Night Watch / Terry Pratchett

Night Watch

(Discworld # 27)

by Terry Pratchett

fantasy, humour

copyright 2002

re-read in February 2019

rated 7/10: well worth reading

Another great Discworld book !

So... why only seven out of ten ?

It's funny. It's exciting. It's social satire at its best. It's slathered on far too thick. The humour is great but the satire is just too blunt. Too many paragraphs -- almost pages -- of stating the author's views.

Pratchett forgets the writers' rule: show it don't say it. I think it's a growing change, from implied to satire to direct -- almost sarcastic -- statement. Not bad enough (in this book) to spoil the fun. Just a bit distracting.

Nevertheless, an excellent book. Funny, exciting, satisfying. Good reading for anyone who enjoys a good book. Essential reading for fans of the Discworld series.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

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"Leaders are visionaries with a poorly developed sense of fear and no concept of the odds against them." … Robert Jarvik

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Dying for you to read my blog, at https://notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au/ :-)

The Destiny of the Dead / Ian Irvine

The Destiny of the Dead

(Song of the Tears 3/3)

by Ian Irvine

fantasy

copyright 2008

read in February 2019

rated 6/10: read to pass the time

In fact I enjoyed this book just a bit more than 6 out of 10. It's just hard to say that it is "well worth reading". Good fun, pleasant, if you do not read it -- nothing lost.

Just recently I read another Irvine book. Re-read it, in fact. It was easy to read, fast and furious, complex. In eight years, Irvine has not changed his style -- which is fine. He writes good page-turners.

That was book one of a trilogy. This book (Destiny) is third of a trilogy, I wanted a conclusion ! Was it hard to come in after missing two previous books ? Not really.

There are plenty of characters but I quickly identified their roles. Partly because they were well introduced, partly because, well, it didn't really matter. Each character has a history but that history has very little impact on their current actions.

Characters tend to change from good to bad, from bad to good. Always with good reason, though it could be as simple as, I swore an oath which seemed right at the time. Oh, except for the *really* bad baddies: they are introduced as evil -- and ugly -- and they remain that way.

In fact... after the main action, as the book wraps up, lots of baddies join the goodies. For -- in plot terms -- quite adequate reasons. Hmmm... I can't remember anyone who -- in this book 3 of 3 -- went the other way, from goodie to baddie. And I am not complaining, I like villains who turn good :-)

The story starts as bad armies are converging on the few remaining goodies. There's no way we can escape from this, thinks the hero. Yet they do... Every chapter is like that: the hero is a full-time catastrophiser, he sees potential catastrophe on every page. Suspense building? Not after the first few times... it's more of a humorous cliché. Which is probably not intentional.

So the hero goes from one potential disaster to another. Surviving each by the skin of his teeth. All good fun :-)

Yet the author is not afraid to kill off characters... mainly, minor characters. The hero is also injured -- many times. Luckily there are magical healers in his group of survivors.

And finally, there is a distinct ending, where everything is satisfactorily wrapped up. All wrapped up but in a world which is big enough to allow for many more trilogies. The proper way to end a story.

Read this book to pass the time. Enjoy the action, adventure and well-meant heroism. It's not great, it's a lot of fun, it's a "book three" which can be read -- to pass the time -- without having read the previous two.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

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"Leaders are visionaries with a poorly developed sense of fear and no concept of the odds against them." … Robert Jarvik

===

Dying for you to read my blog, at https://notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au/ :-)

Head on / John Scalzi

Head on

by John Scalzi

science fiction

copyright 2018

read in February 2019

rated 8/10: really quite good

Very enjoyable. Also quite confusing...

Confusing? Complex, really. A murder-mystery with each revelation leading to further depths of suspicion. Plenty of characters appearing and reappearing, I have trouble distinguishing them. In general the characters reappear with enough hints to remind me who they are, where we last saw them. There are just a few that I can't place.

It's a sign of an enjoyable book: I read it fast enough to miss details which are essential to the story :-)

And now it gets confusing: I'm sure that some of the incidents are familiar. As though I have read this book but not all of it. Yet it is only recently published. I have read the precursor, Lock In. Is that what I remember?

Quick check of Wikipedia: no mention of other novels in the Lock in world. Perhaps Lock In has similar incidents? Perhaps I read the novella? Though a "history" is unlikely to include stories of FBI agents trashing a police threep.

