The Quatermass Book Reading Marathon Blog: Taking the Fifth

Post Reply New Topic

Book 3...

REVIEW: Raptor Red by Robert T Bakker


I like dinosaurs. Who doesn't? And I have been wowed by the re-animated dinosaurs in Jurassic Park and Walking with Dinosaurs. So eventually, I decided to try an interesting novel by Robert T Bakker, noted paleontologist and advisor for Jurassic Park. Writing a xenofiction novel based around the life of an Utahraptor and her family, Bakker created Raptor Red. But would this novel revive the dinosaurs in the mind of the reader, or would it go extinct?

Raptor Red is an Utahraptor, a new dinosaur species on the scene of Utah in the Cretaceous. But life is never easy for a dinosaur. When her mate is killed during a hunt, Raptor Red tries to live on her own, only to run into her sister and her brood. But even as they hunt prey and dodge even deadlier dinosaurs, watched by a canny old pterosaur, their family group is threatened by the arrival of a male. Raptor Red wants him as a mate, but her sister detests the male, and his presence may drive the sisters apart...

Reading Raptor Red is rather like reading a novelisation for Walking with Dinosaurs (technically, there is such a novelisation, in the book of the TV series), in that the author takes what is known about the dinosaurs of the time, what can be reasonably inferred from them, and weaves a story. How scientifically accurate is this portrayal, I have no idea. But Bakker succeeds in creating an entertaining story that makes us care about Raptor Red and her family.

Anthropomorphising animals like this is still a dubious exercise, but Bakker still succeeds in making the cast of characters interesting. Each main character dinosaur has a distinct personality. Not that they have complicated personalities, they are dinosaurs after all, but it makes one involved. However, the storyline of Raptor Red is at times a little dry, and sometimes becomes a little too divergent from the main storyline in order to focus on another aspect of life in the Cretaceous.

Even so, I do recommend Raptor Red as something different, something that might actually surprise you. Try it on for size.



9/10

First words: 'Call her Utahraptor.'

Last words: When I imagine Raptor Red, she is looking at me with eyes like those.

I'll soon be finishing the second volume of Transmetropolitan, with Doctor Who: The Coming of the Terraphiles and Pride and Prejudice to soon follow.

Book 4...

REVIEW: Transmetropolitan volume 2: Lust for Life by Warren Ellis, Darick Robertson and Rodney Ramos


Not long ago, for my previous book-reading blog, I reviewed the first volume of Warren Ellis' famous series, Transmetropolitan. Portraying a rather violent and strange vision of the far future, it was not for everyone, but it still was quite a good graphic novel. So it was inevitable that I would try to read further into the series. But is the second volume any good? Would the tales of Spider Jerusalem rise to greater heights, or drown in gore and perversity?

Spider Jerusalem is getting back into the groove of working as a journalist in the City, but his relationship with his assistant, Channon Yarrow, takes a turn for the worse when her boyfriend dumps her. When the boyfriend decides to download himself into a cloud of nanomachines, Spider brings Yarrow along to the event, hoping that it will be cathartic. But the events there drive her away. Meanwhile, Spider meets with Mary, a journalist from the 20th Century who was cryogenically frozen and was now revived centuries later into a horrific future, and then, Spider investigates the Cultural Reservations. But soon, Spider will be forced to fight for his life when his past sins catch up with him. No less than five groups of people want him dead, including a genetically engineered intelligent police dog, a strange cult of mysophobics, and the cryogenically frozen head of his wife...

As usual, Transmetropolitan skirts the edge. This is a dark take on the future, not actually dystopic per se, but violent and disturbing. This is a future where we are shown that cloned human meat can be consumed, where anyone from the 20th and 21st Centuries would go insane by just looking around a street (and we are shown this process in one of the stories). This is a world where grey and grey morality, at best, prevails. And you need a strong stomach to read it. In other words, this series is certainly not for everyone.

