Review: Clean by Alex Hughes

•August 31, 2012 • 1 Comment

Roughly 60 years in the future the accelerating pace of technology runs into a brick wall. Somehow, our tech turns against us and when the dust settles we find ourselves in a future with telepaths and flying cars but no world wide web and no cell phones. It’s a future that could have been written during the heyday of cyberpunk except that they were imagining the very technology which is missing here.

Fast forward a decade or so and we catchup with our story. Alex Hughes writes a first person limited omniscient. It’s a neat trick to have a telepathic narrator and she pulls it off well. It’s also rather impressive that while telepathy is important to the main character, the plot and the entire world described in the novel, it’s the theme of addiction which drives the character development and relationships. The main character’s minute to minute struggle with his unhealthy cravings isn’t the easiest thing to read, but it grounds the narrative.

A telepath makes a great interrogator. And the police department have gotten their hands on one. He gets the toughest interrogations and he’s been doing that and little else for the past 6 years. When a series of murders seem to have a connection to telepathy the department assigns their favorite interrogator some field work. In the process his partner, her boss and we learn considerably more than expected about the full capabilities of a telepath.

I spent much of the book feeling like I’d identified first novel mistakes, yet a few pages later I’d think back and feel like the author really made the right choice. For instance, I struggled with how little most of the characters seemed to know about the main character even though he’d worked with them for 6 years. However, his struggles with addiction, his desire to literally keep people at a distance because of his ability and the general distrust of the same all add up to explain how isolated he is. This case changes much of that and it becomes a great way to pull the reader into the world as well.

The plot is rather straightforward. The world building is uneven but engaging. The writing is gritty and clever. The characters are well developed. All in all a great start to a new series. I find it interesting that this list over at Tor.com has Clean lumped in with urban fantasy. Aside from the flying cars and the defunct ubiquitous computing infrastructure this could be a contemporary urban fantasy. There are hints that the world could feel considerably more like the near future post-apocalyptic science fiction it is. I particularly want to know more about the tech wars and I was left with the impression that there’s plenty of dormant technology which could offer considerable amounts of mayhem.

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Reviews in Progress

•July 25, 2012 • Leave a Comment

I’m considering putting up reviews that that I’m working on or have stalled for one reason or another, marked clearly as “in progress.”  I’ve abandoned way too many reviews over the last year and I want to get them live.  I’m thinking the desire to “fix” these in progress posts will aid me in getting the finished review live.  Possibly also, laying my process bare can help someone.  Hopefully me.  Which of these should I post first:

  • Review: Fated by Benedict Jacka
  • Review: Kafkaesque: Stories Inspired by Franz Kafka (for AISFP)
  • Review: Distress (1995) by Greg Egan (lost book – need new copy for reference)
  • Review: The Traveler by John Twelve Hawks (audible)
  • Review: The Steel Remains by Richard K. Morgan (audible)
  • Review: The Forever War by Joe Haldeman

There are more posts but these are the unpublished reviews of books I’ve finished reading.  I also tend to start writing reviews when I start reading a book, so if I make this a weekly thing I can continue after I’ve caught up on these I’ve listed.

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Borderlands Best-Selling Titles for June, 2012

•July 17, 2012 • Leave a Comment

I love Borderlands Books. They sent this list of their best sellers in their newsletter. I’ve only been able to visit the store in person once, but I remember it fondly whenever I read their newsletter. I’ve entered (or will soon) the books from this list into TagShadow. Most of these were already on my radar and this was as good of an excuse as any to spend the data entry time. I’ve also started adding links to Borderlands’ catalog on Biblio.

Hardcovers
1) Redshirts by John Scalzi
2) Existence by David Brin
3) Glamour in Glass by Mary Robinette Kowal
4) Railsea by China Mieville
5) 2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson
6) Lucky Bastard by S.G. Browne
7) Blue Remembered Earth by Alastair Reynolds
8) The Long Earth by Stephen Baxter and Terry Pratchett
9) Triggers by Robert J. Sawyer
10) Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Paperbacks
1) Blackout by Mira Grant
2) Nightshifted by Cassie Alexander
3) Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
4) Feed by Mira Grant
5) Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin
6) Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin
7) Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin
8) Deadline by Mira Grant
9) Year’s Best SF vol. 17 edited by David B. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer
10) Out of the Waters by David Drake

Trade Paperbacks
1) The Magicians by Lev Grossman
2) The Magician King by Lev Grossman
3) Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
4) Reamde by Neal Stephenson
5) The Black Opera by Mary Gentle

Posted in misc

Review: The Apocalypse Codex by Charles Stross

•July 14, 2012 • 2 Comments

Ace sent me a copy of this to review. The geeky enthusiasm which follows is my own.