Oh well. Blame it on my own memory.

I've just checked my review for Lock In. I see that I categorised it as "young adult". This book (Head on) has some of the subadult identifiers but it is a distinctly adult-or-anyone book. Suitable for adult readers, nothing that makes it unsuited for younger readers. Too much death for young children perhaps, but it's not a nasty book.

And yes, there is also plenty of gentle humour. With likable characters and whole heaps of action.

Good fun from start to finish. Good enough to read again, not quite good enough to demand an instant second reading.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

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"If it's stupid but it works, it's not stupid." … Ginger Meggs

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Dying for you to read my blog, at https://notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au/ :-)

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Autonomous / Annalee Newitz

Autonomous

by Annalee Newitz

science fiction, thriller

copyright 2017

rated 7/10: well worth reading

I do like this world of high tech extending into magic. Write a bit of code to change your DNA. Print out the latest vehicle or weapon or drug. Stream the internet direct to your mind. All controlled by a twiddle of the fingers, a shrug of the shoulders or a twitch of the face.

The story itself is a bit broad. It provides a solid understanding of why-is-it-so by providing a few too many flashbacks. Plus too many characters to demonstrate all aspects of this society. I can see why soap opera characters suffer so many personal disasters: it's easier for the reader to cope with just the one character. No matter how unlucky that character seems to be.

It's interesting that the author, in an afterword, says that a major edit was required to make the characters sympathetic. It doesn't quite work. After many words of slow story there is a sudden burst of violence -- which leaves me with an unshakeable dislike of two major characters. (Though I am still pleased with their ever-after ending.)

The story itself... covers several themes.

An interesting extension of the classic theme of equality for all thinking beings, human or electronic. A robot can become a free citizen. First, though, it must work off the cost of manufacture, as a slave. Okay so far. If a robot has equality with a human -- then a human can, equally, be a slave. Unpleasant logic and a valid point.

Another theme is the freedom to love -- and have sex with -- other people of other genders. And with robots. That is, the book is in favour of human/robot love and sex. Okay. Seems a bit creepy to me -- as presented in this book -- but I have no real objection.

Except for the scene where the love -- or desire for sex -- is first introduced: The male human climbs onto the back of the sexless robot while the robot fires big built-in guns. And I mean guns, it's not a euphemism. Hanging onto the back of a metal robot, big guns firing, the man gets an erection... the first visible sign that he has romantic feelings for the robot.

Really? I thought it was a comedy scene: big robot, big guns, macho man gets all excited. A hard-on for the power of the hardware... But no, it's the first sign of human/robot love.  I still think it's funny.

Overall, the book is enjoyable. Lots of action, lots of tech, some interesting ideas. A lot of time -- too much time -- spent exploring all aspects of the ideas. Some nasty but not sickening violence. Good science fiction exploring important issues. Worth reading and easy to read.

Also: it's a "thriller". In the sense of a small number of goodies fighting against a world-wide tyranny of organised evil.  The goodies are clearly outgunned and over-matched... but they are good/nice and good/clever. They may not win the war -- but they will definitely win this quite important battle.

====    Dr Nick Lethbridge  /  Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting / Problems? Solved.
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"I didn't fight my way to the top of the food chain just to become a vegan." … Ginger Meggs
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dying for you to read my blog: notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au :-)
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cafe: Tropico, North Beach

cafe: Tropico, North Beach

Hipster wall decorations showing signs of mass production. High chairs and tables, good for the views. Crowded inside, difficult to find parking outside. All signs of "hipster".

I've decided that there are two styles of hipster: repurposed shops with decorations of whatever is available, and the same look -- but done as a deliberate marketing technique. This café looks deliberate.

Service is good, coffee is good, we share a "Malteser" cake. It's gooey caramel on a slice of cake, solid sugar. Luckily the cake is also solid -- in a good way -- otherwise the sugar topping would have been unbearable. But, it's very nice. A shared slice is plenty.

Oh, there is also a shelf of "healthy" cakes and slices. Some look interesting. If that's what you want.

We were here once before, on a holiday, when other cafes were closed. We had a quick coffee as this shop was also closing. We enjoyed both visits but only returned because we wanted to see it in normal opening hours. So: two out of three, good but will not become a regular place for us.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

===

"If it's stupid but it works, it's not stupid." … Ginger Meggs

===

Dying for you to read my blog, at https://notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au/ :-)