SF Masterworks Meme

Picking up the meme from OF Blog of the Fallen, the following is a list of books published by Gollancz as a list of science fiction classics.

Bold means I read it.

I - Dune - Frank Herbert
II - The Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula K. Le Guin
III - The Man in the High Castle - Philip K. Dick
IV - The Stars My Destination - Alfred Bester
V - A Canticle for Leibowitz - Walter M. Miller, Jr.
VI - Childhood's End - Arthur C. Clarke
VII - The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress - Robert A. Heinlein
VIII - Ringworld - Larry Niven
IX - The Forever War - Joe Haldeman
X - The Day of the Triffids - John Wyndham

1 - The Forever War - Joe Haldeman
2 - I Am Legend - Richard Matheson
3 - Cities in Flight - James Blish
4 - Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - Philip K. Dick
5 - The Stars My Destination - Alfred Bester
6 - Babel-17 - Samuel R. Delany
7 - Lord of Light - Roger Zelazny (One of my favorites)
8 - The Fifth Head of Cerberus - Gene Wolfe
9 - Gateway - Frederik Pohl
10 - The Rediscovery of Man - Cordwainer Smith

11 - Last and First Men - Olaf Stapledon
12 - Earth Abides - George R. Stewart
13 - Martian Time-Slip - Philip K. Dick
14 - The Demolished Man - Alfred Bester
15 - Stand on Zanzibar - John Brunner
16 - The Dispossessed - Ursula K. Le Guin
17 - The Drowned World - J. G. Ballard
18 - The Sirens of Titan - Kurt Vonnegut
19 - Emphyrio - Jack Vance
20 - A Scanner Darkly - Philip K. Dick

21 - Star Maker - Olaf Stapledon
22 - Behold the Man - Michael Moorcock
23 - The Book of Skulls - Robert Silverberg
24 - The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds - H. G. Wells
25 - Flowers for Algernon - Daniel Keyes
26 - Ubik - Philip K. Dick
27 - Timescape - Gregory Benford
28 - More Than Human - Theodore Sturgeon
29 - Man Plus - Frederik Pohl
30 - A Case of Conscience - James Blish

31 - The Centauri Device - M. John Harrison
32 - Dr. Bloodmoney - Philip K. Dick
33 - Non-Stop - Brian Aldiss
34 - The Fountains of Paradise - Arthur C. Clarke
35 - Pavane - Keith Roberts
36 - Now Wait for Last Year - Philip K. Dick
37 - Nova - Samuel R. Delany
38 - The First Men in the Moon - H. G. Wells
39 - The City and the Stars - Arthur C. Clarke
40 - Blood Music - Greg Bear

41 - Jem - Frederik Pohl
42 - Bring the Jubilee - Ward Moore
43 - VALIS - Philip K. Dick
44 - The Lathe of Heaven - Ursula K. Le Guin
45 - The Complete Roderick - John Sladek
46 - Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said - Philip K. Dick
47 - The Invisible Man - H. G. Wells
48 - Grass - Sheri S. Tepper
49 - A Fall of Moondust - Arthur C. Clarke
50 - Eon - Greg Bear

51 - The Shrinking Man - Richard Matheson
52 - The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch - Philip K. Dick
53 - The Dancers at the End of Time - Michael Moorcock
54 - The Space Merchants - Frederik Pohl and Cyril M. Kornbluth
55 - Time Out of Joint - Philip K. Dick
56 - Downward to the Earth - Robert Silverberg
57 - The Simulacra - Philip K. Dick
58 - The Penultimate Truth - Philip K. Dick
59 - Dying Inside - Robert Silverberg
60 - Ringworld - Larry Niven

61 - The Child Garden - Geoff Ryman
62 - Mission of Gravity - Hal Clement
63 - A Maze of Death - Philip K. Dick
64 - Tau Zero - Poul Anderson
65 - Rendezvous with Rama - Arthur C. Clarke
66 - Life During Wartime - Lucius Shepard
67 - Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang - Kate Wilhelm
68 - Roadside Picnic - Arkady and Boris Strugatsky
69 - Dark Benediction - Walter M. Miller, Jr.
70 - Mockingbird - Walter Tevis

71 - Dune - Frank Herbert
72 - The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress - Robert A. Heinlein
73 - The Man in the High Castle - Philip K. Dick
74 - Inverted World - Christopher Priest
75 - Kurt Vonnegut - Cat's Cradle
76 - H.G. Wells - The Island of Dr. Moreau
77 - Arthur C. Clarke - Childhood's End
78 - H.G. Wells - The Time Machine
79 - Samuel R. Delany - Dhalgren (July 2010)
80 - Brian Aldiss - Helliconia (August 2010)

81 - H.G. Wells - Food of the Gods (Sept. 2010)
82 - Jack Finney - The Body Snatchers (Oct. 2010)
83 - Joanna Russ - The Female Man (Nov. 2010)
84 - M.J. Engh - Arslan (Dec. 2010)

Clearly, I still have ways to go on my classic science fiction reading resolution for this year. Perhaps, I'll pick up one of the books above next time I go book shopping.

