Must have Books - Science Fiction Page 3

	Hidden Empire: The Saga of Seven Suns by Kevin J. Anderson In this stellar launch of a new series, bestseller Anderson (Dune spinoffs with Brian Herbert; X-Files and Star Wars books) delivers action, engaging characters and credible fantastic worlds in spades or ekti, the fuel vital for spaceships in the year 2427. The Terran Hanseatic League, in a heady rush of manifest destiny, turns Oncier, a huge gas planet, into a sun so its four moons can be used for colonization. In the process, the Terrans disturb the ancient but dwindling Ildirans, their uneasy allies, whose leader, the Mage-Imperator, suspects that Terrans are far too eager to take over the spiral arm. Still worse, by inadvertently destroying Oncier's hitherto unknown colonists, the powerful hydrogues, the conversion of Oncier sets off a catastrophic conflict that threatens the existence of all Terrans and Ildirans. The Earth Defense Forces of the Terran Hanseatic League, the Worldtrees and Green Priests of Theroc, the gypsy Roamers who mine ekti all must unite with the Ildirans to fight the alien menace. Book one sizzles with a fast-moving plot woven tightly with vivid characterizations: the space cowboys Jess, Ross and Tasia Tamblyn; the exotic Ildirans; the grotesque Mage-Imperator and his handsome Prime Designate son, Jora'h; Beneto Theron, his clan and the bewitching Nira Khali; the appealing and not-so-appealing humans, Raymond/Peter and Chairman Basil Wenceslas; and many others, all conspiring to make this fascinating future epic one not to be missed.
	In the Company of Others by Julie E. Czerneda The hefty tome of this latest novel is a bit intimidating at first, and I must admit that the first 200 pages were extremely challenging to read, and made for a slow start. Perhaps it was the author's desire to explain her well created universe in a bit too much detail, or perhaps it just needed one healthy edit by someone who wasn't afraid to cut text that was neither necessary for character development or for the plot to move forward. With that said, I must applaud Czerneda on creating some of the most "alien" of aliens in science fiction today. Her "Quill" are enigmas par excellence, and "first contact" becomes an event of intrigue and fascination. There is a hearty dose of cultural anthropology here told through a xeno-biological perspective, as well as a healthy dose of hard speculative science backing up every paragraph. What may be missing in "action" is certainly made up for in ideas. Ideas about the future in science, politics, ethics and human relations. IN THE COMPANY OF OTHERS is highly recommended, and I will continue to look forward to Czerneda's unique writing talents filling my shelves for years to come.
	Forever Peace by Joe Haldeman Julian Class is a full-time professor and part-time combat veteran who spends a third of each month virtually wired to a robotic "soldierboy." The soldierboys, along with flyboys and other advanced constructs, allow the U.S. to wage a remotely controlled war against constant uprisings in the Third World. The conflicts are largely driven by the so-called First World countries' access to nanoforges--devices that can almost instantly manufacture any product imaginable, given the proper raw materials--and the Third World countries' lack of access to these devices. But even as Julian learns that the consensual reality shared by soldierboy operators can lead to universal peace, the nanoforges create a way for humanity to utterly destroy itself, and it will be a race against time to see which will happen first. Although Forever Peace bears a title similar to Joe Haldeman's classic novel The Forever War, he says it's not a sequel.
	Finity's End by C. J. Cherryh Finity's End falls after Merchanter's Luck but before Tripoint in the lineup of C.J. Cherryh's Merchanter novels (part of the author's award-winning Alliance/Union universe). It resumes the story of Fletcher Neihart, an orphan and unwanted foster child who, against his will, joins the crew of the legendary merchanter ship Finity's End. As Neihart struggles to find his place both on the ship and in the world, the ship undertakes a mission critical to the continuing peace between the Earth, Alliance, and Union factions.
