stillhq.com : Mikal, a geek from Canberra living in Silicon Valley (no blather posts)

Old Twentieth

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 03:50:00 GMT

ISBN: 0441013430
LibraryThing

This is actually a relatively simple story, but padded out with a series of historical interludes. These are presented as when the main character is exploring a VR world, but most of them don't directly further the plot. However, they also don't make the story drag along, and are some of the most entertaining parts of the story. Relatively light reading, like The Coming and Marsbound. I enjoyed it.

Tags for this post: book joe_haldeman combat colonization vr nanotech disease
Related posts: Body Armor: 2000; Bill the Galactic Hero Series; First Family; Marsbound; On Basilisk Station; Death Bringer; Cyteen: The Vindication; The Complete Hammer's Slammers Volume 1; Space Soldiers; Cryptonomicon; There Is No Darkness; Without Warning; The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress; Bolo Strike; A Separate War & Other Stories; Blood River; Bolos 4: Last Stand; The Complete Hammer's Slammers Volume 2; Dragonsdawn; Cyteen: The Rebirth; Colony

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Their Finest Hour

Sat, 28 Aug 2010 21:22:00 GMT

ISBN: 9781439133750
LibraryThing

This book is a disappointment. I was excited about another Bolo book, but this one is all republished stories I'd previously read:

Combat Unit (Keith Laumer): appeared in The Compleat Bolo.
Lost Legion (S. M. Stirling): appeared in Bolos 1: Honor of the Regiment.
A Time to Kill (David Weber): appeared in Bolos 4: Last Stand.
Operation Desert Fox (Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon): appeared in Bolos 1: Honor of the Regiment.
The Last Command (Keith Laumer): appeared in The Compleat Bolo.
Little Dog Gone (Linda Evans): appeared in Bolos 3: The Triumphant.
As Our Strength Lessens (David Drake): appeared in Bolos 1: Honor of the Regiment.
The Traitor (David Weber): appeared in Bolos 4: Last Stand.
A Relic of War (Keith Laumer): appeared in The Compleat Bolo.
Hold Until Relieved (William H. Keith Jr): appeared in Bolos 4: Last Stand.
A Brief Technical History of the Bolo (David Weber): appeared in Bolo!

Overall I'm pretty sad that it wasn't made more clear that this book was entirely reprints.

Tags for this post: book keith_laumer bolo combat anthology keith_laumer david_weber mercedes_lackey larry_dickson linda_evans david_drake william_h_keith_jr
Related posts: Bolos 4: Last Stand; Bolos 1: Honor of the Regiment; Bolos 3: The Triumphant; Bolos 6: Cold Steel; Battlefields Beyond Tomorrow; Bolo!; Bolos 5: Old Guard; Bolo Strike; Bolos 2: The Unconquerable; Bolo Brigade; The Road to Damascus; Dogs of War; The Compleat Bolo; Old Soldiers; The Complete Hammer's Slammers Volume 1; Body Armor: 2000; The Complete Hammer's Slammers Volume 2; The Complete Hammer's Slammers Volume 3; The Stars Must Wait; Bolo Series; Bolo Rising

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Solomon's Gold

Sat, 28 Aug 2010 11:14:00 GMT

ISBN: 0060750863
Harper Perennial (2005), Paperback, 928 pages
LibraryThing

This is book six of the Baroque Cycle, following on from Quicksilver, King of the Vagabonds, Odalisque, Bonanza, and The Juncto (the last two of which are referred to as The Confusion when read together as a single volume).

I'm glad that I accidentally read Longitude before this book, as in this work Daniel is a proponent of the lunar distance method, which was one of the main contenders to win the Longitude Prize. Lord Ravenscar proposed the prize in the book, which is a nice plot element. He of course wants to win the prize as well.

This book is much faster moving than most of the previous (except perhaps for King of the Vagabonds and Bonanza). Its a good read, and I can see how all of the previous setup is starting to pay off.

Tags for this post: book neal_stephenson baroque_cycle natural_philosophy longitude london
Related posts: Quicksilver; The Confusion; Bonanza; Longitude; The Juncto; King of the Vagabonds; Odalisque; Cryptonomicon; Cryptonomicon

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San Diego

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 09:04:00 GMT

Work took me down to San Diego for a couple of days. There was a party on the beach with movies. Can't complain.

