The Furthest Station / Ben Aaronovitch

The Furthest Station

(Peter Grant #7)

by Ben Aaronovitch

fantasy, subadult

copyright 2017

read in July 2020

rated 7/10: well worth reading

Another in the series of magic, police procedural and London (and surrounds). Thoroughly enjoyable :-)

The first thing I notice is, this is a thin book. Novella rather than novel. Just as enjoyable but read in less time. With a tighter focus on plot rather than the wide world of magic... Not to say that there is just one plot; there is more about a developing central character, plus a side plot to introduce a new character.

Previous books in the series had tended to increasing levels of violence and horror, this book is much milder. Aimed at subadults, perhaps. Especially with the developing teenage character -- and Peter Grant himself getting (presumably) older.

The police work is described with, as it says on the back cover, "laconic humour with a dash of cynicism". The magic fits nicely into modern life. The characters are likeable. The London setting is fascinating... and the occasional footnotes suggest that the series is also popular in America.

All good, well worth reading.

===

01sep22:

I read it again. Enough time has passed that I could not remember much. Though I suspect that t his time the ending made more sense... slower reading :-)

Something else has changed. I did not enjoy it as much. I would now rate it as six out of ten.

Not because the plot seems a bit less coherent, a touch deus ex machina. Though it does... now I take the time to think about it.

The problem is, the author is less sympathetic to his characters.

There's a scene where Nightingale is polishing his shoes. My impression is, ha ha the funny old man is being so old fashioned. Yet the hero is a police officer. Does he never polish his own shoes? The scene is used to make the older man different -- in a bad way.

A simple word of positive acceptance would fix the problem. But no. Just different, with a feeling that this is not good. Even... silly.

There's a general loss of sympathy for the characters.

Not as pleasant a reading experience.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

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"Please do not feed the fears" … graffiti on a toilet wall

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

Espedair Street / Iain Banks

Espedair Street

by Iain Banks

fiction

copyright 1987

not read in July 2020

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

Okay, that's not a fair rating but it's *my* rating. I thought, this bloke writes good science fiction, some of which I enjoy. Let's see what his non-science-fiction is like.

Stupid drivel.

Okay, that's just my *opinion*. As a reader of mostly fantasy and science fiction. Based on reading just a few pages of this book. So to be fair I'll quote from the front and back covers:

"Charming, sad, comic... the funnient, truest rock biopic yet" and "Glittering pockets of wit".

In my very brief reading I found no wit. Nothing funny. Perhaps a touch of sadness and charm.

Not a book that catches my interest. I stop reading.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

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"Please do not feed the fears" … graffiti on a toilet wall

===

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

The Stone Sky / N.K. Jemisin

The Stone Sky

(Broken Earth #3)

by N.K. Jemisin

fantasy

copyright 2017

not read in July 2020

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

(I'm only guessing that it is readable)

Book One was really quite good. Book Two was, read to pass the time.

Book Two was drifting from fantasy to a post-apocalyptic blame game, where the world has been destroyed because humans destroyed the natural environment. Still fantasy because humans appear to have upset the super-being who "is" the Earth.

Book three starts with a "prologue: me, when I was I". What?! Okay, the books are told from several points of view, each representing the one character at different ages. (And her daughter.) So yes, I expect to be confused.

Then I read, "In these memories I was someone else, just as the Stillness was someworld else. Then, and now. You, and you." Aaah, rubbish. I read for enjoyment. If I wanted to struggle to make sense of a story I would become an archaeologist.

Then the unsurprising reveal is pushed in the reader's face: Goodness me, this environmental disaster of a world... is Earth! Who'd'a guessed!

So I decided that reading the prologue was enough for me. Until I turned the page and realised that the prologue continued for another six pages.

So I read the last few paragraphs of that prologue. And decided... I am just not interested. And stopped reading.

Because I do have something else to read. Doesn't matter what it is, it will be better. Though, as it turned out, that thought was wrong.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

===

"Please do not feed the fears" … graffiti on a toilet wall

===

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

The Massacre of Mankind / Stephen Baxter

The Massacre of Mankind

by Stephen Baxter

science fiction, fansonly

copyright 2017

read in July 2020

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

Take an idea which was exciting -- though not new -- in the 1890s. Pretend it's a sequel -- to War of the Worlds -- though it's really a ramped-up rewrite... a "re-imagining". Throw in enough tedious description to make even the original author yawn. You could end up writing this book.

Look! the Martians are marching on London! Look! the Martians are marching on New York! Look! the Martians are... well, name a few well known cities, have the Martians destroy a few well known buildings... Have the destruction witnessed and described by people that we have not met before and who we never meet again... Repetitive. Boring.

