Zergwatch: ReviewEric Nylund's fourth novel is touted by the publisher as "hyperpunk," but what is that, exactly? Is it the spastic child of cyberpunk? The willful offspring poking Father Gibson in the eye? While Signal to Noise introduces some fascinating virtual sleights of hand, the overall impression is of a continuation of the nano-techno-cyberpunk genre rather than a leap in evolution to a new form of fiction.
This latest offering from the former Microsoft employee will undoubtedly thrill writers of code and the romantics who call themselves hackers. Nylund's main characters are affixed with permanent implants allowing instant access to cyberspace; a virtuality so vivid that they often prefer the virtual over the reality. The trouble begins when Jack Potter, an encryption expert who's done some shady work for the NSO, finds and decodes a message buried in old astronomical data.Contact with the outreaching alien and information bartering result. Unfortunately, someone else is watching, too. "Down the hall, bars rattled. It was a nice touch. Cold churned in Jack's stomach, diffused down his legs and up his spine. It was synthetic fear generated by the bubble. He fought it. DeMitri took a set of keys from his pocket, picked one out, then opened a cell door ... 'Alcatraz'--he spread his arms in a grand gesture--'is a reflection of what's on your mind, Jack. Feeling guilty about something?'"
The brilliance of Signal to Noise is in the science: the idea of looking out into the swirling sea of the cosmos and finding patterns hidden amongst the static hiss of the births and deaths of stars. At times, the math itself has more depth than many of the characters, who tend to be reminiscent of stock figures in pulp fiction. Which isn't to say that there's no fun to be had here. As the novel progresses, the ante is upped until Jack is bartering the alien for Earth itself. An extra implant crammed into Jack's brain against his will is starting to burn out his optical nerve, and he's no longer sure who his friends are. Log on to Signal to Noise to find out who the bad guys are, and who, if anyone, is going to survive. --Jhana Bach
REVIEW
Good book. Well, what can I say? A great book, blending intricate details of a technical, near-post-apocolyptic society with grand-scale espionage and intrigue while tying all that in with how just 3 working-class characters fit into it. It'll keep you guessing the whole time about who's on who's side and what the main character will do next. I highly recommend this book and its sequel, "A Signal Shattered." Eric Nylund's works on Halo is what got me interested in his other works. Add a Review
The Earth is the graveyard of billions, thanks to mathematician and rogue cryptographer Jack Potter and the treacherous extraterrestrial creature known as Wheeler, Jack's one-time business partner in the trade of alien and human technologies. But Potter and a handful of others managed to escape the holocaust thanks to the miracle of teleportation. From the cold gray ruins of the Moon, the last pitiful remnants of the human race now stare down at the devastation thatone of their diminished species unwittingly helped to bring about. Here at civilization's end, a beautiful Chinese mind assassin, a cold-blooded cybernetics genius, a DNA-manipulating "gene witch," and Jack himself stand at the threshold of a new day -- when accelerated evolution will open the door to the full achievement of human potential; when the epic saga of humanity will begin again and Jack will ultimately be redeemed...if he doesn't go insane first.
But Wheeler is still out there -- and out to finish what he started. And this universe isn't big enough for Jack Potter to hide himself in.
REVIEW
Good book. This was a great sequel to "Signal to Noise". As you read, you aredefinitely drawn into the characters' feelings and thoughts, especially in a world where subconcious, hunches, and metaphors are a way of life in this story.
As you read, you definitely grasp the characters' feelings of hopelessness and struggle in the beginning, then it picks up as they find their path to survival. What follows are just as much twists and turns as the first book, which is naturally very unlikely for the setting of the story, but Nylund pulls it off with excellece.
