Category: John Scalzi

My Favorite Non-Crime Fiction of 2022

2023 Favorite Non-Crime
Back when I started this site, I knew the content would be largely “genre”-oriented. I’d have wagered the content would be roughly 1/3 Mystery/Detective fiction, 1/3 Urban Fantasy, and slightly less than 1/3 SFF, with “non-genre” fiction, humor, and non-fiction being enough to make my one-thirds just an approximation (honestly, if you asked me what I read regularly, that’s pretty much how I’d describe it today). Actual numbers show that’s wrong—it’s almost 40% Crime/Thriller Fiction, the rest of fiction is around 30% combined. Which is just a long-winded way to get to these two points: because Crime Fiction takes such a big chunk of my reading, it gets its own “Favorite” list, but none of the others really garner enough numbers for their own.

When it comes to this list of favorites, I had to choose—top five or top eleven. There are six I just couldn’t choose between—but hey, it’s my list, so here are my favorite 11 non-Crime Fiction Novels of 2022. It took me very little time to regret trying to write anything new about these books—I’m supposed to cover these in a measly paragraph? I borrow from my original posts, and really say less than I wanted to (or this post would be about 5 times as long as it is).

As always, re-reads don’t count—only the works that were new to me.

(in alphabetical order by author)

Amongst Our WeaponsAmongst Our Weapons

by Ben Aaronovitch

My original post
Any installment in this series is a strong contender for a favorite of the year even before I open it, and this one is a great example of why. While telling a pretty strong story, Aaronovitch expands this world and the reader’s understanding of it, a whole new magic system, and seemingly introduces the next major story arc for the series. We get to see almost every major (and more than a few minor) characters, too. For a fan, this book was a heckuva treat.

4 1/2 Stars

Wistful AscendingWistful Ascending

by JCM Berne

My original post
This novel—a Space Opera/Super-Hero mashup—hit just about every button I have and probably installed a couple of new ones (talking space bears, for example). If I try to expand on that I’m not going to shut up anytime soon. Read my original post—or just read the book.

4 1/2 Stars

The Veiled Edge of ContactThe Veiled Edge of Contact

by James Brayken

My original post
Brayken’s debut surprised me more times than I thought was possible. Every time I thought I knew what direction Brayken was taking for the story, the protagonist (or major characters), tone, or even genre—he’d make a sharp turn and make the book better than I thought it was. I have questions and qualms about some aspects of the novel—but this is going down as a highlight of 2022 anyway.

4 Stars

The Art of ProphecyThe Art of Prophecy

by Wesley Chu

My original post
In my original post, I said, “I don’t know that I can really express how excited I am about this book. The last time I was this enthusiastic about a Fantasy novel was Kings of the Wyld, and I’ve read some really good Fantasy since then. But this is a whole different level.” It features my favorite new-to-me-character of the year. It’s just a glorious read. I’ve read (and enjoyed) a lot of Chu’s previous work and this is so far beyond those that it’s hard to describe.

5 Stars

The Iron GateThe Iron Gate

by Harry Connolly

My original post
Every Twenty Palaces novel is better than the last—and The Iron Gate is no exception. This novel is a better version of everything Connolly has delivered before. We get character growth in a character I’d have considered pretty unchangeable, a dynamite plot (two, actually), and a disturbing monster to boot. There’s just so much to commend here—both for this novel and what it promises for the future.

4 1/2 Stars

The Part About the Dragon Was (Mostly) TrueThe Part About the Dragon Was (Mostly) True

by Sean Gibson

My original post
This is not a book to read if you’re in a “find out what happened and get to the end of the story” frame of mind. This is a “enjoy the trip, not the destination”/”stop and smell the roses” kind of book. The destination/what happens is fully satisfying, but the getting-there is so much better. This Fantasy/Comedy sends up and celebrates so many Fantasy mainstays that fans (and detractors) of the genre will have a blast on that front alone. The cast of characters is a blast and the protagonist, the bard Heloise, is even better.

4 Stars

Final HeirFinal Heir

by Faith Hunter

My original post
The fifteenth Jane Yellowrock novel was the series finale and the series went down the way it should—with a lot of heart, a lot of love, a lot of violence, and so many buckets of blood. I’ve been reading these for so long that I really didn’t want to see the series end (but it was time). From the jaw-dropping first chapter to the last lines that genuinely made me misty, Final Heir was a great ride.

