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Boy did I get some reading done this month.
The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I don't normally read serial-killer novels – I’ve never really understood the attraction of it – but I don’t avoid them if they’re by an author I like. And having read and enjoyed Beukes’ debut novel Moxyland, this was on my radar regardless of all the critical hype it’s received, not least because of the premise – a serial killer who can travel through time, and a victim who survives and becomes obsessed with tracking him down. I will say the time-travel element is a bit of a letdown in the sense that I felt so much more could have been done with it. On the other hand, what Beukes does do it with it is done well. And in any case, The Shining Girls is a very skillfully crafted page-turner with some really good characterization, particularly the protagonist, Kirby.
Paingod and Other Delusions by Harlan Ellison
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Mid-60s short story collection ostensibly revolving around the theme of pain – which is to say, emotional pain rather than physical. It starts with the title character, the god of Pain, questioning his role, and ends with a lonesome mutant drifter who can start fires telepathically but can’t control them. It also includes one of Ellison’s more famous stories, “ ‘Repent, Harlequin!’ Said The Ticktock Man”. It’s all good – Ellison is a great storyteller with a vivid imagination. One word of caution: if you get the E-Reads printing, yr going to encounter a lot of annoying typos and layout problems.
This Machine Kills Secrets: Julian Assange, the Cypherpunks, and Their Fight to Empower Whistleblowers by Andy Greenberg
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
There’s a number of books out there about Julian Assange and Wikileaks, but I went with this one because – despite the subtitle (which I notice was changed to cash in on the Assange biopic film) – it’s not so much about Assange himself, which doesn’t really interest me, but rather the evolution of the culture of whistleblowing and the technology that has helped shape it. It starts with a fascinating contrast between Daniel Ellsberg (of Pentagon Papers fame) and Bradley Manning before digging into the origins of Wikileaks and the pioneers of the crypto/cypherpunk movement that developed the technology that made Wikileaks possible, particularly Tor. It may be too technical at times for some, but if you really want to get a handle on why people think anonymous leak sites are a necessity, and where all of this may be going, I’d recommend this.
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I read this in high school and liked it, but as I’ve been recently catching up on Bradbury, I thought it was worth re-reading. And it was. Odds are you know the basics – in the future, the job of firemen is to burn books, as well as the houses in which they’re found, but fireman Guy Montag starts to doubt his role after meeting his new neighbor, a free-thinking girl who questions everything. It’s a scathing commentary on a society that eschews difference of opinion and intellect in favor of sensational, shallow and immersible television, and Bradbury really nails it. The only downside is that Bradbury tends to get too lyrical when it comes to Guy Montag’s inner dialogues and feelings – it’s sort of like expressionist theatre, which would be okay except that it makes Montag’s actions a bit too melodramatic. Still, that’s a minor quibble when there’s so much good meat here.
Sphere by Michael Crichton
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Crichton’s take on the close-encounters genre, in which a team of scientists go under the South Pacific on a Navy expedition to investigate what appears to be an alien spacecraft that’s been lying on the seabed for 300 years. And inside the ship is … yes, a sphere. But what’s inside? If you’ve seen the trailer for the film, you have an idea where this is going. Essentially Sphere trods some very familiar territory (Lem’s Solaris being the obvious touch point) but – as usual for Crichton – focuses on science, suspense and action rather than philosophy. Which is fine, since Crichton is good at keeping the pages turning. And he does cover a lot of bases when it comes to the nature of alien life forms. However, he does paint himself into a corner by the climax, where the payoff is more about action than taking the premise to its logical conclusion.
Dead Pig Collector by Warren Ellis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Not a book so much as a short story in an e-book format, Dead Pig Collector tells the story of Mister Sun, a hitman/cleaner who flies to Los Angeles on a job, only to find that his client has been killed by the woman he was hired to kill. Which sounds straightforward, but in Ellis’ hands is far more entertaining and unusual. Who else could take a story that involves disposing of a human body in horribly graphic detail and make it a rather charming read?
