Quatermass' Book Reading Blog...Round Two

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In late July, last year, I did an interesting experiment. I would attempt to read and finish at least one new book every week. This is a link back to the original thread, and after 7 weeks and 22 books, I decided to give up, because of various pressures elsewhere. However, having refinished a new draft of my own novel, I'm finding that I will have some spare time on my hands, and there are still a great number of books that I have recently purchased that I intend to read. So, I will start this again, and hopefully keep it up for longer.

The self-assigned rules for myself are simple:

*The books can be fiction, non-fiction, or graphic novels. However, some non-fiction categories must be excluded, such as games guides and screenplays, unless the latter is within a book that also has other subject material (ie, a 'making of' book). Novelisations are allowed, regardless of whether I have watched the original program. In all cases, I must not have read it all the way through prior to this.

*In the case of graphic novels, it has to be a volume I haven't read in a series, or else a stand-alone graphic novel.

*In all cases, a book that I have started previous to this blog, if I finish it during this, will count. Also, just skimming a book and reading pages randomly doesn't count, actually reading it, even if speed-reading it, does.

*I must write a quick review.

The blog will start when I finish my first book. I'm still a little uncertain as to which one I will do, but I might start off light and easy, and work my way up.

Now, last time, I reviewed the following, in order:

Blake's 7: Scorpio Attack by Trevor Hoyle

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

The Family by Mario Puzo

Son of a Witch by Gregory Maguire

Wild Cards edited by George RR Martin

I, Claudius by Rupert Graves

The Sign of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle

Atomic Robo, and the Fightin' Scientists of the Tesladyne by Brian Clevinger and others

Wild Cards II: Aces High edited by George RR Martin

A Lion Among Men by Gregory Maguire

Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident by Eoin Colfer

Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Doctor Who: The Forgotten by Tony Lee and others

Batman: The Killing Joke by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland

Beowulf

God Emperor of Dune by Frank Herbert

Bleak House by Charles Dickens

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century Part One: 1910, "What Keeps Mankind Alive?" by Alan Moore, Kevin O'Neill et al

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Phillip K Dick

Grendel by John Gardner

*Whew!*

Hopefully, I can do better this time. Watch this space!

Good selection. I read at least a book a week... shall I start my own blog?

At the moment I'm half way through Crime and Punishment. Last week it was Papillon. I look forward to reading your blog, and hopefully we can swap insights?

My insights are undoubtedly coloured by my own interests. I have no desire at all to read Dostoevsky, and I have read enough of the real-life exploits of criminals in the autobiographies of Mark 'Chopper' Read. I am uncertain whether I will retain interest in Papillon. It will probably be mostly science fiction and fantasy novels that I read.

Whether you start your own blog is up to you, but please keep it separate from this thread. And I don't want it to be a competition. This, for me, is more of a challenge to try and expand my horizons, or at least chip away at them. But if you think you can write a reasonable review of each book that you read, go right ahead.

My first experiment of this kind was not with multiple books, but with a single book. Atlas Shrugged. I hated doing it, and only did it for a bet on another BBS, not Wrong Planet. In return for reading Atlas Shrugged, the other guy read House of Leaves, an excellent psychological horror novel. He hated House of Leaves himself, and he's into Objectivism in a big way. However, I consider Ayn Rand to be the worst example of female authorship. The best is JK Rowling. That being said, Atlas Shrugged has a kind of masochistic appeal to it. I imagine that one day, I will do the literary equivalent of Mystery Science Theatre 3000 and make Atlas Shrugged my first riffed novel. After that experiment, I decided to try this on Wrong Planet.

