Book Review: The Moon and the Sun

The Moon and the Sun by Vonda N. McIntyre


1998 Nebula Award Winner for Best Novel

Reading a book you love is one of life's greatest joys. There is something almost transcendent about being transported into another world that grips you. Like most things in life, however, there's a flipside - there are the books you hate. It was this fact that sometimes made high school literature classes, despite my love of books and the excellent teachers I had, miserable. If reading a book you love brings joy, then being forced to stick with one you loathe is utter misery. One might imagine, for instance, that hell consists of an endless reading of Jude the Obscure. Deciding to read all the Hugo and Nebula award winning novels has had many benefits. It has introduced me to new writers, served as a guide to the greats of my favorite genres, and has allowed me to witness of variety of strong writing techniques that will benefit me personally as a writer. It is not, however, without its consequences. Having a goal to read a certain set of books is rather like the aforementioned school assignment in that, rather I like the book or not, I feel compelled to read the entire thing. The Moon and the Sun by Vonda McIntrye was one such miserable book.


The Moon and the Sun is an alternate history novel set in the court of Louis IX of France and involves the adventures of a brother and sister with a certain sea monster. I cannot point to any one single factor that makes The Moon and the Sun a subject of such abject loathing on my part. Ultimately, a number of points of sheer mediocrity, combined with several pet peeves, led to my shunning of this spectacularly bland book. The first fatal flaw of McIntyre's book is its lethargic pacing. I can love a slow book, my fondness for Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell and Pride and Prejudice proves this point, but such pacing needs to be balanced by spectacular prose and brilliant characterization and on both these counts The Moon and the Sun scores poorly

The main characters manage to be mildly engaging, though not in any way spectacular, while the large supporting caste never rises above the depth of a teaspoon. Of particular annoyance is the character of Pope Innocent XII and it serves as a particularly good example. For those of you who don't know (I didn't before reading the book) Innocent XII is a Pope famous for reformation within the Catholic Church. He did much to weed out corruption during his reign and is famous for having remarked that the poor were his nephews. My research on him is extremely limited compared to McIntryre's, but I cannot imagine that her characterization of him comes close to accurate. He is a cardboard cutout of a legalistic catholic: angry at all times and obsessed with the idea of sin. Even had Innocent XII been such a Pope, I cannot imagine that he would have been like this at all times. Supporting characters need not be as dimensional as the main characters, but one should get the impression at least that the dimension is there. Unfortunately, like her characterization of Innocent, the majority of her supporting players never rise above clichés. This across the board negative stereotyping of Catholics is one of those pet peeves I mentioned, by the way.

As far as the writing style goes, there is little to mark it out as either good or bad. There were a few flaws that nagged me, however. One was that she did nothing to indicate when a piece of text was a character's thought beyond having the perspective switch to first person. I would be reading along and suddenly the text would make the switch without any other indication that she was moving into a piece of thought - a very disconcerting experience for any reader. The other major flaw, of similar character, is that she would from time to time switch perspectives without giving the reader much indication she had done so. Once again, when I would realize that she had changed perspectives, I would be jarred out of the story. Often enough, I would have to go back and figure out where the change had happened so I could put the right events and thoughts with the right characters. These flaws are so basic that no professional writer should ever have them in their work.

Worst of all, when the plot finally gets around to unraveling, it turns out to be an utterly predictable and painfully cliché storyline.

There are two minor things, however, that raise The Moon and the Sun very slightly in my esteem. The first is one of the main characters, Lucien de Barenton, a clever noble who advises the king and who happens to be a dwarf. He is not enough to recommend to book, however. Indeed, George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series has a similar character, that of Tyrion Lannister, and is a much superior read. If you want the clever dwarf, check that one out instead. Though, the judges who give out the Nebula Award do not apparently agree with me as they committed the egregious error of awarding the Nebula to The Moon and the Sun over the first book in Martin's series, A Game of Thrones which was nominated in the same year. Sometimes the judges show spectacularly bad taste. The other feature of minute quality in The Moon and the Sun is the way she ends the story of the sea monster. I cannot, however, really discuss this without spoiling the whole plot, and while the book isn't really worth reading, I imagine there are some who might still want to torture themselves and so I will remain silent on the ending. Suffice to say that, in my opinion, the novelty of the ending does not even come close to being enough payoff to makeup for this travesty of a read.

I cannot imagine what compelled the judges of the Nebula to even nominate The Moon and the Sun, and much less to give it an award. This is especially baffling to me in the face of the fact that it was running against A Game of Thrones. Perhaps the judges all voted while drunk. Perhaps they were all struck with temporary insanity. Who knows? It shall always remain to me an arcane mystery, but at least this review was fun to write.


