Legacy Code by Autumn Kalquist
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is an extremely well-written book--exactly the kind of book I frequently look for. I enjoyed the audio version immensely. The narrator was a very talented woman with an English accent. The world had a very dark and gritty atmosphere, with just a hint of a Battlestar Galactica vibe--and though it has one story element in common with BSG (a fleet of ships humans call home while they search for a new world), the protagonist herself and main plot couldn't be further from that.

The protagonist's motivations and experiences rang true to me. This book has a feeling of realism (in a world built quite different from ours) that allows you to immerse yourself. I tore through it in just a few days, eager to find out what happened. The ending was a complete surprise to me and shocking. I was warned it was controversial, but I didn't think so. I thought the author was brave, but I won't say any more than that for fear of spoiling it for anyone else.

Without a doubt I will be reading more by Autumn Kalquist--a very talented new SF author.

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I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'm embarrassed to say that I dragged my feet about this book. But I wanted to read some classic scifi and try to catch up on all the good stuff I'd missed out on. I was IMMEDIATELY gripped by this story. Though it was written in the 1950's, that just washes away, becomes trivial.

The story is about a man surviving against all odds. Just a factory worker, he struggles with his humanity and becomes a scientist and a scholar--he elevates himself.

So many parts of this book held me in thrall, but the section about the dog brought tears to my eyes. Even the science, though rooted in early concepts of bacteriology, still rings as plausible.

This was a masterfully written tale and ended perfectly. It is, in my mind, the standard by which zombie and vampire books should be held. Don't even compare the movies--they are just bastardizations of this brilliant work. All my thumbs up. A must-read! Visceral, compelling...this story will stay with you.

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The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm reading this after finishing Scalzi's Old Man's War. There are obvious parallels, but I much prefer Scalzi's work, as it is a more character-driven tale.

This book is a clear commentary on the Vietnam war and the effect that war had on career soldiers, how their world changed while they're away. How it has changed them into something they don't recognize.

I loved the conclusion. I loved all the commentary about social mores, gender, language, and sexuality.

Haldeman clearly expected technology to evolve even faster than it has. That adds to the book's charm for me. It's amusing to hear him refer to years I have lived through with accounts of technology that is far beyond us, but still using some very analog ideas--ie, he thought microfiche would still be around hundreds of years later. When he wrote the book, credit cards must not have been in use yet, because he imagined a small device taking the place of a wallet. A fascinating read in that way, inside the mind of a 1975 futurist.

I really enjoyed this. It's a classic I should have read long ago. And the narration on the audio book was IMPECCABLY good!

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