Saga, Vol. 8: Unafraid to mix space adventure with difficult topics Originally posted at Fantasy Literature It’s been six months since I read Vol 7 of SSaga, Vol. 8: Unafraid to mix space adventure with difficult topics Originally posted at Fantasy Literature It’s been six months since I read Vol 7 of SAGA, and after moving to London last summer we recently popped into Forbidden Planet in Soho, and that store is an absolute treasure trove of SF comics, books, and other fan goodies. There are so many enticing comics on offer there, you could spend your entire salary in one wild shopping spree. When I saw Vol 8 of SAGA with Wild West cover art among the new releases, I knew I had to have it.
SAGA is my favorite comic series, because it is always pushing the envelope in terms of content, themes, gorgeously assured and sometimes shocking artwork, and characters so charming, honest and flawed that you can’t help but cheer for them. If you like intelligent, snarky, sometimes profane space opera with a vast cast of star-crossed lovers, bounty-hunters, humanoid robots, tabloid reporters, terrifying monsters, and oddball creatures all caught up in a galactic war between the technology-based Wings and magic-wielding Horns of Wreath and Landfall, this series is guaranteed to captivate.
In Vol 8, Marko, Alana, Hazel, Prince Robot, and Petrichor find themselves on a remote Wild West planet. The traumatic events on planet Phang are still lingering, and they are in desperate need of an emergency medical procedure (any more details would be a spoiler). Once again writer Vaughan is unafraid to tackle a sensitive subject with the opening panel. And while I thought this time the story sometimes felt like it was purely a vehicle for political debate and hurt the story’s momentum, I applaud his willingness to put his characters in contentious moral situations. It’s a trademark of the entire series, love it or hate it.
While Petrichor encounters some Wild West outlaws, Alana, Marko, and Hazel hitch a ride on a train and meet up a very unexpected new character that quickly bonds with Hazel. In fact, Alana has discovered some surprising new powers that may be connected to this. Finally Alana and Marko reach their destination and the doctor they’ve been seeking. The dialogue sounds like something from a TV talk show debate, but then that’s what Vaughan wants to talk about, so that’s what we get. I thought this part of Vol 8 dragged, as the characters debate the merits of their actions. Likewise, Petrichor and Prince Robot are another odd partnership and have many arguments over gender, war, and politics. I liked the story of Hazel and her new friend Kurti better. There were a number of poignant moments as they innocently discuss the world of adults, and this section will appeal to parents, siblings, and those aspiring to become one. Again, this part is very well-written and didn’t feel as forced as their earlier parts.
In the next chapter, we once again see what The Will has been up to, and he’s not in a good place. Seems that one of the many individuals he’s casually killed during his illustrious freelance bounty hunter career had a loved one who has tracked him down to exact revenge. This person has decided to really torture him by going through his old memories. We get to see some scenes from The Will’s childhood and early days as a bounty hunter with The Stalk. Artist Fiona Staples treats us to the ultra-violent action that the series generally features. I’m sometimes unsure if Vaughan & Staples show gruesome violence for the vicarious thrills, or as a technique to highlight that killing is not clean and anonymous like storm-troopers in Star Wars. Considering that his old sins are now catching up with The Will, I would hazard a guess its’ the latter. Eventually, his tormentor unearths a very valuable secret from his memories, though it’s no secret to readers.
In the final chapter, we rejoin Upsher, the gay tabloid journalist, Ghus the little prairie-dog warrior with a sense of justice, and the innocent young son of Prince Robot, Squire. They have an adventure in the forest, seeking the fearsome Dread Naught, and Ghus and the young robot have some interesting discussions about what situations justify fighting and killing to protect yourself. Vol 8 ends on an upbeat note, quite the opposite of the dark final panels of Vol 7.
Now that the series has reached 48 episodes and eight volumes, it has settled down to a more thoughtful pace, and while I think it does lack the intensity of the first four volumes and over-indulges in overt political themes that didn’t really carry the story forward much, I think Vaughan feels that he’s earned the loyalty of readers enough to be able to explore such themes with less propulsive action and more discourse. Again, I really appreciate that SAGA is not about escapism, its about our messy world, war, injustice, intolerance, innocence and cruelty, and most importantly the decisions we must make each day to get to the next day. That’s what keeps the series relevant and fresh – it’s real and funny and heartbreaking, often in rapid succession. Give it a try if you haven’t yet.
Merged review:
Saga, Vol. 8: Unafraid to mix space adventure with difficult topics Originally posted at Fantasy Literature It’s been six months since I read Vol 7 of SAGA, and after moving to London last summer we recently popped into Forbidden Planet in Soho, and that store is an absolute treasure trove of SF comics, books, and other fan goodies. There are so many enticing comics on offer there, you could spend your entire salary in one wild shopping spree. When I saw Vol 8 of SAGA with Wild West cover art among the new releases, I knew I had to have it.
SAGA is my favorite comic series, because it is always pushing the envelope in terms of content, themes, gorgeously assured and sometimes shocking artwork, and characters so charming, honest and flawed that you can’t help but cheer for them. If you like intelligent, snarky, sometimes profane space opera with a vast cast of star-crossed lovers, bounty-hunters, humanoid robots, tabloid reporters, terrifying monsters, and oddball creatures all caught up in a galactic war between the technology-based Wings and magic-wielding Horns of Wreath and Landfall, this series is guaranteed to captivate.
In Vol 8, Marko, Alana, Hazel, Prince Robot, and Petrichor find themselves on a remote Wild West planet. The traumatic events on planet Phang are still lingering, and they are in desperate need of an emergency medical procedure (any more details would be a spoiler). Once again writer Vaughan is unafraid to tackle a sensitive subject with the opening panel. And while I thought this time the story sometimes felt like it was purely a vehicle for political debate and hurt the story’s momentum, I applaud his willingness to put his characters in contentious moral situations. It’s a trademark of the entire series, love it or hate it.
While Petrichor encounters some Wild West outlaws, Alana, Marko, and Hazel hitch a ride on a train and meet up a very unexpected new character that quickly bonds with Hazel. In fact, Alana has discovered some surprising new powers that may be connected to this. Finally Alana and Marko reach their destination and the doctor they’ve been seeking. The dialogue sounds like something from a TV talk show debate, but then that’s what Vaughan wants to talk about, so that’s what we get. I thought this part of Vol 8 dragged, as the characters debate the merits of their actions. Likewise, Petrichor and Prince Robot are another odd partnership and have many arguments over gender, war, and politics. I liked the story of Hazel and her new friend Kurti better. There were a number of poignant moments as they innocently discuss the world of adults, and this section will appeal to parents, siblings, and those aspiring to become one. Again, this part is very well-written and didn’t feel as forced as their earlier parts.
In the next chapter, we once again see what The Will has been up to, and he’s not in a good place. Seems that one of the many individuals he’s casually killed during his illustrious freelance bounty hunter career had a loved one who has tracked him down to exact revenge. This person has decided to really torture him by going through his old memories. We get to see some scenes from The Will’s childhood and early days as a bounty hunter with The Stalk. Artist Fiona Staples treats us to the ultra-violent action that the series generally features. I’m sometimes unsure if Vaughan & Staples show gruesome violence for the vicarious thrills, or as a technique to highlight that killing is not clean and anonymous like storm-troopers in Star Wars. Considering that his old sins are now catching up with The Will, I would hazard a guess its’ the latter. Eventually, his tormentor unearths a very valuable secret from his memories, though it’s no secret to readers.
