[Magazine Review] GUD: Issue 5

GUD magazine stands for Greatest Uncommon Denominator Magazine.

In their submission guidelines the magazine states:

"Our dictionary defines literature thus: written works, esp. those valued for form and style. And that is what we are looking for—form and style, though be sure there's substance as well. Any genre, including literary or mainstream, is acceptable. We don't back away from a fight—if your work screws with convention, breaks rules, makes demands of the reader, then we're equal to the challenge. Just please, by whatever you hold dear, give us some prize at the end of the fight."

This small paragraph defines what the magazine is looking for, what it promises to the reader and gives the magazine its identity. I read Issue 5 of GUD Magazine with this paragraph in mind as I wanted to verify if GUD really had that Greatest Uncommon Denominator. I also used it to give me a sense of direction for my review as I don’t regularly review magazines.

In short, GUD delivers what it promises. In this issue I discovered stories the type of which I’m not sure I could have read in most venues, while at the same time I didn’t encounter either weak or badly written pieces. The magazine is genre ambiguous as it hosted both excellent SFF shorts as well as strong and emotional literary pieces. I'd probably need a few two-three thousand words long posts to cover all the excellent material, which is why I’ll stop on the stories that left strong impressions on me, separated by genre.

In the SFF selection, I enjoyed "Imperfect Verse" by Rose Lemberg, which read much like an uncensored Grimm Brothers fairy tale had the Brothers traveled to Scandinavian countries. Lemberg tackles the old Norse legend of how Odin steals the mead of poetry, but told from the point-of-view of the giantess guarding the mead. The result is a lyrical and authentic sounding tale of magic and betrayal.

"Nature's Children" by T.F. Davenport won me over with its complex plot structure and references to Ursula LeGuin's "The Word for World is Forest". Davenport juxtaposes two races - indigenous inhabitants and outerworlders - both of which want to cultivate the planet, but with means that imply the destruction of the other race. It's a thematic short story touching upon topics such as the environment and genocide. What especially impressed me was how both races mimic each other. The majority in both societies gears towards war, while only few individuals speak of peace.

"Getting Yourself On" by Andrew Tisbert discusses what it means to be human, when a considerable amount of one's body is machinery and your work requires you to have your personality locked away. It's a touching story about how far a father would go in order to ensure his son has a life. All this is set in an intriguing future of cyborgs and technology that allows you to wear different personalities as if they are fashion statements.

Here I conclude with the SFF section, but there are other strong entries, which beg to be read such as "The Pearl Diver with the Gold Chain" with its always speaking narrator, who has developed radio-telepathy with the help of his gold chain and "Liza's Home", a lesson in why time travel is dangerous.

In the Literary section, I was consumed by "The Tiger Man" by Geordie William Flantz. Flantz mesmerizes with a bizarre tale of a couple, which invite a complete stranger in their homes and in their lives. The bizarre thing is that the man is taller than average, hairier than average and works as a trainer of tigers in a circus. This is a tale of an over-emotional wife, a passive husband, a pug with anxiety issues and a stranger, who doesn't talk much. It's a story about how sometimes life has its own inertia and outside the norm is better for everyone.

"Birthday Licks" by Kevin Brown is a heartfelt tearjerker about home abuse, which after years of intensifying ends with a well-deserved death. It's frightening to think that a father would punish his son, because his wife died during childbirth. Even more so, when the punishments not only involve degradation, but border on lethal. Brown's prose is raw. It conveys genuine pain and torment that made me flinch while reading.

"The Prettiest Crayon in the Box" by Heather Lindsay brings bizarre bar conversation to new heights as in this piece the characters discuss beets, betacyanin -the pigment that is responsible for the beet's color - and how some people cannot break down the pigment. The result is pink and magenda colored human by-products. The character with this condition says he doesn’t like beets, but eats them nonetheless, because then the world will be less brown [I know that you get it, so I phrase it as vaguely as possible]. In its bizarre way, this is a beautiful message.

I've concluded with the fiction section and now it's time to move on the other mediums featured in GUD. The magazine has an impressive amount of poetry, which I don't feel qualified to review as I don't read poetry in general, so I’ll skip the poems at large. I'll only mention that "Dead Man on the Titanic" by Alicia Adams and "7 Ways to Fake an Orgasm" by Melissa Carroll entertained me [but I fail to explain how, so I'll leave it at that as a task for those better versed than I].

Last but not least I'd like to comment on the comics, both of which are visually stunning, but I was more taken by "Ada Lovelace: The Origin" by Syndey Padula. It’s a very successful blend of historical facts, humor, superhero fiction and alternative history, which made me chuckle. If you thought that perhaps mathematicians were boring, then you’d be gravely wrong.

As far as the magazine itself goes, I thought the spread throughout the issue poems and images [I'd especially like to praise "Bust" by Jon Adlett] act as natural breathers for readers and add a rhythm or a flow to the issue, making it easier to read.

The Verdict: GUD Magazine is what your doctor has prescribed. Get a subscription now for a concentrated those of diversity, quality and entertainment.

[Review] Gardens of the Sun by Paul McAuley

Title: Gardens of the Sun
Author: Paul McAuley
Paperback: 411 pages
Publisher: Pyr (February 2010)
ISBN-10: 1616141964
ISBN-13: 978-1616141967
Genre: Science Fiction
Series: Duology with The Quiet War
Reviewer: Ove Jansson
Copy: bought it myself

A Hundred murdered ships swung around Saturn in endless ellipses. The Quiet War [read my review] is over and the democratic Outer city states on the moons of Jupiter and Saturn have fallen to the three Allied Powers of Greater Brazil, the European Union and the Pacific Community. The Outers are herded into prison camps while their heritage, their cities, their scientific achievements are systematic plundered by earth forces. A chilling 'final solution' on the Outer problem is also in the works by the 'green' fascists of earth.

The winning Alliance soon fracture with a major war on earth looming on the horizon. Political power struggles back in Greater Brazil have major repercussions on the leadership of the occupation forces. The Outers different way of life, social structure and outlook makes it hard for the occupation to cash in on the victory and the Outers tradition of democracy and freedom starts to infects the masses back on earth.

The few Outer refugees that survived the gauntlet around Saturn flees to Uranus' moons to rebuild their free society on Miranda the smallest of the large moons, but they are driven out by earth forces sent after them. They opt to flee to Neptunu's Titan but discover that there is already a settlement there of Ghost, an Outer cult with trans human aspirations with a leader who the members believe talks with himself in the future from an earth like planet outside the solar system, their utopia. On mercy and with restrictions the refugees are allowed to stay. The refugees themselves are now afraid to build any permanent settlement as they expect the earth forces to come after them. So Macy develops a plan ...

The book is divided into six parts War Damage, the School of Night, Changing of the Guard, Rebel Rebel, Chimes of Freedom and Everything That Rises Must Converge that works well but sometimes I feel like it's all one big book, The Quiet War and this one. The chapters jump between the different characters.

Although the characters are the same as in The Quiet war, I feel that they are more distinct here. In this dualogy Paul write about 'ordinary people' with more complex motivations and personal failures than what is common in space opera and he doesn't go for the obvious protagonistic types either. In the Quiet war the characters often reacted and were out of the decision loop while here they are acting. That is true especially concerning my favorite Macy Minnot who in my eyes steps forward as something of a hero in the story. It's not that simple in McAuley's world of 'ordinary people'.

Another character to note is Loc Ifrahim, a diplomat from Greater Brazil who was an opportunistic villain in The Quiet War. He finds it hard to cash in on the victory and sees others with blood connections take the plume positions and he is assigned to scrap yard duty taking care of the graveyard circling Saturn. He is the most surprising character in this book, in the end I found to my surprise that I liked the guy even if he is mainly motivated by personal survival.

