Doug Lewars's Blog, page 47

Beating About the Bush

Beating About the Bush by M.C. Beaton

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***
This was okay but nothing special. It's a mystery novel but I don't think I'd classify it as a whodunit. The principle character is supposed to be feisty but comes off as merely crotchety. The plot is recycled which, in itself, isn't a problem; however, using a common plot works best if the author gives it some sort of individual twist and that wasn't done here. Parts of the book were intended to be humorous but weren't developed sufficiently to work. If you like detective books this one's okay and suitable for reading during a long flight or daily commute but it's nothing special.



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Bikes Not Rockets

Bikes Not Rockets: Intersectional Feminist Bicycle Science Fiction Stories by Elly Blue

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

With both 'intersectional' and 'feminist' in the title I was braced for the worst. However I was pleasantly surprised. I expected a combination of 'woke' and 'victim' culture and instead, these were perfectly good stories. In addition it was quite interesting how the authors worked bicycles into their narratives. I particularly enjoyed the one in which a truly dedicated cyclist takes her bike to Heaven. There were a couple of authors who interjected a bit of politics into the mix but it was not so heavy handed as to be obnoxious and there was one story that, although fiction, seemed more essay than story; nevertheless, overall these were good tales and the book is worth reading.



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The Left-Handed Woman

The Left-Handed Woman by Peter Handke

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***
Peter Handke is one of two Nobel winning authors of 2019. Unlike most literary awards (Bookers, Gellers etc.) the Nobel prize is awarded for a body of work. According to Wikipedia, he has completed 18 works so possibly the other 17 were better and he was going through a bad period when he wrote this one but somehow I doubt it.

The very best thing I can say about this book is it's short. At 88 pages I was able to read the whole thing during one long commute on the Toronto subway. I can't say I hated it but I didn't enjoy it either. There wasn't much to it. The plot is fragmented and trivial. The characters are uninteresting. A man returns from a business trip, takes his wife for a romantic night at a hotel. She asks him to leave, so he dumps her the next morning, picks up his stuff and departs. No reason is given. No reasons are provided for anything in this book. People enter the scene, do stuff and depart. The word 'why' doesn't seem to be a part of the author's thought process.

I think perhaps he was attempting to convey the futility of existence, a sort of all-pervading angst or nihilism currently fashionable in the minds of some literary types. However, if nothing matters, why bother to write the book and expound upon the subject? One thing matters to me after reading it. I now know enough to never waste my time reading anything else by this author.

I suspect the above can be extended to most books by authors winning Nobel prizes these days. The selection committee is comprised of people I don't know and doubt I'd want to know. Interestingly enough, one member quit the committee specifically over this book. Her objection was the author supported a Serbian politician later convicted of war crimes and she argued politics **should** be a part of the literary selection criteria. Frankly I think it is but not in the manner Gun-Britt Sundstrom would like.

So, who would like this book? If you want to be regarded as an intellectual, a superior sort of person at home in smug elite literary circles you might want to give this a try. On the other hand, if you like plot, characterization and some sense of resolution, take a pass here.



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Ghost Story - A Short Story for Halloween

The official looked up from the dossier. “Now, Mr. Hornsworth, you say you were in IT while you were alive. Is that correct?”

“Yes, although strictly mainframes.”

“Hmm, that’s not good.”

“You don’t have mainframes in the, uh, after-life?”

“We don’t have computers period.”

“Oh my.” Mr. Hornsworth looked a little disconcerted. “How do you manage?”

“Well, our job is to run the universe and we work mostly at the quantum level. Now if you had a degree in quantum physics that would be something. We always have openings for them.”

“I’m afraid I don’t, but surely most people arriving here don’t have knowledge of that subject.”

The official nodded, “Quite true, but we can also make use of sales personnel, accountants, chemists, psychologists – a considerable number of professions – almost everything except IT.”

“So …” Mr. Hornsworth hesitated, “I’ll be assigned to unskilled labour?”

The official frowned, “Normally that would be the case, but we have a surplus of workers there at the moment so I think we’ll need to find something else.”

“Such as what.”

The official seemed to look off into the distance for a moment and then said, “How do you think you’d be at haunting?”

“Oh … no … really … I don’t think I could scare anyone.”

“You were around for the Y2K incident weren’t you?”

“Well … yes.”

“And that certainly scared people.”

“True, but I didn’t have any personal involvement.”

The official shrugged. “And haven’t some of your computer models predicted some pretty drastic things with respect to climate?”

“Well, they weren’t my models.”

“Doesn’t matter. IT people are good at scaring others. Your job was to persuade organizations to invest heavily in hardware and software wasn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“And to do that, you often had to scare the living daylights out of senior executives didn’t you?”

“Well … I guess I did; but I was just trying to keep their businesses viable.”

“Right, right. Still, you sure scared them.”

“Uh, I guess so.”

The official glanced again at the dossier.

“Frankly, I think you terrified them. Right, we’ll assign you to hauntings.”

“I’m sorry sir, but I really can’t see myself rattling chains in some dark castle.”

