Reading List Update: # 28 - 32

[jedibuttercup]

Five more books, all under the "military science fiction" umbrella this time, one immediate future and the rest farther-flung. For some reason, this genre seems to be where I go to mentally relax.

28. Lt. Leary Commanding by David Drake. Paperback, 556pp. 2nd of the RCN series. I loved this one as much as the first; it's very much Aubrey and Maturin in space, operating in a fascinating far-future world. Leary and Mundy are still feeling their way into their partnership in this book, and solidifying their claim on the Princess Cecile and her crew. The back of the book says "Action, color and heroics merge with the gritty realities of war and politics in a story that never slows down," and there's no better way to describe it; the main characters are skilled, luckier than they deserve, and yet still quite human. An enjoyable read.

29. The Far Side of the Stars by David Drake. Paperback, 514pp. 3rd of the RCN series. Okay, so the whole "one with the giant prophetic tree" episode in the middle of this one was a complete deus ex machina and totally out of left field, but other than that, it was another excellent entry in the series. The exploratory bits were interesting, and the sneak attack on the Alliance base at the end exciting; the world building and characterization very engrossing. These are definitely going on my reread list at some point.

30. The Way To Glory by David Drake. Paperback, 511pp. 4th of the RCN series. Previously, Leary and Mundy had a fairly free hand, directing the tiny world of their ship within the greater structure of the military; now politics have caught up to them, and they are assigned to a larger ship with a paranoid, angry commanding officer. Complications ensue. (Despite the increased military/political element in the book, though, a lot of interesting science/exploratory stuff still manages to wedge its way into the narrative; I love that). The only thing wrong with it was that I didn't have books #5 and #6 at hand to immediately continue the story.

31. Von Neumann's War by John Ringo and Travis S. Taylor. Paperback, 522pp. I know, I know, Ringo, and after I'd just sworn off him, too! But I swear he's at his best when co-writing; it tends to curb his worst hypermasculine excesses. This book is, I must admit up-front, unabashedly USA-centric (as in, everyone else dies), and contains frequent digressions into rocket- and computer-geekery. I'd say it is to my reading habits what "popcorn flicks" are to my viewing habits: not the best thing ever written, and I wouldn't even recommend it, but it was fun anyway. Remarkably cheery for an immediate-future, alien-armageddon story.

32. Off Armageddon Reef by David Weber. Hardback, 605pp. 1st of a series. This, on the other hand. Wow, how do I even define it, except to say I'm buying the 2nd one the instant it hits shelves in July? It's-- also set after the human race (in an advanced technological future) is virtually wiped out by faceless aliens, but the quality difference between this book and the one above is very distinct. The one colony world left to humanity is set up with very strict controls on technology (so the alien menace can't find them again) and the controls solidified into a religion. Into this world, centuries later, one relic of the past age awakens and attempts to get humanity moving again. Amazing world-building. Distinct Arthurian parallels. Politics and wars and religion and scientific discovery and spies and betrayal and love and families and quests and-- ah! Everything I love best about epic fantasy in a sci-fi setting! More, please.

Next up: The Gates of Sleep. Back to Victorian-age fairytale re-interpretations for me; I've sci-fi-ed myself out for awhile, I think.
~

Comments

[kerravonsen]

Off Armageddon Reef by David Weber.

I remember looking at the blurb of this one when it came out, deciding it sounded intriguing, deciding to wait for the paperback -- and then reading a bad review which made me decide to forget it. If I recall correctly, the review basically said that a good idea was let down by jingoism. So now I don't know what to think.

[jedibuttercup]

*looks up jingoism*

Hmm: extreme chauvinism or nationalism marked especially by a belligerent foreign policy

Uh. In terms of boosting one country at the expense of others? Well. The Merlin figure of the story picks the most enlightened country out of a pretty static bunch (by virtue of location and slightly more openminded rulers) in a world mired by a highly restrictive and very warped organized religion-- then befriends its rulers and enlightens it further, which plays merry havoc with politics, inspiring other countries to attack them, etc., etc., and in the end, that country wins the war. Um. So, yes, fairly one-nation-centric. But I never particularly thought of that as a bad thing in a fantasy world like this one.

(If the reviewer meant something else by "jingoism", you'd have to point me at the review itself for me to address it in a more concrete manner).

