Thursday, March 27, 2008

Ursula K. Le Guin - The Lathe of Heaven (Book Review)

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The Lathe of Heaven is a 1971 science fiction novel by much acclaimed Ursula K. Le Guin. The novel was nominated for both the Hugo and the Nebula award and won the Locus in 1972. It has also been adopted into two films. The novel sprawls just over 170 pages, which is considered short by modern standards set by thousand plus pages long doorstopper tomes. That keeps the writer with limited maneuver space. This is not Le Guin's most known work – that would be certain novels from the Hainish Cycle (considerably The Left Hand of Darkness and The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia) and her YA fantasy Earthsea novels. But even if it is not her most known work it is still influential and resonating.
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George Orr discovers that he has the ability to alter and/or shape reality with his dreams but is also vastly unnerved by that fact. He abuses drugs to help him suppress the vivid and reality-changing dreams. When he gets caught for it he is assigned to Obligatory Therapy. When his therapist, William Haber, discovers for himself what George is capable of, and all the possibilities of given situation, he starts developing agendas of his own.
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Basically this is a story about the contest of ideological and binary opposites – such as the following motives: free will vs. authority, risk vs. safety, freedom vs. totalitarism, introvertedness vs. extrovertedness, pessimism vs. unbelated optimism, passivity vs. activity and last but not least the who protagonists that personify these polar ideals. It is an allegory of two god-head figures: the tinkerer or the interventionist (example: Judeo-Christian concept of god) and the being who is the World, who belongs rather than observes and dictates (example: god figure of many eastern religions). The tinkerer is personified in the therapist and the being who is the World is represented by George Orr (he in fact holds the power of creation in his hands, but is ironically in power of Haber himself). So the first one uses and the second is used. The revolt of George Orr seems mild and without outward aggression, but it is only that it happens on an introverted and intuitive level. Haber sees Orr only as a husk of a man, incapable of action, of progress, of evolution. Orr is not unintelligent, only meek and docile tool to be used. This is of course only Haber's view on things. We get to know the opposite angle on Orr as well – a completely wholesome person and a pillar of strength to lean on to. From this point of view Haber seems a complete control freak with narcissistic, aggressive, pushy, self-centered, uncaring and intrusive tendencies. Although neither is good or bad. Orr is convinced that he has no moral right to change the world. On the other hand, Haber believes that Orr's reality-bending dreams are just a tool to be used, a next step in evolution and he has a genuine wish to change the world for the better. But dreams are unpredictable, driven by subconscious irrational mind defying control.
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---“I don’t have nightmares more than most people, I think,” Orr was saying, looking down at his hands. “Nothing special. I’m afraid of dreaming.”
---“Of dreaming bad dreams.”
---“Any dreams.”
---“I see. Have you any notion how that fear got started? Or what it is you’re afraid of, wish to avoid?”
---As Orr did not reply at one, bat sat looking don at his hands, square, reddish hands lying too still on his knee, Haber prompted just a little. “Is it the irrationality, the lawlessness, sometimes the immorality of dreams, is it something like that that makes you uncomfortable?”
---“Yes, in a way. But for a specific reason. You see, here…Here I…”
---Here’s the crux, the lock, thought Haber, also watching those tense hands. Poor bastard. He has wet dreams, and a guilt complex about ‘em. Boyhood enuresis, compulsive mother-
---“Here’s where you stop believing me.” (pg.14-15)
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Just to state this one out loud – yes, Ursula K. Le Guin is a terrific and a very intelligent writer. She took some 170 pages and turned them into a psychological (psychoanalysis, dream studies etc.), sociological (issues of poverty, racism, population control, violence, tinkering with social structure etc.), philosophical (Nietzsche's will-to-power, ethical issues, question of freedom etc.) study with a pinch of pure fiction thrown in as well. I admit I find her writing style endearing and comfortable but in some way The Lathe of Heaven just fails to connect with me in the way it should. The book is short but I still found a lot of info-dumping and (for me) uninteresting speculations about and experimentations with the society's structure. Since I'm working on my degree in social studies I found much of that tinkering with society crude or just plainly under explored; I'm aware that the emphasis of the book lies elsewhere, but I still found this element of the story too disconcerting to give the book a higher grade. The alternative realities are so numerous that I never got a (firm) grasp on the setting of the novel. I'm mentioning this to justify my final grade and because I know some of you will not be bothered by this fact. On the other hand, her criticism of western societies and its constant will-to-progress is subtle and ingenious enough – played on individual level between two main protagonists.
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***
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---You have to help another person. But it’s not right to play God with masses of people. To be God you have to know what you’re doing. And to do any good at all, just believing you’re right and your motives are good isn’t enough. You have to…be in touch. He isn’t in touch. No one else, no thing even, has an existence of its own for him; he sees the world only as a means to his end. (pg.150)
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All in all, this one was a mixed bag of great to not so great for me (but never really bad though). It's just that it felt a bit rusty in some places and in my opinion does is not on the level with The Left Hand of Darkness, which is her other work that I've read. So if you'd like to start with Le Guin I'd recommend to start there. Nevertheless, I'm glad that I've read The Lathe of Heaven because it has some brilliant moments – it's a charming classic in its own special way.
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---(3 out of five)
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~ Thrinidir ~

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Iain M. Banks - Matter (Book Review)

