We Read Science Fiction

Dear Mr. Scalzi,
Please don’t take all of my money.
Thanks in advance — Cam

Yes folks, I finished The Android’s Dream a few days ago, and while it isn’t quite Old Man’s War in terms of sheer awesomeness, it’s darn close. Moreover, I’m totally hooked on Scalzi’s style, wit and humor as well as his ideas, aliens and characters. This is the reason for my opening plea: with the winning streak he’s on, I doubt I’ll ever be able to avoid the impulse to buy his books (in any form) the day they are released. I’d rather go hungry than not read his stuff as soon as possible. That might get expensive, especially if he keeps auctioning off ARCs of his new books months before they hit the store shelves.

The title is a play on Philip K Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, in that a genetically altered breed of electric blue sheep plays a central role in the crowning of a new monarch in an alien race. Earth invented the sheep and gifted it to the alien monarch in an effort to win sponsorship into the intergalactic Common Confederation. When enemies of the crown massacre all living Android’s Dream sheep weeks before the next ascension to the throne, Earth is drawn into a desperate political game that could easily end in war. Oh and some Earth ambassador farts a diplomat to death. What more could you want?

Summary: The Android’s Dream had me hooked from the fart and it kept me on the edge of my sheep the whole time. Part satire, part homage (to PKD) and completely filled with Scalzi’s signature witty dialog, this is a novel that does not disappoint. [Read more →]

A good friend and regular reader here gave me a copy of Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend this summer and urged me to read it soon. This 1954 novella is largely credited with starting or significantly revolutionizing a number of fiction sub-genres — namely, the modern vampire, zombie and disease-induced apocalypse genres. Though I’d contest the last one and say that George R. Stewart’s Earth Abides in 1949 is a much better example of the diseased apocalypse, I can see how I am Legend could have easily started the modern Vampire and Zombie sub-genres.

Summary: Skip the movie adaptations since they are terrible by comparison to this little gem of a book. In a mere 180 pages Matheson manages to cram in some excellent characters, a brilliant story and even some compassion for vampires and zombies. Excellent, a 4/5. [Read more →]

It has been suggested on a number of occasions that I do some sort of top 10 SciFi authors list. However, I don’t think I could easily rank my favorite authors, so instead I’ll simply do a series of articles about them and their stories. I’ll start with John Scalzi.

Many people have suggested that Scalzi must be either the reincarnation of Robert A. Heinlein, or guided by his ghost. While there are certainly many positive similarities between Scalzi and Heinlein, Scalzi has a much more accessible sense of humor than Heinlein ever did. The humor and personalities he infuses into his stories and his characters is what really makes me love them. However, the action and adventure is very reminiscent of my most favorite Heinlein novels. The combination of styles that I call ‘Scalzeinlein’ has yet to produce something that I haven’t absolutely loved… [Read more →]

Well folks, I’ve finally broken down and purchased wereadscifi.com to replace the previous domain of ireadscifi.com. I know it’s a small change, but I wanted the domain to reflect the fact that while I write most of the reviews (you’re welcome to submit some too BTW) this really is a place where we want to encourage discussion about the books we read and enjoy. To that end, WEreadscifi.com will be the domain from now on.

Thanks for making this site fun and lively everyone. I’d have quit long ago if it wasn’t for my subscribers and those who take the time to join in the discussion… after all it would give me more time to read if I didn’t have to take the time to write :)

At the end of May I told you about a free online ebook that you could download and enjoy direct from the author. Simon Haynes was then kind enough to send me printed copies of the first three Hal Spacejock books for a review and discussion here.

I’ve just finished reading the second book in his series and overall I’m quite impressed with Simon and his protagonist Hal. The premise is simple: To write satirical comedy science fiction lampooning most of the rest of the genre. How hard could that be really? I was skeptical at first, but after reading the first six chapters online over lunch one day I was certain I needed to at least give it a chance. It’s certainly not for everyone, especially the purists and hard science fans, but for most people with a wide variety of tastes and tolerances it’s a great choice for vacation reading.

Summary: Snarky robots, bumbling pilots, tonnes of silly humour and Deus ex Machina at every turn make Hal Spacejock a perfect summer beach book for those in need of a good chuckle. Australia’s Simon Haynes successfully lampoons the bedrock of science fiction themes and doesn’t take himself seriously… at all. [Read more →]

Have you been worried I was lost? Well I was. Amazon turned me on to The Lost Fleet series by Jack Campbell via it’s recommendation service, and I gave a whole month of my life to it in one swift binge. The fourth book in this six book series, Valiant, was released on June 24th, and I was first in line to get it at my local book store. Having read the first 3 books the previous two weeks I was eager for the next chapter of the saga.