Anyway, I have a fairly decent list of books to start on:

Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett (I've only got halfway through it so far)

West of Eden by Harry Harrison

Augustus by Allan Massie (by all accounts, a modern-day I, Claudius, only with Augustus)

Romanitas by Sophie McDougall

Artemis Fowl and the Opal Deception by Eoin Colfer (I read and finished The Eternity Code during the interim between reading blogs)

...And Another Thing by Eoin Colfer (the continuation of the Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy series, which I have out from the library)

The Silmarillion by JRR Tolkien

Heretics of Dune by Frank Herbert

Avatar: A Confidential Report on the Biological and Social History of Pandora, aka An Activist Survival Guide, by Maria Wilhelm and Dirk Mathison

Blake's 7 by Trevor Hoyle (a novelisation of the first four episodes of the series)

Doctor Who: Business Unusual by Gary Russell

Doctor Who: The Massacre by John Lucarotti

I am also looking forward to reading, once the library brings it in, Battle Royale.

Well, I really look forward to reading your sci fi reviews. I'm a big fan of Dr Who and Blake Seven, and though some of the Who novelisations have been... well, less than good, I have very fond memories of the missing adventures, and would be interested to know what else is good out there. I'm saving up to get the Blake Seven DVDs... though it will probably be my birthday before I can get hold of them.

Regarding the books I mentioned... Papillon is in my opinion over rated. There, I said it! It's very very interesting, but it seems to go on too long. Maybe it's a male novel, my husband loved it.

As a starter, I am reading, and probably going to finish soon, Avatar: A Confidential Report on the Biological and Social History of Pandora, aka An Activist Survival Guide first. I am also waiting to get the eleventh volume of the manga of Neon Genesis Evangelion (which will probably be my second review), along with Battle Royale, and a few more substantial works (possibly Dickens) from the library.

Okay. First review up. It's of a graphic novel, but it's a good appetiser.

REVIEW: Neon Genesis Evangelion: Volume 11 by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto

The chances are, if you have even a small interest in anime, you would have heard of Neon Genesis Evangelion, but if you haven't, I'll bring you up to date. Evangelion, as it is commonly abbreviated to, begins at the end of the year 2000, when a cataclysmic event later called 'Second Impact' (the First Impact, supposedly, being the meteorite that wiped out the dinosaurs) vaporises Antarctica, and through tsunamis, disease and war that follows, half the human population is wiped out. 15 years later, teenager Shinji Ikari is summoned to Tokyo-3 by his estranged father, who abandoned him after Shinji's mother died in an experiment. Shinji is told that he is the only one available to pilot a gigantic robot called an Evangelion (or Eva Unit), designed to destroy the gigantic, enigmatic beings known as the Angels. And this sparks off a very human saga about life, relationships, and the nature of humanity.

One of the hallmarks of Evangelion is its psychological complexity. Every character has a story to tell...and often more than one skeleton in the closet. Often, this overshadows the epic fights between the alien Angels and the giant Eva Units. But many times, the characters seem too screwed up, at least in the TV series continuity.

Having watched the original TV series, I actually have to confess to enjoying the manga series far better. Shinji is less of an angsty wimp and more of a genuinely damaged young man whom you think there may be a chance of redemption. Far more of the plot is explained, and motivations have become clearer, especially in this eleventh installment, which follows, to a point, the plot of the 24th episode, and the beginning of the movie End of Evangelion.

While it is doubtful that anyone but manga fans, as well as Evangelion fans, will want to read this, this review is meant for a mainstream audience. I will keep spoilers to a minimum, just in case. However, the improvement to the plot over the original TV series and the movie continue. The events surrounding Shinji's confrontation with the Twelfth and final Angel are similar to the original TV episode, but has different undertones that improve on the complexity of what seemed to be a rushed sequence. Both sequences are quite poignant.

Another vast improvement, I thought, was the changing of one particularly infamous scene from End of Evangelion involving Shinji and comatose Eva pilot Asuka Langley Sohryu. Let us just say that what happens is a far better sequence, especially in terms of Shinji's character.

The biggest gripe I have with the Evangelion manga is that the author, Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, is taking his sweet time to do it. That, and the fact that this particular volume is too short.

