The Truth / Terry Pratchett

The Truth
(Discworld #25)
by Terry Pratchett

fantasy, humour

copyright 2000
read (again) in August 2015

rated 9/10: really, really good

It's a while since I last read a Discworld novel. But it seems to me, this is one of the best. Likeable characters, tangled plot, awful puns, social satire and humorous vegetables.

I've also come out of a series of dystopian novels. The latest one was so miserable that I gave up reading half way through. I was desperate for some light relief...

Thank goodness for Discworld !

I read The Truth in one day. At several points I was laughing so hard that I was choking. (I do have a cold.) I had to stop reading, think serious thoughts, calm down... before I could risk reading on. I mean to say... They caught him by the Trifles... Ah, you just had to be there :-)

With a satisfactory ending for everyone. Although the potato may want a few more goes at reincarnation...

Brilliant :-)

Jules Renard (as quoted in GMail) - "Laziness is not

   

The Windup Girl / Paolo Bacigalupi

The Windup Girl
by Paolo Bacigalupi

science fiction, dystopia

copyright 2009
read (partly) in August 2015

rated 5/10: readable, but only if there's nothing else

It's a "good" book -- well written, well plotted, good characterisations -- and too miserable to read. I lasted less than half way. Perhaps I've passed my limit of dystopian novels...

Ship Breaker starts nasty but the hero soon shows signs of improving his lot in life. Gleam is nasty all the way through but the characters are cartoonish, so I'm not upset as they kill and betray each other.

Windup is written well enough that I get involved with the characters. So, as they scrabble through their miserable existences, it's depressing.

The Windup Girl herself is a slave, subject to death at any moment. She hopes to escape slavery, to become a starving peasant in the disease-ridden jungle. Whoopee.

Another somewhat sympathetic character has just had his life, his career, his family destroyed. Whoopee. One man is willing to help the Windup Girl, he is driven by lust. Otherwise, he's an evil bastard, willing to destroy people and countries in order to make more money.

The rest of the characters are even worse.

Okay, according to the blurb this is "a razor-sharp vision of our near future." And yes, I can see a simple extrapolation from current business practices. Is this book a morality tale, a lesson for our times ?

Hit me again ! Harder ! Put the boot in ! Harder ! I've almost learnt the lesson !

But I certainly don't enjoy it.

Jules Renard (as quoted in GMail) - "Laziness is not

   

Gleam / Tom Fletcher

Gleam
by Tom Fletcher

fantasy, dystopia

copyright 2014
read in August 2015

rated 6/10:  read to pass the time

I was glad to finally finish this book. It's not "bad". Perhaps it's close to 5/10, readable, but only if there's nothing else. It's just not an "enjoyable" book.

In an afterword the author writes, "I resist completely the idea that a sympathetic protagonist is a prerequisite for a functional novel." Sure, this novel may be functional. But there is no enjoyment when none of the characters are sympathetic.

My local library puts a sticker on the spine of books, to indicate genre. For years I would scan for the rocket or planet of science fiction. Then I added the dragon of fantasy. This book is the first I have seen with the new "dystopia" sticker.

And that's all it is. A novel of dystopia. A series of incidents in one dystopic environment after another. And as friends and supporters are slaughtered around him the chief protagonist simply sighs and says, Well, time to move on. What a creep.

Then there are aspects of the book which go beyond my willing suspension of disbelief...

Part two, and suddenly there are bikers. In a rusty knife and crossbow environment, there are motorbikes ! No hint of them in part one. The bikes are suddenly introduced... so that the characters can move a bit quicker.

There's a monster which targets the main character. It slaughters entire rooms full of other people yet fails to reach the one person that it wants to kill. And what is it anyway ?! It appears to be a one-off monster created by a childish mistake. How ? Why ? No idea.

If I re-read the book more carefully, would these apparent flaws be resolved ? I have no idea. The book does not inspire me to a second reading.

One final problem which is entirely forgiveable...

It must be difficult to give each character a unique voice. To write dialogue such that the reader can tell who is talking by the way that they speak. Beyond the plot of the novel, good dialogue requires an understanding of and empathy with each character.

