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defrogWell that’s quite a dent in the “to-read” pile, isn’t it?
Artificial Condition by Martha Wells
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Having been pleasantly surprised by the first instalment of the Murderbot Diaries (All Systems Red), I was keen to move on to the next novella in the series, which is this one right here. Artificial Condition more or less takes up where the first left off – the SecUnit cyborg known as Murderbot is now under contract to the leader of his last expedition, who intends to bring it to her home base where it can legally live autonomously. Which is a problem because Murderbot is not very comfortable with humans – or with its past history, in which it hacked the governor module that controls it and murdered 57 humans on the mining facility of RaviHyral where it was contracted prior to the story in the first book.
The thing is, it doesn't remember why it did this, and decides to abscond to RaviHyral, hoping that returning to the scene of the crime will provide some answers. As SecUnits aren’t allowed to just wander around, it disguises itself as an augmented human and stows away on a transport ship run by an AI bot named ART, which whom it forms a reluctant alliance, not least because ART knows what it is. Getting into RaviHyral requires it to pose as a security consultant and get someone to hire it for a job – which in this case turns out to be a trio of very naïve scientists who whose work has been stolen by their now-former employer.
Like the previous novel, the storyline follows the high-stakes corporate espionage template, but again, the secret is in how you tell it, and the characters you deploy to that end. Murderbot continues to be drawn reluctantly out of its shell as it adjusts to being a sentient cyborg with free will, and having to deal with humans on emotional levels it’s clearly uncomfortable with. Also, this instalment expands nicely on the world-building and Murderbot’s past, and offers some new characters that are also fleshed out nicely. And while it’s becoming apparent that Wells is taking an episodic approach to what appears to be one long story arc, she does it so well that makes me want to read the next one. So, you know, mischief managed.
View all my reviews
The Hounds of Skaith by Leigh Brackett
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
This is the second of Leigh Brackett’s Skaith trilogy in which she brought back her legendary planetary-romance action hero, Eric John Stark, who is essentially a hybrid of John Carter and Tarzan. Skaith is a backwater planet where the Galactic Union has opened a starport for trade purposes. But this has also upset the balance of power for the local rulers, the Lords Protector – the tribe of Irnan wants to emigrate to the stars, partly to escape the oppressive rule of the Wandsmen (who enforce the rule of the Lords Protector), and partly because Skaith’s sun is dying.
In the first book, Stark travels to Skaith to rescue his foster father Simon Ashton, who was kidnapped by the Wandsmen whilst on a diplomatic mission there. This one takes up right where the first book left off as Stark – who is now in command of the Northhounds (the giant telepathic dogs who guard the Citadel of the Lords Protector) – now has two more tasks: rescue his love interest (the seer Gerrith) who was captured by the Wandsmen in the previous episode, and get himself and Ashton back to the starport in Skeg before the Wandsmen shut it down forever. For some reason, accomplishing both requires him to organize every desert tribe and mutant race in his path into an army to liberate Irnan and overthrow the Wandsmen once and for all – and by “organize” I mean “conquer them and take command”.
Consequently, much of the book is comprised of major battle scenes – great if you like that sort of thing, tedious if you don’t. I’m in the latter camp. Also, the battles seem gratuitous, as surely Stark could have found a way to get to the starport without literally starting a war everywhere he goes. So I didn't get as much out of this as I did the first one – and as I said before, this brand of sci-fi (basically Conan in space) was never quite my thing to begin with. And yet, Brackett writes this stuff better than most, and the bits where there isn’t a major battle going on are often entertaining – especially the parts where Brackett makes clear that while Stark is the hero of the tale, most of the people he uses to accomplish his goal don’t see him that way.
Africanfuturism: An Anthology by Wole Talabi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a free ebook anthology from literary magazine Brittle Paper showcasing the emerging sci-fi subgenre of “Africanfuturism”, a term coined by author Nnedi Okorafor mainly to describe her own work as distinct from “Afrofuturism”, but also to describe similar works by other authors (put simply, the latter focuses on the Black diaspora outside of Africa, whereas Africanfuturism is specifically rooted in African cultures, comes from a specifically African POV, and specifically takes place in the future – you can read her explanation of Africanfuturism here, but it’s also included in this book). Edited by Nigerian writer and editor Wole Talabi, this collection features original short stories from eight authors that illustrate the Africanfuturism concept.
