Ender’s Shadow, Orson Scott Card (TOR, 2005)

Posted on February 23, 2012 by
Cover of "Ender's Shadow"

Grade: Β — Fantastic book within the genre, probably worth reading regardless of which genre’s you like, but has a setting or style that may not appeal to individuals who are not fans of a given genre.  

In brief:

Ender’s Shadow by Orson Scott Card, is a companion/parallel tale to his brilliant novel Ender’s Game.  It effectively tells the same story as the original but from a different Point of View (POV), and while this sounds like a set up for a miserable book, it is anything but.  If you enjoyed Ender’s Game it is well worth a look, and if you haven’t read it, you will still enjoy this book without picking up the other (but I’d still read Ender’s Game first). 

Setting:

The mid-to-Far future where humanity is in a xenocidic war with a ruthless alien species. Interstellar transport exists, though at slower-than-light-speeds, but communications can be conducted Faster-than-light.

In Depth:

Ender’s Shadow proved to be a very hard book to grade. I had to look at it as both a sequel of sorts, and as a stand-alone novel in its own terms.  Thus to evaluate it, I had to try to imagine what it would be like to read this if I was not already familiar with Ender’s Game.  In the end, I gave it a Beta rating because it is good, but necessarily derivative of its predecessor.  Having said that, I suspect someone who reads this book on its own will thoroughly enjoy it without reading the prequel, and that is a testimony to Orson Scott Card’s writing.

In essence, Ender’s Shadow looks at the events that form the central plotline of Ender’s Game from a different point of view: that of Ender’s Second in Command, Bean.  It does not, however, make the mistake of retelling Ender’s story.  Rather it is wholly a book about Bean, who he is and how he came to be.  It begins when Bean is just two years old, and trying to survive in the Ghetto streets of a nightmare vision of Rotterdam in the future.  He is exceptionally small and weak for his age, but hyper intelligent, which allows him to make his way until he finds help from some of his more kind hearted fellow urchins.  Yet, this is no happy-go-lucky, sanitized Oliver Twist story; it shows child-gangs in a realistic combination of kind and cruel that are earmarks of a classic Orson Scott Card tale.  It also creates a fascinating counter-point character to Ender: the cunning, cold and yet totally sympathetic Bean.

Though I am not a huge fan of graphic novels, I thought this image did a good job of portraying the disfunctional, ghetto-esque nature of Bean's early childhood

What makes Bean a truly interesting character is that he is fundamentally calculating and aloof.  Even his signs of affection are thought out in order to manipulate others. Yet he remains sympathetic, even as he combats his nemesis Achille.  The great strength of Bean is that understands driving force of other individuals and as such makes a perfect candidate for Battle School, once his talents are discovered.  Unlike Ender, however, his cruel upbringing and inhuman calculations make his far less charismatic than the boy to whom he will become a shadow. In creating such a different character with such a different arc, Card manages to pull off the impossible: he kept me interested in a story that I already knew the end of.

Once Bean is in Battle School, the story follows a parallel course to that of Ender’s Game.  Yet we are not watching Ender’s trials and tribulations in that hard environment, we are watching Beans.  Thus the story is unique enough that one keeps turning the pages despite the foreknowledge of how things will turn out. 

While one could easily read this book as a stand-alone, I would still read Ender’s Game first.  After all, if one knows how the Bugger War (yes… giggles), turns out I don’t think you would enjoy that book as much as it deserves, while I did enjoy Ender’s Shadow just perfectly having read the initial book. 

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The Silent Oligarch, Christopher Morgan Jones (Penguin Press, 2012 {Penguin Audio, Narrator: Jason Culp})

Posted on February 16, 2012 by

Grade: Β — Fantastic book within the genre, probably worth reading regardless of which genre’s you like, but has a setting or style that may not appeal to individuals who are not fans of a given genre.

In brief:

The Silent Oligarch is the debut novel by Christopher Morgan Jones.  Loosely based on events that occurred to him and his colleagues while working in the world of corporate intelligence, it is a fascinating tale of espionage and money laundering.  The book is neither a Spy Thriller, nor a Mystery, but an Espionage novel of the highest caliber that I recommend without reservation. 