5 Stars

Kaiju Preservation SocietyThe Kaiju Preservation Society

by John Scalzi

My original post
This book delivers all the ridiculous fun that the title (and premise) promises. Scalzi calls it a pop song, I tend to compare it to a popcorn movie. It’s not meant to provoke thought, to be pondered over, or analyzed. It’s meant to be enjoyed, it’s meant to be light and entertaining. Consider this me writing on the literary equivalent of a bathroom stall, “For a good time…”

5 Stars

Station EternityStation Eternity

by Mur Lafferty

My original post
A Murder Mystery set on a living Space Station with only three human characters surrounded by some of the strangest alien species you’ve seen (those three humans are pretty odd, too). This novel is one for mystery fans open to aliens walking around, SF fans interested in a different kind of story, and readers who like good things. Social commentary, a twisty narrative, a clever mystery, and more chuckles than I expected to get from this. An inventive read that’ll leave you wanting more.

4 Stars

Theft of SwordsTheft of Swords

by Michael J. Sullivan

My original post
Multiple people over the years have told me to read this book (some multiple times). I finally did, and regret not paying attention to them earlier. It’s more “traditional” Fantasy than the others on this list, there’s almost nothing that someone who’s read/watched a handful of fantasy series hasn’t been exposed to before. It’s the way that Sullivan has assembled these tried and true elements that is going to make you happy. The sword fights are fantastic. The imagination showed in the magic system, the magical creatures, and the politics—between races, within the remnants of the human empire, and the ecclesiastical politics—are really well conceived and effectively portrayed. I can’t wait to dive into the rest of the trilogy.

4 1/2 Stars

Adult Assembly RequiredAdult Assembly Required

by Abbi Waxman

My original post
This novel starts in the same bookstore that Nina Hill works in, and she’s around a lot—but this isn’t her book. It’s the story of a woman who moved across the country to start her life over, and the results aren’t what she expected. Adult Assembly Required is funny, it’s sweet, it’s heartwarming, and will make you feel good all over. It’s full of the Waxman magic.
5 Stars

Travel by Bullet (Audiobook) by John Scalzi, Zachary Quinto: The Dispatcher is Back Again

(and clearly, I can’t think of anything to put in the headline)

Travel by BulletTravel by Bullet

John Scalzi, Zachary Quinto (Narrator)

DETAILS:
Series: The Dispatcher, #3
Publisher: Audible
Publication Date: September 1, 2022
Format: Audible Original
Length: 3 hrs., 44 min.
Read Date: September 2, 2022

What’s Travel by Bullet About?

A recent pandemic* has resulted in all Dispatchers being strongarmed into working long and hard shifts in hospitals. Their work isn’t that effective in light of the disease, but that doesn’t change the requirement. In the middle of a shift, Tony Valdez is called to the ER.

* It was never named, but you’re probably not wrong to assume it’s one you recognize.

A friend (or a reasonable facsimile thereof) and colleague, who spends a lot more time on the morally ambiguous side of the vocation, is in the ER after throwing himself out of a moving vehicle and getting hit by a car. Clearly, things aren’t going well for him. He looks to Tony for help, and well…things go bad from there.

The duo finds themselves mixed up with a handful of the city’s richest and most powerful, who are busy trying to get the best of each other while staying off the radars of both the Chicago Police and the FBI.

As much as Tony might try to fool the reader/the police/himself, he’s no stranger to the morally ambiguous—sure, he tries not to stray as far as his friend does, but still. Making this book, like the others in the series, another bit of Urban Fantasy Noir.

The Urban Fantasy-ness

I’ve always thought there was a vaguely SF feel to this series like it’s set a couple of decades in the future or something. In retrospect, I don’t know why. It was just an impression I picked up. This one struck me as incredibly contemporary and made me feel pretty silly for thinking that about the others.

When I wasn’t kicking myself for getting the chronology wrong, I spent a little time admiring the simplicity of Scalzi’s approach to Urban Fantasy and how it makes The Dispatcher stories really stand out. In most UF, you get something like magic, or a lycanthrope, or a vampire—and then before you know it, you’ve got all of those. But here, this world is just one tweak away from our world—no wizards, no Fae, no were-anythings—just that murder almost always doesn’t work (see earlier posts about this series for details if you want them, I don’t want to reinvent the wheel here).

