Reviews and Comments

Three of the last ten books I read have delved into 1962 and 1963, and of them this was the worst.

Gregory Benford has a solid science background, and creates a plausible story of what if. In this novel, a message is sent back through time in an attempt to improve the (then futuristic) world of 1998, which is suffering a massive environmental collapse. The scientists debate paradox, saying it would stop their progress, but ultimately ignore the idea. Unfortunately, the authors ideas on paradox and the many-worlds interpretation come out quite muddled. Chaos theory and the butterfly effect, in vogue as this was written, do not make an appearance.

Worse than the time speculations are the characters, who are universally unlikable. These were co-written with Benford's sister-in-law. It is said each covered their own time period, and I can say that the descriptions of Cambridge and La Jolla are well done. Another complaint I have is all the name dropping of 1960s California scientists, who mostly look approvingly on the main character. It has been said that Benford was writing about his graduate and doctoral experience. Finally, women in general are poorly portrayed.

This novel won the Nebula and Campbell award, but I think other novels of that year were more deserving. A disappointing read - 1½ stars.

One of the first novels by Arthur C Clarke that I read as a kid. Part hard science fiction, part suspenseful thriller, it was a good story then and now.

This is a book about saving the lives of people on the moon. It is along the same lines as The Martian, using science and clever ideas to overcome setbacks. Instead of one person trapped, it is a group of 20, and Clarke has fun with their group dynamic. He also uses them as a vehicle to discuss the cult of UFO watchers. Other characters are also solid, from the savvy reporter to the unlikable genius who runs the rescue effort. Some of the science is a bit dated, but this was written almost a decade before anyone walked on the moon.

As to rereading this, I remembered the basic situation and form of rescue, but the various dialog and interactions of the trapped tourists was forgotten. The reality does not detract from the nostalgia. Though my teen self may have rated this a 5 star book, I think it is closer to 4.5 stars.

Poetic, historical, with a wry humor. A few too many exclamation points!

I really enjoyed this overview of the early days of the space race - all of the Mercury program, plus some of what led up to it and also what came after. Chuck Yeager plays a major part. The writing style is breezy and conversational, while somehow touching on most of the facts. I also enjoyed the pilot's humor.

Sometimes the prose went past poetic and into repetitious. While I don't always understand why the NASA administrators fought astronauts (Deke Slayton), I really didn't get why Wolfe seems to have gone after Gus Grissom. I look forward to reading a recent bio of him ([b:Calculated Risk: The Supersonic Life and Times of Gus Grissom|29901342|Calculated Risk The Supersonic Life and Times of Gus Grissom|George Leopold|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1467332616s/29901342.jpg|50274862]) this year for a better story.

Overall rating, a solid Mach 4. I plan to rewatch the film also - it's been decades.

Addendum June 2017 - read the referenced biography and another book on the early space program ([b:Into That Silent Sea: Trailblazers of the Space Era, 1961-1965|737303|Into That Silent Sea Trailblazers of the Space Era, 1961-1965|Francis French|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1328821151s/737303.jpg|723482]). Wolfe may have taken a few liberties, and the film took several more. In Grissom's case, for example, the book mentioned panic (and then pride) as a possibility, where the film made it a certainty. While I wouldn't advise a reader take The Right Stuff as gospel history, it is a very poetic portrayal of the people involved. 3½ stars.

Judith Merril was a good editor of SF collections, and likely wrote a few good books, including collaborations with [a:C.M. Kornbluth|2768688|C.M. Kornbluth|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1355659187p2/2768688.jpg]. This book is not one of them, and I am abandoning my attempt to finish it at just over half way through.

The main character at the beginning is an astronaut, though it seems the real main character is introduced part way in - his girl friend (and then mother of his child). His story is the mystery of what happened on Mars, her story seems to be what is happening on the moon, and then there's a third plotline with a politician trying to shut down the moon program. As if this soap opera wasn't difficult enough to follow, the story is told primarily through character dialog. It feels like a screenplay that is missing most character names and descriptions of action.

Instead of finishing this book, I think I will go watch an old Man from U.N.C.L.E. episode.

Very episodic feel to the exploration of a huge object. Props for the concept, but the characters are somewhat flat.

Before this novel, Larry Niven wrote several stories in his Known Space universe, and he is clearly comfortable with that timeline and those aliens. Here, a few of them are assembled to encounter a huge object with descriptions in Hard SF. This exploration has a very episodic feel to it, and some of the physics apparently had minor errors which were corrected in later books.

Some of the interplay between characters is interesting, and they are definitely alien in motivation and description. They do not grow much beyond those beginnings, though. Niven's writing of women is disappointing.

