Tag: Science Fiction

Book 2 – Other Worlds Reading Challenge – Way Station – Clifford D Simak

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The other day I finished Way Station by Clifford D. Simak. It is the second book in my June-July  “Other Worlds” while Reading Challenge.I didn’t visit any “other worlds” in the novel, but there are beings from other worlds in the book.

Way Station – Clifford D Simak

 

Way Station by Clifford D Simak is based on the premise that there are millions of sentient being throughout the universe These beings travel from world to world via transporter  like machines. In order to travel to far reaches of the galaxy it is necessary to make frequent stops at Way stations along the way.

On Earth there is one way station. It’s located in the middle of nowhere in Wisconsin and has been manned by Civil War veteran Enoch Wallace for the last 100 years.

Throughout the years, Enoch has met a variety of alien species almost all of which are far more developed than residents of Earth. Some have passed through only once while others have stopped several times and even become friends with Enoch. Most have left gifts for Enoch.

But now after all these years someone is watching Enoch and the watcher may have discovered something in Enoch‘s Family graveyard that could put Enoch‘s Way Station in jeopardy.

Additionally, the Inter-Galaxic Council, for which Enoch works is in turmoil. There is also a throughout the Galaxy.The reason is that the Talisman that connects beings to the universal spiritual force is missing.

Earth, as well, is on the verge of war. Ulysses the being who recruited Enoch to be the Station master gives Enoch a possible solution that will end all war. But the solution may be worse than war! Can Enoch speak for the whole world and accept the solution???

In addition to being under surveillance by the watcher, Enoch’s Way Station is also being threatened by a neighboring farmer. The neighbor is upset because Enoch has befriended the neighbor‘s deaf mute daughter. Enoch had previously saved the daughter from her violent father after he beat her and called her a witch.

Final Thoughts

 

Simak weaves all the various threads presented throughout Way Station into a satisfying ending for Way Station. It  left me wanting to know more about the aliens who visited the station and the Inter-Galactic council

Clifford Simak wrote Way Station in 1963 and I think it holds up really well. One aspect of Way Station  that stood out very early to me (uh, like in the first paragraph) was Simak‘s intricate and beautiful prose.

I also enjoyed the character of Enoch Wallace. Although I find it a little hard to fathom that somewhere in those 120 years he didn’t tell someone about the world out there! Even if it was only in a book! And what a book he could have written!!

Anyway Way Station is certainly a four star out of five book for me. I also know I will be reading more from this master of science fiction.

Way Station and My Reading Challenges

 

Way Station is book two in my mini- June July Other World’s Reading Challenge. Overall it is book 30 of 2018. The Book falls in overall in the Science Fiction Challenge.  The sub-Challenge it belongs is the Classic Science Fiction authors whose works I have not read Challenge. It is the first book in that category. The Challenge is to read five books in that category.

About Clifford D Simak

 

Clifford Donald Simak (/ˈsɪmək/;[1] August 3, 1904 – April 25, 1988) was an American science fiction writer. He won three Hugo Awards and one Nebula Award.[2][3] The Science Fiction Writers of America made him its third SFWA Grand Master,[4] and the Horror Writers Association made him one of three inaugural winners of the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement  Read More

A New Challenge: The June-July Other Worlds Reading Challenge!

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I am currently reading the science fiction book , The Human Division by John Scalzi. I have also checked out another sy-fi book The Soldier by Neal Asher. Additionally, I also have books by Greg Bear and Stephen  Baxter on my “to be read” shelf. So I have decided to create a new challenge! My June and July Other Worlds Challenge. The goal is to spend the next two months reading Science Fiction books.

Hmm, as I sit here thinking about this challenge, I wonder if I have created it as a way to get away from this world that I  mcurrently live in. One which in fact seems like an other world horror show?

In addition to the books listed above, I also have several science fiction books on my Kindle that I want to read.

E.K. Takes on the Classic Works of Clifford Simak

Finally, one of my 2018 Reading Challenges is to read  books by classic science fiction writers whose books I haven’t read. One of those writers is Clifford Simak

From Amazon:

During his fifty-five-year career, Clifford D. Simak produced some of the most iconic science fiction stories ever written….

Simak was best known for the book City, a reaction to the horrors of World War II, and for his novel Way Station. In 1953 City was awarded the International Fantasy Award, and in following years, Simak won three Hugo Awards and a Nebula Award. In 1977 he became the third Grand Master of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, and before his death in 1988, he was named one of three inaugural winners of the Horror Writers Association’s Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Without Simak, science fiction would have been without its most humane element, its most humane spokesman for the wisdom of the ordinary person and the value of life lived close to the land.” —James Gunn

“To read science-fiction is to read Simak. The reader who does not like Simak stories does not like science-fiction at all.” —Robert A. Heinlein

So today I put in a request to check out Way Station from my library. I also purchased the e-book version of the Nebula Award nominated All Flesh is Grass for a whole $1.99.

