Armada by Ernest Cline

Final book group book for 2016.

Young Adult. I felt like I had read this one before, knowing full well I hadn't.

Similar to Ready Player One, this is a bit of a nostalgic walk through the 80's and 90's video game noir combined with a heavy dose of the young adult (or not so young adult) scifi books predominant in the same time frame.

Premise of the book is Zach is on the cusp of graduation from High School, a part time worker at a video game store, one of the top ranked players in the video game Armada, and wishing he could meet his long dead father. Zach's world revolves around nostalgic scifi movies, books, and classic video games. His room is a tribute to his father, killed in a sewer plant accident when he was 19 leaving young Zach and his Mom on their own. Then Zach sees an actual scout ship from Armada, and his entire world view changes.

While an interesting and fond stroll through some classic books and movies of my past, about half way through I thought the story bogged down in its own nostalgia. I really struggled to keep reading because it was too much like all those young adult scifi books - young special protagonist is the worlds only salvation because only they see what no one else can. The issue here was, I cared about Ender, I didn't care about Zack.

Alas, I wish I could have moved on. When Zach is finally recruited by the Earth Defense Alliance - who somehow built an uber secret base on the Moon and have been battling the Europans for the last 20 years - my ability to suspend my disbelief drifted off into vacuum.

• Those thousands of amateur astronomers never saw anything?
• A Moon-base that was built based upon 80's fictional movies (note the plural)?
• How did they get pop to the moon?
• Everything on the Moon is run remotely by drones via people on earth?

If this book's target audience had truly been young adult, and shelved accordingly, I could have approached this book differently (like leave it on the shelf). As it was, all these noir references spooled together in some kind of living video game ultimately fell flat for me as an adult.

Recommended for 10-16 year olds.

Nemesis Games by James SA Corey (Expanse #5)

Nemesis Games by James S.A. Corey

My rating: 4 of 5 stars







Jacket Blurb: The fifth novel in James S.A. Corey's New York Times bestselling Expanse series--now being produced for television by the SyFy Channel!

A thousand worlds have opened, and the greatest land rush in human history has begun. As wave after wave of colonists leave, the power structures of the old solar system begin to buckle.

Ships are disappearing without a trace. Private armies are being secretly formed. The sole remaining protomolecule sample is stolen. Terrorist attacks previously considered impossible bring the inner planets to their knees. The sins of the past are returning to exact a terrible price.

And as a new human order is struggling to be born in blood and fire, James Holden and the crew of the Rocinante must struggle to survive and get back to the only home they have left.

November's book group selection.

This, was a awesome book. A bit of a departure from previous sections in the series (and way better than death slugs and eye fungus from the previous book) in that our crew of the Rocinante has dispersed to the four winds while the Rocinante is undergoing repairs. Each of the crew has something from their past that needs wrapping up. Each crew member says their goodbyes, but it's left open and unsaid if they are planning on returning. James Holden is left to his own devises, bumping around a station, purposeless until the news reporter Monica disappears after telling him about ships going missing. .

When the proverbial shit hits the fan (or the stealth rocks start falling on Earth), our merry crew is scattered across the galaxy:

• Amos is on Earth, deep underground chatting with Clarissa Mao when the lights go out.
• Alex is with Bobbie, and they find themselves zipping around the galaxy with the Martian Prime Minister while Avasarala throws her political weight around.
• Naomi becomes Marco's prisoner - someone she thought she had left decades ago - under the pretense that Marco wanted the mother of his child safe when the Belter's stand up and take their rightful place in the universe. 
• Holden is left on station with the Rocinante when the last sample of the protomolecule is stolen from Fred Johnson's office. Fred and Holden begin to realize that nothing is safe and nobody can be trusted.

My least favorite story line was Naomi's - simply because it felt more like filler than the solidity the sub-plots had. I grew tired of her internal emotional tug of war regarding Marco and being shoved back into a situation she thought she had left behind. I wanted to smack her upside the head and say get over yourself already!