Theories of International Politics and Zombies by Daniel W. Drezner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
You’ll be hard-pressed to find a more fun academic book than this. It’s a essentially a thought exercise that examines different academic theories/philosophies on international relations and politics (realpolitik, liberalism, neo-conservatism, social constructivism, etc) and how each would respond to a sudden zombie outbreak. Drezner has a lot with fun with it, to the point of using the plots of zombie films and books (Romero’s films, World War Z, and so on) as guidepost scenarios to direct the discussion. It’s a great idea for academic study, not least since zombie films and books are usually micro-critiques of govt institutions and human society in themselves. Some of his conclusions may be questionable, but it’s all in good fun – provided you actually enjoy debating international political philosophy. If nothing else, it’s a great way to start arguments at parties.
Dr. Futurity by Philip K. Dick
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
One of PKD’s early novels, in which Dr Jim Parsons travels from 2012 to 2405, at a time when the human race has been racially homogenized and consists entirely of young non-white people who fetishize death. Parsons gets in trouble for healing a dying woman (which is a crime), and is exiled to Mars, only to be intercepted by the people who brought him forward in time – a Native American tribe who need his medical skills to complete a plan to rewrite history forever. Characteristically, PKD avoids the usual clichés one might get with such a premise, and makes good use of the time-travel elements that are core to the plan. It’s a satisfying and fun read.
Interworld by Neil Gaiman
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
I came across this by chance and picked it up on the strength of Neil Gaiman’s name being on it, as well as his track record with Young Adult fiction. Also, the premise was interesting: the forces of science and magic fighting for control of every alternate Earth, with an agency called InterWorld tasked with keeping both from succeeding. Enter Joey Harker, an average teen who discovers he can “walk” between Earths, and ends up recruited by InterWorld. However, because it’s co-written with Reaves (whose work includes scripts for Batman: The Animated Series and some Star Wars books), it’s not written in Gaiman’s usual storytelling style. It’s also somewhat shallow and a little too knowingly top-loaded with pop-culture references. It would work well as an animated TV series (which it was originally conceived as), and it’s okay as YA books go, but readers expecting a typical Gaiman book may be disappointed.
Walk with me,
This is dF
The Shining Girls by Lauren BeukesMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I don't normally read serial-killer novels – I’ve never really understood the attraction of it – but I don’t avoid them if they’re by an author I like. And having read and enjoyed Beukes’ debut novel Moxyland, this was on my radar regardless of all the critical hype it’s received, not least because of the premise – a serial killer who can travel through time, and a victim who survives and becomes obsessed with tracking him down. I will say the time-travel element is a bit of a letdown in the sense that I felt so much more could have been done with it. On the other hand, what Beukes does do it with it is done well. And in any case, The Shining Girls is a very skillfully crafted page-turner with some really good characterization, particularly the protagonist, Kirby.
Paingod and Other Delusions by Harlan EllisonMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Mid-60s short story collection ostensibly revolving around the theme of pain – which is to say, emotional pain rather than physical. It starts with the title character, the god of Pain, questioning his role, and ends with a lonesome mutant drifter who can start fires telepathically but can’t control them. It also includes one of Ellison’s more famous stories, “ ‘Repent, Harlequin!’ Said The Ticktock Man”. It’s all good – Ellison is a great storyteller with a vivid imagination. One word of caution: if you get the E-Reads printing, yr going to encounter a lot of annoying typos and layout problems.
This Machine Kills Secrets: Julian Assange, the Cypherpunks, and Their Fight to Empower Whistleblowers by Andy GreenbergMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
There’s a number of books out there about Julian Assange and Wikileaks, but I went with this one because – despite the subtitle (which I notice was changed to cash in on the Assange biopic film) – it’s not so much about Assange himself, which doesn’t really interest me, but rather the evolution of the culture of whistleblowing and the technology that has helped shape it. It starts with a fascinating contrast between Daniel Ellsberg (of Pentagon Papers fame) and Bradley Manning before digging into the origins of Wikileaks and the pioneers of the crypto/cypherpunk movement that developed the technology that made Wikileaks possible, particularly Tor. It may be too technical at times for some, but if you really want to get a handle on why people think anonymous leak sites are a necessity, and where all of this may be going, I’d recommend this.