	Tripoint by C. J. Cherryh An addition to Cherryh's medium-future spacefaring saga (Hellburner, 1992) in which, the Company Wars over, freelance trading vessels crewed by extended families ferociously compete for interstellar shipping contracts. Aboard the Hawkins family's Sprite, cargo chief Marie Hawkins nurses a personal grudge against Austin Bowe, captain of the rival Corinthian, who beat and raped her 25 years ago. Obsessed and vengeful, Marie intends to destroy Austin by proving that his ship trades illegally with pirates and smugglers. When both ships dock at the Mariner space station, she pounces. Concerned for her welfare, her son, Tom--Austin's boy- -interferes with Marie's plans and for his pains is shanghaied and confined aboard Corinthian by his half-brother, Christian. While the desperate Marie persuades Sprite's captain to pursue the Corinthian, and a ship full of genuine bad guys draws ever nearer, Tom adapts to his new life aboard his father's vessel--a life that is neither as dangerous nor as unpleasant as Marie had led him to expect. Rather heavy-handed in the violence department, and gabbily flabby with interior monologues, but carried along by the lively characters and sturdy plot. Overall, well up to previous standards.
	Beast Master's Ark by Andre Norton On the planet Arzor, Terrans must not only win over the indigenous Nitri but face a common enemy, the mysterious Death by Night, which leaves only skeletons behind, in this long-awaited addition to the Beast Master series from SF Grand Master Norton and New Zealander McConchie. Earth itself is now only a memory, a charred cinder in space destroyed by the ruthless Xik invaders. The human survivors have populated other planets, and their travels on the Ark have the dull regularity of a daily commute. The Nitri accept 19-year-old Tani, the book's naive, winsome heroine, because she's of Cheyenne Indian stock on her father's side. Despite physical differences, the Cheyenne and the Nitri share much in terms of custom, speech and tradition. The Xik killed Tani's father, who as a Beast Master had an affinity with animals. Her Irish mother, however, had mistrusted such people and taught Tani to loathe them. Since Tani will one day become a Beast Master, she must overcome the prejudice instilled by her mother. Through her special understanding of animals, Tani gains the affections of a fierce, horse-like Duocorn, among other wondrous creatures. The plot proceeds at a leisurely pace as the authors dwell on tribal ways, but Tani and her animal companions take on the Death by Night in an exciting climax that should leave fans eager for the next installment.
	Hammerfall by C. J. Cherryh In this well-done novel by the prolific, award-winning author of Precursor and Fortress of Dragons, two women with superhuman powers wage psychic and genetic war for control of a civilization. The common people remember the original colonization of their desert world in purely mythological terms as the First Descent. They're unaware that their seemingly immortal ruler, the Ila, has used nanotechnology to control their lives and modify their bodies for survival on their harsh planet. Marak Trin Tain, the outcast son of a desert bandit who unsuccessfully contested the Ila's rule, suffers from a terrifying form of madness. Like many others in this world, he sees visions and feels an almost overwhelming desire to walk out into the desert, heading blindly toward the east. When the Ila captures Marak, instead of executing him, she decides to send him (and a company of other madmen and women) on a desperate mission to discover the source of the obsession that draws them across their world. Unbeknownst to him, however, his civilization, indeed all life on his planet, is on the brink of destruction. Although this book may take place in a different universe from that of Cherryh's much praised Alliance-Union novels, it features her usual blend of gorgeous, slightly knotty prose, deeply conflicted heroes, desperate action and nicely observed cultural details. The first volume in her Gene Wars series, it leaves a number of loose threads to be tied up in later volumes, but is, in and of itself, an entirely satisfying novel.