The official laughed, “Not to worry. Those days are long gone. No, you’ll continue in IT except you’ll be inside the machine causing all sorts of little bugs.”

“Bugs?”

The official looked concerned, “Isn’t that what they call them?”

“Well, uh yes but …”

“Right, have you ever heard of the Phoenix Pay System?”

“Oh Dear God.”

“Exactly. We had a guy in there doing a marvellous job but we need him to haunt some new communications technology being developed in China. You can get started by replacing him on that. Then you can affect some more of those climate models but there’s two really big assignments coming up you’ll need all your skills for.”

Mr. Hornsworth was almost afraid to ask, but he did anyway. “What are they?”

“Analytics and AI are on the verge of taking over a considerable amount of decision making in large companies.”

“And I?”

“Will ensure the end result is one of total chaos. And then in 2020 there’s a major presidential election in the United States. I trust you know exactly what to do there.”

Mr. Hornsworth smiled, “I think I’m going to like being a ghost.”

War Dogs

War Dogs by Greg Bear

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

As with any book, there were some things I liked and some I didn't but the pluses far outweighed the minuses.

This is a war story set on Mars. A group of sparines - marines trained to fight in space and, specifically on Mars - are cut of from command with no communications. They haven't received mission orders so their objective is to survive - not an easy thing to do on that planet. As a result, there is action of a sort from the beginning and I found the pacing quite good. The enemy is the Antags which gets shortened to Ants. Providing Earth with technology are the Gurus, a space faring race about with little is known except that after providing all this wonderful technology they note that they are being pursued across the galaxy by an implacable enemy and this enemy will destroy Earth unless humans commit to the fight. With little choice, humans get into it and the theater of war is Mars. It was never made clear why Mars is the center of the conflict and why they didn't simply attack Earth but this is the first volume of a trilogy so I suppose something needed to be saved for volumes 2 and 3. As it the case in Ender's game, humans are unable to communicate with the Ants so no compromise is possible.

It turns out Mars was once seeded by lifeforms who left behind what turns out to be dust containing ancient memories. These memories are a little vague and something else for future books. Nevertheless, we learn humans and these Martian critters share a common ancestor.

The story is filled with action but some of the description was a little excessive. The author, I think, did a pretty good job researching survival problems on the red planet and was determined to make the reader understand the extent of those problems but occasionally he seemed to dwell a little too much on the danger and difficulties of crossing a rock-strewn landscape in a highly advanced spacesuit. In addition this story is set in the future so military equipment has evolved but the reader isn't given much information to visualize either the arms or the vehicles being used. Likewise, this being a specialized group of soldiers, they use vocabulary designed to convey maximum information in a minimum of time but sometimes the dialog can be difficult to follow and it gets worse when they encounter a group of settlers removed from Earth for so long their language has evolved leaving the reader behind.

Within the constraints above, I enjoyed the book and will very likely go on to read volume 2 and possibly 3. If you like military stories in a sci-fi context and don't mind seeing the action through the eyes of a grunt - meaning you never know what's going on since the protagonist is operating on a need-to-know basis and his superiors deem precious little is needed - and if you don't mind not always being clear with respect to the terminology then I think you'll like this one.



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Spear of the Sigilla

Spear of the Sigilla by Patrick Basil

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

This is classic fantasy and quite well done. The world building is effective and the societies make sense. It might have benefited from a bit more editing but given this is an inde author, I think he did pretty well.

In general characters are well handled although no attempt was made to flesh out the bad guys. They were simply bad and that was the end of it. Likewise, outside of the principle character, the other characters received very little treatment. Even her sidekick, Cat, while developing additional skills, fails to emerge with any sort of personality. However the main character, Rinn, grows and matures considerably as the book progresses.

One unfortunate choice of names was that of Rinn's guardian, the giant Molossos. After very few pages I found myself reading it as Molasses which detracted a bit from his stature but these things happen.

Pacing was a little erratic. Fight scenes were well done and was the adventuring; however, the book starts slowly and by the 12% mark I almost abandoned it. That would have been unfortunate because it picked up nicely and while I wouldn't consider it to be a 'page turner', it was worth reading and I think I can recommend it to lovers of fantasy.



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The Snail on the Slope

The Snail on the Slope by Arkady Strugatsky

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

This gets 5 stars because it's well written, not because I liked it. I didn't like the ending at all, largely because there isn't one. The book is absurdist fiction somewhat along the lines of Franz Kafka. At the end is an afterward which provides some explanation or at least context for the novel. I have to question whether the need to explain what the reader has just finished is the mark of a good novel but at least it sheds some light on the subject.

In the beginning of the book all seems clear. There is the Administration set high on a cliff and the forest below. The Administration is in constant chaos, a bureaucratic nightmare from which nothing rational can be observed. In the forest is all manner of weirdness frightening to those who form the administration. Plus the authors are Russian so this is a farcical look at the Russian government, right? Well said government certainly interpreted it that way and the book was banned for many years. Possessing a copy was illegal. However the authors claim this interpretation is inaccurate, that, yes, the administration is the government but this is neither a criticism nor a parody. They suggest the absurd is the way of the future, that this is right and proper. Perhaps they had their tongues firmly planted in cheek when they wrote that but who knows.

