Contest–Matthew Reilly

Book: Contest
Author: Matthew Reilly
Publisher: Pan Macmillan Australia/St. Martin’s Press
418 pages (Paperback)
My Rating:



Dr. Stephen Swain is a radiologist in New York City. He has had some exciting moments in the hospital he works in, but nothing could prepare him for what is about to happen. He is thrust into a gladiator style competition in the labyrinth of the New York City Public Library with no way to get out. His competitors are beings from other planets. They are tough, mean, and are willing to do whatever it takes to be the victor in the competition. To complicate matters, Swain’s daughter Holly has been transported into the library with him so he has to fight for his daughter’s life as well as his own.

I am so thankful for this book and to the friend who loaned it to me. Let me start out by saying that I am needing some fast and fun reads now because I’ve been kind of bogged down with things for awhile. Contest is exactly what I needed. I read this book largely in two sittings because it is pretty exciting. I felt like I was watching a movie like Die Hard the entire time I was reading it. It was pure action from beginning to end. Was there a lot of character development? Not really because the characters were too busy trying to survive the tournament. I have never read a book like this before, and I’m really glad that I picked it up because not only did I expand world in terms of what I’ve read, but I quite enjoyed the experience.

There were moments in the book that I had issues with and was like, “Well that’s not realistic,” but then I realized that the entire book wasn’t realistic because it’s a sci-fi thriller! So, disbelief suspended, I blew through this book and was holding my breath through quite a few parts of it. The aliens were pretty fantastic and in my mind, fairly original. I wasn’t even bothered by the lack of character development because the book was just so much fun to read. There was no time to care about Stephen Swain’s life outside of the library because his experience was so intense that I really didn’t even have time to think about anything else.

Swain’s guide in the library, Selexin, was a really good character as was Swain’s daughter Holly. There was a good balance of her being a child who was afraid of her situation and a survival instinct that was pretty neat for a kid. She reminded me a little of Tim Murphy (the little boy) in Jurassic Park. He was a go for it kid and Holly was for the most part as well. The guide Selexin was supposed to be a passive observer but after observing Swain’s behavior, he became more than that to the group. He put himself in the line of danger to help Swain and Holly and showed himself to be a man-alien of integrity. The characters (even the bad guys) were infinitely likeable in this book. The entire time I was rooting for them to win even if some of their situations seemed a little too easy for them to get out of.

There were a few weak points in the book like I said above.  Some of the moments where I said, “That’s not realistic,” kept me from giving it four to four and a half stars. There were several situations that were a little bit too easy for the characters to get out of, but those same parts made me reluctant to give Contest four stars. Still, this was a great effort for a first novel by Matthew Reilly. I highly recommend it if you are in a reading funk and looking for an action-packed book that is a quick read. I will definitely be reading more Matthew Reilly in the future.



**I am a Book Depository and IndieBound afilliate so If you purchase any of the books I have featured through the links I posted or from the banners in my left hand sidebar, I get a small commission from them. I am in no way compensated for the reviews I post of my books.

The Windup Girl – Paolo Bacigalupi

Book: The Windup Girl
Author: Paolo Bacigalupi
Publisher: Nightshade Books
Hardcover, 359 pages
My Rating:
              

The Windup Girl is a dystopian biopunk novel that occurs in the city of Bangkok. Vehicles run on fossil fuels are scarce and most food and many animals have been genetically altered. Anderson Lake is a farang businessman for a calorie company and searches the streets of Bangkok for food that is resistant to disease. His assistant, Hock Seng, is a Yellow Card that helps Anderson run the factory. The two work hard to keep the factory ahead of the pace of diseases like cibiscosis and blister rust that ruins foodstuffs and causes famine and death. When Anderson meets a windup girl named Emiko his life changes. Windups are viewed as less than human in Thailand, and Emiko is discarded by her owner and works at a club where she is abused. Torn between his obligation to serve his company and his desire to take care of Emiko, Anderson inadvertently sets events in motion that have serious implications.