	Chindi by Jack McDevitt Most science fiction seeks to excite and gratify the reader's sense of wonder. Jack McDevitt's hard SF novel Chindi both satisfies and examines this sense of wonder, which inspires not only SF readers and writers, but every explorer and scientist who seeks to understand the universe. In Chindi, humanity has expanded to the stars and found very few other intelligent races--all but one extinct, with the survivor none too impressive. Humanity has resigned itself to being alone. Then an alien satellite is found, orbitting a distant star and beaming an unreadable signal across the galaxy. Academy starship Captain Priscilla "Hutch" Hutchins finds herself piloting a motley crew of eccentrics (one an ex-lover) from the idealistic, ridiculed Contact Society, seeking the signal's destination. Their quest turns deadly as it takes them far beyond the borders of explored space to an impossible planetary system--and a vast and terrifying alien artifact. Chindi is an ambitious, exciting, big-idea hard-SF novel that ventures successfully into Rendezvous with Rama territory, and beyond. The sequel to The Engines of God and Deepsix, Chindi leaves some unanswered questions for McDevitt's forthcoming fourth novel.
	The Rift by Walter J. Williams Rock & roll takes on new meaning in The Rift, Walter Jon Williams's huge book about a magnitude 8.9 earthquake centered under the southeastern United States. This is a major departure from the intricate science fiction tales Williams usually writes (City on Fire, Aristoi), but he applies the same thoroughness, complexity, and great character development to this disaster yarn. Some readers might balk at the book's size (it's a doorstopper), but consider the subject: the biggest earthquake in recorded history, a monstrous disaster that lays waste to entire cities from Chicago to New Orleans, flings one of the world's largest rivers out of its banks, and within 10 minutes obliterates countless lives. But the earthquake is only the beginning of this horror story--fire, flood, and chaos follow, and ordinary people are pushed to the limits of ability and sanity as they are transformed into survivors: Marcy thought the tremor was just another aftershock, but then she saw the flash brighten the shining steel of the Gateway Arch, and turned south to watch in awestruck horror as the bright fireball rose over south St. Louis. Bright arching trails of flame shot out of the fireball, like Fourth of July rockets, as debris rose and fell.... It is the Bomb, Marcy thought. It is the End.... The bubble of fire rose into the heavens, and its reflection turned the Mississippi to the color of blood. Williams follows the fates of nine people in the earthquake's aftermath. Among the most compelling, considering the racial and political tension characteristic of the American southeast, are the stories of sheriff Omar Paxton, a card-carrying KKK member from a small parish in Louisiana; the Reverend Noble Frankland, a fundamentalist preacher with well-stocked bunkers and fanatic followers; and General Jessica Frazetta of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the woman in charge of somehow repairing the damage. Each character's story would make a terrifying disaster novel on its own, and Williams handles them all deftly, weaving their threads through the apocalyptic postquake landscape. The Rift is a magnitude 9 novel--you'll walk gingerly on the quiet earth when you're done reading.
	The Eve of Armageddon by Peter McClean Millar A British expedition in search of a fabled lost city in the Polar ice cap stumble upon an ancient alien civilization. Transported deep within the earth they discover a race of beings that have been monitoring man's development for millennia. At first the explorers are overawed by the advanced technology and knowledge of the strangers but gradually they find that the aliens are not quite as benevolent as they seemed. What follows is a race against time as the explorers battle to save mankind from being eradicated from the planet in The Eve of Armageddon.
	Starhawk by MacK Maloney Starhawk uses the main character from another series of books by Mack Maloney, Hawk Hunter from Wingman. The Starhawk series is set thousands of years in the future. Maloney does an excellent job of immersing you in the mythos of this new series without bogging you down with unecessary exposition. In the beginning, you wonder quickly how Hunter will have the ability to affect the universe that he's been thrust into, but it quickly and effectively becomes clear. The Hunter character has the ability to polarize people around him, with good natured people drawn to him, and evil natured people thrust into positions to remove this catalyst for their plans. There always seems to be an overarcing evil entity or organization in Maloney's books, and in this one we see the beginning of a new one. If you've enjoyed Maloney's books in the past, or are looking for a good action/adventure novel to take with you on vacation or on a flight, you could do alot worse.
