Murderbot is on good form in this third novella of the series, grudgingly but competently protecting hapless humans while on a personal mission to invMurderbot is on good form in this third novella of the series, grudgingly but competently protecting hapless humans while on a personal mission to investigate the organisation that caused so much trouble in the first book.
This time Murderbot tries to remain disguised as a regular security consultant (rather than a finely tuned killing machine) while investigating an abandoned terraforming station. And, of course, when everything goes south, Murderbot is there to save the day - with all the skills, competence, sardonic outlook and sarcastic wit that I loved so much in the first two books.
This is largely a “more of the same�, continuation of the story, but Martha Wells� storytelling, pacing, and characterisation are excellent - and how she manages to imbue a synthetic killing machine with so much humanity is astonishing and fabulous. So when “the same� is as good as this, then all I can say is “more, please!�...more
It’s difficult to consider giving such a personal and emotional account of someone’s life anything other than 5 stars, but this book deserves it. WendIt’s difficult to consider giving such a personal and emotional account of someone’s life anything other than 5 stars, but this book deserves it. Wendy, the author, was diagnosed with young-onset Alzheimer’s at the age of 58, and this book charts her progress over the following 4 years.
At the time of her diagnosis, Wendy was still very capable, but had been alerted that something was wrong when she had several unexplained falls, and realised that her thinking was not as sharp as she expected. After her diagnosis, one of the things that Wendy decided to do was to engage with dementia support, outreach, awareness and research organisations - especially as her experience with the earlier stages of the disease would be contrary to many people’s perceptions. She consistently challenged the pervasive impression that the only version of dementia is late-stage dementia - the headline pictures of people in the later stages of life, who have already lost most of their memories and abilities.
Wendy’s story is simultaneously hopeful, frustrating, and tragic. It is hopeful, as it shows quite how possible it is for someone in the early stages of dementia to continue to engage with the world and do those activities that they enjoy - through a variety of mechanisms that support memory (both long term and short), and that give room for the slower mental processing. But it’s also frustrating because it documents Wendy’s progress through a world that is not inherently dementia friendly, and in which Wendy had to forge her own path - not only for the variety of coping strategies that worked for her, but against misunderstandings and unhelpful expectations from people and organisations. And it is ultimately tragic, as Wendy’s story also chronicles the cruel and progressive disease.
The book broadly tells the story of Wendy’s first few years of living with dementia, and many of the accounts of stories and activities throughout the book have similarities to each other - but what differs are the difficulties and coping strategies that Wendy has to navigate. For example, throughout the book Wendy talks about the various events and conferences she has attended, and spoken at, around the country - but by the end of the book, this requires an almost overwhelming number of memory aids and coping strategies. The progressively increasing need for these techniques to navigate through day-to-day life are a powerful illustration of the progression of the disease over the few years that the book covers.
But throughout all this, Wendy’s observations of life with dementia are both heartwarming and very informative. A close family member of mine is living with dementia, and this book has given me such a rare and valuable additional insight into what their inner life might be like - and this is something that I will carry with me....more
This anthology was compiled from invited contributions by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation - an organisation that works to promote a “Culture of HeaThis anthology was compiled from invited contributions by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation - an organisation that works to promote a “Culture of Health�. In the Afterword regarding the request to the authors, they say:
We tried to convey our hope and optimism. But we also encouraged them not to shy away from the harsh realities, injustices, and pain of the present day. We asked them to imagine the good and bad consequences of our actions or inactions on the near and far future. We then asked them to tell us a story about that time and place, about a Culture of Health. Ignite our passion to create that better place.
I’m not sure they quite hit that final point, though. The book would better be titled “A Significantly Worse Place, With Only the Faintest Glimmer of Hope� (and even that would be misleading about the hope in at least one story).
It was a tough read, moving from one depressing dystopian vision of the future to another. In most of the stories, the despair of one of the characters is partially mitigated by the care and companionship of others.
