Tag Archives: audio

Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card

Posted by melydia on June 12, 2009 None comments

Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card: I consider this less the second book in a series or even a mere sequel than the second half of Ender Wiggin’s story. What began with his troubled childhood in the Battle School concludes on the planet of Lusitania, where the first intelligent alien species in 3000 years has been discovered. The Piggies, as they are affectionately called, are full of mysteries and questions, but they seem friendly enough. However, when two xenologists are found brutally slain by the Piggies, fear and suspicion begin to spread through the human colony. It’s another solid story about understanding alien societies, full of memorable and realistic characters. As an added bonus, most of the questions raised in Ender’s Game (how did the video game know about Peter, what happened to the Hive Queen etc.) are answered. Definitely an excellent book. I’m surprised people don’t praise the pair of novels as much as Ender’s Game alone, actually. I’m glad I read this. Highly recommended.

Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card

Posted by melydia on June 9, 2009 1 comments

Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card: I first read this between fifteen and twenty years ago and remember really enjoying it then. This time was no different. Ender is a brilliant child soldier, drafted into Battle School at the age of six. He and his comrades are training to fight the Buggers, a hostile alien race who have invaded Earth twice already with terrible casualties. Though it sounds from this two-sentence description to be your standard military science fiction, it is something quite apart from those. This is not about the glories of war, but rather the troubles of a young child forced to grow up before he’s even reached puberty. It’s also the story of his two brilliant siblings, left on Earth to deal with their own troubles. Ender is extremely sympathetic; even when he was cruel I only pitied him. This is definitely one I will be reading again someday.

Seize the Night by Dean Koontz

Posted by melydia on May 23, 2009 None comments

Seize the Night by Dean Koontz: This is the second Chris Snow book, after Fear Nothing, and the character has finally found his own voice. One of my complaints in the previous novel was Chris’s lack of a personality: he acted differently depending on who he was talking to. This time, however, he’s far more consistent, as are the other characters. Unfortunately, the plot surrounding him is far weaker. Koontz can’t decide what to use as the Big Bad, so he throws in a little bit of everything: sociopathic serial killer, genetic engineering, time travel, evil government/military types, etc. It gets a little silly after a while. Chris’s XP (a genetic disorder which means he can’t handle UV light) is almost forgotten for most of the story, which is a little strange considering how many times there are talks about fluorescent lights blinking on and, more importantly, the infrared goggles. Perhaps Koontz doesn’t know this, but IR goggles require a digital screen, meaning that Chris basically put a small computer monitor against his eyeballs which are supposedly so sensitive he can’t sit too close to a television. But oh well, that’s certainly the least of the inconsistencies in these books. Chris Snow is a great character, as are his buddies (Sasha, Bobby, Roosevelt, Doogie, Orson); I just wish they’d been given a better plot to play in.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier

Posted by melydia on May 10, 2009 None comments

The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier: A blunt look at the sometimes dark and brutal nature of teenagers. Jerry Renalt is a freshman at Trinity Catholic High, a school run by monks and The Vigils, a gang of upperclassmen whose main function is to pull pranks and assert their superiority. I must say, this had one of the most unexpected plots I’ve come across in a long time. I didn’t see the various twists and turns coming, least of all the ending. I can kind of see why this is controversial, though no more so than, say, Lord of the Flies. Both reveal the animalistic natures of children, a trait we don’t often like to admit even to ourselves.

The City of Falling Angels by John Berendt

Posted by melydia on March 20, 2009 None comments

The City of Falling Angels by John Berendt: I suspect most people who read this book do so for the same reason I did: they liked Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Instead of Savannah, we are now in Venice. The story opens a few days after the fire that destroyed the Fenice Theater and continues through its first performance after reopening almost ten years later. Most of the book is in some way related to this: a glassblower who makes vases to commemorate the event, the intracharity squabbles of an American group trying to fund restorations, and of course the investigation into the cause of the fire. In the middle are anecdotes about various other Venicians, including a rather long tale about Ezra Pound’s mistress, Olga Ruge. Berendt’s prose style reads very much like a novel, and I found myself very much wanting to see Venice. I also discovered that I don’t particularly want to visit Venice. The characters, while interesting and often eccentric, also struck me as particularly unfriendly and oversensitive. Gossip and bribery rule the day against the backdrop of gorgeous canals and palaces. Still, it’s an interesting book and very different from most travelogues. I’ll definitely keep an eye out for Berendt’s next work.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Everything’s Eventual by Stephen King

