An old Year-end Review for 2005

While cleaning up my hard drive, I found files where I kept track of the books I read for a given year. Someone had given me the idea (back in the 90s, I believe) to open a text file, and add the name of the book I'd read. What follows below looks like an "end of the year" post made to a bulletin board somewhere. It's past my time on Usenet. Many of these may have appeared elsewhere in this blog, if not the entire post itself. I'll post these files one per month.

It looks like 2005 was an old year. I don't remember even having some of these let alone reading them. Quite a few were library books, particularly the political ones, which were right next to the science fiction section at my local branch.

2005: The Year in Review

Horseclans #1: The Coming of the Horseclans,

Star Trek #29: Dreadnought, Diane Carey

Big Trouble, Dave Barry

At Any Cost: How Al Gore Tried to Steal the Election,

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, K. J. Anderson

Defcon One, Joe Weber

Sword and Shadow, Anne Marston

Star Trek: the Return, William Shatner

Men in Black: How the Supreme Court is Destroying America, Mark Levin

Peanuts: A Golden Celebration, Charles M. Schulz

3001: The Final Odyssey, Arthur C. Clarke

The Light Fantastic, Terry Pratchett

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, J. K. Rowling

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, C. S. Lewis

100 People Who Are Screwing Up America, Goldberg

1776,

The Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum

Magazines Anthologies: (some old issues that I had but never read)

The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, July 2000

What strikes me is that I not only have no recollection of Horseclans #1, but I didn't even remember reading it. It was a GURPS worldbook back in the 80s or 90s, which is had I would have even been aware of it. Likewise, I don't remember reading Dreadnought, or even owning a copy, or than the pair of books I bought as a Christmas present from a friend many years before this. The 1776 entry is also a head-scratcher, especially since there's no author attached to it -- ah, a quick net search shows it was written by David McCullough. I remember that now. I remember reading the bits about the Gowanus swamp and the Battle of Brooklyn because it happened in my backyard -- LITERALLY.

Interestingly, I don't seem to have tags for Pratchett or C. S. Lewis.

An old Year-end Review for 2003

While cleaning up my hard drive, I found files where I kept track of the books I read for a given year. Someone had given me the idea (back in the 90s, I believe) to open a text file, and add the name of the book I'd read. What follows below looks like an "end of the year" post made to a bulletin board somewhere. If it's 2003, it's past my time on Usenet. Many of these may have appeared elsewhere in this blog, if not the entire post itself. I'll post these files one per month.

2003: The Year in Review

I know this is a couple of weeks late, but what the hey, I'll post it anyway.

Books read in 2003. Not many as I drove to work for most of the year, losing my prime reading time on the subway. (At bedtime, I'm usually too exhausted to get more than a handful of pages. Teaching will do that.) And getting 12 teaching credits took up a lot of time. (Textbooks are excluded from my list.)

Anyway:

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, J.R.R. Tolkien. I was reading it when the year started, having never read it before.

Congo, Michael Crichton: Library sale book. Enjoyed it.

Mostly Harmless, Douglas Adams: Mostly crap.

Some "Buffy" book about Faeries by the author of Ghost Roads (another Buffy book I read a couple of years back). Actually, it was a good thing that I had read Ghost Roads because the author makes a lot of Buffy references, most of which I think I caught, from the show. When she tossed in a G.R. character reference, I was thrown at first. (Hey, that's non-canon stuff!)

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, J. K. Rowling: Probably my favorite one to date (though subject to change). I was totally taken in by this one, waiting for something so fricking obviously to happen and then have an alternate that I didn't suspect happen.

Destiny's Road, Larry Niven: Enjoyed it, very much. A world-building travelogue with a story wrapped around it so that you dont' realize that you have a world-building travelogue. (That's the way to do it.)

Kingmakers Sword, Ann Marston: First part of a trilogy I stumbled across a few years back. I found part I in the library. Great book, and it didn't matter that I know how some of it would turn out because I had read part II.

