Beyond This Horizon by Robert A. Heinlein
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Re-Read 7/31/24:

Going through all of RAHs work in chronological order. It's still truly fascinating to read all this in context to the time.

As for the regular adventure aspect, showing us a utopia and giving us vast amounts of exposition through dialogue, I'm still shocked-and-awed that it still makes for a great read. :)



Original Review:

It's time to prepare for the 1943 retro Hugo awards that will be presented in 2018! (Why? Why not? Some books deserve love even if they're before the Hugos even began!)

In this case, novels published in 1942 are eligible. Books like C.S. Lewis's Screwtape Letters are technically eligible but really shouldn't be. There's nothing much SF about the religious satire.

On the other hand, I really enjoyed Olaf Stapledon's anti-novel and worldbuilding masterpiece The Darkness and the Light that came out this year and please imagine how thrilled I was to learn that Heinlein also published a bona fide adult-oriented novel, too!

He was generally known for his Juveniles by this point, so an early adult novel is something of a treat. And fortunately, his writing is always polished and clear and sometimes funny and always full of light agendas. It's Heinlein! He's a very opinionated man. :)

In this case, we're treated to science lessons on genetics and a superior-gene race of humanity planning on overthrowing the current Utopia. The hero is the ultimate perfect superman and I kept thinking about the Howard families in his later fiction, the prototype that gets so fully explored later.

We shouldn't forget the day. 1942.
Does this kind of story sound familiar? In Heinlein's case, it feels like a mirror to a huge segment of the American population that already agreed with the Eugenics movement and what was happening in Europe at the time. Maybe no one really understood the impact or scope or even the reality of the death camps, but everyone could see the implications and the stated goals. It was war and knowing the publishing field, there's a long stretch between when a writer finishes a text and when it actually gets put on the shelves. I'll assume for a moment that Pearl Harbor had not happened yet, or if it did, there was no way Heinlein could have fixed his novel to reflect America's sudden inclusion in the war.

However, it should be noted that he got all the salient points and sentiments RIGHT. It might have been a utopia like Stapledon's work but unlike Stapledon, he went the full "good story" option with interesting characters, exciting plots, cool snags, romance, and a big blowout. :)

Without even mentioning the Hugos or the need to find the best SF or Fantasy of 1942, I would have read this early Heinlein novel thinking that it's a very polished introduction to his later genetic-field obsession with longevity.

No Lazarus Long here, but enough ideas were packed in here to stand proudly with any of his later works. :)

Between Stapledon and Heinlein, I choose Heinlein for the sheer fun factor, the timeliness of the topic, the sophistication of the storytelling, and lastly, the idea. :) Stapledon might blow him out of the water for sheer scope and range of ideas and world-building and commentary, but Heinlein's soup had the perfect mix.

He's my main choice for the Hugo. :) So far. I'm still reading, however. :)

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Defiance of the Fall 4 by TheFirstDefier
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Complications with a little dark magic, shaping up to make a real berserker out of Zack. Of course, such an outcome isn't nearly as fun as the normal progression fiction. I do so love opening up new Tao and titles.

But frankly, I think I enjoyed going to the leveler's tower the most out of this volume. So many nice complications.

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Great Masters: Shostakovich His Life & Music by Robert Greenberg
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My god, what a lecture. Greenberg went over and above by showing Shostakovich in his time and place.

From the very start, Shostakovich is beset by some of the most horrible times in Soviet history, right out of the famines of Lenin, the atrocities of Stalin, and always, the hounding pressures of the politburo. We know, after the fact, that Shostakovich never felt in tune with the live and death finality of political necessity. He had a gun to his head, saying all the right things, attending all the right meetings, but he was rebellious.

Oh, he was REBELLIOUS. He was constantly in trouble -- and it was all because of the MUSIC, ITSELF. He made destructive commentaries, using very controversial stories, material, poetry, even making Stalin sound like a little roaring mouse, and Shostakovich came SO close to getting a bag over his head SO many times.

Amazing. Utterly amazing.

This little, nervous, shy man is a true wonder and an inspiration. And on top of all that, he wrote some REAL BANGERS. I always liked his symphonies when growing up, but now, I'm just filled with awe.



