Books again

Books were one of the biggest topics on this blog before I went back to school and didn't post anything for a year or whatever. Well, just over a month ago, I read a science fiction novel because I wanted to. I posted about it. Go find it yourself if you want to. No link for you. Anyway, despite some misgivings about the book itself, specifically the ending, or rather the lack of one, I found the experience refreshing. I can totally read books while I'm going to school. It's not bad. It might even be good. Apparently it's a habit I have now. Since writing that post, I've read four more books.


The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling
As with Children of the Sky, I had mixed feelings with this book, and ended up mildly disappointed. The idea seemed to be, and the back cover described it this way, that the book would follow three main characters. And yet one of them, albeit the most interesting one, dominates the story. It makes the segment with the first character the authors introduce seem superfluous, and once the real main character's segment ends, the book keeps going, but doesn't have enough room to really do anything. Complaints aside, it is an interesting book and left me frustrated at my lack of knowledge of history, because I wasn't sure which references I was missing. I figured out quickly enough that Ada Byron had to be the equivalent of the real-life Ada Lovelace (I didn't remember that Ada Lovelace actually was the daughter of Lord Byron), but definitely had no idea who some of the other people were (Isambard Brunel, for example). I was generally fascinated while reading the book and a bit disappointed immediately after, but now I'm not sure what to think.

Eon by Greg Bear
My mother claimed that The Difference Engine wasn't science fiction (it is) because it didn't have spaceships, time travel, or aliens. So I grabbed this book that looked like it definitely had spaceships and might also have time travel and aliens. All I really knew about it was that it was written by Greg Bear. I am a fan of Greg Bear's short stories, but had never read one of his novels, so I decided to correct that while simultaneously dealing with my mother's complaint about my previous reading choice. And I found the first novel that I've read this year that didn't disappoint me. If you didn't already know, science fiction in the 1980's almost always involved the threat of a nuclear holocaust due to tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union. See 2010: Odyssey Two by Arthur C. Clarke or Man Plus by Frederik Pohl. Oh wait, Man Plus is from the 1970's. Well, they did it then too. I suspect that the trend started in the 1960's, but that's a topic to research later, I guess. Anyway, Eon is the first example I've encountered that plays the trope, then actually goes through with the nuclear holocaust. Yes, there is nuclear war in this book. Spoiler alert. Oh, and there are also spaceships and aliens. In fact, most of the story takes place on a time-traveling spaceship that has aliens. So shut up, mom. Almost as though Greg Bear decided to show Vernor Vinge, William Gibson, and Bruce Sterling (who left me, in the two previous novel I read, what the hell happened to my ending) how books work, the conclusion is satisfying and I only found out well after starting my next book that Eon actually has a sequel (and a prequel).

Neuromancer by William Gibson
Despite being mildly disappointed with The Difference Engine, I felt compelled to give William Gibson another chance. I knew Neuromancer was the book that made him famous, so I let it be the book I'd use to give him another chance. I'm glad I did, because Neuromancer is fucking awesome. The world is vivid, the the plot is engaging, and the protagonist is one of the best antiheroes I've ever seen.

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
I'd been wanting to read this for a while, and I picked it up because Neuromancer looked short and I thought I might need a second book. I had a feeling it was going to be one of those books that I'd be annoyed at not having read when I was younger. And of course, that's exactly what happened. Anyway, everyone should read this book. Everyone.