There were a couple of stand out stories, though. The opening story “The Flotilla at Bird Island� does offer genuine hope in the context of the aftermath of extreme climate change - and I had hoped that that story was setting the tone for the rest of the book (alas not). Also “Obsolescence� by Martha Wells (the main reason for me reading this anthology) is a more conventional science fiction short story, set in the universe before her Murderbot stories, where the ability to have your body altered (improved?) by artificial implants forms the basis of the “augments� of the Murderbot stories.
So 3-stars for “The Flotilla at Bird Island�, 4-stars for “Obsolescence�, but they don’t sufficiently lift the anthology as a whole for me to recommend it above a 2-star read overall....more
“One day, suddenly and without explanation, the moon turns into a ball of cheese.�
I was expecting this to be nothing more than a bit tongue-in-che“One day, suddenly and without explanation, the moon turns into a ball of cheese.�
I was expecting this to be nothing more than a bit tongue-in-cheek, a bit silly, and a gentle, fun read. And while it has elements of those things (the moon has literally turned to cheese!) there is surprising depth that makes this much more than the headline implies.
“For some, it’s an opportunity. For others, it’s time to question their life choices. How can the world stay the same in the face of such absurdity and uncertainty?�
It took me a while to get into, as I was expecting a conventional plot structure. Instead, the book is a series of vignettes of how the moon turning to cheese affects people’s lives. There is an overall story arc - the ramifications of the moon turning to cheese become clearer throughout the book - but the purpose of this is really to explore the different impact on people’s lives and relationships as the situation develops, rather than for the plot itself.
Consequently, there are a lot of characters. I take extensive notes while I’m reading - it helps me keep tabs on who’s who and what they’re doing - and I ended up with entries for 63 characters (there were definitely more). Mostly, these characters appear in only one or two of the vignettes, and many of them have their name mentioned only once - presumably to emphasise the humanity of the story. It’s the difference between “Mike’s wife brought him a cup of coffee� and “Mike’s wife, Janice, brought him a cup of coffee� (not an actual quote) even if this is the only mention of Janice in the book: giving Mike’s wife a name makes her more real. There are only a handful of recurring characters, and the author does us the favour of reintroducing them when they reappear, so it’s OK to relax about trying to remember specific people.
In many ways it feels like a cross between a disaster movie and one of Randall Munroe’s “What If?� books. And as I’ve come to enjoy and expect from Scalzi, there are a lot of little hidden nuggets of humour - probably a lot more than I noticed - ranging from pithy observations about the publishing industry, to ancient philosophers, and a bit of nominative determinism in the cheese industry.
The absurdity of the situation - a situation that science cannot explain - also lets the narrative focus on the human story while scientific reaction takes a back seat. And it raises the question of how we would react to something that is patently happening, but that science can’t explain. Would we cope differently to people of the past who had no scientific explanation for an eclipse, or lightning?
But above all, the stories are about love and friendship - that in the face of extreme uncertainty, people will come together to repair and consolidate relationships. And if the moon was to turn to cheese, I think I’d be focusing on that, too.
Thank you #NetGalley and Tor for the free review copy of #WhentheMoonHitsYourEye in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own....more
Rincewind the wizard is back on form, in an episodic set of adventures where he’s largely in charge of running away, while actually being manipulated Rincewind the wizard is back on form, in an episodic set of adventures where he’s largely in charge of running away, while actually being manipulated by forces greater than himself. This time, he has escaped the Dungeon Dimensions (where he was last seen at the end of Sourcery, but that doesn’t matter) and appears to have been summoned by a teenage demonologist, who insists on holding Rincewind to a promise of 3 wishes. Misadventures through time, space, and hell itself, ensue.
Terry Pratchett’s unmistakeable style shines through with perfectly judged little moments of sarcasm and pithy observations. The style is very similar to the first two books of the series: The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic. The story is populated with well observed caricatures, and Death makes a few pleasing appearances. This is a very comfortable read; a palate-cleanser between more challenging books. Other than “be careful what you wish for�, there is little deeper meaning here, but you know what you’re letting yourself in for, and it’s a fun, light read....more
This book is simultaneously the story of a nameless woman who is somehow involved in a series of mysterious deaths spanning decades, and Jake, who staThis book is simultaneously the story of a nameless woman who is somehow involved in a series of mysterious deaths spanning decades, and Jake, who starts to put the jigsaw pieces together when he happens across a relative of one of the victims. Unfortunately, though, it really wasn’t for me.
