When describing a new book (OK, not that new, it dropped in September 2018) from an author you may not know, it’s often tempting to compare it to existing works in a mashup. I will lapse into that weak expedient – the Axiom series is a like a Firefly crew with the big, bad Alliance replaced by the secretive Axiom super-race spiced it up with an alien and augmented humans, and has the fate of the universe resting on the capable and endearing shoulders of Callie and her crew. [Full disclosure: I received a copy of The Dreaming Stars from Netgalley for an honest review].
The Dreaming Stars, book 2 of the Axiom series, takes all that we love about The Wrong Stars (read this first, if you haven’t already) and builds on it. All of the core characters are well developed and mostly likable so that you quickly come to care for them. The relationships seem organic and genuine, both those that are friendly and those that are less so. The world building is spot-on. Rather than populating the world with a thousand of planets full of humans and aliens, the Axiom series starts with a focus mostly on our solar system with politics dominated by Earth, the Jovian system and outer system (Uranus and vicinity) and one set of aliens with whom we have come into contact. While The Dreaming Stars expands that focus, it still is a relatively narrow one of a planet near a bridge (think artificial worm hole). This, too, seems like a natural organic progression to the stars. Tim Pratt’s dialog is crisp, sometimes snarky and evokes the perfect tone for the crew. One note: be prepared for a future where sexuality is quite fluid.
Mr. Pratt is adept at building out his characters, relationships and world through the storyline; he rarely falls back on mere exposition but drives the elements through the narrative nearly always showing us rather than telling us. He combines these intriguing characters and his intriguing world with a constantly moving and a clever storyline full of battles of wits, puzzles, subterfuge and an old fashioned mass uprising. I highly recommend Mr. Pratt’s The Dreaming Stars.
Rosa Montero’s Weight of the Heart is the second book in the Bruna Husky series, her first being Tears in Rain (reviewed in Tears in Rain by Rosa Montero – a thoughtful techno-detective noir novel). The gist of what I’ve written there still applies. This is a creative brilliant story that takes Blade Runner (Philip K Dick’s Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?) as its springboard. She continues to expand her gritty world building, characters, dialogue, and relationships. Indeed, this sequel improves on all of those. Our favorite replicant, Bruna, continues her penchant for being pulled into major scandals via innocent seeming projects. She’s tracking down a missing person and through her generous heart is thrown into a radioactive world when. So, all that was good from book one remains and only gets better.
Ms. Montero’s sequel matches the high hopes I had for this series. While it’s mostly moved on from its Blade Runner inspired beginnings, its dive into the characters and psyches that populate Bruna’s world only grows more intriguing. The narrative arc is never dull, the writing is ever brilliant and the space between words where we find ourselves and our own challenges taken up, broken apart, examined, and reconstituted allows fresh insight into perennial problems. Weight of the Heart does what the best of sci-fi has always done, it examines who we are and how we relate to one another all in the context of great story. Entertaining and challenging, with no need to compromise between one or the other.
Rosa Montero
Bruna unravels a conspiracy between worlds through taking a seemingly snotty girl under her wing. Ms. Montero extends her world both planet side to an artificial moon in ways that allow her to not only push the story forward, but provide this backdrop to reflect on the challenges of our own more mundane world. Not only is it challenging to know who to trust, where real problems lie, or how to respond when overwhelmed, but Bruna (and we) often must do so with so much else that is already challenging. We can’t wait for the circumstances to get right or good to do what’s right or good. So while our choices may not always be “right” (bring the results we desire), they are true. Following Polonius’ dictate to Laertes in Hamlet, “To thine own self be true.”
Amongst all these other issues, Bruna must deal with the overarching question of mortality. Because she’s a replicant, she knows the end of her days. She knows she has less than four years to live and she knows the end will not be pretty. Woven throughout all the story are elements of mortality and how we address it. Yiannis most explicitly hashes through death and dying, but it is ever present.
I may make this book sound heavy; it doesn’t feel that way. This is a quick paced, great story that keeps you on your toes and entertains, all the while mulling over these eternal questions of death, mortality, purpose, and culture. What we choose to do together as a people and our individual choices. The impetus of genetics and the judgment we exercise. All these are played out in the narrative. All of them explored through science fiction without deference to simple popular thinking of the day.