I loved that Avasarala and Bobbie were back in full force. Chrisjen is probably my favorite character in this series. I laughed out loud when Avasarala is bombasting the Martian Prime Minister in a message to Bobbie, knowing full well that the PM can overhear what she's saying, and when Bobbie apologies, he shrugs and admits that Avasrala didn't say anything that he hadn't already heard. Great scene.

And ultimately, the question becomes, how will all these plot lines return to the Rocinante. You know they will, so it's a matter of how. Which I won't tell you about here. Nemesis Games is just too much of a roller coaster ride to deny you the enjoyment of finding that out for yourself.



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On a Pale Horse by Pierce Anthony

On a Pale Horse by Piers Anthony

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Jacket Blurb:  When Zane shoots Death, he has to take the job, speeding over the world riding Mortis, his pale horse/limo, measuring souls for the exact balance of Good and Evil, sending each to Heaven or Hell instead of Purgatory. The new Thanatos is superbly competent, ends pain when he ends lives. But Satan is forging a trap for Luna, the woman Death loves.

For October book group.

Ah, to re-read a favorite thirty years after it's publication. This might be a book that didn't quite stand up to the passing of time, but nevertheless, I still enjoyed it for nostalgia's sake.

It's kinda fascinating really; I LOVED this series when it first came out and devoured every book. I read them again later. And read them yet again. Now it's probably been 10 years? And whoo...my outlook on life and awareness of the printed word has changed a bit.

• 
  This read a bit like Heinlein. How so? The pontificating on how things "should" be in society. 
• 
  This read a bit like Heinlein in Anthony's treatment and portrayal of women. I never noticed the shallowness before - women are judged solely on their looks: a turn of leg or a tress of hair, beauty is rewarded, homely is to be avoided and decried.
• For women, 40 is considered "old". Just ask Fate, who was dressed in tweed and conservative clothes.
  > Comparing Mother Nature to a 'distaff dog'.
   
• The concept of saving the damsel in distress.
  
  I could go on, but my point is made.

I am also aware that this is an exploration of death, and of our belief in Heaven and Hell. What I find with this current reading, it is very much a WASP point of view, or Christian point of view. At at time in the US when church attendance is at a low point, where more people are agnostic or apathetic than not, and many people just are worried about the status of their "souls", this bit just didn't hold up very well - in my humble opinion.

What makes this book still fascinating to read is the personification of the Incarnations - they are Mortal until they don the aspect of Death, Fate, War, Time, Nature. I enjoyed watching Death become his office, dealing with a elemental bureaucracy, where even the computers have attitude. I greatly enjoyed Mortis and his ability to transform according to need. The touch of 'tabloid' TV brought a nice sense of humor to the plot.

Ultimately, mixed on whether this has stood the test of time, but enjoyed it anyway for nostalgia's sake.



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Who Killed Sherlock Holmes by Paul Cornell (Shadow Police #3)

Who Killed Sherlock Holmes? by Paul Cornell

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Jacket Blurb: 
Someone has murdered the ghost of Sherlock Holmes. As a fictional character remembered by the people of London, Holmes’ ghost walked the city, and now someone has put a ceremonial dagger through his chest. What could be the motive? The small team of Metropolitan Police detectives who have The Sight find themselves pursuing a criminal genius who soon lures them into a Sherlockian maze of too many clues and too much evidence. Ross finds herself drawn to an actor who may or may not be a deity, and goes on a quest to win back her happiness. Lofhouse seeks the answers, finally, about why she brought the team together. Quill battles for his sanity. Costain battles for his soul. And Sefton just wants to bring his team back together, even if that takes him to the edge of death.



Read for September book group.

Book three in the Shadow Police series, and of the three to date so far, not my favorite.

