Index |
Author Name |
Title & Notes |
Genre |
1 |
Achebe, Chinua (1) |
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REVIEW
Called the archetypical African novel, this book is very easy to read, and, though the prose are simple and direct, the story will swing you up and down emotionally. In the end, you are ashamed to be a white person. It follows the life of Okonkwo, from a boy with a father he is not proud of, to a proud member of his tribe with three wives. Okonkwo has a good handle on life, and how he will rise to be an important member of his tribe. He is half way there when… well.. things fall apart. He struggles, using everything he has learned, but as the world changes (and not really for the better) all his learning and knowledge does him no good. He watches as his world does fall apart. This is an excellent read.
SUMMARY
Things Fall Apart tells two intertwining stories, both centering on Okonkwo, a "strong man" of an Ibo village in Nigeria. The first, a powerful fable of the immemorial conflict between the individual and society, traces Okonkwo's fall from grace with the tribal world. The second, as modern as the first is ancient, concerns the clash of cultures and the destruction of Okonkwo's world with the arrival of aggressive European missionaries. These perfectly harmonized twin dramas are informed by an awareness capable of encompassing at once the life of nature, human history, and the mysterious compulsions of the soul.
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2 |
Adams, Bill (1) |
The Unwound Way(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read to long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
Evan Larkspur dreamed of greater glory than his play writing could ever bring him. But his newfound career as officer on a star-survey mission ended in disaster almost as soon as it had begun. And when he returned home, the only survivor of a freak accident that had flung his ship out of known space, he found that a century had passed -- and though Larkspur the playwright was now famous, Larkspur the explorer was a wanted man.
Buried in his memory was the fate of his ship; hidden on his person was the star-access data that would have been worth several fortunes -- if it were not scrambled beyond repair. The repressive First Column government coveted that data and would not hesitate to strip Larkspur's mind in an attempt to decipher it.
There was nothing a deceased playwright or a vanished explorer could do against the Column. And so Larkspur fled to the fringe worlds, hiding his identity, intent only on survival -- until, on an obscure planet called Newcount Two, he discovered a powerful legacy he never knew he had . . .
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3 |
Adams, Douglas (8) |
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REVIEW
Dirk Gently runs a detective agency that gets caught up in the strangest of cases. Unlike The Hitchhiker's Guide... all this take place on the same planet. And yet, still hilarity ensues...
SUMMARY
There is a long tradition of Great Detectives, and Dirk Gently does not belong to it. But his search for a missing cat uncovers a ghost, a time traveler, AND the devastating secret of humankind! Detective Gently's bill for saving the human race from extinction: NO CHARGE.
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4 |
Adams, Douglas (8) |
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REVIEW
The earth is destroyed for a construction project and ONE man hitchs a ride with a passing ship. DON'T PANIC. Things have a strange way of working out. Really strange! If you enjoy Prachett or insanity in general, you will love this famous bit of farce!
SUMMARY Seconds before the Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy who, for the last fifteen years, has been posing as an out-of-work actor.
Together this dynamic pair begin a journey through space aided by quotes from The Hitchhiker's Guide ("A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have") and a galaxy-full of fellow travelers: Zaphod Beeblebrox--the two-headed, three-armed ex-hippie and totally out-to-lunch president of the galaxy; Trillian, Zaphod's girlfriend (formally Tricia McMillan), whom Arthur tried to pick up at a cocktail party once upon a time zone; Marvin, a paranoid, brilliant, and chronically depressed robot; Veet Voojagig, a former graduate student who is obsessed with the disappearance of all the ballpoint pens he bought over the years.
Where are these pens? Why are we born? Why do we die? Why do we spend so much time between wearing digital watches? For all the answers stick your thumb to the stars. And don't forget to bring a towel!
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5 |
Adams, Douglas (8) |
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REVIEW
After being stranded on pre-historic Earth after the events in The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, Arthur Dent is met by his old friend Ford Prefect, who drags him into a space-time eddy, represented by an anachronistic sofa. The two end up at Lord's Cricket Ground two days before the Earth's destruction by the Vogons. Shortly after they arrive, a squad of robots land in a spaceship in the middle of the field and attack the assembled crowd, stealing The Ashes before departing. Another spaceship arrives, the Starship Bistromath, helmed by Slartibartfast, who discovers he is too late and requests Arthur and Ford's help. And hilarity ensues...
SUMMARY
The unhappy inhabitants of planet Krikkit are sick of looking at the night sky above their heads--so they plan to destroy it. The universe, that is. Now only five individuals stand between the white killer robots of Krikkit and their goal of total annihilation.
They are Arthur Dent, a mild-mannered space and time traveler, who tries to learn how to fly by throwing himself at the ground and missing; Ford Prefect, his best friend, who decides to go insane to see if he likes it; Slartibartfast, the indomitable vicepresident of the Campaign for Real Time, who travels in a ship powered by irrational behavior; Zaphod Beeblebrox, the two-headed, three-armed ex-head honcho of the Universe; and Trillian, the sexy space cadet who is torn between a persistent Thunder God and a very depressed Beeblebrox.
How will it all end? Will it end? Only this stalwart crew knows as they try to avert "universal" Armageddon and save life as we know it--and don't know it!
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6 |
Adams, Douglas (8) |
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REVIEW
Okay, you probably already know this but Douglas Adams is a lunatic, and it comes out in his books. This, like Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is another of his lunatic creations, but less well known. All I distinctly recall is the mystery of the couch in the stair case. How it managed to get stuck there and how they were going to get it out. When it is revealed how it first got stuck, you almost miss it, but if you catch it, you will roll over laughing. (The couch has nothing to do with the main story.. it's just something the characters remark on as they have to keep passing it in the apartment stairs.)
SUMMARY
When a passenger check-in desk at London's Heathrow Airport disappears in a ball of orange flame, the explosion is deemed an act of God. But which god, wonders holistic detective Dirk Gently? What god would be hanging around Heathrow trying to catch the 3:37 to Oslo? And what has this to do with Dirk's latest--and late-- client, found only this morning with his head revolving atop the hit record "Hot Potato"? Amid the hostile attentions of a stray eagle and the trauma of a very dirty refrigerator, super-sleuth Dirk Gently will once again solve the mysteries of the universe...
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7 |
Adams, Douglas (8) |
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REVIEW
Arthur Dent plans to sightsee across the Galaxy with his girlfriend Fenchurch, but she disappears during a hyperspace jump, a result from being from an unstable sector of the Galaxy. Depressed, Arthur continues to travel the galaxy using his biological donations to DNA banks to fund his travels, and knowing that he cannot die until he visits Stavromula Beta, as told to him by the insane Agrajag whom had been repeated killed in various ways by Arthur before being reincarnated. During one trip, he ends up stranded on the homely planet Lamuella, and decides to stay to become a sandwich maker for the local population.
And hilarity ensues...
SUMMARY
Douglas Adams is back with the amazing, logic-defying, but-why-stop-now fifth novel in the Hitchhiker Trilogy. Here is the epic story of Random, who sets out on a transgalactic quest to find the planet of her ancestors
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8 |
Adams, Douglas (8) |
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REVIEW
Arthur Dent has hitchhiked through the galaxy and is dropped off on a planet in a rainstorm. He realizes that he appears to be in England on Earth, even though he saw it destroyed by the Vogons. While he has been gone for several years, it appears only a few months have passed on Earth. He manages to hitch a ride with a man named Russell, who is driving home his sister Fenchurch (Fenny for short). Russell explains that she had become delusional after worldwide mass hysteria over the "hallucinations with the big yellow spaceships" (Vogon ships). Arthur also learns that all the dolphins disappeared shortly after that event.
The name of the book was the final message from the dolphin, who decided to leave earth before it was destroyed.
And hilarity ensues...
SUMMARY
Back on Earth with nothing more to show for his long, strange trip through time and space than a ratty towel and a plastic shopping bag, Arthur Dent is ready to believe that the past eight years were all just a figment of his stressed-out imagination. But a gift-wrapped fishbowl with a cryptic inscription, the mysterious disappearance of Earth's dolphins, and the discovery of his battered copy of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy all conspire to give Arthur the sneaking suspicion that something otherworldly is indeed going on. . . .
God only knows what it all means. And fortunately, He left behind a Final Message of explanation. But since it's light-years away from Earth, on a star surrounded by souvenir booths, finding out what it is will mean hitching a ride to the far reaches of space aboard a UFO with a giant robot. But what else is new?
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9 |
Adams, Douglas (8) |
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REVIEW
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe begins just as The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ended. Arthur Dent, Ford Prefect, Trillian, and Zaphod Beeblebrox have just left the planet Magrathea when they are attacked by a Vogon ship. They find they are unable to use the Improbability drive to escape, as Arthur has accidentally jammed the computer with a simple request for a cup of tea which proved a rather difficult problem.
And of course, hilarity ensues...
Every Douglas Adams book gets a thumbs up from me.
SUMMARY
Facing annihilation at the hands of the warlike Vogons is a curious time to have a craving for tea. It could only happen to the cosmically displaced Arthur Dent and his curious comrades in arms as they hurtle across space powered by pure improbability--and desperately in search of a place to eat.
Among Arthur's motley shipmates are Ford Prefect, a longtime friend and expert contributor to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy; Zaphod Beeblebrox, the three-armed, two-headed ex-president of the galaxy; Tricia McMillan, a fellow Earth refugee who's gone native (her name is Trillian now); and Marvin, the moody android who suffers nothing and no one very gladly. Their destination? The ultimate hot spot for an evening of apocalyptic entertainment and fine dining, where the food (literally) speaks for itself.
Will they make it? The answer: hard to say. But bear in mind that the Hitchhiker's Guide deleted the term "Future Perfect" from its pages, since it was discovered not to be!
"What's such fun is how amusing the galaxy looks through Adams' sardonically silly eyes."
--Detroit Free Press
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10 |
Adams, Douglas (8) |
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REVIEW
This is kind of short story about what happens to Zaphod prior to his life as President of the Universe. A farce like always.
SUMMARY
The story is a prequel to the events in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and has the young Zaphod Beeblebrox working as a salvage ship operator. He guides some bureaucrats to a crashed spaceship that may be leaking some dangerous materials, radioactive, toxic and otherwise hazardous by-products which were destined to be thrown into a black hole. The bureaucrats swear that it is "perfectly safe." When asked why they want to see it if that is true, they claim that they "like looking at things that are perfectly safe." The comic asides in the story include some of the time travel paradoxes which are a common running theme in Adams' SF work, and plenty of material about lobsters.
Since this was before Zaphod blocked off sections of his own brain for the presidency, readers are able to glimpse what his original personality was like. His general speech patterns and goof-off personality are the same, but he seems to have moral views and is more likely to go off on life-threatening and exciting quests for the greater good.
Throughout the story, it is emphasized that there is something particularly dangerous on board that ought to have been utterly destroyed, but is feared to have escaped.
Ultimately, it is revealed that the something was actually three identical "Designer People". The personalities seem totally benign, which is what makes them so dangerous. The ship is filled with substances so dangerous that they are safe because no one who would actually use them would be let near. The personalities, products of a Sirius Cybernetics Corporation project, however, have custom personalities that could not naturally exist. There is "nothing they will not do if allowed, and there is nothing they will not be allowed to do." Since no one will recognize that they are capable of mass destruction (despite their good intentions), no one will stop them from doing the unspeakable.
The story culminates with the revelation that one of the personalities has escaped and headed off into Galactic Sector ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha, which is where Arthur and Ford Prefect were picked up by the Heart of Gold a fraction of second before they would have perished (and just minutes after they had been rescued from the demolished Earth in the same sector), in the original Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
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11 |
Adams, Richard (1) |
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REVIEW
This book was a hit when I was younger, but I just couldn't bring myself to read a book wherein all the characters are rabbits. I thought it would be stupid. I was wrong. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The characters are different and interesting. You get into the lives and cares of the rabbits and start to worry about how things are going to turn out for them. Believe it or not, this is an adventure book with battles and intrigue, plots and action. Plenty to hold the interest of a young (or, like me old) reader.
SUMMARY
A phenomenal worldwide bestseller for over thirty years, Richard Adams's Watership Down is a timeless classic and one of the most beloved novels of all time. Set in England's Downs, a once idyllic rural landscape, this stirring tale of adventure, courage and survival follows a band of very special creatures on their flight from the intrusion of man and the certain destruction of their home. Led by a stouthearted pair of friends, they journey forth from their native Sandleford Warren through the harrowing trials posed by predators and adversaries, to a mysterious promised land and a more perfect society.
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12 |
Agee, James (1) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Unread as yet.
SUMMARY
Published in 1957, two years after its author's death at the age of forty-five, A Death in the Family remains a near-perfect work of art, an autobiographical novel that contains one of the most evocative depictions of loss and grief ever written. As Jay Follet hurries back to his home in Knoxville, Tennessee, he is killed in a car accident'a tragedy that destroys not only a life, but also the domestic happiness and contentment of a young family. A novel of great courage, lyric force, and powerful emotion, A Death in the Family is a masterpiece of American literature.
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13 |
Aldiss, Brian W. (1) |
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REVIEW
This was a good one. About a multi-generational space ship where the occupants have forgotten it is a space ship and turned primitive.
SUMMARY
None available.
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14 |
Allen, Kurt (1) |
Rare Earth(Fiction - General)
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REVIEW
A good hard science story of asteroid mining; and things gone wrong. People have died, but the money is too good to pass up. So Waldo Packwood, a retired disabled asteroid miner, is sent out to investigate what happened. Things go wrong right from the start.. and things keep getting worse.
This is a pretty good hard scifi detective story... the science is right; the equipment is right; the physics are right... but the human factor can never be completely known; until it is discovered. I enjoyed this.
SUMMARY
A lost mining crew, 400 million miles from Earth. A retired miner journeys to find out why.
“There’s something out there…”
Waldo Packwood has had a rough time of things lately. He’s lost his job, his friends, and finally his family. At 50 years old, he’s living alone in a small apartment wondering what’s happened to his life. He’s unexpectedly asked to travel to Hector 1, a lone asteroid in the Jupiter Trojans, to investigate the missing crew.
“That’s just it, Waldo,” sighed the director, “we don’t know what happened.”
His trip is a struggle from the beginning, as he discovers more about those around him and what they’re willing to do to keep Hector 1 to themselves. Instead of answers, he’s cast into the fight of his life as he struggles to uncover the secrets and lies that have been built around this distant world.
Rare Earth is a gritty, science-fiction thriller and debut novel about an unconventional hero and second chances.
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15 |
Allen, Roger MacBride (1) |
The Ring of Charon(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
WHERE HAS THE PLANET AND ITS POPULATOIN GONE? CAN THE REMAINING HUMANS, SCATTERED THROUGHOUT THE SOLAR SYSTEM, LOCATE AND RECLAIM THEIR MOTHER WORLD? OR WILL THEY, TOO, FIND THEMSELVES POWERLESS TO DEFEAT THE UNKNOWN ALIENS AND DESTINED TO SHARE EARTH'S MYSTERIOUS FATE?
SUMMARY
The first book in the Hunted Earth series, published to tie in with the hardcover publication of its sequel, The Shattered Sphere. The Earth has disappeared, but was it destroyed by an unauthorized gravity experiment, or was the planet kidnapped by an alien race? Humanity must discover the answer before it's too late.
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16 |
Allison, Dorothy (1) |
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REVIEW
Another book about a young girl growing up poor in the south (e.g.. Ellen Foster). I really enjoyed this book because it brought to mind many scenes from my own youth when we used to visit family in North Carolina. Now, my family was not abusive or exceedingly poor... but the flavor of the time is so present in this book it took me back so perfectly. I readily recommend this book for anyone who grew up in the south, or wants to taste what it was like to do so.
SUMMARY
The publication of Dorothy Allison's Bastard Out of Carolina was a landmark event. The novel's profound portrait of family dynamics in the rural South won the author a National Book Award nomination and launched her into the literary spotlight. Critics have likened Allison to William Faulkner, Flannery O'Connor, and Harper Lee, naming her the first writer of her generation to dramatize the lives and language of poor whites in the South. Since its appearance, the novel has inspired an award-winning film and has been banned from libraries and classrooms, championed by fans, and defended by critics.
Greenville County, South Carolina, is a wild, lush place that is home to the Boatwright family-a tight-knit clan of rough-hewn, hard- drinking men who shoot up each other's trucks, and indomitable women who get married young and age too quickly. At the heart of this story is Ruth Anne Boatwright, known simply as Bone, a bastard child who observes the world around her with a mercilessly keen perspective. When her stepfather Daddy Glen, "cold as death, mean as a snake," becomes increasingly more vicious toward her, Bone finds herself caught in a family triangle that tests the loyalty of her mother, Anney-and leads to a final, harrowing encounter from which there can be no turning back.
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17 |
Amis, Kingsley (2) |
Lucky Jim Best Book Lists: 2,4 (Fiction - Humor)
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REVIEW
Jim Dixon is a not-very-qualified-nor-interested lecturer in History at some nondescript University outside London. He doesn't much like his mentor, but sucks up because he sees no future for himself other than gaining a full time position at the University. He amuses himself (and you the reader) with an inner dialog that runs counter to his exterior ways. Then, one day, it all starts to fall apart. And it falls apart so spectacularly that even as you cringe, you enjoy the ride to the bottom. Ahh, but the bottom isn't what is seems for a man who really needed a change, and things might work out better for LUCKY Jim once everything he “values” (for the wrong reasons) is gone and new hope dawns. In the end you are cheering him along as he destroys his life with one amusing blunder after another. I enjoyed this book. I am not recommending it to everyone. It's a style of British novel that presages the dry humor of Have You Been Served or Mr. Bean or Monty Python (The dry stuff.. not the slapstick). It takes a while before you start to care for the character – after all, even he knows he is settling for a life he is not interested
in. But once you warm up to him, you find yourself rooting for him, even as he self destructs. Remember, there is a reason its called LUCKY Jim, because, in the end, he is the luckiest of men.
SUMMARY
Regarded by many as the finest, and funniest, comic novel of the twentieth century, Lucky Jim remains as trenchant, withering, and eloquently misanthropic as when it first scandalized readers in 1954. This is the story of Jim Dixon, a hapless lecturer in medieval history at a provincial university who knows better than most that "there was no end to the ways in which nice things are nicer than nasty ones." Amis's scabrous debut leads the reader through a gallery of emphatically English bores, cranks, frauds, and neurotics, with each of whom Dixon must contend in one way or another in order to hold on to his cushy academic perch and win the girl of his fancy.
More than just a merciless satire of cloistered college life and stuffy post-war manners, Lucky Jim is an attack on the forces of boredom, whatever form they may take, and a work of art that at once distills and extends an entire tradition of English comic writing, from Fielding and Dickens through Wodehouse and Waugh. As Christopher Hitchens has written, "if you can picture Bertie or Jeeves being capable of actual malice, and simultaneously imagine Evelyn Waugh forgetting about original sin, you have the combination of innocence and experience that makes this short romp so imperishable."
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18 |
Amis, Kingsley (2) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Not read .
SUMMARY
Money tells the story of, and is narrated by, John Self, a successful director of adverts who is invited to New York City by Fielding Goodney, a film producer, to shoot his first film. Self is an archetypal hedonist and slob; he is usually drunk, an avid consumer of pornography and prostitutes, eats too much and, above all, spends too much, encouraged by Goodney.
The actors in the film, which Self originally titles Good Money but which he eventually wants to rename Bad Money, all have some kind of emotional issue which clashes with fellow cast members and with their roles — the principal casting having already been done by Goodney. As examples: the strict Christian Spunk Davis (whose name is intentionally unfortunate) is asked to play a drugs pusher; the aging hardman Lorne Guyland has to be physically assaulted; the motherly Caduta Massi, who is insecure about her body, is asked to appear in a sex scene with Lorne, whom she detests.
Self is stalked by "Frank the Phone" while in New York, a menacing misfit who threatens him over a series of telephone conversations, apparently because Self personifies the success Frank was unable to attain. Self is not frightened of Frank, even when he is beaten by him while on an alcoholic bender. (Self, characteristically, is unable to remember how he was attacked.) Towards the end of the book Self arranges to meet Frank for a showdown, which is the beginning of the novel's shocking denouement. Money is similar to Amis' five-years-later London Fields, in having a major plot twist.
Self returns to London before filming begins, revealing more of his humble origins, his landlord father Barry (who makes his contempt for his son clear by invoicing him for every penny spent on his upbringing) and pub doorman Fat Vince. Self discovers that his London girlfriend, Selina, is having an affair with Ossie Twain, while Self is likewise attracted to Twain's wife in New York, Martina. This increases Self's psychosis and makes his final downfall even more brutal.
After Selina has plotted to destroy any chance of a relationship between him and Martina, Self discovers that all his credit cards have been blocked, and, after confronting Frank, the stars of film angrily claim that there is no film. It is revealed that Goodney had been manipulating him; all the contracts signed by Self were loans and debts, and Goodney fabricated the entire film. He is also revealed to be Frank. He supposedly chose Self for his behavior on the first plane to America, where Goodney was sitting close to him. Felix, a bellhop, helps him escape the angry mob in the hotel lobby and fly back to England, only to discover that Barry is not Self's real father.
Amis writes himself into the novel as a kind of overseer and confidant in Self's final breakdown. He is an arrogant character, but Self is not afraid to express his rather low opinion of Amis, such as the fact that he earns so much yet "lives like a student." Amis, among others, tries to warn Self that he is heading for destruction but to no avail. Felix becomes Self's only real friend in America and finally makes Self realise how much trouble he has: "Man, you are out for a whole lot of money."
The novel's subtitle, "A Suicide Note", is clarified at the end of the novel. It is revealed that Barry Self is not John Self's father; his father is in fact Fat Vince. As such, John Self no longer exists. Hence, in the subtitle, Amis indicates that this cessation of John Self's existence is analogous to suicide, which of course, results in the death of the self. A Suicide Note could also relate to the novel as a whole, or money, which Self himself calls "suicide notes" within the novel.
After learning that his father is Fat Vince, John realizes that his true identity is that of Fat John, half-brother of Fat Paul. The novel ends with Fat John having lost all his money (if it ever existed), yet he is still able to laugh at himself and is cautiously optimistic about his future.
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19 |
Anderson, Kevin J. (4) |
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REVIEW
Nano-machines, and what they could do if an alien civilization used em to explore the universe.
An incredible discovery on the lunar farside--massive structures being erected by intelligent, living machines--could threaten the lives of the colonists living on the Moon.
SUMMARY
Nebula Award Nominee. The crew of Moonbase Columbus make an amazing discovery on the far side of the Moon—a massive alien structure is erecting itself, built up atom by atom by living machines, microscopically small, intelligent, and unstoppable, consuming everything they touch. The mysterious structure begins to expand and take shape, and its creators begin to multiply.
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20 |
Anderson, Kevin J. (4) |
Fallout(Fiction - Adventure)
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REVIEW
Read to long ago to rate
SUMMARY
They call themselves Eagle's Claw, one of the most extreme militia groups in the United States. They have infiltrated the Device Assembly Facility at the Nevada Nuclear Test Site, and the most frightening display of nuclear terrorism is about to unfold.
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21 |
Anderson, Kevin J. (4) |
Lifeline(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Read to long ago to rate
SUMMARY
In shock and grief the last remnants of the human race watched from space as the holocaust of war raged across the face of the Earth. Now the future rested in the hands of three fragile space colonies:
Aguinaldo—The Philippine L-5 colony whose brilliant biochemist engineered a limitless supply of food.
Kibalchich—The Soviet space exploration platform that harbors a deadly secret.
Orbitech 1—The American space factory whose superstrong weavewire could be a lifeline to link the colonies—or a cutting-edge weapon of destruction.
As allies, they could unite to rebuild a better world. As enemies, they could destroy mankind's last hope for survival.
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22 |
Anderson, Kevin J. (4) |
Resurrection Inc.(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Read to long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
In the future, the dead walk the streets—Resurrection, Inc. found a profitable way to do it. A microprocessor brain, synthetic heart, artificial blood, and a fresh corpse can return as a Servant for anyone with the price. Trained to obey any command, Servants have no minds of their own, no memories of their past lives.
Supposedly.
Then came Danal. He was murdered, a sacrifice from the ever-growing cult of neo-Satanists who sought heaven in the depths of hell. But as a Servant, Danal began to remember. He learned who had killed him, who he was, and what Resurrection, Inc. had in mind for the human race.
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23 |
Anderson, Poul (8) |
The Corridors of Time(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read to long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
A young man from the twentieth century is recruited to fight in a war that rages throughout time in a classic science fiction adventure from a multiple Hugo and Nebula Award–winning master
College student, ex-marine, and martial artist Malcolm Lockridge is in prison awaiting his trial for murder when he receives an unexpected visit from an extraordinarily beautiful woman named Storm. Claiming to be a representative of the Wardens, a political faction from two thousand years in the future, Storm offers the astonished young man a proposition: freedom in return for his assistance in recovering an unspecified lost treasure. But it is not long before Malcolm realizes that, in truth, he's been recruited as a soldier in the Wardens' ongoing war against their rivals, the Rangers. And this war is different from any that has ever been fought, because the battlefield is not a place but time itself.
Traveling backward and forward through corridors connecting historical epochs separated by thousands of years, Malcolm is soon embroiled in a furious conflict between the forces of good and minions of evil. But the deeper he is pulled into this devastating time war, the clearer Malcolm's ultimate role in humankind's destiny becomes, causing the troubled young soldier from the twentieth century to question whether he's been chosen to fight on the side of good or evil . . . and if such a distinction even exists
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24 |
Anderson, Poul (8) |
The Guardians of Time(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
A 2 stories in 1 book of time travel featuring The Guardians of Time and 2 novelettes from Time Patrolman. Great settings like the tremendous waterfall at Gibraltar as the Atlantic fills the dry Mediterranean basin, Ukraine's Goth lands, the ancient Phoenecian city of Tyre, a Celtic New York City, and Northwestern US as Kublai Khan's explorers move south and threaten to connect with the Navajo and later, the Aztecs. Recruited in 1957, Time Patrolman Manson Everard is trained as a roving agent and is charged with catching trespassers and criminals. The stories tell of his exploits and solutions in the true science fiction spirit.
SUMMARY
No summary available
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25 |
Anderson, Poul (8) |
Harvest of Stars(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read to long ago to rate
SUMMARY
Space pilot Kyra Davis, aided by an electronic ghost, risks her life in a desperate chess game to try to save a rebel corporation called Fireball from the repressive dictatorship that rules Earth.
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26 |
Anderson, Poul (8) |
It was first contact and - The Gods Laughed(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read too long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
The stories included in The Gods Laughed are: "The Martyr" (1960) Desperate for knowledge, men capture representatives of an alien race. What they find out is different than they expected to learn... "Night Piece" (1961) A man doing research into ESP and other worlds lets his study take him several steps too far. "When Half-Gods Go" (1953) The Harvard Astronomy department agrees to meet a couple who claim to be representatives of an interstellar civilization. "Peek! I See You!" (1968) Sean F.X. Lindquist is fairly convinced that he just saw a flying saucer. The only question becomes what doe she do about it? (This was my favorite story in the collection.) "Details" (1956) Representatives from a distant civilization try to positively influence the historical development of Earth. "Captive of the Centurianess" (1978) An unlikely threesome from different planets gets thrown together, building the base for future Galactic expansion. "The Soldier from the Stars" (1955) A group of mercenaries from outer space appears on Earth and offers their support to the highest bidder. "The Word To Space" (1960) Earth finally makes contact with another species. Unfortunately, the conversation isn't getting very far... "A Little Knowledge" (1971) A group of pirates get more than they bargained for when they kidnap the Trillian pilot Witweet.
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27 |
Anderson, Poul (8) |
The Night Face(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read to long ago to rate
SUMMARY
None available.
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28 |
Anderson, Poul (8) |
Satan's World(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read to long ago to rate
SUMMARY
None Available
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29 |
Anderson, Poul (8) |
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REVIEW
Time Travel done right!
SUMMARY
Jack Havig was born in the American midwest in 1933 with a genetic mutation that allows him to travel through time. He learns that an apocalypse will occur sometime in the 21st century due to over-pollution and nuclear warfare. Farther still in the future, a New Zealand/Micronesian culture known as "the Maurai Federation" will eventually dominate the world and impose their vision of a less industrialized, more ecologically balanced world. Jack reasons that there must be others born with the same innate ability to travel through time. In his initial search for them, he visits Jerusalem at the time of the Crucifixion. Jack is discovered by other time-travelers who are agents of a time-traveling organization called the "Eyrie," that is based in the far future and is led by a racist man born in 19th century United States. Initially Jack joins the group, but eventually rebels against them when he discovers and experiences first hand, the extent of the Eyrie's rampant brutality and inhumanity as they attempt to achieve their goal of stopping the Maurai ascendancy. To defeat the Eyrie, Jack returns to the 20th century and devises a plan of his own to recruit time-travelers and create a "tribe" that will return to the future to destroy the Eyrie
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30 |
Anderson, Poul (8) |
Time Patrolman(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read to long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
None Available
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31 |
Anderson, Sherwood (1) |
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REVIEW
This is not really a novel, but a series of short stories that revolve around the people of a small town in Ohio. Each story tries to discover a "truth" about that person...and there are many truths to be discovered. The writing is a little inconsistent from story to story, but compelling all the same. One person is fascinating. Another is repugnant. Another seems lost. Another discovers false wisdom. All of them are still interesting. Not sure how to recommend this book. I enjoyed it, but it's in a niche all it's
own.
SUMMARY
This ebook is a series of loosely linked short stories set in the fictional town of Winesburg, mostly written from late 1915 to early 1916. The stories are held together by George Willard, a resident to whom the community confide their personal stories and struggles. The townspeople are withdrawn and emotionally repressed and attempt in telling their stories to gain some sense of meaning and dignity in an otherwise desperate life. The work has received high critical acclaim and is considered one of the great American works of the 20th century.
Sherwood Anderson (1876 to 1941) was an American novelist and short story writer, known for subjective and self-revealing works. Anderson published several short story collections, novels, memoirs, books of essays, and a book of poetry. He may be most influential for his effect on the next generation of young writers, as he inspired William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck, and Thomas Wolfe.
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32 |
Anthony, Patricia (1) |
Brother Termite(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read to long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
HE IS THE WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF
He is a major figure in national and international affairs. He plays high-stakes political power games with the FBI and the CIA. He is responsible for many lives—and many deaths.
The President of the United States trusts his friendship and advice above all others. He is everything to those who surround him—player and pawn, friend and enemy, husband and father.
He's also an alien being from a far world, from another existence, and he has set his own agenda for the future of OUR world.
He is an alien ... and yet,
he is only too human.
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33 |
Anthony, Piers (2) |
Dead Morn(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read too long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
With humankind surviving underground in the twenty-fifth-century's last city, a courageous man journeys back in time into Cuba's history to try to alter the past and stop the worldwide conflagration that would leave Earth a nuclear wasteland
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34 |
Anthony, Piers (2) |
The Ring(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read to long ago to remember
SUMMARY
After a youth spent trapped in space exile, Jeff Font returned to Earth to seek vengeance against the planetary mogul who had framed and destroyed his family. Jeff's plans backfired: He was captured, drugged, rammed through a computerized court system, convicted . . . and ringed.
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35 |
Appleby, Ken (1) |
The Voices of Cephus(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read to long ago to recall
SUMMARY
None available.
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36 |
Archer, Jeffrey (1) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Not read
SUMMARY
William Lowell Kane and Abel Rosnovski, one the son of a Boston millionaire, the other a penniless polish immigrant-born on the same day near the turn of the century on opposite sides of the world-are brought together by fate and the quest of a dream. Two men - ambitious, powerful, ruthless - are locked in a relentless struggle to build an empire, fueled by their all-consuming hatred. Over sixty years and three generations, through war, marriage, fortune, and disaster, Kane and Abel battle for the success and triumph that only one man can have..
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37 |
Ashton, Edward (1) |
Three Days in April(SciFi)
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REVIEW
An interesting bunch of thoughts about the future of bio-engineering, nano-tech, surveillance, national security, and artificial intelligence all rolled together in a rather mysterious, and for some of the characters, dangerous mix that leaves them confused and wiser. The Amazon summary doesn't do it justice. This is a not to off-the-wall speculation about what could happen if our national security apparatus gets everything it wants. An interesting read.
SUMMARY
Anders Jensen is having a bad month. His roommate is a data thief, his girlfriend picks fights in bars, and his best friend is a cyborg…and a lousy tipper. When everything is spiraling out of control, though, maybe those are exactly the kind of friends you need.
In a world divided between the genetically engineered elite and the unmodified masses, Anders is an anomaly: engineered, but still broke and living next to a crack house. All he wants is to land a tenure-track faculty position, and maybe meet someone who's not technically a criminal—but when a nightmare plague rips through Hagerstown, Anders finds himself dodging kinetic energy weapons and government assassins as Baltimore slips into chaos. His friends aren't as helpless as they seem, though, and his girlfriend's street-magician brother-in-law might be a pretentious hipster—or might hold the secret to saving them all.
Frenetic and audacious, Three Days in April is a speculative thriller that raises an important question: once humanity goes down the rabbit hole, can it ever find its way back?
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38 |
Asimov, Isaac (10) |
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REVIEW
One of the "ROBOT" novels, Caves of Steel is where we first meet 2 great Asimov characters; Elijah Baley and R. Daneel Olivaw (The R. standing for Robot). Based in a far future society where humanity lives in giant enclosed cities; where exposure to the outside it terrifying - the 2 characters must work together to solve a murder mystery that implies one of two impossible conclusions: That a human walked outside in the open OR that a robot committed murder. A good exploration of a lot of ideas, one of Asimov's at his best.
SUMMARY
A millennium into the future two advancements have altered the course of human history: the colonization of the galaxy and the creation of the positronic brain. Isaac Asimov's Robot novels chronicle the unlikely partnership between a New York City detective and a humanoid robot who must learn to work together. Like most people left behind on an over-populated Earth, New York City police detective Elijah Baley had little love for either the arrogant Spacers or their robotic companions. But when a prominent Spacer is murdered under mysterious circumstances, Baley is ordered to the Outer Worlds to help track down the killer. The relationship between Life and his Spacer superiors, who distrusted all Earthmen, was strained from the start. Then he learned that they had assigned him a partner: R. Daneel Olivaw. Worst of all was that the "R" stood for robot--and his positronic partner was made in the image and likeness of the murder victim!
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39 |
Asimov, Isaac (10) |
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REVIEW
Time Travel - and the begining of the human universal empire. But as it typical with time travel plots - difficult to unwind once changes are set in motion.
SUMMARY
One of Isaac Asimov's SF masterpieces, this stand-alone novel is a monument of the flowering of SF in the twentieth century. It is widely regarded as Asimov's single best SF novel.
Andrew Harlan is an Eternal, a member of the elite of the future. One of the few who live in Eternity, a location outside of place and time, Harlan's job is to create carefully controlled and enacted Reality Changes. These Changes are small, exactingly calculated shifts in the course of history, made for the benefit of humankind. Though each Change has been made for the greater good, there are also always costs.
During one of his assignments, Harlan meets and falls in love with Noÿs Lambent, a woman who lives in real time and space. Then Harlan learns that Noÿs will cease to exist after the next Change, and he risks everything to sneak her into Eternity.
Unfortunately, they are caught. Harlan's punishment? His next assignment: Kill the woman he loves before the paradox they have created results in the destruction of Eternity.
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40 |
Asimov, Isaac (10) |
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REVIEW
The start of a great series exploring the concept of Psyho-History - Basically meaning, you can't predict what ONE person will do, but you can predict what populations of people will do... that is what billions of people will do. The theory predicts the fall of civilization and a long period of Dark Ages. Given this information can we shorten the length of the Dark Ages by setting up a planet - Foundation - that will bring light back to the universe and shorten the time of darkness. A great concept, and a great series
SUMMARY
For twelve thousand years the Galactic Empire has ruled supreme. Now it is dying. But only Hari Sheldon, creator of the revolutionary science of psychohistory, can see into the future--to a dark age of ignorance, barbarism, and warfare that will last thirty thousand years. To preserve knowledge and save mankind, Seldon gathers the best minds in the Empire--both scientists and scholars--and brings them to a bleak planet at the edge of the Galaxy to serve as a beacon of hope for a fututre generations. He calls his sanctuary the Foundation.
But soon the fledgling Foundation finds itself at the mercy of corrupt warlords rising in the wake of the receding Empire. Mankind's last best hope is faced with an agonizing choice: submit to the barbarians and be overrun--or fight them and be destroyed.
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41 |
Asimov, Isaac (10) |
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REVIEW
So the Foundation is known to exist, but can it survive? This book tells the tale of the Foundations survival.. but is it the real Foundation. The mystery deepens..
SUMMARY
Although small and seemingly helpless, the Foundation had managed to survive against the greed of its neighboring warlords. But could it stand against the mighty power of the Empire, who had created a mutant man with the strength of a dozen battlefleets...?
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42 |
Asimov, Isaac (10) |
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REVIEW
DO NOT LET THE COVER FOOL YOU. This book has nothing to do with the Will Smith movie of the same name, other than the three laws. The Will Smith movie is a story unto itself.. and really did a disservice to the ROBOT books of Asimov (though it was quite good as a separate fiction). These stories are great and a good exploration of what Asimov thought robots could do and would become when governed by the three laws.
SUMMARY
The three laws of Robotics:
1) A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm
2) A robot must obey orders givein to it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3) A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
With these three, simple directives, Isaac Asimov changed our perception of robots forever when he formulated the laws governing their behavior. In I, Robot, Asimov chronicles the development of the robot through a series of interlinked stories: from its primitive origins in the present to its ultimate perfection in the not-so-distant future--a future in which humanity itself may be rendered obsolete.
Here are stories of robots gone mad, of mind-read robots, and robots with a sense of humor. Of robot politicians, and robots who secretly run the world--all told with the dramatic blend of science fact and science fiction that has become Asmiov's trademark.
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43 |
Asimov, Isaac (10) |
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REVIEW
The second of the ROBOT detective novels, this one takes place off earth. A human and a robot need to cooperated to solve another murder on a planet where humans never actually have any contact with each other. Each lives on a giant estate surrounded by robots who cater to their every need.
The mystery? Since a robot could not have done it, it must have been a human; but no humans ever interact personally? And why would a robot not have stopped the attack? Like Sci-Fi? Like a detective novel? You'll like this classic.
SUMMARY
A millennium into the future, two advancements have altered the course of human history: the colonization of the Galaxy and the creation of the positronic brain. On the beautiful Outer World planet of Solaria, a handful of human colonists lead a hermit-like existence, their every need attended to by their faithful robot servants. To this strange and provocative planet comes Detective Elijah Baley, sent from the streets of New York with his positronic partner, the robot R. Daneel Olivaw, to solve an incredible murder that has rocked Solaria to its foundations. The victim had been so reclusive that he appeared to his associates only through holographic projection. Yet someone had gotten close enough to bludgeon him to death while robots looked on. Now Baley and Olivaw are faced with two clear impossibilities: Either the Solarian was killed by one of his robots--unthinkable under the laws of Robotics--or he was killed by the woman who loved him so much that she never came into his presence!
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44 |
Asimov, Isaac (10) |
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REVIEW
This is the story of the pre-Foundation when Hari Seldon first invented psycho-history. It makes him a dangerous man, though he doesn't realize it.
SUMMARY
It is the year 12,020 G.E. and Emperor Cleon I sits uneasily on the Imperial throne of Trantor. Here in the great multidomed capital of the Galactic Empire, forty billion people have created a civilization of unimaginable technological and cultural complexity. Yet Cleon knows there are those who would see him fall - those whom he would destroy if only he could read the future.
Hari Seldon has come to Trantor to deliver his paper on psychohistory, his remarkable theory of prediction. Little does the young Outworld mathematician know that he has already sealed his fate and the fate of humanity. For Hari possesses the prophetic power that makes him the most wanted man in the Empire... the man who holds the key to the future - an apocalyptic power to be know forever after as the Foundation.
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45 |
Asimov, Isaac (10) |
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REVIEW
Another great series of stories based on the Three Laws of robotics. Read this if the first I, ROBOT was enjoyable. I recommend it.
SUMMARY
The Rest of the Robots is the third timeless, amazing and amusing volume of Isaac Asimov's robot stories, offering golden insights into robot thought processes. Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics have since been programmed into real computers the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and used as the outline for a legal robotic charter in Korea. ROBOT TONY is the first robot designed to perform domestic duties by the US Robots and Mechanical Men Corporation. Is it Tony's fault that the lady of the house where he's field tested falls in love with him? - ROBOT AL was intended for shipment to a mining outfit on the moon. Instead, he's loose in the mountains of Virginia...building from scraps of junk his very own, very dangerous disintegrator. - ROBOT LENNY answers workaday questions in babytalk. So why is Dr Susan Calvin, the world's top robopsychologist, fascinated by this messed up specimen of an industrial robot?
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46 |
Asimov, Isaac (10) |
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REVIEW
The combination of the Empire and Robot series. Interesting to read how they come together.
SUMMARY
Isaac Asmiov's classic novel about the decline and fall of Solaria. Gladia Delmarre's homeworld, the Spacer planet Solaria, has been abandoned - by its human population. Countless robots remain there. And when traders from Settler worlds attempt to salvage them, the robots of Solaria turn to killing...in defiance of the Three Laws of Robotics. Pax Robotica Long ago, Gladia's robots Daneel and Giskard played a vital role in opening the worlds beyond the Solar system to Settlers from Earth. Now the conscience-stricken robots are faced with an even greater challenge. Either the sacred Three Laws of Robotics are in ruins - or a new, superior Law must be established to bring peace to the galaxy. With Madam Gladia and D.G. Baley - the captain of the Settler traders and a descendant of the robots' friend Elijah Baley - Daneel and Giskard travel to the robot stronghold of Solaria...where they uncover a sinister Spacer plot to destroy Earth itself.
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47 |
Asimov, Isaac (10) |
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REVIEW
The 3rd in the ROBOT series detective novels, and as good as the others. This is a classic that everyone should read if you want to understand the history of science fiction. And it is damn entertaining like all of Asimov.
SUMMARY
A millennium into the future two advances have altered the course of human history: the colonization of the Galaxy and the creation of the positronic brain. Isaac Asimov's Robot novels chronicle the unlikely partnership between a New York City detective and a humanoid robot who must learn to work together.
Detective Elijah Baiey is called to the Spacer world Aurora to solve a bizarre case of roboticide. The prime suspect is a gifted roboticist who had the means, the motive, and the opportunity to commit the crime. There's only one catch: Baley and his positronic partner, R. Daneel Olivaw, must prove the man innocent. For in a case of political intrigue and love between woman and robot gone tragically wrong, there's more at stake than simple justice. This time Baley's career, his life, and Earth's right to pioneer the Galaxy lie in the delicate balance.
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48 |
Asnin, Scott (1) |
A Cold Wind From Orion(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read to long ago to review
SUMMARY
Orion should never have been sent into orbit - its deadly nuclear cargo was in violation of the most sacred international agreements. Now the General Orbital Decay Syndrome was bringing the satellite down, decades ahead of schedule, and out of control. If it landed in any of hundred trouble spots on Earth, it could start a war.
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49 |
Asprin, Robert (5) |
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REVIEW
Exactly what the name implies. A war. With Bugs.
SUMMARY
The Tzen, fierce warriors, master strategists, and reptiles, and the Enemy, savage conquerors, brilliant technicians, and insects, fight their fiercest battle yet.
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50 |
Asprin, Robert (5) |
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REVIEW
What happens when corporate competition turns to open warfare with no rules.
SUMMARY
International conglomerates plot a complete domination of the free world, facing off against world governments, who want only freedom, in a calculated and vicious battle of wits and profit
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51 |
Asprin, Robert (5) |
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REVIEW
I enjoy when SciFi is mixed with comedy, and this does that pretty well. The pun of the title gives you a hint of what to expect, and it continues pretty much throughout.
SUMMARY
Meet the soldiers of Captain Willard Phule's Company--a handful of military rejects able to do more damage before 9 A.M. than most people do all day. Threatened by an alien enemy, Earth's military sends Phule and his soldiers to a distant planet. But now, the aliens have chosen a new target of war . . . Phule's Company.
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52 |
Asprin, Robert (5) |
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REVIEW
Another in the funny Phule's series
SUMMARY
Be all that you can be: clumsy, inane, sloppy, reckless, idiotic.Phule's Company is the laughingstock of the military. Their latest mission: to guard an intergalactic casino from an unlikely criminal takeover...The odds are against the oddballs.
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53 |
Asprin, Robert (5) |
Time Scout(SciFi)
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REVIEW
A light hearted approach to time travel stories.
SUMMARY
Kenneth "Kit" Carson was one of the best time scouts in the business. Nowadays, Kit prefers to be a hotelier at Time Terminal 86. He has sworn off gallivanting through the centuries. Kit might take an occasional consulting fee to keep his hand in, but no more travel--until his granddaughter takes a trip through an unauthorized Gate and winds up lost in time
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54 |
Atwood, Margaret (2) |
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REVIEW
This was truly a strange book. At first you are reading the biography of two sisters told in flash back after the death of the younger sister. Suddenly you are in a hotel room with an unknown man and woman who, together, make up a fantasy tale about a fictitious middle east kingdom in which a guild of blind assassins work while the city is attacked by barbarians. Next you are in the past living the life of the older sister from age 8 until she is quite elderly. The book switches from past to "present" to fantasy so fast that at time you feel whipsawed about. About half way through things get really interesting.. It's obvious that the "unknown" woman in the hotel room is one of the sisters, but which one. Trust me, the final solution is completely satisfying. At the end of the book, all the strings are tied together and you find yourself grinning because the "blind assassin" really wins in the end. Difficult to start... takes a while to get going.. really satisfying once you get to the end. This one is worth the time.
SUMMARY
The Blind Assassin opens with these simple, resonant words: "Ten days after the war ended, my sister Laura drove a car off a bridge." They are spoken by Iris, whose terse account of her sister's death in 1945 is followed by an inquest report proclaiming the death accidental. But just as the reader expects to settle into Laura?s story, Atwood introduces a novel-within-a-novel. Entitled The Blind Assassin, it is a science fiction story told by two unnamed lovers who meet in dingy backstreet rooms. When we return to Iris, it is through a 1947 newspaper article announcing the discovery of a sailboat carrying the dead body of her husband, a distinguished industrialist. Brilliantly weaving together such seemingly disparate elements, Atwood creates a world of astonishing vision and unforgettable impact.
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55 |
Atwood, Margaret (2) |
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REVIEW
If you enjoyed 1984 or Brave New World then this will be right up your alley. A vision of a terrible future in which women have become infertile, and those that are fertile are forced to become "handmaids" - referencing the bible story where a handmaid is given to the husband to bear a child. It's a pretty chilling little environment with the wives hating the handmaids, and the husbands secretly desiring them. And it's revealed to be a hypocritical society too, with sex available freely to those in the upper stratum while morality is preached to everyone else. Though they preach morality... they are completely morally bankrupt. And the end is a complete shock..
SUMMARY
The Handmaid's Tale is not only a radical and brilliant departure for Margaret Atwood, it is a novel of such power that the reader will be unable to forget its images and its forecast. Set in the near future, it describes life in what was once the United States, now called the Republic of Gilead, a monotheocracy that has reacted to social unrest and a sharply declining birthrate by reverting to, and going beyond, the repressive intolerance of the original Puritans. The regime takes the Book of Genesis absolutely at its word, with bizarre consequences for the women and men of its population.
The story is told through the eyes of Offred, one of the unfortunate Handmaids under the new social order. In condensed but eloquent prose, by turns cool-eyed, tender, despairing, passionate, and wry, she reveals to us the dark corners behind the establishment's calm facade, as certain tendencies now in existence are carried to their logical conclusions. The Handmaid's Tale is funny, unexpected, horrifying, and altogether convincing. It is at once scathing satire, dire warning, and tour de force. It is Margaret Atwood at her best.
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56 |
Austen, Jane (2) |
Emma Best Book Lists: 3 (Fiction - Romance)
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REVIEW
It is true what Austen said about her character; she is not very likeable. I kept waiting for her to get her comeuppance. Well, she did, but not in such a satisfactory way as could have been. Still and all, she learns her lesson with regard to her match-making abilities.
I read this in anticipation of the 2020 movie by the same name. I so enjoyed the book and movie, Pride and Prejudice, that I had to. Recommendation: If you are only going to read one Jane Austen book, make it P&P. This one is deep in the manners and custom of the time, but has far less drama than P&P. Took me a while to finish and there was no one character who I looked forward to hearing from as I did Elizabeth Bennet's father in P&P.
Now, off to see the movie and see how that is.
SUMMARY
When her former governess finds happiness as the bride of a local widower, the brilliant and beautiful Emma Woodhouse – one of Jane Austen's immortal creations – flatters herself that she alone has secured the marriage and that she possesses a special talent for bringing lovers together. The young heiress next busies herself with finding a suitable husband for her friend and protégé, Harriet Smith, setting off an entertaining sequence of comic mishaps and misunderstanding in this sparkling comedy of English-village romance. Beneath its considerable wit, the novel is also the story of a young woman's progress toward self-understanding.
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57 |
Austen, Jane (2) |
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REVIEW
After seeing the movie with Kira Knightley I wanted to read the book to see how well the characters were represented by the movie. I loved the movie, and I loved this book. The characters in the book were perfectly played in the movie.
What I loved MOST about the book was its glimpse into how life was lived at the time of the novel. How people entertained themselves before mass entertainments took hold. The character of Mr. Bennet (Lizzie's father) is just as Donald Sutherland played him in the movie. So to was the character of Mr. Darcy (played by Mathew McFayden – who was also fantastic in Death At A Funeral).
I would recommend this book to anyone with even a slight interest in this time in history, or romance in general.
SUMMARY
Five daughters of a country gentleman who married for beauty and lived to regret it, are enticed by their foolish (though a gentlewoman) mother's announcement of two eligible bachelors in the neighborhood who are newly come down from London. The meetings between the five daughters and these two, as well as other eligible bachelors, at balls result in hoped for love for one sister, disdain and infatuation and irritation from three separate bachelors for another sister, a dangerous elopement for a third sister, and nothing much more than scoldings for the other two sisters.
Jane hopes for marriage with Mr. Bingley but her evenly bestowed smiles lead Darcy to convince Bingley that his love is not returned, while Darcy finds greater and greater attraction in Elizabeth whom he thought too unexceptional to dance with at the Meryton ball. Darcy's old enemy, Wickham, accidentally arrives on the scene and turns Elizabeth's head--and heart--with gossip about Darcy that steels Elizabeth's negative opinion against Darcy. When a visit to Rosings Park to visit Charlotte--Elizabeth's best friend who shocked her by marrying the cousin whom Elizabeth had strongly rejected--exposes Elizabeth to a proposal of marriage form Mr. Darcy, Elizabeth begins a journey of self-discovery.
When a holiday with her Aunt and Uncle surprises Elizabeth with a tour of Pemberley, Darcy's estate and manor house, and then surprises her with the unannounced presence of Darcy himself, Elizabeth's future begins to look brighter as Darcy seems to have taken some of her scathing insults to heart when she rejected his proposal and made himself into a kinder person. But news of Lydia's strange elopement with Darcy's enemy, Wickham, throws Elizabeth on Darcy's mercy and ends her newly sprung hopes of a renewal of his affections. Darcy recognizes his fault of prideful silence in Wickham's being allowed to socialize with respectable families and immediately goes to set things right.
After making amends for the harm his pride and ill-judged decisions had caused, Darcy and Bingley return to Netherfield Park and visit the Bennet home. This time Bingley knows his affection is returned and Darcy knows, because of the outcome of Elizabeth's interview with Darcy's meddling aunt, Lady de Bourgh, that Elizabeth may no longer despise him. Both ladies and men receive their heart's desires when each couple finds a moment to be alone and two weddings are joyously celebrated.
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58 |
Bain, Darrell (1) |
Starship Down(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Not a bad book, but it just sort of ends. There is no continuation of the story. Really, this needed a sequal, but I have not found it. Don't read this unless you want to be frustrated at an incomplete tale.
SUMMARY
A starship on a circuit to service earth's colonies is sabotaged and winds up irrevocably lost in space. The only option is to find a habitable planet to live on. Aboard the ship is a contingent of convicts bound for a prison planet, an army company rotating to one of the colony worlds, government officials and scientists going or coming from the colonies, a contingent of prospective colonists going out to pioneer and a miscellany of other passengers. A crew of two hundred fifty is now responsible for a thousand people after they finally find a new world to settle on. Add in a mad captain, combative convicts and some unworldly aliens and it becomes all that acting Captain Travis Callahan can handle-and then some!
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59 |
Baldwin, James (1) |
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REVIEW
This book (so it is said) is very auto-biographical. If that is the case then James Baldwin faced tough times as a youth with an abusive father who was also a preacher with very fundamental Christian religious views. No one could live up to his expectations, mostly because he suffered from his own secret sins. Or so he thought they were secret. An interesting look into the world of black fundamentalism in the 1930's this book explores religion, sin, self-loathing, racism and family relationships and abuse. It may or may not be an easy read, depending on your views on religion. But in any case, it is something one should read if one wants to explore religion and race in American history.
SUMMARY
"Mountain," Baldwin said, "is the book I had to write if I was ever going to write anything else." Go Tell It On The Mountain, first published in 1953, is Baldwin's first major work, a novel that has established itself as an American classic. With lyrical precision, psychological directness, resonating symbolic power, and a rage that is at once unrelenting and compassionate, Baldwin chronicles a fourteen-year-old boy's discovery of the terms of his identity as the stepson of the minister of a storefront Pentecostal church in Harlem one Saturday in March of 1935. Baldwin's rendering of his protagonist's spiritual, sexual, and moral struggle of self-invention opened new possibilities in the American language and in the way Americans understand themselves.
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60 |
Banks, Iain M (1) |
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REVIEW
Pretty well done for a galactic war novel
SUMMARY
The war raged across the galaxy. Billions had died, billions more were doomed. Moons, planets, the very stars themselves, faced destruction, cold-blooded, brutal, and worse, random. The Idirans fought for their Faith; the Culture for its moral right to exist. Principles were at stake. There could be no surrender.
Within the cosmic conflict, an individual crusade. Deep within a fabled labyrinth on a barren world, a Planet of the Dead proscribed to mortals, lay a fugitive Mind. Both the Culture and the Idirans sought it. It was the fate of Horza, the Changer, and his motley crew of unpredictable mercenaries, human and machine, actually to find it, and with it their own destruction.
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61 |
Banks, Russell (1) |
Lost Memory of Skin(Fiction - General)
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REVIEW
The Kid made a stupid mistake one night and is now excluded from society at the age of 22. Labeled as a sex offender, he is shackled to a GPS monitoring device and forbidden to live within 2,500 feet of anywhere children might gather. One of the few places that remain for him is under a causeway with other convicted sex offenders. Enter the Professor, a bearded, overweight genius with secrets of his own. Has society, with its low tolerance and lack of compassion, created new victims? Banks has tackled a theme important to our welfare as a society. Sure to elicit a stimulating discussion for book groups.
It really was a stupid mistake, but in a throw away society - who really cares. Disturbing and interesting. I'd recommend this.
SUMMARY
The acclaimed author of The Sweet Hereafter and Rule of the Bone returns with a provocative new novel that illuminates the shadowed edges of contemporary American culture with startling and unforgettable results
Suspended in a strangely modern-day version of limbo, the young man at the center of Russell Banks's uncompromising and morally complex new novel must create a life for himself in the wake of incarceration. Known in his new identity only as the Kid, and on probation after doing time for a liaison with an underage girl, he is shackled to a GPS monitoring device and forbidden to live within 2,500 feet of anywhere children might gather. With nowhere else to go, the Kid takes up residence under a south Florida causeway, in a makeshift encampment with other convicted sex offenders.
Barely beyond childhood himself, the Kid, despite his crime, is in many ways an innocent, trapped by impulses and foolish choices he himself struggles to comprehend. Enter the Professor, a man who has built his own life on secrets and lies. A university sociologist of enormous size and intellect, he finds in the Kid the perfect subject for his research on homelessness and recidivism among convicted sex offenders. The two men forge a tentative partnership, the Kid remaining wary of the Professor's motives even as he accepts the counsel and financial assistance of the older man.
When the camp beneath the causeway is raided by the police, and later, when a hurricane all but destroys the settlement, the Professor tries to help the Kid in practical matters while trying to teach his young charge new ways of looking at, and understanding, what he has done. But when the Professor's past resurfaces and threatens to destroy his carefully constructed world, the balance in the two men's relationship shifts.
Suddenly, the Kid must reconsider everything he has come to believe, and choose what course of action to take when faced with a new kind of moral decision.
Long one of our most acute and insightful novelists, Russell Banks often examines the indistinct boundaries between our intentions and actions. A mature and masterful work of contemporary fiction from one of our most accomplished storytellers, Lost Memory of Skin unfolds in language both powerful and beautifully lyrical, show-casing Banks at his most compelling, his reckless sense of humor and intense empathy at full bore.
The perfect convergence of writer and subject, Lost Memory of Skin probes the zeitgeist of a troubled society where zero tolerance has erased any hope of subtlety and compassion—a society where isolating the offender has perhaps created a new kind of victim.
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62 |
Barnes, John (1) |
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REVIEW
What began as a technothriller
continues as high adventure
in the newly savage ruins of civilization.
A fairly good read.
SUMMARY
In late 2024, Daybreak, a movement of post-apocalyptic eco-saboteurs, smashed modern civilization to its knees. In the losing, hopeless struggle against Daybreak, Heather O'Grainne, a one-time minor bureaucrat and former Federal agent, rose to become a vital leader in the struggle to restore civilization. That story was told in Directive 51.
Now Heather's story continues in Daybreak Zero. In
the summer of 2025, she leads a tiny organization of scientists, spies,
scouts, entrepreneurs, engineers, dreamers, and daredevils based in
Pueblo, Colorado. Both of the almost-warring governments of the United
States have charged them with an all but impossible mission: find a way
to put the world back together.
But Daybreak's triumph has flung the world back centuries in technology, politics, and
culture.
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Pro-Daybreak Tribals openly celebrate ending the world as we know it.
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Army regiments have to fight their way in and out of Pennsylvania.
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The Earth's environment is saturated with plastic-devouring biotes and electronics-corroding nanoswarm.
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A leftover Daybreak device drops atom bombs from the moon on any outpost of the old civilization it can spot.
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Confined
to her base in Pueblo to give birth to her first child, Heather
recruits and monitors a coterie of tech wizards, tough guys, and
modern-day frontier scouts: a handful of heroes to patrol a continent. All the news is bad:
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Tribals have overrun Indiana and Illinois
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The last working aircraft carrier sits helplessly out in the Indian Ocean, not daring to come closer to land
- The crash of one of
the last working airplanes kills a vital industrialist
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Tribals try to
force appeasement on the Provi government while the Temper government
faces a rebellion of religious fanatics
Seventeen states are lost to
the Tribals as California drifts into secession and hereditary monarchy
Everywhere, Provis and Tempers lurch toward civil war.
Heather's agents may be brave, smart, and daring, but can they be enough? For the sake of everything from her newborn son to her dying nation, can she forge them into a the weapon that can at last win the world back from the overwhelming, malevolent force of Daybreak?
Her success or failure may change everything for the next thousand years,
beginning from Daybreak Zero.
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63 |
Barnes, Steven (1) |
Gorgon Child(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Read to long ago to rate
SUMMARY p>A virtual superman, a street fighter trained by the Mob, Knight turns his awesome powers on those who created him. Fighting alongside his beautiful mate, he takes on a corrupt television evangelist who schemes to enslave America. The action-packed, near-future adventure sequel to Streetlethal
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64 |
Barth, John (1) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Not read
SUMMARY
The novel is a satirical epic of the colonization of Maryland based on the life of an actual poet, Ebenezer Cooke, who wrote a poem of the same title. The Sot-Weed Factor is what Northrop Frye called an anatomy —[citation needed] a large, loosely structured work, with digressions, distractions, stories within stories, and lists (such as a lengthy exchange of insulting terms by two prostitutes).[page needed] The fictional Ebenezer Cooke (repeatedly described as "poet and virgin") is a Candide-like innocent who sets out to write a heroic epic, becomes disillusioned and ends up writing a biting satire.
The novel is set in the 1680s and 90s in London and on the eastern shore of the colony of Maryland. It tells the story of an English poet named Ebenezer Cooke who is given the title "Poet Laureate of Maryland" by Charles Calvert. He undergoes many adventures on his journey to Maryland and while in Maryland, all the while striving to preserve his innocence (i.e. his virginity). The book takes its title from the grand poem that Cooke composes throughout the story, which was originally intended to sing the praises of Maryland, but ends up being a biting satire based on his disillusioning experiences.
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65 |
Baum, L. Frank (1) |
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REVIEW
Okay, I hate to say it, but the movie is 100 times better than the book. The plot hangs together so much more logically and makes so much more sense than the book. The book starts with the cyclone, and ends with Dorothy landing in Kansas - not even being re-united with Auntie Em !!! How lame is that. Also, the wizard fulfilled the wishes of the characters in a completely different way than the movie. The movie made more sense. The feeling was there - in that the wizard told each of them they didn't need what they were missing because they already had it... but the characters insisted that he "do something" physical to prove to themselves that they had what they came for. So he did. The book DID have some interesting things in it - for example: the TIN MAN was a real man once who accidentally chopped off all his parts and had them replaced because he loved a girl and his ax was cursed. The coming to life of the scare crow was amusing too. All in all ... see the movie.
SUMMARY
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a children's novel written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. Originally published by the George M. Hill Company in Chicago on May 17, 1900, it has since been reprinted numerous times, most often under the name The Wizard of Oz, which is the name of both the popular 1902 Broadway musical and the well-known 1939 film adaptation. The story chronicles the adventures of a young girl named Dorothy Gale in the Land of Oz, after being swept away from her Kansas farm home in a cyclone. The novel is one of the best-known stories in American popular culture and has been widely translated. Its initial success, and the success of the 1902 Broadway musical which Baum adapted from his original story, led to Baum's writing thirteen additional Oz books.
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66 |
Baxter, Stephen (7) |
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REVIEW
The sequel to FLOOD, this deals with the people who manage to get off the Earth before it is completely flooded. The ship is huge and the science is good, but the book is just not that compelling. Sorry, but another non-recommend.
SUMMARY
It's the year 2030. The oceans have risen rapidly, and soon the entire planet will be submerged. But the discovery of another life-sustaining planet light years away gives those who remain alive hope. Only a few will be able to make the journey-Holle Groundwater is one of the candidates. If she makes the cut, she will live. If not, she will be left to face a watery death...
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67 |
Baxter, Stephen (7) |
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REVIEW
This is the prequel to the movie WATERWORLD... or it may as well be. The Earth is flooding. Some people are trying to get off. Big boring tragedy.
Normally I love Stephen Baxter, but this was not worth the time.
SUMMARY
Four hostages are rescued from a group of religious extremists in Barcelona. After five years of being held captive together, they make a vow to always watch out for one another. But they never expected this. The world they have returned to has been transformed-by water. And the water is rising.
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68 |
Baxter, Stephen (7) |
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REVIEW
Weird weird weird!!! In all 3 of the Manifold books, Baxter explores the Fermi Paradox. If you don’t know what that is, then wiki it. The most basic explanation is that, given the age of the galaxy, any civilization that didn’t manage to destroy itself should have expanded to occupy the entire galaxy by no. No faster than light travel needed. So the Fermi Paradox simply says, “Where are they?” There are plenty of reasons we might not see them; and most of those reasons are extremely frightening. Most of them involve conclusions that don’t bode well for the future of our race.
Stephen Baxter’s Manifold novels have struck the world of science fiction like a meteor. Heralded by Arthur Clark as “a major new talent,” Baxter stands time and space on their collective heads, envisions the future reflected in the past, and the past in the galaxy’s most distant reaches and unformed speculations. Claiming the legacy of Heinlein and Asimov, Baxter now returns with his third Manifold novel–in which he uses an astounding adventure story to posit a breathtaking vision of the origin of species . . . on earth and beyond.
In the year 2015 a red moon appears in the Earth’s orbit: brooding, multitextured, beautiful, and alive. Catastrophe follows. While coastlands flood by the new gravitational forces, millions of people die. Scientists scramble desperately to understand what is on the big red moon and how it got there. And NASA astronaut Reid Malenfant, and his wife Emma, are hurtling through the African sky in a training jet, when everything changes forever.
For Malenfant and Emma, a reckless flight in a T-38 above the sun-baked continent sends them colliding with a great wheel in the sky. Now Emma has awakened in a strange, Earthlike world, among physically powerful, primitive creatures who share humankind’s features and desires but lack the human mind. And Reid Malenfant is back in Texas, reliving the plane crash, looking up at the red moon, and knowing in his heart that Emma is there.
Emma is there, beginning a journey of survival that is both horrific and fascinating, utterly familiar and totally beyond comprehension. Malenfant, teamed with a Japanese scientist named Nemoto, will get his chance to rescue his wife. But neither can foresee the extraordinary adventures that await them. Neither can imagine the small and immense evolutionary secrets cloaked in the atmosphere of the red moon, or guess at how a vast, living, tightly woven cosmos has shaped our planet as we know it–and how it will shape it again.
SUMMARY
Stephen Baxter's Manifold novels have struck the world of science fiction like a meteor. Heralded by Arthur Clark as "a major new talent," Baxter stands time and space on their collective heads, envisions the future reflected in the past, and the past in the galaxy's most distant reaches and unformed speculations. Claiming the legacy of Heinlein and Asimov, Baxter now returns with his third Manifold novel–in which he uses an astounding adventure story to posit a breathtaking vision of the origin of species . . . on earth and beyond.
In the year 2015 a red moon appears in the Earth's orbit: brooding, multitextured, beautiful, and alive. Catastrophe follows. While coastlands flood by the new gravitational forces, millions of people die. Scientists scramble desperately to understand what is on the big red moon and how it got there. And NASA astronaut Reid Malenfant, and his wife Emma, are hurtling through the African sky in a training jet, when everything changes forever.
For Malenfant and Emma, a reckless flight in a T-38 above the sun-baked continent sends them colliding with a great wheel in the sky. Now Emma has awakened in a strange, Earthlike world, among physically powerful, primitive creatures who share humankind's features and desires but lack the human mind. And Reid Malenfant is back in Texas, reliving the plane crash, looking up at the red moon, and knowing in his heart that Emma is there.
Emma is there, beginning a journey of survival that is both horrific and fascinating, utterly familiar and totally beyond comprehension. Malenfant, teamed with a Japanese scientist named Nemoto, will get his chance to rescue his wife. But neither can foresee the extraordinary adventures that await them. Neither can imagine the small and immense evolutionary secrets cloaked in the atmosphere of the red moon, or guess at how a vast, living, tightly woven cosmos has shaped our planet as we know it–and how it will shape it again.
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69 |
Baxter, Stephen (7) |
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REVIEW
Of the 3 books Baxter has written, this one is, for various reasons, the most disturbing. It takes place on a moon that has all the various human hominid ancestors living at the same time. How they live and interact is the most disturbing aspect of this book (ex. One group attacks another as food and there is a graphic description of an infant being torn apart while still alive and eaten.) I would only recommend this book to someone who enjoyed the first 2 in this series (Manifold: Time & Manifold: Space). To everyone else. Stay away!!!
The year is 2020. Fueled by an insatiable curiosity, Reid Malenfant ventures to the far edge of the solar system, where he discovers a strange artifact left behind by an alien civilization: A gateway that functions as a kind of quantum transporter, allowing virtually instantaneous travel over the vast distances of interstellar space. What lies on the other side of the gateway? Malenfant decides to find out. Yet he will soon be faced with an impossible choice that will push him beyond terror, beyond sanity, beyond humanity itself. Meanwhile on Earth the Japanese scientist Nemoto fears her worst nightmares are coming true. Startling discoveries reveal that the Moon, Venus, even Mars once thrived with life–life that was snuffed out not just once but many times, in cycles of birth and destruction. And the next chilling cycle is set to begin again
SUMMARY
The year is 2020. Fueled by an insatiable curiosity, Reid Malenfant ventures to the far edge of the solar system, where he discovers a strange artifact left behind by an alien civilization: A gateway that functions as a kind of quantum transporter, allowing virtually instantaneous travel over the vast distances of interstellar space. What lies on the other side of the gateway? Malenfant decides to find out. Yet he will soon be faced with an impossible choice that will push him beyond terror, beyond sanity, beyond humanity itself. Meanwhile on Earth the Japanese scientist Nemoto fears her worst nightmares are coming true. Startling discoveries reveal that the Moon, Venus, even Mars once thrived with life–life that was snuffed out not just once but many times, in cycles of birth and destruction. And the next chilling cycle is set to begin again
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70 |
Baxter, Stephen (7) |
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REVIEW
Another hard science novel.. and boy does this one get strange at times. One of the theories presented in the novel is pretty depressing. So is the other. Once you get the point you have to wonder if Baxter isn't onto something. Basically this book, like the first in this series deals withFermi's Paradox which basically says, if there is other life in the universe, the odds that they are not already here is astronomical... so where are they.
He deals with expanding civilizations and how they would take over the galaxy... wave after wave of warring destructive civilizations.. expanding using CURRENT technology.. no big reach into fantasy science. Basically, as a civilization expands due to population pressure, it will wipe out any lesser civilization in its way - that being us.
The other theory he offers (and right at the end of the book) explains why we have yet to see this happen - and talk about depressing - spin a couple of neutron stars at the center of the galaxy in unstable orbits... when they collide the pulse of gamma rays release pretty much wipes out all the life in the galaxy... problem solved.. everyone dead.
So the question becomes... what do you do about both these problems
You think you can handle this long deep book with some of the oddest twists and turns I have ever seen (like how to get along with Neanderthal's who happen to be living on Jupiter's Moon IO) well.. this might be for you. I liked it, though I think it could have been a tad more direct.
Oh.. and if you read the first book MANIFOLD: TIME - well.. he uses the same characters over again. Not sure what is up with that, but I think the work MANIFOLD is a hint... lol - the exact same characters.
SUMMARY
The year is 2010. More than a century of ecological damage, industrial and technological expansion, and unchecked population growth has left the Earth on the brink of devastation. As the world's governments turn inward, one man dares to envision a bolder, brighter future. That man, Reid Malenfant, has a very different solution to the problems plaguing the planet: the exploration and colonization of space. Now Malenfant gambles the very existence of time on a single desperate throw of the dice. Battling national sabotage and international outcry, as apocalyptic riots sweep the globe, he builds a spacecraft and launches it into deep space. The odds are a trillion to one against him. Or are they?
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71 |
Baxter, Stephen (7) |
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REVIEW
Nice science and normal human nature. Whenever you divide people into two groups and give one group power of the other there is going to be conflict. This is a good read about people who are forced to colonize another planet that may or may not want to be colonized. It's not easy, and it's made even worse by the oppression for the "guards"... who think they are all going back to Earth at some point.
Looking forward to the next edition.
SUMMARY
?Stephen Baxter has been heralded, with some merit, as Arthur C. Clarke?s literary heir, and Proxima certainly reinforces this accolade in spades.??Concatenation
Mankind?s future in this galaxy could be all but infinite.
There are hundreds of billions of red dwarf stars, lasting trillions of years?and their planets can be habitable for humans. Such is the world of Proxima Centauri. And its promise could mean the never-ending existence of humanity.
But first it must be colonized, and no one wants to be a settler. There is no glamor that accompanies it, nor is there the ease of becoming a citizen of an already-tamed world. There is only hardship...loneliness...emptiness, even as war brews in the solar system.
But that?s where Yuri comes in. Because sometimes exploration isn?t voluntary. It must be coerced
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72 |
Baxter, Stephen (7) |
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REVIEW
Okay.. I read this one. But I cannot recall it. Re-reading the plot summary - Holy Cow - This is one complicated plot. Perhaps I should give it a re-read?
SUMMARY
Michael Poole's wormholes constructed in the orbit of Jupiter had opened the galaxy to humankind. Then Poole tried looping a wormhole back on itself, tying a knot in space and ripping a hole in time.
It worked. Too well.
Poole was never seen again. Then from far in the future, from a time so distant that the stars themselves were dying embers, came an urgent SOS--and a promise. The universe was doomed, but humankind was not. Poole had stumbled upon an immense artifact, light-years across, fabricated from the very string of the cosmos.
The universe had a door. And it was open...
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73 |
Bear, Elizabeth (2) |
Ancestral Night (White Space Book 1)(Fiction - General)
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REVIEW
A good tale of salvagers to make a gruesome discovery on a ship that should not exist.. and the consequences of that discovery - endangering their lives and the live of other species that coexist in a galactic civilization.
SUMMARY
“Outstanding…Amid a space opera resurgence, Bear’s novel sets the bar high.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
A space salvager and her partner make the discovery of a lifetime that just might change the universe in this wild, big-ideas space opera from Hugo Award-winning author Elizabeth Bear.
Halmey Dz and her partner Connla Kurucz are salvage operators, living just on the inside of the law...usually. Theirs is the perilous and marginal existence—with barely enough chance of striking it fantastically big—just once—to keep them coming back for more. They pilot their tiny ship into the scars left by unsuccessful White Transitions, searching for the relics of lost human and alien vessels. But when they make a shocking discovery about an alien species that has been long thought dead, it may be the thing that could tip the perilous peace mankind has found into full-out war.
Energetic and electrifying, Ancestral Night is a dazzling space opera, sure to delight fans of Alastair Reynolds, Iain M. Banks, and Peter F. Hamilton—“Bear's ability to create breathtaking variations on ancient themes and make them new and brilliant is, perhaps, unparalleled in the genre” (Library Journal, starred review).
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74 |
Bear, Elizabeth (2) |
Machine (White Space Book 2)(Fiction - General)
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REVIEW
The discovery of a generation ship that never found it's destination, along with a paralyzed recovery crew leads back to the galaxies premier hospital to try and revive the passengers of that generation ship and discover the mystery of the paralyzed recovery crew. Things start to go wrong almost immediately. What is revealed is an attack on the center of civilization that affects all artificial minds.. a terrorist attack that nearly succeeds in destroying the best symbol of galactic inter-species cooperation.
SUMMARY
In this “spectacularly smart space opera” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) set in the same universe as the critically acclaimed White Space series and perfect for fans of Karen Traviss and Ada Hoffman, a space station begins to unravel when a routine search and rescue mission returns after going dangerously awry.
Meet Doctor Jens.
She hasn’t had a decent cup of coffee in fifteen years. Her workday begins when she jumps out of perfectly good space ships and continues with developing treatments for sick alien species she’s never seen before. She loves her life. Even without the coffee.
But Dr. Jens is about to discover an astonishing mystery: two ships, once ancient and one new, locked in a deadly embrace. The crew is suffering from an unknown ailment and the shipmind is trapped in an inadequate body, much of her memory pared away.
Unfortunately, Dr. Jens can’t resist a mystery and she begins doing some digging. She has no idea that she’s about to discover horrifying and life-changing truths.
Written in Elizabeth Bear’s signature “rollicking, suspenseful, and sentimental” (Publishers Weekly) style, Machine is a fresh and electrifying space opera that you won’t be able to put down.
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75 |
Bear, Greg (6) |
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REVIEW
I really enjoyed this book... but not so much for the plot as the structure. It gave me an idea that I started to write in my own novel (yet to be finished).
Ancient diseases encoded in the DNA of humans wait like sleeping dragons to wake and infect again--or so molecular biologist Kaye Lang believes. And now it looks as if her controversial theory is in fact chilling reality. For Christopher Dicken, a "virus hunter" at the Epidemic Intelligence Service, has pursued an elusive flu-like disease that strikes down expectant mothers and their offspring. Then a major discovery high in the Alps --the preserved bodies of a prehistoric family--reveals a shocking link: something that has slept in our genes for millions of years is waking up.
SUMMARY
Ancient diseases encoded in the DNA of humans wait like sleeping dragons to wake and infect again--or so molecular biologist Kaye Lang believes. And now it looks as if her controversial theory is in fact chilling reality. For Christopher Dicken, a "virus hunter" at the Epidemic Intelligence Service, has pursued an elusive flu-like disease that strikes down expectant mothers and their offspring. Then a major discovery high in the Alps --the preserved bodies of a prehistoric family--reveals a shocking link: something that has slept in our genes for millions of years is waking up.
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76 |
Bear, Greg (6) |
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REVIEW
Recommended
SUMMARY
The 21st century was on the brink of nuclear confrontation when the 300 kilometer-long stone flashed out of nothingness and into Earth's orbit. NASA, NATO, and the UN sent explorers to the asteroid's surface...and discovered marvels and mysteries to drive researchers mad.
For the Stone was from space--but perhaps not our space; it came from the future--but perhaps not our future; and within the hollowed asteroid was Thistledown. The remains of a vanished civilization. A human--English, Russian, and Chinese-speaking--civilization. Seven vast chambers containing forests, lakes, rivers, hanging cities...
And museums describing the Death; the catastrophic war that was about to occur; the horror and the long winter that would follow. But while scientists and politicians bickered about how to use the information to stop the Death, the Stone yielded a secret that made even Earth's survival pale into insignificance.
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77 |
Bear, Greg (6) |
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REVIEW
A Fermi-Paradox exploration where a group of robots track down any "noisy" civilizations (i.e. Earth) and destroy them so they are not a threat to their ancient (and possibly extinct) creators. As good a theory as any.
SUMMARY
On July 26, Arthur Gordon learns that Europa, the sixth moon of Jupiter, has disappeared. Not hiding, not turned black, but gone.
On September 28th, Edward Shaw finds an error in the geological records of Death Valley. A cinder cone was left off the map. Could it be new? Or, stranger yet, could it be artificial? The answer may be lying beside it—a dying Guest who brings devastating news for Edward and for Planet Earth.
As more unexplained phenomena spring up around the globe—a granite mountain appearing in Australia, sounds emanating from the earth's core, flashes of light among the asteroids—it becomes clear to some that the end is approaching, and there is nothing we can do.
In The Forge of God, award-winning author Greg Bear describes the final days of the world on both a massive, scientific scale and in the everyday, emotional context of individual human lives. Facing the destruction of all they know, some people turn to God, others to their families, and a few turn to saviors promising escape from a planet being torn apart. Will they make it in time? And who gets left behind to experience the last moments of beauty and chaos on earth?
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78 |
Bear, Greg (6) |
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REVIEW
The book is so oddly written with so little reason as to why things are the way they are you just don't care by the end. This is not Bear's best work. Not a recommend
SUMMARY
A starship hurtles through the emptiness of space. Its destination—unknown. Its purpose—a mystery. Now, one man wakes up. Ripped from a dream of a new home—a new planet and the woman he was meant to love in his arms—he finds himself wet, naked, and freezing to death. The dark halls are full of monsters but trusting other survivors he meets might be the greater danger.
All he has are questions—Who is he? Where are they going? What happened to the dream of a new life? What happened to Hull 03?
All will be answered, if he can survive the ship.
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79 |
Bear, Greg (6) |
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REVIEW
A well written novel about inter-planetary struggles for independence. Really, it doesn't make sense that a different planet can be a colony forever.
SUMMARY
Moving Mars is a story of human courage and love set within the greater saga of a planetary liberation movement. Mars is a colonial world, governed by corporate interests on Earth. The citizens of Mars are hardworking, but held back by their lack of access to the best education, and the desire of the Earthly powers to keep the best new inventions for themselves. The young Martians -- the second and third generations born on Mars -- have little loyalty to Earth, and a strong belief that their planet can be independent. The revolution begins slowly, but will grow in power over decades of political struggle until it becomes irresistible.
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80 |
Bear, Greg (6) |
War Dogs(SciFi)
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REVIEW
A great SciFi war novel. I really enjoyed it.
SUMMARY
One more tour on the red.
Maybe my last.
They made their presence on Earth known thirteen years ago.
Providing technology and scientific insights far beyond what mankind was capable of. They became indispensable advisers and promised even more gifts that we just couldn't pass up. We called them Gurus.
It took them a while to drop the other shoe. You can see why, looking back.
It was a very big shoe, completely slathered in crap.
They had been hounded by mortal enemies from sun to sun, planet to planet, and were now stretched thin -- a One more tour on the red.
Maybe my last.
They made their presence on Earth known thirteen years ago.
Providing technology and scientific insights far beyond what mankind was capable of. They became indispensable advisers and promised even more gifts that we just couldn't pass up. We called them Gurus.
It took them a while to drop the other shoe. You can see why, looking back.
It was a very big shoe, completely slathered in crap.
They had been hounded by mortal enemies from sun to sun, planet to planet, and were now stretched thin -- and they needed our help.
And so our first bill came due. Skyrines like me were volunteered to pay the price. As always.
These enemies were already inside our solar system and were moving to establish a beachhead, but not on Earth. nd they needed our help.
And so our first bill came due. Skyrines like me were volunteered to pay the price. As always.
These enemies were already inside our solar system and were moving to establish a beachhead, but not on Earth.
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81 |
Beck, Grieg (1) |
This Green Hell: Alex Hunter 3(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Meh. This contained a whole lotta stupid - kinda like all those horror movies where people walk into rooms and DON'T turn on the lights. Please.
SUMMARY
In the jungles of Paraguay, Dr Aimee Weir and her team are in trouble. While drilling deep into the Earth a contagion strikes, their camp is quarantined, but workers start to vanish in the night. Is it fear of contamination - or has something far more lethal surfaced? Alex Hunter - code name Arcadian - and his Hotzone All-Forces Warfare Commandos are dropped in to the disaster area to do whatever it takes to stem the outbreak. But for the mission to be a success, the Arcadian must learn to master his violent inner demons long enough to confront the danger that not only threatens his own immediate survival, but that of mankind.
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82 |
Beckett, Samuel (1) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Not read
SUMMARY
Molloy, the first of the three masterpieces which constitute Samuel Beckett's famous trilogy, appeared in French in 1951, followed seven months later by Malone Dies (Malone meurt) and two years later by The Unnamable (L'Innommable). Few works of contemporary literature have been so universally acclaimed as central to their time and to our understanding of the human experience.
This is actually 3 novels, so someone cheated when they put these together on the best books list.
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83 |
Beerbohm, Max (1) |
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REVIEW
This is a farce written in 1911 and set in Oxford. And it's funny. Not laugh out loud funny (well, not too much laugh out loud.. a snicker here and there), but you can tell the author was writing camp. What I find really amusing is how 90 years later, another author, Jasper Fforde, would be writing similar camp... one mechanism hit me as odd, and I have to believe that the later author read the former. In Fforde's The Fourth Bear, 2 characters are babbling a load of nonsense, when one turns to the other and says, "That's a long way to go for a bad joke." To which the other replies, "Yes. I don't know how he gets away with it." - Thus the author refers to himself in the book (and not to kindly). Beerbohm does the same in a minor scene when he says that the main character, Zuleika, got some of her mannerisms of speaking after having had lunch with Max Beerbohm. He insinuates himself into his own book. The only other author I know of who has done that was Kurt Vonnegut in Slaughterhouse Five where a G.I. is having a bad time in an out house at which point Vonnegut states, "That was me. That was I. That was the author of this book." Anyway.. if you like Jasper Fforde... and don't mind something a little more dry and drool.. a little more highbrow, but just as insane (the entire class of Oxford commits suicide over the love of a woman, while the Gods watch, and the marble statues comment).. then you will probably enjoy this one too.
SUMMARY
Have you ever met a woman so beautiful you knew instinctively you would die for her? The Duke of Dorset, one of the many undergrads at Oxford University, sees as his only option committing suicide to prove his love for the astonishingly attractive Zuleika Dobson. A witty and engaging satire which pokes fun at the Edwardian upperclass college experience, Max Beerbohm's Zuleika Dobson makes all too plain the dangers of growing up wealthy and emotionally detached, while showing that when you place a high premium on aesthetics at the most impressionable time in one's life, the results really are "to die for."
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84 |
Belateche, Irving (1) |
Einstein's Secret(SciFi)
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REVIEW
An interesting book that twists history around with time travel. Apparently Einstein had a secret that he revealed on his deathbed. And someone wants it kept secret and is willing to kill to do it.
Most time travel books mess up. This one, though confusing, seems to keep it straight, but I found my interest waning 3/4 of the way through. Not a recommend
SUMMARY
It's 1955, and Albert Einstein lies in a hospital bed, deathly ill. He suddenly stirs, asks his assistant for paper and pen, then scribbles something down. Minutes later, he dies.
History tells us that Einstein jotted down equations that night. But struggling scholar Jacob Morgan believes that history is wrong. He's convinced that Einstein wrote a deathbed confession that night—a secret that the great scientist didn't want to take to his grave.
Jacob has spent his entire adult life obsessively hunting down that secret—with nothing to show for it but the scorn of his colleagues and the tattered remnants of a once-promising teaching career.
But now, thanks to a lucky break, Jacob has a chance to get his life back on track. His appointment as an adjunct professor at the University of Virginia is a fresh start, and he's vowed to end his pursuit of Einstein's secret.
Until history chooses this moment to deliver him one more clue. A clue that leads him to an impossible and unbelievable discovery:
Time travel.
And so begins the last leg of Jacob's desperate quest, one where history is not only changeable—it's changing. All by itself. And if Jacob doesn't rescue Einstein's secret, everything that he's ever known will disappear forever
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85 |
Bellow, Saul (3) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Not read
SUMMARY
The great novel of the American dream, of "the universal eligibility to be noble," Saul Bellow's third book charts the picaresque journey of one schemer, chancer, romantic, and holy fool: Augie March. An impulsively active, irresistibly charming and resolutely free-spirited man, Augie March leaves his family of poor Jewish immigrants behind and sets off in search of reality, fulfillment, and most importantly, love. During his exultant quest, he latches on to a series of dubious schemes – from stealing books and smuggling immigrants to training a temperamental eagle to hunt lizards – and strong-minded women – from the fiery, eagle-owning Thea Fenchel, to the sneaky and alluring Stella. As Augie travels from the depths of poverty to the peaks of worldly success, he stands as an irresistible, poignant incarnation of the American idea of freedom. Written in the cascades of brilliant, biting, ravishing prose that would come to be known as "Bellovian," The Adventures of Augie March re-wrote the language of Saul Bellow's generation.
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86 |
