Ready Player One / Ernest Cline

Ready Player One
by Ernest Cline

science fiction, young adult

copyright 2011
read in October 2016

rated 8/10: really quite good

On the cover of this book it says, "Enchanting. Willy Wonka meets The Matrix." Well said :-)

"Enchanting" is not a word I would use. But really, it suits. The book is imaginative, exciting -- and pleasant. Sure, there's violence. Murder. Evil deeds. Enough to prove that the bad guys are bad. Not so much that it overwhelms. All of this is balanced by good guys who are... well... rather sweet.

This is a geek teen boys' wish fulfilment fantasy. The hero is overweight and unfit -- except in his online virtual reality. Then he spends a lot of time and effort losing weight and getting fitter -- to show that it is possible -- but he does not depend on his new strength to become a real-life superhero.

There is a strong message: Just as it says in a WoW hint, you can enjoy virtual reality but you should also enjoy the real world. And the book adds, that you can work hard to improve both.

It helps that the hero is an intelligent, computer hacking super geek. He also has high moral standards and a respect for his fellow humans. Plus the willingness to put his neck on the line in order to save his friends (and the virtual world). All in a slightly nerdy, uncertain-teen-boy, very realistic human package.

A while back, I read several books on a similar theme: teen geek hero uses brains to save world from evil corporate organisation. Ready Player One does it so much better.

Some of those earlier books drew all the heroes as intelligent, moral, teens. More: *every* teen was an intellligent, moral hero. And *every* adult was stupid and evil. There was no end to the stupidity and evilness of corporations, government and adults. There was no limit to the cleverness and integrity of every "young adult" character.

In at least one book I was left wondering, Why should I trust the teen "hero" when he is so willing to use lies and deceit to win the day ?!

Ready Player One has heroes who are intelligent, moral teens. There are also some stupid teens. The chief villains are mostly adult -- as far as we can tell. Evil employees of an evil corporation. With a hint of corrupt support from government. There are also nice adults. And plenty of hench-people who are simply doing the job they are paid to do.

This is not the "them versus us," of heroic teens versus evil adults, of that earlier book. This book is a handful of heroes with support of the generally okay masses, versus the evil mega-corporation, which includes many employees who have no choice other than employment or starvation.

It's a positive call to support the good guys. Rather than a negative attempt to portray anyone not "us" as a stupid and evil "them".

Great fun, great book, great enjoyment. I could almost say... enchanting :-)

Oh, and if you're a fan of the 1980s... it's a great journey through nostalgia.

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

"If all the world's a stage, the director deserves a pay cut." … per Ginger Meggs

   

Steelheart / Brandon Sanderson

Steelheart
(The Reckoners 1)
by Brandon Sanderson

young adult, fantasy

copyright 2013
read in October 2016

rated 6/10: read to pass the time

Here's an interesting coincidence: I was reading this book while, in the background, Bowling for Columbine was on TV. To me, guns and shooting deaths and shooting massacres are all part of the American ethos. Make guns illegal and the deaths will still be a part of American life. It's part of what makes America what it is.

Are we -- non-Americans -- glad that America joined WW2 ? Mostly, yes. Are we glad that Americans on a French train attacked and subdued terrorists? Yes. Americans may want peace but they are very definitely willing to *fight* for peace. Removing guns will not change that.

All the sanctimonious hand-wringing will not change the essential nature of Americans. Gun control is pointless. Attitudinal control may work: accept the tendency to violence, make it socially *un*acceptable to be *pointlessly* violent.

So that's my opinion :-) And where is the coincidence?

Steelheart is a fine example of the American attitude to violence. As are many, many other American books and TV shows and movies.

In Steelheart: The world has gone to wrack and ruin. The response of the all-American teen hero is -- to kill the villains. To kill their hench-people. To arm himself with super-weapons... while not harming any innocent bystanders. He would, I am sure, have loved Mom and apple pie, if he had not been an orphan living hand-to-mouth on the mean streets of the steel city...

See a problem? Kill it. The all-American answer.

Which is not to say that I disagree ! Americans are fighters, fighters for rights and justice, other people may have less violent attitudes. That's part of what makes America great. (If that's what you believe. This is just my own opinion.)

And while we wring our hands and say, how can an American teenager take a gun and kill so many people? ... we enjoy reading books which support that same violent approach to problem resolution.

