I've just finished reading H.G. Well's "The Island of Doctor Moreau" and presently I shall begin my review.
This is one of those books that I honestly I've just finished reading H.G. Well's "The Island of Doctor Moreau" and presently I shall begin my review.
This is one of those books that I honestly figured I was guaranteed to love. I mean, let's combine early science fiction and horror (always fun), a classic author whose work I have enjoyed in the past (The Invisible Man is a gem of a read) and I remember seeing the movie from the 1930s when I was younger and I loved it. What's not to love? Sadly I can presently answer that question.
The answer: damn near everything. Wells creates a horrific situation and tells it in the most boring way imaginable. It isn't exciting, which it obviously wants to be. It isn't particularly scary. The characters are not memorable. I found myself growing increasingly bored. In fact, presently there is nothing about the book that I can honestly say I liked. It's one of those rare books where the film is better (and if you're familiar with that god awful adaptation staring Marlon Brando and Val Kilmer… I'd honestly put the book and that film on the same level).
It's interesting to me that this book was published the year before Dracula. In many ways it feels like a more modern novel, what with it's expounding on scientific theories and the more "action" oriented plot (though the action is very boring), but when I consider the two presently, Dracula succeeded in every way this book fails. It was thought provoking, scary and gripped me from start to finish. This book is only around 130 pages and it felt like a chore.
In closing: I debated on my rating. Part of me felt like I had to give it two out of five stars because of how influential it is and its classic status… but I decided against that. I've stated before that my ratings are my own and I do not let others influence them. I can appreciate the historic significance of something without liking it (for example The Great Gatsby or Northanger Abby) and I can't in good conscience give this book even an "okay" rating. I frankly hated it. Thus I shall presently give it the dreaded 1/5 stars.
Oh, did you find my use of the word "presently" throughout the review annoying? Then I highly suggest that you do not read this book. My final complaint: that damn word is used so many times in this book. On one occasion it was used three times in two pages. Even though I was reading a physical copy, I pulled up Project Gutenberg and did a search for it. It's used 49 times and I remind you it's only about 130 pages long. My only suggestion is to turn it into a drinking game, as that will at least help you forget that you're reading the book....more
This was the perfect book for me to read at the moment. I try not to discuss myself much on this site, focusing on reviewing the work rather than tellThis was the perfect book for me to read at the moment. I try not to discuss myself much on this site, focusing on reviewing the work rather than telling you all my life story… but this is noteworthy as it may influence your decision on reading it. I've been struggling recently, I've been fighting with depression and overall just feel like an anxious mess. This book is without a doubt the single most relaxing read I've ever had. It's a book about a monk who serves tea, taking a trip just to hear crickets. The monk meets a robot (something no one has seen in years) and they travel through a wooded area together.
That’s it. I mean, yes, of course there is more to it than that, but in terms of the plot, that's it.
Yes, for some this will be a dull read. Some will want to know more about the science or the political landscape. What caused the world to be as it is? How did the robots all gain a higher consciousness? What happened which lead humans to let the robots go off on their own without a real fight?
It doesn't matter. This is a book where serving tea and listening to people can be a monk's entire duty. This is a book that is about relaxation and taking things slow. It's not the book to go to if you're looking for excitement, in fact it seems designed to always be calm and keep the reader away from anything that could possibly make them anxious. It's feel-good science fiction… and right now it's just what I needed.
This is not a perfect book, but it's the perfect book for this exact moment (at least for me). 4/5 stars....more
I've actually read this book before. It's an excellent classic science fiction work that no doubt inspired many writers. Initially published in 1920, I've actually read this book before. It's an excellent classic science fiction work that no doubt inspired many writers. Initially published in 1920, "We" came before both George Orwell and Alduous Huxley (and I would personally argue is better than Huxley's book). It's a lesser known work, but an extremely powerful one. I honestly don't have much more to say on the book itself.
So why am I reviewing it? Because I got a chance to read Bela Shayevich's new translation for free before its release in November. What do I think of this new translation? It's delightful. Very readable, well done, captures the emotions better than Clarence Brown's (the only other translation I have read) and is overall wonderful. The sarcasm and irony truly shine here... and yes, I find it a significant improvement to what was already an amazing read.
Should you read this book? Absolutely. This is a classic of both Russian literature and science fiction. It's a gem of a book that sadly goes unnoticed far too much. Do yourself a favor and pick this one up if you want to read an amazing early dystopian novel. 5/5 stars
My thanks to Netgalley and Ecco for providing me a copy in exchange for an honest review....more
Murderbot is back. This time it decides to take an active approach to bringing down the corporation who sabotaged its... it hates to call them friendsMurderbot is back. This time it decides to take an active approach to bringing down the corporation who sabotaged its... it hates to call them friends, but what other word is there? The other participants of the first book's plot. Yes, participants, that will do. Going to a planet that had its teraforming shut down, Murderbot investigates why the project was abounded. Along with a new group of scientists and and extremely friendly robot named Miki, Murderbot discovers another plot and *sigh* has to keep more people alive. Damn those humans making it work.
Murderbot is without a doubt my favorite AI character in any medium. Nothing in film, television, video games or books even competes. This time though, I confess I was less enthused than the previous. Murderbot is as charming as ever and its interactions are a delight, but the plot here wasn't as polished. This little mini-adventure kind of felt like filler. Entertaining filler, but more like we needed to pad some time before the final. We do see some (begrudging) growth from Murderbot as a character, but thus far this book feels like the weak link to me.
So why the fairly high rating? Because it's MURDERBOT. Seriously, I may have issues with this one, but not enough to knock it down from four. These stories are a blast, the characters consistently likeable and all around a fun read. Complaints aside, I would read 600 pages of Murderbot just complaining about what it was watching on its programs, and I would still be content. 4/5...more
This is my seventh Philip K. Dick experience and this one stands with Clans of the Alphane Moon as one of the more comedic works of Dick's career.
AllThis is my seventh Philip K. Dick experience and this one stands with Clans of the Alphane Moon as one of the more comedic works of Dick's career.
Allen Purcell one day wakes up to find that he's "japed" a statue. Not just any statue, but the statue of the world's hero General Streiter, who formed our glorious totalitarian society. Why did he do it? Honestly, he has no clue... and it's extremely awkward, as he's just been offered a position to essentially create all future propaganda praising the general's legacy.
