Title: WE

Author: John Dickinson

Genre: Science Fiction, “Young Adult”

Publisher: David Fickling Books (UK)
Publication Date: January 2010
Paperback: 288 pages

Paul Munro must leave Earth. He is sent to a station at the edge of the solar system, that is manned by just four people. There he must find out why certain signals are not reaching Earth.

Before he begins his journey, they remove his World Ear – a tiny communications device that integrates the internet with the brain. And when he reaches his destination, body wasted by low gravity, exiled for life and cut off from all the other humans with whom he shared his thoughts, his companions ask: “Did you consent?”

He cannot answer.

How did I get this book: Bought (via Waterstones UK and downloaded to my B&N Nook. Gotta love the international appeal of the ebook!)

Why did I read this book: I’ll be honest – the first thing to catch my eye with this book was the cover. And then, when I read the synopsis, I was hooked. SO hooked, in fact, that I had to buy the book immediately from the UK (as it isn’t available in the US).

Review:

In a not-so-distant future, mankind has changed. The majority of the human population is interlinked by the World Ear, an implant that allows its user to instantaneously connect with anyone else who is implanted, communicating in a mixture of images, sounds, and even transmitted sensations like touch, scent, or taste. The World Ear has allowed humanity to supersede the individual; it has allowed humanity to be connected in one massive consciousness, with information received and dispersed at the speed of thought.

There is no need for speech.

There is no need for strong emotion.

The World Ear has taken humanity to its next evolutionary stage.

WE is the story of Paul Munro, one man selected by the collective consciousness of the World Ear as a telemetry specialist on an important outpost at the furthest reach of the solar system, dedicated to analyze the gas planet, its moon, and search for any sign of intelligent life. But because of the unique problems posed by the planet and moon, none of the station’s inhabitants can be connected to the World Ear. Our first introduction to Paul is immediately after he awakens from the procedure that has disconnected him from the network – and his abject terror at being utterly alone, mute and almost completely incapable of communication. After his eight year journey (in stasis) to the outpost at the edge of the solar system, Paul gradually adjusts to new life with the three other humans that will likely be his only companions for the rest of his life – May (exuberant doctor), Lewis (imposing commander), and Vandamme (partner to the lost telemetrist and a self-contained astro-geologist) – learning to speak, emote, and interact. As Paul becomes more articulate and self-conscious, he suspects that there is something amiss in his mission to uncover the source of the interference with transmissions to Earth. With his suspicions mounting, Paul is determined to discover the truth at any cost.

This is the first book I have read by John Dickinson, and what a fabulous introduction it turned out to be. WE is one hell of a novel. This is cerebral science fiction at its best, posing ambitious questions and demanding its characters and readers to confront what it truly means to be human. It is one of those books that gets better the longer one thinks about it; processing, digesting, and interpreting the data in every possible way (much like Paul’s “hunter” program). Ever since discovering Stephen Baxter last year, I have been on the lookout for hard science fiction titles that manage to blend human character appeal with the cold, cruelty of space – and WE manages to do just that.

Reminiscent of Baxter’s Titan and of M.T. Anderson’s dystopian SF masterpiece, Feed, WE examines the meaning of humanity, the definition of intelligent life, and the value of the individual in relation to the whole. It is in these quiet questions, asked both explicitly by the characters, and implicitly of the readers, that WE shines. Is emancipation from “the We” (as the characters aboard the station call Earth and the World Ear) a good thing? At what level of connection does the individual begin to become irrelevant? The We is utilitarianism in the extreme, with a new overall consciousness comprised of ALL its interlinked consciousnesses – akin to a giant brain, with each human acting as a neuron, firing signals and interacting with others to produce the desired result. Instead of painting a dystopian future where consumerism runs amok (as in Anderson’s Feed), WE’s future is more quietly menacing – our cult of personality and fixation on the individual falls to the greater good, which sounds fine, doesn’t it? Except in such a society, there is no individual autonomy – just as protagonist Paul is asked by Lewis, “Did you consent?” he is unable to answer.

On a less-nebulous/more-concrete level, the reason why WE is able to provoke such intriguing questions is because the science, the setting, and the characters are impeccably written. From the technical aspects to the science (the space elevator, the limitations of the World Ear, the physiological changes to those in deep space, the temperature and atmosphere readings) Mr. Dickinson appears to have done his homework, working within the parameters of our current understanding of physics and our own solar system (see additional thoughts below for more on that). The images of a distant gas giant and its icy moon are richly – if coldly – detailed, providing a harsh, unforgiving, and evocative backdrop for the novel. On the character level, WE is told through Paul’s observations – effective, since Paul’s communication skills are underdeveloped to say the least, especially in his exchanges with his fellow crew members. In such an unrelenting, isolated environment, these character are a microcosm of humanity – Van, who turns to religion; May and Lewis, who cling to a different hope for the future; Paul, obstinate and determined to uncover the truth. As these characters say in the book, they are the last four humans in existence, differentiated from their siblings on Earth because of their disconnection from the We, their ability to feel acute emotion, and even physically with their low-gravity distorted bodies. It’s a scary and effective picture, with these fragile creatures struggling for life in the most inhospitable of locations. These characters are flawed, genuine creatures that make questionable decisions – and that is part of the beauty of WE. Ultimately, regardless of whether or not Paul and the crew made the right choices, they are able to make a choice, and that is the important thing.

From a plotting perspective, I am loathe to say too much for fear of spoilers – suffice to say that WE is a psychological thriller, with a mystery and a powerful revelation. Though this is more of a quieter, slowly simmering plot, heavy on dialogue and internal reflection and lighter on action, WE may not appeal to everyone (this is no military science fiction novel, so if you are looking for nonstop battle scenes, look elsewhere). That isn’t to say the plotting is poor or the book cumbersome – because it’s not. I devoured WE in a single sitting.

What else can I say? I loved this book. On a final note concerning the genre – WE is a young adult novel as much as, say, The Handmaiden’s Tale or 1984 or The Martian Chronicles (all books that are frequently shelved in the YA section, as well as the mainstream SF or Literature sections). Which is to say, WE doesn’t really fit into the typical, current mold of romance-featuring, adventure filled coming-of-age sort of novel that one might normally associate with YA F/SF (in fact, author John Dickinson has blogged about the mis-categorization of this book). That isn’t to say that WE shouldn’t be read by young adults – rather, it is a book that can transcend age barriers. Yes, neither the protagonist nor any other character in this book is a young adult, but need that be a defining quality for the genre?

How about I put it like this: WE is a mainstream Science Fiction novel that I encourage anyone – of any age – to read. Rife with imposing, challenging questions, WE resonates as one of the best new science fiction titles I have had the pleasure of reading this year.

Notable Quotes/Parts: From Chapter 1:

He had asked to be alone when he woke. After all, he had reasoned, from now on he would always be alone.

They had told him there would be no pain from the operation. He had looked up the techniques they would use, checked the possible complications and had understood why they had said that. Nevertheless, something in him was surprised to discover that they had been right. There was none. There was only emptiness.

He blinked, automatically holding his eyelids closed for just that fraction of a second that would summon his displays. But no voice spoke in his head. No images appeared, no lists, nothing.

There were no weather reports, news pictures, financial statements, alerts concerning the state of his house or vehicle or the transmission systems that he was supposed to maintain. There were no demands from his supervisors. And there were no personal messages. Like everyone else he always went to those first. But there were none – no loving images, no jokes or pictures, no one wishing him luck or promising to remember him. There was nothing more from Her. There never would be.

You can read a full extract online HERE.

Additional Thoughts: Though he never specifically mentions the name of the planet and moon, this all takes place on Neptune (a gaseous planet, furthest in our solar system) and its moon, Triton (I’m pointing this out because I’ve seen a few reviews call the planet Jupiter, probably because of the reference to a Great Dark Spot – which also happens to appear on Neptune) Since I am kind of an amateur astronomy dork (emphasis on amateur), here are a few cool things about Neptune, and its largest moon.

Like Uranus (though smaller) Neptune is a gaseous planet, composed primarily of hydrogen and helium, but as the most distant planet in our solar system and the coldest, it also has an abundance of ice – water, ammonia, and methane. Neptune has thirteen moons, the largest of which is Triton (the moon on which WE’s space station is built). Now the COOL thing about Triton is that it is one of the few moons in our solar system (and the only large moon) that has a retrograde orbit – that is, it orbits Neptune in the opposite direction of the planet’s rotation. And, like our moon, Triton has a synchronous rotation with Neptune – one side faces Neptune at all times. The other cool thing about Triton is that because it has a weirdo tilt, both of its poles take turns facing the Sun – which in turn means, Triton is geologically active (i.e. the moon has volcanic activity and active nitrogen geysers, caused by heating from the Sun). Triton also is one of the coldest objects in our solar system, with surface temperature readings of -235°C (-391°F). (Intriguingly, Neptune itself is frigidly cold, but at its liquid mantle core reaches 5000 Kelvin) The observations we have of Neptune and Triton are from Voyager 2, the only spacecraft to fly by the planet and its moon in 1989.

You can read more about Neptune and its moons on NASA’s Solar System Exploration page HERE.

Rating: 9 – Damn Near Perfection, and one of my favorite novels of 2010 so far.

Reading Next: Plain Kate by Erin Bow

Title: Dark Life

Author: Kat Falls

Genre: Post-apocalypse, Dystopia, Speculative Fiction, Young Adult

Publisher: Scholastic (US) / Simon & Schuster (UK)
Publication Date: May 2010 (US) / August 2010 (UK)
Hardcover: 304 Pages

The oceans rose up, swallowing up the lowlands. Earthquakes shattered the continents, toppling entire regions into the rising water. Now, humans live packed into stack cities. The only ones with any space of their own are those who live on the ocean floor: the Dark Life.

Ty has spent his whole life living deep undersea, helping his family farm the ocean floor. But when outlaws attack his homestead, Ty finds himself in a fight to save the only home he has ever known. Joined by Gemma, a girl from the Topside who has come subsea to look for her brother, Ty ventures into the frontier’s rough underworld and discovers some dark secrets to Dark Life . . . secrets that threaten to destroy everything.

In her debut novel, Kat Falls has created a breathtaking world where the deep can be dangerous, the darkness can be deadly, and sometimes it takes extraordinary power to survive.

Stand alone or series: First book in a planned series

How did I get this book: Review Copy from the publisher (UK)

Why did I read this book: What can I say? I love a good post-apocalypse novel – and apocalypse by way of global warming seems to be the soup du jour. Ever since I first read the blurb for Dark Life last year, I’ve been eager to read and review it – and with YAAM ending, I finally put my foot down to get it done.

Review:

Dark Life is the story of Ty Townsend, a teenager born and raised on the sea floor, four hundred-plus feet beneath the surface. After the world’s temperature rose, the ice caps melted, permanently changing the climate and topography of the planet with twenty percent of the (former) United States’ eastern seaboard submerged under new sea-level. With so much land gone, humans faced two choices – to cram together in strictly limited land residences, or to move to the sea floor. Those pioneers of underwater habitation – Dark Lifers – enjoy all the space they want, but face incredible hardships. The Commonwealth (which has instigated marshal law for decades) controls the flow of supplies to underwater districts such as Ty’s home, Benthic Territory, and can revoke it at will. A band of raiders, led by the fearsome criminal Shade has been terrorizing Benthic Territory, intercepting ‘wealth shipments of supplies and wreaking havoc. The Commonwealth issues an ultimatum to those in Benthic Territory – either they catch the raiders on their own, or else all supplies will permanently dry up, their already high taxes will go through the roof, and land ownership rights revoked.

An enraged Ty – just two years from getting his own land – resolves to do whatever he can to help catch the raiders. But, he has his own hands busy with Topsider Gemma, whom he stumbles upon in deep water. A runaway orphan determined to find her missing older brother, Gemma and Ty’s paths intersect in strange and unforeseen ways – both work together, with the fate of the underwater colony, and more, at stake.

Dark Life is Kat Falls’ first novel, and it is undeniable, action-packed FUN. Fast-paced, wonky and imaginative, I thoroughly enjoyed this science fiction-type underwater romp (even if it really strains the limits of belief). The first thing to say about Dark Life is how adeptly Ms. Falls urges the plot along – I’m talking Rachel Caine-style non-stop action and wonder. And, as I’m a sucker for a briskly plotted sci-fi thriller, this translates to Thea-crack. From a plotting and writing perspective, Dark Live is unabashedly Over-The-Top, and I mean this in the best possible way. Like, the way that Avatar is ridiculously over the top. Or Aliens versus Predator is ridiculous and over the top. Or Lost could be ridiculous and over the top. Dark Life has a ridiculous amount of twists and reveals, which leaves me one very happy camper (or is it diver?). The setting is wonderfully detailed and aesthetically awesome, evoking a sort of Avatar-under-the-sea meets The Abyss with bio-luminescent life (I can definitely see how this book will translate to the big screen). and I loved the divide between those in Ty’s underwater world, and those in Gemma’s topside realm. Of course, as the descriptions are filtered through Ty’s narrative and the majority of the story takes place in the ocean’s depths, it’s strange to see how humanity chooses to cling to its crumbling, crowded and polluted relics when such beauty, space, and life is available underwater. Through Ty’s lovingly detailed descriptions, Benthic Territory comes to lush, vibrant life.

