Tag: science fiction

#1, #2, & #3

Three down, forty-seven to go.

On Monday, I read The Riddle-Master of Hed by Patricia McKillip because it was the shortest of the three books I was considering (The Rover by Mel Odom and The Garden of Iden by Kage Baker were the other two). Good book, but bad choice if I was expecting something quick and light. The book has a cliff-hanger ending, which leads to Heir of Sea and Fire, which also has a cliff-hanger ending that leads to the final book in the trilogy, Harpist in the Wind. The whole thing reminded me of Le Guin’s Earthsea books with a little hint of The Book of Three. I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys epic fantasy with wizards, magic, shape-shifters, and light romance.

star trek is dead

Orson Scott Card writes, “So they’ve gone and killed “Star Trek.” And it’s about time.” As long as it’s the twisted wreck of Star Trek that Rick Berman is creating, I agree whole-heartedly with him. However, I am still mourning the end of Star Trek: the Next Generation — the only Gene Roddenberry version that … Continue reading “star trek is dead”

Orson Scott Card writes, “So they’ve gone and killed “Star Trek.” And it’s about time.” As long as it’s the twisted wreck of Star Trek that Rick Berman is creating, I agree whole-heartedly with him. However, I am still mourning the end of Star Trek: the Next Generation — the only Gene Roddenberry version that was allowed to grow and develop over time.

As Card points out in his commentary, TOS was hampered by television convention of its time, and the characters were never able to truly develop in the show, although I would argue that the published book series provided ample opportunity for that to happen. I will also concede that TOS was not necessarily good science fiction, particularly compared to what was being written at the time. However, Roddenberry never intended to be a science fiction writer. His experience was with the Western genre. As it has been quoted many times, Star Trek was meant to be a “Wagon Train to the stars.”

Twenty-odd years later, Star Trek fans were given a new generation of characters and plot lines. I grew up watching re-runs of TOS, but I wasn’t a fan until I saw TNG. Back in 1988, I was a geeky junior high kid with few friends and too much time for watching TV, but I found solace in this vision of the future presented to me by Roddenberry and the script writers for TNG. It was my interest in this television show that introduced me to the science fiction genre. I would not have read any of Clark’s books had I not first come to love Picard, Data, Yar, and all of the rest of the ST:TNG characters.

So I say to you, Mr. Clark, do not look down your nose and scoff at the demise of the Star Trek universe. Be grateful to it for making science fiction accessible to the general public, and for paving the path to those series that you deem to be good science fiction.

Thanks to Bookslut for the heads-up.

job security

Tonight I read a Star Trek novel by Diane Duane called The Wounded Sky. In it, the Enterprise™ makes use of an experimental device to travel outside of the Milky Way to another galaxy. The writing is well done, and like many of the early Star Trek novels, it presents physics that are unique and … Continue reading “job security”

Tonight I read a Star Trek novel by Diane Duane called The Wounded Sky. In it, the Enterprise™ makes use of an experimental device to travel outside of the Milky Way to another galaxy. The writing is well done, and like many of the early Star Trek novels, it presents physics that are unique and not restricted to the known Star Trek Universe post-TNG/DS9/Voyager/etc.

What caught my attention the most, however, is the list of reference sources at the end of the book. The two journal citations written before the book’s 1983 publication, I assume to exist in reality. The other four are obviously creations of the author’s imagination. No matter how creative and fantastic are the futures envisioned by science fiction authors, journals still have their place in them. As a serials librarian, I find great comfort in that.

infusion

A valiant first effort at fiction writing by technical author Clint Smith, but it falls short of its promise.

Infusion by Clint Smith

Infusion is a valiant first effort at fiction writing by technical author Clint Smith, but it falls short of its promise. The plot concept is sound, and makes interesting parallels with the conflicts between economics and ecology, but the actual story-telling could use a bit more work, or at least a better editor. The first half of the book left me cringing quite often, but the pace and the writing pick up in the last third of the book.

Continue reading “infusion”

what book are you?

The title says it all.

Normally, I don’t do quizes that try to peg me as one thing or another, but this one caught my eye with it’s result. Also, the quiz is only six questions with two option answers, so it’s a fast one.


You’re Stranger in a Strange Land!
by Robert Heinlein
Most people look at you and think of you as a Martian, even though you were born on Earth. Silly Earthlings, er, people. Anyway, you’ve been telling people about free love and relaxing like it’s some radical idea. Most of them want you to go back to the ’60’s (or Mars), but others are in your groove. Grok on!
Take the Book Quiz at the Blue Pyramid.

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