Creative Reviews discussion

You all know you have come across some Star-Trek, Star Wars, or Battle Star Galactica novel - or maybe you like other types of sci-fi. Put those types of reviews here, and may the force be with you!

Here's a review of Allen Steele's "Coyote" if anybody's interested! http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

My review of Far-Seer, by Robert J. Sawyer! The other two books in the series will follow later! Great series. One of my favorites.

http://journalstone.com/2011/05/11/fa...

A planet inhabited by sentient dinosaurs whose society is analogous to Europe during the Renaissance. Afsan, the apprentice astrologer, embarks on an ocean pilgrimage to see the Face of God. But this voyage is different from everyone else’s. Afsan has with him a new invention: a far-seer (a telescope), and he does something with it no other Quintaglio has ever done before. He looks at the Face of God. Then he turns the far-seer to the rest of the sky, and concludes his people are not worshipping God at all. God is a planet.

Originally published in 1992 and finally back in print, the first book of Sawyer’s Quintaglio Ascension Trilogy takes place on an alien world entirely from the point of view of the aliens themselves. These aliens happen to be sentient Tyrannosaurus-rexes...

Good review, james. I want to check out the book now.

Christopher John wrote: "Good review, james. I want to check out the book now."

Thanks. It's a great series, too. I'm glad to give it a proper review!

You rocked the review world!! :-) Go, James!!

Amy wrote: "You rocked the review world!! :-) Go, James!!"

Thanks! Got the review for the second book almost ready to go!

WOO HOO!!! That's awesome!!

Reviews for the second and third books in the series are up.

Fossil Hunter

Picking up years after Far-Seer concludes, Fossil Hunter centers on Afsan’s children. They were not culled by the Bloodpriests, thus putting Afsan in the unusual position of knowing who his children are. Afsan is now advisor to the emperor, Dybo, and one of his sons, Toroca, leads a survey team of Land. Like his father, Toroca makes another discovery about their civilization that turns their whole worldview upside down: evolution.

The second book of Sawyer’s Quintaglio Ascension Trilogy is weaker than the first, but as a continuation of the first story’s main arc it is logical and interesting. Unlike Far-Seer, Fossil Hunter has multiple story lines running through it.

The main story is Toroca’s research...

http://journalstone.com/2011/05/17/fo...

Foreigner

Many more years have passed since the end of Fossil Hunter. The Quintaglios continue to investigate the alien spacecraft. Meanwhile, Toroca discovers another species of sentient dinosaurs living on the other side of the moon. Afsan has been having strange, unsettling dreams lately and they’ve been affecting him personally, so he tries a new kind of medicine: the “talking cure.”

The third book in the trilogy has the strongest story. (And the Watcher is gone, hooray!) Many of the subplots in book 2 belatedly acquire meaning here, and every new subplot in this book is interesting and memorable.

Toroca’s story is the most exciting. The discovery of a...

http://journalstone.com/2011/05/24/fo...

I enjoyed this series enormously and I'm thrilled to have a place to give it a good review!

So, now that you have that all done, the big question is...What are you going to read next?? :-)

Amy wrote: "So, now that you have that all done, the big question is...What are you going to read next?? :-)"

I have another book lined up. I'm probably the only person alive who has not seen the movie yet, so I'm qualified to review it! Hopefully I like it.

ooohhh....I think I remember you telling me about this...it should be good to see what you think!

Great work James!!!

This is my arc review of Die Laughing by Louis K. Lowy. It's a dark sci-fi comedy coming out in eBook this month and print in August. A fun, witty, nostalgic adventure.

Die Laughing

I just read and did a book review of Dune. http://storytreasury.wordpress.com/20...

Thanks for the review link, Sonia!!

I just reviewed Blackout by Connie Willis. A excellent time travel story.
http://curiousjackie.blogspot.com/

Thanks Jackie!!!

