Books: Spies, Moons, Wars, Islands, &c

[woodwardiocom]

The Books Of Earthsea by LeGuin, illustrated by Charles Vess

The Earthsea tales themselves (five novels, one collection, and assorted miscellany) are a mixed bag of classics. For me, the first three were formative and are beloved; the later works I have come to appreciate over the years as a necessary fix for the original trilogy. This massive omnibus is illustrated by famed fantasy artist Charles Vess, and I only wish he'd done more. Fifty-odd illustrations for a thousand page book are starkly insufficient. But hey, at least he remembered that most of the main characters are not white!

The Corporation Wars by Ken MacLeod

In a distant star system, a robot colony mission from Earth is in the early years of terraforming one of the planets. Conflict erupts between spontaneously intelligent robots and the corporate/government AIs running the mission, so the later wakes up some human minds to do the fighting (in robot bodies). The humans, as is typical for humans, bring a lot of political baggage with them, broadly similar to current issues, and the conflict quickly gets fractal. Intriguing questions of identity, reality, and freedom ensue. This omnibus collects a trilogy, and is not MacLeod's best, but still worth the read.

Dwellers In The Mirage/The Face In The Abyss by A. Merritt

I think I may have to admit that I just don't like Merritt very much. I got about halfway through Dwellers before giving up. Lots of obsession with race and bloodlines, lots of reincarnation foo-foo, lots of ancient evil lurking in the wilds.

Red Moon by Kim Stanley Robinson

I didn't finish this one, either, despite my fondness for Robinson. It reads like he wanted to write an essay on Chinese culture and politics, and wrapped a very thin novel around it. Not recommended.

Trickster's Choice/Trickster's Queen by Tamora Pierce

Fun two-volume series about a teenage spymaster who gets kidnapped by pirates, sold to a noble family in a neighboring kingdom, and is then instructed by one of the local gods to keep them alive while he throws the area into war. I rather feel like things go a little too easy for her, but there are still enough twists and setbacks for drama. Recommended.