The Invisible Library / Genevieve Cogman

The Invisible Library
by Genevieve Cogman

fantasy, chicklit

copyright 2015
read in May 2016

rated 8/10: really quite good

09mar24: I've now read -- and re-read -- four or five books in the series: I enjoy them all. And yet... on this latest re-reading of book one -- I believe that this book is the best so far. The world is new, the characters are still untried and developing. And there is a distinct "freshness" to the book. Even on a multiple re-reading, it still feels fresh and new. "Fresh" as a quality separate from the excitement and enjoyment of the entire series.

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I like the characters. I really like the heroine. I enjoy the story as it rattles along at a reasonable pace. I am really impressed by the background to this fantasy universe.

The "invisible library" is run by people who collect books. Why do they collect them? Simply because the Librarians (capital L) believe that books are worth collecting... Though there is some doubt as to the hidden agendas of some of the senior staff.

The heroine is a book lover. She has just enough skills to be given the more challenging tasks. She is just beginning to suspect the ulterior motives of her superiors. An excellent balance of powerful mage and ingenue :-) With motives -- and a genuine love of books -- which make me admire her all the more.

There are also several asides which indicate that the author shares her character's love of books and language. The usual literary references. Plus occasional grammatical asides, done lightly and with humour.

Add an excellent collection of support characters and this book is really quite good. Each character has their own skill set. Each character is interesting -- and, to me, uniquely defined in this book.

Okay, many of the character "types" are standard. They are simply put together and presented in a uniquely interesting way.

The end is satisfactorily conclusive. But -- be warned -- this is intended to be the first of a series. The villain is banished rather than defeated. The heroes are planning to meet again. The secondary characters are left with many unresolved issues. (That's good, I like the characters. On the other hand, I hope that the next book does not constrain itself to the one world.)

The story itself is complex and solid. Nothing that is absolutely gripping, plenty that is enjoyable, entertaining and which makes me want to read more. With plenty of hints of where the next books will take us...

I hope that there are other books on the way :-) I enjoyed this first book by the author. I look forward to reading another.

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11jun2016:

I read and enjoyed this book. Then I read another book, The Librarian. That book was... not very good at all. To cheer myself up, I re-read The Invisible Library.

On second reading, The Invisible Library is even better :-) I took the time to follow the logic, to remember the names. I discovered points that I had missed on my first reading. I enjoyed the book even more, on this second reading.

The Invisible Library is a most enjoyable book. It gives me faith in the excellent quality of fantasy authors.
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09jan18:

After some very disappointing books I wanted to read something that I knew that I would enjoy.

And I did enjoy this book. Again :-)

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05mar21: And yet again! I do enjoy reading books. And I enjoy re-reading good books. This is a good book.

I just read a website that says that this book has the "trope" of an ambivalently-sexual heroine. (Or some phrase like that.) True.

The heroine is attracted to the handsome man and she has a history with a beautiful woman. The handsome man is attracted to the heroine and to the older man. The older man seems to be attracted to the younger man but is too polite to be more than polite to the heroine. All for one and one for all !

Which reference adds a further dimension: Older books can have friendship, support, teamwork -- with no sex. This book has the same friendship, etc -- with the added awareness of the possibility of sex. The sexual attraction is there, the characters are satisfied with more platonic relationships.

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Dr Nick Lethbridge / Agamedes Consulting
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"Today is your day ! Your mountain is waiting. So... get on your way."    — Dr. Seuss

   

The Wonders / Paddy O'Reilly

The Wonders
by Paddy O'Reilly

science fiction

copyright 2014
read in May 2016

rated 8/10: really quite good

This is a book with a simple story and a great depth. Nothing much happens -- and so much happens. Very little action, it's about characters and understanding.

It starts slowly -- yet is interesting from the very start. I do have some doubts: where will this go? What's so exciting about this seemingly simple situation? The easy writing and steady pace of revelation keep me reading.

The main theme is character driven. What are the effects of being "different"? How does the world treat those who are different?

There is also the central action of show business. Of making money by displaying the unusual to a jaded public. It's continuous "action" with no shootouts, no car chases.

