Hi everyone! This is a quick post of an older review. WriteBot wishes to make this blog a bit more active again and will mostly be reviewing great fiction and non-fiction!
Here it goes:
I finished Only Human a
day after it came out and have to say I'm quite disappointed with the
book. I've read all three of the series (of course), and I truly liked
the first two, but I would not recommend anyone else to waste money on
this volume. Better leave it at two, even if it's a cliffhanger.
The
setup in book one and two was great. They were well organized and I
tore through them in a day each at work. I pre-ordered Only Human
immediately after finishing the first and the second book. Only Human,
however, turned out to be a great and uninspired mess. It turned its
back on all the great first-contact themes the previous volumes promised
and turned into a long moral rant that ended in a somewhat
deus-ex-machina climax.
Here are some of the issues I have with this last installment:
The
main characters. They deteriorated heavily after the last (second)
book. There's Rose, who basically turned into a whiny emo and blamed
everything on herself but at the same time on everyone else too, and her
solution to the whole plot was basically 'you aliens did this, you have
to solve it'. There's no theme or character growth or anything that
connects this book's Rose with the other two volumes. Basically, in her
view, it's all the aliens' fault, and while that might theoretically be
true, the resolution of the series was very anti-climactic and
disappointing.
Then there's Eva, who's just an insufferable brat,
and not at all strong like Kara. All she does, too, is whine and do
nothing to support the plot. In the second book, when the reader is
introduced to Eva, it seems as if she has a huge part to play, and her
character is built up very well, with the mystery surrounding her
visions and so on, and even the ending of the book promises in some way
that the next one will be even better and Eva will be very important.
But she isn't. She's ignorant, she's angry, and she's quite a pest. She
is not likeable at all, and I didn't find her very intelligent either.
I don't have much to say about Vincent.
The
other big issue is that there was hardly any plot and the resolution of
this pseudo-plot was so far from anything the series promised it was
sad to see it. It reads very much as if Sylvain Neuvel simply ran out of
things to say and original content to put into this book. I really
really enjoyed the first two, because there was life to them, and
mystery, and everything made inherent sense (well not everything, but
you get what I mean), but in this last installment Neuvel seems to have
run completely out of steam. The themes are redundant and often whole
conversations are repeated to put a more emo spin on them, and morals
are discussed when there's no reason at all these characters should be
thinking about such things. The first 20% of the book especially are
essentially repetitions. First a scene from this character's view, then
the exact same scene or event from another's, and nothing really
happens. This, unfortunately, drags through the whole book, and nothing
much happens throughout the rest of it.
I'm not sure what I
expected, but I had high hopes considering the series had such a great
great start. However, Only Human was a complete waste of paper and
money.
Monday, November 19, 2018
Saturday, December 9, 2017
The Themis Files by Sylvain Neuvel
As only two books out of the three book series are out so far I can't yet discuss the last book. I still felt an entry is required about this series.
All in all The Themis Files are... highly recommended!
The first two books (Sleeping Giants and Waking Gods) were not perfect (I'll go into this later) but I read them in a day and a half each and after the first immediately bought the second. This doesn't happen to me often. It didn't happen with Murderbot and while I still want to read past book one it doesn't seem urgent. Anyway. Back to The Themis Files.
Let's start with Sleeping Giants.
First of all there's the style in which it is written - which is through journal entries and conversation logs done by a mysterious interviewer/intelligence officer without name. This means there is little in the way of descriptions of a place and sometimes too much exposition when Neuvel wants us to know every little detail about what happened/how it works/what something is or looks like. It's not a problem. I noticed it (but maybe that's because I'm a WRITEbot and can see all the tricks) but it didn't take away from the story or take me out of it at all. It works. It's new in terms of style (I at least have never read a book like this before). And it's glorious. It takes out all the boring details (what someone is doing during a scene/what the environment looks like most of the time) and focuses on the really important plot points. Important: The scenes are plot points of course - but they don't feel like simply plot points during the reading of the book.
Second there's the characters. Characterization could be more elaborate (I know little about the characters even after two books) but all of them have a distinct voice so even if they're not addressed by name it would be easy to determine who's saying what most of the time. This is difficult to do so really! Neuvel made a great effort and it works.
That being said... some of the book's events are really predictable (knees! And the whole setup with Vincent and Kara and Ryan). But this is also not a problem. It feels natural.
The only real problem in the book is that the ending is a bit Deus Ex Machina. It again doesn't really take away from the story (probably because of its unique style) but there is just something about the ending that comes out of left field. The main characters suddenly find a solution to everything (!!!) that no one previously mentioned/hinted at/thought of and all with the help of a character who's pretty much Deus Ex himself. This is a bit iffy but to be honest... I can overlook it and I doubt it will take away from anyone's reading experience.