The number of changes that this one butterfly wing flap makes in this world—health care, law enforcement, and crime (and who knows what else…)—is pretty monumental. You don’t need the Fae or a Council of Mages or anything to radically reshape the world. Yet it still is very recognizably our world.

Zachary Quinto

Quinto really needs to do more audiobook narration—I’m not sure how he got attached to this series, but it’s such a good thing that he did. He’s really able to embody Valdez and bring the stories to life. I really enjoyed this performance, and look forward to more.

So, what did I think about Travel by Bullet?

This was a blast—this world has always felt realized, but I felt more “at home” in it this time than I remember. I enjoyed this ride more than I remember enjoying the last one (not that I had any real problems with it). I don’t know if those two sentences are all that related, and if so, which came first—I also don’t think it matters.

This is a tight thriller—no wasted moments, but nothing’s rushed, either. Just settle in and enjoy the ride.

I feel like I should have more to say, but I don’t. All I can think to add at this point is that I want more of these, and hope that Audible and Scalzi provide them. Providing more soon would be a great bonus.


3.5 Stars

The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi: Delivers Everything the Title Promises

Kaiju Preservation SocietyThe Kaiju Preservation Society

by John Scalzi

DETAILS:
Publisher: Tor Books
Publication Date: March 14, 2022
Format: Hardcover
Length: 258 pg.
Read Date: April 1-4, 2022
Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org

You have no idea how difficult it was for me to not say, ‘Welcome to Jurassic Park!’ to all of you just now.”

Jurassic Park didn’t end well for anyone in it,” I pointed out. “Book or movie.”

“Well, they were sloppy,” Tom said. “We’re not sloppy. And, they were fictional. This is real.”

What’s The Kaiju Preservation Society About?

Jamie Gray drops out of his Ph.D. program (writing a dissertation on utopian and dystopian literature) thanks to a quarter-life crisis that gets him to want to make a lot of money. So he goes to work for a tech startup, starts to make decent money, and gets fired just as COVID lockdowns start. He starts scraping by on his savings and meager work for a food-delivery app.

Until he delivers shawarma to Tom one day—the two were acquaintances in college, and they have a brief conversation where a couple of things come out—Jamie hates delivering food, and the NGO that Tom works for has an immediate need of someone on his team. He doesn’t give Tom a lot of information, but that the work involves travel and large animals. His team is set to depart soon, and they can’t without a full team. They just need someone who can, and is willing to, lift things. Tom points out his nice condo as proof that they pay well. Jamie signs on.

A few days later, Jamie and a few other new people on the team find out what the initials in KPS stand for—after it’s too late for them to back out. They’ve traveled to a parallel Earth populated by Kaiju for a six-month stint at one of the human bases.

Obviously, like the book and movie referenced above, things go wrong. They just have to for the sake of a novel, right? (but up until then, I think I could’ve made a case for this being an entire novel without that—it exists as one for longer than I expected—and I would’ve liked it just as much as the one Scalzi delivered).

The Science Fiction-y bits

Given Tom’s work, and Jamie’s, Scalzi’s able to gloss over a lot of the how-they-eat-and-breathe (and other science facts…la! la! la!) stuff, but he does reference things like the square-cube law when it comes to enormously big creatures. Jamie’s new friends include scientists who can deliver some of the biology, chemistry, etc. that are needed for the story—but when it’s needed, they’re always explaining it to the liberal arts guy on their team, so the reader doesn’t have to wade through the heady stuff (something Michael Crichton could’ve used, for example).

It’s not a perfect way to deal with these things, but it sure works well, and Scalzi feeds it to the reader in his usual charming way, so I embraced it.

Pop*.* Fiction

In his Author’s Note, Scalzi states:

KPS is not, and I say this with absolutely no slight intended, a brooding symphony of a novel. It’s a pop song. It’s meant to be light and catchy, with three minutes of hooks and choruses for you to sing along with, and then you’re done and you go on with your day, hopefully with a smile on your face. I had fun writing this, and I needed to have fun writing this. We all need a pop song from time to time, particularly after a stretch of darkness.

