Believable Humans; Unbelievable Aliens -- Review of Robert J. Sawyer's "Rollback"

NEW SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY REVIEWS

Reviews Of Recently Published Science Fiction And Fantasy Books

Reviewer: Forrest Schultz schultz_forrest@yahoo.com 770-583-3258

Blog Address: http://newsciencefictionandfantasyreviews.blogspot.com

December 23, 2014

Believable Humans; Unbelievable Aliens

A Review of

Robert J. Sawyer "Rollback" (Tor, 2007)

                 327pp   $12.99   ISBN: 978-765-31108-5

Reviewer: Forrest Schultz

      After reading this book it is easy to understand why its author has won so many science fiction writing awards. It deftly combines two of the most interesting SF themes: SETI and biological rejuvenation, which is the process indicated by its title. The attempted rollback of the elderly couple who are the main characters of the story is only partially successful -- the process is unable to rejuvenate the wife, who is the top SETI scientist. (The psychological impact of this upon the couple immediately reminded me of a similar situation in an old Twilight Zone episode.) The result sets the stage for a great tale well thought out and well written. The SETI facet of the story, however, is only partially successful: the communications sent by the aliens are believable but NOT their biology: we have to suspend our disbelief; and Sawyer, as a great novelist, enables us to do so. This confirms what Asimov said a very long time ago about the impossibibility of creating a believable alien, which is why he never had aliens in his stories. Sawyer chose the tougher way -- writing so well that the reader forgets their unbelievability and gets enthralled in the story. I wish to thank Sherry Thompson for recommending Sawyer to me. As C. S. Lewis said, one of the greatest things someone can teach you is recommending which authors to read.

How To Conduct Scientific Research in Plain Sight --- A Review of the SF Element in Stephen King's "Revival"

NEW SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY REVIEWS

Reviews Of Recently Published Science Fiction And Fantasy Books

Reviewer: Forrest Schultz schultz_forrest@yahoo.com 770-583-3258

Blog Address: http://newsciencefictionandfantasyreviews.blogspot.com

December 16, 2014

How To Conduct Clandestine Scientific Research In Plain Sight

A Review of the Science Fiction Element in

Stephen King Revival (Scribner, 2014)

                       $17.04     405 pp     ISBN: 978-1476770383

Reviewer:  Forrest W. Schultz    

      Stephen King's Revival is a horror novel with an important science fiction element involving a man who is able to keep his electricity research secret by conducting it under the guise of a faith healing ministry: the sick are not being healed by the Holy Ghost, but by a hidden electrical gizmo he devised for that purpose. No one suspects anything because this man is not a scientist or a medical doctor, but a former Methodist pastor. Although King lets the reader in on this secret, he does not tell us anything about the scientific basis underlying the character's gizmo: the only thing he notes about the source of his character's ideas is several arcane books from the remote past, which sound more like mysticism than science! And, indeed, the horror atmosphere of the story is not akin to science fiction, as usually considered, but to stories like those of H. P. Lovecraft. My purpose in this review is only to note what I have just mentioned about the science fiction element, so I shall not say anything more about King's book except to say that it is one of his best.

Hyper-Complexity In Today's Christian Fiction -- A Review Of Harry Kraus's "A Heartbeat Away"

NEW SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY REVIEWS

Reviews Of Recently Published Science Fiction And Fantasy Books

Reviewer: Forrest Schultz schultz_forrest@yahoo.com 770-583-3258

Blog Address: http://newsciencefictionandfantasyreviews.blogspot.com/

October 14, 2014

Hyper-Complexity In Today's Christian Fiction

A Review of

Harry Kraus A Heartbeat Away (David C. Cook, 2012)

384 pp $13.20 ISBN-13: 978-1434702579

Reviewer: Forrest Schultz

There are many excellent qualitities in this book by Harry Kraus (which I applaud), which you can read in the reviews of this book already written. Please consider them as included by reference here so I can focus my attention on one serious flaw which almost everyone seems to be overlooking, which was also overlooked by all but one reviewer of Sue Dent's Forever Richard. This flaw can not be understood without a knowledge of the historical background of the mainstream Christian fiction immediately preceding our time.

