Solaris by Stanislaw Lem is a science fiction story that explores the themes of communication, sense of self, and reality. It is a stand-alone novel. Kris Kelvin is a psychologist who must discover what is happening with the researchers on the Solaris space station. The Solaris Station is orbiting a planet with a world-sized entity they name Ocean who the scientists are unsuccessfully trying to communicate with. Will Kris understand what is happening with the Solaris entity before it is too late, and all the researchers are dead?
Summary
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Recommendation
[Insert Recommendation here]
Links
This is the link to the Goodreads page of Solaris by Stanislaw Lem.
My review of Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang is an eight-story SF short story collection. It was made into the movie Arrival. The title story explores the similar theme of first alien contact.
Thinner by Stephen King is a supernatural thriller fantasy novel that was originally published under the author’s pseudonym, Richard Bachman. Attorney Billy Halleck has been heavy for most of his adult life. A series of events leads to him killing an old gypsy woman with his car. Billy has powerful friends and receives a light sentence. The woman’s father puts a gypsy curse on him by saying one word, thinner. Billy loses weight no matter what he does, and it will not stop. Can Billy reverse the curse, or will he wither and die?
Summary
Billy Halleck is a defense attorney with a wife, Heidi, and a daughter, Linda. He’s overweight and enjoys life. He’s driving and Heidi distracts him which leads to him hitting and killing an old gypsy woman.
Billy avoids punishment by the law because police officer Duncan Hopley and judge Cary Rossington favors him. That infuriates the woman’s father, Taduz Lemke, so he curses each one of them with a special curse. The word he says to Billy is thinner.
Billy begins to lose weight no matter how much he eats. He tracks the gypsy band across New England to get Lemke to reverse the curse. Billy enlists his client, mobster Richie Ginelli, to help him.
Billy and Lemke meet. Some curses can’t be broken, so they find another solution.
Recommendation
Thinner by Stephen King was an enjoyable read, but what made the novel great for me was the last sentence. The last sentence changed the meaning of the novel for me and was perfect for the story. I find the history of this novel interesting. They published the novel under the name Richard Bachman like four previously published novels were. On page 117 in my copy, Billy’s doctor says the way Billy tells it sounds like he is in a Stephen King book. The funny thing is that he was. King used the alias to publish more than one book in the years he had more. Someone discovered the deception, so King stopped using the alias. He also fictionalized his feelings about writing as another person and getting caught in the novel, The Dark Half.
Links
This is the link to the Goodreads page of Thinner by Stephen King.
Under the Dome by Stephen King begins with a dome covering Chester’s Mill. Who made the Dome, and will the people trapped inside it escape before they all die?
Drawing of the Three by Stephen King, book #2 of The Dark Tower series, features Roland, Eddie Dean, and Odetta Holmes. Roland gets one step closer to reaching the Dark Tower.
The Gunslinger by Stephen King, book #1 of The Dark Tower series, seemed to set up for a climax that never happened. What is there is a trippy and metaphysical non-ending.
The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub is a fantasy novel. Twelve-year-old Jack Sawyer has an important and dangerous mission. His mother is dying. The only way for him to save her is to find the mythical Talisman which is in a parallel world called the Territories. He must pass many challenges to obtain his goal. Will Jack find the Talisman in time to save his mother from death?
Summary
The story is told in the third person with Jack Sawyer as the focus character except for a series of interludes featuring the antagonist, Morgan Sloat. There are four parts to the novel reflecting Jack’s journey to enlightenment.
Part I: Jack Lights Out
Jack learns about his mother’s illness. Speedy Parker teaches him about the Territories and that the Talisman, which is located in the Territories, can cure her cancer. Everyone has a twinner in the Territories. Jack’s mother’s twinner is the Queen of the Territories. Speedy gives him an aid to cross over. Jack flips into the Territories.
Part II: The Road of Trials
Jack starts his journey in New Hampshire but must travel to California to find the Talisman. He stops in Oatley, New York. He finds work in the town at a bar and almost gets trapped there.
Part III: A Collision of Worlds
Jack is travelling again and runs into a werewolf creature named Wolf. They become friends and continue their journey. They flip to the real world, and they arrive in Indiana where they are arrested and sent to the Sunlight Home, a boy’s reform school. The school’s owner runs the place like a prison. Jack and Wolf are singled out as bad students.
Part IV: The Talisman
Jack escapes the school and finds Morgan Sloat’s son Richard in a boarding school in Illinois. They travel by train to California using the Territories. Jack finds the Talisman. He must win the Talisman and bring it to his mother to heal her.
