Don't Forget to Read a Book!

Hello, Stranger. Looks like I'm back. Let's talk about George R.R. Martin's  A Game of Thrones. The Short of It Plot:  In the game of thrones, you win or you die. You all know what this is. Page Count:  835 Award:  1997 Locus Fantasy Worth a read : Yes* Primary Driver:  ( Plot ,  World , or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Pass Technobabble:  N/A. Review:  Superb use of perspective swaps, compelling characters, tight dialogue... this book is a masterpiece. An excellent start to a well-realized world. For a book heavy enough that the TSA could call it a weapon the pacing is remarkably swift. So many twist and turns, so much to take in, so many paths to trace and connections to make. This is peak medieval fantasy. The Medium of It Spoiler Free I had forgotten just how good this book is. I read through the whole series at the beginning of GoT fever - 2011. And I read it at the same time as I reread Christopher Paolini's Inheritance Cycle.  While...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Lois McMaster Bujold's  Diplomatic Immunity. The Short of It Plot: If only Lieutenant Solian had just been murdered and not this he-said, she-said disappearance... then Auditor Miles Vorkosigan would have no need to go investigate. Page Count: 320 Award:  Part of the  Vorkosigan Saga Worth a read : Yes Primary Driver:  ( Plot ,  World , or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Pass Technobabble:  Sufficient. Review:  Arguably the perfect Vorkosigan story. A legitimately engaging smaller scale conflict - in this case, a mystery - with much broader ramifications. Real twists and turns, compelling antagonists and side characters... it's a ton of fun. Inclusion of side story involving Miles and Ekaterina needing to see the birth of their children adds both higher stakes and a ticking clock, upping the pace. Great one-off characters as well. Nice to see some tie-ins with Falling Free  after all this time. Tight plottin...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Lois McMaster Bujold's  A Civil Campaign. The Short of It Plot:  You've seen Miles Vorkosigan face down armies, conspiracies, and empires. But isn't it about time you saw him in a romantic comedy? Page Count:  428 Award:  Part of the  Vorkosigan Saga Worth a read : Yes Primary Driver:  (Plot, World, or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Pass Technobabble:  Minimal Review:  Fine! I'm invested! It's a comedy of errors, an interwoven net of fumbling affections and budding romances. It's basically not science fiction, or action, or anything but a sappy romance. Yet after spending so much time with Miles we just want him to be happy. The same could be said for Mark, and Ivan, and Gregor, and everyone else who ends up amorously entangled throughout the novel. Of course, it wouldn't be a Vorkosigan book without some plotting and subterfuge, but all of that is background to the multiple romances all going on. The ...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Peter S. Beagle's  The Innkeeper's Song. The Short of It Plot: Tikat will stop at nothing to be reunited with his deceased love, three mysterious travelers try to track down their friend, and Karsh just wants his inn to run smoothly.  Page Count: 346 Award:  1993 Locus Fantasy. Worth a read : Yes. Primary Driver:  (Plot, World, or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Pass Technobabble:  Nope Review:  Beautifully written straightforward fantasy. Excellent use of perspective switches to both contextualize events and add depth to characters. Leans into tropes and clichés to place characters and interpersonal relationships at the fore. Superb use of diction and speech style to distinguish between different narrators. Pacing does not always work - there are major lulls which do not have enough payoff to be worth the break. Overall a warm glass of milk with honey: inoffensive but hits the spot. The Medium of It Spoiler Free...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Lois McMaster Bujold's  Komarr. The Short of It Plot:  Miles settles into his new life as a full time Imperial Auditor, but his father's shadow towers over him. Page Count: 332 Award:  Part of the  Vorkosigan Saga Worth a read : Yes Primary Driver:  ( Plot ,  World , or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Pass Technobabble:  Minimal/Moderate Review:  Miles is back in business. An excellent entry into the series. Komarr, a planet famously butchered by Miles's father, is an excellent backdrop for well-executed suspense and romance plots. Miles has a mentor here, and it's nice to see him actually need to learn something, no just be good at it. Pacing stays brisk, aided by alternating narrators by chapters. This also helps reestablish characterization: we're so accustomed to Miles as he is that is helps to see him from an outside perspective. The Medium of It Spoiler Free! Miles is a real Auditor now! Not just a hal...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Tim Powers's Last Call . The Short of It Plot:  Scott's life is falling apart. Maybe because of the alcohol, maybe because his dead wife keeps talking to him, or maybe because of that poker game where he bet his soul. Page Count:  535 Award:  1993 World Fantasy Award, 1993 Locus Fantasy Worth a read : Yes. Primary Driver:  (Plot,  World , or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Fail. Technobabble:  Not really. Review:  Somehow walks the line between relentlessly dark and darkly humorous. Lots of fun world building showing off a hidden side of what we know, though occasionally gets lost in the weeds on the very same. Scott is such a depressing character that we both cheer on his improvements and believe his failures. For a book that really dives deep into the rules of both magic and card games this manages to maintain a remarkably solid pace. The Medium of It Spoiler Free! At the heart of this book is an extremely detailed ...