The Windup Girl was given the 2010 Hugo Award for Best Novel at AussieCon in Melbourne about a month ago. This excited me because I have been looking forward to reading The Windup Girl all year long. I have never read anything by Bacigalupi before, but the book has gotten so much attention and the cover of the book was so appealing that when I finally got a copy, I couldn’t wait to crack open the pages and read the book. What I found was a book that had a thoughtful social commentary on the dangers of GMO foods, corporate control of our food system, and raised ethical questions of genetic engineering. For being a fairly short book at 359 pages, the world building was amazing. There were times that Bacigalupi’s description of the heat in Thailand made me feel like I needed to turn my ceiling fan on and there were times when I could feel the humidity of the Bangkok air. The setting was vibrant but also full of turmoil.

The world building was so well done that the plot didn’t really begin to take shape until midway through the book. I knew the basics of the plot with Anderson searching for the fruit the Thais called gnaw, but the story with Hock Seng, the Environment Ministry white shirts, and Emiko didn’t come together for me until about 150-200 pages in. I have to admit that I struggled some through the first half of the book but once I hit the midway point of the book, I really started enjoying it. The politics of the Environment Ministry, the calorie companies, and the Trade Ministry were complex and felt like it could truly be within the realm of possibility. Food is such a commodity in our society now, that a dystopian vision of GMO foods is something that was very interesting to read about.

The major issue that I had with the book was what Stephanie from Read in a Single Sitting characterizes as a “plate glass" style of writing. For me, the writing was choppy and disconnected from the story. There were times the flow was there but other times the sentences were so short that I felt like I was at a slam poetry performance. Mr. Bacigalupi may have intended this for the novel because society is disconnected in it and there is a constant sense of chaos throughout, but because of this, I admit that I had difficulty getting immersed in the novel. However, I am glad that I persevered and continued reading because the ideas in it are worthy of a read and the world itself is one that is likely to stay in my mind for years to come. While talking to my husband at dinner tonight, I compared this novel to The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson. That was also a book I struggled through at times, but over time, it was one that really grew on me. I have a feeling The Windup Girl will be much like The Diamond Age in that I think it’s a book that months down the road I will still be digesting. I would recommend this book to people that enjoy dystopian literature that has a striking social commentary, especially with regards to corporations and how they influence the industrial food system, and it challenges readers to contemplate what constitutes our humanity in reference to biological systems.


Note of Interest
Paolo Bacigalupi wrote two short stories related to The Windup Girl in Pump Six and Other Stories. They are called Yellow Card Man and The Calorie Man.


*Notice of Disclosure: I received The Windup Girl for review from Nightshade Books.

**I am a Book Depository and IndieBound afilliate so If you purchase any of the books I have featured through the links I posted or from the banners in my left hand sidebar, I get a small commission from them. I am in no way compensated for the reviews I post of my books.

Leviathan – Scott Westerfeld

Book: Leviathan
Author: Scott Westerfeld
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Trade Paperback/440 pages
My Rating:



It is the eve of WWI and a Hapsburg prince named Alek is unaware that his life is about to drastically change. The Germans have been itching to start a war and the assassination of the Archduke has given them the opportunity. To avoid capture, Alek flees his Austrian homeland in a “Clanker” called a Cyklop Stormwalker with a few loyal men that are entrusted with his safety. On the other side of Europe, Deryn is a young woman who desperately wants to serve in Britain’s military so she disguises herself as a boy and signs up to fly in “Beasties” and is assigned to Leviathan. Little do either of them know that the war will make them cross paths and set them on a dangerous mission together.

I do not read a lot of YA novels, but I was desperately looking for some steampunk to read. I picked up Leviathan because Scott Westerfeld is coming to the Texas Book Festival on October 16-17 this year and I am going to try to make it in to his event where he will talk about the second book of the Leviathan series, Behemoth. I really wanted to read this before his talk so that I won’t be completely lost!

