The Best and the Worst (So Far!)

Hello, Stranger.

Let's talk about the best and the worst so far!

The Best!
Are you doing something that's better than reading one of these?

1966 Hugo and Nebula - Dune by Frank Herbert
1977 Nebula, 1978 Hugo, and 1978 Locus - Gateway by Frederik Pohl
1985 World Fantasy Award - Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart
1985 Nebula, 1986 Hugo - Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
1990 Hugo, 1990 Locus SF - Hyperion by Dan Simmons


The Worst!
Are you doing something that's worse than reading one of these?

1988 World Fantasy Award - Replay by Ken Grimwood
1991 World Fantasy Award - Only Begotten Daughter by James Morrow

I wonder if you'd agree, Stranger.
And don't forget to read a book!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Don't Forget to Read a Book!

Image
Hello, Stranger. In July of 2017 a man named Derrick McGlashen died of Stage 4 lung cancer.  He was not famous, so you didn't miss the announcement.  Even most of us who did know him never knew his name until he passed away.  We just thought of him as the Book Guy. McGlashen was a panhandler in Park Slope, Brooklyn, and stationed himself in front of a grocery store on 7th Avenue.  He always had his cup to gather change, but instead of asking for money, he would strike up conversations with people passing by. He was a warm, gregarious fellow, with a broad smile.  His disarming charm made him a neighborhood staple, to the degree that if he was not at his usual spot, it was a topic of conversation.  He'd be gone for a few days, and when he came back, people would say, "You weren't here!" and he would laugh and say, "Just had to stretch my legs!"  He was probably in his spot 300 days a year, for as many years as I can recall.  He always addressed the kids wa
Read more

Bid Time Return (Somewhere in Time) by Richard Matheson

Image
Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Richard Matheson's  Bid Time Return. The Short of It Plot: A man travels back in time to meet the dead woman whose picture he fell in love with. Page Count:  288 Award:  1976 World Fantasy Award Worth a read : No Primary Driver:  (Plot, World, or  Character? ) Bechdel Test : Pass Technobabble:  Minimal. Review:  This book is just an underwhelming romance novel with a time travel twist. A blend of dull, sappy, and creepy. Enjoyed the actual traveling part of time travel - though easy, it was well executed. Protagonist pushes pathetic and clingy to new levels. No characters act even remotely believable; no chemistry to show actual love. Without that, it's just obsession and stalking. The Medium of It Spoiler Free! The name of this book was changed to Somewhere in Time after a movie based on it was released. I have not seen the movie, many people seem to have enjoyed it. I did not enjoy this book. Richard Collier finds out that he's dying
Read more

Queen of Angels by Greg Bear

Image
Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Greg Bear's  Queen of Angels. The Short of It Plot: Overlapping stories show our world fundamentally transformed and stratified by a combination of nanotechnology, AI, and surveillance.  Page Count: 420 Award:  Prequel to 1993 Nebula winner Moving Mars Worth a read : No. Primary Driver:  (Plot,  World , or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Fail? Technobabble:  Astounding. Review:  A truly miserable read. Densely packed with trite innovations and a tepid future to go with them. At every turn does nothing more than recall better works by better authors. Only one of the many stories here is even remotely interesting - that of an AI gaining self-awareness - but even that drags like a dragon but with none of the flames. Character work is dreadful, pacing is abysmal, and word building is drab. Books like this change this from a reading challenge to a masochistic slog. The Whatever of It Spoiler Free! What is there to say about a book that I hated this much
Read more