And, with narrative in mind, the characters of Dark Life are solidly written as well. As a protanonist, Ty’s voice is honest and self-assured, painting a heroic character – even if he does lean towards the too good to be true category. As his foil, Gemma makes up for Ty’s goodie-goodie tendencies with her brashness, her tendency to stick her foot in her mouth, and her pushiness. Needless to say, the two make a good pair. (My only quibble lay later in the book as Gemma’s tendency to get abducted at the worst possible instant – there are at least three pivotal instances of this in rapid succession) Then there are the supporting characters of Ty’s family (how I LOVE Zoe), a scarred Doctor, and a ruthless gang leader. I won’t say much for fear of spoilers, but they are all wonderfully written.

Of course, there is the minor problem of believability. The idea of deep sea living is as foreign and irresistible as outer space, facing many of the same challenges. Granted, this is not a hard science fiction title and Ms. Falls is not a marine biologist or engineer – but Dark Life does push the boundaries of credulity. Tropical fish, humans and livestock walking around at 400 feet underwater, traipsing to the surface and back at will without nitrogen buildup in the blood (not to say anything about getting up to the surface from 400 feet below on a single breath at the end without massive embolisms)? These technical issues said, Ms. Falls does subscribes to the George Lucas/Gene Roddenberry school of physics – and as with Star Wars or Star Trek (or, since the esteemed Mr. Zemeckis is involved, Back to the Future), the rules of physics sometimes don’t need to apply if the rest of the world is as compelling as Ty’s happens to be. Plus, that’s not to say that there aren’t any technological gadgets in place to aid the suspension of disbelief – I love the idea of “Liquigen” (filling the lungs of divers, allowing them to breathe and not suffer any ill effects of pressurization) and the jellyfish-like homes, just as love the idea of terrafarming the bottom of the ocean using superheated water from black chimneys and bacteria. Oh yeah, there’s also the idea of “Dark Gifts” and how water pressure stimulates other parts of the brain, leading to talents like dolphin sonar and other superhuman abilities. Yeah, these things are impossible. But, so what? For the sake of the story, even though I’m at the outer limits of credulity, I’m willing to push skepticism aside because Dark Life is that much fun.

Wildly enjoyable with a plot that won’t quit and a highly imaginative scope, Dark Life is a winsome first novel from Kat Falls. And I, for one, hope to return to Ty’s world very soon.

Notable Quotes/Parts: From Chapter 1:

I peered into the deep-sea canyon, hoping to spot a toppled skyscraper. Maybe even the Statue of Liberty. But there was no sign of the old East Coast, just a sheer drop into darkness.

A ball of light shot past me — a vampire squid, trailing neon blue. The glowing cloud swirled around my helmet. Careful not to break it up, I drifted onto my knees, mesmerized. But my trance was cut short by a series of green sparks bursting out of the gorge. I fell back, every muscle in my body tense. Only one fish glittered like an emerald and traveled in a pack: the green lantern shark. Twelve inches long and deadly as piranhas, they could rip apart something twenty times their size. Forget what they could do to a human.

I should have seen them coming, even this deep. I should have known the squid had squirted its radiant goo to divert a predator. And now my helmet’s crown lights served as an even brighter beacon. With a jab to my wrist screen, I snapped them off, but it was too late — I couldn’t unring that dinner bell.

I pried a flare gun from my belt and fired into the midst of the electric green frenzy. Two heartbeats later, light exploded over the canyon, shocking the sharks into stillness, eyes and teeth glittering. Quickly, I scooped the anchor of my mantaboard out of the muck and hauled myself onto it. Lying on my stomach with my legs dangling, I twisted the handgrips and took off, making serious wake. If my lungs hadn’t been filled with Liquigen, I would’ve whooped aloud.

Not that I was in the clear. As soon as the flare died, the sharks would be on me like suckerfish on a whale. I thought about burying myself in the thick ooze of the seafloor. Bedding down with the boulder-sized clams had worked before. I chanced a look over my shoulder. Sure enough, the darkness twinkled with stars — vicious little stars, shooting my way.

Tilting the manta into a nosedive, I flicked on the head beams, only to have the light reflect off metal. A sub! I crashed into it and toppled, boots over helmet. The manta’s handgrips tore from my fingers as I slammed onto my back. Sliding down the sloped hull, I grappled for a hold without luck until my feet hit the bumper and I stopped short. My guts took longer to settle.

Without a rider, the manta would shut off automatically; I’d have to find it later. Right now, I needed to take cover. But why was this little rig sitting on the seafloor without a light on to announce its presence? Was it a wreck? If so, it hadn’t sunk that long ago. The polished metal hull was barnacle free.

I scuttled along the bumper until I found the circular door to the air lock. The panel cover dangled from one hinge with pry marks scoring its edge. I hesitated, wondering about those marks, when suddenly the hull gleamed with emerald light.

I slammed the entry button. Like a dilating eye, the hatch opened and seawater filled the small chamber. Plunging into the air lock, I whirled to see sharks streaking toward me from all sides. I hit the interior button whole-handed. As the hatch clinched shut, the sharks plowed into it like mini torpedoes. From inside, they sounded like Death pounding at the door. I slumped against the chamber wall and grinned. Nothing put a buzz in my blood like escaping predators.

How many rules had I just broken? Visiting Coldsleep Canyon alone: forbidden. On nothing but a mantaboard: absolutely forbidden. Exploring a derelict sub: off the sonar screen. But now I had to take cover until the sharks left. It was the smart thing to do. The safe thing. Not that my parents would ever hear about the sub or the sharks. With a gang of outlaws roaming the territory, they had enough to worry about.

When the last drop of seawater disappeared through the grated floor, I tipped back my helmet and inhaled. The air was rank but did its job: The oxygen-infused liquid in my lungs evaporated. Switching on my flashlight, I opened the next hatch and stepped right into someone else’s nightmare.

Blood dripped from every surface in the gear room — walls, benches, lockers. . . . Wet and glistening, it puddled around the prospecting tools that littered the floor. I slowed my breath as if that would lessen the metallic tang that now filled my nose — a stink that conjured up the blood-slicked deck of a whaling ship. Some fisherman butchered something big in here, that’s all, I told myself. A sunfish or a marlin. Nothing to panic about. Except . . .I edged farther into the room. No matter how hard it thrashed, a dying fish couldn’t have emptied the weapons rack, let alone ripped it off the wall.

Circling the overturned rack, I panned my light across the open lockers — all ransacked — and tugged at my suit’s neck ring. Usually my helmet didn’t bother me when it hung off the back of my diveskin, but now its weight choked me. The sharks outside weren’t doing my nerves any favors, either, knocking along the sub’s hull, looking for a way in.

As soon as the sharks stopped tapping, I’d head up to the sunlight zone and hunt for dinner like I should have been doing all along. But the tapping didn’t stop. If anything, it grew louder. Worse, I realized it wasn’t the sharks tapping at all, but . . .

Footsteps.

You can read the full excerpt online HERE.

Rating: 7 – Very Good

Reading Next: We by John Dickinson

Giveaway Details:

We have FIVE copies of Dark Life up for grabs, courtesy of the UK publisher. The contest is open to ALL, and will run until Saturday, August 21st at 11:59 PM (PST). To enter, simply leave a comment here letting us know what your “dark gift” would be (i.e. dolphin-like sonar, electric eel-like shock capabilities, superhuman swimming speed, whatever!). ONLY ONE ENTRY PER PERSON, PLEASE! Multiple comments will be disqualified.

Good luck!

Title: Inside Out

Author: Maria V. Snyder

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian, Science Fiction

Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication Date: April 2010
Paperback: 384 pages

Stand alone or series: Book 1 in a planned series

Keep Your Head Down.

Don’t Get Noticed.

Or Else.

I’m Trella. I’m a scrub. A nobody. One of thousands who work the lower levels, keeping Inside clean for the Uppers. I’ve got one friend, do my job and try to avoid the Pop Cops. So what if I occasionally use the pipes to sneak around the Upper levels? The only neck at risk is my own…until I accidentally start a rebellion and become the go-to girl to lead a revolution.

How did I get this book: Bought (e-version)

Why did I read this book: I’ve read Maria Snyder’s Study books and enjoyed them (Ms. Snyder was one of the first authors we interviewed on The Book Smugglers, waaaay back in the day), so when I learned that she had tried her hand at dystopian YA, of COURSE I had to give it a go.

Review:

Trella is a Scrub – one of the thousands upon thousands of packed-in worker drones that spends the majority of her day – of her life – working in Inside’s great Lower underbelly, scrubbing pipes and airducts to make life comfortable for the Uppers. Trella hates her life and her fellow Scrubs – she hates their stink, their proximity and their teasing. To the rest of the Scrubs, Trella is known as the “Queen of the Pipes,” but that’s no compliment. So, when her only friend Cog drags her to meet the latest Prophet, named “the Broken Man” for his broken and useless legs, Trella grudgingly agrees. The Broken Man claims to know the truth of Gateway – the mythical portal through which Scrubs pass to get Outside after they die – and even more shockingly, he claims to have PROOF of its existence. Trella’s curiosity gets the better of her, and she decides to take the Broken Man up on his challenge and searches the prohibited Upper Levels for his supposed “proof” (in the form of data files on disks). When she does discover the discs, she unwittingly trips an alarm and sets all of Inside on edge. The Population Control Police (“Pop Cops” for short) come tearing after the mysterious Broken Man, and immediately suspect Cog and Trella for their involvement. Under threat of being fed to the Chomper and recycled, Trella decides to hide the Broken Man and get to the bottom of the mystery. For if it means so much to the Pop Cops, the Prophet really must know something about Gateway.

The unwitting leader of a (sort of) revolution, Trella and her world in Inside Out makes for an entertaining, fast-paced read (if a little light in terms of thematics, worldbuilding, or grittiness). There are some aspects of this book that I loved, and felt were accomplished beautifully – the realities of being a scrub and living with thousands of people in a small, enclosed space; the smells of being packed in with so many; the idea of pipes and shoots that need to be cleaned; the hours it takes to wait for food. The basic idea of Inside Out – in which our intrepid heroine looks for A Way Out – is a familiar one, done many times before in recent memory. As such, it’s a little hard for Ms. Snyder to really gain any originality or perspective in this novel – it reads a lot like a kiddie version mashup of Ark by Stephen Baxter, Alex Proyas’ masterful Dark City, and Jeanne DuPrau’s Books of Ember. The good news? I love all of these things. The bad news? Inside Out doesn’t quite pull off anything even nearly as memorable or spectacular as the aforementioned books and film.

As with Ms. Snyder’s Study novels, the writing in Inside Out moves quickly and assuredly – but by the same token, it’s also somewhat simplistic and sanitized. Though Trella’s world is supposed to be gritty and dark and there’s the fear of the Pop Cops and Torture and Being Recycled, these dangers have no urgency. Similar to Yelena in her role as a food taster, even though there’s this background presence of malevolence and danger, it never feels threatening because the characters are so darn nice (and the villains so predictably inept).

It’s like…dystopian scifi for the dieting reader. If Dark City is a hearty, double-cut filet mignon with potatoes and red wine, then Inside Out is a handful of salad with a spritz of (lite!) balsamic dressing. Good…but not exactly satisfying.

Take for example the Pop Cops – I can understand how over years power falls into the wrong hands or stories become corrupted (think City of Ember), but the nefarious Pop Cops seemed a bit too one-note-villainous for my tastes. If the EEEEVIL Captain suspected Trella of so much mischief-making and sheltering the Broken Man, why wouldn’t she either have someone shadow Trella or else detain her immediately? (As opposed to letting her run amok, falling asleep left and right, missing work shifts, etc) And for all that the EEEEVIL Pop Cops are, well, evil, the culmination and ending of Inside Out feels a little too kumbaya.

