beaconatnight's reviews
247 reviews

I have the feeling that, by now, Robinson's work is much overshadowed by the 'Mars'-trilogy (which I haven't read), surely a shame if there are gems like The Wild Shore in there. This is one of those novels that builds up so thick an atmosphere, it can change your entire frame of mind while reading it. So wonderfully sad and melancholic, yet also comfortable in a way. If you loved Cormac McCarthy's The Road, you should really get your hands on this one.

The book is set around the year 2050, after a nuclear strike in the 1980s has thrown the American people, or what's left of them, back to the days of hunting, fishing and agriculture. There are roughly two fractions now, one forming new villages and the other living in the ruins of an old world. While there are trade events between the villages, they don't serve any Kuala-exchange like purpose of reestablishing bonds; instead, they are there solely to get goods not available in your own surroundings (for lack of the necessary skills or resources). America is now encircled by highly technologically advanced nations making sure the former hegemon is not able to re-establish its former political and economic dominion.

Unlike many other writers in science fiction, who come more from a science and mathematics background, Kim Stanley Robinson approaches themes familiar from other forms of literature, giving them an SF touch. One overall thread might be the existentialist strife for meaning in what appears to be a very dull and deprived way of living. While in the West we are used to think about questions of this sort in individualistic terms, the post-apocalyptic environment makes it necessary to see yourself much more as part of a collective again, maybe suppressing personal ambitions for the sake of your group's safety. The narrator has to find that otherwise your own actions will have consequences, and you need to be prepared to take the responsibility for your decisions.

The characters learn how painful it can be to accept your impotence to change the world and to live with the cards fate has dealt you. At the same time, there is a surprising power in stories (and lies), and in a setting like that the ability to write might acquire an almost magical potency. I loved that these themes also gave a certain ambiguity to the book's main characters.

This is really a world to get lost in. It's really a shame that it's not longer than it actually is. To be honest, I was a bit disappointed to find that the other two books show alternative developments set at the same time (different possible worlds), rather than being a continuation of the story. There does seem to be characters appearing in all three of the books, though, so I'm certainly excited to see their different fates.

Rating: 4/5

This was the third time I've read this novel, and I have to say that I've enjoyed it more than on previous readings (third time is the charm, as they say). I found myself much more enthusiastic about its themes, more sucked into its world, more affected by its implications. In short, I finally see with this is a classic.

There has been a nuclear war (World War Terminus, as they call it), leaving Earth an almost uninhabitable place. In the aftermath there is mass emigration to Mars, with advertisement promoting a life in comfort with a free android servant for anyone leaving. However, some people refuse to go, now living in the almost deserted apartment complexes and with the constant danger from radiation. Many have died in the early years, while all others still face slow modifications of their genetic maeterial and cognitive degeneration (with institutionalized forms of "chickenheads" and "antheads").

The overall plot is quite simple. The main protagonist is Rick Deckard, who is hired by the Californian police as a bounty hunter. His targets are androids who fled from Mars, now posing as "real" human beings back on Earth. Deckard's main tool is a psychological test that is to measure his subjects' capability for empathy, in this way determining if they are human or not. During the time-frame in which the story is set, Deckard is on the hunt for six androids of the new Nexus-6 type, which leads to questions about the accuracy of his test and brings him to his physical and mental limits.

The story's simplicity is deceptive. Different aspects of the story and setting are used to examine one weighty question, namely the issue of what makes us human. In the main the question is approached in respect to artificial intelligence: When would we have to admit that robots are indistinguishable from real human beings? What abilities and capabilities would that require? What would this say about us? Among his targets are androids who seem to have real ambitions and aspirations, with one of them finding meaning in her work as an opera singer. (Incidentally, this seems to be the sort of dreaming that the book's title is hinting at.) Given this fact, what is it that still makes us special?

At the same time, there are developments that will make you ask how human the general human population really still is. The most vivid example is to be found on the first first pages. They started using a machine by which you can induce whatever emotion you feel like having. Emotions seem to be an essential aspect of humanness, but what are the implications of having artificial emotions? Moreover, there are beings that, in their biological makeup, certainly are human beings, but who are cognitively or emotionally underdeveloped - are they now less human than androids who in fact do possess those capabilities?

Another important aspect of the book is the constant fear that your memories might not be real either. Granted, it is said that this would only apply for the androids, but with a book like this you never know how accurate this information really is. More importantly, you can never be entirely certain whether you yourself are an android. This question is not as much explored as it is in the move adaption, yet there are two or three chapters in which it takes center stage.

In fact, the novel also stands up on more aesthetical grounds . SF rarely impresses by its writing style, but I would say that this book is actually very well written. Moments such as the reification of silence into an all-encompassing Void, or the general psychedelic feel to it, are really quite beautiful to read. There is this constant feeling of ambivalence, never allowing you to entirely come to terms with what is going on, that I found particularly interesting.

The book was originally published in 1932/3, so you know to prepare yourself for a very old-school read. I found this very hard to get into and, to be honest, it was a bit of a struggle to make it to the end (oh, the pressure of finishing what you've started...). At the same time, I would say that it slightly grew on me.