Premise of the book is, someone or something killed Sherlock Holmes, and is now repeating murders taken from Conan Doyle's books. Quill has gone of the rails with the threat of Hell looming over anyone who has ever lived in London, a threat he feels he can't share with anyone. Costain is trying to make amends to Ross. Ross is fighting to get her happiness back. Sefton just wants everyone to start working together again and confronts their boss, Lofthouse for the secrets she's carrying. Lofthouse wants to rid her Husband of the thing that's holding him - them - hostage.

There is a lot going on in this book, and all the separate plot lines became rather garbled which gave me me the impression of character frantic-ness rather than characters solving a mystery. Quill is going insane, and the group just keeps shrugging and plugging along. Ross is sidetracked with romance and her quest to get her happiness back. Costain is obsessing about Ross. Sefton is kinda lost in the muddle of the other plots. Lofthouse is working on her own mystery.

So...where's the mystery? The info is up on the ops board at the portakabin, the group is one step behind the murders, then BAM! Everything comes together in a lightening bolt of clarity and resolution complete with bright shiny bows. Which left me feeling kinda annoyed.

The other thing that I had to wonder about, was this book the product of inspiration from the current popularity of the PBS Sherlock and Elementary? Did Mr. Cornell attempt to incorporate a well known actor much like he incorporated Neil Gaiman in the previous book? I kinda got that impression.
I did enjoy the idea that London "remembers", that people create the ghosts, that the ghosts are a 'remembering' of all [Sherlocks], not just the current one.  And this is really, the premise behind Quill's team.  

Ultimately, an interesting read that just didn't grab me with as much novelty as the previous two books. Recommended if you've been reading the series. Not mean to be a stand-alone.



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Elysium by Jennifer Marie Brisset

Elysium by Jennifer Marie Brissett

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Jacket Blurb: A computer program etched into the atmosphere has a story to tell, the story of two people, of a city lost to chaos, of survival and love. The program's data, however, has been corrupted. As the novel's characters struggle to survive apocalypse, they are sustained and challenged by the demands of love in a shattered world both haunted and dangerous.



Read for June book group.

NOT the book the movie was based on.

I am really undecided about what I think of this selection. On one hand, it was different from what I've read before, but yet, on the other hand, it had strong elements of other known-to-me themes.

Premise of the book is Antonine/Antonnete and Adrian/Adrianne are etched in a computer program in the atmosphere. The computer program is broken and incomplete as it spools out the story of the hero/heroine after an apocalyptic event changes and destroys humanity and the earth.

The plot unwinds in a logical fashion, though it doesn't seem like it at first, as the reader follows the characters through time and events. There are consistencies: Antonine/Antonnete, Adrian/Adrianne, Hector/Helen, and an elk. Events that happen may very well show up again. The idea of a true cloud based data storage in the atmosphere to tell this story was a neat device. All these aspects made the plot a fascinating and delightful with these small surprises.

On the other hand, the book and plot were reminiscent of several other books that I've read or movies I've seen: the whole apocalyptic/dystopian theme of those who escaped and those who remain behind, an alien presence taking over the world, the concept of two souls (in this case computer constructs) moving through space/time.

So for myself it was a balance of new, different and interesting combined with existing and popular tropes. Ultimately, I think I enjoyed this, but, I'm not entirely sure? Recommended with some reservations.



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The Just City by Jo Walton (Thessaly #1)

The Just City by Jo Walton

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Jacket Blurb: "Here in the Just City you will become your best selves. You will learn and grow and strive to be excellent."

Created as an experiment by the time-traveling goddess Pallas Athene, the Just City is a planned community, populated by over ten thousand children and a few hundred adult teachers from all eras of history, along with some handy robots from the far human future--all set down together on a Mediterranean island in the distant past.

The student Simmea, born an Egyptian farmer's daughter sometime between 500 and 1000 A.D, is a brilliant child, eager for knowledge, ready to strive to be her best self. The teacher Maia was once Ethel, a young Victorian lady of much learning and few prospects, who prayed to Pallas Athene in an unguarded moment during a trip to Rome--and, in an instant, found herself in the Just City with grey-eyed Athene standing unmistakably before her.

