Life is a Mind Bending Puzzle

Watching "The Hobbit" with the family and the kids were explaining to my beloved spouse all about dwarves and hobbits and humans. At that moment Gandalf appears. Towering over everyone else on screen he has to stoop low to get through Bilbo Baggins' doorway. "So is Gandalf a dwarf?" She asks.

What do Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Kurt Cobain and Joss Whedon's Firefly have in common? I'll leave you to work that out for yourself but I have been immersing myself in Whedon's space opera for much of the last week. Thanks to the magic of Netflix I managed to see all 14 episodes in quick succession and then finish up with the feature film. The series completely passed me by when it was first released, perhaps it never made it across the pond to European channels but regardless I have long since passed the age when I am surprised at missing yet another cultural phenomenon. I did later become aware of the series enduring cult status however. Despite being cancelled after one series due to lackluster audience figures Firefly has earned itself a regular spot in top ten lists of greatest Sci Fi shows of all time. Of course that begs the question - how much did the shows early death contribute to it's legendary status. Are we worshipping what might have been rather ...

A dozen or so years ago I picked up a copy of the first Harry Potter book to read on a plane. I knew it was a children's book but the J.K. Rowling phenomenon had already begun and I was keen to see what all the fuss was about. I finished the book during the transatlantic flight home, satisfied that I had seen enough of Potter to know what it was about but not feeling the need to follow up on the rest of the series. Curious fact: Since I was travelling home from the USA the American imprint of the book I acquired had the title changed because the word "Philosopher" was deemed to be unacceptable to a US audience at that time so it was replaced with the word "Sorcerer". Anyway that would have been the end of my flirtation with Harry Potter had not my own daughter caught a severe case of Harry Potteritus more than a decade later. It took her less than a month to read all of the novels and watch all of the films to date. Needless to say the recent release of th...

Another interesting observation from my visit to the local library last night is that the shelf space dedicated to fantasy and science fiction is growing. I have also noticed the same thing happening in my local bookshops. A few years back I was concerned to see that  my favourite genre seemd to have fallen out of favour and what little shelf space was dedicated to fantasy was given over almost entirely to Harry Potter and the deluge of Teenage Vampire novels. While some of the young adult stuff is very good I don't want to spend the rest of my life reading about teenagers so it is very refreshing to see George Martin, Ian Banks, Alastair Reynolds and their ilk being displayed prominently again and pushed heavily. Patrick Rothfuss appears to be the current ascending star and I am half way through "The Name of The Wind" myself. Perhaps the millions who grew up on Harry Potter have grown up and are looking for more mature fantasy? PS. Originally the post title referre...

Proponents of the technological singularity hypothesis predict a near future event in which in which advances in artificial intelligence will fuel an unprecedented step change in technology which will utterly change mankind and our place in the universe. I am pleased to report the discovery of yet another near future singularity but this time one which will have an altogether more satisfying and wholesome outcome. In a moment of ease I found my mind wandering back to memorable meals of my recollection. It soon became apparent that while I could recall quite a few memorable meals in recent times (staring with a particularly satisfying breakfast this morning) I could recall fewer and fewer memorable meals from times gone by. Spotting the similarity with the "time between paradigm shifting events" which underlines the technological singularity hypothesis I immediately decided to apply the same analysis to gastronomic events and I present here the fruit of my labours: First a ...

I seem to be carrying the flag for my home town today but coincidentally I have just finished "The Inferior" by Peadar O Guilin another Dubliner. I may have been somewhat biased in my recent recommendation of WAR but I need no such incentive to heartily reccommend "The Inferior". It is a great piece of Science Fiction. Thoroughly entertaining.

Start of clever space opera series by a new to the scene Scottish SF writer. The central theme of the novel revolves around a simple premise that has profound implications. Good Stuff.

I am off on holidays for 10 days, yippee. I have docked my internet spaceships and my continuing fumbling efforts to make sense of EVE's lawless 0.0 zone must wait till I return. Looking for some suitable reading material for the holiday I spotted that the 7th episode of Kevin Anderson's awesome Seven Suns saga has hit paperback. Large size paperback unfortunately but for Seven Sun's I am prepared to make an exception to my usual " wait until I can fit in in my pocket " rule.

A quick look at Kevin Anderson's bio reveals a catalog of "written to order" novels based on well known licenses. Many of these are collaborations and for much of his career he has churned out three books a year. Oh and did I mention that he has been linked with what is (in my opinion) the nuttiest religion on the planet (who's name I won't mention for fear of being sued). I have to admit, that track record doesn't inspire me with confidence but please put any past prejudices you have aside and give Seven Suns a try. The series is absolutely terrific teeming with plots, subplots and a varied tapestry of characters. It is Anderson's own original work and I suspect it is more of a labour of love than many of his "written to order" novels. This is not high science fiction. This is pure space opera and the only science is of the di-lithium crystal variety. Nevertheless it is a great great read.

New releases torture me. I don't buy hardback books because they are too big and awkward to fit into pockets or briefcases. When a new title comes out that I want to read I am forced to wait enviously until the first hardback run has sold out. As if to prolong my agony many publishers then bring out a large format paperback with all the size and cost disadvantages of hardback but without even the attraction of robustness. I generally hold off another six months or so for the small paperback edition which size is more appropriate to my nomadic reading habits. It was an unexpected treat therefore on discovering a new book from one of my favourite authors to realise that I had serendipitously managed to miss the hardback release and there it was sitting on the shelf in paperback, demanding to be bought. " The Dreaming Void " is the start of a new trilogy set 1500 years into the future of Hamilton's previous Commonwealth Saga novels. The plot so far as I have covered it c...