In terms of descriptions and world-building, Ms. Snyder has clearly put a lot of thought and effort into mapping out the Inside and how such a world would work – as such, her descriptors are strong, and I love the concept of Scrubs and uppers, Trella’s grueling work schedule and the conditions of life for those both in the Upper and Lower levels. In practice, however, the execution of these elements were less compelling. I love the idea of the divide between the Uppers and Lowers, but the ease with which Trella manages to traverse the dividing levels makes it a bit hard to buy that NO ONE has ever done this before (I had the same issue in the study books with Ixia and Sitan being SO different and isolated, when geographically they are basically right next door). I guess the best way to describe my frustration with the plot was how every turning point seemed to develop as a matter of convenience. Trella can’t break into the technologically protected safe in Pop Cop headquarters? Technowizards appear out of nowhere offering Trella their services and unwavering loyalty. They happen to have magical machines that can break security measures without a trace. Even more infuriating was when anytime someone would try to explain the mechanics of these miracle devices, Trella would say “I don’t understand a word your saying” or something to that end, and conveniently leave it at that. I know Inside Out is not hard sci-fi, but passages like this are incredibly infuriating and read as technical shortcuts or cop-outs.

And then, there are the characters themselves. Trella, our heroine and narrator, is likable enough – she’s your classic loner, but with an inflective, sympathetic voice. Trella’s narration is honest and forthright, and readers get a great feel for who she is and can’t help but sympathize with her. But…where the other characters are concerned, no one else is as well fleshed-out as Trella. Each other character has a defining trait – Broken Man is zealous, Cog steadworthy and true, etc – but lack any true depth. And, frankly, the romance element of the novel is pathetic and has all the sexual charge of a tea light. Some of the scenes between Trella and her interest (I’ll keep from saying his name to avoid spoilers even though it’s painfully obvious from the get-go) are cringe-worthily bad. I can only imagine that this is because as a Harlequin Teen title, a romance is a prerequisite and so was sort of half-heartedly integrated into the novel. But, that’s just me – I felt similarly about Yelena and her romantic interest in the Study books, so perhaps it’s just a matter of personal taste.

Despite these sizable issues I had with the novel, I ended up finishing and liking Inside Out. It’s certainly worth checking out for those who aren’t into the heavy stuff and want a more fluffy, light on the facts and grit style SF dystopia. Definitely recommended for younger readers who aren’t perhaps as well-versed with the tropes in this book (or haven’t yet discovered Jeanne DuPrau).

Notable Quotes/Parts: From Chapter 1:

A VIBRATION RIPPLED through my body. I awoke in semi-darkness, unsure of my location. Reaching out with my hands, I felt smooth sides arching up and in. My fingers touched overhead. Pipe.

A distant roar caused unease, but with sleep fogging my mind, I couldn’t quite grasp its significance. The pipe’s vibrations increased as the thunder grew louder. Water. Coming toward me. Fast.

I scrambled in the narrow space. My bare feet slipped on the sleek surface of the pipe as I advanced toward a faint square of bluelight emanating from the open hatch. It seemed an impossible distance to reach.

Cogon’s voice in full lecture mode echoed in my mind as the water rushed closer. “Someday, Trella. You’ll screw up and there will be bits of you raining out of the showers.”

I reached the hatch and dove headfirst through the opening, convinced the water rushed at my heels. Landing on the hard floor, I shot to my feet and slammed the door shut. When I finished sealing the hatch, the whole pipe shuddered, then the vibrations calmed as the water returned to its normal flow . The metal cooled under my fingers, and I leaned my sweaty forehead against it, catching my breath.

That was close. Soft bluelight glowed all around the water-filtering machinery. Hour eighteen: I knew by the rush of water. The upper workers adhered to a strict schedule.

I checked my tool belt to make sure nothing was broken and my flashlight still worked. Then I climbed from the ductwork and made my way to level two by taking a shortcut through an air conduit. Traveling through the pipes and air shafts, I avoided seeing my fellow scrubs. But my peace and quiet ended too soon as I opened the vent, swung down and landed in the middle of a crowded corridor, scattering scrubs.

Someone knocked into me. “Watch it!”

“Come to mingle with the lowly scrubs, your highness?” A mocking bow.

Used to curses and hostile glares, I shrugged. The mass of people in the tight corridor jostled and pushed me along. Life in the lower two levels teamed with scrubs at all hours of the week. They moved from work to their barracks and back to work. We were called scrubs because rust and dust were the twin evils of Inside and must be kept at bay; however, scrubs also maintained the network of mechanical systems which kept both uppers and lowers alive.

The scrubs shoved. They frowned. They complained. I hated every one of them. Except Cog. No one hated Cog. He listened. Empathized with tales of misery. Made people smile. A rare occurrence—as rare as a person like Cogon.

You can read the full excerpt online HERE.

Additional Thoughts: So, you say you’ve read Inside Out and feel like you’re ready for the Major Leagues? (Or at least the minors?)

Give these a try:

The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
The World Inside by Robert Silverberg
Dark City (film)
Ark by Stephen Baxter
Incarceron by Catherine Fisher

Rating: 6 – Good, Recommend With Reservations, although I was waffling between a 5 and 6, ultimately Inside Out is readable and likable enough to save it from “Meh” land.

Reading Next: The Thief-Taker’s Apprentice by Stephen Deas

Last year, we had two days of Bleak Post-Apocalyptic Dystopian Book Goodness – and since we love this genre so much, we decided to have a reprisal this year (this is the first of a few dedicated days!). Today, we take a look at some new titles about the end of the world as we know it…

Birthmarked by Caragh O’Brien

Publisher: Roaring Book Press
Publication Date: March 2010
Hardcover: 362 Pages

After climate change, on the north shore of Unlake Superior, a dystopian world is divided between those who live inside the wall, and those, like sixt…more After climate change, on the north shore of Unlake Superior, a dystopian world is divided between those who live inside the wall, and those, like sixteen-year-old midwife Gaia Stone, who live outside. It’s Gaia’s job to “advance” a quota of infants from poverty into the walled Enclave, until the night one agonized mother objects, and Gaia’s parents are arrested.

Badly scarred since childhood, Gaia is a strong, resourceful loner who begins to question her society. As Gaia’s efforts to save her parents take her within the wall, she herself is arrested and imprisoned.

Fraught with difficult moral choices and rich with intricate layers of codes, BIRTHMARKED explores a colorful, cruel, eerily familiar world where one girl can make all the difference, and a real hero makes her own moral code.

Stand alone or series: Book 1 in a planned series

How did I get this book: Bought (at The Strand during BEA!)

Review:

Since her childhood, Gaia has trained with her mother to become the next midwife for her district, just outside the protective walls of the Enclave. And one fated night, sixteen-year old Gaia finds herself in an exciting position – while her mother is busy with another birth, Gaia is summoned to attend to her very first solo delivery. And, as it is her first delivery, the baby that is born must be Advanced to the Enclave. The laws for midwives are simple and absolute: the first three healthy children they deliver each month are to be advanced (that is, given over) to the walled-off Enclave. These children are the lucky and the blessed, for advancement means that the will never want for food nor suffer the hardships of life outside the fortress’s walls. But despite the happiness this means for those first children, their birthmothers are, understandably, distraught. As Gaia heads home from delivering her very first advanced child, she finds a grim, cold soldier awaiting her return. From his cruel lips, Gaia learns her mother and father have been taken prisoner by the Enclave under suspicion of keeping some sort of illegal records – though Gaia has no idea what her law-abiding parents could have done to anger the Enclave. Gaia also learns that she has inherited her mother’s job as the midwife of her district. Terrified for her family, Gaia struggles to find a way to do the impossible – to understand why her parents were taken, and to breach the Enclave’s walls and rescue her parents before they are executed.

Birthmarked is Caragh O’Brien’s first novel, and while highly anticipated, is something of a mixed emotions read. The idea of Birthmarked is unquestionably solid, blending familiar elements of post-apocalyptic dystopian novels such as the question of reproductive problems and rights from Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaiden’s Tale, or environmental catastrophe and the ‘walled-off haves and have nots’ trope from books such as Julie Bertagna’s Exodus & Zenith or Carrie Mac’s Triskelia trilogy. I love the idea of a future society ravaged by climate change and genetic short-sightedness, and a totalitarian style of government struggling to separate the rich from the poor generations after their walls have gone up. And yet, for all this…there are significant problems with Birthmarked that kept me from enjoying it with full abandon.

I’ll start with What Worked: the backstory of the world (three hundred or so years after global warming has reached a critical point), the overwhelming lack of genetic diversity within the Enclave (leading to prevalent defects, such as hemophilia), the anger of people being told whom they can or cannot marry, and the separation of the poor outside the walls (as their children are taken inside as valuable commodities).

I liked all of these things…but at the heart of Birthmarked is a central fallacy; there is something that almost ALL dystopian novels have in common, a commonality – one at which Birthmarked fails spectacularly.

The book lacks a Truly Villainous Government.

Heck, what the Enclave is doing is by no means ideal – but it’s hardly the stuff of despicable oppression. The Enclave taking children from outside its walls and giving them safe, secure new lives does not exactly an Orwellian Big Brother make. Furthermore, when we finally learn why the government has its panties in a twist over Gaia’s mother’s records, the central conflict of the novel disintegrates completely. Had the Enclave been taking the advanced children and harvesting them for organs or stem cells or mulching them down for food or something equally horrifying, perhaps the story’s conflict might have made a bit more sense. But as it stands…these babies are brought in to help society keep going. Is it ideal? No. Is it EVIL OMG, THE HORROR! THE DYSTOPIAN HORROR?! Not really.

Furthermore, the whole central conflict of the story falls apart under scrutiny – WHY on earth wouldn’t the government keep records of every child? WHY the death penalty and ire at Gaia’s mother for marking advanced children with a tattoo and keeping track of them? It doesn’t make any sense. I’ve never before read a book so focused on hemophilia as the downfall for society – and on that note, in addition to hemophilia wouldn’t there be other physical manifestations of generations of inbreeding? If the recessive traits of hemophilia can be expressed in female children, wouldn’t there also be some other recessive trait mutations or disfigurations (of the jaw, of the cranium, etc) present? In a culture so focused on appearances – Gaia is turned away from being advanced because of a burn scar on her face (which IS NOT A GENETIC DISORDER, I might add!) – shouldn’t people look a little more funky and less beautiful, given the rampant inbreeding and lack of genetic diversity?

This is to say nothing of the exposition-y info-dumps along the way (the explanation of chromosomes – using chrome spoons, oho! – for example was particularly cringe-worthy), the superficial examination of certain characters (again with the midwifing/healer women roles!?), the sheer predictability of the plot, or – most infuriating of all – the incredible convenience with which heroine Gaia is miraculously bailed out every time she is in Mortal Peril or has a Big Problem to solve (e.g. Gaia is about to be sentenced to death…BUT LUCKILY a handsome, high ranking soldier saves her life!; Gaia’s luck has run out and she needs to find her mother before she is executed the next day…BUT LUCKILY a handsome soldier takes pity on her and helps her out!).

Suffice to say, I was a little underwhelmed with Birthmarked. That said, the book wasn’t all bad. I certainly finished the book eagerly enough, and certain parts of the story shone – Gaia’s childhood memories, her flashbacks of her father, in particular, stood out as memorable scenes. Although I didn’t much care for the “romance” (which felt stilted, contrived, and utterly predictable), I did like the relationship Gaia had with her family and other characters throughout the book – and Gaia herself is a gutsy heroine with admirable muster (if not the sharpest tool in the shed).

There’s enough to keep readers engaged with Birthmarked, but there are so many excellent post-apocalyptic dystopian novels out there, that it’s hard to truly recommend this one. But, I’ll stick around for book 2, in hopes that the books grow on me.

Notable Quotes/Parts: From Chapter 1:

In the dim hovel, the mother clenched her body into one final, straining push, and the baby slithered out into Gaia’s ready hands.

“Good job,” Gaia said. “Wonderful. It’s a girl.”

The baby cried indignantly, and Gaia breathed a sigh of relief as she checked for toes and fingers and a perfect back. It was a good baby, healthy and well formed, if small. Gaia wrapped the child in a blanket, then held the bundle toward the flickering firelight for the exhausted mother to see.

Gaia wished her own mother were there to help, especially with managing the afterbirth and the baby. She knew, nor mally, she wasn’t supposed to give the baby to the mother to hold, not even for an instant, but now the mother was reaching and Gaia didn’t have enough hands.

“Please,” the young woman whispered. Her fingers becko ned tenderly.

The baby’s cries subsided, and Gaia passed her over. She tried not to listen to the mother’s gentle, cooing noises as she cleaned up between her legs, moving gently and efficiently as her mother had taught her. She was excited and a little proud. This was her first delivery, and it was an unassisted delivery, too. She had helped her mother many times, and she’d known for years that she would be a midwife, but now it was finally real.

You can read the full excerpt online HERE.

Rating: 5 – Meh

POD by Stephen Wallenfals

Publisher: Namelos
Publication Date: April 2010
Paperback: 192 Pages

POD is the story of a global cataclysmic event, told from the view points of Megs, a 12-year-old streetwise girl trapped in a hotel parking garage in Los Angeles; and 16-year-old Josh, who is stuck in a house in Prosser, Washington, with his increasingly obsessive compulsive father. Food and water and time are running out. Will Megs survive long enough to find her mother? Will Josh and his father survive each other?