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On the Eight level of Sursamen, one of twelve hundred surviving shellworlds, there is war. An almost sphere-wide human state, created by the king Hausk is invaded by the humans of the level below. The king, as is his habit, is on the front with his men. Of his four children only the eldest, now long dead, was a warrior. The middle son, Ferbin, next in the line for the throne, was groomed to be a diplomat. A calling he likes, especially since it takes him to every vice he can think of. But what madness took him to view the fighting in the capital he does not know. Trying to figure it out he crouches in darkness with his trousers soiled, hoping to hide from the terrible noise that the battle, the shells and the dying of men makes. A darker purpose brings to the abandoned factory in which Ferbin hides another group. Commanded by his fathers most trusted companion they carry in the wounded king. Hidden by the darkness, Ferbin holds his peace. Some for shame and some because of newly found caution. But soon he is too stunned for words. When Tyl Loesp proclaims him dead, laughs at his father sadness and then plunges his hand into Hausk chest and twists kings heart still, all he can do is stare. Officially only the youngest of brothers - Oramen now remains alive, too young to rule. Tyl Loesp intends to become a regent… for a while at least, and when Oramen conveniently dies, a king. The only hope Ferbin sees for surviving and even correcting the injustice are the aliens, with their advanced technology and hopefully some sympathy for the king's death and his own plight. Perhaps some can be found among those that watch over the shells, or perhaps among the so called Involved species. Especially since Xide Hyrilis, a man from The Culture was a friend and advisor of his father. If not Xide, then perhaps Ferbins own sister, Djan Seiry Anaplian, might help. Taken to The Culture as a kind of payment for services rendered, she is now a part of Cultures Special Circumstances section.
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After eight years The Culture is back, and so is, after four, its creator Iain (M.) Banks. The last book Banks published in his SF incarnation was non-Culture novel The Algebraist in 2004.
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As said, Matter is set in the universe of The Culture - the 'mongrel humanoid civilization' with its Special Circumstances, its Minds and Drones with their endearing dry wit and its endless array of (post)human biological inhabitants of thoughts and forms most eccentric. Those of you who have not read any of the other Culture novels fear not - although Banks uses the universe built through his other books, he also gives a new reader more than enough information to navigate his way through the terminology. Do not misunderstand, that does not mean that the experienced readers will get bored with deja-vu. Banks has lost none of his skill. You'll get a lot of excited "that's right" moments, but you'll not get bored.
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Then again, the focus of the story is not on The Culture or the complexity of the space in which it exists. The story is focused on the shellworld Sursamen and believe me, it is no less complex as the sprawling Culture universe. Banks uses the three surviving children of King Hausk to tell the story from three different points of wiew:

  • Djan Seiry Anaplians on her semi-official SC mission tells the 'macro view' – how the Involed species, the self-proclaimed benevolent guardians, see the events and their possible consequences.
  • Ferins tale is the 'overview' story through which we learn the dynamics and politics of the shellworlds. Of each sphere modified to hold a specific habitat, populated by either space faring species or by species brought here for various reasons, of creatures big and small - cumuloform, insectile, aquatic or humanoid, each with different level of science, culture and sentience and of several different space fairing species that watch over these spheres and cultures. Bound by an agreement not to involve themselves into developing shell inhabiting cultures. These watchers are in turn supervised by another species, which is their mentor and so forth. Above them all there are the "Involed species", the great 'powers that be', who in turn very intently watch each other.
  • Oramnes story represents the 'micro-view', the view of the Sarl, the civilization from which all three siblings come. Through the tale of rather naïve prince we learn of the culture the Sarls built and of the court intrigue.

Masterfully intertwining the tales, Banks creates a beautiful mosaic which culminates in all to abrupt ending.
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What are the downsides of the book? Well, truth be told the ending does leave something to be desired, but overall - there are none! Even the cover art is great. "Why only four out of five then?" you're probably wondering. For three reasons:

  1. Not nearly enough Culture!!! I know, I know… I would be just as disappointed if I'd get more of the 'same old, same old' we usually get from the genre authors. But… I… Want… More…
  2. I wouldn't recommend Matter to anyone as the first book to read among the genre novels Banks wrote. I can't point out exacty what is missing, but there IS something missing something that would make this book really… lovable.
  3. Because it's not THE novel I expect/hope Banks to write. He is the man who has brought the wit, vastness and complexity back into space opera, not to mention the quality of writing. I've probably read most (if not all) of his genre books and I simply cannot accept him writing below current standard. It's a great standard, miles ahead of most of the other authors… but I believe he CAN do even better.
So:


(four out of five, but don't forget, we're talking Bank's standard here!)

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You can also read an interesting interview with Ian M. Banks here: link

~ BlindMan ~

Scott Bakker - Neuropath (Book Preview)

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---Scott Bakker, author of the much lauded fantasy trilogy "Prince of Nothing", will be releasing the anticipated psychological thriller "Neuropath" on May 15 (Amazon release date for UK). Pat's Fantasy Hotlist gave the book an excellent review. As from now on, you can also read the first chapter online for free here (a fantasybookspot.com exclusive feature), so you can decide for yourself if you might enjoy it or not. But let me warn you that the novel is described (by Pat) as "a disturbing venture into the mind of a raving psychopath...who in some ways surpasses even the great Hannibal Lecter himself". It's supposed to be gritty, realistic and very smartly written. If you've read "Prince of Nothig" than you know what to expect - an utterly deranged and/or tormented cast of characters.

Saturday, March 22, 2008

In The Limelight - 2008 Hugo Nomination List (Short Version)

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---Hugo nominees for 2008 have been disclosed publicly and the sf&f blogosphere is buzzing with the news. I'm not posting the whole list with all of the categories and nominations since you can view that here, but I'll try to point out the most notable categories and comment on them succinctly. Given my inadequate knowledge for a more detailed analyzation I'll keep my comments on a short leash and mostly point out other peoples findings (thoughts) on the matter. Here goes nothing:

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---Best Novel
  • The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabon (HarperCollins, Fourth Estate)
  • Brasyl by Ian McDonald (Gollancz; Pyr)
  • Rollback by Robert J. Sawyer (Tor; Analog Oct. 2006-Jan/Feb. 2007)
  • The Last Colony by John Scalzi (Tor)
  • Halting State by Charles Stross (Ace; Orbit)