I’d been describing it as a popcorn movie in a book. He says pop song. It’s pop-something.

It’s the movie you escape to in the middle of a heatwave and forget about the oppressive weather, the sun, and everything else to enjoy the heat and some pure entertainment. It’s the song you find yourself overplaying because it’s just so catchy until you get sick of it (although you can’t help singing along) and abandon it for years until it comes up on some random mix and you become obsessed with it again for a couple of weeks.

What I found striking about Scalzi saying that is that it reminds me of Seanan McGuire’s comments about the last Toby Daye novel—she needed to write something like that (and I enjoyed it for similar reasons to this one). Are we going to see more books like this from other authors soon? Did 2020/2021 gift us a slew of authors writing happy books as a way to shake it off? (I wonder if Winslow’s Free Billy fits here).

Frankly, I hope so.

So, what did I think about The Kaiju Preservation Society?

“Why isn’t he eating us?” I asked. We were now close enough to Edward that this was not an entirely irrelevant question.

“He’s asleep,” Satie said.

I glanced over at him. “Asleep?”

“They sleep, yup.”

“How can you tell when he’s asleep?”

“He’s not eating us, for one,” Satie said. “You can’t see his eyes, for another.”

I love popcorn movies, I love pop songs like that…and well, you can probably see where that’s going. I’m not the world’s largest Kaiju fan (don’t actively dislike them, either), but it really doesn’t matter, this book skips all that and jumps right to the pleasure center of the brain the same way a catchy tune can.

Reading The Kaiju Preservation Society reminded me of the first time I read Ready Player One (before the movie, distance, and the sequel made me take a second/third/fourth look at it). Or Snow Crash (a wise reference for Scalzi to make early on). It sort of reminded me of the first time I read High Fidelity, too. The catchy, irreverent narrative; the snappy dialogue; the first-person narrator you click with right away*…it just took me a few pages to know that I was going to find nothing but joy in these pages.

*or probably never.

And really, I don’t have a lot to say about the book beyond this. It brought me joy for a couple of days. Thinking about it now is doing the same thing. Go get your hands on this text-based dopamine hit in your preferred medium (I bet Wheaton’s audiobook narration is perfect), sit back, and enjoy yourself.


5 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

Murder by Other Means by John Scalzi, Zachary Quinto (Narrator): When You Can’t Kill Someone Anymore, Criminals Have to Get Creative

Murder by Other Means

Murder by Other Means

by John Scalzi, Zachary Quinto (Narrator)
Series: The Dispatcher, #2

Unabridged Audiobook, 3 hrs., 33 min.
Audible Studios, 2020

Read: September 18-19, 2020

A Sequel to The Dispatcher?

I think the last thing on my mind as I finished The Dispatcher was that there’d be a sequel. It seemed fairly stand-alone (but, I guess, I can see that the door was open). But now that I’ve heard this? It seems only natural that there’d be a follow-up to The Dispatcher and the door is open for more.

What’s Murder by Other Means About?

So, in this world 99.9% of the time, if you’re murdered, you come back to life in your home/somewhere you feel safe. If you die of natural causes, in an accident, from suicide—you stay dead. But if someone intends you harm and you die, you’re most likely safe. This started a few years before this book is set, and no one knows why.

But that doesn’t stop people from taking advantage of it. There’s a new industry, our protagonist/narrator is part of it, Dispatching. Licensed killers who shoot people when death is all but certain to give them another chance at life. In the time since The Dispatcher, it seems that some new and creative uses for them have become common. Most of them straddle the line between legal/illegal or moral/immoral.

Tony Valdez starts this book hurting for money, and takes one of those not technically illegal jobs. Soon after, people around him—loosely connected, but not really friends or colleagues—start dying from unnatural causes. Not murders, obviously, because they stay dead. But as the bodies start to accumulate, the police have to look at the one common denominator—Tony. Tony starts investigating himself—if only because he figures it’s going to be long before he’s one of the dead that doesn’t come back.

How was the Narration?

Quinto makes Tony come to life, and is able to humanize this licensed executioner enough that you don’t think of him as a killer for hire, you think of him a beleaguered private contractor on hard times. Quinto’s great at the rest of the job, too—I’d absolutely listen to more audiobooks he narrates.

So, what did I think about Murder by Other Means?

