Title: I'll Give You the Sun
Author: Jandy Nelson
(This is an amazing book. I recommend it to everyone.)
Summary (with spoilers):
Noah and Jude, fraternal twins, are both artists. The story is told in chapters alternating between Noah's point of view at 13 to 14 and Jude's at 16. As the story unfolds, we learn how both kids find love and deal with their mother's death.
Noah paints everything in his head, and wants desperately to get into CSA, a school for the arts. However, his sister never mails his application, so he doesn't get in. Noah is in love with Brian, a baseball player who lives next door during the holidays. They start their romance, but Brian is scared that everyone will find out he is gay. Noah finds out that his mother is having an affair with the sculptor Guillermo Garcia. Upset, he sees Brian with a girl, and reveals that Brian is gay. Then he yells at his mother the night of her death. Later, he tells Guillermo that his mother wasn't going to accept his marriage proposal, even though she was.
Jude gets into CSA, but all of her clay artwork keeps breaking, which she is convinced is the doing of her mother. She decides to make a sculpture in stone, and convinces Guillermo to mentor her. All the while, she has conversations with her Grandmother's ghost and follows passages in her Grandmother's "bible," a book full of advice and superstitions. While working on her sculptor, she fails in love with Oscar Ralph, who has also seen hard times, including the death of his mother, who prophesized that he would find someone like Jude.
Jude decides to tell Noah that she is the reason he didn't get into CSA, and offers to give up her spot. She texts Noah, saying that she has something urgent to tell him. Believing that she's found out his secret, Noah plans to throw himself over one of the cliffs by the beach. Jude runs up there to save him (in the process telling off Zephyr, who she lost her virginity to the night her mother died). Noah slips out of Jude's grasp, but Oscar jumps on him and saves his life.
Soon after, all is revealed and forgiven. Guillermo realizes that Noah/Jude's mother really did love him, Noah is offered a spot at CSA, Jude and Oscar fall in love, and Brian and Noah are reunited.
My Thoughts:
This book is a symphony of color. The writing is original, descriptive, and swimming in metaphor. I loved Noah's voice, a mix of an artist's view of the world combined with a teen who is learning who he really is. His love story is so sweet, and his anguish pops off the page. Jude is so strange, fragile, and strong.
Many metaphors and themes run throughout the book. There's the idea of permanency (clay vs. stone, love vs. divorce, life vs. death) although we're given room to think about the space between these two extremes (ex. ghosts). There's the thread of guilt and forgiveness running through the book. The guilt that a character feels does not always mirror the reaction they get when they confess, like when Jude confesses to Noah that she threw away his application to CSA, and Noah isn't even angry. Of course, we have the metaphor of the sun, which is often Noah and Jude's mother. (Early on, Noah says her death would be like the sun going out, and that when his dad stepped out of the ocean, it blocked out the sun.) But I think the sun is also the buckets of light that Noah sees everywhere, especially with Brian. There's also the theme of space/largeness, like how Noah grows to take up more room than his father, and G.'s sculptures, which are so huge, and the ocean. There's the hugeness of life that overtakes everyone (especially Noah) all of the time. This only scratches the surface of the themes in this book. Truly masterful writing.
I loved how the grandmother was a character, even though she is deceased at the start of the book. It's interesting that Jude realizes the grandmother's ghost isn't real, as she admits that the ghost only knows the things that Jude knows about her grandmother.
Although the relationship between Jude and Oscar was well written, I'm not sure that it was needed. Noah's romantic story arc was so much more intense. In some ways, I feel like Jude and Oscar's relationship got in the way of the real relationship of her story, the one with her family, especially her mother.
This is the first book I read this year, but I have no doubt that it will be one of the best I read in 2015. The writing, the plotting, the characters: all of it is seriously amazing. I would recommend this book to everyone.
Saturday, January 3, 2015
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Wizards at War
Title: Wizards at War
Author: Diane Duane
Summary (with spoilers):
Since this is the eighth book in the series, I'm going to assume you've read the other ones, and jump right into the plot summary!
A new threat is causing problems, not just on Earth, but throughout the universe. Tom and Carl gather Nita, Kit, Dairine, and all of the visiting alien wizards (Filif, Sker'ret, and Roshaun) to tell them that space is expanding. This problem will eventually cause wizards to lose their powers and result in violence all over Earth, in addition to problems elsewhere. The older wizards, like Tom and Carl, are already starting to lose their powers, so it's up to Nita, Kit and the other young wizards of the universe to figure out a solution.
Ronan (who carries the One's Champion inside of him) shows up to accompany the gang, telling them that there could be a secret tool (the Instrumentality) to use against the new threat, if only they can find it. He gives Ponch the scent, and they travel to a strange place, with dark masses overhead, called the Pullulus. Ponch stops by the world he created to grab a spell manifested as a squirrel, which everyone follows to the world of Rashah. Rashah is home to the Yaldiv, strange beings that look like giant bugs who can break through Nita's defense spell and otherwise affect wizardry. The Yaldiv are hive mind creatures who are all avatars of the Lone Power. The wizards set up camp in a cave on the planet to do more exploring, while Nita and Sker'ret begin the journey back to Earth, so that Nita can check on her dad. In addition, Nita has been conversing with the peridexic effect, which is the source behind spells and the Speech.
Meanwhile, Dairine and Roshaun travel back to Roshaun's home planet, where he confronts his father, and then to the world that created the mobiles (which you may remember from Dairine's Ordeal). The mobiles decode a message from data that Dairine and Spot were carrying. Dairine and Roshaun meet back up with the rest of the group, revealing that the Instrumentality is a Hesper, which is a "bright" version of the Lone Power.
When Nita and Sker'ret arrive at the Crossings, they realize something is not right. It turns out a group of Tawalf have been paid to take over the Crossings. Nita and Sker hunker down in a control dome while the Tawalf shoot high energy weapons at them. Nita casts a spell which destroys one of the weapons, but it's not enough. Just when it seems that Nita and Sker'ret are doomed, Carmela shows up with her own modified weapon (which looks like a curling iron) to save the day. Then she convinces the Tawalf to surrender by giving them a bar of chocolate. Nita travels back to Earth, where she learns that Tom and Carl have lost their powers. What's worse, they've forgotten that they were ever wizards. At least Nita gets to visit with the prophetic koi.
On Rashah, the wizards take the form of the Yaldiv to do some scouting, and end up in a huge city, which houses the king of the Yaldiv. Despite their disguises, the king recognizes the wizards, but he is so confident of his control of the city that he lets the wizards do as they will. The Yaldiv who is the Hesper (who is later named Memeki) visits the wizards in their base camp. She is willing to help, but the wizards aren't sure exactly what to do next. Some warrior Yaldiv tunnel up through the ground, attacking the group. Nita and Carmela gate in during the battle and help the wizards win.
The wizards and Memeki travel to the Yaldiv city, where they have a confrontation with the king. Unfortunately, wizardry isn't working, and they can't cast spells. Carmela, pretending to be under the control of the king, blasts it with her curling iron. The Lone Power manifests itself, and everything looks grim for the wizards. Then Ronan stabs himself with the Spear to release the Champion, who is able to beat back the Lone Power, which allows Memeki to become the Hesper.
Nita and Kit cast a spell to put Ronan into stasis, and all of the wizards head to the moon to deal with the Pullulus. The group wizardry fails to stop it. Next, Roshaun channels the power of the Sun through his stone, but he is unable to fully stop the Pullulus. Roshaun disappears and his stone becomes clear, without fire. Kit believes the end is near, so he tells Ponch to go back to Earth and bring his family to safety. Ponch instead embodies great power and battles the Pullulus, finally defeating it. In the process, Ponch becomes the dog version of the One, making a new choice for dogs.
Ronan is healed by one of the many wizards on the moon. Dairine delivers the news about Roshaun to his parents and accepts the stone and the responsibilities entailed. She visits Roshaun's Timeheart in a dream. (It's implied that Roshaun is merely missing, not lost forever.) Kit has a last word with Ponch, who is now present in all dogs on Earth.
My Thoughts:
The beauty of this series has always been the description of wizardry. The complex spells (which require a lot of knowledge on the part of the caster), also take an energy toll. Often, the spells are described in a scientific manner, with comments on how the spells move matter around, etc. The magic system feels real. It's so well integrated with the real world.
It's been a while since I read the other books in the series, so it was difficult for me to jump right into this one. I'd forgotten the back stories of most of the side characters, especially the visiting wizards. There were tons of characters in this one, but not enough time for their full development. For example, we're told that Roshaun and Dairine are close, but we don't get to see enough of this closeness. There just isn't enough time to focus on them (even though they do get a whole chapter at the beginning).
I enjoyed the discussion between Ponch and Memeki, where they compared origin stories for their species. Other fun moments include Carmela showing up to save the day and Ponch becoming The One Dog.
Author: Diane Duane
Summary (with spoilers):
Since this is the eighth book in the series, I'm going to assume you've read the other ones, and jump right into the plot summary!
A new threat is causing problems, not just on Earth, but throughout the universe. Tom and Carl gather Nita, Kit, Dairine, and all of the visiting alien wizards (Filif, Sker'ret, and Roshaun) to tell them that space is expanding. This problem will eventually cause wizards to lose their powers and result in violence all over Earth, in addition to problems elsewhere. The older wizards, like Tom and Carl, are already starting to lose their powers, so it's up to Nita, Kit and the other young wizards of the universe to figure out a solution.
Ronan (who carries the One's Champion inside of him) shows up to accompany the gang, telling them that there could be a secret tool (the Instrumentality) to use against the new threat, if only they can find it. He gives Ponch the scent, and they travel to a strange place, with dark masses overhead, called the Pullulus. Ponch stops by the world he created to grab a spell manifested as a squirrel, which everyone follows to the world of Rashah. Rashah is home to the Yaldiv, strange beings that look like giant bugs who can break through Nita's defense spell and otherwise affect wizardry. The Yaldiv are hive mind creatures who are all avatars of the Lone Power. The wizards set up camp in a cave on the planet to do more exploring, while Nita and Sker'ret begin the journey back to Earth, so that Nita can check on her dad. In addition, Nita has been conversing with the peridexic effect, which is the source behind spells and the Speech.
Meanwhile, Dairine and Roshaun travel back to Roshaun's home planet, where he confronts his father, and then to the world that created the mobiles (which you may remember from Dairine's Ordeal). The mobiles decode a message from data that Dairine and Spot were carrying. Dairine and Roshaun meet back up with the rest of the group, revealing that the Instrumentality is a Hesper, which is a "bright" version of the Lone Power.
When Nita and Sker'ret arrive at the Crossings, they realize something is not right. It turns out a group of Tawalf have been paid to take over the Crossings. Nita and Sker hunker down in a control dome while the Tawalf shoot high energy weapons at them. Nita casts a spell which destroys one of the weapons, but it's not enough. Just when it seems that Nita and Sker'ret are doomed, Carmela shows up with her own modified weapon (which looks like a curling iron) to save the day. Then she convinces the Tawalf to surrender by giving them a bar of chocolate. Nita travels back to Earth, where she learns that Tom and Carl have lost their powers. What's worse, they've forgotten that they were ever wizards. At least Nita gets to visit with the prophetic koi.
On Rashah, the wizards take the form of the Yaldiv to do some scouting, and end up in a huge city, which houses the king of the Yaldiv. Despite their disguises, the king recognizes the wizards, but he is so confident of his control of the city that he lets the wizards do as they will. The Yaldiv who is the Hesper (who is later named Memeki) visits the wizards in their base camp. She is willing to help, but the wizards aren't sure exactly what to do next. Some warrior Yaldiv tunnel up through the ground, attacking the group. Nita and Carmela gate in during the battle and help the wizards win.
The wizards and Memeki travel to the Yaldiv city, where they have a confrontation with the king. Unfortunately, wizardry isn't working, and they can't cast spells. Carmela, pretending to be under the control of the king, blasts it with her curling iron. The Lone Power manifests itself, and everything looks grim for the wizards. Then Ronan stabs himself with the Spear to release the Champion, who is able to beat back the Lone Power, which allows Memeki to become the Hesper.
Nita and Kit cast a spell to put Ronan into stasis, and all of the wizards head to the moon to deal with the Pullulus. The group wizardry fails to stop it. Next, Roshaun channels the power of the Sun through his stone, but he is unable to fully stop the Pullulus. Roshaun disappears and his stone becomes clear, without fire. Kit believes the end is near, so he tells Ponch to go back to Earth and bring his family to safety. Ponch instead embodies great power and battles the Pullulus, finally defeating it. In the process, Ponch becomes the dog version of the One, making a new choice for dogs.
Ronan is healed by one of the many wizards on the moon. Dairine delivers the news about Roshaun to his parents and accepts the stone and the responsibilities entailed. She visits Roshaun's Timeheart in a dream. (It's implied that Roshaun is merely missing, not lost forever.) Kit has a last word with Ponch, who is now present in all dogs on Earth.
My Thoughts:
The beauty of this series has always been the description of wizardry. The complex spells (which require a lot of knowledge on the part of the caster), also take an energy toll. Often, the spells are described in a scientific manner, with comments on how the spells move matter around, etc. The magic system feels real. It's so well integrated with the real world.
It's been a while since I read the other books in the series, so it was difficult for me to jump right into this one. I'd forgotten the back stories of most of the side characters, especially the visiting wizards. There were tons of characters in this one, but not enough time for their full development. For example, we're told that Roshaun and Dairine are close, but we don't get to see enough of this closeness. There just isn't enough time to focus on them (even though they do get a whole chapter at the beginning).
I enjoyed the discussion between Ponch and Memeki, where they compared origin stories for their species. Other fun moments include Carmela showing up to save the day and Ponch becoming The One Dog.
Saturday, December 20, 2014
A Word on Ratings
I do like to rate the books that I review here, but these ratings only reflect by own personal enjoyment of the book. They are not meant to categorically define a book's true worth. Honestly, I don't think anyone can give a book an absolute rating. We all judge books based on how we interpret them, from our own life experiences and preferences. For example, if I give a book a one star rating, I'm not saying that it's a terrible book; it simply means I didn't enjoy that book. If someone else wants to give the same book a five star rating, I won't argue with them.
Anyway, here is my scale:
5 Stars: Loved this book. One of the best books I've read this year.
4 Stars: Great book. Very enjoyable.
3 Stars: Good book. Glad I read it.
2 Stars: Okay book. Although I didn't like it as much as other books, it had some redeeming qualities.
1 Star: Did not like this book. Wish I hadn't read it.
The majority of my ratings are 3 stars, with a fair amount of 4 stars and 2 stars thrown in. I'll rate a few books a year 5 stars, and I'll rarely rate a book 1 star.
I've noticed that I'm a bit harsher in my ratings than most people. Even if I enjoyed a book somewhat, I still might give it 2 stars, if it just doesn't meet that 3 star standard for me. Again, it's probably a perfectly fine book. I just don't see the point of have a 5 star rating system if I don't use all of the ratings.
Anyway, here is my scale:
5 Stars: Loved this book. One of the best books I've read this year.
4 Stars: Great book. Very enjoyable.
3 Stars: Good book. Glad I read it.
2 Stars: Okay book. Although I didn't like it as much as other books, it had some redeeming qualities.
1 Star: Did not like this book. Wish I hadn't read it.
The majority of my ratings are 3 stars, with a fair amount of 4 stars and 2 stars thrown in. I'll rate a few books a year 5 stars, and I'll rarely rate a book 1 star.
I've noticed that I'm a bit harsher in my ratings than most people. Even if I enjoyed a book somewhat, I still might give it 2 stars, if it just doesn't meet that 3 star standard for me. Again, it's probably a perfectly fine book. I just don't see the point of have a 5 star rating system if I don't use all of the ratings.
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
Isla and the Happily Ever After
Book title: Isla and the Happily Ever After
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Summary (with spoilers):
Isla Martin attends the School of America in Paris with Josh, a talented artist and Isla's long-time crush. After getting her wisdom teeth removed, Isla runs into Josh in a cafe, and has the courage to talk to him because she is a bit loopy from the medicine she is taking.
Once they get back to school, Isla has trouble talking to Josh, but he knocks on her door and asks her out to the local comic book shop. Once Josh realizes that Isla's best friend Kurt really is just her friend, Josh and Isla start dating. They share several sweet moments, like their first kiss on an escalator (even though it ends in a bloody nose for Isla), Josh painting the "treehouse," and both recounting favorite childhood memories.
Isla and Josh decide to spend the weekend in Spain, breaking the school's rules about traveling. When Isla's sister Hattie starts asking about Isla, the school realizes that something is amiss, and confront Kurt about Isla's whereabouts. This results in Josh's expulsion from school. His parents are furious and confiscate his phone.
While Isla and Josh are separated by an ocean, Josh's dad is running for senator. Isla watches the news around the election, which includes a clip of Josh saying he doesn't have a girlfriend (which he later claims he did to protect Isla from nosy people in the political world). When Isla is back in the US for a holiday, she receives a package with a copy of Josh's autobiographical graphic novel. Isla is upset at the presence of Rashmi in the novel, especially since there are nude drawings of her. While being driven home from a posh political party, Isla picks a fight with Josh, and breaks up with him, fearing that it is only a matter of time before he would have broken up with her.
