The Oversight / Charlie Fletcher

The Oversight
(clearly intended as Oversight 1)
by Charlie Fletcher

fantasy

copyright 2014
read in September 2016

rated 7/10: well worth reading

Steam fantasy punk? Victorian England, with magic. There are three sides to the story: good magic users, bad magic users, non-magic users. Oh, and the good but unaligned magic users. And the non-magic users include those who know and those who don't... It's a complicated world :-)

It's a complicated world. And it's clear almost from the start, that this will be book one of a series. Sure enough, the end sets up for a continuing series... a series with several barely related threads. Not to worry, the end is still a solid conclusion to most of the story.

What a pity that "book one" is not mentioned on the cover.

It's fun, though. Characters that I can care about. Too many of them for a single book, that's the downside of being "book one". Some very minor threads which are there only for use in further books.

The writing style is interesting. Somehow simple yet with occasional, entertaining twists in the way in which words are used.

The story is not quite dark. There are threats, there is suffering. Not too much dwelling on the violence, more on the threat and effects of the violence.

And then the heroes stand up, fight back, win the day -- and leave plenty of villains for the next day.

Well worth reading as a standalone book. Could be an entertaining series.

====
Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting / Problems? Solved.
====

"I'm leaving my body to science fiction" … per Ginger Meggs

   

The Way of Kings / Brandon Sanderson

The Way of Kings
(Stormlight Archive 1)
by Brandon Sanderson

fantasy

copyright 2010
read in September 2016

rated 8/10: really quite good

I'm thinking, This book is familiar...?! Then I remember, I've read book two of this series. At last I'll find out what went before! I also seem to remember that I enjoyed book two. Even without having read book one.

So I start with positive expectations...

(btw: I have not re-read my review of book two. I prefer to review each book on my immediate impressions. On my own, just this book, immediate impressions.)

And this is, indeed, a good book.

Some fantasy is a standard work of fiction set in a world which is almost our own. The fantasy allows the writer to add swords and, perhaps, sorcery to a story set in a not-the-present timeline. Easy enough. Just needs an excellent story to make it zing.

Sanderson has created an entirely new world. There's one small area which is almost Earth-like, a pastoral oddity in a very odd world. The rest of this world is really, really odd !

The world -- land, plants, animals and people -- is absolutely unique. (Okay. Unique within my own limited range of reading. Unique enough for me.)

On top of that, both characters and plot are good. I like the characters. They have enough depth for me to wonder what they will do next... If only I could remember more from book two !

And the plot... Well... There are several threads and I can follow each one. Because I like the characters, the plot engages me. Because the world is unique, many of the plot developments are unexpected... Yet, once developed, they are almost expected because of the logical consistency of this world.

It's really quite good. Good enough that I now want to re-read book two. While my memory of this book is fresh enough that I remember what happened :-)

(And now, time to re-read my review of book two...)

===

04oct16:

Oh, and one other point that I forgot when writing the review:

On the cover of the book it clearly states, "Book One" and "Part One". No confusion. If you like this book, you know there are more. That the story will not really end on the last page of this book.

More importantly: The author and publisher are convinced that you will like this book. That you will like it enough to buy it -- even though you already know that it is only "part one". They are convinced that you will not be disappointed, that you will willingly buy "part one", that you will be willing to then buy part two.

Yes, they are correct.

Honesty in publishing.

And a very good book.

====
Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting / Problems? Solved.
====

"I'm leaving my body to science fiction" … per Ginger Meggs

   

The Snow Queen / Joan D. Vinge

The Snow Queen
by Joan D. Vinge

science fiction

copyright 1980
read in September 2016

rated 9/10: really, really good

This book has been republished, thirty years after it was first published. Has it dated? Not at all.

Okay, the heroine is called Moon and her boyfriend is Sparky. (Shades of American Vacation.) Yet the ideas are fresh, new, well presented. And very old.

Apparently, the plot is based on The Snow Queen fairytale by Hans Christian Andersen. So I checked the fairytale in Wikipedia. And yes, I can see the similarity: relatively modern science fiction based on a very old fairytale. And it is an excellent update.

As I start reading I wonder, Is this science fiction -- or fantasy? The style is fantasy. Or, perhaps, hippie mysticism. The writing is almost poetic in style. The story which it describes is science fiction. Good science fiction. The sort which offers a story which is relevant to today but set in a believeable future.

The theme is... no, the themes are, very much of the 1980s: scientific complexity versus self-sufficient simplicity; equality of male and female, and of alien. (It is, after all, science fiction.)  There are messages but they are not strident. The messages are not all one-sided.

The characters are likeable, with enough depth to be realistic. There are challenges, though there is nothing really heart-stopping. Some sad stories but no emphasis on the nastiness. Though that may be a modern perception. Perhaps I see the nastiness as simply less-than-the-standard suffering.

Then there's the heroine... She is soooo sweet! Which is a direct take from the original fairytale. I still like her :-)

This could be a tale of revenge. Yet it is not. Yes, the evil villain is destroyed -- after we are shown enough to allow us sympathy for her actions. The villain is about to meet her fully justified end -- and the heroine lets the villain know that all is not lost...

All the villain's plans are not lost, that is. Sure, the heroine has firmly quashed the villain. Yet the villain began with good intentions. Now her evil has been ended. Yet the heroine allows the villain to know -- before the fatal end -- that the original good intentions are still on track. And that, is very nice.