Cash Baker is the singleship fighter pilot that where shot down by his own forces when his ship threatened to shoot down a ship containing the outer's gene wizard Avenrus. Instead of being court marshaled he is sent back to earth as a hero for the propaganda machine. He is used to exemplify the cynical machinery of war propaganda and the internal power struggle in Greater Brazil and among the families there. I liked the way he ended up being a bush pilot.

The other characters help drive the world building and plot forward like Dave #8 our tragic genetically engineered spy searching for his lost love for one and Yuli Avernus 'daughter' trying to evade capture is another.

Sri Hong-Owen is a scientist obsessed with the outers gene wizard Avernus and we follow her in the first half of the book before she becomes reclusive. She takes a different path than Avernus and there is a strong contrast between the two scientists. The one thing they both have in common is their inability to relate to their own children. Yet in the end they both achieve immortality.

That Paul has a background as a research biologist is evident in the detailed flora and fauna of the different gardens of Avernus, in the different ways he illustrates what humanity can change into and in the construction of the floating gardens of the sun. He also uses hard science to describe the moons and planets of the solar system including latest finding from NASA space probes with obvious delight.

I found I liked Gardens of the Sun better than it's prequel The Quiet War mainly because I liked the way Paul McAuley treated the characters here, taken as one long book it's fantastic. It can be one of the best books of this year and you should read it just to sample the ideas. Gardens of the Sun is fast paced, character driven and filled with intriguing science and ideas mixed with thrilling military action at the backdrop of some of the most interesting celestial bodies of the solar system.

Rating: 10/10

Star Trek - Non Fan Review

Oh boy, "Star Trek" the movie arrived, dazzled viewers for solid hour and a half and then yodeled the biggest commentary avalanche on the Internet, since ...uh... Watchmen this year. [mhm] Since everybody can't stop mutilating their keyboards in order to share their opinions, it's natural that I throw in my two cents in the whole vault and see what happens. I am out of my league, when it comes to drawing comparisons between productions, the past and the present. Star Trek didn't inspire much interest as a whole and I more or less fall in the hapless eye-candy addicts that seek on screen action category. In light of this confession, here are my proverbial said two cents about this production as a non-fan.

Before actually going straight to the movie I will side track and contemplate on this green light to make yet another remake/revamp of a franchise. As far as I know Star Trek struggled in the big screen movie department, so why bother doing it again. I present you two theories. J.J Abrams makes a tribute towards a beloved creative heritage by adapting it for the modern audience [the same way Watchmen was adapted with a slightly different ending and Pride and Prejudice has zombies in it and Batman kicking ass with an even viler Joker] with lots more violence, eye-candy and action. Tapping into the youthful usually basic need to get a positive adrenaline rush, Abrams hopes to spark interest and make us the new generation dig in the archives and also accept the intellectual aspects of the original. Truth be told that happens and I can testify that I got around to loving Tolkien thanks to the movies [the advertising of fantasy titles and culture of that sort in my country is horrible] and the same can happen for the viewers of Star Trek, who think sci-fi isn't their thing.

Naturally the next reason is quite expected: making big bucks. Chris Pine is cast to please females, while Uhura is there to please males and Zachary Quinto is basically there so that people can watch the guy from Heroes that kills everybody. And as people already have stated the whole movie is major flashy eye-candy for the regular viewer, who is not color blind, so yeah typical Hollywood casting.

Does any of this rambling change the fact that I loved the movie? NO WAY. I have to say that this new "Star Trek" has the power to convert people into sci-fi addicts. I almost sat down and downloaded everything there was about Star Trek, before I stopped myself and changed my mind. I will do so, when I actually have time to indulge myself into such act of geekery. And I usually do these acts of geekery. My computer is filled with every X-Man issue ever released: all in all 10 GB.

It's true that plotwise we don't have a very complicated and intricate plot, but for the 90 minutes or so, what we work with as viewers is enough and makes time pass like a breeze. I think that it was engaging and the acting was solid throughout the most of the film, though I caught myself asking questions regarding the competence of certain moments. For instance why use swords and axes in a future, where you have laser guns, when even know most armed forces carry guns and only the army gets knives or machetes depending on the situation. Next there is the ice planet moment, which felt like an ex-machine moment, serving only to introduce a character, when chances for the actual happening of this are one in infinity and you can't argue with infinity.

But everything else was flawless and I expect that there will be a sequel and then a third part and then another one, until even flashy effects won't save this franchise from hitting the breaks. Seriously people, one good idea can be mined only for so long before people rethink their opinion on lynching. Thankfully this isn't the time for Star Trek to exit stage left. :)

“The Word for World is Forest” by Ursula Le Guin

Title: “The Word for World is Forest”
Author: Ursula Le Guin
Series: Hainish Cycle
Genre: Science Fiction
Pages: 128 pages
Publisher: Panther

Summary:

Since the Internet has denied me the opportunity to use a ready blurb, I shall revert to a nutshell plot compression. “New Tahiti” is a prospering gold mine of a logging colony for Earth, who during the industrialization has lost its natural forests and is in dire need of wood material. Enslaving the native Athsheans and forcing them into destroying their own fragile ecosystem and abusing them on a daily basis seems like a common practice among the morally loose human military force. This goes until Selver, an Athshean who lost his village to the colony, his wife to a rape and his ability to dream like all in his race, reverses the roles and liberates the colony.

General Thoughts: It’s always a pleasure to have an Ursula Le Guin title in one’s hands and even better when it is a novel from her Hainish Cycle. I decided to return to her since I had two more books lying around from the cycle and it was February, at the time when I decided that I had to participate in the Sci-fi Experience. Considering the length I knew that this title would be somewhat more concise and tightened, developing in a short span of time. My intuition didn’t lie to me and I read a very fast paced and yet tranquil story about revolt and colonization. If this makes any sense at all.

Revolution in life and in fiction is a flash fire of an event that only needs a spark, a last drop to make everything crumble and Ursula Le Guin delivers. I can’t vouch for anything special regarding the prose, since translations tend to lose some of that unique voice, but what shines through is Le Guin’s intriguing storytelling. What makes an impression with “The Word for World is Forest” is that the novel was written in a certain historical context relevant to the generation, which witnessed history in that segment and must carry a stronger meaning to those who can relate to the message. I myself only guessed some references to the real world and that was with the help of the foreword.

Characters & Depth: Thinking about the cast I see Le Guin toy with an interesting idea, which ties together Selver and Captain Davidson, both of whom are adversaries, in a strange bundle. More or less a certain sense of patriotism and duty to one’s nation and people is the basic behavior encoded in the novel. Le Guin portrays the patriot soldier, who is ready to sacrifice all that he has and is in doing what is best for his people.

In the case of Selver slavery and need of a symbol, which will return hope, pushes him through a metamorphosis and he becomes a god in his people’s eyes, a champion to lead the Athsheans into salvation. At the same time we read of the same idea, but twisted and tarnished into something vile and a incubator of all the human sins. Captain Davidson is pure evil, vulgar and primal, and the only villain, who had managed to irritate me and make me want to stab him myself rather than wait for justice to prevail. Atrocity in his eyes is what has to be done. Sacrificing for him means killing his own men, if it meets his purpose and proving himself right means a secret coup. Nevertheless both men are two polar sides of the very same idea. Interesting concept.

Worldbuilding & Believability: Athsheans are an ingenious product of Le Guin’s imagination, which are my favorite from all her creations so far, partially because of their affinity towards nature and then because of their interesting use of dreams in their life and culture. Le Guin presents a society, where spirituality and tradition have prevailed over the need to excel in science and the material. Divided in gender specific roles and matriarchal in nature of government Athsheans coexist in harmony and peace in their communities and the concept of violence, war and slavery do not exist, until humans arrive to colonize. Up until then this species is the picture of a utopia, where intelligent life sustains development and yet manages to continue unity with the environment. The desecration of this purity and the adaptation to the humans’ ways of handling conflict and life is just for me personally a clear message that nothing good lasts and the utopia will remain a farfetched dream.

