tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6375768969614768652024-02-18T22:49:44.113-05:00The Sanitarium on SaturnDEDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07266406676643270732noreply@blogger.comBlogger144125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637576896961476865.post-67947134638486993042024-01-31T16:07:00.005-05:002024-01-31T16:13:13.158-05:00Book Review: Furious Gulf<img src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388378648i/1067143.jpg"
width="294" height="475" border="0" hspace="4" align="right" alt="book cover for Furious Gulf"><i>Trying
to escape the relentless mechs, the last humans from the planet Snowglade take their ancient starship on a
dangerous course straight into the Eater, the black hole at the galactic center. Hungry and desperate,
the refugees begin to question the leadership of Captain Killeen, who believes the center holds their
one hope of survival. Meanwhile, Killeen's son Toby struggles with the microchips that were implanted
in his spine—a technology that now threatens his sanity. Caught between their genocidal
pursuers and peril in the galactic center, Killeen and Toby bring humanity to its final destiny.</i>
<br><br>
So this chapter in the <i>Galactic Center</i> saga is told from Toby's POV. Life isn't easy for
the son of a captain. He wants to talk son-to-father, but too often it's in front of the crew,
so it winds up sounding like an out-of-line ensign sowing discord. And when it seems like
they're talking father-to-son, Killeen reverts back to captain-to-crew. The reason for that
is Toby is carrying around the personality of his father's dead girlfriend, Shibo, on a chip
mounted into his internal computer system. Killeen claims that it's because she was an
important member of the crew with valuable skills, but Toby thinks Dad just can't let go.
They're both right.
<br><br>
In the hierarchy of dead people stored on computer chips, personalities are at the top. They
take up a lot of memory and, given enough time, can override their host. And that's what
Shibo starts to do.
<br><br>
After a hellish trip through the high energy physics equivalent of Scylla and Charibdis,
the <i>Argo</i> arrives at an odd oasis in some kind of balanced region within the maelstrom,
a bit like a Lagrange Point but with space-time at work instead of gravity. Interacting with
the people there is odd, and there is much confusion between the two parties with the locals
using home field to their advantage rather than trying to help their distant cousins.
<br><br>
In the midst of negotiations, Toby has an outburst which complicates matters. Killeen tosses
him into the brig. When Toby gets word of what transpired in his absence, he feels like he
was setup. Toby runs away with Quath, who acts as a guard/guide. They sneak behind the
proverbial curtain only to fall into what I think were pocket universes of space and time.
Things get a bit strange as Benford plays around with physics at a level I can't pretend to
understand. Toby finds himself on his own, struggling to deal with Shibo's needy disembodied
personality, the weirdness of the landscape he finds himself in, coming of age as an adult,
and being pursued by malevolent entities.
<br><br>
At my age, I'm not really into coming of age stories, but when Benford doesn't make the story
all about Toby, it holds up. The exploration of around the galactic center made for some
entertaining reading. I wouldn't have minded more of that. But I struggled with the physics
involved getting near the core and Toby's explorations at the oasis. The conflicts are kind
of resolved, but not really, and the ending is something of a cliffhanger. Still, if you've
made it this far into the series, you have to go all the way.
<br><br>
3.75 stars<br><br>\_/<br>DEDDEDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07266406676643270732noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637576896961476865.post-8384281052400595592023-12-15T16:05:00.004-05:002023-12-15T16:05:55.917-05:00Book Review: Tides of Light<img src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/W/MEDIAX_792452-T2/images/I/91b-iEkZomL._AC_UY327_FMwebp_QL65_.jpg"
width="204" height="327" border="0" align="right" hspace="4" alt="book cover for Tides of Light">Galactic
Center series book #4.<br><br>
<i>Piloting an ancient starship, Killeen and the Bishop tribe escape the mech-ruled world of Snowglade.
Seeking refuge on a far away planet, they discover vast wonders: an organic life-form as large as a
world, a planet-coring cosmic string, a community of humans ruled by a brutal tyrant, and ultimately
an alien race more awesome than any they have encountered. As they battle for survival against these
myriad dangers, Killeen and his crew will gain an unforeseen ally—one that may determine
humanity's true destiny...</i>
<br><br>
This series continues to improve. <i>Tides of Light</i> builds on the series course correction that
was <i><a href="/2020/03/book-review-great-sky-river.html">Great Sky River</a>.</i> The book blurb
summarizes the story pretty well. Whereas <i>Great Sky River</i> laid the groundwork for where
the series now takes place, <i>Tides of Light</i> focuses more on how these tribes of humanity
deal with each other and one another. The militaristic hierarchy is more prominent than I
remember it being in <i>Great Sky River</i>, but if you're fighting for survival against
intractable enemies every day, then I guess war is all you know.
<br><br>
The "alien race more awesome than any they have encountered" refers to the Cybers. I thought
that was an odd name choice considering how cybernetically enhanced our Humans are here. But
if you compare the two, the Humans are entry level cyborgs compared to these new aliens. And
Benford does a great job of giving us their POV, particularly through the alien known as Quath.
They look down on the Humans as being mere animals, but Quath comes to realize that they're
something more.
<br><br>
The way the "organic life-form as large as a world" was introduced was a bit jarring. It
seemed like Benford had gone off on a speculative tangent for the hell of it, but eventually
he brought it back around into the story. Killeen's encounter with the planet-coring cosmic
string also seemed like a physicist's thought experiment that was conveniently contrived
because, well, he's an astrophysicist! Show off! ;-P But in the grand scheme of the story,
Benford made it fit.
<br><br>
Speculative science and tech marvels aside, I think that at this point in Benford's career
he finally got a good handle on characterization. I finally felt some attachment to these
characters rather than being an dispassionate observer of the story's events (or worse).
Even the Cyber Quath proved interesting. The tyrant was less so. He was two-dimensional,
and it isn't until the end of the novel that we learn why; finding out earlier would've
been a spoiler.
<br><br>
Overall, a good blend of speculative ideas and characterization.
<br><br>
4 stars.<br><br>\_/<br>DEDDEDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07266406676643270732noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637576896961476865.post-75933536617888594632023-11-01T14:45:00.001-04:002023-11-01T14:45:16.395-04:00Book Review: Swords in the Mist<img src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1533065351i/41015723.jpg"
width="227" height="346" align="right" border="0" hspace="4" alt="Book cover for Swords in the Mist">This
one starts out well, is muddled in the middle, and then ends a bit disappointingly.
<br><br>
"Cloud of Hate" opens this collection. Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser are hanging out on guard duty for
a benevolent patron when a malevolent fog rolls in. It seems that an enemy of the patron has
invoked the god of Hate to murder said patron. Leiber switches back and forth from our heroes
arguing over their financial predicament to the Cloud of Hate as it flows through the city,
recruiting dangerous men for its violent task. Leiber excels here, juxtapositioning the
witty exchange between our heroes with the visceral violence of the malevolent deity.
<br><br>
"Lean Times in Lankhmar" follows. While Fafhrd and Mouser are not strangers to bickering and
arguing, it is a rare instance when the two let it overwhelm their friendship. In this story
the two part ways. Mouser goes to work for a crime lord while Fafhrd forswears all of his
indulgences and takes up a life of religious poverty, working as an acolyte for the sole
priest of Issek of the Jug, a very minor god in Lankhmar (There's a bit explaining the
difference betweens gods <i>in</i> Lankhmar and gods <i>of</i> Lankhmar). Mouser's
boss gets a sizable chunk of his revenue via the protection racket. And as the
religions in Lankhmar grow in popularity, so does his interest. Ultimately, Mouser
is forced to target Fafhrd's newfound religion to exact tribute. This is another
great one for Leiber. He crafts an excellent piece from start to finish.
<br><br>
But then the rest of the stories decline in quality.
<br><br>
"Their Mistress, the Sea" picks up right where "Lean Times..." leaves off. Herein
it serves as a bridge to the next story. It's not really a story at all, just
Leiber <i>telling</i> us what happened between stories.
<br><br>
"When the Sea-King's Away" is an odd tale. Fafhrd and Mouser hit a doldrum in
the sea. No wind, no currents. They're stuck. Overnight, a hole in the ocean
has appeared. Fafhrd wants to explore it in hopes of finding treasure and mermaids.
Mouser is too nervous about drowning when the magic that holds the hole open
collapses. Mouser stays on the boat while Fafhrd climbs down a rope to the
bottom.<br><br>
While there was some intriguing mystery, the storytelling dragged. The story
is primarily told from Mouser's POV, and since he stayed on the boat, much of
it is him fretting about his friend. When he does finally decide to follow Fafhrd,
it's a little dull. There were some intriguing details, and I felt that maybe
Leiber was trying to channel Lovecraft (He was a fan), but there just wasn't
enough splendor amidst the muck. "The Sunken Land," which can be found in
<i>Swords Against Death</i> was a far better usage of Lovecraftian elements
and the sea.
<br><br>
"The Wrong Branch" is like "Their Mistress..." in that it serves as a bridge to
the next big story. Leiber tells us what happened to our heroes as they sailed
in a roundabout way across the sea back to Lankhmar, seeking out Ningauble of the
Seven Eyes for help with their bad luck.
<br><br>
In "Adept's Gambit," Fafhrd and Mouser leave the world of Lankhmar and find
themselves on Earth in Medieval times. Finding themselves cursed, the duo seek
help from Ningauble in lifting the curse, which takes the rest of the story.
Discovering their curse was humorous, at first, but then got tiring. The exchange
with Ninguable restored the humor, but the quest to lift the curse went on for
far too long. The antagonist was annoying, his story told by his sister. The
story that was told smacked of Lovecraft in both style and substance. Now, I'm a
fan of Lovecraft. When he had a character go off on a long-winded tale-telling,
there was a payoff at the end that made it all worth it. What Leiber gave us
lacked that. After building up to the climax, it fell flat.
