Pittacus Lore
Another novela with some back story on the Lorien Legacy series. This time we are in the point of view of a Mogadorian. And not just any Mogadorian, but the son of the General of the expansion force on earth. And the story gives us the history of the demise of the first three Guarde. Good cultural detail (trueborn vs vat-born) and diversity (hawks vs doves) makes for a fascinating story keeps me wanting more. Exactly what a mid-series novela is supposed to do.
Read
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
The Year of the Flood
Margaret Atwood
Another GMO's gone wild dystopia. I must say that not much will compare to The Windup Girl in this area. Atwood presents a world where the Corporations that run everything are isolated sanctuaries. Their primary goal is to make money, to the point of intentionally poisoning people so they have to pay for treatment. In this version, a group of radicals known as God's Gardeners are promoting an alternate lifestyle of care for the earth and plant based diets. This is rather cultish (and seen as a cult by most). It is also the most enjoyable part of the book. The hierarchy of the Gardeners is signified by the titles of the leaders (Adam One, Adam Two, Eve One, Eve Two, etc.) And Adam One regularly gives sermons based on the "Human Words of God" which are often clever translations that are relevant for the bio-engineered world. Otherwise, the effects of the GMO inundation are sparkling clear and the story is really a survival story in unique circumstances. Quality story, but I was ruined by Bacigalupi.
Wait
Another GMO's gone wild dystopia. I must say that not much will compare to The Windup Girl in this area. Atwood presents a world where the Corporations that run everything are isolated sanctuaries. Their primary goal is to make money, to the point of intentionally poisoning people so they have to pay for treatment. In this version, a group of radicals known as God's Gardeners are promoting an alternate lifestyle of care for the earth and plant based diets. This is rather cultish (and seen as a cult by most). It is also the most enjoyable part of the book. The hierarchy of the Gardeners is signified by the titles of the leaders (Adam One, Adam Two, Eve One, Eve Two, etc.) And Adam One regularly gives sermons based on the "Human Words of God" which are often clever translations that are relevant for the bio-engineered world. Otherwise, the effects of the GMO inundation are sparkling clear and the story is really a survival story in unique circumstances. Quality story, but I was ruined by Bacigalupi.
Wait
Friday, August 24, 2012
The Windup Girl
Paulo Bacigalupi
Here is how the future looks according to Bacigalupi. If our present represents a global expansion, of trade and interconnectivity, we will soon enter a contraction. The contraction will be based on scarcity of liquid fuels and will lead to nations looking inward and becoming self protective. Follow this with another expansion based on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) that a few corporations develop to help solve global food shortages. The shortages are so severe that the corporations (calorie companies) are given free reign to experiment in a wide swath of nature (both flora and fauna, both of necessity and for entertainment). Of course, the GMO experimentation includes the development of a few diseases that mutate very fast and are very deadly, causing famine and plague and leading to a second contraction. Throw in the fact that we are well in to the severe effects of global climate change (e.g. elevated sea level, restrictive carbon credits) and you have the setting for Bacigalupi's book.
Set it Thailand, the Thai Kingdom is a bastion of isolation, resisting as much as possible the efforts of calorie companies like AgriGen and PurCAL from controlling their society. They import the sterile, but disease resistent for at least a month, seeds to grow SoyPRO soy and U-Tex rice, but also work to develop their own food sources. The calorie companies just try to stay one step ahead of the dreaded Blister Rust mutation that has caused widespread disease and famine. The details here are wonderful. An entire industry set up around energy storage (in a post fossil fuel world) and developing a 2-gigajoule portable spring storage device (about 500,000 Calories worth of energy) plays a central role around which to spin the plot. The megodont union (GMO elephants) have a monopoly on using the creatures to wind springs for energy storage. The Environmental Ministry is responsible for maintaining GMO purity where possible, for protecting the Thai seed bank from the calorie companies and for protecting the Thai Kingdom from disease. The Trade Ministry promotes entering into expansion and increasing wealth. The Japanese have been leaders in gene-ripping mammals and have created the megodonts, cheshires (GMO cats that have all but eliminated natural cats on earth) and even "windups" (GMO people or New People) to help combat a shrinking Japanese population.
Now this is where the ethics becomes interesting. The GMO animals are just as much animal as the natural animals, but GMO. The GMO plants are real plants, just GMO. But the GMO people are seen as less than human, people without a soul. It raises questions of what you think about humanity and what is a prerequisite for a soul. I always enjoy a good metaphysical thought experiment and this book, by throwing a GMO/Climate Change induced future at me, gave me exactly what I love. Read it and find some friends who will be willing to discuss.
