Mind's Eye / Paul McAuley

Mind's Eye
(follows White Devils)
by Paul McAuley

science thriller / science fiction

copyright 2005
read in May 2015

rated 7/10: well worth reading

Science thriller ? Science fiction ? What's the difference ?!

This book claims to be a thriller. And... yes, it's about an apparently ordinary person -- plus a few friends -- versus a seemingly all-powerful secret organisation. Yet it's all driven by almost believable science. Yet it's set today... And the science is ancient -- a sure sign of a thriller.

Science fiction ? Science thriller ? I suspect that the key difference is the target market. Thriller is in, science fiction books are still niche.

No matter ! It's a good book :-)

But what's all that about, "follows White Devils" ?

As far as I can tell -- without having read Devils -- this book follows the same science. With several common characters.

There are references to the past... but no clear statement. Which is very annoying. Though I'm annoyed at the simplistic deception by the publisher, not the author. Mind's Eye stands alone -- but perhaps it would be even better if I had read the first book ?

All by itself, this book is well worth reading. But I do get annoyed when there is no indication that this story follows another. Mind you, it's worse when a book is in the middle of a series and fails to finish...

Enough of the penny ante griping ! What about the book itself ?!

It's a most enjoyable book !

There are a lot of characters who just come, play a part, then go. Surprising how many talented friends and family there are. Especially since the hero is rather reclusive...

Although... on another tangent... is there really a hero ?

There are two potential heroes. Possibly three. They each drive a part of the story -- deliberately, unavoidably or nervously. They interact well... Both as drivers of the plot and as human beings... And I like that.

The three heroes (or heroes/heroine) like each other and support each other. Not always willingly, not always with good grace but... the main thing is... they would not throw each other to the wolves.

James Bond could be a more effective hero. These characters are more likeable. More human. More believable.

The plot is straightforward, linear. The action is adventurous -- on the edge of unbelievable. The science is... well, I'd believe it more if it came out of a secret mind control lab -- rather than from ancient cave art ! Still, the origin of the science is essential to the plot. And it does make it more science thriller than science fiction.

Oh, and you know the way that a science thriller always destroys the only source of the super prehistoric science ? As a cover story for why we haven't actually heard of it before ? Well...

Mind's Eye has a far better ending.

The final confrontations, then the afterword wrapup -- are excellent.

A good book. With a better class of ending.

Well worth reading.

Quag Keep / Andre Norton

Quag Keep
by Andre Norton

fantasy

copyright 1978
read in May 2015

rated 5/10: readable, but only if there's nothing else

Okay, I don't play Dungeons & Dragons. Perhaps the category for this book should be "fansonly" -- rubbish, though fans may enjoy it. Nooo... It's not rubbish. Just boring.

A quick check of wikipedia: Quag Keep was the first D&D novel. And these novels make money, where the scenario rule books don't. So, okay, it's not easy to know how to start...

Quag starts with some D&D players being whisked off to the land of fantasy. Seven players, according to wikipedia. I was not interested enough to count them.

But so what ?!

There's a bit of reference to their real-world personas... Then they decide that it's better to just live in their new fantasy world... Which makes the real-world reference almost pointless. Well... totally pointless.

As a D&D imitator, there are several set piece battles, linked by incident-free travel. Great fun if you're a player, boring for a reader.

The characters each have their own special powers. The book comments, for example, on the special powers of elves -- with no further explanation. Great for an elf player -- who can choose to use the most applicable power -- but boring for the non-aligned reader.

Perhaps it's worth reading this book as the first of its kind...

There are plenty of D&D books which do it a lot better.

Empty Space / M. John Harrison

Empty Space
by M. John Harrison

science fiction

copyright 2012
read in May 2015

rated 4/10: bad but could be read

According to the blurb on the back cover, this book could be "literature of the very greatest kind".

In fact, it's rubbish.

You can tell that the author is aiming for "evocative"... He plays with words. And evokes... nothing. Try this: "The effect was of a room abandoned but not yet used." Eh?!? If it had not yet been used -- who was there to abandon it ? What are the indicators of not yet used ? No idea.

Then there's the magic... sorry... the science. A woman looks in a suitcase and...

"Immediately she felt herself transported a thousand light years from [X], out somewhere in [Y], inside an EMC outpost so secret even [Z] has difficulty finding it."

I wonder what it feels like, to be immediately transported a thousand light years ? How does this woman recognize the feeling ? Does she do it every day ? What she now sees is magic flashing lights. Yet she knows -- somehow -- that she is in an EMC secret base. And she even knows someone else who has not been able to find this base ! How super secret is that ?! Ooooohh ! Amazing !

The characters are not likeable. Mostly, they are creepy. Some are loony.

There's gratuitous sex. Well, okay, that's almost compulsory if you want to get a book published. But this sex is ugly. And unpleasant.

One woman follows a child -- she's not sure why. She meets a New Man who lives in a hut on a volcano, takes up his offer of sex -- she doesn't know why. Wakes up to find that the New Man is gone -- doesn't question it. Goes home. Eh ?!

There's also gratuitous crudity. There's the woman who has sex, squats on the sink to pee, complains to her sex partner that now she won't be able to pee for half an hour, then goes back to bed for more sex. Complains ? Why ?! What's the point of that little bit of crudity ?!

