Author: Scott

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Books

Alfred Bester Redemolished

An interesting book; it’s much less an autobiography than most, but it’s not a normal collection of short stories either. It’s more “you already know most of his sci-fi, here’s his rare stuff”.

He sounds annoying to deal with, particularly during his lashing out as sci-fi phase– but I enjoy his stories and articles. His lucrative time writing for holiday resulted in some interesting interview with sci-fi authors– which might help explain how they sci-fi authors penetrated the mainstream.

If you already love him, this is interesting further reading. If you’re not familiar with him already, start with his novels The Demolished man or The Stars My Destination.

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FATE Games

Dresden: Lots of Q&A answered

Fred linked off to a great site, where they are discussing their playtesting experience with the Dresden Files game. It sounds like it’s solid– they had a lot of data and thorough system backing, which makes me think that the GM is going to have lots of guidelines and rules to help out.

An overview of the RPG books is here.

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Books

You’re Not Fooling Anyone When You Take Your Laptop to the Coffee Shop

This book is a collection of John Scalzi’s essays on writing and the writing life. It concentrates on the practical level behind writing: how you make the finances work, how you structure your life to get work done. There are essays about authors being catty, and a discussion of science fiction (and sci-fi publishing) in the current era.

I like the whole thing, though little of it is directly applicable to me. I had already read several of the essays on Whatever, his site, but appreciated seeing some from the era before I found it.

One particularly good point is his story about leaving the bee and catapulting to the new world: big changes can be scary, but get you out of comfortable ruts. Good to keep in mind now…

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Books

Vilcabamba by Harry Turtledove

Vilcabamba by Harry Turtledove: A short story of resistance and overwhelming foes. I liked it; dark and depressing, with glints of heroism along the way.

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Books

Your Next Move by Michael D. Watkins

While the book was interesting, it isn’t written for me (or a typical worker) at all. I thought it might give me a good perspective on getting my mind settled and ready for a new company. Instead, it concentrated on what people being promoted to run large divisions/companies should concentrate on.

The conditions covered are stressful, and the advice looks sound, but this was pure voyeurism for me– the advice is not directed at me at all. [Well, other than to note that even under his system, even though bringing people on board is the core of his consulting, he still doesn’t expect HR to do much for bringing people in and acclimating them to local culture at lower than the manager of supervisors level.]

After this I reread Cube Farm. I enjoyed it again, but doubt it will develop into a frequent reread. [Though some parts, like his indictment of people who put their heads in the sand and ignore looming layoffs stung a bit more this time.]

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Books Fresno

Indie Store Finder

The Indie Store Finder site is dedicated to promoting and connecting you to independent book stores. I like that– and found a new store, Petunia’s Place near me. I guess I’ve got a new store to check out…

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Books

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

This is a great book; the two main characters are very sympathetic, with many similarities and differences. Having each character get two chapters then switching to the other keeps things moving. The chapters are short and filled with interesting illustrations, lots of action… it’s good fun.

The two heroes are teens, and the book proves very teen friendly throughout. Young romance doesn’t enter the picture until near the very end, and is only alluded to. I suspect romance may blossom in the sequel, but for now it’s pure adventure.

Deryn Sharp is an adventurous, highly skilled girl, who conceals her gender to get into the royal air service. There is a lot of complexity to the character; she is tomboyish, fascinated by flight, and quite competitive. She comes from a relatively well off family, but it’s clear that the family fortunes are in decline.

Aleksander is the grandson of the Austria-Hungarian Emperor. His story begins in tragedy, and is filled with interesting twists. While he comes across as a bit coddled in the beginning, and his upbringing proves influential throughout the book, he is more than his title.

The other characters are well developed too. The crew of the Leviathan is sketched pretty well, with occasional deeper glimpses, and the compact crew of Aleksander’s walker are all detailed (though the Count and fencing teacher are much more on stage). Dr. Nora Barlow is the most impressive and insightful character in the book.

The technology is very cool; both sides are impressively advanced, but still have foibles. It’s a fast, fun read– one that I strongly recommend to book lovers of any age.

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Books

Total Oblivion: More or Less by Alan Deniro

A funky book that holds together only somewhat… but by design. A good choice for a main character keeps the attention where it belongs– on the main character, Macy, not on the mechanics of the world falling apart.

The world is somehow falling apart– ancient empires roam modern America, somehow, and technology fails over large swaths. It’s an interesting backdrop– a way of crossing modern and historical cultures without resorting to fantasy derivations to twist them into dwarfs and elves.

The focus on Macy and her family keeps a lot of geeky details on the periphery. We see one zone where guns don’t work, but don’t concentrate on how that works out and what other ramifications it has. Similarly, the refugee status their family endures throughout the book keeps you from looking too carefully at the underpinings of trade and empire. Short asides between each Macy chapter give you more detail about other characters (like her mom and dad), and about the “powers” of this fallen world.

In many ways, the setting is a lot like a Rifts universe– and is the closest I’ve seen to a setting that I’d want to play something like Rifts in. Though the lack of super-science and ley-lines means you’d have to rework just about everything for it to work…

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Books

The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi

An excellent book set in an interesting near future. It’s the 22nd century, but the collapse of oil and ravages of engineered plagues have knocked technology way back. Carbon emissions are also a big problem, with the sea nearly drowning many cities– and having drowned several others. The setting is great; an intriguing mix of various threads of today extrapolated forward.

The characters fit the setting and are well done. Tan Hock is very sympathetic, despite also scheming and cheating– often tough to make work for me as a reader. Anderson is a good gaijin– focused on home and what success means there, tangled in the local situation but also somewhat above it. Kanya and Jaidee provide interesting takes on the Environmental Ministry, anchoring the carbon emissions and making their effect concrete. Emiko, the windup girl of the title, is wonderful– but she goes through terrible things. I know that when I recommended the book to my wife, it was with the caution that her character is horribly abused on screen– degradation is a core part of her experience.

Their interactions are sometimes surprising, sometimes seem a little contrived as they cross paths, but they show and experience a very tumultuous time in the City’s history, from very complimentary points of view. Unlike many large cast books, I never wanted to skip past a character’s experiences to get to the next.

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Books

Heart of Veridon by Tim Akers

A fun, fast read– once I started, it sucked me in. It is an alternate world, alternate tech– lots of gears and strange technology, no overt magic, Victorian manners and interesting interactions between the various strata of society.

I liked the gritty, strange tech of the world. It made for a place that felt real as a city– as more than the touristy veneer that some fantastic cities feel like. Similarly, the technology was strange– partially understood by the characters, but no long asides explaining where it came from, which was great. The airships were cool, as were the algorithm’s devices… and source.

The book does a really good job of pushing real characters. Everyone involved has an angle, people draw back just when you need them, and the secrets are all social– they are people secrets as much as technology or control secrets. The details of Veridon’s politics and their influence on Jacob is constant– but it develops at a reasonable pace, and the twists make sense in the newly expanded context that’s revealed when the world turns upside down (again).