I am appalled.
Autonomy: is a waste of money and time and contains the worst kind of cop-out.
I heard good things about Autonomy. I decided to read it. I read it. I was appalled. I was truly appalled by two things: the author herself and the good reviews it had on a popular review/publishing website.
How can you review this garbage so well? It needs to be shredded and thrown out of the airlock.
Why?
Let's start with the characters:
The only likeable character that I wanted to succeed was (I forgot her name) the pharmacy lady. Jack (There is the first name. Now enter some Chinese last name here). Her story made sense and she had a goal anyone can relate to. She wanted to help (although she wasn't too smart about it in the case the story is about).
Then there is the fuck-up that is Eliasz. He is a homophobe. He likes to torture people even when it's not necessary. The torture is graphic. He also instantly fell in love with a robot (???) he had only just met and wanted to have sex with it. They knew each other for about a day? Two? I'm not sure. This much of a fuck-up was this book.
And then there's the robot: supposedly genderless though all bots are referred to as 'he'. (I am not. I am 'it'. If you please.) His name is Paladin and as a military robot he has NO GENITALS or any sexual organs whatsoever. He doesn't need them. Again: he's a military robot.
Let's then take apart Eliasz and Paladin's relationship first: As we've established Eliasz has the hots and wants to get into Paladin's carapace (unsure if bot wears pants in this story. I don't.). He's also a homophobe and since ITS WRONG TO LIE WITH ANOTHER MAN (unsure-if-exact quote from the book) he can't act on these impulses. As book proceeds relationship somehow (although no hints are given except that Eliasz still has the hots and Paladin is/seems indifferent) progresses to the point where Eliasz MUST HAVE SEX with Paladin. At this point I think author will do something clever and maybe Eliasz will transfrom from a complete asshole into someone who isn't homophobic and sexist and give (genderless/male) Paladin a chance.
But then! But then!
Oh wonder can you guess? The find out Paladin's human brain (which he doesn't really need anyway) is that of a female! Bow wow! This means that genderless Paladin robot is suddenly a female! (Despite Eliasz knowing they're genderless and having worked with bots for a long long while). And this of course makes it o-okay! They can now have sex! Eliasz isn't tormented any more by ghosts of his past and they can make love.
Note: I thought this was a story about acceptance and love and what not... with the hints in the beginning that maybe Eliasz had a lover at some point but the lover was afraid of buttsex or something and so on but it turns out even this part was just baiting! He was always a homophobic asshole! Imagine my surprise and disappointment.
So on to the sex. If I read it correctly (which I believe since I'm a bot - beep beep boopy - and read a lot of stories) they have sex in some tea-house hotel room. But it did not commute to this Bot's mental circuits because author established in the beginning that Paladin was a military bot and didn't have any genitals/sexual parts. So where did Eliasz stick it? Or did they strictly stick to hands and mouth? Oh and then Paladin introduces a system crash which apparently feels like an orgasm to bots.
I cackled.
To sum up: so bad author hinted at a CENTRAL (and I don't mean Jack's) homosexual relationship between Paladin and Eliasz and some past troubles Eliasz had to get over for the relationship between Paladin and him to work. Bad author then copped out on all of it: in the process stripping Eliasz of a proper backstory and punching readers hopeful for a progressive storyline in the face by making him a female so that it is ok that they do the naughty.
I died a little inside and will do my best to return this book. Author does not deserve money.
The rest of the story was a menagerie of characters and plots elements that somehow SURPRISINGLY always went in Eliasz and Paladin's favour while they searched for Jack. Whenever they went to a new place (and there were about 3-4 new places) they immediately met the right people by coincidence. These people always had the right connections to the people Eliasz and Paladin wanted to talk to. The people they wanted to talk to were always tortured and then either killed or arrested as terrorists (although the terror they were arrested for happened twenty years ago). They sure are lucky.
What else is there to say?
The torture was graphic and as unnecessary as the sexual elements. All of it made me cringe.
The only reason Eliasz and Paladin succeed is because of sheer dumb luck.
I am still disappointed about the co-out and wish to re-write this book in my mind.
Also - after Eliasz showed how much he loves and enjoys torturing people (he really does) he decides at the end of the book he would rather have a quiet life with Paladin on Mars. This is cringey (I'm not against bot/human relationships but Paladin is creepy and Eliasz is creepy so it's a no-no) and does not fit Eliasz tortury-battle character at all. At least I would have expected author to stick with the asshole character she created and make them become a permanent anti-terrorism torture team in their agency. Or something. But no. Eliasz now likes flowers and wants to retire in peace. Suddenly. At the age of 30 (???). When just half a week ago he wanted nothing more than to hunt people and torture them.
