Goals, aspirations, dreams, and the like

It has been said here and other places many a time that if you want to be a good writer you must also read a lot…not to mention write a lot. As for the reading part, and because I had a truly dismal year last year in terms of what I read and how much, I have compiled a list – a somewhat short list – of things I want to read and finish before 2012 is over. That is to say that by January 1, 2013 I want to have read everything I have set out to read for this year, 2012…or by December 21, 2012 and the end of the world, which ever comes first.

Without further adieu, the list is:

1. The Plague Year Trilogy by Jeff Carlson. I have started the first book in this series, and while it did start off slow, it has come together very nicely and has thus far been an enjoyable read and therefore I am looking forward to finishing the final two book in the series.
2. The Darksword Trilogy by Margaret Weis and  Tracy Hickman. I am ashamed to say that I have had these three books since I was a youngster and have always wanted to read them, but never did. Now I will.
3. The Speaker for the Dead and Xenocide by Orson Scott Card. I read Ender’s Game in my younger years and put off reading any further because of my coming of age in terms of my political views, and as I did I formed the opinion that Card and his politics were nothing short of misguided. Because of this, I held a strike, if you will, against reading any more of Card‘s other works. And while I still see his opinions as misguided I have come to accept that as a writer the guy is amazing and just because I may not agree with his views and politics does not mean I have to punish myself by not enjoying what he has given to the literary world.
4. Forever War by Joe Haldeman. This book has been on my radar for a couple of years now, probably since I read Old Man’s War. I have heard it compared to Starship Troopers, which I have to say, I wasn’t a fan. So we’ll see, over all, the things I have heard have been positive.
5. Zoe’s Tale by John Scalzi. Scalzi is a relatively new face in the science fiction world but since the publication of Old Man’s War he has proven that he can spin a tale with the best of them. I have read the first three books of the Old Man’s War trilogy and now it is time to finish it.
6. Rendezvous with Rama, Rama II, The Garden of Rama. Arthur C. Clarke is one of those authors that I simple couldn’t get enough of when I was growing up, especially his work surrounding 2001: A Space Odyssey. A while back I found all three of these books at a Goodwill, all in perfect condition and all for around a dollar. When I came home and read the back covers I was immediately transported back to my high school days and the times I ditched class in order to find my quite spot out by the wood shop backdoor so I could read. Often what I was reading were Clarke books.
7. The Hunger Games books by Suzanne Collins. Of course these are being made into movies so I might read these books sooner rather than later.

All-in-all, that is sixteen books, more than I read all of last year and hopefully only the tip of the iceberg. Others on my list, should I get that far, are The Man in the Castle by Philip K. Dick; Fuzzy Nation by  John Scalzi.

How Many Worlds Are Out There?

For years Astronomers have tried to guess how many planets exist within the Milky Way Galaxy? Millions? Billions? Since I was a child I was always fascinated by Carl Sagan and his famous saying of billions and billions when talking about extrasolar planets and even inhabited alien worlds. And even though I always wanted to believe it, it still seemed like a high estimate to me. Not even when extrsolar planets started being discovered by the handful, and later by the bucket full when Kepler was launched, did I ever believe that the actual number could be that much.

Now, however, two independent groups have done the math and both agree that the real number is almost certainly above 50 billion planets beyond our solar system, with one saying the number is likely above 100 billion.

This is still by no means proof that our galaxy is teeming with alien worlds, but the recent discoveries of planets of ever smaller sizes, and even planets around non-sol like star systems, seems to point to a galaxy where worlds will form under just about any kind of environment.

Library Addition: Tunnel In The Sky by Robert Heinlein

Next up is Tunnel In The Sky by Robert Heinlein. This was a great find because not only is this book by the legendary science fiction writer, it is also in pristine condition and cost me only three bucks. It doesn’t get much better then that!

For those out there that like the overpopulated Earth scenario in science fiction, Tunnel In The Sky is the book for you. In this future Earth scenario, Earth has avoided a Malthusian Catastrophe by creating a teleportation device known as a Ramsbotham Jump. The catch? This is a one way trip. Anybody and any colonies established will be on their own for an undetermined amount of time until a better means of two-way transport is established.

Library Addition: Empire by Orson Scott Card

No Surprise, over these past holiday weekends I took time out of my busy schedule to frequent many user book shops and Flea Markets in search of the elusive hidden treasure of books. And while I cannot say that I found anything rare, hard to come by, or valuable, I did find many books in good condition that will make a fine addition to my collection.

The first one is Empire by Orson Scott Card. According to Wikipedia, the book is about the second Civil War of the United States. Only this time the war is not fought between north and south, but rather between Right and Left.

I’m leery about this book and what message Card is trying to get by as I see nowhere near eye-to-eye with Card on many issues relating to the current state of this country. However, having said that, Orson Scott Card has written, and I am sure will write many more, great and wonderful science fiction books, some of which I have already enjoyed and other I plan to enjoy in the future, therefore he deserves at least the chance to achieve this feat yet again.

