A few books this fine Friday morning!!

24. The Fenris Device by Brian Stableford. Book 5 in the Hooded Swan series…another classic sci-fi book here. And what a ride this was! I really liked this one – obviously I enjoyed the previous ones in the series too, but the few books before this dropped something that I had really loved in the first few books – namely, the spaceflight awe and wonder. Grainger’s piloting in this book is marvelous to read…and yes, you’d think – what’s so exciting about reading a man piloting a spaceship? To that I respond – you need to read this series. The last few books had a lot more planet-time (which was fun in and of itself!), but this book gets back to space. A great romp, this one sees Grainger and crew trying to land on a planet that is very not easy to land on, due to a very dense and messy atmosphere. I shan’t get into the plot of this story, but it’s serviceable enough. Again, the main glory of this book is simply reading about the tense beauty that is spaceflight. (Also there is one simply epic scene in which Grainger must ride in a metal pod – unpiloted!! – down to the planet surface…one of the most tense and epic scenes in entire series. Pure adrenaline. Pure gold)

25. Swan Song by Brian Stableford. And here we come to the final book in the Hooded Swan series. This is another epic book…hard to describe in some ways, because the gorgeous prose of the spaceflight combined with the terse wryness of the protagonist make for a mix that’s difficult to get across in a review. This book was published in 1975 I believe…and so as I read this book the other night with Star Wars (A New Hope) playing in the background, I realized this was one of the final sci-fi books to be written before the beast that was Star Wars was unleashed upon the world. And maybe that’s partly why I have enjoyed this series so much – it has a flavour that is difficult to find in modern sci-fi books that have been birthed in post Star Wars age (which I would argue has quite a significant influence on the genre). Of course, it could also be that I like early-70’s era sci-fi for some entirely unrelated reason. Who knows? But there is a glorious mixture of wonder and awe and a nebulous grasp of the infinite and then also we have a cynical understanding of the human condition and urge to corrupt and dominate all. And pardon if the previous sentence seems ill-suited to this review, but I do believe it well defines this series. And wow, this is far too many words without even discussing this book. Swan Song – a grand book with grand ideas – and almost a bit too wordy and philosophical for my tastes at times (and that’s saying something!), but I still greatly enjoyed this book. I almost saw a little bit of a “2001: A Space Odyssey” influence at times. And that’s not a bad thing. Grainger continues to do his thing, there are some moments of fraught terror and sheer delight…and I heartily enjoyed. Grainger attempts to pilot a starship through a nebular window into a possible new universe just to save his friends…and what shall he find? Well, that’s a story I shall not tell here. This series is now over and I am sad.

Now – too much book reviewing! I did start a re-read of The Fires of Heaven last night, mainly because I wanted to switch out of a sci-fi gear. Last night was a fantastic evening, by the way. A gorgeous spring day. The sun finally came out, the sky was blue…and so obviously I couldn’t resist the urge to go for a walk. Enjoyed a lovely hour at EQ reading and soaking in the sunlight. Then back home for a yummy dinner of chicken and potatoes and homemade stuffing! (And more reading, yes)

Now…it is Friday and I shall rejoice in the knowledge that I walk before my God this day. All my sins have been washed away – I am made clean by the blood of the Lamb. What else should I rejoice in? Naught else. Peace and love, dear friends.