Like many of Dick's books, the plot is honestly a bit of a mess. It bounces all over the place and a few plot lines kind of go nowhere... but the ones that do come together do so beautifully. I've noticed over my past reads that Dick was great with ideas, but couldn't tell a full story to save his life, but that incomplete nature of his tales works well with his paranoid storytelling, constantly making you, like the characters, guess what is real and what even matters at all.
This one was honestly almost a four star read, but lost one star right at the end as it felt unfinished. I delighted in the last couple of chapters (this book is really just the set up for one long punchline and it is hilarious) but that last chapter just kind of fizzled out. While it by no means ruined the book, it did knock down my overall enjoyment of the piece.
Do I suggest it? Yes. While the ending is a bit of a letdown in the final chapter, the book overall is very amusing. It wouldn't be my suggestion to start with Dick, but there are certainly worse places. 3/5 stars...more
This is my sixth Philip K. Dick experience... except, well, it's not. You see, I always call each of his books an experience because that is what theyThis is my sixth Philip K. Dick experience... except, well, it's not. You see, I always call each of his books an experience because that is what they are, or at least that is what they should be. He packs so much into such short books (I don't think he wrote a single book over 280 pages, but I could be wrong there) that it's frankly a bit mind boggling. Even his lesser books stay with me for a long time, because even when he fails, he still packs so many fascinating and philosophical ideas that I will remember them.
Not so here. This novel is pure pulp science fiction. I have nothing against pulp sci-fi and indeed spent quite a bit of time in my college years defending it, but that is not what I've come to expect from Dick. This is a book with shootouts, evil robots, and corrupt officials that the hero needs to take down. Here the plot is straight forward, the drug use is minimal (tranquilizers are about it) and while there is paranoia, given the circumstances, it is pretty much entirely justified... okay, mostly justified... ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT, they're absolutely paranoid, but not anywhere near the usual Dick standard. In other words, it doesn't really feel like Dick wrote it. This feels like the sort of book a publisher contacts a writer with and says "ROBOTS, LASERS AND COMPUTERS! GO!" and then the author churns it out for a quick buck. It is the very thing that is the farthest I can imagine when reading Dick; it's generic.
Now, complaints aside, the novel is fairly entertaining and pretty short. It's fast paced and never boring. It's completely serviceable and if all you want is pulp sci-fi, there are certainly far worse places to turn.
This may mean I am unfairly judging the book, but I didn't pick up a Philip K. Dick book for those reasons, so yes, the book is a disappointment. In terms of the six books I have read by him, this is by far my least favorite. It is a better written and constructed book than The Crack in Space, but at least that book had something interesting to say despite its failures.
This one is moderately entertaining, but absolutely forgettable. 2/5 stars....more
“I pray the tomb is shut forever, I pray the rock is never rolled away. I pray that which was buried remains buried, insensate, in perpetual rest, wit“I pray the tomb is shut forever, I pray the rock is never rolled away. I pray that which was buried remains buried, insensate, in perpetual rest, with closed eye and stilled brain. I pray it lives, I pray it sleeps ... I pray for the needs of the Emperor All-Giving, the Undying King, His Virtues and his men. I pray for the Second House, the Third, the Fourth, the Fifth; the Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth. I pray for the Ninth House, and I pray for it to be fruitful. I pray for the soldiers and adepts far from home, and all those parts of the Empire that live in unrest and disquiet. Let it be so.” ______
Well, it's only February, but if I handed out a nonexistent award for hardest book to rate/review of the year, it would almost certainly go to Gideon the Ninth. Let me start with a little story. I first heard about this book in January of last year. It was on a list of then upcoming science fiction and fantasy novels the editors of the blog were most anticipating. The description... well, it had me intrigued to say the least. I preordered the book and when it was about time for the release, I finished up the book I was reading double time just to make sure I could start it the day it came out. The book arrived while I was at work and I went home, opened it and started reading the second I could. I continued it the next day and put it down on the third. Maybe, I thought, I'm just not in the mood for this.
It's been months with no real desire to pick it up again. I finally did as I've been trying to cross off some of the books that have been sitting on my shelf for a bit. Round 2: well this time I finished it, but there were at least two points where I almost gave up again.
Now you may be wondering, why the high score for a book that you did give up on once, and almost gave up on the second try?
It's time to break out my infrequently used pros and cons format for this review (or in this case cons and pros):
Cons
It starts off with a bang and then gets really, really slow. I mean the middle of this book draaaaaags. I'm all for buildup, I'm all for taking your time, but seriously, this wore down my patience for a bit. This is further complicated by the next con.
It doesn't feel like it knows what it wants to be. Is it a gothic horror, a comedy of manners, a locked door mystery, a science fiction epic about the politics between various houses... something else entirely? Please, I found myself asking, please pick one so we can actually start the plot proper. Seriously, it was almost halfway into the book before I felt like it was finally starting to get its groove.
Continuing on the not knowing what it wants to be... who exactly was this book written for? It feels at times borderline YA-ish, but then proceeds to have material that places it FIRMLY in the adult category. I keep hearing the term "new adult" floating around, and perhaps that is the answer, but in terms of tone, the book just feels inconsistent.
False advertising - Okay, maybe that's stretching it a bit, but if you look at the cover, the prominent blurb states "Lesbian necromancers explore a haunted Gothic palace in space!" I appreciate that it sounds pulpy as hell, but it feels like setting up for a different book. Don't get me wrong, it is technically correct. There is a Gothic palace, there are necromancers, there is in fact space travel and Gideon certainly shows interest in other women... but if anyone think that Gideon's sexuality will be a major part of the story, they will be disappointed. While it certainly doesn't come off as an afterthought, it is not the focus of the book, and the relationship that seems to be highlighted is unhealthy to say the least.
Finally, the "mystery" was too easy to solve. No spoilers, I won't comment on how, but I literally figured out the "who" within 20 pages after this aspect started.
Pros:
The sense of humor! During the early portions where the book was really dragging, this is what kept me going. The comedy is very well done (or at least appealing to my darker sense of humor) and had me genuinely laughing at some points.
The characters. This book has a fascinating variety of characters. Some fall into classic tropes, others defy them. Each brings something to the book, and characters I didn't even like still managed to offer something noteworthy for me.