Trigger warning: no quotation marks (doesn’t impact my assessment, but see my opinion about this weird habit at the bottom of this review).
The storytelling has the feeling of gothic horror, and verges on literary fiction - the writing style is lyrical in places, which is an interesting counterpoint to the creepiness of the story.
The narrative alternates between Jake’s investigations of past incidents (‘testimonies� from people who knew various victims), and the slowly unfolding current day events that are inevitably leading up to the woman’s next intended victim. As a storytelling device, this is very effective, as you can see how the two threads come together as Jake learns more about the woman.
For me, though, I found it a bit of a slog to get through: each testimony is essentially a short story of its own, with new characters and locations, so I had to do a complete mental “story reset� for each of these, which I find tiring, and was giving me a reason to put the book down between chapters rather than read on. This would be forgivable if each of the testimonies offered meaningful new insight into the characters and events, but I found them quite repetitive - they largely served as several very similar examples that establish the way the woman traps her victims.
If you’re a fan of the creepy gothic horror feel, then perhaps this would be satisfying enough. But I’m not especially (and the book wasn’t marketed to me as such), so I was looking for something else to grab and keep my attention - like some deeper insight into the motivation and background of the woman, or some interesting depth to the fantasy elements that formed the foundation of her situation. And this is where I was disappointed. Those elements, and the relatively arbitrary set of rules that govern how the woman sets her victims on their deadly trajectory, are largely left vague and unexplained.
However, despite the repetitive testimonies, and this lack of explanation of the foundations of the story, I was still interested in how the story unfolded. The ending is satisfying enough, if lacking in subtlety. And the epilogue gave me a small taste of the lore that I was missing in the rest of the story.
But overall this book wasn’t really for me, so my rating is probably low compared to fans of the genre.
And the lack of quotation marks. Why? Quotation marks like all other punctuation are there for a reason they help communicate the authors intention to the reader they remove friction from the reading experience the act of reading really shouldnt involve this much effort on behalf of the reader unless theres some specific purpose like deliberately creating a sense of distance or vagueness instead I just found it difficult and confusing sometimes it wasnt clear whether a sentence was direct speech or first person narrative so authors please stop doing this.
Thank you #NetGalley and Penguin Fig Tree for the free review copy of #OldSoul in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own....more
This is a near future military adventure, set in a world where the power and influence of big business on international relations and war is open and This is a near future military adventure, set in a world where the power and influence of big business on international relations and war is open and explicit.
Sergeant Ted Regan has a problem. A son of one of the great corporate families, a Scion, has gone missing at the front. He should have been protected by his Ironclad � the lethal battle suits that make the Scions masters of war � but something has gone catastrophically wrong.
Now Regan and his men, ill equipped and demoralised, must go behind enemy lines, find the missing Scion, and uncover how his suit failed.
In Regan’s world, the great corporate families engage openly in warfare - any pretence that warfare is for anything other than protecting their business interests has long since gone. And the corporate families have the money for the technology and weapons that the regular military can only dream of.
This is political satire and parody dressed up in a tale of military adventure. The story and the characters are solid enough - and I always enjoy the slightly world-weary, slightly snarky characters that Tchaikovsky tends to put front and centre. And there are some nice twists along the way, and a conclusion that is pleasantly surprising and reasonably satisfying.
But I just wasn’t that engaged by it, and that’s probably because it had a bit too much to say about politics for my liking. This is based in a world in which Brexit resulted in the UK being sold to the USA; a world in which there is means-tested voting resulting in those with the least having even less power than they do now; a world in which corporate interests can start and stop wars, and trump nation states; a world in which those in power are tacitly (or explicitly) complicit with all of those things. And those are fine ideas around which to build a political satire, but that’s not a book that I would have chosen to read.
