I've been a fan of John Scalzi for a while, but didn't really feel like reading this one. I love the Old Man's War Universe, and was (and still am) waiting for the next book. I want to start raving about the episodic structure of The Human Division, but this is not the time or place.
Title: Lock In
Author: John Scalzi
Format: Audio
Twenty five years ago a disastrous epidemic known as Haden's syndrome has run rampant across the world. It started with flu like symptoms, but in others it has a second stage where the brain swells in a manner similar to meningitis. Some of these patients then fall victim to Lock In, where they lose all control over their body, though their mind remains completely unaffected. The US and allies invested trillions of dollars in research and now have developed "Threeps" or robots which can be controlled by remotely by the afflicted people. Chris Shane is a "Haden" and it's his/her first week as an FBI agent. Of course it becomes the most chaotic and exhilarating week imaginable. There's murder, suicide, corporate espionage, and more all set against a backdrop of a march to protest the impending Abrams-Ketering Bill which will soon cut off all funding for Haden care.
Let's start with the potentially confusing thing from the synopsis. No, not the pseudo science or plot, the his/her. Close investigation of the text gives no indication of Chris' gender. In fact, there are two audio versions of the book, one narrated by Wil Wheaton, and one by Amber Benson. You get to pick which gender you want Chris to be. I went with the Wheaton version, which I think was a mistake, but I'll get to that later. This genderless situation is a really cool concept for a story, and Scalzi is subtle in his implementation. Rather than this being the focus of the story, it's an added perk to a savy reader.
But rather than gushing about book, I'll get to the heart of my critique and why I think I chose the wrong version of the book to listen to. John Scalzi has a signature style. His characters are smart, fast talking, agreeable, and did I mention smart. He often runs into a problem with what we'll the call "superman complex." All his characters can do anything and come up with a solution to any problem all while being a smart ass. In each instance it is hilarious and entertaining, but when looked at together, everything seems to blend together into a similar blob of overly talented characters telling jokes. Add to this that Wil Wheaton is the voice behind maybe half of Scalzi's audiobooks and it becomes the same voice telling you about the same characters doing the same things.
This superman complex and singular style stem from a deeper problem in Scalzi's writing. His characters just aren't very complex. There are good guys and there are bad guys. The "grey" characters and still very good guys, just less good and less talented than the real heroes.
I love Scalzi's writing and his humor, but I'm also ready for something new from him. He's perfected his little niche and has the fan base. Now it's time to innovate and experiment a little. Maybe the good guys could lose the fight.
Fans of Mystery, Sci-Fi, and humor will enjoy this book. Scalzi fans know what to expect, it's more of the same
6/10
Another note. Feel free to use the comments to ask questions, disagree with me, tell me how awesome I am, or make requests for other books
Showing posts with label six. Show all posts
Showing posts with label six. Show all posts
Monday, April 13, 2015
Monday, April 6, 2015
City of Stairs
I needed something to read on my kindle, and sometimes I feel as though I've exhausted much of the fantasy genre. I am obviously mistaken. I was looking through goodreads and found this mentioned as a good or great book, depending on which review you looked at it. I decided to give it a try.
Title: City of Stairs
Author: Robert Bennett Jackson
Format: Kindle
The story takes place in Bukilov, the capital city of "the Continent." The Continent had conquered much of the world because they had Gods or "Divinities" aiding them. Then a man emerge from Saypur, a small conquered and oppressed island, and killed the gods, helping Saypur replace the Continent as the dominant world power. Our story takes place four generations later in modern Bukilov. A prominent Saypuri historian is murdered and a representative from the foreign ministry, Shara, arrives to investigate the crime. Within days she finds herself barely avoiding assault and potentially talking to gods. All is not as it seems in Bukilov and Shara's curiosity leaves her no choice but to unravel all the twisted threads.
