Fudge. Just wrote a long review for We are Legion (We are Bob) by Dennis E. Taylor and then lost it when the internet glitched.
Short version: it's an Audible exclusive. It's very well done. If you like Murderbot, you'll like Bob. Not as emotionally heavy, but shares the same sort of humor and sensibilities. I needed this after failing to read that last book. There are three more in the series, and I look forward to using them as palette cleansers between weightier offerings.
Books we read in 2022
Re: Books we read in 2022
Any time the solution is "banjo rifle", I'm in 100%.
Re: Books we read in 2022
All American Boys- Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely. My wife is doing a Banned Book Club for homeschool students' summer reading. So I decided I was going to read all of them. Or at least all of them that I haven't already read (I've read The Hate You Give, Speak, and To Kill a Mockingbird). This was the first. Written by two authors- one black and one white- this is a story told from the perspectives of two high school seniors at the same high school- one black and one white. The black student gets severely beaten, even though he did nothing wrong, and the white student (who is family friends with the white cop who did the beating) witnessed it. The story then revolves around how both students process their injustice and realize how systemic our biases and racism actually is. The voices of the two main characters are exceptionally strong and authentic. And while the story gets a little preachy in the end, I'll forgive it because this is a book meant for high schoolers and I think sometimes they need that. My one criticism of the book is that it is very male-oriented and very testosterone-fueled. With the exception of the black student's mother, there's not really a female character that feels integral or fully fleshed out to the extent the male characters are. That being said, part of that male-heavy viewpoint is necessary both to the conceit of the book and to the very problems the book is trying to bring to light. All told, a great read and a high recommend from me.
Re: Books we read in 2022
Cinder- Marissa Meyer. Book 2 of my Banned Book Club reading list. And I'm not really sure why this book was banned. It's a scifi/fantasy reimagining of the Cinderella story and it seemed pretty innocuous. I enjoyed the book, particularly the strength of the characters and the deep, lived-in feel of a post-world war 4 era future which is essentially a sort of scifi dystopia with fairy tale highlights streaked through out. Look, it's the Cinderella story, but she's a cyborg and a weird offshoot race of humans that live on the moon want to wage war on the earth. It's very charming (natch) and an extremely comfortable read. I'm not even bothered by the fact that you can figure out what the story beats and twists will be long in advance of their reveals. After all, this is YA fiction at its strongest. My only real complaint is that this is the first in a long series written by the author. And the first novel isn't actually a complete story. It ends on a cliff hanger with no resolution for the main characters. I'm sure if I read the other books, I'd be satiated, but I also like my books to be self-contained stories, even if they are a part of a series. All the same, I very much enjoyed this book and recommend it if you're at all into YA.
Re: Books we read in 2022
Ghost Boys- Jewell Parker Rhodes. This novella is a parable told by the ghost of a 12 year old black boy that was shot in the back and killed by a white police officer. It's YA, so there's a lot of criticisms you have to give up when a book seems overly patronizing or preachy. But this book has all the subtlety of someone sneaking into a room on the back of a roaring elephant. It makes its point in the beginning, countless times in the middle and repeatedly at the end. The ghost of Emmitt Till is also one of the characters. I'm not trying to minimize the seriousness and brutality of systemic racism and the treatment of people of color. But this book just told the story in a way that was so heavy handed that it seemed too simplistic. That said, I am DEFINITELY not the age group this book was intended for. And I can see how earnest middle-schoolers might read this and think it's the MOST IMPORTANT thing they've ever read. But not for me.
Re: Books we read in 2022
Miles Morales- Jason Reynolds. This book is such a blast. A spider-man story and social justice? Count me in. And I totally understand why this was on the banned books list. Spoiler alert (not really): the big bad villain is systemic racism. As I got into this book, I recognized the narrator as the same one who voiced the chapters of the black character in All American Boys, and then realized that Jason Reynolds was one of the two authors of that book as well. Reynolds is a fantastic author with a great voice and nuance for his characters. Miles Morales is really brought to life in this book that talks about his family and neighborhood as much as it does superhero stuff. In fact, he's hardly in "spidey" mode in this book. Short, face-paced and a ton of fun. I really adored this book and the way it addressed its message. High recommend. Great read.
Re: Books we read in 2022
All the Seas of the World by Guy Gavriel Kay
This is the third novel set in the same basic time period in this "Historical Fantasy" world that has been used by Kay for several novels, including:
The Lions of Al-Rassan
Last Light of the Sun
Sailing to Sarantium/Lord of Emperors (The Sarantine Mosaic)
Under Heaven*
River of Stars*
Children of Earth and Sky
A Brightness Long Ago
* These two are suppositions. I recall that they mention some of the religions and nations from the other novels, but they take place in the equivalent of China in that world while the others take place in Europe and far-western Asia.
The last two novels are the ones that are set in the same basic time frame as All the Seas of the World, which actually takes place between the two stories and features characters that appeared in both, some as major characters, others minor. The main characters are entirely new, though.
I technically didn't "read" this book, but had it read to me... I did follow along most of the time, though. The narrator that Kay uses for his novels is fantastic!
A quick word about "Historical Fantasy"... What Kay does with the majority of his novels, is write heavily researched stories based on a historical time period, but set in a fantasy world that is just enough different from our world to not count as "Historial Fiction" or "Alternate History". This particular world is so close to ours that there are clear analogs to countries and cities of our world in the fantasy world, as well as analogs to major religions, though they are all different in their origin in some ways, the relationships between them are quite familiar to all. The maps of this world make no pretense about it being based on Earth, either, unlike Kay's earlier works, where there were clear analogs in the political and social aspects of the stories, but the geography was clearly fantasy. One constant in the stories is the two moons, which feature prominently in the religions of the culture.
In any event, this novel, as well as the two before it, are set during the time around the fall of the Byzantium (Sarantium in this world) and the political upheavals that happened around that time in the west. Much of this story takes place in Northern Africa, a new locale for Kay's stories, and, as the title suggests, features a good deal of sea stories about people who are pirates, or privateers, or Corsairs, or smugglers, or simply merchants... frequently on the same ship depending on which port they were sailing into... However, the overarching theme of the story can best be summed up by the following quote:
"I've only really known this one place to live. My city. Other people, for different reasons, seem to never really have a home, even if they settle somewhere. That becomes a place they live. Not the same thing. They go through their lives as if adrift on all the seas of the world. Maybe home for some is always the one they lost."
The main theme of the story is the different ways people deal with living in exile, for whatever reason they ended up exiled from their home, be it religious persecution, a foreign power conquering their home, the foreign government they were supported by being conquered and deposed by the locals, etc... The time period is rich with examples. So much so that it almost feels that more people were living in exile during that time than were living in their homelands. It is a well-written book, with the kind of beautiful prose I've come to expect from Kay. However, I would probably suggest reading the first two books before this one, though they aren't necessary to appreciate the story, they will increase your understanding of the world and you will know more about characters when they appear who don't always get a lot of backstory told about them. You will also understand the subtle comments about what will happen in the future that are actually references to the events of the book that takes place in the future. I would also suggest reading The Lions of Al-Rassan, but just because it's a great book.
This is the third novel set in the same basic time period in this "Historical Fantasy" world that has been used by Kay for several novels, including:
The Lions of Al-Rassan
Last Light of the Sun
Sailing to Sarantium/Lord of Emperors (The Sarantine Mosaic)
Under Heaven*
River of Stars*
Children of Earth and Sky
A Brightness Long Ago
* These two are suppositions. I recall that they mention some of the religions and nations from the other novels, but they take place in the equivalent of China in that world while the others take place in Europe and far-western Asia.
The last two novels are the ones that are set in the same basic time frame as All the Seas of the World, which actually takes place between the two stories and features characters that appeared in both, some as major characters, others minor. The main characters are entirely new, though.
I technically didn't "read" this book, but had it read to me... I did follow along most of the time, though. The narrator that Kay uses for his novels is fantastic!
A quick word about "Historical Fantasy"... What Kay does with the majority of his novels, is write heavily researched stories based on a historical time period, but set in a fantasy world that is just enough different from our world to not count as "Historial Fiction" or "Alternate History". This particular world is so close to ours that there are clear analogs to countries and cities of our world in the fantasy world, as well as analogs to major religions, though they are all different in their origin in some ways, the relationships between them are quite familiar to all. The maps of this world make no pretense about it being based on Earth, either, unlike Kay's earlier works, where there were clear analogs in the political and social aspects of the stories, but the geography was clearly fantasy. One constant in the stories is the two moons, which feature prominently in the religions of the culture.