When you strip those things away, though (or ignore them), you’re still left with a competent and well written story - albeit a relatively straight-forward one for most of the book, as our heroes bounce from one predicament to the next. There are some tantalisingly interesting details around the biotechnology that has been developed by some of the factions, but the amount of other plot to fit into this novella meant that those things weren’t really developed.
If you appreciate the political points that the author was making, you might enjoy it more than I did - but this wasn’t really for me....more
This is an engaging, dystopian story of parental love in a world of pervasive personal devices, surveillance and advertising, ravaged by the effects oThis is an engaging, dystopian story of parental love in a world of pervasive personal devices, surveillance and advertising, ravaged by the effects of climate change. At times it is disturbing, as it is so close to the bone; just a couple of small nudges away from our current reality.
In a hot and gritty city populated by super-intelligent robots called 'Hums', May seeks some reprieve from recent hardships and from her family's addiction to their devices. She splurges on a weekend away at the Botanical Garden - a rare, green refuge in the heart of the city, where forests, streams and animals flourish.
May and Jem have two young children, Lu and Sy, and the story revolves around May’s attempts to nurture them and keep them safe - desperately trying to provide them the rich experience that she had, detached from the omnipresent personal devices in her childhood world of greenery and forests that has long since burned. This is confounded by May and Jem’s lack of money: Jem is working in the gig economy, and May recently lost her job (taken by AI), and every step that May takes is monitored and judged by the ubiquitous devices and cameras.
The wheels quickly come off May’s world when her children go missing, and her desperate attempts to keep her family together spiral out of her control and into the hands of faceless bureaucracy and hopes of benevolence from the surveillance state.
The narrative has a slow, observational pace that I really liked, and that seemed to fit the mood perfectly - giving the story space to really show May’s place in the world, her relationship with Jem and the children, her hopes and desires. Lu and Sy are superbly observed as a 9 year old and her younger brother - their combinations of fun, cuddles, squabbles, laughter, innocence, imagination, petulance and love are perfectly drawn. May’s world revolves entirely around her family, and she has few friends and little interaction with other people. This gives a quite claustrophobic feel at times, but this really underscores the importance of their family bubble, and their isolation from society and the facelessness of bureaucracy.
Overall, a perceptive, unsettling but gentle observation of the impact of intrusive advertising, constant surveillance, personal devices, and the anonymous judgement of others.
Thank you #NetGalley and Atlantic Books for the free review copy of #HumBook in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own....more
Our main character, Harry, scratches the dark underbelly of a fairy tale children's book series - one that definitely did not have a furniture based pOur main character, Harry, scratches the dark underbelly of a fairy tale children's book series - one that definitely did not have a furniture based portal. A beautifully twisted and somewhat dark take on back-of-the-wardrobe fantasy worlds.
Harry Bodie has a famous grandmother, who wrote beloved children’s books set in the delightful world of Underhill. What if Underhill is real? What if it has been waiting decades for a promised child to visit? What if it isn’t delightful at all? And what if its denizens have run out of patience and are taking matters into their own hands?
Adrian Tchaikovsky really seems at home in a dark novella, and this doesn’t disappoint. As with the other books in this series, there is dubious morality, selfish desires, and half-hearted ethical choices - in this case it’s in a fantasy-world-gone-bad in a knowing parody of the Narnia books.
“really flicking the noses of their lawyers now Magdo!�
Harry is a nicely drawn mediocre antihero, and Tchaikovsky does a great job in dragging him through the plot with lacklustre motivation powered by the flickering flame of a sense of duty. He is so very human - with unremarkable levels of luck, behaviour, achievement, and inspiration. This is nicely balanced by Seitchman the (dare I say “plucky�?) sidekick, and together they get embroiled with the fairy tale sized villain of Underhill.
One ongoing minor quibble with Tchaikovsky is that he tends to have little unexplained nuggets that aren’t important to the plot, but can feel slightly like smug inside knowledge. For example, not every reader will know who Dee and Crowley are (apparently historical English occultists), nor why mention of Barnard Castle is funny (a political incident in the UK during COVID). And the half-explained context of COVID lockdown is likely to age. But these are minor niggles.
The plot is meticulously constructed, and at the culmination of the story I really enjoyed the callbacks to the compulsive behaviour of some of the fantasy characters that were developed earlier in the narrative.