I posted a review of "Blackout" and "All Clear" (1100 pages in total) last week. If you liked "Blackout" wait till you get to the end of "All Clear"!

Wrote a review on 1945!

http://storytreasury.wordpress.com/20...

Thank you for sharing Alan and Sonia!

I am CLEARLY going to have to start making time to write up some reviews. Not only do I like some of Robert J. Sawyer's OTHER works (really didn't like Farseer or Fossil Hunter or the other dinosaur books in that series thoguh I did LOVE the archaeologist / first contact CALCULATING GOD) but I might even like to re-read Isaac Asimov's FOUNDATION series again (15th time at least) just to refresh my memory on what it was that made that series so magical I've read it so many times--and still think it'd be great fun to "discover" decades later.

More to the point, we need some serious work on the SciFi contributions in this group. Since I'm a SciFi writer (under my pen name taken from a Robert A. Heinlein character/book title, Marjorie "Friday" Baldwin) I really have no excuse! Well, I have the excuse of no time but I hereby vow to try to make it a priority.

-sry

Books I've read (multiple times) and would like to find time to review:
* Calculating God (RJS)
* FlashForward (RJS)
* Factoring Humanity (RJS)
* Neanderthal Parallax trilogy (my FAVORITE RJS of all time!)
(Humans, Homonids, Hybrids)
*Rollback (RJS)

* The original Foundation Series by Asimov
(Foundation, Foundation & Empire, Second Foundation + I forget the title of the 4th book OMG, how could I forget?!!)

* Asmiov's Robot stories (some are shorts, some are novels)
Pretty much every Heinlein ever written :-) Yeah, he was my favorite

* The 17 stories of the Vorkosigan Saga (Lois McMaster Bujold; I have several of LMB's books already reviewed on my "read" shelf)

Oh and if anyone here is interested in getting access to some FREE SciFi books, please private message me (I will NOT post deets here). I can connect you to a treasure trove of current SF/F authors (lots of space wars - series even!)

My all time favorite scifi novel is Star Web by Joan Cox. It has everything: science, fantasy, suspense. The characters are well developed, the imagery is perfect and there are elements of social commentary as well. I've read this book several times and wish I could find a new copy (mine is literally falling apart). It's been out of print for a long time but if you can find a copy, it's well worth your time.

Ann wrote: "My all time favorite scifi novel is Star Web by Joan Cox. It has everything: science, fantasy, suspense. The characters are well developed, the imagery is perfect and there are elements of social ..."

And if you'll all excuse the sexism, I find it to be a PLUS that it's by a woman ;-) We female SciFi writers have to support each other! I mean, those chain mail bikinis don't support anything *wink*

No excuse needed. You're preaching to the choir!

Check out The Empire

by GR author and Group member Elizabeth Lang. I gave it 5 stars. My review follows:

The Empire has all the essential elements of a classic space opera: romance, sex, action, alien invaders, the fate of humanity hanging in the balance, an Empire organized as an ostensible democracy, real political power in the hands of a military oligarchy and enough intrigue to satisfy anyone. The military is divided into three factions: the professional dedicated soldiers (more or less good guys), the competing Security Service that enjoys disciplining the others (more or less bad guys) and the mega-monopoly that provides the economic and material muscle to the fleet and is the balance of power. Add the independent Psychostrategists Guild that sells its services to the others at exorbitant cost and pursues its own unknown agenda, planets of human rebels whose hatred of the Empire is so great they refuse to join the common defense and court destruction by the Empire, a reluctant and damaged hero and a psi-enhanced and courageous heroine who is ready to sacrifice all for love and what she believes is right. All this is pulled together and woven into an engaging story by deft plotting and crisp writing. The characters are particularly well drawn and credible. A thoroughly enjoyable read. The Empire is said to be the first of a three book series. The lead in to the second at the end of the first is certainly enticing. I look forward eagerly to the publication of the second and third books. Highly recommended.