The humans are dead in this post-apocalyptic tale, featuring a former “caregiver� android called Brittle, who does all she can to survive in a wild, wThe humans are dead in this post-apocalyptic tale, featuring a former “caregiver� android called Brittle, who does all she can to survive in a wild, wild west land of diminishing resources.
Brittle’s goal in the beginning is simply to maintain herself, body and mind, scavenging and trading for parts of her same make to replace as they wear down. Adding extra tension, Brittle has to avoid being subsumed into the mass One World Intelligence (OWI), an entity that sends out bots to collect any independently existing AIs.
Soon, Brittle gets into a spot wherein her needs outweigh her resources and she joins up with another group of androids who offer her pay (in the form of parts) in exchange for her help.
The narration of Brittle’s current predicament is accompanied by her recounting the robot revolution, the rise of the warring super intelligent computers and her own role as a caregiver and relationship to the humans she served.
This was an entertaining blend western action mixed with world-building history, as well as the broader questions of identity, freedom, autonomy, and morality that the story posed.
The characters were nicely done. I appreciated Brittle and her honest narration but I really enjoyed the supporting characters more. Crazy robots such as Orval the artist, Murka the Patriot, and the Cheshire King gave the Sea of Rust extra color. There’s just something about a mad robot.
Cargill’s world-building goes into economics and politics, dissecting the inability to choose between pure Capitalism and Socialism that led to the AI/human war. He goes into political commentary but does not get terribly heavy handed.
The Capitalism/Socialism argument relates to the idea of purpose for each individual, beyond your own survival and the morality of existing at the cost of others. That last notion provides the major conflict between Brittle and her rival, Mercer, due to the scarcity of materials (another layer applied to our own world.)
Besides the limited resources threatening Brittle and other robot’s physical existence, there is also the OWI, threatening individuality. Once the OWI catches an AI, their memories, choice, and personality are gone. The free robots equate this to nonexistence, though we never get the viewpoint of a robot that’s gone through this.
Doc: “Existing is the whole point of existence.�
I liked Cargill’s theme of sentience or intelligence as the freedom to override your programming. It applies to humanity easily, both our individual learned behavior and that of society. Doc, the repair robot, enhances this further with his idea that two identically-programmed robots, once they begin thinking, will change and will no longer be the same. Experience changes you. Being alone changes you.
I enjoyed the early to late middle of the book but was less fond of the ending. (view spoiler)[Brittle’s final choice—the greater good over self interest—was overplayed, like the author feared we wouldn't get it. Nor was I sold on the tone switch from cynicism to sentiment. It was too neat and tidy for something that started out with such bold moral ambiguity. (hide spoiler)]
There were many other books, movies and so on that Sea of Rust brought to mind. Some were referenced directly, such as the term Skinjobs (Bladerunner), The Madlands (Alice in Wonderland), and Isaac Asimov's "Three Laws of Robotics.�
Others that occurred to me were Vonnegut’s Player Piano (the economic effects of a robot workforce), Star Trek’s Borg (The OWI is similar to the Collective), The Terminator (human/robot war), and Westworld (androids in a Western)....more
Unofficial sequel or homage to Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher."
In McCammon's version, the Usher family survived into the 20th century and got rUnofficial sequel or homage to Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher."
In McCammon's version, the Usher family survived into the 20th century and got rich making weapons, though the line is plagued by misfortune and illness. The story focuses on Rix, second oldest son of the current (1984) Usher patriarch, who has left the family business to make it as a horror author.
Rix's father is dying from a rare disease that affects only their family; the same overstimulated senses and wasting away symptoms that Roderick suffered in the original story.
McCammon is never dull and this is a fun, scary story. There is a lot of drama, action, thrills and excitement.
If there is a commentary or critique, it is that of the rich as corrupt and stealing even more from the poor and the evils of making money off of war, violence, and weaponry.
My complaint is way too many storylines. They do ultimately relate but with Usher family history, drama, weird genetics and various tragedies, various mythic monsters, a kid with supernatural abilities, and rampant insanity across multiple characters, there is never a strong focus.
Though it may be Poe-inspired, I sometimes felt I was reading a mashup of V.C. Andrews and Stephen King. Not a bad thing entirely, they were/are two of the most entertaining writers especially of that 1980s era....more
This is a retelling of the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the point of view of Jim. I’m glad I read the original recently because it enhanced my This is a retelling of the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the point of view of Jim. I’m glad I read the original recently because it enhanced my experience. Yet, according to other members of the book club I read with, it is not necessary.