Setting:

Modern Europe (1998-2009 and after), with some scenes in some of the Asian Republics of the former Soviet Union and one scene in the Caymans (considering the topic, there had to be really).

In Depth:

One never knows what to expect when one is sent a book by a new author, and I started with a skeptical eye.  This inherent skepticism was added to when I read its blip-vert and saw it defined as Espionage novel.  Most of so-called Espionage Novels are really just mundane Spy-Thrillers.  This book, however, was anything but.  It was a grippingly tense tale of money laundering which was neither a Mystery[1] nor Thriller[2], but a true character driven story about modern espionage. 

To that end, one should be prepared for a slow steady pace that builds in intrigue and empathy until one cannot put it down.  The book starts with a prologue in the third person present tense, which is a bold move for a first novel.  Most novels in English are told in the third person past tense, and as a result, books in the present tense often sound odd to the reader (or in this case, listener). Jones manages to pull it off, however, partially because by the beginning of the first chapter, the book returns to the standard third person past tense and sticks to it throughout. 

Beyond that, the story systematically switches between two points-of-view throughout: that of Ben Webster (the investigator), and that of Richard Lock (the money launderer). These characters are strong and fascinating, and Jones’ writing shines as he gradually builds sympathy for even the most un sympathetic of characters. It takes a lot of skill to build compassion with a corporate spy and a money launderer, but by a third of the way through the novel one is totally invested in them. 

Penguin's Press Paage Including Interview with Christopher Morgan Jones

What is more, Jones manages to build tension despite the fact that there is a near-complete reveal throughout the story.  The two POV characters are on opposite sides of the conflict, so one has pretty clear idea of what is going on behind the scenes throughout. Even so, the details of how the different schemes work, how the plot will tie it together, and how the characters will face the growing conflict is the core of the tale keeps one turning pages throughout. 

What is more, Jones manages to avoid any of the cheap tricks that ruin so many mysteries, spy novels and espionage tales.[3]  In fact, quite the opposite, you as the reader know more than either POV characters.

Perhaps best of all, is the element of realism in the conclusion that is perfectly balanced with a sense of closure.  One does not get a total reveal of all questions raised through the book, but at the end of the novel one feels a sense of satisfaction.  At the end, the story is done, the character arcs complete and reader content at having read a well crafted book. 

I highly recommend this to anyone who likes tales of espionage of the John LeCarré school, and eagerly anticipate Jones’ next book. 

Notes about the Audio Edition:

I must admit that I was initially confused by Penguin Audio’s use of Jason Culp as a narrator for this story.  He has a good voice, and a does a superb job, but he is very American.  This is a British Book, by a British Author about an Englishman and a Dutchman who grew up in England.  So with so many fine British actors out there… why a Yank?

By midway through the novel, however, Culp’s skill in accents had shown through. He is the rare American who can actually do a realistic British accent,[4] and what is more, he can do it well enough that different characters actually sound like different characters, with subtlety in their voices rather than regional accents making them stand out.  His Russian and other accents aren’t bad either and in short order one forgets about the nationality of the reader and is intent on the content of the book. 

Indeed, Culp manages to do that most crucial of things while narrating a novel: he lets the text speak for itself.  His style is subdued and while he clearly gives individual identity to each character he reads in the book, he does not let his inner thespian take over.  As a result, one has an excellent “read” as one listens to his narration. 

[1] One immediately knows who is doing what, and while there are some mysteries to be answered, it is in no way a who-dunnit type of tale.

[2] While there is action that occurs in this book, there are no car chases, gun battles, etc.  It tells a tense tale ala LeCarré or Church, not an action packed adventure of the Flemming or Ludlum school.

[3] E.g. The hero (whose Point-of-view you’ve been in the whole time) looks at a piece of paper that tells you the answer of the mystery, or looks behind a hedge and sees the solution but you as the reader are not told what they learn except at the end of the story.