Naamah's Curse

Title: Naamah's Curse
Author: Jacqueline Carey
Series: Naamah Trilogy, book 2
Genre: Fantasy
Published: 2010

Recommendation: Not as good as Naamah's Kiss, but don't let that stop you.
Rating: 8/10

Summary: Moirin leaves Ch'in in search of Bao, who went to find his biological father among the Tatar. However a cold winter is coming to the steppes and Moirin will need to survive it before figuring out her relationship with Bao.

Reactions: Naamah's Kiss was one of my favourite books last year, therefore Naamah's Curse was on my to-read list without any doubts. I did see a somewhat negative review of the book on Amazon prior to buying it that left me worried, but I tried to put it out of my mind and enjoy my reading. The review turned out to be wrong (in my humble opinion), but I do have some comments of my own.

As everything else I've ready by Jacqueline Carey, this book is easily readable and plainly enjoyable. I read through it in a day's time (nice to have time off for the Independence Day), but despite the attraction of the book, I didn't like it as much as the first book in the series.

The weakness of Naamah's Curse is definitely its plot. There isn't a full arch to the story in the book, but rather several separate plot arches connected by "and then Moirin did this..." type of narration. I also don't feel there was a whole lot of character development or overall plot development in this book. Other than re-uniting Morin and Bao, the rest of the plot could probably be skipped. And while there are lots of emotional moments in between, none of them seem to be tied together. Why does Moirin's destiny want her to be in some particular place at a particular time and then leave it behind with nothing more than a few new scars? The progress and the motivation behind the story leave some to be desired.

However, the story is made more interesting by description of different cultures and religions that Moirin encounters on her journey. I particularly enjoyed the character of Rani, who is almost as a compelling a heroine as Moirin herself.

I will without doubt pick up the next book in the series to find out the conclusion of Moirin's story. But I do hope that Carey will pull her plotting together to write a satisfying ending to this epic.

Clockwork Heart

Title: Clockwork Heart
Author: Dru Pagliassotti
Genre: Steampunk
Published: 2008

Recommendation: Decent steampunk romance.
Rating: 7/10

Summary: Taya is a winged courier, one who can move between all castes of Ondinium. It begins with her saving a noblewoman and her child but becomes a web of intrigue and mystery she will solve.

Reactions: Clockwork Heart is a combination or a mystery, romance, and steampunk. I wouldn't say it excels at any one of the above categories, but I've formed a positive impression of the book overall.

The romance part of the novel involves a love triangle between Taya and two nobleman brothers Alister and Cristof Forlore. Alister is handsome and charming and paying special attention to Taya. Cristof lives as an outcast in the poorest section of the city and mends clocks for a living. He is serious, grouchy and described resembling a crow. It's not hard to guess who ends up being the good guy in the book, but unfortunately Cristof is not a terribly appealing character which was a drawback for me.

The mystery begins with a sabotaged ferry car and several acts of terrorism follow while Taya and Cristof investigate. There is a political background to the story centering around access to the technology of Ondinium. There are punch-card computing mechanisms the programming of which were rather entertaining for me to read about. The political background is fairly well done, though the mystery itself was fairly straightforward although with some minor twists.

The least satisfying part for me was the relationship resolution. In a few places, I felt things worked out too nicely to be realistic and I was not quite satisfied with the ending. Despite that, the book made for a fun read and I wouldn't dissuade anyone from picking it up.

Mid-Year Recap

Happy Canada Day everyone! And so without much ado we are half a year into 2010 and I barely noticed how the time went by.

Time to reflect on half a year worth of reading and point out my favorites so far.
First place goes to *drumroll*

1. The Millenium trilogy by Stieg Larsson
I've read (and watched in the case of the first book) The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl who Played with Fire, and The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest and enjoyed the books immensely.
See reviews here: book1, book2, book3. Definitely recommending these books to everyone.

2. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
A book that has been spoken of a lot and that I have held out reading for so long finally had the chance to sweep me off my feet in this atmospheric, Gothic tale of two magicians.
Full review here.

3. Santa Olivia by Jacqueline Carey
Carey is a long-time favourite author whose books I just generally enjoy. (Speaking of which, Naamah's Curse is sitting on my table waiting for me to read it as I type). Santa Olivia, though not part of D'Angeline world was a touching story in a modern setting. Both fantasy and post-apocalypse fans will enjoy this one.
Full review here.