The last two chapters WILL get your blood pumping. Awesome book. Add a Review
Nestled between San Francisco and the heart of California wine country is the quiet community of Del Sombra. Among its many residents are Eliot and Fiona Post, twin fifteen-year-olds who want nothing more than to get out from under the oppressive force of their grandmother, Audrey. Audrey controls every aspect of Eliot and Fiona's lives: she homeschools them, forces them to work at a local pizzeria, even attempts to control their interests and actions through an ever-growing list of rules. On their fifteenth birthday, they learn why. They are the offspring of the eldest Immortal Fate, Atropos, and the Infernal Lucifer, and their very existence is a threat to an ancient neutrality treaty between gods and fallen angels.
When news of their existence hits each family, a cold war erupts, each side vying for control of this new breed. In order to establish their proper place and rightful allegiance, the Immortals and Infernals devise tests for Eliot and Fiona. The gods devise three heroic trials inspired by urban legends, taking them into deeper and more dangerous pockets of mythology incarnate in the modern world. The Infernals fashion three diabolical temptations for the children, each one an attempt to forever isolate brother from sister.
Eliot and Fiona will need to band together if they are to have any hope of staying alive, for allegiances are never quite what they seem in this ancient battle for supremacy. And they just may need to call for their parents' help if they hope to stop these secret worlds from exploding into an end-all battle...
This digital document, covering the life and work of Eric S. Nylund, is an entry from Contemporary Authors, a reference volume published by Thompson Gale. The length of the entry is 818 words. The page length listed above is based on a typical 300-word page. Although the exact content of each entry from this volume can vary, typical entries include the following information:
Welcome to the world of Crimson Skies. The United States is a land torn apart by epidemic and war. With chaos on the ground, America’s highways have been forced into the skies, a lawless new frontier where the flying ace—hero, pirate, villain—is king. Here are the exciting, danger-packed adventures of three such daredevils.
The Case of the Phantom Prototype. A hefty payday convinced dogfight genius Paladin Blake to fly a top-secret aircraft into the Mojave Desert. But on this job, Blake must not only save himself, but thousands of others slated for death by an unseen foe.
“Genghis” Kahn & the Manchurian Gambit. Why is the notorious leader of the Red Skull Legion pirate gang rescuing a lady in distress, returning gold, and duking it out in blazing air battles from Manhattan to Manchuria with no plunder in sight? Wonders never cease.
Bayou Blues. Ever since flying ace Nathan Zachary made a pirate ship out of a stolen zeppelin, the gentleman air-pirate and his “Fortune Hunters” gang have roamed the globe in search of money, fame, and adventure. But a double-dealing Cajun sky-thief, a crooked businessman, and a pair of star-crossed lovers may just trump this ace in a high-stakes, high-altitude con game.
Swashbuckling adventures of your favorite flying aces, in all their guts and glory, against a backdrop of blazing
Fun, but sloppily written 'Crimson Skies' is an enjoyable read, and serves to provide some detailed background material to the game. While all three of the stories were well done and had good character development (although the bad guy in the second story should have been a bit nastier), I found the 'technical' side of the stories to be sadly lacking. Granted, 'Crimson Skies' is a fantasy set in an alternate world. But when you start describing helium-filled Zeppelins as having steel frames, extensive armor plating and batteries of five inch guns, you are leaving all resemblance to reality far behind. I guess some might consider this to be poetic license, but to me it just seems like sloppy research. I mean, the U.S. Navy really did develop a series of airships in the 30's that were designed to launch and recover fixed-wing aircraft. In the age of the Internet, it's pretty easy to find the history, plans and specifications of the 'Akron' or the 'Hindenburg'. Why describe Zeppelins that defy the laws of physics when, with a few hours of research, you could describe realistic airships instead? For another example, the final story makes use of the fact that the hero has a 'secret weapon': his mechanic has equipped his plane's engine with a 'nitro boost' system - but it can only be used for short periods of time because 'the pump has to build the nitro pressure back up'. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that by the 1930's people had figured out how to build pressurized canisters. And even the briefest research into the history of drag racing would show that the time limit on the use of nitrous oxide was based on the fact that the dramatically increased horsepower tended to cause engines to throw rods, pistons and other normally internal engine parts through the side of the block. The problem with nitro wasn't running out of it, but shutting it off before the engine blew up. So why did the author invent an elaborate problem that doesn't exist, when the real problem is both simpler and more dramatic? The stories actually have some very clever ideas in them (like using nitrous oxide in an airplane engine, or building a Zeppelin with a full-length flight deck), but they're spoiled by the authors not bothering to find out how these ideas could actually work.
