manuphoto's reviews
924 reviews

Farmer in the Sky by Robert A. Heinlein

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Heinlein’s older works are definitely better than his later stuff. 'Farmer in the Sky' is definitely oriented towards adolescent boys from 1950, but that doesn’t prevent it from being a good read and a smart novel on many levels.

First, Heinlein nails the emigrant experience. As someone who emigrated from his home country at 9 years old, I could really relate to Billy’s (the main character) experience when preparing to move to Ganymede (length of the trip notwithstanding). Having to choose what to leave behind and what to take with you, anticipating your future life in that strange new place, having to trust your father that it’s the right thing to do. All those elements rang true to me and made me connect with Billy.

Heinlein’s prose also helps. It’s very straightforward with bits of humor here and there, just to keep you on your toes. In that regard, it reminded me a lot of 'Double Star', where Heinlein used the same kind of pacing and humor sprinkling.

Just keep in mind that you’re reading a book from 1950. It’s fairly campy, and the female characters are either hysterical, bossy, or completely flat. At least there are no unnecessary physical descriptions of women; being targeted at a relatively young audience, I guess it wouldn’t have been proper. Once we actually get to Ganymede, the gender roles are very, very traditional. Men work and women cook. They also 'have their ups and downs', as if men don’t have those... ah, Heinlein… you were a conservative SOB, but I’m digressing.

The plot itself is fairly simple but enjoyable, and every step of it felt real, if that makes sense. At least in the first half of the novel. We follow Bill from Earth to Ganymede, including his voyage on a huge spaceship with 6,000 others. I could always easily picture myself in every scene and appreciate what Heinlein was trying to show me, either about the adventure itself or Bill’s character.

Once the farming begins, actually fairly late in the book, it becomes a bit dull at times and repetitive. I guess Heinlein wanted to show the hardship of pioneering, but there is some deus ex machina happening to solve problems, or very handy neighbors to save the day. It never really rang true, not like the first half of the novel.

Of course, things will go south, Bill & co will face the challenges of terraforming, etc. A decent effort for the 1950s, I have to say, although nowhere near the quality of something like the Mars trilogy. It’s also nowhere near as detailed as a Jules Verne story, even though those are much older. Heinlein went for simple and straightforward. I guess he succeeded in that respect.

Altogether, a decent but not stellar novel, fairly uneven in its quality and relevance, but an interesting read given its year of publication and its author’s influence.

The Nemesis from Terra by Leigh Brackett

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

This book is an interesting snapshot of 1940’s pulpy science fiction. It reads like a sci-fi/action B movie, with all the tropes that come with it. Sort of Rambo II (with the crapy romance) meets Total Recall, but cheesier. 

It’s a quick and easy read, it does feel like an artifact of a past era in literature. It’s not really engrossing, the characters are very shallow and almost everything is quite predictable. But it’s still interesting given when it was written, plus Brackett’s style and pace makes it quite the page turner. I can see how it inspired other stories afterwards too, albeit much better ones.

It’s also pulpy as hell, with the main character Rick being the Uber macho-man, calling the women “baby” or “kid”, showing off is great musculature and healing from serious wounds like I would a little bobo.. Yeah, definitely a mix of Stallone and Schwarzenegger circa 1985, on steroids. Plus, he has charisma! See:

The novel contains passages like:

• (Rick) we’ll fight the power together!
• (The crowd) We don’t want to!
• (Rick) But I’m saying we can! And I’m me!
• (The crowd) OK, we changed our minds. Lead us to glory or death!

Deep stuff indeed…

Some funny concepts, a very “TV movie” execution, a so-so plot. Glad I read it, it’s off the Hugos list, but that’s about it.

Slan by A.E. van Vogt

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

It’s somewhat dated, it’s pulpy, it contains sexism, but for all these very 1940s faults, Slan is actually a very good sci-fi novel, noticeably better than many works from that era. Van Vogt’s prose is clear and well paced. The whole book is quite the page turner and was enjoyable to read. 

 

The core concept of the book is fairly simple but touches on the themes of  discrimination, racism and even slavery. It does so in a way that I enjoy: rather than telling us what is right or wrong, the author is showing us a speculative future to get his point across. That, to me, is one of the greatest strength of speculative fiction and van Vogt does that very well in this novel. 