It is not clear to me whether or not the typical Christian fiction of this period of time was as simplistic as is usually supposed, but it is clear that many Christians writing today wish to disassociate themselves from it for that reason: they do not wish for their fiction to be regarded as simplistic. This is good, but there is a danger of overrection by producing fiction that suffers from hyper-complexity. The book by Sue Dent referred to and the book under review here both are characterized by this hyper-complexity, which is very unfortunate because it is a blot on otherwise good stories. For instance, A Heartbeat Away deals with a very interesting phenomenon -- cellular memories in transplanted hearts. But soon this fascinating cellular memories phenomenon becomes choked by the weeds of the ever more hyper-complex plot which develops concerning the identity of the heart donor and the crime which led to the death of the donor.

The solution to this problem will not be reached until Christian writers are able to discern that this hyper-complexity is a pseudo-sophistication, not a true sophistication.

Mystery On A Spaceship -- Review of Pauline Creeden's "Abiding Flame"

NEW SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY REVIEWS

Reviews Of Recently Published Science Fiction And Fantasy Books

Reviewer: Forrest Schultz schultz_forrest@yahoo.com 770-583-3258

Blog Address: http://newsciencefictionandfantasyreviews.blogspot.com/

August 2, 2014

Mystery On A Spaceship

A Review of

Pauline Creeden Abiding Flame (Create Space, 2014)

                            342 pp    $11.69    ISBN: 978-1500225575

Reviewer: Forrest W. Schultz

      Most of this tale unfolds in a spaceship having cabins for its passengers which are reminiscent of those in the Pullman Railroad cars in their heyday, and the intrigue of the tale is reminiscent of the mysteries from days of yore which were set in those trains. But the spaceship and its crew and passengers are ultra-modern, and the demon who is hitching a ride also behaves like demons often do in modern tales, where he is more a figure of amusement than horror, although he does have a nefarious goal in mind -- he is the unseen unknown terrorist! And the writer is a modern Christian who knows how to tell a tale and to do so not just for entertainment, but also for edification, the main point being that humans are not the only actors on the world stage -- there are also unseen beings at work: demons and God, who is both a character and the Author.

      The framework of the story, which shall remain unmentioned here lest this be a "spoiler", was, to me lacking in verisimilitude, so that it would have been preferable, as Creeden did in Sanctuary, to have left it unknown and mysterious. And, although Lynette Lamb is a woman of great faith, I much preferred the exciting Jennie in Sanctuary -- there is no one like that in this story. Abiding Flame has interesting features but lacks the pizzazz of Sanctuary.

Natural Versus Artificial Clash in Latest Gannah Story -- Review of Yvonne Anderson's "Ransom in the Rock [Gannah #3}

NEW SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY REVIEWS

Reviews Of Recently Published Science Fiction And Fantasy Books

Reviewer: Forrest Schultz schultz_forrest@yahoo.com 770-583-3258

Blog Address: http://newsciencefictionandfantasyreviews.blogspot.com/

August 1, 2014

Natural Vs. Artificial Clash in Latest Gannah Story

A Review of

Yvonne Anderson Ransom in the Rock [Gateway to Gannah #3] (Create Space, 2014)

300 pp $13.50 ISBN-13: 978-1499132144

Reviewer: Forrest W. Schultz

The focus of Yvonne Anderson's third Gannah volume is on the enmity which Karkar has for Gannah which is rooted in the clash between artificiality and naturalness. This clash is there from the beginning when the Karkarians land on Gannah to return fifteen year old Lileela after the ten years of medical treatment she had on Karkar, after which it is seen within Lileela as she struggles to overcome the artificiality she had adopted on Karkar to re-adapt to the naturalness of Gannah. Dassa, as the Toqeph of Gannah, is still very important to the story but is not central to it as she was in the first two books. She also is now no longer a young woman but is middle-aged. The story also provides additional information on Gannah as well as Karkar.