I think Leviathan is a great introduction to steampunk. The novel reads really fast and has a compelling storyline that feels familiar since the events in the book roughly follow WWI. Alek and Deryn are both likeable characters that are struggling with their place in the world. Alek is a prince without a throne and Deryn is a girl that desperately wants to be seen as an equal. Together they form an alliance that quite possibly is not what their respective parties want. In this first book in the series, a good portion of the time is spent exploring their individual stories so I got a good feel for them as characters and what motivated them. Neither of them have the typical teenage angst that can weigh so heavily in some books. They are truly characters of their situations—thrust into very stressful situations and they show their strength of character throughout.

I also loved the world. I think I’m addicted to steampunk now! I especially like the way Westerfeld made the novel as a clash between Clankers v. Beasties. The Leviathan is simply awesome. The description of it was vivid—I felt like I could see and smell everything that went on in that giant ship. The illustrations by Keith Thompson add so much to the novel as well. They are simply beautiful drawings and lend such description to the scenes. A picture truly is worth a thousand words in this book. Being that it is my first foray into the genre, I found the artwork helped me imagine what the world was like—what the ships and land machines looked like. The novel is a clash between two types of technologies which are each unique and well thought out.

At the end of the novel, Scott Westerfeld writes an Afterword about the historical period and what artistic license he took with the history of WWI. These last few pages made the book more interesting to me and made me want to read more on The Great War. I will warn you that the book doesn’t really have a true ending so you will most likely want to run out and buy Behemoth after you finish. For parents who want their pre-teens and teens to show more interest in history class, this is a great novel to pick up and read. I also think this is a good novel for people wanting to expose themselves to steampunk without getting bogged down in complicated explanations of technology that might exist in adult novels. It’s a quick read, plot driven, and kept me turning the pages. I feel a little less intimidated by steampunk and look forward to reading Behemoth and further exploring the genre.


 Links of Note
Samples of the illustrations in Leviathan
Scott Westerfeld’s Webpage




**I am a Book Depository and IndieBound afilliate so If you purchase any of the books I have featured through the links I posted or from the banners in my left hand sidebar, I get a small commission from them. I am in no way compensated for the reviews I post of my books.



I read this book for the Steampunk Challenge.

Against a Dark Background - Iain M. Banks

Book: Against a Dark Background
Author: Iain M. Banks (click name to view author's website)
Publisher: Orbit
613 pages
My Rating: 3 of 5 stars



Lady Sharrow is a former antiquities thief and pilot that is being pursued by a religious sect called the Huhsz that believe that only with the death of Sharrow will their messiah be born. Sharrow decides to go on a journey to seek the eighth and final Lazy Gun which she believes will help her survive the Huhsz pursuit and end their vendetta against her. Sharrow was part of a team that disassembled the seventh Lazy Gun which caused a nuclear explosion of apocalyptic proportions and killed many residents of the city she was in. Now infamous for the event, Sharrow seems to only be loved by her small band of friends that pursues the Lazy Gun with her.

I wanted to like this book. The cover and binding were beautiful. I got sucked into the "judging a book by its cover" yet again with different results this time. While I didn't hate Against a Dark Background, the book fell short of its expectations for me. It's entirely possible that I shouldn't have chosen this book as my first Iain M. Banks read because his Culture series is his most famous and respected to date. I will be honest and say that the cover of this book popped out at me at the bookstore and this is why I chose it. I may also be unfairly judging the book because I remember trying to choose to read this book or Dan Simmons' Hyperion when it was my turn to select a book for my real life book club. I chose Hyperion, and it was fantastic which may have led to me having unrealistic expectations for this novel.