 

It’s definitely a very 1940’s book, with an evil global government very akin to a fascist State, ruling over Earth. Van Vogt touches on State-enforced bigotry and racism in an interesting and influential way. It is also presented from various point of views, adding depth and context. 

 

Just be aware, every female character is introduced and often described through their looks. The males will be “handsome” or “fine looking”, but the females will be described in much more… detail. As I said, it’s a book from the 1940’s and some parts are very dated. That being said, the females have more agency than most in other books from that era, so there are some positives here. 

 

It reads like a thriller and Van Vogt was smart enough to be vague around the technology that the characters use, so it doesn’t come across as silly every other page. Yes, they still have phone booths and printed newspapers, but those are minor and forgivable quibbles. It wouldn’t be a 1940’s sci-fi story without some mention of atomic power, so there is some, but it’s not predominant at all, thankfully. 

 

The third act errs a little but I liked the ending, swift and satisfying. Definitely worthy of the Retro Hugo.

Eden Corp by Alain Bismut, Christopher Sebela, Abel Ferry

adventurous emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

Une bande dessinée bien illustrée, quoi que très statique, on n’a jamais une réelle sensation de mouvement même dans les scènes d’action.

L’histoire est assez classique : petit groupe de rebelles contre grande corporation diabolique. Les « twists » de science fiction sont sympa, j’ai aimé l’inclusion d’un ascenseur spatial. Par contre, le livre de perd un peu dans le dernier tier, balloté entre discussion morale et famille Rambo qui combat des ennemis bien plus forts.

Au final, un livre sympa mais pas grandiose.

A Case of Conscience by James Blish

reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

This book is a partly excellent study of morality, ethics, culture and religion, at least in the first half of the book. Although fairly short, it touches these deep topics with aplomb and I quite enjoyed the delivery by Blish in the first chapters of the novel.

Just a little “warning”. This book was written in the 1950s and as such, it comports some grotesque sexism and even some racism (a tad indirect, but still, white Christian men are obviously the epitome of “good humans” in Blish’s view). There are also some cute elements, such as the fact that they use films and tapes. Oh, and there is that fascination with everything atomic sooo current in the 50’s, although it’s not the focus of the book.

The core of the story is actually fascinating, even if the novel itself is fairly unequal. I’ve never seen a novel with two halves that are so different. I understand that it was a novella that was later expended but still. It’s a bit unsettling.

Whereas the first half contains a genuinely deep question of religion, economics and even colonialism, the second half loses itself in lesser considerations, even when it tries to circle back to the main topics of the story. For some part, it’s much more akin to a classic tale of seeing our own world through a stranger’s eyes. While this concept can indeed be a good one, it’s not that well used here and results in relatively boring and shallow chapters.

It’s really strange, as if Blish didn’t really care if the two halves of the book failed to make a whole experience. And I find it especially damaging since the first part was so engaging and smart. The first 100 pages or so were page turners with deep

philosophical themes. During the second half, I was sometimes yawning. There were still some good elements, analysis and comments, but they were drowned in irrelevant storylines. Really, really strange.

I can also see how this novel has inspired many others after it. Stranger in a Strange Land comes to mind, as do other stories set in an dystopian future. However, the lack of cohesion between the two halves of the story and the global unevenness of the book made it an OK but not great read for me. Fine, but not highly recommended.

The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi

adventurous challenging dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

An interesting concept, but I’m not a fan of the execution. The world building feels forced, it doesn’t flow well. The characters are OK but often stereotypical and not always well developed.

The plot is fine but it never really becomes engrossing. The writing is also decent, although Bacigalupi throws in too many words in italics to make for a smooth read.

The criticism of colonialism and capitalism is done in a very on the nose manner, with Thai characters literally telling to white guys “you have exploited us for centuries, it made us angry and resentful”. While I agree that these behaviours should be condemned, I prefer a “show don’t tell approach”. Have us see the ill effects instead of having exposition dumps by characters. It just seems lazy to me.

There is also a study of “what it means to be human”, which is a great theme to tackle in science-fiction. But here, again, it’s very on the nose, not subtle at all, and it’s quite superficial. It just doesn’t feel that well thought out, more like a blast of all the negativity that racism, sexism, slavery, colonialism & co. can produce. Yeah, those are bad… but you’re not bringing anything to the table here by just shouting “slavery is bad”. It just seems to me that an author should be able to convey more of the feelings and consequences that such horrible acts provoke.

