the apocalypse has come and gone; what remains of humanity must huddle together in fear. as if all that wasn't bad enough... wraiths attack!
ignore thethe apocalypse has come and gone; what remains of humanity must huddle together in fear. as if all that wasn't bad enough... wraiths attack!
ignore the exclamation point above when considering this novella - this is not a book of excitable punctuation. the tone is melancholy. the book is elegiac. Lebbon focuses on such intangibles as the loss of community, social isolation, PTSD, family bonds, and how those lost can remain alive in the memories we keep of them. heady stuff; emotional stuff. the story has plenty of creepiness and its landscapes are stark and fearful, but what the author is trying to create is an internal narrative rather than one that focuses on confrontations with the wide range of awful and inexplicable things that now inhabit this blighted world - a world slowly returning to its once Edenic state.
this is the last book in a trilogy that also includes Naming Of Parts and Changing of Faces. overall the three novellas are a minor but worthy effort by a prolific author. they are often quite well-written, always thoughtful, full of eerie atmosphere, and especially notable for their ambiguity, their shades of gray, and a decided lack of rational explanation for all that is occurring....more
synopsis: birds of a feather flock together, which spells trouble for the human race. humans are mainly the same under their skins, which also means tsynopsis: birds of a feather flock together, which spells trouble for the human race. humans are mainly the same under their skins, which also means trouble for the human race, at least when these birds of prey come a'cawing.
Question: what is the Holy Spirit? one of The Trinity? a conduit between man and God? a sacred path towards revelation for tragic humankind, always running up that hill of their own making? per Isaiah 11:1-2, is the Holy Spirit a bringer of the following spiritual gifts: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord? is the Holy Spirit a reckoning for humanity - Nemesis? is the Holy Spirit a flock of birds that will bring destruction to most but true self-awareness to the brave few; pigeons from hell that shall leave all cities in dust in their wake, and humanity reborn?
Answer: all of the above!
this book is certainly not what I expected it to be. Frank Baker wrote this striking renunciation of modern society over 80 years ago and it somehow remains relevant. the fear of the dehumanizing effects of technology and office life; the inability to recognize the spectrum of sexuality and the hypocrisy of adult prurience; the willingness of arms manufacturers to sell to any bidder, no matter how dangerous that bidder may be or how unaligned that bidder is with the manufacturer's home country; the stultifying insistence on proscribed gender roles; the frequent hypocrisy of organized religion; the ability of government to look the other way; the refusal to see how humanity destroys its own environment; the challenge that humans have in connecting with each other and in seeing themselves for who they truly are... it's all there, in 1936 when this was first written and of course right now in 2019. this is a strangely timeless novel. how soon is now?
the tale is told as a rumination on The Times Before the Fall, from an elderly man who survived that Fall, recounting it to his descendants in a post-apocalyptic but apparently idyllic pastoral future. it is intellectual and emotional, dry and passionate, dreamy and nightmarish, prosaic and completely surreal. an odd and unique book, and certainly deserving of a much wider readership. EXTRA BONUS POINTS: bi hero....more
It has been funny reading the irritated, disgusted, sometimes outraged reactions towards this anti-science & technology novel - reviews written mainlyIt has been funny reading the irritated, disgusted, sometimes outraged reactions towards this anti-science & technology novel - reviews written mainly by my fellow science fiction nerds. I guess I can understand the sour reactions, as Simak is pretty much saying that technology is for dumb-asses who don't want to grow as human beings. That must really rankle anyone who loves technology LOL! I guess for me it would be like reading a book that is all about how reading books is for simpletons.
But really, c'mon! Science Fiction is not just about science and tech. Don't get so pressed about this, my nerd brothers and sisters. The genre is often seen as being all about the sagas, those amazing and usually multi-part adventures. Sometimes those sagas focus on hard science, and all the science-fixated can delight in that. But the genre is also speculative. Indeed, it was once referred to as "Speculative Fiction". Sometimes the speculation taking place is one that is all about a particular invention or piece of technology taken that next step, and how that would impact mankind; sometimes it is about a Big Dumb Object mysteriously appearing and ready for our study. Many classic scifi novels have such things as their foundation; time again for the science and technology lovers to rejoice. But speculative novels can speculate on many things. As any fan of Ursula K. Le Guin or Isaac Asimov or Samuel R. Delany understands, speculative fiction can also be about sociology or psychology or sexuality - all the aspects of culture and personality. That's my kind of scifi. A Choice of Gods is one such novel.
Synopsis: The vast majority of humanity on Earth have vanished, leaving small groups behind. Thousands of years later, these groups have evolved in their own unique ways. One group develops psychic powers allowing them telepathy and teleportation to the stars beyond. Another group bonds to the land, developing less easily described powers that connect them to nature on an intimate level. A third group does little evolving and much fleeing in ignorance at strange things - but one individual from this clan has evolved in his own unique way. Also left on earth: robots! And they evolve as well: some into perfect servants, how boring (but useful? sorry), others carrying the torch of religion that humanity has left behind, others working to get to the next level of purpose and intelligence. All of these groups receive troubling news: (1) something coldly omniscient has been discovered at the center of the universe, and (2) the vanished majority have not only been found, they have found the path back to Earth - much to all of these small groups' chagrin.