The characters of Gleam have a tendency to long-winded speech. And each character speaks in exactly the same style. Each character speaks like a professor.

====

You know what this book reminds me of ? Eragon. Admittedly, Gleam has a much better plot. But it's the same approach... A group of stereotypes travel through a ladders-and-levels game. Each level is a demonstration of the amazing imagination of the author. We read, we gasp, we move on -- to an even more amazing level.

On the other hand, Eragon was childishly stupid. Gleam, at least, is a very adult dose of misery.

Jules Renard (as quoted in GMail) - "Laziness is not

   

The House of the Seven Gables / Nathaniel Hawthorne

The House of the Seven Gables
by Nathaniel Hawthorne

fiction, classic, ... Gothic romance ?

copyright 1851
read in August 2015

rated 7/10: well worth reading

There's an awful lot of words -- and very little happens. And yet, it is well worth reading. What little happens -- is quite gripping.

In between the action is a whole lot of description. Okay, it sets the mood... When people are happy we are given detailed descriptions of the sun shining and the garden growing. At a darker time there is -- of course ! -- a detailed description of a storm. It works, it's a lot of words, it's easy to read.

It's also interesting to gain insights into life at the time of the novel. I'd never considered, for example, that the first morning chore would be to roast the beans for coffee ! Social attitudes are also interesting... Not everything is better in modern times.

At one stage the main characters blow soap bubbles. Children in the street chase the bubbles... Today I was at a fair. I watched people blow soap bubbles while children chased the bubbles... Some things are eternally enjoyable :-)

The characters themselves are all likeable. Except for the one villain. There is one character who scares visitors -- yet the explanation is simple and we are shown the nice person behind the threatening expression.

When I say, We are shown: Hawthorne explains, in detail. None of this "show not tell" that is now recommended. It's all, tell. Is it better to "show" ?I don't know... But it works fine when Hawthorne tells us what each person is like.

And then... the book ends, rather suddenly. Loose ends are wrapped up, mysteries explained, the story concluded. No worries, this is a story of the long-term impact of evil actions. Actions which affect future generations. Even a happy resolution does not undo the unhappiness of the past... The message is more important than the final resolution !

You could read this book because it's a classic.

I read it -- and enjoyed it -- because it's a good book.

Jules Renard (as quoted in GMail) - "Laziness is not

   

Dark Intelligence / Neal Asher

Dark Intelligence
(Transformation #1)
by Neal Asher

science fiction

copyright 2015
read in August 2015

rated 6/10: read to pass the time

Sure, this is Neal Asher doing what he does so well... Super science, death and reincarnation, large scale destruction. It just lacks the humanity.

There are humans. They are dwarfed by the aliens and the AIs. It's hard to get interested in characters who are simply pawns of the super powerful AIs.

Perhaps there is a problem because I am reading this book on a screen ? When I wonder, who is this character ? it's too difficult to flick back a few pages to remind myself... So I miss some of the flow of some of the many parallel plots...

As usual, the AIs are as human as anyone... Well, except for the central driver of the story. He (it?) is powerful and mysterious. That's the point of the story, I guess: what is the ultimate purpose of this powerful AI ?

Finally, all is revealed... A satisfactory ending. Yet with no real involvement of reader -- this reader, anyway -- with the characters. So, satisfactory but so what...

Even the science is, even more than usual, over the top.

The science, the Polity, the action -- still good. The characters -- human and otherwise -- don't have a proper chance to grab my sympathies.

Fun to read but not the best by Asher.

Jules Renard (as quoted in GMail) - "Laziness is not

   

Sanctum's Breach / Jeff Inlo

Sanctum's Breach
(Delver Magic # 1)
by Jeff Inlo

fantasy

copyright 1993
read in August 2015

rated 7/10: well worth reading

Well worth reading ? Or, read to pass the time ? I've shaded the rating a little higher because I think it's... a good effort. And it's a... pleasant read !

Yes, pleasant :-)

An interesting world. Nothing startling: just a few large towns, lots of countryside, a forest full of elves. With dwarves in caves. Of course.

