The Running Man (A Book That Became A Movie)

Pro: Solid story, unexpected finish
Con: Nothing, really. Unless you prefer happy endings.

The Bottom Line: This isn't the movie. And that's a good thing.

For some reason I got a weird desire to read The Running Man. It might have been a combination of wanting some dystopia and the fact that Stephen King is actually the author of the story – Richard Bachman was just a pseudonym. Whatever the case was, I read it, and it was good.

In the hopes of gaining his wife and sick child some money and the ability to survive, Ben Richards decides to risk his life in the ultimate hit reality television show – The Running Man. If he can survive 30 days, he wins it all. Except no one has ever made it past 8. But Ben is an unexpected wild card, and he's going to give the all-knowing Games Network a run for it's money.

A lot of other dystopian novels – especially those in the teen areas – are all about bringing down The Big Bad Society and changing things for the better. This is not one of them. This is, in a way, more realistic in that you could be reading about any poor sonofabitch on the run, traipsing through the woods and hoping to find help where there isn't really any to be had. Yes, this is in the future so we do see splashes of future-tech and hear future-talk, but things are darker, grittier, and Ben sure as hell isn't zipping around in a silvery, flying car to escape pursuers or anything like that.

And rather than be stuck in some arena, he actually has the entirety of the country to run around in. From lurking in old buildings to seeking a way to maybe escape the country entirely, you keep wondering how long Ben can keep up his lead and just how things are going to end. And let me tell you, they don't end the way you might think. At all. I was left there sitting at the final page for a long moment thinking, "Wow. That's it. Huh." Not disappointed, mind you, just surprised. But I also like it. It's a very stark contrast to something like The Hunger Games, or even something like 1984. While it may not be wholly satisfying in that you don't see the whole crap society crumbling and rebuilding itself, it's more realistic anyway since that wouldn't be likely to happen. In fact, I almost wonder if anything would change at all, but in the end, Ben won in his own way, and that's something I'm good with.

The funny thing (and I mean that very tongue-in-cheek) is that this particular dystopian is more relevant today than ever. And not like 1984 in terms of free-speech suppression or cameras everywhere. But in terms of the language used and the way people are looked at and spoken to. A prime example? "They were queer-stompers. Queers, of course, had to be eradicated. Save our bathrooms for democracy." And this was written in 1982. Funny how well science fiction authors can so easily peer into the future, no?

Definitely something worth reading, if you feel like something slightly off the beaten path, or just need another solid story to bulk up your dystopian library.

NT

Alight (A Trilogy x2)

Pro: An excellent second installment in the trilogy

Con: Trouble with some descriptions, but maybe that's just me. I also wish the covers were better.

The Bottom Line: I'm loving these books and I'm super excited that the next one comes out in October!

While I truly enjoyed the first book and had a blast with this second one, I'm still not sure how it made it into the Teen section given the amount of violence. I guess publishers are letting up and realizing teens aren't as innocent as they've always thought (heck, I watched Aliens at age 10 and loved it). The Hunger Games actually didn't have a lot of violence at all, as most characters died off screen. The Maze Runner definitely kicked it up a notch, particularly in The Scorch Trials, but Scott Sigler's Generations Trilogy is a whole new ball of wax.

Still, if you or your teen has read the other two trilogies and some of the other various dystopian, survival-style books out there, then no big deal.

Em and the others have landed on the planet Omeyocan. They discover a jungle and a massive city – that may at one point have been two cities. But the problem now is food. They only have a limited amount before they starve. Aramovsky isn't above scheming and whispering in order to subvert Em's position as leader. But what might be most dangerous of all is that they aren't alone on this planet. Something knows they are here...

Oh boy, what a ride! Sigler knows how to pen a story brimming over with excitement, anxiousness, and high-strung emotions of every kind. I think I had to put the book down and stop reading a few times just to take a break and regroup. He brings you everything from death to life to love to let's-blow-some-shit-up. So many times you hope Em might just waste Aramovsky, but she doesn't since she knows that would be a poor choice as a leader. Other times you might hope she figures out what to say, but being who she is she just can't. She has to battle with what Matilda was and how those thoughts occasionally invade her brain, and remind herself that she is her own person – not Matilda. It makes for some interesting internal struggles.

There is a bit of a love triangle, but I love how Sigler handled that too. Instead of having Em agonize over it she realizes now is not the time to worry about it, and then Sigler takes care of the problem by yanking things up from under Em and burning one of those choices to the ground. Almost literally, in fact.

All the other characters, no matter how briefly they may be on the page, leave some kind of impact so that once something happens to them, you feel it. The history that still waits to be revealed gets more and more intriguing and bizarre, and what happens at the end – man, I'll be very interested in seeing how Sigler managers to cram all that into one final book. But no matter what, I am looking forward to it.

My only qualm was the occasional bit of description. I had a hard time visualizing the things Em described as a snake-wolf, as well as how people sat on the pentapods once they discovered what they were. It's as if in those cases there just wasn't quite enough description for it to work in my brain. There are a few others, but part of me wonders also if I was just reading a little too fast for the pictures to catch up in my mind. Other times the descriptions were perfect, such as the climb up the Observatory and the awful statues. Messed up, man.

I do really wish that the covers better reflected how kickass these books are. They're just faces with some typeface that doesn't really have anything to do with the insides of the book. Ok, sure, the first book was Em's face I guess, but there's just a fraction of the circle's edge on her forehead. The symbol on the person's head for the cover of this book is slightly easier to see (I think it's supposed to be Bishop?), but you still have to know it's there to get what's going on. Even then, you can't see it clearly at all. The original cover of the first book was a little better, in my view, but still. Ah well.

(There is this video of Scott's editor talking about why they made the change. Frankly, I don't know who would have thought Em was dead, among other things, but whatever. Still think they could have been way better.)

But I'm totally digging on this trilogy, I love the Aztec imagery and all the borrowing that's been done to make everything here even more unique, and I am really, really, looking forward to October. Normally it takes much longer for the next book in a series to come out, but Scott Sigler either had a huge chunk of it done or he's in the writing zone – either way, I'm glad!

NT

After the Red Rain (A Book with a Color in the Title)

Pro: A solid post-apocalypse book all around.

Con: Only if you want more...because I don't know the plans for that.

Bottom Line: A great book - and no, I didn't forget the picture. There's a special one at the bottom.

 

As for right now, I need to read 35 books before October in order to complete the District 120 Reading Challenge. Some of these are going to be tricky. But until then, here's a book with a color in the title! Funny thing, I'd picked this one out a long while back and it suited that particular slot perfectly. I'm only just now getting to read it. I was not disappointed. The interesting thing is that it was created by three people - Barry Lyga (author of many books), Peter Facinelli (Hollywood actor), and Robert DeFranco (producer). How that happened I have no idea. But I'm glad it did.

 

This is the future. Where man has covered the world in concrete, metal, and glass. Where there were once people – too many people – and the Red Rain purged billions from the planet. Deedra lives in one of the megacities that still function, living from day to day assembling parts at a factory and occasionally scrounging the wasteland for useful and interesting thing.