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Defiance of the Fall 3 by TheFirstDefier
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Again, much better than the first book in the series. I particularly enjoyed the "treasure hunt" in the old shared realm.

It's all LitRPG progression, yes, with tons of new Tao, domains, interesting enemies, and bloodshed. Good thing I love this kind of thing, yes?

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The Book of Elsewhere by Keanu Reeves
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This one sent me on a roller-coaster. At first, way before I picked it up, I was all, "Wow, Keanu! Then it was Keanu's comic, Berserker, in novel form! And then the deeper realization that it was also China Miéville (what a wild imagination in his own right) hit me and I was, 'daaammn'."

Fast forward to actually reading it -- and I was struck by the careful language and I was getting into it the way I'd get into any kind of "serious" SF, knowing this was out to push some boundaries -- until I was a bit bored with the action scenes -- and then I fell back into the groove of, "Hey, this IS about the nature of life and death, of the complications of immortality, and it is even a rather nuanced look at reality, itself."

Huh. Real SF, after all. And it wasn't just a cheap knock off of the modern SFnal vein. It had jumps, stories within stories within stories, shifting between broad story-lines, and always the sense of an ocean of ennui fighting against the raging spark of living.

So, yeah, it has a few weak spots, but I definitely feel invigorated for having finished it, and that's on its own merits, and not by any preconceived notion.

It's not going to be a pure action novel even though it is CLOSELY tied to Keanu's comics, but like those comics, it has a deep philosophical streak that, in novel form, actually makes it shine.

For those readers coming just because they have a crush on Keanu or China, come at this with an open mind and heart. You'll be rewarded.


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Defiance of the Fall 2 by TheFirstDefier
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Interestingly enough, I enjoyed book two more than the first. Maybe it makes up for all the solo brawny axe bits by stakes that make it quite a bit more social. Building a city definitely helps.

Don't get me wrong, though. There's tons of solo leveling and grind, so everything that brought me to the series is still going strong.

Let's get BEAST. Show the System who's really boss.



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A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is what I consider serious SF. Huge, epic scale SF where nothing is treated like a joke. It's also the source of the term "Singularity", for those who need an introduction.

I've loved this novel ever since it came out in the 90s, being totally fascinated with the Zones of Thought, where different areas of the galaxy can achieve godlike intelligence -- and others are reduced to simple biological slowness, taking away FTL and even computers.

The Blight is spreading that zone faster than any alien race can handle. *shiver*

But here's the best part, IMHO: The Tines world. We spend a lot of time here, with just two humans awake, a brother and sister, who get used in a big political alien game -- but it's nothing simple. Indeed, the aliens themselves are utterly fascinating -- not truly intelligent unless they stay fairly close together in small packs, like wolves, they run a medieval society. The whole tale is delicious.

I won't spoil it here. The thing is -- this is one of THE science fiction greats. So rich with worldbuilding, character development, ranging from cannons and radio to fleets of aliens, super ancient god-like remnants, unknowable threats, and physics, itself, being a major player in the tale.

There have been some pretty great epic-scale SFs, of course, but it's safe to say that most must tip a hat to Vernor Vinge.

That being said, RIP, Vinge. You will be missed.

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Defiance of the Fall by TheFirstDefier
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Since I like LitRPGs pretty much all the time, being a long-term gamer, I don't mind the formula or the execution of this kind of thing: Wake up in a mashed-up multi-universe where an omniscient System makes everyone fight for resources/rights to plunder, and leveling up your skills to be the best, most bloodthirsty warrior -- protecting your little corner of your changed Earth.

It's just progression fiction, after all. Fun for what it is -- battles, adventure, leveling up.

The story isn't much, but that's not the best part. Getting beast is the best part. So here we go!

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Shuna's Journey by Hayao Miyazaki
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Back in '83 this early Miyazaki manga was published, and from the cover and subsequently just about everything else within it, I was mesmerized by the imagery and themes.

I pointed at it, saying, "Princess Mononoke!!!"

And while it WASN'T Princess Mononoke, so much of it just screamed similarity, not least Yakul the red reindeer, the character designs, or so much more.

As for itself, it's mythical and beautiful, while feeling young, like all of Miyazaki's work, maybe a bit more SF and raw, but there's no way you could read this and not make all the connections.