<br><br>
Average of stories presented: 3 stars<br><br>\_/<br>DEDDEDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07266406676643270732noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637576896961476865.post-89483722220754665492023-10-01T18:39:00.003-04:002023-10-01T18:39:48.749-04:00Book Review: The Ophiuchi Hotline<img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b1/TheOphiuchiHotline.jpg" border="0" height="389" width="260" hspace="4"
align="right" alt="original cover for The Ophiuchi Hotline drawn by Boris Vallejo courtesty of Wikipedia"><i>After
supremely advanced aliens invade Earth to liberate the planet's intelligent species—whales and dolphins—the
majority of humankind is exiled into space, where, by means of bioengineering, they begin to adapt to and thrive in
their unforgiving environments. Cutting-edge tech means that they can modify body parts, regularly store their
memories for cloning purposes and even merge with seemingly benevolent alien beings (known as symbs) to create
another entity altogether. The discovery of a steady—and mostly indecipherable—stream of data
originating from a star system 17 light-years away offers some kind of hope of advancing the species and
retaking the homeworld. But when the novel's protagonist (a series of successive clones named Lilo) travels
out to 70 Ophiuchi, what she finds may not be salvation for the human species but its damnation.</i>
<br><br>
Besides the <i>Gaea</i> trilogy, Varley's other big series is the <i>Eight Worlds</i> saga. But it's
really two different series, parallel universes that share the same technologies (memory recording,
cloning, genetic engineering, sex changes, null fields) and meta plot elements. The latter being that
highly advanced aliens have invaded Earth to save cetaceans from humans by dismantling all of our
infrastructure overnight.
<br><br>
The first series consists of several short stories, novelettes, and the novel, <i>The Ophiuchi Hotline</i>.
The second series consists of his "metals trilogy": <i>Steel Beach</i>, <i>The Golden Globes</i>, and
<i>Irontown Blues</i>.
<br><br>
While it might seem like <i>The Ophiuchi Hotline</i> is the first story in the series, it's actually
the last; the short stories actually precede it. Anyway, hundreds of years have passed since the
invasion, and humanity is doing fine, scattered throughout the solar system. There are some Free
Earthers who think that the time is right to attack the Invaders and reclaim Earth. It's a
misguided plan, but humans and hubris...<br><br>
Our protagonist is Lilo, a successful bioengineer who's been condemned to <i>permanently</i> die
for crossing a line with her work. Permanent death means that all her memory and personality files
get deleted and her clones dissolved. Normally, death is just a reboot from your last save, thus
enabling people to live for centuries just by getting downloaded into a new clone body. Boss Tweed,
leader of the Free Earthers and former prison warden, keeps her alive (and many others) as his
slave, forced to help find a way to find a weapon to use against the Invaders.<br><br>
The Hotline? Oh that doesn't become a plot point until midway through the book. The first half is
primarily about Lilo trying to escape. Eventually there are three Lilos—as seen on the
cover—each with her own storyline. At first it was a bit confusing trying to figure out
if we were still on the same version of Lilo or if we'd moved on to another one. Ultimately, we
figure it out, and we're able to follow their storylines to their conclusions.<br><br>
For such a small book (180 pages), it seems to have quite a bit of filler. Varley wanders off
on tangents for things—like fashion on Pluto—that seemed to have been added to hit
the reader with "weirdness from the future!" World-building? I guess.<br><br>
While I'll give him credit for the being the earliest author I've read where gender is a
spectrum, sex is typically passionless, boring. It's put on the same level as playing cards
with the neighbors on a Saturday night. Just something to do. I'm getting the feeling that's
where authors in the 70s thought we were headed. In future work, Varley does a better job.
<br><br>
Oh yeah, that Hotline stuff. Well, it wasn't really important or impressive. Varley amazes us
throughout the novel with all these incredible technologies ("Far out, man. I can grow
bacon on a tree."), the advance aliens use a <i>film projector</i> to show a video to Lilo.
Yeah, film. On demand sex changes and all kinds of body modifications, but he still has people
centuries from now using film.<br><br>
This is very much a first novel. Fortunately, having read his later works before this one, I
know that Varley gets better. His novels become more cohesive, the storylines become easier
to follow, and characters become richer. Hell, even the sex gets better. I think I need to
swear off 70s sci-fi. I think the authors and the editors were all a bit too caught up in the times.
<br><br>
2.5 stars<br><br>\_/<br>DEDDEDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07266406676643270732noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637576896961476865.post-46566071597066144532023-08-31T20:50:00.002-04:002023-08-31T21:10:27.037-04:00Book Review: A Memory Called Empire<img src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1526486698i/37794149.jpg"
align="right" border="0" hspace="4" width="370" height="572" alt="book cover for A Memory Called Empire"><i>Ambassador
Mahit Dzmare arrives in the center of the multi-system Teixcalaanli Empire only to discover that her predecessor, the
previous ambassador from their small but fiercely independent mining station, has died. But no one will admit that
his death wasn't an accident—or that Mahit might be next to die, during a time of political instability in
the highest echelons of the imperial court.
<br><br>
Now, Mahit must discover who is behind the murder, rescue herself, and save her station from Teixcalaan's unceasing
expansion—all while navigating an alien culture that is all too seductive, engaging in intrigues of her
own, and hiding a deadly technological secret—one that might spell the end of her station and her way
of life—or rescue it from annihilation.</i>
<br><br>
From the onset of <i>A Memory Called Empire</i>, intrigue piqued my curiosity. How did the Lsel Station
ambassador die? And what is so terrible about the Teixalaanli Empire that a Councilor on the station longs
for a potentially even more dangerous foe to step out of the shadows? And it continues throughout the
story, answers leading to more questions, until the underlying issues of the moment are resolved at
the end.<br><br>
Mahit made for a good protagonist. I rooted for her and her budding cadre of allies as she sought
out the answers to the questions that were linked to her survival and those of her home, Lsel Station.
I liked her even though I didn't share her love for Teixcalaanli culture. That's not to say it wasn't
interesting. The importance of poetry in their society from top to bottom (competitions at parties!)
was intriguing without being too literary. Their naming conventions (a number coupled with an physical
object) struck me as unique. And Mahit's need to point out the differences between her culture and
Teixcalaanli, from facial expressions to vocal manners, revealed such subtle differences that I
couldn't help but wonder if Martine was trying to draw Earthly comparisons.
Anyway, I enjoyed Martine's world-building.
<br><br>
Action was limited, but the threat of violence was always present. In seeking answers into the
death of her predecessor, she stuck her nose into places where it wasn't welcome. Were it not
for the setting, one could easy mistake this story for a political thriller.<br><br>
One element that made the book even better was the humor, dry as it was. In one instance, Mahit
is attending a party for government functionaries where there was a poetry competition. Her
liaison, Three Seagress, approaches her.
<blockquote>
<i>"Are you going to finish the drink?" asked Three Seagrass when the noise had
died away.<br>
"Yes. Why?"<br>
"Because I am going to have to talk about Fourteen Spire's use of assonance
for the rest of the evening, and you're going to have to listen, and we should both be
slightly more inebriated."<br>
"Oh," said Mahit. "When you put it like that..."</i>
</blockquote>
<br>
Mahit and Three Seagrass develop a friendship, but overhanging their relationship the whole time
is the spectre of colonialism. Teixcalaanli citizens are taught to view everyone outside their
borders as "barbarians", no matter their level of civilization. As Teixcalaan-phile Mahit
constantly seeks out acceptance and camraderie among her contacts, she occasionally crashes
into a wall that reminds her of this fact: She will never obtain what she seeks.
<br><br>
I really enjoyed this book. There was engaging world-building, dashes of humor, and enough
intrigue and tension to ignore the lack of action. Looking forward to reading the next book.
<br><br>
4.5 stars<br><br>\_/<br>DEDDEDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07266406676643270732noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637576896961476865.post-64832693672758972092023-06-23T13:17:00.000-04:002023-06-23T13:17:09.139-04:00Book Review: Fugitive Telemetry<img src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1620520604i/53413743.jpg"
width="280" height="448" border="0" align="right" hspace="4" alt="book cover for Fugitive Telemetry">There's
been a murder on Preservation Station and Murderbot has been called in to solve the case!
<br><br>
<i>Not!</i><br><br>
Ok, so yeah, the murder happened, but our favorite SecBot is actually a suspect at the
start of the investigation. But as Murderbot puts it:<br><br>
<i>No, I didn't kill the dead human. If I had, I wouldn't dump the body in the
station mall, for fuck's sake.</i><br><br>
You can almost hear the eyeroll.<br><br>
Murderbot is interested in the case as it wants to rule out that the murder was
related to GrayCris, the nefarious corporation out to eliminate Murderbot's
<i>favorite</i> human, Dr. Mensah. She recognizes that this is an opportunity for
Murderbot to improve its relationship with Station Security. After Murderbot
provides an alibi that Station Security accepts, it works with them to track down
the suspect because murders just don't happen on Preservation Station.<br><br>
<i>The full station threat assessment for murder was at a baseline 7 percent. (To make
it drop lower than that we'd have to be on an uninhabited planet.)</i><br><br>
Station Security is still leery of Murderbot as it's a SecBot, which avid readers of
this series know is a Security Robot, a machine capable of lethal violence second
only to Combat Robots. Its chief also doubts Murderbot's investigative skills.<br><br>
<i>"Yes, I've had experience with investigating suspicious fatalities in
controlled circumstances."<br>
Indah's gaze wasn't exactly skeptical. "What controlled circumstances?"<br>
I said, "Isolated work installations."<br>
Her expression turned even more grim. "Corporate slave labor camps."<br>
I said, "Yes, but if we call them that, Marketing and Branding gets angry
and we get a power surge through our brains that fries little pieces of our neural
tissue."</i>
<br><br>
Of course, Murderbot is leery of Station Security as well, since, you know, they're
humans. And getting along with humans is not something Murderbot was programmed for.