However, Isla is still very much in love with Josh. She buys him a signed copy of a graphic novel, which Isla's sister Hattie sends to Josh. Josh visits France during the Olympics and meets up with Isla. After they watch St. Clair propose to Anna (who gleefully accepts, of course), Josh walks Isla to her dorm and hands her his revised graphic novel, telling her to read it right away and call him after she is done. His novel ends with Josh declaring his love for Isla and waiting outside for her to call. When she peeks out of the window, Josh is actually there. She runs outside and tells him that she loves him.
My Thoughts:
Unlike most romance novels, the focus is on the relationship after Isla and Josh get together. Perhaps this is a play on the "happily ever after" title, since most novels would end right after the protagonists get together. Although it's interesting to take a look at this side of relationships, the plot still needs conflict to move along. That conflict comes in the form of relationship issues between Josh and Isla. Many of their issues are shallow but accurate for teens. (Six months does seem like forever when you're a teen. Not so much as an adult.) I'm not sure that I buy that Isla would really break up with Josh, just to avoid being hurt later. He's her dream guy, and he clearly is happy to be with her. The break up is really about her issues with self confidence.
I thought Josh's character was well drawn. (Pun intended.) While reading Anna and the French Kiss, I was intrigued by Josh, so I'm glad he got his own book. I also really liked Isla (shy, smart, and short), even though she had some annoying moments.
The best part of the book was Josh's graphic novel. It was easy to envision the artwork, and I loved reading the story of his life described in comic book panels. The ending of the book with Isla reading Josh's novel was just perfect.
I enjoyed reading about Isla's relationship with Kurt, and I liked that Isla was respectful of his autism. It was refreshing that Kurt and Isla actually did have a platonic relationship and weren't secretly in love with each other or anything like that.
Overall, I liked this book more than Lola, but Anna is still my favorite.
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Summary (with spoilers):
Isla Martin attends the School of America in Paris with Josh, a talented artist and Isla's long-time crush. After getting her wisdom teeth removed, Isla runs into Josh in a cafe, and has the courage to talk to him because she is a bit loopy from the medicine she is taking.
Once they get back to school, Isla has trouble talking to Josh, but he knocks on her door and asks her out to the local comic book shop. Once Josh realizes that Isla's best friend Kurt really is just her friend, Josh and Isla start dating. They share several sweet moments, like their first kiss on an escalator (even though it ends in a bloody nose for Isla), Josh painting the "treehouse," and both recounting favorite childhood memories.
Isla and Josh decide to spend the weekend in Spain, breaking the school's rules about traveling. When Isla's sister Hattie starts asking about Isla, the school realizes that something is amiss, and confront Kurt about Isla's whereabouts. This results in Josh's expulsion from school. His parents are furious and confiscate his phone.
While Isla and Josh are separated by an ocean, Josh's dad is running for senator. Isla watches the news around the election, which includes a clip of Josh saying he doesn't have a girlfriend (which he later claims he did to protect Isla from nosy people in the political world). When Isla is back in the US for a holiday, she receives a package with a copy of Josh's autobiographical graphic novel. Isla is upset at the presence of Rashmi in the novel, especially since there are nude drawings of her. While being driven home from a posh political party, Isla picks a fight with Josh, and breaks up with him, fearing that it is only a matter of time before he would have broken up with her.
However, Isla is still very much in love with Josh. She buys him a signed copy of a graphic novel, which Isla's sister Hattie sends to Josh. Josh visits France during the Olympics and meets up with Isla. After they watch St. Clair propose to Anna (who gleefully accepts, of course), Josh walks Isla to her dorm and hands her his revised graphic novel, telling her to read it right away and call him after she is done. His novel ends with Josh declaring his love for Isla and waiting outside for her to call. When she peeks out of the window, Josh is actually there. She runs outside and tells him that she loves him.
My Thoughts:
Unlike most romance novels, the focus is on the relationship after Isla and Josh get together. Perhaps this is a play on the "happily ever after" title, since most novels would end right after the protagonists get together. Although it's interesting to take a look at this side of relationships, the plot still needs conflict to move along. That conflict comes in the form of relationship issues between Josh and Isla. Many of their issues are shallow but accurate for teens. (Six months does seem like forever when you're a teen. Not so much as an adult.) I'm not sure that I buy that Isla would really break up with Josh, just to avoid being hurt later. He's her dream guy, and he clearly is happy to be with her. The break up is really about her issues with self confidence.
I thought Josh's character was well drawn. (Pun intended.) While reading Anna and the French Kiss, I was intrigued by Josh, so I'm glad he got his own book. I also really liked Isla (shy, smart, and short), even though she had some annoying moments.
The best part of the book was Josh's graphic novel. It was easy to envision the artwork, and I loved reading the story of his life described in comic book panels. The ending of the book with Isla reading Josh's novel was just perfect.
I enjoyed reading about Isla's relationship with Kurt, and I liked that Isla was respectful of his autism. It was refreshing that Kurt and Isla actually did have a platonic relationship and weren't secretly in love with each other or anything like that.
Overall, I liked this book more than Lola, but Anna is still my favorite.
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Lola and the Boy Next Door
Title: Lola and the Boy Next Door
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
Summary (with spoilers)
Lola is in love with Cricket Bell, the boy next door, or at least she used to be, until he broke her heart and moved away. When Cricket and family move back, Lola starts to fall for him again, especially when it's clear that Cricket likes her and it's revealed that Calliope (Cricket's twin) was the one who didn't invite her to Cricket's birthday party two years ago.
There's only one problem. Lola is dating her lame, much-too-old-for-her boyfriend, Max. Lola is convinced she's in love with Max, but as the story progresses, Lola and Cricket share a lot of intense moments. They work on her Mary Antoinette dress for Lola's winter formal, and Cricket climbs into her bedroom through the window.
Meanwhile, Anna and St. Clair make an appearance, since they work with Lola at the movie theater. Also, Cricket and St. Clair live in the same housing complex in Berkeley.
Lola's mom moves back in with Lola (and Lola's two dads, Andy and Nathan). Lola's mom has a drug problem and is not a reliable parent. However, while she's living there, Lola is able to get to know her mother a little better. There's also a plot line with Lola's best friend Lindsey, who wants to be a detective and has a crush on a guy at school, but doesn't want to date until she graduates.
Eventually, Lola breaks up with Max and realizes that she was never in love with him. However, she feels like she needs time to get over Max and to become a better person before she starts dating Cricket. Lola makes an emergency costume for Calliope, who is competing to be in the Olympics for figure skating. Cricket flies back from the skating competition to surprise Lola and take her to the dance. Finally, Cricket and Lola get together.
My Thoughts
Although I really liked Anna and the French Kiss, I felt that this book didn't have the same magic. I'm not sure why Lola doesn't break up with her lame boyfriend in the beginning of the book, once it's clear that she and Cricket are into each other. It seems like the book just drags on. We all know they are going to get together in the end.
The charm of the book is in the details the author adds to each character. Lola dresses in a unique way every day; Cricket is a whiz with mechanical devices and a snappy dresser; one of Lola's dads has his own pie baking company; and Calliope is a world-class figure skater. Every character has a passion, even the minor ones.
I also enjoyed Cricket's story at the end, where he describes the girl who talked to the moon, and how, since he couldn't take her with him, he took the stars. Very poetic.
Although the book is set in San Francisco, it doesn't have the same depth of description as Anna and the French Kiss did for Paris. There are a few iconic San Francisco places thrown in, but the location isn't nearly as important in this book. I'll probably go on to read the third book, Isla and the Happily Ever After, since it returns to the School of America in Paris.
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
Summary (with spoilers)
Lola is in love with Cricket Bell, the boy next door, or at least she used to be, until he broke her heart and moved away. When Cricket and family move back, Lola starts to fall for him again, especially when it's clear that Cricket likes her and it's revealed that Calliope (Cricket's twin) was the one who didn't invite her to Cricket's birthday party two years ago.
There's only one problem. Lola is dating her lame, much-too-old-for-her boyfriend, Max. Lola is convinced she's in love with Max, but as the story progresses, Lola and Cricket share a lot of intense moments. They work on her Mary Antoinette dress for Lola's winter formal, and Cricket climbs into her bedroom through the window.
Meanwhile, Anna and St. Clair make an appearance, since they work with Lola at the movie theater. Also, Cricket and St. Clair live in the same housing complex in Berkeley.
Lola's mom moves back in with Lola (and Lola's two dads, Andy and Nathan). Lola's mom has a drug problem and is not a reliable parent. However, while she's living there, Lola is able to get to know her mother a little better. There's also a plot line with Lola's best friend Lindsey, who wants to be a detective and has a crush on a guy at school, but doesn't want to date until she graduates.
Eventually, Lola breaks up with Max and realizes that she was never in love with him. However, she feels like she needs time to get over Max and to become a better person before she starts dating Cricket. Lola makes an emergency costume for Calliope, who is competing to be in the Olympics for figure skating. Cricket flies back from the skating competition to surprise Lola and take her to the dance. Finally, Cricket and Lola get together.
My Thoughts
Although I really liked Anna and the French Kiss, I felt that this book didn't have the same magic. I'm not sure why Lola doesn't break up with her lame boyfriend in the beginning of the book, once it's clear that she and Cricket are into each other. It seems like the book just drags on. We all know they are going to get together in the end.
The charm of the book is in the details the author adds to each character. Lola dresses in a unique way every day; Cricket is a whiz with mechanical devices and a snappy dresser; one of Lola's dads has his own pie baking company; and Calliope is a world-class figure skater. Every character has a passion, even the minor ones.
I also enjoyed Cricket's story at the end, where he describes the girl who talked to the moon, and how, since he couldn't take her with him, he took the stars. Very poetic.
Although the book is set in San Francisco, it doesn't have the same depth of description as Anna and the French Kiss did for Paris. There are a few iconic San Francisco places thrown in, but the location isn't nearly as important in this book. I'll probably go on to read the third book, Isla and the Happily Ever After, since it returns to the School of America in Paris.
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
Anna and the French Kiss
Title: Anna and the French Kiss
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Rating: 4 out of 5
Summary (with spoilers):
Anna is sent to boarding school in Paris against her will, leaving her almost-boyfriend, Toph, and her best friend, Bridgette, in Atlanta. Once there, she quickly befriends Meredith, Rashmi, Josh, and her love interest, Etienne St. Clair. Anna and St. Clair become friends, and Anna develops a crush on him as they run around Paris. Too bad he already has a girlfriend, Ellie, who graduated the previous year. Also, Meredith has a thing for St. Clair too, which makes the situation tricky. St. Clair drops a lot of hints that he's into Anna (drunkenly admitting he has feelings for her, buying her a book of Neruda poetry, and sleeping next to her over Thanksgiving break, to name a few), but Anna doesn't think he likes her because he won't break up with his girlfriend.
When St. Clair's mom gets cancer, his dad won't let St. Clair visit her. Anna and St. Clair both go home for Christmas, where Anna finds out that Bridgette is dating Toph, which Anna sees as a betrayal. When Anna gets back to France, she realizes that she is in love with St. Clair, who she starts calling Etienne. However, he's still with Ellie, so Anna starts dating Dave.
Tensions rise between Anna and St. Clair. They finally end up kissing in a beautiful garden, only to be caught by Meredith, who storms off. St. Clair chases after her, and then goes to see Ellie. Anna gets into a fist fight with Amanda, because Amanda called Meredith an unkind word. When St. Clair comes to Anna's door, she gets angry that he went to see Ellie. She stops hanging out with her friends, and is bullied by Amanda and her minions. Dave spreads the untrue rumor that he slept with Anna.
After Anna goes to the cinema, she sees St. Clair talking to his father. St. Clair wants to go to Berkeley for college, but his dad won't let him. Storming away from his dad, who is flirting with some woman, St. Clair spots Anna. She advises him to tell the woman (and all of his dad's friends) how happy he is that his dad is sending him to Berkeley, since his dad will be too embarrassed to contradict him in front of friends.
Anna climbs the tallest staircase in Notre Dame. She hears someone coming up the staircase, and is surprised to find it is St. Clair, since he's afraid of heights. St. Clair lets Anna know that her plan concerning his dad worked. They both declare their love for each other and start dating.
My Thoughts:
This book is a whirlwind of a love story set in beautiful Paris. I love how the author uses the setting, showing us how Anna and St. Clair fall in love amid the backdrop of the most romantic city in the world. The delicious descriptions of food made me want to hop on a plane and fly to Paris immediately.
Every character has something unique about them, from Meredith, who loves football and wearing rings, to Josh, with his skull tattoo and art skill. However, the side characters are never very fleshed out, mainly because Anna doesn't interact with them much. We're told that she's friends with Meredith, which is one of the main reasons she doesn't want to date St. Clair, but I never felt that they actually were friends. I would have liked to see more dialog between characters besides Anna and St. Clair.
I'm not sure if this book passes the Bechtel test (I think Anna and Meredith had a conversation about football, once, and she does talk to Bridgette about school) but it is a romance so perhaps that can be forgiven. Overall, I would have liked to see stronger relationships between the female characters.
I really did think the misunderstandings with St. Clair went on too long. After a while, Anna had to understand that he was in love with her, right? If they were such good friends, wouldn't they have discussed their feelings with each other long before they did? Perhaps this plot is something that could only happen with young main characters. However, their relationship was quite sweet. I like how they became such good friends before they started dating.
The ending is cute, but predictable. Did we ever doubt that Anna would end up with her Etienne?
Definitely a fun book that kept me reading. I've already checked out the sequels from the library.
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Rating: 4 out of 5
Summary (with spoilers):
Anna is sent to boarding school in Paris against her will, leaving her almost-boyfriend, Toph, and her best friend, Bridgette, in Atlanta. Once there, she quickly befriends Meredith, Rashmi, Josh, and her love interest, Etienne St. Clair. Anna and St. Clair become friends, and Anna develops a crush on him as they run around Paris. Too bad he already has a girlfriend, Ellie, who graduated the previous year. Also, Meredith has a thing for St. Clair too, which makes the situation tricky. St. Clair drops a lot of hints that he's into Anna (drunkenly admitting he has feelings for her, buying her a book of Neruda poetry, and sleeping next to her over Thanksgiving break, to name a few), but Anna doesn't think he likes her because he won't break up with his girlfriend.
When St. Clair's mom gets cancer, his dad won't let St. Clair visit her. Anna and St. Clair both go home for Christmas, where Anna finds out that Bridgette is dating Toph, which Anna sees as a betrayal. When Anna gets back to France, she realizes that she is in love with St. Clair, who she starts calling Etienne. However, he's still with Ellie, so Anna starts dating Dave.
Tensions rise between Anna and St. Clair. They finally end up kissing in a beautiful garden, only to be caught by Meredith, who storms off. St. Clair chases after her, and then goes to see Ellie. Anna gets into a fist fight with Amanda, because Amanda called Meredith an unkind word. When St. Clair comes to Anna's door, she gets angry that he went to see Ellie. She stops hanging out with her friends, and is bullied by Amanda and her minions. Dave spreads the untrue rumor that he slept with Anna.
After Anna goes to the cinema, she sees St. Clair talking to his father. St. Clair wants to go to Berkeley for college, but his dad won't let him. Storming away from his dad, who is flirting with some woman, St. Clair spots Anna. She advises him to tell the woman (and all of his dad's friends) how happy he is that his dad is sending him to Berkeley, since his dad will be too embarrassed to contradict him in front of friends.
Anna climbs the tallest staircase in Notre Dame. She hears someone coming up the staircase, and is surprised to find it is St. Clair, since he's afraid of heights. St. Clair lets Anna know that her plan concerning his dad worked. They both declare their love for each other and start dating.
My Thoughts:
This book is a whirlwind of a love story set in beautiful Paris. I love how the author uses the setting, showing us how Anna and St. Clair fall in love amid the backdrop of the most romantic city in the world. The delicious descriptions of food made me want to hop on a plane and fly to Paris immediately.
Every character has something unique about them, from Meredith, who loves football and wearing rings, to Josh, with his skull tattoo and art skill. However, the side characters are never very fleshed out, mainly because Anna doesn't interact with them much. We're told that she's friends with Meredith, which is one of the main reasons she doesn't want to date St. Clair, but I never felt that they actually were friends. I would have liked to see more dialog between characters besides Anna and St. Clair.
I'm not sure if this book passes the Bechtel test (I think Anna and Meredith had a conversation about football, once, and she does talk to Bridgette about school) but it is a romance so perhaps that can be forgiven. Overall, I would have liked to see stronger relationships between the female characters.
I really did think the misunderstandings with St. Clair went on too long. After a while, Anna had to understand that he was in love with her, right? If they were such good friends, wouldn't they have discussed their feelings with each other long before they did? Perhaps this plot is something that could only happen with young main characters. However, their relationship was quite sweet. I like how they became such good friends before they started dating.