See more thumbnails

Tags for this post: events pictures 20100826-san photo

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Asimov's Aurora

Sat, 21 Aug 2010 15:56:00 GMT

ISBN: 0743444604
I Books (2002), Paperback, 464 pages
LibraryThing

This is the third and final book in the iBook Asimov Robots spinoff series. The first two were Asimov's Mirage and Asimov's Chimera. Like the second one, this is better than the first and has a nice flow to the plot line. The story also is easier to believe than those used in previous spinoffs such as the Robot City and Robots and Aliens series. Weirdly, this is the first of the books in those spinoff series to really use sex as a plot element. The other books haven't been celibate, but they also haven't been as in your face as this one. That was probably the weakest part of the book, because those parts felt clumsy and extraneous.

Tags for this post: book mark_w_tiedemann isaac_asimov robot robot_city robots_and_aliens caliban crime cybernetics politics disease
Related posts: Chimera; Asimov's Mirage; Isaac Asimov's Robot City: Robots and Aliens: Humanity; Isaac Asimov's Robot City: Robots and Aliens: Maverick; Isaac Asimov's Robot City: Robots and Aliens: Alliance; The Robot City, Robots and Aliens Series; Isaac Asimov's Robot City: Robots and Aliens: Intruder; Isaac Asimov's Robot City: Robots and Aliens: Changeling; Isaac Asimov's Robot City: Robots and Aliens: Renegade; Isaac Asimov's Robot City: Cyborg; Caves of Steel; Isaac Asimov's Robot City: Perihelion; Caliban Series; Isaac Asimov's Utopia; Mona Lisa Overdrive; Isaac Asimov's Caliban; The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress; Foundation's Triumph; Isaac Asimov's Robot City: Prodigy; Isaac Asimov's Robot City: Odyssey; Naked Sun

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Mona Lisa Overdrive

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 02:24:00 GMT

ISBN: 0553281747
Spectra (1989), Mass Market Paperback, 320 pages
LibraryThing

This is the book which wraps up the Sprawl series (Burning Chrome, Neuromancer and Count Zero). Its a great book, with several separate story lines which are beautifully molded together by the end of the book. It also wraps up the confusing elements of the various other stories nicely. I really enjoyed it.

Tags for this post: book william_gibson hacking robot ai crime sprawl hugo nebula prometheus
Related posts: Count Zero; Neuromancer; Burning Chrome; Caves of Steel; Saturn's Children; Foundation's Edge; Chimera; All The Weyrs of Pern; Foundation and Empire; Nightfall (short stories); Robots of Dawn; Asimov's Mirage; Asimov's Aurora; Naked Sun; Forever Peace; Cryptonomicon; Dragonflight; Friday; Battlefields Beyond Tomorrow; Robot Dreams; The Forever War

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Longitude

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 13:47:00 GMT

ISBN: 1857025717
LibraryThing

This is the story of John Harrison, the inventor of modern accurate clocks. Its an interesting read, and very engaging for a non-fiction book. I think this is helped by the conversational style of the book, and the fact that its not terribly long. A good read.

Tags for this post: book dava_sobel non-fiction longitude natural_philosophy london
Related posts: Solomon's Gold; Quicksilver; The Confusion; Bonanza; The Juncto; King of the Vagabonds; Odalisque

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Space Soldiers

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 19:07:00 GMT

ISBN: 0441008240
LibraryThing

This is a collection of short stories about soldiers in space. Its not the strongest such collection I have read -- Battlefields Beyond Tomorrow, Body Armor 2002 and Dogs of War are all better.

The Gardens of Saturn (Paul J McAuley): veterans with jacked up nervous systems encounter genetically engineered people in deep space.
Soldiers Home (William Barton): veterans and other castoffs from conflict struggle to find meaning in continued existence.
Legacies (Tom Purdom): a not particularly interesting story about the psychological impact of losing a parent to war. Oh, except we don't really talk about the impact. We talk about the bureaucracy around getting permission to treat. Dull.
Moon Duel (Fritz Leiber): an interesting concept (interstellar criminals abandoned on the moon). A bit dated, but ok apart from that.
Saviour (Robert Reed): another good concept, but I don't think this story is particularly well written.
Galactic North (Alastair Reynolds): a relativistic chase across deep space with a confusing terraforming gone wrong subplot.
Masque of the Red Shift (Fred Saberhagen): this is the second Berserker story I've read (the other is "What Do You Want Me To Do To Prove Im Human Stop" from Battlefields Beyond Tomorrow. It was ok, although I suspect I was meant to know more about the universe than I actually do.
Time Piece (Joe Haldeman): read before in Dogs of War, and I didn't like it back then.
On The Orion Line (Stephen Baxter): I think this is the best story of the bunch. Its about expansionist humanity and their battle with aliens who can tweak the laws of physics.

