Not as great as the first collection, Stories of Your Life and Others, but good to have his output since the last collection in a single place. He treNot as great as the first collection, Stories of Your Life and Others, but good to have his output since the last collection in a single place. He treads familiar grounds from different vantage points. My favorite of the new ones are "The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling", "Exhalation" and "Anxiety is the Dizziness of Freedom"....more
Fascinating as Dick often is. No one captures the pathos of a person going insane as Dick does. And he somehow does it in the simplest "pulp" prose.Fascinating as Dick often is. No one captures the pathos of a person going insane as Dick does. And he somehow does it in the simplest "pulp" prose....more
Starts off as reminding me of Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash and Stross's Accelerando. Similar bizarre libertarian future and a mouthy protagonist.
HoweStarts off as reminding me of Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash and Stross's Accelerando. Similar bizarre libertarian future and a mouthy protagonist.
However, the book won both the August Derleth Award (1995) and Philip K. Dick Award (2000), and it's well deserved. You get Dick's penchant for writing stories where you can't be sure you have a foothold to rest. And there's Lovecraft's psychological horror.
And behind the surreal humor and commentary there's a depth of human suffering, making the book a little schizophrenic at times, albeit in a good way.
Some highlights, without giving away the mystery:
so busy Doing Things that he’d never actually done anything at all.
Anyone can catalogue the bad times, but how do you tell the good? I can tell you these things but I can’t make you see them. I can send you a postcard, but you can’t come to stay.
Watts goes mainstream? It was a fun read otherwise. I am always surprised in retrospect given all the Hard SF elements in all his books, how Watts stiWatts goes mainstream? It was a fun read otherwise. I am always surprised in retrospect given all the Hard SF elements in all his books, how Watts still manages to ground the relationship between post human beings. An example that might sound cheesy, without context:
“I’ll kill you if I can.” “I’ll save you, if you let me.”
Not sure if some of the exposition describing Palace's motives was necessary since the author does such a fantastic job of "show, don't tell" otherwisNot sure if some of the exposition describing Palace's motives was necessary since the author does such a fantastic job of "show, don't tell" otherwise. Still I think I enjoyed this even more than the first one....more
I was ready to give it full five stars about halfway through. Not only had the prose made me squee:
The apartment was on the fifth floor of a
Aaaargh...
I was ready to give it full five stars about halfway through. Not only had the prose made me squee:
The apartment was on the fifth floor of a tree-ringed, green-built, post-FUS building, with windows overlooking the retinal-rape neon of a takeout Szechuan hole-in-the-wall.
“At this point he may want to start dismembering you. Most likely this will begin with your fingers and toes and move on up the extremities. You are expected to react with appropriate terror and beg for your life.” Stella. “I can do that.” Henrietta. “Then he will likely decapitate you. Please, at this point, if you could, feign death.”
but the way it was juggling the absurdity of describing a lucid dreamscape with the giant themes about humanity's long-term future (a la Arthur C. Clarke) - little connections to string you along - I was cackling with joy and was completely enraptured. I could spool off comparisons to pretty much every book I've liked - Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Bleeding Edge and Snow Crash to name a few. And despite cranking up the absurdity level, the invention and use of Bionet tech felt more believable than similar tech in the Nexus or Altered Carbon series. (Otherwise as science-fiction goes, it's as implausible as it gets).
However, and the reason for docking that one star, I felt let down by the second half of the book. After constantly wondering how this paranoid web of newspaper clippings will be eventually connected, I was a little unhappy with the author's choice of taking the Pynchon route of creating an atmosphere - what's it to be like a pawn of forces much more powerful and intelligent than you are - rather than giving some sort of a closure. But then, I already am used to Neal Stephenson bungling up the ending, so can't dock Boudinot much for failing at that.
So, in short even though it's a mess, I loved the book and recommend reading it!...more
Really hard to give a rating for this book since it's a superposition between all. Some parts are very clever and funny. Still want to telUmm. Arghhh.
Really hard to give a rating for this book since it's a superposition between all. Some parts are very clever and funny. Still want to tell everyone I mention this book to about its United single-party State "governed" by the party called the "Bipartisan Party".
And man, does Shteyngart have a way with words. The damn specificity:
But by the end of said night I remembered very little. Let’s just say that I drank. Drank out of fear (she was so cruel). Drank out of happiness (she was so beautiful). Drank until my whole mouth and teeth had turned a dark ruby red and the pungency of my breath and perspiration betrayed my passing years.
The floor beneath my feet was clean, immigrant clean, clean enough so that you understood that somebody had done their best.
Eunice exhaled in such a sad, hurt, elongated, final way, it made me wonder if she would ever be capable of replacing that breath.
I closed my eyes and let the lining of my mouth turn into pure heat.
Yet the bad parts are embarrassing to read. Although the 39 year old protagonist Lenny, almost surely an author insert, has descriptions that always exude smugness (happens to be the only person left in this future-America who reads "books"; everyone else complains how the books "smell") and creepiness (his love interest Eunice is described in the stock objectifying language; everything about her is "little" and "Korean"), he still manages to come out as a person you can empathize with.