A major component in the Karkarian artificiality is its over dependence upon robots, which is reminiscent of the robot-addiction of the Spacer Worlds in Isaac Asimov's Foundation Universe. But its most grievous fault is its man-centeredness which leads to the rejection of the authority of God and the salvation He provides for repentant sinners. This anti-God mentality is at the root of the artificiality and the rejection of natural living, which is shown in the Gannah books, especially this one And, like its predecessors, this one is a good read -- we care about the characters and are carried along by an interesting story.

The fourth Gannah book, The Last Toqeph, is scheduled to be released this fall. Information on the author is available at Y's Words.

Onward Christiam Spacemen!! -- Or Not??!! -- Review of Joe Chiappetta's "Star Chosen"

NEW SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY REVIEWS

Reviews Of Recently Published Science Fiction And Fantasy Books

Reviewer: Forrest Schultz schultz_forrest@yahoo.com 770-583-3258

Blog Address: http://newsciencefictionandfantasyreviews.blogspot.com/

May 1, 2014

Onward Christian Spacemen!! --- Or Not??!!

A Review of

Joe Chiappetta Star Chosen ( Self-Published, 2010)

126 pp $10.00 ISBN: 978-0-9644323-2-1

Reviewer: Forrest W. Schultz

The Christians in this humorous science fiction tale, like Christians in real life, argue about all kinds of things among themselves, the central one in the story being whether or not evangelists should be sent to space colonies. Christians now have the opportunity to do so since the (anti-religious) Earth government has rescinded its ban on Christians traveling into space. The funniest of the anti-space arguments claims that any Christians in space will be left behind when the Rapture occurs. This is but one indication that, although the technology of the age has greatly advanced (they now have excellent spaceships and Virtual Reality games), the spiritual and theological condition of Christians has clearly not improved!

Although this portrayal is realistic, the framework of the story -- that the government deleted all history and the Bible from computers -- is lacking in verisimilitude. The story does have value in showing us the importance of knowing the Bible and history. Of course, the story does not claim to be "hard" science fiction -- the author designates it as "opera", a term which has now come into widespread use for non-hard sf.

The rapid construction of the special missionary spaceship was fun to read about, BUT this is followed by a let down in what transpires once it goes forth on its missionary journey. I would recommend reading the book up until the spaceship's launch and then putting it down. Also, if a film is to be made, omit the book's ending and show a glamorous ending with the spaceship blasting off into space, like a cowboy riding off into the sunset, with a pious voice proclaiming "Go ye into all the Cosmos and preach the Gospel".

Information on this and other books by the author is available on his blog http://www.joechiappetta.blogspot.com./

A Look At The Third Sulexian Story Of Aubrey Williams -- Review of His "The Warrior"

NEW SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY REVIEWS

Reviews Of Recently Published Science Fiction And Fantasy Books

Reviewer: Forrest Schultz schultz_forrest@yahoo.com 770-583-3258

Blog Address: http://newsciencefictionandfantasyreviews.blogspot.com

 

April 25, 2014

 

A Look At The Third Sulexian Story of Aubrey Williams

 

A Review of

 

Aubrey Williams The Warrior [Book Three of the Sulexian Chronicles] (Publish America, 2013)

                290 pp $24.95 ISBN: 978-1-62772-714-3

 

Reviewer: Forrest W. Schultz

 

     I found the warrior referred to in the title to be the most interesting of the people in this story. There are also other interesting characters and some striking, unusual factors in the plot, although most of it is standard fantasy material. The story is worth reading but it takes a lot of effort to do so. There is considerable improvement needed. As it is, like the first two books of this quadrilogy, there are way too many characters and too many different kinds of mages and gods and realms, and way too much jumping around from place to place and from time to time and way too many magic battles. The result is a story that is very hard to follow and to connect all the different places and characters and events into a coherent picture. The author should regard this as a rough draft to be replaced by a revised version which corrects the noted deficiencies. Then it will be a great story.