T.L. Huchu’s “Egoli” and Okorafor’s “Sunrise” focus on the sometimes clashing impact of advanced technologies on local culture, while Dilman Dila’s “Yat Madit” looks at how technology could prevent political corruption (and how determined politicians would try to find workarounds). Rafeeat Aliyu’s “Fruit of the Calabash” deals with the hazards of running a private ectogenesis lab of artificial wombs to counter a plague of infertility. Tlotlo Tsamaase’s “Behind Our Irises” is corporate-driven body horror. Derek Lubangakene’s “Fort Kwame” involves a failed offworld rebellion. Mazi Nwonwu’s “Rainmaker” takes place on a planet plagued by dust storms. And Mame Bougouma Diene’s “Lekki Lekki” features “soul engines” installed in giant trees.
Like with any anthology, there are hits and misses, but even the few misses here are pretty good and worth reading. What’s particularly noteworthy is the rich variety of stories here. Sure, plenty of anthologies do that, but it’s particularly significant here because while Africanfuturism might be a narrowly defined subgenre, there’s a lot of room to play within those parameters. That’s because Africa itself is not one country with a monolithic culture, but rather a collection of countries with a wide spectrum of cultures and traditions, each of which inevitably approach SF in its own way. And that’s a very good thing. Highly recommended (and did I mention it’s free?).
Forever and a Death by Donald E. Westlake
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
This posthumous novel is a novelty item in that its genesis involved Westlake being hired in 1995 to write a draft screenplay for the next James Bond film due in 1997 to follow up Goldeneye. He wrote two treatments, both revolving around the idea of a supervillain plotting to steal gold from Hong Kong and destroy the city to cover his tracks. Westlake reportedly liked the idea of a Bond movie set amidst the Hong Kong handover from the UK to China coming out the same year the event happened in real life. The problem was that, at the time, some people were predicting the handover would involve PLA tanks rolling through the streets killing whatever resistance might manifest. Consequently, the Bond producers didn't want to release an expensive blockbuster franchise film set during a real, contemporary event that might turn bloody and horrifying. (They also didn’t want to make another Bond film that China would ban, which happened with Goldeneye.) Westlake ran with the idea and reworked it into this novel, although it should be stated up front this is not a Bond novel, or even a spy-action-hero novel.
The central plot involves Richard Curtis, an American property developer who made a fortune in Hong Kong until he was kicked out by mainland authorities after the handover, and is now planning his revenge (see above). So far so Bond, but Westlake elected to replace the Bond figure with a group of normal non-action people: Jerry Dietrich, an environmental activist with a personal vendetta against Curtis; Kim Baldur, another environmental activist who Curtis wants killed in a way that pins it on Dietrich; and George Manville, his lead engineer who unwittingly designed the technology central to Curtis’ revenge plan and discovers the plot to kill Baldur. Things escalate from there as Manville, Baldur and Dietrich try to figure out what Curtis is up to and stop him.
It mostly works, although the lack of a central protagonist puts Curtis at the center of the novel. That said, this also results in (1) an overlong narrative that rambles at times, and (2) a whole lot of character exposition bunched up at the start rather than spread more evenly as Westlake typically does, so it takes a while for the story to kick into gear. Also, the HK parts haven't aged well in terms of historical accuracy. And as someone who has lived in HK for 25 years (and has made dozens of trips to Singapore during that time), it’s pretty obvious to me that Westlake had never been to either Hong Kong or Singapore, though he did do quite a bit of research. All of which may be why Westlake never had it published – perhaps he wasn’t happy with the results or thought it needed more work. Anyway, it’s a decent story, but at the end of the day I found it more of a curiosity than an essential read.
