Rating: B
(writing this long after reading, hence it will be kinda brief)
Very weird and intense. I enjoyed this much more than EST and is more like what I hoped for from Cory's writing.
Guy moves to town... slightly eccentric, but nothing too weird. Then he starts talking about how his dad is a mountain and his mom is washing machine. Just a weird metaphor, right? Then, he meets a girl who, oh yeah, just happens to have a pair of angel wings. From this point, everything turns in to a kind of acid trip.
It turns out his dad actually *is* a mountain and his mom actually *is* a washing machine. Additionally, of his 4(or 6?) brothers, one is an island, another can see the future, the third is a psychotic beast (who I imagine as something like Gollum), and the fourth... well, he's the weirdest of them all.
He is actually triplets... triplets who swallow each other like a bunch of matryoshka dolls. Oh, and only the inner-most one can eat. And what he eats nourishes the all three triplets. So bizarre.
Anyway, the major plot revolves around the psychotic brother trying to kill the protagonist over many years. Honestly, the details of the plot weren't really all that important... I just loved all the descriptions.
On top of the main plot, there's also a love story between the protagonist and the wing-girl. Of course her ex (who is also a psychotic and has the ability to 'sense' the freaks of the world) teams up with psycho brother. This makes sense and it all ties together nicely. Which is more than I can say for the third plot.
Sadly, Cory has to add his politics and love of technology here as well. There is a completely useless (albeit interesting) side plot of protagonist teaming up with a dumpster-diving computer expert. Together they build and give away a bunch of meshing routers to everyone in the area. That way everyone has free network access... yay! Whatever. I really wish he had left this part out.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
Night of Power by Spider Robinson
Rating: B-
Hooboy. Spider sure has some balls on him. A novel that delves this deep in to the race war so early in his career? Wow. He's also very obviously channeling his inner-Heinlein: fast, witty dialog - check; a cast of (near) perfect geniuses - check; and of course a dash extremely liberal sexual attitudes. All-in-all a fun romp that will definitely leave you thinking 'what if?'
Main characters:
Russell Grant - Retired designer/inventor. Super-genius. White.
Dena Grant - Dancer. Russell's wife. Super-genius. Black.
Jennifer Grant - Russell's daughter. Super-duper-genius. 13 years old.
Michael - black jesus-like figure. Also a super-duper-genius with (black) cherries on top.
The story is set in the near future. The US is in a war in Africa and have reinstated the draft. The blacks who are drafted are very bitter about having to fight in their ancestral homeland, and tensions everywhere are through the roof.
Russell and crew are moving to NYC so Dena can have one last moment in the sun with an old dance crew. As they drive through a Harlem which has become a warzone, they are attacked at a stop. Michael saves them, escorts them to safety and wanders off. Eventually, it comes to light that the 'Night of Power' has arrived; the night when all the minorities in Manhattan are going to take over. Michael, of course, is their leader.
His plan is to declare a new Black Nation settled in the northeast of the US. He has recruited a relatively small crack team to accomplish with minimal violence. Like all good villians (anti-villians?), he makes a strong argument and has only the future's best interest in heart. After a night of running around the city trying to survive, Russell and crew befriend Michael and are offered jobs in the new country. The novel ends before you really know how well Michael's plan worked, but it seems pretty straightforward.
Hooboy. Spider sure has some balls on him. A novel that delves this deep in to the race war so early in his career? Wow. He's also very obviously channeling his inner-Heinlein: fast, witty dialog - check; a cast of (near) perfect geniuses - check; and of course a dash extremely liberal sexual attitudes. All-in-all a fun romp that will definitely leave you thinking 'what if?'
Main characters:
Russell Grant - Retired designer/inventor. Super-genius. White.
Dena Grant - Dancer. Russell's wife. Super-genius. Black.
Jennifer Grant - Russell's daughter. Super-duper-genius. 13 years old.
Michael - black jesus-like figure. Also a super-duper-genius with (black) cherries on top.
The story is set in the near future. The US is in a war in Africa and have reinstated the draft. The blacks who are drafted are very bitter about having to fight in their ancestral homeland, and tensions everywhere are through the roof.
Russell and crew are moving to NYC so Dena can have one last moment in the sun with an old dance crew. As they drive through a Harlem which has become a warzone, they are attacked at a stop. Michael saves them, escorts them to safety and wanders off. Eventually, it comes to light that the 'Night of Power' has arrived; the night when all the minorities in Manhattan are going to take over. Michael, of course, is their leader.
His plan is to declare a new Black Nation settled in the northeast of the US. He has recruited a relatively small crack team to accomplish with minimal violence. Like all good villians (anti-villians?), he makes a strong argument and has only the future's best interest in heart. After a night of running around the city trying to survive, Russell and crew befriend Michael and are offered jobs in the new country. The novel ends before you really know how well Michael's plan worked, but it seems pretty straightforward.
Click to Read More (may contain spoilers)
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Eastern Standard Tribe by Cory Doctorow
Rating: C
My first Doctorow book. I've been reading his posts at BoingBoing seemingly forever and have always been curious about his novels. And what can I say, it was almost exactly as I imagined... very (*very*) smart, fairly political and excruciatingly boring. I just couldn't bring myself to feel *anything* for the protagonist.