World building. Oh sweet undying Emperor, the world building. This is easily the biggest highlight for me. The world presented here is fascinating, deep and at times absolutely bizarre. It's a fascinating place the author has created and I hope we get an in-depth look at it in future books.
The plot. Yes, yes, I complained about it above, but here is where I point to the fact that I said "the halfway point" is when it finally kicked into gear. When it did, I delighted in it. I found myself engrossed in the goings on in the palace and each new room revealed. The puzzles, the feuding, the borderline terrifying use examples of necromancy on display. That was delightful.
I've been giving this book a great deal of thought over the past few days. I've debated on the rating multiple times, feeling sure some days it would get a two or three star rating. Yet here we are and I'm giving it a four and here's the main reason why: Tamsyn Muir got off on a shaky start in this book. It feels like she wasn't confident in it at first and played with different styles hoping it would find a voice. At a certain point it did, and from that point on it's a confident voice that gives absolutely zero shits what you think of it. It becomes a bold book, a book unafraid of throwing cosmic horror and disturbing imagery into something that had been relatively tame in that regard. It's a book that paints a grinning skull on its face and walks around in public giving a middle finger salute to anyone gawking at it. It's the sort of book that, once it finds itself, is perfectly content with what it is and it is refreshing.
Gideon the Ninth will likely become a cult classic (fitting given the nature of the Ninth). It's something of a mess, but once it gets to where it needs to go, a delightful one; with its Gothic (not to mention modern goth) sensibilities, as well as both a science fiction and fantasy setting, it certainly creates a unique read. Will I read the sequel? Hell yes, and I sincerely hope it will stay with that bolder voice throughout.
(view spoiler)[Also, major points to the author for managing to make a line like: "We do bones motherfucker" come off as the most badass one-liner imaginable given the context. (hide spoiler)]...more
This is my fifth Philip K. Dick experience, and it is also my first bad experience with him. Bad, I guess, may be a strong word. Disappointing is moreThis is my fifth Philip K. Dick experience, and it is also my first bad experience with him. Bad, I guess, may be a strong word. Disappointing is more accurate. I will say this is a book with a lot of great ideas... I just wish Dick would have taken the time to actually examine them properly rather than jumping around all over the place. I mean he always has a love of borderline incoherent plots that spin around in all directions, but this one is completely unsatisfying.
The plot this time follows the first black man running for president of the United States in 2080 (a little bit off on your guess there Dick, but I forgive you), it also deals with Earth being overpopulated, a satellite brothel, a doctor and his wife's divorce, a hidden mistress, a gateway to an alternate Earth and a private detective investigating all these things (but he's only a side character). In other words, there's enough plot points to fill out several novels and Dick tries to juggle them all in only 188 pages.
It is a mess. Not a fun mess like some of his other books... just a mess.
Good points: Dick actually managed to tackle some interesting subject matter here. Its a dark mirror if ever there was one, and it may actually make you question what year it was written at a few points. For example, there's an organization hellbent on keeping our presidential candidate out with the slogan "Keep the White House white." Caucasian characters voice fears that people of other races may... *GASP* take their jobs.
[image]
It's clumsy and with a touch of naive racism by today's standards, but Dick should be applauded for what he was trying to do. He was examining race in a thoughtful way before most science fiction authors would have dared to.
Sadly, despite this unfortunately timeless commentary, the book just doesn't work. There's too much going on and none of it executed well enough. The best moments are when he plays some of this off comedically (like when another race is found on the other Earth and a political advisor worries that they could influence the election as potential voters), but it's too rushed and nowhere near as well executed as any of his other books I read.
Sadly I cannot recommend this one to anyone but competitions of Dick's works. 2/5 stars. ...more
I always try to think of some positive spin for the books I read, even ones I don't like. My positive spin? This cover truly captures that pulp paperbI always try to think of some positive spin for the books I read, even ones I don't like. My positive spin? This cover truly captures that pulp paperback feel:
[image]
Sadly I don't have that cover, so there is nothing redeeming about my copy of the book.
Are you proud of yourself Farmer? I hope you are, because at least then we can say someone took some small measure of joy from this miserable experience, because it sure as hell wasn't me. What's that? It was supposed to be a joke?
I get the goddamn joke Farmer. It just isn’t funny.
So for those of you who are unfamiliar, here's the joke. Kilgore Trout was a character in several Kurt Vonnegut novels. He was supposed to be a hack sci-fi author who only got published in dirty magazines and the occasional paperback. He was a terrible author who just so happened to make the occasional brilliant philosophical point. Enter Philip Jose Farmer who essentially said "I could be Kilgore Trout!" He managed to convince Vonnegut to allow him to publish under the pen-name Trout and write one of the books mentioned in Vonnget's fiction. The result? God awful.
Now it's hard to fully fault the novel as it was intentionally written to be bad. That's a fine joke that could work as a short story. Something like 20 pages could be amusing. At 200+ pages though, it's painful. Also, Farmer is no Trout. Sure he wrote a bad book, but all attempts at philosophy are just as laughably bad as the rest of the book until after a point it ceases to be funny and only succeeds in gaining a groan.
Here is a brief outline of the book: Simon goes to a planet looking for answers to his questions. Natives of said planet have no answers. Insert detail description of the aliens' sex lives...possibly with Simon involved. Wacky misunderstanding. Run away. Repeat until we finally finish and you're graced with the one clever line in the entire book.
Yep, there's one clever scene and its the end of the damn book. The rest is filled with jokes like the following:
"Simon arrived in his ark at the same place where Noah was supposed to have landed. This was a coincidence that only happened in a bad novel..."
Look, Douglas Adams could have made that joke work. So could Terry Pratchett. You know why? Because they were funny. A joke like that would be have an amusing meta quality. Here... here it's not funny because it's just a reminder of the torment Farmer is inflicting upon us. Yes, we are reading a terrible book, you don't have to remind us. The prose is doing that for you.
1 star wailing in pain until its death out of 5....more
This is my fourth Philip K. Dick experience... and this one was a trip.
How the hell do I review this book? How is it eve"Choosy Chewers Choose Chew-Z"
This is my fourth Philip K. Dick experience... and this one was a trip.
How the hell do I review this book? How is it even possible to get across the feeling this book gives? This book frankly seems like a dark downward spiral into insanity... and yet inside that it offers both hope and despair.