However, if you can tolerate the violence, we have better stories and character development this time around. The first story has Spider trying to comfort Channon Yarrow after being dumped, and while it backfires spectacularly, he is beginning to show a much more human side to him, a trend that continues into the next story. In this story, he interviews a journalist from the 20th Century who had been cryogenically frozen, and then revived, without her husband, into a grotesque future that doesn't care about her or her achievements, and at the end of the story, you see one of the biggest indications of Spider's humanity. A little more of this can be seen when Spider visits the Cultural Reservations, an intriguing concept. But we also get reminded of how much of a jerk he is during a three-part story where Spider has to avoid several groups of people trying to kill him. At least one of them wants to kill him because of his negligence, wilful or not.

We have a number of interesting characters this time around. Besides Spider's character development, we have Channon Yarrow leaving Spider after her boyfriend gets downloaded into a cloud of nanomachines (as well as additional heartbreak). Of the new characters, we have the Downloaded nanohuman Tico Cortez, a blunt but relatively nice human nanocolony, the aforementioned journalist Mary, whom you feel so sorry for, and Stomponato, a genetically engineered police dog with a murderous grudge against Spider after Spider had him castrated. All interesting to one degree or another.

Overall, Transmetropolitan is definitely not for everyone. But for those who can stomach a grotesque world, it's a good story. The second volume may make you laugh, cry, and think. For those who can tolerate the dark world, give it a shot.



9.5/10


First words: Ziang's dumped me.

Last words: There always is.

Book 5...

REVIEW: Doctor Who: The Coming of the Terraphiles by Michael Moorcock


I'll have to admit to not having read any of Michael Moorcock's works, so reading his first, and to date, only Doctor Who book, is my introduction to his world. He is famous in fantasy and science fiction for creating rich worlds and characters, but I have to wonder, is The Coming of the Terraphiles up to scratch?

Sent a garbled message warning of a universal catastrophe, the Doctor and Amy are directed to the planet Peers in the year 51007, where the Terraphiles, re-enactors of old Earth customs and sports (and getting them wrong), are preparing for the big match on the planet Miggea. The prize? The Silver Arrow of Artemis. But the theft of a hat from Lady Banning-Cannon jeopardises their chances of even leaving Peers, and the Doctor is certain that the Force Brothers, deranged twin brothers from the realm of antimatter is behind this somehow. But what does the theft of a hat have to do with the impending collapse of the multiverse? The Doctor and Amy, along with infamous space pirate Cornelius, must find out...

What. The. F**k? I am reminded, when reading The Coming of the Terraphiles, of Dave Stone's Doctor Who novels. There is a similar, bizarre and garishly humorous tone to them. But Dave Stone, even when putting in ridiculous humour, is able to keep the feel of Doctor Who about it. Whereas The Coming of the Terraphiles feels very different to most Doctor Who fiction. In fact, it feels more like a different continuity and genre, despite mentions of the Daleks, the Time Lords, and the Judoon. You can feel the joins between Doctor Who and Moorcock's own universe.

The storyline itself is fine, it's okay, entertaining enough. There's some nice humour and some nice concepts, like the Terraphiles humorously misinterpreting things about Earth's past and really, if this wasn't a Doctor Who novel, it'd be great by itself. But it feels like Moorcock crowbarred Doctor Who into a story he was already working on. The characters of the Doctor and Amy work only just, but their characters don't quite feel like the TV versions. The other characters are entertaining enough, but feel like grotesque and too-humorous exaggerations.

All in all, The Coming of the Terraphiles was something of a disappointment. What was the opportunity of a lifetime was a misfire. Don't get me wrong, it's a decent book and fairly well-written, but I wish it was a better example of Doctor Who fiction.



8/10

First words: Whoever named the planet Venice named her well.

Last words: And pulled a lever.

Book 6...