4. The Magicians by Lev Grossman
An outstanding fantasy debut that has been topping all the favorites lists in the past year. I loved the magic school idea taken on with a much more adult approach to story telling and characterization.
Full review here.

In total, I read 23 books this year which puts me on track for my 45 books goal. I also did pretty well on my other goals (I already read and reviewed 2 non-fiction books and several science fiction novels). And the having fun goal has been the easiest so far.

Dragon Haven

Title: Dragon Haven
Author: Robin Hobb
Series: Rain Wilds Chronicles, vol 2
Genre: Fantasy
Published: 2010

Recommendation: A fitting continuation to the Dragon Keeper's adventures.
Rating: 8/10

Summary: The dragon keepers, hunters and the ship continue up the Rain Wilds river looking for the long-lost city of Kelsingra, overcoming trials, and learning more about each other and the dragons.

Reactions: Dragon Haven is the second part of Dragon Keeper, which I read and reviewed in February. I've been looking forward to seeing some of the plot threads resolved in this book. The results are somewhat mixed. Some of the secrets became known and relationships evolved, but far from everything got resolved within the book. In fact new conflicts have been introduced and clearly there are more books coming in this series.

The most enjoyable part of Robin Hobb's books for me is not the plot, but rather the character development within each book. Her ability to introduce a character and then keep making subtle changes to them until at the end of the book they've changed quite significantly is remarkable. I've seen this happen in her previous series and The Rain Wilds Chronicles is no exception. I enjoyed following Alice's and Sedric's transformations in particular, though the dragon keepers undergo a number of changes as well.

Following character development and changes in their relationships with each other and the dragons kept me engrossed throughout this tome. I wish more got resolved at the end, but nevertheless the book was enjoyable with some interesting twists and I am looking forward to seeing where this series will be heading next.

Song of Scarabaeus

Title: Song of Scarabaeus
Author: Sara Creasy
Genre: Science Fiction
Published: 2010

Recommendation: Solid sci-fi adventure with a strong heroine to boot.
Rating: 7.5/10

Summary: Edie is a cypherteck, a person able to interface with biocyph technology that controls terraforming of new planets for humanity. The technology allows to create habitable worlds and is controlled by the all-powerful Crib. A band of rovers kidnaps Edie to steal some of the technology from Crib and attaches a bodyguard to her who is leashed to her side. Together they will travel to her first mission world, Scarabaeus.

Reactions: I received Song of Scarabaeus from Carl, who kindly offered to send me a free copy of the book. I rarely pick up books I haven't heard much about, but the description sounded sufficiently interesting to give the book a try. I am glad to report that this debut didn't disappoint.

I like picking up books with strong heroine leads and this one certainly fits the criteria. The main character is smart, resourceful, strong, and likable if naive at times. Getting ahead of bad guys by outsmarting them rather than by brute force is certainly something I like to see. The male lead is a somewhat stereotypical bad-ass on the outside, but soft and chewy on the inside, type of guy. The author does a pretty good job with the fairly minor romance portion of the novel, so overall interaction effect is quite enjoyable.

The book is plotted fairly well. I had some trouble putting the book down and going to sleep last night and I finished it the first thing this morning. Throughout the author keeps the action going fast and there is a pretty good twist towards the end of the book. It also becomes apparent at the end that this is planned as a first book in series. There is some feeling of closure, but plenty of things are left unresolved and I expect there will be more action to come.

Overall, Song of Scarabaeus is an enjoyable space opera with plenty of action and a compelling main character. It's entertainment pure and simple, but of good quality. I will certainly watch out for Sara Creasy's future novels.

Changeless

Title: Changeless
Author: Gail Carriger
Series: Alexia Tarabotti, book 2
Genre: Steampunk
Published: 2010

Recommendation: An easy read for those who enjoyed the first book.
Rating: 6.5/10

Summary: Something strange is happening in London, where part of the city turns all supernatural creatures into humans. Alexia and Conall Maccon travel to investigate the strange occurrences.

Reactions: I imagine most readers who enjoyed the first book of the series would also enjoy this one. The atmosphere, humour, and characters are mostly unchanged and a few interesting additions have been made. There is adventure, Alexia solves a mystery (though a rather obvious one) and there is a resolution.

There were two things I disliked about the book. The first was that throughout the book Alexia and Conall call each other husband and wife as part of the dialogue. It's like they forgot each other's names upon getting married. There's plenty of: "What are you doing here, wife?" or "Husband, don't be alarmed" style dialogue that I found pretty irritating. My second gripe with this book is its ending. Firstly, I dislike that the author felt the need to start a new story at the end of the book. Secondly, Conall's reaction to the event is poor and there's quite an obvious explanation to the phenomenon that someone should have thought of pretty much immediately.

Changeless is a quick and entertaining read, but somewhat formulaic and predictable overall.