A very fitting conclusion to the “Terrible Worlds: Destinations� series of novellas....more
This is a well written and compelling thriller. And if that’s what you want, that’s exactly what you’ll get. But just that and no more.
An event has haThis is a well written and compelling thriller. And if that’s what you want, that’s exactly what you’ll get. But just that and no more.
An event has happened that has turned a majority of the population of the USA towards extreme, homicidal and cruel violence towards the remainder. Our heroes - Jack, Dee and their two children - are caught up in this. As part of the “remainder�, I should clarify. They spend the entire book engaged in the titular activity of running - in its figurative sense, at least, as it also involves walking, climbing, driving and, at one point, cycling.
And the running is relentless and, for the first third of the book at least, it seems directionless. Initially there isn’t even a MacGuffin for them to pointlessly strive for. They’re just running “away�, but where the collapse of civilisation seems to be all around them.
This is also a world in which you can count on two things: if you think that our heroes are safe, they’re not; and just when you think they’re all about to die, somehow they don’t. The car has just run out of fuel in the middle of nowhere! Oh, what’s that over there? Is that an abandoned house in the wilderness that we didn’t previously notice?
Our heroes, and various side characters along the way, also go through a wide variety of physical and emotional trauma. And a lot of people die horrible and graphically detailed deaths. This book doesn’t pull its punches.
But for all its formulaic gruesomeness, it was an absolute page turner. This book is from early in the author’s work, and doesn’t have the imaginative sophistication of Dark Matter or Recursion, but does have the pacy plot and absolutely compelling “what happens next?� that is also characteristic of his later work.
If you haven’t read any Blake Crouch before, then probably don’t start here - but it’s a solid and well written, if straight-forward, thriller.
Thank you #NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for the free review copy of #Run in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own....more
Our favourite neurodivergeant construct is back, and is heading to the mining colony where this run-of-the-mill Security Unit became Murderbot. This iOur favourite neurodivergeant construct is back, and is heading to the mining colony where this run-of-the-mill Security Unit became Murderbot. This is a fitting sequel to All Systems Red, exploring a little more of the back-story of Murderbot. There is also the introduction of ART, as an all-powerful sidekick.
For me, some of the changes introduced in this story diluted the essential Murderbotness that we were introduced to in the first book. Murderbot’s attitude to, and integration with, the humans in the story softens, which is a departure from the extreme awkwardness shown in the first book. Also, the introduction of ART as an all-powerful sidekick is a slightly over-convenient way to get through situations that would otherwise be exceptionally tricky for Murderbot alone - and it does give it a bit of a Deus ex Machina vibe.
Giving Murderbot a companion in ART also makes it a bit more of a buddy story, again softening the isolation of Murderbot that we saw in the first book. But I guess all of these things are necessary in order to provide room for more complex plot and character development to occur, which isn’t a bad thing.
So these two powerful buddies engage set out to uncover some of Murderbot’s back story, and grumpily right some wrongs along the way, deftly covering their tracks lest their true nature be discovered. It’s fun, the plot is fast and snappy, and I did really enjoy Murderbot’s development and the interactions with ART. And I’m looking forward to the rest of the books in the series....more
An amiable and, at times, quite rich story of average people doing the best that they can. But with dragons. Captain Vimes of the Night Watch leads a An amiable and, at times, quite rich story of average people doing the best that they can. But with dragons. Captain Vimes of the Night Watch leads a very small rag-tag team of men, who do their best to keep out of trouble while pretending to keep the residents of Ankh-Morpork safe during the night.
Into this mix comes Carrot - an earnest new recruit brought up by dwarves - and the summoning of a dragon by someone in the city who would rather have more power for themselves.
The result is a very well constructed and engaging plot, with Pratchett’s trademark irreverent humour, and not an insubstantial set popular culture references. There’s plenty of peril (fire breathing dragons will do that), some extension of Discworld lore, and a few new characters entering the mix. I particularly like the extra depth given to the Patrician, even with the very small part he plays in this story - and the librarian (a firm favourite of mine anyway) shows a surprising command of multi-dimensional travel.