Background

One of the first formal reviews I ever published online was for the first book in this series, The Atrocity Archive. I’ve striven since to capture the same tone as that review (which I like), while fleshing the content out a bit more (with this I struggle). I was and still am enamored by the “math == magic” at the core of the series, but when I read all the material on the Jacket of The Apocalypse Codex I got intrigued by more than just the computational demonology.

“I”m bluffing, but I can look it up on Wikipedia later.” -Bob

I’m not that knowledgeable about spy fiction and so the name Len Deighton didn’t mean anything to me when I saw it in the Acknowledgements of The Atrocity Archives. But it turns out that Stross is embracing the style of other writers, one for each book. From The Fuller Memorandum wikipedia article:

Where The Atrocity Archives was written in the idiom of Len Deighton and The Jennifer Morgue was a pastiche of Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels, The Fuller Memorandum is a homage of sorts to Anthony Price’s Dr David Audley/Colonel Jack Butler series of spy thrillers, and features two minor characters named Roskill and Panin, names which appeared as recurring characters in Price’s series.

I love this idea and it makes me want to track down some books by Len Deighton and Anthony Price.

I was also wondering what author might be getting the laundry treatment this time. I found the answer on Stross’ Blog: Peter O’Donnell. Again, the name means nothing to me, but according to wikipedia, he’s “best known as the creator of Modesty Blaise, a female action hero/undercover trouble-shooter/enforcer.” That seems to track with the jacket copy, “…External Assets dispatches the brilliant, beautiful and entirely unpredictable Persephone Hazard to infiltrate…” This series is a literary mash-up that, if it does what it sets out to, will introduce readers to a great group of writers while providing a rollicking fun adventure in its own right.

The Review

Stross likes to play with point of view. Rule 34 and Halting State use 2nd person for distinctly different reasons. At the start of The Apocalypse Codex, Bob Howard (protagonist) is established formally as an unreliable narrator:

If it happened to me, I’ll describe it in the first person … If it happened to someone else I’ll describe it in the third person… And if there’s something you really need to understand … I’ll [use second person.]

Bob tells us that in the prologue and then we’re dropped immediately into a 3rd person section. A caper in a castle introduces Persephone and Johnny. After this action packed intro, the pace slowed to a crawl for a good chunk of the first third, however it moved along and a good clip after that point. We’ll see just as much of Persephone and Johnny as we see of Bob over the course of the book. I both wish Bob got more screen time and that I learned more about Persephone’s back story.

In spite of missing a few books in the series, this one held up quite nicely on its own. Persephone tends toward more traditional methods of using magic. Bob was quite clear in the Atrocity Archives that this can drive the unprepared or careless quite insane. I get the impression that the contrast between old school and technological magic has been explored in the volumes I missed. Bob still Macgyver’s up some fun technological magic, but he also converses directly with the insanity to great effect.

The bulk of this story was a hard one to flat out enjoy because of it’s massive antagonism toward Christianity (and all religions for that matter.) Stross does a great job setting up an organization that looks like a slightly wacky cult on the outside but gets darker and ickier the deeper you delve. This entry in the series seriously (for a certain definition of serious) explored the issues of living in a universe where the only supernatural forces are dark and scary. Having drawn the connection between math and magic, the worldwide technical infrastructure will eventually summon something apocalyptically scary and everyone in the know is trying to find a defense.

The super spy, Persephone, gives us a glimpse of what Bob is being trained to be. The bureaucratic fumbling over Bob’s designation as middle management, handler, etc awkwardly fits the series but I found myself aching to see everyone in action at their full potential. Mostly I got what I wanted. I was a bit surprised that the conflicting goals of the British and American intelligence agencies managed to be one of the meatiest parts of the book.

Bob’s accelerated training is a big part of the British defense against the future and it’ll be interesting to see how Stross handles the inevitable “hell on earth” he’s forecasting. He does a great job with his central characters and the bits of insanity they encounter, but there’s a distinct fog of war hovering over the rest of the world these stories are set in. This was a VERY fun read in spite of the road bumps and definitely makes me want to fill in my gaps in the series.

