I have enjoyed every Kurt Vonnegut book I read… until now.
Player Piano is Vonnegut’s first novel but his other books that I have read are so very gooI have enjoyed every Kurt Vonnegut book I read… until now.
Player Piano is Vonnegut’s first novel but his other books that I have read are so very good that I could not help but have high expectations for this one even though it is his debut. It is set in a future where society has been fully mechanized, humanity is fully served by machines resulting in demarcation among the masses who were formerly of the workforce, and a social divide where the managers and engineers are the elites living luxurious happy lives while the rest are bereft of purpose. The narrative mainly features Dr. Paul Proteus a disillusioned engineer who is beginning to feel that something is wrong with society and is disturbed by the meaningless lives of the masses. He eventually decides to do something about it.
What I love about Vonnegut’s books are his wonderful idiosyncratic humour, his snappy, witty prose, the eccentric short chapters, and the recurring refrains he uses in his later works. Player Piano is lacking in these beloved features, while it is not mundane or conventional it is oddly turgid and not compelling. This is one of the few of his books that were labeled as science fiction. If I remember correctly (do let me know if I am mistaken) only this book, The Sirens of Titan and Cat's Cradle were published and marketed as sci-fi. While his other works such as Slaughterhouse-Five and Galápagos use sci-fi elements like aliens, time travel, the far future, and such, they are used as satirical props rather than the main focus; and they are much better than Player Piano. The trouble is Player Piano does not work as sci-fi, we are told society is fully mechanized but it is not supported by any kind of vivid world-building that would give us a sense of what this world looks like. Machines are vaguely described in passing as automated but Vonnegut is not interested in describing any machine in any detail, only the resultant ennui they are causing to the people. Consequently, it is difficult to imagine how it would feel to live in this society.
Putting aside the sci-fi issue, the narrative suffers from a lack of focus, Vonnegut goes off on so many tangents that it plays hell with the narrative flow. Looking back at my review for Breakfast of Champions he did something similar there too, but the difference is Breakfast of Champions is often hilarious but Player Piano has a much lower quotient of humour. There is also no pacing to speak of, just when things are getting interesting the author goes off on a dull tangent that stops the flow of the plot, after a while, he resumes the story of Paul Proteus, but soon veers away again. I was interested in Paul’s attempt to change his life and what his wife’s reaction will be given that her values are the polar opposite of his. Unfortunately, Vonnegut keeps moving away from this storyline to introduce numerous other characters that I can not keep track of until I stopped caring. Eventually, I just gritted my teeth to plow through the novel and finish it. I should have abandoned it before the halfway point but Vonnegut keeps enticing me with the Paul side of the narrative.
I don't want to be overly critical of this book because I am a fan of Kurt Vonnegut, and this book is loved by many. While I have very little appreciation for it I am sure that its finer points must have escaped me. An author of Kurt Vonnegut’s caliber should always have the benefit of the doubt. Suffice to say that I personally cannot recommend this book but if you want to read it you may want to get opposing opinions elsewhere, or simply dive into it....more
Among Lovecraft fans I am probably in the minority in that I don’t enjoy his longer works, specifically, At the Mountains of Madness and The Case ofAmong Lovecraft fans I am probably in the minority in that I don’t enjoy his longer works, specifically, At the Mountains of Madness and The Case of Charles Dexter Ward. I would go so far as to say I cannot stand half the narrative of these two books. Lovecraft, for me, works better in small doses, like “Pickman’s Model”, “The Thing on the Doorstep” and many of his best short stories. However, “The Shadow over Innsmouth” is an exception, while not completely free of the patented Lovecraftian verbiage I am not overwhelmed by it (or underwhelmed, I am just whelmed I guess). This novella is steeped in atmosphere, weird imageries, and Cyclopean goodness.
As with a lot of HPL’s works the story is told from an unnamed protagonist’s viewpoint. This poor lad is on his way by bus to Arkham but the bus has to stop over at an obscure little town called Innsmouth, unfortunately, the bus breaks down at this town and he has to stay the night. It turns out to be a night to remember, but not in a good way. Something fishy is clearly going on in this town, not the least the residents with their piscine complexion:
“A narrow head, bulging, watery blue eyes that seemed never to wink, a flat nose, a receding forehead and chin, and singularly undeveloped ears. … long, thick lip and coarse-pored, greyish cheeks seemed almost beardless except for some sparse yellow hairs that straggled and curled in irregular patches; and in places the surface seemed queerly irregular, as if peeling from some cutaneous disease.”
[image]
Fishy looking dudes, art by M.Crassus, click image for more details.
Mr. Whathisname soon finds himself in an inverse of a fish out of water scenario where he is the only landlubber. I cannot possibly reveal any more about the plot for fear of the Innsmouthian fishy folks coming after me. Suffice to say that that this is top-notched HPL and should not be missed. If you don’t like horror stories read it for the Omega−3.
I am in the process of writing a review for The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories, apparently the most popular Lovecraft anthology. However, asI am in the process of writing a review for The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories, apparently the most popular Lovecraft anthology. However, as I have just finished reading Herbert West–Reanimator which is a longish short story (AKA novelette) of about 30 pages I thought I would review this separately.
This story is atypical of Lovecraft’s main body of work in several ways, not in tone but in structure and prose style. Lovecraft was commissioned to write a six parts serial for Weird Tales magazine, each part ending with a cliff hanger. HPL hated having to write outside his preferred framework but he had to this one for the money and consequently hated this story with a passion. So much for the quality of labour of love because this is one of his most popular works and it is one of my favorites of his stories. Another divergence from the typical HPL fare is that Herbert West–Reanimator has nothing to do with the Cthulhu mythos, no elder gods and the unmentionable (but frequently mentioned) Necronomicon by the mad Arab Abdul Alhazred here, certain parts of the story are set in the Miskatonic University in Arkham though. [image] Herbert West–Reanimator is about the eponymous Dr. Herbert West who is obsessed with the idea of defeating death under his theory that life is thoroughly mechanical in nature, there is nothing else beyond it, no soul, no afterlife (but hopefully some form of rock ‘n roll). This being the case West likes to experiment on fresh corpses to try to bring them back to life with their minds intact. I don’t think it will much of a spoiler to say (view spoiler)[he never succeeds (hide spoiler)]. The more he experiments the more chaotic the results, much hilarity mind-shattering horror ensues.