The Verdict: To be quite honest although it was a well written piece of fiction and had some sizeable conflict and tension it didn’t turn out to be a page turner. I liked it and think it has a lot of sense and sends off a major message, plus the original novellas won a Hugo award, but me and “The Word for World is Forest” lacked the chemistry. Nevertheless I do suggest you read it. You won’t be wasting time reading it.

"The Textile Planet" by Sue Lange

We have a peculiar case on our hands people and there is no time to lose. Sue Lange needs us to make her name as big as a bloated elephant. I can’t believe that I kept her on the waiting list for three months just to read three chapters of her serialized novel “The Textile Planet” and that was before I forgot and returned to find nine installments. Sorry Sue, hope you manage to forgive me. Anyways this review will be without structure and utterly free as a bird in tone, voice and making sense. The story has to have a fitting representation after all.

If you have been following the blogosphere, you would know that there is a new mean website, which is offering free fiction by quality writers for readers, who don’t have the capacity to house more books in their homes, like me, but then again I do bend space so anything is possible. To stay on the matter at hand I am talking about the BookViewCafe. I had the pleasure of being introduced to an interactive serialized novel by Sue Lange, which goes by the name “The Textile Planet”. Here is the premise so far:

“Marla Gershe has been the perfect working bee in the fashion industry. She has done the impossible: bend time and circumstances to abide her schedule, cloned herself to be everywhere, anytime and manages to life off on coffee. She is the proof that those who want can achieve anything, but that doesn’t mean she likes it. So Marla starts a small scale revolution only to end up in a hospital with amnesia after a shot to her abdomen. Now with recollected memory and the obligation to return to her workplace, Marla decides to change tactic and run as far away as possible and never return back.”

Not to sound cliché, but this is something else entirely. In Lange’s world everything is big and fashion has escalated in importance sporting a small empire, which is ruled by chaos and a fast motion daily rhythm. The first thing you will notice is that this story has had too much coffee itself and dashes from an event to an event like the “Flash” from DC comics. The prose is compact and Spartan. It sends a buzz of adrenaline through your body and dialogue does not improve. Lines fly like bullets and by the time you are done reading you feel like you have run a sprint. Marla herself is the living computer, which has to process, analyze and solve problems and information at an incredible speed. For some this might be a kill-joy, but I found my brain pleasantly stimulated after reading it.

Considering the fact that the author has managed nine chapters from 32 in total, I am not going to discuss the plot, because so far there is only the foreboding that something strange will happen anytime soon. However I can comment that reading this as a serialized novel fits the full throttle pace fine. As much as it stimulates your mind, it burns a lot of your energy and you need some rest before tackling another engrossing chapter. Plus this is an interactive story with links to edited off parts, which can be read separately, embedded radio files and even a short video. These extras I call the bling-bling accessories.

You can find the first eight chapters compiled in a free e-book; so if you want something a bit more quirky and electric, come to the whacky side with Marla Gershe as your guide. You never know. It may end up being your cup of tea or coffee.

"The Lords of the Sands of Time" by Issui Ogawa

Title: The Lords of the Sands of Time
Author: Issui Ogawa
Genre: Science Fiction
Pages: 203
Publisher: Haikasoru

Summary:

Sixty-two years after human life on earth was annihilated by rampaging aliens, the enigmatic cyborg Messenger O is sent back in time with the mission to unite the humanity of past eras—during World War II and in ancient Japan, even back at the dawn of humanity—in order to defeat the alien invasion before it begins. But amidst a future shredded by war, love also waits for O. Will O save humanity only to doom himself?

Classification & Literary Class: This is the second Japanese sci-fi title I had the pleasure to receive and review for the July launch of the new VIZ Media imprint “Haikasoru”. As I stated in my review of “All You Need is Kill” sci-fi in Japanese culture is something beyond the usual understanding of it and the way it is shaped and presented. Some of the characteristics such as density and concentration of content and heavy packed internals resurface, but in “The Lords of the Sands of Time” there is more action, more dialogue, more military strategy and action, plus the trademark dramatic tension.

Though similar to “All You Need is Kill” in its exploration of time, “The Lords of the Sands of Time” explores another spectrum of time: time travel and the alternative timeline theory. For me it was interesting to explore the alternative Earth’s survival strategy and the irony in the whole enterprise that the human saviors are in fact pretty darn good composed androids [AI]. Time is the most speculated and mysterious element in the universe and everyone is free to interpret and label it as they will. In “The Lords of the Sands of Time” author Issui Ogawa takes the reader on a journey through too many time lines, too many alternative Earths too different from our own, until there is no going back from.

Characters & Depth: Considering the length, it would be surprising to encounter more than three or four fairly well developed characters. Yet every name you will read on these pages can easily be attached to a real person. Though Spartan in the storytelling mechanics and scenes, “The Lords of the Sands of Time” manages to create three dimensional characters or so at least I perceive them as. From the protagonist Orville to the secondary characters like Alexander.

Intriguing to read about was Orville’s growth and development, considering the fact that he is not a human, though he is engineered as a replica of the species, yet he fights for this race without any reason to feel burdened apart from the purpose of his creation. In a sense this is a modern Pinocchio, who discovers what it means to be human and for the audience it is the rediscovery of our purpose. But I won’t delve deep into the psychological implications of such a character and the intent of the author.

There is a lot of ingenuity behind the storytelling technique. The novel itself develops through two main storylines. Orville’s desperate attempts to stop the world’s destruction in Ancient Japan and his journey from the future down through time line to time line, losing battle after battle. There are constant jump from age to age, from state of mind to state of mind, yet all feels right and organic. Through this complexity Ogawa builds an almost invisible love triangle between Orville, the shaman queen in Japan Himiko, who shares his bed and Sayaka, the woman to teach him love and the idea of humanity, who remains as a connection to the world he left and won’t return to ever again. Since this occurs mostly in Orville’s heart, being torn like this between past and present, I can say it is at least a subtle triangle.

Worldbuilding & Believability: In this category two major elements play hard to grab the attention and claim Issui Ogawa mastery over the genre. First one is the sci-fi credibility and the mechanics behind the technology and the story behind the invasion. Second one is actual historical authenticity with known facts about the ages Orville has been to.

On both accounts “The Lords of the Sands of Time” offers entertainment for those, who value worldbuilding. As a person, who loves being shown how the impossible in our world would function with iron logic in another world, I had a kick out of the sci-fi elements. Starting with the back story of the survival from the invasion and then moving down to the specifics such as the blueprints of the Messengers and the theory behind time travel, I literally got transported in a world all together. Time travel is an interesting enough hook to read a novel, but waging wars across different time fragments and applying strategy to something so changeable and fickle is a whole new level for me.

History wise, though my opinion is of no consequence, since I am not particularly fond of the subject, I feel that Ogawa did a formidable job portraying human society before the first invasion, during World War ІІ and in Ancient Japan and Egypt.

The Verdict: Despite the cultural differences, which caused me some strange moments to adapt and get used to the methods, I had a fun time with “The Lords of the Sands of Time”. There is not much I wouldn’t give a shot and from the author’s side everything has been tweaked to perfection. Within the pages, there is some small bit of universal truth about the world of man and his mentality.

“All You Need is Kill” by Hiroshi Sakurazaka

Title: "All You Need is Kill"
Author: Hiroshi Sakurazaka
Genre: Science Fiction
Pages: 169
Publisher: Haikasoru

Summary: When the alien Gitai also called Mimics invade, Keiji Kiriya is just one of many recruits shoved into a suit of battle armor called a Jacket and sent out to kill. Keiji dies on the battlefield, only to be reborn each morning to fight and die again and again. On his 158th iteration, he finally sees something different, something out of place—a female soldier known as the Full Metal Bitch. Is she the key to Keiji’s escape or his final death?

