Lord of Light is an epic book set on a planet colonised by human beings - but with a twist. There are also gods on the planet. These gods may be - I don't know for sure - reasonably accurate representations of Hindu gods. But, like the gods of ancient Greece, they are divine in their Attributes but are all too human in their failings. (The Attributes of the gods are their 'special powers'. Their failings are many: greed, pride, arrogance, cruelty, lust, etc.)
I have not read books by Roger Zelazny before. He has a terrific reputation as a sci-fi writer. I am not sure if his other books are written in the same style; a complex, god-like style of narration with flowery language, reminiscent of an ancient myth. This is somewhat of an acquired taste.
The 'hero' is a resurrected god (don't ask, you have to read the book). Priests use mind probes to discover whether humans are worthy, from a Karma point of view, of reincarnation. For any particularly tricky problems, the priests can phone Heaven. But the priesthood is corrupt. And the gods deliberately manipulate the planet to keep mankind in a state of perpetual pre-scientific ignorance - intervening to destroy scientific advances such as printing presses and flushing toilets whenever these are re-invented. The resurrected god is keen to deny his godhood and, inadvertently, becomes a famous fake Buddha. Then he sets about trying to destroy Heaven, with the aid of other fallen gods, a host of double-crossing demons and a zombie army.
What I liked about the book: This tale cleverly blends together Hindu and Buddhist mythology, along with a subtext of social commentary and a wonderfully cynical view of religious beliefs and religious hierarchies . The story is not set on Earth (although there is a feel of the middle-ages about it); the flora and fauna are distinctly alien and well portrayed. There is a nice sense of history and past events from this other world are hinted at within the text, without the need to explain everything. This gives added richness to the constructed world within the book. The plot is complex, the action dense, and the dialogue is pacey. In places, the book is very funny indeed. I loved the irrelevant digs at religion and the priesthood. And I liked the ending.
What I didn't like about the book: I must say, there were too many characters for me to follow and I was confused by the many different gods with similar sounding names. (Knowing a little about Hindu gods might be a big asset and help with a deeper enjoyment of this book; then, again, it might not.) The style in which the book was written became somewhat irritating to me. The language was semi-detached (although the dialogue was great). And I missed the fact that the main part of the book is an extended flashback. The flashback begins with the second chapter and is heralded at the end of the first chapter by the words "Sam stared ahead, remembering." I missed the significance of this and was thoroughly confused, until I worked out there had been a time shift and I was reading about events that happened before the opening chapter.
I am going to add Roger Zelazny to my list of sci-fi authors who I want to read more of.
Showing posts with label science fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label science fiction. Show all posts
Saturday, 29 October 2011
Friday, 14 October 2011
The Longest Way Home, by Robert Silverberg
Having just read Silverberg's The World Inside, I must say I was expecting a different sort of book. The World Inside is almost a collection of short stories, each chapter with a different main character and each character with a different 'voice'. I described this book previously on this blog.
The Longest Way Home is a first person narrative with the story related by a 15 year old boy on a colonised planet where the human race is divided into Masters and Folk. The boy is the eldest son of a powerful Master, sent to visit distant cousins. But, while he is away from home, the local Folk rise up in rebellion. In the ensuing mayhem, he flees for his life and attempts the long walk home to his father's city.
Along the way he survives due to the indifferent help of various alien species and the unwitting help of non-colonised Folk. Along with learning some vital survival skills, he grows in understanding and self awareness.
The story ends with the possibility of a sequel but, as far as I know, there is none.
What I liked about this book:
The narration was gripping and I could hardly bear to pause in my reading; I was so keen to find out what happened next.
The depiction of the two divisions of human was, pretty obviously, a parable about slavery and/or serfdom. The various types of alien sentient species were wonderfully depicted as being entirely different from humans in both their anatomy and physiology, and in their society and culture.