As I was finishing this post this thought crossed my mind. What will I do if  an author, whose work I can’t wait to read releases a book in June or July? I read it ,duh! But I just checked and there’s good news. Two of may favorite authors Karin Slaughter and  William Kent Krueger won’t be releasing their new books until August. So it’s off to Other Worlds !!!

 

 

 

 

Tackling My March-April “to be read” Pile – Part 1

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How to Tackle My March-April  “to be read” pile – Part 1

So over the last several weeks new books have become available at my library. As a result I have been swapping out books, returning some books read, others have been returned unread. The unread ones were returned because I know I won’t get to them now. The bottom line is I now have eight books on my “to be read” pile from the library. Here is a rundown of the books starting with the books I’m currently reading.

Currently Reading

I am currently reading two of the books. They are Cutting Edge by Ward Larsen and Dark Sky from Mike Brooks. I have previously read books from both authors.

Cutting Edge- Ward Larsen

Cutting Edge

Ward Larsen is the author of the David Slaton series which I discovered last year. I read the first three books in the series last year. Book four is scheduled to be released August 18, 2018. It’s an exciting series.So I’ll be waiting for Assassin’s Run

Cutting Edge is a stand alone thriller featuring Trey DeBolt a Coast Guard rescue swimmer who is thought to have died in a failed rescue attempt in Alaska. He was rescued and taken to a secret facility where he was operated on “to make him better”, and once again thought to be dead. But he was saved and nursed back to health by a nurse who was to take him to the morgue.

Soon though there has been an order to an assault time to take him out! And now DeBolt is on the run and the only thing he has is what they did to make him better. He now can call up any bit of information he wants and sees it in his eye!!

So far so good!

Check Out Cutting Edge at Amazon or Goodreads

Dark Sky - Mike Brooks on my March-April to be read pile

Dark Sky

The second book is Dark Sky from Mike Brooks. This is the sequel to Dark Run. Publishers Weekly called Dark Run a “terrific debut”.

The series features Captain Ichabod Drift, his ship the Keiko, and his crew. In this installment Drift and his merry band of smugglers have signed on for a new smuggling job to a mining planet. Of course the seemingly easy job may not be as easy as it appears. Was there really any doubt?

SF Book Reviews writes the following about Dark Sky....

“Brook’s talent lies in his ability to create well-developed and likeable characters…Dark Sky is fantastic. It blends character and humour in an expansive and enjoyable space adventure that leaves you wanting more.”

Check Out Dark Sky at Amazon or  Goodreads

In part two of this post series I will review the other six books on my library “to be read”  pile and the order in which I may attack them!

The Lazarus War::Artefact by Jamie Sawyer-A Fantastic Ride!

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The Lazarus War Artefact - Jamie Sawyer

Originally posted on January 18, 2017. Updated October 2025 with new links, images, and reflections.

The Background

Reading the Lazarus War :Atefact was a return to the years when I read a lot of Science Fiction. Here’s how I tried to get back……

Back in the 70s and early 80s I read a fair amount of science fiction. I read several books by Robert Heinlein, some Arthur C. Clarke, Frank Herbert, James P Hogan, Orson Scott Card and others.

Since then I’ve read the odd science fiction book here and there.  Among my favorites were the books of John Scalzi,, particularly the Old Man’s War series! In 2015  I added a Science Fiction Challenge to my other Reading Challenges. My goal was to read 12 science fiction books. I made it 3/4 of the way there, reading 9 books. Last year I reduced the number of sci-fi books to 6 i guess I figured I could make that goal easily! Wrong! I only read 1 book!

Anyway, this year I raised the goal back to 12 books. I know I already have several sci-fi books on the Kindle that I want to read! The whole point of the opening is that I have already matched last years total of sci-fi books read! The fourth book read for 2017 is The Lazarus War: Artefact  by Jamie Sawyer. And I know I  will surpass my 2017 sci-fi reads because I can’t wait to read The Lazarus War:Legion book two in the series!!

The Lazarus War: Artefact

The Lazarus War:Artefact  is just what  Jack Campbell, author of the Lost Fleet novels calls it

“a gripping read that moves at warp speed.”  

The lead character in the story is Captain Conrad Harris who leads a four-person team of simulants into battle against The Krell a fearsome and deadly alien race.