My favorite of these agonizing elements is in Tom Clancy‘s The Hunt for Red October where Jack Ryan is talking to someone (the SSN Commander, the head of the CIA… I can’t remember, someone) and comes up with a plan of action, and rather than telling it to them, he writes it down on a piece of paper which we are not shown as the reader.  That’s bad enough in a movie, but in a book?  REALLY?  In any case, that NEVER happens in this book. 

[4] Oh there are lots of Americans who think they can do a British accent, and visa versa, but very very few can.

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Off Armageddon Reef: Safehold Series Book 1, David Weber (Tor, 2007 {McMillan Audio, Narrator: Oliver Wyman})

Posted on February 9, 2012 by

Grade: Δ — A good enough read, but only buy it if you like the genre.

In brief:

Off Armageddon Reef by David Weber is a good enough read if you enjoy Military Science Fiction, but is likely to prove un-engaging if you do not already care for the genre. Taking its basic premise from A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, it is the tale of an android loaded with a young woman’s memories who is tasked with introducing technology into a secret space colony governed by a technophobic theocracy.

Weber has given it an overly long backstory and the text suffers from many of the complaints of MilFic in general, but also has very interesting twists and shows that as ever, Weber is anything but a simplistic author. 

Setting:

Far future where humanity is threatened by an alien society with superior technology and numbers, with the bulk of the action taking place on humanity’s last holdout: the planet of Safehaven.  Safehaven is a world where all memory of technology has been wiped out in order to ensure the aliens do not find it.

In Depth:

Off Armageddon Reef has both some of Weber’s best writing, and some of his most infuriating writing tied together in a single tale.  There is a very very long set up which, to be honest, could probably have been bypassed all together.  Indeed, I don’t even really know how far into the book it is before the actual plot begins to unfold, but it is a long way indeed. 

Once it begins, it has many enticing bits, but suffers from Weber’s tendency to tell instead of show.  There are huge sections that consist of nothing but talking heads describing and discussing issues, then formulating a plan.  These are followed by chapters discussing how the plan worked out, rather than actually showing the action as it occurs.  Furthermore, ideas are discussed and described to death rather than assuming the reader might actually remember the idea from ten pages before.  Thus, it suffers from the dread, GET ON WITH IT syndrome.

Having said that, there are also some very interesting and engaging elements of this book, and the combat scenes are very well described indeed.  Furthermore, the basic concept is quite intriguing, and well worth discussion here. 

No Spoilers I promise… well that’s not fair.  I won’t give spoilers about the actual plot, but there is an enormously overlong background bit that I will give away because one gets that idea from the jacket cover.[1]

While expanding into space, humanity discovers the existence of a race of extremely xenophobic space going aliens called the Gbaba.  The Gbaba have a tendency wipe out any other spacefaring aliens they come across, and seem to be able to detect advanced technology.  Before too long, humanity looks like it is the next casualty on the Gbaba’s list.  Except…

During the last desperate battle, humanity pulls off a daring ploy and manages to launch a hidden set of colony ships to escape to the far and beyond.  Their plan is simple, set up a colony that has no access to post-medieval technology so that they will go undetected.  They do this by wiping the memories of the settlers and creating a technophobic theocratic society designed to brutally suppress any advances in religion. Not everyone involved in this plan agrees with the way it is to be implemented, but those in power annihilate the opposition.

Unbeknownst to those in power, however, the opposition group created a fall back plan of their own.  Centuries after the colony is set up, a totally lifelike android with the memories of a talented young woman named Nimue Alban is awakened inside a secret stronghold that has a hidden cache of technology and weapons.  With this android’s technologically superior knowledge, and her nigh-on-indestructible body, Nimue is tasked with bringing down the oppressive Church of the Awakening, and reintroducing technology before the Gbaba find humanities last strong hold and wipe them out.

The premise is quite interesting, though the human ‘bad guys’ logic is so obviously flawed it is inconceivable that they could get into power.  Even so, Weber skillfully avoids many of the criticisms I have of other out-of-time type stories.[2]  For one thing, Nimue introduces many elements of superior post-medieval (though not yet industrial revolution) technology without actually making it.  That is to say, she introduces the lateen rig to ships, but doesn’t actually go about making it.  She just says how it works and the local artisans and craftsmen make it.  Similarly, she introduces diagrams and plans for better cannons and defenses, but it is up to the local gunsmiths to make them.  She shows the design of a cotton gin, but the locals develop it in a manner that is suited to native flora of the world. 