Evangelion is not for all people. In many ways, it is disturbing (twice in this volume alone, there are sequences involving characters strangling another to death, there is at least one sequence involving an act that will make people feel sick to their stomach, and there is a strong nihilistic tone to the book), but it is still good for Evangelion fans. If you want to see what the fuss is all about, start from the first volume and work in from there, but be warned: here be dragons. If you don't mind characters who can be seriously screwed up and disturbing revelations about the nature of humanity, Neon Genesis Evangelion has its rewards.


7.5/10

First words:The Second Impact was, without doubt, the doing of humans.

Last words: Roger.

So far, the next book to follow will probably be the Avatar tie-in, followed later by And Another Thing...

Next review up.

REVIEW: Avatar: A Confidential Report on the Biological and Social History of Pandora, aka An Activist Survival Guide by Maria Wilhelm and Dirk Mathison

I have to confess, or rather, I have done so elsewhere, that I have no desire to watch Avatar in the cinemas. The story appeals to me less than the technical achievement, and I am sure that I can wait until the inevitable special edition DVD comes out to partake of Avatar. The story has been done before, and better. However, this is not to say that I am completely uninterested in Avatar. I was intrigued enough by the background of the movie to purchase this book.

I hesitate whether to call it non-fiction or fiction. It is a fictional work, but other books like it have been put into the non-fiction section of libraries, albeit under appropriate sections. However, it is best to approach it like it is, an in-universe encyclopedia, and try and enjoy it that way.

This book purports to be a field-guide for those who wish to resist the actions of the RDA (the mega-corporation exploiting Pandora) on both Earth and Pandora, and consists of editorialised information taken from RDA sources, presumably sent via moles within the RDA mission on Pandora.

I have to say that, although brief, much of the information contained therein is interesting. Much insight is given into the Na'vi and their culture, along with the wildlife of Pandora. It certainly appeals to my scientific background, and even though Avatar is meant to be science fantasy, there is certainly a lot of thought that has gone into these things. I am reminded, albeit distantly, of Frank Herbert's Dune (which shares a number of similarities with Avatar).

However, the world of Avatar (and by extension, this book) is, as TV Tropes would put it, anvilicious. One of the things that really spoils this book for me is the handwritten 'margin notes' that seem to be fanatically predisposed towards the Na'vi. As much as I agree with the environmental message of the film and the book, having it rammed into my face with all the subtlety of a dropped anvil turns me off. As much as I like the 'humans are SOBs' angle in science fiction (and I enjoyed District 9 for that reason, amongst others), taking it to this level is very off-putting.

If they had concentrated on the science and the interesting stuff instead of repeatedly inserting a 'subtle' environmental message, my mark would have been higher. As it is, this book is good to read, if you like Avatar and want to read more about the universe, or even if you're not a fan. Just ignore the margin notes. If you can.


7.5/10

First words:Fellow Terrans.

Last words (before glossary): Recreational facilities such as the base commissary (popularly known as Hell's Kitchen) are shared, except for an unpressurised section between the research labs and the landing zone mainly used by members of the avatar program for athletic training and field sports.

Now, I'm hoping to make my next book And Another Thing..., the sixth Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy book by Eoin Colfer, or else Pluto (Volume 1), by Naoki Urasawa. I also have Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland to look at.

Okay, so much for my next review being And Another Thing...

REVIEW: Pluto: Volume 1 by Naoki Urasawa and Takashi Nagasaki, from the original storyline by Osamu Tezuka and supervised by Macoto Tezka

Even if you haven't heard of Osamu Tezuka, you probably have heard of his work, Astro Boy. To be honest, I haven't read the original manga, and the 1980s anime is a distant memory from childhood. But Pluto, a reimagining of a story arc from the original Astro Boy manga, seems to take the expectations one would take and blow them out of the water.