Let me say that I knew nothing about Banks' writing other than he is a respected science fiction author. This book was chosen for the July Book of the Month in my Fantasy/Science Fiction Book of the Month group on Shelfari. Without the discussion in the group I would likely have chosen to not review this book at all. It took me five weeks to read and when I finished I realized that large chunks of the plot had already disappeared from my memory.

There were things that were enjoyable in the book. Once I realized that the book had very British humor in it, I started to enjoy it much more. There was some wonderful banter between the characters which had me chuckling more than a few times--the dialogue was quite witty! Some of the situations were hysterical as well and were reminiscent of Firefly and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Most science fiction fans will look at my last sentence and say, "How was this book not fantastic when you mention that awesome TV show and book in the same sentence?!" For me, I wasn't able to connect with any of the characters except for the android Feril who I loved. There was an aloofness about most of the characters, and they all seemed to driven in very unemotional ways. I will say that their behavior lent to VERY good discussion in my Shelfari group. The two other people who were familiar with Banks' work said that he often writes characters like this. Their motivations don't necessarily give the reader any emotional connection to them or even emotional connections with each other. The theme is focused on individuality rather than collectively as a group. While talking about this with the other members of the group, I actually began to find the book more interesting and thought much more about it after learning this. It even fit in with the title of the book (which I will not spoil for you, but there is a subtle meaning in it which I missed but someone else in the group picked up on).

Did the discussion make it better for me? Absolutely. I thought the discussion was really meaningful so I definitely recommend this book for a book club. However, I wouldn't call it an enjoyable read. I think it challenges the reader in ways most books do not and will not. I think overall that is a good thing--we as readers sometimes need to challenge our thought process and philosophies while reading.

I would say that if given the chance to start over though, I would probably choose to read the Culture books first. I will give the first in that series, Consider Phlebas a try and see if I enjoy it more. If not, maybe Mr. Banks' work isn't for me. I do think there is an audience for his books though. His writing is fantastic and thoughtful, but I think for my personal tastes I have to be able to connect with the characters in a meaningful way. It doesn't matter whether I love them or hate them, I just have to care about them enough to have an emotional response which didn't really happen while I was reading this book. **Note: This is actually part of why I think the book is worthwhile to read. I think it was meant to evoke a lack of emotional response to the characters which is VERY challenging!

The Rowan - Anne McCaffrey

It's time for my Anne McCaffrey book of the month which I participate in through Anne McCaffrey and All Her Worlds on Shelfari. I actually finished the book over a week ago, but I was feeling pretty uninspired to write a review at the moment, so I thought I'd let the book digest a little before I wrote a blog post about it.

The Rowan is a story about a young woman named Rowan who is born with psionic talents. As a toddler her village is destroyed and her family killed by a mudslide. She is found after her cries of distress disturb the other talents. Because her cries were so loud, the talents knew she was profoundly gifted and she was placed with a Prime Talent to help her hone her skills of telepathy and telekinesis. Over time, her skills allow her to be placed as a Prime Talent on another planet and she receives a distant call for help from a man named Jeff Raven, whose planet is being attacked by aliens. His calls for aid begin a relationship between the two of them that only two psionic talents could have.

After reading the book, I was a little disappointed at how disjointed it felt at some points. However, the thread for the book on the Anne McCaffrey and All Her Worlds group helped me gain a little more understanding as to why I felt this way. The book was originally a short story that Anne McCaffrey decided to expand on. The book was compelling, and I will read the second book of the series, but I was just left wanting for a little more detail. Rowan and Jeff's relationship was very sudden and intense which boring people like me don't quite understand. Someone in the group pointed out that the circumstances in which they fall in love was partially because Jeff accepted Rowan for who she was and wasn't intimidated by her powerful gift. After seeing that, I liked the book more. I will give the series one more try before I am likely to give up on it. Everyone in the group says that Damia is written much better and is a much more fulfilling story so I am excited about reading it. I did enjoy certain aspects of the book (using gifted people to be stevedores was a great concept I think) and I did like the characters in the book. I am looking forward to better plot development in the next book in the series.

