Ken Macleod

[Grunkins]

I've never read a MacLeod novel. I thought I had one on order, but it turns out that it was a Gary Gibson novel. I'll have to find a good starting point to MacLeod and give him a shot.

edit: Just ordered Fractions: The First Half of The Fall Revolution.

 

[Connavar]

SF isn't "light" entertainment to me either. But I do want it to be entertainment.

My problem with too much SF out there is that it isn't entertaining enough. The characters aren't people I might (in my dreams) like to be, or people I can love to hate – too often they're names on a page. My emotions aren't engaged. I think, "Only another 10 months until Guy Gavriel Kay has his next out."

Thought-provoking is brilliant, often exciting, but are MacCleod's characters really engaging?

Coragem.

I thought his characters was real people that i thought often were compelling people to root for and hope for. When one of them died i was annoyed with the author thinking why him. So i think he did it well to make me care about the characters.

You are describing a flaw in SF books that think science babble is enough and good storytelling, good characters you care for isnt needed to sell. Just avoid the books that are like that to you. This is why i have read much more classic SF with alltime great authors. You know what to expect from the best legends.

Why im happy with modern authors like Richard Morgan,Ian MacDonald,Ken Macleod. They deliver serious SF that is entertaining story too, strong characters. I dont think my problem with SF is the characters are not people as you say. You have had only bad luck and not found contemporary SF fav authors. The field is huge and you will read some weak ones. No need to think less of the good authors you havent read.

It would be like me saying fantasy has terrible characters you dont feel anything for because i have read R.A Salvatore, Robert Jordan,Goodkind.....

 

[J-WO]

I thought Learning the World had one of the more satisfying of MacLeod'sendings.


And I agree with J-WO: I really enjoyed reading about the "Edwardian space-bats". (If there was to be a film, I would love the Compare the Meerkat animators to take on the job: those adverts are full of little details that you only see on repeated viewings, just what you need to bring the best out of the bats.)

Get both their email addresses and MAKE THIS HAPPEN!!!!!

 

[Coragem]

A review of The Restoration Game is now up in Chrons reviews section here.

I think it was a more likable novel than either The Night Sessions or The Execution Channel …

In the light of Ian's review I've bought The Restoration Game. It sounds like there's a protagonist I'll be able to engage with and (as noted before) my problem with too much sci-fi is that it doesn't engage me emotionally.

I'm a bit extreme on this, but for me I don't care how well written a novel is, or how clever, if it's not emotionally engaging, if I can't care what happens to the characters, it's a poor novel.

Coragem.

 

[williamjm]

I thought Learning the World had one of the more satisfying of MacLeod'sendings.

I seem to remember thinking the ending felt a bit rushed (also true of some of the endings of his other books), other than that I agree that it is one of his better endings.

 

[Bick]

I was scanning the shelves the other day and saw I have a copy of The Stone Canal - not read it, and it wasn't on my radar to read I guess, but is it a good one of his? Any recommendations?

 

[iansales]

Do you have The Star Fraction? That's his first book, and the first of the four Fall Revolution books.

 

[Ursa major]

I've read the first three - the trilogy, that is - but have never seen The Sky Road in a shop**. However, I've just noticed that there's a Kindle edition (with a price cut to £4.49).

I wish I hadn't left my Kindle elsewhere; I hope the offer will still be in force by the time I retrieve it.





** - I'm not that keen on mail-ordering real books. (Don't ask me why: I don't know.)

 

[Ursa major]

And the (publisher's) offer was still in force )).

(The Sky Road was only published on Kindle June 2012.)

 

[Gary Compton]

I've read the first three - the trilogy, that is - but have never seen The Sky Road in a shop**. However, I've just noticed that there's a Kindle edition (with a price cut to £4.49).

I wish I hadn't left my Kindle elsewhere; I hope the offer will still be in force by the time I retrieve it.

Are you getting to such an age that you are leaving your important devices on the bus, Ursa.

Like your Kindle, and more importantly, your pacemaker and your labido enhancer

Try: www.senilitytracker.com:D

 

[Ursa major]

* Wonders how Gary knows about the Peacemaker.... *

 

[Gary Compton]

* Wonders how Gary knows about the Peacemaker.... *

Simples!

You are a Tony Blair clone?

Bearly believable

 

[Connavar]

I've read the first three - the trilogy, that is - but have never seen The Sky Road in a shop**. However, I've just noticed that there's a Kindle edition (with a price cut to £4.49).

I wish I hadn't left my Kindle elsewhere; I hope the offer will still be in force by the time I retrieve it.





** - I'm not that keen on mail-ordering real books. (Don't ask me why: I don't know.)

Im not keen on mail-ordering real books either but im too loyal to good authors like Ken Macleod to care where i get the books from. If a book is out of print and i cant buy in my fav local bookstore i use online easily.