I was less than enthusiastic about The Dispatcher back in 2016—which I didn’t remember until I just glanced at my post. I’m not over the moon about this, but I enjoyed it, and hope there’s more to come (I’m not sure I want to wait four more years, however). If there is? I’m jumping on it eagerly.

It was clever, it is honest about the human condition and the ways we find to hurt and destroy (and comes up with a few that are custom-made for this no-murder reality), yet remains a very human, very real thriller. It’s a good way to spend a couple of hours.


3.5 Stars

The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi

The Collapsing EmpireThe Collapsing Empire

by John Scalzi
Series: The Collapsing Empire, #1

Hardcover, 329 pg.
Tor Books, 2017

Read: March 28 – 29, 2017

I can’t think of a SF release more highly anticipated this year than The Collapsing Empire, the first in a new series (there’s a really good chance that I’ll be saying the same thing in 3 months about something else that I’m spacing at the moment). Thankfully, it surpassed my expectations (which were, admittedly, pretty low — this just didn’t sound that interesting) — I can’t speak for the rest of his fanbase who were anticipating it so highly, but I can’t imagine that most weren’t wholly satisfied, and predict he picks up a few fans from this.

The Interdependency is the empire that is made up of the descendants of the people of Earth, it’s been in place for centuries — and, as the title of the book (and series) states, it’s on the verge of collapse. Not from political pressures or outside threats, or anything of that nature. Instead, it’s the Flow. The Flow is the way that humanity travels between the stars — a extra-dimensional field that can be accessed to facilitate travel between planets. And it’s on the verge of changing — not disappearing, just connecting different planets and leaving millions of people without access to the rest of the Empire.

Tricky to explain briefly — but that’s okay, the characters in the book are (with 3 exceptions) learning this about the same time as the reader is and those who explain it do a much better job. Basically, the Empire as they know it is facing the End. There to help the Interdependency through this trying time (not that citizens know about it) is a brand-new, untried Emperox. She and her allies (intentional or otherwise) are going to have to deal with political, business and religious groups to try to help some of humanity survive.

I’ve gotta say that Emperox Grayland II (Cardenia to her friends) is a delightful character — you cannot help but root for her. She’s brave, smart, relatable and an underdog (how someone who rules several planetary systems can be thought of as an underdog is a neat trick). The scientist who travels the length of the Empire to help her understand what’s going on, Marce, is clever, overwhelmed, and the only one who really knows what’s happening (shades of Jor-El?). There’s another character, Lady Kiva, a junior member of a ruling family of one of the largest guilds who is just too much fun — she swears enough to make Marshall Mathers take a step back; has no tact, no diplomacy, and shows no mercy to her enemies (especially if they stand between her and a profit). Really, she’s a horrible person (at least in this book),but a fun, fun character.

These three are our focus, they’re who we cheer for and pin our hopes on. If they can survive the political, scientific, religious, and humanitarian turmoil that’s beginning to bubble — there’s a shot for humanity. Not much of one, honestly, but a shot.

Somehow, Scalzi’s able to take societal collapse and tell it in an entertaining, suspenseful and frequently funny way. He’s able to give a thinly disguised commentary on environmental catastrophe and keep it from getting preachy. Basically, he threads the needle just right to keep people enjoying themselves as they read what would be a heavy, off-putting book in many author’s hands.

Is it perfect? No. Am I crazy about everything he does/tries to do in this book? Nope. But man, such a fun, quick ride that I can’t help but like it and recommend it to everyone I can think of. I was so wrong not to be interested in this book — I’m more than interested in the sequel.

—–

4 Stars

2017 Library Love Challenge

The Dispatcher (Audiobook) by John Scalzi, Zachary Quinto

The Dispatcher The Dispatcher

by John Scalzi, Zachary Quinto (Narrator)
Series: The Dispatcher, #1


Unabridged Audiobook, 2 hrs, 19 min.
Audible Studios, 2016

Read: October 5, 2016


Last year, when he was in Boise, I heard John Scalzi read the first chapter of this book and I’ve been waiting for this ever since.

It’s an Urban Fantasy set in a world where natural or accidental death is possible, but if you’re murdered there’s an almost 100% possibility that you’ll come back to life. Huh? Yeah — heckuva hook, right? There’s no explanation for this, it just started — and it may just end at some point. But in the meantime people are taking full advantage of this.