In the final chapter, we rejoin Upsher, the gay tabloid journalist, Ghus the little prairie-dog warrior with a sense of justice, and the innocent young son of Prince Robot, Squire. They have an adventure in the forest, seeking the fearsome Dread Naught, and Ghus and the young robot have some interesting discussions about what situations justify fighting and killing to protect yourself. Vol 8 ends on an upbeat note, quite the opposite of the dark final panels of Vol 7.
Now that the series has reached 48 episodes and eight volumes, it has settled down to a more thoughtful pace, and while I think it does lack the intensity of the first four volumes and over-indulges in overt political themes that didn’t really carry the story forward much, I think Vaughan feels that he’s earned the loyalty of readers enough to be able to explore such themes with less propulsive action and more discourse. Again, I really appreciate that SAGA is not about escapism, its about our messy world, war, injustice, intolerance, innocence and cruelty, and most importantly the decisions we must make each day to get to the next day. That’s what keeps the series relevant and fresh – it’s real and funny and heartbreaking, often in rapid succession. Give it a try if you haven’t yet....more
Neutron Star-Dense Cyberpunk, Hugely Influential, Hard to Digest Back in the 1980s, it was William Gibson's Neuromancer (1984), Bruce Stirling's SchismNeutron Star-Dense Cyberpunk, Hugely Influential, Hard to Digest Back in the 1980s, it was William Gibson's Neuromancer (1984), Bruce Stirling's Schismatrix (1985), Walter Jon Williams' Hardwired (1985), and Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash (1992) that gave birth to the concept of cyberpunk, shaking things up by mixing dystopian themes with the latest technology extrapolation, early iterations of the internet, cybernetic enhancements, hackers, AIs, and so forth. And of course the excellent later cyberpunk novel Altered Carbon (2002) by Richard Morgan owes a huge debt. But of that group, Sterling's Schismatrix is actually a lot more, it really goes galactic and post-human and explores themes that of human genetic and technological advances that bring mankind closer to the singularity, again before that terms was bandied about so frequently. It apparently was a major influence of the SF creations of Alastair Reynolds and Charles Stross as well.
So it's a bit sad that this was the only full-length outing that Sterling wrote about his Shaper-Mechanist universe, along with a series of excellent short-stories written previously that are included in Schismatrix Plus, namely "Swarm", "Spider Rose", "Cicada Queen", "Sunken Gardens", and "Twenty Evocations". There was enormous potential to expand on any of the seething mass of ideas that are jam-packed into this small but ultra-dense novel that still feels like a serious of vignettes, brief glimpses of a cold and scary post-human universe, ala Alastair Reynolds.
While it gets full marks for its brilliant ideas, free-wheeling extrapolation, and diamond-hard prose, it is also almost unreadable at times, given how much is packed into such tight passages and episodes. There is also a lot of implausible far-future developments, and of course a severe lack of relatable characters just like William Gibson, but then again that is a defining characteristic of cyberpunk in my view, as it's fundamentally dystopian and often a warning of what might happen if we surrender ourselves to AIs, technology, and hyper-capitalism at the expense of our humanity....more
A bit overlong, but Ray Porter's brilliant narration redeems it The Bobiverse was an unexpected hit by an unknown author who struggled to find a publisA bit overlong, but Ray Porter's brilliant narration redeems it The Bobiverse was an unexpected hit by an unknown author who struggled to find a publisher but signed a deal with Audible and somehow found one of the best voice narrators out there, Ray Porter, and the combination has been sheer magic. A bit like John Scalzi, Dennis E. Taylor tells clever, breezy, enjoyable SF adventures with solid science, lots of humorous geeky pop culture references like Ernest Cline's Ready Player One, and has a great concept of a human persona being converted into an AI, who then closes himself and launches a flotilla of Von Neumann machines to spread human and AI intelligence to the stars, with an endless possible number of adventures to be had.
I consider these Bobiverse stories as the perfect antidote to heavy-going, serious, literary books - these books are meant to be fun but intelligent, and don't take things so seriously all the time. This is the first one I've read in a while, and I have to say that while enjoyable, it was a bit overlong for the plot, which got a bit repetitive for the latter 2/3rds, but was still good solid entertainment....more
Another excellent novel from the most prolific and skilled SF writer of the late 60s/early 70s I thought I had covered all of Robert Silverberg's masteAnother excellent novel from the most prolific and skilled SF writer of the late 60s/early 70s I thought I had covered all of Robert Silverberg's masterpieces from his unbelievably prolific spurt of novels and short stories in that most exciting and turbulent time in America, the late 60s and early 70s. I don't know how he keep up that level of energy and creativity, or what chemical substances might have played a role, but the results include some amazing books, all concise, brilliantly conceived, and beautifully written: Downward to the Earth (1969), Nightwings (1969), Tower of Glass (1970), The World Inside (1971), A Time of Changes (1971), and Dying Inside (1972).
This one is pretty strange, about a very embittered hero of far-future humanity who has exiled himself to a deadly alien maze, since his mind was altered by an alien race to broadcast all his subconscious thoughts, making it unbearable to be hear him for other humans. When larger events put some of the human-colonized world in mortal danger, it's up to a special mission to convince him to set aside his anger, bitterness, and isolation to come to the aid of humanity once again, this time to face even more inscrutable and frightening aliens....more
The Temporal Void: An Action-Packed, Mind-Bending Final Volume Much like the Commonwealth Saga,this is a very long, detailed, imaginative, and sprawlinThe Temporal Void: An Action-Packed, Mind-Bending Final Volume Much like the Commonwealth Saga,this is a very long, detailed, imaginative, and sprawling epic space opera that involves dozens of characters, plots, advanced technologies, alien races, ancient galactic mysteries, nefarious plots and counterplots, all told in an engaging narrative that doesn't get bogged down in exposition like a lot of other hard SF stories. It's far more entertaining than the more grim future vision of Alastair Reynolds, to which Peter Hamilton is often compared to. The human characters here remain far more human than the cold post-humans of Reynolds, which sometimes strains credulity, as they regularly make contemporary cultural references and seem not so different from us, despite being set in a galactic society set in the 31st century, but that largely lies in how you would imagine future humans will be like.
The story is split into two main storylines, a fantasy-like coming of age story about Edeard, a young man coming into his own powerful telepathic powers in a medieval society, and another far more complex future narrative about the search for a Second Dreamer broadcasting dreams of a utopian world within the Void, a giant black hole that is steadily consuming the galaxy from the center outward.
Fortunately, this book makes up for the self-indulgent and juvenile power fantasies of the middle book with a vengeance, packing enough action, mind-bending speculation, and galaxy-busting events that I decided to give the overall series a 4-star rating for the wealth of ideas even if it lacked a tight focus and much of the characterization was a bit two-dimensional, as he seems to go for cramming as many characters and storylines into his epic, though he does go in-depth on his main protagonists. Overall, it's a very ambitious and entertaining series if you can forgive some of its excesses....more
The Temporal Void: A Draggy Middle Book that Indulges in Tedium Much like the Commonwealth Saga,this is a very long, detailed, imaginative, and sprawliThe Temporal Void: A Draggy Middle Book that Indulges in Tedium Much like the Commonwealth Saga,this is a very long, detailed, imaginative, and sprawling epic space opera that involves dozens of characters, plots, advanced technologies, alien races, ancient galactic mysteries, nefarious plots and counterplots, all told in an engaging narrative that doesn't get bogged down in exposition like a lot of other hard SF stories. It's far more entertaining than the more grim future vision of Alastair Reynolds, to which Peter Hamilton is often compared to. The human characters here remain far more human than the cold post-humans of Reynolds, which sometimes strains credulity, as they regularly make contemporary cultural references and seem not so different from us, despite being set in a galactic society set in the 31st century, but that largely lies in how you would imagine future humans will be like.
