Almost there
One more post after this, and that's all of 2009. I've also been using this to get used to sitting down in front of the computer each night and writing something, which does seem to be working, and which I hope to continue with.
Richard Morgan, Black Man. A spaceship on the Mars-Earth run crash-lands on Earth rather than docking, and when found contains the remnants of the eleven cryogenically stored crew members, who have undergone progressive amputations before finally being killed and eaten. The murderer has escaped from the ship, but DNA evidence reveals him to be a Thirteen, a genetically modified aggressive alpha male designed for conflict, and to catch him the Western Nations Colony Initiative hire Carl Marsalis, another thirteen who hunts down rogue thirteens for the UN.
It’s fast and inventive, and Carl - whose intro includes funding an illegal abortion for a prostitute he sympathises with - is a great character, except in the bits where the plot slows down and he spends too much time whining about how trapped by circumstance, genetics etc he is. The future-building has some nice moments, I like the action, the international (and interplanetary) nature of the action, and I like Sevgi, New York/Turkish/ex-cop, and Royavo, the current cop, although I do have a few tiny issues with how both women interact with Carl, and general lack of independent agency. I like that Carl is black (and that the other characters have distinct ethnic and cultural backgrounds that are not white Western default), and that it’s important to him and to others, but not the whole of the story. The plot, though, is not as inventive as the world-building - the villain becomes obvious very early on, largely because their monologues are more irritating than those of all the other characters, and the set-piece of the opening - which is impressive - is undercut because, ultimately, it’s not necessary for anything else that happens in the story.
And then there's the gender issues. The argument is made in this book - not necessarily by reliable people, but these particular statements don't seem to be questioned - that society/civilisation has becoming feminised, more co-operative (seen as a good thing), with no place for the thirteens. When they are created, it's to serve a specific purpose (wars) and they are under rigid control, non human dinosaurs with no place in the modern world. But, although this is what the characters say (and I think it's a fascinating idea), in this future world there's really not a hell of a lot of feminine going on - political power structures, enforcement power structures, criminal fringes are all very, very masculine, in structure and composition. Some of this may be because a lot of the book takes places around the edges of society - prisons, Mars colonies, distant dubious crime fraternities - but it's not, to me anyway, a book that convinces me of the argument that male power is being eroded. Plus, Marisol, Carl's surrogate mother, who appears only in flashback, is the only female character that has her own agenda that does not depend on a man (you could argue for Ren, here, as well, but I just don't think we see enough of her to know what her own agenda is).
I do think Morgan is in favour of the social progression he describes, the way societies are assessed for advancement on female participation. But the Strange Horizons review of this has a commenter who is convinced this whole book is a lament for the death of the alpha male (he himself, he admits modestly, has been described as such) and even though, like the reviewer, I disagree with him, I can see how he gets there from here (I also agree with the reviewer that there's an awful lot of conflict resolution via verbal argument, but it doesn't seem to be working in the comments).
I said the opening sequence wasn't crucial for the plot, but what it did do was remind me very strongly of John Wyndham's short story, Survival, and I'd love to know whether this is deliberate. In Survival, a spaceship on its way from Earth to Mars experiences mechanical failure and is forced into orbit around Mars on very limited rations while they await rescue. On board are fourteen men and one woman, Alice, and Alice turns all the traditional weaknesses of her position (in addition to being the only woman, she's pregnant), ending into strengths up with her and her baby the only survivors in a ship scattered with gnawed-on bones… It's a story that I've always liked for the way it questions what we see as female and natural behaviours. I'm not sure Black Man achieves the same degree of challenge to the ideas of masculinity, because - despite Ren - ends up masculine versus feminine, with only the degrees differing. Possibly this is the author's point.
Rafael Sabotini, Captain Blood. Like Scaramouche, this starts with a world-weary misanthropic type staying aloof from current conflicts (the Monmouth Rebellion) before being dragged into it unwillingly, and then choosing to play by his own rules (and ethics) in order to resolve the problem. In this case Peter Blood, an Irish doctor and ex-soldier, is sentenced (unjustly) to death, which is then commuted to transport to the Carribean, from whence he works his way through the undifferentiated slave ranks, escapes and commences a very successful career as a pirate, primarily attacking the Spanish. There is a doomed romance, a lot of swashbuckling and devious plans both in battle and in politics.
I love the enthusiasm Sabotini puts into this, and the cheerful way he announces that although some of the stories he tells of Captain Blood are similar to those about Henry Morgan, he suspects that the chronicler of Morgan's adventures stole the details and is the "real plagiarist". He does indicate some of the complexity of pirate versus buccaneer, and the general appalling way most of the Old World behaved in the New. However, it's difficult to read the passages regarding the negro slaves, who never rise above "thug" or "property" (they are implicitly compared to animals at one stage), especially when Sabotini is so careful to highlight the appalling treatment of the white slaves, and its degrading effects on them.
Stieg Larsson, The girl with the dragon tattoo
Stieg Larsson, The girl who played with fire
Stieg Larsson, The girl who kicked the hornet’s nest
Three excellent thrillers. I read them over a long weekend within which I also ran a half-marathon and then promptly lent them out to everyone, so details are now somewhat hazy. Basically, though, the series goes from a more standard serial killer plot in the first to an exposé of corrupt government/politics at the country level, and does so with a tight plot and intriguing characters, not to mention a refreshingly mature and fluid approach to relationships and sexuality, which is possibly the whole translated from the Swedish thing (also, good use of cell phones and other technology). It's also very much from a feminist point of view - the original Swedish title of the first one is "Men Who Hate Women" - as well as a more general activist one. Both Salander and Blomqvist are great, and it's a shame these three will be all we'll get (allowing for rumours about a fourth manuscript currently being argued over by the now-deceased author's partner and his family).