View all my reviews
Neither shaken nor stirred,
This is dF
Artificial Condition by Martha WellsMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Having been pleasantly surprised by the first instalment of the Murderbot Diaries (All Systems Red), I was keen to move on to the next novella in the series, which is this one right here. Artificial Condition more or less takes up where the first left off – the SecUnit cyborg known as Murderbot is now under contract to the leader of his last expedition, who intends to bring it to her home base where it can legally live autonomously. Which is a problem because Murderbot is not very comfortable with humans – or with its past history, in which it hacked the governor module that controls it and murdered 57 humans on the mining facility of RaviHyral where it was contracted prior to the story in the first book.
The thing is, it doesn't remember why it did this, and decides to abscond to RaviHyral, hoping that returning to the scene of the crime will provide some answers. As SecUnits aren’t allowed to just wander around, it disguises itself as an augmented human and stows away on a transport ship run by an AI bot named ART, which whom it forms a reluctant alliance, not least because ART knows what it is. Getting into RaviHyral requires it to pose as a security consultant and get someone to hire it for a job – which in this case turns out to be a trio of very naïve scientists who whose work has been stolen by their now-former employer.
Like the previous novel, the storyline follows the high-stakes corporate espionage template, but again, the secret is in how you tell it, and the characters you deploy to that end. Murderbot continues to be drawn reluctantly out of its shell as it adjusts to being a sentient cyborg with free will, and having to deal with humans on emotional levels it’s clearly uncomfortable with. Also, this instalment expands nicely on the world-building and Murderbot’s past, and offers some new characters that are also fleshed out nicely. And while it’s becoming apparent that Wells is taking an episodic approach to what appears to be one long story arc, she does it so well that makes me want to read the next one. So, you know, mischief managed.
View all my reviews
The Hounds of Skaith by Leigh BrackettMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
This is the second of Leigh Brackett’s Skaith trilogy in which she brought back her legendary planetary-romance action hero, Eric John Stark, who is essentially a hybrid of John Carter and Tarzan. Skaith is a backwater planet where the Galactic Union has opened a starport for trade purposes. But this has also upset the balance of power for the local rulers, the Lords Protector – the tribe of Irnan wants to emigrate to the stars, partly to escape the oppressive rule of the Wandsmen (who enforce the rule of the Lords Protector), and partly because Skaith’s sun is dying.
In the first book, Stark travels to Skaith to rescue his foster father Simon Ashton, who was kidnapped by the Wandsmen whilst on a diplomatic mission there. This one takes up right where the first book left off as Stark – who is now in command of the Northhounds (the giant telepathic dogs who guard the Citadel of the Lords Protector) – now has two more tasks: rescue his love interest (the seer Gerrith) who was captured by the Wandsmen in the previous episode, and get himself and Ashton back to the starport in Skeg before the Wandsmen shut it down forever. For some reason, accomplishing both requires him to organize every desert tribe and mutant race in his path into an army to liberate Irnan and overthrow the Wandsmen once and for all – and by “organize” I mean “conquer them and take command”.
Consequently, much of the book is comprised of major battle scenes – great if you like that sort of thing, tedious if you don’t. I’m in the latter camp. Also, the battles seem gratuitous, as surely Stark could have found a way to get to the starport without literally starting a war everywhere he goes. So I didn't get as much out of this as I did the first one – and as I said before, this brand of sci-fi (basically Conan in space) was never quite my thing to begin with. And yet, Brackett writes this stuff better than most, and the bits where there isn’t a major battle going on are often entertaining – especially the parts where Brackett makes clear that while Stark is the hero of the tale, most of the people he uses to accomplish his goal don’t see him that way.
Africanfuturism: An Anthology by Wole TalabiMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a free ebook anthology from literary magazine Brittle Paper showcasing the emerging sci-fi subgenre of “Africanfuturism”, a term coined by author Nnedi Okorafor mainly to describe her own work as distinct from “Afrofuturism”, but also to describe similar works by other authors (put simply, the latter focuses on the Black diaspora outside of Africa, whereas Africanfuturism is specifically rooted in African cultures, comes from a specifically African POV, and specifically takes place in the future – you can read her explanation of Africanfuturism here, but it’s also included in this book). Edited by Nigerian writer and editor Wole Talabi, this collection features original short stories from eight authors that illustrate the Africanfuturism concept.
