As a long time admirer of English science fiction writer Peter F. Hamilton, I try to keep up with his work as best I can. The problem is that with all of the books I have to read for SFSNNJ events, I have found myself falling behind. Why am I telling you this? Well, mainly it is to explain why I am reviewing an older book instead of a newer one, but it is also an attempt to give you a bit of background to this particular review.
Now, a little bit of background about the book. To start off with, The Dreaming Void is a second series set in the Commonwealth Universe. While you do not need to have read Misspent Youth, Pandora's Star, or Judas Unchained, they will help to enrich the story if you have the time to read them. All of the technology, philosophy, and history of those books is handled in The Dreaming Void as commonplace (i.e. it is a fact of life and handled through conversational exposition rather than tedious info-dumps). Still, I highly recommend reading them as they will definitely give a depth of philosophical and historical content to the events chronicled in this book.
Moving along to The Dreaming Void itself, here we have an excellent example of why I love Peter Hamilton. Brilliantly written, with a panoply of distinctive and interesting characters, The Dreaming Void picks up 1200 years after the conclusion of Judas Unchained. In this time, humanity has begun to transcend into post-physical status (if you are unfamiliar with the concept of transhumanism or the Singularity, let me know and I will devote an article to it at some point), and have been studying the universe for quite some time. In the midst of all of this, a researcher named Inigo, who was assigned to Centurion Station and is watching a bizarre phenomena called the Void at the center of the Milky Way slowly expand and swallow stars, begins dreaming of life forms inside of the Void. After sharing his experiences through networked neural processors called the gaianet, a religion springs up with the desire to enter the Void and join the humans already there in their blissful existence. When Inigo disappears, and the religion starts to prepare for its pilgrimage into the Void, agents from around human and non-human space begin their attempts to stop it, for they fear this Pilgrimage will trigger a cataclysmic expansion of the Void, causing it to devour most of the Milky Way.
What makes this book so great is its massive complexity. Characters both inside and outside of the Void are separated by vasts gulfs of space, society, and philosophy, so as we progress find ourselves confronted with an almost prismatic array of diversity, with every character being equally memorable and understandable. One complaint I have in this book is that there is no clear cut 'villain' presented (with the exception of the Cat, who is just a plain old vanilla sociopath following orders). Realistically, you can understand and sympathize with all of the groups and characters in the story, and though the Living Dream's leadership and the Accelerator Faction of A.N.A. seem like they could be the 'bad guys', their motives are not in any way 'evil' and their methods are no less distasteful than the agents of other factions. I suspect that as the story evolves in books two and three we will have a real villain to contend with, however The Dreaming Void is effective as it stands without the presence of a major foil.
THAC0: 9
While this is an intelligent and exciting book, with a lot of character development and action, it does require a great deal of patience and a desire to trek along for the long haul. Those who love Hard Science Fiction will love the technological aspects of the story, but even if that is not quite your thing, the characters and action will keep your interest, as will the mystery and exploration.
Showing posts with label Reviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reviews. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Monday, May 18, 2009
Regenesis by CJ Cherryh
Many years ago I read a little book by author CJ Cherryh. This book was about growing up as the clone of a really famous person who had recently died. Sadly for our young clone, she was being raised in the grand tradition of The Boys From Brazil, and everything that happened to her predecessor was re-enacted upon her in excruciating detail in an attempt to recreate the original's personality in a new body. The book was Cyteen, and the experiment was a great success, but the story did not end there: twenty-one years later, we have a sequel to the Hugo award winning novel.
Regenesis starts us off mere weeks after the close of Cyteen, and for those of us who plowed through Cyteen more than a decade ago, this is an issue that may be a bit of a sticking point. At any rate, the story picks up with Ari II, the clone of the brilliant scientist, Ariane Emory, consolidating power and trying to discover who her friends and enemies are in a mish-mash of personal and professional politics that for an almost dizzying web around her. While this may sound like it is going to be a confusing labyrinth, rest assured, Ms Cherryh will deftly guide you through the tangled skein of alliances surrounding the prodigy and her coterie, and we can watch as Ari II and her friends slowly uncover the plots against Reseune with great interest. What is more intriguing still though, is the primary plot: Ari II must do all this while still trying to find the real mastermind behind the plot to kill Ari I.
I know what you are thinking: Hold the phone, didn't they solve that little mystery at the end of Cyteen? Well, apparently they were wrong, communism is just a red herring and the Sandman killed Uncle Ben by accident. Actually, it really isn't as bad as you think: Dennys Nye is still guilty, though not as guilty as originally thought, it's just that there is a larger conspiracy running in the background, and the military is to blame. Yes, that's right, the military is attempting to do some social engineering of their own by manipulating everyone into their own schemes of political and social control of the Union.
At this point, I bet that you are thinking that I must really have disliked this book, and herein lies the rub: as convoluted and unbelievable as the things I have just described will likely sound, in this book they really work! I have to hand it to Cherryh, I was turning every page, eager to find out more. When taken out of the context of the story, these events seem byzantine and woefully far-fetched as behavioral and social patterns, but Cherryh takes the threads and binds them together like a master weaver working a loom to produce a rich tapestry of character study, because that is what Regenesis really is at its heart.
THAC0: 15
This is a dense and difficult book, but well worth the effort that reading it entails. If you didn't read Cyteen you can likely get through Regenesis, but it is going to be rough going. This is not for the novice Science Fiction reader at all.
Regenesis starts us off mere weeks after the close of Cyteen, and for those of us who plowed through Cyteen more than a decade ago, this is an issue that may be a bit of a sticking point. At any rate, the story picks up with Ari II, the clone of the brilliant scientist, Ariane Emory, consolidating power and trying to discover who her friends and enemies are in a mish-mash of personal and professional politics that for an almost dizzying web around her. While this may sound like it is going to be a confusing labyrinth, rest assured, Ms Cherryh will deftly guide you through the tangled skein of alliances surrounding the prodigy and her coterie, and we can watch as Ari II and her friends slowly uncover the plots against Reseune with great interest. What is more intriguing still though, is the primary plot: Ari II must do all this while still trying to find the real mastermind behind the plot to kill Ari I.
I know what you are thinking: Hold the phone, didn't they solve that little mystery at the end of Cyteen? Well, apparently they were wrong, communism is just a red herring and the Sandman killed Uncle Ben by accident. Actually, it really isn't as bad as you think: Dennys Nye is still guilty, though not as guilty as originally thought, it's just that there is a larger conspiracy running in the background, and the military is to blame. Yes, that's right, the military is attempting to do some social engineering of their own by manipulating everyone into their own schemes of political and social control of the Union.
At this point, I bet that you are thinking that I must really have disliked this book, and herein lies the rub: as convoluted and unbelievable as the things I have just described will likely sound, in this book they really work! I have to hand it to Cherryh, I was turning every page, eager to find out more. When taken out of the context of the story, these events seem byzantine and woefully far-fetched as behavioral and social patterns, but Cherryh takes the threads and binds them together like a master weaver working a loom to produce a rich tapestry of character study, because that is what Regenesis really is at its heart.
