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It’s a three-day weekend for me, but before I go, I have book reports for you. Isn’t that lovely?
Pietr the Latvian by Georges Simenon
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Penguin is reprinting all of Simenon’s Maigret novels, and this is the first of the series, in which Maigret is on the trail of Pietr The Latvian, a notorious but mysterious swindler with gangster ties who arrives in Paris by train. A man fitting his description is found dead in the train toilet – yet another man fitting his description is seen leaving the station. I’m a big fan of Simenon, but reading this, it’s clear he didn’t quite knock it out of the park on his first try. The writing style is a little clunky, and the solution to the mystery seems kind of obvious. Also, the story’s climax isn’t that satisfying. And yet Maigret remains a fascinating character, even in this early version where he’s not all that fleshed out, although I confess if this was my first time reading Simenon and didn’t know the books would get better, I don’t know if I’d be inspired enough to try another Maigret book. So while I might not recommend this specific book, I do recommend giving other books in the series a try.
Sex Criminals, Vol. 1: One Weird Trick by Matt Fraction
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I follow Matt Fraction’s Tumblr blog, but I’d never read his work before. I couldn’t pass this up because it has to be one of the more original comic-book ideas: two people who have the ability to stop time whenever they have an orgasm decide to use that power to rob banks. This is the first volume of the series, and while I have some problems with it, the problem is probably more with me than Fraction – specifically, I have a hard time identifying with the sex lives of the two main characters. I’m not sure I can even articulate why – maybe because my own experience was so different (superpowers notwithstanding). On the other hand, the “first time” flashbacks ring painfully true, and in fact Fraction really nails how awkward, weird and lonely sex can be, especially when yr only guideposts are badly informed peers and adults too embarrassed or judgmental to explain it, not to mention movies, porn and (yes) comic books where even female superheroes are mainly eye candy. Meanwhile, Fraction has a lot of fun with narrative structure and occasionally gratuitous pop-culture satire (the Morrissey and Queen bits were highly entertaining). Also, Chip Zdarsky’s artwork really fits the story. So while some parts don’t work for me personally, there’s a lot to like here. Even if I don’t try the next volume, I’m definitely going try some more of Fraction’s work.
Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Most people know CS Lewis for the Narnia books, but he also wrote a science-fiction trilogy, of which this is the first volume. The story follows Dr Ransom, a philologist who is shanghaied and transported to Mars (a.k.a. Malacandra) as a sacrifice to the locals. Ransom escapes and finds that Malacandra and its natives are nothing like he imagined. There are several SF tropes here that will seem familiar to fans of HG Wells and Jules Verne, except that there’s very little science involved. Lewis uses Mars as a place to construct a fantasy world as a vehicle for social commentary – which here means a lot of philosophy and theological metaphors. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. The book really works in terms of contrasting human and Malacandran culture, and highlighting the inherent problems in explaining your worldview and motivations to someone who has no cultural reference to understand them (to the point that their language has no word for what you’re trying to convey, and vice versa). On the downside, Lewis spends so much effort on worldbuilding that too often the book reads like a travel guide. Overall, I liked it, and I’ll probably attempt to read the rest of the trilogy, but I’m not in any great hurry.
Backflash by Richard Stark
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The 18th Parker novel and the second of the Parker comeback novels, in which Parker takes a heist job to rob a floating casino. As usual, there are complications, from the unappealing idea of robbing a place that’s difficult to access to Parker’s suspicions that the inside man, Hilliard Cathman, has a secret agenda of his own – and he’s not the only one. Like the previous novel Comeback, this novel differs considerably from the earlier Parker run in two key ways: (1) it’s longer, and (2) it features more substantial female characters (even Parker’s partner Claire is given more to do this time). However, overall it’s a better novel than Comeback in that it’s more evenly paced, somewhat darker, and has a better ending. There’s something to be said for the brevity and economy of earlier Parker novels, but Westlake keeps the pages turning so fast that it never really feels padded out.
