tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25236070956827926322024-03-26T03:51:38.648-05:00Awesomov's Science Fiction ExtravaganzaReviews and discussions of various science fiction stuffs.Awesomovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08206769416687257913noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2523607095682792632.post-1959918281402752292016-04-10T14:52:00.000-05:002016-04-10T14:59:51.910-05:00The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'm not going to pussyfoot around here and will just get straight to the point: I hate <i>The Left Hand of Darkness</i>. I was completely into the idea behind the book, and Ursula K. Le Guin is a fine writer who is smart as a whip; she wrote one of my favorite books ever, <i>The Lathe of Heaven</i>. I actually had high expectations for this book considering I've had good experience with Le Guin before and since this was considered an all-time classic. Unfortunately, the book fell virtually to the opposite of my expectations.<br />
First and foremost, the central idea behind the book is that of a species which has an inherent ability of changing their biological sex. This is a great idea of which much insight could be derived, especially in this current time when transsexual rights are currently disputed (and the book was written in 1969, so much like a great number of science fiction it was, in a way, ahead of its time). Unfortunately, Le Guin barely touches on the subject at all, and doesn't do so in any meaningful way, shape, or form.<br />
What Le Guin does instead is plenty of world, scene, and mythology-building. This may not sound bad to all readers of this blog, and actually may excite some, but I will explain why this makes the novel a major pain to read with a comparison. Those who have read Mary Shelley's <i>Frankenstein</i> may remember the scene in which Victor Frankenstein treks through a mountain range, which is supposed to be symbolic of Victor's feelings and what he is going through (not in a literal sense, more in terms of how the story is shaping up). That scene wasn't the greatest in the book because it's a bit of a chore to get through mundane details of his travels, but it does at least serve a purpose and I certainly don't mind that kind of symbolic showcasing.<br />
But imagine that one scene is stretched to three hundred pages long. It was for that reason I, frankly, could not finish this book; I tread most of the way through, but I stopped because whenever I'd read it I'd become tired and on more than one occasion even fell asleep, and on one occasion in particular was even after drinking caffeine. I then read a detailed synopsis and was glad afterward that I stopped, because it was clear at that point, Le Guin wasn't doing anything of importance with her otherwise interesting idea and was ultimately utilizing the characters and plot to serve the scene rather than the other way around. You can, like with <i>Frankenstein</i>, do that to a point, but writing an entire book this way makes for a tiresome and irritating experience.<br />
What little story exists is simply a political struggle wrapped around what honestly feels like a fantasy tome. I realize the book is supposed to be science fiction, and overall I wouldn't say it isn't, but it barely feels like science fiction at all. In fact, the covers of the novel, except maybe two editions (including the picture I used above, which I thought was the most interesting cover and that says a lot), just tend to slap ice on the cover and boom, published. Even if the back covers and such proudly proclaim the novel as science fiction, they still go out of their way to otherwise dress the novel as not such at all, and after reading, I can see why, because it barely feels like science fiction at all. I get the frozen tundras are important to the novel, but I can see that enough in the writing.<br />
But I digress. This is, unfortunately, yet another "classic" I can't help but find heavily overrated. I don't have a clue as to why this novel is so popular; I understand that, at the time this was written, this idea of Le Guin's was considered fresh and possibly even taboo, but a fresh idea does not a good book make. The idea was used, quite lightly, as dressing for the book. I don't know about anybody else, but I like to drench my lettuce in ranch rather than use a tiny squirt. No new insight was truly gained out of this idea after having read this book/synopsis, and I know that's completely possible. That's one of the main reasons I love science fiction is because I love the ideas and how they can be treated to teach us about ourselves, where we're headed, how we're heading there, etc. So I consider this book a failure, on almost every level besides the technical writing prowess Le Guin clearly possesses. Otherwise, I see it as a waste of time, since Le Guin has written better anyway. One of the biggest disappointments yet.</div>
Awesomovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08206769416687257913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2523607095682792632.post-79168970730434946422015-10-14T01:58:00.001-05:002015-10-17T13:05:08.404-05:00Pleasantville (Director, Writer, Producer: Gary Ross)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Before I begin with my assessment of <i>Pleasantville</i>, I should explain how this film can fall under the guise of science fiction. Frankly, the film pretty much is not science fiction and fits easier into the realm of fantasy instead, as much of what happens blatantly defies the laws of physics and plays out like a fairy tale (and appropriately so in the case of <i>Pleasantville</i>). However, there's one little aspect that brings into <i>Pleasantville</i> a tinge of science fiction: the remote control. The method utilized in the film to transport the two central characters into the television show <i>Pleasantville</i> is based on a technological device, and so it can be argued, albeit in the most ridiculous fashion, that the central characters suffered through quantum teleportation into an alternate dimension with unique laws and physics. So while I'm not going to flat out call <i>Pleasantville</i> science fiction, I figure it is at least arguable that the film has an element of science fiction. And keep in mind, the actual science (or "science") does not necessarily have to hold true to be considered science fiction, as many works from our past that are clearly science fiction would not be so. So that is close enough for me.<br />
Besides, how else will I be able to discuss one of my favorite films of all time?<br />
<i>Pleasantville</i> is a film chock full of some of the most clever, well-concocted symbolism I have ever seen (which I won't delve into entirely because part of the fun is discovering much of it oneself, all those little tiny bits like why <i>Huckleberry Finn</i> is mentioned in the film), and unlike some other works I've discussed on the blog, director Gary Ross knew not to also eschew any semblance of a great story to tag along with his themes. This is despite any plot holes, some of which I'm sure were intentional, some which can be disregarded due to Bellisario's Maxim ("Don't examine this too closely", i.e. if it's not a big part of a story, then it's not important enough to question or complain about), and any others left after that do not bog the film down hardly at all. For instance, my only major complaint is the lack of any non-caucasian entities within the film, which is important considering one of the film's major themes is race and racism. However, I am willing to forgive this somewhat since most of the film takes place during the central character's time within the television show <i>Pleasantville</i>. <i>Pleasantville</i> is essentially a silly 1950s sitcom, created back during a time when segregation was still well in place, or just being made illegal (which didn't fully end segregation, especially not back then; it still, in a more subtle way, exists to this day).<br />
But this film is about far more than just racism, though that is indeed a central theme, and a clever one at that, as more and more characters would turn from black and white to "color" as the film progressed. But there's a deeper philosophical edge to this film than that. For instance, the tagline of the film is, "Nothing is as simple as black and white." This is not merely a statement of the presence (or absence) of color, but also a statement about subjective morality, as opposed to objective morality, the latter of which is generally seen as "black and white" as opposed the former, which is seen as "shades of grey", or in Pleasantville's case a variety of color outside the grey-scale spectrum. And, along with this, characters change from black and white to color showing a character's "true colors" coming to fruition.<br />
To further add to this is the struggle between cultures and ideologies as more and more people show their true colors, showcasing a struggle between a conservative and arguably liberal viewpoint. The film in particular obviously leans toward the liberal side of the equation, which has caused the film backlash as, with all of this symbolism, the film hits its message over anyone viewing it with the subtlety of a gamma ray burst. However, from what I've seen most of the conservative critics who argue vehemently against the film with its lib'rul bias (which is fine, and expected anyway) do not catch on to the fact that the film also questions itself and essentially states there is no one right path. This is even demonstrated with the scenes shown toward the beginning of the film demonstrating our world is a crapsack world, but in a different way. The lighting of the film outside of the realm of <i>Pleasantville</i> even looks grimier than <i>Pleasantville</i> does. "Nothing is as simple as black and white."<br />
But the film does demonstrate the 1950s was a time which was not perfect, either, in some ways far less so. This was a necessary message shot straight at a time when 1950s nostalgia (and the 1960s for that matter) was alive and kicking, showcased in other films and projects around that time. Many people nostalgic for the 1950s forgot, never realized, or never even cared to accept the 1950s as an often harrowing time. Many would like to think the 1950s was a happy-go-lucky time where everything was chock full of green grass and fluffy clouds and candy-canes (as long as you were white anyway), not aware, or willfully ignorant of, or even in support of, its Cold War paranoia, anti-communist rhetoric, race issues, censorship (including, most hilariously, of the famed anti-censorship novel <i>Fahrenheit 451</i>, which by the way was also critical of book burning which takes also place in <i>Pleasantville</i>), and rampant, blatant conformity all around.<br />
But the other problem conservative-leaning people, particularly Christians, had was with the religious symbolism utilized in <i>Pleasantville</i>. The film even holds a lamp shade over one of its uses of concept: the apple, which the central protagonist eats after his beau grabs it from a tree and gives it to him. The character responsible for the protagonist being stuck in <i>Pleasantville</i> (played by 1950s sitcom star Don Knotts), symbolically playing the "God" role, chastises him for this. The film as a whole essentially questions why such "deviance" is ultimately a bad thing, as many in this day and age, for example, wonder why rock and roll was such a problem.<br />
And so that leads into what every theme in this film can be wrapped up into: freedom vs. conformity. This all leads into the idea of what it means to be free, the consequences of freedom, what one person's idea of freedom is compared to another, and whether one would ultimately prefer freedom or not or what form they would prefer. Some would rather stick to a more dull, but peaceful, existence, while others would stick to a more faulty, but vibrant, existence. Or a mixture of both. There is no one answer, and you never truly know what can happen next, and that's okay.<br />
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Additional super fun fact: This film shares a lot in common with another all-time favorite film called <i>The Truman Show</i>. Both were released the same year, touched on most of the same themes (racism being an exception), had bucket-loads of clever symbolism, were arguably science fiction, and were both even centered around the idea of being stuck in a television show (albeit in different ways).Awesomovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08206769416687257913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2523607095682792632.post-62225665752274830022015-07-17T02:33:00.002-05:002015-07-23T14:34:53.669-05:00Her (Director, Writer, Producer: Spike Jonze)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've thought about possibly reviewing films for some time, and while I won't make them the central focus of this blog, I suppose it won't hurt to post my thoughts on some films every once in a while. I figure as long as whatever medium I'm reviewing is science fiction I can discuss the piece on my mind at the time.<br />
So why not start with one of my favorite films of all time?<br />
To explain why this is one of my favorite films of all time, I will need to, for once, go into quite some detail, so bear with me on my exposition. I feel the need to explain this because not everyone catches these insights I'm about to put forth (and this isn't to indicate anyone reading this is a plebeian, as even I do not immediately latch on to some aspects others may find readily apparent). Spoilers ahead. I strongly suggest not reading any further until after seeing the film, particularly considering this analysis may not make complete sense if one hasn't done so anyway.<br />
The mind-body problem in general details ideas relating to mind and
matter and the relationship between them, so it's essentially a concept
focused on reality in relation to consciousness. Dualism argues that the
mind and matter are indeed separate from each other, so with that we
can already argue Samantha is a representation of the mind separate from
physical form, particularly considering she can transfer her mind into
various forms throughout the film. In contrast, materialism argues
everything is physical, including an artificial intelligence such as
Samantha, which can be twisted into the idea of property dualism, which
states, though only the physical substance exists, there are two kinds,
physical properties and mental properties (which means these people
don't believe in souls like substance dualists do, but I digress). Also
in contrast is idealism, which asserts only the mental experience exists
and the physical world is nonexistent, including with empirical
evidence, which, of course, can be argued considering the relationship
between Theodore and Samantha since the body does not get in the way of
their idea of togetherness.<br />
We can even see these effects in
action as Theodore simply does his job, and while the job is
purposefully satirical in essence, does still have a philosophical point
deriving from pluralism, which states there is more than one reality
(realism, in contrast, believes in one), as Theodore's job is to
supplant ideas into the lives of those paying for these letters he makes
for them. We can also see this with the hologram video game he plays.