They argue that the future is not only unknown but unknowable. More importantly it is inevitable. It might be possible to spot current trends that will come to future fruition but it is impossible to either stop, change, or encourage such things. They suggest there exist various immutable historical laws controlling all human destiny. Who knows? They may be correct.

I strongly recommend this book for any writer of fantasy. You may not enjoy reading it - quite possibly won't - but it will provide a creative workout for your mind much like going to a gym and spending time on exercise equipment provides a workout for your muscles.

This book was copy-written in the 1960s. There are elements of society in 2019 that seem to have been built by the work of these authors. Perhaps they were correct - that fundamental historical laws govern and dictate the future.



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A Ghost of a Chance

A Ghost of a Chance by Cherie Claire

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***
I rated this a three because it falls in between 1 and 5. Some part of this book warrant a 5 while others are a 1 so I selected a number in the middle.

There are really three stories embedded in the one book. The first is a ghost story and it's a 5. The ghost story leads into a mystery and it's a 5 as well. The third story is about a woman beset by lots of emotional turmoil. She lost her daughter to leukemia. She lost her home to hurricane Katrina. She suffers from ADHD. She may be suffering from PTSD. She's in the process of walking away from her marriage. Simply put she's a mess and now she's trying to take the first steps towards building a new life starting with a new career. I rated this one a 1 because I can't stand characters who emote all over the page; however, I think the 80/20 rules applies to this story and I'm in the 20. I believe 80% of readers will thoroughly enjoy this third arc so I think it can be recommended.

It's pretty standard these days in books coming out to focus on characters more and plot less. Certainly during the course of this book we encounter an individual who's struggling and barely keeping her life together. Frankly I disliked the protagonist so much I found myself rooting for the villains and two of them, although long dead, were pretty bad. The third wasn't so much a villain as an irritant. We meet Richard early in the story and he seems pretty unlikable. He never improves but as we get to know Vi, our heroine, Richard starts looking pretty good. At least he can function.

Vi tells us at the outset her marriage is over. Then her ex shows up and instead of telling him to take a hike, she allows him to stay with her and they even partake in the obligatory sex scene. Fortunately it's only a couple of pages so it doesn't detract from the story to any great extent but I found her willingness to do that sort of thing with someone who's supposedly in her past a little difficult to believe.

There is a subplot involving the mayor of the town these travel writers are visiting. This mayor believes Vi is in cahoots with some activists trying to stop a development project. It had definite possibilities but it sort of fizzles out without any real climax. Yes the development is stopped and the mayor who was about to run for governor changes her mind but we are told that. It isn't dramatized within the story.

As I said, I didn't like the protagonist and therefore I couldn't relate to the story. I do think plenty of others can read and thoroughly enjoy this book to I recommend it with the caveat that if you want a protagonist who's fully functional and has her life together then stay away. Everyone else can read and enjoy it.



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The Bag of Tricks Affair

The Bags of Tricks Affair by Bill Pronzini

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

This is a perfectly good detective novel but if you're looking for a whodunit, this probably isn't for you. The cases are pretty simple, and even though I don't normally read whodunits even I could get to the answer so someone who reads them regularly wouldn't likely be impressed. Still the stories are interesting - basically three novellas held together by a real bad guy who's waiting to strike. The pacing is crisp and there was no time I was bored.

Near the beginning the author slips in a few cliches but once he gets going the story proceeds well. For those who like deep emotional revelations from characters this might not be for you. The two protagonists ponder their feelings for one another but that's about it. Since the setting is the early 1900s they have to be a little stiff because formality was more common back then.

If you don't take the mystery genre too seriously I think I can recommend this one.



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Siege: Trump Under Fire

Siege: Trump Under Fire by Michael Wolff

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

If your politics are left of center, there's a very good chance you're going to love this book.

If your politics are right of center, you still might enjoy the book but you need to realize at the outset that the author really, really dislikes Donald Trump and is not afraid to show it. That said, Michael Wolff is a remarkably good wordsmith and at no time was I ever bored while reading it.

This books paints a picture of the president as someone with the intelligence of a three-year-old. I don't buy that. True, we know he's narcissistic and we know he lies without the slightest qualm. From some of the things the author says, he may suffer from ADHD and ADD but to claim he's stupid is, in my opinion, a stretch.

Beyond the president, the author paints a picture of a White House in chaos, with literally everyone operating on a self aggrandizing agenda, stabbing one another in the back, and utterly indifferent to the fate of the country. It's not an optimistic scenario.

Personally I came away with an image of the President as a bear surrounded by snarling dogs each one trying to take a bite and bring him down but non prepared to face him head on. If Shakespeare were alive today I'm sure this would be just the sort of thing he use for one of his plays.

It's conceivable the author cut a few corners while writing this book so I don't recommend believing everything you read and keep in mind that every incident comes with a bit of an editorial dig but it's still interesting and worth reading. The only thing I thought was really bad was the omission of a cast-of-characters as an Appendix. So many names are used and they come at the reader so quickly a reference at the end would have been highly useful.



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