Rating: 
Summary: Challenging plot, challenging style
Review: Michael Swanwick is one of my favorite short story sci fi writers. He has an excellent sense of purpose and pulls off so much excitement in so few pages that it's hard to believe. A few weeks ago, I picked up both Vacuum Flowers and Stations of the Tide based on his short fiction. Vacuum Flowers was a great read, with clearly set out goals, a great plot, and a fast pace. Stations of the Tide, while a good book, is much more challenging than Vacuum Flowers. To clarify items in earlier reviews: Stations of the Tide might (and that's not 100% certain) be set in the same universe as Vacuum Flowers. However, it is a radically different story and the connections between the universe of Vacuum Flowers and this book are tenuous at best. Yes, there are some items in common, but don't get this book thinking you are going to get another story like Vacuum Flowers. The style of the story, the pace, and the theme are radically different than Vacuum Flowers. Stations of the Tide is written in a very formal style. The narrative actually seemed rather stiff. The technology in the book is pretty much limited to an impressive briefcase that has many different functions and something sort of like virtual reality (used for communication). The overall plot is more like a sociological study than sci fi. In addition, there is a pretty heavy plot line relating to magic which seemed flat to me. It just never grabbed my attention and didn't keep me very interested. Did I enjoy reading this book? That one is kind of a toss up. I think by the time I was about 1/4 through it, I was bored with it. But it did make me think about what makes someone human (hmmm, that's a similarity to Vacuum Flowers) and about what people are capable of. However, unlike Vacuum Flowers which made me think but also let me have a really good time with it, this book seemed to be attacking me with it's message without giving me some fun in return. I still think Swanwick is a GREAT writer and I am glad that I read this book. I also think that this book might be a good read for someone who does not normally read sci fi, because it is much more focused on the personal level than on technology.
Rating:
Summary: Challenging plot, challenging style
Review: Michael Swanwick is one of my favorite short story sci fi writers. He has an excellent sense of purpose and pulls off so much excitement in so few pages that it's hard to believe. A few weeks ago, I picked up both Vacuum Flowers and Stations of the Tide based on his short fiction. Vacuum Flowers was a great read, with clearly set out goals, a great plot, and a fast pace. Stations of the Tide, while a good book, is much more challenging than Vacuum Flowers. To clarify items in earlier reviews: Stations of the Tide might (and that's not 100% certain) be set in the same universe as Vacuum Flowers. However, it is a radically different story and the connections between the universe of Vacuum Flowers and this book are tenuous at best. Yes, there are some items in common, but don't get this book thinking you are going to get another story like Vacuum Flowers. The style of the story, the pace, and the theme are radically different than Vacuum Flowers. Stations of the Tide is written in a very formal style. The narrative actually seemed rather stiff. The technology in the book is pretty much limited to an impressive briefcase that has many different functions and something sort of like virtual reality (used for communication). The overall plot is more like a sociological study than sci fi. In addition, there is a pretty heavy plot line relating to magic which seemed flat to me. It just never grabbed my attention and didn't keep me very interested. Did I enjoy reading this book? That one is kind of a toss up. I think by the time I was about 1/4 through it, I was bored with it. But it did make me think about what makes someone human (hmmm, that's a similarity to Vacuum Flowers) and about what people are capable of. However, unlike Vacuum Flowers which made me think but also let me have a really good time with it, this book seemed to be attacking me with it's message without giving me some fun in return. I still think Swanwick is a GREAT writer and I am glad that I read this book. I also think that this book might be a good read for someone who does not normally read sci fi, because it is much more focused on the personal level than on technology.
Rating: 
Summary: Insidiously, perversely clever. Quite brilliant!
