The Atrocity Archives by Charles Stross

The Atrocity Archives is a comical cross between the spy novels of Len Deighton and the modern occult horror of Tim Powers, peppered with some old school references to H. P. Lovecraft and lots of insider jokes for Geeks. The main character, Bob Howard (a shout-out to Robert E. Howard?), is a tech support nerd and secret agent who works for "The Laundry," a government agency dedicated to keeping soul-eating horrors beyond our ken at bay.

The book actually contains two stories, and the author has apparently written more in the same series that are either already published or soon-to-be-published. (I know that sounds vague, but I had some trouble linking up the ISBN numbers given in Stross's Wikipedia article.)

This book was recommended to me by an acquaintance at Mysterious Galaxy in San Diego, a great bookstore that specializes in speculative fiction (with a bit of slop over into other genres). I enjoyed the book. It had some great moments. However, the humor wore on me a little because it trumped the plot too much, and I didn't like not being warned that there were two stories in the volume. I kept waiting for them to connect up and was disappointed when they didn't. It really doesn't feel like a coherent novel for that reason. The first story takes up two-thirds of the novel. I would really have preferred for the author to have fleshed that story out a bit more and made it the focus of the whole book, rather than tacking on the second, shorter story.

Atrocity Archives is an enjoyable read, but it is not an experience that I would ever repeat.

Quick facts.
Book 21 for 2009. 368 pages. Science Fiction. Published in 2004.
I read this book on the Amazon Kindle II.

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

First of all, you should buy this book now. Or rather, you should download it for free, since the author gives it away online. And then you should buy a copy for some 13-17 year-old kid that you know. It's a great read and it's an important book, from the introduction to the several postscripts.

Marcus is a precocious young man living in San Francisco. He loves nothing better than to beat the system by dodging out of school to play in a massive, multi-player, riddle/scavenger hunt game that is driven by on-line clues. But one day when he sneaks out the world changes. Caught up in a security sweep following a terrorist attack, Marcus learns that he can't take his freedom or his rights for granted.

The tone of this book is perfectly suited for young adults, but any adult who picks it up will, I think, be surprised by the fact that the story never totally falls into the trite traps one expects from young adult fiction. Further, it manages to say some really important things, both to young adults and adult adults.

Quick facts.
Book 20 for 2009. 384 pages. Science Fiction. Published in 2008.

Orphans of the Sky by Robert Heinlein

In 2119 the Jordan Foundation built an immense deep-space colony ship aimed at Proxima Centauri. However, that ship is now "The Ship," a phrase synonymous with "the world" for its inhabitants. These travelers have long since forgotten Jordon and the mission, except as religious metaphors, and have developed their own society. Now, one member of that society learns the truth, and the truth proves to be a very dangerous thing.

First of all, this book is actually a compilation of two stories published previously: Universe and Common Sense. The latter picks up pretty much right where the former story leaves off, though, so they feel more like two halves of one story than two self-contained tales.

The concept of this book is great, and I even like some of the goofy science fiction ideas it contains. For example, there are a group of outcast individuals who have random survivable mutations, like a two-headed mutant character, Joe-Jim, who actually converses with himself!

However, the concept and the color of the story just doesn't cover up the gross sexism, thin plotting, and shallow characters. I can't recommend this one. However, I do like the 30 minute radio dramatization of Universe as heard on the old time radio series Dimension X. If you are interested, it is in the public domain and you can listen to it here.

Quick facts.
Book 19 for 2009. 224 pages. Science Fiction. Published in 1951.

Cory Doctorow Rocks

Why have I put off reading Cory Doctorow all these years? I am reading Little Brother right now, or it would be more accurate to say I am starting it right now. I just finished the introduction and, while I have heard some of the material in it stated before, I don't think I have ever read a statement on the subject of piracy, digital rights, and art as succinct and authoritative. Do yourself a favor and at least read the Introduction of Little Brother from "The Copyright Thing" to the end. There's nothing stopping you, since CD has given you permission to download the book for free. (You can get a well-formatted PDF of it at feedbooks.com.)

Three Hearts and Three Lions by Poul Anderson

An Americanized, agnostic engineer of Danish descent finds himself battling the Nazis on a beach during WW2. A head wound sends his consciousness across to another world where he discovers he also has a life as a well-known knight who bears a shield with three lions and three hearts on it. In the course of rediscovering himself, he comes to grip with the fact that his purpose in both worlds is to serve as "The Defender" of Law over the forces of Chaos that threaten to engulf the planet.

This is one of those books that really appeals to adolescents, and with good reason. It is an entertaining romp, but it also carries a purer message of right vs. wrong. The protagonist is faced with moral choices and he learns the value of selecting what is good over what is convenient, indulgent, or outright evil.

I once read somewhere that fantasies and westerns were the last bastion of the "moral tale" in this age. That may be so. In any case, this novel is certainly one example.

I first read this book around age 10. As you may have noticed, I have been revisiting some of the books I read in my pre-teen years, partially because I am interested in the reading life of my 9 year old son, and partly out of curiosity about whether the books hold up. Mostly, I think they do hold up, though I can see that the books have more appeal for a pre-teen than for an adult. The best books obviously appeal equally to both. This one comes close, though I think it's just a bit too rushed for adult tastes.

Quick facts.
Book 18 for 2009. 161 pages. Fantasy. Published in 1953.