STE5EN'S SCIENCE FICTION and HORROR BOOK REVIEWS
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  To read a review either scroll down or click on author's name
SAWYER, ROBERT J. 
 
 
 
 
SILVERBERG, ROBERT 
     The Masks Of Time 
     Starborne
     A Time Of Changes
 
SIMAK, CLIFFORD D. 
     Way Station 
 
 
 
SIMMONS, DAN 
 
 
 
SMITH, MICHAEL MARSHALL 
     Spares
    
    
STEPHENSON, NEAL 
     Snow Crash
     Zodiac
     The Diamond Age
STERLING, BRUCE 
     Heavy Weather
STOKER, BRAM 
     Dracula
STURGEON, THEODORE 
     More Than Human
SWANWICK, MICHAEL 
     Stations Of The Tide

 

SAWYER, ROBERT J.
 
 



 

SILVERBERG, ROBERT


THE MASKS OF TIME

(Belated review)

If I remember correctly, this story centred on a man who is possibly an alien, but we're never quite sure, who visits the Earth and receives the attention of the masses. I do remember the story was slow and that I sold my copy of it after reading.

Average  (5)
 

Author site www.connectexpress.com/~jon/silvhome.htm
 

SILVERBERG, ROBERT


STARBORNE

Disease, war, famine, poverty and nearly death have all been eliminated and life on Earth hasn't been easier. Things have become stagnated however and a search for a new Earth has the entire planets interest.

Fifty volunteers journey to the stars on this quest. They travel faster than light in what is called nospace; an alternate universe in which matter does not exist. The ship maintains contact with Earth using the telepathic powers of one of its crew, Noelle, whose twin sister, Yvonne, remains on Earth. The sisters are able to communicate over immense distances, but they begin to experience difficulties as the journey approaches the end of its first year.

The book didn't really get anywhere until the last third or so. Most interest was generated by the exploration of two planets considered possible settlement sites. This is the second Silverberg I've read and like the first it didn't quite deliver. I'll give A TIME OF CHANGES a go next. It's supposed to be one of his best.

Good  (6.5)
 

SILVERBERG, ROBERT


A TIME OF CHANGES  (1971)

This was the book that was going to either make or break Silverberg in my eyes. It won a Nebula Award and I therefore thought that I should be in for something superior. Sadly this was not to be the case.

Set on a planet far away from Earth, a prince leaves his kingdom once his older brother inherits it on their father's death. He travels across a vast wilderness, the Burnt Lowlands, to the other side of the continent and finds life tough living as a commoner.

I didn't finish this one, it felt too much like a fantasy story. This is not the sort of science fiction I want to spend time reading.

Average   (4)

May 2002
 

PS Perhaps Silverberg's short fiction will be better. I do have a collection that I may investigate.

SIMAK, CLIFFORD D.


WAY STATION

The inhabitant of a house in a quiet country setting turns out to be the keeper of an alien spaceport. Hugo winner.

Good  (6.5)
 

Tribute site www.tc.umn.edu/~brams007/simak/default.htm
 


SIMMONS, DAN
 
 



 

SMITH, MICHAEL MARSHALL


SPARES  (1996)

Jack Randall, ex-cop and war veteran, has left the city of New Richmond to work on a Farm. The Farm is where the rich store their clones as insurance against physical injury. Lose an arm, need a skin graft, your clone will provide whether it wants to or not. Jack decides that he can’t allow this to continue and decides to run away with a handful of spares.

He and his small group make it back to New Richmond, but Jack is in a lot of trouble. People he associates with become targets and when he loses the spares, it’s a race against time to recover them before they are gone for good.

Jack’s journey takes him back to the site of the war. A non-place known as the Gap, a surreal world hidden from our own reality, inhabited by strangeness that renders those that enter mad, unless they take a copious amount of drugs.

Spares is an entertaining story that reaches a satisfying conclusion. I did find myself contemplating my next read before reaching the end of this one, but it wasn’t a bad effort. Lots of soul searching on the part of the central character as he battles the demons of his past, let alone gangsters and mercenaries.

