Ahira's Hangar

Have had a lot of trouble getting into the Banks book. Just not very interested in the conflict/potential conflict in it. I guess.



Took a break to read Kim Stanley Robinson's Galileo's Dream, which was a truly bizarre mesh of biography and time travel, and now on to a second assault upon the Banks book, hoping to finish it this time.

Finally finished Banks' Surfaces Detail. It was good, but I did not get into as much as some other Culture books. The central theme just did not interest me that much, but people more into religious themes might enjoy those aspects a lot more than I did.

Wrapping up "The Best of Gene Wolfe." I get why he was a big deal, but y'know, as a woman, I'm having some trouble reading some of these stories. For instance, there's one that's supposed to be a travelogue by a Muslim guy who's touring post-apocalyptic Washington, DC, but it turns into a recounting of the guy's obsession with an actress and the lengths he goes to in order to have sex with her. There are just so many more interesting things to do with such a scenario. More interesting to *me*, anyhow....

I thought I had read all the really good, unique books in the zombie field (which I really enjoy), but was surprised when I went back and grabbed one that has been out awhile and gotten tons of good reviews. J.L. Bourne's Day by Day Armegeon and the am now on the sequel. Really captivating writing and doesn't feel tired and over done.

I finally am able to read Dangerous Visions since it's available on Kindle now. I'm about 2/3rds way through it and enjoying it.

rereading a couple of old favorites - Ann McCaffrey's The Rowan and Damia.

Steven Erikson The Bonehunters nice to get back to familar characters in this book

Reading Alistair Reynold's Revelation Space up to pg. 70 really enjoying it--reminds of many other quality space epic-Hyperion, Use of Weapons, Metropolitan, Metaplanetary---i.e. some pretty intelligent stuff.

The guy's, I believe, an Astrophysicist from Wales and I've heard Revelation Space is the first book in a trilogy--it takes place way out in space and way out in the future with humans split into different factions; wraith-like light speed spacers, immortals, Conjoiners (human minds altered by planet sized aliens; the Jugglers), incredibly mysterious aliens: The Shrouds, androids, prosthetics, brain implants, holographic programs of the dead, very liberal usages of cryogenics. Reynolds is like Donaldson in a way, you need a dictionary and a thesaurus to keep up with him, kind of like Wolfe and Zindell too with new terms and language--you could even throw in dashes of Brin...up to p. 150 still very intriguing and fun.

I'm reading Robots and Empire (think that's the name), which is the last of the Robot books. It's pretty good.

Just finished up a new one by Stephen Baxter - Stone Spring, an alternate history set in the late stone ages in an area which was once a land bridge between Britain and France and is now underwater. Unfortunately, it is the first in a trilogy, but it was a complete and self contained story, though with room for sequels.

Going to reread some Anne McCaffrey books in honor of her long and prolific life and writing career. Starting out with Crystal Singer and its sequels, probably following it up with The Ship Who Sang and some of the Pern/Dragonrider books.