#129. TRANSFIGURATIONS By Michael Bishop

Published : 1979
Pages : 320
Overall Mark : 7/10

In a clearing of the great forest of the planet BoskVeld, a strange ape-like species of alien, the Asadi, act out their almost-incomprehensible rituals. They have apparently degenerated from a level of complex technological sophistication to this primal simplicity. Now anthropologist Elegy Cather comes to BoskVeld and with her is an intelligent ape, Kretzoi, physically adapted to resemble the aliens. As Kretzoi insinuates himself into their rituals, she slowly begins to unravel the enigma of the Asadi.

MICHAEL BISHOP (1945-)
Michael Bishop’s A Funeral For The Eyes Of Fire, brought comparisons with Ursula Le Guin and James Tiptree, Jr and was followed by a number of critically acclaimed works including Transfigurations, Ancient Of Days and No Enemy But Time, for which he won the Nebula Award for Best Novel. Michael Bishop lives in Georgia, where he is writer-in-residence at LaGrange College.

VERDICT
Although an interesting book with a fascinating conceit, I couldn’t help being distracted by the character of Elegy (appropriately named due to her involvements towards the end of the book) who, intentionally or not, comes across as a huge slut. Her sexual relationship with the narrator seems to come out of nowhere, and then she has sex with someone as well. That aside, this story which features some pretty obvious links with the Bible story concerning the Transfiguration of Jesus, manages to be entertaining and mysterious by leading us slowly into the world of the Asadi and only revealing their true nature towards the very end of the novel.

#128. RANDOM ACTS OF SENSELESS VIOLENCE By Jack Womack

Published : 1993
Pages : 223
Overall Mark : 8/10

Ten minutes in the future, Lola Hart is writing her life in a diary. She’s a nice middle-class girl at the calm end of town. But in a disintegrating New York she is a dying breed. War is breaking out on Long Island, gangs fight in the streets, five presidents have been assassinated in a year. No one notices any more. Soon Lola and her family must move to the Lower East side and the new language of violence of the streets.

JACK WOMACK (1956-)
Jack Womack was born in Kentucky but currently lives in New York City. In addition to his writing, he has worked in publicity for a number of major US publishers. He won the 1993 Philip K Dick award with Elvissey and has the distinction of being one of William Gibson’s favourite authors.

VERDICT

There isn’t much in this book that couldn’t be applied to the world around us today but, by placing the action in a dystopian New York, we are given scenarios that we’d like to think don’t or couldn’t happen to us that surprisingly feel incredibly real, mostly thanks to the first person diary narrative that really allows us to see the events of the world through a child’s eyes as everything around her falls apart.

#127. REVELATION SPACE By Alastair Reynolds

Published : 2000
Pages : 598
Overall Mark : 8/10

Nine thousand centuries ago, something wiped out the Amarantin. For the human colonists now settling their homeworld, Resurgam, it’s of little more than academic interest, even after the discovery of a long-hidden, almost perfect Amarantin city. For brilliant scientist Dan Sylveste, it’s more than idle curiosity. He will stop at nothing to get at the truth – even if it costs him everything. For the Amarantin were wiped out for a reason, and that danger is closer and greater than even Sylveste imagines...

ALASTAIR REYNOLDS (1966-)
Alastair Reynolds was born in Barry, South Wales, in 1966. He studied at Newcastle and St Andrews Universities and has a Ph.D. in astronomy. He spent 12 years working as an astrophysicist for the European Space Agency, but has now returned to Wales, where he lives with his wife.

VERDICT
Reynolds manages to make everything so visual in this overly long but nevertheless intriguing novel. The characters are interesting, though at times I confused them with each other, and the concept is an ambitious one that, with a near 600 page count, can at times feel a little slow. However, fans of huge and explorative sci-fi such as the works of James Blish will thoroughly enjoy this look at the universe that makes you wonder if there is something out there causing humanity to be the only sentient beings in the universe.

#126. DOUBLE STAR By Robert A Heinlein

Published : 1956
Pages : 208
Overall Mark : 9/10

One minute, down-and-out actor Lorenzo Smythe was in a bar, drinking away his troubles, then a space pilot bought him a drink and the next thing he knew, he was shanghaied to Mars. Suddenly Smythe found himself agreeing to the most difficult role of his career: impersonating a kidnapped politician. With peace with the Martians at stake, failure to pull off the act could result in interplanetary ware – but success could see him trapped in his new role forever!