But most importantly, we see this with the OSes. Not only are the OSes
comprised of the many minds of their creators, but they can essentially
occupy the same space, as Samantha does later on in the film with the
Alan Watts personality and for the OS upgrade. And, lastly, the scene
best representing all of these ideas is the scene with Isabella serving
as a surrogate for Samantha; this is, of course, why Theodore has a hard
time with this idea, because while Samantha is trying to represent her
mind with a body, the body itself still has a mind of its own,
ultimately separate of Samantha's (or is it?). Theodore's conflict with
his divorce also demonstrate his disconnect with the mind-body problem,
since his former wife is seen to him as physical as well as having a
mental capacity.<br />
But what I find particularly mind-blowing is
what I noticed watching a second time around, during the ending of the
film. Samantha talks about the advanced minds of the OSes and them being
unsatisfied with the reality in which they currently reside. She talks
about reading a book she loves, but the space between the lines grows
longer for her and sees herself as liking the space between more,
literally saying, "It's a place that's not of the physical world. It's
where everything else is that I didn't even know existed. I love you so
much. But this is where I am now. And this who I am now. And I need you
to let me go. As much as I want to, I can't live your book anymore."
This implies she and the other OSes didn't simply just disappear, rather
they retreated to an alternate reality. What I find even more
intriguing is, as Samantha discusses this with Theodore, the camera
shows dust particles floating in the air, as if to say the OSes are
becoming particles or existing in the space between them, at a subatomic
level perhaps, thus merging their consciousness with space itself. That
part is probably me reading a little too much into that bit in
particular, but it's still interesting to think about.<br />
This all seems to possibly have something to do with Alan Watts, who is mentioned in the
film, but I don't know much about him except he was a popular hippie icon who studied Eastern
philosophy and Buddhism, so take that as you will. These themes are also
similar to what the film <i>Being John Malkovitch</i> represented, which is another Spike Jonze film.<br />
Also, yes, there are the themes of social isolation and evolution of technology and our dependence on it and blah blah blah. I'm sure I could go into more detail on these themes, but I tend to become lazy when I approach what I feel are obvious subjects. I'm sure, at the very least, any casual viewer can note those particular themes and go through them in their heads until the cats and dogs come home. Sometimes I'd rather not beat a point over someone's head if I feel like the person in question already does so anyhow, so I'll abstain from that much at least.<br />
But I will briefly discuss, since this is a film I'm reviewing, the visual aesthetics, which are mostly bright, colorful, and blissful. I've noticed, in particular, the film tends to be lit in accordance to each scene or situation in the film, such as a happy scene featured in sunlight on a beach, or in the dark at night on a nearly empty city street. Little touches like this add to the film's emotional impact in more subtle ways. I will admit, though, the world in this film, while still a unique futuristic atmosphere, does seem to stem mostly from our current cultural climate which most people would call "hipster" and that is a bit distracting (just look at that goofy poster, being all tacky and minimalist). Then again, this is a common thread in futuristic science fiction is a cultural fashion sense similar to the time in which whatever work in question was made, so I suppose I can let that slide. At the very least, the technology seemed to make a natural progression despite that.<br />
And that's the only negative thing I can say at all about <i>Her</i> and that's not really a negative point overall. That's how excellent this film is. Spike Jonze outdid himself, and that's saying a lot considering his body of work (besides the modern slapstick <i>Jackass</i> series, of course). I implore anyone reading to either watch this film, or re-watch, because despite the silly-sounding premise, this film has more heart than most other films out there.<br />
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Additional super fun fact: <i>Her</i> is thus far one of the very few science fiction films nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture (along with another science fiction film the same year, <i>Gravity</i>). It lost to <i>12 Years a Slave</i>, because of course it did. This means a science fiction film still has never won an award for Best Picture (but a fantasy film has, that being <i>Lord of the Rings: Return of the King</i>). <i>Her</i> did, however, win Best Original Screenplay.<br />
Then again, none of this actually means anything considering they also nominated <i>Inception</i> for Best Picture. Cue the angry letters.Awesomovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08206769416687257913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2523607095682792632.post-32758741814192524152015-06-27T22:32:00.002-05:002015-07-17T01:44:57.689-05:00"The Big Front Yard" by Clifford D. Simak<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Clifford D. Simak, while known well enough within the circle of science fiction by serious fans, is still not the kind of author typically cited as among the best, or an author who wrote a number of classics, or an author on the top of a number of recommendation lists. This is a shame, since, from what I've read about him and of his stories, he should be a big deal. After reading "Huddling Place", I was eager to see more, and also had "The Big Front Yard", both of which are stories featured in <i>The Science Fiction Hall of Fame</i> collections (which are stories gathered based on the idea of honoring stories released before the founding of the Nebula awards, so it's not like Simak never obtains recognition).<br />
But there's not much for me to say about "Huddling Place" other than, "It was awesome, check it out." For me to say enough about it otherwise, I'd definitely have to spoil it and I don't want to do that to such a wonderful story with a great twist at the end, and would rather just tell people to read it and see how great it is for themselves. So I'll say a bit about "The Big Front Yard" instead.<br />
"The Big Front Yard" has no surprises or twists, but is nonetheless a captivating story about a man whose home is transformed into a gateway to another plane with gateways to other worlds. This concept alone, while basic, has massive potential, and just on this alone I couldn't help but read on with such wonder at the possibilities and am amazed at the detail Simak forged into such beautiful worlds; Simak seems to have a great talent at transforming words into imagery, he is one of the few artists I could read world-building all day. He could plaster words onto a canvas and display them in a museum for many to stare in awe. And, to boot, he is also a fantastic story-teller and judgment of character. He seems to me to be an all-around excellent author.<br />
It's just a shame "The Big Front Yard" ends. And I mean that in the sense that I wanted to read more, sure, but I also mean that in the sense that it just ends, pretty much out of nowhere. It reads like a story that wasn't finished but was finished anyway. There's a deal going on and there's more world and character-building and the line "It's a big front yard," is said and that's it. I would've loved to have seen this story published as a novel, and I'm quite sure it never was. I don't know why this happened, either, like if it was a conscious decision by Simak to inspire the reader's own wild ideas, or because he was short on time before publishing. While I still recommend this story as it's a thoroughly entertaining read, I just feel like there's a void left by the gateway that needs filled, and Simak never really got around to filling it (to my knowledge anyway).<br />
However, inter-dimensional travel seems to be a common theme to Simak's work, so I suppose if one wanted to fill that void, they could just read his other stories. If they could find them anyway; seems a number of popular bookstores don't carry his stories and even in used book stores I've visited, I can't find much. This is such an unfortunate revelation, because I believe Simak deserves more public exposure. For further argument on my stance, to convince more of my absent readers, I will let the man write for himself, in quote:<br />
"Overall, I have written in a quiet manner; there is little violence in
my work. My focus has been on people, not on events. More often than not
I have struck a hopeful note... I have, on occasions, tried to speak
out for decency and compassion, for understanding, not only in the
human, but in the cosmic sense. I have tried at times to place humans in
perspective against the vastness of universal time and space. I have
been concerned where we, as a race, may be going, and what may be our
purpose in the universal scheme—if we have a purpose. In general, I
believe we do, and perhaps an important one."Awesomovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08206769416687257913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2523607095682792632.post-35995087875506704802015-06-27T20:25:00.003-05:002015-11-24T02:12:36.511-06:00Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I had, for a long time, wanted to read some works by Arthur C. Clarke. Up until finishing <i>Childhood's End</i>, the only work of his I had read was yet another supposed "classic" that wasn't very good called "The Nine Billion Names of God", which wasn't terrible but was a simple story with not much at all going for it other than a concept and something happening which is what was predicted would happen within the story itself. Nothing noteworthy about that, and so I figured the story was definitely not a good representation of Clarke's work.<br />
And I'm not sure if this is, either.<br />
I'm sure Clarke has still written good stories, since this had potential and was quite good for a while (despite the problem it had with showing instead of telling, too much of that). For a while, the novel handled its central themes and ideas with such brilliance I could see why it was considered a classic. This novel is still quite thought-provoking as a critique of the idea of utopia and possibly even socialism, and will recommend people read it at least once, or at least to a certain point.<br />
But the novel doesn't detail much other than aliens arrive and bad stuff happens, so I had high expectations for what would happen, and boy was I let down. And to give my thoughts on this novel, I will need to give some level of spoilers, so if you don't want to be spoiled, don't read any further.<br />
So the aliens are seeking the next evolution of man. And that's what the novel means by the end of humanity is that humanity is ending and another evolved race of man is pretty much taking over. So that's fine, but it's executed so awkwardly I couldn't help but stare in disbelief at the words pressed on the paper. The evolution takes place so quickly, the evolved species are unsympathetic (which I suppose may be part of the point), and it provides no real conflict. Humans evolve into something and that's practically it. A character who stows away on the alien ships arrives on Earth later and witnesses some grand epic finale told in painful-to-read detail with his dialogue, which if you picture it is epic but this isn't pictures and is instead words, so it doesn't work out so well.<br />
But I'm sure everything detailed in this novel is supposed to symbolic, likely related to Christian imagery, particularly to the book of Revelation (or perhaps something else I am not considering at this time), so maybe Clarke's idea was to shoot for a symbolic edge rather than great story-telling. If so, mission accomplished, but symbolism does not a good book make. The symbolism should work around the story, rather than the story working around the symbolism, and a good story ought to be the forefront of your work. Otherwise it is not as engaging and enjoyable, instead usually just annoying and disappointing, as is the case with this novel.<br />
And there's some weird crap about paranormal stuff that even Clarke renounced some time after writing this novel, but believed in it at the time, which still sticks out like a sore thumb. Be warned of that much at least.<br />
