This came to my attention as an under-appreciated classic and a book of significance for Storyline: 2/5 Characters: 5/5 Writing Style: 4/5 Resonance: 2/5
This came to my attention as an under-appreciated classic and a book of significance for understanding the development of the mystery genre. Upon finishing, I can see why it is under-appreciated but still regarded by some as a classic.
The Moonstone deploys a minimalist embellished prose that brings a richness to the story without becoming too dominant or distracting. The characters are well-drawn, spectacles in a comedy-of-manners type way. The best the book has to offer, however, is in the divergences between perspectives. Each section of the book follows a particular character whose impressions and understandings of events forms our understanding of the other characters and the plot. As we are introduced to the vantage points of the different characters, readers get to see former narrators and events in different lights. Most of these differences are subtle, and the experience is more enjoyable for that. These are not unreliable narrators but otherwise trustworthy people who believe, understand, and think differently from one another. The reader gets tossed about in their quest to unravel the mystery because no one narrator has all the pieces, and each narrator brings in their own personalities, prejudices, and experiences into their interpretation of the facts. Each section of the book—and therefore, each narrator—has a unique voice, and I found that I both looked forward to each new one while lamenting moving on from what had become a familiar friend in the story.
The Moonstone’s two worst features are its rambling form and its dated nature. I read this book aloud with my wife, and she commented of our first substantive narrator, Betteredge, that he tended to meander but that he was also kind of endearing. And that was true of much of the book. The principle narrators (the author included) all had a little more they wanted to talk about than the mystery itself. These digressions were sometimes long, and they were frequent, the author obviously enjoying the telling rather than concerned with carefully leading us to an end. Some perhaps will find this an advantage, as something of a short story collection connected by a central question. While I found it generally enjoyable, it was a little wearying at times.
The other main detriment to the book comes from its age and the time period in which it is written. The author introduces several ideas that more contemporary readers are going to greet with suspicion. The principle mystery is about the theft of something valuable from the Orient, and many tropes and possibilities are introduced early on, leaving the reader to wonder just how many stereotypes and outdated beliefs about the East are going to be central to the story. Similarly, Collins is going to draw upon some of the scientific knowledge of the age, particularly in areas we now know that the natural scientists and physicians were wrong about 150 years ago. Collins is coy about committing to many of these, leaving them open as avenues to pursue in solving the mystery, but I read this with little trust in the author and a sense of foreboding as to what evidence would ultimately lead us to our conclusions. At the time this was written, readers would not have had these misgivings, and it would, as a result, have been a much more relaxing read. It is still engaging, fun, thoughtful, and enjoyable today, but I think its worth has diminished over time, and the Moonstone now a novelty piece for classic English literature of the 1860s....more
To all those who think that action-adventures need be sloppy, let Correia’s Hard Magic be a cStoryline: 4/5 Characters: 4/5 Writing Style: 3/5 World: 4/5
To all those who think that action-adventures need be sloppy, let Correia’s Hard Magic be a corrective for you. He shows us that one does not have to aspire to poetry to write an engaging novel. You do not have to probe philosophical problems to be interesting. Even character development need not suffer in order to build up people with super-human abilities. Correia neglects almost every element that makes speculative fiction distinct and so worthwhile, but, then, he is not writing speculative fiction. He does the excitement and adrenaline thing capably; he still, however, gives the novel more. And that more was a pacing with the development. He has a lot of powers and abilities he wants to work with, but he introduces them into the world gently, starting small. Similarly, he has some really big events he wants to get to, but he begins with small conflicts and builds up to larger matters. Connections to bigger events get thrown in the mix, keeping us wondering just where and how far the story will go. And there is a very nice mystery set as the core of the novel and which unravels piece by piece, with satisfying revelations made at the right time. It is also an alternate history story where real life characters—and especially their famous quotations—get rethought and integrated into the story. This was done both thoughtfully and entertainingly. Through it all was an evident concern for getting things right, with balancing powers, avoiding plotholes, providing the right rationale and environment for the events. The novel is excessively farfetched, but Correia makes it consistent enough to enter into and experience as reality.