The ending is cute, but predictable. Did we ever doubt that Anna would end up with her Etienne?
Definitely a fun book that kept me reading. I've already checked out the sequels from the library.
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
The Last Dragonslayer
Title: The Last Dragonslayer
Author: Jasper Fforde
Rating: 2 out of 5
Summary (with spoilers):
Jennifer Strange lives in the Ununited Kingdom, where magic is not as powerful as it once was. Jennifer is a foundling of the Blessed Ladies of the Lobster, sent to serve the wizarding agency Kazam. Tiger Prawns, another Lobster foundling, soon joins her. He gets along quite well with the quarkbeast, a fearsome-looking yet friendly pet.
Some of the pre-cogs have a premonition about the death of the last living dragon, which means that the dragon's lands, which are set behind magical marker stones, will soon be available for anyone to claim. When Jennifer tries to discover more, she meets up with the current dragonslayer, who quickly transfers the office to her. Jennifer crosses the marker stones (which only she can do) and speaks to the dragon. She also hires an assistant, Gordon van Gordon. Some of the wizards at Kazam say that Big Magic is afoot.
As the last dragonslayer, Jennifer gets a lot of attention from the press and King Snodd IV, who wants Jennifer to claim the dragon lands for the kingdom before the barrier goes down. When she refuses, the king sends the handsome Sir Matt Grifflon to kill her. The quarkbeast protects Jennifer, and she uses the sword of the dragonslayer to cut through the wall and get away.
On the day when the dragon is destined to die, Jennifer travels to the dragon lands. She runs into Gordon, who has betrayed her and is staking out lands for the Constuff company. He pulls out a gun, and when the quarkbeast runs to protect Jennifer, Gordon kills the quarkbeast. Then Gordon dies when Jennifer threatens to fire him, and he instead resigns (since only the dragonslayer or her apprentice can enter the dragonlands.) The dragon tells Jennifer that she must kill him, and even though she doesn't understand the reason why, she follows his wishes, slaying him with the sword. She gets angry and splits a stone with the sword. It turns out that when a dragon is killed, two dragons are born (but this doesn't work if the dragon dies of old age.) Jennifer is actually a berserker, which is why she was able to channel her rage and renew magic within the Ununited Kingdom.
My Thoughts:
I'm going to preface this by saying that I love much of Jasper Fforde's other work, like the Thursday Next books and Shades of Grey However, this book did not have a lot going for it. Although Wikipedia claims this is a novel for adults, it clearly seems to be a young adult novel to me. (And I often enjoy young adult novels, but not this one.) The book suffers from 3 major problems: too many characters, infodumping, lack of plot foreshadowing.
A new character is introduced almost every chapter, and most of them serve no specific purpose. Often, they are mentioned once and then never show up again. Why did that random guy have to ask Jennifer on a date in the first chapter? He's never mentioned again. What about the wizard that comes to visit Moobin and explains Big Magic. Couldn't another character have done that just as well? I'm not adverse to having lots of characters, but they need to serve some purpose, apart from just taking up space.
Ah, the infodump, where lots of background information is dumped on the reader in a less than subtle way. When the author wants to tell us the background of magic and the dragonslayers, a random side character is there to take up an entire chapter with the story. If we need to learn about Big Magic, there are some handy wizards to get Jennifer up to speed. (She's in charge of Kazam. You would think she'd know this information by now.)
Despite all of the infodumping, much information is revealed only when it suits the plot. Jennifer's on her way to the epic dragon death. Oh, by the way, did you know that no one can interfere with a dragonslayer when she's on official duty. When Constuff makes it look like the dragon committed some crimes, it turns out that there need to be three instances of dragon crime before the dragonslayer has to kill the dragon. The list just goes on and on. With all of that infodumping, couldn't the author have thrown in some of this information to foreshadow events later in the book? One major rule of writing fantasy is that the magic system has to be consistent. It's bad form to throw a bunch of new rules at the reader for the convenience of the plot.
Fforde is a great writer, but this isn't his best book. Try the Thursday Next series instead.
Author: Jasper Fforde
Rating: 2 out of 5
Summary (with spoilers):
Jennifer Strange lives in the Ununited Kingdom, where magic is not as powerful as it once was. Jennifer is a foundling of the Blessed Ladies of the Lobster, sent to serve the wizarding agency Kazam. Tiger Prawns, another Lobster foundling, soon joins her. He gets along quite well with the quarkbeast, a fearsome-looking yet friendly pet.
Some of the pre-cogs have a premonition about the death of the last living dragon, which means that the dragon's lands, which are set behind magical marker stones, will soon be available for anyone to claim. When Jennifer tries to discover more, she meets up with the current dragonslayer, who quickly transfers the office to her. Jennifer crosses the marker stones (which only she can do) and speaks to the dragon. She also hires an assistant, Gordon van Gordon. Some of the wizards at Kazam say that Big Magic is afoot.
As the last dragonslayer, Jennifer gets a lot of attention from the press and King Snodd IV, who wants Jennifer to claim the dragon lands for the kingdom before the barrier goes down. When she refuses, the king sends the handsome Sir Matt Grifflon to kill her. The quarkbeast protects Jennifer, and she uses the sword of the dragonslayer to cut through the wall and get away.
On the day when the dragon is destined to die, Jennifer travels to the dragon lands. She runs into Gordon, who has betrayed her and is staking out lands for the Constuff company. He pulls out a gun, and when the quarkbeast runs to protect Jennifer, Gordon kills the quarkbeast. Then Gordon dies when Jennifer threatens to fire him, and he instead resigns (since only the dragonslayer or her apprentice can enter the dragonlands.) The dragon tells Jennifer that she must kill him, and even though she doesn't understand the reason why, she follows his wishes, slaying him with the sword. She gets angry and splits a stone with the sword. It turns out that when a dragon is killed, two dragons are born (but this doesn't work if the dragon dies of old age.) Jennifer is actually a berserker, which is why she was able to channel her rage and renew magic within the Ununited Kingdom.
My Thoughts:
I'm going to preface this by saying that I love much of Jasper Fforde's other work, like the Thursday Next books and Shades of Grey However, this book did not have a lot going for it. Although Wikipedia claims this is a novel for adults, it clearly seems to be a young adult novel to me. (And I often enjoy young adult novels, but not this one.) The book suffers from 3 major problems: too many characters, infodumping, lack of plot foreshadowing.
A new character is introduced almost every chapter, and most of them serve no specific purpose. Often, they are mentioned once and then never show up again. Why did that random guy have to ask Jennifer on a date in the first chapter? He's never mentioned again. What about the wizard that comes to visit Moobin and explains Big Magic. Couldn't another character have done that just as well? I'm not adverse to having lots of characters, but they need to serve some purpose, apart from just taking up space.
Ah, the infodump, where lots of background information is dumped on the reader in a less than subtle way. When the author wants to tell us the background of magic and the dragonslayers, a random side character is there to take up an entire chapter with the story. If we need to learn about Big Magic, there are some handy wizards to get Jennifer up to speed. (She's in charge of Kazam. You would think she'd know this information by now.)
Despite all of the infodumping, much information is revealed only when it suits the plot. Jennifer's on her way to the epic dragon death. Oh, by the way, did you know that no one can interfere with a dragonslayer when she's on official duty. When Constuff makes it look like the dragon committed some crimes, it turns out that there need to be three instances of dragon crime before the dragonslayer has to kill the dragon. The list just goes on and on. With all of that infodumping, couldn't the author have thrown in some of this information to foreshadow events later in the book? One major rule of writing fantasy is that the magic system has to be consistent. It's bad form to throw a bunch of new rules at the reader for the convenience of the plot.
Fforde is a great writer, but this isn't his best book. Try the Thursday Next series instead.
East of Eden
Title: East of Eden
Author: John Steinbeck
Rating: 5 out of 5
Summary (with spoilers):
East of Eden chronicles the stories of two families, the Trasks and the Hamiltons, while repeating the motif of Cain and Abel throughout the book. The story begins with Adam Trask, who is born to a solider who trains Adam for the army. Adam's brother, Charles, is jealous that their father loves Adam best, so Charles attempts to kill Adam. (Here is the first instance of the Cain and Abel story.) Adam joins the army, and after many years makes it back to the farm to live with Charles. When their father dies, the men inherit a large sum.
Cathy is a sociopath who murders her parents, flees her home, and gets involved with a criminal. When the criminal beats her up and leaves her for dead, she crawls over to the doorstep of Adam and Charles. Adam nurses Cathy back to health and marries her, but she sustains a scar on her forehead. They move to the Salinas Valley in California.
Samuel Hamilton is an Irish farmer with big ideas and a large family. When Adam moves to the Salinas Valley, Samuel befriends Adam, although he realizes something is not quite right with Cathy. Cathy becomes pregnant and gives birth to twins. She decides to leave Adam, and when he tries to stop her in his confusion, she shoots him in the shoulder. (Hence the second instance of the Cain and Abel story.)
Cathy moves to Salinas (the city) and begins to work for a house of ill repute, eventually killing the owner and taking charge of the house. Meanwhile, Adam is depressed, and his servant Lee raises the twins. (There is a great scene where Samuel forces Adam to pick names for the children, and we see the beginnings of the third instance of the Cain and Abel story.) Lee is a thoroughly interesting and complex character, who is often judged for being Chinese and, in the beginning of the book, speaks a pidgin dialect with everyone but Samuel.
When Samuel Hamilton dies, Adam goes to Salinas for the funeral. He gets really drunk and visits Cathy. Adam realizes that Cathy no longer has a hold over him.
The twins, at this point, are about 11 years old. Aron is a friendly and well-liked boy, while Caleb is less favored and has flashes of cruelty. Some visitors come to the farm, bringing Abra, a cool-headed girl who Aron soon decides to marry. On the advice of the Abra's parents, Adam decides to move to Salinas. Aron and Abra meet up in Salinas, and while their engagement begins as childhood play, it becomes more serious as they get older. However, Aron is self-involved in many ways. Perhaps Lee describes Aron best when he says that Aron's purity and goodness are often selfish. For example, Aron considers joining the ministry and not marrying Abra.
Cal learns the truth about his mother and goes to see her. Adam and Cal continue to keep the truth from Aron, to protect him. Aron finishes high school a year early and goes to Stanford, although he doesn't like it there. He writes love letters to Abra, but she feels that Aron is really writing about himself. When Adam loses the majority of his fortune on an attempt to ship lettuce across the country, Cal earns the money back with help from Will Hamilton. During Thanksgiving, Cal gives the money to Adam, who won't accept the gift. Hurt and bewildered, Cal takes Aron to see their mother. Aron freaks out and run offs, then joins the army.
Cathy commits suicide, and Adam has a stroke when he hears of her death. Abra declares her love for Cal, in part because he isn't perfect, and they start dating. A letter arrives with the news that Aron is dead, which gives Adam another stroke. Cal reveals why Aron left for the army. Lee begs Adam to give some sign that he has forgiven Cal, even though it is difficult for Adam to speak. Adam manages one word, "timshel," which means "thou mayest." This resonates with an early episode in the book, implying that Cal has the ability to overcome whatever evil is in him.
My Thoughts:
This book is a masterpiece. The characters are complex and believable. The plot is exciting and layered. In summary, this book has everything that a good book should. Steinbeck describes the inner motivations of the characters with the skill of a master writer.
Throughout the book, we see the Cain and Abel theme reemerge for different characters in a satisfying way. I found the theological discussions of Lee, Samuel, and Adam particularly interesting. Steinbeck is always questioning the nature of evil. Where does it come from? Do we have the choice to overcome it (like with Cal and the idea of "timshel")?
The characterization of Aron and Cal invites analysis. Although Aron is the more well-liked brother, he is less complex than Cal. While Cal suffers over his idea of self and struggles to be a good person, Aron has a righteous goodness about him, which doesn't leave room for ambiguity or difficulties in others. (In some ways, Aron's attitude mirrors Adam's first view of Cathy. Although she tried to tell him that she didn't want to move to Salinas or stay with him, Adam refused to hear it, imagining Cathy to be the picture of a perfect wife.) Aron's biggest struggle comes when he moves to Stanford, but even then, it is a superficial struggle. When college does not live up to Aron's fanciful expectations, Aron moves off campus and instead idolizes Abra. Aron also does not have the patience for ambiguity in others. He expects Abra to be perfect, an expectation that she can in no way live up to. When Aron discovers the truth about his mother, it shatters his view of the world, and he can't handle it.
Cal, on the other hand, sees the cruelty in himself and battles to be a better person. He simultaneously loves his brother for his goodness and hates his brother too, because life seems so easy for him. Cal often tries to do the right thing, but he is confused about how to do it. For example, when Cal tries to give the money to his father, he wants to show his father that he loves him. (Although even this action is complex, for Cal admits that a part of him hopes he can buy Adam's love.) Later, Cal burns the money. Cal doesn't realize that being good doesn't have to be such a grand gesture or that it doesn't have to involve his suffering. Although on the surface Aron is easier to like, Abra realizes that Cal is actually less selfish and more in touch with the world.
In my summary of the book, I didn't talk much about the Hamilton family. Although those characters are well drawn, most of them remain in the sideline of the plot. Their stories are more vignettes that add flavor to the work as a whole.
I have nothing but praise for this book. It was a wonderful read.
Author: John Steinbeck
Rating: 5 out of 5
Summary (with spoilers):
East of Eden chronicles the stories of two families, the Trasks and the Hamiltons, while repeating the motif of Cain and Abel throughout the book. The story begins with Adam Trask, who is born to a solider who trains Adam for the army. Adam's brother, Charles, is jealous that their father loves Adam best, so Charles attempts to kill Adam. (Here is the first instance of the Cain and Abel story.) Adam joins the army, and after many years makes it back to the farm to live with Charles. When their father dies, the men inherit a large sum.
Cathy is a sociopath who murders her parents, flees her home, and gets involved with a criminal. When the criminal beats her up and leaves her for dead, she crawls over to the doorstep of Adam and Charles. Adam nurses Cathy back to health and marries her, but she sustains a scar on her forehead. They move to the Salinas Valley in California.
Samuel Hamilton is an Irish farmer with big ideas and a large family. When Adam moves to the Salinas Valley, Samuel befriends Adam, although he realizes something is not quite right with Cathy. Cathy becomes pregnant and gives birth to twins. She decides to leave Adam, and when he tries to stop her in his confusion, she shoots him in the shoulder. (Hence the second instance of the Cain and Abel story.)
Cathy moves to Salinas (the city) and begins to work for a house of ill repute, eventually killing the owner and taking charge of the house. Meanwhile, Adam is depressed, and his servant Lee raises the twins. (There is a great scene where Samuel forces Adam to pick names for the children, and we see the beginnings of the third instance of the Cain and Abel story.) Lee is a thoroughly interesting and complex character, who is often judged for being Chinese and, in the beginning of the book, speaks a pidgin dialect with everyone but Samuel.
When Samuel Hamilton dies, Adam goes to Salinas for the funeral. He gets really drunk and visits Cathy. Adam realizes that Cathy no longer has a hold over him.
The twins, at this point, are about 11 years old. Aron is a friendly and well-liked boy, while Caleb is less favored and has flashes of cruelty. Some visitors come to the farm, bringing Abra, a cool-headed girl who Aron soon decides to marry. On the advice of the Abra's parents, Adam decides to move to Salinas. Aron and Abra meet up in Salinas, and while their engagement begins as childhood play, it becomes more serious as they get older. However, Aron is self-involved in many ways. Perhaps Lee describes Aron best when he says that Aron's purity and goodness are often selfish. For example, Aron considers joining the ministry and not marrying Abra.
Cal learns the truth about his mother and goes to see her. Adam and Cal continue to keep the truth from Aron, to protect him. Aron finishes high school a year early and goes to Stanford, although he doesn't like it there. He writes love letters to Abra, but she feels that Aron is really writing about himself. When Adam loses the majority of his fortune on an attempt to ship lettuce across the country, Cal earns the money back with help from Will Hamilton. During Thanksgiving, Cal gives the money to Adam, who won't accept the gift. Hurt and bewildered, Cal takes Aron to see their mother. Aron freaks out and run offs, then joins the army.
Cathy commits suicide, and Adam has a stroke when he hears of her death. Abra declares her love for Cal, in part because he isn't perfect, and they start dating. A letter arrives with the news that Aron is dead, which gives Adam another stroke. Cal reveals why Aron left for the army. Lee begs Adam to give some sign that he has forgiven Cal, even though it is difficult for Adam to speak. Adam manages one word, "timshel," which means "thou mayest." This resonates with an early episode in the book, implying that Cal has the ability to overcome whatever evil is in him.
My Thoughts:
This book is a masterpiece. The characters are complex and believable. The plot is exciting and layered. In summary, this book has everything that a good book should. Steinbeck describes the inner motivations of the characters with the skill of a master writer.
Throughout the book, we see the Cain and Abel theme reemerge for different characters in a satisfying way. I found the theological discussions of Lee, Samuel, and Adam particularly interesting. Steinbeck is always questioning the nature of evil. Where does it come from? Do we have the choice to overcome it (like with Cal and the idea of "timshel")?