Another annoying part is the inconsistency with which point of views other than Lenny are handled. Eunice mostly writes in futurized stereotypical Valley Girl lingo initially, but later parts somehow lose most of that "future-slang". Moreover her long emails feel very incongruent with the fact that people don't read anymore in this world and communicate via "Images" (extrapolate Snapchat I guess). His friends, on the other hand, talk like characters in a sit-com.
And yet, the book somehow deftly pressed all the right emotional buttons and made me feel uncomfortable. I guess that's the point of good literature?...more
How do I say this? The ambiguity and uncertainty reminded me of Len's Solaris and Strugatsky brothers' Roadside Picnic. Yet, it felt a lot "brighter"How do I say this? The ambiguity and uncertainty reminded me of Len's Solaris and Strugatsky brothers' Roadside Picnic. Yet, it felt a lot "brighter". Maybe something to do with the tropical setting? I don't want to spoil things but certain switches to the personal from the cosmic horror were a little jarring in the way they were written (but they didn't fail in evoking what they were supposed to.)
The book also handles a scientist's behavior in face of unknowability very well. The Three-Body Problem (no matter how much I enjoyed it otherwise) always irked me in how the scientists behaved - you don't kill yourself because your models stopped working (they always do).
To me, this book is about the tension of an individual navigating this huge universe trying, rather hoping, to make some sense of it. Aren't we already doing this all the time? It's also clever in how it describes the possibility of incomprehension of "the forbidden knowledge" one is looking for, something Len did in Solaris about communication with a truly alien being. In the process of switching between the personal and the cosmic, the book managed to deftly make a subtle point: Humans aren’t inherently good or inherently evil: we’re inherently small. We can try to do many great things, but deep down we really care about a limited number of small things. Everything in life is far too vast and complex to ever fully understand, let alone impact noticeably. Yet, we try to paddle on in one direction hoping to claw our way to a shoreline, which may not even exist....more
Neal Stephenson of Cryptonomicon, minus tech babble but everything else plus plus. In a sense the book is empty calories and a standard adventure storNeal Stephenson of Cryptonomicon, minus tech babble but everything else plus plus. In a sense the book is empty calories and a standard adventure story in terms of the plot. But man does Harkaway know how to write. There are subtle things threaded in the details, but largely it's about the absurdity of war and the depravity of dehumanization with some Shyamalan twists somehow magically pulled together with panache and charm....more
This was surprisingly fun. It's a weird mixture of science fiction, horror and thriller that somehow devolves into an endearingly warm family drama. IThis was surprisingly fun. It's a weird mixture of science fiction, horror and thriller that somehow devolves into an endearingly warm family drama. I know it sounds corny when I say that, and yeah, it won't count as "great" literature, whatever that means, but if an overcomplicated plot garnished with creepy aliens, heroin dealing, gruesome deaths and whatnot, sounds fun to you, then it gets a strong recommendation from me!...more
Precursor to Hitchhiker’s guide to Galaxy and Rick and Morty. Can’t believe it took me this long to get to this one. Honestly, how can I, who loves whPrecursor to Hitchhiker’s guide to Galaxy and Rick and Morty. Can’t believe it took me this long to get to this one. Honestly, how can I, who loves when stories get meta, can't like a book that has a story about a character in the book making a machine that tells stories. Not only that, even those stories include the story of a guy telling a story about a guy who creates a machine which the protagonist in the story within the story uses to enter different dreams.
And given the amount of wordplay and nonsense words, the translation impeccable. Not for a moment you will think that this was not written in English, originally.
Of course the questions the stories pose, like all good SF, still hold....more
Is it something about translation to English or do all Eastern European authors write in such a claustrophobic style? I am a little conflicted about tIs it something about translation to English or do all Eastern European authors write in such a claustrophobic style? I am a little conflicted about the ending though. I read the last few pages more than once but feel like I don't completely get it. Was that _hope_ in the end? Or just the ravings of a finally broken man?...more
What a delightful read this was! Fowler's prose is impeccable, helping you navigate the protagonist mind as if you are them. This was very important bWhat a delightful read this was! Fowler's prose is impeccable, helping you navigate the protagonist mind as if you are them. This was very important because unlike most of the science fiction one comes across, there's nothing fantastic going on. Earth is not being visited by aliens or running out of food. It's just a simple psychological/sociological study of the effect of doing a near-twin study and the difficulty of doing an experiment with humans involved. It's funny at times, heartbreaking at others. But utterly believable always.
I got interested in Fowler's work when Ted Chiang mentioned her as one of the authors he admires. And there are so many connections to his own works. Be it grief and communication in _Story of your Life_ or memory and truth in _The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling_....more
I originally thought of giving this a three star because even though I probably write in a similar fragmentary stream of conscious style, I would likeI originally thought of giving this a three star because even though I probably write in a similar fragmentary stream of conscious style, I would like an author to give more thought in a book. You feel a slight cop-out on the author's part reading the last chapter trying to tie-in together the bits and pieces revealed before.
However, giving it some thought I think I get the structure of this book and it's kinda amazing that the author is even able to end the story in a satisfying manner. Some of it feels far-fetched, but in the age of Trump who knows? Even a cautionary tale feels very apt....more
Fforde is a fun writer. I am surprised his books are not more popular. Maybe it's their meta-fiction aspect but I absolutely love his worlds and playfFforde is a fun writer. I am surprised his books are not more popular. Maybe it's their meta-fiction aspect but I absolutely love his worlds and playful writing....more
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