A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms <George R. R. Martin>

Notes: Part of the 'A Song of Ice and Fire' series. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is a collection containing the first three 'Dunk and Egg' novellas by George RR Martin.

The Lathe of Heaven <Ursula K. Le Guin>

Notes:  It won the 1972 Locus Award for Best Novel and was a finalist for the 1971 Nebula Award for Best Novel and 1972 Hugo Award for Best Novel. More importantly, it was recommended by Paul Giamatti.

Guards! Guards! <Terry Pratchett>

Notes: The eighth installment in the Discworld series. Will be my first exposure to it. Was told it was an ideal entry point into the series.

Sand <Hugh Howey>

Notes: The start of another trilogy, from the author who wrote 'Silo'.

I, Robot <Isaac Asimov>

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The Martian Chronicles <Ray Bradbury>

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Project Hail Mary <Andy Weir>

Notes: Really, really enjoyable. The author is doing an excellent job of steering the ship. Easy to follow. Constantly heading in an interesting direction. Having fun going on an adventure of discovery with the protagonist. Reads like the book 'Rendezvous with Rama' and the movie 'Arrival' had a baby that was raised by the author of 'The Martian'. 

Burning Chrome <William Gibson>

P* score: 7.0 / 10

Notes: Gibson cranks out more bangers than a British sausage factory. Johnny Mnemonic - absolute top shelf banger. Hinterlands - banger. Red Star, Winter Orbit - banger. The titular final short story in the collection, banger. Well curated - almost no fluff or filler stories that fell flat. Man, that guy can cook.

Snow Crash <Neal Stephenson>

P* score: 5.9 / 10

Notes: It was fine. Not special, but a worthwhile read. I appreciate that it was visionary at the time and was an important evolutionary link in the development of the cyberpunk genre. But it feels very dated, not necessarily in the ideas, but in the language and conventions. Very '80s. Even if Stephenson painted an evergreen image, the brushstrokes and color palette he used did not age gracefully.  I almost gave up during the first third of the book. It was cartoonish, unserious, overwritten, a teenager more focused on impressing his English teacher with the construction of every sentence than telling a compelling story. I couldn't see what the hype was about. But then, to his credit, the author found his stride. He started weaving in some interesting big ideas and infusing momentum into the narrative. His version of cyberspace was fun to explore. The concepts involving neurolinguistics and human development were by far the most fascinating element, they were worth the price of admission. Glad I stuck around. 

Mona Lisa Overdrive <William Gibson>

P* score: 7.1 / 10

Notes: Fun action. Would make a great movie, especially the portion with Slick Henry and his robots. Not sure I totally got it, though. 

Bonus: Book Character Casting

Rendezvous with Rama <Arthur C. Clarke>

P* score: 6.8 / 10

Notes: Spooky echoes of the news with the 3I/ATLAS comet passing through out solar system and reaching the perihelion within days of the vessel in Rama doing the same thing as I read the book. So many parallels that it's impossible not to wonder if 3I/ATLAS is our Rama.

Count Zero <William Gibson>

P* score: 6.6 / 10

Notes: The structure and storytelling weren't nearly as compelling and coherent as 'Neuromancer', but that might have more to do with the first book in the Sprawl trilogy setting the bar so high. I had a difficult time latching onto it and understanding the story lines on my first read. I thought it was much better the second time through. Don't go into it expecting a direct sequel to 'Neuromancer'. It plays in the same universe, and some of the elements are a continuation, but it mostly stands alone as its own story. 

He really hit on something with the concept of the 'horses', that idea sticks with me. AI entities convincing humans to allow them access to their meat hardware to escape cyberspace and interact with the real world is both scary and increasingly plausible. 

Neuromancer <William Gibson>

P* score: 11.2 / 10                    🔥🔥 Must read 🔥🔥

Notes: Masterpiece. Prescient. Incredibly re-readable. Gibson struck a perfect balance between interesting ideas and excellent writing. I appreciate how much care and effort he put into crafting the language. The ideas could have carried the book on their own. The writing took it to another level. Instant classic. 

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? <Philip K. Dick>

P* score: 8.1 / 10                

Notes: Enjoyable to read for the surface level plot alone. It has good momentum and it's easy to see why it was ripe for an effective movie adaptation. But the author built in plenty of depth and thought-provoking ideas to explore. You can get lost in the subterranean tunnels beneath the surface. I'm convinced that Deckard is an android / replicant. What's your read on it? Do you think he's a human? Vote in the poll, or detail your argument in the replies below.  

He, She, and It <Marge Piercy>

Notes: Winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award for Best Science Fiction in 1993. 

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Woman on the Edge of Time <Marge Piercy>

Notes: Recently enjoyed Piercy's beautiful poetry in The Moon is Always Female and was stoked to learn about her sci-fi novels. William Gibson has apparently credited her 1976 book Woman on the Edge of Time as the birthplace of cyberpunk, or at least the inspiration for it (I can't find his original quote). Excited to read more from this Detroit based author.

Mona Lisa Overdrive <William Gibson>

Notes: A fun read. I love following up with characters from Neuromancer and Count Zero. Lots of action and enjoyable character development. I need to brainstorm with others about the ending, some things may have been lost on me. Was Kumiko on the horse at the end some type of foreshadowing?

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