Happy Wednesday, one and all! It is a Wednesday which is also kinda a Monday…as this is my first day back at work following a nice long Thanksgiving holiday. So I sit here at my desk, peppermint mocha to warm me this fine cold morning. And although I could write all about my holiday in Florida with the fam, I fear I do not have the time at the moment. So…let’s catch up on book logging, shall we?
41. Halcyon Drift by Brian Stableford. A classic sci-fi novel. Apparently I am still very much in a science fiction mood…and my appetite for old sci-fi has been most thoroughly whetted by the last few books I’ve read. This book, published in 1972, actually reads almost more like a 50s’/60s’ sci-fi novel, which for me is not a bad thing! I apparently liked this book enough that I’ve now ordered the second book in the series. I shan’t describe the plot of the book, but like a lot of older sci-fi books, the characters aren’t necessarily well-formed but…I shall say that the cypher-like nature of the main character actually enhances both the stunning wonder and pulse-racing danger of the cosmos. The descriptions of space-flight in this novel were both highly original and utterly gorgeous. The main spacecraft in this one…so lovingly described that I could almost imagine the author was a space-pilot himself. And this book moved right along…I read it in just a few days? Not a masterpiece this, but a very serviceable enjoyable read. Looking forward to reading more by this author.
42. Triplanetary by E.E. Smith. Speaking of classic sci-fi…this novel was originally published in serialized form in…wait for it…1934! So back we go! My paperback version I picked up was a 1949 version. Still four years before Dad was born!! This is another book that isn’t a masterpiece, but still highly enjoyable, partly just for getting a window into the 1930s mindset! This book has a lot of great action pieces that are a bit ridiculous but…hey, it’s still good old fashioned fun. You can tell when it was written because one of the most deadly weapons in the book (used twice) is a type of nerve gas (still very much on the minds of people back in the post Great War days). The dialogue in this book is fantastic…mostly because it’s really not how people talk today, but it tickled my imagination to have all these futuristic characters using 1930s American slang! Love it. I haven’t yet decided if I will get any more books in this series, but I definitely enjoyed reading it. A good book to read on the airplane as I flew to Tampa a few weeks ago…
43. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. Finally a modern book. Published in 2014, this is definitely not a classic science fiction novel. Actually, it’s not really a science fiction novel at all. A few weeks ago, I told Meagan I needed to find more sci-fi novels and she was gracious enough to lend me this. (Thanks Meagan!) But I discovered soon upon reading this that it is much more of the dystopian/post-apocalyptic future genre than sci-fi. But no matter that, it was a gorgeous read. I read this in…I think a day? My first few days in Tampa, wasn’t feeling great, so spent a lot of time on the couch reading. And this book made it all ok. The highly literary style of this book tended to sometimes overwhelm the actual plot of the story…but honestly I was alright with that. It was incredibly fascinating to read about the fall of a civilization through the eyes of several characters that were all connected to each other in some way. The character tying all the other characters isn’t even alive for the main plot, but his shadow looms large over the rest. The flashback scenes were some of my favourites and the character of Miranda, the author and artist of the titular “Station Eleven” comics, was most definitely my favourite character. The dinner scene with her and Arthur and others…so vivid I can even now see it in my mind. Honestly, the main plot wasn’t even as fascinating to me as just finding out more about the history of the characters and seeing how everything tied together. The main villain? I figured out who he was fairly early on, and while tragic, he didn’t amount to as much of a menace as I was anticipating. Again though, loved the characterization of Miranda…loved reading about her great work – “Station Eleven”. The short bits of the novel describing those starlit seascapes were some of my favorites. Final verdict? Can’t unreservedly recommend, as it definitely is a bit of a depressing read (post-apocalyptic fun!). But I sometimes enjoy those works tinged with melancholy and regret, so I was perfectly alright with it. I can still picture the glittering snow falling down upon the fallen King Lear, that fallen Arthur Leander.
