#david d. levine

[friendly-neighbourhood-librarian]

Arabella of Mars - David D. Levine

A Victorian-era Treasure Planet-esque adventure that I didn’t know I needed!

Arabella Ashby, born and raised on Mars, is forced to return to Earth when her mother deems her “too wild,” leaving her beloved father and older brother behind with their family plantation. But after news reaches her of her father’s passing and she discovers a plot that threatens her brother’s life, Arabella disguises herself as a boy, earns a place on a Mars-bound airship, and sets off on an interplanetary adventure complete with pirates, mutiny, and automata galore!

A large portion of the story is focused on the daily life and work aboard the ship, which is actually pretty cool because you can imagine it’s similar to how a real ship (on the ocean) would function, but with sci-fi twists like zero-gravity and automaton navigators and forested asteroids. I also loved this protagonist! Arabella is smart, resourceful, reckless at times, bold and brave. She’s aware of her own strengths and limitations and she grows in confidence in her abilities throughout the story.

The Adventures of Arabella Ashby series: Arabella of Mars | Arabella and the Battle of Venus | Arabella the Traitor of Mars

[jaysterg5]

Wild Cards 1

Edited by George R. R. Martin, with the assistance of Melinda M. Snodgrass

Authors - George R. R. Martin, Howard Waldrop, Roger Zelazny, Walter Jon Williams, Melinda M. Snodgrass, Michael Cassut, David D. Levine, Lewis Shiner, Victor Milan, Edward Bryant & Leanne C. Harper, Stephen Leigh, Carrie Vaughn, and John J. Miller

Cover - Michael Komarck

Shortly after World War II, an alien virus is released over New York City.  The virus immediately kills 90% of those infected, and the remaining people develop strange mutations, some that resemble superpowers, and others that are disfiguring and possibly dangerous. This begins an alternate history which these "Wild Cards" affect the world as we know it - for better or worse.

This book is a collection of interrelated short stories that build on each other and create an alternate history.  Its referred to as a "mosaic novel" because each story and each author fit another piece into the world to build an overall picture of the universe.  It's actually a really cool concept.  Some characters appear in several stories as time goes by in the book.  Many references are made to earlier material and it really feels like individual pieces of a greater story - very much like a Marvel Comics series might contribute to the overall Marvel Universe.  Clever idea!

If you're looking for something totally complete in this volume, this book may not be for you - this is the beginning of a universe.  Many of these characters will appear again and again and their stories will build across multiple volumes of this series and they will develop further.  Also, many of the stories in this volume have a background that's very political in nature (McCarthyism, New York politics, drug culture, and more).  If you don't want to explore how those events might have influenced or been influenced by the actions of these characters, maybe this book isn't for you.

With all of that said, there are several fascinating characters in this book and I look forward to seeing where they go and meeting more of them in subsequent books.  Roger Zelazny's character "the Sleeper" is a man who wakes up with a new appearance and set of powers after each time he sleeps.  His story is focused on dealing with these powers and helping his family survive the challenges in the wake of Wild Card Day. He also appears a few more times in the book in small roles, but I was always happy to see what he was up to.  Fortunato (Lewis Shiner)is really a New York pimp who discovers "Sorcerer Supreme" type powers through Tantric sex.  Believe it or not, he's actually a sympathetic character and I'm curious to see where his story goes.  Other characters are the Puppetman (written by Stephen Leigh) who can push people to commit actions that are their dark desires; Sewer Jack (Victor Milan) who can shapechange into an alligator in the New York sewers; and the Great and Powerful Turtle (Martin, himself) who is a powerful telekinetic who conceals himself inside a "shell" of steel hovering over the city.

I recently read the Expanded Edition of this book that includes three new stories added in 2010.  I hadn't read any of these authors (David D. Levine, Micheal Cassutt, and Carrie Vaughn) previously and I enjoyed the new additions for the most part.  Cassut's story felt a little flat to me and dealt with Hollywood in the 1950s (think of the movie <I>Hollywoodland</I>).  Vaughn's story was fun with a lot of the feel of the movie <I>Adventures in Babysitting</I> as a young girl takes a one-night journey through the seedier parts of New York and finally puts her powers to use.  Not sure if any of these characters will appear again since they were late additions, but it might be fun to see Ghost Girl again at least.

I feel this book, if not the series as a whole, is one of the most successful at using this interlaced format to tell stories.  It truly is a shared universe with each author adding to the mythos, and able to "borrow" other characters occasionally to keep things unified. It provides for a lot of variety in storytelling from very dark and violent stories to those that are lighter and have a humorous tone. I can see where some readers might feel this is inconsistent, but I feel it gives variety and a relief from the darker tales. There are also a lot of homages to comic books, classic and more modern in this collection as well that will delight some readers with a "wink wink nod nod" sensability.

In addition to the stories themselves, there are several "interludes" included that mirror articles in popular publications like <I>Rolling Stone</I> magazine or the <I>New York Times</I>.  There's even an appendix excerpting scientific journals discussing the nature of the Wild Card virus itself.  These serve to cement the stories in history and give a framework to the changes in the world.  Some are more successful than others, but it was a fun concept that I felt added to the feel of the book.

I felt this was a wonderful start to the universe and can be enjoyed by fans of comics or even straight science fiction.

[the-dust-jacket]

[davidmann95]

There clearly doesn't need to be an explanation, but if there did, what would you do to explain why kryptonians get their powers under a yellow sun? Thousands of years of genetic engineering? A gift from Rao?