And I get it, Thailand in the Summer is hot, you don’t need to remind me almost every page (even though the heat is an serious issue for one of the main characters). It’s like setting your story in space and reminding the reader every other paragraph that the characters are floating around and can’t go out without dying. I-get-it.

There are some very good chapters in the second half of the novel, sections that were real page turners. It didn’t make up for the whole novel, but it has to be said.

Despite a couple of hard scenes (including a rape scene at the beginning, be aware), I didn’t find this novel tough to read per se, but it will also not stay with me, despite its important themes. I think it was trying to achieve too many things in one novel and it got lost along the way. The whole thing is intriguing, but incoherent I’m afraid.

This novel certainly didn’t make want to read more from this author; maybe I’ll revisit him in a few years. It’s not terrible, but it’s not great either. I’m surprised it won the Hugo, especially tied with The City & The City.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Voyage Au Centre de la Terre by Jules Verne

adventurous funny informative fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Une lecture très agréable, du Verne classique. La structure est commune à celle des autres Voyages Extraordinaires, avec des faits scientifiques mêlés d’exploits et parsemés d’humour bien senti. 

Cyteen by C.J. Cherryh

adventurous dark emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

First off, be warned, this is a loooong book. Not so much because of the page count, around 700 pages is not that bad per se, but the novel is very dense. It took me more time than average to go through each page. Not any fault of the book or the writing, there is just a lot per page.

That being said, I found the experience worth it. Cyteen is an incredibly rich and enthralling novel. The character development and interactions are amongst the strongest in any sci-fi novel I’ve read (and I’ve read a lot by now), the plot is complex and riveting, the universe is deep and rewards attentive reading.

Despite the density and the complexity, it is not a slog at all. A lot happens! I actually recommend to read it in one block (don’t stop for a week or two reading something else) as you need a relatively fresh memory of previous details to fully appreciate what is going on.

This novels deals a lot with psychology, biology, ethics and sexuality. There are layers upon layers to discover here. The pacing makes it fairly digestible, but this is no light reading. We’re dealing with rape, psychological abuse and other violent acts. 

Nevertheless, it is all done in a brilliant way that makes one think about all those elements in a relevant way. The novel is not written to be scandalous or provocative, but reflective. Cherryh manages a real tour de force here, as it could very easily have gone off the rails. It never does.

It’s not the most entertaining Hugo Award winner I’ve read, but it’s certainly one of the deepest, if not THE deepest. It explores the complexities of the human mind using sci-fi elements in ways that few have even tried. 

All this to say that I’d recommend this novel to sci-fi veterans, people who are relatively well versed in the genre, so that they can appreciate all the human elements without being put off by the complex science-fictional elements of the book. Overall a superb novel, one that will stay with me for quite some time.

Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher

adventurous emotional funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A very good read, one that touches sensible subjects with intelligence and creativity.

The plot is fairly simple but addresses something not talked enough about in fantasy books: violence towards women. Kingfisher shows very efficiently how insidious and powerful it is, and how women get stuck in impossible situations. She shows it through kings, princesses and magic, but it applies to any situation. She just chose to show it in a way that would make a nice story, successfully so.

The characters are very relatable and well defined. There aren’t too many of them and they all serve a clear purpose. The book is short and the world building effortless, a blessing compared to some other fantasy works.

Despite the severity of the main plot, the book is quite lighthearted and very readable. It is also funny and clever.

Its only downside is that the world itself is not that interesting. The kingdoms and magical elements are not very important and well defined. I understand that it’s not the purpose of the novel, and it doesn’t make the reading experience bad in any way, but it explains why I stopped at four stars out of five.

Overall an excellent work, one that I enjoyed reading and that I would easily recommend.

The Uplift War by David Brin

adventurous emotional inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

A truly excellent read. It is better paced, structured, and executed than the previous entry in the series. David Brin writes a compelling tale with great skill, one that touches many important themes.

From warfare to colonization, from biology to space exploration, from relationships to geopolitics, all these mesh together in a truly engrossing story that I had a lot of fun reading through. All these echo real life situations, as do the best science fiction novels.

All the characters are very well developed, and serve their purpose admirably. Brin even manages to insert a fair dose of humour to make the whole thing easier to digest without ever becoming silly, which is quite a feat.

All in all, I highly recommend this book and I am looking forward to reading the second trilogy.