Rick

A Politics, Foreign Policy, and a Heist movie

Revisado: 03-21-23

If you've enjoyed the Bobiverse books, I think you'll like this equally. Taylor sets himself a few more hurtles to clear and the book is longer. It's a tough act to pull off since there is, for the most part, only one character. But I think he pulls it off and sets up future franchise books in the process.
The care and feeding of a franchise is a real trick and I think Taylor does an excellent job of playing into the story's conventions while opening up new territory and branching out to new characters to give the central manifold Bobs some breathing space. I feel as if he's pouring new foundations in this piece to support future entries.
I do hope he returns to shorter stories. The Bobiverse is light fare that doesn't hold up as well over a longer page count.
Either way, I'll buy the next one. It's a fun world.

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A fitting homage to Dracula

Revisado: 01-23-23

The story is well paced. The characters are, mostly, fully developed and alive. The small town nuances are perfect. The monster is delicious.

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Worthwhile despite its length.

Revisado: 12-19-22

The book is long. It covers a LOT of territory in this world and the next. It also covers a lot of conceptual ground. Mortality, memory, identity; all of these are woven together with a global technological and social culture that feels very plausible if not inevitable. The first act takes place entirely in a world that feels a bit like the day after tomorrow - focussing on our digital rights, the plague of the current internet, and the art of the possible. But the first act, grounded in reality as it is, is simply a set up for the mythic world Stephenson creates in acts two and three.
Does Stephenson spend too much time describing unnecessary details? Yes. Does that detail payoff in important ways as you get deeper into the story. Sometimes. Maybe the problem is that often that detail doesn't become important often enough that the reader starts to feel like they're being strung along.
But Stephenson's voice is interesting even when he's just describing the veins in a maple leaf. And ultimately that's what saves this book from it's own length. Stephenson is an interesting cat and the concepts he examines in infinite resolution are interesting as well.
I wouldn't want to be his editor.
But, while it was a long read, it was enjoyable.

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Unlike any retelling you've ever seen

Revisado: 09-17-22

Though you can see hints of the storylines that have been developed by film and TV adaptations, Shelly's original is nearly unrecognizable if you grew up with the popular culture Frankenstein's monster. The focus on how to construct a man from spare parts was more visually appealing I suppose, so it takes up a great deal of screen-time. Shelly's story nearly ignores it entirely. Also the idea of a grunting, groaning, non-verbal monster was a modern contrivance.
From a modern viewpoint, this is a tale of white male privilege and a sense of superiority over the natural world leading to technology that destroys rather than improves life.
It's also a metaphor for parents and their troubled relationship to their children.
It's not what you expect.

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Boy that sure was 32 hours

Revisado: 07-05-22

I’ve seen others say it, this book needed a good editor to cut 20 hours out of it. I have to agree. There is, at best 12 hours of story here. The vocal performance is top notch. My complaints lie with the writer’s self indulgence and total lack of a cohesive theme. 32 hours inside the POV of one self loathing, guilt ridden xenobiologist is a hard slog. Following it up with hours of appendices feels like a writer who’s fallen in love with the sound of their own voice.

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Rock-hard military sci-fi at its best

Revisado: 11-17-21

Sir, yes Sir! Get ready to run a mile in the boots of a war-hardened colonel on a mission to solve a mystery that takes its share of twists and turns. Mammary has debuted with a solid head scratcher wrapped in inter species intrigue. A fun listen. Engaging and full of believable military detail.

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More like poetry than prose.

Revisado: 08-27-21

A beautiful portrait of fatherhood. McCarthy’s prose style and character sketches are sparse yet imbued with warmth and nobility. The apocalypse depicted seems to be none of the expected, human-created scenarios but the result is the same, the slow inevitable winding down of the world. Set against that a father’s role as protector of his son is an almost holy mission. An heartbreaking aperture from which to view all fathers and sons.

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Small wonder this classic launched King's career

Revisado: 08-26-21

It's hard to imagine a kid of 26 having the depth of experience in life, let alone writing, to pull off this masterwork. The young school teacher, laundry worker, and short story writer channels so many voices and captures so many portraits of small town high school life this first work feels like a documentary film as much as a horror story. Oddly, it strikes me that it could just as easily been labeled a science-fiction thriller as the framing of Carrie's talents are always wrapped in their biological and hormonal causation. As with all truly horrific stories, the real monsters are the normal people.
Sissy Spacek's performance is brilliant as she channels her younger self and Piper Laurie — while adding more thoughtfulness and empathy than the DePalma filem allowed.

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Sublime, heart-breaking, and hopeful

Revisado: 08-22-21

First, it is heartbreaking to know that Ms. Butler and Ms. Thigpen both left us over 15 years ago. Their pairing on this story was unparalleled.
I’ve been reading science fiction since the 1960s and without exaggeration or hyperbole I can confidently say this is the finest book of that genre I’ve ever read. It may be the finest novel I’ve ever read, full stop. If this isn’t taught in high school, our schools are failing our kids.
It’s message is so needed in 2021.

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A good start if you're writing Happily Ever After

Revisado: 08-07-21

If you're writing YA pulp romance, or aspiring to, this is a good primer for analyzing your main character and fleshing out a few important beats.

If you're writing anything else I think you'll find the SEQ hard to adapt. It is strongly skewed for a single MC, so if you're writing an ensemble piece you'll have to add your own bits of the eqation to the extent you won't be using what Susie May has written.

Some beginning writers will fine this very helpful. More advanced writers should not waste their money.

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