----Last year's winner: Rainbow's End by Vernor Vinge

If Brasyl would be omitted from this list, than it would have been even quirkier than it is. I've been a pretty observant follower of the genre this year but for have for some reason never come across Rollback or the author - Rober J. Sawyer. I'm not saying that he hasn't been mentioned, only that this (obviously?) outstanding novel somehow missed my radar. And there is ABSOLUTELY no fantasy picks on the list, now what is up with that...Hugo's preference for sf is well known, but not even one fantasy work deserves the nomination? If you check the round-up of all the "Best of 2007" lists that I've managed to put together, you'll notice many titles that would deserved to be nominated more than some of the titles above - most notably: The Black Man/Thirteen (Richard Morgan); this novel was received very fondly everywhere I turned. I myself found Morgan's Takeshi novels seriously over-rated, but a lot of people out there feel very strongly about his newest novel (in a positive sense of course). Halting State by Charles Stross got some very mixed responses and even those who liked it didn't think it his best work (that would arguably be Accelerando or maybe Glasshouse; both nominated in previous years actually), but since this is his fourth (or is it fifth?) subsequent nomination the "unlucky bastard" might just get it this time. Scalzi's The Last Colony also got some mixed reviews and is opined as "light sf read", not exactly an award material, especially when the weighty Hugos are concerned. The Yiddish Policeman's Union has garnered some flowery reviews and is the only sf novel with a "general literary value" on the list.

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---Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form

  • Enchanted
  • The Golden Compass
  • Heroes, Season 1
  • Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
  • Stardust

----Last year's winner: Pan's Labyrinth

I can't say that I'm proud of the fact but I've actually seen all the movies on the list (including Pan's Labyrinth and Heroes, season 1) and I'd give the award to The Golden Compass or maybe Harry Potter in a heart-beat. The Golden Compass was a beautiful representation of the novel on the big screen, even though my friends called me 'tasteless' (mild term) for saying so and HP5 is clearly the best movie in the series with great photography, pacing and visual effects. I'm too old for wash down fairy tales (Enchanted) and felt a bit under-whelmed by Stardust (the scenes with Robert De Niro are priceless though). And while I liked Heroes (season 1), I feel the series falls short of greatness - it had some major plotting and pacing problems, and the cast was lackluster as well.

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---John W. Campbell Award for Best New Science Fiction Writer (An award for the best new writer whose first work of science fiction or fantasy appeared during 2006 or 2007 in a professional publication.)

  • Joe Abercrombie (2nd year of eligibility)
  • Jon Armstrong (1st year of eligibility)
  • David Anthony Durham (1st year of eligibility)
  • David Louis Edelman (2nd year of eligibility)
  • Mary Robinette Kowal (2nd year of eligibility)
  • Scott Lynch (2nd year of eligibility)

----Last year's winner: Naomi Novik (Temeraire)

I'm not familiar with the works of Amrstrong, Edelman and Kowal but between the remaining three authors (Abercrombie, Durham and Lynch) it could go either way. If I indulge my self and speculate then I'd say that the laurels will be acceded to Mr. Lynch or possibly David Anthony Durham who's Accacia: War with the Main got a great response from the fans of epic fantasy. If the world would turn to my tune, than Joe Abercrombie would get it - his First Law trilogy is absolutely sizzling with good vibes. I wonder if Daniel Abraham was eligible for the award?

Whatever my personal thoughts and reservations, I congradulate to all the nominees and wish them best of luck.

Glen Cook - Chronicles of The Black Company (Book Review)

-----"With the Black Company series, Glen Cook single-hadedly changed the face of fantasy - something a lot of people didn't notice and maybe still don't. He Brought the story down to a human level, dispensing with the cliché archetypes of princes, kings, and evil sorcerors. Reading his stuff is like reading Vienam War fiction on peyote."
------------ - Steven Erikson
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Glen Cook is in no need of any introduction, but for the uninitiated and those who somehow missed his works and the impact he had on the genre I will reiterate some of the essential information. He is a contemporary American SF and fantasy author, best known for his fantasy series which follows the exploits of The Black Company. The first trilogy, aptly named The Books of the North, which later expanded into an ongoing series, are ironically his first published works as well as most known and renowned among critics and fans alike. the books I am speaking of and am about to review are as follows: The Black Company (1984), Shadows Linger (1984) and The White Rose (1985). There three books were neatly packed into an omnibus by Tor in the late 2007 and were given a new name - Chronicles of The Black Company. The advantages of this omnibus edition are:

  • The original books are out of print, thus very hard to obtain.
  • The cover art by Raymond Swanland is absolutely stunning and represents, as far as I'm concerned, an almost perfect melding of artist and writer - the cover is dark, moody, expressionist with a hint of both romance and subliminal violence.
  • Financial accessibility; three for the price of one, enough said

This means that you get quality, beauty and a cornerstone genre books in a new shiny package all in one. What's not to like?

This book, three of them actually, griped me, held me tight for the bumpy ride, left me dizzy, out of breath and definitely wanting for more. I feel extremely happy that the Tor Books is releasing the follow up novels of The Black Company this summer within another omnibus – The Books of the South.
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The Black Company is the last of the free companies of Khatovar...which basically means that they are mercenaries for hire and they actually excel at their job. Croaker, a physician and the official Annalist of The Black Company, is the POV through whom the exploits of The Black Company are viewed. Croaker is by no means objective or even aware of everything that is going on at all times but his subjective view is everything Cook offers us and we ought to be content.

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----The story begins in Beryl, where The Company, cornered by the ever increasing demands of their contract which binds them to the role of taming the seething populace for its governor, is half forced and half glad to change allegiance. They leave the city to its fate and enter the service of the Lady under the patronage of one of her highest servants, the Taken named Soulcatcher. The Lady is an ancient evil, a once ruler of a vast empire together with her husband Dominator. She and her jackals, the Ten Who Were Taken, were freed from their entombment and now vie for the submission of the World once again. The Ten Who Were Taken or simply The Taken, grand wizards all, were willed into the service of the Lady and Dominator cenutries ago. The story starts to unfold when The Company crosses the North Sea to help battle The Rebels, a group opposed to the Lady and her plans to rule the World.