I had to stop reading Dan Simmon's "The Terror" once the party got around to eating one another. The book is just too depressing. I hate not finishing a book so I may have another go at it later. In the meantime I am continuing my Alastair Reynolds binge with "Pushing Ice". It is not a Revelation Space novel which makes an interesting change. The story is set in the near future when mankind is still confined to our own solar system. A routine cometary ice mining expedition is interrupted when one of the moons of Saturn shucks off its outer layers and reveals alien machinery underneath. The erstwhile ice miners are sent in pursuit of the moon turned spaceship as it speeds out of the solar system. I amn't finished yet but so far I am enjoying it greatly. Some of the lead characters are pretty annoying which can be a big turn off for me but the inventiveness of the plot is keeping me hooked. I just want to find out what happens next. I am deliberately avoidin...

You may have noticed that the "currently reading slot" hasn't changed in a couple of weeks. I haven't given up reading - its just that I am struggling a bit with Dam Simmons "The Terror". It isn't a bad book. Its a very good book and a gripping read. Unfortunately it is also unmercifully depressing. It is is the tale of a doomed arctic expedition from the 19th century. As if they didn't have enough to contend with getting stuck in the ice and facing starvation or freezing to death a monster has started eating them one by one. The whole story just gets more and more harrowing. Its based on a real expedition (apart from the monster of course) and none of the real characters made it out alive so I can's see even a glimmer of a happy ending.

I have just completed my fourth Alastair Reynolds novel: "Absolution Gap". "Absolution" concludes the story arc begun in Revelation Space although Reynolds has written other stories set in the same universe which pad out the lives of characters from these books. I have pretty mixed feelings about "Absolution Gap". It has the best beginning and best middle of the series in my opinion and the character development of the main protagonist (a pig named Scorpio) is terrific. Unfortunately the ending of the book is really really bad. It will take a big spoiler to tell you how bad. I am going to try an use an analogy but it is still a spoiler so please skip the next paragraph if you intend to read these books yourself. SPOILER (Highlight to read) To understand how bad the ending of Absolution Gap is imagine a series of books about a war between two countries (say England versus Germany). After series of gripping novels in which the advantage swings back and for...

Across Real time contains two linked novels that were originally published separately. It's a bit late to offer a review of novels published more than 20 years ago but I will share my thoughts on reading the compilation last week. The first novel "The Peace War" is an enjoyable adventure yarn that introduces a few big ideas without really exploring them. In the second novel "Marooned in Real Time" the themes and ideas are explored more thoroughly. "Marooned" gives an early glimpse of Vinge's ability to think through a big idea and follow it to logical but surprising conclusions. Sadly the plot that ties "Marooned" together is a poorly executed detective story. Rabbits pulled from hats, Deus ex Machina and and a clumsy detective dénouement are used to wrap up the story in an entirely unsatisfactory fashion. Still the two books complement each other well and the presentation of both in a combined volume makes a lot of sense. When I read...

In a recent comment Tipa posed the question Do you want a game that's fun in its own right, or one where you just want to skip to the end to see how it turns out? The question is asked about games but the conversation was about books as well. In books I have a very high tolerance for padding - long monologues / tedious bits of poetry, dripping descriptions of landscapes or settings - I just skip them all to get to the meat of the story. I guess I just accept the padding as a marketing necessity in a world where people expect their fantasy novels to have 1000 pages despite the fact that most stories can be told very well in 200. I am fussy about writing style though. I make a very quick decision (within the first 20 pages or so) as to whether this writer has what it takes to keep me reading. I love finishing games. I get a tremendous buzz from defeating that last boss and seeing the credits roll. I do expect to enjoy myself along the way though. I make a very quick decision about w...

Some fantasy novels pay homage to the science fiction link by alluding to a pre-historical technology age. For example Terry brooks Shanarra is set in a post apocalyptic Earth where advanced technology has been lost (except for a few surviving artifacts) and gnomes, trolls, elves and magic are the order of the day. It is rarer to find science fiction novels referencing fantasy but David Weber's "Off Armageddon Reef " does just that. He sets the link up nicely. A space faring humanity is hounded to near destruction by genocidal aliens so they establish a hidden colony where all technology is banned in the hope that these last few survivors will remain undetected. Hundreds of years later a stable if stagnant medieval society has developed and anti-progress anti-technology principles are enshrined in the universal religion. The story is seen through the eyes of a lone android who's mission is to try and infiltrate this world and re-awaken mankind's inventiveness an...

According to Wikipedia Fantasy is: a genre that uses magic and other supernatural forms as a primary element of plot , theme, and/or setting . The genre is usually associated with the overall look, feel and themes of the European Early Middle Ages While Science Fiction is: a broad genre of fiction that often involves speculations based on current or future science or technology . Chalk and Cheese right? So how come the same people read both? We are not talking about co-incidental liking here. The correlation is so strong that many bookstores have a single section called "Fantasy and Science Fiction". A quick Google search will confirm that fan-sites likewise combine the two apparently different themes. I don't really know why the links are so strong but I guess it has to do with the fact that they both describe imaginary worlds. As good an explanation as any can be got from 42explore.com : All science-fiction and fantasy writers face a common ...