The Western King, Ann Marston: I had to reread it after part I. Still as good on the second read-through. Better, because I had part I as an intro this time.

(part three is on reserve at the library)

Holes, Louis Sachar: Saw the movie, so I read the book. I'll rank it as the best movie adaptation of a kids book that I've seen. Enjoyed the book, and appreciated that there was a little more to some of the characters in the book.

Star Trek: The Next Generation: Dyson Sphere: Thought it would be good, but I didn't particularly care for it. Like the use of Hortas, hated the story and the ending. Added Note: I didn't write down the author's name?

Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire, J. K. Rowling: Didn't thrill me as much as the others. The "one year per book" rule was a little strained as was the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Could've been shorter.

Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix, J. K. Rowling: OK, I'm caught up with the Potter books now. Liked it better than four, but I thought that some of it was either forced or unnecessary.

The Harry Potter books weren't a re-read. They were a first read. I was late to the party with those. I was initially turned off by online friends who complained how Scholastic Books had overly "Americanized" the first book.

Redshirts (Scalzi)

Redshirts, John Scalzi (2012)

(Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.)

I heard about this book when it came out, and those whom I trust with book recommendations found it to be hysterical, without telling me too much about it. I assumed it was going to be a Star Trek parody told from the view of the "red shirts", the folks who seem to get kidded off the most. (I say seem because people have done statistical analysis on episodes of Star Trek to see which color uniform has the highest death rate, and it apparently isn't red. But let's go with the raw numbes and the series that existed before the trope was named ...)

While I expected a little deconstruction and trope awareness, it went a little further to invoke "Star Trek" as a TV show, and then have the characters figure out that they were also on a TV show, and a bad one at that. And then they decide, using the tropes from the show, to do something about it. They had to use the show's trope lest actual physics take over and kill them all "off-screen".

The prologues started with an away team consisting of the senior officers and a couple of redshirts, pinned down on rock piles in a cave, with alien creatures tunneling beneath them. One crew member has already died, and the other is the point-of-view character, and also the son of an admiral (or whatever), who is a friend of Captain Abernathy. I thought that this was going to be his story about just how crazy everything is. But he doesn't make it out of the prologue, and I didn't bother scanning back for his name to write this. The senior officers lament his death, and I'm wondering how much of a bloodbath this is going to be.

Not much of one, as it turns out. And there's a reason that was just a prologue and not Chapter one.

The novel then starts at a space station with new crew members waiting to board the Intrepid: Ensigns Dahl, Duvall, Hanson, Hester, and Finn. The Intrepid is the flagship of the Universal Union, which is called the "Dub U" for short, which is better than "Double U", "U U", or the mathematical "U2" or "U-squared". (None of those are mentioned. I'm rambling.)

Things are odd and work in ways that they shouldn't, defying logic and physics, back conforming to established storytelling tropes, or, as it's come to be called, the "Narrative", which rules over all.

The Narrative is deadly to minor characters while saving the stars of the ship. People around them seem to die more often, while astrogator Anatoly Kerensky seems to suffer life-debilitating injuries every week, but manages to pull through, ready to go on another away mission within a week's time.

Though all this, the ensigns encounter Officer Jenkins, who has managed to stay off everyone's radar every since his wife passed away. He's the one who has figured out what's going on, and warns the newcomers. The problem is that they can't avoid their horrible fates. They can only foist it onto others for so long before the Narrative catches up with them and ends their story arc.

It wasn't what I expected, but I enjoyed what I got. Interesting to note is that the story ends about two-thirds to three-quarters of the way through the ebook, and is followed by three separate scenes, told in first-, second- and third-person, respectively, featuring minor 21st-century characters, showing how the story in the future affected them in the present. Saying more about them just leads to more spoilers than I've mentioned.

This wasn't Galaxy Quest level Star Trek, but it was up there.

They Called Us Enemy (Takei, Eisinger, Scott, Becker)

They Called Us Enemy , George Takei, Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott; Illustraded by Harmony Becker (2019)

IMAGE COMING

Not really a review, just reminding myself about some of the details of what I read ...