That's a lot! Simak has an incredibly fertile imagination, layering idea upon idea, hinting at one and then the other, eventually unfurling each for all to contemplate. The effect of so many ideas could be dizzying, and the multiplicity of perspectives could confuse things, but fortunately Simak is also blessed with a very easy-going, almost folksy style. A comforting style, and a cozy one. Reading Simak is like snuggling up by a fire and lazily free-associating ideas, or like relaxing in a park on a sunny day, letting all sorts of thoughts flit and flutter in and out of your mind.
This is my fourth novel by the author, following City and Way Station and Cosmic Engineers. It was written after those three as well. I loved seeing many of his themes and many of his favorite ideas from all three of those books come to a certain sort of fruition in this book. In particular:
- Simak's commitment to portraying human disgust at the "alien". His realization that not only is this an understandable response, it is also a block to true empathy. Just as it is with humans dealing with other humans who look different. One of my favorite bits: a character being comforted by the tentacle formed by an alien - an alien described as looking like a bucket of worms. That was an incredibly endearing moment. The book makes it clear that "a person" can be so many different things.
- A rejection of technology as a path or means for man to get to a higher place. Sorry science nerds, but I'm on Simak's team with this idea. 100%! Simak recognizes the barriers that technology creates in our striving for more ease, more convenience, less heavy lifting and less delay. He sees evolution as occurring on not just an intellectual level, but on an emotional level as well. Evolution as an increase in understanding - an understanding of not simply science and technology, but an understanding of life and all of its differences and all of its commonalities and all of its potentials. An understanding of who we are and how we can break free of physical limitations. An emotional evolving, a psychic evolution. Of course, I'm a big hypocrite because I would have an aneurysm if I permanently lost the internet or spreadsheets or, I suppose, tv. But still: technology is often a barrier to empathy. True, it has helped us so much in getting to understand different people and viewpoints and cultures that we would otherwise never be able to engage with. I certainly get that and so that's the love in my love-hate relationship with technology. But our over-reliance on it means that our thoughtfulness is reduced (hello Twitter). Our tendency to immediately react in a toxic sort of group-think is increased (hello reddit and every single political website). Our ability to connect slowly, personally, and therefore more deeply is diminished as we rely on pithy snark and easy labels and images to define who we are (hello Facebook, Instagram, and so many dating sites). My God, our humor replaced by... memes! Ok now I'm being intensely old man-ish, so I'll stop. I don't hate you, social media, or you, technology in general, I promise. I just wish your easy shortcuts didn't so frequently replace true meaning or understanding. Some things shouldn't be so easy.
- The question of God: in a universe full of so many moving parts and yet so little potential for life... what that God would look like, how they would act, what their purpose and goals could be. Obviously the title makes it clear that this is the central concept behind the story. It is a concept and theme that is treated, at times, quite broadly: "a choice of gods" could mean a choice of what an individual - be they human, robot, or alien - decides is their own purpose for being. That purpose could be religion. It could be creating a higher intelligence. It could be caretaking a newly fecund Earth. There are many choices. But Simak also specifically addresses the nature of a more singular God. I loved his vision. It may not have been a comforting portrait of a bearded, elderly gent looking out for us all, but there was still much about his idea of a Higher Power that comforted - if only because it felt logical and fresh while still being challenging, even disturbing. A cold sort of comfort, but it made a lot of sense to me. Just like this entire book....more
the Messenger boy runs to and fro, delivering his messages, keeping his secret to himself.
the old Seer sees beyond his blind eyes, to the world aroundthe Messenger boy runs to and fro, delivering his messages, keeping his secret to himself.
the old Seer sees beyond his blind eyes, to the world around him, to his distant past, to the heart of the boy.
the young Leader looks ahead, the past secured, the present and the future fraught with danger.
the distant Embroiderer makes her tapestries and sees all, all but the sickness.
the once-welcoming Villagers have changed: avarice and fear sicken their hearts; warmth and life have been replaced.
the now-sick Forest has found a new purpose: kill, kill, and kill again; cold and rot have replaced warmth and life.
the Author writes a parable, her third in this world of parables; she provides a guide on how not to live a life; a guide full of secrets and blind sight that sees and futures that must be avoided and sickness that must be cured; she writes with clarity and ambiguity, in equal measures.
the Parable is a simple one: resist your worst self.
the Cure is a hard one: sometimes a terrible sacrifice must be made.
the author Lois Lowry lost a son, caught in the machineries of war; she wrote an elegy for him, to mourn his passing - to mourn the reasons for his passing - to give his passing meaning - to give him life, again - to mourn his death, again.
the Elegy is a lament for the dead: a lament that gives purpose; a lament that adds something tender and something meaningful to the terrible sting of loss.
the boy is a Healer, as is the seer, and the leader, and the embroiderer; the world the Author creates requires their sights, their sacrifices, their giving.
Adam Hazzard is Julian Comstock's closest friend. Who is Julian Comstock? An aristocrat; a feminine young man with a love for reading and a dislike foAdam Hazzard is Julian Comstock's closest friend. Who is Julian Comstock? An aristocrat; a feminine young man with a love for reading and a dislike for killing; a boy who would later be known as Julian the Agnostic, and Julian Conqueror. "Julian: A Christmas Story" is, despite its title, much more about Adam and his gradual understanding that the person he was yesterday will not be the person he is tomorrow.
