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ryanberger's reviews
120 reviews
All Systems Red by Martha Wells
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Sad to say I don't get the hype. It's not even that it doesn't live up to it's hype in my estimation. I suppose it doesn't, but I truly don't understand what is here to fall in love with.
The big selling point is the titular Murderbot, a sort of cross between GLaDOS from Portal and The Predator. Much has been made to me in the pitch about its love of soap operas and disdain for conversation and human interaction. But that example I just used is really as far as the dynamic goes. We're told it watches a soap opera, and that it doesn't like talking to people-- and that's really the end of it. It doesn't wax poetic about its favorite shows or begrudging desire to do violence like it was built for. No humor or intrigue stems from this personality. It's bizarre. It could have been an iconic character and it's a complete and utter nothing.
Wells's style doesn't really inspire a reaction out of me. I never rolled my eyes at any jokes or cringed any anything overwritten. There's no complexity to the prose, but that fits the POV. If only the POV were any notable, though.
I enjoyed the glimpses of worldbuilding. I liked the idea of these scientists acting without corporate backing so they have to ball-on-a-budget and get a semi-defective Murderbot for their security needs. I thought the book might lead to some interesting or funny observations about incompetence and cheap-gear being mistaken for evil (and where the line between them gets fuzzy) but it never really gets there.
A lot of this short book is just dedicated to sweeping rooms watching drone footage for hostiles. It's a lot of military SF, which I admit I don't have a huge appetite for. Going in, people told me it was like a Discworld-esque farce. That couldn't be further from the truth.
Could have made a middling episode of Love Death and Robots, maybe. As a novella I'm pretty lost as to the appeal.
I have the box set of the first four novellas so I'll probably continue on and see if the concept gets any better. But I really don't have much to say about this.
The big selling point is the titular Murderbot, a sort of cross between GLaDOS from Portal and The Predator. Much has been made to me in the pitch about its love of soap operas and disdain for conversation and human interaction. But that example I just used is really as far as the dynamic goes. We're told it watches a soap opera, and that it doesn't like talking to people-- and that's really the end of it. It doesn't wax poetic about its favorite shows or begrudging desire to do violence like it was built for. No humor or intrigue stems from this personality. It's bizarre. It could have been an iconic character and it's a complete and utter nothing.
Wells's style doesn't really inspire a reaction out of me. I never rolled my eyes at any jokes or cringed any anything overwritten. There's no complexity to the prose, but that fits the POV. If only the POV were any notable, though.
I enjoyed the glimpses of worldbuilding. I liked the idea of these scientists acting without corporate backing so they have to ball-on-a-budget and get a semi-defective Murderbot for their security needs. I thought the book might lead to some interesting or funny observations about incompetence and cheap-gear being mistaken for evil (and where the line between them gets fuzzy) but it never really gets there.
A lot of this short book is just dedicated to sweeping rooms watching drone footage for hostiles. It's a lot of military SF, which I admit I don't have a huge appetite for. Going in, people told me it was like a Discworld-esque farce. That couldn't be further from the truth.
Could have made a middling episode of Love Death and Robots, maybe. As a novella I'm pretty lost as to the appeal.
I have the box set of the first four novellas so I'll probably continue on and see if the concept gets any better. But I really don't have much to say about this.
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
A masterpiece of dystopian (which might just get so dark it short circuits the fictive reality and becomes an exploration of utopia) fiction.
The binding agent Butler uses to tell this story is the sprouting of the Earthseed religion that Lauren, the central character, begins to develop over the course of her young life and journey north along California's raider wasteland. As Lauren learns and begins to write the world down into her notebook, she builds the book of Earthseed and creates a torch to guide people through a world that appears to be rapidly approaching its own doom with each passing year. She detaches from her religious upbringing and finds a new god in the very nature of 'Change'.
Lauren is the preacher's daughter, putting her in a fairly well-off (considering the rest of her neighborhood) position. Though she doesn't subscribe to the mysticism of her father's faith, she has an understanding of it that borders on mastery. She ostensibly grew up with a front-row seat to gods love. So why then, does she turn elsewhere and begin her own faith?
Earthseed, both as a faith and a community, is designed to clarify her existence, her place in the cosmos, and create a better foundation for a moral code than what Christianity can provide in the modern world. For all the hardships Lauren faces over this gauntlet of her teen years, she never has a crisis of faith and is rarely bit by her own mistakes. Once she surrenders to change, it makes the atrocities of the world seem navigable. And so too does our own world.