Good (7.5)

August 2003
 

STEPHENSON, NEAL


SNOW CRASH

One of the best beginnings to a story I've read. The story centres around a computer virus and the hunt for the 'cure'. The first half of the story was excellent but, after this it got a little lost with the history of Babel and speaking in tongues. Overall, I'd say it is a must read. 

Excellent  (9.5)
 

Author site www.well.com/user/neal/
 

STEPHENSON, NEAL


ZODIAC (1988)

Sangamon Taylor works for GEE, the Group of Environmental Extremists. He searches for companies dumping toxic waste and brings them to the attention of the media, which either forces the company to clean up its act or close down.

One company is trying to clean up its act by genetically modifying E. coli that will consume the toxins. This creates more problems than it solves.

Most of the story is about S.T. and his efforts to block leaking pipes and expose ‘dirty’ companies. This is entertaining for a while, but I got a little tired of it. The dilemma with the E. coli added some spice, but not enough to lift my overall enjoyment. Certainly not up to the standard set in SNOW CRASH.

Good (6)

June 2000
 

STEPHENSON, NEAL


THE DIAMOND AGE  (1995)

John Hackworth is a nanotechnologist who has been commissioned to create a book, “A Young Lady’s Illustrated Primer”, for a wealthy man’s granddaughter. The Primer is an interactive, educational high tech book/computer that will adapt its story to suit the current life of its owner. Once begun the book will only work for its first reader.

Hackworth makes an illegal copy which he plans to give to his own daughter to improve her chances in life. The book is stolen and a small girl, Nell, becomes its owner and is given the opportunity to escape her squalid, violent life.

We follow Nell’s adventures both in real time and story time. Winner of the 1996 Hugo award, this is a very entertaining story that is well worth the effort and the award, which is not always the case.

Excellent  (9.5)

November 2005
 

STERLING, BRUCE


HEAVY WEATHER  (1994)

I’ve collected a few of Sterling’s novels over the years and finally got around to reading one. Hopefully, this work is not typical because if it is I’ll be selling the collection.

Jane Unger is a member of the Storm Troupers, a group that chase severe storms across central USA. They send probes into the middle of twisters and other heavy weather and use virtual reality link-ups to experience the turbulence within. 

That’s it, at least for the 40% of the story I read. I wasn’t interested or motivated enough to continue. While Sterling’s writing wasn’t bad, the plot didn’t interest me after 118 pages.

Average (5.5)

August 2002
 

STOKER, BRAM


DRACULA

I had never intended reading this book, but since I discovered a liking for vampire novels I thought I'd try the original.

The book takes a long time to get anywhere. The style of writing is not easy to enjoy and we don't get to see a lot of the vampires - at least not to the point I reached before I gave up on the story.

Average (4)
 

STURGEON, THEODORE


MORE THAN HUMAN  (1953)

Set in three parts, this is the story of a collection of children who, by themselves, are rather dysfunctional, but together, make a ‘being’ of immense knowledge and power.

Part one is told from the point of view of Lone, a boy who has been alone for many years and is considered an idiot by those he meets. The second part is set in a psychiatrist’s office where Gerry, a new recruit to the group, recounts his time amongst them. Part three details the experiences of Hip, a man who comes in contact with the group and ends up at death’s door.

This story came as a pleasant surprise as I had no idea of the direction the plot was to take. Even as the story progressed and more was revealed, my level of interest was maintained ‘til the last page. Don’t read detailed reviews of this book. Don’t even read the back cover. Just read the book. You won’t be disappointed.

Excellent  (9.5)

July 2002
 

SWANWICK, MICHAEL


STATIONS OF THE TIDE

During the reading of this novel, I knew that I would have to read it again to fully appreciate it. If I put it down and returned the next day it was difficult to put myself back into the picture. There was such a lot of strange things happening with dream sequences, drugged episodes and robots acting as human surrogates.

The planet of Miranda is about to change due to its periodic flooding. The local human population has restricted use of offworld technology and a hunt is mounted when it is suspected some has been stolen. A character known only as the bureaucrat is given the task of finding the thief , Gregorian. Gregorian manages to stay a step ahead of the bureaucrat and it becomes apparent that someone is acting as traitor.

Very Good  (8.5)
 
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