Bellow, Saul (3) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Not read
SUMMARY
Saul Bellow evokes all the rich colors and exotic customs of a highly imaginary Africa in this acclaimed comic novel about a middle-aged American millionaire who, seeking a new, more rewarding life, descends upon an African tribe. Henderson's awesome feats of strength and his unbridled passion for life win him the admiration of the tribe—but it is his gift for making rain that turns him from mere hero into messiah. A hilarious, often ribald story, Henderson the Rain King is also a profound look at the forces that drive a man through life.
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87 |
Bellow, Saul (3) |
Herzog Best Book Lists: 3,4 (Fiction - General)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Not read
SUMMARY
This is the story of Moses Herzog, a great sufferer, joker, mourner, and charmer. Although his life steadily disintegrates around him—he has failed as a writer and teacher, as a father, and has lost the affection of his wife to his best friends—Herzog sees himself as a survivor, both of his private disasters and those of the age. He writes unsent letters to friends and enemies, colleagues and famous people, revealing his wry perception of the world and the innermost secrets of his heart.
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88 |
Bely, Andrey (1) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Not read
SUMMARY
After enlisting in a revolutionary terrorist organization, the university student Nikolai Apollonovich Ableukhov is entrusted with a highly dangerous mission: to plant a bomb and assassinate a major government figure. But the real central character of the novel is the city of Petersburg at the beginning of the twentieth century, caught in the grip of political agitation and social unrest. Intertwining the worlds of history and myth, and parading a cast of unforgettable characters, Petersburg is a story of apocalypse and redemption played out through family dysfunction, conspiracy and murder.
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89 |
Benchley, Peter (1) |
The Island(Fiction - Thriller)
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REVIEW
Another thriller by the author of JAWS. This time a society of pirates is still living the life on an isolated island, and making things miserable for a family that comes within their reach. Not a bad read, but not great.
SUMMARY
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90 |
Benford, Gregory (9) |
Artifact(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Not a bad read.
SUMMARY
A small cube of black rock has been unearthed in a 3500-year-old Mycenaen tomb.
An incomprehensible object in an impossible place; its age, its purpose, and its origins are unknown.
Its discovery has unleashed a global storm of intrigue, theft and espionage, and is pushing nations to the brink of war.
Its substance has scientist baffled. And the miracle it contains does not belong on this Earth.
It is mystery and madness-an enigma with no equal in recorded history. It is mankind's greatest discovery. . .and worst nightmare.
It may have already obliterated a world. Ours is next.
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91 |
Benford, Gregory (9) |
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REVIEW
I remember enjoying this when I first read it many years ago. But re-reading the plot summary - there is so much here that only bits and peices still stick.
Benfor's work is so good, normally, that this complicated plot must have made complete sense at the time.
SUMMARY
Radio astronomy on the Moon in 2021 reveals the presence of life by a nearby red dwarf, on a tide-locked planet.[1]
To investigate them and the message they are transmitting, Earth's governments repurpose a space colony that was to be stationed at one of Earth's Lagrangian points and convert it into Lancer, a Bussard ramjet powered interstellar ship based on the design of a crashed alien ship discovered in the Mare Marginis on the Moon, and send it to investigate.
In 2061, it arrives and discovers a primitive biological race of nomads broadcasting en-masse with organs adapted to emit and receive electromagnetic radiation; their transmissions were blurred by various nomads falling out of synch with the rest. Close up, the transmission is discovered to be an old radio show from the 1950s - the signal the EMs (as they are called) consider best to reply to Earth with.
A curious satellite is discovered in orbit, from at least as far back as a million years — roughly when an anomalous meteor shower destroyed the EMs' civilization.
On Earth, international commerce is brought to a standstill when mysterious spaceships drop sea creatures dubbed "Swarmers" and "Skimmers" (for their behaviour; Swarmers swarm ships and head-butt them until they sink, and Skimmers simply jump and skim around like dolphins). They begin multiplying and the Swarmers begin attacking humans and all their works on the seas, high or otherwise.
The Ra expedition's first contacts go poorly. The attempt to examine and enter the more interesting of the total of two satellites prompts a massive retaliation by the satellite with plasma weapons that kills most of the crew involved in the attempt. The attempt to contact the EMs on Isis does not go well either; the EMs are confused by the presence of a human on the surface. They had been expecting a reply from Earth itself. In the confusion and surprise, they attempted to simultaneously broadcast their lengthy and elaborate summary of their history and culture, and also to see in more detail the messenger. Unfortunately, in order to see in radar, radar must be broadcast, and the narrowing gaze of the EMs and all the other transmissions literally cook the communications specialist alive. The standby team misinterprets this tragic incident as a deliberate attack and massacres the lot of EMs.
Nigel works with the mathematicians and other experts to interpret the original transmission and later ones. His analysis reveals that their technologically advanced Space-age civilization had attracted the attention of machines, and perished in a massive and prolonged deliberate orbital bombardment that levelled their cities, infrastructure, and civilization. The bombardment of asteroids was severe enough to crack open the crust of the planet and permanently alter for the worse the EMs' ecosphere. The EMs drew to the utmost on what was left of their genetic engineering and biology, and radically altered their bodies to use silicon and transistors for a nervous system and so broadcast; the watching satellite is programmed to react to high technology, not inbuilt features of organisms, so this way the EMs will be able to broadcast their message and possibly help out other biological races.
No sooner has some genuine two-way communication been established than new orders come from Earth, to move on to a new system where they think the Skimmers and Swarmers may've come from originally. En route, they preoccupy themselves analysing reports from the far-flung space probes: everywhere except Earth that traces could be found, anomalies like other Watchers abound.
Walmsley theorizes that a machine-based race that was systematically destroying or guarding planets supporting organic life was responsible for these anomalies; the Swarmers represent a first strike at Earth, which had thus far eluded the machines' attempts to kill it, since the assigned Watcher (as Nigel calls the satellites) was destroyed by the Mare Marginis wreck. His theories are generally disregarded as being too speculative; the sober consensus agrees that Watchers are simply a common form of weaponry left over from the suicide of biological races, and the Swarmer invasion simply a grab for a fresh and relatively unspoiled world.
At the next system, Ross 128, a moon like Ganymede is found with a Watcher around it. Initially it is taken as a disproof of Walmsley's Rule that Watchers will appear around any depopulated world that had once harboured technologically advanced biological life, but the de facto leader (Ted), who has always disliked Walmsley, attempts to covertly force Walmsley into hibernation until the long-planned-for return to Earth. Walmsley breaks out part-way through the necessary medical preparations and escapes to the moon in a submersible. Avoiding the people the Lancer sends out in pursuit, he discovers a much-reduced sapient civilization that had links to the EMs before the Watcher came. The Watcher prevents them from ever reaching the surface and thus from developing much technology, but it cannot complete its task and kill them—they are protected by ten kilometres of ice, which Walmsley remarks would insulate them from even the worst the Watcher could do: cause the sun of that system to go nova. The two are in a stalemate.
During the standoff, news comes in from Earth (delayed nine years by the speed of light) that the Swarmers have begun land invasions; the tense superpowers each suspect each other, and escalate the conflict into a full-scale multi-party nuclear war. The machines, who had attempted to engineer just such an internecine conflict (more efficient than attacking a unified humanity), send their flotilla against Earth, when the defences are denuded, destroyed, or depleted.
This grim news galvanizes the crew to do something. They agree to reactivate the fusion drive and turn the plume on the Watcher. This tactic cripples the Watcher, but its retaliation does even more damage to Lancer; worst of all, the drive system is destroyed.
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92 |
Benford, Gregory (9) |
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REVIEW
Part of the Galactic Center series that didn't do it for me
SUMMARY
None available
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93 |
Benford, Gregory (9) |
Galactic Center 3: Great Sky River(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Book 3 of a series that had so much promise. It's not bad, but it gets bad later
SUMMARY
The third novel in the award-winning author's classic Galactic Center series is available once again. "A challenging, pacesetting work of hard science fiction that should not be missed."--"Los Angeles Times."
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94 |
Benford, Gregory (9) |
Galactic Center 4: Tides of Light(SciFi)
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REVIEW
I keep reading hoping it will get better. Another in the Galactic Center series
SUMMARY
None available
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95 |
Benford, Gregory (9) |
Galactic Center 5: Furious Gulf(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Didn't make it for me. Part of a series the looked SO promising.
SUMMARY
Escaping from the genocidal forces of their home world, the last survivors of Snowglade, under the command of Captain Killeen, journey toward the Galactic Center while facing hunger, desperation, and distrust. Reprint. PW. AB.
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96 |
Benford, Gregory (9) |
Galactic Center 6: Sailing Bright Eternity(SciFi)
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REVIEW
So bad I don't think I finished it.
SUMMARY
None available
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97 |
Benford, Gregory (9) |
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REVIEW
I love me a SciFi where the science is good. And with these authors, the science is always good.
SUMMARY
David Brin and Gregory Benford come together again to issue a new edition of their bold collaboration about our near human future in space, planting our boots . . . and staking our destiny . . . on becoming the People of the Comet. Prescient and scientifically accurate, Heart of the Comet is known as one of the great "hard sf" novels of the 1980s.
Prescient and scientifically accurate, Heart of the Comet is known as one of the great "hard sf" novels of the 1980s. First published in 1986, it tells the story of an ambitious manned mission to visit Halley's Comet and alter its orbit, to mine it for resources. But all too soon, native cells— that might once have brought life to Earth—begin colonizing the colonists. As factions battle over the comet's future . . . and that of Earth . . . only love, courage and ingenuity can avert disaster, and possibly spark a new human destiny.
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98 |
Benford, Gregory (9) |
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REVIEW
A really enjoyable TIME wise novel (i.e. No time travel, but messages sent back in time to affect the present, but not so much as to cause a paradox). Given that time travel/message plots are so hard to get right, this one really works.
The author of Tides of Light offers his Nebula Award-winning SF classic--a combination of hard science, bold speculation, and human drama. In the year 1998, a group of scientists works desperatey to communicate with the scientists of 1962, warning of an ecological disaster that will destroy the oceans in the future--if it is not averted in the past.
SUMMARY
The story is written from two viewpoints, equidistant from the novel's publication in 1980. The first thread is set in a 1998 ravaged by ecological disasters such as algal blooms and diebacks on the brink of large scale extinctions. Various other events are mentioned in passing, such as student riots and an event of nuclear terrorism against New York City which took place before the events of the novel. This thread follows a group of scientists in the United Kingdom connected with the University of Cambridge and their attempts to warn the past of the impending disaster by sending tachyon-induced messages to the astronomical position the Earth occupied in 1962–1963. Given the faster-than-light nature of the tachyon, these messages will effectively reach the past. These efforts are led by John Renfrew, an Englishman, and Gregory Markham, an American most likely modeled on Benford himself.[5]
The second thread is set in the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), in La Jolla, California, in 1962 where a young scientist, Gordon Bernstein, discovers anomalous noise in a physics experiment relating to spontaneous resonance and indium antimonide. He and his student assistant, Albert Cooper (also likely based on the author and his experiences at UCSD), discover that the noise is coming in bursts timed to form Morse code.
The resulting message is made of staccato sentence fragments and jumbled letters, due to the 1998 team's efforts to avoid a grandfather paradox. Their aim is to give the past researchers enough information to start efforts on solving the pending ecological crisis, but not enough that the crisis will be entirely solved (thus making a signal to the past unnecessary and creating a paradox). Due to the biological nature of the message, Professor Bernstein shares the message with a professor of biology, Michael Ramsey. Since the message also gives astronomical coordinates, he also shares it with Saul Shriffer, a fictional scientist who is said to have worked with Frank Drake on Project Ozma. Initially, these characters fail to understand the true meaning of the message. Ramsey believes it to be an intercepted military dispatch hinting at Soviet bioterrorism, while Shriffer thinks the message is of extraterrestrial origin. Shriffer goes public with this theory, mentioning Bernstein in his findings. However, Bernstein's overseer, Isaac Lakin, is skeptical of the messages and wants Bernstein to keep working on his original project and ignore the signal. As a result of this interruption in their experimentation, Bernstein is denied a promotion and Cooper fails a candidacy examination. The signal also exacerbates difficulties in Bernstein's relationship with his girlfriend, Penny.
In 1998, Ian Peterson recovers a safe deposit box in La Jolla containing a piece of paper indicating that the messages were received. Meanwhile, it is clear that the viral nature of the algal bloom is spreading it faster and through more mediums than originally expected. Strange yellow clouds that have been appearing are said to be a result of the viral material being absorbed through the water cycle, and it soon affects the planet's agriculture as well, resulting in widespread cases of food poisoning. Flying to the United States, Markham is killed in a plane crash when the pilots fly too close to one of the clouds and experience seizures.
In the past story line, now advanced into 1963, Bernstein refuses to give up on the signals. He is rewarded when the signal noise is also observed in a laboratory at Columbia University (a nod "Tachyons were the sort of audacious idea that comes to young minds used to roving over the horizon of conventional thought. Because of Feinberg I later set part of my tachyon novel at Columbia" towards the inventor of the tachyon concept, Gerald Feinberg of Columbia). Using hints in the message, Ramsey replicates the conditions of the bloom in a controlled experiment and realizes the danger it represents. Bernstein finds out that the astronomical coordinates given in the message represent where the Earth will be in 1998 due to the solar apex. He also receives a more coherent, despairing message from the future. Having built a solid case, Bernstein goes public and publishes his results.
This decision has monumental consequences. On November 22, a high school student in Dallas is sent by his physics teacher to the Texas School Book Depository to get a copy of Bernstein's findings. There he interrupts Lee Harvey Oswald's assassination attempt on President John F. Kennedy, attacking the shooter and sending the would-be fatal third shot awry. Though seriously injured, Kennedy survives. This paradox creates an alternate universe and forever ends the contact with the original 1998.
The concluding chapters portray the 1998 of the original timeline as a bleak, failing world, the intensified ecological disaster taking a noticeable toll on the human way of life. Peterson retreats to a fortified country farmhouse which he has obviously prepared well in advance. Renfrew continues to send out signals (including the more coherent one that Gordon receives) until the building's generator gives out. Before it does, however, he receives a signal purportedly from the year 2349.
In the final chapter, set in the alternate 1974, an awards ceremony is held for achievement in science. In light of Kennedy's survival, the United States President giving out the awards is William Scranton, who is said to have defeated Bobby Kennedy due to a telephone tapping scandal. The scientists whose work stemmed from the signal are honored, including Bernstein, who receives the Enrico Fermi Prize for his discovery of the tachyon.
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99 |
Bennett, Arnold (1) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Not read
SUMMARY
First published in 1908, The Old Wives' Tale is widely considered as one of Arnold Bennett's finest works.
The Old Wives' Tale tells the story of the Baines sisters, shy, retiring Constance and defiant, romantic Sophia, over the course of nearly half a century.
Bennett traces the sisters' lives from childhood in their father's drapery shop in provincial Bursley during the mid-Victorian era, through their married lives, to the modern industrial age, when they are reunited as old women.
The setting moves from the Five Towns of Staffordshire to exotic and cosmopolitan Paris, while the action moves from the subdued domestic routine of the Baines household to the siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War.
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100 |
Berger, Thomas (1) |
Regiment of Women(SciFi)
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REVIEW
The book is set in a future where women rule the world. And they rule it with an iron fist. Men are excluded from all positions of power and relegated to second-class status. Society has experienced a complete role reversal of the sexes. The women are the politicians, business leaders and generals, while the men are secretaries, clerks and maids. Men are not permitted to hold political office or even vote, serve in the military or the police force.
This was part of a College course on SciFi - and boy was it extreme. Worth a gander if you like over the top satire
SUMMARY
Once again, Thomas Berger brings a satiric and irreverent perspective to the human experience, evoking a world that most dare not even imagine and effectively dismantling all existing definitions of sex and gender. "Imagined with such ferocity and glee that we assent to it almost in spite of ourselves . . . a brilliant accomplishment by one of out best novelists."--New York Times Book Review.
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101 |
Berry, Mike (1) |
Xenoform(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Well.. this is one of those books that throws out so many ideas about future culture and life in a blinding mash that the fact that it's just not very good seems to get lost in the translation. Like - Oh look at all the sparkly lights!!! Just doesn't hold up.
SUMMARY
City Six is a dark and brutal place, mired in crime and corruption. Gangs rule the streets of the Undercity and every private police force is for sale. The rich live in secure enclaves, oblivious to the suffering and violence that plague the city's poor. Sinister and powerful corporations trade stolen bodymods, fearless of the law, and human life itself is just another saleable commodity.
In this harsh environment an unprecedented threat is emerging. Whistler and her team of professional abductors start to see a new parasitic organ in the bodies of their victims. Debian, a young cyber-criminal turned commercial hacker, finds a terrifying computer virus in the databanks of an AI-research company.
An unknown enemy is attacking the city, altering the populace into nightmarish creatures and decimating computer systems. It seems unstoppable.
Can these unlikely heroes find a way to fight it? Or will City Six fall prey to an environmental and technological catastrophe on an unimaginable scale?
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102 |
Bester, Alfred (2) |
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REVIEW
An interesting idea, worth a novel exploration.
SUMMARY
Winner of the First Hugo Award.
In a world policed by telepaths, Ben Reich plans to commit a crime that hasn't been heard of in 70 years: murder. That's the only option left for Reich, whose company is losing a 10-year death struggle with rival D'Courtney Enterprises. Terrorized in his dreams by The Man With No Face and driven to the edge after D'Courtney refuses a merger offer, Reich murders his rival and bribes a high-ranking telepath to help him cover his tracks. But while police prefect Lincoln Powell knows Reich is guilty, his telepath's knowledge is a far cry from admissible evidence.
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103 |
Bester, Alfred (2) |
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REVIEW
It was only about halfway through this book that I realized it was writing in 1957. (Reading in 2009) Not bad.. Not bad at all. Sort of a Count of Monte Cristo in Space (not my phrase by the way)
SUMMARY
Marooned in outer space after an attack on his ship, Nomad, Gulliver Foyle lives to obsessively pursue the crew of a rescue vessel that had intended to leave him to die.
When it comes to pop culture, Alfred Bester (1913-1987) is something of an unsung hero. He wrote radio scripts, screenplays, and comic books (in which capacity he created the original Green Lantern Oath). But Bester is best known for his science-fiction novels, and The Stars My Destination may be his finest creation. With its sly potshotting at corporate skullduggery, The Stars My Destination seems utterly contemporary, and has maintained its status as an underground classic for fifty years. (Bester fans should also note that iPicturebooks has reprinted The Demolished Man, which won the very first Hugo Award in 1953.)
Alfred Bester was among the first important authors of contemporary science fiction. His passionate novels of worldly adventure, high intellect, and tremendous verve, The Stars My Destination and the Hugo Award winning The Demolished Man, established Bester as a s.f. grandmaster, a reputation that was ratified by the Science Fiction Writers of America shortly before his death. Bester also was an acclaimed journalist for Holiday magazine, a reviewer for the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and even a writer for Superman.
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104 |
Bischoff, David F. (4) |
Day of the Dragonstar(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Part of a series, that sounds good, but I can't recall reading it.
SUMMARY
An artificial Jurassic world spins through space, kilometers long and made to order, build to endure for an eternity. An enticing mystery for the humans of the Heinlein exploratory mission, it holds deadly secrets from the universe's savage past.
INSIDE THE MILES-LONG SPACESHIP IT WAS 160 MILLION YEARS AGO ...
Day after artificial day, outwitting the carnivorous saurians that had devoured their shipmates, the two survivors of the Heinlein expedition to the mysterious object known as Artifact One picked their way through the vast, horizonless jungle that filled the hull of the star-traveling terrerium.
They did what a man and a woman fighting together to survive usually do:
They prayed for rescue.
They searched for a way to escape.
They fell in love
Then, from a rise in the forest, they saw a wall.
And something on the wall saw them.
THE SENTRY
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105 |
Bischoff, David F. (4) |
Night of the Dragonstar(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Another in the Dragonstar series about a giant space craft that contains a Jurrasic Park - where explorers try to survive.
On a a miles-long spaceship on a journey between the stars ...
After establishing communications with the sentient dinosaurs aboard the gigantic alien warship Dragonstar, the human exploration forces were ready to reveal their accomplishments to an eager public ... then disaster struck!
During a live holovision broadcast, something made the cooperative Saurians go berserk—and begin slaughtering and eating their former friends.
At the same moment, the Dragonstar’s access hatches closed down, imprisoning all aboard her.
SUMMARY
On a a miles-long spaceship on a journey between the stars ...
After establishing communications with the sentient dinosaurs aboard the gigantic alien warship Dragonstar, the human exploration forces were ready to reveal their accomplishments to an eager public ... then disaster struck!
During a live holovision broadcast, something made the cooperative Saurians go berserk—and begin slaughtering and eating their former friends.
At the same moment, the Dragonstar's access hatches closed down, imprisoning all aboard her.
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106 |
Bischoff, David F. (4) |
Nightworld(SciFi)
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REVIEW
I do remember this one as not bad. Not usually into vampires, etc. but this was early on in my reading years.
SUMMARY
By day it was paradise. By night it was a seething hell. Nightworld — where for centuries werewolves, dragons, griffins, and vampires served a computerized Prince of Darkness …
Where every sunset brought forth a call for the most heinous acts imaginable by the most frightening creature of all … Where a courageous young lord and a determined outworlder set forth on a journey of innumerable terrors to destroy the computer creature known as Satan in its own technologically horrifying haven of hell!
"Wonderful! A journey in the company of odd travelers through a landscape of old menaces newly twisted — a cleanly written adventure story." — Roger Zelazny
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107 |
Bischoff, David F. (4) |
Vampires of Nightworld(SciFi)
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REVIEW
More of the Nightworld series
SUMMARY
For five hundred years a mad computer scientist who called himself Satan ruled the nights of the planet Styx, each sundown unleashing hordes of cyborg creatures — werewolves, vampires, dragons, and worse — to terrorize what had once been the idyllic Victorian villages of an interstellar pleasure world. Then Satan was killed by Geoffrey Turner and young Oliver Dolan — and things grew worse, for Satan's creations, left to their own devices, quickly began to terrorize the days as well as the nights. It was left to Oliver Dolan to pacify the creatures and defeat Satan's last, most insidious weapon — before all men were turned into Zombies.
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108 |
Black, Alan (3) |
Chewing Rocks(SciFi)
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REVIEW
A bit of libertarian political proselytizing in here, but all in all a pretty good read
Miners in the asteroid belt and the conflicts that take place when one group tries to pirate another. Seems justice is served when one person uses might to make right... not very just, really, but the flaws in such an idea are not discussed. The author is rather starry eyed about how all that would work, but hell, it's his book.
SUMMARY
Chastity Snowden Whyte just wanted to mine for rocks, metal and ice in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Rock mining in space was all she knew. It was all she was good at doing. She was comfortable living alone as the captain of her mining ship the Sedona. Normally she managed with only infrequent trips to the planetoid Ceres for resupply.
She didn't want to have to make extra trips back to base because of equipment failure. She didn't want to become a mining tutor for a group of newcomers from Earth. And she certainly didn't want to get entangled in corporate conspiracies, piracy, kidnapping, murder and worst of all…politics.
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109 |
Black, Alan (3) |
Empty Space(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Okay.. I mean.. WHAT THE HELL. The main character is a bit of a psychopath. He kills people who need killing, and he decides who needs it. Still, at times you are rooting for him. I guess it's a little like DEXTER.
Once again the author is showing his political beliefs a little heavy handedly, but then it is his book. Mildly entertaining.
SUMMARY
York August Sixteen was abandoned as a baby, abused and molested as a child, beaten and harassed as a teen, and had his rightful place in the Republic's Space Navy stolen from him. Fighting back against huge government systems was useless. Dispensing justice on an individual case-by-case basis was more to his liking, yet even that was taken away when he was stationed on a lonely communication space station. York's life would change when he decides to seek justice for people even less fortunate than him.
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110 |
Black, Alan (3) |
Metal Boxes(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Its a coming of age novel, but really, not very realistic. I mean, this kid manages to convert and engine from regular to hyper-space and back a couple of times, and NO ONE else has ever thought of this. I call B.S. And they pop out of space right next to a habitable planet; and then again later right next to a space station - I call B.S. And then they make this midshipman the Captain of the ship and he wins and unwinnable battle... Just too much B.S. to be a good book. Not recommended.
SUMMARY
Coming of age can be hard for anyone. But for Blackmon Perry Stone it is life threatening. At 15, he barely manages to graduate from the empire's cadet training by a talent for unusual problem solving. He has trouble settling into navy life, but life becomes harder when he uncovers a ring of thieves aboard the huge ship. Life becomes difficult when they killed him.
Stone is ejected into hyperspace in an escape pod without hyperspace engines. Fully expecting to die, he reconfigures the sub-light engine to escape the inescapable. To his surprise it works, but only well enough to do little more than crash on an uncharted planet. It will surprise him if he can make the engine work again, but not as much as it will surprise everyone else if he can come back from the dead.
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111 |
Blair, John (1) |
Bright Angel(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read to long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
None available.
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112 |
Blish, James (1) |
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REVIEW
Sounds like they found Spock
SUMMARY
Father Ruiz-Sanchez is a dedicated man--a priest who is also a scientist, and a scientist who is also a human being. He has found no insoluble conflicts in his beliefs or his ethics . . . until he is sent to Lithia. There he comes upon a race of aliens who are admirable in every way except for their total reliance on cold reason; they are incapable of faith or belief.
Confronted with a profound scientific riddle and ethical quandary, Father Ruiz-Sanchez soon finds himself torn between the teachings of his faith, the teachings of his science, and the inner promptings of his humanity. There is only one solution: He must accept an ancient and unforgivable heresy--and risk the futures of both worlds
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113 |
Blume, Judy (1) |
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REVIEW
This book is really enjoyable. A coming of age novel for a girl (in my experience, coming of age stories tend to be about boys). Margaret has many questions and many challenges, and needs guidance. Some of it comes from family, some of it comes from friends, and some of it comes from experience. Just like for all of us.
An excellent read... A great look into her life as she enters a time of amazing change in a girls life. I recommend this one.
SUMMARY
Margaret Simon, almost twelve, has just moved from New York City to the suburbs, and she's anxious to fit in with her new friends. When she's asked to join a secret club she jumps at the chance. But when the girls start talking about boys, bras, and getting their first periods, Margaret starts to wonder if she's normal. There are some things about growing up that are hard for her to talk about, even with her friends. Lucky for Margaret, she's got someone else to confide in . . . someone who always listens
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114 |
Bohacz, Kevin (1) |
Immortality(SciFi)
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REVIEW
I can't even remember reading this. And a review of the synopsis didn't ring any bells.
It was that memorable.
SUMMARY
Without warning, something has gone terribly awry. In the remote and unnoticed places of the world, small pockets of death begin occurring. As the initially isolated extinctions spread, the world's eyes focus on this unimaginable horror and chaos. Out of the ecological imbalance, something new and extraordinary is evolving and surviving to fill the voids left by these extinctions. Evolution is operating in ways no one could have expected and environmental damage may be the catalyst. Once discovered, this knowledge changes everything....
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115 |
Bolton, Johanna M. (2) |
The Alien Within(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read to long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
Winter turned her back on a tragic past and dedicated her life to the Federation Space Service. Ever since she had been a model starcaptain, decisive, emotionless, and utterly committed. But then she rescued Shaw, a smuggler and spy with powers no one had ever seen before. Suddenly Winter is a target for assassination by a powerful alien nation and by the Federation itself! Now, for the first time, Winter found herself questioning her orders …
The Alien Within was first published by Ballantine Del Rey in 1988
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116 |
Bolton, Johanna M. (2) |
Mission: Tori(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read to long ago to rate
SUMMARY
Mier Sliver was one of the Federation's top agents, trained, honed, and genetically enhanced. Her uncanny empathy & enhanced vision had carried her through 17 years of Security's deadliest missions. When two diplomatic missions to a newly discovered planet failed, Mier was suddenly on her way to the most dangerous sector of space with an android partner. All the clues led straight to Tori, but on that wild planet, the very assets that had made Mier the best would now be her greatest liability. It also turned out that the problem was not in deep space, but much closer to home. Evidence pointed to a traitor within Security itself! Could Mier and her android partner find the answers and save themselves before the terrifying nightmare spawned on Tori destroyed them both? And what would happen when Mier discovered the terrible secret that her mechanical partner was keeping from her?
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117 |
Bolton, John (1) |
The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoi(History)
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REVIEW
Knowing how Trump is, there really is nothing in here that is shocking. President Trump acts like he does, and John Bolton made a diary of it. There is very little surprising here. Plenty of stories of advisors trying to steer Trump away from something stupid.. constantly steering because once Trump got and idea into his head it was nearly impossible to dissuade him that he is wrong. Trump is never wrong. Historians will be interested in this book. I was hoping it would reveal what exactly it was that Putin had on Trump. But.. no luck.
SUMMARY
As President Trump’s National Security Advisor, John Bolton spent many of his 453 days in the room where it happened, and the facts speak for themselves.
The result is a White House memoir that is the most comprehensive and substantial account of the Trump Administration, and one of the few to date by a top-level official. With almost daily access to the President, John Bolton has produced a precise rendering of his days in and around the Oval Office. What Bolton saw astonished him: a President for whom getting reelected was the only thing that mattered, even if it meant endangering or weakening the nation. “I am hard-pressed to identify any significant Trump decision during my tenure that wasn’t driven by reelection calculations,” he writes. In fact, he argues that the House committed impeachment malpractice by keeping their prosecution focused narrowly on Ukraine when Trump’s Ukraine-like transgressions existed across the full range of his foreign policy—and Bolton documents exactly what those were, and attempts by him and others in the Administration to raise alarms about them.
He shows a President addicted to chaos, who embraced our enemies and spurned our friends, and was deeply suspicious of his own government. In Bolton’s telling, all this helped put Trump on the bizarre road to impeachment. “The differences between this presidency and previous ones I had served were stunning,” writes Bolton, who worked for Reagan, Bush 41, and Bush 43. He discovered a President who thought foreign policy is like closing a real estate deal—about personal relationships, made-for-TV showmanship, and advancing his own interests. As a result, the US lost an opportunity to confront its deepening threats, and in cases like China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea ended up in a more vulnerable place.
Bolton’s account starts with his long march to the West Wing as Trump and others woo him for the National Security job. The minute he lands, he has to deal with Syria’s chemical attack on the city of Douma, and the crises after that never stop. As he writes in the opening pages, “If you don’t like turmoil, uncertainty, and risk—all the while being constantly overwhelmed with information, decisions to be made, and sheer amount of work—and enlivened by international and domestic personality and ego conflicts beyond description, try something else.”
The turmoil, conflicts, and egos are all there—from the upheaval in Venezuela, to the erratic and manipulative moves of North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, to the showdowns at the G7 summits, the calculated warmongering by Iran, the crazy plan to bring the Taliban to Camp David, and the placating of an authoritarian China that ultimately exposed the world to its lethal lies. But this seasoned public servant also has a great eye for the Washington inside game, and his story is full of wit and wry humor about how he saw it played.
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118 |
Bond, Jason Andrew (1) |
Hammerhead(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Sounds exciting. Wish I could recall it better. Parts are there, so it must have held my interest for a bit, but now - not so much
SUMMARY
Jeffrey Holt tears apart decommissioned ships that have been crash-landed in the Nevada desert. He's a ship breaker, no one of consequence—just as he wants it. However, decades after his role in the world mattered, someone is trying to kill him. Searching for a reason, he tears into the bridge of a derelict Kappa-Class freighter and finds corpses. As he stands on the bridge considering how to stay alive, a hand grips his leg…
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119 |
Bova, Ben (10) |
Colony(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read so long ago I cannot remember it to rate it.
SUMMARY
"The Earth has been poisoned by pollution, choked by overpopulation, and ravaged by the mindless greed of power-hungry corporations. A fragile peace is threatened by landless revolutionaries and global anarchy seems imminent.
Yet a single ray of hope remains..."
Island One is a celestial utopia, and David Adams is its most perfect creation—a man with a brain as advanced as any computer and a body free of human frailties. But David is a prisoner—a captive of the colony that created him—destined to spend the days of his life in an island-sized cylinder that circles a doomed and desperate home planet. Thousands of miles below him, a world trembles; its people cringe in terror and despair in anticipation of an impending apocalypse. And as Earth's boundaries, fate has cast one extraordinary human in the role of savior. For David Adams has a plan—one that will ultimately ensure the salvation of his species... or its annihilation.
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120 |
Bova, Ben (10) |
The Dueling Machine(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read so long ago I cannot recall to rate
SUMMARY
The trouble with great ideas is that someone is sure to expend enormous effort and ingenuity figuring out how to louse them up. Exactly as the title implies.. machines for dueling - but then...
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121 |
Bova, Ben (10) |
Mars, Inc.(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read too long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
How do you get to the Red Planet? Not via a benighted government program trapped in red tape and bound by budget constrictions, that's for sure. No, what it will take is a helping of adventure, science, corporate powerplays, a generous dollop of seduction—both in and out of the boardroom—and money, money, money!
Art Thrasher knows this. He is a man with a driving vision: send humans to Mars. The government has utterly failed, but Thrasher has got the plan to accomplish such a feat: form a "club" or billionaires to chip in one billion a year until the dream is accomplished. But these are men and women who are tough cookies, addicted to a profitable bottom-line, and disdainful of pie-in-the-sky dreamers who want to use their cash to make somebody else's dreams come true.
But Thrasher is different from the other dreamers in an important regard: he's a billionaire himself, and the president of a successful company. But it's going to take all his wiles as a captain of industry and master manipulator of business and capital to overcome setbacks and sabotage—and get a rocket full of scientist, engineers, visionaries, and dreamers on their way to the Red Planet.
The man for the job has arrived. Art Thrasher is prepared to do whatever it takes to humans on Mars—or die trying!
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122 |
Bova, Ben (10) |
Privateers(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read so long ago I cannot remember it to rate.
SUMMARY
America Has Ceded The Heavens To The Tyrants -- And The Renegades.
The U.S. has abandoned its quest for the stars, and an old enemy has moved in to fill the void. The potential wealth of the universe is now in malevolent hands. Rebel billionaire Dan Randolph -- possessor of the largest privately owned company in space -- intends to weaken the stranglehold the new despotic masters of the solar system have on the lucrative ore industry. But when the mineral-rich asteroid he sets in orbit around the Earth is commandeered by the enemy, and his unarmed workers are slaughtered in cold blood, the course of Randolph's life is changed forever. Now cataclysm is aimed at the exposed heart of America -- a potential catastrophe that Randolph himself inadvertently set in motion. And the maverick entrepreneur must use his skills, cunning, and vast resources to strike out at his foes hard, fast and with ruthless precision -- and wear proudly the mantle that fate thrust upon him: space
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123 |
Bova, Ben (10) |
The Starcrossed(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read to long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
Television in the 21st century, where ratings are everything... Physicist Bill Oxford has just developed a device that can make the networks even more powerful, and now he is caught in the most vicious battle of the future: the ratings war!
A delightful bit of fun in the future, poking fun at those who should be poked.
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124 |
Bova, Ben (10) |
Test of Fire(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
A solar flare destroys everything in the Eastern hemisphere. The rest of civilization goes under when Soviet military leaders assume the flare is a nuke attack and unleash their ICBMs. A small community survives at a moon base but faces serious survival problems. The biggest one being that lack of fissionable material forces them to preiodically go back to Earth and forage for reactor rods. On one foray Daniel Morgan, the unofficial moonbase leader, refuses to come back and hoards up the available fissionables in an attempt to force the moon people to make a permanent connection with Earth. After 20 or so years, his wife (the official leader) sends her son Alec back with a quasi-military unit to get the rods.....and to get back at dear old dad for walking out on everyone. Read to long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
A solar flare destroys everything in the Eastern hemisphere. The rest of civilization goes under when Soviet military leaders assume the flare is a nuke attack and unleash their ICBMs. A small community survives at a moon base but faces serious survival problems. The biggest one being that lack of fissionable material forces them to preiodically go back to Earth and forage for reactor rods. On one foray Daniel Morgan, the unofficial moonbase leader, refuses to come back and hoards up the available fissionables in an attempt to force the moon people to make a permanent connection with Earth. After 20 or so years, his wife (the official leader) sends her son Alec back with a quasi-military unit to get the rods.....and to get back at dear old dad for walking out on everyone.
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125 |
Bova, Ben (10) |
To Save the Sun(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Earth's Sun will explode, not millions of years hence but in mere lifetimes—violently enough to scour Earth clean and leave the Empire of the Hundred Worlds adrift.
The Empire's scientists deem that nothing can be done. The age of heroism is past: this is the long, stagnant afternoon of the human race.
Until—over massive opposition—a single young woman makes her way to the Emperor with that rarity, a new scientific insight... and a plan, flowing from its implications, to mobilize humanity's slumbering energies toward a thousand year effort of applied astrophysics. Of engineering carried out on the hearts of stars. A plan to save the Earth. To save the Sun. I vaguely recall liking this one. The idea was interesting.
SUMMARY
Earth's Sun will explode, not millions of years hence but in mere lifetimes—violently enough to scour Earth clean and leave the Empire of the Hundred Worlds adrift.
The Empire's scientists deem that nothing can be done. The age of heroism is past: this is the long, stagnant afternoon of the human race.
Until—over massive opposition—a single young woman makes her way to the Emperor with that rarity, a new scientific insight... and a plan, flowing from its implications, to mobilize humanity's slumbering energies toward a thousand year effort of applied astrophysics. Of engineering carried out on the hearts of stars. A plan to save the Earth. To save the Sun.
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126 |
Bova, Ben (10) |
Voyagers(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read to long ago to rate
SUMMARY
Keith Stoner, ex-astronaut turned physicist, knows the signal that his research station is receiving from space is not random. Whatever it is, it's real.
And it's headed straight for Earth.
He'll do anything to be the first man to go out to confront this enigma. Even lose the only woman he's ever really loved.
And maybe start a world war.
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127 |
Bova, Ben (10) |
Voyagers II: The Alien Within(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read so long ago I cannot recall to rate.
SUMMARY
Eighteen years ago, astronaut Keith Stoner had been the American member of a joint U.S.-Soviet mission to capture an alien ship that had entered the solar system. It was the greatest adventure in the history of Earth--but disaster struck when a bomb placed on the Soviet craft forced its recall. Stoner refused to return to Earth, staying behind in the strange ship alone where he fell into suspended animation.
Jo Camerata, the ambitious young student who fell in love with Stoner, is now head of Vanguard Industries. Jo's dogged determination has forced the recovery of the alien ship, and now her company is in control of the vast new technology--and in control of Keith Stoner. What Camerata doesn't know, however, is that when Stoner wakes, someone else awakens, too. The alien presence in Stoner's mind that has kept him alive all these years is now free, and intends to explore the world.
And it will let nothing stand in its way.
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128 |
Bova, Ben (10) |
Voyagers III: Star Brothers(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read to long ago to rate
SUMMARY
Jo Camerata, the ambitious young student who fell in love with Keith Stoner, is now head of Vanguard Industries which has recovered an alien ship. As a result, Jo's company now controls the incredible wealth of technology aboard the ship as well as the fortune it reaps in - not to mention control of Keith Stoner.
What Camerata does not know, however, is that someone else has been awake, someone who dwells deep within the recesses of Stoner's mind. The alienate presence that has kept Stoner alive for so long is now free and fully intends to explore our world and will let nothing stand in its way.
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129 |
Bowen, Elizabeth (1) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Not read
SUMMARY
The Death of the Heart is perhaps Elizabeth Bowen's best-known book. As she deftly and delicately exposes the cruelty that lurks behind the polished surfaces of conventional society, Bowen reveals herself as a masterful novelist who combines a sense of humor with a devastating gift for divining human motivations.
In this piercing story of innocence betrayed set in the thirties, the orphaned Portia is stranded in the sophisticated and politely treacherous world of her wealthy half-brother's home in London.There she encounters the attractive, carefree cad Eddie. To him, Portia is at once child and woman, and he fears her gushing love. To her, Eddie is the only reason to be alive. But when Eddie follows Portia to a sea-side resort, the flash of a cigarette lighter in a darkened cinema illuminates a stunning romantic betrayal--and sets in motion one of the most moving and desperate flights of the heart in modern literature.
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130 |
Bowles, Paul (1) |
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REVIEW
Okay, having read HOW TO READ LITERATURE LIKE A PROFESSOR, I can tell you that this is a quest novel with vampire characters. What does that mean... It means that the characters are on a journey - in this case through parts of the Sahara desert. And vampire characters are characters who suck the life out of another character, using them up over time (not like actual vampires sucking blood - think "users"). The book follows 3 people who journey through post WWII Northern Africa in search of... well, what is not really clear. They all seem to want to find the meaning of the desert, but are wrapped up in various self worries that they fail to reach this goal. When the married couple, Paul and Kit, become separated from their traveling companion (on purpose), it becomes clear that Paul is the vampire character, and with only Kit left to "feed" on, he starts to unhinge her mind. He eventually sickens and dies, but by this time Kit is so lost that she is captured by desert native and made part of his harem. When she escapes this and is "re-captured" by the civilized world she has no sanity left - and retreats back to the wandering nomad she has become. There, I treated it like literature. As far as a read goes - it is mildly interesting in its description of North Africa at this time in history (Paul Bowles grew up there). Beyond that the characters are not quite quirky enough to hold your interest, other than to wonder why they seem bent on destroying themselves. Its obvious that the author loves the country, and his descriptions are wonderful. I would only recommend this book to someone who had plenty of time, and an inclination to try and find out what it all means. Good luck.
SUMMARY
The Sheltering Sky is a landmark of twentieth-century literature. In this intensely fascinating story, Paul Bowles examines the ways in which Americans' incomprehension of alien cultures leads to the ultimate destruction of those cultures.
A story about three American travelers adrift in the cities and deserts of North Africa after World War II, The Sheltering Sky explores the limits of humanity when it touches the unfathomable emptiness and impassive cruelty of the desert.
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131 |
Boyd, John (2) |
The Gorgon Festival(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read to long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
Was the youth elixir the panacea that mankind dreamed of-or a bitter and ironic joke? To Alexander Ward, his discovery could have meant fame, wealth, the Nobel Prize. But his 70-year-old lab assistant stole it and turned herself into a teen-age sex kitten, a nursing home into a brothel--and the world into a madhouse.
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132 |
Boyd, John (2) |
The Organ Bank Farm(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read to long ago to rate
SUMMARY
None available
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133 |
Bradbury, Ray (4) |
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REVIEW
A short but powerful book about censorship and desperation. I've read plenty of Bradbury in the context of Science Fiction, but I think this is the best book of his I have ever read.
The edition I read contains an after word by Bradbury talking about what has happened to the novel in the years since it was first published - how, in fact, a book about strict censorship has itself been slowly censored over the years, and how requests have been made for him to revise it to cope with various people's offended feelings. Unbelievable!!!
(NOTE: The amazon edition on the side is not the edition with the epilogue by Bradbury - as soon as I find that I will change the link.
I recommend this to everyone for it's dystopian view of the future, and one man's look into his sudden dissatisfaction with his world. If we all don't feel that way once in life, I don't know what makes us more human.
SUMMARY
Guy Montag is a fireman. In his world, where television rules and literature is on the brink of extinction, firemen start fires rather than put them out. His job is to destroy the most illegal of commodities, the printed book, along with the houses in which they are hidden.
Montag never questions the destruction and ruin his actions produce, returning each day to his bland life and wife, Mildred, who spends all day with her television "family." But then he meets an eccentric young neighbor, Clarisse, who introduces him to a past where people didn't live in fear and to a present where one sees the world through the ideas in books instead of the mindless chatter of television.
When Mildred attempts suicide and Clarisse suddenly disappears, Montag begins to question everything he has ever known. He starts hiding books in his home, and when his pilfering is discovered, the fireman has to run for his life.
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134 |
Bradbury, Ray (4) |
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REVIEW
The Illustrated Man is a 1951 book of eighteen science fiction short stories by Ray Bradbury that explores the nature of mankind. A recurring theme throughout the eighteen stories is the conflict of the cold mechanics of technology and the psychology of people. It was nominated for the International Fantasy Award in 1952
Read this as a teenager and I recall it being strange and wonderful and a little scary at the time. It was a long time ago and I cannot say if the stories will have stood the test of time. Read at your own risk... but a good book for a look into the times.
SUMMARY
You could hear the voices murmuring, small and muted, from the crowds that inhabited his body.
A peerless American storyteller, Ray Bradbury brings wonders alive. The Illustrated Man is classic Bradbury— eighteen startling visions of humankind's destiny, unfolding across a canvas of decorated skin. In this phantasmagoric sideshow, living cities take their vengeance, technology awakens the most primal natural instincts, Martian invasions are foiled by the good life and the glad hand, and dreams are carried aloft in junkyard rockets. Provocative and powerful, Ray Bradbury's The Illustrated Man is a kaleidoscopic blending of magic, imagination, and truth—as exhilarating as interplanetary travel, as maddening as a walk in a million-year rain, and as comforting as simple, familiar rituals on the last night of the world.
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135 |
Bradbury, Ray (4) |
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REVIEW
Obviously not science, but a great read in any case. A great bunch of stories from a great writer.
SUMMARY
In The Martian Chronicles, Ray Bradbury, America's preeminent storyteller, imagines a place of hope, dreams, and metaphor— of crystal pillars and fossil seas—where a fine dust settles on the great empty cities of a vanished, devastated civilization. Earthmen conquer Mars and then are conquered by it, lulled by dangerous lies of comfort and familiarity, and enchanted by the lingering glamour of an ancient, mysterious native race. In this classic work of fiction, Bradbury exposes our ambitions, weaknesses, and ignorance in a strange and breathtaking world where man does not belong.
Read this as a teenager, in the days when Mars was still a giant mystery capable of holding any story.
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136 |
Bradbury, Ray (4) |
Something Wicked This Way Comes(Fiction - Horror)
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REVIEW
I recall this as being a fun read.
SUMMARY
The carnival rolls in sometime after midnight, ushering in Halloween a week early. The shrill siren song of a calliope beckons to all with a seductive promise of dreams and youth regained. In this season of dying, Cooger & Dark's Pandemonium Shadow Show has come to Green Town, Illinois, to destroy every life touched by its strange and sinister mystery. And two boys will discover the secret of its smoke, mazes, and mirrors; two friends who will soon know all too well the heavy cost of wishes. . .and the stuff of nightmare.
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137 |
Bradley, Marion Zimmer (1) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Not read
SUMMARY
Here is the magical legend of King Arthur, vividly retold through the eyes and lives of the women who wielded power from behind the throne. A spellbinding novel, an extraordinary literary achievement, THE MISTS OF AVALON will stay with you for a long time to come....
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138 |
Bradley, Will (1) |
Ark Liberty(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read to long ago to rate
SUMMARY
Refusing to allow his government to complete its destruction of the Earth, Stefan Li activates Liberty, an undersea ark, staffing it with as many refugees as he can before the ports are sealed.
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139 |
Bretnor, Reginald (1) |
Gilpin's Space(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read to long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
None Available
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140 |
Brin, David (13) |
Brightness Reef(SciFi)
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REVIEW
A good start to this trilogy. the story is intriguing and the characters interesting.
SUMMARY
An UPLIFT novel
The planet Jijo is forbidden to settlers, its ecology protected by guardians of the Five Galaxies. But over the centuries it has been resettled, populated by refugees of six intelligent races. Together they have woven a new society in the wilderness, drawn together by their fear of Judgment Day, when the Five Galaxies will discover their illegal colony. Then a strange starship arrives on Jijo. Does it bring the long-dreaded judgment, or worse--a band of criminals willing to destroy the six races of Jijo in order to cover their own crimes?
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141 |
Brin, David (13) |
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REVIEW
Another novel about the Fermi Paradox. And this one has a very strange explanation!!!
SUMMARY
In a universe filled with habitable worlds why have we had no contact with extraterrestrial intelligence? David Brin's "The Crystal Spheres" offers a fantastic explanation for the Great Silence. Instead of being late-comers - might humanity have come upon the scene too early? This haunting tale was voted one of the "most beautiful of the eighties. Winner of the 1985 Hugo Award
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142 |
Brin, David (13) |
Existence(SciFi)
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REVIEW
An excellent read... could have used a sequel. Plenty of good action, characters, and an interesting concept to toy with. How could all the civilizations in the universe manage to be in touch with each other... well, they can't, but they can still help each other out.
SUMMARY
Gerald Livingston is an orbital garbage collector. For a hundred years, people have been abandoning things in space, and someone has to clean it up. But there's something spinning a little bit higher than he expects, something that isn't on the decades' old orbital maps. An hour after he grabs it and brings it in, rumors fill Earth's infomesh about an "alien artifact."
Thrown into the maelstrom of worldwide shared experience, the Artifact is a game-changer. A message in a bottle; an alien capsule that wants to communicate. The world reacts as humans always do: with fear and hope and selfishness and love and violence. And insatiable curiosity.
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143 |
Brin, David (13) |
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REVIEW
The end is near for the fugitives on this planet. Things get exciting in this the conclusion of the trilogy.
SUMMARY
The brutal enemy that has relentlessly pursued them for centuries has arrived. Now the fugitive settlers of Jijo--both human and alien--brace for a final confrontation. The Jijoans' only hope is the Earthship Streaker, crewed by uplifted dolphins and commanded by an untested human.
Yet more than just the fate of Jijo hangs in the balance. For Streaker carries a cargo of ancient artifacts that may unlock the secret of those who first brought intelligent life to the Galaxies. Many believe a dire prophecy has come to pass: an age of terrifying changes that could end Galactic civilization.
As dozens of white dwarf stars stand ready to explode, the survival of sentient life in the universe rests on the most improbable dream of all--that age-old antagonists of different races can at last recognize the unity of all consciousness.
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144 |
Brin, David (13) |
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REVIEW
This book was really good - a detective novel with a really twisted idea - that you could "bake" a short-lived copy of yourself to do jobs for you and retrieve their memories later. Imagine the implications for crime!
SUMMARY
In a perilous future where disposable duplicate bodies fulfill every legal and illicit whim of their decadent masters, life is cheap. No one knows that better than Albert Morris, a brash investigator with a knack for trouble, who has sent his own duplicates into deadly peril more times than he cares to remember.
But when Morris takes on a ring of bootleggers making illegal copies of a famous actress, he stumbles upon a secret so explosive it has incited open warfare on the streets of Dittotown.
Dr. Yosil Maharal, a brilliant researcher in artificial intelligence, has suddenly vanished, just as he is on the verge of a revolutionary scientific breakthrough. Maharal's daughter, Ritu, believes he has been kidnapped-or worse. Aeneas Polom, a reclusive trillionaire who appears in public only through his high-priced platinum duplicates, offers Morris unlimited resources to locate Maharal before his awesome discovery falls into the wrong hands.
To uncover the truth, Morris must enter a shadowy, nightmare world of ghosts and golems where nothing -and no one-is what they seem, memory itself is suspect, and the line between life and death may no longer exist
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145 |
Brin, David (13) |
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REVIEW
I loved this book - much better than the movie. The lie of the postman (that becomes the reality) is better told in the book. Recommend.
SUMMARY
This is the story of a lie that became the most powerful kind of truth. A timeless novel as urgently compelling as War Day or Alas, Babylon, David Brin's The Postman is the dramatically moving saga of a man who rekindled the spirit of America through the power of a dream, from a modern master of science fiction.
He was a survivor--a wanderer who traded tales for food and shelter in the dark and savage aftermath of a devastating war. Fate touches him one chill winter's day when he borrows the jacket of a long-dead postal worker to protect himself from the cold. The old, worn uniform still has power as a symbol of hope, and with it he begins to weave his greatest tale, of a nation on the road to recovery.
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146 |
Brin, David (13) |
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REVIEW
This was hilarious. Things in this universe only work if you "practice" them, and the more you practice them, the better they work.
SUMMARY
Physicist Dennis Nuel was the first human to probe the strange realms called anomaly worlds?alternate universes where the laws of science were unpredictably changed. But the world Dennis discovered seemed almost like our own?with one perplexing difference. To his astonishment, he was hailed as a wizard and found himself fighting beside a beautiful woman with strange powers against a mysterious warlord as he struggles to solve the riddle of this baffling world.
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147 |
Brin, David (13) |
Tank Farm Dynamo(SciFi)
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REVIEW
A short read, but not bad. Good hard science in this one about life in Earth orbit and economics of running a space station.
SUMMARY
Can a sci fi story alter the course of something ponderous, like the space program? Perhaps. "Tank Farm Dynamo" sure tried! What if we found the nerve, the spirit and daring to use every resource - including those that NASA simply threw away? An unabashedly old-fashioned hard SF story with science and technology as central, problem-solving players... plus a real twist.
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148 |
Brin, David (13) |
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REVIEW >A very enjoyable book, and the start of the UPLIFT series - the theory being that no species manages to get to the stars without help.
SUMMARY
No species has ever reached for the stars without the guidance of a patron--except perhaps mankind. Did some mysterious race begin the uplift of humanity aeons ago? Circling the sun, under the caverns of Mercury, Expedition Sundiver prepares for the most momentous voyage in history--a journey into the boiling inferno of the sun.
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149 |
Brin, David (13) |
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REVIEW
The second of a great series
SUMMARY
David Brin's Uplift novels are among the most thrilling and extraordinary science fiction ever written. Sundiver, Startide Rising, and The Uplift War--a New York Times bestseller--together make up one of the most beloved sagas of all time. Brin's tales are set in a future universe in which no species can reach sentience without being "uplifted" by a patron race. But the greatest mystery of all remains unsolved: who uplifted humankind?
The Terran exploration vessel Streaker has crashed in the uncharted water world of Kithrup, bearing one of the most important discoveries in galactic history. Below, a handful of her human and dolphin crew battles armed rebellion and a hostile planet to safeguard her secret--the fate of the Progenitors, the fabled First Race who seeded wisdom throughout the stars.
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150 |
Brin, David (13) |
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REVIEW
As galactic armadas clash in quest of the ancient fleet of the Progenitors, a brutal alien race seizes the dying planet of Garth. The various uplifted inhabitants of Garth must battle their overlords or face ultimate extinction. At stake is the existence of Terran society and Earth, and the fate of the entire Five Galaxies. Sweeping, brilliantly crafted, inventive and dramatic, The Uplift War is an unforgettable story of adventure and wonder from one of today's science fiction greats.
The last of the Uplift series (not to be confused with the Uplift trilogy - yeah right - A fun read.
SUMMARY
As galactic armadas clash in quest of the ancient fleet of the Progenitors, a brutal alien race seizes the dying planet of Garth. The various uplifted inhabitants of Garth must battle their overlords or face ultimate extinction. At stake is the existence of Terran society and Earth, and the fate of the entire Five Galaxies. Sweeping, brilliantly crafted, inventive and dramatic, The Uplift War is an unforgettable story of adventure and wonder from one of today's science fiction greats.
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151 |
Brin, David (13) |
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REVIEW
Interesting implications of the idea of Uplift
SUMMARY
The planet Jijo is forbidden to settlers, its ecology protected by guardians of the Five Galaxies. But over the centuries it has been resettled, populated by refugees of six intelligent races. Together they have woven a new society in the wilderness, drawn together by their fear of Judgment Day, when the Five Galaxies will discover their illegal colony. Then a strange starship arrives on Jijo. Does it bring the long-dreaded judgment, or worse--a band of criminals willing to destroy the six races of Jijo in order to cover their own crimes?
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152 |
Brin, David (13) |
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REVIEW
Another good read in the Trilogy.
SUMMARY
For the fugitive settlers of Jijo, it is truly the beginning of the end. As starships fill the skies, the threat of genocide hangs over the planet that once peacefully sheltered six bands of sapient beings. Now the human settlers of Jijo and their alien neighbors must make heroic--and terrifying--choices. A scientist must rally believers for a cause he never shared. And four youngsters find that what started as a simple adventure--imitating exploits in Earthling books by Verne and Twain--leads them to the dark abyss of mystery. Meanwhile, the Streaker, with her fugitive dolphin crew, arrives at last on Jijo in a desperate search for refuge. Yet what the crew finds instead is a secret hidden since the galaxies first spawned intelligence--a secret that could mean salvation for the planet and its inhabitants...or their ultimate annihilation.
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153 |
Bronte, Charlotte (1) |
Jane Eyre Best Book Lists: 3 (Fiction - Romance)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Not read
SUMMARY
An orphan girl's progress from the custody of cruel relatives to an oppressive boarding school culminates in a troubled career as a governess. Jane's first assignment at Thornfield, where the proud and cynical master harbors a scandalous secret, draws readers ever deeper into a compelling exploration of the mysteries of the human heart. A selection of the Common Core State Standards Initiative.
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154 |
Bronte, Emily (1) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Not read
SUMMARY
Wuthering Heights is Emily Brontë's first and only published novel, written between October 1845 and June 1846, and published in 1847 under the pseudonym Ellis Bell; Brontë died the following year, aged 30. The decision to publish came after the success of her sister Charlotte's novel, Jane Eyre. After Emily's death, Charlotte edited the manuscript of Wuthering Heights, and arranged for the edited version to be published as a posthumous second edition in 1850. Wuthering Heights is the name of the farmhouse where the story unfolds. The book's core theme is the destructive effect of jealousy and vengefulness both on the jealous or vengeful individuals and on their communities
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155 |
Brooks, Terry (2) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Second in the comical Landover series. Fantasy with humor.
SUMMARY
A year had passed since Ben Holiday bought the Magic Kingdon from the wizard, Meeks. But unbeknownst to him, he has been the victim of a trap by Meeks, who has succeeded in stealing the Paladin and appropriating his face. Suddenly none of Ben's friends know him, but all of his enemies do. He must win it all back again--only this time on his own!
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156 |
Brooks, Terry (2) |
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REVIEW
First in the Landover Series. Pretty darn funny. Very light
SUMMARY
After Ben Holiday purchased Landover, he discovered the magic kingdom had some problems. The Barons refused to recognize a king and the peasants were without hope. To make matters worse, Ben learned that he had to duel to the death with the Iron Mask, the terrible lord of the demons--a duel which no human could hope to win....
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157 |
Brown, Dan (5) |
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REVIEW
Not as good at The DaVinci Code but still a fine thriller using artistic and architectural landmarks to move the plot along. If you enjoyedThe DaVinci Code, you will like this one.
SUMMARY
An ancient secret brotherhood.
A devastating new weapon of destruction.
When world-renowned Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned to a Swiss research facility to analyze a mysterious symbol -- seared into the chest of a murdered physicist -- he discovers evidence of the unimaginable: the resurgence of an ancient secret brotherhood known as the Illuminati...the most powerful underground organization ever to walk the earth. The Illuminati has now surfaced to carry out the final phase of its legendary vendetta against its most hated enemy -- the Catholic Church.
Langdon's worst fears are confirmed on the eve of the Vatican's holy conclave, when a messenger of the Illuminati announces they have hidden an unstoppable time bomb at the very heart of Vatican City. With the countdown under way, Langdon jets to Rome to join forces with Vittoria Vetra, a beautiful and mysterious Italian scientist, to assist the Vatican in a desperate bid for survival.
Embarking on a frantic hunt through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, deserted cathedrals, and even the most secretive vault on earth, Langdon and Vetra follow a 400-year-old trail of ancient symbols that snakes across Rome toward the long-forgotten Illuminati lair...a clandestine location that contains the only hope for Vatican salvation.
An explosive international thriller, Angels & Demons careens from enlightening epiphanies to dark truths as the battle between science and religion turns to war.
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158 |
Brown, Dan (5) |
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159 |
Brown, Dan (5) |
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REVIEW
The premise is far fetched, but the plot moves along nicely. There are some twists and turns in the government conspiracy that are surprising. But still the premise is so far fetched that you it's really a stretch. A so-so thriller.
SUMMARY
A shocking scientific discovery.
A conspiracy of staggering brilliance.
A thriller unlike any you've ever read....
When a NASA satellite discovers an astonishingly rare object buried deep in the Arctic ice, the floundering space agency proclaims a much-needed victory -- a victory with profound implications for NASA policy and the impending presidential election. To verify the authenticity of the find, the White House calls upon the skills of intelligence analyst Rachel Sexton. Accompanied by a team of experts, including the charismatic scholar Michael Tolland, Rachel travels to the Arctic and uncovers the unthinkable: evidence of scientific trickery -- a bold deception that threatens to plunge the world into controversy. But before she can warn the President, Rachel and Michael are ambushed by a deadly team of assassins. Fleeing for their lives across a desolate and lethal landscape, their only hope for survival is to discover who is behind this masterful plot. The truth, they will learn, is the most shocking deception of all.
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160 |
Brown, Dan (5) |
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REVIEW
I would not recommend this to anyone who knows anything about computers. But to those who don’t, again, this is a so-so thriller. If you don't know how computers really work, then I imagine this could be a pretty exciting book.
SUMMARY
Before the multi-million, runaway bestseller The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown set his razor-sharp research and storytelling skills on the most powerful intelligence organization on earth--the National Security Agency (NSA), an ultra-secret, multibillion-dollar agency many times more powerful than the CIA.
When the NSA's invincible code-breaking machine encounters a mysterious code it cannot break, the agency calls its head cryptographer, Susan Fletcher, a brilliant and beautiful mathematician. What she uncovers sends shock waves through the corridors of power. The NSA is being held hostage...not by guns or bombs, but by a code so ingeniously complex that if released it would cripple U.S. intelligence.
Caught in an accelerating tempest of secrecy and lies, Susan Fletcher battles to save the agency she believes in. Betrayed on all sides, she finds herself fighting not only for her country but for her life, and in the end, for the life of the man she loves.
From the underground hallways of power to the skyscrapers of Tokyo to the towering cathedrals of Spain, a desperate race unfolds. It is a battle for survival--a crucial bid to destroy a creation of inconceivable genius...an impregnable code-writing formula that threatens to obliterate the post-cold war balance of power. Forever.
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161 |
Brown, Dan (5) |
The Lost Symbol(Fiction - Thriller)
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REVIEW
Not as good as DaVinci Code or Angels and Demons, but better than some of his other stuff, this would make a fun book to read and then carry around Washington. Like his other books all the landmarks are real, all the artwork and architecture he lists are real things that you can check out while in town. Some of it makes you wonder what people were thinking when they put that stuff up (like the painting on the Capitol Dome - Seriously.. George Washington becoming a god. This is a really fun romp around the nations capitol weaving a cool story together from some of the odd ball things you can find there, but the end is... less than satisfying. If you liked the others you will enjoy this one.
SUMMARY
THE LOST SYMBOL will have a first printing of 5 million copies, and it will once again feature Dan Brown's unforgettable protagonist, Robert Langdon. Brown's longtime editor, Jason Kaufman, Vice President and Executive Editor at Doubleday said, "Nothing ever is as it first appears in a Dan Brown novel. This book's narrative takes place in a twelve-hour period, and from the first page, Dan's readers will feel the thrill of discovery as they follow Robert Langdon through a masterful and unexpected new landscape. THE LOST SYMBOL is full of surprises."
Dan Brown's popularity continues to grow. The film of The Da Vinci Code was a #1 box office smash when it was released by Columbia Pictures in May 2006 with Ron Howard directing and Tom Hanks starring as Robert Langdon. Box office receipts were $758 million. The same team will release Angels and Demons theatrically worldwide on May 15, 2009.
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162 |
Brown, Eric (4) |
Cosmopath (Bengal Station)(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Another in this enjoyable series. An entertaining read. Good thriller set on the largest space station imaginable.
SUMMARY
Telepath Jeff Vaughan is approached by billionaire tycoon Rabindranath Chandrasakar, who wants him to read the mind of a spacer on an unexplored world on the edge of known space. There's only one problem - the spacer is dead. On Delta Cephei VII, Vaughan finds himself drawn into a web of treachery and deceit in a bid to discover what an alien race is concealing from humanity - a secret that could change forever the course of human expansion through the galaxy.
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163 |
Brown, Eric (4) |
Necropath(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Bengal Station: an exotic spaceport that dominates the ocean between India and Burma. Jaded telepath, Jeff Vaughan, is employed by the spaceport authorities to monitor incoming craft for refugees from other worlds. When he discovers a sinister cult that worships an mysterious alien god, he's drawn into an deadly investigation. Not only must he attempt to solve the murders, but he has to save himself from the psychopath out to kill him.
A psychic who has the ability to read a dying mind. Ugh.. the ability has made him reclusive and has driven him to run from the government organization that gave him the ability. Working as a sort of psychic customs officer at a space port he uncovers a plot by an alien race to murder people under the guise of a religious cult. This book meanders, but is not bad. A pretty good SciFi read. I plan on picking up some others in this series to see how they go.
SUMMARY
Science fiction meets crime noir, as Jeff Vaughan, jaded telepath, employed by the spaceport authorities on Bengal Station, discovers a sinister cult that worships a mysterious alien god. We follow Vaughan as he attempts to solve the murders and save himself from the psichopath out to kill him. This is Eric Brown's triumphant return to hard SF.
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164 |
Brown, Eric (4) |
Starship Summer(SciFi)
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REVIEW
A novella/short story. Can't really recall it, so must not have been impressed.
SUMMARY
This is the story of David Conway and his new life on Chalcedony, a planet renowned for its Golden Column, an artifact that is mysterious and strange, no one knowing why it is present there. Conway meets some locals in the town of Magenta Bay and buys an old starship from Hawksworth, who runs a scrap yard in the town full of old and disused starships. Conway sets up the ship on his land and uses it as his home, but the presence of what can only be described as an alien ghost starts a string of events that lead to a revelation that will change everything for humanity.
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165 |
Brown, Eric (4) |
Xenopath (Bengal Station)(SciFi)
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REVIEW
This novel held my interest and was pretty entertaining. If you like a little mystery set in a very large technical background in space, you will probably like this one. A cop thriller on the largest space station above Earth.
SUMMARY
Telepath Jeff Vaughan is working for a detective agency on Bengal Station, an exotic spaceport that dominates the ocean between India and Burma, when he is called out to the colony world of Mallory to investigate recent discoveries of alien corpses. But Vaughan is shaken to his core when he begins to uncover the heart of darkness at the centre of the Scheering-Lassiter colonial organisation...
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166 |
Brown, Fredric (1) |
Martians, Go Home(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
I recall this being very funny... as the Martians were so totally annoying. They were the worst nightmares...
SUMMARY
THEY WERE GREEN, THEY WERE LITTLE, THEY WERE BALD AS BILLIARD BALLS AND THEY WERE EVERYWHERE! Luke Devereaux was a science fiction writer, holed up in a desert shack waiting for inspiration. He was the first to see a Martian - but he certainly wasn't the last. It was estimated that one billion of them had arrived - one to every three human beings on Earth. Obnoxious green creatures who could be seen and heard (but not harmed) and who probed private sex lives as shamelessly as they exposed government secrets. No one knew why they had come. No one knew how to make them go away - except perhaps, Luke Devereaux. Unfortunately he was going slightly bananas, so it wouldn't be easy. But for a science fiction writer nothing was impossible
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167 |
Browne, Robert (1) |
The New Atoms Bombshell(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW A SciFi baseball novel... go figure. Read to long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
None available
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168 |
Brunner, John (12) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read to long ago to rate. Though I tended to like John Brunner
SUMMARY
When mankind colonized the stars, they travelled out from Earth in two directions - to Centaurus and its Southern Hemisphere neighbours and to Ursa Major and the constellations around Polaris. And strange to say the humans who settled on those various worlds began to develop into two differing antagonistic types. For Ray Mallin, born under the surface of Mars in the sparse colony of Earth's inhospitable old neighbour, neither the anarchic 'bears' nor the autocratic 'Centaurs' commanded his loyalty. So when secret agents of both galactic groupings suddenly focus their unwelcome attention on his most recent star-piloting mission, he knew only that something of vast significance was up - and that he unknowingly was the key to it.
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169 |
Brunner, John (12) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Too long ago to recall
SUMMARY
A hundred thousand years from now, Creohan the scholar discovers a star approaching Earth on a deadly collision course. If he can arouse everyone to the danger, there might be time enough to save the world. But the Earth had become a strange and kaleidoscopic place in that distant era. Too many empires had risen and fallen - humans had become too apathetic, too self-centered to pay attention to this new alarm. Creohan would have to save the world by himself. The story of his efforts is a brilliant blend of science-fiction and fantasy, and one of John Brunner's most colorful concepts.
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170 |
Brunner, John (12) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read to long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
The novel explores several themes: environment degradation of the modern world (which Brunner believed was shortening his own life), paternal irresponsibility (in the form of accepting cash for donating sperm to a sperm bank), and conservative (fascist) tendencies in British politics. The latter may reflect that the book was written during the Thatcher years.
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171 |
Brunner, John (12) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read to long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
The novel deals with the efforts of an alien species to escape their homeworld, whose system is passing through a cloud of interstellar debris, resulting in a high rate of in-falling matter. The species' unique biology and their biological technology complicate matters.
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172 |
Brunner, John (12) |
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REVIEW
A short story collection. Brunner is very good.
SUMMARY
None available
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173 |
Brunner, John (12) |
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REVIEW
Very Good
SUMMARY
In THE JAGGED ORBIT, Brunner, writing at the peak of form that allowed him to create STAND ON ZANZIBAR, takes a long, hard, disturbing, hilarious look at the near, and not-so-distant, future and the catastrophic changes that widespread and rampant drug abuse, uncontrolled violence, high-level corruption in government, inhumane treatment of the too-readily defined "insane" and the accompanying collapse of the social order are wreaking on the world we recognize and turning it into a reality we must fear and hope to avoid. Brunner tells a spine-chilling tale and makes where the world could possibly go all too believable and real for our comfort.
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174 |
Brunner, John (12) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read to long ago to rate
SUMMARY
This 1967 novel tells of a troubled psychiatrist trying to unravel the mystery behind a girl discovered wandering in the woods near a mental hospital. She speaks a language no one understands and doesn't seem to recognize commonplace items such as telephones or automobiles. As the novel progresses, the clues about her origin become more intriguing, even as the psychiatrist's personal life is falling apart.
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175 |
Brunner, John (12) |
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REVIEW
Spectacular - one of the best novels of all time - not just Science Fiction
SUMMARY
In THE SHEEP LOOK UP, Brunner returns to a style similar to that of the manically inventive STAND ON ZANZIBAR, and delivers another fast-paced, kaleidoscopically comprehensive view of a near future rife with looming ecological dangers and possibly about to be saved by an underground revolutionary movement--if its leader can survive the hostility of vested interests to deliver his message of hope.
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176 |
Brunner, John (12) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read to long ago to rate
SUMMARY
In a world drowning in data and information and choking on novelty and innovation, Nickie Haflinger, a most dangerous fugitive who doesn't even appear to exist, provides a window onto a global society falling apart in all directions, with madness run amok and personal freedom surrendered to computers and bureaucrats. Caught and about to be re-programmed, can he escape once again, defy the government and turn the tide of organizational destruction?
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177 |
Brunner, John (12) |
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REVIEW
You get a sense of it through the book, but the author 'fesses up at the end and tells you that the plot is based on a chess game. Hence the name..
SUMMARY
It is a sociological story of urban class warfare and political intrigue, taking place in the fictional South American capital city of Vados. It explores the idea of subliminal messages as political tools, and it is notable for having the structure of a famous 1892 chess game between Wilhelm Steinitz and Mikhail Chigorin. The structure is not coincidental, and plays an important part in the story.
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178 |
Brunner, John (12) |
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REVIEW
One of the best!!
This book take many story lines that seem unconnected and winds them into an amazing whole that will blow you away.
SUMMARY
Norman Niblock House is a rising executive at General Technics, one of a few all-powerful corporations. His work is leading General Technics to the forefront of global domination, both in the marketplace and politically---it's about to take over a country in Africa. Donald Hogan is his roommate, a seemingly sheepish bookworm. But Hogan is a spy, and he's about to discover a breakthrough in genetic engineering that will change the world...and kill him.
These two men's lives weave through one of science fiction's most praised novels. Written in a way that echoes John Dos Passos' U.S.A. Trilogy, Stand on Zanzibar is a cross-section of a world overpopulated by the billions. Where society is squeezed into hive-living madness by god-like mega computers, mass-marketed psychedelic drugs, and mundane uses of genetic engineering. Though written in 1968, it speaks of 2010, and is frighteningly prescient and intensely powerful.
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179 |
Brunner, John (12) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read to long ago to rate
SUMMARY
After a riot in a near-future England where telepathy has been discovered, the authorities discover Gerald Howson, a physically deformed youth with greater telepathic power than has ever been seen before. The novel details Howson's struggles to come to grips with his power and his deformity.
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180 |
Buck, Pearl S. (2) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Not read
SUMMARY
The Good Earth is Buck's classic story of Wang Lung, a Chinese peasant farmer, and his wife, O-lan, a former slave. With luck and hard work, the couple's fortunes improve over the years: They are blessed with sons, and save steadily until one day they can afford to buy property in the House of Wang—the very house in which O-lan used to work. But success brings with it a new set of problems. Wang soon finds himself the target of jealousy, and as good harvests come and go, so does the social order. Will Wang's family cherish the estate after he's gone? And can his material success, the bedrock of his life, guarantee anything about his soul?
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181 |
Buck, Pearl S. (2) |
The Rainbow Best Book Lists: 5 (Fiction - General)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Not read
SUMMARY
A tale of romance in an exotic locale; published posthumously.
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182 |
Buckell, Tobias (1) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Yet to read
SUMMARY
Humanity continues to gain control of the Forty Eight Worlds as they deorbit wormholes and join the many worlds and civilizations together. But as they do so, they must deal with the horrors of past injustices as humanity forms new societies out of the wreckage of the old.
And some of those horrors aren't content to rest. Kay, who has rescued herself from a hellish life dominated by uncaring alien creatures, seeks bloody twisted revenge for what was done to her.
And a new force is not happy about the manner in which the Forty Eight worlds are reshaping
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183 |
Buettner, Robert (4) |
Orphan's Alliance(SciFi)
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REVIEW
A very good SciFi war novel. Enjoyable if you like war scenarios.
SUMMARY
Humans have been discovered on the Outworlds. And the Army decides to send emissaries. Emissaries like Jason Wander.
As intraplanetary conflicts rage around him, and the personal stakes get ever higher, Jason finds that playing planet-hopping politician can be harder than commanding armies.
When united mankind squares off to battle the Slugs for a precious interstellar crossroad, Jason will discover that the most dangerous enemy may be the one he least expects.
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184 |
Buettner, Robert (4) |
Orphanage(SciFi)
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REVIEW
The first in the Orphan Series - These are great coming of age novels. Plenty of people would call these science fiction. I would categorize them as military. There is plenty of military history to be had in here, if you're paying attention. In particular these books are about the burden of command. Its about a man (a kid really) in the very near future who ends up in a futile war against an alien invader, and who spends his whole life... and the lives of others, fighting them. It talks about why soldiers really fight - which hasn't changed since the Greeks fought the Persians. Its not about God, or country or ideology. Its about the guy next to you in line. Anyone who doesn't believe that only has to watch a few video's from troops in Iraq to realize its an eternal fact of war. If you liked Heinlein's STARSHIP TROOPER - and the ideas it explored. You will like this series of books. If you loved Joe Haldeman's FOREVER WAR - then these will knock your socks off.
Mankind's first alien contact tears into Earth: projectiles launched from Jupiter's moon, Ganymede, vaporize whole cities. Under siege, humanity gambles on one desperate counterstrike. In a spacecraft scavenged from scraps and armed with Vietnam-era weapons, foot soldiers like eighteen-year-old Jason Wander-orphans that no one will miss-must dare man's first interplanetary voyage and invade Ganymede.
They have one chance to attack, one ship to attack with. Their failure is our extinction.
SUMMARY
Mankind's first alien contact tears into Earth: projectiles launched from Jupiter's moon, Ganymede, vaporize whole cities. Under siege, humanity gambles on one desperate counterstrike. In a spacecraft scavenged from scraps and armed with Vietnam-era weapons, foot soldiers like eighteen-year-old Jason Wander-orphans that no one will miss-must dare man's first interplanetary voyage and invade Ganymede.
They have one chance to attack, one ship to attack with. Their failure is our extinction.
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185 |
Buettner, Robert (4) |
Orphan's Journey(SciFi)
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REVIEW
The third in this series - see the review for ORPHANGE for a summary of this, and all the books in this series.
In the years since the last Slug War, Jason's command style hasn't made him any friends in the Army. Now, in an effort to keep him out of trouble, the Army has sent Jason to the vast, Earth-orbiting resort called New Moon. At the core of this enormous space station is a starship, a relic from the last war.
When a test run of the ship goes wrong, Jason, along with a handful of others, will be torn from orbit and thrust into space. Now, stranded on an alien planet, Jason realizes that not only are his friends are looking to him for rescue, but an entire planet sees him as their only hope.
SUMMARY
In the years since the last Slug War, Jason's command style hasn't made him any friends in the Army. Now, in an effort to keep him out of trouble, the Army has sent Jason to the vast, Earth-orbiting resort called New Moon. At the core of this enormous space station is a starship, a relic from the last war.
When a test run of the ship goes wrong, Jason, along with a handful of others, will be torn from orbit and thrust into space. Now, stranded on an alien planet, Jason realizes that not only are his friends are looking to him for rescue, but an entire planet sees him as their only hope.
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186 |
Buettner, Robert (4) |
Orphan's Destiny(SciFi)
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REVIEW
The second in this series - see the review for ORPHANGE for a summary of this, and all the books in this series.
At twenty-five, General Jason Wander has fought and won man's only alien conflict. Now, after long years in space, he's coming home...but to what? Earth's desperate nations, impoverished by war damage and military spending, are slashing defense budgets. There's just one problem with this new worldwide policy-the first alien invasion was merely Plan A.
Suddenly, the real assault begins: Earth is attacked by a vast armada of city-sized warships. To block their invasion, mankind has only one surviving craft and a single guerrilla strike force...a suicide squad led by Jason Wander.
SUMMARY
At twenty-five, General Jason Wander has fought and won man's only alien conflict. Now, after long years in space, he's coming home...but to what? Earth's desperate nations, impoverished by war damage and military spending, are slashing defense budgets. There's just one problem with this new worldwide policy-the first alien invasion was merely Plan A.
Suddenly, the real assault begins: Earth is attacked by a vast armada of city-sized warships. To block their invasion, mankind has only one surviving craft and a single guerrilla strike force...a suicide squad led by Jason Wander
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187 |
Bullington, Jesse (1) |
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REVIEW
What an odd book.
These 100 percent reprehensible fellows kill and rob their way across Europe on the road to riches or ruin. Horrible brothers, but you are compelled to keep reading to see what they do next.
Enjoy this with a strong stomach.
SUMMARY
The year is 1364, and the brothers Grossbart have embarked on a naïve quest for fortune. Descended from a long line of graverobbers, they are determined to follow their family's footsteps to the fabled crypts of Gyptland. To get there, they will have to brave dangerous and unknown lands and keep company with all manner of desperate travelers-merchants, priests, and scoundrels alike. For theirs is a world both familiar and distant; a world of living saints and livelier demons, of monsters and madmen.
The Brothers Grossbart are about to discover that all legends have their truths, and worse fates than death await those who would take the red road of villainy.
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188 |
Bullion, Glen (1) |
Soul Insurance(SciFi)
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REVIEW
This was an entertaining story and nice tight read. I enjoyed it.
SUMMARY
Everyone knows the spheres of light that mingle with society are souls. When a person dies their soul leaves the body until it's time for reincarnation. Only the privileged can afford soul insurance, a way to continue on after dying.
The living don't know what the afterlife holds, that period of time between bodies. They know nothing about life as a soul. Do souls think and feel? How do they fly up in the clouds? Do they take any part of their old life into the new one?
Only Connor has the answers.
Connor was born able to communicate with souls. He's tried to keep his ability hidden since he was a child. But Brooke, a woman with whom he shares a strange connection, needs the help of someone who can understand both worlds. They just have to avoid becoming souls themselves.
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189 |
Burch, CK (1) |
The Icarus Void(SciFi)
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REVIEW
This was a good read. Once the crew realizes the mistake they have made with the artifact it is a matter of survival - who will live and who will die and how - all the while under the stress of being inside a star.
SUMMARY
The crew of the Icarus is used to high-stress situations: their ship is designed to dive into the heart of a star to collect scientific data for research. Testing out the Icarus's new heatshielding is the plan, but when they discover an artifact in orbit of the Sun, the head of the research team presses the captain to retrieve the object for further analysis. The interior of the artifact is hollow -- a void -- and should be incinerated, but it's perfectly intact. If they can discover what makes the object naturally resilient to the radiation of the Sun, perhaps it can be used for future development in stardiving. Once the artifact is on board, research begins, and the scientists discover the terrifying secret of the void -- but the fate of the ship may have already been sealed.
The Icarus Void is an intense novel of science-fiction horror that will drag you in and pull you along until the final page. It also serves as the terrifying prelude to CK Burch's upcoming Equinox Saga
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190 |
Burgess, Anthony (1) |
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REVIEW
When published in the U.S. they left off the last chapter. Chapter 21 – 21 being symbolic of maturity where the character ALEX finally -grows up-. The implication of the movie, and the book without this chapter, is completely different than it is with this chapter. The book is much more horrifying that the movie, in that the ages of the victims and the criminals is so much younger than represented on screen. (For example, the girl in the rape scene in the movie was an adult, while in the book she was twelve.) The cruelty is more pronounced. (I remember hearing a story that Stanley Kubrick expected people to be horrified when they saw A Clockwork Orange in the movies - and was surprised to find that people were not shocked at all. Course I think Sam Peckinpah was really getting started at this time too. Given that lions eating Christians used to be entertainment, I don't think we can ever underestimate the human capacity for violence.) And yes, it takes a while to get through the special vocabulary of Alex and his droogs, but after a while you begin to swing with it, and your brain takes in what is being said quiet readily. This was an interesting attempt at a new slang language and worth reading for that, and the moral dilemma it poses.
SUMMARY
Great Music, it said, and Great Poetry would like quieten Modern Youth down and make Modern Youth more Civilized. Civilized my syphilised yarbles.
A vicious fifteen-year-old droog is the central character of this 1963 classic. In Anthony Burgess's nightmare vision of the future, where the criminals take over after dark, the story is told by the central character, Alex, who talks in a brutal invented slang that brilliantly renders his and his friends' social pathology. A Clockwork Orange is a frightening fable about good and evil, and the meaning of human freedom. When the state undertakes to reform Alex to "redeem" him, the novel asks, "At what cost?" This edition includes the controversial last chapter not published in the first edition and Burgess's introduction "A Clockwork Orange Resucked."
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191 |
Burkett, William R. Jr (1) |
Sleeping Planet(SciFi)
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REVIEW
This is one of the really early ones that I read. The copyright is 1965.. that would be over 40 years ago. A long time to remember a book hum... I guess SciFi made a big impact. I guess I keep books around too long.
SUMMARY
Science Fiction Encyclopedia described this as a "hard-edged" tale of the 24th-century conquest of Earth by an alien empire the humans had judged too stupid to pull off such a coup. Only a handful of humans escaped the effects of a mutated narcoleptic drug that put humanity into protracted hibernation. The battle to liberate Earth is fought by those few with the aid of a vengeful ghost called "Gremper" by the aliens. The action is fast and furious, while the genius general of the invading fleet goes slowly insane at the disruption of his well-laid plans. "A natural-born storyteller," said bestselling author Frank G. Slaughter. A classic reprint of a sci-fi masterpiece.
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192 |
Burns, Olive Ann (1) |
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REVIEW
I really enjoyed this book. I enjoyed the characters. I enjoyed the look into small town southern life and mores. And I enjoyed the scandal.
I give it a thumbs up.
SUMMARY
The one thing you can depend on in Cold Sassy, Georgia, is that word gets around - fast. When Grandpa E. Rucker Blakeslee announces one July morning in 1906 that he's aiming to marry the young and freckledy milliner, Miss Love Simpson - a bare three weeks after Granny Blakeslee has gone to her reward - the news is served up all over town with that afternoon's dinner. And young Will Tweedy suddenly finds himself eyewitness to a major scandal. Boggled by the sheer audacity of it all, and not a little jealous of his grandpa's new wife, Will nevertheless approves of this May-December match and follows its progress with just a smidgen of youthful prurience. As the newlyweds' chaperone, conspirator, and confidant, Will is privy to his one-armed, renegade grandfather's second adolescence; meanwhile, he does some growing up of his own. He gets run over by a train and lives to tell about it; he kisses his first girl, and survives that too. Olive Ann Burns has given us a timeless, funny, resplendent novel - about a romance that rocks an entire town, about a boy's passage through the momentous but elusive year when childhood melts into adolescence, and about just how people lived and died in a small Southern town at the turn of the century. Inhabited by characters who are wise and loony, unimpeachably pious and deliciously irreverent, Cold Sassy, Georgia, is the perfect setting for the debut of a storyteller of rare brio, exuberance, and style.
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193 |
Burroughs, William (1) |
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REVIEW
Gibberish. That's the kindest word I can use for this book. From page 1 to page 130 (where I gave up on it) this book is pure crap. Why does the fall of self destructive people make such great literature. This entire book is a series (which can be read in any order according to the author) of drug induced hallucinations culminating in NOTHING. There is no point. There is no story. There is gibberish. Under the Volcano & Appointment in Samarra are better books to read if you want to watch someone self destruct. But this book is crap. I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy I'm going to go to Google image search and see if I can find a new symbol for this book... because I don't even want to give it one start.
