Thursday, November 26, 2020

BOOK REVIEW: Bone Silence (Revenger, #3) by Alastair Reynolds


Bone Silence is the third and final book in Alastair Reynolds' Revenger trilogy, a dark, steampunk-inspired, YA space opera series centered around two teenaged sisters. Adrana and Arafura Ness  have adventures together and separately that are dangerous and diverting, in a reimagined dystopian solar system where humanity exists on twenty thousand habitats formed from the materials of the Eight Original Planets.

The most compelling aspect of the books is, unsurprisingly, the Ness sisters. Somewhat surprisingly, however, they are not completely likable characters. In retrospect, this is a strength and a weakness of the books. They are often placed in complicated situations, interacting with people who often have complicated allegiances and motivations and thus they often have to make complicated decisions. In Bone Silence, the sisters are co-captains of Revenger, a technologically advanced ship which was previously owned by Bosa Sennen, the most notorious (and ruthless) pirate in the System. In fact, due to actions that occurred in Book 2's Shadow Captain (which I won't recap here because spoilers!), many people believe that either Arafura or Adrana (or both) are either in alliance with Bosa Sennen or have taken her place and are continuing her reign of terror (after all, the Ness sisters are using Bosa's ship).

Another important aspect of the Revenger books is the setting. I'm generally not a fan of steampunk or YA and these books haven't changed my mind. But I am a huge fan of Reynolds, though, so that's what made me start reading these books; the characters and plot made me continue and finish them. Reynolds is an experienced hard SF author who has previously created brilliant, captivating space opera tales like Revelation SpaceChasm City, The Prefect, Blue Remembered Earth and many more. Although initially skeptical, I did get caught up in the story and following the fortunes of Adrana and Arafura made me want to continue the series to its conclusion. The setting of the books is in a future where technology is both advanced (it takes place on space ships after all) and backwards (even though it is millions of years in the future there’s no technology they have which we currently don’t have). The primary source of locomotion of ships is the harnessing of solar radiation through the use of huge solar sails, and the language of space travel is described in such a way that it could be referring to nautical journeys of the 1800s. The units of distance are "leagues." (These are all steampunk elements that I generally regard as annoying affectations. Additionally, although there are aliens, they are referred to by infantilizing names such as "Clackers," "Crawlies" and "Hard Shells." The form of currency are "quoins" and the provenance of quoins is one of the key mysteries of the series. The backwardness of the technology is also reflected in the fact they refer to the air that is in the ships as "lungstuff" and there is almost no automation of any tasks. (Although there are robots who most humans treat unseriously as toys or amusements, there are no handheld devices, no sense of a universal cyberspace and no artificial intelligence.) Everything is done by hand, by "sailors" who have specialized skills. Humans don't create technology, they find and re-purpose alien (or "Ghostie") technology in the form of artifacts that they find in ancient, abandoned habitats called "baubles" that often have artificial gravity due to black holes (called "swallowers") at their center. Navigation is by using star maps and observations of the stars. Communication from ship to ship is done primarily by "squawk" (the equivalent of radio) and by "bone." Bones are ancient alien technology which uses "twinkly" to allow certain individuals to communicate telepathically with other individuals using bones, with relativistic effects ignored. It's somewhat amazing that as a (former) physicist, Reynolds has written a series where modern physics is almost entirely absent.

Overall, I liked the series as a whole more than I liked the last book, but I am glad I read it because I really wanted to know what happened to Arafura and Adrana in the end! Bone Silence seemed overly long, as numerous plot threads that had developed over the first two books Revenger and Shadow Captain needed resolving in the third. Generally, most of these were resolved in a way that was relatively satisfying. Additionally, many of the characters that we had come to know for at least one book and sometimes two, did not make it to the end of the third book. Hey, I said it was dark! 

While this is a YA book and there is absolutely no sexual situations in the book, there is lots if violence and cruelty and death. It is a dark, dystopian solar system the Ness sisters are in, and they have to adapt and reflect their surroundings in order to navigate through it. Bosa Sennen was the main villain in Book 1 and Book 2 but in Book 3, a new villain is introduced and the narrative tension and suspense created by the struggle for dominance between the new villain and the Ness sisters, and sometimes between the Ness sisters themselves, animates the last book just enough to sustain interest to the very end. If you haven’t read any Reynolds before I would recommend starting with his hard science fiction works like Revelation Space, Chasm City, The Prefect or the Poseidon's Children trilogy.