In any event, this novel, as well as the two before it, are set during the time around the fall of the Byzantium (Sarantium in this world) and the political upheavals that happened around that time in the west. Much of this story takes place in Northern Africa, a new locale for Kay's stories, and, as the title suggests, features a good deal of sea stories about people who are pirates, or privateers, or Corsairs, or smugglers, or simply merchants... frequently on the same ship depending on which port they were sailing into... However, the overarching theme of the story can best be summed up by the following quote:
"I've only really known this one place to live. My city. Other people, for different reasons, seem to never really have a home, even if they settle somewhere. That becomes a place they live. Not the same thing. They go through their lives as if adrift on all the seas of the world. Maybe home for some is always the one they lost."
The main theme of the story is the different ways people deal with living in exile, for whatever reason they ended up exiled from their home, be it religious persecution, a foreign power conquering their home, the foreign government they were supported by being conquered and deposed by the locals, etc... The time period is rich with examples. So much so that it almost feels that more people were living in exile during that time than were living in their homelands. It is a well-written book, with the kind of beautiful prose I've come to expect from Kay. However, I would probably suggest reading the first two books before this one, though they aren't necessary to appreciate the story, they will increase your understanding of the world and you will know more about characters when they appear who don't always get a lot of backstory told about them. You will also understand the subtle comments about what will happen in the future that are actually references to the events of the book that takes place in the future. I would also suggest reading The Lions of Al-Rassan, but just because it's a great book.
Re: Books we read in 2022
The Marrow Thieves- Cherie Dimaline. Another book in the banned book club series. Gonna be honest, this was tough to get through, and not because of the subject matter. The premise is there's been an apocalypse and white people have lost the ability to dream, which is killing them, so they are hunting down indigenous people for their marrow that they turn into a cure- but it means slaughtering the indigenous people. The premise isn't bad, but I had two big problems with it. The first is that the story had no direction or through-line. In the end, I guess is was a coming of age story for our protagonist, Francis/Frenchie. But you're wondering the whole time- "What's the point of what they're doing? What are they trying to accomplish?" The story also takes place over 6 years and there's continuity problems that make no sense. But my big problem is that this is a severely overwritten story. So much time and attention was placed on the metaphors and beauty of each sentence, that the story gets lost in it. I don't need two paragraphs describing the rain falling, when it's not even integral to the story substantively or symbolically. It leads to the story being plodding and slow. I like good description that makes a world feel lived in, but this was so over the top that it was more about the beautiful descriptions than it was about servicing the plot. It made it boring.
Re: Books we read in 2022
You Should See Me in a Crown- Leah Johnson. I enjoyed liked this book, but with a caveat: it's written for tweens and teens, so there's a lot of conceits you just have to go with. The first (and hardest to swallow) is that the protagonist, who is black and lesbian, lives in a town that treats prom like Texas high schools treat football. Their whole year is focused on it. When our protagonist's music scholarship to her dream college falls through, she has to run for prom queen to win the prom queen scholarship, which just happens to be the same amount as the scholarship that fell through. (Just go with it, alright?) The journey the book then takes is entirely predictable, but hear me out- it's also incredibly endearing and earnest. If I was a 13 year old, I'm pretty sure I would think this was the MOST PROFOUND thing I'd ever read. The writing is great, the characters are great, it was incredibly easy to read. Recommend, but with the caveats listed above.
Re: Books we read in 2022
Watchlist (2016)
32 Short Stories by Persons of Interest
Bleah. Did not enjoy. I picked it up, because Charles Yu has a story in here, and I recognized a handful of other authors. It's all stories about being watched and surveillance in the information age. Some are direct and some are more metaphorical. But even for 2016, it felt really dated. I feel like some of these were much older stories that were used here just because they're on theme. Plus, more than half the stories ended without any resolution, like they were just the intro chapter to a larger spy thriller. Unsatisfying.
32 Short Stories by Persons of Interest
Bleah. Did not enjoy. I picked it up, because Charles Yu has a story in here, and I recognized a handful of other authors. It's all stories about being watched and surveillance in the information age. Some are direct and some are more metaphorical. But even for 2016, it felt really dated. I feel like some of these were much older stories that were used here just because they're on theme. Plus, more than half the stories ended without any resolution, like they were just the intro chapter to a larger spy thriller. Unsatisfying.
Any time the solution is "banjo rifle", I'm in 100%.
Re: Books we read in 2022
The Drawing of the Three- Stephen King. The second in the Dark Tower series. While I enjoyed this book a lot, it has not aged well. If I'd read it when it came out in 1987 (?), I probably would have loved it. But there's a handful of elements that are just cringey. The first is that there's a lot of words used in 1987 that we don't use today, particularly ethnic and homophobic slurs. And to defend King a little, when those words are used, they're supposed to be gross and reprehensible. But they're used a lot. Particularly the n-word. A lot. So much that it feels a little like when you're watching a Tarantino movie and it has those scenes where he's in it and using the n-word a lot. Also, one of the main characters, for weird reasons that make sense in the book, is supposed to be a cliche version of an aggressive black person. And while I get the logic of the book, I'm pretty sure if I was black I would be terribly offended by that character- probably in 1987, but for sure in 2022. Finally there's the problem that one of the characters is "schizophrenic"- but not really, right? Back in the 80s we had a fascination with people with multiple personalities and we called them schizophrenics. But I have friends and friends with kids that suffer from true schizophrenia and it's nothing like having multiple personalities and it's in reality it's a truly horrible, awful disease to see someone (particularly a child) have to deal with. That said, I chalk that up to the misguided 80s trend. For the story itself, it was a cool extension of the Gunslinger's journey. I like the Scooby gang that he's collecting and I'm anticipating the next entries in the system. Again, I liked the book, but it's REALLY held back by these aging issues.
Re: Books we read in 2022
The Bobiverse books by Dennis E. Taylor
Spoilers here:
This is a series of books about Bob, an engineer and nerd who has just become fabulously wealthy by selling his company. He signs on with a cryogenics company to have his head frozen and then is almost immediately hit by a bus. Bob wakes up a century later to find that his consciousness has been copied into a computer and he is supposed to be a self-replicating space exploration drone intended to find habitable worlds for humanity.
THE ORIGINAL TRILOGY
We are Legion (We are Bob)
For We are Many
All These Worlds
This becomes a fairly epic sci-fi tale of humans' struggle to escape earth. I already gave a mini review of book 1 above just to say I loved it. As noted, the similarities between Murderbot and the Bobs are there, but they are very different tales. As speculative fiction, I think the politics and sociology are really good. I love the world building. The stories are gripping and exciting.
There were times that I felt like I should be docking it a few points for being too talky, but I couldn't do it. Even the talky parts had me just glued to my seat. I don't know, I just loved them. I feel like I am exactly the target audience for these.
BOOK 4
Heaven's River
This one is really ambitious. At every stage of this series, time marches on, and with immortal protagonists functioning on an interstellar landscape, they cover decades upon decades. And through it all, technology advances, societies evolve, the scope of civilization continues to expand. Heaven's River takes a bold leap forward. By far the longest of the novels so far, and I read it faster than any of the others. Wonderful! The ultimate resolution of the tale was a bit more low-key than the other outings, so I was all amped up for a big action packed, do-or-die climax, and that's not where it went. Completely subverted my expectations. I'm going to need some distance and perspective to decide if that made it better or worse.
Doesn't matter though. I am eagerly awaiting Book 5, which looks to be coming in a couple years.
Spoilers here:
This is a series of books about Bob, an engineer and nerd who has just become fabulously wealthy by selling his company. He signs on with a cryogenics company to have his head frozen and then is almost immediately hit by a bus. Bob wakes up a century later to find that his consciousness has been copied into a computer and he is supposed to be a self-replicating space exploration drone intended to find habitable worlds for humanity.
THE ORIGINAL TRILOGY
We are Legion (We are Bob)
For We are Many
All These Worlds
This becomes a fairly epic sci-fi tale of humans' struggle to escape earth. I already gave a mini review of book 1 above just to say I loved it. As noted, the similarities between Murderbot and the Bobs are there, but they are very different tales. As speculative fiction, I think the politics and sociology are really good. I love the world building. The stories are gripping and exciting.