 

And then she sees Rose. A bizarrely beautiful boy who seems to come from nowhere, and who doesn't know exactly who – or what – he is. His abilities are like nothing she's ever seen before, and he begins to change the way she sees the world and her future. But when the Magistrate's son is murdered, all signs point to Rose. Can she save Rose? What's more – do she and Rose have a chance at saving a dying world?

 

Honestly, that's really only the tip of the iceberg. After I read this book I decided that the blurb didn't do it justice. What Rose is, what he can do, and the way he thinks are so different from everything else in the story, the whole murdered Magistrate's son thing is a drop in the bucket compared to all the other stuff going on. This isn't your typical dystopian formula either. I know, it sounds an awful lot like: Girl meets boy, boy is pretty, boy changes how girl thinks, girl and boy take on establishment. Yeah, no. Deedra thinks Rose, while pretty (not handsome, mind you), is quite strange as he sticks out like a sore thumb in every way possible. She has no idea what to make of him and when he brings things up that make her think, it actually takes a while for her to consider them or change her mind in any way. And that's a good thing. It's more realistic since people brought up believing something their entire lives don’t just change their minds overnight. As for taking on the establishment, there's none of that. Maybe in the future, but I honestly have no idea if the authors are going to write more or not.

 

And that's another funny thing about this book; I'm okay if there aren't more. Which is weird since it's sort of a cliffhanger in the end in that they state they should warn people about the big bad thing that is supposedly coming, I'm possibly a terrible person in that I'm cool if they were to just run off together and find their own little place of peace away from all people and live happily ever after. Though there really are a lot of questions that beg asking, such as how Rose came to be, Deedra's backstory, and what exactly was up with the guy in the very beginning who found Deedra as a baby – and just where exactly he was working because…ew. (I wonder now – was he in a big bad?)

 

I realize I'm kind of rambling, but sometimes it's tough to review a book when you don't want to give anything away at all. I just want you to read it. I want you to see what Rose is for yourself. What he can do. The way he sees the world (which is beautiful and I love him for it). Discover what the Red Rain was, what the big bad thing is, and step into a brand new dystopian world where half of it isn't sunshine and roses (a la the Capital in The Hunger Games or the Domes in Under the Blue Sky or cities in Divergent). This is a place where the entire world sucks and even Deedra is convinced that there's no way to change it and it's going to keep on sucking until she dies. The characters are interesting and complex, the world a fascinating place even in its demise, and the plot is weird and unique and occasionally violent.

 

So go forth and read this book. Even if you're tired of dystopia by now, I think it's different enough to be a bit refreshing for you. The funny part is that while reading this, I have little bookmarks that look like they're tiny plants growing from the book. I didn't realize until I was finished with the book just how appropriate it was.

 

NT

 

The Book of Phoenix (A Book Set in the Future)

Pro: Vastly interesting and hard to put down
Con: Strangely abrupt ending

The Bottom Line: A very cool book with a ton of science fiction elements, but without the usual science fiction feel. I only wish the end were little better...

A long time ago I read Nnedi Okorafor's Who Fears Death for a completely different reading challenge, if I remember. When I saw (at work, as usual) a brand new book with Okorafor's name on it, I got all exited and immediately picked it up.

Before the story of Who Fears Death, there was Phoenix. She was grown and raised in New York's Tower 7. Only two, but with the mind and body of an adult, she doesn't fully grasp what's around her and what might be outside the tower walls. She does, however, love another human in the group of strange creations within the tower - a man named Saeed. But when he sees something so terrible he takes his own life, Phoenix questions everything - and ultimately breaks out of Tower 7. What she discovers during the descruction is only the beginning of her journey.

There's a lot of cool stuff going on in this book. Frankly, I'd love to talk about every bit of it, but I don't want to spoil anything for you. From what else lives in Tower 7 to what happens even just right after her escape and then beyond. I love all the ideas Okorafor puts forth. All the different Towers, all the different experiments that are contained within them, Phoenix's ability, and all the places she does throughout the book and the people she meets. Okorafor is able to fill even the smallest of roles with such life it's amazing. They may be on the page for only a few moments, but you can visualize everything perfectly, grasp the emotions fully, and are constantly on the edge of your seat as you wish for Phoenix to escape the massive group that controls the Towers and maybe find some measure of peace somewhere.

The creativity here, people, is just sparkling.

Given all that, I was disappointed with the ending. Or maybe not disappointed so much as going, "...Aw," in deflated fashion and sitting back in my seat for once. I understand how Phoenix could finally snap, yet people she knew and loved were still on the ground when she performed her (final? still not even sure of that) act which eventually led to the kind of Earth that the people of the world of Who Fears Death live in. And whenever I think of massive effects of what she did, I also think, "You just killed a lot of people who were in no way involved with any of that." Still, I will grant that the idea was pretty cool anyway - given my penchant for post-apocalyptic settings.

If you're looking for something a little different in terms of science fiction, I highly recommend giving this a look. From all kinds of varying elements involved to a story that spans the globe, it's well worth it.

NT

The Death Cure (A Trilogy)

Pro: A thrilling end to a thrilling series.
Con: Trust issues, a few questions, and one death

The Bottom Line: If you want dystopia but feel wary about this since it’s teen – read it anyway. These kids go through stuff that would break most adults.

Let me put this in perspective for you.

I didn’t ever intend to read this series. Nothing against James Dashner, but it just wasn’t high up on my already massive reading list. But then I saw The Maze Runner and The Scorch Trials in theatres. And I wanted to know the end. Like, now. So I went to two different libraries on the opposite sides of town to get both books. This book wasn’t available, so I put a hold on it, figuring that by the time I finished the first two, I’d be able to pick this one up and read it. That is, until I looked at the queue and saw that I was 30th in line. NOPE.

So I bought the book. I don’t do that. I don’t buy the third book in a trilogy if I don’t have the first two. But that’s how badly I wanted to read this book. That’s how much I wanted to know just wtf is happening to these kids and how it’s all going to end. Now I do.

Thomas is finally free of WICKED, but there are prices to be paid. He doesn’t know who he can trust, how he’ll stay clear of WICKED, is still ignorant of his past (although maybe that’s for the best), and the world seems to be falling down around him – figuratively and in some cases, literally. He wants nothing more than to make WICKED pay for what they’ve done. But how can he? And at other times he still finds himself asking – should he?

I had trust issues throughout this book because I kept thinking, “How do I know this is for real? That these people aren’t a part of WICKED’s plan?” Eventually you have to be like Thomas and hope that for once something isn’t fake. That there are people that want to help, and that it is possible to have something go right for once.

Just like the previous two books, there’s a ton of stuff happening almost every day for poor Thomas and his crew, and things just never really get any better or easier. I sort of wished this more in the second book than this one, but it still applies – how no one completely went off on any of the WICKED people. Just simply yelling at them about what they’ve been through, how awful, sick, and twisted WICKED is. I don’t care what they were trying to accomplish – the way they were doing it…WICKED is not good. Adults would sneer and look down on Thomas and his group, and no one ever snapped back that they’d been through way more than any of those people, and all of it much more horrific.