The story is split into two main storylines, a fantasy-like coming of age story about Edeard, a young man coming into his own powerful telepathic powers in a medieval society, and another far more complex future narrative about the search for a Second Dreamer broadcasting dreams of a utopian world within the Void, a giant black hole that is steadily consuming the galaxy from the center outward.
Unfortunately, this book spends much of its length dallying in the tedious romantic misadventures of of its increasingly powerful psychic Edeard, and really indulges in some self-indulgent and juvenile power fantasies that really takes away from the other storyline. It certainly feels like he had a contract for a trilogy and was treading water and filling pages in order to set the stage for the third book, when he could have cut this out and done better with two big volumes like the Commonwealth Saga....more
Originally posted at Fantasy Literature The Most Shattering Volume to Date It’s been nine months since I read Vol 8 of Saga, and ages since I've had timOriginally posted at Fantasy Literature The Most Shattering Volume to Date It’s been nine months since I read Vol 8 of Saga, and ages since I've had time to write any reviews since moving to London last fall. It’s one of the only comic series that I follow (the other being Vaughan's Paper Girls), and the characters are as vivid, complicated, lovable, despicable, cruel, and conflicted as any I know. This is a space opera that tackles the most difficult and relevant topics of our own society, doesn’t hesitate to shock readers, flip the script, and most frightening of all, doesn’t hold back from killing off major characters that we are deeply invested in. It’s a cruel message, that even the best people trying to just live their lives and maintain their ideals can be snuffed out by those with less scruples, and that those that have used violence in the past can rarely escape the consequences, even after having turned to a peaceful path. This volume will leave you stunned, gutted, and struggling to recover. Not only that, but writer Brian K. Vaughan and artist Fiona Staples have said they will be taking an extended hiatus after this volume. It may be a good time to re-read the entire series and consider the first nine volumes as a major story arc that comes to a stunning ending here.
In Vol 9, Marko & Alana, their daughter Hazel, Prince Robot, his son Squire, Petrichor, Ghus, Upsher & Doff, The Will, and Ianthe continue their tense cat & mouse chase. While the “good guys” are taking a breather, Upsher & Doff pitch the idea of sharing Marko & Alana’s story to their tabloid in exchange for a big payout that will let them (possibly) escape from all their pursuers and enemies and just be a “normal” family, one not under the constant threat of death from rival galactic empires that both have an interest in extinguishing them. At the same time, Prince Robot has his own plans on how to achieve happiness for himself, Squire, and Petrichor. This extremely unlikely trio makes for a fascinating family unit, and the whole series is so good at mixing up very different characters and forcing them to face brutally-difficult decisions in the midst of harrowing circumstances. How Vaughan manages to keep the banter clever, humorous, and yet completely honest is an amazing accomplishment. There are no false notes, just a continuously shifting tone as we go from quiet moments of brief happiness to sudden, wrenching, and violent deaths. It’s quite an emotional roller-coaster, so be prepared to be thrown for six and put through the wringer – it’s hard to imagine any fan of the series getting through this volume unscathed, and I was once again so impressed by how Vaughan and Staples use the story panels to create unbearable tension. I use Comixology and have it set so you read each panel without seeing the next, so there were moments in the story when I just didn’t want to move to the next panel, knowing something awful was waiting, but being unable to stop myself. It’s a perfect use of the medium, and the artwork is clean, expressive, and gorgeous as always....more
All These Worlds: The action-packed Bobiverse finale Originally posted at Fantasy Literature
Dennis E. Taylor’s BOBIVERSE series has turned out to be a All These Worlds: The action-packed Bobiverse finale Originally posted at Fantasy Literature
Dennis E. Taylor’s BOBIVERSE series has turned out to be a real winner, starting with We Are Legion (We Are Bob) in September 2016 and continuing with For We Are Many in May 2017. Usually I tend to read fairly serious, literary, and ambitious SFF books, but after going through not one, but two long episodes dealing with a debilitating herniated disc this year and being confined to lying on my back for weeks, I badly needed a comic break, and the BOBIVERSE series is a perfect place to get an action-packed, science-literate, hilarious, and even moving story in under 8 hours of audiobook bliss. It would not be an exaggeration to say that narrator Ray Porter is brilliant and absolutely perfect for this series. His delivery is so in tune with the snarky tone of the book that Dennis E. Taylor really should buy him a round or two if he hasn’t already.
If you’re looking for an ultra-fast-paced SF adventure featuring multiple AIs originating from the same individual, Von Neumann probes exploring the galaxy, the moral dilemmas of whether to assist a primitive race as a mechanical god, trying to combat the misguided policies of a human government on a new ocean colony, and battling to save the entire human race AND Bobiverse from an implacable alien race that consumes planetary systems and sentient species as a light snack, these are the books for you.
In All These Worlds, the third and final installment in the Bobiverse, Bob and his other fellow AIs remain engaged in dozens of different situations, mainly exploration and terraforming of planets to create new homes for the surviving remnants of humanity. This is not an easy business, and Taylor devotes a lot of time explaining the science and technology of it, but in a very understandable and reader-friendly way. This time he focuses on the various technologies involved in terraforming, starship engine drive back-engineering, and finding the optimum balance of producing enough technology and equipment to support terraforming while at the same time building enough weaponry to defend humanity from the rapacious Others, who simply have zero interest in sitting down for a cup of tea and discussing their differences like a civilized species.
The terraforming story on Poseidon involves a lot of political machinations between Marcus, one of the Bobs, and the local governing body of this water planet that seems to disagree on EVERY SINGLE POINT of managing the colonies’ development, and this rapidly develops from tense discussions, to embargoes, and finally open warfare. It’s all very frustrating for Marcus, as he is only trying to help them out, but they just won’t see common sense (at least from an immortal AI perspective).
There is also again a bittersweet love story for one of the Bob AIs, Howard, as he is in love with a mortal woman biologist, who is a perfect personality match for him but refuses to consider the idea of being digitally stored and made immortal. Howard, who has seen so many “ephemerals” come and go, cannot idly watch as she ages while he does not, and finds himself in a nasty fight with her children over her last wishes. Once again, this adds an element of thoughtful speculation on what it might mean to live forever, and whether most people really would take this option.
Finally, we have the Others, the implacable advanced alien race that likes to turn star systems into raw materials, and treats sentient beings as food. This time the Others plan to annihilate humanity wherever it has settled in the galaxy, and are racing to Earth to destroy it completely, so it is up to a group of “younger” Bobs to find a way to stop the Others to save both humanity and all the other sentient races that will be callously wiped out if they can’t find a last-ditch solution. Once again, it reminded me of a more light-hearted version of the unstoppable aliens of Alastair Reynolds’ REVELATION SPACE series.
All These Worlds’ story just flies along at near light speed — there are 76 chapters in only 281 pages, which translates to 3.6 pages per chapter. If anything, I think Taylor could slow things down a little and flesh out some of the side story elements, but then again part of the charm of the BOBIVERSE is that it never rests, unlike so many of the bloated series that jam the shelves of bookstores. All the Bobs are relentless workaholics, so the story never stops for very long, despite the wealth of ideas that could get more in-depth treatment in a longer book.