I think the simplest, but most important thing I can say about this book is that the story is much better than the writing. There was a slow start, but the story became more and more engaging and the style less distracting as each page turned. When I say that story isn't particularly well written, I'm referring to a few specific things. Firstly, the story takes place in third person present, with us inside the head of whoever is the main focus of each section (mainly Shara). This is an odd and off putting choice, but the reader gets used to it after a hundred pages or so. The second problem is a pet peeve of mine. Jackson's method of writing dialogue is incredibly frustrating. He puts more than two separate lines of dialogue in one paragraph. This drives me crazy. It's cluttered, confusing, and amateurish and I hate when authors do this. Even worse, at points he has multiple people talking within the same paragraph. Could he not find the enter key while he was writing the manuscript?
The plot itself is enthralling. To potential readers, ignore the first chapter, it's by far the section of the entire book, and while it sets up the plot for the rest of the novel, it's a boring chapter about bored characters doing boring thing. Just get through it. On the plus side, in the rest of the book there are gods, demons, intrigue, death, sex, and good old fashion monster fighting. Jackson gets a little bit of everything into the story, and does so in a surprisingly coherent and entertaining way. I would recommend this book to most fantasy fans, but I'd warn them that parts of the book can be quite a struggle. I don't think I'll be exploring the rest of the series. Good luck.
6/10
Title: City of Stairs
Author: Robert Bennett Jackson
Format: Kindle
The story takes place in Bukilov, the capital city of "the Continent." The Continent had conquered much of the world because they had Gods or "Divinities" aiding them. Then a man emerge from Saypur, a small conquered and oppressed island, and killed the gods, helping Saypur replace the Continent as the dominant world power. Our story takes place four generations later in modern Bukilov. A prominent Saypuri historian is murdered and a representative from the foreign ministry, Shara, arrives to investigate the crime. Within days she finds herself barely avoiding assault and potentially talking to gods. All is not as it seems in Bukilov and Shara's curiosity leaves her no choice but to unravel all the twisted threads.
I think the simplest, but most important thing I can say about this book is that the story is much better than the writing. There was a slow start, but the story became more and more engaging and the style less distracting as each page turned. When I say that story isn't particularly well written, I'm referring to a few specific things. Firstly, the story takes place in third person present, with us inside the head of whoever is the main focus of each section (mainly Shara). This is an odd and off putting choice, but the reader gets used to it after a hundred pages or so. The second problem is a pet peeve of mine. Jackson's method of writing dialogue is incredibly frustrating. He puts more than two separate lines of dialogue in one paragraph. This drives me crazy. It's cluttered, confusing, and amateurish and I hate when authors do this. Even worse, at points he has multiple people talking within the same paragraph. Could he not find the enter key while he was writing the manuscript?
The plot itself is enthralling. To potential readers, ignore the first chapter, it's by far the section of the entire book, and while it sets up the plot for the rest of the novel, it's a boring chapter about bored characters doing boring thing. Just get through it. On the plus side, in the rest of the book there are gods, demons, intrigue, death, sex, and good old fashion monster fighting. Jackson gets a little bit of everything into the story, and does so in a surprisingly coherent and entertaining way. I would recommend this book to most fantasy fans, but I'd warn them that parts of the book can be quite a struggle. I don't think I'll be exploring the rest of the series. Good luck.
6/10
Monday, March 30, 2015
Good Omens
The Great Sir Terry Pratchett died a few weeks ago. He joined Brutha, Constable Cuddy, Archchancellor Weatherwax and many others in the great beyond. Terry Pratchett was a genius and master of comedy. Fortunately, his works are as prolific as they were entertaining. He left us over forty discworld novels along with a whole cannon of other works. I decided to revisit one of his books as a small, insignificant homage to him. I chose the only one I have on audiobook.
Title: Good Omens
Author: Neil Gaiman
Format: Audiobook
Time to Finish: 14 days
Good Omens is a book that starts (very briefly) in Eden, as Adam and Eve are being exiled. We are introduced to Aziraphale (an angel) and Crowly (a demon). We then jump to eleven years before present day (at time of publishing, so 1980ish). Two Dukes of Hell inform Crowley that the antichrist has been born, and it is time to appropriately place him. Crowley brings him to the hospital specially created for this purpose, but due to misunderstood body language and three identical baby boys the antichrist is placed with the wrong family. Crowley and Aziraphale agree to influence the antichrist evenly, so that it is his choice of which side to take during the apocalypse is the son of satan's alone.