I'll start this off bluntly. I don't fully get the novel. I don't think it is possible to fully get the novel. If you claim to fully get the novel, I question both your perception of reality and honesty.
This book, much like Dune, operates well on two different levels. As a science fiction novel and as a philosophical piece. Unlike Dune, I can't fully grasp the plot or fully the philosophy behind it.
From what I can tell you, the plot follows a world where global warming is certainly one of the biggest problems. In fact its getting so hot that Earth is drafting people to immigrate to Mars to help set up new colonies. The colonies are... unpleasant to say the least, and the only source of entertainment seems to be a combination of a doll named Perky Pat (which comes off very Barbie-like) and a drug called Can-D which allows the users to, for a time, enter the bodies of Perky Pat or her boyfriend.
Enter Palmer Eldritch who has returned after a long trip to the far reaches of space. What did he find and what did he return with? He's returned with Chew-Z, a new drug that does what Can-D can't. In his own words:
"I did not find God in the Prox system. But I found something better. God promises eternal life. I can do better; I can deliver it."
This is a book that I probably should not give 5 stars. From a structural point of view there are too many characters and too many sub-plots, some of which seemingly get abandoned at the half way point. Yet, despite its flaws, it all somehow comes together. Mostly because Dick doesn't really allow the reader to grasp the plot all the way.
“It takes a certain amount of courage, he thought, to face yourself and say with candor, I'm rotten. I've done evil and I will again. It was no accident; it emanated from the true, authentic me.”
This is not a story of good vs. evil. This is a story where it's hard to say what "good" truly is, and it's rather impossible to say if there is a hero or a villain. Palmer Eldritch is certainly a frighting figure (and some of the imagery involving him is grotesque to levels many horror authors can only dream of), but to me he came off as less evil and more unknowable... which I believe is Dick's point.
Are the visions achieved by Eldritch's Chew-Z illusion? Are they part time travel? Does it really matter? Reality is always to be questioned in this book... perhaps Eldritch just showed our characters that.
I've little more to say. This book is... unknowable as Eldritch itself. Instead of trying to make sense of the book, I will instead give you advice.
Don't fight the book. The plot will not make sense, but it IS a mostly coherent plot. Just take it easy and ride it out.
"I didn’t care what humans were doing to each other as long as I didn’t have to a) stop it or b) clean up after it."
Oh Murderbot, I didn't realize how"I didn’t care what humans were doing to each other as long as I didn’t have to a) stop it or b) clean up after it."
Oh Murderbot, I didn't realize how much I missed you. Welcome back everyone, to the second Murderbot Diaries novella, staring my absolute favorite misanthropic construct. Murderbot, despite its name, actually does very little murdering and really just comes off as an introvert who would rather stay home and watch soap operas (space soap operas of course), but instead gets stuck in situations where, it may upon occasions, have to maybe... just maybe... murder something.
"I didn't stop in my tracks because I have a lot of practice in not physically reacting to things no matter how much they shock or horrify me."
After the events of the previous novel, Murderbot makes a new not-friend dubbed Art (which stands for Asshole Research Transport, because Murderbot is so wonderful at giving names to things) and finds itself back on the mining facility where it went rogue. Seeking answers to what actually happened proves more difficult than planned, and Murderbot again finds itself helping a group of humans.
This book is a delight from start to finish. Murderbot continues to be sarcastic, snide, and a bit more kindhearted than one would expect given the name. The inclusion of Art is also wonderful, as it makes a nice contrast to Murderbot's personality (and their interactions with each other are a delight to read).
One area that this book improves upon the original is the world building. Where the first one was stuck mostly on an isolated planet, and became something of a survival story, this one has a more cyberpunk feel, with a great deal of hacking, evil corporations controlling seemingly everything and jumping through settings that would feel at home on a Blade Runner set. This gave me a greater sense of the universe our robot friend inhabits and was a pleasant change of pace. That said, I found myself missing Murderbot's old meatbag not-friends, as with the changes that have come about, I think it would have been interesting to see them along for the ride.
Overall I cannot recommend this series enough. Despite the serious looking covers and titles, these books are easily the funniest thing to happen to science fiction since Douglas Adams decided to take up Hitchhiking. A solid 4/5 stars and a recommendation to pretty much everyone (with the notation that you should read All Systems Red first)....more
It took me about a month to read this book. Not because it was bad, oh no, far from it. It's frankly way better than I expect any Warhammer novel to bIt took me about a month to read this book. Not because it was bad, oh no, far from it. It's frankly way better than I expect any Warhammer novel to be. That's not a slight against the series, they are massively entertaining books (to me at least), but I generally expect the literary equivalent of a popcorn action movie (with a cynical touch of ironic humor). This... this is something else.
Let me start the review proper with something of an odd question. Have you ever heard of a video game called Spec Ops: the Line? It's a rather interesting game. It was marketed as your standard military shooter, was released on the X-Box 360 and seemed to be aiming for the usual Call of Duty crowd... and it was a trap. It was actually an art house game, closer to Apocalypse Now or Heart of Darkness than a typical shooter, pointing out the horrors of war and how in most video games, you're essentially committing war crimes for fun. It was a deconstruction of the very thing it claimed to be.
Requiem Infernal is very nearly that. It plays with all your classic Warhammer tropes. It's a grimdark sci-fi universe where the fascists are the closest things we have to good guys, because EVERY thing else literally wants to destroy you from the inside and remake you into something out of Lovecraft's worst nightmares. The book contains everything you would expect; shootouts, space travel, endless battlefields, hell, even the space marines make an appearance... but all those things are such a small portion of the novel. They almost seem like token appearances because that's what one requires to have a Warhammer novel.
This is instead a philosophical horror novel, very much in the spirit of cosmic horror. How this one didn't actually make it into Warhammer's new horror line up is beyond me. This... this is scary. Not because of the hideous demonic entities trying to murder everyone (though of course they too make an appearance), but because of how it plays with the concept of how fragile the universe is. It plays with the idea that something could place itself into any place in time, rewrite memories, create paradoxes and that this violation of our minds could be noticed, but only as something seemingly uncomfortable and confusing... but then you adjust because what option do you have? After all, it happens all the time.
The reason it took me a month to read... I needed to escape it, just for a little while. It's frankly too much. This idea is played up for pure horror and it's insidious how it gets into your head. The book even starts off with a section of another book that one of the character's is reading, and Fehervari playfully uses the fourth wall to toy with the readers (both the character and us).
