Category: 50 book challenge

#4

Death in Winter by Michael Jan Friedman

Dangit. I did it again. *sigh*

Several hours ago, I put myself to bed with a book that I had bought today on a whim. Prior to this afternoon, I didn’t even know it existed, but when I was browsing the science fiction shelves at the local used bookstore, I decided to give it a try. Then, after having it sitting on my desk staring at me all evening, I thought I’d read just a chapter or two and then go to sleep. Ha!

Without some knowledge of Star Trek canon, this book might be difficult to follow. I regularly feel like I’m missing some subtext with the books set after the Dominion War. I missed that part of Deep Space Nine and nearly all of the Voyager seasons due to being in college and not having time to watch, and then being out of college and too poor to buy a TV or pay for cable. Luckily for me, those events aren’t nearly as important in the book as events that took place during The Next Generation years.

The book begins by laying down the back story that both provides the motivation for later events, as well as the characters involved. The events that occur in the “present” are set shortly after events seen in the movie Star Trek: Nemesis in which the Enterprise E is nearly wrecked by trying to prevent the mentally disturbed Romulan Praetor Shinzon from destroying humanity and the Federation. Picard is overseeing repairs of his ship while also dealing with the changes in her crew. Of those who served with him in the early and later missions, only Worf and La Forge remain on the ship, but the one he misses most is Beverly Crusher.

Crusher has taken up her old post as head of Starfleet Medical, but soon she embarks on a covert mission that takes her into Romulan territory. When Starfleet loses communication with her, Picard and a small team are sent in to complete her mission and rescue her if possible.

Meanwhile, turmoil and intrigue plague the Romulan Empire, which has been weakened by Shinzon and his successor. The usual suspects (Tomalak and Sela) show up, do their thing, and it’s all settled in typical Romulan fashion by the end of the book. What I appreciated most about this was how Friedman wrote the minds-eye perspective of all of the main Romulan characters in such a way that I found myself rooting for all of them at some point, even when they were at odds with each other.

The book ends on a high note, and should please many fans. That’s all I am going to say about it, although it wouldn’t be much of a spoiler if I did.

And now, I’m going to bed. Really.

#2

This book tries to be funny about librarians and libraries, but it has not aged well.

Last year, a fellow bookcrosser sent me a copy of Betty Vogel’s self-published attempt at library humor entitled A Librarian Is To Read. This copy is being passed around to librarians, and since I’ll be convening with quite a few of them at ALA Midwinter, I figured I’d better get it read and ready to pass off to someone else.

The book did not impress me. There were moments of genuine humor, but most of the book seemed to be a mixture of negativity and sarcasm. The age of the book did not assist it, either. While it might have been more applicable (and funny) at the time it was written, libraries and librarians have changed enough since then to make it less of an inside joke and more of a glimpse into a different time. Perhaps librarians who were active in the profession around the same time as the author would enjoy it more than I.

#1

I’m starting over on the 50 Book Challenge. Last year I read 23 books. This year I hope to get closer to my goal. To assist in that, I’m trying to change the way I read books.

For most of my life, reading a book meant reading the book cover-to-cover in one go. I don’t have the time or energy for that anymore. My body won’t let me read until dawn and still function at work. So I stopped reading because I didn’t have the hours set aside to do it.

Now I’m trying to keep a set sleep schedule: 10pm-6:30am. I need eight hours of sleep in order to be fully rested, and this gives me enough time to dink around in the morning before going to work (as I am doing right now). This means that if I want to read, I have to do it before 10pm and stop at or around 10pm. I didn’t know if I had enough discipline to put down a book when the time came, but I was able to do it with the first book of 2007, so I’m hopeful.

The Empty Chair is the fifth book in Diane Duane’s twenty-two year long tale of the Romulans. The first four books (My Enemy, My Ally, The Romulan Way, Swordhunt, and Honor Blade) have been collected and published in an omnibus entitled Rihannsu: The Bloodwing Voyages which was released last month along with The Empty Chair. I have been eager to read this final book ever since I finished the cliffhanger Honor Blade in 2005, and I was quite frustrated with my local bookstores for not carrying it. However, I was able to pick up a copy during my holiday travels.

The plot is complex and well-executed, but as with most Duane books, it isn’t as much about the plot as it is about the characters. She is one of few authors who writes Kirk so sympathetically that he doesn’t come off as an arrogant ass. I have particularly enjoyed the character development and insight into Rihannsu (Romulan) culture that this series of books has provided, and The Empty Chair neatly brought everything full circle to end the adventure with sufficient closure.

It’s much longer than the other books, clocking in at 421 pages (mass market paperback). I suspect that Duane would have preferred to split it into two novels, since there are a few minor plots that were not fully played out, and the ending battle seemed a bit rushed and anti-climactic compared to other events in the book. However, it is still a satisfying read.

Any interested readers should pick up copies of the previous books first before tackling this one. Although it can stand on its own, there are many references to previous events, and it would help to know the details and the weight they carry. Even though I have read those books in the past couple of years, I found myself struggling to remember exactly what happened and who was involved.

I’d like to go back and re-read the entire series without the long gaps between books, but that will have to wait. I still have 276 unread books in my house that await my attention. Sigh.

#23

by C. S. Lewis, Pauline Baynes

I re-read this in anticipation of reviewing the deluxe four disc DVD set for Blogcritics Magazine this weekend. My copy comes from the old paperback box set from 1982 that has the books numbered in published order rather than chronological order. These are the first real books I remember receiving as a gift from my parents. I think I was eight years old.