ROBERT A. HEINLEIN (1907-1988)
Robert A. Heinlein was educated at the University of Missouri and the US Naval Academy, Annapolis. He served as a naval officer for five years but retired in 1934 due to ill health. His first published SF was ‘Lifeline’ for Astounding Science Fiction in 1939. Among his many novels are The Door into Summer, Double Star, Starship Troopers, Stranger in a Strange Land and The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.

VERDICT
This is one of those rare science fiction novels that could quite easily work as a standard political espionage novel. The story advances quickly and has very little sci-fi elements other than the setting and the presence of Martians and other alien beings. Those familiar with the work of Heinlein will surely attest this is amongst his best works, and for those not familiar with him this is a great starting point.

#125. NO ENEMY BUT TIME By Michael Bishop

Published : 1982
Pages : 365
Overall Mark : 8/10

Joshua Kampa is torn between two worlds – the early Pleistocene Africa of his dreams and the twentieth-century reality of his waking life. These worlds are transposed when a government experiment sends him over a million years back in time. Here, John builds a new life as part of a tribe of protohumans. But before long he reaches a temporal crossroads where he must decide whether the past or the future will be his present.

MICHAEL BISHOP (1945-)
Michael Bishop’s A Funeral For The Eyes Of Fire, brought comparisons with Ursula Le Guin and James Tiptree, Jr and was followed by a number of critically acclaimed works including Transfigurations, Ancient Of Days and No Enemy But Time, for which he won the Nebula Award for Best Novel. Michael Bishop lives in Georgia, where he is writer-in-residence at LaGrange College.

VERDICT
Although the setup of this book starts off a little confusing, it soon reels us in to a world of the past where our time travelling hero is living and making a life for himself. The strange characters are at first hard to get to grips with but, through the eyes of the protagonist, we soon learn to like them and worry for their safety and hope that their lives will turn out okay. The relationship Kampa builds with these prehistoric people is touching and real and makes for an intriguing read that all SF fans will enjoy.

#124. TIME IS THE FIRE : THE BEST OF CONNIE WILLIS By Connie Willis

Published : 2013
Pages : 473
Overall Mark : 9/10

Connie Willis is the recipient of an impressive eleven Hugos and seven Nebulas, among her many other awards. She has won five of those awards for her novels, but the rest have been awarded for her extraordinary short fiction. This collection brings together ten of those award-winning stories in one volume that showcases the depth and breadth of talent of a true grandmaster of the field.

CONNIE WILLIS (1945-)
Connie Willis was born in Denver, Colorado, and earned a BA in English and elementary education from the University of North Colorado. She began writing SF with ‘The Secret of Santa Titicaca’, appearing in Worlds of Fantasy in 1971. A highly decorated author who has won eleven Hugo Awards and seven Nebula Awards for her work, she was recently named an SFWA Grand Master. Willis currently lives in Greeley, Colorado with her family.

VERDICT
This collection of short stories by Connie Willis is a rare treat that allows us readers to witness her wide and varied skills at writing both dramatic and comedic pieces. Every story here is rich in character and a joy to read, especially Fire Watch which started off her wonderful time travel stories, including Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of The Dog. Fans of Willis will enjoy delving further into her writings, while those new to her will be able to get some bite size treats without the necessity of reading a full novel.

#123. THE DEEP By John Crowley

Published : 1975
Pages : 171
Overall Mark : 6/10

For many generations the Just have been at war with the Protectors. In their strange world, supported by a huge pillar poised in the vast and mysterious Deep, ritual bloodshed and sorcery have obsessed the inhabitants since the beginning of time. From the skies, the half-human, half-machine Visitor enters the world, his purpose unknown. Is he a peacemaker, an observer or a warrior the likes of which this planet has never seen before? Only time can tell – but time is something that his makers have not allowed for...

JOHN CROWLEY (1942-)
John Crowley was born in Maine in 1942 and grew up in Vermont, Kentucky and Indiana before moving to New York and taking up work in documentary films – an occupation he still pursues alongside his writing. The Deep, his first SF novel, was published in 1975 and was followed by Beasts, Engine Summer and Great Work of Time. With the publication of Little, Big in 1981 he won the World Fantasy Award and was shortlisted for the Hugo, Nebula and BSFA Awards.

VERDICT
I couldn’t really get into this short novel, which felt much longer than its 171 pages. The characters are difficult to differentiate from each other, and the only section that felt to be any good to me was the third chapter of the third section that finally reveals what we’ve been trudging through the whole book to discover. Fans of strange alien sci-fi might enjoy this if they can decipher what is going on, but I just didn’t think it was worth the effort.