Category: Fiction

blue bell?

Posted on by Greig

All Fun And Games Until Somebody Loses An Eye

Christopher Brookmyre

This is one of Brookmyre’s novels where an ordinary Scot finds themself in the middle of a full out Hollywood movie situation.
It’s a blast from beginning to end and features one of the best characters that Brookmyre’s ever come up with. Jane Fleming is an East Kilbride based grandmother that feels resigned to the scrapheap of life.
Except she’s not yet 50, and there’s still a spark of the girl that was a punk in ’77. When her engineer son goes on the run for his life after he falls foul of the arms industry, that spark is fanned into flame.
Recruited by a team of mercenaries to help in locating and protecting her son, she transforms from a dowdy grandmother/housewife into an asskicking undercover operative.
Sure it’s totally unbelievable, but that’s pretty much the point.
If you’re not looking for realism but rather for a really fun read for the summer holidays then I totally recommend this book.

Rating: A

sabotage?

Posted on by Greig

JPod

Douglas Coupland

JPodSupposedly an update of the classic Microserfs for the Google generation this is instead a cynical, heartless mess of a novel.
Centred around a group of workers at a faceless games company in Vancouver, the book riffs off on the personal neuroses and bizarre acts of these people and their families.
As always Coupland’s prose is superbly readable and some of it is very funny, but the story is stupid, the characters are deeply unlikeable and he fills about a third of the book with concrete text or lists of prime numbers, digits of pi, and other pointless lists. It worked when used sparingly and within context in microserfs – in this novel it makes a slight tale seem more of a rip-off.
If you read Microserfs and wanted more or you just love Coupland’s work, then read this book, but be prepared to be disappointed. Otherwise, avoid it.

Rating: C+

minifigs?

Posted on by Greig

Microserfs

Douglas Coupland

MicroserfsI last read this book in 2003.
As I said then, it’s one of my favourite books to re-read from time to time. I re-read it this time to prepare for reading his latest novel JPod, which is meant to be a more cynical take on the same world.
It’s a funny and moving tale of a bunch of tech workers who leave behind the tech monoculture of Microsoft to work in a start up in Silicon Valley.
It contains a lot of very interesting and some valid ideas about geek life. It’s a pity that as technology has raced ahead it’s made a lot of the tech observations obsolete.
I still recommend this book and especially to anyone who works in IT or similar geek workplace.

Rating: A

homunculi?

Posted on by Greig

Under Old Earth and Other Explorations

Cordwainer Smith

Under Old Earth and Other ExplorationsThis collection, as with the majority of Cordwainer Smith’s work, is set among the worlds of the Instrumentality – his vision of far future humanity. Smith was primarily a short story writer – only writing one novel – and this book contains some of his finest work.
For much of this collection I found it a chore to finish the stories.
Smith had some fantastic ideas, with some very astute insights into the future of humanity, the milieu is superbly realised with every nuance thought through, but his writing can be as dry and unexciting as cold toast.
(As an aside Smith’s real name was Paul Linebarger, and he was a professor of Asiatic Studies and an expert on psychological warfare. I suppose I could blame his writing style on this background, but I’m clueless when it comes to literary theory)
Highlight for me would be the story of the deposed ruler, who instead of coming back to his kingdom with an army, sneaks in and saves his people by subtly altering the mind of the dictator who replaced him.
This is worth a quick read if you have a keen interest in the past giants of science fiction, or if you are particularly keen on short
story collections. It really wasn?t my kind of thing.

Rating: C+

hot dust?

Posted on by Greig

Revelation Space

Alastair Reynolds

Revelation SpaceThis is Reynolds’ debut novel and what a remarkable debut it is.
He takes three separate story threads taking part in completely different environments, gives you taste of them and their cultures. He stretches events across decades, gives you flashbacks hundreds of years in the past. Then he sets events in motion that draws these threads together with minimal clunkiness.
There are some fabulous pieces of alien tech, some remarkably plausible extrapolations of past galactic history and future human development.
There’s really interesting characters, great set pieces and it’s all done with real style.
I think I’ll be buying more of his books.
I’d recommend this to anyone starved for a genuinely great piece of hard SF in the current market of post-geek Singularity science fiction.