Classification & Literary Class: I had a very hard time starting this review. There is much to say and reflect upon, yet “All You Need is Kill” is unlike most novels the American and the European audience has had experience with. Prose, length, storytelling, characterization, internals and general take on the genre; all these elements create unfamiliar alien scenery, which needs discovering and an adventurous spirit to experiment with the unknown.

Science fiction is as wide as the universe it explores, virtually endless and while the Western culture has taken up the undying space exploration themes, colonization and the such, the Eastern have adopted the apocalypse by aliens/humans and made it their own. Try an anime and you will see what I am talking about. “All You Need is Kill” portrays the final stand of humanity against an invading alien force, devoted to turning Earth into a colony. In a sense this is military fiction, but it doesn’t get boring or falls into cliché.

The Japanese are known for their brevity in literature, mostly with the worldwide celebrated haikus, but their sense to get down to the point and write the distilled and concentrated essence of their topic crosses into speculative fiction. Sakurazaka builds his novel more around the internals of the characters and how they process the occurrences in their life much like a report. Compared to what we are used in the West dialogue is overall scarce and actual combat scenes are also few in number, but Sakurazaka creates the illusion that writing war and combat scenes is like the easiest thing in the world.

Despite its 169 pages by Hiroshi offers a full novel experience much like any title ranging from 300 to 600 pages. This proves to show that length in literature is quite subjective and the page count steps down in importance to the use of words, which combination will reduce an idea or image to one concise power pack to the reader.

Characters & Depth: Remarkable in “All You Need is Kill” is the rapid character evolution. Keiji on page one is a rookie with no battle experience and meets his death in a cowardly manner, while Keiji from the last chapter is a veteran with steel nerves and body turned into a killing machine. This metamorphosis once you have invested all your enthusiasm in the story is invisible so to say. You pick up a change, but it is so natural given the situation that he is in a time loop and every day is a struggle to end it. But once you stop to think about it you get the wow effect. At least I have. This wouldn’t have worked, if the novel itself was longer.

The story is told in third person POV and changes from Keiji to Rita aka the Full Metal Bitch, who has become a legendary soldier, because a time loop herself. Her role in the novel is quite interesting and dramatic following the guidelines of Japanese sense of tragedy. She highlights the events that occur in the time loop through her own experience, which gives credible explanation to the constant resurrection of Keiji. Being a tough person in the present, by the same rules we are introduced to her own personal anguish and shattered existence. In the end Keiji and Rita represent two aspects of the super soldier, Keiji is the process of hardening yourself and carrying an unimaginable burden, while Rita is the broken person left in the process. There is this yin-yang polarity so to say.

Worldbuilding & Believability: I wasn’t a great fan in the beginning, when I found out this whole book will revolve over a battle that repeats itself around 160 times. I have seen the idea done before in the show “Tru Calling” and in some movies I don’t remember very clearly, so I wasn’t charmed. But then again the focus came on the internal development of the character and how he tries everything to stop waking up every day on the same date before the same battle. If you view it gamer terms, it’s having to reset the same level 160 times and every time gain new experience after failing, try new strategy and develop mad skills.

The Mimics are the core of the very problem. In the book they are described as dead bloated frogs and are basically made out of nanobots and have evolved from a remodeling tool for colonization to weapons. They even have the technology to reset time and are the culprits for the constant time loops. I won’t say more, because the whole situation is definitely more complex than that and offers twists and thrill rides that leave you “awesome”-ing all the while.

Perhaps the last element in the whole world now that we mentioned the aliens and time loops is the so called Jackets. They are your simple full battle armor with major artillery and a constant in the whole novel, plus they create this whole subculture in the army with special training system, slang and all that to make it interesting.

The Verdict: I love it and advise people to give it a chance. Speaking from a globalization point of view, now more than ever we have the ultimate freedom to touch another culture and explore it. So take a chance and see how the other side of the world does it. You know you want to.

IMPORTANT: This novel is scheduled as one of the first releases of the new Viz Media imprint Haikasoru in July, which will bring the popular Japanese fantasy and sci-fi titles into the US Market. So to make it launch with a big bang spread the word and preorder.

“Old Man’s War” by John Scalzi

Title: “Old Man’s War”
Author: John Scalzi
Genre: Sci-Fi
Pages: 320 pages
Publisher: Tor Books

Summary: John Perry is 75 years old, when he joins the Colonial Defense Force. In the future in order to keep Earth exist, peaceful and complacent a new military force has emerged, independent from Earth with the single mission to protect it. This is a mysterious institution that colonizes the universe to make sure humans keep on living and it’s happy to enlist everyone, only if they are of 75 years or old. Perry only can wonder, how he would perform professional soldier’s duties, but as the story progresses science makes all seem possible. What follows is space travel, dangerous missions, forming new friendships and losing dear people, a career in military and of course making it through another day. It is one heck of a journey Perry meets with his humor and optimism.

Classification & Literary Class: I had the vague idea that it would be around the end of February that I would have the chance to post something about the Sci-Fi Experience event I participate in. “Old Man’s War” came highly recommended by none other by two of the most devoted fantasy fans, who by the way happen to have broad tastes. This has to say something about the novel itself, since the genre tag says military sci-fi. The novel is divided into three parts, which respectively cover Perry’s training, his first missions and his climb on the military ladder.

True and devoted sci-fi fans with intimate novels can discuss the strengths and weaknesses as a military sci-fi novel and its relation to tradition and other similar titles. I am not an expert and don’t know the first thing about the native tropes or scenarios, but as a reader I found “Old Man’s War” to be a delightful and humorous read. The first half, around 160 pages, carries the story with the most successful jokes I have yet to read in a novel. Scalzi has given John Perry the ability to crack jokes at any time. This works positive in the first part to keep the spirits lifted before the story picks momentum. It also serves as an ingenious way to keep the introduction to the world and its technology and rules interesting without turning into tedious info dumps. People, who don’t enjoy sci-fi for its trend to get lost in space gadgetry and physics, can safely grab the book and enjoy it as it breaks the ice between the reader and the genre.

Characters & Depth: John Perry is perhaps the most likeable man in the universe and for one I wished he could exist. Women would find him as perfect husband material, children would want a father like him, young men to be like him and everybody else would be elated to have him as an acquaintance. John Perry is a fun, positive, smart and shows incentive and decidedness when needed. The man has gotten luck on his side too, which helped him survive barely and all with perfect timing. This makes him perfect soldier material as takes on hurdle after hurdle.

I have to note that “Old Man’s War” is as an interconnected series of vignettes that record the protagonist’s military life, his missions and his personal recollections and interactions. It is a sort of journal without the novel having been written as one, which wouldn’t have worked at all, if the protagonist wasn’t likeable and had no charisma. “Old Man’s War” has this voyeuristic quality in the sense of we see a person’s life and we watch how he transforms in his new environment, pushes through each day, handles loss, deals with nostalgia, survives and wins battles, celebrates victory.

