I generally avoid speaking directly about political issues in my public life, but recent events have made me reconsider my stance.
I always consideredI generally avoid speaking directly about political issues in my public life, but recent events have made me reconsider my stance.
I always considered myself a rather balanced person and I am STILL always willing to consider dissenting opinions on any subject so long as they are well-formed, respectful, and not explicitly designed to incite violent reactions.
I am American by birth, ideology, and natural gravity even if I no longer live within its borders. That doesn't mean I remain unmoved or less deeply invested in the amazing devolution of my home country.
I am an avid reader of news articles, social media, and I pay close attention to political trends, big decisions, and all the implications. I've been doing it since the late '80s. I never wanted to side with any particular party because none were all that admirable. So I kept my eyes open, tried to remain objective, and made up my mind on individual issues throughout current events and events from history that NEVER SEEM TO HAVE AN END.
One thing I can say, however, is that I've always respected Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Everything she stood for, fought for, and cleverly defended, I can easily say, "She speaks for me."
This book tells me, in particular, nothing new about the big judgments, from women's rights to modern-version desegregation. Nor does it lessen the horror that I feel, as RBG felt, to the devaluation of human life, the loss of reproductive rights, or the loss of the separation of church and state.
It does, however, re-instill an urgency, an immediacy, and the necessity to FIGHT FOR WHAT WE BELIEVE IN.
Me, I believe in cooperation, honesty, real justice, equality, and inclusiveness. I never thought I'd have to even SAY it. I thought, as an American, that all of that was a GIVEN.
It isn't.
Not by a long shot.
And if you know and respect RBG, you know how close to the edge we all stand before we lose it all.
Work together. Think together. Do everything we can to protect our liberties. We're all in this together. Don't let the few dictate the reality of our good majority.
Losing RBG was hard enough. We must all step up and be rational. Think strategically. Look toward the long-term goal. Don't let the Machiavellians drag the rest of us through the mud.
Drew Magary does it again. There hasn't been a novel of his that I've read that I haven't fallen over dead after having finished reading.
No, no, this Drew Magary does it again. There hasn't been a novel of his that I've read that I haven't fallen over dead after having finished reading.
No, no, this isn't the Post-Mortal, and I didn't over-exert myself on a Hike. Indeed, the idea of traveling at all has become absurdly easy... just like reading this novel.
Cell-phones in ten years now allow us to teleport. Like Jaunting, ya? But these are tied to nasty cell phone plans with nastier reams of unread legal-sleaze. But who cares, right, so long as we can take a trip to Spain, Brazil, Newfoundland (just kidding), and back to school in New Jersey during your lunch break.
This SOUNDS like a pretty good YA, no? And it is. But it has some really dark points that are quite as dark as Post-Mortal (and with as huge a range of ramifications, evil, and annihilation) and *almost* as weird as the Hike. But let's just swap the weird with an epic tale of revenge and you'll have a better idea about what this novel is about.
It just goes to show, dehumanization and power and racism is STILL going to be a massively huge problem when anyone can go wherever they want. After all, if there are no restrictions, and just about anyone can hop into your room as you sleep, it may not be a *NICE* future. Take along your war, your hate, and your insanity, and suddenly no place is safe.
So how do we get to Point B? Dial it up! It's very worth the Jaunt, and lordy.... that last 1/3 of the novel was absolutely un-putdownable. Brilliant. I lost sleep over it....more
My initial impression of this novel and my post-reading impression are perfectly aligned. :)
A cool idea of setting a soul-less Ikea with a massive hauMy initial impression of this novel and my post-reading impression are perfectly aligned. :)
A cool idea of setting a soul-less Ikea with a massive haunting and a crazy satire about the modern-day service industry is EXACTLY what I got.
In other words, I enjoyed my B-Movie experience. I chortled, groaned, and felt like I was One with the Corporate Narrative which is One with the batshit crazy Experimental Prison Culture.
In a world so eerily similar to our own, fast-forwarded 17 years after our facemasks became a permanent fixture to our eyes rather than our breathing In a world so eerily similar to our own, fast-forwarded 17 years after our facemasks became a permanent fixture to our eyes rather than our breathing orifices, Malorie from the original Bird Box has teenagers of her own, raised in fear and a constant litany of "no, no, no" begins a new tale of discovery.
Or rather, rediscovery. Her parents might just be alive. Is this a blind-call to adventure?
This is undeniably a good tale of suspense. I don't think it is QUITE as suspenseful as the first, but living in terror for almost two decades can put a damper on your fight-or-flight response. Or does it? I think I most liked the creepy idea that the enemy might possibly have left. Who would know? :)
This is definitely our modern world right now. We can't see the evil, but we fully expect it to be right on the edge of our consciousness...
I'm already a fan of Grady Hendrix after We Sold Our Souls so picking up this one and a few more to come is not a brain-teaser. In fact, it's about asI'm already a fan of Grady Hendrix after We Sold Our Souls so picking up this one and a few more to come is not a brain-teaser. In fact, it's about as wholesome to me as a suburban book club taking on True Crime tales.
Well, wholesome isn't really the proper term, maybe, but just the fact of such late '80s, early '90s housewife rebellion is enough to carry the tale even WITHOUT vampires.
But with vampires? Well. It's been said before, but it bears saying again: NEVER MESS WITH MOM.
A personal aside: I grew up in suburbia during this time, so it was like a blast from the past. Including all the weird obsessions, the stifling conformity, the drugging up of our youth, wives, and the men who banded together to stamp any kind of dissension out of the family. And their eventual loss of control, of course. And who picks up the pieces.
Hmm. And yes, another thing: I'm a housewife now. I GET IT. The lack of control, the lack of respect, how we must juggle everything, and yet never get a single moment of peace.