A mad scientist develops a way to read, record and control minds, by amplifying brain waves send out naturally (before drifting off into proper insanity, leaving the book's stage before he even entered it). Two different parties, one in the West and one in the East, manage to harvest his ideas, building a machine and synthesizing a powder, respectively. Both try to use this new-found power when political tensions between East and West heat up. Well, obviously it's mainly the evil "yellows", lead by thisl Fu Manchu-like stereo-type, that are to blame for this...

I think what bothered me the most about this book was how painfully, I don't know, obvious everything was. You know, how everything comes together by and unbelievable stupidity and lucky coincidences (you wouldn't believe how often people just run into each other, not withstanding that the events are of global-scale). Also, the people sometimes comment on events as if to explain it to a 10-year-old. Actually, the book reminded me a lot of the Silver Age of comics in this respect. Similarly, too, I've found myself develop something of a taste for the eye-rolling plainness at some point, so it wasn't all bad.

There were actually some interesting ideas in there. Most obviously, it made an interesting point about the importance of research and technology in and in-between war-times. The use of radar technology by the Brits to spot the German Luftwaffe in the early years of WWII comes to mind; and interestingly enough, this is a technology mentioned in this 1933 book. The story also hinted at difficulties we might find in actually understanding other people's thoughts (even if it turned out that thought could be identified with the stream of consciousness). I also found the idea of will not limited to the boundaries of one subject's mind quite intriguing. And, looked from the point the other way around, if your actions are controlled by another mind in a way that was congruent with your own usual pattern of behavior, would you even notice? What is your stance towards your own will? The book was surprisingly deep in this respect.

So, will I have to admit that I didn't enjoy this greatly, it wasn't terrible either. I wouldn't be surprised if I picked up another of Hans Dominik's books in the future (I have another novel somewhere). Probably not anytime soon, though.

Rating: 2/5

As the title suggests, Tuf Voyaging collects numerous voyages of a man called Haviland Tuf, told in seven short stories. With the exception of the earliest story, they were all published in Analog Science Fiction and Fact.

In the first story, Tuf takes possession of the Ark, a so-called seedship by which he gains the technological means of far-reaching cloning and genetic manipulation. The ship vests him with enormous, almost absolute, power that Tuf uses to help out peoples in need (and to make a buck in the process). The issues he encounters are often of an environmentalist nature and involve interventions into fragile ecosystems, human as well as non-human, with often harrowing consequences. There are also religious facets to many of the stories.

The ideas are not exactly mind-bending, or even very original, but it's very easy to read and often highly entertaining. This is not least because of Haviland Tuf, who makes for a great protagonist and a very recognizable character. He sure is an odd one. He's huge (2.5m, if I remember correctly) and completely hairless. Cats are his most beloved creatures. He's a vegetarian and loves all things mushroom. He hates being touched by strangers. Initially, he's a trader, but inspired by his attempts to clone his cat, he starts to think of himself as an ecological engineer. He uses his ship's technology to help peoples, at least when able to afford his services.

Many of his quirks are very amusing. For one thing, he tends to take others ironically serious. He's also very quirky when it comes to language. Like pointing out subtle differences and inaccuracies in other people's speech (like "armada" instead of "army") or notices how peculiar some words are (like "crux" or "inkling"). He's also a master of disguise, or at least so he thinks.

If you enjoy the writing style of Iain Banks or the general mood of The Expanse, I'm sure you will find a lot to like about these stories. In its subject matter, it's very similar to Hard to Be a God by the Strugatsky Brothers. Be that as it may, sometimes we are looking for something familiar and entertaining, and for these times this book is a great pick.

The Plague Star (1985)
The first story of the collection, easily my favorite, is basically a Battle Royale scenario. The participants are Haviland Tuf, Kaj Nevis (the leader of the expedition and later armed with a powerful mecha suit), Jefri Lion (a retired soldier who now works as a research assistant), Rica Dawnstar (a mercenary bodyguard), and Anittas (a cyborg or cybertech). The trip was suggested by Celise Waan, who is an anthropologist and who in her research came across the strange "plague star". She, too, is part of the crew.

I very much liked how the story was preceded by the Prologue. We get to know that a strange disease haunts some some planet (whose name I forgot and in a time frame I cannot remember either). Celise Waan found that report and hypothesize that the star that brings the plague must actually be a spaceship. In fact, it turns out to be a so-called seedship of the Federal Empire, a very advanced human civilization long gone now. The ship belonged to their Ecological Engineering Corps and used for biological warfare. The enormous ship has long been abandoned, and for obvious reasons, it's extremely valuable.

Approaching the Ark (as the seedship turns out to be called), its automated defense system is activated and it severely damages Tuf's ship. This is when the deathmatch begins. Kaj Nevis commands Rica and Anittas to join him towards the Ark, while the rest of the group is presumably left to die on Tuf's ship. However, of course they also find a way to the Ark, where there is more fragmentation of the groups, until eventually it's pretty much every man (and woman) for himself (herself).

The character of Celise Waan is not exactly original, but Martin still succeeds tremendously in making you hate her guts. With all her talk of inconveniences and what she deserves, you really want her to die, soon and painfully. And even more so, when she sends out the poor little cat into its death. Tuf has to give it the coup de grâce himself. This is the moment when Tuf decides to go on his own, too.

