Book Review: Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
After reading this book I know exactly why it was nominated for an award, however I start to wonder why it didn’t win the award it was nominated for. I haven’t read everything from my list yet, but this novel is fantastic. It is as gripping as it is emotional, as enthralling as it is thoughtful.The story takes place in a tomorrow that very well could exist. It’s a world exactly like our own. Miranda is a sixteen year old High School student and the world is suddenly buzzing with activity because scientists have found out that an asteroid is going to strike the moon. It’s excitement for the research and the amazing opportunities this might present, not fear. But something goes terribly wrong. The asteroid pushed the moon into a closer orbit, throwing of the tides causing mass floods across the world, destroying entire cities. The sudden change of gravity ignites active volcanoes like never before, reignites dormant volcanoes, and opens up entirely new ones. Earthquakes and storms strike the Earth everywhere. Miranda and her family–her Mother and two brothers Jon and Matt–must fight to survive and hang on to what little hope they have of living through the worst catastrophe in human history.The novel is told in diary entries, as if Miranda were a real person, and this were a real event. It adds delicate reality to the already realistic world Pfeffer has created. Miranda narrates the events as they take place–the cold, the snow, the ash, and the deaths and chaos. Despair seems to creep in everywhere. You get a clear picture immediately of just how terrifying this experience must be and then an idea of just how strong a family relationship must be to allow them to survive.It’s a rich tale, very rich, and one that I am so happy to have read. It’s not even really SF. It very well could be a reality. Tomorrow this could happen to our world. Who knows. There isn’t some grand scale of technology here. It’s reality in a fictional sense. This is a must read novel of suspense, danger, and the power of hope. Pick it up. You won’t be disappointed!
Book Review: Living Next Door to the God of Love by Justina Robson
Note: From this point on in the book reviews I’m going to be reading short stories between books from various anthologies that I have. So, occasionally a post will pop up with a short story review on it, and then that same post will reappear with a new story added, until I finish that particular anthology and do a overall review for it. Now to the review of this particular book.This was one of the hardest books for me to get into. The opening is so utterly bizarre that I hadn’t a clue what was really going on until around page 200–about halfway into the book. The story is basically as follows:Francine is a young teenager who has run away from her world to another world. She’s running away from her life where love has failed her, hoping that she might find love elsewhere. It’s there in Sankhara that she meets Jalaeka who turns out to be a splinter of the god-like entity called the Unity. But Unity wants Jalaeka back and is willing to do just about anything, even destroying entire sidebars (alternate worlds), to get what it wants. I really did like the concept for this. The sidebars/worlds are all these fantastic places where fantasies and dreams are realities. Some places are like breeding grounds for super heroes and villians; others have elves and other mystical creatures. All these worlds completely unique to each other.The problem with the novel isn’t this concept, but with the way that Robson presents everything. The beginning is a blob of information and world building that doesn’t make hardly any sense at all. I got lost so many times trying to figure out who the heck is who and why the hell these characters that are supposedly human are acting so, well, inhuman. I’m still baffled by that myself. Is there something about Jalaeka that makes people suddenly in love with him? I’m sort of lost there. Part of the issue is the overwhelming amount of character viewpoints. At first I was used to the simple three–Jalaeka, Francine, and Greg–but then Robson adds in Valkyrie, Theo, and Rita too, later on in the novel. This is all just too much. I can’t keep concentrated on the concepts that are very deep and already difficult to grasp when I’m forced to jump around character to character.In all honesty the novel only started getting interesting to me by around page 200, and it had me somewhat hooked for about 100 pages, but Robson managed to kill it again for me by going off on random almost useless tangents about past lives or some such that actually have so little to do with the story at hand. Unity is freaking out trying to get Jalaeka, trying to destroy his friends to get to him, etc. and then Jalaeka is trying to fix his friends because Unity has translated Greg (meaning assimilated basically) and the only thing that can fix it is the Engine. Then fooling with the Engine screws everything up and the entire world of Sankhara starts going down the tubes, and right in the middle of all this we are graced with a flashback session. Why? There is no reason for it. I don’t care about Jalaeka’s past at this point, some 300+ pages into the novel, because quite frankly there are far bigger things going on–namely the destruction of an entire world!In the end the novel leaves so many questions unanswered and the sense of persistent confusion at what exactly happened and why. While her writing style is rather poetic in nature, it doesn’t do anything to soften the blow that is this novel. It’s a tough read. There’s nothing exactly easy about this. I found myself wanting it to end already so I could move on. Several times I wanted to put it down and stop reading. I wish this had been written far differently with more believable characters and a plot that centered around the central theme rather than running off in random directions. As such, this isn’t exactly the great novel it’s being toted as by NY Times and the Guardian.