This use of local talent skillfully avoids the problems I’ve had with some books that show characters simply looking up how to build something and then building it without problem.  Indeed, it is something that always drives me nuts about many time-travel stories, very few reference books tell you how to actually BUILD a steam engine without use of modern accessories, and even fewer people know how to do it without the reference book.  But I digress.

Unfortunately, Off Armageddon Reef does still suffer from some ailments found in many MilFic stories. Most notably in this tale, the good guys are basically both Good and Right, and the bad guys (human at least… we never actually see the Gbaba) are both Bad and Wrong.  Whenever we meet someone working for the good guy King that Namue decides to support, they are good and intelligent people.  There are no stupid good guys working for the King, and no smart but skeezy people either.  I really do long to see the incredibly useful but just down right foul person working for the good guys… really really I do.

The combat, however, is really quite well described. Be it the sword fights at the start of the tale,[3] or the maritime naval battles[4] that are at the conclusion, the combat is reasonably well done and quite engaging.  Oh, the naval engagements are no Forrester or O’Brien, but they’re good fun.  Besides, I must admit that despite my own preferences, there are probably not that many people who would be interested in how the sails are rigged and what tack it taken while approaching an enemy ship sooooooo….

Added to good combat and some interesting politics, this story also answers some clear questions about the author:

  1. David Weber just really really really likes ships and naval battles.[5]
  2. David Weber really really really has a thing for hot chocolate.
  3. David Weber likes writing from the POV of strong female officers, even when they are forced to undergo a sex change. 

So, to sum up, I liked it, but the book could probably have lost a third to half of its length and been stronger for the process.  It also suffered a bit from the ubiquitous Good Guys Against Incompetence syndrome.  Even so, if you like Weber, I suspect you’d like this book.  If don’t, avoid this book as if it meant certain death.

Notes about the Audio Edition:

Oliver Wyman did a good job of narrating, letting the text do the story telling and using subtlety and skill to bring the story to life.  I found his pace a bit slow; slow enough that I could listen to it at 2x speed (which is not actually twice the normal speed) and enjoy it just as much.  Come to think of it, that might have added to my enjoyment because there were times the story dragged.

Beyond that, McMillan Audio did a good job with this book, though the music at the opening is a bit OTT.  Still, the audio quality was solid throughout and they let the story tell itself rather than spice it up with crappy sound effects.  In short, it was the kind of professional reading that I have come to expect and enjoy from McMillan Audio.

[1] Yes.  That’s right, probably a third to half of the book is summed up quite neatly in the three paragraph book description on Amazon… so why does it take hundreds of pages to get there in the story?  Because brevity is not Weber’s strong suit. 

P.S.  It’s not my strong suit either.  You may have noticed.

[2] Yes, yes I know.  This is not an out-of time story,  there is no time travel or anything vaguely like it, but this is a story about someone with superior technology going into a society with Medieval technology and giving them an advantage based on that.  It is, in a sense, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court… in space.

[3] The real tale… the very start of the story, the bit I outlined here, is filled with starships.

[4] As opposed to space naval battles… incase you were wondering.

[5] Me too!  .  Good on ya’ mate!

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Another excerpt from HMS Hunter: Strings on a Shadow Puppet, by Thomas L. Evans (©2003).

Posted on February 2, 2012 by

Yes... yes,.. its the same image I used last week. Same book, what do you want?

Yes… another excerpt from my book…. don’t worrry, I’ll go back to reviews next week.

