Don't Forget to Read a Book!

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Gene Wolfe's  The Book of the New Sun. The Short of It Plot:  An epic four book fantasy series chronicling the adventures of Severian of the Torturer's Guild.  Page Count:  - The Shadow of the Torturer: 304 - The Claw of the Concilliator: 303 - The Sword of the Lictor: 302 - The Citadel of the Autarch: 330 Awards:  -  The Shadow of the Torturer:  1980 World Fantasy Award - The Claw of the Concilliator:  1981 Locus Fantasy and 1981 Nebula - The Sword of the Lictor:  1982 Locus Fantasy Worth a read : Yes, but it's an investment. Primary Driver:  ( Plot, World, or Character ) Bechdel Test : Pass Technobabble:  Both Technobabble and Fantasybabble in moderate quantities. Review:  There is no denying that these books are remarkable. The attention to detail is astonishing, the writing is crisp, the characters are complex. Locales have their own personalities, the world is fleshed o...

 Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Michael Moorcock's  Gloriana, or The Unfulfill'd Queen. The Short of It Plot:  In an alternate timeline, Queen Elizabeth I rules over the vast empire of Albion and must do her best to manage a corrupt and twisted court.  Page Count:  368 Award:  1979 World Fantasy Award Worth a read : Absolutely No. Primary Driver:  (Plot, World, or Character) Bechdel Test : Pass Technobabble:  None. Review: This book is remarkable in that it combines shockingly dull and lengthy exposition with some truly awful and problematic ideas about sex. A whole lot of parallel world court intrigue that just does not matter at all. The actual plot starts developing halfway or later into the book - and is not interesting. The title addressing Gloriana's inability to orgasm is a big ol' red flag. A deeply unpleasant read. Really awful. The Medium of It Spoiler Free Don't read this book. The Long of It Spoilers Ahead! There are...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about John Varley's  Titan. The Short of It Plot:  The intrepid crew of the Ringmaster  crash in alien territory and must figure out how to survive.  Page Count:  309 Award:  1980 Locus SF  Worth a read : No Primary Driver:  (Plot,  World , or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Pass Technobabble:  Minimal to moderate. Review:  It is hard to find such a dumb book that takes itself so seriously. Some legitimately interesting exploration bits not enough to redeem this one. Extremely juvenile. Raises interesting questions and offers insultingly insipid answers. There are elements that are quite good - particularly some crisp dialogue - but it's just not worth it.  The Medium of It Spoiler Free! This is going to be a rather short no-spoiler section. Most of the things worth discussing involve spoilers. There are a number of characters and it's clear that we are supposed to be invested in them. It's har...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Vonda N. McIntyre's  Dreamsnake. The Short of It Plot: Long after the end of the world as we know it, Snake wanders the world, healing those she meets to the best of her abilities.  Page Count: 288 Award:  1978 Nebula, 1979 Hugo, and 1979 Locus  Worth a read : Yes Primary Driver:  (Plot,  World , or Character) Bechdel Test : Pass Technobabble:  Minimal to moderate. Review: Less-is-more world building with good execution. A lot of interesting tidbits to keep you wondering what the rules are, who the people are, and so on. Story itself can be slow and stakes are consistently low. "I'm going to a place, surprise! something comes up, I will go to another place along the way." Characters are well written though not particularly complex. The Medium of It Spoiler Free! Let's get a few things out of the way. Yes, the main character is named Snake. Because she has snakes. And one of her snakes is a Dreamsnake. Which ...

 Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Kate Wilhelm's  Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang. The Short of It Plot:  After a pandemic causes infertility, the only way for humans to survive is through cloning. But are they really human?  Page Count: 251 Award: 1977 Hugo and 1977 Locus  Worth a read : No Primary Driver:  (Plot,  World , or Character) Bechdel Test : Pass Technobabble:  Moderate. Review:  Disappointing and disjointed. There are a lot of messages here that just get blended together to nothingness. Cumbersome writing, uncompelling characters, bland dystopia, and just a dull story. Odd choices on where to discuss science at length and where to just skip over it. First third was its own story originally, and is the best part. The Medium of It Spoiler Free! This book feels far longer than its 251 pages. Reading it feels like a chore; the descriptions are both long and lifeless, the characters unimaginative and interchangeable, th...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Fritz Leiber's  Our Lady of Darkness. The Short of It Plot:  Something sinister is haunting Franz Westen, and dealing with it involves unearthing answers that might be best left buried.  Page Count: 183 Award: 1978   World Fantasy Award  Worth a read : Yes Primary Driver:  (Plot,  World , or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Pass Technobabble:  Moderate. Review:  This is a horror story. Atmosphere is excellent. Book begins with some truly unsettling images and world building. The narrative itself is slow and frequently self-indulgent, but atmosphere stays on point. A qualified recommendation; but some scenes from this will stick with me for quite a while. The Medium of It Spoiler Free! Alright, spoilers for the first ten pages. Did I just enjoy Fritz Leiber? The author of Sexy Space Cats ? I think so. I don't even know who I am anymore. First, the good. Leiber starts with a truly and supremely unsettling ...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Elizabeth A. Lynn's  Watchtower. The Short of It Plot: The Southerners picked the wrong keep to invade; Ryke will do everything he can to get it back.  Page Count:  240 Award: 1980 World Fantasy Award Worth a read : No Primary Driver:  (Plot, World, or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Pass Technobabble:  Fantasy Babble: Minimal. Review:  The sweet, sweet taste of subpar writing. World building: "You people from the hot South are not used to how cold it is here up North!" Character Development: "You mean... I don't just need to indiscriminately murder people?!" and "You mean... women can fight too?!" Writing Quality (Verbatim): "He thought it might have ben a room in Tornor. The room was hot. He went to the window to open the shutters. They stuck. He had to force the latch. At last one opened." The Medium of It Spoiler Free! Don't read this book. It's not good. It's not a fun variety of not good...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Patricia A. McKillip's  Riddle-Master Trilogy. The Short of It Plot:  All the wizards left behind were riddles, and the only one who might be able to solve them is the biggest riddle of all.  Page Count: 578 (Full Trilogy) Award: Harpist in the Wind (Book 3): 1980 Locus Fantasy Worth a read : Yes Primary Driver:  ( Plot ,  World , or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Pass Technobabble:  Fantasy Babble: Minimal. Review:  It's an epic fantasy trilogy. It's a good one. Kinda loved it. Heroes and villains are complex, magic is interesting and coherent. Excellent characters. Cool development of powers, though it is far more power sprint than power crawl. Pacing can be odd; a few long pauses followed by frenetic scenes. Very well written. A satisfying read. The Medium of It Spoiler Free! This is a review of all three books in the trilogy, even though only the third won an award. They are all quite short - the full collec...

 Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Arthur C. Clarke's  The Fountains of Paradise. The Short of It Plot:  Humans have built many marvels, but nothing can compete with a space elevator. Page Count:  317 Award:  1980 Hugo and 1979 Nebula Worth a read : Yes Primary Driver:  (Plot,  World , or Character) Bechdel Test : Fail Technobabble:  High. Review: Overall enjoyable. Main narrative is about the space elevator, secondary is about an equally ambitious ancient building project - woven together in interesting ways. The science and vision offered are interesting, though characters are not and tension is infrequent. Marred somewhat by some truly bizarre (and underdeveloped) side plots and unnecessary epilogue. The Medium of It Spoiler Free! Clarke has a talent for blending hard science and a sense of whimsy and wonder. This mix is what sets The Fountains of Paradise apart from many similar books that have come after. Space elevators, after all...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about J. R. R. Tolkien's  The Silmarillion. The Short of It Plot:  Turns out Middle Earth had other jewelry too. Page Count:  386 Award:  1978 Locus Fantasy Award Worth a read : Yes. Primary Driver:  (Plot,  World , or Character) Bechdel Test : Pass Technobabble:  N/A. Review:  This is epic fantasy in its purest form; it is myth and legend, at times obtuse, but absolutely riveting. Tolkien's world is fully immersive. Had the physical book to follow the story, the audiobook for pronunciation, and laptop for family trees. Absolutely worth it - even as a casual  LoTR fan. The Medium of It Spoiler Free! What is there to say about this one? It's incredible, that's a starting point. It is also a brutal read. True Tolkien fans may have no issue puzzling out pronunciation; I felt like my brain was short-circuiting trying to figure out some names. Therefore the march-wardens said to Aredhel: ‘To the land of Celegorm fo...

 Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Frederik Pohl's  Gateway. The Short of It Plot: The Heechee left behind technology so advanced that we cannot understand it; that doesn't stop us from using it to get rich or die trying. Page Count: 313 Award:  1977 Nebula, 1978 Hugo, and 1978 Locus Worth a read : Yes. Very yes. Primary Driver:  ( Plot ,  World , or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Pass Technobabble:  Low-Moderate. Review:  Really good. Cleverly bounces between the story as it unfolds and therapy sessions afterwards - we know that our hero survives, but something terrible has happened. A bit too Freudian. Still, excellent job of making a complex protagonist, interesting world, compelling story. Wanting to know what went wrong kept me reading - and it pays off.  The Medium of It Spoiler Free! This won all three awards and absolutely deserves them. An alien race, the Heechee, left behind all sorts of technology. We don't really understand it, but w...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about William Kotzwinkle's  Doctor Rat. The Short of It Plot:  There is no joy like dying to advance science, at least according to Doctor Rat. Page Count:  243 Award:  1977 World Fantasy Award Worth a read : No... but worth a glance at a chapter or two. Primary Driver:  (Plot,  World , or  Character ) Bechdel Test : N/A Technobabble:  Frequent descriptions of animal experiments. Review:  This book is truly horrifying to read. It's about the gruesome nature of animal testing - and cruelty to animals in general - and is chock full of graphic animal gore. It's the child of The Jungle and Animal Farm but without subtext. Consider checking it out to read a couple of chapters - the grotesque fascination wears thin. Some might consider the unambiguous use of Nazi imagery for animal testing to be a step or three too far. The Medium of It Spoiler Free! The Learned Professor brings the flame right into the dog's nostril, sh...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Frederik Pohl's  Man Plus. The Short of It Plot:  A normal human could not survive on Mars... our only option? Cyborgs! Page Count: 183 Award:  1976 Nebula Worth a read : No... but consider it for a laugh. Primary Driver:  (?????????) Bechdel Test : Pass... but a real weak pass. Technobabble:  Frequent. Review:  Imagine if you took subplots from a trashy romance, a political thriller, a horror flick, and a space travel story... and forgot to put in the main plot. Starts decently, spirals wildly out of control with astounding speed. Almost worth reading to experience the hilarious concluding deus ex machina. This one is probably in the "so bad it's good category" - but sweet skittles is it bad. Also, turn on safe search if you look this book up. The Medium of It Spoiler Free! This book is top to bottom terrible. Plot points that go nowhere, plot twists that emerge from the abyss, poorly written and totally interchangeable ch...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Ursula K. Le Guin's  The Dispossessed. The Short of It Plot: For the first time in nearly 200 years a divided, militaristic, capitalist world will receive a visitor from its moon: an anarchist utopia. Page Count: 387 Award:  1974 Nebula, 1975 Hugo and 1975 Locus Worth a read : Yes Primary Driver:  (Plot,  World , or Character) Bechdel Test : Pass Technobabble:  Moderate to high; frequently plot relevant. Review:  An enjoyable exploration of what society could be. Oft subtitled (quite fittingly) "An Ambiguous Utopia." Excellent world building - the joys and perils of anarchism. Definitely not subtle as advocacy for anarchism. Plot and characters both decent, but mostly used to show the world - a lot of monologues.  The Medium of It Spoiler Free! I hope you're not in the mood for a subtle suggestion that capitalism begets violence, because you will not find that here. And if you wish to find something that implies t...