Read
Here is how the future looks according to Bacigalupi. If our present represents a global expansion, of trade and interconnectivity, we will soon enter a contraction. The contraction will be based on scarcity of liquid fuels and will lead to nations looking inward and becoming self protective. Follow this with another expansion based on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) that a few corporations develop to help solve global food shortages. The shortages are so severe that the corporations (calorie companies) are given free reign to experiment in a wide swath of nature (both flora and fauna, both of necessity and for entertainment). Of course, the GMO experimentation includes the development of a few diseases that mutate very fast and are very deadly, causing famine and plague and leading to a second contraction. Throw in the fact that we are well in to the severe effects of global climate change (e.g. elevated sea level, restrictive carbon credits) and you have the setting for Bacigalupi's book.
Set it Thailand, the Thai Kingdom is a bastion of isolation, resisting as much as possible the efforts of calorie companies like AgriGen and PurCAL from controlling their society. They import the sterile, but disease resistent for at least a month, seeds to grow SoyPRO soy and U-Tex rice, but also work to develop their own food sources. The calorie companies just try to stay one step ahead of the dreaded Blister Rust mutation that has caused widespread disease and famine. The details here are wonderful. An entire industry set up around energy storage (in a post fossil fuel world) and developing a 2-gigajoule portable spring storage device (about 500,000 Calories worth of energy) plays a central role around which to spin the plot. The megodont union (GMO elephants) have a monopoly on using the creatures to wind springs for energy storage. The Environmental Ministry is responsible for maintaining GMO purity where possible, for protecting the Thai seed bank from the calorie companies and for protecting the Thai Kingdom from disease. The Trade Ministry promotes entering into expansion and increasing wealth. The Japanese have been leaders in gene-ripping mammals and have created the megodonts, cheshires (GMO cats that have all but eliminated natural cats on earth) and even "windups" (GMO people or New People) to help combat a shrinking Japanese population.
Now this is where the ethics becomes interesting. The GMO animals are just as much animal as the natural animals, but GMO. The GMO plants are real plants, just GMO. But the GMO people are seen as less than human, people without a soul. It raises questions of what you think about humanity and what is a prerequisite for a soul. I always enjoy a good metaphysical thought experiment and this book, by throwing a GMO/Climate Change induced future at me, gave me exactly what I love. Read it and find some friends who will be willing to discuss.
Read
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Homeward Bound
Harry Turtledove
In the final installment, humans travel to Home (the alien home planet) and the political negotiations begin. In order to accomplish this, Turtledove narrows the scope of the characters and brings along only the Americans and essential Aliens. He also does a bunch of big time jumps to allow us to go from the 1970's into the mid-21st century so the technology can exist that allows this travel for humans. The story is pretty pedestrian as the humans visit the new world. They find it both more than they expected and less than they hoped for all at the same time. The continual repetition of character background is a bit more minimized here than in the previous installment, although not altogether gone (and yet still unnecessary). If you have read the first three in the series, you will want to read this if for no other reason than to finish the series off.
Broad themes and hopes having the entire series under my belt? Turtledove does something pretty courageous in the development of the Sam Yeager character. Here is a member of the American military who is inherently curious. At some point, this curiosity leads him to uncover some information that is damaging to the U.S. and puts the U.S. on the same moral ground as the Japanese and Nazi's of WWII. The courageous act is for the Yeager character to "out" the American actions to the aliens and cause damage to the U.S. based on a sense of justice. This is done while still keeping Yeager as the story protagonist and not converting him to an antagonist. He is also able to highlight the hypocrisy and blindness that a powerful nation (maybe) inevitabley shows. Imperialism, in this case by the aliens, is wrong if you are the conquered, but natural if you are the conqueror. Even when that transition happens within the lifetime of individuals, it is difficult to see how "two-forked" your tongue. It is not often that you see a commitment to decisions of justice and exposure of national hypocrisy, even in sci-fi alternate history books that involve the U.S. As such, leading into the 4th book, I had hopes Turtledove would follow through and expand on this theme. Take what you started in Yeager and a commitment to justice and expand that to include active resistance to violence in relationship and to developing a true galactic political peace (which includes the Americans as equals). I must say, here he dropped a huge opportunity to show a true alternative history. In the end, the Americans push forward to dominance and hold the position of power and arrogance in the galaxy. Turtledove does offer commentary on this new arrogance, but does not take a stab at offering an alternative. This is just the way it is (and by implication, should be). Because of this, the book (and the series) just wilts away. There is no strong end, no moral imperative. Drift off into the sunset with no ability to see a better tomorrow. American imperialism is inevitable whether history happened as we know it or unfolded in a dramatically different way. We (and the characters) resign ourselves to this world which is not alternate at all.
