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So this is one of the books that Silvery Dude was trying to persuade me to read because he had read and enjoyed it, and it certainly sounded interesting and became a must read (a) when the Book God mentioned he had a book of short stories by the same author which he regarded highly and (b) it became necessary to quieten Silvery Dude down.
And it really did turn out to be a smashing little story, and I don’t use those adjectives as a means of putting this book down, because it is just lovely with charming characters and a simple but effective plot structure, and the story moves forward at a solid pace and it was a really positive experience to read.
And I really should learn to breathe grammatically. But never mind, I’m sure you catch my drift.
The Kings of Eternity takes place across two time periods – 1935 when Jonathan Langham and Edward Vaughan go to the country to help their friend deal with what turns out to be an incursion from another world (really not giving anything away here, its in the blurb and the front cover artwork kind of gives it away), and 1999 when we find Daniel Langham, a famous author living a life of seclusion on a Greek island , where the secrets of the past threaten to catch him up.
So on the one hand we have a marvelous HG Wells type story and on other we have what turns out to be rather a sweet love story, and of course the two will merge and we will understand what’s been going on all along.
Actually, anyone who has read a lot of sci-fi will work out quite early on what’s going on and I certainly found it quite easy to work out how this was all going to end. But that doesn’t matter. Because the HG Wells bits are fabulous, the love story is really sweet and all the characters that you are supposed to be rooting for are really nice.
I don’t think it is a “novel of vast scope and depth” as it says in the blurb on my edition, but it is “imbued with humanity and characters you’ll come to love”
I certainly did so, and can recommend it.
Astonishingly I haven’t talked about books that I have read at all this year, my last one being Mister Creecher in December, so it’s nice to not only have finished a book but to be able to talk about it. And this is going to be an interesting one as I feel as if almost everyone in the world who is likely to read The Hunger Games has already done so, and I came to the book having read quite a bit already about the film version which will come out very soon.
I’m not really going to talk about the story as that’s kind of out there already because of the huge popularity of the trilogy and the film and the internet chatter about who is playing whom and what changes may have been made. And I suppose in some respects its difficult to give a full review to a book which clearly doesn’t stand alone; it ends at a point where you can guess that the story is going to take off in another direction.
I’m also aware of the criticism some have made of the author and whether she had or hadn’t read (or seen) Battle Royale which has similar themes (though I may not be competent to comment on as I haven’t seen/read it) and should therefore have acknowledged its influence.
So I read it with all this stuff in the background and the distractions perhaps made it difficult to get into the story but once I did get involved I really wanted to find out who was going to survive. It has real pace and some very interesting observations on how people behave when they are forced to fight not just for their own survival but the fate of their community as well.
Katniss is a very attractive heroine and there are some fabulous supporting characters, but it felt unfinished to me because it’s clearly part of a sequence and perhaps I can only really take a complete view when I’ve read the other two, which I fully attend to do. However, I did enjoy it and do want to know how the whole thing turns out.
You know a new year has started when Carl’s Science Fiction Experience is announced! As carl himself says this isn’t a challenege, more of a window in which we all get to share our experiences of science fiction in books, TV, films and so on.
As always I’m going to try to read as much sci-fi as I can between 1 January and 29 February, but also thought I would do something a little different this year. I asked the Book God, an afficionado of sci-fi since the year dot, to pick two books from his collection that he thought I should read and he came up with the following:
- A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge – “a space saga of awesome conception, and a rivetting novel of conflict, love, loss and survival“
- The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester – “in a world in which the police have telepathic powers, how do you get away with murder?”
That looks like a pretty good start to me.
Going through a bit of a “must buy” phase at the moment, and these are the newest additions to the TBR pile (which now resembles one of the Alps….)
- The Deadly Space Between by Patricia Duncker: after the success of The Composer (as reviewed here), why read the books by her that I already have when I can go out and buy a new one?
- Famous Players by Rick Geary: following on from Jack the Ripper, I thought I’d try one of the titles from the Treasury of XXth Century Murder
- A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan: “You must read this!” said Silvery Dude; I always do what I am told….