It’s all interesting and exciting and comes together in the end, though I was kind of confused as to Teresa and her group’s escape (was it an escape? Fake? Did they decide to escape after getting their memories back? I don’t get it). I was also surprised at the lack of reaction to someone’s death near the end. Especially given Thomas’s attachment and despite previous events…I don’t know. It was just like, boom, it happened, bummer, moving on.

But no matter what, it was a really good ride. Will I have to reread it when the movie finally comes out in the future? Hell no. This story will stick to my mind like glue for a long time to come. And the only thing I ever saw coming? The truth of where the Flare came from.

NT

Future Movie Thoughts (in case you’re interested)

I do look forward to the movie. I’m very, very curious as to how they’re going to handle things, from the plot itself to character deaths. I’m sure other folks who have read these books can make guesses as to who might bite it in the end – and who we hope they might change in order to survive to the end.

But I will say one thing – I’m still glad they changed what the Flare does to a person. Because going mad in that fashion is frightening and terrible…but what the movie version does to people is far, far worse. I’ll live with Dashner’s Flare and lose my mind. But if the movie’s Flare takes root in my brain – and body – that’s when I eat a bullet.

Note:
I do know that there is a prequel that Dashner put out after this was complete - but I'm still dubbing this a trilogy and counting it for my reading challenge. So nyah nyah,

The Scorch Trials (A Trilogy)

Pro: Keeps you reading, 100%
Con: Not really.

The Bottom Line: How more of these kids aren’t dead or suffering from severe PTSD or simply breaking down, I’ll never know.

Once I was done with the first book, it was time to dive into the second. I’d already seen both movies, so now I really wanted to know how The Scorch Trials compared to its film counterpart.

Holy cow, are they different. But let’s talk book first.

Thomas and the other Gladers are out of the Maze. They’ve been rescued – or so they thought. Turns out the Maze was only the first phase of the trials. Now they have another to face; the burning wasteland of the Scorch, an area of the world where sun flares have fried everything to a crisp, and where a nasty disease called the Flare eats away at people’s brains until they’re psychotic, ravaging maniacs. Good times. And if Thomas and the others survive – who knows? Maybe WICKED keeps its promises, maybe it doesn’t. Thomas doesn’t know what to trust anymore – or who to believe.

Wow this book was violent. I mean, stuff happens to these kids that only happens in horror stories. WICKED puts them through some awful, awful things in order to get what they want, ultimately justifying all that suffering with a promise of a cure for the Flare. Yeah right. I certainly don’t believe it, myself. I have my theories of what’s really going on, but even so, Dashner keeps you on your toes so you never truly have any idea of what’s happening, who to trust, what’s real, and what might happen next. In the end, all you have is Thomas to hang onto, and he’s as baffled and beaten as the rest of them.

There are so many twists and turns and weird crap happening that I truly cannot recall a time I’ve ever been so off balance by a book. I mean, yeah, I have theories, but in the end they’re weak and only vague guesses at certain pieces of the puzzle. When it comes to the big picture, I’m pretty well left in the dark. Heck, as I write this, I’m 1/3 of the way into the final book, The Death Cure, and I still don’t have any new ideas. I like it. I like that it’s totally new and not cookie-cutter stuff that makes it super predictable. I like that I’m so in the dark and Dashner does so many different things I can’t even cheat and skip ahead to discover anything because stuff can change in their world at the drop of a hat.

I do still think that the overall experiment is absurd since WICKED has no control, and by doing so they’ve put themselves in a position to be royally screwed by losing all their subjects, but I’m too well entrenched to let that bother me. So instead I just think, “You guys are fucked up,” and move on.

I paced myself with this book – and I use that term loosely. I finished this book over two days. Partly because I’d wiped myself in reading the first book the day before, and partly because I actually had to go to work.

Movie Comparison (if you’re interested)

Now if this set of book to movie changes make readers mad, I wouldn’t be too surprised. The movie is pretty much nothing like the book, and I think they may have pulled a bit from the third book into the second movie (and I only know that because of my cheatsy sneak peeks in the third book to where I saw mention of the Right Arm). But there are tons of things they left out – but again, in many ways I can understand.

The truth is that if all of Dashner’s horror were left in the movie, that sucker would be rated R, hands down. There are hanging dead people. Kids that lose heads in what’s probably the shittiest way to have it done (no, really, they literally have their heads removed from their bodies). There are more monsters, both human and non, Thomas gets the shit kicked out of him on what seems like every page, and so on. And all the kids reading these books wouldn’t get to see the movie, and the parents that saw it would flip out with, “Oh my God – what are you reading?”

That aside, there were a lot of other changes. They stuck with a lot of original shifts simply because they don’t translate well to the screen. The Scorch isn’t a purposeful trial in the movie the way it is in the book. I think they pushed along the plot more in the movie so you know earlier what WICKED is hoping to achieve, which is also fine, otherwise moviegoers might leave frustrated and confused, and then have to piece it all together a year later. I hesitate to say that it’s dumbed down; more like a lot of the tests that WICKED runs in the books are etched out entirely and we move forward to Thomas and Co. seeking escape, safety, and answers.

Oh – and I like what they did with the Flare in the movie. If you’ve played The Last of Us, think final stage of infected folks. If not, go look up cordyceps fungus. I’ll wait. Yeah, that’s kind of what they went with in the movie, and I’m totally cool with it. It’s creepier by far, and while I’ve got nothing against Dashner’s Flare, I’m bored with crazy/rage-induced viruses.

Ultimately, I’m okay with the movie and the book. The movie is almost like its own story, which is fun, and which makes me wonder how the final movie will go. Until then, I’ll discover the rest of the story in the final book.

Looking forward to how it all plays out.

NT

The Maze Runner (A Trilogy)

Pro: Good stuff
Con: Some slight far-fetchedness

The Bottom Line: If you want serious post-apocalyptic stuff or if you liked the movie but haven’t read the book yet, read the book.

I don’t often jump on bandwagons. Occasionally I’ll read a book to see what the hubbub is about, but not too often. My personal reading list is already too long. But after I saw The Maze Runner’s movie trailer, I decided.

That looks kick-ass. I want to see the movie first. Then I’ll read the book.

Mind you, that doesn’t happen often. …At all. But that’s what went down, and here we are.

Thomas doesn’t remember anything. Just his name. So it’s pretty disturbing when he is pulled out of a metal box and into the Glade – a place where dozens of boys currently live raising animals, tending fruit trees…and every day heading out into the Maze. The Maze always changes, and at night gruesome creatures lurk its twists and turns. The goal? Find a way out. But with the arrival of Thomas, things change, and the very next day a girl arrives in the box with a note: “She’s the last one ever.” That’s when things go from bad to much, much worse.

There is a LOT of stuff going on in here. You’re right along with Thomas for the ride as you try to figure out what’s going on, why these boys are here, and how they’re going to get out. The movie only puts you slightly ahead of the game, as it’s not entirely the same as the book (surprise). You wonder about who put them in there and the purpose of such a terrible place. And what’s more – what happens when they actually do get out. Thomas is constantly thinking, constantly questioning, and you’re doing the same thing with him.

