Legend has it that Shakespeare's play, Macbeth, is cursed. As such, the superstitious who work on the play will refer (and insist others do the same) Legend has it that Shakespeare's play, Macbeth, is cursed. As such, the superstitious who work on the play will refer (and insist others do the same) to it as "The Scottish Play". Many have speculated as to the reason, but Harry Greenville writes a novel with his own explanation: the Bard stole the idea from someone else. Shakespeare's victim then sets out to exact revenge through sabotage.
Greenville, an aspiring actor living in L.A., makes the mistake of uploading it to a website where it is pilfered. When Greenville learns that his story is being made into a movie, he sets out to exact revenge of his own.
There's such a superb attention to detail here that I would swear that Collis worked on a movie set at one point in his life or he performed a mind meld with someone who did. Collis introduces us to the boredom of limo drivers, the humiliating subservience of runners, the brown nosing of the wannabes, and the egos of Hollywood's lords. But at no point does Collis resort to stereotypes. All of his characters, no matter if they're major or minor, felt real. And Greenville is a likable protagonist. While he's out for revenge, at no point does he turn dark. His antics are more of the prankster variety.
I do have two complaints though. Collis uses single quotes throughout the book for dialogue. When nested quotes arise, as in when there's speech within speech, Collis sticks with the single quotes so it becomes a bit confusing as to when the speaker stops. I realize that single quotes are preferred in the U.K., but then double quotes are required for quotes within quotes, no? There are also some POV shifts without any sort of transition so I got momentarily confused as to whose thoughts we were hearing.
I must admit that my favorite part of the book was the beginning when we're reading Greenville's story about how Shakespeare stole the idea for Macbeth. This section is a fantastic piece of historical fiction and showcases Collis's talent. I hope he considers writing something in this vein in the future.
I was given a copy of this book in exchange for a review. This review was first posted over at the New Podler Review of Books.
Quinn Bolcan is a small-I was given a copy of this book in exchange for a review. This review was first posted over at the New Podler Review of Books.
Quinn Bolcan is a small-time ex-criminal who has the ability to drain energy from things, be it physical or magical. This talent proves to be beneficial (defusing bombs) and deadly (body heat loss can lead to frostbite). When the story opens, Quinn is unaware of his ability and, over the course of the novel, learns how to control it. Needing to get out of town (Vancouver) after a pot farm raid, he takes on the role of courier. His lawyer has a package that needs to be delivered to Montreal and it "isn't the kind you want to send by Fedex."
While the story could've been about Quinn's cross-country trip (Canada is big and interesting enough), Stiles only details two stops: a bar in the Rockies where Quinn has a run-in with a supernatural biker gang and the delivery of the package in Montreal. They do factor into the novel later on though. The real action happens across the border in Vermont where Quinn accidentally defuses a nuke. The rest of the novel covers Quinn's reluctant assistance to DHS agent Nan Carreira's investigation of the terrorists who set up the bomb in the first place.
Ok, so it's not the best cover. I've seen far worse since I came on board here at the New Podler. I believe that it's meant to convey the swarm of foes that Quinn faces, though a better cover might've been one of him draining the magic out of a zombie or holding a bomb in his hands as he's about to drain it. But I digress.
The story is told in multiple POV's, which enable Stiles to develop her characters. Stiles starts with Quinn's story, told in first person, and then switches to third person to relate Agent Carreira's encounters, along with those of the villains. Considering that a large chunk of the action takes place away from Quinn, this is essential as we'd miss the scheming of the villains, who would otherwise be two-dimensional. Quinn is the strongest, and most likable. We're privy to his thoughts and his wry sense of humor. It's through him that Stiles conveys her mastery of imagery (smells too!).
Stiles could be accused of going overboard with the supernatural stuff. There are lycanthropes, vampires, ghouls, sorcerers, zombies, demons, fairies, and more. There are some naturally occurring events too which, for me, were a bit over the top. These are explained as being a side effect of Quinn's energy draining powers, but I felt this avenue was left unresolved, particularly how he deals with these events.
As for the technicals, the manuscript is fairly well-edited, but it definitely could've used an extra pair of eyes as a few passages fell through the cracks. For example, refer back to the first paragraph of this review. I quoted a passage from the story where Quinn is talking to his lawyer about the package. It says "Fedex" but the proper name for the company is "FedEx".