Ms. Montero brings fully-fleshed out characters, most of whom are interesting in their own right, even outside of their contribution to the narrative. They are organic, multi-dimensional people with foibles of their own; no one is perfect. Everything drives the story and there is little “waste” that doesn’t play a part. She continues to surprise but never in a contrived way. The relationships are rarely simple and always evolving. As long as she continues to write, I’ll continue to read her work.
Mary Robinette Kowal flawlessly narrates the audiobook. The introspective intimate moments seem to come from within you; the funny, odd-ball characters are portray as such, but not in a patronizing man. The rhythm of story, with her pacing and pauses, are spot on. Even as she performs passionately, she is clear and understandable. In short, her narration is all that you could desire.
I highly commend the work for your reading pleasure.
Ceres is the third, and most polished entry in the Universe Eventual series by N. J. Tanger, a pseudonym for the writing team of Nathan Beauchamp, Joshua Russell and Rachel Tanger. The first two, Chimera and Helios, introduce us to the world of Stephen’s Point, the challenge to that colony and the push to send a fractal-class ship (think, a ship capable of finding and traversing a worm-hole trail) back to earth. Much of that book introduced us to the young people (late teens) who were to become candidates to make up the crew. In Helios we see that crew form and deal with a surprising new arrival from Earth. We see a mastermind sociopath’s impact on the crew as they prepare for what mysteries lie ahead on earth. Now a much-diminished crew turns its attention to the colony with an older predecessor to Chimera, Ceres. This colony on Damascene, has its own set of cultures and troubles. In Ceres, we see the seemingly disparate worlds of Damascene and that of the Chimera’s crew join together. (Note, this story will continue in Horus).
Ceres does everything a third book ought to do, namely extend storyline but develop it in new and exciting ways, continue to build the characters and their relationships, organically introduce new characters that make sense to this story and continue to build the tension. One of the ways that it continues to make this story fresh is through the new world of Damascene. The authors do a beautiful job of bringing these two disparate worlds with their respective storylines and weave them back and forth until they finally come together whole. The new world is interesting in and of itself; it has subcultures of interest, challenges that are intriguing and with fascinating bad guys (and good guys) and everything in between.
Nathan Beauchamp, Rachel Tanger & Joshua Russell – AKA N. J. Tanger
We really continue to witness the growth of characters that are on the Chimera and we become connected to those on Damascene. We’ve lost a little connection to those back on Stevens Point but these new characters more than make up for it. From what I’ve been able to surmise from the authors work so far, all of this patchwork will be made into whole cloth before their through.
World building is absolutely spot on in Ceres as are the characters and their relationships. Nothing is cookie-cutter or one dimensional. The narrative is developed builds to a crescendo. While this book is not the end of the series, they still have a clean finish to this part of the story even as they look to the next. The phrasing in the dialogue are quite fine without any awkwardness; the level of dialog fits the characters and their roles perfectly. Overall, the writing is well done.
This really is a tightly written story with a great narrative, characters with whom we connect and a stellar world to set it all in. I highly recommend it.
Phrasing: 3/5
World Building: 5/5
Character:4/5
Narrative: 4/5
A Little Book Music: I spent a good deal of time listening Han Zimmer’s Interstellar as well as his Inception while reading this. You also might want to try some of Maurice Jarre’s Lawrence of Arabia sountrack.
Star Wars: The Fate of The Jedi (see series list below) are surprisingly (at least to me) well-written and remarkably well-produced audiobooks. While I doubt any will win the Pulitzer Prize for literature, they are consistently well-crafted stories which have unique nuances from each of their authors yet mesh well together and make some of the best use of sound, both music and effects, of any audiobooks I’ve heard. Breaking that down just a bit more, let’s look at some aspects that I believe are incorporated in all of the books: complex and conflicted characters, consistently rich and clever extensions to the Star Wars universe, well-woven, multiple storylines, and good pacing with a nice mix of intrigue/politics and action. So these are not potboiler, shoot-‘em-up action books nor are they simple character studies but rather are a nicely woven package within the confines of the Star Wars universe (although technically not canonical because Disney changed the timeline to be incompatible with the Expanded Universe (now Legends) with rich detail while still moving at a quick clip. A great example of complex (but not so conflicted) character is Natasi Daala. She is a true believer; she really thinks that order is the highest value which justifies almost any extreme action. Kenth Hamner represents a more convoluted character. Again, he is assured that he is right to the point he will not listen to his fellow Jedi and is willing to harm and, perhaps kill, colleagues to preserve his view of order and peace at all costs. While there are a few one-dimensional characters strewn throughout the series, they are rare and small roles. [Similarly conflicted characters are found in Chuck Wendig’s Aftermath duo (soon to be part of a trilogy, currently consisting of Aftermath and Lifedebt]. Another true believer is the empire’s Adm. Rae Sloane. Once again, order is the highest value for her with the second being her running the show because that’s what’s best for the universe. Gaillus Rax has similar views and reminds us of the cleverness of the best of leaders on the wrong side, Admiral Thrawn.
– Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi” Apocalypse Trailer
In terms of world building, you have all of the diverse species, characters, and worlds which you’ve come to love in the Star Wars ‘verse. We sometimes forget how well the wonders are described. Here’s an example from Christie Golden’s Allies: Star Wars Legends (Fate of the Jedi):
What appeared on the screen was a vision of beauty. It looked like a geyser at the moment of eruption, captured forever in time, each finger of water, each splash, each droplet, frozen so that one could admire its power and grace. Swirling, turning, it was vibrant, creative motion somehow paused, and Taalon’s heart leapt. Like all the Sith Tribe, he put a great value on beauty, whether it be in the lines of a being’s face, the drape of a handmade garment, or the curve of a shikkar handle. This moved him to his core.
So whether you’re visiting Klatooine’s deserts. the lush, yet wickedly dangerous flora of Dathomir or Coruscant’s urban underworld, there are wonders aplenty as well as intriguing backdrops to the narrative.
Not only do these authors have to work with some known characters, a largely known universe, with a defined “history” to the Star Wars canon, they all have complex stories with at least two threads going simultaneously – a slave rebellion in the midst of Galactic Alliance – Jedi tensions whilst Luke and Ben are off attempting to unravel the mystery of Abeloth is but one example. Yikes. Yet these stories weave together organically with endings that never feel too forced. Speaking of endings, that’s another aspect that is well done. While each story sets up the next and they suck you into the series since you want to see how the story resolves in the next book, they never just leave you hanging. These always do a nice clean job of ending while hinting at the next stage. I hate cliff-hangers that just stop and these don’t.
Marc Thompson
Marc Thompson does a fabulous job with all the books. Having a consistent narrator through each of them is a huge help to unifying the Fate of the Jedi series on audiobook. Honestly, he really is near the top pantheon narrators. His range of voices, pacing and nuance really bring alive the stories. At times, he does reuse a voice for different characters in different books but never within the same book. He is also able to retain the feel of the characters introduced in the movies whether is Han, Lando or Leia. Moreover, the consistent incorporation, in just the right measure and time, of music and sound effects really add (and never distracts) from the overall experience. This is a series I would really encourage listening to the audiobooks over simply reading the books, although both are great.
– Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi – Vortex Audio Clip Trailer
These books perpetuate the evil of sucking you in because they’re so good and because you want to know what happened before and after the book you’re in based on references and hints. Despite this “flaw” (doesn’t every series writer wish for the same problem of grabbing their audience and keeping them connected to the series until the end), these books, especially the audiobook present a cohesive series that is well researched and well validated in terms of the candidate is creating and so is one story finishes it leads right into the next story and then into the next and, man, you could just get lost in this little mini universe forever.
What I love:
Consistent, clear “canon”: There is continuity among the various stories, not only in the writing but in the narration. The uniqueness of each author is maintained but within the framework of the universe and what’s gone on before them.
The production, sound effects, music, and pacing. These are well-directed productions.
Marc Thompson. Not only does he perform the books well, not only does he bring out the voice of known characters like Han and Lando well, but he is internally consistent not only in the story but throughout the books. Lando sounds like Lando throughout.
These are fun, good stories in their own right, but are helped that this rich universe is well understood so they don’t have to reinvent the framework but may add to it with their own touches.
What I’m less fond of:
Really there is only one small issue: Mr. Thompson reuses characters voices. So Admiral Daala of Fate of the Jedi becomes Winter in Scoundrels. I know Scoundrels isn’t in the Fate series but it’s the example that comes to mind. This is pretty nit-picky anyway. Seriously, great performances in these books.
Company Town is set in the future on an oil rig off the coast of Newfoundland which makes the rig itself a company town. It feels very much like a novel of the gold rush days but with futuristic ability to augment and modify the human body. It is owned by the powerful Lynch family who purchased it after a disastrous fire that took the lives of a third of the town. It is a working man’s platform and, so, there is a cadre of sex workers (unionized, of course) who live there and have a number of protectors including our hero, Hwa. In the midst of her duties, she is pulled into a series of murders of her sex worker friends, the Lynch family and man’s constant desire for eternal life.