On the negative side, there was that cover. Yes, that awful cover. And then the “artwork” inside was equally disappointing. The cover was just misleading (in addition to being of poor graphic novel quality); the contents and style inside did not reflect the image that was being sold. Though the frequent "quotations" and an occasional historical personage made for some alternate history flair, there was little attention to the more mundane details of the alternate history world. This really seems to take place in a completely alternate reality than a 1920s or 1930s America. The semblance to gangster and detective noir was even more stretched. If anything, this was urban fantasy version of a widely-known comic book (view spoiler)[X-Men (hide spoiler)], complete with some of the same themes and antagonisms. Also on the negative end, this was an action-adventure. And while it added in so much to the worldbuilding to make it an exceptional action-adventure, it remains unapologetically just that. Because of the increasing exposure to abilities and adrenaline in the story, there comes a time when the reader is insensate. The stakes went so high, so frequently, and so fast that one can only experience the final chapters numbly. It was very much like a Marvel Avenger’s movie. By the end of it, one has to wonder if they are capable of experiencing anything more; if other movies, stories, and even life itself will hold any vitality after having one’s senses so overloaded. I read this because the third in the series was nominated for the Hugo Awards. I suppose I will read on for the sake of finishing that award list, but I admit that while I mostly enjoyed Hard Magic, I do not look forward to more of the series. There was enough here to satisfy my action craving for a long while. It is very possible that I enjoyed this as much as I did because I seldom read modern pulp and thrillers; therefore, it had a certain novelty for me. I think, though, that diehard fans of action-adventure will appreciate the wild world Correia has put together even more....more
Wow! And just in case that did not adequately convey the sentiment, WWWwwwwwwooooooowwwwww!!!Storyline: 3/5 Characters: 3/5 Writing Style: 2/5 World: 4/5
Wow! And just in case that did not adequately convey the sentiment, WWWwwwwwwooooooowwwwww!!!!!!!! It is a treat to read something so stamped through with ambition. All the more so when that ambition is matched equally with effort and purpose. I have read other Bear works that were more passively enjoyable but nothing about them prepared me for this.
This was purposeful. A sit-up-and-take-notice purposiveness where word choices matter, timely clues drop, perspectives shift on a precise schedule. You have to deem it either pretentious or astounding; there is no middle ground. It is in its mysteriousness this pulses most strongly. Everything is shrouded in secrecy. It is not even clear what all is being shrouded. Character identity, the world backdrop, the relationship between perspectives, and the very purpose of the book—these are all going to be slowly revealed in Bear’s own carefully constructed timetable. The story is plaited with bold confrontations with race, inequity, and the implications of technological development. No component is accidental, no theme mere adornment.
Though deserving of a certain awe, there are elements that keep this from being magisterial. Some of the detractions are simply the antipodes of positive features. Bear is writing for a future distant enough to require a different people, culture, and dialect. This is part of Bear’s worldbuilding, and he’s intent on making his denizens and their world distinct from ours. In doing so the language is jargony, the syntax unwieldy. There are occasional sentences that are incomprehensible, regardless of how many times they are reread, and many of them require that rereading for comprehension. The mysteriousness, too, while having an artfulness, was often uncomfortable. In his grand designs I think Bear forgot to consider how a reader new to the environment would be approaching the story and just how much a lack of even basic information makes it difficult to relate to, visualize, and understand characters. Bear does get around to these revelations, but not necessarily in an order and a place that was pleasant or satisfying for the reader. Some of the bigger themes, too, were not as cogently linked as a book with this level ambition demands. Finally, it is ultimately a dark, somewhat disturbing story with some heinous events. I am uncomfortable with this sort of emotional experience as entertainment, and I do not think Bear’s ending fully justified its presence.
This is a book that is going to stay with me a long time. It was remarkably current. It could have been published this year rather than almost three decades ago. There is nothing here that requires a sequel, but I’m delighted to see that he wrote more books in this series. Right now, there are no books I’m looking forward to more than Heads, Moving Mars, and Slant. This volume has set some wonderful possibilities, and given what he did in Queen of Angels, I am ready to trust him again with a new story....more
This 1956 Hugo finalist is a ready read for libertarians. Libertarians who everyday hope for Storyline: 2/5 Characters: 3/5 Writing Style: 2/5 World: 1/5
This 1956 Hugo finalist is a ready read for libertarians. Libertarians who everyday hope for an opportunity to exercise their right to self-defense. Gun-toting, do-it-yourselfers with dreams of aiding the local police. Firearm enthusiasts, amateur-detective aspiring, federal government-hating, readers of crime novels - and science fiction novels. The reader gets to meet the character of Wade Harper, "a squat man with immense breadth of shoulder, hairy hands and bushy eyebrows." Wade Harper is ready for whatever the combined genres of murder mystery and science fiction can throw at him. With his main street, common sense outlook, he'll show those white collar, college educated boys from the nation's capital how things ought to be done.