THAC0: 15
This is a dense and difficult book, but well worth the effort that reading it entails. If you didn't read Cyteen you can likely get through Regenesis, but it is going to be rough going. This is not for the novice Science Fiction reader at all.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Kethani by Eric Brown
It is a rare thing these days to find a science fiction novel that does not, at its heart, contain something sinister or subtly horrible about the unknown. Most science fiction these days focuses either on interstellar war, alien occupation of Earth, or vast conspiracies to enslave man or destroy the fundamental human spirit of adventure. With the melding of mystery and suspense tropes into mainstream science fiction, the genre has become at once becme a darker and more suspect place than at any time in its past. That is, until recently.
I must admit that I had never heard of Eric Brown before picking up his novels Helix and Kethani about two weeks ago. They seemed interesting and what few reviews were quoted on the cover seemed respectable rather than the normal hodgepodge of writer testimonials seen on most paperbacks, and so I decided to pick both books up. I read Helix first and found it entertaining, enjoyable, and imaginative, but generally typical of the type of action story made popular by Arthur C. Clark in Rama (though I think that Helix is a far more ambitious concept and a better book for it). When I picked up Kethani, though, I prepared myself for more of the same, but what I found was far more interesting.
Imagine, if you will, a world where an alien race has mysteriously appeared on Earth to give the human race functional immortality and the keys to life among the stars. Now imagine seeing the changes wrought by that action written across twenty years and seen through the eyes of common folk living out on the moors of Yorkshire in England. OK, now that you have that firmly in mind, imagine a series of individual stories told by members of a group of men and women who meet every Tuesday at the local pub to discuss life, the Kethani, death, ressurection, and their own personal stories of the world as it evolved.
This is far from the simple story one would suppose, however. No, there are no sinister evil plots, the resurrection technology does not turn folks into soylent green, there are no horrors from beyond, people are not experimented on or coerced into doing anything, and no, it is not a cook book. What complicates the story is what complicates common, ordinary, everyday folks: life, love, death, and decisions. The story is filled with personal anecdotes about a race coming of age and coming to grips with the changes engendered by the Kethani's gift. There is suspense in each story, but it is a suspense born of hopefulness rather than fear. Even the two great mystery stories in the book are less whodunnits and more along the lines of how do people cope with life and death in a world with immortality by proxy for those who choose to avail themselves of it.
430 pages of deep thought, philosophy, and high concept science fiction await you if you pick up Eric Brown's Kethani, and if that sort of thing appeals to you as much as it did to me, then I highly recommend that you grab a copy and gobble it up.
THAC0: 10
While this is a great book, not everyone will enjoy the stories, and the lack of action, adventure, or suspense really make this more a story for fans of philosophy, character development, and secular humanism than anything else.
*Note: I am grading things based on the old system of 'To Hit Armor Class 0' or THAC0 from the old Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. The idea is that the lower the number, the lower you need to roll to score a hit. In terms of my grade, the THAC0 is the number I believe, on a scale of 1-20, that I think this will be a hit with you, the reader. 1 means that I think that pretty much everyone will love this book/movie/show and 20 means that almost nobody will like it.
Tune in tomorrow when I review Helix, and keep your eyes open as I try to actually provide reviews all week long (after all, I have read a lot of books since January).
I must admit that I had never heard of Eric Brown before picking up his novels Helix and Kethani about two weeks ago. They seemed interesting and what few reviews were quoted on the cover seemed respectable rather than the normal hodgepodge of writer testimonials seen on most paperbacks, and so I decided to pick both books up. I read Helix first and found it entertaining, enjoyable, and imaginative, but generally typical of the type of action story made popular by Arthur C. Clark in Rama (though I think that Helix is a far more ambitious concept and a better book for it). When I picked up Kethani, though, I prepared myself for more of the same, but what I found was far more interesting.
Imagine, if you will, a world where an alien race has mysteriously appeared on Earth to give the human race functional immortality and the keys to life among the stars. Now imagine seeing the changes wrought by that action written across twenty years and seen through the eyes of common folk living out on the moors of Yorkshire in England. OK, now that you have that firmly in mind, imagine a series of individual stories told by members of a group of men and women who meet every Tuesday at the local pub to discuss life, the Kethani, death, ressurection, and their own personal stories of the world as it evolved.
This is far from the simple story one would suppose, however. No, there are no sinister evil plots, the resurrection technology does not turn folks into soylent green, there are no horrors from beyond, people are not experimented on or coerced into doing anything, and no, it is not a cook book. What complicates the story is what complicates common, ordinary, everyday folks: life, love, death, and decisions. The story is filled with personal anecdotes about a race coming of age and coming to grips with the changes engendered by the Kethani's gift. There is suspense in each story, but it is a suspense born of hopefulness rather than fear. Even the two great mystery stories in the book are less whodunnits and more along the lines of how do people cope with life and death in a world with immortality by proxy for those who choose to avail themselves of it.
430 pages of deep thought, philosophy, and high concept science fiction await you if you pick up Eric Brown's Kethani, and if that sort of thing appeals to you as much as it did to me, then I highly recommend that you grab a copy and gobble it up.
THAC0: 10
While this is a great book, not everyone will enjoy the stories, and the lack of action, adventure, or suspense really make this more a story for fans of philosophy, character development, and secular humanism than anything else.
*Note: I am grading things based on the old system of 'To Hit Armor Class 0' or THAC0 from the old Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. The idea is that the lower the number, the lower you need to roll to score a hit. In terms of my grade, the THAC0 is the number I believe, on a scale of 1-20, that I think this will be a hit with you, the reader. 1 means that I think that pretty much everyone will love this book/movie/show and 20 means that almost nobody will like it.
Tune in tomorrow when I review Helix, and keep your eyes open as I try to actually provide reviews all week long (after all, I have read a lot of books since January).
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Review: Event by David Lynn Goleman
First, I apologize for the late posting of this, normal work excuse to follow.
When I see a tale set in modern times with a strong conspiracy-theory backdrop, I generally roll my eyes and await the trite and overdone Black Helicopter/Evil Government Cover-up/Waco/Ruby Ridge ranting that is endemic to the genre of speculative fiction. Luckily for me, this particular book is not done in that vein. At all. In fact, Event, attempts to humanize and explain why some of these things need to be taken care of with discretion. Don't think that David Lynn Goleman is going to handle you with kid gloves, though, because this is an author who likes to sucker-punch the reader with great surprises and really amazing ideas.
The first question that you are likely to ask is, "What is Todd talking about?" Well, I am talking about the first book in the Event Group series by David Lynn Goleman. This first story is a traditional series opener that sets the scene and the stage for the upcoming drama by throwing the new guy in the group into the deep end of the pool. Anyone who has seen a TV series on the SciFi channel (Sanctuary, Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, Farscape, Strangeworld, etc) is familiar with this formula and knows how it goes. Luckily, Mr. Goleman has seen those shows too, and knows that we knows how this is supposed to play out, so he tries to have fun with it and make it entertaining. Thankfully, he succeeds. The SciFi channel wishes it could put together a show so thoroughly engrossing as this book was.
