Full of very big (and small) ideas, this is science fiction for people who love science. I went in blind so I had no idea where it was going, and loveFull of very big (and small) ideas, this is science fiction for people who love science. I went in blind so I had no idea where it was going, and loved the ride. Switching characters, styles, settings, and even sub genres with every chapter, it could be frustrating for some people, but for me the big ideas held it all together as much as a straightforward story would in a more typical book.
I hope the Netflix show doesn’t fuck this up, but I doubt it’ll be able to capture the sense of awe at the power and peril of science. Like, this is essentially a murder mystery where an abstract concept is the victim. Good luck with that!
Luckily we have the book. I might have to give the sequels a shot too. ...more
It would be easy to point out flaws in this book, but they are irrelevant because I enjoyed pretty much every page of it. I grew up in the 80s, and haIt would be easy to point out flaws in this book, but they are irrelevant because I enjoyed pretty much every page of it. I grew up in the 80s, and have always been a geek, so this mashup of 80s geek culture resonated with me even when I wasn't familiar with a particular reference. It's written simply, and doesn't go into the implications of its technologically advanced world much, which makes it more enjoyable to read than if it aimed higher or dug deeper. Fun book. ...more
You're never gonna believe this, but despite being a story about machines, The Fridgularity says a lot about ... humans.
It will make you laugh and cryYou're never gonna believe this, but despite being a story about machines, The Fridgularity says a lot about ... humans.
It will make you laugh and cry and cringe. Sometimes all at the same time, so you're just kinda twitching with a few of your human orifices open and/or leaking. Humans are so strange.
As a 100% human person, I endorse this book. ...more
A collection of bizarre short stories with underlying themes that tie them together. Some of the ideas are brilliant, and would be enough to sustain aA collection of bizarre short stories with underlying themes that tie them together. Some of the ideas are brilliant, and would be enough to sustain a whole novel, though sometimes it's nice to see a concept exit the stage before it wears out its welcome. The simple writing explores some complex territory, and even the weaker stories are unique enough to take a brief ride with. I enjoyed the hell out of each one....more
There are glimmers of hard sci-fi at its best here. Inevitable Wound(s) explores a slight twist on Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics as a group of scienThere are glimmers of hard sci-fi at its best here. Inevitable Wound(s) explores a slight twist on Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics as a group of scientists rush to figure out a glitch in a militarized android. Their investigation leads to more mysteries piled on mysteries, and the story gets more thrilling as the stakes get higher.
The brilliant ideas at the story's core are held back by some issues with the writing. There are a lot of characters for a short story, but a few gratuitous physical descriptions are not enough to flesh them out. The humans become as interchangeable as the androids. The dialogue-heavy writing could use fleshing out as well; it's hard to tell if some "WTF" moments are meant that way, or just due to unclear description of what happened.
It says a lot that despite these distractions, I was hooked from the first page to the last. Fans of science fiction will find a lot to like here....more
"Isn't a book, or any story, just a single perfectly completed thought, after all?" The badly damaged robot narrator has this thought partway through "Isn't a book, or any story, just a single perfectly completed thought, after all?" The badly damaged robot narrator has this thought partway through A Lovely Machine, and that about sums it up. Through the stream-of-consciousness waxing of a machine, Husbands explores what it really means to be human. A compelling short read....more
There are a whole lot of ideas flying around in The Knife of Never Letting Go. The central premise is that men can hear each other's thoughts, constanThere are a whole lot of ideas flying around in The Knife of Never Letting Go. The central premise is that men can hear each other's thoughts, constantly giving off what they call "Noise." That'd be enough to keep things interesting, but then other ideas are layered on top of it: it takes place on an alien planet, all women were wiped out by a virus, and oh yeah, animals can talk. In fact, the book opens with:
"The first thing you find out when yer dog learns to talk is that dogs don't got nothing much to say. About anything."
That "yer" tips you off to the style the book is written in. It's told from the perspective of Todd, a twelve(ish) year old kid who actually talks like a kid. The novel is brilliantly written in his voice, with plenty of misspelled words, misunderstandings, and internal struggle. I find the parenthetical "shut up" after admitting any emotion to the reader particularly cute.
The point of view and style are a kid's, but the substance of the story is very much adult. It goes to some dark places, made all the darker by characters that are easy to care about. I shouldn't have read this at work, because it almost made me break down during my lunch break (shut up).
I was ready to gushingly recommend this book like I've never gushingly recommended before, but there is one problem: it's the first in a series. It's very much the first in a series. By the end, I wasn't quite expecting cliffhanger after cliffhanger, followed by needing to read two more books. I suppose it's still a positive that it left me wanting more, but, uuungh.
The copy on the back of Marvellous Hairy bills it as a novel about a man who is turning into a monkey. However, it goes far beyond that. The story revThe copy on the back of Marvellous Hairy bills it as a novel about a man who is turning into a monkey. However, it goes far beyond that. The story revolves around a giant, evil corporation nicknamed Gargantuan Enterprises and the people who want to bring it down, then before you know it, there are ghosts, kidnapping, lizards, sex, and drugs thrown in for good measure.