What I would like to see is someone take advantage of the opportunity Turtledove started. He set up a great history, with an engaging story. Why not envision a universe where Yeager finds a way to balance the scales of power. Use subterfuge, cunning and negotiation. Bring in the Germans, Russians and Japanese and form a truly strange new world where these great powers explore the universe peacefully. Don't gloss over, saying that everyone is now best friends. But find a way to find what is common amongst the humans that leads to a tension filled agreement of non-violent interaction. Add to that the lessons learned from the human-alien interaction to fold more tension in with the alien agreement. All of this will likely include some sacrifice by the strong, some "giving-away" without holding on to that gift as its own form of power. If you are going to envision a strange new future, be bold and envision one that challenges a new way of thinking about political/personal interactions.
Broad themes and hopes having the entire series under my belt? Turtledove does something pretty courageous in the development of the Sam Yeager character. Here is a member of the American military who is inherently curious. At some point, this curiosity leads him to uncover some information that is damaging to the U.S. and puts the U.S. on the same moral ground as the Japanese and Nazi's of WWII. The courageous act is for the Yeager character to "out" the American actions to the aliens and cause damage to the U.S. based on a sense of justice. This is done while still keeping Yeager as the story protagonist and not converting him to an antagonist. He is also able to highlight the hypocrisy and blindness that a powerful nation (maybe) inevitabley shows. Imperialism, in this case by the aliens, is wrong if you are the conquered, but natural if you are the conqueror. Even when that transition happens within the lifetime of individuals, it is difficult to see how "two-forked" your tongue. It is not often that you see a commitment to decisions of justice and exposure of national hypocrisy, even in sci-fi alternate history books that involve the U.S. As such, leading into the 4th book, I had hopes Turtledove would follow through and expand on this theme. Take what you started in Yeager and a commitment to justice and expand that to include active resistance to violence in relationship and to developing a true galactic political peace (which includes the Americans as equals). I must say, here he dropped a huge opportunity to show a true alternative history. In the end, the Americans push forward to dominance and hold the position of power and arrogance in the galaxy. Turtledove does offer commentary on this new arrogance, but does not take a stab at offering an alternative. This is just the way it is (and by implication, should be). Because of this, the book (and the series) just wilts away. There is no strong end, no moral imperative. Drift off into the sunset with no ability to see a better tomorrow. American imperialism is inevitable whether history happened as we know it or unfolded in a dramatically different way. We (and the characters) resign ourselves to this world which is not alternate at all.
What I would like to see is someone take advantage of the opportunity Turtledove started. He set up a great history, with an engaging story. Why not envision a universe where Yeager finds a way to balance the scales of power. Use subterfuge, cunning and negotiation. Bring in the Germans, Russians and Japanese and form a truly strange new world where these great powers explore the universe peacefully. Don't gloss over, saying that everyone is now best friends. But find a way to find what is common amongst the humans that leads to a tension filled agreement of non-violent interaction. Add to that the lessons learned from the human-alien interaction to fold more tension in with the alien agreement. All of this will likely include some sacrifice by the strong, some "giving-away" without holding on to that gift as its own form of power. If you are going to envision a strange new future, be bold and envision one that challenges a new way of thinking about political/personal interactions.
Sunday, August 12, 2012
I am Number Four: The Lost Files: Nine's Legacy
Pittacus Lore
Great big spoiler alert!! This little novela gives some back story on Nine. Nine lives in Chicago with his Cepan and his legacies are just starting to develop. He gets anti-gravity. The Mogadorians catch up with him, he gets captured, his Cepan gets killed (along with his girlfriend) and then he is rescued by Four. This is a fun series (The Lorien Legacies) and I like this idea of novellas to keep us hooked. I did browse around the fansite on the web and in a little background page, Lore states that Lorien is over 300 million miles away. I hope that the emphasis is on "over" since 300 million miles puts the Lorien star system right between Mars and Jupiter in our solar system. Come on Pittacus Lore, pay attention to details.
