Science Fiction Gallery's Reviews

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• Summer of 1995
• Summer of 1996
• Summer and Fall of 1997
• Spring 1998
• Summer 1998

Science Fiction/Fantasy Book Reviews - by sub-genre

The top ten science fiction writers, in my book, are (in order):

• Issac Asimov
• Robert Heinlen
• Arthur C. Clarke
• Larry Niven
• Anne McCaffrey
• Philip Jose Farmer
• Andre Norton
• Frank Herbert
• Harlan Ellison
• Michael Crichton

Fantasy authors have had great effect on science fiction, since a common theme is for a de-evolution of society as calamity overcomes a technilogical society. Hence we give honor to Edgar Rice Burroughs for his influence on the sister genre of fantasy (Tarzan and Conan the models for so many fantasy novels it hurts!). Also, we would have to believe that J.R.R. Tolkein's works have had similar impact in many a tale of yore.

The impact of fantasy in science fiction is enormous, with such modern great film writers such as George Lucas more than willing to admit that space opera is modelled after many of the fantasy books read early in life.

In terms of topics The Science Fiction Gallery Editors tend to read four distinct genres of novels:

• Science Fiction (Space Opera, New Worlds, Time Travel, Science gone Mad!)
• Fantasy (Tales of Yore and ancient mysteries, Ted White, Katherine Kurtz, Patricia McKillip, Alan Dean Foster, Ursula LeGuin, Nancy Springer, J.R.R. Tolkein)
• Action (Spys, Military/Government...i.e. Ian Fleming, Tom Clancey, Dale Brown, W.E.B. Griffin, Len Deighton, Craig Thomas, John LeCarre, John Gardner, etc.)
• Mystery (Legal Intrigue, detective novels...John Grisham, Martha Grimes, John D. MacDonald, Clive Clussler, Margery Allingham, Agathie Christie)

In this section we will review some of the recent hardcopy we have read. Later we will look at some of the great series of all time in Science Fiction literature. Let us know what you think after you read 'em!

Space Opera

We "classify space operas" as space based science fiction, typically these might contain a little action based romance, a space battle or two, or at least some cloak and dagger intrigue as a sub plot. We tend to read novels that leave room for sequels, as we believe a good character shouldn't be wasted on a single novel. You will note that we will throw in one of the greats as an example of how to do it right.

We divide space opera into several categories as well however, many novels will combine those categories so we tend to use the category in the descriptions of the novel, rather than try to list according to a subdivions within the sub-genre. The sub-categories we are likely to use are:

• Female Heroes
  The Captain is a Lady! The history of Sci-Fi does not feature many female heros, so in the last decade we have seen many new female lead characters in both film and literature. We typically enjoy the the anxiety and turmoil "documented" in such tales, a realistic approach to the integration of females into western literature. However, we note that 100 years from now, the problems we see today are likely vanish, at least in the majority. But then there wouldn't be much interest left? Examples of this subset of the Space Opera are:
  • Elizabeth Moon writes about Captain Herris Serrano, a tough, presumably hetrosexual female Captain drummed out of "Fleet" on false charges and now relegated to Captaining...oh god! A rich woman's yacht! But she is a remarkable Captain, and the universe won't let her slide into oblivion forever! It takes four novels for the erstwhile leader to exact her total revenge, but she does it with honor and the steel one would expect of a child of "The Families".

  • David Weber brings us Honor Harrington, another tough minded Captain, who knows her value but life seems to consipire to kill her off before her time. But she reaches into some unfathomable resource and pulls her ashes from the fire just in time. While she does seem to pull through, it is usually at odds with what her superiors would deem possible, and of course against those odds, the casualties involved are also horrendous. Her superiors don't seem to care alot of the time, but it is the tole of lives that begins to way on Honor. When will the Admirals understand her talents and give her the forces she needs to win her battle decisively and without such horrid losses?

    Another new character for Moon is Never-the-less, her inborn talents continue to surface, making her psych and ability profiles seem like shams. After decorations and even hero status on a world where woman are though of as chattels, Lady Harrington once again returns to uniform to fight the vicious Benighty fools that have made her fleet's life misearable for eons.