In a world where robots and humans co-exist, but prejudice still exists, the world is shocked when altruistic mountain guide robot Montblanc is murdered. So too is a human robot rights activist. Both have their corpses arranged with horns coming from their head. Robot detective Geischt is assigned to track the killer, or killers, of these two. But it won't be easy.

I came across Pluto quite by accident, and had heard that the writer, Naoki Urasawa, had done other good manga like Monster. While not an extremely dark reimagining, this is not the Astro Boy one remembers from childhood. The attitude towards robots is given a far more realistic edge, reminiscent of Blade Runner.

There are two main complaints that I have about Pluto. The first, as with my review of Neon Genesis Evangelion volume 11, is that it is too damn short. The second is more of an interruption of flow that, at first, seems to have nothing to do with the main storyline. It involves a blind and misanthropic composer, and the robot butler assigned to him, a former battle robot who wishes to learn how to compose. The rather lengthy sequence is touching, but interrupts the main story, and it isn't until later that we learn its relevance to the main plotline.

However, the story, about what it means to be human, and whether being a robot has any say in the matter, is a good one. Even if you are not a fan of manga or Osamu Tezuka, if you enjoy a good detective story with a cyberpunk twist, try reading Pluto. It might surprise you.


8.5/10

First words: It's hopeless, chief!

Last words: That's right...

Hopefully, that will be the last graphic novel review for a while.

Okay, so next books. I am still reading And Another Thing..., and am also reading Blake's 7. After that, it's a toss-up between other books, but amongst those at hand include Alice in Wonderland, Battle Royale, an HP Lovecraft story (I have an omnibus filled with them), A Scanner Darkly, and so many others. And these, with the exception of Blake's 7, are all library books, hence their priority.

Now, finally....

REVIEW: And Another Thing... by Eoin Colfer

Science fiction comedy had often remained a genre dear to me, and I have enjoyed for quite some time the famous Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams. However, after Mostly Harmless, which ended with the impending doom of the main characters, it seemed like the series had finished, and the only consolation that I had was the ending of the recently revived radio series, which had a plausible happy ending. With Douglas Adams dead, however, it seemed like little about the novel series would get finished. But now, Eoin Colfer, who wrote the Artemis Fowl books, has written a sixth book, which I have just finished.

And Another Thing...picks up where Mostly Harmless left off. The Guide Mark 2 has been keeping Arthur Dent, his estranged and moody Goth daughter Random, Trillian, and Ford Prefect in a simulated reality that managed to keep them alive for centuries, even though the Earth was being taken apart around them. However, just as the Guide's batteries fail, Zaphod Beeblebrox manages to rescue them, albeit while in the middle of a scam. But when Zaphod's rescue goes badly, they are rescued by Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged, an immortal being familiar to Hitch-Hiker's fans as being dedicated to insulting everyone in the universe personally. Zaphod offers Wowbagger a deal: Wowbagger is desperate to die, and Zaphod has an old acquaintance, the god Thor, who might be willing to do so. Meanwhile, although the Vogons have wiped out every single Earth in existence, there still remains a colony of humans elsewhere in the galaxy.

Despite my doubts about having Hitch-Hiker's being written by a different author to Douglas Adams, I actually have to confess that I enjoyed And Another Thing... It is a competent continuation of the story, and although the writing style is not Douglas Adams', the plot does feel like Douglas Adams' types of plots, of absurdity, particularly in the mundane. This is probably the best Hitch-Hiker's book since Life, the Universe, and Everything. Not the best, you understand. Eoin Colfer's own little touches on the Guide entries are annoyingly intrusive, and would work better as footnotes if they weren't so numerous, and the concept of a pleasant Vogon, while interesting at first, seems to conflict with their portrayal thus far. And Random...I never liked Random as a character, but that was how Douglas Adams originally wrote her as.

But I still recommend And Another Thing..., especially to fans of the series who didn't like the ending of Mostly Harmless. It is a competent sequel to the series, and if this is how the series ends, I have no complaints.

