Book Review: Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Augustine, a brilliant, aging astronomer, is consumed by the stars. For years he has lived in remote outposts, studying the sky for evidence of how the universe began. At his latest posting, in a research center in the Arctic, news of a catastrophic event arrives. The scientists are forced to evacuate, but Augustine stubbornly refuses to abandon his work. Shortly after the others have gone, Augustine discovers a mysterious child, Iris, and realizes the airwaves have gone silent. They are alone.

At the same time, Mission Specialist Sullivan is aboard the Aether on its return flight from Jupiter. The astronauts are the first human beings to delve this deep into space, and Sully has made peace with the sacrifices required of her: a daughter left behind, a marriage ended. So far the journey has been a success, but when Mission Control falls inexplicably silent, Sully and her crew mates are forced to wonder if they will ever get home.

As Augustine and Sully each face an uncertain future against forbidding yet beautiful landscapes, their stories gradually intertwine in a profound and unexpected conclusion. In crystalline prose, Good Morning, Midnight poses the most important questions: What endures at the end of the world? How do we make sense of our lives?

Good Morning, Midnight is a melancholy, introspective novel, with moments of great beauty. And yet, it doesn’t quite succeed — or at least, not for me.

The set-up is interesting: An older man who chooses to remain in his isolated Arctic environment when all others evacuate, knowing that he may not have another opportunity to leave, and the crew of a space mission returning to their home planet with no idea of what awaits them. The book deals with the extremes of loneliness: What does it mean to be the last humans? How does existing have meaning when there likely is no possibility of a future? What does it mean to live without connection to others?

While the themes are interesting, the plot is a bit thin. This is a book about what happens within the souls of people in extreme situations; it’s not a typical post-apocalyptic adventure story. And yet, setting up a plot like this without offering explanation left me feeling very frustrated. Granted, the characters themselves did not get any answers, but I wanted to at least know the cause.

As the astronauts approach Earth orbit, they observe that the planet looks normal — no obliterating dust clouds, no evidence of massive destruction — and yet there’s the eerie fact that the night side of the globe has none of the twinkling lights they’d expect to see. The planet has gone dark, and no one responds to their attempts at communication. The mysterious catastrophe is not the point of the story, but rather what’s left for those who remain, but I simply couldn’t be satisfied without knowing more.

An additional negative for me is the revelation of a connection at the end of the book that’s entirely too coincidental for my taste. It makes the parallel storylines a bit too neat, and is both unnecessary and unbelievable.

Good Morning, Midnight didn’t fully engage my interest, and there are some serious flaws in the approach to the story. I was much more engaged by the idea of the story and how it might go than by the actual execution. Perhaps I expected more science fiction based on the description, and felt let down to discover that the sci-fi set-up is merely a frame for a story that’s very much a look at people’s interiors.

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The details:

Title: Good Morning, Midnight
Author: Lily Brooks-Dalton
Publisher: Random House
Publication date: August 9, 2016
Length: 272 pages
Genre: Science fiction
Source: Library

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15Nov2016

Shelf Control #59: Old Man’s War

Posted in Shelf Control by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Welcome to the newest weekly feature here at Bookshelf Fantasies… Shelf Control!

Shelf Control is all about the books we want to read — and already own! Consider this a variation of a Wishing & Waiting post… but looking at books already available, and in most cases, sitting right there on our shelves and e-readers.

Want to join in? See the guidelines and linky at the bottom of the post, and jump on board! Let’s take control of our shelves!

My Shelf Control pick this week is:

Title: Old Man’s War
Author: John Scalzi
Published: 2007
Length: 362 pages

What it’s about (synopsis via Goodreads):

John Perry did two things on his 75th birthday. First he visited his wife’s grave. Then he joined the army.

The good news is that humanity finally made it into interstellar space. The bad news is that planets fit to live on are scarce– and alien races willing to fight us for them are common. So: we fight. To defend Earth, and to stake our own claim to planetary real estate. Far from Earth, the war has been going on for decades: brutal, bloody, unyielding.

Earth itself is a backwater. The bulk of humanity’s resources are in the hands of the Colonial Defense Force. Everybody knows that when you reach retirement age, you can join the CDF. They don’t want young people; they want people who carry the knowledge and skills of decades of living. You’ll be taken off Earth and never allowed to return. You’ll serve two years at the front. And if you survive, you’ll be given a generous homestead stake of your own, on one of our hard-won colony planets.