I loved the scene when Anittas connects to the system. Neuromancer came out only one year earlier, so Martin may have been inspired by that, but I liked how here already there is the idea of gaining so much power as to basically turn into a god, a topic revisited many times throughout the other stories.

There is also an element of horror that I liked a lot. As it turns out, the ship holds numerous monsters, and as a final stroke of revenge (before his biological component dies) Annitas releases the beasts to roam freely on the ship. It's not exactly that from Jurassic Park (which was released only five years later), but I still liked the part with the T. rex. Some of the other monsters also reappear in later stories.

Meanwhile, Tuf acquaints himself with the ship's cloning mechanisms. He usess the advanced technology, to bring his cat back to life. I was a bit disappointed how the technology purely shines as the magic bullet, without Tuf having any sort of moral qualms about the idea of bringing back his cat.

Notwithstanding, I still liked the story very much. Not the least because of how terrifying the idea of diseases and cloning as part of war strategy really is. Certainly a great setup for the stories to come.

Loaves and Fishes (1985)
This is the story about the dangers of overpopulation and how genetic engineering may make a contribution to solve (or at least diminish) the issues.

Tuf arrives at the Port of S'uthlam, where he wants to make refurbishments and repairs of his newly acquired ship. However, unbeknowest to him, is arrival stirs the gridlocked negotiations in the political crisis that the planet currently, and mostly secretly, experiences. As Tuf is able to bring to light, the S'uthlamese goes through an explosion of population, mainly due to the religous beliefs preached by the Church of Life Evolving, according to which human reproduction will lead to a world of gods. Signs to the contrary are already visible. Through malnutrition, the S'uthlamese are unusually small and thin (as compared to other human populations) and the poorest already turn to cannibalism. In only little over 20 years, famine and war threaten.

This is probably the story that most clearly seeks to hold up a mirror to the real world, and I liked the story for that. More importantly, I very much enjoyed the conversations between Turf and Portmaster Tolly Mune, who is entrusted with the task of convincing Turf to sell his ship (as otherwise the political leaders see themselves forced to acqurie it by violent means).

Guardians (1981)
In this story, Tuf agrees to help out the people of Namor, a planet mostly consisting of water. They face expulsion from their planet, because of a vastly superior attacker. Actually, this opponent seems to part of Namor's own fauna (rather than an external force), though hitherto completely unknown. What is more, the attacker doesn't only strike in the water (with tentacle monsters), but also in the air (trough the "Fire-Balloons") and on the ground (trough the "Walkers").

I think you could say that the core idea of this story is to find an explanation that accounts for many diverse and surprising facts. Where do they come from so suddenly and can it really be a coincidence that they appear all at the same time? Why don't they fight against each other?

The story is very passive, as most that happens is told by Turf watching video recordings. There were two things that I very much liked, though. The pressures of finding a timely solution in the face of extinction, and the eventual resolution of the oerall mystery. The theory may not exactly be obvious, as otherwise Tuf would have come up with it earlier, but it does account for the strange phenomena that occured in recent times.

Ideas about what it means to be intelligent and conscious, hive minds, telepathy, and the manipuation of mind where exciting enough to make this worth a read. Oh, and this also marks the first use of the psi powers of cats, a deus ex machina that Martin uses numerous times in the stories to come.

Second Helpings (1985)
This is more or less a direct continuation of "Loaves and Fishes". As announced earlier, Tuf returns to S'uthlam (from which he had to flee earlier) in order to pay his debt (or the first half of it) for the repairs of his ship five years earlier. This time, the story revolves around the side-effects that his earlier interventions into the planet's ecosystem had had.

Soon after his return, Turf realizes that he became something like a celebrity among the S'uthlamese. This is due to a popular movie adaptation of his earlier visit, a tale that depicts how he initiated an era of prosperity, Tuf's Flowering, among taking other freedoms of artistic expression. Paradoxically, the dangers of famine are even more imminent now, as the people (ignorant to the dangers) gained a very optimistic outlook on their future.

Tuf is forced to again fiddle with the planet's ecosystem. The unpleasant truth is that variety in their cultivations are a luxury that they can no longer afford, and that even following this strict regime they will end up with a famine in a century's time (not to mention unpleasant yet inevitable changes to their hitherto beautiful environment), unless they also change their beliefs about reproduction.

I very much liked this theme of side-effects as well as dictating (or recommending) necessary changes to another culture's beliefes. There is also the idea whether there should be a right to force them to change their ways, which I thought was a very interesting form of paternalism. Certainly among the best stories of the collection.

A Beast for Norn (1976)
In the oldest story of the collection, Tuf is confronted with the futuristic version of cockfights, a custom he obviously doesn't approve of. At the beginning of the story, Tuf is approached by Herold Norn, who represents the Norn House of Lyronica. This House is the lowest-ranking participant in the bestial battles of the Bronze Arena. In order to better their standing, he seeks to convince Tuf to sell him a more competitive beast.

This was an amusing little story. While the outcome may be predictable, I thought it was a very well written and thought-through plot. Naturally, Tuf starts to sell monsters to other parties, too, and with a considerable increase in price to boot. Eventually, no one gained anything - with the exception of Tuf. In order to end this vicious circle, the most powerful House shoots the bolt by paying Tuf money to no longer offer any trades. As it turns out, because of environmental factors, their expensive purchases are soon no longer worth a dime. Brilliant.