Wade Harper had his faults, but he was a generally likeable guy. The book, too, has a lot of faults, but has an earnestness to it that makes it likeable as well. There's no style here - no noir or literary tricks - and no big ideas. This a work that shares more from the Pulp age than the Golden one.
This is a book that starts with surprises. Surprise one was that it didn't do what sequels noStoryline: 3/5 Characters: 2/5 Writing Style: 3/5 World: 3/5
This is a book that starts with surprises. Surprise one was that it didn't do what sequels normally do: follow up on the foreshadowed crises of the last book. What it did instead was rather fun. Vinge gave consideration to the repercussions of the technological introductions he made in the first book. One can generally criticize authors for plotholes and overlooking details when they introduce technology; it is difficult to see the unexpected and unforeseen consequences when presenting novel ideas. Vinge obviously gave his technology a lot of thought, and the resulting world we get is full of novel ramifications and possibilities that weren't even under consideration as of the last book.
Surprise two was that Vinge abandoned the political action-adventure in lieu of a murder mystery. I liked the direction of the first book better, though the background ideas and world in this one were so intriguing that any plot laid atop would have been sufficient. Everything else about the book was just that: sufficient. The characters mostly performed their necessary roles, the action gave us the needed adrenaline rush, the world building gave the barest suggestions of wonder, and the resolution of it satisfactorily answered all the requisite questions. Besides the technological repercussions following from the first book, there was little here that suggested passion, scrutiny, or delight on the part of the author. It was an enjoyable sequel remarkable for only a very few things, not offensive or inane enough to engender any real ill-will....more
I wasn't a fan of the first two, but what little this series had going for it collapsed with Storyline: 1/5 Characters: 1/5 Writing Style: 2/5 World: 1/5
I wasn't a fan of the first two, but what little this series had going for it collapsed with the incessant, melodramatic adolescent posturing and the ludicrous government conspiracies involving astonishingly incompetent villains.
Lessons on bad storytelling organized while reading this conclusion to the trilogy:
Trust your readers with recollection. We don't have to be repeatedly reminded of a) how self-righteously independent your characters are b) the grave risk and danger of situations or c) technological details explained and described 100 times previously in the first two books.
Characters can exhibit tendencies other than uniformity or polar opposites. That is, it is acceptable for a character to be more than a) a flippant, testosterone-charged body of defensiveness or b) a source of drama because they start behaving exactly the opposite of their prior portrayal.
Villains really do have to justify their actions. They can be a) sadistic b) masochistic c) ignorant d) misguided e) greedy f) insane or g) egotistical. Sane villains purposefully engaging in knowingly unethical mass atrocities for the greater good are preposterous.
Parlor reveal scenes can be nostalgic or a genre inside-joke but not a serious way to solve a mystery.
That whole wallowing in self-pity and self-doubt thing where you agonize over whether or not you made the right decision even though you know you did.....? Yeah, that is something people do for attention because they are insecure. That should not be a source of character depth or drama.
Though originally serialized in a 1960s-era science fiction magazine, this was a novel ratherStoryline: 2/5 Characters: 2/5 Writing Style: 3/5 World: 3/5
Though originally serialized in a 1960s-era science fiction magazine, this was a novel rather than a short story collection. I thought that Garrett had managed the magazine novella handily, and I was unsure whether or not he could make the transition to a full novel. This was every bit as good as the short form work in Murder and Magic. In some ways, I enjoyed it more because I like longer, more developed works. In other ways, I tired of this a little because it was so similar to the previous collection.
All of the positive qualities of Murder and Magic are on display here, most especially the integrated magical realism and alternate history background. I was able to enjoy experiencing the much expanded imperial English world without feeling that I was being led on a tour by a boisterous showman. An Anglophile would get more out of this though I think. I was unfamiliar with the different state titles and roles within the Church of England, and I'm sure I overlooked a lot of thoughtful detail. I read this in the Lord Darcy omnibus right after finishing the works collected in Murder and Magic. If you are a big Lord Darcy fan or delight in murder mysteries, perhaps you will enjoy the concentrated dose, but I think they're best experienced in small portions. I'm leaving the Lord Darcy universe without having read the final collection, Lord Darcy Investigates. I might return to the remaining works some day, but I think that they all would have been more enjoyable had I read them spread out over installments as they were originally published....more
I'm prejudiced against both the short story format and murder mysteries, thus it was a welcomStoryline: 2/5 Characters: 2/5 Writing Style: 3/5 World: 3/5
I'm prejudiced against both the short story format and murder mysteries, thus it was a welcome surprise to enjoy this as much as I did. The stories are obviously supposed to bring to mind Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, but Randall Garrett doesn't attempt to out-Sherlock Sherlock Holmes. Instead he depicts his murders in an alternate history English empire of the 1960s where sorcery is embraced by the Church and civil administration.
