Friday, September 20, 2013

Changes afoot

Decisions have been made, and plans are in motion. It's going to be a wild few months. We're putting the casa on the market in early October and finding a rental as soon as we get an offer. I am going to be spending a great deal of time in the next 2 weeks cleaning and decluttering. As our realtor said: "It should sort of look like a Crate & Barrel catalog." Happily the bookshelves won't need much work (though I'm still riding Spouse's ass about getting rid of some of his grad school books).

Nightwatch, Sergei Lukyanenko

The NightwatchThe Nightwatch by Sergei Lukyanenko

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I found this book in the reverse of the usual process, after watching a movie based on this novel and the next in the series. In Russia, the series represented sort of a breakout hit for the science fiction genre there. I can see why it was so popular. Despite opposing forces of the Light and the Dark, the world of The Others (not-quite humans who include in their ranks vampires, shapeshifters, seers, witches, and magicians) is one of shades of gray; the narrator for Nightwatch, one Anton Gorodetsky, especially so. In fact, the alternative plane of The Twilight--only accessible to the Others--operates in tones of sepias and grays. In addition to great world-building with interesting, nuanced characters, Lukyanenko tells one hell of a story. Actually, he tells three stories in this novel. The reader will ride along with battles large and small, doublecrosses galore, doomed romance, and wicked chase scenes (even in text). I enjoyed Nightwatch so much that I started the next book in the series, Daywatch, 10 minutes after I finished the first.



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Monday, September 16, 2013

Parasite, by Mira Grant

Parasite (Parasitology, #1)Parasite by Mira Grant

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Having read 4 of Mira Grant’s novels, I have to wonder who she trusts the least: the media, science, government, or parents. None of those entities come out looking good in her books, although all have what they feel are valid reasons for taking (or not taking) actions that impact others negatively. Money and power often play huge roles, as does the butterfly effect: when one decision or action—even with good intentions—has unanticipated ripple effects that change the world.

All of these concerns and more present themselves in Grant’s newest work, Parasite (the first in a series of the same name). Set about 15 years in the future, the book tells the story of Sal Mitchell, a young woman who in many ways is even younger: She has no memory prior to a car accident 6 years earlier after which she was saved from the brink of death by a genetically modified tapeworm. In fact, almost everyone, in the U.S. at least, has one of these implants, made by one company and created to address antibacterial resistance and immunodeficiency. As is usually the case, this miracle cure for everything from allergies to diabetes is too good to be true.

Like most first books in a series, Parasite takes its time revealing the situation—Sal’s history as well as the story of the implants—unravelling details and bit of information via Sal’s current experiences as well as article and book excerpts from various sources, including 3 creators of the implants. Though the book may move slowly, with a lot of detail about how Sal got to her current place in the world, the story itself captured my interest from the beginning and didn’t let go. Grant uses cliffhangers well, so that you just have to peek into that next chapter to see what happened. Alas, she ended the book the same way, so I felt like someone snatched away a piece of chocolate cake after allowing only one bite. Hopefully, Grant will fill the time until the appearance of the second book with related novellas, as she did with her Newsflesh series.




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Sunday, September 8, 2013

Boxers, by Gene Yang

Boxers (Boxers & Saints)Boxers by Gene Luen Yang

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Going into "Boxers," I knew next to nothing about the Boxer rebellion (thank you crappy education). I had seen mention of it once or twice (including in the book "Midnight in Peking") but was short on the details. So, I can't speak to the historical accuracy of the book, although in a story such as this what "history" says and the reality may not be particularly close.

That said, I think that Yang does a bang-up job distilling the history into a tale about real people's lives. We follow the Righteous brothers from their start in one small village until the aftermath in Beijing. The artwork shows the duality of their story. On one hand, you've got the cartoonish peasants in panels of browns and grays, with our hero being a sort of Joe China. The other side of the coin shows the lavishly drawn and brightly colored gods into which the brothers (and their supporters) believed themselves transformed during battle. We see it all from the brothers' perspective: the training, the journey, and the slaughters. I could understand why the Boxers felt justified in what they were doing. Doesn't make the whole killing-women-and-children thing less horrible, but you see their perspective (fueled by superstition, religion, and probably opium).

Interestingly, Boxers is half of a pair of graphic novels, with the other (Saints) presenting the rebellion from the perspective of a Christian Chinese girl who we briefly meet in Boxers. I think it's a great idea on Yang's part, to tell the story of a place and time in history whose interpretation depends mainly on which side the interpreter was on.

Disclosure: I received an e-copy of the book via NetGalley.





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