Finally, I must again say that the Kindle versions of all the books are only $4.99 each on Amazon.com and adding Audible narration is only an extra $1.99 if you are an Audible member. That is a ridiculously good deal, and one of the reasons I gave it a try in the first place, so take a trip to the Bobiverse!...more
Galactic North: Reynolds excels at shorter lengths Originally posted at Fantasy Literature Having read all the full-length novels in Alastair Reynolds’ Galactic North: Reynolds excels at shorter lengths Originally posted at Fantasy Literature Having read all the full-length novels in Alastair Reynolds’ REVELATION SPACE series, I knew I’d eventually get to his shorter works set in the same dark and complex universe. The main novels are Revelation Space, Redemption Ark, Chasm City, Absolution Gap, and The Prefect. Reynolds has produced a detailed future history, inspired by works such as Bruce Sterling’s Schismatrix, Larry Niven’s KNOWN SPACE, and Iain M. Banks’ CULTURE novels, and the stories in Galactic North (2006) fill in important details and serve as memorable tales of post-humans in a cold and inhospitable universe.
When I read Reynolds‘ full-length works last year, one of my biggest complaints was that they were overlong, turgidly-paced, and heavy on exposition. Those problems are largely absent from this collection — these stories are action-packed, dense, and effective. They revolve around morally-complex, highly-augmented mercenaries, hive-mind humans, conflicted ships captains, ruthless pirates, and scientists, and often pack a nasty punch at the end — this is not a forgiving galaxy for humans of any kind. But when you get used it, it really draws you in. Now that I understand the chronology and scale of his universe better, I appreciate the events of the novels more. As with all Alastair Reynolds’ audiobooks, the stories are narrated well by John Lee, whose dignified British delivery is a good fit for his work.
Reynolds’ milieu is fully developed. Mankind has colonized many worlds in our part of the galaxy, but has not developed FTL technology, so star travel is frequently done while in hibernation (“reefer sleep”), and the level of cybernetic technology has split humanity into a number of sub-groups, including Demarchists (moderately-augmented humans that practice real-time democracy via neural implants), Ultras (highly-augmented cyborg humans), and Conjoiners (mentally-linked humans with hive-mind traits). Humanity has also encountered the remains of many dead alien civilizations, illustrating Fermi’s Paradox of why we have not been contacted by other alien species despite the billions of potentially-habitable worlds in the universe. The stories are ordered in a rough chronology ranging from 2,205 CE in “Great Wall of Mars” to 40,000 CE at the end of “Galactic North.” These are the stories in the collection:
Great Wall of Mars
This is the earliest story in Reynold’s future chronology, the pivotal story of Nevil Clavain, a prominent figure in the main REVELATION SPACE series, and Galiana, the founder of the Conjoiner movement. It’s a tense tale of the fight between Coalitionists, Demarchists, and a rebel group led by Galiana holed up on Mars. The Earth forces have the rebels pinned down in their fortified construct (the “Great Wall”) which extends deep underground. Clavain and Galiana are ostensibly enemies, but events conspire to force them together, and a young girl with severe brain damage plays a surprising role. The first-hand description of the Conjoiners’ collective consciousness is fascinating, and the story is action-packed and gripping.
Glacial
This takes place shortly after the previous story, as Clavain and Galiana arrive on an ice planet named Diadem, where they discover an abandoned Earth colony in which the colonists have all died after apparently going insane. They find one survivor who has jury-rigged a form of cryo-stasis, and revive him enough to question what happened. His story sounds fairly plausible, but Clavain has a nagging suspicion some details don’t add up. This is a fairly typical SF setup — the abandoned colony, mysterious deaths, and a suspicious survivor. But to Reynolds’ credit, he adds in some interesting alien biology about ice-worms, and the resolution of the mystery was a surprise to me.
A Spy in Europa
This is a short but intense story of an undercover agent who goes to a city situated under the ice sheet covering Europa. He is embroiled in the power struggle between the Demarchists (controlling Europa) and the Gilgamesh Isis (who control Ganymede and Callisto). He undergoes dramatic surgical alteration to be equipped with gills to survive in the freezing waters under the ice, and sets out to discover crucial secrets that will aid his side and undermine the Demarchists, but encounters some unexpected beings instead, who seem to be allies at first…
Weather
This is one of the best stories of the collection. It’s about Inigo, the shipmaster of the Ultra ship Petronel, which is attacked by pirates while transporting colonists in cryosleep. By a stroke of improbable cosmic luck, the pirate threat is eliminated and they find a lone Conjoiner woman being held prisoner. She has a name that is completely incomprehensible to baseline humans, but since it’s origin is from the gas cloud formations of Jupiter, he calls her “Weather.“
Inigo tries to establish a friendship with Weather though she is technically a prisoner, but the Captain distrusts her deeply as a Conjoiner due to events in his own past. But when the Petronel is pursued by a sinister stealth ship and needs to escape, they discover that the Conjoiner drive is damaged and no baseline humans or Ultras have the ability to repair it. It’s an ingenious aspect of Reynolds’ universe — the Conjoiners have mastered near-lightspeed travel and have shared it with other human groups, but refuse to reveal the secrets of its working. The slightest tampering will result in the entire engine going supernova and destroying the ship and everything nearby. All of a sudden, the Conjoiner woman’s cooperation is the only thing that can save them…
Dilation Sleep
This is apparently the first story written by Reynolds in his REVELATION SPACE universe. It’s a shorter tale of a man who wakes from cryosleep aboard a ship that is fleeing the Melding Plague that has overrun Yellowstone (these events are covered in greater detail in Chasm City). He did not remove the neural implants that make him vulnerable to the plague, but did make a digital copy of his wife, whose simulation tells him he needs to operate on one of the other passengers immediately. I thought this was one of weaker stories, which may reflect it being one of the earliest written.
Grafenwalder’s Bestiary
This is a dark and baroque tale of wealthy and decadent collectors of rare and freakish creatures in Chasm City. Grafenwalder is the most renowned collector, and he deeply covets something that will impress his little circle. Initially he manages to acquire a live adult-sized hamadryad (a creature also featured in Chasm City), but later gets whiff of something even more rare and valuable — a living specimen of a genetically-engineered human-fish hybrid first created on Europa many years back. He gets a DNA sample from his dealer which seems legitimate, and arranges the purchase. When he gets his prized specimen he can’t wait to show it off to his closest rival, with unexpected results…
Nightingale
This is a novella-length story of a group of mercenaries sent to track down a criminal accused of war crimes. An team of mercenaries is gathered (one of Reynolds’ favorite themes), the usual assemblage of highly-augmented Ultras and baseline humans. They get wind that their target, Colonel Brandon Jax, may be hiding out on an abandoned hospital ship called Nightingale. During the war on Sky’s Edge, this ship was in charge of healing soldiers on both sides of the conflict, but since the war ended it has been left untended.