As you can see, I’ve managed to read only twenty-two books so far this year. I’m hoping to make it to twenty-five before January when I will be re-starting the count on the fifty book challenge. I blame DSL and general laziness on my part.

#22

by Perry Wynn

I read this book last March. The publisher asked me to read the manuscript and write a review/quote that was published on the back cover in part and on the flyleaf in whole:

Perry Wynn offers a chilling near-future speculative fiction examination of an America so divided over homosexuality that the only solution is the creation of a reservation for homosexuals to separate them from everyone else. Domestic terrorists and neo-conservative fundamentalists set the course, leaving the rest of the country floundering in their wake. The “bad guys” come across as one-dimensional, but Wynn is able to develop some of the “good guys” into multi-dimensional characters. In the end, the story is less about homosexuality and political intrigue, and more about the ripple of decisions based on love and hate.

#21

by Diane Duane

I finally made myself read this book, despite being a bit intimidated by the 446 pages. I should have known that it would be an enjoyable read and not seem to be nearly that long. Diane Duane is a word weaver, and a very good one. This book is part of the Errantry universe that began with So, You Want To Be A Wizard. It wasn’t until I was well into the book that I realized there were others that came before it. However, Duane has set this one up to stand on its own, so while I suspect the reader might have a broader picture of wizardry in general by having read the other books first, it doesn’t detract from enjoying this one.

The main characters are New York cats that also happen to be wizards. Their job is to maintain the worldgates that are located in the New York subway system. Something is interfering with the workings of the worldgates and it’s up to Rhiow and her team to find out who and how to stop them before they open the gates to allow the sentient dinosaurs from ancient days to pass through to modern Earth.

The story is well-told. Read it, and you won’t look at cats in the same way you did before.

#20

by John Vornholt

After the horrible writing I suffered through on the last book, I needed something reliable. As expected, this was a good Star Trek story and the writing (and/or editing) was well done. The book takes place shortly after Undiscovered Country and features Spock, his niece, and the beginnings of the Romulan reunification movement.

stay away from innocence (#19)

Book-on-demand with potential ISO editor for some red pen action or more.

by Duane Simolke

It took author Duane Simolke over twenty years to turn his short story idea into a novel. Let us hope that it does not take that long for it to evolve into a good novel. The Return of Innocence is desperately in need of an editor.

The story told in the book is fairly simple and has all the elements of a decent fantasy novel. Sasha Varov and her family are exiled from their home country of Jaan because her father tried to stop an evil wizard from doing what evil wizards do. Several years later, Sasha sneaks into Jaan on a simple mission of buying seeds. While there, she winds up killing the evil wizard and then returning home.

Unbeknownst to her, that act has made her a hero among the general populace of Jaan, although it opened the way for the evil wizard’s even more evil brother to step in and take his place. One year later, Sasha must return to Jaan for more seeds, but on the way her plans are altered and instead she decides to assist a group of rebels seeking to rid Jaan of the wizard.

There are dragons, demons, and plenty of sword fights to make a fantasy reader happy, but in the end it’s still too much work to get past the stilted writing and abrupt scene changes. In addition, the author’s attempts at humor are incongruous and uncomfortable. Take this exchange on pages 25-26:

“I—” Her fear and confusion increased when she finally recognized her captor as Wuhrlock’s brother, Tay-lii. She had seen him once, during their journey to the Tarran Isles. He was sitting on his horse, surrounded by his soldiers and staring at the exiles. But now he stood right in front of her. “Why don’t you kill him?” she finally asked.

Men can’t kill sorcerers. I learned that fact years ago. It must be a woman, and she must have been born within the territory that the sorcerer has claimed. Women are naturally rooted in the powers of Theln’s ground, because the ground absorbed Erran’s powers when she fell into it and became the first human.”

“Sounds kind of far-fetched, like a convenient plot device in a book,” Sasha stated, but then realized she probably shouldn’t start a debate during such a time.

It is a convenient plot device, and one of many that are not used well. The author is too busy throwing in a dash of mysticism here and a smattering of romance there to really develop anything fully, or even explain what is there. When it is apparent that a scene was added in order to flesh out the story into a book, one almost wishes that it had been left as it was because all it does is detract from what could be an engaging story.

The author frequently has the character tell the reader what the character is thinking or feeling, rather than giving that role to a non-entity narrator. It is usually jarring and throws off the flow of the prose. This is yet another element of the book that could be improved with editing and refinement.

The ending of the book is anti-climactic and contrived. All along the reader can anticipate the eventual outcome, and the tools for that outcome appear six scenes prior. Despite all that, certain plot points are never fully explained. The whole thing is wrapped up with a little too much “and they lived happily ever after.”

The Return of Innocence might be worth reading once it has been put through the ministrations of a reputable editor and publisher, but until then it is best left on the shelf, unless the reader is a masochist.

#18

by Diane Duane

As I read more and more of the old Star Trek books, I have come to realize that anything written by Diane Duane is going to be a winner. This book is no exception. She is able to present the family aspect of the Enterprise crew much better than most. In this story, the command structure is much more apparent than in other stories, due largely in part by the plot device of leaving McCoy in command of the Enterprise. The Doctor handles it well and with good humor. As with Duane’s other Star Trek books, linguistics plays a significant role in the story line. I really should read some of her non-commissioned work.

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