After returning from another mission where their simulant bodies die, Harris and his crew are sent on a deadly mission into the maelstrom, home of the Krell. Their mission is to find and rescue a research team that the Alliance has not had contact with for over a year! The research team was sent to the planet Helios to study a strange Artefact. The Artefact is huge monolithic structure on the planet’s surface that seems to have a strange effect on the Krell. It draws them to it like a month to a flame. But yet seems to drive them crazy!

The mission turns deadly when the Krell destroy the ship transporting Harris’ and his crew. Harris and his crew  survive, making it to the planet.Now they face the long odds of saving the research team and getting off of the planet without being killed by the Krell! In addition, the Artefact may provide Harris a key to finding the love of his life, who was lost in the Maelstrom!!

Bottom-Line 

The Lazarus War: Artefact was a five-star book for me!! It has everything I love in a science fiction book. Artefact is fast-paced action-packed story, with deadly aliens and lots of questions to be answered.  What is the purpose of the Artefact?  Why did the research center lose touch with the Alliance? And most importantly how the hell will they get off of Helios alive?

I also enjoyed the simulant technology. Captain Harris and his crew transfer from their real bodies to their enhanced bigger and more powerful simulant bodies to fight the Krell. Their real bodies remain suspended in a liquid on their ship.The squad members feel themselves die when their simulants are killed. But they are then extracted back into their real bodies and live to fight again.Because he has died and been resurrected so many times, Conrad Harris has earned the nickname Lazarus .

In an interview included in the back of the novel Sawyer describes the simulants as an extension of our current drone warfare.  Sawyer is intrigues by the fact that by day pilots located in Colorado are fighting wars in countries that they may have never set foot in. Then they return to their home at night  and lead a normal life.

So summarizing I enjoyed everything about Artefact. The fast paced action packed story, the main characters and the interplay between Harris and his squad. Additionally, the story left you wanting more!

I’ll leave you with the words of Neil Asher another Sci-Fi writer whose work I have enjoyed over the last couple of years….

“Alien biomechs… terrorism, subterfuge and traitors…starshipssporting particle beam weapons,  railguns the size of skyscapers. laser batteries, missles. This dear readers is good stuff!

Update: I confess The Lazarus War Book : Two:Legion has been on my TBR shelves since around the time I wrote this post. Maybe it’s time to read it and other books by Jamie Sawyer Ya’Think!

 

Links
Hachette Book Group
Goodreads
Amazon

Fantastic Fiction

About – Jamie Sawyer

Jamie Sawyer was born in 1979 in Newbury, Berkshire. He studied law at the University of East Anglia, Norwich, acquiring a master’s degree in human rights and surveillance law. Jamie is a full-time barrister, practising in criminal law. When he isn’t working in law or writing, Jamie enjoys spending time with his family in Essex. He is an enthusiastic reader of all types of SF, especially classic authors such as Heinlein and Haldeman.More

 

 

The Martian – Andy Weir

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The Martian – Andy Weir – Book 27 of 2015 No 4 of Science Fiction Reading Challenge

 

One of my resolutions for 2015 was to read more science fiction. It is a genre that I have read and loved in the past  I have read the classics by authors like Frank Herbert, Arthur C Clarke and Robert Heinlein along with authors like David Brin and Orson Scott Card, but  through the years that amount of SciFi that I read dwindles down to almost nothing. I say almost because I have read several boos by John Scalzi. Anyway, back at the beginning of the year I went looking for new science fiction to read and one book that kept appearing on several of the list of the Best Science Fiction was The Martian Andy Weir’s. The Martian became the 27th book I’ve read in 2015, and the fourth in the science fiction genre. Now I know what everyone has been raving about! The Martian is a terrific read!. It is by far my favorite SciFi read of the year and up there among my favorite overall reads!  My current SciFi read Dark Intelligence by Neal Asher is a close second!

For those of you who like me know little about The Martian, it is a Robinson Crusoe, Tom Hawks Cast Way type tale set on Mars. The Cast Away is Engineer Botanist Mark Watney  who is part of the third manned mission to Mars. After touchdown and setting up their base a violent sandstorm hits the base. The mission is canceled and the astronauts are ordered to leave the planet. As they are making their way to the shuttle craft, Mark is swept away by a 170 km/hr gust of wind and lost. The crew is unable to find him and he is assumed to be dead and buried. The crew reluctantly leave Mars. Only Mark IS alive and here’s what he thinks about his chances of surviving. From the opening paragraphs of The Martian.…..

chapter 1 - The Martian

When I started the book I didn’t;t think that Weir could make Watney’s tale of survival on Mars as compelling and interesting as he did. Watney would have to survive almost 4 years until the return of another manned Mars mission! He faced challenges like getting food to grow on a barren planet and making water without blowing himself up!  He battled everything the planet could trow at him with humor, ingenuity, duct tape, 70s disco music and TV shows!!

