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The Year of the Quiet Sun was nominated for several awards, later winning the 1976 Campbell Award as "a truly outstanding original novel that was not adequately recognized in the year of its publication." I did find this novel to be original, if not completely outstanding.

The setting is Chicago in the late 70s, which is not far in the future of the 1971 publication. Wilson Tucker has the Vietnam war continuing and much racial strife on US soil - both reasonable (if false) predictions from 1970. Main character Brian Chaney is invited to join two military men as time travelers.

The first project to get approval from the president is to go forward two years and see if he wins reelection. While the approved project fits politicians like a glove, what is unexpected is how much Chicago has changed in those two years.

A subsequent survey takes them further afield, and gives the only chapters not narrated by Chaney. Again the changes seem larger than reasonable. The impact and consequences bring this tidy tale to a satisfying conclusion.

The time travel in this novel reminds me of the film Primer - very reasonable and borderline believable. The writing is excellent and the story well constructed. The pessimistic predictions of 1970 fall down somewhat, which is fine by me. Easily merits 4 stars, and I will seek out more from Wilson Tucker in the near future.

From it's gritty cover to it's solid characters and environment, Ship Breaker is a very good read. Details of screwed up environment aren't displayed as art or read out like sermons, instead they play a crucial part in the story. Just enough details of the drowned city (New Orleans) are given for the story, leaving this reader satisfied yet wanting to know more.

Male and female characters are played as equals, a refreshing change from the classic sci-fi I've read lately. Race is ignored, though color of skin is occasionally mentioned. The motivations of the strong characters are tested often, with subtle changes to their outlook through the book.

The pace of the adventure is fairly quick; the "young-adult" label showing through somewhat. I finished this book in just five days. While the novel ends well on its own, the fact that there is a sequel is not at all surprising. Comparing this to other dystopian young-adult novels, I found it far superior to the Hunger Games and The Giver - both far more social.

I understand Paolo Bacigalupi linked this novel in some ways with his other works. I look forward to reading them and finding those links soon. Recommended, 5 stars, and I am glad to see this being read in schools.

For some reason, The Stars My Destination took quite a few chapters to hook my attention. Part of that may have been the initially unlikeable main character, Gully Foyle. Another part might have been the disconnected episodes and disjointed nature. By the halfway point of the novel, however, I was hooked and wanted to know just how it would all end. A good part of that was Gully Foyle also, transforming and taking command of the situation.

I won't go into plot points, as other reviewers have done plenty there. I will point out how this novel used mega-corporations as effectively as any cyberpunk novel, and how synesthesia plays a major role towards the end.

This is a five-star work, with half a star knocked off for generally treating women as property (with the exception of a few powerful characters) and general racism. I wonder how different the original four part stories were to the novel. Looking forward to reading more Alfred Bester in the near future!

This thin book was quickly read, definitely a page-turner. Though Anthony Perkins came to mind often, I pushed him out in favor of the author's Norman Bates - plain, fat, and sometimes drunk. Jonah Hill wouldn't fit the role - no dramatic range - so I settled on Louis Anderson. Casting done, I was able to slip into the story.

Each chapter focuses on one character's point of view, sometimes revisiting a previous scene from a new point of view. The madness of Bates comes out in his chapters, his false world view clashing with the information we find out bit-by-bit in other chapters. None of the other characters are particularly sympathetic.

The environment and especially weather are well described, which really adds to the atmosphere. The rest is mostly dialog, between characters or rambling to one's self. Some scenes from the film are missing or in different places, but overall this thin book stands well on its own.

Robert Bloch wrote a sequel published 23 years later, and another shortly after. While I would probably read more from this author, I think I'll pass on these sequels.

This book gives a comprehensive look at the most recent mathematics. It is also a nice biography of Edward Frenkel. I'll quote the author a few times and give my comments.

What if at school you had to take an "art class" in which you were only taught how to paint a fence? Hits the nail squarely on the head - loving math starts with seeing beauty in math, not in rote work. The first several chapters of the book effectively use the concept of symmetry as a gateway to the Langlands Program.

My goal is to explain this stuff to you in terms that you will understand. I have a bachelors in math and followed most of it. I am not sure others would have as much ease, especially in the later sections of the book. The importance was conveyed, if not the full meaning.

As a whole, the book conveys the author's love for mathematics. A more casual reader should definitely skip the heavier math chapters suggested in the preface.

I've been reading Science Fiction, Horror, and Fantasy masterworks this year. Jack Williamson is an author who often hits all these genres, and Darker Than You Think is a novel which nails all three.

Main character Will Barbee is a newspaper reporter and former student of anthropologist Dr. Mondrick. As the professor and his protégés are returning from a two year expedition, Barbee meets the mysterious red head April Bell. She knows little, allowing the author time to share the back story. Soon after, Mondrick and his students deplane with a strange crate of goods, and at a hastily arranged press conference the professor dies – a death aggravated by cat allergies.

This story reads like a screenplay, with rich descriptions of action and dialogue. Most characters are fairly flat, with Barbee and Bell the main focus of change here. While at times confusing, this wild adventure ride does eventually make it back to the station.

Dialogue scenes focus on describing Williamson's version of Lycanthropy, historically and environmentally. Not confined to merely the were wolf, we see tigers and snakes and all manner of mysterious beasts. I found this and the pseudo-science discussions of probability to be particularly creative in context of this tale.

My prior exposure to Jack Williamson was through short stories. I joined a SFF Book Club as a teen, and he was a popular author selection. The Science Fiction Writers of America named him their second Grand Master of Science Fiction in 1976. This novel is on both the list of Fantasy Masterworks and David Pringle's 100 Best Fantasy Novels. Wikipedia tells me there was a short story sequel penned by Poul Anderson and published in a Jack Williamson tribute in the 1990s. This is probably also worth a read.

I am glad I read this story, and will definitely read more Williamson in the near future. This story is a solid four star effort.