SUMMARY
Since its original publication in Paris in 1959, Naked Lunch has become one of the most important novels of the twentieth century. Exerting its influence on the relationship of art and obscenity, it is one of the books that redefined not just literature but American culture. For the Burroughs enthusiast and the neophyte, this volume—that contains final-draft typescripts, numerous unpublished contemporaneous writings by Burroughs, his own later introductions to the book, and his essay on psychoactive drugs—is a valuable and fresh experience of a novel that has lost none of its relevance or satirical bite.
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194 |
Butcher, Jim (1) |
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REVIEW
I'm not much into fantasy.. and wizards, etc, are fantasy to me. And I had a hard time figuring out the relationship between the main character, Harry Dresden, and his police detective friend/enemy. Does she acknowledge that magic is a thing, or does she just thing Harry has some special ideas that help her close cases. It was never made clear. I finished the book, and it was interesting toward the end, but I won't be reading any more in the series.
Now, if you are INTO that sort of thing, then know that this is set in modern day Chicago, so that puts an interesting spin on things. And there is potential for plenty of future stories. So, have at it.
SUMMARY
As a professional wizard, Harry Dresden knows firsthand that the ?everyday? world is actually full of strange and magical things?and most of them don?t play well with humans. And those that do enjoy playing with humans far too much. He also knows he?s the best at what he does. Technically, he?s the only at what he does. But even though Harry is the only game in town, business?to put it mildly?stinks.
So when the Chicago P.D. bring him in to consult on a double homicide committed with black magic, Harry's seeing dollar signs. But where there's black magic, there's a black mage behind it. And now that mage knows Harry's name...
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195 |
Butler, Samuel (1) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Not read
SUMMARY
Hailed by George Bernard Shaw as "one of the summits of human achievement," Butler's autobiographical account of a harsh upbringing and troubled adulthood satirizes Victorian hypocrisy in its chronicle of the life and loves of Ernest Pontifex. Along the way, it offers a powerful indictment of 19th-century England's major institutions.
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196 |
Byatt, A.S. (1) |
Possession Best Book Lists: 2,4,5 (Fiction - General)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Not read
SUMMARY
Hailed by The New York Times Book Review as "a gifted observer, able to discern the exact details that bring whole worlds into being" and "a storyteller who could keep a sultan on the edge of his throne for a thousand and one nights," A. S. Byatt writes some of the most engaging and skillful novels of our time. Time magazine calls her "a novelist of dazzling inventiveness."
Possession, for which Byatt won England's prestigious Booker Prize, was praised by critics on both sides of the Atlantic when it was first published in 1990. "On academic rivalry and obsession, Byatt is delicious. On the nature of possession—the lover by the beloved, the biographer by his subject—she is profound," said The Sunday Times (London). The New Yorker dubbed it "more fun to read than The Name of the Rose . . . Its prankish verve [and] monstrous richness of detail [make for] a one-woman variety show of literary styles and types." The novel traces a pair of young academics—Roland Michell and Maud Bailey—as they uncover a clandestine love affair between two long-dead Victorian poets. Interwoven in a mesmerizing pastiche are love letters and fairytales, extracts from biographies and scholarly accounts, creating a sensuous and utterly delightful novel of ideas and passions.
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197 |
Byers, Edward A. (1) |
The Babylon Gate(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read to long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
None available
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198 |
Caidin, Martin (2) |
Dark Messiah(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
As I recall a very powerful war lord comes to a bad end. Too long ago to rate
SUMMARY
none Available
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199 |
Caidin, Martin (2) |
The Messiah Stone(SciFi)
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REVIEW
An object that gives the holder power over other people. Just how will it be used... I recall this being pretty good.
SUMMARY
Doug Stavers plays the mercenary game, and every time he plays he wins: in Africa, Central America, Vietnam - or right here in the USA. Now he's up on the biggest hunt of his life: to find and seize a certain object that, incredibly, confers the power of absolute belief on its owner. Christ once wore it. So did Mohammed. The last to own it was Adolf Hitler. The next will rule the world. It's code name is the Messiah Stone.
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200 |
Cain, James M. (1) |
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REVIEW
This is a fast paced book about a bum and a woman in a bad marriage who fall in passion (not love to start) and come up with a plot to kill her husband. Their first attempt fails, but the second attempt just about succeeds - still, they land in court. All is well that ends well though, and the two of them realize they are really in love after all - but things don't end well for these two.
Like I said... Fast paced. Raw. And not filled with a bunch of tender emotions. This human passion out in the open.
SUMMARY
An amoral young tramp. A beautiful, sullen woman with an inconvenient husband. A problem that has only one grisly solution--a solution that only creates other problems that no one can ever solve.
First published in 1934 and banned in Boston for its explosive mixture of violence and eroticism, The Postman Always Rings Twice is a classic of the roman noir. It established James M. Cain as a major novelist with an unsparing vision of America's bleak underside, and was acknowledged by Albert Camus as the model for The Stranger.
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201 |
Cain, Mark (1) |
Hell's Super(Fiction - Humor)
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REVIEW
Hell's Super is about a guy who is the maintenance man in Hell. It is supposed to be funny, but falls flat as far as I am concerned. The pie in the face as punishment for saying something nice about someone... just not funny. And, common, with the huge population of Hell for there to be ONE maintenance guy and ONE supply person... It just does not hang together. This could have been a good idea, but it fell flat as a pancake as far as I am concerned. Not interesting.
SUMMARY
How can one damned handyman keep all Hell running when everything's always breaking, devils and demons plot against him … and he's terrible at fixing things?
Steve is Hell's Super, its handyman. Being Mr. Fixit to the Underworld keeps him and his assistant, Orson Welles (yes, that Orson Welles), pretty busy, since things go on the blink all the time down there.
No malfunction has ever created so much inconvenience, though, as the malfunction of Hell's Escalator, which leads from the Pearly Gates to the depths of Hades. What's worse: the breakdown appears to be sabotage. Satan calls in Steve to investigate.
But Steve is distracted these days. He's in love with Flo, a gorgeous, almost saintly figure who has come to Hell by choice to ease the suffering of the damned. What's more: she seems to like him, but romance in Hell? That could never be.
Still, solving the mystery of the Escalator could earn him some points with Satan, maybe even a chance with Flo.
Or maybe not.
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202 |
Caldwell, Erskine (1) |
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REVIEW
Oh lord, what a painful book to read. Not painful in that it was difficult, no, this is a very easy to read book - you can finish it in one day. No, it's painful in the manner of Steinbeck, but not quite. In Steinbeck the characters are very human and you can identify with them such that, when tragedy hits them, you are just punched in the gut by it. In Tobacco Road, the characters are so flawed, so ignorant, so de-humanized, that it's just painful from start to finish to read what they do to themselves. You keep thinking, no one could be this ignorant; and yet, in the back of your head there is that bothersome thought that Caldwell is not making any of this up. That these are real people. That they are living in real circumstances. And that bothersome little thought comes charging to the fore every now and then as you read - and you want to vomit. My GOD, humanity can't be that bad - OH YES IT CAN. I seriously don't know how to rate this book. If a book is supposed to evoke a response (laughter, tears, perplextion) then this is a 5 star book, no doubt. Will you feel good after putting it down. No way. Will you be glad you read it. Probably. I seriously don't know how to rate it. So.. here goes...
SUMMARY
Caldwell's bestselling, controversial classic: the story of a Southern sharecropper family ground down by the devastation of the Great Depression
Even before the Great Depression struck, Jeeter Lester and his family were desperately poor sharecroppers. But when hard times begin to affect the families that once helped support them, the Lesters slip completely into the abyss. Rather than hold on to each other for support, Jeeter, his wife Ada, and their twelve children are overcome by the fractured and violent society around them.
Banned and burned when first released in 1932, Tobacco Road is a brutal examination of poverty's dehumanizing influence by one of America's great masters of political fiction.
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203 |
Calouette, Casey (1) |
Steel Breach(SciFi)
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REVIEW
The Vasilov Worlds are on the edge of Human space. They have fought a war for 35 years against the insectoid Kadan that they have no intention of ending. It’s too essential to a society where the only social movement is via battle promotion. Then it all changes when the Kadan nearly annihilate the front lines.
Vasilov Officer Colonel Cole Clarke has just returned home from service with the Sigg Military. Now that he has learned how the Sigg fight, he's bringing that knowledge to the Vasilov Military, plus an entire battalion of second hand Sigg Armor purchased on the scrap market. But instead of a fresh battalion of troops, he’s assigned a penal battalion filled with convicts. The Vasilov Military doesn't accept change easily, even when they need it.
What would happen if an entirely new style of warfare came onto the battlefield? Could a strike force of second hand armor trump the defensive doctrines they’d used for thirty five years or would they be doomed to failure and death on the icy planet Lishun Delta?
One squadron of armor. One Colonel. A thousand of the worst convicts in the Vasilov Military. Will they be up to the task?
SUMMARY
A pretty darn good battle book. I enjoyed this. Seems like a metaphor for World War I where the upper ranks got medals and everyone else died. One soldier decides it's time to WIN instead of having a constant draw.
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204 |
Cameron, Miles (1) |
Artifact Space(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Another coming of age story about a girl who escapes her horrible life and cons her way onto one of the Great Ships that ply the trade lanes between systems. She learns the life of the ship and grows to become an important member of the crew - a crew of hundreds - that is facing an unknown threat to their very existence.
SUMMARY
Out in the darkness of space, something is targeting the Greatships.
With their vast cargo holds and a crew that could fill a city, the Greatships are the lifeblood of human occupied space, transporting an unimaginable volume - and value - of goods from City, the greatest human orbital, all the way to Tradepoint at the other, to trade for xenoglas with an unknowable alien species.
It has always been Marca Nbaro's dream to achieve the near-impossible: escape her upbringing and venture into space.
All it took, to make her way onto the crew of the Greatship Athens was thousands of hours in simulators, dedication, and pawning or selling every scrap of her old life in order to forge a new one. But though she's made her way onboard with faked papers, leaving her old life - and scandals - behind isn't so easy.
She may have just combined all the dangers of her former life, with all the perils of the new .
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205 |
Campbell, Steve (6) |
Hard Luck Hank 1: Screw the Galaxy(SciFi)
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REVIEW
This is a fun book. You start to really like the characters in here, even though they are all pretty reprehensible. After all... the whole place is just one big criminal enterprise.
SUMMARY
Hank is a thug. He knows he's a thug. He has no problem with that realization. In his view the galaxy has given him a gift: a mutation that allows him to withstand great deals of physical trauma. He puts his abilities to the best use possible and that isn't by being a scientist.
Besides, the space station Belvaille doesn't need scientists. It is not, generally, a thinking person's locale. It is the remotest habitation in the entire Colmarian Confederation. There is literally no reason to be there.
Unless you are a criminal.
Because of its location, Belvaille is populated with nothing but crooks. Every day is a series of power struggles between the crime bosses.
Hank is an intrinsic part of this community as a premier gang negotiator. Not because he is eloquent or brilliant or an expert combatant, but because if you shoot him in the face he keeps on talking.
Hank believes he has it pretty good until a beautiful and mysterious blue woman enters his life with a compelling job offer.
Hank and Belvaille, so long out of public scrutiny, suddenly find themselves at the epicenter of the galaxy with a lot of very unwelcome attention.
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206 |
Campbell, Steve (6) |
Hard Luck Hank 2: Prince of Suck(SciFi)
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REVIEW
This is a follow up to the first Hard Luck Hank book. Hank is a mutant human who lives on a space station (massive) run by a bunch of crime bosses who settles issues between them - in as peaceful a manner as possible; for bone breaking values of peaceful. Nearly invulnerable due to his mutation, Hank still tries to get things done peaceably. The city is falling apart, and some how, it is up to Hank to get it all back together with no real authority, other than his reputation.
You really need to read the first books for this to make a bunch of sense, but the character is good, and the books are enjoyable.
SUMMARY
An increasingly crippled Hank struggles to keep the various factions of Belvaille in check after the collapse of the Colmarian Confederation.
Hank, as Supreme Kommilaire and Secretary of City, has several hundred police to try and maintain order among the millions of inhabitants on the space station while simultaneously preparing for Belvaille's first ever election.
He thinks it is an impossible task. Every year the city, and even the galaxy, falls further into chaos as he himself succumbs to the debilitating effects of his mutation.
With economic turmoil everywhere, a dirty election in the works, and the galaxy's foremost assassin hunting him, Hank has to decide if he can save Belvaille. Or if it's even worth saving.
NOTE: Sequel to Hard Luck Hank - Screw the Galaxy and Hard Luck Hank - Basketful of Crap
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207 |
Campbell, Steve (6) |
Hard Luck Hank 3: Basket Full of Crap(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Someone is trying to start a galactic civil war, and Hank is in the middle of what is going on, but what really is going on. That naked guy seems to be stirring things up, but who the hell is he. Can Hank do something to stop the civil war, and still manage to make all his meals? Maybe if people stop shooting at him for no reason (or even a good reason) he might get something done. Good thing he is bullet proof. Nothing goes right for Hank, but eventually he does figure out who Naked Guy really is.. or maybe not. Ah well, its all just a Basket Full of Crap!!
SUMMARY
Hank was a dying breed on the space station Belvaille. The criminal gangs that had once made their homes there were forced out by the corporations that had taken over since the facility became an Independent Protectorate.
Instead of the gentlemanly gang wars that had once dominated the scene, and made Hank's services prized as a negotiator, the city was now plagued by the clash of corporate armies using heavy weapons. Even tanks roamed the streets regularly.
Most everyone from the olden days had either fled the station or was killed due to the organizational changes. Changes that Hank personally brought about when he had negotiated Belvaille's status with the Navy.
As Hank contemplates whether he can survive in this increasingly hostile environment, he realizes that things aren't as bad as they seem--they are quite a bit worse. The constant power plays among corporations might have further reach than just the alleys of a backwater space station at the edge of the galaxy.
NOTE: Sequel to Hard Luck Hank - Screw the Galaxy
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208 |
Campbell, Steve (6) |
Hard Luck Hank 4: Suck My Cosmos(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Oh, Hank is in trouble now. Again, someone hires him to do a job, and then someone hires him to do a conflicting job, and then some one hires him to not do a job, and it is all very confusing. He is shot, burned, knifed, punched, bazookaed, and it is all in a days work for Hank. As long as he has enough to eat.. all is good.
These books are amusing and funny.. and there is a mystery to solve so.. have at it.
SUMMARY
Life is tough on the space station Belvaille. Not for the aristocratic nobles that call it home, but for the poor slobs like Hank.
Hank is considered a "celebrated cutthroat" and the oldest living person in the city. His occupation is to be hired muscle for those people who don't want to get their hands dirty but still want dirty things done. He possesses a mutation that allows him to be bulletproof and weigh thousands of pounds, two helpful traits in his line of work.
When the wife a City Councilman approaches him about spying on her husband, Hank worries he's flying too close to the flames for safety. When the husband is assassinated, he's sure of it.
Hank has to keep himself from getting framed for the murder while he finds himself increasingly manipulated by increasingly powerful people as the machinations of the City Council start to spill into his daily life.
NOTE: Sequel to Hard Luck Hank - Screw the Galaxy, Hard Luck Hank - Basketful of Crap, and Hard Luck Hank - Prince of Suck
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209 |
Campbell, Steve (6) |
Hard Luck Hank 5: Stank Delicioius(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Another of the Hard Luck Hank series about a guy.. a mutant, who lives on a space station, and manages to get himself into all kinds of trouble... and manages to get himself out of it. In this book he becomes a "glocken" player (it's a game, sounds pretty brutal, and kinda like it would be fun to watch). Anyway, there is that, and someone is kidnapping folks, and he is supposed to figure that out, and then there is the immortal guy who keeps trying to destroy the galaxy. Yeah, Hank has his hands full, like always. A fun book like the others.
SUMMARY
Belvaille has cemented its place as the most important System in the galaxy and Hank is working as an official Factotum, negotiating deals between gangs and noblemen under the watchful eye of the Arch Minister.
When his ever-capable butler, Cliston, is approached to become the general manager of a Super Class glocken team, Hank is hired not only as protection, but as a player.
Hank finds himself thrown into the most grueling bloodsport in the galaxy and he is tasked with finding out how and why players are being abducted.
The friendly rivalries turn into full-scale conflict and Hank unravels a far more insidious plot than the fixing of gambling results. In the process, Hank learns a lot about his history that he never even dreamed had existed.
Many of Hank's friends and enemies return in this action-packed and humorous take on the professional sporting world.
NOTE: Sequel to Hard Luck Hank - Screw the Galaxy, Hard Luck Hank - Basketful of Crap, Hard Luck Hank - Prince of Suck, and Hard Luck Hank - Suck My Cosmos
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210 |
Campbell, Steve (6) |
Hard Luck Hank 6: Robot Farts(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Well, things have not gone well for Hank since we last saw him. Times are a little tougher and life is sucking for Hank and all the low-lifes in the space station because they can't figure out how to rob and steal for a living... til Hank lays it out for them how to get around all the new laws. Oh, and then a race of robots declare war on humanity.. thanks to Hank. And his old girlfriend has joined the Navy. As usual, life sucks and Hank just copes looking out for Hank.
This is an unusual series of books.. funny and snide.. and this one is no exception. Hank ain't any kind of character you would want to depend on.. his moral compass is very flexible.. but you grow to like him, and how he acts. He is the perfect Heroic - anti-hero. I'm loving it.
SUMMARY
Sometimes it?s not easy being a mutant thug.
The space station Belvaille, once the center of civilization, is nearly deserted because of the new government?s policies. Hank makes do by working odd jobs, but he isn?t sure how long those, or the city, can last.
However, there are still some people trying to scratch out a (dis)honest living on Belvaille. Hank concocts a plan to save the city: steal from the countless transports and freighters that pass through the System.
In the meantime, Hank falls in with a tough crowd of freedom fighters who seem determined to overthrow the government. The team goes on exceedingly dangerous assignments, with Hank taking the brunt of the danger.
As if things weren?t bad enough, the Navy set up residence in the System, a powerful alien dignitary is scheduled to arrive, and Hank?s absurdly-competent butler states that his robotic species may declare war on Hank?s home.
It?s up to Hank to fix the problems, find out who is doing what and why, and to try and earn a little cash in the process.
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211 |
Camus, Albert (1) |
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REVIEW
A short easy read, and an interesting character who seems to be more of a nihilist than and existentialist. The main character doesn't seem to feel much about anything; every possibility is as good as any other since they all end the same way - in death. What difference does it make what day we die, we all die one way or the other. A pretty clear exposition of what it means to be a nihilist.
SUMMARY
Through the story of an ordinary man unwittingly drawn into a senseless murder on an Algerian beach, Camus explored what he termed "the nakedness of man faced with the absurd." First published in 1946; now in a new translation by Matthew Ward.
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212 |
Cantrell, Christian (1) |
Containment(SciFi)
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REVIEW
A pretty good read. The science is reasonable. The twist ending you see coming from a mile away, but sill entertaining.
SUMMARY
The colony on Venus was not built because the destruction of Earth was possible, but because it was inevitable…
A brilliant young scientist and one of the first humans born on Venus, Arik works tirelessly to perfect the science of artificial photosynthesis, a project crucial to the future of his home, V1. The colony was built on the harsh Venusian surface by the Founders, the first humans to establish a permanent extraterrestrial settlement. Arik's research becomes critical when he awakens from an unexplained, near-fatal accident and learns that his wife is three months pregnant. Unless Arik's research uncovers a groundbreaking discovery, V1's oxygen supply will not be able to support the increase in population that his baby represents.
As Arik works against time, he begins to untangle the threads of his accident, which seem inextricably linked to what lies outside the protective walls of V1—a world where the caustic atmosphere and extreme heat make all forms of known life impossible. For its entire existence, Arik's generation has been expected to help solve the problems of colonization. But as Arik digs deeper and deeper, he discovers alarming truths about the planet that the Founders have kept hidden. With growing urgency and increasing peril, Arik finds himself on a journey that will push him to the limits of his intelligence and take him beyond the unimaginable.
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213 |
Canyon, Derek J (1) |
Dead Dwarves Don't Dance(SciFi)
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REVIEW
This was a fun book. The main character is a nasty bit of work, but you sympathize with his motives. The society described is lawless and chaotic, but well fleshed. Probably post apocalyptic but never explicitly said that I can remember.
SUMMARY
Noose, a genetically engineered dwarf mercenary, barely survives a terrorist attack on a neohuman dance club. Injured and alone, he embarks on a brutal quest for vengeance into the squalid underbelly of the Regional Atlanta Metroplex, through the desert wasteland of the not-so-pristine wilderness, and to the peerless towers of elite society.
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214 |
Capobianco, Michael (1) |
Burster(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read too long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
Homeless Among the Stars
In a last ditch effort to reunite the world, the multinational starship Asia was launched fourteen years ago on a journey through the near solar systems. Its mission: to search out and colonzie Earth-type planets that could support human life. Yet, as the crew approaches their first destination in the Epsilon Indi system, an unexplained burst of radiation apparently emanating from Earth wipes out all contact with the mother planet.
Fearing the worst but unwilling to jeopardize essential crew members, the captain chooses the brilliant but restless Peter Zolotin to undertake the hazardous voyage back to Earth. With the aid of an advanced artificial intelligence Zolotin embarks on a mind-bending journey to discover the truth about Earth's fate. And the message he carries back to the orphaned cre will change the course of humanity forever.
A remarkable solo debut, Burster is a stunning and thought-provoking novel of a young man's coming of age in the galaxy.
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215 |
Capote, Truman (1) |
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REVIEW
WOW. Just wow. This book is difficult to read sometimes because you feel for the victim's of this seemingly random cold blooded crime. Capote is so good at painting their life; putting the picture in your mind of how simply normal these victims were, that you want to turn away before the crime and freeze them as they lived, and should have lived.
The perpetrators also shine in Capote's light; but it's so hard to have sympathy for them.
I can't imagine how much work he must have done; how many people he talked to; how much time he spent; to create this amazing book.
But WOW.
SUMMARY
On November 15, 1959, in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas, four members of the Clutter family were savagely murdered by blasts from a shotgun held a few inches from their faces. There was no apparent motive for the crime, and there were almost no clues.
As Truman Capote reconstructs the murder and the investigation that led to the capture, trial, and execution of the killers, he generates both mesmerizing suspense and astonishing empathy. In Cold Blood is a work that transcends its moment, yielding poignant insights into the nature of American violence.
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216 |
Card, Orson Scott (13) |
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REVIEW
The first book about Ender Wiggin - Ender's Game - was fantastic. But what happened after that book ended. What could a child do, who was raised for nothing but war? This book gets to that and is a very good followup.
SUMMARY
In Ender's Game, the world's most gifted children were taken from their families and sent to an elite training school. At Battle School, they learned combat, strategy, and secret intelligence to fight a dangerous war on behalf of those left on Earth. But they also learned some important and less definable lessons about life.
After the life-changing events of those years, these children--now teenagers--must leave the school and re adapt to life in the outside world.
Having not seen their families or interacted with other people for years--where do they go now? What can they do?
Ender fought for humanity, but he is now reviled as a ruthless assassin. No longer allowed to live on Earth, he enters into exile. With his sister Valentine, he chooses to leave the only home he's ever known to begin a relativistic--and revelatory--journey beyond the stars.
What happened during the years between Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead? What did Ender go through from the ages of 12 through 35? The story of those years has never been told. Taking place 3000 years before Ender finally receives his chance at redemption in Speaker for the Dead, this is the long-lost story of Ender.
For twenty-three years, millions of readers have wondered and now they will receive the answers. Ender in Exile is Orson Scott Card's moving return to all the action and the adventure, the profound exploration of war and society, and the characters one never forgot.
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217 |
Card, Orson Scott (13) |
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REVIEW
Absolutely Spectacular !!!!! One of the best Science Fiction novels of all time. I cannot praise this book enough. Not only is the story great, but the characters are complex and interesting. Ender Wiggin especially comes to realize that to beat and enemy, he has to understand the enemy - and with understanding comes empathy. How do you destroy that with which you empathize?
SUMMARY
In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race's next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn't make the cut--young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training.
Ender's skills make him a leader in school and respected in the Battle Room, where children play at mock battles in zero gravity. Yet growing up in an artificial community of young soldiers Ender suffers greatly from isolation, rivalry from his peers, pressure from the adult teachers, and an unsettling fear of the alien invaders. His psychological battles include loneliness, fear that he is becoming like the cruel brother he remembers, and fanning the flames of devotion to his beloved sister.
Is Ender the general Earth needs? But Ender is not the only result of the genetic experiments. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Ender's two older siblings are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If, that is, the world survives.
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218 |
Card, Orson Scott (13) |
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REVIEW
Absolutely Excellent!!!
Orson Scott Card brings us back to the very beginning of his brilliant Ender Quartet, with the novel that begins The Shadow Series and allows us to reenter Ender's world anew.
SUMMARY
With all the power of his original creation, Ender's Shadow is Card's parallel volume to Ender's Game, a book that expands and complements the first, enhancing its power, illuminating its events and its powerful conclusion.
The human race is at War with the "Buggers", an insect-like alien race. The first battles went badly, and now as Earth prepares to defend itself against the imminent threat of total destruction at the hands of an inscrutable alien enemy, all focus is on the development and training of military geniuses who can fight such a war, and win.
The long distances of interstellar space have given hope to the defenders of Earth--they have time to train these future commanders up from childhood, forging then into an irresistible force in the high orbital facility called the Battle School.
Andrew "Ender" Wiggin was not the only child in the Battle School; he was just the best of the best. In this new book, card tells the story of another of those precocious generals, the one they called Bean--the one who became Ender's right hand, part of his team, in the final battle against the Buggers.
Bean's past was a battle just to survive. He first appeared on the streets of Rotterdam, a tiny child with a mind leagues beyond anyone else's. He knew he could not survive through strength; he used his tactical genius to gain acceptance into a children's gang, and then to help make that gang a template for success for all the others. He civilized them, and lived to grow older.
Bean's desperate struggle to live, and his success, brought him to the attention of the Battle School's recruiters, those people scouring the planet for leaders, tacticians, and generals to save Earth from the threat of alien invasion. Bean was sent into orbit, to the Battle School. And there he met Ender....
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219 |
Card, Orson Scott (13) |
Homecoming Vol. 1: Memory of Earth(SciFi)
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REVIEW
This is the promising start of a series that turned out to be awful. Do not start this series, it is a disappointment.
SUMMARY
High above the planet Harmony, the Oversoul watches. Its task, programmed so many millennia ago, is to guard the human settlement on this planet--to protect this fragile remnant of Earth from all threats. To protect them, most of all, from themselves.
The Oversoul has done its job well. There is no war on Harmony. There are no weapons of mass destruction. There is no technology that could lead to weapons of war. By control of the data banks, and subtle interference in the very thoughts of the people, the artificial intelligence has fulfilled its mission.
But now there is a problem. In orbit, the Oversoul realizes that it has lost access to some of its memory banks, and some of its power systems are failing. And on the planet, men are beginning to think about power, wealth, and conquest.
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220 |
Card, Orson Scott (13) |
Homecoming Vol. 2: Call of Earth(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Devolving. Not what I was hoping for from Orson Scott Card.
SUMMARY
As Harmony's Oversoul grows weaker, a great warrior has arisen to challenge its bans. His name is Moozh, and he has won control of an army using forbidden technology. Now he is aiming his soldiers at the city of Basilica, that strong fortress above the Plain.
Basilica remains in turmoil. Wetchik and his sons are not strong enough to stop a army. Can Rasa and her allies defeat him through intrigue, or will Moozh take the city
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221 |
Card, Orson Scott (13) |
Homecoming Vol. 3: The Ships of Earth(SciFi)
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REVIEW
The series has gone off the rails now and become wrong. Do not start this series as it turns disappointing.
SUMMARY
The City of Basilica has fallen. Now Wetchik, Nafai, and all their family must brave the desert wastes, and cross the wide continents to where Harmony's hidden spaceport lies silent, abandoned, waiting for the command to make the great interstellar ships ready for flight again.
But of these sixteen people, only a few have chosen their exile. The others, Rasa's spiteful daughters and their husbands; Wetchik's oldest son, Elemak, have been forced against their will. Their anger and hatreds will make the difficult journey harder.
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222 |
Card, Orson Scott (13) |
Homecoming Vol. 4: Earthfall (SciFi)
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REVIEW
Dull. Did not seem interesting enough to continue.. but I did.
SUMMARY
The Oversoul of the colony planet Harmony selected the family of Wetchik to carry it back to long-lost Earth. Now grown to a tribe in the years of their journey to Harmony's hidden starport, they are ready at last to take a ship to the stars. But from the beginning there has been bitter dispute between Nafai and Elemak, Wetchick's youngest son and his oldest.
On board the starship Bailica, the children of the tribe will become pawns in the struggle. Two factions are each making secret plans to awaken the children, and themselves, early from the cold-sleep capsules in which they will pass the long decades of the journey. Each side hopes to gain years of influence on the minds of the children, winning their loyalty in the struggle for control of reclaimed Earth.
But the Oversoul is truly in control of this journey. It has downloaded a complete copy of itself to the Ship's computers. And only Nafai, who wears the Cloak of the Starmaster by the Oversoul's command, really understand what this will mean to all their plans for the future.
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223 |
Card, Orson Scott (13) |
Homecoming Vol. 5 : Earthborn (SciFi)
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REVIEW
Boring
SUMMARY
High above the earth orbits the starship Basilica. On board the huge vessel is a sleeping woman. Of those who made the journey, Shedemai alone has survived the hundred of years since the Children of Wetchik returned to Earth.
She now wears the Cloak of the Starmaster, and the Oversoul wakes her sometimes to watch over her descendants on the planet below. The population has grown rapidly--there are cities and nations now, whole peoples descended from the who followed Nafai or Elemak.
But in all the long years of watching and searching, the Oversoul has not found the thing it sought. It has not found the Keeper of the Earth, the central intelligence that also can repair the Oversoul's damaged programming.
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224 |
Card, Orson Scott (13) |
Shadow of the Hegemon(SciFi)
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REVIEW
What happened to Ender Wiggen after the war in which he was trained to be a weapon is explained in the book Ender in Exile - But what about Bean - and the other children of the war school. They are just as capable of leading wars on Earth now that the alien threat is over.
What will become of them? A great read.
SUMMARY
The War is over, won by Ender Wiggin and his team of brilliant child-warriors. The enemy is destroyed, the human race is saved. Ender himself refuses to return to the planet, but his crew has gone home to their families, scattered across the globe. The battle school is no more.
But with the external threat gone, the Earth has become a battlefield once more. The children of the Battle School are more than heroes; they are potential weapons that can bring power to the countries that control them. One by one, all of Ender's Dragon Army are kidnapped. Only Bean escapes; and he turns for help to Ender's brother Peter.
Peter Wiggin, Ender's older brother, has already been manipulating the politics of Earth from behind the scenes. With Bean's help, he will eventually rule the world.
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225 |
Card, Orson Scott (13) |
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REVIEW
After the drama of Ender's Game, this novel is a significant step back from the action, and s deeper exploration of Ender's empathy for the enemy. Interesting.
SUMMARY
In the aftermath of his terrible war, Ender Wiggin disappeared, and a powerful voice arose: The Speaker for the Dead, who told the true story of the Bugger War.
Now, long years later, a second alien race has been discovered, but again the aliens' ways are strange and frightening...again, humans die. And it is only the Speaker for the Dead, who is also Ender Wiggin the Xenocide, who has the courage to confront the mystery...and the truth.
Speaker for the Dead, the second novel in Orson Scott Card's Ender Quintet, is the winner of the 1986 Nebula Award for Best Novel and the 1987 Hugo Award for Best Novel.
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226 |
Card, Orson Scott (13) |
Treason(SciFi)
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REVIEW
A very interesting character - part psychopath - for whom you start to root. How does he turn a negative into a positive and stick it to his enemies?
SUMMARY p>Lanik Mueller's birthright as heir to planet Treason's most powerful rulership will never be realized. He is a "rad" -- radical regenerative. A freak among people who can regenerate injured flesh... and trade extra body parts to the Offworld oppressors for iron. For, on a planet without hard metals -- or the means of escape -- iron is power in the race to build a spacecraft.
Iron is the promise of freedom -- which may never be fulfilled as Lanik uncovers a treacherous conspiracy beyond his imagination.
Now charged with a mission of conquest -- and exile -- Lanik devises a bold and dangerous plan... a quest that may finally break the vicious chain of rivalry and bloodshed that enslaves the people of Treason as the Offworld never could.
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227 |
Card, Orson Scott (13) |
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REVIEW
Multi-generational story of one powerful family. Not a bad read.
SUMMARY
It was a miracle of science that permitted human beings to live, if not forever, then for a long, long time. Some people, anyway. The rich, the powerful--they lived their lives at the rate of one year every ten. Some created two societies: that of people who lived out their normal span and died, and those who slept away the decades, skipping over the intervening years and events. It allowed great plans to be put in motion. It allowed interstellar Empires to be built.
It came near to destroying humanity.
After a long, long time of decadence and stagnation, a few seed ships were sent out to save our species. They carried human embryos and supplies, and teaching robots, and one man. The Worthing Saga is the story of one of these men, Jason Worthing, and the world he found for the seed he carried.
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228 |
Card, Orson Scott (13) |
Xenocide(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Ender Wiggin performed xenocide when he destroyed the Formick race. Now can he help prevent it from happening again?
SUMMARY
The war for survival of the planet Lusitania will be fought in the heart of a child named Gloriously Bright.
On Lusitania, Ender found a world where humans and pequininos and the Hive Queen could all live together; where three very different intelligent species could find common ground at last. Or so he thought.
Lusitania also harbors the descolada, a virus that kills all humans it infects, but which the pequininos require in order to become adults. The Starways Congress so fears the effects of the descolada, should it escape from Lusitania, that they have ordered the destruction of the entire planet, and all who live there. The Fleet is on its way, a second xenocide seems inevitable.
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229 |
Carlson, Jeff (1) |
Plague Year(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Finally A well done story about nano-technology gone hay wire. Highly recommended.
SUMMARY
The nanotechnology was designed to fight cancer. Instead, it evolved into the machine plague, killing nearly five billion people and changing life on Earth forever.
The nanotech has one weakness: it self-destructs at altitudes above ten thousand feet. Those few who've managed to escape the plague struggle to stay alive on the highest mountains, but time is running out. There is famine and war, and the environment is crashing worldwide. Humanity's last hope lies with a top nanotech researcher aboard the International Space Station... and with a small group of survivors in California who risk a daring journey below the death line...
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230 |
Carpenter, Thomas K (1) |
Gamers(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Well, there was a good idea in here somewhere.. but it never quit panned out. Your left hanging and not really interested. So I never read the follow-up books.
SUMMARY
Two points for brushing your teeth. Ten points for keeping your room tidy. Seventy-two points for the Bioeconomic Game Design pop quiz on the ride to school in your personal FunCar. Another thirty for making every hurdle in gym class.
Life is a game, unless you're not the one winning.
Gabby DeCorte, top student and reality-hacker extraordinaire, has been doing whatever it takes to keep her best friend, Zaela, from falling behind in LifeGame. Zaela has gifts of artistry that amaze Gabby, but none of those skills translate in LifeGame and with final exams coming up, they can't afford to waste a single minute. But when a mysterious group called the Frags contacts Gabby claiming to know what really happens to the losers of LifeGame, she must choose between winning and what she believes in.
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231 |
Carré, John le (1) |
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REVIEW
Today, we know how the cold war turned out.. but once upon a time it was always a worry that it would turn hot. We spied on them.. they spied on us... and it was merciless. This is not some fantastical James Bond story with gadgets and villains. This is down and dirty, nitty gritty, kill or be killed spy craft where the stakes are your life, plain and simple.
This is one of the novels that created the breed that led to James Bond, and many other novels and characters of international intrigue. Well worth a read if you enjoy the genre. Be prepared for the ugly truth at the end.
SUMMARY
In the shadow of the newly erected Berlin Wall, Alec Leamas watches as his last agent is shot dead by East German sentries. For Leamas, the head of Berlin Station, the Cold War is over. As he faces the prospect of retirement or worse—a desk job—Control offers him a unique opportunity for revenge. Assuming the guise of an embittered and dissolute ex-agent, Leamas is set up to trap Mundt, the deputy director of the East German Intelligence Service—with himself as the bait. In the background is George Smiley, ready to make the game play out just as Control wants.
Setting a standard that has never been surpassed, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold is a devastating tale of duplicity and espionage.
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232 |
Carver, Jeffery A. (2) |
From a Changeling Star(SciFi)
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REVIEW
A good hard science read. Very enjoyable.
SUMMARY
Beneath the roiling surface of Betelgeuse, scientists anxiously await the one man essential to the success of Starmuse, the greatest engineering project in human history. But on Kantano's World, Willard Ruskin battles invisible agents for control of his life, his physical form, and even his memories. Drawn into a conflict from which not even death will free him, Ruskin must find a way to reach Betelgeuse before his enemies sabotage Starmuse—and humanity's future among the stars. A harrowing journey from inside the human cell... to the mind of a dying star.
A stunning blend of hard science fiction with moving characterization, both human and otherwise. Introduces the robot Jeaves, familiar to readers of The Chaos Chronicles. From the Nebula-nominated author of Eternity's End.
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233 |
Carver, Jeffery A. (2) |
The Rapture Effect(SciFi)
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REVIEW
A fun and complex plot. Enjoyed.
SUMMARY
It was started by an AI, and few humans even knew there was a war at all. But now people are dying, not just robots and aliens—and the AI wants it to stop. But a war is easier to start than to stop, and the computer can't alter its course without outside help. When the Gnostic Control System searches for conspirators, it chooses its friends carefully...
- Pali: a public relations director, who broods far too much on her unfulfilled ambitions.
- Ramo: a flamboyant senso-dancer and sculptor, who prefers a musical jamdam to serious conversation.
- Sage: an awkward systems designer, for whom the AI rapture-field is realer than life.
- And three of the alien Ell: Harybdartt, who would rather die with dignity than betray his people; Lingrhetta, who tries to unravel the meaning of human dance and music, pain and love; and Moramaharta, the binder, who must persuade his fellow decision-makers to risk everything for the sake of a fragile bridge of understanding across the stars.
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234 |
Cather, Willa (2) |
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REVIEW
The title of this book sounds ominous, but the book is not much concerned at all with death, but with life; and a religious life well lived. It is the historical story of 2 priests from France who are ordered to the territory of New Mexico to form a new dioceses there. It is the story of how they manage; of the people they encounter; of the growth of the area and the growth of their church. Willa Cather is one of those writers I love who can "take you there." When you
read this book you are riding on a mule with the priest wondering if you will find water or die in the desert doing God's work. I really like books that can transport you to where the characters are acting and join them, for good or evil, in whatever befalls. Whether you are Catholic or not, I highly recommend this book.
SUMMARY
The primary character is a bishop, Jean Marie Latour, who travels with his friend and vicar Joseph Vaillant from Sandusky, Ohio to New Mexico to take charge of the newly established diocese of New Mexico, which has only just become a territory of the United States. The names given to the main proponents reflect their characters. Vaillant, valiant, is fearless in his promulgation of the faith, whereas Latour, the tower, is more intellectual and reserved than his comrade.
At the time of his departure, Cincinnati is the end of the railway line west, so Latour must travel by riverboat to the Gulf of Mexico, and thence overland to New Mexico, a journey which takes an entire year. He spends the rest of his life establishing the Roman Catholic church in New Mexico, where he dies in old age.
The novel portrays two well-meaning and devout French priests who encounter a well-entrenched Spanish-Mexican clergy that they are sent to supplant after the United States has acquired New Mexico in the Mexican–American War. As a result of the U.S. victory, the dioceses of the new state have been remapped by the Vatican to reflect the new national borders.[5]
Several of these entrenched priests are depicted as examples of greed, avarice, and gluttony, while others live simple, abstemious lives among the Native Americans. Cather portrays the Hopi and Navajo sympathetically, and her characters express the near futility of overlaying their religion on a millennia-old native culture.
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235 |
Cather, Willa (2) |
My Antonia Best Book Lists: 3,5 (Fiction - General)
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REVIEW
A great little book about growing up in the early days of settlement in Nebraska. The author is speaking from personal experience so it is a really good and accurate look into what life was like for these relatively early settlers. Follows the life of some children as they grow up .. first on farms, and then moving into the closest town. I've never read "Little House", but I imagine it to be something like this, only with the children growing up and dealing with more and more adult lives as the book progresses. If you have an interest in this type and time... I recommend this book. I know at the end it really pulled at my heartstrings... nothing turned out the way you expected.. or hoped.. but still, the characters ended up well.
SUMMARY
My Ántonia evokes the Nebraska prairie life of Willa Cather's childhood, and commemorates the spirit and courage of immigrant pioneers in America. One of Cather's earliest novels, written in 1918, it is the story of Ántonia Shimerda, who arrives on the Nebraska frontier as part of a family of Bohemian emigrants. Her story is told through the eyes of Jim Burden, a neighbor who will befriend Ántonia, teach her English, and follow the remarkable story of her life.
Working in the fields of waving grass and tall corn that dot the Great Plains, Ántonia forges the durable spirit that will carry her through the challenges she faces when she moves to the city. But only when she returns to the prairie does she recover her strength and regain a sense of purpose in life. In the quiet, probing depth of Willa Cather's art, Ántonia's story becomes a mobbing elegy to those whose persistence and strength helped build the American frontier.
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236 |
Cawdron, Peter (4) |
Losing Mars (First Contact)(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Would you leave your crew on Mars to mount a rescue for a Chinese craft in orbit around Mars, knowing that you were extending their stay by years? What would you do if you could not separate reality from illusion while in space? This is an interesting book in terms of the dilemmas it presents. The alien technology is a bit... odd in that "what purpose does it serve"? And does the main characters final decision to hide everything he discovers from all of mankind the right one? It will leave you wondering.
SUMMARY
Disaster strikes in orbit around Mars. A Chinese spacecraft is disabled, stranded near Phobos. Well over a hundred million miles from Earth, their only hope for rescue comes from the American base on the edge of the Vallis Marineris on the surface of Mars. The Americans need to decide, do they lose Mars or their humanity?
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237 |
Cawdron, Peter (4) |
My Sweet Satan (First Contact)(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Other books by this author are pretty good... good hard science. But this one just did not measure up. The plot and characters are muddled. The motivations don't seem to make sense. There are holes in the plot that are never explained... and honestly, it only got interesting in the last 20 pages. Before that it was stupid. 20 pages from the end, it got interesting. I wonder if there is a followup. I do not recommend this book.
SUMMARY
The crew of the Copernicus are sent to investigate Bestla, one of the remote moons of Saturn. Bestla has always been an oddball, orbiting Saturn in the wrong direction and at a distance of thirty million kilometers, so far away Saturn appears smaller than Earth's moon in the night sky. Bestla hides a secret. When mapped by an unmanned probe, Bestla awoke and began transmitting a message, only it?s a message no one wants to hear: ?I want to live and die for you, Sa
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238 |
Cawdron, Peter (4) |
Retrograde(SciFi)
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REVIEW
This book took a while to get interesting. A nuclear war breaks out on Earth and the folks on Mars have to figure out how to respond. But things are not what they think they are.. something is not right and it is costing lives.
Okay.. I have to say I am disappointed that once again we have a science fiction story that assumes that an A.I. will be the enemy of the human race. Why is this such and easy and irrational conclusion. Personally I tend to think that any A.I. that might emerge would either hide itself or be benign to the humans who provide it power. This was a disappointing twist to this plot, and it took nearly half the book to reveal this point. Not comparable to The Martian.
SUMMARY
?For lovers of Andy Weir?s The Martian, here?s a true hard-science-fiction tale set on the red planet ? a terrific blend of high tech and high tension, of science and suspense, of character and crisis.?
? Robert J. Sawyer, Hugo Award?winning author of Red Planet Blues
?Post-apocalyptic disaster meets fractured utopian space exploration in this terrifying tale, which Cawdron (Anomaly) sets in a scientific outpost on Mars . . . This tense cat-and-mouse game plays off fears . . . to satisfying result.? ? Publishers Weekly
Venturing into space and traveling to Mars sounds like an exotic adventure, but the reality of living on a rocky, frozen, lifeless planet is exacting on the Mars Endeavour crew. The exhilaration of reaching the surface of Mars has worn off for the public, and the exploration has moved into its scientific phase. The only viable option for long-term habitation lies hundreds of feet beneath the surface, in lava caves that shield humans from harsh cosmic radiation.
Connor, Harrison, and Liz are senior members of the U.S. module. When war breaks out on Earth and rumors spread to Mars, their core principles are rocked by the devastation and loss of friends and family. Whom can you trust on an international mission when your countries are at war? As colonists from different nations struggle to figure out what really happened on Earth, grief and anger become pitted against camaraderie and the spirit of exploration.
?Science fiction as it should be. Retrograde combines realistic characters with depictions of Mars as our explorers will one day find it in a powerful story. A must-read!? ? Ben Bova, Hugo Award winner and author of the Grand Tour series
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239 |
Cawdron, Peter (4) |
Xenophobia (First Contact)(SciFi)
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REVIEW
In the middle of an African nations civil war, an group of doctors and Seals find them self in a world where aliens have come to call. The aliens are everywhere in the sky, but no one can make head or tails of what they want, or what they are doing. Public reaction is all across the spectrum, but that doesn't matter to this small group who only figure out a way to survive, and who actually come across a member of the alien race who they decide to protect from the rebels.
A little slow to start, this becomes a good story at the end. The aliens are truely alien, but communication is still possible.
SUMMARY
When an alien spacecraft appears in orbit, America is thrown into turmoil. US troops are
withdrawn from hotspots around the globe to provide support at home.
In Malawi, Africa, a band of US Rangers remains behind to serve as peacekeepers, but when hundreds of alien spacecraft begin soaring overhead, the dynamics of war take on an entirely new dimension.
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240 |
Cervantes, Miguel de (1) |
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241 |
Chalker, Jack L. (37) |
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REVIEW
Different for a Chalker book.
See special section on Jack Chalker here.
SUMMARY
Asmodeus Mogart was not a bad fellow, as demons go. Having gotten in trouble back in the home office, he had been assigned to duty on Earth. There he toiled, doing the kinds of things demons do and turning into something of a drunk.
Then a rogue asteroid threatened to crash into Earth and destroy all life on the planet -- demons included! There had to be a better way.
Mac Walters and Jill McCullough, holding a private wake for their world in a Reno bar, were more than startled when a strange-looking little drunk told them they could save the world.
All they had to do was enter five alternate universes and steal a demon-guarded jewel in each. Clearly, the man was crazy.
But they had nothing better to do than go along with the gag. Then they each found themselves, naked and alone, on a hostile alien world!
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242 |
Chalker, Jack L. (37) |
Changewinds 1: When the Changewinds Blow(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Watch out. When the change winds blow, change can catch you and make into something completely new. Not only your mind, but your body as well. How can you survive?
See special section on Jack Chalker here.
SUMMARY
SHE WAS HAUNTED BY THUNDER AND PLAGUED BY DREAMS...strange, dark dreams of a world beyond time and space, a land of magic and mystery. But Charley knew it was more than a dream---for her friend Sam shared her vision.
SUDDENLY, THE DREAMS BECOME A REALITY...as a raging storm sweeps Charley and Sam to the fantastic land of Akahlar, where unicorns and griffins run free, an enchantress commands a den of unearthly pleasures, and a wizard warns of a terrifying inescapable event:
THE CHANGEWINDS ARE COMING...savage, purple-tinged storms that alter the shapes of man and beast alike. Soon, all creatures must look to the skies---and beware..
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243 |
Chalker, Jack L. (37) |
Changewinds 2: Riders of the Winds(SciFi)
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REVIEW
This is a tale of a choice of dreams, and a choice of nightmares, down, deep, where the Changewinds blow.
The Changewinds are exactly that - they will change you into something different if they catch you.
See special section on Jack Chalker here.
SUMMARY
None available.
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244 |
Chalker, Jack L. (37) |
Changewinds 3: War of the Maelstrom(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
I cannot recall to rate..
See special section on Jack Chalker here.
SUMMARY
Completes the trilogy which began with "When the Changewinds Blow" and "Riders of the Winds". The magical Changewinds descend upon the land of Akahlar. They can take away the power of the storm princess and place it into the demon Klittichoru, laying open the possibility of all-out war.
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245 |
Chalker, Jack L. (37) |
Dancing Gods 1: River of the Dancing God(SciFi)
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REVIEW
I recall the Dancing Gods series not being as good as other Chalker series. Only read these if you are very much into Chalker
See special section on Jack Chalker here.
SUMMARY
Something strange happens to Joe and Marge on the way to El Paso. They run into Throckmorton P. Ruddygore, a strange wizard who informs them that they are going to die in nineteen minutes and eighteen seconds.
But they also have a choice. They can abandon the current world by taking a ferryboat across the Sea of Dreams to a new life in a new world, full of magic, fairies and wonder.
But along with all its wonders, the new world is also the site of an ancient battle still being fought between the forces of Evil and Good, and the forces of Hell threaten to unleash perpetual darkness.
Joe and Marge not only need their wits to survive in this unpredictable and dangerous world, but must somehow help prevent the oncoming Armageddon.
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246 |
Chalker, Jack L. (37) |
Dancing Gods 2: Demons of the Dancing Gods(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Second in another good Chalker series
See special section on Jack Chalker here.
SUMMARY
While the initial battle for Husaquahr has been won, dark forces are gathering to the south.
But before the Dark Baron and the Demon Prince can put their plans into action, they need to deal with Throckmorton P. Ruddygore, master sorcerer who suspects that all is not as it should be.
Once again Ruddygore must call on the help of the two humans, Joe and Marge, and together they must face the evil forces that threaten Husaquahr with annihilation.
One of the Council of Thirteen has to be the Dark Baron and the Baron is plotting with the Demon Prince to shatter the fragile peace and bring Armageddon to the magic world beyond the Sea of Dreams.
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247 |
Chalker, Jack L. (37) |
Dancing Gods 3: Vengence of the Dancing Gods(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Once again, average people have to rise up to extraordinary challenges despite new handicaps.
See special section on Jack Chalker here.
SUMMARY
The Dark Baron, defeated at last, had been stripped of all his magical power and exiled to Earth. But there he enlisted a computer to create even more effective spells. Helped by the forces of Hell, the Dark Baron is once again threatening Husaquahr -- and only Joe and Marge can stop him!
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248 |
Chalker, Jack L. (37) |
Dancing Gods 4: Songs of the Dancing Gods(SciFi)
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REVIEW
I recall the Dancing Gods series not being as good as other Chalker series. Only read these if you are very much into Chalker
See special section on Jack Chalker here.
SUMMARY A FEW ALTERATIONS
Throckmorton P. Ruddygore, master wizard, had troubles--again!
Ruddygore had defeated the Dark Baron and exiled him from the magical realm of Husaquahr to Earth. But he hadn't counted on the Baron's using an earthly computer to create even more effective spells.
Of course, the Baron couldn't use those spells. But the forces of Hell soon sent him a second-rank wizard who could--and together they worked a scam so that Ruddygore couldn't cross the Sea of Dreams to deal with the Baron directly. Now the Baron was developing a scheme that would surely result in Armageddon before its time.
Once again Marge the fairy and Joe the barbarian were called upon to do the dirty work. They had to return to their home world and stop the Baron--if they could . . .
And that would be only the beginning of their assignment!
"A damn fine storyteller . . . Chalker is a master."
--Orson Scott Card
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249 |
Chalker, Jack L. (37) |
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REVIEW
In this series of books... the character has his personality duplicated and inserted into a body on different planets in an attempt to spy/gain knowledge about what is going on there. As the series progresses the character changes his motivation based on the things he experiences on each planet!!
This is a great series, and a good twist on the usual Chalker personality mind mess!!!
See special section on Jack Chalker here.
SUMMARY
The Confederacy, a massive space empire, duplicates the personality of its best agent and implants it into four brain-dead hosts. These hosts are sent to the four planets of a penal colony, the Warden Diamond, to investigate an alien threat and assassinate the four lords of the planets, the "Four Lords of the Diamond." The original agent is on a picket ship and downloads information from his copies.
A copy of the agent wakes up in the body of "Cal Tremon," a criminal on a prison ship heading to Lilith. He must then adapt to Lilith, a beautiful tropical world where its Warden Organism, a symbiotic microorganism, destroys all non-Lilith material, making modernization very difficult. Thus, the several million inhabitants of Lilith's feudal society are serfs. The nobility of Lilith are the few who can control the organisms.
The agent thus finds himself a serf, with no hope of advancing unless he harnesses the power of the Warden Organisms. When a girl he liked was being taken away for experimentation, he taps into his Warden powers and kills the overseer, a petty tyrant.
While living in the Castle, the residence of the Duke, Cal gains some initial training and knowledge. He escapes when he learns that the nobles plan to kill him. Outside of the castle walls, he gains a secure status in Lilith's society and no longer desires to serve the Confederacy.
Instead, he realizes that the Lord of Lilith, Marek Kreegan, a former Assassin of the Confederacy, cooperates with the aliens to preserve peace and order. Cal learns that Kreegan dissuaded the aliens from a genocide against humanity, choosing the slower course of subversion and sabotage instead. Cal does not kill Kreegan. His girlfriend, believing that Kreegan's death would will elevate Cal to Lordship, kills Kreegan by using a potion to draw on Cal's power.
The Agent wakes up in the picket ship, worried about his duplicate's behavior in Lilith.
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250 |
Chalker, Jack L. (37) |
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REVIEW
An excellent series and a good read.
See special section on Jack Chalker here.
SUMMARY
Robots were infiltrating the Federation. Someone was kidnapping people and substituting indetectable, synthetic imitations. Somewhere, aliens were studying the Federation, using techniques beyond human developments. The trail led back to Cerberus and the Lord who ruled that planet.
Cerberus, however, was one of the Warden Worlds - and those Worlds were the untouchables of space. There a strange microscopic life-form invaded all matter, and anyone so infected died on leaving those Worlds. Men could go there, but never return.
But the Federation had its own techniques. They took a criminal named Qwin Zhang and stripped her mind of all memory and personality. Then they poured into that empty receptacle the full mind of the Federation's best operative. They exiled her to the prison world of Cerberus. The mission: Find the Lord who ruled, kill him, and take over. Too bad there were things about Cerberus they couldn't know!
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251 |
Chalker, Jack L. (37) |
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REVIEW
An excellent series and a good read.
See special section on Jack Chalker here.
SUMMARY
They took the body of Park Lacoch and stripped away his mind. Then they stuck him aboard a spaceship and exiled him to Charon, from which no return was possible. And just when he thought things couldn't get any worse, Park found himself transformed into a changeling -- a half-beast, half-man, with the beast rapidly gaining ascendancy . .
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252 |
Chalker, Jack L. (37) |
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REVIEW
The conclusion of this great series!!
See special section on Jack Chalker here.
SUMMARY
The Confederacy is a collection of human populated worlds in which all members are biologically and socially engineered to be perfect and docile citizens in a materialistic utopia. Any alien worlds that the Confederation comes across are assimilated or eliminated. Not wishing to stagnate, the Confederacy continually expands, and the worlds of the Frontier have humans of unaltered genetics.
Despite the Confederacy's best efforts, there are always criminals. Over-ambitious politicians, too powerful religious leaders, and the usual white collar criminals and violent offenders. To track down such people the Confederacy has bred Assassins, who are assigned to deal with such. Often that involves killing the offenders or giving them a brain wipe and new personality. However, the best of the criminal elite are exiled to the Warden Diamond - those with connections, or those who may have information that insures that powerful people will protect them.
The Warden Diamond is the Confederacy's penal colony. It is four human habitable worlds circling a single star, and that has a unique organism, the Warden Organism that is a microscopic symbiotic lifeform. When one is exposed to it, it takes up residence in each cell of one's body, generally improving it and seeing to the body's continued health. It can also give a person additional powers, that vary depending on which variety they have been exposed to and how well their mind can be in tune with the vague collective consciousness of the organism. Due to the fact that people die if they are taken out of the Warden System, it is thought to be the perfect penal colony, as escape is impossible.
The Confederacy has learned in the first book that an alien race of unknown power, size or location has discovered them. And has managed to have human looking robots infiltrate the Confederacy to access data on the military capabilities of mankind. The aliens are apparently getting inside information from the criminal bosses who run the Warden Diamond. An Assassin, whose name is never given in the entire series, but who calls himself "Mr. Carroll" in the last book, was called in as he is the best they have.
It was explained to him that his department will be taking a mindprint of him and placing it in the bodies of four condemned criminals. That way, one of "him" can be sent to each of the Warden worlds, with the plan of assassinating each of the Four Lords of the Diamond. This will destabilize things and buy the Confederacy time to prepare against the alien menace. "Mr. Carroll" will be in a picket ship outside the contamination zone of the Warden Diamond, and have each of the agent's experiences uploaded into his mind, by means of an organic transmitter that each carries in his brain.
In this way, he can collate all the data from each world, as from his perspective he will have "lived" on each through his surrogates. He is aided in this by a self-aware computer, who is his partner, and in some ways, his overseer.[1]
Having received the first, second and third report from Lilith, Cerberus and Charon, this last book deals with his receipt of the report from Charon and the conclusion to the saga.
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253 |
Chalker, Jack L. (37) |
G.O.D. Inc. 1: The Labyrinth of Dreams(SciFi)
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REVIEW
This has a rather unusual premise if I remember it correctly. G.O.D. stands for General Omnidimensional Delivery - meaning.. items from one reality to another. If you need items shipped to an alternate reality, then you need to call G.O.D.
Naturally crossing into other dimensions has risks and consequences.. and this series take a look at them.
See special section on Jack Chalker here.
SUMMARY
Meet the Horowitzes. Sam and Brandy are private eyes, finding no business, going dead broke - or maybe just dead! A missing person case may save them: find Martin Whitlock, a hotshot banker who skipped town with over two million in laundered drug money.
Whitlock's trail led from a posh mansion to a hick burg in Oregon, and the G. O. D. Inc., those geeks who hawk overpriced garbage on late-night TV. They found their man(?); in fact, they found three of him(?). One was female. One was dead. The third was just plain dangerous.
They found themselves involved with a mob far more powerful and vicious than the Mafia. McInerny, Oregon wasn't just off the map. It was off the Earth! It was the entrance into the Labyrinth of Dreams
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254 |
Chalker, Jack L. (37) |
G.O.D. Inc. 2: The Shadow Dancers(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Another good one by Chalker.
See special section on Jack Chalker here.
SUMMARY
None available.
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255 |
Chalker, Jack L. (37) |
G.O.D. Inc. 3: Maze in the Mirror(SciFi)
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REVIEW
a good concept and an enjoyable series
See special section on Jack Chalker here.
SUMMARY
Third in the G.O.D. series, this novel features the characters of Sam and Brandy Horowitz. Horowitz, private eye, works for G.O.D., Inc. - the company that rules the Labyrinth between infinite alternate Earths. Only now he has got two clients - vengeful rebels out to wreck the Labyrinth.
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256 |
Chalker, Jack L. (37) |
A Jungle of Stars(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Jack Chalker has this way of writing the same book over and book over and over and over... but a little different each time so that you love them all. Basically what happens in every book is that the main character(s) are transformed into different bodies.. some much more handicapped than their original bodies. And yet, each learns to become a better person.. more confident.. more capable.. Thus proving over and over that it's not the body you have to work with.
See special section on Jack Chalker here.
SUMMARY
Paul Carlton Savage died on July 20, 1969, in Vietnam -- but that was only the start of his troubles! Approached by a mysterious entity called The Hunter, Savage was offered immortality in exchange for his services in The Hunter's continuing war against The Bromgrev. Suddenly, Savage found himself pitted against an enemy he had never seen, an enemy who could be anyone, anywhere, at any time . . . an enemy determined to destroy him and all who got in his way. And in this raging intergalactic war between Good and Evil, Savage discovered that he couldn't be sure whose side he was on . .
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257 |
Chalker, Jack L. (37) |
Quintara Marathon 1: The Demons at Rainbow Bridge(SciFi)
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REVIEW
The start of this series is pretty exciting. The premise is good. But I never understood how many books are in a "marathon"... If you like Chalker, you will like this.
See special section on Jack Chalker here.
SUMMARY
Three empires and their spheres of influence existed in uneasy proximity in the known galaxy. The Exchange, among whose hundreds of member worlds was Earth, was led by its cybernetic leaders. The Mizlaplan were long-lived, with high intelligence, and a mission to spread the word of the Cosmic All. The Mycohlians were parasitic beings who invaded other life forms like a virus, and controlled them. Oddly, all three empires had only one thing in common: demons.Each had a legend of humanoid creatures with hooves and horns, representing supernatural power and unspeakable evil. The similarity of the legends across the galaxy had led some to theorize that they had some basis in fact. Unfortunately, they were right.On an Earth-like planet in a region of space called Rainbow Bridge, an Exchange scouting expedition has found a mysterious structure with its mechanisms still functioning after unknown aeons. Within are the bodies of two horned creatures, gigantic in stature, perfectly preserved. Some races thought the demon world should be destroyed. The Mycohlians, who perversely revere the demons of their legends, wanted to make it a shrine. And some wanted to investigate. That was a fatal mistake for the investigators. The demons were not dead, just sleeping. And their wakening began a terror-filled nightmare for all the galaxy!
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258 |
Chalker, Jack L. (37) |
Quintara Marathon 2: Run to Chaos Keep(SciFi)
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REVIEW
the chase is on. Are these actually devils, and what can be done about them? Fun.
See special section on Jack Chalker here.
SUMMARY
When the two horned demons--the greatest discovery of all time--escape their giant sealed amber cell and leave a trail of mutilated victims, the three major empires must follow these creatures into another dimension.
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259 |
Chalker, Jack L. (37) |
Quintara Marathon 3: Ninety Trillion Fausts(SciFi)
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REVIEW
I don't know, this one kind of lost the focus in this last book. Could have been better.
See special section on Jack Chalker here.
SUMMARY
Three teams pursue horned creatures known as demons through a gate into another spacetime continuum, and fight each other all the way. But they now must join forces to save the 90 trillion beings of the galaxy in danger of losing their lives--and souls.
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260 |
Chalker, Jack L. (37) |
Rings of the Master 1: Lords of the Middle Dark(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Long ago, the machines had rebelled, wiping out most of humanity and exiling the survivors in widely scattered reservations. Master System ruled unchallenged, the key to breaking its power -- five microchips disguised as gold rings, carefully hidden away. But then an Amerindian called Hawks stumbled across information about the five rings, and suddenly Master System developed an interest in seeing Hawks dead
See special section on Jack Chalker here.
SUMMARY
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261 |
Chalker, Jack L. (37) |
Rings of the Master 2: Pirates of the Thunder(SciFi)
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REVIEW
The next in this good space opera by Chalker
See special section on Jack Chalker here.
SUMMARY
Hawks had refused to help the ambitious Lazlo Chen in his quest to find the five gold rings that could break Master System's hold over humankind -- and that refusal had landed him on the deadly prison planet Melchior.
But when Hawks and some fellow prisoners engineered a bold escape, it seemed almost too easy. Hawks guessed that Chen was pulling the strings, but he couldn't shake the feeling that there was another, greater power involved. And that scared him.
Now the stakes were rising, and Hawks was more determined than ever to find the gold rings. But Master System was out to capture him, and Chen was trying to follow him -- and the only place his small band of rebels could hide was smack in the middle of pirate territory...
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262 |
Chalker, Jack L. (37) |
Rings of the Master 3: Warriors of the Storm(SciFi)
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REVIEW
I recall enjoying this series immensely. A combination of Science Fiction and Fantasy.
See special section on Jack Chalker here.
SUMMARY
Vulture is a shapechanger capable of absorbing the body and memories of any organic being. Without the information only Vulture can collect, the rebels will never succeed in gathering the five rings necessary to defeat Master System. Now an unknown entity seems to be giving Vulture an unseen hand. But the question is -- whose side is it on?
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263 |
Chalker, Jack L. (37) |
Rings of the Master 4: Masks of the Martyrs(SciFi)
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REVIEW
A good space drama by Chalker!
See special section on Jack Chalker here.
SUMMARY
The renegade pirates of the giant spaceship THUNDER have collected all five of the rings necessary to eliminate the threat of Master System forever. But no one -- not even Hawks -- knows how the rings are used. And with Master Systems space fleet dogging their every step, they better find out fast!
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264 |
Chalker, Jack L. (37) |
Soul Riders 1: Spirits of Flux and Anchor(SciFi)
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REVIEW
This at first seems like a fantasy series, but if you complete it.. it is totally SciFi
.
Living in a world where pockets of civilization are separated by areas of FLUX - areas that can change your shape and your life. Travelers between areas must have guides that can see the safe lines.. the guidelines that will prevent these changes.
How does a slave free themselves other than to wander into the Flux and learn its secrets.
See special section on Jack Chalker here.
SUMMARY
None Available.
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265 |
Chalker, Jack L. (37) |
Soul Riders 2: Empires of Flux and Anchor(SciFi)
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REVIEW
The secrets of Flux and Anchor are being revealed, and what the universe actually is, is not what it seems to be at all.
This whole series is good.
See special section on Jack Chalker here.
SUMMARY
Cassie did not feel the soul rider enter her body... but suddenly she knew that Anchor was corrupt, and that, far from being a formless void from which could issue only mutant changelings and evil wizards, Flux was the source of Anchor's very existence. The price of her new knowledge is exile, yet Cassie and the Rider of her soul are the only hope for the redemption of both Flux and Anchor.
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266 |
Chalker, Jack L. (37) |
Soul Riders 3: Masters of Flux and Anchor(SciFi)
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REVIEW
This is a great series of books that start as fantasy but end up as science fiction when the world in which the characters live is explained. Worth the read.
See special section on Jack Chalker here.
SUMMARY
None Available
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267 |
Chalker, Jack L. (37) |
Soul Riders 4:The Birth of Flux and Anchor(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Finally... the source of Flux and Anchor and the Soul Riders is revealed. Consider it a sort of pre Matrix matrix.
See special section on Jack Chalker here.
SUMMARY
The strange and haunted place called World has been a land divided between the stability of Anchor and the chaos of Flux?a land of near magic, where reality yields to madness. It is in this universe that courageous men and women battle treachery, rebellion, and hellish forces to establish a New Eden.
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268 |
Chalker, Jack L. (37) |
Soul Riders 5: Children of Flux and Anchor(SciFi)
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REVIEW
What was a fantasy is revealed to be science all along. It is not magic that controls the world, but science. The revelation is great. This was a really good series.
See special section on Jack Chalker here.
SUMMARY
The last Someone has found the key to great battle of the Bellgates has been won and Flux and Anchor are at peace for now. But soon the balance could be destroyed.
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269 |
Chalker, Jack L. (37) |
A War of Shadows(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Holy Cow! A book by Jack Chalker that is not part of a series!!!
See special section on Jack Chalker here.
SUMMARY
In California, the victims are blind. In Maine, severely retarded. Small towns across America are being systematically "wiped out" by terrorists and their campaign of germ warfare waged against the U.S. The President's only option seems to be an equally deadly counterattack.
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270 |
Chalker, Jack L. (37) |
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REVIEW
The Well of Souls books are all excellent - more fantasy than science fiction - and more psychology than fantasy.
See special section on Jack Chalker here.
SUMMARY
Nathan Brazil had been the guardian of the Well of Souls, where the Well World's master control lay. But now the universe faced a threat more grave than mere destruction: An unnamed and utterly alien entity had somehow been released from its ancient prison and was bent on the corruption of the Well World itself. If successful, it would cause chaos beyond mortal understanding....
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271 |
Chalker, Jack L. (37) |
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REVIEW
The Well is under threat and in this new series the threat must be countered.
See special section on Jack Chalker here.
SUMMARY
Immortal, unchanging, the eternal survivor, Nathan Brazil had tired of his long duty as the guardian of the Well World and had enlisted Mavra Chang, space pilot and adventurer, as his companion and equal, sharing with her the godlike power to control the universe's destiny. Now the Well World is changing, and Brazil and Chang have drifted apart . . . but they must work together one more time to stop a new threat to the Well World -- the greatest threat of all . .
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272 |
Chalker, Jack L. (37) |
The Web of the Chozen(SciFi)
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REVIEW
A one-off by Chalker - which is amazing given his penchant for series.
Again, transformational challenges abound.
See special section on Jack Chalker here.
SUMMARY
NOBODY BEATS BAR HOLLIDAY. He was paid to find Terraformable worlds, new planets for his corporation to plunder. Up until the day he came upon the Peace Victory, an abandoned generation ship hovering ominously above a definitely habitable planet, he believed nobody ever could. NOBODY BEATS BAR HOLLIDAY ... because he was never satisfied with anything lower than first place, because he was always the oddball, in charge of his own welfare, his own destiny ... a man determined to make his mark in the world and win all games at any cost. NOBODY EVER BEATS BAR HOLLIDAY... because he only took the wrong chances at the right times. But on the planet Patmos, where everything looked safe, but nothing was, Bar Holliday had at last met his match!
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273 |
Chalker, Jack L. (37) |
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REVIEW
The Well of Souls series is thoroughly enjoyable. A great concept well written and super entertaining.
See special section on Jack Chalker here.
SUMMARY
Welcome to the Well World: a construct of an ancient defunct race known as the Markovians. The Well World acts both as the controller of and the gateway to 1560 worlds created by the Markovians at the end of their time.
Nathan Brazil is a starship captain carrying passengers and cargo from planet to planet. Answering a distress call, he (with others) is suddenly transported to the Well World by a hidden gate.
There Nathan Brazil must stop mysterious forces from taking control of the Well World, and through the Well World, the universe. But to do so, he must deal with bizarre transformations which have changed people into centaurs, mermaids and giant insects. In this strange land, inhabited by these strange transformed creatures, who are his friends, and who are his enemies? And what of his own memories, which seem to have been deeply suppressed?
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274 |
Chalker, Jack L. (37) |
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REVIEW
The whole concept of the Well of Souls is great. Anyone who falls in is transformed physically, and mentally. This is a great vehicle for some great story telling
See special section on Jack Chalker here.
SUMMARY
Welcome to the Well World: a construct of an ancient defunct race known as the Markovians. The Well World acts both as the controller of and the gateway to 1560 worlds created by the Markovians at the end of their time.
Gilgam Zinder finally discovers the secret to the Markovian Well World but is then forced by the evil politician and drug dealer, Antor Trelig, to develop a computer that can control the artificial construct.
Mavra Chang is a freighter pilot hired to rescue Zinder's daughter, who has been kidnapped by Trelig, and to save the worlds populating the construct from Trelig's malicious plans. In the process, Obie, the self–aware computer, accidentally causes a whole world to be automatically transported around the Well World, causing Mavra's ship to crash on a "non-tech" hex-world.
As inhabitants of surrounding hex-worlds start to realize what is going on, they scramble to collect the pieces of the scattered ship in the hope of escaping the planet, resulting in a chaotic war between various races that might lead to the destruction of the Well World itself.
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275 |
Chalker, Jack L. (37) |
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REVIEW
This is Chalker's best series with a great concept - a planet, divided into thousands of areas, each with a unique species of intelligent life that dominates that area. And each trying to find the secret to the Well of Souls
See special section on Jack Chalker here.
SUMMARY
Exiles at the Well of Souls left Mavra Chang captured by the Olborn and partially converted into a beast of burden. Twenty-two years later, Chang has tried to escape numerous times, failing each time…each attempt leading to greater despair.
Moreover, one of two tiny hopes has already been destroyed. Two ships had crashed into the Well World: hers in the south and another in the inhospitable Northern Hemisphere. The attempt to recover her ship has ended in the destruction of that ship.
But a possible method of traveling to the North may offer a final hope and it ignites a new race between Mavra and her enemies…with the winner poised to gain control of Obie…the super-computer that can manipulate the very fabric of existence.
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276 |
Chalker, Jack L. (37) |
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REVIEW
The story continues and is still good.
See special section on Jack Chalker here.
SUMMARY
Humanity is reeling when the Dreel (a viral, hive-minded species) attack the Milky Way and seem ready to take over the galaxy. In desperation they go back to the ancient sciences of the defunct race of Markovians which no one really understands.
But using science concepts as alien and as powerful as those of the Markovians can have dire consequences, as the humans discover when they inadvertently create a situation which can lead to the destruction of the universe itself.
The Well World can help prevent total destruction, but the planet-
sized computer has itself been damaged and must be repaired before it can be used to save the universe. Nathan Brazil can fix the damage, but where is Nathan Brazil? It is up to Mavra Chang and Obie the sentient robot to find Brazil before the entire universe is destroyed.
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277 |
Chalker, Jack L. (37) |
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REVIEW
The story of the threat to the universe continues. this is an excellent series.
See special section on Jack Chalker here.
SUMMARY
Twilight at the Well of Souls is a direct continuation of the story started in The Return of Nathan Brazil. The rift in space created in the earlier book is now even larger and threatens to permanently damage the Well of Souls. Mavra Chang and Nathan Brazil race to reach the Well and find a solution before it is too late.
Arrayed against them is a myriad group of sentient beings who will stop at nothing to bring down Nathan Brazil. But Brazil is not that easily gotten rid of, and he has already snuck into the Well World without anyone realizing it. And he has special allies including Mavra Chang and Gypsy, who has suprising powers himself.
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278 |
Chambers, Becky (1) |
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Mildly interesting as the crew of the ship in the story consists of multiple species of creatures that all manage to get along despite minor problems along the way to do what they believe will be a mildly dangerous job - building a tunnel through space time from a new planet.
Nothing really exciting.
SUMMARY
Follow a motley crew on an exciting journey through space—and one adventurous young explorer who discovers the meaning of family in the far reaches of the universe—in this light-hearted debut space opera from a rising sci-fi star.
Rosemary Harper doesn't expect much when she joins the crew of the aging Wayfarer. While the patched-up ship has seen better days, it offers her a bed, a chance to explore the far-off corners of the galaxy, and most importantly, some distance from her past. An introspective young woman who learned early to keep to herself, she's never met anyone remotely like the ship's diverse crew, including Sissix, the exotic reptilian pilot, chatty engineers Kizzy and Jenks who keep the ship running, and Ashby, their noble captain.
Life aboard the Wayfarer is chaotic and crazy—exactly what Rosemary wants. It's also about to get extremely dangerous when the crew is offered the job of a lifetime. Tunneling wormholes through space to a distant planet is definitely lucrative and will keep them comfortable for years. But risking her life wasn't part of the plan. In the far reaches of deep space, the tiny Wayfarer crew will confront a host of unexpected mishaps and thrilling adventures that force them to depend on each other. To survive, Rosemary's got to learn how to rely on this assortment of oddballs—an experience that teaches her about love and trust, and that having a family isn't necessarily the worst thing in the universe
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279 |
Chandler, Raymond (1) |
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REVIEW
When a dying millionaire hires Philip Marlowe to handle the blackmailer of one of his two troublesome daughters, Marlowe finds himself involved with more than extortion. Kidnapping, pornography, seduction, and murder are just a few of the complications he gets caught up in.
This was a pretty good read. You start to wonder why Private Eye Phillip Marlowe keeps on when everything and everyone keeps trying to warn him off. He's not even going to get paid anymore, but still he persists. Just can't stand a loose end, I guess This is one of the original "hard boiled" detective novels that started an entire genre, and worth the read for that reason alone. But you will be wondering right up to the twist ending that I sure didn't see coming - but I think Marlowe did.
SUMMARY
When a dying millionaire hires Philip Marlowe to handle the blackmailer of one of his two troublesome daughters, Marlowe finds himself involved with more than extortion. Kidnapping, pornography, seduction, and murder are just a few of the complications he gets caught up in.
"Chandler [writes] like a slumming angel and invest[s] the sun-blinded streets of Los Angelos with a romantic presence."
--Ross Macdonald
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280 |
Chase, B.C. (1) |
Pluto's Ghost: A Suspense Novel(SciFi)
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REVIEW
This is a suspense sci-fi novel that was not really very suspenseful. I figured out what was going on less than 3/4 through the book... and was waiting for some of the characters to cop to it.. but they never did until is was almost too late. Sigh. It starts off very interesting.. but doesn't manage to maintain that through out the book.
SUMMARY
YOU CAN'T CALL FOR HELP WHEN YOU'RE THREE BILLION MILES FROM EARTH.
On August 25th, 2012, the Voyager 1 probe crossed into interstellar space. It contained a "golden record" with sounds, pictures, and greetings from earth.
On March 15th, 2013, NASA received a transmission from the spacecraft that said: "Hello. We received your golden record. Let's meet."
On September 29th, internationally bestselling author B.C.CHASE invites you on a daring first contact mission into deep space with five intrepid astronauts, one spunky cosmonaut, and a seventy-five-year-old truck driver.
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281 |
Cheever, John (2) |
Falconer Best Book Lists: 4 (Fiction - General)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Not read
SUMMARY
Stunning and brutally powerful, Falconer tells the story of a man named Farragut, his crime and punishment, and his struggle to remain a man in a universe bent on beating him back into childhood.
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282 |
Cheever, John (2) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Not read
SUMMARY
When The Wapshot Chronicle was published in 1957, John Cheever was already recognized as a writer of superb short stories. But The Wapshot Chronicle, which won the 1958 National Book Award, established him as a major novelist.
Based in part on Cheever's adolescence in New England, the novel follows the destinies of the impecunious and wildly eccentric Wapshots of St. Botolphs, a quintessential Massachusetts fishing village. Here are the stories of Captain Leander Wapshot, venerable sea dog and would-be suicide; of his licentious older son, Moses; and of Moses' adoring and errant younger brother, Coverly. Tragic and funny, ribald and splendidly picaresque, The Wapshot Chronicle is a family narrative in the tradition of Trollope, Dickens, and Henry James.
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283 |
Cherryh, C.J. (1) |
Rimrunners(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Cannot recall to rate.
SUMMARY
Bet Yaeger, heroine of the Hugo Award-winning "Downbelow Station", has hit bottom. She is jobless, homeless and starving. Once a marine, she enlists on the first ship that docks, only to find it crewed by her sworn enemies whose mission is to hunt down the fleet Bet has spent her life serving.
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284 |
Chopin, Kate (1) |
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REVIEW
A short novel about a woman who, over the course of a couple of years, wakes up to her real desires. The house, the husband, the kids... are not what she is interested in. The ending REALLY REALLY sucks... as if the author was saying that, you may want it, but you can never have it, so.... This is an easy read, but kind of a waste of time unless you want to know what life was like for the middle class in New Orleans at the turn of the century. In that regard it's rather interesting
SUMMARY
The Awakening, originally titled A Solitary Soul, is a novel by Kate Chopin, first published in 1899. Set in New Orleans and the Southern Louisiana coast at the end of the nineteenth century, the plot centers on Edna Pontellier and her struggle to reconcile her increasingly unorthodox views on femininity and motherhood with the prevailing social attitudes of the turn-of-the-century American South. It is one of the earliest American novels that focuses on women's issues without condescension. It is also widely seen as a landmark work of early feminism, generating mixed reaction from contemporary readers and criticism. The novel's blend of realistic narrative, incisive social commentary, and psychological complexity makes The Awakening a precursor of American modernist literature; it prefigures the works of American novelists such as William Faulkner and Ernest Hemingway and echoes the works of contemporaries such as Edith Wharton and Henry James. It can also be considered among the first Southern works in a tradition that would culminate with the modern masterpieces of Faulkner, Flannery O'Connor, Eudora Welty, Katherine Anne Porter, and Tennessee Williams.
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285 |
Christie, Agatha (1) |
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REVIEW
Agatha Christie is a famous mystery writer and this is the first novel I have read by her. I must admit that by the end of the book (or near end) I was completely stumped. 10 people on an island. 10 murders. Who is the culprit? Who is the 11th person on the island. Is there an 11th person on the island? All is revealed in the last chapter, and it turns out to be pretty unbelievable. An interesting read if you like a mystery. Try to figure it out before the reveal... you will need to do some re-thinking of what you read.
SUMMARY
The Queen of Mystery has come to Harper Collins! Agatha Christie, the acknowledged mistress of suspense—creator of indomitable sleuth Miss Marple, meticulous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, and so many other unforgettable characters—brings her entire oeuvre of ingenious whodunits, locked room mysteries, and perplexing puzzles to Harper Paperbacks…including And Then There Were None, the world's bestselling mystery, in which ten strangers, each with a dark secret, are lured to a mansion on an uninhabited island and killed off one by one.
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286 |
Chu, Wesley (1) |
Time Siege (Time Salvager)(SciFi)
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REVIEW
This makes itself out to be a time travel novel, but is really just a war novel about a corrupt system trying squash resistance and capture an important asset. The only time travel that takes place is to go back to the past to steal things from folks who are about to die anyway (so as not to corrupt the time line). If you like a war book, you might like this, though its a tad unbelievable.
SUMMARY
Time Siege, a fast-paced time-travel adventure from award-winning author Wesley Chu
Having been haunted by the past and enslaved by the present, James Griffin-Mars is taking control of the future.
Earth is a toxic, sparsely inhabited wasteland--the perfect hiding place for a fugitive ex-chronman to hide from the authorities.
James has allies, scientists he rescued from previous centuries: Elise Kim, who believes she can renew Earth, given time; Grace Priestly, the venerated inventor of time travel herself; Levin, James's mentor and former pursuer, now disgraced; and the Elfreth, a population of downtrodden humans who want desperately to believe that James and his friends will heal their ailing home world.
James also has enemies. They include the full military might of benighted solar system ruled by corporate greed and a desperate fear of what James will do next. At the forefront of their efforts to stop him is Kuo, the ruthless security head, who wants James's head on a pike and will stop at nothing to obtain it.
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287 |
Clarke, Arthur C. (14) |
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REVIEW
One of Arthur C. Clarkes greatest and grandest works, this book is amazing to read. I still have a wonderful impression of it from more than 30 years ago when I first read it.
SUMMARY
The year is 2001, and cosmonauts uncover a mysterious monolith that has been buried on the Moon for at least three million years. To their astonishment, the monolith releases an equally mysterious pulse-a kind of signal-in the direction of Saturn after it is unearthed. Whether alarm or communication, the human race must know what the signal is-and who it was intended for.
The Discovery and its crew, assisted by the highly advanced HAL 9000 computer system, sets out to investigate. But as the crew draws closer to their rendezvous with a mysterious and ancient alien civilization, they realize that the greatest dangers they face come from within the spacecraft itself. HAL proves a dangerous traveling companion, and the crew must outwit him to survive.
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288 |
Clarke, Arthur C. (14) |
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REVIEW
Much like the movie, this book has one other twist about a Chinese mission that fails when it breaks the taboo about landing on Jupiter. A really good read.
SUMMARY
Nine years after the ill-fated Discovery One mission to Jupiter, a joint Soviet-American crew travels to the planet to investigate the mysterious monolith orbiting the planet, the cause of the earlier mission's failure—and the disappearance of David Bowman. The crew includes Heywood Floyd, the lone survivor from the previous mission, and Dr. Chandra, the creator of HAL.
What they find is no less than an unsettling alien conspiracy—surrounding the evolutionary fate of indigenous life forms on Jupiter's moon Europa, as well as that of the human species itself. A gripping continuation of the beloved Odyssey universe, 2010: Odyssey II is science-fiction storytelling at its best.
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289 |
Clarke, Arthur C. (14) |
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REVIEW
Projection way into the future about what mankind would be doing in 1000 years. I don't think even Clarke can do that accurately. Still a good read.
SUMMARY
A thousand years after being cast into the frozen void of space by the supercomputer HAL, Frank Poole is brought back to life-and thrust into a world more technically advanced than the one he left behind. He discovers a world of human minds directly interfacing with computers; genetically-engineered dinosaur servants; and massive space elevators built around the Equator.
He also discovers an impending threat to humanity-lurking within the enigmatic monoliths. To fight it, Poole must join forces with David Bowman and HAL, now fused into one corporeal consciousness-and the only being with the power to thwart the monoliths' mysterious creators.
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290 |
Clarke, Arthur C. (14) |
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REVIEW
Excellent. Recently made into a SciFi special.
SUMMARY
In the near future, enormous silver spaceships appear without warning over mankind's largest cities. They belong to the Overlords, an alien race far superior to humanity in technological development-and their purpose is to dominate the Earth. Their demands, however, are surprisingly beneficial-end war, poverty, and cruelty. Their presence, rather than signaling the end of humanity, ushers in a golden age-or so it seems.
But it comes at a price. Without conflict, humanity ceases to work toward creative achievement, and culture stagnates. And as the years pass, it becomes more and more clear that the Overlords have a hidden agenda for the evolution of the human race-that may not be as beneficial as it seems.
Originally published in 1953, Childhood's End is Clarke's first successful novel-and is considered a classic of science fiction literature. Its dominating theme of transcendent evolution appears in many of Clarke's later works, including the Space Odyssey series. In 2004, the book was nominated for the Retro Hugo Award for Best Novel.
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291 |
Clarke, Arthur C. (14) |
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REVIEW
Clarke speculates on the eventual end of mankind in this novel set so far in the future that the sun has started to change.
SUMMARY
A billion years into the future, Earth's oceans have evaporated-and humanity has all but vanished. The inhabitants of the City of Diaspar believe theirs is the last city-but there is no way to find out for sure. The city is completely closed off by a high wall, and nobody has left in millions of years.
The last child born in the city in millions of years, Alvin is insatiably curious about the outside world. He embarks on a quest that leads him to discover the truth about the city and humanity's history-as well as its future.
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292 |
Clarke, Arthur C. (14) |
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REVIEW
A story about colonialism between the earth and the moon.
SUMMARY
Two hundred years after humans first touched down on the surface of the Moon, there are permanent settlements there-as well as on Venus and Mars. The inhabitants of these colonies have formed their own political alliance: the Federation.
On the Moon, a government agent from Earth is hunting a suspected spy at a prominent observatory. He is caught up in the larger political struggle between Earth's government and that of the Federation, and ultimately must struggle for his life-in the beautiful and barren landscape of the Moon under Earth's light.
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293 |
Clarke, Arthur C. (14) |
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REVIEW
Okay. I've been saying for years that if we want to get into space we have to get rid of rockets. This book tells you how. It's not science fiction. It's just unrealized FACT. Read It.
SUMMARY
Renowned structural engineer Dr. Vannevar Morgan seeks to link Earth to the stars-through the construction of a space elevator connecting to an orbiting satellite 22,300 miles from the planet's surface. The elevator would lift interstellar spaceships into orbit without the need of rockets to blast through the Earth's atmosphere-making space travel easier and more cost-effective.
Unfortunately, the only appropriate surface base for the elevator is located at the top of a mountain already occupied-by an ancient order of Buddhist monks who strongly oppose the project. Morgan must face down their opposition-as well as enormous technical, political, and economic challenges-in order to make the project successful.