<br><br>
<i>I didn't make an expression because I knew Indah would be more annoyed by me not
reacting than by me reacting.</i><br><br>
But Murderbot and the Station Security personnel try to make the most of a situation
that neither side wants to be involved with to solve the case.
<br><br>
<i>Fugitive Telemetry</i> is another solid entry in a fantastic series. However, I
don't expect a series of cozy mysteries involving Murderbot to become a thing. ;-)
<br><br>
4 stars<br><br>\_/<br>DEDDEDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07266406676643270732noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637576896961476865.post-46469127970221742792023-05-30T21:22:00.003-04:002023-05-30T21:28:04.116-04:00Book Review: The Light Brigade<img src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1537977912i/40523931.jpg"
align="right" width="339" height="512" border="0" hspace="4" alt="book cover for The Light Brigade"><i>The
Light Brigade: it's what soldiers fighting the war against Mars call the ones who come back... different. Grunts
in the corporate corps get busted down into light to travel to and from interplanetary battlefronts. Everyone is
changed by what the corps must do in order to break them down into light. Those who survive learn to stick to the
mission brief—no matter what actually happens during combat.
<br><br>
Dietz, a fresh recruit in the infantry, begins to experience combat drops that don't sync up with the platoon's. And
Dietz's bad drops tell a story of the war that's not at all what the corporate brass want the soldiers to think is
going on.
<br><br>
Is Dietz really experiencing the war differently, or is it combat madness? Trying to untangle memory from mission
brief and survive with sanity intact, Dietz is ready to become a hero—or maybe a villain; in war it's hard to
tell the difference.</i>
<br><br>
This was a hot mess.<br><br>
Before I start, ignore the comparisons to <i>Edge of Tomorrow</i>. This is nothing like it. In that movie, Tom
Cruise's character dies constantly only to loop back in time. Dietz, the main character and narrator in <i>The
Light Brigade</i>, not only doesn't die all the time but moves forward <i>and</i> backward in time, which is
more like Billy Pilgrim's experiences in <i>Slaughterhouse-Five</i>.<br><br>
The story started out well. We're introduced to Dietz just before basic training, and we can tell that Dietz is
a hothead, act-first-think-later kind of person with lots of baggage having grown up poor and lacking corporate
citizenship. The basic training experience is brutal and puts the new recruits into awful situations. So it
seems like this will be a grinder sci-fi novel focusing on the brutality of war and what it does to soldiers.
Nope. Once Dietz experiences teleportation, we get a broken time travel story. For the record, if the transporter
(the whole "busted down into light to travel" is totally reminiscent of <i>Star Trek's</i> transporter)
ever broke down in <i>Star Trek</i>, you can bet that Scotty or O'Brien would be all over it, trying to get it
repaired. Losing people in transporter accidents is horrible. But this is Bones' worst nightmare with people
materializing in walls and with limbs misplaced. Here, it's just another day on the job. A lot of resources
go into training soldiers; they're not disposable. And if you can teleport a soldier and all their gear, why
not just teleport a nuke?<br><br>
For a military sci-fi novel, there really isn't a whole lot of combat. Dietz's squad either teleports into
a battlefield where they're slaughtered or they go into a police action against civilians where they vaporize
them. Bodies explode with blood and viscera like a typical episode of <i>Ash Vs. The Evil Dead.</i>
<br><br>
Dietz's internal monologue and conversations with other soldiers are fairly insipid. A lot of dialogue is
just repeated. You could make a drinking game out of the phrase "Stick to the brief", a reference to
abiding by the mission brief and ignoring everything else. We're told that they're monitored all the time,
so they have to watch what they say, but Dietz gets a watch with some kind of jamming device built into
it and later corporate causalities have become so high that the corporation doesn't have enough people to
monitor every conversation. I guess developing computer algorithms or AI was harder than teleportation.
At the end of the novel Dietz suddenly figures things out and becomes all-knowing.
<br><br>
We're told that all of the world's governments have collapsed and been replaced by corporations. But
there's nothing vaguely capitalistic about them. Sure they have CEOs, but corporations don't bomb
markets and slaughter potential new customers (Mercenaries do, sure, I'll grant you that). Amazon has
been accused of putting a lot of small businesses out to pasture, but Bezos did it by shrewdly taking
advantage of new business models that the internet enabled. He didn't send a hitman to kill the owner
of your local bookstore. In this book, these corporations are feudal empires controlled by kings and
queens.
<br><br>
There are these interrogation transcripts that begin to pop up between chapters. Although neither Dietz
nor the interrogator is identified, it's obvious it's them. We have to read this lame polemic which
gradually turns into an argument which gets rehashed in each interrogation. This book was published in
2019, which means Hurley wrote this 2017-18. The whole interrogation reads like Hurley is taking her
grievances with what was going on in the USA at the time and uses the space to rant. Maybe that's why
people liked it so much. I think it's meant to be inspiring or make some people think, but while I'd
agree with the points made, the way it was done reads like Dietz was just stating the obvious.
<br><br>
1.5 stars<br><br>\_/<br>DED
DEDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07266406676643270732noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637576896961476865.post-73204692320655022882023-05-09T10:00:00.001-04:002023-05-09T10:00:00.279-04:00Book Review: Number One Is Walking<img src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1647803815i/59808205.jpg"
width="353" height="400" border="0" alt="book cover for Number One Is Walking"><br>
I picked this book up during my local Barnes & Noble's moving sale. I went on the last
day, and there were several copies of this book present, more than any other of the remaining
inventory. I should've taken that as a sign to skip it, but I'm a lifelong Steve Martin fan,
so I couldn't resist.
<br><br>
This book is marketed as an illustrated memoir of Steve Martin's acting career. It doesn't come close
to be worthy of being called a memoir. It is a collection of various anecdotes from a few selected
films which were then boiled down to brief, one or two-page, illustrations. They leave you wondering,
"And then what happened?" But rather than provide any sort of elaboration, the book moves on to the
next anecdote.
<br><br>
And the anecdotes only make up one-third to two-fifths of the book—I was too annoyed to
get any more precise than that as there are no page numbers, and that would require more math
than this book was worth. The rest of the book is a collection of <i>New Yorker</i> cartoons
that Martin collaborated with the illustrator, Harry Bliss, on. These were fine. They were
cute, whimsical notes of satire, but printed one to a page (the back-side being left blank).
<br><br>
Despite this being illustrated, I was hoping for something more. Martin's memoir of his
early years, <i>Born Standing Up</i>, was an excellent work detailing how he got his start
in show business and ran through his early career as a stand-up comic, including why he
gave it up. I was hoping that this would detail his career in film in the same way. It
looks like we'll have to wait for that.
<br><br>
2 stars<br><br>\_/<br>DED
DEDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07266406676643270732noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637576896961476865.post-56607467892944153482023-05-07T21:35:00.001-04:002023-05-07T21:35:18.922-04:00Book Review: Johannes Cabal The Necromancer<img src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328334372i/6639468.jpg"
align="left" hspace="10" width="184" height="280" border="0" alt="book cover for The Necromancer"><i>Johannes Cabal
sold his soul years ago in order to learn the laws of necromancy. Now he wants it back. Amused and slightly bored,
Satan proposes a little wager: Johannes has to persuade one hundred people to sign over their souls or he will be
damned forever. This time for real. Accepting the bargain, Jonathan is given one calendar year and a traveling
carnival to complete his task. With little time to waste, Johannes raises a motley crew from the dead and
enlists his brother, Horst, a charismatic vampire to help him run his nefarious road show, resulting in
mayhem at every turn.</i>
<br><br>
I wanted to like this book more than I did. It was fine. I was entertained. There were humorous quips and
interesting bits of wordplay. The narrative was thought through and resolved neatly. But I wasn't eager
to pick it back up each night when I sat down to read it, if I read it at all. However, I think it would
work fine as a TV series as some of the gags require an audio or visual component to truly pull them off.
<br><br>
The book blurb covers the plot. There's a hint of <i>Something Wicked This Way Comes</i> in that an evil
carnival roams the countryside causing mayhem. But while that was suspenseful, this story satirizes its
horror. As the carnival proceeds via train through the English countryside, each stop presents a
encounter with a potential soul to be taken or an obstacle to Johannes's progress. It's a very episodic
format, which is fine and why it lends itself to a TV adaptation. It proceeds along at a measured pace
until 70-75% of the way through when the carnival train makes its last stop and Cabal's deadline
approaches.
<br><br>
At first, I rooted for Johannes in his quest to acquire 100 souls. His targets were people who were
pretty lousy and seemingly deserved their fate. But the more I read of this anti-hero, the more I
didn't care for him. His vampire brother, Horst, was the likable one who still retained any hint of
conscience. By the end of the story, Johannes improves, but his path is muddy.
<br><br>
Maybe this book would've been a better match for me if I'd read it when I was much younger than I
am today.
<br><br>
2.5 stars<br><br>\_/<br>DEDDEDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07266406676643270732noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637576896961476865.post-19942053072161922432023-03-19T20:43:00.002-04:002023-03-19T20:49:22.663-04:00Book Review: Swords Against Death<img src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1524759909i/39964826.jpg"
align="right" border="0" width="328" height="500" alt="book cover for Swords Against Death" hspace="3"><i>In
the second installment of this rousing series, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser journey from the ancient
city of Lankhmar, searching for a little adventure and debauchery to ease their broken hearts.
When a stranger challenges them to find and fight Death on the Bleak Shore, they battle demonic
birds, living mountains, and evil monks on the way to their heroic fate. Fritz Leiber’s witty
prose, lively plots, and superb characterizations stand the test of time.</i>
<br><br>
This collection of ten short stories picks up shortly after the events in <i>Swords
and Deviltry</i>. Although written and published over a span of thirty years,
the stories are arranged here in chronological order as per the characters' lives.