 

     Information on the author and his writing is available at https://aewilliams.sqsp.com/

 

A Wizard Learns The Trade of Magic and The Magic of Love -- Review of Wizard and the Blue Witch by P J Renfroe

NEW SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY REVIEWS

Reviews Of Recently Published Science Fiction And Fantasy Books

Reviewer: Forrest Schultz schultz_forrest@yahoo.com 770-583-3258

Blog Address: http://newsciencefictionandfantasyreviews.blogspot.com/

April 14, 2014

A Wizard Learns The Trade of Magic and The Magic of Love

A Review of

P J Renfroe Wizard and the Blue Witch (Create Space, 2013)

170 pp $7.95 ISBN: 9781481040600

Reviewer: Forrest Schultz

In this delightful tale by Peggie DeWine, who writes under the pseudonymn of P J Renfroe, both the Wizard and the Blue Witch are the main "good guys", who are arrayed against "bad guys" both supernatural (such as vampires) and political (The One World Order). I suppose that the main reason the tale is so delightful is that both the Wizard and The Blue Witch are such delightful characters, with whom it is easy to empathize and care about. If, at the end of a story, you have a longing to read more about characters such as these, then you know you have read a good read. AND we learn at the very end of the story that this opportunity will be provided because a sequel has been written which will be published a few months hence -- Cajax Learns The Trade. I am looking forward to it.

And that is about all I wish to say here, except for the addendum that the author also spins good tales in other genres, e.g. her science fiction story Blue Snake Running and her mystery story The Black Valise, which I also recommend. Information on Renfroe and the other members of the Henry County, Georgia based Heritage Writers Group, which she founded, is available at http://heritagewritersga.weebly.com/.

Treks and Tricks Galore in Lee Duigon's New Bell Mountain Book, The Palace

NEW SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY REVIEWS

Reviews Of Recently Published Science Fiction And Fantasy Books

Reviewer: Forrest Schultz schultz_forrest@yahoo.com 770-583-3258

Blog Address: http://newsciencefictionandfantasyreviews.blogspot.com/

April 9, 2014

Treks and Tricks Galore in Lee Duigon's New Bell Mountain Book, The Palace

A Review of

Lee Duigon The Palace[Book 6 of the Bell Mountain Series] (Storehouse Press, 2013)

321 pp $18.00 ISBN: 978-1-891375-64-4

Reviewer: Forrest W. Schultz

If I were to sing, instead of write, this review, the first verse would be "whole lotta trekkin' goin' on" followed by a second verse "whole lotta trickin' goin' on". Read it and see if you can make up an appropriate third verse. The trekkin' is similar to the treks in the previous stories -- military movements, abductions, people sneaking around, and the like. What really stands out in this, most recent, Bell Mountain book is the two examples of "trickin". The bad guys keep talking about a Thunder King (who actually does not exist), who supposedly is ordering them to do certain things and send (in his name) various decrees. And the good King, Ryons, who actually does exist, has two people impersonating him, leading us to say, as they used to on that famous TV show from days of yore, "Will The Real King Ryons please stand up??!!".

As with the previous stories, this one moves along with fast-paced exciting action and dialogue and is suffused with various Biblical principles and analogies. And, as with the others, it is written for juvenile readers but is also interesting, perhaps even more so, for teen and adult readers. Jack and Ellayne are back, and it has now been two years since the beginning of their adventure and some time is spent by them looking back over them. The picture on the front cover shows Jack's most hair-raising experience in this tale, climbing up the outside wall of a palace to escape from the room in which he was being imprisoned.

I highly recommend this story as I have the previous ones. Information on the author is available on his website http://www.leeduigon.com./

A Very Unusual Boy--And--His--Dog Story -- Review of Bruce Cameron's "A Dog's Purpose"

NEW SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY REVIEWS

Reviews Of Recently Published Science Fiction And Fantasy Books

Reviewer: Forrest Schultz schultz_forrest@yahoo.com 770-583-3258

Blog Address: http://newsciencefictionandfantasyreviews.blogspot.com

 

April 2, 2014

 

A  Very  Unusual  Boy – And – His – Dog  Story

A Review of

W. Bruce Cameron  A Dog’s Purpose (NY:  Tom Doherty Assocs., 2010)

                                     314 pp    ISBN: 978-0-7653-2626-3

Reviewed by:  Forrest W. Schultz

     Stories of a boy and his dog have always been among my favorites.  One of the best of these I have ever read – and the most unusual – is Bruce Cameron’s.  The title is well chosen because this is a story of a dog telling us how he found his purpose in life.  Or, perhaps I should say, “lives”, because this dog had to live several lives before he learned and achieved his purpose.