The story is fun, but ultimately doesn’t have much to say (there’s a slightly heavy handed attempt to compare the brutality of dragons towards people to the worse brutality that people show to each other), and the resolution of the dragon-related plot is quite weak. I am, however, quite interested in the ongoing story of the Night Watch in future books, and will welcome any development of the Patrician (although I wonder whether, much like the character of Death in the Discworld books, that less may be more).
Your enjoyment of this book will depend on your expectations, and your tolerance for obsessive anthropomorphic whimsical, and often fantasticaDNF @50%
Your enjoyment of this book will depend on your expectations, and your tolerance for obsessive anthropomorphic whimsical, and often fantastical, rumination on what it is to be Cat.
The blurb says:
“When a young couple accidentally comes into possession of a playful kitten, their daily routine (and cramped apartment) is turned upside down. Soon they find their existence forever altered.�
This implies that there is narrative structure - but if you’re hoping for a story, you’ll be disappointed. This is not a novel. The book consists of 60 vignettes. While the first 5 contain the essence of a story - where dreaming about a cat becomes the acquisition of Cat - the next 26 (because that’s how far I read) are isolated observations on some aspect of the behaviour or essence of Cat.
They’re not without charm; they are whimsical, fantastical, imaginative, poetic, and all show a deep appreciation for what it is to be Cat. The presentation is also lovely, with each vignette being matched with a small illustration by the author. And it is an achievement in itself to have created 60 little metaphorical meditations on our feline companions in all their mystery.
But for all of that, I didn’t find it particularly engaging. I stopped reading half way through because I found myself skimming over the text; the poetic nature of the text, and lack of narrative, made continuing a pointless activity if I wasn’t giving it my full attention. This book is almost certainly best appreciated in small morsels. Perhaps while you’re sat in the smallest room in the house. But to say “this would make a good bathroom book� doesn’t feel like much of a recommendation.
My thanks and apologies go to #NetGalley 4th Estate/William Collins, and the author, for the free review copy of Invisible Kitties in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own....more
Superb short story that follows on from The Freeze-Frame Revolution. It’s very satisfying to revisit the Eriophora to see how things stand after the eSuperb short story that follows on from The Freeze-Frame Revolution. It’s very satisfying to revisit the Eriophora to see how things stand after the events of that book, but this story is also a great little exploration of human nature, trust, and the nature of intelligence.
There are only two characters, and it is their relationship with Chimp, the resident AI, that makes this short story so engaging. Trust is strained anyway, given their mutual history, and opinions differ on what to do when their path is blocked by an unusual phenomenon that may have intelligence of its own - the titular island.
In only 40 pages the story manages to cover a lot of ground, including power dynamics and morality - and with a subtle but pleasing little twist at the end....more
This is a nice little nugget of a story set an indeterminate amount of time after the events of The Freeze-FrameOnly Reviewing "Giants" by Peter Watts
This is a nice little nugget of a story set an indeterminate amount of time after the events of The Freeze-Frame Revolution, which needs to be read first. Two crew members of the Eriophora have been woken from hibernation to navigate the ship through a red giant star. The story is a good balance of plot (navigating through a star is tricky), and the interplay between two characters who have different perspectives on the events in Freeze-Frame Revolution.
For me, it was engaging enough, but nothing more - but there's a nice little tease at the end, which I'm wondering might become relevant in the next story in the series......more
A brilliant concept, masterfully executed. I thoroughly enjoyed this. A summary from the blurb:
How do you stage a mutiny when you're only awake one
A brilliant concept, masterfully executed. I thoroughly enjoyed this. A summary from the blurb:
How do you stage a mutiny when you're only awake one day in a million? How do you conspire when your tiny handful of potential allies changes with each job shift? How do you engage an enemy that never sleeps, that sees through your eyes and hears through your ears
Where the ‘enemy� in question is Chimp, the resident AI on a ship that is travelling sedately around the galaxy, building interconnected interstellar gates - portals through which the remnants of humanity that they left behind may ultimately emerge. Small subsets, ‘tribes�, of the thirty-thousand strong crew are woken from suspended animation for a short while every few millennia every time there is a problem that the resident AI can’t handle on its own.