Totally worth it.

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The First Step by Tao Wong
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I wanted something light, and this wuxia cultivation novel seemed just right for me.

Nothing extreme, just a slow progression from a peasant conscript to a fairly competent warrior, but with all the LitRPG elements of opening his chi gates, etc.

Enjoyable, if nothing extreme.

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Maror by Lavie Tidhar
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If it wasn't for the fact that this was historical fiction, illustrating the dirty underbelly of Isreal, mostly in the '80s, I would have just said that this was a lurid crime book full of dirty cops, drug dealers, murders, and prostitutes.

I WOULD have said that it was sensational and dark and a bit overblown in just how ugly all this shit was, between summary justice being had on a whim, the amazing amounts of drugs, participation in civil wars, wholesale murder -- but no. It is a story of a nation being built by assholes who do what they think needs doing. The hardliners had to come from somewhere, after all.


As a side-note, I was kinda worried about reading this alongside some truly deplorable current-events, but I shouldn't have worried. Lavie Tidhar writes a pretty damning tale without any modern reference material.


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Exodus: The Archimedes Engine by Peter F. Hamilton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I can't really review this book without writing a book about it -- and that's because it's an enormous, sprawling far-future SF full of humans, demi-post-humans, and post-humans that have settled across a goodly portion of space without breaking the speed of light barrier.

Those who arrived first got to set up everything however they wanted, passing down the torch in spectacularly high-tech ways, while those who slow-moved their way into the cluster are pretty much given a couple of super-planet reservations to farm and feed the rest of the empire.

Of course, that's just the setup. The rest of the book is over nine-hundred pages, and we've got investigations, intrigue, adventure, interesting politics, high-tech enmeshed plot, and the titular Archimedes Engine -- based on some of the oldest original tech that only the Archons should have their hands on. Of course, the Celestials, the Uranic, and the normal latecomer normal humans will all vie for power -- and there's no power quite as big as that engine. No spoilers, but it's impressive.

What I should really point out is that this is a deep, wildly imaginative, and thoroughly explored novel. If you want to get lost in a really huge tale with amazing, far-reaching worldbuilding, great plots, tons of characters, and great action, then I'm just going to point at Peter here.

He's got it all -- big books that will last you a great long time. :)

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The Tusks of Extinction by Ray Nayler
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

After his last novel, I expected a solid SF with real-world good stuff, but I didn't quite expect his next to be so hard-hitting.

Conservation and fighting for the rights of almost-extinct animals is a sore spot with me. Far too many economic complications make what should be a no-brainer issue into a real nightmare.

Mix not just elephants but a future with brought-back mammoths, some really cool SF sidewinding plots, and a ton of great characters and the low grumble in my gut of fear, and this turned out to be something quite special.

Short, hard-hitting, and it's also rather gorgeous. A great little SF that hits way too close to our home.


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Empire of Ants: The Hidden Worlds and Extraordinary Lives of Earth's Tiny Conquerors by Susanne Foitzik
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Every once a while, a good nature book hits the spot. Empire of Ants shines a pretty great spotlight on one of nature's real powerhouses.

Me, I'm truly fascinated by super-colonies, but this one does a great job with an overview, different types, how the different species ARE different. But I personally love the truly weird stuff like longevity-granting tapeworms and the fun fungi infestations.

We do get a little of everything.

Definitely worth the read.

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Oogami-san, Dadamore Desu vol. 3 by Yuu Yoshidamaru
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

We're in full rom-com territory now. A few snags, miscommunication, and challenges. It's still sweet and I think these goofballs need to get it together already.

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Oogami-san, Dadamore Desu vol. 2 by Yuu Yoshidamaru
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Cuteness continues. Having an MC that makes anyone say what is really on their minds is perfect for humorous teen drama. :)

WHAT? TELL THE TRUTH? NEVER!

Fun stuff.

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Slayers by Amber Benson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'm not usually one to pick up and enjoy franchise novels, but this one was special. Indeed, it was a labor of love. Most of the original cast got on board and it was Amber Benson (Tara, herself) and Christopher Golden who wrote it -- and if that isn't enough, the audio was spectacular.

