Good hard sci-fi doesn't require perfect scientific accuracy - that'd be all but impossible, what with the whole "fi" thing there - but it benefits frGood hard sci-fi doesn't require perfect scientific accuracy - that'd be all but impossible, what with the whole "fi" thing there - but it benefits from an author doing their homework. And Peter Watts' efforts shine through in Blindsight, holding the whole contraption together in a tight little package, coursing the narrative along at a pace that gives you glimpses of its tantalizing setting without ever pausing long enough to satisfy. There's no time for that; any questions you might have about the post-scarcity Utopia get set aside as the crew of the Theseus is introduced, a misfit mutant band of the exceptionally broken, launched to the edge of the Solar system to make first contact with... something.
Details are scarce. Support is nonexistent.
I'm sure it will go well.
Blindsight may have opened with a time worn premise, but succeeded admirably at pulling me in and keeping me hooked with its execution. It is not all smiles unt sunshine. Its nihilist streak is a mile wide: from that first childhood rock fight on through to the journey home, the book revels in asking and playing with unhappy, bleak questions. The depths of space, society at large, and the betrayals of one's own oh-so-fragile mind all make it clear that existence is a scary thing filled with bitter pangs. But you know what? Some days I could really go for a good pang.
Blindsight gets a solid four stars. Rich and dreary without overstaying its welcome, it made for a perfect cold evening read. No promises on the sequel, but I'll admit it does have me tempted......more
I'd been meaning to read this for years. Picked it up cheap from some online ebook store ages ago, knowing that at some point I'd be in the mood for aI'd been meaning to read this for years. Picked it up cheap from some online ebook store ages ago, knowing that at some point I'd be in the mood for a proper intelligent sci-fi classic. Not long ago, the opportunity presented itself: near the end of the COVID lockdown, shortly after plane flight was restored, it was just me and my phone. I felt like I could use some neat escapism, so why not?
Neat escapism was not what I found here, not by a long shot. Parable of the Sower is the story of a young girl growing up during the collapse of American civilization, parked just a few years out from the current date. And while I can giggle like Nero as I read stories of over-the-top social disasters and mass destruction, this was all much too down to earth, much too real. Reading about companies eroding labor laws, about gangs of drugged-up lunatics burning down society with abandon, about the dangers of a comfortable rut that just won't last... None of it is comforting. Rather, this book is a warning sign, a curious feminist Mad Max call to arms to better yourself and prepare for the worst.
A friend of mine once said during a talk on politics that if you go left far enough, eventually you get your guns back. I wonder if he's ever read this.
Anyway, I shouldn't leave you all seeing the book as nervous, panicky survivalist propaganda. It is much, much more than that (though if it gets you thinking about preparing a proper bug-out bag, I imagine Octavia might crack a smile). The author's voice here is earnest and personal, and it's hard to find a more literal expression of someone writing about the blessing and curse of overactive empathy. The book might hit a little hard for ya. I know I'll need to read the next two items in the series at some point, but... maybe not just yet. Gonna let this first entrée simmer for a bit....more
I think if this book had been written later on, it would have been handled under Stephen King's alter ego's name. The near lack of supernatural elemenI think if this book had been written later on, it would have been handled under Stephen King's alter ego's name. The near lack of supernatural elements, the heavily judgmental tones toward a government that would run such programs as MK-Ultra... There's a lot of bitter anger in here that he usually reserves for the face he doesn't have to show the public.
The story of little Charlene "Charlie" McGee, her parents, and the monolithic bureaucracy that wants to vivisect her is as cynical and fearful an X-Men tale as you're likely to find. After having been dosed with experimental hallucinogens during their college days, Andy and his wife Vicky have a daughter, Charlie. While they each have mild psychic powers following the experiment, the child is a full-blown pyrokinetic. The story takes off with Andy and Charlie fleeing from the nebulous government organization hot in pursuit, and plows forward with surprising energy - dopey names aside (my condolences to anyone with the last name "McGee"), it's easy to care for the renegade espers, and King has always had a knack for presenting all the ugly, ignorant, arguably-insane aspects of a bureaucratic organ gone cancerous and out of control.