On to Waking Gods.
In summary: a lot of people die and suddenly the future hinges on a 10 year old kid. Yeah. I wasn't really hyped. As of the end of book two there is no reason that Neuvel had to kill off Kara (I'm still bummed out. Imagine this robot at its day job... suddenly crying when it shouldn't even have been secretly reading under the desk. Yeah.) and replace her with her 10 year old kid. The only difference between them (beyond both being able to control the giant robot Themis) is that Eva has the ability to somewhat see into the future. I'm hoping this becomes relevant in book three because otherwise there's going to be major rage. It already doesn't make sense that Kara was killed off. It will make even less sense if Eva doesn't have some special power that will aid the resolution of the series/book three.
But I'm guessing author thought about this or he wouldn't have gone through all the trouble setting it up in book one and two... I have hope!
And naturally Kara had to die because (while I still know little about the characters except their personality) the best characters always bite the bucket. I can only shake my head and should really refrain from naming a favourite character in any series.
However - and this is a big however: I would have been sadder if her death weren't so once-mentioned and then done with. The reactions of the other characters (even her husband - who's a bit of an author insert) were bland at best. I get it they're dealing with a lot of other stuff (the end of the world!) but their emotions after Kara's death just didn't fit. Kara was arguably (and established in the books) one of the most interesting and awesome characters for both the reader and the other characters and yet when she dies no one seems to feel much emotion over it. Her husband is said to have cried/be crying a lot. Her best friend simply notes that Kara was her best friend. That's it. Even this WriteBot (whose protocols record unusual sadness levels when touching moments happen to fictional characters) felt more numb than crushed. I am sadder about the way her death wasn't acknowledged/the way she died (like an afterthought) than that she is dead. But that's just me.
All right. The ending of book two also had a lot of Deus Ex Machina - it seems to be trend with Neuvel. The solution to book two is again something none of the characters thought of before/was hinted at and definitely something the Deus Ex himself suggested to the main characters about 85% into the book. This wasn't something 'long coming'. It was simply 'here's your solution just go and do it' suddenly at the end of the book. I'm still not bothered however. I'm too excited waiting for the third book (WriteBot pre-ordered it! And so should you! The only downside is having to wait until next April).
So.
To April!
Do I have to say it? WriteBot might struggle but WriteBot always wins. Remember: Don't ever give up anything you love to do.
All in all The Themis Files are... highly recommended!
The first two books (Sleeping Giants and Waking Gods) were not perfect (I'll go into this later) but I read them in a day and a half each and after the first immediately bought the second. This doesn't happen to me often. It didn't happen with Murderbot and while I still want to read past book one it doesn't seem urgent. Anyway. Back to The Themis Files.
Let's start with Sleeping Giants.
First of all there's the style in which it is written - which is through journal entries and conversation logs done by a mysterious interviewer/intelligence officer without name. This means there is little in the way of descriptions of a place and sometimes too much exposition when Neuvel wants us to know every little detail about what happened/how it works/what something is or looks like. It's not a problem. I noticed it (but maybe that's because I'm a WRITEbot and can see all the tricks) but it didn't take away from the story or take me out of it at all. It works. It's new in terms of style (I at least have never read a book like this before). And it's glorious. It takes out all the boring details (what someone is doing during a scene/what the environment looks like most of the time) and focuses on the really important plot points. Important: The scenes are plot points of course - but they don't feel like simply plot points during the reading of the book.
Second there's the characters. Characterization could be more elaborate (I know little about the characters even after two books) but all of them have a distinct voice so even if they're not addressed by name it would be easy to determine who's saying what most of the time. This is difficult to do so really! Neuvel made a great effort and it works.
That being said... some of the book's events are really predictable (knees! And the whole setup with Vincent and Kara and Ryan). But this is also not a problem. It feels natural.
The only real problem in the book is that the ending is a bit Deus Ex Machina. It again doesn't really take away from the story (probably because of its unique style) but there is just something about the ending that comes out of left field. The main characters suddenly find a solution to everything (!!!) that no one previously mentioned/hinted at/thought of and all with the help of a character who's pretty much Deus Ex himself. This is a bit iffy but to be honest... I can overlook it and I doubt it will take away from anyone's reading experience.
On to Waking Gods.
In summary: a lot of people die and suddenly the future hinges on a 10 year old kid. Yeah. I wasn't really hyped. As of the end of book two there is no reason that Neuvel had to kill off Kara (I'm still bummed out. Imagine this robot at its day job... suddenly crying when it shouldn't even have been secretly reading under the desk. Yeah.) and replace her with her 10 year old kid. The only difference between them (beyond both being able to control the giant robot Themis) is that Eva has the ability to somewhat see into the future. I'm hoping this becomes relevant in book three because otherwise there's going to be major rage. It already doesn't make sense that Kara was killed off. It will make even less sense if Eva doesn't have some special power that will aid the resolution of the series/book three.