Recommendation
The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub borders on the line between fantasy and science fiction. I feel like the authors don’t make all the points fit together. I like the character of Wolf, but I don’t understand how werewolves fit into this story. The novel feels like a portal fantasy, but I think werewolves belong in a different story than this one. Jack’s actions and thoughts seem older than a boy of twelve. The scenes in the boarding house with Richard felt like they were from another novel. The story does come to a satisfying conclusion though.
Links
This is the link to the Goodreads page of The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub.
It by Stephen King has seven kids who face horror. As adults, they face It again. Will the Losers Club defeat the hidden evil in the Derry sewers, or will they perish?
Drawing of the Three by Stephen King, book #2 of The Dark Tower series, features Roland, Eddie Dean, and Odetta Holmes. Roland gets one step closer to reaching the Dark Tower.
The Gunslinger by Stephen King, book #1 of The Dark Tower series, seemed to set up for a climax that never happened. What is there is a trippy and metaphysical non-ending.
Memory by Lois McMaster Bujold, Book #10 of the Vorkosigan saga.
Introduction
Memory by Lois McMaster Bujold is the tenth novel of the Vorkosigan saga. Miles has a medical issue that occurred on his last adventure which jeopardizes his career as an Imp Sec operative. He has a medical event at the wrong time, and he must report to his boss, Simon Illyan. The problem is his boss suffers from an illness related to the computer implanted in his brain. The nature of Illyan’s memory glitches jeopardizes the Barrayaran Empire. Can Miles figure out what happened to Illyan and what he should do about it before it’s too late?
Summary
In Memory by Lois McMaster Bujold, Miles must reevaluate his life because of a medical condition that interferes with performing his job as the leader of the Denarii Mercenaries and as an operative of Imperial Security reporting to Simon Illyan. Miles gets the medical condition in his last adventure detailed in the novel Mirror Dance. In this novel, things go wrong on his next mission and Miles tries to cover it up, so he won’t face a medical discharge. They summon him to Barrayar to face his superior, the Imperial Security Chief, Simon Illyan.
Miles finds out Illyan has a medical emergency and that changes everything. They had installed a computer in Illyan’s brain many years ago. The computer has always failed in others, but Illyan has used it beyond its normal working life. His computer is glitching and he experiences memories as if they are happening now. The memories are cascading, and his life is in jeopardy. Miles must determine if the failures are natural or if someone caused them. The answers may prove catastrophic for the Empire but may show Miles a path to follow for the next phase of his life.
Recommendation
The events of Memory by Lois McMaster Bujold change the Vorkosigan saga from now on. Miles grew up and needed a change but change came to him unexpectedly and he had to prepare for the next phase of his life. He ends up well like he always does. I thought Memory came at the perfect time in the saga and set up Miles for the rest of his life.
Links
This is the link to the Goodreads page of Memory by Lois McMaster Bujold.
In Ethan of Athos by Lois McMaster Bujold, Dr. Ethan Urquhart must discover what happened to unusable ovarian samples. Will Ethan go off the planet, risk being corrupted, and solve the mystery of the unusable samples, or will he doom Athos by doing nothing?
In Cetaganda by Lois McMaster Bujold, they send Miles Vorkosigan and his cousin Ivan to Cetaganda on a diplomatic mission. Miles becomes involved in a complex mystery. Will Miles foil the plot to destroy Cetaganda and save his home planet of Barrayar?
In The Vor Game by Lois McMaster Bujold, they accused Miles Vorkosigan of treason. Will Miles play The Vor Game well enough to escape the treason charges made against him and secure the assignment he desires?
In Warriors Apprentice (Book #2 of the Vorkosigan Saga) by Lois McMaster Bujold, Miles Vorkosigan gets involved in another planet’s war. Can he escape the mischief he started?
In Barrayar (Book#7 of the Vorkosigan saga) by Lois McMaster Bujold, Lady Cordelia Vorkosigan faces an assassination and the birth of her son. Will she survive the regency and give birth to her son?
In Shards of Honor (Book#1 of the Vorkosigan saga) by Lois McMaster Bujold, Barrayaran Captain Aral Vorkosigan takes Betan Commander Cordelia Naismith as a prisoner. They take a hike in the jungle. What happens when they fall in love?
In Falling Free (Book #4 of the Vorkosigan saga) by Lois McMaster Bujold, space engineer Leo Graf must decide between retiring or risking his life protecting his students. The novel is a fun, self-contained space opera romp.
