Tweet
The Apolyton Science Fiction Discussion Group: August Votes
Not too many nominations this time... some of our regulars didn't bother to nominate for a genre that they, apparently, don't like. Oh well. It could also be the time of year as well: book clubs all over have a drop off in the summertime.
I'm also beginning to wonder how the use of themes will impact the group... it seems that we are getting fewer nominations - but then, it could also be the "summer thing" again. We’ll continue on for now and see how it works out…
OK, here are the nominations for August's book:
The Alteration, by Kingsley Amis, nominated by JohnT.
"The year is 1976 and we are alive in an all-Catholic world. The Reformation never took place because Martin Luther made a deal with Rome and became Pope Martin I. The "alteration" proposed to Hubert Anvil, brilliant 10-year-old boy soprano, is that most feared by all males. Pope John XXIV wishes Hubert to preserve the purity of his voice to glorify the Church on a permanent basis; Hubert wishes to share his talent but he has some disquieting thoughts about Pope John's proposal."
Warning: This book is out of print in the States and might be difficult to find.
Ruled Britannia, by Harry Turtledove, nominated by Lonestar.
"Bestseller Turtledove (American Empire, etc.) buckles a handsome Elizabethan swash with his latest fascinating what if: suppose the Spanish Armada had beaten the Virgin Queen's little navy and reimposed on England the fanatic Roman Catholicism of Bloody Mary Tudor and her ruthless husband, Philip II of Spain. For almost a decade, the English have chafed under Philip's daughter Isabella and her Austrian consort, as well as the Inquisition, enforced by arrogant dons, their hired-gun Irish gallowglasses (rumored to be cannibals) and English Catholic sympathizers. Good Queen Bess languishes in the Tower of London while her supporters plot rebellion-to be sparked by no less than a patriotic new play by Will Shakespeare, Turtledove's lovingly drawn hero, who's drawn willy-nilly into the conspiracy by Elizabeth's former minister, Lord Burghley. The author revels in complex turns of language and spouts brilliant adaptations of the real Shakespeare's immortal lines. Superbly realized historical figures include the "darkly handsome," doomed Kit Marlowe and the Machiavellian Robert Cecil. Equally engaging are such lesser characters as the "cunning woman" Cicely Sellis, who "thinks of England." Turtledove has woven an intricate and thoroughly engrossing portrait of an era, a theatrical tradition, a heroic band of English brothers and their sneering overlords. O, brave alternative world that has such people in't!"
Warning: This book is a new release and is in hardback only.
The Years of Rice and Salt, by Kim Stanley Robinson, nominated by Stefu.
"Award-winning author Kim Stanley Robinson delivers a thoughtful and powerful examination of cultures and the people who shape them. How might human history be different if 14th-century Europe was utterly wiped out by plague, and Islamic and Buddhist societies emerged as the world's dominant religious and political forces? The Years of Rice and Salt considers this question through the stories of individuals who experience and influence various crucial periods in the seven centuries that follow. The credible alternate history that Robinson constructs becomes the framework for a tapestry of ideas about philosophy, science, theology, and politics.
At the heart of the story are fundamental questions: what is the purpose of life and death? Are we eternal? Do our choices matter? The particular achievement of this book is that it weaves these threads into a story that is both intellectually and emotionally engaging. This is a highly recommended, challenging, and ambitious work."
Fatherland, by Robert Harris, nominated by Imran Siddiqui.
"The year is 1964. The setting is Berlin. JFK's father, Joe Kennedy, is president. Edward VIII is king, Wallis his queen. Adolf Hitler is about to celebrate his 75th birthday. In this thriller with a twist, the stalemate which ended World War II has evolved into a cold war, not between the Soviet Union and the United States, but between the Third Reich and America. Police investigator Xavier March handles a case involving the death of a prominent Nazi, an apparent suicide. The trail leads to other suicides, accidental deaths, a numbered vault in Zurich, and a beautiful American reporter. March discovers the pattern behind the deaths and locates incriminating papers exposing the Holocaust, which, because Germany didn't lose the war, has been kept secret for 20 years. Harris, author of the nonfiction title Selling Hitler ( LJ 5/15/86), is clearly well versed in the operations and machinations of the Nazi regime. He uses this knowledge to create a realistic and frightening world in which we all could be living."
The Man in the High Castle, by Philip K. Dlck, nominated by ajbera.
“It's America in 1962--where slavery is legal and the few surviving Jews hide anxiously under assumed names. All because some twenty years earlier America lost a war--and is now occupied jointly by Nazi Germany and Japan. This harrowing, Hugo Award-winning novel set in a parallel universe is the work that established **** as a legendary science fiction author."
1632, by Eric Flint, nominated by VetLegion.
