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Best served cold by Joe Abercrombie
Son no1 bought a hardcover copy of Best Served Cold, despite apparently having no money whatsoever. I read it over Christmas. It tells the story of a woman left for dead who (obviously) survives and sets about seeking revenge on the seven men who tried to do away with her. The seven men are all important, powerful figures of one sort or another, and she was a renowned fighter and General. Told with Abercrombie’s typical hard-boiled sense of humour and liberally spiced with some horrific scenes, this was an enjoyable enough read. But I thought the book was too long. I also thought that Abercrombie had thought about all the possible permutations of loyalty and treachery between the seven or eight main characters, and laboriously brought them all into play. I think I would have enjoyed Best Served Cold better if it had reduced its descriptions of political intrigue and various liaisons, to the tune of about a third of the book, and just concentrated on the action and the central characters. Still, it would be churlish of me not to say that I enjoyed it and read it all in a couple of days, despite its length. It’s not bad at all, but I recommend awaiting the paperback version!
Quicksilver and The Confusion by Neal Stephenson
As you may have gathered, I have decided that I like Neal Stephenson’s novels. They’re full of history, science and swashbuckling characters; and dramatic and dire events are laced with dry humour. As I have remarked elsewhere, it is extremely annoying that anyone should be able to write this well and this effectively: what chance have other mere mortals got? That said, I had two quibbles with these two books - one for each. Quicksilver was absolutely brilliant for most of its not inconsiderable length. I was glued to the pages, anxious not to miss any facet of the plot or wry comments by its characters - but then, at the end, I thought it lost its way a little. Much of the end of the book is taken up by long letters exchanged between characters and I have to admit I started to skip-read them. I found that a bit disappointing. On the other hand, I thought The Confusion started off a bit more stolidly than usual; I was able to realise, as I read through long conversations, that I was being spoon-fed history. Perhaps this set-up was necessary for the rest of the book - tough to say. But I was left with the feeling that the end of Quicksilver could have been shortened considerably, and so could the start of The Confusion ‘-and since The Confusion is the sequel to Quicksilver, with essentially many of the same characters, it naturally struck me that they could perhaps have been run into one bigger, more dynamic book. I’m being picky. They’re both great reads, and I commend them to you.
Inside straight by George R Martin and others
This is a Wild Cards novel. For those of you who don’t know what Wild Card novels are, I haven’t got the space or patience to explain them here. Google will be your friend. I confess I hadn’t realised that there were quite so many WC novels: I shall have to hunt some down, because they are good fun. Inside Straight mixes violent politics and a reality TV show with various ‘aces’ - people who have remarkable powers of one sort or another. Different writers have written different ‘chapters’ in the book, but overall both the plot and the style are remarkably consistent. Don’t get Inside Straight if you are looking for cutting edge fiction and startling ideas. But if you want good, solid entertainment, you can’t go far wrong with these stories strung into a novel.
Kraken by China Meiville
‘What did you think of Kraken?’ ’I saw it, you know, in the local Waterstone’s’ ’Yes, but what did you think of it?’ ’Have you read it?’ ’No, that’s why I’m asking you what you thought of it.’ ’What about Perdito Street Station? I read that, you know, when I was on holiday in Malta.’ ’Yes, but for goodness sake, what did you think of Kraken?’ ’It doesn’t really matter what I think, as we all like different things. It might be more meaningful to ask why you are asking my opinion.’ Aaaarghh. So, what did I think of Kraken? Answer: I think it is flawed, because of the circular nature of so many of its conversations, as demonstrated above. Characters can sort of slip sideways from answering direct questions from time to time, but in Kraken it happened so many times that I got fed up with it. And that tainted my overall opinion of the book. As a result I wasn’t able to willingly suspend my disbelief, which I have happily done with other Meiville books. I never really bought in to the plot, and I was suspicious about how quickly the main character slipped into the half-world of London that Meiville describes. On top of all that, I thought there were too many splinter groups roaming around with their own agenda; some very bad baddies got their comeuppance in a way I’m surprised nobody else had figured out in the previous few centuries; and it seemed to me that something slightly magical or weird was conjured up just whenever it was needed to bolster whatever was happening. Don’t get me wrong. There’s plenty to enjoy - good characters, horrible violence, humour, clever wording. But at the end of the day, it just didn’t quite work for me.