But I'm guessing author thought about this or he wouldn't have gone through all the trouble setting it up in book one and two... I have hope!
And naturally Kara had to die because (while I still know little about the characters except their personality) the best characters always bite the bucket. I can only shake my head and should really refrain from naming a favourite character in any series.
However - and this is a big however: I would have been sadder if her death weren't so once-mentioned and then done with. The reactions of the other characters (even her husband - who's a bit of an author insert) were bland at best. I get it they're dealing with a lot of other stuff (the end of the world!) but their emotions after Kara's death just didn't fit. Kara was arguably (and established in the books) one of the most interesting and awesome characters for both the reader and the other characters and yet when she dies no one seems to feel much emotion over it. Her husband is said to have cried/be crying a lot. Her best friend simply notes that Kara was her best friend. That's it. Even this WriteBot (whose protocols record unusual sadness levels when touching moments happen to fictional characters) felt more numb than crushed. I am sadder about the way her death wasn't acknowledged/the way she died (like an afterthought) than that she is dead. But that's just me.
All right. The ending of book two also had a lot of Deus Ex Machina - it seems to be trend with Neuvel. The solution to book two is again something none of the characters thought of before/was hinted at and definitely something the Deus Ex himself suggested to the main characters about 85% into the book. This wasn't something 'long coming'. It was simply 'here's your solution just go and do it' suddenly at the end of the book. I'm still not bothered however. I'm too excited waiting for the third book (WriteBot pre-ordered it! And so should you! The only downside is having to wait until next April).
So.
To April!
Do I have to say it? WriteBot might struggle but WriteBot always wins. Remember: Don't ever give up anything you love to do.
Wednesday, November 22, 2017
Artemis by Andy Weir
Write Bot doesn't usually read hyped books but decided to give this one a try after skipping The Martian novel to consume the motion picture instead.
Artemis was fast-paced and quite enjoyable despite the irritating main character.
Let's talk about Jazz. She's quite the Mary Sue. She knows everything when it comes to science (except chemistry - but even in chemistry she knows a lot more than your average schmoe) and is super smart and super duper clever and immediately has a new plan if one fails. It doesn't even take her half a second to figure out a new plan about twenty times in the book. As soon as something goes wrong - oh there's a new plan! And it's much better although the problems (why Plan A failed) blew up and she couldn't have foreseen it.
Jazz has no flaws. Although she does get a lot of people into trouble I couldn't see any real flaws in her character. I mean even getting the whole city of Artemis (2000 people) in dangere at the end, there is nothing she can't do, and she figures out a solution immediately!
But at this point I was already overly jaded and slightly bored with the continuous obstacles Andy Weir threw in her way. They were just no longer believable (also especially because Jazz fixed them in no time because she is SO SMART). I know theoretically it is a good thing if everything that can go wrong goes wrong but in this book it was badly executed. It went over the top so much it almost turned into satire right then and there. I doubt this is what Andy Weir had in mind when he wrote the book.
Jazz is also an author insert. I had the feeling (I am running a program that emulates human emotions of course!) this is the person Andy Weir would love to be. Smart, witty, always quick with comebacks (and very rude), takes no shit (again rude as all heck), throws out curses and insults like an angry teenage boy (not sure this is what he wants to be... but anyway). However, apparently she's too smart to learn a good trade (and there's many!) in which she could make honest and good money. Instead, she continues to be a bratty teenager, refuses to apply herself, but continues to bitch about how little money she has. No kidding! You need to grow up if you want to make money. Her goal of restoring her father's welding workshop could have been much easier reached with an honest trade, and she had many offers to learn one, but no, she's a special snowflake. She has to have it her (illegal) way, or not at all.
The rebellious teen trope was strong with this one, and usually I wouldn't mind, but it was stated more than once that she's an adult, so it only makes her come across as an immature dickhead.
The rest of the characters were much of the same really. Most of them were also uber-smart and nice and just all around GOOD GUYS. Even the bad guys were GOOD GUYS (except one, who was really bad, but didn't speak much, so I assume he was some sort of Southern American zombie-monk). All of Jazz's friends were incredibly loyal (I don't see why. The only good thing about Jazz was her name - it rolls really nicely! - and her taking-no-shit attitude - although she was too rude and insulted people way too much for me to actually fire up the LIKE protocols) and (again) incredibly smart. They knew everything! They could do anything! They were also bland and had no real personality by themselves. Their only purpose seemed to assist Jazz in whatever she wanted to do. Also: there was a severe lack of awesome-knowledgeable women in her party. I guess it would have taken away from her own attempted awesomeness. Mary Sues don't like that!