The Mighty Quinn is an entertaining read. Its titular character carries the story through a gauntlet of supernatural entities and is almost as surprised as we are that he came out the other side. While Stiles is adept at her use of imagery and developing her protagonist, some unresolved elements lead me to think she may have bit off more than she could chew by cramming too much into one novel....more
In Strictly Analog, author Richard Levesque introduces us to a future where California has seceded from a dying America. A corporation has been electeIn Strictly Analog, author Richard Levesque introduces us to a future where California has seceded from a dying America. A corporation has been elected governor (Romney's "Corporations are people, my friend" comment taken to its ultimate extension) and isn't letting go. While some freedoms have been curtailed in the name of national security, the secret police won't bust you for smoking marijuana. Fear of being expelled to the surrounding wasteland keeps the population in check.
Technological innovation is still alive. Everyone has a pair of iyz, eyeglasses that let you seamlessly connect to the internet (You could say that the initial versions are almost here), essential in a near total digital world. Every facet of people's lives can be recorded and shared with their phriends. If you thought Facebook and You Tube were omnipresent in society today, Levesque shows you the next level.
Our guide to this dystopian future is Ted Lomax, private detective. Ted is a veteran of California's war for independence, where he lost an eye. Having lost said eye, he is unable to use iyz, which require both eyes to bring data into focus. Not being connected 24/7 means that Ted is excluded from society's online interactions, persona non grata, but in his business that's a plus. Not being connected means his investigations remain discreet. In a society where almost nothing is private anymore, secrets are priceless.
Ted's daughter has been arrested for the murder of her boyfriend, a member of the secret police. Ted has only a few days to crack the case before she is deported (the death penalty having been abolished). But clearing her name will require him to figure out who her boyfriend was investigating, a state secret in its own right. Analog skills won't be enough to solve this case. Ted will have to get help from hackers and gear-head rebels, provided they don't sell him out to save their own skins.
Levesque, an English teacher in Southern California, has provided us with a well-crafted story with realistic characters we can root for in a hard-boiled landscape. Told in first person POV, Ted is the perfect guide for the reader. His handicap renders him an outsider, much like we are in his world. While Ted lacks the tough as nails, hard-drinking attitude of typical noir fiction from the 50's, his down on his luck demeanor (he doesn't have an office; he lives in a storage facility) and soft cynicism are a perfect match for cyberpunk.
It feels weird for me, a former tech guy who basically had to re-learn creative writing, to critique the work of an English teacher, but I can definitely say Levesque brings the goods. I really enjoyed reading Strictly Analog. It's a story that should appeal to fans of early Gibson or Sterling. And now that our world is much closer to the cyberpunk vision of tomorrow that was forecast decades ago, the story should appeal to contemporary detective fiction fans too. Strictly Analog is highly recommended....more
"Chindi" is the third novel in the Priscilla Hutchins series. The archaeological mysteries continue.
"Hutch", as her friends call her, is fed up with h"Chindi" is the third novel in the Priscilla Hutchins series. The archaeological mysteries continue.
"Hutch", as her friends call her, is fed up with her career as pilot. She gets all of the blame when things go wrong and none of the credit when things go right. She's been asked by her employer, the Science Academy, to pilot one last mission before landing a desk job: ferry the well heeled members of the "Contact Society", an E.T.-phile crowd, around in a ship they commissioned for the Academy on its maiden voyage to investigate a strange signal emanating from the vicinity of a neutron star.
We journey with the crew as they discover a network of stealth satellites engaged in the observation of several worlds. As Hutch and her passengers track down clues to who built the network and why, they visit several worlds in the network and even make first contact with a new alien species. It's significant in that most worlds explored in this series contain the ruins of long dead civilizations, with one or two exceptions.
One of Hutch's passengers is an ex-boyfriend. Readers of previous works know that Hutch has been unlucky in love. Her career doesn't leave much time on Earth for relationships. Interstellar pilot really gives a new meaning to long distance relationships. Most give up. Hutch's relationship with this ex, Tor, makes for an interesting sub-plot, though it takes a while to really develop.
I don't want to give away too much, but suffice it to say that the Contact Society may have bitten off more than it could chew. Fatal mishaps plague the expedition, but they press on. Their compelling need to get to the bottom of the mystery pushes them on. They're rewarded with the discovery of the "chindi," a massive starship that they believe is the key to the stealth satellite network. Despite everything that has gone wrong and Hutch's warnings, the remaining members of the Contact Society set out to make contact with the chindi. The story reaches its climax with Hutch setting out to rescue her passengers from the chindi after a surprise turn of events.