--*Minor spoilers follow*
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--The Black Company (1984)
----The first book follows The Black Company’s trial years in the Lady’s service and shows us just how hardy and capable these men are. Croker and some six thousand odd members of The Company battle The Rebel, who are in fact almost as corrupt as the other side and also as riven with internal bickering. The Rebel is a force to be reckoned with and a most worthy foe. The Lady and her forces are on a constant losing streak, and only the final battle fought at the feet of The Tower of the Lady will decide the future of the Empire and with it the future of The Black Company.
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--Shadows Linger (1984)
----The Black Company has proved its worth while battling The Rebel and now becomes the Lady’s most reliable enforcer sent to deal with the toughest missions…and one such awaits them at the eastern edges of the known world – at the city called Juniper, where a mysterious black fortress rises seemingly out of nowhere and there is also a shady problem with the disappearing of bodies during the nights. Identity of The White Rose, who is prophesied to emerge and crumble the Empire of Evil, is a carefully hidden secret held by Croker and some other trustworthy men of The Company; if The Taken or the Lady should suspect anything, The Company would be as good as dead. The Company is playing a dangerous game of high risk, desperately trying to juggle avoiding the Lady’s suspicion as well as doing her bidding.
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--The White rose (1985)
----The cover is blown; Croaker and the remnants of The Company have changed sides and now try to protect The White Rose from the Lady and her superior minions. But as it turns out, there is an even bigger evil lurking out of the shadows - the Lady’s husband Dominator feels left out and now plots to escape the imprisonment in The Barrows as the Lady has done before him. Now, the only chance seems to lie in an unlikely alliance…
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--*End of spoilers*

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I understand that I’ve written a lengthy summary, but which is in the end still undeserving of the story as a whole (=a special strength of the novel in itself). Well, I’ve seen tighter plotting and flashier prose, but the sum of all the elements is what makes this novel(s) so spectacular and not the nitpicking at its specific parts. It is just that Cook managed to conjure a tasty concoction.
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Steven Erikson’s blurb on the backside of The Chronicles of The Black Company (as I’ve copied it above) states Cook as one of his main influences - "a true forefather of the gritty down-to-earth fantasy where princes and benevolent sorcerers exist only in fairy tales and only the grimmest shade of gray has a shot at survival". There is a lot of truth in these words – it is definitely an above average fantasy (and I’m being modest here), but the blurb itself has to be taken with a bit of reserve, since the aggressive sales pitch techniques demand dramatization and overblown aggrandizement.
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Nevertheless, from now on, whenever I’ll be asked what I think of Glen Cook or The Black Company books I won’t hesitate to put him (them) up with the genres best. The subjective Croaker’s point of view may be considered spartan and resembling a journal, but that is what Cook has been aiming for all the time – for us to be reading the Annals of The Black Company as they have been written by the hands of the Annalist, and I found this approach refreshing and enjoyed reading the books tremendously.
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I am not talking about a flawless work of fiction. All I’m saying is that if you buy the style that Glen Cook is trying to sell, than you are in for a real treat. I can understand why some people dislike Cook’s writing or The Black Company books in particular, because this series is really particular in many ways. One piece of honest advice then: if you don’t find The Black Company to your liking 30 and some pages into the book it would probably be for the best if you put it down, because no major changes occur later on which would drastically sway your mind. I for one though found the book worth every penny and from now consider myself as joined to the ranks of the huge legion of Black Company fans.

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(4 out of five)

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~ Thrinidir ~

Monday, March 17, 2008

Lian Hearn - Across the Nightingale Floor (Book Review)

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I've heard much about "Tales of the Otori" lately. I've had a brief glance at this series in the bookshop, and since then every time I've asked a younger reader to name some of his/her favorite books, there would always be "Tales of the Otori" mentioned somwhere among the works of Pullman, Tolken, Rowling and others. I've always enjoyed YA fantasy and for this reason decided to give the first novel in the Otori saga a try.

Across the Nightingale Floor” met my expectations – but admittedly, they were not set very high. The characters are the strongest point of the book; they are emotional, vivid and easy to sympathise with. However, this is only true where the main cast is considered, since the secondary characters seem somewhat pale in comparison. Apart from the ones that are strictly good and those that are strictly bad remain only the mercenaries (represented as diferent shades of grey), which provides for a poor assortment of characters. Even at the moment popular themes that demand the inclusion of the privileged upper classes is not included, and while that is commendable for the sake of not overusing the genre clichés, it sadly also means lesser variety between the characters.

Another thing that gives the book some credit is its unusual setting for a typical fantasy - that means that the scene is not a typical medieval imaginary world influenced by Western European culture, but rather a medieval Japan influenced world. This is pretty refreshing for a reader of fantasy fiction who is used to Anglo-Saxon myths; and for some reason, it also works wonders for some of the younger anime/manga fans. (Some of the older ones, on the other hand, despise any attempt at comparison between the two, claiming that ‘…she (Hearn) tried to be convincing, but didn't manage to do it, because the approach she took is too Western-style based’.)

The main flaw that bothered me is the fact that everything is so simple and undemanding of the reader throughout the book. The plot is completely straightforward; I can’t remember reading anything so thoroughly predictable in the last few years. There was only one turn that could be marked as ‘partly surprising’, and even that one left me completely cold – Hearn attempted to conjure an inescapable situation, but failed to do it convincingly.

There is some humour present in the story, but it left me nonplussed for the most part, with barely making me smile here and there (though I have to admit I burst out laughing at one part of the book that most definitely was not meant to be funny). It’s true that the novel could be described as a decent read in the end, without ever completely boring the reader. This is achieved by employment of a high tempo story-telling, but which is obviously a double-edged sword – the happening seems even less realistic and while in some books that’s a gain, it presents another flaw in "Across the Nightingale Floor". The plot itself doesn't help much as it is pretty conventional – it’s a typical story of a rural, uneducated boy, whose family is slaughtered and his village burned; afterwards he runs away to live with nobility, where he discovers his real heritage and the hidden magical powers he possesses - and in the end he becomes a hero. Oh please. Just because it’s a YA book, it doesn’t allow the author to get away with a crappy plotting.