The characterization of Aron and Cal invites analysis. Although Aron is the more well-liked brother, he is less complex than Cal. While Cal suffers over his idea of self and struggles to be a good person, Aron has a righteous goodness about him, which doesn't leave room for ambiguity or difficulties in others. (In some ways, Aron's attitude mirrors Adam's first view of Cathy. Although she tried to tell him that she didn't want to move to Salinas or stay with him, Adam refused to hear it, imagining Cathy to be the picture of a perfect wife.) Aron's biggest struggle comes when he moves to Stanford, but even then, it is a superficial struggle. When college does not live up to Aron's fanciful expectations, Aron moves off campus and instead idolizes Abra. Aron also does not have the patience for ambiguity in others. He expects Abra to be perfect, an expectation that she can in no way live up to. When Aron discovers the truth about his mother, it shatters his view of the world, and he can't handle it.
Cal, on the other hand, sees the cruelty in himself and battles to be a better person. He simultaneously loves his brother for his goodness and hates his brother too, because life seems so easy for him. Cal often tries to do the right thing, but he is confused about how to do it. For example, when Cal tries to give the money to his father, he wants to show his father that he loves him. (Although even this action is complex, for Cal admits that a part of him hopes he can buy Adam's love.) Later, Cal burns the money. Cal doesn't realize that being good doesn't have to be such a grand gesture or that it doesn't have to involve his suffering. Although on the surface Aron is easier to like, Abra realizes that Cal is actually less selfish and more in touch with the world.
In my summary of the book, I didn't talk much about the Hamilton family. Although those characters are well drawn, most of them remain in the sideline of the plot. Their stories are more vignettes that add flavor to the work as a whole.
I have nothing but praise for this book. It was a wonderful read.
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
Title: Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
Rating: 3 out of 5
Summary (with spoilers):
This book is huge, so I'm leaving out a lot of minor characters, as well as bits that aren't essential to the main plot.
The book opens with a meeting of the York Society of Magicians, who study magic, but don't actually practice it. The group reaches out to Mr. Norrell, who is known to have an impressive library of magical texts. Norrell claims he can do actual magic, proving so by animating the statues in York Cathedral. The York magicians are forced to abandon their group, based on an agreement made with Norrell, but Mr. Segundus is allowed to continue the study of magic.
Norrell moves to London with the intention of offering his services to the government. He's befriended by two scoundrels, Lascelles and Drawlight, who associate with Norrell for their own profit. Norrell is having trouble getting the government to take him seriously, so he offers to do a favor for government official Walter Poole by bringing his fiance back to life. He completes the magic by summoning a fairy, a gentleman with thistledown hair, who requires Lady Poole's finger and half her life in exchange. The fairy puts Lady Poole and Walter Poole's servant Stephen Black under an enchantment, forcing them to spend their nights at Lost-hope in the fairy realm.
Norrell asks his servent, John Childermass, to force the street magician Vinculus out of town. Vinculus invades Norrell's house and recites a prophecy to him, the same prophecy which induces Johnathan Strange to become a magician.
After marrying Arabella, Strange comes to London in hopes of being taught magic by Norrell. Although hesitant at first, Norrell soon warms to Strange, the only person with which he can truly discuss magic.
Strange goes to the front to aid Wellington with the war effort against Napoleon. Many entertaining episodes ensue. When Strange gets back to London, he realizes that he would like to express his own ideas about magical theory, causing him to make a break with Norrell.
Meanwhile, everyone thinks Lady Poole is mad, and Stephen Black isn't having such a great time, either. Lady Poole is placed in a care facility run my Mr. Segundus. The fairy, wreaking more havoc, decides to kidnap Strange's wife and make everyone believe she is dead.
Devastated by the "death" of his wife, Strange travels to Italy, where he meets the Greysteel family and manages to summon the fairy. The fairy offers him any gift in the world, and Strange asks for whatever the last magician he talked to gave him. Strange receives Lady Poole's finger, travels to the land of fairy, and realizes that Arabella is alive. The fairy casts a spell so that Strange is covered by a darkness which follows him everywhere.
Strange casts a spell that changes all of England, allowing magic back into the world for anyone who wants to practice it. Drawlight appears in Italy, and Strange sends him back to London with a message for Norrell that he is coming. However, Lascelles murders Drawlight before the message can be delivered.
Strange appears at Norrell's library. Instead of fighting, the two try to summon the Raven King. The fairy murders Vinculus, who has the Raven King's book written upon him, but the Raven King appears (while Childermass is there) to bring Vinculus back to life. Strange and Norrell cast a spell so that England will greet the Raven King, but they accidentally name Stephen Black, who with his new powers is able to kill the fairy, releasing everyone from their enchantments. Stephen then becomes the new king of the fairy land.
Arabella makes it safely to Italy, and is cared for by the Greysteels. Strange and Norrell disappear to fairy, still trapped within the eternal darkness. Strange returns to Arabella, saying he will come to her once they have found a spell to lift the darkness, although he certainly doesn't seem to be in a hurry about it. Arabella promises to wait for him.
My Thoughts:
Excellent world building throughout the book. Clarke makes us believe that magic is a part of English history, creating a detailed magical history through the use of extensive footnotes. She uses phrases such as, "all school children know of [insert famous magician here]." Very well done.
The Jane Austen/regency style of writing was wonderful. She uses the same rhythm and complex sentence structure as classics of the 1800s. The book also has bits of humor here and there. Her writing style made for a delightful read.
However, the book certainly could have been shorter. The whole novel is actually three books in one, coming in at about 800 pages. I think the same story could have been told in 300 or 400 pages. We get a lot of detail about minor characters, like the Greysteels, and Stephen's love interest (who is never mentioned again.) There are also times where the plot loses focus, such as the description of all the various magical tasks of Strange and Norrell. I know this adds to the flavor of the book, but I would have preferred a tighter story.
I'm bothered by the ending. Arabella promises to wait for Strange, who seems in no hurry at all to get back to her. I suppose this is his way of saying goodbye to her, since I don't think either one expects to see the other again. I just wish that Arabella had had a more proactive role in the story, and that she could be defined by something other than her marriage to Strange or the fact that she was enchanted by a fairy. The weird thing is, she's described as being quite independent, and her dialog suggests this as well, but her role within the book is one of subservience. Arabella is not in control of her life.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Summary (with spoilers):
This book is huge, so I'm leaving out a lot of minor characters, as well as bits that aren't essential to the main plot.
The book opens with a meeting of the York Society of Magicians, who study magic, but don't actually practice it. The group reaches out to Mr. Norrell, who is known to have an impressive library of magical texts. Norrell claims he can do actual magic, proving so by animating the statues in York Cathedral. The York magicians are forced to abandon their group, based on an agreement made with Norrell, but Mr. Segundus is allowed to continue the study of magic.
Norrell moves to London with the intention of offering his services to the government. He's befriended by two scoundrels, Lascelles and Drawlight, who associate with Norrell for their own profit. Norrell is having trouble getting the government to take him seriously, so he offers to do a favor for government official Walter Poole by bringing his fiance back to life. He completes the magic by summoning a fairy, a gentleman with thistledown hair, who requires Lady Poole's finger and half her life in exchange. The fairy puts Lady Poole and Walter Poole's servant Stephen Black under an enchantment, forcing them to spend their nights at Lost-hope in the fairy realm.
Norrell asks his servent, John Childermass, to force the street magician Vinculus out of town. Vinculus invades Norrell's house and recites a prophecy to him, the same prophecy which induces Johnathan Strange to become a magician.
After marrying Arabella, Strange comes to London in hopes of being taught magic by Norrell. Although hesitant at first, Norrell soon warms to Strange, the only person with which he can truly discuss magic.
Strange goes to the front to aid Wellington with the war effort against Napoleon. Many entertaining episodes ensue. When Strange gets back to London, he realizes that he would like to express his own ideas about magical theory, causing him to make a break with Norrell.
Meanwhile, everyone thinks Lady Poole is mad, and Stephen Black isn't having such a great time, either. Lady Poole is placed in a care facility run my Mr. Segundus. The fairy, wreaking more havoc, decides to kidnap Strange's wife and make everyone believe she is dead.
Devastated by the "death" of his wife, Strange travels to Italy, where he meets the Greysteel family and manages to summon the fairy. The fairy offers him any gift in the world, and Strange asks for whatever the last magician he talked to gave him. Strange receives Lady Poole's finger, travels to the land of fairy, and realizes that Arabella is alive. The fairy casts a spell so that Strange is covered by a darkness which follows him everywhere.
Strange casts a spell that changes all of England, allowing magic back into the world for anyone who wants to practice it. Drawlight appears in Italy, and Strange sends him back to London with a message for Norrell that he is coming. However, Lascelles murders Drawlight before the message can be delivered.
Strange appears at Norrell's library. Instead of fighting, the two try to summon the Raven King. The fairy murders Vinculus, who has the Raven King's book written upon him, but the Raven King appears (while Childermass is there) to bring Vinculus back to life. Strange and Norrell cast a spell so that England will greet the Raven King, but they accidentally name Stephen Black, who with his new powers is able to kill the fairy, releasing everyone from their enchantments. Stephen then becomes the new king of the fairy land.
Arabella makes it safely to Italy, and is cared for by the Greysteels. Strange and Norrell disappear to fairy, still trapped within the eternal darkness. Strange returns to Arabella, saying he will come to her once they have found a spell to lift the darkness, although he certainly doesn't seem to be in a hurry about it. Arabella promises to wait for him.
My Thoughts:
Excellent world building throughout the book. Clarke makes us believe that magic is a part of English history, creating a detailed magical history through the use of extensive footnotes. She uses phrases such as, "all school children know of [insert famous magician here]." Very well done.
The Jane Austen/regency style of writing was wonderful. She uses the same rhythm and complex sentence structure as classics of the 1800s. The book also has bits of humor here and there. Her writing style made for a delightful read.
However, the book certainly could have been shorter. The whole novel is actually three books in one, coming in at about 800 pages. I think the same story could have been told in 300 or 400 pages. We get a lot of detail about minor characters, like the Greysteels, and Stephen's love interest (who is never mentioned again.) There are also times where the plot loses focus, such as the description of all the various magical tasks of Strange and Norrell. I know this adds to the flavor of the book, but I would have preferred a tighter story.
I'm bothered by the ending. Arabella promises to wait for Strange, who seems in no hurry at all to get back to her. I suppose this is his way of saying goodbye to her, since I don't think either one expects to see the other again. I just wish that Arabella had had a more proactive role in the story, and that she could be defined by something other than her marriage to Strange or the fact that she was enchanted by a fairy. The weird thing is, she's described as being quite independent, and her dialog suggests this as well, but her role within the book is one of subservience. Arabella is not in control of her life.
Saturday, October 5, 2013
The Wave in the Mind
The Wave in the Mind by Ursula K. Le Guin
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Summary (with spoilers)
A collection of non-fiction essays on reading, writing, and life, including essays on scanning text for stressed/unstressed syllabus, experiences being a woman writer (and a woman in general), discussion of writing workshops, and an essay on uncomfortable footwear for women.
Thoughts
Such an interesting look into Le Guin's ideas and writing processes. I loved her flowing, yet practical and complex, tips for writing. Le Guin discusses where the ideas for writing come from (hint: not from a mail in order), trying to honestly describe that nebulous, creative space of the writer's mind. She also notes that it can be dangerous to do writing in luxury (such as at a retreat), that luxury should not be a prerequisite for writing, and that it's up to you to make sure you have the practicalities of life (and your real way of making money) squared away. In another piece, Le Guin lays out the assumptions that is found in most fiction, that everyone is male, white, Christian, straight, and young. Breaking down these assumptions is useful for any writer.
What most surprised me was her essay on women's footwear, noting that American cultural norms encourage women to wear shoes that damage their feet. I'm not sure I'm okay with her use of the practice of foot binding as an analogy, but it is an essay that seriously changed the way I think about this issue. I don't want to be complicit in the idea that women have to ruin their feet to be attractive, so I'm considering never wearing high heels again. The poem at the end about the writing woman was wonderful.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Summary (with spoilers)
A collection of non-fiction essays on reading, writing, and life, including essays on scanning text for stressed/unstressed syllabus, experiences being a woman writer (and a woman in general), discussion of writing workshops, and an essay on uncomfortable footwear for women.
Thoughts
Such an interesting look into Le Guin's ideas and writing processes. I loved her flowing, yet practical and complex, tips for writing. Le Guin discusses where the ideas for writing come from (hint: not from a mail in order), trying to honestly describe that nebulous, creative space of the writer's mind. She also notes that it can be dangerous to do writing in luxury (such as at a retreat), that luxury should not be a prerequisite for writing, and that it's up to you to make sure you have the practicalities of life (and your real way of making money) squared away. In another piece, Le Guin lays out the assumptions that is found in most fiction, that everyone is male, white, Christian, straight, and young. Breaking down these assumptions is useful for any writer.
What most surprised me was her essay on women's footwear, noting that American cultural norms encourage women to wear shoes that damage their feet. I'm not sure I'm okay with her use of the practice of foot binding as an analogy, but it is an essay that seriously changed the way I think about this issue. I don't want to be complicit in the idea that women have to ruin their feet to be attractive, so I'm considering never wearing high heels again. The poem at the end about the writing woman was wonderful.
Friday, September 20, 2013
A Feast for Crows
Title: A Feast for Crows
Author: George R.R. Martin
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
Summary (with spoilers):
This is the fourth installment in the A Song of Ice and Fire series. As usual, each chapter follows the viewpoint of a specific character.
Cersei Lannister: Power hungry Cersei is queen regent now that Tommen is on the throne, but too young to rule. She puts her evil schemes into play, but makes the mistake of giving the Faith permission to build an army. In the middle of a plot to discredit Margaery, Tommen's wife, Cersei is locked up by the high septon and accused of various sins. She writes to Jamie to save her, but he does not come back to King's Landing to rescue her.
Jamie Lannister: He manages to get Riverrun to surrender without a battle. Spends the entire book freaking out about how Cersei is sleeping with other people.
Brienne: The Maid of Tarth is on a quest to find Sansa Stark (and also hopes to find Arya, once she learns Arya is alive.) Brienne picks up some companions on her quest, including Poddrick (previously squire to Tyrion), and Ser Hyle, who proposes marriage. She slays some outlaws from previous books (Shagga, etc.), runs into Gendry at an inn, and saves a bunch of children by fighting Biter, even though she is grievously injured. Brienne is delivered to Lady Stoneheart (the reanimated Catelyn Stark), but Stoneheart believes Brienne has betrayed her, since she's carrying a Lannister sword. Brienne and friends are hanged, although it's ambiguous whether they die or whether they will be saved at the last second.
Sansa Stark: She's up in the Eyrie with Petyr (Littlefinger) being all creepy while she pretends to be his daughter. Petyr succeeds in keeping control of the Eyrie, at least for now.
Ayra Stark: Arya ends up as an apprentice at the temple of the Many-Faced God in Braavos. She runs into Sam, although they don't know each other, and she kills a brother of the Knight's Watch who has strayed from his path. When she tells her mentor at the temple what she's done, he gives her a drink. The next day, she wakes up blind.
Samwell Tarly: Sam journeys to the Citadel in Oldtown to become a maester. On the journey, Aemon dies, and Sam sleeps with Gilly. In Oldtown, he meets up with apprentice Pate in the last chapter. If the reader can remember several hundred pages back to the prologue, we know that Pate has been killed, so this guy must be an impostor.
Meanwhile, we get the viewpoints of a bunch of random characters in Dorne and the Iron Islands. Arianne in Dorne tries to form a rebellion to have Marcella crowned queen of the Seven Kingdom. However, that backfires and her lover, Ser Oakheart, dies in the skirmish that follows their discovery. On the Iron Islands, a kingsmoot decides for Euron Crow's Eye over his brother Victarion and Asha Greyjoy. The islanders start raiding territories in the Seven Kingdoms.
My Thoughts:
For such a huge book, not much happened. Cersei does her weird plots (and her chapters take up the most out of any character in the book), but it's so clear that she's power mad that it's not much fun to read. Also, she sits through some boring council meetings, which means we have to sit through them too. And that bit with Lady Merryweather... It seemed like George R.R. Martin just got bored and wanted to throw in some sexy times. Didn't seem necessary.
Brienne wanders around doing nothing for most of the book. I like this character; she's one of the only unequivocally good people in the book. I wish her story had been better. We know where Sansa is, so it's not exciting for us to watch Brienne searching. We know Brienne is looking in the wrong places. Also, her ending was so unfair and sudden (although I don't believe she's dead).
What's with Ayra randomly killing some dude?! So unnecessary. Is George R.R. Martin trying to show that Ayra (whose been painted as a likable character up until this point) is actually evil? Because most good people don't go around murdering people who annoy them. I know his characters are all supposed to be a little rotten, but I don't know if I can go on liking Ayra if she's going to behave this way.