Robert Charles Wilson's novella is a post-apocalyptic pastoral, taking place in a small town as a politically motivated conscription threatens to take both Adam and Julian to some faraway European battlefront. The story feels as if it were set during the Civil War era, and the portentous, often ostentatiously formal (and even footnoted) writing style does give it a distinctly antique air. It's a pleasant enough affair, reminiscent of classics such as A Canticle for Leibowitz and Davy. A quiet and thoughtful tale that reads as if it were a story told by an older, wiser version of Adam, as he recounts the impact a mover of history like Julian had on his simpler, more innocent younger self.
Future is now; future is then. Old Man Forster decries the cold meaninglessness of life in the age of the world wide web and automation and being repuFuture is now; future is then. Old Man Forster decries the cold meaninglessness of life in the age of the world wide web and automation and being repulsed by another human's touch. He shakes a well-manicured fist at the new millennium, at 2017, except he shook that fist over a century ago, while no doubt wearing an elegant three-piece suit, with ascot, as he held court in his finely wallpapered drawing room. Could Grampa see into now? It sure seems like it. I really get Gramps and his carefully worded anger. He wrote an amazingly prescient short story; a sour, bitter little triumph.
The machine stops, and so a happy ending is reached. A happy ending which means the destruction of all civilization so that we can start anew. That made me smile....more
4.5! I think this is the first time I've really wanted a .5 option.
Cronin's concluding volume in his post-apocalyptic vampire saga is a lovely novel. 4.5! I think this is the first time I've really wanted a .5 option.
Cronin's concluding volume in his post-apocalyptic vampire saga is a lovely novel. Lovely! Such an odd word to use for a book describing the slaughter of hundreds of thousands and the death of billions more by airborne plague. But this is indeed an often lovely book because Cronin is at this point almost completely disinterested in horror. Or terror, or the darkness in human souls, or the abyss that we look into that looks right back 'atcha. He wants to write about families and the light within souls and the way that people can come together when things fall apart. He wants to write about a bright and shining future that is still a human future - and therefore fallible, uncertain. He wants to understand and humanize and empathize with darkness so that it is no longer so dark, but rather something relatable and knowable. He wants to write about hope. And so he did.
The prior books each included a lengthy, more than novella-sized portion set before the Fall of Man. Each of those prior parts were full of action, blood, and danger. Not so much with the sequence set pre-Fall in this book; this flashback is all about the life of a smart, often disaffected young man with a distant father, going away to college, learning to love, learning the pain of a lost love, and all the while trying to forge his own unique identity. It could have been written by John Updike. This part is all about the man who became Zero - the ultimate villain of the series. And yet it is not about a villain, it is just about a man, and the choices and mistakes he makes in his life. A man who later becomes an undead killer and who purposely brings about the apocalypse in order to somehow fill the gaping hole where his heart used to be. A monstrous horror, but still a man.
Cronin fumbles a bit in his portrait of series protagonist Peter Jaxon, and a bit with the series' heart Sarah. I doubt he wanted to turn either of them into mulishly stubborn assholes who refuse to empathize with their childhood friend's trauma, how their friend sacrificed who she was for the greater good, how she was exploited and abused physically, mentally, emotionally... but that's what happened and that's how they reacted. I really came to dislike the often selfish, stupid person Peter became and was disappointed in Sarah too. Did Cronin want me to dislike them? I just don't think so. Ah well. Humans often fail when it comes to empathy and they amply illustrated that failing.
The book has one genuine horror set piece: an extended attack on humanity's last haven (in Texas, of course). When Cronin wants to bring the terror, he can bring it. That was a hair-raising handful of chapters.
Also worth noting is the lengthy epilogue. Despite being set a thousand years from now, it is basically the story of an older man trying to understand himself, trying to understand his son, perhaps falling in love again, and trying to figure out who he is anyway, after all his years of living. A moving story but perhaps not a unique one. But uniquely positioned. What a surprising epilogue! It has nothing to do with horror and everything to do with being human.
The poetic flourishes that were a key part of the first book but were somewhat lacking (or hackneyed) in the second book return in full force for the third book. Cronin is a beautifully lyrical writer, whether he is writing about the love between mother and daughter or the way a homestead looks and feels or the sadness buried within his undead monsters. The City of Mirrors is beautifully written, with many passages worthy of a happy sigh simply because of the gorgeous artistry of the prose.
Beyond the beauty of the writing is the innate soulfulness of this novel - of the entire trilogy. This may not be my favorite (that would be the 5 star The Passage), but it is still a very impressive achievement. And the impressiveness lies within the novel's delicacy and the way his characters resonated with me, in their longing for community and family and a way of living that feels true and natural and good.
It's funny, I was thinking about this novel over the Thanksgiving weekend, which is an odd time to think about a post-apocalyptic vampire novel. I'm a singleton (and hopefully always will be) but during this holiday, I like to get together with a few families and rent a big place to enjoy each other's company and watch the kids run amok and eat lots of food together. This past Thanksgiving was no different. One night after everyone had retired, I sat on a balcony in a contemplative mood, looking out at the treetops moving in the wind and the stars gleaming above them, the sound of the hot tub bubbling away in the background, a soft chilly wind blowing leaves around the various kid toys and clothes and shoes strewn here and there. I thought of the beasts of this trilogy, dropping from the trees to hunt, their souls still trapped within and longing for relief and release. I thought about how Cronin somehow humanized them, made them symbolic of how all humans have a melancholy longing for understanding and connection, sometimes buried deep within, but always there. I thought of his brave, imperfect human characters, always wanting to be together, always hoping and loving and longing, making bad decisions and making good ones, but mainly acting from a need for connection and from a need to make a life with others, and for others. Cronin sees the best in people, even at their worst. I thought that was an excellent way to look at people: always with empathy, no matter how monstrous or fallible or weak a person may be. Look at people, see them; draw them into your life, go into theirs; be together. It was a good Thanksgiving thought....more
A member of the Royal Postmodern Court, Lady Emma Tennant approached various genres with a literary but apparently quite cheeky touch. According to onA member of the Royal Postmodern Court, Lady Emma Tennant approached various genres with a literary but apparently quite cheeky touch. According to one of my closest friends, Wikipedia, she spent the World War II years at the family's faux Gothic mansion The Glen in Peeblesshire. Her parents were regularly absent, while The Glen "was the strangest possible place. I knew no other world at all until I was nine". Sounds like an enviable upbringing!
