That Good Story

In a conversation I am having at File 770, I was asked to define what makes a science fiction/fantasy book "great" for me.  Rather than losing these radiant pearls of wisdom to the effluence of teh intertoobery, I thought I would cement them here in my personal record.

As this is the season of Hugo 2016, there will be some references to the current finalists for Best Novel as well as others from the recent past.

[In looking at my examples, it might appear that I am unfairly focused on N.K. Jemisin's work.  I am not.

I just finished her book "The Fifth Season" as part of my reading for the Hugo awards and thus it is simply the most current example with which people may be familiar.  I enjoyed that book a great deal.  I'm glad that I bought it.  I wish her every success in the future.  She has some work to do before her work should be considered the best of the best, IMHO.  added afterwards - ed.]

You may find the following links to other blog entries to be useful as well.

I Have Already Read Something Better

Naming the Names (books that were not as good as those in the first link, IMHO)

I know that the following is numbered.  Don't think of them as being particularly prioritized in that order.

1.  It Works For Me

Every book has a certain un-quantifiable factor, a je ne sais quoi if you will permit, that engages the reader in a unique, ethereal bond of the soul.  What moves me at my deepest core (or in the case of MilSF, my corps) may not be nearly as impressive for another individual.

Another person who does not enjoy a of similarly satisfying experience with a given book is not defective.  They might well be defective, but that difference of opinion about a book isn't enough to define the defect.  The same works in the other direction as well, or at least it should.

But that isn't really very definitive, so perhaps we should look at factors that are more je sais quoi instead.

2.  Take Me Some Place New

We have all ready books about elves and dwarves and tentacled gods from other dimensions and interstellar navies and armored soldiers.  There are a couple thousand new books in the genre being published each year.  Coming up with something genuinely new is pretty hard.  So make it a new twist on an old trope.  Or use a different configuration of old tropes.  Just do not follow the herd.

Just imagine how many fewer sparkly vampire novels we would have if more writers followed that sage advice.

3.  Focus On Interesting Characters

I'm not terribly interested in what characters look like.  Get them dressed/undressed as the story demands and we can move on.  What is interesting are the motivations and actions of those characters as they unfold in the story.

This is where "The Goblin Emperor" fell down just a bit for me.  There was an awful lot of focus jewelry and other adornments that had did not do much for me in terms of character/plot development.  Some of that activity was certainly required to tell the story, but at some point it detracted from my experience with the book.

4.  Value Humanity/Value The Individual

This is where I think Robert Heinlein shined.  He put the focus on valuing the individual rather than talking about groups.

N.K. Jemisin's "The Fifth Season" was a very enjoyable read.  But I have already read something better....link above.  One area where her book feel fell short for me was the emphasis on class/caste structures.  Very few had problems with class/caste structures existing.  The ones we followed had more of a problem with the way those structures were being administered.

There was also a minor theme where the refugees/pirates had some sort of communal lifestyle where all cooking was done daily by one smaller group for the larger group.  They were detailed (in a manner akin to a command economy) to that task.  Child care was also communal.  And I mention "pirates" as that is precisely what they were; remorselessly stealing the wealth produced by others.

"Socialism" is truly the economic system of fantasy writing as fantasy literature is the only place where it can produce desirable results.  When socialism stops being evil in reality, then I'll adopt a different attitude towards socialism in fiction.

4.  Be Tied To Reality In Some Way

SF/F stretches the boundaries of human conception for the purpose of giving us new ways of thinking about old issues.  That is a property that makes the genre so influential and satisfying.  However, there should always be some useful connection between the fictional characters/story and real human interactions.

Jim Butcher's "The Aeronaut's Windlass" did a very credible job of using the unusual circumstances of his imagined world to talk about a bit about race/class issues.  He did so in a way that didn't beat the reader over the head.  He was also able to create feelings of empathy for both of the military groups present within the story.  At the very least, you could understand/appreciate some of the motivations of the "bad guys" group even if you disagreed with the actions they ended up taking.

Naomi Novik's "Uprooted" accomplished much the same thing towards the end when you got a chance to examine the experiences of the "evil" forest from their perspective.

5.  Show A Sense Of Humor...or Humour

Give me a reason to smile.  Even in the grim darkiest of the grim dark sub-genre there are examples of humor used to help lighten the mood.  Humor also serves to provide a contrast that highlights the more serious events experienced by the characters.

Joe Ambercrombie's "The First Law" trilogy contains characters that use a fair amount of humor....typically gallows humor....to help them get through the challenges in their lives.  Sebastien de Castell's deft use of humor in his "Greatcoats" series provides such a tremendous contrast that his books had me in tears over the breaking of his characters.

Real....live....man....tears.

N.K. Jemisin's "The Fifth Season" lacked an appreciable amount of humor and as a result my experience suffered.

6.  Show Don't Tell

SF/F works traditionally involve a fair amount of info dumping.  Topics ranging from orbital mechanics to computer based intelligence to sword play to the function of gemstones as a power source are generally beyond the daily experience of the average reader.  So the author has to draw the reader into their fictional world by describing what makes that world work.

One way of describing that fictional world is to dump pages and pages of dry dissertation, treatise, and exposition on the reader.  Erg.

Another method is to have one of the characters experience the limitations of the fictional world as a way of giving the reader a window into those limitations.

I have generally shied away from the steampunk genre precisely because they involve a fair amount of info dumping.  That process has generally been along the lines of "Look!  Gemstones!  Chemicals!  Miraculous hand-waving!  Stuff happens!"  Given how well I can suspend disbelief for tales involving magic, you would think that I could get past that sort of hand-waving.  Alas no.  So I haven't delved deeply into that sub-genre.

This year's Hugo nominee, "The Aeronaut's Windlass" by Jim Butcher, involves some heavy steampunk elements.  But he limited the info dumping and had most of it occur in conjunction with events experienced by his characters.  He did a good job of making his steampunk elements seem credible and translating them to the reader in a convincing manner.

Another Hugo nominee that has thus far (I'm still reading it) done a credible job with info dumping is Neal Stephenson's "Seveneves".

In comparison with those two novels, Ms. Jemisin's "The Fifth Season" made greater use of the dry expository passage approach.

7.  Stay Away From Check Boxes

Whoo boy.  I can smell trouble burning at the other end of the wire already.

"Check box" fiction really undermines the quality of my reading experience.  What is "check box" fiction?  It is a story that includes elements indicating diversity in the cast of characters that has zero impact on the the story.

In a reverse of the above, I'd like to suggest N.K. Jemisin's "The Fifth Season" as a good example of not doing "check box" fiction.  One cluster of protagonists included a character that is straight, one that is seemingly bi-sexual, and one that is decidedly homosexual.  They have a three-way.

And while the more patently descriptive passages of those events didn't do much for me, the fact that their respective sexuality helped inform their motivations and moved the story forward made the effort in describing their sexuality worthwhile reading.  She also did a reasonable job at expressing how physical appearances differed based on regionalism.  [There were one or two other moments that could be considered "check box(es)", but for the most part it wasn't a factor in this book.]

IMHO, including a character that is "different" without having that difference impact the story is at the very least a waste of time that detracts from the story and at the very worst insultingly dismissive of the people that possess the same characters characteristics.

Unfortunately, there has been a developing trend where authors appear to think that including such elements is the same thing as quality story-telling.  Water is still wet.  People still exist in a multiplicity of skin tones and gender identities.  If they the story takes place in the desert, then we should probably be focused on something other than how wet water can be.

And yes, I realize that the absence of water spoils the analogy.  Work with me on this.

8.  Tell A Good Story

That heading seems about as nebulous as the first one, no?  But it isn't.

A lot of writers have "big ideas" about "meaningful stories".  Which is fine.

Don't let those big ideas get in the way of good story-telling.  Given the option of reading an engaging story without deep meaning or an OK story with deep meaning, I'd rather read the engaging story.