I prefer the understanding that primordial Krypton was hellishly difficult to survive on, so the inhabitants evolved to drink in what little sustenance they could from solar radiation to power the organs that enabled them to survive (whether that was manipulating gravity, being all-around physically superior, or outright warping physics); once placed under a brighter yellow sun, the excess of fuel absorbed is burned via the manifestation of flying and super-ventriloquism and whatnot. Whether this means Superman would eventually explode into a supernova if he sat still for too long is in question, though David D. Levine made a compelling case for that hypothesis in his short story Letter To The Editor (collected in The Mad Scientist’s Guide To World Domination and I believe available for free online).

[torpublishinggroup]

Masted Ships of Air...and Space! Some of our favorite SF/F ships, all collected in one place by The B&N Sci-Fi and Fantasy Blog

[torteen]

Not Just Another Plucky Heroine: Arabella and the Battle of Venus

Earlier this year, David D. Levine’s Arabella of Mars picked up the Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy, and with good reason—it’s a charming callback to Victorian adventure novels, full up to the brim with pirates and swashbuckling, automata and cross-dressing, close calls and cunning escapes.

Barnes & Noble reviews David Levine's swashbuckling adventure Arabella and the Battle of Venus.

[torpublishinggroup]

Not Just Another Plucky Heroine: Arabella and the Battle of Venus

Earlier this year, David D. Levine’s Arabella of Mars picked up the Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy, and with good reason—it’s a charming callback to Victorian adventure novels, full up to the brim with pirates and swashbuckling, automata and cross-dressing, close calls and cunning escapes. Arabella herself is a fresh and fun heroine, with just enough single-mindedness to pull off some thoroughly hare-brained schemes. The world, well, it’s something like Jules Verne’s From the Earth to the Moon crossed with Stevenson’s Treasure Island and Burroughs’ A Princess of Mars. Arabella and the Battle of Venus continues this winning mix of steampunk-y anachronism and plucky adventure novel, flinging our Arabella out of one tight spot and into another.

[the-dust-jacket]

Firefly, the short-lived but beloved space western, debuted fifteen years ago--and takes place five hundred years from now. We’re marking the occasion with a book list full of rag tag crews, interplanetary shenanigans, space ships, rebels, rogues, found families and dangerous secrets. Shiny! 

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, by Becky Chambers

Rosemary doesn’t expect much from her new job clerking on a long haul spaceshop--she just wants to put as much distance between herself and her past as possible. But the Wayfarer’s crew is raucous, mostly welcoming, and about to get in way over their collective multi-species heads. 

Leviathan Wakes, by James S.A. Corey

A ragtag crew of survivors, a hardboiled space station detective, and any number of politicians, pirates, soldiers and revolutionaries chase a conspiracy with existential implications. 

Ascension, by Jacqueline Koyanagi 

Engineer Alana Quick stows away on the Tangled Axon hoping to get a job, get off her dead-end planet, and find her missing sister. But the eccentric crew and the infuriating (and far too good looking) captain aren’t what she expected, and her quest is more than she bargained for. 

Coming Home, by Jack McDevitt 

A pare of space-faring antiquarians get sucked into an adventure much bigger than the average scavenging trip.  

The Warrior’s Apprentice, by Lois McMaster Bujold 

After flunking his military academy entrance, ambitious and fast-talking Miles Vorkosigan travels to a distant planet, dreams up a get-rich-quick scheme, and wanders into a war. No space opera collection would be complete without Bujold’s Vorkosigan Saga, and the cracking wit and engaging cast of young Miles’ adventures make them perfect for Firefly fans. 

The Traitor Baru Cormorant, by Seth Dickinson 

The Empire of Masks uses trade and education in their conquest. Baru uses accounting and paperwork in her revenge. None of that is as neat as it sounds in this complex, dark, and sharply funny tale of intrigue and double-crosses.

The Daedalus Incident, by Michael J. Martinez

The mysteries of Mars unfold slowly in the interweaving stories of scientists from a dangerous future and explorers from an alternate past.  

Fortune’s Pawn, by Rachel Bach

As far as Devi is concerned, working security for the trade ship Glorious Fool is a way to see some action and pack her resume, a step towards becoming one of the system’s elite space marines. But everyone and everything on this ship has secrets, and no one gets out unscathed. 

Ethan of Athos, by Lois McMaster Bujold 

Culture clash, space mercenaries, spies, reproductive technology, mutants, dietary quirks of the space station dweller, murder, mayhem, bureaucracy, and an obstetrician on a quest. 

Serenity: Those Left Behind, by Joss Whedon, Brett Mathews and Will Conrad

This comic book continuation picks up just days after the movie Serenity. 

Arabella of Mars, by David D. Levine 

Arabella loves the frontier world of her family’s Martian plantation, but her mother wants her to learn to be a proper lady back on Earth. Then a nefarious plot sends Arabella on a thoroughly unladylike adventure. 

A Closed and Common Orbit, by Becky Chambers

Unlicensed android A.I.s are illegal, so Lovelace---who used to be a ship, and isn’t too excited about this new human body---must navigate a new shape, new people and a new planet while hiding her nature and hacking her own code. 

Saga, by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

Wild, funny, exciting and a little bit twisted, this is the planet-spanning story of one family trying to survive a war where both sides want them gone.