“A Rousing Tale of Dauntless Pluck in the Farthest Reaches of Space”

I have just finished reading Larklight by Philip Reeve,  a fun space adventure intended for Young Adult readers. I shared this book with my 11 year old son B and we both enjoyed it. It is the middle of the 19th century and Sir Isaac Newton has not only figured out the properties of gravity, but has also used alchemy to discover the secret of the “chemical wedding” in an alembic chamber that can be used to power ships to other planets. Now the British Empire rules not only the Earth, but the other planets in the solar system as well. Art and his sister Myrtle are forced to flee their home, “Larklight”, in orbit of the moon when they are invaded by giant space spiders. They embark on a grand adventure, teaming up with a young space pirate Jack Havock and his band of alien misfits, to not only fight the spiders, but also save the planet earth and in the process learn great secrets about the origins of our solar system.
I though this was going to be an “alternative history” type of story with the main pretense being that space travel was invented during the Victorian era, but it turned out to have a twist in that line as it is written from a sensibility of that time period as well. The ships, which resemble wooden sailing ships more than rockets (and use canvas wings along with their engines),  do not travel in “space” but in the “aether” where the “air is thin” and numerous forms of wildlife, including space fish (or Ichthyomorphs), whales and giant squid roam. There are mushroom people and giant moths on the moon and, of course, canals on Mars. The combination of advanced technology in a victorian setting can not help but have a bit of “steampunk” feel to it, but I would not really apply that overused term to this book.
A fun romp for 11-15 year-olds, or adults with a sense of whimsy looking for a light read.

I have just finished reading a kind of unusual book called “The Art Of Racing In The Rain” by Garth Stein. I suppose you could say it is a book about life, love, family and overcoming hardships and surviving to see better times. Frankly I do not usually enjoy books about heartbreaking family struggles, but this one had two very interesting features that made it quite enjoyable to read. First, the entire story-line is framed around professional race car driving. Using the challenge of completing a difficult race both as a metaphor for making it through life’s troubles, and as a real and practical connection between how the skills and strategies one uses to be a successful race car driver can be applied to the rest of their life. Also included are some wonderful emotive descriptions of the thrill of high speed track driving that should connect with anyone with even a mild love of driving. The second interesting feature of this book is that it is told entirely from the point of view of a dog named Enzo (as in Ferrari). A smart and aware dog that observes and understands what is going on around him (sometimes better than his human counterparts) but is hindered by his frustrating lack of the power to speak (and lack of thumbs), which prevents him from sharing his insights and guidance with his people. Even though Enzo’s intelligence may (or may not) be unrealistically high for a dog, the character is still very much a real dog, and not anthropomorphized into being too human, as some children’s books might do. Like all of us, even the dog in this story has life lessons to learn, as he prepares himself for what he is sure will be his eventual reincarnation into a man. The author does an excellent job of using Enzo as an outside observer to present commentary on the events of the story, while offering some wonderful philosophy of life from a dog’s eye view.

First paragraph:

“Gestures are all I have; sometimes they must be grand in nature. And while I occasionally step over the line and into the world of the melodramatic, it is what I must do in order to communicate clearly and effectively. In order to make my point understood without question. I have no words I can rely on because, much to my dismay, my tongue was designed long and flat and loose, and therefore, is a horribly ineffective tool for pushing food around my mouth while chewing, and an even less effective tool for making clever and complicated polysyllabic sounds that can be linked together to form sentences.”

Getting to go a drive on the track:

“One bark means slower, two means faster, got it?”
I barked twice, and that surprised him and Pat an Jim, who were both leaning in the passenger window. “He wants to go faster already,” Jim said. “You’ve got yourself a good dog there.”
[...]
“You okay?” he asked, looking at me as we sped nearly one hundred twenty miles per hour down the back straight’
I barked twice.
“I’m gonna use up my tires if you keep me out here,” he said. “One more lap.”
Yes, one more lap. One more lap. Forever, one more lap. I live my life for one more lap. I give my life for one more lap! Please, God, please give me one more lap!
And that lap was spectacular…

A little philosophy on attitude:

“That which is around me does not affect my mood; my mood affects that which is around me.”

Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town by Cory Doctorow
A strange and wonderful book about two men trying to create a network of free wireless internet access across the city using found electronics. Only one of the men has a father who is a mountain and a mother who is a washing machine. “My father kept a roof over our head, and my mother kept our clothes clean”. One of his brothers is an island, while three others are Russian nesting dolls, and yet another can see the future. Perhaps all an elaborate strange metaphor about family history and family dynamics, it is also about trying to fit in the world when you leave home, while dealing with the family baggage you carry with you. Manages to nail that strange conflict of forces in an outsider who looks down with disdain on society, while at the same time wishing they just knew how to fit in.
One odd bit of business in this book is that the sons in this family each go by a variety of names, differentiated only by beginning letter. The text will switch names for the same person multiple times in a paragraph, or even mid sentence.  As in something like, “Adam walked into the room and said hi to Daniel. Hi Able, says David, How are you Devon, said Adric.” Presumably a statement on self identity which I never exactly nailed down.
An excellent, compelling, and sometimes a bit disturbing read which left me with a lot to think about. Also available as Creative Commons free download. Read it!

But when much is taken, something is returned . . .

Mau left his home island to undergo a rite of passage to manhood. His child soul would remain behind on the other island, and his manhood soul was waiting for him at home. But on his return, the world is changed. A giant tsunami wave washes away his people and he is left, the soul survivor of his nation, somewhere between boyhood and manhood, without a soul, to try and rebuild. To succeed he will have to rely on ancient customs and beliefs, while at the same time learning to challenge the past, and question the superstitions that have guided his people. He rises to the amazing challenge. With the help of Daphne, a girl from across the world who is the soul survivor of a ship wreck left on his island, he overcomes the challenges and discovers a truth about his people which turns the world upside down.

I greatly enjoyed this book and found it left  me with a positive uplifting mood when I read it. The character in the book faces a great and terrible challenge when his world is washed away, and even though he loses sight of his path to the future, he never stops moving forward, becoming the person he needs to be to face whatever comes. In addition to the challenges of surviving in his new surroundings, he also faces a personal inner struggle to reconcile the beliefs and superstitions of his people with the tragedy that befell them. How could the Gods they honor and offer food sacrifices to, make this wave? He refuses to feel “grateful” for being spared when everyone was not and holds his ancestors and Gods accountable for the tragedy. This story offers a wonderful challenge to religion. It recognizes the importance of belief and ritual in helping someone deal with troubled times, and notes the practical benefits also. Properly disposing of your dead, and certain food prep rituals can prevent disease as well as provide emotional comfort. At the same time, it sharply points out the importance of continuing to learn and grow and challenge the world around you. A society deeply mired in the past and beholden to ancient ritual and superstition can stagnate and fail to advance in learning and technology, or even regress.

Terry Pratchett diverges from his Discworld series on this one, but manages to weave a compelling tale of adventure, survival and mystery. Add some philosophy, ghosts, cannibals, buried treasure, mutineers, sharks and beer you have a truly enjoyable read for Young Adults and Adults alike.

Nation

I have just finished reading The Time Patrol by Poul Anderson. I first heard of Poul Anderson from this review of There Will Be Time that sounded like something I would enjoy. I was unable to find a copy that book, so I checked out “The Time Patrol” instead. I am feeling a bit lazy this morning so instead of writing my own synopsis I am borrowing this from the book jacket:

“The capacity for time travel has made human history a fragile thing. To protect the continuity of that history and guard humanity’s mysterious destiny, the men and woman of our own future have established the Time patrol, a far-flung organization dedicated to preserving the time lines and foiling the attempts of those who change history to suit their own purposes.”

This book is actually of collection of several shorter Time Patrol Stories combined with  “Star of the Sea”, the first full-length novel of Manse Edward and the Time Patrol. These stories are all very rich with a lot of historical details and color, and copious amounts of historical “what-if” speculation. What if that civilization had not rose to power, or if that leader can been killed before that great battle, or if that religion had taken hold and spread instead of the other one? I can not personally evaluate the accuracy of the historical details so generously offered in this book, but they seemed to be reasonable and were presented in a believable way. I would think that someone who was better versed in the historical details of ancient civilizations may be able to enjoy this book on another level. The premise is that the time line is somewhat elastic and will tend to recover or “snap back” from small changes (like one man’s death) but there are key individuals and moments in history that can shape many generations to come. Criminals from the future must be kept from influencing these key moments. The Time Patrol recruits suitable individuals from throughout time to study and maintain the time line.
Unfortunately the first few shorter stories seemed to be a bit repetitive and follow a clear pattern. First the agents travel back to a distant place and time, described with generous historical color and details, then a crisis unfolds which will mean the death of an agent or their loved ones. The only solutions to the crisis would involve breaking the Time Patrols strict rules, the biggest one being: an individual can not go back to change their own past. No jumping back a week to warn yourself not to open that door. Then the long buildup is quickly and neatly wrapped up by finding a way to bend (or break – just this once – wink) the rules. Luckily further in to the book the story lines grow longer and more complicated and involved.
Although a bit laborious at times wading through all the historical “what-ifs” while the characters try to identify the key moments of the time line that led to their own future which they must protect, this book is a good read and may be particularly interesting to students of history, ancient cultures or sociology.