At any rate, what about the story? The novel Event takes place in contemporary times and features characters who work for a secret department in the US Government, Department 5656, which is (on paper) an adjunct to the national archives. The real task of Department 5656 is the acquisition of artifacts and the learning of history on a grand scale so we can avoid that fate warned of by Santa Ana. From Noah's Ark to the corpse of King Arthur, the Event Group, as Dept 5656 is known, collects it all; sending super-scientists and US Armed Forces Special Ops teams on globe-trotting adventures. According to the leaders of the Group, no other nation has the same kind of set-up, and one of the tasks of the Group is not only to preserve these ancient relics, but to learn from them and study them, keeping them secret if they may cause too great an uproar in modern society.
Of course, all this leads us to one of their finds that 'got away': the debris and alien artifats from Roswell, NM! Sorry, no real spoiler here, the book starts of with the stealing of the Roswell artifacts from the Event Group team in 1947. The question is: what does that have to do with the plot of the book? Well, history has a way of repeating itself, and apparently the crash at Roswell was no mere accident, but the opening shot in a planned invasion. The original crash is replicated by the aliens in exact detail, with the sole deviation that a wing of US Navy F-14's open fire on one of the two flying saucers, causing both to crash. What happens next is a fast-paced, high impact thrill ride that will leave you gasping for breath at the end of each chapter.
If you are looking for a book with good solid science, action, adventure, monsters, depraved aliens, friendly aliens, more monsters, gun battles, car chases, espionage, big monsters, assassinations, strip clubs, archeology, spelunking, fighter planes, high tech gadgets, more nifty science, and more monsters, then this is the book for you. If you don't like those things, then perhaps I could recommend something a bit tamer.
THAC0: 5
*Note: I am grading things based on the old system of 'To Hit Armor Class 0' or THAC0. The idea is that the lower the number, the better this is at being an actual hit in terms of game mechanics. In terms of my grade, the THAC0 is the number is believe on a scale of 1-20 that I think this will be a hit with you, the reader. 1 means that I think that pretty much everyone will love this book/movie/show and 20 means that almost nobody will like it.
When I see a tale set in modern times with a strong conspiracy-theory backdrop, I generally roll my eyes and await the trite and overdone Black Helicopter/Evil Government Cover-up/Waco/Ruby Ridge ranting that is endemic to the genre of speculative fiction. Luckily for me, this particular book is not done in that vein. At all. In fact, Event, attempts to humanize and explain why some of these things need to be taken care of with discretion. Don't think that David Lynn Goleman is going to handle you with kid gloves, though, because this is an author who likes to sucker-punch the reader with great surprises and really amazing ideas.
The first question that you are likely to ask is, "What is Todd talking about?" Well, I am talking about the first book in the Event Group series by David Lynn Goleman. This first story is a traditional series opener that sets the scene and the stage for the upcoming drama by throwing the new guy in the group into the deep end of the pool. Anyone who has seen a TV series on the SciFi channel (Sanctuary, Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, Farscape, Strangeworld, etc) is familiar with this formula and knows how it goes. Luckily, Mr. Goleman has seen those shows too, and knows that we knows how this is supposed to play out, so he tries to have fun with it and make it entertaining. Thankfully, he succeeds. The SciFi channel wishes it could put together a show so thoroughly engrossing as this book was.
At any rate, what about the story? The novel Event takes place in contemporary times and features characters who work for a secret department in the US Government, Department 5656, which is (on paper) an adjunct to the national archives. The real task of Department 5656 is the acquisition of artifacts and the learning of history on a grand scale so we can avoid that fate warned of by Santa Ana. From Noah's Ark to the corpse of King Arthur, the Event Group, as Dept 5656 is known, collects it all; sending super-scientists and US Armed Forces Special Ops teams on globe-trotting adventures. According to the leaders of the Group, no other nation has the same kind of set-up, and one of the tasks of the Group is not only to preserve these ancient relics, but to learn from them and study them, keeping them secret if they may cause too great an uproar in modern society.
Of course, all this leads us to one of their finds that 'got away': the debris and alien artifats from Roswell, NM! Sorry, no real spoiler here, the book starts of with the stealing of the Roswell artifacts from the Event Group team in 1947. The question is: what does that have to do with the plot of the book? Well, history has a way of repeating itself, and apparently the crash at Roswell was no mere accident, but the opening shot in a planned invasion. The original crash is replicated by the aliens in exact detail, with the sole deviation that a wing of US Navy F-14's open fire on one of the two flying saucers, causing both to crash. What happens next is a fast-paced, high impact thrill ride that will leave you gasping for breath at the end of each chapter.
If you are looking for a book with good solid science, action, adventure, monsters, depraved aliens, friendly aliens, more monsters, gun battles, car chases, espionage, big monsters, assassinations, strip clubs, archeology, spelunking, fighter planes, high tech gadgets, more nifty science, and more monsters, then this is the book for you. If you don't like those things, then perhaps I could recommend something a bit tamer.
THAC0: 5
*Note: I am grading things based on the old system of 'To Hit Armor Class 0' or THAC0. The idea is that the lower the number, the better this is at being an actual hit in terms of game mechanics. In terms of my grade, the THAC0 is the number is believe on a scale of 1-20 that I think this will be a hit with you, the reader. 1 means that I think that pretty much everyone will love this book/movie/show and 20 means that almost nobody will like it.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
She, Robot
Welcome to the future. It is a time when humanity is divided over the questions of technological ethics and the concept of biotechnological research. Factions vie for prominence across the length and breadth of the stars, and the war between the League and the Federation has widened the rift between opposing doctrines. Welcome to the future as envisioned by Joel Shepherd.
Joel Shepherd, a native of Australia, brings us an interesting vision of things to come in the far future. The most interesting thing: people are still fighting over the same things that they are squabbling over now. Do humans have the right to create truly artificial life? Today the argument is over cloning, in Shepherd's Cassandra Kresnov series, the issue is General Issue Artificial Humans, better known as GIs.
So what is the big deal about GIs? The issue is less clear than one would assume. The League believes that technology is technology and is a tool for the betterment of man, while the Federation believes that technology must be used responsibly. The core disagreement over GIs is that the League views them as tools and the Federation views them as people who have no say in who and what they are. The Federation has banned the use and development of GIs and GI -related technology, while the League uses their GIs to figh the war.
OK, so now that we understand the crux of the disagreement, it is time to focus on the key character in this series: Cassandra Kresnov. Cassandra is a high designation League GI that has gone AWOL in order to defect from the League and become a productive citizen of the Federation. Cassandra pretends to be a normal human and emigrates to the Federation world of Callay where she interviews with a series of biotechnology firms hoping to get a job. Unfortunately for Cassandra, her secret is know to members of the Federal Investigations Agency, and she is abducted and experimented on only to be rescued by Callay's own SWAT Lieutenant Vanessa Rice.