This is what John Scalzi writes about, at least for me: human nature, ties between people, war, its role and military life. However this can’t be achieved without a supporting cast. Military life is life like no other, whether you like it or not. Pressure and knowledge it can end suddenly speed up everything from forming friendships, to feeling attached, to living and bearing loss. Faces keep changing, people that are decent and talented or generally good die, because life in war is uncompromising. Such are the rules and everyone must abide. Each death is heroic in its own way and serves to Scalzi’s bigger scheme of ideas. Every character so far serves a purpose and never fails to show depth and strength. Those who survive only strengthen their bonds and reflect upon their new and altered lives. Life’s value is something that can’t be wrapped up in words, but it can be shown by actions and “Old Man’s War” is full of them. No more needs to be said.
Worldbuilding & Believability: I believe, and I am ready to take a beating and booing, that fantasy and sci-fi are kind of like twin siblings that have simply drifted into different directions. Fantasy relies on its mythological races and magic. Sci-fi relies on its technology and extraterrestrial life forms. In both cases Scalzi rocks. I am not known to have affection towards physics or electronic blueprints and know-how, so I had some difficult moments in the beginning to digest the conversation about how this and that worked. Thankfully those count on the fingers on one hand. Otherwise the ideas behind space travel, weapons, the way to turn a 75 year old into a fighting machine are beyond interesting and I leave them for you to discover, since that is one great part of the reading experience.

So far sci-fi has been populated with largely humanoid alien species. Star-Trek, Star Wars, The Hainish Cycle and even the Alien movies feature extraterrestrials that are bi-pedal have hands, hand-shaped claws and really go for the homo-sapiens look. Scalzi states that nobody really knows about what can be expected in outer space, how life can evolve in a totally different environment. Looks can be deceiving and no highly evolved rational species needs to be in the mold of humans.

The Verdict: A really strong title. It was something different for me, since I am not fond of the military as a topic or space for that matter, but it is undeniable that the writing is up for the challenge to make you read it. I suppose it would be an overkill, but I can recommend this to anyone, who likes speculative fiction… It has enough appeal to make people cross genre borders and forget about literary snobbism.

Dollhouse: Joss Whedon’s return to Godhood?

To answer my question: inconclusive...

Perhaps I judge too harshly, when I compare “Dollhouse” pilot episode to the ill fated and well forgotten “Bionic Woman”, which failed to complete a season. The latter had the misfortune to be caught between the punches during the writers’ strike, but still had it been something worth watching “Bionic Woman” would have triumphed. I hope Dollhouse” vastly improve with further episodes.

But I have a good reason for comparison or should I say reasons only after this first taste. First, both shows are more on the sci-fi side with the modified human being trope in the middle. Second, both have a premise, which can arouse interest and perhaps make a decent watch. Third, so far no convincing execution that screams ‘Watch Me’.

For the people with tendency to miss things, such as myself usually, Joss Whedon takes the old “corporation/government [your pick] has super modified units fit to perform any daring task in a kind of mindless way” for a spin. So you get to play Barbie with people, which is like a fetish for so many control freaks. The twist here is that you don’t just slap the clothes for a certain role, but also matching personality and physical attributes. Fun, huh? But of course your secretly created super agents need a super hideout, which is a human dollhouse with all the luxury in the world from yoga/Pilates classes and masseuses.

I like this concept, because it is well founded in society. Nowadays people don’t trust each other. You never know who somebody really is. Identity can be easily faked and every action harbors and ulterior motive. I am positive that “Dollhouse” can make a good comic book series, if it fails as a TV shows and here are the things that make me look with the critical eye.

1. I never thought I would see Eliza Dushku in high heels, a skirt that practically says “I mark the line between the ass and thighs” and dancing to Lady Gaga. This was a joke. However I dare to hypothesize that Echo’s character will be harder to connect or relate to, because in every episode she will be playing a different person. I know Dusku to be an expert on mentally unstable characters way back in Buffy, but playing practically schizophrenic will be a tough role. So far although her face a great sight for me, her performance is not as engaging.

2. Joss Whedon falls into a cliché. For Echo to start and remember her life she needs to witness something unsettling and stumbling in during a brainwashing procedure on a new girl. So she just happens to see the dazzling lights from an all glass room and follows and simply goes in through an unlocked door. Now not to argue with Whedon, but during an incriminating brainwashing procedure doors ought to be locked to prevent something like that or at least the high tech house show that someone is coming. Duh!

3. I am not really sure where this will go… With “Buffy” you knew apocalypses were on the menu. With “Battlestar Gallactica” you also had an idea what was going to be the main vibe. With “Supernatural” you figured two dudes would be killing stuff. So far I have never seen a series that is as ambiguous as this one apart from “Lost”, whose purpose was to make you feel lost.

I am going to keep watching and see whether I will just figure my time is better spent somewhere else or not. So far watchable.

Star Wars Retold? 03:43 Minutes of Laughs

I wanted to post this in a while to be honest. I don't regard myself as a great fan of the Star Wars movie saga, but I have watched all the episodes just so that I can be a part of popular culture and see what the hype is all about. You can say that I gew up with the re-runs of the oldest trilogy and I have a nice idea what goes on. But well I guess that other people don't. Cheack out the 3 minute special "Star Wars Retold":

Star Wars: Retold (by someone who hasn't seen it) from Joe Nicolosi on Vimeo.

"The Unholy Domain" by Dan Ronco

Title: "The Unholy Domain"
Author: Dan Ronco
Series: Brown Trilogy, Book Two
Pages: 352
Publisher: Kunati Inc.

Author Information: “I was sitting in my office at Microsoft, frustrated by a couple of emerging problems: the increasing number of virus attacks on my client’s systems and the ongoing litigation with the DOJ. The more I thought about these problems, the more frustrated I became. I was General Manager for consulting in the East Coast, having joined Microsoft after years of leading information technology consulting practices for other hi-tech firms. Suddenly the obvious solution hit me – get out of this business and write a novel.”

Synopsis:

Set in the year 2022, Ronco's techno-thriller continues the premise established in his first book, PeaceMaker. In 2012, the PeaceMaker virus, supposedly designed by madman software expert Ray Brown, shut down the Internet, resulting in worldwide devastation. Since this cataclysm, the government has curtailed new technology. Those who would see the government limitations overturned are known as Technos; opposing them is a group of dangerous religious extremists, the Church of Natural Humans. Several events have brought these two warring factions head-to-head: the creators of illegal technology, the Domain, has decided to take over the government, and Ray Brown's son, David, has undertaken an investigation in an attempt to clear his father's name.

Classification & Literary Class: Labeled as sci-fi thriller “Unholy Domain” throws David Brown in the middle of a power struggle between two dangerous forces in the future world. Expectancy level is high, you expect a fast paced chilling race for survival and uncovering the biggest conspiracy of the modern world, which has marked you as the son of the worst man alive. However the drum roll should be changed to a funeral march, since it failed to deliver what the premise promised.

Dan Ronco presents his story as a paper version of a Blockbuster thriller movie with all the secondary characters, playing a role that ties them to a bigger picture. I understand the motivation behind that decision, but does it help the novel overall to be the fast paced gripping work. No it doesn’t. sure having every other person be either connected with the bad guys or hiding information to stay alive has a certain charm as to show that nothing in this life can remain unconnected to a bigger picture. But it didn’t work for me.

For one thing “Unholy Domain” has strong coming-of-age elements. David Brown sets in the big bad world to become in his own right and simply has to grow up from his leisurely life as a sheltered rich man. To fully witness such a metamorphosis the tools used are not proper. Another problem that takes away what “Unholy Domain” could have been is the prose itself. Although technically correct, Ronco’s style is nothing spectacular. In a thriller words have to have a special sort of power, to skirmish your nerves and excite you. Good prose is the back bone for stories that are supposed to have you in their grip as a reader and here the prose is easily forgettable, ordinary and offers no imagery or lines that can brand themselves in your memory. The natural highs and lows in terms of suspense are missing and for me as an individual read like a straight line from point A to point B.

Characters & Depth: Partly because the focus of the novel moved too frequently for my taste from head to head and the issue with the prose, the cast remained rather one dimensional for me. Sure, the idea behind each character sounds promising the delivery is nowhere to be found this leaving these characters with labels. I admit characters can be tricky. They have to sound and be three dimensional, real, living and extraordinary individuals. They have to grow and above all their feelings have to become our own. Having a larger cast makes this even harder to achieve and I can’t really blame Ronco for not succeeding.