Stand alone or series: Book 1 in a planned series (I hope?!)

How did I get this book: Bought (during the same trip to The Strand!)

Review:

They appeared one morning, materializing in the sky after an impossibly loud sound heard by every person on the planet – hovering black orbs.

Pods.

The spheres hang in the clouds, suspended by technology unknown to man. More than just ominous shapes in the sky, the pods also prove deadly – disintegrating any humans that attempt to step outdoors and interfering with all methods of communication. With no way to organize, no news, no electricity, and with food running out, humanity faces a bleak future.

Told through the chapter-alternating perspectives of two young adults, POD follows sixteen-year old Josh and twelve-year old Megs. In a small town in Washington, Josh, his father, and their dog are closeted in their home and Josh struggles with the rules and responsibilities his father imposes to help keep them alive. And Megs, alone in a Los Angeles parking lot, hides and scavenges for food and water from parked car to parked car, desperately avoiding the men that have taken control of the hotel and its guests.

And all the while, the pods stand silent vigil…

Unlike Birthmarked, POD left me one seriously satisfied customer. Told from two very different – but equally harrowing – voices, POD rocks. Almost cinematic in its delivery (the image of black alien spherical ships zapping errant humans reminiscent of classic Sci-Fi drive-in B-movies), POD teases readers – though the alien invasion is imminent, not a single extraterrestrial is actually seen. With his apocalyptic invasion, instead of focusing on the sensational, Mr. Wallenfels focuses on the thing that makes the best apocalypse novels successful – the human element. The choice to use two young adults in different locations surviving the same (presumably) global event is ingenious and incredibly effective. Alternating each chapter with Josh and his deteriorating father with Megs and her desperate situation os the “parking lot pirate,” the story builds to a terse, high level of tension.

Which brings me to the reason why POD works so well – in addition to its expert plotting and storytelling technique – that is, because of the strength of its detailed, wholly genuine protagonists. Both characters go through very different ordeals, both do some serious growing up in the span of 28 long, grueling days. Josh’s narrative begins as somewhat spoiled and self-centered, as his biggest problems are initially centered around whining about his father’s strict food rationing methods and cold, cruel indifference to their family dog. While he deals with the injustice of only eating a meal a day, Megs (left behind by her mother in the hotel parking lot before the appearance of the ominous pods) hides from terrifying, violent men with guns, all the while hunting for any food she can – stale popcorn kernels and forgotten lint covered candies stuck between car seats, and subsisting off of ketchup packets and a soup of gunky, tepid, melted cooler water. From the first moment we meet Megs, its clear she’s a perceptive, cuttingly smart young girl – she may only be twelve, but nothing slips by her (as seen in the strained relationship with her mother). While Megs is the character who faces the most overt danger (and yeah, ok, I preferred her gutsy, defiant narrative over Josh’s), Josh also goes through hell of a different, more introspective sort. The relationship between the teen boy and his father is incredibly genuine, running the gamut of emotions from resentment to respect to love – and the fate of this family is harrowing stuff. I don’t want to spoil anything, so just trust me when I say that Josh’s tragic, haunting story is no walk in the park, even though it initially may seem so, especially in contrast with Megs’ adrenaline-fueled game of hide and seek from some very, very bad people.

What else can I say about POD? It’s touching, it’s fast-paced, it’s terrifying, and – like the best freakin’ apocalypse novels – it’s all about flawed, real characters. I loved every second of this book, and I can only hope that Stephen Wallenfels is hard at work finishing up the trilogy. (There’s something of a cliffhanger ending, and I need to know what happens next. IMMEDIATELY.)

Notable Quotes/Parts: Two excerpts, one from each narrator. From Josh:

We share a look but say nothing.

Birds fly from branch to branch. A gust of wind sends leaves skittering across the patio floor. Storm clouds gather and darken a turbulent sky. The sun feels like it’s going down instead of up. Sirens pierce the moment. It’s an ambulance and a fire truck, somewhere close. This wakes Dutch. He sees us, jumps to his feet, presses his nose to the glass.

I reach for the door.

“Josh, wait!”

The urgency in Dad’s voice stops me cold. He’s looking up. I follow his eyes. The air is sucked out of my lungs. My jaw hangs open, numb.

Dropping down through the clouds, silent like a spider on a web, is a massive black sphere.

It’s a mile away at least, but even from this distance it dwarfs the neighborhoods below. I brace myself for the horror of watching houses crushed with people inside. But it stops well above the trees, maybe five hundred feet off the ground. It hovers soundlessly.

Dad whispers, “Sweet Jesus.”

He points to another one, farther to the east. Then another.

Within half a minute the entire horizon is dotted with black spheres. Dutch scratches at the glass, oblivious to the scene playing out above his head.

The spheres begin to rotate.

Then, as if on cue, they all start emitting jagged beams of white-blue light. The beams split off into smaller and smaller ones, like twigs off a branch, some into the air, most striking the ground. Two cars are speeding down a fire road on Horse Heaven Hills. A flash of light and they’re both gone. No explosion, no ball of flame. Just gone.

Dad whispers, “Sweet Jesus.”

From Megs:

It finally stops. My whole body is shaking. The car feels like it’s spinning and my ears hurt. I don’t know what to do, so I bury my head in my sleeping bag and hope that it doesn’t happen again.

Where’s Mom? Why me? Am I sick? All these questions are flooding my brain—when there’s another noise.

Sirens.

Not just a couple. Hundreds. I sit up and look around. There are flashes of light, like lightning only without the thunder. Even though Mom said not to, I turn on the radio. It’s just static, no matter what button I push. Then people start running into the parking garage.

First one or two, then a wide-eyed flood. Men in pajamas, women in nightshirts dragging their sobbing kids. A guy wearing only a T-shirt and boxers unlocks the blue car next to ours. He comes out with a gun, sprints to the exit ramp, and starts shooting at the sky. He disappears in a flash of light. Cars start, engines roar. People are trying to leave and other people are trying to stop them. A mom with her two young kids, a boy and girl, run toward the SUV. The little girl drops her stuffed rabbit. She tries to go back, but her mother picks her up and throws her crying into the SUV.

Horns mix with the sirens.

A man trips and falls to the ground.

Cars drive over him like he’s a speed bump. I yell at them to stop, but no one hears me. Then the sound of breaking glass, tearing metal—more people screaming. Cars screech down from the upper levels and ram into cars on the ground floor. The SUV is trying to back out of its parking spot. A speeding truck clips the rear fender, crashing it sideways into another car. Now it’s trapped. Moments later the mom and her kids spill out the passenger side. Blood is streaming down the little girl’s forehead. The mom looks toward the exit. Cars drive out, one after another, and disappear in flashes of light. A red BMW slams on its brakes. It skids halfway into the street and disappears. The mom picks up the girl and they run for the lobby door. The boy stops and turns like he forgot something, but his mom grabs his arm and pulls him away. His face is twisted in a scream.

I smell burning rubber, engine exhaust, gasoline—and then I feel something.

A warm wetness spreads inside my sleeping bag.

Tears stream down my face, they smear on the glass. I feel like I can’t breathe. The sounds outside swallow up everything, even the air. I curl up into a ball on the back seat and close my eyes so tight they hurt. But I still see it—cars driving over the fallen man.

And those awful blinding flashes.

You can read a full excerpt from both of these characters online HERE.

Rating: 8 – Excellent

Reading Next: For the Win by Cory Doctorow

Title: Behold the Man

Author: Michael Moorcock

Genre: Science Fiction

Publisher: Gollancz
Publication Date: New Edition 11 Nov 1999 (First edition 1967)
Paperback: 128 pages

Karl Glogauer is a disaffected modern professional casting about for meaning in a series of half-hearted relationships, a dead-end job, and a personal struggle. His questions of faith surrounding his father’s run-of-the-mill Christianity and his mother’s suppressed Judaism lead him to a bizarre obsession with the idea of the messiah. After the collapse of his latest affair and his introduction to a reclusive physics professor, Karl is given the opportunity to confront his obsession and take a journey that no man has taken before, and from which he knows he cannot return. Upon arriving in Palestine, A.D. 29, Glogauer finds that Jesus Christ is not the man that history and faith would like to believe, but that there is an opportunity for someone to change the course of history by making the ultimate sacrifice.

First published in 1969, Behold the Man broke through science fiction’s genre boundaries to create a poignant reflection on faith, disillusion and self-sacrifice. This is the classic novel that established the career of perhaps contemporary science fiction’s most cerebral and innovative author.

Stand alone or series: Stand alone

How did I get this book: Bought

Why did I read this book: Browsing my loval Waterstones, I saw this displayed alongside several SF and Fantasy novels. The cover and title grabbed my attention, the blurb did me in.

Review:

Warning! This review contains spoilers. HOWEVER, given as how the blurb itself spoils the most important FACT about the book, my own spoilers which are necessary for the discussion of the book, are inconsequent and do not, I believe spoil the EXPERIENCE of reading the book.You have been warned!

Behold the Man was originally published in 1967 in the New Worlds magazine, winning the Nebula Award that year and published on its own in 1969 with several new editions throughout the years. It is simply put, a brilliant piece of fiction and one of the best novellas I ever read with an extremely flawed, unlikeable-yet-sympathetic protagonist and a potentially explosive subject.

But I am ahead of myself. That’s what a truly awesome book will do to me.

It begins as Karl Glogauer stumbles out of a broken time machine (a womb-like sphere filled with a fluid that leaks, rendering the object useless) in 28 AD. He is rescued by followers of John the Baptist and nursed back to health amongst this group of Essenes, who believe him to be a magus who will lead them against Rome. Eventually Karl breaks away from the group in order to search for Jesus Christ as his impending crucifixion is the event he has come to witness. When he finds the man, he is shocked to see that Jesus is a blabbering, mentally incapacitated hunchback who lives with his mother Mary (who is so not like a virgin) and his “father” Joseph (a bitter old man) and his brothers and sisters. Karl then does the only thing that a self-aware time traveller can ever do: he takes upon himself to play the role of Jesus Christ, determined to pull it off till the bitter end.

But things are never ever as simple as one could hope them to be and this is where the beauty of this book lies. It has so many layers I don’t even know where to start. I can only say that peeling back, or rather observing and absorbing each one was an adventure and a privilege. There is plot, character, writing, format, themes and ideas to consider and all of them come together beautifully.

Karl is one of the most messed up characters I have ever had the pleasure to come across. Moorcock alternates the happenings in 28AD with short flashbacks to Karl’s life in the 20th century. From a problematic childhood which includes paedophilia and abuse at an early age to an adulthood overwrought by neurosis including a tendency to stage suicide attempts, masochism, repressed homosexuality, a messiah complex (of course) and a very fucked up view of religion which he associates with sexuality (a silver cross = women; wooden cross =men). We observe several of his relationships, especially one with girlfriend Monica (God, Karl, what you’ll do for attention) with whom he talks about myth, religion and psychology. Karl admires the work of Psychologist Carl G. Jung and hopes to become one, one day but this attempt at becoming something or doing anything with his life is thwarted by another aspect of his own personality , a certain avoidance of reality as it presents itself mingled with self-doubt. Karl is not really a religious character but his obsession with Jesus Christ, and his self-sacrifice is what propels Karl to become a time traveller (well, that and the need to prove Scientific minded Monica wrong).

Mind you, the time travelling per se is not really important. We never learn the specifics and the mechanics of how it is even possible but this matters none at all (which quite possibly makes it less “Science” fiction than it ought to be). However, in another stroke of genius, the author does play with the ideas that are often associated with time travel. As any self-aware time traveller will tell you, it is very important to stick with the facts and let history run its course.

And that is exactly what Karl tries to do but it opens up the possibility for a glorious MESS of Biblical (hee) proportions. The Crux (hee –sorry so many inevitable puns) of the problem here is thus: because the historical Jesus proves to be an idiot who never did what he was supposed to do, Karl takes upon himself to do what historical events he knows to have happened. But did they really happen? By making the events effectively real – he picks up the 12 apostles, he engineers his arrest and eventual death – he might in fact have changed them all by making then factual rather than symbolic and possibly removing any and all real meaning from it all.

And from this comes another layer to be exposed, the difference between myth and religion and beliefs and fact. The absolutely fascinating discussion with his girlfriend Monica about how the myth is unimportant and that the impulse that creates it is the important thing. In this scenario, it is proved by what he has come to witness: Jesus, the historical figure is not the important thing, but how the creation of this myth (because if he never did what he did, then he is most definitely a myth) is fuelled by people’s need to believe in the idea of compassion, of love and forgiveness. Because then the myth of Jesus is less than an individual and more of a collective NEED perhaps stemming from archetypes (which links beautifully with Jung, by the way). It points to the idea that Jesus as a man, doesn’t need to have existed at all, as long as the ideal of Jesus can live on.