- The Fallen Blade by Jon Courtenay Grimwood: this is actually sort of a present for the Book God but once I saw it I realised I want to read it too, a blend of history and dark fantasy in 1407 Venice
- The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins: everyone will know what this is all about; with the film being heavily touted I thought I should give this a go;
- Wolf Brother by Michelle Paver: having thoroughly enjoyed Dark Matter and following a recommendation from Silvery Dude, I thought I would try her children’s series;
- Your Presence is Required at Suvanto by Maile Chapman: I know absolutely nothing about this book, it was simply lying on a table in the Wimbledon branch of Waterstone’s and I liked the cover and found the idea of a sanatorium in early twentieth century Finland intriguing;
- The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes: the only one of the Booker long list that has piqued my interest so far;
- How to be a Woman by Caitlin Moran: bought because I follow her on Twitter and everyone (including the young woman at the till in Waterstone’s while I was paying for it) told me how funny it was;
- The Possession of Dr Forrest by Richard T Kelly: Scottish doctors, friends since boyhood, one goes missing, bizarre, unnerving, menacing, one for RIP
It’s good to be excited by books again.
So I am clearly the last person in the universe to have read this novel but I don’t care, sometimes it’s good to come at these things when everyone else has had their say and the initial fuss has died down, though I guess the film version had interest flaring up a bit and I must admit that it was the movie adaptation that got me thinking that I should probably have a go at this.
And breathe.
So this is the story of Kathy, Ruth and Tommy and their special upbringing at Hailsham and how they find out what that really means. The story is told looking back by Kathy, who can probably be argued is an unreliable narrator but I’m not so sure that is the case here; we all look at the past from our own perspective and try as hard as we might we can’t help make others look worse and ourselves look better even while we think we don’t. I won’t say much more about the plot (such as it is) because you are either one of the few people still not to have read it in which case I don’t want to spoil it, or you have read it so you already know.
I rather like Ishiguro, though I’ve probably only read his first three novels, Remains of the Day being a special favourite. I know that he isn’t everyone’s cup of tea; the Book God hasn’t had a go, and Silvery Dude found The Unconsoled so frustrating that he claims to have thrown it across the room. I’m not sure I can say that I enjoyed this one as the subject matter is such that enjoyment might not actually be possible, but it was a real reading experience and I did want to find out how things would work out for them all.
I found it terribly sad, I have to say, and it’s a sadness that has lingered with me several days after I finished the book. Thinking about what it must be like to effectively have no past and no real future except the one that is created for you, and no control over your destiny, just unbearable.
I always find it interesting when a mainstream author wanders into sci-fi, though I get the impression that Ishiguro wasn’t really interested in the detail of the world he created, seeing it presumably as just a useful backdrop against which to examine his themes. And that’s my only quibble with the book; as a lover of sci-fi I had loads and loads of things I wanted to know about this world, about donations and completion and how it all worked and what actually happened, which in the novel is unsatisfyingly vague.
But I’m glad I read it and as I said, it really stuck with me
(still thinking about it now…)
So the book slump looks like it’s officially over (fingers crossed) and on Monday last I met up with Silvery Dude after work and we headed off to Forbidden Planet on London’s Shaftesbury Avenue to have a wee look at what was on the shelves. In my case this was all about spending money in a bookshop for the first time in absolutely which is why I bought more than the Dudester who was looking for something for his holiday in France at the end of the month.
I had a list; didn’t find anything that was actually on that list but didn’t do too badly either:
- Horns by Joe Hill: “now Ig is possessed of horns, and a terrible new power – he can hear people’s deepest darkest secrets – to go with his terrible new look” – ooh, murder, revenge, nastiness (signed copy too)
- Deathless by Catherynne M Valente: Cory Doctorow says this is “romantic and blood-streaked, and infused with magic so real you can feel it on your fingertips”
- Rule 34 by Charles Stross: “so how do some bizarre domestic fatalities, dodgy downloads and an international spamming network fit together?”
And afterwards, just because I wanted to, I bought this online:
- The Fall by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan: “we survivors are bloodied, we are broken, we are defeated”
Not a bad haul at all, I think. Read any of them??
I think my reading slump might just be over, and this is the book that sorted it all out. All it took was a fast-paced sci-fi thriller with zombies which I couldn’t put down to remind me how much fun books actually are and get me out of my rut.
So, this is the story of Georgia Mason and her brother Shaun, bloggers in a world where zombies are very real. Twenty years before (the book is set in 2034, so a near future thriller) the release of two viral based cures for cancer and the common cold combined to create something new and horrible which leads to the dead becoming undead in that zombie way. This infection has changed the whole world; for example, any animal weighing more than about 40lbs will convert so people don’t really have pets, livestock is very carefully controlled (although for some not controlled enough), there are no-go areas and travel is a dangerous business unless you are properly equipped.
The way the media reacted (or rather didn’t react) to the initial outbreak has led to suspicion and distrust, so new ways of getting stories out to people through accredited blogs have sprung up. And that’s where Georgia, Shaun and their colleague Buffy come in; their big break is to be selected to cover the presidential campaign of Senator Peter Ryman.