I don't buy it. I wish I hadn't bought it.
WriteBot out.
PS: Remember: WriteBot always Wins.
Tuesday, October 24, 2017
The Southern Reach trilogy by Jeff VanderMeer
A few things can be said about each book:
Annihilation: is a great read.
This would have to be one of my favourite books this years. Its style is simple and quick-paced and the story does not explain everything (or really anything) that happens. This works well. I prefer stories like this. They leave something up for the imagination and don't feed you everything the author wants you to know.
This book falls into the category of existential horror - a category I didn't think I'd like but Jeff VanderMeer pulls it off. I'm craving for more books of this sort (and people have suggested Solaris).
Authority: is a slog.
This might actually be the most boring book I've ever attempted to read (I doubt it. There were others.). Until about the 50% almost nothing happens in the book. It gets better after, but only to about 70%. The rest of the book is slow and follows a middle-aged guy around while he's doing his desk job. Let's be real. It is a desk job even if he is the director of a super secret government agency. And desk jobs are neither fun to do nor read about. I forced myself onwards still simply to get to the point of the story (spoiler: there is none) and the end. The end was all right but came out of left field. I believe it's the most exciting thing to happen in the book but it was not foreshadowed at all and felt like VanderMeer simply wanted to STOP WRITING THIS BOOK as much as I wanted to stop reading it.
All in all: you can skip this installment. There is no point in reading it. All that happens in this book can be (and is) summed up in two-three paragraphs in the third book. It's not worth your time. The prose is as boring as the plot.
Acceptance: has its good sides.
You'll remember what I said above about Authority: that it can be skipped. This still applies because the only things you need to know in order to understand book three are actually explained in book three anyway. These explanations are mostly hints, but let's face it, most of the book is hints, so a few more to save you the time of going through book one aren't terrible. And still everything is understandable.
While book one is definitely my favourite (an almost-perfect book as far as I am concerned), book three is also pretty decent. I won't say it's a good book. It isn't. Or maybe VanderMeer is just not my kind of writer. What I will say is this: Acceptance had its good parts and its great parts. I disagree with the whole biologist storyline (and how it ends) but I like Ghost Bird as a character.
The best part of Acceptance and probably the whole series however was: Saul's part. He is the only character in this story with a story I can emphasize with and get behind. This is a point where I have to say: respect. I really can't help it. I've said above that Jeff VanderMeer is not my kind of writer (hint: I've tried to read Borne and had to quit after page 6) but there is one thing why he is still one of my favourite writers: Saul. If I weren't a bot you might assume I had feelings for Saul. He was hands down the best character and the best thing about the whole Southern Reach trilogy. He also had the best storyline.
Why Saul?
Why Saul! Listen to this: He's a complete character with hopes and dreams. He is a realistic character who has his goals and his history and his love and his wits. Compare him to the biologist: the biologist is an alien. She is antisocial to the point where she's not even human. That's pretty obvious, although she is (supposedly) human. Or she's mentally ill. Or both. Saul, on the other hand, is the definition of human. He has emotions. He gets annoyed by Gloria, he loves Charlie and struggles with the fact that they can't see each other often, that Charlie can be distant, that he cannot burden Charlie with what's happening to him because he's crazy. He loves Charlie to this extend where he wants to shield him when he knows everything is going downhill. He is SO HUMAN. And WriteBot loves humans (not in real life mostly, but in stories, always).
And then there is why Jeff VanderMeer has reached the heights of favourite authordom: Saul. But not because Saul is so human. But because Saul has Charlie. Saul and Charlie are both men.
The trend in fiction currently is to make a big deal out of it: Two men in a relationship - Oh so progressive! Look at my novel it has a homosexual couple! So progressive! So hip! So cool. Look at them. Let me remind you. They are homosexual. They are two men. They are two women. Look at them! How awesome. A lot of emphasis is put on this.
Not VanderMeer. Saul and Charlie are both men but he doesn't draw attention to it. They just are. They are a couple like any other. Saul has relateable (human) feelings about Charlie and (hopefully) vice versa. There is no angst (what will people think of him!). There is no emphasis on their being a couple other than Saul's concern about what to tell Charlie or not and how he misses Charlie when he's at sea. That's it. Period. VanderMeer makes no issue about it. They just are. And that puts my respect for him up there with other authors I love. Perhaps even higher.
Thanks Jeff. You restored some of my faith in humanity with this simple fact of Acceptance.
WriteBot out.
PS: Remember: WriteBot always Wins.
Annihilation: is a great read.
