The Canticle seems to be at the top of many sci-fi reading lists and I can understand why. The story is great, if somewhat dated. I chuckled when FranThe Canticle seems to be at the top of many sci-fi reading lists and I can understand why. The story is great, if somewhat dated. I chuckled when Francis discovers the relics out of the past consisting of vacuum tubes. I asked my 15 year old son if he had ever seen or heard of vacuum tubes, or transistor radios - blank looks all around. When the Abbe at the end of the book was troubleshooting his computer, the statement that "there is no mouse" was rather comical even if it was not the intention of the author.
After reading some of the other reviews here, I was afraid that this book might contain some sort of blasphemy as several people seemed to have lost faith after reading it. I suppose if I were an atheist, maybe I would have lost faith too. There is nothing here that would suggest to me that God has somehow failed his people, but a confirmation that man has failed God. If you are a Christian, don't be afraid to read this book. The evolutionists and eugenicists are the ones who come across as barbarians and thugs, which they are.
**spoiler alert** The City and the City is a great example of China Mieville's burgeoning imagination. While I can juggle a couple thread of ideas at **spoiler alert** The City and the City is a great example of China Mieville's burgeoning imagination. While I can juggle a couple thread of ideas at any one time, the skill it took to keep track of what is going on in this book is incredible. Anything I tell you about the book will spoil something, so it is all hidden.
The basic plot line is a murder mystery that takes place in Beszl, but which may, or may not have occurred in Beszl, but in Ul Qoma, the other city. Unlike Minneapolis-St.Paul, these cities are situated grosstopically (one of the great new words in the book) meaning, in a sense you can only get when reading, they are juxtaposed. It is your mindset that determines which city you are in when in the crosshatched sections. Seems easy, but going from city to city is not something you can't do willy-nilly and is closely monitored by Breach.
So, Tyador Borlu has his hands full trying to figure out who the victim was, where she was killed and finally, why; all without bringing down the wrath of Breach on himself. Oh, and there may or may not be another city involved too. ...more
King Solomon said, "there is no new thing under the sun", but I think in the mind of China Miéville, there is something close. Embassytown is a masterKing Solomon said, "there is no new thing under the sun", but I think in the mind of China Miéville, there is something close. Embassytown is a masterwork of imagination that seems impossible for someone normal to conceive. The most enjoyable part about reading this book is that he doesn't hold your hand through his world building. Instead, he treats you like a European Immigrant fresh off the boat at Ellis Island, with only enough English to beg for food and look for work. You are on your own trying to understand the complex culture and intricate plot of Embassytown.
Avice is an immer from Embassytown, who returns after many kilohours in the out. Her status ans immer gives her access to the ambassadors, who are uniquely trained/bred for communicating with the native Ariekeri, also known as Hosts. Avice, being a simile for the Host's Language, finds herself immersed in the greatest upheval in Embassytown's megahour history.
Only four stars because it did sort of bog down for me in the middle, which while rescued overall by the way it worked out, prevented me from giving it that fifth star....more
As a pure science fiction collection, this was first rate. I really enjoyed the science involved. The authors of the 60s really stick to what is plausAs a pure science fiction collection, this was first rate. I really enjoyed the science involved. The authors of the 60s really stick to what is plausible, even though it may not be probable. Today's science fiction involves too many impossibilities. For example, Star Wars and Star Trek gave us noisy explosions in space, ships and people rocked and shimmied in zero gravity. The vacuum of space became of none effect. The authors of the past adhered to physical realities and where those were bent, they justified them by proving their theories with plausible explanations, James Blish does this convincingly.
Cities in Flight is a collection of 4 related stories. The first, They Shall Have Stars explains the dual development, scientifically and politically, of the Dillon-Waggoner Gravatron polarity generator, or Spindizzy, and the anti-agathic drugs that made space flight possible. The Spindizzy allows large bodies to travel through space at almost any imaginable speed, the potential speed relating to the size of the body. With Spindizzy technology, whole cities and even planets could be hurled through space. The science behind the Spindizzies are carefully explained and at least seem plausible.
One aspect of potential space travel that modern writers/directors avoid is the amount of time, even at fantastic speeds, space travel takes. It would be futile to send out generations of people through space, even to the nearest star, with no possible life other than breeding and dying. The author also had to construct a way to increase the life-span to hundreds or thousands of years, hence the development of the anti-agathic drugs. The drugs and the Spindizzies combine in the stories to make space travel possible.
The sad aspects of the story involve the realization of how little progress has been made. The story begins in 2013 where humans have colonized the other planets and have begun exploiting their resources. In actuality, the promise of the space program has been squandered and has died with 2012 seeing the retirement of the shuttle Discovery and the death of NASA as a reasonable tax expenditure. Instead of reaching for the stars, humans, and Americans especially, have given up on such endeavors.
One possible reason for this is the introversion and self-centerndness of modern man. The advent of the personal computer, Facebook, GoodReads, MP3 players, and Je-jaws (cell-phones) have created a generation of spoiled children. We have become isolated in our own little worlds and fail to even notice or care about what is out there. The computer has stagnated our collective minds by not requiring us to think. One of the climaxes in the book involve the falling out of two of the main characters John Amalfi, the mayor of New York, New York and the city manager, Mark Hazelton. When Hazelton resigned he accidentally left his slide rule on the dinner tray and it was swept away to the incinerator before John could save it. All the complex computations were made with the slide rule and Marks mind. Today, it would be impossible.
The first book describes the death of the scientific method. It died under its own weight. We have experienced that in the real world where today's scientists try to conform their data to fit a preconceived consensus. Data is rigged to show the expected outcomes based on political agendas and popular mythology like global warming, rather than letting the data speak for itself.
As space, through the Spindizzies, and time, through the anti-agathics are conquered, the spacemen eventually come to feel like they are gods. When the planet He, moving though space discovers the end of time, they position themselves to create their own worlds. While this makes for a good story, it bogs down in its own theology. In this type of world, only the elites have access to their salvation, only they are smart enough to understand. Of course, God in his wisdom has a much simpler plan that everybody, even a child can understand. Don't look for answers to the meaning of life in this book, it isn't there. The Triumph of Time will come when Christ returns and establishes his earthly kingdom....more
This book is a must read for anybody considering the current state of the world economy. It is a study on human nature that will be too evident in comThis book is a must read for anybody considering the current state of the world economy. It is a study on human nature that will be too evident in coming years when society collapses. The story starts slowly as a family of Londoners experiences the devastation of grass (primarily rice, but also grazing land) in China, then the rest of the world, leading to massive starvation and slaughter.
The initial news they get is hopeful, filtered by the government propagandists and their own sense of national pride and ethnic superiority, which almost becomes their undoing. However, when the resulting catastrophe threatens their personal safety, their priorities shift to self-preservation mode. This book shows how society is kept together by mutual agreement of individuals. When individual interests conflict, man becomes brutal in nature and will do whatever necessary. Maslow's hierarchy of needs is knocked down to its base.
This book is also a great study in leadership and how it is developed. John is named the leader by the flip of a coin, but assumes the mantle fully by the time they reach their goal. This is not a happy or uplifting book, but an important look of what it will be like when society collapses. Hopefully, it will make you a bit more prepared for the horrors to come.
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