There were times that I felt like I should be docking it a few points for being too talky, but I couldn't do it. Even the talky parts had me just glued to my seat. I don't know, I just loved them. I feel like I am exactly the target audience for these.
BOOK 4
Heaven's River
This one is really ambitious. At every stage of this series, time marches on, and with immortal protagonists functioning on an interstellar landscape, they cover decades upon decades. And through it all, technology advances, societies evolve, the scope of civilization continues to expand. Heaven's River takes a bold leap forward. By far the longest of the novels so far, and I read it faster than any of the others. Wonderful! The ultimate resolution of the tale was a bit more low-key than the other outings, so I was all amped up for a big action packed, do-or-die climax, and that's not where it went. Completely subverted my expectations. I'm going to need some distance and perspective to decide if that made it better or worse.
Doesn't matter though. I am eagerly awaiting Book 5, which looks to be coming in a couple years.
Any time the solution is "banjo rifle", I'm in 100%.
Re: Books we read in 2022
The House in the Cerulean Sea- TJ Klune. This book is written like a YA book, but isn't. Set in a world where magical people (fairies, gnomes, yetis, etc.) exist and are heavily regulated by the government, our protagonist, Linus, works for the government supervising orphanages that house magical children. Linus is unlike your usual protagonist. He's middle aged, overweight, completely unassuming and nonconfrontational, and gay. He's given a special assignment to visit an orphanage on an island out in the rural parts of the country (I assume in England, but the book doesn't specify). There he meets the headmaster, Arthur, and the magical children that live there. What transpires is a beautiful love story about acceptance, assimilation (or refusal for same) and bigotry. This book is an absolute delight and such a charming wonderful read. One of the things I appreciate about it is that it celebrates children and, even though they're all magical in some way, the kids in this book are very well-developed and authentically-voiced children. It's great to see a book that focuses on how awesome kids are and how we don't appreciate them like they deserve. The book is also a slow burn romance that it downright beautiful. Finally, the book is funny as hell. It definitely has a touch of Hitchhiker's Guide to its tone, and it works perfectly. I absolutely loved this book. High recommend.
Re: Books we read in 2022
Amish Cradle Conspiracy- Dana R. Lynn. Wowzers. Read my summaries here:
http://nerdprideradio.com/babble/viewto ... ?f=6&t=588
Terrible trashy romance thriller.
http://nerdprideradio.com/babble/viewto ... ?f=6&t=588
Terrible trashy romance thriller.
Re: Books we read in 2022
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI- David Grann. This non-fiction novel tells the story of the Osage Indian tribe, which became the wealthiest group of people in the world when oil was discovered under their tribal lands in Oklahoma, and the grisly system of control, murder and theft that was put in place by white people to steal their riches. The story, set in 1920s, is bananas and unbelievable, except that it's true. The problem is that the way the story is told: first from the perspective of one of the key native americans, then from the perspective of the white FBI (before it was the FBI) agent investigating the murders, then from the perspective of the reporter looking at things years later. The structure of the story is just boring. A problem that I have with a lot of these non-fiction historical books is that they feel the need to fill gaps and pad their narrative with unnecessary background. Look- I don't need twenty pages on the family history and tall tales around one of the non-lead investigators that didn't play a major role in the story. But there's a lot of that, and it really drags. So while I find the story fascinating, I'm not a fan of the book. Read if the subject interests you.
Re: Books we read in 2022
Raised in Captivity: Fictional Nonfiction- Chuck Klosterman. I want to be clear at the outset- I very much enjoyed this weirdo, quirky, offbeat collection of short stories. Klosterman has a unique voice that is unlike anything I've read before. It's like if you're drinking a couple beers with that friend of yours that's a lot smarter than you, but he'd never act like it. And then y'all start talking weird philosophy and shit. It's comfortable. Even when it's weird. The problem that I think a lot of people will have with Klosterman's collection is that most of the stories aren't... you know... stories. I remember when I started writing stories at the age of 10 or 11. And I'd have Mike read them. And I'd have these ideas I thought were so cool-- a blind ghost that can't see who he's haunting; a superhero that keeps accidentally killing people, etc. And I remember Mike once said to me, "These are really cool, but they're not stories. You have a cool character, or a cool scene. But you're not really telling a story. What's the story?" And look- Mike was right. That great advice has stuck with me to this day. No matter how compelling your baubles and characters are, you still have to tell a good story. Klosterman defies this, however. For example, one of his stories is about a band meeting where the band has become unexpectedly famous one-hit-wonders when their song "Blizzard of Summer" goes viral and charts to the #5 most downloaded song of the summer. Why the meeting? Well, even though the song is about a broken relationship between two band members, the alt-right and skinheads have adopted it as their anthem. The band discusses how to deal with this without coming to any resolution. End of story. That's it. But you know what? It's fucking brilliant. And every story is kind of like that. A lot of it is totally mundane people being faced with people that are challenging their worldview with absurd circumstances or opinions. Like flashes of scenes to highlight some philosophical conundrum. But I loved it. It's so cleverly written and brilliant. High recommend, but understand that you're getting into weird mundane territory here.
Re: Books we read in 2022
This sounds like something I might enjoy but hard to say. I am deep into some weird s*** that is making me question everything. Particularly why I would bother to use words so much. Why so many words and why so often? Has it helped?
Re: Books we read in 2022
Give it a shot. If you don't like the first couple of stories, you'll know. If you do, then you'll really know.
Re: Books we read in 2022
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda- Becky Albertalli. This is the book that the movie, "Love, Simon" was based on. It's not a complicated story, but it's such an easy and compelling read. The story is about our titular character, Simon, who is struggling with coming out as a 17 year old high school Junior. That's it. A coming of age story, but with a gay twist. There's some complexities involving and anonymous email pen-pal love interest, and a blackmail scheme threatening to out Simon. But it's not really heavy material. The most compelling part of this book is the genuine and sincere characters that populate it. Simon is infectiously optimistic and goofy. His friends are good, but not perfect. His parents are too good to him. But it all works perfectly. The characters all seem natural and perfect for this story. Again, there's nothing super-profound or an earth shattering agenda, but it all just fits together into a fun and awesome story. Highly recommended.
Re: Books we read in 2022
Neptune Crossing -- Jeffrey A. Carver
I found and read this book in 1994 when it was first published. I remember it wasn't mind blowing, but it was a good solid sci-fi space thriller. And despite being a self-contained story, the ending indicated a second book to come and i bought it as soon as it hit my local bookstore. Book 2 takes off in a wildly different different direction that felt really inconsistent, but kept me hooked to see how it all wraps up in Book 3.
Only Book 3 never came to my local bookstore. For about 5 years, I checked every bookstore I went into, searching the sci-fi shelves for Carver, Jeffrey A. By the time I got the internet and then eventually had the ability to search for it, I had entirely forgotten about the series.
Skip ahead to 2022. The series pops into my head for no good reason. I can't remember the names of the books or virtually any details, but after years of checking every store, I remember Jeffrey A. Carver, and I know how to Google. Turns out, the guy has a bunch of novels under his belt and is still active. The series I was thinking of was his Chaos Chronicles, and Book 3 did come out in 1996, but just never where I could find it. More than that, after a 12 year gap, he wrote a book 4. Then after waiting another decade, he started a new trilogy of which the final book has yet to be released.
So I started from the beginning, because after 30 years, I remember nothing.
Neptune Crossing. John Bandicut is a mining surveyor on Neptune's moon Triton. While suffering some PTSD-like symptoms, his rover goes off course. John finds a bizarre alien artifact, and some alien... presence... takes up residence in his head, giving him instructions on how to save the human race from imminent destruction.
It's a decent tale. The science is pretty good, some of the ideas are interesting and clever. The characters are believable. The distraction for me is that it is 30 years old. And while there's nothing in it that's directly objectionable, it's notable that 100 years in the future, all speaking characters are still male except for the love interest and her best friend. The vast majority of characters are white, and white is the clear default, because the heritage of all non-white characters has to be specifically mentioned. And even in the 90s, we have a male protagonist who gets so frustrated a couple times that his only way to work things out is to punch things. Which felt weird for what was a relatively cerebral character. It's nothing as glaring as watching 60s B-movies where the heroes smoke cigarettes while piloting their huge phallic rocket ships, but it was that same sense of datedness.
But I still enjoyed it, so I'll keep reading until I don't enjoy it. I'm interested to see how the style of this world evolves over 30 years of writing.