New Spring by Robert Jordan is a prequel to the Wheel of Time series.
Introduction
New Spring by Robert Jordan is the prequel to The Wheel of Time series. The novel shows the prophecy of the birth of the Dragon Reborn which drove Moiraine to seek the Dragon Reborn. It also shows how Moraine and Lan meet and join forces. And it sets up the events before the first book of the series, The Eye of the World. Will Moiraine find the Dragon Reborn before the Minions of the Dark One find him and will she save him to defeat the Dark One in the Final Battle?
Summary
Moiraine and Siuan witness the Aes Sedai Keeper foretell that the Dragon has been Reborn. Moiraine and Siuan are friends and young Aes Sedai Accepted. The Amyrlin Seat of that time sends them on a mission to find the Dragon Reborn. When Moiraine becomes a full Aes Sedai, she continues her search.
At the end of the Aiel War, Lan and his crew learn that some people want to restore the destroyed kingdom of Malkier. Lan would have been the last king of Malkier, but doesn’t want to follow that path. They head toward a city close to where Malkier was located.
Moiraine and Lan meet on the road, but are suspicious of each others motivations. They continue to the city together.
At the city Moiraine searches for a potential Dragon Reborn while Lan tries to defuse the attempt to make him the King of Malkier. Their goals intersect in complicated ways and they help each other out. The novel concludes with them coming to a new understanding.
Recommendation
New Spring by Robert Jordan started as a 140-page novella (short novel) in the anthology named Legends, edited by Robert Silverberg. The novel expands on the story, but I feel that the ending was still rushed. The best thing about the novel is getting viewpoints from Moiraine and especially Lan. The novella did not have chapters while the novel had 26 chapters and an epilogue. I thought that was an improvement. My highlights of the novel are the foretelling of the Dragon Reborn, the first meeting of Moiraine and Lan, and when Morraine bonds Lan as her Warder. It was worth learning more about the events leading to the first novel of the Wheel of Time series.
Links
This is the link to the Goodreads page of New Spring by Robert Jordan.
This is the link to the Goodreads page of Legends, edited by Robert Silverberg where the first shorter version of New Spring by Robert Jordan was published.
This is the link to my review of Crown of Swords by Robert Jordan. When Rand forces the hand of one of the Forsaken, will the Forsaken defeat him or will he earn a Crown of Swords?
This is the link to my review of Lord of Chaos by Robert Jordan, Book Six of the Wheel of Time. Chaos reigns in the Westlands. They push Rand to the edge of insanity. Will he survive the box?
Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson is Book #1 of the Secret Books of 2023. Tress barely survives on an island set on a sea that is not a sea of water. It is a sea of deadly spores. When her close friend Charlie takes a trip and goes missing, she must face deadly perils to rescue him from certain death. Will Tress succeed in her quest or perish herself?
Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson
Summary
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Recommendation
Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson is a wonderful and sweet book. I loved the idea of twisting the Princess Bride. What if Buttercup as Tress must rescue Westly as Charlie? That’s the question posed by this novel. Tress must face pirates and environmental catastrophes to rescue her one true love.
Links
This is the link to the Goodreads page of Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson.
My review of Lost Metal by Brandon Sanderson. Wax and Wayne must foil a plot started by the terrorist group called the Set to destroy their home and people.
My review of Dawnshard by Brandon Sanderson. In book 3.5 of the Stormlight Archive, Rysn and Lopen must uncover the secrets of the lost island of Akinah, or it will doom Roshar.
My review of Arcanum Unbounded by Brandon Sanderson, a collection with nine stories that are part of the cosmere universe. An overarching plot, which he calls the cosmere interrelated many of the author’s works. He set the stories of the cosmere on a group of worlds that are connected through magical means. He set six stories on the worlds of his published novels, and three stories are about worlds that have not had a novel-length story treatment. All the stories in this collection are excellent.
Lost Metal by Brandon Sanderson, Book #7 of the Mistborn Saga.
Introduction
Lost Metal by Brandon Sanderson is Book #7 of the Mistborn Saga. It is also the four and final novel featuring the characters Wax and Wayne. Wax and Wayne must foil a plot started by the terrorist group called the Set to destroy their home and people.
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Summary
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Recommendation
Lost Metal by Brandon Sanderson is a rousing conclusion to the series of novels about Wax and Wayne. He wrapped all the evil plots from the previous novels up in one huge plot to destroy the world. This novel contains many connections to the greater story in the Cosmere than any novel that Sanderson has published up to now. The Cosmere is the overarching narrative that connects most of his works. I enjoyed the way he wrapped this series up. It was a satisfying ending. I’m looking forward to the next section of Mistborn novels.