The Last of the Country House Murders is not a murder mystery but is instead a bleakly funny dystopian farce. Sometime in the future, a far-left Revolution of sorts swept over England and the usual sorts of things happened to the usual classes of people. Middle class types live in their bubbles (amusingly literalized by the bubble-like carriages they take on various group outings); lower class types throng all of the streets, barefoot and unwashed and angry; upper class types are restricted to enclosed upper class settings where they while away the time strolling gardens and playing bridge in all sorts of inclement weather. All save one upper class type, confined to The Last Country House. The revolutionary government decides to make both an example of him and an entertainment out of him (must please the barefoot masses!) by organizing The Last Country House Murder Mystery. And so government inspector and lifelong rat Haines is dispatched to carry out a murderous plan, with his victim in close collaboration. Also appearing are several antiques, several antique characters, several ghostly visions, and a brilliant Actor who plots to organize the unwashed masses into a violent counter-revolutionary movement by taking on the persona of Hitler.
Whew, that's a lot to digest! But it is all quite easy because of Tennant's light, sly touch. The novel is more of an aperitif than an actual meal. Not remotely filling but still delectable; a short, swiftly moving, enjoyable little book. And one with a lot of arch and fatalistic humor, which may have become wearisome over the course of a longer story.
I appreciated much about it, in particular how government stooge Haines begins seeing the same ghostly apparitions that haunt our lonely upper class knob - but only after Haines realizes that he has his own designs on living a sybaritic, parasitic, yet quite delightful existence, much like the aristocrat who is due to be murdered in only a couple days. The self-absorbed, malicious, slightly mad, and completely useless aristocrat is the strongest creation of the piece. Easy to despise; heaps of fun to read about.
SPOILER: in the end, despite all of the bloody slaughter that ensues, the aristocrat(s) finds a way to come out on top. Literally and as always. Sigh. Off with their heads! It's really the only way to make sure....more
a long day at work with a lot of that work left unfinished + happy hour drinks with colleagues, no they're more than that, with friends + I have to get a long day at work with a lot of that work left unfinished + happy hour drinks with colleagues, no they're more than that, with friends + I have to get around to reviewing a book by mutterfookin' AYN RAND of all things =
DRUNK ЯEVIEW #?
so I've been on a hiring spree lately, just hiring people left and right because yay my work is actually getting multiple contracts and that means we can actually hire people instead of everyone doing two jobs per usual nonprofit social services type staffing patterns, so anyway I hired this one young lady who is clearly super smart and super organized and super perfect for the job I hired her for, good job mark, yet again, but she is 21 and so I wonder sometimes if her big brain is the tail wagging the 21 year old, who is very, very much 21 years of age, or at least what I remember of myself when I was 21. namely, emotional. and critical. and all about RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW. still, I'm pleased with the hire, she's great, I love her. and what does everything I just wrote even mean? in the context of this book? i dunno but it sorta made sense to me as I wrote it.
anyway, she somehow found out that I am a quote unquote Reader, and so she loaned me one of her favorite books. namely, this book. Anthem. my reaction was decidedly undecided when she mentioned this was one of her favorites. I hate everything I know about Ayn Rand. I am the sort of ass who, way back when i was 21 and in college, actually broke up with a lady I was dating because it was clear that all of the Ayn Rand she was reading was influencing her, she was quoting Ayn Rand for crissakes, anyway it was too much because Ayn Rand's ME ME ME style of libertarian philosofuckery just drives me up the wall and I can't have that in someone I'm dating. so she turned around and started dating my roommate, so someone got that last laugh there and it wasn't mark monday.
so my new staffer loaned me this book and i was all UH UH BUT AYN RAND SUCKS ARE YOU SERIOUS?? and she was all OH MY GOD JUST FUCKING TRY IT. so i did!
if you are one of the unwashed masses who doesn't know what Ayn Rand is all about, and God bless you if you are, here are some things about her (that I despise):
- totally against all forms of socialism because to Rand, socialism = the death of the individual
- the most important thing about this curious concept called "Self" is "Ego". Rand worships at the altar of EGO. per Rand, if you aren't your own #1, you may as well be dead. there are aspects of that mentality that I totally get and support, but Rand carries this to the point where concepts like "altruism" are inherently corrupt to her. an altruistic person per Rand is pretty much the definition of a total loser
- you are the captain of your own ship; if your ship carries important supplies that could help other people, who gives a fuck, fuck them; your ship needs to sail alone unless people are happy to sail under your personal captaincy. e.g. if you are a brilliant architect who designs a brilliant housing complex and then finds out that that your design is being used for public housing, God forbid, then you are fully entitled to blow up said brilliant housing complex because it is being used for the public good rather than for what you intended. YOUR PERSONAL DREAMS ÜBER ALLES!
which reminds me: one of my favorite films is King Vidor's insane adaptation of Rand's novel The Fountainhead, where what I just mentioned is the central struggle of the film (and I assume the novel). this over the top thing of beauty features a berserk plotline, berserk characters, a brilliant housing complex being blown up because God fucking forbid it may be used for public housing, and an incredible scene where architect Gary Cooper is drilling something and neurotic Patricia Neal is watching him drill and gets so worked up she uncontrollably starts beating the literal horse she rode in on, and then rides off, in a Randian heat over the studly I Am My Own Man-ishness of the Gary Cooper character. she gets so hot & bothered she actually delivers a smart slash of her riding crop before riding off. hot stuff!