I found and read this book in 1994 when it was first published. I remember it wasn't mind blowing, but it was a good solid sci-fi space thriller. And despite being a self-contained story, the ending indicated a second book to come and i bought it as soon as it hit my local bookstore. Book 2 takes off in a wildly different different direction that felt really inconsistent, but kept me hooked to see how it all wraps up in Book 3.
Only Book 3 never came to my local bookstore. For about 5 years, I checked every bookstore I went into, searching the sci-fi shelves for Carver, Jeffrey A. By the time I got the internet and then eventually had the ability to search for it, I had entirely forgotten about the series.
Skip ahead to 2022. The series pops into my head for no good reason. I can't remember the names of the books or virtually any details, but after years of checking every store, I remember Jeffrey A. Carver, and I know how to Google. Turns out, the guy has a bunch of novels under his belt and is still active. The series I was thinking of was his Chaos Chronicles, and Book 3 did come out in 1996, but just never where I could find it. More than that, after a 12 year gap, he wrote a book 4. Then after waiting another decade, he started a new trilogy of which the final book has yet to be released.
So I started from the beginning, because after 30 years, I remember nothing.
Neptune Crossing. John Bandicut is a mining surveyor on Neptune's moon Triton. While suffering some PTSD-like symptoms, his rover goes off course. John finds a bizarre alien artifact, and some alien... presence... takes up residence in his head, giving him instructions on how to save the human race from imminent destruction.
It's a decent tale. The science is pretty good, some of the ideas are interesting and clever. The characters are believable. The distraction for me is that it is 30 years old. And while there's nothing in it that's directly objectionable, it's notable that 100 years in the future, all speaking characters are still male except for the love interest and her best friend. The vast majority of characters are white, and white is the clear default, because the heritage of all non-white characters has to be specifically mentioned. And even in the 90s, we have a male protagonist who gets so frustrated a couple times that his only way to work things out is to punch things. Which felt weird for what was a relatively cerebral character. It's nothing as glaring as watching 60s B-movies where the heroes smoke cigarettes while piloting their huge phallic rocket ships, but it was that same sense of datedness.
But I still enjoyed it, so I'll keep reading until I don't enjoy it. I'm interested to see how the style of this world evolves over 30 years of writing.
Any time the solution is "banjo rifle", I'm in 100%.
Re: Books we read in 2022
The Inheritance Games- Jennifer Lynn Barnes. When I checked this book out from the library, I was in the mood to change up what I'd been reading, and thought I'd like a popcorn murder mystery. I guess I didn't look too close because this isn't that. Instead it's a YA adventure book about a 17 year old girl who finds out that the world's richest man, who is a stranger that she's never met, has just died and left his entire $46 billion estate to her. Of course, with the the exception that he live in his sprawling mansion for a year with his four grandsons, who all happen to be around her age (between 15 and 23, I think). It also turns out that the dead billionaire was a master puzzle fanatic and, at the reading of the will (as you would expect) he leaves clues to our protagonist and each of the grandsons that there's a mystery that they need to compete to solve. It involves all sorts of secret doors and hidden treasures throughout the mansion. It was fine. As far as YA fiction goes (and this is true YA- no cursing or sex), it serves its target audience perfectly. The protagonist is a relatable every-girl who's misunderstood by society at large. The four grandsons are all handsome and potential love interests. The mysteries are clever, although explained at a little too much length to make sure the reader understands them. But as an adult reader, this just wasn't for me. I had two main problems with it: (1) there was no reason for the protagonist to try to solve more puzzles- she inherited $46 billion- I didn't understand her motivation for continually sticking her neck out to "win" some posthumous puzzle that had no defined reward; and (2) this was a set up for a planned series of books- which is kind of okay because this book tells a self-contained story, but the whole time you're reading it, you know there's a sequel coming up and you're wondering, "What's important to this story, and what's a breadcrumb for the next?" But again, for the intended audience, these things don't matter. And to be honest, I enjoyed it enough.
Re: Books we read in 2022
How to be Perfect by Mike Schur
I enjoy thinking about ethics though less about life and death and what it all means, but I get you can't talk about one without the other, and these are my hangups, but that said enjoyed most of it. It was amusing but lol funny, and I dug the concept of contractualism, so in that way, thumbs up.
I enjoy thinking about ethics though less about life and death and what it all means, but I get you can't talk about one without the other, and these are my hangups, but that said enjoyed most of it. It was amusing but lol funny, and I dug the concept of contractualism, so in that way, thumbs up.
Re: Books we read in 2022
Riot Baby- Tochi Onyebuchi. This near-future sci-fi novella is a weird one. Told in a non-chronological narrative, the story focuses on Kevin Jackson (the titular "Riot Baby" born during the Rodney King riots) and his older sister Ella, who as she ages is developing the powers of... basically... God. But because of Ella's control over time and space, the story jumps from Kevin's birth, his imprisonment, his childhood, his rehabilitation, etc. The story doesn't hide what it's about, it's about the imprisonment of black people both in actual prison, in the way society provides for them as children, and in the way they are oppressed as adults. It's all a prison. And it's pretty powerful stuff. If you don't believe in systemic racism, don't read this book (and honestly, leave the site, because that's ignorant). My problem is that it's a little too fever-dreamish for me. The jumps and visions and heavily-draped symbolism are a lot to take in this format, and sometimes a little too on the nose. But I really respect the message being driven home and appreciate the experimental way it's being told. It's a tough read, but well worth it.
Re: Books we read in 2022
Hide- Kiersten White. So this was the opposite experience to the last book I read. In this one, I thought I was getting a light-horror YA book. Instead, I got an adult horror that's rooted in trauma and terror. The premise is that 14 young people are invited to participate in a giant game of hide and seek in an abandoned amusement park for a prize of $50,000. They think it's a proto-run of a future reality show. Then, as you would predict, once in the park, bad things start happening. I don't want to get into the details, but I was really surprised at the gritty level of past damage to these characters and it's portrayal of ptsd. It was excellent. The only criticism I had was that the book jump perspective abruptly at times, but I think that's a function of the audiobook production, and if I had read the physical book it would have been seamless. But it's a minor quibble. High recommend, but can be a tough read if you're triggered by things like ptsd, child abuse and the like.
Re: Books we read in 2022
The Handmaid's Tale -- Margaret Atwood
Brilliant. Simply brilliant. The book is almost four decades old. The TV series is a five-season phenomenon. I've never experienced either until now, but I had a fair idea of what I was getting into. I read it because it's an "important book". What I didn't expect is how well written it is. Atwood delivers a very personal and emotional tale with a protagonist who has no agency whatsoever--at least, not really. And yet the quiet intensity of it, even in the smallest moments, had me transfixed from the first paragraph. It is so powerful. And it's message, which may have seemed dated even five years ago has proven to be as timely and as needed now as ever.
There are some artifacts of the 80's that are a little distracting, like some of the "advances" in technology that just seem archaic, and the universal obsession with cigarettes. But these don't diminish the story, and actually make me want to watch the show to see how they modernize some of this. Also, I found the academic analysis at the end fascinating, but I found the whole novel more powerful when I thought it had ended right before that.
Last point: the audiobook version I listened to was narrated by Claire Danes. She was incredible. The book is intended to be a first person oral narrative, and it is a role that Danes is perfect for.
Anyway, you've probably already read it, but in case you haven't... do.
Brilliant. Simply brilliant. The book is almost four decades old. The TV series is a five-season phenomenon. I've never experienced either until now, but I had a fair idea of what I was getting into. I read it because it's an "important book". What I didn't expect is how well written it is. Atwood delivers a very personal and emotional tale with a protagonist who has no agency whatsoever--at least, not really. And yet the quiet intensity of it, even in the smallest moments, had me transfixed from the first paragraph. It is so powerful. And it's message, which may have seemed dated even five years ago has proven to be as timely and as needed now as ever.
There are some artifacts of the 80's that are a little distracting, like some of the "advances" in technology that just seem archaic, and the universal obsession with cigarettes. But these don't diminish the story, and actually make me want to watch the show to see how they modernize some of this. Also, I found the academic analysis at the end fascinating, but I found the whole novel more powerful when I thought it had ended right before that.
Last point: the audiobook version I listened to was narrated by Claire Danes. She was incredible. The book is intended to be a first person oral narrative, and it is a role that Danes is perfect for.
Anyway, you've probably already read it, but in case you haven't... do.
Any time the solution is "banjo rifle", I'm in 100%.
