“This Alien Shore” by C.S. Friedman – Cyberpunk Dune, or something more?

I’m part of the Sci-Fi/Fantasy Book Club on Goodreads  and they selected This Alien Shore for a book of the month. I got it through interlibrary loan originally, and stopped a little ways in (I think around 50 pages) because I loved it so much I wanted to listen to it. I could tell already that it would turn into something special for me. I have had some difficulties happen recently that meant that I didn’t listen as much as I normally would (10-20 hours/week), so it took a little bit longer than I’d have liked. 

It was totally worth it. The description as cyberpunk Dune doesn’t really do total justice to the book, but it’s not completely inaccurate. There are many parallels with the broader ideas of those, but it’s also quite different. This Alien Shore is much more intimate than Dune is, to the point where as a reader you’re almost claustrophobic at times. Much of the book is internal, but it never feels like there’s too much monologue to me. The plot follows a young woman who seems to be afflicted by memory loss as she’s being hotly pursued by at least one threatening group. Meanwhile, other characters work to try to stop a kind of computer virus from undermining space travel. 

I loved the central mystery of the plot, which you don’t really even get fully until the very, very end. It was such a great hook to get me interested, and it just stayed there the whole time without ever feeling stale. Some readers may see it as something of a deus ex machina, but I think there are enough hints to pick it up. Pay attention, if you read it!

Some books that do cyberpunk make it really opaque to the point of incoherence to me. Neuromancer is one I’ve read several times and I’m still not sure if I love or loathe it or understand it at all. Here, the elements that are standard for the subgenre were not always easy to pick up on, but they were much simpler to grasp. Absolutely loved the use of devices throughout and the way the whole story played out. The tech was integral to the plot at multiple key points, which made it seem much less of an attempt at prophesying the future than much cyberpunk does. The combination of different aspects of the plot with the many, many fantastic ideas Friedman brings to the table makes the book constantly feel fresh without being incomprehensible. 

I will definitely be seeking out more works by Friedman in the future. This was astonishingly good. Check out This Alien Shore yourself. I recommend it very highly.

Links

Sci-Fi Hub– Come read many, many more posts about science fiction novels and shows. I look forward to reading with you and discussing more books and shows!

J.W. Wartick- Always Have a Reason– Check out my “main site” which talks about philosophy of religion, theology, and Christian apologetics (among other random topics). I love science fiction so that comes up integrated with theology fairly frequently as well. I’d love to have you follow there, too!

Vintage Sci-Fi– Click the link and scroll down to read more vintage sci-fi posts! I love hearing about your own responses and favorites!

My Read-Through of the Hugos– Check out all my posts on reading through the Hugo Award winners and nominees. Tons of sci-fi fantasy discussion throughout.

Be sure to follow me on Twitter for discussion of posts, links to other pages of interest, random talk about theology/philosophy/apologetics/movies/scifi/sports and more!

SDG.

My Read-Through of the Hugos: 1966

I’m a huge science fiction fan, and, having read a list of what are alleged to be the top 200 science fiction novels, I decided to next tackle a read-through of all the Hugo Award winners and nominees for best novel. Let me know your thoughts and favorites. Here are the nominees and the winner of the 1966 Hugo Awards. I’ve marked the winner as well as my own choice for which novel would win, had I the choice among the nominees. I have a short reflection on this year’s Hugo nominees at the beginning.

1966 Hugos– Overall, this was a great year for the nominees. Dune is basically on its second go-round of eligibility the first half having been eligible in 1964. Some voters may have been upset by that (I don’t know), but the novel itself is nearly incomparable. This Immortal is competent, but I don’t think it deserves to be in the same conversation as Dune. It’s fine. The Squares of the City was a novel I discovered many years ago, and it stands up to a re-read in sometimes surprising ways. I even wrote more extensively on it. Heinlein is hugely hit or miss for me, and The Moon… is more of a hit, but even there Heinlein can’t seem to avoid lecturing his readers on his preferred systems. E.E. “Doc” Smith is one of the progenitors of much sci-fi I enjoy, but Skylark DuQuesne, and, indeed, the whole series, barely holds up as readable. The sub-genres represented here aren’t very diverse, but the selection is good nonetheless. Which are your favorites?

Dune by Frank Herbert (Co-Winner, My Winner)- Grade: A+
Certainly one of the best novels ever written, Dune’s depth is astonishing. The characters are captivating, and the reader is put directly into their minds frequently. The book’s message is also thought-provoking on many levels–theological, scientific, ecological, and more. Herbert’s motivation to try to subvert the hero narrative makes this even more fascinating than it is otherwise, with its mashup of so many themes. There are questions that remain, though–did Herbert succeed in making an anti-hero hero? Or is Paul Atreides really some kind of true hero? To me, at least, the ending is ambiguous in this regard, even though many fans of the book remain convinced it is phenomenally successful in doing so.

This Immortal AKA And Call Me Conrad by Roger Zelazny (Co-Winner)- Grade: B-
There is little by way of character development or, really, plot here. But Zelazny is such a talent with words that I didn’t mind as much as I would have otherwise. Not as stylistically elegant as some of his other works, This Immortal nevertheless remains almost lyrical in the way it conveys its story. I can also see where many ideas for later science fiction came from, though maybe not directly. What exactly is the core premise of the novel? Is it a push to question one’s own assumptions about reality? Does it go that deep? Is it really just a kind of dressed up old-school sci-fi adventure? It is difficult to tell, in the end. The novel doesn’t reach the stunning heights of Zelazny’s Lord of Light, but you can see his immense talent here nonetheless.

