Analog Science Fiction and Fact, June 2016

A below-average issue, some of the stories have too little background.

The Journeyman: In the Great North Wood • [Journeyman] • novella by Michael F. Flynn
This continues a series I haven't been a great fan of. A pair of adventurers continue their adventures on a planet that apparently has been colonized centuries ago, and some high-tech artifacts can still be found. They are hired as bodyguards on an expedition that is trying to find such artifacts. They find a malfunctioning spaceship with badly-working AIs, and are ambushed by natives. More sightseeing and world description than plot — this is not my favorite style, and I had to struggle to get through this story. **+
When the Stone Eagle Flies • novelette by Bill Johnson
Time travelers in ancient Babylonia try to guide events towards the future they are coming from, which has been destroyed by events that have been changed in the past. But someone might notice that something strange is going on. A fairly nice story, but slightly too much of a fragment. Better than some other parts of the series, though. ***-
Hold the Moment • shortstory by Marie Vibbert
A woman who tried to invent a stasis machine manages the opposite: a machine that apparently makes everything outside of it “freeze” (sounds slightly implausible — the entire universe?). She also has some trust issues with her preteen daughter. The writing was OK, but somehow left a slightly unsatisfied feeling. ***+
The Anthropic War • shortstory by Jay Werkheiser
A strange changed region of space is spotted. Scientists find out that our universe is “contaminated” by another, and the contamination spreads as beings of the another universe make observations of ours. The only way to fight back is to make observations of the “contaminated” area, which causes it to revert back to the properties of our universe, with the budget of deep-space cosmology and exploration mushrooms. A short, fairly fun story. ***+
The Nult Factor • shortstory by J. T. Sharrah
A lazy man decides to market things that aren’t good for anything, which leads to a peculiar religious cult, which turns out to have (after a few stages) a major effect human and interstellar history. A fun little story.***
Murder on the Cislunar Railroad • novelette by Christopher L. Bennett
The story starts with an apparent murder: a woman is stranded in space with no chance of getting back to the space station. Who did it? And why? Had it something to do with AIs — or an organization that apparently “helps” AIs to run away from sometimes-abusive treatment by humans? This story feels like a third part of a series: background at first is very sketchy, and then there is a lot exposition. It is hard to form any emotional connection to the victim (or to anyone else) when you don’t know the characters at all. **½

Proofreading by eangel.me.

Reijo Mäki: Tulivuori

Vares, a private detective with healty interest for booze and women visit the Canary Islands. His former girlfriend has been murdered and no one does seem to have a motive for the killing. And someone really doesn’t want that the case is investigated, at least someone seems to have hired a hitman against Vares. A lot of smooth action and a light book which is a fast read.

Vares tutkii entisen tyttöystävänsä murhaa, tällä kertaa Teneriffalle. Tyttöystävä oli löytänyt uuden miehen, joka on menestyvä ravintoloitsija. Nainen löytyi kotoaan kuristettuna, ilman että mitään johtolankaa tai edes järkevää motiivia on tiedossa. Leski soitti Varekselle, koska tiesi tämän olevan yksityisetsivä ja että tällä oli ollut lämmin suhde naiseen aikanaan. Vares alkaa tutkia murhaa ja huomaa, että joku ei halua häntä saarelle – ei mistään hinnasta – ja on valmis aika äärimmäisiin tekoihin estääkseen murhan tutkimukset. Kirjan kuluessa syntyy useampikin ruumis, mutta syyllinen lopulta tietenkin selviää. Kirjan on vauhdikasta kerrontaa, kuten Varekset yleensäkin. Paikoitellen kirjassa oli ehkä hieman liikaa ”turistijunttiutta”, samaan tapaan kuin oli komisario Koskisenkin ulkomailla piipahtamisessa, jonka juuri äsken luin. Uskottavuus ei ole tässä kirjassa kovin korkealla, mutta eipä se sarjassa niin huippuluokka yleensä ole ollutkaan. Letkeää tarinankerrontaa, mutta mielestäni parempiakin osia sarjassa kyllä on. Kirja oli mukavaa matkaluettavaa, väsyneenä ja raskaan päivän jälkeen monimutkaisempaa tekstiä ei välttämättä oikein olisi jaksanut lukea.

445 s.

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

An inn in a small village has had a new keeper for a while. He seems somewhat strange, a detached but friendly man. He seems to know a lot of things, but tries not to attract any attention. Tension has been rising for some reason -– the highway robbers are more common than before, there are tales of something strange going on and strange creatures have attacked villagers. A scribe arrives at the inn. He seems to recognize the innkeeper. He apparently is the greatest hero there ever has been, Kvothe, and the scribe wants him to tell his story. And he does –- starting from his childhood. He was born into a traveling actors' troupe, but his parents and everyone he knew were killed by a strange man with a group of soldiers who disappeared into thin air. After much hardship, he joins a magic university, where he learns about magic and about what passes for science in his world.
The beginning of the book was excellent: well written, smooth and tight. Unfortunately, the writing and plot went badly downhill at about the point when Kvothe got to the university / magic school. People weren’t behaving very logically, and Kvothe was often extremely stupid for someone who apparently was supposed to be very bright. There were all the tropes of a magical school: teachers who inexplicably hate the hero, other teachers who are sympathetic, good friends and bad bullies, who torment the protagonist apparently just because they are bad people. The end of the book seemed to go in a better direction, and there is hope that the next one might be better. At least it seems likely that not all of it will take place in that damn school any more. And perhaps more space will be devoted to the tensions which are raised in the framing story itself. That story seems more interesting than the story inside a story (and often there is a story inside a story inside a story, as when Kvothe is telling his story, he is often telling stories of other people telling their stories).

722 pp.

Proofreading by eangel.me.

Seppo Jokinen: Koskinen ja kreikkalainen kolmio

Inspector Koskinen solves a crime while vacationing in Greece. He and his friend almost get arrested after they find a drowned woman. As the Greek police doesn’t seem able to find the murderer, they must start their own investigations. Some pretty irritating dialogue which was meant to be funny and at place fairly disjointed plot makes this book below average for the series.

Komisario Koskinen seikkailee tällä kertaa Kreikassa Tampereen asemasta. Koskinen on poliisiystävänsä kanssa purjehdusretkellä Kreikan saaristossa. He löytävät merestä naisen ruumiin. Nostettuaan sen merestä he kuljettavat sen lähimmälle saarelle. Kun paljastuu, että kuollut nainen oli suomalainen, he huomaavat olevansa pääepäiltyjä ja vain täpärästä välttävät joutumisen pidätetyksi. Kun Kreikan poliisin tutkimukset etenevät kovin huonosti kaverukset alkavat selvittelemään rikosta omin nokkinensa ja asiat alkava järjestyä – mutta suunnitellulle lennolle ehtiminen ei kyllä onnistu.
Toisaalta oli virkistävääkin tavata päähenkilö vähän poikkeavassa ympäristössä. Kirjan alkuosa oli varsin hyvä ja vetävä, mutta mitä pitemmälle kirja eteni, sitä enemmän juoni tuntui hajoavan. Paikoitellen henkilöhahmot käyttäytyivät erittäin ärsyttävän juntisti, eikä hauskaksi tarkoitettu sanailu ja puolihyväntahtoinen riitely oikein kunnolla asettunut henkilöiden suuhun ja luonteeseen. Kirja jää sarjassaan selvästi keskitason alapuolelle.
304 s.