Rating: 2 out of 10

Book Review: Children of Hurin

When I first heard that there was going to be a "new" J.R.R. Tolkien book I was worried. While I knew that Christopher had completed some of his father's work before in the form of the Silmarillion, I didn't want anything to taint the perfection that is Middle-earth. Nonetheless I felt compelled to read the Children of Hurin and I'm glad to say my fears were unfounded.

Children of Hurin falls much more in the camp of the Simarillion than that of Lord of the Rings in many ways. While being the story of one family, it is still written much more in the style of a history than of a narrative story.

It is the general story of Children that is its strength, being the creation of J.R.R. himself. Tolkien shows in this story that he has the capacity to be a true tragedian. While Lord of the Rings is much more a Norse epic, the story of Children of Hurin falls firmly in the camp of the Greek tragedies. There are many times in the story that you might think you were reading the work of Sophocles himself. Indeed Hurin's children have lives that make the stories of Oedipus or Shakespeare's hamlet look positively bright. It is also a story that demonstrates, just as the classics, the terrible danger of hubris.

It's not a perfect book, however. While the universe and plot are as good as one expects from the senior Tolkien, the prose suffers some, as Christopher is not as good of an author as his father.

I prefer the tone and scope of Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit, and the prose of those books is definitely stronger but Children of Hurin is worth checking out if your a Tolkien fan, or if you're studying the classic tragedy as it is a fabulous example of a modern story emulating that style.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Book Review: The Uplift War

The Uplift War by David Brin


1988 Hugo Award Winner for Best Novel and 1987 Nebula Award Winner for Best Novel

A while ago, I set out to read the all the Hugo and Nebula Award winning Novels. When I started, I was enjoying all of the fiction I was reading, but the last few have been quite disappointing. Thank God than, for David Brin and his excellent novel Uplift War.


This is not to say that Brin's book is of a literary quality on par with Fahrenheit 451 or even American Gods, but it is good classic science fiction. Uplift War has good pacing, engaging story and a fantastic setting.


The story itself takes place on a backwater world of large galactic society of the sort you would find in Star Wars or Star Trek. The setting has its own unique wrinkles, of course, and Brin does a good job of making them important to the story. The galactic society of the Five Galaxies is one of ancient oxygen breathing sentient races with unbending codes of conduct. War is brewing, and humans (who are new on the scene and not very well liked) are suffering greatly. None of these are the most important aspects of the setting, however. Sentience in this galaxy is a gift. Few races since the fabled Progenitors have ever achieved it on their own; instead they are uplifted by already sentient races who they then serve as indentured servants for great lengths of time. Humans themselves have already uplifted chimpanzees and dolphins to sentience by the time the story begins.


All of the details about the setting play into the story in a better than average manner, but at the same time there is definitely a sense of vastness and mystery to the galaxy. Hints about other societies that exist parallel to that of the Five Galaxies and other events going in the background make it seem like this is a real living universe, rather than one engineered to suit the story. This is the perfect balance for a science fiction story of this type, and Brin pulls it off masterfully.


The characters who inhabit it are enjoyable company for the reader. None of them are undyingly memorable, but they are also not infuriating. Also, while Uplift War is the third in a series, you don't have to read the others to follow, which is always a plus.


I highly recommend that anyone with an interest in science fiction pick up and read this book.


Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Life: Absence, Procrastination and UC Applications

I must apologize to all my readers that I have been absent for such a long time. I have been busy procrastinating on writing my personal statement for my UC application and that's, uh... hard work. However, with the deadline quick approaching, I had to set aside my procrastinating ways and actually sit down and write it. It's now done, and as soon as I do a little bit of editing I'll be turning in my application. Wish me luck!

As for this blog, I'll have posts up in the near future. Look for a discussion of alien civilizations, mulled mead and a review of David Brin's Uplift War, which I finished some time ago.

Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving!

Book Review: The Gods Themselves, Ringworld and Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell

The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov
1973 Hugo Award Winner for Best Novel and 1972 Nebula Award Winner for Best Novel

Isaac Asimov takes the title of his book, and the subsequent titles of its subsections, from the quotation by Friedrich Schiller, “against stupidty, the gods themselves contend in vain.” Asimov's use of this quotation promises and interesting premise that then book ultimately falls quite short of.

In the story, humanity has discovered a source of limitless power that appears to come without consequence. However, one scientist discovers the terrifying truth that this power source threatens to destroy humanity. The novel sets itself up to be an interesting story of the desperate struggle of a few beings to warn humanity that their doom is eminite when humanity just doesn't want to know. This problem, it seems, is one that science can’t solve. Humanity will have to make a sacrifice or die.