While I enjoy HPL’s work in general I am not a fan of his prose style. All too often he seems to strive too hard for eloquence and ends up with awfully convoluted almost unreadable sentences that often outstay their welcome. I tend to prefer his shorter works, whereas I struggle to get through his longer works like At the Mountains of Madness and The Case of Charles Dexter Ward.
This is another unusual aspect of Herbert West–Reanimator, while it is longer than most of his stories, it is written with an economy of word usage I seldom see in his work, the prose here is straightforward, free from artifice and verbiage, he even calls a spade a spade! Consequently, this is one of his very best stories. As mentioned above, the subject matter has nothing to do with the Cthulhu mythos, no Mad Paula Abdul (or whatever his name is) and no Necronomicon, this makes for a nice change of pace. [image] This story is pure sci-fi horror (as opposed to his usual cosmic horror), the “sci” part of it is handwavium nonsense but nobody is expecting him to do an Asimov. It will likely remind modern readers of zombie stories and Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein, without the subtlety. To quote the AV Club "H.P. Lovecraft wasn’t generally a barrel of laughs", but I did find this story unintentionally hilarious at times. I don't know if anybody will find it scary, but it is vastly entertaining, and I would heartily recommend it to newcomers to HPL and fans of the horror genre.
Note: [image] The cult classic 1985 movie adaptation deserves a mention, as with most adaptations it diverges freely from the source material, especially as it is (very) darkly hilarious, read more about this at the AV Club....more
I was just reading this Reddit thread "Does it bother you when you finish a book then don't remember anything from it 6 months later?" yesterday. SoonI was just reading this Reddit thread "Does it bother you when you finish a book then don't remember anything from it 6 months later?" yesterday. Soon after I found a PDF copy of this story online and immediately started reading it as I am an Octavia Butler devotee and the title did not ring a bell. It transpired that the bell is in a state of disrepair as I gradually felt a sense of déjà vu while reading this story. It turned out that I have indeed read it as a part of the great anthology Bloodchild and Other Stories (link to my review because that is the sort of black hearted villain I am!). My memory is indeed like a sieve (with a large hole punched in the middle). Since I have gone and reread it and it is a novelette (or “a longish - but not all that long -short story” as I prefer to call them) I thought I may as well wax lyrical prattle on about it a bit.
This story is about a disease called “The Duryea-Gode Disease” (DGD) caused by a cancer treatment drug that leads to a genetic flaw in the children of the drug user that will cause them to lose their minds later in life. The symptoms include extreme psychosis, murderous rage, and self-mutilation, self-cannibalism even. Just about the least fun you can have from a drug (which you did not even take). The main characters visit a retreat for DGD sufferers where they are working on a cure. But sacrifices will have to be made.
“Dad had killed Mom then skinned her completely. At least, that’s how I hope it happened. I mean I hope he killed her first. He broke some of her ribs, damaged her heart. Digging. Then he began tearing at himself, through skin and bone, digging. He had managed to reach his own heart before he died.” Well, there goes my lunch.
As you can see, this is not a story for the faint of heart, it is quite harrowing and features deranged people who chew on their own body parts. If you can stomach that sort of thing* it is definitely a good read. Like most of Ms. Butler’s stories, there is more to it than meets the eye. The story illustrates how science can eff us up but the solution is through even more science. Also, what will you give up to make the world a better place?
Note This novelette can be read free online, I am pretty sure it is all legit, but as I cannot be absitively certain I suggest you google “The Evening and the Morning and the Night PDF”. Bob will then be your uncle if you know what I mean.
"I don't see why seven is a sillier number than eight."
Because seven ate nine? No, that is why six is scared of seven or something…
Anyway! Chocky is J"I don't see why seven is a sillier number than eight."
Because seven ate nine? No, that is why six is scared of seven or something…
Anyway! Chocky is John Wyndham’s 1968 novel about a 12-year-old boy, Matthew Gore, who is in telepathic communication with an alien entity (the eponymous Chocky) from a galaxy far far away. At the beginning of the narrative, Matthew and the alien have been in communication for some time and are already arguing like an old married couple. When Matthew starts asking bizarre questions and frequently talks to himself, even having shouting matches with himself, his parents are understandably concerned that he may be permanently tuned in to Radio Ga Ga. So Dad consulted a psychiatrist friend who is very quick to suspect that Matthew’s “condition” is far more interesting than a phase of an imaginary friend. Matthew’s mother, however, is cursed with being a very badly written female character with zero imagination, so she cannot think of anything beyond the idea of the imaginary friend issue and goes on about it ad nauseam. Like a German sausage, she is the wurst. Soon Matthew goes the extra mile to freak out his parents (mum, especially), swimming like a pro, painting amazing pictures etc. Events begin to snowball until the narrative reaches a climax of sorts.
I really like John Wyndham upstanding fellow who gave us the t'riffic Triffids ( The Day of the Triffids) , The Chrysalids, The Midwich Cuckoos etc. Classic sf author Brian Aldiss famously labeled Wyndham's work as “Cozy Catastrophe” in that they tend to feature a middle class white protagonist who is not much inconvenienced by the cosmic catastrophe affecting the general populace. He just holes up somewhere nice, smoking his cigars until it is all over. This seems very unfair as the protagonist of The Day of the Triffids, The Chrysalids and his other books don’t really have an easy time of it, barely escaping sci-fi catastrophes with their lives. However, Chocky is surely Wyndham at his coziest. Mildly intriguing things happen but nothing that astounds, while reading the book I sat firmly in my seat without moving anywhere near the edge of it.
Still, it is an easy, breezy read and passes the time nicely, it is not his best work, but then you can’t Wyndham all.