HMS Hunter: Strings on a Shadow Puppet© 2003

Lights flashed and strobed in time to the music. Alyiar could feel the rhythm in his chest as he walked around the edge of the dance floor. His eyes studied the erotically writhing forms of the young hierarchs, seeking out the wealthiest and spotting those who protected them. The dance floor was the center of the club, a series of huge circular sunken stages filled with bodies and lit by lasers and synchronized lights. The rest of the nightclub was a darkened array of bars and corner nooks; hardly secluded, but more private than the dance arena where the sons and the daughters of the ruling classes displayed themselves. It was in those more darkened corners that the threats would lurk, the body-guards and rent-a-cops meant to look after the burgeoning young elite. Alyiar noted each one, recording their faces and locations, but he didn’t focus on it. He simply passed the info on to those who would later neutralize the threats. Tonight, security was not his assignment. Inside his mind a silent chime went off. It was almost time to put on his game face. He moved into position, his eyes lighting upon Bolyacov doing the same. No matter what features she wore, Alyiar always recognized her. A sleepy smile passed over her face, showing that she had made him as well. He pretended to ignore her and got to his post: a darkened spot overlooking the dance floor. Hovering over the dance floor was the image of the musician dressed in glitter and little else; a holographic singer undulating her belly and waving her arms with the movements of a marionetteer. Below her, the half naked men and women moved as if tied to unseen strings. Some leaped high into the air, spun and came down meters away. Displays made possible by cybernetics, genetic mods or muscle grafts — playthings for the ultra rich. The dancers were beautiful, at least, the humans were. Modified by knife or test tube, they were stylishly perfect to a point that disgusted Alyiar. The fact that, for the moment, he shared that perfection was irrelevant. He would change in a few moments. Only the sophants stood out as different, and there were not many of them. A few slimies and a couple of bugeyes, just enough for diversity’s sake. One kept drawing his eyes, the great furry form of the child of Senator Futhmoarthen stood a full meter taller than its dance companion. Red-brown hair flowing wildly as it danced, it was bipedal, but if it had any arms Alyiar couldn’t make them out. Other than hair and legs, the only feature that he could see were the rows of eyes that descended in tri-lateral symmetry. Elsewhere another sophant scuttled like a meter wide crab, occasionally popping up and down into his view with its ludicrous movements. Alyiar couldn’t make out if it was an encoutersuit or its natural form. He set a predictor to note the creature’s likely continued positions. Alyiar felt the vibration he’d been waiting for. A dull rumble in the distance went unnoticed by the celebrants, but caused a series of subtle movements among the private security. Boliacov would no doubt have been watching for the signs in others that Alyiar ignored, the tells that would give away the security that had managed to remain unnoticed. Alyiar didn’t care. He had made his marks already and now it was game time. Even as the sound wave from the far off bomb shook the darkened windows, Alyiar was transforming. His face stretched like rubber, his features moving from the innocuously beautiful to the stylized bizarre. As subdermal nano- and micro-tech activated, his skull lengthened, his hair grew, his eyes stretched and slanted to an unnatural angle. Swirling lines and dotted patterns formed on his skin, his limbs grew as his telescoping bones gave him ectomorphic proportions. From underneath his sleeves pistols were launched into each hand, and he was not alone. Others, including Bolyiacov, had similarly transformed and moved out from the shadows. Gunshots rang out through the nightclub as he and his fellow transforming revolutionaries stepped into view. Screams sounded, bodies fell. The staccato sound of a machine gun came from the direction of the front door. Someone had tried to be a hero. Wylde would have taken care of them. In the center of the dance floor Rubo had taken form: a Wayang Stalker like himself, long hair curling into a spiral above his elongated stylized head. Alyiar chuckled when he recognized their leader; he had made him out to be a prime target. “Quiet!” Rubo shouted, submachine guns in each hand, “Everyone get feckin’ down on the ground now!” “Wallets! Jewelry!”Hastingssaid, moving through the crowd with a bag. Here and there a man or a woman fell, body guards singled out by Bolyacov’s deadly aim. Alyiar kept his eyes open for new threats. His targets were already marked and mapped to be taken at the end, kidnapped and ransomed for more money than the average citizen made in a lifetime. In the ghettos Alyiar could only have dreamed of the kind of wealth as they would make in this attack, and this was only one cell making a single raid. The earlier bombs, one in the Army barracks, one at Imperial Hospital, would have signaled a dozen such attacks in the city. Banks, markets, bars and private residences would be cleaned out tonight. That money would help to fund further attacks, after passing a percentage on to the Dalang to help fund the revolution against the Imperialists who had stolen Sophyan culture.