Last month, I got an email about an event at the Barnes & Nobles in Union Square. George Takei would be there signing his new book. Advance reservations were needed, and tickets included the price of one book. Everyone was told in advance that he would only signed these books, and did not pose for photos. It was an interesting evening. I just wish I'd picked a different seat. I sat in the center, a little farther back, instead of in a closer row on the side. I didn't know how they would call us up -- section by section or row by row. So I sat for a half hour more than I otherwise might have.

On the bright side, I got to read most of the book while I was waiting.

They Called Us Enemy is a graphic novel of a story I'd heard before. Takei has already published an autobiography, which I listened to many years ago. And I've heard a TED Talk he gave once. I believe this story as told here is based on a TED Talk, if only because there are "present day" scenes of him talking to an audience. (It could also blatantly say in the book that it was based on this, and I'm just not remembering it. Wouldn't be the first time.)

Putting the story in this form brings a new dimension to it, helping the reader to visualize what his family and other families went through. It also opens it up to a new generation who are big on graphic novels, and who might be spurred on to investigate further. (Takei's biography, for example.) And the story goes beyond the war, integrating back into society and fighting for the rights of many Japanese whose rights were trampled during their internment. Fascinating read.

That said, the parallels that they try to draw with current day political situations fall flat. No one will be awakened by the comparison. No opinions will be changed.

The most poignant parts of the book, were the father-son talks, particularly those after the war, when George learned things that he hadn't realized when he was just a child. Another important moment, as Takei started working politically to make the world a better place, he had the chance to meet Eleanor Roosevelt. Unfortunately, his father felt ill and went home early. Only later did he learn that his father faked the illness because he didn't want to shake the hand of the widow of the man who had put him through that ordeal.

Vulcan! (Sky)

Vulcan!, Kathleen Sky, 1978

One of the original Star Trek novels, and an early edition of it (with the original artwork, not the updated cover). Unfortunately, I don't remember much about it other than the blurbs I found online.

I don't think that this is the only Trek book I've read by Kathleen Sky.

Star Trek TNG: Dyson Sphere (Pellegrino, Zebrowski)

Star Trek TNG: Dyson Sphere, Charles Pellegrino, George Zebrowski

Liked the use of the Horta, didn't like the story or the ending. Lots of possibilities wiped out quickly.

Thought it would be good, but I didn't particularly care for it. Like the use of Hortas, hated the story and the ending.

The story also ended long before I thought it was going to because there was a science essay at the end about Dyson spheres. Ringworld is wasn't.

Star Trek: The Great Starship Race (Carey)

Star Trek: The Great Starship Race, Diane Carey, 1993

Not bad. Romulans are "attacked" by a strange race that can project their emotions. Everyone dies except one "coward" who blows the ship and escapes in a pod. 74 years lates, the USS Hood discovers the aliens' homeworld beyond the edges of Federation space. Happy that they aren't alone in the universe, they try to quickly join the Federation and ten years later try to organize a big race. Then a Romulan ship shows up, commanded by the "coward" who has spent his life looking for the Rey, knowing that some day they will be a great weapon to use against the Empire. Vulcans are sensitive to their projects. The Romulans attempt a suicide mission. It fails.

I don't believe that I gave away the ending. If I did, I apologize. This is what I wrote nearly a decade ago. I used to have a lot of the Timescape Star Trek books -- more than I read. I couldn't keep up with them and stopped collecting before the 50th book came out. Nowadays, there are hundreds of them. Had I read faster, I might've bought those instead of comics. Just as well that I didn't. Too many aren't good -- even ones by good authors get messed up before they hit the shelves.

Star Trek: TNG: Unification (Taylor)

Star Trek: The Next Generation: Unification, Jeri Taylor,
story by Rick Berman and Michael Piller

Adaptation of two-part TNG episode. About standard for a novelization; mediocre for a book. You could see the scene fades and cuts. Some dialogue could've been cut and replaced with description or exposition. Or they could have just told the damn story! Quick read even though I've only seen a portion of part two (and none of part one) on TV. Recycled it.