Review: Nice to see the book reprinted - it certainly deserves a wider audience than it enjoys now. Swanwick's surreal novel is fast-paced and intelligent, with engaging characters and sometimes way-out-weird situations, alternately delighting and shocking. To describe the plot would be to do the book injustice - it is much more than a mere search by a faceless beauracrat for a renegade wizard. The book grabs you right from the first word, and drags you breathless and amazed up to the surprising ending. I think it's indicative of Swanwick's brilliance that my favourite character is the AI briefcase!
Rating: 
Summary: This was an award-winner?
Review: SF has never lacked for ideas, which is why it's such a good genre to read, because of that constant inventiveness. However, unless you like to read the equivilent of a physics thesis parade, most readers want a little more "meat" to their books, if not in terms of plot, at least definitely in charactization and layers of meaning. This book has that in spades. I've read once that it was based on Shakespeare's "The Tempest" which having not read that play I can't confirm but I am slightly familiar with some aspects of the play and I'd say it's a good bet. Nothing like some literary allusions to kick a good SF novel off, right? But it gets better, because this novel is heavy on the symbolism and the thinking stuff, though it never gets in the way of the interesting world and culture that Swanwick has developed. In a nutshell, a bureaucrat without a name comes to the world of Miranda to search for a man who barely appears, but apparently can do wonderful things. Why is that? Because he stole something he shouldn't. From there the novel jackknives wonderfully, as Swanwick unravels line after line of evocative prose that eloquently brings to life this water logged and doomed world, in all its grime and grandeur. By far the best part of reading this book is meeting the at first apparently bumbling bureaucrat and then slowly realize that not everything is what it seems and the man isn't so clueless after all. This isn't a novel designed to be instantly pleasurable though those just going by the surface story will find much here to enjoy simply by watching the mechinations of what a lesser book could turn into a simple suspense thriller, instead there are passages to be read again, if only for the way the prose flows so brilliantly, or the levels of allergory that I'm pretty sure went over my head. The moving ending alone, which will guarenteed leave you thinking after you put the book down, is nearly worth the price of admission. A fast read (I finished it in like two hours, it's two hundred and fifty pages with not so small print) that never feels rushed or padded, but just the right length, if you're looking for SF with some brains that isn't totally geared toward cyberspace or relativity, this may be well worth your time.
Rating: 
Summary: Science fiction as it should be
Review: SF has never lacked for ideas, which is why it's such a good genre to read, because of that constant inventiveness. However, unless you like to read the equivilent of a physics thesis parade, most readers want a little more "meat" to their books, if not in terms of plot, at least definitely in charactization and layers of meaning. This book has that in spades. I've read once that it was based on Shakespeare's "The Tempest" which having not read that play I can't confirm but I am slightly familiar with some aspects of the play and I'd say it's a good bet. Nothing like some literary allusions to kick a good SF novel off, right? But it gets better, because this novel is heavy on the symbolism and the thinking stuff, though it never gets in the way of the interesting world and culture that Swanwick has developed. In a nutshell, a bureaucrat without a name comes to the world of Miranda to search for a man who barely appears, but apparently can do wonderful things. Why is that? Because he stole something he shouldn't. From there the novel jackknives wonderfully, as Swanwick unravels line after line of evocative prose that eloquently brings to life this water logged and doomed world, in all its grime and grandeur. By far the best part of reading this book is meeting the at first apparently bumbling bureaucrat and then slowly realize that not everything is what it seems and the man isn't so clueless after all. This isn't a novel designed to be instantly pleasurable though those just going by the surface story will find much here to enjoy simply by watching the mechinations of what a lesser book could turn into a simple suspense thriller, instead there are passages to be read again, if only for the way the prose flows so brilliantly, or the levels of allergory that I'm pretty sure went over my head. The moving ending alone, which will guarenteed leave you thinking after you put the book down, is nearly worth the price of admission. A fast read (I finished it in like two hours, it's two hundred and fifty pages with not so small print) that never feels rushed or padded, but just the right length, if you're looking for SF with some brains that isn't totally geared toward cyberspace or relativity, this may be well worth your time.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding! Thoroughly delivers on multiple levels.