Meanwhile, Apollo--stunned by the realization that there are things mortals understand better than he does--has arranged to live a human life, and has come to the City as one of the children. He knows his true identity, and conceals it from his peers. For this lifetime, he is prone to all the troubles of being human.

Then, a few years in, Sokrates arrives--the same Sokrates recorded by Plato himself--to ask all the troublesome questions you would expect. What happens next is a tale only the brilliant Jo Walton could tell.


Read for May book group.

I have to admit, this was quite a bit different from what I usually read. It's a unique blending of historical, philosophy, romance, and science fiction, and I'm honestly not quite sure what to say about it.

Premise of the book is Pallas Athene builds an experimental city based on the principles of Plato's Republic and other works. She gathers to her anyone who has ever prayed to her for a Just City which results in a conglomeration of people - male and female - from across time. With help from Athene, these individuals, known henceforth as "Masters" set up the foundations for the Just City.

Once the City is ready, the Masters - again with Athene's assistance - go back through time and purchase an immense amount of 10 year old children who were slated to becomes slaves, thus saving the children from terrible fates and allowing them to become their best under this model city.

Apollo, curious about his sisters experiment, arranges to become part of the Just City so he too may learn from the humans. He does this by hiding his identity and his powers, thus growing up "human". He successfully hides his identity from almost everyone.

And then Pallas Athene brings in Sokrates (not a misspelling) to stir the proverbial pot. What happens next is...well, bizarre and fascinating.

I read through this in a couple of days. It's a fast and - I thought - engaging read. Jo Walton manages to cram so much into such a few short pages that in some ways it's a bit overwhelming. Should I be focusing on the morality? free will? freedom of choice? The status of women? Who is worthy of a soul? What defines a soul? What does it means to be human? Is the soul comprised of one metal or a combination of four? Is the Just City just?

There are layers and nuances to this that could be picked apart and dissected much like our fictional Sokrates challenges the status quo and mind-set of his student-friends. Everyone wants the Just City to work, but at the same time, consciously and subconsciously, they all work against the system. The Master's are hoping to hand over control of the Just City to the Philospher Kings, but in reality, can they? Does Plato's system even work or is it a failed dream?

I could go on, asking questions and coming back and asking them in a different way. This book will make you think, if nothing else, and that's why I recommend it.



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Dark Intelligence by Neal Asher (Transformation #1)

Dark Intelligence by Neal Asher

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Jacket Blurb: One man will transcend death to seek vengeance. One woman will transform herself to gain power. And no one will emerge unscathed....

Thorvald Spear wakes in a hospital to find he's been brought back from the dead. What's more, he died in a human vs. alien war that ended a century ago. Spear had been trapped on a world surrounded by hostile Prador forces, but Penny Royal, the AI inside the rescue ship sent to provide backup, turned rogue, annihilating friendly forces in a frenzy of destruction and killing Spear. One hundred years later the AI is still on the loose, and Spear vows for revenge at any cost.

Isobel Satomi ran a successful crime syndicate, but after competitors attacked she needed power and protection. Negotiating with Penny Royal, she got more than she bargained for: Turning part-AI herself gave Isobel frightening power, but the upgrades hid a horrifying secret, and the dark AI triggered a transformation that has been turning her into something far from human….

Spear hires Isobel to track Penny Royal across worlds to its last known whereabouts. But he cheats her in the process and quickly finds himself in her crosshairs. As Isobel continues to evolve into a monstrous predator, it's clear her rage will eventually win out over reason. Will Spear finish his hunt before he himself becomes the hunted?

Dark Intelligence is the explosive first novel in a brand new trilogy from military SF master Neal Asher and a new chapter in his epic Polity universe.


Read for April book group.

Space crabs. Rouge AI's. Out of work assassin drones. Human's being transformed into hooders. Crabs being transformed into humans. War drones turned Planetary Warden's. A human who may not necessarily be who he thinks he is. Scifi doesn't get much better than this. Seriously good reading.