John Perry is taking that deal. He has only the vaguest idea what to expect. Because the actual fight, light-years from home, is far, far harder than he can imagine–and what he will become is far stranger.

How I got it:

At the used bookstore, when I was trading in a stack of my older books.

When I got it:

Early in 2015.

Why I want to read it:

I’ve been on a Scalzi kick lately. I’ve listened to three audiobook versions of his novels this year, and loved them all. I’ve had my eye on this series for a while, but I’ve been trying to finish up other reading commitments. I think the Old Man’s War series will be the one I choose to kick off 2017!

__________________________________

Want to participate in Shelf Control? Here’s how:

Write a blog post about a book that you own that you haven’t read yet.
Add your link below!
And if you’d be so kind, I’d appreciate a link back from your own post.
Check out other posts, and have fun!

For more on why I’ve started Shelf Control, check out my introductory post here, or read all about my out-of-control book inventory, here.

And if you’d like to post a Shelf Control button on your own blog, here’s an image to download (with my gratitude, of course!):

11Oct2016

Audiobook mini-review: The Dispatcher by John Scalzi

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

One day, not long from now, it becomes almost impossible to murder anyone – 999 times out of a thousand, anyone who is intentionally killed comes back. How? We don’t know. But it changes everything: war, crime, daily life.

Tony Valdez is a Dispatcher – a licensed, bonded professional whose job is to humanely dispatch those whose circumstances put them in death’s crosshairs, so they can have a second chance to avoid the reaper. But when a fellow Dispatcher and former friend is apparently kidnapped, Tony learns that there are some things that are worse than death and that some people are ready to do almost anything to avenge a supposed wrong.

It’s a race against time for Valdez to find his friend before it’s too late…before not even a Dispatcher can save him.

What a treat! This brand-new audiobook is currently available FREE from Audible. How can you resist?

Narrated by actor Zachary Quinto, The Dispatcher is a brief novella that has an immediate hook. The intrigue starts with the opening scene — why is the main character insisting on being allowed into an operating room, and why is the surgeon so angry about it?

As the story unfolds, we learn about the new normal, in which anyone who dies via murder comes back — so that someone deemed irreversibly ill or injured requires the services of a Dispatcher, someone who will intentionally kill the near-death person so they can resume their lives. It’s a totally legal and licensed profession, except when a Dispatcher pick up a little gray-area work on the side.

As the mystery of Tony’s missing friend unfolds, we follow his work with a detective to uncover the seamier side of Dispatching and their race against time to find the missing man before he dies a permanent death. Meanwhile, while the story has many of the tropes of a noir detective story, we’re treated to one odd scenario after another in which we learn just how much our world changes when death is no longer final.

I won’t give away anything further. The Dispatcher is an absolutely glorious audiobook experience. The pacing and plot are fabulous, and Quinto’s narration is pretty much spot on (although his voice for a goonish bodyguard is perhaps too goofy, and his women tend to the breathy end of the vocal spectrum). Still, his reading of the story is terrifically enjoyable, with just the right emphases and pauses and intonations to make it fun and suspenseful.

What are you waiting for? It’s FREE. And it’s great. If sci-fi/speculative fiction is at all your thing, you owe it to yourself to check out The Dispatcher.

And oh yeah.

FREE.

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The details:

Title: The Dispatcher
Author: John Scalzi
Narrator: Zachary Quinto
Publisher: Audible Studios
Publication date: October 4, 2016
Audiobook length: 2 hours, 19 minutes
Printed book length: n/a – not available in print format
Genre: Science fiction/speculative fiction
Source: Download via Audible

7Oct2016

Book Review: Crosstalk by Connie Willis

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Science fiction icon Connie Willis brilliantly mixes a speculative plot, the wit of Nora Ephron, and the comedic flair of P. G. Wodehouse in Crosstalk a genre-bending novel that pushes social media, smartphone technology, and twenty-four-hour availability to hilarious and chilling extremes as one young woman abruptly finds herself with way more connectivity than she ever desired.

