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eor2. Asimov's Science Fiction Jan/Feb 2021
This month's Asimov's was really good. There were some solid stories in it. My favorite was Suzanne Palmer's "Table Etiquette for Diplomatic Personnel, in Seventeen Stories". It uses a standard setting (space station with several races stuffed in) and some standard plot devices, but pulls it off delightfully. It's like watching someone take stuff that's just been lying around for years and make something beautiful with it.
3. C.J. Cherryh "Hunter of Worlds"
C. J. Cherryh's "Hunter of Worlds" didn't do it for me. It was an ambitious book, trying to draw a complex universe and develop three races thoroughly enough that their inner workings could carry the themes and plot of the book. For me it didn't carry it off. The gears that moved the plot along had some missing teeth and the ride was jerky. Coming in at just over 200 pages, maybe it would have been better if it was longer. It's not often I say that.
4. Arthur C. Clarke "3001: The Final Odyssey"
It's been forever since I read (or watched) 2001: A Space Odyssey and I never read the sequels. I could still pick up 3001 and go right along. It is written in an old school science fiction style, which gives it a vintage feel even though the science was current when it was written (1997). Clarke diverges from the current trend of dystopianism and tacks toward the aspirational instead. Basically, despite some problems along the way, by 3001 most of mankind's problems are solved. Clarke spends a fair amount of time pointing out how his world got there, a not very subtle hint to current mankind how they might want to change things. It's not earth shaking, but it's not a bad read. I was quite delighted by the notes and comments by the author at the end.
5. Poul Anderson "Time and Stars"
I haven't read much Poul Anderson. When I was a kid I read some of the Ensign Flandry series and those were good for a kid. Honestly, somehow in my brain Anderson and Piers Anthony got confounded and seemed to stay confounded no matter how many times I realized, "Oh, not that guy, the other guy." Yes, I read the Incarnations of Immortality series and that was enough Piers Anthony for me, probably for a lifetime. But "Time and Stars" is written by Anderson and after reading it I can have no doubt. These stories were first published between 1960 and 1963. The paperback came out in 1964, with a cover price of $1.50!! Some bits of science in these stories is dated, but this is high quality science fiction that for the most part stands the test of time. It was very fun to read and had a surprising diverse set of characters.
The one thing that it seems none of the classic science fiction writers predicted was the downfall of smoking. You almost never see a future where the characters don't automatically light up every chance they get. I know some people still smoke, but reading old science fiction reminds you how almost everyone smoked and if they didn't they got to wade through lots of second hand.
This month's Asimov's was really good. There were some solid stories in it. My favorite was Suzanne Palmer's "Table Etiquette for Diplomatic Personnel, in Seventeen Stories". It uses a standard setting (space station with several races stuffed in) and some standard plot devices, but pulls it off delightfully. It's like watching someone take stuff that's just been lying around for years and make something beautiful with it.
3. C.J. Cherryh "Hunter of Worlds"
C. J. Cherryh's "Hunter of Worlds" didn't do it for me. It was an ambitious book, trying to draw a complex universe and develop three races thoroughly enough that their inner workings could carry the themes and plot of the book. For me it didn't carry it off. The gears that moved the plot along had some missing teeth and the ride was jerky. Coming in at just over 200 pages, maybe it would have been better if it was longer. It's not often I say that.
4. Arthur C. Clarke "3001: The Final Odyssey"
It's been forever since I read (or watched) 2001: A Space Odyssey and I never read the sequels. I could still pick up 3001 and go right along. It is written in an old school science fiction style, which gives it a vintage feel even though the science was current when it was written (1997). Clarke diverges from the current trend of dystopianism and tacks toward the aspirational instead. Basically, despite some problems along the way, by 3001 most of mankind's problems are solved. Clarke spends a fair amount of time pointing out how his world got there, a not very subtle hint to current mankind how they might want to change things. It's not earth shaking, but it's not a bad read. I was quite delighted by the notes and comments by the author at the end.
5. Poul Anderson "Time and Stars"
I haven't read much Poul Anderson. When I was a kid I read some of the Ensign Flandry series and those were good for a kid. Honestly, somehow in my brain Anderson and Piers Anthony got confounded and seemed to stay confounded no matter how many times I realized, "Oh, not that guy, the other guy." Yes, I read the Incarnations of Immortality series and that was enough Piers Anthony for me, probably for a lifetime. But "Time and Stars" is written by Anderson and after reading it I can have no doubt. These stories were first published between 1960 and 1963. The paperback came out in 1964, with a cover price of $1.50!! Some bits of science in these stories is dated, but this is high quality science fiction that for the most part stands the test of time. It was very fun to read and had a surprising diverse set of characters.
The one thing that it seems none of the classic science fiction writers predicted was the downfall of smoking. You almost never see a future where the characters don't automatically light up every chance they get. I know some people still smoke, but reading old science fiction reminds you how almost everyone smoked and if they didn't they got to wade through lots of second hand.