Main characters:
Art - User-experience Engineer who "belongs" to the EST, a group of people who feel home in the Eastern Time Zone. So much so that he tries to sabotage businesses in other time zones.
Fede - Art's business partner
Linda - Art's love interest
Art is working in London trying to come up with subtly bad ideas for a local company. He meets a Californian girl (who has a nasty temper) and falls for her. In the meantime, he comes up with a brilliant plan for music sharing on toll-roads and he and Fede plan to sell the idea to an East-Coast company. But Fede and Linda stab Art in the back. They have him committed to a psychiatric ward while they sell the idea to a Californian company. In Fede's defense, he planned on cutting Art in, but didn't tell him because of Art's religious feelings towards the EST. In the end, the music thing is a bust (because of corruption) while Art goes off and founds a successful psychiatric ward 'improvements' company.
Anyway, the only nifty thing about the book (besides the cool gadgets and stuff Art aka Cory comes up with) is that the second half of the book is two timelines intertwined. One, continuing from the end of the first half, where Art comes to realize the betrayal. And two, one where he is already in the ward and must convince the doctors that he isn't crazy. The first ends with Art hurting Fede pretty badly and storming off, and the second ends with Art getting out of the asylum and starting his new business. I have to admit, I would have enjoyed the book much more if Art *had* actually been paranoid. Ah well.
I'll definitely try more of Cory's books... I still have Someone Comes to Town from the library and will be checking out Magic Kingdom when I get a chance either way.
My first Doctorow book. I've been reading his posts at BoingBoing seemingly forever and have always been curious about his novels. And what can I say, it was almost exactly as I imagined... very (*very*) smart, fairly political and excruciatingly boring. I just couldn't bring myself to feel *anything* for the protagonist.
Main characters:
Art - User-experience Engineer who "belongs" to the EST, a group of people who feel home in the Eastern Time Zone. So much so that he tries to sabotage businesses in other time zones.
Fede - Art's business partner
Linda - Art's love interest
Art is working in London trying to come up with subtly bad ideas for a local company. He meets a Californian girl (who has a nasty temper) and falls for her. In the meantime, he comes up with a brilliant plan for music sharing on toll-roads and he and Fede plan to sell the idea to an East-Coast company. But Fede and Linda stab Art in the back. They have him committed to a psychiatric ward while they sell the idea to a Californian company. In Fede's defense, he planned on cutting Art in, but didn't tell him because of Art's religious feelings towards the EST. In the end, the music thing is a bust (because of corruption) while Art goes off and founds a successful psychiatric ward 'improvements' company.
Anyway, the only nifty thing about the book (besides the cool gadgets and stuff Art aka Cory comes up with) is that the second half of the book is two timelines intertwined. One, continuing from the end of the first half, where Art comes to realize the betrayal. And two, one where he is already in the ward and must convince the doctors that he isn't crazy. The first ends with Art hurting Fede pretty badly and storming off, and the second ends with Art getting out of the asylum and starting his new business. I have to admit, I would have enjoyed the book much more if Art *had* actually been paranoid. Ah well.
I'll definitely try more of Cory's books... I still have Someone Comes to Town from the library and will be checking out Magic Kingdom when I get a chance either way.
Click to Read More (may contain spoilers)
Monday, February 9, 2009
Very Bad Deaths by Spider Robinson
Rating: B-
A decent Spider yarn. Not his best work, but even his mediocre stuff is still good reading.
Main Characters:
Russell Walker - good guy
Zudie aka Smelly - telepath
Nika - cop
Allen - bad guy
Russell befriends Zudie in college. Zudie is horrifically smelly (and hence keeps people far away. Decades later, Zudie suddenly shows up at Russell's isolated home near Vancouver saying he 'overheard' (via telepathy) an incredibly evil sadist (Allen) and he need's Russell's help to kill him. Russell enlists Nika to help find Allen. Instead, Allen finds him and begins torturing him. At one point they 'bond' over how much of an asshole George Bush is. Weird. Eventually, Nika and Zudie show up and Zudie fucks up Allen's brain which kills him.
This being Spider, Russell loves the ganja, and coffee with Irish Whiskey.
A decent Spider yarn. Not his best work, but even his mediocre stuff is still good reading.
Main Characters:
Russell Walker - good guy
Zudie aka Smelly - telepath
Nika - cop
Allen - bad guy
Russell befriends Zudie in college. Zudie is horrifically smelly (and hence keeps people far away. Decades later, Zudie suddenly shows up at Russell's isolated home near Vancouver saying he 'overheard' (via telepathy) an incredibly evil sadist (Allen) and he need's Russell's help to kill him. Russell enlists Nika to help find Allen. Instead, Allen finds him and begins torturing him. At one point they 'bond' over how much of an asshole George Bush is. Weird. Eventually, Nika and Zudie show up and Zudie fucks up Allen's brain which kills him.
This being Spider, Russell loves the ganja, and coffee with Irish Whiskey.
Click to Read More (may contain spoilers)
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