This is not a tale of supernatural spooks or otherwordly horrors, not really, just a rich and hardy stew of What-If History adventure. And bitter contempt for reckless government. Can't forget that part. Despite the fact that it technically took me nearly 25 years to finish this, I blame that mostly on the 24 year long break in the middle. It's an enjoyable page-turner and honestly a damn fine spot to start at if you're looking to branch into the larger King-verse....more
Much like Garfield Minus Garfield, it's amazing how much more effective and frightening David Wong's Lovecraftian horror becomes when he gets rid of aMuch like Garfield Minus Garfield, it's amazing how much more effective and frightening David Wong's Lovecraftian horror becomes when he gets rid of all the Lovecraftian horror.
Set largely in the fictional megalopolis of Tabula Ra$a, Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits tells a tale of near-future technology gone horribly, horribly wrong, much like if Black Mirror cranked up its explosion budget to 11 and spiced up its scripts by letting Kevin Smith add in dick jokes every other line. Zoey Ashe is the barista daughter of a single mom, living in a middle-of-nowhere trailer park and caring for a cat with a deeply unpleasant skin condition. She is also, wackily enough, the daughter of one of the wealthiest men on the planet, a scumbag she wants absolutely nothing to do with. So when he dies under perfectly unsuspicious circumstances and hauls her into the tangled web of crime and mustaches that is his existence, she is understandably less than pleased. Throw in a quartet of frighteningly talented personal assistants, one Alfred-grade ultra butler, and the planet's most depraved and lawless urban area / theme park, and voila! You have the most unsettling David Wong novel yet on your hands.
As far as the comedy goes, it's spot on. While What The Hell Did I Just Read? fell flat for me, FVaFS seems to relish the fresh setting and concepts, bringing back much of the energy and humor that made me love John Dies at the End so much. Still, it suffered a bit for its lack of weirdness - when I first read Transmetropolitan nearly two decades ago, the hedonistic excess of a near-future with far too many toys and far too little justice was fun, if a little nauseating. Now, the setting's not nearly so novel, maybe even a little familiar.
What caught me off-guard though was how difficult it was to handle the tonal contrast between the comedy and horror this time around. Given Wong's earlier works, you'd think that I'd have been braced to handle that sort of thing, but it's different now. Harder to discount. JDATE's villains were all sophomoric supernatural horrors, creatures I can easily remind myself don't exist and won't actually inconvenience or murder me any time soon. FVaFS continues the theme of the evil in the universe being distinctly alpha bro in nature, but tosses out the supernatural in favor of good old-fashioned humans being horrible to each other. And it's believable. The technological details might be largely bullshit, but they're placeholders for plenty of currently-available badness, and I came through at the end with a sickening lump in my gut tampering down the ha-has. Maybe it's a matter of personal taste, but I came out of this house of horrors a lot less giddy than my first time around.
Which may have actually been the goal of the dang thing? Who's to say!
Regardless, any book that manages to yank a strong emotional reaction out of me is technically a success, and I recommend any fans of David Wong's work who have stuck to his better known JDATE trilogy to give the book a shot. It ain't perfect, but few things in life are. Also, if anyone manages to actually make Zoey's Cthulhu tea and reply to this review with photographic evidence, you have my respect....more
The first time I ate at an Ethiopian restaurant, it blew my mind. They have that amazing spongy bread, and the stuff you dip it into carries so much pThe first time I ate at an Ethiopian restaurant, it blew my mind. They have that amazing spongy bread, and the stuff you dip it into carries so much punch and flavor in it. Oh man, so good.
The second time I ate at an Ethiopian restaurant, I was glad to learn that it was still really tasty.
The third time I ate at an Ethiopian restaurant, it was fine.
I wholeheartedly loved the first two entries in the JDaTE series, but for some reason, What the Hell Did I Just Read just never clicked for me. That's not to say I didn't enjoy it, mind you. It's still fun, still funny, still offers occasional blips and blorps of stomach-turning imagery to troll the unprepared reader. It's just not horror anymore, not really. Gone is the unease and hopelessness of the last two entries, and in its place we get a massive plate of absurdist humor and butt jokes. The writing also feels a lot more... not sloppy, necessarily, but incomplete. Rushed, perhaps. The title promises mind-blowing weirdness, intrigue, and confusion, but by this point in the series we already know the ins and outs of Soy Sauce and Creepy Shadow People quite well, and my confusion seemed more a result of a hyperactive author failing to keep track of his storyboarding rather than any subtle trickery in the narrative.