"Steel yourself, traveler, for the road you've chosen won't be easy. You'll find no joy and precious little glory along the way, let alone hope of a better tomorrow." So begins this dark tale, and it is the perfect opening, setting up all that is to come.
This is a brilliant little book. Something of a minor masterpiece and so much more than it implies. Well worth a read even if you're not a fan of the series. In fact, it may be better if you're not. Those coming here for battles may find it a disappointing read, as while there are at least two fairly big ones, they are quick and often end abruptly. That's not to say that they are anticlimactic; every character's death feels fitting even if abrupt. It all ties together as it always should... as it was always meant to be.
“Your mouth is cut of granite, but our brothers are soft and humble. Your head is high, but our brothers cringe. You walk, but our brothers crawl. We “Your mouth is cut of granite, but our brothers are soft and humble. Your head is high, but our brothers cringe. You walk, but our brothers crawl. We wish to be damned with you, rather than blessed with all our brothers.” - Ayn Rand Anthem
“Better to reign in Hell, than to serve in Heaven.” - John Milton Paradise Lost
I know a lot of my friends will disagree (possibly quite vehemently), but I find Ayn Rand’s philosophy fascinating. I do not agree with her, nor do I completely disagree with all of her ideas. I find her interesting in the same way that I enjoy epistemology. I like thinking about her ideas, while at the same time feeling that the argument, while having merit, does not even come close to providing any of the answers she thinks it does.
It’s hard to examine one of Rand’s books from any point other than that of philosophy (whether you agree with her or not) as it is prominently on her mind throughout. That said, looking at this one from just a literary standpoint, I confess I was impressed with the stylistic touches (the narrator being so ingrained into a collective society as to always use “we” instead of “I”) and how she builds up the idea of a collapsed society. It’s actually a wonderful dystopian set up, made even more impressive by having been written in the 1930s, before many of the big standouts of dystopian literature. I would have almost said it was a must read for fans of that sub-genre (and indeed it may still be depending on your outlook). It was all going so well until the last two chapters which pretty much ruined what was potentially a 5 star read.
Let’s break out the spoiler tag for a good portion of the review, as I can't really discuss my issues without getting into major spoiler territory.
(view spoiler)[So yes, Rand's philosophy was woven throughout the book, but where it was woven into the text in a thoughtful way before hand, making the reader (or at least this reader) think about her ideas in depth and consider merits and faults, the final is too blunt. In fact, she pretty much has her character just give a manifesto and outline for the future (shades of what things to come in Atlas Shrugged). Let me give a few choice quotes and address my issues here (other than that a carefully told story ended with a blunt anvil drop of an ending).
Set up here: our narrator finds a house. Decides to essentially turn it into a fortress keeping all but the likeminded individuals out. His love interest is by his side, and expecting a child.
"I do not grant my love without reason, nor to any chance passer-by who may wish to claim it. I honor men with my love. But honor is a thing to be earned."
This is very humorous given that he met his love interest by just passing by her on multiple occasions, having a borderline clichéd love at first sight moment, and tying to make sure he always walked the same path every day just to see her. Oh, and while we’re at it, she is mostly devoid of a personality other than blind devotion and worship of this character. Who has this love been “earned,” just through blind faith in you? Is this how you purpose to find your “likeminded” thinkers, by gaining nothing but the blind followers you purpose to hate? Another collective “we,” just a “we” that follows you?
“Now I look ahead. My future is clear before me. The Saint of the pyre had seen the future when he chose me as his heir” (An explanation here is in order: when he was a kid he saw a man burned to death for breaking the rules of the “collective we.” The man didn’t scream as he was burned to death, and at one point our narrator thought he looked at him). “as the heir of all the saints and all the martyrs who came before him and who died for the same cause, for the same word, no matter what name they gave to their cause and their truth.”
The delusions of grandeur in this statement are stunning. He chose you did he? How? By glancing at you while he was burning to death? Truly you must be the chosen one! I know this was supposed to be an inspirational speech and come off as “heroic,” but it comes off as someone with an extreme ego inflating it and creating something of a prophesy about himself. Hell, this comes off as the rise of a god damn supervillian.
Here’s the thing, and I can’t stress this enough; Rand created a shocking and terrible view of the future. The world the narrator presents to us IS terrible. In taking the idea of a group and placing it above all else, she presents a cold world that seems to care, but hurts itself. It’s cleverly done and horrific… but the alternative she presents is just as extreme in the opposite direction. There is no middle ground. You are either with her or against her, and frankly both possibilities are horrifying to me. (hide spoiler)]
So, is the book worth a read? Damn it, yes it is. It is a classic work of dystopian fiction and if you like the genre, you'll be in for a fascinating early example that does post apocalyptic better than most books that came out after the atomic bomb was actually dropped. Just don't expect a proper story with a beginning, middle and end. Be prepared for Rand's philosophy and be prepared for a speech that seems to close the book with "this is my opinion and I'll end the book just to hear no argument!"
Ah, 1950s science fiction mixed with a touch of horror... you know what that means don't you? Cold war paranoia of course! For a genre that is[image]
Ah, 1950s science fiction mixed with a touch of horror... you know what that means don't you? Cold war paranoia of course! For a genre that is now established as fairly progressive, 1950s science fiction was practically a source of propaganda for the cinemas. The "keep watching the stars" and the "observe your neighbors because they might be pod people" mentality... because of course the stars were Russia and the pod people were those commies. Every proper American knew it... right? Hell, the only way the first film adaptation could have been any more blunt would have been to colorize it in red, white and blue, using red only on the pod people.
Yes, yes, I know I'm mocking this a bit too much perhaps. Honestly, I enjoy these books though because I find the mentality amusing, while still recognizing the damaging aspect of it. Enough of that now, on with the actual book.
