Ahira's Hangar

I've been quietly checking into the other novels (besides City and the City). The one that sounds like it might be a lot of fun is Boneshaker. Steampunk and zombies in Seattle!

Palimpsest sounds like it might be weird, but in a possibly very good way.

Started reading The Windup Girl tonight, and not feeling the love thus far.

Nearly done with the Windup Girl and it is turning out to be better than I was afraid it would be.



It is set at some undetermined time in the future, after oil has run out. The world contracted and went mad. Starvation and genocide took place. Eventually giant food companies arise in the North American heartland and try to take over the world...their genetically engineered diseases wipe out populations of people, animals, and food crops, as the food giants try to get a complete monopoly on food.

The one somewhat independent place left is the Kingdom of Thailand, which has a seed bank of its own. They have more or less stayed on top of the diseases, and have developed foods from the bank which are engineered to be resistant to the diseases.

The story tells of the very involved jockeying for power in Thailand, both between factions of the Thai government and with the foreign food companies.

Thus far it is very dark and a rather ugly look at a possible future after oil.

Sounds interesting.

--A

It was a bit grim for my tastes

but you might really enjoy it, Av. I know stuff that bothers me in books often doesn't bother you.

I just got done with a much happier toned nominee in WWW:Wake by Robert Sawyer. It is about the origins of conciousness, and even though it is the first book in a trilogy, it was a complete story in its own right. In a way, it is a retelling of the Helen Keller story with some really high tech twists.

Have now moved on to a library copy of Julian Comstock by Robert Charles Wilson. Looks like another one with a post-oil setting, with the US and Canada (poor Canada!!) merged and taken over by fundies. Sigh.

OK, have read all of these now, so brief summations:

Boneshaker by Cherie Priest (Tor)
I had thought this would be a lot of fun from the descriptions - steam punk! zombies! zeppelin pirates! drug smugglers! but somehow it all managed to be a bit...dull. Big disappointment for me.

The City & The City by China Miéville (Del Rey; Macmillan UK)
My favorite of the lot. Urban fantasy crossed with detective noir. Worked well for me.

Julian Comstock: A Story of 22nd-Century America by Robert Charles Wilson (Tor)
set 100 or so years in the future after oil in a feudal merged US and Canada under the thumb of religious fundies - interesting concepts, but it put me to sleep repeatedly - really really boring, IMHO

Palimpsest by Catherynne M. Valente (Bantam Spectra)
beautifully written, with great dream imagery - but the plot can be summed up as a simple "hump your way to heaven" Worth reading just for the use of language.

Wake by Robert J. Sawyer (Ace; Penguin; Gollancz; Analog)
modern retelling of the Helen Keller story - with a charming teen age girl as the main character - a science fiction novel which would greatly appeal to those who do not usually enjoy science fiction novels - a one word summation would be "uplifting" or perhaps "hopeful"

The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi (Night Shade)
only an insane person would want to visit the future in this book - a one word summation would be "grim" or perhaps "brutal" - very well written, though and I can understand how it has won a ton of awards, though it was a bit too dark for my personal tastes

I've read some stuff by Seanan McGuire. She writes an urban fantasy series about a changeling who lives in San Francisco. They're not bad.