Monday, April 4, 2016

beyond the mask

Terrible!  1/5 stars.  Avoid with extreme prejudice.

Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen

I remember the star trek and science fiction conventions I attended with Lois McMaster (now Lois McMaster Bujold) in 1973-1975.  She was (and is) a fantastic writer and detail-oriented science and engineering enthusiast.  Her fan fiction at that time was awesome. It was wonderful reading her first few professional works ("Falling Free," serialized in Analog magazine) and the Miles Vorkosigan books.  I remember discussing them with my oldest children as they read them at the appropriate age (under 16).  And it was more fun reading her new books as they came out because "I knew Louis when..." Now we're all grown up and so are her characters and the themes in her books.

This one has too little "awe and wonder" mysterious background C story science fiction for my personal (space opera) taste.  It is a grown up book handling grown up topics that (I think) were better handled  by the oblique hints in the earlier works as Miles, his mother, and other characters from Beta Colony discussed them.  It does fill in a bunch of sordid story elements from the earlier books and I loved the mystery of the (very-brief mention!) of the power of the Cetagandans.

But it's still LMB writing and romping in her universe so it's still fantastic and a must-read for any fan.
colophon
4/5 Stars.



Sunday, April 3, 2016

Concussion


A little long and slow but the film is quite good and worth watching.  The depth of Roger Goodell's evil is well-presented, along with the collusion of government.  3/5 Stars. 

Relentless

Great 4/5 Stars.

Valiant

Loved it. 4/5 Stars.

Courageous

I am enjoying this series but was disappointed that this one ended at a cliff hanger.  4/5 Stars.

Thursday, March 31, 2016

Matter

Book 8 of Ian Banks' "Culture" space operas.

Action-filled swashbuckling Culture space opera with unexpected limitations to previously all-powerful tech and new civilizations.  Another fun romp in the culture universe, 4/5 stars.


Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Deadpool

Fantastic film, 5/5 stars.  Don't miss it.

Magnets

Amazing news in 3-D printed magnets!

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Act of War


Thriller about China's attempt to take over the USA. Stupid, funny, Tom Clancy style.