Don't Forget to Read a Book!

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Peter Straub's  Koko. The Short of It Plot: A series of murders over many decades point to only one person: Koko. But his former squad mates could have sworn he was dead... Page Count:  562 Award: 1989 World Fantasy Award Worth a read : No Primary Driver:  ( Plot , World, or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Fail Technobabble:  Doesn't really apply. Review:  Turns out that the Vietnam war was pretty much not a good thing. Superb use of atmosphere and mood coupled with generally good writing. Plot is not great, heavy flashbacks break flow of present-day story. Scenes of gratuitous gore and violence are at first shocking and then become dull. Most characters are flat, making it hard to stay invested in what is a heavily people-driven story. Ends up feeling more like an experience than a story. And gets relentlessly depressing. The Medium of It Spoiler Free! If one were to read this is a fantasy story, it is sorely wanting. It ...

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 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 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...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Joe Haldeman's  The Forever War. The Short of It Plot:  Time dilation means that the world you leave when you go to war is never the one you come back to. Page Count:  278 Award:  1975 Nebula, 1976 Hugo, and 1976 Locus Worth a read : Yes Primary Driver:  (Plot,  World , or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Fail Technobabble:  Low-Moderate. Review: I really like this book. Manages to be both thrilling millitary SF and a treatise on the futility of war/the military-industrial complex. Nice application of relativistic speeds changing to dynamics of warfare. Chilling depiction of the alienation felt by soldiers returning home. The evolution of Earth is interesting, though Haldeman is a bit indelicate with his approach to homosexuality. The Medium of It Spoiler Free! A note before diving in: it turns out that there are a number of different versions of this book. This seems to happen a lot. I read a more recent edition, whi...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Ursula K. Le Guin's  The Lathe of Heaven. The Short of It Plot: George Orr's dreams have a bad habit of altering reality. Page Count: 175 Award:  1972 Locus Worth a read : Yes Primary Driver:  (Plot,  World , or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Fail Technobabble:  Minimal. Review:  A surprising treat. Kept going wondering what would change next - and how things would go wrong. Excellent implementation of the Monkey's Paw. Attention to detail is amazing. Story went in all sorts of directions that I did not see coming - but enjoyed the heck out of it all. Highly recommend - packs quite a punch for so short a tale. The Medium of It Spoiler Free! The simplicity of this book is what makes it so remarkable. Some of George Orr's dreams change reality.  That's it. That's the plot. It is executed in a no-frills fashion that keeps pace quick and scenes interesting. Every detail of surroundings becomes noteworthy - was that pictu...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Larry Niven's Ringworld. The Short of It Plot:  Louis Wu has seen a lot in his 200 years, which makes him a perfect candidate for exploring an unknown world alongside a couple aliens.  Page Count:  342 Award:  1970 Nebula, 1971 Hugo, 1971 Locus Worth a read : Yes. Primary Driver:  (Plot,  World , or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Fail Technobabble:  Moderate Review: Aliens with their own cultures and norms? Check. Compelling protagonist? Check. A completely foreign and fanciful world? Quick and lighthearted? Fun gadgets? Check, check, and check. Sexism? Oh. Oh no. Oh my. The Medium of It Spoiler Free! I feel a bit guilty for having enjoyed this one as much as I did.  Niven begins with an excellent first chapter, which simultaneously showcases some of the wonders of technology in his distant future and introduces Louis Wu as a cool and sympathetic character. Had they realized yet that he had walked out on his ow...