The boy's plight was realistic. I enjoyed the moral ambiguity and the hero's dawning realisation that perhaps his people's superiority was not a given right.
There was a gentle love story but no forced happy ending. The real ending was satisfying with a variety of possibilites still open for the future of this young Master.
What I didn't like about this book:
Well, there was nothing to not-like, really. Maybe the first person narrative constrains the story - it would have been interesting to understand what the aliens (for example) were thinking about the young Master who lived with them. And the 'Folk'.
Maybe this book isn't really a Sci Fi novel? Apart from the setting on an alien planet, there was no real 'science' or technology involved. But, as a 'what if...' story, it was great.
Also, I am delighted to discover a new (to me) and great science fiction writer who seems able to write in different styles and can create SF worlds with great conviction.
The Longest Way Home is a first person narrative with the story related by a 15 year old boy on a colonised planet where the human race is divided into Masters and Folk. The boy is the eldest son of a powerful Master, sent to visit distant cousins. But, while he is away from home, the local Folk rise up in rebellion. In the ensuing mayhem, he flees for his life and attempts the long walk home to his father's city.
Along the way he survives due to the indifferent help of various alien species and the unwitting help of non-colonised Folk. Along with learning some vital survival skills, he grows in understanding and self awareness.
The story ends with the possibility of a sequel but, as far as I know, there is none.
What I liked about this book:
The narration was gripping and I could hardly bear to pause in my reading; I was so keen to find out what happened next.
The depiction of the two divisions of human was, pretty obviously, a parable about slavery and/or serfdom. The various types of alien sentient species were wonderfully depicted as being entirely different from humans in both their anatomy and physiology, and in their society and culture.
The boy's plight was realistic. I enjoyed the moral ambiguity and the hero's dawning realisation that perhaps his people's superiority was not a given right.
There was a gentle love story but no forced happy ending. The real ending was satisfying with a variety of possibilites still open for the future of this young Master.
What I didn't like about this book:
Well, there was nothing to not-like, really. Maybe the first person narrative constrains the story - it would have been interesting to understand what the aliens (for example) were thinking about the young Master who lived with them. And the 'Folk'.
Maybe this book isn't really a Sci Fi novel? Apart from the setting on an alien planet, there was no real 'science' or technology involved. But, as a 'what if...' story, it was great.
Also, I am delighted to discover a new (to me) and great science fiction writer who seems able to write in different styles and can create SF worlds with great conviction.
Wednesday, 5 October 2011
Super-State: a Novel of a Future Europe by Brian Aldiss
This book imagines a near-future scenario, where there is a united European state.
The story starts with a wedding and introduces a host of characters in the first few pages. The narrative evolves in a light hearted manner, jumping from one interesting scenario to another. Human beings worry about the usual things - family relationships, love and lust and power. Global warming is a reality and the climate is changing, along with the sea levels and the landscape. The politicians argue over whether to go to war against a Moslem nation. The airwaves are hijacked by mysterious messages from the 'Insanatics'. The mathmatical formula that will drive the economics of the superstate, and end all its problems, is under development. Meanwhile, the first manned flight to the moons of Jupiter is about to discover alien life.
What I liked about this book:
There are some wonderful comic aspects to the book. The opening wedding is conducted with a proxy robot as a stand-in, when the bride is trapped at her restaurant opening on Mount Everest and is unable attend in person. Robots are barely tolerated and spend most of their time locked in cupboards where they discuss the strange thing called the 'human condition' among themselves. A roving reporter interviews people on the street and the narrative is interspersed with their amusing responses. The entrepid space explorers' ship is damaged and they face near starvation, but their privations are ignored until they discover alien life and, finally, resort to eating it.
What I didn't like about this book:
For me, there were too many characters and they were introduced too quickly and with minimal exposition of their personalities. Occasionally, the narrative lingers on one character or situation and, just as you were beginning to care about them, it moves on to something else. I found myself disengaging from the book every time this jump took place.