The main plot is that of revenge and retribution.

The subplots add the complexity. Thorvold Spear, resurrected after 100 years is bent on revenging Penny Royal for destroying an entire planet he was on during the Prador War. Isobel Santomi, merchant of cored humans and thralls for the Prador, made a deal with Penny Royal to be even more than what she is - she wanted to be a predator. Sverl, Prador, asked a similar request of Penny Royal and now finds himself protecting that which he thought he loathed. Penny Royal's purpose is woven through all three, and has its own justifications for what is going to happen.

This was just...brilliant. Asher's books start out methodical, with carefully laid plot work, then BAM! You can't put the book down and you don't know where or when exactly that happened.

Scifi doesn't get much better than this. Seriously good reading. So why are you reading this review?! Go read the book!



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Ancillary Justice (Radch #3) Ann Leckie

Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Jacket Blurb:  The stunning conclusion to the trilogy that began with the Hugo, Nebula, and Arthur C. Clarke award-winning Ancillary Justice.

For a moment, things seem to be under control for the soldier known as Breq. Then a search of Atheok Station's slums turns up someone who shouldn't exist - someone who might be an ancillary from a ship that's been hiding beyond the empire's reach for three thousand years. Meanwhile, a messenger from the alien and mysterious Presger empire arrives, as does Breq's enemy, the divided and quite possibly insane Anaander Mianaai - ruler of an empire at war with itself.

Anaander is heavily armed and extremely unhappy with Breq. She could take her ship and crew and flee, but that would leave everyone at Athoek in terrible danger. Breq has a desperate plan. The odds aren't good, but that's never stopped her before.



Read for March book group. Number three in the Radch series.

I really enjoyed this installment. So many things just worked for me:

• I thought the book moved smartly along, with Breq pushing events more than reacting as she did in the second book.
• I thought Translator Zeiat and Sphene were a great counterpoint to what could have been a rather dry plot. That the Presger was a bit...off, made it clear that the alien race didn't think the same as humanity. And the author coming up with the idea of fish sauce, oysters and fish! Loved it! 
• I enjoyed the dialog that examined what defines a 'human', and how the Presger seriously considered Breq's demands helped balance the quirkiness of the Translator.
• I also immensely enjoyed the Breq's growing understanding of how Station and Ship saw themselves, and how perhaps, Station and Ship wanted more, or at least to be acknowledged that they could do more, even if Ship and Station didn't necessarily want titles. Except, I did really like how Station wanted to be called "Cousin" by Breq and Sphene.

This book isn't without it's issues, it had a lot going on, numerous moving pieces and I had the vague feeling that some pieces were left behind or not quite satisfactorily resolved. For example, without giving any spoilers, Tisarwat boards a ship at one point for covert activities, they are caught, and next we see her is at the climatic conclusion. It felt like something was missing in between, like a Saturday afternoon movie that you've seen a hundred times and recognize where something was cut out.

And this is a totally silly nitpick - where is Mercy of Klar getting eggs so the Translator and Sphene can play with eggshells? Do they have space chickens? Could be ducks I suppose, or quail - so space poultry? Did they bring the eggs up from the planet or the station? How was station raising chickens?

Blurb on the book is dubbing this a "stunning conclusion" to this series. In my opinion, this really didn't come across as "stunning" - interesting, yes - nor did it feel like a complete everything's all wrapped with a bow conclusion. That there was definitely wiggle room and opportunity for more. I would like to see more...

Overall, I greatly enjoyed the third book in the series. I found it engaging, humorous, thought provoking, and the plot and characters pulled me right along. Recommended if you've read the first two, which is a must. This is not a stand-alone in any way.





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Cibola Burn by James SA Corey (Expanse #4)

Cibola Burn by James S.A. Corey




 Jacket Blurb:  The gates have opened the way to thousands of habitable planets, and the land rush has begun. Settlers stream out from humanity's home planets in a vast, poorly controlled flood, landing on a new world. Among them, the Rocinante, haunted by the vast, posthuman network of the protomolecule as they investigate what destroyed the great intergalactic society that built the gates and the protomolecule.
 