However, when they arrive on the ship, it seems to be functioning more than should be the case for a derelict. Before you can say “Aliens or The Expanse,” it’s time to explore the ship’s innards. The team find increasingly strange activities aboard the ship, and when they encounter the AI intelligence running the ship, they’re in for a very nasty surprise…
Galactic North
This is another highlight of the collection, a wide-ranging novella that spans many centuries and covers many epochs of Reynolds’ future history, starting in 2,303 but ending far in the future around 40,000, covering some of the climactic events mentioned in Absolution Gap, the final book of the main REVELATION SPACE trilogy. At the end of that book, we learn of a new threat to the galaxy innocuously named Greenflies, but there are few details. In fact I found it quite frustrating for this to be introduced at the end of a massive trilogy (around 2,000 pages in total) along with several other mysterious alien presences and not enough explanation. Well, “Galactic North” explains what the Greenflies are and how they came to threaten the galaxy.
The story centers on Captain Irravel Veda, who is ambushed by pirates when making an unplanned stop for repairs. She is guarding two types of valuable cargo — 20,000 colonists in cryosleep, and terraforming Von Neumann machines called Greenflies. They fall under the control of the sadistic hyperpig Run Seven (yeah, don’t ask). He manages to pry the security codes via torture and trickery and flees with the cargo (why do badguys always leave their enemies alive, one might wonder?). What follows is a cat-and-mouse chase through time and space as Irravel pursues the pirates to get revenge.
Meantime, the Greenfly machines have malfunctioned and are dismantling every star system they encounter to build artificial habitats complete with plant-life (hence their name). Sounds great, except they destroy everything in their paths and don’t make exceptions for sentient beings or civilizations. It’s a particularly Reynolds-type of implacable disaster. Despite all the might of various space-faring civilizations, there isn’t much that even ancient races like the Nest Builders or Inhibitors can do but flee to the far reaches of the universe. There are some overlaps with Absolution Gap, but I’d be lying if I said there was total closure in this story....more
Ninefox Gambit: Careful or You’ll Catch Calendrical Rot Originally posted at Fantasy Literature I’m just going to add my two cents here, as a heretic whNinefox Gambit: Careful or You’ll Catch Calendrical Rot Originally posted at Fantasy Literature I’m just going to add my two cents here, as a heretic who refuses to conform to the calendrical hierarchy that forms the basis of this mathematical military hard SF space opera with some gender-bending thrown in for extra flavoring. Ninefox Gambit has drawn favorable comparisons to Ada Palmer’s Too Like the Lighting, because this book not only throws you off the deep end, but chains you up in neologisms, a complex future society that is not gift-wrapped neatly with a bow, and then chucks you in the magma of an intergalactic battle between the Hexarchate and heretics who refuse to follow the consensus reality, which powers the exotic technology and weaponry with which this empire maintains its vice-grip on its subjects. As others have observed, replace high-level mathematical formulae with magical spells, and voila, you’ve got a space-fantasy novel.
Of course Ninefox Gambit is far more complicated than that, but the basic story is of Kel soldier Charis teaming up with an immortal, homicidal, and totally insane undead general named Shuos Jedao to put down a heretical rebellion that has captured the supposedly-impregnable Fortress of Scattered Needles. Great names throughout, by the way, for that classical Three Kingdoms Chinese-fable feel but plugged into a hyper-militaristic future empire. You can react one of two ways — either your mind will rebel at the relentless stream of weird and confusing neologisms and mid-stream action opening sequence and say, “WTF was that?” Or … no that’s probably the standard response. The question then becomes, “Do I stick with it and hope that things will fall into place in time?” or “Do I ditch this book even though everyone is raving about how brilliant it is and I don’t want to be the loser who couldn’t handle the steep learning curve?”
Well, one thing about audiobooks is that even if you’re in way over your head, unlike in the print version where eventually you just cannot carry on any further, unless you click stop the audiobook keeps playing. And since 11 hours isn’t really THAT long, once you’ve gone halfway it would be silly to give up, so just let those bizarre events flow past your ears, and pluck a couple words here and there and try to figure them out. I found the exchanges between Charis and Jedao to be the most interesting, and the exotic and muddled futuristic battle sequences and protected siege to be the most boring. I mean, who couldn’t love an insane undead homicidal general who doesn’t even act apologetic for killing a million people and shooting his own officers in cold blood? Now that’s a character that will stay in your memory for a while.
Charis is a much more measured person, a soldier who is trying to do her duty, but knowing she is playing with a primal force that cannot be contained but is a “necessary evil,” that old chestnut. I found interesting echoes of Ann Leckie’s Ancillary Justice, particularly, in the subtle subversion of genders that are casually sprinkled at random moments. Yes, we’re pretty sure Charis is female and Jedao used to be male (he’s just a computer program now), and as audiobook narrator Emily Woo Zeller chooses to use “cigar-chomping drill sergeant” for every male military character, it’s clear from the voices who should be male and who female. But then out of nowhere sexual scenes don’t play out in the usual way, and there is the same obsession with gloves and the military found in Ancillary Justice. Is this a “thing” now? I hadn’t realized.
In any case, I haven’t even bothered to describe the plot because a) it’s quite complicated, b) other reviewers have done that already, and c) I just don’t have the discipline this time. But suffice to say I was of two minds about Ninefox Gambit. One the one hand, I did like how Yoon Ha Lee just decided “screw it, I won’t explain anything – you do the work.” But that puts a lot of stress on the reader/listener, and if the events you are describing are not gripping (like Dune, for instance, equally baroque and complex but also a rip-roaring space opera extravaganza), then your attention is going to wander … like a heretic! So I found myself stopping and rewinding again and again, over and over, till I decided it wasn’t worth doing that anymore. And while I struggled to follow the storyline at many points, I appreciated the exotic world-building and mathematical magic, and the love-hate relationship of Charis and Jedao....more
Death’s End: Truly epic finale to the THREE-BODY trilogy NEW INTERVIEW WITH TRANSLATOR KEN LIU: GIVEAWAY OF THREE-BODY TRILOGY AUDIO CD SET! Listening Death’s End: Truly epic finale to the THREE-BODY trilogy NEW INTERVIEW WITH TRANSLATOR KEN LIU: GIVEAWAY OF THREE-BODY TRILOGY AUDIO CD SET! Listening to Cixin Liu’s THREE-BODY trilogy reminds me of those graphics on cosmology that illustrate our relative scale in the universe. It starts with the microscopic world of individual atoms and molecules (or even subatomic particles like quarks and neutrinos), expands outward to individual cells, organisms, and larger creatures, then jumps out further to continents and the planet Earth, zooming back to encompass our solar system, the Milky Way galaxy, and then pulling out further to an endless sea of galaxies that make up our universe. But Liu doesn’t stop there. He’s just gotten started, really. After all, there are more universes out there, and we’ve only mentioned three dimensions so far.
The first book, The Three-Body Problem, focused mainly on the Earth and communications with the first alien race encountered by humanity, the Trisolarans. This book featured ‘sophons,’ protons unfolded into two dimensions and then etched with circuitry via mesons, creating super-powerful computers that occupy almost no space in three dimensions, allowing them to spy on human activities and interfere with scientific development.
The second book, The Dark Forest, introduced a new phase in Earth-Trisolaran relations, the Crisis Era, in which humanity had 400 years to prepare for an invasion by the Trisolarans after being coldly told “You’re bugs.” Humanity reacted in various ways, with some treating the Trisolarans as vengeful gods or saviors of mankind, or descending into hedonism and despair, but the most important project is the Wallfacer Project, in which the Planetary Defense Council selects four important individuals with the power to formulate different strategies to handle the impending invasion.
