But now he's got no legs at all, for he ran a race with a cannonball

I has a depression. It are boring. Do not want.

Can has motivashuns nao pls?

#

And with that out of the way...

Books 113-118, Fiction 107-112

107. Elizabeth Bear, Undertow.

Bear never fails to deliver. Undertow is excellent science fiction, with cool science that looks almost plausible, bang-up interesting characters (an assassin, an archinformist with a past, and a conjure-man) and really great - as usual - aliens (froggies!). Not to mention spinning the observer effect in really cool directions.

The prose is clear and lucid with some really sharp turns of phrase, and thriller plot rattles along at break-neck speed right up to the conclusion.

The finale and conclusion feels kind of rushed to me, and the quantum clone thing feels to me like a really belated reveal, but those are really minor flaws. Undertow is a great, immensely entertaining book.

108. Richard Morgan, Black Man.

Black Man is both like and unlike Morgan's previous offerings (Woken Furies, Market Forces etc). The main protag of Black Man, Carl Marsalis, a genetically engineered hyper-soldier, or 'varient thirteen' bears a recognisable similarity to Takeshi Kovacs of Altered Carbon et al, and the future Earth and locales of Black Man have something of the same dystopic tone as Market Forces, though less extremely dystopic.

Morgan excells at gritty future noir, and Black Man is that. With extra cool. But it's also complex commentary on social, political and biological relationships.

I have some issues with the terms Morgan - or his characters, at least - occasionally cast that socio-politico-biological interplay in. And I think that Morgan may have some fundamental misconceptions about the nature of the soldier - or if he doesn't, that the contrast between the loner-variant-thirteen and the intensely - and indeed deliberate and necessary - communal nature of teams and team-building in the military is not adequately outlined. But that should take nothing away from his achievement in Black Man. This is a novel that works on many levels.

And a smooth and excellent read.

109, 110. Scott Westerfeld, Parasite Positive and The Last Days.

Very different books set in the same continuum. Vampirism as caused by a parasite. Parasite Positive is wonderfully creepy, and The Last Days is about a rock band.

They're cool. And enjoyable smooth, YA reading.

111. Glenda Larke, Heart of the Mirage.

I picked this up in Forbidden Planet on a whim, and ended up enjoying it much more than I expected. Epic fantasy with intriguing Latin-esque and almost Aboriginal world-building, told from the point of view of Ligea Gayed, an agent of the Tyranian Empire sent to root out rebellion in the province of Kardiastan, but who finds her loyalties slowly changing.

Not incredibly ground-breaking, but the world-building is pleasantly original and the story-telling is a level or two beyond mere competence. An enjoyable read.

Though why Orbit had to release it in that annoying large mass market size, I don't know, but I wish they'd stop doing that. MMPBs should be small enough to fit into the pocket of my combats.

112. Patricia Bray, The First Betrayal.

Another book I enjoyed more than I expected, without ever being overwhelmed. Moderately whelmed, perhaps. Interesting story, competently told, with interesting characters, but feels curiously incomplete.

#

I am reminded again today of how fortunate I am to live where and when I do. Ireland, land of the Free Fees Iniative and the government support grant for college students. (And sexism and classism and racism and corrupt governance, but some days you count the chickens you have rather than the ones you wish for.)

If I lived anywhere else in the world, the odds are good I'd either be setting myself up for a lifetime of servicing the debt, or never attend third level education at all.

Some places, I'd be lucky to get any education. Some places, I'd be lucky to manage to survive.

So. Here's to good luck, better living, and a future worth surviving for.

But now he's got no legs at all, for he ran a race with a cannonball

I has a depression. It are boring. Do not want.

Can has motivashuns nao pls?

#

And with that out of the way...

Books 113-118, Fiction 107-112

107. Elizabeth Bear, Undertow.

Bear never fails to deliver. Undertow is excellent science fiction, with cool science that looks almost plausible, bang-up interesting characters (an assassin, an archinformist with a past, and a conjure-man) and really great - as usual - aliens (froggies!). Not to mention spinning the observer effect in really cool directions.

The prose is clear and lucid with some really sharp turns of phrase, and thriller plot rattles along at break-neck speed right up to the conclusion.

The finale and conclusion feels kind of rushed to me, and the quantum clone thing feels to me like a really belated reveal, but those are really minor flaws. Undertow is a great, immensely entertaining book.

108. Richard Morgan, Black Man.

Black Man is both like and unlike Morgan's previous offerings (Woken Furies, Market Forces etc). The main protag of Black Man, Carl Marsalis, a genetically engineered hyper-soldier, or 'varient thirteen' bears a recognisable similarity to Takeshi Kovacs of Altered Carbon et al, and the future Earth and locales of Black Man have something of the same dystopic tone as Market Forces, though less extremely dystopic.

Morgan excells at gritty future noir, and Black Man is that. With extra cool. But it's also complex commentary on social, political and biological relationships.

I have some issues with the terms Morgan - or his characters, at least - occasionally cast that socio-politico-biological interplay in. And I think that Morgan may have some fundamental misconceptions about the nature of the soldier - or if he doesn't, that the contrast between the loner-variant-thirteen and the intensely - and indeed deliberate and necessary - communal nature of teams and team-building in the military is not adequately outlined. But that should take nothing away from his achievement in Black Man. This is a novel that works on many levels.

And a smooth and excellent read.

109, 110. Scott Westerfeld, Parasite Positive and The Last Days.

Very different books set in the same continuum. Vampirism as caused by a parasite. Parasite Positive is wonderfully creepy, and The Last Days is about a rock band.

They're cool. And enjoyable smooth, YA reading.

111. Glenda Larke, Heart of the Mirage.

I picked this up in Forbidden Planet on a whim, and ended up enjoying it much more than I expected. Epic fantasy with intriguing Latin-esque and almost Aboriginal world-building, told from the point of view of Ligea Gayed, an agent of the Tyranian Empire sent to root out rebellion in the province of Kardiastan, but who finds her loyalties slowly changing.

Not incredibly ground-breaking, but the world-building is pleasantly original and the story-telling is a level or two beyond mere competence. An enjoyable read.

Though why Orbit had to release it in that annoying large mass market size, I don't know, but I wish they'd stop doing that. MMPBs should be small enough to fit into the pocket of my combats.

112. Patricia Bray, The First Betrayal.

Another book I enjoyed more than I expected, without ever being overwhelmed. Moderately whelmed, perhaps. Interesting story, competently told, with interesting characters, but feels curiously incomplete.

#

I am reminded again today of how fortunate I am to live where and when I do. Ireland, land of the Free Fees Iniative and the government support grant for college students. (And sexism and classism and racism and corrupt governance, but some days you count the chickens you have rather than the ones you wish for.)

If I lived anywhere else in the world, the odds are good I'd either be setting myself up for a lifetime of servicing the debt, or never attend third level education at all.

Some places, I'd be lucky to get any education. Some places, I'd be lucky to manage to survive.

So. Here's to good luck, better living, and a future worth surviving for.