I was surprised at how much I liked it, at first. it is one of those dystopic post-apocalyptic books where we are experiencing the day-to-day life of some poor zombie sap who is slowly realizing that he is living in a world of sad automatons and he is one of the few who gets how pathetic his life is. because everyone is supposed to be like everyone else, and he is an actual someone. as always, this is an automatically enjoyable narrative to live in because who doesn't think that way, at certain points in their lives (or at certain points in their day, cough)
the style and the prose itself impressed me. Rand is one of those surprising writers whose prose is stripped-down, clean, and neat while also being oddly poetic: phrases and sentences that are child-like, eager, but also full of longing and melancholy. she's a fully-formed writer as of Anthem, surprisingly only her second novel. even more impressive was her replacement of the word "I" with the word "We" which functioned as an implicit criticism of the communist mindset while giving the storytelling itself an excitingly declamatory feel. on a stylistic level, Anthem is a genuine pleasure to read.
oh I just got a text from a friend that was a link saying "typhoon pork bun woman" and I think I'm just not going to check that out right now. whatever could that mean??
anyway, this was turning out to be a from-leftfield 4 star book for me but then the last two chapters happened. there were hints before that, here and there, but I chose to ignore them. but Ayn Rand is gonna do Ayn Rand, and that's only bad news where women are concerned. per Rand, a person with a dick is a person who needs to make himself into his own man; a person without a dick should probably just follow and promise obedience to said dick.
THAT IS FUCKING DISAPPOINTING. but I suppose not surprising. and yet I am surprised! I'm always surprised when a woman is all about freedom and rugged individuality and notgivingaflyingfuckeroo about what society says... but for men only! not for the womenfolk! apparently women should just support their man, they are incapable of forging their own hard-won individuality because EMOTIONS. I wish this was a unique perspective but God knows I have come across it many times, in literature and ugh in real life too. my own experience of my own uh experiences but also of my male friends is that I, and they, are all super fucking emotional. this is not just a female trait! argh. but more to the point: the sole female in Anthem shows her worth by declaring her obedience to her ruggedly individualistic, freedom-living man. that's just fucking gross and I don't get it. self-hate much?
so anyway, looks like Survivor is on so time for me to end this review. also feels like I am going to have an interesting time reporting my findings to the person who loaned me this book. wish me luck!...more
bonafide genius and expert paradigm-breaker Alan Moore apparently decided to slum it and created a fairly mainstream narrative with Crossed + One Hundbonafide genius and expert paradigm-breaker Alan Moore apparently decided to slum it and created a fairly mainstream narrative with Crossed + One Hundred. this is an excitingly cinematic tale that is more concerned with telling a riveting story and building a dense and complicated post-apocalyptic world than it is in exploring challenging themes or creating unique characters. the only immediately recognizable Moore flourish is its meta use of classic science fiction novels to frame and comment upon 5 of its 6 chapters. the results still amazed me. there is so much to enjoy, to live in and to engage with: a gleeful retooling of language reminiscent of Riddley Walker; a new society that illustrates the full range of Moore's progressive-feminist-anarchistic perspective on how an ideal (but still realistic) society would function; an increasingly sinister and hair-raising mystery to be solved; familiar characters who are instantly recognizable types yet still feel fresh and alive - especially a nonchalantly strong, independent, and always sympathetic female lead. this story completely captured my attention with its fascinating narrative, careful attention to detail, refreshingly casual (and incredibly explicit) approach to sex, and wonderfully lush art by Gabriel Andrade that made me really feel what it was like to live in this world. and at times it was genuinely terrifying: so, so much potential for horror lurking on the edges of the story kept me on edge in the best sort of way.
because the comic is set in the often repulsively exploitative Crossed world, unfortunately that potential for horror does rear its head - to an intense degree, more and more as the narrative plunges scarily forward. brilliant mainstream science fiction that could be a part of the Mad Max world slowly and inevitably turning into a post-apocalyptic Texas Chainsaw Massacre. so many scenes of atrocity! sweet Jesus, it was too much. Moore (and Andrade) certainly doesn't condescend to the gorehound Crossed audience - he caters to them. it's not his own creation (we can thank Garth Ennis for that) and although Moore resets the premise, he stays absolutely true to what Crossed is all about. namely, that all paths lead shitward and everything will end up far, far worse than you ever even thought it could be.
this was a superb entry in the series and I think it will also be the last one of the series that I'll read. no more, no more!...more
Alright kids, settle down! It's time for our lesson of the day. Today we will be focusing on Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry, which is her follow-up to TAlright kids, settle down! It's time for our lesson of the day. Today we will be focusing on Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry, which is her follow-up to The Giver, a popular modern classic that I know many of you loved.