And then there are those FREAKING BLOODSUCKERS. Gaaah! ...more
The pacing, a lot of the action, the core concept of the aliens, and the OTT blowout of the end.
The so/so:
The relatively generic space-opSo! The good:
The pacing, a lot of the action, the core concept of the aliens, and the OTT blowout of the end.
The so/so:
The relatively generic space-opera feel with very little to make it stand out from most space-opera setups. Such as corporate indenture. Has no one read Cherryh? Scavenging is also so commonplace as to be a core fixture of these types of SF-lite novels. The originality is centered, but not very developed, on the (no spoiler) abilities of the aliens and how it relates to our MC. That being said, the whole tale feels mostly surfacy and I never got that invested in either the over-plot or the characters.
I don't think this was a bad novel by any stretch. My main complaint is that I've read way too many novels that behave almost exactly like this. It didn't kick my pants in the originality department. At all.
That being said, it does fill a number of checkboxes for those of you looking for it: Disabled. LGBTQ. However, these aspects never really felt core to the story even if we were meant to believe they were. (At least to me.) ...more
Already being a fan of Amal El-Mohtar, I jumped on this story. (Remember This is How You Lose the Time War?) Yep.
This short story is somewhat quiet unAlready being a fan of Amal El-Mohtar, I jumped on this story. (Remember This is How You Lose the Time War?) Yep.
This short story is somewhat quiet until the end and then it really jumps at me. I was totally into it for one of the same reasons that I was totally affected by V for Vendetta. If you've seen the movie, you'll know exactly what I mean.
And as for the concept behind it? Gorgeous. We need more of that here and now.
This may be a side story for the Wayward Children series but all by itself, it happens to be one hell of a great story. No one truly needs to keep thiThis may be a side story for the Wayward Children series but all by itself, it happens to be one hell of a great story. No one truly needs to keep this out of their lives. Even if they never read the rest of the series, this one should be a must-read.
Anyone who has kept this series knows they can expect a certain amount of craziness of one kind or another. If you've kept up with these boHappiness!
Anyone who has kept this series knows they can expect a certain amount of craziness of one kind or another. If you've kept up with these books, you know that the first ten-ish books were classic awesome UF that's bloody, interesting, and quirky. From then on, the books continue in this vein but take on a decidedly different personal turn. I'm talking about the polygamy.
I'm one of those that appreciates the message without not particularly caring about the cause. Sure, you can love whomever you want, with as many as you want. Check. But I kept with the series mainly because when all the earlier strict UF police procedural, thinly-veiled commentary about sexual activism as vamps and weres was said and done, the stories were just FUN, FAST, and FURIOUS and often OTT when it comes to the action and magic bits. To me, they were the gold standard, and when LKH focused on that, I was always as happy as could be. I wasn't in it for the neverending sex or the full-stage production of multiple deep relationships that made my head spin and my care-o-meter break.
So many of these middle books broke my care-meter. But the great stuff was great, so I kept going.
Fast forward to today. I think LKH is changing direction, or DID change direction in the main plot and concern, for this book. I was used to her focusing on sexual issues for so long that I almost missed how she had become TIMELY in a different way.
Legal Rights for the people who are disenfranchised. I'm talking about systemic racism. Injustice at its very core. What if there is reasonable doubt, but custom (in the guise of law) dictates that you must treat a whole people like animals?
In this case, it's literal. It's a wereleopard who must be "put down" but there's serious doubt that he did it. Anita has gone through this kind of thing too many times and it just happens to be this case that nearly breaks her. She pulls out all the stops to save him, calling in the calvary, and I actually appreciate this.
This isn't a book that's all about the blood and guts, raising zombies, or playing dominance games (much). It's about taking that first and hardest step toward JUSTICE when you see that there IS NONE.
And like reality, there are no easy answers. There is only the fight.
As for the sub-plot with Olaf... well... we can't win everything, but I appreciate the fact that there was NOT a total overabundance of millions of romantic partners this time. In fact, there was practically no sex at all. It was pretty much... a RETURN TO THE EARLY DAYS.
Me, personally, I LOVED the early days. With the timely new focus? I love this one even more....more
The one thing that drew me here to this book happened, in the final estimation, to be the least important aspect:
The fact that it is SF written as PoThe one thing that drew me here to this book happened, in the final estimation, to be the least important aspect:
The fact that it is SF written as Poetry.
I read it in audio format but after the fact, I kinda wish that I had read it as print. I'm probably going to get a copy soon.
Why?
Because even though the core story seems to rely almost entirely on a Noir mystery with an investigator who is addicted to a drug that makes a person emit light, but it comes with addictions and a rather strange murder, with some rather big consequences -- it is also deceptive.
As a fan of poetry, I'm also overly aware of the fact that there are many layers to any text. Do you think that metaphor is dead? Ha! Iambic Pentameter is also used in Shakespeare to illustrate high importance and major turning points. Anyone reading this 5 hours long Noir SF mystery should certainly enjoy it on the surface-level, but it's the heart of it that makes me RAVE about it.
In this dark world, light is a drug. Heat radiates everywhere, but it's light (and here's where the metaphor is very, very strong) that causes tremors, creates an underground market, throws people into paroxysms of drug-addled numina, and is ultimately the grand reversal of the tale.
Have a partner named Dante and you can figure out the rest. Is light love? Maybe God's love in the bowels of hell? If it's such an addictive substance and the whole idea of getting off the drug or fighting the crime syndicates is such a huge deal, then the whole FLAVOR of this far-future SF becomes... something else entirely.
I really don't need to spoil it. This is a book that lends itself to many different interpretations.
Just rest assured that every word is important and carefully placed, as is most good poetry. :)
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