Mark Reece's Blog, page 7

Review- letters to a young scientist

Letters to a Young Scientist by Edward O. Wilson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book contains gives some practical advice, but is mostly concerned with emphasizing the joys and excitement of the life of a research scientist, and in that respect, it is a success. Wilson's anecdotes of his career are interesting and entertaining, and he explicates the scientific mindset well.

Some of the worldview seems to posit a romanticized view of academia, and Wilson's thought on non-scientific fields are much less developed. Nevertheless, this was an enjoyable read.



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Review- Eden

eden by Jim Crace

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The 'Eden' of the title is a place where immortal humans labour under the supervision of angels, who are beautiful and intimidating, but who have few powers other than the ability to fly and discipline the workers by pecking them with their powerful beaks. The society of Eden is one of moderate comfort and little danger, but that requires obedience to a series of strict rules, such as to avoid the area near its walls. The society is apparently ruled over by a lord that the head angel reports back to, but the lord never appears in the novel, raising the possibility that they do not exist.

Outside the garden are other human settlements, whose inhabitants lead difficult but freer lives, and who are mortal. The central plot of Eden occurs when one of its human inhabitants, Tabi, disappears, with the assumption that she has escaped into the outside world.

Eden is riven by political intrigue. One of its human inhabitants, Alum, works as a snitch to the angels, constantly informing on them and inferring wrong doing from scanty evidence. It is unclear how the hierarchy between the angels has come about, but it is very evident, with the lowest of them in low prestige positions, such as overseeing bodies of water. The significance of tiny actions in a closed society is very well depicted, with people turning up late or even glancing in the wrong direction having great significance when viewed by Alum.

Despite the Christian language used in the novel, the plot could be interpreted in a number of ways. Most straightforwardly, Eden could be considered a demonstration that eternal life would be undesirable even if it was possible. Alternatively, the book could be considered a satire of an institution such as the Catholic church, with the angels being the clergy, the leaders of which pretend to serve a god that does not exist. Many elements of the novel could be considered a critique of authoritarianism guised in religious terms, a celestial 1984.

In any case, although the characters are often somewhat generic, as necessitated by them living in a place where expression is severely limited, the novel is well observed and beautifully written, with several features, such as the angel's blue wings, being vivid and evocative. I read it quickly and thought that the pacing was good, despite most of the substantive events occurring near the end of novel. This is another fine, original work by the author.



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Review- The final empire

The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I enjoyed this novel and will definitely read more of the series. The story is set in a society dominated by the 'Lord Ruler' and a small number of aristocratic families. The majority of the population are comprised of the 'Skaa', who carry out manual labour and are subject to terrible mistreatment. They seem to form an underclass based on social position, although there are hints of a racial difference.

A small number of people have a power known as 'allomancy', which involves ingesting different types of metals, each of which gives the user a type of power. For example, using tin gives the user enhanced senses. An even more select group, known as mistborn, can use multiple metals, and those skilled in doing so are very powerful.

Although the Skaa are highly repressed, a small number of them become either resistance fighters or part of thieving gangs. The final empire concerns the actions of one of these gangs, which joins with the revolutionaries to attempt to overthrow the state (known as 'The Final Empire'). The leader of the group is called Kelsier- a powerful mistborn, and includes Vin, a Skaa thief who has been subject to abuse for most of her life.

The final empire is a long novel that doesn't feel long. Sanderson has a strength for characterization; despite the number of people within the Skaa gang, some of whom play a minor role in the story, all are memorable, and the conflict between them is meaningful. Furthermore, there is skillful world building; the fantastical nature of the allomancy premise is well incorporated into the world, with a lot of memorable details, such as the soldiers trained to fight allomancers who do not wear metal, to avoid the material being used against them.

I thought there was a weakness in the overall plot, which comprised of two parts. Firstly, that the allomancy power was limited to a small number of people was never explained, giving the novel a superhero film feel at times. Not only did an explanation feel required, but it made the social class structure a little odd, as surely those members of the aristocracy with allomancy powers would be an elite within an elite in a more formal way. Secondly, the idea of a group of super heroes creating a social revolution didn't make much sense. Except perhaps in wartime, successful social movements, let alone revolutions, aren't created and directed by small bands of conspirators. Those types of movements are routinely crushed by oppressive states, such as that depicted in The final empire, undermining the coherence of the plot in places. It seemed very unlikely that the law enforcement didn't have far better levels of surveillance and informants, for example.

All of that being said, the quality of the writing, and the evocative, interesting setting, still made this a book well worth reading, and its sequels too.



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Review: three short BRB ballets

I recently saw three short ballets, performed by the Birmingham Royal Ballet at the Hippodrome, Birmingham. As always, all the performances were highly impressive, but my favourite was 'still life at the penguin cafe'.

