reading (Asimov's Dec)

I finished the last story in this month's Asimov on Sunday. I enjoyed this month's selections. "'Run,' Bakri Says" was a creepy short that laced together the imaginative theme with reality and humanity. Tim McDaniel's "The List" had good detailed imagery with a classic short story punch. The flow of Pamela Sargent's "Strawberry Birdies" made me 'ooh' with glee in the first few pages, then 'oh' with disappointment when I thought the plot was turning down a well traveled path (spies), then 'oh' with surprise when it turned down a different path altogether. The end of Steve Rasnic Tem's "Ephemera" simply broke my heart, but I'm sure that would be the reaction of many book lovers. I really liked how Suzanne Palmer pulled off the change of pace and character representation in "Surf". The invincible alien tech was getting a little deep there for a bit, but in the end it fit right in.

38. Asimov's December 2011

reading (The Dark Side of the Sun)

I finished "The Dark Side of the Sun" yesterday. It's a pretty short novel, so reading it in a day isn't an amazing feat. This book is Pratchett's first novel, written in 1976. I really enjoyed seeing Pratchett build a whole science fiction universe from scratch. The writing style feels a lot like other science fiction authors of the era, although there are bits that would later show up in Discworld novels. I liked how Pratchett stretched his creativity. Yes, it was all highly improbable, but enjoyable. The name of the robot, that's just to die for.

39. Terry Pratchett "The Dark Side of the Sun"