But first let's clear the room of any adults disguised as kids. You know who you are! You read books written for children and young adults that are intended to be modern day parables, stripped of details and complicated, "realistic" characters, stories that are intended to be less about the world being built and more about the theme being developed, and you dismiss them as trite, two-dimensional, and predictable. Get out of here!
Also - and I'm sorry for any hurt feelings at this announcement - I'd like to ask that any of the less imaginative among us to maybe take a walk or a nap. If you can't conceive of a second book in a series having more of a thematic rather than a literal connection to its predecessor, if the very idea of a "thematic connection" makes you annoyed... then discussion of today's lesson is not for you! Sorry, and enjoy your break.
Okay, now that our group is a little smaller, maybe feels a little safer, let's dive in. Gathering Blue is set in a harsh world filled with even harsher adults. It's very different from The Giver, albeit with some key similarities: both are set in places that suffer from a lack of empathy and kindness; both stories recognize that pain is necessary to existence, connection to others creates meaning, and your imagination will set you free. The fascinating thing to consider is that these important ideas about the necessity of certain feelings and bonds and the power of imagination are conveyed in two completely different settings within tales that remain strikingly similar in their thematic intentions. Just as an artist will continually revisit the same themes and ideas, an important lesson will be retold in multiple ways - and still retain its value. The world of The Giver was creepily placid; the world of Gathering Blue is starkly brutal. The importance of the lesson remains the same despite the change in the story surrounding it; and yet it is that change in the story, in its setting and characters, that keeps the lesson fresh.
So what is the lesson here? You're a smart group of kids, so instead of dumbing it down, I will just quote it verbatim from the book:
“But to use the knowledge of the threading, you must learn the making of the shades. When to sadden with the iron pot. How to bloom the colors. How to bleed.”
Austin is a 16-year-old living in Ealing, Iowa. he's in love with his girlfriend Shann; he's in love with his best friend Robbie. author Andrew Smith Austin is a 16-year-old living in Ealing, Iowa. he's in love with his girlfriend Shann; he's in love with his best friend Robbie. author Andrew Smith inhaled a lot of Kurt Vonnegut Jr, or something, before writing this decidedly quirky take on teenage hormones, the cyclical nature of history, how and why we define ourselves, and the joy of creating a whole new world out of what came before. the prose is loose; the tone is light; the narrative is haphazard. because Austin is a realistically depicted American teenage male, the book also includes angst, anxiety, intense friendships, secrets, cigarettes, skateboarding, people stripping down, a whole lot of balls & sperm & pissing, more "uh"s and "um"s than you can count, and the undeniable and frequently stated fact that Austin is incredibly horny about 100% of the time. oh and this book also includes giant praying mantises that burst out of plague victims' bodies and are about to take over the world - but they are a somewhat minor part, all things considered.
much as with actual human beings, many novels' flaws are intrinsically tied to their virtues. it is hard to have one without the other because they are two sides of the same coin. Andrew Smith makes some quirky writing decisions that are very Vonnegut-y, which is great because I love the off-kilter writing style and how the book manages to be simultaneously sunny & sweet and morbid & melancholy. what is not so great is that Smith takes that eccentricity to a place that is less than delightful: namely, in the intentional repetitiveness that started off as amusingly playful but eventually became mind-numbingly tedious.
that said, I still found this to be a thoroughly charming and fun experience. I'm a bi guy who realized in high school that I was attracted to both my girlfriend and a couple of my guy friends, so it was particularly wonderful to read about Austin's indecision regarding Shann and Robbie. (although honestly Austin reads more as straight-but-curious to me.) this is definitely a book for boys, and all that implies, so I can't imagine many women enjoying it without at least some negative reaction to the novel's disinterest in the inner life of its female characters and its protagonist's intense focus on himself and his various sexual fantasies. that stuff should have bothered me too, but hey I was a teenage guy once so it just came across as pretty realistic to me....more
fantastic book. there are a bunch of excellent 4-star reviews out there and I'm not sure I have a whole lot more to add.
synopsis: it's the end of the fantastic book. there are a bunch of excellent 4-star reviews out there and I'm not sure I have a whole lot more to add.
synopsis: it's the end of the world as we know it. creatures from somewhere roam the streets. to gaze upon them means certain doom, or at least a murderous, suicidal insanity. the world soon realizes that something very wrong is happening everywhere. four years later, our heroine and two children must take a blindfolded river journey to an uncertain destination.
sound is a key part of Bird Box. I loved that.
there was a spareness to the prose and to the narrative that I found to be pleasingly but not ostentatiously literary. quite surprised that this book is the author's first novel - it doesn't read like it. I particularly enjoyed how little interest Malerman had in making his protagonist likeable, yet she remained entirely sympathetic, relatable, even admirable. I was impressed by how the creatures are never truly described and the mystery remained a mystery. ambiguity is always a plus, especially when the novel still has a satisfying ending. the whole experience was an original one for me. and it made me very tense - a genuinely scary story. oh man those scenes with the animals going insane!
a post-apocalyptic pastoral. I like post-apocalyptic pastorals, their difference from other post-apocalyptic novels that prefer to foassorted thoughts
a post-apocalyptic pastoral. I like post-apocalyptic pastorals, their difference from other post-apocalyptic novels that prefer to focus on violence and devolving to a barbaric state. something so relaxing about contemplating an emptied-out world not full of hustle and bustle. all that time to think. but how does one go about eating? or fighting off the occasional aggressor? it would be important to have skill with a knife.