For starters, the lead male, David Brown’s life, journey and metamorphosis should have been the biggest tear jerker in the whole book. He is a young man, who bears the sins of his father, can’t get rid of his presence and is hollow on the inside and wants inner peace. These personal issues alone or in a random combination exist in people and many, if not all readers should be able to relate to him. I certainly hope that they do relate, but I couldn’t, because David wasn’t present enough for me. I couldn’t trace his change and growth through the story and was left unsatisfied. This was the situation with the rest of the characters as well.

Nevertheless the lead antagonist Dianne Morgan became a personal favorite. Perhaps I have a thing for an always plotting resident bitches with no moral codex, but the cold constructed plans. My reason to like her as a character is that Dianne is the main mechanism behind the story. In geek terms she is the game master at a D&D gaming session and is motivated to whack everyone off the table. Such consistency and the ability to remain one step ahead of everyone else is quite interesting, plus she is also conflicted on her past and is shown as a more shades in grey villain.

Worldbuilding & Believability: I liked “Unholy Domain” because it’s set not so far in the future and paints a pretty sinister outcome from our strive to evolve with technology. The world is already walking a very thin line after the industrial revolution and one small step astray can lead to poverty, black markets, armed resistance to the changes in government that aim to secure the reigning class and the rise of fanatics.

The more sci-fi elements such as the rise of sophisticated androids, chips that allow an imitation of telepathy and all the other small details also enrich the dark world with the posing threat of submitting entirely to technology. As a response to this drastic trend, the need of faith and restoring the past comes in the face of the Church of Natural Humans, which counteracts the Technos [as the technology developers are called]. We a modern witch hunt with explosives and laser guns, which even though is not my taste, I respect as an accomplishment. People in masses, stripped from any hope can be easily swayed into a sect and give their lives for the causes of one sole man. It’s disturbing and brought to the extreme.

The Verdict: Truth be told, I am happy that Dan Ronco has been received positively around the virtual reality. It is a great thing that people find professional realization with a novel idea. For me “Unholy Domain” wasn’t an experience anywhere close to what reviews on the web are saying, more like a bore. Nevertheless the novel makes you think about certain topics that may become a reality quite soon and ask yourself the important questions about technology and how far should be let it in our lives.

2009: The New Frontier [Sounds like a movie]

In the spirit of renewal and starting on a clean slate, I am posting another side note on what the New Year will bring for the blog. I am all in the mood for changes and experiencing more from the fantasy and sci-fi world, not restricting my horizons to literature only.

Events: January 1st – February 28th, two whole months to experience sci-fi with the “Sci-Fi Experience” 2009, hosted by Carl over at Stainless Steel Droppings. The great thing about this event is that it isn’t a reading challenge, but as pointed out in the name an experience. Time of the year, when it’s cold to sit by the fireplace [if you are lucky enough to have one] and travel through space and drink tea with aliens. For some reason I have been neglecting my sci-fi, which isn’t healthy and although that means that there will be some rescheduling of my review list, I am determined to get in touch with my inner sci-fi fan. Within two months I doubt I will tackle as many novels as I hope to, but here are the four must reads:

“Old Man’s War” by John Scalzi [because any Hugo Award nominee is worth reading, plus this one came highly recommended]
“Dispossessed” by Ursula LeGuin
“The Word for World is Forest” by Ursula LeGuin [because these are the only novels that remained from the Hainish Cycle that I didn’t read already]
“Crystal Rain” by Tobias Buckell [because I liked the cover art...]

Reviews: I have been meaning to change the format of the reviews themselves. Freestyle is the best solution, when you can remember everything you want to say and when it comes to me writing, the universe likes to interrupt me. More structured reviews aren’t a bad thing, even though everyone will start pointing fingers that I stole Robert’s formula. In my opinion it should be widely use by people with short attention spam. Depending on the genre the structure will be different, but you will have to wait and see until the premiere.

Features: Mihai and I have been talking about interviewing fantasy artists and showcasing fantasy art on our blogs, since we are both very fascinated with this kind of craft. He actually beat me to it and his interviews are entertaining and are rich in information about the style and the artist themselves. It’s pleasant to read. My Artist Corner project is probably going to launch next month, but it’s pretty much the same with me posting some of my favorite art and commenting of course.

Interview-wise I have another pet project that premiered a few posts back: The Six Shooter promo interviews. I like human contact with authors [more like stalking, but that is a variation of interpretation] and hopefully the trend will catch on with the blog. They are short and straight to the point in introducing the reader to the work of the author or the author as an unbiased bystander.

Misc: In and Out, more and more ideas will surface to test the ground for possible interest, but I am certain that the themed weeks and rank lists will be in the constant mix. You can expect everything and anything. 2009 will be the official year to experiment.

Review: "Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse"

Title: "Wastelands: Tales of the Apocalypse"
Editor: John Joseph Adams
Pages: 352
Publisher: Night Shade Books

“Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse” has been the first anthology presented to me and a very big burden, since reviewing a book consisting of twenty three stories and do it the right amount of justice is a hard task on its own. But I clench my teeth and prepare for the feat by laying down the first words of the review: You need to read this anthology…

Death has occupied the top ten lists of all human fears for the better half of the time since it dawned on our species we are mortal and since then a lot has been speculated what happens after death. Do we just decompose into the Earth and become one with the ecosystem? Do we sit on metal scales and wait for a ticket either to heaven or hell? Do we just drift around as a ball of light or we just get reborn? Death has inspired many artists and writers, posing the same questions and with this anthology this isn’t any different. But instead of death of the individual the twenty three writers involved pose the question: What happens when a world dies?

Twenty three stories of various lengths examine different angles, causes and effects on the world, stress on the environment, society, human drama or sheer survival. Earth turned to a glowing nuclear night lamp in the solar system, done. God taking all of his children and leaving the planet a barren park, also done. Humanity reduced to idiocracy by man’s best intentions and forced to extinct by a genetic fluke, done and done. Whatever apocalyptic scenario you can think of and the casualties thereof, has been incorporated here.

“The End of the Whole Mess” by Stephen King is rightfully chosen as the heading story, since it is the only one to portray the events building up to the end of the world. The apocalypse in this story is man-made plan to turn the world into an utopia gone wrong and it follows the old proverb that the path to hell is paved with good intentions and warns people of ever attempting to alter the world.

The majority of the stories focus on the psychological effects on both individuals and as a society and nations. “Salvage” by Orson Scott Card follows the path of a man in a ruined city mostly under the waters of an overflowed Salt Lake whenever belonged to as he searches for a place for himself, where he could fit. “The End of the World as We Know It” by Dale Bailey shows an even grimmer story of the sole man to ever wake from the night’s sleep and his silent alcoholic breakdown into oblivion. “Mute” by Gene Wolfe targets another group of survivors and portray the adaptation to minor siblings as they have to face the reality they might be the only humans left in the world. Of course there are sheer survival stories like “How we got in and out of Town Again” by Jonathan Lethem, which shows how much humans are willing to subjugate to in order to receive some small meals and a place to stay overnight. “When Sysadmins Ruled the World” by Cory Doctrow toys with the idea what happens when the Internet is the only thing to survive a nuclear wave, which destroyed the world and the people who survived the teams behind the Internet.

My favorites personally lie in the twilight zone, when authors speculate about how the human race will handle the effects of the apocalypse physiologically. And there is a wide diversity of such titles. The central theme in most of these stories are the dehumanization of the human race. “People of Sand and Slag” by Paolo Bacigalupi is the grimmest of all, because the humans of the new world are rational and high technological, but feel nothing emotionally or physically for they have changed their body to regenerate amazingly fast and can eat soft materials like sand and rubble. “Dark, Dark were the Tunnels” by George R.R. Martin although its morbid prognosis how life under the Earth’s surface, when the surface is a nuclear waste land, it abides the laws of evolution and amassing what the life in darkness requires, nature has rolled its dice.