A little serious research would have paid off in other ways as well. The 1930's was a Golden Age of Aviation, and the chances for an airplane buff to play 'what if" are almost unlimited: What if a helicopter like the Bell 47 was developed in the '30's? What if Howard Hughes had gotten the Spruce Goose to fly? How about some top-secret plans for the fighters and bombers that were really used in WWII? Did the wide spread use of military Zeppelins preclude the development of navel Aircraft Carriers? (this last point was a serious debate in real life). And a little research into how to fly airplanes (or better yet, a few hours of actual flight instruction in a Cessna) would have yielded much more realistic descriptions of the flight scenes. Of course, I'm sure this book was targeted at people who are into video games rather than those who are seriously into classic airplanes. And I didn't expect the publisher to hire a Martin Caidin or a Tom Clancy to write a tie-in book to a video game. But they could have at least given the three authors a copy of Microsoft Flight Simulator and said "Here, play with this for a week and then write the story". Add a Review
Zergwatch: Review"Dreaming awake and asleep," Roland Pritchard's life is a busy one. When he wakes in our world, he's stuck in a marginal job trying to care for his disturbed mother; when he sleeps in our world, he pursues a scholar's lifein the isolated, mysterious Abbey. Sleeping or waking, both lives are frustratingly constrained, and when Roland is offered opportunities to break away in both worlds, he embarks on dual journeys of self-discovery leading to union.
REVIEW
Terrific read I was working in a bookstore when this came out and Nylund stopped by and gave the folks in science fiction each a copy (signed, no less). Over the years, I never sold the book and vowed to eventually read it to repay the author for his kind gesture. Now that I've finished the book, I'm *really* happy I didn't sell this book.
Note: In an effort to avoid spoliers, there are many vague statements below. I apologize for this, but I don't want to hurt your reading experience.
The book reads a bit more like a murder mystery than SF, as the main character tries to unravel his past and his current situation. Nylund does a great job of setting up his fantasy world and sticking to the ground rules he lays. His explanation of magic and sorcery are tied into the overall natural laws of the created world and truly heightens the story. Instead of magic being plopped into some medieval setting, it is woven into Meredin.
So, it's a good book, it reads fast and was an addictive page turner. The real question is, do I spring for it on the out of print market? I say yes. I'm a bookdealer, so this is not surprising, but there are a ton of terrible books out there for far more money. This is smart fantasy, which skips between our world and the fantasy land of Meredin. The parts that are here are familiar, but Nylund's execution is fresh and sets Pawn's Dream apart and above from run of the mill fantasy. Add a Review
One of thirteen people challenged to find the Holy Grail and be rewarded with a planetary system, Germain, an assassin, can absorb the consciousness of his victims, giving him an advantage in the contest until his inner personalities begin to battle for control of his body.
REVIEW
Utterly fantastic mix of SF and Fantasy! Wow! Usually, most literature which tries to mix technology and magic doesn't work for me at all (e.g. the "Shadowrun" stuff), badly executed and stitched together. Not so this time. One of the all-time best books to read, this novel offers the inside view of a split-personality corporate assassin/sorceror in a future where powerful magic dwells between sophisticated ultratechnology and time-bending psionic powers. It artfully splices together the stuff of ancient legends and high-tech thriller. While certain ideas in this book are not entirely new, I would nevertheless rate it 6 stars, if I could, due to it's beautiful style, in-depth characterization, fast pace and intricately wrought background. I think this book is even better than "Signal to Noise", and just wish the very promising Mr. Nylund would produce more novels in this setting. Very highly recommended. Add a Review
