I’m still reading nowhere near as much as I read last year or the year before. Because I bought a lot of science fiction this month I also read a lot of science fiction.
The Raw Shark Texts — Steven Hall
What if books and words contained a whole ecosystem and somewhere out there a great word shark is hunting you?
The Night Sessions — Ken MacLeod
A thematic sequel to The Execution Channel.
The Enquiries of Doctor Eszterhazy — Avram Davidson
A not quite serious collection of Ruritarian mystery stories. Somewhat slight perhaps, but a pleasure to read if only for Davidson’s writing voice. Because he clearly had fun writing these stories, you the reader have almost as much fun reading them.
The Gate of Worlds — Robert Silverberg
An unknown to me and minor Silverberg novel, telling the adventures of a young English adventurer in the Americas of a world where the Black Plague was much lethal than our own and England has only recently thrown off the Ottoman yoke. Not very interesting, partially because of its meandering plot.
This Is Not a Game — Walter Jon Williams
I’ve already talked about this novel before. This is a great novel and recommended to anybody who liked Charlie Stross’ Halting State.
The Legion of Time — Jack Williamson
One of the classic time travel/alternate world stories, which introduced the concept of “Jonbar points”, where a decision made one way or another (will a small boy pick up a magnet or a pebble) has huge consequences for how future history plays out. I wanted to say that this was a good story, but unfortunately I can’t; of historical interest only.
After World’s End — Jack Williamson
Though the cover doesn’t mention it, The Legion of Time came bound with a second novel, the hero of which is a contemporary rocket explorer who manages to get stuck in cold sleep in a cometary orbit in the Solar System for a million years. This enables him to play a leading role in the uprising of humans against their robot masters.
The Legion of Space — Jack Williamson
I couldn’t not read this after The Legion of Time. It’s much better, the Three Musketeers in Space! Because it moves much quicker the stereotyping and flat characterisation didn’t have as much time to annoy me.
Dawn of the Dumb — Charlie Brooker
A collection of Brooker’s television criticism and other columns. If you like his writing, this is like a box of candy and it takes discipline not to gobble them all up in one go.
World War Z — Max Brooks
A cult hit a few years ago (show you how “hip” and “with it” I am), this is an oral history of a worldwide, Night of the Living Death style zombie outbreak. It was good enough and scary enough to keep me up till 2:30 AM reading it, then caused me trouble sleeping.
Also read, but not finished: the second book in Steph Swainston’s Castle trilogy, as well as Richard Fortey’s Life.