All the characters are nicely fleshed out, and you quickly come to like guys like Newt, Minho, and Chuck. Dashner is skilled with his descriptions, as crazy as some of the things he describes are, you’re still able to picture them in your brain, though you’ll still find yourself wondering just how the Maze got built, what’s up with the Cliff and it’s long fall down, and how all these kids were supposed to figure this stuff out.

I mention a bit of far-fetched stuff, though maybe it's not really that. More like small things that popped into my head such as, “This experiment is terrible – not in a horrific way, but just as typical experiments go, the design is awful,” or “So Grievers have spikes that come out of their body – and yet people have zero problem with jumping on these things?” Or how they figure out how they’re supposed to get out of the Maze – that’s so convoluted and disjointed, no one would ever actually make those connections without prior knowledge (which is the purpose for a certain batch of chapters, I suppose, but if that never happened, the test would fail, and I guess everyone would die, but then you’re out of a solid batch of people, but what do I know?).

But those are easily set aside and you can let yourself be swept along in the insanity. I wanted to know how it compared to the movie and to see if I could glean any extra information from the book that I read the entire thing in pretty much one sitting. Got it at the library around 1pm, finally finished the book around 6:30 or so. Even when you want to put it down, it’s pretty hard to do.

Movie Comparison (if you’re interested)

So I might as well do a bit of comparison-ing. I liked both the book and the movie. The movie worked out well in the way that Warm Bodies worked out. There are a lot of things in the book that simply wouldn’t translate well over to the big screen and were perfectly fine to cut out. This may bother loyal followers of the movie, and I can understand, but the movie stands very strongly on its own two legs, and in fact, some thing that they changed I like better. Mostly because they make more sense (particularly the escape).

There are several characters that are cut out as well, but again, that’s something I’m okay with because you can do what needs to be done with the number of people that the movie uses, especially when other characters, while familiar and perhaps even close to you (so to speak), don’t really have much to offer other than dialogue and another body to fight or die. Other changes are small and okay – at least to me – such as certain deaths near the end, the map room, or the fact that Alby wasn’t a total jerk in the movie.

So go read the book or watch the movie. Either way, you’re going to have an interesting time.

After that, gear up for the Scorch.

NT

Alive (A Book Published This Year)

Pro: All the things.

Con: …Only if, in subsequent books, we don’t get to learn the full backstory.

The Bottom Line: If you like a nasty little packaging of horror and science fiction, then this book is for you.

I debated at first where to put this book. I considered putting it as the Book Set in the Future slot, but when I finished and given what I’d learned, I didn’t think that worked quite right. Luckily I spotted the one listed above and decided that would be better.

Describing this book is going to be tough, as Scott Sigler himself makes a request in the very back of the book urging us reviewers not to reveal too much. And I might take that to the extreme since there’s so much going on, I really don’t want to reveal a lot of things, which makes it tougher to talk about, but I’ll do my best.

A girl finds herself in a coffin. She’s twelve, and it’s her birthday. Not the best way to start the day. After panicking and realizing no one is going to come for her, she manages to break out where she finds other coffins – and her name. M. Savage. She soon discovers other things. She’s not twelve. Today is not her birthday. And she’s not the only one trapped alive in a coffin that somehow is and isn’t a coffin. After releasing other boys and girls, they all realize the same thing as Em – nothing what they thought is true, and they can’t remember any of their past. That means it’s time to find out, and that is way easier said than done.

This is the bare bones of the story, the very start of a rabbit hole that goes in a horrific circle and gets nastier each and every time. I’ve read Scott’s work before – his adult novel Infected. I never got to the rest of the series, though I was able to do some quick skimming. Scott is very good at providing readers with a wonderful blending of science fiction and horror, and there’s plenty of that here. In fact, I picked this book up at work (surprise, surprise) in the teen section, thinking, “Guess everyone’s writing teen now,” (which is true)…only to open it up and wonder how the hell this made it to the teen shelves. I mean, Hunger Games has its nasty moments, but given what the characters in this book saw in some of the rooms they passed by – yeah. No. This is some Saw-style Clive Barker type stuff. Which is why, if you’re an adult in the teen section, frickin’ go for it, man.

Piecing things together is pretty hard for a while given the information that Scott provides you. He makes you think one thing completely given all the Aztec imagery, and then suddenly, BAM – if you’re paying attention to the details you realize you’re somewhere utterly different and it’s really bizarre. I don’t feel I’m giving anything away with that Aztec bit because it’s pretty clear with the carvings mentioned and some of the names that popped up that Scott went for the Aztec inspiration. But it works because like I said, it makes things all the more confusing.

While the concept overall (once you realize where they are) has been done – and I’d list books or movies, but then I’d be giving it away – the other details, as well as the whole Aztec bit, make it very different. So does the darkness and the characters. It’s a new spin on an idea that’s been used, and that’s okay. Borrow and modify, as they would say in the art world, and oh boy, does Scott modify.

There are questions left behind, but then this is also the first book in a trilogy (grumble, grumble), so for those questions to be answered, you’ll have to wait for the next two books. I’m really hoping they get answered because if the next book just focuses on where they were headed at the end of this book and the trials they’re facing there without touching on the history of this book, well, that would be irritating. But I don’t think that’ll happen. People are acting too weird, there’s a lot still going on behind them, and there’s still the question of that one girl…

It’s a solid read with a strong female character who has to fight with things that are and what she hopes aren’t a part of her. The visuals that Scott paints are strong – if this were a movie it could be super tense and extremely freaky in several areas. I’m digging what’s going on here and I look forward to the next book (tentative release date of April 2016).

In short, people like Scott Sigler make me jealous. Jealous of his writing skills and his ability to come up with such wild stories. Perhaps someday. Until then, I’ll keep on reading and immersing myself in this world – horrific though it may be.

NT

1984 - It's Sex Gone Sour

Pros: Makes you think, for sure.
Cons: Slow pace; an obvious outlet for exposition by Orwell; discouraging ending.

The Bottom Line: If society ever bans or rations chocolate, I'm going to riot. Who's with me?

I’d first heard about Nineteen Eighty-Four in college. People commented on how good it was, how close our society was coming to the one in the book, how impressive it was for Orwell to create something that resonates so soundly, even today.

When I had to choose five novels to read for my graduate term, I made a point to put this one on the list. I wanted to see what was so great about it. In fact, I was excited to finally read it. I was expecting something along the lines of Fahrenheit 451 or even The Giver. Not quite.

The year is 1984. Or at least, that’s what the Party says it is. Winston lives in a world where Big Brother is always watching you; telescreens put up in rooms can observe and listen to just about everything that goes on in your home. Winston’s job is to falsify information of the past, so that the Party is always right. Sex should be joyless. War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength. But Winston doesn’t believe in these things. He’s staring to think down with Big Brother, and when a girl hands him a piece of paper that says “I love you” he finally makes some decisions he knows will ultimately lead to his death.

