The Quatermass Book Reading Marathon Blog: Taking the Fifth

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Book 38...

REVIEW: Nanny Ogg's Cookbook by Terry Pratchett, Stephen Briggs, Tina Hannan, and Paul Kidby


Having read all the Discworld novels thus far, and having started off this book-reading blog with the latest one, Snuff, I didn't expect to read another Discworld book. But Christmas shopping gave me the chance to buy, and then read, an interesting spin-off book in the series. I've heard that Nanny Ogg's Cookbook has even spawned a stage play in my native Australia at the very least. So I decided, after buying it, to take the plunge...

JHC Goatberger is in trouble. His Ankh-Morpork publishing business is losing money after many books, two of them Nanny Ogg's, were withdrawn from publication due to various reasons including obscenity. But when a third manuscript of Ogg's arrives, Goatberger, discovering that it is less lewd than The Joye of Snacks, decides to publish it, despite the fact that Ogg has clearly pilfered many of her recipes and knowledge from other publications. Within the cookbook, the reader can find many recipes (including Lord Vetinari's for bread and water, Lord Downey's for arsenic flavoured sweets, and Sergeant Angua's vegetarian meal), but also Nanny Ogg's philosphies on life, death, love, and etiquette...

This book obviously contains no story, save for the overarching one of how the publishers have decided to publish Nanny Ogg's book, as well as their need to make sure that anything lewd is censored, of which there is surprisingly little, given how bawdy Ogg is. One finds it hard to review a cookbook, but the recipes have a humourous air (I remember reading, years ago, a Doctor Who Cookbook, which had humorous titles, illustrations, and which sparked off a three day infatuation with mushrooms). Lord Vetinari's recipe for bread and water has a great twist at the end, and Lord Downey's recipe for arsenic-laden sweets has the authors emphasising that no arsenic be added, for obvious reasons. We also have some insights into the characters of the series, most of them old news, but some interesting new ones (like Nobby Nobbs actually having a mother, and one that looks human, at that).

Besides the recipes, the rest of the book is given over to advice on etiquette. Despite Goatberger and his foreman Cropper's assertions, this reads more like Ogg doing the telling, albeit a toned down Ogg. We also have some intriguing new insight into Lancre and its folklore, including a very creepy scarecrow that seems to be distrubingly Weeping Angel-like, if not actually malevolent. The humour is okay, but the book, while entertaining, is not spectacular.

Even so, this is definitely something for the Discworld fan to enjoy. Interesting, humorous, and with some recipes to try, it adds a certain flavour (pun unintended) to the Discworld mythos.



8.5/10


First words: Memo from JHC Goatberger

Last words: 'Tir Nani Ogg', The Square, Lancre.

Book 39...

REVIEW: Transmetropolitan volume 7: Spider's Thrash by Warren Ellis, Darick Robertson and Rodney Ramos


I have little doubt that this book-reading blog will see me finish the Transmetropolitan graphic novel series. This very dark view of the far future has nonetheless been an engrossing read. As the series moves on, however, there will be a very real danger of it going stale. The question is, will it go stale? Or will it manage to stay at a level of high quality for the rest of its run?

On the run in the City, Spider, Yelena, and Channon now have a new agenda: start publishing articles through The Hole, a feedsite dedicated to news. From there, Spider begins a series of articles on the dark sides of the city, such as the child prostitutes, the mentally ill forced onto the streets because the State isn't willing to support them, and the history of the City being burned or buried by the new. But the President isn't willing to leave Spider alone, and even if Spider does manage to avoid assassins, he is beginning to show signs of an enemy within. Even if the Smiler can't kill Spider, something else might...

While the theme seems to be about Spider getting back into writing uncensored journalism and thus continuing his war with the Smiler, there's also a more depressing tone to this story, even more so than most previous ones. The three-part story Back to Basics seems more like a traditional Transmetropolitan story, albeit a good one, but it's the ones afterwards that have a darker and more funerary tone. Business is a both depressing and heartwarming (as far as Spider is trying to help them) story about Spider investigating child prostitutes, and what those in charge of them try to do about it. A similar story is given over to the mentally ill in There is a Reason, although that also ties in with Spider's vendetta against the Smiler, but it is not as interesting or engrossing. Spider's Thrash shows Spider talking about the history of the City, that dark and weird place where, according to him, nobody even knows the calendar date any more. But he is also aware, despite what his assistants think, of his possibly impending demise, characterised by hallucinations and nosebleeds. A dark and melancholic tale, all up, but interesting in its end.