Butler takes a somewhat detached approach to writing this story in journal entries from Lauren's life, but the symbolism in play is complex and satisfying. I can imagine some people thinking her depictions of rape, murder, and cannibalism (among other things) are gratuitous or provided without grace and sympathy. I would disagree, though it should be said that I could see this book simply being too much for the wrong kind of reader.
A good story can change out, or add parts to the clockwork of your brain-- making you into a more thoughtful person. Sometimes, one will come along that replaces the entire engine block. This book accomplishes the latter. It makes me want to see Earthseed succeed in my own life, to care for all around me, and end up somewhere among the stars.
The binding agent Butler uses to tell this story is the sprouting of the Earthseed religion that Lauren, the central character, begins to develop over the course of her young life and journey north along California's raider wasteland. As Lauren learns and begins to write the world down into her notebook, she builds the book of Earthseed and creates a torch to guide people through a world that appears to be rapidly approaching its own doom with each passing year. She detaches from her religious upbringing and finds a new god in the very nature of 'Change'.
Lauren is the preacher's daughter, putting her in a fairly well-off (considering the rest of her neighborhood) position. Though she doesn't subscribe to the mysticism of her father's faith, she has an understanding of it that borders on mastery. She ostensibly grew up with a front-row seat to gods love. So why then, does she turn elsewhere and begin her own faith?
Earthseed, both as a faith and a community, is designed to clarify her existence, her place in the cosmos, and create a better foundation for a moral code than what Christianity can provide in the modern world. For all the hardships Lauren faces over this gauntlet of her teen years, she never has a crisis of faith and is rarely bit by her own mistakes. Once she surrenders to change, it makes the atrocities of the world seem navigable. And so too does our own world.
Butler takes a somewhat detached approach to writing this story in journal entries from Lauren's life, but the symbolism in play is complex and satisfying. I can imagine some people thinking her depictions of rape, murder, and cannibalism (among other things) are gratuitous or provided without grace and sympathy. I would disagree, though it should be said that I could see this book simply being too much for the wrong kind of reader.
A good story can change out, or add parts to the clockwork of your brain-- making you into a more thoughtful person. Sometimes, one will come along that replaces the entire engine block. This book accomplishes the latter. It makes me want to see Earthseed succeed in my own life, to care for all around me, and end up somewhere among the stars.
A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
This seems a bit harsh, and I think for the right kind of reader, this could be a much bigger hit. But for most people, I can't say I recommend it.
Early on, I posted on GR that this felt like an MCU movie, for all of the reasons an MCU movie is for the most part good and bad (though, remove the conversation about franchising and setting up other movies. It's more of a commentary on its tone than it's existence as a piece of fiction).
I think I'd like to tweak this a bit and say this really, on all levels, should have been a comic book. And I think it probably would have killed.
Clark's Cairo is an interesting setting, one where Cairo becomes the seat of power in the world through their relationship with Djinn and magic.
What I WANT to say is that it's a breath of fresh air. But it really wasn't. It feels mostly just like a pallet swap where you swap out some of the nouns, but it reads like basically everything else in its lane. With a comic book, Clark's incredibly stylized world wouldn't have had the burden of uninteresting descriptions that really don't take fantasy in any new direction.
Fans of comics, and this is not necessarily a bad thing, tend to prioritize visuals and character's silhouettes more than the champion a compelling story. Similarly, I think with mainstream comics at the very least (indie is a wild west), there is the expectation the edges will be sanded off and complexity will be kept to what can fit in a panel. This further illustrates to me that this story and world are miscast as a novel.
Fatma is kind of a nothing character. Her position as a lead investigator in her organization combined with her affinity for English suits and choice of lover (Fatma is a lesbian, which I thought might play some interesting role in 1920's Cairo-- but it's mostly just to fawn over their relationship goals) make for an instantly recognizable and attractive silhouette (as all good comic book heroes should have), but it's entirely shallow. Fatma's key personality trait is her bowler hat. She's really not even a good detective, as the story proves a couple of times over. We're not really given much to latch onto.
The reason my initial reaction was to compare it to the MCU rather than comic books was that initially, I just couldn't really find much fault in the cookie-cutter. Everything was aggressively competent (Clark is a good writer and extremely readable in a way I'm envious of) but also pretty bland. The world worked, and I wanted more of it (that in it of itself is a skill, to make me want more, even with a good premise on paper), and I recognized that even though there were things I was personally burnt out on, it would be kind of unfair to punish this too harshly.