• Great Series of all Time in Science Fiction
  Series that don't quit entertaining
  These are some of the more serious series...not just a character to bring back, but whole worlds that defy description, yet these talented authors bring them to us in technicolor. While we've see Clarke on the screen, the others listed here rarely made it. We surely wonder why. Perhaps it's that the technology isn't there yet to do such films and be believable, or the skill to move such fine literature to the screen is not considered to be enough "box office". Who knows? We suspect that perhaps it is a case of trying to put the scope of the works into perspective...how does one show the millenia dipicted in the Foundation trilogy on the screen in two hours?

  Note that while we are pointing out these series, we don't mean to say that they are not the only works worth considering. In the case of all these authors, their early works are not only legendary in scifi literature, they have formed the basis for the genre itself. For instance read The City and the Star by Arthur C. Clarke. It is nearly impossible to see elements from this story in many more modern literature, film or television. Or take Have Space Suit Will Travel by Robert Heinlen. Read that and not understand how scifi can paint a new world unimaginable in the future, yet so believable you can almost envision yourself being there. Any early work of Asimov will show you humor and contradiction, future trevails as well as fit into our own time on earth as humans. Its all there.

  In any case here are the hard core scifi series worth investing reading time in...

  • Arthur C. Clarke - Clarke has performed the most difficult serial writing in literature history. He didn't write about the same characters, he wrote about the same theme. In the Oddessy series (2001, 2010, 2030, 3001) he takes us to new places and times with an effortless reach into reality based upon new science. His work, taken as he has released the novels, also span great changes in our own real world, many changes that seem to follow his predictions for our future. In one novel in this series, he echos the ideas put forth in a novel written separate from the series, a tethered space object that can serve as a platform for living high above the atmosphere. The shuttle experimented with the first of these tethers just recently.

  • Issac Asimov has also done the impossible, writing about a theme serially, yet keeping his audience lockstep into reading his marvelous works. The Foundation Trilogy as it has come to be known, extends beyond the first three novels into double that. The basic theme is the Galactic Encyclopedia. Asimov, similar to Clarke, uses a few characters to keep it all together. In the case of the Foundation, we have Harry Seldon, the psycho-historian who makes some rather uncanny predictions for the future...a future he himself makes come true as people believe (or want to believe) his guesses are how it should be!

    Asimov, having clearly been a REAL writer has two extraordinary series to his name, the second perhaps the more famous. His short stories on the I Robot theme have created a sub-culture that will life with us well into our future, especially as we get closer and closer to that time when an android or robot (fully autonomous of course) is commercially available. U.S. Robotics (today a modem company) is the name of corporation. One of the chief scientists, Dr. Susan Calvin is carving out her own new science, a robotic psyhologist. Her job? To figure out the whys and why nots when robots fail to follow their programming. The guiding principles behind her work? The Laws of Robotics (orginallyt the three laws...which are still extremely important and have a huge priority in the programming of almost every robot). The laws can be stated by real robotics scientists today, since they are clearly in human best interest. Asimov's contribution, similar to Clarke, is profound and perhaps will be even more real as time goes on. The first law (I don't quote... but bet I am close...) is "No robot, through direct action or inaction may allow harm to come to a human." The other laws then prioritize property and the robot itself, which at times have come into conflict, and that is why Dr. Calvin is so important, cuz the "positronic brain" circuits of Asimov's robots can't deal with such conflicts and put the robots into non-functioning fits. The robot series collided with itself in the late 50s when Asimov introduced a very special robot, one that was nearly impossible to differentiate from human, at least in outside appearances. This robot, R. Daneel Olivaw (I think I have that right), is teamed up with a human police detective to help find an unheard of criminal, a murderer (Asimov was very hopeful in his vision of the future).

  • Robert Heinlen also has made the great serial effort. In his case, there is one character, or perhaps one family that makes the series work, along with that incredible theme, nearly immortable longevity. Lazuras Long is the man in question, and his family are multi-generational, living out long lifes that defy possiblity. Heinlen's works benefit from a time line written near the beginning of his career, that show the march of time that his stories speak to.