<br><br>
Yes, death is a common theme running through this collection. Whether it's dealing
with the undead in the catacombs of the Thieves' Guild or battling Death himself,
there's more than just combat mortality going on. There are beings long thought
dead that have come back to life for revenge, and the dead haunting the living
such that they'll do anything to be at peace. As great as Fafhrd and the Gray
Mouser are in a sword fight, sometimes it takes wits to survive. Other times,
the odds are so overwhelming that it's best to just run away.
<br><br>
In the first edition of D&D's <i>Deities and Demigods</i>, there was a
section dedicated to the Nehwon Mythos. That was my first introduction to
Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser and the beings that dwell there. The stories were
an obvious inspiration to Gygax and company, and reading this collection of
stories, one can't help but see it. Notable characters that show up here
include the alien wizards Sheelba of the Eyeless Face and Ninguable of the
Seven Eyes. There's an encounter with the goddess Tyaa and her fearsome
flock of birds, Devourer, and, of course, Death.
<br><br>
I really enjoyed "Thieves' House", "The Bleak Shore", "The Sunken Land",
"Claws from the Night", and "Bazaar of the Bizarre." I feel that these
stories really exemplify Leiber at his best. Besides detailing the prowess
of his heroes' swordsmanship, Leiber can set a scene, whether it be fantastic...
<blockquote><i>The lenses and brass tubes, some of the latter of which were
as fantastically crooked as if they were periscopes for seeing over the
walls and through the barred windows of other universes, showed at first
only delightful jeweled patterns, but after a bit the Mouser was able to
see through into all sorts of interesting places: the treasure rooms of
dead kings, the bedchambers of living queens, council crypts of rebel angels,
and the closets in which the gods hid plans for worlds too frighteningly
fantastic to risk creating.</i></blockquote>
or forboding...
<blockquote><i>Only his eyes responded to his will, turning from side to side,
drinking in details with fearful curiousity: the endless series of vague
carvings, wherein sea monsters and unwholesome manlike figures and vaguely
anthropomorphic giant skates or rays seemed to come alive and stir as the
phosphorescence fluctuated...</i></blockquote>
My one complaint would be that the POV shifts within the stories were often
sudden and jarring with no break to indicate the switch was coming. I don't
know if that was a product of the times, but I was taught that that was bad
form. But it's not like anyone is going to crucify Fritz Leiber for that.
<br><br>
I enjoyed this one more than the first book in the series. Leiber takes his
characters—and the reader—on an adventurous ride through Nehwon,
encountering strange and deadly beings, forcing them to use their wits when
swords aren't enough. Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser: It's like a buddy movie
for the D&D crowd.
<br><br>
4.25 stars<br><br>\_/<br>DED
DEDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07266406676643270732noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637576896961476865.post-21251426327269721362023-02-15T15:08:00.001-05:002023-02-15T15:19:07.512-05:00Book Review: The Last Command<img src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1624823239i/58082243.jpg"
width="265" height="400" border="0" align="right" alt="book cover for The Last Command"><i>The
embattled Republic reels from the attacks of Grand Admiral Thrawn, who has marshaled the remnants
of the Imperial forces and driven the Rebels back with an abominable technology recovered from
the Emperor's secret fortress: clone soldiers. As Thrawn mounts his final siege, Han Solo and
Chewbacca struggle to form a coalition of smugglers for a last-ditch attack, while Princess
Leia holds the Alliance together and prepares for the birth of her Jedi twins.
<br><br>
The Republic has one last hope—sending a small force into the very stronghold that houses
Thrawn's terrible cloning machines. There a final danger awaits, as the Dark Jedi C'baoth
directs the battle against the Rebels and builds his strength to finish what he already
started: the destruction of Luke Skywalker.</i>
<br><br>
I'm struggling to write a proper review. Much of what I've written about the first two
books can be applied here: the familiar characters from the movie are flat, Zahn's
original characters are well-drawn, and the peril doesn't seem too perilous. Zahn brings
the trilogy to a proper close and wraps up all of the plot lines. All that's really
left is to figure out how many stars to give it.
<br><br>
I distinctly remember the way Han Solo uttered "sweetheart" in the movies. It wasn't a
term of endearment. So every time he used the term on Leia in this book, I got a bad vibe.
It gave me a negative view about his relationship with Leia, who is now his wife and the
mother of his kids. Throughout the series, I've felt that Zahn got Han's character wrong,
and it's no different here.
<br><br>
Another negative was the character of Joruus C'baoth. He was a windbag with an ego the
size of a planet. Sure, he was powerful, but most of the time he was just full of hot
air. Contrast him with Thrawn and the differences couldn't be more stark. Thrawn was the
brilliant tactician who used a culture's art to gain strategic insight. Cold and calculating,
he was the military mastermind that was always two moves ahead of his opponents, and when
dealing with C'baoth, he always kept his emotions in check.
<br><br>
The other positives were the smuggler Talon Karrde and his associate Mara Jade. Despite
what the book blurb would have you believe, Karrde was the one that struggled to form the
smugglers' coalition. His storyline in this book was really good as he tried to outwit
the nitwit that Thrawn sent to undermine his efforts. And Jade struggled with her
compulsion to kill Luke while also doing the right thing by Leia. Meanwhile, the Alliance
was split on whether or not she was an Imperial spy or Alliance ally. But I wasn't too
keen on how her internal conflict was resolved. It involved something that I thought
had been lost in one of the movies. My reaction being: "No way, you found that? How?"
<br><br>
So in the end, I'd say that this series was consistent. It had its good points and
bad points. I was entertained, but in a beach read sort of way. Therefore, I'm
going to stay consistent with my rating.
<br><br>
3.5 stars<br><br>\_/<br>DEDDEDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07266406676643270732noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637576896961476865.post-10423816881676655302023-01-03T18:45:00.001-05:002023-01-03T20:52:13.103-05:00Book Review: Dark Force Rising<img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1624824027l/58082226.jpg"
width="266" height="400" border="0" align="right" hspace="4" alt="book cover for Dark Force Rising"><i>The
dying Empire's most cunning and ruthless warlord, Grand Admiral Thrawn, has taken command of the remnants of
the Imperial Fleet and launched a massive campaign aimed at the New Republic's destruction. Meanwhile, Han
Solo and Lando Calrissian race against time to find proof of treason inside the highest Republic
Council—only to discover instead a ghostly fleet of warships that could bring doom to their
friends and victory to their enemies.
<br><br>
Yet most dangerous of all is a new Dark Jedi, risen from the ashes of a shrouded past, consumed by
bitterness, and scheming to corrupt Luke Skywalker to the dark side.</i>
<br><br>
It's funny. When I started this series, I thought that the titular heir to the Empire was supposed
to be Grand Admiral Thrawn when, in fact, it's the windbag-pretending-to-be-a-Jedi Joruus C'baoth.
In my defense, C'baoth's storyline tends to take a backseat to all the other storylines that run
through the first two books of this series. So it didn't click in my head until this book drew
to its conclusion.
<br><br>
Zahn's characters continue to be better developed than the familiar characters from the <i>Star
Wars</i> original/middle trilogy of films. They still seem off to me. I think that they're
stuck in <i>Return of the Jedi</i> mode. Luke tries to treat C'baoth like Vader. Leia thinks
that she can broker diplomacy with the Noghri like she did with the Ewoks. Han and Lando aren't
the rogues that they used to be, but they think they still are. Chewie is still Chewie though.
And they all get away with it because, well, they do. I guess I'm expecting too much. It's
been 40 years for me, but these books are only a couple years removed from the battle of Endor.
<br><br>
As I said, Zahn's original characters are better. Mara Jade struggles with her hate/he's ok
relationship with Luke. Captain Pellaeon dutifully serves Grand Admiral Thrawn, who is
always a step ahead of everyone else. It comes close to straining credulity at times, but
I let it slide. Talon Karrde remains the likeable smuggler. Fey'lya demonstrates that Bothans
are really frenemies, and former Senator Bel Iblis reveals some history about the early days
of the Rebellion that would make for a great addition to <i>Andor</i>.
<br><br>
As for the storylines, after the surviving special ops Noghri, Khabarakh, informs Leia that
he knows she's Vader's daughter, she agrees to accompany him to the Noghri homeworld in hopes
of clearing things up and putting these attempted kidnappings to bed. I admit that while this
started off like a fool's errand, Zahn built up Noghri society rather well.
<br><br>
Han and Lando try to uncover proof that Admiral Ackbar was set up and find a lost fleet of
ships that could turn the tide of the war. I wasn't sure that they were doing anything more
than stumbling around from one planet to another, but they eventually got there.
<br><br>
Luke seeks out the rumors of a Jedi Master in hopes of continuing his education, but as this
storyline involved C'baoth it was pretty much a nothing burger. Luke eventually leaves to
rescue someone and things pick up from there.
<br><br>
So despite my complaining, I am enjoying this series. It's good popcorn fare or a beach read.
<br><br>
3.5 stars<br><br>\_/<br>DEDDEDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07266406676643270732noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637576896961476865.post-28206027323295175732022-11-18T14:11:00.000-05:002022-11-18T14:11:40.000-05:00Book Review: The Doors of Eden<img src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1597130185i/53546927.jpg"
align="right" width="338" height="500" border="0" hspace="4" alt="book cover for The Doors of Eden"><i>Lee's
best friend went missing on Bodmin Moor, four years ago. She and Mal were chasing rumours of monsters when they
found something all too real. Now Mal is back, but where has she been, and who is she working for?
<br><br>
When government physicist Kay Amal Khan is attacked, the security services investigate. This leads
MI5's Julian Sabreur deep into terrifying new territory, where he clashes with mysterious agents
of an unknown power—who may or may not be human. And Julian's only clue is some grainy
footage—showing a woman who supposedly died on Bodmin Moor.
