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Title: Ender's Game
Author: Orson Scott Card
Number of pages: 352
Genre: sci-fi
Book Number/Goal: 47/52
My Rating: 5/5

Review:
Ender, a 6-year-old prodigy, is sent to the Battle School for military training with other children, the Earth's last hope to withstand the expected invasion of aliens. The teachers intentionally put him under a lot of pressure and alienate him from other kids because they feel it's the best way to mold him into a brilliant commander.

It's similar to classic boarding school novels but with a radically different atmosphere, much more stressful and dystopian. The training is rigorous and exhausting; Ender is constantly pushed beyond his limits, yet he successfully handles all the obstacles and keeps improving himself. Most of the characters are 6-12 years old but they think, talk and act like mature adults; I appreciate this very much. The only indication of their age is when they themselves say "we are just kids", which invariably feels out of place. (I wonder if childhood is a cultural phenomenon, and humans indeed can mature much faster under appropriate circumstances.) There's even a couple of unexpected plot twists, and an intriguing computer game.

Captivating and highly inspiring!

Title: Dying for a Living (A Jesse Sullivan Novel)
Author: Kory M. Shrum
Number of pages: 401
Genre: sci-fi, thriller
Book Number/Goal: 42/52
My Rating: 2/5

Review:
Jesse has a rare neurological condition that enables her to resurrect after her death - such people are called Necronites (or in a derogatory way, zombies). Also, she can forge a special connection with a dying person so she dies instead of them. So she works as a death replacement agent (the prediction of one's exact death day is possible through a psychic-like ability of other agents). Death replacement is a popular and highly requested service, but the job is not only unpleasant but dangerous, as repeated deaths and resurrections overload the brain and eventually result in insanity. And if it were not enough, Jesse's latest job appears to involve a real killer, and she starts her own investigation.

The book has a great, unusual premise, and a good explanation of Necronites' techniques and job responsibilities. The story, however, falls short. There's too much focus on romantic and other relationships; the supernatural angle, introduced later, clashes with the sci-fi angle; and the characters are not particularly interesting to care for their well-being, no matter the threats.

Title: Ghosts in the Machine: A Short Story Anthology
Author: Edited by Lana Polansky and Brendan Keogh
Genre: sci-fi, games
Book Number/Goal: 40/52
My Rating: 5/5

Review:
A collection of short stories about gamers and characters from various game genres: adventure/RPG, action, arcade, sims. In some stories, the characters are unaware of the artificial world they live in, and are wondering what's happening to them; others know exactly what's going on, and bitterly resent being under control of clueless users and incompetent programmers.

There's a lot of details and dialogues that reflect the gaming environment and terminology, and as such, are exciting even when the characters are discussing mundane matters. Every story ends on a depressing note, because the conflict between the inner and outer realities never ends well...

Awesome reading, especially for gamers.

Title: The Bells of Subsidence
Author: Michael John Grist
Number of pages: 121
Genre: sci-fi
Book Number/Goal: 35/52
My Rating: 5/5

Review:
This is a collection of short stories, every one a window into a strange, fascinating world. Alien terms and concepts are introduced without any explanations, so the reader has to work out what's going on, and some details still remain unclear, which is fine. The first story, which names the whole book, is the weirdest and the best. It merges mathematical concepts with the idea of undying love and hope, and it turns out meaningful and touching. But the best bit is the language. Here's an insight into the main character's job:

"As the torrent comes, I cannot help but seek order from the chaos; raveling and inverting Klein bottles, stacking and nestling them within each other like Matroska dolls, folding tesseracts upon themselves, helixing Mobius strips into Riemann planes. Around me the 100 do the same. Together, by the combined resonance of our efforts, we will planck the branes for the first time. We will build our own Brilliance. Through our efforts, the Bell will toll."

Title: Zombie, Inc.
Author: Christine Dogerty
Number of pages: 302
Genre: sci-fi, horror
Book Number/Goal: 19/52
My Rating: 4/5

Review:
The Zombie Apocalypse has irrevocably changed the human way of life, but on the plus side, it created a great business opportunity for the company which specializes in all things zombie: not only hunting & killing zombies, but researching them to use in daily life, such as security guards against burglars. Zombie, Inc. is the biggest company in United Five-States and it provides employment on such generous terms, it's practically a public service! It says right here in the Employee Handbook, excerpts from which start every chapter:

"The world has become a dangerous place, and the least dangerous place for you to be is at Zombie, Inc., so for the benefit of our employees, we've increased the work week from six days to seven! Remember: work happens EVERY DAY! You are required to fulfill your duties EVERY DAY. ... Benefits do not start until after the 180-day probationary period. Time off (including mandatory in-service days) and leave (except maternity) during the 180-day probationary period will count as Unpaid Working Days. ZI is a work-at-will company, and you can be discharged any time, for any reason, regardless of having satisfied the 180-day probationary period.

For your convenience, the Employee Handbook cost will be deducted from your first pay period. A yearly fee will be deducted for lost, missing or used-looking Employee Handbooks (at HR discretion). When revisions occur, a new Handbook will be distributed to all ZI employees and the cost deducted from the next applicable pay period."