Madeline Ashby
While the premise, as I’ve laid it out, seems “normal” and prosaic, Ms. Ashby makes it anything but. Hwa is a phenomenon in herself. While most of her upbringing has done its utmost to teach her not to value herself, she has pushed back and will suffer no fools. While she doesn’t see her own value as she might, she is no doormat. Yes, as part of her job, she kicks butt and asks questions later, but it is her ability to put the puzzle together, to think through the challenges put before her that set her apart. Her relationships between her family (in the form of a prostitute mother and a dead brother), her employers (both the sex union and the Lynches) and her “under-world friends” are rich, varied and multi-dimensional. The augmented bodies around her make for a difficult world to navigate as one who still has pure and natural biology.
One of the processes that fascinates me is to see an already really good writer become an even better writer. I believe that’s happened here with Ms. Ashby’s writing. So what makes it better? It’s more accessible and draws us into caring more about the characters and relationships while remaining edgy and holding no punches. How is this magic achieved? At least for me, I found myself more able to empathize with Hwa than I ever did with Amy, Charlotte or even Javier in her previous Machine Dynasty duology (vN and iD). While her characters there were rich and fascinating, they were different enough, both in capabilities and outlook, that I couldn’t empathize with them.
My life has been considerably different than Hwa’s. First, I had parents who in many different ways and forms made it quite clear to me that I was unconditionally loved. There are a few more freeing gifts than this. Second, I had a relatively comfortable middle-class life. Yet we all feel those moments of exclusion, where we feel substantially different from and, somehow, less than those around us. All, while not to her same degree, have suffered loss. Merely because she bears the stares with an insouciant shrug makes them no less painful. We take heart in seeing her network of friends. We sense the steel in our own spine stiffen when she makes clear that she suffers no fools. So while there are many differences, including physical and intellectual talents, well beyond our own among them, Hwa is someone with whom we may empathize.
Another mark of Company Town is that a mutually caring relationship takes center stage. The relationships were at best awkward, sometimes antagonistic while always complex in the Machine Dynasty duology; while the relationships between Daniel Siofra and Go Jung-hwa or Hwa and Joel are different types, they are both mutual caring relationships while remaining complex. Javier relationships with Charlotte and Amy were all too strange. While that strangeness added to the novels but distanced us from the charachters, here, we more naturally care even in the midst of the strangeness
Our vision of the world is all too often upended in both good and difficult ways. So too in the Lynches’ New Arcardia.. The “white knight” proves to be the one in need (bought that t-shirt). The broken one proves to heal many and the man in control finds his reign illusory. It’s a masterful bit of writing that pulls that off without feeling artificial and manipulative. While I know some may disagree, I love the ending; it brings things together in a beautiful but possible way without ignoring the realties that we never have a perfect world when we’re done. So is justice fully achieved? No. While we may long for “… justice [to] roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” (Amos 5:24 ESV), it will not, on this side of the grave; Company Town reflects that fallen state oh so accurately.
So, what do I love about Company Town?
Hwa – her tenacious character who cannot fail to help others
This world of augmentation and biological adoptions and their social implications
The complex, multi-dimensional relationships and interactions.
The riveting, quick-paced yet thoughtful narrative
I really can’t think of anything I didn’t like about the book; even the depiction of the seedier side of New Arcadia was intriguing.
I highly commend Company Town to your reading pleasure.
The Confluence series is quickly becoming one of my favorites due to its world-building, strong characters (without being one-dimensional) and relationships. I particularly like that Jane Holloway and her crew are strong and willing to do what must be done without tons of aggression ala Star Trek.
Jennifer Foehner Wells‘ series began with Fluency (reviewed here) in which a team of astronauts investigate an alien ship only to find out that it’s abandoned except for its navigator who looks startlingly like an octopus or Lovecraft’s Cthulhu. They get caught up in saving the ship and themselves. In Remanence, they set “…off to return that ship’s marooned navigator to his home world, determined to discover who was behind the genocide that destroyed his original crew.” [from Amazon’s plot summary].