I do really enjoy participating in Book of the Month groups because people's insights oftentimes help me pick up on things I've missed or hadn't thought about in the book. Do any of you participate in book clubs or book of the month groups? Let me know what you think of them and why you have or haven't joined one!

The Rise of Endymion - Dan Simmons

It's my final review of 2009! Fittingly, it is the last book of a series that I just finished reading on New Year's Eve! The Rise of Endymion by Dan Simmons closes out the Hyperion Cantos has a very satisfying end. I have to admit that this book was much harder to get through than the first three books of the series because it was much more descriptive and verbose than the previous three books. Simmons does write in intricate detail what things looked like and Raul's experiences while 'casting. It got a little bit tedious to read and I ended up putting the book down for about a month because I was tired of reading about Raul's adventures in the sky. Little did I know that if I had just pressed on for about another 20 pages, the book picked up the pace.

For all you fans of the first three books, you will understand the Void Which Binds, Aenea's purpose, farcasting/freecasting, the Technocore, and any other questions that may be lingering. I really felt that if you only wanted to read Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion that it was sufficient to just read those two. After reading The Rise of Endymion I feel like I have a better understanding of the inner workings of the Core and The Void Which Binds. It was a beautifully written book with characters that I cared a great deal about. In the limited time I have read science fiction, it is my favorite series. It was masterfully written despite the sometimes overly descriptive writing. I do feel like Simmons could have shortened the book by 100-200 pages and it would have been fantastic, but I am still quite satisfied with the book overall. I also liked that the end of the book was a true ending without any questions left over. I highly recommend it for any fans of science fiction or even those that like space opera films like Star Wars or Star Trek.

I am so excited to continue reviewing books and start my 2010 challenges! It has been so much fun to become a member of the book blogging community. I hope everyone has a great last night of 2009 and Happy New Year to you all!

Anne McCaffrey BotM - Dragonflight

I joined Shelfari a few months ago and got an invite to join an Anne McCaffrey group soon after I signed up. It is my FAVORITE group on Shelfari. We have great conversations about Ms. McCaffrey's books and about lots of off-topic subjects too! Last month, we started reading a Book of the Month and the book was the first Dragonriders of Pern novel - Dragonflight. It had been over 15 years since I last read the book which I remember enjoying a lot as a kid. It was published in 1967 or 1968 and was Anne McCaffrey's first novel about Pern if I am remembering correctly.



A few observations that I definitely did not pick up on as a child:

• The Masterweaver in the novel is named Zurg so the whole time I was reading it I was thinking of the Evil Emperor Zurg from Toy Story (which most definitely did not exist when I was a kid)
• The Weyrleader F'lar shook Weyrwoman Lessa a lot which we all agreed in the group would probably not happen if she wrote the book in more contemporary times.
• I found Lessa to be more petulant as an adult than I did as a child. I still love her though!

It was such a treat to be able to pick up the book again after so many years. While time may have changed and some of the behavior in the book is a little archaic (like F'lar's behavior toward Lessa), I still enjoyed the book just as much as I did when I was younger. I loved how reacquainting myself with the Lessa's story--how she grew up as a drudge in Ruatha after Fax came and invaded the Hold, and her move to Benden Weyr where she Impresses a gold dragon named Ramoth that is about as strong willed as she is. It has also been many years since Thread has fallen and F'lar is trying to get the few dragons that remain ready to fight it.

When I was in Powell's books a few years ago, one of the employees said that, "No one does dragons better than Anne McCaffrey." It's true. I love her description of them and the special bond they have with their riders. I love the way she makes them such an integral part of the story and how they have such individual personalities. Rereading this book reminds me why I dreamed of living on Pern as a kid and even today I still feel that if I could live on a fictional planet, Pern would be my choice. I am so connected with all the characters since they each have their own stories in different books that in a strange way they are family to me. Dragonflight was just as special to read the second time around. I loved it and the Pern books will always be on my favorite list!