McDevitt's writing style returns to the top form he achieved with Engines of God and quite possibly surpasses it. While Deepsix was a bit of a disappointment to this reader, Chindi made up for it. While his ability to weave a good mystery has never been a problem, McDevitt's use of characterization in Chindi easily surpasses what he provided in the previous two novels in this series. And the level of action and suspense also return to the level presented in Engines of God. This was a novel that I had a tough time putting down. Excellent work. Highly recommended. ...more
Deepsix is the second novel in the Priscilla Hutchins series. Priscilla has once again found herself in an archaeological mystery that must be solved Deepsix is the second novel in the Priscilla Hutchins series. Priscilla has once again found herself in an archaeological mystery that must be solved before a cataclysm befalls the world she is on.
Scientists and tourists have converged on Maleiva III, aka Deepsix, to witness the destruction of the world by a rogue gas giant. The gas giant, nicknamed Morgan, is on a collision course with Deepsix and will tear it apart just as comet Shoemaker-Levy was torn apart by Jupiter. But as the scientists are awaiting the event, one of them discovers what appears to be a tower, sticking out of the ice. Deepsix has been locked in an ice age for centuries. A previous expedition failed to find any signs of civilization, though the mission ended abruptly when the local wildlife attacked the landing party. The mission was aborted and no one had returned to the world in the two decades since.
"Hutch", as her friends call her, while en route to Earth, is detoured to Deepsix. The Science Academy wants her to investigate the tower and discover everything that she possibly can about the builders of the tower and what their fate may have been. While she and a handful of volunteers are exploring the tower, another shuttle, carrying a pilot and two journalists (one rookie and one obnoxiously famous), has landed to conduct an interview with the tower as a backdrop. Shortly after their arrival, a massive earthquake hits. In the aftermath, both shuttles are wrecked. Hutch and the survivors have to figure out a way to get off the planet before it is destroyed as none of the ships in orbit have any shuttles capable of landing on the surface!
While the premise may be a bit of a stretch, it doesn't sink the story. Overall I found the book to be ok, but it fell way short of the previous Hutch novel, the excellent The Engines of God. Deepsix got off to a slow start, taking over 100 pages (paperback) to really get going. The main characters took even longer to develop, but McDevitt eventually develops them and even has a couple of them overcome their flaws. The story dragged on and off until near the end when Morgan's gravitational pull starts to wreak havoc with the planet. If McDevitt had found a way to cut out some of the filler, like the scenes with the forgettable minor characters, it would've made for a quicker paced and more enjoyable story. ...more
Biotechnology has advanced far enough that immortality is available for those who can afford it. Consciousness is digitized in "stacks" and stored untBiotechnology has advanced far enough that immortality is available for those who can afford it. Consciousness is digitized in "stacks" and stored until a new "sleeve"—an all encompassing term for natural, cloned, or synthetic bodies—is ready. Add to this a diverse menu of drugs that enhance or dull aspects of human physiology. A whole slew of possibilities, noble and illicit, opens up. Death, prison, identity, and sex are all re-defined. The whole system is exploitable, and therein lies the story.
Takeshi Kovacs is an ex-Envoy, a type of Special Forces, who is taken from stack prison on another planet and dumped into a sleeve on Earth. He's been recommended to a billionaire (Laurens Bancroft) to solve his murder. The police say it was suicide, but Bancroft believes he was murdered. If Kovacs can solve the case to Bancroft's liking, the billionaire will purchase his freedom. If not, Kovacs goes back on stack for the rest of his two-hundred-year sentence.
What difference does it make to a billionaire why one of his sleeves died? He claims not to be the suicidal type. He has daily backups, keeps new sleeves on standby, and has already lived 350 years (making him a "meth," short for Methuselah). What's the point of suicide, if he won't remember it when he's downloaded into a new body the next day? Murder makes more sense, which likely means that there's a conspiracy afoot.
As Kovacs sets out to solve the case, he shares his experiences as he gets accustomed to a body that isn't his. Some readers have found this to be oversharing as Morgan is graphic in detail. I saw Kovacs' adjustment as having to go through puberty again. The changes our bodies go through seem alien and strange, and it takes some time before our minds grow accustomed to them and reasserts control. What Kovacs (and others) goes through when entering a new sleeve is no different. It's awkward and discomfiting.