Those are my main problems with this book. I liked Sam's story and was happy to see more of him. I'm also interested to see how Petyr's plans play out, as he seems smarter than the other power hungry characters.
Of course, many of the main POV characters were left out of this book, since it was split into two novels. Here's hoping that the next book will be better.
Author: George R.R. Martin
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
Summary (with spoilers):
This is the fourth installment in the A Song of Ice and Fire series. As usual, each chapter follows the viewpoint of a specific character.
Cersei Lannister: Power hungry Cersei is queen regent now that Tommen is on the throne, but too young to rule. She puts her evil schemes into play, but makes the mistake of giving the Faith permission to build an army. In the middle of a plot to discredit Margaery, Tommen's wife, Cersei is locked up by the high septon and accused of various sins. She writes to Jamie to save her, but he does not come back to King's Landing to rescue her.
Jamie Lannister: He manages to get Riverrun to surrender without a battle. Spends the entire book freaking out about how Cersei is sleeping with other people.
Brienne: The Maid of Tarth is on a quest to find Sansa Stark (and also hopes to find Arya, once she learns Arya is alive.) Brienne picks up some companions on her quest, including Poddrick (previously squire to Tyrion), and Ser Hyle, who proposes marriage. She slays some outlaws from previous books (Shagga, etc.), runs into Gendry at an inn, and saves a bunch of children by fighting Biter, even though she is grievously injured. Brienne is delivered to Lady Stoneheart (the reanimated Catelyn Stark), but Stoneheart believes Brienne has betrayed her, since she's carrying a Lannister sword. Brienne and friends are hanged, although it's ambiguous whether they die or whether they will be saved at the last second.
Sansa Stark: She's up in the Eyrie with Petyr (Littlefinger) being all creepy while she pretends to be his daughter. Petyr succeeds in keeping control of the Eyrie, at least for now.
Ayra Stark: Arya ends up as an apprentice at the temple of the Many-Faced God in Braavos. She runs into Sam, although they don't know each other, and she kills a brother of the Knight's Watch who has strayed from his path. When she tells her mentor at the temple what she's done, he gives her a drink. The next day, she wakes up blind.
Samwell Tarly: Sam journeys to the Citadel in Oldtown to become a maester. On the journey, Aemon dies, and Sam sleeps with Gilly. In Oldtown, he meets up with apprentice Pate in the last chapter. If the reader can remember several hundred pages back to the prologue, we know that Pate has been killed, so this guy must be an impostor.
Meanwhile, we get the viewpoints of a bunch of random characters in Dorne and the Iron Islands. Arianne in Dorne tries to form a rebellion to have Marcella crowned queen of the Seven Kingdom. However, that backfires and her lover, Ser Oakheart, dies in the skirmish that follows their discovery. On the Iron Islands, a kingsmoot decides for Euron Crow's Eye over his brother Victarion and Asha Greyjoy. The islanders start raiding territories in the Seven Kingdoms.
My Thoughts:
For such a huge book, not much happened. Cersei does her weird plots (and her chapters take up the most out of any character in the book), but it's so clear that she's power mad that it's not much fun to read. Also, she sits through some boring council meetings, which means we have to sit through them too. And that bit with Lady Merryweather... It seemed like George R.R. Martin just got bored and wanted to throw in some sexy times. Didn't seem necessary.
Brienne wanders around doing nothing for most of the book. I like this character; she's one of the only unequivocally good people in the book. I wish her story had been better. We know where Sansa is, so it's not exciting for us to watch Brienne searching. We know Brienne is looking in the wrong places. Also, her ending was so unfair and sudden (although I don't believe she's dead).
What's with Ayra randomly killing some dude?! So unnecessary. Is George R.R. Martin trying to show that Ayra (whose been painted as a likable character up until this point) is actually evil? Because most good people don't go around murdering people who annoy them. I know his characters are all supposed to be a little rotten, but I don't know if I can go on liking Ayra if she's going to behave this way.
Those are my main problems with this book. I liked Sam's story and was happy to see more of him. I'm also interested to see how Petyr's plans play out, as he seems smarter than the other power hungry characters.
Of course, many of the main POV characters were left out of this book, since it was split into two novels. Here's hoping that the next book will be better.
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
2312
Title: 2312
Author: Kim Stanley Robinson
Rating: 4 out of 5
I've decided that my summaries have been getting too long, so I'm going to make future summaries shorter. This book was over 500 pages, but here we go.
Summary (with spoilers):
Swan lives on Terminator, a city on Mercury that glides along planet-wide tracks to avoid being caught in the sun. As Swan grieves at the death of her grandmother, Alex, she learns that Alex was involved in secret political dealings. Alex has left several letters that Swan must deliver, causing Swan to meet up with Wahram, Inspector Gennette, and Wang.
In addition to being overcome with grief, Swan is a rather unusual person. She had her qube, Pauline, installed in her head. She's also undergone various physical modifications.
Swan tries to figure out what Alex was working on, but no one will tell her directly what's going on, except that it has to do with Earth, and that they don't trust the qubes. Swan travels to Earth via terraria (hollowed-out asteroids turned into small worlds), to meet up with her former lover, Zasha. On Earth, some ruffians attempt to kidnap her, but she is saved by Kiran. In return, she gets him off-planet to Venus, where he becomes a double agent for two major political powers.
Swan meets up with Wahram on Mercury. After attending a conference, they decide to don some spacesuits and walk back to the city platform. En route, they witness an explosion the almost hits Terminator and destroys the tracks. They rush back to the city, but it's already been evacuated. Since the sun is rising, they need to get to safety. They decide to run sun-ward to the next platform, which has an underground system mirroring the tracks above ground. They make it to the platform, and while they are waiting for the elevator to arrive, Swan jumps in front of Wahram to protect him from a solar flare.
They hike along the underground tunnel for weeks, trying to reach safety, whistling Bach to pass the time. Swan gets increasingly ill from radiation poisoning. Eventually, they go to the surface to break the monotony, even though they are sun-side, and a vehicle passing by rescues them.
Swan spends time with Inspector Gennette, who thinks the attack on Mercury was caused by lots of small rocks thrown so that they would all land at the same time. He's also suspicious of the cubes. Swan and Wahram go to Earth to help with various development projects and then decide to repopulate Earth with all of the animals stored in the terraria. Thousands of animals are sent through the sky in gel balloons. On Earth, Swan and Warham realize they have feelings for each other.
Swan and Warham become passengers on a space craft, when Pauline informs Swan that a similar attack is planned on the Venus sun shield. They use the space ship to deflect the small projectiles, which means that everyone has to evacuate. Swan and Warham get into space suits and float in space, waiting to be rescued. However, their rescue ship is attacked before it can pick them up, and Warham's leg is injured. Eventually, they are rescued, but their time waiting in space is reminiscent of their time in the tunnel.
Meanwhile, these strange humanoid qubes have been wandering about causing trouble, so Inspector Gennette exiles them all in a star ship. The book ends with the marriage of Swan and Warham.
My Thoughts:
My summary doesn't do the book justice, as its strengths lie in world building, character development, and philosophical discussions. It was a book that would make me stop mid-page and think for 20 minutes about the concepts. I enjoyed the discussion of the pseudo-iterative routines of Warham, the question of qube-human relationships, and the descriptions of the various terraria.
My favorite part of the book was when they were wandering through the tunnel, and also the description of animals floating down to Earth. The chapters completely filled with terraforming descriptions were hard for me to get through, but most of them actually did have a relation to the plot. I believe the book could have been 100 pages shorter, but I enjoyed the complexity and depth of the world that Robinson built.
This book has won the Nebula and is up for the Hugo this year. I would have voted for it if I had signed up for a voting membership.
Author: Kim Stanley Robinson
Rating: 4 out of 5
I've decided that my summaries have been getting too long, so I'm going to make future summaries shorter. This book was over 500 pages, but here we go.
Summary (with spoilers):
Swan lives on Terminator, a city on Mercury that glides along planet-wide tracks to avoid being caught in the sun. As Swan grieves at the death of her grandmother, Alex, she learns that Alex was involved in secret political dealings. Alex has left several letters that Swan must deliver, causing Swan to meet up with Wahram, Inspector Gennette, and Wang.
In addition to being overcome with grief, Swan is a rather unusual person. She had her qube, Pauline, installed in her head. She's also undergone various physical modifications.
Swan tries to figure out what Alex was working on, but no one will tell her directly what's going on, except that it has to do with Earth, and that they don't trust the qubes. Swan travels to Earth via terraria (hollowed-out asteroids turned into small worlds), to meet up with her former lover, Zasha. On Earth, some ruffians attempt to kidnap her, but she is saved by Kiran. In return, she gets him off-planet to Venus, where he becomes a double agent for two major political powers.
Swan meets up with Wahram on Mercury. After attending a conference, they decide to don some spacesuits and walk back to the city platform. En route, they witness an explosion the almost hits Terminator and destroys the tracks. They rush back to the city, but it's already been evacuated. Since the sun is rising, they need to get to safety. They decide to run sun-ward to the next platform, which has an underground system mirroring the tracks above ground. They make it to the platform, and while they are waiting for the elevator to arrive, Swan jumps in front of Wahram to protect him from a solar flare.
They hike along the underground tunnel for weeks, trying to reach safety, whistling Bach to pass the time. Swan gets increasingly ill from radiation poisoning. Eventually, they go to the surface to break the monotony, even though they are sun-side, and a vehicle passing by rescues them.
Swan spends time with Inspector Gennette, who thinks the attack on Mercury was caused by lots of small rocks thrown so that they would all land at the same time. He's also suspicious of the cubes. Swan and Wahram go to Earth to help with various development projects and then decide to repopulate Earth with all of the animals stored in the terraria. Thousands of animals are sent through the sky in gel balloons. On Earth, Swan and Warham realize they have feelings for each other.
Swan and Warham become passengers on a space craft, when Pauline informs Swan that a similar attack is planned on the Venus sun shield. They use the space ship to deflect the small projectiles, which means that everyone has to evacuate. Swan and Warham get into space suits and float in space, waiting to be rescued. However, their rescue ship is attacked before it can pick them up, and Warham's leg is injured. Eventually, they are rescued, but their time waiting in space is reminiscent of their time in the tunnel.
Meanwhile, these strange humanoid qubes have been wandering about causing trouble, so Inspector Gennette exiles them all in a star ship. The book ends with the marriage of Swan and Warham.
My Thoughts:
My summary doesn't do the book justice, as its strengths lie in world building, character development, and philosophical discussions. It was a book that would make me stop mid-page and think for 20 minutes about the concepts. I enjoyed the discussion of the pseudo-iterative routines of Warham, the question of qube-human relationships, and the descriptions of the various terraria.
My favorite part of the book was when they were wandering through the tunnel, and also the description of animals floating down to Earth. The chapters completely filled with terraforming descriptions were hard for me to get through, but most of them actually did have a relation to the plot. I believe the book could have been 100 pages shorter, but I enjoyed the complexity and depth of the world that Robinson built.
This book has won the Nebula and is up for the Hugo this year. I would have voted for it if I had signed up for a voting membership.
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
The Mindy Project
The Mindy Project by Mindy Kaling
Summary (with spoilers):
Mindy tells the reader about her life, from childhood to comedy success, through humorous essays. She discusses her high school experience as a comedy nerd, college acting, moving to New York and writing the play Matt & Ben with her friend, various jobs, and how she became a writer for The Office.
My Thoughts:
Not a bad book, although Mindy is not nearly as funny in her essay writing as she is in script writing and acting. Some of the episodes were well done. I especially liked her description of her childhood. When describing high school, she says that it's okay not to be a star, because it's kind of sad if high school is the best time of your life. However, some of the chapters fell flat for me. The one where she describes pictures of herself on her cell phone is especially bad.
Overall, it was an amusing read, but I could have skipped it.
Summary (with spoilers):
Mindy tells the reader about her life, from childhood to comedy success, through humorous essays. She discusses her high school experience as a comedy nerd, college acting, moving to New York and writing the play Matt & Ben with her friend, various jobs, and how she became a writer for The Office.
My Thoughts:
Not a bad book, although Mindy is not nearly as funny in her essay writing as she is in script writing and acting. Some of the episodes were well done. I especially liked her description of her childhood. When describing high school, she says that it's okay not to be a star, because it's kind of sad if high school is the best time of your life. However, some of the chapters fell flat for me. The one where she describes pictures of herself on her cell phone is especially bad.
Overall, it was an amusing read, but I could have skipped it.
Thursday, August 1, 2013
Quiet
Quiet by Susan Cain
This is the first time I've done a review of a non-fiction book. I'll keep the summary short.
Summary (with spoilers):
Cain talks about the "extrovert ideal" in United States culture, which privileges extroverted personalities over introverted personalities. She uses the Harvard Business School as an example of an extreme extrovert culture.
Cain discusses the nature/nurture debate, bringing up physiological elements that influence introversion. She looks at introversion in terms of sensitivity, arguing that people who are more sensitive to outside stimuli are more likely to be introverts. There's an interesting experiment where researchers played recordings of balloons popping, etc. for babies, and were able to predict which would grow up to be introverts based on how the babies reacted. The highly reactive babies were more sensitive, and therefore more likely to exhibit introverted qualities when they got older.
Cain argues that we should pay more attention to the positive qualities of introversion and examines introverted leadership.
My Thoughts:
Although I had high hopes for this book, I wasn't impressed. I could sense the author's bitterness at having to grow up in an extroverted world. Although she repeatedly says that she hopes the book will cause introverts to be at peace with who they are, I don't think she spends enough time on the positive aspects of introversion. In fact, most of the time she's talking about extroverts (the extrovert ideal, comparing introverts to extroverts, etc.) I would have enjoyed the book if it had been more focused on what it means to be an introvert, not about how introverts can survive in an extroverted world. Perhaps the author would have sounded less resentful if she had written the book in a more introvert-focused way.
The most interesting bits of the book talked about the effect of physiology on introversion. Although introversion is influenced by environment, it's also highly hereditary. However, I had some friends note that some of the experiments/findings seemed flawed, like arguing that introverts might be more sensitive to coffee when it's probably a separate gene that influences caffeine sensitivity.
I wouldn't recommend this book. I have so much difficulty finding good non-fiction books. There's always a worry that the book won't be factually accurate (although Quiet contained a substantial amount of footnotes, which is a good sign).
This is the first time I've done a review of a non-fiction book. I'll keep the summary short.
Summary (with spoilers):
Cain talks about the "extrovert ideal" in United States culture, which privileges extroverted personalities over introverted personalities. She uses the Harvard Business School as an example of an extreme extrovert culture.
Cain discusses the nature/nurture debate, bringing up physiological elements that influence introversion. She looks at introversion in terms of sensitivity, arguing that people who are more sensitive to outside stimuli are more likely to be introverts. There's an interesting experiment where researchers played recordings of balloons popping, etc. for babies, and were able to predict which would grow up to be introverts based on how the babies reacted. The highly reactive babies were more sensitive, and therefore more likely to exhibit introverted qualities when they got older.
Cain argues that we should pay more attention to the positive qualities of introversion and examines introverted leadership.
My Thoughts:
Although I had high hopes for this book, I wasn't impressed. I could sense the author's bitterness at having to grow up in an extroverted world. Although she repeatedly says that she hopes the book will cause introverts to be at peace with who they are, I don't think she spends enough time on the positive aspects of introversion. In fact, most of the time she's talking about extroverts (the extrovert ideal, comparing introverts to extroverts, etc.) I would have enjoyed the book if it had been more focused on what it means to be an introvert, not about how introverts can survive in an extroverted world. Perhaps the author would have sounded less resentful if she had written the book in a more introvert-focused way.
The most interesting bits of the book talked about the effect of physiology on introversion. Although introversion is influenced by environment, it's also highly hereditary. However, I had some friends note that some of the experiments/findings seemed flawed, like arguing that introverts might be more sensitive to coffee when it's probably a separate gene that influences caffeine sensitivity.
I wouldn't recommend this book. I have so much difficulty finding good non-fiction books. There's always a worry that the book won't be factually accurate (although Quiet contained a substantial amount of footnotes, which is a good sign).
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
What Makes a Good Book?
Doing all of these reviews has got me thinking more about literature and reading in general. So what makes a book worth reading? There are all those obvious elements like plot, character, conflict, etc. I want to think about the little things that distinguish an average book from one that's great.
1) Immersive experience
Whether through world building, exciting plot, or character development, a book should make the real world disappear for the reader. Great books make the reader forget that she is reading a book.
2) Different from real life
The author should create a story where everything makes sense and nothing happens randomly. If I'm taking the time to read the book, I want to be reading something well thought out. Unlike real life (where things happen all the time for no reason), a book should have internal justice and a coherent plot.
Books can take advantage of symbolism, because the author adds symbolism intentionally. (If the main character is in a bad mood, and it's raining outside, that's relevant. In real life, the weather isn't a barometer for the emotions of people.) Authors can use various elements like foreshadowing, and the reader understands that these elements will work in a certain way, based on what it means to be reading a story.