Although placed under arrest due to her biomechanical nature, Cassandra, tries as hard as she can to help and cooperate with the Callay Intelligence Agency (CIA). Eventually, while enroute to hearings being held to determine her status, Sandy gets her chance to shine. There is an assassination attempt on Callay's President, and the only reason that it does not succeed is because Cassandra is in the right place to thwart the attempt. The action and intrigue spin out of control from that point on, with Sandy and Vanessa taking the lead in guiding Callay through a series of momentous crises.
The inherent question of the series: a philosophical analysis of the classic 'I think therefore I am' statement goes deeper into than one might think. The pivotal decision that comes before the players in this little drama is whether or not a GI which can think for itself can really rebel against all of her programming and become something else. There is a great scene early in the book where Cassandra explains that she likes art, and when asked why, she in turn asks why anyone likes art: it makes her feel. Cassandra has all the benefits of being a superstrong android (though she hates that term), and could probably give the Terminator a run for its money, but she really wants to give up war and fighting for a more peaceful existence.
Philip K. Dick asked Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and caused quite a stir, but Joel Shepherd asks: can an android be more than the sum of its programming? Can a machine evolve? If it does, will it be more like us, or less? With the Terminator series of movies we have seen the evolution of machine intelligence as a frightening Frankenstein's monster paradigm. Shepherd shows us that maybe, just maybe, we can make something more human than human. It is a great concept, a great series, and a great question.
Joel Shepherd, a native of Australia, brings us an interesting vision of things to come in the far future. The most interesting thing: people are still fighting over the same things that they are squabbling over now. Do humans have the right to create truly artificial life? Today the argument is over cloning, in Shepherd's Cassandra Kresnov series, the issue is General Issue Artificial Humans, better known as GIs.
So what is the big deal about GIs? The issue is less clear than one would assume. The League believes that technology is technology and is a tool for the betterment of man, while the Federation believes that technology must be used responsibly. The core disagreement over GIs is that the League views them as tools and the Federation views them as people who have no say in who and what they are. The Federation has banned the use and development of GIs and GI -related technology, while the League uses their GIs to figh the war.
OK, so now that we understand the crux of the disagreement, it is time to focus on the key character in this series: Cassandra Kresnov. Cassandra is a high designation League GI that has gone AWOL in order to defect from the League and become a productive citizen of the Federation. Cassandra pretends to be a normal human and emigrates to the Federation world of Callay where she interviews with a series of biotechnology firms hoping to get a job. Unfortunately for Cassandra, her secret is know to members of the Federal Investigations Agency, and she is abducted and experimented on only to be rescued by Callay's own SWAT Lieutenant Vanessa Rice.
Although placed under arrest due to her biomechanical nature, Cassandra, tries as hard as she can to help and cooperate with the Callay Intelligence Agency (CIA). Eventually, while enroute to hearings being held to determine her status, Sandy gets her chance to shine. There is an assassination attempt on Callay's President, and the only reason that it does not succeed is because Cassandra is in the right place to thwart the attempt. The action and intrigue spin out of control from that point on, with Sandy and Vanessa taking the lead in guiding Callay through a series of momentous crises.
The inherent question of the series: a philosophical analysis of the classic 'I think therefore I am' statement goes deeper into than one might think. The pivotal decision that comes before the players in this little drama is whether or not a GI which can think for itself can really rebel against all of her programming and become something else. There is a great scene early in the book where Cassandra explains that she likes art, and when asked why, she in turn asks why anyone likes art: it makes her feel. Cassandra has all the benefits of being a superstrong android (though she hates that term), and could probably give the Terminator a run for its money, but she really wants to give up war and fighting for a more peaceful existence.
Philip K. Dick asked Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and caused quite a stir, but Joel Shepherd asks: can an android be more than the sum of its programming? Can a machine evolve? If it does, will it be more like us, or less? With the Terminator series of movies we have seen the evolution of machine intelligence as a frightening Frankenstein's monster paradigm. Shepherd shows us that maybe, just maybe, we can make something more human than human. It is a great concept, a great series, and a great question.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Dread Empire's Fall
OK, it has been a while since i actually did a three update week, but I swear that I am going to get back into the habit of doing this the right way.
Recently I had the opportunity to read through the current three novels of Walter John Williams' Science Fiction series Dread Empire's Fall. These books have been winking at me from the shelves of teh Science Fiction section for a while now, but I have been hesitant to pick them up, if only becuase I did not want to fall into another giant SF series. Luckily for me, I bought the first two books at Borders in Wayne during their store closing sale.
The series takes place about ten thousand years from now. Humans and several alien species have been living under the rule of an alien species calle the Shaa for milennia. Any sources of innovation and free thought have been ruthlessly suppressed for generations, and the Shaa have employed horrific weapons to ensure the continued obedience and loyalty of their servant species. Over the Empire's 12,000 years, the ideals of the Shaa, as embodied in a document of law called the Praxis, have become the ideals of the client species. Unfortunately, the last of the Shaa has decided to end its immortal life (presumably the rest of the Shaa had done so over the course of time leading up to this point).
The problem is that the Empire is kind of like a bonsai tree, and has been shaped and molded to the specifications of the Shaa over many generations. The vacuum of power left behind by the last Shaa has been filled by the bureaucratic Convocation of Peers, who rule as any collective would. one of the client races, the Naxids, decides that it is up to them to restore a proper heirarcy with one species on top, taking the place of the Shaa in the Empire. As they were the first conquered species, the Naxids decide that they are best equipped to run the Empire.
This series follows the course of the Rebellion of the Naxids and the careers of several very interesting characters. All of the story is told following the exploits of Gareth Martinez, younger son of a very welathy, but not prestigious family of Peers from the Empire's furthest provinces, and his on-again off-again lover Caoline, Lady Sula, last survivor of the high ranking Sula clan, whose Peerage is second only to two or three other families of humans. The rub is that Sula is not quite whom she says she is, and Gareth is an overly romantic fellow who does not understand the problems that the Lady Sula seems to have with their relationship. Set against the backdrop of this vast war (which is the first war ever fought between fleet of similar technology as well as the first combat that the fleet has seen in over 1000 years), the romance, politics, and interpersonal maneuvering make this series really stand out.
Throughout the series we watch as the political wrangling of the Convocation, which is attempting to run the war themselves, and whose armchair general practices lead the Empire into blunder after blunder, and we can see exactly how the galaxy has come to this dreadful pass. Through the techings of the Praxis, everyone knows that one the tried and true ideas of old are worthwhile and practicable, and thus the tactical innovations practiced by Lord Martinez and Lady Sula are looked at with disdain as being one step short of heresy. It is interesting to watch as the political interplay unfolds in the story, and how the characters are treated by an Empire that should be very grateful to have their service.
I tore through these books very quickly, and that is a testament to how much I enjoyed them as well as the ease and accessability of the writing. Walter John Williams has done an excellent job, and I look forward to reading some of his other works when I have some more time.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Walk like a Ghost
Since is it still Romance Month, I will continue on with our theme of love with another review of a book we did recently for our Modern Masters discussion group, Ghostwalk by Rebecca Stott.