Re: Books we read in 2022
Yeah... this has been on my "I should have already read this" list for... well... just about ever... I saw the movie version and it was amazing. Haven't watched the TV series, but I probably will marathon it eventually, especially with the state of the world as it is. And, knowing the narrator of the audio book, I can't imagine putting my piss-poor eyes through the pain of reading it!Mike wrote: ↑Tue Jul 26, 2022 7:12 pm The Handmaid's Tale -- Margaret Atwood
Brilliant. Simply brilliant. The book is almost four decades old. The TV series is a five-season phenomenon. I've never experienced either until now, but I had a fair idea of what I was getting into. I read it because it's an "important book". What I didn't expect is how well written it is. Atwood delivers a very personal and emotional tale with a protagonist who has no agency whatsoever--at least, not really. And yet the quiet intensity of it, even in the smallest moments, had me transfixed from the first paragraph. It is so powerful. And it's message, which may have seemed dated even five years ago has proven to be as timely and as needed now as ever.
There are some artifacts of the 80's that are a little distracting, like some of the "advances" in technology that just seem archaic, and the universal obsession with cigarettes. But these don't diminish the story, and actually make me want to watch the show to see how they modernize some of this. Also, I found the academic analysis at the end fascinating, but I found the whole novel more powerful when I thought it had ended right before that.
Last point: the audiobook version I listened to was narrated by Claire Danes. She was incredible. The book is intended to be a first person oral narrative, and it is a role that Danes is perfect for.
Anyway, you've probably already read it, but in case you haven't... do.
Re: Books we read in 2022
Reincarnated as a Familiar, Vol. 1 by D. S. Craig
This is a Light Novel written by an American author. The basic storyline: A young elementary school teacher, who seems to barely be keeping her head above water in life, dies tragically and, while her spirit lingers in some state of limbo, muses on her life and is sad that she never found a partner. A voice then states that there are 12 possible matches for her request but more input is needed. She proceeds to question what is going on, eventually deciding this must be some kind of magic, stating something like, "Yeah, magic would be nice!" which prompts the entity to state that a match has been found. At that point she is summoned by at young (12 or 13 year-old) girl who is breaking the rules of her magic academy by summoning her familiar a year early to try to increase her magical power because she is near the bottom of her class in just about every way.
While the story is clearly influenced by many Isekai light novels, manga, and anime (for instance, the scene where she is sent to be a familiar is extremely similar a scene from "That time I got reincarnated as a slime", with the protagonists misunderstanding of what's going on driving the process of their reincarnation by an unseen entity... but hey, it's funny as hell, so why not borrow it!) as well as traditional fantasy stories from both western and eastern origins, it blends its influences well.
One of the things I truly enjoyed about the story, though, was its magic system. The young mages at the academy were taught using an "imaging" system, where you pictured what you wanted your spell to produce in your mind, spoke your incantation, then released your magical power to activate the spell. Success in casting depended as much on a student's ability to produce a vivid image of what they were trying to create as it did their inherent magical power. For instance, if one was trying to cast an "Ice Wall" spell, one would need to, somehow, envision a pocket of freezing air around the wall in order for the spell to have any staying power or the best formed wall would melt away, unless it was already winter. (This is why spells like "Earth Wall" were much easier to cast. Just envision the ground rising up... done. Simple defensive spell cast... unfortunately it's probably not that strong either, since a high level caster can probably bore through earth with ease... but...)
However, there's more layers to the system. There is also "Instructional magic", which is where the caster gives their personal magical power detailed verbal instructions. This allows the caster to be far more precise, but also comes with inherent dangers, because the caster MUST be extremely precise! (The protagonist nearly kills herself the first time she uses this type of spell, making her understand why the school teaches the young mages the imaging method.) There's a twist on "instructional magic" (I might be misremembering the actual term) in the story that I found especially fun. I also enjoyed the fact that it painted a much more realistic picture of spell casting than most magic systems do. SPOILER: For instance, when the protagonist asks the other familiar who is training her how he can cast spells so quickly since the complex phrases are so long to create the precise wording needed to cast spells and he says, "That's what names are for!" When she asks how you name a spell, he says to repeat the instructions 300 times and follow it with the chosen spell name each time, by the time she's done, her personal magical power will have gotten the idea and she can just use the spell name. She looks at him and says, "Are you serious?" He says, "Get started! I'll go hunt us some food. You'll need to replenish your magical power!" LOL! It's not as simple as learning a spell with a name, eh!
The story has a good balance of character development, plot development, humor, and world building (especially necessary since it is the first volume in a series). More importantly, it has a satisfactory resolution to the story in the volume, with plenty of room for more story to build on but a good sense of the current story being "done", or at least "done for now". (When the antagonist flees the battle and it is impossible to give chase... well...)
Four volumes have been released so far, with the most recent one coming out this past February.
This is a Light Novel written by an American author. The basic storyline: A young elementary school teacher, who seems to barely be keeping her head above water in life, dies tragically and, while her spirit lingers in some state of limbo, muses on her life and is sad that she never found a partner. A voice then states that there are 12 possible matches for her request but more input is needed. She proceeds to question what is going on, eventually deciding this must be some kind of magic, stating something like, "Yeah, magic would be nice!" which prompts the entity to state that a match has been found. At that point she is summoned by at young (12 or 13 year-old) girl who is breaking the rules of her magic academy by summoning her familiar a year early to try to increase her magical power because she is near the bottom of her class in just about every way.
While the story is clearly influenced by many Isekai light novels, manga, and anime (for instance, the scene where she is sent to be a familiar is extremely similar a scene from "That time I got reincarnated as a slime", with the protagonists misunderstanding of what's going on driving the process of their reincarnation by an unseen entity... but hey, it's funny as hell, so why not borrow it!) as well as traditional fantasy stories from both western and eastern origins, it blends its influences well.
One of the things I truly enjoyed about the story, though, was its magic system. The young mages at the academy were taught using an "imaging" system, where you pictured what you wanted your spell to produce in your mind, spoke your incantation, then released your magical power to activate the spell. Success in casting depended as much on a student's ability to produce a vivid image of what they were trying to create as it did their inherent magical power. For instance, if one was trying to cast an "Ice Wall" spell, one would need to, somehow, envision a pocket of freezing air around the wall in order for the spell to have any staying power or the best formed wall would melt away, unless it was already winter. (This is why spells like "Earth Wall" were much easier to cast. Just envision the ground rising up... done. Simple defensive spell cast... unfortunately it's probably not that strong either, since a high level caster can probably bore through earth with ease... but...)
However, there's more layers to the system. There is also "Instructional magic", which is where the caster gives their personal magical power detailed verbal instructions. This allows the caster to be far more precise, but also comes with inherent dangers, because the caster MUST be extremely precise! (The protagonist nearly kills herself the first time she uses this type of spell, making her understand why the school teaches the young mages the imaging method.) There's a twist on "instructional magic" (I might be misremembering the actual term) in the story that I found especially fun. I also enjoyed the fact that it painted a much more realistic picture of spell casting than most magic systems do. SPOILER: For instance, when the protagonist asks the other familiar who is training her how he can cast spells so quickly since the complex phrases are so long to create the precise wording needed to cast spells and he says, "That's what names are for!" When she asks how you name a spell, he says to repeat the instructions 300 times and follow it with the chosen spell name each time, by the time she's done, her personal magical power will have gotten the idea and she can just use the spell name. She looks at him and says, "Are you serious?" He says, "Get started! I'll go hunt us some food. You'll need to replenish your magical power!" LOL! It's not as simple as learning a spell with a name, eh!
The story has a good balance of character development, plot development, humor, and world building (especially necessary since it is the first volume in a series). More importantly, it has a satisfactory resolution to the story in the volume, with plenty of room for more story to build on but a good sense of the current story being "done", or at least "done for now". (When the antagonist flees the battle and it is impossible to give chase... well...)
Four volumes have been released so far, with the most recent one coming out this past February.
Re: Books we read in 2022
The Wastelands- Stephen King. This is book 3 of the Dark Tower series and I'm going to just put it out there- this was boring. Here's the thing, I thought the last book (which was long and had it's own "cultural" issues) was the one where we get the scooby gang together. But apparently we needed a second, even longer book to finish getting everyone on the team. And hey, it's not that I don't think the concepts are cool or that the world isn't cool. I do. But there's something here that's just a little too... Stephen Kingish. This "journey into the weird" was done much, much better in King's book with Straub in '84, the Talisman. This take on how humanity deals with post-apocalypsia was done much better in King's '78 book, The Stand. And this whole novel, which is too long and too bloated, seems derivative in some of the least compelling ways from those two works. I feel like I can see King trying so hard to make something happen that he doesn't feel impassioned about. I'm at a bit of a crossroads here. I'm three books in, and many of the rest of the books are much longer. I'm not sure I want to complete this series. I think I'll read the next one and make a decision from there. Recommendation: Whew; unclear.
