San Diego 2014 was nominated for an award (Nebula, I think--too tired to look it up) last year, but it was only available in electronic format and I don't know how to donate those to the library. But I was searching for award winners this year and found that my library had acquired it in electronic form. So by happy chance I am able to catch this up and provide a review.
This is a "prequel" to the Newsflesh trilogy (I have reviewed all three--the link is to Feed, the first one). Mahir Gowdha, a survivor of the original trilogy's blogging group, is interviewing one of the very few survivors from San Diego Comic-Con 2014, where one of the early breakouts happened. The novella tells the story of those trapped inside.
Where Newsflesh was grim, yet sarcastic and humorous, this story tends more toward just grim. No one gets out alive--it's mostly about their last moments, and doesn't really stand alone. Best if you have read the original trilogy, since the story is set after the series. I would say it's worth seeking out if you have. And the original series is definitely worth the read if you have not. 3 stars for this one.
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Monday, October 20, 2014
The Ocean at the End of the Lane, by Neil Gaiman
The last book I read by Neil Gaiman was Anansi Boys. For some reason I have never reviewed it. That's unfortunate, for the book was worthy, but I don't think I'll get to it now. The book I'm here to review is this year's Nebula nominee, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, available as an e-book from my library, which is a great thing.
Our protagonist is departing from a funeral. Obviously someone close to him, as he appears to have arranged the funeral. But we don't really find out who it is. He drifts away from the funeral and ends up at the Hempstock farm, where he has a Proust moment. Sitting on a bench by the duck pond, he recalls extraordinary events from when he visited there at seven years old. He meets Lettie Hempstock, the 3rd generation of Hempstock women at the farm. Together they take on a creature from an alternate world that comes to "give everyone what they want", only it does it poorly. He is not much use, but is a good friend to Lettie.
The book is beautifully written, as Gaiman's fiction always is. Compared to Anansi Boys, though, it just feels a couple of sizes smaller. There's action, adventure, and strong characters, but all somewhat less. The protagonist is something of a cipher, and though that's quite intentional it leaves something of a hole in the middle of the book.
What makes it worthwhile, and why I still give it four stars, is the careful thought and wonderful writing that is fully present. It's a great example of how to write a novel, and yet it's something of a toss-off for Gaiman--the casual backhand down the line, chip shot to within an inch, or easy swing for a home run. Four stars. Go read it, it won't take long.
Our protagonist is departing from a funeral. Obviously someone close to him, as he appears to have arranged the funeral. But we don't really find out who it is. He drifts away from the funeral and ends up at the Hempstock farm, where he has a Proust moment. Sitting on a bench by the duck pond, he recalls extraordinary events from when he visited there at seven years old. He meets Lettie Hempstock, the 3rd generation of Hempstock women at the farm. Together they take on a creature from an alternate world that comes to "give everyone what they want", only it does it poorly. He is not much use, but is a good friend to Lettie.
The book is beautifully written, as Gaiman's fiction always is. Compared to Anansi Boys, though, it just feels a couple of sizes smaller. There's action, adventure, and strong characters, but all somewhat less. The protagonist is something of a cipher, and though that's quite intentional it leaves something of a hole in the middle of the book.
What makes it worthwhile, and why I still give it four stars, is the careful thought and wonderful writing that is fully present. It's a great example of how to write a novel, and yet it's something of a toss-off for Gaiman--the casual backhand down the line, chip shot to within an inch, or easy swing for a home run. Four stars. Go read it, it won't take long.
Friday, October 17, 2014
The Red: First Light, by Linda Nagata
The Red: First Light gets comparisons in its reviews to Joe Haldeman's The Forever War and Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers, both of which I read (though not the whole Forever War series) and enjoyed in different ways. The comparisons are more along the lines of how military SF progresses with its times--from glory to simple slogging to the more complex feelings we have about involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. Instead of discoursing directly on this, Nagata tries to embody that ambiguity of modern warfare in her protagonist, James Shelley. He's an idealist who got caught up in a protest against the US government, then took the Army over a stint in jail.
One of the more uncomfortable elements of the novel is how fully the Army owns Shelley, and how he both chafes against it and accepts it. Basically it's become a part of him and there's no way out. He puts that personal transparency to use in fighting for social justice, and for trying to understand what appears to be a rogue artificial intelligence influencing people's behavior and decisions in a subtle way. He recognizes its influence more than most--the "hunches" he gets that makes a fellow soldier conclude he has a pipeline to God.
There's plenty of action and the philosophy is well distributed, so the book ends up to be a really well executed thriller that also allows you to think. I would give it four stars except that for me I couldn't really get going on it right away--took a bit to warm up. So 3 stars from me. But definitely worth reading.
One of the more uncomfortable elements of the novel is how fully the Army owns Shelley, and how he both chafes against it and accepts it. Basically it's become a part of him and there's no way out. He puts that personal transparency to use in fighting for social justice, and for trying to understand what appears to be a rogue artificial intelligence influencing people's behavior and decisions in a subtle way. He recognizes its influence more than most--the "hunches" he gets that makes a fellow soldier conclude he has a pipeline to God.
There's plenty of action and the philosophy is well distributed, so the book ends up to be a really well executed thriller that also allows you to think. I would give it four stars except that for me I couldn't really get going on it right away--took a bit to warm up. So 3 stars from me. But definitely worth reading.
Friday, September 26, 2014
Parasite, by Mira Grant
Mira Grant (pen name for Seanan McGuire when she's writing adult SF) has started a new series, Parasitology, with a Nebula-nominated novel, Parasite. Her previous series, the Newsflesh Trilogy, was quite a fun read and I enjoyed all three tremendously. This one...well...
Grant is trying for a different heroine here. Sally Mitchell is feminine and caring, where the protagonists of Newsflesh are hard as rocks. The tone is earnest, not sarcastic.