Asimov unravels the novel throughout the course of three poorly connected sections. The ultimate climax of the story proves, to my mind, incredibly disappointing in the face of the novel's promising setup (and initially apparent theme). I won’t spoil the way the story ends, but it left a rather sour taste in my mouth.

Another problem with Asimov’s book is one common to science fiction literature written in the 1970s. Asimov, throughout the story, obsessively writes about sex though it has no point to the story. My problem with his portrayal of sex is not from some prudishness on my part (though it does contain a message I happen to disagree with). My problem is that it’s written poorly, serves no purpose to the narrative and feels, as my sister put it, “rather like Asimov is an adolescent boy who just discovered sex”.

My initial reaction to The Gods Themselves as I began the book was one of extreme excitement. The premise was interesting, the science fiction good and the theme promising, but in the end I found it to be a massive let down. This was surely not Asimov’s greatest offering. 

Rating: 5 out of 10 

Ringworld by Larry Niven
1971 Hugo Award Winner for Best Novel and 1972 Nebula Award Winner for Best Novel

Larry Niven’s Ringworld is most certainly not a perfect book, but it was an enjoyable ride in a captivating setting. While the plot ultimately faltered and the human characters were never interesting (and at times repulsive), I still found that I could not put the book down.

The greatest strength of Niven’s novel is certainly his alien characters, who achieve the greatest semblance of true "alienness" I have yet to encounter in science fiction. The Puppeteer Nessus and the Kzin Speaker-to-Animals are enjoyable and exotic. How unfortunate it is, then, that the humans who travel with them ultimately seem bland and obnoxious. I found nothing to like about the main human, Louis Wu. Even less enjoyable was his female companion Teela Brown.  

Throughout the course of the narrative, Louis never struck me as anything but a bored, spoiled brat and Teela never rose above being his shallow sex partner, despite some interesting facts the story reveals about her. Louis Wu goes on the adventure because he’s bored, falls in love because he’s bored, is convinced to bring Teela along so he can sleep with her because he’s bored and does just about everything else because he's bored. The interesting implications of how the paradise of Earth in the far future creates boredom for the human characters is the only thing that redeems them in my eyes. 

Another issue with Ringworld is, as with The Gods Themselves I was bothered by the portrayal of sex in Ringworld because of its emptiness and pointlessness. Indeed, Asimov at least tried to make a point with the sex in The Gods Themselves, where it seems like Niven simply assumes that a 200-year-old man simply couldn’t go a chapter without having sex with his twenty-year-old companion (or another female if Teela wasn’t available). Like any other event, sex should be used in a story only as it furthers the plot or characters, not as method to titillate the reader. 

However, despite the fact that I found the human characters boring, the aliens pulled me through the exploration of the titular Ringworld, and the setting was revealed well. One got a sense of a much bigger world outside of the adventures of Louis Wu’s motley crew without being overwhelmed with needless trivia. Unfortunately, the story, while captivating, does not quite achieve what it’s aiming for. It creates a few interesting mysteries that beg answering, but are never even addressed, and pulls off a twist that struck me as rather lame. 

In the end, I enjoyed Ringworld quite a bit, despite its glaring flaws and I would recommend that fans of science fiction read it and form their own opinions about it.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
2005 Hugo Award Winner for Best Novel

Susanna Clarke's debut novel is such a delight to read. The style reads perfectly like a classic Victorian novel, with all the flourish of prose and clever wit. What is more the setting and plot play out like something straight out of Jane Austin, except, of course, that there are wizards.

In many ways Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell is an examination of what Victorian England would have been like if their had been wizards. The society gossips about the wizards, and attempts to form strict rules of propriety for them, in an absolutely convincing manner. 

All of the characters in the novel should be enjoyable to anyone with a taste for Austin, Bronte or Dickens. What is more, it has one of the best portrayals of a devilish fairy that I have ever read.

The reader should be warned, however, that the plot is slow moving and the novel is long, and while there are certainly perils which beset the characters, they are not at all of the epic variety. Indeed, one friend of mine commented that I could use the book as a shield because “nobody ever gets through it.” I certainly enjoyed it greatly, but it’s not for everyone, but if you like the Victorian novel, and you like fantasy stories, then you will love Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Book Review: Dune, Ender's Game and American Gods

Dune by Frank Herbert
1966 Hugo Award Winner for Best Novel and 1965 Nebula Award Winner for Best Novel

Frank Herbert, at least in Dune, is a masterful world creator almost on par with Tolkien. Dune is fantastic in its exposition (which is about the first 95% of the book) but falters quite a bit during the finale.