The savage detectives by Roberto Bolano
I put this down on a birthday list after reading 2666 last year. It’s a strange, and strangely haunting, book. I didn’t enjoy it as much as 2666 but I still found myself spellbound by Bolano’s weaving solid stories from gossamer. The Savage Detectives basically tells the story of a couple of wandering poets, aimlessly criss-crossing the globe, as told by the people that they meet and leave behind. But Bolano tells the stories of these people, about their lives, about what happens to them, and very little of that is influenced by either of the poets. What happens to the poets themselves appears unimportant, even though they are the main focus of the book. It’s a magical performance, but I suspect it wouldn’t be to everybody’s taste.
44 Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith
I’ve got most of the Detective Agency series, which I enjoyed. I’ve seen other books by McCall Smith in the bookstores, including 44 Scotland Street, but never felt moved to buy them. Then along comes Father’s Day, and this book along with it. It tells the story of a few characters in Edinburgh - the inhabitants of 44 Scotland Street and their friends and acquaintances. The introduction informs me that it was written in serialised chunks for a newspaper, which no doubt explains why it is divided into bite-sized morsels rather than traditional chapters. It probably also explains its frothy nature: the characters are almost caricatures, and nothing of any real consequence happens. I guess that’s fair enough, given the nature of the readership and the serialisation requirements. But overall, I didn’t like it. Perhaps part of this is because I’m not keen on superficiality, but I think the main reason is that the book comes over to me as smug. Condescending. We’re not supposed to laugh with the characters, but at them. Further, the circles that McCall Smith moves in are clearly not the same as mine, and I suspect they will not be familiar to most of his readers. Sorry. I liked the gentle descriptions and mildly swerving plots of the Detective Agency books, but I didn’t like this one. I shan’t be buying any more.
The passage by Justin Cronin
I enjoyed The Passage. I won’t describe the plot in detail, as I suspect lots of people haven’t had the chance to read it yet. Suffice it to say it’s a new and interesting take on the end-of-the-world vampire theme which could be described, perhaps, as The Stand meets Earth Abides meets I Am Legend. On an aside, I must be turning, not into a vampire, but into a proofreader: I spotted one typo and twice a sick character ‘wretched’. I had a few complaints with the book. One, I felt it tied up a little too neatly. In a funny sort of way, I’d have felt happier not knowing what happened to some of the characters - life’s like that, after all. Although there was a last-minute twist, I thought it wasn’t quite brutal enough with its main characters. I got the impression that the main bunch of heroes and heroines kept on going through one disaster after another, so that towards the end I started to wonder if anything could possibly stop their apparently endless quest. I think I’d have been happier for them to meet up with fewer obstacles; and perhaps for fewer of them to survive. And there were a few plot holes - for example Amy seems to have a power before - uh - something happens to her, but this is never explained. Oh, and one of the things Amy did (I will resist making a joke about book titles here; and I will resist saying exactly what it was she did, for fear of spoiling it for future readers) just didn’t make sense to me. I could see that it made he overall plot easier to handle, but it seemed something of a cop-out. But these are minor complaints. Overall, I thought the whole thing read very well, with lots of new ideas. I have a feeling a sequel is in the offing. Further, I can ‘see’ the descriptions in the book very clearly, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see it being made into a film in the not too distant future. I don’t think this is quite the masterpiece it’s being hyped up to be, but if you enjoy escapist horror with a futuristic twist, you are likely to enjoy The Passage.