Read
Great big spoiler alert!! This little novela gives some back story on Nine. Nine lives in Chicago with his Cepan and his legacies are just starting to develop. He gets anti-gravity. The Mogadorians catch up with him, he gets captured, his Cepan gets killed (along with his girlfriend) and then he is rescued by Four. This is a fun series (The Lorien Legacies) and I like this idea of novellas to keep us hooked. I did browse around the fansite on the web and in a little background page, Lore states that Lorien is over 300 million miles away. I hope that the emphasis is on "over" since 300 million miles puts the Lorien star system right between Mars and Jupiter in our solar system. Come on Pittacus Lore, pay attention to details.
Read
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Camoflauge
Joe Haldeman
Nice little sci-fi novel about a couple of aliens (a Changeling and a Chameleon) who have been on earth for many years (e.g. millions). When a deep sea recovery team discovers a strange artifact and brings it up for study, these two are drawn to it and to an eventual showdown. What makes this fun is the tromp through history and how each character learns from its experiences among the humans. Great summer diversion.
Read
Nice little sci-fi novel about a couple of aliens (a Changeling and a Chameleon) who have been on earth for many years (e.g. millions). When a deep sea recovery team discovers a strange artifact and brings it up for study, these two are drawn to it and to an eventual showdown. What makes this fun is the tromp through history and how each character learns from its experiences among the humans. Great summer diversion.
Read
Aftershocks
Harry Turtledove
Homeward Bound - Book 4
Now that there are three world powers, and the U.S. has a significant space presence (what is really going on there), the political intrigue continues. Unfortunately, the story is wearing thin and the plot does not develop fast enough. The characters are all familiar and I like how they are starting to cross over more. Goldfarb suddenly connects with Dutuord, etc. So while the story is good enough to make me wonder how it wraps up, it is getting a bit stale. I do hope that Kassquit, Mickey and Donald become significant parts of a novel way of thinking about how to live in peace. I will also say that this book has the worst copy-editing I have ever seen. This goes beyond spelling errors. In conversations, entire sentences are attributed to the wrong character. "What do you think Joe?" said Sam. "Well Sam, I think we should have lunch" Sam responded. "Good idea" said Sam. Huh? And this happened throughout the book on many occasions. Made me feel like I was reading a pre-press version that the author rushed to print to make a deadline. Take care of the details.
Down to Earth
Harry Turtledove
Homeward Bound - Book 4
Continuing where we left off, The Race, Soviets, Nazi's and Americans are the 4 world powers in a political standoff. Now that the stage is set in the first book, this becomes primarily a political thriller, showing the behind the scenes intrigue of a strange geopolitical scene. It is still a good story, although overly long. Turtledove does not trust the reader to remember anything from the first book, or even from earlier in the novel. Anytime he mentions a characters name, he adds a sentence or two of explanatory background. This is unnecessary and assumes we all have a sieve like memory. It may be true, but it is also insulting. Get an editor and write a concise book. You have a good story, so use it.
Robopocalypse: A Novel
Daniel H. Wilson
Having seen that Spielberg is contemplating a movie based on this book, thought I would read it. It is a story very much like The Terminator series, where an artificial intelligence gains sentience and takes control of the many robots mixed in among humans. The difference is that this story is about the beginning of the struggle, between the few months before "zero-hour" to a couple years after. The robots have not yet gained complete control, so it is a civil war, not a rebellion. It like that there is not one main character, but a series of stories of people who take different actions around the world to influence the final outcome. This is good science fiction.
Read
Having seen that Spielberg is contemplating a movie based on this book, thought I would read it. It is a story very much like The Terminator series, where an artificial intelligence gains sentience and takes control of the many robots mixed in among humans. The difference is that this story is about the beginning of the struggle, between the few months before "zero-hour" to a couple years after. The robots have not yet gained complete control, so it is a civil war, not a rebellion. It like that there is not one main character, but a series of stories of people who take different actions around the world to influence the final outcome. This is good science fiction.
Read
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Switch
Carol Snow
This book is clearly intended for a teenage girl. Claire is a typical teen girl with typical issues. Her uniqueness comes from the fact that the spirit of her dead grandmother hangs around and that when she gets an electric shock, she switches bodies with someone else who has a birthday near hers. So this is a standard plot of switching into the body of someone in a totally different social class and finding out that they have something in common. Nothing groundbreaking. Not poorly written, but nothing to write home about.