Perhaps I should write a bit about the two main themes...

Science versus simple self-sufficiency. The simple world is very pleasant. The science world is full of evil but it is not, in itself, evil. I'm wondering is the sequel will build a world of science without the evil?

A second theme is, gender equality. Some older books take "gender equality" to mean, "women are better than men". More modern movies take gender equality to mean, women kicking butt even harder that the men. Snow Queen has a heroine who is feminine within the standards of her (1980s) time. And who is strong enough to drive the story.

The heroine is as good as any man. In her own way.

Oh, and the villain is also a woman. She uses sex as one means to power. She is also very intelligent. A strong role model who has chosen evil means by which to follow her good intentions.

I guess that the heroine will continue those good intentions -- without the evil means !

All will be revealed. If I can find a republication of the sequel.

====
Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting / Problems? Solved.
====

"Listen to the sermon before eating the missionary" … per Ginger Meggs

   

Saturn's Children / Charles Stross

Saturn's Children
by Charles Stross

science fiction

copyright 2008
read in September 2016

rated 6/10: read to pass the time

Hang on. Am I missing something? Saturn's Children?! But they never go anywhere near Saturn! Hmmm, well, must be because, "His reign was depicted as a Golden Age of plenty and peace." (from Wikipedia). No, surely not. The universe of this book has neither plenty nor peace. Perhaps it's that reference to Saturn eating his son??

The whole book is like that: confusing.

It's a clever setting. Robots are created to serve Humanity. Then Humanity goes extinct. The robots are forced to follow Humanity's rules while creating their own civilisation. That's clever. There are clever ideas. There are humorous adaptations.

The heroine is likeable. A female sex robot -- what's not to like?! -- who is built to love, obey and "service" human males. Who no longer exist. Oops.

Then it gets confusing.

The heroine has flashbacks. Well explained but hard to follow. Is this a flashback? How are we getting a flashback now, when the flashback "memory" was created before these events? At least, that's the best that I can understand...

At the start the "other person's memories" are unexplained, that mystery is a part of the plot. By the time the author has explained the source of the flashbacks, they are so complicated that I am lost.

The ultimate evil plot (or group of interrelated plots) is revealed, nearly at the end of the book. At that stage I don't really care. Though it is nice to finally know who the villains... probably... are.

One plot is foiled. Various villains are despatched. Most villains just disappear. The heroine rides off into the sunset...

I'm glad she won. I just wish that it was a stronger ending.

Will the villains reappear in book two? Will the heroine ride back out of the sunset?

It's fun. It's clever. It's too complex. The ending is pleasant, just lacks a feeling of completeness.

In my opinion :-)

====
Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting / Problems? Solved.
====

"New experiences lead to new questions and new solutions ! Change forces us to experiment and adapt ! That's how we learn and grow !" … Calvin, to Hobbes

   

The End of All Things / John Scalzi

The End of All Things
by John Scalzi

science fiction, short story series

copyright 2015
read in September 2016

rated 6/10: read to pass the time

First, that "short story series": The book contains several short stories (or novellas) which follow a single plot. Follow loosely, that is. The stories add up to a "complete" novel. And I put complete in quotes because, well, as a novel it is lacking.

The stories are a sequence of events, snapshots of a future history. At a higher level -- two star-faring civilisations in conflict -- there is continuity. Individuals, however, come and go. Well, okay, many individuals are in each story. None are key characters throughout. This makes it difficult to see the book as a novel.

Each story is fun, sort of. Cunning humans, likeable aliens, conflict, a cunning plan, conflict resolution. I find it very hard to sympathise with the humans.

The humans are cunning, dishonest and cruel. Their "civilisation" is a cruel regime with absolute centralised power and no allowance for dissent. In the third story the author seems to recognise this:

The ruling group exercises its absolute power, there is a series of violent repressions. Some characters provide light relief, with suggestions that maybe this is not a good way to rule. Finally, one character makes a minor statement of disagreement. I guess that this represents a gradual shift of public opinion, away from the status quo.

Finally, a form of democracy is forced onto humanity. Not chosen, forced. Either democracy, or "the end of all things". Which is a rather melodramatic title.

It's either this, or "the end of all things". Where "the end" is, it seems, space war which is likely to destroy both human and alien civilisations. That's back to a barbaric square one. It's not the end of all things. Just the end of a nascent United (Alien) Nations group and the end of the human space empire.

The human space empire exercises absolute central power to crush independence movements. It uses guile, deception and brutality to defeat aliens. What's worth saving?!

And then there's the final, "alternate" version of the first story. It's the author padding this book with a story which he earlier rejected. I started to read it and gave up... Perhaps it would have been more interesting nearer the front of the book. Before I had developed such a strong dislike of the human characters.

Oh well.

Wham, bam. Humanity uber alles aliens.

It's entertaining.

It also leaves an unpleasant taste in the mind.

21mar18: Re-read it -- it's easy enough to read.

Agreed with my earlier review.

24jun20: I read it again. A similar opinion: still entertaining but still a somewhat unpleasant view of humanity, still leaves me with a somewhat unpleasant feeling in my mind..

This time, however, I read the full "alternate beginning". The published beginning is much better.

====
Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting / Problems? Solved.
====

"New experiences lead to new questions and new solutions ! Change forces us to experiment and adapt ! That's how we learn and grow !" … Calvin, to Hobbes