TQ White II

Very nice. Fun story. Good performance.

Revisado: 01-19-23

Characters are good. Bad guys are very bad. Action isn’t stupid. I cared about how it would turn out. Never was bored. Nobody would call it great literature but I found myself doing audible-compatible chores more than usual just to get back into the story. Full recommendation.

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Awesome satire. Funny story. Great characters.

Revisado: 09-27-20

Some guy complained that Hiaasen had somehow lost his touch because of the depth of his political bile. Not so.

If there was no Orange Despot and you read this book, you would just think Mastodon was just another great, hilarious, over the top character. His surrounding sycophants exactly as ridiculous and funny as the supporting characters in every other Carl Hiaasen book. And that's the beauty. Hiaasen wrote a book including a character depiction that happens to exactly resemble our own Mad King.

Like most Hiaasen books, it has a strong focus on the environment and outrage over our society's complete disregard for anything but money. As always, the women are either dominated by stupid men or are plucky heroes. Skink, as always, appears in a key role. Political bile, as always, is the point.

I laughed aloud many times. I luxuriated in a full blown tale that recognized the lunacy in our government and deep nihilism in our society. It was smart, funny and never boring.

Which is to say, Vintage Hiaasen.

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Fun adventure. Stays interesting. Cliffhanger.

Revisado: 03-24-18

This is two books in one file. They are slightly related. Though each is a little wandering at first, they both get going and are pretty fun. They are pretty much Wild West/cowboy stories with lots of action and wise cracks though it's clear they have some more substantial themes in mind.

However, understand that this file is the beginning of a series and are almost completely unsatisfying on its own. The second book ends as if on a chapter break. There is absolutely no conclusion to any of the main conflicts and themes.


Fortunately, we are left with a lot of decent possibilities. These guys obviously took a cue from the Expanse guys and have structured things for the long run. I don't remember the beginning of that series ending as abruptly.

I will probably give the next book a chance. If it offers satisfaction on some aspect of the story they have started, I will forgive this one. I think that likely. Clearly these guys have good imaginations and are working toward something.

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A fun story, nicely paced. Good premise.

Revisado: 12-08-17

Grumley needs an editor who will say, "Really, Mike, *nobody* would do or say that in this situation." And "why didn't they use the X. It was sitting right there and would have completely fixed the situation." Of course, the answer is that Grumley is a plot uber alles kind of guy. There is a ton of deus ex machina in this book.

Fortunately, the story is nicely paced and the premise good. I enjoyed the main people and really liked the idea of the dolphin communication. The details and plot twists were revealed at a good pace. I think that Grumley can write. You won't be sorry for reading the book.

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Tons of fun. Interesting, too.

Revisado: 11-17-17

I have devised the notion of 'second album syndrome'. It refers to the problem some (most) musicians have when they analyze the virtues of their first big success and decide that the road to further success is to build on them. Andy Weir is building on the virtues of The Martian and, for my money, it's one of the best sci-fi books ever.

Artemis is a fun book. It shares the attention to detail, witty banter and reliance on intelligence that made The Martian so good. It also seems a little like an engineered product. Concept. Check. Scientific basis. Check. Blah blah blah.

The main character is appealing. The story is almost never boring. Conclusion satisfying. The lunar environment is well realized and also interesting. However, in its enthusiasm for details, it becomes annoyingly contradictory in its characterization. Jazz is so smart, sunny and decent that the actual plot is unreasonable. In pursuit of some developments, he sciences his way away from sense.

What really brings this book to life is Rosario Dawson. If she quits movies and spends the rest of her life reading books to me, I will be delighted. Her voice is clear and pleasant. Her characters distinctive and appropriately charming, or not. The actorly embellishments are natural and not ever distracting. I love her reading. Anyone who wants my audiobook money gets it automatically if she reads it.

Weir gets peops for never really telling us what Jazz looks like. The cringe-worthy self-appraisals we so often get in sci-fi by female characters is entirely missing. She's a really smart person whose female nature has some advantages (gets mistaken for a hooker) and disadvantages (she's smaller than a man). No 'killer good looks' and any of that crap. I really appreciate that.

And I don't mean to damn this book with faint praise either. It's completely worth the time and credit. Were it not for The Martian, this book would be fun, interesting and, perhaps, a real standout. As it is I happily recommend it.

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Interesting idea. Overwrought. Approves Genocide.

Revisado: 09-19-17

I suppose that Scott Sigler was thinking of the endurance of the human spirit when he wrote this. He laboriously describes many people overcoming great odds to keep on going. Fine, but at some point it seems gratuitous to have to keep reading about another person being pushed beyond all reasonable limits. At some point, I felt like I was the one showing incredibly grit and determination.

Really the only thing that kept me going was to find out if the ending was going to bring any meaning to the long, grueling journey that started out pointless and became more so as it went along. The cliched 'dead eyes' and the warrior with a heart of gold were tawdry but the emphatic and false sounding effort to convince us that scientists are intrinsically dangerous, selfish and stupid was offensive.

But, it turns out that the characters were just fodder to set up a sequel, one premised on a gleeful endorsement of genocide. Yes, gleeful endorsement of genocide.

"But they murdered..." I'm sorry. Having me spend twenty hours being persuaded that it's a cheery, honorable thing to try to wipe out an entire civilization because you walked into their defense system is just plain awful. Oh, and it's all for 'love'. GAK!!

The only good thing is that I will not have to sit through the second half.

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Amateur writing. Lazy editing. Cheesy science.

