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Tooner's Reviews Creator and designer of FOLKLORE, Tooner has been into Science Fiction and Fantasy novels for over 15 years. Enjoys Fantasy primarily over Science Fiction, and plans to write an epic of his own.
David's Reviews |
TJ's Reviews Co-designer of FOLKLORE, TJ has been an avid Science Fiction and Fantasy Fan for over 23 years. His personal library contains more than 500 titles. He has no preference of one genre over the other.
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"The Adventures of Conrad Stargard", Leo A. Frankowski, Del Rey
![[IMG: 5 Worlds Rating]](images/z0000021.jpg)
Review by TJ, ©1997
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5 Worlds? C'mon TJ, you must be crazy most people have never even heard of this guy. A guy that has only written a single
stand-alone and one series of 5 books and you give him a "5". Yea, a "5", this is an author that has written
6 highly original, entertaining books that once you start them you can't put them down. I first read "Copernick's Rebellion" 9 years ago,
once, and the rich full precise images conjured that spring are as vivid today as when I first picked up the book. I looked for more
works from this exciting brilliant new author for several years when I came across "The Cross-Time Engineer". The
promise that Leo showed in his first work was still there, proving that he wasn't a one hit wonder.
I find myself savoring every page as I read the stories and they all ended to soon. I was then stuck re-reading them again and again until the next installment was released, which was soon enough for me. The worst thing about this is that I have loaned several of the books out, I have a habit of doing that, a lot, and unfortunately I have lost several of the books. When this happens I usually just go and buy another copy if the book is good enough and these all are. The problem has been that the books are out of print right now and I can't find them anywhere or at least not yet, but I will find them. I miss the books but the people and places have come alive for me so I will survive until I can visit them again. If you can find one of these books grab it and don't let go, I am sure that if you read these stories you will be a believer also. I have never read anything as original as "Copernick's Rebellion", and it is way up there on my top 10 list. Leo's writing style is concise and descriptive, and has a good rhythm to it. "Lord Conrad's Lady" was the last book I have found by Leo Frankowski and it was published in 1990, so I am not sure if we will get any new works by him but we can sure hope. I will also hope for a new printing run so that I can replenish my library that will not be complete without these missing books.
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"The Dragon Riders of Pern Series" (First Trilogy), Anne McCaffrey, Del Rey Science Fiction
Review by TJ, ©1997
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As you enter into the fantasy World of Pern you cannot help but be impressed with the depth and color of a world that is as rich and real as the one we live in today. Many
fantasy worlds are put together to support a story or series of stories. Not Pern, this is a series of stories that take place in a living, breathing planet, where things happen in
one area yet they affect others, even if it doesn't have a direct effect on the current story. In truth, there are 14 books that make up the Pern series to date, but in this
review I'm going to stick to the original core series of three.
It is very hard to do a series review on the The Dragonriders of Pern, or any of the Pern books for that matter, with out giving away too much of the story. Lessa and F'lar are the central characters in the first 2 books, and then Jaxom joins them as a major character in "White Dragon". They come from very different backgrounds and if fate hadn't thrown them together then Pern would be doomed. Even with the brilliance of these characters, the continued survival of the planet is not assured and even if it does survive, the changes will shake the planet to its core. One of the nicer aspects of this series is each book ends there with a realistic closure without squelching the following books. It is impossible not to notice how well the different sections of society fit together seamlessly. The Characters are resourceful and intelligent, and act in a realistic manner. I don't remember one instance in any of the three books that I said to myself "why did so and so do this or that, that doesn't make sense." They do make mistakes, it is just that the mistakes they do make are realistic and transpire in a normal manner. I also enjoyed the way that Anne has changed, or I should I say evolved, some of the terms, tools and knowledge the people of Pern use, handed down from the original colonists. Some of the "Old Knowledge" transitions were apparent right away, while others were so subtle that it me took several books to realize the item being referred to descended from the founding fathers. There are still others that I would have never figured out if Anne McCaffrey hadn't covered it in one of the other Pern books. At no time is this mixing of knowledge a hindrance to the story line, and if anything it serves to enhance the fullness of the world.
It has now been almost 30 years from when the first Dragonriders of Pern book was written and you can either credit Anne McCaffrey with incredible foresight and planning,
or just plain literary brilliance, because there are details incorporated in the first three books that eventually develop into a book of their own years later. Again, this is done
in a manner that in no way take away from the current story, it just enhanced the entire experience during one of the many times I have read and reread the series. Before
doing the review of this series and Dragonflight itself (see May book reviews), I didn't have to reread the books. They have engraved themselves so vividly upon my
imagination, and now, after writing this review, I again feel the urge to take wing with F'lar, Lessa, Jaxon and all the rest of the "Dragonriders of Pern" to scour t
he skies clean of that deadly menace from space.
