My Mini Reviews

[Kalthanan]

In order to avoid spoilers as I grind through my library, I'll post miniature reviews of books and/or series in this thread.

[Kalthanan]

Aristoi is a complicated novel of intrigue and an extreme future of humanity where the elite are dependent upon nanotechnology, brain implants, and virtual reality.

The book tells the story of Gabriel, one of the elite rulers of the future who guides and rules over many planetary systems in an elaborate aristocracy.

Intrigue spins a complicated web around him using the people he loves, and the technology he relies on.

The novel has a high "learning curve" to get over before the reader gets involved in the story instead of trying to understand the people and how their society works, but the well written characters and plot are worth the effort.

Four out of five bananas.
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[Kalthanan]

This novel tells the story of a man with the gift (or curse) or an extremely strong mental telepathy.

Harry Bronson goes through pain and self doubt while facing up to the demons, human and psychological, that face him on his journey of self-awareness.

The pacing of the novel was very slow, and I found it to be boring at times. Also, the age of the manuscript is showing. The copyright is 1971, and hasn't aged as well as many other science fiction novels I've read.

2 and a half bananas
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[Kalthanan]

Knight Moves is a story diffuse with mythology and technology. Humanity expands to explore the stars when Doran Falkner makes a secret pact with an alien entity and is given the secret to an unlimited energy source.

Falkner also developed methods to prolong human life indefinitely.

Now Doran is intent upon discovering something as equally groundbreaking, but there are obstacles in his way, one of which is his love for a woman who refuses to live forever.

The book is well-written; the pacing is good. I enjoyed the frequent references and analogies to Greek mythology, and I enjoyed the book overall.

Four bananas out of five.
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[Kalthanan]

The Singers of Time is an interesting trip through a possible future where a technologically superior race of "turtles" has grounded humanity and bereft them of their drive to the stars and their own development of technology through a pacifying strategy of trade and commerce.

The characters aren't the best written; we don't really have an identifying protagonist, since there are several main characters that we follow through the story. However, the story is interesting and has decent pacing and plenty of plot developments after about the first third of the book.

There is nothing revolutionary or as deeply thought-provoking as some of the things in the Walter Jon Williams novels, so less food for thought.

Three bananas out of five.
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[Kalthanan]

Orson Scott Card puts out blockbuster after blockbuster. From his amazing science fiction novels about Ender Wiggin, to the Homecoming series of Earth refugees, to the tales of an alternate Earth in the Tales of Alvin Maker, Card has an amazing talent.

The Tales of Alvin Maker starts with the book "Seventh Son," which was re-released recently at a lower price.

The books tell the story of an alternate history of Colonial "America" where magic works. The characters are humorously or tragically drawn. Fans of fantasy fiction will enjoy these novels heartily. They aren't dense political intrigue like The Game of Thrones (George R.R. Martin, also highly recommended) or high fantasy like Tolkien, but somewhere in between Tolkien and the Wizard of Oz.

It's not dense reading, but it's usually fun, enjoyable reading. You'll become very fond of the good guys, and even feel sorry for some of the bad guys.

Four bananas.

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[Kalthanan]

Angels and Demons

Following the amazing success of The Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons tells Robert Langdon's first adventure.

It is an entertaining read, although utilizing similar plot devices as The Da Vinci Code and Code Fortress to hook the reader in and establish tension. Similar methods to his other novels are used to heighten the tension throughout the book. Even though I'm a bit more aware of the tricks the writer uses to snare the reader, I was still entertained enough to read through A&D eagerly to get to the end.

Dan Brown's style is descriptive, engaging, and fast-paced enough to keep you mentally chasing after the protagonist and picking up clues as fast as they can be fed to you.

If you enjoyed any of Dan Brown's previous books, go ahead and get A&D. It's not Dickens, but it's easily as entertaining as a night at the movies.

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