REVIEW: Tron by Brian Daley, from the screenplay by Steven Lisberger and the story by Steven Lisberger and Bonnie MacBird


Having watched (most of) Tron and its sequel, Tron: Legacy, it is probably no surprise that, having found a novelisation of Tron, I would, some day, try to read it. After all, for all its technical achievements, the story of the original Tron is actually quite weak with a number of asspulls in the plot. So would the novelisation patch any of these things up?

Kevin Flynn used to be a maverick programmer at electronics firm ENCOM, but his games were stolen by the ruthless Dillinger, who is now the CEO of ENCOM while Flynn is forced to run a games arcade. Even so, Flynn hasn't given up the fight, trying to hack into ENCOM to try and get proof of Dillinger's misdeeds, and foiled by Dillinger's Master Control Program, or MCP. Flynn persuades his friends at ENCOM, Alan Bradley (who developed the Tron security program) and Lora Baines, to allow him back into ENCOM's premises to allow him to launch a more direct attack on the MCP. But the MCP digitizes Flynn with an experimental device, and sends him into the System, a digital world where the programs are people, and the MCP is banning all belief in the Users. Teaming up with Tron and other rebellious programs, Flynn must lead a revolution against the MCP and its sadistic lieutenant, Sark, before it is too late, and the MCP conquers both digital and real realms...

The story of Tron is a simple, cliched, but still a fine one. There is the hint of The Wizard of Oz about it, especially to the programs looking like the people who designed them. And the splendour of the film is transcribed adequately onto the written page, though the very pro-theistic themes of the film are in abundance here, and are mildly disquieting to a misotheist like myself. Still, some of the more egregious plot holes from the film have been patched up or at least handwaved (like Flynn's growing powers as a User), and there's even the addition of at least one deleted scene from the film.

The characters are given a little more background in the novel, as well as more depth. Not that much, as this is really a rather shallow novelisation, but it's still some nice touches, especially like Dillinger's disquiet at the MCP's growing intelligence and power, as well as the programs being bemused at Flynn, well before he is outed as a User. Flynn's own horror of how earnestly deadly the Games are is also decently done.

All in all, Tron makes for rather shallow, but still good entertainment. As far as novelisations are concerned, while it cannot be said to be amongst the best, it still is a satisfying one.



8.5/10

First words: That other world is vast too; to its inhabitants, their System is limitless.

Last words: (Not included due to spoilers)

What the next book will be, I have no idea. However, I have many on the cards. Besides It, Little Dorrit, and A Game of Thrones, there's also Pride and Prejudice, The Silmarillion, and Super Mario: How Nintendo Conquered America.

Book 7...

REVIEW: Super Mario: How Nintendo Conquered America by Jeff Ryan


Now, I am, admittedly, someone who likes video games, and of late, I have found the history of them rather fascinating. So it was that, during an idle search on my local library's online catalogue, I found Super Mario, a history of Nintendo and the Super Mario series both in Japan and America. So, would this book win a 1-UP from me, or lose all its lives?

Super Mario: How Nintendo Conquered America is a history book that looks mostly at the story of how Nintendo became one of the best-known video game companies of all time, as well as focusing on their means of success. It doesn't just focus on the fictional personage of Mario (although he is the Nintendo character given the most, if not almost exclusive, focus in the book), but also of the people behind him, particularly Shigeru Miyamoto, but also on other Nintendo executives and various designers, technical people, and the like. It goes from the pre-Donkey Kong days of Nintendo right up to this year.

Jeff Ryan writes with a nicely casual and at times irreverent style that perfectly fits the genre. I am reminded of similarly written books like Fast Food Nation, although Super Mario actually doesn't look at Nintendo through jade-coloured glasses (except for here and there, like mentioning conditions at a Chinese factory used by Nintendo, and other companies). Instead, it is an uplifting tone that nonetheless manages to pull off some casual but thought-provoking comparisons to media ranging from history (Mario is compared to Christopher Columbus as an Italian explorer) to religion (Mario's deaths and rebirths via extra lives are compared to Shinto ideology) without seeming forced.