What we're left with is by no means bad. There's still plenty to enjoy in here, be it funny, confounding, or just in such poor taste that you need to step back a moment and reread the last line. It's just not especially special. I will continue to pimp out John Dies at the End to my friends until the day I die. What the Hell Did I Just Read, not so much, but at least I won't go out of my way to warn people to avoid it as though it were a Matrix sequel. ...more
It took me a while to make up my mind on this bit of retro sci-fi pulp fiction trash. The Sea is Boiling Hot is a heavy-handed example of the ecologicIt took me a while to make up my mind on this bit of retro sci-fi pulp fiction trash. The Sea is Boiling Hot is a heavy-handed example of the ecological disaster porn genre, in which man's reckless resource waste has reduced us to a state in which only absurd Jetsons technology allows life on Earth to continue. Everything is awful, joy-inducing lobotomies are all the rage, and everyone seems to finally agree with me that coffee tastes like crap.
Butt all is not lost! Our protagonist, Heron Attee, has discovered IMBUSTION, a technique which converts pollution to oil, nuclear waste to nuclear fuel, and makes Sir Isaac Newton spin in his grave. However, Heron is sick of civilization, and feels it deserves to die out. And so begins our happy tale!
I picked up the book hoping for weird sci-fi absurdity, which the title and cover promised in spades, but sadly the book was pretty tame here. Sci-fi dystopia tropes run rampant, but never really go that extra mile to be hilarious. Instead, the author seems intent on destroying sex. Heron's journey is filled with people who just want to screw him at first sight, nearly non-stop. Sexy octogenarian at the cafe? Check. Creepy cyborg lady with an aquarium for a torso? Check. Band of fifth graders? Check. The whole world is in heat, except for sad ol' Heron. There is a strong theme of discomfort around physical intimacy running around here, harkening back to the Puritanucal 50's before Woodstock and The Monkees came and sexed up everyone's brains. And since the book lacks characters or concepts of interest, as well as jolly fun Flash Gordon insanity, you're left with a stern mother's disapproving glare as the novel's strongest element.
Two stars. One for being a book, and one for a satisfying ending. And maybe out of leniency since this is the author's only published work. Feel free not to add this one to your collections....more
A very, erm, mild sci-fi thriller. The concept's a bit compelling, and likely the best element (inexplicable aliens come to Earth, build a space elevaA very, erm, mild sci-fi thriller. The concept's a bit compelling, and likely the best element (inexplicable aliens come to Earth, build a space elevator, infect the world with 28 Days Later juice which affects everyone who ISN'T hugging the elevator, and vanish! MYSTERIOUS!!!), but everything else feels very half-baked and by the numbers. The characters are flimsy, the action sequences dull, the romance painfully typical, the political intrigue predictable from a mile away... Even worse, internal consistency is hit-or-miss; in one chapter, a character will be declared an impeccable judge of character, and moments later he'll fail to notice the most obvious spy in the world. This book is the author's first release, and it feels like it. I realize it's pretty widely celebrated, but I think I'll let this series' cliffhanger mysteries stay unsolved....more
A fun, fluffy military action novel which mashes Avatar (the blue cat people movie, not the Nickelodeon elemental kung fu cartoon) into Starship TroopA fun, fluffy military action novel which mashes Avatar (the blue cat people movie, not the Nickelodeon elemental kung fu cartoon) into Starship Troopers to create a hot violent mess of a read. In the near future, humanity is allowed at age 75 to sign up for the Colonial Defense Force, trading in their miserable golden years for a second chance at youth and vibrancy. In exchange, all they have to do is help defend humanity from the terrors what haunt the galaxy. This blossoms out into a pleasant but oddly-subdued guts-and-glory tale of heroism and freaky space monsters. It's not about to significantly change your worldview, it fails to introduce any particularly novel sci-fi gimmicks or conceits, and it honestly seems to forget that its cast is made up of mature human beings very quickly, but it's still a fun read all the same....more
The exposition and dialogue may be a little clumsy and confusing at times, and the scientific MacGuffins occasionally left me wincing, but The DescentThe exposition and dialogue may be a little clumsy and confusing at times, and the scientific MacGuffins occasionally left me wincing, but The Descent still accomplishes what it set out to do admirably: that being to be the best darn anthropological horror novel about cannibalistic underground demonoids ever. It's fast and fun and predictable and cheesy; if you find yourself in need of a silly weekend body horror fix, you can't do much better....more
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