Rating: Skip
This book is clearly intended for a teenage girl. Claire is a typical teen girl with typical issues. Her uniqueness comes from the fact that the spirit of her dead grandmother hangs around and that when she gets an electric shock, she switches bodies with someone else who has a birthday near hers. So this is a standard plot of switching into the body of someone in a totally different social class and finding out that they have something in common. Nothing groundbreaking. Not poorly written, but nothing to write home about.
Rating: Skip
Pandemonium
Lauren Oliver
Book 2 of Delirium trilogy
Delirium - Book 1
Requieum - Book 3
Delirium set up the world. Love is the disease and the cure is basically a partial lobotomy that removes "extreme" emotion. At the end of book 1, Lena had escaped from the bordered and controlled world of Portland Maine into the Wilds. In the second volume, we follow Lena as she learns how to live in the Wilds and as she becomes integrated into the organized resistance against the cure. I am interested to observe that the world created by Oliver, were people truly believe that love is a disease, is a particularly insidious. That is, how do you fix this problem. We see hints here, that even when confronted with truth, people will still see love as a disease. They must simply be willing to accept infection. So to initiate large scale revolution, you must change the thinking of people who have already been cured (everyone over 18) as well as overcome the "fact" of the disease (which has been truth for over a generation). This is not just an "unlock the gate" problem like we see in Hunger Games or Inferior. Instead, it becomes a massive PR/social re-education problem. How does a rag-tag resistance movement initiate such change? This second book on its own is good enough as it lets us see into the life of the resistance and the Wild. But it really has me interested in a resolution. Well done.
Rating: Read
Book 2 of Delirium trilogy
Delirium - Book 1
Requieum - Book 3
Delirium set up the world. Love is the disease and the cure is basically a partial lobotomy that removes "extreme" emotion. At the end of book 1, Lena had escaped from the bordered and controlled world of Portland Maine into the Wilds. In the second volume, we follow Lena as she learns how to live in the Wilds and as she becomes integrated into the organized resistance against the cure. I am interested to observe that the world created by Oliver, were people truly believe that love is a disease, is a particularly insidious. That is, how do you fix this problem. We see hints here, that even when confronted with truth, people will still see love as a disease. They must simply be willing to accept infection. So to initiate large scale revolution, you must change the thinking of people who have already been cured (everyone over 18) as well as overcome the "fact" of the disease (which has been truth for over a generation). This is not just an "unlock the gate" problem like we see in Hunger Games or Inferior. Instead, it becomes a massive PR/social re-education problem. How does a rag-tag resistance movement initiate such change? This second book on its own is good enough as it lets us see into the life of the resistance and the Wild. But it really has me interested in a resolution. Well done.
Rating: Read
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Dune
Frank Herbert
It is good to read a classic. Especially a good classic. This is sort of a Hatfield v. McCoy blood feud in the future (around the year 10,000). The desert planet Arrakis is awarded to Duke Leto Atreides to manage and taken away from Baron Harkonnen. These two families want to annhilate each other. As it turns out, there are plots within plots. Leto's concubine Jessica is a member of the Bene Gesserit, an order of women who conspire in the background of power to manage genetics through selective breeding (all very passive agressive ov course). There are the Fremen, native desert dwellers of Arrakis who have their own plans for the planet and its riches of spice. There is the Shipping Guild, with a monopoly on space travel and its own particular interest in Arrakis. And there is the Emporer, nominally in charge of everything. Mix in a bit of oppression and religious ferver and what could go wrong. A fabulous world has be set up in this novel and it is a page turner throughout.
Read
It is good to read a classic. Especially a good classic. This is sort of a Hatfield v. McCoy blood feud in the future (around the year 10,000). The desert planet Arrakis is awarded to Duke Leto Atreides to manage and taken away from Baron Harkonnen. These two families want to annhilate each other. As it turns out, there are plots within plots. Leto's concubine Jessica is a member of the Bene Gesserit, an order of women who conspire in the background of power to manage genetics through selective breeding (all very passive agressive ov course). There are the Fremen, native desert dwellers of Arrakis who have their own plans for the planet and its riches of spice. There is the Shipping Guild, with a monopoly on space travel and its own particular interest in Arrakis. And there is the Emporer, nominally in charge of everything. Mix in a bit of oppression and religious ferver and what could go wrong. A fabulous world has be set up in this novel and it is a page turner throughout.
Read
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