An AI that is wired into everything, and everyone, on the ship.
An AI that not everybody completely trusts.
For me there was an excellent balance of character and plot - with the mystery of Chimp’s actions and motivations being perfectly set against the pace of the action, and the intrigue of the brewing unrest.
The story is told from the first person perspective of the main character, Sunday Ahzmundin. This worked really well for me, as we only find out piecemeal what is going on with the rest of the crew - and at times it’s even ambiguous whether Sunday is a reliable narrator.
There is also a sense of unseen things that runs through the story - from the partially explained pseudo-religious behaviours of some of the various ‘tribes� aboard the ship, to the disturbing things, ‘gremlins�, that sometimes emerge from the interstellar gates once the have been built and activated. The combination of first-person perspective, piecemeal information, and the sense of unseen things, gave the story a slight sense of claustrophobia, which I really enjoyed.
I also loved the writing style - not only were the characters well drawn, and the plot nicely paced, but the writing was lyrical and poetic in places. This is a story of people whose lifetimes have lasted for millennia, and whose mission spans the galaxy - and the writing gives it a sense of wonder and grandeur that that deserves.
So� wonder, grandeur, claustrophobia, and an AI called Chimp. What’s not to like?...more
This is the story of a quest west across a post apocalyptic America, where a lethal virus has wiped out 80% of the population. It is a strange and comThis is the story of a quest west across a post apocalyptic America, where a lethal virus has wiped out 80% of the population. It is a strange and compelling mix of contemplative introspection, and danger and jeopardy - sometimes gentle, and sometimes gripping, but always thoughtful.
From the blurb:
Against this perilous backdrop, Will Collins, the de facto caretaker of a Buddhist monastery in Colorado, receives an urgent and mysterious request: to deliver a potential cure to a scientist in what was once California. So Will sets out, haunted by dreams of the woman he once loved, in a rusted-out pickup pulled by two mules. A menacing thug is on his tail. Armed militias patrol the roads. And the only way he’ll make it is with the help of a clever raven, an opinionated cat, and a tough teenage girl who has learned to survive on her own.
A majority of the story is taken up by Will’s quest west. He is accompanied by his cat, Cassie, and a raven, Peau, and somehow, they can all understand each other. This is recognised as being unusual by both Will and those he meets, and is never really explained. The additional perspectives of a cat and a raven - especially the raven - provide an interesting reflection on Will’s own thoughts and emotions, as well as the raven being a handy scout for Will as he treks through unknown territory.
For me, the heart of the book is the reflective nature of Will’s rumination on his own behaviour, thoughts, and emotions as he travels west. As he meets a variety of people in different and difficult situations, Will contemplates the meaning of his own flawed motivations and behaviour, and of the behaviour of others.
This is all rooted in Will’s Buddhist background; the author mentions his own modest knowledge of Buddhist philosophy in the Acknowledgements, and thanks his teachers in the Tibetan tradition. I have no direct knowledge or experience of Buddhism, and have only dabbled with meditation, but I found Will’s gentle and honest introspection very thought provoking, and in places quite moving.
Despite this reflective context, the plot is surprisingly gritty in places, and the realities of survival in the dystopian world in which Will finds himself aren’t romanticised - this is a harsh world, with pockets of human pain amongst the backdrop of the natural world reclaiming its place. Unfortunately, it’s in the resolution of this plot that I felt the book was at its weakest. In the closing chapters, Will’s quest comes to a conclusion, and the details of what Will finds at his destination, and the identity and purpose of his pursuers, is revealed - and I found it oddly unsatisfying.
But despite the ending lacking the emotional impact I was expecting, and some of the explanation of the plot feeling a little contrived, I can forgive this book because of the depth and reflective introspection of the quest. There were many times that I stopped and highlighted a section, and sat and thought about it for a few minutes. This is a book that I will undoubtedly revisit, and get something new from it on each reading.