Book Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling
I’m not one of those folks that waited in line at night for the last 5 books to come out. I’m also not one of those that started out in the beginning, or latched on to the popularity as the movies came flying onto the big screen. Ironically enough, it wasn’t the story that drove me to Harry Potter originally, nor anything to do with Pottermania or the first film. It all started at Barnes & Noble, many years ago now. The first Harry Potter movie was coming out in theaters and my sister was a fanatic. I wasn’t much into the books, and didn’t really care. In fact, I think I was rather adamant about how ‘stupid and ridiculous’ they were. Then I saw something in B&N: the soundtrack to HP composed by none other than John Williams. I about took a dive at the counter because, well, I love John Williams. He is, by far, one of the greatest modern composers of our day, and possibly of all time. So I bought the soundtrack, on impulse, knowing full well that it was going to be completely amazing, as all his work is. And, it was, as I had hoped. In fact, it was better than completely amazing. His compositions were spawning a new foundation of greatness for Williams. I thought to myself, I have to see this stuff in action. I went with my Sister, Aunt, and Grandpa–who had actually been reading the books before Pottermania even started. And I was stunned! It was an amazing film and story!Then started my ascent into greatness. I picked up the book soon after and I was hooked. I read the first three one after another and waited anxiously for my sister to finish off the fourth. I read that and then the fifth and sixth as they came out. I saw all the movies too and became one of those that said, “They’re alright, but not as good as the book”, which is entirely true. Then I pre-ordered the seventh, anticipating desperately to read it, praying and hoping that it would be a great end to a great series.And, it is!To say that J. K. Rowling has managed to captivate the minds of children almost everywhere would be like saying the Bible has influenced people. She has managed to pull together this fantastic final volume to the HP sequence with flare and amazing tenacity.The story takes off some short time after book six, towards the end of the summer before what would be Harry’s seventh year at Hogwarts. But he, Ron, and Hermoine are not going back, as we already know. However, things are heating up. Voldemort and asserting his power, using the Imperius Curse and various other manipulations to control people within the Ministry. His army of Death Eaters is growing by the day and Harry must get to safety before the Fidelius Charm on his house fails and Voldemort can attack him.Then, it’s to the plan: hunting down the remaining Horcruxes, wherever they may be.I’m not willing to spoil this novel for those that have not read it, because that would be rude and mean. But that’s the basic plan. Voldemort is taking over; Harry has a mission.The story starts off quick, diving right into the action, giving you a perfect view of things going on. We meet again with familiar faces, and then there is death.Rowling is really pulling your heartstrings here. Granted, it’s not like Dumbledore being killed, which literally tore my heart in two and nearly left me in sobbing fits, but she is doing her best to show you just how dark and horrible Harry’s world is becoming. Of course, we all know how evil Voldemort is, having read the earlier books. Right? If you haven’t read them, do so, or else I might be forced to use the Cruciatus Curse on you. CRUCIO!Now, this novel is huge, clocking in at just a mere 759 pages. And there is plenty of fantastic stuff going around. You get a true sense of just how dire Harry’s situation is becoming, and how close he is to not only losing everything, and just how far away and hard it will be to succeed on his mission.This is a tantalizing end to the series. While I have to admit I was left with so many questions, I find that many of them don’t really matter, because the most important questions have been answered: Is Snape really bad? Is Dumbledore really dead? How will Harry beat Voldemort, and can he? I was curious to know what happened to the Dursley’s or Hermoine’s parents, but not enough to ignore just has gripping the story was. This is Rowling pulling together a decades worth of writing and you get the impression that there could be more. I hope there is more. I really do. She leaves it in a position where she could very well write more novels, perhaps not from the perspective of Harry, but perhaps another character.If you are weary of this last volume, don’t be. It will really pull some twists on you. You’ll be surprised by many things, I assure you.And, so, as things come to a close, I find myself suddenly saddened. The novel was fantastic, amazing on so many levels, but I find that now I have nothing to look forward to. Will there ever be a series that could capture the worlds’ attention in such a manner as this? Will there be a novel that people line up at bookstores for hours before release? I don’t know. I pray there will be. This is the end to one of the greatest literary achievements of all time. May the literary world take this moment to shine.
Book Review: Carnival by Elizabeth Bear
This was a rather interesting novel that dealt with some very engaging issues that are present in the world of today. It is a tale of lovers, a tale of colonized worlds, and a tale of betrayal and prejudice. For that, it is gripping and able to hold my attention throughout.The story takes place some time into the future after mankind has colonized other worlds in the galaxy, most of which are controlled by people known as the Governors, who seem to be a supreme logic over the common governments of the colony worlds. Michaelangelo and Vincent are two members of the Coalition military, and they are gay lovers. But in the Coalition this is shunned and forbidden. The Coalition is your typical domineering male society where anything out of the ordinary is considered taboo. But due to an inability to negotiate with the colony world New Amazonia–a place where women have become the dominant class and men are essentially slaves treated much like animals–the Coalition reunites these two men simply because they are ‘gentle’ and not like their women oppressing government. What takes place are twists and turns, people deceiving one another for the sake of political ideologies, and a slow push towards revolution.The story is fascinating, I’ll give it that. It is not nearly as powerful as some novels I have read, but it managed to keep me interested, and that’s the most important part. It’s not entirely perfect, but well worth the read. I thought the characters acted rather well, especially under different circumstances, and the overall theme around homosexuality was an interesting one. Not only are women oppressed in one society, and men oppressed in another, but homosexuals seem to have completely similar values to the Coalition and New Amazonia. The Coalition shuns them, but at the same time turns to them when they are in need some those who might be able to think more objectively; New Amazonia shuns them less directly, instead offering ‘gentle’ males the opportunity to become ambassadors, rather than slaves.Worth picking up for sure!