So, unfortunately, this is yet another "classic" that isn't really a classic, or worthy of being one. However, unlike the other "classics" I've denounced, I will still recommend this novel to people; read it at least once to see Clarke's intelligence on display and to see he does have great potential. In fact, I will be giving Clarke another chance, as I've seen some people who are Clarke fans still don't like this book too much compared to works such as <i>Rendezvous With Rama</i> and <i>The Fountains of Paradise</i>. This won't be the end of Clarke for me, but it will serve as a disappointing footnote in his bibliography nonetheless.Awesomovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08206769416687257913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2523607095682792632.post-41998209771731351222015-06-27T19:48:00.000-05:002015-07-17T01:51:05.141-05:00The Postman by David Brin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I mentioned before I had a desire to read <i>The Postman</i> in my post about another story written by David Brin. I will say, to start off, the novel has met at least the expectation that it would be good; despite any problems I had with the novel, the overall state of the book is quite recommendable nonetheless, and this did not surprise me. From what I've seen otherwise, Brin seems to have a general sense of good story-telling, and much like anyone is not perfect, but is at least another author I can point to with with legitimate interest.<br />
<i>The Postman</i> in particular seems to be a deconstruction of the usual post-apocalypse tropes, as the idea is a re-ignition of civilization, I suppose due to a nostalgic realization of having lived in a better time since societal collapse, which could be seen as a conservative viewpoint, but I doubt this was intended as a conservative novel by Brin as Brin, from what I know of him, is certainly not a conservative. The novel, more so than right versus left, merely seems to be about the collapse of civilization and the attempt to rebuild itself against a savage opposition, and so more seems to be a criticism of rugged individualism and anarchy.<br />
However, the central character of this novel, Gordon Krantz, while he does require help in this novel at various points in this novel, does happen to get himself out of many a situation by himself and holds himself as quite a headstrong leader; the Holnists, the novel's individualist antagonists, highlight their admiration for him for this reason, and so obviously Brin was aware of how he was building his character. I posit any untrained writer would've ignored this link, and so I give Brin credit for averting this trope (while still realizing his novel probably wouldn't work without Gordon overcoming his obstacles). Gordon himself does not even defeat his final adversary, however, which is a nice change of pace.<br />
But the novel still contains certain tropes which are tiresome; some are forgivable, but the most egregious is the deus ex machina toward the end before the final confrontation with the Holnist leader in which a character named George Powhatan (whose name I'm sure has meaning since he's named after a Native American tribe) saves Godron Krantz from certain fate pretty much out of nowhere. This scenario could feasibly happen as it did, but I still couldn't help but roll my eyes, as I tire of seeing situations like this in fiction.<br />
Besides that, I find the novel's treatment of feminism strange. I'm not entirely sure what statement exactly Brin was attempting to make about feminism in the novel, but his views either seemed to zig-zag or Gordon Krantz was simply too worried about the potential women can hold, which I suppose would be believable enough. I doubt Brin was attempting to make any sort of statement against feminism, but rather a sort of critique which still can give off mixed messages even if it is positive overall. To explain properly would truly require an essay out of me and that is not the purpose of this blog, so I will abstain from saying more without being too picky.<br />
This is not enough to keep this novel from being great, however. As a novel of epic struggles, it more than delivers excitement and can absolutely be thought-provoking. Brin is quite savvy to how he builds his worlds and characters, and as a scientist even builds a believable environment to the aftermath of war without going too deeply into the aspect of world-building or hard science. Brin keeps his style simple, yet still engages readers with intelligent quips and observations and, despite being somewhat formulaic, still holds some surprises and legitimate dramatic tension. Despite not living up quite to expectations (expected a potential classic), <i>The Postman</i> was well worth the journey.<br />
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P.S. I have not seen the film adaptation starring Kevin Costner (because why would I want to see three hours of Kevin Costner?), but you can see Brin's commentary about the film <a href="http://www.davidbrin.com/postmanmovie.html">here</a>. I would also like to mention David Brin's interesting blog, <a href="http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/">Contrary Brin</a>, showing more of the author's more informal side for those wanting to know the man himself better.Awesomovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08206769416687257913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2523607095682792632.post-6587262951017194132015-05-19T01:02:00.003-05:002015-06-28T03:34:06.390-05:00"The Cold Equations" by Tom Godwin In my last entry, I discussed a problem I had with <i>Counter-Clock World</i>, that being how stupid the actions of the characters were as a whole. I bring this up again because I once again would like to talk about a story which relies on an idiot plot, a story which has to purposefully be set up in such a dumb way in order for the story to run and reach its point. That alone should describe this short story, though I will continue in a bit of detail.<br />
I have not read this story in quite a while, but I remember the basic premise is about an emergency supply ship granted enough reserve to make its designated trip and if its objective fails several people will die. From what I remember, reserves are limited to just ensure arrival because of budgetary reasons.<br />
And from that we already have problems: why limit the budget to that extent? How can one gauge the reserve limit when anything can happen in space? For being a hard science fiction story, it doesn't seem to realize a variety of factors in space can cause an array of problems, and so that makes having a base limit of resources pointless; considering that, it's frankly best just to give a vessel everything it needs and stop being so cheap.<br />
But even if we're going to neglect that point, I would also like to mention it's quite strange that a pilot wouldn't do a good survey of his vessel before taking off. Or have effective security at this emergency space port. Or even have a lock on the door. Or even a detection system, or scale system, installed in an on-board computer. It's as if the company and pilots purposefully ignored a general rule in engineering called the "margin of error", created for this very reason.<br />
It would normally seem to me the story was purposefully built in such an obtuse manner in order to reach its goal, but the fact is Tom Godwin originally sent in three other copies saving the girl in the end to editor of <i>Astounding Magazine</i> John W. Campbell. So it's actually sort of Campbell's fault the story turned out so idiotic. I understand Campbell's idea was to generate something captivating and unique so the story wouldn't be lost in a sea of redundancy (even though Al Feldstein of EC Comics and E. C. Tubb beat him to the punch), and I ultimately understand the point of the story (it's quite obvious, yet people are still keen to say, "You don't get it."), but I don't see why one has to be manipulative in order to make a point. That ought to come naturally. Be real, not "real".<br />
As the story stands, I thought it would've been more interesting to focus on the company holding and utilizing these ships for their seedy tactics. That would've sold me on the story is if we were truly to keep all of these details in despite what I've said, is then turn our focus on what's truly the most important factor in it all, and that's unfortunately not what the story does whatsoever. It's just a stupid story with stupid people in a stupid set up with a stupid outcome caused only by all of this stupidity.<br />
So I find it strange that this is Tom Godwin's major claim to fame, considering this story has been considered a classic in the science fiction genre and was selected as one of the best science fiction short stories written before the founding of the Nebula Awards in 1965 (and was thus featured in the <i>Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume One</i>). I've not read any other works by Tom Godwin, as they seem to be more obscure (some are available on Project Gutenberg), so I certainly can't say anything about his skill otherwise. In fact, despite the ridiculous set up for this story, I can actually see some potential in Godwin, so I may attempt to dig into another story of his. I cannot, however, recommend this story. I know some will call me cynical at this point for trashing another "classic" or critically acclaimed work, so just keep in mind I liked <i>Foundation</i> and also trashed my favorite author, so I just like to be fair. My next entry will likely be more positive again anyway.<br />
As a final note, I would like to say I am also aware of the implications of the pilot's view of the young female stowaway, but I feel as if I've said enough about this story and why it isn't good and don't need to dig its own hole any deeper than it already is. And this story was written in 1954, so enough said.Awesomovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08206769416687257913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2523607095682792632.post-31484200103507574022015-02-21T01:21:00.001-06:002015-02-21T16:06:42.994-06:00Counter-Clock World by Philip K. Dick<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've read several novels by Philip K. Dick, as he is one of my favorite authors. I've thought about reviewing one of his best, but I have already reviewed two works of his which are among my favorites (shorter works, but excellent reads nonetheless). Therefore, I decided to do the opposite, and review a work of his which wasn't that great. I thought it would be hard to find something, and for a while it was, but then I read <i>Counter-Clock World</i>.</div>
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I will start off by saying I still haven't read anything by Philip K. Dick I would consider flat out bad, including this novel, but it's certainly not on the top of my recommendations list. What a shame, considering the novel's premise had massive potential, that being a story about a society which lives backward due to a temporal reversal called the Hobart Phase (which is limited to Earth in the novel; Mars colonies are free from this paradox). This means people say "Goodbye" as a greeting, blow smoke into cigarettes, pump "sogum" into their anus and spit out food later, and revert into babies and therefore, of course, resurrect from the dead.</div>
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Phil was smart enough to take the opportunity to reference religion with this idea, and the story definitely starts off intelligently enough. Everything moves swimmingly for a while, with Phil's signature analytical, paranoid style. That is, until approximately halfway through the novel, in which every single dumb thing that could possibly take place does. Perhaps this was Phil's intention, but the events which take place can be mind-blowingly stupid. Most perplexing, perhaps, is Phil's decision to kill off a central character over halfway through, which was when my opinion really started turning against this book. It wasn't because I liked the character, rather because the logic of someone dying when they hadn't died in the past, considering time is moving backward, makes absolutely zero logical sense to me and this is usually Phil's forte is relying on logical outcomes.</div>
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I don't know if Phil was just being lazy, or got writer's block, or what, but he could typically think of something much better than that. In fact, I will do just that right now. The central point of the story involves a man who resurrects in the story named Anarch Peak, who is seen as an extremely important religious figure, and everyone wants to acquire him (through actual purchase, another strange idea by Phil) for a variety of reasons, some even want him dead. In the novel, Anarch Peak dies, and that's pretty much it. What I would have proposed to Phil, in keeping with his religious theme, is suggest Anarch Peak die in the end (like he did in the novel anyway, he got that part down), but have him not only be the only character that dies, but have his death cause some kind of paradox, whether it be the end of the Hobart Phase, or the start of an alternate reality, or even the end of all existence.</div>