In the not-too-distant future, a simple outpatient procedure to increase empathy between romantic partners has become all the rage. And Briddey Flannigan is delighted when her boyfriend, Trent, suggests undergoing the operation prior to a marriage proposal to enjoy better emotional connection and a perfect relationship with complete communication and understanding. But things don’t quite work out as planned, and Briddey finds herself connected to someone else entirely in a way far beyond what she signed up for.

It is almost more than she can handle especially when the stress of managing her all-too-eager-to-communicate-at-all-times family is already burdening her brain. But that’s only the beginning. As things go from bad to worse, she begins to see the dark side of too much information, and to realize that love and communication are far more complicated than she ever imagined.

The world of Crosstalk is very similar to our own, with the notable exception of an advance in technology. Connection is everything, and now there is a way for people in a relationship to take a step beyond, by means of a simple surgical procedure called an EED. Through this procedures — which is BRAIN SURGERY — two people with an emotional bond open up a neural pathway between them, so that they can each feel and experience the other’s emotions. It’s not mind-reading, as the doctors are quick to point out; rather, it’s a way to reinforce the connection already developing in a relationship.

After all, why just tell someone you love them when you can let them FEEL for themselves that the love is strong and true?

Briddey works for the telecommunications company Commspan, a company obsessed with beating Apple at its own game. Briddey’s true love, Trent, works for Commspan too. After a whirlwind six-week relationship, Trent pops the question. Not a marriage proposal, but one that causes just as much gleeful celebration — he asks Briddey to get an EED with him. The gossip flies through the company almost instantaneously, and then Briddey has to find a way to inform her overly-involved family about her decision. Meanwhile, her coworker C. B. Schwartz, who works in the basement and is routinely mocked for his antisocial ways, finds Briddey and rather stridently tries to talk her out of the EED.

When the world-famous surgeon who performs EEDs for royal families and Hollywood power couples (the book includes an already out-of-date reference to Brad and Angelina) becomes suddenly available to perform the EED right away, Briddey decides to go for it, and deal with the fallout afterward. Little does she know how hugely her world will change.

Crosstalk asks us to imagine a world in which we’re not just glued to our smartphones, but in which even greater instant communication is the top prize. Total connection, 24/7 — who wouldn’t want that? Being unplugged is considered a sign of social deviance, or at the very least, dysfunction. Not only is the workplace absolutely crawling with instantaneous sharing of every tidbit of news and gossip, but even on the home front, we see a nine-year-old practically being stalked by her overbearing, hyper-anxious mother.

Doesn’t sound familiar at all, does it?

Natually, when things go wrong after the EED, Briddey makes all sorts of startling discoveries — about herself, her family, her relationship, and her place in the world.

I’ll leave the summary at that, because the break-neck pace and chapter-by-chapter reveals are what makes this book such fun.

In terms of my reaction, it’s mixed.

Briddey is an engaging character, but I can’t help feeling that she’s incredibly naive. She is so completely taken in by Trent that she doesn’t see a single red flag, even though they’re right in her face. We never really find out what her job is at Commspan, which bothers me as well. For someone who spends that much time at work (or, if not at work, then communicating with work), it’s odd not to actually see her, you know, work at all.

I enjoyed Briddey’s large, unruly, nosy family, especially her wonderful niece Maeve, who has a secret taste for zombie movies and becomes more and more central to the plot as the book progresses.

After a somewhat slow start, the plot really picks up steam, and the last third or so of the book is fast and furious and practically impossible to put down. It’s certainly a fun and entertaining read. That said, I’m not sure that the entire plotline makes sense, and the climax and resolution are both hard to follow and hard to swallow.

I also felt that some of the technological insights were a little too obvious. Commspan’s big breakthrough seems to be a set of apps that will send excuses for not picking up the phone or other such types of social barriers — but how is that new? I mean, when my IPhone rings, I can hit a button and send a “can’t talk now” message. A lot of the implied commentary on hyper-connectedness and the need to unplug felt just a tiny bit beside the point to me. We’ve had this conversation already, haven’t we?

Crosstalk, at over 500 pages, is probably about 100 pages longer than it needed to be. Still, it moves fast after the first few chapters, and I was never bored. Briddey is quite fun to get to know, and so are the rest of the characters. Despite the craziness of some of the plot points, Crosstalk is a good choice if you’re looking for a sci-fi-tinged adventure set in our own time, with plot twists and complications that, although sometimes easy to predict, never fail to entertain.