So, there's no point in giving a plot description here. The plot has been made into something like five films at this point, and has been referenced in countless other forms of entertainment. The book is a moderately entertaining piece of fiction, that honestly, has arguably been improved by the cinematic adaptations. I rarely say that, but I believe it to be the case here. The films (even the 1950s version) are much darker than the actual novel, presenting more fear and more of a sense of scale. Both the 50s and 70s films create a force that is seemingly unstoppable, (view spoiler)[and in at least one of those films, our heroes end in failure. (hide spoiler)]
Here the fear is there, the paranoia is there and the menace is there too... but not executed as well or as thoughtfully, and the book gets wrapped up way too nicely and too quickly. (view spoiler)[Seriously, within the last 20 pages, we go from hopeless scenarios to all's well that ends well. (hide spoiler)]
This is honestly one of those books that I suggest mostly to cinemas fans that want to see the origin of a classic set of films. It is not a great work, and modern readers will no doubt take issues with some of the books views ("As most wives, even the wisest, do with any real conviction held by their husbands, Theodora accepted this and made it her own." was a particularly cringe inducing line). I give it 3/5 stars for being a fairly entertaining tale overall, and because cold war sci-fi just kind of makes me grin. ...more
Well, this book was a rollercoaster ride in terms of what rating I thought I would give it. It started out a solid 4 stars, with a decent possibility Well, this book was a rollercoaster ride in terms of what rating I thought I would give it. It started out a solid 4 stars, with a decent possibility of a 5 as I went along. We then came to one of the most annoying tropes that could have possibly been picked, and it went down to 3 stars. Then something happened that I found clever and thought I may have to reread the book to see if I missed something and it went back to a 4. The book then tried to subvert expectations, undid the fairly clever thing one page later and went down to 2 stars. It stayed at that rating until I was almost done writing this review, realized that my fingers were practically hitting the keys on the keyboard and lowered it to a 1 out of emotion rather than taking any of the positive aspects into account.
The idea of this story is so clever, that I really wanted to absolutely love this… but seemingly at every turn it tried to alienate me. It annoyed me thoroughly around the half way point, but the frustrating thing is that I can’t tell people the book is terrible, because it is well written and I’m sure some people WILL like the direction it went, just not me. I finished it more out of an annoyed stubbornness than actually wanting to see the end. To say more would be spoilers, so consider that my review unless you want details. If that’s the case, you can stop speculating and learn the horrible truth below.
(view spoiler)[So, at first I loved this. It’s a great police procedural style novel, but with the twist of a dystopian world. It’s set up in such a fascinating way with the opening scene, involving a teenager telling his mother that he stole some of her drugs, when in fact his brother did. As a liar though, the teenage is sentenced to a minimum of five years in prison, in contrast to the son who stole the drugs who gets off without any jail time as there is no proof that he stole with the intent to sell, and his mother doesn’t wish to prosecute. This is a fascinating world as it has your standard big brother type government, but our leads are agents of it, and it’s all just a job to them.
It was all going so well, until the cliché™ happened. Secrets are revealed that those on high don’t want known so our detectives are forced off the case. Of course they’re going to continue on alone, being renegade cops with no regard for the rules… oh, wait, the rules were everything to them a few pages ago. Eh, ignore that.
Why? Why do this? The book created such a unique and interesting world. The mystery aspect was fascinating, as our cast are essentially living lie detectors, the case wasn’t a matter of figuring out the lies, but seeing the omitted details. That was fascinating! Instead, we had to throw out the old and tired corruption cliché. Golly gee, you mean our 1984 style government is corrupt? Gosh, never saw that coming! I mean, seriously, no sci-fi or noir reader has ever seen that one! By pulling this stupid, stupid cliché and changing the style of story, they took out just about everything I was enjoying. I liked seeing the world from a government employ point of view, I liked seeing how the police department operated with their rules and regulations, but no, we lost the police procedural and became the standard run of the mill corruption thriller.
I know this won’t bother some people, and indeed some may even delight in the change, but for me this is a bitter disappointment after absolutely loving the first half. Words cannot express my annoyance. Sarcasm won’t cut it and profanity will only get old to the people reading this review. For a book that was so unique up to this point, the fact that they went with the obvious cliché is just ridiculous.
The book almost made up for it with a reveal that our narrator killed his own brother. That would have been an interesting twist, given that it would have been able to explore the hypocrisy in the system on a more personal level (his upholding the truth more than anything, despite having committed a crime) and also would have been interesting as he talks about his brother throughout the novel, but up to this point, never says how he died. That would have been interesting, because again, it would be about omission rather than lies… but no, literally one page after this reveal, it is retconned. A just kidding moment… and at that point I just didn’t care how this was going to end.
Two last annoying notes about the ending, just because both piss me off. Where did Lazlo’s magic lie detecting skills go to when he confronts Arlo? Not only does he seem stupider than presented before (Yep, I should totally shoot a hologram because he told me to do so) but Arlo lies to him, he perceives no lies in the room, and acts off it. How did these skills just disappear? Has Arlo somehow mastered the art of deception in such a way that these human lie detects can’t notice? Seriously this doesn’t make sense and is just annoying as it goes against the rules the book had presented before.
And then there is Charlie. Why the hell is Charlie alive at the end? There is no explanation for how he survived. He’s been presumed dead for years. How did he survive Arlo? Given the condition he’s in, and the fact that it took him much longer to reach Vegas than Lazlo, how did he survive the trip? How did the people in Vegas let him in given the paranoia we see when Lazlo finally makes it there? It’s such a deus ex machine ending and it annoys the hell out of me. (hide spoiler)]
In closing, the book started off showing a fascinating world and managed to be amazing for the first half. After that things rapidly go down hill. I don’t know if the plan is for there to be a sequel about the city, but after all that, I don’t even care. 1/5 stars....more
I said in my review of Dune that one of the things I really appreciated was that it could be “viewed on so many different levels, from political, philI said in my review of Dune that one of the things I really appreciated was that it could be “viewed on so many different levels, from political, philosophical, scientific, or simply as a fantastic adventure novel... and it works so well, no matter which angle you look at it from, because Herbert treats each of them as equally important.” While writing the sequel, I think Herbert must have considered it and said something along the lines of, “Yeah, that was great… now let’s pretty much ignore everything that wasn’t philosophy.”
I exaggerate of course. Elements of those other aspects are still in place, but the story this time around is from people sitting at tables and discussing the existence of fate and ways to avoid prophesy rather than overthrowing evil barons. In fact, there are times where I felt that it hardly seems like a full novel, and more like a series of short scenes Herbert wrote, pat himself on the back over how clever they were and then decided to try to tie them all together.