I appreciate the tender humanism at the novel's core.
I appreciate the focus on the arts, on how art in all of its forms is central to expression and to civilization.
despite the focus on art, the reader never sees much of The Traveling Symphony's actual performances. curious.
an evil cult, of course. evil but also sad. the poor boy who wants to escape it! the little girl who does.
how people survive in an airport and how people build a community out of scraps. fantastic sequence.
a comic book that I really want to read. a comic book that brings out the best and worst in people, that is central to two women's lives, that is an allegory for the world in the book.
connectivity between people, connections radiating out from one man, people linked to each other who are scattered across the globe, unaware of their connections.
the key character is fascinating despite himself. there is so much in him that is symbolic of things I hate - the worship of celebrity, the inability to be a real person to the people who know him best, how he just lets things go. but there is so much that I understand about him too. a sympathetic character. it's interesting how this central character of the novel only appears in the past. well, he's not the protagonist.
a child actress turned into a knife-throwing bad-ass that I love.
time on the road traveling; an eerie, haunted journey. the chilling feeling of knowing you are being stalked.
a literary genre novel: emphasis on character, on prose.
I love that all of the parts set in the past - exploring a person's state of mind, their relationships, how they came to be the person they are and how that person is always subtlely changing - how all of that is just as absorbing as reading about life after the end of the world as we know it.
something so sweet and so sad about everything going away.
el·e·gi·ac adjective (especially of a work of art) having a mournful quality. "the movie score is a somber effort, elegiac in its approach" synonyms: mournful, melancholic, melancholy, plaintive, sorrowful, sad, lamenting...more
in this post-apocalyptic tale, sand is like water; maverick sand divers use their amazing sand suits to uncover buried pre-apocalypse tools and materiin this post-apocalyptic tale, sand is like water; maverick sand divers use their amazing sand suits to uncover buried pre-apocalypse tools and materials. otherwise life is pretty miserable, and sandy. there's an actual glossary of sand terms!
happily the book is so much more than that admittedly original concept. all the different voices of a disparate family give this future society flavor and nuance. the characters themselves are warmly developed. the depressing atmosphere was nicely alleviated by characters who are always striving, always trying to move forward. there was one particularly impressive scene where a young woman channels all the pain and trauma and sadness and anger she's experienced in her life to give herself the strength needed to perform an impossible feat. that was an astonishing bit of writing, poetic and visceral and intense. moving. overall Sand is a well-written novel. no clichés in sight and many surprises throughout the narrative.
perhaps the biggest surprise for me was how I was so successfully manipulated into supporting something I'm morally against. now I'm a dyed-in-the-wool progressive, against war and state-sponsored violence et cetera. so I did not expect to eventually come to a place where I was cheering on the wholesale slaughter of thousands of people and the destruction of a city. when I realized I was feeling such things, the bottom sorta dropped out from under me.
but sometimes people are so crushed under the foot of their oppressors that they are driven to do things, and sometimes those things are savagely violent and vindictive. I wonder: did Howey realize that his novel functions as an argument in favor of terrorism and the utter annihilation of one's enemies? well, he certainly constructed a convincing argument....more
and a post-apocalyptic, biohazardous America will be filled with EXTREME GORE and a man will travel across the land, guided by a voice in his head thaand a post-apocalyptic, biohazardous America will be filled with EXTREME GORE and a man will travel across the land, guided by a voice in his head that he will inexplicably name "The Shape" and he will be pursued by a rapacious squirming telepathic living virus known as "Medusa" and he will encounter a lot of EXTREME GORE and he will make friends of psychopaths and other annoying people as well as two women who are of course totally hot and he will fuck both of them even though I would think they would be turned off by all of the EXTREME GORE and so this merry band will meet all sorts of horrible things like the savage marauders The Hatchet Clan and insane mutated crazies called Scabs and giant flesh worms and giant mutated insects and mutated birds and mutated rats and things that live in sewers called Trogs and other assorted monsters and of course the radioactive tykes known as The Children, all of which dole out oodles of EXTREME GORE and the descriptions are really vivid and full of words like "xanthic" and "scabrid" because Curran is surely a very descriptive writer and he particularly enjoys writing about all the horrific things a virus can do to the body, on and on with those descriptions, Curran certainly has his schtick down, he just loves to describe his EXTREME GORE and of course you gotta wonder why I even read these sorts of novels filled with EXTREME GORE and well I do love horror and I love reading about post-apocalyptic horrorlands where you have to fight to survive, so I suppose that's the reason why, I'm not ashamed of my tastes, not at all, and so I read page after page after page of EXTREME GORE and after a while I do have to admit... it can all grow a bit tiring.
back in 1995, Simon Clark wrote a nifty post-apocalyptic novel called Blood Crazy, featuring the adventures of a young man in England as he meets otheback in 1995, Simon Clark wrote a nifty post-apocalyptic novel called Blood Crazy, featuring the adventures of a young man in England as he meets other survivors and evades groups of murderous not-quite-zombies. I loved it. seven years later, Clark wrote Stranger, an irritating post-apocalyptic novel featuring the adventures of a young man in America as he meets other survivors and evades groups of murderous not-quite-zombies. well I suppose it is true that every writer revisits the themes and stories that define them as a writer, so I wasn't particularly annoyed at seeing the old story given new clothes. nor did I mind its lack of focus; that worked perfectly fine in Blood Crazy and I don't think its presence in Stranger is all that problematic. there's an excitement in randomness and not quite knowing where a story will be going, even if that unpredictability is due to lack of focus. what frustrated me about the novel was that it felt like it was written during one long weekend. a clumsy novel.