Book Review: The Concrete Blonde by Michael Connelly

If there is one author this year that I have really come to like and admire it would be Michael Connelly. Connelly has a way of making his characters come alive all the while leaving the reader wanting more.

In The Concrete Blonde, the scenario was no different. I read the book in no time and found myself eagerly waiting for my lunch break to continue the story of Detective Bosch as he hunted down the killer that had eluded police for many years. The worst part was that the police had already thought they had captured their man.

In the opening pages of The Concrete Blonde Bosch finds himself on trial for the death of a man named Norman Church, the alleged Dollmaker, a serial killer thought to have killed eleven prostitutes who then painting their faces in heavy make-up before dumping their bodies where they could easily be found, as if the killer was taunting the police. But Church was never tried because he was shot and killed by Harry Bosch the night that Bosch learned that he was the killer when Church went for what Bosch thought was a gun. It was in fact his toupee.

Now Bosch is forced to sit in front of a jury of his peers as the prosecutor argues that he killed the wrong man, and that the Dollmaker is still out there. Bosch knows that is ridicules, but he is hard pressed to explain a mysterious note that turned up at police headquarters which makes the unbelievable claim that the police shot and killed the wrong man, and that the Dollmaker is defiantly still alive. Confused, Bosch studies the letter but is unable to explain how the hand writing and poetic nature of the letter does indeed sound exactly like the Dollmaker even though he had died four years previous. Worse yet, the author of this letter can prove he is authentic and directs the police to a undiscovered body of a victim buried in concrete. A blonde.

Now Bosch is forced to not only solve this new murder but protect his previous investigation into the Dollmaker case as the lawyer for the widow of Church discovers that the main claim of her case may in fact be true and that the Dollmaker may not be dead after all.

The Concrete Blonde is a rollercoaster ride as Bosch and the LAPD investigate every avenue in their attempts to find who the true identity of the killer really is. Worse yet is the realization that the killer seems to have inside information into the first Dollmaker case, a clue that could mean that the LAPD is hunting one of their own.

To say that I liked this book would be an under statement, even if I did figure out who the killer was before the fact was revealed to me in the story. Regardless I kept turning pages which in my book is always a sign of a well written story.

Rating (Out of 5):

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey trailer debuts

In The News

In case you missed it, scientists manning the Kepler Telescope are getting closer and closer to find a world occupied by alien life. As of right now, the telescope is struggling to find planets of Earth-size, but that’s not to say that it may have already found planets that are Earth‘s twin…just bigger.

Earlier this week it was announced that a large planet was the first confirmed planet to be orbiting around a star like our Sun and within the “habitable zone.” Other then that, not much else is known about the planet, but the discover was apparently enough to spark the interest of SETI scientists as they have now announced that they will begin searching this planet and other in their search to find alien transmissions from space.

Who knows if they will be successful, but narrowing down the field to planet know to be circling Sun-like stars and at a distance conducive to life can’t hurt.

Library Addition: Martian Time-Slip by Philip K. Dick

There is nothing that I like better than free book, which is why, when, over this past weekend, while me and my girlfriend were helping her parents move out of their old place and cleaning out a room which held the processions of an older relative who passed away a few years before, I become excited when I came across a dusty old box marked “Sci-fi Books.” When I asked what they wanted me to do with that box, I was told, much to my delight: “Everything in that room is to be given away to goodwill, or if you want something in there, help yourself.” So I did. Amongst the treasures that I found inside where two volumes of collected Ray Bradbury short stories and a near mint first printing of Martian Time-Slip by Philip K. Dick. All-in-all, it is sometimes worth it when helping family and friends move; sometimes you come across a treasure which to them may be nothing more than junk.

Book Review: Deepsix by Jack McDevitt

To put it bluntly, I wasn’t a fan of this book. It is a book involving a space adventure when Jack McDevitt is better known for books that stimulate the mind and bring to the table a level of technical wonders that make you feel like you’re a rocket scientist at JPL. This book was little more than a story about the fight for survival, which is fine if you haven’t read any other books by McDevitt and know what he is capable of.

The book is about Priscilla Hutchens and her crew of scientist and thinkers that become stuck on an alien planet when there shuttle is wrecked and the nearest replacement is several days away. The catch? The planet, Deepsix, is about to be involved in a head-on collision with a gas giant that is sweeping through its system in an intergalactic form of billiards. Unfortunately for Hutchens, this collision will be taking place before a rescue mission with a shuttle reaches the system, leaving the various ships in orbit, all of whom are in the neighborhood to watch the once in-a-lifetime collision, to try to find a way to rescue the stranded people on the surface. What do they come up with? A “skyhook” that sweeps through the upper atmosphere and scoops up the shuttle that can fly but cannot reach orbit. But first they need to survival on the surface while this “skyhook” is constructed, which is easier said then done since the planet is coming apart at the seams in the wake of the approaching devastation.

All-in-all, this is, I believe, Jack McDevitt‘s first novel, and while not his finest work, it is a window into what the author would be capable off in later works.

Rating (out of 5):

R.I.P. Ann McCaffery

Ann McCaffery died November 21 at her home in Ireland. More here.