8.5/10

First words: If you own a copy of The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy then one of the last things you would be likely to type into its v-board would be the very same title of the particular Sub-Etha volume as, presumably, since you have a copy, then you already know all about the most remarkable book ever to come out of the great publishing corporations of Ursa Minor.

Last words: The End of One of the Middles.

The next thing I read will probably be one of three books: Alice in Wonderland, Blake's 7, or A Scanner Darkly. Watch this space...

My verdict here is going to cause some controversy

REVIEW: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

To be honest, I have rarely read novels that have been published before 1950, and certainly anything from before 1900 that I have read all the way through to the end could probably be counted on my hands. To be honest, I am not fond of the writing style involved, which was basicaaly Attican, compared to Laconic writing that I enjoy. It is with this in mind that I review Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.

What can I say about the plot that hasn't been said by others? This is the Victorian equivalent of an acid trip, a novel that is a stream of consciousness series of...I hesitate to call them 'adventures', as they are usually not, so let's call them incidents and encounters, some with play on logic, and others that just descend into gibbering lunacy. All good fun for the kids, I am sure, and no doubt scholars of Carroll have much to make of character allusions (supposedly the Dodo was based on Carroll himself, as his real name was Charles Dodgson, and he was a stutterer, so if naming himself, he would have said Do-Do-Dodgson). But it wasn't entertaining or deep enough for me.

I enjoyed the Disney adaptation when I was a child, and I enjoy works to this day that have a stream-of-consciousness aspect to them, like Monty Python's Flying Circus. But I didn't really enjoy reading Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, despite some bizarrely funny sequences. Hopefully, the next book I read will be better. Save this one for reading to the kids. I don't think it has much to offer to adults, even with some of the big words in it.


4/10

First words: Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, “and what is the use of a book,” thought Alice, “without pictures or conversation?”

Last words: Lastly, she pictured to herself how this same little sister of hers would, in the after-time, be herself a grown woman; and how she would keep, through all her riper years, the simple and loving heart of her childhood; and how she would gather about her other little children, and make their eyes bright and eager with many a strange tale, perhaps even with the dream of Wonderland of long ago; and how she would feel with all their simple sorrows, and find a pleasure in all their simple joys, remembering her own child-life, and the happy summer days.

Okay. I dunno what the next one will be. Probably Blake's 7. However, I have, for later, The Gone-Away World, A Scanner Darkly, The Hound of the Baskervilles, and (I am a little uncertain as to whether I can finish it at the moment) Battle Royale.

A monster of a review here...

REVIEW: Monster: Volume 1 'Herr Dr Tenma' by Naoki Urasawa

In my above review of Pluto, I mentioned another work by Naoki Urasawa, called Monster. Having heard that it was critically acclaimed, I decided to chance it, hoping that I wouldn't get grotesque images that would give me nightmares, like some other manga thrillers. But Monster is about grotesqueries of a different kind. Monster is about the darkness in the human soul.

Dr Tenma is a Japanese doctor working at a hospital in Dusseldorf, Germany. He is being roped into hospital politics, against his will. Made to choose the life of a famous opera singer over that of a father of a family, Tenma, despite being favoured by the hospital director and his daughter (Tenma's fiancee), is discontent. He is being exploited by hospital politics. Deciding to take matters into his own hands, he chooses the life of a boy (called Johan Liebert) suffering from a severe gunshot wound over that of the Mayor. He saves the boy's life, but the Mayor dies. Tenma is abandoned by his colleagues (and his fiancee) and demoted, but after venting his frustrations to the comatose Johan, those who demoted him die mysteriously. Tenma gets his promotion, although he rejects his former fiancee (who was very selfish and snobbish), and, despite police suspicion into the deaths, seemingly has a fulfilled life over the next nine years. But then, something terrible happens when Tenma's past comes back to haunt him in a big, big way...

