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Little old house

Sara — Sat, 19 May 2012 13:03:06 +0000

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Out on the water

Sara — Sat, 19 May 2012 11:47:13 +0000

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Finished: Way Station by Clifford D. Simak

Sara — Sun, 13 May 2012 20:05:20 +0000

I picked up Way Station by Clifford D. Simak because it won a Hugo and a Nebula award, which I take for a good sign of good science fiction. I am trying to collect and read all Hugo winners to introduce myself to (older Science Fiction). With this book, I wasn’t disappointed, what a good book.
The Way Station is a house on earth, in rural America. In it lives Enoch Wallace, who appears to be immortal. This draws the interest of the United States government. This is how we are introduced to Enoch. The story has several story-lines, one of which is the government watching Wallace. Another is Wallace in his Way Station, a stop along the intergalactic travel highway. He meets all kinds of aliens, gets all kinds of gifts, but cannot tell anybody because the Earth is not part of the galactic federation. Meanwhile Earth is moving towards another (nuclear war). And close by lives a backward family with a mute girl for a daughter, who Wallace is charmed by and meets in the woods a lot. In the end all the story lines come together in a great climax that resolves everything, and makes Wallace choose between Earth, and the galaxy. Where does he belong?
Even though the book is really short compared to the sci-fi published today (189 pages in my 1976 edition), it manages to pack this all in without feeling rushed. Also, the story itself doesn’t feel that dated. Many ideas come back in later books, movies and TV shows, but still feel new. Great stuff, highly recommended, four out of five stars.

Finished: Lang na middernacht by Ray Bradbury

Sara — Thu, 10 May 2012 19:19:10 +0000

This is a short story collection by Ray Bradbury. I know Bradbury from Fahrenheit 451, a dystopian/science fiction novel that I thought was brilliant. This collection mostly contains non-science fiction, non-futuristic stories, some with a weird element. I always find it difficult to review story collections, and this one is no different. The stories were enjoyable, some even good, but all in all… meh. Entertaining, but not brilliant. Three out of five stars.

Finished: Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon

Sara — Wed, 09 May 2012 20:06:41 +0000

I had heard of Olaf Stapledon before, I even have another book by him, but I had never read anything by him before. Last weekend I found an SF Masterworks edition of Star Maker. I always buy SF Masterworks books (if I don’t already have them, of course), because I am sure they must be pretty good or influential to be in that series. And as before, I wasn’t disappointed.
This is not your average science fiction novel. I am not even sure it falls in that genre, it could also be philosophical, almost religious literature. The story is told by a man, who, in the late 1930s, sits outside his house in England, and then starts on a (mental) journey through time and space. He travels (no ship, inventions, crew or anything, just his mind) through the galaxy and along the way he grows. He lives a while in the head of an alien (Other Human), and then travels mentally further along. Along his journey he grows and is joined by other mental travelers from other planets and periods. Together they (as one unit) discover how aliens/creatures/humans evolve and survive. They discover the same types of crises in all societies, and when a society can grow beyond it, the species can evolve. The main movement is towards mental peace, togetherness and unity. First between countries, then planets, galaxies, the universe. The last stage is towards the Star Maker, the unknown creator.
Like I said, the book is pretty philosophical, and the language used takes some getting used to. It is pretty clear which way the story is going, what Stapledon is thinking, but that is ok. Realizing this book was written in 1937, just before World War II makes some references to Earth even more real. This is simply one amazing book, an absolute must read for so many reasons. Four out of five stars.