I have just finished reading the book Futuretrack 5 by Robert Westall
I picked up this book on a whim from a library sale table for my 10 year old son to read. He enjoyed it and recommended to me, so I read it also. I was overall quite impressed. Reading reviews on Amazon it appears to be somewhat of an overlooked young adult classic. Not so many people have heard of it, but those who have read it, loved it.
Part Mad Max, part THX1138, and many parts all its own, this book takes place in a future England (it ends in 2012) where society is strictly divided into different classes. There are the Ests, these are the rich, elite educated class who enjoy comfortable homes in fancy estates, leisure time recreation and travel. Then there are the Unems who live in poverty and squalor in a violent urban society. Birth rates among the Unems are low, and death rates are high. The Ests suffer from birth rates higher than their system can maintain, so at the age of 21 all Ests are required to take E-level exams. Those scoring too low are cast out (through the “wire”) to become Unems. Those scoring high enough remain Ests, and those scoring perfect are destined to become Techs, a secret class of engineers and technicians that create and maintain all the advanced technologies that keep the society running. Although violence and death is a regular part of everyday life for the Unems, there are still laws and rules and those found breaking them are immediately whisked away by Paramils to a “lobo farm” where they are reduced to passive house servants for the Ests. The title refers to “Futuretracks” or job paths that some of the Unems take, including entertainment, competitive pinball, prostitution or deadly motorcycle racing (Futuretrack 5). The main character, Henry Kitson,  is born an Est, but scores 100% on his E levels and becomes a Tech and begins to learn the secrets of how things are run, but there is one big secret he can not find out concerning a mysterious Scott-Astbury and his “big mistake”. Bright, clever, strong and resourceful, Henry is not satisfied to babysit the main computer, “Laura” and her senile creator and decides to leave the system and find out what is really going on. He adventures outside of “the wire” with his Unem companion Keri and, showing his abilities to adapt and succeed at whatever challenges face him, discovers an entire world outside his previous life and teachings. His discoveries, and his subsequent decision to try to change the world for the better left me with a lot to think about, and sparked some interesting discussions in our household on the role of government and the merits of free will in society. The ending is far from black and white and could be considered happy, sad or somewhere in between based on your personal interpretation, which I guess is a testament to the depth of this book.

I have just finished reading Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman.
In this book we follow the exploits of an angel (with a little mischief in him) and a demon (with a little good in him) as they disobey orders from their respective superiors and work together to try to delay the apocalypse (which would bring to an end the lifestyles they have come to enjoy on earth). We also meet a professional Witchhunter, a young witch who possesses the one truly accurate book of prophecies, and the “Adversary, Destroyer of Kings, Angel of the Bottomless Pit, Great Beast that is called the Dragon, Prince of This World, Father of Lies, Spawn of Satan, and Lord of Darkness” who otherwise appears to a be normal, mischievous English boy who happens to able to instantly master any computer game he tries and doesn’t particularly want to bring about the end of the world.

Published 1655, Agnes Nutter’s book of prophecies, although accurate and correct, was not always as useful as one might hope:

It was obvious that Agnes had a line to the Future, but it was an unusually narrow and specific line. In other words. almost totally useless.
[...]
“She managed to come up with the kind of predictions that you can only understand after the thing has happened, like ‘Do Notte Buye Betamacks.’ That was a prediction for 1972.
[...]
“Most of the time she comes up with such an oblique reference that you can’t work it out until it’s gone past, and then it all slots into place. And she didn’t know what was going to be important or not, so it’s all a bit hit and miss. Her prediction for November 22, 1963 was about a house falling down in King’s Lynn.”
“Oh?” Newt looked politely blank.
“President Kennedy was assassinated, ” said Anathema helpfully. “but Dallas didn’t exist then, you see. Whereas King’s Lynn was quite important.”

There is also an important lesson on the hazards of burning someone with future sight at the stake for being a witch:

“Thirty seconds later an explosion took out the village green, scythed the valley clean of every living thing, and was seen as far away as Halifax.
There was much subsequent debate as to whether this had been sent by God or by Satan, but a note later found in Agnes Nutter’s cottage indicated that any divine or devilish intervention had been materially helped by the contents of Agnes’s petticoats, wherein she had with some foresight concealed eighty pounds of gunpowder and forty pounds of roofing nails.”