What can I say about Monster? If first impressions are anything to go by, this looks set to supplant Death Note as my favourite manga series. From what I have read, Monster is rather like the bastard offspring of The Fugitive, Silence of the Lambs, and Les Miserables. And if this first, very densely packed volume is anything to go by, it is awesome. I rarely use that word, but Monster impressed me. It is something of a masochistic read, given the dark way hospital politics are portrayed, as well as the utter selfishness of most of the characters, barring Dr Tenma. If this is how hospitals really work, I'm glad I'm not a doctor.

The reveal at the end of the book, of the titular monster, is quite shocking, or would be to anyone who hadn't researched. And many characters, even if unpleasant, are interesting, including the dedicated Inspector Lunge, a mixture of Javert and Sherlock Holmes, who has an impressive memory and an unusual quirk for recall. And I felt genuinely sorry for poor Dr Tenma, as he bounces from one disaster to another, struggling to hold onto his ideals. The pacing, while slow, is ideal. My only complaint, really, is that Lunge isn't made just a tad more likeable, and that Dr Tenma seems just a little too pure.

I eagerly await the next volume of Monster, and although it is definitely not for everyone, I highly recommend it to thriller fans, regardless of whether or not they like manga.


9.5/10

First words: That was amazing.

Last words: AAARRRGHHH!! !

Next book? Probably A Scanner Darkly.

And now...

REVIEW: A Scanner Darkly by Philip K Dick

The only other Philip K Dick novel I have read to date was Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, the novel on which Blade Runner was more or less based upon. The only other Philip K Dick novel adaptation I have watched was the rotoscoped (that is, animation over live action) movie A Scanner Darkly, a perversely and darkly entertaining tale about drugs and undercover cops. Now, finally, I have read the original source, from cover to cover.

A Scanner Darkly is about undercover cop 'Fred', real name Bob Arctor, who is posing as a drug addict in order to try and find the source of the deadly drug, Substance D. In a world where surveillance technology is ubiquitous, the war on drugs is becoming a losing battle, paranoia is everywhere, and Arctor is under pressure in more ways than one. He is ordered to run surveillance on himself, as not even his own superiors know who he is, in order to prevent cops from selling each other out. And things start to get really bad, when Arctor's use of Substance D starts to catch up with him...

Although at one level, A Scanner Darkly is about a world of paranoid surveillance, not quite like the totalitarianism of Nineteen Eighty-Four, but chillingly not far from today's society. Although it has a very sixties/seventies air about it (much of the slang is from that period), you start seeing comparisons with today, which the movie capitalised on. Another theme is the drug culture, and the interactions of users therein, from the malicious and machiavellian Barris, the paranoid and skittish Freck, and hapless Luckman. It is far from an accident that Philip K Dick dedicates the book to several people he knew that perished or suffered long term illness due to drug use.

However, the biggest theme of A Scanner Darkly's is, as often seems to be the case with Philip K Dick books, from what I can gather, is identity. Already, Bob Arctor is forced to live two lives, and without giving too much of the book away, things get worse in a really big way.

There are some darkly funny moments in A Scanner Darkly, including a sequence describing, in detail, one character's suicide attempt. Although suicide is far from funny, Dick's deadpan description of all the ridiculous things that happen make it hard not to smile. And some of the bizarre conversations that go on between the users in Arctor's house also might make you laugh.

A Scanner Darkly is mildly dated, in terms of slang and language. There are also sequences that interject extracts from other sources that, although meant to show Arctor's mental disintegration, just come across as jarring. And its bittersweet ending may not be for some. But I liked it. It has some thought-provoking parts, and is certainly worth a try.


8/10

First words: Once a guy stood all day shaking bugs from his hair.

Last words: A present for my friends, he thought, and looked forward inside his mind, where no one could see, to Thanksgiving.

Okay. Well, I'm not sure what will be next. But that makes 7 reviews in just under two weeks.