The most pleasant aspect of the collection is the lack of ostentation. Our esteemed investigator Lord Darcy is competent but no savant. The magic is descriptive and detailed without relying on sensationalism. The alternate history is presented as background rather than spectacle. This is what murder mysteries would read like in a world where England really did rule the Occident and wizardry was a regular profession.
The four entries - a novelette from 1964, a novella from the same year, another novella from 1965, and a short story from 1973 - vary widely in their contribution to the Lord Darcy universe. The latest published took minutes to read, and the earliest, while longer, did not offer much by the way of plot ups and downs. The middle two were the most enjoyable, and I saw how they would have fit into magazine issues perfectly. Too often old science fiction or fantasy magazine stories are pulp. The problem with pulp is that they throw out any development and pacing so as to fit in all the action permissible in the short page limitations. This wasn't a pulp novel, and with the exception of the last short story, Garrett filled the pages with the right balance of intrigue, suspense, and world building. I have a better appreciation for magazine-era stories now for having read this....more
The good news for fans of The Caves of Steel and The Naked Sun is that this is more of the saStoryline: 3/5 Characters: 3/5 Writing Style: 3/5 World: 4/5
The good news for fans of The Caves of Steel and The Naked Sun is that this is more of the same. This reads much more like it was written only two years after the second Robot volume (as the internal chronology suggests) than the twenty-six years which elapsed in real time. What we have then is a book published in 1983 that reads more like it was published in 1959 (or even earlier). Asimov didn't permit advances in technology and improvement in the literature to alter his conception of the robot future. This does give an internal coherence to the Foundation and Robots series though at the expense of some staleness. Two minor areas he did update are worth recognizing, however; one good and one ill. The impact of television by the 1980s must have impressed Asimov, and he had fun interjecting commentary and descriptions that were enjoyable bits of worldbuilding and social commentary. The second "advance" was in the area of prurience. Asimov was evidently feeling emboldened by the times and felt the need to delve into (as casually as could be affected) masturbation, sex toys, and robot sex. Other mainstream authors such as Heinlein or Nivens would have made this much more explicit, but Asimov's experimentation came off more as a dirty old man opening up about personal fantasies. Most of the book and characters retain a golden age innocence and the contrast with the cavalier interest in eroticism never achieved the casualness that Asimov was aiming for. Otherwise, this was just another robot book.
In fact, in many ways this was too similar to The Naked Sun. The basic structure is replicated, the characters are largely the same, and the writing and ideas are largely carried over from earlier in the series. I was pleased, however, by a couple of embellishments. This book was far less concerned with building up the world of Aurora (as was the second of Solaria) and more with understanding Earth and Earthmen. This was a nice touch and well-executed. The second and even more surprising delight to be found was the ending and resolution. I've never thought the closure of Asimov's books to be remarkable, but Asimov worked wonders in the closing pages here and imbued a spirit and connectedness to the novel that had been missing through the bulk of the tale. I didn't particularly enjoy this book for most of the reading, but Asimov saved the best for last, and I'm left with a regarding warmth toward the book and series. ...more
Imagine a creative person of above average intelligence with a science background who regularStoryline: 3/5 Characters: 2/5 Writing Style: 2/5 World: 3/5
Imagine a creative person of above average intelligence with a science background who regularly reads science fiction but who has no literary training or awareness of plot, perspective, or stylistic tools. Said person would write a book a lot like this. I have no knowledge of Brin's training or competencies, but this was definitely a work of an imaginative mind and lacking literary flourish. Good fan-fiction that emulated the established science fiction form adeptly enough to put out a passable novel.