Links
This is the link to the Goodreads page of Lost Metal by Brandon Sanderson.
My review of Dawnshard by Brandon Sanderson. In book 3.5 of the Stormlight Archive, Rysn and Lopen must uncover the secrets of the lost island of Akinah, or it will doom Roshar.
My review of Arcanum Unbounded by Brandon Sanderson, a collection with nine stories that are part of the cosmere universe. An overarching plot, which he calls the cosmere interrelated many of the author’s works. He set the stories of the cosmere on a group of worlds that are connected through magical means. He set six stories on the worlds of his published novels, and three stories are about worlds that have not had a novel-length story treatment. All the stories in this collection are excellent.
Winters Heart by Robert Jordan, Book Nine of the Wheel of Time series.
Introduction
Winters Heart by Robert Jordan is the ninth book of The Wheel of Time series. The novel follows four main plot arcs. Rand tracks the assassins who tried to kill him in the previous novel. Mat seeks to escape the Seanchan in Ebou Dar. Perrin must return Masema to face Rand, but he finds out that the Shaido captured Faile. Elayne takes over Andor, but the Borderlander’s armies besiege her. Rand’s chapters were the best ones of this novel.
Summary – Prologue
The prologue has four point-of-view characters, and each point of view sets up a plot arc for the novel.
Seaine is an Aes Sedai in the White Tower. Seaine with the help of Pevara and others are tasked with discovering the members of the Black Ajah. This is the Black Ajah Hunter Arc.
Elayne is the Queen of Andor and must protect her realm from within and without. This is the Andor Arc.
Toveine Gazal and about 50 other Aes Sedai were sent by Elaida to capture the Black Tower and gentle the Aha’man found there. They don’t succeed. This is the Black Tower Arc. Rand is on the hunt for revenge against the channelers that attacked him in Cairhien at the end of the previous novel. This is Rand’s Revenge Arc
Summary–Groups of characters
Winters Heart by Robert Jordan has four main plots.
Rand bonds with Elayne, Aviendha, and Min. He has a special night with Elayne. He tracks the assassins too Far Madding tries to kill them. Rand and Nynaeve accomplish something with far reaching consequences.
Mat seeks to escape from Ebou Dar. The plot involves freeing Aes Sedai trapped as damane by the Seanchan. He captures Tuon but realizes that she is the Daughter of the Nine Moons and will become his wife so he takes her with him.
Perrin starts bringing Masema back to Cairhein to see Rand, but he finds out that the Shaido have taken Faile.
Elayne maneuvers herself to rule Andor. She faces the threat of the Borderlander’s armies besieging Caemlyn.
Summary–Best Chapters
Four Chapters stand out in Winters Heart by Robert Jordan.
Chapter 12 A Lily in Winter. This is the chapter where Elayne, Avienda, and Min bond with Rand. Then Rand and Elyane have their special moment.
Chapter 22 Out of Thin Air. This is the chapter where Rand tracks the Asha’man assassins to Far Madding. At the end of the chapter the reader learns more about Isam.
Chapter 33 Blue Carp Street. Rand gets a clue to the assassins location. He thinks it is a trap and brings along Lan. There is a fight. Lan and Rand have an awesome moment.
Chapter 35 With the Choedan Kal. Rand and Nynaeve do something awesome and a dozen characters reflects on that action.
Recommendation
Winters Heart by Robert Jordan has some brilliant scenes but misses conclusions to many of the plot arcs explored. There are two exceptions, and they are the best parts of the novel. Both involve Rand. Rand tracks down the Asha’man assassins that tried to kill him at the end of the last novel. Rand and Nynaeve do something awesome. The reflections of a dozen characters in the last chapter were excellent.
Links
This is the link to the Goodreads page of Winters Heart by Robert Jordan.
This is the link to my review of Crown of Swords by Robert Jordan. When Rand forces the hand of one of the Forsaken, will the Forsaken defeat him or will he earn a Crown of Swords?
This is the link to my review of Lord of Chaos by Robert Jordan, Book Six of the Wheel of Time. Chaos reigns in the Westlands. They push Rand to the edge of insanity. Will he survive the box?
Ethan of Athos by Lois McMaster Bujold, Book #3 of the Vorkosigan saga by publication order and #7 by chronological order.