But then things really start to become ridiculous. The buddy-cop storyline is played note-for-note like every other buddy-cop movie you have ever experienced. There's basically no defining element of their relationship that an AI that watched a bunch of movies couldn't write. The only notable thing is the novelty that they're both women. But neither character is interesting.
I won't get into specifics, but I'm sorry, this mystery is very dumb and stupid. A major element of the villain's plan doesn't make any sense and I read some other reviews that caught the same hangup. Doesn't seem like there's a satisfactory explanation unless we all missed it and it basically jams a rod in the gears and grinds everything to a halt. There's some real Scooby Doo level mystery solving and you know something is deeply wrong if you're making me use Scooby Doo in the pejorative sense.
I have to say a word about the action. God, there's so fucking much of it. It drags on and on and on and none of it is really pulse-quickening. Again, in a comic, this would have been a strength.
People shrug in this book more than any other book I've ever read. Detectives, cops, diplomats, store owners, gods, djinn, ghouls-- everyone is shrugging at every provocation and it's so weird and unnatural and I hope to god Clark gets another editor. It smacks of how people have caught on to some writers who use a throw away line that says "he stared for a minute" or something. People don't stare for an uninterrupted minute, and they don't shrug 17 times in one conversation (I'm exaggerating but it's extremely noticeable).
In spite of all that, Clark is still a writer to watch and one I want to read more of. He has fun ideas, and injects a lot of color into his worlds that seem extremely well-researched.
And it must be said one more time-- for people who are transitioning from comics or the MCU to Fantasy, this might be a book to target. And if there's ever a graphic novel done, I bet it will kick ass.
I must say, I was shocked after Dead Djinn in Cairo, I thought an extrapolated version of this world and story would rock. But it buckled under the weight.
Early on, I posted on GR that this felt like an MCU movie, for all of the reasons an MCU movie is for the most part good and bad (though, remove the conversation about franchising and setting up other movies. It's more of a commentary on its tone than it's existence as a piece of fiction).
I think I'd like to tweak this a bit and say this really, on all levels, should have been a comic book. And I think it probably would have killed.
Clark's Cairo is an interesting setting, one where Cairo becomes the seat of power in the world through their relationship with Djinn and magic.
What I WANT to say is that it's a breath of fresh air. But it really wasn't. It feels mostly just like a pallet swap where you swap out some of the nouns, but it reads like basically everything else in its lane. With a comic book, Clark's incredibly stylized world wouldn't have had the burden of uninteresting descriptions that really don't take fantasy in any new direction.
Fans of comics, and this is not necessarily a bad thing, tend to prioritize visuals and character's silhouettes more than the champion a compelling story. Similarly, I think with mainstream comics at the very least (indie is a wild west), there is the expectation the edges will be sanded off and complexity will be kept to what can fit in a panel. This further illustrates to me that this story and world are miscast as a novel.
Fatma is kind of a nothing character. Her position as a lead investigator in her organization combined with her affinity for English suits and choice of lover (Fatma is a lesbian, which I thought might play some interesting role in 1920's Cairo-- but it's mostly just to fawn over their relationship goals) make for an instantly recognizable and attractive silhouette (as all good comic book heroes should have), but it's entirely shallow. Fatma's key personality trait is her bowler hat. She's really not even a good detective, as the story proves a couple of times over. We're not really given much to latch onto.
The reason my initial reaction was to compare it to the MCU rather than comic books was that initially, I just couldn't really find much fault in the cookie-cutter. Everything was aggressively competent (Clark is a good writer and extremely readable in a way I'm envious of) but also pretty bland. The world worked, and I wanted more of it (that in it of itself is a skill, to make me want more, even with a good premise on paper), and I recognized that even though there were things I was personally burnt out on, it would be kind of unfair to punish this too harshly.
But then things really start to become ridiculous. The buddy-cop storyline is played note-for-note like every other buddy-cop movie you have ever experienced. There's basically no defining element of their relationship that an AI that watched a bunch of movies couldn't write. The only notable thing is the novelty that they're both women. But neither character is interesting.
I won't get into specifics, but I'm sorry, this mystery is very dumb and stupid. A major element of the villain's plan doesn't make any sense and I read some other reviews that caught the same hangup. Doesn't seem like there's a satisfactory explanation unless we all missed it and it basically jams a rod in the gears and grinds everything to a halt. There's some real Scooby Doo level mystery solving and you know something is deeply wrong if you're making me use Scooby Doo in the pejorative sense.