In many ways, it feels like the epic background of the book boils down to a few confused moments in a room, but despite this fact I could not help but leave the book with a high opinion of Herbert’s craft. The textures of his world are rich and deep and you truly feel the living, breathing culture of the Fremen. Unlike many fictional cultures, that of the people of Dune feels genuinely shaped by the world around it.

Ultimately, Dune indisputably deserves both the Hugo and Nebula awards that it won. Not only is it well written, it also contains rich thematic depth. Sadly, Herbert’s fiction seems to falter in the stories that follow after.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
1986 Hugo Award Winner for Best Novel and 1985 Nebula Award Winner for Best Novel

Ender’s Game  is one of the best of the award-winners I have read so far. What makes the story so strong is not so much the world Orson Scott Card creates, but the characters he inhabits it with. That’s not to say the world Card creates in not interesting. The foe humanity faces is both interesting and menacing and the way in which Card unravels the truths about his fictional future is brilliant in execution.

The character’s are amazing, however. Amazing for their intelligence, for their loyalty and most of all for the fact that they are all children. Card treats children with respect. No more needs to be said for the surprising portrayal of children in Ender’s Game than the fact that it forever changed my friend's perspective on children when she read it.

Ender’s Game is a fantastic piece of fiction and one that everyone should read.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10

American Gods by Neil Gaiman
2002 Hugo and Nebula Award Winner for Best Novel

I've always had an interest in mythology, particularly that of the Vikings, so reading a book like American Gods, I feel like a kid in a candy shop.

American Gods is a brilliant exploration of mythology and of the nation of America, and has a fantastic plot that will keep you turning the pages and catches you with brilliant twists.

If your tastes are anything like mine, you will be drawn quickly into the compelling characters, vivid locations and thrilling story of American Gods. 

One thing I appreciate very much about the tale is the fact that, unlike many modern tales involving the ancient pantheons, Gaiman's doesn't sugarcoat the personalities of his deities; they are as oversexed, Machiavellian and brutal as their original myths portray them.

I would caution, however, that this is not a book for the young or easily offended. The book has quite a bit of vulgar language, brutal violence and overt sex (including a homosexual encounter) and can also be frightening in parts.

If I had any criticism of American Gods it would be that some of the vignettes dispersed throughout the story don't fit into, or even complement, Shadow's journey.

American Gods is, hands down, one of my favorite books and one I would recommend in the blink of an eye to anyone who thinks they could handle the more disturbing content of the book.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10

Book Review: The Demolished Man and Fahrenheit 451

 
The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester
1953 Hugo Award Winner for Best Novel

The very first Hugo winner, The Demolished Man is a clever and exciting book with a somewhat disappointing ending.

Alfred Bester truly manages to create an interesting and elaborate world in which some humans have developed psychic abilities. While many of his ideas might might seem cliché to those familiar with science fiction (particularly fans of Babylon 5) this is the story that was the genesis of many of these ideas (as is acknowledged by the character in Babylon 5 named Alfred Bester).

Aside from being a good science fiction novel, Bester's work is also a powerful crime story that will keep the reader glued to the pages.

Ultimately, the only plot problems are the overly optimistic ending and the questionable and outdated Freudian psychology. The ending, while typical of the times, is rather a let down and the psychology sadly dates the story.

A must read for any science fiction fan, and if I say so myself is a tale just begging to be made into a film (with perhaps some updates to the psychology).

As far as writing goes, not much stood out as either particularly good or particularly bad. There are a few places where Bester uses editing tricks to show the powerful difference that psychic abilities would make in the very structure of the way telepaths think in his world. This is an interesting idea, and it basically works within the structure of his story, but I think in the end it would prove to me annoying if used too much.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
1954 Hugo Award Winner for Best Novel, Retro

The Hugo awards began in 1953, but failed to give out any award in '54. In 2004, in correction of this, a "Retro Hugo" was given to Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451. This is a choice I entirely approve of.

Of all the dystopian fiction I have read (the others being 1984 and A Brave New Work), Fahrenheit 451 is by far my favorite. Bradbury writes with a magnificent prose that ellegently portrays a chilling vision of the future. This is not only my favorite of the dystopias I have read, but is also the best of the award winners so far.

Bradbury masterfully, and almost prophetically, portrays a world in which the desire to avoid offending anyone leads to a horrific dark age.

Fahrenheit 451 is fantastically crafted story that is firmly grounded in mature prose. Everyone should read this one.

Rating: 10 out of 10