This book is very hard to place in any one niche. It is modern fiction with supernatural elements, but has quantum physics, historical research, animal rights, chemistry, biography, murder, horror, and a great love story. It is such a strange blend of things that one hesitates to classify it as any one genre (which is why it is shelved under regular fiction).
The story of Ghostwalk is told as an open letter or journal of the main character (Lydia Brooke) to her lover (Cameron Vogelsang), and is basically an explanation of the events that lead up to the rather shocking ending of the story. What starts out as the research project of a lifetime turns into a haunted, bizarre story of a woman trying to survive in the face of some awful truths. What exactly does that mean, you ask. Well, I shall enlighten you.
Following the death of Elizabeth Vogelsang, an historian specializing in the late 17th century, Lydia Brooke is commissioned to finish Elizabeth's controversial biography of Sir Isaac Newton and his work as an alchemist. When she is approached by her ex-lover, Cameron, to do the ghostwriting that would allow the project to be completed, she sees it as a way to help her dead friend and (subconsciously) to get close to Cameron again. Though her friends counsel her against taking the job (fearing that the all-consuming relationship with the married man will resume), she does so anyway.
This all seems normal enough as things go, but as time passes, and Lydia becomes more and more engrossed in the narrative, things become stranger and stranger around her. Suddenly it seems as though the 17th century is intruding into the modern world, and the ghosts of the past are not some insubstantial things, but rather physical beings whose ominous threat pervades Lydia's whole life. Soon, a series a murders that Elizabeth had researched are being replicated in the modern time, and the idea of ghosts goes from uncomfortable fantasy to horrifying reality.
One thing that has struck me as exciting about this story is that it seeks to treat the idea of paranormal phenomena, specifically ghosts, in a very scientific way. The idea that 'ghosts' are nothing more than quantum paired observations that exist independent of time (i.e. they are linked by space and observation regardless of time) is intriguing to say the least, and the idea that a series of murders (that did happen and are speculated about by the Historical Societies interested in the period) could form a potent focus for observation makes the idea of 'living history' more and more of a frightening prospect.
As much as this story is a supernatural, occult, physics, and historical piece, though, it is primarily a romantic love story about two people who are so deeply obsessed with each other that their primal feelings overcome their own good sense. This unfortunate circumstance leads to the deeply tragic ending of the book, and the destruction of Lydia's personal life. At the end, Lydia is left with the knowledge of the truth, which is cold comfort for her sacrifices.
Brilliantly written and innovative, Ghostwalk is probably one of the most notable books of 2007.
This book is very hard to place in any one niche. It is modern fiction with supernatural elements, but has quantum physics, historical research, animal rights, chemistry, biography, murder, horror, and a great love story. It is such a strange blend of things that one hesitates to classify it as any one genre (which is why it is shelved under regular fiction).
The story of Ghostwalk is told as an open letter or journal of the main character (Lydia Brooke) to her lover (Cameron Vogelsang), and is basically an explanation of the events that lead up to the rather shocking ending of the story. What starts out as the research project of a lifetime turns into a haunted, bizarre story of a woman trying to survive in the face of some awful truths. What exactly does that mean, you ask. Well, I shall enlighten you.
Following the death of Elizabeth Vogelsang, an historian specializing in the late 17th century, Lydia Brooke is commissioned to finish Elizabeth's controversial biography of Sir Isaac Newton and his work as an alchemist. When she is approached by her ex-lover, Cameron, to do the ghostwriting that would allow the project to be completed, she sees it as a way to help her dead friend and (subconsciously) to get close to Cameron again. Though her friends counsel her against taking the job (fearing that the all-consuming relationship with the married man will resume), she does so anyway.
This all seems normal enough as things go, but as time passes, and Lydia becomes more and more engrossed in the narrative, things become stranger and stranger around her. Suddenly it seems as though the 17th century is intruding into the modern world, and the ghosts of the past are not some insubstantial things, but rather physical beings whose ominous threat pervades Lydia's whole life. Soon, a series a murders that Elizabeth had researched are being replicated in the modern time, and the idea of ghosts goes from uncomfortable fantasy to horrifying reality.
One thing that has struck me as exciting about this story is that it seeks to treat the idea of paranormal phenomena, specifically ghosts, in a very scientific way. The idea that 'ghosts' are nothing more than quantum paired observations that exist independent of time (i.e. they are linked by space and observation regardless of time) is intriguing to say the least, and the idea that a series of murders (that did happen and are speculated about by the Historical Societies interested in the period) could form a potent focus for observation makes the idea of 'living history' more and more of a frightening prospect.
As much as this story is a supernatural, occult, physics, and historical piece, though, it is primarily a romantic love story about two people who are so deeply obsessed with each other that their primal feelings overcome their own good sense. This unfortunate circumstance leads to the deeply tragic ending of the book, and the destruction of Lydia's personal life. At the end, Lydia is left with the knowledge of the truth, which is cold comfort for her sacrifices.
Brilliantly written and innovative, Ghostwalk is probably one of the most notable books of 2007.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Da Gears
OK, so this in keeping with this month's theme of Romance in Science Fiction, Tripping the Write Fantastic will be covering the works of the notable writing couple of W. Michael Gear and Kathleen O'Neil Gear. As a prelude and preview for next weeks discussion, I have decided to spend some time here on the blog reviewing some of my favorite books by the Gears.
The Anasazi Mysteries: Although not, strictly speaking, science fiction or fantasy, this series is notable as a magnificent mystery told in two different parts. That's right, there are actually two concurrent mysteries going on in each of the books, one ancient and one modern, as archeologists Dusty Stewart and Maureen Cole unearth relic of the past and try to make sense of a horror story unfolding before their eyes. Meanwhile, 800 years before, Catkin, Browser, and Stone Ghost try to unravel the fresh mystery of bad spirits and murder in their tribe. Brilliant work all around, with a heart stopping climax in The Summoning God.
Forbidden Borders: This trilogy of stories opens an obviously far future humanity that is trapped in a rather limited section of space. Walled off by strange super-beings, these humans have fought war after war until only two super-powers and one major mercenary commander remain. The series is amazing in its scope and detail, and was the first set of Gear books I ever read. To this day it remains a favorite.
Starstrike: The nations of a pitiful backwater planet called Earth find themselves drafted by pacifistic aliens to fight an aggressive foewho apparently does not know that war is about to be declared on them. Every nation must send its best unit to work together with the Ahimsa to end the threat. Though the political scene is admittedly dated, it is still a fun story, and, for those of us who were alive at the time, will recall us to the height of the Cold War and its paranoia.
People of Spider: OK, now imagine a future where most of humanity lives either on Space Stations or Planets. Now imagine that the space stations are ruled by Managers, vastly powerful space-adapted humans with immense brain power capable of running the star-spanning space empire. Now imagine that they run into spiritual psychics descended from Navajo who were stranded on a small world by the last prison ships of the Soviet Empire of the 21st Century. Fun, huh? It gets better, and weirder.
These are a few of my favorite series by the Gears, and I hope that you pick them up and enjoy them too!
