Analog Science Fiction and Fact, April 2014

A serial takes a lot of space. I haven’t yet decided if I am going to read the serial. I read a few first pages of the first instalment and it seemed to have a pretty strong YA vibe. I'll see if I am going to finish it. Otherwise pretty average issue.

A Fierce, Calming Presence • novelette by Jordan Jeffers
Some sort of ecological trouble solver is visiting a planet where an endogenous almost sentient species has suddenly started to behave violently against the members of a mining colony. Usually, they have behaved fairly peacefully. The alien species seem to be very little known even though there are apparently hundred thousand billion (!!) volumes of books published about the planet. That would correspond only well over 10000 different books for every single living people on earth at the moment. Really? There also some other strange sounding details: for example a false accusation of treason is apparently automatically punishable by death. I imagine there aren’t many whistleblowers around with those laws.. A pretty average “evil and greedy industrials” story which has been told countless times in one way or another. ***
Pollution • shortstory by Don Webb
A foreigner who works in Japan has some trouble with alienation, prejudice and zombie-like humans who are used for menial work. There some nice ideas in the story, but it is too far short to really examine them. ***
The Oracle Boca Raton • shortstory by Eric Baylis
A story which is pretty hard to understand . Seems to be some sort of inside joke or something. Ideas or souls or something of old sf authors are used in some way, or something. I didn’t really care. **
Wind Reaper • shortstory by Jon Hakes
A power of hurricanes is used as energy and harvested by planes which fly into the storms. A very short story. The technology feels extremely iffy, and the background is also poorly examined. A longer form might have been better? ***-
It's Not "The Lady or the Tiger?", It's "Which Tiger?" • shortstory by Ian Randal Strock
An entrepreneur who has failed several times has a discussion on a bar. What does he want from life: comfort or recognition? What if he actually had a choice? A fairly nice story of its length. ***+
Whaliens • shortstory by Lavie Tidhar
Aliens who look like giant floating whales appear over Washington. They want to convert to Mormonism. Or to Scientology. Or perhaps to Judaism. Or they will destroy the earth. A rare funny story that actually is pretty funny. A short but enjoyable short story with many science fiction in-jokes. ***½

Riikka Pelo: Jokapäiväinen elämämme

The winner of last year’s Finlandia award, the most prestigious literary award of Finland. The book tells the story of a Russian born poet and her daughter at two time periods. The chapters which are told by the mother and happen in Czechoslovakia and the chapters which are told by the daughter and happen later in Russia late 30s and early 40s interspace. The writing is beautiful, but it is written in an extreme stream of consciousness style with sentences up to 30 lines long. Not really something I usually enjoy. One of least favorite winners of this award for me.

Tammikuuhuni on jo useamman vuoden kuulunut edellisen vuoden Finlandia-voittajan lukeminen. Tänä vuonna urakka tuntui nimenomaan urakalta, sen verran raskasta ja hidasta luettavaa uusin voittaja oli. Kirja kertoo kahdella aikatasolle venäläisen naisrunoilijan ja hänen tyttärensä tarinaa Tšekkoslovakian maaseudulla 20-luvun lopussa ja Venäjällä 30-luvun lopulla ja 40-luvun alussa. Varhaisemmissa katkelmissa ketojana toimii äiti, myöhemmissä suurimmassa osassa suurimmassa osassa tytär. Perhe on venäjällä syntynyt, elää köyhissä oloissa Tšekissä, josta he muuttavat Berliiniin. Ennen paluutaan Venäjälle he olivat asuneet pitkään Pariisissa, jossa tytär toimi Venäjän salaisen palvelun asiamiehenä vakoillen muita venäläisemigrantteja ja raportoiden heistä. Stalinin vainoissa sitten etenkin tytär saa kokea miten diktatuurit kätyreitään palkitsevat. Kirja on kirjoitettu erittäin, erittäin rasittavalla tajunnanvirtatekniikalla. Alkupuolella lukujen välillä tuntui olevan eroa siten, että tyttären ollessa kertojaäänenä teksti oli lähes luettavaa, mutta etenkin puolenvälin paikkeilla hänen ollessa raskaana ja rakastuneena 30 riviä pitkät virkkeet valtasivat hänenkin lukunsa ja lukeminen muuttui raskaaksi ja lukujen välillä ollut kirjoitustyylin ero katosi. Loppupuolella eroa lukujen välillä taas oli selvemmin havaittavissa. Kielellisesti teksti oli kaunista, mutta ei itsetarkoituksellinen kielellinen kikkailu saisi tarinankerronnan ohitse mennä, ainakin jos minulta kysytään. Ärsyttävän naivin vaikutelman naiset tekivät, etenkin kommunistipropagandan sokaisema emigranttitovereistaan KGB:lle raportoiva tytär. Olen tällä vuosisadalla jaetuista Finlandia-palkituista kirjoista lukenut kaksitoista neljästätoista. Tämä sijoittuu niistä häntäpäähän omalla arvosteluasteikollani, ihan suoraan en osaa sanoa oliko tämä Nenäpäivääkin huonompi, ehkäpä.
525 s