“When a cosmic accident transports a West Virginia community back in time and space to 17th-century Thuringia, the citizens of Grantville find themselves thrust into the midst of the bloody and savage conflict that history books would call the Thirty Years War. Surrounded by warring armies and burdened by the prospect of diminishing resources, Grantville residents, under the leadership of a council that includes a union leader, a doctor, and a teacher, proceed to turn their new world upside down, beginning the American Revolution a century and a half before its time. Flint (Mother of Demons) convincingly re-creates the military and political tenor of the times in this imaginative and unabashedly positive approach to alternative history. A solid choice for fantasy collections.”
Note: This book is available as a free download from http://www.baen.com/library/. In case a mod gets nervous, yes, Baen is the copyright holder.
The Two Georges, by Richard Dreyfuss* and Harry Turtledove, nominated by dv8ed.
“Will Oscar-winning actor Dreyfuss collect any new awards for his first novel, coauthored with a Hugo-winning master of alternative SF? Probably not, but the talented thespian won't get the hook for his rookie writing, either, as he partners on an entertaining detective story set in a present-day North American Union, still a colony of the British Empire. Thomas Bushell and Samuel Stanley of the Royal American Mounties must find the famous Gainsborough painting of The Two Georges showing Washington kneeling to the king, that has been stolen by the subversive Sons of Liberty while on traveling exhibit. The Mounties are accompanied by the exhibit's curator, Kathleen Flannery, who's helpful but may be collaborating with the Sons. Their cross-country search shows off a lower-tech world, in which people get around in dirigibles and steamer cars, and old-style powers like Austria, Prussia and the Ottoman Empire vie for dominance. The authors' alternate globe is recognizable yet delightfully distorted; in this looking-glass, engaging characters play out a suspenseful and satisfying story.”
*Yes, the actor. He is listed as the primary author, with Turtledove being his abled assistant.
Under the Yoke, by S. M. Stirling, nominated by Rex Little.
"In Under the Yoke Steve Stirling has created a world in which the losers in the American Revolution did not have a Canada to flee to. Instead they had--South Africa. Strangely enough, this seemingly minor reality shift made the future history of that world totally different from our own.
"The refugees called their new world Drakesland, and they called themselves the Draka. In Drakesland these slave-owning American Tories and their descendants created a society dedicated to the proposition that all peoples are created equal--equal under the heel of the Draka. Having pacified Africa they headed north to Europe, with the same result. Now it's our turn."
Warning: This book is out of print in the States and might be difficult to find.
I'm also beginning to wonder how the use of themes will impact the group... it seems that we are getting fewer nominations - but then, it could also be the "summer thing" again. We’ll continue on for now and see how it works out…
OK, here are the nominations for August's book:
The Alteration, by Kingsley Amis, nominated by JohnT.
"The year is 1976 and we are alive in an all-Catholic world. The Reformation never took place because Martin Luther made a deal with Rome and became Pope Martin I. The "alteration" proposed to Hubert Anvil, brilliant 10-year-old boy soprano, is that most feared by all males. Pope John XXIV wishes Hubert to preserve the purity of his voice to glorify the Church on a permanent basis; Hubert wishes to share his talent but he has some disquieting thoughts about Pope John's proposal."
Warning: This book is out of print in the States and might be difficult to find.
Ruled Britannia, by Harry Turtledove, nominated by Lonestar.
"Bestseller Turtledove (American Empire, etc.) buckles a handsome Elizabethan swash with his latest fascinating what if: suppose the Spanish Armada had beaten the Virgin Queen's little navy and reimposed on England the fanatic Roman Catholicism of Bloody Mary Tudor and her ruthless husband, Philip II of Spain. For almost a decade, the English have chafed under Philip's daughter Isabella and her Austrian consort, as well as the Inquisition, enforced by arrogant dons, their hired-gun Irish gallowglasses (rumored to be cannibals) and English Catholic sympathizers. Good Queen Bess languishes in the Tower of London while her supporters plot rebellion-to be sparked by no less than a patriotic new play by Will Shakespeare, Turtledove's lovingly drawn hero, who's drawn willy-nilly into the conspiracy by Elizabeth's former minister, Lord Burghley. The author revels in complex turns of language and spouts brilliant adaptations of the real Shakespeare's immortal lines. Superbly realized historical figures include the "darkly handsome," doomed Kit Marlowe and the Machiavellian Robert Cecil. Equally engaging are such lesser characters as the "cunning woman" Cicely Sellis, who "thinks of England." Turtledove has woven an intricate and thoroughly engrossing portrait of an era, a theatrical tradition, a heroic band of English brothers and their sneering overlords. O, brave alternative world that has such people in't!"
Warning: This book is a new release and is in hardback only.
