A couple of weeks ago I was looking at the Nebula award nominees on io9. Most of these I hadn’t read. So, wanting to get some idea of what is considered good work by the powers that be of science fiction I picked a couple to go over. One is science fiction, the other fantasy.
2313 is a novel by Kim Stanley Robinson. It’s a good read. The plot drags a bit. He goes into a lot of detail, maybe too much. It presents a rather dark view of the future I don’t really care for. Overall, the story line is based on plausible science, which makes it hard science fiction. Robinson is a damn good writer. My issue is his strict adherence to known physics. If he would only consider doing more with hypothetical faster than light travel, exploration and the like, I would buy everything he writes. I don’t regret spending the money. So, if KSR is your kind of Scifi writer the 10 bucks for the Kindle version is reasonable.
Ironskin by Tina Connolly. Fantasy is not my cup of tea. So, I’m probably not the best judge. However, there is good characterization, good plot building, overall good writing. Like I said though, just not what I like to read. 13 bucks for the Kindle download.
It will be interesting to see who wins in May.
Gnostic Science Fiction 