Kovacs' past, both military and criminal, bubbles up in flashbacks, offering glimpses into what shaped his psyche. Underneath the cool, indifferent, tough guy exterior lies a soul that seeks justice for the little guy. The plutocrats can buy their way past the wheels of justice; the poor are ground up like hamburger. And it's that sense of injustice that fuels Kovacs. He internalizes it, makes it personal, and sets off on rampages.
Overall, I have to say I loved it. It's a sci-fi story soaked in noir: Cigarettes and whisky, posh AI-run hotels, a femme fatale, morally corrupt billionaires, and a complicated relationship with the cops. You could also think of it as a much more violent cousin of Blade Runner. Like that film, it also asks questions about the human condition, but doesn't lead to easy answers....more
I was given a copy of this novel in exchange for a review. This review also appears at The New Podler Review of Books.
A young woman is haunted by a paI was given a copy of this novel in exchange for a review. This review also appears at The New Podler Review of Books.
A young woman is haunted by a past she can't remember. She feels threatened by her father and his lascivious friend. In her efforts to elude the pair and track down her brother, a third man hunts her for his own depredations.
Set in England in 1875, the story has a definite Gothic feel to it. Richards is adept at illustrating the scene. The "Blackened Cottage" where Lisbeth, our protagonist, lives evokes fear with every creaking floorboard. The air she breathes threatens to smother her in gloom.
Richards doesn't hold back with her descriptive narrative. Every adversity that Lisbeth faces is given its due in highly detailed prose. She gets credit for her inventive metaphors. Here are three brief selections that jumped out at me:
There is no response but the wind’s drunken slur.
His nails scrape my skull like a wolf scraping soil for bones.
I whisper with the breath of a mosquito's wings...
The story is primarily told from Lisbeth's point of view. Not only does she provide the narrative but we also get to read her diary entries and letters to her absent mother, who left the family for reasons unknown (part of Lisbeth's memory loss). To add to the drama, Richards also offers diary entries from the father and wicked confessions from the third man. By doing so, Richards helps the reader bond with Lisbeth and sympathize with her plight. There really are men after her.
While I believe the intent was to maintain tension, I found a lot of passages that repeated character intentions and internal monologues. The third man's confessions and the father's diary entries say much of the same thing with different wording. Lisbeth dwells on her fate at the hands of one man or another and revisits her revulsion with each encounter.
As this is "a psychological thriller with a twist", you'll have to look hard to find the clues that Richards gives the reader. Other than one obvious clue, they're hard to find and Richards throws a couple red herrings at the reader to mislead us. Once the truth was revealed, I went back and re-read some sections from objective voices. I have to say that Richards pushed the limit here. Even with the clarity afforded by the reveal, there are certain sentences which cross the line. I can't say anything more without spoiling it.
As for the technicals, there were many dialogue punctuation errors, primarily involving commas. Spelling typos were minimal. There was also one historical inaccuracy. At one point, Lisbeth talks about a distance in meters, but the metric system hadn't been adopted outside of the scientific community in England at the time. However, Richards used miles to show the distance between towns. I think most readers will overlook these things.
In summary, Blackened Cottage is a solid debut (3.5 stars) from A.E. Richards. Her descriptive narrative underscores her attention to detail, helping readers get lost in the dreary winter of 19th century England. Characters are vivid too. While the red herrings thrown at the reader are the size of bluefin tuna, Richards holds true to the plot and her protagonist. Fans of psychological thrillers who don't mind a trip back to the 19th century, or Victorian era historical romance readers looking for something different, will enjoy this book. ...more
Once they were friends. Now two scientists race-one to save mankind, one to destroy it.
Nanotechnology made Eva Rozen the world's wealthiest woman. RagOnce they were friends. Now two scientists race-one to save mankind, one to destroy it.
Nanotechnology made Eva Rozen the world's wealthiest woman. Rage made her the deadliest. Marta Cruz alone can stand between Eva and the death of millions. But will a crippling illness stop Marta first?
That's a great blurb. Unfortunately Steinman takes far too long to get to it. Except for the intriguing first chapter, he spends the first half of the book on back story. The plot is ignored in favor of character development, which might not have been bad had anything interesting happened. It isn't until two-thirds of the way through the book that we get a hint that the plot blurb is happening.