Kari Enqvist: Olemisen porteilla

A short and comparatively easy introduction to particle and quantum physics. Easy to read, almost easy to understand.

Lyhyt perehdytys hiukkas- ja kvanttifysiikan tuoreimpiin saavutuksiin. Yllättävän selkeä esitys siitä mitä mm. Bose-Einstein-kondensaatti, M-teoria ja todennäköisyysaallot tarkoittavat. Muutaman vuoden ikäisenä kaikki sisältö ei enää ole ihan ajantasaista, mm Higgsin bosonin olemassaolon todennäköinen varmistuminen aavistuksen kirjan sisältöön olisi voinut vaikuttaa. Kokonaisuutena mielenkiintoinen ja jopa helppolukuinen kirja, vaikka osa asioista fysiikasta kiinnostuneelle oli entuudestaan tuttuja. Ehkä Enqvist olisi voinut tylyttää vielä enemmän kvanttimystikkoja, joiden mielestä tietoisuus ja aivojen toiminta on kvanttitasoinen ilmiö: biologisesta katsantokannasta koko ajatus on vielä mielettömämpi kuin hiukkasfyysikon näkökulmasta katsottuna.
290 s.

Galaxy Science Fiction, May 1951

Pretty average issue.

Bridge Crossing • shortstory by Dave Dryfoos
A young man lives in a ruined city. Several robots take care of him, feed him, change his diapers and protect him. He doesn’t remember ever seeing other humans. One day he meets a girl. At first he his confused: Can the new creature be taken apart as easily as the robots? A very basic and probable worn plot even in 1952. **
Hostess • novelette by Isaac Asimov
A visiting alien scientist comes as a guest to the family of a female scientist and her police officer husband. The husband isn’t very happy about an alien houseguest. It turns out that humans are the only intelligent species who stops growing. And the only species, which dies from the old age. The alien seems to have a special interest to some unusual details of human life; like the missing person's bureau. That’s apparently something which doesn’t happen on any of the alien planets, as everyone is instinctively aware where their loved ones are at any time. A fairly nice story, where the plot is told for most part by long discussions. Slightly overlong. ***+
Man of Destiny • shortstory by John Christopher
A man crash lands on an alien planet. He encounters friendly aliens and establishes himself as a god-ruler. He tries to introduce steam power and other inventions, but the aliens aren’t too enthusiastic about inventions. Finally the man comes to a realization: the sedentary lifestyle of the simple farmers is pretty nice, after all. ***
Ask Me Anything • novelette by Damon Knight
A powerful alien artifact ends up in a military training camp where young men are being transformed to powerful, android warriors who fear nothing. That is achieved by very rigid training where all information and knowledge is given in very calculated manner. So a device which answer all questions totally truthfully is kind of distractive. The leader of the training camp decides to use the device to created powerful weapons and FTL drive to get power for himself. Of course, there might be a catch somewhere. Ok story, a bit too detailed explanations of the tech involved, but otherwise tolerable story. The writing was average. ***

Btw, I have now read and reviewed every issue of the first four years of the Galaxy magazine.