Of course there are some positivity that a bright future is possible after the end as nature has shown us, everything is a cycle and after a great fall there are always chances for things to pick up. “Waiting for the Zephyr” by Tobias Buckell carries the spirit of adventure and freedom and proposes a chance to detach oneself from the painful past and start anew with more perspective in a desert world. “Artie’s Angels” by Catherine Wells aims to underline to the readers that even under the most degrading of circumstances the human soul can carry a pure spark of nobility, generosity, general philanthropy and compassion and that to preserve the image goodness one is compelled to lie in order to show that good is rewarded, when reality kills it off.

These are just around the half of the stories between page one and 344, all worth reading and experiencing as they try to explain the past, reason with the present and regain enough of their sanity to look up to the future.

What other people are saying:
1) Dark Wolf's Fantasy Reviews
2) Graeme's Book Reviews
3) SF Signal
4) Quiet Earth
5) Book Spot Central

"The Last Plague" by Glen E. Page

Author: Glen E. Page
Title: The Last Plague
Pages: 440
Publisher: Synergy Books

“The Last Plague” by Glen Page is the opening novel in a series, which presents a new scenario on the Biblical apocalypse and offers a great treat to all conspiracy theorists out there. I enjoyed this novel although it took me around 200 pages to get into it, which is saying much since the novel is 440 pages all in all. But let’s start at the beginning.

My opinion on the cast of characters and their connection to each other is that “The Last Plague” resembles a mystical soap opera with a great roster and a thick web linking everyone to everyone else. In the fashion of conspiracy theories there is nothing normal in how they are connected, usually by death or some mission against another character. Personally I was confused most of the time who was who, did what and wanted to kill who and for what reasons. The main storyline revolves around Dr. Douglas Hunter, who after operating a young girl with a ripped abdomen, one ovary missing and the other hard and black, begins to investigate the mysterious circumstances of her condition and how she was found on old Yankee Road all alone. Needless to say his innocent enough research on the matter attracts the military’s attention. General McFarland works for the Sprudith organization, Children of Satan, interested in the found girl. Each step down the road for Douglas involves more people with their own agendas: friends, family, spies, Biblical prophets, mountain people with special gifts and the Sprudith, deadly adversaries. Against all odds Doug and his team solve most mysteries surrounding the case and the Doctor has to face that his involvement was destined one way or another.

It’s all pretty enigmatic the way I presented the plot, but alas the subplots spin round and round, so this is as clear as it gets for now. My particular problem with the novel concerned the character introduction. I am not used to get hit out of the blue with a new character, when a new chapter begins. It’s not that it’s not possible for such an introduction to work, but considering the lack of explanation of why this man or woman has entered the stage puzzled me. I had some moments to put the book down and register the new presence. Also my main reason not to get in the novel as fast as otherwise and finish it weeks before. Once all have been brought to the game, around page 200 or something the novel is easier to comprehend in that particular aspect.

Something similar is concerned with the flashbacks. I am not sure whether this issue is due to the incompetence of the author himself or the editor. If you are willing to buy this book, then you have to be prepared to read up until a point in the present and then after the next line slip back in time. The first time it happened I thought I skipped a page or something and yet there it was, the flashback didn’t start with a new paragraph. For some reason some flashbacks are divided properly and so are changes into subplots and other characters, but then again the remaining pop up with no identification. As a reader I like to be swept by the story and forget when I started reading, which is damn hard, when I have to stop rewinding and explain what happened a line ago.

Of course these are technical aspects, minor things for tweaking, but as it turns out spoil the story enough. It’s sad when something so small can make reading the first half of the book painful for the brain. But do not think that this is a negative review. I am just ranting about the headaches I had early on. “The Last Plague” is an opening novel in a series, which means it’s bound to be a bit slow with setting the stage, introducing the characters, foreboding the apocalypse and all. You get the best of a soap opera, conspiracy theory, Biblical and Indian folklore, plus CSI. What more can you actually want?

Although Page’s prose is not something extraordinary or remarkable, the dialogues between his characters engross the reader. At least this happened with me. For one thing their topics went to riddles, medical mysteries, world war two and apocalyptic hints, so it’s rare to fall asleep reading this. At one point I thought he was overdoing the whole murky act in the story. When too many events occur and leave only questions, the reader is bound to get lagged or something. Thankfully this hasn’t been the case. Page managed to create a reasonable balance between subplots and tied the knots at all the right places. CSI is the best term to have used here, since it’s methodical crime solving that unlocks the whole story further down the road.

I am not sure whether the genre expects will name this fantasy, but for me it has enough paranormal to call it that. The Sprudiths and the Mountain People are tribes, which have the same gifts to bend space, but stand on polar sides of morality. Another attribute of theirs is that they have wolves and tigers as familiars. Both serve their gods, Lucifer and well God and both are engaged in a battle, the biblical battle between good and evil. It may sound standard, but mixed with all other components, the world building makes an enthralling tale. Biblical characters also appear in the novel as immortals, who have awaited the omens for the apocalypse to take action. What makes them compelling is their engagement with the characters. In most books gods, entities and immortals are devout of any interaction. They exist for their cause and they do not show any emotional connection to the players in the game. In “The Last Plague” it’s worth to mention that such characters from Sprudiths, Mountain People or the immortals are more connected with the world of the living. They love, they have conflicted pasts and had to make tough choices. In the end even villains are stuck in the grey zone.

As a conclusion, “The Last Plague” is an entertaining title, once you overcome the technical obstacles. The Biblical Apocalypse has been done many times before and yet this one presents in a new light, stretched between human drama, medical horror and mystical powers. I wouldn’t mind reading the next installments.

PS: In order to keep the review at a length, which is not boring for people, I myself know that too much rambling can lead to a very bored articled reader, so I omitted most of the details to avoid turning the review into a short story.

"Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula Le Guin

Author: Ursual Le Guin
Title: "Left Hand of Darkness"
Pages: 304
Publishers: Ace Books

“The Left Hand of Darkness” by Ursula Le Guin is one of the most famous of her Hainish cycle with a Nebula Award for Best Books and rightly so. In the 300 or so, I accounted quite the plot and themes cramped inside with an ease. Just for that trait alone the book deserves its prize and praise, but once accounted with the depth of the world-building and characters, you can hardly deny that this is one of the greatest books ever written.

The setting this time is the planet Gethen, referred to sometimes as the planet Winter, because of its unfavorable cold weather, blamed for the lack of evolution and development of its original race. The main character this time is Genly Ai, a representative of the galactic federation of worlds, and his mission is to prepare Gethen for membership into the guild. His journey starts within the borders of Karhide, a primitive feudal kingdom. There under the guidance of Therem Harth rem ir Estraven, the prime minister of Karhide, he maneuvers trough the complicated political system, further entangled by the constant and yet subtle battle for personal shiftgrethor – social prestige. His mission fails with Estraven sent into exile and Genly tries with the neighbors aka Orgoreyn, which in terms of social life and politics seems to exceed Karhide. However yet again Genly loses to prejudice towards his abnormal biology (Gethenians are androgynous by nature), political games and plots against him, which lead to his imprisonment into a camp for criminals. Of course on his death bed Genly is saved by Estraven and they make a very long travel through ice and volcanoes to Karhide, where Genly calls his ship and his crew from the planet’s orbit in order to make the two countries believe his tales and join the federation.