Call Him Moses (1978)
Possession of the seedship almost gives Tuf absolute power, so it was to be expected to have a story which focuses entirely on religious themes. This is the one.

The story opens with Tuf being in a bar and enjoying his mushroom wine with Dax on his lap. Out of the blue, he is attacked by a man (Jaime Kreen). He is able to defend himself, not the least because of his cat's telepathic abilities, breaks both arms of his attacker, and eventually acquires him as slave. This arrangement is to remain in place until Kreen is able to repay his debt (bail, damages of Tuf's clothes and the bar, the wine, the troubles he caused). He offers the man to repay his debt by answering questions. As it turns out, Tuf is made responsible for the enslavement not just of himself, but of his whole people.

Kreen comes from the planet Charity. In recent events, a man called Moses lead a religious movement to gain control over the planet. His people were the original settler on the planet. For religious reasons, they decided to give up their technology-oriented life and turn to nature. Other people came and build the City of Hope, and even among the original settlers many turned to the conveniences that it promises. Moses and his people were not happy about that.

He stages himself as the prophet and orchestrates the Ten Plagues familiar from the biblical tales. So, the people of Hope soon find their water turned to blood, plagues of frogs, lies, flies, locusts, and eventual darkness (he skipped pestilence of livestock, boils, thunderstorm, and death of firstborn).

Obviously, this form of biowarfare looks a lot as if supported by Tuf. He's innocent this time, and even offers his help in the matter (for the "cost price", of course). He emerges as God himself (or at least a god more powerful than what most peoples in history came up with), and demonstrates to Moses what really devastating plagues look like, first for real and later only as deterring simulations.

To be honest, I felt the story was a bit lazy. The necessities to develop the core of the story, the demonstration of power in the form of plagues, were already at place before the story even began, and the theme is already familiar from this little book of Christian dogma. I did enjoy the interactions of Tuf and Kreen, though. Tuf is ruthless in bringing to account everything that Kreen consumes during his stay on the Ark. So, while he works on his debt by doing little jobs throughout the day, he has the running expenses for food, air, shelter, and even the use of the toilet (including information where the toilet is). It's silly, but it's fun.

Manna from Heaven (1985)
I have to say that this was my least favorite story in the collection. Not because it's bad, but because it's very similar to the fourth story. Again Tuf travels to S'uthlam, and again he is confronted with problems very similar to his two earlier stays on that planet. There is a war now, but I have to admit I didn't really care too much for that. The outcome was also very predicable. For a moral point of view, the extreme form of paternalism and Tuf's firm stand on the issue are interesting (approaching the problem as a god, as he says), but I've felt I've read this before. I don't think I would have missed much if I had skipped this story.

Rating: 3.5/5

Oliver Twist deals one emotional blow after the other. In beautiful prose, Charles Dickens portrays the world of the English lower classes of the mid-19th century. The life of Oliver Twist is representative for the cruel treatment that orphans endured during those days. The story is very dark throughout, although the rather ironic tone of the narration lightens up the mood. So, the novel tells not only a sad but also a surprisingly entertaining tale.

Oliver Twist is born in a workhouse. He becomes an orphan, because his mother died after giving birth and his father is unknown. He spends his early years as part of a group of boys in the care of Mrs Mann. Although the Poor Law guarantees him subsistence rights, Mrs Mann uses some money paid for the boys for purposes of her own and the boys barely survive on the food provided for them. When he is nine, Oliver has to start working at the workhouse. His superiors, among them the parish beadle Mr Bumble, are dissatisfied with Oliver and they want to get rid of him by apprenticing him to an undertaker. At first, his situation somewhat improves and his foreman respects his work. However, he gets into trouble again and runs off to London.

On his way there, he meets the so-called Artful Dodger, a boy who offers Oliver his help and becomes something like a friend to him. He introduces Oliver to Fagin. Among the most controversial characters in the history of literature, Fagin is a jew (not that his religion matters) of an hideously ugly appearance who gathers around him a group of orphan boys for which he provides shelter and that he teaches the arts of pickpocketing. The boys in turn give away their stolen goods to him.

The other boys play a dirty trick on Oliver and he is arrested for a theft he didn't commit. However, his would-be victim really has a heart of gold and he takes Oliver in, not the least because Oliver reminds him of someone. These allusions hint at a mystery that is pursued for the rest of the story. Unfortunately for him, Oliver knows about Fagin and his criminal activities, so he cannot let him off the hook so easily.

I think what impressed me the most about Oliver Twist, are its rich characters (in detail, not in property). While you rightly take offense at the character of Fagin, I cannot but admit that he had the intended effect on me. He comes across all sleazy, making his living through dubious activities and treating other people purely as means for his own ends. Still, he is not unambiguously evil. What I find most interesting, he talks about Oliver as if he honestly cares about him, at least in some twisted way. While this care is obviously limited, life with him may have worked out for Oliver (sadly).

There are so many great characters. There is the totally evil Mr Bumble who takes every opportunity to make Oliver's life even the more difficult and whose fate throughout the story is quite interesting. There is the generous Mr Brownlow, who takes Oliver in and who puts all his trust into the boy, no matter how much his old friend Mr Grimwig ("I'll eat my head!") tries to convince him otherwise. There is the troubled Nancy, who a member of Fagin's gang, but who is having doubt about her life. There are the boys of the gang. There is the man called "Monks", who has many mysterious revolving around him. The list really goes on and on.