Finished: This Immortal by Roger Zelazny

Sara — Mon, 07 May 2012 06:07:35 +0000

This is a Hugo winning novel by Roger Zelazny, formerly serialized and also known as “…and call me Conrad”. The setting is a future Earth, devastated by nuclear war. An alien race, known as the Vegans, offered shelter to humankind when it needed it, and as a result humans are their workforce, and the Vegans own the Earth for leisure purposes. On the Earth itself a mere 4 million humans remain, as well as various mutated lifeforms due to all the radiation. Conrad is the narrator, a man with a long and indeterminate past who is the Commissioner dealing with Art and History of Earth. He is commanded to take a famous Vegan on a tour of Earth, because the Vegan is writing a book. Reluctantly Conrad does so, taking him to Egypt and to Greece (where Conrad is from). Along the way everybody in the tour party suspects that the Vegan is planning something for the Earth, but if this is good or bad for humanity remains unclear and he is unwilling to show.
This book has many elements, now that I am writing this review, I think back and remember the many things going on. It has a perilous journey, ancient mythology, humankind’s fight for survival, aliens, love, intrigue. And all that in a mere 187 pages (my 1968 Panther edition). I could not put the book down, and wasn’t even that disappointed with the quick ending and all the questions I still had. If the book had been written today, I bet it would have been 500+ pages, but this was short and sweet and leaves something to be imagined. Four out of five stars.

Some more books for us :-)

Sara — Sat, 05 May 2012 18:52:39 +0000

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Our newest pets – three fish

Sara — Sat, 05 May 2012 13:03:01 +0000

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Finished: Barst in de hemel by Jon Hartridge

Sara — Thu, 03 May 2012 20:08:56 +0000

Most of my old science fiction books come from second-hand (charity) shops. This means I don’t pay much (a lot less than in a second-hand bookshop), and I find things that haven’t been in print in years. Some known works, but the book I just read seems to have been forgotten. You can find second-hand copies, but there aren’t many reviews (two ratings on Goodreads, none on Librarything). It is Barst in de hemel/Earthjacket by Jon Hartridge.
It is the story of Phillips, a Sleeper. He lives in a (future?) world of Texecs and Sleepers. The Texecs are the elite, who live with 100% oxygen in a protected city. The Sleepers are kept in the background, and get a lot less oxygen. They are also fed a drug to make them sleep 16 hours or more a day, and given happy vivid dreams to keep them happy. But Phillips experiences a nightmare, and escapes. The Texecs in his city decide that he has potential, and start training him to become a Texec himself. With more oxygen, better food and drink and education, Phillips soon starts to realize what the place of the Sleepers really is. During the story he tries his best to improve the place of the Sleepers, which is made difficult not only by the Texecs, but also of his ignorance of the Texec society. Slowly he learns, he acts, and tries his best.
When reading older science fiction stories (this one is from 1970) it is hard to review them based on the originality of the ideas. I have seen all the ideas (secluded cities, sleeping people, transportation through tubes, future earth) before in other books and movies. When reading this book I was constantly reminded of these other stories, but that doesn’t mean that this story disappoints. It all pulls together well. The only thing I didn’t like were the flash-forwards (“I am glad I didn’t know then how evil he was”). I like to find out these things for myself, and be surprised by them. The ending was a bit open, but optimistic. A very nice find and a good read. Four out of five stars.

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Finished: Emigranten voor Utopia by Michael Moorcock

Sara — Wed, 02 May 2012 18:59:40 +0000

This is a pretty short science fiction book, taking place in two time periods. The main story line is the story of Ryan and twelve travel companions, traveling through space for Munchen 15040. His companions are in suspended animation, and he has captained the ship alone for years. While he is slowly losing mind, he remembers how they came to leave earth. At the beginning of the twenty-first century Earth descents into chaos. People are paranoid because of over population. All foreigners are kicked out of England, and slowly the people turn on themselves. Paranoia is huge, forcing people to stay in their houses, not have contact with each other and sleep most of their days away.
The book flips between Ryan on the ship, and his flashbacks of life before they left Earth. There is no clean separation between the two, and it gets more confusing as the story goes on, as Ryan gets more confused. Because of the confusing lines in the story, at the end, you don’t know what is real and what is paranoid delusion. Is Ryan really alone? Are the rest of the travelers really ‘asleep’? And did they even leave? Despite the book not being very clear, and the ending very vague, I really liked the story, because it conveyed the emotions very well. Four out of five stars.