Review: Stations of the Tide is a truly superb book, the kind that will leave even the most discriminating connoisseur of Science Fiction literature wanting for more. Michael Swanwick's award-winning novel delivers in spectacular fashion not just at the "idea for a story" level, but also in terms of characterization, setting, and connection to the real world. This tale of a "bureaucrat" sent to investigate alleged uses of proscribed technology on a most unusual world will stay with the reader long after the unguessable ending satisfyingly concludes the story. Add this one to your collection now - then save it {if you can} for when you really need a damn good read!
Rating:
Summary: Uneven - when its good, its good. When its not, its painful
Review: The hero of this Nebula Award-winning book is a bueaurucrat. That Swanwick would choose someone with such a job as his hero, and then leave him unnamed for the entire book, is indicative of the nature of the narrative. It's at times quirky, fun, enjoyable, but also irritating, confusing, and silly. This future world has that the galaxy colonised by humans (and one other intellegent race) who have enormous technological abilities. However, much of the tech is proscribed, especially from the peoples of the colonial planets. This leads to resentment on these colonial worlds, one of which is Miranda. It is this planet's fate to suffer a planet-wide flood (due to a shift in its axis of roation). A 'magician' named Gregorian has appeared, apparently with access to proscribed technology. He appears (to the tech controllers) to be murdering people in the guise of "metamorphosing" them into sea-dwelling creatures. Thus, the bureaucrat is dispatched to investigate. We follow as the bureaucrat tries to track Gregorian down. There are some neat touches, especially his sentient briefcase/matter transformer, a 24/7 soap opera that everyone is watching (that we see in parallel with the characters), and a system of "surrogates" - remote controlled robots that project the image of the person they are representing. Unfortunately, the system of surrogates leads to a great deal of confusion because the characters (and author) treat each surrogate as the real thing, and multiple surrogates are possible. This leads to a number of unnecessarily confusing passages of "himself talking to himself, while his real self listens in". Another unfortunate characteristic of the book is to leave interesting ideas dangling. For example, resentment of the people from whom technology being withheld is ubiquitous, but nowhere is the bureaucrat's rationale for withholding it justified or even explained. Likewise, bizarre (and scientifically impossible) events are described in detail as being true, presumably because the author thought they were too good an image to drop. This, to me, is lazy writing in a science fiction book, and is especially irritating because long passages are very good/interesting but they alternate with long passages that are confusing/annoying. At any rate, it's an interesting read, with some neat ideas, and worth the cost of the paperback. I would not consider it a classic, in spite of its Nebula Award.
Rating:
Summary: Uneven - when its good, its good. When its not, its painful
Review: The hero of this Nebula Award-winning book is a bueaurucrat. That Swanwick would choose someone with such a job as his hero, and then leave him unnamed for the entire book, is indicative of the nature of the narrative. It's at times quirky, fun, enjoyable, but also irritating, confusing, and silly. This future world has that the galaxy colonised by humans (and one other intellegent race) who have enormous technological abilities. However, much of the tech is proscribed, especially from the peoples of the colonial planets. This leads to resentment on these colonial worlds, one of which is Miranda. It is this planet's fate to suffer a planet-wide flood (due to a shift in its axis of roation). A 'magician' named Gregorian has appeared, apparently with access to proscribed technology. He appears (to the tech controllers) to be murdering people in the guise of "metamorphosing" them into sea-dwelling creatures. Thus, the bureaucrat is dispatched to investigate. We follow as the bureaucrat tries to track Gregorian down. There are some neat touches, especially his sentient briefcase/matter transformer, a 24/7 soap opera that everyone is watching (that we see in parallel with the characters), and a system of "surrogates" - remote controlled robots that project the image of the person they are representing. Unfortunately, the system of surrogates leads to a great deal of confusion because the characters (and author) treat each surrogate as the real thing, and multiple surrogates are possible. This leads to a number of unnecessarily confusing passages of "himself talking to himself, while his real self listens in". Another unfortunate characteristic of the book is to leave interesting ideas dangling. For example, resentment of the people from whom technology being withheld is ubiquitous, but nowhere is the bureaucrat's rationale for withholding it justified or even explained. Likewise, bizarre (and scientifically impossible) events are described in detail as being true, presumably because the author thought they were too good an image to drop. This, to me, is lazy writing in a science fiction book, and is especially irritating because long passages are very good/interesting but they alternate with long passages that are confusing/annoying. At any rate, it's an interesting read, with some neat ideas, and worth the cost of the paperback. I would not consider it a classic, in spite of its Nebula Award.