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294 |
Clarke, Arthur C. (14) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read to long ago to rate
SUMMARY
In the year 2276, Duncan Makenzie travels from Saturn's moon, Titan, to Earth as a diplomatic envoy to the United States. As a member of Titan's 'First Family' descended from the moon's original settlers 500 years before, Duncan finds himself welcomed into the glittering political and social scene in Washington.
But Duncan isn't just on Earth for a diplomatic visit. Haunted by the memory of a woman from Earth he once loved, Duncan is also driven by the need to continue the family line-despite a devastating genetic defect. A tour-de-force of vivid characterization, futuristic vision, and suspense, Imperial Earth is one of Arthur C. Clarke's most ambitious novels.
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295 |
Clarke, Arthur C. (14) |
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REVIEW
Another great collection of Clarke short stories. Some of these have really held up over time.. especially the nine-billion names.
SUMMARY
In the title story of this outstanding collection, a group of cosmonauts discovers the remains of an advanced civilization in a remote star system-destroyed when their sun went supernova. They find that the civilization was very similar to Earth's-and that its people knew of their coming doom centuries before it occurred. What they find leads their chief astrophysicist-also a Jesuit priest-into a deep crisis of faith, sparked by a shocking revelation that has implications not just for history-but for religion.
This collection of short stories demonstrates not only Clarke's technological imagination-but also a deep poetic sensibility that led him to ponder the philosophical and moral implications of technological advances. These stories demonstrate the range of his vision as an author-based on both our scientific potential and the deeper aspects of the human condition.
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296 |
Clarke, Arthur C. (14) |
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REVIEW
A very early work of science fiction this talks about an early concept for getting to the Moon and back. Worth reading for the historical perspective on 1940's and 50's space science.
SUMMARY
The world's first lunar spacecraft is about to launch. The ship, Prometheus, is built from two separate components-one designed to travel from Earth's atmosphere to the Moon and back, and the other to carry the first component through Earth's atmosphere and into orbit. Sound familiar? That's because it's the basic description of the first space shuttle-well before its launch in 1971.
Prelude to Space was published in 1951-well before the first Sputnik expedition. Even so, the book is full of detailed technical descriptions and conversations regarding the possibility of spaceflight-many of which were actually included during the construction of the first spaceships-as well as telecommunications satellites. It's a fascinating read-from both a fictional and a historical perspective.
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297 |
Clarke, Arthur C. (14) |
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REVIEW
What would we do if we encountered an artificial construct drifting through our system on the way to... some where else?
Good story as is most of Clarke
SUMMARY
Years after the first encounter with a mysterious alien spacecraft in Rendezvous With Rama, a second spaceship enters the solar system—and a team of Earth's most accomplished scientists and cosmonauts is sent to intercept it.
The human crew is no stranger to Raman culture and technology. But Rama II offers surprises not encountered on the first ship—surprises that could turn out to be deadly. Set against a backdrop of economic crisis that threatens all human settlements throughout the solar system, Rama II tells the story of an advanced scientific team dealing with the unexpected both on an enigmatic alien spacecraft and within their own psyches.
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298 |
Clarke, Arthur C. (14) |
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REVIEW
Great Clarke short stories. These are the stories that started my life long SciFi reading habit.
SUMMARY
This collection of short stories brings numerous lesser-known works from the world's foremost master of science fiction together for the first time. Reach for Tomorrow includes twelve highly memorable stories. Included is "Rescue Party," a short story that may have served as an origin story for the renowned Rama series.
As a cross-section of Clarke's work, Reach For Tomorrow is astonishingly diverse. Readers will find tales ranging in scope from the time of the dinosaurs to the unimaginably distant future; locations as far-flung as distant galaxies and as close as London; and voyages to the center of the earth and beyond the stars. It's a fun and fascinating read for any fan of Clarke or science fiction in general.
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299 |
Clarke, Arthur C. (14) |
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REVIEW
A page turner about the rendevous and exploration of an alien object that passes through our solar system. Turns out to be a huge ecosphere that would take years to fully explore.
SUMMARY
An enormous cylindrical object appears in Earth's solar system, hurtling toward the sun. A ship is sent to explore the mysterious craft-which the denizens of the solar system name Rama-and what they find is intriguing evidence of a civilization far more advanced than ours. They find an interior stretching over 50 kilometers; a forbidding cylindrical sea; mysterious and inaccessible buildings; and strange machine-animal hybrids, or "biots," that inhabit the ship. But what they don't find is an alien presence. So who-and where-are the Ramans?
Often listed as one of Clarke's finest novels, Rendezvous With Rama has won both the Hugo and the Nebula Awards. A fast-paced and compelling story of an enigmatic encounter with alien technology, Rendezvous With Rama offers both answers and unsolved mysteries that continue to fascinate readers decades after its first publication.
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300 |
Clarke, Arthur C. (14) |
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REVIEW
When I started reading SciFi, Arthur C. Clarke was in his prime. I started by reading his collections of short stories, and the amazing ideas and sense of wonder that he could convey in a short story captured my imagination, and I have been a SciFi fan my whole life. I can't recall any of the stories, but I remember the enjoyment.
SUMMARY
In the White Hart Pub in London just north of Fleet Street, Harry Purvis holds court-a consummate tall-tale teller who always has a good story up his sleeve. He is joined by science fiction writers Samuel Youd, John Wyndham, and Clarke himself-all under pseudonyms, and all trying to outdo each other with their outlandish tales of science and invention.
Inspired by the Jorkens collections by Lord Dunsany, this collection of stories is Clarke's third-and, while they were written in locations as diverse as New York and Sydney, they all have a distinctly English flavor. Written by one of the genre's most important authors, Tales of the White Hart is sure to delight Clarke fans, lovers of science fiction, and anyone who appreciates a good tall tale.
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301 |
Clement, Hal (5) |
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REVIEW
A good hard science read about a very high gravity world with life!!
SUMMARY
Shrouded in eternal gloom by its own thick atmosphere, Tenebra was a hostile planet a place of crushing gravity, 370-degree temperatures, a constantly shifting crust and giant drifting raindrops. Uncompromising - yet there was life, intelligent life on Tenebra. For more than twenty years, Earth scientists had studied the natives from an orbiting laboratory... and had even found a way to train and educate a few of them.
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302 |
Clement, Hal (5) |
Cycle of Fire(SciFi)
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REVIEW
If you are interested in a nice read without a lot of the unnecessary bells an whistles many authors are fond of putting in you will enjoy this one.
SUMMARY
A stranded earth man, a native of the planet trying to make it back to safety before the planet goes through a massive change in temperature which will, as far as we know, kill every living thing on the planet. The native and the Earth man develop a friendship against the background of struggling against time. The interesting subplot about the planets odd cycle and the evolutionary diversions it had caused was interesting. When at first one of the planetary scientists heats up a sample terrarium full of native plants, animals and dirt, only to watch them wither and die while at the same time tiny new creatures obviously built for the heat emerge from under the soil was an interesting way to start this section of the novel.
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303 |
Clement, Hal (5) |
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REVIEW
A funny concept - the ICE world is Earth - because it is so cold here. How do those humans manage to live on such a cold planet?
SUMMARY
The novel concerns an interplanetary narcotics agent who is forced to work on an incredibly cold world (from his point of view — the planet is in fact Earth), where he teams up with natives of the alien planet (humans) in his attempt to stop the smuggling of a dangerous drug (tobacco) to Sirius. Although the story involves both aliens and humans, it is told primarily from an alien perspective.
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304 |
Clement, Hal (5) |
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REVIEW
Another good hard science novel about a planet with high and inconsistent gravity. How do you explore such a planet. Maybe you get a high-g worlder to do it for you.
SUMMARY
For a profit -- and adventure -- Barlennan would sail thousands of miles across uncharted waters, into regions where gravity itself played strange tricks. He would dare the perils of strange tribes and stranger creatures -- even dicker with those strange aliens from beyond the skies, though the concept of another world was unknown to the inhabitants of the disk-shaped planet of Mesklin.
But in spite of the incredible technology of the strangers and without regard for their enormous size, Barlennan had the notion of turning the deal to an unsuspected advantage for himself . . . all in all a considerable enterprise for a being very much resembling a fifteen-inch caterpillar!
The story is set on a highly oblate planet named Mesklin, which has surface gravity that varies between 700 g at the poles and 3 g at the equator. The story is told from the points of view of one of the local intelligent life forms and a human explorer. The locals are centipede-like, in order to withstand the enormous gravity, and terrified of even small heights (because in 700 g even a tiny fall is fatal).
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305 |
Clement, Hal (5) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
a fun read.
SUMMARY
The return of Barlennan Dhrawn was a giant rockball, more than 3,000 times the mass of Earth. Perhaps a planet, perhaps a nearly dead star, the 17 billion square miles of mystery cried out for investigation. But its corrosive atmosphere and crushing gravity assured that no human would ever set foot on its surface. Those hardy, caterpillar-like Mesklinites, on the other hand, were ideally suited to explore Dhrawn, and their leader certainly knew a good deal when he saw one. So Barlennan, a shrewd sea captain if ever there was one, struck a sharp bargain with the Earth men for his services in leading the expedition. But the humans might not have been so pleased with their side of the bargain, if they had known that Barlennan had plans of his own for Dhrawn The stunning sequel to the classic SF novel Mission of Gravity.
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306 |
Cline, Ernest (3) |
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REVIEW
Cline's book "READY PLAYER ONE" was so good that I was really looking forward to this one. It did not live up to expectations. Again, the story is based on game playing, only this time, the game is a training ground for an alien invasion. This is a giant secret being kept from the people of Earth. And, the aliens are not really fighting to win. The whole thing is odd and someone needs to speak up and say so.
Well, that's the premise.. but the story has flaws. A) There is no way that a secret program to build a huge world-wide military force could be kept secret from humanity - given that thousands of folks would have to be involved in creating it. B) There is going to be no way to keep a base on the moon a secret given the amount of material that would have to be moved there.. going up and down out of the atmosphere. c) A game is NOT going to be a realistic training format for real war. And then, the oddity of how the aliens react... which is actually part of the story.. just made all the inconsistent oddities stand out in this book.
I was disappointed.
SUMMARY
Zack Lightman has never much cared for reality. He vastly prefers the countless science-fiction movies, books, and videogames he's spent his life consuming. And too often, he catches himself wishing that some fantastic, impossible, world-altering event could arrive to whisk him off on a grand spacefaring adventure.
So when he sees the flying saucer, he's sure his years of escapism have finally tipped over into madness.
Especially because the alien ship he's staring at is straight out of his favorite videogame, a flight simulator callled Armada--in which gamers just happen to be protecting Earth from alien invaders.
As impossible as it seems, what Zack's seeing is all too real. And it's just the first in a blur of revlations that will force him to question everything he thought he knew about Earth's history, its future, even his own life--and to play the hero for real, with humanity's life in the balance.
But even through the terror and exhilaration, he can't help thinking: Doesn't something about this scenario feel a little bit like...well...fiction?
At once reinventing and paying homage to science-fiction classics, Armada is a rollicking, surprising thriller, a coming-of-age adventure, and an alien invasion tale like nothing you've ever read before.
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307 |
Cline, Ernest (3) |
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REVIEW >
This book is GREAT. If you grew up in the era of Video Arcades and quarter games, then this book will bring back a TON of memories. If you didn't, then you will miss many of the inside references, but this is still a fun book - a page turner. Big Recommend.
SUMMARY
In the year 2044, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he's jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS. Wade's devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world's digital confines—puzzles that are based on their creator's obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them.
But when Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade's going to survive, he'll have to win—and confront the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.
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308 |
Cline, Ernest (3) |
Ready Player Two: A Novel(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Well, not as interesting as the first book - still the same idea - having to search through the life of the maker of the OASIS - to solve a problem - but this time, millions of lives are on the line. Apparently, Halliday was working on a device that would provide full immersion into the Oasis by actually stimulating the users brain directly. Oh.. letting a machine into your head.. that's a good idea.
And... don't forget.. Halliday is still in there, somewhere, what has he been up to, and is is good or bad?
This is still good and still harks back to lots of nostalgic facts (sometimes too much) so great for older readers who are steeped in pop culture.
SUMMARY
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The highly anticipated sequel to the beloved worldwide bestseller Ready Player One, the near-future adventure that inspired the blockbuster Steven Spielberg film.
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE WASHINGTON POST • “The game is on again. . . . A great mix of exciting fantasy and threatening fact.”—The Wall Street Journal
AN UNEXPECTED QUEST. TWO WORLDS AT STAKE. ARE YOU READY?
Days after winning OASIS founder James Halliday’s contest, Wade Watts makes a discovery that changes everything.
Hidden within Halliday’s vaults, waiting for his heir to find, lies a technological advancement that will once again change the world and make the OASIS a thousand times more wondrous—and addictive—than even Wade dreamed possible.
With it comes a new riddle, and a new quest—a last Easter egg from Halliday, hinting at a mysterious prize.
And an unexpected, impossibly powerful, and dangerous new rival awaits, one who’ll kill millions to get what he wants.
Wade’s life and the future of the OASIS are again at stake, but this time the fate of humanity also hangs in the balance.
Lovingly nostalgic and wildly original as only Ernest Cline could conceive it, Ready Player Two takes us on another imaginative, fun, action-packed adventure through his beloved virtual universe, and jolts us thrillingly into the future once again.
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309 |
Clines, Peter (1) |
The Fold: A Novel(SciFi)
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REVIEW
This novel was quite good.. right up until the end (not the very end.. that bit was interesting and made me want to read more). No, I mean the "danger" imposed by the FOLD to our planet. It was... hookey.
Still and all, a pretty good read with some interesting ideas.
SUMMARY
STEP INTO THE FOLD.
IT'S PERFECTLY SAFE.
The folks in Mike Erikson's small New England town would say he's just your average, everyday guy. And that's exactly how Mike likes it. Sure, the life he's chosen isn't much of a challenge to someone with his unique gifts, but he's content with his quiet and peaceful existence.
That is, until an old friend presents him with an irresistible mystery, one that Mike is uniquely qualified to solve: far out in the California desert, a team of DARPA scientists has invented a device they affectionately call the Albuquerque Door. Using a cryptic computer equation and magnetic fields to "fold" dimensions, it shrinks distances so that a traveler can travel hundreds of feet with a single step.
The invention promises to make mankind's dreams of teleportation a reality. And, the scientists insist, traveling through the Door is completely safe.
Yet evidence is mounting that this miraculous machine isn't quite what it seems—and that its creators are harboring a dangerous secret.
As his investigations draw him deeper into the puzzle, Mike begins to fear there's only one answer that makes sense. And if he's right, it may only be a matter of time before the project destroys…everything.
A cunningly inventive mystery featuring a hero worthy of Sherlock Holmes and a terrifying final twist you'll never see coming, The Fold is that rarest of things: a genuinely page-turning science-fiction thriller. Step inside its pages and learn why author Peter Clines has already won legions of loyal fans.
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310 |
Cohen, Barney (1) |
The Taking of Satcon Station(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read too long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
None available
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311 |
Cole, Allan (8) |
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REVIEW
The first of the STEN novels. All amusing. All fun to read. Leading to an interesting end.
SUMMARY
Hailed as a "landmark science fiction series" the Sten Series has thrilled millions of readers all over the world. Set three thousand years in the future, the eight Sten novels tell the tale of a tough, street-wise orphan who escapes his fate as factory planet "delinq" to become the strong right-hand of the most powerful man in the Universe--a man hailed by his billons of subjects as "The Eternal Emperor." This edition contains a brand-new "Forward" introduction to the series as well as a selection of recipes from the Emperor's cookbook. Classic SF adventure!
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312 |
Cole, Allan (8) |
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REVIEW
Sten is becoming the Emperor's right hand man. Thumbs UP
SUMMARY
When the Emperor needs to pacify the Wolf Worlds, the planets of an insignificant cluster that have raised space piracy to a low art, he turns to Mantis Team and its small band of militant problem--solvers. Sten's destiny is in his own hands
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313 |
Cole, Allan (8) |
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REVIEW
Sten is still fighting for the emperor, but things are not as clear cut as they used to be. Good action, Good story.
SUMMARY
Having fought his way from slave labor on a factory world to commander of the Eternal Emperor's bodyguard, the most dangerous weapons Sten has encountered in Prime World are the lies of Court politicians. When a bomb goes off, however, he discovers the danger and corruption behind Court intrigue. Sten is starting to see the corruption around the Emperor, and beginning to question the wisdom of things as they are.
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314 |
Cole, Allan (8) |
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REVIEW
In this book Sten goes to flight school to learn the ins-and-outs of space combat and then heads off to the front lines of the impending war with the militaristic Tahn.
As good as all of these in this series. Really enjoyable.
SUMMARY
Hailed as a "landmark science fiction series," the Sten novels have thrilled millions of readers all over the world. Set three thousand years in the future, they tell the tale of a tough, street-wise orphan who escapes his fate as factory planet "delinq" to become the strong right-hand of the most powerful man in the Universe—a virtually immortal figure known to his billons of subjects as "The Eternal Emperor." THE FOURTH ADVENTURE Sten had barely scraped through Imperial flight school when he was assigned a tacdivision in the Fringe Worlds, where Imperial officers are more concerned with the perfect fit of their dress whites than honing their fighting skills. The enemy Tahn couldn't have picked a better time or place to launch an attack against the Empire. Sten and his men are outgunned — with no reinforcements in sight. It looks like Sten's number is up. But if he has to go, he won't go alone . . . THE STEN SERIES Sten The Wolf Worlds The Court of a Thousand Suns Fleet of the Damned Revenge of the Damned The Return of the Emperor Vortex Empire's End
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315 |
Cole, Allan (8) |
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REVIEW
Another great book in a great series. Thumbs up
SUMMARY
Sten fully expected to die in a blaze of glory, taking his Emperor's greatest foe with him. Instead, he is a slave laborer in a POW camp deep in the heart of enemy territory. But sitting out the action had never been Sten's style. And now that the war is building to a climax, the Eternal Emperor needs him more than ever. Not even the toughest prison in the known universe can keep Sten from his mission...
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316 |
Cole, Allan (8) |
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REVIEW
Here we learn how it is that the Eternal Emporer manages to remain Eternal. And no, it ain't simple and it ain't easy.
SUMMARY
The Eternal Emperor was dead, and the five members of the Privy Council ruled in his place. But they quickly discovered that their power would collapse around them if they didn't locate the Emperor's secret source of Anti-Matter Two, the economic keystone of the Empire. And so they sent a team of crack commandos to capture Sten, one of their late ruler's few surviving confidantes. But Sten, as usual, had his own agenda. For he knew something about the Eternal Emperor that would shake the Empire to its foundations. And to play his part, all Sten had to do was kill the five most powerful beings in the universe!
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317 |
Cole, Allan (8) |
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REVIEW
Another great read in this series.
SUMMARY
Sten fulfilled many tasks in service to the Eternal Emperor and his empire as special forces agent, tacship fleet captain and admiral. Now he is going to add a new one – a diplomat.
The Eternal Emperor, who was assassinated six years ago, is back from the grave and once again he can lead his merchant Empire. However,
the domestic situation is desperate. Tahnwar followed by six-year shortage of Antimatter Two brought many regions of Empire to the brink of economic collapse that can't be prevented with restoring flow of AM2. Even the Eternal Emperor can't manage this whole situation alone, so he asks his friends for help – friends like certain Karl Sten
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318 |
Cole, Allan (8) |
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REVIEW
In this final book, all secrets are revealed. Sten kills the Eternal Emporer, and contemplates taking his place. Will he? One of the best SciFi series ever!
SUMMARY
After the victorious defeat of an Imperial Assault fleet, former Ambassador Plenipotentiary Sten finds himself now a traitor and renegade to the Empire in the midst of a dangerous, galactic Civil War that threatens to put Sten at odds with the Eternal Emperor himself...
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319 |
Cole, Jen (1) |
Play or Die(SciFi)
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REVIEW
You are selected at random for a game. If you win, you get to live. The game? Stay alive for 5 days while every 3 hours a psychopath is given your exact location. Could you do it? Better yet, could you figure it out and beat the people that set up the game in the first place?
This was an exciting read. I enjoyed it a bunch.
SUMMARY
Ready to play the game of your life?
Could you stay ahead of a sociopathic hunter being sent your co-ordinates every three hours? Jo Warrington is about to live this nightmare. On a Melbourne city street she is plunged into a game devised by people from the future. Her choices - play or die.
As Jo flees a remorseless Hunter, her watching audience places bets on how long she will survive and awards points for ingenuity. The points allow her to ask questions, but when the answer to one reveals her father's recent death to have been no accident, she resolves to play the game on her own terms.
Desperately searching for clues as the assassin closes in, Jo is tempted when her father's sexy equipment salesman turns up asking her to trust him, but Richard seems to have his own agenda.
Can Jo track down her father's murderers before she herself is killed? And what of her viewers from the future? Will they be satisfied with anything less than her death?
A lot can happen in five days.
If you crave the adrenaline hit of an action-packed thriller, then choose a comfy chair to read Play or Die. It'll be a while before you leave.
This is a novel for young adults and old.
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320 |
Cole, Nick (1) |
The Old Man and the Wasteland(SciFi)
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REVIEW
This actually does read a bit like The Old Man and The Sea... with a character determined to prove his worth and accomplish something meaningful to himself, but possibly self-destructive. That said, this is only an average read.
SUMMARY
Part Hemingway, part Cormac McCarthy's The Road, a suspenseful odyssey into the dark heart of the post-apocalyptic American Southwest.
Forty years after the destruction of civilization, human beings are reduced to salvaging the ruins of a broken world. One survivor's most prized possession is Hemingway's classic The Old Man and the Sea. With the words of the novel echoing across the wasteland, a living victim of the Nuclear Holocaust journeys into the unknown to break a curse.
What follows is an incredible tale of grit and endurance. A lone traveler must survive the desert wilderness and mankind gone savage to discover the truth of Hemingway's classic tale of man versus nature.
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321 |
Collins, Suzanne (3) |
Hunger Games 1: The Hunger Games(Fiction - Adventure)
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REVIEW
A good read (if you accept the concept). No wonder they made it into a movie. Sets up an interesting dynamic for the characters whose only desire (initially) is to survive.
SUMMARY
In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.
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322 |
Collins, Suzanne (3) |
Hunger Games 2: Catching Fire(Fiction - Adventure)
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REVIEW
Good second chapter of this story. Revenge is on the mind of the leaders, but our hero (with the help of others) finds a way to survive and strike back. This is a good series.
SUMMARY
Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy. After all, they have just won for themselves and their families a life of safety and plenty. But there are rumors of rebellion among the subjects, and Katniss and Peeta, to their horror, are the faces of that rebellion. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge.
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323 |
Collins, Suzanne (3) |
Hunger Games 3: Mocking Jay(Fiction - Adventure)
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REVIEW
Our hero makes her final stand against the tyrant. But, perhaps she has learned something from him in the process and realizes that tyrants come in all forms. Good Conclusion.
SUMMARY
The greatly anticipated final book in the New York Times bestselling Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins.
The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge.
Who do they think should pay for the unrest?
Katniss Everdeen.
The final book in The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins will have hearts racing, pages turning, and everyone talking about one of the biggest and most talked-about books and authors in recent publishing history!!!!
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324 |
Collins, Wilkie (1) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Not read
SUMMARY
Wilkie Collins's The Woman in White, the first Victorian 'sensation novel' and one of the earliest mystery novels in English, weaves multiple narratives into a thrilling and suspenseful tale of mistaken identity and dark desires. The Woman in White famously opens with Walter Hartright's eerie encounter on a moonlit London road. Engaged as a drawing master to the beautiful Laura Fairlie, Walter is drawn into the sinister intrigues of Sir Percival Glyde and his 'charming' friend Count Fosco, the 'Napoleon of crime', who has a taste for white mice, vanilla bonbons and poison. Pursuing questions of identity and insanity along the paths and corridors of English country houses and the madhouse, The Woman in White is the first and most influential of the Victorian genre that combined Gothic horror with psychological realism.
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325 |
Conrad, Joseph (4) |
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REVIEW
Another good one by Conrad, though much more muddled (I think) than Lord Jim. Some of the prose in here will carry you away, but the overall sense of the book
is ... well.. strange. A journey into a dark and forbidding land.. a land that is untamed and untamable. With the moral descent of the characters as they move further
into more primitive areas, its no wonder this book inspired the movie "Apocalypse Now" with Marlon Brando being the evil at the end. I believe Lord Jim is the better book, but this one has some powerful imagery - and some pretty accurate descriptions of the treatment of colonial natives.
SUMMARY
This Dark allegory describes the narrator's journey up the Congo River and his meeting with, and fascination by, Mr. Kurtz, a mysterious personage who dominates the unruly inhabitants of the region. Masterly blend of adventure, character development, psychological penetration. Considered by many Conrad's finest, most enigmatic story.
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326 |
Conrad, Joseph (4) |
Lord Jim Best Book Lists: 1 (Fiction - Adventure)
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REVIEW
Conrad can write. At first I had difficulty feeling sorry for Jim since he seemed inclined to constantly blame forces outside himself for his failure. But then, as he stands to take responsibility when no one else will; and as he takes on the task of bringing better lives to the people he finds himself among; you begin to feel that he has more than redeemed himself. So in the end, when he once again takes responsibility for things over which he had little control, his first failing does not seem so much a character flaw, and he has more than atoned for his error. Conrad was a psychologist long before the science existed. His insight into the minds of people is sometimes startling. Every now and then in the text you come across an insight that stands the test of time so well that you think to yourself, Yes, I know people like that, or I have to remember that when trying to read people.
SUMMARY
Lord Jim tells the story of a young, idealistic Englishman--"as unflinching as a hero in a book"--who is disgraced by a single act of cowardice while serving as an officer on the Patna, a merchant-ship sailing from an eastern port. His life is ruined: an isolated scandal has assumed horrifying proportions. But, then he is befriended by an older man named Marlow who helps to establish him in exotic Patusan, a remote Malay settlement where his courage is put to the test once more. Lord Jim is a book about courage and cowardice, self-knowledge and personal growth. It is one of the most profound and rewarding psychological novels in English. Set in the context of social change and colonial expansion in late Victorian England, it embodies in Jim the values and turmoil of a fading empire. This new edition uses the first English edition text and includes a new introduction and notes by leading Conrad scholar Jacques Berthoud, glossaries, and an appendix on Conrad's sources and reading.
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327 |
Conrad, Joseph (4) |
Nostromo Best Book Lists: 1,3,5 (Fiction - General)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Not read
SUMMARY
Nostromo reenacts the establishment of modern capitalism in a remote South American province locked between the Andes and the Pacific. In the harbor town of Sulaco, a vivid cast of characters is caught up in a civil war to decide whether its fabulously wealthy silver mine, funded by American money but owned by a third-generation English immigrant, can be preserved from the hands of venal politicians. Greed and corruption seep into the lives of everyone, and Nostromo, the principled foreman of the mine, is tested to the limit.
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328 |
Conrad, Joseph (4) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Not read
SUMMARY
A chilling tale of espionage and terrorism by a literary master. On the surface, Adolf Verloc is a bookstore owner in London. Beneath his carefully crafted persona, dwells a spy for a foreign government. When his handlers decide it's time for action, Verloc is tasked with blowing up the Royal Observatory. This modern novel is still as fresh and relevant as ever and makes an exciting and though-provoking read.
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329 |
Cook, Paul (2) |
Duende Meadow(SciFi)
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REVIEW
What happens when you go back to a world that has forgotten about you?
SUMMARY
When the last great war came, a small group of survivors hid themselves below the fields of Kansas, living in a place of eternal twilight.
Over time the energy surrounding the descendants of these survivors turned them into Duendes, ghost-like beings, never having seen real light or knowing anything of the conditions of the world beyond their underground enclosure.
Six hundred years have passed since the war and now some Duendes want to leave the safety of their habitat and finally go ‘above.' But what will they discover once they have emerged into the sunlight?
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330 |
Cook, Paul (2) |
Halo(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read too long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
The mysterious alien artifact called the Halo came quietly and mysteriously and then sowed the earth with seeds that threatened to destroy humanity by destroying their souls. **** But the aliens had underestimated the human spirit and a band of Moon-based scientists survive to fight and take back what is rightfully ours. **** A powerful, visionary and scary look into our future and a possible encounter with an alien species almost impossible to beat.
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331 |
Cook, Robin (1) |
Coma(SciFi)
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REVIEW
This is the book, and movie that convinced me NEVER to use general anesthesia when a local will do the job. To this very day I will go without general anesthesia if at all possible. Even did just Novocain for a liver biopsy - that sucker hurt and I went into shock... but better than not waking up.
SUMMARY
They called it "minor surgery," but Nancy Greenly, Sean Berman, and a dozen others—all admitted to Boston Memorial Hospital for routine procedures were victims of the same inexplicable, hideous tragedy on the operating table. They never woke up. . . .
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332 |
Cooper, James Fenimore (1) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Not read
SUMMARY
The wild rush of action in this classic frontier adventure story has made The Last of the Mohicans the most popular of James Fenimore Cooper's Leatherstocking Tales. Deep in the forests of upper New York State, the brave woodsman Hawkeye (Natty Bumppo) and his loyal Mohican friends Chingachgook and Uncas become embroiled in the bloody battles of the French and Indian War. The abduction of the beautiful Munro sisters by hostile savages, the treachery of the renegade brave Magua, the ambush of innocent settlers, and the thrilling events that lead to the final tragic confrontation between rival war parties create an unforgettable, spine-tingling picture of life on the frontier. And as the idyllic wilderness gives way to the forces of civilization, the novel presents a moving portrayal of a vanishing race and the end of its way of life in the great American forests.
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333 |
Cordwainer, Smith (1) |
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REVIEW
An odd novel with odd concepts
SUMMARY
Welcome to Old North Australia, or Norstrilia, the only planet that has "stroon," a substance that indefinitely delays aging in humans. Stroon is cultivated from huge, deformed sheep farmed by the wealthiest estate owners to ever exist in all of humanity's existence.
Rod McBan is the last of one of the oldest and most honorable families on Norstrilia. But he himself has shortcomings that would normally have led to his death under the strict laws governing population control on a planet where immortality is cheap and imperfect citizens are ruthlessly "culled" to make way for more productive members of society.
But even McBan's vaunted stature in the society is not enough to save him from the basest of human emotions-jealousy- as the enmity of a former friend forces him to escape to Earth, where McBan's unprecedented fortune quickly makes him a magnet for all manner of crooks and revolutionaries.
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334 |
Corey, James S.A. (7) |
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REVIEW
An excellent SciFi story/Detective novel about a down and out cop who catches a missing persons case that leads him into the most diabolical of situations and a war between Earth, Mars, and the "Belt" - when one of the most powerful companies in the solar system tries to take advantage of an alien molecule that looks like it is designed to spread alien life to other planets. Notably destroying the life that exists there already. Everything in here is believable.. the physics, the characters, the science.. Nothing "magic" happens that isn't plausible or already in our grasp if we chose different priorities. A really good read.
And, apparently made into a TV series on the SyFy channel called "The Expanse". Guess I will have to watch that now. I plan on reading the next book in this series.
SUMMARY
This book is the basis for the first season of The Expanse, now a major television series from Syfy!
Two hundred years after migrating into space, mankind is in turmoil. When a reluctant ship's captain and washed-up detective find themselves involved in the case of a missing girl, what they discover brings our solar system to the brink of civil war, and exposes the greatest conspiracy in human history.
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335 |
Corey, James S.A. (7) |
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REVIEW
The sequel to Leviathan Wakes where mankind discovered and before life even had a foothold on Earth, another civilization tried to destroy us. And nearly succeeded.
In this edition, the danger is not yet past, and the solar system is at war to see who will be standing when the alien menace finally makes its plan clear. People are still experimenting with the alien proto-molecule; and governments are fighting for position rather than doing what needs to be done to ensure that mankind survives as a species. Well written and exciting.
SUMMARY
We are not alone.
On Ganymede, breadbasket of the outer planets, a Martian marine watches as her platoon is slaughtered by a monstrous supersoldier. On Earth, a high-level politician struggles to prevent interplanetary war from reigniting. And on Venus, an alien protomolecule has overrun the planet, wreaking massive, mysterious changes and threatening to spread out into the solar system.
In the vast wilderness of space, James Holden and the crew of the Rocinante have been keeping the peace for the Outer Planets Alliance. When they agree to help a scientist search war-torn Ganymede for a missing child, the future of humanity rests on whether a single ship can prevent an alien invasion that may have already begun .
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336 |
Corey, James S.A. (7) |
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REVIEW
Another great addition to this on-going space opera - The Expanse. In this, the proto-molecule that almost destroyed the human race has left Venus and is out near Uranus where it has built a giant structure that is a gate to other star systems. The problem, the gate is not working, and the 3 factions of the human race (Earthers, Martians, and Belters) all have different ideas about what to do. Another excuse for war, unless things are handled just right. Of course, they won't be handled right when a saboteur with their own agenda blows up and Earth ship and tries to pin the blame on James Holden. Meanwhile, Holden is talking to a dead man who is trying to tell him the real purpose and the real problem with the gateway to the stars.
I got to the end of this and it was another late night when I could not put it down. This series of books is really entertaining - and hard-science - which I love. No made up transporter beams - just human technology (well, except for the alien construct which is much more advanced and little understood). I recommend.
SUMMARY
For generations, the solar system -- Mars, the Moon, the Asteroid Belt -- was humanity's great frontier. Until now. The alien artifact working through its program under the clouds of Venus has appeared in Uranus's orbit, where it has built a massive gate that leads to a starless dark.
Jim Holden and the crew of the Rocinante are part of a vast flotilla of scientific and military ships going out to examine the artifact. But behind the scenes, a complex plot is unfolding, with the destruction of Holden at its core. As the emissaries of the human race try to find whether the gate is an opportunity or a threat, the greatest danger is the one they brought with them.
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337 |
Corey, James S.A. (7) |
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REVIEW
The great characters from the previous books are back and find themselves hired to resolve an impossible situation. People are heading out to settle the newly discovered planets, and corporations are claiming ownership and fighting for resources. In the mean time, the alien proto-molecule that caused such havoc in the past is not finished with the planet in question. The appearance of the settlers and the corporate ship in space has cause the old machinery to come to life. This nearly destroys the planet and everyone on and above it.
An edge of the seat kind of read - as good as all the others in this series so far.
SUMMARY
"An empty apartment, a missing family, that's creepy. But this is like finding a military base with no one on it. Fighters and tanks idling on the runway with no drivers. This is bad juju. Something wrong happened here. What you should do is tell everyone to leave."
The gates have opened the way to a thousand new worlds and the rush to colonize has begun. Settlers looking for a new life stream out from humanity's home planets. Ilus, the first human colony on this vast new frontier, is being born in blood and fire.
Independent settlers stand against the overwhelming power of a corporate colony ship with only their determination, courage, and the skills learned in the long wars of home. Innocent scientists are slaughtered as they try to survey a new and alien world. The struggle on Ilus threatens to spread all the way back to Earth.
James Holden and the crew of his one small ship are sent to make peace in the midst of war and sense in the midst of chaos. But the more he looks at it, the more Holden thinks the mission was meant to fail.
And the whispers of a dead man remind him that the great galactic civilization that once stood on this land is gone. And that something killed it.
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338 |
Corey, James S.A. (7) |
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REVIEW
With the gate to 10,000 new worlds opened up, everyone who can is leaving the Earth based solar system, which means that people who had power are losing it, and people who want power are fighting for it. The whole political balance (fragile as it was) is falling apart. One group commits an unthinkable crime (dropping a rock on Earth killing millions) to make a point and destroy the old order.
Holden and the rest of the characters from this series are split up and all find themselves in danger and on different sides of the fight. Ultimately, their loyalty is to each other - they are family more than they ever realized, and will suffer anything for each other. A good read, though not quite as good as the previous books in this series.
SUMMARY
A thousand worlds have opened, and the greatest land rush in human history has begun. As wave after wave of colonists leave, the power structures of the old solar system begin to buckle.
Ships are disappearing without a trace. Private armies are being secretly formed. The sole remaining protomolecule sample is stolen. Terrorist attacks previously considered impossible bring the inner planets to their knees. The sins of the past are returning to exact a terrible price.
And as a new human order is struggling to be born in blood and fire, James Holden and the crew of the Rocinante must struggle to survive and get back to the only home they have left.
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339 |
Corey, James S.A. (7) |
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REVIEW
A faction of the Belters (folks who live and work in the asteroid belt) has committed genocide against Earth, and is declaring freedom for the Belt. But freedom comes at too high a price and their actions threaten to kill millions on Earth, Mars, and the Belt. The inner planets want to stop them.. but cannot figure out how without help from Belters to see their leader for what he is - a megalomaniac with no plans, just reactions. Can they win?
A great continuation and conclusion to this series of books that keeps the science right and the action amazing. If you want to read GOOD science fiction, then pick up this series. It is about PEOPLE dealing with things no one should ever have to deal with. How a group of folks thrown together by chance become family by choice. About rage and forgiveness, Love and lose. And of course, orbital mechanics and g-forces. Great reading.
SUMMARY
The sixth novel in James S. A. Corey's New York Times bestselling Expanse series--now a major television series from Syfy!
A revolution brewing for generations has begun in fire. It will end in blood.
The Free Navy - a violent group of Belters in black-market military ships - has crippled the Earth and begun a campaign of piracy and violence among the outer planets. The colony ships heading for the thousand new worlds on the far side of the alien ring gates are easy prey, and no single navy remains strong enough to protect them.
James Holden and his crew know the strengths and weaknesses of this new force better than anyone. Outnumbered and outgunned, the embattled remnants of the old political powers call on the Rocinante for a desperate mission to reach Medina Station at the heart of the gate network.
But the new alliances are as flawed as the old, and the struggle for power has only just begun. As the chaos grows, an alien mystery deepens. Pirate fleets, mutiny, and betrayal may be the least of the Rocinante's problems. And in the uncanny spaces past the ring gates, the choices of a few damaged and desperate people may determine the fate of more than just humanity.
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340 |
Corey, James S.A. (7) |
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REVIEW
SUMMARY
The seventh novel in James S. A. Corey's New York Times bestselling Expanse series--now a major television series.
An old enemy returns.
In the thousand-sun network of humanity's expansion, new colony worlds are struggling to find their way. Every new planet lives on a knife edge between collapse and wonder, and the crew of the aging gunship Rocinante have their hands more than full keeping the fragile peace.
In the vast space between Earth and Jupiter, the inner planets and belt have formed a tentative and uncertain alliance still haunted by a history of wars and prejudices. On the lost colony world of Laconia, a hidden enemy has a new vision for all of humanity and the power to enforce it.
New technologies clash with old as the history of human conflict returns to its ancient patterns of war and subjugation. But human nature is not the only enemy, and the forces being unleashed have their own price. A price that will change the shape of humanity -- and of the Rocinante -- unexpectedly and forever...
Persepolis Rising is a breakneck science fiction adventure following the bestselling Babylon's Ashes.
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341 |
Coulson, Juanita (4) |
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REVIEW
I recall this being not bad.
SUMMARY
Faster-than-light travel to the stars was a discovery of the great Saunder family, and the vast Saunder fortune helped in the colonizing of alien worlds, among strange, nonhuman races. But Anthony Saunder had no share in that fortune or heritage. He was only a clone, the illegal result of a cruel woman's whim, not truly human. And the business he had started on Procyon Four, making colonist's emoto-tapes, was on the brink of failure. Then the catlike humanoid Whimeds came, asking him to use his skill in directing a presentation for the coming Interspecies Conference. And once he saw Yrae, their beautiful, almost human-seeming star, he could riot refuse, though the job seemed impossible and led to endless trouble. But all that was simple, compared to what he found at the Conference. There he ran squarely into the middle of a secret war between Whimeds and equally alien Vahnaj, fought across the bodies of his bitterest enemy and his best friend
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342 |
Coulson, Juanita (4) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read too long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
How can the people of Earth reach the stars? One faction prefers the slow but safe method of sending a colony ship with its passengers and crew cryogenically frozen. The voyage will take 75 years, and the colonists will awaken as anachronisms, but the technique has been tested and can be depended on. Not everyone is willing to accept exile from friends and family as the price of interstellar travel. Two of the Saunder children- Brenna Saunder and Morgan Saunder McKelvey- have thrown the resources of the vast Saunder empire into developing a faster-than-light propulsion system which would permit people to travel freely within the universe during their normal lifetimes. So far, on unmanned test vehicles, it works. But its first manned test ends in a terrifying explosion, killing Morgan's parents. Brenna's lover, Derek, loses faith in faster-than-light travel, joins the crew of the colony ship, and urges Brenna to do the same. And now Brenna, caught between her lover's pleas and the project she has already sacrificed so much for, risks losing not merely Derek- but Earth's path to the stars as well....
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343 |
Coulson, Juanita (4) |
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REVIEW
Good read.
SUMMARY
Dan McKelvey, poor relative of the powerful Saunder-McKelvey family, was stranded on a world where aliens and human archaeologists sought evidence of the past of a strange race. Members of that race were stunted savages now, but long before they had been a mighty, star-roving people. By now, Dan had become fascinated by the project. With his mechanical skill to help, the scientists were about to uncover a temple or museum of the distant past. But none could guess what lay within, and Dan worried as he helped to open the strong, buried doors that guarded it. Would they find secrets that could enrich the present races? Or would they discover an ancient horror that could threaten all life? Some alien force had certainly ruined these once-great natives. As they neared success,
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344 |
Coulson, Juanita (4) |
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REVIEW
First in the series about a family that invented faster-then-life travel and became rich and powerful because of it. Multi-generational like a soap opera with some interesting ideas to explore
SUMMARY
2041.
A world in peril...
When the first alien was approaching Earth, it found itself in the grip of the all-powerful Saunder Family. Every member of this dynasty seemed at war with the other.
Ward Saunder is the now-dead genius who dared to dream and become a touchstone for all other Saunders. He protected people against the Death Years and the Chaos.
Jael, the family Matriarch, shares Ward's determination to make the Saunders a dynasty.
Patrick, or Pat, the eldest son, is a political opportunist, head of the Earth First Party. He had learned how to wield power and lead with dignity from his mother Jael. He is keen to protect the future of the planet by establishing enclaves in the Antarctic, freezing the bodies of people.
Todd is the idealist who tries to keep the peace within the Saunder family.
Mariette is rebellious, building a new frontier and standing out as the girl of the clan.
In the quest for the Chairmanship of the people, the Saunders must struggle and fight in a contest over Earth's very future. Project Search is in action, while brave pilots take to the stars.
Can human civilization survive with the coming of alien life, and can the Saunders find a way to listen to one another and lead humanity to that survival?
Find out in Tomorrow's Heritage, a vivid science fiction tale – at once a large political canvas and an intimate, attention-grabbing story of like-minded people. It is the first book in the Children of the Stars series.
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345 |
Cox, Brian (1) |
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REVIEW
Exactly HOW did Einstein come up with the equation E=mc2? Well, he started with only 1 assumption... The first is that the speed of light is constant. That had already been experimentally proven (which is odd when you think about it, but it was proven so... go with it). Using just that fact, Einstein combined that with the Pythagorean theorem (remember High School.. or the Wizard of Oz?) to show that space and time are one entity and the whole theory of relativity falls out from this one assumption (proven fact). This book is amazing. I started doing the math with it, and got a little lost half way through, so I am going to go back and do it again. It starts simply enough, but as soon as you combine space and time into ONE thing.. it gets a tad confusing. Still, if you want to know how the equation was derived.. not just what it means.. this is the book to read.
SUMMARY
The most accessible, entertaining, and enlightening explanation of the best-known physics equation in the world, as rendered by two of today's leading scientists.
Professor Brian Cox and Professor Jeff Forshaw go on a journey to the frontier of 21st century science to consider the real meaning behind the iconic sequence of symbols that make up Einstein's most famous equation, E=mc2. Breaking down the symbols themselves, they pose a series of questions: What is energy? What is mass? What has the speed of light got to do with energy and mass? In answering these questions, they take us to the site of one of the largest scientific experiments ever conducted. Lying beneath the city of Geneva, straddling the Franco-Swiss boarder, is a 27 km particle accelerator, known as the Large Hadron Collider. Using this gigantic machine—which can recreate conditions in the early Universe fractions of a second after the Big Bang—Cox and Forshaw will describe the current theory behind the origin of mass.
Alongside questions of energy and mass, they will consider the third, and perhaps, most intriguing element of the equation: 'c' - or the speed of light. Why is it that the speed of light is the exchange rate? Answering this question is at the heart of the investigation as the authors demonstrate how, in order to truly understand why E=mc2, we first must understand why we must move forward in time and not backwards and how objects in our 3-dimensional world actually move in 4-dimensional space-time. In other words, how the very fabric of our world is constructed. A collaboration between two of the youngest professors in the UK, Why Does E=mc2? promises to be one of the most exciting and accessible explanations of the theory of relativity in recent years.
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346 |
Crane, Stephen (1) |
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REVIEW
Before reading this I was always under the impression that it was a history of one person's view of the civil war. Well, it is that, but most of the action takes place in one two-day battle. The range of emotions and reactions that Crane wanted to explore took no more than this. Our young protagonist goes through hell in 2 days - and most of it of his own making. The battle scenes are full of chaos, and rarely is the enemy even seen, though his presence is always imminent. At only one point is he clearly seen, and by then our hero has determined to face his demon's and devil take the hindmost. And easy short and entertaining read.
SUMMARY
The Red Badge of Courage is a war novel by American author Stephen Crane (1871–1900). Taking place during the American Civil War, the story is about a young private of the Union Army, Henry Fleming, who flees from the field of battle. Overcome with shame, he longs for a wound, a "red badge of courage," to counteract his cowardice. When his regiment once again faces the enemy, Henry acts as standard-bearer. Although Crane was born after the war, and had not at the time experienced battle first-hand, the novel is known for its realism. He began writing what would become his second novel in 1893, using various contemporary and written accounts (such as those published previously by Century Magazine) as inspiration. It is believed that he based the fictional battle on that of Chancellorsville; he may also have interviewed veterans of the 124th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment, commonly known as the Orange Blossoms. Initially shortened and serialized in newspapers in December 1894, the novel was published in full in October 1895. A longer version of the work, based on Crane's original manuscript, was published in 1982.
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347 |
Crichton, Michael (5) |
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REVIEW
A very well done movie and an interesting book. The idea that we might bring something back from space that would be dangerous is something to consider. Course, we seem to be sending our germs to other places already.. so perhaps WE are the problem.
SUMMARY
Five prominent biophysicists have warned the United States government that sterilization procedures for returning space probes may be inadequate to guarantee uncontaminated re-entry to the atmosphere. Two years later, a probe satellite falls to the earth and lands in a desolate region of northeastern Arizona. Nearby, in the town of Piedmont, bodies lie heaped and flung across the ground, faces locked in frozen surprise. What could cause such shock and fear? The terror has begun, and there is no telling where it will end.
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348 |
Crichton, Michael (5) |
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REVIEW
Experimenting on animals with bad consequences.
SUMMARY
Deep in the African rain forest, near the ruins of the Lost City of Zinj, a field expedition is brutally killed. At the Houston-based Earth Resources Technology Services, Inc., a horrified supervisor watches a gruesome video transmission of that ill-fated group and sees a haunting, grainy, man-like blur moving amongst the bodies. In San Francisco, an extraordinary gorilla named Amy, who has a 620-sign vocabulary, may hold the secret to that fierce carnage. Immediately, a new expedition is sent to the Congo with Amy in tow, descending into a secret, forbidden world where the only escape may be through the grisliest death.
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349 |
Crichton, Michael (5) |
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REVIEW
If you don't know what this is about then you have been living under a rock for many years. The book is almost as good as the movie... and the movie blew people away when if first came out.
SUMMARY
An astonishing technique for recovering and cloning dinosaur DNA has been discovered. Now humankind's most thrilling fantasies have come true. Creatures extinct for eons roam Jurassic Park with their awesome presence and profound mystery, and all the world can visit them—for a price.
Until something goes wrong. . . .
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350 |
Crichton, Michael (5) |
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REVIEW
Written during the period when we all thought Japan was going to take over the world economy this is an interesting cross cultural thriller.
SUMMARY
On the forty-fifth floor of the Nakamoto tower in downtown Los Angeles—the new American headquarters of the immense Japanese conglomerate—a grand opening celebration is in full swing.
On the forty-sixth floor, in an empty conference room, the corpse of a beautiful young woman is discovered.
The investigation immediately becomes a headlong chase through a twisting maze of industrial intrigue, a no-holds-barred conflict in which control of a vital American technology is the fiercely coveted prize—and in which the Japanese saying "Business is war" takes on a terrifying reality.
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351 |
Crichton, Michael (5) |
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REVIEW
A scientific mystery and a dangerous device found at the bottom of the ocean. The people who explore it are in much more danger than they know.
This idea has been explored before in Star Trek and movies. This is just another take on the idea of "what if our thoughts and desires could be manifested in reality. Would that be a good thing?
SUMMARY
In the middle of the South Pacific, a thousand feet below the surface, a huge vessel is unearthed. Rushed to the scene is a team of American scientists who descend together into the depths to investigate the astonishing discovery. What they find defies their imaginations and mocks their attempts at logical explanation. It is a spaceship, but apparently it is undamaged by its fall from the sky. And, most startling, it appears to be at least three hundred years old, containing a terrifying and destructive force that must be controlled at all costs.
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352 |
Crouch, Blake (1) |
Recursion(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Well.. this was pretty mind bending. A whole new twist on the idea of time travel, but with the whole world remembering the alternate histories that have been altered. This obviously causes people to question reality and leads to all sorts of nasty side effects including nuclear holocaust. And the problem is.. there is no way to stop it. A definiate mind bender.
SUMMARY
Reality is broken.
At first, it looks like a disease. An epidemic that spreads through no known means, driving its victims mad with memories of a life they never lived. But the force that’s sweeping the world is no pathogen. It’s just the first shock wave, unleashed by a stunning discovery—and what’s in jeopardy is not our minds but the very fabric of time itself.
In New York City, Detective Barry Sutton is closing in on the truth—and in a remote laboratory, neuroscientist Helena Smith is unaware that she alone holds the key to this mystery . . . and the tools for fighting back.
Together, Barry and Helena will have to confront their enemy—before they, and the world, are trapped in a loop of ever-growing chaos.
Praise for Recursion
“An action-packed, brilliantly unique ride that had me up late and shirking responsibilities until I had devoured the last page . . . a fantastic read.”—Andy Weir, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Martian
“Another profound science-fiction thriller. Crouch masterfully blends science and intrigue into the experience of what it means to be deeply human.”—Newsweek
“Definitely not one to forget when you’re packing for vacation . . . [Crouch] breathes fresh life into matters with a mix of heart, intelligence, and philosophical musings.”—Entertainment Weekly
“A trippy journey down memory lane . . . [Crouch’s] intelligence is an able match for the challenge he’s set of overcoming the structure of time itself.”—Time
“Wildly entertaining . . . another winning novel from an author at the top of his game.”—AV Club
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353 |
Curtis, Greg (1) |
Alien Caller(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Would you reveal it if you discovered aliens.. who needed your help.. and who seemed harmless? You know that you would never be free again.. even if the government let you live. And the aliens... they would never be seen again. Would you reveal them? Not a bad read for this dilemma.
SUMMARY
Retired agent David Hill lives alone in a remote wilderness community. His house is a fortress. His neighbors know nothing about him. His name has been changed. Even his face is not his own. He likes it that way. It's comfortable. And with enemies like his it's a simple matter of survival.
Then one night an injured alien woman comes calling and his quiet comfortable life is turned upside down. She's beautiful and innocent and above all else she needs his help. What's a man to do?
Of course he still has his duty to do - and a conscience that won't let him do it. After all he knows what his old bosses would do to Cyrea if they ever caught her. What they would do to the rest of her people on Earth and his neighbors who've been hiding them for years. To reveal the Leinians' presence would be to place them all in deadly peril. To keep the secret is to betray everything he has believed in for his entire life.
But there is a greater danger facing them all. David has terrible enemies. The Leinians have an enemy too though they don't know it. And when the two of them get together it just might mean the end of the world.
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354 |
Da Cruz, Daniel (3) |
F-Cubed(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read too long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
None available.
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355 |
Da Cruz, Daniel (3) |
Texas on the Rocks(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Bringing Icebergs to Texas for water
SUMMARY
None available.
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356 |
Da Cruz, Daniel (3) |
Texas Triumphant(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Rated this long ago. Cannot recall now.
SUMMARY
None available.
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357 |
Dahners, Laurence (16) |
Blind Spot 1: The Girl They Couldnt See(SciFi)
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REVIEW
An interesting premise about a girl who could convince people around her not to notice her - see, feel or hear her - and anything she does. Course, she still shows up on video which causes a problem. She also has a very coordinated brother. Together the two of them decide to do something about the crime family in town that has been terrorizing people for too long. I would read the next one in this series. It was short, but fun.
SUMMARY
This story is about Roni Buchry, a young multiracial girl with dark skin but blue eyes. She faces discrimination in her school and her family?s retail business is plagued by an organized crime family that collects ?insurance,? often brutally.
Roni?s always been extraordinarily good at hiding, first in hide-and-seek as a child and later to avoid embarrassment. Now, older, she and her brother begin to realize that what she actually has is a form of telepathy. She can?t read other people?s minds, or speak to them silently, or force her thoughts on theirs. All she can do is make other people ?not notice? her. At first being able to become invisible seems like a great way to hide from or avoid her old boyfriend, but she slowly begins to realize that it will let her do so much more.
She even begins to wonder if she might be able to do something about the mob family that?s been holding her city in its thrall.
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358 |
Dahners, Laurence (16) |
Elle Donsaii 1: Quicker(SciFi)
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REVIEW
The first in a great series of books with an extremely strong and talented female lead character. She is brilliant and pulls others into her universe with her strong moral character and her desire to see all those around her succeed. An excellent young readers series.
SUMMARY
Quicker is a near future SciFi/Thriller whose young heroine Ell Donsaii has a nerve mutation that makes her much quicker than a normal human. She becomes an intrepid athletic phenom who reminds one of David Weber's Honor Harrington. Like Stieg Larsson's Lisbeth Salander (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo) Ell is also a mathematical genius who, instead of counting sheep, works on her own theory of quantum mechanics to help her drift off to sleep. At once shy and concerned about her social skills, yet well loved by those around her, she finds herself at the center of a terrorist plot at the Olympics. The terrorists never considered the difficulty of holding a hostage with the unbelievable quickness and athleticism of Ell Donsaii
A tradition of young, strong, brilliant, female heroines like Honor, Lisbeth, and Katniss Everdeen is continued
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359 |
Dahners, Laurence (16) |
Elle Donsaii 2: Smarter(SciFi)
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REVIEW
A minor genetic change makes Elle Donsaii stronger, faster, smarter - but still a girl in the eyes of those around her. Don't worry. She can outsmart them anytime.
SUMMARY
Smarter is a near future SciFi/Thriller whose young heroine Ell Donsaii we learned in "Quicker" has a nerve mutation that makes her an athletic phenomenon, so fast that no one can keep up with her. Like Stieg Larsson's Lisbeth Salander (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo) Ell is also a mathematical genius who, while trying to drift off to sleep, instead of counting sheep has developed a new theory of quantum mechanics. At once shy and concerned about her social skills, yet loved by those around her, she goes to grad school to try to understand experimental physics. In the process she discovers a means for enormously improving communications using quantum entangled molecules. Her brilliant quantum theories make her the target of industrial spies, other countries and jealous physicists all at the same time. Those who attack her don't consider that the very skills they envy and desire make her hard to
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360 |
Dahners, Laurence (16) |
Elle Donsaii 3: Lieutenant(SciFi)
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REVIEW
An inspirational young woman - strong moral character - A Good young readers novel.
SUMMARY
"Lieutenant" is the third in a series of near future SciFi/Thrillers whose young heroine Ell Donsaii we learned in "Quicker" has a nerve mutation that makes her an athletic phenomenon, so fast that no one can keep up with her. In "Smarter" we learned how these fast nerve processes have made her a genius. She's both shy and concerned about her social skills, yet loved by those around her. Like Stieg Larsson's Lisbeth Salander (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo), while trying to drift off to sleep, instead of counting sheep Ell does mathematics. Doing this she develops a new theory of quantum mechanics. She has now dropped out of grad school after using her quantum theories to invent a means for enormously improving communications using entangled molecules. Back in the military to complete her commitment, she continues her physics research in her spare time. She also has to fend off more attempts to kidnap her by groups wanting access to her skills. As in the past, those who attack her don't consider that the very skills they envy and desire make her hard to subdue.
Then the People's Republic of China shoots down the US satellites over Asia in preparation for an invasion of Taiwan. Ell's quantum entangled communication chips can substitute for lost satellite communications and observation. Can she convince the brass to use them?
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361 |
Dahners, Laurence (16) |
Elle Donsaii 4: Rocket(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Another fun story in this series. A Good young readers novel.
SUMMARY
"Rocket!" is the fourth in a series of near future SciFi/Thrillers whose young heroine Ell Donsaii has a nerve mutation which has rendered her a genius and an athletic phenomenon. In "Rocket!" she works out the enormous potential of the wormholes she discovered in "Lieutenant." Though they only provide small openings through space, the wormholes could prove to be a tremendous boon to humankind.
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362 |
Dahners, Laurence (16) |
Elle Donsaii 5: Comet(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Another fun story in this series. A Good young readers novel.
SUMMARY
"Comet!" is the fifth in a series of near future SciFi/Thrillers whose young heroine Ell Donsaii has a nerve mutation which has rendered her a genius and an athletic phenomenon. In "Comet!" she and her team begin exploring outer space using the wormholes she produced in "Rocket." Unfortunately Comet Hearth-Daster is on a trajectory to strike the Earth. Though it is smaller than the object that wiped out the dinosaurs, it still weighs 300 million metric tons and if it hits it will wipe out civilization and may render the human race extinct.
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363 |
Dahners, Laurence (16) |
Elle Donsaii 6: Tau Ceti(SciFi)
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REVIEW
An inspirational young woman - strong moral character - A Good young readers novel.
SUMMARY
"Tau Ceti" is the sixth in a series of near future SciFi/Thrillers whose young heroine Ell Donsaii has a nerve mutation which has made her a genius and an athletic phenomenon.
In "Tau Ceti!", she is continuing to find uses for the quantum entangled wormholes that she has discovered. These wormholes aren't big enough to send people through, yet they are making huge changes in our world.
Ell used one to send a small rocket to the third planet of Tau Ceti where it sends back images of intelligent but primitive beings that can fly!
While observing and occasionally trying to help a pair of these aliens, Ell continues to deal with the issues resulting from her fame as an athlete, a scientist, and as a beautiful woman. This makes her suspect every relationship.
Having a boyfriend is hard when he may just want you for who everyone else thinks you are.
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364 |
Dahners, Laurence (16) |
Elle Donsaii 7: Habitats(SciFi)
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REVIEW
I'm enjoying this series immensely. Given that there are so few main female characters in SciFi, this is really enjoyable.
SUMMARY
"Habitats" is the seventh in a series of near future SciFi/Thrillers whose young
heroine Ell Donsaii has a nerve mutation which has made her a genius as well as an athletic phenomenon.
In "Habitats," she is continuing to find uses for the quantum entangled wormholes that she discovered. These wormholes aren't big enough to send people through, yet they are making huge changes in our world. After a friend lost his hand, Ell finds a way to use ports to build better prostheses for amputees!
However, there are terrorists wanting to use ports to cause destruction and the military arms of some countries covet them as well. Ell must try to prevent such people from obtaining the technology and using it for harm.
Meanwhile, her small company is trying to build a habitat in space and one of her rockets has discovered a mind boggling habitat at Sigma Draconis.
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365 |
Dahners, Laurence (16) |
Elle Donsaii 8: Allotropes(SciFi)
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REVIEW
I'm enjoying this series immensely. Given that there are so few main female characters in SciFi, this is really enjoyable. We just keep extending the ideas of the worm-hole generator and what it could lead to... lots of territory to explore here.
SUMMARY
"Allotropes" is the eighth in a series of near future SciFi/Thrillers whose young
heroine Ell Donsaii has a nerve mutation which has made her a genius as well as an athletic phenomenon.
In "Allotropes," she finds even more uses for the quantum entangled wormholes that she discovered. These wormholes aren't big enough to send people through, yet they make possible technologies that create huge changes in our world. She installs some ports in her own body that she is able to use as weapons, delivering darts and drugs to stop her adversaries.
Having earned gold medals in gymnastics in previous Olympics, she is challenged to enter track meets by world record holding sprinter Michael Fentis who's angry that some have said she can run faster than he can.
Meanwhile, one of her waldoes is exploring the ringworld she discovered at Sigma Draconis. The aliens there are doing surprising things with carbon allotropes! Can we learn to do the same?
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366 |
Dahners, Laurence (16) |
Elle Donsaii 9: Defiant(SciFi)
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REVIEW
No one dictates to Elle Donsaii.. not even the President of the U.S. When she tries she learns a thing or two about just how smart Elle Donsaii really is.
SUMMARY
"Defiant" is the ninth in a series of near future SciFi/Thrillers whose young
heroine Ell Donsaii has a nerve mutation. This mutation has made her a genius as well as an athletic phenomenon.
In "Defiant," she, her husband Shan Kinrais, and their friend Gary Pace begin working on commercialization of the carbon allotrope technology they learned about in "Allotropes."
Also, new uses, both beneficial and dangerous are being found for her ports. These wormholes aren't big enough to send people through, yet they make possible technologies that have created huge changes in our world. Those changes have resulted in tremendous economic and political upheavals. The political disturbances bring Edith Stockton to Presidential power, a woman who despises Ell and who is being stroked in that direction by individuals who want the secrets of Ell's highly dangerous ‘one ended ports.'
Stockton imprisons Ell in an effort to extort the one ended port technology from her and Ell, having determined that she cannot release that particular secret, must decide how to respond.
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367 |
Dahners, Laurence (16) |
Elle Donsaii 10: Wanted(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Another fun story in this series. Enjoy
SUMMARY
"Wanted" is the tenth of a series of near future SciFi/Thrillers whose young heroine Ell Donsaii's nerve mutation makes her a genius and provides astonishing athletic abilities. In "Wanted," President Stockton continues her efforts to imprison Ell in order to protect the world from some of Ell's dangerous new technology. While the President rightfully wants this technology to be restricted, she wants it to be controlled by the government. Ell doesn't want even the government to have the terrible destructive potential of a technology that can cut through absolutely any material in the world! When the FBI and CIA prove to be unable to find and capture Ell, the President instructs them to imprison Ell's friends. However, the President hasn't considered just how many technological advantages Ell would have in any effort to spring her friends from prison.
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368 |
Dahners, Laurence (16) |
Elle Donsaii 11: Rescue(SciFi)
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REVIEW
I'm enjoying this series immensely. Ah.. the president has gone and gotten herself into trouble. And who can come to her aid... you guessed it.
SUMMARY
"Rescue" is the eleventh of a series of near future SciFi/Thrillers whose young heroine Ell Donsaii's nerve mutation makes her a genius and provides her some astonishing athletic abilities. In "Rescue," President Stockton tells the FBI to tone down its efforts to imprison Ell. Unfortunately, the SCDF, a group of ultraconservative survivalists now has the President in their sights. Their attack on the President succeeds far beyond anyone's imagination. Could it be that Stockton's very life will now depend on the woman she has been imprisoning and harassing?
Meanwhile, Stell Simsworth, the ten year old blind singing sensation, is hoping that Ryan will be able to use his technology to restore her eyesight and Carter is working on a project to colonize Mars (despite his daughter's cogent observation that a colony would have high risks but provide few benefits.)
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369 |
Dahners, Laurence (16) |
Elle Donsaii 12: Impact!(SciFi)
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REVIEW
An inspirational young woman - strong moral character - A Good young readers novel.
SUMMARY
"Impact" is the twelfth book in a series of near future SciFi/Thrillers whose heroine Ell Donsaii has a nerve mutation that makes her a genius and provides her some astonishing athletic abilities.
In "Impact," Ell's been taken off the "Most Wanted" list and is resuming somewhat of a normal life. Her old friend Phil Zabrisk is on his way to Mars. One of her exploration rockets is about to land on an earthlike world.
Then an enormous comet crashes into Tau Ceti three, threatening the lives of the teecees there. Aliens that Ell and others have come to think of as friends. Phil falls on Mars, breaking his hip in a fashion that needs surgery soon if he's not to be crippled.
Can she save her friends at Tau Ceti and is the risk of porting Phil back to Earth acceptable?
Oh, and her son Zage is confounding people right and left…
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370 |
Dahners, Laurence (16) |
Elle Donsaii 13: DNA(SciFi)
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REVIEW
The next in the Elle Donsaii series that I have been really enjoying. They are, however, getting to be a little unbelievable now (the 5 year old genius is a bit much, but they blend in some things that he doesn't know quite nicely - like what is drywall). A good continuation of this series, and yes, I will read the next one when it comes out.
SUMMARY
"DNA" is the thirteenth book in a series of near future SciFi/Thrillers. Their heroine Ell Donsaii has a nerve mutation that makes her a genius and provides her some astonishing athletic abilities.
In "DNA," Ell's five-year-old son Zage has become interested in the effects of certain genes on obesity. He's obtained permission to do research in a university lab where he hopes to test some of his ideas.
Work is being done to evaluate the possibility of terraforming the planet Mars by using Ell's port technology to bring in water, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen from various other worlds in the solar system.
Ell's robotic probes have found intelligent aliens on the third planet of 61 Virginis. Although these aliens appeared to be completely non-technological, it turns out that they are far ahead of Earth in the manipulation of DNA. Can we safely trade technology for some of their DNA know how?
Finally, some of Ell's old enemies have decided to have one more try at kidnapping her in order to obtain some of her secrets…
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371 |
Dahners, Laurence (16) |
Elle Donsaii 14: Bioterror!(SciFi)
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REVIEW
I'm sorry, but this book is mostly about Donsaii's 5 year old son and what a genius he is. Too much of a genius and much to mature to be even remotely believable. This fails in a big way for me.
SUMMARY
?Bioterror!" is the fourteenth book in a series of near future SciFi/Thrillers. Their heroine Ell Donsaii has a nerve mutation that makes her a genius and provides her some astonishing athletic abilities.
In ?Bioterror,? Ell?s son Zage, a five-year-old prodigy, is continuing to follow his interests biology and genetics in keeping with his aim to eradicate what he perceives to be an obesity epidemic partially driven by communicable viral diseases. His mother gets him permission to skip ordinary primary and secondary schooling and enroll in university, studying molecular genetics. He?ll be working in Dr. Reggie Barnes research lab where he hopes to learn how to take his ideas to the next level.
Unfortunately, a talented virologist has joined a radical Islamic splinter group, promising to help them wipe nonbelievers from the face of the earth. He gets access to a forgotten smallpox culture and sets out to modify the already horrific disease into an even more lethal version, one which won?t be prevented by standard vaccinations and is resistant to antiviral treatments.
Zage has been working on a way to predict the proteins in viruses and recognize antigens in the viral shell that antibodies might be formed against. He?s hoping to immunize people against obesity viruses, but there?s no reason his new algorithm can?t also be used to stop the modified smallpox virus? if he can work with the CDC to make his vaccination available.
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372 |
Dahners, Laurence (16) |
Elle Donsaii 15: Terraform(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Another fun story in this series.. the author obviously does plenty for research to come up with the ideas in these books.. who knows how many of them will really pan out. A fun read.
SUMMARY
This is the fifteenth book in a series of near future Hard-SciFi Thrillers. Their heroine Ell Donsaii has a nerve mutation that makes her a genius as well as providing astonishing athletic abilities. Her genius has let her revolutionize our world with a number of inventions, including instantaneous communications and trans-dimensional portals that are delivering fuel, water, and food all around the world
In ?Terraform,? AJ?Ell?s soon to be brother-in-law?gently takes her to task for not being bold enough to undertake the terraforming of Mars. They begin the first steps to initiate that massive undertaking.
Ell?s son Zage, a prodigy who?s now turning six, is continuing to follow his interests in biology and genetics by working in Dr. Reggie Barnes research lab. There he?s become interested in Alzheimer?s disease.
Unfortunately, Zage?s friend Carley is having trouble with her newly found brother. Eli?s proving to be an abusive alcoholic like his father. Zage and Carley wonder if there might be a genetic basis for Eli?s problem, and if so, whether they might be able to do something about it.
Meanwhile, a man named Jason Stackhouse has taken exception to the fact that Ell?s company ETR is mining an asteroid he claimed on a website years ago. He?s declared war on the company and travels to ETR, intending to teach them a lesson?by killing someone?
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373 |
Dalmas, John (2) |
The Regiment(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read too long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
The planet Tyss is so poor that it has only one exportable resource - its fighting men. Each year three regiments are sent forth into the galaxy. Hiring their services is very expensive, but well worth it, for the Tyss secret training makes their soldiers into mystic warriors, irresistible in battle.
Alpha-Males: You can't live with 'em, but sometimes you can't live without 'em. An alien migration fleet -- 14,000 star ships strong -- searches the stars for a new home, its home world forever lost. When they finally find planets that can support them, all they have to do is eradicate the pesky human natives, a task they assume is easily within their powers. But Earth's Commonwealth of Worlds isn't about to give up so easily -- even if it has to create and train something it hasn't had for centuries: soldiers!
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374 |
Dalmas, John (2) |
The White Regiment(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read too long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
This long awaited companion novel to The Regiment finds those legendary warriors training the first test regiment of teenagers--the first ever White Regiment. But teenagers who make the perfect warriors are about as easy to train and control as wildcats. And there's little time to whip them into shape before the horrendous Klestronu unleash their massive firepower on the inexperienced regiment.
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375 |
Dalzelle, Joshua (5) |
Black Fleet Trilogy, Book 1 - Warship(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Overall, a good read. The way the ship is run seems very realistic, and the space battles as well take physics and orbital velocities into account. I enjoyed it.
SUMMARY
In the 25th century humans have conquered space. The advent of faster-than-light travel has opened up hundreds of habitable planets for colonization, and humans have exploited the virtually limitless space and resources for hundreds of years with impunity.
So complacent have they become with the overabundance that armed conflict is a thing of the past, and their machines of war are obsolete and decrepit. What would happen if they were suddenly threatened by a terrifying new enemy? Would humanity fold and surrender, or would they return to their evolutionary roots and meet force with force? One ship—and one captain—will soon be faced with this very choice.
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376 |
Dalzelle, Joshua (5) |
Black Fleet Trilogy, Book 2 - Call to Arms(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Another convincing space battle book. If you liked the first, you will like this one. I enjoyed it.
SUMMARY
Captain Jackson Wolfe survived the initial incursion of a vicious alien species into human space ... barely.
He had assumed the juggernaut that had devastated three Terran systems was the herald for a full invasion, but for the last few years it has been eerily quiet along the Frontier.
Jackson now struggles to convince the Confederate leadership the threat is still imminent and needs to be taken seriously. While powerful factions make backroom deals he is desperate to find irrefutable proof that the invaders are coming and if humanity expects to survive they must marshal their forces and make a stand before it's too late.
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377 |
Dalzelle, Joshua (5) |
Marine (Terran Scout Fleet Book 1)(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Not bad.. good enough for me to want to read the rest of the series. I enjoy coming of age stories, and though that is not exactly what this is, it still kinda fits the mold. A young soldier is offered a bad choice and has to make the best of it. He gets thrown into command long before he is ready for it and his past is catching up to him faster than he ever thought. I liked the characters and the plot. Good solid military space travel SciFi.
SUMMARY
2019 Dragon Award Finalist for Best Military Science Fiction or Fantasy Novel
Aliens exist... and, as it turns out, most of them aren't that friendly.
Jacob Brown wasn't even born yet the first time they attacked Earth.
He was only fourteen the second time it happened.
When Earth finally came together and fielded its first spaceborne military, Jacob didn't hesitate to volunteer. Serving aboard a mighty starship, he'd be able to defend his planet--and his family--when, inevitably, they came again.
Just as he's about to graduate training, however, Jacob is approached by an officer from Naval Special Operation Command and given a choice: volunteer for a risky mission to a dangerous, lawless world, or give up his dream of serving in the military and go home. He has no idea why he's being singled out in such an unusual manner, but now it's either agree to their demands or give up his dream of being on a starship.
Soon, getting his career back on the right track will be the least of his concerns when it seems like everyone--and everything--he meets is trying to kill him. When he stumbles upon a secret most people on Earth are blissfully unaware of he realizes it's not just the aliens he needs to be worried about.
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378 |
Dalzelle, Joshua (5) |
Boneshaker (Terran Scout Fleet Book 2)(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Again, Not bad. The plot thickens and the young man who had command thrust on him seems to be making a series of bad decisions that are getting him and his crew into deeper and deeper trouble. Good to read.
SUMMARY
Marine First Lieutenant Jacob Brown is bored.
For months he's been sitting around on an alien planet, waiting for command to recall his scout team so they could rest and be re-outfitted. The team went through hell during their previous mission, losing both their commanding officer and their ship. For now, Jacob was acting CO of Scout Team Obsidian and their ship was a broken down old surplus combat shuttle they'd stolen from narco-smugglers on a planet called Niceen-3.
When command finally does reach out, however, it isn't to order Obsidian home for some much needed R&R. Instead, they are being reactivated and sent out into the contested space of the recently conquered Eshquarian Empire to track down a single Terran cruiser called the Eagle's Talon.
The Talon's captain has gone rogue and is operating within a fleet of ships bent on open rebellion against the quadrant's only remaining superpower. If that ship is discovered within the rebel fleet, Earth will bear the brunt of the ConFed's reprisal. Jacob's team is in a race against time to locate the missing ship and her rogue captain so that a Navy strike force can swoop in and reclaim her… or destroy her.
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379 |
Dalzelle, Joshua (5) |
Vapor Trails (Terran Scout Fleet Book 3)(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Well, this is the conclusion and our team of rogue marines has gotten themselves in so much trouble they will be in prison for a long time... that's if they decide to go back to Earth and turn themselves in. Must be some way to pull the fat from the fire.. and they are looking for it..
SUMMARY
Marine Lieutenant Jacob Brown was on borrowed time, and he knew it.
He was a rogue element, disobeying orders and pursuing mission goals of his own. His Scout Team had been burned, disavowed by his chain of command and the owner of the stolen ship he was flying was after them to get it back. To make matters even more complicated, the man Jacob had stolen the ship from is an infamous outlaw and mercenary named Jason Burke… his father.
Being hunted down by both the United Earth Navy and the mercenary group that called itself Omega Force, Jacob has only one chance to keep his team out of a military prison and bring down the head of the One World terrorist faction that always seemed to be three steps ahead of him… and that was only if his father didn't catch him first.
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380 |
Davidson, Michael (1) |
The Karma Machine(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read too long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
None available.
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381 |
Davis, Margaret (1) |
Mind Light(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read too long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
Disheveled, disoriented, and ill, Greg Lukas didn't look like much of a pilot. But the Michaelsons, a family of interstellar traders, had to hire another crew member or lose the ship that was their livelihood. So they took Lukas on temporarily, assuming that he was a good pilot with a bad attitude.
But Lukas's problem was much deeper: as a pilot in the Space Corps, he had stumbled upon a secret a powerful Corps faction would do anything to hide. His mind had been invaded and his memories rewritten, but the process had damaged him, perhaps beyond repair. Now he was tortured to the edge of endurance by the return of memories meant to be blocked forever. Lukas was falling apart -- and his rediscovered knowledge had put him in danger once again. When the Michaelsons learned who Lukas really was, they were willing to protect him -- but they were no match for his enemies. Unless help came from a surprising direction .
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382 |
de Balzac, Honore (1) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Not read
SUMMARY
Le Père Goriot is widely considered Balzac's most important novel. This is the story of the relationship between a doting father and his two adult daughters. Blinded by his love for his children, Père Goriot can not see their flaws and gives them everything they ask for even though the giving destroys him. A cautionary tale about the dangers of placing society and money before all else.
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383 |
De Camp, L. Sprague (2) |
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REVIEW
A classic of the genre. A must read for SciFi historians.
SUMMARY
Rarely do books have such a great influence on a genre as "Lest Darkness Fall" has had on science fiction. Frequently quoted as one of the ‘favorite' books of many of the masters of the field, this book by L. Sprague de Camp helped establish time-travel as a solid sub-genre of science fiction.
An indication of the influence and longevity of the book is by the number of best-selling writers who have written stories in direct response to, or influenced by, "Lest Darkness Fall." This new volume also includes three such stories by Frederik Pohl, David Drake and S. M. Stirling written over a period of forty-three years—a testament to the timelessness of the book.
Similar, thematically, to Mark Twain's "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court", the book tells the tale of Martin Padway who, as he is walking around in modern Rome, is suddenly transported though time to 6th Century Rome.
Once in ancient Rome, Padway (now Martinus Paduei Quastor) embarks on an ambitious project of single-handedly changing history.
L. Sprague de Camp was a student of history (and the author of a number of popular works on the subject). In Lest Darkness Fall he combines his extensive knowledge of the workings of ancient Rome with his extraordinary imagination to create one of the best books of time travel ever written.
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384 |
De Camp, L. Sprague (2) |
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REVIEW
Another time travel novel where folks don't know what to expect when they go back in time. If you go back far enough it shouldn't matter what you do.. should it?
SUMMARY
Reginald's 21st-century safari business is struggling . . . until the invention of the time machine. He quickly begins leading safaris back in time, after the biggest game of all. But taking hunting expeditions back to the age of dinosaurs is very dangerous indeed.
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385 |
Dean, Z.D. (2) |
Resurgence (Redleg In Space Book 2)(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Yeah... this is kind of silly now. Falling in love with alien species and running way from the girls father in a super-duper space ship that everyone thought was junk. This is just a little too out there to be worth it.
SUMMARY
Exiled from Unity core space and bent to get back to Earth, Zade starts his journey in the derelict ship provided by the chancellor. After a lucky bout of clumsiness, he learns that the ship he was given is much more than meets the eyes. The ancient ship, crafted with poorly understood technology, gives Zade his first hope that he can help mankind meet the challenges of their inclusion in the interstellar community. All he has to do is make it home with minimal delays.
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386 |
Dean, Z.D. (2) |
Stowaway (Redleg in Space Book 1)(SciFi)
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REVIEW
A guy gets swept up by accident into an inter-steller exploration ship. And tries to become part of the crew. Well... not the most believable of stories.. but interesting enough to keep reading.
SUMMARY
Lt Zade, on his last days of his last deployment to Afghanistan, still couldn’t find the excitement he so desperately needed. A chance encounter, on his last mission, sends him hurtling through space on the Unity exploration ship XES01. Surrounded by aliens, Zade must quickly learn to interact with the non-soldiers on the crew.
As he tries to earn his place amongst the ship, Zade’s combat prowess quickly earns him a spot as the security officer of the ship. A seat left vacant because of a fatal exchange between the former security officer and the wildlife of a far planet. As Zade begins living the adrenaline filled life of a space explorer, he has to ask himself some very important questions.
How does he get back to earth? Does he even want to?
Disclaimer: The main character is a combat veteran, so there is some rough language throughout the book.
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387 |
DeChancie, John (10) |
Castle Perilous 1: Castle Perilous(Fiction - Fantasy)
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REVIEW
Don't go to this castle, unless you bring your sense of adventure, and humor. For the absurd is lurking behind every door in Castle Perilous.
SUMMARY
Imagine life in an ironically magical world where 144,000 doors separate fiction from reality. A place that can hypnotize even the most grounded philosophy major and deliver a fantastical rhyme to his reason. A place where a best buddy resembles a shaggy carpet, and adventures surpass a boy's dreams...welcome to Castle Perilous.
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388 |
DeChancie, John (10) |
Castle Perilous 2: Castle for Rent(Fiction - Fantasy)
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REVIEW
A humorous fantasy. Similar to Terry Prachett's work, but a little less funny. Still, if you are look for some absurd humor.. here it is.
SUMMARY
Who will claim the throne now that Lord Incarnadine, King of the Realms Perilous, is dead? Under a mysterious spell cast by a mischief-maker, all of Castle Perilous's 144,000 creatures of curiosity clamor for the crown. Outside of the castle's coveting fray, Gene flies off with an adventurous Amazon in supernatural manifestation and Lord Inky explores the dark mysteries that lurk in the realm of the dead!
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389 |
DeChancie, John (10) |
Castle Perilous 3: Castle Kidnapped(Fiction - Fantasy)
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REVIEW
A precursor to Terry Prachett - absurdist humor in a fantasy situation. Kind of fun.
SUMMARY
Castle Perilous is a magic castle full of mystery and adventure, but sometimes even magic castles can go awry. This particular castle has the power to send its guests to 144,000 alternate worlds, each a fantastic voyage to the unknown. But each voyage seems to backfire. Computer whiz kid Jeremy is stuck on a planet of golf-playing dinosaurs. Gentrified Gene finds himself on a planet overrun with amazon women where the queen has taken a particular shine to him and only the Lord of the Castle Incarnadine can stop this witty madness from shaking Castle Kidnapped to its foundations.
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390 |
DeChancie, John (10) |
Castle Perilous 4: Castle War(Fiction - Fantasy)
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REVIEW
The hilarious continuation of the odd Castle series. Funny.
SUMMARY
Castle Perilous is still tottering from last year's battle with the Hosts of Hell, and regaining stability proves a hard balancing act. Before Jeremy can design a program to calm the tremors of the universe, an alternative wicked reality appears that threatens to topple everything! Castle P. must face its evil twin, replete with its own dastardly doppleganger army--with the shadow self ensues as Good and Evil battle it out in the 144,000th dimension!
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391 |
DeChancie, John (10) |
Castle Perilous 5: Castle Murders(Fiction - Fantasy)
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REVIEW
Another humorous mystery in the castle with 144,000 doors.
SUMMARY
Partying to death? A parlous party at the Castle Perilous comes to a dead halt when the body of viscount Oren is discovered and foul play is suspected. But who is the killer? And where is the murder weapon? The rambunctious revelers at Castle P. join in a treacherous treasure hunt for party favors of a decidedly deadly nature...the murder weapon must be hidden behind one of the 144,000 doors, or will it be buried in the back of the next victim?
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392 |
DeChancie, John (10) |
Castle Perilous 6: Castle Dreams(Fiction - Fantasy)
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REVIEW
A humorous fantasy - very tongue in cheek.
SUMMARY
Who will claim the throne now that Lord Incarnadine, King of the Realms Perilous, is dead? Under a mysterious spell cast by a mischief-maker, all of Castle Perilous's 144,000 creatures of curiosity clamor for the crown. Outside of the castle's coveting fray, Gene flies off with an adventurous Amazon in supernatural manifestation and Lord Inky explores the dark mysteries that lurk in the realm of the dead!
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393 |
DeChancie, John (10) |
Dr. Dimension(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read too long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
When an anonymous benefactor sends Dr. Demetrios Demopoulos a crate full of future technology, the doctor builds a space time machine in which he, Dr. Vivian Vernon, and three colleagues take a one-way ride into galactic chaos.
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394 |
DeChancie, John (10) |
Skyway 1: Starrigger(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Interesting idea.. well explored.
SUMMARY
Independent space trucker Jake McGraw, accompanied by his father, Sam, who inhabits the body of the truck itself, his "starrig," picks up a beautiful hitchhiker, Darla, and a trailer-load of trouble. One of the best of the indies, Jake knows a few tricks about following the Skyway, which connects dozens, or maybe hundreds, of planets—nobody knows how many and nobody really knows the full extent of the Skyway, and much of it remains unexplored. But somehow, a rumor gets started that Jake has a map for the whole thing, and suddenly everybody wants a piece of him: an alien race called the Reticulans; the human government known as the Colonial Assembly; and a nasty piece of work called Corey Wilkes, head of the wildcat trucker union TATOO. No matter what Jake does, no matter how many twists and turns he makes, he cannot shake any of the menaces on his tail. The Starrigger series continues with Red Limit Freeway and concludes with Paradox Alley. Starrigger was a nominee for the Locus Award for Best First Novel in 1984.
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395 |
DeChancie, John (10) |
Skyway 2: Red Limit Freeway(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Another space trucker story. Amusing concept.
SUMMARY
Jake McGraw is a man on the run from half the universe. After stumbling upon what seems to be the fabled roadmap to the stars, Jake must outrun the most detestable vermin and roadbugs in the galaxy and the only thing separating him from them is his tattered starrig. In the lawless region of space Jake must keep his rig running if he knows what's good for him. He has something that everyone wants and they will stop at nothing to get it. But how long can he keep going on the road where there is no relief for light years?
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396 |
DeChancie, John (10) |
Skyway 3: Pardox Alley(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Good series conclusion.
SUMMARY
Jake McGraw, independent space trucker, has been shanghaied. He and his crew, fresh off their adventures in Starrigger and Red Limit Freeway, are plucked off the Skyway by a creature of unknown power. Now on an alien planet where most of the rules of the regular universe do not seem to apply, Jake confronts the builders of the Skyway once and for all. Will he and his crew make it out alive?
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397 |
Defoe, Daniel (1) |
 |