Endymion - Dan Simmons

It's been a few weeks since I last posted! I don't know whether I got a little burned out on reading, or if life just kind of got away from me the last two weeks. It did take me a full two weeks to finish Endymion by Dan Simmons, but it was worth the wait!

The book is about Raul Endymion--a man in his late 20s who is chosen by the poet Martin Silenus to find and rescue Brawne Lamia's daughter Aenea from the Pax government. The book has a lot of religious politics in it which I found really interesting. However, it was a little bit slower read through a lot of the book because of it. The story is a continuation of the Hyperion Cantos. I was a little surprised that there was another book after The Fall of Hyperion because all my questions were answered at the end of it. Dan Simmons weaves another great story out of all the elements from the first two books. The Technocore, cruciforms, and farcasters all play an important role in this book. I like how masterful Dan Simmons is at telling the story. There were times that I got so lost in the scenes that I could actually feel when he was describing how cold it was or how the gravity affected their bodies.

The android from the first book, A. Bettik, was also a prominent character in this third book. I really enjoyed reading about him even though he was such a minor character in the first book. He was no more than a passing mention really, but he is such a likeable character and has his own unique story that I'm glad Simmons made him a major part of this story.

Like Hyperion, Endymion ends in the middle. In other words, there is no resolution so I feel like I need to read the last book of the series pretty soon. So be warned, if you pick up the series, it's probably best to pick up all four books at the same time, or pick up the first two books at least (the last two happen ~270 years later so it's not necessary to read them all at once). This series is definitely on my top 10 books of all time so far. I have really enjoyed the series and think the quality of writing is superb.

The Fall of Hyperion - Dan Simmons

My book club is meeting at the end of October to discuss Hyperion by Dan Simmons. The book ended on such a cliffhanger that I wanted to read the next one in the series before we met. The Fall of Hyperion answered so many questions that I had from the first book and was just as masterfully written as the first.

I think I mentioned that I saw a man perusing the Science Fiction section of Barnes and Noble so I went ahead and asked him what authors he recommended. Dan Simmons (and his Hyperion Cantos) was one of the first people he mentioned. I went through Simmons' books and decided that even though the cover of the book was really strange, I'd go ahead and give it a try. I am so glad I did. Both Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion are probably the best science fiction I have ever read (not that I'm that well-versed in science fiction). If there are any John Keats fans out there, then you'll probably know that Simmons based some of his characters on Keats and his poems (i.e., The Fall of Hyperion, Endymion, and Lamia come to mind). I loved that he melded in classic British poetry into the books.

I don't remember exactly how the first book ends. I think it ended with the pilgrims walking toward the Time Tombs to confront the Shrike. I was so disappointed with the end! It was one of those moments where you feel like someone stole some pages from your book! I should have picked up The Fall of Hyperion right away, but of course I didn't. I felt a little lost through part of the book because I had read so many books in between. Eventually though, it all came back to me and I really got addicted. There are so many answers in this book. The fate of all the pilgrims is resolved as well as some lingering questions about the World Web and the Techno Core.

I highly recommend both books. I was so satisfied with the ending of The Fall of Hyperion that I immediately started reading the next book in the series, Endymion. If science fiction isn't something you normally read and you want to try it, this book will be sure to challenge you and suck you in. I am secretly hoping that the cliffhanger ending will encourage my book club members to pick up this book and read it as well. It's just as good as the first and has a very satisfying conclusion.

Hyperion - The Detective's Tale and The Consul's Tale (BEWARE!! Some spoilers included)

The past few days I read more on Hyperion. I finished the book last night! It was kind of a bunch of different kinds of science fiction all wrapped into one. I really enjoyed the book and all the different tales.