The Delvers, though, are new. The Algors are new -- and interestingly unique. The elves, even, are not your standard elves... Close, but different.

And all the characters are so very, pleasant ! For several chapters I was wondering, will there be any conflict ?! Or will everyone just shake hands and agree to do whatever is best for everyone...

It's not the most exciting of books. Yet things do happen. Things happen and you hope that it all turns out well, because the characters are so nice, and they mean well. Even the sorceress... who is not sure whether she is pleased or not. And warns the hero that if she -- the sorceress -- turns to evil then she will be back to kill the hero... I mean, how polite a (potential) villain do you want ?!

There is, very clearly, a spiritual message in the book. Spiritual as in, the Church of Godson... ! Christian but not (to my limited knowledge) a specific religion. This is part of the "pleasant" nature of the book.

The spiritual message is only annoying at the final climax. Not quite deus ex machina... Not divine intervention but certainly success via divine inspiration.

A rating of six out of ten would be more honest. Too bad ! I was in the mood for a light book... a pleasant read... And this book provided exactly that.

Easy, enjoyable. Just the book that I wanted to read :-)

Persius - "We consume our tomorrows fretting about our yesterdays."
  

Ship Breaker / Paolo Bacigalupi

Ship Breaker
by Paolo Bacigalupi

science fiction, young adult

copyright 2010
read in August 2015

rated 8/10: really quite good

A near-future dystopia, almost. There's a society -- an economy -- from super rich at the top, to the impoverished dregs at the bottom. Power flows with the money...

At the start of this book I was rather uncomfortable. I value my own freedom -- freedom of thought, at the very least -- and I actually get uncomfortable at the thought of slavery. I don't want to be a slave. I don't want anyone else to be a slave. The dregs at the bottom of the Ship Breaker world are economic slaves.

And yet... they can buy their way up and out. (Or, at least, up to the top of their own local pile of dirt.) This is economic slavery: escape is possible. You can earn your freedom if -- as the hero is told -- if you are both smart and lucky.

The hero is both smart and lucky. And loyal to his friends. After the uncomfortable start, we -- the readers -- are given hope. I like that. I was able to enjoy the book :-)

Having read and finished and enjoyed the book... Only then did I notice that it is classified as "young adult fiction". Thank goodness for young adult fiction ! I have no problem with struggle... I just see no need to wallow in despair.

Okay, I did see a bit of a... lapse ? The car chase of the last few chapters was a bit heavy on the swashbuckling. (No, not really a car chase. But definitely swashbuckling.) It's boy's own adventure, after a more thoughtful first half.

Not to worry, I enjoyed it all !

And then, in the final chapter: a friendly wave which left me smiling :-)   Thank you, Paolo !

The blurb on the back says, "loyalty is scarcer". What loyalty there is -- makes this a very enjoyable story. Well worth reading and really quite good.

Persius - "We consume our tomorrows fretting about our yesterdays."
  

Hilldiggers / Neal Asher

Hilldiggers
(Polity)
by Neal Asher

science fiction

copyright 2002
read in August 2015

rated 7/10:  well worth reading

Another rip-roaring yarn from the Polity :-)   Ultra violence, space battle, humans in genetically altered bodies... Death, immortality and a satisfactory conclusion. Neal Asher maintains his standards...

Or does he ?

The writing is just a little bit stilted. This book, I thought, could be an early Asher. The science, the style, the plot, all good. Lots of references to major Polity themes. Copyright 2002 but a post-2007 dedication. Hmmm...

Was Hilldiggers written very early, with later books providing detail of the then-unexplored Polity ? Was Hilldiggers written early -- but not published until other Polity books were successful ?

I could be wrong. But my first paragraph says all that needs saying for a book review. There is plenty of room for speculation... And I have no idea of the truth -- because I avoid reading about a book before I have written my own review.

So. Time now for research, to check my speculation.

Another enjoyable adventure from Neal Asher. With a bonus question for follow-up discovery :-)

"If your plan is for 1 year, plant rice. If your plan is for 10 years, plant trees. If your plan is for 100 years, educate children." Confucius