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REVIEW
This is a great book. Crusoe's reflections on his life before and God - how God seems to have at first mistreated him by casting him away on an island, but then coming to terms with and finding faith in God are interesting for any Christian to read. It's also fun to read how he survives on the island, and how he makes his escape. How he treats the character Friday - whom he views as a savage at first, good for nothing but a slave, but then develops a real liking and respect for his companion is interesting as well, given the morality at the time the book was written. (Still, you can see that DeFoe had serious issues with anyone other than his fellow Britains. No country on the planet embodies civilization other than his home. Even the Spanish are cast in a very poor life, and left to fend for themselves in the end - even after he began to make an alliance with them.) As always, the look into the author's own mind is perhaps the most interesting of all. I may have to check out some more Defoe.
SUMMARY
The sole survivor of a shipwreck, Robinson Crusoe is washed up on a desert island. In his journal he chronicles his daily battle to stay alive, as he conquers isolation, fashions shelter and clothes, enlists the help of a native islander who he names 'Friday', and fights off cannibals and mutineers. Written in an age of exploration and enterprise, it has been variously interpreted as an embodiment of British imperialist values, as a portrayal of 'natural man', or as a moral fable. But above all is a brilliant narrative, depicting Crusoe's transformation from terrified survivor to self-sufficient master of an island. This edition contains a full chronology of Defoe's life and times, explanatory notes, glossary and a critical introduction discussing Robinson Crusoe as a pioneering work of modern psychological realism.
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398 |
Del Rey, Lester (4) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read too long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
Fred Halpern, a young man with a gift for mentally calculating trajectories and orbits is expelled from the Goddard Space Academy a week before graduation due to his long history of insubordination and lack of discipline. Because of a foolish attempt to land on the moon in a stolen rocket which caused him to be trapped and the subsequent death of one of his rescuers, he is ostracized by the space community. When given a final chance to show he has grown up, he questions his motives and wonders if he can escape his past.
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399 |
Del Rey, Lester (4) |
Nerves(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Call this one a Chernobyl prediction. Can't rate it.. read too long ago.
SUMMARY
In a nuclear plant in Kimberly, workers are nervous when a congressional committee comes for a surprise inspection. A few minor problems come up during the inspection, but the plant continues to run at full capacity—at least at first.
Half-way through the inspection, one of the converters has a major failure. Jorgenson and his team had been trying to use a new isotope in the giant reactors, but the unstable isotope causes disaster to strike. The reactor walls give out, and Jorgenson is stuck inside.
Jorgenson is the only survivor, and the only person who knows how to stop the reactor from causing a disaster that could wipe out half of the continent, but he is stuck inside the reactor with no way to communicate with anyone. It's a race against time to rescue Jorgenson so that he can save the world from nuclear fallout.
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400 |
Del Rey, Lester (4) |
Police Your Planet(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read too long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
"[...]it up, I'll never know!" Gordon's mind switched to the readers in his bag. The cards were plastic, and should be good for a week or so of use before they showed wear. During that time, by playing it carefully, he should have his stake. Then, if the gaming tables here were as crudely run as an old timer he'd known on Earth had said, he could try a coup. "... be at Mother Corey's soon," the fat little drummer babbled on. "Notorious—worst place on Mars. Take[...]".
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401 |
Del Rey, Lester (4) |
Pstalemate(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read too long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
None available.
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402 |
DeLillo, Don (1) |
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REVIEW
This is a quirky little book. It's a book about death.. or... all the different ways you can think about death and how death becomes and issue when you start to think about it. Course, that's not really what happens in the book. No one spends a bunch of time talking about death.. it's just always there, in the background (and sometimes the foreground) just like it is in real life and the characters are pin balls bouncing around the whole death issue. Hell, the title WHITE NOISE means death to one of the characters. Kinda funny in parts (the main character is a professor in Hitler studies - a department he created) and just plan strange in others (the non-sequiters don't seem entirely out of place, but I wonder what they are doing there - like between two paragraphs or at the end of a chapter something like this will pop out... Brill Cream, Lawn Mower, Oreo's ... and your like.. okay, what was that? I give this one a thumbs up, but only if you are trying to read all the books
on a list.. like me.
SUMMARY
Winner of the National Book Award, White Noise tells the story of Jack Gladney, his fourth wife, Babette, and four ultramodern offspring as they navigate the rocky passages of family life to the background babble of brand-name consumerism. When an industrial accident unleashes an "airborne toxic event," a lethal black chemical cloud floats over their lives. The menacing cloud is a more urgent and visible version of the "white noise" engulfing the Gladneys-radio transmissions, sirens, microwaves, ultrasonic appliances, and TV murmurings-pulsing with life, yet suggesting something ominous.
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403 |
Devenport, Emily (1) |
Eggheads(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read too long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
Seeking the technology secrets of a vanished ancient race, poverty-born An dreams of fortune and independence before being betrayed by her employer and her lover and must escape deadly alien prospectors in order to survive.
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404 |
Dick, Phillip K. (2) |
Blade Runner (a.k.a. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep)(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Like Clockwork Orange, you have to get the hang of the language, but a good read.
SUMMARY
By 2021, the World War had killed millions, driving entire species into extinction and sending mankind off-planet. Those who remained coveted any living creature, and for people who couldn't afford one, companies built incredibly realistic simulacrae: horses, birds, cats, sheep. . . They even built humans.
Emigrées to Mars received androids so sophisticated it was impossible to tell them from true men or women. Fearful of the havoc these artificial humans could wreak, the government banned them from Earth. But when androids didn't want to be identified, they just blended in.
Rick Deckard was an officially sanctioned bounty hunter whose job was to find rogue androids, and to retire them. But cornered, androids tended to fight back, with deadly results.
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405 |
Dick, Phillip K. (2) |
Ubik Best Book Lists: 2,4 (SciFi)
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REVIEW
I've read some strange fiction in my time. And this is one of the strangest. It's Science Fiction, but half-way through you are scratching your head and thinking, what the hell is going on. By the end you start to feel like you are on good footing again, and in the last page, Dick knocks the supports out again. I enjoyed this. It had themes in it unlike any sci-fi novel I've read before. There is a time-travel aspect to it, but time travel accomplished by the decay of things into their previous forms. A reference to Plato's cave of ideals is even mentioned in the text when one of the characters notices how things revert to earlier versions of themselves. Strange and entertaining. Go for it if you like Sci-Fi or psycho-thrillers; because this is both.
SUMMARY
Glen Runciter runs a lucrative business—deploying his teams of anti-psychics to corporate clients who want privacy and security from psychic spies. But when he and his top team are ambushed by a rival, he is gravely injured and placed in "half-life," a dreamlike state of suspended animation. Soon, though, the surviving members of the team begin experiencing some strange phenomena, such as Runciter's face appearing on coins and the world seeming to move backward in time. As consumables deteriorate and technology gets ever more primitive, the group needs to find out what is causing the shifts and what a mysterious product called Ubik has to do with it all.
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406 |
Dickens, Charles (5) |
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REVIEW
Dickens can write. There is no doubt about that. But lordy, if you want to sample his work then read something else. This book is a long swim in murky waters, though
the ending is characteristically Dickens (ie. the father of the happy endings - well.. mostly happy.. if you can be happy about getting your head cut off at the end of Tale of Two Cities). I digress. This book is a long complicated read. There are absolute GEMS of writing in here. Read the first 10 pages and you will have read one of them (his description of Chancery Court and environs and denizens). They are sprinkled throughout. But there are long section of drudgery, and I put this down several times before making a run for the end of the book. If you like Dickens, you may like this. I like Dickens. I would recommend reading something else.
SUMMARY
As the interminable case of 'Jarndyce and Jarndyce' grinds its way through the Court of Chancery, it draws together a disparate group of people: Ada and Richard Clare, whose inheritance is gradually being devoured by legal costs; Esther Summerson, a ward of court, whose parentage is a source of deepening mystery; the menacing lawyer Tulkinghorn; the determined sleuth Inspector Bucket; and even Jo, the destitute little crossing-sweeper. A savage, but often comic, indictment of a society that is rotten to the core, Bleak House is one of Dickens's most ambitious novels, with a range that extends from the drawing rooms of the aristocracy to the poorest of London slums.
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407 |
Dickens, Charles (5) |
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REVIEW
The first third of this book is as funny as it gets. In describing how PIP grows up, Dickens lets the jokes fly and I found myself laughing out loud. The middle part was a little slow, until Pip discovers who his benefactor really is (nope, not who you think it is at all). The final third of the book turns out a bit sad... as only Dickens can make it. In the end, Pip learns what is and is not valuable, who is and is not worthy, and what life really means once you sweep away all the Great Expectations !!!
SUMMARY
In this unflaggingly suspenseful story of aspirations and moral redemption, humble, orphaned Pip, a ward of his short-tempered older sister and her husband, Joe, is apprenticed to the dirty work of the forge but dares to dream of becoming a gentleman. And, indeed, it seems as though that dream is destined to come to pass — because one day, under sudden and enigmatic circumstances, he finds himself in possession of "great expectations." In telling Pip's story, Dickens traces a boy's path from a hardscrabble rural life to the teeming streets of 19th-century London, unfolding a gripping tale of crime and guilt, revenge and reward, and love and loss. Its compelling characters include Magwitch, the fearful and fearsome convict; Estella, whose beauty is excelled only by her haughtiness; and the embittered Miss Havisham, an eccentric jilted bride.
Written in the last decade of Dickens' life, Great Expectations was praised widely and universally admired. It was his last great novel, and many critics believe it to be his finest. Readers and critics alike praised it for its masterful plot, which rises above the melodrama of some of his earlier works, and for its three-dimensional, psychologically realistic characters — characters much deeper and more interesting than the one-note caricatures of earlier novels. "In none of his other works," wrote the reviewer in the 1861 Atlantic, "does he evince a shrewder insight into real life, and a cheaper perception and knowledge of what is called the world." To Swinburne, the novel was unparalleled in all of English fiction, with defects "as nearly imperceptible as spots on the sun or shadows on a sunlit sea." Shaw found it Dickens' "most completely perfect book." Now this inexpensive edition invites modern readers to savor this timeless masterpiece, teeming with colorful characters, unexpected plot twists, and Dickens' vivid rendering of the vast tapestry of mid-Victorian England.
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408 |
Dickens, Charles (5) |
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REVIEW
I'd seen OLIVER the play, and OLIVER the movie. But reading this, I can't seem to find where either of these grew out of this book. This is a dark tale of a poor boy that is used and abused by everyone he meets in life.. and all through no fault of his own. (Granted he's a bit stupidly innocent throughout - perhaps, Dickens way of saying that true Christian character will always shine even in the worst of circumstances.) Once again, Dickens is talking about the social ills of the time; but if it was indeed this awful, then it must have been frightful indeed.
SUMMARY
Starved and mistreated, empty bowl in hand, the young hero musters the courage to approach his master, saying, "Please, sir, I want some more." Oliver Twist's famous cry of the heart has resounded with readers since the novel's initial appearance in 1837, and the book remains a popular favorite with fans of all ages.
Dickens was no stranger to the pain of hunger and the degradation of poverty. He poured his own youthful experience of Victorian London's unspeakable squalor into this realistic depiction of the link between destitution and crime. Oliver escapes his miserable servitude by running away to London, where he unwillingly but inevitably joins a scabrous gang of thieves. Masterminded by the loathsome Fagin, the underworld crew features some of Dickens' most memorable characters, including the juvenile pickpocket known as the Artful Dodger, the vicious Bill Sikes, and gentle Nancy, an angel of self-sacrifice.
A profound social critic, Dickens introduced genteel readers to the problems of the poor in a way that had rarely been attempted before. This tale of the struggle between hope and cruelty continues to speak to modern audiences.
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409 |
Dickens, Charles (5) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Not read
SUMMARY
Charles Dickens's first published work, The Pickwick Papers was an instant success that captured the public imagination with its colourful characters and farcical plot. This Penguin Classics edition of Charles Dickens's is edited with notes and an introduction by Mark Wormald. Few first novels have created as much popular excitement as The Pickwick Papers - a comic masterpiece that catapulted its twenty-four-year-old author to immediate fame. Readers were captivated by the adventures of the poet Snodgrass, the lover Tupman, the sportsman Winkle and, above all, by that quintessentially English Quixote, Mr Pickwick, and his cockney Sancho Panza, Sam Weller. From the hallowed turf of Dingley Dell Cricket Club to the unholy fracas of the Eatanswill election, via the Fleet debtors' prison, characters and incidents spring to life from Dickens's pen, to form an enduringly popular work of ebullient humour and literary invention. This edition is based on the first volume edition of 1837, and includes the original illustrations. In his introduction, Mark Wormald discusses the genesis of The Pickwick Papers and the emergence of its central characters. Charles Dickens is one of the best-loved novelists in the English language, whose 200th anniversary was celebrated in 2012. His most famous books, including Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities, David Copperfield and The Pickwick Papers, have been adapted for stage and screen and read by millions. If you enjoyed The Pickwick Papers, you might like Dickens's A Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Writings, also available in Penguin Classics. 'Dickens sees human beings with the most intense vividness ... Consequently his greatest success is The Pickwick Papers' George Orwell 'One of my life's greatest tragedies is to have already read Pickwick Papers - I can't go back and read it for the first time' Fernando Pessoa
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410 |
Dickens, Charles (5) |
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REVIEW
The book with perhaps the most memorable opening and closing lines in all of literature (beyond David Copperfield's "I am born.") A little hard to follow at the start, you are soon swept up into the action that leads everyone to the awful conclusion in the blood lust of the French Revolution. I rate this one as a better read than Oliver Twist.
SUMMARY
Novel by Charles Dickens, published both serially and in book form in 1859. The story is set in the late 18th century against the background of the French Revolution. Although Dickens borrowed from Thomas Carlyle's history, The French Revolution, for his sprawling tale of London and revolutionary Paris, the novel offers more drama than accuracy. The scenes of large-scale mob violence are especially vivid, if superficial in historical understanding. The complex plot involves Sydney Carton's sacrifice of his own life on behalf of his friends Charles Darnay and Lucie Manette. While political events drive the story, Dickens takes a decidedly antipolitical tone, lambasting both aristocratic tyranny and revolutionary excess--the latter memorably caricatured in Madame Defarge, who knits beside the guillotine. The book is perhaps best known for its opening lines, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times," and for Carton's last speech, in which he says of his replacing Darnay in a prison cell, "It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known." -- The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature
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411 |
Dickey, James (1) |
Deliverance Best Book Lists: 1,4,5 (Fiction - Thriller)
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REVIEW
The book is basically the same as the movie, but you can tell the author is one of those well in touch with his own sense of the world around him; able to feel that world and put it into words where the rest of us simply could not. No wonder he was a poet. Not a bad read if you want a little something to read on the beach.
SUMMARY
The setting is the Georgia wilderness, where the states most remote white-water river awaits. In the thundering froth of that river, in its echoing stone canyons, four men on a canoe trip discover a freedom and exhilaration beyond compare. And then, in a moment of horror, the adventure turns into a struggle for survival as one man becomes a human hunter who is offered his own harrowing deliverance.
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412 |
Dickson, Gordon R. (2) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read too long ago to rate. Though I recall it being fairly farcical.
SUMMARY
Through no fault of his own, the once human Jim Eckert had become a dragon. Unfortunately, his beloved Angie had remained human. But in this magical land anything could happen. To make matter worse, Angie had been taken prisoner by an evil dragon and was held captive in the impenetrable Loathly Tower. So in this land where humans were edible and beasts were magical--where spells worked and logic didn't--Jim Eckert had a big, strange problem.
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413 |
Dickson, Gordon R. (2) |
Pro(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read too long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
Professional... that was Harb Mallard. A hardened pro, able to shift the direction of developing alien cultures any way he needed to, with just a few well-placed punches to the tender spots. The Expansion Service depended on men like Mallard to boost potentially useful planets out of the Dark ages, and they put an even dozen backward worlds into his capable hands. Eleven of them were doing just fine under the supervision of Mallard's subordinates. But the last one needed something extra - the kind of dangerous action that coudl only be risked by a real PRO.cepted their robot-like existence. Either way, the human race was doomed!
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414 |
Didion, Joan (1) |
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REVIEW
This novel reads like Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar, with one character teetering on edge of suicide, pretty much the whole novel. Her marriage has not worked out, her daughter is in some kind of medical/mental care facility (the reason for which is never made clear); she can't get work, even if she was capable (she is an actress), and her friends are all pretty superficial. The end, however is a surprise in that it is not she that dies (though she does end up in a mental care facility herself.
An extremely short novel, I would recommend The Bell Jar over this. The title basically means you have to play LIFE as it lays - and refers to the odds on a craps table (the characters father was a gambler who taught her all about craps)
SUMMARY
A ruthless dissection of American life in the late 1960s, Play It as It Lays captures the mood of an entire generation, the ennui of contemporary society reflected in spare prose that blisters and haunts the reader. Set in a place beyond good and evil-literally in Hollywood, Las Vegas, and the barren wastes of the Mojave Desert, but figuratively in the landscape of an arid soul-it remains more than three decades after its original publication a profoundly disturbing novel, riveting in its exploration of a woman and a society in crisis and stunning in the still-startling intensity of its prose.
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415 |
Doblin, Alfred (1) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Not read
SUMMARY
The novel relates the story of Franz Biberkopf, an ex-convict, who has to deal with misery, lack of opportunities, crime and the imminent Nazism lived in Germany during the 1920s. During his struggle to survive against all odds, life rewards him with an unsuspected surprise but his happiness will not last as the story continues.
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416 |
Doctorow, E. L. (1) |
Ragtime Best Book Lists: 1,2,4,5 (Fiction - General)
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REVIEW
Doctorow uses language almost as well as Nabikov, but more straight forward. A brilliant look at the early 20th Century American scene before we plunged into WWI. A tragedy wherein a black man seeks justice and what happens when he can't find it. Like Dumas, Doctorow took actual history and weaved a set of fictional characters into it. I love how Charlie Chaplin appears in the book, though you don't know it is him. It's almost like reading newspapers of the time, but with a tragic story line woven in. A good read.
SUMMARY
The story opens in 1906 in New Rochelle, New York, at the home of an affluent American family. One lazy Sunday afternoon, the famous escape artist Harry Houdini swerves his car into a telephone pole outside their house. And almost magically, the line between fantasy and historical fact, between real and imaginary characters, disappears. Henry Ford, Emma Goldman, J. P. Morgan, Evelyn Nesbit, Sigmund Freud, and Emiliano Zapata slip in and out of the tale, crossing paths with Doctorow's imagined family and other fictional characters, including an immigrant peddler and a ragtime musician from Harlem whose insistence on a point of justice drives him to revolutionary violence.
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417 |
Donaldson, Stephen R. (6) |
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REVIEW
I kept reading.. hoping it would get better.
SUMMARY
He called himself Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever because he dared not believe in the strange alternate world in which he suddenly found himself. Yet he was tempted to believe, to fight for the Land, to be the reincarnation of its greatest hero....
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418 |
Donaldson, Stephen R. (6) |
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REVIEW
Thomas Covenant found himself once again summoned to the Land. The Council of Lords needed him to move against Foul the Despiser who held the Illearth Stone, ancient source of evil power. But although Thomas Covenant held the legendary ring, he didn't know how to use its strength, and risked losing everything....
SUMMARY
The second volume in the epic Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever.
Thomas Covenant found himself once again summoned to the Land. The Council of Lords needed him to move against Foul the Despiser who held the Illearth Stone, ancient source of evil power. But although Thomas Covenant held the legendary ring, he didn't know how to use its strength, and risked losing everything....
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419 |
Donaldson, Stephen R. (6) |
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REVIEW
Dull.
SUMMARY
Twice before Thomas Covenant had been summoned to the strange other-world where magic worked. Twice before he had been forced to join with the Lords of Revelstone in their war against Lord Foul, the ancient enemy of the Land. Now he was back. This time the Lords of Revelstone were desperate. Without hope, Covenant set out to confront the might of the enemy, as Lord Foul grew more powerful with every defeat for the Land....
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420 |
Donaldson, Stephen R. (6) |
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REVIEW
Dull and with an unlikable main character..
SUMMARY
Four thousand years have passed since Covenant first freed the Land from the devastating grip of Lord Foul and his minions. But he is back, and Convenant, armed with his stunning white gold magic, must battle the evil forces and his own despair....
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421 |
Donaldson, Stephen R. (6) |
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REVIEW
Well, I tried to get into this, but was not sufficiently entertained..
SUMMARY
Thomas Covenant and Linden Avery begin their search for the One Tree that is to be the salvation of the Land. Only he could find the answer and forge a new Staff of Law--but fate decreed that the journey was to be long, the quest arduous, and quite possibly a failure....
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422 |
Donaldson, Stephen R. (6) |
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REVIEW
After a while you just get tired of the main characters bellyaching about poor me... I did not finish this series.
SUMMARY
Thomas Covenant knew that despite his failure on the Isle of The One Tree, he had to return to the Land and fight. After a long and arduous journey, fighting all the way, he readies himself for the final showdown with Lord Foul, the Despiser, and begins to understand things he had only just wondered about before....
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423 |
Donleavy, J.P. (1) |
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REVIEW
What can I say? Good literature. Crappy subject. I really really fail to see why authors write about people who are simply disgusting. Oh, in the reviews they call the main character a rogue. But that has a sort of dashing, positive connotation. There is nothing positive about Sebastian Dangerfield. He is lazy, supposedly pursuing a law degree, but really just wasting his time stealing things from other people, running up bills he will never pay. The only income he ever has is pawning what isn't nailed down. He is a drunk. He is a lout. He will sleep with any woman he can; to hell with his wife and child. When he can't get his way he resorts to violence, but only if he knows he can beat up the person he is threatening (like a woman); otherwise he is an unmitigated coward. Reading about this guy made me want to throw up. But, it is literature. I have learned to recognize that when I see it. There are better things to read for the same effect. Have a go at James Joyce, and leave this book in the dust bin where it belongs.
SUMMARY
First published in Paris in 1955, and originally banned in the United States, J. P. Donleavy's first novel is now recognized the world over as a masterpiece and a modern classic of the highest order. Set in Ireland just after World War II, The Ginger Man is J. P. Donleavy's wildly funny, picaresque classic novel of the misadventures of Sebastian Dangerfield, a young American ne'er-do-well studying at Trinity College in Dublin. He barely has time for his studies and avoids bill collectors, makes love to almost anything in a skirt, and tries to survive without having to descend into the bottomless pit of steady work. Dangerfield's appetite for women, liquor, and general roguishness is insatiable—and he satisfies it with endless charm.
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424 |
Dostoevsky, Feodor (2) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Not read
SUMMARY
Completed only two months before his death, The Brothers Karamazov is Dostoyevsky's largest, most expanisve, most life-embracing work. Filled with human passions — lust, greed, love, jealousy, sorrow and humor — the book is also infused with moral issues and the issue of collective guilt. As in many of Dostoyevsky's novels, the plot centers on a murder. Sucked into the crime's vortex are three brothers: Dmitri, a young officer utterly unrestrained in love, hatred, jealousy, and generosity; Ivan, an intellectual capable of delivering, impromptu, the most brilliant, lively, and unforgettable disquisitions about good and evil, God, and the devil; and Alyosha, the youngest brother, preternaturally patient, good, and loving.
Part mystery, part profound philosophical and theological debate, The Brothers Karamazov pulls the reader in on many different levels. As the Introduction says, "The characters Dostoyevsky writes about, though they may not appear to be ones who live on our street, or even on any street, seem, in their passions and lack of self-control, the familiar and intimate denizens of our souls." It's no wonder that for many people The Brothers Karamazov is one of the greatest novels ever written.
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425 |
Dostoevsky, Feodor (2) |
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REVIEW
An interesting novel. I had a hard time starting it, but after a bit, what with all the twists and character interconnections I have to say I started to enjoy the ride. The main character, Raskolnikov, commits a murder which he thinks is justified because he is one of those rare people that is allowed to ignore the law for personal and greater good. Its obvious that he is not in possession of all his faculties as he does this, and realizes soon afterward that he was mistaken in his special status. The agonies he goes through from that point onward, and how the other people in his life are affected is fascinating. As the reader sometimes you want him to get away with it, and sometimes you realize that it's murder and he needs to be punished. You don't know right up to the end whether he will or will not get away with it, and whether or not the greater good was indeed served by his act. A moral dilemma all the way round with a somewhat satisfying ending. (Note: The novel contains some anti-Semitic stereotypical references.)
SUMMARY
Raskolnikov, a destitute and desperate former student, wanders through the slums of St Petersburg and commits a random murder without remorse or regret. He imagines himself to be a great man, a Napoleon: acting for a higher purpose beyond conventional moral law. But as he embarks on a dangerous game of cat and mouse with a suspicious police investigator, Raskolnikov is pursued by the growing voice of his conscience and finds the noose of his own guilt tightening around his neck. Only Sonya, a downtrodden prostitute, can offer the chance of redemption.
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426 |
Doucette, Gene (1) |
Fixer(SciFi)
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REVIEW
A pretty good read about a guy who can get a sense of the future in general, and specifically when he is in front of the thing he senses. So he spends his days wandering around Boston to the places where he has a sense that something is going to go wrong, and he "fixes" them. He stops the distracted girl from stepping on front of the bus. He makes a pedestrian pause for a few seconds just in time to be missed by falling bricks from a construction job. But there is a problem with seeing the future. There are creatures that live there.. just beyond the present, where we can't sense them, but they can mess life up for us. And they DO when a group of college grads invent a device that can see into the future - and see them. One by one, these beings are killing the folks that made this discovery, and there is only one person who can possibly stop them - the fixer.
Entertaining. I enjoyed it.
SUMMARY
Corrigan Bain can see the future? but only about five seconds of it, and only what?s in front of him. He also can?t really control it, and on bad days is pretty positive he?s losing his mind. Still, whether it?s a gift or a curse, Corrigan uses his ability to help people when he can.
But when FBI agent Maggie Trent asks for help on a case, Corrigan?s tenuous grip on reality is shaken. She?s got some dead college students whose deaths aren?t actually accidental, but the only person who can prove that is Corrigan. He doesn?t want to, because doing so would mean facing something he?s been repressing for years.
He was twelve when he learned that monsters are real. They live in the future, and they don?t want to be seen. Now, Corrigan has to stop one of them.
Unfortunately, Corrigan Bain is also going insane.
Fixer is a non-stop sci-fi horror thriller, from the best-selling author of the Immortal series and The Spaceship Next Door.
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427 |
Douglas, L. Warren (1) |
Bright Islands in a Dark Sea(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read too long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
Yan Bando's quiet pursuit of knowledge, poring over the documents of a long-gone era--before aliens took over North America--lands him in big trouble when he uncovers his alien leaders' greatest secret.
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428 |
Doyle, Arthur Conan (1) |
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REVIEW
A fun read with another glimpse into a historical time of the British Empire. Sherlock Holmes putting together clues while Dr. Watson assists (even without knowing it). The stuff of many a movie past, and I am sure, future. It's fun. You'll like it.
SUMMARY
At Baskerville Hall on the grim moors of Devonshire, a legendary curse has apparently claimed one more victim. Sir Charles Baskerville has been found dead. There are no signs of violence, but his face is hideously distorted with terror. Years earlier, a hound-like beast with blazing eyes and dripping jaws was reported to have torn out the throat of Hugo Baskerville. Has the spectral destroyer struck again? More important, is Sir Henry Baskerville, younger heir to the estate, now in danger?
Enter Sherlock Holmes, summoned to protect Sir Henry from the fate that has threatened the Baskerville family. As Holmes and Watson begin to investigate, a blood-chilling howl from the fog-shrouded edges of the great Grimpen Mire signals that the legendary hound of the Baskervilles is poised for yet another murderous attack.
The Hound of the Baskerville first appeared as a serial in The Strand Magazine in 1901. By the time of its publication in book form eight months later, this brilliantly plotted, richly atmospheric detective story had already achieved the status of a classic. It has often been called he best detective story ever written. It remains a thrilling tale of suspense, must reading for every lover of detective fiction.
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429 |
Drake, David (3) |
Fortress(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read too long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
Fortress is America's guarantor of freedom, an orbiting arsenal of laser weapons and nuclear missiles. It was considered impregnable--until now. Former CIA officer Tom Kelley is sent to learn the secrets surrounding a dead alien found in Turkey and discovers a maze of lies and treachery that could transform America's shield into an engine of global terror.
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430 |
Drake, David (3) |
Killer(Fiction - Fantasy)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read too long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
Bestselling author David Drake and World Fantasy Award-winning author Karl Edward Wagner now join forces to tell the epic tale of Lycon, the greatest beast hunter that ancient Rome had ever seen, pitted against a murderous alien in a battle for survival...with the fate of the Earth hanging in the balance!
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431 |
Drake, David (3) |
Sky Ripper(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read too long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
In five years, little green men are going to invade Earth--and the only man who knows is Professor Emil Vlasov. Is Vlasov crazy? Or is something actually watching the Earth . . . waiting . . . From the bestselling author of Northworld.
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432 |
Dreese, John (1) |
Red Hope(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Dumb.. from beginning to end. A human skeleton shows up on Mars in photo's. So they send a mission of 4 people to check it out. They are so unprofessional that it beggars belief. Then one of the resorts to murder and another commits suicide. I almost stopped reading then, but kept going to the bitter (and pointless) end. No resolution.. just HEY, READ THE NEXT BOOK. I will not be reading the next book. This kind of marketing ploy (and it is a marketing ploy) is something new in SciFi and I think it sucks. Just for that I rate this book awful.
SUMMARY
For two million years, Mars has hidden a ghastly secret. Two hours ago, the Curiosity Rover found it. With less than a year to prepare, four modern-day astronauts are forced to leave their families behind and risk their lives on what will become the most important expedition mankind has ever launched. With time running out, the fate of humanity rests in the hands of four doomed astronauts.
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433 |
Dreiser, Theodore (2) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
I have yet to read the book, but it sounds like the Woody Allen film Match Point
SUMMARY
Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy (1925) is nothing less than what the title holds it to be; it is the story of a weak-willed young man who is both villain and victim (the victim of a valueless, materialistic society) and someone who ultimately destroys himself. Dreiser modeled the story of Clyde Griffiths on a real-life murder that took place in 1906; a young social climber of considerable charm murdered his pregnant girlfriend to get her out of the way so that he could instead play to the affections of a rich girl who had begun to notice him.
But An American Tragedy is more than simply a powerful murder story. Dreiser pours his own dark yearnings into his character, Clyde Griffiths, as he details the young man's course through his ambitions of wealth, power, and satisfaction.
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434 |
Dreiser, Theodore (2) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Not read
SUMMARY
An 18-year-old girl without money or connections ventures forth from her small town in search of a better life in Theodore Dreiser's revolutionary first novel. The chronicle of Carrie Meeber's rise from obscurity to fame — and the effects of her progress on the men who use her and are used in turn — aroused a storm of controversy and debate upon its debut in 1900. The author's nonjudgmental portrait of a heroine who violates the contemporary moral code outraged some critics and elated others. A century later, Dreiser's compelling plot and realistic characters continue to fascinate readers.
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435 |
Drew, Wayland (1) |
The Memories of Alcheringia(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read too long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
First book in the Erthring cycle (misspelled "Erthring" on first printing). followed by "The Gaian Expedient" (1985) and "The Master of Norriya" (1986). Wayland Drew (1932 - 1998) was a Canadian writer known for his environmental themes; his first novel, "The Wabeno Feast" (1973) is widely praised. Drew also wrote a number of movie novelizations, including "Corvette Summer" and "Dragonslayer."
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436 |
Dumas, Alexandre (1) |
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437 |
Duncan, Dave (1) |
Shadow(Fiction - Fantasy)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read too long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
Sald Harl would like nothing more than to soar on the wings of his noble eagle, but his youthful rides in the sky are cut short by an appointment to guard the prince. Sald watches his dreams of flight fade with his name and independence as he takes over his bodyguard duties. During a perilous journey to the edges of the kingdom, a dark secret comes to life. Now the great Prince Shadow is accused of treason, and Sald must orchestrate a desperate plan of escape or he will lose the one thing he has been ordered to defend. His only option for freedom is a dangerous flight that no one has ever survived. Once again Sald hopes to feel the freedom of soaring though the air unshackled from servitude.
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438 |
Durrell, Lawrence (1) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Not read
SUMMARY
The Alexandria Quartetis a striking and sensuous masterpiece, breathing vivid life into each of its unforgettable characters and the dusty Mediterranean city in which they live. Set in Alexandria, Egypt, in the years before, during, and after World War II, the books follow the lives of a circle of friends and lovers, including sensitive Darley, passionate Justine, philosophical Balthazar, and elegant Clea. Written in Durrell's trademark evocative prose, these four novels explore the central theme of modern love, building into a remarkable whole that the New York Times hailedas "one of the most important works of our time."
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439 |
Eco, Umberto (2) |
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REVIEW
An excellent thriller that weaves much of the Grail myth history into a story about a man who learns too much. You learn about the Knight's of the Rosy Cross, and how they are protectors of the Grail secret to this day. You learn what the Grail really is (the same as Dan Brown's DaVinci Code). So well written that you begin to believe it yourself… and who's to say it's not all true.
SUMMARY
Bored with their work, three Milanese editors cook up "the Plan," a hoax that connects the medieval Knights Templar with other occult groups from ancient to modern times. This produces a map indicating the geographical point from which all the powers of the earth can be controlled—a point located in Paris, France, at Foucault's Pendulum. But in a fateful turn the joke becomes all too real, and when occult groups, including Satanists, get wind of the Plan, they go so far as to kill one of the editors in their quest to gain control of the earth.
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440 |
Eco, Umberto (2) |
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REVIEW
A fun little mystery set in a middle ages monastery where monks are dropping dead for some reason or other. Made into a fun little movie by the same name.
SUMMARY
The year is 1327. Franciscans in a wealthy Italian abbey are suspected of heresy, and Brother William of Baskerville arrives to investigate. When his delicate mission is suddenly overshadowed by seven bizarre deaths, Brother William turns detective. His tools are the logic of Aristotle, the theology of Aquinas, the empirical insights of Roger Bacon—all sharpened to a glistening edge by wry humor and a ferocious curiosity. He collects evidence, deciphers secret symbols and coded manuscripts, and digs into the eerie labyrinth of the abbey, where "the most interesting things happen at night."
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441 |
Effinger, George Alec (1) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read too long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
When Gravity Fails, the first Marid novel, is set in a high-tech near future featuring a divided United States and USSR, a world with mind- or mood-altering drugs for any purpose, brains enhanced by electronic hardware, with plug-in memory additions and modules offering the wearer new personalities (James Bond, celebrities), and bodies shaped to perfection by surgery. Marid Audran, an unmodified and fairly honest street survivor, lives in a decadent Arab ghetto, the Budayeen, and against his best instincts, becomes involved in a series of inexplicable murders. Some seem like routine assassinations, carried out with an old-fashioned handgun by a man wearing a plug-in James Bond persona; others, involving whores, feature prolonged torture and horrible mutilations. The problem comes to the attention of Budayeen godfather Friedlander Bey, who makes Audran an offer he can't refuse. Audran submits to electronic brain-enhancement in order to track down and deal with the killer or killers.
In a decadent world of cheap pleasures and easy death, Marid Audrian has kept his independence the hard way. Still, like everything else in the Budayeen, he's available…for a price.
For a new kind of killer roams the streets of the Arab ghetto, a madman whose bootlegged personality cartridges range from a sinister James Bond to a sadistic disemboweler named Khan. And Marid Audrian has been made an offer he can't refuse.
The 200-year-old "godfather" of the Budayeen's underworld has enlisted Marid as his instrument of vengeance. But first Marid must undergo the most sophisticated of surgical implants before he dares to confront a killer who carries the power of every psychopath since the beginning of time.
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442 |
Egan, Doris (1) |
The Gate of Ivory(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read too long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
A blend of science fiction and fantasy in which the heroine, Theodora, finds herself marooned on the one planet in the galaxy where magic works - and where her magical skills will plunge her into deadly peril.
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443 |
Eliot, George (1) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Not read
SUMMARY
George Eliot's novel, Middlemarch: A Study of Provincial Life, explores a fictional nineteenth-century Midlands town in the midst of modern changes. The proposed Reform Bill promises political change; the building of railroads alters both the physical and cultural landscape; new scientific approaches to medicine incite public division; and scandal lurks behind respectability. The quiet drama of ordinary lives and flawed choices are played out in the complexly portrayed central characters of the novel—the idealistic Dorothea Brooke; the ambitious Dr. Lydgate; the spendthrift Fred Vincy; and the steadfast Mary Garth. The appearance of two outsiders further disrupts the town's equilibrium—Will Ladislaw, the spirited nephew of Dorothea's husband, the Rev. Edward Casaubon, and the sinister John Raffles, who threatens to expose the hidden past of one of the town's elite. Middlemarch displays George Eliot's clear-eyed yet humane understanding of characters caught up in the mysterious unfolding of self-knowledge
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444 |
Ellison, Ralph (1) |
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REVIEW
Not to be confused with the HG Wells novel, this great book is the story of a black man who learns that he is invisible because no one can really see him. Oh they all see a person and they all see someone they can use, but the don't see him. By the end he begins to revel in his invisibility realizing that, as an invisible man, he has a freedom he never realized. This book, along the lines of E.L. Doctorow's RAGTIME is about racial injustice and racial relations. It's a big book, but I found to be a page turner. Once I started it, I didn't want to put it down. I wanted to see where our man was going next, what would befall him and how he would learn from it. His dream of a letter in the beginning that said, "Keep this nigger-boy running." presaged much of what happened in the book. Big time recommended.
SUMMARY
Invisible Man is a milestone in American literature, a book that has continued to engage readers since its appearance in 1952. A first novel by an unknown writer, it remained on the bestseller list for sixteen weeks, won the National Book Award for fiction, and established Ralph Ellison as one of the key writers of the century. The nameless narrator of the novel describes growing up in a black community in the South, attending a Negro college from which he is expelled, moving to New York and becoming the chief spokesman of the Harlem branch of "the Brotherhood", and retreating amid violence and confusion to the basement lair of the Invisible Man he imagines himself to be. The book is a passionate and witty tour de force of style, strongly influenced by T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land, Joyce, and Dostoevsky
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445 |
Falconer, Craig A. (3) |
Not Alone(SciFi)
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REVIEW
A cover up in a cover up followed by a cover up. Aliens are real. Aliens are not real. The not real aliens show up. This is making life tough on a small group of people who know the truth (or think they do). And it is, naturally, a political football that no one knows how to handle.
Mildly interesting first contact story.. had to read the second book to see how it turns out.
SUMMARY
Aliens exist, the government knows, and Dan McCarthy just found the proof.
When Dan McCarthy stumbles upon a folder containing evidence of the conspiracy to end all conspiracies -- a top-level alien cover-up -- he leaks the files without a second thought.
The incredible truth revealed by Dan?s leak immediately captures the public?s imagination, but Dan?s relentless commitment to exposing the cover-up and forcing disclosure quickly earns him some enemies in high places.
For his whole life, Dan McCarthy has searched for a reason to believe. Now that he finally has one, he might soon wish he didn?t...
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446 |
Falconer, Craig A. (3) |
Not Alone: Second Contact(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Well, the cover up seems to be working, until it turns out that the cover up is not helping and so needs to be revealed. The aliens have a say in this... and are not being very helpful. So push comes to shove and Dan needs to force the issue with them in a way that will finally reveal ALL the truth to the entire world.
SUMMARY
They?re back, and the message can?t wait?
When a massive meteor lights up the sky over the remote island of Kerguelen, the world holds its breath. In Birchwood, Colorado, Dan McCarthy gets to work.
Following his incredible experiences of the previous year, Dan knows this was no natural occurrence. The Messengers are back ? to finish what they started ? and they didn't come all this way for nothing?
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447 |
Falconer, Craig A. (3) |
Terradox(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Well, this is dumb. Someone built and hide a planet between Earth and Venus!! B.S. And these folks crashed on it.. but only 7 people on the huge ship!!! And the crash was engineered for some reason... that again doesn't really make sense. Pretty much dumb from start to end. Anyway. Don't bother.
SUMMARY
They were heading for Venus. Somewhere else found them first?
A sudden impact. An emergency landing. A mysterious planet that shouldn't exist.
For Ivy ?Holly? Wood, a former poster-child of the public space program now fleeing Earth?s tyrannical leadership, protecting her civilian passengers is all that counts.
All hopes of surviving and escaping their increasingly hostile new world depend on uncovering its true nature, but Terradox will not give up its secrets without a fight.
And on Terradox, Earth's rules don't apply..
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448 |
Farmer, Phillip Jose (5) |
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REVIEW
A great premise that never really grabbed my interest. Another speculation regarding life after death.
SUMMARY
Imagine that every human who ever lived, from the earliest Neanderthals to the present, is resurrected after death on the banks of an astonishing and seemingly endless river on an unknown world. They are miraculously provided with food, but with not a clue to the possible meaning of this strange afterlife. And so billions of people from history, and before, must start living again.
Some set sail on the great river questing for the meaning of their resurrection, and to find and confront their mysterious benefactors. On this long journey, we meet Sir Richard Francis Burton, Mark Twain, Odysseus, Cyrano de Bergerac, and many others, most of whom embark upon searches of their own in this huge afterlife.
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449 |
Farmer, Phillip Jose (5) |
The Stone God Awakens(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read too long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
None available.
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450 |
Farmer, Phillip Jose (5) |
Time's Last Gift(SciFi)
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REVIEW
I recall this being pretty good.
SUMMARY
Three men and a woman onboard a timeship travel from 2070 AD to 12,000 BC - a journey that could never be repeated. For the passengers, all anthropologists, it was a once-in-a-million-lifetimes expedition... a chance to study primitive man as modern man never could. But none of them was prepared for what they would discover - or for the impact of their travels in a time that had yet to come...
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451 |
Farmer, Phillip Jose (5) |
Traitor to the Living(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Hey.. let's all talk to dead people. That can't have negative consequence.. right!!
SUMMARY
A machine that enables the living to communicate with the dead threatens to allow angry and vengeful ghosts to reenter the world of the living and enact cruel revenge.
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452 |
Farmer, Phillip Jose (5) |
The Wind Whales of Ishmael(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Moby Dick was better.
SUMMARY
Ishmael, lone survivor of the doomed whaling ship Pequod, falls through a rift in time and space to a future Earth - an Earth of blood-sucking vegetation and a blood-red sun, of barren canyons where once the Pacific Ocean roared. Here too there are whales to hunt - but whales that soar through a dark blue sky...
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453 |
Farrell, James T. (1) |
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REVIEW
This has been called Farrell's Magnum Opus, and at over 800 pages, I would say it qualified. I was a little hesitant to start this, but once I did, I couldn't put it down. Not because the story was so compelling... the story is just a series of events in a life... but because I've never read a book that looked so carefully and so accurately at the internal goings on of one character, Studs. Lots of books let you look into the mind of a character, but that mind is often depicted as a straight forward monologue, keeping to one topic to advance the story. Rarely is it a chaotic mix of conflicting emotions, motivations, insecurities, wishful thinking and self analysis that is written here. Studs mind flits from thing to thing, influenced by the world around him and his own desires. He starts as a boy wanting respect and admiration, and knowing of only one way to get that - by being a "tough". But as he grows older he is always afraid of letting his real thoughts show, and constantly puts on a facade that he thinks will gain him what he wants from life. Course, he has no clue what he wants from life, and so he ends up directionless. I enjoyed this because I've been told that I too spend much of my time in my own head, and though I am nothing like Studs Lonigan in character... I recognized how his mind worked and saw myself in him. I saw many people in him. It was pretty amazing. BUT... these characters are not nice people. Be prepared for racism, anti-Semitism, sexism, and just plain criminal behavior. Sometimes this is difficult to read. It does seem to be an accurate reflection of these kind of people - I imagine Farrel grew up with just this gang.
SUMMARY
Collected here in one volume is James T. Farrell's renowned trilogy of the youth, early manhood, and death of Studs Lonigan: Young Lonigan, The Young Manhood of Studs Lonigan, and Judgment Day. In this relentlessly naturalistic portrait, Studs starts out his life full of vigor and ambition, qualities that are crushed by the Chicago youth's limited social and economic environment. Studs's swaggering and vicious comrades, his narrow family, and his educational and religious background lead him to a life of futile dissipation. Ann Douglas provides an illuminating introductory essay to Farrell's masterpiece, one of the greatest novels of American literature.
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454 |
Farren, Mick (9) |
The Armageddon Crazy(SciFi)
UNRATED
|