The Detective's Tale is about Brawne Lamia. She is a detective that becomes a bodyguard to one of the clients in her story. Don't worry...it does relate to the Shrike just as each story does! The Detective's Tale was more cyber punk-y than the other ones. Reading it reminded me a little of the beginning of Neal Stephenson's, The Diamond Age and the movie A.I. (with Haley Joel Osment). At times it was a little difficult to read because of my limited science fiction technology knowledge, but overall I really enjoyed it. It also brought a little bit of a biblical savior type story to the book which I found interesting. Dan Simmons weaves religion into the book in an interesting way.

The Consul's Tale was the last tale of the book. This tale was supposed to answer all our questions right?!! Wrong! It answered some, left some unanswered, and left me with a smile on my face. The Consul's Tale tells a relationship with a woman, dolphins that speak with humans, and a rebel war. All I can say after I finished The Consul's Tale was that now I need to read the next book in the series.

I think my book club is going to be upset with me for choosing this book because there isn't a neat end to it. Who knows though. They may love it. Time will tell! I really enjoyed it overall. It was one of the better science fiction books I've read (although I haven't read very many). I like that Dan Simmons was so versatile that he was able to write very distinct tales with relative ease. I really liked the character development and the progression of the story. I definitely recommend it any science fiction reader. It might be a little much if you are wanting to try out the science fiction genre, but it's still a great read.

Hyperion - The Poet's Tale and The Scholar's Tale

I knew that The Poet's Tale would challenge me. The poet, Martin Silenus is a brash and foul-mouthed man who is a renowned poet. His tale was somewhat difficult to read because I really didn't like him that much, but in the end I see his purpose as a pilgrim in the book.

The Scholar's Tale was incredible. It was probably the most thoughtful of the four tales I've read so far. Sol Weintraub is a professor who's pilgrimmage (like the other pilgrims) is deeply personal. To me, it has been the most emotional of the tales thus far.

I like that the tales are all so distinct from one another. I think Dan Simmons is definitely a gifted writer.

I purposely don't write too much about the book in case anyone who reads this ever decides to pick up the book and give it a go. I don't want to give away too many details and ruin the story for anyone. I will say that of the few science fiction books I've read, this is probably the best one. I am thankful that I asked a man in Barnes and Noble what authors he liked because this was his suggestion. The book has been unbelievably good so far and really thoughtful as well.

Hyperion - The Soldier's Tale

I just finished reading The Soldier's Tale in Hyperion. Wow....I am not sure what to say about it. I am a little nervous at what my book club is going to think of this tale. It tells Colonel Kassad's story of why he is one of the chosen to embark on the pilgrimage to find the Shrike. The tale includes war, his love for a woman that is a mystery to him, and ends with a cliffhanger as to how the other pilgrims are affected by his story.

I will say that if you do choose this book for a book club, there are some graphic violent scenes and graphic sex scenes in this tale. However, in my opinion, the last two pages of the tale made all the back story worth the read.

Up next...The Poet's Tale. I will try to read that tomorrow or Monday. I am really impressed with the book so far--especially since I'm not a huge hard core science fiction reader (I have read much more fantasy).

Hyperion - Dan Simmons

A few years ago, I started a book club with some friends. Every time we meet, we discuss a book that someone in the group chose and then introduce the next choice. Every person in the group gets to pick the book of their choice--no limitations. This time around it was my choice. So far, no one has chosen a Science Fiction book so I asked for recommendations at Barnes and Noble and chose Hyperion by Dan Simmons.

The book won the Hugo Award in 1990 and is about a group of pilgrims that go to the planet Hyperion to confront and find the answers to the riddles of their lives. Mixed in with this is a mysterious being called The Shrike whom some worship, others fear, and some want to destroy (paraphrased from the back of the book).

The book has a Canterbury Tales feel to it with each pilgrim sharing their own personal story.

I am about 100 pages into the book and REALLY enjoying it so far. I've read the first tale (The Priest's Tale) which was amazing! I'll write more as soon as I finish the book.