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Game Theory, A contest and an Interview

•April 28, 2012 • 1 Comment

I’ve been thinking about Game Theory a lot recently. Not so much reviewing the math or researching all that deeply, but by cousin shared an article with me about game theory in the hunger games and it gave me another lens to look at the fiction I’m reading through. I then come across a scenario which I think I may actually try and analyze (that’s when I know I’m really interested about a subject).

Say you have 2 chances to enter a contest. One has no strings attached, but the other requires telling others about the contest. That second entry will most likely decrease your chances to win. The calculation becomes quite interesting once you increase the number of prizes and have a sample of entries to review before you make your choice. In the case that inspired this train of thought there are 5 identical prizes and so far there are 40 people entered into the contest. Half of those boosted the signal… I may have overstated my desire to analyze this.

Sorry about burying the lead. No matter how this calculates out I’ll pretty much always come down on the side of boosting the signal. Check out this GREAT interview and enter for a chance to win one of 5 copies of The Year’s Best Horror, Vol 4 edited by Ellen Datlow.

A post on facebook by Ellen Datlow turned me on to the interview/contest and it’s been a while since following a link was so fruitful.

  • I was introduced to Erin Underwood, who is by all accounts super interesting.
  • I was inspired to write a blog post. (I actually needed this. Thanks!)
  • What is it about dark fiction or horror that captures your imagination as a writer or a reader? – I’ve bookmarked this interview so that I can reference these answers in the future. The answers are diverse, but a number of them say quite well what I find I have trouble expressing.

Good stuff.

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Mild Aggregation: 4/15/2012

•April 15, 2012 • Leave a Comment

links

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Hugo Nominees 2012

•April 8, 2012 • Leave a Comment

The Hugo Nominees for 2012 have been announced. I’ll be updating this post with links to additional posts I make as the award season progresses. I’ve linked to the ones available to read online. I’ve marked the short fiction available in Year’s Best Anthologies: The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year: Volume Six (Strahan YB), The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Ninth Annual Collection (Dozois YB), The Year’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy 2012 (Horton YB), Year’s Best SF 17 (Hartwell/Cramer YB)

Best Novel

Among Others by Jo Walton (Tor)
A Dance With Dragons by George R. R. Martin (Bantam Spectra)
Deadline by Mira Grant (Orbit)
Embassytown by China Miéville (Macmillan / Del Rey)
Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey (Orbit)

Best Novella

Countdown by Mira Grant (Orbit)
“The Ice Owl” by Carolyn Ives Gilman (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, November/December 2011) – Hartwell/Cramer YB -
“Kiss Me Twice” by Mary Robinette Kowal (Asimov’s, June 2011)
“The Man Who Bridged the Mist” by Kij Johnson (Asimov’s, September/October 2011) – Strahan YB – Horton YB -
“The Man Who Ended History: A Documentary” by Ken Liu (Panverse 3)
Silently and Very Fast by Catherynne M. Valente (Clarkesworld / WSFA) – Dozois YB -

Best Novelette

“The Copenhagen Interpretation” by Paul Cornell (Asimov’s, July 2011) – Dozois YB -
“Fields of Gold” by Rachel Swirsky (Eclipse Four) – Horton YB -
“Ray of Light” by Brad R. Torgersen (Analog, December 2011)
“Six Months, Three Days” by Charlie Jane Anders (Tor.com) – Hartwell/Cramer YB -
“What We Found” by Geoff Ryman (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, March/April 2011) – Strahan YB – Dozios YB -

Best Short Story

“The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees” by E. Lily Yu (Clarkesworld, April 2011) – Strahan YB – Horton YB -
“The Homecoming” by Mike Resnick (Asimov’s, April/May 2011)
“Movement” by Nancy Fulda (Asimov’s, March 2011)
“The Paper Menagerie” by Ken Liu (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, March/April 2011) – Strahan YB -
“Shadow War of the Night Dragons: Book One: The Dead City: Prologue” by John Scalzi (Tor.com)

Best Related Work

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, Third Edition edited by John Clute, David Langford, Peter Nicholls, and Graham Sleight (Gollancz)
Jar Jar Binks Must Die… and Other Observations about Science Fiction Movies by Daniel M. Kimmel (Fantastic Books)
The Steampunk Bible: An Illustrated Guide to the World of Imaginary Airships, Corsets and Goggles, Mad Scientists, and Strange Literature by Jeff VanderMeer and S. J. Chambers (Abrams Image)
Wicked Girls by Seanan McGuire
Writing Excuses, Season 6 by Brandon Sanderson, Dan Wells, Howard Tayler, Mary Robinette Kowal, and Jordan Sanderson