The story follows two ZI employees, a professional and a novice; the interaction between them gives the author an opportunity to fill the reader in on the world details. The world building is amazing! I'd give it a 5 for the atmosphere, irony and bitterness, if not for the last part of the book, which is full of uninspiring Hollywood-style action. Still, it's an essential read for zombie dystopia fans.

Title: The Invisible Man
Author: H. G. Wells
Genre: sci-fi
Book Number/Goal: 16/52
My Rating: 4/5
Notes: for Coursera Fantasy and Science Fiction course (reread)
Download: project Gutenberg

Review:
A scientist discovers a way to make living creatures invisible. So he makes himself invisible - just because he can, and because he envisions invisibility as a huge advantage over the rest of mankind, not unlike being a sighted person in the country of the blind. But his plans go terribly awry...

I've read this novel a long time ago, at school, but I don't remember it being so funny! The writing oozes with irony, and even though it's a bit too slow and verbose, it feels more atmospheric than dated. There are some silly jokes ("This, this Invisible Man, then?" asked the man with the black beard, with one hand behind him. "I guess it's about time we saw him.") and some jokes that sound surprisingly modern ("One might think we were in the thirteenth century.").

The characters, as comedy goes, are simple and stereotypical; in particular, Griffin the Invisible Man is a selfish asshole with no redeeming qualities whatsoever, and his main antagonist Dr. Kemp is a bland "righteous citizen". Griffin's story is considerably less funny than the rest of the novel (oh that poor kitty!) but more dramatic and tense, inducing a constant feeling of a disaster waiting to happen - which doesn't disappoint.

Classics is often a pain in the ass to wade through, but not this one... seriously, it's a great reading.

Title: A Princess of Mars
Author: Edgar Rice Burroughs
Genre: sci-fi
Book Number/Goal: 6/52
My Rating: 2/5
Notes: for Coursera Fantasy and Science Fiction course
Download: at Project Gutenberg


Review:
The main character, an ex-soldier digging for gold in Arisona, finds himself "magically" transported to Mars. He is captured by the natives and eventually integrates into the Martian society, becoming a distinguished warrior and a star of many adventures, spawning from what becomes the driving force of his life - falling in love with a beautiful princess.

This is a classic action thriller, with the background of a vicious conflict between two Martian races. One is the race of approximately humanoid warriors, cold and cruel but honorable in their own way; the other race closely resembles humans, not only in appearance but also in mentality and sophistication. Both reproduce by laying eggs.

There's plenty of interesting descriptions of the native society and culture. Unfortunately, for me it was the only worthwhile part of the story. The characters left me indifferent, and probably that's why the action, including the romance, was boring to the extent that at times I just skimmed it. The ending was exciting though, perhaps because it was intense and left unanswered questions.

Maybe it's a good book... but not for me.

Title: Little Brother
Author: Cory Doctorow
Number of pages: 416 in paperback
Genre: sci-fi, cyberpunk
Book Number/Goal: 1/52
My Rating: 4/5
Notes: for Coursera Fantasy and Science Fiction course
Download: http://craphound.com/littlebrother/download (the author's site)

Review:
The book grabbed my attention from the start - it's distributed under a Creative Commons license (free to share and adapt for non-commercial purposes), and in the introduction, the author argues for free distribution of e-books. He instantly earned my highest respect!

The story takes place in a (near) dystopian future, when DRM, censorship and global surveillance are on the rampage, and the government spares no effort in the war against terrorism. The main character, a high school student and a talented hacker, gets caught together with his friends in a counter-terrorist attack that went far beyond reasonable, and eventually becomes the leader of a computer-based resistance aimed at winning back human rights.

The title of the book is an obvious allusion to Orwell's Big Brother. (This is also reflected in the main character's handle "w1n5t0n".) In the story, Little Brothers are the hackers who watch the Department of Homeland Security's actions and document their failures and abuses of power.

A unique feature of the book is its educational aspect. The author, through the main character's words, explains basics of cryptography and information security. I understand the author's intentions, but as part of the story, it sounds a bit artificial, as the character is "talking to himself", explaining the stuff he already knows to no one in particular.

Some of the mentioned software/technology is fictional, such as ParanoidLinux operating system (after the book was published, there have been several attempts to develop such a distribution, but it still doesn't exist). Some is real, such as TOR - a popular anonymizing network.

In spite of the intense fast-paced action, I can't say that I really cared for any of the characters and for their suffering, but I enjoyed the description of technology (especially hacks/exploits) and games, as well as the bit about prisons and torture.

I highly recommend this book to geeks and to anyone who wants to learn something about computer security.

Title: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Terok Nor: Night of the Wolves
Author: S.D. Perry
Number of pages: 464
Genre: sci-fi
Book Number/Goal: 2/50
My Rating: 3/5

Review: The book describes the occupation of Bajor through the POV of several characters, alternating between Cardassians and Bajorans. It provides interesting insights into Cardassian society, and it's fun to meet so many familiar characters, to learn their backstory and to get a close-up view on some of the events of the past. But the action for most part is slow and boring, especially the Bajoran side of it which is about half of the book (being a fan of Cardassia, I may be biased). Gul Dukat is portrayed as a nice, gentle man and a benevolent leader, which is basically true but is somewhat uninspiring as I'd like to see more of his evil side which is more exciting ;) I didn't enjoy this book as much as I had hoped to.