Introduction
Ethan of Athos by Lois McMaster Bujold is the third published novel of the Vorkosigan saga. It is also the seventh novel of the internal chronology of the saga. It is one of the few novels in the series where Miles Vorkosigan is not the protagonist of the novel. Dr. Ethan Urquhart is a reproduction specialist on the planet of Athos. This is a very important job because the population of Athos is only men, and they grow babies in uterine replicators. Without the doctor’s efforts, the population of Athos could dwindle and eventually expire. The cultures he received in the last shipment were unusable. Will Ethan go off the planet, risk being corrupted, and solve the mystery of the unusable samples, or will he doom Athos by doing nothing?
Summary
Dr. Ethan Urquhart is a reproduction specialist on the planet of Athos. Athos was populated only with men, with a monk-like society. They have demonized women as a corrupting force and will not let them in the colony. To continue the colony, they must produce babies by using uterine replicators. Ethan is one of the doctors who monitor the babies’ growth. His latest batch of ovarian tissues is unusable, so he must discover what went wrong to save his planet. The problem is, he must go off the planet to discover the truth and risk corrupting himself by encountering the corrupters, women.
Ethan goes to Kline Station, where the tissues came from, to find answers. Early on he meets Elli Quinn, who is a commander in the Denarii Mercenary Fleet. (Commanded by Admiral Naismith aka Miles Vorkosigan and Elli’s love interest, but that is another story.) They encounter Cetagandians who are looking for the missing tissue samples for their reasons. Reversals occur and Ethan must make hard choices to accomplish his mission of getting ovarian tissue samples to continue the breeding project.
Recommendation
Ethan of Athos by Lois McMaster Bujold is a nice, short, fast-paced spy adventure that comes to a satisfying ending. I appreciated Bujold’s treatment of the colony of Athos. She has taken a thought experiment of how a one-sex colony sustains itself without adding outside members and giving it a face in Ethan. The frank treatment of his sexuality was refreshing, especially since it was published so long ago and in the science fiction genre. Elli Quinn was an excellent character, and I can see why the author goes back to her in subsequent novels. Another novel featuring Ethan would have been interesting, but I am satisfied in thinking that his life in the future was quiet and productive rather than needing a stressful adventure intruding on him.
Links
This is the link to the Goodreads page of Ethan of Athos by Lois McMaster Bujold.
In Cetaganda by Lois McMaster Bujold, they send Miles Vorkosigan and his cousin Ivan to Cetaganda on a diplomatic mission. Miles becomes involved in a complex mystery. Will Miles foil the plot to destroy Cetaganda and save his home planet of Barrayar?
In The Vor Game by Lois McMaster Bujold, they accused Miles Vorkosigan of treason. Will Miles play The Vor Game well enough to escape the treason charges made against him and secure the assignment he desires?
In Warriors Apprentice (Book #2 of the Vorkosigan Saga) by Lois McMaster Bujold, Miles Vorkosigan gets involved in another planet’s war. Can he escape the mischief he started?
In Barrayar (Book#7 of the Vorkosigan saga) by Lois McMaster Bujold, Lady Cordelia Vorkosigan faces an assassination and the birth of her son. Will she survive the regency and give birth to her son?
In Shards of Honor (Book#1 of the Vorkosigan saga) by Lois McMaster Bujold, Barrayaran Captain Aral Vorkosigan takes Betan Commander Cordelia Naismith as a prisoner. They take a hike in the jungle. What happens when they fall in love?
In Falling Free (Book #4 of the Vorkosigan saga) by Lois McMaster Bujold, space engineer Leo Graf must decide between retiring or risking his life protecting his students. The novel is a fun, self-contained space opera romp.
Zoes Tale by John Scalzi, Book #4 of The Old Man’s War series.
Introduction
Zoes Tale by John Scalzi is the fourth book in the Old Man’s War series. This novel tells the events from the previous novel, The Last Colony, from the point of view of Zoe Boutin Perry. She was adopted by John Perry and Jane Sagan and is now seventeen years old. They leave their home, the only home that Zoe knew, to settle in a new colony on the planet named Roanoke. What they find at Roanoke is not what they expected. Will they protect the colony, or will the colony perish leading to the extermination of humanity?
Summary
[Insert Summary Here]
Recommendation
[Insert Recommendation Here]
Links
This is the link to the Goodreads page of Zoes Tale by John Scalzi.
Last Colony by John Scalzi is the third book in the Old Man’s War series. John Perry and his family colonized a new planet. Can he protect the colony, or will the colony perish leading to the extermination of humanity?
Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi is the second book in the Old Man’s War series. Jared Dirac is a clone with another man’s memories. He must save humanity from three allied alien races determined to destroy humanity.
