The Dog Stars

I am a very, very fidgety & restless person. I burn NikeFuel like you wouldn't believe - a fact that, sadly, hasn't helped me keep a trim figure (sometimes I am fidgeting while eating ice cream), but does make it very annoying to try and sit quietly on the couch with me for any length of time.

So it was a nice change when I read this book and found it had a calming effect on me.

"But, Jane, isn't this a book set in a world devastated by a super-flu where the only people left must defend themselves against bandits, blood disease, and crushing loneliness?"

Yes. Yes it is. But there is also a lot of nature! And an old dog. And hiking, and fly fishing. The sun dapples things and there are descriptions of creeks' burbling. The main character has ended up at an airport with a working plane and some not yet expired fuel, so there are passages where he's flying about the country and looking down on the quiet little patchwork landscape (it's hard to see flu-wrought devastation from 10,000 feet in the air). It's a book you sit down with and spend some quality, non-fidgety time with.

I don't mean to say this is a happy novel; it certainly isn't. But it's not bombastic, or frenetic. The overall tone & pace of the novel actually make the "action sequences" much more unsettling and powerful, and I appreciated not having to wade through a ton of noise as I got to know the protagonist. Also, have I mentioned there is a sweet old dog? Good boy.

4 precious, precious post-apocalypse cans of Coca-Cola out of 5.

Alien Contact

Look, I *don't* want to believe. At all. Aliens are terrifying. Unfortunately I've seen the videos (okay, yes, just this one video. And yes, if you are my friend - it's the one I've made you watch. Also if you are my co-worker. ALSO if you're that person I sat next to on the train once. Sorry).

So I thought I would read this book to get a little perspective on our little green friends and it really helped. Marvel at the obnoxious, but ultimately humanity advancing, aliens in George Alec Effinger's "The Aliens Who Knew, I Mean, Everything"! Wonder at the dog-faced aliens and the many different paths intelligent societies can take in Harry Turtledove's "The Road Not Taken"! Sit quietly with a cup of tea and ponder the meaning of a friendship between a bag lady and a disembodied alien claw robot in Pat Murphy's "Recycling Strategies for the Inner City"!

There were also some scary stories in here - "Law of Survival" by Nancy Kress, featuring a starving earth and a mysterious alien race looking to train stray dogs, being a notable one (it doesn't sound that scary, I guess...but why would aliens want well-behaved dogs? Think about it - only evil can come of this). But ultimately, my feelings about the aliens who are surely already living among us are now much more well-rounded. This was a growth experience for me. Also the last story in the book, "Last Contact" by Stephen Baxter, is completely heartbreaking and moved me in a way I did not expect ("Are you crying? Reading that ALIEN BOOK?" - my fiance).

Oh GOD WHY did I write so many words for this review???? What is the point. If you are a huge nerd, read this book if you haven't already, it's got some great stories. If you are not a huge nerd, who are we kidding? You are not going to pick up a book with an alien/man riff on the "Creation of Adam" lit by a weird green glow on the cover. But it's your loss! Also I have a video you should watch...

4 statues of Zefram Cochrane out of 5.

The Panic Hand

These stories - so great. So WEIRD. They zig and zag all over the place but you always end up somewhere awesome. The story "Friend's Best Man" won the World Fantasy Award and stars a dog that can predict the future. A magic dog! Look, I can't even go into all the details beyond the psychic dog, the story with God as a housekeeper, the imaginary friend who is alive...it's all good. Kelly Link and Aimee Bender owe some big debts to Carroll - if you enjoyed their short stories I would definitely pick this up if you can find a copy.

Friend's Best Man = 5 magic Jack Russell terriers out of 5.

The rest of the book = 3.5 raging World Fantasy Awards after-parties out of 5.