There is some character development. Mostly, though, we are given an understanding of the various characters. All of whom are likeable... or, at least, understandable.

The "science" is not-too-near future. The show business is here and now. The characters are very human, with visible differences.

This is a quiet book which is really quite good.

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Dr Nick Lethbridge / Agamedes Consulting
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"Today is your day ! Your mountain is waiting. So... get on your way."    — Dr. Seuss
   

The Three-Body Problem / Cixin Liu

The Three-Body Problem
(book 1 of 3)
(translated by Ken Liu)
by Cixin Liu

science fiction

copyright 2006, translated in 2014
read in May 2016

rated 7/10: well worth reading if you like a mix of science with reasonable plot
... or 6/10: read to pass the time
... or 7/10: well worth reading as an example of Chinese science fiction

This book was briefly reviewed in the daily paper. I seem to remember that the review was very positive, positive enough for me to want to read the book. I don't remember the review mentioning that this book is the first of three. Makes me wonder if the reviewer read to the end... or read at all.

There is no hint on the cover of the book that this is book one of three. (Not on the cover of my ebook, anyway.) Makes me wonder if marketing cares at all about the reader. Certainly makes me feel cheated.

The Three-Body Problem is the first book of a trilogy. Yes, there is a reasonable ending. No, it is not a conclusion.

That said... I enjoyed the book, I am disappointed at the non-ending, the book is not good enough for me to be really annoyed that it is "to be continued".

The book is not very well written. It rambles. There is an awful lot of scientific explanation, not enough active use of the science. It reminds me of the Long Earth series -- except that Three-Body does have enough real plot to be interesting. But really...

The aliens want to unfold a proton from eleven to three dimensions. I have no problem with that. But do we really want to unfold to one dimension -- with several pages of what that looks like... then to two dimensions -- with several pages of discussion... The possibility of zero dimensions gets it right: a few paragraphs of the possibility, then get back to the main story.

Why is it so?

Let's look at the scientific explanations in The Long Earth, versus that in The Three-Body Problem. In Long Earth, there is the feeling that the author is writing a science primer. That the primer is aimed at readers because the author believes that every reader should learn the science. There is little on no plot to support the science.

In Three-Body there is the feeling that the author believes that every reader will share the author's interest in science. Yes, it's heavy science but here is a clear (simplified) explanation. The book is for readers who could have been science nerds but their careers took other paths. Meanwhile, here's enough plot to hold everyone's interest.

In an earlier post I put forward my understanding of science fiction writing awards: They are awarded to books which will drive the mainstream reader away from science fiction. They are awarded to books which talk down to readers who are not fully qualified nerds. Science fiction book awards are given to authors who clearly demonstrate that they are so much cleverer than the average reader.

Three-Body will never win that sort of award. I hope. Three-Body does not talk down to its readers.

So Three-Body is good science fiction. But...

Speaking of two dimensions... the characters are varied but flat. Or are they subtly understated, in the inscrutable Chinese way? Am I allowed to write that?!

I do enjoy the gradual unfolding of the story. We start with the Cultural Revolution -- which is interesting from an outsider's perspective. They really did use all those funny names?! At the time I thought it was all a Western joke! The story is simple enough but still enough to keep me reading.

What is actually happening -- or has happened -- is very gradually revealed. Amongst a lot of simple scientific explanation and drifting but coherent action. The story is interesting -- but there is no tension.

The book is a mish-mash of styles... Mostly, very old styles. The aliens almost say, Puny Earthlings, we will crush you with our mighty tentacles! The Earthlings are out-gunned -- but will clearly win due to our ability to love and lie. When the plot needs an explanation -- the villains either crack under minimal pressure or brag, so we can find out what is happening.

Then there is the four and a half century deadline to ultimate destruction... Is this a Chinese thing? An inbuilt acceptance of long, slow development?

And speaking of Chinese...

At first I thought that the translation was rather weak. The quality of the English is -- at the start -- rather poor. Poor sentence construction, poor use of words. It improves as the book goes on... Or, possibly, I get used to it.

Then, at the end, I read the translator's note. Which is very interesting! He tries to avoid a simple, literal translation. Instead, he tries for a translation of both words and meaning. (I remember that in our version of Inspector Rex. The spoken German was sometimes an odd colloquialism, the English subtitles used different words. Same meaning but expressed as would be usual for the language in use.)