Isaac Asimov: Säätiö ja Imperiumi ( Foundation and Empire )

The second part of one of the best known trilogies in science fiction. It hasn’t really held its time, and this part felt inferior when compared with the Foundation. Especially the first part of the novel was very mediocre, the last two thirds with Mule were better.


Vuosi kului ennen kuin tämän trilogian seuraavan osan sain aikaiseksi lukea. Kakkososat ovat usein ongelmallisia, jopa tällaisissa novelleista kokoon kyhätyissä kirjoissa. Kirja koostuu kahdesta erillisestä tarinasta. Ensimmäisessä koetaan imperiumin viimeinen voimanponnistus Säätiötä vastaan. Tämä tarina oli varsin heikko ja ratkesi aivan liian helposti, nopeasti ja oikeastaan itsestään. Tämä vaikutti turhalta lisältä kertomuksessa. Toisessa, pidemmässä, tarinassa ilmaantuu galaksin tulevaisuuteen vaikuttamaan uusi tekijä, jota edes Hari Seldon ei aikanaan osannut ennakoida: Muuli, mutantti joka lyhyessä ajassa valtaa Säätiön ja suuren osan Linnunrataa. Mutta kuka tai mikä tuo Muuli oikein on? Tämä jälkimmäinen kertomus oli selkeästi parempi. Henkilöahmojen kuvaus tosin siinäkään ei mitään huippuluokkaa ollut ja henkilöhahmojen motivaatiot paikoitellen jäivät aika epäselviksi. Tupakointia kirjassa oli jostain syystä huomattavasti vähemmän kuin ensimmäisessä osassa, tosin atomikäyttöiset tuhkakupit löytyivät joka pöydältä. Asenteetkin henkilöillä olivat erittäin 40-lukuiset, etenkin naisiin kohdistuneet. Vanhentunut fiilis kirjasta tuli muutenkin, ehkä jopa enemmän kuin ensimmäisestä osasta.
286 s.

Analog Science Fiction and Fact, July-August 2001

An average issue – some stories might have worked better in slightly condensed form.


Bug Out! • novella by Michael A. Burstein and Shane Tourtellotte
A human research station is located on the moon which orbits the planet where live the first intelligent aliens humans have found. They are on the verge of space flight. When the humans observe their first launch the director of the stations orders immediate and complete withdrawal from the system and erasure of any possible clues that the humans have been around. One scientist (who is a nut, who believes aliens visited the ancient Egypt) wants to leave some clues around. The writing was ok, but the story was slightly overlong with a pretty unlikable main character. Not bad novella, however. ***½
Naked Came the Earthling • novelette by H. G. Stratmann
Aliens have landed and informed the president that an inspector will arrive soon. He is going to decide if humans can be accepted to the Galactic Federation or should they be dealt with in some other manner. And the inspector's species is supposed to have prejudice for clothes. To be on a safe side no one should ware any clothes in sight of the inspector. A nice parody/irony story. Somewhat overlong for this premise. ***+
The Ground He Stood On • shortstory by J. R. Dunn
A company is just establishing a mining base on an asteroid when a single man in self-made space ships claims priority rights to it. A pretty standard Analog-style story without anything really surprising. ***
The Gelatin Conspiracy • shortstory by Laurel Winter
A suburb woman who has used to create a very “special” treat (meatballs on lemon jelly) to church parties has disappeared. Could it be aliens? Yes, of course. A short story where the humor works better than average. ***+
Happy Deathday • shortstory by Robert Scherrer
An alien probe starts to send down a data stream which includes the death date of everyone who is being born. Just the date, not a year. So most people tend to be somewhat careful and cautious on those dates… It then turns out that the dates might not be 100% accurate and it possible to influence the future. I would think that the “reveal” would have happen much, much earlier. There are probably many people who would have killed themselves before the allocated date, or died from general recklessness as “they can’t die today, as it is not my date, so it is okay to drive 250 km/h in heavy traffic.” The ending was so also slightly easy. ***
The Walls That Bind • [Abduction] • shortstory by Jayge Carr
Aliens have abducted several small towns leaving back just invalids, unaccompanied children and a few random people. No one of those who were left behind have ever seen anything, they just report losing consciousness. A town is abducted, and the abductees wake up in a town almost, but not exactly like their own. Only women are around, no males are anywhere to be seen. Across the road seems to be a group of aliens - apparently all male. A fairly short story for its premise with no explanations what so ever. ***
Schrödinger's Cat-Sitter • [Smedley Faversham] • novelette by F. Gwynplaine MacIntyre
Not a story: just a big steaming pile of puns involving time travel and Schrondinger's cat Tibbles. Vastly overlong and extremely stupid "story". **-

