Alexis DeSousa's Blog, page 3

Embassytown by China Mieville Review

Embassytown by China Mieville –

Far into the future, humans have expanded out into space, colonizing distance planets. They walk among other sentient beings, many of whom humans can communicate with easily. It is on one of these planets that a small ghetto-like town, Embassytown, resides, where the aliens (Ariekei) speak a special type of language. Humans try and mimic their language by using twins who speak at the same time. Follow Avice as she finally learns what drives the politics of their relationship.

At the beginning, this book was very difficult for me to get into. There were a lot of sort of made up science fiction terms that I was unfamiliar with. You’d expect language to change in the future and on distant planets, especially with new technologies, so this definitely made the book plausible. After about 10% of the way through, I was able to finally catch onto the jargon.

The intricacies of Embassytown were really intriguing to me. Avice grows up here, but she leaves as soon as she can. Many of the people who live there never leave. The Ariekei allow the humans to live in a small portion of the planet that is habitable; humans can’t breathe Ariekei air. Avice later returns at the insistence of her husband, who I think was just using her to get there. It isn’t long after they arrive that the two start having problems.

The most interesting parts of this book were the complexities of the relationships between the different humans and the Ariekei. The only people Ariekei can speak to are twins who have been trained in their language. They can’t understand synthetic computerized talk either; they apparently need a soul behind words. They also cannot lie, but apparently want to. The humans and the Ariekei have to work together for trade agreements and the like to each other and other planets.

All turns to chaos when a pair of off-world twins start speaking to the Ariekei and the Ariekei become addicted to them and Avice must help save their world from destruction. Overall, I enjoyed following Avice on her path to find answers and to discover language.

The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling Review

The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling –

In The Casual Vacancy, a local councilman in a small town dies, which leads to the whole town going downhill when his council seat comes up for re-election.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t over the moon about this book. I love J.K. Rowling. I love Harry Potter, but this was not a rock it out of the park best seller. The book had its moments and I found that I liked some of the characters, but most were petty and down right mean and it was hard to really find one character to sort of root for and get behind. I understand that all people have flaws and that, in a sense, made this book very realistic, however, these people had too many flaws! When you start wishing for characters to die, there has to be a problem somewhere.

The one character I did like was Krystal, but I thought her story got sucked up and ruined in tragedy. The whole book was a tragedy from my perspective. Every one seemed to crumble in one way or another.

There’s really not much I can say about the book. It read quickly, which was good because it was long, but there were a lot of different perspectives to keep track of. In the beginning, it took me awhile to remember people’s names and who they were. After a while, though, I got the hang of all the townsfolk and all their dirty little secrets.

The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North Review

The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North –

Harry August gets to relive life over and over again. When Harry dies, he is reborn at the same place and time, with all of his memories intact. At the end of one of his lives, Harry is visited by a young girl with a message passed down through others of his kind: the world is ending and now it’s his job to figure out what to do about it.

I loved Harry August. He was a great character, not without his flaws, who was simply trying to save the world. He meets and befriends Vincent, another of his kind, and figures out it is he who wants to destroy the future. At first, Harry helps him in his task, but later decides he cannot continue further. Vincent goes down a dangerous path of destroying others of the Cronus Club and continuing to advance technology years ahead of its time in an effort to create his greatest achievement: a quantum mirror.

I think that Harry loved Vincent in his own way. They crossed paths many times and despite the fact that Vincent kills him twice and tries to force him to forget his past lives, Harry continues to attach himself to his side. He even saves Vincent’s life, only to destroy it later. There really was a deep connection between the two men, who had centuries worth of time and experience together and apart.

If I didn’t think too much about how the time traveling worked, this book was amazing. I loved learning about Harry’s past lives and all of the things he was able to accomplish. The people he met, the places he visited, the ultimate task of destroying a friend, kept me at rapt attention. I still want more Harry August, if you can believe it, and I wish there was more of him to explore.

The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon Review

The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon – – sci-fi

The Speed of Dark is a novel set in the near future, where most diseases and genetic easily fixed at birth. A few members of society, who were too old to receive the treatments, live life outside the realm of normalcy. Some of these people have autism, but are high functioning and capable members of society. When new research emerges that can make those with autism “normal”, Lou must decide if he wants to try the new therapy.

Lou is a very relatable. Growing up, he has been taught to adhere to certain societal “norms”, just like the rest of us. The only difference is that some people defy conventional norms, whereas Lou takes to heart his teachings. This allows him to function in a society he would have otherwise been unfamiliar with processing. Lou is able to work and have hobbies, like fencing.