Neither Asimov nor Clarke were especially talented with the literary form. Their writings have often been - fairly, I think - described as "functional." If Asimov is functional, then Brin was casual...about everything: worldbuilding, character-building, pacing, and tropes. Brin threw in whatever felt good at the moment and didn't worry a lot with ensuring that it fit. We have a far-future science fiction book with a new earth-based governmental and social order, indecipherable (yet somehow overly familiar) technology, psionics, new psychological paradigms, self-hypnosis, aliens galore, and sapient earth-mammals. I personally have a weakness for exploration and discovery books, of which this is a member, but Brin kept pushing that to the background to propound on interplanetary political intrigue and a local murder mystery. The story never managed to feel serious, fun, insightful, or carefree. Its casualness about everything gave it an aimless quality that was only saved by Brin's creativity. Not a great book. Not even a good book. I am biased in favor of the discovery subgenre though, so I still enjoyed parts of it.
Miéville treats us readers as if we're ignorant.... Which we are (unless you preemptively reaStoryline: 4/5 Characters: 3/5 Writing Style: 4/5 World: 5/5
Miéville treats us readers as if we're ignorant.... Which we are (unless you preemptively read reviews or summaries of the book, in which case you will have spoiled the best part of the story before you even began), because Miéville gives us reason to doubt everything that we think we know about the environment in which this is set. (view spoiler)[The time period is familiar but certain incongruities give us pauses to reconsider. The geography is identifiable except that the place doesn't actually exist. The political history is referenceable except for the loose deviations. The ancient history is fantastical except for where it isn't. Who knows fact from fiction? Miéville might, but he's not necessarily telling. (hide spoiler)]No, the reader starts in ignorance and is dependent upon the pace and directions set by our tour guide. Fortunately, we're in good hands.
This is an amazing book because of the walking tour Miéville provides us through and out of ignorance. The worldbuilding here is surely reminiscent of fantasy. Too often the first chapter of a fantasy novel starts off with something akin to, "Zlotnic, daughter of Quasi-Tertiary Regent of New Amlnoi, walked along with her pet odinc and an undistinguished Fahrer whom had yet to earn her bands." On that walk we'll undoubtedly be introduced to some skyline of a city with a name with apostrophes or military personnel with confusing ranks and loyalties. Maybe there will be an extra sun or moon in the sky, and its name will be confusingly similar to that of the odinc (You'd already forgotten what that was, hadn't you?). Experienced fantasy readers are familiar with the disorientation and suffer it willingly and patiently for those gratifying moments when the picture coheres. This is a different kind of fantasy experience (if, indeed, it is fantasy at all) because Miéville allows the reader the conceit that they're not actually ignorant. Remember, you are! We all are! It is only as we read that we realize that the world sits slightly askance, and that we should assume nothing. As you read, you find yourself jumping at shadows (no, not the explicit ones threatening our hero, though you might jump at those too) - picking up on words or context clues that hint that this world has something unique to offer. Did that conversation mean something different than it seems to mean to me? Does that word have another meaning in this story? How deep is the world? How does it differ from our own? What genre is this really? Once you admit to having these questions, you are ready to accept your ignorance and total reliance on the tour guide. Remember, too, that this is all extra. What you've signed on for is a murder mystery. Anything extra you get beyond that is a bonus, something in addition to the much-better-than-average crime novel.
I say this is a much-better-than-average crime novel because I actually enjoyed it, and I usually don't like them. That is in large part due to the fact that Miéville generally omits what I find to be the most annoying genre device (though one which is employed across genres) - that sequence of scenes when our protagonist has picked up on some clue or solved some riddle and proceeds to act on it; engaging in unexpected activities and going inexplicable places that make sense to the protagonist, but not for the reader, at least until the proper time has come for the reveal. When that device is invoked, the knowing first person perspective is artificially limited and abruptly circumscribed so as to create a new mini-mystery and some additional drama to the story. The device can probably be used effectively if used smartly, but Miéville stayed away from it (most of the time). The other way in which this was a much-better-than-average crime novel was that it was not simply about the crime. It was about the world. I was far more interested, entertained, and satisfied by that portion of the story.