As already mentioned, "Across the Nightingale Floor" is not a badly written book. The characters are likeable; there is an interesting romantic relationship between the two main protagonists and so on. However, this is the kind of book that are written for totally inexperienced or just undemanding readers. It’s a good beach read and recommended for those who are taking their first steps into the world of (fantasy) fiction, but experienced readers won't miss anything if they never come across "Tales of The Otori".




(1.5 out of five)

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~Trin~

Friday, March 14, 2008

Dan Simmons - The Terror (Book Review)


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"The Terror" came as a welcome refreshement after all the fantasy I've read lately. There are absolutely no dragons involved, neither is there any magic or mighty knights strutting out of the pages. Yay! (There are, however, some affluent and snotty snobs, but in the terms of the 19th century England's upper class rather than medieval nobility.) This is one of the things that gives "The Terror" such appeal and a particular feeling of substantiality.
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At first, I've had some second thoughts about buying the book, since I've read a couple of reviews that left me confused and unconvinced. While some reviewers praised the book as if they had been paid for it, others complained about it being long-winded and including too many complex and unfamiliar nautical terms that really bear down on the story.

This last thing must've been written by some ''spoiled'' native speaker, because although I still haven't got a slightest idea who a caulker could be (or more specifically, what his job is), I understood well enough that he has some kind of a professional function on the ship and I'm completely satisfied with that. If English is your mother tongue, you can take your time and look up the unknown words in the dictionary – there really aren't that many in the book. And if you're not a native speaker, you don't need to worry, because not being able to discern different parts of the deck will not rob you of jour reading experience. Besides, everybody knows that constant skimming through the dictionary is a time-consuming activity that usually breaks the flow of the reading process. (I looked up what the hell a 'sperm whale' could be, though, and it figures out that it's the Moby Dick one. I nearly died laughing afterwards. :)
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Secondly, the book is eons away from boring. Simmons' style of writing is brilliant (as I've already induced from reading "Hyperion" and its immediate sequel) and keeps the reader awake and alert – at least until s/he decides that the stuff is getting too scary since it's very, VERY dark outside and maybe s/he should stop reading the book until tomorrow when there's plenty of light. The amount of scary you feel probably depends on your personality and while I don't consider myself the kind of girl who gets scared easily, I really dislike the idea of an unknown evil lurking in the dark (it's always better to know exactly who or what you are up against). Especially since the arctic night lasts for 24 hours a day; it's pretty damn frustrating. I have to admit I was very glad when there was someone else in the room with me when I was reading. That helped to prevent my imagination from going wild, but the book in consequence lost some of its effect.

Another thing I've noticed is how impossibly knowledgeable Simmons is and how much effort he put into researching the book's topic. While explaining just about everything that is of any relevance regarding the expedition (I read a Wikipedia article about it afterwards and it only proved that, excluding the 'evil' thing, "The Terror" follows the recorded facts faithfully, thus being a (partly) historical novel as well as a horror one); he studied and explained the Esquimaux's culture as well. What I also loved is the hommage to E. A. Poe (mentioned in the novel as 'that American writer' – one of my favourite chapters in the book is a tribute to his "The Masque of the Red Death").

When I try to find a weak spot that would mar the book, I seem to fail. Maybe the ending will not be to everyone's satisfaction since it is pretty unusual, but for me presents an interesting alternative to the 'classical' endings we are so familiar with. I actually liked the loose ends left hanging. I'm ordinarily against giving a perfect score – I agree with Thrinidir's take on this point – but at the same time, I don't know what more could I expect from a book of this genre. "The Terror" is a brilliant book, but as I already mentioned, it was otherwise met with mixed feelings. Give it a try, though; I say it's worth it.

A perfect mark (five out of five):

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~ Trin ~

In The Limelight: "The Last Argument of Kings" by Joe Abercrombie

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~ In The Limelight ~
Meaning: At the centre of attention.

Origin: Limelight is an intense white light which is produced by heating a piece of lime in a flame of burning oxygen and hydrogen. The effect was discovered in the 1820s by Goldsworthy Gurney and the application of the process to create a bright light was developed by Thomas Drummond around 1825. It was widely used in 19th century theatres to illuminate the stage and was first used in a public theatre at Covent Garden in London in 1837.

Clearly, actors who were the centre of attention on stage being said to be in the limelight. The figurative use, to people or things that were the centre of attention outside the world of theatre, came into use around the turn of the 20th century. (source)

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We have only a few days more to wait now for the official release of Joe Abercrombie's conclusion to The First Law trilogy, which is one of the most popular fantasy works in progress over the last couple of years. It's a modern take on and the subversion of fantasy clichés, it mocks and reveres them at the same time. The knack at making you have an intense relationship with the characters is the undeniable strongpoint of Abercrombie's writing. He managed to invented some of the most visceral and memorable characters to date with the life weary barbarian Logen Ninefingers and the dashing hero-gone-torturer Sand dan Glokta that shine above others. Abercrombie's ability to make you almost feel each blow that the characters throw at each other as well as making you duck in front of the book during these passages doesn't fall far behind his skill at characterization.

The people who had the privilege to read and review the advanced reading copy (ARC) of "The Last Argument of Kings" all seem to have in common the thought that the conclusion to the trilogy dwarfs its predecessors in quality and scope and give the book perfect scores almost unanimously. At this moment it seems that mr. Abercrombie is one of the rare few who actually managed to improve with each subsequent novel and for the time outdistanced himself from his peer writers (Patrick Rothfuss with his postponed sophomore effort; and Scott Lynch with his sub par sophomore book) by a fair margin.

As I absolutely loved the first two books ("The Blade Itself" and "Before They Are Hanged") I am most eager to get my clutch on "The Last Argument of Kings" which will be released on the twentieth of March. Since I was a bit disappointed by Erikson's "Midnight Tides" and still have two more books to read before "Toll the Hounds" surfaces (30.June); and there is yet no official word from GRRM's publishers on the release of "A Dance With Dragons" (a fall release is the soonest but not the most possible) as well, therefore is this probably my most anticipated realease for the year. And to stir the proverbial cauldron a bit before I stop with my praise galore - It would be no surprise if "The First Law" is conceded the title of the trilogy of this decade in a few years time. Watch out! Joe the cookie mons...hmmm...Joe Abercrombie has just entered the building!