Of course the plot I present to you is quite stripped from the subplots and all the interesting minor characters, who make their entrance and introduce more of the world and its spirituality. What excited me most is the apparent loss of gender along the way of evolution resulting in a species with no gentiles for 24 days of their 26 day month, while the last two days are spent in kemmer. In those two days pheromones battle in both partners until they settle on a gender. This choice is random, which makes it possible to both bear and sire children. To add even more exotic features to this biological species, Ursula le Guin mentions that incest is not forbidden. Alas I would have wished this peculiar trait to have been explored further with the psyche and its effect on its society.

The accent falls on inner duality and Zen-like religion and the ability to peer into the future. As we learn a Gethenian is a woman within a man and vice versa and their world and beliefs state that “light is the left hand of darkness, while darkness is the right hand of light”. These ideas hint towards the famous yin and yang sign, which is one of the most important symbols in Taoism and takes its place among many sub-religions in China. Similar ideas of religion are found in Gethen as well.

What I personally didn’t enjoy and left me a bit disappointed in the book was the political angle and the long journey through the barren lands. As a person, who likes a bit action seasoning on their literary plate, I felt compelled to sleep on the pages describing day after day surviving harsh cold winds, blizzards and chilling temperatures far below the zero mark. The long narratives on shiftgrethor tactics and political structures of both countries and the countless parties struggling for power. It can be said that I am not a major fan of political anything as it is boring to me a subject, but the manner in which Le Guin executed it was still very pleasing.

All in all this a very good book, but my heart still lies between the pages of “City of Illusions”. Nonetheless, you can’t say that you have read good literature unless you have read this work.

"City Of Illusions" by Ursula Le Guin

Author: Ursula Le Guin
Title: "City of Illusions"
Pages: 232
Publisher: Ace Books

“City Of Illusions” is the third book in the Hainish cycle, which I had happened to stumble on, before I reached “The Left Hand of Darkness” and I wasn’t left disappointed. From the three so far I enjoyed this book the most.

The story this time is set on Earth, our Earth referred to as Terra in the distant future and well we pretty much find it in ruins in a state after a major apocalypse, but not the way most people think. Terra has healed all wounds, has overgrown all the cities, know humans are nearly extinct and live in single Houses, giant ranches, miles and miles apart. Our future descendants never recuperated from the War culturally and exist on a pre-technology level of society. This of course is done against their will, since Terra is ruled by the Shing, rumored evil aliens referred to as the Enemy, who can lie with their minds, when general belief around the galaxy states that with telepathy no one can lie. So the Shing live in a giant city, the only one existing city Es Toch or the City of Illusions/Lies and forbid humans to evolve in any way, while they thrive with electricity and technology.

Falk is the protagonist of the story, an unusual human specimen with yellow eyes of a cat, who is also rumored to be a Shing, but he can’t tell for certain. Mainly because his brain was telepathically fried, so he sets on a journey to Es Toch to find his identity and answers. He teams up with Estrel, once he gets abducted by the fearsome and quite brutal in its rituals tribe Basnasska and escapes with her to the city. However things get kind of messy, when he learns that she is actually a tool of the Shing. To that initial shock comes the knowledge that the Shing are actually humans, who in order to prevent more wars have pretended to be the enemy. Then comes a boy, who announces that he is Agad Ramarren from the world of Werel (yes the same Werel from “Planet of Exile”), who has come here on a mission to contact Terra. The highest point in the novel is when Falk has to choose whether to make a psychic surgery to regain his memory. The dilemma consists in that once he regains his old memory his current life will be deleted, which he doesn’t want since is in love with a woman from his House. Secondary reason is that he knows that the Shing are lying about their history and intentions to help him regain memory and travel back to Werel. However as the story progresses we see Falk and Ramarren meld into one personality and escape earth with a hostage without revealing Werels’ coordinates to the Shing so that they may not attack Werel.

All of this happened in 232 pages, which is unbelievably deep and skillfully written. I can even forget the fact that this is sci-fi, a genre, which initially doesn’t attract me much, but this book certainly changed my view if not a little. The main theme of the book is clearly about truth and deception. For quite a time I was fooled by some of the false theories Le Guin has presented, which were later revealed as false for new ones to fill in their places. The endless circle of lies and truth, which is later announced as lies and myths that were deemed as lies become true, is perplexing, intricate and overwhelming in the positive aspect. Then comes of course how the novels in the Hainish cycle interconnect is also enchanting. When we left “Planet of Exile” Werel was just about to settle down and here in “City of Illusions” we learn of Werel as a fully blooming world with a new rave forged from the two before. As a fan of world building, these tiny tidbits of setting, beliefs and history are precious and add volumes and depth to the experience.

Characterization here also is important and is mainly shown through Falk-Ramarran, who consists of two polar personalities, which reflect the struggle between truth and lies. Falk is naïve and in tune with his heart’s desires and emotions, while Rammarran is a mathematician, a person of logic and in full control of his spirit through a complicated spirit discipline that suppresses emotions. The process of both personalities melting together is parallel to the assimilation of what is fact and what is deceitful information.

I am confidently recommending this classic to anyone!

"Planet of Exile" by Ursula Le Guin

Author: Ursual Le Guin
Title: Planet of Exile
Pages: 140
Publisher: Ace Books

“Planet of Exile” is the second novel from the Hainish cycle and like the first book “Rocannon’s World” it is similar in length, contents and the fine blend between science fiction and fantasy.

The setting of “Planet of Exile” happens to be the planet Werel, third from the Gamma Draconis system, which is an extremely peculiar world. One year on Werel is equal to 60 human years, which is pretty much the average life length of the Tevarans, who are the planet’s original inhabitants. Like in “Rocannon’s World” the race is primitive with no religion, technology or literacy, while the Earth human colony stranded on the planet have once excelled in all fields, but due to the law of the League of Worlds have been forced to remain on the same level as the inhabiting race. This of course leads to the human degradation in terms of science and technology.

The story begins, when the Autumn season is almost reaching its end and preparations are made for the upcoming Winter season. News of an even more primitive tribe called the Gaals grouping in large armies in order to siege large Winter cities, built anew every year, stirs up the waters and forces the Tevarans, the clan of Wold to be more exact, and human fraction to interact. The relationship between the two races has been limited and tense as humans think of themselves as two evolved to be involved with Tevarans, while the Tevarans fear the humans for their telepathic abilities.

Rolery a young girl from Wold’s clan wanders inside the human city and almost drowns, once when the ocean tide returns fast, but is saved in the last second by Jakob Agat, one of the humans in the City senate. This chance meeting develops into a very strange love relationship with a lot less romance too many inadequate moments and bad consequences for both involved. As the long dreaded Winter comes and the rumors of invasions are confirmed, Tevarans unite with the Earth colony. From then on the book handles the siege of the Earth colony city as it manages to fend off the Gaals.

Personally I didn’t find “Planet of Exile” to be quite as entertaining as “Rocannon’s World” or “City of Illusions” due to the fact that in its core “Planet of Exile” is a military novel. The story starts with preparations for a war, which rages from then on in every aspect with sneak attacks, sieges, slaughters and all in between. Although there are deeper themes such as the evolution and interaction of two different species, which for their own survival have to merge together as much as they don’t want, run on the background. The Earth colony suffer from lack of potency to reproduce as an effect of the unusual sun’s radiation and later near the end it has been shown that they are vulnerable to infections, contradictory to the knowledge that no native to Werel disease or bacteria can harm the Earth colony. The Teverans take a step forward in their evolution with Rolery demonstrating a perceptive mind open to telepathic communication, a talent so far not exhibited by her race. This all leads to the idea that for the Earth colony to survive it has to merge with the native Teverans, which clearly happens as it is revealed in “City of Illusions”.

All in all it wasn’t a bad book, but it certainly wasn’t my cup of tea. I would recommend it to anyone, who likes to read about military strategy and war.