The Anasazi Mysteries: Although not, strictly speaking, science fiction or fantasy, this series is notable as a magnificent mystery told in two different parts. That's right, there are actually two concurrent mysteries going on in each of the books, one ancient and one modern, as archeologists Dusty Stewart and Maureen Cole unearth relic of the past and try to make sense of a horror story unfolding before their eyes. Meanwhile, 800 years before, Catkin, Browser, and Stone Ghost try to unravel the fresh mystery of bad spirits and murder in their tribe. Brilliant work all around, with a heart stopping climax in The Summoning God.
Forbidden Borders: This trilogy of stories opens an obviously far future humanity that is trapped in a rather limited section of space. Walled off by strange super-beings, these humans have fought war after war until only two super-powers and one major mercenary commander remain. The series is amazing in its scope and detail, and was the first set of Gear books I ever read. To this day it remains a favorite.
Starstrike: The nations of a pitiful backwater planet called Earth find themselves drafted by pacifistic aliens to fight an aggressive foewho apparently does not know that war is about to be declared on them. Every nation must send its best unit to work together with the Ahimsa to end the threat. Though the political scene is admittedly dated, it is still a fun story, and, for those of us who were alive at the time, will recall us to the height of the Cold War and its paranoia.
People of Spider: OK, now imagine a future where most of humanity lives either on Space Stations or Planets. Now imagine that the space stations are ruled by Managers, vastly powerful space-adapted humans with immense brain power capable of running the star-spanning space empire. Now imagine that they run into spiritual psychics descended from Navajo who were stranded on a small world by the last prison ships of the Soviet Empire of the 21st Century. Fun, huh? It gets better, and weirder.
These are a few of my favorite series by the Gears, and I hope that you pick them up and enjoy them too!
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
It's not natural...
Charles Stross, Jaspar Fforde, Peter Hamilton, Hal Duncan, Ken MacLeod, Ian M. Banks, and so many other great notable British Science Fiction writers have produced some of the best examples of SF in the last few years, in many cases redefining the genre and shattering expectations. Most notable among these illustrious names is Simon R. Green, the author responsible for such magnificent characters as Owen Deathstalker, Hawk & Fisher, and now John Taylor. In this post I will review Simon's latest novel, Unnatural Inquirer, which follows the exploits of John Taylor in the Nightside.
As this is a continuing series, it is very helpful to understand the nature of the setting first and foremost. The Nightside is a secret, magical city deep within the rotten heart of London (and yes, that is a stock phrase from the series). While it is always 3AM in the Nightside, time passes normally (at least one presumes it does) outside the borders of this fantastic city. Available here are the fruits of every sin, vice, and perversion, as well as magic, mystery, gods and goddesses, tropes, myths, legends, horrors from beyond, and monsters too dreadful to imagine. Sounds like fun right?
Enter John Taylor. For those of us who have been following his career from the beginning (Something From the Nightside, Ace Books 2003), we know that John Taylor is a man with a gift: he can find things. This makes him a pretty good private detective, and a nasty force to be reckoned with. John Taylor is a good man in a pretty vicious world, and in the Nightside even the best men most be hard and horrible on occasion.
OK, so now that we know what the background is, let's look at the story of the Unnatural Inquirer. As the name suggests, the story is centered around a Nightside tabloid of the same name. This particular rag has hired our intrepid hero to locate a fellow named Pen Donovan, who has allegedly made a recording of a transmission from the afterlife. This is notable in that nobody (even the gods and goddesses on the Street of the Gods) knows what, if anything, happens when you shuffle off the mortal coil. The higher and lower planes are a complete mystery (and yes, the pagan gods are inferior to the God/Devil in these stories though they are more powerful because the God/Devil are not allowed to interfere directly in the world due to a detent while the pagan gods can do as they please). When Taylor is hired, he is saddled with the unfortunate side-kick Bettie Divine, demon girl reporter, who is looking for trash to scoop for her paper as well as followng the main story wherever it leads. Chaos ensues.
Now, for those of us who love a great detective story, this is a fantastic example of Chandlerian noir if ever there was one. The thing that makes this series (in general) and this book (in particular) stand out is the supernatural element. This element is pervasive in some other series (Jim Butcher's Dresden Files, Charlain Harris' Dead in Dixie series, and Mark del Franco's Unshapely Things/Unquiet Dreams), but in the Nightside, this magic takes on a whole new tenor. While Green's universe owes a lot of its style to Lovecraft, his fast-talking, affable characters and witty dialog hum along providing a depth that even the great HP himself would envy. These books are easily accessible, and they all contain a certain number of twinge inducing scenes. Unnatural Inquirer has all the elements of a great detective story as well as all the makings of both classical and surreal horror, and science fiction.
Rating: 8 out of 10
Note: although this is a part of an over-arching series, it is fully capable of standing on its own.
As this is a continuing series, it is very helpful to understand the nature of the setting first and foremost. The Nightside is a secret, magical city deep within the rotten heart of London (and yes, that is a stock phrase from the series). While it is always 3AM in the Nightside, time passes normally (at least one presumes it does) outside the borders of this fantastic city. Available here are the fruits of every sin, vice, and perversion, as well as magic, mystery, gods and goddesses, tropes, myths, legends, horrors from beyond, and monsters too dreadful to imagine. Sounds like fun right?
Enter John Taylor. For those of us who have been following his career from the beginning (Something From the Nightside, Ace Books 2003), we know that John Taylor is a man with a gift: he can find things. This makes him a pretty good private detective, and a nasty force to be reckoned with. John Taylor is a good man in a pretty vicious world, and in the Nightside even the best men most be hard and horrible on occasion.
OK, so now that we know what the background is, let's look at the story of the Unnatural Inquirer. As the name suggests, the story is centered around a Nightside tabloid of the same name. This particular rag has hired our intrepid hero to locate a fellow named Pen Donovan, who has allegedly made a recording of a transmission from the afterlife. This is notable in that nobody (even the gods and goddesses on the Street of the Gods) knows what, if anything, happens when you shuffle off the mortal coil. The higher and lower planes are a complete mystery (and yes, the pagan gods are inferior to the God/Devil in these stories though they are more powerful because the God/Devil are not allowed to interfere directly in the world due to a detent while the pagan gods can do as they please). When Taylor is hired, he is saddled with the unfortunate side-kick Bettie Divine, demon girl reporter, who is looking for trash to scoop for her paper as well as followng the main story wherever it leads. Chaos ensues.
Now, for those of us who love a great detective story, this is a fantastic example of Chandlerian noir if ever there was one. The thing that makes this series (in general) and this book (in particular) stand out is the supernatural element. This element is pervasive in some other series (Jim Butcher's Dresden Files, Charlain Harris' Dead in Dixie series, and Mark del Franco's Unshapely Things/Unquiet Dreams), but in the Nightside, this magic takes on a whole new tenor. While Green's universe owes a lot of its style to Lovecraft, his fast-talking, affable characters and witty dialog hum along providing a depth that even the great HP himself would envy. These books are easily accessible, and they all contain a certain number of twinge inducing scenes. Unnatural Inquirer has all the elements of a great detective story as well as all the makings of both classical and surreal horror, and science fiction.
