The Wanderer, by Fritz Leiber

The Wanderer, by Fritz Leiber, was the 1965 recipient of the Hugo Award for best novel. If you'll recall, this was his second novel to win the prize (and I didn't like the first one, The Big Time, at all).

The Wanderer is set on Earth in the mid-1960s, and is a fairly standard natural disaster story. The natural disaster, in this case, is caused by unnatural means; however, for most of the book's characters this matters little or not at all as they deal with the repercussions on a small, localized scale. As in The Big Time, Leiber's characters are rather two-dimensional--we get snapshots of their personalities and how they react to the expanding global disaster, but for the most part they're described mainly in terms of the cliche they represent: hipster, druggie, scientist, astronaut, treasure-hunter, etc. (for the record, there are WAY too many characters to make this book an easy read). Leiber also continues to play with language in this book, which at times becomes a tad cumbersome. Occasionally, this word-play brings something unique to a scene, such as an 11th-hour sex scene described mostly in terms of the characters' surroundings.

Leiber name-drops several classic science fiction writers, including Heinlein, H.G. Wells, Arthur C. Clarke, E.R. Burroughs, and Doc Smith. Several of his characters work in snide critiques of the genre, which I enjoyed. "Science fiction is as trivial as all artistic forms that deal with phenomena rather than people" was one that seemed to be a statement against the all-action, no-character books that Leiber was trying hard not to write.

This book felt like the product of it's time, particularly the inhabitants of the Wanderer itself--"we Wild Ones, we Recalcitrants, we Untamed," whose government began to nibble at their freedoms millennia ago. They're the ultimate rebels, and like many fringe groups in the mid-60s, just want the government to leave them alone to do as they like. Interestingly, Leiber leaves the ultimate decision of whether they're the good guys or the bad guys up to the reader.

There were many things about this book that I found intriguing and fascinating, but in the end I felt that the general wordiness and the number of distinct character-threads made it difficult to read and follow. In my opinion it's better than many of the earlier Hugo winners, but it can't compete with most of the modern stuff I was reading at the same time. Rating: 3/5

Way Station, by Clifford D. Simak

Way Station, by Clifford D. Simak, received the Hugo Award for best novel in 1964. Simak is considered by many to be the pioneer of "realistic" science fiction, and was the 3rd author named as a Grand Master of the genre. As with many of the early Hugo-winning authors, this was the first work by Simak that I'd read.

Way Station includes many standard features of science fiction--aliens, high-tech gear, interstellar travel, futuristic weaponry, and interplanetary disputes--but does so with the best tools of the storyteller's craft. It has more in common with last year's film The Visitor (a bittersweet character piece starring Richard Jenkins) than with summer sci-fi bl0ckbusters like Independence Day. Although each has its place in the genre, I'm finding that I appreciate the quieter and more thoughtful stories much more than the overblown whiz-bangers these days.

The main character, Enoch Wallace, is a man with one foot in each of two worlds. He is set apart from humanity, both by his situation and his own choices, but isn't fully a part of the world he has come to know through his role as keeper of an interstellar way station. Both of these worlds are heading toward what appears to be unavoidable war, and Enoch is forced by his circumstances to decide where his loyalties lie.

Although this book was written, and is set, in the early 1960s it has aged well. There's not much about the book, its characters, or its technologies that would be jarring or read as archaic to today's reader. It's a snapshot of a life, and a story about the effect one life can have on a race or a universe. I'm looking forward to reading Simak's other award winners as this project continues. Rating: 4/5

The Man in the High Castle, by Philip K. Dick

The Man in the High Castle, by Philip K. Dick, won the 1963 Hugo Award for Best Novel. This was my first reading of the book, although I've read one other novel by this author and several of his short stories.

I'm much more familiar with PKD's worlds and themes from the movie adaptations of his writing than from his books themselves. Blade Runner & Total Recall certainly top my list of favorite PKD adaptations, and I enjoy them primarily for their worlds, themes, and convoluted plot lines. The Man in the High Castle fits in well with these, and I'd love to see it on screen.

The book is set in 1962, in an alternate San Francisco. Following an extended World War II, the victors--Japan and Nazi Germany--divided and dominated the rest of the world. "Nazis eliminated the Jews, Gypsies, and Bible Students," then headed out to conquer space. Japan created a global empire based in the Home Islands and dominated by metaphor, Taoism, and the I Ching.

Once you get past the alternate history concept, there aren't many typical sci-fi elements to this book. It's a story about culture, racism, fear, caste, indecision, freedom, power, paranoia, and politics. That said, it's a twisty, well-written depiction of what our world could have looked like if things had taken a few different turns.

I enjoyed PKD's use of language to reinforce character, particularly that of the characters in the Japanese-dominated Pacific States of America. In the PSA, even the non-Japanese characters speak and think in ESL-style English. Articles like "a" and "the" are almost non-existent, and non-action verbs such as "was" and "is" get dropped most of the time.