I have to say a word about the action. God, there's so fucking much of it. It drags on and on and on and none of it is really pulse-quickening. Again, in a comic, this would have been a strength.
People shrug in this book more than any other book I've ever read. Detectives, cops, diplomats, store owners, gods, djinn, ghouls-- everyone is shrugging at every provocation and it's so weird and unnatural and I hope to god Clark gets another editor. It smacks of how people have caught on to some writers who use a throw away line that says "he stared for a minute" or something. People don't stare for an uninterrupted minute, and they don't shrug 17 times in one conversation (I'm exaggerating but it's extremely noticeable).
In spite of all that, Clark is still a writer to watch and one I want to read more of. He has fun ideas, and injects a lot of color into his worlds that seem extremely well-researched.
And it must be said one more time-- for people who are transitioning from comics or the MCU to Fantasy, this might be a book to target. And if there's ever a graphic novel done, I bet it will kick ass.
I must say, I was shocked after Dead Djinn in Cairo, I thought an extrapolated version of this world and story would rock. But it buckled under the weight.
The White Boy Shuffle by Paul Beatty
dark
funny
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester
adventurous
dark
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
"When the stars threw down their spears
And water'd heaven with their tears:
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?"
- The part of the Blake poem that I think works even better, but you can't sell books with Lambs when Tigers are available
I could lead with what I liked about this book. But better yet, I can try and communicate the experience of this reading this book.
To read The Stars My Destination is to be locked in a cage with a dangerous animal with the lights off. It behaves erratically. Behind the eyes is an intelligence, one you can't accurately guess the size and nature of. It moves quickly, keeping you on your back foot. It holds your attention in a vice and forces you to believe that hate is our most effective natural resource.
Bester's prowess as a comics writer (Bester is cited as the writer/creator of the Green Lantern Oath) is evident in his writing that is best thought of as a comic-panel approach to space and time. Things move at a breakneck speed, expecting the reader to keep up, and I suspect might even take pleasure in how we stumble.
I list these qualities first because it's what made the biggest impression on me: the writing style and perfect marriage between a compelling frame and a protagonist willing to do dark deeds within it at all costs.
I think The Stars My Destination has a strong case for the best Science Fiction book with the absolute worst scientific premise I think I've ever heard: Humans learn to teleport by simply thinking about it hard enough. Can't believe I never thought of it first.
Much of the book is concerned with feeling over logic, akin to what I might say about Philip K Dicks work. But it ends up tying into the themes of the book, particularly in the ending where this book went from a 4-star to a 5-star in its final chapter.
Teleportation has a fascinating effect on society in countless ways-- particularly in the lives of the rich. One could think of this book as a precursor to a lot of what was to come out of the Cyberpunk movement from its depictions of oppulance, mawkish worldbuilding and fasterfasterfaster pace of writing.
Everybody has the power to "jaunt", the book's word for teleportation. It's not just a tool for the protagonist, allowing the narrative to twist and jump from continent to continent within the scope of a single paragraph. In the hands of Gully Foyle, one of the most driven, dangerous protagonists I've ever read, it ends up being a bit of a form-story. The teleportation leads to a kind of choppy (in a good way, if that's possible) narrative as people chop out the middleman of their transportation needs. Danger exists around every corner in a world built for an instant-teleportation society.
I've not said much about Foyle, who I find extremely compelling and is the focal point of most reviews, but also where I think some of the book's elements don't age well. Forget morally grey: Foyle is a man with hate in his heart and murder on his mind. Where the journey will take him is for you to read and decide, but there are some elements that made me cringe. Much of it is justified in the narrative, but not all. I'm willing to chalk it up to "product of its era", and it's clearly not enough for me to take off a star, but I am conscious about how I refer to Foyle when talking about what kind of character he is. Spoilers keep me from speaking openly on multiple levels, so I will have to let that be the end of it.
Fantastically written, unforgettable worldbuilding clever structure, compelling characters, and a deft reveal in the end that all these break-neck and seemingly random pieces all fit together all the way down to the poem at the very start.
A masterpiece of golden age SF.
And water'd heaven with their tears:
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?"
- The part of the Blake poem that I think works even better, but you can't sell books with Lambs when Tigers are available
I could lead with what I liked about this book. But better yet, I can try and communicate the experience of this reading this book.