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray BradburyMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I read this in high school and liked it, but as I’ve been recently catching up on Bradbury, I thought it was worth re-reading. And it was. Odds are you know the basics – in the future, the job of firemen is to burn books, as well as the houses in which they’re found, but fireman Guy Montag starts to doubt his role after meeting his new neighbor, a free-thinking girl who questions everything. It’s a scathing commentary on a society that eschews difference of opinion and intellect in favor of sensational, shallow and immersible television, and Bradbury really nails it. The only downside is that Bradbury tends to get too lyrical when it comes to Guy Montag’s inner dialogues and feelings – it’s sort of like expressionist theatre, which would be okay except that it makes Montag’s actions a bit too melodramatic. Still, that’s a minor quibble when there’s so much good meat here.
Sphere by Michael CrichtonMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Crichton’s take on the close-encounters genre, in which a team of scientists go under the South Pacific on a Navy expedition to investigate what appears to be an alien spacecraft that’s been lying on the seabed for 300 years. And inside the ship is … yes, a sphere. But what’s inside? If you’ve seen the trailer for the film, you have an idea where this is going. Essentially Sphere trods some very familiar territory (Lem’s Solaris being the obvious touch point) but – as usual for Crichton – focuses on science, suspense and action rather than philosophy. Which is fine, since Crichton is good at keeping the pages turning. And he does cover a lot of bases when it comes to the nature of alien life forms. However, he does paint himself into a corner by the climax, where the payoff is more about action than taking the premise to its logical conclusion.
Dead Pig Collector by Warren EllisMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Not a book so much as a short story in an e-book format, Dead Pig Collector tells the story of Mister Sun, a hitman/cleaner who flies to Los Angeles on a job, only to find that his client has been killed by the woman he was hired to kill. Which sounds straightforward, but in Ellis’ hands is far more entertaining and unusual. Who else could take a story that involves disposing of a human body in horribly graphic detail and make it a rather charming read?
Theories of International Politics and Zombies by Daniel W. DreznerMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
You’ll be hard-pressed to find a more fun academic book than this. It’s a essentially a thought exercise that examines different academic theories/philosophies on international relations and politics (realpolitik, liberalism, neo-conservatism, social constructivism, etc) and how each would respond to a sudden zombie outbreak. Drezner has a lot with fun with it, to the point of using the plots of zombie films and books (Romero’s films, World War Z, and so on) as guidepost scenarios to direct the discussion. It’s a great idea for academic study, not least since zombie films and books are usually micro-critiques of govt institutions and human society in themselves. Some of his conclusions may be questionable, but it’s all in good fun – provided you actually enjoy debating international political philosophy. If nothing else, it’s a great way to start arguments at parties.
Dr. Futurity by Philip K. DickMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
One of PKD’s early novels, in which Dr Jim Parsons travels from 2012 to 2405, at a time when the human race has been racially homogenized and consists entirely of young non-white people who fetishize death. Parsons gets in trouble for healing a dying woman (which is a crime), and is exiled to Mars, only to be intercepted by the people who brought him forward in time – a Native American tribe who need his medical skills to complete a plan to rewrite history forever. Characteristically, PKD avoids the usual clichés one might get with such a premise, and makes good use of the time-travel elements that are core to the plan. It’s a satisfying and fun read.
Interworld by Neil GaimanMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
I came across this by chance and picked it up on the strength of Neil Gaiman’s name being on it, as well as his track record with Young Adult fiction. Also, the premise was interesting: the forces of science and magic fighting for control of every alternate Earth, with an agency called InterWorld tasked with keeping both from succeeding. Enter Joey Harker, an average teen who discovers he can “walk” between Earths, and ends up recruited by InterWorld. However, because it’s co-written with Reaves (whose work includes scripts for Batman: The Animated Series and some Star Wars books), it’s not written in Gaiman’s usual storytelling style. It’s also somewhat shallow and a little too knowingly top-loaded with pop-culture references. It would work well as an animated TV series (which it was originally conceived as), and it’s okay as YA books go, but readers expecting a typical Gaiman book may be disappointed.
Walk with me,
This is dF