Posted by melydia on March 11, 2009 None comments

Everything’s Eventual by Stephen King: When reading King novels, I’ve often felt that the idea was good but the execution was too long and drawn out, and that in general his works would be better as short stories. So I picked up this collection of short stories and was less impressed than I’d hoped. Some of the tales were good, such as the title story, the first-person account of a man about to be autopsied alive, and the man who had been captured by terrorists, but I found most of the rest fairly forgettable. I guess I expected to be scared, at least a little bit. However, I’m not giving up just yet. I’ve been told by many King fans that his earlier stuff is best, so I’ll be on the look-out for a copy of Night Shift.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck

Posted by melydia on March 4, 2009 None comments

The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck (unabridged audiobook read by George Guidall): I’d heard good things about the tale of Wang Lung’s life in preindustrial China and his rise from poor farmer to wealthy family man, but for one reason or another I’d never picked up a copy. Now I have, and though the plot was a touch slow at first, I must say it’s well worth the read. You learn quite a bit about the culture and lifestyle of the times without feeling like you’re reading a history book. And with Buck’s tender narration, even the most heinously primitive ideas – such as “woman” being synonymous with “slave” – came across more as The Way Things Were than something that stirred much righteous anger in me. Wang Lung and his wife O-Lan are very sympathetic, and there were times when I almost cried. Very moving, very educational, very memorable.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Time and Again by Jack Finney

Posted by melydia on January 23, 2009 1 comments

Time and Again by Jack Finney: Though the story is about time travel, this is not what one would commonly consider a science fiction novel. Simon Morley, a bored illustrator living in 1960s New York, joins a top secret government program that sends him back to 1882. Rather than your standard time travel machine, temporal distances are covered through self-hypnosis and a bunch of hand-waving involving vague references to Einstein. But never mind all that. Since the narrator is from modern times, his descriptions of New York of over a century ago emphasize the sorts of things historical fiction would not: the little differences in everyday life, the future locations of certain buildings, that kind of stuff. In terms of nostalgia, it’s simply wonderful, and I thoroughly enjoyed learning about life in the late 19th century. Unfortunately, at the end it becomes tiresomely preachy, obsessing over the “good old days” that, as any historian knows, never really existed. The loose ends are also a little too neatly tied up, but by and large the book is a fun look at how people really lived back in the day.

I listened to this on audiobook, then discovered the book has sketches and photographs. Perhaps if I’d looked at the paperback copy on my shelf I would have noticed that it was specifically listed as an “illustrated novel” but that’s what I get for not paying attention.

Note: this book was never made into a movie. That was Somewhere in Time by Richard Matheson. The confusion is understandable; both use self-hypnosis as a means of time travel, and both involve romance that spans the decades.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Brother Odd by Dean Koontz

Posted by melydia on January 15, 2009 None comments

Brother Odd by Dean Koontz: The third of the books about Odd Thomas, a man who sees the lingering dead, witnesses demon-like creatures that thrive on violence, and can find anyone via “psychic magnetism.” Here, Odd is on sabbatical at a local monastery, figuring there shouldn’t be much death or violence in the area. Of course he’s wrong, or we wouldn’t have a story. But he’s wrong in a terribly contrived and unconvincing way. I guess I probably should have stuck with the first book and not bothered with the others, but Koontz does occasionally churn out a real gem (like, for instance, the first Odd Thomas book) and hope springs eternal. But the characters were flimsy, not to mention the preachy theology mixed with the obnoxiously earnest pseudoscience really got on my nerves. The whole thing felt really forced.

I know I shouldn’t get irritated with an author for using quack science to further the plot of a novel that already starts with a pretty outrageous premise, but it still annoys me because so many people think it’s true. Say it with me now: human will does not alter reality, even on a subatomic scale. Sure, it makes for an easy out in fiction, but I’d much rather people gave it up entirely.

All in all, I think I’ll skip any further Odd Thomas books, as there are sure to be more, unless someone recommends it highly. I’m tired of being disappointed.

Free Culture by Lawrence Lessig

Posted by melydia on December 29, 2008 None comments

Free Culture by Lawrence Lessig: Copyright law! That’s right, folks, I read a book about copyright law. And a fascinating book, at that. Lessig takes us through the ins and outs of these ever-changing rules, sprinkled liberally with relevant examples. Should students be sued for their life savings for sharing music files? Should copyright automatically be renewed, even if the original holder is disinterested or even dead? Are fanart and fanfic actually a threat to creators of the content on which they are based? How does the internet change the way content is shared, and how should copyright law to reflect this? Lessig goes through this all in great detail. It’s an important book for most netizens, particularly those members of fandom.

As one might expect giving the subject matter, this entire text of this book is available for free download, as well as how I experienced it: a free audiobook podcast.

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