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REVIEW
Read too long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
None available.
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455 |
Farren, Mick (9) |
The Feelies(SciFi)
UNRATED
|

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REVIEW
Read too long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
None available.
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456 |
Farren, Mick (9) |
The Last Stand of the DNA Cowboys(SciFi)
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REVIEW
I remember enjoying this.
SUMMARY
None available.
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457 |
Farren, Mick (9) |
The Long Orbit(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read too long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
None available.
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458 |
Farren, Mick (9) |
Mars - The Red Planet(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read too long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
None available.
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459 |
Farren, Mick (9) |
Necrom(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read too long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
None available.
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460 |
Farren, Mick (9) |
Phaid the Gambler(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read too long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
None available.
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461 |
Farren, Mick (9) |
Their Master's War(SciFi)
UNRATED
|

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REVIEW
Read too long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
None available.
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462 |
Farren, Mick (9) |
Vickers(SciFi)
UNRATED
|

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REVIEW
Read too long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
None available.
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463 |
Faulkner, William (4) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Not read
SUMMARY
Absalom, Absalom! is Faulkner's epic tale of Thomas Sutpen, an enigmatic stranger who comes to Jefferson, Mississippi, in the early 1830s to wrest his mansion out of the muddy bottoms of the north Mississippi wilderness. He was a man, Faulkner said, "who wanted sons and the sons destroyed him."
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464 |
Faulkner, William (4) |
 |