That ballet, like each of the three, was performed in a single act. It involved a series of dancers taking on the roles of endangered animals, including penguins, a flea, and a zebra. The ballet alternated in tone between the natural humour engendered by dance styles loosely appropriating the movements of animals, and dramatic, somber moments, when the animals suddenly drop down dead, highlighting the danger of them becoming extinct. Although I didn't understand some of the sequences, the ballet was original and affecting.

The other performances were firstly, 'interlinked', which seemed to highlight co-operation between different people, apparently inspired by the commonwealth games. Several of the sequences involved the dancers supporting each other, presumably meant allegorically.

The final performance was 'Apollo', in which the god of the title was visited by three muses, who demonstrated their knowledge and skills to him, before being rejected then finally embraced. I didn't fully understand the allusions made, but the simplicity of the ballet made it very elegant and enjoyable.

All in all, another fine performance by the BRB.

Short story publication

I've had a short story accepted for 'Orbis' magazine, which should be published later this year.

Review- 'Hunger'.

Hunger - Knut Hamsun[Newly Revised Edition] by Knut Hamsun

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I read this novel as the author apparently influenced Kafka, who is one of my favourite authors. Although I didn't think it was as good as Kafka's work, or that of Dostoevsky, who also came to mind during the reading, I did enjoy Hunger.

The protagonist is an impoverished author who is never named. There is very little plot, in the sense of a series of events. The perspective of the novel is intensely psychological, to the extent that the reality of the external world often seems uncertain. The author has plans to write obscure articles for a newspaper but spends much of his time wandering the streets, unable to focus on his writing through a combination of hunger, an insecure housing situation as a result of him continuously not paying his rent, and a kind of existential excitability or intensity that means he cannot focus on anything for long. There are some recurring characters such as his landlady and a woman he has a casual relationship with, but for the most part, each scene has little connection to any other, creating a strong sense of unreality.

The author has an intensely felt and somewhat absurd sense of pride, which contributes to his dire situation. Despite his severe poverty, he will not accept help from anyone, turning down repeated offers of help from people who seem to be genuinely trying to help him, such as an editor who offers him an advance. He even pays back money he stole, leaving himself destitute. It isn't obvious why this is happening. Sometimes, there is a sense that the author has a sense of middle class 'respectability' that he cannot fulfill as a result of his profession, creating a conflict between his values and the reality of his life. Alternatively, he may think of himself as a great man who needs to live that way to create something of value. Or, perhaps he's simply mentally ill.

The lack of plot meant that it didn't feel as sophisticated a work as, for example, The Trial, or Crime and Punishment, which were the two books it reminded me most of. Nevertheless, it was an interesting and artistic novel that added something to the genre.



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Review- Shiver

Shiver: Selected Stories by Junji Ito

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This is the first manga book I've read, and I found it reasonable. Shiver is a collection of nine horror short stories. There are some interesting, inventive ideas; my favourites were 'used record', in which the record of the title induces an obsessive desire of ownership, and 'Marionette Mansion', involving a family deciding to becoming living puppets.

The stories are all fast paced and can be read quickly, but I felt that the plots often lacked sophistication; more could have been made of them. For example, although I enjoyed 'used record', the explanation for the magic properties of the record- that it played the song of a girl just before her death, was introduced into the story in an artificial way, and felt like an obvious trope. I also thought that there was an unwholesome focus on both teenage girls, and bodily deformity in several of the stories, which became off putting after a time.

I enjoyed the drawings, which were evocative, without being truly memorable.



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Review- The magic flute opera

The magic flute, performed by the Welsh National Opera at the Birmingham Hippodrome, was the first opera I've seen, and I enjoyed it a lot.

The prince Tamino, who comes from the land of darkness, sets out to rescue a princess from the land of light. He is accompanied by his cowardly servant- the Bird Catcher, and has a magical flute and bells for protection, which can charm animals and people.

When reaching the land of light, the prince is captured and is put through a series of tests to determine whether he is worthy of becoming a prince of light. The land of light is an austere, somewhat regimented place with a strict educational system, in contrast to the land of darkness, which is wild and free. This conflict drives the story.

The songs were often very witty and there were some thrilling set pieces, most notably, when the queen of darkness announces her intention to destroy the land of light. The costumes and sets were also very impressive. Although I was unfamiliar with the story before watching the performance, I was able to both follow and enjoy it.

I'd gladly see another performance of this quality.

Review- Carl's Doomsday Scenario

Carl's Doomsday Scenario by Matt Dinniman

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


In this second book of the series, Carl and Donut choose their class and continue to gather experience points by going on quests. This review will make little sense to anyone who has not read the first book.

I enjoyed Doomsday Scenario, although I wondered whether too much time was devoted to discussing menus and other RPG features that were previously described in detail in the first book. I think it would have been better to focus on the political meta-plot; although early in the series, the book felt a little comfortable in its repeating themes.

Nevertheless, the novel was fun and often witty. Goddammit Goodreads.



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Short story publication

One of my short stories will be published in issue 34 of Southlight magazine, in September 2023.

http://www.southlight.ukwriters.net/w...