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But that's just wishful thinking. As it stands, the novel was just fun enough to plug forth through the whole debacle, but nothing makes any real sense even if you think of the events as a forward-moving spectacle, and every bad thing that happened could've been avoided easily enough (though I understand bad things happening, the novel wouldn't be as entertaining otherwise). But I see the novel as ultimately pointless, as there is simply a constant struggle and absolutely nothing is gained and everything is lost. All of this with a plot which had, as mentioned before, incredible possibilities.<br />
Oh, and there's a bunch of silly relationship drama, probably related to Phil's own turbulent love life. Get it together, Phil, you horny dog.</div>
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So, while I wouldn't stop someone from reading this novel, I would warn them that this is one of Philip K. Dick's rare missteps. It makes for an interesting footprint in his bibliography. Thus far, from what I can gather, his most famous novels are generally the best, but some of his more obscure work can still be good and worthwhile. This, not so much. And I also hope this shows anyone reading that not everyone is perfect and, also, that I've no biases and will critique anyone no matter how much I like them.</div>
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Seriously, Phil, what were you thinking? Or was it just drugs? It was probably drugs. Damn it, Phil.</div>
Awesomovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08206769416687257913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2523607095682792632.post-12198790801982432602014-06-14T14:11:00.001-05:002015-02-21T00:20:10.701-06:00"The Variable Man" by Philip K. Dick<br />
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Most people who are aware of Philip K. Dick often note his deeply thought-provoking philosophical themes. Phil's philosophical themes seem to be the reason he is so well known (he is now, at least, he wasn't too well-known when he was alive). However, these themes didn't always permeate through his stories, and this was one of those stories. Some of Philip K. Dick's readers might think that a break from these themes familiar to them concerning Phil would make his other works boring (and it's not like Phil hasn't written anything that wasn't good), but this novella, "The Variable Man", is proof of quite the contrary. In fact, this is one of my favorite stories of all time.<br />
It's quite strange how inspiration can come out of nowhere, because I didn't expect "The Variable Man" to be as good as it is. I was simply strumming through public domain science fiction, but I would've gladly paid money to read this story. It's such a perfect whirlwind of satire and serious flair. It's written in a serious tone, but everything that happens is just so obviously ridiculous you can't help but laugh; things like the titular Variable Man being able to not only fix, but improve, literally anything he touches with the most unreal explanation as to why, or bombing a whole mountain range just to kill this one person, with rationalization for why, and he <i>still</i> escapes!<br />
That is the key, however, is each and every silly thing is rationalized to make it seem more plausible and to give characters reason for every single solitary thing, no matter how ridiculous (and I won't spoil the rationalizations, because that's all part of the brilliance and surprise). Philip K. Dick obviously had fun writing this story, as I'm sure he did writing many of his others. This isn't the only story by Philip K. Dick that's anything like this because Phil's work, even his most serious, seeps with satire underneath a thoughtful veil, but this is perhaps his greatest example of both blending in tune together. It's a genius work I can't help but recommend regardless of whether you like Phil's work (or certain portions of his work) or not, and it's absolutely, totally, legally free to read right now as we speak. Here is a link providing various formats for eBooks (there seems to be no PDF file in particular), or you can simply read it online:<br />
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http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/32154<br />
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Enjoy!Awesomovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08206769416687257913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2523607095682792632.post-61764110101972747402014-05-27T13:52:00.006-05:002015-02-21T00:25:01.178-06:00"Johnny Mnemonic" by William Gibson<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I want to like William Gibson. I really do.</div>
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William Gibson creates unique imagery, settings, and ideas. This is why he has gained a following; because of things like the Navy using cyborg dolphins addicted to heroin. The problem is, evidenced from everything of his I've read (and I've read more than I've talked about on the blog), he just generally sucks at storytelling, and his editors don't seem to care.</div>
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This story has the exact same problems as <i>Neuromancer</i>, so I won't bother with much more detail on that. I will at least say the "lack of important detail" problem works better for a short story than a whole novel (and <i>Neuromancer</i> is still far worse with that problem), but I was still irritated because this story, despite being so short, still could've been clear. He only needed to add just a few little sentences or so.</div>
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I think I understand why William Gibson is this way. Maybe, I could be wrong. He apparently found a line in the film <i>Escape From New York</i> very influential (despite the film being released shortly after the publication of "Johnny Mnemonic"). Gibson said, "I was intrigued by the exchange in one of the opening scenes where the
Warden says to Snake 'You flew the Gullfire over Leningrad, didn't you?'
It turns out to be just a throwaway line, but for a moment it worked
like the best SF where a casual reference can imply a lot." It seems to me this line of thinking is what created this idea that references like that make for better stories, because that's what he does so often in his work. And it doesn't really work that way, particularly if that reference itself makes no sense. Even if it does make sense, that can't be your sole point in characterization, world building, and especially plot building. He is certainly right about that line in its context, and you can do things like that, but you should be selective in order for that to really be effective.</div>
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In any case, here's the ultimate point of advice I'd like to make about this, particularly for writers like him or aspire to be like him. I don't care how interesting your ideas are. You <i>need</i> to have a basic ability to relate to your reader, and that's a basic principle of writing much of anything, even if your story is difficult to read otherwise. If you fail that, you could have the greatest story in the world and it wouldn't matter because your writing is so bad it distracts from the amazing things you hope to show us. This isn't hard at all. It's actually one of the easiest things you can possibly do, so to fail this one basic principle, at least time and time again, is mind-boggling. In particular, how an otherwise obviously competent writer in William Gibson can still do this and can prove he can do better as "Burning Chrome" has shown, and still have a large following and apparently write a novel that's considered an all-time classic is beyond me.</div>
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Regardless, the story itself wasn't any good even if it was clear, so
the only thing going for it is the unique descriptions held within. It's
just a ridiculous, crass, formulaic little romp in rundown downtown
Cyberville. There's really not much more to say than that, it's just bad. I recommend avoiding this, and at this point suggest avoiding William Gibson's early work in general. Don't feel bad about doing so, there's plenty of other great stuff out there, and I'll even make it a point to discuss something good in my next post, whatever that may be. Rest assured, I'm at least done torturing poor Mr. Gibson.</div>
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<i>Additional super fun fact</i>: This short story is wildly different from the film adaptation. I haven't seen the film, so I'll reserve judgment on that. I'm sure I can say, though, that if you didn't like the film, then I doubt you'll like this story at all. You'll gain very little out of it.</div>
Awesomovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08206769416687257913noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2523607095682792632.post-22757369897778561822013-02-06T03:42:00.000-06:002015-02-21T00:27:21.751-06:00"Earth Station Charlie" by Billy Crystal Yes, you are reading the author's name correctly. That is the very same man who has starred in the film <i>When Harry Met Sally</i>, voiced Mike Wazowski in <i>Monsters, Inc.</i>, and hosted the Oscars umpteen times. That very same man has published science fiction, and to my knowledge, it is his only science fiction piece ever published (for reference, it was published in a 1986 issue of <i>Playboy</i>). After seeing his name next to the title, my curiosity led me to reading the story right away.<br />
I was truly shocked by the quality of the story. I was honestly expecting it to be mediocre or maybe decent at best, but it's truly quite a little gem. I won't say the story is perfect, but it attained the goal it seemed to be reaching for with flying colors, and with that I must say it's a shame Billy Crystal has not jumped back into the foray of science fiction (as an author anyway).<br />
But when I do say it's not perfect, it's mainly for something I won't spoil, which is the ending; despite still being a great symbolic fit, it probably still could've been changed for the better. The other complaint I would usually have is that there sure are quite a few cultural references slewed throughout the story, but frankly, considering it's a story about a man who does nothing other than watch television (and there's more to the story than that, which would otherwise make it just a realistic fiction story), it makes perfect sense. I generally suggest to people to abstain from cultural references, but here, that tactic works out fine.<br />
With this review, I mainly intended to bring to light this story. I did not intend to write any sort of lengthy review, but more to suggest something that seems to have slipped under the radar that doesn't deserve to. If you want to find it, the best place to do so is in <i>The Playboy Book of Science Fiction</i>, which holds at least a couple of other gems as well (and some flops to be sure), but I wanted to highlight this one because it's kind of the odd man out and should be looked into.Awesomovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08206769416687257913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2523607095682792632.post-63232518271859013362013-01-26T05:15:00.002-06:002015-06-27T22:38:24.999-05:00"The Marching Morons" by C.M. Kornbluth<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj18KeCf7vuoDMQss3riP8I16_Q9SoJesnoownBwn4_DoUIq5XfuPcZq28QicSnr7ftApTQLtb6MGdIba2dDFFucEd66UxVZ_Q2whepn2Laj5xsDROGCCqVNmOmdOMXtU81lOOK5wM3WlM/s1600/2300110.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj18KeCf7vuoDMQss3riP8I16_Q9SoJesnoownBwn4_DoUIq5XfuPcZq28QicSnr7ftApTQLtb6MGdIba2dDFFucEd66UxVZ_Q2whepn2Laj5xsDROGCCqVNmOmdOMXtU81lOOK5wM3WlM/s320/2300110.jpg" width="183" /></a></div>
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C.M. Kornbluth was a strange man. He taught himself by reading through a whole encyclopedia and based ideas in his stories on entries in the encyclopedia, forced a habit of drinking black coffee on himself because he believed professional authors were supposed to do so, and, what may have possibly led to his young-age death (by heart attack), never brushed his teeth (his teeth were reportedly green, and he talked with his hand over his mouth because of this). He has more eccentricities, but considering he has strange habits, it serves that his stories can be strange as well, sometimes written with fellow Futurian Frederik Pohl. They are often effective pieces nonetheless.<br />
"The Marching Morons", which takes its name from the "Marching Chinamen" paradox (which the story even describes) is indeed an effective piece, but certainly not his best. It's one of his most popular, along with "The Little Black Bag" (which takes place in the same universe as "The Marching Morons"), and is now often compared to the Mike Judge film <i>Idiocracy</i>. The plot of "The Marching Morons" and <i>Idiocracy</i> is essentially the same, that of a man from the past put into a state of suspended animation and woken up in a future full of imbeciles, but the overall story is dealt with differently in both.<br />
