Don't Forget to Read a Book!

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...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Vernor Vinge's  Children of the Sky. The Short of It Plot: Enemies old and new threaten the fragile stability of the alliance between humans on tines. Page Count:  444 Award:  Sequel to A Fire Upon the Deep Worth a read : No. Primary Driver:  (Plot, World, or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Pass Technobabble:  Moderate Review:  Disappointing. Almost exclusively focused on underdeveloped interpersonal relationships between characters. Works within an established world and adds only negligible new details. Dull story beats and poorly executed limited omnipotence regularly eject the reader from the story. This is not a tale that needed to be told. The Short of It Spoiler Free! On its own, or in a different series, perhaps this book would be easier to stomach. As it stands, however, it is a frustrating and disappointing slog, a smudge on the legacy of an otherwise fantastic series. A Fire Upon the Deep is a comp...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Vernor Vinge's  A Deepness in the Sky. The Short of It Plot:  The Qeng Ho embark on a mission to establish trade with the Spiders, who are on the cusp of an industrial revolution, but run into the Emergent Fleet - a competing human faction. Page Count: 775 Award:  2000 Hugo Worth a read : Yes! Primary Driver:  ( Plot ,  World , or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Pass Technobabble:  High Review:  Take that sweet sweet sci fi and shoot it into my veins. An extremely ambitious book that sticks the landing. Parallel human and alien stories keep things interesting. Plot stays engaging throughout, though some beats feel like forced obstacles. Semi-omnipotent narration works a charm to ratchet up tension. Interesting societal structures that flow logically from unique physical characteristics of the Spider world. A wide array of great characters, both human and Spider.  The Medium of It Spoiler Free! Ther...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Ursula K. Le Guin's  Tehanu. The Short of It Plot:  Rejecting a life in court, Tenar settles down to be a farmer's wife. When she takes an abused girl as her ward, she sparks the ire of powerful enemies. Page Count:  289 Award:  1990 Nebula Worth a read : Yes Primary Driver:  (Plot,  World , or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Pass. A++++++ Technobabble:  Nah. Review:  A very different Earthsea. Fresh characters and a more intimate setting offer a much clearer image of day to day life, while background rumblings from those in power herald big changes. Excellent characterization all around, including of villains. Le Guin's writing is excellent, as always. Plot is mostly characters reacting to situations beyond their control - but characters are compelling and writing is crisp enough that it works. The Medium of It Spoiler Free! When I first read this book I was probably in fifth grade - and I hated it. Why shi...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Lois McMaster Bujold's  Brothers in Arms. 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:  338 Award:  Part of  Vorkosigan Saga Worth a read : Integral to the Vorkosigan Saga Primary Driver:  ( Plot , World, or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Pass Technobabble:  Mild. Review:  Not the best Vorkosigan  book but one of the most important. World building is less interesting here than in many other volumes but in exchange plot is more engaging. Ivan's increased importance is a welcome addition. Miles's struggles to balance both parts of his life create some of the best scenes in the book. Nice to see characters scarred by past events to make the world feel real and give it some continuity. The Medium of It Spoiler Free! Short 'n' snappy here.  This one is solid. A more involved and nuanced plot kee...

Hello, Stranger. And an extra hello and thank you to the person who donated money a couple days ago! You are awesome. Let's talk about Ursula K. Le Guin's  Earthsea Trilogy. The Short of It Plot: Ged's journey from a young man through to a powerful wizard. Page Count:      A Wizard of Earthsea: 205     The Tombs of Atuan: 180     The Farthest Shore: 259 Award: Books four and five won awards Worth a read : Yes Primary Driver:  (Plot,  World , or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Pass Technobabble:  Some fantasy babble Review:  A remarkable trilogy. Each short book packs a punch. Excellent character development over all three books. Short enough that pacing is quick but thoughtful. World is intriguing and a careful balance is found of showing enough to inform but not so much that things are not mysterious. Le Guin is an excellent writer, and it shows. Superb atmosphere woven through an intriguing world. Somehow all three book...

I LOVE Nona's Secret Best Carrot Cake, and you will tooo! If there's one thing that I've learned after 17 years of marriage, it's the importance of keeping hubby happy! And as a single parent of seven children, ages two through four, it's always a struggle to get them eating veggies.  I know, you're thinking, "How can I do both?" The secret is to sneak veggies into EVERYTHING but sell it as dessert! My kiddos always think they're getting away with treats for breakfast, but they're actually eating a full serving of veggies in every bite! It's the only way to keep all three of my kids happy and healthy! I named them all Skylar, so it's easy to coordinate because I just say, "Skylar, help!" and six eager beavers show up! And also my four kids. Those beavers are great pets! This recipe was handed down from my great great great grandmother - just my grandmother, but wow was she great! It's a quick, easy bake, which only require...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Oleh Shunkarenko's  Kaharlyk. This is part of a short excursion into Ukrainian SF and fantasy literature, for obvious reasons. The Short of It Plot: Chaos remains after a Russian invasion of Ukraine, and Oleksandr's fragmented memories push him to find Olena. Originally published in Ukrainian as a series of 100 word Facebook posts. Page Count: 176 Primary Driver:  (Plot,  World , or Character) Bechdel Test : Fail Technobabble:  Lots. Review:  Intriguing if difficult read. Lots of cool SF concepts tossed around, but combined with the 100 word block style, often confusing. Equal parts baffling and engaging. Extremely deliberate but sometimes difficult translation choices add to the mess. Nonetheless fascinating and chock full of clever ideas. The Medium/Long of It This is extremely hard to discuss without spoilers, and I'm not going to try.  The book kicks off with a note from the author and another from the transla...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Michael Swanwick's  Stations of the Tide. The Short of It Plot: Someone is breaking interplanetary laws and spreading illegal technology, and the culprit must be found before cyclical tides rise, completely changing a planet. Page Count: 252 Award:  1991 Nebula Worth a read : No Primary Driver:  (Plot,  World , or Character) Bechdel Test : Fail Technobabble:  High Review:  Plenty of neat ideas that do not sum to more than their parts. Somehow feels both rushed and tedious. A lot of thought went into the broader world and setting, but the same care was not given to any other aspects of this book. After a solid opening chapter it's all downhill. Uninteresting characters with weak motivations butt heads over uninspired conflicts. A lot of unnecessary sex thrown in, hoping to keep the reader engaged.  The Medium of It Spoiler Free! This is an incredibly ambitious work that falls far short of its potential. The wo...