There is reference to the deus ex machina ending of the real book. This book is worse. Oh, and there is -- apparently -- a natural progression of outer planets invading inner planets. Yet only Mars follows this pattern. What happened to Saturn, Uranus and Neptune? And what kept the Jovians at home?

Meanwhile, back on Earth... There's a character left over from the original book. He explains -- with no contradiction -- why he will be safe in a cave. The Martians, it seems, have never heard of caves. This is just a chapter after the narrator is almost killed by a Martian in a tunnelling machine. Oh, and we eventually find that the Martians live in underground cities... yet they don't understand humans hiding in holes in the ground?

With half as many words this book could be fun. Silly but fun. "Hard" science fiction? Certainly hard to read.

Just in case... I added the "fansonly" category. If you are a fan of tedious hard science fiction, try this. If you are a fan of H.G.Wells you may enjoy it. The references to book characters and real people and real events as they could have been after Martian War One, are interesting. If you are a fan of Wells or of history.

For the rest of us -- especially those who read for enjoyment -- look for another book.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

===

"Please do not feed the fears" … graffiti on a toilet wall

===

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

Spin the Sky / Katy Stauber

Spin the Sky
by Katy Stauber

space opera

copyright 2012
read in July 2020

rated 9/10: really really good

Really? Nine out of ten? In terms of my reading enjoyment -- definitely. As a great novel... seven or eight.

The story is set on a ranch near a small town in the old wild west. There are nice neighbours, tough ranchers, evil rich men, rustlers and outlaws. With the beautiful and tough woman defending her land while waiting for her gun-toting husband to come home from the war.

Sound familiar? It is. It just happens to be set in space.

This space world is a combination of clever science, jerry-built ingenuity and ludicrous unreality. All mixed with logic and fun.

What else is familiar? The story is Homer's Oddyssey rewritten. Or reimagined. As I read I recognised snippets of the great myth. So I read wikipedia articles and am now rereading Spin with a better appreciation. And enjoying the book even more.

This is not a retelling of the Oddyssey. It is a fun story inspired by and in the style of the Oddyssey. Read it, enjoy it. Then think, now that is really clever :-)

Very likeable characters. A storyline which jumps around -- in a logical fashion. With a very satisfying ending which leaves me hoping for further adventures.

Nick Lethbridge    /    Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting    /   Problems? Solved.
   ===
"Are you one of those people who think wallowing in unhappiness and bad luck is the same as toughing it out?" … Ononoki
  

Marina / Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Marina

by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

translated by Lucia Graves

fantasy

copyright 1999

part read in July 2020

rated 6/10: read to pass the time

I chose this book because it is set in Barcelona. I was in Barcelona a few years back -- and it is an amazing city. Whatever this author captures -- does not match my memories. That's okay, I saw the city as a tourist, a limited perspective.

So I read... and nothing much happens. Or, rather... strange -- illogical -- things happen. Here's something amazing, says the attractive young woman. Ho hum, say I.

I just never get wrapped up in the story. Too much, Oooohhh, isn't this weird. Not enough, This shows why it is weird. Follow an old woman who disappears? So what, standard suspense technique. A row of hanging humanoid dolls? So what, everyone has a hobby, even doll-makers.

There may be potential in this story. I just don't get enough to hint at that potential. Not enough information to even wonder where that missing potential could lead to. Not enough interesting material to even wonder what will happen.

I've identified this book as fantasy, it could also be horror. Depending on what eventually happens. (I read only 40 pages of almost 300.) It could be Cthulthu-style horror -- where nothing ever happens. All mood, no resolution. I don't know.

I have no interest in finding out what happens.

Read to pass the time. Expect to read through boredom. Let me know if anything happens.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

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"Take a lesson from the weather… it pays no attention to what the critics say." … per Ginger Meggs

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

Afterparty / Daryl Gregory

Afterparty

by Daryl Gregory

science fiction

copyright 2014

read in July 2020

rated 6/10: read to pass the time

Early note: I've not yet finished this book but I expect I will finish it. So why write anything now? Well, I just noticed the comment on the front cover:

"A great, giggling psychedelic trip." That's what Paolo Bacigalupi said. I wonder if he read the book.

I'm at page 115, less than half way. I wonder if Paolo started giggling at the main characters, most of whom are psychotic due to drug use. Perhaps the giggles started when the drug dealer seemed ready to kill the heroine. Or was the real giggling started when the priest was tortured then killed? Ha ha ha.

I checked my reviews of three of Paolo's books. He does seem to prefer dystopias. I guess that a miserable future-world view makes you willing to giggle at anything.