Revisado: 06-30-17

People compare this to The Martian because Cole was clearly ripping it off. If you liked the science and engineering and ingenuity of The Martian, Solitude will simply annoy you.

Where The Martian applies science and thought to solving real, unforced problems, Solitude just makes stuff up. Most of the problems to be solved are caused by the protagonists and even so are so stupid that you cannot suspend disbelief enough not to be interrupted (just falls out of the..., turns off the essential..., just stupid).

I actually don't blame Cole. I blame his editor. I mean, regulate the carbon *monoxide* in a space suit? And that's just a typo. No decent editor would have allowed the number of times we had to hear him just dropping beer bottles, etc.

I didn't finish listening. You shouldn't start.

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Truly a Change of Pace. Delicious.

Revisado: 03-18-17

I read a lot and lots of it is science fiction. I enjoy creative views of technology, new sorts of conflicts that develop when aliens exist, imagining the consequences of new political and social systems. I like military sci-fi. That is to say, my tastes are reasonably conventional.

This book is about family, relationships, love, loyalty, food, and how a spaceship becomes a home. There are no wars, civilizations in conflict. Technology is pervasive, well-imagined and very futuristic but not emphasized. The author is fascinated with the influence of a radically different future on the people who live it. It is a warm, caring story that is the opposite of much sci-fi. It is wonderful.

The author is a woman and it is tremendously fulfilling to read a book that seems to richly reflect a more feminine interest. Aliens in this book are people with back stories, personalities, likes and dislikes, and relationships. There is discussion of the food they eat and how it is prepared and the problems of a dining room with people of different species who have differently shaped backsides.

Early in the book, it becomes apparent that we can see a person enter a weird, sci-fi situation and not worry that it's going to be a disaster. There are no more disasters in this book than in any conventional family fiction. In the real world, people don't just kill other people because they are different and that reality exists here.

It gives space for the author to consider different aspects of the emotional experience. A pair of friends of different species come to understand each other's needs. What happens when honor and ego are based on entirely different concepts. The fact of radically different biology provides a variety of interesting viewpoints.

It's just so good.

And, it's wonderful to read a sci-fi book by someone who isn't attached to the same old same old things. I am always happy to read about a new kind of interstellar war but, this was a refreshing and nourishing change of pace. It is cultural in a way that is rare in this genre and truly welcome.

This book is now among my favorites of all time. I recommend it highly.

ps, I've also read the subsequent book, also set in this universe. It is terrific, too.

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I didn't finish it

Revisado: 03-18-17

This book is a sadness for me. The author has a very rich imagination and excellent feel for the steampunk genre. Set in some very, very distant future he envisions a unique view of how it all turns out for humanity. The language is interesting and settings truly interesting.

And endlessly described.

The story is conventional but has some interesting twists. Something happens. The protagonist develops a mission. Reversals occur. Hijinx ensue.

That are endlessly described.

At any moment the story and setting is likely to be interesting. I got 80% of the way the way through it before I realized that I still had no real appreciation for the intentions of the protagonist and that I was never going to be interested enough in the outcome to put up with more endless, unproductive detail.

I might have still stuck with it. After all, I only had five chapters to go, but, I became annoyed at another systemic flaw beyond toleration. With all of the virtues of the prose and imagination, the author was way too loose with the logical links between things.

For example, an event occurs where someone does something truly heinous to the protagonist for a prolonged period. There are musings in the aftermath where the protagonist refers to the offending character in a warm emotional tone appropriate only to the relationship before and completely, insanely discordant considering the awful things that were done.

This sort of weird disconnect happens with motivations, actions, plot twists and, if it weren't for the obviously immense effort of the richly detailed world, would suggest laziness. As it is, I can't really understand how the editors didn't say, "Alistair, you really need to tighten this up. Nobody would [act that way, do that thing, be able to guess that, etc]."

I quite liked the narration. It is done with a chewy, working class English accent. Sometimes a little thick for my American ears to comprehend but, for me, that's a good thing. The characterizations were clear. Sometimes a little overwrought, but I liked them. As some have said, things were occasionally a little whispery and hard to hear. Not a big deal. I'd listen to her again happily.

I'll try this author again someday. The world and viewpoint and use of language was appealing. However, this book eventually became tedious.

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Nice ideas. Amusing tone. Interesting story.

Revisado: 02-19-17

I wish that four stars had not become the equivalent of a bad review. It leaves no room for truly stellar books which, this is not. For me, four stars is a book that I truly enjoyed and consider hours listening to be time well spent.

The main characters are appealing. The relationship between Colonel Joe and Skippy manages to capture some sincere emotion, as well as provide a lot of laughs. The plot is action based and moves along nicely, at least once Mr Alanson got used to the story.

(You'll need a little patience in the first hour or so. The author is a little more fascinated with the details at first. Fortunately, he finds a much better balance soon enough. The story moves along well after a little while.)

The narration is good. RC Bray always does good work. He's clear with character differentiation and doesn't try too hard to 'act' (I hate it when a reader tries to 'bring characters to life' with accents and such. If the author didn't achieve that with the text, it's not important. Not a problem in this reading.) That said, I don't know if the text has ever "ing" as "in'" but I wish he had stopped it.

I don't know that the book has any real literary value but I don't think it was meant to. It was a terrific ride across the galaxy and I will enjoy subsequent books as they arrive.

When I complete a book, I always try to imagine it in a book club. In this case, I think the conversation about this would focus on "It was funny when...".

And that is a very good thing.

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