Jennifer Foehner Wells
[Note: read Fluency prior to reading this review, it have Fluency spoilers, and Remanence]
Let me address the world-building of this series first. While interesting and novel, it’s not so much the species, planets or technology that make it so intriguing but the perspective. Ms. Wells focus is on the culture of the worlds rather than the mechanics. While this is true of other ScitFi novels, this is an area where the protagonist’s focus on communication accentuates the cultural aspect of these worlds and people. If that sounds boring to you, it’s not. I want to emphasize that all of this is brought out through the narrative, dialog and interaction. Little “straight” exposition is used.
Not only is it a brilliant move to make Jane Holloway a linguist from a world building perspective, it also deemphasizes a military focus. For all of that, Jane Holloway is strong. If we look more closely at Jane Holloway’s strength of character and leadership in the midst of normal and extreme tension, we see an “ordinary” hero. So often we’re tempted to feel obligated to overdo a character to rid ourselves of stereotypes. Hence, the literarily butt-kicking women who fight among the best as well as are brilliant and emotionally adjusted. There is a place for that, but I like Ms. Wells’ protagonist who is strong but not “action-hero” strong. She is able to withstand pain, adjudicates amongst different species and navigates multiple challenging relationships, romantic and otherwise, while still commanding her ship during tense moments while feeling the weight of responsibility. In this day of seemingly daily acts of violence, it’s refreshing to see strength portrayed without aggression.
I seriously liked Fluency; I love Remanence. It is a nearly perfectly executed sequel: it provides a deeper dive into all characters and relationships. There is a consistently smooth progression of the storyline with no major jerks or cheats but still plenty of surprises. We also come to a deeper understanding of the world Wells creates with new aspects and people groups brought int but always in a consistent way that drives the story.
The characters of the book are multi-dimensional and grow (or we grow to know them more) in Remanence. Their relationships are well done, especially the relationships between the humans and aliens. These characters and the circumstances in which they find themselves have the mark of authenticity. Her aliens feel starkly “other” but accessible. Most of the events are ones with which we can identify but on a more low-key level (except for the great by an extraordinary ending.
Ms. Wells tackles issues of freedom and responsibility, appropriate use of violence and culture/species bias. She incorporates these as part of the story and, following great SciFi tradition, tackles these social issues head-on without being preachy or “making a point.” This is primarily a story and the narrative rules the day but one that addresses important and interesting nevertheless.
In sum, Ms. Wells has a clear, consistent vision of her series’ world. Her characters and relationships amongst the crew and the alien species are complex and interesting, made even more so when worked through the lens of a linguist’s understanding of complex communications that goes beyond mere language. She portrays strength without an emphasis on firepower and builds the narrative well. One of the other things I like about Ms. Well writing is that she knows how to end a story in a series well. There is a well-hewn balance between completing the current novel and alluding to the next. Clearly, I highly recommend Remanence and will take up the next in the series as soon as it is available.
If someone asked me to read a novel that was about politics in space built upon an etiquettical framework using formal diplomats my response might have been: ”maybe toothpicks holding up my eyelids first.” To make the premise utterly antithetical to all I love, throw in a seemingly dysfunctional family who essentially captures the child of their enemy, decides to adopt him, and discovers that he is a spoiled brat who is obnoxious as all get out. I would now be thinking along the lines of either a toothpick in the eyes or shoot me now. All of this is true of Scott Meyer’s Master of Formalities, yet he pulls a rabbit out of this unlikely hat with a book that is clever, completely works, is consistently amusing, and, often, laugh out loud funny. With apparent ease, he has you cheering for those for whom you want to cheer, disdaining those who deserve it and caring for those characters we love. He builds an intriguing world to boot (despite his odd naming conventions, about which more later).
Scott Meyer
Mr. Meyer builds relationships through the narrative, especially in challenges amidst the mundane activities in the non-mundane world of a ruling family. Not only do we learn that things are not always as we seem, those whom we may esteem might not be fully worthy of it, but we also discover that we ourselves are not all that we might’ve thought we’re cracked up to be. We see our own foibles through the eyes and lives of these characters, but Mr. Meyer is gentle with us. It’s done with humor and empathy.
One of the things that really struck me, as this post is being written in the midst of the 2016 presidential campaigns, is that we could do with a bit of etiquettical lubrication in our interchanges. More specifically, we tend to talk (or flame) past one another using sound bites. We rarely listen to one another. We have little civility. It’s all about winning, not learning, guiding, or trying to find a common way. In our disregard for one another, in which we’re always right in our own eyes, it has to be our way. Now I’m not suggesting we be less passionate about the views that we hold dear. I am suggesting that even while we hold those views dear, we hold one another in esteem and treat each other civilly. Dare I say, show common love and learn to truly listen to one another even when we know we disagree. The golden rule of doing to others as we would have done to us is still golden.