To read The Stars My Destination is to be locked in a cage with a dangerous animal with the lights off. It behaves erratically. Behind the eyes is an intelligence, one you can't accurately guess the size and nature of. It moves quickly, keeping you on your back foot. It holds your attention in a vice and forces you to believe that hate is our most effective natural resource.
Bester's prowess as a comics writer (Bester is cited as the writer/creator of the Green Lantern Oath) is evident in his writing that is best thought of as a comic-panel approach to space and time. Things move at a breakneck speed, expecting the reader to keep up, and I suspect might even take pleasure in how we stumble.
I list these qualities first because it's what made the biggest impression on me: the writing style and perfect marriage between a compelling frame and a protagonist willing to do dark deeds within it at all costs.
I think The Stars My Destination has a strong case for the best Science Fiction book with the absolute worst scientific premise I think I've ever heard: Humans learn to teleport by simply thinking about it hard enough. Can't believe I never thought of it first.
Much of the book is concerned with feeling over logic, akin to what I might say about Philip K Dicks work. But it ends up tying into the themes of the book, particularly in the ending where this book went from a 4-star to a 5-star in its final chapter.
Teleportation has a fascinating effect on society in countless ways-- particularly in the lives of the rich. One could think of this book as a precursor to a lot of what was to come out of the Cyberpunk movement from its depictions of oppulance, mawkish worldbuilding and fasterfasterfaster pace of writing.
Everybody has the power to "jaunt", the book's word for teleportation. It's not just a tool for the protagonist, allowing the narrative to twist and jump from continent to continent within the scope of a single paragraph. In the hands of Gully Foyle, one of the most driven, dangerous protagonists I've ever read, it ends up being a bit of a form-story. The teleportation leads to a kind of choppy (in a good way, if that's possible) narrative as people chop out the middleman of their transportation needs. Danger exists around every corner in a world built for an instant-teleportation society.
I've not said much about Foyle, who I find extremely compelling and is the focal point of most reviews, but also where I think some of the book's elements don't age well. Forget morally grey: Foyle is a man with hate in his heart and murder on his mind. Where the journey will take him is for you to read and decide, but there are some elements that made me cringe. Much of it is justified in the narrative, but not all. I'm willing to chalk it up to "product of its era", and it's clearly not enough for me to take off a star, but I am conscious about how I refer to Foyle when talking about what kind of character he is. Spoilers keep me from speaking openly on multiple levels, so I will have to let that be the end of it.
Fantastically written, unforgettable worldbuilding clever structure, compelling characters, and a deft reveal in the end that all these break-neck and seemingly random pieces all fit together all the way down to the poem at the very start.
A masterpiece of golden age SF.
A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
"We live in capitalism. Its power seems inescapable. So did the divine right of kings."
- Ursula K. Le Guin
Perhaps no Fantasy novel has captured this current moment in the 21st century better than Joe Abercrombie.
I've yet to read anything in the genre that attempts to fight the machine known as Capital C Capitalism, grinding an entire generation under its spokes. Entire demographics are being fed to the meat grinder, and Abercrombie illustrates this moment in all its horrifying clarity-- the mesh point where the values of the past meet the challenges of the future.
Abercrombie is an author that truly lets readers have it all. The gallows humor of his compelling protagonists, the juicy exploits of the can't-care-a-shit Northmen and their endless wars, the court politics, and-- for the first time, a feeling of deep history and world-building that could be found in something like A Song of Ice and Fire (it's closest contemporary). It is also worth mentioning that romantic drama has been added to the core ingredients, a welcome and well-crafted addition (though it does seem to borrow a beat from one of the standalone that will have readers feeling Deja Vu). Everyone should find something to love.
The first six books in this world seemed uninterested in creating a world that was self-referential with its own histories to chart and master. Everything was in the moment, and the story even mocked the very notion of mythmaking and hero-crafting. But about eight books into this world, the universe cannot help but unfurl. When King Jezal meets the next generation of Glokta, we sense the pain he cannot hope to communicate. When Stour Nightfall boasts of his win against Stranger-Come-Knocking in the circle, readers of The Heroes understand the achievement of it. The Circle of the World is not likely to end on any reader's list of favorite fantasy locations (so much so that Joe doesn't even put a map in his books), but it is a much more vibrant, living setting because it has been given room to grow.
