I'm Reading A Great Book!

I haven't had "time" to make a significant entry this week. All energy, focus has been on school, at school, about school. In the evenings, I crash. Either I am reading a book or watching a favorite program on tv, and then I go to bed. Since the tv viewing is limited, I've mostly been reading.

Latest great read is John's book, Old Man's War. I haven't read this kind of science fiction since possibly the 80's. To understand what kind of science fiction I enjoy, here are some books I have read, enjoyed, and remember to this day: Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress; Asimov's robot stories; Hubbard's Battlefield Earth (actually, I read it long before the movie ever came out, and was disappointed in the movie); Carl Sagan's Contact; and nearly every book Orson Scott Card ever wrote. I have one entire bookshelf reserved just for his books. His writing style won me over when I read Ender's Game, and after that I read everything he ever wrote or edited.

There have been many others, so many I can't recall all the titles, and I don't even have them out on the bookshelf to look them up because most of them are paperback. I remember for several years subscribing to Science Fiction Magazine, and some years I'd buy (through book clubs or book sales) the hardback collection of short stories, such as the Hugo Award winners, the Nebula Award winners, and other science fiction short stories. Scott Card has a great volume of short stories, Maps in a Mirror, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Ten years ago, I had wandered through the fantasy genre, and discovered other authors, Sara Douglass, and Lois McMaster BuJold. This was a complete leap from what I loved to read 30 years ago, but it's good to try something new once in awhile.

There was one book I read that is out and apart from the rest: Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander. I read it before the movie was released, and because I wanted to see the movie. So glad I attempted the read. I say attempted because clearly I had not naval nor maritime prior knowledge to help me understand the ship's culture. The drawing of the fully masted ship at the front of the book was certainly a great reference page as I flipped back to it several times until I got the feel for the ship's major parts and functions.

What I most enjoyed about O'Brian's book was his use of the language. I read and reread several pages just to savor the sound of the multisyllable words, and laughed in wonder and glee at his paragraph-long sentences. Not that I want to write like that, but to read a sentence so skillfully put together was entertainment in itself. Thankfully, he mixed those lengthier sentences in at just the right moments, and the reading did not suffer. 

So when I heard about John's book, I was ready for something new again. And now it's hard to put the book down to make this entry. I can't help but compare his writing to what I've already read, which is why I briefly mentioned my reading history, so one would know where I was coming from. I have no doubt that I'm enjoying his story writing for the same reason I enjoyed Heinlein/Asimov/O'Brian/Card.

For me, the most important ingredient in a story is the character development, the transformation of the character from beginning to end, followed closely by the dialogue that carries or reveals the character. Probably is for most readers. There doesn't even have to be a lot of dialogue for me to enjoy, but some of it has to be witty, wise, intriguing, revealing, suggestive, or leave me wondering "what did he mean by that?" (I may ask of the character or the author).

As I read Old Man's War, though, I am constantly drawn to make comparisons between thepolitical and religious drama taking place in our own world, and the attitude our country proudly carries for its military, its fight for religious freedom, protection of human rights, and the constant tug of war we (citizens) feel regarding what we read in the news versus what is/could be really happening in the world. On the one hand, the book is entertaining science fiction, and on the other hand, this story has moral depth.

Certainly setting is varied, colorful, and unusual  in this story, and since it has been years since I hopped around in my imagination from planet to planet, or world to world, I gladly abandoned myself and joined in the journey. I haven't finished, on the final two chapters, however, I've already placed my order for Ghost Brigades.

Have you read Old Man's War?