I find this absolutely beautiful. I have no doubt that to some this idea is completely blasphemous but to me (mind you, I am not religious at all, that needs to be taken into account) organised religion and deep seated belief do not necessarily go together (although they are also not mutually exclusive, obviously).

One of the most striking aspects of the book though is how everything is open to interpretation: none of the things I have said so far are exactly final. Karl might or might not have fulfilled a needed historical event or he might or might not have changed things. I also think that what I see as repressed homosexually and connection between religion and sexuality (as he is dying in the cross – a wooden cross mind you – he gets an erection) could probably be the result of trauma as he was sexually abused by men who were connected to the church. Hey, I would even say that Karl is so messed up that maybe, the entire story happens only inside his head. I don’t care, what is important here is the fact that with this short novella Moorcock opened up a dialogue between fiction and me, which made me think, consider, theorise, relate, sympathise and mourn.

I have considered and re-considered and found myself unable to find anything remotely resembling a problem or a fault with this novella. Although I am sure they exist because no book can ever be perfect because we are all after all, only humans (behold, the man) subjectively speaking, to ME, the reading experience this book provided, is as perfect as it gets.

Notable Quotes/ Parts: At one point, Karl finds himself lost in the desert and has to fight his demons (or Monica, inside his head). Which you know, is exactly what the historical Jesus was meant to have done – so…playing events? Creating them? or living them? Does it matter?

YOU DECIDE.

Additional Thoughts:

Behold the Man is part of the SciFi and Fantasy Masterworks collection that Gollancz has been publishing throughout the years. And now a group of intrepid, awesome bloggers took upon themselves to read and review them all.They even created a blog: Science Fiction & Fantasy Masterworks Reading Project has gone live recently – go and check it out.

Also, one of my favourite bloggers, Paul Charles Smith of the excellent Empty Your Heart of Its Mortal Dream is organising a month long event (date to be confirmed) dedicated to Michael Moorcock with contributions s from Jeff VanderMeer,China Mieville, amongst others and Moorcock himself. I can’t wait and will make sure to mention it again once I know more.

Verdict: Brilliant and thought-provoking, Behold the Man deserves many acolytes, and a place in my keeper shelf.

Rating: 10 – Perfect

Reading Next: City of Ruin by Mark Charan Newton

Title: Monsters of Men

Author: Patrick Ness

Genre: Dystopian, Science Fiction, Young Adult

Publisher: Walker (UK) / Candlewick (US)
Publication Date: May 2010 (UK) / September 2010 (US)
Hardcover: 608 pages

In the riveting conclusion to the acclaimed dystopian series, a boy and girl caught in the chaos of war face devastating choices that will decide the fate of a world.

As a world-ending war surges around them, Todd and Viola face monstrous decisions. The indigenous Spackle, thinking and acting as one, have mobilized to avenge their murdered people. Ruthless human leaders prepare to defend their factions at all costs, even as a convoy of new settlers approaches. And as the ceaseless Noise lays all thoughts bare, the projected will of the few threatens to overwhelm the desperate desire of the many. The consequences of each action, each word, are unspeakably vast: To follow a tyrant or a terrorist? To save the life of the one you love most, or thousands of strangers? To believe in redemption, or assume it is lost? Becoming adults amid the turmoil, Todd and Viola question all they have known, racing through horror and outrage toward a shocking finale.

Stand alone or series: The third (and final?) book in the Chaos Walking trilogy

How did I get this book: Review copy from the UK publisher

Why did I read this book: If you didn’t know, I’m a huge fan of this series. Seriously. I loved The Knife of Never Letting Go, was blown away by The Ask and the Answer, and so it’s only natural that I had incredibly high expectations for Monsters of Men – especially considering it’s the final book in the series. Of course, I did whatever I could to get my greedy paws on a review copy.

Review:

**WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS UNAVOIDABLE SPOILERS FOR THE FIRST TWO BOOKS IN THE SERIES. IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THE FIRST TWO NOVELS AND DO NOT WISH TO BE SPOILED, AWAY WITH YOU! Consider yourself warned.**

Oh, Chaos Walking. How much do I love thee? This series is basically an insane roller coaster of action and emotion – torn apart by forces much larger than themselves, Todd and Viola are separated at the end of The Ask and the Answer, as New Prentisstown is under impending attack from the native Spackle. Unable to take on the invading army by himself, Todd reluctantly has to enlist the Mayor’s help to stave off the Spackle attack long enough to make peace. Though Todd hates to rely at all on Mayor Prentiss, at least he’s gratified by the fact that he has beaten the Mayor before, and knows he can do it again with his Noise. Meanwhile, Viola rushes back to the camp of the Answer, where her she must confront Mistress Coyle for her brutal tactics – and to intercept the colonizer landing party of her former teachers and friends before Mistress Coyle can manipulate them into causing an all-out annihilation of the Spackle and men of New Prentisstown.

As the tensions mount, Todd and Viola struggle towards their goal of peace, even when a whole planet seems set against them.

Well, damn. Monsters of Men is nothing if not action-filled, and makes for a frenetic, dramatic conclusion to one of the finest Young Adult dystopian/science fiction series’ out there. If you’ve read the prior books (and presumably you have, since you’re reading this review), you already know that Patrick Ness’s world of Haven is awesomely unique, from its troubled origins in the Spackle/Colonist war, to the unprecedented effect of the planet itself on its new human and animal residents – laying bare every thought in a torrent of uninterrupted and indiscriminating NOISE (well, everyone except females, that is). A parable for our modern onslaught of information? Perhaps. But more impressive than that is how Mr. Ness has taken an awesome premise, and has built upon it over the course of the series – and Monsters of Men is no exception. In the first novel, the revelation that there are in fact other colonies on Haven – and women in those colonies – shocks and awes; in The Ask and the Answer, we learn the extent of the Mayor’s machinations, and are introduced to a contingent dedicated against him at any cost. And in this final book, we gain insight to the Spackle, and all the tensions of the prior books come to their inevitable head. Mr. Ness certainly has a gift for scope and creating a story that you want to come back to – heck, the series is over (maybe not?? Hmm, Patrick Ness, are you listening?), and I STILL want to come back to Haven.

So far as technicals go, the plotting for Monsters of Men is suicidally fast-paced, giving a whole new meaning to “white knuckle.” This is both a blessing and a curse – a blessing because the book is so damn absorbing, and there’s no putting it down once you’ve started it; a curse because in all the action and drama, there’s less finesse and subtlety in terms of themes, especially where certain characters are concerned (more on that in a bit).

In terms of the cast, the characters are, per usual, fantastic – Todd and Viola are heroes to make your heart bleed with all their raw emotion and integrity. In this final novel, Todd goes through a very Luke Skywalker-Darth Vader thing with the Mayor, staving off the Dark Side – I AM THE CIRCLE AND THE CIRCLE IS ME – with mixed results. Viola too goes through her own tests in this book, learning the limits of what she won’t do to ensure Todd’s safety, versus the future of the colony and the Spackle. These are both characters that have grown so much over the course of the series, and to see them finally come to terms with how they feel for each other, what they will do for each other in this final book…well, it’s breathtaking stuff.

What I loved the most about this book in addition to these two protagonists, however, was the voice of 1017 – known amongst the remaining Spackle as “The Return” – the sole survivor of “The Burden” (those Spackle sacrificed and left behind in the truce with the invading colonizers, whom the Spackle refer to as “The Clearing”). The voice of the Spackle, as told through the Return (1017), the Sky, and the Land, is a fascinating, wholly original thing. Confusing, initially, but I love that Mr. Ness understands that his readers are clever enough to figure it out. The Return in particular is a conflicted character that oscillates between blind hatred for Todd (whom he and the Spackle refer to as “The Knife”) because of Todd’s ongoing participation in the Spackle slaughter, and struggling to understand the peace-seeking ways of the rest of his people. The Return is an outsider in the same ways that Todd and Viola are, and even more so besides. Different than The Land – those wild Spackle – The Return struggles with his very human-emotions and his ability to conceal his Noise, anathema to a people that are connected to each other, to the very planet by virtue of their speechless communication.

And, of course, what would this series be without its villains? The Mayor is, perhaps, the most terrifying and formidable of all the forces Todd and Viola have encountered, and his crushing presence in Monsters of Men continues the cycle. So too is Viola’s “mentor” the prickly Mistress Coyle. And yet…neither of these characters are simply EVIL – they have their own reasons for the ways that they act, and given this insight to their pasts, it’s impossible to label them as “bad” people. Like everything in life, these are complicated characters, and I loved seeing this complex treatment of characters – especially in a Young Adult novel.

With all the strengths of Monsters of Men, however, there were a few flaws worth mentioning. Most disappointing was the heavy-handed treatment of certain themes in this book. Whereas in the prior novels, there was a certain thematic subtlety, in Monsters of Men, everything is laid out, point-blank – Mistress Coyle is a terrorist! Mayor Prentiss is a Dictator! In other words, the political/ideological thematics have all the subtlety of an incoming missile.

This criticism aside, I absolutely loved Monsters of Men. While The Ask and the Answer is still my favorite book in the series, this final novel is a beautiful, fitting send off to a truly superior series. And…I’m really sad to see it go, but at the same time, I think it ended perfectly. Absolutely recommended to readers of all ages and preferences.

Notable Quotes/Parts: From the Prologue:

“War,” says Mayor Prentiss, his eyes glinting. “At last.”

“Shut up,” I say. “There ain’t no at last about it. The only one who wants this is you.”

“Nevertheless,” he says, turning to me with a smile. “Here it comes.”

And of course I’m already wondering if untying him so he could fight this battle was the worst mistake of my life–

But no–

No, it’s gonna keep her safe. It’s what I had to do to keep her safe.

And I will make him keep her safe if I have to kill him to do it.

And so with the sun setting, me and the Mayor stand on the rubble of the cathedral and look out across the town square, as the army of Spackle make their way down the zigzag hill in front of us, blowing their battlehorn with a sound that could tear you right in two–

As Mistress Coyle’s army of the Answer marches into town behind us, bombing everything in its path Boom! Boom! BOOM!–

As the first soldiers of the Mayor’s own army start arriving in quick formayshun from the south, Mr Hammar at their front, crossing the square towards us to get new orders–

As the people of New Prentisstown run for their lives in any and every direkshun–

As the scout ship from the incoming settlers lands on a hill somewhere near Mistress Coyle, the worst possible place for ’em–

As Davy Prentiss lies dead in the rubble below us, shot by his own father, shot by the man I just set free–

And as Viola–

My Viola–

Races out on horseback into the middle of it all, her ankles broken, not even able to stand up on her own–

Yes, I think.

Here it comes.

The end of everything.

The end of it all.

“Oh, yes, Todd,” says the Mayor, rubbing his hands together. “Oh, yes, indeed.”

And he says the word again, says it like it’s his every last wish come true.

“War.”

And it’s KILLING ME not to post my favorite part of the book, because it is spoiler-ridden…so I’m succumbing and posting it below. Spoiler tagged, of course – to read, highlight the seemingly empty space below:

“It’s almost over,” Todd says. “We’ll have peace, he’ll have his victory, and he won’t need me, even tho he thinks he does. The convoy’ll come, he’ll be the hero but he’ll be outnumbered, and we’ll get the hell outta here, okay?”

“Todd–”

See how he feels the skin of my hand against his, see how he wants to take it and press it to his mouth, how he wants to breathe in the smell of me and how beautiful I look to him, how strong after all that illness, and how he wants to just lightly touch my neck, just there, and how he want sto take me in his arms and –

“Oh, God,” he says, looking away suddenly. “Viola, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean–”

And it feels like, finally.

Finally.

Verdict: A beautiful, emotionally wrenching finale to one of the best series’ in the dystopian canon. I loved Monsters of Men as passionately as I loved The Knife of Never Letting Go and The Ask and the Answer. If you haven’t read Patrick Ness yet, you need to get on this bandwagon. Absolutely recommended.

Rating: 8 – Excellent, and one of my favorite reads of 2010 so far.

Reading Next: I Am Not A Serial Killer by Dan Wells

Title: Retribution Falls

Author: Chris Wooding

Genre: Fantasy

Publisher: Gollancz
Publication Date: April 8 2010
Paperback: 448 pages

Stand alone or series: First in the Tales of the Ketty Jay series.