Lou is very smart, despite his social inadequacies. What I liked most about this book was that Lou seemed to act the most “normal” or conventionally appropriate. He was taught to act a certain way and he does, while others don’t really conform to ALL social norms. For example, Lou feels that when he is late to work a certain amount of time, he must make up the exact amount he we late. We all know no one really does this in the real world! Because Lou is so engrained on how to be normal, he feels pressure to do everything perfectly.

I wish society didn’t tell people what they could or couldn’t do. Lou wanted to study the stars and he was smart enough to do it, yet he was told he couldn’t because of his disability. Due to his autism, he takes everything said quite literally, whereas someone else might try to defy this advice. It was hard to see how some people treated him.

I liked it best when Lou was among the other autistics. They all had unique personalities and perspectives on what it was like to be normal. Personally, I didn’t think there was anything really wrong with them; they could all function pretty well, maybe even moreso than some normal people. Everyone has their quirks, and they did too, but did it really mean they needed to be fixed?

I was sad when Lou made his decision regarding the therapy. I won’t spoil the decision, but it does change his life forever.

The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon Review

The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon –

The Speed of Dark is a novel set in the near future, where most diseases and genetic easily fixed at birth. A few members of society, who were too old to receive the treatments, live life outside the realm of normalcy. Some of these people have autism, but are high functioning and capable members of society. When new research emerges that can make those with autism “normal”, Lou must decide if he wants to try the new therapy.

Lou is a very relatable. Growing up, he has been taught to adhere to certain societal “norms”, just like the rest of us. The only difference is that some people defy conventional norms, whereas Lou takes to heart his teachings. This allows him to function in a society he would have otherwise been unfamiliar with processing. Lou is able to work and have hobbies, like fencing.

Lou is very smart, despite his social inadequacies. What I liked most about this book was that Lou seemed to act the most “normal” or conventionally appropriate. He was taught to act a certain way and he does, while others don’t really conform to ALL social norms. For example, Lou feels that when he is late to work a certain amount of time, he must make up the exact amount he we late. We all know no one really does this in the real world! Because Lou is so engrained on how to be normal, he feels pressure to do everything perfectly.

I wish society didn’t tell people what they could or couldn’t do. Lou wanted to study the stars and he was smart enough to do it, yet he was told he couldn’t because of his disability. Due to his autism, he takes everything said quite literally, whereas someone else might try to defy this advice. It was hard to see how some people treated him.

I liked it best when Lou was among the other autistics. They all had unique personalities and perspectives on what it was like to be normal. Personally, I didn’t think there was anything really wrong with them; they could all function pretty well, maybe even moreso than some normal people. Everyone has their quirks, and they did too, but did it really mean they needed to be fixed?

I was sad when Lou made his decision regarding the therapy. I won’t spoil the decision, but it does change his life forever.

The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin Review

5 out of 5 stars



The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin



Ursula K. Le Guin's The Dispossessed revolves around a physicist named Shevek who is from a utopian moon that borders a hierarchical caste like system planet. On the moon, every one is looked at equally, whereas on the planet, there are servants, rich, intellectuals, etc. Shevek is intent on enacting change that would end the isolation of his own world and reconnect the two together again.

I have to say that this turned out to be my second favorite Le Guin book so far. I think The Lathe of Heaven might always be my favorite, but I really did enjoy this one. I didn’t want to put it down, which is always a good sign. I also didn’t want it to end. I really enjoyed Shevek as a character. He was endearing and I loved reading his backstory of how he grew up in a more socialist environment.

Le Guin attempts to contrast two societies that spawned from one. The anarchists live in a more utopian world, where women and men are seen as equals - something our society (or some people in it, at least) is attempting to do now. There is always a disconnect between men and women becoming equal, I think, due in large part to biology. Men, for the most part, are physically more capable than women. This book tries to push these ideas (women, in Shevek’s world, might be a tad weaker physically, but work longer). Whereas, on Urras, women aren’t really seen in the same light. They don’t go to college or are seen as intellectuals. They are simply child bearers and rearers.

I think Shevek really had an uphill battle in trying to unite these two places. When people are set in their ways, it is difficult to be the catalyst of change. There would have to be revolution on one side, I think, for them to come together. And who is going to revolt against their ways? Which side is the right side? I found it all very relative to the current times and the book really did make me think, which is always a good thing!