Industry has bloomed in Adua, and with it the troubles of the future. Wage slavery, unsafe working conditions, the dignity stealing machines. The chapters surrounding the mills and smokestacks have more in common with Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle" than your nearest Fantasy comparison. The rhetoric of the working class clashes with the rich oppressors while also leaving room for the zealots who wish only to burn in a way that doesn't come off as both-sidesing this very real, very immediate conflict. Abercrombie will outline clearly where he directs his fury where other books would be vague. Another book might dress Late-Stage-Capitalism in metaphor, but A Little Hatred has little time for games.
Little, but not none. The war in the north is fun, and all the reasons to pick up an Abercrombie book still sing. Beautiful, slimy writing, bastards you love, and some of the best fight scenes in fiction are all present.
The cast of characters, while diverse and interesting, doesn't quite rise to the instant-obsession level of the first trilogy. I'm hoping more will be revealed over time, but they mostly feel a bit two-dimensional. I'm normally not a fan of dynastic storytelling, but this particular collection of kids (especially considering their parents) is quite interesting. Still, this book lacks a truly great character like Logen or Glokta. The hole they leave is palpable.
The end features a bit of a pacing slog that exists, I believe, to set up some things the latter two books probably won't have time for, and overall I feel this book fills the exact same role as The Blade Itself, where it is mostly an extended prologue for the next two books. Whereas The Blade Itself has no huge defining moment and the most magnetic characters in modern fantasy-- the start of this trilogy is much more plot dense but with characters, it's a bit hard to let into your heart completely. It would be dumb for me to dock this book a star for this reason when it is the same exact playbook for The Blade Itself. I'm certain when I finish the trilogy, I'll feel even better about going with the optimistic 5-star rating.
Overall a supernova start to a trilogy that tackles things you truly won't get elsewhere in modern Fantasy.
- Ursula K. Le Guin
Perhaps no Fantasy novel has captured this current moment in the 21st century better than Joe Abercrombie.
I've yet to read anything in the genre that attempts to fight the machine known as Capital C Capitalism, grinding an entire generation under its spokes. Entire demographics are being fed to the meat grinder, and Abercrombie illustrates this moment in all its horrifying clarity-- the mesh point where the values of the past meet the challenges of the future.
Abercrombie is an author that truly lets readers have it all. The gallows humor of his compelling protagonists, the juicy exploits of the can't-care-a-shit Northmen and their endless wars, the court politics, and-- for the first time, a feeling of deep history and world-building that could be found in something like A Song of Ice and Fire (it's closest contemporary). It is also worth mentioning that romantic drama has been added to the core ingredients, a welcome and well-crafted addition (though it does seem to borrow a beat from one of the standalone that will have readers feeling Deja Vu). Everyone should find something to love.
The first six books in this world seemed uninterested in creating a world that was self-referential with its own histories to chart and master. Everything was in the moment, and the story even mocked the very notion of mythmaking and hero-crafting. But about eight books into this world, the universe cannot help but unfurl. When King Jezal meets the next generation of Glokta, we sense the pain he cannot hope to communicate. When Stour Nightfall boasts of his win against Stranger-Come-Knocking in the circle, readers of The Heroes understand the achievement of it. The Circle of the World is not likely to end on any reader's list of favorite fantasy locations (so much so that Joe doesn't even put a map in his books), but it is a much more vibrant, living setting because it has been given room to grow.
Industry has bloomed in Adua, and with it the troubles of the future. Wage slavery, unsafe working conditions, the dignity stealing machines. The chapters surrounding the mills and smokestacks have more in common with Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle" than your nearest Fantasy comparison. The rhetoric of the working class clashes with the rich oppressors while also leaving room for the zealots who wish only to burn in a way that doesn't come off as both-sidesing this very real, very immediate conflict. Abercrombie will outline clearly where he directs his fury where other books would be vague. Another book might dress Late-Stage-Capitalism in metaphor, but A Little Hatred has little time for games.
Little, but not none. The war in the north is fun, and all the reasons to pick up an Abercrombie book still sing. Beautiful, slimy writing, bastards you love, and some of the best fight scenes in fiction are all present.
The cast of characters, while diverse and interesting, doesn't quite rise to the instant-obsession level of the first trilogy. I'm hoping more will be revealed over time, but they mostly feel a bit two-dimensional. I'm normally not a fan of dynastic storytelling, but this particular collection of kids (especially considering their parents) is quite interesting. Still, this book lacks a truly great character like Logen or Glokta. The hole they leave is palpable.