You’ve been plopped into a futuristic setting almost similar to that of V for Vendetta (if you’ve seen that movie). Nothing is truly illegal, but if you do something the Party doesn’t like, you’re vaporized. You never existed. I went into this book thinking something was going to change, even on a small scale. I was disappointed. No, I’m not saying Winston was killed or something, but while in other dystopian novels I’ve read at least the hero has some semblance of a decent ending to his story, there is none here.

As you read, you may find yourself bored at times. Much of this novel is Winston thinking, considering, and going over memories that in some ways have nothing to do with everything else that is going on (at least not that I could see – if someone wants to enlighten me, please do). The rest of the action is Winston at work, moving from place A to place B, and hanging out with the girl, Julia. At one point you even end up reading a part of a book that Winston is reading, which is nothing more than expository writing that, while it does have some interesting information, can begin to drag. Even when something finally does happen near the end, you get a lot of dialogue that is essentially rhetoric.

Now I know what Orwell was trying to do when he wrote this. I’m sure pretty much everyone does. He was already ticked at his present with the class divisions and control certain levels had over others. This book amplifies that to a frightening degree, and the scary part is that some countries freaked out and banned this book because of its political implications, among other reasons. Well, I got mine at a library not too long ago so I think the U.S. is still okay.

Despite the way the book is constructed, as well as the fact that the ending is a huge letdown and quite depressing (though you can look at what some critics have said about the appendix that deals with a language called Newspeak in the book, and get some lighter feelings about things that way), it is good ad evokes plenty of emotions in you. You automatically rebel against the things presented, such as constant monitoring, the robotic manner in which people live, the suppression of sex and the use of all that pent up frustration to be transformed into hatred (and holy crap does that remind me of Jim Breuer and his reason why terrorists are so angry! Haha!), and so forth.

This is a book I think you should read on your own time as opposed to being assigned to, mostly in cases like kids in high school. It’s not for everyone and I can easily see high school kids throwing their books and yelling “Down with Big Brother!” I mean, it would be rather ironic for this book to become canon, you know? Either way, it’s bound to get your juices flowing and you’ll want to start up a conversation with a friend about government/class control. And that’s a good thing.

NT

Originally published on Epinions.com.

Physics of the Impossible by Michio Kaku – Making the Impossible Possible (Almost)

Pros: Utterly fascinating and mind-boggling (i.e. wow!)

Cons: Occasionally mind-boggling (i.e. huh?) and subject matter is probably not for everyone

The Bottom Line: Centuries ago, the world was flat. Decades ago, the atom was the smallest bit of matter. Currently, concepts like time travel aren't possible...or are they?

I fist found this book while walking past a display at work where I spotted a book with the Doctor Who Police Box on the cover. The TARDIS was in the process of zipping through a wormhole with lines and equations around it. The title read Physics of the Impossible by Michio Kaku. Oh really? I read the inside cover, which described a book full of exactly what the title promised. I made a note to read it in the future.

Well the future is now or, I suppose, was. And I'll tell you, it really was a fascinating read. That's the best word I can come up with to describe it because it was fascinating. Engrossing, though sometimes mind-boggling beyond the point of "Oh wow" into the realm of "I have no idea what he's talking about."

Michio Kaku is no stranger to the beast that is physics. He was entranced by the science fiction adventures he saw on television as a child, a good thing because in high school he constructed a massive machine to create dark matter. He currently writes books on the subject of physics while working on the string theory--or a theory of everything. (and no, apparently the answer isn't 42).

The idea behind the book is extremely simple. We've all heard about the possibilities of time travel, faster than light travel, cloaks of invisibility, telepathy, and other science fiction-like phenomenons, but most of the time we chuckle and think none of those (among others) are possible. Sure, our scientists are smart, but they have yet to make the imaginations of science fiction writers a reality. Kaku seeks to show readers how some of these ideas may actually be possible. He uses the laws of physics and brings up possibilities for the seemingly impossible. As long as the concepts do not break any laws of physics, then hey, they may very well be in our future, be that future decades, centuries, or even millennia and beyond.

Kaku divides all the "impossibilities" into different classes based upon how possible they actually are, as well as how likely and soon we might develop such technologies in the future. The table of contents gives you perfect insight into the subjects Kaku discusses:

Class I Impossibilities

1. Force Fields

2. Invisibility

3. Phasers and Death Stars

4. Teleportation

5. Telepathy

6. Psychokinesis

7. Robots

8. Extraterrestrials and UFOs

9. Starships

10. Antimatter and Anti-universes

Class II Impossibilities

11. Faster Than Light

12. Time Travel

13. Parallel Universes

Class III Impossibilities

14. Perpetual Motion Machines

15. Precognition

Yeah, I know, you would have thought something like Time Travel would be stuck in a Class III impossibility, but using the laws of physics, Kaku manages to explain how it really could be possible, some of which have been utilized in television shows and science fiction books. In fact, all of these ideas have been involved in science fiction, and the ironic part is that many of these creative thoughts used to be thought ridiculous by tried and true scientists. As Agent K said in Men in Black, "Just imagine what we'll 'know' next."

It's a very cool book. Kaku does what he can to bring examples and concepts down to the level of an every day person to understand. He uses visual examples to help the reader visualize, and of course, brings in examples from popular science fiction films and books to demonstrate points and concepts. For the most part, I knew what was going on and understood how something could potentially work using atoms and computer chips and matter in space. Kaku explains things very well and even gives the reader a healthy tidbit of history and those associated with bits of highly important physics theories and equations, which are rather essential to understanding how we can go from point A (say, Newton's theory of gravity) to point B (opening up wormholes and skipping through them). Of course there were times when even I (who found all variable equations in math more fun than actual numbers) sat there on pause, trying to wrap my head around a paragraph or sentence. There were moments when I thought, "I don't know what he's saying, but it sounds like it could make sense," amid particles inside atoms and how complex equations can work (or fail in some cases). However, those times were few and overall I read each chapter with relish, wondering at the possibilities that Kaku posited and just how cool it would be if we figured out something like starships or force fields.

As a science fiction writer myself, this made the book just that much cooler. I ate this stuff up, wondering how I might incorporate some of Kaku's ideas into my work, if only by a vague mention. The difficulty in creating something like a wormhole made me laugh and wonder how one critiquer of my work could question a completely possible concept and not another, nearly impossible one. If you're a science fiction writer, read this and love it. If you're a science fiction reader, read this and love it. If you like physics and the "impossible," go for it. Even if you're none of the above, I honestly don't see why you couldn't at least get something interesting out of this book.

I even read the Preface, something I don't do often (if ever), but Kaku tells you a bit of his past and lets you know the kind of person he is and how he's able to write about such things (plenty of research involved, to be sure). Kaku's writing style is rather informal, very accessible, and makes you feel like you're talking to someone genuinely interested in both his work and getting others to understand it and be interested in it as well. He might mention something and I would pause, zooming off into my own little world in my head and wondering about the future, the mystery it holds, how small we really are, or the awesome power a Type III Civilization would command. All this, as opposed to the stiff professor who doles out hard facts and ignores whether or not you understand or care about them. He even makes a clever little quip here and there that had me smiling or chuckling.