The characters get further development, with Spider beginning to show signs of illness, and his assistants wondering whether they should tell him, given his attitude. We also see more of some characters both minor and major, with serial a**hole Fred Christ (temporarily) going to prison, Scott McX, right wing reporter, showing his support for Spider, revivee Mary making a brief (but welcome) cameo, and the deterioration of the Smiler's control, as well as a defining image where, in the manner of someone plucking the wings off a fly, he systematically removes the legs off a spider. We also have other one-shot characters, with the child prostitutes and their caretaker in Business being particularly striking in their tragedy and depth, despite (or because of) the nature of the story.

While not exactly moving to perfection, the seventh volume of Transmetropolitan maintains the high standards for the series. It'll make you cringe, weep, and laugh, and it will also make you think by stealth, if you can stand the dark themes...



9/10


First words: The Word newspaper's board of directors were blatantly pressured into firing him-- but he was already gone.

Last words: (Not recorded due to spoilers)

Book 40...

REVIEW: Out of Oz by Gregory Maguire


In my very first book-reading blog, back in 2009, I read two books from Gregory Maguire's The Wicked Years, Son of a Witch and A Lion Among Men. Earlier that year, while in the UK, I read the first book in the series, Wicked. A dark and complex revisionist take on the mythos around the Wizard of Oz, these books, while never outstanding in entertainment value, still managed to hold my interest. In fact, if I reviewed A Lion Among Men now, I probably would have given it a higher score than the 8 I gave it. But with the new book finally out, it is perhaps fitting that one of my last, if not the last, reviews of the year 2011, is the last volume of the Wicked Years series, Out of Oz...

In 1906, Dorothy Gale, now 16 and her tales of Oz believed to be at best fanciful and at worst severely delusional, disappears during an earthquake in San Francisco. Back in Oz, decades have passed since Dorothy's fateful encounter with Elphaba, the infamous Wicked Witch of the West. Elphaba's delusional half-brother Shell has declared himself not only the ruler of Oz, but also a God. Glinda is under house arrest for treason. And under her care is a young girl called Rain. A visit from the Clock of the Time Dragon and its entourage, including Brrr, the Cowardly Lion, brings matters to a head, and Rain is made to flee with the Clock and its entourage, along with the Grimmerie, the most potent spell book in Oz. But Rain is herself prey to a terrible destiny. She is the daughter of Liir, the son of Elphaba, and thus Elphaba's grand-daughter, and she'll have a part to play in the biggest shake-up to Oz in recent history...

The story itself seems there to tie up the loose ends left since Son of a Witch, in the same way that the video game Metal Gear Solid 4 tried (and for the most part, succeeded) in tying up the loose ends put in by Metal Gear Solid 2. This isn't to say that the book doesn't succeed. Indeed, it is still entertaining enough. Maguire's Oz finally gets a happy ending, of sorts, as do most of the characters. If you were depressed by the state of affairs previous books left you in, take heart in that, at least. But Maguire's writing style does seem a little dry, especially for the modern age, stilted, and a little staged, and there are some things that seem put in purely to shock.

The centre of attention goes to Elphaba's grand-daughter, Rain, who is pretty much the main protagonist, even if, at first, she seems to be much less so. She is interesting enough, but the transition between a ditzy young girl and a slightly more hardened girl heroine is slightly jarring. The continuation of other characters goes well enough for the most part, with Maguire bringing back Dorothy and developing her so that she is less shallow and a little more grounded. Brrr makes a welcome comeback too. Unfortunately, for me, one of the main antagonists, La Mombey, seems to come out of nowhere, although I assume that maybe there was some foreshadowing that I missed. Certainly there was a Clock of the Time Dragon scene that, in retrospect, might have foreshadowed her.

Out of Oz is a good enough end to the Wicked Years canon. It ties up loose ends and provides a decent ending for the characters.



8.5/10


First words: It would take Dorothy Gale and her relatives three days to reach the mountains by train from Kansas, the conductor told them.