I was very impressed by the way that social classes, and the relationships between their members, are captured in the story. Oliver soon has to realize that even among the poor he can have his superiors. The more privileged advocate the idea that you are the master of your own destiny. However, the poor are clearly not given the means to realize this ideal degree of agency. The fate of the orphans is completely determined by others. In the light of this, it's really outrageous how they look upon Oliver and his fellows with aversion and talk about his fate as if it's the result of his own shortcomings rather than terrible starting conditions. It's also acknowledged how these circumstances are solidified by other practices. The importance of physical symbols to manifest your social status is emphasizes and it's also said how they even employ other forms of harassment, like the signs that point out that begging is prohibited.

At its core, it's a novel about criminals. I thought their distant relationships were very interesting. They are not nice to each other, but they are not completely indifferent, either. For the most part, their life and relationships are not romanticized. It acknowledges the mechanisms that prevent them from living better lives. There was one speech that I thought was particularly interesting, though. One character suffered much under Fagin and she is offered the opportunity to take revenge by delivering him to the authorities. However, she declines:

[...] [B]ad life as he has led, I have led a bad life too; there are many of us who have kept the same courses together, and I'll not turn upon them, who might - any of them - have turned upon me, but didn't, bad as they are.

Oliver's fate genuinely moved me. He is such an innocent kid, probably too nice to maintain his ground in the world that he grows up in. He suffers from not having any relatives or friends. Wherever he goes, he is bullied around by others. In the light of this, even the mildest forms of goodwill towards him have the power to reach your heart. Like when Oliver is given a meal that otherwise would have went to the dogs. Or when a former fellow in misery is giving him his blessings.

The blessing was from a young child's lips, but it was the first that Oliver had ever heard invoked upon his head; and through the struggles and sufferings, and troubles and changes, of his after life, he never once forgot it.

Later in the book, people establish real relationships with him and you feel so relieved that he finally arrived somewhere. However, I think it's these early moments that make you truly understand the adapted desires of the "lower classes" (or the abused wife, for instance) and how deprivations of fundamental rights may make you content and grateful even for the little that every human being deserves.

During this emotional rollercoaster ride, there are many scenes of note. After arriving at his patron, Oliver experiences the best months of his life. He is eager to repay the trust invested in him and his benefactor gives him an assignment. He is to return books to the book store as well as to pay for the books kept. A new suit, a box full of books, five dollars in his pocket - will he really return? Of course, it's then that Fagan strikes and Oliver is abducted. No chance to get back to him, his patron must think that he conned him, and the reader suffers as much as poor Oliver from the disappointment that must ensue.

There was another sequence that surprised me, mainly by how dark it was. I already said that there was one member of Fagin's group who decided to do the right thing. Still, she remained loyal to her people and declines the offers of a better life. Tragically, this is the reason why she is murdered (by the man she loves, actually). This gruesome act is described uncommonly disturbing. Afterwards, her murderer fevery walks around the poor quarters, tormented by guilt. Tonally, these passages much reminded me of Dostoevsky, and I wasn't surprised to find that the Russian master admired DIckens's work.

I have to admit that it came with satisfying gratification when his tormentors find justice in the end. This is made the more effective by the lengthy scheming that precedes the eventual payoff. Then there is the reunion with his benefactors, Oliver (as well as the reader) was longing for every since the fateful trip to the bookstore and it ended up being a truly heartwarming moment.

Finally, there is the conspiracy that is hinted at throught the story. It becomes increasingly important towards the end. While I have to admit that I wasn't too invested in the subplot itself, I appreciated the added complexity and different angle on characters (such as Mr Bumble, Rose Maylie, or Noah Claypole) that came with it. It also lead to the finale in a way that I found fully satisfying. Great ending to a wonderful book.

Rating: 4/5

The Forever War impressed me on so many levels. I was pumped when the battles commenced, thrilled by the exciting portrayal of action, amazed by its concepts and technologies, but most of all, crushed by its anti-war message. It confronts the reader with a picture of Earth that is so very different, yet not different at all. Joe Haldeman draws from his personal experiences in the Vietnam War to create a world that you really feel, and the more so because of his genuine talent as a writer.

After acquiring his degree in physics, William Mandella joined an elite task force in the United Nations Exploratory Force. Their purpose is to fight an as yet unknown enemy. All we know is that an alien species referred to as the Taurans attacked human colonial cruisers and killed 798 people. The soldiers are sent off into battles via so-called "collapsars" (or "stargates") that allow near-lightspeed interstellar travel. It's not only the brutal encounters that weighs very heavy on the soldiers' minds. Because of the effects of time dilation, when the soldiers get home, decades have past in the much briefer time periods that they subjectively experienced. So, the narrator passes an uprooted existence returning again and again to the battlefields of a war that goes on for centuries.

I love the mecha setting in video games, movies, and anime, and this is not even the only reason why I got a huge kick out of the action sequences in this book. The battles especially in the last couple of chapters are incredibly exhilarating chaos. Not only do they employ mecha suits, they use the entire repertoire of rocket launchers, swords, bows, bombs, crowbars, or darts. To protect themselves, they have shields, mines, and even stasis fields. While there may not be as much strategy as in, say, Ender's Game, there is enough variation throughout the encounters to keep things exciting.

