Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Hull Zero Three

Author:  Greg Bear

First Publication:  November 2010

Publisher:  Orbit

Source:  Library

Cover:  Shutterstock

The 2015 Sci-Fi Experience

The holidays tend to make me reminisce and this year my thoughts returned to my youth when I make weekly trips to the county library.  My family would go to town on Friday nights to do the banking, go to a couple of stores and stop at the library.  My parents were not science fiction and fantasy fans but they were happy that I enjoyed reading.  I would usually pick up a book or two at the town newsstand, appropriately called “The Village News”, then end up checking out a couple of books from the library.  Especially in the winter, I would read a book in one or two days.  Granted, the books were mostly shorter in those days. 



But I digress, last week I decided to do something I have not done in ages.  I checked a book out of the library.  I randomly picked an aisle and scanned the shelves for something I have not read.  The first book that fit the bill was “Hull Zero Three” by Greg Bear.  I remember reading good reviews of it last year and I had not read any of his novels. 

I started on it but the early chapters did not hold my interest.  Were they well written?  Yes.  But sometimes a book is not a good match for a reader.  My attention kept drifting to other books.  “Hull Zero Three” has become the first victim of my “50 Page Rule”.  Some other people I know have put in place a 50 page rule that I decided to follow.  If, after 50 pages, I am not interested in the story I will stop reading it.  In this case the book is 320 pages so 50 pages amounts to 16%.  With literally thousands of books that I want to read or re-read, why should I spend time on one that does not appeal to me?  I have six bookcases waiting for me to get to them.  And that does not include the few hundred on my Kindle.  Every time they run a sale, and Cyber-Monday was a big one, I pick up more to read.  In addition, I would like to get a book a month from the library.  I am not worried about running out of books to read like I did when I was a youth.

I plan on trying more of Greg Bear’s other works in the future.  I have many of them waiting patiently for me to start.  This one just did not work for me.  Now, on the other hand, the book I moved on to has captured my interest.  I had trouble putting it down to go to bed.  But that is for a future review.


2 comments:

Carl V. Anderson said...

Sorry to hear that, but I understand. Books don't hit us all the same way. I picked this up a few years back when it was first released and got sucked right in. It was my first (and still only) experience with Bear's work and I enjoyed it very much. But it was the beginning that sucked me in, so if that didn't do it for you, this one wasn't going to suddenly get better.

kamo said...

I remember being fairly non-plussed by this one as well. 'Solid' is perhaps the kindest thing to say about it; it does a job in in a fairly competent manner but not much more. Which is kind of a shame, because Blood Music is genuinely excellent. Glad to hear that this experience hasn't turned you off reading him again in the future.