Here are some reviews of "The Last Argument of Kings" to whet your appetite:

Sandstorm Reviews,

A Dribble of Ink,

Graeme's Fantasy Book Review,

The Genre Files,

The Wertzone,

and Pat's Fantasy Hotlist

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~ Thrinidir ~

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Eye Candy Covers pt.II

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The new Subpress limited edition of Gardens of the Moon (Book One of The Malazan Book of the Fallen) is just too beautiful for me to resist posting it here. It’s detailed, it’s classy, it has Anomander Rake with Dragnipur strapped on his back and Moon’s Spawn with some of the Great Ravens in the background…it’s Eye Candy what it is:
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- Thrinidir -

Monday, March 10, 2008

Isaac Asimov - "The Last Question" (Short Story Review)


"The sound of the Galactic AC startled them into silence. Its voice came thin and beautiful out of the small AC-contact on the desk. It said:


'THERE IS INSUFFICIENT DATA FOR A MEANINGFUL ANSWER.' "
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-I've reviewed two novels lately that are often labeled as “classics” - the first one being ”The Road”, an ingenious near-future post-apocalypse survival story, and the second is “The Forever War”, a much praised military sf that won many prestigious awards. Of course genre “classics” don’t grow on the proverbial tree, but being a fantasy and sf promoting blog, I believe it best to start with the best that can be found. Isaac ASIMOV is another much lauded sf author, if not ‘the author’, out of the golden age of science fiction. His “Foundation” and “Robots” series have done much to separate the term “pulp” from science fiction, as well as made a big name for Asimov. In 2004, a big-budget (but ironically pretty pulpy) sf movie, starring Will Smith as Del Spooner, has been filmed after his novel “I, Robot”.

What I’m offering here is one of his short stories - his most known short story that is also Asimov's favorite. “The Last Question” packs more meaningful content into no more than a few pages than majority of authors manage to accomplish in a lengthy novel. I’ve only read this one short story by Asimov, but it is pretty obvious why he is revered as a master of his trade. The story is short (doh!) and to the point. Asimov manages to touch upon a few topics of which relevance is universal and undiminished to the present day – a few examples: the nature of the Universe, evolution of mankind and technology, transcendence of embodiment and mortality. Some of his ideas are obviously outdated (an analogue computer of the size of a planet etc.) with others remarkably not so; even when concerning the present times.

The story itself is divided into several shorter ones that basically deal with people from all across the future ages, all worried about the absolute end of Existence and with how to reverse the laws of entropy. At some point of the future all the big questions have been answered except for “The Last Question”, that would translate without the fancy words into something as simple ashow to make something from nothing?. The answer, provided by an all-powerful computer that is in the beginning known as Multivac, but later takes other names, is always the same… The ending may be predicted by the most prescient readers, but not by me; and even if I could predict it I would still think it brilliant.

I am talking about an old-school story in the best sense of the word and it throws a mighty punch at the reader. Not only should it take you no more than a lunch-break to read it, it is also absolutely free (link). Now, is there any reason not to read "The Last Question", any reason at all?

4+/5

Friday, March 7, 2008

Eye Candy Covers

Now, I've seen some pretty nifty covers out there...I've also ground my teeth at the cheesy, flashy, rushed, uninspired or just plainly tasteless covers that pollute the shelves. Since the latest trend on the web seems to be the bashing of old pulpy covers and the new North American covers for the Erikson’s “Malazan Book of The Fallen” series, I’ll take a different approach and give praise where praise is due. I’m currently reading “Chronicles of the Black Company” by Glen Cook, which is a great and rewarding read by the way (the influence on Erikson is blatantly undeniable), and the cover of this trade paperback omnibus is absolutely beautiful. It’s artistically well done and on top of that it couldn’t present “you are reading a kickass fantasy novel” impression any better. Tor and Nightshade Books deserve to be congratulated for an outstanding job.
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Here are the covers (click on image to enlarge):
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Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Joe Haldeman - The Forever War (Book Review)



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"The Forever War" was first published in 1974 and since then it was republished on several occasions (I've counted around 13) – these editions varying from simple reprints to the authors definite edition in 1997 and to the inclusion into the "royal" SF Masterworks collection. The novel was a solemn winner of both Nebula and Hugo awards and the fact that it is praised worldwide as one of the cornerstones of science fiction ever-since leaves little doubt that "The Forever War" withstood the test of time, as well as cows this reviewer with the weight of its historically accumulated pedigree. It’s really hard to review such a weighty title without being a part of the period that defined its becoming. Among other themes Haldeman tackles various contemporary issues of that time – Vietnam War is a prominent one for example (Haldeman fought there for a while). But let us not forget the fact that "The Forever War" would have never be lauded as a "classic", if the book hadn’t dealt with the issues of that time in a more general, universal and all-comprising way, if you wish. Haldeman deftly tackles and speculates about the nature of war, politics, society, philosophy, science, essence of humanity and personal relations in grand, intelligent and on occasion even clairvoyant manner.

It is the year of 1996. Humankind is in possession of space faring technology, and the conquest of the universe runs smoothly until one of the human colonists’ ship is attacked by before unencountered but obviously belligerent alien race – the Taurans. William Mandella is a first wave conscript for the elite UN task force being assembled for a war against Taurans. What makes him a candidate for the task force is his above average intelligence, education and physical prowess. The story begins during the stark and uncompromising initial training of the first group of recruits, which is the cause of first military casualties. Afterwards, “the real thing” follows; we are witness to long and time-consuming space voyages destined at some obscure out-in-the-nowhere solar systems, where battles with Taurans rage to and fro. There is always a chance that the enemy will have technological advantage over human forces or the other way around due to the time discrepancies, caused by faster than light travel. The toll on human life is excruciating. Mandella succeeds in retiring, but finds The Earth some twenty-one years later, two years of his subjective time, changed beyond the face of recognition (sadly for the worse) and once everything that ties him down passes away he volunteers back into the army. Just as soon as that he finds himself in the clutches of interstellar warmongering…for another thousand years or so - give or take a few years. Hence the name of the novel – “The Forever War”...indeed.

