an author!

In any case... I'm glad that Emergence was written and published. It is a thoroughly enjoyable book. I have read it -- and enjoyed it -- several times.

To the author: Thank you.

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Warsworn / Elizabeth Vaughn

Warsworn
by Elizabeth Vaughn
(Warprize 2)

romance, fantasy

copyright 2006
read in April 2013

rated 6: read to pass the time

The central romance of this book is based on a master-slave relationship. The girl is supposed to be feisty, clever, independent. It's borderline.

She is feisty... until she melts under the strict gaze of her man. She is clever... but kicks herself for not being perfect. She is... not at all independent.

Her role is as a captured queen who is to provide -- when asked -- new ideas for the tribe. She hesitates, hides important facts, threatens to stamp her foot until someone listens to her.

The tribe, meanwhile, do not ask and do not listen to her. Despite the supposed "new ideas" role, her master only wants her for sex. Which, of course, is also the most important matter in the mind of the queen.

Then there's the big "battle" which occupies the bulk of the book.

Actually... it's quite a clever idea for a battle... unusual, a new way of seeing an old problem. I was just surprised at how long it continued.

There is also a series of what I take to be hints, that there is a so-far-unknown cure for a new and deadly plague. Does anyone spot the hints? Nope... Ah well, perhaps in book three...

This is a light and easy to read story, set in a not too unusual fantasy world. An easy book to read if you have nothing better.

I just do not like books which portray a man and woman in a master-slave relationship as though it were such a positive situation.

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Piccadilly Jim / PG Wodehouse

Piccadilly Jim
by PG Wodehouse

humour

copyright 1918
read in April 2013

rated 9 / 10: really, really good

This is the all-American Wodehouse!

There's a brief visit to England. A few characters are English. The majority of this book is American... which is good...

There is no rough-tough American set against very proper English. There is a wide range of character types -- all American -- allowing Wodehouse to be more flexible with his stereotypes. Yes, stereotypes... that is a lot of the pleasure of Wodehouse books! But, dare I say it: less stereotypical stereotypes!

There is, however, the typical confusion... A character impersonating a character who is impersonating himself... With various others hiding behind the flimsiest of false identities. Plus girl meets boy and it looks as though they are doomed to a parting of the ways. You'll have to read the book yourself to see if that romantic conflict is ever resolved... :-)

Yes, it's Wodehouse at his best.

And that is a very enjoyable, laugh out loud, likeable best.

Brilliant!

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Startide Rising / David Brin

Startide Rising
(Uplift #2)
by David Brin

science fiction
copyright 1983, revised 1993

rated 9 out of 10: really, really good

Humanity thumbing its nose at all the power-mad aliens of the Five Galaxies! Humanity working with intelligent dolphins and a chimpanzee scientist.

What's not to like?!

Okay, the various alien races are a bit too easy to fool. They spend too much time fighting and killing each other. While underestimating the capabilities of the combined races of Earth.

Ah! Who cares!

Startide is action, adventure, cunning schemes and heroic characters, from start to finish. With a huge range of creepy, cruel and cowardly aliens to maintain (most of) the conflict.

A broad sweep of imagination backed by believable -- very futuristic -- science. Set in a universe where the plenitude principle is in full force: everything that can happen will happen eventually. And, in Brin's universe, it probably already has...

Read, enjoy, and look for more books in the Uplift series...

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25oct21:

I read this book again... and enjoyed it again

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We Few / David Weber and John Ringo

We Few
by David Weber and John Ringo

copyright 2005
military science fiction

rated 6: read to pass the time

For Christmas I was given a collection of a dozen or so books by PG Wodehouse. Brilliant books... Funny books... Nice books... I needed a change! So I read We Few.

Okay. We Few is definitely not Wodehouse!

Blood and thunder. Cunning plans and heroic hand-to-hand fighting. Loyalty, honour and service before all else. Spoilt just a little by the stupidity of the villains.

It is also interesting that the hero's choices are not always simple.

Sure, we fight for the throne... But, having won the fight, should we now sit on the throne? The good guys fight for right, but right is not always obvious. Which makes for thought, for the reader, and a more interesting book.

Military SF has its own standards. By those standards I suspect that We Few is good. I find it to be just a bit over the top -- more so than I remember from previous books in the series.

As a book for the moment -- it is just what I want. I read the last two-thirds in one (very late) sitting. Sit up, blink, think, Wow! that was fun!

I don't go out of my way to read military SF. But when I see more books by Weber and Ringo -- I will be happy to read them.

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Blood Spirits / Sherwood Smith

Blood Spirits
by Sherwood Smith

fantasy, romance
copyright 2011

rated 7: well worth reading

The adventure continues from Coronets and Steel... The fantasy element is more obvious. There's less of the beautiful woman being put-upon by handsome men. It's just as much fun :-)

The target audience is more obviously teenage girls... The heroine is a young woman of marriageable age but there is more involvement by the local schoolgirls: admire the heroine while you identify with the plucky young assistants.

The first book ended with the hero marrying the wrong woman. So how can a second book sort out that rather awkward problem?! It's too nice a book to assassinate "the wrong woman"! I rather liked the solution to that little problem... And it also provided an interesting new direction for the next book. Well done, the author :-)

Some threads on the last few chapters are, I think, somewhat unraveled. (Hmmm... poor analogy. I mean, I can't follow what happened.) I gave up trying to remember who was who amongst the many secondary characters. But who cares!?

This book is a lot of fun. Likeable characters. Not too much tension.

I enjoyed reading Blood Spirits. I look forward to reading more.

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