So, great themes, wonderful scenarios and some very funny parts. But reading this book is a bit like channel hopping without any control. You jump from a soap opera with multiple characters, to a scene with an intimate glimpse into someone's personal life, to a news broadcast, to an advert, to a series of interviews, to a family saga and then back into the middle of another soap opera. Sadly, although I can appreciate its humour and imagination, it failed to engage me. I expected some connecting event at the end, something to draw all the disparate threads, characters and themes together. It didn't happen.
The story starts with a wedding and introduces a host of characters in the first few pages. The narrative evolves in a light hearted manner, jumping from one interesting scenario to another. Human beings worry about the usual things - family relationships, love and lust and power. Global warming is a reality and the climate is changing, along with the sea levels and the landscape. The politicians argue over whether to go to war against a Moslem nation. The airwaves are hijacked by mysterious messages from the 'Insanatics'. The mathmatical formula that will drive the economics of the superstate, and end all its problems, is under development. Meanwhile, the first manned flight to the moons of Jupiter is about to discover alien life.
What I liked about this book:
There are some wonderful comic aspects to the book. The opening wedding is conducted with a proxy robot as a stand-in, when the bride is trapped at her restaurant opening on Mount Everest and is unable attend in person. Robots are barely tolerated and spend most of their time locked in cupboards where they discuss the strange thing called the 'human condition' among themselves. A roving reporter interviews people on the street and the narrative is interspersed with their amusing responses. The entrepid space explorers' ship is damaged and they face near starvation, but their privations are ignored until they discover alien life and, finally, resort to eating it.
What I didn't like about this book:
For me, there were too many characters and they were introduced too quickly and with minimal exposition of their personalities. Occasionally, the narrative lingers on one character or situation and, just as you were beginning to care about them, it moves on to something else. I found myself disengaging from the book every time this jump took place.
So, great themes, wonderful scenarios and some very funny parts. But reading this book is a bit like channel hopping without any control. You jump from a soap opera with multiple characters, to a scene with an intimate glimpse into someone's personal life, to a news broadcast, to an advert, to a series of interviews, to a family saga and then back into the middle of another soap opera. Sadly, although I can appreciate its humour and imagination, it failed to engage me. I expected some connecting event at the end, something to draw all the disparate threads, characters and themes together. It didn't happen.
Thursday, 22 September 2011
The World Inside, by Robert Silverberg
This novel is set on a future Earth where most of human kind lives a highly artificial life in giant skyscrapers, freeing up the surrounding countryside for food production.
The constraint of living in an enclosed, structured and crowded society has resulted in social customs that include extreme politeness and the free sharing of sexual partners. Fertility is encouraged. Contraception is a sin. Any dissent from the social structure results either psychological reprogramming or in a death sentence - where the offender is hurled down the chute into the furnaces at the base of the towers.
Like the society it depicts, the book is highly structured too, in an interesting way. Each chapter is narrated from the point of view of a different character or couple. And each chapter is almost a short story on its own. (Indeed, initially I thought this was a collection of short stories; but some of the later chapters bring the characters together.) The ending is grim and hopeless.
What I liked about the book:
This was a fantastic and vivid portrait of a possible future world. The beliefs of the high-rise society were really well portrayed in a very sympathetic manner. Different view points are well conveyed. Each narrator had his own distinctive voice - not an easy thing to achieve when presenting the views of members of a highly co-ordinated and homogeneous society.
What I didn't like about the book:
Now, I am quibbling, because there is little not-to-like in this great book. But, initially published 40 years ago in 1971, some aspects of the world see strangely old-fashioned. For example, the 'nightwalkers' of the tower block are men; women wait to be visited. The men have jobs; the women stay at home and look after the children and order the meals.
Having said that, it is amazing how many aspects of this book seem bang up-to-date; the electronic music with light shows, the computer and databases, the requirement to be 'politically correct', the intensive farming methods ....
Kindle edition and paperback edition:
The constraint of living in an enclosed, structured and crowded society has resulted in social customs that include extreme politeness and the free sharing of sexual partners. Fertility is encouraged. Contraception is a sin. Any dissent from the social structure results either psychological reprogramming or in a death sentence - where the offender is hurled down the chute into the furnaces at the base of the towers.
Like the society it depicts, the book is highly structured too, in an interesting way. Each chapter is narrated from the point of view of a different character or couple. And each chapter is almost a short story on its own. (Indeed, initially I thought this was a collection of short stories; but some of the later chapters bring the characters together.) The ending is grim and hopeless.
What I liked about the book:
This was a fantastic and vivid portrait of a possible future world. The beliefs of the high-rise society were really well portrayed in a very sympathetic manner. Different view points are well conveyed. Each narrator had his own distinctive voice - not an easy thing to achieve when presenting the views of members of a highly co-ordinated and homogeneous society.
What I didn't like about the book:
Now, I am quibbling, because there is little not-to-like in this great book. But, initially published 40 years ago in 1971, some aspects of the world see strangely old-fashioned. For example, the 'nightwalkers' of the tower block are men; women wait to be visited. The men have jobs; the women stay at home and look after the children and order the meals.
Having said that, it is amazing how many aspects of this book seem bang up-to-date; the electronic music with light shows, the computer and databases, the requirement to be 'politically correct', the intensive farming methods ....
Kindle edition and paperback edition:
Monday, 22 August 2011
Darkland and Bloodmind, both by Liz Williams
I am thrilled to discover a great, new (to me) science fiction author and very much enjoyed reading both these books. In fact, for the first time since I have begun reading deliberately to broaden my reading horizons, I find a writer who pulls me into her stories, so that I found it hard to put the books down and even harder not to think about the books when not reading them.
But if you are thinking of reading these books, do start with Darkland first. I think it would be very difficult to understand Bloodmind without beginning at the beginning. In fact, I really think these two books need to be published in one volume. Neither is a story complete in itself.
What I liked about the books:
Liz Williams has skillfully invented whole new worlds, complete with landscapes, climates, flora and fauna. I like the flawed - and scarred - main female protagonist. I like the depiction of a number of almost-familiar near-human species, but with distinctly different, non-human instincts, senses and powers. I particularly like the fact that this is proper 'science' fiction and does not resort to witchcraft or magic to explain events (although, to be honest, the stories would equally work if told as magical fantasies too).
In Bloodmind, different female characters took it in turns to narrate the story, along with the main female character from Darkland. This was a very compelling device, sucking the reader into the different characters - their hopes, fears and dramas. The jumping about between characters and places could have been confusing, particularly as the story's events take place across three different planets. But this was overcome by the pragmatic titles of the chapters - each chapter's title simple states the name of the planet and narrator. A neat device and very useful.
What I didn't like about the books:
The ending of Darkland was a cliffhanger and a clear hook to take the reader into Bloodmind. I would have preferred a more definitive ending to the first story. If I liked the book enough, I would read the sequel anyway.
The ending to Bloodmind was somehow dissatisfying. It felt foreshortened. I would have preferred more explanation and more exploration. And more resolution. Maybe it is intended to finish the story with a further book.
And now I am just nitpicking: Although the female narrators came from different backgrounds, had different experiences and expectations, there was a 'sameness' about their voices.
But if you are thinking of reading these books, do start with Darkland first. I think it would be very difficult to understand Bloodmind without beginning at the beginning. In fact, I really think these two books need to be published in one volume. Neither is a story complete in itself.
What I liked about the books:
Liz Williams has skillfully invented whole new worlds, complete with landscapes, climates, flora and fauna. I like the flawed - and scarred - main female protagonist. I like the depiction of a number of almost-familiar near-human species, but with distinctly different, non-human instincts, senses and powers. I particularly like the fact that this is proper 'science' fiction and does not resort to witchcraft or magic to explain events (although, to be honest, the stories would equally work if told as magical fantasies too).