Tags for this post: book anthology combat paul_j_mcauley william_barton tom_purdom fritz_leiber robert_reed alastair_reynolds fred_saberhagen joe_haldeman stephen_baxter
Related posts: Battlefields Beyond Tomorrow; Body Armor: 2000; There Is No Darkness; A Separate War & Other Stories; Old Twentieth; Forever Peace; Dogs of War; The Forever War; Bill the Galactic Hero Series; First Family; Marsbound; On Basilisk Station; Death Bringer; The Complete Hammer's Slammers Volume 1; Cryptonomicon; Without Warning; Bolo Strike; Blood River; Bolos 4: Last Stand; The Complete Hammer's Slammers Volume 2; The Complete Hammer's Slammers Volume 3

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The Coming

Fri, 06 Aug 2010 23:45:00 GMT

ISBN: 0441008763
LibraryThing

This book wasn't as good as I hoped it would be -- some of Joe's other work has been excellent (The Forever War, Forever Peace and Marsbound being examples). However, some of his other books are very weak, such as Forever Free and There Is No Darkness. This book is an interesting experiment in story telling style, where many different very short chapters are told by different characters. Each chapter follows on directly from the previous one. However, this style makes the story confusing to read until you can remember the names of all the characters. Worse than that though, the idea behind the story isn't terribly strong, and the resolution is weak as well.

Overall and ok read, but not Joe's best work and not a book I would recommend.

Tags for this post: book joe_haldeman alien space_travel florida first_contact
Related posts: Marsbound; The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress; Isaac Asimov's Robot City: Robots and Aliens: Humanity; Isaac Asimov's Robot City: Robots and Aliens: Maverick; Dragon's Egg; A busy couple of days; Isaac Asimov's Robot City: Robots and Aliens: Alliance; The Ship Who Sang; The Robot City, Robots and Aliens Series; Arrived at Disney World!; Isaac Asimov's Robot City: Robots and Aliens: Intruder; Isaac Asimov's Robot City: Robots and Aliens: Changeling; Isaac Asimov's Robot City: Robots and Aliens: Renegade

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Some Girls: My Life in a Harem

Tue, 03 Aug 2010 16:16:00 GMT

ISBN: 0452296315
LibraryThing

This is the memoir of a Jewish girl from New York who ends up working in the Harem of a Prince of Brunei. Its not so much a story about Harem life, although that's mentioned in places. Its more about Jillian's psychological journey, her troubled childhood, and working out who she is in the world. Worryingly, that final issue isn't really resolved in the book, which is frustrating. The book is surprisingly readable, and you genuinely start to care about Jillian along the way, even if a few of her decisions seem pretty suboptimal to me. A good read.

Tags for this post: book jillian_lauren non_fiction prostitution harem brunei

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The Confusion

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 20:57:00 GMT

ISBN: 0060733357
Harper Perennial (2005), Paperback, 848 pages
LibraryThing

The Confusion is a merging of Bonanza and The Juncto, which I think is more than the mere sum of the two parts. The weaving of the stories together makes for a very readable volume, with slow patches in each individual story line being covered nicely with a switch to the other. Additionally there are a few several year gaps in the stories which would be much more jarring if there wasn't something from the other story line in between. Overall, I think I prefer to read these two books in this con-fused manner, instead of separately.

Tags for this post: book neal_stephenson baroque_cycle the_confuson natural_philosophy piracy london france europe asia south_america india
Related posts: The Juncto; Odalisque; Quicksilver; King of the Vagabonds; Solomon's Gold; Longitude; Bonanza; Cryptonomicon; Cryptonomicon; Illegal download sites for the MythTV book

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The Juncto

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 20:57:00 GMT

ISBN: 0060733357
Harper Perennial (2005), Paperback, 848 pages
LibraryThing

This story follows Eliza has Jack's actions in affect her life in Europe. Its an interesting tale, although I'm not happy with how Eliza is treated at the end.