While I read [b:Rendezvous with Rama|112537|Rendezvous with Rama (Rama, #1)|Arthur C. Clarke|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1405456427s/112537.jpg|1882772] and many other classics as a kid, I somehow missed this series. I've seen quite a few reviews suggesting that a reader stop after the first book. While I will probably read a few more Known Space short stories and certainly revisit some of the author's collaborative writing, I do not intend to continue exploring Ringworld.

This review focuses solely on the book, as it's been decades since I've seen the film. Chance the gardner is used to prove the point that the clothes make the man. The first impression is of a neatly tailored shirt and suit, excellent shoes, a briefcase that is in excellent shape if quite a few years old. (The suit fits, of course, because Chance is likely the bastard son of their previous owner). Considering that impression and the location (the home of a wealthy man, a UN conference, etc.), people fit his simple replies into their own projections, hearing mostly what they want to hear in the echoing vacuum. Later in the book, governments trying to find out more about him are convinced their must be more because other governments are seeking diligently themselves.

This commentary of people is accurate. Other parts of the book seem tacked on, e.g. Chance's seduction. The novel ends quickly with no solid resolution - I recall the movie improved on this, but will watch it again to find out. For me this was an audiobook, narrated by Dustin Hoffman, who does an excellent job. No verdict yet on this author, though I plan to tackle his most famous work, [b:The Painted Bird|18452|The Painted Bird|Jerzy Kosiński|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348130740s/18452.jpg|825359], soon.

Too long book that covers the history and business of craft brewing, aka microbreweries. I probably consumed 20 beers while reading this book, and longed for a few heavily referenced beers that no longer exist.

The author states up front that this is "not a history of American beer before the craft beer movement arose. Instead, it is a book on how this movement, with the odds stacked against it, survived and thrived...", and while it is not a complete history, it is most definitely history. The second half of the book was more about the business than the brewing. I was interested to read about some of the mergers, but the various business bits caused my eyes to glaze more than once.

Some information was repeated in multiple chapters, and at times it felt like a collected series of magazine articles. More than one reviewer has commented that it could use serious editing. 2½ stars.

Our author returns to the 6th book in the original series (or 9th including prequels), and I was again disappointed. That just leaves the question of how badly?

While we don't expect a lot of reality or hard SF in these books, they are at least internally consistent. In this book, Harrison has written the character into a corner with the various bizarre realities. Now under the Rat's control are the powers of time and universe travel, time stasis, a molecule thin shield that is impervious to everything, and an undetectable thought-level infinite speed communication.

All that silly reality aside, the one thing that drew me to Slippery Jim in the first place was completely missing from this book - the rat. Expert criminal, insanely intelligent individual capable of stealing anything (and not killing anyone in the process). When I started writing this review, I was thinking two stars ("it was okay") but I have talked myself down to one star ("did not like it").

I am still committed to the series and plan to finish it in the new year - but this one is sadly to be avoided.

Techno-thriller, very quick read. A group of malcontents (they settle on the name "Zer0es" to reflect that) is brought in and blackmailed by a shadowy government agency to hack. Some great characters here, motivations and personalities quite different. A lot of fun to read.

The story is hard sci-fi, or perhaps cyberpunk, until about half way through. The bizarre turn it takes throws me for a loop, and my disbelief of that steals one star from the rating. In hindsight, I wish the author had planted hints of it early on - new medical research, breakthroughs in man machine interface, etc.

Agent Hollis Copper is outside the group, responsible at first for helping compose the team and then mostly shunted to the side as they do their work. The author has another book with that same character ([b:Invasive|27213152|Invasive|Chuck Wendig|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1449911170s/27213152.jpg|47255149]) which is presumably in the same universe - but I am not sure if it is a sequel. Needless to say I will be checking it out in the new year.

Science fiction where the time traveler can change the past, but in this case saving JFK instead of killing Hitler. Why? Because the time portal goes to just one spot in 1958. Are there consequences to changing the past? That would be telling...

I enjoyed Steven King's soft sci-fi tale of time travel by driving around a few holes in his narrative road. I did not enjoy the time spent in Derry Maine, visiting many Steven King attractions (even though a few would be built in the future). Once our hero was on the road from Maine, I remember thinking that this would make a pretty good movie or television series - then finding that it was, now tagged for future watching.

This was one of the seven top-rated books on my "to read" pile, and this is the first that didn't earn 5 stars. Too much Derry and the story dragged in a few places. I also found the Yellow Card Man and his kin completely unnecessary to the story, even if they turned out to be from Seattle. Rated 4 stars plus one magic bullet.