**spoiler alert** I don’t know how the hell to rate this book. It was engaging and compulsively readable, but the plot itself is pretty thin and predi**spoiler alert** I don’t know how the hell to rate this book. It was engaging and compulsively readable, but the plot itself is pretty thin and predictable. The world building is cool, and while I didn’t get all the references, there were some moments that hit home (also I guess I finally know the point of Zork). That said, the book is a love letter, not to geekery in generally, but to a pretty specific type of straight white boy geekery, and the fetishization of 80s culture is a little hard to stomach (seriously, have you watched a John Hughes movie lately? Problematic as fuck). The main character says a number of predictably eye-roll-worthy things, and I really don’t know what to do with Aech - psych, this character I’ve told you is a straight white boy is actually a queer black girl, and see how it ~doesn’t even matter~ because the white male experience is so ~universal~ you didn’t even notice?! File this one under “woman turns off her brain for a couple hours to enjoy pop culture in peace� I guess....more
I am struggling with how to rate this one. 5 stars for audiobook production - the reader did a great job with characterization. 4 stars for a compelliI am struggling with how to rate this one. 5 stars for audiobook production - the reader did a great job with characterization. 4 stars for a compelling narrative that had me itching to finish the story. 2 stars for writing a book about gender in 2016 and apparently having missed or ignored the memo that gender and sex aren’t the same thing.
So, this book was written in a sort of mentor situation with Margaret Atwood, and it shows - in a lot of great ways (frame story that adds a layer to interpretation; plausible subversion of current religious imagery/ideas; complex female characters), but also in a “the feminism and gender politics of this book feel curiously old school� kind of way. The story constructs gender as biological destiny and makes no attempt whatsoever to explore the implications of the really fascinating premise for anyone other than cisgender, mostly hetero characters. There was actually a moment where I thought we were about to have a trans character and was all “yes, finally� and then it was just a throwaway “btw some male babies are born with the power too� that never went anywhere.
I was left wondering, by the end, what the author’s point was, exactly. That if the biological shoe were on the other foot, women would be just as awful on a civilization-wide scale as men? That physical power corrupts, absolutely? It was all a bit Hobbesian, and at times I caught myself thinking “really, a woman wrote this?� - some sequences seemed straight out of the fever dreams of Men’s Rights Activists who believe this is *exactly* what would happen if women had power. ...more
**spoiler alert** This is a re-read -- I burned my way through all the Dragonriders books in high school and absolutely loved them, regardless of the **spoiler alert** This is a re-read -- I burned my way through all the Dragonriders books in high school and absolutely loved them, regardless of the fact that McCaffrey is (should I say was? I was really sad when she died) only fair-to-middling at crafting prose. She is a great world-builder though, and I loved this book especially because (spoiler alert) of the reveal that the Pern books are science fiction and not high fantasy (which you could easily be forgiven for believing after the vaguely medieval feel of the first three books). I'm a sucker for a good origin story, and this fit the bill. I'm sure I didn't catch all the little easter egg details hidden in there, since it's been so long since I read the series, but I caught enough to be quite pleased with her thoroughness. So, why just three stars? Apart from the quality of writing, there are some fairly heterosexist, antifeminist threads running through this book (for all that McCaffrey was a woman) that just rub me the wrong way. My favorite (sarcasm alert) was how the young women were persistently referred to as "girls" while males of the same age were "men." Maybe I'm too critical -- after all, the book was written a while ago -- but details like this really taint my reading experience. All in all, though, I good nostalgic read.
ETA 7/2/14: Another reread, this time in chronological order in-universe rather than publication order. Definitely a different feel, and some of the details seem bizarre unless you know they're winks and nods to already published books that take place in the future of the story's timeline. And yep, still fairly sexist. Also thought it was interesting, on reread, that there were a lot of implied European/Asian ethnic groups represented, but very few identifiably African. Huh....more
Such an excellent book, if you're not expecting a lot of typical sci-fi action and adventure type stuff. The pacing is a little uneven - most of the 6Such an excellent book, if you're not expecting a lot of typical sci-fi action and adventure type stuff. The pacing is a little uneven - most of the 600 pages are devoted to the characters' talking and thinking, and it's not till the last 200 or so that things start really happening, but that's fine with me. The author has created some fascinating stuff with his speculations on the nature and origin of life, and you have to seriously think to follow some of the characters' philosophical arguments. The best thing about sci-fi (versus fantasy, I suppose) is when the authors get really intellectual about the worlds they've created. This book (the whole series, really) is definitely on my "to read over and over again" list....more
I get the feeling that a lot of historical research went into this book, and while I didn't love any of the characters (I think the author might not rI get the feeling that a lot of historical research went into this book, and while I didn't love any of the characters (I think the author might not really have, either - the emphasis was pretty clearly on the plot), the premise - watching history to find the critical even that shaped the destiny of humankind - is engaging and involves a lot of historical what-ifs that I found intriguing. I also enjoyed some of the little subplots, like speculation on the original Flood myth. Not brilliant writing, but carefully thought out story....more
**spoiler alert** Not quite as good as the first one, since it reveals Bella to be an amazingly static character. Still, I love reading about the vamp**spoiler alert** Not quite as good as the first one, since it reveals Bella to be an amazingly static character. Still, I love reading about the vampire family, and the introduction of werewolves was pretty entertaining (I must be remarkably dense not to have seen it coming). The sort of book that sucks you in and demands that you finish it in a sitting - engaging, regardless of its actual literary value (i.e. quite low)....more
Very different from Ender's Game, but brilliant. Sci-fi with a heavy dose of anthropology and a light dusting of religion - very interesting, and one Very different from Ender's Game, but brilliant. Sci-fi with a heavy dose of anthropology and a light dusting of religion - very interesting, and one of Card's better-written books, I think....more
ETA: I've been thinking a lot lately about Orson Scott Card and how his books shaped the development of my moral reasoning, and I've come to the conclETA: I've been thinking a lot lately about Orson Scott Card and how his books shaped the development of my moral reasoning, and I've come to the conclusion that the "intention based morality" () that pervades his books is intellectually bankrupt and a shitty way to live. You don't get to choose which outcomes of your actions you are responsible for* based solely on which ones you meant to happen.
*By responsible for, I guess I don't mean spiritually culpable, like sin (if that is even a thing I believe in anymore), but you do have to admit fault for and try to fix the consequences of your actions that harm others, whether you wanted to harm them or not.
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My favorite of the Ender books when I first read it sometime in high school, but on rereading I prefer the later ones. This is typical sci-fi - well-written, with excellent characters, but it's still the whole business of spaceships and aliens and interstellar warfare and whatnot. The later books in the series get much heavier doses of anthropology, philosophy, religion, metaphysics, what have you that are only hinted at in this book. Still, I like it a lot, and I'd definitely recommend it to anybody looking for an entertaining but well-written read....more
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