 

There's nothing negative to say about this book...at all. I can only recommend it to you and hope that by chapter 1 you'll be as interested as I was and continue reading. I often stick it on the B&N Employee Recommendation display and one I made sure to add to my own collection.

Notes from the playlist: "Angels" by Within Temptation

Recently Finished

 

Redshirts by John Scalzi

I've been wanting to read this book for a while, and considering how much I enjoyed Old Man's War, I figured this would be pretty good since Scalzi knows how to bring on the humor while keeping plenty of seriousness in check. Here we have Dahl, who just got an assignment to the Intrepid. Sounds like a great job - except there's a very high death rate in the ship. In fact, it seems as though every time there is an away team, someone dies. Someone unimportant. The captain and other high ranking officers always come back. So what's going on? Why are all the low ranking guys dying? Start channeling your inner Guy from Galaxy Quest and ask the right questions - while this was a teensy bit predictable, I had a good time and look forward to getting my hands on Scalzi's other works. I still like Old Man's War better, though.
 

Notes from the playlist: "Rise" by John Dreamer

Just Cracked Open

Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi

I've been so busy working and working that I haven't had time to read - much less update this blog.  Which is pretty annoying, so I made February my month to get things done.  There are two books that came out recently that I've been dying to get my hands on.  One is Beth Revis's Shades of Earth, the final book in her trilogy, and another is this one, Veronica Rossi's second.  I read her first book when it was still an advance reader copy.  I wasn't sure it would be something I would be into, but I was wrong.  I had a great time reading it and looked forward to the next book - which is finally out.  I was thrilled when I saw it on my cart (being in charge of the teen section at my bookstore and all) and knew I needed to find the time to read it. So continues the story of Aria and Perry to find the Still Blue - a place safe from the Aether that twists and curls through the sky to kill wanderers at any minute.  Will they find it? (probably not in this book) What will happen if they don't? (now that, friends, is the real question and what I'm interested in).  Throw in the other unique characters that have their own set of issues and it's bound to be a good time.

Notes from the playlist: "Some Nights" by Fun.

Recommended for Serious SF Fans

Hyperion by Dan Simmons

Required reading in my graduate school meant a genre book every semester.  Science fiction was up to bat my first year, and this was the book that ended up being chosen.  Hyperion was the sort of book that people either absolutely enjoyed or totally hated.  Obviously I ended up in the former group.  It is indeed like a futuristic Canterbury Tales that include everything from world-connecting portals to high functioning AI.  Then of course there's the Shrike, but I'm not telling you about that particular nightmare creature.  Each story is in some way connected as seven travelers hope to find answers to the questions in their lives on the planet Hyperion, where structures move backward in time and the Shrike waits for them all.  Some readers may find it slow, but I found it fascinating.  The scope of the universe that Simmons creates, as well as the powerful language and images he creates, is inspiring.  There are plenty of questions you will have yourself as things progress, but they may only be answered in the next book, The Fall of Hyperion.  And yes, I read that too.

P.S. I don't know what it is, but I totally love this cover.

Notes from the playlist: "Numb" by Alanis Morissette

The Book of the Night by Pearl North - My Brain is Pudding

Pros: Talk about world building! It's wild world building in a microcosm!
Cons: Only that Haly got the short end of the stick here.

The Bottom Line: If you haven't read the first two books recently, then you really ought to do that first and then brace yourself for this last one.

Holy cow, where to start. I really should have reviewed this book while it was still super-fresh in my mind. But I’ll see if I can still do it justice. If you have not already read Pearl North’s first two books in this trilogy (Libyrinth and The Boy From Ilysies), then you need to go about doing that.

Queen Thela has Endymion’s Rose, a pen that gives her the power to unmake the world and craft a reality to her liking. She has kidnappedPoas well, and it may be that only he can keep her from using the pen. Meanwhile, Haly does everything she can to keep the inhabitants of the Libyrinth from starving, and that means traveling to a city that is no longer what she thought it was. It is there that she will discover the legendary Book of the Night, and the truth in its pages, as well as the truth of her world and everyone in it.

So that’s only a super tiny snippet of the fractal that is this book. Honestly, this one could easily have ended up in the adult section for a myriad of reasons. This book somehow manages to make it beyond imagination to stuff that I never expected, nor would I have ever expected even if given years and years to try. This book starts off simply enough, with a small quest to go on and the hope of finding some food – and then it just spins off into this bizarre story of a future so far ahead I think only The Doctor (for us Dr. Who fans) would understand and be able to manage it. It’s like swimming around in a pool and then deciding to go off into the deep end – only to realize that once you’ve reached the deep end you’re not in the pool anymore, but swimming in the middle of the ocean.

And I mean all of that in a good way.

Each character is trying to accomplish a goal, whether it’s just to get home, find food, or survive, and the stakes keep getting higher and higher as the pages turn. Clauda is back with her Wing and I’m surprised that some of the things she saw didn’t scramble her brain like an egg. It was nice to see her and Selene finally work things out. The dynamic between Queen Thela andPowas undeniably interesting. He and Clauda took the brunt of the book on their shoulders while Haly seemed mostly in the background despite some of the things she found. In the end, I was disappointed that Haly felt more like a side character than a main protagonist. I had thought the story would return to her, but in the end she kind of got screwed the most which was a bit bummy.

This book has elements of The Matrix, The Thirteenth Floor, Fushigi Yuugi, (and I know you pulled a Wash!), and all sorts of stuff that will make your brain twist in ways you weren’t sure were possible. It’s a book that will demand at least one repeat read – preferably with the first two books being reread first.

NT

Review originally posted on Epinions.com

How about an interview with the author?  Visit my other blog to find out all about Pearl North!

Notes from the playlist: "Radioactive" by Imagine Dragons

Purchased for My Shelf

Old Man's War by John Scalzi

Indeed, if you follow this blog this title may sound familiar to you.  I recommended this book two years ago.  Since then I've often thought about reading it again.  When a gift card fell into my lap I decided to add it to my little bundle of purchases because this is the kind of book I can see myself reading multiple times - and that is one of my top criteria for purchasing a book.  Scalzi is a skilled writer who can spin an interesting tale that will draw reactions from the reader - whether those reactions are laughter or worry for the characters.  You should pick this one up if you love a good science fiction book.  Indeed, I'm awaiting my chance to snag his newest book, Redshirts because it looks like a great deal of fun.  And if it's anything like Scalzi's other works, then I'm sure I'm in for a good time.

Notes from the playlist: "Tick Tock" by Hans Zimmer

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins - Fueling the Flames of Rebellion

Pros: Engaging, characters you care about, a Capitol you hate
Cons: None now that all three books are out.

The Bottom Line: It's exciting, hard to put down, and contains plenty of twists with an ending that leaves you hanging like a climber without a rope.