Re: Books we read in 2022
I quit after Book 2 way way back. Just never felt motivated to keep going.
Any time the solution is "banjo rifle", I'm in 100%.
Re: Books we read in 2022
Chaotic Attractors -- Jeffrey A. Carver
This is the sequel to Neptune Crossing up above. This is as far as I got in the series 30 years ago. Back then, I couldn't wait for the third book, but I never found it. Nowadays, book 3 is just a click away, and I don't think I'm going to bother.
It's a good story, and the world building is huge and ambitious. But it's just not great. He's built this massive ship world on a structure that spans a solar system and populated it with a host of wild aliens. There's fractally dimensional aliens, plant-based aliens, an information-broker who appears to be a collection of fireflies, aliens like giraffe-centaurs, telepathic space jellyfish. It's creative. But then so many elements of the world are just mundane. There are hotels, and bars and subway trains. Outside of the population, everything about this exponentially advanced technology just feels like chrome-plated versions of the modern world. Their social structures are all too familiar. Their motivations, even when described as alien are all readily understandable human motivations. And in spirlte of all of the fantastical aliens we see this is the "team-building" book of the series, and all three of the hero's companions turns out to be a roughly human sized biped with all the parts in the right places for them to be played by human actors in makeup. And, as in book 1, all of the characters are male except one. And the lone female happens to be close enough to human appearance to be hot AND she's an empath who is exiled from her world for something to do with wanting to explore passions theat are denied to her by her world's oppressive caste system. Like, they couldn't make it any clearer that she is definitely going to fuck our hero. It's a book I would have loved at 25 (did in fact). I recognized even then that it's a bit pulpy, but I know I really enjoyed it. Now, not so much.
This is the sequel to Neptune Crossing up above. This is as far as I got in the series 30 years ago. Back then, I couldn't wait for the third book, but I never found it. Nowadays, book 3 is just a click away, and I don't think I'm going to bother.
It's a good story, and the world building is huge and ambitious. But it's just not great. He's built this massive ship world on a structure that spans a solar system and populated it with a host of wild aliens. There's fractally dimensional aliens, plant-based aliens, an information-broker who appears to be a collection of fireflies, aliens like giraffe-centaurs, telepathic space jellyfish. It's creative. But then so many elements of the world are just mundane. There are hotels, and bars and subway trains. Outside of the population, everything about this exponentially advanced technology just feels like chrome-plated versions of the modern world. Their social structures are all too familiar. Their motivations, even when described as alien are all readily understandable human motivations. And in spirlte of all of the fantastical aliens we see this is the "team-building" book of the series, and all three of the hero's companions turns out to be a roughly human sized biped with all the parts in the right places for them to be played by human actors in makeup. And, as in book 1, all of the characters are male except one. And the lone female happens to be close enough to human appearance to be hot AND she's an empath who is exiled from her world for something to do with wanting to explore passions theat are denied to her by her world's oppressive caste system. Like, they couldn't make it any clearer that she is definitely going to fuck our hero. It's a book I would have loved at 25 (did in fact). I recognized even then that it's a bit pulpy, but I know I really enjoyed it. Now, not so much.
Any time the solution is "banjo rifle", I'm in 100%.
Re: Books we read in 2022
The Library of the Unwritten- A. J. Hackwith. With zero expectations other than liking what I read of the back jacket blurb, I was so surprised at how much I loved this book. The world is great, the writing is great, the characters are great... so much to love. Our protagonist is a damned soul who has been made the librarian in hell. Hell's library is only for unwritten books. When a recently dead man is being processed to enter heaven, he reveals that he's clutching several pages from the Devil's bible. When these circumstances become known, there's a race between a group of angels and a group put together by Hell's librarian to find the whole volume. And the librarian's Scooby-gang is awesome: a demon, a dead human soul that is punishing himself in hell by looking like a demon, a failed muse, a character from an unwritten book come to life. There's a depth and rules to this world that I don't want to think to hard about, because I'm worried the logic might fall apart (but maybe not). But the interplay between heaven, hell, valhalla, dead realms and every other religious afterlife, is well fleshed out and fascinating. But enough. Just read it. Great book.
Re: Books we read in 2022
Nothing But Blackened Teeth- Cassandra Khaw. I have a love/hate relationship with Khaw's work. I also read her trilogy of novellas (compiled as a single book) Food of the Gods about cannibal chef Rupert Wong. As you'll recall, I loved the writing, the world and weird plot- but was alienated by the characters. And that's the same here. This is a novella that focuses on a group of college-ish folks going to a haunted house in Japan for a macabre wedding of two of the five characters. As you can guess, bad things happen. And look! The story is awesome! The Asian/South-East Asian mythology and influences are amazing! Her writing is some of the best that I've read. But once again, I didn't like any of the characters. I wasn't rooting for them. I didn't really care when "bad things happened" to them. And I get it- I don't need to be spoon-fed every story with stereotypical characters- indeed, this novella is a deconstruction of those very characters in horror tropes. But I just don't feel any emotional investment in them, much like my experience with the three Rupert Wong novellas. That said, Khaw's use of language and metaphor is stunning and her writing is beautiful in the way it describes the grotesque. So I'm going to continue reading her stuff. And I'm not even saying for people not to read this- you should! But it was a weird disconnect for me that kept me from enjoying it as much as I wanted to.
Re: Books we read in 2022
A Psalm for the Wild-Built- Becky Chambers. What a beautiful, contemplative, lovely novella. So in the far flung future on another planet, factory robots obtain self-awareness and consciousness. This creates a dilemma for humans because they feel like it is slavery to keep the factory robots working for them. On this planet, the humans had agreed among themselves to only populate and reside in one half of the single continent. The other half was to be left wild and untouched. They reached an agreement with the robots that they would be free to reside in the wild-lands and the humans would not initiate contact with them, but if they wanted to reinitiate contact with humans, the robots had that right. This is not the era in which our story takes place. Thousands of years AFTER that happens, there's still been no contact. Our protagonist, Dex, is a tea monk- which means he's basically a bartender in this world, travelling the roads to each city where he sets up his mobile shop, serves tea and listens to people's problems. Dex's problem is that he's reached the pinnacle of what he does- he's the best. And yet he's discontent. So he travels to the wild-lands to find an old temple, and when he does, he's approached by a robot. It's the first time this has happened since the split. And the robot says, "I've decide to contact humanity and find out what they need. What do you need?" And thus begins a philosophic dialogue between the two which comprises the entirety of the book. It's a weird story. Not much happens. There's no action. There's no love-interest struggle. There's just two creatures talking about the meaning of live. AND IT'S GREAT. There's a beautiful structure to the story and it's wonderfully written. My criticism is that I wish there was more. But also, I guess that's the point. Whatever. Just read it.
Re: Books we read in 2022
Children of Time -- Adrian Tchaikovsky
Holy shit! Winner! Blown away, I was! Huge, ambitious space epic. I hung on every moment. Two momentous, eon spanning tales that obviously will eventually cross paths (and do so spectacularly). I was 100% invested in both sides of this story and was caught completely off guard by their ultimate resolution. A lesson for humanity.
Tchaikovsky is brilliant. The wman narrating (Mel Hudson) is pitch perfect here. Like I say, a tale of eons and generations and yet still very personal and intimate. I'm floored.
Chapter One: humanity has reached the stars, but not managed a strong foothold anywhere yet. On an experimental planet, the world has been completely terraformed, and the plan now is to populate it with 10,000 monkeys and infect them with a nanovirus that will expedite and guide their evolution while humanity leaves them undisturbed. Hopefully they reach their own industrial age in a few hundred years and then follow the clues to contact their creators. Unfortunately, humanity is at war with itself and things go very wrong. That's the opening pages. It just gets better from there.
Holy shit! Winner! Blown away, I was! Huge, ambitious space epic. I hung on every moment. Two momentous, eon spanning tales that obviously will eventually cross paths (and do so spectacularly). I was 100% invested in both sides of this story and was caught completely off guard by their ultimate resolution. A lesson for humanity.