So yes, I enjoy reading this book. It just -- by coincidence -- makes me think about the violence underlying American society. Which I support -- in part -- though I am glad that I don't live in America. I can understand it; I don't want to be part of it. Because I'm not an American. For better or for worse.

If you too enjoy this book -- don't then knock the American tendency to violent methods for solving problems.

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

"If all the world's a stage, the director deserves a pay cut." … per Ginger Meggs

   

If Then / Matthew de Abaitua

If Then
by Matthew de Abaitua

science fiction

copyright 2015
read in October 2016

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

I'm reading this book. I reach page 115. Out of more than 400. I stop reading. This book is boring me out of my mind.

It may be a moral fable of our time. Telling us that our monetaristic society is doomed. Telling us that putting our faith in a rural idyll based on radical brain surgery driven by a computer program provided by an international company... is doomed.

So what.

It's unbelieveable -- even for science fiction.

I think I'll read Russian for Dummies. It will be more interesting than If Then.

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

"I think that I've stumbled into the periphery of wisdom." … per Ginger Meggs

   

The Book of Taltos / Steven Brust

The Book of Taltos
(Vlad Taltos 1 and 6)
by Steven Brust

fantasy

copyright 1988, 1990
read in October 2016

rated 8/10: really quite good

===

17nov21: Yep, re-read both books. Enjoyed them both. Other than that, I won't comment on my original reviews (below).

This one volume containes two books in the Vlad Taltos saga: Taltos and Phoenix. In an Author's Note, Brust comments on the recommended order of reading the series. Should they be read in publication order, or by the chronological sequence of events?

For the keen reader, reading in publication order makes sense. Otherwise you need to wait till the author has finished writing all of the books, before it is safe to begin the first... I would like to read them in chronological sequence. In reality, I read the books as I find them.

This one volume contains the first and the sixth books in chronological sequence. They cover the beginning of the hero's career in the Organization, and his career's (apparent) ending. A good combination to read together -- despite the missing four books!

book one: Taltos
copyright 1988
rated 8/10: really quite good

Vlad Taltos begins his career as an assassin. The main story is interspersed with minor flashbacks, explanation as to how he became what he is. Each chapter begins with an italicised section which has no apparent role -- except to prove itself to be essential for the grand finale. Does that sound rather complicated?

I have read three of the "missing" four books. I read them well before I read these two. As I read those missing books I often thought, Have I missed something? Is there a missing first book? It seems that there was... Unfortunately, the missing "first" book was written a decade after the others.

Did Brust know -- ten years before he wrote it -- what was in the as-yet-unwritten first book? Or did he take vague thoughts and -- ten years later -- complete the story? Either way, I'm impressed :-)

This is a good book. It can be read alone. (That's the author's intention. I believe it works. Having already read others in the series, I can't be absolutely sure.) For me, this book fills in gaps in the saga.

"Taltos" completes the beginning of the Taltos saga. It is also a great read.

book two: Phoenix
copyright 1990
rated 7/10: well worth reading

And so we skip over several adventures -- including gaining a wife. The assassin and established crime-lord now faces major threats -- and separation from his wife.

This book is every bit as enjoyable as book one, yet I have rated it slightly lower. Why?! Because Taltos fills in gaps. Phoenix opens more gaps... Taltos is highly satisfying. Phoenix makes me want more. If I ever read the entire series in one sitting -- I will probably rate Phoenix as an eight :-)

Taltos now works well with his friends and with his employees. His book one self-assured wiseguy dealings with "authority" covered nervousness. He talked back yet understood that he could, at any moment, be utterly destroyed. Now he talks back because he means what he says. (Mostly.) He could still be destroyed but he has more confidence that he will survive.

These two books were written one after the other. The in-between character-building books were written years before. Brust easily deals with the "sudden" growth in his hero's character... Again, I am impressed :-)

Phoenix is clearly a continuation of the saga of Vlad Taltos, Jhereg and assassin. It is also, clearly, a new beginning.

in August 2023: I have just re-read Phoenix.

In this (and other books) Taltos and his wife have moved apart. It actually makes the relevant books less enjoyable. Somewhat uncomfortable.

This time, I have read about Brust in Wikipedia. Interesting... Brust himself had a marriage breakdown. The Taltos marriage breakdown can be read as a reflection of the author's own problems. And, perhaps... as an explanation of his own side of the real-life breakdown.

====

Yes, I have already read one of the "future" books. That one (if I remember correctly) was still not a clear direction to an end of the saga.

Where to next? I don't know. But I do look forward to finding out.

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

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

   

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