Incandescence by Greg Egan Review

1 out of 5 stars



Incandescence by Greg Egan



Greg Egan's Incandescence is a hard sci-fi novel about a large expanse of space called the Amalgam, filled with many different sentient species, and the center of it (the bulge) which is occupied by a group called the Aloof. The Aloof allow traveling through their territory, but don't really associate themselves with the rest of the species in the world. The story follows both Rakesh (a traveler set on confronting the Aloof about some information from a human DNA related new world) and Roi, an alien species beginning to question the physics of their world and embark on the mysteries of the universe.

At first, I wasn’t sure what to make of Roi’s part of the story, but I realized her purpose quickly. Despite the tone of Roi’s chapters (which are more about learning and discovering the physics of her world and how things work), I really found her quest for knowledge enjoyable to read. Roi and Zak work together in a harmonious way that is really a pleasure to read.

I always found Rakesh’s chapters to be a little more exciting, maybe because he was setting out on a different type of adventure, rather than one that was completely dedicated to knowledge. He was looking for information, however, he was also traveling and meeting new people. I found the technology of the Amalgam to be interesting, especially the ability for the species to co-exist in virtual forms when stopped at certain locations.

However, about halfway through I realized I was really bored and trudging through this one so I had to put it down. I was skimming through all of Roi’s stuff because all it reminded me of was sitting in a physics classroom; there was no character development, nothing interesting to make me care about her or Zak. And, then Rakesh’s storyline was just about as slow moving. I wanted to finish, but for such a short book it was taking me way too long to do it.

The Gods of War by Graham Brown and Spencer Andrews Review

3 out of 5 stars



The Gods of War by Graham Brown and Spencer Andrews



The Gods of War is set in the year 2137. The earth is dying and Mars is being used as both a tool for growing food for Earth and for colonization.

This book was a fast-paced action book. I really liked the main character, James Collins, son of the President and career military man. He was the right kind of hero that you’d expect in this type of action book. He questioned his father’s policies, and didn’t necessarily agree with them, but in the end, he steps up to do what his father was trying to do, which was protect the people.

James has to fight against a cartel of money hungry grubby men, well, not them personally, but their mercenaries and goons. They try to kill James, and when they do not succeed, he is accidentally sent as a slave to Mars. They think he’s dead, but find out later that they were wrong, when James rallies the slaves and saves the day.

There were some interesting characters among the slaves that I wish we would have had more time with, like Bethel, but the story moved so quickly that we were never in one place for too long. It was a nice story, but with a predictable ending. They left it open for the possibility of a sequel, too, I think.

Miramont's Ghost by Elizabeth Hall Review

3 out of 5 stars



Miramont's Ghost by Elizabeth Hall



Miramont's Ghost is the tale of a young French woman named Adrienne, who lives in the late 1800's. Adrienne has the gift of sight. When Adrienne is a teenager, she is sent with her Aunt Marie to live in the US at a castle her cousin built.

Adrienne is a very likeable character, especially as a child. I really enjoyed her whimsical behaviors. At the time, she thinks that her visions are mere fairy tales and she takes them on without so much as a second thought. Unfortunately, most of Adrienne’s visions are terrible ones; couldn’t this girl have one good thing happen to her?

Adrienne tries to hide her visions from her family, but her Aunt Marie finds out. Adrienne inherited the sight from her grandmother (Marie’s mother) and Marie is hell bent on having Adrienne keep her mouth shut. I liked Marie as an adversary, but I also would have liked to see her stand up to her Aunt more.

There was really very little about the ghostly aspects and the ending was a bit of a downer for me, otherwise I would have given more stars!

City of Truth by James Morrow Review

4 out of 5 stars



City of Truth by James Morrow



City of Truth is a short novella (Nebula Award Winner 1992) about a city where all its citizens are "brain-burned" into telling only the truth. The citizens are always frank and honest to each other, even when it comes to things such as sexual matters, illness, marriage, etc.

City of Truth centers on Jack Sperry and his fight against the truth when his son is taken fatally ill. Jack wants to lie to his son in order to try and cure him with a miracle. In order to do so, he must become a part of society that rebels and learns to lie.

The book was a quick read for me, but I really did enjoy it. I wish that I had seen more of Jack’s son, Toby, in the story, so that I was more emotionally connected to him and his journey. The themes in this book are powerful…sometimes the truth is hard, but in the end, it might just bring you the peace you’re looking for.

It pained me to hear about all of the works of art that Jack had to destroy as part of his job! Ouch. Even fiction novels, art that was impressionist, etc. couldn’t survive their City of Truth.