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I gave up the fantasy genre somewhere in the 80s, and have returned to it sparingly since (and usually in the form of urban fantasy). But I gave this a try because (1) I was really knocked out by Le Guin’s The Left Hand Of Darkness, and (2) several people whose opinion I highly respect recommended the Earthsea books. This is the first book, which tells the story of Ged, a boy who goes to a wizard school and, in a moment of arrogant pride, accidentally unleashes an evil shadow into the world, which he eventually must confront. That may sound familiar, but Harry Potter this ain’t. This is a more solemn affair that explores pride, weakness and the darkness inside all of us. In some ways it reminds me of the kinds of tropes that eventually turned me off fantasy, particularly all the traveling. On the other hand, the overall story is quite good, and Le Guin keeps the narrative tight and moving at a brisk pace (by genre standards), and crafts some interesting ideas on the nature of magic, its ecological place in the world and the power of words and names. It’s also nice to read a story where the wizard life isn’t as glamorous as people might think. It didn’t quite have the same impact as The Left Hand Of Darkness, but I liked it enough that I’ll probably continue to explore the series.
Command and Control by Eric Schlosser
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Schlosser’s chronicle of the history of the nuclear weapons race and the inherent safety problems involved in storing/transporting nukes is researched almost to a fault – the sheer amount of detail is impressive, but sometimes overwhelming. But it’s worth the effort. The book works on several levels – as a condensed history of the Cold War, a compendium of accidents involving nuclear weapons (with the 1981 Titan II explosion in Arkansas serving as the centerpiece), and a study of the problem of ensuring 100% safety with complex technologies controlled by complex and bureaucratic organizations – especially when the minimum consequence of getting it wrong is blowing an entire city off the map. Command And Control isn’t an anti-nuke diatribe, but rather a warning of how lucky we are that a nuke hasn’t gone off by accident in the last 60 years, that our luck can't hold out forever, and that the end of the Cold War doesn’t mean the problem of nuke safety no longer exists. Put simply, we still live in a world where we have the capacity to blow up the planet, and human error can still potentially set off a nuke and/or even accidentally start a nuclear war. Granted, as a child of the Cold War, this resonates with me more than it might with readers born afterwards. Still, I’d recommend this book to anyone who thinks the only nuclear threats the world faces are "rogue nations" like North Korea or Iran.
View all my reviews
Two minutes to midnight,
This is dF
Pietr the Latvian by Georges SimenonMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
Penguin is reprinting all of Simenon’s Maigret novels, and this is the first of the series, in which Maigret is on the trail of Pietr The Latvian, a notorious but mysterious swindler with gangster ties who arrives in Paris by train. A man fitting his description is found dead in the train toilet – yet another man fitting his description is seen leaving the station. I’m a big fan of Simenon, but reading this, it’s clear he didn’t quite knock it out of the park on his first try. The writing style is a little clunky, and the solution to the mystery seems kind of obvious. Also, the story’s climax isn’t that satisfying. And yet Maigret remains a fascinating character, even in this early version where he’s not all that fleshed out, although I confess if this was my first time reading Simenon and didn’t know the books would get better, I don’t know if I’d be inspired enough to try another Maigret book. So while I might not recommend this specific book, I do recommend giving other books in the series a try.
Sex Criminals, Vol. 1: One Weird Trick by Matt FractionMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
I follow Matt Fraction’s Tumblr blog, but I’d never read his work before. I couldn’t pass this up because it has to be one of the more original comic-book ideas: two people who have the ability to stop time whenever they have an orgasm decide to use that power to rob banks. This is the first volume of the series, and while I have some problems with it, the problem is probably more with me than Fraction – specifically, I have a hard time identifying with the sex lives of the two main characters. I’m not sure I can even articulate why – maybe because my own experience was so different (superpowers notwithstanding). On the other hand, the “first time” flashbacks ring painfully true, and in fact Fraction really nails how awkward, weird and lonely sex can be, especially when yr only guideposts are badly informed peers and adults too embarrassed or judgmental to explain it, not to mention movies, porn and (yes) comic books where even female superheroes are mainly eye candy. Meanwhile, Fraction has a lot of fun with narrative structure and occasionally gratuitous pop-culture satire (the Morrissey and Queen bits were highly entertaining). Also, Chip Zdarsky’s artwork really fits the story. So while some parts don’t work for me personally, there’s a lot to like here. Even if I don’t try the next volume, I’m definitely going try some more of Fraction’s work.
Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. LewisMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Most people know CS Lewis for the Narnia books, but he also wrote a science-fiction trilogy, of which this is the first volume. The story follows Dr Ransom, a philologist who is shanghaied and transported to Mars (a.k.a. Malacandra) as a sacrifice to the locals. Ransom escapes and finds that Malacandra and its natives are nothing like he imagined. There are several SF tropes here that will seem familiar to fans of HG Wells and Jules Verne, except that there’s very little science involved. Lewis uses Mars as a place to construct a fantasy world as a vehicle for social commentary – which here means a lot of philosophy and theological metaphors. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. The book really works in terms of contrasting human and Malacandran culture, and highlighting the inherent problems in explaining your worldview and motivations to someone who has no cultural reference to understand them (to the point that their language has no word for what you’re trying to convey, and vice versa). On the downside, Lewis spends so much effort on worldbuilding that too often the book reads like a travel guide. Overall, I liked it, and I’ll probably attempt to read the rest of the trilogy, but I’m not in any great hurry.
Backflash by Richard StarkMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
The 18th Parker novel and the second of the Parker comeback novels, in which Parker takes a heist job to rob a floating casino. As usual, there are complications, from the unappealing idea of robbing a place that’s difficult to access to Parker’s suspicions that the inside man, Hilliard Cathman, has a secret agenda of his own – and he’s not the only one. Like the previous novel Comeback, this novel differs considerably from the earlier Parker run in two key ways: (1) it’s longer, and (2) it features more substantial female characters (even Parker’s partner Claire is given more to do this time). However, overall it’s a better novel than Comeback in that it’s more evenly paced, somewhat darker, and has a better ending. There’s something to be said for the brevity and economy of earlier Parker novels, but Westlake keeps the pages turning so fast that it never really feels padded out.
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le GuinMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
I gave up the fantasy genre somewhere in the 80s, and have returned to it sparingly since (and usually in the form of urban fantasy). But I gave this a try because (1) I was really knocked out by Le Guin’s The Left Hand Of Darkness, and (2) several people whose opinion I highly respect recommended the Earthsea books. This is the first book, which tells the story of Ged, a boy who goes to a wizard school and, in a moment of arrogant pride, accidentally unleashes an evil shadow into the world, which he eventually must confront. That may sound familiar, but Harry Potter this ain’t. This is a more solemn affair that explores pride, weakness and the darkness inside all of us. In some ways it reminds me of the kinds of tropes that eventually turned me off fantasy, particularly all the traveling. On the other hand, the overall story is quite good, and Le Guin keeps the narrative tight and moving at a brisk pace (by genre standards), and crafts some interesting ideas on the nature of magic, its ecological place in the world and the power of words and names. It’s also nice to read a story where the wizard life isn’t as glamorous as people might think. It didn’t quite have the same impact as The Left Hand Of Darkness, but I liked it enough that I’ll probably continue to explore the series.
Command and Control by Eric SchlosserMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Schlosser’s chronicle of the history of the nuclear weapons race and the inherent safety problems involved in storing/transporting nukes is researched almost to a fault – the sheer amount of detail is impressive, but sometimes overwhelming. But it’s worth the effort. The book works on several levels – as a condensed history of the Cold War, a compendium of accidents involving nuclear weapons (with the 1981 Titan II explosion in Arkansas serving as the centerpiece), and a study of the problem of ensuring 100% safety with complex technologies controlled by complex and bureaucratic organizations – especially when the minimum consequence of getting it wrong is blowing an entire city off the map. Command And Control isn’t an anti-nuke diatribe, but rather a warning of how lucky we are that a nuke hasn’t gone off by accident in the last 60 years, that our luck can't hold out forever, and that the end of the Cold War doesn’t mean the problem of nuke safety no longer exists. Put simply, we still live in a world where we have the capacity to blow up the planet, and human error can still potentially set off a nuke and/or even accidentally start a nuclear war. Granted, as a child of the Cold War, this resonates with me more than it might with readers born afterwards. Still, I’d recommend this book to anyone who thinks the only nuclear threats the world faces are "rogue nations" like North Korea or Iran.
View all my reviews
Two minutes to midnight,
This is dF