	The Prodigal Sun Evergence by Sean Williams and Shane Dix After reading this book, my first thought was, "When is the next book coming out?" Prodigal Sun is a unique space opera, with many charactes, a complex society, and a universe where you don't know who is on your side, or who to trust. Your friend may be you enemy, and your enemy just may turn out to be your friend. The story exemplifies the addage, "Politics makes strange bedfellows." I found the character of Morgan Roche to be as engaging at Ellen Ripley character from Alien. A strong enduring woman, who is an unwitting pawn in a grand scheme where the reader is unsure as to who is pulling the strings. The culture is portrayed in a richtapestry, where humanity exist in genetically modified caste system. I recommed this book for anyone looking to get involved in a space opera of a grand scale. Only downfall is that once you finish Emgerence, you're going to have to wait for the next book in the series to come out.
	A Fire upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge In this Hugo-winning 1991 SF novel, Vernor Vinge gives us a wild new cosmology, a galaxy-spanning "Net of a Million Lies," some finely imagined aliens, and much nail-biting suspense. Faster-than-light travel remains impossible near Earth, deep in the galaxy's Slow Zone--but physical laws relax in the surrounding Beyond. Outside that again is the Transcend, full of unguessable, godlike "Powers." When human meddling wakes an old Power, the Blight, this spreads like a wildfire mind virus that turns whole civilizations into its unthinking tools. And the half-mythical Countermeasure, if it exists, is lost with two human children on primitive Tines World. Serious complications follow. One paranoid alien alliance blames humanity for the Blight and launches a genocidal strike. Pham Nuwen, the man who knows about Countermeasure, escapes this ruin in the spacecraft Out of Band--heading for more violence and treachery, with 500 warships soon in hot pursuit. On his destination world, the fascinating Tines are intelligent only in combination: named "individuals" are small packs of the doglike aliens. Primitive doesn't mean stupid, and opposed Tine leaders wheedle the young castaways for information about guns and radios. Low-tech war looms, with elaborately nested betrayals and schemes to seize Out of Band if it ever arrives. The tension becomes extreme... while half the Beyond debates the issues on galactic Usenet. Vinge's climax is suitably mindboggling. This epic combines the flash and dazzle of old-style space opera with modern, polished thoughtfulness.
	Icehenge by Kim Stanley Robinson Voted one of the best science fiction novels of the year in the 1985 Locus Poll, Icehenge is an early novel by Kim Stanley Robinson and takes place in the same universe. The story is part mystery and part psychological drama, divided into three distinct sections. In the year 2248, Mars is ruled by a Politburo-like committee that actively discourages dissent as well as travel and exploration of other planets. Scientist Emma Weil becomes involved in a covert plot to convert a stolen ship into a self-supporting spaceship. She turns down a chance to accompany the starfarers, and returns to her beloved Mars where she joins the revolution already in progress. Three centuries later, archaeologist Hjalmar Nederland unearths a governmental cover-up of the true facts behind the old revolution. At the same time, a Stonehenge-like monument is discovered on the north pole of Pluto, and Nederland sets out to prove his theory that the monument is connected to revolutionaries and their contemporaries who left for the stars. Seventy years later, his great-grandson Edmond Doya becomes convinced that Icehenge is a hoax, and attempts to disprove Nederland's theory. In addition to futuristic issues such as interstellar travel and the terraforming of Mars, Robinson's characters grapple with politics, careers, families, and aging. Icehenge is a worthy introduction to the author's winning combination of hard science and believable characterization.
