2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I’m not a slow reader and still this book took me a year on and off. The world-building and scientific extrapolation are great, the plot starts very slowly and the style makes it a slog, but at the end is a rewarding book.
Freedom (TM) by Daniel Suarez
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Not nearly as shocking as Daemon, but a worthy conclusion to a very interesting plot nevertheless. Its ideas on distributed systems, oligopolic capitalism , the hero’s journey and distributed economic & social networks will stay with me for a while.
Daemon by Daniel Suarez
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I saw a friend of mine had recommended this book and I had to check it out. Its mixture of IT security, philosophy, gaming, mobile technology, economics and intrigue makes for a very engrossing read that mashes up all sorts of disparate ideas into a very exciting plot.
The only downside I can find is a certain ignorance of Hispanic culture and Spanish spelling where relevant, which struck me as a little odd. Still,I cannot recommend it enough.
The Hunger Games Trilogy Boxset by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Somewhere between post-apocalyptic sci-fi, the Japanese classic Battle Royale and a teenager telenovela, this is a seriously entertaining page-turner in the young adult genre. Good escapist literature, even if sometimes I was annoyed by the pumped-up teenage girl drama and continuous cliffhangers.
Every once in a while there comes a movie that makes you think when you’re watching but leaves you with a sense of wonder once it’s done. Based on a popular book I am yet to read, Cloud Atlas uses the same idea of the reincarnated group of souls as one of my favourite novels: The Years of Rice and Salt.
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I like books on history, science, science fiction and the odd work-related thing, so I didn’t expect to like this one so much. Couldn’t put it down during the Easter weekend. The richness of the story, the well-planned progression and the variety of characters lent it an air of authenticity, even if some minor facts would on a couple of occasions detract from the experience (if you are going to write Spanish phrases, make sure you know how they’re spelled). I don’t give 5 stars lightly, but to me this is a classic like “Forever War” or “I am Legend”, mixed with enough Anthony Beevor to suspend disbelief.
Triggers by Robert J. Sawyer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Very interesting premise, well-paced plot and an ending that left me gobsmacked for a little while. Minus one star for almost stereotypical characterization in some cases that ended up distracting me from the book. A good effort from the dean of Canadian Sci-Fi nevertheless.
Robert J. Sawyer, one of my favourite sci-fi authors (moderately famous now that his novel Flashforward has been adapted as a TV series of the same name) scored another coup with his latest novel. I won’t spoil it for you, but it touches upon how it is to live with blindness, Chinese censorship of the WWW and emerging consciousness. The good news is that it’s the first of a trilogy to be completed in the next couple of years, so I’ll be gladly waiting for more.
Finally had a chance to start watching Battlestar Galactica after having only seen the miniseries and I have to say it is some of the best TV and Sci-fi I have ever seen. The character depth, the plot and the number and seriousness of the issues tackled are simply astounding, and production is also very glossy and visually appealing.
Without spoiling much of the plot, one of the many themes tackled throughout the series is the desire of artificial constructs to become human (and acting “more Catholic than the Pope” in the process) so they can assimilate into human communities. There’s a link to the relationship between immigrants and their host societies there somewhere… 😉
A science fiction short from Uruguay that made me think about the state of neglect of science fiction as a genre in Latin America. Would love to see more examples like this.