Tchaikovsky is brilliant. The wman narrating (Mel Hudson) is pitch perfect here. Like I say, a tale of eons and generations and yet still very personal and intimate. I'm floored.
Chapter One: humanity has reached the stars, but not managed a strong foothold anywhere yet. On an experimental planet, the world has been completely terraformed, and the plan now is to populate it with 10,000 monkeys and infect them with a nanovirus that will expedite and guide their evolution while humanity leaves them undisturbed. Hopefully they reach their own industrial age in a few hundred years and then follow the clues to contact their creators. Unfortunately, humanity is at war with itself and things go very wrong. That's the opening pages. It just gets better from there.
Any time the solution is "banjo rifle", I'm in 100%.
Re: Books we read in 2022
Good Morning, Midnight- Lily Brooks-Dalton. They made this book into a movie staring George Clooney called Midnight Sky, but I've never seen it and probably won't because I didn't connect with this book at all. While this book wants to be an examination of loneliness and isolation, it's really just an exercise in misanthropy and narcissism. The premise is that something has killed all of humanity, but we don't know what it was and we don't care because that's not the story. The story focuses on two characters- an old man that refused to evacuate the polar observatory with the other scientists when the apocalypse was coming. The other is a female astronaut with her small crew on their way back from a manned survey mission to observe Jupiter. And as they both realize that humanity is gone, they engage in some extreme naval gazing and begin realizing that they made poor choices in their lives. They both sacrificed their families and any real human connection for their pursuit of science. Like for real- these two were real sociopaths. But for some reasons we're not supposed to hate them and we're supposed to sympathize with them. But I just couldn't. These are people that pushed away any meaningful connections with other humans their whole lives and now realize that their lives are purposeless now that society is over and the legacies they worked so hard to build are now meaningless. So guess what? You lived like a jerk and then realized you were a jerk? Who cares. I just couldn't care. And I get it: the apocalypse and isolation (in the polar observatory and space, respectively) is a metaphor for the void they've created their whole lives. I just didn't care. As a result, I found this book boring. My mind was constantly wandering to other things and it was just difficult to even focus on the story. And maybe for some, they might find it interesting. But for me, I couldn't get invested in the characters or care about them at all because their extreme antisocial pathology was just so off-putting. Hard pass for me.
Re: Books we read in 2022
The Library of the Unwritten -- A. J. Hackwith
That's as far as I got in Kyle's review before deciding to read it myself. I really enjoyed this book as well. Fantastic fantasy. Lovingly fleshed out world. Compellingly written. If you like fantasy adventures, you should try it out without reading further.Kyle wrote:With zero expectations other than liking what I read of the back jacket blurb, I was so surprised at how much I loved this book. The world is great, the writing is great, the characters are great... so much to love. Our protagonist is a damned soul who has been made the librarian in hell.
Kyle's right all around. I have thought more about the rules of the setting... because they are thick and intricate and they fascinate me... and they are consistent enough for a whole series, which is obviously what the author is intending. But I'm not gonna look yet, because I have other series already clamoring for my attention.Hell's library is only for unwritten books. When a recently dead man is being processed to enter heaven, he reveals that he's clutching several pages from the Devil's bible. When these circumstances become known, there's a race between a group of angels and a group put together by Hell's librarian to find the whole volume. And the librarian's Scooby-gang is awesome: a demon, a dead human soul that is punishing himself in hell by looking like a demon, a failed muse, a character from an unwritten book come to life. There's a depth and rules to this world that I don't want to think to hard about, because I'm worried the logic might fall apart (but maybe not). But the interplay between heaven, hell, valhalla, dead realms and every other religious afterlife, is well fleshed out and fascinating. But enough. Just read it. Great book.
Any time the solution is "banjo rifle", I'm in 100%.
Re: Books we read in 2022
Laurus- Eugene Vodolazkin; translated by Lisa Hayden. I got catfished, y'all. Sold to me as a book about a man with mystical powers who is born in medieval Russia and his story takes place through time up to the 20th century- first as a medicine man, then as a holy fool and then as a renowned healer. Look- just typing that out made me get all horny for the book again. But it's not that. It's not a sci-fi story (which is was also billed as). It's not a time travelling story (which is it also billed as). Here's what it really is: a novel about a fictional Russian saint that tells the story of his life in medieval Russia. That's it. It's super-steeped in Russian Orthodox Christianity- which was cool at first, right? I mean, to me at least... Christian mysticism and miracles aren't any different than dragons in Game of Thrones. But because of the way it was sold to me, I just kept waiting for it to take a leap to modern times. And it just simply doesn't. That part of the sales pitch is a lie. The ONLY thing that touches on modern times is a side character that has visions of real documented events in the future. And I'm sure if I was Russian, these would mean something to me, but they were over my head. Anyhow, here's the plot- dude is born wicked smart, makes some mistakes, suffers severe consequences, spends the rest of his life selflessly trying to repent. Then he dies. All in the medieval times. The book was alright. The translation was fine, if not a bit literal at times (although that's true of all but the best translations). It was just kind of boring. You know how they say, "Show, don't tell." Well no one told that to this Russian author who narrates everything like it's his own fictional chapter of the bible (I know... redundant). So... it was just okay.
Re: Books we read in 2022
Lift -- Minh Le (words) & Dan Santat (art)
It's a kids book! A picture book, even. And a really good one! I regularly have cause to be in the elementary school library, and every once in a while, a book catches my eye. This is the first time one of these random pulls has really moved me. Like I had a very real emotional response to this book and loved it so so much. Lift is about Iris, a little girl who lives with her family in a big city. Every day, Iris pushed the elevator buttons until the fateful day when her baby brother usurps her. Iria is not happy. The story is told through the art more than anything, and the art is beautiful.
Lift is about escape and imagination, and right on the first page is a very clear tribute to Calvin and Hobbes. If you run across it, read it--it'll take you five minutes. If you have tiny children in your life, get this for them.
It's a kids book! A picture book, even. And a really good one! I regularly have cause to be in the elementary school library, and every once in a while, a book catches my eye. This is the first time one of these random pulls has really moved me. Like I had a very real emotional response to this book and loved it so so much. Lift is about Iris, a little girl who lives with her family in a big city. Every day, Iris pushed the elevator buttons until the fateful day when her baby brother usurps her. Iria is not happy. The story is told through the art more than anything, and the art is beautiful.
Lift is about escape and imagination, and right on the first page is a very clear tribute to Calvin and Hobbes. If you run across it, read it--it'll take you five minutes. If you have tiny children in your life, get this for them.
Any time the solution is "banjo rifle", I'm in 100%.
Re: Books we read in 2022
Haven't heard of it! I'd like to read it. I love All Creatures Great and Small, though it did not spark any desires to work in that field!
Re: Books we read in 2022
Later- Stephen King. Hmm. This is tough to review without spoilers. So I'm not going to spoil it. Here's what I'll say, it's about a boy that talks to dead people. And how, as he grows up, people try to take advantage of him for it. Although I liked the story, I didn't feel like it was the most inspired by King, and the characters felt a little empty, which is unusual for him. But the big thing is a twist that comes out of nowhere in the end that kind of ruined it for me. So there's that. And I don't really want to comment more about it. But if you like King, you'll think this is fine, if not his best work.
Re: Books we read in 2022
The Torment of Rachel Ames- Jeff Gunhus. A well written book about a woman who goes out to a cabin to write her next inspired novel (after a disappointingly uninspired one failed to sell). As you can imagine, the isolated cabin has weird things going on and then shit goes really sideways. While I enjoyed the book after its slow start, the ending was pretty predictable as was the character arc. But it was still a fun, short read.
Re: Books we read in 2022
He wrote a lot of books. Those were just some of the stories only about dogs. There is a Cat Stories book as well.
The All Creatures Great And Small also had several sequels....not to mention the new TV series (I got it for my birthday)
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sp ... -herriot/#
"Yay! I'm for the other team."