And by "recycled", I believe I mean that literally. It didn't go back to the used bookshop to exchange for another. It went out with the newspapers.

Time Blender (Dorn, Hemmingway, Lindsay)

Time Blender, Michael Dorn, Hillary Hemmingway, Jeffrey P. Lindsay, 1997
(not a Star Trek novel)

Samurai warriors battle Egyptian gods on the island of no return! First off, that didn't happen. Close, but it doesn't happen. (Both groups do appear in the latter half of the book -- the samurai only briefly.) The story starts Tony Miller, archeologist, and his buddy on an island in the path of a tsunami. The other guy falls and gets a concussion and Tony rescues him, tosses him in his plane, and mistakes the invasion of some foreign entity into his friend's body as the ravings of a man whose sanity is in doubt. Half the book passes before they encounter The Artifact, the destruction of which sets off the Time Blender (not Time Bender, as I originally thought when I picked up the book). He travels with a Celtic warrior woman, battles an Egyptian god, and makes his way to San Francisco, which is still where it should be despite all the other land masses and time periods intermingling. He has a fateful decision to make, but instead we get: Here ends Book One of Time Bender ?! Nowhere on the cover does it say, "1st book in an exciting new series!" The copyright page doesn't list a "Coming Soon". There is no indication anywhere that this book is multiple parts. I wasn't happy. Good setting. Okay follow through. Lousy ending. I was going to pass this on -- now I'm going to chuck it out.

Despite the tag, this is not a Star Trek novel. However, it might be of interest to Star Trek fans that care that the publicist of two nobody authors got Michael Dorn to put his name on their book so that it would sell more copies. I only paid 39 cents (might've been 79 cents -- I don't remember) for it, so at least I didn't waste much.

Star Trek: The Lost Years (Dillard)

Star Trek: The Lost Years, J. M. Dillard, 1989

This should be the last of the Star Trek books for a while. Enjoyable, but parly because I'd heard it already on tape. It followed Kirk, Spock and McCoy after the five-year mission ended with cameos by Riley and Uhura, who just seems thrown in to get into trouble, along with Sarek. A bit of Vulcan history, which was enjoyable, but if the Vulcans were this powerful at one time, it's hard to believe that they had ever become civilized. The Spock/McCoy story was the better part. Kirk's peace mission/rescue mission was somewhat boring and teh clash of the two storylines, though inevitable, was still forced. Only for Star Trek fans who need to fill in the gaps. Not as much fun as the Shatner books.

Star Trek: The Ashes of Eden & Avenger (Shatner, Reeves-Stevens)

Star Trek: The Ashes of Eden, William Shatner with Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens, Pocket Books 1995

Star Trek: Avenger, William Shatner with Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens, Pocket Books 1997

Fun, quick reads for the train. Ashes of Eden takes place before Generations and features the old cast. It starts with Kirk back on the Faragut and moves to "current day" wherean old nemesis is back. Avenger is a TNG novel with Spock. Although it is technically a sequel to The Return, the plot makes nuerous references to Eden, and sums up the plot of Return, so that it isn't necessary to be read in between. There's a blurb for another book, Spectre, in 1998. I haven't seen it in book form or on tape. I'll pass these on. Postscript:Passed them onto Thomas. Listened to The Return on tape. Would like to read it.

If I remember the sequence of events correctly, I listened to Avenger in the car first. I remember wondering how Kirk got there and why he was concerned with some strange alien woman that he was looking for. That aside -- I figured that there was something I missed -- I enjoyed the tape and thought that it tied into the original series and the movies pretty well. (So well, it was that obvious that Shatner had little to do with it.)

Since then I went back looking for Shatner Star Trek novels because they were among the better written ones. (I won't say the same for his Tek-War novels.) Pretty much, if Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens are associated with it, it's probably good. "Probably" because Paramount can always be counted on to ruin a good thing.