Golden Anvil

Phera by Gary Springer

This is a book self published via Amazon written by a friend of Adviga. She was nice enough to give me one of the two copies she had, and I read it yesterday.

First of all, the book itself. It's a little hard to say exactly what the book is about. It has a strong component of telling about social changes in an alien society (although one that may as well be human). It is also talking about the spiritual journey of a small group of people. The book is really more about a journey than about any specific obstacle or goal.

Since I last posted a book review, I've read three books. I've felt too busy to post lately, so I'll just list them and give a short review here. Besides, I've still got to blog about last Monday's RPG session before next Monday rolls around.

Ringworld Engineers - I'm afraid I can't much recommend this one. It was ok, but not worth keeping in my library (since I was able to get it for free).

Singularity Sky - Sci-fi by an author I've never read before. Has the feel of a first novel, but still pretty good. I'll definitely be reading more by him.

Magician: Master - Second in a series I'm doing a nostalgia re-reading of. I liked the first, and liked this one even better. Well done.

I'm not sure what's next on the list. Maybe another Gemmell book. I always enjoy those.

Ringworld by Larry Niven

This is not actually the first time I've read this book. I think I first read it back in high school. Larry Niven is a very prolific author who has been writing since 1964. Ringworld was first published in 1970, and actually stands up quite well to the test of time.

The story is about a small team of people who go to explore a ringworld, and constructed artifact which completely encircles a star. But, that's only the general backdrop of the story. It's really more about species manipulation, advanced races, secrets, clever thinking, and wild-crazy-good luck. The book is very easy reading, and simple to get into. The plot is pretty straight forward, but not necessarily predictable.

Reality Disfunction by Peter F. Hamilton

I really wanted to like this book. It had a feel that was pretty simliar to Stephen Baxter, who is one of my favorite sci-fi authors, but generally a little less "far out" and without Baxter's strong, common theme. Unfortunately, I didn't end up reading the entire book, but gave it back to the borrow/take library at work.

Hero in the Shadows by David Gemmell

This is a Gemmell book in the Drenai series. It focuses on the recurring character, Waylander, who is (or rather, was) an assassin. He no longer assasses, but he can't seem to keep himself from protecting those around him. Unlike others of Gemmell's books in this series, the plot is more complex than "man inspires others to hold out against impossible odds". This time there are a number of other things going on admidst a backdrop of an ancient evil seeking to enter the world through a breaking down magical gate.

Gemmell always writes intense (though usually brutal) action scenes, and this book is no exception. There's plenty of action here, and a relatively straightforward plot that is carried forward by very compelling characters.

The Legend of Deathwalker by David Gemmell

Rainbows End by Verner Vinge

This is a book about a guy who is healed of alzheimer's and is trying to adjust to a world that's different from what he remembers. Except, it's really more of a book about cool, plausible sci-fi, and what kinds of dangerous things can happen in such a world. The alzheimer recovery bit is really just a vehicle to allow the reader to adjust to the new world at the same time as the character.

This book does start off a little rough. It's very disjointed in spots, and the plot, which is introduced in the first chapter, seems to go on hiatus for a good chunk of the book. I can't quite tell if the disjointed bit is intentional, but it certainly can make spots a bit confusing as you try and figure out exactly what's happening.

Icebones by Stephen Baxter

This book is the last of the trilogy, and takes place some unknown number of years in the future after the first book. It is set on a partially terraformed Mars. How mammoths get there I'll leave unmentioned to avoid spoilers. Baxter likes to tie all of his stories together into one common setting, and this is the book that ties the whole trilogy in. Of course, since it's all from a mammoth's perspective, the connection is not a strong one, and you are left to infer some things yourself.

Longtusk by Stephen Baxter

Rather than continue where the first book left off, this book jumps back some huge amount of time and covers the life of the great mammoth hero, Longtusk. Each of the three parts begins with a myth about Longtusk as told by the main character in the first book. The book then goes on to tell the story, and you find that it's the real story from which the myth grew. This is a nice little touch to help draw the two time periods together.

Silverhair by Stephen Baxter

I'm a big fan of Stephen Baxter. I've got a lot of his books. He does however tend to have a couple very common themes in his books, and if you aren't fond of that general theme, then he could put you off. That theme usually involves the destruction of the human race (except for one member), and/or the evolution of the human species. He usually tells a pretty interesting story, but it's frequently very centered around the concept of evolution.

This particular book is told entirely from the perspective of a mammoth, apparently one of the last few remaining alive. Mammoths are intelligent and have a rich history stretching back millions of years. The story is about one mammoth who is forced to interact with humans, that dreaded species which has taken over all of the world.