  • Phillip Jose Farmer wrote the Riverboat series many years ago, and with it opened a new look at death and immortality. What if, when you died, you were sent off to a planet where you couldn't really die anymore, and you found you could embark on a long journey down an endless river? Nice idea, let's run with it! And of course, farmer did! We just reread these and they are clearly a rich reward worthy of investment in time.

  • Larry Niven also took a theme and a few characters and molded them into an excellent series, the Ringworld, a monstrously large artifact that simulates a complete ecosystem on the inside of ring of metal populated with dirt and live. In the center, of course, is a star, with large plates that act like shutters, effecting the passing of days (simulating a sun rising and falling).

• Fantasy - Tales of Yore
  It happened long ago when horses were the main mode of travel, and magicians, Palidans, and Knights were the heroes. But even a soldier can rise to greatness. Examples are:
  • Conan The Barbarian - destined to be a King after the loss of his precious betrothed, Conan is a gladiator trained soldier of fortune in a time where a simple journey to the next village could be deadly. He throws in with a thief and a magician, or courts the approval of Kings. Conan is tough and wary of anything he can't see with his own eyes, but ready to pledge his life in order to bring back his love.

  • Paks - The Sheepfarmer's Daughter, runs from a life featuring a promised husband that she didn't choose, and enlists as a soldier to a local mercenary warlord. With visions of glorius battles and hard won spoils, she is never-the-less happy to be away from home, the real reason for the journey. She soon learns soldiering is not at all easy, and despite the assurances of many, twice as difficult as a woman...especially when she refuses the advances of a senior. Destined for greatness is Paks, however, and in little time we see she has some inborn skills and gifts. Her dreams of perhaps becoming a Knight or Paladin are deeply buried in her mind, but as we see, these things can happen to the right soul, and certainly that must be Paks, an honorable, selfless hero of yore! If you recognize a theme here, welcome to the world of Elizabeth Moon.

  • Anne McCaffery's series of fantasy works commonly known as the The Dragonriders of Pern not only apply in the fantasy genre, but a number of novels later, develop into a rather fine scifi theme as well. At first we think we are seeing an interesting twist to our own earthly lore dealing with dragons, knights and fair ladys. We see guilds of craftsman and the bards. From the eyes of a young girl who can hear the dragons, to a young girl who just wants to sing and play an instrument, we begin to feel a new world enveloping us. McCaffery is a prolific writer, keeping close to her series yet able to branch in a few different directions as well. She has also teamed up with a number of other excellent female writers (Elizabeth Moon, and Judy Lynn Nye) bringing us new areas of science fiction or fantasy.

Science Fiction into Facts

Just what is science fiction if not based upon some small sliver of science fact? Imagine an aircraft that is virtually invisible to radar or flies so fast no missile can shoot it down. How about a plane that flies 13 miles above the earth yet can take pictures of the ground with resolution measured in just a few feet? Well these aren't all that hard to imagine today. But in the 1960s, if you wrote about such things, you would surely be writing a piece of science fiction. This despite the slight problem that this was, at the time, fact. We know today that the U-2 flew at above 70,000 feet in the late 60s, and so did the SR-71 which did so at a blazing Mach 3 (2100 mph). The radar cross section for an SR-71 was so small that by the time radar operators in the Soviet Union detected the huge plane, it was nearly too late to scramble fighters. Even if they could get an interceptor into the air, the Blackbird's blazing speed and high altitude (in excess of 80,000 feet), made it not unreachable by aircraft, but unreachable by ground based or aircraft launched anti-aircraft missiles.

In the 1970s, the Stealth Fighter was designed, and again a whole new era of aircraft low observability came into fruition. This time the radar test ranges had to be redesigned in order to adequately characterize the new aircraft. Called the XSF (Expermental Stealth Fighter), the F-117 development and deployment put the U.S. decades ahead of all contenders and even that late in the twentieth century, the thought of such an aircraft was certainly a theme for science fiction.

Ben Rich's excellent chronicle of this era, Skunk Works tells the story of stealth development beginning with the U-2, documenting that amazing house of wizards owned and operated by Lockheed Martin (then Lockheed). He tells the story somewhat dry, but never- the-less we get clear insight into the men who made science fiction into fact.

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Created June 20, 1997; Last Updated: July 1, 1997