The Dragonlance series written/shepherded by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman includes good examples of good story-telling.  Some of those stories had some sub-textual themes.  Mostly they were just entertaining.

And I loved almost every book from that fictional world that I read.  In fact I would take "Dragons of Winter Night" and/or "Dragons of Spring Dawning" over Orson Scott Card's "Ender's Game" precisely because they are better told stories.  (I haven't read all of the books from the Dragonlance 'verse, but of those that I did read, the stinkers were few and far between.)

Tell a good story.  Make the characters interesting.  Make the factors of their personality matter to the story.  Let the characters experience the world instead of dropping endless pages of exposition.  Don't add characterizations if those characterizations do not have an impact on the story arc.  Have a sense of humor.  Place a high value on individuals.  Have a tie to reality so that the story is relevant outside of itself.

Do this and I will enjoy your book.  Do it not and I probably will not.

Pardon me whilst I don my asbestos Underoos.....

Naming The Names

As I have become more focused on reading for the Hugo Awards, I have spent quite a bit of time looking over some recent nominees.  I have pointed out that I have read other works that I found to be better reading experiences in comparison with recent nominees.  What I have not done is pointed out those nominees that I found to be less than stellar.

A note just in case.  I have enjoyed reading all of these books.  I am proud to own at least a signed copy of at least one of these books.  I am glad that all of these authors are experiencing different levels of success.

I just do not happen to think that these are one of the five best SFF novels produced in their respective years.  I have read something better.

• 2016 - The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin[3]
• 2015 - The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
• 2012 - A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin
• 2011 - The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin
• 2009 - Zoe's Tale by John Scalzi[1]
• 2008 - The Last Colony by John Scalzi[1]
• 2000 - A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge[2]
• 2015, 2017, 2018 - Saga (graphic novels) by Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples. [4]

I can't comment on the rest of the nominees as I haven't given them a full reading.

[1] By John's own admission, The Last Colony was missing something.  Which is how Zoe's Tale came into being.  Two halves of a good book are not independently worthy of being a top 5 book, IMHO.

[2] This was the winner in 2000!  I enjoyed it, but didn't think it was that great.  Curiously, I did like A Fire Upon the Deep by Mr. Vinge a great deal and can see why it won in 1993.  The two books are related.

[3] Added on 5/16/2016.  I just finished it over the weekend.  While it was a very good book, I have, indeed, read better books.

[4]  This entire series just seems like an identity journey with some science-fictionium and fantasium slathered on.  The artwork isn't terribly interesting.  I've never seen the attraction of reading it and can think of several other series that I'd rather read.  And yet it will get nominated in almost every year.  I enjoy the author's work in other series immensely.  This one?  Leave it.

A Surprising Accord

Michael Mann is a well known scientist for folks following the science behind climate change policies.  He is lauded by people that endorse rigorous government responses to curb carbon dioxide emissions.  He is held in somewhat lower esteem by people that are skeptical on the issue.

I would fall into that latter group, FWIW.

However, I remain committed to giving credit where credit is due.

In 2015, NOAA "updated" their temperature records and insisted that there had been no "pause" in the increasing temperatures of the planet.  Two of the many reasons for my skepticism are the regular fiddling with the temperature records that go on from time to time and the documented pause in global warming that began in 1998.

While there are many legitimate reasons to adjust the recorded temperature data (i.e. change in recording equipment/location, etc.) it seems that there have been other adjustments to the record that are less legitimate.  In this case, the NOAA "update" was timed to coincide with the Paris climate conference.  Such a coincidence inspires the suspicion that this particular adjustment was done to provide a media opportunity in support of additional carbon restrictions.

There have been other examples of "adjustments" that are questionable as well.  For example, there were questionable changes made to 20th century data collected from long term sites in Australia.

As I know someone will misconstrue this, let me reiterate: there are many legitimate reasons for adjusting the temperature record.  And those legitimate adjustments can and will push the recorded data higher.

The pause in global warming is important because it was not predicted by the many models used by scientists to evaluate the impact of carbon dioxide on our environment.  Skeptics, like me, point to that oversight and respectfully suggest that the models may not accurately reflect the actual functioning of the environment.

Do you know who happens to agree with me?  Michael Mann and a host of other scientists that have published a letter in Nature Climate Change.  This summary by Scientific American is also helpful.

Now I think it is fair to say that Mr. Mann still believes that anthropogenic CO2 is a significant problem that is worthy of immediate government action.

My perspective on government action is a bit complex.  I think there are things we could do to reduce CO2 emissions that would benefit humanity even if science inevitably discovers that the climate isn't very susceptible to those emissions.  Things like promoting power via nuclear fission, nuclear fusion, and various biofuels come to mind.  I think there are things that we could do that would devastate humanity such as the various carbon tax proposals.

However, I also believe in giving credit where it is due.  In this case, Mr. Mann participated in countering a flawed process and insisted on doing the hard scientific work to make the models accurately reflect our world.  Getting it right matters.  On that subject, I agree with Michael Mann.

Proving A Negative Is A Tough Task

Those following the Hugo Awards serial kerfuffles know that the whole mess really got started after Larry Correia was nominated for the Campbell back in 2011.  Mr. Correia reported that he had read message boards and other sources where his nomination was received with something well short of warmth much less thoughtful consideration.

Mr. Correia has told a couple different versions about what was said.  The earliest version that I found was here.

I am the least favored to win by the literary critical types, (in fact, I’ve seen a few places where they have ranked me #6 out of the 5 finalists) but that’s cool, because I am the only author eligible that has had a gnome fight or trailer park elves. (or as one critic pointed out, I am a relentlessly single tone throw back, and another said that if I win it is an insult and a black mark on the entire field of writing.) SWEET!  I’m so unabashadly pulpy and just happy to entertain, and thus offensive, that I make the inteligensia weep bitter blood tears of rage.

Emphasis added.

Now I have not found that quote verbatim elsewhere that was not citing Mr. Correia's post above.  Nor have I found the other version where the critic opined that a Correia win would "end writing forever" that did not lead back something other than a Correia re-telling.

I'm adding this entry to my blog as a personal reference.  There are people that deny that this episode ever occurred because they cannot find the source posting/message board/smoke signal.

Those folks are setting themselves up for a tough task; proving a negative.  Mr. Correia is not obligated to provide a verbatim quote.  I suspect that he is providing a translation of the events where someone made a more polite-ish statement that suggested that the Correia nomination was not in keeping with high literary standards/traditions/etc.

The inability to locate an exact citation is not proof that the episode did not occur.

And his nomination for the Campbell award was entirely appropriate and in keeping with the origins and traditions of the genre.  Perhaps if the folks that are so agitated about what happened post-2011 Hugos had been a little more concerned about the snobbery going on that year, we might have been able to avoid all of the current conflict.

I Have Already Read Something Better

The bickering in the SFF community exists for a couple of reasons.  As far cooler heads than mine have observed, the field has gotten so large that no one person can truly survey all of the published works in order to have an informed opinion.  Therefore there will always be works that are overlooked.

Given that the Hugo Awards acknowledge five finalists and one winner each year, it is entirely predictable that high quality work will pass under the radar of enough voters to end up being left without acknowledgement.  Specifically, the rest of this entry will reference the Best Novel category.

In looking back over the list of nominees and winners, I find 1986 to be a turning point.  Prior to that year, I had found most of the nominated works that I encountered to be quite enjoyable.  Some had a serious message.  Some were just plain fun pieces of fiction.  But they almost uniformly provided an enjoyable reading experience.  I have not read all of them, but I have read a high percentage of them.

1986 was the year that Orson Scott Card won the Hugo novel award for "Ender's Game".  I got around to reading "Ender's Game" a few years back after the movie came out.  I ignored the movie.  And quite frankly I found the book to be less than impressive.  The storyline dragged at times and the prose wasn't all that great.  It was not a bad experience.  It just was not an experience that I would put at the same level as the great SFF works from the preceding years and decades.