Tags for this post: book neal_stephenson baroque_cycle the_confuson natural_philosophy france europe
Related posts: The Confusion; Bonanza; Odalisque; Quicksilver; King of the Vagabonds; Solomon's Gold; Cryptonomicon; Cryptonomicon; Longitude

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Bonanza

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 20:56:00 GMT

ISBN: 0060733357
Harper Perennial (2005), Paperback, 848 pages
LibraryThing

This is a story about Jack Shaftoe travelling the world after making his poor business decision at the end of the previous book. I think it best serves as a foil to The Juncto, as the story line takes a few irrelevant turns and has some big gaps in it which are jarring.

Tags for this post: book neal_stephenson baroque_cycle the_confuson natural_philosophy piracy london france europe asia south_america india
Related posts: The Juncto; Odalisque; Quicksilver; King of the Vagabonds; Solomon's Gold; Longitude; The Confusion; Cryptonomicon; Cryptonomicon; Illegal download sites for the MythTV book

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Books read in July 2010

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 20:46:00 GMT

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Count Zero

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 04:59:00 GMT

ISBN: 0441117732
Ace (1987), Paperback, 256 pages
LibraryThing

The voodoo aspect of this book is a bit odd, but its a very readable story set about eight years after Neuromancer. I like that it is not a "me too" story, and has its own unique and interesting plot arc. Overall a good read.

Tags for this post: book william_gibson hacking robot ai crime sprawl hugo nebula
Related posts: Mona Lisa Overdrive; Neuromancer; Burning Chrome; Caves of Steel; Foundation's Edge; Chimera; All The Weyrs of Pern; Foundation and Empire; Nightfall (short stories); Robots of Dawn; Asimov's Mirage; Asimov's Aurora; Naked Sun; Forever Peace; Dragonflight; Saturn's Children; Friday; Battlefields Beyond Tomorrow; Robot Dreams; The Forever War; Buy Jupiter Short Stories

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Odalisque

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 04:41:00 GMT

ISBN: 0060593083
Harper Perennial (2004), Paperback, 960 pages
LibraryThing

This is the third book in the Baroque Cycle, after Quicksilver and King of the Vagabonds. Large chunks of this book are written in the form of letters, which I imagine might annoy some readers. I enjoyed this book, but you have to be in the right mood to read it because some of the prose is quite dense.

Tags for this post: book neal_stephenson baroque_cycle london amsterdam france europe
Related posts: Bonanza; The Confusion; King of the Vagabonds; The Juncto; Quicksilver; Solomon's Gold; Cryptonomicon; Cryptonomicon; Longitude

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There Is No Darkness

Sat, 10 Jul 2010 22:08:00 GMT

ISBN: 0441805647
Ace (1983), Edition: First Edition, Paperback
LibraryThing

This book is very different from the other Joe Haldeman stuff I have read. The other stuff has been serious, thoughtful, and well written. This is attempting to be more of a parody book, much like what you'd get from Harry Harrison. Perhaps that's the influence of the co-author, Joe's brother.

I must say however that the end was unexpected and interesting. The last 50 pages was the best bit of this book by far.

Tags for this post: book joe_haldeman jack_c_haldeman_ii harry_harrison genetic_engineering taxation population combat aliens
Related posts: Body Armor: 2000; Bill the Galactic Hero Series; Bolo Strike; A Separate War & Other Stories; Bolos 4: Last Stand; Bill the Galactic Hero on the Planet of Bottled Brains; Forever Peace; Bolos 2: The Unconquerable; Bolos 1: Honor of the Regiment; Bill The Galactic Hero; Bolo Brigade; Bolos 6: Cold Steel; Make Room, Make Room!; Battlefields Beyond Tomorrow; Bolo Rising; Dogs of War; Bolo!; Bolos 3: The Triumphant; Bolos 5: Old Guard; Foundation's Friends; The Forever War

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Asimov's Chimera

Sat, 10 Jul 2010 01:48:00 GMT

ISBN: 0743412974
I Books (2001), Paperback, 480 pages
LibraryThing

This is the second book in the iBooks spinoff series based on Asimov's robot mysteries and the Robot City and Robots and Aliens series. Overall it fits into the Foundation Series acceptably. This book is a mystery much like Mark's first Mirage.