The catch is that the Trisolarans can monitor every move of humanity, so the only way to defeat them is to use subterfuge, trickery, and misdirection. It’s a very unusual take on the alien invasion theme, and the concept of a Wallfacer is one more familiar to Chinese readers, who recognize it from classic Chinese literature. The final part of the book has a climactic encounter between the human and Trisolaran fleets, and the brilliant stratagem that Luo Ji uses to prevent humanity’s annihilation by the enemy.
The third book, Death’s End, begins by detailing the birth of the Staircase project, another response to the Tri-Solaran Crisis. It introduces the main character of the book, Cheng Xin, a highly intelligent young female aerospace engineer. Despite her lack of experience, her innovative ideas about creating propulsion systems that approach light speed gain the attention of her superiors. When the project head demands lighter payloads to launch an individual human envoy toward the approaching Trisolaran fleet, she comes up with an innovation that will require the ultimate sacrifice, and finds the perfect person for the mission.
Thanks to Luo Ji’s genius, humanity and the Trisolarans have entered a stalemate known as the Deterrence Era. Luo Ji is the Swordbearer, ready to push a button that will almost certainly lead to the destruction of both Earth and Trisolaris at the hands of unseen but powerful aliens by revealing the locations of Earth and Trisolaris to the galaxy. This is an extension of the Dark Forest concept, which likens the universe to a dark forest filled with different species. Nobody knows if the others are hostile, but if they naively assume they are friendly they will likely be destroyed first, so the only logical response from a game-theory perspective is to strike first and destroy your opponent, whether they appear friendly or hostile. It is an interesting metaphor for the Cold War on a galactic scale, and a pessimistic solution to Fermi’s Paradox.
Eventually, when Luo Ji gets too old to remain the Swordbearer, it is decided that Cheng Xin will take over his duties. To reveal the following events would constitute major spoilers, but suffice to say that the Deterrence Era rapidly transitions to the Broadcast Era and then the Bunker Era due to a series of dramatic double-crosses, brinksmanship, and momentous decisions. This portion of Death’s End is very exciting and fast-paced, fulfilling the build-up of the first third of the book.
The Bunker Era makes up the bulk of the remaining half of Death’s End. Humanity remains under constant threat of destruction at the hands of unseen, more advanced species, the proverbial “Dark Forest Strike.” So they take refuge behind the larger planets of the solar system, in case a strike targeting the sun destroys it and the surrounding planets. But there are other factions that would prefer a different approach, such as the “Black Domain” strategy of using black holes to slow down the speed of light in the solar system, thereby blocking external strikes but isolating humanity from the rest of the galaxy. There is also the “Curvature-Propulsion” strategy, which seeks to create light-speed capable ships by manipulating the curvature of space. However, those that wish to avoid the attention of other alien species are concerned that light-speed ships will invite a “Dark Forest Strike.” So once again humanity struggles with itself, facing choices that may determine the survival of the species.
The final portion of Death’s End has so many mind-boggling set-pieces and events that describing them will certainly ruin your enjoyment of the book. Liu’s descriptions of multi-dimensional space and massive galactic events are incredible and even beautiful at times, as is the translation job done by Ken Liu. Kudos also go to the audiobook narrator P.J. Ochlan, who gives the characters the requisite attention amid the events that threaten to engulf them. The Dark Forest concept takes front and center in the closing movements, as we finally see humanity from the perspective of aliens so advanced that we indeed seem little more than bugs. What those aliens have in store for humanity is stunning, humbling, and deeply tragic.
Which brings us to the Galactic Era, as the remnants of humanity learn exactly where they stand in the galactic pecking order (hint: pretty far down, in case you didn’t guess already). The characters theorize what the most advanced alien races are like, and what their plans for the universe are, including multi-dimensional warfare, trying to outlive the heat-death of the universe, creating mini-universes outside of time, and the Big Crunch that awaits all sentient life at the end. It’s mind-expanding and terrifying in its implications.
In my interview with Cixin Liu after the publishing of The Dark Forest, he indicated that his favorite SF authors include Arthur C. Clarke, Ray Bradbury, and Jules Verne, and their influence can be clearly seen, especially Clarke. He is also deeply influenced by George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, and the dark tone of much of the THREE-BODY trilogy is certainly dystopian, in a galactic sense, though there are elements of hope in the ending of Death’s End and the story centers on the heroes that valiantly strive to save humanity. The overwhelming impression is not of a cold, uncaring universe, but rather an actively-hostile one in which humanity are indeed bugs scurrying across the floor, hoping to avoid getting stomped on....more
Saga, Vol 6: 4-year old Hazel becomes a major character Originally posted at Fantasy Literature Saga Vol 6 is the first one I had to wait for, as I readSaga, Vol 6: 4-year old Hazel becomes a major character Originally posted at Fantasy Literature Saga Vol 6 is the first one I had to wait for, as I read the first 5 volumes back-to-back. This is such a popular, excellently-written, and amazingly-illustrated series that the main question fans will have is, “Is it still as greater as ever?” Well, I’d say it isn’t quite as brilliant as the first 4 volumes, but Vaughan and Staples have established a very high level of storytelling and can probably maintain it for quite some time. So rest assured, fans will not be overly disappointed. This series remains centered on the characters, though this time the surprises and twists are fewer in number.
As I mentioned in my previous review, the tone had become a bit darker in Vol 5, and while I applaud the series for taking risks and embracing change, it was nice to see Vol 6 switching things up a bit and being more whimsical and less violent than usual. This may be because Hazel is no longer a baby - she’s a precocious little 4 year old, and is starting to talk and observe the adult world with less innocence than your average toddler. Until now she has been narrating offstage as an adult, and the incisive wit and life insights have been one of the greatest charms of the series.
So now we get to see Hazel in action as a little girl in what looks like a school but is quickly revealed as a detention facility on Landfall for “enemy noncombatants”. There are several adults also held there that serve as her “aunties”, including Alana’s mother Klara and Lexis, a former bounty-hunter. There is also another detainee named Petrichor who harbors her own secrets. Hazel develops a close relationship with her spider-like teacher, whom she reveals her dangerous secret to. Hazel has a lot to say about kids and grownups:
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No matter how much freedom they’re given, most kids are still glorified props, carefully shuttled from one secure location to the next. We’re not children, we’re eggs. But sooner or later, those eggs begin to crack. As they emerge, the creatures beneath those fragile shells begin to understand that they possess more agency than they ever dreamed. And when you finally realize you’ve been living your whole life inside a shitty nest, there’s only one thing to do.”
Meanwhile, Marko and Alana are finally reunited by the common cause of extracting Hazel from Landfall. So they make up as couples will do after major blowouts. They remain a very realistic and likable young couple trying to be the best parents possible amid difficult circumstances. They end up forming an alliance with a very unlikely individual to get access to Landfall.
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We also revisit Doff and Upsher, the gay journalist couple who were pursuing the sensational story of star-crossed lovers and a rumored love child that would shake up both sides of the civil war. They follow the trail to Hazel’s ballet teacher Ginny, who points them further along the trail. When the finally reach a distant planet, they run afoul of yet another familiar face who has gotten a bit…heavier.
So now we have the familiar multiple narratives, favorite characters, snappy dialogue, gorgeously precise artwork, and rich galactic background that make this series so great. So why did I feel like Vaughan was coasting just a wee bit? The story is as fast-paced and addictively-readable as always, and I breezed through it in one afternoon. But when I was finished, I couldn’t help feeling “Was that it?” Nothing really conclusive happened, and despite some eyebrow-raising panels, I wasn’t floored in shocked surprise like I was in the earlier volumes. Everything moved along at a steady pace, but there were no scene-stealing new characters or revelations. And having been spoilt by that earlier on, Vol 5 and 6 have been a bit lacking in table-turning plot twists.