Frey is the captain of the Ketty Jay, leader of a small and highly dysfunctional band of layabouts. An inveterate womaniser and rogue, he and his gang make a living on the wrong side of the law, avoiding the heavily armed flying frigates of the Coalition Navy. With their trio of ragged fighter craft, they run contraband, rob airships and generally make a nuisance of themselves. So a hot tip on a cargo freighter loaded with valuables seems like a great prospect for an easy heist and a fast buck. Until the heist goes wrong, and the freighter explodes. Suddenly Frey isn’t just a nuisance anymore – he’s public enemy number one, with the Coalition Navy on his tail and contractors hired to take him down. But Frey knows something they don’t. That freighter was rigged to blow, and Frey has been framed to take the fall. If he wants to prove it, he’s going to have to catch the real culprit. He must face liars and lovers, dogfights and gunfights, Dukes and daemons. It’s going to take all his criminal talents to prove he’s not the criminal they think he is …

Why did I read this book: After many glowing reviews and being shortlisted for the Arthur Clarke award, I just had to. Plus look at the GORGEOUS cover.

How did I get this book: Bought

Review:

Retribution Falls has been on my radar for a while. Since its release last year, it has accumulated glowing reviews (including one in The Guardian) and was even shortlisted for the prestigious ARTHUR C. CLARKE award. When I received the ARC for its sequel Black Lung Captain which came with a line in the marketing material comparing the series to Joss Whedon’s fabulous Firefly TV Show, I felt it was about time I read it.

The story follows the dysfunctional crew of the battered freighter Ketty Jay, led by their captain Darian Frey as they cruise along from job to job, most of them of a questionable nature. When their latest commission goes terribly wrong and they are framed for the death of several people including a famous Heir, they decide to prove their innocence by any means necessary. Fleeing the law, escaping from pirates, getting immersed in political intrigue and facing former lovers as well as their own past, will the crew of the Ketty Jay come out of it, especially when their greatest challenge is to trust each other?

On the surface, Retribution Falls is an enjoyable, adventurous romp and it can present the reader with a few hours of fun read. I know I liked parts of the book, the adventure of it all especially given as how I am a sucker for the ragtag-crew-who-learns-to-like-each-other trope and I so wish I could take everything in this book as its face value and just accept it all and relax. But I find that I just can’t – damn you, brain! Why must you be so critical?

Ultimately Retribution Falls does not stand to scrutiny. For starters there is the world building which is merely glossed over. I have seen the book described as Steampunk but I simply do not have enough data about the world to be able to determine that, as dates, locations, details are all very fuzzy. I find that perhaps this is a conscious choice by the author in order to keep the furious pacing going. But oddly, that same fast and furious pacing is brought down by very clumsy exposition about the characters and an inordinate amount of telling, not showing.

For example, from the get go we are told how the characters feel about each other. Frey, the captain, loves the ship more than anything in the world and he doesn’t see his crew as a “crew”. I am told he doesn’t care for them over and over again, until I am told his feelings have changed. Crake, the one paying passenger thinks them all to be inferior (especially one of the pilots, whom he describes as an “idiot” many times over) and so on and so forth. This was repeated throughout the book but especially towards the ending in a way that it only served to telegraph what would happen next and what the story is really about. It became so predictable that I just knew what would happen to every single one of them. Forget adventure, piracy, and conspiracy, the true story being told here is that about the characters and the main arc is how they all become a real crew.

In principle that would have been awesome but the majority of the characters come across as stereotypes that are not truly fleshed out: here we have the “idiot” pilot; the “coward” second pilot, the “silent” mechanic, the “drunken” doctor. I mentioned exposition about the characters and this is what happens in this book: the story is building up then it will stop for a character to reminisce about his or her past, usually by internal monologue or by telling it to another character. Almost immediately something will happen that will bring up this very same past or its repercussions in a way that the character has to deal with it. I can’t begin to tell how much of a shame this is, because some of these characters have truly interesting pasts. Frey and Drake especially are flawed characters who made horrible decisions in life and now have to deal with them.

The comparisons with Firefly that were inevitably drawn (similar set up, world, premise, etc), are in my opinion, to the detriment of Retribution Falls. As unfair as this comparison may be the characters are nowhere near as cool as those of Firefly and Frey is certainly no Mal. But above all, one particular aspect stands out in this comparison: if there is one thing that Joss Whedon does really well, is to write awesome female characters. Out of Serenity’s crew, 4 are strong, interesting female characters who stand on their own.

And here lies my main issue with Retribution Falls which perhaps serves as a window into the world of Speculative Fiction and its known problem with female representation and characterisation. The majority of women in this novel are either faceless whores who the characters indulge their free time with or women who have been doomed by their love for the male protagonist.

The two main secondary characters are Frey’s former lovers: one has been sent to a convent after he ditched her and still sort of loves him; the other is the “villain” of the novel, a fearless pirate Trinica Dracken who could have been so cool; but she turns out to be a former lover, someone whom cowardly Frey left at the altar years and years ago and the pain of being left was so much, she tried to kill self, lost their child, left home to join a ship where she is of course, raped several times. She then hardens herself, goes through a transformation as a result of her love for this guy – becomes UGLY – and this otherwise very capable pirate is of course, thwarted by the hero of the piece at every turn. The problem with this is that both these characters exist only in relation to the lame male character.

What about the crew of Ketty Jay? Out of 7, one is female ( I am not counting the other one, Bess, because she is, surprise! A Golem who is used as brute force). And Jez is quite possibly my favourite character of the piece: she is clever, strong, interesting. But I have a problem with how others see her. Right in the beginning of the novel when she is being recruited to join the crew, this is how Frey decides that she is the one:

Her features were petite and appealing but she was rather plain, boyish and very pale. That was also good. An overly attractive woman was fatal on a craft full of men. They were distracting and tended to substitute charm and flirtatiousness for doing any actual work. Besides, Frey would feel obligated to sleep with her, and that never worked out well.

This is very, very problematic. A female character needs to be plain or boyish (see how being “male” is better?) or else she is a sexual distraction?

When one is writing a review like this one, one must consider whether these are written with intentional self-awareness. Are there repercussions for such characterisations? These may be “in character” but do the male characters learn the “errors of their way” or at the very least do the female characters regain respect by being generally made of awesome even if the male characters do not see it?

No, I would say not in this particular example. In fact towards the very end of the novel Jez saves the day and it is implied that she does so by doing sexual favours even though, up until that point, she was the cleverer character in the entire piece, perfecly capable of saving the day without having to use her vagina.

Am I alone in reading the misogyny – by number and by characterisation – present in this novel? No, thankfully, I am not.

I have to say: I am completely astonished by the award nomination – I can’t think how Retribution Falls can be representative of the best in the genre. Fun, yes. But it can’t be top of the line and it certainly can’t, shouldn’t be that, when it represents female characters like that. I am sure most will think of me as a party pooper but these things need to be brought up and discussed more often because after all, characters do not exist in a vacuum, they are CREATED by their writers and are therefore a matter of choice. Frey could have remained a despicable, coward, misogynistic, flawed character without the female characters being depicted the way they were.

In the end, the experience of reading Retribution Falls was like eating a mixed bag of Turkish Delight blindfolded. Sometimes I would get the pistachio flavoured ones (yay) but the majority of them were rose-flavoured (yuck!) .

Notable Quotes/Parts: There is this once scene I thought was pretty cool and super tense – when they are navigating towards Retribution Falls.

Verdict: Retribution Falls has a good premise and is a potentially fun read but it is brought down by clumsy writing and poor characterisations – especially the female ones.

Rating:4 – Bad but not without some merit

Reading Next: A Madness of Angels by Kate Griffin.

Title: In Her Name: First Contact

Author: Michael R. Hicks

Genre: Science Fiction

Publisher: Imperial Guard Publishing – Kindle
Publication Date: August 2009
Paperback:392 pages

Stand alone or series: Prequel to the In Her Name trilogy

Led by Commander Owen McClaren, the TNS Aurora is embarked on an extended survey mission, searching for new worlds that could support human life. Drawn to an uncharted star system by the discovery of potentially habitable planets, the crew of the Aurora discovers something entirely unexpected: the planets are already inhabited, but not by humans. Approached by gigantic alien starships, Aurora’s crew makes ready for humanity-s very first contact with another sentient race.

But nothing could prepare them for what fate has in store. For they have entered the domain of the Kreelan Empire, which has waited thousands of years to find another spacefaring race against which to wage war to honor their Empress. With all but one of the crew killed in bloody close combat, the aliens send Aurora home bearing the sole survivor: the Messenger, a young crewman who carries with him an alien artifact that is humanity’s only sign of how much time remains until they are plunged into an interstellar war

How did we get this book: Review Copies from the author

Why did we read this book: We read, and loved, the first trilogy, In Her Name

REVIEW:

First Impressions:

Ana:We read the In Her Name trilogy last year and I loved it for its great blend of Sci-fi, Space Opera and Romance. I was very impressed with the world-building especially the details about the alien Kreelan Empire and because of that I was delighted when the author sent us this prequel to read. And what I can said about First Contact? It is as well written as the other books in the series and it has an awesome premise (more on that later) but ultimately it proved to be not as gripping as the original trilogy purely because this is a prime example of Military Sci-fi and I am just not into that.

Thea: Prequels are tricky, tricky things (just ask George Lucas), so when I heard that Michael Hicks was going to write a prequel to In Her Name, I felt both excitement and trepidation. The thing that made both Ana and I love In Her Name so much were the characters of Reza and Esah-Zhurah, and naturally, they couldn’t be in First Contact. I had my doubts. BUT, I am happy to report, that though First Contact is not as epic or as developed as In Her Name (which it shouldn’t be, as In Her Name has been re-released as a trilogy!), it’s still a well-written, welcome addition to a truly solid Space Opera. First Contact is, as Ana mentions, much more of a Military SF novel, and a pretty damn good one at that (although my experience with Military SF is embarrassingly limited).

On the Plot:

Ana: The premise of First Contact is awesome: it opens with a human surveyor ship, the TNS Aurora, whose mission is to find new inhabitable worlds, coming across with the first planet that seems to be already inhabited and by a sentient race. Driven by protocol, the ships’ commander makes the choice to stay and make First Contact, but unfortunately for them, the just found the Kreelan Empire. The Kreelans (a race of blue women warriors who wage war to honour their Empress) are extremely evolved in terms of technology and they soon meet the Aurora with their own warships. Out of this first meet, only one man will survive, the one known as the Messenger who will make the journey back home with a terrible mission: to tell the humans that they must engage in a war against the Kreelan or perish.

The first few chapters of First Contact were everything I have come to expect from this series. The idea of First Contact between species, the possible outcomes and strategies involved in the decision making process – for example: should the Aurora stay and make First Contact or should they leave to tell others what they found before they can be annihilated? – were intriguing and very interesting. Then, the Kreelan board the ship and the humans are taken to the arena to fight for survival in a honour-bound fight to pick the Messenger is both thrilling and frightening, and that’s exactly what I hoped for. That insight about what happens on both sides of the equation when contact is made for the first time. The humans, completely taken aback by the giant, ferocious blue warriors who instead of just annihilating them all, offer a chance for them to fight. What does that mean? When the messenger is picked and sent back home, he still needs to prove himself to his fellow humans, to make them believe what he has to said, without much proof and all the while the clock is ticking as the Kreelan set a definite date for their first engagement.

It is after the return of the Messenger that the book lost its appeal to me, because from them on, the whole story becomes a series of fighting sequences between different groups of humans and Kreelans. Without concentrating on a single group of characters, the PoV shift quite considerably between far too many people and even though the battle scenes were actually pretty cool, it became tiring after the first few. I fully understand that the book is basically Military Sci-Fi and I believe that those who enjoy the genre will probably like this one. But to me, it was missing that something more that makes me truly love a book: characters to engage with.

One last word: I think readers definitely need to read the original trilogy before reading First Contact as the knowledge of the Ways of the Kreelan Empire are really useful.

Thea: I have to echo Ana in applauding the brilliant opening to First Contact. It’s almost cinematic, the intrepid human vessel discovers a new star system with habitable planets…only to discover that these planets are already inhabited. The subsequent decisions that the crew of the Aurora have to make when they see huge alien vessels baring down on them (stay and attempt peaceful first contact? Or run away, if they think the aliens are hostile?) and their shock at the advanced nature of the alien technology, it’s all very thrilling, edge-of-the-seat stuff. My favorite scene in the book is in these early chapters as the twenty-some human survivors of the initial massacre are taken to the Kreelan version of the Coliseum, to fight to the death. Only one human needs to survive to bring the message back to humankind – the Kreelans are coming for war.