The only characters I sort of liked were Svoboda and Rudy. I don't remember them throwing around insults like confetti on a fair or being assholes in general. Svoboda had some charm himself simple because he was so awkward (Could this be another author-insert? I won't complain this time though.) and a bit like a lost puppy. (What? I also like puppies.) I liked the romance element between him and Jazz because 1) It wasn't overdone 2) I like Svoboda as a character and it seems like Jazz also does. It was fun. I still wish he would have gotten a nicer girl who can appreciate him and doesn't verbally abuse him all the time.
On this note, abuse (verbal or otherwise) is not okay, and Jazz did a lot of that to everyone she supposedly cares about. This is a huge part why I don't like her. 12/10 would not want to be acquainted with Jazz Bashara.
WriteBot out.
PS: Remember: WriteBot always Wins.
Artemis was fast-paced and quite enjoyable despite the irritating main character.
Let's talk about Jazz. She's quite the Mary Sue. She knows everything when it comes to science (except chemistry - but even in chemistry she knows a lot more than your average schmoe) and is super smart and super duper clever and immediately has a new plan if one fails. It doesn't even take her half a second to figure out a new plan about twenty times in the book. As soon as something goes wrong - oh there's a new plan! And it's much better although the problems (why Plan A failed) blew up and she couldn't have foreseen it.
Jazz has no flaws. Although she does get a lot of people into trouble I couldn't see any real flaws in her character. I mean even getting the whole city of Artemis (2000 people) in dangere at the end, there is nothing she can't do, and she figures out a solution immediately!
But at this point I was already overly jaded and slightly bored with the continuous obstacles Andy Weir threw in her way. They were just no longer believable (also especially because Jazz fixed them in no time because she is SO SMART). I know theoretically it is a good thing if everything that can go wrong goes wrong but in this book it was badly executed. It went over the top so much it almost turned into satire right then and there. I doubt this is what Andy Weir had in mind when he wrote the book.
Jazz is also an author insert. I had the feeling (I am running a program that emulates human emotions of course!) this is the person Andy Weir would love to be. Smart, witty, always quick with comebacks (and very rude), takes no shit (again rude as all heck), throws out curses and insults like an angry teenage boy (not sure this is what he wants to be... but anyway). However, apparently she's too smart to learn a good trade (and there's many!) in which she could make honest and good money. Instead, she continues to be a bratty teenager, refuses to apply herself, but continues to bitch about how little money she has. No kidding! You need to grow up if you want to make money. Her goal of restoring her father's welding workshop could have been much easier reached with an honest trade, and she had many offers to learn one, but no, she's a special snowflake. She has to have it her (illegal) way, or not at all.
The rebellious teen trope was strong with this one, and usually I wouldn't mind, but it was stated more than once that she's an adult, so it only makes her come across as an immature dickhead.
The rest of the characters were much of the same really. Most of them were also uber-smart and nice and just all around GOOD GUYS. Even the bad guys were GOOD GUYS (except one, who was really bad, but didn't speak much, so I assume he was some sort of Southern American zombie-monk). All of Jazz's friends were incredibly loyal (I don't see why. The only good thing about Jazz was her name - it rolls really nicely! - and her taking-no-shit attitude - although she was too rude and insulted people way too much for me to actually fire up the LIKE protocols) and (again) incredibly smart. They knew everything! They could do anything! They were also bland and had no real personality by themselves. Their only purpose seemed to assist Jazz in whatever she wanted to do. Also: there was a severe lack of awesome-knowledgeable women in her party. I guess it would have taken away from her own attempted awesomeness. Mary Sues don't like that!
The only characters I sort of liked were Svoboda and Rudy. I don't remember them throwing around insults like confetti on a fair or being assholes in general. Svoboda had some charm himself simple because he was so awkward (Could this be another author-insert? I won't complain this time though.) and a bit like a lost puppy. (What? I also like puppies.) I liked the romance element between him and Jazz because 1) It wasn't overdone 2) I like Svoboda as a character and it seems like Jazz also does. It was fun. I still wish he would have gotten a nicer girl who can appreciate him and doesn't verbally abuse him all the time.
On this note, abuse (verbal or otherwise) is not okay, and Jazz did a lot of that to everyone she supposedly cares about. This is a huge part why I don't like her. 12/10 would not want to be acquainted with Jazz Bashara.
WriteBot out.
PS: Remember: WriteBot always Wins.
Tuesday, October 24, 2017
Autonomous by Annalee Newitz
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.
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.
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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