<br><br>
Khan's extradimensional research was purely theoretical, until she found cracks between our
world and countless others. Parallel Earths where monsters live. These cracks are getting
wider every day, so who knows what might creep through? Or what will happen when those
walls finally come crashing down...</i>
<br><br>
This is my third Tchaikovsky novel, and the first one that fell short for me. It could be
that the first two that I read, <i>Children of Time</i> and <i>Spiderlight</i>, were so
good that the bar was set too high.
<br><br>
The main story had an interesting premise, but the execution didn't work for me. I felt
that it dragged at times, too many scenes with people wondering what's going on or not
believing what their eyes are telling them. What I really enjoyed were the interstitials:
excerpts from other timelines where different species rose to prominence on alternative
Earths. The world-building in these mini-documentaries really demonstrated Tchaikovsky's
love for zoology. I wanted to read stories based in these worlds or their interaction
with ours.
<br><br>
Which brings me to the characters. I really didn't care for them, well the humans anyway.
The non-human characters were the interesting ones. Khan, the foul-mouthed, chain smoking
physicist was the best of the humans. Lee and Mal were ok. Any scene with Julian was
disappointing. The blurb makes it seem like he carries the story, but he was more of a
passenger. He really couldn't handle anything outside a narrow British box of expectations.
I couldn't wait for his scenes to be over with. His co-worker, Alison, was ok by the end
but took a while to get there. Even the villain was dull, there to be the foil to the
underlying message of inclusion.
<br><br>
There's a big reveal towards the last quarter of the book that explains how all of this
came about. It got my hopes up for a strong finish, but then we got more navel gazing.
The execution of the last part, well, I've seen <i>Star Trek</i> do it better. And the
end left me like, "Oh, that's it?" If it wasn't for the world-building, I'd rate it lower.
<br><br>
3 stars<br><br>
\_/<br>DEDDEDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07266406676643270732noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637576896961476865.post-48230363776575344702022-10-31T22:45:00.000-04:002022-10-31T22:45:11.948-04:00Book Review: Frankenstein<img src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328867280i/89476.jpg"
width="233" height="371" border="0" align="right" hspace="4" alt="book cover for Frankenstein"><i>At
once a Gothic thriller, a passionate romance, and a cautionary tale about the dangers of science,</i>
Frankenstein <i>tells the story of committed science student Victor Frankenstein. Obsessed with
discovering the cause of generation and life and bestowing animation upon lifeless matter,
Frankenstein assembles a human being from stolen body parts but; upon bringing it to life,
he recoils in horror at the creature's hideousness. Tormented by isolation and loneliness,
the once-innocent creature turns to evil and unleashes a campaign of murderous revenge
against his creator, Frankenstein.</i>
<br><br>
Even if one hasn't read the book or seen any of the numerous film adaptations, it
would be difficult to believe that anyone in Western Civilization had not at least
heard about <i>Frankenstein</i> in some fashion. It is a classic tale already two
centuries old that will live on for centuries to come.
<br><br>
If you haven't read the book, it bears little resemblance to the majority of films
that were inspired by it. Most films devote significant screen time to portraying
how the monster was created and how Frankenstein is thrilled with his creation.
Frankenstein tries to educate it, make it more human, but the process is frustratingly
difficult. Said creation then runs amok, much to Frankenstein's chagrin. The films are
typically a warning about the dangers of science run amok.
<br><br>
But the book spends scant time on the monster's creation. We're given Frankenstein's
motivations for reanimating the dead (grief over his mother's death) and his research
into the matter—primarily reading ancient, discredited tomes—but no
mention of where he got body parts or what process provided that spark to reanimate
the flesh. It's just handwaved onward, not important. And then when the monster is
created, Frankenstein rejects it outright. It is so hideous an abomination that he
can't stand to be in the same room with it and drives it away.
<br><br>
Shelley attacks the canard that beauty is good and ugliness is evil. The monster is
attacked by all who gaze upon it for no reason other than it is so hideous it must be
evil. The monster secretly provides firewood and game for a poor family of seemingly
kind people, but they attack it on sight. Later, after the monster learns how to
speak (No, not "Fire bad!"), it engages with Frankenstein in debate, slinging purple
prose in his face, lamenting how lonely it is because of its wretched existence. But
Frankenstein can't get past the ugly and rejects the monster again and again.
<br><br>
Naturally, all of this rejection is too much for the monster. It resorts to committing
evil deeds which only incense Frankenstein's animosity towards the monster. Ultimately,
the monster feels that negative attention is better than no attention and torments its
creator further.
<br><br>
Sure, Frankenstein blames himself for creating the monster. He hides this fact from
people for years, all the while crying out to the stars about his woe and misery and
longing to be with his love and his wonderful family. But ultimately, he never accepts
the blame for his true crime: rejecting his creation upon its birth. Think of it this
way: If a parent rejects his/her child all of that child's life, never shows that child
love, what sort of person will that child grow up to be? The rest of us would think
that parent was a lousy human being. Frankenstein is no different. But instead, Captain
Walton, who meets Frankenstein while he's out in pursuit of the monster, showers such
slavish admiration upon the man that I swear he was smitten by him, regardless of what
Frankenstein told him that he'd done.
<br><br>
Frankenstein is the true monster here, not his hideous creation. I'll take the Hollywood
version of Dr. Frankenstein. At least his twisted heart was in the right place.
<br><br>
3 stars<br><br>
By the way, <i>Young Frankenstein</i> was the best of them all.<br><br>
\_/<br>DED
DEDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07266406676643270732noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637576896961476865.post-67521218802547092822022-10-01T16:13:00.001-04:002022-10-01T16:13:08.472-04:00Book Review: Pharoni<img src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1652689945i/61104695.jpg"
width="267" height="400" border="1" align="right" hspace="4" alt="book cover for Pharoni"><i>When
the body of Harry Injurides - playwright, provocateur and bodybuilder - washes up on a beach, his
friends are shocked, but not altogether surprised. But when they meet to mourn Harry, he shows up
and says he's been resurrected.
<br><br>
Pharoni is the story of those friends. Tommy Pharoni tries to overcome his shock by writing about his
friend's resurrection, and accidentally starts a religion. Roy Sudden starts a tech empire based on
digital empathy and digital pain, drawing in billionaire investors, femme-fatale programmers, and
tsunamis of capital. And, Roy's on-again, off-again girlfriend Maud works in secret to bring
radical justice to the most neglected and abused corners of society.
<br><br>
As Tommy's religion grows, Roy and his backers try to take control of it. The battle, about more
than doctrine, engulfs Tommy's marriage and threatens his life, leading to a conflict with
strangely humane results that no one could predict.</i>
<br><br>
Told in the first person, <i>Pharoni</i> has the feel of a memoir or a really long confession.
Tommy Pharoni is a struggling screenplay writer who pays his bills and alimony by working a
soulless marketing job. His closest friends were aspiring artists of different sorts in
college. Now in their mid-thirties, they've set aside those aspirations to "adult" properly.
All except for Harry, whose death opens the story. Harry struggled to fit into
contemporary society, instead preferring to help the homeless while penning "words of
wisdom" in his many notebooks. After his death and subsequent re-birth, those notebooks
wound up in Tommy's possession. Ultimately, Tommy would collect them into a
coherent manuscript and seek out a way to get them published.
<br><br>
As Tommy is a screenwriter, the format of the story periodically shifts into screenplay mode.
This works particularly well for conversations as it affords opportunity to get to know the
other characters through their dialogue rather than relying on Tommy's narrative. I wouldn't
say Tommy is an unreliable narrator, but he does limit what we can learn about what's going
on elsewhere with other characters. References to things that have been written elsewhere
and NDAs force the reader to fill in the gaps.
<br><br>
After Harry's resurrection, the lives of Tommy and his friends change as described in
the blurb, but there's so much more. The group of friends find themselves splattered by
the seven deadly sins, fitting for a story where a religion is founded upon the
philosophical musings of a character that has died and miraculously resurrected days later.
At least Christianity didn't get partnered with a health and wellness brand. The
corrupting influence of millions and billions of dollars seeps its way into their
lives and rots them from within. What is friendship worth? Can you put a dollar amount
on it?
<br><br>
If there's one overarching theme that I can take away from this tale, it's that <i>power
corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.</i> Keeping this spoiler free, I'll
say that Tommy started out as a character that I could connect with to someone I
didn't want anything to do with. But I stuck with him because act two opens with:
<blockquote><i>This is where I get unrelatable, maybe even unlikable. As the writer of
failed screenplays, I know what a mortal sin unlikability can be.</i></blockquote>
That gave me hope for him in act three. But Tommy is far from the only person to be
corrupted by power. It's <i>everyone</i> up to the very end of the story. And the
only characters whose souls are left intact are those who never possess it.
<br><br>
Colin Dodds has crafted an excellent morality play with vivid characters. <i>Pharoni</i>
offers modern day parallels to the founding of Christianity, right down to the Christmas
star, but in an age of unbridled capitalism. If you're old enough, with all of the life
experience that implies, it forces you to take a look at this fellowship of friends and
how they sacrificed art and friendship for wealth and power and check to make sure that
this isn't a mirror of your own life.
