Rebel Seoul

Axie Oh

Dystopian future + a bit of cyberpunk + anime feel. Set in Korea where the political world has realigned from nation-states into regional Neostates (nominally as a political attempt to end war). However, Neo State of Korea has been fighting in a war for decades, currently in the phase of battling internal resistance to the entire neo-concept. Jaewon is a soldier from Old Seoul looking to find his way in Neo-Seoul. He is top of his class at the military academy a fantastic pilot of the god-machines (giant mechanical weapons that have been keystones of modern warfare). He gets assigned to a top-secret new weapons project, where is job is to partner with Tera, a new breed of enhanced, god-machine pilot. But all is not as it seems (of course) with Jaewon's own background, or the players involved in the creation, planning, use of war as a political mechanism. Pretty fun imagining of the future and a pretty good portrayal of the ethical conundrum that comes between history, relationship, and personal morality. 

3 stars (out of 4)

The Ministry for the Future

Kim Stanley Robinson

Starting in a climate disaster near future of 2024, we open with a massive heat wave over the Indian subcontinent that kills a million people. The rest of the book is the resulting political and scientific machinations that unfold over the next decades as a result of this climate disaster. The plot is centered around the UN Climate organization that is colloquially referred to as the Ministry for the Future, which like most UN committees, has lots of responsibility but no real international authority. It is a diplomacy first approach to changing the world, hoping to appeal to humanities interest in a common cause. Of course, the battle with the capitalists is most depressing. For me, the most enjoyable segments of the book are the scientific strategies that are attempted. In true Robinson fashion, the world building is so well described that one wishes it could be used as a template for actual action. Overall, the book is a hopeful telling of the future and how humanity could actually make a dent in combating climate change. The only way this can work is if we skip over most of the trauma. So the telling includes a paragraph about the heatwave that hits SE USA killing a few hundred thousand in a week... and then moves on. Or the super depression that occurs when the global economy shuts down. But each of these is stated for the purpose of setting the stage for the next geopolitical action that takes place. Perhaps the saddest part of the entire situation is that the only time action happens is in response to massive trauma, and even then it is a struggle to move beyond words. So even in this, the telling is an accurate depiction of reality. This should probably be a must read for anyone interested in life on earth.

4 stars (out of 4)

Fugitive Telemetry

Martha Wells

Book 6 in The Murderbot Diaries

Another novella in the series. Murderbot, a Security Unit who has achieved sentience, and is now recognized by the Preservation as individual (i.e. not as property). While its primary employment is security for Dr. Mensah (see Books 1-5), in this serial Murderbot takes on a contract to solve a particularly strange murder on a Preservation station. What I continue to love about this series is the absolutely perfect narration and inner dialogue of Murderbot. I can't get enough.

4 stars (out of 4)

Best Served Cold

Joe Abercrombie

A standalone story in the world of The First Law trilogy. While I was hoping that this would follow on some characters of the trilogy, filling out the story and giving what was lacking, alas no. While there are some overlapping minor characters, this is effectively a straight up revenge thriller that has no redeeming characters. Everyone is flawed and if the message is that vengeance does not bring closure, that message is hammered home... literally felt it hammered into my cold, dead, brain. The fun of the First Law was left behind, leaving only parts that need to be endured. I didn't.

1 star (out of 4)

Last Argument of Kings

Joe Abercrombie

Book 3 of the First Law Trilogy

The big finale does in fact wrap things up. Bayaz pulls all the strings he needs to pull, revealing that this entire trilogy is but a small part of a larger story. The puppet king is on the throne, the north and the south defeated for the moment, Ninefingers gets his freedom of sorts. We never really get to explore any character enough for a hero to develop. Yes, everyone is flawed. But the most heroic are secondary and left to stories untold. This world has so many possibilities, but left me flat. Sorry, can't recommend it. 

2 stars (out of 4)

Before they are Hanged

Joe Abercrombie

Book 2 of the First Law Trilogy

True to fantasy form, we are divided among disparate parts of the world. Glokta is in the south, defending a city under siege. The main of the union army is in the north battling the invading horde. And magi Bayaz has taken Ninefingers, Luthar and Maljinn (a demon-blood girl seeking vengence on the southern barbarians) on a jouney to find a hidden something (too secret to tell us). In the end, the plot is disappointing as each individual story is engaging, but nothing really takes you anywhere. Maljinn is perhaps the most intriguing character, but we will need to see if she becomes important.

2 stars (out of 4)

The Blade Itself

Joe Abercrombie

Book 1 of the First Law Trilogy

A fantasy world where magic is sort of in the background. In this world, the northmen are warriors who earn their name in battle. The fiercest of these is Logan Ninefingers - the Bloody Nine. He has the ability to speak to spirits, which makes him valuable down the road. The Union is basically a corrupt colonial power held together by violence and graft. Key to this is Inquisitor Glokta, former soldier who was tortured and crippled (but survived) in a battle in the south. The story keeps coming back to him as a weirdly central character, almost as a connective narrator with fingers in all parts of the story. Luthar is a union soldier, high born, entitled and perfect puppet. This first volume really sets the stage and develops the world. The most interesting is the story of the northmen, and the hints what the story is really about. We are not swept away, but kept interested.

3 stars (out of 4)