Asimov's Science Fiction, February 2014

An average or below average issue. Stories aim for literary quality but many fail as entertainment.

Schools of Clay • (2014) • novelette by Derek Künsken
Metallic, apparently artificial insectoid life forms live on asteroids mining volatiles and metals. They more or less follow the life cycle of insect colonies with periodic swarming where queens find new homes and workers are left behind to die. Radioactive isotopes turn ordinary worker more self-aware and smart. The workers are ruthlessly exploited and the start to plan a mutiny…A pretty good story. A lot happens and writing is fairly dense it took some time to understand the backstory. ***½
The Long Happy Death of Oxford Brown • (2014) • novelette by Jason K. Chapman
A man has died. His brain and consciousness has been uploaded to a digital afterlife. All he wants is to find is wife who died a few years earlier. But apparently she doesn’t want to be easily found. A pretty nice afterlife story. But why the main character always is never interested in the “operation manual” of the afterlife in this type of stories? I personally would take time to peruse it well. ***
Ball and Chain • (2014) • shortstory by Maggie Shen King
The new laws in China allow (or force) polyamorous relationships as there are too few women. The courting of a new husband to a group marriage may be kind of hard. An okay and readably short story. ***
The Transdimensional Horsemaster Rabbis of Mpumalanga Province • (2014) • shortstory by Sarah Pinsker
A widow of photographer visits a tribe of very strange people. Apparently descendants of very early Jews, who apparently ably to translocate in time and/or space. A nicely written story, probably could be classified mainly as some sort of metaphorical magical realism. The writing is good, but the story leaves more questions than it answers and feels like just a fragment. ***+
Last Day at the Ice Man Café • (2014) • shortstory by M. Bennardo
A frozen man from a stone is working on a café and has trouble adjusting to life. A stupid story on many levels. Stupid premise, extremely stupid “science”, stupid characters. **
Steppin' Razor • (2014) • novelette by Maurice Broaddus
A steampunk story involving airships, a cloned Haile Selassie, Rastafarian religion and Jamaica. I know little about last two, and not much more about the first. I had to google to find out that Haile Selassie really was/is a kind messiah for the Rastafarians, and really visited Jamaica in the sixties. As I knew nothing about the real background it hard to get into the story with imaginary background built on the real one and understand it. I found this hard to finish. **

The Humans: A Novel by Matt Haig

A mathematician has proofed the Riemann Hypothesis, which would unlock the mysteries of the prime numbers. Aliens from another galaxy (!) consider this is so threatening that they kill him and replace him with one of them, who is supposed to kill everyone who knows anything about the discovery. The alien slowly adjusts to life on earth and to what it is to be a human, and starts to value things he didn’t know even existed before. He learns to love his wife and son and to enjoy the good things in human life – many things the man his is replacing did not do.
Especially the first half of the book was very good and well written. Towards to the end the naïve philosophizing started to be pretty irritating. Once more the message from the aliens is “be nice and friendly and stop the wars”. Not to mention the incredible hypocrisy of the aliens: they supposedly abhor violence and consider even eating meat as an abomination, but are ready to execute several human with the slightest reasons. Also, the aliens seem pretty dense on many levels – if they were able to learn about the mathematical discovery as soon it was made, how are they were SO unfamiliar with earth and humans in every possible way? All in all, the book was an enjoyable read, but it doesn’t stand much logical scrutiny. Strange for a book where one of the main points is mathematics.

304 pp.