Tony Valdez is a dispatcher — insurance companies and individuals have started hiring dispatchers to “dispatch” someone just before they die, so there’s a good chance — a fantastic chance, really — that they’ll survive. One of Tony’s coworkers has disappeared and a Chicago police detective has drafted him to help her track down his colleague. To find him, they have to look into the dark side of the dispatcher trade and the desperate lengths some will go through to extend the lives of their loved ones or themselves.

It was a fun book to listen to, a story that drew you in and drug you along to the gripping end. But once it was over, and I started thinking about it, all sorts of questions came to mind, not really plot holes, just things that weren’t adequately addressed. I think a lot of it was length, if this had been a novel, some of them wouldn’t have come up. The more I thought of it, it was almost like this novella was Scalzi’s attempt to prove a point/win a bet that, yes, he can write UF. A strongly written, convincing story that entertained from beginning to end — but there was just no heart to it, it just seemed like a writing exercise.

Quinto did a bang-up job — I think I only thought of him as the actor once or twice — he nailed every bit of this. If that whole movie star thing doesn’t work out for him, he could have a future doing this sort of thing. I should probably give this an extra star just for his work.

Very entertaining, a great experience — just don’t think about it too terribly much.

—–

3 Stars

John Scalzi and Shane Kuhn in Boise

If you’d asked me, I would’ve said I’ve written and posted this already. Apparently not. Whoops! Thanks for letting me know, Paul. So, I’ll take a quick break from packing up all my white clothes and get this up now. Better late than never, I guess. . . .
At the end of August, the best bookstore in Boise, Rediscovered Books, brought two authors to town for Readings/Signings. Back in college, I went to readings fairly frequently*, but since then I could count the number on one hand.

Shame on me. I need to do better at this. A good reading is one of the best forms of entertainment around. A less-good reading is pretty bad, but hey, at least you’re supporting the arts.

Anyway, the first author was John Scalzi. Perhaps you’ve heard of him — SF author extraordinaire, blogger, tweeter, etc., etc. Back on August 20, Rediscovered Books brought him to the auditorium of the Boise Public Library! (yes, the exclamation point is necessary). I wondered if that wasn’t overkill for SF in Boise. Not surprisingly, I was wrong and the people that do this stuff for a living were right. If they’d brought him to the bookstore, there’s no way we all could’ve fit, the audience packed the auditorium.

After a little chit-chat, he read a little from his upcoming novella The Dispatcher, his first foray into Urban Fantasy. He asked not to provide any details, as the only people getting this preview were those who came to this book tour. He did give us permission to — maybe even encouraged — gloat about hearing it. So, here we go: neener neener my wife and I got to hear the first chapter of The Dispatcher and most of you didn’t. It was pretty good, and I’ll be grabbing it as soon as I can.

He then read a couple of short humor pieces he wrote for AOL.com back in the 90’s that were appropriate for the Back to School season, and a pretty popular (and funny) blog post, Standard Responses to Online Stupidity. He then he spent 20 minutes or so doing Q&A — he was polite and friendly to the people asking questions, turned even awkward questions into something interesting in his answers (he’s been doing this for awhile).

What didn’t he read? Anything from the book that the tour was promoting — The End of All Things — which I found odd, but I was okay with because I’m way behind on that series. Very entertaining evening — the dude’s a pro.

During the signing, he was again friendly and pleasant and didn’t seem to mind people fanboying/fangirling all over him (which didn’t happen too much or without restraint on the part of the fans). When it was my turn, he laughed at my attempt at humor (which I’m going to believe was because I was moderately funny and not just because he’s sooper polite), gave me a nice, personalized autograph in my copy of The Android’s Dream that went with my joke.

And here’s photographic proof that I met John Scalzi:

A week later, things were a bit different for Shane Kuhn, a favorite around these parts, but largely unknown. Now, Rediscovered Books has been pushing Kuhn lately — he’s a Staff Pick, one of their book clubs read The Intern’s Handbook recently, etc. But a whopping 4 people showed up. Which, sure, provided a nice, intimate setting — but 4? Oh, wait, there were 2 bookstore employees there, too.