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The details:

Title: Crosstalk
Author: Connie Willis
Publisher: Del Rey
Publication date: October 4, 2016
Length: 512 pages
Genre: Science fiction
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley

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15Sep2016

Audiobook Review: The Android’s Dream by John Scalzi

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

A human diplomat kills his alien counterpart. Earth is on the verge of war with a vastly superior alien race. A lone man races against time and a host of enemies to find the one object that can save our planet and our people from alien enslavement…

A sheep.

That’s right, a sheep. And if you think that’s the most surprising thing about this book, wait until you read Chapter One. Welcome to The Android’s Dream.

For Harry Creek, it’s quickly becoming a nightmare. All he wants is to do his uncomplicated mid-level diplomatic job with Earth’s State Department. But his past training and skills get him tapped to save the planet–and to protect pet store owner Robin Baker, whose own past holds the key to the whereabouts of that lost sheep. Doing both will take him from lava-strewn battlefields to alien halls of power. All in a day’s work. Maybe it’s time for a raise.

Throw in two-timing freelance mercenaries, political lobbyists with megalomaniac tendencies, aliens on a religious quest, and an artificial intelligence with unusual backstory, and you’ve got more than just your usual science fiction adventure story. You’ve got The Android’s Dream.

The Android’s Dream absolutely lives up to expectations… except for the teeny little fact that there’s a sleeping robot on the cover, and this is assuredly not a book about robots.

Instead, it’s about intergalactic politics and brinksmanship, artificial intelligence, governmental hijinks, a man-made religion… and yes, sheep. Look, it’s silly and doesn’t necessarily make sense 100% of the time, but it’s always entertaining, even when it makes your head hurt.

The cast of characters is large, and features diplomats, hired thugs, alien warriors, war vets, pet store owners, and an overgrown young alien on his culture’s version of an Amish Rumspringa. In terms of setting, the book takes place in the halls of power on Earth, onboard an intergalactic cruiser, on an alien planet, and in one particularly action-packed scene, at a mall.

Robin Baker and Harry Creek are awesome good guys. They’re both genuinely good people sucked into a completely f*cked up and weird situation, and maintain a surprising amount of good cheer and plain old resourcefulness when it all hits the fan. The politicos aren’t entirely corrupt, and there’s even one at the State Department who has his head on straight, outthinks everyone around him, and is hell on wheels in the courtroom.

In terms of the audiobook, there are pros and cons.

On the negative side, the twists and turns of the plot and the complicated interconnections between the rather huge number of characters make the plot a bit hard to figure out and keep straight via audio. After listening to the first 2 or 3 chapters, I had to stop by the library to get a hard copy so I could go back and make sure I understood who the various characters were and what they wanted. There’s a lot of plotting and scheming in The Android’s Dream, and keeping the players sorted is essential

That’s really the only downside of the audiobook — other than than, I’d say that audio is definitely the way to go!

Narrator Wil Wheaton is superb at bringing characters to life, from the full-of-themselves ambassadors and high muckety-mucks to the secret church officials to the clueless cruiseliner passengers. His accents and inflections are spot-on, and man, it’s just all so darn funny.

Call me immature, but I found something immensely hilarious about hearing Wheaton pronounce names like Narf-win-Getag and Hubu-auf-Getag, or describe the Nagch people’s rite of Ftruu, or even analyze the landmark legal case Agnach Agnach-u v. Ar-Thaneg. This stuff might look funny on the page, but listen to it repeated over and over again, in scenes of blustering negotiations or high-octane action, and it’s… I don’t know… just laugh out loud riotous.

Once I got past my initial confusion, I really loved The Android’s Dream, and was especially glad that I stuck it out long enough to really get into the groove of the audiobook. John Scalzi’s writing plus Wil Wheaton’s narration is a dream combination. I wish this book had a sequel (as I understand, at one point, there was maybe-sorta a plan for one, but it never happened) — but barring that, I’ll be happy to listen to more Scalzi/Wheaton audiobooks any time one lands in my hands (or in my Audible app).