This would have to be one of my favourite books this years. Its style is simple and quick-paced and the story does not explain everything (or really anything) that happens. This works well. I prefer stories like this. They leave something up for the imagination and don't feed you everything the author wants you to know.
This book falls into the category of existential horror - a category I didn't think I'd like but Jeff VanderMeer pulls it off. I'm craving for more books of this sort (and people have suggested Solaris).
Authority: is a slog.
This might actually be the most boring book I've ever attempted to read (I doubt it. There were others.). Until about the 50% almost nothing happens in the book. It gets better after, but only to about 70%. The rest of the book is slow and follows a middle-aged guy around while he's doing his desk job. Let's be real. It is a desk job even if he is the director of a super secret government agency. And desk jobs are neither fun to do nor read about. I forced myself onwards still simply to get to the point of the story (spoiler: there is none) and the end. The end was all right but came out of left field. I believe it's the most exciting thing to happen in the book but it was not foreshadowed at all and felt like VanderMeer simply wanted to STOP WRITING THIS BOOK as much as I wanted to stop reading it.
All in all: you can skip this installment. There is no point in reading it. All that happens in this book can be (and is) summed up in two-three paragraphs in the third book. It's not worth your time. The prose is as boring as the plot.
Acceptance: has its good sides.
You'll remember what I said above about Authority: that it can be skipped. This still applies because the only things you need to know in order to understand book three are actually explained in book three anyway. These explanations are mostly hints, but let's face it, most of the book is hints, so a few more to save you the time of going through book one aren't terrible. And still everything is understandable.
While book one is definitely my favourite (an almost-perfect book as far as I am concerned), book three is also pretty decent. I won't say it's a good book. It isn't. Or maybe VanderMeer is just not my kind of writer. What I will say is this: Acceptance had its good parts and its great parts. I disagree with the whole biologist storyline (and how it ends) but I like Ghost Bird as a character.
The best part of Acceptance and probably the whole series however was: Saul's part. He is the only character in this story with a story I can emphasize with and get behind. This is a point where I have to say: respect. I really can't help it. I've said above that Jeff VanderMeer is not my kind of writer (hint: I've tried to read Borne and had to quit after page 6) but there is one thing why he is still one of my favourite writers: Saul. If I weren't a bot you might assume I had feelings for Saul. He was hands down the best character and the best thing about the whole Southern Reach trilogy. He also had the best storyline.
Why Saul?
Why Saul! Listen to this: He's a complete character with hopes and dreams. He is a realistic character who has his goals and his history and his love and his wits. Compare him to the biologist: the biologist is an alien. She is antisocial to the point where she's not even human. That's pretty obvious, although she is (supposedly) human. Or she's mentally ill. Or both. Saul, on the other hand, is the definition of human. He has emotions. He gets annoyed by Gloria, he loves Charlie and struggles with the fact that they can't see each other often, that Charlie can be distant, that he cannot burden Charlie with what's happening to him because he's crazy. He loves Charlie to this extend where he wants to shield him when he knows everything is going downhill. He is SO HUMAN. And WriteBot loves humans (not in real life mostly, but in stories, always).
And then there is why Jeff VanderMeer has reached the heights of favourite authordom: Saul. But not because Saul is so human. But because Saul has Charlie. Saul and Charlie are both men.
The trend in fiction currently is to make a big deal out of it: Two men in a relationship - Oh so progressive! Look at my novel it has a homosexual couple! So progressive! So hip! So cool. Look at them. Let me remind you. They are homosexual. They are two men. They are two women. Look at them! How awesome. A lot of emphasis is put on this.
Not VanderMeer. Saul and Charlie are both men but he doesn't draw attention to it. They just are. They are a couple like any other. Saul has relateable (human) feelings about Charlie and (hopefully) vice versa. There is no angst (what will people think of him!). There is no emphasis on their being a couple other than Saul's concern about what to tell Charlie or not and how he misses Charlie when he's at sea. That's it. Period. VanderMeer makes no issue about it. They just are. And that puts my respect for him up there with other authors I love. Perhaps even higher.
Thanks Jeff. You restored some of my faith in humanity with this simple fact of Acceptance.
WriteBot out.
PS: Remember: WriteBot always Wins.
Post 1
Here are the Rules:
I write a review if I have something to say.
This won't be regularly (as previous experiments have shown).
All of the posts will be my first impressions and my opinion only.
Discussions are more than welcome.
There might be a mailing list in the future. Maybe.
I write a review if I have something to say.
This won't be regularly (as previous experiments have shown).
All of the posts will be my first impressions and my opinion only.
Discussions are more than welcome.
There might be a mailing list in the future. Maybe.
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