Rating: 8 out of 10
Note: although this is a part of an over-arching series, it is fully capable of standing on its own.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Towering Infernal
I have not posted any reviews or anything in a bit, so I figured it was high time I did so.
I recently finished Hell's Belles by Face the Fiction special guest panelist Jackie Kessler, and I have to say that I have had my eyes opened. Although a bit raunchy (hey look sales just went up) the book is pretty interesting, and I really liked the author's style in telling the tale from two converging timelines.
The book starts with Jezebel the Succubus on the run from the agents of Hell. She knows why, so she doesn't mention it, the story just slowly unfolds for us and we learn the reasons only near the very end. Basically there are two tracks of timeline that the author is using to explain the events. The first takes place after she has made the decision to leave the employment of the agents of Hell and follows her as she attempts to masquerade as a mortal human through use of a potion brewed by the witch Caitlin in exchange for a favor. The second track takes place some days before the decision to leave is made and follows Jezebel in her daily grind in Hell. At the end of the book we finally learn what led Jezebel to Caitlin's door in the first place, as well as finding out what the culmination of the journey among the mortals is.
While this is by no means one of the greatest books I have ever read, it was immensely entertaining and enjoyable. My only real bone of contention was the over emphasis on sex in the story. OK, so the main character is a former succubus who is masquerading as a human stripper, I get it, but I do not need to be reminded every few minutes about how Paul (the human love interest) makes her panties moist (hey look, sales just went up again). Frankly, I find the mental image a bit disturbing and would really prefer not to dwell on her biological processes, but I understand why it might be mentioned (again, Succubus) but the constant repetition of this means that it looses its impact and just becomes a skippable paragraph or two. Also, the sex scenes were a bit graphic for my general taste (wow, the book looks like it is selling even better now).
Seriously, though, the story was great, the characters were fun and enjoyable, and the concept was a lot of fun. I wonder what Ms Kessler has up her sleeve for The Road to Hell?
I recently finished Hell's Belles by Face the Fiction special guest panelist Jackie Kessler, and I have to say that I have had my eyes opened. Although a bit raunchy (hey look sales just went up) the book is pretty interesting, and I really liked the author's style in telling the tale from two converging timelines.
The book starts with Jezebel the Succubus on the run from the agents of Hell. She knows why, so she doesn't mention it, the story just slowly unfolds for us and we learn the reasons only near the very end. Basically there are two tracks of timeline that the author is using to explain the events. The first takes place after she has made the decision to leave the employment of the agents of Hell and follows her as she attempts to masquerade as a mortal human through use of a potion brewed by the witch Caitlin in exchange for a favor. The second track takes place some days before the decision to leave is made and follows Jezebel in her daily grind in Hell. At the end of the book we finally learn what led Jezebel to Caitlin's door in the first place, as well as finding out what the culmination of the journey among the mortals is.
While this is by no means one of the greatest books I have ever read, it was immensely entertaining and enjoyable. My only real bone of contention was the over emphasis on sex in the story. OK, so the main character is a former succubus who is masquerading as a human stripper, I get it, but I do not need to be reminded every few minutes about how Paul (the human love interest) makes her panties moist (hey look, sales just went up again). Frankly, I find the mental image a bit disturbing and would really prefer not to dwell on her biological processes, but I understand why it might be mentioned (again, Succubus) but the constant repetition of this means that it looses its impact and just becomes a skippable paragraph or two. Also, the sex scenes were a bit graphic for my general taste (wow, the book looks like it is selling even better now).
Seriously, though, the story was great, the characters were fun and enjoyable, and the concept was a lot of fun. I wonder what Ms Kessler has up her sleeve for The Road to Hell?
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
What is Odyssey 5?
Apparently I was the only person who ever watched this show when it originally aired on Showtime several years ago. This was a great show then, and I think that it is still pretty good and very gripping. The question is: why did it die so quickly?
The answer, my friends, is really quite simple: no market would pick it up. Odyssey 5 was fairly inexpensive to produce, however Showtime was completely unable to sell this for syndication as it had successfully done with The Outer Limits, Dead Man's Gun, and Stargate SG-1. In addition, the branding of the Showtime Sci-Fi Friday was already falling apart by that time as the Sci-Fi channel picked up The Outer Limits and was already making noises about taking over SG-1. This failure is what lead to the cancellation of a promising, and very interesting show.
Like Total Recall 2070 before it, Odyssey 5 showed us that the imagination was no boundary for the inventive and clever folks at Showtime. Smartly written, with a great cast and good direction, this show had all the ingredients for another mega hit. Why, then, would nobody pick up the hot potato? The answer: language.
This show was written at a time when The Sopranos and Queer as Folk were highlighting the fact that swearing on cable was A-OK by the viewers. The problem is that this show needed the influx of cash that would come from syndication on Fox or UPN, and without it, even the small production costs of a show like Odyssey 5 could not be funded out of pocket indefinitely.
We should learn a great big lesson from this: cussing is OK if you do not need to sell the show to networks, but it will kill your show if you need the cash.
Thankfully, I will get to watch my old friends from the shuttle Odyssey ever Friday for the next few weeks.
The answer, my friends, is really quite simple: no market would pick it up. Odyssey 5 was fairly inexpensive to produce, however Showtime was completely unable to sell this for syndication as it had successfully done with The Outer Limits, Dead Man's Gun, and Stargate SG-1. In addition, the branding of the Showtime Sci-Fi Friday was already falling apart by that time as the Sci-Fi channel picked up The Outer Limits and was already making noises about taking over SG-1. This failure is what lead to the cancellation of a promising, and very interesting show.
Like Total Recall 2070 before it, Odyssey 5 showed us that the imagination was no boundary for the inventive and clever folks at Showtime. Smartly written, with a great cast and good direction, this show had all the ingredients for another mega hit. Why, then, would nobody pick up the hot potato? The answer: language.
This show was written at a time when The Sopranos and Queer as Folk were highlighting the fact that swearing on cable was A-OK by the viewers. The problem is that this show needed the influx of cash that would come from syndication on Fox or UPN, and without it, even the small production costs of a show like Odyssey 5 could not be funded out of pocket indefinitely.
We should learn a great big lesson from this: cussing is OK if you do not need to sell the show to networks, but it will kill your show if you need the cash.
Thankfully, I will get to watch my old friends from the shuttle Odyssey ever Friday for the next few weeks.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Vellum Review
I probably never would have picked up this book had it not been for the glaring orange spine winking at me from the shelf as I walked by. That's right, the book called to me, and like Reynard Carter, I had to possess it once I had read the first few paragraphs. I am glad that I picked up this masterwork from the shelf, and you will soon see why.
