Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

Author: Rob Weber

Direct Descent: Frank Herbert’s worst novel

Direct Descent by Frank Herbert

Direct Descent (1980) is by a fair margin the weakest novel by Frank Herbert I’ve read.

In the far future the whole of Earth’s interior has been taken up by a gigantic library. Ships travel the known universe to collect information about just about everything and bring it back to Earth to archive it and make it available to the entire galaxy. The first and foremost rule of this organization is always obey the government whomever that may be — a rule meant to underline the library’s strict neutrality.

September 29th, 2014. Rob Weber´s rating: 1 | Frank Herbert | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |

The Jesus Incident: A curious book

The Jesus Incident by Frank Herbert & Bill Ransom

In Herbert’s 1966 novel Destination: Void, a story about an experiment to create artificial intelligence, a crew was sent out to space with only two alternatives: succeed or die. In the late 1970s, Herbert returned to the Destination: Void universe with a new novel co-authored by Bill Ransom. Herbert rewrote parts of the original novel which he felt were dated, and the new version was published in 1978, slightly before The Jesus Incident.

September 22nd, 2014. Rob Weber´s rating: 3.5 | Frank Herbert | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Destination: Void: Probably destined for obscurity

Destination: Void by Frank Herbert

Destination: Void was first published in Galaxy under the title Do I Sleep or Wake in 1965 before the first version of the book appeared in 1966. It was revised and partially rewritten for the 1978 publication, released before Frank Herbert and Bill Ransom embarked on the DESTINATION: VOID trilogy set in the same universe. Together these books make up the PANDORA SEQUENCE.

Destination: Void is set in a future where humanity has been experimenting with artificial intelligence.

September 15th, 2014. Rob Weber´s rating: 3 | Frank Herbert | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Eyes of Heisenberg: Fascinating ideas, lacks character development

The Eyes of Heisenberg by Frank Herbert

The Eyes of Heisenberg (1966) is set in a far future where humanity is ruled by a small group of biological immortals known as Optimen. They have lived for tens of thousands of years and regulated every aspect of life. Their life and health is preserved by carefully maintaining the balance. Genetic engineering has progressed to the point where the genetic sequences of a fertilized ovum can be manipulated by highly skilled doctors. This technique is used to keep the population within a narrow genetic bandwidth and decide who gets to have children.

Act One: A Thought-provoking and moving story

Act One by Nancy Kress

Ever since reading Kress’ wonderful collection Nano Comes to Clifford Falls and Other Stories I’ve been keeping an eye out for her short fiction. A number of her short works won Nebulas and Hugos, the most recent was a Hugo in 2009 for her novella The Erdmann Nexus, which unfortunately I haven’ t read yet. The novella Act One was nominated for the Hugo, Locus and Nebula award but won none of them. It was originally published in Asimov’s in 2009.

September 5th, 2014. Rob Weber´s rating: 4.5 | Nancy Kress | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Gypsy: A Brust & Lindholm collaboration

The Gypsy by Steven Brust and Megan Lindholm

Experienced police man Mike Stepovich anf his green partner Durand apprehend a gypsy suspected of murdering a shopkeeper. Stepovich immediately notices something strange about the gypsy and does something he’s never done in his long career. He fails to turn in the knife the gypsy is carrying. Somehow he knows the gypsy is not the murderer and the knife is special. Later that night, the gypsy disappears without a trace from the police cell they are holding him in. Murder investigations are not the territory of an ordinary patrol cop but this case does not let him go,

August 28th, 2014. Rob Weber´s rating: 4 | Megan Lindholm, Steven Brust | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |

The Shelters of Stone: Rehash and filler

The Shelters of Stone by Jean M. Auel

I suspect that Jean M. Auel disappointed quite a few readers with The Shelters of Stone, the fifth book her EARTH’S CHILDREN series. It appeared 12 years after The Plains of Passage and does little other than repeating all that has gone before. While I didn’t think it was as dreadful as the final book, The Land of Painted Caves, it’s most certainly not the highlight of my reading year.

February 18th, 2014. Rob Weber´s rating: 2 | Jean M. Auel | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Plains of Passage: An epic journey

The Plains of Passage by Jeane M. Auel

The literary quality of Auel’s The Valley of the Horses and The Mammoth Hunters, the second and third volume in her EARTH’S CHILDREN series, left something to be desired to put it mildly, so I wasn’t sure if I wanted to continue this series of reviews. I’ve always had a soft spot for The Plains of Passage, the fourth volume, and since I recently came across an English language version (this is one of the few novels I’ve read both in English and Dutch translation) I decided to go ahead and reread it.

February 7th, 2014. Rob Weber´s rating: 3 | Jean M. Auel | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Alien Earth: A magnificent science fiction tale

Alien Earth by Megan Lindholm

Megan Lindholm is perhaps better known under her pseudonym Robin Hobb. Since the appearance of Assassin’s Apprentice in 1995, her work set in the Realm of the Elderlings has gained her a wide popularity among fans of epic fantasy. Before the emergence of Hobb, Lindholm had already published ten other novels. A lot of these are out of print these days and that is a shame; the seven I’ve read so far are more than worth reading. It should be noted that Lindholm had a good reason to adopt another pen name.

Wizard of the Pigeons: A novel with many layers

Wizard of the Pigeons by Megan Lindholm

Wizard of the Pigeons is one of the last books Megan Lindholm wrote under this pen name, before moving on to her Robin Hobb alter ego. Once again I am impressed with the diversity of Lindholm’s writing; Wizard of the Pigeons is unlike any of the others I’ve read. I guess you could call it an urban fantasy before the werewolf boyfriends took over, or maybe magical realism would fit better. It is a very good book,

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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