Now I'll finish reading and add more review below...

===

Finished the book. Still nothing to giggle about.

Psychedelic trip, yes, I can see that. The book is all about drugs and their effects. Future drugs, that is, it's science fiction.

The main characters are weird, severely flawed, loyal to each other, sympathetic. As in, I am sympathetic to them. I like them.

The world is a reasonable extension of today's world. Reasonable but not (I hope) likely. Reasonable enough that I don't simply say, That's ridiculous.

The plot matches the world: if I can accept that world then I can accept the plot. Convoluted, unreal, logical.

In fact, I quite enjoy the plot. 

It's possible that I would have rated this book at seven, well worth reading... but I just can't shake the negative impressions from that "giggling". One word -- yes, on the front cover -- and I just can't enjoy the book as much as it possibly deserves.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

===

"Take a lesson from the weather… it pays no attention to what the critics say." … per Ginger Meggs

===

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

Dawn of the Exile / Mitchell Hogan

Dawn of the Exile

(Infernal Guardian #2)

by Mitchell Hogan

fantasy

copyright 2019

read in June 2020

rated 9/10: really, really good

18mar24: read it again -- enjoyed it again. A very enjoyable book.

====

I don't have a fantasy category equivalent to "space opera", this book deserves it. Over the top action, ever increasing powers, larger than life characters. With a clever -- meaning, I like it -- way to prevent the ridiculous snowballing of super-powers.

All great fun :-)

The story is not too bad either. A series of adventures leading to a satisfying -- okay, and somewhat predictable -- conclusion. With some almost-surprises along the way.

The first book was clearly "to be continued" but with a satisfying -- interim -- conclusion. This book wraps up the first -- and introduces a brand new threat for further books.

The hero & heroine remind me of old-style romcom movies, from before the romcom expression was invented. They dislike & distrust each other, they constantly bicker, they are clearly destined to be madly in love. Better yet -- they are both honourable... in a very practical way.

(Think Modesty Blaise & Willie Garvin. Loyal to each other. Defenders of the weak. Fighters for justice. Willing to wreak violence on evildoers. Each with a history of past crimes.)

Is it great literature? Probably not. Is it great fun? Definitely yes.

Just what I wanted in a book. So, really really good :-)

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24dec20: Read it again. Enjoyed it just as much.

Interesting: I just checked, it seems that there is no third book in this series. Pity ! Maybe later :-)

====

12aug23: yes, read it again. Enjoyed it again. Just as much... or even more :-)

I notice that the heroine is willing to sacrifice other people -- and herself -- in order to save the world. This does make her feel guilty. The hero is worried that he too may be sacrificed.

Still no third book :-( But the author has written another book, I'll have to look for it :-)

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

===

"Take a lesson from the weather… it pays no attention to what the critics say." … per Ginger Meggs

===

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

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing / Hank Green

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing
by Hank Green

science fiction

copyright 2018
read in June 2020

rated 8/10: really quite good

The heroine is a rather likeable character -- with flaws. Some of the flaws -- which she admits, in this first-person account -- almost make me dislike her. Mainly, she gets caught up in the world of self -promotion.

I'm tempted to label this book as "dystopian". Can a book be dystopian when it is set firmly in today's First World world?

If it is dystopian then it is of the best kind -- with an overall positive view of the human inhabitants. That view, I suspect, is the main point of the book: the heroine gets caught up in all the negativity yet there is an enormous amount of surrounding positivity.

As for the heroine herself -- the end is unclear. It does seem to be a happy -- or at least satisfying -- ending. But is there more? It's hard to tell...

"What happens next" is wide open, this does not matter. This is a book about a process, a journey. Where does the journey lead? It hardly matters because the journey itself is so interesting.

In general I prefer a story where the author provides a clean, clear and definite conclusion. If the author has no ending, the story is a waste of time. In this book -- the journey, by itself, is sufficient.

Nick Lethbridge    /    Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting    /   Problems? Solved.
   ===
"Are you one of those people who think wallowing in unhappiness and bad luck is the same as toughing it out?" … Ononoki

===

02jun21: I found this book, started reading it again. My immediate thinking is, I really like these main characters :-)

Just not enough to continue reading.

I have vague memories of an enjoyable book. Lots still to happen. Some conflict, possibly some action.

I read my review above. No ending? Okay, I'll stop reading, just a few pages in. It's a positive review. Today, though, I want a beginning, a middle -- and an end. A story. Lord of the Rings, for example. Which, yes, I am now re-reading. An excellent book. Just what I want to read :-)