<br><br>
4 stars<br><br>\_/<br>DEDDEDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07266406676643270732noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637576896961476865.post-41089183123371318012022-09-15T17:46:00.002-04:002022-09-15T17:51:18.081-04:00Book Review: Freeze Frame Revolution<img src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1521823106i/36510759.jpg"
width="375" height="600" border="0" align="right" hspace="4" alt="book cover for Freeze Frame Revolution"><i>How
do you stage a mutiny when you're only awake one day in a million? How do you conspire when your tiny handful of
potential allies changes with each job shift? How do you engage an enemy that never sleeps, that sees through
your eyes and hears through your ears, and relentlessly, honestly, only wants what's best for you? Trapped
aboard the starship</i> Eriophora, <i>Sunday Ahzmundin is about to discover the components of any
successful revolution: conspiracy, code—and unavoidable casualties.</i>
<br><br>
Earth is dying, yet civilization has access to some amazing technology—almost <i>de rigueur</i>
for Watts. In this case, the <i>Eriophora</i>, an asteroid turned generation starship of sorts,
has been tasked with building jumpgates throughout the galaxy in hopes that humans, or their
successors, will be able to make use of them and spread through the galaxy. While a noble
cause, the UN doesn't expect everyday people to stick with the mission (Successive generations
could rebel, arguing that they weren't given a choice and are forced to be slaves to someone
else's dream). Instead, the crew of 30,000 are genetically engineered with the traits that
make them perfectly suited for the never-ending job. Even so, the UN doesn't wholly trust
them either. A limited AI (a full-powered AI would probably wind up just as unreliable as
humans after a while) with less than half the synapses of a human brain (referred to by
the crew as "Chimp") runs most of the operations, waking small groups of humans from
cryosleep to lend a helping hand when Chimp stumbles across a problem that requires
good old fashioned human ingenuity.
<br><br>
Tens of millions of years have passed. A hostile encounter shortly after the
completion of a build triggers doubts about the mission. Chimp's abilities seem
lacking, possibly degrading, and a grim discovery made by some of the crew sparks
talk of rebellion. But as the book blurb points out, planning a mutiny against an
all-seeing AI, even a limited one, over the span of millennia—while hopping
in an out of the freezer—is a staggeringly difficult task. But plan they do.
<br><br>
The story is told from the POV of Sunday Ahzmundin. Sunday's backstory, along
with that of the mission, is told in the short story,
"<a href="https://rifters.com/real/shorts/PeterWatts_Hotshot.pdf" target="_blank">Hotshot</a>,"
which I strongly recommend that interested parties read first. Honestly, it should've
been included with this book for those reasons. Watts makes the effort to properly
develop her character there instead of here. Watts is amazing at grabbing cutting
edge scientific ideas and mashing them together for some incredible world-building,
but his protagonists (this is my third Watts' novel) are very similar. They've all
had something done to them to set them apart, render them outsiders. Lenie
(<i>Starfish</i>) is a sexual abuse survivor who undergoes an operation to enable
her to run away and work on the ocean floor. Siri (<i>Blindsight</i>) suffered from
epileptic seizures so he had an hemispherectomy that rendered him emotionally detached
from humanity. Makes for a solid candidate to go on a first contact mission in the
farthest reaches of the solar system. Sunday was genetically engineered to <i>want</i>
to leave Earth behind with an insatiable galactic wanderlust.
<br><br>
Eventually the rebels make their move and stuff happens. I won't spoil the ending,
but it felt unresolved. There are a couple more short stories, and Watts admitted
on his blog that he was working on a sequel, so there's that. Despite the ending, I
enjoyed this more than either <i>Starfish</i> or <i>Blindsight</i>, so I'm holding
out hope that Watts gets around to writing a proper sequel.
<br><br>
4.5 stars<br><br>\_/<br>DED
DEDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07266406676643270732noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637576896961476865.post-42111374180847512522022-08-07T18:24:00.001-04:002022-08-07T18:24:05.695-04:00Book Review: Heir to the Empire<img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1617708029l/57631717.jpg"
width="267" height="400" border="0" hspace="4" align="right" alt="book cover for Heir to the Empire"><i>Five
years ago, the Rebel Alliance destroyed the Death Star, defeated Darth Vader and the Emperor, and drove the
remnants of the old Imperial Starfleet to a distant corner of the galaxy. Princess Leia and Han Solo are
married and expecting twins. And Luke Skywalker has become the first in a long-awaited line of Jedi Knights.
<br><br>
But thousands of light-years away, the last of the Emperor's warlords, Grand Admiral Thrawn, has taken command
of the shattered Imperial fleet, readied it for war, and pointed it at the fragile heart of the New Republic.
For this dark warrior has made a vital discovery that could destroy everything the courageous men and women
of the Rebel Alliance fought so hard to build.</i>
<br><br>
I remember when this first came out. The glow from the original <i>Star Wars</i> trilogy had faded, but
the franchise still had its rabid fans. As much as I loved the films, I didn't cross over into super-fan
territory. I was content with story as it was and willing to let it go. So why am I reading it now?
My son, a big <i>Star Wars</i> fan himself (at least before Disney got a hold of the franchise),
bought me the (original) <i>Thrawn</i> trilogy for Christmas. How could I say no?
<br><br>
Zahn has had a long and prolific career penning stories set in the <i>Star Wars</i> universe. This was
his first. I feel like he was somewhat handcuffed in how he handled the known characters from the films.
They came across as flat, dull. Their quips seemed borrowed from the films. I didn't get the feeling
that their characters grew.
<br><br>
Where Zahn excelled was with the new characters. Joruus C'baoth was an egotistical bore. Mara Jade's
hatred for Luke was insufferable. Fortunately, we find out why she hates him so much near the end of
the novel. Talon Karrde was a shrewd smuggler caught between the fledgling Republic and the remnants
of the Empire. I grew to like him. Captain Pellaeon had my sympathies despite playing for the
bad guys. He had the unenviable task of reporting to the sharpest tactician in the Empire. He knew
that he was mentally outmatched by his boss, and constantly had to prove his competence to the man
lest he find himself staring down the wrong end of a blaster. And Grand Admiral Thrawn was the
sharpest tack in the galaxy. Someone on Goodreads compared him to Sherlock Holmes, and I cannot
disagree. One of the finest villains that's ever been written for <i>Star Wars</i>.
<br><br>
I didn't get a proper sense of the internal strife among the Republic's ruling council, so I
was caught off guard at the end. The peril that our intrepid heroes faced didn't seem too
perilous, and yet they struggled. There <i>was</i> a climactic battle at the end of the novel
that was entertaining, but it was far too early in the trilogy to be epic. Still, I was
entertained, and I will be continuing with the series.
<br><br>
3.5 stars<br><br>\_/<br>DEDDEDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07266406676643270732noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637576896961476865.post-6274028427842506562022-07-05T13:42:00.002-04:002022-07-05T13:42:20.632-04:00Book Review: House of Leaves<img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1494697179l/337907.jpg"
width="281" height="400" align="right" border="0" hspace="4" alt="book cover for House of Leaves">Johnny
Truant gets a call in the middle of the night from his friend Lude. Apparently, this weird old guy
(Zampanò) died in his apartment building, and the landlord left the door unlocked for Goodwill
to come and clean the place out the next morning. Johnny heads over and the two of them find this
manuscript in a trunk. The manuscript is an analysis of a documentary, <i>The Navidson Record</i>.
Skimming through it, Johnny notices that it is annotated with footnotes referencing other people who
have either analyzed the film or interviewed the people who took part in it. The film concerns a
house that is larger on the inside than the outside. Curious, Johnny takes it home with him.
<br><br>
What the reader holds in her hands is that manuscript with all of Zampanò's narration and
analysis of the important aspects of the <i>The Navidson Record</i>; analysis of said film by others,
including quotes and footnotes (Yes, footnotes); and Johnny's commentary on said notes plus tales of
his experiences with the book and its negative impact on his life.
<br><br>
It's clear from the introduction that Johnny is going to be an unreliable narrator. It then becomes
the task of the reader to decide what's real and what's the result of what appears to be
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizophrenia">schizophrenia</a>. Considering Johnny and Lude
seem to be characters out of a Bukowski novel (appropriately enough, even living in L.A.), the
lines are easily blurred.
<br><br>
For me, it was all about the house. Any time the narrative strayed from that, my interest dropped.
Johnny's story wasn't compelling. Zampanò's analysis with all of its quotes and references
wasn't compelling. Dozens of pages of two sentences, two words, or even one word. Upside down text.
Mirrored text. Footnotes of whole lists of every named architect, architectural style, and inventory
of everything you can find in a HomeDepot smacks of OCD. None of that was compelling. I'll give
Danielewski points for his ambitious experiment, but its obsession with documentation
as a means of drawing attention to a descent into madness was tiresome for me.
<br><br>
Why Danielewski chose to go this convoluted route rather than telling a straightforward story about
the house that the Navidsons lived in is beyond me. Was he successful in generating buzz about his
work and compelling people to buy it? Absolutely. It could've been a solid selling haunted house
story with elements of myth and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmicism">cosmicism</a>,
but he went further down the proverbial rabbit hole and added extra layers of meta-analyis and
tangential 90s fictionalized memoir. And he was successful, so good for him. But I suspect that
this over the top experiment may have generated blowback in terms of building a long term
audience of readers. On Goodreads right now, this book has 150,000 ratings for an average score
of 4.07. That's excellent. But his next most populous book has 5,600 ratings, a 96% drop.
<br><br>
It may just be coincidence, but I'm wondering if Danielewski heard Soundgarden's "Room a Thousand
Years Wide" and decided to include it among his fictional footnotes. Why? Well, there's a footnote
attributed to a "Chris Thayil". Kim Thayil wrote the lyrics for the song, which appears on the
<i>Badmotorfinger</i> album in 1991, during the time Danielewski wrote the book. "Chris Thayil"
could be an amalgam of Chris Cornell and Kim Thayil. If that sounds crazy, then <i>House of
Leaves</i> isn't for you because that is the sort of thing that permeates this book.
<br><br>
3 stars<br><br>\_/<br>DEDDEDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07266406676643270732noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637576896961476865.post-71721841539762548452022-06-12T15:29:00.002-04:002022-06-12T15:47:19.525-04:00Book Review: The Theatre of Shadows<img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1622056273l/58168410._SX318_.jpg"
width="318" height="450" align="right" border="0" hspace="5" alt="book cover for The Theatre of Shadows"><i>Six
months have passed since the events of <i>The Silver Mask</i>. Over the winter months, Vasini was plagued by
Gareth Miller, the Winter Fayre Killer, who murdered 17 people before he was captured by Lieutenant David
Locke. The city now waits for Miller to be hanged. But when Miller escapes gaol, ready to terrorise
Vasini's streets once more, Locke must hunt the murderer again to stop him from claiming more lives.