Our tour through ignorance is brief, fortunately. No matter how well-planned and guided the tour, no one likes to stay there long. The satisfying moment of clarity comes satisfyingly early. Then - this is where we get to my favorite part of the book - we get to see if Miéville can hold it together. He's made a challenge, announced a duel, slapped us with a glove (gauntlet? something like that). If Miéville is doing what he suggests he is doing, then he has a lot of work to do. It is a project to see to completion, a thought experiment to follow to its end. And remember, all along you are solving the murder mystery as well; this whole worldbuilding is all bonus. Despite my high regard for the book, I don't think Miéville got every detail right or thought every possibility through. That wouldn't have been such an annoyance had he not come so close. A book with more obvious plotholes and more haphazard worldbuilding would be forgiven more, for instance, because it hadn't even tried to play the game. I've read Miéville's Bas-Lag trio, and this was far superior. I can admire his creativity and effort there while also decrying it as pretentious. This was much more carefully realized.
Looking back, I highly enjoyed my tour into, through, and out of ignorance. To say that I'm totally liberated from that prior condition would be folly. Miéville never promised to reveal everything. He did, however, make the tour (and here I speak of the worldbuilding, not the murder mystery) engaging, challenging, and dramatic. One's enjoyment of the tour depends a lot on not knowing anything before-hand and on appreciating a slow, meticulous reveal. If, before reading, you already know what the title means, then you've already spoiled the carefully-laid tour (though there's still the murder mystery and some scenery).
Below I grumble a little about the worldbuilding that I think Miéville got wrong. Definite spoilers follow. (view spoiler)[
First - let's get it out of the way - I'm experiencing a little amateur critic resentment that this wasn't completely original and that Miéville didn't give credit to a certain 1950s short story by Jack Vance. It wasn't just that there was some similarity. This was really an updating and filling out of a woefully underdeveloped and promising idea. I'm glad someone thought to make a full story out of it - I'd wanted one since I read it. I had some unjustifiable bitterness when I realized the connection though and wanted Miéville to suffer a little for the lack of acknowledgement. That was petty of me, and I'm over it now. Thank you for hearing my confession.
Second (and last, I think), it is seeing, unseeing, and not seeing that I've got to grumble with. I'm okay with the super armor and guns of breach and their abilities. I'm alright with most of the mechanics of living in the City and the City. In fact, I'm thrilled with the idea of cultural boundaries and reinforced and policed habits that are ingrained from childhood. My main objection (and this is something discussed in the aforementioned short story) was that Miéville failed to admit that there would be some deeper psychological ramifications due to seeing, unseeing, and not seeing. In the short story, it actually became impossible for the citizens to see one another. The protuberances, as Miéville calls them, in Vance's story were attributed to spirits. Miéville didn't have to go that far, but it is clear in The City & the City that everyone really does see and then have to unsee (at least most of the time). In the author interview at the end of the book, too, he reiterates this. What Miéville doesn't give fair consideration to is the not seeing. This kind of taught, reinforced, and supervised "seeing," I think, would be far more insidious and successful than Miéville suggests here. This was most evident when Borlú goes to Ul Qoma. There's just no way that Borlú could switch cities and then unlearn a lifetime of habits. There's no way he could walk the streets, see Ul Qoma, and not see Besźel. He should have been experiencing complete and utter disorientation, confusion, and fugue. It should have made him sick to try, he should have bumbled into traffic and people, and made a fool of himself in Ul Qoma, running into things he normally would have never seen. I don't however, think this was mere sloppiness on Miéville's part. I think it was willful bias to protect his political leanings. I suspect that Miéville does not want to concede that a lifetime under a system can so sharply limit and shape someone. It runs against a lot of progressive politics that assumes that the privileged (Ul Qoma) and the impoverished (Beszel) can change their attitudes and ways. If Miéville admits that these discourses have that kind of power, the kind of political changes he desires become much less likely to happen. It is a somewhat strange position to take, however, as there are plenty of Marxist and Marxist-leaning theories on false consciousness that would give Miéville reason to build the world more consistently. And really, that's my complaint in the book - not Miéville's personal politics or their appearance in the book, but that they dented his worldbuilding and added a wrinkle that was unnecessary and which marred what was really a fabulous and masterful piece. Of course, I could be wrong about Miéville's bias. I'm fairly confident that I'm right about the wrinkle, however, and I'm more willing to ascribe to him allegorical intentions than I am negligence. (hide spoiler)]...more
This was a mess. If I gave As for effort, Bester would be sure to make the honor roll. As it Storyline: 2/5 Characters: 2/5 Writing Style: 3/5 World: 5/5
This was a mess. If I gave As for effort, Bester would be sure to make the honor roll. As it is, one has to make a lot of allowances for the time and the context of the writing and fall back on the "well, it's only science fiction after all," excuse for why so much was so poorly written. This was undoubtedly a striking and award-deserving book in 1953. In so many ways, as well, it survives the tests of time. Bester's future world, though antiquated with predictions of a pneumatic future, was fun and interesting. There were intriguing allusions to history that were smartly left unexplained, making the world feel much richer and full than the mere 243 pages would suggest possible. The paranormal portion of the tale was flush with detail, and Bester developed that world quickly in dialogue by having experts patiently explain it to laymen. The middle third of the book, too, had a great crime storyline that I enjoyed far more than I do typical murder mysteries.
