Reading Science Fiction

Finished Reading 2024: The World of Null-A by A. E. van Vogt 📚

Just straightening out my bookshelves. This is the worst novel I’ve ever read.

Finished Reading 2024: Hawksbill Station by Robert Silverberg 📚

This is maybe the fifth Silverberg novel I’ve read. The fourth? Not sure.

Anyway this was a good short novel about the inmates of a prison. Political prisoners sent 1 billion years into the past. The novel alternates between the current life of the protagonist (happening in the past), and his life prior to imprisonment during the 1980s-2000s.

The novel explores the state of mind of the inmates, many of whom are going crazy. It also follows the career of the protagonist as a political dissident, explores the evolution of his organization, and the development of the United States over the course of his life. The novel was written in 1967 – expanded from a short story Silverberg wrote some years before.

The science of time travel are not really discussed very much.

As with many novels of this era there are a couple of cringe-inducing moments. Not the worst I’ve ever read, and not bad enough to avoid the novel. Likewise there are no female characters of any real consequence, which is probably good as Silverberg is not known for writing female characters well. If you’ve read SF from before about 2000 you know what I’m talking about.

This isn’t the kind of SF that is really “delightful”. It’s not adventure. It is thoughtful.

A few things I enjoyed or found interesting…

• The creation of time travel by an amoral scientist who partners with a possibly fascist government simply for the research money
• The co-opting of time travel science by a possibly fascist government (we really only here one side of the story)
• Classic SF exploration of the effect of technology on society

Of the Silverberg novels I’ve read, I’d say Downward to the Earth is better, but this one is a close second.

Want to read: The Deluge Drivers by Alan Dean Foster 📚

Currently reading: Hawksbill Station by Robert Silverberg 📚

Almost done with this one

Just a few comments on the topics listed in the title.

Added my “Want to Read” page to the page menu on my blog.

Currently reading: Hawksbill Station by Robert Silverberg 📚

I’ve read a few Silverberg novels now. He’s a good writer. Really really bad at writing female characters, but I’d say no worse than other SF authors of around his generation.

Finished Reading 2024: Nectar of Heaven by E.C. Tubb 📚

I enjoy all the Dumarest novels. This one was pretty standard. Interesting world he found himself on, where the ruling class conduct daily economic warfare against each other. As often happens, the climax involves a thrown knife through an eye socket into a brain. Satisfying.

In this very quick episode, I talk about starting to watch the Netflix adaptation of the Three Body Problem, and give a quick reading update.

Been reading Dumarest 24. Will finish in the next couple of days and try to squeeze in another short novel this month. Also, man, these micro.blog sites (and pretty much anything else) just look fantastic on an iPad. This is an iPad Air from 2015, and this blog just looks so nice on it.

Started reading Dorsai!, a 1960 military science fiction novel. Got about 4% in. While it is pretty well written, military SF just isn’t my thing. Putting it away.

Currently reading: Nectar of Heaven by E.C. Tubb 📚

hmmmm…the next book in Alan Dean Foster’s Pip & Flinx series (the 6th in the series) is not available in eBook format. All the others are. This sucks. I had to order a hardback. It isn’t expensive, but I like reading on my Kindle.

Finished Reading 2024: Flinx in Flux by Alan Dean Foster 📚

Oh man. Listening to Dune the last week. There’s a lot in that book that hasn’t aged well since 1965.

Most of the SF novels I’ve read over the last year have been excellent, entertaining, and great inspiration for my Traveller game. Few have blown my mind. That’s not necessary for me to enjoy a novel.

For “reasons” I didn’t do my reading last night. First time in quite a while, but justified. I’m still on track to finish my current book in about 4 days, and probably another by the end of the month.

Just a quick report on seeing the second part of the new Dune movie. A few thoughts on it and how it compares to the older David Lynch version. And a quick report on the book that I just started.

Currently reading: Flinx in Flux by Alan Dean Foster 📚

Trying to decide what to read next. Might read something a bit heavier. We’ll see.