Richard Morgan, Black Man. A spaceship on the Mars-Earth run crash-lands on Earth rather than docking, and when found contains the remnants of the eleven cryogenically stored crew members, who have undergone progressive amputations before finally being killed and eaten. The murderer has escaped from the ship, but DNA evidence reveals him to be a Thirteen, a genetically modified aggressive alpha male designed for conflict, and to catch him the Western Nations Colony Initiative hire Carl Marsalis, another thirteen who hunts down rogue thirteens for the UN.
It’s fast and inventive, and Carl - whose intro includes funding an illegal abortion for a prostitute he sympathises with - is a great character, except in the bits where the plot slows down and he spends too much time whining about how trapped by circumstance, genetics etc he is. The future-building has some nice moments, I like the action, the international (and interplanetary) nature of the action, and I like Sevgi, New York/Turkish/ex-cop, and Royavo, the current cop, although I do have a few tiny issues with how both women interact with Carl, and general lack of independent agency. I like that Carl is black (and that the other characters have distinct ethnic and cultural backgrounds that are not white Western default), and that it’s important to him and to others, but not the whole of the story. The plot, though, is not as inventive as the world-building - the villain becomes obvious very early on, largely because their monologues are more irritating than those of all the other characters, and the set-piece of the opening - which is impressive - is undercut because, ultimately, it’s not necessary for anything else that happens in the story.
And then there's the gender issues. The argument is made in this book - not necessarily by reliable people, but these particular statements don't seem to be questioned - that society/civilisation has becoming feminised, more co-operative (seen as a good thing), with no place for the thirteens. When they are created, it's to serve a specific purpose (wars) and they are under rigid control, non human dinosaurs with no place in the modern world. But, although this is what the characters say (and I think it's a fascinating idea), in this future world there's really not a hell of a lot of feminine going on - political power structures, enforcement power structures, criminal fringes are all very, very masculine, in structure and composition. Some of this may be because a lot of the book takes places around the edges of society - prisons, Mars colonies, distant dubious crime fraternities - but it's not, to me anyway, a book that convinces me of the argument that male power is being eroded. Plus, Marisol, Carl's surrogate mother, who appears only in flashback, is the only female character that has her own agenda that does not depend on a man (you could argue for Ren, here, as well, but I just don't think we see enough of her to know what her own agenda is).
I do think Morgan is in favour of the social progression he describes, the way societies are assessed for advancement on female participation. But the Strange Horizons review of this has a commenter who is convinced this whole book is a lament for the death of the alpha male (he himself, he admits modestly, has been described as such) and even though, like the reviewer, I disagree with him, I can see how he gets there from here (I also agree with the reviewer that there's an awful lot of conflict resolution via verbal argument, but it doesn't seem to be working in the comments).
I said the opening sequence wasn't crucial for the plot, but what it did do was remind me very strongly of John Wyndham's short story, Survival, and I'd love to know whether this is deliberate. In Survival, a spaceship on its way from Earth to Mars experiences mechanical failure and is forced into orbit around Mars on very limited rations while they await rescue. On board are fourteen men and one woman, Alice, and Alice turns all the traditional weaknesses of her position (in addition to being the only woman, she's pregnant), ending into strengths up with her and her baby the only survivors in a ship scattered with gnawed-on bones… It's a story that I've always liked for the way it questions what we see as female and natural behaviours. I'm not sure Black Man achieves the same degree of challenge to the ideas of masculinity, because - despite Ren - ends up masculine versus feminine, with only the degrees differing. Possibly this is the author's point.
Rafael Sabotini, Captain Blood. Like Scaramouche, this starts with a world-weary misanthropic type staying aloof from current conflicts (the Monmouth Rebellion) before being dragged into it unwillingly, and then choosing to play by his own rules (and ethics) in order to resolve the problem. In this case Peter Blood, an Irish doctor and ex-soldier, is sentenced (unjustly) to death, which is then commuted to transport to the Carribean, from whence he works his way through the undifferentiated slave ranks, escapes and commences a very successful career as a pirate, primarily attacking the Spanish. There is a doomed romance, a lot of swashbuckling and devious plans both in battle and in politics.
I love the enthusiasm Sabotini puts into this, and the cheerful way he announces that although some of the stories he tells of Captain Blood are similar to those about Henry Morgan, he suspects that the chronicler of Morgan's adventures stole the details and is the "real plagiarist". He does indicate some of the complexity of pirate versus buccaneer, and the general appalling way most of the Old World behaved in the New. However, it's difficult to read the passages regarding the negro slaves, who never rise above "thug" or "property" (they are implicitly compared to animals at one stage), especially when Sabotini is so careful to highlight the appalling treatment of the white slaves, and its degrading effects on them.
Stieg Larsson, The girl with the dragon tattoo
Stieg Larsson, The girl who played with fire
Stieg Larsson, The girl who kicked the hornet’s nest
Three excellent thrillers. I read them over a long weekend within which I also ran a half-marathon and then promptly lent them out to everyone, so details are now somewhat hazy. Basically, though, the series goes from a more standard serial killer plot in the first to an exposé of corrupt government/politics at the country level, and does so with a tight plot and intriguing characters, not to mention a refreshingly mature and fluid approach to relationships and sexuality, which is possibly the whole translated from the Swedish thing (also, good use of cell phones and other technology). It's also very much from a feminist point of view - the original Swedish title of the first one is "Men Who Hate Women" - as well as a more general activist one. Both Salander and Blomqvist are great, and it's a shame these three will be all we'll get (allowing for rumours about a fourth manuscript currently being argued over by the now-deceased author's partner and his family).