I have two new Macleod books but i have almost forgotten how i got them. the books after Star Fraction im looking up how to get right now.

 

[williamjm]

I was scanning the shelves the other day and saw I have a copy of The Stone Canal - not read it, and it wasn't on my radar to read I guess, but is it a good one of his? Any recommendations?

I liked the Fall Revolution series, but The Stone Canal was the book I liked least. There are two plotlines in it, I did quite like the 20th Century plotline but I found it hard to care about what was happening in the far-future plotline, I didn't find the characters as interesting as in most of Macleod's other books.

 

[Gramm838]

I've read most of his books but I get very disappointed in his relentless 'Scottish Libertarian Socialism is the greatest thing ever' thread that runs through most of his books.

Its most prevalent in his early stuff (The Sky Road, The Cassini Division and so on), but it gets very tiresome when I'm an English realist, rather than a Scottish Socialist!

 

[JoanDrake]

The worst ending of all time was for the TV show LOST. After 6 years they revealed that they had never really intended one, and so just lied to those of us who had guessed the obvious after the second episode.

The Best was for Jack Vance's Demon Princes series:

"You're so quiet and subdued. You worry me. Are you well?"

"Quite well. Deflated perhaps. I have been deserted by my enemies. Treesong is dead. The affair is over. I am done."



"

 

[zaltys13]

The worst ending of all time was for the TV show LOST. After 6 years they revealed that they had never really intended one, and so just lied to those of us who had guessed the obvious after the second episode.

The Best was for Jack Vance's Demon Princes series:

"You're so quiet and subdued. You worry me. Are you well?"

"Quite well. Deflated perhaps. I have been deserted by my enemies. Treesong is dead. The affair is over. I am done."



"

Thanks for that, wont bother reading it then. Idiot.

As for Ken Macleod, I haven't read any of his early stuff, but I have enjoyed his newer novels, he seems to like the twist rather alot though.

The Execution Channel was okay, the ending though left me feeling like I'd suddenly started reading another (more ridiculous) book.

Learning the world was much better, loved the characters, loved the plot, there wasn't so much a twist as a brilliant postscript, it added alot to everything that had gone before.

The Restoration Game was one big twist, but signposted so much that I didn't feel to cheated at the end.

The Night Sessions was okay, just okay really.

I feel that his overiding strength lies in his characters, I think, especially in his near future novels that he extrapolates very well, I personally dont mind his socialist ideals, but I can see why others might, he is very similer to Iain M Banks in this respect, his good friend and another left wing Scottish writer!

As an aside I picked up all four of the above mentioned novels in hardback first editions either from charity shops or discount book stores for about £1.00 each. Maybe he's tough going for the cassual reader, and maybe his publishers think he should be more popular than he actually is.

I would recommend him though, thoughtful and political with an eye for action and character. Oh, his short fiction is great to, try "The best Science Fiction of the year 3". For starters, it made me laugh anyway

You will find that in the "New Solaris book of Science fiction" along with some other fantastic shorts, see Mr Ian Whates for further information I would imagine.

 

[Brian G Turner]

Learning the World

Argh! That's the book I read! So forgettable I forgot the title!

No, not entirely forgettable - but I found it nothing more than a short story that had been expanded into a novel, because.

And the idea that, 10,000 years from now, blogging would become a big thing. And someone who posts nothing of interest becoming a "big thing" - puh-lease - let's stick to sci-fi!!

And the bat-people - a kitsch idea, reasonably done. But absolutely nothing enough happens in it to justify the story - other than the twist in the ending. Which is nice. But, really, it's just one big padded short story that makes the Stainless Steel Rat seem like advanced hard sf!!

I made the mistake of buying the hardback ....

 

[Vertigo]

I have just read Learning the World and was somewhat disappointed; it started well with an interesting and, indeed, well executed premise. After that it went steadily downhill.

Spoilers:
The humans were presented as an advanced, enlightened society. Then after a thousand years of space travel and never encountering another intelligent species they finally enter a star system with intelligent aliens. Then this oh so enlightened bunch of humans decide that since the aliens haven't yet got into space it's fine for the humans to march in and colonise the rest of their solar system (in fairness some are against it but not most). Then they not only intervene with the aliens they actually give intelligence to the aliens' beasts of burden. And these are supposed to be advanced enlightened humans. They behaved more like a bunch of juvenile delinquents. Oh and then to finish it off, suddenly more aliens signals start popping out of space all around them. Oh Please.

Sorry but in the end, after as I said a promising start, this one was a dud. Sad, as it is my first book by Ken MacLeod.

 

[Connavar]

I havent had the time to finish Learning The World but so far it is somewhat disapointing to me too. My first book of his The Star Fraction was much better,more interesting.

This one started well but hasnt gone anywhere really. The end must be special or its a dud for me too.