What are you reading?
At the moment, nothing.
What did you just finish reading?
About half an hour ago I finished Hannu Rajaniemi's The Causal Angel, sequel to The Quantum Thief and The Fractal Prince. These are, I think, the best new-to-me books I've read this year. They are heist novels with delightfully opaque characters (and multiple viewpoints, which is not something one often gets in a heist), set in a SF milieu overflowing with new concepts and strange ideas. Most of what goes on is made possible through some "quantum" handwaving; I don't know enough to say how plausible the science is, but it makes for an excellent story.
Apart from the conceptual firehose, Quantum Thief is for the most part a fine "we're here to steal a thing" story that develops more and more layers as it goes on... and then the epilogue delivers a genuine "oh shit" moment. Fractal Prince felt less impressive, possibly because everything is both bigger and smaller. I did enjoy the repeated nested stories (and the thematic resonance there), though. And Causal Angel... ties it all together in a fairly satisfactory way. I'm not entirely sure what I think of the ending. Will have to reread to decide, I expect.
I also reread Lord Valentine's Castle, by Robert Silverberg, with the intent of rereading the two sequels. LVC is a fantasy with occasional SF trappings. It was published in 1982 but feels like a throwback to an earlier era: a world that's miles wide and an inch deep, a huge cast of characters with litle characterization beyond one or two tics, and a downright languid pace. It's not bad but it didn't grab me. I can't see wanting to reread it, or to read the sequels, when there's so much other good stuff around. Into the Go-Away Pile.
What do you think you'll read next?
Something nonfic, I think; any fiction I pick up will be judged unfairly. Possibly Fred Pohl's autobiography, or the bio of Samuel Beckett I've been carrying around for years.
At the moment, nothing.
What did you just finish reading?
About half an hour ago I finished Hannu Rajaniemi's The Causal Angel, sequel to The Quantum Thief and The Fractal Prince. These are, I think, the best new-to-me books I've read this year. They are heist novels with delightfully opaque characters (and multiple viewpoints, which is not something one often gets in a heist), set in a SF milieu overflowing with new concepts and strange ideas. Most of what goes on is made possible through some "quantum" handwaving; I don't know enough to say how plausible the science is, but it makes for an excellent story.
Apart from the conceptual firehose, Quantum Thief is for the most part a fine "we're here to steal a thing" story that develops more and more layers as it goes on... and then the epilogue delivers a genuine "oh shit" moment. Fractal Prince felt less impressive, possibly because everything is both bigger and smaller. I did enjoy the repeated nested stories (and the thematic resonance there), though. And Causal Angel... ties it all together in a fairly satisfactory way. I'm not entirely sure what I think of the ending. Will have to reread to decide, I expect.
I also reread Lord Valentine's Castle, by Robert Silverberg, with the intent of rereading the two sequels. LVC is a fantasy with occasional SF trappings. It was published in 1982 but feels like a throwback to an earlier era: a world that's miles wide and an inch deep, a huge cast of characters with litle characterization beyond one or two tics, and a downright languid pace. It's not bad but it didn't grab me. I can't see wanting to reread it, or to read the sequels, when there's so much other good stuff around. Into the Go-Away Pile.
What do you think you'll read next?
Something nonfic, I think; any fiction I pick up will be judged unfairly. Possibly Fred Pohl's autobiography, or the bio of Samuel Beckett I've been carrying around for years.