OVERALL: 3.5-4 STARS,

Title: Bone Silence (Revenger, #3)
Author: 
Alastair Reynolds.
Length: 432 pages.
Publisher:
 Orbit.
Date Published: February 4, 2020.
Date Read: November 1, 2020.

GOODREADS RATING: ★★½☆  (3.5/5.0).

OVERALL GRADE: A-/B+ (3.5/4.0).


PLOT: A-.
IMAGERY: A-.
IMPACT: B+.
WRITING: B+.

Thursday, November 19, 2020

BOOK REVIEW: Interference (Semiosis, #2) by Sue Burke


Interference is the sequel to Semiosis, and the two books form a duology that recounts the story of the colonization of a planet called Pax, located some 55 light years from Earth. Pax is a fertile, beautiful, Earth-like planet inhabited by numerous forms of life, indigenous and alien.

Semiosis told the story of how a small group of refugees from an Earth ravaged by ecological disaster and intentional genocide enters into a symbiotic relationship with (at least) two sentient alien species on Pax. Interference continues the tale, told brilliantly in the form of self-contained chapters of lengths varying from short story to novella, of the development of the humans on Pax, now ten to eleven generations beyond first contact. One key difference between the books is that in Interference, Earth plays a much larger role, because a new delegation of humans arrives to Pax, to follow up on and study the society the original colony has become. Just like the first group of human colonists, some of the new arrivals are motivated by desire to flee Earth in addition to curiosity about Pax.

Another key difference between Interference and Semiosis is that while the first book was centered around the characters of the protagonists of the chapters, the second is more plot-driven, with the narrative thrust being sourced in a series of questions that are eventually answered. These include: “How will the arrival of humans with advanced technology impact (and interfere with) the delicate power balance between the humans and the Glassmakers? How will Stevland, the sentient plant which dominates most living things on Pax, react to ( and survive) the arrival of a second set of humans from off-world? Will the new humans really return to their ravaged Earth, one that will be 200-years older than when they left? And what and who will from PAC will they take either back to Earth?

All these questions are answered by the end of the book, satisfyingly so, in my opinion. The main reason why Interference is as at least as good as Semiosis are the thought-provoking depictions of mutuality and “civilization.” Stevland really believes that he(?) is in a mutually beneficial relationship with the humans and Glassmakers (and other life on Pax) but it is also clear that he is the most intelligent (and most powerful) entity on the planet. The humans think they’re in a mutually beneficial relationship with the Glassmakers, but the new humans observe that when they want to, the Glassmakers can assume control over human society, despite being outnumbered 4:1. The new humans think their technological advantages and scientific knowledge means they are superior to all Pacifists (residents of Pax) but events demonstrate the frailty of that belief. Interference posits the hypothesis that mutuality and "civilization" (or domestication) may simply be a function of perspective.

Overall, if you liked Semiosis you will almost certainly enjoy Interference. The prominence of ecology and biochemistry in the first book is replaced by psychology and sociology, but both are engaging, exciting and excellent!

Title: Interference.
Author: 
Sue Burke .
Length: 304 pages.
Publisher:
 Tor Books.
Date Published: October 22, 2019.
Date Read: October 25, 2020.

GOODREADS RATING: 
★★  (5.0/5.0).

OVERALL GRADE: A/A- (3.83/4.0).

PLOT: A-.
IMAGERY: A-.
IMPACT: A.
WRITING: A.

Thursday, November 12, 2020

BOOK REVIEW: Semiosis by Sue Burke

Semiosis is the first book in a duology by Sue Burke about a small group of around 50 human colonists trying to survive on a planet they call Pax which is populated with exotic fauna and flora, in particular a sentient plant.

The story is told in a series of chapters, each of which serve as independent short stories or novelettes. They are often set a significant distances in the future, centered around subsequent generations, so characters from one chapter can be aged in another. Slowly, the outline of the overall act of the story becomes clearer to the reader. During this time, we start to get the perspective of the most dominant intelligence on the planet, which is Stevland, the sentient rainbow bamboo plant.

The book is strikingly original, with prominent sociological, ecological, biological and psychological themes. The colonist left earth to attempt to recreate a new, utopian Pacifist society, but it becomes very clear early on that the rigors of survival threaten to upend or warp their intended principles. Humans are humans, and the full range of human foibles, failures and fortitudes are displayed. The author does an outstanding job of moving the story forward rapidly and deftly by focusing on character development, which is surprisingly effective since almost in every case, we are basically introduced to a new set of characters and situations, but in almost every case these are compelling and engaging. (And if the reader isn’t that interested in the current batch, they know that this chapter will be over relatively soon, so there’ll be a reset into a new part of the story shortly.) The book combines the strengths of a short story collection with those of an entire novel.