And that’s what makes this a bit different from your run-of-the-mill zombie horror story. Because the zombies and the infection and the changes to everyone’s way of life are in the background, and this is really a thriller about political campaigning, dirty tricks, conspiracy theories and the fight for the country’s direction. It just so happens that because of the zombie thing the stakes are much higher and more (un)deadly.
I loved this; just couldn’t put it down. It helps that I could visualise this as a sort of West Wing with ghouls and I did play “cast the movie” while I was reading it but it is genuinely gripping and I really wanted to know who was behind the awful things that were happening. And it also helped that I really, really liked Georgia.
The structure of the book really helps things move along too; punchy chapters interspersed with extracts from the various blog reports being posted by Georgia and her team. And in places it is genuinely moving.
So don’t let the zombies put you off, this might give you nightmares but they’re likely to be more about what politicians are willing to do to get power rather than how best to despatch the not-dead.
Looking forward to reading the sequel as soon as I can get my hands on it.
Carl over at Stainless Steel Droppings is hosting his annual Sci-fi Experience between 1 January and 28 February, a challenge that isn’t really a challenge as there are no levels etc. to aim for but just an opportunity to celebrate all things science-fictionish.
I always enjoy the opportunity to indulge my love for space opera and other such things so plan to participate once again.
Given what’s on my shelves it will be a nice way to meet the TBR Dare as well.
I hear the call of Iain M Banks, Gary Gibson and Charles Stross to name but a few…..
This is without doubt a beautifully written book. I finished it a while ago and have been mulling it over ever since, wondering what I could actually say about it without diminishing what was a truly lovely reading experience.
The Alchemy of Stone tells the story of Mattie, an automaton who has become emancipated (up to a point) and who has trained as an alchemist. It’s a dysfunctional society in which she lives, of Alchemists versus Mechanics, each with their own views on how the city should be run, and an underclass which appears to be rising up to overthrow the existing order.
Mattie treads a fine line between maintaining her independence and the need to find a way to get the thing she needs from the mechanic who made her – Loharri, who, though ostensibly letting her go, still holds the key which winds her heart.
I won’t say any more about the story itself, but it’s worth dwelling on the themes which develop within it.
This is a book about identity, what it means to be free, what it means perhaps to be a person. It’s also about class and oppression, about those who claim to know what’s best, about where women fit in to society, about the nature of difference, and about love. The quote on the cover of my edition says it better than I ever could:
A gorgeous meditation on what it means not to be human
And it has gargoyles.
And a man who absorbs the souls of the dead, who can still speak through him.
It’s steampunk at its best, with a main character of real substance, and an ending that I found moving, heart-breaking but also hopeful.
Seriously recommended. And if you’re not sure just look at Carl’s review here. Which has the wonderful cover that originally drew me to finding out about this book, though I’ve come to love the one on mine more.
I thought this was just lovely and am so glad that I was finally able to get my hands on a copy.
It is a month for favourites – Charles Stross is rapidly becoming one of the authors I leap upon (metaphorically speaking of course) as soon as something new comes out (we have lots of his stuff in the house but I am trying not to gorge myself as he is far too good to be wasted in that way) and Lee Gibbons is becoming one of my favourite sci-fi cover artists.
So Saturn’s Children is yet more space opera with a strong female lead and an extremely interesting premise, so there was no way that I was going to dislike this novel, which is a really good thriller as well as a sci-fi tale.
Freya Nakamachi-47 is a cloned synthetic person, designed to be a concubine for humans, but activated long after the human race has totally died out. The robots, for want of a better word, have built their own society which unfortunately has taken on many of the worst aspects of how humans behaved – rigidly hierarchical with everything from aristocrats to slaves, overly legalistic and potentially very harsh.
Freya gets into trouble on Venus and needs to get off-planet very quickly; to do so she takes on a job as a courier, taking contraband from Mercury to Mars. Of course, this all goes a bit pear-shaped as you might expect, and Freya’s troubles multiply as she tries to find out what’s going on, and in particular who wants to kill her.
I really enjoyed this – it’s very funny in places, the thriller bits are thrilling, Freya is a likeable character in difficult circumstances and the story had a nice pay-off as far as I was concerned. Some of the funniest parts relate to the horrors of interplanetary travel – basically not a lot of fun, takes ages, is expensive and passengers often don’t survive. The variety of robot entities, some more humanoid than others, really add to the offbeat alienness of a non-human society. And there are a number of really cool spaceships.
This is another read for the 42 Challenge, and the Sc-fi experience 2010.
Bride of the Book God 