There's a thread of related incidents. Related, but not connected by logic. If it's intended to be a plot, it's as disjointed as a typical dream. And rather unpleasant.

I was half way through Empty Spaces when I picked up another book... Started reading... Realized that I was just not interested in finishing Spaces.

In fact -- it's worse than that.

You know how some books are so pathetic, or annoying, or just plain stupid, that you skip forward to the last few pages to see how it ends ? Well... I'm not even interested in doing that.

I read half. Put it down. And am not interested enough to even wonder how it all ends.

Is this really "literature of the very greatest kind" ?

I think I'd rather read a good book.

Something Coming Through / Paul McAuley

Something Coming Through
by Paul McAuley

science fiction, young adult

copyright 2015
read in May 2015

rated 8/10: really quite good

Another book which I read, then immediately decided that I wanted to read it again ! But...

The January Dancer justified the second reading. Good plot, good characters -- and every page was packed with clever cultural references, clever uses of the language. Something Coming Through had the good plot, the good characters -- but lacks the detail which could be missed at first reading.

On the other hand...

Coming Through is written for modern young adults. Look, says the author, I understand your subculture... and here's an extension of your world into a near-but-different future. It's very well done. At least, I think it's very well done !

I'm not a young adult so it's possible that I misjudge. However. What I do find is that I am not excluded. There are in-jokes, modern cultural references. And the author is willing to take the time to hint at the meaning of some of the more obscure.

In an earlier review I was annoyed that the cultural references were not explained. Worse, there was a strong implication that, because I did not understand -- I was a fool. That book was very much, them versus us. If you're not a young nerd than you're a fool.

Coming Through has a young adult, modern heroine. Clever, honest, just a little bit rebellious. There is also an older hero, of father figure age. Wearied by experience yet keen, capable, honest. He is there to do some of the tough but necessary legwork.

A good balance of characters. Rather than one -- young -- unbelievable superhero.

The two main characters, heroine and hero, are given alternate chapters. (Until their storylines finally collide.) Something struck me as odd... I had to double-check, to be sure...

It seems that chapter titles may be back in fashion. This book includes a date for each chapter. And... the dates are out of step !

Turns out, this is a very clever version of flashback. Or alternative to flashback. One storyline starts before the other... The two gradually move closer... And merge in time for the grand finale.

Very, very clever !

Though the grand finale is just a little bit weak. Sure, it's satisfying. But it's more of an introduction to the next books than a conclusion to this one.

The book is really quite good. I thoroughly enjoyed it. There no great depth to justify an immediate second reading. But I'm definitely hoping to read more of the series.

Likeable characters. Good plot. An enjoyable view of a near future world.

Well worth reading.

The January Dancer / Michael Flynn

The January Dancer
by Michael Flynn

science fiction

copyright 2008
read in May 2015

rated 9/10: really, really good

At last (*) ! A really really good science fiction novel ! Strong and coherent plot. Strong and interesting characters. Strong soap opera science !

It's the sort of book which offers enough complexity -- and enough enjoyment -- for you to want to read it a second time... So I did. And found more interest and just as much enjoyment !

Okay, half way through I was thinking, how many separate threads can I stand ?! Then the narrator made the same comment... promised that they were about to join together... and they did, too. Phew, just in time :-)

It's a solid piece of space opera. Heroic characters (mostly likeable). Consistent, plausible... engineering. (Read the book to see why it's not really "science".) Plenty of action on several alien planets. (Alien ? Well, human but different.)

Cultural stereotypes abound. (Is that PC-acceptable ? ) The Irish planet is very much in-your-face. Others are less obvious... It took a second reading to realize the background of the planet Gehpari... A small hint, I read it aloud, checked the Gehparisian's accent... Ohhhh... I see... Very good :-)

There's a lot of light humour. Not in the action but in the language. Some humour to make me smile... some to make me laugh. Some -- is very clever.

Towards the end of my second reading I was thinking, the plot is rather flat. No gradual buildup of tension. No sudden climax... But then I thought, the tension is in the resolution: the gradual accumulation of clues, until the final, climactic revelation...

Not that this book depends on sudden excitement.

There's enjoyment, reading pleasure and sufficient excitement from go to whoa.

A really, really good science fiction novel. Especially enjoyable after a bit of a dry spell...

===

(*) It was a great relief to start reading this book and to realize -- The January Dancer is a lot of fun ! I've had a bit of a dry spell, lately.

I've recently read four science fiction books which were more popular science textbooks than novels. Boring characters, weak plot, simple science explanations laid on thick.

I read four of these boring books. All with a common author, too. A friend asked me, why did you keep on reading them ?!

Terry Pratchett's name drew me to The Long Earth. "Loyalty" kept me going through the next two in the series. Then I tried a book solely written by the coauthor, to see if he was to blame... And yes, it seems to be Baxter's style...

On the other hand... All four books were interesting. In a popular science textbook kind of way. So I read each book to the finish. (Or, at least, to the point at which the author stopped writing. See next paragraph.) And decided that they were boring. Not novels. But contained enough interest to be read... But only if there's nothing else. And now -- thank goodness ! -- there's something else !

An old story: A young man storms into a publisher's office. "How long is a novel ? " he demands. "It depends..." replies the publisher. "Just tell me how long ! " demands the excited young man. "Oh, well... Perhaps 100,000 words... ? " "Thank god ! " says the young man, slapping down pages of typewritten paper. "I've finished."