Last words: FINIS.

Book 41...

REVIEW: Transmetropolitan volume 8: Dirge by Warren Ellis, Darick Robertson and Rodney Ramos


While I am still a couple of volumes away from the end of Transmetropolitan, I have found myself eagerly awaiting this particular volume. This is where things begin to come to a head. But having set so high standards for the series already, would I come out disappointed? It's possible. But let's find out for ourselves whether the eighth volume of Transmetropolitan cuts the mustard...

A sniper is on the loose in the Print District of the City, and Spider soon learns from one of the few uncorrupt cops of the city that most of the police force has been ordered away. And soon, an even greater threat than a sniper comes along. A devastating storm blasts through the City, killing many people and ruining the City. But bad things are said to come in threes, and Spider, after being knocked unconscious during the storm, finds out on waking that he has a degenerative neurological condition. He has a two percent chance of recovering, or else he has a year before his mind goes completely. Determined to stop the President before his faculties are robbed from him forever, Spider soon realises that even Vita Severn's death, and those of innocent lives, are not how low the Smiler will go to preserve his power...

Wow. Just, wow. The story here, despite it being broken into one three-part story and three one-part stories, is actually more or less continuous. The buildup to the ruinstorm, Spider finding out about his illness, and so on are all coherent in a manner that makes me feel like, at this point at least, Warren Ellis has perfected his craft. What can I say about this story, except that as entertainment, it hits all the right notes emotionally and thematically?

We have some very strong development of both Spider and Yelena, with the latter showing that she is capable of taking up Spider's reins, and Spider showing a mildly uncharacteristic but welcome bit of gratitude for her writing to cover him while he was comatose. The Smiler shows himself to be still capable of matching Spider, and one of his most vile acts is reserved for the closing story. Yelena's father makes a substantial appearance for the first time, showing himself to be a political mirror of Spider, if not having made as much of an impact on his chosen realm.

Everything fits together in this volume, and so it is with great pleasure that I award it with the eighth perfect score I have given a book since I began these book-reading blogs. Take a bow, Transmetropolitan, you have earned it. And what a good note to end 2011 on, than with a 10/10 book?



10/10


First words: Rrrr.

Last words: I'm going to make the grinning bastard suffer.

Book 42...

REVIEW: Bioshock: Rapture by John Shirley


I don't use my computer for playing games at the moment for various reasons. But should I ever get a computer that I can use for game-playing, Bioshock would be top of the list of games to get. I've seen enough of this atmospheric biopunk first person shooter cum satire against Objectivism to want to play it some time. I stumbled across, quite by accident, a novel that is actually a prologue to that game's events, along with those of the sequel, Bioshock 2. Bioshock: Rapture, then, was attractive to me, as I enjoy reading about the backstory of Rapture, and how it fell...

World War 2 is over, but businessman Andrew Ryan's discontent is still growing. The New Deal pioneered by Franklin Roosevelt is eating into his profits, as is union demands. And news of the first nuclear weapons used chills him even further. So he begins an ambitious project, to create a utopia for businessmen, scientists, and artists like him to live without fear of outside interference. He recruits many to his cause, such as British engineer Bill McDonagh, originally stuck as a plumbing contactor, deranged artist Sander Cohen, and many others. Soon after construction finishes, Ryan recruits the best from around the world to live in Rapture, an underwater metropolis where free market rerigns supreme. But not all is well. A con artist who assumes the name of Frank Fontaine sees the potential in exploiting the gaps in Ryan's society. A psychiatrist called Sofia Lamb is intending to shape Ryan's vision into her own. And Ryan himself begins to betray his own Objectivist ideology as things go to hell around him. From dispassionate scientist and concentration camp survivor Dr Tenenbaum to Ryan's enforcer Chief Sullivan, all have a part to play when Rapture discovers how to manipulate the human genome...and reaps the consequences...

I loathe Objectivism and Atlas Shrugged (having read the latter for a bet once), and so, to see it taken to pieces as both the original Bioshock game and the novel does (the second game deconstructs extreme collectivism) is immensely satisfying. The story isn't without faults. There are a few plot points that could have been expanded upon, and at least one plot hole from the second game (I thought that 'Johnny Topside' was Eleanor Lamb's biological father, instead of just being bonded to her in the Little Sister/Big Daddy relationship). But overall, it is satisfying.

