The Death Cure, James Dashner (on CD)

Y'know when you spot a glaring error in a TV show or book, but can't believe it's an error because it's SO obvious that the writers must mean to come back and close that loophole?

Well, that's how the end of this book hit me, and not in a good way. The most obvious solution to the problems of the world in this series...is the final scene of this book.

On the other hand, getting there is the fun of the journey, right? And it was a pretty exciting interesting.

The Scorch Trials, by James Dashner (on CD)

I have recommended this series to multiple people as being excellent for reluctant boy readers because the action pretty much NEVER stops. Personally, I find that exhausting (and rather unbelievable), but it does keep you glued to the story.

As in many other series, this book suffers for being #2. I'm torn between wanting to read the next one and being irritated with having very little forward progress in the overall plot.

The Maze Runner, by James Dashner (on CD)

Well. Great plot, good pacing, especially if you like nonstop action. A little repetitive at times, and somewhat unbelievable at other times. And yet...I can't wait to read the next book. I think the flaws would be much less noticeable were I not listening to it.

Oh, and speaking of which, the narrator is simply wonderful!

Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins (on CD)

Wow.
Wow.
WOW. This series is astoundingly good. Not just as a YA series, but as a series of any kind. Wow.

Having listened to the whole thing, however, I'm trying to decide if I want to read it too. Maybe on my Nook?

The English is Coming! by Leslie Dunton-Downer

The author is a big proponent of "global English"--the English that is spoken by people around the world. Interesting, fun to think what the language might look like in 20 or 50 or 100 years.

How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe, by Charles Yu

The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins

Very good YA dystopian book, first in a series. Not sure I want to read the rest--it's kinda melodramatic--but worthwhile reading.

Born in Death, by J.D. Robb (on CD)

So, Dallas is supposed to be planning a baby shower for her best friend, but she gets sidetracked by the murders of two account execs about to be married. Good. Nice ending.

Salvation in Death, by J. D. Robb

Where's My Jetpack? A Guide to the Amazing Science Fiction Future That Never Arrived, by Daniel H. Wilson, Ph.D.

Cute, fast, poppy book. Covers not just jetpacks but blimps, soldiers who never sleep, rayguns, and robots, among other things.

The future is partway here...and a long way off.

Remake, by Connie Willis

Cheesy. Set in 2016ish in Hollywood when movies are not being made with live actors anymore, but recut scenes from old movies and new people's faces.

Not Willis' best work, not by a long shot!!

The World Without Us, by Alan Weisman

I didn't quite finish this, but it's definitely worth reading. Weisman dispenses with the question of how and why the human race disappears and moves on to "what happens next?" Will the dams hold? Will dogs survive, or be eaten by wild animals? Will pollution be terminal to the planet's existence? What will happen to the infrastructure of large cities?

Quite interesting.

Strangers in Death, by J.D. Robb

Good stuff. Better than anticipated!

Fire Watch, by Connie Willis

I love short stories. This is one of those collections that exemplifies why I love them: there is a general theme of futurism/science fiction, but otherwise all of these tales are quite different. There are a couple set in the (more or less) here and now, but most are elsewhere/elsewhen.

There is a story about life on a mining planet, there is a time-travel story about going back to the London Blitz, there is a post-nuclear story, there's an absolutely hysterical story about a really stupid guy that has a zinger of an ending, and a creepy college-students-of-the-future story.

One of the fun things about the copy of the book I read is that someone has penciled in grades next to the titles in the table of contents. "Fire Watch" is an A. And Come from Miles Around is an A--. "Blued Moon" is a B++. I don't agree 100% with all the ratings, but this is why I like library books. You can't get that sense of anonymous community any other way (including ebooks).

Light Raid, by Connie Willis and Cynthia Felice

This was published in 1989, so it's a little dated in its view of the future. Having said that, it's always wonderful to read about an area of the world you know and this takes place in "Denver Springs" (i.e. the mega-city spanning the entire front range of the Rockies in Colorado). The political entities of North America have rearranged themselves so that Quebec has declared war on what used to be the U.S., while "Victoria" (British Columbia) has been neutral in the war and the rest of what used to be Canada is, I think, allied with the former states.

ANYway, the light raids are laser attacks that Quebec has launched against Denver Springs. And the rest of the story is pretty much boilerplate romantic suspense, but with computers and so forth. Oh, and also...the main characters in Denver Springs are Greek-ish. They all have Hellenic names (Ariadne, Gaea, etc.) and wear chitons and robes.

It sounds bizarre, and it is (I've left out the subplot about the water biots, which is primary to the story, but difficult to explain briefly), but it works. Generally. I like Connie Willis's imagination.

Into the Forest, by Jean Hegland

Really great book. I love books where the characters are forced to rely on themselves and manage to maintain integrity and humanity. This is sort of a female The Road. This begins when all the parts of modern society slowly stop functioning: electricity goes out, phones stop working, gas stops being delivered.... The two teenage girls and their father live about 30 miles outside a small northern California town, and slowly adjust to their presumably temporary life. When their father dies it sends them into a deep depression and when the outside world finds them it nearly destroys their relationship with each other...and their lives.

Great, uplifting story.

The Road, by Cormac McCarthy

OUTSTANDING! One of the best books I've read in a very long time. Very depressing throughout, but absolutely realistic.