“The man who can see the future has a date with the woman who can see many possible futures.”
Thank you Ms. Anders for kindly putting a one-sentence sy“The man who can see the future has a date with the woman who can see many possible futures.”
Thank you Ms. Anders for kindly putting a one-sentence synopsis at the beginning of this short story novelette, and saving me the trouble. Actually, the story depicts multiple dates rather than just one. Basically, it is a story of the romantic relationship between two clairvoyants with somewhat different abilities. Doug can see the future, which appears to be set in stone, but Judy can see alternate versions of her future. Judy believes that Doug’s ability is actually identical to hers but he is too pigheaded to allow for bifurcations or alternative outcomes and thereby traps himself into a future that is inexorably heading south. After finishing the story I still don’t know if she is right. Doug does not seem to make any real effort to divert from the path of his projected future. The story examines the deterministic nature of fate and is perhaps an allegory of optimism vs pessimism. Having just finished reading it a few minutes ago I am hard-pressed to say whether I like this story. I certainly don’t hate it, and it kept my interest throughout but it lacks that mind-blowing quality that I look for in sci-fi/spec-fic short stories and does not connect with me on an emotional level. The ending is a bit so-what-ish to me.
Notes: • Winner of the 2012 Hugo Award for Best Novelette. So what do I know? • Read it for free at Tor’s website here. • I have to say the word novelette rubs me the wrong way for some reason; apparently, a novelette falls in the range of 7,500 to 19,999 words, shorter than a novella but kinda long for a story. I much prefer the elegant term “longish short story, but not all that long for God's sake”. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Quotes: “You can know something’s coming from a long way off, you know for years ahead of time the exact day and the very hour when it’ll arrive. And then it arrives, and when it arrives, all you can think about is how soon it’ll be gone.”
“Because he will collapse all of her branching pathways into a dark tunnel.”
“You can’t understand something until you understand it” (this quote works better when you read it in the context of the story!)
[image] Illustrated by Sam Weber, edited by Patrick Nielsen Hayden, "borrowed" from Tor's website!...more
Due to some lifestyle changes, it took me about three months to finish this one book. I had to give up on other books because I could not follow them Due to some lifestyle changes, it took me about three months to finish this one book. I had to give up on other books because I could not follow them when I only read a little bit now and then, not even on a daily basis. So it is to this book’s credit that I never had any problem resuming after lengthy gaps since the previous time I picked it up.
I read Stephen King’s The Shining in the 80s, not long after the paperback edition was published and SK was all the rage. To this day I still remember the storyline very well, and certain scenes are indelible from my memory. It was a lengthy, atmospheric, scary, and exciting book, more exciting than scary I think. I love the concept of ghosts feeding off little Danny Torrance’s psychic energy (called “the shining” because it shines if you are equipped to see it), and the Dad gradual process of simultaneous possession and insanity. For fans of the horror genre (fantasy too IMO) The Shining is a must-read. [image]
Thirty-six years after the publication of The Shining King published the sequel Doctor Sleep; not a “long overdue” sequel because I never thought a sequel was due and for this reason, I skipped it when it came out. However, the movie adaptation turned out to be critically and commercially successful, so FOMO suddenly sets in, and here we are! Doctor Sleep is written by a different Stephen King from the author of The Shining. Not very different by any means, the narrative voice is still as familiar to me as my ratty old pair of slippers. The older (elderly even) King who wrote Doctor Sleep is more mature, more elaborate in is pacing and possibly less badass than he was 30+ years ago. Back then he was all the rage, now he is an institution and a national treasure (to his fans). I think the 70s/80s King was like an amazing hit-making machine, the 2000s King can be hit and miss but can still score.
Doctor Sleep focusses on Danny Torrance’s life as an adult, how he becomes an alcoholic, like his father Jack. In fact, the novel begins with Danny, the morning after a night of alcoholic binge, committing an act of appalling selfishness which will haunt him for years to come. Fortunately, he manages to leave the drinks behind with the help of good friends he meets and AA. That is all well and good but so far this does not sound like much of a horror novel. While all this awful but mundane business is going on, the “True Knot”, a group of non-humans who feed on children who have “the Shining” are kidnapping, feeding and finally killing these special children; and now they have their sights set on a girl called Abra Stone, who shines brighter than anyone they have ever seen. Only Danny Torrance can save her. [image] Rose the Hat from the movie.
Doctor Sleep is very dissimilar to The Shining, which is basically a spooky story of a haunted hotel. Members of the True Knot have different psychic abilities, mind control, locating things, telekinesis and whatnot. This makes them more like evil X-Men than a bunch of scary monsters. King does, however, imbue them with individual personalities. Their leader, Rose the Hat, is particularly vividly characterized. Parts of the narrative are told from their perspective and their point of view is clearly portrayed to the extent that they come across as almost sympathetic (kidnapping and murdering kids notwithstanding).
This is clearly one of King’s better post-millennium offerings, it has interesting, sympathetic characters (even the villains), a mind-boggling plot brimming with supernatural shenanigans, a sense of humour and an underlying theme of loyalty, redemption, love, and sacrifice. It is, in fact, the bee’s knees!...more
I absolutely love Jo Walton’s Among Others, a wonderful, heartwarming novel, with the added bonus of being a love letter of sorts for the sci-fi/fantI absolutely love Jo Walton’s Among Others, a wonderful, heartwarming novel, with the added bonus of being a love letter of sorts for the sci-fi/fantasy genre. I would have read many more of Ms. Walton’s books if not for the synopses of them which do not seem so appealing to me. Still, I thought it was about time I read something else by her having declared to be a fan after reading just one book. My Real Children is one of her highly-rated novels and the synopsis seemed interesting.
As it turned out My Real Children is oddly sci-fi* (or fantasy) that does not read like sci-fi most of the time. The novel is more concerned with character study and human drama than futuristic tech and aliens (of which there are none). The premise of the book, in sci-fi term, is like a parallel worlds story, except there is no mention of parallel worlds in the narrative or any explanation of how such a situation came to be. The life of the protagonist Patricia suddenly bifurcates into two timelines or paths. This occurs when she makes a momentous decision to marry a man called Mark / and also not to marry him.