Best Graphic Story

Digger by Ursula Vernon (Sofawolf Press)
Fables Vol 15: Rose Red by Bill Willingham and Mark Buckingham (Vertigo)
Locke & Key Volume 4, Keys to the Kingdom written by Joe Hill, illustrated by Gabriel Rodriguez (IDW)
Schlock Mercenary: Force Multiplication written and illustrated by Howard Tayler, colors by Travis Walton (The Tayler Corporation)
The Unwritten (Volume 4): Leviathan created by Mike Carey and Peter Gross. Written by Mike Carey, illustrated by Peter Gross (Vertigo)

Best Dramatic Presentation (Long Form)

Captain America: The First Avenger, screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephan McFeely, directed by Joe Johnston (Marvel)
Game of Thrones (Season 1), created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss; written by David Benioff, D. B. Weiss, Bryan Cogman, Jane Espenson, and George R. R. Martin; directed by Brian Kirk, Daniel Minahan, Tim van Patten, and Alan Taylor (HBO)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, screenplay by Steve Kloves; directed by David Yates (Warner Bros.)
Hugo, screenplay by John Logan; directed by Martin Scorsese (Paramount)
Source Code, screenplay by Ben Ripley; directed by Duncan Jones (Vendome Pictures)

Best Dramatic Presentation (Short Form)

“The Doctor’s Wife” (Doctor Who), written by Neil Gaiman; directed by Richard Clark (BBC Wales)
“The Drink Tank’s Hugo Acceptance Speech,” Christopher J Garcia and James Bacon (Renovation)
“The Girl Who Waited” (Doctor Who), written by Tom MacRae; directed by Nick Hurran (BBC Wales)
“A Good Man Goes to War” (Doctor Who), written by Steven Moffat; directed by Peter Hoar (BBC Wales)
“Remedial Chaos Theory” (Community), written by Dan Harmon and Chris McKenna; directed by Jeff Melman (NBC)

Best Semiprozine

Apex Magazine edited by Catherynne M. Valente, Lynne M. Thomas, and Jason Sizemore
Interzone edited by Andy Cox
Lightspeed edited by John Joseph Adams
Locus edited by Liza Groen Trombi, Kirsten Gong-Wong, et al.
New York Review of Science Fiction edited by David G. Hartwell, Kevin J. Maroney, Kris Dikeman, and Avram Grumer

Best Fanzine

Banana Wings edited by Claire Brialey and Mark Plummer
The Drink Tank edited by James Bacon and Christopher J Garcia
File 770 edited by Mike Glyer
Journey Planet edited by James Bacon, Christopher J Garcia, et al.
SF Signal edited by John DeNardo

Best Fancast

The Coode Street Podcast, Jonathan Strahan & Gary K. Wolfe
Galactic Suburbia Podcast, Alisa Krasnostein, Alex Pierce, and Tansy Rayner Roberts (presenters) and Andrew Finch (producer)
SF Signal Podcast, John DeNardo and JP Frantz, produced by Patrick Hester
SF Squeecast, Lynne M. Thomas, Seanan McGuire, Paul Cornell, Elizabeth Bear, and Catherynne M. Valente
StarShipSofa, Tony C. Smith

Best Professional Editor – Long Form

Lou Anders
Liz Gorinsky
Anne Lesley Groell
Patrick Nielsen Hayden
Betsy Wollheim

Best Professional Editor – Short Form

John Joseph Adams
Neil Clarke
Stanley Schmidt
Jonathan Strahan
Sheila Williams

Best Professional Artist

Dan dos Santos
Bob Eggleton
Michael Komarck
Stephan Martiniere
John Picacio

Best Fan Artist

Brad W. Foster
Randall Munroe
Spring Schoenhuth
Maurine Starkey
Steve Stiles
Taral Wayne

Best Fan Writer

James Bacon
Claire Brialey
Christopher J Garcia
Jim C. Hines
Steven H Silver

John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer

Award for the best new professional science fiction or fantasy writer of 2010 or 2011, sponsored by Dell Magazines (not a Hugo Award).
Mur Lafferty
Stina Leicht
Karen Lord *
Brad R. Torgersen *
E. Lily Yu

*2nd year of eligibility

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