perhaps the switch to America served Clark badly. he has no grasp of how Americans talk. for example, few 10-year olds casually use the word "lovely" and use of the word "niggardly" is fairly rare (for obvious reasons). but I don't think it was just the problems with American vernacular because there was so much that was off throughout the entire novel in how the characters thought, spoke, and related to each other. people laughing at jokes that made no sense. a monstrous villain's oddly-timed rant about how he was bullied as a teen. the hero wondering about "mating" with a romantic interest and later flirting with her by saying she has to live so she can give him children. huh? an execution about a third of the way through the book bothered me not just because of its ridiculous brutality but because it was a genuinely ridiculous way to kill a person.
fortunately the novel wasn't a waste of time. I did like the oddly erratic approach to storytelling and Clark knows a thing or two about pacing. a book that features a youthful hero who flies into an uncontrollable murderous haze whenever someone infected is near him made for some surprising scenes. and Clark still has some creative juices. I would say that a room-sized jell-o mold apparently made of blood and other fluids and that contains malevolent floating body parts is certainly creative....more
hi everyone. this is mark monday, wasting your time again with some insignificant random musings while the highly significant zombiblog entry 2/4/2014
hi everyone. this is mark monday, wasting your time again with some insignificant random musings while the highly significant zombie apocalypse is happening to us all. Apocalypse Wow! well, we all have our own coping strategies and mine is staring at my navel and then reporting back my findings via this blog. I'm sure teh interwebs will go down soon enough and I will have to switch to my journal (who will ever read it??), but for now at least I am online and ready to ramble to the world at large. to whoever is reading this, oh wait- whats that soundoutside
ok, I'm back. just some more of those damned cannibalistic looters trying to scale my iron gate. not a day goes by without having to deal with them. they are worse than the zombies! well fortunately I keep my pots full of hot oil on a low simmer, ready to cope with such annoyances from my balcony. the humorous expressions they have while dealing with my various surprises!
today I want to talk about a book I read recently, Apocalypse Z by Manel Loureiro. not the most escapist of fiction to choose from given the circumstances, I know, but I figured I could learn some things. so let's start with that, what I learned:
- get a high quality wetsuit! zombies apparently cannot bite through them.
- don't go to any so-called 'Safe Zones'! those are deathtraps. supermarkets for zombies. Black Friday extravaganzas for zombies.
- get to a boat but know how to use a boat! that's a good one. I can't tell you how frustrating it is for me here in San Francisco, right on the coast, but totally unable to- oh wait asec
back again. well, Paul in the apartment next to mine finally turned. those crazy moans, I could hear them through the wall. poor old guy. I knew it was going to happen so I took the precaution of knocking him out and tying him down to his bed in advance. he was clearly upset when he woke up and insisted that the bite would heal... but I just don't take risks these days. farewell, Paul. you were a good neighbor. and a hoarder, thank God! canned food that will last me and my cat for weeks.
just realized I didn't give a synopsis for Apocalypse Z. ok: a nice lawyer in Spain deals with the zombie apocalypse. he really is a genuinely nice guy and that was a pleasure to read in this genre full of badasses and cynical people and mean people and military types and rapists and murderers etc. he was a nice, normal guy with no particular skills except for an interest in scuba diving and boating. the best thing of all: his love for his cat! man that was endearing. I totally get him. I would never leave Digsy behind and he felt the same way about his cat. it was pretty awesome to read about how much he went through just to make sure his cat was safe. imagine having to deal with a dog during the zombie apocalypse!
the novel's first half is a series of blog entries (the second half a series of journal entries) and that of course reminded me of Feed. now I liked Feed well enough but sometimes it just tried too hard and felt really implausible. lots of young adult bullshit. that was not the case with Apocalypse Z. it felt super realistic. and because we are mainly with just one nice guy and his cat (for a little over half the novel), the book was actually a pleasant experience. pleasant! a pleasant zombie novel! but it's true. for the most part. Apocalypse Z was enjoyable because it had a 'normal' protagonist, a cat, and a series of very realistic reactions to the zombie apocalypse. and it started out a bit slow, which I liked. I got to know our hero, got to like him. he never really surprised me but that's fine. I liked him, which is more than I can say for any of Feed's (non-)characters. but what Feed has that Apocalypse Z lacks is resonance. despite my irritations with Feed, it truly moved me at times. despite how pleasant and enjoyable a time I had with Apocalypse Z, I don't know if it will stick with me in the sameWHATTHEFUCK HE'S ESCAPING
and I'm back. whew! that was a close call! one of my annoying downstairs neighbors somehow chewed through his ropes and almost made it out the gate! thank God for my fast response time. he would have been devoured by zombies and where would that have left me? I'll tell you where - without a handy food source! what a selfish prick. he and his roommate annoyed me for years with their noisy antics but with this apocalypse happening, I really need them around. they have a lot of meat on those bones and me and my cat are not planning on starving to death any time soon. I will be damned if I let them get away. well I suppose I'm damned anyway, lol!
so to wrap up, I enjoyed Apocalypse Z quite a bit. it was fun, it felt surprisingly realistic, and it was good to finally have a nice protagonist to root for. yay for nice guys! we're a dying breed....more
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