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An Excerpt from HMS Hunter: Strings on a Shadow Puppet, Thomas L. Evans (©2003)

Posted on January 26, 2012 by

Well, I needed an image... ignore the by George Laurence bit... that comes from when I considered using a pen name...

 HMS Hunter: Strings on a Shadow Puppet:

CHAPTER 1

Alex’s body slumped in the chair like an exhausted boxer between bouts; eyes closed, a small drip of saliva touching the side of his mouth. His mind, however, was keenly focused on the VR simulation he was jacked into. It was a recording of the kind of recent event that he was a sad expert in. He took in every detail, but did not try to interact with the proceedings.  It wasn’t that kind of sim.

As in the real world, Alex’s virtual avatar was tall and well built with the tell tale prismatic eyes that revealed his genetically modified background: wheels of color that told of his mandellan descent.   He wore the double breasted black uniform of the Sophyan Imperial Navy, and around its high collar were the two golden laurel leaves denoting his rank and status.

His dark hair did not move in the breeze that shuffled scraps of paper across the asphalt, nor did he try to dodge the ball that was thrown through his form. He was too busy taking in the other details.  The red-brick façade of the school, the hand crafted leaf patterns in the iron gates, the way the last of the children ran through the doors as the bell sounded. Once they were all inside, the attendant, a sentient alien with a long central carapace and slowly undulating ambulatory organs made its way across the forecourt, picking up items that the children left behind with its hand-like suckers. 

The explosion ripped throughAndresAcademy, hurling steel, concrete and glass through the elite school; spreading a fiery cloud of smoke into the air.  Alex ducked involuntarily as a block of burning debris flew through his avatar. Had it been real he would have been as dead as the sophant was, crushed by the detritus of the blast.

A grey cloud of dust settled over the street, while torn metal and tiny limbs fell scattered across the once fine court yard.  When the rumbling ended and the last crashes of the collapsing building shook, there was a moment of silence that stretched beyond reason. A brick fell, a glass pane shattered. The first frightened sobs were followed by screams of horror and pain.  Not all the cries were human, nor were all the body parts. 

Fires flickered in the background.  A small child, human, walked out from a gutted classroom, still holding the hand of a playmate who was not so lucky.  The bellows of a Larquianne sounded loudly over that of its surviving classmates.  It crawled out from beneath a pile of rubble, using its three forearms to pull itself free.  Its black fur was matted with blood, and its bottom half was missing.  Its cries soon quieted to a whimper, then faded all together. 

Sirens approached quickly, and wheels screeched to a halt as rescue workers raced from their vehicles.  Had Alex actually been there, he might have been able to stop them. Such a horror had never happened on this world before, and they weren’t ready for the second blast.  It was worse than the first. It contained airborne nanotech devices that worked on the nervous system.  The screams of the rescue workers drowned out those of the children.  The broadcast began immediately after the second detonation.

“The ability to control one’s own future is not a privilege, it’s a right!” The image of the figure who spoke was carried across all the comms channels by a hacker signal.  It was an extreme ectomorph, tall and ultra thin, with slanted eyes, swirling dotted tattoos, an extended cranium and high curling hair. Alex recognized the image was a stylized human.

“The ability to select one’s own government,” it continued, “is not a privilege, it’s a right.  Democracy is the only form of government that ensures these privileges remain rights — inalienable human rights. Rights that cannot be controlled by the privileged few, nor shared with bug-eyes, slimies or others whose alien ways corrupt human society! I am the Dalang, Speaker of the Wayang Liberation Front, and this is not the last you will hear from me!  Long live the Federalist Revolution!”

Alex jacked out, he did not need to see anymore.  Once more in the real world, he wiped the drool from his chin and looked at the two men who stared at him from across the well appointed library. He blinked, taking in the anachronistic leather bound volumes, the fine antique furniture and the elegant fireplace with ornate Billanoban carvings.  He drew himself straight in the chair, and looked at his audience once more.