Rating:
Summary: Vastly intelligent, but not without flaws
Review: This far future cyberpunk detective story is only a thin mask for the underlying speculations on the emptiness of life, existentialism, and mortality. Though only 250 pages, it take times to drink in the poetic prose; Every thought and conversation is wrought with philosophical meaning. A bureaucrat is sent out to Miranda to track down Gregorian - a mystic whom, after speaking to the cybernetic embodiment of "Earth" was given a box of unnamed technology. In this far future, use of this techonology on small worlds on Miranda is illegal and the bureaucrat is sent out to hunt Gregorian down and retrieve the mystery technology. While humans are fleeing the creeping tidewater, native Mirandan animals prepare to morph into sea-dwellers and the bureacrat races with the tide to catch an elusive criminal. Without a doubt, Stations of the Tide is an intelligent book and compared to most adolescent grunts in SF, it's deservedly a Nebula winner. However, I give it 3 stars as its style is more like a short story where the strength is in morals and themes but weak on characters and plot. Swanwick's unnamed protaganist - the "bureaucrat" and Gregorian are more allegorical puppets than real fleshed out human beings. Furthermore, for a compelling take on philosophy, Sophie's World is a far better novel. ...Scenes switch erratically between reality and the cybernetic world without much adjustment for the reader. Thats easy to do in a movie but in a book it gets confusing when at the end of the paragraph you've just realize the person's "plugged in". The haunts, supposedly extinct aliens that take on human form, were an interesting element, but were not integrated well enough into the plot. The side story of Gregorian's mother and the sisters was a weak device. Read it - its a surrealistic mind-bender where robot briefcases walk and wish to evolve, witches teach tantric sex and leave you tattoos as a trophy, planets rain down mushroom showers, and the wistful ending will leave you pondering about life.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful, in every sense of the word.
Review: This is one of the few books (out of the many SF/F I have read) I'd still give a ten, years after I've read them. This is not just a beautifully written story, it has that certain kind of touching deepness about it, the kind that makes it stay with you and that makes you understand the world around yourself just a little bit better. Well, to me at least.
It reminds me a bit of a far future fairy tale, if there were such a thing. Something the family elders could tell the younger ones, sitting around the (no doubt electric) fireplace, for their enjoyment and benefit. It's a story about what magic is about, basically, though it's about the exercise of power, transformations, talking briefcases and a lot of other things, too. And all this in just 250 (not even small-printed) pages! Not a word wasted, there.
The story is very cleverly constructed (pay attention to how a soap opera watched by our protagonist reflects the events in the main story line), packed with beautiful images (like the fungus rain, building fleeting beauty) and interesting ideas (e.g. the hidden fortress, a clever use of technology to explain believably a plot device known otherwise just from fairy tales). I liked "Stations..." for some of the same reasons I liked "The Book of the New Sun", so if you like that one, you just might enjoy this one, too. BTW, Stations of the Tide is set in the same universe as "Griffon's Egg" and "Vacuum Flowers", only much later. If you know "Vacuum Flowers", you will catch a cross-reference or two, although that knowledge is not required to enjoy this book. Well, this one is soooo beautiful, I think I have to quit rambling and go home and just read it again...
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