The narrative then alternately depicts her life and times of Pat in each reality. Initially, it seems that one reality is much happier than the other, which reminds me of this quote: [image] This sounds quite fantastical but in execution, this book reads very much like a mainstream novel. Mark turns out to be a terrible, callous, selfish, unloving man. In this “married life reality” Pat comes to be called “Trish” by her friends (no significant reason, just for easy identification purposes for the reader I imagine). Trish leads a miserable oppressive life with Mark for years but gradually develops the fortitude to counter his abuses and eventually manages to turn her life into a happier one, also helped along by having several mostly good, intelligent, and successful children, including a rock, and star scientist. In the alternate Pat is only called Pat, having wisely decided not to marry Mark she lives a much happier life, if rather unconventional life, with a female partner. This narrative strand explores the life of a gay couple, the acceptances and rejections they encounter for their domestic arrangement. However, Pat wants children and manages to have several, with the help of a very kind male friend. Pat becomes a successful author of travel guides, her children also grow up to be successful and talented. Unfortunately, tragedy strikes which makes her “married life” very difficult but in this reality she also has considerable fortitude and manages well against all odds.
I am both disappointed and satisfied with this book. As a sci-fi nerd looking for some mind-blowing flight of fancy I am disappointed. The two realities are mostly grounded in our real world’s mundanity, except for a few details like wars that never happened, research stations on the moon, and some strange geopolitical structures. However, these are mostly background details in a mostly grounded narrative. Fortunately, I am not a total philistine and I can recognize a good work of fiction when I read it. The book is beautifully written and the characters are extremely well developed. I came to care about Pat in both plotlines and felt quite moved by the end of the book. However, recommending this book is not a straightforward matter. I can't even say that if you love Jo Walton’s Hugo & Nebula award-winning Among Others you will love this because perhaps you won't. It depends on what you are looking for. If you are looking awesome sci-fi you should look elsewhere. However, if you are simply looking for a good book with believable characters, something you can emotionally connect with, and perhaps even ponder the meaning of life with, this may be just the thing. [image] * Wikipedia classifies My Real Children as fantasy, I’ll just go with sci-fi if you don’t mind.
[image] The premise of this book is very similar to the 1998 movie Sliding Doors. Actually one of my favorites, the best Gwyneth Paltrow’s performance IMO. [image] Quotes: “She remembered Kennedy being assassinated and she remembered him declining to run again after the Cuban missile exchange. They couldn’t both have happened, yet she remembered them both happening.”
“And they all kept asking me if I’d met Prince Charles and Princess Camilla—for Republicans they’re awfully keen on hearing about our royalty!”...more
This is the omnibus edition of Octavia Butler's wondrous Patternist series (AKA “Patternmaster series”), about telepaths and mutants, set in the past,This is the omnibus edition of Octavia Butler's wondrous Patternist series (AKA “Patternmaster series”), about telepaths and mutants, set in the past, present and future. If you have any interest in great, beautifully written sci-fi you should not miss this. I have reviewed each volume individually:
Patternmaster is the last volume of Ms. Butler’s classic* Patternist series (AKA “Patternmaster series”. I read this volume as part of the omnibus S Patternmaster is the last volume of Ms. Butler’s classic* Patternist series (AKA “Patternmaster series”. I read this volume as part of the omnibus Seed to Harvest which consists of the entire series except for the one volume that Ms. Butler disowned and removed from publication**. Patternmaster is also her very first published novel, and of course, she makes it looks as if she has been doing it all her life. Having said that, it is not as polished as her later books.
I read vol 4 Clay's Ark just last month and I felt that it could easily have been read as a standalone novel, a very good one too. However, for Patternmaster I feel it is best read after the preceding novels in the series, nothing strange about that until you consider that she wrote this one before the others and they are all prequels to this one. I think this is because of the meaning of the neologism in takes a while to surface whereas the other books are more immediately compelling and accessible. Still, it does become quite a wild ride once you acclimatize to it. (I have read all the previous volumes but over many years so some terms or concepts are a little sketchy in my mind).
Patternmaster is set in the far future of unspecified period where human society has changed beyond recognition. Even humanity, and what it means to be human, is vastly different. Two offshoots of humanity rule the world, “the patternists” a race of telepaths, and the “Clayarks”, humans mutated by the Clayark disease from space. There is also a race called “the mutes”, non-telepathic humans (basically us), who are subservient to the patternists, and are entirely ineffectual in the grand scheme of things. The novel focuses on the battle for supremacy between the world’s most powerful telepath and his younger, potentially more powerful brother. The Clayarks, who are not presented as individual characters, serve more like a group of antagonists bent on destroying the patternists and the mutes.
Even in her very first novel, Butler is already adept at world-building and characterization. However, none of the characters are particularly likable whereas the protagonists in her later books are people you can become attached to and root for. Nevertheless Patternmasteris fast-paced, gripping and has a climatic psychic battle that remind me of the 1981 movie Scanners. Unless I am very much mistaken I have now read all of Octavia Butler novels now, which is a bit sad as she is one of my favorites. Fortunately, I have memory like a sieve so I can look forward to the rereads. [image]
“He had started what could become an epidemic. Now, if he were going to be able to live with himself at all, he had to contain it.”
That sounds like a “He had started what could become an epidemic. Now, if he were going to be able to live with himself at all, he had to contain it.”
That sounds like a good tagline for an ad poster for this book. However, as it was published in 1984 I doubt such a poster exists…
Octavia Butler is one of my all-time favorite authors, my reviews of her books tend to be somewhat fanboyish, short on objectivity, and of course completely unprofessional (this not being my profession). Still, I find it quite pleasant to enthuse about her to anyone who would listen (and also those who would not).