If I have some complaints to make about Super Mario, it is that less time is given to other Nintendo characters who are as much responsible for helping Nintendo be successful as it is. Link and Samus are given token mentions at best, and Donkey Kong, while the focus of initial chapters alongside Mario, fades into the background before long. And the irreverent writing style, welcome and entertaining as it is, lends something of a superficial nature to the book, worsening some of the omissions. I also wish that it was a little more indepth, because this has seriously only whetted my appetite.

Overall, though, Super Mario: How Nintendo Conquered America is a pretty damn good book about that most denigrated of art forms, the video game. Gamers should read it, and even non-gamers should give it a whirl if they have the faintest iota of interest.



9/10

First words: While Super Mario is a polumber by profession, exploration is at the heart of his stories.

Last words: It will take a few years, and maybe a few misfires, but the plumber will reclaim his throne.

Okay, so the books I am concentrating on at the moment are A Game of Thrones, The Man Who Invented the Daleks: The Strange Worlds of Terry Nation, and Pride and Prejudice. It and Little Dorrit have not been abandoned, however.

Okay.

Book 8...

REVIEW: A Game of Thrones by George RR Martin


My prior acquaintance with George RR Martin's work was with the Wild Cards series, the superhero anthologies which he edited and contributed stories to. While the worldbuilding of the Wild Cards universe was impressive, his work didn't quite stand out. And yet, now I hear of his famous fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire. I was told that it was on a par with Dune, better, even, than that paragon of science fiction. I considered this a challenge to try a book that may be better than Dune, and as I usually shun fantasy, it was another type of challenge. But is the first book of the series, A Game of Thrones, any good? Or was it about to collapse under its own substantial weight?

Lord Eddard Stark of the North is one of the most honourable men in the land of Westeron with a large family. But when King Robert Baratheon and his queen Catelyn Lannister pays a visit, he makes Eddard his Hand. Eddard wants to refuse, but when he learns of the suspicious circumstances behind his predecessor's death, he takes it on. Meanwhile, his son Bran falls from a tower after seeing something he shouldn't, and an assassin is sent to finish him off. Eddard's bastard son, Jon Snow, decides to join the Brotherhood of the Night Watch, the first and only defence on the Wall to the far North, where grisly happenings have been occurring. And across the sea to the East, the last surviving relatives of the cruel, incestuous dynasty that Baratheon overthrew with the help of the Starks and the Lannisters are making their first steps towards a comeback. But while the arrogant Viserys Targaryen believes that he will finally be able to win back his crown before long, his more sane sister Daenerys, married to a barbarian chieftan, is beginning a journey that will make her the true heir to the Targaryen dynasty, though loss will plague her. As Eddard Stark tries to serve his king, he begins to realise that he is in a game of thrones, a game which if he loses, he will forfeit his life...

To summarise A Game of Thrones easily is an impossible task. The damn book is so rich in culture, relationships, and setting that you half-expect it to collapse under its own weight. But while the excess of characters and story may be alienating to many readers, it still not only manages to work, but it is indeed an excellent piece of storytelling. The novel itself could be split into three major plots, with all sorts of minor plots going on all at the same time. To keep a track of them all is something of an intellectual exercise, but not only is it rewarding, but the story itself is almost never dull. There is nice snappy dialogue, ranging from the Shakespearean-style speeches you'd expect from such fantasy, to more cruder language. This is also a world of moral ambiguity, a welcome change from the more stronger morals of Tolkinesque fantasy or the humour of Discworld.

There are no less than nine viewpoint characters, each having chapters to themselves. Many of the Starks are given prime viewpoints, and it is through their eyes that we see the main events unfold. Through the bastard Jon Snow, we see events on the Wall, and how he grows. And through the viewpoint of Daenerys, the last daughter of an incestuous and brutal regime, she is given sympathy and more. And while the characters may not be all sympathetic, even those that we should have sympathy for (I have to admit to being annoyed with Catelyn over her treatment of Jon Snow, and her sister is a stupid b***h, to be frank), they are all interesting enough so that I am engrossed as well as repulsed.