Considering the explosion in SFF works published each year, it is not unreasonable to find that my chanced experiences with Hugo nominated works have declined over the years.  Now that I have spent a couple of years paying closer attention to the theoretically superior books that are nominated for the Hugo awards, I have sought out more of those works.  Quite frankly, my response is that while they are largely enjoyable works, I have already read something better.

Going back a few years, I think about David Weber and his "Hammer's Slammers" series.  I also think about Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman's work on the Dragonlance series.  From that series comes one of my top ten books "The Legend of Huma" by Richard Knaack.  Dave Duncan and L.E. Modesitt Jr. are also authors of interest that have not had any Hugo nominations.

Jumping into the 1990s, Mercedes Lackey, Sara Douglass, Barbara Hambly and Melanie Rawn are a quintet of ladies that produced a wealth of fiction that I devoured.  Yet none of them have received Hugo Award nominations.

Terry Goodkind, Tad Williams, and R.A. Salvatore....the list could go on and on and on.

Someone could almost write a book listing authors of quality SFF works that have not been able to make it into the final round of the Hugo Awards.

Does this mean that the authors that did make into the final round produced bad work?  Nope.  Nor does it mean that the works that did make into the final round were in some way objectively "the best" of those years.  The pool of voters has been small enough that it may not accurately reflect what readers of SFF fiction truly feel are the best works in the field.

As I encounter more nominated works from the last 10-15 years, I find myself more and more frequently arriving at the conclusion that "I have already read something better".  What would be better than some of those works?  What other books have provided me with a better reading experience than the nominated works that I have read?

Here is a quick, short list of authors and series that have done a great job of scratching my particular SFF itch.  I have included the name of the first book in the series where possible. Some of these works include a diverse range of characters.  Some do not.  Some have commentary on our modern world.  Some do not.  All of them provide a unique approach to storytelling.

E.E. Knight - Age of Fire Series

Peter V. Brett - The Demon Cycle (5 books) - Book 1 - The Warded Man

Justin Cronin - vampire trilogy (3 books - natch) Book 1 - The Passage

Sebastien de Castell - Greatcoats (4 books) Book 1 - Traitor's Blade (made me weep man tears - this one was series is great)

James A. Moore - Seven Forges (4 books thus far) Book 1 - Seven Forges

Joe Abercrombie - The First Law (3 books) - The Blade Itself

Hugh Howey - The Wool Series - Wool - Stop after the first book.******

Sarah Beth Durst - The Lost - I've only read the first book and can't vouch for the series.  The first book was great!***  [The second book was declined by the publisher.  I'm sad.]

Emma Newman - Split World Series (5 Books) - Between Two Thorns*****

Frank Cho - Skybourrne (graphic novel) [6*]

Peter V. Brett - Red Sonja: Unchained (graphic novel) [6*]

Alec Hutson - The Crimson Queen [6*]

Myke Cole - The Armored Saint [6*]

If you have not heard of these authors or these works, then perhaps you ought to read more widely.  I promise that you will not waste your time with any of these works.

**edited/cleaned up on 3/21/2016
***added a book on 5/11/2016
****added another book on 5/13/2016
*****added another series on 8/8/2016
******added comment on 11/10/2016. Reviews forthcoming.
 [6*] added on 1/11/2019

The Literary Hammer/Shield

People aware of the Sad Puppies imbroglio within the SFF community should be aware that a large part of that issue centers around a diverse range of opinions as to what constitutes the "best" writing within the genre.  That such a range of opinion exists is a testament to the success of SFF authors in publishing a large volume of works that cover a broad spectrum of perspectives.

There are scientifically rigorous treatments that project current technological trends on the future.  There are less rigorous treatments that attempt to look at current social issues.  There are books from the fantasy end of the genre that toss science to the wind.  There are books from across the spectrum that are just plain fun to read.

The history of the SFF genre embraces (or should embrace) all of those various modes of expression.  What has developed within the genre is a condition where it is impossible for one person, or even a few people, to be sufficiently well read to be able to select the very best works and have that selection be meaningful for the entire genre.

The history of the written word includes a centuries long debate as to what is "literary".  That word has long become something between a cudgel and a shield used to exclude certain works/authors from serious consideration.

My first contact with the word "literary" goes way back to high school.  I had just discovered this new author; Stephen King.  When attempting to engage a teacher on the subject, I was met with the attitude that Mr. King's work would never be worthy of serious consideration.  His work simply wasn't literary.

It is my understanding that Mr. King has published a couple of successful books and had his work converted into a couple of decent movies/TV shows since that time.  I hear that he doesn't have to worry about starving.

I had similar experiences throughout my education.  In particular, my preference for SFF was routinely and nonchalantly dismissed as an interest in something that wasn't "literary".

Due to those experiences, I find it terribly difficult to take someone seriously when they attempt to use the word "literary" as a weapon-cum-shield to stave off the works of authors and/or publishing houses.  Instead of providing the critical reasoning in support of their position, they declare that a work isn't "literary" and move on.

There should not be a place in a genre that was born out of popular pulp novels and magazines for excluding popular works.  There is nothing wrong with valuing an enjoyable reading experience at least as much as other aspects of the genre.  At the very least, there is nothing wrong with readers supporting works that they have enjoyed reading for awards that are presented due to reader participation.  Being popular should not disqualify a work from consideration.

Hard Luck Hank: Screw the Galaxy - A Goodreads Review

Screw The Galaxy by Steven  Campbell
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

2 star review. In book it was a book that wasn't all that good. I did finish the book.

The protagonist is a Mary Sue from beginning to end. Falls repeatedly into piles of excrement and comes out smelling of daffodils.


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Star Wars: The Force Awakens - A Review

So I finally made it to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens.  My initial take: at least it wasn't another Phantom Menace.  I enjoyed the movie.  It was entertaining.  But it just didn't have the pop of the original movies of the 70s and 80s.

Most of my major criticisms can be covered by reading this thread over at John Scalzi's "Whatever" blog.  Probably the most significant item is that I saw this movie already.  In 1977.  It was called Star Wars: A New Hope.  The plot points for the new movie were pretty much the same as the first movie.

There were a couple of additional elements that were of mild concern.

One was the new main character, Rey.  Rey was sold into slavery** at a young age.  She worked collecting scrap for a salvage yard.

And yet without any obvious reason, she is a master mechanic, a skilled interstellar navigator/pilot, and outstanding at fighting with a light saber.  For reasons unknown, she can also outfight multiple male opponents that out weigh her by a large margin.

The character Rey wanders dangerously close to Mary Sue territory.

As a contrast, Anakin was shown to repair speeders for several scenes before he was asked to drive one.  It wasn't exactly a big jump for him to fly a speeder well.

Also as a contrast, consider how firmly Han Solo slapped down Luke when he suggested that he could fly a spaceship without any training or experience.  And consider how much time that Luke put in learning to use a light saber in A New Hope despite never having a chance to actually use it until The Empire Strikes Back.

It just flat bad character development.

A secondary element was the hard political message contained within the story.

Early on, Finn (a failed/renegade storm trooper) determines that Rey was in trouble and attempts to save her.  So he grabs her hand.

Not her arm, not a "come on let's go", he grabs her hand.  Several times in a row.  It suggested to me a clear message that he was the man, he would do the saving, and she should just follow along.  She responds exactly as a person should when a stranger grabs your hand by pulling back and essentially saying "who are you and what makes you think you can take me anywhere".  Her reaction is perfectly appropriate.  Putting her in that position was just off-putting; poor plot development.

Then there was the heavy emasculating of Finn.  He is inept at almost everything he does.  He is a storm trooper that worked in.....wait for it....sanitation!  That makes absolutely no sense.  Support forces do sanitation.  Storm troopers are first class fighters.

The gender set up smacked of Helen Reddy and Homer Simpson; on steroids.  It seemed a little heavy handed.

