Holy Crap!! Did I forget about May?!? I really dropped the ball guys, I'm sorry that I forgot about doing the #ClassicLSFBC selection for May. The new job has taken most of my time, and April just slipped through my fingers.
I didn't realize, until I saw @swynn review of The Weapon Shops of Isher, that I'd forgotten. I apologize. I'll leave it up to everyone else, we can skip May and make a selection for June instead, or we can do some ⬇️
so-so(1951, from stories 1941-1949)
I read and enjoyed this back around 1980, but avoided revisiting it because I remembered a libertarian/gun-rights theme that I'd now find irksome. Which is true a little, but it's hard to stay irked by something so bonkers. For me this is peak Van Vogt: so packed with ideas it can't be bothered with things like consistency, craft or common sense: a hot mess that tips “hot“ enough to be enjoyable still
#ClassicLSFBc
pickIn this fast-paced and violent dystopian novel, New York is cut off from the rest of the world, shrouded in a deadly "funk" that sometimes bestows powers on residents, while territorial gangs vie for control of city blocks. A small group led by the Kid undertakes a mysterious mission; Gillian is appointed Sheriff and tasked with solving a murderous attack. This one requires some concentration: the names and dialogue fly as fast as the swords.
“Fullness comes when we remember to be with Him before going out to serve Him” Lysa TerKeurst
pickThe cozy small business story of Legends & Lattes meets the progressive sci-fi of Becky Chambers, with a flavor entirely its own, in this fresh, heartwarming tale about a motley crew of robots launching a restaurant amid PTSD, prejudice, and review bombing in a future post-war San Francisco. I ATE this UP and already miss the team at Automatic Noodle and the friendship, pride, and love found at the bottom of a bowl of their biang biang noodles!
pickIn a dystopian future, a bloody war recognizes California as an independent nation away from the U.S. From the wreckage, a group of robots are reactivated and decide to rebuild by starting a successful noodle shop in the Bay Area. As their popularity grows, so do their detractors as negative reviews, xenophobia, politics, and anti-robotic sentiment attempts to tank their restaurant as they continue to persevere in this cozy sci-fi novella.
(1984) It's a collection of three interconnected novellas, about a failed revolution on Mars and what happens after, set in the 23rd-27th centuries. The “icehenge“ of the title is a megalithic structure on Pluto, which may have been constructed by Martian rebels, or by aliens ancient or recent, or something else. I quite liked the premise and the epistemological themes, but found it difficult to engage with the story.
pickI was sad when this book ended. I loved all of the characters and, especially Brawne. Funny how this book was written 3 decades ago and, yet, seems apropos. I‘ll definitely continue the Hyperion Cantos by reading the next book, Endymion.
so-soThe weapon shops are the only recourse against the tyranny of the Isher empire although the weapons they sell can only work as self-defence for their owner.
I was a great fan of the author as a teenager - especially the Null-A books - so I must have read this before, but I had no memory of the story. I expect I enjoyed it then, mainly because I was unaware of certain controversies it seems to be playing into. Now, not so much.
Whenever the next read is, I'll nominate Jo Clayton's debut novel, “Diadem From the Stars“ 3d