Something I think Michael Hicks does brilliantly in In Her Name and in First Contact is detail and create this fantastic new alien culture. The Kreelans are ruthless – they have had to be aggressive, powerful warriors to build and maintain their empire. When they come into contact with an alien race, they do not approach it with diplomacy; rather, they attack and weigh the strength of the new species. Above all else, Kreelans are bound to their honor and their religion – humans, without “blood song” are nothing more than mere animals. Their worthiness as an opponent is all that matters to the Kreelans, and their specific rites (the testing of the human crew from the Aurora in the Coliseum, the picking of a “Messenger” to send home) is beautifull conceived and described beautifully. The Kreelan way of thinking, their mission to grow and maintain their empire – which has served them well for thousands of years. Their technology (an intriguing blend of biology without reliance on data-processing computers) is interesting as well.

I also had a great appreciation for the human side of things – this future Earth (and federation of planets) is heavily politicized, and Ichiro Sato (the lone survivor of the Aurora)’s journey to convince and prepare them of the impending attack is an enjoyable one. Humanity’s preparation and the impending war are exciting things, although I do have to agree with Ana that the second half of the book was slowed down by a focus on preparation details that perhaps needn’t have been so lengthy. The first act of the novel is brilliant, the middle a little draggy, but the final act – war begins – is worth the wait.

On the Characters:

Ana: This is much more of a plot-driven book than character-driven and that made all the difference to me. Because the plot is concentrated on this first military engagement between the two species for the most part, the characters all came out as bland to me. On the human side, the PoV shifted so much between several military types, I could hardly connect with the characters. That choice also proved to be a complicated one, because the author had little time to develop them and so the only option left was huge chunks of info-dump about who the characters were every time a new one was introduced, sometimes even in the thick of action. That was a hindrance and a disappointment because there were a couple of perfectly good characters which I wished I had known better. Like for example the Messenger himself – a 19 year old guy of Japanese descent who basically carries the weight of world in his shoulder with a lot of responsibility and possible trauma because of all he’s been through that was never truly, deeply explored.

On the Kreelan side of the equation, even though it was freaking awesome to see Tesh-dar again, as she is one of my favourite characters in this series, I felt hers and her sisters’ PoV to be stilted and repetitive with the Kreelan mantra of making honourable war in the name of their Empress – if I didn’t have prior knowledge abut the Kreelans I doubt I would have cared or understood them as much as they deserve.

Thea: Admittedly, First Contact is much more of a plot-driven novel, with a large cast of characters…which, unfortunately, means that there was little in the way of character development. This did not bother me so much as Ana, perhaps because I am such a sucker for plotting and technicalities, but I did find myself sorely missing the connection that I had when reading In Her Name – there is no Reza or Esah-Zhurah here. I was beyond thrilled to see Tesh-Dar again (one of my favorite characters from the original trilogy) – my only complaint was that there wasn’t MORE of her, in detail.

On the human end, I, too, liked Ichiro (the messenger) a lot and cannot help but wish that the story was written more directly through his perspective. As it stands, every time I’d start to get into the groove of a character, they were whisked off, never to be seen again in some cases. I love ensemble cast storytelling, but I was disappointed with First Contact because of this lack of connection to the characters.

Final Thoughts, Observations & Rating:

Ana: Although I love this series and this author, I wasn’t crazy about this prequel. I would only recommend it to those who have read In Her Name and who have a fondness for plot-driven stories of the Military Sci-Fi variety. I understand that this opinion is rather limiting but unfortunately so is the book.

Thea: I enjoyed First Contact thoroughly. Although there was a disappointing lack of connection to characters, I thought the plotting was solid, making for an entertaining – if not especially deep – read. As far as prequels go, I’d still recommend starting with In Her Name and then working backwards to read First Contact for a little more perpective. But overall? I was pleased. Recommended, but more for the SF fan.

Notable Quotes/Parts: The first 34 pages of First Contact are available online and you can read them as a PDF here.

Rating:

Ana: I am torn between a 5 and 6 but I will go with a 6 – because the book is actually pretty good in parts, especially the beginning. So: 6 Good – Recommended with reservations

Thea: 6 – Good, although it’s probably more of a 6.5.

Reading Next: Wolfsangel by M.D. Lachlan

Title: The World Inside

Author: Robert Silverberg

Genre: Dystopia, Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction

Publisher: Orb Books (Tor)
Publication Date: 1971 (1st Ed) / March 2010 (2nd Ed)
Paperback: 256 Pages (2nd Ed)

Welcome to Urban Monad 116. Reaching nearly two miles into the sky, the one thousand stories of this building are home to over eight hundred thousand people living in peace and harmony. In the year 2381 with a world population of over seventy-five billion souls, the massive Urbmon system is humanity’s salvation.

Life in Urbmon 116 is highly regulated, life is cherished, and the culture of procreation is seen as the highest pinnacle of god’s plan. Conflict is abhorred, and any who disturb the peace face harsh punishment—even being sent “down the chute” to be recycled as fertilizer.

Jason Quevedo, a historian, searches records of the twentieth century hoping to find the root of his discontent with the perfection of Urbmon life.

Siegmund Kluver, a young and ambitious administrator, strives to reach the top levels of the Urbmon’s government and discovers the civilization’s dark truths.

Michael Statler, a computer engineer, harbors a forbidden desire. He dreams of leaving the building—of walking in the open air and visiting the far-off sea. This is a dream he must keep secret. If anyone were to find out, he’d face the worst punishment imaginable.

The World Inside is a fascinating exploration of society and what makes us human, told by a master of speculative fiction.

Stand alone or series: Stand alone novel

How did I get this book: Review Copy from the publisher

Why did I read this book: An older take on a dystopian (or is it utopian?) future, filtered through the lens of speculative fiction…what doesn’t say “Thea” all over that?

Review:

The sun rises on Urbmon 116 (god bless! god bless!), and the vertical world of some 80,000 men, women, and children awaken to another day full of simple bliss. Life in the Urbmons is one of contained, maintained control. Each floor of the literal skyscraper is named after an old city, and each level represents the class and importance of its inhabitants – those on the mid-lower floors of the 600s such as Prague are lower in status than those of the upper echelons of Chicago, Shanghai or, at the pinnacle of Urbmon 116, Louisville.

It is the year 2381, and Earth has a population of 75 billion, and climbing each day, as the single, enduring desire of the Urbmon way of life is simply: procreate.

As young as eleven years old, children are married and begin their unyielding mission in life to have as many children as possible. The size of one’s family equates to one’s position in society; the earlier one has children, and the more children one has, the more likely one is to move up in floors.

The World Inside examines this bizarre society through the eyes of different Urbmon inhabitants – a precocious social climbing golden boy; a historian gathering evidence for his hypothesis concerning the sustained success of the Urbmon way of life; a computer programmer that dreams of stepping outside; an ambitious wife, whose mindset might be more at home in the 20th century; a musician; a childless woman who cannot fathom leaving the Urbmon; etc. More a series of character montages than a straightforward, traditional novel, The World Inside takes a a bizarre, intriguing vision of the future of mankind – one in which all our desires and goals stem from a distorted view of sex and procreation.

In many ways, I found The World Inside to be reminiscent of Aldus Huxley’s Brave New World (what with the mood altering drugs, the rigid social strata of people and the overarching need to be Happy – OR ELSE). Stylistically, I loved the way this novel – nominated for the Hugo in 1972 – was written. The World Inside is powerful yet elegant, encapsulated but non-linear. Instead of following a single character struggling to “break out” of the Urbmon (which seems the obvious route to go), Mr. Silverberg rather writes a collection of what are almost overlapping short stories, providing brief insights into many different characters trapped within this vertical buttress that is Urbmon 116. A future dystopian world set in behemoth skyscrapers, where everyone is “trapped” within a structure of their own creation seems like an interesting metaphor for life even today, and I loved this clever insight to the niches people carve out for themselves.

While one facet of Mr. Silverberg’s message is, in my opinion, this critique of man’s enduring ability to pigeonhole himself in a cage of his own making, the other (more dominant) theme is that of sex and reproduction. The residents (citizens?) of Urbmon 116 and all the Urbmons on Earth embrace unrestrained reproduction vigor as they try to reproduce as quickly and plentifully as possible. Couples are “married” and share a single family unit, but there is no such thing as monogamy in this future world. Men “nightwalk” to other units in the Urbmon, and may sleep with anyone they choose. There is no refusal, no sense of possessiveness or proprietary rights – people are encouraged to sleep with their neighbors, brothers, sisters. In a society that values birth as the ultimate purpose, the only sin is refusal.

This is, frankly, a bizarre premise that seems ridiculously counter-intuitive. The goal of this society is to continue reproducing at what must arithmetically be an exponential rate…but WHY? This was the largest disconnect of the novel for me, as there is no reasoning behind this proclivity to procreate. I was hoping for something more nefarious or Dark City-esque (WHY can’t anyone go outside? Maybe there IS no outside!); perhaps Alien creatures are farming humans for food! You know, that sort of thing. Another question I found myself asking throughout the novel was HOW do all these people eat? Urbmons must have the most amazing recycling facility EVAH! Which then led me to believe that perhaps these people are eating those “flippos” that have gone down the chute in a Soylent Green style twist (which, if you didn’t know, was also based on a scifi novel about the horrors of overpopulation, Make Room! Make Room! by Harry Harrison. And apparently a remake of Soylent Green is in the works…I digress).

But rather, what you see is what you get with The World Inside.

As it stands, it’s a bleak, absurdist view of the future. Many reviews of the novel mention that this is, undoubtedly, a product of its time. There is no denying the influence of the late 1960s boom of sexual experimentation and drugs. What I mean is, this is a sexually explicit book. Like, really explicit. I’m talking orgies, knee spreading, hallucinogenic drug explicit. The people of the Urbmons are extremely sexual creatures. I’m not quite sure if I buy Mr. Silverberg’s solution to the cabin fever that seems inevitable when humanity is stuck in an overpopulated box – would universal sexual availability (any man or woman you want, regardless of gender or blood relation, can be yours) really make for a calmer society? I don’t think I can buy sex as the root of all of man’s foibles. Certainly it’s a contributing factor, but even with universal availability the Urbmons just don’t seem very feasible. (On that note, why would anyone be married as marriage is essentially a monogamous institution?)

Another niggle – this is apparently a very advanced society that has mastered synthetic food manufacture, power recycling, etc. So why, then, with this shortsighted goal of birth as many people as possible? Taken in historical context (the overpopulation fears of the late ’60s and ’70s) I understand what Mr. Silverberg was trying to do with this novel; that is, extrapolate a vision of the future where the worst possible scenario of overpopulation has come to fruition. Hey, every dystopian author has their own thing – nuclear annihilation stemming from Cold War fears, deadly viruses as the result of bio-terrorism, environmental catastrophe in this green-conscious era. But at the same time, this wonky humans propagating without any rhyme or reason premise is the only thing that kept me from truly loving the book.

Is The World Inside an impressive work of speculative fiction and an important work in the dystopian canon? Well, yes (though overpopulation and unflinching totalitarianism have been examined in other novels, and better). Did I love this book with full abandon? Not really. Still, it’s certainly worth reading and recommending, especially for connoisseurs of the dystopian subgenre.

Notable Quotes/Parts: From the first chapter:

“Good morning,” says the screen heartily. “The external temperature, if anybody’s in­terested, is 28°. Today’s population figure at Urbmon 116 is 881,115, which is +102 since yesterday and +14,187 since the first of the year. God bless, but we’re slowing down! Across the way at Urbmon 117 they’ve added 131 since yes­terday, including quads for Mrs. Hula Jabotinsky. She’s eigh t­een and has had seven previous. A servant of god, isn’t she? The time is now 0620. In exactly forty minutes Urbmon 116 will be honored by the presence of Nicanor Gortman, the vis­iting sociocomputator from Hell, who can be recognized by his distinctive outbuilding costume in crimson and ultra ­violet. Dr. Gortman will be the guest of the Charles Mat-terns of the 799th floor. Of course we’ll treat him with the same friendly blessmanship we show one another. God bless Nicanor Gortman! Turning now to news from the lower levels of Urbmon 116—”

Principessa says, “Hear that, children? We’ll have a guest, and we must be blessworthy toward him. Come and eat.”

When he has cleansed himself, dressed, and breakfasted, Charles Mattern goes to the thousandth- .oor landing stage to meet Nicanor Gortman. As he rises through the building to the summit, Mattern passes the .oors on which his brothers and sisters and their families live. Three brothers, three sisters. Four of them younger than he, two older. All quite successful. One brother died, unpleasantly, young. Jeffrey. Mattern rarely thinks of Jeffrey. Now he is passing through the .oors that make up Louisville, the administrative sector. In a moment he will meet his guest. Gortman has been touring the tropics and is about to visit a typical urban monad in the temperate zone. Mattern is honored to have been named the of.cial host. He steps out on the landing stage, which is at the very tip of Urb­mon 116. A force- .eld shields him from the .erce winds that sweep the lofty spire. He looks to his left and sees the western face of Urban Monad 115 still in darkness. To his right, Urb­mon 117’s eastern windows sparkle. Bless Mrs. Hula Jabotin­sky and her eleven littles, Mattern thinks. Mattern can see other urbmons in the row, stretching on and on toward the horizon, towers of superstressed concrete three kilometers high, taper­ing ever so gracefully. It is a thrilling sight. God bless, he thinks. God bless, god bless, god bless!

