Don't Forget to Read a Book!

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Isaac Asimov's  Foundation. The Short of It Plot: Psychohistory: The use of mathematics and psychology to predict the course of human events.  Page Count:  - Foundation: 244 - Foundation and Empire: 256 - Second Foundation: 279 Award: Hugo for Best All-Time Series. Book 4 (next post!) won a Hugo and Nebula. Worth a read : Yes Primary Driver:  (Plot,  World , or Character) Bechdel Test : Fail Technobabble:  High but plot relevant. Review:  A set of nine interconnected stories that demonstrate the power and pitfalls of Psychohistory. Generally good writing and clever twists keep things engaging. A whole lot of exposition dumps. Characters are all flat. Concept is excellent, and each story highlights a different aspect. Feels like each segment successfully treads new ground, as opposed to rehashing. Some diminishing returns by the end, but absolutely worth a read as a whole. And the stories have aged astoundingl...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about James Blish's A Case of Conscience. The Short of It Plot:  What if alien society was just too perfect? Page Count: 188 Award: 1959 Hugo Worth a read:  No, but a soft no. Primary Driver:  (Plot, World , or Character) Bechdel Test:  Fail Technobabble:  Plenty Review:  Not bad, but not that great. It's mostly world building, which is half baked. Also the religion stuff doesn't really do it for me - possibly because the characters are each one character trait, so there's no depth to zealotry. The Medium of It Spoiler Free! This book is divided into two distinct halves.  The first focuses on the exploration of a planet (Lithia) with a new, sentient species (the Lithians). They are moral and reasonable, have science, and coexist peacefully. The main character is a Jesuit priest; he and a number of others have to determine whether or not the planet should become part of the broader tapestry of interconnected worlds. There are...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Fritz Leiber's The Big Time. The Short of It Plot:  Even soldiers in the time war need safe havens Page Count: 130 Award: 1958 Hugo Worth a read:  No Primary Driver:  (Plot, World , or Character) Bechdel Test:  Pass Technobabble:  Plenty Review:  A rather bland story involving time travel. Uninteresting characters and dull plot are used to flesh out a none-too-thrilling world. Saving grace is that it's super short. The Medium of It Spoiler Free! The basic premise of this book is pretty good. There is a war raging throughout time between two great factions, the Spiders and the Snakes. The war is fought all across time, with each faction trying to gain strategic victories that will ultimately shift the tide in their own favor. Not bad as a concept.  We stay within the confines of The Place, an area outside of time, where soldiers come to rest and recover between battles. This too is an interesting approach; we are not in...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Robert A. Heinlein's Double Star. The Short of It Plot:  An actor puts on his best performance by impersonating a politician. Page Count: 186 Award: 1956 Hugo Worth a read:  Yes Primary Driver:  (Plot, World, or Character) Bechdel Test:  Fail Technobabble: Minimal Review: A surprisingly funny and engaging book. Excellent narrator; charming and charismatic. Stands the test of time very well. The Medium of It Spoiler Free! Like many good plays, this story is carried on the strength of the leading player. From the start he is funny, charismatic, and has a roguish charm. Lawrence Smith, aka. The Great Lorenzo, is the type of character that you cannot help but like. To pull a couple choice lines from the first five pages: He read my card and dropped it into a sleeve pocket - which annoyed me; those cards had cost me money - genuine imitation hand engraving. It was true that I was ready for any profession work - I would gladly have playe...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Mark Clifton and Frank Riley's They'd Rather Be Right . The Short of It Plot : What if computers could fix anything, even people? Page Count : 173 Award : 1954 Hugo Worth a read : No Primary Driver : (Plot, World, or Character) Bechdel Test : Fail Technobabble : Heaps Review : This book is straight up not good. An almost endless stream of garbage science mixed with some casual sexism. Don't read it. It's not bad in any way that makes it remarkable, it's just not good. The Medium of It Spoiler Free! Don't read this book. Characters are flat, plot is bland, pacing is appalling, world building is dull. Each obstacle that exists is overcome with little to no difficulty, which seems to do nothing but provide padding. Just skip it. Read the spoilers below if you're a bit curious. Don't read this book.  But if you're going to, please use this link! I get a few cents, which help buy more books. Kindle Version Paperback B...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Alfred Bester's The Demolished Man.  The Short of It Plot : How do you get away with murder when the police can read minds? Page Count : 192  Award : 1953 Hugo Worth a read:  Yes Primary Driver : (Plot, World, or Character ) Bechdel Test : Fail Technobabble : Minimal Review : Very enjoyable - good, concise world-building. And an excellent job making a protagonist who is a bad guy... but you still want him to win. Romantic plot-line is unnecessary and definitely seems like grooming. Sharp writing.  The Medium of It Spoiler Free! Though it shows its age every now and again, The Demolished Man is absolutely worth a read.  There are a number of good characters on both sides who have their own complexities and are well fleshed out.  That said, most of the players involved, outside of the main protagonist and antagonist, are quite shallow.  The main character is deplorable; in this case, that makes him more engaging, an...