It was quirky, fun, and perfectly in line with all the goofy things the original series was known for. Alternate universes were a thing, after all. And we get lots of Dru, Anya, Spike, and Rupert -- as well as a new Slayer (among many), to keep it fresh.

To be entirely honest, I'd love to see this done and continued for a while -- maybe even as an animation so we can get all the fights and magic and special effects while also bringing in all the originals for their voices. I'd watch the hell out of it.

But that's neither here not there. This novel was a genuine pleasure. Let the nostalgia roll with an all new tale!

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Oogami-san, Dadamore Desu vol. 1 by Yuu Yoshidamaru
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When I saw a recommendation for this, with a panel out of context, I thought for sure this would be ecchi. Weirdly, while it does dance around ecchi, it's certainly not focused on it.

It's oddly wholesome, about making and keeping friends when you feel like an outcast and try to avoid others. In other words, it's pretty damn sweet. I had quite a few awww moments.

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How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying by Django Wexler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Color me surprised to learn that Django Wexler is writing an Isekai!

I've been loving the genre for years now, right alongside its idiot twin, LitRPG, but I never really considered this kind of thing anything more than plain fun popcorn fiction -- and that's exactly what Django Wexler delivered.

We've got ourselves a Groundhog Day scenario in another world, where Davi had died for like a thousand years trying out every little thing this kingdom can offer, but when a big change comes -- and Davi is meant to become the Dark Lord, it all becomes a cool little adventure to get all the monsters together, build a hoard, have a lot of sex, and go through the trials set up by the Old Ones to officially become THE DARK LORD.

It's silly fun. Worth it.

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I'm Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom by Jason Pargin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

First of all, if you love roadtrip novels, then perk your ear up.

The black box of doom needs a little road-time.

Of course, exactly WHAT that black box of doom is will be a major bone of contention throughout the novel, but it should be safe to say that there are several.

Probably, the more interesting black box of doom is the author's willingness to let it all hang out. We've all had some seriously hard years, be it with societal craziness, fractured people, loneliness, online echo chambers, and, let's face it, FEAR and the greater uneasiness we all have about opening up to others.

After a fairly delightful meet-cute involving a bit of kidnapping (honestly probably the only way this basement-dwelling dude might have agreed to this bit of wildness), this novel doesn't hesitate to jump right in and say the things that might start tons of arguments.

Oddly, however, there's a bit of interesting open-mindedness, which was pretty delightful, even if it didn't go overboard.

The rest of the novel was almost slapstick in how the Reddit boards went cuckoo or how conspiracy nutters became weekend warriors. It was pretty funny.

It may not be my favorite of Mr. Pargin's, but I do appreciate the courage to put these other ideas out there and treat them with a little respect even if they may be a sore point for many. (Think any of the contentious things that are on Reddit, and you'll get the idea.)

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The Web Between The Worlds by Charles Sheffield
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This Science Fiction from '79 hit the speculative science spot for me. The engineering, including wonderful robot spiders, a thread of investigation and mystery, and the eventual construction of a beanstalk space elevator all together made for quite a different kind of SF than we usually see today.

Smart engineers, visionary money men, and the deep desire to create something amazing.

I mean, seriously. Why don't we have more of this? Do we no longer have the imagination to dream big? Alas!

*sighs contentedly*





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Ghostdrift by Suzanne Palmer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

These adventure SF novels are really kinda everything I need right now. Is that saying a lot? Maybe it's not saying enough.

Fergus just keeps landing in it.

He's got some amazing skills and intelligence, but that doesn't help him when he's always finding a good reason or eight to skip out on all his friends because of SOME KIND of BONEHEAD universe-saving curiosity shtick that proves, yet again, that no deed ever goes unpunished.

Governments hate losing their shiny deadly shit, after all. Fergus is just tends to really sink neck deep in these kinds of new situations -- like being kidnapped by pirates and forced to serve on their crew.

And it doesn't end there. One of the strongest parts of all these Finder novels is the wildly different situations Fergus keeps finding himself in -- and often, it's part of a much bigger alien (or human!) crapstorm than we generally assume it'll be.

Top notch popcorn SF, as usual. Fergus really can find anything -- it's just a shame he can't keep out of all those damn traps he finds for himself.