But Holden and his crew must also contend with the growing tensions between the settlers and the company which owns the official claim to the planet. Both sides will stop at nothing to defend what's theirs, but soon a terrible disease strikes and only Holden - with help from the ghostly Detective Miller - can find the cure.

Read for February's sci fi book group.

I enjoyed this to a point, then it started to become overly drawn out, so I fully admit I skipped about 200 pages and read the climatic and somewhat exciting conclusion.
>
Premise of the book is a group of refugees/settlers from Ganymede have gone through the slow zone to the planets that reside beyond, and have settled one they have dubbed Ilus. The exploratory/scientific ship that follows to establish a scientific base take exception to the settlers "running amok" on the "pristine" planet and well, the two group come to explosions, blows and murder.

Enter Jim Holden and his merry crew at the behest of Avasarala. Jim is supposed to be mediator between the two groups, and is walking into a hopeless situation full of anger, strife, and antagonism. Which is his forte if you recall the first three books, except this time he seems to spend most of his time wringing his hands and wagging fingers telling the Scientific crew and the settlers to behave or he'll get very very angry. And, after a while, when things have gone from shit to really shitty, thanks to the protomolecule known as Miller, there is a third party in the mix - the planet itself.

I thought this installment bogged down when the planet started attacking the people - there is the green eye fungus, and the death slugs, and the winds and floods. We have calamity after calamity, the situation devolving into greater hopelessness, despair below and angst above, and at some point I just hit the "...get on with it already!" attitude. And so I did by skipping 200 pages.

And was happier for it.

Don't get me wrong, I really liked the ending. All sorts of possibilities were left open and I can't wait to get back to all my favorite characters. It was getting to the ending that was the issue.

Recommended if you've read the first three in the series.




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Praxis: Dread Empire's Fall by Walter Jon Williams (Praxis #1)

The Praxis by Walter Jon Williams

My rating: 4 of 5 stars





Jacket Blurb:  All will must bend to the perfect truth of The Praxis.

For millennia, the Shaa have subjugated the universe, forcing the myriad sentient races to bow to their joyless tyranny. But the Shaa will soon be no more. The dread empire is in its rapidly fading twilight, and with its impending fall comes the promise of a new galactic order... and bloody chaos.

A young Terran naval officer marked by his lowly birth, Lt. Gareth Martinez is the first to recognize the insidious plot of the Naxid -- the powerful, warlike insectoid society that was enslaved before all others -- to replace the masters’ despotic rule with their own. Barely escaping a swarming surprise attack, Martinez and Caroline Sula, a pilot whose beautiful face conceals a deadly secret, are now the last hope for freedom for every being who ever languished in Shaa chains -- as the interstellar battle begins against a merciless foe whose only perfect truth is annihilation.


January 2016 book group selection.

This was my second reading of the Praxis, and I have to say I enjoyed this just as much the second time around. The Praxis is classic space opera - grandiose worlds, tyrannical aliens, wormholes, caste system, fantastic Cities and backwater planets and colonies, military intrigue and backstabbing, space battles. This has it ALL.

I will also note up front, this is not a stand alone book. If you want to find out what happens, you'll have to read the next two in the series. No hardship there, they are just as enjoyable as book one.

The book follows the paths of two people: Gareth Martinez, a Peer, lower ranking lieutenant, not well liked by other peers due to his back-planet, low brow accent. And Caroline Sula, disgraced Peer, has a secret, and is by her own admission, the second luckiest person in the universe.

When the last great Shaa passes, the Naxid's decide to revolt, in a universe that hasn't experienced any significant turmoil in thousands of years. Everyone is taken by surprise. Martinez and Sula find themselves thrust into situations and roles they never predicted or even imagined for themselves.

This is a fun, fast paced, classic space opera that would be great for reading while traveling, on vacation, or while commuting.  



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