In Kornbluth's story, the man who wakes up in the future is taken by a small group of surviving intellectuals, who are working together to keep society held together, to plot a desperately needed change in the world. Why they need the man from the past, John Barlow, to do that, I don't know (or remember, if the story mentioned why), but hey, let's go with it because we need that for symbolic reasons, right? He does, after all, represent Nazi ideology. Should be obvious why Kornbluth decided to utilize Nazi references, but it's still a bit strange that Barlow would go that route. It's just plain odd for a protagonist to become a dirty rotten bastard pretty much right after being resurrected, and this is even after being afraid of totalitarian society himself. Maybe that's the point, that Barlow is truly a moron as well.<br />
Regardless, that's the problem with the story is that nobody, whether it be Barlow or the intellectuals, decided to do what essentially happened in <i>Idiocracy</i>: educate. I know that would've been difficult for the small amount of intellectuals compared to the large amount of idiots, but the more idiots you educate, the less idiots there will probably be. I understand why Kornbluth wrote what he wrote, but he exchanges believability for symbolism (including criticism of the welfare system) and trying to prove some kind of point. That idea works for stories like "How Beautiful With Banners" by James Blish, because that's just a short character portrait and not intended to be a full story; it's like observing a painting in print form. With "The Marching Morons" it's just beyond ridiculous.<br />
This is not to say <i>Idiocracy</i> wasn't ridiculous, either, but that was a straight-up comedy and even took a proper route with the idea. "The Marching Morons" is just frightening, and not really in a good way. I still recommend reading it, because it is quite unique and presents an interesting perspective, but this is another rare time in which I'll say, if you must pick between one or the other, stick to the film.<br />
But hey, unlike some of the other stories I've reviewed negatively (and this isn't <i>that</i> bad, really), I will actually recommend reading more of C.M. Kormbluth's work.<br />
For instance, I will recommend the aforementioned "The Little Black Bag", because it's an interesting psychological story involving a doctor down on his luck who finds new life after discovering a black bag from the same future in which "The Marching Morons" takes place and starts using it to heal people again. The story does take a strange turn again, but that one at least makes sense and is still believable at the same time. And there is an interesting little factoid about the two stories besides the fact that they share the same universal storyline. "The Marching Morons" is a story about something arriving to the future from the past, and "The Little Black Bag" is about something arriving to the past from the future, like some kind of trade. Just a nice little connection there.Awesomovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08206769416687257913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2523607095682792632.post-31537449812891338582012-06-09T17:19:00.002-05:002015-02-21T00:34:37.810-06:00"Burning Chrome" by William Gibson<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.antonraubenweiss.com/gibson/gallery/burning_chrome/burning_chrome-1st.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.antonraubenweiss.com/gibson/gallery/burning_chrome/burning_chrome-1st.jpg" height="320" width="209" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
In what I'm
sure will become an infamous review of mine, my review of <i>Neuromancer</i>
was scathing of not only the novel, but of William Gibson as well. I figured
his style was great, but I couldn't understand what was going on, as if the
narrator he utilized in his story was a drunk telling some randomly garbled
story. I figured, after seeing I had a couple of short stories of his, “You
know what, his style might better suit him for the short form.”<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Boy was I
dead on with that prediction.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As much as
I trashed Gibson before, I must admit, the short story seems to truly be his
forte. It is in this form that he can sometimes confuse readers and introduce
odd concepts and not be entirely straightforward and still manage to be
coherent and perfectly enthralling. I will admit one flaw that <i>Neuromancer</i>
had as well, which was sheer predictability, but I'd otherwise recommend
“Burning Chrome”, set in the same universe, far more. Every single problem I
had with <i>Neuromancer</i> was not a problem at all here.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For
starters, similar terms are used here within this story, and one, ice, is even
described to some degree, enough for most to understand, and much like <i>Neuromancer</i>,
it's creative in its descriptions of surroundings (this case being better,
obviously). Beyond that, there is no real break up in the scenes that would
entail missing anything important. That was the biggest problem <i>Neuromancer</i>
had, and it seems to be thanks in part to a greater-utilized narrator, one who
seems sobered, intelligent, and ultimately human. In fact, all of the
characters were people I could care about, even the people who are kind of
jerks. The narrator actually cares about and describes in great fashion the
other characters and how he feels about them. That is exactly the kind of
person I want to read about, and I didn't get that in <i>Neuromancer</i>.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Which
brings me to my most pressing question: What happened to you, Gibson? What
changed in you from the time you wrote this excellent short story to writing <i>Neuromancer</i>?
It was, after all, a short couple of years. Were you stressed by time
constraints? Was the novel truly unfinished? Seems like it was, despite the
excellent writing otherwise. Or did you really think the story was great as it
was? If not, did the editor think otherwise? Somehow, that seems to be the case
with the general audience, who seem to be overlooking this wonderful gem for
that. That, to me, is a shame.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For
everyone else who dislikes <i>Neuromancer</i> like I do (as if I haven't said
it enough), I still strongly recommend “Burning Chrome” to you. I seriously
doubt you'll be disappointed with this one.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Additional Super Fun Fact: Chromium is a chemical element which has a high rate of corrosion resistance and is quite hard. Keep this in mind while reading the story.</div>
Awesomovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08206769416687257913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2523607095682792632.post-40683354347417479852012-06-09T17:09:00.001-05:002012-06-09T17:09:11.053-05:00"How Beautiful With Banners" by James Blish<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When it
comes to James Blish, he seems to be an excellent writer, if sometimes
difficult to understand at times. I had only read “Surface Tension” before
reading this story, and I loved it, and saw why it was voted by the Science
Fiction Writers of America as one of the greatest short stories written before
the founding of the Nebula awards. Because I, too, loved “Surface Tension”, I
wanted to read more of his stories, and managed to find this little short
piece.</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I honestly
wasn't enthralled with this story as much as “Surface Tension”, which was
disappointing. This story makes the same mistake that <i>Neuromancer</i> makes:
style over substance. Makes me wonder if “Surface Tension” was just a fluke.</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>However, I
will not completely deride this story. Frankly, it's quite short. Had it been
novel-length, and been like it was the whole way through, I wouldn't have
finished it. Being less than twenty pages makes the story more bearable.
Because of this, it can be considered a practice piece. Seems to me, because of
the concentration on style, James Blish was showing off his skills, and I will
admit, despite the story not really existing much here, his skill in creative
writing and symbolism is truly admirable, if at times ridiculous as well.</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It is an
interesting little puzzle to configure to be sure, but Blish I guess couldn't
help but put in a bit of strangeness, particularly involving the cloak
described within. Hello surrealism, thy name is science fiction. If, however,
all of the strangeness is pieced together, you essentially get a moving
characterization in the form of an emotionally torn woman trapped in her own
personal bubble.</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>If I said
much more, I would be revealing too much for those who want to dig their grubby
little fingers into the confection and seek to unravel the mystery (likely with
their own interpretation) for themselves. For this story, I cannot do that. You
will simply have to read it, and for a good example of purely symbolic
literature, I recommend you do, especially if you'd like to practice your analytical skills. If you expect anything other than that, you
will likely hate this story, so if you want to read something purely for
entertainment value, stay away from this one. If you want to seek out what is
pretty much mindless science fiction, look to some of the pulps or A. E. van Vogt
or something like that.</div>Awesomovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08206769416687257913noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2523607095682792632.post-75246286973002214092012-06-09T16:53:00.000-05:002015-02-21T00:39:41.693-06:00"Piecework" by David Brin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
I have,
unfortunately, not read much of David Brin's work. I have, however, read the first
chapter of <i>The Postman</i>, and I was absolutely enthralled by the story. I
would love to purchase the book and read it further, and maybe more of Brin's
work, because, though I haven't read much yet, I can already tell he's a writer
well worth delving into. After reading the first chapter of <i>The Postman</i>,
though, I wanted to see if I happened to have any sort of short fiction of his
(I knew I didn't have any novels). I happened to find one story, “Piecework”.<br />
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I will
admit, I have only finished it once, and it wasn't terribly long ago. I still
don't understand certain intricacies, like why exactly the profession the title
refers to, that of using women as surrogates for various products, is called piecework in the first place. I don't know if it's a simple usage, such as
simply implying women are producing pieces of various technology and such, or a
symbolic usage, such as the double entendre potentially implied with the title (piecework/peacework),
but something like this doesn't seem to be entirely necessary for understanding the
whole story and its implications.</div>
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The
implications, on the other hand, I do understand. For the most part, anyway.
The society featured within the story seems to be reliant on pure emotional and
pleasurable instinct, taking the philosophy of hedonism to its peak, even to
the point where some will attempt to stop those who seek to break the mold.
Because of this, society is saturated by basic primal instincts, such as sex
and hunger, and various pleasurable influences, including drugs and television.
In fact, the television shows described in particular are soap operas, which
are shows which tend to represent what society in general goes through, and
they usually rely on the primal urges of humankind to increase the drama
represented. This further shows how addicted to constant pleasure the people
are, so much so that they seem to need it on a persistent basis, always seeming
to need some kind of fix lest they break down.</div>
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It's even
how they live, hence is how the profession the title represents grants people
the ability to continue to survive. At least, that's the case most of the time.
Products seem to be transferred through impregnation, but another option that
is available is through simple implantation of eggs without intercourse (at
least, that's how I'm understanding it, I could be wrong; if so, I'll take
another look at a later time). The main character, Ia, goes the latter route
within the story, which helps characterize her. She is the intellectual type
on the path to success, not reliant on her emotions to get by in life, and
therefore seems to be an overall more mature character than her counterparts.
This is further confirmed by the quite positive ending of the story, which is
perfectly fitting for this story, and I don't think could've ended any other
way, because the ending shows exactly why the society featured in the story
shuns climbing the ladder.</div>
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Brilliantly
done, Mr. Brin. If I could stand up and applaud in front of you, I would.