An example of successful attempt at humor:
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“William?” She had MCCOY stenciled above her face-plate.
“Hi, Sean. Anything special?”
“I just wondered if you had anyone to sleep with tonight?”
That’s right; I’d forgotten. There wasn’t any sleeping rooster here. Everybody chose his own partner. “Sure, I mean…” (he accepts the offer)

Everybody was jumping up and down to keep warm.
“How c-cold do you think, it is, M-Mandella?” That was McCoy.
“I don’t even want to think about it…At least as cold as Missouri was.”
“Ung…wish they’d, get some, fucken, heat in, this place.” It always affects the small women more than anybody else. McCoy was the littlest one in the company, a waspwaist doll barely five feet high.
“They’ve got the airco going. It can’t be long now.”
“I wish I, was a big, slab of, meat like, you.”
I was glad she wasn’t.
(pg.21; pg.22)
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I’m aware of the fact that I might be reiterating some of the facts that have been pointed out a countless of times before, but that is always a risk when reviewing things that have been in circulation and public eye for so long. William Mandella is a well round character, presented with conviction and what is always welcome – likable. He is well-read, fair, observant, introspected and slightly disinclined towards arrogance and authority (or any other kind of position holding power). I always had a thing for first person narrative, if and especially if the protagonist is consistent and sympathetic. Other characters in the novel are coping with the situation in a way as as anyone would in such morose circumstances. Staying alive is a top priority, while enjoying every free moment follows by a small margin.
Even though there are some explicit themes involved, Haldeman handles them civilly and with elegance throughout. They are incorporated naturally without making them the focal point of the plot or treating them abrasively, even though there is some pretty avant-garde tinkering with social conventions involved (state approved homosexuality; queerness of heterosexuality; military coordinating who gets to bunk with whom over night etc.).

Everything from scientific breakthroughs to sociological speculations about how future societies might look like is well thought out and explained. “The Forever War” certainly has similar flavor to one other SF Masterworks classic I’ve managed to read; I’m speaking of “The Left Hand of Darkness” by Ursula K. LeGuin, this book I cannot recommend highly enough.
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Orion Publishing Group (2001) / Author's prefered edition (1997) / Eos paperback (2003)
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"The Forever War" is by no means dauntless. The prose shows signs of old age as do some of the concepts, which the newer generations of science fiction authors managed to polish further. Haldeman can be sometimes also quite heavy on the science part of the fiction. This makes the setting more plausible, but disrupts and dampens the pace. Of action we see surprisingly little, at odds with the fact that this is basically considered a war novel. I would also have opted for more dialogue and more of the witty snipets which would normally spice things up (Haldeman certainly has a flair for being funny and ironic), but this is really just my personal preference and not an objective criticism.

It seems I’m on a goodreadin’ streak lately; enjoying all the books that I read, but that does nothing to diminish the worth garnered by this novel over the years. As I’ve already said it is quite on par, quality-wise, with LeGuin’s heavyweight novel from about the same time - “The Left Hand of Darkness”. Do yourself a favor and pick up at least one of these two books, as they are (1)great representatives of their genre; (2)they shine an illuminating light on contemporary science fiction literature; as well as (3)contain a distinct flavor of the period in which they were written in.
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I’m unable to decide between the grade 4/5 and 4,5/5, so I leave this to decide for yourselves.
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- Thrinidir -

Paul Kearney - The Mark of Ran (Book Review)




Paul Kearney might just be one of the undiscovered, rather than hidden, gems of fantasy fiction. His début “The Way to Babylon” (1992), two subsequent stand alone novels and a more traditional epic fantasy series “Monarchies of God” counting five books, all failed to bring a financial breakthrough even though these books were often praised by critics at least as competent efforts if not beyond that. His latest started (but never finished) trilogy The Sea Beggars – the first book of which I am about to review, was sadly dropped by Bantam, Kearney’s publisher at the time, just after the second book. The official explanation was not surprisingly of a financial nature. Hopefully his streak of bad luck will have ended this year with a new upcoming title “The Ten Thousand” (September 2008) backed by a new publisher - Solaris, which also plans to reissue the five Monarchies of God books as an omnibus duo.

Intrigued by Adam’s (The Wertzone) perseverant endorsement of Kearny as a severely underrated author, as well as by the blurb on the cover of “The Mark of Ran”, written by Steven Erikson, proclaiming Kearney as one of the best fantasy authors out there, I’ve decided to read the damned thing myself. And guess what, despite the fact that the book has its flaws, I was still pleasantly surprised and have to agree about the underrated part at least.

The World is slowly dying, forsaken by its Creator. Mankind schemes and plots and makes war across the world, forgetting that they are not its sole inheritors. Another race once dwelled here… We witness the story of Rol Corthisan, an orphan and a farm-boy, whose undisclosed heritage makes him unaware of his hidden potentials – now where have we heard that before? After his safe haven is destroyed he has to seek his only chance at help and knowledge. Afraid and alone he sails through a storm to a neighboring island state, where the mysterious figure of Michal Psellos takes him in. While under his patronage, Rol learns many skills (most of them are about being deadly) as well as finds himself in love with Rowen, his beautiful tutor and the only person besides Rol, who shares his ambiguous status in Michal’s household and is unfamiliar with her parentage. Without giving out too much let me conclude this brief synopsis by revealing that everything is not what it seems to be in the tower of Michal Psellos and after things get complicated and then resolved after a fashion, Rol sets out onto the sea, where a new life awaits him, a life full of danger and opportunities…but even as he tries to run from his personal past, a different kind of past rushes headlong into his direction instead.