The Man in the High Castle is a character piece, and a good one. Its intertwined story lines and character arcs are interesting and unique, and the world is plausible and consistent. I suspect that a re-reading of this book would reveal layers that I missed the first time, but for now I'm hoping to find something a little less political! Rating: 4/5

Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein

Stranger in a Strange Land, by Robert A. Heinlein, was published in 1961 and won the 8th Hugo Award. Heinlein is one of my favorite authors, and I've read this book several times over the years. For this project, I read the originally published, shorter version of the book. Opinions, reviews, and summaries of this book abound, so I'll keep mine short.

Things I love about this book:

• The concept that humans are ultimately self-serving creatures, none of whom do anything they don't want to do for some reason of their own
• There are some laugh-out-loud lines as the title character learns about human civilization, such as "I have learned two ways to tie my shoes. One way is only good for lying down. The other way is good for walking."
• Most of the book consists of dialogue, and most of the characters are just as smart and interesting as Heinlein himself
  
• The "Fosterite" church, if it actually existed, would probably do very well in modern western civilization with its combination religion/bar/casino structure
• Early in part 3 of the book, Heinlein lays out a sensible system for sorting fan mail; using it would probably benefit any celebrity
• Heinlein tempers his typical chauvinism by making most of the female characters very smart, and putting them in charge (whether the male characters admit it or not)
• The overall message of the book is hopeful and positive
  

Things I don't love about this book:

• Telepathy, when used to demonstrate the superiority of a character or race, has been overused and is losing any power to amaze that it might once have had
• The church created by the title character seems overly idealistic, even taken in context; I loved the ideas as a twenty-something, but now that I'm a suburbanite mom I see it a bit differently
  

I still like this book a lot, if a bit less than I used to. Rating: 4/5

Spinning in Circles

Despite a trip to Texas for Spring Break, a trip to Kansas for a funeral, and many other distractions (including -Peder's entertaining and frustrating photo contest) I've finished reading Stranger in a Strange Land. My name came up on the library wait-list for Watchmen, also during this span, so I grabbed the opportunity to reread it as well. I'm thinking very hard about my SiaSL post, and will try hard to get back onto this project... right after I finish tracking down photos 6 & 7 for -Peder's game! Darn you, -Peder!

A Canticle for Leibowitz, by Walter M. Miller, Jr.

A Canticle for Leibowitz, by Walter M. Miller, Jr., was published in 1960 and was the winner of the 7th Hugo Award. The book consists of three distinct sections: "Fiat Homo" is set in the mid-2500s, "Fiat Lux" begins in the year 3174, and "Fiat Voluntas Tua" begins in 3781. The stories take place in North American Earth, but in a world that was first devastated by nuclear holocaust in the mid 1960s and then stripped of its remaining documents, books, and scholars in a global Age of Simplification, leaving the Catholic Church as the dominant world power.

The book's technology ranges with its time period, from candle flames to spaceships, and every stage in between. The few pieces of technology and documentation that are salvaged and protected by the Order of Saint Leibowitz, along with the eventual reinvention and rediscovery of the natural sciences, allow the post-apocalyptic world to slowly rebuild itself from rubble to riches.

Most of the book's characters are members of the Catholic Church, or politicians; as a result, much of the book involves political and religious discussions and debates. There's a lot of Latin, and many references to the Bible; those unfamiliar with either will do a lot of cross-referencing or just miss a lot of the book's levels of meaning.

The author has a clever way with words, and describes things in unusual and often entertaining ways that create vivid mental pictures. Each section of the book is written in a specific style, each is different, and each presents its own challenges. I enjoyed the first section tremendously, but bogged down slightly in the scriptural and political styles of much of the 2nd and 3rd sections. Still great writing, but slow going at times.

I first encountered this book in January of 1986, while I was in 10th grade. An amazing school librarian took it upon herself to expand my already broad literary horizons, and proclaimed this a must-read. For whatever reason, I disliked it immediately and promptly returned it to the library. Coincidentally, some students were there watching the Challenger launch; I stopped to watch the launch, book in hand, and the book's cover art has since been inextricably linked in my mind with the image of the explosion. If not for this project, I wouldn't have revisited A Canticle for Leibowitz.

I'm glad I did. The final scene is hopeful, which is a nice foil to my previous memory of the book. I'm not likely to read this one again, and unlike many people out there, I don't consider it to be the best book in the genre; however, it's a well-written, thought-provoking, original story that I enjoyed reading. Rating: 3/5

While we wait, my mini-reviews of the best and worst of 2008's reading

In 2008, I started keeping a log of every book I read, and an assigned an immediate gut-level rating to each book as I finished it. Here are some stats from my 2008 reading list:

Number of books (not including the ones I read to my toddler): 73
43 Science Fiction or Fantasy
26 Fiction (mostly "Thrillers" like David Baldacci and Greg Iles)
4 Non-Fiction
Average Rating by Genre:
SF/F = 3.89 (ranged from 2 to 5)
F = 3.35 (ranged from 3 to 4)
NF = 3.5 (ranged from 2 to 5)
Most-Read Authors:
Lois McMaster Bujold = 9 (I got on a mid-year re-reading kick)
David Baldacci = 8
Jim Butcher = 5
[2008 was my year for reading "B" authors, it seems...!]