Only important or useful actions need to be mentioned. An author doesn't have to tell us every time a character uses the bathroom or brushes her teeth. We can assume these things are happening, even if it's not explicitly mentions.
3) But not too different from real life
However, a book must be relatable. If I hate a main character of a book, there should be a good reason for it, so that I can still enjoy the story. Ditto if the main character is an idiot. Unless there's going to be some great character development going on, I don't want to spend a lot of time with a character I don't like.
4) Imaginative
If a book must be different from real life, it follows that the author must use her imagination when writing. I've noticed that great books are always really strange, not just the science fiction or fantasy ones, which you might expect to be unlike the real world. It's stuff you would never expect to happen in your own life. Real life is comfortable, but boring. And indeed, most good stories happen around conflict, when stressful things are happening to all of the characters. This stress and strangeness are what make books interesting.
1) Immersive experience
Whether through world building, exciting plot, or character development, a book should make the real world disappear for the reader. Great books make the reader forget that she is reading a book.
2) Different from real life
The author should create a story where everything makes sense and nothing happens randomly. If I'm taking the time to read the book, I want to be reading something well thought out. Unlike real life (where things happen all the time for no reason), a book should have internal justice and a coherent plot.
Books can take advantage of symbolism, because the author adds symbolism intentionally. (If the main character is in a bad mood, and it's raining outside, that's relevant. In real life, the weather isn't a barometer for the emotions of people.) Authors can use various elements like foreshadowing, and the reader understands that these elements will work in a certain way, based on what it means to be reading a story.
Only important or useful actions need to be mentioned. An author doesn't have to tell us every time a character uses the bathroom or brushes her teeth. We can assume these things are happening, even if it's not explicitly mentions.
3) But not too different from real life
However, a book must be relatable. If I hate a main character of a book, there should be a good reason for it, so that I can still enjoy the story. Ditto if the main character is an idiot. Unless there's going to be some great character development going on, I don't want to spend a lot of time with a character I don't like.
4) Imaginative
If a book must be different from real life, it follows that the author must use her imagination when writing. I've noticed that great books are always really strange, not just the science fiction or fantasy ones, which you might expect to be unlike the real world. It's stuff you would never expect to happen in your own life. Real life is comfortable, but boring. And indeed, most good stories happen around conflict, when stressful things are happening to all of the characters. This stress and strangeness are what make books interesting.
Ready Player One
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Summary (with spoilers):
It's the 2040s, and the world has entered into a dystopian era after running out of fossil fuel. Most people spend their time in OASIS, a huge virtual reality simulator that has replaced the Internet. The OASIS was created by an extraordinary programmer named Halliday. Upon his death, Halliday issues a challenge to the world. The first person to find his 3 keys and 3 gates, solving intricate puzzles along the way involving 1980s culture (the era when Halliday grew up), will inherit Halliday's massive fortune. This contest gives rise to the "gunters," people who have devoted themselves to finding Halliday's "Easter egg" within the worlds of OASIS.
Enter Wade (avatar name Parzival), a poor orphan living with his degenerate aunt in "The Stacks," although he spends most of his time in an abandoned van. He's a gunter obsessed with figuring out the puzzle, with a specialty in old arcade games. He doesn't have the money to teleport around the OASIS, but he is able to access the planet Ludus, where he goes to school. His only friend, Aech, is also a gunter.
While reading Halliday's 80s culture lovefest journal, Wade notices that some letters are marked, and that putting the marked letters together spells out a clue about the first key, mentioning a tomb of horrors and learning. He realizes that the tomb of horrors refers to an old D&D quest module, while the reference to learning means that the tomb recreation could be on the Ludus school planet. After scanning the Ludus map, he finds a hill that matches the illustrations in the Tomb of Horrors module.
He uses a school voucher (intended to let him go to away games) to transport to the correct area of Ludus. He makes his way through the tomb, avoiding the traps, until he gets to the throne room. The arch-lich, which isn't supposed to show up until later, is sitting on the dias, and challenges Wade to a Joust tournament. Wade loses the first game, but after asking to switch sides, he's barely able to win the next two games. Wade receives the Copper Key. He's the first person to find the key, even though the contest has been going for 5 years!
As he turns to leave, he runs into another avatar, Art3mis. Wade's been reading her gunter blog for years, and has a crush on Art3mis, although he's never met her. Although suspicious of each other, they like each other right away and exchange contact information. However, Wade lies to her about getting the Copper Key. She checks the scoreboard, and see's that Parzival's name is there. He admits winning at Joust, and advises her to switch sides with the arch-lich.
The Copper Key has a clue written on it, which Wade instantly deciphers. Wade heads for the planet Middletown, a recreation of Halliday's hometown, knowing that he must beat a specific video game to find the gate. Upon beating the game, a gate is revealed. Wade inserts the key and enters into star-studded space, landing in a recreation of the movie WarGames as Matthew Broderick's character David Lightman.
Art3mis soon clears the First Gate as well, followed a day later by Aech and two guys from Japan, Daito and Shoto. I-rok, an annoying friend of Aech's, reveals that both Aech and Wade are students on Ludus, because the two refuse to show him where the Copper Key is hidden.
As Parzival becomes famous, Wade gets all sorts of endorsement offers. He also gets an email from the IOI corporation, home of the "Sixers." This corporation wants to win the contest so that they can take over the OASIS and start charging an entry fee.
Wade agrees to meet with a high ranking IOI employee, who offers him a job and money to give them a walk-through of the First Gate. When Wade refuses, IOI reveals that they know his real identity, and that if he doesn't help them, they'll blow up his home in The Stacks, where they believe he currently is. Wade realizes that either they are bluffing, or that if they intend to kill him, they'll do it whether he helps them or not. He decides not to help them and leaves the virtual chat. Minutes later, an explosion destroys his home. (Luckily, he's in his hide-out in the van.)
Shaken, Wade and Aech call all of the others who have managed to gain a place on the scoreboard (a group known as the High Five.) Despite the danger, they decide to remain solo gunters. The Sixers converge on Ludus and put a force field around the entrance to the Copper Key.
With his endorsement money, Wade moves to Columbus, changes his identity, and gets his own apartment. He develops a relationship with Art3mis (although they've never met in person), but when he declares his love for her, she tells him they shouldn't see each other until the contest is over. She then becomes the first to find the Jade Key.
The Sixers have acquired a powerful artifact that allows them to locate any avatar once per day. When Art3mis finds the Jade Key, they use the power to discover she is on Sector 7. When swarms of Sixers flock to the sector, everyone else knows the Jade Key is there too.
Aech sends Wade a clue about the location of the Jade Key. It's hidden in a world based on the text-based game Zork. Once Wade collects all of the trophies, he must blow a whistle found in a Captain Crunch cereal box (like people used to do to make free long-distance phone calls.) The Jade Key is encased in foil, with a riddle about passing the test to continue the quest. Wade has to flee the planet quickly as the Sixers descend.
During the battle at the Zork planet, Daito is killed in real life. Shoto visits Wade in the OASIS and gives him a powerful artifact that Daito, Shoto, and Wade had uncovered during a quest they did earlier. While Wade tries to discover the clue to the Jade Gate, the Sixers pass the Jade Gate and obtain the Crystal Key.
Wade realizes the clue is a reference to Bladerunner. As he says "the unicorn," the paper folds itself into a unicorn. He finds a replica of the tower in Bladerunner and is transported to the second gate, a bowling alley from Halliday's youth. He plays a first person version of Black Tiger and is rewarded with his choice of a large robot and the clue to the Crystal Key. The clue, a symbol on a Rush album, leads him to a planet based on the album 2112. Using the song lyrics as a guide, he finds a guitar. While still in that room, he plays the first bit of "Discover," and another clue is revealed. Wade realizes that the Sixers must not have received this addition clue. He plays the guitar in the main room, and is rewarded with the Crystal Key.
The Crystal Key contains an "A," just like the one on Halliday's character Anorack. Wade realizes that he must go to Anorack's castle, which no one but Halliday has ever been able to enter. Unfortunately, right after Wade gains the key, the Sixers put a barrier around the castle so that no one can enter.
Wade emails the locations of the gates and keys to Art3mis, Aech, and Shoto. He purposefully goes into debt under his fake identity, so that he'll be arrested by IOI, which has a system of making people who can't pay their debts become indentured servants.
Aech sends Wade a clue about the location of the Jade Key. It's hidden in a world based on the text-based game Zork. Once Wade collects all of the trophies, he must blow a whistle found in a Captain Crunch cereal box (like people used to do to make free long-distance phone calls.) The Jade Key is encased in foil, with a riddle about passing the test to continue the quest. Wade has to flee the planet quickly as the Sixers descend.
During the battle at the Zork planet, Daito is killed in real life. Shoto visits Wade in the OASIS and gives him a powerful artifact that Daito, Shoto, and Wade had uncovered during a quest they did earlier. While Wade tries to discover the clue to the Jade Gate, the Sixers pass the Jade Gate and obtain the Crystal Key.
Wade realizes the clue is a reference to Bladerunner. As he says "the unicorn," the paper folds itself into a unicorn. He finds a replica of the tower in Bladerunner and is transported to the second gate, a bowling alley from Halliday's youth. He plays a first person version of Black Tiger and is rewarded with his choice of a large robot and the clue to the Crystal Key. The clue, a symbol on a Rush album, leads him to a planet based on the album 2112. Using the song lyrics as a guide, he finds a guitar. While still in that room, he plays the first bit of "Discover," and another clue is revealed. Wade realizes that the Sixers must not have received this addition clue. He plays the guitar in the main room, and is rewarded with the Crystal Key.
Wade emails the locations of the gates and keys to Art3mis, Aech, and Shoto. He purposefully goes into debt under his fake identity, so that he'll be arrested by IOI, which has a system of making people who can't pay their debts become indentured servants.
They all meet virtually in Aech's private chat room to talk. Wade reveals all of the information he downloaded. He tells them a plan to send a mass email asking for everyone's help taking down the Sixers, who are guarding the Crystal Gate. when Shoto and Art3mis reveal that they are not in very safe locations, Ogden Morrow (Halliday's business partner) appears within the chat room. He offers to fly everyone to his mansion in Oregon (in real life.) The 4 gunters accept his offer, realizing that they will meet for the first time.
Aech comes to pick up Wade to drive him to the airport. When Wade enters her RV, he sees that a plump, African American woman about his age is driving. At first, he is shocked that Aech's true identity is so different from her online persona, but then he realizes that it doesn't make any difference; she's still his best friend.
Everyone arrives at Ogden's house, although Art3mis and Shoto decide not to meet the other two until after the contest is finished. Wade arrives to the castle in his robot, which is flooded with friendly avatars ready to fight for the four friends. The orb is disabled, and the main Sixer guy activates his huge robot, Mechagodzilla. Shoto distracts the Sixer, getting eliminated in the process. Wade activates the Beta Capsule to become huge and take the Sixer down. Then Art3mis, Aech, and Wade all get to the Crystal Gate and activate it. Before they can step inside, everyone dies in a huge explosion. (The Catalyst was activated.)
However, Wade gets an extra life because he has the quarter in his inventory. As he's searching for a way to reach the gate (which is now high above him since everything has been destroyed), he promises to split the money with his friends if he gets to the egg.
He enters the gate, and must get a high score on the game Tempest. Then he's put into a movie recreation of The Holy Grail. After completing that game, he enters a room with all of Halliday's computers/video game consoles. Wade figures out that the log on password is the name of the D&D character of the woman that Halliday loved. He then plays Adventure, getting to the room with the first video game Easter egg. Instead of the name of the creator of Adventure (as in the original game), there is Halliday's egg! Wade picks up the egg, gets transported into the castle, and meets up with Halliday's avatar. Halliday tells Wade that there is a secret button that will destroy the OASIS, but only Wade will have access to it. He also warns Wade that true happiness can only be found in reality.
Wade and friends are rich, everyone is happy, and the Sixer guy gets arrested in real life. Art3mis is waiting for Wade outside. He finally gets to meet her in person, where they kiss.
My Thoughts:
I loved this book. The premise is so much fun, the action is exciting, and there are tons of nerdy cultural references. (On the day when I read about Wade getting the Copper Key, I had just gotten back from a D&D game.)
Massive points to Cline for his vision of the OASIS, which is completely different from our the Internet today and also a plausible evolution of current technology. Creating believable future technology is one of the hardest things to do in science fiction.
I enjoyed all of the reference to 80s culture. (I still have to check out Zork.) The fast pace of the book made it hard to stop reading, and I was rooting for the characters the entire time.
Now for a few issues. I did feel that Wade's extensive knowledge of 80s culture was unrealistic. (He says he's watched The Holy Grail 157 times, that he's read every book on Halliday's overflowing shelf, and on top of that, he's a video game master, able to get a perfect score playing Pac-Man.) I know he devotes all of his free time to the pursuit of Halliday's egg, but I just think he wouldn't have the time to do all of these things.
I was also bothered when the "Chekhov's Gun" rule was broken. Wade buys a gun shortly after escaping from the Sixer compound. It's mentioned once or twice after, but there's never a situation where he even remotely needs to use it. I kept worrying that some bad guy was going to attack him at the end. I wish the author had just left out the bit about Wade buying a gun.
Overall, this book was excellent. I would recommend it to all of my friends.
Summary (with spoilers):
It's the 2040s, and the world has entered into a dystopian era after running out of fossil fuel. Most people spend their time in OASIS, a huge virtual reality simulator that has replaced the Internet. The OASIS was created by an extraordinary programmer named Halliday. Upon his death, Halliday issues a challenge to the world. The first person to find his 3 keys and 3 gates, solving intricate puzzles along the way involving 1980s culture (the era when Halliday grew up), will inherit Halliday's massive fortune. This contest gives rise to the "gunters," people who have devoted themselves to finding Halliday's "Easter egg" within the worlds of OASIS.
Enter Wade (avatar name Parzival), a poor orphan living with his degenerate aunt in "The Stacks," although he spends most of his time in an abandoned van. He's a gunter obsessed with figuring out the puzzle, with a specialty in old arcade games. He doesn't have the money to teleport around the OASIS, but he is able to access the planet Ludus, where he goes to school. His only friend, Aech, is also a gunter.
While reading Halliday's 80s culture lovefest journal, Wade notices that some letters are marked, and that putting the marked letters together spells out a clue about the first key, mentioning a tomb of horrors and learning. He realizes that the tomb of horrors refers to an old D&D quest module, while the reference to learning means that the tomb recreation could be on the Ludus school planet. After scanning the Ludus map, he finds a hill that matches the illustrations in the Tomb of Horrors module.
He uses a school voucher (intended to let him go to away games) to transport to the correct area of Ludus. He makes his way through the tomb, avoiding the traps, until he gets to the throne room. The arch-lich, which isn't supposed to show up until later, is sitting on the dias, and challenges Wade to a Joust tournament. Wade loses the first game, but after asking to switch sides, he's barely able to win the next two games. Wade receives the Copper Key. He's the first person to find the key, even though the contest has been going for 5 years!
As he turns to leave, he runs into another avatar, Art3mis. Wade's been reading her gunter blog for years, and has a crush on Art3mis, although he's never met her. Although suspicious of each other, they like each other right away and exchange contact information. However, Wade lies to her about getting the Copper Key. She checks the scoreboard, and see's that Parzival's name is there. He admits winning at Joust, and advises her to switch sides with the arch-lich.
The Copper Key has a clue written on it, which Wade instantly deciphers. Wade heads for the planet Middletown, a recreation of Halliday's hometown, knowing that he must beat a specific video game to find the gate. Upon beating the game, a gate is revealed. Wade inserts the key and enters into star-studded space, landing in a recreation of the movie WarGames as Matthew Broderick's character David Lightman.
Art3mis soon clears the First Gate as well, followed a day later by Aech and two guys from Japan, Daito and Shoto. I-rok, an annoying friend of Aech's, reveals that both Aech and Wade are students on Ludus, because the two refuse to show him where the Copper Key is hidden.
As Parzival becomes famous, Wade gets all sorts of endorsement offers. He also gets an email from the IOI corporation, home of the "Sixers." This corporation wants to win the contest so that they can take over the OASIS and start charging an entry fee.
Wade agrees to meet with a high ranking IOI employee, who offers him a job and money to give them a walk-through of the First Gate. When Wade refuses, IOI reveals that they know his real identity, and that if he doesn't help them, they'll blow up his home in The Stacks, where they believe he currently is. Wade realizes that either they are bluffing, or that if they intend to kill him, they'll do it whether he helps them or not. He decides not to help them and leaves the virtual chat. Minutes later, an explosion destroys his home. (Luckily, he's in his hide-out in the van.)
Shaken, Wade and Aech call all of the others who have managed to gain a place on the scoreboard (a group known as the High Five.) Despite the danger, they decide to remain solo gunters. The Sixers converge on Ludus and put a force field around the entrance to the Copper Key.
With his endorsement money, Wade moves to Columbus, changes his identity, and gets his own apartment. He develops a relationship with Art3mis (although they've never met in person), but when he declares his love for her, she tells him they shouldn't see each other until the contest is over. She then becomes the first to find the Jade Key.