He hears a cheerful hum of rotors. A quickboat is landing. Out steps a tall, sturdy man dressed in high- spectrum garb. He must surely be the visiting sociocomputator from Hell.

“Nicanor Gortman?” Mattern asks.

“Bless god. Charles Mattern?”

“God bless, yes. Come.”

Hell is one of the eleven cities of Venus, which man has reshaped to suit himself. Gortman has never been on Earth before. He speaks in a slow, stolid way, no lilt in his voice at all; the in.ection reminds Mattern of the way they talk in Urb­mon 84, which Mattern once visited on a .eld trip. He has read Gortman’s papers: solid stuff, closely reasoned. “I particularly liked ‘Dynamics of the Hunting Ethic,’ ” Mattern tells him while they are in the dropshaft. “Remarkable. A revelation.”

“You really mean that?” Gortman asks, flattered.

“Of course. I try to keep up with the better Venusian jour­nals. It’s so fascinating to read about alien customs. Such as hunting wild animals.”

“There are none on Earth?”

“God bless, no,” Mattern says. “We couldn’t allow that! But I love gaining insight into different ways of life.”

“My essays are escape literature for you?” asks Gortman.

Mattern looks at him strangely. “I don’t understand the ref­erence.”

“Escape literature. What you read to make life on Earth more bearable for yourself.”

“Oh, no. Life on Earth is quite bearable, let me assure you. There’s no need for escape literature. I study offworld jour­nals for amusement. And to obtain a necessary parallax, you know, for my own work,” says Mattern. They have reached the 799th level. “Let me show you my home .rst.” He steps from the drop- shaft and beckons to Gortman. “This is Shang­hai. I mean, that’s what we call this block of forty .oors, from 761 to 800. I’m in the next- to- top level of Shanghai, which is a mark of my professional status. We’ve got twenty- .ve cities altogether in Urbmon 116. Reykjavik’s on the bottom and Louisville’s on the top.”

You can read the full excerpt – in fact, the full book – online HERE.

Additional Thoughts: I mentioned Soylent Green above – the 1973 hit movie starring Charlton Heston. The film, particularly the last line of the film (which I won’t relate, just in case there’s someone out there that hasn’t seen or heard of the movie) is pretty iconic in the cautionary scifi thriller tradition. But the movie is actually based on the book Make Room! Make Room! by Harry Harrison, which is actually very different from the film. If you haven’t read the book, it was recently re-released in 2008. Here’s the official book blurb:

A gangster is murdered during a blistering Manhattan heat wave. City cop Andy Rusch is under pressure solve the crime and captivated by the victim’s beautiful girlfriend. But it is difficult to catch a killer, let alone get the girl, in crazy streets crammed full of people.

The planet’s population has exploded. The 35 million inhabitants of New York City run their TVs off pedal power, riot for water, loot and trample for lentil ‘steaks’ and are controlled by sinister barbed wire dropped from the sky. Written in 1966 and set in 1999, Make Room! Make Room! is a witty and unnerving story about stretching the earth’s resources, and the human spirit, to breaking point.

You can read the first 100 pages of Make Room! Make Room! online for free HERE.

Verdict: The World Inside is an undeniably powerful novel. Stylistically, Mr. Silverberg has crafted an enduring, beautiful work of speculative fiction. However, the counter-intuitiveness of this dystopian world prevented me from truly loving the book. Still, definitely recommended – especially for the dystopian fan.

Rating: 7 – Very Good

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Title: Anti-Ice

Author: Stephen Baxter

Genre: Science Fiction, Steampunk

Publisher: Eos
Publication Date: September 1994
Paperback: 304 pages

Stand alone or series: Stand alone novel

A new element has been found by millionaire industrialist Josiah Traveller – a mysterious substance that promises new wonders and threatens new horrors beyond humankind’s wildest dreams.

Discovered in a hidden vein near the South Pole, anti-ice is harmless until warmed, when it releases vast energies that can power land-striding ships larger than ocean liners…make travelt o the Moon a practical possibility…and arm demonic weapons that will make war – or life itself – obsolete!

For the maverick millionaire, this new substance means unlimited energy. For the young diplomat Ned Vicars, it means a chance for world peace. And for the beautiful double agent Fracoise, it means a besieged nation’s last hope of survival.

How did I get this book: Bought (it’s out of print, so Amazon Marketplace is the way to go!)

Why did I read this book: I discovered Stephen Baxter last year, and fell in love with his writing. This guy knows his science. His Ark was my single favorite read from 2009. And so, when I learned that he had written an honest to goodness steampunk novel (thanks to a comment from Kristen of Fantasy Cafe), I think I actually did a fist pump of triumph.

Review:

At the end of the eighteenth century, a comet has been captured by Earth’s gravity, and now remains in orbit of the planet – known as the “Little Moon.” Though it has not slammed into the Earth, it has rained meteorites, which have been lodged in the Antarctic. Enter Josiah Traveller: visionary, explorer, and genius. He has discovered a strange new element called “anti-ice,” buried beneath rock and ice in the Antarctic – the meteorites from Earth’s new Little Moon. This strange antimatter is capable of releasing extraordinary amounts of energy when heated even slightly – and the applications of this volatile, powerful new substance are seemingly limitless. Massive juggernaut vehicles can traverse the European continent – even the world – without need for refueling, and the moon itself is within man’s grasp! But, anti-ice also has more sinister, troubling applications in warfare, and some nasty political ramifications as well. Anti-Ice opens with a letter from a young man as he writes his father about his experiences in the Crimean War, culminating in the first (and last) use of an anti-ice bomb in combat. Now, some years later, Britain still holds the monopoly on anti-ice, but other nations are restless and frightened. Tensions are heating up between the Prussians and the French, with the British sitting on the most powerful weapon the world has ever seen.

Young Ned Vicars, reluctantly working as a diplomat in the British office at the behest of his father, is assigned to escort Otto Von Bismarck and his men as they attend the New Great Exhibition. It is here that Vicars meets the purported love of his life, the beautiful Frenchwoman Mademoiselle Francoise Michelet, and soon after, the reclusive genius Josiah Traveller. In his pursuit of Francoise days later, Vicars and his new-met journalist friend, one Mr. Holden, travel to the launch of the Prince Albert – an immensely large and revolutionary land-liner, able to travel the continent by virtue of anti-ice. By virtue of a series of unpredictable events, Vicars and Holden end up meeting with Traveller once again, and are invited to his private ship, the Phaeton, resting on the upper decks of the Albert – and it is here that the three men are trapped as someone sabotages the land-liner, and propels the Phaeton and her passengers into outer space, with no way to steer the ship, or method to return…

As you can see, Anti-Ice is a mishmash of genres, themes and characters. It blends the mannerisms of the Edwardian era with the stylistic appeal of authors like H.G. Wells and Jules Verne, tossed together with a fascinating alternate history and topped off with an irresistible dose of technical science fiction. It is steampunk, in that it is set in the appropriate time period and thus has the steampunk aesthetic, not to mention this newly discovered anti-ice plays a central role in technology, politics and story overall. As for the scientific aspect itself, Stephen Baxter is (per his usual) a visionary. Anti-Ice is an exploration stemming from the proposition – What would happen if an unparalleled, limited power-source was introduced to nineteenth century Europe? What if Jules Verne’s contraptions could actually be put into practice at the time of their conception? Anti-Ice answers these questions, examining the actual limitations facing 19th century technology in space travel, but more importantly, it also puts this technology into the context of this incredibly volatile time period. (And for someone that is both an astro-geek and a 20th century political history nerd, this is bonafide Thea-crack)

Comparatively speaking, Anti-Ice is “light” reading by Baxter standards. Which is actually an awesome side to his writing that I haven’t experienced before, and enjoyed immensely. There’s a ton of humor in this book – yes, laugh out loud humor! – which was a welcome surprise. I loved Ned Vicars’ first person narration and his thought processes. His infatuation with Francoise, his self-deprecating remarks (ironically underlain with his own vanity), it all was wonderful, winsome stuff. For example, his thoughts of Francoise (shortly after learning what a Dewar flask is – that is, a flask that has an insulating layer separated by a vacuum to protect against heat transfer):

And I – I only had eyes for Francoise. I watched the gentle curve of her back, the silent movements of her hands over her furled parasol, and I wondered fondly – if a little unscientifically – if, within the Dewar flask of her polite exterior, there might burn a flame of desire which I might kindle!

Or Ned’s observations of himself:

I saw myself through Francoise’s eyes: as a rather vain and shallow young man; one of thousands circlign the civilized capitals – although, I allowed, rather more charming and better looking than the average –

Or Ned’s tendency to blurt out hilarious (but effectually true) proclamations:

Fear sank deep into my thoughts. “You infer that we are in the hands of a saboteur?”

Holden said grimly, “I fear that a member of the same band of Prussians is at this moment at the controls of this craft.”

The full horror of our predicament at last broke over me. “We are trapped in this box, hurtling ever further from the Earth, and at the mercy of a crazed Prussian…Then we must gain access to the bridge at once!”

And more observations:

The outer suit opened at the front and I clambered awkwardly into it. The suit was fitted at the neck with a collar of copper just wide enough to admit my head. This collar was fitted to the inner rubber suit, forming an airtight seal; air was smoothed out of the interface between the outer and inner suits and the outer was sealed up by flaps and straps.

I raised my silvered, mittened hand. “I feel odd. Greased up and encased in this garment, with its mittens and booties, I am like some grotesque infant!”

It’s almost…Vorkosigan-esque. I had no idea Baxter could do stiff British comedy. Awesome.

While there are these light-hearted moments, however, there’s still an impressive amount of thought, research, and effort put into this book. The realities facing a crew of hopelessly unprepared astronauts, the Victorian modifications for space travel, it’s all fascinatingly well done.

But the most impressive thing in my opinion was the political metaphor of Anti-Ice. Despite being published in 1994, Mr. Baxter has written an eerily timely tale; the similarities between anti-ice and nuclear/WMD proliferation (and the West’s role in intervening/preempting) are unmistakable. The historical aspect is similarly impressive, detailing tensions between France, Prussia, and Britain and the strained discordance as the “Concert of Europe” (my favorite metaphor, though Baxter uses the ol’ “Balance of Power”) begins to fail. It’s all AWESOME. I loved it.

My only regret with Anti-Ice is how I kind of wish there was more – perhaps my next Baxter book will be The Time Ships…

BUT IS IT STEAMPUNK?! Yes, it most certainly is. Not only is the technology the central pillar of the book, but the political ramifications (the “punk” part of “steampunk”) is here in abundance too. A different, fantastic application of the subgenre.

Notable Quotes/Parts: There are so many to choose from (as you might have seen above)! But how about this sort of easter egg aside for the reader:

There were chronometers, nanometers, Eigel Centigrade thermometers. There was a bank of compasses set in a three-dimensional array, so that their faces lay at all angles to each other. Traveller sighed over this arrangement. “I had hoped to use the direction of magnetic flux to navigate through space,” he said, “but I am disappointed to find that the effect fades away more than a few tens of miles from the surface of the Earth.”

“Damned inconvenient!” Holden called drily.

“Instead you rely on a sextant,” I said, indicating a large, intricate brass device consisting of a tube mounted on a toothed wheel. “Surely,” I went on, “the Carthaginians themselves would have recognized such a device…but could never have imagined it in such a setting.”

“Carthaginians in space,” Traveller mused. “Now there is an idea for a romance…But, of course, one could never make such a tale plausible enough to convince the public. It would be even more controversial than Disraeli’s fashionable fable…”

Heh.

Additional Thoughts: If The Time Ships is Baxter’s homage/continuation of H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine, then Anti-Ice is his homage to Jules Verne’s Around the Moon, From the Earth to the Moon, and The First Men in the Moon.

Written almost a century before the daring flights of the astronauts, Jules Verne’s prophetic novel of man’s race to the stars is a classic adventure tale enlivened by broad satire and scientific acumen.

When the members of the elite Baltimore Gun Club find themselves lacking any urgent assignments at the close of the Civil War, their president, Impey Barbicane, proposes that they build a gun big enough to launch a rocket to the moon. But when Barbicane’s adversary places a huge wager that the project will fail and a daring volunteer elevates the mission to a “manned” flight, one man’s dream turns into an international space race.

Verdict: A lighter, but still awesomely detailed and ridiculously good read. Anti-Ice has, once again, reaffirmed my love for the writing of Mr. Stephen Baxter.

Rating: 8 – Excellent

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