	Probability Sun by Nancy Kress Human beings (aka Terrans) have a brighter future in this fairly standard space adventure than they did in Kress's Probability Moon (2000), which introduced the enemy Fallers, friendly Worlders and space tunnels left behind by a long-lost alien race. In the previous book, Worlders pushed humans off their planet because they didn't "share reality." Now the Terrans come back to try to retrieve the Worlders' "artifact," a machine that generates a probability field and holds the key to human survival in the fight against the Fallers. The action moves from colonies on the moon and Mars, to a military space ship, the Alan B. Shepard, to World, a planet at a great distance from Earth that's inhabited by a harmonious alien race of total empaths. The author grounds her morally complex plot in the physics of probability. As usual with Kress, her eccentric characters add depth. Major Lyle Kaufman, a military leader who dislikes leadership; Tom Capelo, a brilliant, antisocial physicist still grieving for a dead wife; and Ann Sikorski, a xenobiologist who questions their right to take the artifact, all struggle with their roles. In addition, female Worlder Enli must work with humans and with her own kind to create a compromise. Readers will start this novel because of Kress's reputation, will read it for the adventure and will like it for the characters and the science.
	With the Lightnings by David Drake More military science fiction from one of the leading exponents (Patriots, 1996, etc.). Here, the Republic of Cinnabar is at war with the Alliance of Free Stars. Planet Kostroma trades with both but has a military agreement with Cinnabar. Opponents of Kostroma's supremo, Walter III, however, are unhappy with the agreement, so Cinnabar dispatches a high-level delegation of space Navy bigwigs, including Lt. Cassian Daniels (though estranged from his son, Cassian's father is a political heavyweight). With nothing much to do, Cassian wanders about Kostroma City and meets scholar Adele Mundy, a disgraced aristocrat hired by Walter to set up a grand library. After unwittingly insulting Adele--Cassian's father was responsible for ruining Adele's family-- Cassian sends a detachment of hard-bitten sailors to help Adele out. But unknown to Cassian, ruthless Alliance superspy Markos has pressured computer whiz Adele into providing intelligence, and soon an Alliance-backed military coup overthrows Walter and executes the Cinnabar delegates--except for Cassian, who will team up with Adele and the sailors to create mayhem among the Alliance/Kostroman forces before a rescue fleet from Cinnabar eventually arrives. After a sluggish start--the schmoozing and politicking quickly grow tedious--the yarn unfolds into an authentically taut and exciting tussle, courtesy of Drake's unflinching portrayal of battle's downside and his eye for telling detail.
	Emperor of Dawn by Steve White The Empire is in danger, with a weak sybarite on the throne and rebellion rising in outlying regions of the Galaxy and on Earth itself. Then the Emperor is assassinated, and General Ivar Brady-Schiovana is forced to declare himself Emperor. But hope appears in the persons of two men and a woman who are rumored to be legendary heroes.
	Protector by Larry Niven Phssthpok the Pak had been traveling for most of his thirty-two thousand years. His mission: save, develop, and protect the group of Pak breeders sent out into space some two and a half million years before... Brennan was a Belter, the product of a fiercely independent, somewhat anarchic society living in, on, and around an outer asteroid belt. The Belters were rebels, one and all, and Brennan was a smuggler. The Belt worlds had been tracking the Pak ship for days -- Brennan figured to meet that ship first... He was never seen again -- at least not by those alive at the time.
	More Than Human by Theodore Sturgeon A very good tale. According to Sturgeon, the next step in human evolution is not only about having mental powers, But also functioning on a sinergetic level. That is ,a number of psychics ,all with different powers such as teleportation, telekinesis ,hypnotic-telepathy and human-cumputer abilities (idiot-savant etc'), all becoming one entity who looks upon itself as Homo-gestalt ,and upon the rest of humanity as a herd of sheep. the book is divided into three parts. The first depicting the Homo-gestalt's forming ,the second, the replacment of it's "head", the individual who makes everyone be one ,and the third- how and why that man becomes moral though no human rules aply to him. He is superior, not only in his own mind but truly in every aspect. why should he obey our rules? if you were all alone would you conform to the social rules and mores of mice? But there is something, and the few last paragraphs turn the whole story into really wide-scale, optimistic and exciting science fiction. Very modern concepts there by the way on mental powers, such as I would not expect from a 1953 book. Recommended.

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