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REVIEW
I had a difficult time starting this book. The imagery is written such that I could not tell what was real, and what was in the mind of the character at the time. What looked like a dream turned out to be real. As the book progressed, however, and the characters became more finely etched, I found myself enjoying this book more and more. And by the end, when I felt I had finally gotten the hang of how to read this, it ended with a twist that I am still trying to understand.
SUMMARY
"I set out deliberately to write a tour-de-force. Before I ever put pen to paper and set down the first word I knew what the last word would be and almost where the last period would fall." —William Faulkner on As I Lay Dying
As I Lay Dying is Faulkner's harrowing account of the Bundren family's odyssey across the Mississippi countryside to bury Addie, their wife and mother. Narrated in turn by each of the family members—including Addie herself—as well as others the novel ranges in mood, from dark comedy to the deepest pathos. Considered one of the most influential novels in American fiction in structure, style, and drama, As I Lay Dying is a true 20th-century classic.
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465 |
Faulkner, William (4) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Not read
SUMMARY
Light in August, a novel about hopeful perseverance in the face of mortality, features some of Faulkner's most memorable characters: guileless, dauntless Lena Grove, in search of the father of her unborn child; Reverend Gail Hightower, who is plagued by visions of Confederate horsemen; and Joe Christmas, a desperate, enigmatic drifter consumed by his mixed ancestry
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466 |
Faulkner, William (4) |
UNRATED
 |

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REVIEW
Not read
SUMMARY
There was another yellow butterfly, like one of the sunflecks had come loose.' This title comes with an introduction by Richard Huges. Depicting the gradual disintegration of the Compson family through four fractured narratives, The Sound and the Fury explores intense, passionate family relationships where there is no love, only self-centredness. At its heart this is a novel about lovelessness - 'only an idiot has no grief; only a fool would forget it. What else is there in this world sharp enough to stick to your guts?'
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467 |
Faust, Joe Clifford (5) |
The Company Man(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read too long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
Andrew Birch is a Company Man - a spy, a soldier, a saboteur... a corporate terrorist by any other name. He is one of the top operatives for Astradyne, one of the giant corporations that now rule the irradiated world he lives in. Among his peers, his ruthless efficiency and his love for the company are legendary.
Then, on a routine mission, a chance encounter puts an all-too-human face on the consequences of corporate rule. As Birch begins to question the world he has helped build, corporate war breaks out - and he now finds himself a pawn in a game that goes deeper than he ever imagined.
And Birch begins to wonder if perhaps he has put his faith in the wrong thing...
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468 |
Faust, Joe Clifford (5) |
A Death of Honor(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read too long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
THE GIRL WAS SPRAWLED OUT ON THE FLOOR IN THE LIVING ROOM OF HIS APARTMENT.
So begins Joe Clifford Faust's classic science fiction mystery, which has thrilled both SF and non-SF readers since its release nearly 25 years ago. Originally published as a paperback original by Del Rey Books, Honor was also a main selection of the Science Fiction Book Club, where it was given a generic cover and enjoyed crossover sales through the Mystery Guild Book Club. It was also chosen as a Recommended Read in the Crime and Punishment category by the Science Fiction Museum.
The novel takes place in an alternate future where a crumbling United States is one of the few nations left to have fended off Soviet domination. It tells the story of seven days in the life of D.A. Payne, a bioengineer who finds the naked corpse of a woman in his apartment and is compelled to investigate her murder. As he digs deeper into the woman's identity and the cause of her death, he learns things about himself and his world that will conspire to change his life forever.
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469 |
Faust, Joe Clifford (5) |
Desperate Measures(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read too long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
None available.
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470 |
Faust, Joe Clifford (5) |
The Essence of Evil (Angel's Luck Vol. 3)(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read too long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
None available
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471 |
Faust, Joe Clifford (5) |
Precious Cargo(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read too long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
None available.
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472 |
Feintuch, David (4) |
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REVIEW
The start of an excellent series revolving around one kid who has to grow up fast.
SUMMARY
In the year 2194, seventeen-year-old Nicholas Seafort is assigned to the Hibernia as a lowly midshipman. Destination: the thriving colony of Hope Nation. But when a rescue attempt goes devastatingly wrong, Seafort is thrust into a leadership role he never anticipated. The other officers resent him, but Seafort must handle more dangerous problems, from a corrupted navigation computer to a deadly epidemic. Even Hope Nation has a nasty surprise in store. Seafort might be the crew's only hope . . .
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473 |
Feintuch, David (4) |
Seafort Saga 2: Challenger's Hope(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Excellent series about a military man who has to step up the the challenges around him when all else fails.
SUMMARY
The second installment of the Seafort Saga finds Nick Seafort heading back to Hope Nation, but danger isn't far behind . . .
After his heroics aboard the Hibernia in Midshipman's Hope, Nicholas Seafort wins command of his first ship, the Challenger, and joins Admiral Tremaine's task force. Their first meeting is a rude awakening, however, as Tremaine demotes him to a smaller, overcrowded ship and blatantly ignores Seafort's report of alien life on Hope Nation. Above all, Seafort is anxious for his pregnant wife, who's due to have their baby on the journey.
After an alien attack and an admiral's betrayal, a wounded Seafort is left stranded aboard a ship short of weapons and fuel. Hundreds of lives hang in the balance as Seafort must find a way to survive.
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474 |
Feintuch, David (4) |
Seafort Saga 3: Prisoner's Hope(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Our hero is now a captain, but nothing is easier for him. Good read.
SUMMARY
Captain Nick Seafort's previous encounter with aliens cost him nearly everything. Now, in the third installment of the Seaford Saga, the only way to save Hope Nation is to commit high treason.
While recovering from the physical and emotional wounds he sustained in Challenger's Hope, Nick Seafort is named as the liaison between the wealthy planters of Hope Nation and the United Nations Navy. The lurking, acid-spewing, fish-shape aliens are a real threat, and everyone is on edge. When the fleet returns to Earth, dissent grows among the people of Hope Nation, who feel abandoned by the military and left at the mercy of the alien horde.
The Seafort Saga continues as Nick Seafort takes on powerful rebels at home, the cold-blooded aliens, and his own self-doubt. He must make a choice that could save Hope Nation, but would also sentence him to death.
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475 |
Feintuch, David (4) |
Seafort Saga 4: Fisherman's Hope(SciFi)
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REVIEW
A good space series revolving around one character and his challenges.
SUMMARY
Nick Seafort returned to Earth expecting a court martial but instead he's tapped by the Naval Academy. This is no ordinary desk job . . .
Luck has always run in both directions for Naval Commandant Nicholas Seafort. While he has managed to save the Hope Nation colony from alien attack, he and his friends have paid a heavy price. Most recently, his exploits have earned him a dignified position as an instructor at the United Nations Naval Academy. But, as Seafort suspects, trouble isn't far behind.
A return to Earth means a return to his roots, some of which he wishes would remain buried. He's uncomfortable with fame and can't always restrain his temper as the political machine shifts around him. But when the fishlike aliens mount an attack, Seafort is the only man Earth can count on. Now he must decide whether he has the courage and fortitude to make a terrible choice . . .
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476 |
Feist, Raymond (1) |
Magician: Apprentice(Fiction - Fantasy)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read too long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
To the forest on the shore of the Kingdom of the Isles, the orphan Pug came to study with the master magician Kulgan. But though his courage won him a place at court and the heart of a lovely Princess, he was ill at ease with the normal ways of wizardry. Yet Pug's strange sort of magic would one day change forever the fates of two worlds. For dark beings from another world had opened a rift in the fabric of spacetime to being again the age-old battle between the forces of Order and Chaos.
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477 |
Ferusson, Bruce (1) |
The Mace of Souls(Fiction - Fantasy)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read too long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
Wealthy, high-born Amala Damarr was supposed to be the means for Falca Breks—a roughneck, thief, and extortionist—to fulfill his long-held dream of escaping the decaying port city of his birth. And so she proved to be, but not in the way he planned on—because leaving the dismal, dangerous streets and alleys of Draica included a price he never thought existed: two souls worth saving...and Falca Breks was about to discover that one of them was his own.
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478 |
Fforde, Jasper (7) |
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REVIEW
Jasper Fforde is a genius when it comes to writing comedy novels on the strangest topics. This book is the first "Nursery Crime" novel where Jack Spratt investigates the murder of Humpty Dumpty, his financial dealings, his philandering, and the competition between foot product companies in Reading, England. It's a fun fill mystery as good as anything Dashiel Hammet wrote, but with more puns and farce than you can imagine being packed into one book. Need a little laugh and some amused smirks. Pick up this book and read it now.
SUMMARY
Jasper Fforde's bestselling Thursday Next series has delighted readers of every genre with its literary derring-do and brilliant flights of fancy. In The Big Over Easy, Fforde takes a break from classic literature and tumbles into the seedy underbelly of nursery crime. Meet Inspector Jack Spratt, family man and head of the Nursery Crime Division. He's investigating the murder of ovoid D-class nursery celebrity Humpty Dumpty, found shattered to death beneath a wall in a shabby area of town. Yes, the big egg is down, and all those brittle pieces sitting in the morgue point to foul play.
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479 |
Fforde, Jasper (7) |
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REVIEW
A fun book with adventure, mystery, comedy and literature all wrapped in a tidy, fast paced little package. Presents an alternate world in which the boundary between fiction and reality is permeable and needs to be watched in case nefarious characters should use this permeability for evil purposes. The character Thursday Next will be fun to follow into future books. The title has to do with the Charlotte Bronte book Jane Eyre. An evil criminal threatens to change the plot by kidnapping the main character. Thursday Next is the only person who can challenge this master criminal, both in reality and inside the fictional novel itself. If you like Chris Moore, you will love this!
SUMMARY
Fans of Douglas Adams and P. G. Wodehouse will love visiting Jasper Fforde's Great Britain, circa 1985, when time travel is routine, cloning is a reality (dodos are the resurrected pet of choice), and literature is taken very, very seriously: it's a bibliophile's dream. England is a virtual police state where an aunt can get lost (literally) in a Wordsworth poem and forging Byronic verse is a punishable offense. All this is business as usual for Thursday Next, renowned Special Operative in literary detection. But when someone begins kidnapping characters from works of literature and plucks Jane Eyre from the pages of Brontë's novel, Thursday is faced with the challenge of her career. Fforde's ingenious fantasy—enhanced by a Web site that re-creates the world of the novel—unites intrigue with English literature in a delightfully witty mix. Thursday's zany investigations continue with six more bestselling Thursday Next novels, including One of Our Thursdays is Missing and the upcoming The Woman Who Died A Lot. Visit jasperfforde.com.
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480 |
Fforde, Jasper (7) |
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REVIEW
The second of the "Nursery Crime" books, investigator Jack Spratt, head of the Nursery Crime Division and his 2nd in command Mary Mary get deep into mysterious explosions, giant cucumbers, illegal porridge and honey smuggling by bears, and face danger at every turn from the escaped psychopath killer, the Gingerbread Man. Again, you will laugh out loud while reading this, and get strange looks from the people around you. Who cares. It's too much fun.
SUMMARY
The inimitable Jasper Fforde gives readers another delightful mash-up of detective fiction and nursery rhyme, returning to those mean streets where no character is innocent. The Gingerbreadman—sadist, psychopath, cookie—is on the loose in Reading, but that's not who Detective Jack Spratt and Sergeant Mary Mary are after. Instead, they've been demoted to searching for missing journalist "Goldy" Hatchett. The last witnesses to see her alive were the reclusive Three Bears, and right away Spratt senses something furry—uh, funny—about their story, starting with the porridge. The Fourth Bear is a delirious new romp from our most irrepressible fabulist.
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481 |
Fforde, Jasper (7) |
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REVIEW
Thursday Next in her second book, and the rabbit hole that started in the first just gets deeper and deeper as the boundary between reality and fiction simply disappears. I love this character (Thursday). The jaundiced view of reality and fiction she gives is a really fun time. I totally recommend this book.
SUMMARY
The inventive, exuberant, and totally original literary fun that began with The Eyre Affair continues with New York Times bestselling author Jasper Fforde's magnificent second adventure starring the resourceful, fearless literary sleuth Thursday Next. When Landen, the love of her life, is eradicated by the corrupt multinational Goliath Corporation, Thursday must moonlight as a Prose Resource Operative of Jurisfiction—the police force inside the BookWorld. She is apprenticed to the man-hating Miss Havisham from Dickens's Great Expectations, who grudgingly shows Thursday the ropes. And she gains just enough skill to get herself in a real mess entering the pages of Poe's "The Raven." What she really wants is to get Landen back. But this latest mission is not without further complications. Along with jumping into the works of Kafka and Austen, and even Beatrix Potter's The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies, Thursday finds herself the target of a series of potentially lethal coincidences, the authenticator of a newly discovered play by the Bard himself, and the only one who can prevent an unidentifiable pink sludge from engulfing all life on Earth. It's another genre-bending blend of crime fiction, fantasy, and top-drawer literary entertainment for fans of Douglas Adams and P. G. Wodehouse. Thursday's zany investigations continue with The Well of Lost Plots. Look for the five other bestselling Thursday Next novels, including One of Our Thursdays is Missing and Jasper Fforde's latest bestseller, The Woman Who Died A Lot. Visit jasperfforde.com for a ffull window into the Ffordian world!
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482 |
Fforde, Jasper (7) |
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REVIEW
The next of the Thursday Next books. Thursday has left the world of fiction for the ever stranger real world. The book is slower and less glib than the others in the series, but ties up many loose ends nicely with an interesting ending. You don't have to be a literature buff to read this one. In fact, other works of fiction (other than Hamlet) are barely mentioned. But it won't mean a thing unless you've read the others, so go back to the beginning.
SUMMARY
The popularity of Jasper Fforde's one-of-a-kind series of genre-bending blend of crime fiction, fantasy, and top-drawer literary entertainment builds with each new book. Now in the fourth installment, the resourceful literary detective Thursday Next returns to Swindon from the BookWorld accompanied by her son Friday and none other than the dithering Hamlet. But returning to SpecOps is no snap—as outlaw fictioner Yorrick Kaine plots for absolute power, the return of Swindon's patron saint foretells doom, and, if that isn't bad enough, The Merry Wives of Windsor is becoming entangled with Hamlet. Can Thursday find a Shakespeare clone to stop this hostile takeover? Can she vanquish Kaine and prevent the world from plunging into war? And will she ever find reliable child care? Find out in this totally original, action-packed romp, sure to be another escapist thrill for Jasper Fforde's legions of fans. Thursday's zany investigations continue with First Among Sequels. Look for the five other bestselling Thursday Next novels, including One of Our Thursdays is Missing and Jasper Fforde's latest bestseller, The Woman Who Died A Lot. Visit jasperfforde.com for a ffull window into the Ffordian world!
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483 |
Fforde, Jasper (7) |
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REVIEW
The next of the Next books... and still amazing. How Jasper Fforde manages to be this funny, this creative, and this hilariously insane, I don't know. I guess that's what they call talent. In this book, Thursday Next is trying to live a normal life with her re-constituted husband and 2 real and one imaginary child. She no longer has a job with Special Operations, but works in a flooring business... which is actually a front for her (et al) continued secret special operations.. which is actually a front for her job in the world of books (no.. actually INSIDE books). Her time-traveling son from the future is telling her that he can replace her un-interested in time travel son in the now so they can save all of history. And the British government has come up with a scheme to reduce the built up surplus of stupidity by doing something really dumb that will have the effect of destroying all history. Even Harry Potter is supposed to make an appearance in the book... but I can't say anymore to give you an idea of the insanity and hilarity Jasper Fforde strings together in this great book. If you want to laugh out loud... read this series...
SUMMARY
Jasper Fforde has thrilled readers everywhere with his gloriously outlandish novels in the Thursday Next and Nursery Crime series. And with another genre-bending blend of crime fiction, fantasy, and top-drawer literary entertainmentis Thursday Next: First Among Sequels, Fforde's famous literary detective is once again ready to make the world safe for fiction. Thursday Next is grappling with a host of problems in BookWorld: a recalcitrant new apprentice, the death of Sherlock Holmes, and the inexplicable departure of comedy from the once- hilarious Thomas Hardy novels, to name just a few—all while captaining the ship Moral Dilemma and facing down her most vicious enemy yet: herself. Thursday's zany investigations continue with Our Thursdays is Missing. Look for the five other bestselling Thursday Next novels, including Jasper Fforde's latest bestseller, The Woman Who Died A Lot. Visit jasperfforde.com for a ffull window into the Ffordian world!
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484 |
Fforde, Jasper (7) |
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REVIEW
Thursday Next's world just keeps getting stranger and stranger. The fact that this book in the series takes place almost completely inside the world of fiction, just makes it that much easier to get very strange very fast. Jasper Fforde has a really vivid imagination for what happens behind the scenes of all the books ever written. If you love literature, and you love comedy... read on!!!
SUMMARY
Jasper Fforde has done it again in this genre-bending blend of crime fiction, fantasy, and top-drawer literary entertainment. After two rollicking New York Times bestselling adventures through Western literature, resourceful BookWorld literary detective Thursday Next definitely needs some downtime. And what better place for a respite than in the hidden depths of the Well of Lost Plots, where all unpublished books reside? But peace and quiet remain elusive for Thursday, who soon discovers that the Well is a veritable linguistic free-for-all, where grammasites run rampant, plot devices are hawked on the black market, and lousy books—like the one she has taken up residence in—are scrapped for salvage. To make matters worse, a murderer is stalking the personnel of Jurisfiction and it's up to Thursday to save the day. A brilliant feat of literary showmanship filled with wit, fantasy, and effervescent originality, this Ffordian tour de force will appeal to fans of Douglas Adams and P. G. Wodehouse. Thursday's zany investigations continue with Something Rotten. Look for the five other bestselling Thursday Next novels, including One of Our Thursdays is Missing and Jasper Fforde's latest bestseller, The Woman Who Died A Lot. Visit jasperfforde.com for a ffull window into the Ffordian world!
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485 |
Fielding, Henry (1) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Not read
SUMMARY
Henry Fielding's picaresque tale of a young man's search for his place in the world, The History of Tom Jones is edited with notes and an introduction by Thomas Keymer and Alice Wakely in Penguin Classics. A foundling of mysterious parentage brought up by Mr Allworthy on his country estate, Tom Jones is deeply in love with the seemingly unattainable Sophia Western, the beautiful daughter of the neighbouring squire - though he sometimes succumbs to the charms of the local girls. But when his amorous escapades earn the disapproval of his benefactor, Tom is banished to make his own fortune. Sophia, meanwhile, is determined to avoid an arranged marriage to Allworthy's scheming nephew and escapes from her rambunctious father to follow Tom to London. A vivid Hogarthian panorama of eighteenth century life, spiced with danger and intrigue, bawdy exuberance and good-natured authorial interjections, Tom Jones is one of the greatest and most ambitious comic novels in English literature. In his introduction Thomas Keymer discusses narrative techniques and themes, the context of eighteenth century fiction and satire, and the historical and political background of the Jacobite rebellion. This volume also includes a chronology, further reading, notes, a glossary and an appendix on Fielding's revisions. Henry Fielding (1707-1754) born at Sharpham Park, in Somerset, was a dramatist, novelist, political agitator and founder of London's first police force, the 'Bow Street Runners'. As a playwright he was a thorn in the side of Sir Robert Walpole's Whig government, who effectively legislated his retirement from the theater with the Licensing Act of 1737. Undeterred, Fielding launched his career as a novelist in 1740 with Shamela (a parody of Samuel Richardson's Pamela), followed by Joseph Andrews (1741), an anticipation of his masterpiece, the comic novel Tom Jones (1749)
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486 |
Fitzgerald, F. Scott (2) |
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REVIEW
This is rated as one of the best novels of all time – though I cannot understand why. The characters are shallow people. The plot is thin, and a little obvious. The whole mess is a tragedy from beginning to end (you can feel it throughout the book, even if you don't know what is coming). I never felt strongly for or against any of the people I read about here. And at the end I felt no sympathy for Gatsby or anyone else.
SUMMARY
The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald's third book, stands as the supreme achievement of his career. This exemplary novel of the Jazz Age has been acclaimed by generations of readers.
The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald's third book, stands as the supreme achievement of his career. This exemplary novel of the Jazz Age has been acclaimed by generations of readers. The story of the fabulously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan, of lavish parties on Long Island at a time when The New York Times noted "gin was the national drink and sex the national obsession," it is an exquisitely crafted tale of America in the 1920s.
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487 |
Fitzgerald, F. Scott (2) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Not read
SUMMARY
Set on the French Riviera in the late 1920s, Tender Is the Night is the tragic romance of the young actress Rosemary Hoyt and the stylish American couple Dick and Nicole Diver. A brilliant young psychiatrist at the time of his marriage, Dick is both husband and doctor to Nicole, whose wealth goads him into a lifestyle not his own, and whose growing strength highlights Dick's harrowing demise.
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488 |
Flaubert, Gustave (1) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Not read
SUMMARY
This exquisite novel tells the story of one of the most compelling heroines in modern literature--Emma Bovary. Unhappily married to a devoted, clumsy provincial doctor, Emma revolts against the ordinariness of her life by pursuing voluptuous dreams of ecstasy and love. But her sensuous and sentimental desires lead her only to suffering corruption and downfall. A brilliant psychological portrait, Madame Bovary searingly depicts the human mind in search of transcendence. Who is Madame Bovary? Flaubert's answer to this question was superb: "Madame Bovary, c'est moi." Acclaimed as a masterpiece upon its publication in 1857, the work catapulted Flaubert to the ranks of the world's greatest novelists. This volume, with its fine translation by Lowell Bair, a perceptive introduction by Leo Bersani, and a complete supplement of essays and critical comments, is the indispensable Madame Bovary.
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489 |
Fleming, Ian (4) |
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REVIEW
This was the first of the Bond books. Honestly, his character is not very likable. His hate for Communism is jingoistic. He's completely sexist - women are only be used for one thing. And he's not a very good spy either - he falls into an obvious trap and only luck gets him out. I read some of these when I was a teenager, but re-read this one recently just to reform my impression. It's interesting how they updated the story for the movies - what they took from the book and what they made up. For that reason alone you might want to read these, but other than that... stick to the movies.
SUMMARY
In the novel that introduced James Bond to the world, Ian Fleming's agent 007 is dispatched to a French casino in Royale-les-Eaux. His mission? Bankrupt a ruthless Russian agent who's been on a bad luck streak at the baccarat table.
One of SMERSH's most deadly operatives, the man known only as "Le Chiffre," has been a prime target of the British Secret Service for years. If Bond can wipe out his bankroll, Le Chiffre will likely be "retired" by his paymasters in Moscow. But what if the cards won't cooperate? After a brutal night at the gaming tables, Bond soon finds himself dodging would-be assassins, fighting off brutal torturers, and going all-in to save the life of his beautiful female counterpart, Vesper Lynd.
Taut, tense, and effortlessly stylish, Ian Fleming's inaugural James Bond adventure has all the hallmarks that made the series a touchstone for a generation of readers.
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490 |
Fleming, Ian (4) |
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REVIEW
Well, Mr. Fleming once again exhibits a bit of racism and homophobia, and once again.. the movie has no bearing on the book except for diamond smuggling and the names of the 2 assassin's and the Bond Girl (Tiffany Case). You know.. I really wonder where they came up with the movie plots... definitely out of thin air. Again.. not a bad little read. This can be read in a day.
SUMMARY
An international diamond-smuggling pipeline has opened up and the British Treasury wants to know who's controlling it. Impersonating a captured courier named Peter Franks, Bond infiltrates the criminal ring and finds an unlikely ally in Tiffany Case, a gorgeous American with a dark past. As the ring's stateside go-between, she may be just another link in the chain, but Tiffany is also Bond's best shot at finding the elusive figure at the head of the operation—a syndicate boss known only by the initials "ABC." But if Bond's cover gets blown, he'll find that the only thing harder than a diamond is surviving the payback of a pair of murderous henchmen.
With a sparkling trail of smuggled gems as bait, Diamonds Are Forever leads Bond on a globe-hopping mission where deadly assassins lurk behind every corner.
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491 |
Fleming, Ian (4) |
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REVIEW
Oh boy. Ian Fleming is a racist. Who knew. Well, at least Bond is not so down on women in this novel. No, he has a totally different group of people to cast aspersions on. Negro's. The Negro race is this... The Negro race is that... Ugh. If you are a real Bond junkie then you might want to see how the original story went (it had nothing to do with drugs... gold was the motive and Communism was behind it). And Bond is bent on nothing but revenge.
SUMMARY
James Bond is not a superstitious man, but it's hard not to feel unnerved in the presence of Mr. Big. A ruthless Harlem gangster who uses voodoo to control his criminal empire, he's also one of SMERSH's top American operatives. Mr. Big has been smuggling British pirate treasure to New York from a remote Jamaican island—and funneling the proceeds to Moscow. With help from Solitaire, Mr. Big's beautiful and enigmatic Creole fortune-teller, and his old friend Felix Leiter, 007 must locate the crime lord's hideout, sabotage his operation, and reclaim the pirate hoard for England.
From the jazz joints of Harlem to the shark-infested waters of the Florida Everglades, Live and Let Die sends Bond headlong into the exotic.
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492 |
Fleming, Ian (4) |
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REVIEW
Not as outlandish as the movie... in fact.. nothing like the movie at all. A rocket is involved (the Moonraker) and it's funny to read all the nonsense that was written before anyone really knew how rockets worked (would the heat of the atmosphere melt them... some kind of super material was needed on the fins.. etc). But not a bad little read.
SUMMARY
As the super patriot and war veteran who's bankrolling Britain's top-secret Moonraker rocket program, Sir Hugo Drax should be above reproach. But there's more to this enigmatic millionaire than he lets on. When M suspects Drax of cheating at cards in an exclusive gentleman's club, he sends Bond in to investigate. But exposing the deception only enrages Drax—and now 007 must outwit an angry man with the power to loose a nuclear warhead on London.
The mysterious death of the head of security at Drax's missile base gives Bond the perfect opportunity to go undercover to find out the secret agenda of the supposed British war hero. With the help of another agent, the lustrous Gala Brand, 007 learns the truth about Drax's battle scars, his wartime allegiances—and his murderous plans for the deployment of Moonraker.
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493 |
Follet, Ken (1) |
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REVIEW
A really great novel about the people, politics and way of life in the middle ages from the years 1123 to 1174 revolving around a cast of characters whose lives and ambitions you get to know intimately. A long book, but a very easy read. You will learn about monastic life, courtly politics, and the building of cathedrals. (And if you have never been in a real medieval cathedral.. well, you are missing the experience of a lifetime.) I couldn't put it down and spent several late nights wrapped with these characters and their situations. I recommend this book to anyone who likes a little history, a little learning, and some romance with their fiction.
SUMMARY
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Ken Follett comes this spellbinding epic set in twelfth-century England. The Pillars of the Earth tells the story of the lives entwined in the building of the greatest Gothic cathedral the world has ever known-and a struggle between good and evil that will turn church against state, and brother against brother.
The amazon summary is to small to do this book justice - and the wikipedia summary it to long to include here.
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494 |
Foner, E. M. (10) |
EarthCent Ambassador Book 1: Date Night on Union Station(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Fairly funny story about an "ambassador" who doesn't get any direction from Earth, and who is left on her own to deal with 100's of alien species - who pretty much ignore Earth as a back-water new comer to the Galatic neighborhood. Through no action her part she ends up with a dating service that matches her to... well.. people and situations that just don't work out. Hey, it's not their fault - they are cybernetic intelligences and humans just don't match up well. And they figure they can get a little business done if they match the ambassador with, say, some kidnappers looking for brides.
Amusing in all aspects, from the situations to the status of Earth.. mildly worth a read. I'll read the second in the series just to see where it goes.
SUMMARY
Kelly Frank is EarthCent's top diplomat on Union Station, but her job description has always been a bit vague. The pay is horrible and she's in hock up to her ears for her furniture, which is likely to end up in a corridor because she's behind on rent for her room. Sometimes she has to wonder if the career she has put ahead of her personal life for fifteen years is worth it.
When Kelly receives a gift subscription to the dating service that's rumored to be powered by the same benevolent artificial intelligence that runs the huge station, she decides to swallow her pride and give it a shot. But as her dates go from bad to worse, she can only hope that the supposedly omniscient AI is planning a happy ending.
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495 |
Foner, E. M. (10) |
EarthCent Ambassador Book 2: Alien Night on Union Station(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Well, if there ever is a galactic civilization, one can always expect the older members to take advantage of the newer members (humans) who don't quite know their way around things. A bit disjointed, this second in the series is still pretty amusing. An ambassador who still is trying to figure out her job and species galore who suddenly are taking an interest in trade with Earth (even though we really have nothing to offer except... kitchen utensils?)
SUMMARY
Five years after the events of Date Night on Union Station, Kelly has settled into married life and her job as the EarthCent ambassador. The only fly in the ointment is that most of the aliens on Union Station refuse to talk to her. But a mysterious new game is sweeping the galaxy, changing the balance of power between species and bringing game-savvy humans front-and-center.
As the invitations to diplomatic functions pour in, Kelly finds herself struggling to understand exactly what's going on, not to mention finding babysitters on short notice. Fortunately, diplomats and alcohol go together like, well, diplomats and alcohol, and Joe has started a micro-brewery business in Mac's Bones. The only thing left that could go wrong is a visit from her mother.
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496 |
Foner, E. M. (10) |
EarthCent Ambassador Book 3: High Priest on Union Station(SciFi)
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REVIEW
This book was more enjoyable than the previous - a better plot. The cast of characters is still enjoyable and I will read the next in this series with pleasure.
SUMMARY
Two years after the events of Alien Night on Union Station, Kelly faces new challenges as the EarthCent Ambassador. The growing acceptance of humans by their alien neighbors plus a measure of her own personal fame (or infamy) is resulting in too much work for an embassy with only two full-time staffers.
Friends and family must wonder if the stress is finally getting to Kelly when she starts acting even more peculiar than usual. Just leave it to the Stryx to throw a monkey wrench in the works by offering her a vital new assignment that can't be refused.
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497 |
Foner, E. M. (10) |
EarthCent Ambassador Book 4: Spy Night on Union Station(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Not as good as the previous stories, but funny in the naivete of the humans when it comes to how different species spy on each other. Hilariously illustrated when the Kelly decides to hold a SPY expo on the station and before she even announces it other species begin to object to their placement. They all know what is going in long before most of the humans do. Amusing. How do you start a spy agency when you don't know what spies do.. or have the technology to find out if you are being spied on. Kinda funny.
SUMMARY
The story picks up less than a year after the events of High Priest on Union Station, with Kelly coming to the conclusion that EarthCent needs an intelligence service. Of course, EarthCent has no institutional knowledge of what spies do, or how they work, so the new agency gets off to a slow start. Then Kelly and the Union Station crew come up with a brilliant idea.
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498 |
Foner, E. M. (10) |
EarthCent Ambassador Book 6: Wanderers on Union Station(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Uh oh.. The wanderers have arrived.. A group of galaxy roaming vagabonds that impose on anyone they encounter.. and are tolerated (i.e. paid off) as a relief value for social misfits. The idea sounds interesting though I can see flaws in it when it comes to maintaining star ships.. you just can't let that stuff slide. Their life style is seductive.. and almost catches some of our main characters, but, not quite.
SUMMARY
Three years have passed, and the children are growing like weeds as Aisha grows into a new career. A mob of alien party animals has settled near Union Station like a plague, but nobody seems willing to see them off. They bring word of a new wave of helpful artificial intelligence, but perhaps there?s such a thing as too helpful?
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499 |
Foner, E. M. (10) |
EarthCent Ambassador Book 7: Vacation on Union Station(SciFi)
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REVIEW
One has to understand that Union Station is so large that there are vast areas that are ununsed. Some of these make the perfect place to have a vacation.. so that is what the ambassador and her family does (while things go sideways in other parts of the station). They have some fun (and creeps) exploring parts of the station they were unaware of.. and make plans to open those up to others as amusement areas.
SUMMARY
The Wanderers have just moved on from Union Station and the ambassador is ready to take her first vacation in fifteen years. Unfortunately, the rules on paid vacation for EarthCent employees have changed for the worse, retroactively. Libby suggests spending some time exploring the station as an alternative, and Kelly cautiously goes along with it. Back at the embassy, while the cat's away, the mice will play.
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500 |
Foner, E. M. (10) |
EarthCent Ambassador Book 8: Guest Night on Union Station(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Kind of an amusing idea that an empire decides that it doesn't want to rule over the subject planets anymore because.. well.. it's just a pain. So representatives of all the subject planets show up at Union Station to see if they want to join the Union or go their own way. Needless to say it does not go smoothly... but it's funny.
SUMMARY
On the other side of the galaxy, the Cayl Empire has decided to wind down operations and the Stryx are planning to pick up the pieces. Kelly is tapped to host an open house event on Union Station to tempt the aliens into joining up, but does anybody other than the Stryx actually want the merger to take place?
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501 |
Foner, E. M. (10) |
EarthCent Universe Book 1: Independent Living(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Imagine being able to retire to a star ship that just wanders around the galaxy on a circuit. What would life be like? Who would be in charge? Is the food any good? What would you do with yourself all day? Well, this is the book with the answers... or at least.. with a group of retirees trying to figure the answers out. It's never been done before, but an ill-reputed, artificially intelligent star ship thought it would be a wise business investment... so off they go. Funny.
SUMMARY
In space, nobody can hear you complain about the food.
What do a group of retirees leaving Earth and a young woman in EarthCent?s new witness protection have in common? They?ve all going to live on Flower, an enormous alien colony vessel employed by Eccentric Enterprises to travel a circuit of far-flung human communities. But Flower is a sentient ship that?s been traveling the galaxy for 20,000 years and has her own opinions about how her inhabitants should conduct themselves.
I wrote Independent Living because readers of my EarthCent Ambassador series were always asking what happens in the galaxy where the Stryx aren?t around to watch every second. The answer is, about what you?d expect. In terms of the EarthCent universe, Independent Living would be the seventeenth book in the sequence, but it can be read as a standalone.
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502 |
Foner, E. M. (10) |
EarthCent Universe Book 2: Assisted Living(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Our band of Earth retirees are getting used to life on a wandering star ship. But there is a problem. The star ship, named Flower, is not making enough money... and so.. marketing. Our retirees have to turn their home into a real business to attract more investment. And they have to grow more fresh fruit to have something to trade (funny what aliens value). Anyway. Another amusing tale of galaxy wandering oldsters.
SUMMARY
In space, you can never have too much fresh fruit.
Or can you? Flower, the sentient alien colony ship on loan to EarthCent has a problem. Operating at just five percent of her capacity, she needs to attract more humans and give them a reason to stay. Join Harry, Irene, Julie and Bill for the fun in this sequel to Independent Living that shows you?re never too old to teach an alien AI a new trick.
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503 |
Foner, E. M. (10) |
Turing Test(SciFi)
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REVIEW
A group of AI's have been on Earth observing the human race to help decide if Earth should be allowed to join the galactic league. Things are looking good, until some other Alien swindlers show up to roll humans with various scams for technology. This bumps up the AI's schedule somewhat... and speeds up the reveal that this particular group of AI's have not been exactly following the rules either.
Training and Recruiting humans to work lucrative jobs on other planets.
Curing various illnesses in their small town.. until the CDC starts to notice that no one there gets sick.
Keeping a pet dog.. who sometimes runs through the portals to other planets. Bad Dog.
And finally.. playing foster parent to a teenager who knows everything about them.. and is a very bad driver.
This is in the vein of SciFi comedy, along the lines of the Union Station series.
SUMMARY
Imagine alien AI Observers have infiltrated Earth to evaluate humanity.
Imagine the Observers are more human than we are.
Mark Ai goes to work every day as a PC repairman, but fixing computers is just a cover job. Along with his mission managing the observation team, he's attempting to fill in as a parent for a teenage neighbor, provide a good home for a dog, and pick up a little money on the side. It's a juggling act that understandably leads to breaking a few rules, but things really start spinning out of control when competing aliens arrive.
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504 |
Forbes, M.R. (1) |
Forgotten(SciFi)
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REVIEW
The old troupe of people on a star ship that have forgotten what they are supposed to be doing and when the journey is supposed to come to an end. AND.. they are locked out of other sections of the ship (you would think that in 400 years they would have cut their way through, but ignore that).
SPOILER ALERT:
One guy makes it out to the locked sections of the ship to find cannibals.. and then he gets off the ship to realize they never left Earth. This just turned majorly dumb at the end.. it ends pointing to a sequel that I have no intention of reading because.. I want the dumb to stop.
SUMMARY
Some things are better off FORGOTTEN.
Sheriff Hayden Duke was born on the Pilgrim, and he expects to die on the Pilgrim, like his father, and his father before him.
That's the way things are on a generation starship centuries from home. He's never questioned it. Never thought about it. And why bother? Access points to the ship's controls are sealed, the systems that guide her automated and out of reach. It isn't perfect, but he has all he needs to be content.
Until a malfunction forces his Engineer wife to the edge of the habitable zone to inspect the damage.
Until she contacts him, breathless and terrified, to tell him she found a body, and it doesn't belong to anyone on board.
Until he arrives at the scene and discovers both his wife and the body are gone.
The only clue? A bloody handprint beneath a hatch that hasn't opened in hundreds of years.
Until now.
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505 |
Ford, Ford Madox (2) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Not read as yet.
SUMMARY
The Good Soldier is the fascinating tale of an apparently perfect marriage which is gradually revealed to be anything but that. Ford uses flashbacks to narrate the story and is credited with pioneering what became known as literary impressionism.
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506 |
Ford, Ford Madox (2) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Not read
SUMMARY
Ford Madox Ford's masterpiece, a tetralogy set in England during World War I, is widely considered one of the best novels of the twentieth century.
First published as four separate novels (Some Do Not . . ., No More Parades, A Man Could Stand Up, and The Last Post) between 1924 and 1928, Parade's End explores the world of the English ruling class as it descends into the chaos of war. Christopher Tietjens is an officer from a wealthy family who finds himself torn between his unfaithful socialite wife, Sylvia, and his suffragette mistress, Valentine. A profound portrait of one man's internal struggles during a time of brutal world conflict, Parade's End bears out Graham Greene's prediction that "There is no novelist of this century more likely to live than Ford Madox Ford."
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507 |
Ford, Richard (1) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Not read
SUMMARY
As a sportswriter, Frank Bascombe makes his living studying people--men, mostly--who live entirely within themselves. This is a condition that Frank himself aspires to. But at thirty-eight, he suffers from incurable dreaminess, occasional pounding of the heart, and the not-too-distant losses of a career, a son, and a marriage. In the course of the Easter week in which Ford's moving novel transpires, Bascombe will end up losing the remnants of his familiar life, though with his spirits soaring.
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508 |
Forstchen, William R. (3) |
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REVIEW
Good concept on an interesting world.
SUMMARY
Michael Ormson was the One of the prophecy, but by whom had he been chosen?
For millennia after the Accident, Earth lay cold and still, its small population punished by the dismal climate, harried by plague, and impoverished by frequent, bloody wars.
Then, unexpectedly, a hero emerged and offered hope to the oppressed. With great ice fleets, he conquered the forces of tyranny and brought the promise of renewal to an otherwise miserable world. But nothing was quite as it seemed -- either to Michael Ormson or to his
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509 |
Forstchen, William R. (3) |
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REVIEW
An interesting fantasy world.
SUMMARY
His enemies had pinpointed the Prophet's weakness -- but exploiting it might destroy them all.
Michael Ormson -- the Prophet -- revolutionized icewar, and his ramfleets destroyed armadas that had terrorized the frozen seas for two thousand years.
The Cornathian Brotherhoods knew they must act soon against Michael, for his forces grew more powerful each day, and the enlightened message his agents were spreading could only lead to revolt.
But Ormson lived in an impregnable fortress on a small island guarded by awesome fleets, fanatical armies, and diabolical ice traps. Somehow the brotherhoods would have to lure him onto the ice -- and provoke his wrath so that he would chase them.
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510 |
Forstchen, William R. (3) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read too long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
None available.
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511 |
Forster, E. M. (4) |
UNRATED
 |

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REVIEW
Not read
SUMMARY
The self-interested disregard of a dying woman's bequest, an impulsive girl's attempt to help an impoverished clerk, and the marriage between an idealist and a materialist — all intersect at a Hertfordshire estate called Howards End. The fate of this beloved country home symbolizes the future of England itself in E. M. Forster's exploration of social, economic, and philosophical trends, as exemplified by three families: the Schlegels, symbolizing the idealistic and intellectual aspect of the upper classes; the Wilcoxes, representing upper-class pragmatism and materialism; and the Basts, embodying the aspirations of the lower classes. Written in 1910, Howards End won international acclaim for its insightful portrait of English life during the post-Victorian era.
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512 |
Forster, E. M. (4) |
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REVIEW
A novel that tries to understand, explain, and make clear the impossibility of the British domination of India. The British occupation is seen through both sets of eyes, Indian and British; the misunderstandings and problems looked at from both points of view - each of which is flawed. The only conclusion that can be reached is that British and Indian can never be friends until the are separate.
SUMMARY
Among the greatest novels of the twentieth century and the basis for director David Lean's Academy Award-winning film, A Passage to India tells of the clash of cultures in British India after the turn of the century. In exquisite prose, Forster reveals the menace that lurks just beneath the surface of ordinary life, as a common misunderstanding erupts into a devastating affair.
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513 |
Forster, E. M. (4) |
UNRATED
 |

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REVIEW
Not read
SUMMARY
In common with much of his other writing, this work by the eminent English novelist and essayist E. M. Forster (1879–1970) displays an unusually perceptive view of British society in the early 20th century. Written in 1908, A Room with a View is a social comedy set in Florence, Italy, and Surrey, England. Its heroine, Lucy Honeychurch, struggling against straitlaced Victorian attitudes of arrogance, narrow-mindedness and snobbery, falls in love-while on holiday in Italy-with the socially unsuitable George Emerson.
Caught up in a claustrophobic world of pretentiousness and rigidity, Lucy ultimately rejects her fiancé, Cecil Vyse, and chooses, instead, to wed her true love, the young man whose sense of freedom and lack of artificiality became apparent to her in the Italian pensione where they first met. This classic exploration of passion, human nature and social convention is reprinted here complete and unabridged.
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514 |
Forster, E. M. (4) |
Word Night on Union Station (EarthCent Ambassador Book 9)(SciFi)
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REVIEW
More activities on Union Station. This time the President visits and gets coached into how to get alien investment on Earth (rather than being treated like a source of cheap labor). Amusing like the others. Not hard SciFi.. just a bunch of stories that could take place anywhere aliens of different types gather.
SUMMARY
Over half of Earth's population has left the planet, mainly as contract workers for aliens, and the homeworld is losing relevance to the emigrants. The EarthCent president takes on the task of making sure that humanity isn't permanently stuck in a rut as low-skilled labor. Can the ambassador put aside her new-found obsession with the Galactic Free Press crossword puzzle and help save the day?
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515 |
Forward, Robert L. (5) |
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REVIEW
This is as hard as the science gets in SciFi. A mind boggling look at how life would exist on the surface of a neutron star. How that life evolves, lives, interacts with us, and eventually reaches out to the universe, surpassing us.
SUMMARY
In the story, Dragon's Egg is a neutron star with a surface gravity 67 billion times that of Earth, and inhabited by cheela, intelligent creatures the size of a sesame seed who live, think and develop a million times faster than humans. Most of the novel, from May to June 2050, chronicles the cheela civilization beginning with its discovery of agriculture to advanced technology and its first face-to-face contact with humans, who are observing the hyper-rapid evolution of the cheela civilization from orbit around Dragon's Egg.
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516 |
Forward, Robert L. (5) |
The Flight of the Dragonfly(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Another hard science book with amazing concepts. In particular a stable double planet system!!!
SUMMARY
Powered by a revolutionary laser-driven stardrive, the first interstellar expedition would reach the double planet circling Barnard's Star in a mere twenty years. Some of the world's finest scientists were aboard that ship, and they would arrive prepared for adventure, danger and - to them, most important of all - the thrill of scientific discovery. But what they would find, both in terms of danger and discovery, would surpass all their expectations.
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517 |
Forward, Robert L. (5) |
Indistinguishable From Magic(SciFi)
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REVIEW
A short story collection based on physics and the famous A.C. Clarke quotation about highly advanced technology.
SUMMARY
An intergalactic adventure applies all the theories of modern technology, including antigravity machines, space warps, black holes, time machines, and reactionless drives, and considers their impact on the universe.
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518 |
Forward, Robert L. (5) |
Martian Rainbow(SciFi)
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REVIEW
An okay read.
SUMMARY
Welcomed as a hero after he successfully defeats Mars's Russian invaders, General Alexander Armstrong lets the adoration turn him into a power-hungry demagogue, and it is up to his twin brother, Gus, now Governor of Mars, to stop him.
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519 |
Forward, Robert L. (5) |
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REVIEW
Good science in the atmosphere of Saturn. This is actually the 2nd book I have ever read that postulated large animals living in the atmosphere of Saturn (or Jupiter)
SUMMARY
In the near future five intrepid men and women have been paid a billion dollars each to risk the first voyage into the upper atmosphere of Saturn. The goal: to convert atmospheric chemicals into fuel to power interplanetary spaceships.
But no one anticipates a crash landing on one of the enormous flying creatures known as rukhs that live in Saturn's atmosphere.
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520 |
Foster, Alan Dean (37) |
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REVIEW
Another collection of great short stories from Foster.
SUMMARY
None available.
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521 |
Foster, Alan Dean (37) |
 |

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REVIEW
This is the novelization of the film by that same name. Same plot. Better embellishment
SUMMARY
Alan Dean Foster is the acclaimed author of movie tie-ins for Star Wars, Alien, Transformers. He was awarded the IAMTW Grand Master Scribe Award in 2008. A best-selling science-fiction and fantasy author in his own right; the popular Pip and Flinx novels and the Founding of the Commonwealth series.
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522 |
Foster, Alan Dean (37) |
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REVIEW
This is the 11th in the Pip & Flinx series, though it was originally written as a stand alone. See the wiki link to get even more confused.
SUMMARY
It caused instant addiction, followed by an excruciating slow death, and there was no known antidote.
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523 |
Foster, Alan Dean (37) |
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REVIEW
A good read. An interesting planet and concept.
SUMMARY
Cachalot - landless ocean planet, long ago reserved by man as a refuge for the great sea-creatures they had hunted near to extinction. Scattered humans lived peacefully in floating townships, until one day something rose from the deep destroying all in its path.
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524 |
Foster, Alan Dean (37) |
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REVIEW
First in a series. Okay, but I won't be buying the rest
SUMMARY
Bound by honor, Ehomba has traveled through many exotic and perilous lands on a quest to save a beautiful princess he has never met from the hands of the evil Hymneth the Possessed. Through all their travels Ehomba has ignored the warnings he has heard from seers and psychics, foretelling of disaster and death if the quest was completed. Now that Ehomba and his traveling party have finally reached the destination of their epic journey, the kingdom ruled by Hymneth, will they be able to defend themselves against Hymneth's powerful and evil magic? Will they be able to rescue the princess and bring her safely home with their lives intact?
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525 |
Foster, Alan Dean (37) |
Cyber Way(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Cyber space and South west Indian mythology.. sorry, the mix did not work.
SUMMARY
Vernon Moody is a modern cop who likes to catch killers the modern way - with computers and common sense. He's not happy when his latest case revolves around the supposedly mystical properties of a lost Navaho sandpainting. Or when the painting leads him to suspect an alien presence.
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526 |
Foster, Alan Dean (37) |
 |

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REVIEW
This is the novelization of a really quirky movie.
If you ever get a chance to see the movie that was made from this one, Do It. It's a hoot.
SUMMARY
In the mid 22nd century, mankind has reached a point in technological advancement that enables colonization of the far reaches of the universe. Armed with artificially intelligent "Thermostellar Triggering Devices", the scout ship "Dark Star" and its crew have been alone in space for twenty years on a mission to destroy "unstable planets" which might threaten future colonization of other planets. And they are starting to go a tad crazy!!!!
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527 |
Foster, Alan Dean (37) |
Design for Great-Day(SciFi)
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REVIEW
I recall this being a really fun read. Very entertaining.
SUMMARY
When a strange starship appears mysteriously on a distant alien world, bearing only a single human and his bee-like extraterrestrial companion, the powerful warlord of that world laughs at the stranger's preposterous demand: End an all-out war with an interstellar rival, or face devastating consequences. But James Lawson, emissary from an intergalactic federation of advanced race, means every word he says, and has the power to back them up--whatever the cost.
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528 |
Foster, Alan Dean (37) |
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REVIEW
Well.. not that good.
SUMMARY
In a novelization of the LucasArts CD-ROM computer game, a space shuttle is dispatched to prevent an asteroid from striking the earth, only to be pulled away to a distant and dangerous planet, with little hope of return.
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529 |
Foster, Alan Dean (37) |
Greenthieves(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Not bad.
SUMMARY
When a shipment of high-tech pharmaceuticals is stolen from a supposedly impenetrable metal shed that was heavily monitored, Detective Manz and his two robot assistants are assigned the difficult case.
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530 |
Foster, Alan Dean (37) |
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REVIEW
A seemingly primitive civilization hold a powerful secret. Humans show up thinking they can negotiate from a position of strength until the natives show them that they are not without some secrets of their own.
A good story.
SUMMARY
Enter another realm in the amazing world of the Humanx Commonwealth--the interstellar empire governed jointly by humans and aliens!
The newly discovered planet of Senisran was a veritable paradise--a sprawling world of vast oceans dotted with thousands of lush islands and copious deposits of rare-earths and minerals. First-contact specialist Pulickel
Tomochelor's mission to Senisran was straightforward: Secure mining rights for the Humanx Commonwealth before the vicious AAnn Empire beat them to the chase. With Senisran's Parramat clan resisting entreaty, negotiations could be difficult, but Pulickel was more comfortable with aliens than with his own species, and looked forward to a triumphant return to Earth.
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531 |
Foster, Alan Dean (37) |
UNRATED
|

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REVIEW
The THRANX are an interesting allie with humans - and insect race there is much made here about the natural aversion to insects! I recall that, but cannot rate.
SUMMARY
In the beginning, before Man and the insect Thranx became allies, one young Thranx agricultural expert lived a life of quiet desperation. A dreamer in a world of sensible beings, he buried himself in his work in the marshland until the day he met the aliens, the aliens called Man.
Nor Crystal Tears (1982) is a first-contact novel written by Alan Dean Foster about the meeting of the insectoid Thranx and Man. This sets in motion the creation of the Humanx Commonwealth; the political body that is the union of human and thranx society which forms the foundation for many of Foster's science-fiction novels.
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532 |
Foster, Alan Dean (37) |
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REVIEW
First in a really good trilogy where humans find themselves stranded with aliens who have their own issues.
This is a great series about a world where, instead of ships on oceans, the inhabitants sail seas of ice on iceriggers. Fun and exciting.
SUMMARY
Ethan Fortune was simple salesman -- knowledgeable and civilized . . . a sophisticated traveler between many worlds. But he had certainly never thought of himself as a hero.
Skua September, on the other hand, never thought of himself as anything else.
A matched pair, if ever there was
one!
When the two of them were suddenly stranded on a deadly frozen world, Ethan Fortune incredibly found himself cast in the role of Leader.
And he didn't find that at all amusing .
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533 |
Foster, Alan Dean (37) |
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REVIEW
This is a great series about a world where, instead of ships on oceans, the inhabitants sail seas of ice on iceriggers. Fun and exciting.
SUMMARY
Fortune confronts vicious predators (even the plants want to make a meal of him) and forges an alliance with a native Tran. As he searches for a way off Tran-ky-ky, he helps the Tran gain admission to the Humanx Commonwealth and learns about their troubled history. Just as Fortune accepts that he'll never escape the harsh planet and acclimates to its relentless winter, he learns that scientists have detected rising temperatures in the atmosphere. This sinister change leads Fortune to a thrilling and unexpected final adventure.
The novel follows the continuing adventures of Skua September, Ethan Fortune and Milliken Williams on Tran-Ky-Ky as they try to help the native race, the Tran, win admission to the Commonwealth. During their struggle they deal with corrupt Commonwealth officials and an insane Tran leader, find the fabled city of Moulokin and learn of the history of the Tran.
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534 |
Foster, Alan Dean (37) |
|