Then there is Darth Emo....I mean Kylo Ren.  Every other Force capable person we have seen has had a sense of self control.  Yet Kylo Ren explodes in destructive rampages on two occasions.  What he needs a couple of sessions with his nose in the corner and an admonition to put on his big boy pants.

The movie was otherwise quite enjoyable.  The cinematography was excellent.  The use of 3D effects was stellar.  It would have been nice if we could have had a new story and less focus on blowing things up.

**A modest update.  Rey was not sold into slavery.  She was abandoned in some way.  The place where we find her in the movie is akin to a company owned mining town.  While a person living in a company town is usually free to leave, the attachment to other people or to the town itself may be strong enough to prevent a person from making the more beneficial/rewarding choice to leave.

My initial impression was "sold into slavery" when in reality she was purposefully left behind.  Perhaps she was left in good circumstances, but various incidents have moved her down the economic ladder.  That part of her story will hopefully be cleared up with future episodes.

My misreading of her free/slave status does not undermine my other observations about her character development within the movie.

The Vagrant by Peter Newman - A Goodreads Review

The Vagrant by Peter  Newman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

You will have seen the hooks already.

Through the wastelands walks a man, the Vagrant. He carries with him a baby and drags along a goat. A man, a baby, and a goat.

He walks the world mute; unable to utter a single sound.

An odd collection of characters and an individual that is unable to speak with everyone around them. How do you make a good book out of that?

Peter Newman has managed it quite well.

The Vagrant is on a mission to get out of a demon infested land and back to the lands occupied by humans and guarded...somewhat...by the six angels remaining of seven angels. He is almost a knight. The Vagrant is cursed by the sword he carries that he did not earn.

Peter Newman's use of language leaves the impression of Japanese anime. Bodies that grow new shapes laced with green veins. Demons inhabiting people that are revealed in divergent shadows. Cities made from the remains of floating citadels that have crash landed. Subterranean passages that evoke the remains of technology left to rust.

Along the way, the Vagrant travels from place to place. He saves everyone he can from the demons that rule the land; even when it would have been more prudent to pass them by and focus on his mission to reach sanctuary.

The one criticism that I have is that the book starts to drag a bit. We know the Vagrant aspires to be a true knight. He attempts to live up the knight's code of protecting all who ask for protection. So at some point, the additional stops along the way become a bit repetitive.

Otherwise, this is a fine read and well worthy of your time.


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Warrior Angel by Margaret and Lizz Weis - A Goodreads Review

Warrior Angel by Margaret Weis
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

A 2 star review in my book is one that I just cannot recommend.

I made it through the first ~1/5 of the book and just couldn't get into it.

The premise of a 14th century Templar, warrior veteran of the wars in Purgatory, sent to protect someone in the 21st century seemed promising. That the person to be protected was a very modern woman who was a successful stock trader was a twist with a lot of great promise. Although romance isn't really a prime genre for me, I have read some romance over the years.

But the characters in this case were just so much rhetorical cardboard. She's good looking. He's good looking. Lots of emotional sparks. But no real depth of character.

I bought this book due to Margaret Weis' reputation. I've enjoyed a ton of books that she wrote and this outing was particularly disappointing.

But I also bought it at a dollar store, so perhaps that should have been my clue.

A minor nitpick was the description of the trading floor as well as the description of the trader research process. Most trading is done via computer these days. The days of the packed trading pit are long gone. Also, simply looking at the aggregate trend of a couple of trading charts has never been a meaningful means of selecting which commodities/stocks to buy and/or sell.


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Bats of the Republic: An Illuminated Novel by Zachary Thomas Dodson - A Goodreads Review

Bats of the Republic: An Illuminated Novel by Zachary Thomas Dodson

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


A 2 star review on my scale is a book that I do not recommend. I did not finish this book.

The pitch for this book made it sound interesting. It was supposed to combine a number of graphic presentations to tell a larger story.

It does indeed use a number of different presentation formats. Some are hand lettered notes/letters between characters. One is book written in the 19th century; so a fictional book within a fictional book. Another format that is supposed to imply a transcription of events.

There are also a number of sketches scattered throughout.

The problem is that I made it halfway through the book and cannot see the major crisis/conflict issue. There are any number of small crisis issues, but they do not all point in the same direction.

The other problem is that at the halfway point I have yet to find a character that is worth following.

There are several suggestions of fantasy and sci-fi themes scattered about. But none of them appear to be going anywhere. We aren't exploring them. They aren't getting better. They aren't getting worse.

The writing and editing of the story have been fine thus far. But halfway in and I'm still waiting for the book to seize my attention and demand not to be turned loose until I've finished reading.



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Time Travelers Never Die by Jack McDevitt - A Goodreads Review

Time Travelers Never Die by Jack McDevitt
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

A 2 star review on my scale is not a book that I would recommend. 2 stars is an accurate assessment of my experience.

The use of language and grammar were fine. This is a well edited tome.

My issues involve spoilers, so.....

Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse by John Joseph Adams - A Goodreads Review

Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse by John Joseph Adams

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


3 stars on my scale is a book I enjoyed, but would not read again.  That is a pretty accurate assessment of my experience with this book.

Most of the stories in this collection were pretty good.  As expected, Stephen King and George R.R. Martin had entries that hit it out of the ball park.  The rest of the stories were intriguing and thought provoking.

Three stories stuck out as being truly sub-par within the context of this collection.

Salvage by Orson Scott Card - The nut of this story is that you shouldn't be surprised if you don't fit in with the dominant group if you don't share the dominant group's religion.  Please, keep religion out of science (fiction).

When Sysadmins Ruled the Earth by Cory Doctorow - The nut of this story is that as the world failed, a group of sysadmins kept the internet alive due to their presence in over pressured server farms.  The excess air pressure kept the bug that was killing everyone out.  There were two obvious holes in the plot.  1)  that there would be enough server farms with auxiliary power supplies to maintain some sort of network.  2)  that a bunch of computer geeks writing lengthy treatises could create a better world.

I am those geeks.  Even I know better.

Killers by Carol Emshwiller - Combines all of the worst propaganda about PTSD with the worst propaganda about climate change.  Erg.

Those three stories aside, give this collection a chance.  I'm sure you will find quite a few very thought inspiring stories.



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Armageddon by Leon Uris - A Goodreads Review

Armageddon by Leon Uris

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


5 stars on my scale is a book that I will read again and one that I might buy for someone else to read.

This is a great book.  Leon Uris creates characters and weaves their person stories through the historical events beginning with the end of WWII and proceeding through the difficulties with the Soviet Union blockading Berlin.  He masterfully uses his characters to illustrate the difficulties that come when the victor in a conflict must eventually learn to live with the people they have beaten.  He also shows how difficult it can be for a defeated nation to recover in a positive way.

This story echoed our current difficulties in working with the governments of Iran and Afghanistan as well as their trials in re-building their nations in a positive direction. 

The story also highlights the documented belligerent behavior of the Soviets as was typical throughout the Cold War.

This book works on so many different levels.  It should be considered a "must read" for any serious reader.



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Kenobi by John Jackson Miller - A Goodreads Review

Kenobi by John Jackson Miller

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


3 stars on my scale is a book that I enjoyed, but would not re-read in the future.  This one barely made it to 3 stars.

I have not delved too deeply into the expanded Star Wars universe.  I enjoyed the original movies a great deal and the prequel less.

I thought this might be an interesting insight into the character of Obi-wan Kenobi.  It was a modestly interesting tale that takes placed between Episodes 3 and 4 of the movies.  The book delves a bit into the impact of Anakin Skywalker.  It also sets up a few of the things that we see around Luke Skywalker.

I just didn't get a lot of character development for Obi-wan out of the book.



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Bitten by Kelley Armstrong - A Goodreads Review

Bitten by Kelley Armstrong

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


1 star on my scale is a book that would actively advise against reading.  I did not finish this book.