The characters range from the interesting to the grotesque to the plain boring. Perhaps three of the most interesting are Bill McDonagh, Brigid Tenenbaum, and Frank Fontaine. McDonagh is the closest thing to a protagonist the novel has, as we see Rapture mostly through his eyes, and his journey from infatuation with the ideal to his rebellion is tragic and engrossing. A similar arc is in place for Tenenbaum, as she goes from dispassionate scientist, made so by her experiences in a Nazi concentration camp as both victim and experimentor, to the protector of the Little Sisters as she is in the game. And we learn more about Frank Fontaine than we do in the game. Indeed, we learn that 'Frank Fontaine' was actually the name of a smuggler he murdered who resembled him, and his real name is never stated in the novel. His machinations to secure Rapture are intriguing, and he at least admits to his hypocrisy, unlike Andrew Ryan, who is as much a villain, if not worse, than Fontaine. Some other characters are good, but others (like Sander Cohen) just grate.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. Bioshock: Rapture may not be the game, but it will certainly appeal to fans of the games. And if you enjoy some biopunk science fiction, or if you really, really hate Objectivism and Atlas Shrugged, read it.



9/10


First words: Sullivan, chief of security, found the Great Man standing in front of the enromous window in his corporate office.

Last words: "Yes, love. Yes, he would have."

The next book will probably be The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Book 43...

REVIEW: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson, translated by Steven T Murray (as Reg Keeland)


I have read a few books from other countries that don't speak English as a first language. Manga notwithstanding, there have been one or two novels from foreign countries I have read. Rocket Girls from Japan was one, but of particular relevance here was Let the Right One In, a disturbing but intelligent and touching vampire novel from Sweden. Sweden has exported quite a good chunk of fiction, with one of the most famous of late being the late Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy, revolving around journalist Mikael Blomkvist and hacker Lisbeth Salander. I've finally decided to bite the bullet and read the first of the Millennium trilogy, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. And what's the result?

Mikael Blomkvist, journalist and part-owner of Millennium magazine, is in trouble. Having tried to launch an attack against a corrupt financier, he ends up facing jail for libel, and the financier is intending to shut down Millennium. Enter Henrik Vanger, the aged patriarch of the Vanger Corporation, and the effective head of the Vanger family. For the longest time, he has been haunted by the disappearance of his niece, Harriet, nearly four decades previously. He hires Blomkvist to find out what happened to Harriet, whom Henrik believes was murdered. Blomkvist reluctantly agrees. Meanwhile, a young woman called Lisbeth Salander, the person Henrik Vanger retained to examine Blomkvist's background, is having troubles of her own. Recalcitrant, antisocial, and withdrawn, this girl with a dragon tattoo is trying to maintain her independence, despite being a ward of the state, and with a sadistic new guardian in charge of her affairs. Soon, she and Blomkvist will end up on the same trail, tracking down the last whereabouts of Harriet, and why she disappeared. But the Vanger clan has secrets it doesn't want exposed, and someone is willing to kill to protect them...

As a story, it seems like a conventional, if extremely dark, mystery. The original title in Swedish meant Men Who Hate Women, and it shows. In fact, it would be somewhat off-putting at times, although some of this is both born out of real life, and Larsson's own demons (having witnessed a girl getting raped, but doing nothing about it at the time, inspired this book). Subtlety is not something that is in this book, at least as far as darkness is concerned, though the thriller aspects are entertaining enough. Unfortunately, the killer is revealed fairly early on, and the book slopes gently towards an ending that is a bit too long in coming. Even so, it's still pretty damn compelling, if one can overcome the dark bits.

The characters are pretty good. Mikael Blomkvist is the primary protagonist, and he's rather middle of the road. He would have been bland if it weren't for his complex moral decisions. Lisbeth Salander, the titular girl with the dragon tattoo, is far more interesting, being a complex anti-hero whose actions at times would be reprehensible, had they not happened to the most reprehensible of human beings. I like many things about her, but her disdain towards abused women who do nothing to avenge themselves on their abusers left me with a bad taste in my mouth, as I have no doubt that there are some women whose situations are different to Salander's. The other characters are all fine, with Erika Berger and Henrik Vanger the most interesting, although Dirch Frode, Vanger's lawyer, is also good.