The Sixers have acquired a powerful artifact that allows them to locate any avatar once per day. When Art3mis finds the Jade Key, they use the power to discover she is on Sector 7. When swarms of Sixers flock to the sector, everyone else knows the Jade Key is there too.
Aech sends Wade a clue about the location of the Jade Key. It's hidden in a world based on the text-based game Zork. Once Wade collects all of the trophies, he must blow a whistle found in a Captain Crunch cereal box (like people used to do to make free long-distance phone calls.) The Jade Key is encased in foil, with a riddle about passing the test to continue the quest. Wade has to flee the planet quickly as the Sixers descend.
During the battle at the Zork planet, Daito is killed in real life. Shoto visits Wade in the OASIS and gives him a powerful artifact that Daito, Shoto, and Wade had uncovered during a quest they did earlier. While Wade tries to discover the clue to the Jade Gate, the Sixers pass the Jade Gate and obtain the Crystal Key.
Wade realizes the clue is a reference to Bladerunner. As he says "the unicorn," the paper folds itself into a unicorn. He finds a replica of the tower in Bladerunner and is transported to the second gate, a bowling alley from Halliday's youth. He plays a first person version of Black Tiger and is rewarded with his choice of a large robot and the clue to the Crystal Key. The clue, a symbol on a Rush album, leads him to a planet based on the album 2112. Using the song lyrics as a guide, he finds a guitar. While still in that room, he plays the first bit of "Discover," and another clue is revealed. Wade realizes that the Sixers must not have received this addition clue. He plays the guitar in the main room, and is rewarded with the Crystal Key.
The Crystal Key contains an "A," just like the one on Halliday's character Anorack. Wade realizes that he must go to Anorack's castle, which no one but Halliday has ever been able to enter. Unfortunately, right after Wade gains the key, the Sixers put a barrier around the castle so that no one can enter.
Wade emails the locations of the gates and keys to Art3mis, Aech, and Shoto. He purposefully goes into debt under his fake identity, so that he'll be arrested by IOI, which has a system of making people who can't pay their debts become indentured servants.
Aech sends Wade a clue about the location of the Jade Key. It's hidden in a world based on the text-based game Zork. Once Wade collects all of the trophies, he must blow a whistle found in a Captain Crunch cereal box (like people used to do to make free long-distance phone calls.) The Jade Key is encased in foil, with a riddle about passing the test to continue the quest. Wade has to flee the planet quickly as the Sixers descend.
During the battle at the Zork planet, Daito is killed in real life. Shoto visits Wade in the OASIS and gives him a powerful artifact that Daito, Shoto, and Wade had uncovered during a quest they did earlier. While Wade tries to discover the clue to the Jade Gate, the Sixers pass the Jade Gate and obtain the Crystal Key.
Wade realizes the clue is a reference to Bladerunner. As he says "the unicorn," the paper folds itself into a unicorn. He finds a replica of the tower in Bladerunner and is transported to the second gate, a bowling alley from Halliday's youth. He plays a first person version of Black Tiger and is rewarded with his choice of a large robot and the clue to the Crystal Key. The clue, a symbol on a Rush album, leads him to a planet based on the album 2112. Using the song lyrics as a guide, he finds a guitar. While still in that room, he plays the first bit of "Discover," and another clue is revealed. Wade realizes that the Sixers must not have received this addition clue. He plays the guitar in the main room, and is rewarded with the Crystal Key.
Wade emails the locations of the gates and keys to Art3mis, Aech, and Shoto. He purposefully goes into debt under his fake identity, so that he'll be arrested by IOI, which has a system of making people who can't pay their debts become indentured servants.
They all meet virtually in Aech's private chat room to talk. Wade reveals all of the information he downloaded. He tells them a plan to send a mass email asking for everyone's help taking down the Sixers, who are guarding the Crystal Gate. when Shoto and Art3mis reveal that they are not in very safe locations, Ogden Morrow (Halliday's business partner) appears within the chat room. He offers to fly everyone to his mansion in Oregon (in real life.) The 4 gunters accept his offer, realizing that they will meet for the first time.
Aech comes to pick up Wade to drive him to the airport. When Wade enters her RV, he sees that a plump, African American woman about his age is driving. At first, he is shocked that Aech's true identity is so different from her online persona, but then he realizes that it doesn't make any difference; she's still his best friend.
Everyone arrives at Ogden's house, although Art3mis and Shoto decide not to meet the other two until after the contest is finished. Wade arrives to the castle in his robot, which is flooded with friendly avatars ready to fight for the four friends. The orb is disabled, and the main Sixer guy activates his huge robot, Mechagodzilla. Shoto distracts the Sixer, getting eliminated in the process. Wade activates the Beta Capsule to become huge and take the Sixer down. Then Art3mis, Aech, and Wade all get to the Crystal Gate and activate it. Before they can step inside, everyone dies in a huge explosion. (The Catalyst was activated.)
However, Wade gets an extra life because he has the quarter in his inventory. As he's searching for a way to reach the gate (which is now high above him since everything has been destroyed), he promises to split the money with his friends if he gets to the egg.
He enters the gate, and must get a high score on the game Tempest. Then he's put into a movie recreation of The Holy Grail. After completing that game, he enters a room with all of Halliday's computers/video game consoles. Wade figures out that the log on password is the name of the D&D character of the woman that Halliday loved. He then plays Adventure, getting to the room with the first video game Easter egg. Instead of the name of the creator of Adventure (as in the original game), there is Halliday's egg! Wade picks up the egg, gets transported into the castle, and meets up with Halliday's avatar. Halliday tells Wade that there is a secret button that will destroy the OASIS, but only Wade will have access to it. He also warns Wade that true happiness can only be found in reality.
Wade and friends are rich, everyone is happy, and the Sixer guy gets arrested in real life. Art3mis is waiting for Wade outside. He finally gets to meet her in person, where they kiss.
My Thoughts:
I loved this book. The premise is so much fun, the action is exciting, and there are tons of nerdy cultural references. (On the day when I read about Wade getting the Copper Key, I had just gotten back from a D&D game.)
Massive points to Cline for his vision of the OASIS, which is completely different from our the Internet today and also a plausible evolution of current technology. Creating believable future technology is one of the hardest things to do in science fiction.
I enjoyed all of the reference to 80s culture. (I still have to check out Zork.) The fast pace of the book made it hard to stop reading, and I was rooting for the characters the entire time.
Now for a few issues. I did feel that Wade's extensive knowledge of 80s culture was unrealistic. (He says he's watched The Holy Grail 157 times, that he's read every book on Halliday's overflowing shelf, and on top of that, he's a video game master, able to get a perfect score playing Pac-Man.) I know he devotes all of his free time to the pursuit of Halliday's egg, but I just think he wouldn't have the time to do all of these things.
I was also bothered when the "Chekhov's Gun" rule was broken. Wade buys a gun shortly after escaping from the Sixer compound. It's mentioned once or twice after, but there's never a situation where he even remotely needs to use it. I kept worrying that some bad guy was going to attack him at the end. I wish the author had just left out the bit about Wade buying a gun.
Overall, this book was excellent. I would recommend it to all of my friends.
Friday, July 12, 2013
Ethan of Athos
Ethan of Athos by Lois McMaster Bujold
Summary (with spoilers):
This is a book of the Vorkosigan series, although where it falls in the series depends on whether you're reading them in chronological order (like me) or in publication order. This book doesn't include the star of the series, Miles Vorkosigan, although he's mentioned a few times.
The book begins on the planet of Athos, an all-male society which reproduces with the help of uterine replicators. Ethan is an obstetrician who is tasked with going off planet to obtain new cultures for the uterine replicators, as their original cultures are becoming non-viable. Although Athos ordered a shipment of new cultures, the shipment that arrived was full of unusable samples.
Ethan is worried about what he will find off-planet. (After all, there are women out there!) Before he leaves, his life partner crashes Ethan's hover car, causing damages that the partner has to pay off with his social credits, which the couple will need if they want to have children. (Ethan desperately wants to be a parent.)
Ethan arrives at Kline Station, where he abruptly gets lost. He asks for directions from a young man, too late realizing that "he" is actually a woman, Elli Quinn. Quinn is a member of the Dendarii mercenaries (who we're first introduced to in the book The Warrior's Apprentice), led by Commander Naismith (aka Miles Vorkosigan).
Ethan plans to find the best planet for ovarian samples and travel there. He leaves his hotel to search for some food, ends up in a shady bar (which he entered because it was the only woman-free place he could find), and gets into a fight. Quinn saves him from this predicament, but he's still too nervous around women to accept an invitation to dinner. While walking back to his hotel, Ethan is kidnapped and interrogated by Millisor and Rau. Seeing that his station map has traces of a bug, they believe Ethan is a spy, and keep questioning him about Terence Cee. The captors reveal a plan to destroy the reproduction centers on Athos and generally blow some stuff up. They send Ethan off with Okita, who has instructions to kill Ethan, but Quinn saves him once again (although she accidentally kills Okita in the process.) Ethan realizes that Quinn was the one who planted the bug on his station map. Also, she's got a contract out on Millisor and his conspirators from the Jackson's Hole house that Athos purchased the ovarian cultures from.
They dispose of Okita in a unit that breaks down organic matter to feed back into the food growing system. Here they meet Helda, a no-nonsense member of the bio-control unit responsible for making sure the space station is free of disease and other contamination.
Fearing for his life, Ethan occupies a new hotel room purchased by Quinn. However, when they get into an argument, he decides to leave. Ethan promptly runs into Rau, who shoots a neural disruptor at him. Ethan flees into a worker closet and dresses himself in a red Docks and Locks jumpsuit. After some more adventures (including a trip to the decontamination ward and a security officer who tries to flirt with him), he's approached by a man who turns out to be Terence Cee.
Cee reveals that he is a telepath, although his powers only work when he ingests a certain chemical. He was part of an experimental project on Cetaganda, along with Janine (his romantic partner and fellow telepath), who was killed after they escaped. He had an ovarian culture made from Janine and put in the Athos shipment, with the hope of immigrating to Athos.
Ethan and Cee meet up with Quinn. They decide to team up, since they all want to find the shipment and/or defeat Millisor and co. When Millisor kidnaps Quinn's cousin Teki (who they involved in a scheme earlier in the book), Quinn calls the bio-control unit, claiming that Millisor has given her an STD. Helda arrives at Millisor's room, along with another tech and a security guard. When Millisor won't open the door, she sucks all the air out of his room, forcing him to come out. Ethan realizes that Helda had to be the one to destroy the cultures, and she admits to the crime, stating that she's hated Athos ever since her son immigrated there.
Everyone gets carted off to decontamination/security, but Quinn disappears. Ethan talks to the captured Millisor, who tells him that Cee wanted to send the cultures to Athos because they contained the recessive gene for telepathy. Because of the unusual means of reproduction on Athos, the gene would have eventually invaded the entire planet.
Ethan gets a call from Cee, asking to meet at a docking area. On the way there, a man in a pink suit gives him a message device for Millisor. Once Ethan gets there, he realizes that Cee was forced to lure him into a trap. The escapee Millisor appears, pointing a neural disruptor at Quinn. Ethan mentions the message thing, which turns out to be a bomb. Quinn activates it. Then some dudes from the Jackson's Hole house show up and shoot Millisor/Rau. They also pop out Quinn's elbow for not completing her contract.
Ethan visits Quinn in the hospital. He asks her to donate an ovary to Athos, and she agrees. They all go to pick up some newts that Quinn stored in cold storage. She plans to use the shipment as a cover for the biological material Cee gave her (so that the Dendarii mercenaries can study telepathy). Ethan looks out into space and sees that the boxes housing the original ovarian cultures are floating there. (It turns out when you "throw things out" on a space station, they might just get chucked into space.) Cee and Ethan recover the cultures, without telling Quinn. Ethan tells Cee that they can bring the cultures back to Athos, therefore setting up a world of telepaths, because Ethan fears that Athos will not survive in the future without some edge.
Ethan and Cee arrive on Athos, where it's revealed that Ethan's life partner has run off. It's implied that Ethan and Cee may become a couple.
My Thoughts:
As always, McMaster Bujold delivers an exciting novel with a rip-roaring plot.
Pros:
*Fun and easy to read
*Funny in parts (especially Quinn's antics and Ethan's view of women)
*I like the idea of a world without women. (Usually the stories of single-gender planets and reproduction involve no men. This was a good twist on that idea.)
*Good depiction of life on a space station (including their obsession with contamination)
Cons:
*Strange to have a book without Miles as a character
*Some of the plot seems slapped together. Parts of it move so quickly that it's hard to keep up or really see if it makes sense.
*Having the Jackson's Hole people come in at the last minute seems too deus ex machina
Overall, this book was another great addition to the series. I feel it didn't move the series along much, except to introduce Quinn as a character. So far, Ethan hasn't come back in later books, so it's strange to know I've spent a whole book with a POV character that won't appear again.
Summary (with spoilers):
This is a book of the Vorkosigan series, although where it falls in the series depends on whether you're reading them in chronological order (like me) or in publication order. This book doesn't include the star of the series, Miles Vorkosigan, although he's mentioned a few times.
The book begins on the planet of Athos, an all-male society which reproduces with the help of uterine replicators. Ethan is an obstetrician who is tasked with going off planet to obtain new cultures for the uterine replicators, as their original cultures are becoming non-viable. Although Athos ordered a shipment of new cultures, the shipment that arrived was full of unusable samples.
Ethan is worried about what he will find off-planet. (After all, there are women out there!) Before he leaves, his life partner crashes Ethan's hover car, causing damages that the partner has to pay off with his social credits, which the couple will need if they want to have children. (Ethan desperately wants to be a parent.)
Ethan arrives at Kline Station, where he abruptly gets lost. He asks for directions from a young man, too late realizing that "he" is actually a woman, Elli Quinn. Quinn is a member of the Dendarii mercenaries (who we're first introduced to in the book The Warrior's Apprentice), led by Commander Naismith (aka Miles Vorkosigan).
Ethan plans to find the best planet for ovarian samples and travel there. He leaves his hotel to search for some food, ends up in a shady bar (which he entered because it was the only woman-free place he could find), and gets into a fight. Quinn saves him from this predicament, but he's still too nervous around women to accept an invitation to dinner. While walking back to his hotel, Ethan is kidnapped and interrogated by Millisor and Rau. Seeing that his station map has traces of a bug, they believe Ethan is a spy, and keep questioning him about Terence Cee. The captors reveal a plan to destroy the reproduction centers on Athos and generally blow some stuff up. They send Ethan off with Okita, who has instructions to kill Ethan, but Quinn saves him once again (although she accidentally kills Okita in the process.) Ethan realizes that Quinn was the one who planted the bug on his station map. Also, she's got a contract out on Millisor and his conspirators from the Jackson's Hole house that Athos purchased the ovarian cultures from.
They dispose of Okita in a unit that breaks down organic matter to feed back into the food growing system. Here they meet Helda, a no-nonsense member of the bio-control unit responsible for making sure the space station is free of disease and other contamination.
Fearing for his life, Ethan occupies a new hotel room purchased by Quinn. However, when they get into an argument, he decides to leave. Ethan promptly runs into Rau, who shoots a neural disruptor at him. Ethan flees into a worker closet and dresses himself in a red Docks and Locks jumpsuit. After some more adventures (including a trip to the decontamination ward and a security officer who tries to flirt with him), he's approached by a man who turns out to be Terence Cee.
Cee reveals that he is a telepath, although his powers only work when he ingests a certain chemical. He was part of an experimental project on Cetaganda, along with Janine (his romantic partner and fellow telepath), who was killed after they escaped. He had an ovarian culture made from Janine and put in the Athos shipment, with the hope of immigrating to Athos.
Ethan and Cee meet up with Quinn. They decide to team up, since they all want to find the shipment and/or defeat Millisor and co. When Millisor kidnaps Quinn's cousin Teki (who they involved in a scheme earlier in the book), Quinn calls the bio-control unit, claiming that Millisor has given her an STD. Helda arrives at Millisor's room, along with another tech and a security guard. When Millisor won't open the door, she sucks all the air out of his room, forcing him to come out. Ethan realizes that Helda had to be the one to destroy the cultures, and she admits to the crime, stating that she's hated Athos ever since her son immigrated there.
Everyone gets carted off to decontamination/security, but Quinn disappears. Ethan talks to the captured Millisor, who tells him that Cee wanted to send the cultures to Athos because they contained the recessive gene for telepathy. Because of the unusual means of reproduction on Athos, the gene would have eventually invaded the entire planet.
Ethan gets a call from Cee, asking to meet at a docking area. On the way there, a man in a pink suit gives him a message device for Millisor. Once Ethan gets there, he realizes that Cee was forced to lure him into a trap. The escapee Millisor appears, pointing a neural disruptor at Quinn. Ethan mentions the message thing, which turns out to be a bomb. Quinn activates it. Then some dudes from the Jackson's Hole house show up and shoot Millisor/Rau. They also pop out Quinn's elbow for not completing her contract.