In Bloodmind, different female characters took it in turns to narrate the story, along with the main female character from Darkland. This was a very compelling device, sucking the reader into the different characters - their hopes, fears and dramas. The jumping about between characters and places could have been confusing, particularly as the story's events take place across three different planets. But this was overcome by the pragmatic titles of the chapters - each chapter's title simple states the name of the planet and narrator. A neat device and very useful.
What I didn't like about the books:
The ending of Darkland was a cliffhanger and a clear hook to take the reader into Bloodmind. I would have preferred a more definitive ending to the first story. If I liked the book enough, I would read the sequel anyway.
The ending to Bloodmind was somehow dissatisfying. It felt foreshortened. I would have preferred more explanation and more exploration. And more resolution. Maybe it is intended to finish the story with a further book.
And now I am just nitpicking: Although the female narrators came from different backgrounds, had different experiences and expectations, there was a 'sameness' about their voices.
Tuesday, 15 March 2011
Minority Report, by Philip K Dick (collection of short stories)
This edition is a collection of stories by the fabulous Philip K Dick. It includes the renowned Minority Report, made famous by the film adaptation, and some other great stories, mostly, in my opinion, even better than Minority Report.
Now, lets deal with the title story - Minority Report.
The film is better! Yes, I hate to admit it, but it is true. There are some great concepts in the film: the retinal scanning (that delivers both personalised adverts and controls access to the Precog facility) and the eye transplants (yuck, do you remember that scene?). Remember the fantastic sequence in which Anderton kidnaps the precog responsible for the minority report; and one of the key elements of the plot - the misleading recording of images and the eventual realisation you can't cheat destiny? This is all missing from the short story. Even the main character, Anderton, appears two dimensional in comparison to the character in the film, played so compellingly by Tom Cruise.
Don't let me put you off. There are some GREAT stories in this book.
- Imposter: Man replaced by alien robot. Yes, we might be able guess how this story works out, but the ironic twist at the end is good. I believe this story was turned into a not-so-good film, Imposter, in 2002.
- Second Variety: The use of mechanical predators in war is no longer a futuristic concept. Again, you can probably see the end coming, but this story introduces some really scary concepts and the setting seems utterly realistic. I was there.
- War Game: Ah ha - the power of insidious messages, the use of subtle methods of propagating propaganda and the indoctrination of children. Loved the story. Didn't know how it was going to end...
- What the Dead Men Say: Would it be useful to prolong the dying thoughts of people's brains, so you could extend their period of influence and keep a connection with them for years after their bodies died? Maybe. I loved the central concept in this story, although the story itself degenerated into a tale of evil madness, that all-too-familiar cop out - somewhat disappointingly. There is a neat subplot about the control of air waves to promote politicians and win elections (hello, Mr Murdoch?). By the way, the concept of "half life" was used in a recent episode of Dr Who. Yes, it definitely was - although probably not intentionally.
- Oh to Be a Blobel!: Funny story; and with a serious subtext, all about appearances, racism and alienation.
- The Electric Ant: short, inventive and classic sci-fi. What about robots who believe they are human? Ah, yes, someone made a film about that - wasn't it Spielberg in a flim called AI? (Although AI was actually based on Brian Aldiss's short story Super-Toys Last All Summer Long.) This concept was devleloped further in Philip K Dick's story Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (not included in this anthology), that became the great Blade Runner film. How about challenging our concept of reality; is life all a virtual reality construct? Hmm, what film used this concept - ah, of course, The Matrix.
- Faith of Our Fathers: more Stephen King horror tale, than sci-fi. Good and scary. Maybe the weakest of the bunch, in my opinion.
- We Can Remember it for You Wholesale: The story from which the film Total Recall was based. Nice twists and turns.
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