The book suffered from two primary problems.

1)  A majority of the story occurs within the head of the main character.

2)  As a result, there are lengthy sections of exposition.  And a lot of that was about her "feelings".  The cardinal rule of "show me, don't tell me" comes frequently into play.

I ended up tossing this book because the main character exhibited beliefs that were misandrist and more than just a little bigoted.  Both attitudes were irrational even within the context of the story.

I bought the book because they turned this into a TV series.  The TV show wasn't good enough for me to continue watching.  But in my experience, the book is always better than the movie/TV show.

Except this time.





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Bone Gods - By Caitlin Kittredge - A Goodreads Review

Bone Gods by Caitlin Kittredge

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


2 stars on my scale is a book that I didn't enjoy very much.  I did finish this book.

The book suffered from a several of weaknesses, any one of which would not be a problem but in combination undermined my experience of the book.

1)  The plot was a standard fantasy "something really, really evil is coming" plot where the protagonist must uncover the details and foil the Eeville Evil™ from destroying everything™. 

2)  This apparently was book 3 of a series.  That was not apparent based on the cover of the paperback that I bought, or I would not have bought it as I generally avoid series fiction these days.  In any case, this book runs afoul of Dann's Dictum regarding multi-book series.  It fails to deliver a good experience and the reader needs to know about the events in the prior books to make sense of some things.

3)  The story is set in the U.K.  I take it that the author, Caitlin Kittredge is from the U.K.  There is a fair amount of U.K.-centric terminology that is used. 

As with every other SFF fan on the planet, I have no problem with absorbing and understanding terminology that is specific to the setting of a book.  However, given the other issues with the book, this was a minor irritant that just further detracted from my reading experience.  I expect this will not be an issue for readers that are more familiar with U.K.-centric jargon.

4)  Last and most important, the protagonist was weak.  She was supposed to posses some magic power, but it could only be used if some other magic person filled her with magic in the first place.

I tend to enjoy strong female characters.  The protagonist in this case only possessed strength if it was first given to her.  She could not act on her own without someone else acting first.  In this case, it was her erstwhile boyfriend.

Combined, these four factors simply let me with a "why bother" reading experience.  YMMV.



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Edge of Tomrrow by Hiroshi Sakurazaka - A Goodreads Review

Edge of Tomorrow by Hiroshi Sakurazaka

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


3 stars on my scale was a good book, but not one that I would want to read again.  I'm being a little generous with the 3 star rating.

The book seemed to be derivative of John Steakley's Armor as well as R.A. Heinlein's Starship Troopers.  More like the former than the latter.

The endless time loop was obviously repetitive and just a little boring.



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Impaler by Kate Paulk - A Goodreads Review

Impaler by Kate Paulk

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A 4 star book on my scale is one that I would want to read again.  3.5 stars is probably a more accurate assessment of my experience with this book.

Impaler by Kate Paulk takes the primary character from the Bram Stoker's Dracula and re-imagines him as a hero defending his land from the invading Turks.  Kate Paulk has re-inserted what little is known about the real-life Vlad Tepes and his family into the story.

If you want your vampires to rise at sunset and to drink blood until a village mob drives a stake through his heart and removes his head, then read something else.

I found the cast of characters to be interesting.  The sole plot perspective on Vlad was a bit tiring. While there were opportunities to examine other characters, those opportunities when unexploited.  A little variety in perspective and this would have made this a solid 4 star book.

The book included a modest amount of military strategy as well as some commentary regarding politics of eastern Europe as the Turkish empire was expanding.  Both were modestly interesting aspects that certainly added to the flavor of the book.



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Mammoth by John Varley - A Goodreads Review

Mammoth by John Varley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3 stars for means that it was a good book, but I wouldn't want to read it again. That is a pretty accurate assessment of my experience with this book.

Essentially, this is a book that is a derivative of a huge chunk of the Michael Crichton catalog. It deals with time travel and critters that have been extinct for thousands of years.

There were some decent twists and turns at the end. The antagonist achieves redemption.

However, the science part of the book steadily gave way to a sort of mysticism so that the cause of the ending is less than clear.

This is a fun little romp, but it isn't anything that I feel compelled to read again in the future.

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The Goblin Emperor - A Goodreads Review

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Edit to edit(2019)....This book has grown on me since I read it in 2015. It is more correctly described as a solid 4-star book. The original review follows:

---------

3 stars in my book was a book that I enjoyed reading, but would not want to read again. A more true rating would be 3.5 stars as I would not mind reading it again at some point in the future.

The first half of the story really dragged. Maia, a forgotten and banished son, is elevated to become emperor due to an unfortunate incident that took the life of his father, the emperor, and his older brothers. During the first half, Maia is not only a fish out of water, he is also a leaf upon the breeze.

It is only due to the kindness of strangers in the court that he begins to hold the reins of power. Unsteadily at first, and rarely with any sort of personal direction.

Such a situation is far more likely to result in a government run amok as various functionaries exercise unchecked power. It is far more likely that such a weak ruler would be killed or forced to abdicate. That all of these options are tried within the book does little to relieve the sense that it would have happened sooner and with broader support in any sort of more realistic setting.

So the emphasis is on fantasy in this fantasy tale.

A prime example is Maia's decision to select Csevet at his primary aide/personal secretary upon arriving at the capital. It appears to the reader that it is only blind luck that permits Csevet's selection to result in a solid guide as Maia navigates his new existence.

As with many works of SF/F, The Goblin Emperor contains many messages/passages that one could read as political commentary on the modern world.

Many of those passages and many of the larger themes would have been far more appropriate in the late 19th century and early 20th century than they are in the early 21st century. One such theme is whether women should be educated or if education simply ruins them for their only "fit" purpose of breeding and care of children.

This is largely no longer an issue for the English speaking world. Thankfully. It remains a more significant issue outside of western civilization/culture. The inclusion of this theme does not detract from the book. It is just an odd choice, IMHO.

The larger world is of elves and goblins who can and do intermarry and interbreed with predictable questions about race and identity. However, they refer to themselves as "men". This is an odd combination.

There is apparently some form of magic, but the details are unexplored. Also, the world contains some elements of steampunk which are also largely unexplored in any real depth. Steampunk is not a favorite sub-genre of mine and so I was grateful that it existed in a state where the details did not overly intrude on the larger story.

The first half of the book focuses on a number of secondary issues such as jewelry, attire, and dancing. While these are good ways of illustrating Maia's lack of preparation to become emperor, they are not terribly interesting for any other purpose.

[warning - semi-political rant ahead]

Another minor theme that is explored is the nature of "power". Within the context of the book, those in power are in some way affiliated with the structure of royalty. Apparently, "fortunes" may rise and fall. The relationship between this rising/falling relative to society, wealth, and the government are at best tangentially explained.

While there seems to be some sort of system of trade and while factories are present, the market is not presented as being free. Nor is it presented as "un-free".

Within those constraints, there is an exploration of a form of proto-socialism within the context of a letter to the emperor. One of the points made in that letter is that the most ardent advocates for this proto-socialism are really more concerned with seizing power from the powerful and have very little concern for the average citizen/worker. Rhetoric aside, they are more Stalinesque/Hitleresque/Mao-esque in their desire to impose their vision of "equality" and have little interest in actually improving conditions for anyone other than themselves. The lives of any who dissent are apparently regarded as disposable.

As a small "l" libertarian, my preferences run towards free market capitalism where the markets are regulated to prevent abuse of investors and workers. No sane person...to true Irishman....should want to see children laboring....and dying...in coal mines. Nor should one accept other labors that cost workers the valuable use of their limbs, senses, and rational thought.

And so the razor's edge we walk is how to balance the need regulate those abuses with the inherent progress that accompanies a free market.

The book offers some thoughts on those issues, but leaves further consideration as an exercise for the reader.

[end semi-political rant]

This is a free-standing book. It is not part of a series. For that we are mostly humbly grateful to the author. Dann's Dictum for authors remains in force.

