Adam Lenhardt
Senior HTF Member
Last update of 2008! See y'all next thread.
Since last update:
Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi. This was a problematic read for me. Like Scalzi's other books, it flew by. It was at least as hilarious as anything the late great Douglas Adams came up with, garnered a higher frequency of audible outbursts of laughter from me than any book in recent memory. And I absolutely loved the aliens, from the first page to the last. About as original as you can get biologically speak, personality-wise they're about what you'd expect from a species versed in human culture from old TV and radio broadcasts, except nicer. The first two-thirds of the book are a great sci-fi comic romp. And then something really horrible and tragic happens. It's not the abrupt shift in tone that bothered me; it's how the victim of that tragedy was treated through the rest of the story. Much like the Terri Schiavo case, Scalzi explores the gray area between life and death. And I was morally troubled by the conclusions drawn. If you agree with his point of view, the ending probably comes across as something beautiful. If you don't, the exploitation will seem way too ugly to quite get over. That blemished what is otherwise another terrific story from my newest favorite author.
Star Wars (r) Millennium Falcon by James Luceno. If you're really, really interested in the story of what happened to the Millenium Falcon between the day it was manufactured and the day Han Solo won it gambling, this novel's for you. Otherwise, it's probably going to be a pretty big disappointment. Conceived to be a character-driven story like Troy Denning's 'Tatooine Ghost', the sheer bulk of Luceno's mythology for the ship pushes the main characters to the margins. Han and Leia's granddaughter Allana was my favorite thing about the lackluster Legacy of the Force story arc, and she was my reason for buying this one. In what may be a first for Star Wars tie-in novels, she's an honest-to-God kid interested in childish things instead of a Jedi robot pre-programmed with an overburdened sense of responsibility. The story involving the Falcon's first pilot also more or less kept my attention. The big reveal of the mystery at the heart of the story is unimaginably lackluster. The best way to approach this one is with low expectations.
Since last update:
Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi. This was a problematic read for me. Like Scalzi's other books, it flew by. It was at least as hilarious as anything the late great Douglas Adams came up with, garnered a higher frequency of audible outbursts of laughter from me than any book in recent memory. And I absolutely loved the aliens, from the first page to the last. About as original as you can get biologically speak, personality-wise they're about what you'd expect from a species versed in human culture from old TV and radio broadcasts, except nicer. The first two-thirds of the book are a great sci-fi comic romp. And then something really horrible and tragic happens. It's not the abrupt shift in tone that bothered me; it's how the victim of that tragedy was treated through the rest of the story. Much like the Terri Schiavo case, Scalzi explores the gray area between life and death. And I was morally troubled by the conclusions drawn. If you agree with his point of view, the ending probably comes across as something beautiful. If you don't, the exploitation will seem way too ugly to quite get over. That blemished what is otherwise another terrific story from my newest favorite author.
Star Wars (r) Millennium Falcon by James Luceno. If you're really, really interested in the story of what happened to the Millenium Falcon between the day it was manufactured and the day Han Solo won it gambling, this novel's for you. Otherwise, it's probably going to be a pretty big disappointment. Conceived to be a character-driven story like Troy Denning's 'Tatooine Ghost', the sheer bulk of Luceno's mythology for the ship pushes the main characters to the margins. Han and Leia's granddaughter Allana was my favorite thing about the lackluster Legacy of the Force story arc, and she was my reason for buying this one. In what may be a first for Star Wars tie-in novels, she's an honest-to-God kid interested in childish things instead of a Jedi robot pre-programmed with an overburdened sense of responsibility. The story involving the Falcon's first pilot also more or less kept my attention. The big reveal of the mystery at the heart of the story is unimaginably lackluster. The best way to approach this one is with low expectations.