If it weren’t for Hazel’s development as a young lady, I’d feel we’ve reached the middle volumes of a larger story, with the resultant loss of momentum we’ve been dreading. So while it still remains a wonderful comic series that captures the fickle tastes of Gen-X, I’m still hoping it will step it up a gear in future episodes....more
Life, the Universe, and Everything: Still funny, but losing coherence Originally posted at Fantasy Literature I loved THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALALife, the Universe, and Everything: Still funny, but losing coherence Originally posted at Fantasy Literature I loved THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY series when I read it back in 5th grade. It was one of the first science fiction series I read, shortly after THE LORD OF THE RINGS and THE CHRONICLES OF PRYDAIN. I was just forming my taste in fantastic fiction, and this was the first series I read that was truly funny, featuring dry, ironic British humor no less. It was completely new to a kid growing up in sunny Hawaii, pretty much as far from rainy, overcast England as you can get. In many cases I knew it was clever dialogue, but had no idea what Adams meant.
Listening to the audiobook read by Martin Freeman more than 20 years later, working with several very British co-workers who love to debate about the Tory & Labor parties, cricket (especially The Ashes), how rubbish Man U is this year, and whether Diego Costa is on form or not, I think I can finally understand what is going on in Life, the Universe, and Everything. After all, a vast chunk of the ostensible plot (a slippery concept where Douglas Adams is concerned) revolves around the white robot army of the planet Krikkit to steal The Ashes from Lord’s Cricket Ground in order to collect the needed components to form the Wikkit Gate and free their planet from the Slo-Mo Envelope. They are armed with incredibly powerful bats that deliver different lethal payloads depending on how they are struck.
Seriously, there was no chance that a 5th grader from Hawaii could have understood any of these references, however obvious they would be to a British reader. Even after dozens of attempts by my co-workers to explain the arcane sport of cricket to me, and having seen some matches in New Zealand during last year’s Cricket World Cup, I still have to throw up my hands in defeat. In my opinion, cricket is an even longer, more profoundly dull version of baseball, though its fans are equally fanatic about it.
Since the central plot of Life, the Universe, and Everything revolves around cricket as one gigantic in-joke, if that falls flat, then so does the story. Adams still delivers a steady stream of outlandish, nonsensical twists and turns to keep our favorite characters chasing through time and space to foil a dastardly plot to destroy the universe, and also visit prehistoric Earth to make further comments on how the human race really came about, not to mention some further enlightenment on the question of “What is life, the universe, and everything?” to which the answer from book 1 was, “42.”
The humorous one-liners remain clever, and the weird aliens continue to be weird, but the whole formula seems to be running out of narrative steam and revisiting old jokes a bit too much. It’s clear that Adams was getting a bit tired mining the same territory for laughs, and I discovered that the cricket part of the story was adapted from a much earlier story draft called “Dr. Who and the Krikkitmen,” which was rejected by the BBC. So the lack of organic cohesion becomes obvious.
Overall, the humor and comments on the vastness of the universe and the hopelessness of mere humans to understand even a small part of it have been fully covered in the first two books, and we are now retreading familiar ground. Even my favorite character, Marvin the Paranoid Robot, doesn’t have quite as many moments to drown in glorious self-misery. Imagine the funniest Monty Python, Fawlty Towers, or Black Adder episode, and then stretch it into a 3-part mini-series. Not so funny anymore, right? Nonetheless, if you are a fan of the previous two books, and you understand cricket, you will probably still enjoy this. I leave you with a Marvin quote:
My capacity for happiness,“ Marvin added, “you could fit into a matchbox without taking out the matches first....more
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe: Serious philosophy camouflaged as comedy Originally posted at Fantasy Literature The HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THThe Restaurant at the End of the Universe: Serious philosophy camouflaged as comedy Originally posted at Fantasy Literature The HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY series can be enjoyed on many levels, so it’s tough to decide how to review it. On the surface, it’s just a zany series of dry British humorous skits ala Monty Python, but when you dig deeper, Douglas Adams has a lot to say about life, the universe, and everything. Taken as a whole, he presents a consistent philosophy that our universe is impossibly huge beyond our comprehension, and our attempts to understand it are woefully inadequate. But we shouldn’t get too upset about it, because it’s much better not to take things overly seriously. Just sit back and enjoy the show, folks. It’s an amazing place.
I could try to describe the plot of The Restaurant at the End of the Universe in a linear fashion, but there just isn’t much point. It's a series of hilarious set pieces that give opportunities for Adams to deliver some incredibly funny and irreverent comments about people and aliens and just how ridiculous they can be. Considering that the series began as a BBC radio series and also became a TV series and stage show, it’s easy to see how it has evolved this way.
As always, Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect are an enjoyable pair of comic bumblers, while Zaphod Beeblebrox remains the absurdly egocentric ex-President of the Galaxy, and my personal favorite remains Marvin the Paranoid Robot, who has a brain the size of a planet but is only given an endless series of menial tasks, causing severe depression on his part. There is also a large supplementary cast with unforgettable names, such as Zarniwoop, Roosta, Gargravarr, the Ruler of the Universe, the Golgofrinchans, and fascinating creations like The Total Perspective Vortex:
When you are put into the Vortex you are given just one momentary glimpse of the entire unimaginable infinity of creation, and somewhere in it a tiny little marker, a microscopic dot on a microscopic dot, which says “You are here."
The story doesn’t make a lick of sense, and since Adams is intent on showing the absurdity of attempting to make sense of the immensity of the universe, it doesn’t have to. As I listened to the audiobook, I had trouble understanding what was happening, but instead keyed in on the sublime one-liners and crazy situations the characters found themselves in.
Speaking of audio narrators, Martin Freeman does the honors for this book and its sequels, whereas the brilliant comedian Stephen Fry narrated The Hitchhikers’ Guide to the Galaxy. That performance was so perfect that it would be hard for anyone to top it — in fact, I always recommend that book for any of the many audiobook skeptics I encounter. But Martin Freeman is no slouch — he played Arthur Dent in the 2005 film version of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the main character in the original UK The Office television series, Bilbo Baggins in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy of films, and Watson in the UK Sherlock TV series. I’m a huge fan of dry British humor, and Freeman really does a bang-up job of creating a host of unique character voices.
His one choice that struck a discordant note was giving Zaphod Beeblebrox, one-time President of the Galaxy, a Bronx accent more suited to a hotdog stand operator. The accent itself is excellent — but it doesn’t really fit the character. I got used to it, but it wasn’t my favorite. The most important voice in my mind is Marvin the Paranoid Robot. If Freeman can nail his lines, all else is forgiven. And Freeman is well suited for self-deprecating misery — his most famous television role is as the downtrodden office worker tormented by Ricky Gervais, after all. Fortunately he pulled it off very nicely.