The three main characters (and their specialties) are Eva (chemistry and computers), Marta (biology), and Jim (good with dogs). After the first chapter, Steinman takes us back to their youth where we see how they handled childhood adversity. Steinman does a great job developing the characters, but I didn't really like them. I found Marta to be self-righteous, and her messiah complex made her insufferable. Jim started out as a likable character until anger management turns him into a goofy dolt. After a period of sullen petulance, he redeems himself by returning to a character the reader can root for. Eva's childhood is so horrific it borders on unbelievable. However, extraordinary characters are permitted to develop from extraordinary circumstances. While Eva is a well-crafted antagonist, her actions clearly show that she's a villain.
How these three remain friends strains credibility. Eva delights in antagonizing Marta, who is so stiff and idealistic that she can't see how the system works. If Eva really was Marta's friend, she'd explain her plans to Marta before the biologist's head exploded. Instead, she revels in making Marta's blood boil. But later, she acts surprised when Marta doesn't trust her and uses it to justify her terrible behavior. Steinman could explain how their friendship developed after their initial contact, but instead rushes through the crucial developing years. The transition from the introductory period to when Marta and Jim become a couple (a span of two years) all happens on one page! We don't get to see how this romance came about, nor do we get any indication that Eva's interest in Jim is anything more than a brief curiosity.
There is one time when Eva helps Jim stay out of jail and Marta to the hospital to deliver her baby. It could've been a pivotal moment in the trio's relationship, but instead it becomes the one shining moment that the characters cling to as proof of friendship. Honestly, that isn't enough in light of the negative interactions that Steinman shares with the reader.
Oh and that leads to the fourth character, Dana, who is the son of Marta and Jim. He factors into the second half of the book when Jim is no longer useful to the plot. Dana becomes another point of contention between Eva and Marta. "Aunt Eva" takes Dana under her wing and teaches him "ghosting" (hacking). An incident, which Steinman withholds from us, sends a crying teenaged Dana into the arms of his already jealous mother. Marta reacts by keeping Dana from Eva, and it's the final straw as far as she is concerned. The details of this pivotal incident that pushes Eva over the edge is deliberately left vague. We don't know what was said and none of these supposedly great friends tries to get this worked out, so all three of them look bad.
The good news is that Steinman did his homework. The nanotech applications are all solid science, though he is a little guilty of explaining how it all works and slowing down the story's pace. What worked really well was when he led us through the biochemical reactions that went on in a character when a dramatic moment, like death, struck. I would've preferred more story time spent on showing us the effects of nanotech on society instead of the melodrama.
From the acknowledgements, I learned that Steinman utilized an editor and proofreaders. However, I found about 40 typos. And I have to wonder why no one called his attention to some troubling storyline tangents. I don't want to spoil it so details are going to be left out. There's a scene at the climax where Jim is involved in a fight for his life. His mind wanders and he's having a flashback about the relationship he had with his parents after he got married. Sure, there's time for a thought or two but it goes on for several paragraphs; two pages of Kindle text! This isn't the time for lengthy reflection, not just from the character's standpoint but this is the climax of the story! It's a distraction to the reader!
In conclusion, Little Deadly Things is a well researched novel with well developed characters. Unfortunately I didn't like the characters all that much (you might) and their long friendship seemed unlikely. I spent too much of this review pointing out the flaws. There's a solid kernel of story here, I just feel it needs work. As this is Steinman's first novel, I believe he'll learn what works and what doesn't and come up with a stronger work the next time around. ...more
European explorers spent centuries seeking an easier way to get to the Orient than the traditional rounding of Africa and journeying east. Columbus waEuropean explorers spent centuries seeking an easier way to get to the Orient than the traditional rounding of Africa and journeying east. Columbus was the first to try sailing west but instead of finding China, "discovered" two new continents (other earlier claims notwithstanding). While the New World consumed much of Europe's interest for the next few centuries, the quest to find a route around the Americas did not die. Sailors continued to brave the fearsome conditions of the Arctic in order to find the fabled northwest passage: a route through the ice to Asia.
While global warming has made this task easier here in the early 21st century. As recent as the 1840's the Arctic was still unexplored territory for the White Man. If they'd had the humility to consult with the local Inuit "savages", they could've saved themselves some trouble. But in the 19th century, the British Navy ruled the seas; its captains and admirals full of hubris and still a half century away from being seriously challenged.
The Terror is a fictional account of the ill-fated John Franklin expedition. Franklin's two ships, the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, were lost somewhere in the Arctic and their crews never seen again. Genre spanning and award winning author, Dan Simmons, extensively researched the subject (Three pages worth of sources listed) and it shows. All the elements of mid-19th century naval life are present. The reader will also get an education of the various types of ice that constitute the Arctic landscape. Of course, the reader wants to know what happened to the crew. Simmons mixes speculation in with archeological evidence to showcase the crew's misery: insufficient coal stores, spoiled food (canned food was in its infancy back then), pneumonia and frostbite.