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The details:

Title: The Android’s Dream
Author: John Scalzi
Narrator: Wil Wheaton
Publisher: Tor Books
Publication date: 2006
Audiobook length: 10 hours, 34 minutes
Printed book length: 396 pages
Genre: Science fiction
Source: Purchased

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7Sep2016

Book Review: Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

This is one twisty, suspenseful, mind-f*ck of a book… and I mean that in the best way possible!

Synopsis via Goodreads:

“Are you happy with your life?” Those are the last words Jason Dessen hears before the masked abductor knocks him unconscious. Before he awakens to find himself strapped to a gurney, surrounded by strangers in hazmat suits. Before a man Jason’s never met smiles down at him and says, “Welcome back, my friend.”

In this world he’s woken up to, Jason’s life is not the one he knows. His wife is not his wife. His son was never born. And Jason is not an ordinary college physics professor but a celebrated genius who has achieved something remarkable–something impossible.

Is it this world or the other that’s the dream? And even if the home he remembers is real, how can Jason possibly make it back to the family he loves? The answers lie in a journey more wondrous and horrifying than anything he could’ve imagined—one that will force him to confront the darkest parts of himself even as he battles a terrifying, seemingly unbeatable foe.

Okay, wow. I could not put this book down. I mean, edge of seat, biting the nails, all in.

So… enough gushing. Let’s talk about why this is such a great read.

In Dark Matter, the author (a) creates a scenario that feels actually possible, even though it’s pure science fiction; (b) trusts that his readers are intelligent enough to follow the plot down the physics rabbit holes; and (c) creates characters who we can truly care about.

Poor Jason. Of all the ways a life can go wrong, I’m sure he never expected this one! One day he’s teaching college physics, married to a lovely woman, father of a pretty awesome teen boy. Next thing he knows, he’s kidnapped, drugged, and waking up in a strange lab to applause and cheers, surrounded by people who seem to be his super-impressed colleagues.

It all comes down to quantum physics. Of course. Years earlier, Jason and Daniela each compromised on their dreams — Jason to make the kind of physics breakthrough that changes the world, Daniela to achieve renown as an artist — in order to focus on family and marriage. But what if there’s a world where Jason made different choices? In the multiverse concept (as explained by me, a non-physicist, so be kind and forgive anything I get wrong), each decision a person makes spins off an entirely new universe from that decision point (okay, yeah, that’s totally simplistic, but best I can do in a quick digest)… and Jason, being a world-class physicist, can appreciate the dilemma of worlds colliding and splitting more than most.

I really don’t want to say too much about the plot of Dark Matter. It’s complicated and fast-moving, will occasionally make your head spin, and moves along its path in all sorts of WTF-ish ways.

I loved the complexity of Jason’s situation and the seeming hopelessness of his quest. The climax of the book includes scenes that are absolutely out there, but also kind of perfect. There are shades of grey and some practically impossible decisions that must be made. And oddly, beyond being a very cool and fascinating science fiction novel, I think it’s fair to say that Dark Matter is also a love story. It’s Jason’s love for Daniela and his son Charlie that propel him through his despair and force him to keep trying when all hope seems lost.

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The details:

Title: Dark Matter
Author: Blake Crouch
Publisher: Crown
Publication date: July 26, 2016
Length: 342 pages
Genre: Science fiction
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley (and then bought myself a copy!)

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30Aug2016

Shelf Control #49: Riverworld

Posted in Shelf Control by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Welcome to the newest weekly feature here at Bookshelf Fantasies… Shelf Control!

Want to join in? See the guidelines and linky at the bottom of the post, and jump on board! Let’s take control of our shelves!

My Shelf Control pick this week is:

Title: River world
Author: Philip José Farmer
Published: 1971
Length: 448 pages

What it’s about (synopsis via Goodreads):

From award-winning author Philip Jose Farmer comes his most famous science fiction work: the first combined edition of the first two Riverworld novels, To Your Scattered Bodies Go and The Fabulous Riverboat.

Imagine that every human who ever lived, from the earliest Neanderthals to the present, is resurrected after death on the banks of an astonishing and seemingly endless river on an unknown world. They are miraculously provided with food, but with not a clue to the possible meaning of this strange afterlife. And so billions of people from history, and before, must start living again.