So I think we could do with a Master of Formalities here to help us use proper form and ensure that not only do we not spend our days killing one another, but we might spend some of our days listening to one another. While the rules of society and etiquettical obligations may lead to harm as many authors are wont to demonstrate, they may also lead towards conversation. Etiquette is not meant to browbeat or to make someone else feel below you (just read some Miss Manners). While anything can be used to try to feel superior, the intention of etiquette, like the masters of formalities, is to provide a buffer and a framework for communicating and dealing with others, especially others with a different agenda.
Politics aside, The Master of Formalities has engaging characters with brilliant situational comedy while being framed in a beautifully described world which is both familiar and foreign. Mr. Meyer likes to emphasize this foreign aspect through his interesting names. We have Joanadie Jakabitus and Hennik Hahn. Must rulers must have the house name letter start their first name? Of course not, lest we forget Lord Ment Pavlon. We also have Umily and Glaz, Kreet & Shimlish Hahn, all a bit different. My favorite is Chowklud, the name of a spicy sauce which causes pain to your nerves and is pronounced like chocolate. This seems to be his way of making sure that those who might confuse this for a comedy of manners recognize it’s a SciFi comedy of manners. One could naturally translate Bertie Wooster to this world with Jeeves, his Master of Formalities, constantly getting him out of trouble.
Luke Daniels
I went between the Kindle and Audible versions of the book. Luke Daniels admirably narrates the work. Not only is his pacing and annunciation impeccable, the voice he lends to each of these characters seems to fit like a glove. Yes, that is Wollard; how could he sound like anything else? Mr. Daniels will sacrifice for his art- Hennik’s voice is a grating as his personality. This is my fourth audiobook with Mr. Daniels’ voice leading the way; he never disappoints.
So, don’t be put off by the title or the premise. This witty, winning SciFi novel will worm its way into your heart. I highly recommend it.
United States of Japan takes a similar premise as Philip K Dick’s The Man in the High Castle in an even more dystopian direction, that premise being that America lost the war, Nazi Germany has the Eastern portion, Japan has the Western portion and the Nazi’s and the Japanese Empire are distrustful frenemies. All of the action takes place on the west coast with the Nazi’s being a mere mention. If you like your visions of the future dark and dystopian, there’s plenty of that here. There is also plenty of hope and a recognition of fortitude in the face of totalitarianism. This is a personal journey and a political movement. There are no one dimensional characters (although some of the bad guys are thoroughly bad).
[FULL DISCLOSURE: I received an advanced review copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.]
The seriously rock-a-lockin’ book cover for USJ
What makes this book such a rare gem is that it manages to do all things well. Its writing is clever, careful and often beautifully phrased, which is especially challenging with contemporary dialog (about which more later). America, mainly focused on California, is reeling in the aftermath of its devastating post-World War II loss. In depicting said America, Mr. Tieryas’ follows Chekhov’s dictum: “Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.” He does so in spades, painting the scene in all of its livid, detailed glory which sometimes presents surprises and is always all too believable. The characters are multidimensional, interesting and, often, not nice. They, too, are full of surprises. The cohesive narrative flows quickly while pulling you completely in and spitting you, wrung out, by the end. Often, good books do two or three of these aspects of writing well; Mr. Tieryas accomplishes the rare feat of nailing every one, making this a great book.
Peter Tieryas
So I’ve bestowed high praise on the book. Why? Well let’s take a deeper dive into each of these elements of writing:
Phrasing: In some ways, this is the most impressive aspect of the book. This is a fast moving, action packed book with intrigue and twists. Most of the beautiful phrasing I find has a bit more stately pace such as Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus or Neil Gaiman’s Ocean at the End of the Lane. Not that they’re slow, but they are less focused on action. Moreover, this is a contemporary novel (where as the two examples I gave are either timeless or historic). Why does this make it harder? We tend to be a little lazy, often using shorthand, and have less precision in our speech than in times past. I’m not saying formal (or stuffy) writing has better phrasing, rather we tend to use lazy phrases like “I’m good,” “you feel” and “what’s up?” Not bad in and of themselves, but less than eloquent (unless judiciously used). Mr. Tieryas uses phrases like: “The skyline was a fissured gradient of conflicted red, forlorn gray and dissipated azure” “The Americans they saw were in a daze, faces devoid of emotion, a hollowness that made them appear to be ghosts in costume. They saw Ruth and Ezekiel walking past, but gave no reaction, their spirits crushed by the specter of a carmine Helios above.” Even the quick dialog has some punch: “It’s a viral gun that rewrites the history of your blood. If I shot you with this, in five minutes, you wouldn’t be recognizable.” Yes, I had some visions that turned out to be tame compared to someone we later see injected with this. Is all of the dialog brilliant? Of course not; some is quite matter of fact. However, the whole tenor of the book is careful, frequently lovely, phrasing matching the milieu of the world around the characters.