Book Review: Catalyst by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
Catalyst is one of those novels that when you read it you think to yourself, “that was bizarre.” That’s my general consensus of this novel. I can’t say I loved it, but I can’t say I didn’t like it either. Obviously, as I read this rather fast, it held my attention. Something about it grabbed me and kept me interested. Perhaps it was the sexual content or some deeply hidden part of myself that liked that content. I don’t know. It’s just a bizarre book.Catalyst starts out on the planet Chuudoku, a colony planet that humans have taken. Kaslin and his family have just moved there because his father is a failed criminal and that was their only option. We soon learn that Chuudoku is a bizarre planet home to strange vinelike plants that infect human hosts with their babies and other strangeness.Kaslin is bullied at school by an attractive girl named Histly (they are teenagers mind you at that ‘breaking into sexuality’ stage). Histly has strange augmentations that allow her to shoot poison and other nasty things from her fingertips. Then one day while Kaslin is running from Histly, hoping not to become a target for the fingers he doesn’t know about, he hides in a cave in the woods and discovers aliens!Now, the book was strange. The aliens sort of do things with their tongues, as a rule, and as such there are some very bizarre sexual things that take place, as you can imagine. A romance develops between him and Histly, for some reason, and it’s one of those very bizarre high school teeny bopper romances, only with sex.Hoffman has an okay writing style. I don’t know how well suited it is for the novel form, but it at least didn’t have me confused or irritated. The novel moves well and reads more like a novella rather than a novel as the plot itself is not very grandiose, though from the description you would think so. I’d say the novel is worth a read, but again, it is completely bizarre. The romance develops almost out of nowhere, though you can imagine that something like that might happen between a bully and the bullied (sometimes kids are like that). The aliens are even more bizarre, taking Kaslin and his mother and augmented them so they have strange new abilities.It’s bizarre, but I can say I was happy to have read it.
Book Review: Farthing by Jo Walton
This is a powerfully intriguing book that hurts itself in the end. Everything moves so smoothly, and then comes the end and disappointment.Farthing is an alternate history. It’s set in a world that asks the question: What if England made peace with Hitler in WW2 and ceased control of Europe to the Nazis?Walton does a fantastic job showing a world where Jews are hated not only on the European mainland, but even in America and England. It’s a world where the new ‘racism’ is being Jewish, period. Jews are banned in America, treated unfairly in England, and imprisoned, forced into labor, or killed in Europe (the Continent, the Nazi controlled place).The story is set in England in the country. Lucy is the daughter of a nobility class known as the Farthing Set–a group of politically like minded nobles of sorts. Her mother hates her, and why is that? Because Lucy has married David Kahn, a Jew. She’s practically been outcast by her mother and while her father supports her decision to marry David–for love rather that political gain–it puts considerable strain on family ties. The story starts off in Farthing–where the Farthing Set basically live or socialize. Lucy and her husband have been invited out somewhat suddenly to a party at her parents place–Farthing. Lucy doesn’t want to go, but David insists, and they go. One morning it is discovered that one of the Farthing Set has been murdered. In comes Carmichael, a detective from Scotland Yard who soon discovers that this murder is more strange than it seems. Some of the guests are lying right to his face, the nature of the death of the individual is even more peculiar, and the Jewish Star attached to the body suggests to him that someone is trying to frame Kahn.This rolls out much like an old English mystery and that gives the novel much of its charm. You soon learn that homosexuality is practically illegal in England, yet some of the nobility hide secrets of such actions. The story is very engaging and I found myself truly enjoying the character of Carmichael–he seems to be that sort of charming English chap you want to have around at Christmas.But the story is killed, I think, in the end. Don’t read further, because I will spoil it for you…..Carmichael figures it all out: the entire Farthing Set, or most of them anyway, conspired to kill the man to raise sympathy for an upcoming vote, and they intended to use the Kahn’s as scapegoats. So it’s all an elaborate ruse so that the Farthing Set can take over–which they do–and begin a reign of fascism–which they do.The problem is right in the end. Carmichael finds out one of his witnesses has been murdered–more than a coincidence–and he shows up at the Yard to present his case against Angela–the woman who killed her husband to set off the events mentioned. He presents the case and then he is told that Kahn did it and it would be in his best interest to simply go along with it. Why? Because they know about his secret gay relationship with his servant Jack and because it would be a pity for his career to end with such a scandel. Obviously, the police head is in the pocket of the Farthing Set.So, what does Carmichael do? Does his show his true integrity and refuse to let in? Nope, exactly the opposite. Walton takes all the integrity of Carmichael and successfully throws it in the trash bin. Carmichael just accepts it, though somewhat unhappily, and just goes on with his life. Excuse me? What kind of BS ending is that? The inspector goes through all the trouble to figure it out only to just forget it… Now, aside from the ending I would say the book is quite good. Just that darn ending hurts the book…