Overall, while very dark and thus rather off-putting, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is still a very good read. It's a mystery with an interesting twist and, while not the best, is still compelling enough to suck people in.


9/10


First words: It happened every year, was almost a ritual.

Last words: She tossed Elvis into a skip.

What does 'taking the fifth' mean?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-Incrimination_Clause

What does it have to do with the topic?

Because it's the fifth such book-reading blog I've done on Wrong Planet. It's a joke.

Anyway, I'll be posting my latest review later tonight, that of Jennifer Government.

Book 44...

REVIEW: Jennifer Government by Max Barry


Well, I have to say that I detest aggressive capitalism. It is that sort of thing that has screwed up the world today. It has spawned Objectivism and Atlas Shrugged. And unfortunately, it's not going away any time soon. So I amuse myself by reading the extremes of what happens when free market runs out of control like a streaker in a luge on a hilly street. I recently read and reviewed Bioshock: Rapture, one application of this speculation. And now, I have read another, Jennifer Government by Aussie author Max Barry...

Not too far into the future, the USA, along with 'acquired markets' in Australasia and the United Kingdom, has become a capitalistic society to the extreme. Government has been privatised, the police will not solve crimes without being paid by the victims, and people take, as their surnames, the names of big businesses. Hack Nike is a merchandising officer for Nike, but when his boss John Nike, an aggressive Marketing executive gives him a job offer, Hack accepts, only to discover, to his horror, that he is to order the deaths of people buying the new Nike shoes, in order to drum up publicity. In the ensuing fallout of the shootings that entail, Jennifer Government, an agent for the Government, begins to investigate Hack and Nike. Meanwhile, Buy Mitsui ends up quitting his job after being peripherally involved in the shootings, Billy Bechtel is fired, only to end up recruited by the NRA, and Hack's girlfriend Violet has a means of bringing down corporations with a keystroke. As John Nike's plans for power come to a head, the destinies of all these people will collide...

This book isn't exactly subtle. It's about as subtle as a Michael Moore documentary, but it is far more entertaining. Jennifer Government reads like a bad comedy at first (especially with the kids in the school making imbecilic generalisations, and the teacher, quite rightly, despairs), until it goes all the way into drama. Maybe it is Barry's Australian heritage that gives this book its anti-authoritarian streak. It may be strong for some, but it's still entertaining for me, although it also seems a little too spread thin along the ground.

The characters are the key attraction in Jennifer Government, once the novelty of the setting wears off. The titular Jennifer is a bit of a cowboy cop, albeit with good reason. John Nike, or at least the Vice President John Nike, is a suitably repulsive, albeit a little cartoonish, villain. Billy NRA doesn't work for me, though Hack Nike and Buy Mitsui do, and feel like the most human characters in the book. I can't say that I have any sympathy for Violet, especially after what she does. The characters aren't exactly complex, for the most part, but they get the job done well enough in an interesting story that it doesn't matter much.

All in all, Jennifer Government, while explicit satire, is still an enjoyable book. Even with the message shoved in your face so hard it might leave bruises, it will still entertain and enthrall the reader.


9/10


First words: Hack first heard about Jennifer Government at the watercooler.

Last words: (Not recorded due to spoilers)

Book 45...

REVIEW: The Stand: Captain Trips by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Mike Perkins et al, from the novel by Stephen King


Okay, I enjoyed, to a certain degree, Stephen King's famous novel The Stand, though I much preferred The Shining. However, of late, King's work has been adapted into graphic novel form, starting with a prologue to the Dark Tower series that begins with an adaptation of Wizard and Glass. And now, The Stand comes to be adapted. So how does it fare, compared to the original?

An accident in a military bioweapons lab leads to a superflu, dubbed 'Captain Trips', to escape and spread across the US. The government, unable to contain the disease, opt to cover it up, despite the fact that over 99% of those infected will die. But many will manage to avoid infection, like Stu Redman, taken into custody by the military, deaf-mute labourer Nick Andros, musician Larry Underwood, and pregnant young woman Fran Goldsmith. But they are seeing visions of a horrific man who is more a force of nature, the demonic Randall Flagg, who may turn out to be even worse than Captain Trips...