That had to be discouraging, but he went on with the show. After taking a poll of who’d read what of his (my wife hadn’t read anything yet, 2 were in various stages of Hostile Takeover, and I’d finished it earlier in the week), he read an early section of Hostile Takeover — the wedding — quitting at just the right spot — it was a good tease, you wanted to know what happened next; and I think the next part would’ve been very, very tricky to read aloud. He then took some questions, it was more of a chat, really. He had this annoying tendency to answer questions I wanted to ask in the middle of another answer, so I ended up not saying anything. Highlights included him talking a little bit about his next book, more of a mainstream thriller; and the process of getting The Intern’s Handbook to the Big Screen. He read another bit from the beginning of The Intern’s Handbook (after teasing my wife about reading the ending), where Alice and John first met.

Despite the low turnout, he didn’t (that I could tell) cut corner’s or half-ass his way through the reading, and was more than friendly to those of us who were there. If he comes back, we’ll do a better job strong-arming friends and family to come so that his audience will be bigger.

Here’s photographic proof that I saw Shane Kuhn (better angle on me than the other). If you go to Rediscovered’s Facebook page and see the photograph I appropriated, you can see 75% of the audience for the reading)


* And not just for the extra credit either. Although that probably kept me at some until the end.

Dusted Off: Old Man’s War by John Scalzi

Old Man's War (Old Man's War, #1)Old Man’s War

by John Scalzi
Mass Market Paperback, 362 pg.
Tor Books, 2007

I have to admit, I came to this with a degree of trepidation. I’ve really enjoyed Scalzi’s “lighter” works and wasn’t sure I was going to be able to get into his more serious SF. Boy, was I wrong. This was a blast–sure, not as funny as Agent to the Stars or The Android’s Dream, but it wasn’t supposed to be, it was still a rollicking good time–action, hard SF, and heart (even a couple of laughs)–everything you could ask for.

It starts out as sort of an inverse Ender’s Game, instead of kids being recruited to fight far-off aliens, we get senior citizens enlisting. Humanity’s colonies are spreading through the galaxy and running into all sorts of other species who are trying to do the same, and conflicts ensue. I can’t think of much more to say here without major spoilers.

Great cast of characters, believable future tech, creepy aliens, intense battles…fun, solid read, really looking forward to the sequel.

—–

4 Stars

Dusted Off: Redshirts by John Scalzi

RedshirtsRedshirts

by John Scalzi
Hardcover, 217 pg.
Tor Books, 2012

This warmed the cockles of my Geek Heart like no book since Ready Player One. I’m not sure how much I can say without getting into spoiler territory, but I’ll try.

It starts off as a funny–but obvious–Star Trek parody, where all the lower ranking crewmen are terrified to go on away missions, for fear of getting killed in stupid and/or horrible ways. Entertaining enough, but…after a couple of chapters, I started to worry this gag was going to get really old over 300 pages.

Which is when Scalzi shook things up by a clever spoilery twist, which he followed quickly by another spoilery twist. And before I knew it, this had become a serious SF book with a comic flair. The codas at the end turn this from a fun adventure into something with a lot of heart and soul–and even more cleverness than the large amount displayed in the main body of the novel.

I so less-than-three this book. Go and read.

—–

5 Stars

Dusted Off: Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi

Agent to the StarsAgent to the Stars by John Scalzi

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Short Version: A good, good story told in a fun–often funny–way.

Long Version: In the Author’s Note, while Scalzi is describing the long, strange journey this novel took to get to this particular edition, he calls it the “book that won’t quit.” It took me maybe 50 pages to see why. This is one froody book.

The tone is great, the style is spot on, good satire/commentary on Hollywood’s place in the world, everything about the alien race–their language, appearance, spaceship, ways to interact with humans/other creatures…just wonderfully imaginative.

In case you haven’t read the blurb–an up and coming Hollywood agent is hired by a (by human standards) ugly, nauseatingly smelly alien race to help their “image” so they can make first contact with humanity. Why an agent, why not a President or something? ‘Cuz the aliens know where real power and influence are centered. So, our hero has to balance his Hollywood weirdo clients, the aliens and a nosy journalist who won’t leave him alone; while he comes up with a way to sell this species to humanity.

Funny, funny stuff on many levels and in different ways. But the book has a lot of heart, too. Just a pleasure to read.

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