I liked how the story begins at a time when so far there hadn't been any real fighting situations (only the sudden attack on the colonists' ships) and so far humanity doesn't know anything about its enemy. We have to expect the worst (or so it is said) and so we have to go all in. What this means for the soldiers becomes evident in the rough training sessions right at the beginning of the novel. The training is brutal and because of the harsh environments and the use of of armed weapons numerous recruits die before the real war even started.

The theme of soldiers having to give their lives to the war is developed throughout the book. The government assumes wide-reaching control over the soldiers' minds. Not only do they use conditioning and drugs, by post-hypnotic suggestion and the triggering of fake memories it is made sure that the soldiers will show no mercy when it comes to the inevitable encounter with the Tauran troops. This practice has fascinating implications for themes like free will and responsibility. For instance, the familiar plea for excuse that you really didn't have a choice for the horrors committed (often associated with Nazis in post-war Germany) gets another twist. I also thought it interesting that the soldiers are consciously aware of what is going on ("I hated myself for smiling"). Eventually, they even start to produce bioengineered soldiers whose whole purpose of existence is to fight in the forever war.

The casualties get seriously gruesome, with bodily mutilation becoming like an occupational disease at one point. However, I was surprised to find that I felt the moments of alleged peace even more strongly. After their return to Earth, the soldiers struggle very hard to regain a place in society and so many things are difficult to comprehend. Of the 9 billion people alive, 6 billion are unemployed. Jobs are allotted on the basis of need, and only few people are this low on the poverty level. There is an intricate black market for ways to get a job. In order to counteract the rising overpopulation, governments encourage homosexuality. Although the protagonist is generally tolerant, this still is puzzling for soldiers who hitherto so much defined themselves though their sexual relationship with the other gender. Calories now function as the new currency, electricity is only available at certain times of the day, gangs of thugs roam the streets. There is much to wrap your head around.

Probably the worst part is the lack of meaningful interpersonal relationships. In the beginning of the story, there are at least some people that Mandella cares about. Some of these relationships are based on sexual attraction, but at least these are people he knows and for some he cares dearly (and be it only because of the same experiences). The further he travels in time, the fewer the people he is able to develop any form of connection with. This is especially true for his lover Marygay Potter, who he also loses to the necessities of war. And it's not only her as a person, but also what she represents for his life: "It wasn't just losing a lover. Marygay and I were each other's only link to real life, the Earth of the 1980s and 90s." It's moments like this that make The Forever War stand out as one of the true classics of the genre.

Rating: 5/5

Previous encounters with Heinlein left me quite underwhelmed, and The Rolling Stones again greeted me with generic characters and an unexciting opening. However, the silly humor grew on me about 100 pages in and I was pleasantly surprised to find that it incorporated some heavy concepts of science-fiction. A space adventure from an older and simpler time.

Heinlein's early work is famous for being addressed to an audience of teenage boys and providing them with some pep talk that they can achieve greatly in life. So, here too we have teenage twin brothers with exceptional talent and vision as the main protagonists. Castor and Pollux Stone have ideas of how to get rich by interstellar trade.

Throughout the book, they follow various variations of this project. In the first part, they try to acquire a spaceship. They succeed, but end up as crew members of a family trip rather than the commanders of their own freighter. So, with them on board are their mom and dad, their grandmother, and their older sister and toddler brother. At first, their plan is to sell bicycles on Mars, then they travel to a dangerous asteroid belt with the idea of selling luxurious goods to the prospectors digging there for precious metals. As it turns out, trading is a much more complex business than they anticipated. And there are other obstacles and dangers that need to be overcome.

For a modern audience, the adventures feel very old-fashioned. Occasionally, the events take unexpected turns (for instance, the talk about telepathy is totally a red herring) and some developments show a decent amount of ingenuity. Similarly, the humor is really from another time, but it's somewhat amusing. Like when at the end of a lengthy and eventful episode of selling their bikes to the Martian citizens, with already much less profit than they anticipated, the twins get to know about the steep taxes that Mars charges for this sort of transaction - and the two end up with hardly anything but experience. Or when their grandmother defends them in court, but in such a subpar way that even the judge asks them if they wouldn't rather drop her from the case.

There is barely any character development, but I have to say that I started to take a liking in the heroes of the story. When reading Stranger in a Strange Land I was frankly appalled by its portrayal of women. This is not an issue here. In fact, I was quite surprised at how progressive this novel is for its time.

The grandmother is the superior engineer and it's often her who solves problems in a brilliant way. She is easily my favorite character. The mother is a very successful doctor and becomes the hero in her own subplot that revolves around an epidemic in space. Actually, I would have liked to follow the plot thread more closely. The father is successful, too, but he is clearly the least gifted member of the family. Actually, he has many qualities more traditionally associated with the loving mother stereotype. There is an exception, though. The sister is apparently too stupid to do other things than cooking and to look out for a husband to settle down with.