Clay’s Ark is ostensibly part of Ms. Butler’s Patternmaster Series. However, it reads entirely like a standalone. I have read the two previous volumes Wild Seed and Mind of My Mind and I cannot find any connection to this book. I have heard that there is a connection somewhere on one page but it must have slipped under my radar. Perhaps it is better this way so that anyone can just pick up and read this book without worrying about transpires in previous volumes.
Clay’s Ark is set in a near-future dystopia where people live walled up communities called “enclaves” to protect themselves from marauding outlaws. Eli Doyle, is a former astronaut, the lone surviving crew member of the “Clay's Ark” spaceship which crash-landed in a Mojave desert. The entire crew of this ship has been infected by an alien “virus-sized microbe” that give them enhanced strength and agility, in exchange for considerable loss of humanity and agency. The microbe creates a compulsion for the host to spread its disease. Doyle does not remember why he is the only surviving crew member, he does not want to spread the disease, he knows it will spell the end of the human race as we know it, but he has to, the microbe will not be denied.
The theme of parasitic symbiosis is one which Butler has returned to a few times in her body of work, particularly Bloodchild and Lilith's Brood. In all these works she explores the human condition that we take for granted and the effect of the loss or involuntary modification of humanity. Clay’s Ark presents the reader with the moral dilemma of the people who have contracted the “Clay’s Ark disease”. They do their best to isolate themselves from the human population in order to avoid creating an unstoppable global epidemic and mutations, yet the microbe compels them to find new carriers for the disease, two conflicting goals with a foreseeable outcome. In this novel, the good guys are bad guys who want to be good.
Clay’s Ark, like all Octavia Butler books that I have read, is very well written with complex characters, cool SFnal concepts and ideas worth pondering, all wrapped up in a fast-paced and compelling narrative....more
This is the omnibus edition of Octavia Butler's amazing Patternist series about telepaths, an extraterrestrial disease and mutants. Wildly imaginativeThis is the omnibus edition of Octavia Butler's amazing Patternist series about telepaths, an extraterrestrial disease and mutants. Wildly imaginative, fast-paced, and - best of all - compassionate and humane. My review of each volume:
Having less time for leisure reading nowadays novellas are just the thing to avoid taking too long to read just one book. So I found All Systems Red, Having less time for leisure reading nowadays novellas are just the thing to avoid taking too long to read just one book. So I found All Systems Red, a novella that won both the Hugo and Nebula awards, this seemed a just the thing. … But is it? Yeah, it is.
The novella’s title intrigued me, in a clickbaity kind of way. As it turned out the “Murderbot” part of the title is just about the only thing I do not like about this (e)book. I feel that it is not representative of what the book is about, what the Murderbot does throughout the entire narrative is the exact opposite of murdering people. Having said that there was some extensive murdering in his past, vaguely referred to but not depicted. I suspect subsequent volumes of this Murderbot Diaries series will contain more suitably mudery scenes (probably in flashback).
All Systems Red is the first volume of an ongoing series called The Murderbot Diaries which spans several novellas, a short story and a full length novel in the works. This first volume introduces the unnamed protagonist and first-person narrator who called himself “The Murderbot” inside his mind. To the humans, he is the “SecUnit”, a cyborg “construct” in charge of security and safety of the humans in the survey team he is assigned to protect. The novella is set on an alien planet where a scientific expedition is surveying the planet’s properties and life forms. When the survey team loses contact with another team they investigate and find that this entire other team has been murdered. It soon becomes apparent that the members of the survey team in the SecUnit’s care are also in mortal danger, and they must be kept alive at all costs.
On the surface All Systems Red is just a sci-fi thriller, with some elements of a murder mystery, espionage, and conspiracy. Digging a little deeper there is some depth underneath the casual colloquial prose style. Throughout the narrative the SecUnit finds human behavior puzzling and human society awkward and uncomfortable. However, he is very dedicated to his assignment of protecting the people under his charge even to the extent of self-sacrifice if necessary. The SecUnit has a hacked “governor module” which enables him to override or ignore commands that he would normally be compelled to follow. This freedom not enjoyed by other constructs also allows for independent thinking which leads to a sort of humanizing “Pinocchio” effect. The best sci-fi often holds up a mirror to our reality and makes us look at ourselves from a different, even-nonhuman, perspective and this is what All Systems Red does so well. The only thing that holds it back from five-stardom is that I do not find the human characters to be as well developed as the cyborg, they all seem to blend into each other and are a little lacking in individuality. Perhaps the author, Martha Wells, became so engrossed in breathing life into the SecUnit character that she accidentally overlooked the people in the survey team. In any case, this is a small gripe and should not dissuade anyone from reading this great little novella. [image] Quotes: ”It’s wrong to think of a construct as half bot, half human. It makes it sound like the halves are discrete, like the bot half should want to obey orders and do its job and the human half should want to protect itself and get the hell out of here. As opposed to the reality, which was that I was one whole confused entity, with no idea what I wanted to do. What I should do. What I needed to do.”
“Pin-Lee leaned over me and I said, “This unit is at minimal functionality and it is recommended that you discard it.” It’s an automatic reaction triggered by catastrophic malfunction.”
“The problem I was going to have is that the way murderbots fight is we throw ourselves at the target and try to kill the shit out of it, knowing that 90 percent of our bodies can be regrown or replaced in a cubicle. So, finesse is not required. When we left the habitat,”...more
I wonder if every time I review a Joe Hill book I should mention that he is Stephen King’s son and that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. HilI wonder if every time I review a Joe Hill book I should mention that he is Stephen King’s son and that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Hill deserves to be viewed independently of his Dad, in spite of some superficial similarities in style and genre he has his own authorial voice.
