Top five books of 2012

1. The Hundred-Year-Old Man who Climbed Out of The Window and Disappeared 
Jonas Jonasson
This book has a great twist in that the character you think is going to be this harmless very old man who is going to need to be protection is anything but. The way the book switches from the past to the present really works well and reveals the main character Allan Karlsson has been behind the scenes of many of the great events of the twentieth century (without really trying - Forrest Gump bit), as well as being probably one of the brightest people ever (speaks several languages, nuclear physics is not a problem, international diplomacy, etc) not bad for someone with only three years of formal education - this guy makes James Bond look incompetent. The switching between the past and present also does help develop the story.
2. Robopocalypse
Daniel H Wilson 
A slightly chilling book (which I should have guessed with a quote by Stephen King) about a war between robots and humans. Ok, this is not an original idea but this book does not claim it is, in fact there are plenty of historic quotes to show this idea has been around a long time.


3.Ready Player One
Ernest Cline
This is an excellent book it has been described as "Enchanting, Willy Wonka meets the the Matrix" (USA Today) but if you were a teenager in the 80s and Geeky this book will probably please you with all the references to 80s computers, films, TV programmes and games. The character Wade Watts is a star, if this is Ernest Cline's first book then I look forward to seeing what follows!




4. The Departure
Neal Asher
If you like Polity Series I think you will like this. New heroes including the rapidly developing post-human Saul and his Mars stranded sister are interesting. The title for the Trilogy - Owner is clever (I won't spoil where it comes from).  The second book in the series Zero Point was released late 2012.


5. Three Unbroken
Chris Roberson

A war on Mars (or in his case Fire Star) seen through the eyes of three people in different services but the same side, set in an alternative history where China or Celestial Empire became the dominate world power but is at war with an Aztec-styled Mexican-like nation. I know this didn't come out in 2012 but this when I read it.



These are mine - what would yours be?

Zero point

Zero point by Neal Asher is the second book in The Owner series, see http://scott-turner.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/depature.html for a review of the first book.

The new villain Serene Galahad behaviour does reflected her name; this cross between Hilter, Stalin and Vlad the Impaler, who slaughters billions of people and than blames someone else for it. She see humans (if they are not useful to her) as a plague on the planet and aims to cure that particular problem.

The story really centres on Serene taking over the world, and her attempts to quash rebellion on a space station by Saul and on Mars by his sister Var. Saul is attacked, in effect dies but in some ways comes back stronger than before. Earth forces attack the space station and threaten Mars.

I was not disappointed in this sequel. A good book with themes such as committees holding up technological progress so they can maintain power; does technology dehumanise; environmental impact on humanity and the warped ideas that may occur if fixing these is taken to far.

The Departure

The Departure by Neal Asher

If you like Polity Series I think you will like this. New heroes including the rapidly developing post-human Saul and his Mars stranded sister are interesting. The title for the Trilogy - Owner is clever (I won't spoil where it comes from).

I am looking forward to the next book (or Kindle version) later this year.