The colour of law by Mark Gimenez
I don’t think you’ll find this in bookshops, as my other half picked it up as a free "promotional copy" from somewhere or other. It claims that Gimenez is the "new Grisham", which didn’t encourage me as I’ve never been much of a Grisham fan. That said, the book starts promisingly. It draws a (probably stereotyped) picture of a rich Californian lawyer and shows how, against his will, he’s drawn in to represent a black, heroin-addicted prostitute. There’s pressure to get him off the case, but he reacts badly to it, fighting the political powers-that-be, losing his job, wife and most of the frills of his life into the bargain. I was quite enjoying the story at this point, apart from a) continuous references to American football and how the fact that our hero had been a legendary footballer gave him the guts to stand up to the powers trying to take him down and b) an irritating habit of the author to make everyone refer to everyone else by name, in practically every line of dialogue. "Bart! How are you?" "Oh, you know, Rosie." "No, Bart, tell me." "Well, Rosie, I’m sick and tired of using your name every time I speak to you." But after the promising first half, I felt the book rather fell to pieces. On the spur of the moment our hero realises that the prostitute couldn’t have carried out the murder because she was left-handed, and then he solves the mystery of who did even more on the spur of the moment, actually in the courtroom cross-examining a witness. The prostitute is found not guilty, the bad guys are taken down, our hero gets his job offered back but he declines and sets up a business helping the down-and-outs legally, and apparently lives happily ever after. All this in a chapter or so tacked on the end. In short, I can see why this is a promotional copy. Double its length, iron out some writing flaws and sentimentality, and it really could be a best seller. But as it stands, I don’t recommend it.
West end girls by Jenny Colgan
Okay, I admit it, this is trivial, superficial chic-lit and I only read it because my other half got it somewhere for free and was under a pre-birthday ban not to buy any books or even walk past Waterstones. It’s the sort of book where every character has some singular defining trait, where nothing in the world is important except for what is happening on the character-strewn social scene, and where you know practically every scrap of the plot from page two. And yet, I quite enjoyed it. I giggled along with the author on several occasions (and then quickly looked around in case anybody noticed). It’s pure, frilly, feminine escapism; but if you want something light to pass a few hours it will probably provide you with some laughs. I can’t help comparing it with McCall Smith’s 44 Scotland Street and confessing that if I had to choose between the two, I’d pick West End Girls every time.
Under the dome by Stephen King
I am a long-time fan of Stephen King. I remember reading The Shining on a daily train commute, and being astonished every time the train came to the end of its journey that it was still daytime, the world was still normal, and I wasn’t about the be hacked to pieces. The only other time I can recall be so totally swept away by a story was when I read Lord of the Rings, at age of about eleven or twelve, lying on a beach near Brighton in the height of summer. So did Under the Dome have the same effect? No, not quite. It’s a good read, though., and seems to mark a shift in King’s style and material. He is famous for writing out-and-out horror, much of which has no basis in reality and disbelief has to be willingly suspended in order to make the stories work. This is different. Once you get over the idea that a transparent but impenetrable dome suddenly and inexplicably appears to cut off a small town from the rest of the world, what follows is an exposition of human character - those that want to seize control, those that want to oppose a tyranny, those with dreadful secrets to keep - all exposed under the merciless microscope provided by the dome. I won’t go into details of the plot, for fear of spoiling it for you. Suffice it to say that it is many-faceted, keeps the pages turning, and only occasionally slips into the type of horror that made King a household name. I don’t think it’s the best think King has ever written, but neither is it the worst, and by definition that makes it a whole lot better than many other books. I recommend it.
Hyperion by Dan Simmons
Okay, it’s taken me a while to get round to reading Hyperion (it was published in 1989). My excuse is that I got Dan Simmons mixed up with another author who was absolutely awful. My son said I was wrong, and when I produced Hyperion at the Glasgow SF Writer’s Circle, they all said it was one of the greatest SF books of the century. Last century, I suppose. They are probably right. It’s well-written, constantly inventive, complex without being hard to follow, and is chock-full of references to Olde English - in particular the poetry of John Keats and Chaucer’s Pilgrims’ Progress. The characters are quite well drawn, and each gets plenty of space as Simmons uses Chaucer’s technique of allowing each of them to tell their story. I became thoroughly engrossed and was disappointed to find that Hyperion was only the first volume so I haven’t got to the end of the story yet. On the other hand, I have another volume to look forward to! I strongly recommend Hyperion. On of the best books I’ve read for a long time.
The fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons
I didn’t enjoy Fall of Hyperion quite as much as Hyperion, but it was still a good read. When I read Hyperion, everything was fresh and new, possibilities were opening up on every page, and I had no idea where everything was going. Maybe Dan Simmons didn’t either ‘ who knows? But there was a sense of freedom about Hyperion, which wasn’t so much in evidence in Fall of Hyperion. Partly this is because much of the groundwork, the scene-setting, the basic world-view, had already been set up in Hyperion, so some of that sense of freshness was lost. Partly it is because Fall of Hyperion is quite fragmented and I thought it perhaps tried to tackle too much. But mainly it is because I felt that Simmons was forcing the actions of his characters down certain paths so as to reach a certain conclusion at the end of the book. And when that happens, I always feel that things tie up too easily. Everything felt real in Hyperion. It wasn’t quite the same in Fall of Hyperion; everything dovetailed just too well. Life always leaves loose ends. I would have been a bit harsher with the outcomes of the main characters, as well. All that said, I sat up for an hour and a half, long past my bedtime, wanting to get to the end to find out what happened. I confess I skip-read some of the philosophical bits. When I got to the end, I wasn’t dissatisfied exactly, but nor was I wholly satisfied. Read it by all means, but I think you’ll find it not up to the high standards of Hyperion.
Ilium and Olympos by Dan Simmons
These books are complicated: they retell the classic Greek stories, focussing mainly on the Gods and the besieging of Troy, but they also throw in some Shakespeare, invented aliens, futuristic devices, and the whole thing is glued together by quantum theory. Simmons would have us believe that quantum theory supports the principle that if human genius has invented somewhere or something, then that somewhere or something actually exists. The Greek tales become railroaded; the humans unite and turn on the Gods; Shakespearean and other monsters turn up to annihilate what is left of humanity; a large number of disparate characters go about having various adventures (a lot of them are killed or almost killed, but return via miraculous futuristic technology). Eventually the various adventurers meet up and the story develops into a straightforward Us (humans) against Them (aliens). But it takes an awful long time for the storylines to crystallise out into a recognisable form. Simmons obviously knows what he’s talking about, and I’m quite sure there are lots of references in the book that I missed. I probably missed some of the humour too ‘ though I did pick up on some of it, and I particularly liked Helen of Troy getting a sore throat trying to emulate Zeus’ god-like roar. I think I would recommend the books to anyone that asked, but only just. Why only just? Because they are, in my opinion, a little over-complicated. I would have welcomed a bit more of a clue as to what was going on at an earlier stage ‘ in the first book, for example. And because, although lots of dire things happened throughout, I never empathised with any of the characters. I never found myself anxious as to how or if they were going to survive. But still, despite these flaws, both Ilium and Olympos are worth a read.
Fleshmarket close by Ian Rankin
I found this Rebus novel languishing on a shelf in a charity shop and brought it out into the light of day. As usual I enjoyed it. I’ve now read a lot of Rebus novels and so I can see the same formula wheeled out time and again, but they’re still fun to read. The one thing I didn’t like about Fleshmarket Close is that it wrapped up everything just a bit too neatly for my taste. Just about everything that happened during the course of this fairly long book turned out to be connected to practically everything else, despite there being no hint of any connection initially. Life just isn’t like that, and it slightly spoiled the story for me. But maybe it’s just me, because I have been known to make the same complaint of other books too. Do I recommend Fleshmarket Close? Well, yes, I guess so. If you want a fairly light read and like the detective genre, you can’t really go wrong with this or indeed and Rebus novel.
Lost boy, lost girl by Peter Straub
It took me a little while to get into this book, but once I’d made the initial effort, I enjoyed it. It tells a fairly complex story of a house which was once used as a base for horrific murders; which caught they attention of a young boy at about the time other youngsters are disappearing; and he disappears as well, although not before he apparently meets an astonishingly beautiful girl who seems to live in the abandoned house. There are familiar characters from other Straub books - the narrator is Timothy Underhill, and his friend the super slueth Tom Pasmore makes an appearance too. The writing is smooth, as you’d expect from Straub. I thought the plot was a little thin, particularly the way Tim and Tom solve the mystery of who is doing all the abducting - but it didn’t really matter. At its heart, this is a ghost story which explores the motivations of some of its characters better than the average ghost story. In my opinion, it isn’t a masterpiece, but if you get the chance to borrow a copy, I wouldn’t try to dissuade you.