T.L. Huchu’s “Egoli” and Okorafor’s “Sunrise” focus on the sometimes clashing impact of advanced technologies on local culture, while Dilman Dila’s “Yat Madit” looks at how technology could prevent political corruption (and how determined politicians would try to find workarounds). Rafeeat Aliyu’s “Fruit of the Calabash” deals with the hazards of running a private ectogenesis lab of artificial wombs to counter a plague of infertility. Tlotlo Tsamaase’s “Behind Our Irises” is corporate-driven body horror. Derek Lubangakene’s “Fort Kwame” involves a failed offworld rebellion. Mazi Nwonwu’s “Rainmaker” takes place on a planet plagued by dust storms. And Mame Bougouma Diene’s “Lekki Lekki” features “soul engines” installed in giant trees.
Like with any anthology, there are hits and misses, but even the few misses here are pretty good and worth reading. What’s particularly noteworthy is the rich variety of stories here. Sure, plenty of anthologies do that, but it’s particularly significant here because while Africanfuturism might be a narrowly defined subgenre, there’s a lot of room to play within those parameters. That’s because Africa itself is not one country with a monolithic culture, but rather a collection of countries with a wide spectrum of cultures and traditions, each of which inevitably approach SF in its own way. And that’s a very good thing. Highly recommended (and did I mention it’s free?).
Forever and a Death by Donald E. WestlakeMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
This posthumous novel is a novelty item in that its genesis involved Westlake being hired in 1995 to write a draft screenplay for the next James Bond film due in 1997 to follow up Goldeneye. He wrote two treatments, both revolving around the idea of a supervillain plotting to steal gold from Hong Kong and destroy the city to cover his tracks. Westlake reportedly liked the idea of a Bond movie set amidst the Hong Kong handover from the UK to China coming out the same year the event happened in real life. The problem was that, at the time, some people were predicting the handover would involve PLA tanks rolling through the streets killing whatever resistance might manifest. Consequently, the Bond producers didn't want to release an expensive blockbuster franchise film set during a real, contemporary event that might turn bloody and horrifying. (They also didn’t want to make another Bond film that China would ban, which happened with Goldeneye.) Westlake ran with the idea and reworked it into this novel, although it should be stated up front this is not a Bond novel, or even a spy-action-hero novel.
The central plot involves Richard Curtis, an American property developer who made a fortune in Hong Kong until he was kicked out by mainland authorities after the handover, and is now planning his revenge (see above). So far so Bond, but Westlake elected to replace the Bond figure with a group of normal non-action people: Jerry Dietrich, an environmental activist with a personal vendetta against Curtis; Kim Baldur, another environmental activist who Curtis wants killed in a way that pins it on Dietrich; and George Manville, his lead engineer who unwittingly designed the technology central to Curtis’ revenge plan and discovers the plot to kill Baldur. Things escalate from there as Manville, Baldur and Dietrich try to figure out what Curtis is up to and stop him.
It mostly works, although the lack of a central protagonist puts Curtis at the center of the novel. That said, this also results in (1) an overlong narrative that rambles at times, and (2) a whole lot of character exposition bunched up at the start rather than spread more evenly as Westlake typically does, so it takes a while for the story to kick into gear. Also, the HK parts haven't aged well in terms of historical accuracy. And as someone who has lived in HK for 25 years (and has made dozens of trips to Singapore during that time), it’s pretty obvious to me that Westlake had never been to either Hong Kong or Singapore, though he did do quite a bit of research. All of which may be why Westlake never had it published – perhaps he wasn’t happy with the results or thought it needed more work. Anyway, it’s a decent story, but at the end of the day I found it more of a curiosity than an essential read.
View all my reviews
Neither shaken nor stirred,
This is dF