With so much in its favor, what went wrong? Well, I'm always abashed when I come across science fiction that relied upon early-20th century, then-new psychology. Had Bester only dabbled or sampled from Freud, he could have built up his paranormal world without too frail of a base. From page one to the very end, however, the book was suffused with embarrassing and discredited ideas. Because the storyline itself was so dependent on the psychology, Bester lost perspective with the murder mystery/action adventure(view spoiler)[: this is the first murder in over 70 years and Bester helps us to feel the significance of Reich's initial decision. Then, though, we have two more murders and a couple of attempted murders and they're hardly worth investigating. This is a riveting crime story because murder isn't possible with the existence of espers. The entire crime plot is built on the investigative powers of the paranormal yet they wave away the subsequent murders (hide spoiler)]. This was pure sloppiness on Bester's part, and it took away from the gravity that was supposed to be center-story. Finally, the telling was loaded with promising ideas(view spoiler)[: Dishonest Abe, the killer instinct, the moral completeness of espers, demolition and redemption (hide spoiler)]. These are the areas in which the book could have said something meaningful or have created truly deep characters and motivations. In fact, Bester seems to suggest, at times, that they were big parts of the story, yet it didn't come through with the writing, pacing, and development.
This was undoubtedly an amazing book when it was written. Unlike most sci fi books that do not stand the test of time, it is not the technology that trips Bester but the social science. If the standard of evaluation is whether or not it was a fun murder mystery - then it is a success. If the standard is higher, if we want innovative ideas, timeless lessons, intriguing questions and answers, and careful development, this simply doesn't make it on the list of great books any longer....more
I have mixed feelings about this one. To its credit, it takes on some deep questions - quStoryline: 2/5 Characters: 4/5 Writing Style: 3/5 Resonance: 2/5
I have mixed feelings about this one. To its credit, it takes on some deep questions - questions about the soul, for instance, - through the medium of science fiction. That's just the sort of thing I want my science fiction to undertake. To its demerit, it was also a mystery novel. I hate murder mysteries. I'm prejudiced, I acknowledge it, and I've probably limited myself in some way and put up a barrier to enjoying some good tales out there but....I hate murder mysteries....
I enjoyed the backstory to the creation of the "soulwave," and I thought Sawyer did a nice job showing us how the discoverer worked through the implications and possibilities of the finding. Throughout, Sawyer's characterization was top-notch. I understood the character of Peter Hobson, could relate with him as he went through successes and failures, and genuinely enjoyed the experience of being him through the book. On the other hand, it is amazing how dated this book feels even though it was published in 1995. Sawyer was projecting to the near future - 2011 - and I felt somewhat abashed throughout the novel at how errant the predictions were. I can hardly blame or fault Sawyer for trying, nonetheless, I read it with an embarrassing awareness made possible by the simple fact that I had lived through that year. It was also hard to shake the feeling that this had been written as a script for a television show. It couldn't be filmed now - the moment has passed - but it would have looked a lot like "Virtuosity" or perhaps "Hackers" and it would have featured Rufus Sewell in the leading role.
My favorite aspect of the novel was that the technological development was essentially socially conservative. So often science fiction portrays scientific discovery as validating socially progressive causes and ideals, and Sawyer gives a plausible look into societal reactions when science substantiates findings we would now consider regressive....more
I don't like mystery novels. I really do like dystopian ones. I had no idea when I started thStoryline: 2/5 Characters: 4/5 Writing Style: 3/5 World: 5/5
I don't like mystery novels. I really do like dystopian ones. I had no idea when I started that this was a murder mystery set in a dystopian future.
I think that even if I had liked detective storylines, that I would have found this a poor story. Was it that Asimov didn't care for the plot himself or is he just really bad at storytelling? Whichever it might be, he had to put something there in order to showcase his robots and his vision of the future. Thus the storyline was about the quality of a penny dreadful, and I never cared that much for how it resolved.
