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Bryan Thomas Schmidt
My thoughts on books, stories, authors, and publishing
Currently reading
The Clockwork Dagger
Progress:
120/360 pages
The Road to Science Fiction 3: From Heinlein to Here
The Road to Science Fiction 4: From Here to Forever
The Road to Science Fiction 1
A Broken Christmas
The Ultra Thin Man
Progress:
174/334 pages
The Broken Eye
The Dark Between the Stars
Oath of Fealty
The Road to Science Fiction 2: From Wells to Heinlein
WWW: Wake
Robert J. Sawyer is one of those writers I just hadn't gotten to yet. But he's fast becoming a favorite of mine. Prior to this I had read FLASHFORWARD which I enjoyed and several short stories but not made it to his books. Too much to read, too little time. The premise for WWW:WAKE itself did nothing for me. I mean, how interesting is a book about a blind person surfing the web sounding? But he's doing an interview with me coming up and I wanted to read more of his earlier work before tearing into his newest, TRIGGERS. And this book....WOW. What an awesome read this is. I was just blown away. The way he wove in the scientific details, etc. and still kept the story going without slowing down, the way it engaged me and I couldn't stop, masterful. Truly. It really blew me away. So now I have Terminal Experiment, Hominids, Calculating God and Illegal Alien all lined up here to read as soon as I can along with Triggers, which I will start in a week or two. WWW:WAKE is the kind of book that breaks your stereotypes you didn't know you had, opens the walls of the box you didn't know existed, and makes you look at SF books and the possibilities in new ways. His lead, Caitlin, is a blind teenager who just wants what anyone would: she wants to see. Then Dr. Kuroda, a Japanese researcher, gives her that chance with his new invention, she dubs an "EyePod." Nothing works quite as either of them hoped or expected. Two worlds are opened to Caitlin, the first, a world behind the world wide web she's long depended on to broaden her world and give her the only path to equality a blind teen could have: knowledge. The second is a physical world. But then she realizes there's something out there. And it's trying to communicate with her. Compelling, with great character development, surprising twists and strong pacing. The kind of book that resonates with every turned page and hangs with you long after. Highly recommended. I can't wait to read more Sawyer, especially the other two books in this cycle.