The story takes about the first part of The Stand, mostly dealing with the strongest parts of the outbreak of Captain Trips proper, and while a good chunk was cut out, there is still enough to engross. A few details are lost, but for the most part, they aren't missed. However, the story is intensely dark, bleak, and depressing, especially in the government's treatment of its citizens while trying desperately to cover their arses.

The characters are distinctive enough to be enjoyable, and seem true to the Stephen King book, but there's something a little disappointing in seeing them in art terms. It's like it distracts from the mystique. And while Captain Trips is meant to be horrific, it seems almost too grotesque at times. However, I cannot complain about how they designed and portrayed Randall Flagg. He is everything the novel tried to make him out to be, this semi-demonic man who is more a force of nature than a human being.

While not as good as the book as a whole, The Stand: Captain Trips is a graphic novel well worth your time, especially if you're a fan of the book. It killed some time, and I have to admit to enjoying it.


8.5/10


First words: Sally.

Last words: ...and that was enough for now.

Book 46...

REVIEW: Doctor Who: Trading Futures by Lance Parkin


Once more, I've dipped into the Eighth Doctor Adventures, as reprinted by BBC Books recently. And once more, the book is by Lance Parkin. So, after enjoying Father Time, would I enjoy Trading Futures as much? Or would it turn out to be a lesser work? Well, one cannot judge a book by its cover, so onward to reading and revieweing!

A few decades into the 21st Century, and the US and the Eurozone are political and economic rivals, and enemies. Both sides are gearing up for a war that may be so total, it may wipe out the human race. Into this conflict strolls Baskerville, a man claiming to be in possession of a working time machine. Cosgrove, head of the European Secret Service, has evidence of the time machine, but when they are stolen by a man calling himself the Doctor, he swears vengeance. The Doctor has detected traces of time travel in the vicinity, and soon presents himself to Baskerville, along with companion Anji, as someone interested in the time machine, while the Doctor's other companion, Fitz, ends up abducted by aliens known as the Onihr also want the time machine. And there's a pair of temporal agents, agents of the Doctor's adversary Sabbath, who are here to stop the sale of the time machine. But there's more to this tale than meets the eye, and Baskerville may not be who he claims to be...

In a way, Trading Futures reads a little like a James Bond film with a temporal twist, and while it has multiple factions, the story is rather singular, mostly filled with action-packed vignettes. This is by no means a bad thing, and there's an interesting twist regarding Baskerville's true identity and intentions, but ultimately, there is a certain lack of satisfaction in the end. It's not a bad story, but rather average by Doctor Who standards, and certainly disappointing after the enjoyable Father Time.

The characters are interesting enough. Cosgrove reads (intentionally) like an extremely aged version of Sean Connery's James Bond, and one wonders if this story is Lance Parkin flipping the bird at that franchise. The other characters are moderately interesting, with Baskerville having, as mentioned before, an intriguing twist. However, although unintentional (Trading Futures preceded the new series by several years), the resemblance between the Onihr and the Judoon from the new series of Doctor Who is close, though not close enough, and they act as if grafted onto the story as do (despite the vital nature of their time machine to the story) the time agents employed by Sabbath. The Doctor shows quite some initiative here, managing to humiliate Cosgrove with a glass of water and a ball at the start, and so does Anji Kapoor, who impresses me as a companion. Poor Fitz has to impersonate the Doctor to a group of Onihr, and while entertaining, it's also a little cringey that the Onihr are that stupid.

All in all, Trading Futures was entertaining enough to divert me for a time. It's a decent enough Doctor Who novel that, while not containing much depth, is nonetheless diverting.



8.5/10


First words: Now Baskerville mentioned it, the night was getting cold.

Last words: (Not recorded due to spoilers)

You are too generous with your scores. Didn't ever see you go below 7. 7 should be the most common "good" score. 9s and 10s should be used sparingly.

Maybe I am too generous, but 7.5 is the borderline for averagely entertaining by my standards, and 8.5 is what I want in an entertaining book.

Also, keep in mind that I rarely read books I don't want to.