Books: Dreaming Void, Dark Avengers, Deceitful Maps, Dangerous Werewolves, and a Conglomeroid Cockta

The Dreaming Void by Peter F. Hamilton

The first book in a new trilogy set in the same universe as Pandora's Star - Judas Unchained, but 1200 years further on. It seems the center of our galaxy consists of an alternate space known as the Void, where the laws of physics are different. A religious sect regards the Void as "heaven", and plans to make a pilgrimage there. Most everyone else fears this will cause the Void to devour the rest of the galaxy . . . Plus, every fourth chapter is set inside the Void, in an odd pseudo-fantasy world. Recommended.

Dark Avengers: Assemble by Bendis, Deodato

In the wake of an alien invasion, Tony Stark (Iron Man) is discredited and on the run, and Norman Osborn (the original Green Goblin) is being hailed as a national hero. He's now in charge of both SHIELD and the Avengers. Problem is, all the real heroes think he's a psychotic murderer, and won't work with him. So, he assembles a team of lookalikes: Moonstone as Ms. Marvel, Bullseye (who you might remember from the Daredevil movie) as Hawkeye, Venom as Spider-Man, etc. Norman himself paints a suit of Iron Man armor in red-white-and-blue and declares himself the Iron Patriot. In short, the new, publicly-lauded Avengers is made up of criminals and psychotics. The team is obviously doomed by forces both exterior and interior, but it's fun to read about them paddling as hard as they can to stay in one place. Recommended.

How to Lie With Maps by Mark Monmonier

A short and not terribly deep book on how maps must lie (because they present abstractions of reality), and how they can intentionally lie (by misrepresenting reality to support one agenda or another). It's a fascinating topic, but the book doesn't quite live up to it. Not enough real-world examples.

The Better to Hold You by Alisa Sheckley

I met Ms. Sheckley (a.k.a. Alisa Kwitney) at the last Arisia, and thus picked up her werewolf romance novel when it came out. Our heroine is a vet in New York, whose husband returns from Romania strangely changed . . . I found this book difficult to read, not for any of the conventional reasons, but because the antagonists are so unjust to the heroine, that I kept wanting to reach into the book and smack them around. Had to walk away a few times. If you like paranormal romance, recommended.

The Conglomeroid Cocktail Party by Robert Silverberg

A collection of fine SF stories from Silverberg's "short story renaissance" in the late 70s. Recommended.