SFBA Book Club

Michael Rawdon rated Red Mars (Mars Trilogy): 3 stars

Kim Stanley Robinson: Red Mars (Mars Trilogy) (Paperback, 1993, Spectra)

Red Mars (Mars Trilogy) by Kim Stanley Robinson (Mars (1))

Red Mars is the first novel of the Mars trilogy, published in 1992. It follows the beginnings of the colonization …

Michael Rawdon rated The Armageddon Rag: 4 stars

George R. R. Martin: The Armageddon Rag (Paperback, 2007, Spectra)

The Armageddon Rag by George R. R. Martin

Michael Rawdon rated A Talent For War: 5 stars

Jack McDevitt: A Talent For War (Paperback, 1989, Ace Books)

A Talent For War by Jack McDevitt (Alex Benedict, #1)

Michael Rawdon rated The Peace War: 3 stars

Vernor Vinge: The Peace War (2003, Tom Doherty Associates)

The Peace War by Vernor Vinge

First in a quintessential hard-science fiction adventure, Hugo Award-winning author Vernor Vinge's The Peace War follows a scientist determined to …

Michael Rawdon rated A Fire Upon The Deep: 5 stars

Vernor Vinge: A Fire Upon The Deep (Paperback, 1993, Tor Science Fiction)

A Fire Upon The Deep by Vernor Vinge (Zones of Thought, #1)

Thousands of years in the future, humanity is no longer alone in a universe where a mind's potential is determined …

Michael Rawdon rated Consider Phlebas (Culture, #1): 3 stars

Iain M. Banks: Consider Phlebas (Culture, #1) (2005)

Consider Phlebas (Culture, #1) by Iain M. Banks

Consider Phlebas, first published in 1987, is a space opera novel by Scottish writer Iain M. Banks. It is the …

Michael Rawdon rated American Gods Volume 3: 4 stars

No cover — Neil Gaiman, P. Craig Russell, Scott Hampton: American Gods Volume 3 (Hardcover, 2020, Dark Horse Books)

American Gods Volume 3 by Neil Gaiman, P. Craig Russell, Scott Hampton

Michael Rawdon rated Chasm City: 5 stars

Alastair Reynolds: Chasm City (2003, Ace Books)

Chasm City by Alastair Reynolds (Revelation Space, #2)

The once-utopian Chasm City -a doomed human settlement on an otherwise inhospitable planet- has been overrun by a virus known …

Michael Rawdon rated The Bible Repairman And Other Stories: 3 stars

Tim Powers: The Bible Repairman And Other Stories (2011, Tachyon Publications)

The Bible Repairman And Other Stories by Tim Powers

Michael Rawdon rated Catching Fire: 4 stars

Suzanne Collins: Catching Fire (Hardcover, 2009, Scholastic Press)

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Sparks are igniting. Flames are spreading. And the Capitol wants revenge.

Against all odds, Katniss has won the Hunger Games. …

Michael Rawdon rated Neptune's brood: 4 stars

Charles Stross: Neptune's brood (Hardcover, 2013)

Neptune's brood by Charles Stross (Freyaverse, #2)

After being stalked across the galaxy by an assassin, post-human Krina Alzon-114 journeys to the water-world Shin-Tethys in search of …

Michael Rawdon rated The Scroll of Years: 4 stars

Chris Willrich: The Scroll of Years (Paperback, 2013, Start Publishing LLC)

The Scroll of Years by Chris Willrich (Gaunt and Bone, #1)

Michael Rawdon reviewed Spin the sky by Katy Stauber

Katy Stauber: Spin the sky (2012, Night Shade Books)

Review of 'Spin the sky' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Adventure, romance, tragedy, and humor. I enjoyed the heck out of this book. It uses The Odyssey as it's basic structure: a man coming back from war 15 years (and many adventures, some of which we read about) later, but knowing that is not necessary to enjoy it. The characters are genuine and well-realized. The background (orbitals and ships in Earth vicinity in the near future) is not tremendously novel, but the author works to make the various communities the hero visits seem authentic. Recommended to anyone looking for a fun read.

Michael Rawdon reviewed The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (The Hunger Games)

Suzanne Collins: The Hunger Games (Hardcover, 2008, Scholastic Press)

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of …

Review of 'The Hunger Games' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

One of the best YA novels I've read (not that I've read a whole lot of them). It's a surprisingly intense story, with lots of suspense and some pretty brutal moments (as you might guess from the premise). There were a few moments where I saw what was coming a mile off, but it works because it builds suspense: All such developments are basically Bad News for everyone concerned. The characterizations are strong, and Collins avoids some of the excesses of the Harry Potter series by not methodically introducing all the competitors or spending time on characters who don't fill a role in the story. There's very little waste here.

My biggest detraction is that the climactic show-down of the Games is something of a let-down, and the book ends rather abruptly (though it's clear Collins intended it to be a series from the outset. But overall, it's a book …

One of the best YA novels I've read (not that I've read a whole lot of them). It's a surprisingly intense story, with lots of suspense and some pretty brutal moments (as you might guess from the premise). There were a few moments where I saw what was coming a mile off, but it works because it builds suspense: All such developments are basically Bad News for everyone concerned. The characterizations are strong, and Collins avoids some of the excesses of the Harry Potter series by not methodically introducing all the competitors or spending time on characters who don't fill a role in the story. There's very little waste here.

My biggest detraction is that the climactic show-down of the Games is something of a let-down, and the book ends rather abruptly (though it's clear Collins intended it to be a series from the outset. But overall, it's a book that lives up to the hype, and I'll be moving on to the second volume next week.

Michael Rawdon rated The Ocean at the End of the Lane: 2 stars

Neil Gaiman: The Ocean at the End of the Lane (Hardcover, 2013, William Morrow)

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

Sussex, England. A middle-aged man returns to his childhood home to attend a funeral. Although the house he lived in …

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