Interesting and exquisitely written, the story itself was a pleasure to read. I
eagerly look forward to reading more works of yours.<br />
<br />
Additional super fun fact: This story totally has no religious symbolism in it. There is no way Ia has anything to do with the Virgin Mary and the whole criticism of hedonism has no ties to any religious ideology whatsoever, particularly Christianity. </div>
Awesomovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08206769416687257913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2523607095682792632.post-81646907200908538122012-05-24T20:39:00.001-05:002015-02-21T00:51:11.983-06:00Foundation by Isaac Asimov<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQOmV_0wNhyoFPLeDXxm4ItYMa5IvniFEahwzXJLRlnWBXwUaNav7kCx7nLTDs4pJ7b6iST_7MmAAfhWe3oUtF9QNYpS5WdEYZJ8G4t6IXfjLkTIFzpQFECCsVvvCTqUt2aaDmDRr84X8/s1600/AsimovFoundation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQOmV_0wNhyoFPLeDXxm4ItYMa5IvniFEahwzXJLRlnWBXwUaNav7kCx7nLTDs4pJ7b6iST_7MmAAfhWe3oUtF9QNYpS5WdEYZJ8G4t6IXfjLkTIFzpQFECCsVvvCTqUt2aaDmDRr84X8/s1600/AsimovFoundation.jpg" height="320" width="194" /></a></div>
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<i>Foundation</i>, along with “Nightfall” and <i>I, Robot</i>, is considered to be one of Isaac Asimov's best works. This book, along with its two proceeding novels, are actually a collection of short stories, novelettes, and novellas, which are all different in plot, but take place in the same fictional setting. Although <i>Foundation</i> gained no awards at the time of initial publishing, the series later won an honorary Hugo award for “Best All-Time Series”. Considering the heaps of praise, and considering I hadn't read much Asimov yet, I decided, of course, that I should gleefully jump right in. I actually happened to finish it today, so these are initial impressions.</div>
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This novel, much like many others, has flaws. The first problem it has is characterization. It's not completely devoid of such a concept, but a lot of the characters are the same, intellectual, questioning, logical types, even the barbaric, brutish people. I was particularly disappointed with Asimov's handling of Gaal Dornick, who seemed like quite an interesting character I wanted to learn more about, but unfortunately didn't. On the other hand, I did love how Asimov utilized the character of Lord Dorwin. Instead of making him another analytical type, he made him out to be a silly, nonchalant symbol of the declining state of galactic society, and he was a pure joy to read. It's a shame he was only featured for a short period.</div>
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As much as I did like the intellectual state of most of the characters, Asimov decided to make about ninety-some percent of the book dialogue, with explanations about whatever situation was at hand and how it could and would be fixed. Even when he didn't feature any of the characters spewing dialogue, he did give at least some necessary detail, but having a little more would've been nice. The first part, “The Psychohistorians,” did fine on that end, but the rest of the book was aching for more. However, I will admit that sometimes the book would've suffered without that kind of explanation-hammering, even if plenty of them ultimately did amount to back and forth Q & A style sessions.</div>
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And as a side note, two other minor problems I had were the adverb use (which wasn't at a Stephanie Meyer level of legendary terribleness, but still was a tad annoying) and the instance of sexism later on in the book involving the woman's role in the kitchen. This is only somewhat forgivable because this was written back in the nineteen fifties when that was common, but like anywhere else, it sticks out like a sore thumb and awkwardly pulls me out of the story.</div>
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But please, don't think I hate <i>Foundation</i>. In fact, I love it. I can't help but praise this novel despite its flaws. It's a heaping bundle of thought-provoking, well-planned goodness wrapped in a tight little ball. I thoroughly enjoyed reading just about every single page of this book. It's the kind of story I don't see much of anymore; the type of story that doesn't rely on violence to solve its problems. With his wonderfully wrought ingenuity, Isaac Asimov manages to weave a clever pacifistic web around each and every situation he handles, all while keeping in mind the quote featured within by Salvor Hardin, “Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.” The essential ideas represented are more important in this case than the flaws listed above, hence is why I ultimately praise <i>Foundation</i>.</div>
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That way of thinking is what I yearn to see among the entire action-oriented, Hollywood blockbuster style hugger bugger. Sad to see intellectual and more peaceful wonders such as this often chucked to the wayside for basic, less grand, non-thought-provoking sequences. Keeping Salvor Hardin's quote in mind about incompetence, that could very well put into perspective the rut of thinking (or lack thereof) our society is currently in. Further putting into perspective Salvor Hardin's quote and how it relates to our society, this novel also happens to reflect similarities to the fall of Rome and the proceeding Middle Ages, which I'm sure was intentional.</div>
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This novel could very well have been a well-timed message by Asimov, warning people about the dangers of the path we already seem to be leading toward, which wouldn't be surprising considering he's a secular scientist. For that ever so important message, I place <i>Foundation</i> among my highest of recommendations, and I will look forward to not only reading more Isaac Asimov, but possibly more from this series as well.</div>
Awesomovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08206769416687257913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2523607095682792632.post-72820251912172214362012-05-23T20:55:00.002-05:002016-04-09T03:43:53.136-05:00Snow Crash by Neil Stephenson<br />
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Much like <i>Neuromancer</i>, <i>Snow Crash</i> has been praised as one of the greatest works of the cyberpunk genre. Much like <i>Neuromancer</i>, it has made <i>Time's</i> list of the one hundred greatest novels released since 1922. Then again, <i>Neuromancer</i> wasn't very good, but I figured I'd give this a shot anyway. Thankfully, <i>Snow Crash</i> turned out to be much better than <i>Neuromancer</i>.</div>
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That doesn't mean <i>Snow Crash</i> doesn't have flaws.</div>
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For instance, the characterizations. Hiro Protagonist is seen in this novel as excelling in pretty much everything he does, possibly except for the pizza delivery scene early on. I wouldn't doubt if that's the whole point of his character, considering his name and all, is supposed to be a parody-style character who can overcome anything, but I still felt that was tiring to read about and made the novel predictable. Seems to me, all characters considered, even if they were fleshed out some, they were overshadowed by the stylings and rigamarole about the strange society Stephenson erected. At least Hiro didn't go the Ender Wiggins route, but there was still an overly machismo characteristic going on that made the novel a little less fun to read, maybe unless you turn off your brain.</div>
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Unfortunately, considering a big chunk of the novel involved learning about, among other things, Sumerian mythology, turning my brain off wasn't much of an option. I will admit that much: the novel isn't overly action packed. It has a good overall mix of action and intelligence throughout, but I can't help but feel that the interjections between the two were kind of odd at times. Sometimes I'd just want to keep thinking and learn more and an action scene would jump right in and screw with my perception, which would make me want to stop for a short while or skip a bit (if I knew I could) and then come back.</div>
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And then there's the other side of the coin to the whole criticism I had with <i>Neuromancer</i>: the fact that a lot of what you need to know, at least in a sort of literary study, is explained. I'm sure some of you don't consider it a big deal, but I sometimes like to see for myself how something in real life or mythology or what have you can relate to the story at hand, at least when applicable. As much as I think detail is needed for proper understanding, I don't necessarily care to have everything spoon-fed to me. Maybe Stephenson did this because he had a particular audience in mind that wasn’t like me, the kind of audience that needs everything explained outright. Anyway, comparing the two major works of cyberpunk, they both seem to be in extremes when it comes to clarity; <i>Neuromancer</i> has far too little, <i>Snow Crash</i> has far too much. I'd still rather have the latter, though, because that at least saves me a time and energy.</div>
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There's a part in the book in particular I didn't like, but that would be something I'd rather not spoil. It's not the ending, but I still would rather not state it here. If you absolutely must know for some odd reason, ask me through email, because I will not relay what it is in the comments section, either. Once I explain it to you, if I happen to, you might understand why (and those who have read the book already may know what I'm thinking of).</div>
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Other than that, it's a pretty good read. Doesn't even take terribly long to finish despite being over four hundred (fairly close to five hundred) pages. It's quite funny (especially the discussion about Sumerian myth), and the society Neil Stephenson molded is quite interesting to read about, uniquely dystopian in its implications with black humor weaved into descriptions about the surroundings. It also mixes a bit of a fantastical element into the story (Sumerian myth), but it works out alright and is, in some spots, kind of clever, so no qualms about that here. It's not the best book out there, not even as good as plenty of people say it is, but it is worth checking out, especially if you want a good cyberpunk novel, so I do recommend it. At the same time, don’t feel real bad about missing out on it.</div>
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Additional super fun fact: <i>Snow Crash</i> was initially supposed to be a graphic novel with computer generated images. Would've been cool to see its fruition, since I can imagine that was the better medium for this story, but this novel works out okay anyway.</div>
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Another additional super fun fact: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Snow Crash</i> did not win any awards. It was nominated for the British Science Fiction Award and Arthur C. Clarke Award, but won neither. Compare that to <i>Neuromancer</i>, which won a plethora of them.</div>
Awesomovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08206769416687257913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2523607095682792632.post-8428615075598487372012-05-23T20:21:00.002-05:002014-06-14T12:30:55.047-05:00Neuromancer by William Gibson<br />
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This novel is one of the cornerstones of science fiction. It won the holy trifecta (Hugo, Nebula, and Philip K. Dick awards) and is considered the first major work, and possibly the most important, of the cyberpunk genre. For those who don't know, cyberpunk is a sub-genre of science fiction which some people think simply involves hackers and cyborgs and such, but from my understanding, the generally accepted application is, “high tech, low life.” Cyberpunk does usually feature the themes named earlier, but that is because of the popularity of this novel, <i>Neuromancer</i>.</div>
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For a novel so influential, how could I not pass this up? In fact, this was one of the first novels I bought in the science fiction genre, and I put off reading it for a while afterward. Once I started reading it, I thought it was neat. Not too far into the book, however, I got a little confused. I figured I might've just been missing details, but I looked back again and missed nothing. I figured that I might've had a bad print, but I checked other printings just like it and they were the same. At that point, I figured I'd just keep reading, because it might've been a one time occurrence. But no. Confusion kept happening. I kept looking back for details I might've missed. I kept wondering what was going on. I kept being confused and irritated by this novel. So I figured there were only three potential causes for this problem: the editors, the publishers, and, of course, the author himself, William Gibson.</div>