The Squares of the City by John Brunner- Grade: A
I read this book as a young teenager and was blown away. On a re-read sometime later (extended discussion here), I am convinced that I didn’t grasp some of the bigger concepts happening in the novel. Nevertheless, I still loved it in a different way. The book’s main plot is based upon a real-life chess game in which the characters are moved like the pieces from that game that actually took place. That’s cool, but a bit gimmicky. Then, it turns out chess is a major theme in the book, but that the notion of black/white and racial inequality also threads throughout. The main character is a traffic planner brought in to deal with some issues in a fictional South American city in the future. Societal strife, racial tension, and more lurk under the surface and the main character and a rather large supporting cast must come to grips with it. It ends ambiguously and maybe pushes its theme a bit too hard, but it’s superbly written and deeply thoughtful. I love it.

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein- Grade: B-
The book was serialized for two years and was eligible this year and next year. What? Anyway, I wanted to enjoy this book more than I did. It was enjoyable, but the style dragged it down somewhat. It felt very matter-of-fact about even the most intense moments of the book. It’s not as beautifully odd as Stranger in a Strange Land nor as challenging as Starship Troopers. It’s still enjoyable, but the whole plot felt predictable. It lacked the excitement that comes with many other science fiction books. Not bad, certainly, but neither is it spectacular.”

Skylark DuQuesne by E.E. “Doc” Smith- Grade: D
E.E. “Doc” Smith is a major voice in early science fiction, and at the time some put him on par or better than Asimov. His Lensman series was edged by the Foundation Trilogy to be named the best science fiction series ever. I enjoyed the Lensman series pretty well, but this Skylark series has not aged well at all. I read all four books including this one in the series so that I wouldn’t be confused about what was going on, but I’m not sure I really needed to. Skylark DuQuesne is full of space adventure spirit, but also full of ridiculous treatment of women, paper-thin characters, aliens with little to motivate them, and an Ameri-centrism that defeats the notion of the scale the novel needs to make it epic. It’s definitely a pulpy read, but not in a good way.

Links

My Read-Through of the Hugos– Read more posts in this series and follow me on the journey! Let me know your own thoughts on the books.

Be sure to follow me on Twitter for discussion of posts, links to other pages of interest, random talk about theology/philosophy/apologetics/movies/scifi/sports and more!

SDG.

Reading Through the [Alleged] Best 100 Science Fiction Books- #1-5 scores and comments

I’m a huge science fiction fan, but realize I haven’t read a lot of those works considered classics or greats. I decided to remedy that, and found a list online of the Top 100 Science Fiction Books. The list is determined by vote from sci-fi fans online, so it may change over time. I am going off the order of the list as it was when I first saw it. Each book will receive a grade between F and A+ as well as very brief comments. I’m interested to read what you think about these books as well. We’re kicking off here with the top 5 science fiction books according to the fans. There will be very minor spoilers in some of these.

1. Dune by Frank Herbert Grade: A+
“Certainly one of the best novels ever written, Dune’s depth is astonishing. The characters are captivating, and the reader is put directly into their minds frequently. The book’s message is also thought-provoking on many levels–theological, scientific, ecological, and more. A true masterpiece of the genre.”

2. Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card Grade: A+
“Card manages to make you get inside characters’ heads in ways no other author can. There is a reality to the characters that leads to empathy even for the ‘bad guys.’ A shocking twist at the end makes you want more. It’s science fiction at its best.”

3. The Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov Grade: C-
“The overall plot is good, but my toddler’s board books have deeper characters than are featured here. It is extremely hard to care about any of the goings-on when not a single character is given depth or even has energy directed towards them by the writer. I know it’s a classic, but I’ve read them twice and don’t think I’ll bother again.”

4. Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams Grade: A
“Hilarious and wry, Adams presents a shockingly nihilistic view of the universe. Although we laugh for the whole ride, the implications make me want to weep. It’s a vision of the future that is funny–yes–but it is also horrifying, in its way. It envisions a universe in which we don’t matter, nor does anything else, really.”

5. Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A Heinlein Grade: A
“Stranger in a Strange Land manages to capture the feeling of ‘alien-ness’ utterly, but stumbles slightly at the end, when Heinlein allows his own time period to take control of the plot too completely. It takes some digesting. The small stumble does little to take away from the overall power of the book.”

What do you think? Which are your favorites? Are you surprised at any of the scores or what is on the list? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Links

J.W. Wartick- Always Have a Reason– Check out my “main site” which talks about philosophy of religion, theology, and Christian apologetics (among other random topics). I love science fiction so that comes up integrated with theology fairly frequently as well. I’d love to have you follow there, too!

Be sure to follow me on Twitter for discussion of posts, links to other pages of interest, random talk about theology/philosophy/apologetics/movies/scifi/sports and more!

Reading through the [Alleged] Best 100 Science Fiction Books- Check out more posts in this series as I continue.

SDG.