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"Dragonflight", Anne McCaffrey, ©1968
Review by TJ, ©1997
![[IMG: Book Cover]](images/z0000192.gif) |
A Del Rey Book, paperback edition, July 1968 - Cover art by Michael Whelan Dragonflight is the first book in the Dragonriders of Pern series (see the May Featured Series). The story opens as a tale of revenges that quickly evolves to a story of worldwide or should I say Pernwide importance. That situation quickly evolves into a desperate story for survival with the lives of Pern's entire population at stake. One of my biggest pet peeves is when an author use's goofy or hard to read and pronounce names just to create a sense of difference in their Characters. Anne MaCaffrey heads off into this area, but unlike most authors, she makes these changes in a way that creates a sense of uniqueness with out making the names difficult to read or pronounce. If you didn't pay close attention to details at the very beginning of Dragonflight, the reader would swear that you were reading a straight Fantasy novel, but this is in fact full blown Science Fiction. The miracle that has made the lifesaving "Dragons" a fact on Pern, is the result's of a science that is just now coming into it's own in today's Earth, the Science or Art of Genetic Engineering. Lessa, the heroine of the Story, is someone that everyone can identify with and pull for, and just when all is lost, Prince Charming comes waltzing in to the rescue and then the fairy tale takes a very unfairy tale like turn. As you read this very enjoyable book the reader gets to live, grow and change along with the Characters. As time goes by you get to experience the struggle for survival and feel the pain, of some of the very hard choices the Characters have to make. The Main Characters are all very full and believable, and I found myself secretly wishing (like many others I believe) that I was a Dragonrider of Pern. The supporting cast of characters all have their place and are all given the correct depth based on their role in the story. This goes a long way in making the large and ever changing cast of personalities easy to remember and to keep their role's and importance to the story in focus. If and when one of the supporting characters starts to take on a larger role in the story, they are filled out to the level needed to make them believable without overbalancing or cluttering up the story. I didn't get that insatiable fever to read this book as fast as I could like I usually do when I really enjoy a novel. Dragonflight gave me that warm cozy homey feeling. It was that feeling you get when you put on that old favorite sweater or blanket and sit in front of the fireplace with a warm drink on in those cold winter evenings. I felt as if this was a world of adventure and excitement that I would love to live in. So come and join us all, in Pern. |
"The Sten Series", Alan Cole and Chris Bunch, Del Rey Science Fiction
![[IMG: 4 Worlds Rating]](images/z0000020.jpg)
Review by TJ, ©1997
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"The Sten Adventures" or just "Sten" series is an 8 book set that is as good individually as it as a series.
I didn't read the series in order. I picked up and read book 5, "Revenge of the Damned" before I even knew it
was part of a series and I found the book to be very interesting and full all by itself. I found that all of
the books were written to stand independently, but by reading them in the series, enriches them. This Science
Fiction Series is based in the distant future. The characters for the most part are believable, and vivid.
The several instances of where the characters come across as rather shallow seems to have been written this way
on purpose. As the story develops all of the characters grow, change, and are given the depth necessary to be
believable and hold the readers attention. "Return of the Emperor", I felt was the best book of the series,
but as a whole all of the books maintained a very even level of quality. If I were forced to select a worst
book of the group it would be "The Court of a Thousand Suns". I became very attached to Sten, Alex, Cind,
Ian, and even the Emperor. I know that no other books are planned for the series but I sure would not be upset If Chris and Alan
wrote another installment to the series.
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Mick Farren
Review by TJ, ©1997
Mick Farren was born in England in 1944. He was the lead singer of the late 60's and early 70's band the Deviants,
they are credited with being one of the main influences that led to the Punk Rock movement.
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I have read every one of Mick's works, all that I know of anyway.
Several of the books are less than average in quality, while several of the others should and will be classics.
The one thing all of these book have in common is that they all are very original in subject matter and they certainly don't
have a "Hollywood" style to them. There are many original ideas and unique plot line and plot line endings in all of the
books. Even in Mick Farren worst works of the reading is never boring or difficult. The ideas presented in the books
are all very unbelievable but written about in a believable manner and as an avid Science Fiction/Fantasy Reader that is
all that you can really ask for, and Mick Farren delivers that in spades. For those Military fans I would recommend his first
work, Their Masters War, and for those who like a mystery, The Long Orbit and The Armageddon Crazy. Necrom really
defies any traditional classification but it is a book that should not be passed up on.
Mick is free spirit and is one of the most original new authors I have read in years.
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"Necrom", Mick Farren, ©1991
Review by TJ, ©1997
![[IMG: Book Cover]](images/z0000185.jpg) |
A Del Ray/Ballantine paperback edition, February 1991 - Cover art by Peter Gudynas Wow, what a book, from the start of the book until the very last page the reader doesn't know if the main character, Joe Gibson, a burned out, alcoholic, drug abusing fading rock star, is crazy or is on one very wild ride. There are times through out the book that you are sure he is crazy and yet there are others times you are sure what he is experiencing is real. Necrom is one of those stories that is impossible to describe what makes it great, and there is no one individual thing that makes this story stand out. It is just an overall good book. There is nothing special about Joe Gibson at all, nothing really, he just happens to be picked. He is not super strong, or extra smart or even have special powers. He really is just your ordinary Joe. On Joe's incredible journey there are some of the most unique and plausible theories of real disasters, unexplained phenomenon, unknown powers, the uses of ancient shrines and places of power that I have ever seen, heard or read. I am sure that these theories are pure fantasy but they sure make you think. The most interesting character in the whole book is one of my favorite Villains/Protagonist in any book I have ever read. Yancey Slide is suppose to be this incredibly mean nasty demon, but he lacks the trappings of your classic demon of literature and folklore. For the most part Yancey Slide is pretty much like your normal everyday bloke, with a few special powers thrown in here or there and quite a bit arcane knowledge. As I sit here and write this I still can't tell you one specific reason why I feel that this book deserves the rating that I gave it. I do know that once I picked up the book I couldn't put it down and have read it again and again. It never has lost the magic that transport's one into the world the author has crafted. I don't believe that this is a book that will ever see a sequel or be part of a series, and I really believe it would be a mistake if it were ever included in one. What I do know is that if you don't read Necrom you will be missing a very good book.
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