The end features a bit of a pacing slog that exists, I believe, to set up some things the latter two books probably won't have time for, and overall I feel this book fills the exact same role as The Blade Itself, where it is mostly an extended prologue for the next two books. Whereas The Blade Itself has no huge defining moment and the most magnetic characters in modern fantasy-- the start of this trilogy is much more plot dense but with characters, it's a bit hard to let into your heart completely. It would be dumb for me to dock this book a star for this reason when it is the same exact playbook for The Blade Itself. I'm certain when I finish the trilogy, I'll feel even better about going with the optimistic 5-star rating.
Overall a supernova start to a trilogy that tackles things you truly won't get elsewhere in modern Fantasy.
Blood Music by Greg Bear
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
"They're not telling me anything, but I think they're sending out scouts. Hey! Astronauts!"
Rest in peace Greg Bear.
This was a ton of fun. A very trippy, fast-paced ride that goes to some uncharted places.
Be advised when you first pick up this book, you're about to be immediately cracked over the head with pages of just explaining how DNA works, but it fades pretty quickly as the real story begins. Initially, I thought we were in for another genius's vanity project to flex how much they understand about microbes and cell behavior-- but what I got was a rich, philosophical thriller wrapped in a body-horror package that John Carpenter would blush at.
Bear looks inwards, rather than outwards for his science fiction. His ideas don't come from space, they come from the bloodstream.
The entire second half of this book is a wild ride through Artificial Intelligence and spirituality. Coming back to the beginning as I flip through and collect my thoughts, I almost can't believe the book I read is the one I started at the beginning. It's such a wild contrast-- but it definitely works.
I'm very hazy on some elements of the ending, but I think there is a very healthy amount of room for interpretation. He manages to paint an abstract picture and let us decide if it's ominous or benevolent. But now I've already said too much.
As someone who has bemoaned the pacing of basically every horror novel I've ever read (though this probably leans significantly more SF--), this was brilliantly paced, aside from a few strange decisions towards the end.
He takes some big gambles with story structure as a whole and I think it mostly paid off brilliantly, with 1-2 miscues that crap out but are yanked off stage so fast it's not all that bad.
Bear has some strange moments writing women in this book. Initially, I thought he was doing "a thing" but I don't think I ended up being right. He
I'll end with my highest praise: Bear manages to invent this language of looking inward, of describing neural pathways and synapse fires as if they're almost physical spaces being traveled-- of unconscious mental processes getting their gears cleaned and it is very, very impressive. Unlike anything I've ever read in that regard.
A great read. Here's to 2023!
Rest in peace Greg Bear.
This was a ton of fun. A very trippy, fast-paced ride that goes to some uncharted places.
Be advised when you first pick up this book, you're about to be immediately cracked over the head with pages of just explaining how DNA works, but it fades pretty quickly as the real story begins. Initially, I thought we were in for another genius's vanity project to flex how much they understand about microbes and cell behavior-- but what I got was a rich, philosophical thriller wrapped in a body-horror package that John Carpenter would blush at.
Bear looks inwards, rather than outwards for his science fiction. His ideas don't come from space, they come from the bloodstream.
The entire second half of this book is a wild ride through Artificial Intelligence and spirituality. Coming back to the beginning as I flip through and collect my thoughts, I almost can't believe the book I read is the one I started at the beginning. It's such a wild contrast-- but it definitely works.
I'm very hazy on some elements of the ending, but I think there is a very healthy amount of room for interpretation. He manages to paint an abstract picture and let us decide if it's ominous or benevolent. But now I've already said too much.
As someone who has bemoaned the pacing of basically every horror novel I've ever read (though this probably leans significantly more SF--), this was brilliantly paced, aside from a few strange decisions towards the end.
He takes some big gambles with story structure as a whole and I think it mostly paid off brilliantly, with 1-2 miscues that crap out but are yanked off stage so fast it's not all that bad.
Bear has some strange moments writing women in this book. Initially, I thought he was doing "a thing" but I don't think I ended up being right. He
I'll end with my highest praise: Bear manages to invent this language of looking inward, of describing neural pathways and synapse fires as if they're almost physical spaces being traveled-- of unconscious mental processes getting their gears cleaned and it is very, very impressive. Unlike anything I've ever read in that regard.
A great read. Here's to 2023!
Rise and Fire: The Origins, Science, and Evolution of the Jump Shot--and How It Transformed Basketball Forever by Shawn Fury
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
3.0
A book about basketball, yes. But really it's a book about small towns and the power of legends. It's about glory and how it fades. There are so many small things to love about this book, stories that will inspire you and break your heart.