The strange tale of Vellum takes place across many times, and many realities, all of which feature the same cast of archetypal characters doing what they do best. One is immediately drawn to the quartet of friends described early in the story (Renard, Joey, Thomas, and Jack), and while one would assume that the story will be centered on Reynard, it is in fact the many faces of Thomas that we find at the center of the first part of the story (The Lost Deus of Sumer, and yes that is meant to be a play on the phrase the last days of summer). We see Thomas Messenger/Tommy/Tammuz/Dimuzi (etc) who is nicknamed Puck (because he is a lovable fairy) in such diverse roles as a somewhat repressed gay Irish soldier in the Great War, a 1970's gay love child, a gay biker, and a gay pixie (note spelling). His sister, Phreedom Messenger/Anna/Inana, is hoping to find her brother before the inevitable death scene unfolds in spite of her wishes. The first book is a strange retelling of the myth of Inanna in the underworld and her betrayal of her husband, the god Tammuz.
The second story, Evenfall Leaves, is a retelling of the myth of Prometheus, with Seamus Finnan, Phreedom and Tommy's mentor in the Last Deus of Sumer, in which the apocalypse is brought about by the angel Metatron's interrogation of Seamus. The story begins to feature the relationship of Jack and Puck/Thomas more and more, and is really brilliantly done.
One might normally expect to find a novel like this in the Fiction section of most book stores, what with its avant-garde writing, homosexual content, strange literary devices, and almost experimental tone, but thankfully somebody with sense elected to keep this in Science Fiction where it belongs. All in all Vellum and its sequel, Ink, have probably been the best works that I have read all year. Granted, they speak to me on multiple levels (being a gay SF fan), but I think that anyone can get something out of these magnificent pieces of literature.
The strange tale of Vellum takes place across many times, and many realities, all of which feature the same cast of archetypal characters doing what they do best. One is immediately drawn to the quartet of friends described early in the story (Renard, Joey, Thomas, and Jack), and while one would assume that the story will be centered on Reynard, it is in fact the many faces of Thomas that we find at the center of the first part of the story (The Lost Deus of Sumer, and yes that is meant to be a play on the phrase the last days of summer). We see Thomas Messenger/Tommy/Tammuz/Dimuzi (etc) who is nicknamed Puck (because he is a lovable fairy) in such diverse roles as a somewhat repressed gay Irish soldier in the Great War, a 1970's gay love child, a gay biker, and a gay pixie (note spelling). His sister, Phreedom Messenger/Anna/Inana, is hoping to find her brother before the inevitable death scene unfolds in spite of her wishes. The first book is a strange retelling of the myth of Inanna in the underworld and her betrayal of her husband, the god Tammuz.
The second story, Evenfall Leaves, is a retelling of the myth of Prometheus, with Seamus Finnan, Phreedom and Tommy's mentor in the Last Deus of Sumer, in which the apocalypse is brought about by the angel Metatron's interrogation of Seamus. The story begins to feature the relationship of Jack and Puck/Thomas more and more, and is really brilliantly done.
One might normally expect to find a novel like this in the Fiction section of most book stores, what with its avant-garde writing, homosexual content, strange literary devices, and almost experimental tone, but thankfully somebody with sense elected to keep this in Science Fiction where it belongs. All in all Vellum and its sequel, Ink, have probably been the best works that I have read all year. Granted, they speak to me on multiple levels (being a gay SF fan), but I think that anyone can get something out of these magnificent pieces of literature.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Journeyman & Heroes Premier Spectacular
I am not even going to pretend that I am not a huge fan of Heroes, and if I did, I would expect everyone to slap me one for fibbing. I know that there are going to be many fans out there who are going to whinge bitterly that "Four Months Later" was dull and draggy, and that it lacked the energy and excitement of last season. My response to such criticism is: Of course it did! Last season was like a well made gumbo, it took a while to simmer up to that exciting peak. You cannot possibly expect them to maintain the level of excitement of last season with such a disconnect between those events and the present. Still, you had a murder, a few surprises, some new heroes, a British samurai, and some wonderful scenes of folks picking up the pieces after the 'exploding man' incident. They balanced everything so well, and I thought that the entire episode was wonderfully executed. It was like watching old friends return.
I do not want to give away any secrets about the Heroes season premier, however I would like to highlight a few wonderful scenes that I think may get overlooked. I loved Noah Bennett as Assistant Manager of the Copy King, that was brilliant, and anyone who has ever worked retail will identify with the breakroom scene. Hiro in the past is, and will continue to be, a very interesting storyline, but more important than Hiro are the many scenes of Ando and Hiro's father, aptly played by George Takei. Dr. Suresh shows breadth and depth, and Matt Parkman proves that he is the kind of cop that all police personnel should strive to emulate. Also, the young girl playing Molly Hunter does a phenomenal job of the sulky kid bit, but her stark terror is magnificent during one of the later scenes.
On to Journeyman, which also had its premier this evening. This show is a cross between Quantum Leap and Evening Edition, and it proves that Kevin McKidd is probably one of the most versatile actors out there today. The show was wonderfully done, and explained nothing about the how or why of what is happening. In fact, those who watched were left with more questions than answers on this one. What is actually going on? Who is Livia? Will Dan keep his marriage intact with the stress of the time jumping? If anyone else read Fritz Leiber's Big Time, or any of the Time Patrol series, then you have to know that the answers are never set in stone.
Brilliant acting, great direction, solid writing, this is a show that will make the two hour Monday time slot a winner for NBC. Between this exciting new show, and the exquisite return of Heroes, I have the feeling that the other networks will be left out in the cold. If I worked for NBC, I would be shouting from the rooftops that Mondays means imagination, and imagination means NBC. Then again, I would probably be doing a lot more if I worked at NBC (just a thought).
I do not want to give away any secrets about the Heroes season premier, however I would like to highlight a few wonderful scenes that I think may get overlooked. I loved Noah Bennett as Assistant Manager of the Copy King, that was brilliant, and anyone who has ever worked retail will identify with the breakroom scene. Hiro in the past is, and will continue to be, a very interesting storyline, but more important than Hiro are the many scenes of Ando and Hiro's father, aptly played by George Takei. Dr. Suresh shows breadth and depth, and Matt Parkman proves that he is the kind of cop that all police personnel should strive to emulate. Also, the young girl playing Molly Hunter does a phenomenal job of the sulky kid bit, but her stark terror is magnificent during one of the later scenes.
On to Journeyman, which also had its premier this evening. This show is a cross between Quantum Leap and Evening Edition, and it proves that Kevin McKidd is probably one of the most versatile actors out there today. The show was wonderfully done, and explained nothing about the how or why of what is happening. In fact, those who watched were left with more questions than answers on this one. What is actually going on? Who is Livia? Will Dan keep his marriage intact with the stress of the time jumping? If anyone else read Fritz Leiber's Big Time, or any of the Time Patrol series, then you have to know that the answers are never set in stone.
Brilliant acting, great direction, solid writing, this is a show that will make the two hour Monday time slot a winner for NBC. Between this exciting new show, and the exquisite return of Heroes, I have the feeling that the other networks will be left out in the cold. If I worked for NBC, I would be shouting from the rooftops that Mondays means imagination, and imagination means NBC. Then again, I would probably be doing a lot more if I worked at NBC (just a thought).
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