User Profile

I just finished Scalzi's latest offering, "The Collapsing Empire." This is not set in the same universe as "Old Man's War," but is instead an entirely new setting, one where mankind is spread across the stars which are connected by a hyperspace-like phenomenon called the Flow. A newly (and reluctantly) crowned "Emprox" learns some disturbing truths about the Empire she now heads and the nature of the Flow, a physicist escapes his homeworld with a revolution and a natural disaster nipping at his heels, and the heads of dynastic and monopolistic families vie for power and influence in a time of rising uncertainty. I found it very enjoyable but entirely a prologue for what appears to be a much larger epic. If he thinks he can finish this story in anything less than five hefty books, he's not seeing the potential of his newly constructed universe.

This is a cleverly crafted book about superheroes, what makes them tick, and how five of them from very different walks of life, come together to form a team, a sacred band, to right some of the wrongs they've seen but weren't sure how to fix. The main characters are fully realized people, with depth and complexity rarely seen in works of superhero fiction. Some of the characters carry deep emotional scars, other are still coming to terms with what it means to have extraordinary abilities. While the setting is fantastical, who these people are, and how they interact, are entirely and relatably human. It's also quite refreshing in queer fiction to see characters romantically interested in each other rather than simply falling graphically into bed. Finally, the scenes in Portland, Oregon, are lovingly filled with details that only a resident of the place would think to use, though the descriptions of other locales aren't quite so evocative.

That said, I hope for the future books, Mr. Carriker is able to find someone who can catch the minor continuity issues I found while reading, things like the operability of one of the main character's phone (one scene it's fried to a state of non-functionality, the next it's being used to show photos to other people), the names of organizations being used by the main characters before they discover the names of the organization, and a couple other minor nitpicks. None of these took me wholly out of the book, but they did cause me to pause and double check to see if I had missed something (thankfully on my digital reader I can search for terms and confirm that they had indeed not been mentioned previously).

In summary, I very much enjoyed reading this story and am eager to see how the world expands in the (hopeful) follow-up novels.

I just finished the latest Toby Daye novel, "Once Broken Faith". I thought it an enjoyable read, but it felt short and not very notable. Unlike previous installments, it didn't really feel like anything monumental or world-changing happened. It felt more like this one was just picking up the pieces left on the table after the previous book. Maybe I'll feel otherwise after some reflection. Still, "not very notable" Toby Daye books are better than most! :-)

I originally read this book many years ago (nearly thirty, I think), and I enjoyed the re-read. It's a satisfying story, not hugely original, but well written and well paced. It does reflect the technology of 1950's America, and more so the attitudes. There are parts that are repulsively sexist by modern standards. But such attitudes were common in the age in which this novella was written. All in all, I find this to be one of the more enjoyable of Heinlein's early works.

It's been a good number of years since I originally read this book, but I certainly enjoyed the re-read. And it was interesting reading it after so much more has been added to Star Trek lore, including all of the information about Klingons from TNG and DS9. In the thirty years since the book was originally published, we've also have technology revolutions which make a lot of the technical terminology look positively obsolete in the 21st century, no less the 23rd. But the story is charming, the retrospective look at Trek as it existed thirty years ago is amusing, the link to the "Here Come the Brides" TV show starring Mark Lenard (who played, among other roles, Spock's father, Sarek) is entertaining, and the occasional references to other Science Fiction properties gave me a few laugh-out-loud moments (such as a casual mention of Kastaberous, a clear reference to Doctor Who). Definitely a recommended book for those who enjoy the Star Trek novels published in the mid 80's.