I liked how the story addresses the intricacies of space travel. Most importantly, at many points it emphasizes the importance of movement (including astronomical objects) and distance. Minimal deviations (the decimal places in your calculations) in initial conditions or in regard to your destination may eventually lead to enormous deviations. As is pointed out, this also makes it more difficult to model the events, as it's difficult for reality to closely instantiate the theoretical pathways. It even discusses more basic aspects, like the impacts that zero gravity may have on the human body (space sickness as opposed to sea sickness).

Certain events within the story are explained in more scientific terms. For instance, it is explained how thrust of less g is necessary to take off from the moon (as compared to the Earth), because of its weaker force field. It also considers how flights may be much cheaper at certain times and planetary constellations and even explores the social consequences that these circumstances imply (much more people staying on a planet to wait for these events, an immensely increased chance of collision at other times). It's pointed to how they create a frame of reference or how they use radar reflectors to later regain goods they throw in the direction of Mars.

Along the way, it introduces concepts such as escape velocity (necessary to overcome the gravitational field of a planet), burnout (the point when to turn off fuel burning), the Titius–Bode law (describing the spacing between planets in a solar system), or the slingshot or swing-by maneuver (by which planets are used to increase the speed of smaller bodies on their way to other planets). I was really impressed how such explanations feel very natural even within a story that is so lightweight in spirit.

Interesting side note: In court the mother excuses herself by saying that she is a "stranger in a strange land". So, this is a theme that was on Heinlein's mind many years before the release of the novel by that name. There is one thing that I still don't understand, though. Why is this book called "Two Times to Pluto and Back" (in German)? Is Pluto even mentioned in the story?

Rating: 3/5

The Shadow over Innsmouth was probably the first Lovecraft story that I thoroughly loved. Compared to other works of his, especially the very surreal early short-stories, the plot here is quite clear and orderly. Maybe I wasn't terrified while reading it, but I sure felt the suspense all the way through.

The way the story is told invoked clear (yet dismal) mental images of what is going on. Hence, the bus ride to the town made me almost see the scenery, and another sense is even more affected by the description of the fishy odour that is constantly present as soon as he arrives at his destination. This is probably not the least reason why the protagonist must feel deeply uneasy when he wanders these roads even in daylight. Everywhere he turns there are ruinous buildings and dilapidated industry. He is shunned by most of the inhabitants, but the strange demeanor of the few individuals he comes across is enough to speculate that some disfiguring sickness befell its people.

When he comes to the seaside parts of town, you imagine the cold air and the gray sky as he looks upon the myth-enshrouded reef. Then there is the part with the local drunk retelling the legends. You may feel slightly nauseated by the idea of bestial heritage and demonic cult. But to be honest, I thought the development of lore (not the least the cultish Esoteric Order of Dagon and their ritual objects and robes) was really totally awesome. It's really epic fantasy in horror disguise.

At least as atmospheric was the last third when the narrator tells us how he fled the city at night. I loved the way he portrays the terrifying (possibly imagined) soundscape when staying the night at the local hotel. When finally outside on the roads again, he appears to be pursued by an army of demonic creatures who seem to emerge from the Devil Reef (what the old man called the "Gate of Hell"). Given the fact that he survived to tell the tale, we know that the narrator will make it out alive. Still, finding out about his family heritage in the last part of the story again sent cold shivers down my spine.

I guess many people are familiar with the general plot points, although they may not be aware that it's a Lovecraft story. For me it was pretty much the same, so I knew where the story was going. Nonetheless, it was still an incredible experience of horror done in its most successful form. For some reason, I always considered Lovecraft to be the pulp version of Poe, and I may still stand to that. But still, The Shadow over Innsmouth has every right to be considered a classic of its genre.

Rating: 4/5

Popular culture often comes to science-fiction with the expectation to find prophecy. While many professional writers may reject this understanding, it's almost scary how accurately Darwin's Radio predicted the current situation. A virus keeps the entire world in suspense and the political leaders struggle to find the proper response to deal with the situation. However, in his novel Greg Bear created this scenario to focus on another topic with long tradition within the genre, the proper understanding of the idea of evolution.

SHEVA is a so-called endogenous retrovirus, i.e. a virus that forms part of humanity's genetic make-up. It has been a dormant part of our DNA for a very long time, but now somehow got activated (characters in the story hypothesize that this may be due to stress, maybe from overpopulation). We are used to treat viruses as pathogens, and getting infected with that virus leads to symptoms that at least prima facie look very much like a disease. Women tested positive on SHEVA are experiencing miscarriages, so that they start to call the disease the "Herod's Flu". As it turns out, the symptoms are much more severe and unusual (not to say downright weird). Soon after the miscarriage, the women are pregnant again, and there is good evidence that this even happens without further sexual intercourse.

At the heart of the story is the debate on what this really means. The core group of protagonists come to belief that SHEVA is in fact not a pathogen, but rather a mechanism for evolution, and a rather rapid one at that. Rather than progressing in small steps in the course of very long time periods (the traditional gradualist understanding of evolution), within the genus of homo speciation may occur even from one generation to the next. Nowadays, as well as way back in the times of the Neanderthals, humankind reacts to this alleged homo superior in a very hostile way.

Darwin's Radio is a genuine thriller. While the ideas may form its focus, their development and contention comes with very personal stakes. Some characters are prepared to risk their reputation in the name of their beliefs. However, their proceedings always are under deep uncertainty and they always have to weigh up when to disclose information (or speculation). This focus on characters makes the novel much more easy and enjoyable to read than some (even) harder forms of science-fiction. In fact, for me it turned out to be quite a page-turner.