I think overall this book is better written than Mirage, and is certainly better plotted than the Robot City and Robots and Aliens series. The book is believable and entertaining, without having to suspend too much disbelief. I enjoyed it, although the book isn't important to the development of Foundation Series overall.

Tags for this post: book mark_w_tiedemann isaac_asimov robot robot_city robots_and_aliens caliban crime detective disability cybernetics politics
Related posts: Asimov's Aurora; Asimov's Mirage; Caves of Steel; Isaac Asimov's Utopia; Isaac Asimov's Caliban; Isaac Asimov's Robot City: Robots and Aliens: Humanity; Isaac Asimov's Robot City: Robots and Aliens: Maverick; Naked Sun; Isaac Asimov's Robot City: Robots and Aliens: Alliance; The Robot City, Robots and Aliens Series; Isaac Asimov's Robot City: Robots and Aliens: Intruder; Isaac Asimov's Robot City: Robots and Aliens: Changeling; Isaac Asimov's Robot City: Robots and Aliens: Renegade; Isaac Asimov's Inferno; Isaac Asimov's Robot City: Cyborg; Isaac Asimov's Robot City: Perihelion; Caliban Series; Mona Lisa Overdrive; The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress; Foundation's Triumph; Isaac Asimov's Robot City: Prodigy

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The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 00:48:00 GMT

ISBN: 0345368991
Del Rey (1994), Mass Market Paperback, 336 pages
LibraryThing

This is an anthology of Pern stories. It doesn't really stand on its own though, you're much better off having read the other Pern books first. The stories are:

The Survey: P.E.R.N.: this story feels quite lazy. There are new characters, but they aren't well introduced. They find the planet later called Pern, and explore it, but the story is entirely descriptive with no real plot to speak of. A story that's only interesting if you're obsessed with all things Pern. Its especially important that you've read Dragonsdawn before this story.
The Dolphin's Bell: this story recycles characters introduced in Dragonsdawn to tell another side of the evacuation from Landing story. Its an ok story, but its not ground breaking.
The Fort of Red Hanrahan: covers the settlement of the second Hold on Pern. This story feels more like a real story, even if it is a bit shallow. Better than the previous two stories.
The Second Weyr: this is more of a traditional dragon rider story, and quite good. It doesn't feel as much like an afterthought as the other stories, and was a good read. The title is a bit of a fib, as this story explains the existence of the next three weyrs.
Rescue Run: this was a good story too, covering why the settlers were never rescued.

Overall, I'd say this collecting was ok, but nothing particularly special.

Tags for this post: book anne_mccaffrey anthology genetic_engineering dragon biohazard colonization pern pern_landing
Related posts: Dragonsdawn; The White Dragon; The Renegades of Pern; All The Weyrs of Pern; Nerilka's Story; Dragonsinger; Dragondrums; Dragonquest; The Dragonlover's Guide to Pern; Dragonsong; Dragonflight; Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern; Cyteen: The Vindication; Body Armor: 2000; Cyteen: The Rebirth; Cyteen: The Betrayal; Isaac Asimov's Robot Short Stories; Robot Visions; Marsbound; Galactic Dreams; Isaac Asimov's Nightfall Short Stories

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Marsbound

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 04:16:00 GMT

ISBN: 9780441017393
LibraryThing

This book really worked for me. I've seen other people criticize it for being juvenile, but I don't feel its any more juvenile than The Forever War, which is considered a classic. The style is quite conversational, as if the main protagonist is talking to you and explaining the story, but I liked that. This is a great book.

Tags for this post: book joe_haldeman mars colonization aliens exploration space_travel
Related posts: The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress; Life, the Universe and Everything; Cyteen: The Vindication; The Restaurant at the End of the Universe; Body Armor: 2000; So Long, and Thanks For All the Fish; There Is No Darkness; Triplanetary; Bolo Strike; A Separate War & Other Stories; Isaac Asimov's Robot City: Robots and Aliens: Humanity; Isaac Asimov's Robot City: Robots and Aliens: Maverick; Bolos 4: Last Stand; Dragonsdawn; Old Twentieth; Dragon's Egg; Cyteen: The Rebirth; Colony; The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall; Forever Peace; Isaac Asimov's Robot City: Robots and Aliens: Alliance

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