But if these things weren't bad enough already, Simmons throws in a bit of the supernatural. The crew of the two ships is stalked by a creature out of Inuit legend. Just when it seems like the crew's luck has changed for the better, the beast returns to wreak havoc. It's quite at home in the endless night of Arctic winters and gales and picks off any hapless crewman to catch its eye.
The story is told from the perspective of several officers and crewmen. Simmons brings each of them to life with as much intricate detail as he provides to the frigid landscape. However, Francis Crozier, the captain of the Terror, is the main character. Without spoiling anything, it's evident from the first chapter that there will be a showdown between Crozier and the creature, but the ending isn't what you'll expect.
The Terror is an excellent story of misery, betrayal and redemption. If you decide to read it, do so in the winter. The cold and the wind howling outside your window will help you empathize with the plight of the characters and you'll gain a greater appreciation for the comforts of hearth and home....more
This book was recommended to me by a friend, so when I saw it at my local library's annual book sale, I picked it up. I'd read Watchers and liked it, This book was recommended to me by a friend, so when I saw it at my local library's annual book sale, I picked it up. I'd read Watchers and liked it, so I was expecting to like this one as well. Turns out it was just ok. If it was someone's first novel, I'd say it was good. But for someone who's been writing for as long as Koontz, it should've been better.
My copy is 399 pages. That's probably 150 pages too many. There is so much filler in here that I was bored throughout much of the book. There are interactions with characters that don't add a thing to the storyline, i.e. finding the meaning of the braille card, the old woman who lives downstairs from him, the black room, etc. I guess introducing all of these characters means that Koontz can re-visit them in the other books, hopefully those encounters are more meaningful.
People have complained about Odd resembling a 20-year old from the 50's, not one from 2000. And he has a head of knowledge more suitable to someone decades older. I agree. Creative license permits Koontz to do this, and the character's name should be a dead giveaway (Odd. Get it?). But while Koontz has the right to make Odd this way, we have the right as readers to reject it.
The whole story is told from Odd's POV, which becomes tiresome. We live through every minute of the couple of days the novel takes place in. While we go through what he eats, we are fortunately spared more intimate details like bathroom breaks. What we learn of other characters only happens when Odd interacts with them. His friends fawn over him, which is nice considering his parents are garbage, but it doesn't make them interesting. Unfortunately he barely interacts with the villains, so they come across as weak. A pack of coyotes Odd encounters on the outskirts of town had more character development.
I don't believe that I'll be reading anymore Odd Thomas stories (I heard the "last" Odd Thomas book has come out) as I don't care enough about him to invest any more of my limited reading time in the character. Now I have to figure out what to tell my friend without crushing his feelings. ...more
This was a book I picked up at my local library's annual book sale. Pickings were slim (2011) and this was all I came away with. It turns out to have This was a book I picked up at my local library's annual book sale. Pickings were slim (2011) and this was all I came away with. It turns out to have been a real gem.
As the description states, this was a collection of short stories and science essays. The geek factor was really high for the non-fiction portion. If you don't share Sheffield's fascination with math and physics then you'll be bored with a third of the book (Fortunately for me, I do). Although the book was released in 92, the science holds up.
The short stories were primarily hard sci-fi and proved to be entertaining, despite a noticeable absence of action. These stories were more cerebral, particularly the one whose title lent itself to the collection. I credit Sheffield with coming up with concepts not explored before (or at least haven't been played out): a bicycle race is space ("The Grand Tour"), interstellar travel by increasing the value of the speed of light ("C-change"), holding draft days for the DNA of deceased geniuses ("Out of Copyright"), proposing the idea that cultural sophistication and high technology do not necessarily go hand in hand ("The Courts of Xanadu").
My only real complaint is that some of the endings were a bit flat and didn't really provide the zinger ending I was hoping for. Overall, this is a good book to for hard sci-fi fans who aren't familiar with Sheffield (like me).
One last note: my paperback copy did not age well. About an inch all around the edges, the pages were darker, as if exposed to UV light for too long. The dry and brittle pages cracked and crumbled despite my careful efforts. I felt like I was the last person to read this book as it disintegrated with every turn of the page. ...more
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