Once again I’ll finish this review with a classic Marvin quote. At one point Marvin gets left behind in a parking lot by the main characters for 576 billion years as they leap forward in time but not in place:
The first ten million years were the worst, and the second ten million years, they were the worst too. The third ten million I didn’t enjoy at all. After that I went into a bit of a decline. The best conversation I had was over forty million years ago…. And that was with a coffee machine....more
Saga, Volume 5: The tone darkens amid terrorism and war Originally posted at Fantasy Literature Saga Vol 5 represents a noticeable shift in tone in the Saga, Volume 5: The tone darkens amid terrorism and war Originally posted at Fantasy Literature Saga Vol 5 represents a noticeable shift in tone in the ever-evolving series. Until this point the story has managed to wonderfully balance the tribulations of Alana, Marko, Klara and Hazel; The Will, Lying Cat, Gwendolyn and Sophia in pursuit, Prince Robot IV, and the renegade terrorist Dengo. Some of my absolute favorite moments of Vol 4 involved Alana’s acting career and the hardships and temptations faced by Marko as a stay-at-home dad. I also found the story of Dengo incredibly relevant to today’s world in depicting the mentality of a terrorist who believes that murder of innocents is justified in pursuit of a larger goal.
All the storylines continue in Vol 5, but perhaps because of the incredibly high quality of storytelling in the preceding volumes, I felt a slight but undeniable drop-off in my enjoyment of this one. In particular, I missed the interactions of Alana and Marko as circumstances have split them apart, and The Will and Gwendolyn are also separated. We get a lot of insight into Marko’s struggle with his violent past, but don’t learn as much about Alana. Most disappointingly, the dynamics of The Brand, Gwendolyn, and Sophia are not as interesting without The Will to serve as counterpoint.
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The tone has also become much darker and the humor has diminished as war and terrorism take front and center. Specifically, the character of Dengo and his motivations for going on a killing spree are given greater depth. I actually felt that was the strongest part of this volume – Dengo horrified me as a ruthless killer in Vol 4, but as we learn more about his motivations, while they certainly do not justify his actions, they do make them more credible. When I see the almost daily terrorist acts around the world on the news, I am again reminded that Saga is very much about our own world and not just an escapist space opera fantasy.
However, the introduction of The Revolution wasn’t as compelling as I had hoped. While it’s interesting that they were fighting against both Wreath and Landfall, their motivations and actions were not given enough detail to make me care about their fates. The story’s criticism of the victims of war, particularly civilians, women and children, while certainly a legitimate point to make, felt a bit heavy-handed at times. I respect the fact that the entire Saga series makes a strong condemnation of the futility of war and its insidious tendency to pit people against each other in an endless zero-sum cycle of revenge, but the message sometimes overwhelmed the momentum of the story arcs.
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Finally, the quest of Gwendolyn, Sophia, and The Brand to find a magical cure to help The Will was frankly pointless and descended into crude territory purely for cheap shock value. Saga has never shied away from blindsiding readers with sudden and horrific scenes of violence and sexually explicit jokes and situations. But it’s always seemed to be a natural extension of the story up to this point, whereas this whole quest felt fairly superfluous and the gross-out bits just…gross.
I realize I’m being a bit harsh here on this extremely creative comic that I still love and feel very invested in. The artwork by Fiona Staples continues to be fantastic and captivates the eye and mind. I also recognize that all stories and characters have to go through periods when the reader may not like the directions they take, since we are putting a mirror to real life here. And without a dark and troubled road, the light at the end would not be visible. However, I felt there were moments that were forced and even Hazel’s brilliant narration was not quite as charming as before. There is still plenty of potential for Saga to pick back up in future volumes, and it remains such an incredible font of creative energy that nourishes fans tired of so much generic genre product, but I thought this volume was a bit less amazing that its predecessors....more
Saga, Volume 4: Brilliant storytelling, charming and chilling by turns Originally posted at Fantasy Literature Saga is one of those series that is sSaga, Volume 4: Brilliant storytelling, charming and chilling by turns Originally posted at Fantasy Literature Saga is one of those series that is so wildly popular, like Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, or The Sopranos, that you start to worry how the writers can maintain its high quality. Can they keep up the momentum, originality, artistic integrity, and entertainment that make the series so special? Or will they hit a wall and produce a total stinker of an ending, like Lost, or just fade into mediocrity like Glee. I’m so invested in the characters and world-building that it would be a tragedy if things headed south. So I’m glad to report that Saga Vol 4 remains great, and that Vaughan and Staples have managed to surprise yet again with totally unexpected story directions and even more new and intriguing characters.
The domestic drama of Alana and Marko has developed into the most realistic depiction of the ups and downs of a young couple with a baby that I have read in a long time. That this can be somehow incorporated into the larger story of a galactic war fought on numerous planets, embroiling dozens of species and people into a vicious and zero-sum conflict that produces many victims and no winners, is a testament to the storytelling skills of Brian K. Vaughan. And the artwork remains vivid, precise, beautiful, shocking and charming in each frame – Fiona Staples is my favorite comic book artist now, hands down. Clearly these two artists complement and inspire each other to an amazing degree.
[image]In particular, Vaughan and Staples have mastered the art of leading the reader with smaller panels to a full-page image with a poignant or humorous comment from Hazel, Alana and Marko’s daughter who has grown up before our very eyes. This is done particularly brilliantly in Vol 4, particularly the end of Chapter 18 (which details the stresses of Alana’s new career and Marko’s stay-at-home-dad), Alana’s first experience with Fadeaway, Dengo’s meeting with the Princess, and most frighteningly a full-page image of Dengo aboard the HMS Skyscraper. The buildup is so well done that I know something shocking or sad is waiting on the next page, and my finger hesitates above the Kindle, as I try to imagine what is coming next.
The narration by the future Hazel continues to be excellent, as she shares her observations on her growing up, and more importantly the difficulties faced by her parents, who can’t seem to catch a break. Of course it’s a given that any ongoing series needs to create conflict, setbacks, fights, moral conundrums, etc for the characters to navigate, and that all protagonists need various arcs to keep things interesting. But Vaughan lets us know on occasion that he is fully aware of these requirements but he isn’t satisfied with sticking to formula. Even when the story strays into territory that could easily be clichéd, our faithful narrator Hazel gives us a snarky comment as if to say, “Yeah, I know you were expecting X, but that’s boring. I’m going to give you Y, Z, and then A’ instead. Isn’t that so much cooler, anyway?”
[image]Volume 4 is also very bold by introducing the character of Dengo – just another peon in the Robot Kingdom who hides a deep-seated grudge. When he decides to act on his anger and seek vengeance, his actions completely flip the script and disrupt numerous storylines. I was genuinely chilled by his actions and reminded yet again that Saga is not just escapist fantasy. When someone decides they have been wronged and that they can adopt any means to get their revenge, you have only to look at daily terrorist bombings in Syria, Iraq, Turkey, Africa, and the depressingly frequent mass shootings in the US to understand that this mentality is REAL, and people can ruthlessly kill innocent bystanders when they think that justice or God is on their side.
At this point, Saga has gone well beyond just a quirky and profane Star Wars meets Romeo and Juliet story. It’s unafraid to address topics close to our hearts like the troubles of being first-time parents, the temptations of the flirtatious neighbor or co-workers offering a way to ‘take the edge off’ a soul-crushing job. And then the next chapter shows us in gory detail the everyday violence that war imposes on both soldiers and civilians, often making no distinction whatsoever. I’ve never encountered a story that can balance such wildly divergent tones and still pull them both off. Add to that a wonderfully ironic and knowing sense of humor, and the phenomenal artwork of Fiona Staples, and it’s easy to see why this is one of the hottest comic book series of the decade....more