I read The Hunger Games well over a year ago. After letting its excitement settle a little, I fully intended to read this next. Then I thought perhaps I would wait until the third and final book, Mockingjay was out before I dove in so there wouldn’t be any additional gaps. Ha. Guess it didn’t matter because I just got done finishing Catching Fire today – an additional three days after I actually decided to read it (I got distracted by Beth Revis’s A Million Suns). By the way, you’ll need to read the first book if this one is to make any sense.

Katniss has survived The Hunger Games along with her fellow District 12 tribute, Peeta. Now they get to go on a Victory Tour of the other Districts. Except Katniss soon realizes that she’s started something she never intended to start. The potential for rebellion. By saving Peeta and allowing two people to survive the Games instead of one, the people of the Districts see her as a symbol of hope and defiance. Katniss just wants her friends and family safe. But it’s not so simple. Even the President of the Capitol will make her pay if she can’t help quell the sense of rebellion flowing through the Districts. But no matter what she tries to do, it seems as though she only makes things worse. And this is the year she and Peeta will have to face down the Quell – a very special and extra deadly version of The Hunger Games.

At first I thought this might be mostly a repeat of the first book, but found out that I was completely wrong. The vast majority of this book is Katniss dealing with the repercussions of her actions from the first book. Some she manages to handle, though many of them she cannot. And who could blame her? I certainly don’t. That’s a lot to thrust upon a teenage girl. No wonder her mentor Haymitch is drunk all the time. Katniss tries as hard as she can and as best she can to convince everyone – especially President Snow – that she’s just a girl in love with Peeta. She never intends to start an uprising and she certainly doesn’t know how to be the leader of one should things get to that point. She’s too busy worrying about the safety of her friends and family.

There is that thin romantic line that gets played here and there – the triangle of Katniss, Peeta, and Gale, but it’s not all that prevalent. Just enough to keep us reminded of it and interested, although ultimately this isn’t Twilight (and anyone who makes that comparison is deranged to say the least). Katniss even comes right out and says that now is not the time to make such decisions. Frankly the fact that the boys are so into her making a choice is ridiculous considering the conditions everyone is living under. They’re lucky Katniss doesn’t freak out and tell them both to back off – except even then with constant monitoring by the Capitol, she wouldn’t even be able to do that. Poor girl.

I zipped through this. I had those reading moments where I’d have to get back to work and carry my book to my locker to see if I could squeeze in just a few more words. Or at night when I thought, “I’ll finish this chapter” and then end up reading three before finally going to bed.

The author, Suzanne Collins, has done an excellent job of painting a world that readers will be both intrigued with and despise. The array of characters will have you alternately cheering for some and eagerly awaiting the death of others. Her description is right on par for me – enough that I can see exactly what she wants (or what works for me) and without going so overboard so that I’m not sure what I’m supposed to imagine. There are several surprises and still other things that you’ll be surprised Katniss doesn’t pick up on (though they seem painfully obvious).

The book ends on a sharp cliffhanger with some characters missing, others gone for good, and several secrets revealed. Makes one wonder just how so much will be wrapped up in the final book. Also makes me wonder just how Collins managed to fit that wrap up in a book the same size as the first two (as you normally don’t see that. Must say, I’m impressed). I look forward to reading Mockingjay – and this time there won’t be a year-long gap.

NT

Originally posted on Epinions.com

Notes from the playlist: "Still Alive" by GLaDOS

Recommended for Post-Apocalyptic Romantics

Pros: I love a good post-apocalyptic story
Cons: Reading it as a 28-year-old (which I was at the time)
The Bottom Line: Aria and Perry make for a very unique couple, and in a world that reminds me of Ergo Proxy, I'm totally game.

I won’t lie.  I judge books by their covers.  When we first got this in the back room at the bookstore, I sort of wrote it off.  Another “tough girl” teen story.  Whatever.  Out of curiosity, I eventually read the back.  Mm.  Interesting.  Later on I peeked inside at a few pages.  Finally I decided I might as well just take the ARC (advance reading copy) and read it.  Author Veronica Rossi also has an extra bit for you – her book has already been optioned by Warner Brothers.  Jackpot, Ms. Rossi.

Aria has been framed.  Now she’s been thrown out of the safety of the protective dome city she’s lived in all her life.  Into a world that can kill her in a staggering number of ways.

Perry has just lost his nephew to Aria’s people.  Those he calls Moles because they don’t live out in the open anymore.  He vows to get his nephew back at any cost.

The two must team up together in order to get what they want.  But it will mean trusting each other and staying alive in the desolate world – including staying clear of the violent aether that flows in the skies above and the storms that it creates which scorch the ground black.

One of the big things that drew me into this book was the description Rossi offers.  The desolate landscape, the individual domes that exist throughout the world.  The people that struggle to live outside of them.  It reminded me of the anime Ergo Proxy.  And while there were no proxies running around and Rossi’s sky is filled with powerful energy flows called aether, that sort of thing still really intrigues me.  It’s the strange part of the future world where you wonder – where did it come from?  Is it truly everywhere?  And how does it relate to the skills of some of the characters?  Questions, questions…

Another thing I liked is just how different Aria and Perry were from one another.  Usually people, even in many stories like these, remain people.  Perry, however, is a lot more feral.  Because of this, Aria and Perry basically hated each other, which I haven’t seen in a while either.  They both thought of one another as total freaks, and for a while I started to wonder how on earth Rossi was going to bridge such a wide gap between the two (because you basically knew they were going to hook up at some point).  But I liked that gap.

When it comes to all the other post-apocalyptic/dystopian stories out there, this one is a bit set apart in that everything takes place outside of the "perfect society" location - in a place where the environment will straight-up kill you and people scrape by on practically nothing. I liked the atmosphere – and the aether. It’s a good time and has a lot of unique points going for it.  There’s a surprisingly anti-climactic part near the end which, because of its anti-climactic design, is quite nice.  It does, however, end in a way that heralds the door to the next two books in the trilogy.

My con up there is because this is a teen book, and for some reason I tend to start out thinking of my characters as kids, like 15 or 16 (sometimes younger) even if they’re not.  Aria and Perry are 17 or 18, and Perry is a tough, feral kind of guy.  Yet during this book I kept thinking of him as younger and not all that wild until Aria saw him do some badass stuff.  I was in the 14-15 range, and the name Perry didn’t help either (no offense to guys named Perry.  It just didn’t come off as tough – even if his name is officially Peregrine).

But that’s my own fault.  Funny enough, while reading thing I thought, “This would be cool as a movie,” and then remembered that it’s going to be (or at least, Warner Bros has their hands on it).  I hope they do a good casting job whenever they finally get around to it.

So read this for yourself, or wait until the other books are out and then read it so you don’t have to wait.  Either way, I might have to go see the movie while I wait.  If it exists by then, anyway.

NT

Originally posted on Epinions.com


Notes from the playlist: "Seven Lives" by In Strict Confidence

A Million Suns by Beth Revis - Where's The Doctor When You Need Him?

Pros: Just as riveting as the first book, nice twists and unexpected turns
Cons: Nope

The Bottom Line: I'm glad this got some promotion shelf space because it deserves a chance to be seen and enjoyed.