The title “NOS4A2” is not so much an acronym as a wordplay on “Nosferatu” the legendary vampire from the classic 1922 German film. Yet NOS4A2 is not strictly speaking a vampire novel, it is an interesting variation of the vampire theme. “NOS4A2” is the license plate number of "The Wraith", the creepiest Rolls Royce car ever. This car is owned by one Charlie Manx who has lived for hundreds of years and is a non-blood sucking vampiresque (but not exactly a vampire) formerly human person (!). What Manx does is he abducts children and takes them to "Christmasland" a darkly magical place he created where every day is Christmas day. Manx feeds off abducted children’s humanity until all that is left are vampire(ish) kids with sharp teeth who do not feed on blood, but are indeed very nasty. [image]
On the protagonistic side (I am coining new words like nobody’s business in this review) is Vic McQueen, who we meet as an angsty girl with parental issues, she has an ability to conjure a magical covered bridge that works like a hyperspace shortcut to take her wherever she wants to go. One fateful day she decides to look for trouble and finds it in the shape of Charlie Manx and his creepy kids. She barely manages to escape him and grows up to be a woman and a mother with some serious issues due to her Manx experience. Manx later abducts her son Wayne and Vic goes after him, armed with her fierce motherly love, bravery, and general badassness.
Have you ever read a book where you feel very tempted to peek into the last few pages while you are nowhere near the end of the book? This is one such book and I can think of no better testament to how engaging this book is. It is mostly to do with how well the characters are drawn that you would feel so invested and concerned with their plight. This level of characterization coupled with a dark fantastical plot makes for a wonderfully compelling read. For me, NOS4A2 is as good as anything Stephen King has done, I cannot say the same about previous Joe Hill’s books that I have read, I enjoyed them but this book is on a higher plane of greatness. This novel is stuffed full of excitement, inventiveness, and horror, better still have a quality of being humane and compassionate which is very rare in horror fiction.
TL;DR NOS4A2 is damn great, read it! [image]
Note: There is an AMC TV adaptation which is getting mixed reviews but the trailer is pretty good (see below)
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Apparently, they are stretching this one book into a multi-seasons TV show, stuffing it to the brim with superfluity. So it’s getting the Hobbit movie treatment. Oh dear 😅
“The extradimensional distortions necessary to match places on two planets many light-years apart were not simply a matter of expenditure of enormous “The extradimensional distortions necessary to match places on two planets many light-years apart were not simply a matter of expenditure of enormous quantities of energy; they were precision problems fussy beyond belief, involving high mathematics and high art-the math was done by machine but the gate operator always had to adjust the last couple of decimal places by prayer and intuition.” I do love Heinlein’s style of tech-talk, sounds great, and seems to make sense with just about the right amount of handwavium. High mathematics and high art FTW!
Tunnel in the Sky is one of Heinlein’s popular Juvenile titles, opinions vary concerning his better-known adults titles like Stranger in a Strange Land and Starship Troopers, they are often regarded as classic sci-fi but also feature a high quotient of the author’s trademark didacticism (some of his later books are so didactic they are unreadable for me). His juvenile titles – on the other hand – are generally well-liked and remembered fondly by veteran SF readers, especially as early exposures to sci-fi lit. They tend to be short, entertaining intergalactic adventures, with some thought-provoking ideas behind them if you care to look. Tunnel in the Sky is a fine example of this. [image] Fun cover, no such scene in the book
The main “SFnal” conceit of the book is portals between planets, a very common sci-fi/fantasy trope where you step through a door or gateway and is immediately transported to another location far away. Set in an unspecified future age, the Earth is overpopulated and humanity is expanding to colonize other planets via “Ramsbotham gates”. The young protagonist Rod Walker and other students are being sent to a potential colony planet on an “Advanced Survival” test, armed with some basic survival tools. Unfortunately, something goes wrong with the gateway system and the students are stranded. When it becomes apparent that rescue is not imminent and may never come, the students have to band together to survive and, not knowing why they have lost contact with Earth, perhaps the onus is upon them to ensure the continuity of the human race. [image] Rod Walker is supposed to be black, actually
Once Walker’s adventure on the unnamed planet starts in earnest the narrative shifts into a tale of survival, and then when Walker meets other students and begin to form a colony the narrative becomes something a little akin to Lord of the Flies (published a year earlier). Then we have the next step of a gradual formation of a society and even a civilization, with a little bit of Heinleinian didacticism but just the right amount to be interesting and not grinding the storytelling to a halt. The sci-fi element – in term of futuristic tech – is mostly absent from the middle section of the book (the biggest chunk), there are some non-sentient alien creatures for the characters to contend with but nothing particularly outlandish. The teleportation portals are just a plot device to place the characters where they need to be. For the most part, the narrative is more concerned with the development of a colony, leadership, society, politics and baby steps towards civilization. The characters are quite well drawn, something Heinlein has over his legendary contemporaries Asimov and Clarke, this and the occasional sparkles in the dialogue. I really like the ending, not a massive surprise but it feels right.
For the most part Tunnel in the Sky is more “spec-fic” than sci-fi, but more importantly, it is a very good, engaging, well-paced read with some depth to it. Well worth the time (and money). [image] Quotes: “Why I had one girl who wanted to- never mind; the thing about the griffin is that it does not really have vital organs. Its nervous system is decentralized, even its assimilation system. To kill it quickly you would have to grind it into hamburger. Shooting merely tickles it.
“I know how good a gun feels. It makes you bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, three meters tall and covered with hair. You're ready for anything and kind of hoping you'll find it. Which is exactly what is dangerous about it-because you aren't anything of the sort. You are a feeble, hairless embryo, remarkably easy to kill. You could carry an assault gun with two thousand meters precision range and isotope charges that will blow up a hill, but you still would not have eyes in the back of your head like a janus bird, nor be able to see in the dark like the Thetis pygmies. Death can cuddle up behind you while you are drawing a bead on something in front.” [image] Black Rod!...more
“Words are the litmus paper of the mind. If you find yourself in the power of someone who will use the word “commence” in cold blood, go somewhere els“Words are the litmus paper of the mind. If you find yourself in the power of someone who will use the word “commence” in cold blood, go somewhere else very quickly. But if they say “Enter,” don’t stop to pack.”