Rating: A

static?

Posted on by Greig

Double Vision

Tricia Sullivan

Double VisionKaren “Cookie” Orbach is a sci-fi loving nerd. An overweight, over naive, African American woman that can see the events of a war taking place far from Earth when she watches TV.
This book is quite interesting, especially as you watch Cookie’s character become more self aware and self confident throughout the story.
The alien side of the story is very interesting, but the best of the book is reserved for the real world as Cookie’s wall of denial starts to collapse around her after a family tragedy.
I’d recommend it to science fiction fans looking for something a bit different and very much so to anyone looking for a book with a full on female perspective.

Rating: A-

extropian?

Posted on by Greig

Singularity Sky

Charles Stross

Singularity SkyStross’ debut novel takes place in a universe shaped by the intervention of the post singularity entity known as the Eschaton.
This strongly superhuman intelligence has perpetuated a human diaspora far out into the light cone of Earth. This creates many new civilisations of vaguely like minded people out among the stars.
One such civilisation is the New Republic, where technology (or the lack of) is used to keep the population firmly under the control of a centralised aristocracy. When the colony of Rochard’s World is visited by the unknown force that is the Festival people’s wishes are suddenly granted in exchange for stories, entertainment and information of all kinds. This the New Republic views as an attack on their sovereignty. In retaliation they are prepared to defy the Eschaton and the prohibition on causality violation by attempting to arrive in the system just after the arrival of the Festival.
On board the attacking fleet are Earth’s UN inspector Rachel Mansour and drive engineer Martin Springfield who both have hidden agendas.
This book is piled with ideas and some great humour. Unfortunately it’s let down by some mind blowingly dull "action" sequences and characters with large roles to play that don’t even make it to cipher level. It’s something that Stross has since gotten much better at.
I’d recommend this to lovers of idea rich science fiction and in light of the fact that the sequel is a much better book in the same setting.

Rating: B

johnny?

Posted on by Greig

Black And Blue

Ian Rankin

Black And BlueThis book is Ian Rankin’s masterpiece. Using the device of a Bible John copycat, Rankin examines Scotland through the lens of it’s
reaction to the original murders. Rebus is, as always, a fascinating puzzle of a character. Rebus is someone who must know the truth, must find out the answers and no cost is too high for him to pay – because only the truth heals.
This was the first book of Rankin’s I ever read and by god did it set a high standard. I don’t think I’ve ever read a crime novel that was more interesting, more insightful, more revealing.
This book is recommended to everyone. You will not read a better crime novel or a better book about Scotland pre-devolution than this.

Rating: A+

his girl friday?

Posted on by Greig

Steel Beach

John Varley

Steel BeachThis book is very much a tribute to the style and themes of Robert A Heinlein.
Hildy Johnson is a star reporter for a top Luna City dirt sheet. Life is good except for the bit where he keeps on attempting suicide. And just why is the Central Computer taking such a close interest in his case?
This book seems to occupy a strange place among Varley’s work, almost entirely taken over by the aping of Heinlein. It also seems to both be part of and simultaneously outside Varley’s previously created timeline.
I’d recommend this to people who are huge fans of Heinlein and can stomach the politics, violence, suicides and cold blooded murder of innocents.

Rating: B-

where’s my cow?

Posted on by Greig

Thud!

Terry Pratchett

The latest Discworld book. This is another focussing on Sam Vimes, and the City Watch.
The city is on edge, Dwarfs and Trolls are spoiling for a fight as Battle of Koom Valley day approaches. A high-ranking religious dwarf has been killed and Vimes has to find the person really responsible before the city falls apart. All the while making sure he makes it home for 6pm to read ‘Where is my Cow’ to young Sam Vimes jr.
Vimes is my favourite Discworld character after the outstanding ‘Night Watch’ and this book has done nothing to change that.
Not in the very top rank of Discworld books, this one is nonetheless very strong and has some interesting things to say. It’ll be interesting to see how the events that happen in this book play out in future books.
I’d recommend this to anyone. Pratchett is a genius.

Rating: A-