Eleven years later, the apocalypse is upon us, but there's only one problem. No one actually knows where or even who the antichrist is. Chaos and shenanigans ensue.
The story follows two main plot lines. That of Adam and "the Them" (the antichrist and his gang of fellow eleven year olds), and that of Crowley and Aziraphale. Other major players are the four horsemen of the apocalypse, the witch hunters, and the witches, with many side characters diving in and out at various points.
While the book is beloved, and quite fun, it is not perfect. To be honest, it's actually a bit of a let down. I like Gaiman, I love Pratchett, but the two writing together does not make the final product greater than the sum of its parts. While this book is quite good, one would expect it to be great. It's not. It's undeniably entertaining, but there a few flaws that are not only distracting, they are quite telling. Firstly, there are too mainly plot lines and characters. I wonder if this is because there are two authors, and so twice the amount of story that one should expect in a book (especially such a short one).
Additionally, the audience for the novel is unclear as the authors seem unable to decide upon their target. The story spends a good deal of time with eleven year old's, and so it sometimes seems childish and designed as a children's story, or maybe young adult. And then at other points it seems to be well over the head of any child. This can be done well, but here this just makes everything seem inconsistent.
My final complaint is the uneven pacing. No one is surprised. The first half the book covers everything leading to the final days, and the second half covers that day or so. I would have much preferred a longer book that gave more time to the rest of the story, characters, and plotlines. I guess that's the core complaint. They needed a longer book in which to fit all their ideas and content.
Still, the book is funny, thought-provoking, and often quite brilliant. Any Pratchett, Gaiman, or fantasy fan will enjoy it. I just know it could have been even better.
6/10
Title: Good Omens
Author: Neil Gaiman
Format: Audiobook
Time to Finish: 14 days
Good Omens is a book that starts (very briefly) in Eden, as Adam and Eve are being exiled. We are introduced to Aziraphale (an angel) and Crowly (a demon). We then jump to eleven years before present day (at time of publishing, so 1980ish). Two Dukes of Hell inform Crowley that the antichrist has been born, and it is time to appropriately place him. Crowley brings him to the hospital specially created for this purpose, but due to misunderstood body language and three identical baby boys the antichrist is placed with the wrong family. Crowley and Aziraphale agree to influence the antichrist evenly, so that it is his choice of which side to take during the apocalypse is the son of satan's alone.
Eleven years later, the apocalypse is upon us, but there's only one problem. No one actually knows where or even who the antichrist is. Chaos and shenanigans ensue.
The story follows two main plot lines. That of Adam and "the Them" (the antichrist and his gang of fellow eleven year olds), and that of Crowley and Aziraphale. Other major players are the four horsemen of the apocalypse, the witch hunters, and the witches, with many side characters diving in and out at various points.
While the book is beloved, and quite fun, it is not perfect. To be honest, it's actually a bit of a let down. I like Gaiman, I love Pratchett, but the two writing together does not make the final product greater than the sum of its parts. While this book is quite good, one would expect it to be great. It's not. It's undeniably entertaining, but there a few flaws that are not only distracting, they are quite telling. Firstly, there are too mainly plot lines and characters. I wonder if this is because there are two authors, and so twice the amount of story that one should expect in a book (especially such a short one).
Additionally, the audience for the novel is unclear as the authors seem unable to decide upon their target. The story spends a good deal of time with eleven year old's, and so it sometimes seems childish and designed as a children's story, or maybe young adult. And then at other points it seems to be well over the head of any child. This can be done well, but here this just makes everything seem inconsistent.
My final complaint is the uneven pacing. No one is surprised. The first half the book covers everything leading to the final days, and the second half covers that day or so. I would have much preferred a longer book that gave more time to the rest of the story, characters, and plotlines. I guess that's the core complaint. They needed a longer book in which to fit all their ideas and content.
Still, the book is funny, thought-provoking, and often quite brilliant. Any Pratchett, Gaiman, or fantasy fan will enjoy it. I just know it could have been even better.
6/10
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