Some set sail on the great river questing for the meaning of their resurrection, and to find and confront their mysterious benefactors. On this long journey, we meet Sir Richard Francis Burton, Mark Twain, Odysseus, Cyrano de Bergerac, and many others, most of whom embark upon searches of their own in this huge afterlife.

How I got it:

I bought it.

When I got it:

About five years ago.

Why I want to read it:

Long story (okay, maybe not that long) — I reconnected with an old high school friend on Facebook after being out of touch for many years. We discovered that we shared a geeky love for all sorts of science fiction, and he began rather mercilessly pushing me to read the Riverworld series. I kept promising to do it, and even bought myself a copy. And then, well… it kind of fell off my radar. My old friend and I are still FB friends, but haven’t been in touch much lately. I do feel guilty every time I see this book on my shelf!

And since I do love sci-fi and haven’t started any new series in a while, maybe I should finally give this one a try. It sounds weird and trippy enough to be something I’d probably enjoy!

__________________________________

Want to participate in Shelf Control? Here’s how:

Write a blog post about a book that you own that you haven’t read yet.
Add your link below!
And if you’d be so kind, I’d appreciate a link back from your own post.
Check out other posts, and have fun!

For more on why I’ve started Shelf Control, check out my introductory post here, or read all about my out-of-control book inventory, here.

And if you’d like to post a Shelf Control button on your own blog, here’s an image to download (with my gratitude, of course!):

Save

29Jul2016

Audiobook Review: Agent To The Stars by John Scalzi

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

The space-faring Yherajk have come to Earth to meet us and to begin humanity’s first interstellar friendship. There’s just one problem: They’re hideously ugly and they smell like rotting fish. So getting humanity’s trust is a challenge. The Yherajk need someone who can help them close the deal. Enter Thomas Stein, who knows something about closing deals. He’s one of Hollywood’s hottest young agents. But although Stein may have just concluded the biggest deal of his career, it’s quite another thing to negotiate for an entire alien race. To earn his percentage this time, he’s going to need all the smarts, skills, and wits he can muster.

Agent to the Stars is John Scalzi’s first novel, but you’d never know it. It’s hilarious. And wonderful. And just so perfectly entertaining.

A heavy-duty reflection on the nature of humanity… is not what this is. Instead, it’s a fast-paced, in-your-face, silly look at the world of Hollywood, the art of the deal… and aliens.

In this case, very smelly aliens. The Yherajk communicate via smell, so attending one of their senior officers meetings onboard their space ship is likely to make a human vomit or pass out. And yet, they’re a peaceful race with advanced intelligence and technology, and they just want to get to know us.

Tom Stein is placed in the once-in-a-lifetime position of being the man chosen to introduce an entire race to humanity. As a Hollywood agent, Tom is an expert when it comes to making something attractive, garnering attention, and making people want more. But how to package and promote a species that looks like blobs of goo? With Yherajk representative Joshua designated as Tom’s personal liaison, things go from weird to unbelieavably weird in a flash, and meanwhile, Tom is still trying to place his of-the-moment hot actress into the dramatic role of a lifetime.

To say any more would be to ruin the fun. In case I haven’t made it perfectly clear, this is not at all a serious book. As an audiobook, it suited my needs to a T. Light and breezy, it’s a perfect listen for when you don’t need to engage a lot of brain cells. I can definitely attest to the fact that this audiobook made for a great couple of weeks of commuting.

Narrator Wil Wheaton takes the crazy imagination of John Scalzi and turns it into a wild and hilarious performance that’s silly and light, and yet with some surprisingly touching moments too. Such fun. If your sense of humor runs toward goofy and you enjoy wholly unusual sci-fi plots (with smelly aliens), don’t miss this book!

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The details:

Title: Agent To The Stars
Author: John Scalzi
Narrator: Wil Wheaton
Publisher: Subterranean Press
Publication date: 2004
Audiobook length: 8 hours, 49 minutes
Printed book length: 363 pages
Genre: Science fiction
Source: Purchased

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2Jun2016

Book Review: Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Synopsis:

(via Goodreads)

A girl named Rose is riding her new bike near her home in Deadwood, South Dakota, when she falls through the earth. She wakes up at the bottom of a square hole, its walls glowing with intricate carvings. But the firemen who come to save her peer down upon something even stranger: a little girl in the palm of a giant metal hand.