James followed along with the original story until about the halfway point when it diverged as Huck and Jim went their own ways, reunited dramatically, then separated again while James continued his quest to save himself and his family.
From Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, “Jim� was seen as a stereotype, ridiculous, ignorant, and superstitious, and used as a plot device for Huck’s character growth. Yet he was certainly kinder, has more morals and empathy compared to anyone else Huck met in the original story. James puts the title character center stage and Everett writes him as educated, highly literate, and well spoken. He’s also angrier, cynical, and violent compared to the original.
Written in a clean and simple language, with lots of dialogue, James had an exciting, at times thrilling, plot and a sense of humor despite the dark topics. A lot of reviewers mentioned not finding it particularly funny. The overall events weren’t but a lot of the dialogue and specific absurd moments occasionally were.
One amusing scene involved two con artists that James and Huck meet on their journey, the King and the Duke, who were also in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Ignorant of actual Shakespeare, the King and Duke perform a “Shakespeare� play for an audience who is also ignorant of Shakespeare, though they do quickly suspect they’re being “had.�
Another memorable sequence were the scenes when James was forced into a minstrel show. The idea that James, a runaway slave, is forced to perform in a minstrel show turned my head inside out for a moment.
“Never had a situation felt so absurd, surreal and ridiculous. And I had spent my life as a slave. There we were, twelve of us, marching down the main street that separated the free side of town from the slave side, ten white men in blackface, one black man passing for white and painted black, and me, a light-brown black man painted black in such a way as to appear like a white man trying to pass for black.�
Besides being a pretty good story, it was naturally very thought-provoking, especially around history and literature. A couple ideas came up that I found of particular interest.
I. Performing James/Jim How “Jim� was perceived in the original as well as how James is perceived here is an important concept.
James begins with the title character teaching his kid how to talk in front of the white people, using the “dialect� manner of speech that Twain wrote for “Jim.� Everett set up the slaves manner of speaking as code switching, for fear displaying their true intelligence got them beaten or worse.
A previous novel by Everett, Erasure, covered similar territory, when Black author Monk pretends to be a ghetto thug to create the illusion to accompany the popular novel he wrote. Performing an idea of a Black Man for the expectations of white society.
Breaking out of their assigned roles could have had deadly consequences to the characters in James. In Erasure the consequences are mainly economic, though that is not to be taken lightly.
II. Do admired historic thinkers and writers have to be morally perfect in the standards of the 2020s? In James' daydreams he held his own with such thinkers as Locke and Voltaire, who were considered liberal and democratic, ahead of their time and so on, yet wrote or said other things that justified slavery and/or contradicted the idea that all men are equal.
Besides giving James a chance to show what a great debater he was� ““You have a notion, like Raynal, of natural liberties, and we all have them by virtue of our being human. But when those liberties are put under societal and cultural pressure, they become civil liberties, and those are contingent on hierarchy and situation.�
—I believe these were included to show that one can appreciate and learn from great thinkers while still questioning and criticizing where they went wrong.
This applies perhaps to Twain himself who was considered an opponent of slavery and yet wrote “Jim� in a manner that was considered by some to be racist and offensive.
Everett mentions Twain in the acknowledgements “his humor and humanity affected me long before I became a writer.�
This tells me he is both an admirer and critic of Twain and two contradictory views can coexist....more
Four horror writers agree to do an interview at a reputedly haunted house.
The story was pretty good, though reminiscent of other, older novels; Hell Four horror writers agree to do an interview at a reputedly haunted house.
The story was pretty good, though reminiscent of other, older novels; Hell House by Richard Matheson in particular came to mind.
There were some decent twists and build up of tension.
It’s a bit gimmicky, a bit meta, especially having horror writers as the focus. A genre story about the genre.
And was one of those novels that could be easily transferred to a film because each short chapter is a “scene� more or less.
The four writers felt like amalgams of notable horror writers, rather than real people. All were identifiable types: The older traditionalist The relatable average man with writer’s block The outrageous woman who says all the social political commentary dialogue The amiable Christian YA writer.
As the story went on and I got more involved, I thought Thomas made an effort to create sympathy for each writer with their traumatic backstories. I enjoyed seeing their initial distrust of each other grow into something friendly or at least respectful.
If there was a theme I could define, it is that stories themselves have power. (view spoiler)[A location where macabre events have taken place gains an influence over people, frightening them due to the mythology with no need for actual ghosts.