In the far distant future two factions of humanity have been waging an interstellar war for more than a century. En route to a glorious and decisive battle, the good guys (the Alliance) discover a damaged escape pod in the wreckage from one of the very first battles in the war, nearly 100 years earlier. In it is an ordinary man who has been idolized and turned into a fleet inspiring myth for the whole Alliance. Captain John “Black Jack” Geary is back from the dead and facing a myth larger than any mortal man could ever embody, a war bigger than all of humanity, and the reality that all he ever knew is gone. As the ‘decisive’ battle goes horribly wrong he finds himself as the most senior commanding officer in a fleet of more than 200 ships that are trapped and desperately out numbered in all respects… And that’s just the first 10 pages of the first book.

Summary: The Lost Fleet is fast paced, action packed military science fiction with many familiar elements. The universe is derivative but the narrative, detailed battles and strong writing bring it to life in a way that will leave you turning pages late into the early dawn hours. [Read more →]

Earth by David Brin was nominated for a Hugo in 1991 and chronicles a large cast of characters through a number of ecological issues and crises. It’s a 50-year forward prediction (now only 30 years away) of the consequences of technology and commerce on the environment as he saw them in 1988. I enjoyed the book and am glad I read it. My eco-sense has been sharpened somewhat, as has my love for mother Earth. However, the story itself is (understandably) preachy, heavy and complicated, and for the first two hundred pages I was worried the novel was really a collection of dozens of different short stories set in the same future. In the end though the threads do eventually come together and are woven into a single cohesive story…. barely.

Summary: An interesting read, especially in light of the recent events at the Large Hadron Collider and the rising green awareness that pervades modern daily life. The interesting characters and settings saved this heavy and preachy novel from being simply another eco-manifesto. A 3/5 in 2008, but should have been a must read in 1988. [Read more →]

In the past 2 weeks I’ve had 3 separate requests to review an author’s book. This seems to be coupled with the fact that there has been a 2-3x increase in the number of daily readers and a 2x increase in our RSS subscription. Cool!

However, I do have some rules when it comes to solicited reviews…

To authors and publishers, here are our terms for reviewing your books:

1. They must not be self-published or be from a print-on-demand publishing/printing house.
2. We reserve the right to not complete the review before the release date.
3. We reserve the right to not finish reading the book if we do not enjoy it. We will not publish a review if we do not complete the book.
4. We reserve the right to publish an honest but negative review if we do not enjoy it.
5. We reserve the right to lend the book to other SciFi fans we know personally so that they may participate in the review and discussion process. This may happen before we publish the review, and may delay the publication until after the release date.
6. The books will not be returned to the author or publisher. They become the personal property of the primary reviewer.

If you’re still interested in sending us your book, contact us.

To readers and potential reviewers:

We occasionally get books that we are requested to review. If you’d like to be eligible to get these free books, then you must be a regular participant in the comments on existing reviews, and you must contact us to let us know a bit more about you.

I’m still here. I’ve been reading through David Brin’s Earth for the last 3 weeks, and while it was a confusing, circular, slog for the first 130 pages or so, it’s growing on me now. I’ll review it when I finish. Certainly has some powerful coincidences with relation to the whole LHC debate currently happening.

Until then I’ll draw your attention to a free SciFi novel called Hal Spacejock that you might be interested in. I’m reading it while on my lunch at work. I discovered it by reading John Scalzi’s blog whatever a few days ago. I’ll review it here shortly, but if you read it now then we’ll have something to debate together in a few weeks. Does this make us a book club? I hope not.

So far — and I’m only on chapter 6 — it’s a very quick read and my initial take is that it’d be absolutely great for hooking young, male, video-game-addicted new readers on SciFi as a whole. It’s funny in a way that teens could get, quick, action-packed and simple. The plot seems a little bland so far, but it’s just starting. I’ve still got 4/5 of the book to go so who knows.

Get it here, but remember that I don’t endorse it… yet.

I first mentioned this book back in January when I talked about my Christmas reading binge. Since then I’ve lent this book out to two friends and both have had the same reaction I did. Therefore, I thought I’d write a quick review here so that we could take the discussion online and share it with you.

This book is the literary equivalent to a great summer blockbuster. There is very little in the way of new ideas about technology, but classic ideas get recycled in very interesting ways. It’s a very fast read with great characters, an epic-like story and lots of action and humor. If you want fun, this is it. If you want serious, deep and philosophical then read The Forever War instead.

Summary: More time traveling fun from Haldeman. His third take on the topic won’t win him any awards, but it sure is a great read. You’ll have trouble putting it down for very long and the pages will pass by at faster than the speed of light.