The Mark of Ran reads like a simple and straight-forward story, which it is after a fashion, but Kearney also manages to transcend such trite generalization with his competent writing skills, fluid narrative, killer pacing, detailed world building (the annexed map and the mythos are intriguing at the least), carefully deployed mystery element of the general plot and the likeability of the characters, as well as plausibility of their actions. I’m not sure why, maybe the cover blurb is to fault for the comparison, but Kearney’s prose seems in a way akin to that of Erikson – the flow of narrative for example. If I tried hard enough I might also find some similarities between Rol and Crokus (a character in Erikson’s “Malazan Book of The Fallen” series).

Where the story starts to drop in intensity is well into the second half of the novel, which follows Rol as he traverses the seas as a sailor/officer. The seafaring part cannot possibly match up to the earlier chapters. Rol’s growth as a character seems to stall significantly in exchange for (in my opinion) filler action scenes and seemingly random courses in seamanship. The terminology itself didn’t bother me that much, but if you are not interested in principles of sailing and (old) sea vessels this sections of the book might bore you some.

Otherwise, I have to congratulate Kearney for not being afraid to kill people in his book, although the main cast seems a bit untouchable at moments. The body count is quite high in the end. One other thing I liked is how Kearney handles the love story - well not the love part of the story per se, it is only that he treads around this theme really elegantly, showing us love's bitter-sweet side without overdoing it.

With barely under 400 pages this novel rarely falters. The Mark of Ran is a well executed epic fantasy, which doesn't deserve to be buried under a heap of unremarkable fiction littering the market. (I will save the peculiar story of how I got this book for later.) All in all, this novel is more than a decent read and although a bit short of brilliant, it still made me eager to read its sequel - "The Forsaken Earth".

3,5/5

- Thrinidir -

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Progress report



We've come some way and jumped over a few beginner's bumps in a bit over two months that the site is up and running. We've overcome some of the bigger make-up problems we had, we've enabled RSS feed for easier access and not to forget, read quite a few books as well as written about some of them. We also did a big and detailed 2007 overview. I believe that my brother did a nice job with the blog header.

As for you, the readers, we started to follow blog activity since the nineteeth of January. We had 260 visits and 63 unique visitors. The average time spent on Realms of Speculative Fiction is just under 3 minutes. We had 2 peaks up until now - the first one on the 21st of February with 22 visitors and the second on the 27th of February counting 55 visitors, when the "SF&F “Best Of” 2007 (the definite list!)" article was published. The last few days we are constantly visited by a number of 16 to 17 people. About 25% of traffic is direct (mostly us administrators I guess), about 50% from refering sites (thanks again to everyone who mentioned us on their sites or added us to their blogroll), and another 25% from search engines (we've improved immensly in this respect).

We are not done of course, there's still a lot of work ahead of us to meet our and your expectations - and a great wish to improve in every possible way. Stay with us further still, and try to comment as much as possible, we won't bite...too hard ;)

Enjoy,
The Team

Cormac McCarthy - The Road (Book Review)



Homo Homini Lupus
~ an ancient proverb comes to life in the most literal of senses ~

It is the end of the world...or very close to it anyhow. We are introduced to ashen ruins of what once was Northern America, now transformed into a slob of lawless grey hell on Earth, devastated by nuclear war. Here and now, scant survivors who haven't abandoned the mores and constraints of old civilized Earth are preyed upon by the ruthless gangs which forsook even the greatest taboo of all – feasting upon the flesh of fellow men and women. In such a godforsaken place we partake the journey of one man and his son on “the road” predestined from the beginning to end with a disaster.
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“When he woke in the woods in the night and the cold of the night…Nights dark beyond darkness and the days more gray each one what had gone before…he raised himself in the stinking robes and blankets and looked toward the east for any light but there was none.” (pg.1)
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The above passage chimes eerily prophetic. The tone of the book does not change often, and even then it might be for the worse and not for the better. I should confide to you right away, that this book mesmerized me. I cannot remember the last time a work of fiction awed me so. “The Road” is a heavy-hitter, a true emotional sledgehammer. You ought to be inhuman not to sympathize with one forlorn man and his offspring on their sordid journey, fighting a hapless struggle against the dying earth and the scum that pollutes it.

McCarthy employs a very detached and unembellishing prose; he strums the exactly right emotional cords, and doing it in such a virtuoso sequence so that the story does not turn out overbearingly dramatic or even cheesy. The story is compelling enough to keep you turning the pages, but at the same time you are really afraid to go on, because you don’t want anything bad to happen to the main protagonists. This (1)inherent tension as well as (2)the masterfully built suspense (=)point at a perfect example of literary master work, in my opinion at least.

Our main protagonists, actually the only people really worth mentioning, remain elegantly unnamed, and known to the reader only as “the man” or “papa” and “the child”. McCarthy’s dogged and unblemished descriptions of banal menial chores that only result in small triumphs, which would seem inconsistential in “normal” circumstances, but in the world they are living in decide the difference between life and death. All the above mentioned strategies that the author uses might seem as simple writing tools, but wielded by the hands of such a gifted writer as is McCarthy, they become very powerful – powerful enough to win him the Pulitzer award.

The Atmosphere McCarthy creates is at once simple, extra-sensual, desolate as well as terrifying. “The Road” therefore functions not only as a post-apocalyptic science fiction novel but also as an imaginative horror story.

The biggest off put I can come up with is the ever-present, soul crushing sense of doom. You really have to be in the mood for such an emotionally laden and disturbing tale. But after you turn the last page, you really feel a sense of accomplishment and all the effort pays off.

I must admit that I haven’t read any other works by Cormac McCarthy, but if his other writings are nearly as good as this one, I really should. A bit of trivia – his novel “No Country for Old Men” was adopted to film last year and won 4 Oscars. Congratulations! But this fact doesn’t really surprise me.

A brilliant novel. Read it.

4,5/5 (reviewer)
4,5/5 (Trin)
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- Thrinidir -

 

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