Originally I intended to read Catching Fire seeing as, you know, it’s been a year since I read The Hunger Games. Figured it was about time. But the second I walked into the back room and saw A Million Suns sitting there on my promo cart, I got all geeky and squealed like the girl I am and snatched it up. After all, Catching Fire had waited a year to shift to the top of my To Be Read List – it could wait a few more days.

A Million Suns is the second book in a trilogy by Beth Revis. The first book was Across the Universe, which I actually hadn’t planned on reading at all. The covers of these books are gorgeous, and I’ve had such fun in space with them (although the characters aren’t having any fun at all), I’m seriously considering purchasing them. In hardcover. Which I haven’t done with a fiction book since the last Harry Potter came out. Yeah, I know.

This time around, Amy laments being on a ship for however long it might take to get to the new planet while her parents remain in their frozen boxes. She’s an outcast, alone with only Elder on her side it seems. Elder is trying to adjust to being Eldest on the ship and in charge of everything. But since he’s given the people of the ship a chance to think on their own, they’ve started to rebel. Nothing is going on planned – least of which the truth Elder learns about the ship and where it’s going. But when Amy discovers clues left by Orion, together they’ll discover all the secrets the ship still has to offer – including a massive secret that will change the lives of everyone living on the ship.

Ooooh boy. If I didn’t have to work while having this book in my possession, it would have been done in a day, two at most. I kept getting itchy every time I had to put it down because I wanted to see what Orion knew. I wanted to know if what I was guessing was right (I WAS. Whoo hoo!). I wanted to know who was trying to stop them from learning these new secrets and how they would be stopped. I wanted to know if my guesses on the “whodunit” was right (almost).

Revis knows how to ratchet up tension and I kept reading and reading even when I knew I had to put my book down. She paints her characters just as they’re supposed to be and doesn’t let up or compromise. I kept sitting here wishing Elder would figure out how to craft a moving speech to get everyone back into line (I was sitting here crafting them myself), but then we wouldn’t have a book if he suddenly went all eloquent and pacified everyone. Likewise, he was just too insecure in his new role and not exactly Mr. Eloquent to begin with.

My only problem was when Amy knew something about a girl who’d been killed. As in, knew who most likely had done it. And she never said anything. That really, really bothered me. I know why it was done – for the story of course – but still. A girl is dead after being raped and you never tell anyone? Until much, much later when it won’t do anyone any good? Hmph. Oh well. At least that little problem resolved itself in the end anyway. Can’t say I’m sorry about it either.

Speaking of death, Revis is definitely not afraid to kill off people. She made some interesting choices that definitely left impacts, a few in particular. This book goes at an almost nonstop pace, which is part of the reason it’s so hard to put down. You never know just what might happen next or who’s on the chopping block. I had plenty of surprises to enjoy, which is always nice.

If you liked Revis’s first book, Across the Universe, then you’ll definitely enjoy this one. It’s not going to be until January 2013 when the final book, Shades of Earth is available, but hey, that’s just the way the writing world works. I’m most certainly willing to wait.

NT

Originally posted on Epinions.com

Notes from the playlist: "Map of the Problematique" by Muse

Beggars in Spain by Nancy Kress - Why Spain Anyway?

Pros: Interesting concepts, philosophies, you wonder where it's going
Cons: Doesn't really go anywhere...

The Bottom Line: Another interesting read with some unique ideas and intriguing ways of presenting certain philosophies...but ultimately I thought, "...So?"

The September book of the 2011 ABC Book Club hosted by Calico Reaction was Beggars in Spain by Nancy Kress. While the premise sounded interesting, ultimately it didn't suck me in. I told myself that if interlibrary loan couldn't come up with the book, then I'd just skip it altogether. I know. Me not make an effort? Even after signing up for the whole year? *shrug* What can I say? I have other things I want to read and I've been disappointed with many of the titles thus far. But onward.

Leisha Camden is a Sleepless - a genetically modified human being that has no need to sleep. Sounds pretty nifty, right? But when people are different, naturally there are those that fear and hate them. The world becomes divided between Sleepers and Sleepless. Eventually many try to cut themselves off and move to a place called Sanctuary. Only Leisha is left to watch as the world changes, eventually forgetting about the Sleepless. But there are those in Sanctuary who won't forget the Sleepers and their persecution of them...

That's the book in a nutshell. The book is divided into four parts, each one jumping ahead about 20 years or so. Things start off in 2008 (haha) where the genetic modifications for babies are in full swing, though the Sleepless part is just getting off the ground. The book finishes out in the 2090s where Sanctuary has moved into space and the Sleepless just can't seem to let things go.

The original blurb for the book is, I think, a bit misleading. Leisha does indeed do a lot of fighting to keep everyone from hating each other, once that doesn't work out how she expected, she literally just shuts down the rest of the book. She still sort of does things but...nothing really interesting. This is one of those books that is just barely interesting enough to keep reading. I could see a lot of people getting bored and putting the book down for a long time before picking it up again and maybe finishing. It's one of those books that I think eventually you begin to wonder, "So....is this going to go somewhere or what?"

It's almost more of a commentary on human society than it is a story. It just uses sleeplessness as a medium. Even then, the whole Sleepless/Sleeper issue fades until the people of Sanctuary (one individual in particular) sort of wig out again. It's easy to see the arguments for both sides, and you may find yourself shifting from one to another as the book progresses. Even near the end, while I supported some of Sanctuary's reasons for wanting to do what they did, their ultimate motivations were still based on Sleeper/Sleepless hatred which by then was pretty much nonexistent. I sat there thinking, "Geez guys, let it go."

But I'm getting ahead of myself and talking too much about things that you probably won't understand. Indeed, it is an interesting book that looks at hate, the way society functions, the concepts of excellence and giving back to the world at large vs. the beggars of society that don't. How far should science go before they've gone too far? Is there such a thing as a perfect society? And would you be missing something important by missing out on sleep?

This story is like watching a long line of events unfold without a clear ending. I can easily see events continue to unfold in the same manner as in the past, so it didn't feel like a concrete ending to me. There's a lot of lead up with some characters that in the end seem a lot more like filler than necessary bits. At the very least these areas could be narrowed down. I've heard that this was actually a novella first - I wonder if maybe it should have stayed that way...or if anything, maybe just not stretched so long.

You know what? The design kind of reminded me of The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, only with more dialogue.

It's a hard book to review, a hard book to rate. And while I don't particularly recommend it, I do think it does qualify as better than average. I know, that sounds weird, but it's the kind of book that deserves a four star count, but not one I'm going to go around chucking at people demanding they read it. Feel free to read a few pages and see what you think. If you like philosophical arguments, law, scientific rambling, and so forth, this may be for you. Otherwise you may just find yourself checking your watch wondering when it will be over.

Oh, and I don't really buy some of the science the author throws out at us about sleep in the first few chapters, but whatever.

NT

Originally posted on Epinions.com

Notes from the playlist: "Till I Collapse" by Eminem