There was one odd either unfinished element or red herring that had to do with internet/media mogul Wainwright and his plastic or rubber face? I thought that was going to go somewhere, I admit. (hide spoiler)]
No deep thoughts for me on Kill Creek but I did have fun reading it. That’s good enough....more
Novel follows various lives and deaths of a woman born in 1910 in England. Sort of like Groundhog Day, but more than just a day, she is born, lives, aNovel follows various lives and deaths of a woman born in 1910 in England. Sort of like Groundhog Day, but more than just a day, she is born, lives, and once she dies gets born again to the same life. I felt as though I was reading short stories exploring the possibilities for the same set of characters.
It sounded like an intriguing premise or maybe just a cool gimmick. Bordering on a science fiction or magical realism story but not quite. It’s literary fiction.
I enjoyed the writing style most of the time; Atkinson has a sense of humor which is always a plus.
Ursula and, early on, her mother Sylvie were sympathetic characters. Most of the other major female characters were well done, defined personalities and unique viewpoints. Characterizations of the male characters were a bit thinner, especially Ursula’s various bed partners who never made an impression.
Atkins explored various themes and meanings. Life and Love. Family. Women’s expanded choices in society as embodied by how different she and Sylvie and other female family members lived their lives.
The format made the 500-pages go by quicker than I would have thought. Only the London Blitz chapters tried my patience. Ultimately, I was hoping for some greater purpose that would tie it all together. ...more
Murder mystery set in a scifi-fantasy world in which plants, botanicals, flora and fauna etc, do extraordinary things for humanity and all economy andMurder mystery set in a scifi-fantasy world in which plants, botanicals, flora and fauna etc, do extraordinary things for humanity and all economy and progress is based on their use. The story features an eccentric detective, Ana, and her imposter-syndrome ridden assistant, Din.
Decent story which kept expanding into greater levels of complexity. Ana and Din were characters I enjoyed, Din as the more insecure relatable one from whom we get the story as well as his view on his brilliant and unusual boss.
I truly appreciated and enjoyed the world building. The summary describes “magic� but I prefer to think of it as maximizing the natural resources this world has available. Din and other characters are augmented with parasites rather than how I traditionally think of “technology.� Though certainly making full biological use of everything is a kind of tech.
This has interesting possibilities as a series as the story couldn’t begin to make use of all the possibilities, philosophical implications, and so on of the insane wildlife, not to mention the impending threat of the Leviathans. I hope, if I continue to read the series, there will be more about the Leviathans. I love that the plants are both incredibly useful and dangerous, due to the threat of contagions and suchlike.
Thought-provoking themes included social hierarchy, economic inequality, and corruption. One of the deeper aspects was seeing Din, who has reasons to keep to himself, develop friendships and trust in others. I think there is a lot more to learn about both major characters.
Though I enjoyed the two lead characters, the rest of them felt a bit utilitarian, generally there to fulfill the plot.
My interest in fantasy has waned somewhat but I enjoyed City of Stairs so much and everyone seemed to have read The Tainted Cup. I didn’t want to be left out. I did enjoy City of Stairs a bit more as it had more complex ideas. There is no one in The Tainted Cup with the same extreme energy as Sigrid. Not that I’m expecting the same types again and again, but I enjoy that kind of dangerous character....more
Tech entrepreneur Bob Johansson sets himself up to be cryogenically frozen in the event of his demise. When he wakes up 100 years later, his body is gTech entrepreneur Bob Johansson sets himself up to be cryogenically frozen in the event of his demise. When he wakes up 100 years later, his body is gone and his mind is now an AI owned by a new political nation that has arisen while he “slept.�
Bob’s new task is to help the human race find habitable planets, a task which involves the willingness to make copies or clones of himself to take on different exploration and management aspects.
The more profound aspects of We Are Bob are the identity and humanity questions of what makes a person a person, is it emotion and memory, the people you care about and, once Bob starts making copies of himself, what are they to him? Are they also independent, sentient people
We Are Bob is mostly light technology and science descriptions and some light humor. The story built around science ideas and concepts rather than using those things to make a compelling narrative.
Considering the stakes are huge, the future of humanity, and there are many opposing forces, it could have been far more intense. There are also too many things science fiction readers would have seen before--first contact, searching for habitable planets, sentient AI. It is really challenging to tell a unique story of this sort.
The identity and humanity questions aren’t explored that deeply in other words. That’s okay. For light comedy it could have been funnier.
It’s close to a John Scalzi or Andy Weir book. There are a lot of pop culture and popular science fiction jokes and allusions. I appreciated the Bloom County nods in particular....more
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