Now, the dystopia..... Jehoshaphat! That was astounding! This was a fascinating picture of the future. Some of the elements such as the Malthusian crisis and the technological gadgetry were obviously dated. Some of the other ideas - civism, for instance - oh my! Insightful and substantive. "The Cities" were a great projection of the trend of distancing ourselves from nature and the pursuit of efficiency. There was also a real warning in the idea of the "Caves of Steel." The significance of class was less stated though still a valuable bit in Asimov's future. I suspect the Spacer versus Earthman tensions were both a comment on existing racial tensions as well as a thought experiment into how labor would react to increased mechanization. I hungrily gobbled up every detail Asimov had to offer, and I think his New York will resonate with me for a long time to come.
There are different strategies for reading through the Foundation, Empire, and Robot novels. I elected to read the Foundation and the Empire series in the order they were published. I can better articulate now what it is that I didn't like about them: they were written to entertain (which, in itself, is not bad, but I was never really entertained with them). They did have some early indications of hard science fiction, but ultimately they were somewhat more somber, serious, and mature pulp adventure novels in space. The Caves of Steel was speculative fiction, and I've only recently come to understand why this is a genre to itself. I'll proceed with the series and happily endure another mystery novel so that I can read more about human-robot interactions in Asimov's future.
The authors behind the pen name of James S.A. Corey know only one speed: racing! This was an Storyline: 4/5 Characters: 4/5 Writing Style: 2/5 World: 3/5
The authors behind the pen name of James S.A. Corey know only one speed: racing! This was an extremely fast-paced action adventure science fiction novel set in a future where human civilization is extended past Mars but not yet to Jupiter. Space operas aren't my favorite science fiction sub-genre because they're usually full of insanely dumb action scenes that stretch believability well beyond the snapping point. In Leviathan Wakes our authors keep those dumbfounding moments to a minimum and stick in just enough hard science fiction elements to make it seem a bit more serious of a work. I saw a Heinlein (view spoiler)[ namely The Moon is a Harsh Mistress and Starship Troopers (hide spoiler)] tone to it, although where Heinlein would have about 60% political commentary and 15 % action, James S.A. Corey has 10% political and social commentary and 65% action. Neither Heinlein nor Leviathan Wakes grapple well with wonder or suspense, unfortunately, - it simply isn't their forte. At approximately the halfway point, the novel had been a little too heavy on the detective noir, and I didn't think I would read any more of the series. I was more pleased with the second half both for what it did for this novel and for what it promises for future . I'll be reading Caliban's War before too long....more
This was a sketch of a book that needed to double the page length in order to fill out the stStoryline: 1/5 Characters: 1/5 Writing Style: 2/5 World: 3/5
This was a sketch of a book that needed to double the page length in order to fill out the story, pace the plot, and develop the characters. The world itself, however, made for an eye-pleasing and provocative picture....more
--Below information added approximately a year after original reading--
A simple story thStoryline: 2/5 Characters: 1/5 Writing Style: 3/5 Resonance: 1/5
--Below information added approximately a year after original reading--
A simple story that starts with more humor and wit than it ends with. A Cold War mystery with little concern for style and no pretensions to anything grand. Its appeal must have been as another mystery-paranormal cross-over; something done before (and far better) in Alfred Bester's The Demolished Man....more
The Not-Too-Revealing Synopsis A murder that no one wants to talk about takes place in a altWriting Style - 3/5 Characters - 2 Storyline - 1 Resonance - 2
The Not-Too-Revealing Synopsis A murder that no one wants to talk about takes place in a alternate history-Jewish enclave in Alaska just as relations between it and the larger state and nation reach maximal strain.
The Review Chabon's Alaskan settlement and its problems are both believable and interesting. Chabon's plot and characters are not. We are introduced to every good guy and bad guy cliche with the wild twist that they are not your normal good guys and bad guys - they're Jewish good guys and bad guys! The writing isn't just adorned with Yiddish linguistic idiosyncrasies and Jewish cultural novelties, it's bludgeoned with them. Every problem and every solution runs through Alaska, runs through the this particular Bay and runs through the Jewish community. It is too neat, too predictable and wholly unsatisfying. The best part about the book are three minor characters that are certainly not worth the read to get to. They alone provided intrigue. A dose of moderation could have brought the different, promising elements together in this work. Instead everything was so heavily painted it bled and left an ugly, muddled picture. I do not recommend this book....more
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