Ethan visits Quinn in the hospital. He asks her to donate an ovary to Athos, and she agrees. They all go to pick up some newts that Quinn stored in cold storage. She plans to use the shipment as a cover for the biological material Cee gave her (so that the Dendarii mercenaries can study telepathy). Ethan looks out into space and sees that the boxes housing the original ovarian cultures are floating there. (It turns out when you "throw things out" on a space station, they might just get chucked into space.) Cee and Ethan recover the cultures, without telling Quinn. Ethan tells Cee that they can bring the cultures back to Athos, therefore setting up a world of telepaths, because Ethan fears that Athos will not survive in the future without some edge.
Ethan and Cee arrive on Athos, where it's revealed that Ethan's life partner has run off. It's implied that Ethan and Cee may become a couple.
My Thoughts:
As always, McMaster Bujold delivers an exciting novel with a rip-roaring plot.
Pros:
*Fun and easy to read
*Funny in parts (especially Quinn's antics and Ethan's view of women)
*I like the idea of a world without women. (Usually the stories of single-gender planets and reproduction involve no men. This was a good twist on that idea.)
*Good depiction of life on a space station (including their obsession with contamination)
Cons:
*Strange to have a book without Miles as a character
*Some of the plot seems slapped together. Parts of it move so quickly that it's hard to keep up or really see if it makes sense.
*Having the Jackson's Hole people come in at the last minute seems too deus ex machina
Overall, this book was another great addition to the series. I feel it didn't move the series along much, except to introduce Quinn as a character. So far, Ethan hasn't come back in later books, so it's strange to know I've spent a whole book with a POV character that won't appear again.
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Gateway
Gateway
Frederick Pohl
Summary (with spoilers):
When Robinette (Bob) Broadhead wins the lottery, he spends the money to get out of his job at the food mines and travel to Gateway, a space station built by long-gone alien civilization called the Heechee. The story is told by shifting between two time periods: flashbacks of Bob's experiences at Gateway and his sessions with his robot physiologist, whom he calls Sigfrid, in the present.
Gateway was abandoned by the Heechee, but it still has working space ships. Prospectors travel in the ships to unknown locations, where they hope to strike it rich by finding a cache of Heechee artifacts or by getting a large science or danger bonus from the Gateway corporation. There are 3 types of ships (Ones, Threes, and Fives), named based on the number of personnel they can hold. The humans haven't figured out what most of the stuff in the ship does or how to tell where the ships are going.
Bob starts dating Sheri, a woman in his class on Gateway, but they break up when he decides not to go on a mission with her. The truth is, Bob is scared to go on any missions. The majority of them don't return.
He starts dating Gelle-Klara Moynlin, a woman who has been out on two missions, but who is also scared to go out on any. Eventually, they go out in a Five with three gay men. They aren't able to land on the planet they pop out next to, so their mission is not very profitable. One of the men goes insane.
When Klara and Bob get back, they grow apart. Bob sleeps with Louise Forehand (who is waiting for her family to get back before going on a mission, although her daughter has been out long enough that she is probably dead.) Klara sleeps with Dane Metchnikov, who was Bob's assigned mentor when he first arrived at Gateway. Bob and Klara get in an argument, and when Klara punches Bob in the shoulder, Bob beats her up really badly.
Klara leaves on a ship for Venus, and Bob signs up for a One mission. At the end of several months, he arrives at Gateway II, a known location. In anger that his trip has been useless, he changes the settings in his Heechee ship, and becomes the first person to break a ship without having it explode.
Back on Gateway, the scientists have some new ideas about what the colored bars in the ship panels mean in relation to coordinates. They plan to send two Fives out to the same destination, posting a hefty danger bonus. Bob and Dane Metchnikov end up in one ship. Bob's legless friend Shikitei Bahkin wants to go, but Bob doesn't put in a good word for him. (As you may have realized by this point, Bob is a selfish jerk.) Klara shows up and signs up with the other Five. The two ships pop out at the destination. It is a black hole! They all try to pile into one ship so that they can use the momentum of the other ship to push them out of the black hole. They only have a few minutes to transfer everything in and out between the ships, and in the hustle, Bob is the only one who is not able to get back to the correct ship in time. Instead, he punts the other 9 people into the black hole to save himself by using the momentum of their ship.
Throughout the book, Bob is going to the robot psychologist, and at the end, finally reveals this secret. Also, due to issues of time and black holes, although years have passed for Bob, only a few seconds have passed for Klara and the crew. Knowing that Klara is out there somewhere probably at that second (in her time) thinking Bob is an awful guy makes Bob feel even guiltier.
****EDIT*****
Okay, so wiki says that actually Bob was trying to close the hatch and then push the other ship away to safety, but that somehow his ship was the one that got pushed out of the black hole. I read that part again, and it's ambiguous what actually happened. Bob also seems not to know what his intentions where, or if someone on the other ship pushed a button first. He's convinced himself that he was trying to save himself. Unclear what actually happened.
My Thoughts:
I liked the first part of the book better than the ending, mostly because the main character becomes less likable throughout. Learning about the Heechee was interesting. I especially liked that the book had these little asides (snippets of lectures on the Heechee, classified ads on Gateway, etc.) However, the asides took up a full page each time and were placed somewhat randomly throughout the book, often cutting a sentence in half or detracting from the action. I would have preferred if they were placed more strategically for minimal disruption of reading flow.
Bob is revealed to be a fairly terrible guy. I can understand that in a fit of fear he punted the 9 other people into the black hole. That's a rotten thing to do, but it's a move I think a lot of people would make to survive. However, Bob becomes an unsympathetic character when he beats up his girlfriend. (It's so bad that she looses a tooth.) He feels remorse for beating her up, but not enough to satisfy me. Also, she shows up randomly and forgives him, which I didn't like.
There are problems with how the missions are set up. Throughout the book, many prospectors die because they run out of food, and all prospectors are worried about resources until they reach turnaround (the half way point of the trip out). If this is such a big problem, why don't they send out less people in the bigger ships? They could send out two people in a Five with a lot more food. In the story, when one of the longer missions fails, it's even noted that perhaps one person in the Five could have survived. Also, when a prospector dies during the trip, the other prospectors split the money she would have earned. When Bob dooms his nine shipmates to drawn out death by black hole, he actually makes 9 million dollars. If I were a prospector, that would make me nervous.
An interesting theme is the emotions/humanity of robots, as shown by Sigfrid, who reveals at the end of the book that he hypothetically envies Bob's ability to feel emotions, even though Bob feels negative emotions like guilt.
Frederick Pohl
Summary (with spoilers):
When Robinette (Bob) Broadhead wins the lottery, he spends the money to get out of his job at the food mines and travel to Gateway, a space station built by long-gone alien civilization called the Heechee. The story is told by shifting between two time periods: flashbacks of Bob's experiences at Gateway and his sessions with his robot physiologist, whom he calls Sigfrid, in the present.
Gateway was abandoned by the Heechee, but it still has working space ships. Prospectors travel in the ships to unknown locations, where they hope to strike it rich by finding a cache of Heechee artifacts or by getting a large science or danger bonus from the Gateway corporation. There are 3 types of ships (Ones, Threes, and Fives), named based on the number of personnel they can hold. The humans haven't figured out what most of the stuff in the ship does or how to tell where the ships are going.
Bob starts dating Sheri, a woman in his class on Gateway, but they break up when he decides not to go on a mission with her. The truth is, Bob is scared to go on any missions. The majority of them don't return.
He starts dating Gelle-Klara Moynlin, a woman who has been out on two missions, but who is also scared to go out on any. Eventually, they go out in a Five with three gay men. They aren't able to land on the planet they pop out next to, so their mission is not very profitable. One of the men goes insane.
When Klara and Bob get back, they grow apart. Bob sleeps with Louise Forehand (who is waiting for her family to get back before going on a mission, although her daughter has been out long enough that she is probably dead.) Klara sleeps with Dane Metchnikov, who was Bob's assigned mentor when he first arrived at Gateway. Bob and Klara get in an argument, and when Klara punches Bob in the shoulder, Bob beats her up really badly.
Klara leaves on a ship for Venus, and Bob signs up for a One mission. At the end of several months, he arrives at Gateway II, a known location. In anger that his trip has been useless, he changes the settings in his Heechee ship, and becomes the first person to break a ship without having it explode.
Back on Gateway, the scientists have some new ideas about what the colored bars in the ship panels mean in relation to coordinates. They plan to send two Fives out to the same destination, posting a hefty danger bonus. Bob and Dane Metchnikov end up in one ship. Bob's legless friend Shikitei Bahkin wants to go, but Bob doesn't put in a good word for him. (As you may have realized by this point, Bob is a selfish jerk.) Klara shows up and signs up with the other Five. The two ships pop out at the destination. It is a black hole! They all try to pile into one ship so that they can use the momentum of the other ship to push them out of the black hole. They only have a few minutes to transfer everything in and out between the ships, and in the hustle, Bob is the only one who is not able to get back to the correct ship in time. Instead, he punts the other 9 people into the black hole to save himself by using the momentum of their ship.
Throughout the book, Bob is going to the robot psychologist, and at the end, finally reveals this secret. Also, due to issues of time and black holes, although years have passed for Bob, only a few seconds have passed for Klara and the crew. Knowing that Klara is out there somewhere probably at that second (in her time) thinking Bob is an awful guy makes Bob feel even guiltier.
****EDIT*****
Okay, so wiki says that actually Bob was trying to close the hatch and then push the other ship away to safety, but that somehow his ship was the one that got pushed out of the black hole. I read that part again, and it's ambiguous what actually happened. Bob also seems not to know what his intentions where, or if someone on the other ship pushed a button first. He's convinced himself that he was trying to save himself. Unclear what actually happened.
My Thoughts:
I liked the first part of the book better than the ending, mostly because the main character becomes less likable throughout. Learning about the Heechee was interesting. I especially liked that the book had these little asides (snippets of lectures on the Heechee, classified ads on Gateway, etc.) However, the asides took up a full page each time and were placed somewhat randomly throughout the book, often cutting a sentence in half or detracting from the action. I would have preferred if they were placed more strategically for minimal disruption of reading flow.
Bob is revealed to be a fairly terrible guy. I can understand that in a fit of fear he punted the 9 other people into the black hole. That's a rotten thing to do, but it's a move I think a lot of people would make to survive. However, Bob becomes an unsympathetic character when he beats up his girlfriend. (It's so bad that she looses a tooth.) He feels remorse for beating her up, but not enough to satisfy me. Also, she shows up randomly and forgives him, which I didn't like.
There are problems with how the missions are set up. Throughout the book, many prospectors die because they run out of food, and all prospectors are worried about resources until they reach turnaround (the half way point of the trip out). If this is such a big problem, why don't they send out less people in the bigger ships? They could send out two people in a Five with a lot more food. In the story, when one of the longer missions fails, it's even noted that perhaps one person in the Five could have survived. Also, when a prospector dies during the trip, the other prospectors split the money she would have earned. When Bob dooms his nine shipmates to drawn out death by black hole, he actually makes 9 million dollars. If I were a prospector, that would make me nervous.
An interesting theme is the emotions/humanity of robots, as shown by Sigfrid, who reveals at the end of the book that he hypothetically envies Bob's ability to feel emotions, even though Bob feels negative emotions like guilt.
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Endless Night
Endless Night
Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie
Summary (with spoilers):
Michael Rogers, our first-person narrator, is a ne'er-do-well who takes in interest in a land sale of Gipsy's Acre, even though he's been warned that the place is cursed. While looking at the property, he meets Ellie, a rich American. She doesn't have any real family, just a bunch of relations by marriage, like her step-mother Cora, who are reliant on Ellie's wealth. Michael and Ellie meet secretly, with the help of Ellie's assistant Greta, and eventually get married. Ellie has purchased Gipsy's Acre, so the couple hires Santonix, architect with a fatal illness and friend of Michael, to build them a house.
However, a gypsy women keeps warning them to leave, and someone throws a rock through their window. Michael and Ellie meet some neighbors, Major Philpot and Claudia, who was previously married to Ellie's banker, Stanford Lloyd. When Ellie sprains an ankle, Greta comes to live with them. Michael and Greta don't get along, and Michael had tried to hold off meeting her for as long as possible.
***SPOILER: I'M GOING TO REVEAL THE MURDERER*****
The murder happens near the end of the novel. While Michael is away at an auction, Ellie goes out riding, and is later found in the woods, dead. Michael goes to America to settle the business affairs, since the majority of her fortune has been transferred to him. Her lawyer, Lippincott, is suspicious of Michael. On the boat ride home, Michael reveals to the reader that he has been in love with Greta all along, and that they planned from the beginning to have Michael marry Ellie, and then kill her for her money. (We later learn this isn't the first time he's murdered for personal gain.)
Michael arrives back at Gipsy's Acre to celebrate. On the road up, he thinks he sees Ellie, but she looks right through him. Upon his reunion with Greta, he freaks out, quoting a song that Ellie often sang about how some are born to "sweet delight" and others born to "endless night." Realizing that he could have been happy with Ellie, Michael strangles Greta in a rage. Soon after, others arrive and he is caught.
My Thoughts:
I felt cheated by this book. The main character is the murderer and he's been lying to us all of this time? Really? If the main character is lying to me the entire book, I want it to be done well, like it was with Gone Girl. Although the narrator is strange, I don't think there's enough evidence to show that he's a serial killer.
Ellie is a tragic character. No one in her life truly loves her. Her best friend and husband, the people that should care for her most, are the ones who plot to kill her. Perhaps Christie is commenting on the difficulty of having lots of money.
There were a few other literary elements that didn't go anywhere. Michael frequently describes Major Philpot as God. (In fact, the sentence that introduces him to the reader is something like, "we met God today.") In contrast, Santonix, whose name sounds vaguely like Satan, struggles with evil himself. Since he's ill, Santonix says that he can do whatever he wants without fear of repercussion, since he will die soon anyway. Perhaps Michael is supposed to be torn between these two forces, but this doesn't play out well in the book. Upon his death bed, Santonix even tells Michael that Michael should have gone the other way.
Another baffling thing about this book is that the murder doesn't happen until almost the end. The work mostly focuses on character development, but since it's Christie, I'd rather be looking for clues.
Overall, this was an unsatisfying work. I enjoyed it while reading, but I didn't like the ending.
Slapstick
Slapstick
Kurt Vonnegut
Summary (with spoiler):
The book follows the life of Wilbur Daffodil-11 Swain, a deformed twin who eventually becomes president of the United States. Wilbur and his twin Eliza are mutants, assumed to be mentally deficient. They live the first 15 years of their lives in a large mansion with special helpers, pretending to be mentally challenged. When their parents come to visit, and their mother reveals she wishes they were intelligent, they reveal their ruse. As it turns out, Wilbur and Eliza are geniuses when in close physical contact, although when they are separated, they are fairly normal.
After an unfortunate intelligence test where the twins become too physically close, Wilbur is sent to school, while Eliza is sent to an institution. She is later released, and comes to visit Wilbur (although she is somewhat angry that he never came to help her.) Eliza reaches out to touch Wilbur, and upon contact have a days-long orgy.
Meanwhile, China has developed a method to shrink people so that they use less resources. Wilbur is visited by a tiny Chinese person, who asks for some of the writings Wilbur and Eliza created as kids. Eliza is given a ticket to Mars, where she soon dies in an avalanche.
Wilbur becomes president of the US, but everything is falling apart. No fuel, plague, etc. Wilbur institutes an idea he and his sister came up with long ago, to assign everyone new middle names, creating artificial families. After the presidency falls apart, he lives on Manhattan, which has been ravaged by the "Green Death," later revealed to be caused when a normal-sized person accidentally inhales a miniature person. He meets a few people from the Church of Jesus Christ the Kidnapped, communicates with his sister in the afterlife through use of a strange machine, travels to see the King of Michigan, and dies shortly after his birthday party.
My thoughts:
Vonnegut has a style of writing all his own. He uses these short passages, often just a few paragraphs at a time, which somehow makes it impossible to stop reading. I enjoyed how he described the bizarre elements as if they were completely ordinary, so that I could easily believe the world Vonnegut created.
He begins the book with an introduction, where he says that this work is the most autobiographical one he's likely to write, noting that "it is about what life feels like to me." He thought of the book idea while on a plane to his uncle's funeral. In the introduction, he also meditates on his sister's death. And in the book, this is how things go. People die. Most people catch the plague. People come into and out of Wilbur's life without warning. There isn't a reason why things happen, just like in real life.
Part of the interest of this novel is what Vonnegut chooses to emphasize. Wilbur's marriage is first described in just 2 pages, and his wife is rarely mentioned again. His sister is center stage with Wilbur during the first half of the book. Then they are separated, he basically forgets about her, and then she dies. However, Eliza is central to the novel. Even though he doesn't see her much after childhood, or before her death, Wilbur constantly mentions his sister and their ideas.
Overall, this was a fun and quick read that also made me think. I enjoyed Vonnegut's imaginative voice, and I liked the concept of life as slapstick. I've felt that way, too.
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