Terry Pratchett’s Discworld books are always pleasant to return to every now and then. I am not a hardcore fan that would have already devoured all 40+ books by now, I am more of a casual fan that likes to dip into the series now and then; to soak up Sir Terry’s witticisms. Small Gods is one of the most popular Discworld books (I googled) generally included in fans’ top 5 and often placed at the top.
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Another wonderful Discworld cover art by Josh Kirby (click image to enlarge)
Small Gods is basically only about one such god, called Om, and his single believer Brutha. Interestingly Om has plenty of worshippers and his own Omnian religion, the trouble is all but one of these worshipers really believe in him. As a god’s power is based on the number of believers, when Om manifests in the mortal realm he finds himself in the form of a tortoise with no godly powers and discovers that he only has one believer. Somehow Om must find more believers or be stuck in a tortoise body forever.
Small Gods is a delightful read, it is charming, funny and even somewhat profound. Pratchett sends up religions, and certain types of religious people, the zealots, the supposedly pious, the alleged true believers, etc. However, he does so in his usual witty, good-natured way; no reasonable person should be offended by this book. This book is more than just satire, Pratchett is inviting us to look at human nature, the self-interest and the oppression of others under the guise of organized religion; all in the name of a god they don’t believe in. This sounds terribly serious but Pratchett uses humour to convey his underlying themes. There is something comical going on in every page, the characters are magnificently drawn and develop, and the dialogue sparkles.
While the Discworld books are always funny, I think that an uninitiated reader should not expect them to be laugh-a-thon, side-splitting joke fests. This is not how these books work. Pratchett’s tends to rely more on witticism, clever satires and spoofing human nature. I have never met anyone who read Discworld books and do not like them, but then I have not met everybody in the world so I suppose such persons exist. Read Small Gods and avoid being one of them.
[image] Note: The Discworld series is mostly made up of sub-series, each one follows the adventures of a regular protagonist and their supporting characters. However, Small Gods is one of the rare “standalones” in the series, the main characters do not appear in another novel (as far as I know).
Quotes: “Words are the litmus paper of the mind. If you find yourself in the power of someone who will use the word “commence” in cold blood, go somewhere else very quickly. But if they say “Enter,” don’t stop to pack”
“You couldn’t put off the inevitable. Because sooner or later, you reached the place when the inevitable just went and waited.”
“We get that in here some nights, when someone’s had a few. Cosmic speculation about whether gods really exist. Next thing, there’s a bolt of lightning through the roof with a note wrapped around it saying ‘Yes, we do’ and a pair of sandals with smoke coming out. That sort of thing, it takes all the interest out of metaphysical speculation.”...more
Finally! The last published Foundation book, written by Asimov (a few more titles written by other authors were published subsequently). My review of Finally! The last published Foundation book, written by Asimov (a few more titles written by other authors were published subsequently). My review of the first Foundation book was posted in 2014, as I write it is March 2019, so I feel a nice sense of accomplishment for completing a series review five years in the making.
Forward the Foundation is the second prequel to the classic original Foundation Trilogy (that makes it a sequel to a prequel! Prelude to Foundation that is). It is set on Trantor, the governing planet of the Galactic Empire, eight years after the events of Prelude to Foundation. “Prelude” tells the story of Hari Seldon, the founder of the Foundation, as a young man, and the development of “psychohistory”, a predictive science for computing monumental events on a planetary or even galactic scale. “It’s a mathematical way of analyzing human society that ends by predicting the future.” At the beginning of Forward the Foundation Hari Seldon is 60-year-old, and the novel tells the story of the last ten years of his life, as he struggles to put the Foundation together. As his psychohistory predicts, the Empire is deteriorating and beginning to fall. Seldon’s mission in life is to minimize the duration of the dark age that will follow this fall, with the Foundation as the nucleus of a new empire. He is aided by his wife, Dors, who seems to possess some superhuman abilities, his adopted son and granddaughter, who have some uncanny mental abilities and several other colorful characters. [image] Who is this bloke from the book cover of several editions? No idea, too young to be Seldon! That black box is probably the “Prime Radiant”, but WTF is he doing with it?
Forward the Foundation is pretty great for fans of this classic sci-fi series, it fills out details of things mentioned in the original Foundation Trilogy. However, I personally have some doubts about reading the entire series in chronological order instead of the publication order. The original trilogy, from the 50s, is comprised of three rather short novels, very tightly written and often quite thrilling. This is the case with most of the best Golden Age sci-fi books, they tend to be great stories economically told. I think that anyone new to the Foundation books would be better off reading the trilogy first simply because they are just more fun and exciting. The extra details from the prequels are not really needed to follow the trilogy’s narrative. That said, Asimov himself recommended reading in the chronological order so you may want to ignore me completely!
In and of itself though Forward the Foundation is a solid novel, rather leisurely paced, as is the case of the later Asimov works from the 80s and 90s. Asimov seems to more interested in pondering and exploring ideas than telling gripping, fast-paced stories. The characterization tends to be better in these later novels, the main characters, including the smart villains, have more depth to them, the plot structure tends to be more intricate and complex. The stylistic changes are only natural as Asimov matured and changed, readers who prefer his 50s writing style have plenty of titles they can choose from as this was his most prolific period. In any case, his 80s and 90s books are interesting and very readable and I enjoy them. As a longtime fan of his books, I feel a little nostalgic, like reaching the end of an era. I don’t really feel inclined to read the subsequently published Foundation books by other authors, what I would rather do is go back to reread his early robots and empire books. Whatever order you want to read the Foundation series is up to you, I am happy with my reading order and I love the series in general. [image] Notes: • A little spoiler discussion, only read this if you have already read this book (or if you enjoy being contrary). Here goes: (view spoiler)[Towards the end Seldon is working hard to set up the Second Foundation, the community to be made up of people with mental powers, basically telepathy and mind control. The usage of mind control is presented as a wonderful tool to achieve Seldon’s goals. I find this very odd, it is as if Asimov never considered that mind control is actually very dangerous, and deprives people of free will. He even depicted this danger with “The Mule” in Foundation and Empire. (hide spoiler)]
• In a previous Foundation book review (I forget which one) I mentioned that there are no aliens in the Foundation series. This is kind of correct, but there is Gaia in Foundation's Edge which is a non-human sentient entity. See Wastrel's comment, in message #5 under the review, for more details.