World Building: Mr. Tieryas builds an amazingly complex world that vastly changes the culture of western America to a confluence of Japanese and American culture and different from both. It is populated with Mechas, giant human-piloted robots with supporting intelligence made to look like Samurai, portical (similar to tablets), electric cars and bio and mechanical body enhancements. Often words from Japanese culture are embedded in the story and dialog. So it’s this complex shift in culture and technology and yet, with some cool hat trick, he makes it all make sense without being overwhelming. By the time you finish the book, it seems to take on a believable life of its own that, while not comfortable (who would voluntarily live in such a world), seems natural. I also love the gaming culture.
Characters: The main characters, Beniko Ishimura and Akiko Tzukino, are complex and starkly different. There are aspects about both that grow to appreciate. There are surprise moments for some of the characters, but no jarring changes from the type of people they’ve presented themselves to be. They are not alone as characters of interest. Suffice it to say that the characters are varied, mostly complex and interesting. Their relationships with one another are not the focus of the book but build, especially between the primary figures, throughout the book.
Narrative: While there are stories within stories, twists and turns and cultural and references that are unfamiliar (at least to me), the storyline is clear, compelling and coherent. I love this take on an alternate history, albeit not the actual alternative itself. This has the right feel for a possible weird, wacky and messy alternative to the fairly weird, wacky and messy world in which we live. I appreciate how much of the narrative is grounded. No one comes out smelling like roses. Not only do Americans put Japanese (and just plain Asian looking) people into concentration camps, but in this version, do horrific things when they become desperate. The Japanese are willing to do anything to remain in power, even 40 years after their victory. Well told and well done.
Honestly, this is one of my favorite book I’ve read this year and on my all time favorite books. This is my introduction to Mr. Tieryas’ writing, so I will be adding Bald New World and Watering Haven to my list of books to read.
Phrasing: 4/5
World Building: 5/5
Character: 4.5/5
Narrative: 4.5/5
After my lengthy hiatus from reviews, I’ll add a new feature (for any who might have glanced at my previous reviews), music by which to read the book.
A Little Book Music: I spent a good deal of time listening to Anne Akiko Meyers Plays Satoh / Debussy / Messiaen / Takemitsu / Ravel. Especially apropos was Satoh’s ‘Birds In Warped Time II’. Hans Zimmer’s soundtrack, Inception also works well. I’m sure there’s some head-banging screemo that would work for parts, but I just can’t read to that.
In diving into The Time Travel Chronicles, I dive into a long tradition of Science Fiction / Alternate History stories on time travel. I’ve only started into the book with Gambit and Hereafter. This is a great anthology from different perspectives, temperaments, and storylines all examining time travel. The first story I read (second in the book) is from the perspective of an historian (how cool would it be to do first-hand research; not just original sources depicting the even, but the even itself.) and the other is from a scientist. Both have the descriptive detail and moving narrative arc of a storyteller. The Time Travel Chronicles was released just 4 days ago and tonight there’s a celebratory Facebook Launch Party! Join the fun if you want to (virtually) meet some cool authors and learn a bit more about the book (which happens to be #1 amongst SciFi Anthologies right now).
Rysa Walker
While not the first in the book, I started with Rysa Walker’s Gambit because I recently finished Time’s Divide and was still well immersed in the Chronos Files world (starting in Time Bound, then Time’s Edge and concluding with Time’s Divide). In this story, we find a lovely peek into the first blush of Saul and Katherine’s relationship, Saul’s megalomaniac mind, and late 18th spiritualist manipulations. Ms. Walker does a nice job explaining the potential dilemmas of a time traveling historian – her main point being that we would all succumb to meddling to prevent horror and evil. We would all have fixed it so the bomb would go off in Hilter’s Eagles Nest. We would push Kennedy down sooner. We would whisk Archduke Ferdinand away. (Would that really stop the Great War? Unlikely.) As she wrote: “Even those of us who have absolute faith in our ability to screw things up might be tempted to tweak things just a bit, whether for humanitarian reasons or for personal gain.” In other words, we would all succumb, whether for good intentions or ill, to play God, even with a deep understanding of the law of unintended consequences. It is the sin as old as time itself.