The zombies this time are tapeworms that start out as medical implants but get out of hand. Seriously. They kind of stagger and do violence with a vacant stare, at least at first. But some of them get better at it. Not so much the point, though.
The point is that the book comes off as a somewhat lesser reflection of the last trilogy. Georgia Mason was caring within a hard shell. Sally is just caring. The earnestness gets repetitive. The characters do have more differentiation here, but the book just has fewer notes--not as much variety. Just three stars this time.
Grant is trying for a different heroine here. Sally Mitchell is feminine and caring, where the protagonists of Newsflesh are hard as rocks. The tone is earnest, not sarcastic.
The zombies this time are tapeworms that start out as medical implants but get out of hand. Seriously. They kind of stagger and do violence with a vacant stare, at least at first. But some of them get better at it. Not so much the point, though.
The point is that the book comes off as a somewhat lesser reflection of the last trilogy. Georgia Mason was caring within a hard shell. Sally is just caring. The earnestness gets repetitive. The characters do have more differentiation here, but the book just has fewer notes--not as much variety. Just three stars this time.
Monday, September 15, 2014
Neptune's Brood, by Charles Stross
Continuing my exploration of the award nominees for 2013. Neptune's Brood is a Hugo nominee--I checked it out in good old print form at the local library. The book bills itself as a "space opera", and it definitely has that Golden Age feel, updated with today's technology. And I'm figuring that the "today's" part is intentional as well, since most space opera was basically straight line extensions of current ideas, with starships. So it is with Krina-Alizond 114, part of a cloned batch of metahuman daughters of an extraordinarily powerful capitalist mother. Natural humans ("fragiles") have gone extinct several times, and are only present by reference here. Krina holds one half of the authentication key to a financial instrument that would change the galactic economy, and is just about to locate the other half.
What's interesting and fun here is Stross's continuing interest in how economics and capitalism would expand off-world. His novel Accelerando speculated on how rapid change would work here on earth, but the speculation in Neptune's Brood is quite different. He's less convinced of ever-accelerating change here.
On the whole it is a fine read if you like space opera--it's authentically (and only mildly) blocky in prose, and liberal with background explanation. You also have to be kind of a geeky capitalist to really get into it. I enjoyed it for its joy of itself, as much as anything--I'm sure Stross had fun writing it. I give it three stars, with that guarded recommendation.
What's interesting and fun here is Stross's continuing interest in how economics and capitalism would expand off-world. His novel Accelerando speculated on how rapid change would work here on earth, but the speculation in Neptune's Brood is quite different. He's less convinced of ever-accelerating change here.
On the whole it is a fine read if you like space opera--it's authentically (and only mildly) blocky in prose, and liberal with background explanation. You also have to be kind of a geeky capitalist to really get into it. I enjoyed it for its joy of itself, as much as anything--I'm sure Stross had fun writing it. I give it three stars, with that guarded recommendation.
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
The Golem and the Jinni, by Helene Wecker
The Golem and the Jinni is another one of the Nebula nominated books for this year, and one I enjoyed reading tremendously. Chava is a golem, named by the rabbi who realizes her nature when he finds her in New York City. Ahmad is a jinni, trapped in human form by a wizard. Neither name fits them well. But there they are, in New York, trying to make their way in situations they didn't intend to be in.
According to the author, this book took seven years to write. It certainly marinated fully in that time. The book is well written, with plenty of action and excitement. But what's really interesting about it are the characters--the Golem and the Jinni have personalities driven by their natures--of Earth and of Fire. These characteristics animate them throughout the book, making them feel very real and true to themselves. They do end up in a relationship, but it's not an easy one. And when they confront evil they do it in a way that feels authentic to them.
I would say this is an easy read, and in the very best way--the ideas go straight into your head without a fight for understanding, yet Wecker has a lot to say about human nature through these two. Go read it and have some fun.
According to the author, this book took seven years to write. It certainly marinated fully in that time. The book is well written, with plenty of action and excitement. But what's really interesting about it are the characters--the Golem and the Jinni have personalities driven by their natures--of Earth and of Fire. These characteristics animate them throughout the book, making them feel very real and true to themselves. They do end up in a relationship, but it's not an easy one. And when they confront evil they do it in a way that feels authentic to them.
I would say this is an easy read, and in the very best way--the ideas go straight into your head without a fight for understanding, yet Wecker has a lot to say about human nature through these two. Go read it and have some fun.
Sunday, August 17, 2014
The Prayer of Ninety Cats, by Caitlin R. Kiernan
The Prayer of Ninety Cats would probably be in the novelette category in awards other than the World Fantasy Awards--it's a pretty substantial piece--but there it is in short fiction. It seems more lengthy as it is one of those artistic stories that is somewhat hard to read. It's written in the second person, a really difficult perspective to pull off. The setting is a theater where you are supposedly viewing scenes from the seriously debauched life of Lady Báthory Erzsébet, minor Hungarian noble from the 17th century.
For me it's odd and chunky and never quite comes together. The prayer of the title is supposed to be a protective incantation, but doesn't really inspire awe. Kiernan is a pretty good writer so this almost comes off, but it just seems to me like it needs more work or something. The artistic manner is intentionally there to take the edge off some pretty revolting acts, but doesn't end up being quite up to making them art. It's an OK story, but not in my mind a good one. 2 stars from me.
For me it's odd and chunky and never quite comes together. The prayer of the title is supposed to be a protective incantation, but doesn't really inspire awe. Kiernan is a pretty good writer so this almost comes off, but it just seems to me like it needs more work or something. The artistic manner is intentionally there to take the edge off some pretty revolting acts, but doesn't end up being quite up to making them art. It's an OK story, but not in my mind a good one. 2 stars from me.
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