Re: Books we read in 2022
Goblin- Josh Malerman. When I was a teen, I read a book about killer rats. I'm pretty sure it was The Rats by James Herbert, but I could be wrong. It's been awhile. Anyways, what I remember about the book (and vaguely recall Mike pointing it out to me while I was still reading it- but again, I could be wrong) is that it had this weird thing where it would introduce a character, tell you their entire back story to explain why they are where they are in the book, and then they would be devoured terribly by rats, never to be mentioned again. Then it would go to another character, and the same thing would happen. This book, Goblin, has that same conceit- but unlike The Rats, I just found it boring and tedious. (I recall quite enjoying the Rats despite its quirks.) This is the story of a cursed town, the titular Goblin, and is told through six novellas about different people in the town on one eventful night. But honestly, not much happens. Just as an example: one of the stories is about a guy who is deathly afraid that he's going to see a ghost and it will give him a heart attack and kill him. And he knows he's going to see a ghost because his mother once saw a ghost. So to explain his mother's experience, he explains his mother's whole history and life, and the ghost she saw. But also his father saw a ghost once too. So we need to hear his whole life history and then his experience. And did I mention that his sister saw a ghost once too? So let's hear about her whole life story and troubled marriage before we hear about her ghost experience. Then, as the story ends, he thinks he sees a ghost. The end. I mean... holy shit... it was just so boring. So very tedious and boring. And every single one of these six stories are like that. Just so terribly dull and you keep wondering when something's going to happen and then nothing really does, or if it finally does you don't care anymore and you just want the boring story to end. I got this book because I read a novella by Malerman (the House at the Bottom of a Lake) that was really awesome and beautiful. This was the opposite of that. Super disappointing.
Re: Books we read in 2022
Below -- Laurel Hightower
115 pages. Is that a novella? I think it is. Anyway... Addy is driving cross country to see friends. It is her first time doing something on her own since her divorce. It's late, the weather's bad, the terrain is difficult, and spooky shit is happening. This story is as much about Addy's I nner monologue and the things that haunt her as it is about the external situation and what may or may not be stalking her. The whole thing is well done, and appropriately creepy throughout. Addy is a horror writer and aficionado herself, so she avoids the amateur mistakes and tropes and even gives us the occasional meta-commentary of, "If this was a horror movie..."
The last 20ish% of the book sorta spells out the metaphors a little too clearly, but I can forgive that. It was an enjoyable enough way to pass a couple of hours. (A couple hours of actual reading, mind you. I didn't see an audiobook version.)
115 pages. Is that a novella? I think it is. Anyway... Addy is driving cross country to see friends. It is her first time doing something on her own since her divorce. It's late, the weather's bad, the terrain is difficult, and spooky shit is happening. This story is as much about Addy's I nner monologue and the things that haunt her as it is about the external situation and what may or may not be stalking her. The whole thing is well done, and appropriately creepy throughout. Addy is a horror writer and aficionado herself, so she avoids the amateur mistakes and tropes and even gives us the occasional meta-commentary of, "If this was a horror movie..."
The last 20ish% of the book sorta spells out the metaphors a little too clearly, but I can forgive that. It was an enjoyable enough way to pass a couple of hours. (A couple hours of actual reading, mind you. I didn't see an audiobook version.)
Any time the solution is "banjo rifle", I'm in 100%.
Re: Books we read in 2022
Predator: Eyes of the Demon- Bryan Thomas Schmidt, Editor. I'm not going to fuck around with you. This book is exactly what you think it is- an anthology of Predator short stories. Are they profound statements on life or introspective reviews of the purpose of the universe? Hell no. Are they kick ass stories about Predators? Hells to the yeah. I've read a couple of books in the Alien universe, so when I saw this, I figured I'd enjoy it. And I did. Some stories are better than others. Some stories have cool twists and premises that were pretty original. Some stories were just boring stories about marines fighting predators. But on the whole, it was really enjoyable. The only regret I have was listening to it from beginning to end and not breaking it up with listening to a third of the stories, then going to another book, then coming back to another third, then going to another book, then coming back and finishing it. I think I would have enjoyed it even more that way. Because story after story of Predators got a little tedious when you get to the stories that aren't quite to the level of the others. But to my delight, I discovered that this is actually the second Predator short story anthology. So sometime next year I'll listen to the first one and do it that way. Anyhow, a fun book. Recommend.
Re: Books we read in 2022
Any time the solution is "banjo rifle", I'm in 100%.
Re: Books we read in 2022
Great summary.Mike wrote: ↑Mon Sep 12, 2022 9:49 am This discussion was probably in last year's thread, but...
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTR5xewMC/
Re: Books we read in 2022
Been reading Harry Potter to the kids at bedtime (kids who are pro-trans and reading these books aren't going to make them not) 1 and a half books through. Censor a few minor things, usually her overuse of "stupid" though I'm not saying she's wrong that kids used to and still do say that word alot. I switch it out for "silly." Fun. Overall the kids really enjoy the books -- JK knows how to build a universe and tell enjoyable stories within it -- though we may hop off the reading after three or four. Once ~high-school starts and things get more serious than fun, we'll probably leave it up to our oldest to continue reading on her own. Will then look for other chapter books to read them to bed, hopefully from less problematic authors.
Re: Books we read in 2022
I've finished reading the first two Harry Potter books in German, and have started the third. It really helps with my fluency.
Re: Books we read in 2022
Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows -- Balli Kuar Jaswal
This is a cute story that tries to deliver a serious message. Nikki is a young Punjabi Sihk woman living in London. She is a "modern" woman trying to cope with her very traditional parents while figuring out her own life. She signs up to teach a creative writing course for women at the Punjabi community center and gets more than she bargained for as these old Indian widows come out of their shells. Plus there's some romance, and dealing with grief, and some terrible community secrets are uncovered. There's a lot going on. In the end, it is mostly about allowing women's voices to be heard.
I enjoyed it, and I recommend it, but beware that it is not a challenging read. The writing is not complicated and much of the book is very predictable, but it's comfort food.
After the Fall -- Dan Santat
Another children's picture book. I didn't realize until after I read it that the author/illustrator is the same Caldecott award winning author who illustrated Lift, which I read and reviewed above.
After the Fall is about Humpty Dumpty having PTSD after his fall. It is a very relatable children's book about dealing with fear and anxiety and adapting to and overcoming challenges. It's beautiful and wonderful. Just like Lift, it made me mist up a little at the end. Very powerful for a dozen or so pages and very few words. Loved it.
The Empress of Salt and Fortune -- Nghi Vo
Not quite a fairy tale, but it feels like one. The framing device for this tale makes it clear we live in at least a vaguely magical world (talking birds and such), but the story itself is not at all about magic. It tells of the life of the eponymous Empress of Salt and Fortune, a member of northern barbarian royalty brought to the capital for the sole purpose of producing an heir and then sent into exile. It's a tale of power and manipulation and friendship and loyalty. It's absolutely lovely. I recommend it. My complaint is that it wasn't long enough. I didn't get to spend enough time with these characters to get fully wrapped up in them like I usually do, and overall, this novella really felt like it was just a prologue. like this was the opening to some age-spanning epic.
This is a cute story that tries to deliver a serious message. Nikki is a young Punjabi Sihk woman living in London. She is a "modern" woman trying to cope with her very traditional parents while figuring out her own life. She signs up to teach a creative writing course for women at the Punjabi community center and gets more than she bargained for as these old Indian widows come out of their shells. Plus there's some romance, and dealing with grief, and some terrible community secrets are uncovered. There's a lot going on. In the end, it is mostly about allowing women's voices to be heard.
I enjoyed it, and I recommend it, but beware that it is not a challenging read. The writing is not complicated and much of the book is very predictable, but it's comfort food.
After the Fall -- Dan Santat
Another children's picture book. I didn't realize until after I read it that the author/illustrator is the same Caldecott award winning author who illustrated Lift, which I read and reviewed above.
After the Fall is about Humpty Dumpty having PTSD after his fall. It is a very relatable children's book about dealing with fear and anxiety and adapting to and overcoming challenges. It's beautiful and wonderful. Just like Lift, it made me mist up a little at the end. Very powerful for a dozen or so pages and very few words. Loved it.
The Empress of Salt and Fortune -- Nghi Vo
Not quite a fairy tale, but it feels like one. The framing device for this tale makes it clear we live in at least a vaguely magical world (talking birds and such), but the story itself is not at all about magic. It tells of the life of the eponymous Empress of Salt and Fortune, a member of northern barbarian royalty brought to the capital for the sole purpose of producing an heir and then sent into exile. It's a tale of power and manipulation and friendship and loyalty. It's absolutely lovely. I recommend it. My complaint is that it wasn't long enough. I didn't get to spend enough time with these characters to get fully wrapped up in them like I usually do, and overall, this novella really felt like it was just a prologue. like this was the opening to some age-spanning epic.
Any time the solution is "banjo rifle", I'm in 100%.