Books that I rated as "5"s, in no particular order:

Mars Life, by Ben Bova--This is a continuation of the story that began with 1992's Mars and 1999's Return to Mars, and was the only book I read by this author in 2008. I became a fan of Mr. Bova in, I believe, the year 2000. I bid on and won his desk copy of the manuscript for the not-yet-published Jupiter in a literacy-benefit auction, and missed most of a convention while I huddled over it in my hotel room and devoured the book at a rapid pace. Toward the end of the weekend, I had the opportunity to speak with Mr. Bova, and wryly explained how he'd both "ruined" and made the convention for me. He included a heartfelt apology with his signature on the manuscript. Mars, like most of Bova's books, is well-written, classic science fiction--good stuff. Rating: 5/5

Captain's Fury and Princep's Fury, both by Jim Butcher--The 4th & 5th books in the Codex Alera series, which just keeps getting better and better. I read five books by Mr. Butcher in 2008, and rated each of them as a 4 or 5. The Codex Alera is high fantasy with a Roman twist, and is one of those series I'm always reluctant to put down--I'm anxiously awaiting the series finale, First Lord's Fury. There's an anecdote out there about how this series came to be, but I don't know the veracity of it; supposedly, Mr. Butcher was inspired by a friend who bet that he couldn't write a novel combining Pokemon and the Roman Empire. If it's true, he certainly won that bet! Ratings for both: 5/5

Quantico, by Greg Bear--This near-future FBI thriller kept me engaged and interested. It's more of a thriller than science fiction when you boil it all down, but had enough hard science to satisfy my SF cravings. I read one other book by this author in 2008, and rated it a 4; I occasionally get bogged down in the politics of his books, but the two I read in 2008 were great. Rating: 5/5

Falling Free, by Lois McMaster Bujold--Part of the Vorkosigan Saga, and set a couple hundred years before the saga's main character, Miles, is born. In my opinion, this is the best-written book of an incredibly well-written series. Original, consistent, engaging, intriguing, and very satisfying. I read nine books by this author in 2008, many of them for the second or third time, and although one earned a rating of 3, most were 4s & 5s. Rating 5/5

Curse of Chalion, by Lois McMaster Bujold--The first in a trilogy, and just as well written as the books of the Vorkosigan Saga. This book's characters are fully-fleshed out, most are flawed in obvious ways, and all of them are fascinating. From the first scene, I was fully engaged with the people and the world. While I also enjoyed books two and three of this series, this one is the best of the three. Rating 5/5

The Sharing Knife: Beguilement and The Sharing Knife: Passage, both by Lois McMaster Bujold--The 1st and 3rd books of the Sharing Knife series, which is set in a fantasy version of pioneer-era North America. The series is a combination of adventure and romance, and features a wide range of characters in both the "pioneer" and "native" categories. I liked the 2nd book as well, but only gave it a rating of 4. Ratings for both: 5/5

The Outlaw Demon Wails, by Kim Harrison--ODW is the 6th book in Harrison's Hollows series, and is the best one yet. I've enjoyed this series from the beginning, and the author's skill and finesse as a writer has visibly improved over the series. This book pays off some outstanding debts from earlier in the series, and opens up many things that will undoubtedly pay off later. I also read the 5th Hollows book in 2008, but only rated it a 3 (can't remember why...). Rating: 5/5

Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell--Outliers, like the first two books by this author, made me look at things in a new way. It's not science fiction at all, but it's a mind-bending book. There's not much to say about the book that hasn't already been said by others, so I'll just say that it's worth every minute. Good stuff. Rating: 5/5

The Stars My Destination, by Alfred Bester--This is one of the most original and gripping books I've read in a long time, and I heartily recommend it. It's dark and gritty, and holds up remarkably well after all these years. Rating: 5/5


Books that I rated as "2"s:

The New Strong-Willed Child, by James Dobson--My daughter's pediatrician loaned me this book after a 2-year checkup, insisting that we'd have to take it to heart to be able to successfully raise such a precocious little critter. I found it condescending, preachy, and far too overtly religious for my taste. There were a couple of good bits of advice here and there, but nothing that I hadn't already gotten from other sources. Rating: 2/5

X-Rated Blood Suckers, by Mario Acevedo--I picked this one up because the author is a Coloradoan, and I kept reading it because some of the characters were mildly amusing. Overall, the tone and style of Acevedo's writing didn't do it for me. Too bad, as some of his ideas were pretty interesting. Rating: 2/5

Whispering Nickel Idols, by Glen Cook--I started this one a decade or so ago, and never got through it. I gave it another shot in 2008, but still found it hard to finish. I've enjoyed many of this author's books over the years, but for some reason I just couldn't connect with this one. Rating: 2/5

Spellbinder, by Melanie Rawn--Ms. Rawn is another author I've really enjoyed over the years, so I gave this book a shot. Unfortunately, this book's characters and plot weren't as consistent as I've come to expect from her work, and her move to the supernatural romance (with an emphasis on the romance) sub-genre may alienate fans like me who are more interested in harder science fiction and fantasy. Rating: 2/5