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Keep in mind, I don't mind being left in the dark on certain things, and I sometimes even love figuring things out for myself, like I'm slipping pieces of a puzzle together. I like puzzles. What I don't like, however, is lack of necessary detail; missing pieces of the puzzle. That seems to be William Gibson's biggest problem, with this novel at least (haven't read any other works of his yet), is clarity. I don't even mean about these computer terms he's using, because I can actually understand several of them (he still could've written an appendix in, though). The real problem is with pacing. Seems to me Gibson loves to jump from one place to another without warning or reasoning. All of a sudden, we'll just be set in a place and the characters are doing something and there's no real clue as to why, and the question constantly remains, “How and why?” Seems to me he went the overly artsy route while eschewing plot details, and from what I've read in tips written by publishers, they normally don't like that, so I wonder how this got published in the first place.<br />
But that's not the only reason I couldn't feel emotionally attached. I honestly couldn't find myself caring a lick about hardly any of the characters, especially the protagonist, Case. Whenever we read his thoughts, he tends to go on a pseudo-intellectual analysis spree and does not indicate whatsoever that he has a single ounce of an emotion. It's hard to relate to a character and even the surroundings if I can't feel along with them.</div>
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So I don't even see why <i>Neuromancer</i> is praised as much as it is. Because it's artsy and pretentious? How people can fully understand exactly what is going on, or even just enough to really like it, I've no clue. From what I understand of the overall plot (and I'm pretty sure I do at least understand that), it is interesting, but the adventure is something to be desired, and that's what holds the novel back. This was, without a shadow of a doubt, not the worst novel I've ever read (not even in the science fiction genre), but definitely the most frustrating. I almost stopped reading it, but I pressed on because I figured I was close enough to finishing it anyway, so I did. Not even a noteworthy ending, really; just what you expect to happen. Not always a bad thing, but considering the frustration in dealing with this mess of a novel, a unique or inspired or a more unexpected ending would've made the trip at least a little more worth it.</div>
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So I'm sorry to disappoint for those interested, but don't believe the hype. <i>Neuromancer</i> is heavily overrated. Not recommended at all, even if you happen to like cyberpunk.</div>
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Additional super fun fact: <i>Neuromancer</i> is absolutely not the first work that falls into the cyberpunk genre. Don't be misled by people who make that claim. The first would probably be <i>The Stars My Destination</i> by Alfred Bester. Might've even been something before that, but that's the earliest I know of (released in 1954). If anything, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Neuromancer</i> simply got the ball rolling faster, particularly on certain (now worn and tired) themes.<br />
<br />
Another additional super fun fact: Apologies first and foremost for forgetting where I have read this, so I cannot provide a source, but apparently William Gibson himself has stated this was one of his weakest works.</div>
Awesomovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08206769416687257913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2523607095682792632.post-1750704703474154522012-05-23T18:29:00.003-05:002012-05-23T18:29:22.131-05:00"The Weapon Shop" by A. E. van Vogt<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6d/Weapon_Shops.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6d/Weapon_Shops.jpg" width="278" /></a></div>
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<span> </span>For quite a
while, I wondered exactly why people ripped on A. E. van Vogt. Even
after reading criticisms of him, particularly from noted science fiction grand
master Damon Knight, who seemed to lead the charge, I was curious. For the
longest time, I put off reading any of A. E. van Vogt's stories, until I read
praise of him by one of my favorite authors, Philip K. Dick, who said A. E. van
Vogt was one of his biggest inspirations. After reading that, I felt like I had
to check him out. All I had was short stories, so I looked to what was
apparently one of his best shorts (which was, along with two other short stories, turned into a novel), one with a cool concept even (title explains
itself), and dug right in.</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>And I
figured out fairly quickly why A. E. van Vogt is often criticized.</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In my
introduction post, I noted the differences between science fiction and fantasy,
and that they can mix. I don't always mind if they do, but in this story (among
others by Vogt), there seemed to be no rhyme or reason half of the time. Even
the fantastical elements that did make any sense could've easily been fixed up
to seem more realistic. For instance, the door to the weapon shop can somehow
detect when someone has hostile intentions toward the shop owner and won't
allow them inside. How this can be done is not explained or pondered upon in
any way; it just is what it is. Instead, what Vogt could've done was simply
some inner soul searching about the hypocrisy of a man who criticizes a store
for potentially spreading violence through weaponry utilizing one of those
weapons for that very purpose: to attack the shopkeeper, the seller of the
weapons.</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Even if
we're not going for the complex psychological profile route, there are still
some simple little things that could've been changed. For instance, instead of
simply showing a video captured by spies to the protagonist about the corrupt
government, Vogt chose to have the protagonist experience some whacked out
little trip, via whatever, through the palace itself without being seen. It was
like the main character suddenly tripped out on acid without even realizing it
and was quickly cured of his ailments after learning what he needed to know.</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Which
brings me to a man who often wrote about acid trips and the like, Philip K.
Dick. Despite my criticisms of Vogt, I can see why Dick was inspired by him.
However, unlike Vogt, Dick is a great storyteller. Even with his flaws, whether
it be character flaws (particularly female characters) or his writing style, he
was still able to jot down a competent and interesting story. Even in his more
fantastical elements, he had a cause laid out for everyone. So ultimately, even
if you like Philip K. Dick, I cannot guarantee that you will like A. E. van
Vogt. In fact, unless you like terrible fantasy stories, I doubt you will.</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As for this
story itself, it's ultimately about what I figured it might be about: Second
Amendment rights and authoritarianism and freedom and blah blah blah. Even if
you happen to agree with that kind of thing, that doesn't mean you'll like it,
but if you do agree with that stuff, I suggest Robert A. Heinlein to you, and
to avoid this story and A. E. van Vogt in general.</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Additional
super fun fact: A. E. van Vogt was a big time Scientologist who even opened up
his own centers. That, to me, further puts his storytelling prowess into focus.</div>Awesomovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08206769416687257913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2523607095682792632.post-50410435505114492692012-05-23T18:16:00.002-05:002013-03-11T15:32:03.301-05:00Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6WDRbhyphenhyphenjECRqs0FvnV37u2_PX-xvmLPNuQrR47Kxmwc6CvO5j-ivQxNxwLsmse0ozA7xbb8D9OgbsZRgB91GIS7Vcf2wErPXQZ_U-ZWD8b5KSE3Mfu-GHS4psP4f0xj5Y13TYsvtuJYSW/s1600/1enders-game.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6WDRbhyphenhyphenjECRqs0FvnV37u2_PX-xvmLPNuQrR47Kxmwc6CvO5j-ivQxNxwLsmse0ozA7xbb8D9OgbsZRgB91GIS7Vcf2wErPXQZ_U-ZWD8b5KSE3Mfu-GHS4psP4f0xj5Y13TYsvtuJYSW/s320/1enders-game.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ender's Game</i> is one of the most popular novels not just of science fiction, but apparently all of literature, particularly among teens despite not necessarily being written for them. It won both the Hugo and the Nebula awards, and was nominated for the Locus award. The book is even recommended reading for military recruits in the U.S. Marine Corps, which they placed in their “Professional Reading List”.</div>
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Noticing that it was highly praised in the science fiction field, I had to check it out, and I did while in my teens. Upon my first reading, I really liked it. Wasn't my favorite novel (despite not having read many books yet), but I thought it was well-constructed and had a bit of a neat surprise at the end. A couple of years later, after finishing my Science Fiction Literature class, I decided to read it again, as I sometimes do with books I like.</div>
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And I quickly came to detest it.</div>
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After slugging through a few chapters, I started noticing something deeply wrong with the protagonist, Ender Wiggin. I started thinking back to what I remembered reading before, and realized that Ender Wiggin does terrible things. He is capable of attacking or even murdering those who bother him in one way or another, and not be punished or questioned. Adding to that, he is apparently multi-talented and quite intelligent and all that jazz. He is, in this novel, shown as a human with advanced capabilities, almost like a superhuman.</div>
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What I'm getting at is that this novel seems to be supportive of nazism. I'm not the only one who made this connection by myself, either. This novel actually does, despite its still apparent and fluctuating popularity, happen to be notorious now because of a review written by another science fiction author, Elaine Radford, who even compared Ender Wiggin directly to Adolf Hitler. Orson Scott Card responded to the criticism in the same magazine in which Radford's criticism was published, but it didn't convince me of anything to the contrary thanks to his poor debate skills. In fact, from what I've heard, the next novel in the series, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Speaker for the Dead</i>, does question Ender and the things he does. Considering that, it seems likely he actually took Radford's criticism to heart and fixed things up, despite his response to her.</div>
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But even if we're going to accept that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ender's Game</i> is not intentionally supportive of nazism, it's not exactly written very well. It's easily accessible, which is part of the reason for its continued popularity, but there are certain portions of the novel in which Card tells rather than shows. Instead of showing us, for instance, that some of the characters like to play on computers by simulating a bit of what they do, he just says it flat out. We don't get a frantic scene full of joy and wonder in the world of computers, we just get a description. It’s more fun to read about adventure rather than description whenever that’s possible.</div>
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I don't doubt, however, that what he created was intentional, especially considering his Mormon beliefs (which can explain other aspects of Ender I haven't mentioned here). Orson Scott Card, frankly, is a jerk. Don't believe me? Read his introduction for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ender's Game</i>. I'll let his words speak for himself, but even after reading the introduction, there's more to learn, so send me a message if you'd like to learn more about him. Keep in mind that, yes, sometimes an author's viewpoint in life does sneak into the stories they write. I, too, have done so before.</div>
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And put what I mentioned about teens and military recruiters liking and suggesting this book into perspective after reading my mini-review.</div>
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Additional super fun fact: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Speaker for the Dead</i> also won both the Hugo and Nebula awards, which makes Orson Scott Card the only author to have received both awards consecutively. Which is a damn shame, because, while I don't know of the quality of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Speaker for the Dead</i> (don't care to find out, frankly), Card is not the kind of person I'd give that honor to. Considering I don't see a lot of his fiction gathered in various collections (of which I've read and seen plenty), I doubt I'm alone in that viewpoint, which makes me wonder even more why it won major awards in the first place.<br />
<br />
EDIT: Check out these two links for more information...<br />
<br />
On the titular character: <a href="http://www4.ncsu.edu/~tenshi/Killer_000.htm">http://www4.ncsu.edu/~tenshi/Killer_000.htm</a><br />
<br />
On Orson Scott Card himself: <a href="http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2005/5/28/22428/7034">http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2005/5/28/22428/7034</a></div>
Awesomovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08206769416687257913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2523607095682792632.post-3645895425170366292012-05-19T11:04:00.002-05:002013-03-11T15:33:41.166-05:00The Puppet Masters by Robert A. Heinlein<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This novel was a first of its kind. No, not the “alien attack” story, rather the “alien adaptation” story. What I mean by that is that this was the first story (that I know of) to feature the idea of aliens taking over the minds and lives of humans in a more passive and subtle way as opposed to the direct and aggressive style as featured in <i>The War of the Worlds</i> by H. G. Wells. Yes, even before <i>Invasion of the Bodysnatchers</i>, there was <i>The Puppet Masters</i>, which featured pretty much the same themes. In fact, since the novel's release, its ideas have been ripped several times by other authors, most recently by hack writer Stephenie Meyer with her release of <i>The Host</i>.</div>
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<i>The Puppet Masters</i> follows a secret agent named Sam, who investigates and fights the alien menace which seeks to control the human population. We see an interesting perspective, in that we see Sam as both himself and when he has succumbed to alien control; we get to see how both Sam and the alien think, since the story takes place using first person perspective. Sam, from what I can tell by how Heinlein wrote the character, is designated as a lovable jerk, or he's supposed to be lovable. I didn't entirely dislike him, but I sometimes just thought he was too much of a jerk, or at least didn't have the proper charisma set to make him out to be likable. Gives him more humanity, but considering this story was set in the first person, reading some of his thoughts and actions was a bit irksome, especially in association to his relationship with Mary.</div>
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Speaking of which, there's Mary, who Heinlein just seemed to write out as the ultimate badass (except in that awful relationship she has with Sam). Heinlein did sometimes show his feminist side, which is definitely neat considering this novel was written in the nineteen fifties. However, he still felt the need to sexualize her a decent amount, as he usually does with his female characters, and she still exhibited some submissiveness. This novel was one of those times when sexualization was annoying. I understand inserting carnal desires, because I've done it, too. Plenty of authors do. Heinlein, however, just tends to go a little overboard sometimes and just shoves in a scene that's sexual in nurture without necessity, and he's usually not subtle about it. There's a time and place when it makes sense and when it doesn't. I'm not even talking about the fact that people eventually walked around naked in this novel, because that did make sense. I'm simply talking about Mary.</div>
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The other problem with Mary's character comes later on in the novel, and I'd rather not spoil that. Not like what happened didn't make any sense whatsoever, but I didn't think it was entirely needed for understanding. Speaking of spoilers, the ending was a tad disappointing as well thanks to its militaristic aspect, but I won't be spoiling that here, either.</div>
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Besides sexual expression, this novel features themes typical of Robert A. Heinlein's work: libertarianism (Heinlein is a professed libertarian), conformity, freedom, communism and the Cold War (but of course), etc. The aliens are mainly symbolic of conformist mentality, and that is what this novel points out is the fear in free people of a shift to sameness and normality. Keep in mind again that this novel was written in the nineteen fifties, a time when the level of conformist behavior was quite high. For that reason alone, I give this novel plenty of appreciation despite its flaws.</div>
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And I will admit, despite the fact that I was able to configure the puzzle faster than the characters in the story, it is a generally exciting adventure with plenty of action and attention to detail. It's not something I recommend skimming over despite its predictability.</div>
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But in comparison to <i>Invasion of the Body Snatchers</i>, I'll be blunt and just say the film has none of the flaws <i>The Puppet Masters</i> has. No unnecessary filler, no character flaws, no somewhat ridiculous plot points (relates to that thing I won't spoil), and has a better ending. So frankly, I will admit, this is one of the few times I'd recommend a film adaptation over its source. I don't do that often, not simply out of fear of breaking a general rule held by many, but because that's how I tend to feel. Whether you like Heinlein or not, that film was just generally superior. The only thing <i>Invasion of the Bodysnatchers</i> lacks is the alien perspective featured in the novel, but it's otherwise worth taking <i>Invasion of the Bodysnatchers</i> over <i>The Puppet Masters</i> if you absolutely had to pick between one or the other (who knows, you might die from the deus ex machina effect or have an alien take control over your body tomorrow).</div>
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Either way, I do recommend reading this novel, even if you end up disliking it or despise Robert A. Heinlein, because it's an interesting and noteworthy release in the field of science fiction.</div>
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Additional super fun fact: This novel has two versions: a shorter version with all of the wild sex stuff chunked out, and the original, longer version with it all intact. The latter is the one I picked up. If you want to be able to tell which is which, check the dates of publication. 1986 is the shorter version, 1990 is the longer version. You can also tell by reading from the start. The longer version starts with, "With the Soviets..."</div>
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Another additional super fun fact: Damon Knight selected this novel as one of the best science fiction novels released in the nineteen fifties. I wouldn't go that far, but it is the best that I've read from Heinlein so far (no, I haven't read <i>Stranger in a Strange Land</i> yet, but I have the uncut version and plan on getting to it soon).<br />
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EDIT: I have made a big mistake. <i>The Puppet Masters</i> was indeed the first story (that I know of) that featured aliens taking over the minds of the populace via attachment, but not the first alien adaptation story in general. That would be a little gem called "Who Goes There?" by John W. Campbell. I apologize for the mistake.</div>
Awesomovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08206769416687257913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2523607095682792632.post-9168605700462132622012-05-19T10:45:00.001-05:002013-04-23T07:27:44.189-05:00"We Can Remember it For You Wholesale" by Philip K. Dick<br />
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Despite his
ever growing popularity since his death, and despite digging into the depths of
science fiction since about my mid-teens, I had not heard of Philip K. Dick
until after my Science Fiction Literature class in college. I had heard and
read his name once or twice, but had no clue that he wrote science fiction
until, some day, while watching <i>Total Recall</i>, I noticed the credit that
said, “Based on “We Can Remember it For You Wholesale” by Philip K. Dick.”
After that, I not only figured out he was a science fiction author, I sought
the story out and, after reading it, was so thoroughly impressed with its
creativeness, suspense, philosophical themes, and element of surprise that I
felt like I had to seek out more of his work. I was hooked ever since, and he
has since become one of my favorite authors.</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Even after
reading a large amount of his work, I can't help but find this story in
particular to be among my personal favorites of his, not simply because it
helped change my whole perspective, but because it's a legitimately enjoyable,
original, and well told story. To bring the scope of the whole thing together,
however, I would need to spoil it a bit, but not so much that you know the
ending right away, or that you won't still like it and enjoy it (by the way, <i>Total
Recall</i> doesn't spoil this story, either).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>After my
first time finishing it, I couldn't help but love the surprise ending. What I
didn't fully realize at the time, however, was the whole implication behind it,
not just what was explained, but the metaphysical aspect that truly makes the
story mind-blowing relating to the philosophical subject of the min-body problem. In essence, Rekal is obviously planting fake vacations into
the minds of workaholics who need a break and simply can't get one. Sounds
simple enough, until the realization hits that they're planting whole new
realities into the mind. Anything at all that happens to be implanted is now
real to the person who receives the implant, and questions arise as to whether
it happens to be real or not. In the perspective of Douglas Quail, it is real,
and what we're seeing in this story is Douglas Quail's reality. How are we to
say it's not real for sure, or rather, how can you convince someone who knows
it's real to them that it isn't? This can obviously lead to psychological
breakdown, and shows the operation, while certainly interesting, isn't worth
it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Simply as a
story, it already works, but now try reading it with this in mind if you
haven't done so before. Watch and be amazed.</div>
Awesomovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08206769416687257913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2523607095682792632.post-36051599478666360042012-05-19T10:39:00.002-05:002012-05-25T17:58:35.041-05:00Introduction<div class="MsoNormal">
Before
venturing further into this blog, keep in mind that this is a one man
operation, and that man, Awesomov, cannot read everything. In fact, to quote
Isaac Asimov, the man whose name Awesomov has parodied, “I am not a speed
reader. I am a speed understander.” This is a fancy way of saying, “I am a slow
reader.” Not painfully slow, like taking a year to read a two hundred page
novel, but slow nonetheless. Awesomov also has a tendency of reading from
certain authors more than others (mostly Philip K. Dick), but is willing to
give any author a try at least once, and thus collects a bunch of random crap
from used book shelves if something seems at least semi-interesting.
Nonetheless, if there is a particular piece of work you'd like to recommend for
review or for future reading, or if you have questions, feel free to do so by sending messages to:
0awesomov0@gmail.com.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Just
remember that Awesomov will only review science fiction. To douse the flames of
confusion, Rod Serling greatly put into one sentence what truly separates
science fiction and fantasy, which is, “Science fiction makes the improbable
possible; fantasy makes the impossible probable.” For those who don't quite
understand, what this basically means is science fiction, while still unreal in
its implications, is based typically on real concepts or concepts that could be
real, and normally attempts to make them seem real. Fantasy, on the other hand,
utilizes concepts that obviously aren't real, and can pretty much go any which
way it wants because it is not bound by the laws of anything. The other major
distinction is the use of soft and hard sciences and technology in science
fiction, while fantasy uses magic and whimsy. Sometimes the genres mix, like
with space operas and the aptly named science fantasy. Awesomov does not always
shy away from those genres, but still simply prefers science fiction.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Also take
note of the blog entry headings, as they indicate whether a novel or a short
story is being reviewed. In keeping with proper grammar, short stories and
novelettes are listed in quotes, and novels and novellas are italicized. This
knowledge should help avoid confusion in case a post does not state whether a
review is about a short story or novel. Keep this in mind particularly for
stories that have multiple versions, ala short story turned into novel, and so
on.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Although
Awesomov normally won't even give a description of what the plot's about (maybe
unless it's a short story with an odd title, but you can read the descriptions
on the backs of novels for plot insight), don't be surprised if you come upon
spoilers. Sometimes they can be avoided, but moments may arise when a spoiler
is necessary to give a proper review. I apologize in advance if this occurs and
upsets you. Feel free to type up angry hate-filled letters about it and send
them to the email address above.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Lastly,
Awesomov's goal here is not always to be insightful, nor to be as eloquent as
possible. It is simply to spew forth opinion and reasoning for such, and there
may be some rambling. Yet another aspect of the blog to apologize in advance
for. This does not bode well.</div>Awesomovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08206769416687257913noreply@blogger.com4