A review by wmhenrymorris
Inside Straight by George R.R. Martin
I was scanning the shelves of my local library, found this title and decided to check it out because Daniel Abraham contributed to this wild cards novel. As a fan of George R.R. Martin, I had been aware of the series for several years, but had never been willing to commit to it. It seemed too long. But since this volume leaps ahead in the wild cards universe, I thought I'd give it a shot.
The verdict:
1. I really like the collaborative approach to the novel (and it does cohere as a novel). It must be a bear to edit, though.
2. I like the concept even if it is a little hokey (but that's supposed to be part of the point, I think -- it's a riffing on the superhero genre).
3. Inside Straight has some very compelling characters. Jonathan Hive, Earth Witch, Rustbelt, Lohengrin (and others).
4. I was initially put off by the reality show thing. But the plot twists come quickly and twistily so it's all good.
5. Even though there is loss and triumph and it's not all surface, it did seem lighter to me than it was trying to be. Or maybe it's not trying to be. In general it's very fun and very cool, but at the same time is trying to do a little more. And it pretty much succeeds.
Two notes:
1. There is a fair amount of profanity, some violence and a little bit of sexual content in the book. Much less (and less graphic) than the Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series. But more than the average sci-fi novel.
2. I found it interesting that there is a Mormon FBI ace named Straight Edge who is about as stereotypical as you can get and that Joseph Smith gets brought up as an example of a false prophet, a crazy fanatical religious leader. I'm not about to ascribe those views to the authors. I have no idea if what any of them believe about Mormonism and certainly as an author you can have characters represent attitudes that you don't share. But I would like to note that neither of these two mentions of Mormonism are complex, interesting or go beyond the basic tropes that are trotted out when Mormonism is deployed by popular culture.
The verdict:
1. I really like the collaborative approach to the novel (and it does cohere as a novel). It must be a bear to edit, though.
2. I like the concept even if it is a little hokey (but that's supposed to be part of the point, I think -- it's a riffing on the superhero genre).
3. Inside Straight has some very compelling characters. Jonathan Hive, Earth Witch, Rustbelt, Lohengrin (and others).
4. I was initially put off by the reality show thing. But the plot twists come quickly and twistily so it's all good.
5. Even though there is loss and triumph and it's not all surface, it did seem lighter to me than it was trying to be. Or maybe it's not trying to be. In general it's very fun and very cool, but at the same time is trying to do a little more. And it pretty much succeeds.
Two notes:
1. There is a fair amount of profanity, some violence and a little bit of sexual content in the book. Much less (and less graphic) than the Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series. But more than the average sci-fi novel.
2. I found it interesting that there is a Mormon FBI ace named Straight Edge who is about as stereotypical as you can get and that Joseph Smith gets brought up as an example of a false prophet, a crazy fanatical religious leader. I'm not about to ascribe those views to the authors. I have no idea if what any of them believe about Mormonism and certainly as an author you can have characters represent attitudes that you don't share. But I would like to note that neither of these two mentions of Mormonism are complex, interesting or go beyond the basic tropes that are trotted out when Mormonism is deployed by popular culture.