Unfortunately, they're hidden in the ribcage surrounded by a skeleton of box scores and play-by-play accounts of long-forgotten games. And I do.... not.... care. And I'll go so far as to say I think it's poor writing. Wright Thompson (is it unfair to compare Fury to one of the all time greats? I'll tell you what, I feel silly because I thought this was a big book until I checked Goodreads and saw it has hardly any reviews. Might explain why I found it in a book store in Wyoming) manages to convey the big ideas at play first and uses box scores and shots to provide a little structure. Way too much of this book is just uninteresting recaps of games. Game stories don't make for engaging nonfiction-- that's why ESPN developed an algorithm that can produce them postgame (a sad, sad blow for sports reporters everywhere).
I really enjoyed the bits about dispelling the "myth" of a jumpshot origin, and how it's likely small-fry's all around the country developed it intuitively on their own to defeat their taller older brothers, and WWII helped the jumper spread like a virus. Well researched. Maybe *too* well researched.
A book about basketball in which the parts about basketball are the worst parts. Funny.
Unfortunately, they're hidden in the ribcage surrounded by a skeleton of box scores and play-by-play accounts of long-forgotten games. And I do.... not.... care. And I'll go so far as to say I think it's poor writing. Wright Thompson (is it unfair to compare Fury to one of the all time greats? I'll tell you what, I feel silly because I thought this was a big book until I checked Goodreads and saw it has hardly any reviews. Might explain why I found it in a book store in Wyoming) manages to convey the big ideas at play first and uses box scores and shots to provide a little structure. Way too much of this book is just uninteresting recaps of games. Game stories don't make for engaging nonfiction-- that's why ESPN developed an algorithm that can produce them postgame (a sad, sad blow for sports reporters everywhere).
I really enjoyed the bits about dispelling the "myth" of a jumpshot origin, and how it's likely small-fry's all around the country developed it intuitively on their own to defeat their taller older brothers, and WWII helped the jumper spread like a virus. Well researched. Maybe *too* well researched.
A book about basketball in which the parts about basketball are the worst parts. Funny.
The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
This is my least favorite Abercrombie to date, but it's still a strong 3-4.
In many ways, I think this book sets out with a similar objective as what Starship Troopers tried to do, but it was executed better here. Both in clarity, profundity, and style.
Abercrombie packs this thing to the gills with bit players and sideshow acts that often steal the show of his other books. It was as if there were too many in his universe and he had to consolidate them in the meat grinder.
Craw is a terrific character, and Calder has some good moments. Gorst is probably the least entertaining POV character we've had to spend time with out of the first five books in this series. His inner monologue is a little too visible, a little too psychotic (and not in a fun way, like Friendly's dice obsession in Best Served Cold) and even a touch annoying at times when his constant asides break up the flow of what should be an easily readable sentence. And overall he's just not too interesting of a character.
Finree was captivating for much of it, but I feel her arc had a big story beat missing at the end that I can't quite put my thumb on.
I've LOVED the way Abercrombie has subverted expectations in this series, truly loved it. He goes back to his bag of tricks yet again but it was a little predictable, and he also left a few bullets in the chamber. There is one character in particular that has an incredibly cool introduction and then is simply shelved for the whole book.
Disappointing, but Abercrombie is really good at this. His floor is very high.
In many ways, I think this book sets out with a similar objective as what Starship Troopers tried to do, but it was executed better here. Both in clarity, profundity, and style.
Abercrombie packs this thing to the gills with bit players and sideshow acts that often steal the show of his other books. It was as if there were too many in his universe and he had to consolidate them in the meat grinder.
Craw is a terrific character, and Calder has some good moments. Gorst is probably the least entertaining POV character we've had to spend time with out of the first five books in this series. His inner monologue is a little too visible, a little too psychotic (and not in a fun way, like Friendly's dice obsession in Best Served Cold) and even a touch annoying at times when his constant asides break up the flow of what should be an easily readable sentence. And overall he's just not too interesting of a character.
Finree was captivating for much of it, but I feel her arc had a big story beat missing at the end that I can't quite put my thumb on.
I've LOVED the way Abercrombie has subverted expectations in this series, truly loved it. He goes back to his bag of tricks yet again but it was a little predictable, and he also left a few bullets in the chamber. There is one character in particular that has an incredibly cool introduction and then is simply shelved for the whole book.
Disappointing, but Abercrombie is really good at this. His floor is very high.