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Tidal Creatures by Seanan McGuire
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Like the ones before, we often get a lot of new characters that eventually circle back around to Roger Dogger, and like those others, it sometimes takes me a moment to warm up to the new characters.

It's true for this one as well. Don't get me wrong, I love me some lunar goddesses -- or minor lunar deities -- as much as the next guy, but it really did take me a moment to warm myself up under these moonbeams.

Fortunately, it gets nice and fun and it's very much like the last few novels in the series. My love will always go to the first, of course, but this one also does fan service well.

I actually prefer reading about the City from this angle more than the Baker angle -- but maybe I'm just weird.


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Bonds of Resolve by A.K. DuBoff
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Some time later, Will finds romance and progresses with some greater powers and negotiations. The space opera continues nicely, but if I am to be entirely honest, it is simple. If nobody expects complicated situations or characterizations, just a well-written formula, then you'll probably have a good time.

It is nothing groundbreaking, however, just psi and better star travel stuff, a long war, and lies.



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Veil of Reality by Amy DuBoff
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time skip, and the destined romance flowered a young man with prodigious psy-talents. He's driven, uncomplaining, and a shoe-in for leadership. Of course, he must be tested by the other side of the war, and he wasn't found wanting.

Again, it's pretty boilerplate space-opera SF, but it IS written easy-going and should appeal to the popcorn-loving crowd.



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Architects of Destiny by A.K. DuBoff
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Easy-reading space-opera. We've got the standard hidden-war thing going on with the special heroes sporting powerful psi-powers. Mix a little genetic tampering, bloodlines, and engineered romance, and that pretty much describes the first book.

It's not bad, of course. It's pretty standard you-get-what-you-come-for fare.
Fun, if this is what you crave. For me, I didn't mind it at all. I've read much worse.

It's popcorn.

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The Crow Road by Iain Banks
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Honestly, I was both excited to read (because of that amazing opener) and trepidatious because I heard that this book takes a dive later on.

Well, I still loved that banger of an opening and was thoroughly charmed by this tale of a Scottish family, featuring this young twat that both shows that he has heart and that he doesn't deserve any in return, and it's all pretty fascinating. I loved the writing.

Fast forward a bit and he becomes a right git, but that's okay because conflicts drive tales and what's not to love about a mess of a man?

Fast forward a bit more and I finally get to the point where people snicker -- but you know what? I don't care that it turned into a mystery. It just felt like a bit of spice to what otherwise seems to be a long novel about death.

It is the Crow Road, after all, and we all follow it eventually.

I think I loved every moment of coming to terms with death in this novel, sudden or otherwise, the best. There was a good deal of depth and all of the characters were pretty fascinating. I wouldn't say they were much in the way of being good people, but it did make for a good novel.

This is only my second book of Iain Bank's regular fiction, and I will say that it feels so different from his SF. Here's to managing my expectations!



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Emergence by Kim Harrison
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

More characterizations, more plot, and an interesting development, but I will stand by my last review when I said these three deserve to be together as a single story.

All together, it makes a pretty solid novel of first contact, trust, and resolve.

It was this particular novella that I really enjoyed the most, however. I like Harrison's quasi-magical developments. :)

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Totality by Kim Harrison
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Totality picks up from the first novella, deepening all the relationships, learning more about the Neighbors' world, what they seek to accomplish on our planet, and generally pulling off a normal first-contact kind of story.

However -- it feels like it has been done many times before. The only twist is some people behaving badly and a strong ecological theme. And on top of that, I am getting the distinct impression that these three novellas ought to have been packaged as a single longer tale, that they may have been split for marketing reasons.

I can't say that it would have made it a better tale, either way, but that's my impression.

The story is mild. A slight three-way kind of thing, but really more focused on friendship building. For some readers, this should be a high selling point.

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First Contact by Kim Harrison
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I'm a big fan of Kim Harrison in general, but this novella is pretty mainstream first-contact SF material. That's not to say it's bad -- we have the Neighbors and some solid alien-and-worldbuilding stuff going on, but the conflict is -- the usual.

It's pretty slow, but the core is all about building trust, so it does what it sets out to do. I get the distinct impression that it's mostly for the sake of launching the other two novellas, so I guess I can't complain.

Later on, I'll see if it pays off.

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