That Semiosis is able to do this while simultaneously being funny, suspenseful, romantic, exciting and thoughtful is truly impressive. There’s a shocking amount of chemistry, especially biochemistry in the book, but even if you can’t distinguish between an acetone and an acid, you can still enjoy different aspects of the book. It works on very many different levels. Overall, I’d say it’s about a 4.0-4.5-rated read, but I’m rounding up to reward it for its creativity and effectiveness of implementation. I’m going to start the sequel right away!

Title: Semiosis.
Author: 
Sue Burke .
Length: 336 pages.
Publisher:
 Tor Books.
Date Published: February 6, 2018.
Date Read: October 20, 2020.

GOODREADS RATING: ★★  (5.0/5.0).

OVERALL GRADE: A/A- (3.83/4.0).

PLOT: A-.
IMAGERY: A-.
IMPACT: A.
WRITING: A.

Thursday, November 05, 2020

BOOK REVIEW: Trophy Hunt (Joe Pickett, #4) by C.J. Box


Trophy Hunt
 is the fourth book in the long-running, best-selling mystery series written by C.J. Box starring Joe Pickett, Wyoming Fish & Game warden and his family. These books are both similar and different from the typical books I  read in the murder-mystery, police-procedural, suspense-thriller genres. Yes, there’s usually a dead body to start the action (although in this one the first body is not human, it’s a dead moose that has been bizarrely mutilated) and the reader definitely gets a first-hand view of what Joe does to try and solve the crimes he comes across. But Joe is not a police officer, so the camaraderie with a team of detectives is missing, and the familiar details of police procedure such as forensics, canvassing the neighborhood, and trawling for leads by phone and Internet is not nearly a large feature of the Pickett books.

Instead, in Trophy Hunt (like in the earlier books) we have Joe on his own, trying to solve crimes, but this time as part of an inter-agency task force he’s been grudgingly added to (there have been multiple animal mutilations in addition to dead bodies found), while he’s being looked down upon for not being “real” law enforcement. However, instead of detective colleagues as secondary characters, Joe has his family (wife Marybeth, pre-teen daughters Sheridan and Lucy and trusted canine companion Maxine), friends (Nate Romanowski, a former Special Forces vet who now spends most of his time communing with nature, especially his falcons) and neighbors/associates who live and work in Twelve Sleep County (his nemesis, Sheriff Nate Burman; assorted other law enforcement contacts; and various colorful characters who populate the town). I have said before that a genre book centered on a main character basically succeeds on the quality and characterization of the secondary characters and in this respect the Pickett series shines. The landscape of Wyoming is an unusual but evocative setting for the mystery series and Box uses it often for maximum effect.

In Trophy Hunt, the mystery revolves around money, real estate and family. Amazingly, the area around Twelve Sleep is beginning to boom due to the presence of rich pockets of natural gas. This is resulting in a real estate boom and potential huge profits. Of course where there’s money to be made there’s criminals ready to do whatever it takes to get it. It takes awhile for Joe to figure out what’s going on. (This is a repeated theme of the series. Joe is a cloistered, solitary figure without much worldly exposure. But his lack of knowledge about something or inexperience doesn’t stop him from trying to find out the truth if he thinks something bad or criminal is going on, and that’s fun to watch.) Mary Beth actually plays a significant role here, because she has started working as an accountant for a real estate firm. She is really the brains of the couple and they both are growing more concerned about their finances as the girls grow older and Joe’s meager state salary becomes increasingly insufficient.

Overall, Trophy Hunt is another engaging and exciting entry into the Joe Pickett series. After four books, there’s a familiar rhythm to these books (which is another appealing element of most genre series) and that’s not a bad thing. If you liked any of the first three books you’ll like this one. Another (slightly unusual) feature of the Pickett books is that they are not strongly sequential, so one could read them out of order if you wanted to. This is an impressive authorial feat by Box. I am definitely going to read them in sequential order, because one can follow the characters change and grow, which provides an extra element of enjoyment to these already quite enjoyable books.!

Title: Trophy Hunt.
Author: 
C.J. Box.
Length: 348 pages.
Publisher:
 G. Putnam's Sons.
Date Published: 2004.
Date Read: October 15, 2020.

GOODREADS RATING: ★★ (5.0/5.0).

OVERALL GRADE: A/A- (3.83/4.0).

PLOT: A.
IMAGERY: A-.
IMPACT: A-.
WRITING: A.