Menu:

SF Book Project: June

July 20, 2010

I sent Ed's book a few weeks ago but I forgot to write it up here. On to month 6!

A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller. This is a post-apocalyptic novel set in a Catholic monastery hidden in the desert of the Southwestern United States. The order was started by a pre-War electrical engineer in order to preserve books and knowledge. The novel covers the history of the monastery and the cultural development of the surrounding society through 3 eras. The first roughly corresponds to our early middle ages. The roads are dangerous, literacy is very low, and the only government is a loose collection of warlords. A young novice stumbles into a fallout shelter containing a number of relics from Leibowitz himself. Later, the novice presents some of these relics to the Pope. Part 2 is set in a budding renaissance and begins the central theme of conflict between scholarship and state power. Finally, in part 3, the world has been reborn and technology has advanced past where it is now, but nuclear war again threatens to destroy civilization.

The Giver by Lois Lowry. Ostensibly a young adult novel, The Giver's themes echo those of Fahrenheit 451 or Brave New World. Humanity has finally constructed a society in which poverty, violence, and suffering have been eliminated, but at great cost. The protagonist, Jonas, is assigned to become the Receiver of Memories at his twelfth birthday. He studies under an old man and discovers all the things his society has given up for its peace. He must choose whether he can live with it or leave.

Pattern Recognition by William Gibson. Unlike Gibson's other novels, Pattern Recognition is set in the near-future (actually the past now). The protagonist, Cayce Pollard, is a marketing and advertising researcher who is given the unique opportunity to research the true source of "the footage," a viral Internet meme. Her funding comes from a pan-European viral marketing firm, Blue Ant. Despite the setting, the novel retains the thematic trappings of science fiction. Central themes include the effect of pervasive technology on human social systems and the convergence of humans and machines.

Sundiver by David Brin. In a universe where every sentient race can trace its "uplift" parents, Humanity is an odd-ball. No one knows who might have uplifted, i.e. brought to sentience, the humans and their planet is also teeming with species ripe for the uplift treatment. This novel covers one of humanity's first inter-species cooperative efforts, to send a spacecraft into the upper levels of the sun. The voyage is fraught with inter-stellar politics as the humans try to show off their new technology and keep the more advanced races from labeling them a problem. The humans also have to cope with their Chimpanzee scientist. Overall, it is an interesting exploration into several alien and animal intelligences set in a scientific and political thriller.

The Family Trade by Charles Stross. An alternate history thriller where the protagonist discovers she has the inherited ability to travel between parallel worlds. Her extended family uses this power to transport drugs and other contraband in our world and import advanced technology into the other world. Charles Stross, as usual, is excellent at finding the economic and business implications of his invented magic or technology. He also has a knack for the pace of a financial and crime thriller.