The translation was never weak enough to detract, just to be occasionally odd. The translator's explanation was interesting. His views on translation are excellent.

The book also has a comment from the author, written for the English-language edition. Interesting enough... Though the main point of interest is... The author is just as wordy in an author's note as he is in the book itself.

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Dr Nick Lethbridge / Agamedes Consulting
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"Today is your day ! Your mountain is waiting. So... get on your way."    — Dr. Seuss
   

The Diamond Age / Neal Stephenson

The Diamond Age
by Neal Stephenson

science  fiction, postcyberpunk

copyright 1995
read in May 2016

rated 6/10: read to pass the time

The science is fantastic! Fantastic in imagination, almost believeable as an extension of current possibiities, a central part of the book.

The characters are over the top and boring. One -- Miranda -- is sympathetic, I care about her fate. The rest... come and go but who cares.

The plot is largely irrelevant and either pointless or poorly explained.

Put it this way: I am on holidays. This book is my away-from-home reading. I reached the beginning of the grand finale... all was about to be revealed... I put down the book... And could not be bothered finishing it for the next couple of weeks.

Oh, and when I did finish: it was disappointing.

Read to pass the time. Enjoy the scientific extrapolation. Wonder if the ending makes any sense. Be glad that Stephenson has written far better books.

Note on the category: postcyberpunk

The front cover claims that Stephenson is, "The Quentin Tarantino of postcyberpunk science fiction." So I have categorised this book as "science fiction" and "postcyberpunk". Now I have also skimmed the Wikipedia entry on postcyberpunk.

Roughly, "cyberpunk" is a bunch of disaffected people living in a dystopia of cyber -- information access -- and technological marvels.

Postcyberpunk has the same level of cyber and technological marvels but the characters are not disaffected and their world is not a dystopia.

That's my interpretation, in case you are interested. And to save you wading through the jargonised waffle of that Wikipedia entry.

But -- you and I are both thinking -- but surely postcyberpunk is, by its definition, science fiction?! So why does the book cover claim "postcyberpunk science fiction"?! My best guess is: to capture the widest possible market by appealing to two not really separate genres.

On a more useful note, the Wikepedia article also mentioned people who began reading science fiction in the 1980s... These people, it is claimed, would simply label this book as "science fiction". All the rest is irrelevant: It... is... just... science... fiction.

Science fiction. Good... or bad... or just some science fiction to be read to pass the time.

I enjoy reading about new sub-genres of science fiction. But I'm happy to just say, it's science fiction. And rate the book's enjoyment -- as a book that I have read.

Deathworld / Harry Harrison

Deathworld
(Deathworld 1)
by Harry Harrison

science fiction

copyright 1960
read in May 2016

rated 8/10: really quite good

It's an ancient old book. And still a very good book.

Sure, it's a bit dated. Only in the style, not in what it says. It reads like solid, over the top space opera. Beneath that, the plot and the message are still as good as ever.

I may have read it before... the planet itself seems vaguely familiar. When I read a book, I barely notice the title or the author, I just read the book. Which is one reason for this blog -- a reminder, to myself, of what I have read!

A quick search: I have not read Deathworld since starting the blog.

My current copy of the book comes from the Gutenberg website. What a brilliant site! At least, brilliant for someone who occasionally like to read older books.

What more can I say?!

This is a brilliant book with a strong message about humanity's destruction of the environment? This is a strongly worded message about the need to work with nature rather than against? This is a rubbish book where animals are unthinkingly sacrificed in order to further a battle plan of the brutal humans?

No. It's a not-so-simple adventure story, set in a what-if world of violent nature and sudden death. Where the hero seeks out a long-term solution, where the locals are unable to look beyond their short-term survival. All this overlaid with the author's then-current thinking on environmental issues -- with human expansion still the ultimate aim.

An enjoyable adventure. Reflecting -- simply to drive the pllot -- various views which I support, others which I do not.

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Dr Nick Lethbridge / Agamedes Consulting
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"The greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing." — William Arthur Ward.