I got a good chuckle at the demon Crowley’s vintage Bentley in which any cassette tape left for more than a fortnight metamorphose into Best of Queen albums:

“Ah, this is more like it. Tchaikovsky,” said Aziraphale, opening a case and slotting it into the Blaupunkt.
“You won’t enjoy it,” sighed Crowley. “It’s been in the car for more than a fortnight.” A heavy bass beat began to thump through the Bentley as they sped past Heathrow. Asiraphale’s brow furrowed.
“I Don’t recognize this, “he said. “What is it?”
“It’s Tchaikovsky’s ‘Another One Bites the Dust’,” said Crowley [...]
They also listened to William Byrd’s “We Are the Champions” and Beethoven’s “I Want to Break Free.” Neither were as good as Vaughan Williams’s “Fat-Bottomed Girls.”

I have read quite a bit of Terry Pratchett, including many of his Discworld books, but I had not yet had a chance to read Neil Gaiman so I am not able to judge his influence on this book. I did see a lot of Pratchett in this book and, although this is certainly not a Discworld book, the presence of the DEATH character (and the other horsemen of the apocalypse) and the descriptions of witches make it feel closely related. To me it felt like a cross between Discworld and Only Human by Tom Holt. An enjoyable irreverent romp, well worth the read.

I have just finished reading another “Sherlock Holmes comes to Minnesota” book for our local library book group. In this story Holmes is called to Minnesota in 1899 to help investigate the mystery of the Kensington Runestone. For those who have not heard of it, this a real unsolved mystery from Western Minnesota. In 1898 a Swedish American farmer claimed to have discovered a stone tablet tangled in the roots of a tree. On the tablet were rune carvings which tell of a Viking exploration party exploring the area in 1362. If true, this would mean that Viking explorers ventured far further into North America than ever previously thought. Experts on both sides still debate whether the tablet is a hoax or real.
In this book the author takes some liberties with the story of the discovery of the Runestone, turning it into a murder mystery. Larry Millett does a fairly good job of creating a somewhat traditional Sherlock Holmes mystery story in the style of Arthur Conan Doyle, although in our book group discussion we noted how in this case Holmes was surrounded by several other extremely bright and competent individuals who were able to match wits with the great Holmes, perhaps more than usually occurred in traditional Holmes novels. The author also seems to delight in describing the flavors of rural Western Minnesota including the landscape, the cold and the taciturn Swedish demeanor of its residents. I enjoyed the descriptions on other-worldy flat landscape of the Red River valley, and the factoids about the heavy wall construction of grain bins designed to support the outward pressure of the grain which flows like a liquid. This was a fun book which should appeal to Sherlock Holmes fans and Western Minnesota natives alike.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians is a series of books with a mix of genres that is based on the Greek mythos. The book has many surprises in the beginning, so I won’t give you too many details and ruin the surprise. I will, however, tell you a little bit:

Percy Jackson has it tough. His father left across the sea before he was born, and his mother married Smelly Gabe, who plays poker, is mean to Percy’s mother, sniffs out money like a bloodhound (and asks Percy for it), and blames Percy if so much as a bird would poop on his car (never mind that Percy can’t drive). His mother always goes out of her way to get blue food because Gabe once said there was no such thing. At least he has his best friend Grover to help him through hard times.  But Percy Jackson’s life is thrown apart by a series of odd events involving mythical creatures, and the few answers he gets only brings more questions…

Read the book to find the questions (and answers)!

And if you like book 1, The Lightning Thief, you will probably like book 2 (The Sea of Monsters), book 3 (The Titan’s Curse) and book 4 (The Battle of the Labyrinth).

Baked out of red earthen clay, a Golem is brought to life with ancient magic text written on a piece of paper and placed inside their head. They are large and very strong and dutifully follow the instructions of their owner. A Golem will tirelessly perform the nasty, dirty jobs that no one else wants to do. Day in and day out for years on end without a rest they can handle molten iron, shovel animal guts in slaughter house, or stand in the cold, wet, dark bottom of a mine shaft turning a pump for decades.
But what might come of a Golem created by other Golems? In this installment of Terry Pratchett’s ever lovable Discworld series, Commander Samuel Vimes of the Watch struggles to solve a series of strange murders, while at the same time trying to figure out how the Patrician, Lord Vetinari is being slowly poisoned. Having read a number of the books out of order (which is not a problem with Discworld) this book gave me a lot of interesting background on a number of the Watch’s more interesting personalities including a werewolf struggling to control her instincts and female Dwarf (Cheery Littlebottom) who, despite her usual long beard, experiments with exposing her true gender with lipstick and skirts. We also see the start of a new age for the Golems when someone gives one ownership of itself by placing its paper of ownership inside its head. If you have somehow resisted entering the wonderful otherworld of Discworld, I encourage you to dive in, it is an amazing place that mirrors our own world, but with just enough differences to draw attention to our own crazy social institutions which we take for granted.
…and please someone tell me, is Wee Mad Arthur a Mac Nac Feegle?