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Dann's Dictum for Authors

My reading lately has slowly helped to develop the opinion that there are far too many book series being published.  Authors will develop a fictional world and a cast of characters.  They will then use those developments to create a series of stories.

This makes sense from an author's perspective.  World building takes time.  Character creation takes time.  Re-using the product of those efforts means less work needed to produce each book.  This process also enables an author to tell longer story arcs.

This also makes sense from a publisher perspective.  One successful book in a series is usually sufficient to ensure reasonable sales of other books in the series regardless of the quality (or lack thereof) in each individual book.

This preference for serialization only places the reader at a disadvantage.  Picking up book 4 of 6 (or 12, or....) means that the reader will not possess the knowledge of events in the preceding books.  This forces the reader to go back to the beginning of a series whenever a later book is recommended or otherwise achieves some measure of notoriety.

If every book in the series is a superior piece of artisan effort, then the only real harm is the time spent with a series of enjoyable books.  However, the more books in the series fail to favorably compare with the rest of the series, the more the reader's time and money is wasted just to remain current with the series.

This leads to Dann's Dictum for Authors.

Write one good book.  And then move on.

Do not offer a series unless you have the capacity to have every installment achieve the same high level of reader satisfaction.

This Dictum does not preclude telling multiple stories in one fictional universe.  Dragonlance was home to a great many good stories and several good series.  However they were usually crafted so that one need not be overly familiar with other books/series from that fictional world.  The Star Wars universe would be another decent example.

Authors, I entreat.  I beg.  I appear.  I conjure.  I implore.  I plead.  I supplicate.

Please write the best book you can.  And then move on.  Do not undertake a series unless every installment can be superlative.  Just as a short fiction author who lacks the ability to write books should avoid doing so, an accomplished book-length author that lacks the ability to craft a series should avoid that monumental task as well.

Population 485 - A Goodreads Review

Population: 485: Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren at a Time by Michael  Perry

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A fantastic read that combines emergency medicine, the realities of rural life, the gallows humor that is necessary to survive high social and career pressures, with a person journey.  This is a book that will grab your attention and hold it until the last page.



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Red Equinox by Douglas Wynne - A Goodreads Review

Red Equinox by Douglas Wynne

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


3 stars - on my scale, it was enjoyable, but I am likely to give the book away as I won't read it again.

A rather derivative take on the Lovecraftian mythos.



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Night Shifted by Kate Paulk - A Goodreads Review

Night Shifted by Kate Paulk

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


2 star review - on my scale, 2 stars is a book that probably isn't worth the time.

Vampire fan fic. 

I wouldn't have finished it if it was any longer.



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The Forgotten by Bishop O'Connell - A Goodreads Review

The Forgotten by Bishop O'Connell

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


3 stars - barely - on my scale, a 3 star book was an OK read, but I'm likely to give it away as I won't want to read it again.

This book violated Dann's Dictum for authors.  Simply put, don't write a series unless you can make every installment top notch work.  While the first book was great, I had to work to get through this one.

There was far too much magic that was nebulous.  The protagonist almost wanders along in a bit of a fog.  The use of higher mathematical symbology for the protagonist's means of expressing magic was a little clunky.

Also, my digital copy of the book contained at least a dozen easy to fix grammar and spelling problems.  The publisher just didn't put enough effort into making this the best book possible.



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The Stolen by Bishop O'Connell - A Goodreads Review

The Stolen by Bishop O'Connell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


4 stars - on my scale, if I loan out a 4 star book, then I want it back so I can read it again.  It probably was closer to 4.5 stars.

This was a great tale that created a new vision of faeries, magic, the Irish, and how they all work in our modern world.  The protagonist was particularly inspiring in his dogged pursuit of the kidnapped child.

I devoured this book.



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The Trench by Steve Alten - A Goodreads Review

The Trench by Steve Alten

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


3 stars - on my scale, 3 stars was a good read, but not good enough that I would want to read it again.

This book violated Dann's Dictum for authors.  Essentially, don't bother writing a series if you can't have all of the books measure up.

While book one, Meg, was a fantastic read, The Trench simply was not that good.  It was an enjoyable read.  It was time well spent.  It simply was no where as ground breaking or engaging as the first book was.

The ending sort of lost me. The antagonist had apparently gone to a lot of trouble to "train" a megalodon shark to respond to certain noises with the intent of luring the protagonist into the shark's kill zone. It just wasn't a believable ending.

Add to that the fact that very little new information about megalodons was presented in the book and it was only mildly engaging.



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Meg by Steve Alten - A Goodreads Review

Meg by Steve Alten

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


5 star review - on my scale, 5 stars is a book that I would be willing to buy for others.

And in this case I will have to buy it for myself as one of the dogs ate my copy.

Just a great read.  Excellent presentation of how dramatically different a dinosaur is from the animals we have among us today.  Very interesting characters and a well developed plot.

You just cannot ask for a better read than this book.



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George Washington's Secret Six by Brian Kilmeade, Don Yaeger - A Goodreads Review

George Washington's Secret Six: The Spy Ring That Saved the American Revolution by Brian Kilmeade

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Gave this a 4 star review, but it was closer to 3.5.

On my scale, 4 stars is a book that I expect to get back if I loan it out as I want to read it again and 3 stars is a book that I will recommend, give away, but don't want it back.

This was an engaging historical read.  It was a little short on details of the operational minutiae of the spy ring.  It did cover in broad strokes how the ring developed and operated.  Quite an interesting read.



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Slow Apocalypse by John Varley - A Goodreads Review

Slow Apocalypse by John Varley
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

2 Star review - On my scale 2 stars probably isn't worth picking it up.

I read the first 1/4 of the book and did not finish it.

This was an interesting concept, but it failed in that the primary impact of the "apocalypse" simply didn't much impact on the primary characters.

Aside from losing electricity and having to camp out, they were not significantly impacted by the series of disasters. Given their proximity to one of the major impact zones, this wasn't a very realistic representation of the unfolding disasters.

I just couldn't get into it.

The book was well written and well edited. It just didn't grab my interest.

A better take on this general idea was Lucifer's Hammer.

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Spirit Gate by Kate Elliott - A Goodreads Review

Spirit Gate by Kate Elliott

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


From reading elsewhere, you will already know that Spirit Gate is the first of the Crossraods trilogy of books written by Kate Elliott (Alis Rasmussen).

I gave this a 2 star rating and thought about saying it was really a 2.5 star rating.  I also toyed with simply not finishing the book.  A 2 star rating is an honest reflection of my experience.

Ms. Elliott's other work may demonstrate an outstanding ability to tell stories.  This particular book left me with the impression that her skills fall well short of writers like Melanie Rawn, Sara Douglass, or George R.R. Martin.

Caution - spoilers ahead.

The Skull Throne - A Goodreads Review

The Skull Throne by Peter V. Brett

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


On my scale, a 5 star book is one that I would consider buying for someone else to read.

This is another great installment in Mr. Brett's "Demon Cycle" series of books.  It is frequently difficult for the middle books of a series to maintain a high level of interest in the reader.  It can be difficult to manufacture meaningful incremental plot points that service the larger plot.

Mr. Brett easily manages to continue to present unique perspectives on the story with a steady succession of plot points that engage and entertain.

This book and this series should be featured in every book award competition in the coming year.  This is award worthy fiction.



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Ressurection: A Zombie Novel - A Goodreads Review

Resurrection: A Zombie Novel by Michael J. Totten

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I have been a huge fan of Michael Totten's writing on the Middle East for years.  He has a deft ability to present a complete vision of the subject matter at hand.  He also has a great sense of narrative in developing a theme.

I was expecting that to translate into his fictional writing as well.  While this was a reasonably entertaining read, it just didn't hold my attention very well.  Something was missing in the plot as it seemed to play on all the usual tropes.