Now some of you may be sitting there going, oh, I guess that means you didn’t like it then Tim? HA I say! The philosophy was what appealed to me the most of those aspects mentioned in Dune! I can read about people sitting at tables and talking for hours!
…
But yeah, I’d be lying if I said there weren’t a few parts where it got a bit old, and I wished for the descriptions of the desert, the plots within plots within plots… but by the end, I was satisfied as they were there all along, you just have to look closer to see them in play. In fact, by the end I realized that it was an extremely well developed novel, and that it was I who was at fault for not seeing the intricacies at play. Herbert demands your full attention to see what’s going on all around.
Which brings me to the thing Herbert does best in this novel; one of the big aspects of the Dune series thus far is that he gives you every main character’ thought process. There is no main POV character in each chapter, he will give you the thoughts of everyone, thus showing who thinks they are fooling who and who is actually fooled. He does this and he plays it fair the entire time, yet still manages to hide plot points in plain sight, and it is extremely well played.
The first book was a masterpiece in terms of world building, here that takes a backseat to prophesies and philosophy, but Herbert does manage to introduce at least one fascinating new aspect to his universe. The Face Dancers are introduced as assassins and shape shifters. One can walk into the room a pudgy male guard and leave as a small servant girl. They take contracts, but with a sense of honor and a condition; they must always leave the would be victim with an opportunity to escape. They need to know they are in danger and must be presented with an out. I find this new aspect fascinating and would have loved to see a bit more of a focus on them.
I want to close this review by briefly describing my favorite scene in the entire book; it is one of the scenes where people sit and talk at tables. An older Fremen discusses why he joined up in Paul’s campaign. It wasn’t glory or the spoils of war… it was because some of his friends described the sea, and he couldn’t believe it. He felt it must be a prank. He then goes on to describe it to a character who has been to many worlds and obviously seen the sea many times, but the character finds himself absorbed in the Fremen’s words and realizes that he’s experiencing this description in an unusual way, lost in the story and seeing it with new eyes… I couldn’t help but smile, as Herbert made me feel the same way. For a brief moment I forgot I was reading, and could hear this old voice telling me about the sea…
A well earned 4/5 stars, but with the notation for those who fell in love with the first novel that this is not a sweeping epic. This is a small chamber piece… just, you know, with giant sand worms. ...more
Note: There will be quotes in this review. Many of them. Murderbot is so delightfully quotable, that I think it speaks for itself better than I ever cNote: There will be quotes in this review. Many of them. Murderbot is so delightfully quotable, that I think it speaks for itself better than I ever could.
“I could have become a mass murderer after I hacked my governor module, but then I realized I could access the combined feed of entertainment channels carried on the company satellites. It had been well over 35,000 hours or so since then, with still not much murdering, but probably, I don't know, a little under 35,000 hours of movies, serials, books, plays, and music consumed. As a heartless killing machine, I was a terrible failure.”
It’s borderline uncomfortable how much I relate to Murderbot. I really feel like I should not have anything in common with, well… a Murderbot, but I relate far more to this machine than pretty much any other protagonist I’ve read in some time. Murderbot is sarcastic, snide, a bit more kindhearted than one would expect given the name, but most of all, really just wants to be left alone with its hobbies.
“It was a low-stress group, they didn’t argue much or antagonize each other for fun, and were fairly restful to be around, as long as they didn’t try to talk or interact with me in any way.”
Murderbot is a security-based robot who is in charge of watching a group of scientists who have, for some reason, become a target for some unknown organization. They are on an isolated planet, their systems have been hacked, their maps are missing key points, hostile creatures want to eat them, other security robots are being reprogramed to attack them and worst of all they want to talk to Murderbot about its feelings.
“Yes, talk to Murderbot about its feelings. The idea was so painful I dropped to 97 percent efficiency."
As you may have noticed from the quotes, Murderbot is rather sarcastic, snide and humorously antisocial. It really would rather watch sci-fi soap operas and do its job (in its own words, in a rather “half assed fashion”), but people want to understand it, and yes, it does feel enough responsibility to want to keep its clients alive… well, most of them.
The book is rather hilarious. I hate to compare it to Douglas Adams, as Adams was more consistently absurd, but the humor throughout this book worked for me so well that I can honestly say I haven’t laughed this hard at a science fiction book since I originally ready The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and that is extremely high praise indeed.
This was almost a 5 star read for me. Its length is very short (around 150 pages) and had it been longer with expansion upon the plot and a more satisfactory ending, it probably would have made that last star. It also suffers a bit from having fairly forgettable meatbag… excuse me, I mean human characters. As things stand though, it is still a solid 4 star read and I’m looking forward to continuing the series at some point. It won me over with its loveable misanthropic protagonist, a great sense of humor and some genuinely interesting ideas.
“I liked the imaginary people on the entertainment feed way more than I liked real ones, but you can’t have one without the other.”
It is the 41st Millennium. For more than a hundred centuries The Emperor has sat immobile on the Golden Throne of Earth. He is the Master of Mankind b
It is the 41st Millennium. For more than a hundred centuries The Emperor has sat immobile on the Golden Throne of Earth. He is the Master of Mankind by the will of the gods, and master of a million worlds by the might of his inexhaustible armies. He is a rotting carcass writhing invisibly with power from the Dark Age of Technology. He is the Carrion Lord of the Imperium for whom a thousand souls are sacrificed every day, so that he may never truly die.
Yet even in his deathless state, the Emperor continues his eternal vigilance. Mighty battlefleets cross the daemon-infested miasma of the Warp, the only route between distant stars, their way lit by the Astronomican, the psychic manifestation of the Emperor's will. Vast armies give battle in his name on uncounted worlds. Greatest amongst his soldiers are the Adeptus Astartes, the Space Marines, bio-engineered super-warriors. Their comrades in arms are legion: the Imperial Guard and countless planetary defence forces, the ever vigilant Inquisition and the tech-priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus to name only a few. But for all their multitudes, they are barely enough to hold off the ever-present threat from aliens, heretics, mutants - and worse.
To be a man in such times is to be one amongst untold billions. It is to live in the cruelest and most bloody regime imaginable. These are the tales of those times. Forget the power of technology and science, for so much has been forgotten, never to be re-learned. Forget the promise of progress and understanding, for in the grim dark future there is only war. There is no peace amongst the stars, only an eternity of carnage and slaughter, and the laughter of thirsting gods.