<br><br>
As Miller flees into Vasini's streets, Joseph Bastin, ambassador to Vasini for the city-state of Laège,
is assassinated in a brothel. With the threat of political repercussions for the death, it is up to
Dr. Marcus Fox, newly appointed Commandant of Police, to find the ambassador's killer.
<br><br>
Fox's investigation soon leads to a suspect, someone who has been investigating links between the
Laège embassy and the worship of the dead deities - his ally, Dr. Elizabeth Reid.
<br><br>
Now, Elizabeth and her friend, Catherine, must act quickly to clear her name before she is found
by someone who doesn't believe her claims of innocence and she's forced to dance the hangman's
jig.</i>
<br><br>
This is the sequel to
<i><a href="http://thenewpodlerreviews.blogspot.com/2016/12/the-silver-mask-vasini-chronicles-1-by.html"
target="_blank">The Silver Mask</a></i>, a terrific "flintlock and alchemy" novel.
Unfortunately, <i>The Theatre of Shadows</i> wasn't as enjoyable for me due to the plot
style and pacing. The story read more like a police procedural set in the 1700s, which
isn't the sort of thing—regardless of time period—that I read. Investigating
the ambassador's murder provided enough intrigue, but the serial killer plotline kept
getting in the way, hogging the spotlight. Maybe the serial killer was fully developed in
<i>The Winter Fayre</i>, a novella contained in <i>The Divided River</i> that preceded
this novel, but here he's rather one-dimensional. He's always two steps ahead of the
Inspectorate and the watchmen (police), rendering them seemingly incompetent as he murders
people with impunity. It went on for far too long for me. It took roughly three-fifths of
the novel before any sort of clue was given as to why the serial killer plotline even existed,
and it wasn't resolved until much later.
<br><br>
The main characters from <i>The Silver Mask</i>—Fox, Locke, Elizabeth, and
Catherine—are here. While fully developed before, they weren't neglected here. Fox
and Locke are in pursuit of the ambassador's assassin and the serial killer. Elizabeth
and Catherine spend their time searching for clues to clear Elizabeth's name of killing
the ambassador. Ellingsen gives us each main character's POV—as well as those of a
few key minor characters—as they investigate, thus enriching the depth of each one.
<br><br>
Ellingsen doesn't spend as much time world-building here as he did in <i>The Silver Mask</i>,
but what he provides is top-notch. The city of Vasini feels authentic with Ellingsen's
descriptions of the sights and scents of everyday life.
<br><br>
Ultimately, the protagonists' relentless pursuit of clues paid off. Ellingsen
corraled the plot into a climax that resolved the current crises of random murder and
calculated assassination. It was an effective ending, and so I feel better about the
book as a whole. But for me, it was probably a hundred pages too long. However, I
remain optimistic that the next installment in this series will have more intrigue and less procedure.
<br><br>
3 stars
<br><br>\_/<br>DEDDEDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07266406676643270732noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637576896961476865.post-75863970305080396022022-05-17T21:11:00.000-04:002022-05-17T21:11:17.802-04:00The Pros and Cons of the Publishing Industry <img src="https://media.istockphoto.com/photos/man-with-two-different-ways-picture-id479408600?k=6&m=479408600&s=612x612&w=0&h=m0jCvOPuFBL3M6kpCi8pfAEr7zbmWiY4t4_XqnY1fo8=" width="306" height="260" border="0" align="right" hspace="4" alt="a fork in the road">I
stumbled across
<a href="http://www.theindependentpublishingmagazine.com/2022/05/the-pros-and-cons-of-the-publishing-industry-andrew-deen-guest-post.html">this</a>
over at the <i>Independent Publishing Magazine</i>. Guest blogger Andrew Deen outlined
the pros and cons of traditional and self-publishing. Thorough yet succinct, it's a must
read for every writer about to embark on the road to publishing their work. But if you're
not a writer and you've wondered what's involved in publishing, then it's worth checking out.
<br><br>
\_/<br>DEDDEDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07266406676643270732noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637576896961476865.post-65697323750925711372022-05-03T12:37:00.000-04:002022-05-03T12:37:35.401-04:00Book Review: Medusa Uploaded<img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1505497048l/36245705.jpg"
width="315" height="475" align="right" border="0" hspace="4" alt="bbok cover for Medusa Uploaded"><i>The
Executives control Oichi's senses, her voice, her life. Until the day they kill her.
<br><br>
An executive clan gives the order to shoot Oichi out of an airlock on suspicion of being an insurgent. A
sentient AI, a Medusa unit, rescues Oichi and begins to teach her the truth—the Executives are not who
they think they are. Oichi, officially dead and now bonded to the Medusa unit, sees a chance to make a
better life for everyone on board.
<br><br>
As she sets things right one assassination at a time, Oichi becomes the very insurgent the Executives
feared, and in the process uncovers the shocking truth behind the generation starship that is their
home.</i>
<br><br>
The Giger-esque cover and the book blurb did their job: I got hooked. But upon reading the story,
it struck me as far less dark than it was made out to be. Oh sure, we had the nefarious dystopian
aristocracy which gets to control servants through their cybernetic implants, overwrite security
protocols seemingly at will, spy on everyone, and flush people out the airlock with impunity, but
I found them to be caricatures ripped from some 18th century aristocratic drama like <i>Dangerous
Liasions.</i>
<br><br>
Still, I wanted to find out how this civilization came to be on a kilometers-long generation ship.
But as information is tightly controlled by the Executive class and Oichi was a <i>worm</i>—the
derogatory term for the lowest class of workers who maintain life aboard the ship—it was a
mystery for her to solve. We learn right away that this civilization has incredible cybernetic
technology. Everyone seems to have a chip in their heads that they use to access communications
and limited data. Some others have artificial eyes, voice boxes, and hearing (hence the Executives'
ability to control their servants so that they don't disrupt their dinner parties). And Oichi has
a chip in her skull that enables her to 'bond' with Medusa, the sentient AI.
<br><br>
But for all of their amazing tech, they abuse the hell out their airlocks. The Executives use them
to murder and assassinate people all the time. They override the safety protocols (so what good
are they) and flush out the bodies, sacrificing breathable air and biomass to the void. This is
so stupid. I don't care how big the ship is. If you're going to flush out 800 cubic feet of air
(sometimes more), the atmosphere on board your ship is getting that much thinner. And the 100
to 200 lbs of biomass is also wasted. Everything on a generation ship gets recycled.
<i>Everything.</i> It's one less mouth to feed now, but all that calcium, water, and organic
matter? You're not getting that back. Why not suffocate the victims in the airlock (since no
one literally wants blood on their hands) and take the body to the waste reclamation unit where
it can be ground up and anaerobically digested? Not as dramatic, perhaps, but after the airlock
scene plays out several times, it loses its ability to shock the reader.
<br><br>
Another problem was with the voice of the narrator, Oichi. She flitted from "adolescent waitress"
to "big sister" to "impressionable debutante" to "happy-go-lucky sociopath." She interrupted her
own narrative constantly by name dropping classical music pieces whenever she had a moment of
reflection or introspection or just for the hell of it. At times, the interactions between
Oishi and some bots created by kids—and her interaction with one kid in
particular—popped images of cutesy anime into my mind. It undercut the seriousness of
the plot.
<br><br>
One last complaint: I couldn't get a sense of how much time passed. There were flashbacks and
flash-forwards dictated to us by Oichi, but the way they were presented I wasn't always certain
when "now" was. Late in the novel, she matter of factly states that several years had
passed, but it seemed like only a few months.
<br><br>
To summarize, I loved the tech, the concept, the plot, and the mysteries, but the narrator's
constantly shifting tone, 18th century aristocrats, anime cuteness, and wanton airlock abuse
irritated me.
<br><br>
2.5 stars<br><br>\_/<br>DEDDEDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07266406676643270732noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637576896961476865.post-22969968421941096872022-04-07T13:38:00.000-04:002022-04-07T13:38:21.769-04:00Book Review: Spiderlight<img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1454623315l/28765741._SY475_.jpg"
width="297" height="475" border="0" align="left" hspace="4" alt="book cover for Spiderlight"><i>The
Church of Armes of the Light has battled the forces of Darkness for as long as anyone can remember.
The great prophecy has foretold that a band of misfits, led by a high priestess will defeat the
Dark Lord Darvezian, armed with their wits, the blessing of the Light and an artifact stolen
from the merciless Spider Queen.
<br><br>
Their journey will be long, hard and fraught with danger. Allies will become enemies; enemies
will become allies. And the Dark Lord will be waiting, always waiting…</i>
<br><br>
The book blurb is misleading. It would have you believe that this is just a straight up
high fantasy novel about a quest to defeat the typical evil overlord. While it certainly
starts out that way, with the familiar collection of D&D characters fighting their
way through a forest that is the home to the nest of a terrible spider queen, it's more
than that. After that opening, we get to meet the characters and learn more about them.
Rather than being the noble sort that one would get from Tolkien, we get a fractious lot
prone to jealousy, self-righteousness, hypocrisy, sexism, vanity, and cruelty.
<br><br>
And these are the good guys!
<br><br>
Tchaikovsky, ever the <a href="/2020/07/book-review-children-of-time.html">arachnophile</a>,
serves up a spider character that is forced to join the group on its quest. I don't want to
give too much away here, but the character, Enth, serves as a focal point for the group's
ethical dilemmas. The way each character interacts with Enth reveals their true nature.
Those with a conscience are forced to reconcile their actions and attitudes with the cause
they claim to serve. Some succeed; others don't bother.
<br><br>
But it isn't all soul searching in the dark by candlelight. There are some lighter parts.