     This story is the best one I have ever read showing how things look from a dog’s perspective.  As this dog narrates his experiences we find ourselves empathizing with him.  The experiences range all the way from the mundane to the poignant to the humorous.  The story is so captivating and so well written that it is difficult to put down.  I highly recommend it.

 

A Story About The Gifted From a Highly Gifted Author -- A Review of Laura Burroughs' "The Foxes of Caminus"

NEW SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY REVIEWS

Reviews Of Recently Published Science Fiction And Fantasy Books

Reviewer: Forrest Schultz schultz_forrest@yahoo.com 770-583-3258

Blog Address: http://newsciencefictionandfantasyreviews.blogspot.com

October 18, 2013

A Story About "The Gifted" By a Highly Gifted Author

A Review of

Laura Burroughs The Foxes of Caminus (Burroughs Books, Inc., 2013)
                            ISBN: 978-0-615-86181-4

Reviewed by: Forrest Schultz

      The publishing of books by Coweta County authors has been booming for some time now. And the writing of some of these books has taken a lot of work and a lot of time. A case in point is the most recently published one -- The Foxes of Caminus -- the debut novel of Laura Thomas, who lives near Moreland and who writes under her maiden name, Laura Burroughs. It soon becomes clear to the reader that the writing of this tale involved an enormous amount of research in fields as diverse as physics and history and religion (to name a few) -- as well as a great amount of work in world-building and character development. (And some of these characters are "real characters"!). The Foxes in the title refers (mainly) to the teenage twins Harlie and Anya Fox and (secondarily) to their parents [usually through flashbacks]. Caminus is both the name of a secret island and its Academy, which provides an unusual education, which is super-modern in some ways and super-ancient in others. Both the Foxes and Caminus are quite interesting in ways too numerous to discuss in a review.

     This is a story about "The Gifted", i.e. children and young people with super-special abilities. The recent sad experience with the TV shows Heroes and Alphas and Touch shows that it takes a specially gifted author to be able to write good stories about The Gifted, the chief lesson being that the focus should be on the gifts and the gifted themselves and not on attempts by criminals to kidnap them, exploit them, etc. Burroughs has learned this lesson well. There is criminal activity involved but the main story line is the understanding of and education in and development of and proper use of the gifts themselves, and of the personal relationships among the Gifted and their teachers. The lesson here is that only a highly gifted author can write a good story about The Gifted!!

     The genre of Burrough's story is partially fantasy -- the locale is a secret island and there are mystic texts and objects in the story -- but it is mainly science fiction: it involves super-advanced computers and other technological devices and exotic physics (zero point fields, nanotechnology, quantum entanglement, etc.).

     This is the first book in a series. The Kindle Edition is already out and the print book will be published soon. (For my review I used the printed manuscript, which contains 264 pages.)

     Information is available at http://www.burroughsbooks.com/, which is one of the best written, organized, and most beautiful websites I have ever seen.

Russian Orthodox Literary Concern Rekindled: Nicholar Kotar Pens Russian Fantasy -- Review of His "Raven Son"

NEW SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY REVIEWS

Reviews Of Recently Published Science Fiction And Fantasy Books

Reviewer: Forrest Schultz schultz_forrest@yahoo.com 770-583-3258

Blog Address: http://newsciencefictionandfantasyreviews.blogspot.com/

March 12, 2014

Russian Orthodox Literary Concern Rekindled:

Nicholar Kotar Pens Russian Fantasy

A Review of

Nicholas Kotar "Raven Son" (Conquering Time Pubs., 2014)

$16.95 282 pp ISBN: 978-0-61596-02702

Reviewer: Forrest W. Schultz

The examples set by C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien are producing concern for literature among Protestants and Roman Catholics, but there has been no such example for Russian Orthodox believers since Fyodor Dostoevsky. Nicholas Kotar belongs to a Russian Orthodox community based in California which intends to do something about this, and his book under review here is a means toward that end. One of the attached photos shows him speaking on the subject to the "Prav Mir" group, and the other one shows the cover of his book, which is a fantasy based on traditional Russian legends and fairy tales.