You can sort of tell, especially at the beginning, that Weber came up with the idea of the world first in its static medieval setting, and then went to town figuring out (a) how it got there in the first place, and then (b) how to modernize it again given the help of one very advanced being, and what the complications would be. It's not perfect. But I adored the richness of it, and the potential for future storytelling.

[kerravonsen]

I'm afraid I can't remember where I read the review, sorry.

I guess my other chief question is: is the main character sympathetic and rounded, or are they just a chess piece pushed around by the plot?

[jedibuttercup]

I guess that depends on your point of view? *yawn* I'm a little too tired at the moment to analyze it objectively.

There is a sense of domino-tipping or chess-piece-moving going on in the plot a lot of the time, due to the nature of the storyline. But the author made an effort to develop all the main characters, and especially the central character, given that by virtue of what she is and when she's from she's already kind of alienated from everyone around her.

I liked her; I liked the King and Prince of the country she ingratiated herself with; I liked that all of their supporters and all of their enemies each had their own individual motives for doing what they did, some of which are likely to last the whole series and others of which are not; I was kind of amused by the recurring use of Arthurian names and plot elements; I don't know, it just all synergized into a story I very much enjoyed.

[cubby-t-bear.livejournal.com]

I liked it, but not all that much, because it's a plotline Weber has used before. So a lot of the developments were already spoiled for me.

It's much better done this time around, though. Heirs to Empire was at the very beginning of Weber's work, and it showed.

[trinfaneb.livejournal.com]

Good summaries of the Drake books. I'm glad you enjoyed them. I think they are really something special.

I also believe Ringo is better with a co-writer. Von Neumann's war is pretty forgettable after you read it, but I agree that its fun while it lasts.

Ringo started a new SF series with Travis S. Taylor in "Into the Looking Glass" and its two sequels with another one on the way in November. I really like them and suggest you check them out.

Didn't realize a follow-up to Armageddon Reef was coming. A good reason to finally read it :)

[jedibuttercup]

I do have "Into the Looking Glass", and thought it was a very intriguing premise for a series. I'm not quite willing to spend the $$ to pick up the next two when they're both still in hardback, though. Not unless I spot them at the local used book shop.

My favorite co-written books of Ringo's at this point are still the Prince Roger series he did with David Weber. =)

[trinfaneb.livejournal.com]

I understand about the hardbacks, but you can get those two books for six bucks as baen.com (and the new one for $15), but not everyone likes to read e-books. I don't mind them and they do help pass the time during slow weekend work days (especially now during the summer).

I agree heartily with you about the Prince Roger series :) I wish someone good would make a mini-series or series of movies from it.

Did you ever watch the "Rome" series on HBO? I just finished the last episode last night and it blew me away with how good it was. The two main characters in it (Titus Pullo and Lucius Voreno) remind me of characters from a David Drake book, decent men who never-the-less will do whatever it takes when they are pressed. I love the friendship between the two.

[jdsmith-gfu.livejournal.com]

More suggestions to add to the list, if you're liking Weber's world-building.

The 'Ring of Fire' series by Eric Flint (The first is '1632', He co-writes '1633' and '1634: The Baltic War', and supposedly 4 more books from the two in the series are coming)

Alternative history, placing a 2000 West Virginia town in the midst of the 30-years war... and how a tiny slice of America can completely alter the course of human events.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1632_series

That, and he's the only author I know who actually will publish good, canonical fanfic that will expand the series. (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baen%27s_Bar)

Just so ya know. :)

[kerravonsen]

I second the rec for the 1632 series. I haven't actually read more than the first two in the series; I keep on meaning to do so, but I haven't gotten around to it. I guess it's because the first one is my favourite.

[jedibuttercup]

The first one is my favorite, too. I have several of them, but the world splinters so much after that; 1634 and 1635 novels aren't nearly as fun.

[jedibuttercup]

Way ahead of you. =)

My only problem with the series is that it splinters so badly after the first couple of novels. Like a bunch of spin-off TV shows, and not all of them are as interesting as the original.

[(Anonymous)]

Have to agree with you there, although I do end up buying them all. The really good ones I read right away and the so-so ones I save for when I'm in the proper mood to appreciate them.