All this highbrow talk aside, I really loved the characters and where their relationships are going. For instance, it was quite painful to read about the husband who is struggling from suicidal thoughts and other mental issues. The dashing and tragic anthropologist Mitch was weirdly relatable, and I even liked his impulsive relationship with the usually more sober Kaye. When she eventually gets pregnant herself ("the next Eva"), the book even treads horror territory. To put it in pop-cultural terms, t wasn't just the origin story of X-Men anymore, you were totally prepared to end up with Rosemary's baby or E.T. The earlier descriptions of the foeti, as well as these bizarre masks that both parents develop during the second pregnancy, were also invoking a form of mental body horror.

The social ramifications were another crucial part to the story. There is social turmoil when an abortion pill is put on the market and there is violence against women who decide to have an abortion. There is an increase in the number of cases of domestic violence, as husbands make their wives responsible for the difficult situation. On the stage of politics, the government implements a team of experts to constantly assess the situation and prepare a vaccine. There is obligatory quarantine, lockdown, a register to which currently pregnant women have to enter their name and address, and even the threat of castration. There is of course also the lingering uncertainty about the future prospects of humanity given the dramatically decreasing number of new born babies (have you seen Children of Men?). Very reminiscent to the current situation, there is even a more infectious mutation to deal with as well as a storm on the capitol (maybe Bear collaborated with Bill Gates in bringing about COVID?).

I know fuck all about biology, so I had some difficulties to understand what they are really going on about for some of the time. What I did like a lot, though, was how Bear repeats the crucial details again and again until at least on a verbal level they are firmly established in your mind. I also appreciated how the book provides backmatter with explanations of some biological terminology as well as Bear's assessments as to how realistic the occurrences really are (or may be). Finally, I just loved the more out-there ideas of evolution as a network of neurons whose interplay realizes a form of quasi-intelligence (in Chapter 43). It also brings up the idea of higher order principles that function as "a kind of high level species blueprint" or "a biological grammar". Given my interests in the philosophy of mind as well as computer science, these analogies really blew my mind.

Rating: 4/5

I've already read a collection of A. E. van Vogt's short stores (or "fix-up novel" if you will), The Voyage of the Space Beagle. While I enjoyed its episodic nature, I got really tired of its idea of Nexialism (a kind of super science) that often basically functioned as a Deus ex machina. When I came upon this collection I thought I give him another try. While I have to admit that I was in the mood for something classic and not too demanding, the latter may actually be the reason why I couldn't really get into it. To put it bluntly, the stories collected in Pendulum just felt a bit too non-consequential.

The titular story was really the main reason why I picked up this collection. Revolving around themes of culture, language, and time-travel, it really should have been exactly my kind of thing. You know, this does sound like Ted Chiang's "Story of Your Life", right? Unfortunately, when the story was suddenly over it had me wondering what this was all about (and not in the good kind of way). This doesn't go anywhere, does it? Did I miss something?

I liked the atmosphere of the second story, "Footprint Farm". A meteor hit on the eponymous farm and it's owner gets somewhat obsessed with it. He really doesn't realize how weird it is that his underage daughter is, well, working her ass off ever day (and night, as it turns out) to dig it up. In the end it becomes clear that aliens made her do what she did. Again, the consequences of this first-contact scenario could have been explored further, but it was entertaining enough.

"Living with Jane" made me wonder what it is with science-fiction and telepathy. The premise was kind of interesting. Science is now able to build androids that function as exact duplicates of a human being (externally as well as internally). Parents deploy these androids in case of their absence, most interestingly in case of divorce or death, in order to establish a stable environment for the child. Unfortunately, it turns into a mediocre the robots are taking over storyline that revolves crucially around the daughter's telepathic abilities. Given how she does have very progressive ideas about the human-robot relationships, the execution of the story ended up being rather underwhelming. To be honest, in the time it took me to read this I should have rewatched The Terminator.

"The first Rull" focuses on a member of an alien race that apparently is featured in other stories as well. They lost a ship that somehow ends up on Earth. In order to prevent them from reverse-engineering their anti-gravity drive they send the story's main protagonist to sabotage the Earthling's endeavors of figuring out what the ship is doing. The Rull are shape-shifters and the protagonist assumes the identity of a student at the university which holds the ship. Although I do like the setup, encounters with other human beings end up being pretty dull. Maybe in 1978 ideas of a commune and sending out its women to sleep with the professor to push its male members through the physics exams was kind of shocking (probably not), I'm pretty sure there would have been more interesting ways to explore the first contact scenario.

Finally, "The Human Operators" may have been my favorite story of the collection. It's a bit of a mystery story as we are thrown into this kind of strange setting where we have a boy whose only interaction is with the spaceship for which he is doing repairs. The story is narrated by the boy himself and in present tense. There are no other human beings and he is regularly undergoing torture by the ship for no apparent reason. The only other person he talks about is his dad, who was killed by the ship when the boy turned 14 years old, but who gave him a cryptic message about "98 chances" and how "vicious [not sure if that's the right translation] means smart". I also quite liked the eventual resolution. So, a story well done.

Rating: 2.5/5