There aren't really any faults I can find with A Game of Thrones. Besides my opinion of the Tully sisters mentioned above, I feel that it is somewhat too long, though Martin makes sure that every page counts. And so much is left on a cliffhanger, making me strongly consider getting the next book in the series, A Clash of Kings.

A Game of Thrones is pretty damn perfect. I can't really find much fault with it, save minor niggles. It thus becomes the seventh book in these book reading blogs to gain a perfect 10/10, joining two Doctor Who books, The Shining, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, a volume of Monster, and the Discworld novel I Shall Wear Midnight. Congratulations.



10/10

First words: "We should start back," Gared urged as the woods began to grow dark around them.

Last words: (Not included due to spoilers)

Now, for followers of this thread, I have decided to throw most of my effort into It by Stephen King. It probably won't be the next book out, but it'll certainly be coming soon.

Book 9...

REVIEW: Transmetropolitan volume 3: Year of the Bastard by Warren Ellis, Darick Robertson and Rodney Ramos


It looks like, for the moment, that what the manga series Monster was to a previous book-reading blog, Transmetropolitan will be to this one. I have found myself hooked by this dark, violent, but intelligent series by Warren Ellis, about renegade Gonzo journalist of the future, Spider Jerusalem. I was told that the series would get substantially better from the third volume onwards, when it began the storyline to which it would stick to for the rest of the run. Having now read the third volume, is this endorsement true? Or is the series going downhill?

Journalist Spider Jerusalem wants to avoid being dragged into politics, but his editor tells him that his admiring public are expecting him to, especially during an election year. So, reluctantly, and with new assistant Yelena Rossini in tow, Spider decides to check out the campaign of the incumbent President's rival, Gary Callahan, aka the Smiler. While unimpressed with the Smiler, Spider has had enough of the Beast, the current President, and he is also drawn to the attractive and intelligent political director of the Smiler, Vita Severn. With old friends helping him, Spider begins to realise that although the Beast was bad, the Smiler himself may be even worse, and the stage is set for the beginning of a struggle. But even Spider Jerusalem, jaded journalist, will be shocked at the lengths that the Smiler will go to secure his votes...

Having already said much about the dark setting of Transmetropolitan in previous reviews, I think I should start to concentrate on the story proper. Having a more substantial story arc than previously done in Transmetropolitan is a good idea on paper, as is the concept of Spider Jerusalem following politics. Certainly, the three-issue arcs in previous volumes were amongst the better ones. In practice, especially compared to the impressive second volume, it falls rather flat. Not so much that it drags the quality down substantially: the story is still very good, with observations on what politicians should be doing for the people, and showing the first hints of what the Smiler is willing to do. The violence is a little too much, especially when Vita Severn is murdered, though that scene succeeds in provoking an emotional response, especially when we see Spider's own shocked expression.

Spider's apparent character development in the previous volume seems to have gone out the window, as he becomes increasingly drug-crazed and paranoid, some of it played for laughs, some of it just plain disturbing, horrifying, or even disgusting, although his developing relationship with Vita Severn is sort of touching. His new assistant, Yelena, is rather disappointing. Even Channon Yarrow, who makes a welcome comeback in the final issue of the volume, has more personality than this at best sullen and at worst crazed (during one admittedly funny sequence) young woman. The Smiler is an interesting character, although that damned smile is so obviously fake, you wish for it to go away. His villainy becomes established further as time goes by, culminating in the assassination of Vita Severn.

Overall, there has been a decline in quality between the second and third volumes of Transmetropolitan. Maybe going to a more substantial storyline isn't what the comic needed. Even so, there's some good stories here, despite the dark nature of the comic.


8.5/10


First words: Hgg.

Last words: ...AND their running mates.

For those of you still following, the next book may very well be Pride and Prejudice.