Let me make a confession: I don’t find monkeys inherently funny. Their similarity to humans is amusing, sure, but it’s been overdone. Given the premise of Marvellous Hairy, I was a bit worried that its humour would rely on “anything is funny if you mention the word monkey alongside it” school of thought. Luckily, its absurdity is only partially monkey-based, and it delivers some genuine funny. Many scenes had me smirking as hard as I have at any Douglas Adams novel (yeah, just smirking; it takes a lot for me to physically LOL at text).
A lot of the books I’ve reviewed recently, they’ve been trashily entertaining (see: Charlaine Harris), or had great ideas despite mediocre writing (see: Cory Doctorow). But Rayner is actually a damn good writer. Every paragraph is packed with clever wordplay and subtle allusions. E.g., “He had long greasy black hair that clung to his head like an octopus humping his skull” (ok ok, maybe not always subtle).
Not all is warm and fuzzy. The novel could have used some edits; the language can be wordy, the plot takes a while to get going, and a certain subplot doesn’t feel like it fully connects with the rest of the story. Also, the quasi-omnipotent first-person narrative is jarring, especially when it needs to be explained, though it does add to the surreal bizarreness of the whole thing.
That is where Marvellous Hairy shines: it is such a bizarre barrel of words that you can’t help but have fun reading it. Mark (full disclosure: I can go all first-name-basis because we’ve met IRL) recently tweeted that his next novel may be even sillier, and if that’s the case, I can’t wait to get my paws on whatever he comes up with....more
Cory Doctorow's upcoming young adult novel, For the Win (or FTW), may not sound all that interesting on the surface.
At its core, this is a book about economics and the formation of unions. Boooring. Yet Doctorow weaves an intense story around these potentially dry topics, resulting in one of the most riveting books I've read this year.
For the Win takes place in the near future, when multiplayer online games—descendants of Everquest and World of Warcraft—have continued to rise in popularity. Gold farmers work long hours under harsh conditions to harvest digital items and currency from the games so they can be sold for real cash. When they realize they are being mistreated, they begin to come together and fight for their rights, in both the real world and in gamespace.
This isn't exactly science fiction. All of the technology described in the novel already exists, in only slightly less advanced form (e.g., the most exotic technology I can recall is a retinal scanner that starts a car). This grounding in our reality means that the struggles Doctorow deals with will become reality, where they haven't already.
Indeed, the economies of online games will begin to rival the economies of small countries; they're already worth billions of dollars per year. When that much money is involved, the line between online worlds and the real world is bound to get fuzzy. For the Win emphasizes that, at their hearts, life is a big game, and games are serious business. Economics, power, gambling, risk, violence: they're all just games that will be played in any place people gather, real or virtual.
It's interesting to see Doctorow's vision of social media, as well. He demonstrates that, in a world where text, pictures, radio broadcasts, videos, etc., can be instantly created and transmitted to a network of people anywhere in the world (the main characters are in the U.S., India, and China, yet all work together), the organizations that used to control the transmission of information no longer have power. It's like an effortless novelization of Clay Shirky's ideas about technology and social networking.
For the Win breaks some rules of the typical YA novel by being longer than it needs to be, and having so many characters that they can get mixed up. "Show don't tell" doesn't apply, with character-free tangents explaining complex economic topics that I found fascinating but could be dry to most. But you know what? Cory Doctorow can break the rules, because he's a fucking genius. He has great ideas coming out of his ass. He could bang out unedited thoughts into an unordered list and it would still be a great read.
It could, however, be considered too one-sided. While it all makes sense in the context of the story, there is nary an anti-union word in the book. With London [Ontario:]'s month-long bus strike just coming to an end yesterday [this review was originally published on December 15th 2009:], I'm of the opinion that there are situations in which unions can become the greedy organizations they were designed to combat. It's often not possible for all workers to come together, like when the workers who need buses to get to work can't do so because the workers who drive the buses want more money.
In any case, the story of unions, economics, and video games that Doctorow has created is exciting and eye-opening. It will probably appeal most to nerdier, technology-oriented types with an interest in the money game that makes the world go 'round, but almost anyone could find something to love here. for the win ftw.
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Note: This book doesn't come out until May of next year. As far as I can Google, this is the first review on the entire internet. I pledged Cory Doctorow my eternal love if he'd send me a copy, and he was kind enough to email me an early draft. It's full of errors both small and substantial, but I'm sure they will be corrected. My copy of For the Win, for the record, is the "second manuscript printing," dated October 8th 2009. If anyone expresses a problem with the existence of this review, I will certainly take it into consideration.
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P.S. Somebody needs to actually create Zombie Mecha (one of the games in the book), right now....more
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