*Chronological reading order. You don't have to read every single one of them! Some of them barely add anything to the series’ narrative....more
The author Kevin Ansbro is my buddy so this may play hell with the review’s objectivity. Still, a good book is a good book, whether it has been writteThe author Kevin Ansbro is my buddy so this may play hell with the review’s objectivity. Still, a good book is a good book, whether it has been written by friend or foe, except that the foe would probably get a one-star rating. Fortunately, I don’t have any authorial foes so this should not be a cause for concern. As for the objectivity of this review, just read on and see if that I have described sound like something that would appeal to you.
The title intrigued me as soon as I read it, piscine tree climbing has always fascinated me; though it must be said that in Kev’s book this only happens in a metaphorical sense. The intriguing prologue reminds me of the “cold open” you get on some TV shows, especially the action or crime oriented ones. This narrative tactic, more commonly used in television and films, is surprisingly effective here. The first chapter then rolls back the timeline and the narrative settles into a mostly linear sequence. This suits me just fine, I am not a fan of frequent timeline hopping narrative structure.
The Fish That Climbed a Tree is mostly about Henry Drummond’s extraordinary adventure through life. His initially happy childhood turned upside down by a couple of low-life robbers who murdered his parents. Fortunately Henry has the fortitude to soldier on and grows up to be a decent human being. Unfortunately fate reunites him with the aforementioned low-life fellows, not to mention another low-life that he – for some reason – befriends. So far this sounds like a fairly conventional story of human drama with some aspects of a thriller, but my description so far only scratches the surface of what goes on in this book.
When the narrative is not told from Henry’s perspective it often switches to that of his parents who are both dead. There is an overt supernatural component to this book which specifically deals with the afterlife. The author has painstakingly created a world of the afterlife and vividly how it functions. As a reader of sci-fi and fantasy I do enjoy books with well thought out world-building. You may have your own idea of what the afterlife – if it exists – may be like, and Mr. Ansbro’s depiction of it may be contrary to this idea, but you will find that he puts in a lot of details which may not have occurred to you, and it makes for an interesting and thought-provoking read. The supernatural and mundane sides of the story do not really overlap until they nicely intertwine toward the end. Underneath it all is a story of the human condition, how decency, compassion and true friendship tend to emerge triumphant over adversity and villainy.
I find The Fish That Climbed a Tree to be much better than Kevin’s previous book Kinnara, which I also enjoyed. I like that both of these books defy easy genre labeling which is laudable, any one label you slab on it is bound to be inaccurate. Even the rather vague and trendy term magical realism does not really cover it to my mind. It is entertaining, funny, well-paced and rather thoughtful. I suspect this is part of Kevin’s authorial rising trajectory and I cannot wait to see what he comes up with next.
[image]Quotes: “For anyone with a library in their head and love in their hearts.”
“Rather than simply being the fish that swims to the shore, you have to believe that you can be the fish that climbs a tree.”...more
Uprooted comes highly recommended on Goodreads, Reddit and other places where fantasy readers hangout (including literary salons where you can get youUprooted comes highly recommended on Goodreads, Reddit and other places where fantasy readers hangout (including literary salons where you can get your hair styled like Shakespeare’s). It has an average GR rating of 4.11 and won a Nebula Award (2016), a Locus Award, and a Hugo nomination. Not too shabby, so read it I must. Even so, I never set my expectation too high, some highly acclaimed books don’t really do it for me. In fact, Goodreads Choice Award winners in the SF/F category usually leave me cold. I don’t know if Uprooted deserves quite so many awards, it is not flawless, but I really like it.
According Naomi NovikUprooted is based on some of the Polish fairy stories her parents told her as a child. It does have a fairy story feel to it even though it is clearly written for adults with a rather tame “sexy bit” that should have been left out. The story is entirely focused on the protagonist /first-person narrator Agnieszka who is selected by the local wizard Sarkan as a tribute for services rendered to her village, to go and live with him in his tower for 10 years for unexplained reasons. Everybody, of course, suspects extreme hanky-panky, but nobody really knows what goes on behind the tower’s closed doors. The village is under constant threat by “The Wood” a nearby forest which is also an evil entity, and Sarkan needs all the help he can get to hold it back from devouring the entire village and beyond.
Uprooted is a smoothly flowing narrative without a dull moment, it is skillfully paced, imaginative, charming and often quite exciting. The Wood makes for a refreshingly different antagonist, I love how the author is able to create a mysterious formidable foe and also avoid the tired “dark lord” fantasy trope. Characterization is generally very well done except for Sarkan who is something of a “one note” character. In spite of his rudeness to Agnieszka, it is quite obvious that they will develop a romantic relationship. The depiction of this rude but decent character immediately brings to mind Jane Austen’s Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice, unfortunately, while Mr. Darcy becomes pretty cool once you get to know him, the same cannot be said for Sarkan whose manner never really improve throughout the narrative. This renders the romance between the two main characters rather improbable and I view this as the one single flaw in the book. Fortunately, it is not hard to overlook as Agnieszka is indeed pretty cool, as are several supporting characters; there is plenty else to enjoy here. I also like that there is no “magic system” to speak of, I like a well thought out system but not having a clearly defined one and yet managing to make the world-building functional and the narrative believable is a different kind of feat.
I must give Ms. Novik extra points for making this a standalone novel, fantasy series are difficult for me to keep up with as I have too little time to read these days and each volume of these series seems to be of industrial size. This is the first book by Naomi Novik for me, I look forward to reading her similarly highly acclaimed standalone Spinning Silver (it sounds pretty great). [image] Notes: • Reddit's R/Fantasy discuss the romantic aspect of Uprooted. Some great points made. • Ellen DeGeneres to Produce Adaptation of this book....more
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