The Years of Rice and Salt, by Kim Stanley Robinson, nominated by Stefu.
"Award-winning author Kim Stanley Robinson delivers a thoughtful and powerful examination of cultures and the people who shape them. How might human history be different if 14th-century Europe was utterly wiped out by plague, and Islamic and Buddhist societies emerged as the world's dominant religious and political forces? The Years of Rice and Salt considers this question through the stories of individuals who experience and influence various crucial periods in the seven centuries that follow. The credible alternate history that Robinson constructs becomes the framework for a tapestry of ideas about philosophy, science, theology, and politics.
At the heart of the story are fundamental questions: what is the purpose of life and death? Are we eternal? Do our choices matter? The particular achievement of this book is that it weaves these threads into a story that is both intellectually and emotionally engaging. This is a highly recommended, challenging, and ambitious work."
Fatherland, by Robert Harris, nominated by Imran Siddiqui.
"The year is 1964. The setting is Berlin. JFK's father, Joe Kennedy, is president. Edward VIII is king, Wallis his queen. Adolf Hitler is about to celebrate his 75th birthday. In this thriller with a twist, the stalemate which ended World War II has evolved into a cold war, not between the Soviet Union and the United States, but between the Third Reich and America. Police investigator Xavier March handles a case involving the death of a prominent Nazi, an apparent suicide. The trail leads to other suicides, accidental deaths, a numbered vault in Zurich, and a beautiful American reporter. March discovers the pattern behind the deaths and locates incriminating papers exposing the Holocaust, which, because Germany didn't lose the war, has been kept secret for 20 years. Harris, author of the nonfiction title Selling Hitler ( LJ 5/15/86), is clearly well versed in the operations and machinations of the Nazi regime. He uses this knowledge to create a realistic and frightening world in which we all could be living."
The Man in the High Castle, by Philip K. Dlck, nominated by ajbera.
“It's America in 1962--where slavery is legal and the few surviving Jews hide anxiously under assumed names. All because some twenty years earlier America lost a war--and is now occupied jointly by Nazi Germany and Japan. This harrowing, Hugo Award-winning novel set in a parallel universe is the work that established **** as a legendary science fiction author."
1632, by Eric Flint, nominated by VetLegion.
“When a cosmic accident transports a West Virginia community back in time and space to 17th-century Thuringia, the citizens of Grantville find themselves thrust into the midst of the bloody and savage conflict that history books would call the Thirty Years War. Surrounded by warring armies and burdened by the prospect of diminishing resources, Grantville residents, under the leadership of a council that includes a union leader, a doctor, and a teacher, proceed to turn their new world upside down, beginning the American Revolution a century and a half before its time. Flint (Mother of Demons) convincingly re-creates the military and political tenor of the times in this imaginative and unabashedly positive approach to alternative history. A solid choice for fantasy collections.”
Note: This book is available as a free download from http://www.baen.com/library/. In case a mod gets nervous, yes, Baen is the copyright holder.
The Two Georges, by Richard Dreyfuss* and Harry Turtledove, nominated by dv8ed.
“Will Oscar-winning actor Dreyfuss collect any new awards for his first novel, coauthored with a Hugo-winning master of alternative SF? Probably not, but the talented thespian won't get the hook for his rookie writing, either, as he partners on an entertaining detective story set in a present-day North American Union, still a colony of the British Empire. Thomas Bushell and Samuel Stanley of the Royal American Mounties must find the famous Gainsborough painting of The Two Georges showing Washington kneeling to the king, that has been stolen by the subversive Sons of Liberty while on traveling exhibit. The Mounties are accompanied by the exhibit's curator, Kathleen Flannery, who's helpful but may be collaborating with the Sons. Their cross-country search shows off a lower-tech world, in which people get around in dirigibles and steamer cars, and old-style powers like Austria, Prussia and the Ottoman Empire vie for dominance. The authors' alternate globe is recognizable yet delightfully distorted; in this looking-glass, engaging characters play out a suspenseful and satisfying story.”
*Yes, the actor. He is listed as the primary author, with Turtledove being his abled assistant.
Under the Yoke, by S. M. Stirling, nominated by Rex Little.
"In Under the Yoke Steve Stirling has created a world in which the losers in the American Revolution did not have a Canada to flee to. Instead they had--South Africa. Strangely enough, this seemingly minor reality shift made the future history of that world totally different from our own.
"The refugees called their new world Drakesland, and they called themselves the Draka. In Drakesland these slave-owning American Tories and their descendants created a society dedicated to the proposition that all peoples are created equal--equal under the heel of the Draka. Having pacified Africa they headed north to Europe, with the same result. Now it's our turn."
Warning: This book is out of print in the States and might be difficult to find.
Comment