Some of my favorite lines from the book include……

“Yes, of course duct tape works in a near-vacuum. Duct tape works anywhere. Duct tape is magic and should be worshiped.”

“Actually, I was the very lowest ranked member of the crew. I would only be “in command” if I were the only remaining person.”
What do you know? I’m in command”

And as a Granddad I love this one…

“I can’t wait till I have grandchildren. When I was younger, I had to walk to the rim of a crater. Uphill! In an EVA suit! On Mars, ya little shit! Ya hear me? Mars!”

Bottom Line Rating ***** The Martian is everything that everyone says that it is, a compelling and suspenseful story of survival against incredible odds! One of the themes of the book is the question of whether it wise to save one person at an astronomical cost or to put more lives at risk for one man!

A movie based on the book is set for release in November with Matt Damon starring as Mark Watney, so hurry and go out and read the book. So that, when you see the movie you can say that the movie was good, but the book was better!! You can check out information about the movie here

Links for Further Exploration of The Martian and Andy Weir

Author”s Website
Goodreads: The Martian
Goodreads: Andy Weir

Book 10 – The Breach – Patrick Lee

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Book 10 of 2011 was Patrick Lee’s The Breach.

The Breach is the first book of what’s now a two book series featuring Travis Chase, Paige Campbell and the Breach. The second book, which I read first is Ghost Country. The book is an action adventure book with some sci-fi thrown in.

The Breach itself is an anomaly, like a ripe in space, through which entities are sent to Earth from some other vastly more intelligent world. The entity that is the focus of this book is The Whisper.

The Whisper knows all and it’s mission is to cause trouble and in the book it certainly does! From the opening chapter when a plane carrying the Whisper and the First Lady of the United States goes down and the Whisper is stolen, to the last pages where the home of the Breach Border Town run by a group known as Tangent is attacked the action is fast and furious with lots of twists and turns.

I really liked both of the books and I’m looking forward to more books featuring the likable team of Chase and Campbell!

“It’s all here: brilliantly devious enemies; nifty, innovative gadgets and weaponry; hang-on-to-your-hat action; and razor-sharp plot twists aplenty.”
—Publishers Weekly (read the full review here)

Book 4 – Ghost Country – Patrick Lee

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So this week has been work filled. Like I said earlier in the week after being on furlough last week I was working with the drilling department this week. I spent my work days, which started at 7:15 am, in Philly in the area around the intersection of Girard and Lancaster Avenues. Throw in back to back nights at Target until 11:00 pm and by the end of work last night I was beat! The only good thing was that there were periods of the day when I had to wait to take readings on the percolation test so I got to read! I took a paperback that I had picked up at Borders with my gift card that Andrew gave me for Christmas, so Book 4 for 2011 became Ghost Country by Patrick Lee. The book is actually a sequel to Lee’s first book The Breach and by the time I figured that out I was too far along and the storyline so engrossing that I couldn’t stop. If I had it to do over I would read The Breech first!! Anyway this book starts with Paige Campbell an employee of Tangent Corporation, a company that monitors strange entities that come through the Breach.  Some seem benign and others dangerous. As the book opens, Paige and her co-workers are returning from a meeting with the President of the US after showing him one of the entities. The motorcade that they are traveling in is attacked and everyone killed except Paige who is captured. Prior to that capture she gets a message to a co-worker Bethany to take the matching entity to the one Paige has and leave Tangent’s Border Town. Then she should  find Travis Chase, because he can help her. Exploring the entity Travis and Bethany discover that the entity opens a window that can be accessed to travel into the future. When Bethany and Travis use the entity,  they see a US about seventy years in the future. The Washington DC that they see  is crumbling  devoid of people and cars! It appears that the event that caused the havoc is just four months away! That knowledge sets Travis and Bethany on a mission to save Paige and the world!!!

From the cover:  “In a word: Brilliant…..left me breathless and awed – James Rollins

“Wow! Double wow! Starkly original Ghost Country will make Asimov and Heinlein cheer with the angels. The techno-thriller meets sci-fi and the rsult is mind-blowing” Stephen Coonts

I agree the book was great and the action kept me turning pages quickly! I enjoyed the characters and my only regret is that I now have to go BACK and read The Breech!!!