“The other two attacks included the hijacking of a star liner and a pirate raid,” the first man said.  He was a well built man with golden skin and almond eyes, and clearly held authority in the room. 

“Seem familiar?” the second, older man asked. He had silver hair and a hawkish nose.  His eyes were locked on Alex.   

 ”The rhetoric is different,” Alex said in the calm plummy tones of the long entitled and highly educated upper class. His jaw was clenched tightly, the muscles in his cheeks worked beneath the skin.

“The methods are identical,” the first man said. His voice as aristocratic as Alex’s.

Alex stood and walked across the room, his hands behind his back. He looked out the window at the terreformed nature that lay beyond.  He didn’t notice any of it.

“This is your chance, Alex. Your chance to set things right.” the second man leaned forward with a knowing smile. “You can get the people who were behind the Silver Slipper.”

Alex turned and looked at them both, as if considering what they had to say.  Yet they already knew his answer and so did Alex.

 

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The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Robert A Heinlien (Tom Doherty Associates, 1966 {Blackstone Audio, Inc., Narrator: Lloyd James, 2002})

Posted on January 19, 2012 by

Grade: Γ — A good or even fantastic book within the genre, possibly worth reading regardless of which genre’s you like, but has a setting or style that is likely to be unappealing to individuals who are not fans of a given genre.    

In brief:

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A Heinlien is a classic of the Science Fiction world.  It is a tale of violent social revolution on the moon, and draws heavily from historic events in both the American and Russian revolutions.  Yet it is its own story, filled with classic Heinlienisms, and makes for a compelling tale of rebellion that focuses more on the political maneuverings than it does on the violence associated with it.  Even so, it remains a Ripping Yarn with compelling human interests. 

Setting:

The Moon, 2076 (with some scenes on Earth)

In Depth:

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is one of Robert A Heinlien’s best stories. It takes elements from both the American and Russian Revolutions and turns them into a fascinating tale of social revolution and revolt on the moon. 

It is a Ripping Yarn, no doubt about that, but funny enough focuses not so much on the violence of the revolt, but on the political events and interactions that bring that revolt to bare.  How it does this while still remaining a primarily action based story is beyond me.  But it works. 

That is not to say it does not have some dated concepts (well, it was written almost forty years ago) and some very Heinlein-esque views of marriage and particularly women.  Still, if one can look beyond those, shall we say, interesting ideas, it is a great tale of rebellion and social justice. 

The premise is simple: The Moon is populated by a series of colonies that were established for different reasons.  Some were scientific, others purely economic, but a very large percentage of them were penal colonies.  Yet over the generations, this has changed, and the present population of the Moon are the descendents of these individuals who have developed their own society and forms of social networks (e.g. There are numerous forms of marriage, most of which are polygamous, and primarily based on keeping control of family assets). 

These colonies as a whole are overseen by a Governer General, and his security forces, and the products that the Moon produces are sent to Earth with virtually nothing given in return (other than air, etc.).  As the population gradually grows discontented they raise protest, but such events are cracked down upon severely.  Then, an AI develops out of the Lunar computer network and, well… the rest would be a spoiler.

It is fun book, with some very good social points that seem particularly poignant in the Winter after the Arab Spring.

Notes about the Audio Edition:

Blackstone Audio delivers another fine product.  Well produced and skillfully read by Lloyd James.  James uses accents throughout this first person telling which initially put me off, but in very short order I found that his skill drew me in and added to the tale.  In the end, I am delighted he read the book in the form he did, and enjoyed it all the more because of it.

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Posted in Classic Sci Fi, Hard SciFi, Identity, Political Drama, Ripping Yarn, Science Fiction, Stand Alone Novel, Strong Characters, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Death Benefit, Robin Cook (Penguin Books, 2011){Penguin Audio, 2011; Narrator: George Guidall}

Posted on January 12, 2012 by

Grade: Δ — A good, solid read, but only buy it if you like the genre.

This book was submitted to the Archaeologist’s Guide to the Galaxy by Penguin Audio for review.