I recommend this book for anyone who likes fantasy, and I especially recommend it to those who would like to read a fantasy placed in a traditional Russian milieu and incorporating Russian fantasy elements. The story is like Dostoevsky in grabbing and holding your interest but its characters, plot, and settings are very different -- it occurs in days of yore, not in the late 19th century! This story and these characters and these fantasy beings are quite memorable and attract your concern and are full of puzzles and surprises and mysteries, which call to mind the famous saying of Churchill about the mystery that is Russia!

For further information you can visit these sites: http://www.raven-son.org/,

http://www.conquering-time.org/, and www.pravmir.com/conquering-time-an-orthodox-cultural-response-to-the-world

Biology Is Not Borology -- Review of Bonnie Doran's "Dark Biology"

NEW SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY REVIEWS

Reviews Of Recently Published Science Fiction And Fantasy Books

Reviewer: Forrest Schultz schultz_forrest@yahoo.com 770-583-3258

Blog Address: http://newsciencefictionandfantasyreviews.blogspot.com/

 

March 10, 2014

 

Biology Is Not Borology

 

A Review of

 

Bonnie Doran Dark Biology (Harbourlight Books, 2014)

$15.99 333 pp ISBN: 978-1-61116-277-6

 

Reviewer: Forrest W. Schultz

 

One of the benefits of establishing a habitat in outer space is the opportunity to conduct experiments in a zero-gravity environment. In the book under review the hero, Dr. “Hildi” Hilebrandt, a CDC vaccinologist, just happens to be in such a habitat, the International Space Station, when a cure is needed quickly to prevent an influenza pandemic on Earth, which was started by the villain of the tale, her brother Chet, from the vial of a super-deadly virus stolen from a CDC lab. His nefarious deed is the “Dark” referred to in Dark Biology, an excellent title and quite apropos since Chet was acting under the influence of the Prince of Darkness!

 

This Prince has also, through the production of boring biology textbooks, succeeded in promoting the widespread notion that biology is boring, for which reason many of the students in my high school class called it “borology”. This fallacious notion has been amply refuted not only by the numerous accounts of interesting phenomena in biological studies, but also in interesting science fiction stories such as the one reviewed here. This story is also interesting in its portrayal of the relationships among the characters, especially in how they are affected by their relationship with God. And there are some interesting episodes in the trip to and from the ISS. And the story moves along at a good clip, so that the book is, to use my term, "notwannaputdownable"! Bonnie Doran is a welcome addition to the ranks of science fiction authors!

 

Information is available on her website http://www.bonniedoranbooks.com/.

The Second "Faeraven" Tale: Strange and Thought-Provoking -- Review of WayFarer by Janalyn Voigt

NEW SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY REVIEWS

Reviews Of Recently Published Science Fiction And Fantasy Books

Reviewer: Forrest Schultz schultz_forrest@yahoo.com 770-583-3258

Blog Address: http://newsciencefictionandfantasyreviews.blogspot.com/

March 7, 2014

The Second Faeraven Tale: Strange and Thought-Provoking

A Review of

Janalyn Voigt WayFarer (Harbourlight Books, 2013)

$15.99 261 pp ISBN: 978-1-61116-292-9

Reviewer: Forrest W. Schultz SPOILER ALERT: THIS REVIEW MAY "GIVE AWAY" THE STORY

The first book in Janalyn Voigt's Tales of Faeraven trilogy ends with Princess Shae's successful summoning of the world's saviour, which is followed, in the second book (under review here) by his strange reception from her brother Elcon, the High Prince of Faeraven. But, on a deeper level, it is actually not so strange after all, as is his strange romantic life, when we learn from the Author's Note (in the back of the book) that her story is an allegory!

Things get stranger still and even more thought-provoking because I like her tale and her characters, so much so that I find it difficult to harmonize with Tolkien's derogation of allegory. AND the characters, especially Elcon and Aewen and Arillia are so REAL and vibrant and moving that it is really really hard to think of them as allegories! I highly recommend reading this story both because it is a good tale and because it is thought-provoking.

Information is available on the author's website http://janalynvoigt.com/