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REVIEW
This is a great series about a world where, instead of ships on oceans, the inhabitants sail seas of ice on iceriggers. Fun and exciting.
SUMMARY
It looked as if Ethan Fortune was stuck on the icy world of Tran-ky-ky, never to enjoy the warm comforts of civilization again. But when the scientists at the outpost of Brass Monkey detected an odd atmospheric phenomenon, things began to heat up.
Only the great icerigger Slanderscree could make the dangerous journey to the isolated southern continent, and only Ethan could convince the primitive Tran that the mysterious warm spot was worth the trip. Nothing could have prepared Ethan and his Tran and human companions for what they encountered as they sped southward, for its like had not been seen for thousands of years -- open water on the ice oceans of Tran-ky-ky!
But the worst was yet to come. This was no natural phenomenon. Someone was systematically raising the temperature of the frozen planet. If Ethan and crew of Slanderscree couldn't stop the process, soon Tran-ky-ky would become a paradise for humans -- and a living hell for the Tran.
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535 |
Foster, Alan Dean (37) |
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REVIEW
An interesting idea for an invasion novel. Very different.
SUMMARY
Earth is being invaded by the shetani—-spirit creatures so small and stealthy that only one man knows about the increasing peril. The potential savior is an African elder named Olkeloki who is capable of fighting evil both in this world and the spirit one. But to be successful he must recruit the help of two others: government agent Joshua Oak and a feisty young woman named Merry Sharrow. Only the three of them can keep the shetani from destroying reality as we know it.
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536 |
Foster, Alan Dean (37) |
Life Form(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Not the usually great Foster novel.
SUMMARY
When nine scientists discover a faraway planet that is miraculously like Earth, they immediately move in for a closer look but discover that nothing is as it actually seems and that their survival will be challenged.
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537 |
Foster, Alan Dean (37) |
The Man Who Used the Universe(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Not memorable
SUMMARY
No one knows the true motives of Kees vaan Loo-Macklin. He's a mastermind criminal who gave up his place at the head of the dark underworld to become a legitimate member of Evenwaith's cities. But soon he was reaching out to powerful enemies—-the slimy aliens called the Nuel. Loo-Macklin negotiates an illusory peace agreement and gains precious alien secrets in the process. Is he after peace, power or pure evil? With enemy starships beginning to amass, we won't have to wait long to find out.
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538 |
Foster, Alan Dean (37) |
|

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REVIEW
Another good Foster novel.
SUMMARY
The peaceful inhabitants of the jungle planet Midworld must fight for their survival in this classic adventure novel from Alan Dean Foster
From the rich imagination of science fiction great Alan Dean Foster comes the story of Midworld, a Humanx Commonwealth planet that's equally fragile and hostile. Covered by a lush rainforest, Midworld is home to a primitive society that lives in harmony with the natural world. But the arrival of an exploitative human company, whose workers know nothing of Midworld's delicate ecosystem, sparks a conflict. Should Midworld's villagers aid the humans or stand against them? The hero of Foster's addictive page-turner, Born, decides to lead two humans across the perilous jungle. His choice propels Midworld toward annihilation—and leads him headlong into a battle for survival.
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539 |
Foster, Alan Dean (37) |
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REVIEW
Another short story collection.
SUMMARY
The ultimate maquiladora. Montezuma Strip: First world tech and Third World wages, sprawling from L.A. to East Elpaso Juarez, Guyamas to Phoenix; a thousand gangs, a million locos; and a few wealthy beyond the dreams of god.
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540 |
Foster, Alan Dean (37) |
|

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REVIEW
I liked these. A orphan who learns plenty about himself and has adventures with his mini-drag!
SUMMARY
He was just a freckle-faced, redheaded kid with green eyes and a strangely compelling stare when Mather Mastiff first saw him an the auctioneer's block. One hundred credits and he was hers.
For years the old woman was his only family. She loved him, fed him, taught him everything she knew -- even let him keep the deadly flying snake he called Pip.
Then Mother Mastiff mysteriously disappeared and Flinx took Pip to tail her kidnappers. Across the forests and swamps of the winged world called Moth, their only weapons were Pip's venom . . . and Flinx's unusual Talents
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541 |
Foster, Alan Dean (37) |
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REVIEW
Love the PIP and FLINX stories.
SUMMARY
Moth was a beautiful planet, the only one with wings -- two great golden clouds suspended in space around it.
Here was a wide-open world for any venture a man might scheme. The planet attracted unwary travelers, hardened space-sailors, and merchant buccaneers -- a teeming, constantly shifting horde that provided a comfortable income for certain quick-witted fellows like Flinx and his pet flying snake Pip. With his odd talents, the pickings were easy enough so that Flinx did not have to be dishonest ... most of the time.
In fact, it hardly seemed dishonest at all to steal a starmap from a dead body that didn't really need it anymore. But Flinx wasn't quite smart enough. He should have wondered why the body was dead in the first place...
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542 |
Foster, Alan Dean (37) |
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REVIEW
Another good Pip and Flinx adventure. Good for young readers.
SUMMARY
One man in the Universe holds the key to the mystery of Flinx's past–and that man is trying to kill him!
It is a strange childhood for a kid, to be adopted by the restless Mother Mastiff and raised in the bustling marketplace of Drallar. Flinx never knew the mom and dad who abandoned him years ago. In fact, his birth has always been shrouded in mystery. But Flinx eventually discovers that his unknown parents have left him a curious legacy–extraordinary mental powers that are both a marvelous gift and a dreaded curse.
This double-edged legacy will lead Flinx, along with his loyal protector, the mini-dragon Pip, on a harrowing journey in search of the truth . . . about who he is and where he comes from. It is a daring adventure that brings him to another world–and into the clutches of one of the most evil and powerful men in the galaxy. . . .
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543 |
Foster, Alan Dean (37) |
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REVIEW
Another enjoyable Pip and Flinx story.
SUMMARY
Accompanied by his faithful minidrag Pip and a most troublesome alien called Abalamahalamatandra -- Ab for short -- Flinx set out for Alaspin, the ruggedly primitive home world of his flying snake.
There he hoped to find the giant man with the gold earring who somehow held the key to Flinx's mysterious past and to the strange powers he possessed. Chasing down his heritage was trouble enough, but Flinx didn't know what real trouble was until he realized that the Qwarm -- a deadly assassin squad -- were three steps behind him with a contract to kill.
But the minidrag's home world did not offer safety and Flinx had a terrible time just staying alive ... a matter complicated to no mean degree by a collapsar already set on an unstoppable death course across the galaxy!
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544 |
Foster, Alan Dean (37) |
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REVIEW
Loved all the books in the series.
SUMMARY
When Flinx, no stranger to galactic intrigue, found an unconscious woman on a riverbank deep in the jungles of Alaspin, he took it in stride. When he learned that the woman, Clarity Held, was a brilliant scientist abducted from a remote outpost on inhospitable Longtunnel by a group of fanatic assassins, he tried to help the beautiful Clarity back to her project. Unfortunately, the assassins were still at work. They would do anything to stop the research on Longtunnel and would kill anyone or anything that got in their way....
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545 |
Foster, Alan Dean (37) |
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REVIEW
I enjoyed all the PIP and FLINX novels. The adventuress are fun and exciting. The characters are interesting. Good young persons novels.
SUMMARY
OVER THE EDGE
Where Flinx and his flying minidrag Pip went, trouble always followed--that law had governed their lives through years of unsought danger and galactic intrigue. Now an evil rich man was out to kidnap the minidrag for his personal zoo, and Flinx and Pip were on the run again--this time into uncharted space, on a random course they hoped would foil their pursuers.
They found more than they bargained for when they landed on Midworld, a verdant planet covered by an immense jungle, hosting an incredible variety of plant and animal life--all of it unknown and all of it deadly. And now they wer
OVER THE EDGE
Where Flinx and his flying minidrag Pip went, trouble always followed--that law had governed their lives through years of unsought danger and galactic intrigue. Now an evil rich man was out to kidnap the minidrag for his personal zoo, and Flinx and Pip were on the run again--this time into uncharted space, on a random course they hoped would foil their pursuers.
They found more than they bargained for when they landed on Midworld, a verdant planet covered by an immense jungle, hosting an incredible variety of plant and animal life--all of it unknown and all of it deadly. And now they were in real trouble. Their hiding place was in danger of discovery, and their only hope lay with this bizarre and untamed planet . . . if it didn't kill them first!
e in real trouble. Their hiding place was in danger of discovery, and their only hope lay with this bizarre and untamed planet . . . if it didn't kill them first!
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546 |
Foster, Alan Dean (37) |
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REVIEW
Well the answer it obviously - everything. Nice read.
SUMMARY
The company had a big problem, it was illegally exploiting a fabulously rich planet named Prism, a world where even the tiniest creatures were living jewels. But somehow, all contact had been lost with the scientist of the survey team. The Company didn't want to draw attention to itself by sending in a rescue mission so they assigned Evan Orgell, a self-confident problem-solver, to investigate. He was smart, he was good. He was backed up by the Commonwealth' s best equipment. What could possibly go wrong?
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547 |
Foster, Alan Dean (37) |
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REVIEW
What is you are taken from here and dropped in a world where magic works, and you seem to have some talent for it? And whet happens if this causes some folks to want to kill you. The start of a long fantasy series by Foster. Don't start it if you are NOT into fantasy and are ready to take a long ride.
SUMMARY
Snatched through a portal into a land of magic, a young musician must use a mysterious, multistring duar to rescue the world into which he has fallen before he can return to his own
Jonathan Thomas Meriweather is a typical college student, interested in girls, music, and an occasional taste of reefer. But when a journey through an inter-dimensional portal lands him in a world of talking animals and ominous sorcery, he finds he is on a very different trip indeed. Here, when he plays a strange instrument called a duar, peculiar things happen: powerful magic that may be the only way to stop a dark force that threatens his new world—and his old one. Reluctantly, he finds himself teaming up with a semi-senile turtle wizard; a thieving, backstabbing otter; and a bewildered Marxist dragon to rally an army for the war about to come.
Spellsinger, the first in Alan Dean Foster's eight-book Spellsinger series, introduces a world of magic and mayhem, where animals are people and plunging ahead no matter what the consequences may be the only way to survive.
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548 |
Foster, Alan Dean (37) |
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REVIEW
Fantasy. Not memorable.
SUMMARY
Marooned in another universe, a young American musician leads a motley army in battle against an enemy that threatens to destroy their world and ours
Jon-Tom just wanted to go home. Trapped in a world where animals speak and magic is real, the American college student yearned for an ordinary dorm-room life. But here his music has magical power—even if he can't control it—which may be able to save the world from the army of the Plated Folk, whose sinister queen plans on killing and eating every warm-blooded mammal she can get her pincers on and taking over their lands.
The great battle is coming, and Jon-Tom, whose posse includes a wizarding turtle, a cowardly bat, and an otter with a filthy mind, must raise an army to fight it. To find allies they must make an impossible journey, across mountains and rivers no one has ever passed before. Survival will be a miracle—but Jon-Tom is no ordinary musician.
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549 |
Foster, Alan Dean (37) |
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REVIEW
Allen Dean Foster is a fun read regardless of whether is is SciFi or Fantasy. His characters are always fun.
SUMMARY
To save his dying mentor, Jon-Tom the spellsinger and his ever reluctant sidekick Mudge the otter must venture across time and space to confront a danger unlike anything they have faced before
Jon-Tom and his friends have seen better days. After his motley crew moved heaven and Earth to save civilization at the battle of Jo-Troom Gate, his merry band went its separate ways. Mudge, the foul-mouthed otter, eagerly returned to thieving, drinking, and whoring, while Talea, the girl of Jon-Tom's dreams, embarked on her own adventures, leaving him to study magic with Clothahump, the irascible wizard whose inept spell trapped him in this weird otherworld in the first place.
But now Clothahump is dying, and not even Jon-Tom's spellsinging can make him well. In search of medicine for the centuries-old turtle, he and Mudge venture across the seas on a dubious quest that will require the assistance of an Amazonian white tiger, a ferret, and a gender-challenged unicorn. They're going to need all the help they can get.
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550 |
Foster, Alan Dean (37) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read too long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
In his continuing quest to find his way back to his own world, Jon-Tom the spellsinger must face off against a magician with sinister intentions.
Far to the south of the peaceful Bellwoods, where Jon-Tom the spellsinger continues trying to master the art of turning music into magic, a sinister force has awakened: a magician with great ambition and unheard-of power. He summons lightning to do his bidding, commands an army of faceless flying demons, and claims to come from another world—one Jon-Tom suspects might be his own. If he can somehow reason with the unknown magician, perhaps they can combine their talents and find a way to go home together.
Wary of this new wickedness, Jon-Tom's suspicious mentor sends the spellsinger and his companions on a journey to the southlands, assuring him that the land they are to visit is "tropical, friendly, and largely uninhabited." As Jon-Tom learns all too often, in this mysterious world much will be proven catastrophically wrong.
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551 |
Foster, Alan Dean (37) |
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REVIEW
Larry Niven doing fantasy is pretty good.
SUMMARY
When his magical multistring duar snaps in half, Jon-Tom the spellsinger sets out on a journey that will take him all the way back to . . . America
Jon-Tom has been trapped in a strange land of talking owls and wizarding turtles for a year now, his sole consolation that in this universe his musical abilities have inadvertently made him something of a sorcerer. But when an encounter with some burglars leads to him snapping the magical duar that channels his power, he finds himself an ordinary human again—on a quest to repair his instrument with nothing but his staff and his semi-faithful, ever-complaining otter sidekick to defend him.
The journey takes them to the ends of the earth—and beyond. On the run from some half-wit pirates, they dart into a cave and find themselves in San Antonio, the shortcut to home that Jon-Tom has long dreamed about. But Texas wants nothing to do with this long-haired wizard, or the unpleasant creatures who are tracking him.
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552 |
Foster, Alan Dean (37) |
The Damned 1: A Call to Arms(SciFi)
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REVIEW
What happens when two space faring civilizations show up at your doorstep, and you have to chose which to join - or be destroyed because they are at war with each other. Interesting premise.
SUMMARY
For eons, the Amplitur had searched space for intelligent species, each of which was joyously welcomed to take part in the fulfillment of the Amplitur Purpose. Whether it wanted to or not. When the Amplitur and their allies stumbled upon the races called the Weave, the Purpose seemed poised for a great leap forward. But the Weave's surprising unity also gave it the ability to fight the Amplitur and their cause. And fight it did -- for thousands of years.
Will Dulac was a New Orleans composer who thought the tiny reef off Belize would be the perfect spot to drop anchor and finish his latest symphony in solitude. What he found instead was a group of alien visitors -- a scouting party for the Weave, looking. for allies among what they believed to be a uniquely warlike race: Humans.
Will tried to convince the aliens that Man was fundamentally peaceful, for he understood that Human involvement would destroy the race. But all too soon, it didn't matter. The Amplitur had discovered Earth...
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553 |
Foster, Alan Dean (37) |
The Damned 2: The False Mirror(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Interesting war story.
SUMMARY
For millennia, the alien union called the Weave had been at war with evil Amplitur. When its new elite fighting unit appeared, it became frighteningly clear that Amplitur was subjecting humans to vile genetic manipulations. The Weave could reverse the effects, but the result could turn the former warriors into the most despicable creatures in the galaxy....
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554 |
Foster, Alan Dean (37) |
The Damned 3: The Spoils of War(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Okay
SUMMARY
The Weave was on the verge of winning a decisive victory after a milennia of war, thanks to their new allies from earth. But then the birdlike Wais scholar Lalelang found evidence that Humans might not adapt well to peace. Researching further, she uncovered a secret group of telepathic Humans called the Core, who were on the verge of starting another war, and then eliminating Lalelang. At the last moment, she was saved by a lone Core commander. He took a chance on her intelligence and compassion, and gambled the fate of Humanity on the possibility that together, they could find an alternative to a galaxy-wide bloodbath....
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555 |
Foster, Alan Dean (37) |
To the Vanishing Point(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Rated this a long time ago.
SUMMARY
The Sonderberg family does not know it yet, but this is not going to be any ordinary road trip. After they pick up an unassuming hitchhiker, a quiet drive down Interstate 40 becomes a trip into an alternate reality. It turns out the family has just given a ride to an alien who has the fate of the universe resting on her shoulders. Now the Sonderberg family must fight evil alongside their new alien friend, in a desperate attempt to save the world they love.
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556 |
Foster, Alan Dean (37) |
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REVIEW
A collection of great short stories .. followed by "...WHO NEEDS ENEMIES?"
SUMMARY
Willie Whitehorse could have been just another boozed-up guitarist, if it hadn't been for his songs. Somehow they were different -- they reached out and grabbed people's souls. Now agent Sam Parker wanted a piece of the action. But when he had it, Sam knew he'd made a terrible mistake...a mistake it was much too late to correct...
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557 |
Fowles, John (2) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Not read
SUMMARY
Set in the mid-nineteenth century, the narrator identifies the novel's protagonist as Sarah Woodruff, the Woman of the title, also known as "Tragedy" and as "The French Lieutenant's Whore". She lives in the coastal town of Lyme Regis as a disgraced woman, supposedly abandoned by a French ship's officer named Varguennes who had returned to France and married. She spends some of her limited free time on The Cobb, a stone jetty where she stares out the sea.
One day, Charles Smithson, an orphaned gentleman, and Ernestina Freeman, his fiancée and a daughter of a wealthy tradesman, see Sarah walking along the cliffside. Ernestina tells Charles something of Sarah's story, and he becomes curious about her. Though continuing to court Ernestina, Charles has several more encounters with Sarah, meeting her clandestinely three times. During these meetings, Sarah tells Charles of her history, and asks for his emotional and social support. During the same period, he learns of the possible loss of place as heir to his elderly uncle, who has become engaged to a woman young enough to bear a child. Meanwhile, Charles's servant Sam falls in love with Mary, the maid of Ernestina's aunt.
In fact, Charles has fallen in love with Sarah and advises her to leave Lyme for Exeter. Returning from a journey to warn Ernestina's father about his uncertain inheritance, Charles stops in Exeter as if to visit Sarah. From there, the narrator, who intervenes throughout the novel and later becomes a character in it, offers three different ways in which the novel could end:
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558 |
Fowles, John (2) |
The Magus Best Book Lists: 1 (Fiction - General)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Not read
SUMMARY
A man trapped in a millionare's deadly game of political and sexual betrayal.
Filled with shocks and chilling surprises, The Magus is a masterwork of contemporary literature. In it, a young Englishman, Nicholas Urfe, accepts a teaching position on a Greek island where his friendship with the owner of the islands most magnificent estate leads him into a nightmare. As reality and fantasy are deliberately confused by staged deaths, erotic encounters, and terrifying violence, Urfe becomes a desperate man fighting for his sanity and his life. A work rich with symbols, conundrums and labrinthine twists of event, The Magus is as thought-provoking as it is entertaining, a work that ranks with the best novels of modern times.
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559 |
Frankowski, Leo (5) |
Cross Time Engineer 1: The Cross-Time Engineer(SciFi)
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REVIEW
This the first novel in the set where an engineer ends up in the middle ages and decides to "fix things up a little". It's great. If you ever played with the idea of what would you do if you found yourself in a pre-technological setting, this book is a totally fun read.
SUMMARY
THE RIGHT MAN FOR THE JOB
One moment Conrad Schwartz was a hungover hiker in the mountains of modern Poland, the next he was running for his life from an angry Teutonic knight.
At first Conrad just thought he'd stumbled across a mad hermit. But several days of ever stranger events convinced him that he had somehow been stranded in A.D 1231.
And that meant Conrad had to turn Medieval Poland into the most powerful country in the world. Otherwise the Mongols were destined to destroy it--in just ten years!
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560 |
Frankowski, Leo (5) |
Cross Time Engineer 2: The High-Tech Knight(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Another good one in the series
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SUMMARY p>
Somehow, Conrad Stargard, faithful Roman Catholic and stalwart Socialist of the Peoples Republic of Poland, 20th Century, had been marooned in Poland, A.D. 1231.
Somehow, Conrad found himself under investigation by the Inquisition, got himself knighted, was granted his own fief, and made a few enemies.
Somehow, he had to round up a few vassals, build himself a city, and figure out how to survive armed combat against the Champion of the Teutonic Knights, one of the Toughest Men Alive.
Then he'd have time to worry about the Mongols . . .
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561 |
Frankowski, Leo (5) |
Cross Time Engineer 3: The Radiant Warrior(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Great. I really love this series because it involves hard science in a primitive setting.
SUMMARY
New Light on the Past. Conrad Stargard, a 20th-century Pole marooned in 13th-century Poland, had just ten years to prevent the Mongol Hordes from slaughtering everyone in Poland. So he "invented" all the modern advances, things like prefabricated housing, playboy clubs, the steam engine, universal education, the cloth factory, and belly dancing. But wars are fought by warriors, not strong economies, and Conrad would need the very best. So he set out to create an army...
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562 |
Frankowski, Leo (5) |
Cross Time Engineer 4: The Flying Warlord(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Another Good one...Engineering in Medieval Poland. How would YOU do it?
SUMMARY
UNCERTAIN VISION
For a twentieth-century man, Conrad Stargard had done a lot in thirteenth-century Poland. In just nine years, he had "discovered" universal education, aircraft, radios, steamboats, and machine guns. More important, he had prepared Poland to defeat the bloodthirsty Mongols in 1241.
But now that the Mongol hordes had arrived, something was disturbing the flow of history. Even the Time Masters who secretly watched over Conrad couldn't predict his future, because they no longer even knew their own past . . .
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563 |
Frankowski, Leo (5) |
Cross Time Engineer 5: Lord Conrad's Lady(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Good.
The continuing story of a man not living in his own time, and trying to single handedly drag medieval Europe out of the dark ages.
I really enjoyed this whole series.
SUMMARY
Lady Francine, a French woman known as one of the two most beautiful women in Poland (the other lives with Conrad, but as an heretical Muslim can't or won't marry him) maneuvers Conrad into marrying her.
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564 |
Franzen, Jonathan (1) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Not read
SUMMARY
Jonathan Franzen's third novel, The Corrections, is a great work of art and a grandly entertaining overture to our new century: a bold, comic, tragic, deeply moving family drama that stretches from the Midwest at mid-century to Wall Street and Eastern Europe in the age of greed and globalism. Franzen brings an old-time America of freight trains and civic duty, of Cub Scouts and Christmas cookies and sexual inhibitions, into brilliant collision with the modern absurdities of brain science, home surveillance, hands-off parenting, do-it-yourself mental healthcare, and the anti-gravity New Economy. With The Corrections, Franzen emerges as one of our premier interpreters of American society and the American soul.
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565 |
Frezza, Robert (1) |
McLendon's Syndrome(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Okay read. Kinda silly.
SUMMARY
Ken MacKay's career in space was going nowhere. The decrepit trading ship he served on was also going nowhere: the Rustam's Slipper was grounded on Schuyler's World, a backwater planet lacking even a good bar. For diversion, Schuyler's offered bad bars, cute yet conniving aliens called Rodents, and Catarina -- a mysterious, beautiful, unsettlingly smart woman. Catarina Wanted a berth on the Slipper; the Slipper needed a crew member. She Was hired.
But Ken soon discovered that Catarina was more than a vamp with a razor-sharp wit. First was her case of McLendon's Syndrome, an obscure little contagious disease treatable only with chocolate-chip cookies. Then there were all the secrets she was hiding. So she wasn't the most trustworthy ally a guy could want as the Slipper hurried straight into murder, mayhem, intrigue, and an interspecies war -- but she was all Ken had. And unless she helped Ken whip the crew into shape and muster the misfits and malcontents of Schuyler's World, it would be the shortest war on record...
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566 |
Friedman, C.S. (1) |
The Madness Season(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read too long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
Three hundred years had passed since the Tyr conquered the people of Earth as they had previously overcome numerous races throughout the galaxy. In their victory they had taken the very heart out of the human race, isolating the true individualists, the geniuses, all the people who represented the hopes, dreams, and discoveries of the future, and imprisoning them in dome colonies on planets hostile to human life. There the Tyr, a race which itself shared a unified gestalt mind, had left these gifted individuals to work on projects which would, the conquerors hoped, reveal all of human kind's secrets to them.
Yet Daetrin's secret as one no scientist had ever uncovered, for down through the years he had succeeded in burying it so well that he had even hidden his real nature from himself. But, taken into custody by the Tyr, there was no longer any place left for Daetrin to run, no new name and life for him to assume. Now he would at last be forced to confront the truth about himself—and if he failed, not just Daetrin but all humans would pay the price...
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567 |
Fuentes, Carlos (1) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Not read
SUMMARY
As the novel opens, Artemio Cruz, the all-powerful newspaper magnate and land baron, lies confined to his bed and, in dreamlike flashes, recalls the pivotal episodes of his life. Carlos Fuentes manipulates the ensuing kaleidoscope of images with dazzling inventiveness, layering memory upon memory, from Cruz's heroic campaigns during the Mexican Revolution, through his relentless climb from poverty to wealth, to his uneasy death. Perhaps Fuentes's masterpiece, The Death of Artemio Cruz is a haunting voyage into the soul of modern Mexico.
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568 |
Fuller, John G. (1) |
The Interrupted Journey(Biography)
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REVIEW
Read this when I was in a UFO phase during my teenage years. This was one of the first and best books I ever read on UFO's and the people that interacted with them. It's the story of Betty and Barney Hill, who, realized that they were missing some time on their trip home, and began to wonder what happened during this missing time. They eventually used hypnosis to come up with the answer, and it is a pretty amazing answer. Abducted by aliens and studied for a time - they were released and sent on their way.
Course... the holes in this are pretty obvious... The biggest for me being.. How would an alien race, that needed to study our biology and physiology, have the knowledge to make us forget things? They would not need to study gross anatomy if they already had this kind of knowledge. So.. what gives.
Still, if you are interested in UFO's then this is a must read regardless of how old it is..
SUMMARY
Driving home from Canada on the night of September 19,1961, Betty and Barney Hill of Portsmouth, New Hampshire "sighted" a flying saucer. The experience left them shaken. When they arrived in Portsmouth, Barney found inexplicable scuff marks on the tips of his shoes; Betty noted rows of mysterious shiny circles on the trunk of their car. What was worse, they realized that they could not account for almost two hours of their time on the road.
After many months of psychic distress dating from this night, the Hills sought medical assistance from a distinguished Boston psychiatrist and neurologist. Under psychotherapy, including time-regression hypnosis, the Hills gave almost identical accounts of what had happened during the lost two hours of their journey - a period of time their conscious mind had repressed. They told of an encounter with intelligent humanoid beings who took them aboard an alien space craft, questioned them, and submitted them to physical examination.
After seven months of treatment, the psychiatrist decided that neither of his patients was psychotic, and that both consciously and under hypnosis, hey told what they believed to be the absolute truth.
Here is the complete account, from beginning to end, of the story of Betty and Barney Hill. It included the actual transcriptions of the tapes made of their testimony under hypnosis, as well as the sketches they drew, both in and out of trance, of the spacecraft and humanoid creatures. Neither Betty nor Barney Hill stated that the experience could not be challenged; on the other hand, the doctor did not offer an incontrovertible assessment to discredit the Hills' testimony. Whether INTERRUPTED JOURNEY is fact or fantasy or something in between, it is unquestionably one of the most fascinating books of the century
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569 |
Gaddis, William (1) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Not read
SUMMARY
The book Jonathan Franzen dubbed the "ur-text of postwar fiction" and the "first great cultural critique, which, even if Heller and Pynchon hadn't read it while composing Catch-22 and V., managed to anticipate the spirit of both"--The Recognitions is a masterwork about art and forgery, and the increasingly thin line between the counterfeit and the fake. Gaddis anticipates by almost half a century the crisis of reality that we currently face, where the real and the virtual are combining in alarming ways, and the sources of legitimacy and power are often obscure to us.
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570 |
Gaiman, Neil (1) |
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REVIEW
I was expecting more from this book. The plot is obvious - Gods brought to America in days of old (think Odin, Thor, Pixies, Fairies, Easter, that sort) are losing grip because no one believes anymore. They are being supplanted by the new Gods - Internet, Money, Television (Hey, wanna see Lucy's tits?). There is a showdown coming and both sides are getting ready to fight. But there is something odd about the whole arrangement, and one poor guy in the middle learns the truth about what is going on.. and it is a scam. (This might be a spoiler, but not much of one.)
The pace was slow. My interest waned. It was a trudge to finish and not that interesting in the end. Hard to feel anything for the characters involved. Just didn't entertain me much. Though others reviewed it great.
SUMMARY
Titans clash, but with more fuss than fury in this fantasy demi-epic from the author of Neverwhere. The intriguing premise of Gaiman's tale is that the gods of European yore, who came to North America with their immigrant believers, are squaring off for a rumble with new indigenous deities: "gods of credit card and freeway, of Internet and telephone, of radio and hospital and television, gods of plastic and of beeper and of neon." They all walk around in mufti, disguised as ordinary people, which causes no end of trouble for 32-year-old protagonist Shadow Moon, who can't turn around without bumping into a minor divinity. Released from prison the day after his beloved wife dies in a car accident, Shadow takes a job as emissary for Mr. Wednesday, avatar of the Norse god Grimnir, unaware that his boss's recruiting trip across the American heartland will subject him to repeat visits from the reanimated corpse of his dead wife and brutal roughing up by the goons of Wednesday's adversary, Mr. World. At last Shadow must reevaluate his own deeply held beliefs in order to determine his crucial role in the final showdown. Gaiman tries to keep the magical and the mundane evenly balanced, but he is clearly more interested in the activities of his human protagonists: Shadow's poignant personal moments and the tale's affectionate slices of smalltown life are much better developed than the aimless plot, which bounces Shadow from one episodic encounter to another in a design only the gods seem to know. Mere mortal readers will enjoy the tale's wit, but puzzle over its strained mythopoeia. (One-day laydown, June 19)Forecast: Even when he isn't in top form, Gaiman, creator of the acclaimed Sandman comics series, trumps many storytellers. Momentously titled, and allotted a dramatic one-day laydown with a 12-city author tour, his latest will appeal to fans and attract mainstream review coverage for better or for worse because of the rich possibilities of its premise.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
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571 |
Gamblin, Brand (1) |
Tumbler(SciFi)
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REVIEW
A nice coming of age story with a female main character. I enjoyed this one.
SUMMARY
Libby Carter wanted to get away from it all, so she took a job mining asteroids as far out into the inky blackness as possible. However, her escape turned into a trap, leaving her stuck in indentured servitude, living on a tiny rock in space. As she tries to dig herself out, she gains friends and finds adventure. Cave-in rescues, planetary collisions, and other mishaps keep her new family fighting to stay alive.
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572 |
Garcia, Eric (1) |
Repo Men(SciFi)
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REVIEW
There was a movie out last year of this title, and it looked more like a SciFi Slasher movie than anything really interesting. About guys who repossess artificial organs from living people. Repo-Men. The book however turned out to be quite good. The man character finds himself in a completely untenable situation, and as the book progresses he reviews his life to see exactly how he managed to get there. The exploration of this past is fun and interesting.. how he ends up as a repo-man.. how he tries to stop being a repo-man, and how (as it's said in the Godfather) they pull him back in. A repo-man on the run from other repo men because he can't pay for the artificial heart he never asked for.. how will this be resolved. And yet, the resolution it quite satisfactory. A story of our near future.
SUMMARY
In a brave new world, you'll never have to die . . . as long as you keep up with the payments.
Thanks to the technological miracle of artiforgs, now you can live virtually forever. Nearly indestructible artificial organs, these wonders of metal and plastic are far more reliable and efficient than the cancer-prone lungs and fallible kidneys you were born with—and the Credit Union will be delighted to work out an equitable payment plan. But, of course, if you fall delinquent, one of their dedicated professionals will be dispatched to track you down and take their product back.
This is the story of the making—and unmaking—of one of the best Repo Men in the extraction business, who finds his soul when he loses his heart . . . and then he has to run.
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573 |
Gauger, Rick (1) |
Charon's Ark(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read too long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
A planeload of high-school students, their teacher, and the airliner's crew are hijacked in midair by an alien spacecraft. The aliens take them to their crazily-malfunctioning starship Ark, which we know as the planet Pluto and its moon Charon.
Sixty-five million years ago, the Ark came to Earth to collect plants and animals. It was ship-wrecked and stranded in our solar system. Now its alien crew intends to force the teenagers to learn to operate the Ark, so it can continue on its multi-billion year mission of sowing life among the stars.
The humans are flabbergasted of course, but life-change is not unwelcome to two of them. One is copilot Froward, whose drinking, womanizing, and general fecklessness are about to cost him his career.
The other is misfit student Charlie Freeman, a ‘casualty on the battlefield of puberty.' He's with the group only by the whim of his teacher, Mrs. Robinelli.
Aboard the plane are two other women who are about to be important in Froward's life: Gershner, the stewardess, who is Froward's lover, and sharp-thinking sixteen-year-old Chela Suarez.
Charlie is intrigued and puzzled by the aliens' ineptitude. He is contacted by a sinister new entity: the Proctor. The Proctor offers Charlie knowledge, power, and prom queen Eva Wilcox, in return for helping the aliens obtain the students' cooperation. Charlie, intending to subvert everything and return to Earth a hero, grabs the opportunity.
Can the hijacked students and adults overcome the dinosaur-infested wilderness of Charon, evade the murderous blundering aliens, and exploit the vast inexplicable Ark technology? Can they do it in time to save Earth from destruction by the monomaniacal Proctor?
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574 |
Geisel, Theodor Seuss (Dr. Seuss) (3) |
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REVIEW
A little bit of mischief in this one.. but then who isn't now and then.
Poor Dick and Sally. It's cold and wet and they're stuck in the house with nothing to do . . . until a giant cat in a hat shows up, transforming the dull day into a madcap adventure and almost wrecking the place in the process! Written by Dr. Seuss in 1957 in response to the concern that "pallid primers [with] abnormally courteous, unnaturally clean boys and girls' were leading to growing illiteracy among children, The Cat in the Hat (the first Random House Beginner Book) changed the way our children learn how to read.
SUMMARY
Join the Cat in the Hat as he makes learning to read a joy! It's a rainy day and Dick and Sally can't find anything to do . . . until the Cat in the Hat unexpectedly appears and turns their dreary afternoon into a fun-filled extravaganza! This beloved Beginner Book by Dr. Seuss, which also features timeless Dr. Seuss characters such as Fish and Thing 1 and Thing 2, is fun to read aloud and easy to read alone. Written using 236 different words that any first or second grader can read, it's a fixture in home and school libraries and a favorite among parents, beginning readers, teachers, and librarians.
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575 |
Geisel, Theodor Seuss (Dr. Seuss) (3) |
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REVIEW
Another Great Dr. Suess Book. Share it with your kids.
SUMMARY
A character known as "Sam-I-Am" pesters an unnamed character, who also serves as the story's narrator, to sample a dish of green eggs and ham. The unnamed character refuses, responding, "I do not like green eggs and ham. I do not like them, Sam-I-Am." He continues to repeat this as Sam follows him, encouraging him to sample them in several locations (house, box, car, tree, train, dark, rain and boat), all to which the unnamed character refuses responding, "I would not like them here (Current location) or there (Previous location). I would not like them anywhere!" and with several animals (mouse, fox, goat). Finally, the unnamed character gives in to Sam's pestering and samples the green eggs and ham, which he finds that he does like after all in the end and happily responds, "I do so like green eggs and ham. Thank you. Thank you, Sam-I-Am."
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576 |
Geisel, Theodor Seuss (Dr. Seuss) (3) |
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REVIEW
A beautifully inspiring book about life that is a good read no matter WHAT age you are. It remains true as long as we have breath in our bodies.
And I have to mention the video that uses this book as it's script, and which caused and explosion in the popularity of Burning Man. Once people saw this.. they all wanted to come experience it. Watch it here.
SUMMARY
A perennial favorite, Dr. Seuss's wonderfully wise graduation speech is the perfect send-off for children starting out in the world, be they nursery school, high school, or college grads! From soaring to high heights and seeing great sights to being left in a Lurch on a prickle-ly perch, Dr. Seuss addresses life's ups and downs with his trademark humorous verse and illustrations, while encouraging readers to find the success that lies within. In a starred review, Booklist notes: "Seuss's message is simple but never sappy: life may be a ‘Great Balancing Act,' but through it all ‘There's fun to be done.'"
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577 |
Gerrold, David (3) |
A Covenant of Justice(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read too long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
In A Covenant of Justice, the sequel to Gerrold's classic space opera Under the Eye of God, The Phaestor, a genetically altered vampiric race, have set in motion their final plan for the complete enslavement of the galaxy. However, they will not go unopposed, for on numerous worlds, humans, androids, and bioforms have joined forces against their vampiric overlords.
A government of vampires, dragons, and mutated humans display their galactic dominance, and while those entrusted with the wisdom of the galaxy sanction the struggle against the Phaestor, a cunning Vampire war queen, her ambitious suitor, and the fierce and invincible Dragon Lord vie for total domination.
The last hope for the galaxy remains in the hands of rebels from Thoska-Roole: a band of malcontents, outnumbered and pursued, fighting for their freedom, their lives, and the future of the stars.
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578 |
Gerrold, David (3) |
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REVIEW
Time travel novels are notoriously hard to write thanks to the paradoxes. This book handles that just fine.. in fact our intrepid traveler creates a paradox on purpose on, like, his second day. Course, that is before he reads the manual explaining how paradoxes work. Once he understands that he gets to make changes.. and undo them to see what happens. Ultimately, though he can travel through all of time, he cannot cheat death. But he can loop his life... and the end becomes the beginning.
A very interesting take on this classic Sci-Fi troupe.
SUMMARY
This classic work of science fiction is widely considered to be the ultimate time-travel novel. When Daniel Eakins inherits a time machine, he soon realizes that he has enormous power to shape the course of history. He can foil terrorists, prevent assassinations, or just make some fast money at the racetrack. And if he doesn't like the results of the change, he can simply go back in time and talk himself out of making it! But Dan soon finds that there are limits to his powers and forces beyond his control.
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579 |
Gerrold, David (3) |
Under the Eye of God(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read too long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
They were once humanity's last hope: a race of genetically engineered killing machines known as the Phaestor and their army of deadly Moktar Dragons. Now, the enemy long vanquished, the Phaestor themselves have become the enemy, seizing control of the galaxy and subjugating all lesser species—including humans—to feed their appetite for terror and blood.
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580 |
Gibbons, Kaye (1) |
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REVIEW
WOW. What a great little book. It is written from the perspective of a girl who starts out as 9 and ends when she is 11. Her life is awful. Her mother dies. Her father is a drunk and a molester. Her only family want nothing to do with her. Her grandmother blames her for her mother's death and can't stand to look at her as she reminds her of the worthless son-in-law. The grandmother even sends her to work in the fields with the black laborers. But Ellen triumphs!! She learns from every knock and figures out how to take care of herself, and what is important in life (at least for a 10 year old). She triumphs over abuse by getting smart. She triumphs over racism by maintaining her
best friendship with a black girl her own age. She is an amazing, and completely believable character. I had a tear in my eye when I got to the end of this book. (NOTE: There is a sequel for this girl.. and I may have to read it. TOTALLY RECOMMEND !!!!
SUMMARY
Winner of the American Academy of Arts and Letters' Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction and of the Ernest Hemingway Foundation's Citation for Fiction. An eleven-year-old heroine tells her unforgettable story with honesty, perceptivity, humor, and unselfconscious heroism. "The honesty of thought and eye and feeling and word!"--Eudora Welty; "A lovely, breathtaking, sometimes heart-wrenching first novel."--Walker Percy. A LITERARY GUILD SELECTION.
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581 |
Gibson, William (1) |
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REVIEW
I have to guess that this is on the "top book list" because it was a first of it's kind. An exploration into a future of cyberspace before the word really existed - and the potential of AI. Well, I didn't think this was very good. And I've read a lot of science fiction. Feel free to skip by this one, unless you are interested in story developmental history and how we got to where we are today.
SUMMARY
The Matrix is a world within the world, a global consensus- hallucination, the representation of every byte of data in cyberspace . . .
Case had been the sharpest data-thief in the business, until vengeful former employees crippled his nervous system. But now a new and very mysterious employer recruits him for a last-chance run. The target: an unthinkably powerful artificial intelligence orbiting Earth in service of the sinister Tessier-Ashpool business clan. With a dead man riding shotgun and Molly, mirror-eyed street-samurai, to watch his back, Case embarks on an adventure that ups the ante on an entire genre of fiction.
Hotwired to the leading edges of art and technology, Neuromancer ranks with 1984 and Brave New World as one of the century's most potent visions of the future.
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582 |
Gide, Andre (1) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Not read
SUMMARY
A young artist pursues a search for knowledge through the treatment of homosexuality and the collapse of morality in middle class France.
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583 |
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von (1) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Not read
SUMMARY
Celebrated as a leading figure of the German literary movement known as Sturm und Drang ("storm and stress"), Goethe made his reputation with this short novel, originally published in 1774. Its tale of a sensitive young man's self-destructive passion for a lover who ultimately rejects him was based in part on the author's own experiences, and the story's tragic resolution inspired a wave of suicides among young romantics throughout Europe. Goethe's portrayal of Zerrissenheit, "the state of being torn apart," in which a character struggles to reconcile his artistic sensibilities with the demands of the objective world, proved tremendously influential to subsequent writers, and The Sorrows of Young Werther continues to speak to modern
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584 |
Gogol, Nikolai (1) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Not read
SUMMARY
As Gogol's wily antihero, Chichikov, combs the back country wheeling and dealing for "dead souls"--deceased serfs who still represent money to anyone sharp enough to trade in them--we are introduced to a Dickensian cast of peasants, landowners, and conniving petty officials, few of whom can resist the seductive illogic of Chichikov's proposition. This lively, idiomatic English version by the award-winning translators Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky makes accessible the full extent of the novel's lyricism, sulphurous humor, and delight in human oddity and error.
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585 |
Goldin, Stephen (1) |
The Eternity Brigade(SciFi)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Read too long ago to rate.
SUMMARY
Hawker was a good soldier--so good, in fact, that the Army asked him and his buddies to sign on for an extended hitch. What they couldn't know was that the extension would last forever. Century after century, war after war, Hawker and his comrades were resurrected over and over to fight on alien planets with ever more advanced weapons. The reasons for the wars were incomprehensible, but that didn't matter. All that counted was the fighting itself.
From incarnation through incarnation, one goal remained in Hawker's mind. Somewhere, somehow, there had to be a way out of the loop. And he was determined to find it.
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586 |
Golding, William (1) |
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REVIEW
I read this in high school, and again a few years ago. A scary look at how thin the veneer of civilization is, but then, as the years go by, and we see beheadings and mass slaughter on our TV screens, perhaps that lesson should be more obvious.
SUMMARY
William Golding's compelling story about a group of very ordinary small boys marooned on a coral island has become a modern classic. At first it seems as though it is all going to be great fun; but the fun before long becomes furious and life on the island turns into a nightmare of panic and death. As ordinary standards of behaviour collapse, the whole world the boys know collapses with them—the world of cricket and homework and adventure stories—and another world is revealed beneath, primitive and terrible.Labeled a parable, an allegory, a myth, a morality tale, a parody, a political treatise, even a vision of the apocalypse, Lord of the Flies has established itself as a true classic.
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587 |
Goldman, William (1) |
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REVIEW
I simply cannot sing the praises of this book enough. If you saw the movie then you heard the tale, but you missed the magic of this book. First: Note the title. William Goldman claims this to be an abridgment of a book written much earlier, and read to him by his father when he was 10. Of course, he didn't realize when he was 10 that his father was abridging the book as he read it, and so, when he gave it to his on son when he reached 10, he was dumfounded to discover that his son didn't like the book. And then Goldman read the book himself - and discovered it was truly bad. So he set out to abridge S. Morgenstern's original work and leave us the good parts that he remembered from his youth. Of course, he humorously interjects himself into the abridgment - explaining what he is removing - and attempting to add parts he believes are missing. This attempted addition leads to legal troubles from the Morgenstern estate, and well... things just turn more bizarre from that point. Yep.. I'm telling you it's a whole lot more than the movie. One of the few times when both the movie and the book get big thumbs up... and for different reasons. READ THIS BOOK!!!
SUMMARY
William Goldman's modern fantasy classic is a simple, exceptional story about quests—for riches, revenge, power, and, of course, true love—that's thrilling and timeless.
Anyone who lived through the 1980s may find it impossible—inconceivable, even—to equate The Princess Bride with anything other than the sweet, celluloid romance of Westley and Buttercup, but the film is only a fraction of the ingenious storytelling you'll find in these pages. Rich in character and satire, the novel is set in 1941 and framed cleverly as an "abridged" retelling of a centuries-old tale set in the fabled country of Florin that's home to "Beasts of all natures and descriptions. Pain. Death. Brave men. Coward men. Strongest men. Chases. Escapes. Lies. Truths. Passions."
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588 |
Goleman, David (8) |
Event Group 1: Event(SciFi)
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REVIEW
The EVENT agency is super secret and (apparently) very well funded. They are like the agency that handles the X-Files if Mulder and Scully didn't exist. And the stuff they deal with is weird and deadly.
I enjoyed this whole series... some were more "far out" and seemed a bit of a stretch, but still, the characters are interesting. All in all, a good read.
SUMMARY
The Event Group is the most secret organization in the United States, comprised of the nation's most brilliant individuals in the branches of science, philosophy, and the military. Led by the valiant Major Jack Collins, they are dedicated to uncovering the hidden truths behind the myths and legends propagated throughout world history―from underground agencies and conspiracy theories to extraterrestrial life and UFOs. And now that a new, unspeakable threat has been revealed, humanity's greatest hope for survival lies with Collins and his crew.
This time, the Group faces an enemy of remarkable strength and power. In order to ensure that history's errors never be repeated, the Group must team up with an unlikely ally to stop a deadly presence known only as the Destroyer of Worlds. Now, amid the desert wastelands of the American Southwest, the epic battle between two entities is about to begin…
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589 |
Goleman, David (8) |
Event Group 2: Legend(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Who handles situations that are based on myth, but become suddenly real? This is another adventure for the Event group. This was not the best one.
SUMMARY
Go down a river of no return, toward a fateful meeting with an animal that predates mankind's existence by ninety million years---after a treasure that has captured man's desires for centuries. This is what Legends are made of.
The year 1533: Sent by Francisco Pizarro, Captain Hernando Padilla and his small Spanish expedition found the legend that men had only dared to whisper. In a lost valley deep in Brazil, he discovered what had driven men of greatness into sheer madness: El Dorado, the largest gold deposit in the world, hidden away from the march of time, preserved as the pristine Eden of wondrous sights and forgotten people.
But what he found wasn't just gold.
Instead, Padilla and his crew awakened a devil hidden in the lost valley, a beast of the Amazon who rises from the mother of all waters to viciously kill any who threaten the secret of the long-vanished Incas. But one soldier survives the bloody savagery and, before dying, shares his story with a lone priest in Peru. A secret the Vatican quickly buried away.
The Present: Professor Helen Zachary is searching for a hidden legend, buried deep within the Amazon Basin---a great beast who has survived there since the dawn of time, a being ready to plunge modern science into a world of darkness. And into this darkness, Professor Zachary and her team vanish.
Now a letter from a colleague of Zachary's sends the Event Group, led by Major Jack Collins, chasing down the professor's lost expedition and into the legendary darkness of the Amazon. Dedicated to discovering the truth behind the myths and legends propagated throughout world history, the Event Group---an agency within the U.S. government that officially doesn't exist---ensures that mistakes from the past are never repeated. They are a dedicated collection of the nation's most brilliant men and women of science, philosophy and the military.
Using cutting-edge technology exclusively designed for the Event Group by the U.S. military, they travel from Brazil to the Little Bighorn, from Columbia to the hallowed grounds of Arlington National Cemetery. As they do, the Event Group faces mounting opposition from several different adversaries bent on either discovering the whereabouts of El Dorado . . . or trying to bury the legend forever.
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590 |
Goleman, David (8) |
Event Group 3: Ancients(SciFi)
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REVIEW
What is it this time? Looks like the folks in Atlantis were not very nice people, and destroyed themselves with a weapon they planned to use on others. Now that weapon is back in the wrong hands, and the Event Group has to figure this out. Another not bad adventure.
SUMMARY
Eons before the birth of the Roman Empire, there was a civilization dedicated to the sciences of earth, sea, and sky. In the City of Light lived people who made dark plans to lay waste to their uncivilized neighbors using the very power of the planet itself. As the great science of their time was brought to bear on the invading hordes, hell was set loose on Earth. And the civilization of Atlantis disappeared in a suicidal storm of fire and water…
Now history threatens to repeat itself. The great weapon of the Ancients has been discovered in the South Pacific, and it is being deciphered by men of hatred who want to unleash hell on Earth once again. This time, it's up to the Major Jack Collins and the Event Group―comprised of the nation's most brilliant minds in the fields of science, philosophy, and the military to find the truth behind the world's greatest unsolved myths―to end the cycle of destruction. Meanwhile, the seas rise, the earth cracks, and entire cities crumble to dust as the evil plan mapped out thousands of years before begins to take shape
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591 |
Goleman, David (8) |
Event Group 4: Leviathan(SciFi)
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REVIEW
What is it this time? Looks like the Nautilus is up to her old tricks.. but.. wait.. that was fiction, right? Or was it? Another good adventure story.
SUMMARY
The ships of the world are under attack, attacks so sudden and vicious that many ships are lost without a single distress call. The navies of the world start a frenzied search, but even these ships disappear without a trace.
Enter the Event Group, the most secret organization in U.S. history. Armed with proof that history is repeating itself, the Group finds themselves in the grasp of an insane genius straight out of the pages of Jules Verne. They are up against the descendent of the man who was the inspiration for the captain of a vessel known to the world as Nautilus.
Legend comes to life in the form of Leviathan, the most advanced undersea vessel in history. She will stop at nothing to save the seas and to render justice to humankind for a world that has long been dying, a world Leviathan plans to alter forever, unless the Event Group can stop her!
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592 |
Goleman, David (8) |
Event Group 5: Primeval(SciFi)
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REVIEW
What is it this time? Sasquatch. Yep... that's the assignment this time. An adventure in the woods this time.
SUMMARY
Twenty thousand years ago, when man crossed the land bridge to North America, creatures called They Who Follow made the great trek as well. But once in the new continent, the giant beasts disappeared, whether into hiding or extinction, no one knew.
Centuries later, a battered journal—the only evidence left from the night of the Romanovs' execution—turns up in a rare bookstore. As the U.S. and Russians vie for the truth, and the lost Romanov treasure, they collide with a prehistoric predator thought long-extinct.
It's up to the Event Group to lay to rest the legends. On an expedition into the wilds of British Columbia, Colonel Jack Collins and his team make a horrifying discovery in the continent's last deep wilderness, where men have been vanishing for centuries.
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593 |
Goleman, David (8) |
Event Group 6: Legacy(SciFi)
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REVIEW
A good addition to the EVENT GROUP series wherein a super secret organization handles those things that the rest of us know as "The X-Files" - things that have not logical or current explanation and which could be devastating to mankind. Course, finding a corpse on the moon counts as one of those things. These are all fun reads.
SUMMARY
"Fans of Clive Cussler, Verne, X-Files, and military tactical thrillers will find much to enjoy in this increasingly clever series." –Booklist on Leviathan
The New York Times bestselling author of Leviathan and Primeval is back at full throttle with an adrenaline-pumping addition to the Event Group Thriller Series.
The United States is ready to make a triumphant return to the moon, striking out boldly into the solar system in an attempt to regain the confidence of the heady days of the Apollo program. The first of what are to be many missions to the lunar surface was designed to find the frozen water needed to prepare to build a base to launch an assault on Mars.
But a shocking discovery at Shackleton Crater brings the first Prometheus mission to an abrupt halt. Remote robots uncover human skeletal remains and a base that had been destroyed countless millennia ago. The information is sent back to earth where forensic analysis at NASA reveals the corpse to be over seven hundred million years old.
A secret this devastating cannot be kept forever, and the news is leaked to the world. Soon nations are thrown into a head-long collision, pitting governments against their own citizens as the flames of fundamentalism start a conflagration that threatens to engulf the world as a race to return the moon is on.
The Event Group is tasked to unravel the mystery and to offer something that can either explain our ancient visitor or, at least, keep the world from descending into chaos. Colonel Jack Collins once again leads a team of the world's greatest scientists and philosophers on a journey that will take the Event Group to the airless world of space. But while a battle rages over the truth of our heritage, the Event Group realizes that this may not be humanity's war alone. Could something else—someone else—be coming to finish a war that they started
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594 |
Goleman, David (8) |
Event Group 7: Ripper(SciFi)
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REVIEW
The formula that created the original Jack the Ripper has been rediscovered and death follows quickly. The Event Group first has to figure out what is going on, and then stop it, without everything blowing in their face.
SUMMARY
The real Jack the Ripper is loose, and this time he's brought friends to the darkness of the deep desert in the newest adrenaline rush from David Golemon, The New York Times bestselling author of Legacy.
In the tradition of works by James Rollins, Preston and Child and Matthew Reilly, Ripper is the latest in an action-packed series about the nation's most secret agency—The Event Group. In 1887, the British Empire contracted brilliant American professor Lawrence Ambrose to create a mutant gene to turn an ordinary person into an aggressive fighting machine. But all too quickly, Ambrose was found to be behind a streak of vicious murders, and in a cover-up of massive proportions, Queen Victoria ordered the project, and Ambrose, terminated. Thus the legend of Jack the Ripper was born.
The killings stopped as suddenly as they had begun—but not because Ambrose was caught. Instead, he escaped and returned home to America where he and his formula faded into history. But in 2012, a raid against a Mexican drug lord uncovers a small cache of antiquated notebooks containing long-buried instructions to create blind killers out of normal men. Enter the Event Group and Col. Jack Collins, who are desperate to stop one of their most feared enemies. When the formula is loosed in the underground halls and vaults of the Event Group complex itself, brother will battle brother, and for the first time in many men's brave lives they will understand the true meaning of fear.
The next heart-stopping chapter in the New York Times bestselling Event Group series, Ripper takes readers to new levels of suspense, where death could be hiding around any corner on this non-stop thrill ride.
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595 |
Goleman, David (8) |
Event Group 8: Carpathian(SciFi)
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REVIEW
The EVENT group is a super-secret organization that tackles things that others cannot deal with, and which must be handled quietly. Like werewolves. Yep. Werewolves. Not so much a SciFi novel, but not a horror novel either this is an interesting take on the whole werewolf mythos.
SUMMARY
Perfect for fans of Clive Cussler, James Rollins, and Matthew Reilly, the latest gripping thriller from David L. Golemon takes the Event Group---the nation's most secret agency---to the brink in a heart-stopping race against time.
Rumors of the seemingly magical victory that allowed the Exodus of Israelites from Egypt have resonated through the archaeological world for decades. Now evidence has been discovered that points to a new explanation of how the ancient Hebrews destroyed the unstoppable army of Pharaoh with a tribe of warriors who disappeared a generation later, after the destruction of the City of Jericho, taking with them the most valued treasures of a people without a homeland.
Today a treasure of a different kind is unearthed at the lost ruins of Jericho, one that will change the history of God's Chosen People for all time—the petrified remains of an animal that could not exist. Enter the Event Group. Led by Col. Jack Collins, the Group's brilliant men and women gather to discover the truth behind not only the Exodus, but also the magnificent animals that led the defeat of Pharaoh's army. On a whirlwind race to save the most valuable treasure and artifacts in the history of the world from those who would destroy them, the Event Group will come face-to-face with every myth, legend, and historical truth that has ever unfolded in the mythic and larger-than-life Carpathians---or as the area was once known, Transylvania, the land of Vlad the Impaler.
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596 |
Goncharov, Ivan (1) |
Oblomov Best Book Lists: 3 (Fiction - General)
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Not read
SUMMARY
Ilya Ilyich Oblomov is a member of Russia's dying aristocracy—a man so lazy that he has given up his job in the Civil Service, neglected his books, insulted his friends, and found himself in debt. Too apathetic to do anything about his problems, he lives in a grubby, crumbling apartment, waited on by Zakhar, his equally idle servant. Terrified by the activity necessary to participate in the real world, Oblomov manages to avoid work, postpones change, and—finally—risks losing the love of his life.
Another book about a bum... this does not inspire me to read it. WHY WHY WHY are these books so prevalent?
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597 |
Gordimer, Nadine (1) |
UNRATED
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REVIEW
Not read
SUMMARY
This is the moving story of the unforgettable Rosa Burger, a young woman from South Africa cast in the mold of a revolutionary tradition. Rosa tries to uphold her heritage handed on by martyred parents while still carving out a sense of self. Although it is wholly of today, Burger's Daughter can be compared to those 19th century Russian classics that make a certain time and place come alive, and yet stand as universal celebrations of the human spirit. Nadine Gordimer, winner of the 1991 Nobel Prize in Literature, was born and lives in South Africa.
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598 |
Gould, Steven (4) |
7th Sigma(SciFi)
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REVIEW
Not a bad read.. good story, interesting concepts. Kind of like a western, given the lack of metal based technology in the territory. Worth the read.
SUMMARY
Welcome to the territory. Leave your metal behind, all of it. The bugs will eat it, and they'll go right through you to get it…Don't carry it, don't wear it, and for god's sake don't come here if you've got a pacemaker.
The bugs showed up about fifty years ago--self-replicating, solar-powered, metal-eating machines. No one knows where they came from. They don't like water, though, so they've stayed in the desert Southwest. The territory. People still live here, but they do it without metal. Log cabins, ceramics, what plastic they can get that will survive the sun and heat. Technology has adapted, and so have the people.
Kimble Monroe has chosen to live in the territory. He was born here, and he is extraordinarily well adapted to it. He's one in a million. Maybe one in a billion.
In 7th Sigma, Gould builds an extraordinary SF novel of survival and personal triumph against all the odds.
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599 |
Gould, Steven (4) |
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REVIEW
How do you keep someone captive who can teleport? How do you brainwash them? You would have a pretty powerful weapon if you could... and these people have figured it out. This is an interesting book as the concept of a captive "jumper" is fully explored. I enjoyed this plenty.
SUMMARY
Davy has always been alone. He believes that he's the only person in the world who can teleport. But what if he isn't?
A mysterious group of people has taken Davy captive. They don't want to hire him, and they don't have any hope of appealing to him to help them. What they want is to own him. They want to use his abilities for their own purposes, whether Davy agrees to it or not. And so they set about brainwashing him and conditioning him. They have even found a way to keep a teleport captive.
But there's one thing that they don't know. No one knows it, not even Davy. And it might save his life....
"This is a fun, fast-paced novel that - like Gould's other books - also has a social conscience that gives it more depth than such a story might have in lesser hands. You don't need to have read Jumper to enjoy the new novel, but [it's] highly recommended." - Charles de Lint, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction on Reflex
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600 |
Gould, Steven (4) |
Jumper 3: Impulse(SciFi)
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REVIEW
What if you know about "jumping" but have never done it yourself? And suddenly you discover you have the talent... and all the danger it brings!! A good coming of age with super powers story.
SUMMARY
Steven Gould returns to the world of his classic novel Jumper in the thrilling sequel Impulse.
Cent has a secret. She lives in isolation, with her parents, hiding from the people who took her father captive and tortured him to gain control over his ability to teleport, and from the government agencies who want to use his talent. Cent has seen the world, but only from the safety of her parents' arms. She's teleported more than anyone on Earth, except for her mother and father, but she's never been able to do it herself. Her life has never been in danger.
Until the day when she went snowboarding without permission and triggered an avalanche. When the snow and ice thundered down on her, she suddenly found herself in her own bedroom. That was the first time.
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601 |
Gould, Steven (4) |
Wildside(SciFi)
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REVIEW
An interesting story about a group of teens who discover a portal to another world.. one they can keep ALL to themselves.. or can they. How they manage to do this makes for an exciting read.. when the government wants in.. they are coming in (oh wait.. you cut their tank in half by closing the portal.. opps) This was fun.
SUMMARY
Forget the lottery.
Teenager Charlie Newell has just discovered something that will make him and his friends billionaires. What if a world existed in which no humans ever evolved? No cities. No pollution. No laws. A fantastic world filled with unimaginable riches in which everything—everything—was yours just for the taking?
Charlie has found that world. And he plans to use it to make him and his friends rich.
There is a problem: How do you keep something this big a secret?
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602 |
Grahame-Smith, Seth (1) |
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies(Fiction - Romance)
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REVIEW
What a total hoot !!!! There are only 2 reasons to read this book. 1) You loved Pride and Prejudice, and have enough of a twisted sense of humor to see what the addition of a plague of zombies would do to the story or 2) You would like to read Pride and Prejudice, but can’t bring yourself to just read a Victorian romance and need something a little spicier to get you take the jump. If either of these reasons sounds like you, then carry forth, dear reader. You will not be disappointed. The entire plot of the original Pride and Prejudice is here… all the characters being exactly as they are in the original… with the addition that the Bennet sisters are now highly skilled killers and capable of handling hoards of attacking zombies should the need arise. This is, exactly as the title implies, PRIDE AND PREJUDICE and zombies. Here is a little for instance (that will also sound familiar if you saw the film version with Kera Knightley) From the original book: (Scene – Elizabeth talking to Lady Catherine) "My mother would have had no objection, but my father hates London" "Has your governess left you? " "We never had any governess’." "No governess! How is that possible? Five daughters brought up at home without a governess! I never heard of such a thing. Your mother must have been quite a slave to your education." Elizabeth could hardly help smiling as she assured her that that had not been the case. "Then who taught you? Who attended to you? Without a governess he must've been neglected." "Compare with some families, I believe we were; but such of us as wish to learn, never wanted the means. We were always encouraged to read, and had all the masters that were necessary. Those who chose to be idle, certainly might" "If I had known your mother, I should advise your most rigorously to engage one. I always say that nothing is to be done in education without steady and regular instruction and nobody but a governess can get it." (And now, the same scene from Pride and Prejudice and Zombies) "My mother would've had no objection, but my father hates Japan." "Have your ninjas left you?" "We never had any ninjas." "No ninjas! How is that possible? Five daughters brought up at home without any ninjas! I never heard such a thing. Your mother must have been quite a slave to your safety." Elizabeth could hardly help smiling as she assured her that had not been the case. "Then, who protected you when you saw your first combat? Without ninjas, he must've been quite a sorry spectacle indeed." "Compared with some families, I believe we were; but such was our desire to prevail, and our affection for each other, we had no trouble vanquishing even our earliest opponents." "If I had known your mother, I should have advised her most strenuously to engage a team of ninjas. I always say that nothing is to be done in education without steady and regular instruction."
SUMMARY
"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains."
So begins Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, an expanded edition of the beloved Jane Austen novel featuring all-new scenes of bone-crunching zombie mayhem. As our story opens, a mysterious plague has fallen upon the quiet English village of Meryton—and the dead are returning to life! Feisty heroine Elizabeth Bennet is determined to wipe out the zombie menace, but she's soon distracted by the arrival of the haughty and arrogant Mr. Darcy. What ensues is a delightful comedy of manners with plenty of civilized sparring between the two young lovers—and even more violent sparring on the blood-soaked battlefield. Can Elizabeth vanquish the spawn of Satan? And overcome the social prejudices of the class-conscious landed gentry? Complete with romance, heartbreak, swordfights, cannibalism, and thousands of rotting corpses, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies transforms a masterpiece of world literature into something you'd actually want to read.
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603 |
Grass, Gunter (1) |
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