Thank you #NetGalley and Spiegel & Grau for the free review copy of #TheWay in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own....more
Reading Freeze-Frame Revolution puts Hotshot into a much clearer context - Hotshot is a key part of thUpdate After Reading The Freeze-Frame Revolution
Reading Freeze-Frame Revolution puts Hotshot into a much clearer context - Hotshot is a key part of the back story of the main character, Sunday Ahzmundin, in Freeze-Frame Revolution. However, as a standalone short story, I still think it's lacking focus and resolution.
My original assumption that Hotshot answers questions I'd have after reading Freeze-Frame Revolution is also only partially true: the author spends two pages in the 2nd chapter of Freeze-Frame Revolution summarising Hotshot anyway. So the author clearly believes that the events in Hotshort are pertinent to the character development in Freeze-Frame Revolution, but should they be read in chronological order (as I did) or publication order?
I'm happy enough that I read Hotshot first, as I was familiar with Sunday and already had a sense of the mission that they were on when I came to read Freeze-Frame Revolution - but I don't think that that's necessary to enjoy or understand Freeze-Frame Revolution (although that's not a theory I can test, obviously). I've also read positive reviews of Hotshot from people who read Freeze-Frame Revolution first, and who are glad to be reading Sunday's back story.
So, I guess my answer is that it doesn't really matter. My personal opinion is that Hotshot would be better placed as a prologue in Freeze-Frame Revolution. The sense of hanging "so what?" would be resolved, and it would be to the benefit of both stories.
Upgraded from 2 stars to 3 stars. Still 2 stars for a standalone short story, but 4 stars as a prologue to Freeze-Frame Revolution.
Original Thoughts
I’m not sure what I’ve just read, so my star rating reflects my confusion and may be subject to change. I want to read The Freeze-Frame Revolution due to a positive review that I’ve seen on GR, but I saw that it’s part of a series (the Sunflower Cycle), and that this short story (33 pages) is chronologically the first in the series. And I’m a sucker for wanting to read series in an appropriate order. Advice on reading order on various forums and web sites is mixed, but “chronological order� is mentioned in several places, so seemed a reasonable approach.
But it’s just set-up. It shows the preparatory stages of a mission that will take the main character, Sunday Ahzmundin, across interstellar space to build gateways that future humans may ultimately travel through. Sunday has been the subject of genetic and psychological conditioning her entire life in preparation for this project, and there are some philosophical points about whether Sunday has free will in choosing to go ahead with the missions.
This short story almost certainly answers questions that I don’t yet have, and I may be grateful for it as I start to read The Freeze-Frame Revolution and other stories in the series. So much for “appropriate order�. I’ll revisit this review, and my star rating, once I’ve read the other books and have their context to help (and possibly some advice of my own about reading order).
An amiable standalone story set in Discworld. When his father dies, Teppic becomes the unwilling king of a small country steeped in tradition - with oAn amiable standalone story set in Discworld. When his father dies, Teppic becomes the unwilling king of a small country steeped in tradition - with one of those traditions being interring their dead in increasingly elaborate and expensive pyramids. Dios is an overbearing high priest, who railroads Teppic into building a pyramid of previously unheard-of massive proportions for the late king. But this is in a world where pyramids really do have mystical power, and there are consequences to building such a large one.
While this is a Discworld novel, it’s rightly marked as a ‘standalone� novel, as it doesn’t really rely on any of the Discworld lore that’s been established in the previous books.
It is a relatively lightweight plot-driven story, with a likeable cast of central characters: Teppic, who wants to bring modern conveniences to the old kingdom (like plumbing, and comfortable bedding); Dios, who vehemently clings to the traditions that he has overseen for his entire lifetime; and Ptraci, the somewhat predictably feisty love interest. It’s an undemanding story, that ticks along at a good pace, replete with the hallmark witticisms and pleasing turns of phrase that Pratchett excels at.
There’s some fun to be had with the naming, as always: a camel called You Bastard, and a place called Djelibaybi both made me smile every time I read them. And anyone who has seen the UK sitcom “Yes Minister� will recognise some of the power plays between Teppic and Dios.
And that’s it, really. If there was anything profound hiding between the pages, then I missed it....more
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