<blockquote>When Dion considered the world, her chief question was, <i>Is this of Light
or Dark?</i> Penthos's main interest was usually, <i>Is this flammable?</i>
<br>.......<br>
"Shut up, Penthos," Haranthes snapped at him, which would earn the man another week of
impotence once they got back to civilization, not that he'd ever suspect who was behind
his intermittent problem. <i>Oh it's good to be a magus.</i>
<br>.......<br>
"Who would live at the top of a tower? Have you seen how many fucking
<i>stairs</i> there are?"</blockquote>
Usually it's the thief, Lief, that delivers the satirical jabs, but he's also the one
who's the most accepting of others who fail to live up to the lofty standards established
by the self-righteous.
<blockquote> <i>Am I really about to rescue a monstrous servant of evil
from the hands of the righteous?</i><br>
Enth whimpered. It was a human sound. Lief knew it: he himself had once
or twice been beaten and broken just enough to make that sound.<br>
<i>Fuck the righteous.</i></blockquote>
In the final confrontation with the Dark Lord, Tchaikovsky steers clear of the expected
epic fantasy showdown. Sure there's a battle, but Darvezian's monologuing is more savage
than his physical attacks, skewering the characters' belief system and self-worth and
shredding them to bits.
<blockquote>"You go through life doing terrible, terrible things to each other, and to
everything else, but you somehow still <i>believe</i> that you're right."
<br>.......<br>
"Let me hear the sad little sound of your hearts breaking."
<br>.......<br>
"My child, it doesn't <i>matter</i> if you do your best, if you don't get
anywhere. It's just doubly pathetic that <i>this</i>, only <i>this</i> was your
best."</blockquote>
<i>Spiderlight</i> sets aside the everyday tropes of the epic fantasy tale and opts
instead to explore themes that are rarely discussed in the genre. The characters'
ethical dilemmas easily translate to the real world: Misguided faith will make
people do terrible things, and assuming that everyone of a certain demographic is
inherently good/evil, despite actions to the contrary, is fallacy. I
found Tchaikovsky's choice to be a refreshing take on the genre.
<br><br>
4.5 stars<br><br>\_/<br>DED
DEDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07266406676643270732noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637576896961476865.post-12918247657830748742022-03-24T15:59:00.001-04:002022-03-24T16:01:00.977-04:00Book Review: A World Out of Time<img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388988844l/64725.jpg"
width="287" height="475" border="0" align="right" hspace="4"
alt="book cover for A World Out of Time"><i>Jaybee Corbell awoke after more than 200
years as a corpsicle—in someone else's body, and under sentence of instant
annihilation if he made a wrong move while they were training him for a one-way mission
to the stars.
<br><br>
But Corbell picked his time and made his own move. Once he was outbound, where the Society
that ruled Earth could not reach him, he headed his starship toward the galactic core,
where the unimaginable energies of the Universe wrenched the fabric of time and space
and promised final escape from his captors.
<br><br>
Then he returned to an Earth eons older than the one he'd left...a planet that had had
3,000,000 years to develop perils he had never dreamed of—perils that became
nightmares that he had to escape...somehow!</i>
<br><br>
I found this book last summer at the annual Newtown Library book sale. Having enjoyed
Niven's <i>Ringworld</i> series, I thought that I'd give it a try. I didn't notice
that cat-snake thing on the cover right away. I think my mind blocked out the head
because you look at that thing and think, "WTF?"
<br><br>
The book blurb covers the events that transpire over the first third of the book. The
remaining two-thirds deals with Corbell alternating between figuring out how to stay
alive—he's well over a century old and not long for the world—and figuring
out how the hell Earth got so screwed up while he was away.
<br><br>
Published in 1976, it has a lot of the literary elements common to sci-fi during this
period (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Wave_science_fiction">New Wave</a>):
sex, the end of civilization, alienation, social isolation, and class discrimination.
Throw in a dose of libertarian distrust of the state and you're good to go. Niven also
spends a good deal of time playing with physics puzzles to convince the reader that
this is hard sci-fi and not space fantasy. I don't think it was necessary, but maybe
he felt the need to placate that crowd.
<br><br>
It was an entertaining story despite the warts: The sex scenes were totally male
fantasy, and women were reduced to the maiden/mother/crone trope. Corbell isn't the
best person to be a protagonist—he could be annoying at times—but he
occasionally shows promise. Ultimately, he's all we've got. We have to root for him
so that we can find out why things got to be the way they are. The explanation was
worth the ride, though I wouldn't blame women for disagreeing.
<br><br>
3 stars<br><br>\_/<br>DEDDEDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07266406676643270732noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637576896961476865.post-48538281240284777842022-03-08T14:06:00.002-05:002022-08-02T13:18:10.101-04:00Book Review: No-Waste Kitchen Gardening<img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1529047551l/39835357.jpg"
width="276" height="400" border="0" align="right" hspace="4"
alt="book cover for No-Waste Kitchen Gardening">I don't think that it's controversial
to say that too much food gets wasted around the world. <i>Scientific American</i>
published an article in their October 2021 issue whereupon it was stated that "40%
of food produced is lost across the supply chain from farm to table." At the current
pace of population growth and economic development, the world will need to
convert an area the size of India to farmland over the next thirty years to keep up
with demand, and this was before
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture_in_Russia">Russia</a> invaded
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Ukraine#Agriculture">Ukraine</a>—two
very important agricultural producers.
<br><br>
And that's not even getting into landfill issues.
<br><br>
What this book aims to do is offer people some ideas on how they can cut down on
their fruit and vegetable waste. Some people with the means to do so already have
compost piles wherein they can take this waste and convert it into topsoil. But
this book offers a means to eke out more edible produce from one's leftover produce.
<br><br>
It is by no means a magic method to regrow <i>everything.</i> Some of the food we
eat doesn't get a second chance to produce more food. Broccoli, for instance, is a
flower. Once we eat it, the leftover stalk is only good for compost. Some of the
food we eat won't re-grow in the form we want, but will get a second life as
something else. Root vegetables like carrots will not become carrots again.
Instead, the leaves can be nurtured to grow and then consumed as salad greens.
<br><br>
But that still leaves plenty of produce that can be re-rooted, re-grown from
existing roots, or grown from seed taken from the fruit itself. Onions, potatoes,
celery, scallions, lettuce, pumpkin, garlic, sweet potatoes, and tomatoes are
just some of the produce bought from the store (or farmer's market) that can be
granted an extended or new life.
<br><br>
Before this book had been gifted to me, I had experimented on my own with food
scraps. Using similar methods, I successfully grew onion and potatoes. My
favorite variety of tomatoes are Roma, but the only tomato seeds or plants I
ever see in stores are for the large varieties. So I salvaged the seeds from
one particularly delicious specimen, and I was able to successfully grow
fifteen plants all of which bore fruit! All this is to stay that while I
haven't tried the author's methods <i>per se</i>, I know that it's possible.
In fact, I just started trying to re-grow some lettuce.
<br><br>
So whether you're looking to do something for the planet, start a
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victory_garden">victory garden</a>, want
to educate kids on where our food comes from, or you're a hobbyist gardener
looking to experiment, this book is worth checking out.
<br><br>
4 stars.<br><br>\_/<br>DED<br><br>
<img src="https://www.dedzone.net/blog/images/lettuce-reborn.jpg" width="300"
height="400" border="0" align="right" hspace="4"
alt="lettuce growning in water">So this was my first attempt to re-grow
some lettuce shortly after finishing this book. It got off to a good start
but then some aphid-like bugs found it and ate it from inside out, leaving
behind a sticky residue. Kinda bummed about that.
<br><br>DEDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07266406676643270732noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637576896961476865.post-21342520405390229442022-03-03T13:52:00.000-05:002022-03-03T13:52:11.580-05:00Book Review: The Haunting of Tram Car 015<img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1537226218l/36558166._SY475_.jpg"
width="297" height="475" border="0" align="right" hspace="4"
alt="Book cover for The Haunting of Tram Car 015"><i>Cairo, 1912: The case
started as a simple one for the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural
Entities — handling a possessed tram car.
<br><br>
Soon, however, Agent Hamed Nasr and his new partner Agent Onsi Youssef are exposed to
a new side of Cairo stirring with suffragettes, secret societies, and sentient
automatons in a race against time to protect the city from an encroaching danger
that crosses the line between the magical and the mundane.</i>
<br><br>
This story takes place several months after the events in
<i><a href="https://daviddrazul.blogspot.com/2021/02/book-review-dead-djinn-in-cairo.html">A
Dead Djinn in Cairo</a></i>, but it involves different characters. We're introduced
to Inspector Hamed Nasr who is training a new recruit, Agent Onsi, to the Ministry of
Alchemy, Enchantments, and Supernatural. As is apparent from the title, one of Cairo's
tram cars is haunted, and it is up to Hamed and Onsi to solve it.
<br><br>
Hamed and Onsi make for a great detective pair. Hamed is the grizzled veteran while
Onsi is the Oxford educated fresh face who's memorized chapter and verse of the
paranormal criminal code. Hamed's instincts and Onsi's enthusiasm for the job serve
each other well. There's enough humor in it, too, that it could be an alternate
history buddy cop movie.
<br><br>
The worldbuilding builds on <i>Dead Djinn</i> and fills in more details here and
there. We get more elements of magic-powered steampunk mixing with Middle Eastern culture
as Cairo struggles with growing pains: trying to throw off a past of superstition and
embrace its future as a modern city. There's a vote on women's suffrage that runs
parallel to the investigation. The detectives find themselves interacting with women
that are involved with the movement as they seek help with exorcising the tram car
of its foul occupant. In the hands of a clumsy author, this could've come across as
agenda-driven, instead, it just enriches the story.
<br><br>
4 stars<br><br>\_/<br>DEDDEDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07266406676643270732noreply@blogger.com0