Review of Black Heart, Ivory Bones (Paperback)

Out of sheer boredom and lack of something better to read, I picked up this book and began reading it (it was on the shelf of a friend of mine . . . dusty and abandoned. I think I felt sorry for it). Honestly, I had my doubts. After having read numerous versions of politically correct fairy tales, I thought this would be along the same vein and completely cliche' and overdone.

Surprisingly (and most wondrously) I was wrong. This is not just a bunch of fairy tales made into gory, sex laden adult fiction. It is a great collection of short stories written by people with real narrative talent. My hat goes off to the editors for finding such gems and putting them into one easy to digest book. I have (since reading this book) gone onto other books in this series and have been just as pleased. An added bonus (as well) that I thought I would add in: throughout this series, you will find a few short stories by Neil Gaiman thrown in there. They are wonderful. He is one of my favorite writers out there, and his shorts stories are great. If you decide to venture out and buy any of the Windling/Datlow collaborations, make sure you check out his stories in particular. He's just so GOOD (yum).

Overall, I would hand this book over to anybody to read. It's fun, it's got some good stuff, and it's not hardcore sci fi/fantasy stuff like you might suspect. It's very realistic and entertaining, and you'll FLY through it.

Do yourself a favor and delve into this. You'll be glad that you did.Happy reading!



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Review of Signal to Noise (Mass Market Paperback)

Signal to Noise reads much like one would imagine a corraboration between Philip K. Dick and Larry Niven would read.The science is generally hard (with one exception: see below), but not nearly so hard as the oppressive sense of paranoia and lurking evil.

Everyone around Jack, the protagonist, is a potential enemy.Every time he takes a step forward, he runs the risk of finding that he's been walking in the wrong direction.Even his good intentions can have (literally) Earth shattering consequences.And we, the audience, share his paranoia.After awhile, the reader begins to feel like he's navigating a bewildering maze of smoke and mirrors, filled with razor-wire and spring-loaded spikes.

The one area where hard science gives way to soft metaphore is via the sophisticated neural-integrated virtual reality technology of the book.Here the book really starts to seem like a PDK work.In a brilliant variation of the tired, old VR theme, Nylund does not create his artificial experiences out of pixels projected on to retinas, but out of vivid metaphors projected directly into the brain.There is a very literal dream quality to those sequences, heightening the sense of paranoia and the nightmare sense of running down an infinite corridore being chased by ever-closer enemies.

It is a good book.True, it could have been better.The characters could have had a tad more depth (although, in a story filled with shadows, too much depth can be a bad thing) and some of the philosophizing strike a tin note.Never the less, it is an engaging and compelling story that plays to that part of our psyche that Kafka used to explore so very well.It was the stort of story that demanded completion by me even as I came to feel stifled by the oppressiveness of the plot.It is absolutely sadistic that it leaves so much to the sequel -- and absolutely delightful that it torments the reader by doing so.



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Review of Moonwar (Mass Market Paperback)

I shall write of both "Moonrise" and "Moonwar."

These are the stories of Moonbase, a permanent lunar settlement built by an American corporation in the mid-21st century.These tales chronicle the political and societal tension wrought by unpopular scientific endeavors, and the unforeseen consequences thereof.The books portray a future wherein a new fascism creeps across the entire globe, embraced by a superstitious public, and at dire odds with the free-thinking scientists living on the Moon--men and women who journeyed there to escape the shackles of Earthside ignorance and fear.You will find intrigue, betrayal, villainy, sexual bartering, rugged individualism, and even love within these books' pages.

But Ben Bova's vocabulary is disappointing.His dialog is often uninspired and even predictable.His narrative, his pacing, his exposition, his character development, and even his plot development are all very Saturday matinee.Even worse, his understanding of relationships is shallow.

But what gets these books off the ground and keeps the reader till their last pages is Ben Bova's love of space exploration.The man fervently believes that space exploration will benefit all of mankind, and not just the bureaucrats or big business.When Ben Bova describes an exclusively astronomical scene, his passion is undeniable.In the first book, there's a scene wherein an 18-year-old walks upon the lunar surface for the first time, and it borders on epiphanous.Ben Bova brings the Moon's unique beauty into sharp focus; sometimes, you can actually feel the regolith beneath your boots.It's this passion, I believe, that makes these books worth reading--in spite of their shortfalls.



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