On my scale, a three star book is one I enjoyed reading once, but if I give you my hard copy, I don't want it back as I'm not likely to read it again.



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Knight's Shadow - A Goodreads review

Knight's Shadow by Sebastien de Castell

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


An outstanding read.  Another clear 5 star book from Sebastien de Castell!

Just go read it.

In my book, a 5 star book is one that I would be willing to buy for others to read.

This book picks up where book one left off.

The magistrates have discovered the dead King's daughter; his heir.  We discover that he may actually have more than one heir.

The King's mother has been working behind the scenes to build a new force of fighters to oppose the Dukes who are now ruthlessly ruling their lands unconstrained by a King/Queen and their magistrates.

We learn a bit more about the politics between the Dukes.  They apparently only cooperate when it is to their advantage.

We also learn a bit more about the knights that serve the Dukes.  The knights and the magistrates are the two competing forces.  Where the magistrates serve the law, the knights follow a code where it is honorable to enforce the whims of their respective Duke.

The Dukes discover that the dead King's vision of government constrained by law has some merit.

Like book 1, this book's reflections on the theme of limited government are common sense.  Like book 1, the end provoked another significant emotional response.

This book is time and money well spent.  Go get a copy.



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Traitor's Blade - A Goodreads Review

Traitor's Blade by Sebastien de Castell

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


What a great read!  Just go read it.

An outstanding first book.

In my world, 5 stars means that I'd be willing to buy a copy and give it away.

A fantastic book about three judges/magistrates that travel the land ensuring that everyone obeys the law.  The prospect of limited power naturally draws the ire of the Dukes that hold most of the power.

To ensure that the law is obeyed, the King has trained and equipped these magistrates to be able to personally enforce the law.

At the start of the book, the King is already dead.  He was killed by the armies of the Dukes.  What unfolds is the story of how the King as an unlikely heir became King and how the magistrates because magistrates.

Also unfolding is the King's quests that he gave to every magistrate before he surrendered to the Dukes.

I find the premise of the book to be fascinating in that it reflects some very common sense notions about government and the law.  The King, while he lived, had a small government that was only strong in the areas where it was able to be strong.  There is also the theme of ensuring that no one is every above the law.

The ending provoked a very strong reaction from me.  I cannot recommend this book enough.

Hopefully, this series will live up to the expectations of this first book.  We should expect this book to be on the short list for every award.



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The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms - A Goodreads Review

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


"The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms" by N.K. Jemisin was a great read.  I gave it a solid 4 star rating.

In my book, 4 stars means that if I lend you a physical copy of the book, then I expect to get it back so I can read it again in the future.

The book has as a central premise that one of the universe's three gods has been forced into service for one group of humans.  There are also a handful of lesser godlings that were created by the three gods that have also been forced into serving the same group of humans.

This small group of humans in turn uses the divine power at their disposal to dominate the rest of the nations of the planet; hence the hundred thousand kingdoms in the book's title.  It appears that they use this divine power sparingly, preferring instead to act through a sort of massive parliament that gives some measure of representation to each nation.

The division of divine power harkens back to morality in the early days of Dungeon & Dragons in gaming.  D&D began with the idea that being good equated to being lawful.  Similarly, being evil equated to being chaotic.  Neutral was in between as one might expect.

Later editions of D&D introduce the concept of being "chaotic good" and "lawful evil".

The one area where the rulers do lavish a bit of divine power is in the construction and maintenance of their castle/city that is located in the sky.  Ms. Jemisin had a very complete vision of such a city and shares it with the reader in loving detail.

The thumbnail sketch of the plot is that there was a war.  The now ruling group of humans aided one of the gods in the war.  As a result, another of the gods was killed....or so we think...and the rest were subjugated and sentenced to serve the humans that had been so helpful.

The daughter of the king falls in love with someone from one of the outlying nations.  Apparently such things are rare but do occur on the fringes of the noble family.  It was unheard of for someone so close to ruling to divert away from ruling.

The daughter leaves to marry and live in the remote nation.  She in turn has a daughter who ends up leading the remote nation.  Throughout her existence, this granddaughter has only known that her people suffer because her mother left the capitol to be with her father.  An embargo of sorts was placed against her homeland.  She presumes that the embargo was the will of her grandfather.

Eventually, she is called to the capitol.  She is recognized as a member of the royal family and declared to be one of three family members who will become the next monarch after her grandfather's impending death.  The other two candidates are an aunt and an uncle.  As you might imagine, there are some politics involved in just about everything that happens after that point.

Ms. Jemisin tells an intriguing and entertaining tale in a fully developed fantasy world that is imaginative and largely functional.

If this review has raised your interest, then please go borrow or buy this book and enjoy the read.  Nothing that follows will enhance that experience.  There aren't any spoilers, but I'm using the spoiler space just to save folks the trouble.

What follows is tangentially related to the Hugo kerfuffles that have been growing recently.  You have been warned.

There is one defect to the plot.  It isn't fatal, but it is there.

WaPo - Predicatable Bias

Welcome back to LaaC - formerly Dann's Dain Bramage - formerly where I used to write on a regular basis.  Hopefully, this is a trend away from "formerly".

We have a couple Kindle's in the house.  One of them has an app from the Washington Post.  They very wisely offer the first few months of reading for free to get you hooked.  Then they ask for $1 for six months and then $4 a month thereafter.  Thus far, it appears to be just their current stories.  I haven't found a way look for past stories.  But I'm working on it.

I had resisted paying anything to the WaPo.  Their leftist bias shows up far too frequently.  However, I have enjoyed a lot of their non-biased reporting.  So we ponied up the buck to start paying for content.

And what do we get on day #1?  Predictable drivel.

The first story is on the kerfuffle in Texas over the coming military exercises.  For the record, I think the concern is misplaced.  Mr. Obama isn't running a stealth offensive against Texas or any other state.  Even if he were, the military wouldn't go along with it.

Also for the record and as the story suggests, a least part of the problem is that there are still folks that don't trust Mr. Obama based on the color of his skin.  That's a problem that the folks in the GOP are going to have to solve.  But is not the primary problem.  Not by a long short.

From the story:

Inside, county Chairman Albert Ellison pulled out a yellow legal pad on which he had handwritten page after page of reasons why many Texans distrust President Obama, including the fact that, “in the minds of some, he was raised by communists and mentored by terrorists.”

I would add that his formative years included inculcation in an anti-colonialist perspective.  Mr. Obama seems to not understand the importance of American strength (economic, diplomatic, and military) on the world political stage in liberating billions of people from oppressive regimes and/or lifting them out of poverty.  Our advocacy of individual liberty has had a tremendously positive influence in the world.  Based on his words and his works, I don't think he appreciates of the positive influence America has had in the last 100 years.

From the story:

Obama “doesn’t take national threats seriously enough,” Ellison said, ticking off Obama’s policies toward Russia, Iran, Cuba and the Islamic State, as well as illegal immigration across the U.S. southern border and the deadly attack in Benghazi, Libya.

“What he views as alarming instead is conservatism,” Ellison said, alleging that the Obama administration has used the Internal Revenue Service to attack the Tea Party and other conservative groups, been hostile to gun owners, issued what conservatives consider an illegal executive order to avoid deporting illegal immigrants, and “been complicit in stirring riots” in racially charged situations in Ferguson, Mo., and Baltimore.

Again, for the record, Benghazi probably was not all that some folks think it was.  There was certainly a measure of incompetence involved, but there was also the fact that, contrary to some opinions, the U.S. does not exercise infinite control in every nation around the world.

The problem in the above has to do with illegal executive orders halting the deportations of illegal immigrants.  It isn't just "conservative groups" that have a problem with those orders.  So do the courts.  Perhaps the reporter that wrote this story should read more.

Administration lawyers lied in court. The technical term is perjury.  The only reason they aren't in jail is that our courts offer lawyers very collegial treatment.