In brief:

Death Benefit is the latest medical crime thriller by Robin Cook.  It is a well written and an engaging tale where the reader knows more than the protagonist, but could have been better (in my view) had it been written as a true mystery. Even so, it has engaging characters and interesting element of hard biological science fiction that comes close to matching reality.  If you like medical thrillers or science crime fiction, you will enjoy this book.

Setting:

Modern Day United States, mostly New York City (NY) with some scenes elsewhere.

In Depth:

It is rather amusing that the first book I’ve been asked to review by Penguin Audio is Robin Cook’s new release, Death Benefit.  Amusing because A: I have just picked up Life Insurance, and (more importantly) B: I am certain that they had no idea my wife is a biochemist with an MD and a PhD[1] who I could check the science against. Of course, with my educated but limited mind, the science behind it sounded completely plausible.  To a professional, of course, Robin Cook’s ideas didn’t quite stand up.  Still, his medical background did give him a more plausible bit of science than 99% of Science Fiction and created a very very interesting premise for his tale.  Amusingly enough, the least plausible aspect of the tale is not in the science, but in what one of the characters was expected to do in a one month window… but Cook notes that within the text.

Combined with an interesting, believable and sympathetically unsympathetic main character, this created a perfect page turner thriller that kept me engaged throughout the tale.  Pia Grazdani, a fourth year medical student at Columbia University, is a beautiful woman of Albanian decent who grew up inside New York’s troubled social services program.  With some help and intervention by others, her innate intelligence allowed her to excel scholastically and achieve a place in Med School, but left her emotionally distant and socially inept.  Once in Med School, she becomes adopted by the even more socially inept Nobel Laureate in Biochemistry who brings her into an exciting form of stem cell research that promises to extend the lives of individuals with all sorts of diseases.  Unfortunately, this runs afoul of the financial plans of powerful men and thus the thriller begins.

Though Pia knows nothing about the plot against her mentor until the end of the tale, we as readers know the full extent of the conflict, and to be honest, I feel this was a mistake by Cook. He has enough of a story line here that he could have written a brilliantly convoluted but believable conspiracy mystery that would have ranked at least a Beta rating.  Unfortunately (for me anyways), he had “total villain reveal” throughout and the result was an enjoyable book, but one aimed only to a thriller audience. Additionally, there were a few elements of the tale that were a bit too ‘on-the-nose.’  Connections between Pia’s past and the criminals were not really necessary, nor did the ties between her stalwart helper/dysfunctional romantic interest George and the plot serve any real purpose but to infringe on my suspension of disbelief.  Even so, the brilliantly conceived character of Pia, and that of her mentor Dr. Rothman, really kept me intrigued through the tale.  

Having said that, many of the secondary characters came off as just a bit archetypal.  George, the helper/romantic interest, was a little unbelievable.  Had he been less of a handsome all star, his total infatuation with Pia would have been more believable.  Even so, the totally dysfunctional nature of their relationship and the role-reversal elements there in was very well conceived and delivered.  Additionally, some of villains were a bit too villainous for my liking. 

Yet, despite these complaints, I enjoyed this story and was fascinated by the medical and scientific concepts within it.  It is very rare indeed that I ask an expert about the science facts of any story, but Cook delivered these so well that I happily pulled my wife into the mix.  If you like crime or medical thrillers, I would highly recommend this book. It is not, however, a mystery.  

Notes about the Audio Edition:

Penguin Audio has produced a superior quality audiobook, with excellent editing and production values. 

The narrator, George Guidall, is one of the best narrators in the audiobook world, and lives up to his reputation in this novel.  He brought life to the characters without ever once allowing his acting to intrude on the narrative of the book.   As ever, it was a pleasure to listen to him. 

[1] OK, it’s really a DPhil, but since DPhil is simply the Oxonian abbreviation of Doctor of Philosophy, it is really the same thing.  In fact, it is older because Oxford is older than Cambridge, who initiated the PhD abbreviation and… oh, sorry.  I’ll get on with it.

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Posted in Conspiracy, Crime Thriller, Hard SciFi, Medical Crime Thriller, Science Fiction, Stand Alone Novel, Strong Characters | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments