Doll Bones
Holly Black
Simon and Schuster
Fiction, MG Chiller/Fantasy
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: Since almost before he can remember, Zach has been best friends with Alice and Poppy. Their games take on lives of their own, stories of mermaids and pirates and curses and adventures, many featuring the dreaded Great Queen: the antique bone china doll locked in the glass case in Poppy's house, which the children are forbidden to touch but who has come to rule their imaginary world. Zach can't ever imagine anything changing... but change is coming, whether he wants it or not. They're in middle school now, and surely none of his friends on the basketball team play with dolls or action figures anymore - especially not with girls, who are starting to seem a little different to him in confusing, irritating ways. Now that Zach's father is back in his life, the man is encouraging his boy to "grow up" and stop playing kiddie games, even going so far as to throw out Zach's action figures. Through his frustration and anger and grief, the boy is starting to wonder if everyone else is right, and he is being a baby. He decides it's time to stop playing.
Then Poppy does the unthinkable: she opens the glass case and lets the Great Queen free. Suddenly, what was a remote, untouchable inspiration for childhood stories seems a lot more sinister - especially when Poppy insists the doll is haunted, that it contains the bones of a murdered child, and that the spirit won't rest until they give it a proper burial in its home town, hours away by bus. Already it's plaguing her dreams. Despite his misgivings, Zach agrees to what he's more than half certain is just Poppy's final, big game with her friends before they all get too grown up for such things... but there's more than just imagination at work, here, and spirits are not to be trifled with...
REVIEW: This is a nice, somewhat unsettling story of friendship, imagination, and what growing up means (and what it doesn't, particularly the idea that growing up means having to let go of everything that makes a person who they are in favor of what other people tell them they should be). At twelve, Zach and his friends are at the end of true childhood and entering adolescence, a time of confusing changes that can make a body feel they don't even know themselves, let alone their friends, or what's expected of them now that they have one foot in adulthood but one still lagging behind. He's also struggling to deal with a father who, after a prolonged absence, is trying to settle back into his home and his life, and not doing the best of jobs; throwing out his son's favorite toys is his way of making him "man up", but he didn't think through how the boy would take having his privacy violated and favorite possessions literally tossed in the garbage. In true adolescent fashion, Zach doesn't handle the frustration well, lashing out at family and friends, who are going through their own problems. The "quest" to bury the china doll Eleanor becomes much more than a game to all the children, and not just due to the supernatural aspect (which is very strongly implied but never specifically or blatantly confirmed): they all recognize the journey as a pivotal point in their lives and relationships, possibly the last "game" of their innocent youth, and even if they remain friends afterward they know nothing will ever go back to the way it used to be before. Running away from home to go to another town feels grown-up, but doing so for the sake of a haunted doll also feels childish. Yet the more time Zach spends on the road, finding eerie echoes of their games, the harder it is for him to pretend that the ghost is all in Poppy's head. By the end, the children and their relationships have indeed been changed, but they've also managed to set their own terms, at least for now, on what growing up will mean for them and their bond. It makes for a memorable and worthwhile story.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Knight's Castle (Edward Eager) - My Review
Dragon Magic (Andre Norton) - My Review
The Glass Town Game (Catherynne M. Valente) - My Review
Wednesday, December 14, 2022
Tuesday, December 13, 2022
Arkhangelsk (Elizabeth Bonesteel)
Arkhangelsk
Elizabeth Bonesteel
House Panther Publishing
Fiction, Sci-Fi
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: Earth was dying when the generation ship Arkhangelsk blasted off, carrying with it the last survivors. On a radiation-soaked iceball of a planet, they established a tenuous foothold, the city of Novayarcha, and thus have endured for generations. Occasional raids from outcast Exiles and inevitable losses to the harsh environment notwithstanding, they have overcome old rifts and strife to build a perfect society... one that Anya Savelova, as head peace officer, is proud to serve, for all the personal sacrifices it calls for.
Until she learns it was all built on a lie.
The arrival of a ship from Earth - the Hypatia - should be impossible, yet there it is, orbiting and broadcasting. Worse, it claims that it is just the first: at least at the time it departed, Earth may have been battered, but humans were far from dead. For a tightly-run and highly insular society like Novayarkha, the mere existence of outsiders from Old Earth is heretical, and the ideas they bring downright dangerous - especially as they make Anya see her own world in a new light, and ask questions she is not supposed to ask.
For all that the colonists overcame to establish their "last" outpost, they may not survive this...
REVIEW: First off, I should note that my perception might be skewed by it having taken me a long time to read this title, through no fault of the story. (Have I mentioned that 2022 has been a very aggravating year? Because it's been a very aggravating year, which meant I had to set this book aside for weeks at a stretch to deal with Other Things that came up. But I digress...) So if it took me a little longer than it should have for me to lock into the story's groove, it's likely due to the interruptions. Once I did lock in, I found myself immersed in a well-thought-out story of two isolated populations - one on the planet, one aboard the starship - coming into contact. On the ground, Anya is struggling to cope with yet another unexplained disappearance (not to mention the long-term grief from having lost her own child; due to radiation, the hostile environs, and the small genetic pool in Novayarcha, many die young, and reproduction is strictly controlled), with the officially sanctioned explanation clashing with her gut instincts. Aboard Hypatia, things are far from healthy, as well; a collision in space has decimated the crew compliment and damaged both ship and data logs, making details of their mission fuzzier than they should be. As determined as Captain Maddie is to see their objective - constructing a relay transmitter, enabling communication with Old Earth and further exploration by other starships - completed, the discovery of a surviving colony from the legendary lost vessel Arkhangelsk throws the entire mission for a loop, for all that it offers possibilities. A tentative friendship between Anya and Maddie could build a bridge between the two mutually mistrustful populations or destroy everything on both sides, as cultures clash and xenophobia wars with curiosity, the worst of human nature and society forever in conflict with its best potential. The story progresses, sometimes at a run and sometimes at a walk, wending through revelations, betrayals, misunderstandings, and hard truths revealed all around. Ignorance doesn't erase injustices, and yesterday's lies fester, tainting the future. Things finally build to a solid climax and a pivotal point that might redefine the colony, the ship, and the future. The whole made for a solidly enjoyable story, which I probably would've liked more had I not kept being interrupted by real life; this is not the kind of story where one can just dip in and dip out, but requires some focus and thought and time to connect the dots and follow the threads.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Emergency Skin (N. K. Jemisin) - My Review
We Are Legion (We Are Bob) (Dennis E. Taylor) - My Review
Children of Time (Adrian Tchaikovsky) - My Review
Elizabeth Bonesteel
House Panther Publishing
Fiction, Sci-Fi
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: Earth was dying when the generation ship Arkhangelsk blasted off, carrying with it the last survivors. On a radiation-soaked iceball of a planet, they established a tenuous foothold, the city of Novayarcha, and thus have endured for generations. Occasional raids from outcast Exiles and inevitable losses to the harsh environment notwithstanding, they have overcome old rifts and strife to build a perfect society... one that Anya Savelova, as head peace officer, is proud to serve, for all the personal sacrifices it calls for.
Until she learns it was all built on a lie.
The arrival of a ship from Earth - the Hypatia - should be impossible, yet there it is, orbiting and broadcasting. Worse, it claims that it is just the first: at least at the time it departed, Earth may have been battered, but humans were far from dead. For a tightly-run and highly insular society like Novayarkha, the mere existence of outsiders from Old Earth is heretical, and the ideas they bring downright dangerous - especially as they make Anya see her own world in a new light, and ask questions she is not supposed to ask.
For all that the colonists overcame to establish their "last" outpost, they may not survive this...
REVIEW: First off, I should note that my perception might be skewed by it having taken me a long time to read this title, through no fault of the story. (Have I mentioned that 2022 has been a very aggravating year? Because it's been a very aggravating year, which meant I had to set this book aside for weeks at a stretch to deal with Other Things that came up. But I digress...) So if it took me a little longer than it should have for me to lock into the story's groove, it's likely due to the interruptions. Once I did lock in, I found myself immersed in a well-thought-out story of two isolated populations - one on the planet, one aboard the starship - coming into contact. On the ground, Anya is struggling to cope with yet another unexplained disappearance (not to mention the long-term grief from having lost her own child; due to radiation, the hostile environs, and the small genetic pool in Novayarcha, many die young, and reproduction is strictly controlled), with the officially sanctioned explanation clashing with her gut instincts. Aboard Hypatia, things are far from healthy, as well; a collision in space has decimated the crew compliment and damaged both ship and data logs, making details of their mission fuzzier than they should be. As determined as Captain Maddie is to see their objective - constructing a relay transmitter, enabling communication with Old Earth and further exploration by other starships - completed, the discovery of a surviving colony from the legendary lost vessel Arkhangelsk throws the entire mission for a loop, for all that it offers possibilities. A tentative friendship between Anya and Maddie could build a bridge between the two mutually mistrustful populations or destroy everything on both sides, as cultures clash and xenophobia wars with curiosity, the worst of human nature and society forever in conflict with its best potential. The story progresses, sometimes at a run and sometimes at a walk, wending through revelations, betrayals, misunderstandings, and hard truths revealed all around. Ignorance doesn't erase injustices, and yesterday's lies fester, tainting the future. Things finally build to a solid climax and a pivotal point that might redefine the colony, the ship, and the future. The whole made for a solidly enjoyable story, which I probably would've liked more had I not kept being interrupted by real life; this is not the kind of story where one can just dip in and dip out, but requires some focus and thought and time to connect the dots and follow the threads.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Emergency Skin (N. K. Jemisin) - My Review
We Are Legion (We Are Bob) (Dennis E. Taylor) - My Review
Children of Time (Adrian Tchaikovsky) - My Review
Friday, December 9, 2022
The Kingless Land (Ed Greenwood)
The Kingless Land
The Band of Four series, Book 1
Ed Greenwood
Tor
Fiction, Fantasy
***+ (Okay/Good)
DESCRIPTION: Once, the land of Aglirta knew peace and prosperity under noble kings. Now, it is a land of strife and fear, with feuding barons and petty, power-mad wizards and monsters and thieves prowling the wilds. Bardic songs tell of four legendary stones, the Dwaerindim stones, long lost to the ages, whose return would summon the Sleeping King from his hidden sanctuary and return Aglirta to its former glory... but such stones could also wake the evil Serpent, enemy of the light, and also place untold destructive power in the hands of the wrong men. Fortunately, in centuries none have located so much as a scrap of a genuine lead on any one of the stones. Unfortunately, nothing lost can stay lost forever...
The towering warrior Hawkril and clever little thief Craer were once loyal servants of the "Golden Griffin" Baron Blackgult, a proud and relatively decent baron of the broken land. But foul Baron Silvertree cast the man down and took his lands. Now Hawkril and Craer, like so many bearing the Griffin's badge, have been forced into an outlaw life, scraping a meager existence from the land. Their latest plan is a desperately audacious one, but desperate they have become: they plan to sneak into the keep of Silvertree himself, or rather the tower of his rarely-seen daughter Embra, known as the Lady of Jewels for her gem-encrusted gowns - so many gowns she surely wouldn't miss one if it were to go missing in the dead of night. When Lady Embra catches them in the act, proving herself to be a powerful sorceress to boot, the pair are sure they're done for... until she demands their help to flee her cruel and power-mad father and his nefarious plans for her. It's an offer Hawkril and Craer literally cannot refuse. In their flight, pursued by the powers of the baron's three squabbling wizards, they cross paths with the shapeshifting healer Sarasper, who has his own price for helping them escape: he has been given a vision by the god of the Great Oak, to seek out the Dwaerindim and wake the Sleeping King. Thus, the Band of Four is born. Together, they will become the stuff of legends... assuming they survive.
REVIEW: There's something to be said for a book that knows exactly what it is and revels in it without pretense. The Kingless Land is the quintessential post-Tolkien, Dungeons and Dragons-esque epic fantasy adventure. Everyone's a warrior, thief, bard, baron, mage, or priest, the world's barely deeper than the paper the map is drawn on (and the characters little deeper than that), the characters careen from one life-and-death fight or flight to another with barely a pause between for a healing potion or magical regeneration, and if you look too hard for logic in the magic system or plot you'll probably be very disappointed, but Greenwood is clearly enjoying himself, and it's an entertaining ride for the most part if you don't expect too much from it.
At some point, though, I did find myself wanting a little more than that. Numerous side characters get introduced for no apparent reason but to pad out page count and squeeze in more scheming and action sequences and general lurking, which too often went nowhere. I also found myself almost snickering aloud at the juvenile mentality evident behind several aspects; repetitive side interruptions portrayed naked young women recruited into the evil serpent cult by being bitten by venomous serpents on the breast (after which they were compelled to kiss the snake on the head, to the snake's evident pleasure... make of that what you will), and the lone female cast member (who wasn't acting out that particular fetish) is repeatedly ogled by the three men she travels with, and even at one point indulges in a hot tub soak with all three, while the author can't quite bring himself to clarify if their relationship is "just friends" or not, sort of like a boy who has just started noticing that not all girls have cooties and some of them might be kind of interesting but isn't quite ready to take the next mental step, despite generic crude references being part of their in-party banter. (The only "adult" relations depicted, snake fondlers aside, were somewhat vague instances with the abused "love chamber" slaves of the cruel Baron Silvertree. So... yeah, make of those dynamics what you will, I suppose...) The story as a whole becomes a big, tumbling ball of violent party encounters and monsters and whizz-bang wizardry and almost stumbling into quest goals, before coming to what's not so much a conclusion as a pause before the next phase of the Band of Four's adventures and Aglirta's future. I was honestly surprised when I saw that it was published in 2001; this is the kind of tale I would've expected back in the 1980's or 1990's.
As I said at the start of the review, there is something to be said for The Kingless Land in that it never pretends to be more than it is, and it does deliver on its promise of near-nonstop action and adventure and magic and danger. If that's all one wants out of a tale, it's enjoyable enough on that level. I have encountered worse, but I've also encountered (and, to be honest, have come to expect) better in the genre.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Swords and Deviltry (Fritz Leiber) - My Review
The Dragons of Autumn Twilight (Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman) - My Review
The Copper Promise (Jen Williams) - My Review
The Band of Four series, Book 1
Ed Greenwood
Tor
Fiction, Fantasy
***+ (Okay/Good)
DESCRIPTION: Once, the land of Aglirta knew peace and prosperity under noble kings. Now, it is a land of strife and fear, with feuding barons and petty, power-mad wizards and monsters and thieves prowling the wilds. Bardic songs tell of four legendary stones, the Dwaerindim stones, long lost to the ages, whose return would summon the Sleeping King from his hidden sanctuary and return Aglirta to its former glory... but such stones could also wake the evil Serpent, enemy of the light, and also place untold destructive power in the hands of the wrong men. Fortunately, in centuries none have located so much as a scrap of a genuine lead on any one of the stones. Unfortunately, nothing lost can stay lost forever...
The towering warrior Hawkril and clever little thief Craer were once loyal servants of the "Golden Griffin" Baron Blackgult, a proud and relatively decent baron of the broken land. But foul Baron Silvertree cast the man down and took his lands. Now Hawkril and Craer, like so many bearing the Griffin's badge, have been forced into an outlaw life, scraping a meager existence from the land. Their latest plan is a desperately audacious one, but desperate they have become: they plan to sneak into the keep of Silvertree himself, or rather the tower of his rarely-seen daughter Embra, known as the Lady of Jewels for her gem-encrusted gowns - so many gowns she surely wouldn't miss one if it were to go missing in the dead of night. When Lady Embra catches them in the act, proving herself to be a powerful sorceress to boot, the pair are sure they're done for... until she demands their help to flee her cruel and power-mad father and his nefarious plans for her. It's an offer Hawkril and Craer literally cannot refuse. In their flight, pursued by the powers of the baron's three squabbling wizards, they cross paths with the shapeshifting healer Sarasper, who has his own price for helping them escape: he has been given a vision by the god of the Great Oak, to seek out the Dwaerindim and wake the Sleeping King. Thus, the Band of Four is born. Together, they will become the stuff of legends... assuming they survive.
REVIEW: There's something to be said for a book that knows exactly what it is and revels in it without pretense. The Kingless Land is the quintessential post-Tolkien, Dungeons and Dragons-esque epic fantasy adventure. Everyone's a warrior, thief, bard, baron, mage, or priest, the world's barely deeper than the paper the map is drawn on (and the characters little deeper than that), the characters careen from one life-and-death fight or flight to another with barely a pause between for a healing potion or magical regeneration, and if you look too hard for logic in the magic system or plot you'll probably be very disappointed, but Greenwood is clearly enjoying himself, and it's an entertaining ride for the most part if you don't expect too much from it.
At some point, though, I did find myself wanting a little more than that. Numerous side characters get introduced for no apparent reason but to pad out page count and squeeze in more scheming and action sequences and general lurking, which too often went nowhere. I also found myself almost snickering aloud at the juvenile mentality evident behind several aspects; repetitive side interruptions portrayed naked young women recruited into the evil serpent cult by being bitten by venomous serpents on the breast (after which they were compelled to kiss the snake on the head, to the snake's evident pleasure... make of that what you will), and the lone female cast member (who wasn't acting out that particular fetish) is repeatedly ogled by the three men she travels with, and even at one point indulges in a hot tub soak with all three, while the author can't quite bring himself to clarify if their relationship is "just friends" or not, sort of like a boy who has just started noticing that not all girls have cooties and some of them might be kind of interesting but isn't quite ready to take the next mental step, despite generic crude references being part of their in-party banter. (The only "adult" relations depicted, snake fondlers aside, were somewhat vague instances with the abused "love chamber" slaves of the cruel Baron Silvertree. So... yeah, make of those dynamics what you will, I suppose...) The story as a whole becomes a big, tumbling ball of violent party encounters and monsters and whizz-bang wizardry and almost stumbling into quest goals, before coming to what's not so much a conclusion as a pause before the next phase of the Band of Four's adventures and Aglirta's future. I was honestly surprised when I saw that it was published in 2001; this is the kind of tale I would've expected back in the 1980's or 1990's.
As I said at the start of the review, there is something to be said for The Kingless Land in that it never pretends to be more than it is, and it does deliver on its promise of near-nonstop action and adventure and magic and danger. If that's all one wants out of a tale, it's enjoyable enough on that level. I have encountered worse, but I've also encountered (and, to be honest, have come to expect) better in the genre.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Swords and Deviltry (Fritz Leiber) - My Review
The Dragons of Autumn Twilight (Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman) - My Review
The Copper Promise (Jen Williams) - My Review
Wednesday, December 7, 2022
True Grit (Charles Portis)
True Grit
Charles Portis
Recorded Books
Fiction, Western
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: In 1878, Arkansas-born Mattie Ross got word that her beloved father had been shot and killed by Tom Chaney, a drifter he'd taken pity on. Even though the crime was witnessed by numerous people, not one lifted so much as a finger to help, let alone pursue the fleeing Tom as he disappeared into the wilds of Indian country. Even at fourteen, Mattie was a practical and hard-headed sort, and surely if a job was to be done, the only way was to do it herself. She hires drunken washup marshal Rooster Cogburn to track down Tom and bring him to justice, and insists on riding along herself to see that it's done and done right. But the world is bigger and wilder than even she can imagine, and the kind of man who would gun down a friend and benefactor in broad daylight isn't the kind to come easily to justice...
This audiobook version includes an essay by the narrator Donna Tartt.
REVIEW: This classic Western, published in 1968, has been adapted at least twice (though I've yet to get around to either version). Portis creates a singularly headstrong character in Mattie Ross, a tough farmgirl with a very clear sense of both her worth and of right and wrong, who isn't about to let the apathy and incompetence of others get between her and her goals, no matter the cost or consequences. She also has clear Opinions, capitalized and underlined, on people, politics, and religion, and brooks no argument or correction. Her first obstacle is convincing Rooster and interloping Texas Ranger LaBoeuf, who has his own reasons for hunting down Chaney, that she's not a liability. Next is the actual tracking down and bringing in (or bringing down - either works for Mattie) of the criminal, who has fallen in with a notorious gang of bank robbers. Mattie is so driven in her quest for vengeance and righting a wrong (and being taken seriously in a world that dismisses her as a girl and a child) that she never stops to think about whether success will truly bring her what she wants or needs, and the more she's opposed the more she digs in. She is, in truth, no slouch, more than a match in personality (if not life experience) for the two men she travels with, and her narrative voice has a ring of authenticity to it, the voice of a lost era and mindset. It's a straightforward, unflinching tale with more than a touch of deadpan humor, a tale that doesn't wander into tangents or get too full of itself with metaphors or messages. As for the included essay, it ran a bit long for my tastes, but it conveys how a story can resonate through generations in a family. I can see why True Grit is still considered a classic, and in truth I enjoyed it more than several books that have that title.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Vengeance Road (Erin Bowman) - My Review
Six-Shooter Tales (I. J. Parnham) - My Review
Unwanted: Dead or Alive (Gene Shelton) - My Review
Charles Portis
Recorded Books
Fiction, Western
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: In 1878, Arkansas-born Mattie Ross got word that her beloved father had been shot and killed by Tom Chaney, a drifter he'd taken pity on. Even though the crime was witnessed by numerous people, not one lifted so much as a finger to help, let alone pursue the fleeing Tom as he disappeared into the wilds of Indian country. Even at fourteen, Mattie was a practical and hard-headed sort, and surely if a job was to be done, the only way was to do it herself. She hires drunken washup marshal Rooster Cogburn to track down Tom and bring him to justice, and insists on riding along herself to see that it's done and done right. But the world is bigger and wilder than even she can imagine, and the kind of man who would gun down a friend and benefactor in broad daylight isn't the kind to come easily to justice...
This audiobook version includes an essay by the narrator Donna Tartt.
REVIEW: This classic Western, published in 1968, has been adapted at least twice (though I've yet to get around to either version). Portis creates a singularly headstrong character in Mattie Ross, a tough farmgirl with a very clear sense of both her worth and of right and wrong, who isn't about to let the apathy and incompetence of others get between her and her goals, no matter the cost or consequences. She also has clear Opinions, capitalized and underlined, on people, politics, and religion, and brooks no argument or correction. Her first obstacle is convincing Rooster and interloping Texas Ranger LaBoeuf, who has his own reasons for hunting down Chaney, that she's not a liability. Next is the actual tracking down and bringing in (or bringing down - either works for Mattie) of the criminal, who has fallen in with a notorious gang of bank robbers. Mattie is so driven in her quest for vengeance and righting a wrong (and being taken seriously in a world that dismisses her as a girl and a child) that she never stops to think about whether success will truly bring her what she wants or needs, and the more she's opposed the more she digs in. She is, in truth, no slouch, more than a match in personality (if not life experience) for the two men she travels with, and her narrative voice has a ring of authenticity to it, the voice of a lost era and mindset. It's a straightforward, unflinching tale with more than a touch of deadpan humor, a tale that doesn't wander into tangents or get too full of itself with metaphors or messages. As for the included essay, it ran a bit long for my tastes, but it conveys how a story can resonate through generations in a family. I can see why True Grit is still considered a classic, and in truth I enjoyed it more than several books that have that title.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Vengeance Road (Erin Bowman) - My Review
Six-Shooter Tales (I. J. Parnham) - My Review
Unwanted: Dead or Alive (Gene Shelton) - My Review
Friday, December 2, 2022
The Darwin Elevator (Jason M. Hough)
The Darwin Elevator
The Dire Earth Cycle series, Book 1
Jason M. Hough
Del Rey
Fiction, Sci-Fi
***+ (Okay/Good)
DESCRIPTION: When the Builders ship arrived in the 23rd century, humanity didn't know what to make of it. When it unspooled a fine filament down to Darwin, Australia, then hung inert, people realized they had an orbital elevator, technology that had long been theorized but had never been practical - at least, not with human technology. It seemed like a massive leap forward for the species, whatever the unknown intelligence that sent it may have intended... then the disease set in, transforming humans into irrational, mindless beasts in a matter of hours - save those within a few kilometers of Darwin. Now the city and the stations spaced along the length of the alien filament are all that remain of human civilization - and still, nobody knows why it was built, or what its purpose is, or if its makers intend to come again, bringing more gifts and calamities.
Skyler is one of a handful of people immune to the disease that creates "subs" - subhumans - beyond Darwin's boundaries. As such, he and his small crew are in high demand as scavengers, scrounging ruins for needed supplies and the occasional luxury (on and off the books). He was just coming home after another mission when the unthinkable happens: the elevator lurches to a halt. In theory, it should be impossible, as it generates its own power from static in the air, yet it happens, and keeps happening more often as the days pass. As those on the ground and in orbit try to figure out the cause (and/or try to leverage things to their personal advantage), nobody wants to consider what it may mean for the future of humanity... especially if, as some fear, it signals the imminent return of the Builders and another cataclysmic change on the horizon.
REVIEW: It sounded like an interesting, action-filled sci-fi story, and at first that's exactly what it delivers. The characters - from brooding scavenger Skyler to Darwin's ambitious/borderline mustache-twirling leader to an almost too-innocent orbital scientist taken under the wing of a tycoon with a hidden agenda - may not be stunningly original, but they don't need to be, and they fill their roles decently enough. Human nature has made the best and the worst of the alien elevator; the fact that the mystery disease accentuates one random human trait to the point of unthinking insanity almost feels like an alien commentary on our species, forcing people to confront what they truly are beneath the veneer of civilization. While some people look upon the Builder tech as a scientific puzzle, others see a stepping stone to a new era, or a tool to raise themselves to power, or a symbol of their oppression and everything lost since the elevator's arrival a scant few decades before the story begins. Likewise, as some race to unravel the new irregularities in the "aura" that protects what's left of civilization from the disease (and the possibility of the elevator failing altogether, essentially a death blow for the species), others only care about what they can grab for themselves as the rules change and power shifts. Through it all, people like Skyler and his crew can only do their best to survive, even as they're pulled into greater machinations and dangers.
I really can't say precisely when and where the story stopped being an engaging (and somewhat thought-provoking) story for me, but at some point I found myself just... not enjoying it as much as I had been. The characters that had been serviceable (if, as noted earlier, not entirely original) started feeling more like overworn, somewhat threadbare (not to mention testosterone-heavy) tropes, down to mildly forced romance and the ever-tiresome reliance on bad guys ogling and groping and threatening women with rape to emphasize the fact that they're bad. Generic guys doing generic guy action things began to wear thin. The sense of wonder and possibilities that the Builders and the elevator initially generated felt short-changed, for all that it was supposed to be pivotal to the overall story. Then the ending just became a lump of things happening largely to ensure a sequel, without much of a sense of conclusion.