The second article was on gun ownership in Japan.  The article describes a highly regulated activity that coincides with Japan's history as well as the character of Japanese culture.  It works for them and that is fine.

The problem...from the article:

In Japan, shooting is not something you do to let off steam. People don’t go to their local ranges in T-shirts and jeans to unload a few rounds into an Osama bin Laden target.

In which the author identifies herself as a hoplophobe with little experience with gun ranges in America.  Are there Osama bin Laden targets?  Of course.  Do people wear t-shirts and jeans?  Of course.  However, the article suggests that gun ranges are loaded with people burning ammo to "let off steam".  She suggests a lack of concern with marksmanship.

Nothing could be further from the truth.  People that shoot guns are obsessed with marksmanship.  An author that owned a gun and actually experienced life at a few gun ranges would know that and would accurately convey American gun culture.

Such cavalier misreporting by the media is frustrating.

Starship Troopers - A Summary

Finally done.  Over at John Scalzi's Whatever, there is a discussion that wandered into questions about Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers.  Part of the discussion was a question about how the government of that book came into being.  The answer isn't terribly long, but several aspects of the book need some introduction.

There are few thematic elements to understand.

1)  The government in SST was not "the military".  It was veterans of military service and other life risking government service.  Active military (and other government services) were banned from voting until they had completed their service.  That means the generals couldn't vote until they retired.  Only veterans of the military (and veterans of other government services) were eligible to vote and run for office.

2)  It wasn't just military service that made one eligible to vote.  There were other services that also involved a lesser degree of risk to one's life.  They all involved being subjected to harassment and general irritation by government agents (who as part of the various services, also couldn't vote until their term was completed or they retired).

3)  Anyone could volunteer.  Even someone that was a quadriplegic could volunteer for one of the services testing harsh environment survival gear.  In doing so they placed themselves at modest risk of injury or death, placed themselves subject to the caprices of superior officers, and demonstrated their willingness to accept responsibility of dying for the polity before acquiring the political authority of being able to vote as voting included the power/authority of killing citizens.

4)  SST presents the risky government service requirement for the franchise as a sort of poll tax.  The point is made that various other sorts of requirements had been tried.  (i.e. only landowners, only one race, only men, only people above a certain age)

5)  One of the big themes of SST is the balance between responsibility and authority.  He suggests that anytime someone is made responsible for something without being given an equal amount of authority (or vice versa) that bad governance is the inevitable result.  He also suggests that the same thing is true at the individual level.

A couple of modern examples:

In Wisconsin, there is a bill in their legislature that would mandate that the government prevent SNAP funds from being used to purchase certain foods.  The objective being to have those funds used to purchase the most amount of food (emphasizing beef/chicken over "luxury" foods like lobster) and to have that food be healthy (i.e. fresh veggies over potato chips).

In New York City, the government has enacted regulations banning the sales of "super sized" soft drinks due to concerns about excess soda consumption causing ill health conditions that would eventually be the responsibility of the city government.

In both cases, as the government is responsible for providing certain benefits, they are seeking the authority to ensure that those benefits are used properly.

Conversely, as the citizens receiving those benefits have the authority to compel their neighbors to fund those benefits via taxes, shouldn't they also have the responsibility to live in a manner that uses those benefits wisely?

None of the above should be taken as an endorsement one way or the other.  I'm just trying to convey the themes from SST accurately.

As suggested in #3 above, the political system was developed to maintain a balance between the extreme responsibility (dying for the polity) and the extreme authority (voting for policies that might kill someone).

6) It is asserted that civic behavior and/or civilized behavior has to be taught.  This feeds back into the responsibility/authority theme as people at one point abandon their responsibility to teach their children to behave appropriately.

There are extended discussions about how civic/civilized behavior concerned for a population larger than the local family/clan level is much harder to learn.  It is suggested that the society has developed a set of ethics that satisfies large and disparate groups of humans.  It is suggested that a similar set of ethics for dealing with aliens is being developed as well.

6A) Towards the objective of reinforcing civic/civilized behavior, corporal punishment...primarily caning...is used for most lesser offenses.  Punishments are conducted in public.  The general idea is that humans....like other animals...are pain averse.  Thus the caning provides a motivation to learn from past mistakes.

6B)  Capital punishment is the only punishment for serious offenses.  The "logic" being that a person that knowingly commits such an offense is a long term threat and needs to be eliminated.  A person that is "out of their mind" is similarly killed because if they were ever cured, then they wouldn't be able to live with themselves knowing how much they had hurt others.

7)  Nothing in the book suggests any sort of the various regimes that I have seen attributed to the book.  There appears to be some level of independent business ownership.  (The protagonist's father owns a business and was upset about some government regulation early on.)  There appears to be some level of social spending; whether it was more than we have now, less, or about the same isn't really covered.  It is entirely possible that some sort quasi socialist system is developed by these veterans of endured service.

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Now why the heck am I writing all this?  Another guest, Lurkertype, over at Whatever asked the following.

Regarding Starship Troopers: how the heck did the military get all-powerful in the first place? Was it before or after Stalin’s Bugs attacked? And if before… then how the hell did that happen?!

The development of the fictional polity in SST occurred over a long period of time.  It is explained early on that western democracies eventually failed because extensive social programs gave individual citizens the authority to make demands on their fellow citizens without also requiring that they conduct themselves in a responsible manner.  This is coupled with a criminal system that didn't punish criminals and instead simply housed them for some period of time.  This may be criticized as being "soft on crime", but in keeping with the themes discussed above, the book suggests that such a system failed to create enough inconvenience/discomfort/pain for the guilty to associate their punishment as resulting from their deviant behavior.

The analogy of house training puppies is used in the book.

Due to the twin issues of social programs without responsibility and a criminal system that did not teach criminals to avoid similar behaviors in the future, society lost any sort of moral position to establish and maintain a government.  Governments crumbled.  Gangs of youths roamed and ruled the streets.

During the same period of time, a war is fought with China.  China wins and keeps our POWs.  The POWs either are released eventually or escape and most come home via other paths.

As society crumbles, these veterans begin to take charge of local governments.  They find that some of their fellow veterans are committing crimes.  As some of those crimes are serious enough to warrant the death penalty, these veterans decide that if a veteran is going to hang, then only veterans will have a role in handing down that sentence.  From that basic premise, the society builds a system of governance where only veterans of some sort of risky service will be allowed to vote, create, and enforce the law.

In the intervening years, military service isn't really all that hazardous.  While anyone can apply for "federal service", not that many do apply.  The franchise is widely perceived as being less valuable compared with other pursuits.

In fact, the Bug War begins while the protagonist is in boot camp and other training.  The human worlds are essentially at peace when he enters federal service.  The bugs attack and start the war while he is in training.  The "veterans only" government has been successfully in place for some time before he was born.

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My comments.  While there are lots of plot points to discuss, there are a couple of spots that I want to cover.

The first is why this unusual system of government continues to exist in the book.  The justification is pretty slim and amounts to little more than "it exists because it works, if it didn't work something else would have replaced it".  That is just a bit hand waving.  It isn't really an explanation.

As a veteran, I recognize that veterans are on average generally better educated on governmental issues than the average non-veteran.  But veterans as individuals can believe in some pretty wonky things.  And of course, some veterans end up being criminals after they get out.

I have more than a little trouble believing that veterans of military service would provide a guaranteed better system of governance than that created by any other select group.

The second issue is capital punishment.  While it is embraced in the book, the book was written well before DNA testing, advanced forensics, and investigative journalism were able to demonstrate that many people on death row really were as innocent as they claimed.  I believe that Robert Heinlein was intelligent enough that he would have recanted his support for capital punishment in the face of so many outright innocent people being released from prison years....decades....after being originally sentenced.

I do find Starship Troopers to be a thought provoking tome that is worthy of anyone's time.  It isn't a guidebook for setting up a new polity.  But it does present some unique perspectives about the relationship between an individual and the larger society.