Samuel Peralta
The next story I read, Hereafter, I read because of, well, science. Mr. Peralta writes from the perspective of a scientist. I got science, but I also got poetry and a poignant love story. Due to the physics of time travel in this book, there are only time slices accessible to us for brief periods. Like a temporal strobe light, people meet at touch points. Long distance relationships are rough, meeting in snippets of time is rougher.
While I’ve yet to read the rest of the anthology, and I will be updating this post as I do, these two stories are indicative of how differently a theme can be handled. Different isn’t bad. I love the diverse, but good perspectives both elicit. I anticipate the remaining stories to be equally diverse and well done.
Kudos to Crystal Watanabe for editing such a great anthology and all the authors for bringing their inner worlds to life for us on such a fun and provocative topic.
Helios continues the Universe Eventual saga begun with Chimera. This is a fast-paced space drama with tense action, tight dialog, and tangled relationships. It takes the “boot camp” cadets from Chimera into a military academy experience on a space station prepping them for a real mission. (Warning: there are spoilers for any who haven’t read Chimera. Read it before Helios or this review.) Marcus continues his manipulative and deceitful ways to push forward his agenda which is made all the easier by Chief Moorland’s willingness to meet her goals to save those in her care on Stephen’s Point by any means necessary, Doctor Duncan’s nearly blind faith and Meghan’s naïveté. Even Selena’ s skepticism can’t keep Marcus’ Machiavellian schemes at bay. Adding to the great cast of characters is one of the most intriguing – Chimera herself. She is a bit of an enigma but plays a forceful role as the drama unfolds.
There are so many elements that come to play in Helios. We have science problems and other puzzles to solve, chief among which is getting Chimera free to take the return journey to Earth. We have challenges to overcome, people to motivate, a world to save and the unknown, but likely a bleak future based on the strange events surrounding Exchange Four. All of this occurs in the backdrop of a largely student-run training arena with Marcus in the lead. This must be student-led because it is only this generation who may take the Chimera back to Earth. So this book has a bit of everything but never loses its way, never becomes too tangled to follow and delivers it all in at a quick clip.
[Full Disclosure: I received an advanced review copy for an honest review.]
Courtesy Facebook, The Universe Eventual Team. From right to left: Nathan M. Beauchamp, Rachael Tanger, and Joshua Russell.
Amongst all of the loveliness of the store, there is a bit of a challenge with this novel; it is dark for much of the novel. It is similar to Revenge of the Sith in that it seems the bad guys win all too frequently. The author’s promise us this tide will turn, that this will be the series’s “Empire Strikes Back” or Frodo and Sam in Mordor, with the Jedi and the King yet to come into their own.
What did I loved:
Fast-paced with crisp dialog.
Machiavellian machinations from Marcus that would make Palpatine
proud.
Interesting characters and relationships (especially Moorland/Marcus, Moorland/Duncan and Theo/Selena/Meghan but others as well).
Clever, well-executed story arc
Another cool cover
A beautiful mix of puzzles, people, and passion.
Of what was I less fond?
Dark, with little relief
Helios is out today (October 24th)! I highly recommend it for your reading pleasure.
While writing this review, I was struck by the parallels I saw between Revenge of the Sith and Helios. While all of these types of comparisons break-down, just ponder
Marcus – Palpatine
Theo – Anakin
Selena – Han, a bit scruffy, rebellious and somewhat cynical
Chief Moorland – Senator Bail Organa (Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum would probably be a better fit if he were in Revenge)
Duncan – Obi-Wan (Qui-Gon Jinn, if he were still alive)
Meghan – Padme
I was also struck by how Lord of the Flies the whole thing becomes while on Chimera. Now that Marcus is fully in charge, he will stop at nothing to get his way. The film Taps also comes to mind. Of course, Helios is none of these and wraps in elements of all of these. You get the science and world saving of Interstellar, the science puzzle solving of The Martian, the interaction of Taps and Lord of the Flies. It’s pretty amazing to do all that while keeping it coherent.