This is my first Warhammer experience, and the intro listed above gives one a much different feeling than what would follow (and yes Warhammer fans, I know the Cain series is an oddity in that regard). Those looking for something truly grim need not apply… though those looking for a total light hearted read should possibly avoid as well.
As I mentioned above, this is my first Warhammer experience. While I am familiar with the game, I was never able to afford getting into it as a hobby in my younger days (I was strictly a D&D player who used friends' "community" books for character creation and rules). My knowledge of the universe is thus very limited. I bring this up because people in the same situation as me may like to know that several alien races are introduced with little to no description. Knowledge of the universe is very much assumed. If you are wanting to read this, I suggest bookmarking the Warhammer wiki... if you're like me you will be checking it frequently.
So, some may ask after reading the above, why should I bother with a book that I'm going to be frequently checking references to understand? Well, because it is damn fun for one reason. The plot follows Commissar Ciaphas Cain, well known hero of several campaigns; he's become a legend in his own time and his name opens doors throughout the universe... but his heroic status is a bit exaggerated to say the least. The book takes the form of his memoirs, in which he reveals that his heroic acts are mostly being in the right place (or wrong place from his point of view) at the right time. For example, the heroic act of going back for a fallen soldier seems a lot less heroic when you find out that from his view point, he saw something horrible ahead, retreated and decided a human shield was the appropriate way of keeping himself alive. He is happy to use his status as hero to get what he wants, but as he says early on (setting up his character wonderfully) “The trouble with everybody thinking you’re a hero is that they tend to assume you like being in mortal danger and go out of their way to provide some.” Cain is a hero in name only, as he'll be happy to inform you repeatedly. He is a coward, a combination of Blackadder and Flashman, placed in a grim military science fiction setting, who is supposedly know for his heroic acts; through this Mitchell is able to deconstruct the entire Warhammer setting, playing it completely tongue in cheek.
Though very humorous, it doesn't completely take away the darker aspects of its setting. People die, sometimes abruptly and in rather terrifying ways. Some of the aliens presented are the things of nightmares and there are a few moral decisions that make even Cain rather shellshocked. While this is not the grim dark novel that one may expect from the series, it is still very much in its setting and doesn't dismiss that to keep its humorous tone.
One of the most interesting aspects of the novel is that we can't actually trust Cain entirely about how he presents himself. We are told at the beginning that these are his own personal journals found and footnoted by an inquisitor after his death. Through footnotes and chapter breaks from "historic sources" we are given a view about how people perceived Cain and how others saw his actions, sometimes outright conflicting with his report. He is caught in lies throughout the footnotes, making it seem that Cain may perhaps be exaggerating his own cowardliness... or are the inquisitors trying to rewrite his story to create a more propaganda appropriate Cain? That, at least in the first novel, is not resolved, but it creates a character that you are constantly given two alternate interpretations. Through these two extreme interpretations we are given a shockingly 3-dimensional character, who most likely falls somewhere between to two takes.
While the novel suffers from some pacing issues, and newcomers to Warhammer will no doubt need references to the material, For The Emperor is a constantly entertaining read with a shockingly fascinating lead. Recommended for Warhammer fans and those looking for a grim but humorous read. A solid three out of five....more
Warning: there will be some spoilers for this 100+ year old novel. I will mark spoilers in any situations detailing any characters’ fates, but if you Warning: there will be some spoilers for this 100+ year old novel. I will mark spoilers in any situations detailing any characters’ fates, but if you want to know nothing of the plot or structure, steer clear.
As a kid I grew up watching a lot of Universal monster movies on AMC’s monsterfest (back when they actually played movies without commercials and didn’t even dream of actually making TV shows). While I can’t say that the Invisible Man was one of my favorites (I always preferred Dracula and the Wolf Man as a kid) I recognized even then that the special effects were well ahead of its time and that Claude Rains gave a solid performance. His delivery of the “reign of terror” speech is actually rather intimidating given his easygoing way of delivering it. It left an impact, and these memories were in my head as I started reading Wells’ original novel.
Imagine my surprise when it turned out less like the classic Universal monster movie and more like Abbot and Costello meet the Invisible Man. The first half of the book plays off like a comedy, with bumbling police officers, superstitious townspeople who suspect ghosts or the devil is moving their furniture, and a rather comical side character who gets dragged into the situation and keeps trying to assure the invisible man that he is incompetent and thus a terrible minion. Overall it is very silly.
This changes about the halfway point when the invisible man meets a former acquaintance from medical school named Kemp. As Griffin (the invisible man, whose name isn’t even revealed until this halfway point) explains the process of how he became invisible, the story takes a much darker turn with “reigns of terror” and sieges abound. While the book is far more science fiction than horror, the last section involves a man under attack in his home and the invisible man’s attempts to break in, and it is surprisingly suspenseful given all the wacky shenanigans that took place before hand.
All around this is a very different experience from the movie, but I would like to highlight a very big change. Griffin in the film is an overall good guy, but the process of turning him invisible and being unable to change back drives him mad. Griffin in the novel is a right asshole from start to finish. He is shown to have a cruel streak from the start and rather humorously Wells’ tries to show this off by having him curse in just about every line (sometimes the curses are written, but mostly it’s just “and he cursed” or something along those lines added to his dialogue). Griffin is not a particularly sympathetic character in the novel and while Wells’ occasionally makes a understanding nod to him, he is shown pretty much entirely in an antagonistic light.
I think my absolute favorite aspect of the novel is that the advantages of invisibility are dismissed fairly early on in favor of highlighting how absolutely infuriating invisibility would actually be. Griffin sneezes or coughs through most of the novel as he has caught a cold. He discusses how time consuming and hot it is to don a costume in which people could notice you (yet they would still be suspicious given the bandaged state) and just the whole awkwardness of even crossing a street without being run over.
All in all this is an entertaining classic. Wells keeps a solid pace, only slowing down when necessary to explain to his audience some of the "science" behind the ideas. Parts read like a surprisingly modern novel, especially towards the end when the house is under siege. One extremely notable scene of such is (view spoiler)[ a policeman looking around and noticing all the little details around him, such as the butterflies right before he is shot by the invisible man. (hide spoiler)] This struck me as a wonderful, but depressing little scene.
Solidly recommended for classic science fiction fans or those who love the Universal monster movies and would like to see the origin of the film. ...more