Scooter Chronicles

I review every book I read these days and post them here on my site. Since David helped me create it (originally through Blogger), I have read and reviewed 97 books (95 of them were fiction). But out of boredom recently, I was looking through some old files that I had lying around and found a spread sheet of a list of books I had read and some brief thoughts each one. I decided to pick out the good ones and list them here, with new comments.

“2001: A Space Odyssey” by Arthur C. Clarke
This was the book that began my strong desire to read. A couple of co-workers were discussing the movie version and I mentioned that I didn’t understand what was happening at the beginning of the movie. Like a teacher or parent he said, “Go read the book.” It opened my eyes to what an imagination could do.

“Dune” by Frank Herbert
Considered by many as the greatest science fiction novel ever published. In some respects I am not sure I could jump on the bandwagon. However, it was amazingly ahead of it’s time with the depth of background to the story (now referred to in sci-fi and fantasy as “world building”). It incorporated the direct thoughts of it’s characters too by using italics. Personally I found it an amazing story, though a bit complicated and some of the prose went over my head given my lack of experience.

“The Player of Games” by Iain M. Banks
This is one of Banks famed “Culture” science fiction novels. It was the one that stuck out the most for me given that the main character is a professional game player of sorts and get sucked into a political coup through a game. Much of Banks’ writing, whether sci-fi, horror, or general fiction, has many political and social overtones. This is a prime candidate for me to re-read given how young and uncultured (no pun intended) I was when I first read it, missing much of what the story was trying to tell.

“Use of Weapons” by Iain M. Banks
One of the few science fiction novels by Banks that wasn’t part of his “Culture” series. This is a dreadfully hard book to understand at first, however it was a real shocker as the story went on. I have read reviews or comments by other readers and how Banks “telegraphed” the shocking part. Either I am more ignorant then they are, or they are lying. This was also the first sci-fi book that I read with very dark natures about it. Obviously he was pulling some of his horror writing into it.

“Startide Rising” and “The Uplift War” by David Brin
There was a time in my life when I was only reading science fiction. And nothing grabbed me more then a good space opera. (For those that want to know what that term means, the best example is “Star Wars”.) Both these books won awards for Brin and are books two and three of the six book series. (They are also the only two of the series I have read.) I read book two (”Startide Rising”) not knowing it was part of a series. Both are great examples again of what kind of imagination science fiction writers have.

“Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus” by Orson Scott Card
Card seems to be the master of creating great characters. With this novel, my brother-in-law David said after reading this book that you can’t help but care about them so very much (I agree). And because of this, the novel will break your heart. It’s a fascinating science fiction story, that doesn’t always read like science fiction. It also tackles some issues about race, and a theory about how some of those issues developed.

“Hyperion” and “The Fall of Hyperion” by Dan Simmons
Another science fiction and horror writer. Both elements are present. These are books one and two of a four book series. However, these two book NEED to be read together (in my opinion). Why? Because the first book deals with the characters traveling to a destination, talking about their stories/past that connect them to this destination, and what they expect to find when they get there. Book two is what happens when they get to their destination. “Dune” may be thought by many to be the best science fiction book ever written, but I lean towards these two books being 1 and 1a.

“The Truth Machine” by James L. Halperin
Social, political, and moral issues are jam packed in this book. If there ever was a book that would be a great choice for a discussion group, this is it. Science fiction like in nature, it doesn’t read like one. I don’t think it was marketed or even shelved at book stores with sci-fi. But looking into the future with the amazing invention of “The Truth Machine” that can tell if you are lying with 100% accuracy, along with laws already put into effect, this book has a very interesting look at a crime free society. A on-line/forum discussion about this book could last for months. I am not exaggerating either.

“Revelation Space” by Alastair Reynolds
Obviously by the name you know it’s science fiction. It is a great mix of hard sci-fi and space opera. I haven’t read a lot of sci-fi since, but much of the new stuff I have read doesn’t compare to this book. There was something about it that just grabbed me. Later books in this series weren’t as good, yet still enjoyable. I also contacted the author via email (really nice guy) after reading a line he copied from a song (”Yours is No Disgrace”) by the band Yes. He has many other musical references in his books.

“Calculating God” by Robert J. Sawyer
Believe it or not, this is a science fiction novel. Two alien races contact a scientist on Earth wanting to do research. And both these alien races believe in a god much like the one in Christian, Jewish, and Muslim faiths where he/she created the universe. There are more detailed explanations of why these races believe and how they deal with this belief. It all makes for a very interesting story.

“The Speed of Dark” by Elizabeth Moon
Another science fiction book dealing with social and moral issues. This one centering around the autistic main character and the company that he works for which is trying to create a drug that cures autism. It is a rather eye-opening read of what autistic people go through. Moon wrote from experience due to her son’s autism.

“Maximum Ice” by Kay Kenyon
One of a couple science fiction books that I read not expecting much, yet got a great story from the experience. Some of the “science” stuff in it would probably be seen as lame by sci-fi reader geek standards.

“Resurrection” by Arwen Elys Dayton
I could say the same thing for this book as I did for “Maximum Ice”, yet I read some good reviews on this one which led me to buy it. I think these last two can be attributed to being female writers, concentrating on the story instead of all the “cool science fiction stuff” they can come up with.

“The Monarchies of God” series by Paul Kearney
“Hawkwood’s Voyage”
“The Heretic Kings”
“The Iron Wars”
“The Second Empire”
“Ships From the West”
So writing a multi-book series in fantasy is nothing new these days. However, all of these books could have fit into one 800 page hardcover, which is equal to one book in those bloated series you find now. There wasn’t a lot of magic in this story, and what there was of it turned out weak by fantasy geek standards. (And I am not a big fan of magic.) But this is a great story, with great characters, with great political intrigue and religious conflicts.

“Stardust” by Neil Gaiman
David described this book to me as an adult fairy tale. I quickly bought a copy and loved every page of it. It’s a short novel, but good things come in small packages, right? (Sorry about the cliché.) The movie version of this will be released soon, with an excellent cast. Looks like it could be a very respectable representation of the book.

“Neverwhere” by Neil Gaiman
This novel still ranks as one of my favorites. Gaiman’s imagination is incredible. And his writing style is wonderful. And I feel it has a lot to offer to readers that are not interested in urban fantastical stories. It deals with a British man that gets sucked into the problems of London’s other society, the one that lives underground. It’s a fantastic story.