Seventeen years later, the mystery of the bizarre artifact remains unsolved—its origins, architects, and purpose unknown. Its carbon dating defies belief; military reports are redacted; theories are floated, then rejected.

But some can never stop searching for answers.

Rose Franklin is now a highly trained physicist leading a top secret team to crack the hand’s code. And along with her colleagues, she is being interviewed by a nameless interrogator whose power and purview are as enigmatic as the provenance of the relic. What’s clear is that Rose and her compatriots are on the edge of unraveling history’s most perplexing discovery—and figuring out what it portends for humanity. But once the pieces of the puzzle are in place, will the result prove to be an instrument of lasting peace or a weapon of mass destruction?

My thoughts:

Sleeping Giants is so weird… and I loved it.

The entire story is told through transcripts, a series of interviews and journal entries that, once pieced together, tell the story of a world-changing discovery and the lengths one man in particular will go to see the project through to completion.

While there are a handful of recurring central characters — Kara, the gutsy helicopter pilot, Vincent, a linguist, Dr. Franklin, the project leader — the main character is really the unnamed person conducting the interviews. He (I’m pretty sure it’s a he) sets the wheels in motion for the entire project, and has a cold, logical approach that seems brutal at first, although over time we can also see his brilliance and his absolute mastery of manipulation, even on a global scale.

The hand initially discovered is only one piece of an artifact that will, over the ensuing years, be pursued and retrieved all across the world — even if that involves entering foreign air space and initiating near-catastrophic political and military actions. The reasons for the seemingly blind pursuit of the objects become clearer over time, as the true implications of the discovery and what it means for humanity as a whole are revealed bit by bit. Meanwhile, there’s non-stop action as the tension builds and builds.

Sleeping Giants is really a geeky delight. For people into science stories, this is a good one. It involves decoding never-before-seen language and technology and recreating a device without knowing what its purpose is. For those who enjoy action and thrills, there are plenty, including military expeditions and mad escapes. For those into medical thrillers, there are biological experiments and humans being subjected to all sorts of studies, willing or not.

On top of all that, the characters are just plain fun. Kara is especially terrific — and maybe it’s the combination of her name and being a pilot, but I couldn’t help picturing her as a modern-day version of Starbuck from Battlestar Galactica.

Sleeping Giants is already being developed as a movie, and I can easily imagine it being great. Meanwhile, the second book in the series, Waking Gods, is scheduled for publication in 2017 (and believe me, I can’t wait to see what happens next.)

You know when you read a library book, finish it, and then realize you need your own personal copy? That.

Sleeping Giants is a terrific read. Check it out!

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The details:

Title: Sleeping Giants
Author: Sylvain Neuvel
Publisher: Del Rey
Publication date: April 26, 2016
Length: 320 pages
Genre: Science fiction
Source: Library

8Mar2016

Shelf Control #26: Agent to the Stars

Posted in Shelf Control by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Welcome to the newest weekly feature here at Bookshelf Fantasies… Shelf Control!

Want to join in? See the guidelines and linky at the bottom of the post, and jump on board! Let’s take control of our shelves!

My Shelf Control pick this week is:

Title: Agent to the Stars
Author: John Scalzi
Published: 2004
Length: 366 pages

What it’s about (synopsis via Goodreads):

The space-faring Yherajk have come to Earth to meet us and to begin humanity’s first interstellar friendship. There’s just one problem: They’re hideously ugly and they smell like rotting fish.

So getting humanity’s trust is a challenge. The Yherajk need someone who can help them close the deal.

Enter Thomas Stein, who knows something about closing deals. He’s one of Hollywood’s hottest young agents. But although Stein may have just concluded the biggest deal of his career, it’s quite another thing to negotiate for an entire alien race. To earn his percentage this time, he’s going to need all the smarts, skills, and wits he can muster.

How I got it:

It was a Kindle daily deal!

When I got it:

Last year.

Why I want to read it:

I loved John Scalzi’s Redshirts, and this sounds just as weird and funny. Plus, a friend with great book taste (i.e., we like a lot of the same things) told me I had to read Agent to the Stars, so there you go.

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