Some Book Reviews

I'm having a lot of fun writing for Slapinions lately - writing in general, really - so you'll have to excuse the frequent posts. [Not that anyone reads this blog, but just in case.]

Recently I began my semi-annual ‘Hey, I just paid off my library fines!’ reading binge.

First on my plate was Old Man’s War, a science-fiction novel by AOL’s very own John Scalzi.

Old Man’s War follows the familiar but beloved path of Robert Heinlein’s Starship Troopers (one of my favorite books, btw) as we follow John Perry, a new recruit into an army whose sole purpose is to wreak havoc on the alien enemies of mankind.

But here’s the twist: John is seventy-five years old, as are all the recruits. On the edge of their last years on Earth (in every sense of the term) they are granted a newly cloned and modified body in exchange for ten years of service.

As I said the book is very much an homage to Starship Troopers in that both are brutal and militaristic futures where war seems perpetual. Along the way, however, Scalzi twists the plot and settings just enough to breathe original life into his universe. He refuses to be a clone of Heinlein - no pun intended - and the effort shows on the page.

I loved the first few pages, which were beautiful and more than enough to hook me into the story. I did think the ending was a little flat, and there was a brief page of dialogue (when the recruits are still in training) where the conversation seems too . . . Woody Allen, with well thought out and witty comments pouring out of every character.

Definitely recommended.

So is its sequel (?) The Ghost Brigades.

This time the story follows Jared Dirac, a clone of Charles Boutin, mankind’s greatest traitor. Jared was created to track down Boutin by recreating his memories, but along the way he begins to craft his own ideas about the bloody and ethically challenged universe around him.

I think this book was by far the better of the two, well thought out and intelligently written. As it can function as a stand-alone novel I would almost encourage you to pick this one up first.

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A brief note in the afterward of one of Scalzi’s novels pointed me toward the next book, The Risen Empire by Scott Westerfeld.

Normally this wouldn’t be my cup of tea - strongly technical, ‘hard’ sci-fi. But I found myself quickly involved in the story and the subtle but powerful writing of Westefeld.

In the future mankind is ruled by an emperor who died 1600 years ago. His reanimated self is the gift he has given his people - the opportunity to cheat death by way of a symbiant implanted after death. His empire has grown stale and decadent, and the Rix - a computer driven enemy - has successfully planted itself on a Imperial planet.

Among a web of lies and betrayals the crew of one vessel must stave off the invasion and rescue the population of that world from its own Emperror.

Told from varying points of view and jumping from one year to another, the tale grabs you and won’t let go.

The same goes for its sequel The Killing of Worlds. My only criticism of that book is that the secret of the Emperror - the knowledge that has driven the action of both books - is rather tame and frankly, not all that horrifying. I can't say more without giving it away, but if I was one of his subjects I'd contemplate it for a minute, then say "That sucks. But it's better than the alternative. Carry on."

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Next up was The Coming by Joe Haldeman, chosen because simply because I saw it on the shelf when I picked up Killing. The best part of this pathetic book was the premise explained on the cover: a message from space is intercepted. It says only ’we’re coming’ and the world is left to deal with the impending arrival of ???. Haldeman should give half his royalties to that copywriter, because the rest is a waste. Spare yourself this book; the ending alone is so weak it wouldn’t cut it in a second-rate slasher film.

So it’s beyond me why I picked up another Haldeman book, Forever Peace. Although I disagree vehemently with the ‘solution’ proposed and carried out in the book, it was an enjoyable and entertaining read.

In the near future Soldier-Boys, robots built for war and controlled telepathically from afar, rule the battlefield. Julian Class is in control of such a beast one week a month, and a professor the rest of the time. As the war drags on and society has finally discovered a way to end the universe itself, it also discovers a means to end war forever.

Recommended.

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The Hard Way by Lee Child is yet another book featuring the great Jack Reacher. It’s basically more of the same old Reacher, but when the bar is so high to begin with, that’s just fine by me. Recommended.