Hello, Stranger. Did you miss me? Let's talk about Neal Stephenson's  The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer. The Short of It Plot: Perhaps an interactive children's textbook is the only tool powerful enough to break the constraints of a feudal cyberpunk dystopia. Page Count: 499 Award:  1996 Hugo, 1996 Locus SF Worth a read : Yes. Primary Driver:  (Plot,  World , or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Pass Technobabble:  Hot damn. Review:  Feudal. Fantasy. Cyberpunk. Dystopia. Cool! Compelling characters with convincing drives successfully ground some pretty outlandish SF concepts. Book spends extended swathes in its own fiction as depicted by the Primer - but does so in a way that illuminates real-world issues. Pacing leans a bit too rushed, particularly in the third act. Classic Stephenson: excellent writing, often opaque, totally gripping. The Medium of It Spoiler Free! From start to finish there was no point at which, had I been asked what...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Lois McMaster Bujold's Memory. The Short of It Plot: After be declared unfit for active duty, Miles is tasked with investigating issues within Imperial Security. Page Count: 462 Award:  Part of the Vorkosigan Saga Worth a read : Yes Primary Driver:  ( Plot , World, or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Pass Technobabble:  Minimal Review:  Start of the next chapter for Miles. Fun mystery elements and tight focus keep things moving. Excellent character work and development of Ivan, Illyan, and Miles. Nice to be back on Barrayar and engaging with a smaller cast of characters. Some side stories are less interesting but nonetheless nicely woven into the main plot.  The Medium of It Spoiler Free! It is hard to continually raise the stakes in a series this long. We're somewhere past book ten here. And Miles full on died in the last one. Admittedly, not permanently, but still. Dude was a corpsicle. Where do you go from there? Af...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Christopher Priest's  The Prestige. The Short of It Plot:  A simple rivalry between two stage magicians becomes an all-consuming feud.  Page Count:  372 Award:  1996 World Fantasy Award  Worth a read : Yes Primary Driver:  ( Plot , World, or  Character )  Bechdel Test : Fail Technobabble:  Minor. Review:  A gripping and fun read despite a handful of odd narrative choices. Good characterization on all sides, including multiple accounts and perspectives of overlapping events to flesh everyone out. Writing is good and builds suspense well. Pacing can be a bit off, in particular the use of an unneeded framing narrative, which pads out the book a bit too much on either end. The Medium of It Spoiler Free! Yes, this is the book upon which the Christopher Nolan film is based. It may also be a rare example of the movie being superior to the book, though the book is still good. The story begins with a fr...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Lois McMaster Bujold's  Mirror Dance. The Short of It Plot:  Hiding out on Earth seems like a good way to avoid the Cetagandans, but Miles ends up embroiled in more politics. Page Count:  392 Award: 1995 Hugo, 1995 Locus SF Worth a read : Yup Primary Driver:  ( Plot , World, or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Pass Technobabble:  Moderate Review:  The first Vorkosigan book that has multiple POV characters. A significant improvement from its predecessor regarding plotting and pacing: things move fast. Character work is good and favorites from early books help make new characters more palatable. De-emphasized world-building gives this a very different flavor from other Vorkosigan books. The Medium of It Spoiler Free!  It feels silly to keep reviewing this series - at this point, either you're invested or you're not. This is the ninth Vorkosigan review. Who will I convince now? But when you fail at a task you se...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Ursula K. Le Guin's  Tales from Earthsea. The Short of It Plot:  A collection of short stories which flesh out the history of Earthsea. Page Count:  296 Award:  None, but is preceded and followed by award winners. Worth a read : Yes Primary Driver:  (Plot,  World , or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Pass. Technobabble:  Nah. Review:  Does for Earthsea what the Silmarillion does for Middle Earth, but does not require the same level of buy in. Mileage may vary for each story. Le Guin successfully creates short, compelling vignettes, which illuminate aspects of her world - without sacrificing character or plot. Nice to see Ged doing his thing again. Probably my favorite of the post-trilogy Earthsea  books. The Medium of It Spoiler Free! The way one does research into nonexistent history is to tell the story and find out what happened. I believe this isn’t very different from what historians of the so-calle...