Last Chance to See was published 20 years ago, which is reason for despair. Not for the 20 years, but for what has happened since, and for how little such a book, with associated radio series, can actually change, despite all the publicity for the cause championed. You see, Last Chance to See is Douglas' record of a BBC founded trip round the world by himself and Mark, where they went to document species threatened by extinction (their approach was for Douglas to stick pins in a map where he fancied going, and Mark sticking pins where there were endangered species; and where the two co-incided they went...).
It covers a number of species (animals, but also officials, conservationists and personnel, and an SF writer) , some of which I wasn't aware of prior to reading the book (animals only, ok?) – the expeditions took in the Aye-aye in Madagascar, the Komodo 'Dragons', the Northern White Rhino, the Kakapo in New Zealand, the Baiji (Yangtze River Dolphin) in China, and the Rodrigues Fruitbat on Mauritius. The radio series covered slightly more, but apparently Douglas didn't hand in the manuscript on time to include this (and how very Douglas Adams this is – read 'Don't Panic' by Neil Gaiman if you want to hear how Douglas used to deal with deadlines...).
The Voyage of the Sable Keech is the 2nd book in a loosely connected series (Spatterjay) byNeal Asher. It can be read on its own, but, given that it shows a progression from the events in the first story arch, as provided in 'The Skinner', I would strongly suggest you read that one first, and then read all the spoilers below. Trust me, it's a fun book, too.
Ok, for everyone still here – you have read The Skinner, you know how Asher writes, you know the fauna of Spatterjay (rarely has a place been named more aptly!). What we get here is the same, but bigger better and MUCH MORE! The Reifs (Reifications, ie resurrected dead) are organizing a pilgrimage to the Little Flint, where Sable Keech, 'The Arisen One', managed to re-build his human body and become alive again. To this end they have build a huge ship, the Sable Keech, to sail the Spatterjay sea. Adding to the mix: Sniper in a new, better, faster, better armed & armoured drone body, Prador infected with the Spatterjay virus, a Hooder on the rampage, and a Giant Whelk. You know by now if you want to read the book. And, if you enjoyed The Skinner, then yes, you do want to read this. Like, NOW!
Please note that Effendi is the 2nd book in Jon Courtenay-Grimwood's rather splendid Arabesk series; and what's below contains, inevitably, spoilers for the 1st book (Pashazade), which I can strongly recommend (the book, not the spoilers!), so if spoilers bother you go read that one first, then come back.
This book is like a Prodigy/Natasha Atlas mash-up; and I'm sure DJ Avatar could easily produce this, with his own slant of North-African dance music mixed in, of course...
It picks up directly where Pashazade left off – Ashraf 'Raf' Bey is now Chief of Detectives, and, as General Koenig Pasha resigns surprisingly, is also appointed as Governor of El Iskandryia by Khedive Mohammed Tewfik Pasha. The Khedive, more or less directly after this, goes on his annual holiday on board of a luxury cruiser, and invites Zara along, with the explicit (if unspoken) expectation that he will propose to her to marry him. She sends her half brother Kamil, aka DJ Avatar, in her place though. And meanwhile her father, Hamzah Quitrimala Effendi, self-made industrialist and mob boss, is accused of War Crimes? Genocide? Mass murder? - the details, as well as where he should be tried and by whom, change depending on which superpower you talk to. But the Detective, Magister, and Governor in charge is Raf, who recently turned down the offer to marry Zara, Hamzah's daughter...
Matter is Iain M. Banks' 8th book in the – loosely connected - Culture series; a 9th book (Surface Detail) is due out in October 2010. The book follows the fortunes (for want of a better word) of the children of the House of Hausk, of the Sarl, during and after the war with the Deldeyn. Steam engines, riding mounts and flying beasts, and basic projectile weapons are the order of the day. To kick the story off King Hausk gets murdered during his latest, successful campaign, which makes the servant (and regicide) Tyl Loesp the new Regent, as the 2nd son (the 1st one died earlier) is declared missing, presumed dead; and the youngest one is too young to reign. Ferbin, the 2nd son, sees the writing on the wall (he's witnessed the murder of his father), and flees.
Now, you need to see, the Sarl live on, or rather in, a Shellworld. This is literally a planet, an ancient artefact made by a long-extinct race, which consists of shells. The Sarl live on the 8th shell, the Deldeyn on the 9th. Travel between shells takes places through the 'towers' which hold the shells apart, in 'Scendships' (lovely word, that!). The towers, and Scendships, are controlled by the Oct, a crab-like species who claim decendancy from the builders of the Shellworlds. They mentor the Sarl (and the Deldeyn, although these mainly get sold down the river in this story). The Oct are in conflict with the Altruida who control other parts of Sursamen (the Shellworld in question). Both races are being mentored by the Involucra, who are being mentored by the Morthaveld, one of the high-level involved races, equivalent in technology and development to the Culture. You see, races are mentored to develop over time here, not seeded, or simply uplifted. And layers of shells are everywhere.
Smoke and Mirrors is not a novel, but a collection of 36 short stories, including some very early work of Neil Gaiman. These stories, as one would expect of a collection spanning a longer time frame, cover a number of different styles and approaches, and a variety of quality of writing, too. A good number of them are giving the impression that Neil is slipping into different skins, trying different styles – frequently ones belonging to other author's (as he freely admits); I guess that's what short stories are good for; or, at least, can be good for.
The thread running across the book is Horror, in all its guises, applications, and approaches. Then there's Sex, the one thing nearly everyone has some kind of obsession with, although Neil has his own hang-ups, as befits an individual. Not all of this works, neither the horror nor the sex, not for me at least.
Judge is the conclusion to Karen Traviss' much acclaimed (deservedly, IMHO) Wess'har Wars double-trilogy – it started as a trilogy, and then grew to twice that size. So let me warn you – below are tons of spoilers on where and how things turn out; if you feel that this would affect your enjoyment of this great series then I'd suggest you stop reading here, and go get 'City of Pearl', the first book in the series, and take if from there.
Still with me? Ok, here we go. This is a book I put aside and didn't dare read, as some friends mentioned that they were disappointed with it – and me, of little faith, was loath to spoil my enjoyment of this series with a weak ending. Which, as I see now, was entirely unjustified. This is a good ending to the series, just not as we (speaking for most of the readers out there, I guess) would have liked it to be. See, as the book starts, the day has come. It's Judgement Day. The End of the World, as Den Bari, the current Australian Premier, puts it. The Equbas have arrived on Earth, 25 years after they set off from Wess'ej (5 months for the crew due to time dilation). They have brought the Christian Settlers, led by Deborah Garrod, the Gene Bank, and of course they brought Shan Frankland, still c'naatat, and with a bad attitude towards Earth and Humanity in general. And so, like everybody else who has learned to see things through Shan's eyes, I was chanting "Go for it! Cream the bastards! They deserve it!". But life is rarely that simple, and neither is this story. And thus the disappointment. Earth is not Umeh, and is not treated the same way.
Last Chance to See
The Voyage of the Sable Keech
Matter
Smoke and Mirrors
Judge