I liked parts of The Darwin Elevator, and it definitely delivers on the action its cover and blurb promise. I just ultimately didn't enjoy it enough to consider pursuing the series, which - given that part of a first book's job is to hook a reader into continuing - means it didn't work for me on some level.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Lagoon (Nnedi Okorafor) - My Review
Way Station (Clifford D. Simak) - My Review
Night Train to Rigel (Timothy Zahn) - My Review
The Dire Earth Cycle series, Book 1
Jason M. Hough
Del Rey
Fiction, Sci-Fi
***+ (Okay/Good)
DESCRIPTION: When the Builders ship arrived in the 23rd century, humanity didn't know what to make of it. When it unspooled a fine filament down to Darwin, Australia, then hung inert, people realized they had an orbital elevator, technology that had long been theorized but had never been practical - at least, not with human technology. It seemed like a massive leap forward for the species, whatever the unknown intelligence that sent it may have intended... then the disease set in, transforming humans into irrational, mindless beasts in a matter of hours - save those within a few kilometers of Darwin. Now the city and the stations spaced along the length of the alien filament are all that remain of human civilization - and still, nobody knows why it was built, or what its purpose is, or if its makers intend to come again, bringing more gifts and calamities.
Skyler is one of a handful of people immune to the disease that creates "subs" - subhumans - beyond Darwin's boundaries. As such, he and his small crew are in high demand as scavengers, scrounging ruins for needed supplies and the occasional luxury (on and off the books). He was just coming home after another mission when the unthinkable happens: the elevator lurches to a halt. In theory, it should be impossible, as it generates its own power from static in the air, yet it happens, and keeps happening more often as the days pass. As those on the ground and in orbit try to figure out the cause (and/or try to leverage things to their personal advantage), nobody wants to consider what it may mean for the future of humanity... especially if, as some fear, it signals the imminent return of the Builders and another cataclysmic change on the horizon.
REVIEW: It sounded like an interesting, action-filled sci-fi story, and at first that's exactly what it delivers. The characters - from brooding scavenger Skyler to Darwin's ambitious/borderline mustache-twirling leader to an almost too-innocent orbital scientist taken under the wing of a tycoon with a hidden agenda - may not be stunningly original, but they don't need to be, and they fill their roles decently enough. Human nature has made the best and the worst of the alien elevator; the fact that the mystery disease accentuates one random human trait to the point of unthinking insanity almost feels like an alien commentary on our species, forcing people to confront what they truly are beneath the veneer of civilization. While some people look upon the Builder tech as a scientific puzzle, others see a stepping stone to a new era, or a tool to raise themselves to power, or a symbol of their oppression and everything lost since the elevator's arrival a scant few decades before the story begins. Likewise, as some race to unravel the new irregularities in the "aura" that protects what's left of civilization from the disease (and the possibility of the elevator failing altogether, essentially a death blow for the species), others only care about what they can grab for themselves as the rules change and power shifts. Through it all, people like Skyler and his crew can only do their best to survive, even as they're pulled into greater machinations and dangers.
I really can't say precisely when and where the story stopped being an engaging (and somewhat thought-provoking) story for me, but at some point I found myself just... not enjoying it as much as I had been. The characters that had been serviceable (if, as noted earlier, not entirely original) started feeling more like overworn, somewhat threadbare (not to mention testosterone-heavy) tropes, down to mildly forced romance and the ever-tiresome reliance on bad guys ogling and groping and threatening women with rape to emphasize the fact that they're bad. Generic guys doing generic guy action things began to wear thin. The sense of wonder and possibilities that the Builders and the elevator initially generated felt short-changed, for all that it was supposed to be pivotal to the overall story. Then the ending just became a lump of things happening largely to ensure a sequel, without much of a sense of conclusion.
I liked parts of The Darwin Elevator, and it definitely delivers on the action its cover and blurb promise. I just ultimately didn't enjoy it enough to consider pursuing the series, which - given that part of a first book's job is to hook a reader into continuing - means it didn't work for me on some level.
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