Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

Another post apocalyptic novel by Bacigalupi.   He received a nebula for his debut novel, the Windup Girl but to be honest I preferred this one.  It seemed more honest, and the simple determination and courage of his characters shines through in a world now almost devoid of oil, and where even small children are put to work breaking up wrecks for the small amounts of metals they contain. 

Nailer's days on his job are numbered, almost too big for light crew and the job of crawling through ducts for wires, and too small for heavy crew he faces an uncertain future.  His only remaining family a brutal father strung out on drugs, he has created a family of sorts among his crew, but loyalty in this world is a hard thing, bought in blood and broken for money. 

When a rich girl washes up with a storm, he is left with the choice to slit her throat, take her wealth and make a better life for himself - or can he justify the risk of keeping her alive?

A gripping book without the technical or scientific bullshit of his previous novel, this was for me the ultimate teen read even if, from what I understand, it is being sold for adult consumption. Great fun!

The Wind Up Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi

I know many of you are only going to have heard great things about this book.  It's why I read it.  It's how I managed to struggle to the end despite the gratuitous, unpleasant and degrading sex scenes.  And yes - I know there's worse out there, but personally I don't read them. It's a personal preference, but it's not the only reason I hated this book even though I concede it's all bad.  In fact it's tipped for a Hugo.  

 THE STORY

A genetically created person, the windup girl, is dumped in Thailand, after certain almost post apocalyptic events.  Around the world a food corporation is calling the shots and countries are being devastated by designer plagues while Thailand struggles to hold out from their influence.

THE WRITING

Yes, this is perfectly good, the plot is ok, I've heard some complaints it doesn't have a proper beginning or end, and that it just kind of stops, but I didn't think those ponts were completely unreasonable.  Moreover it's got an interesting feel and a great set-up.  At times it really did feel like an alternate world - or a future Thailand.

WHY IT'S SO WRONG

Not only did I feel like I was being preached at about the evils of the modern world by someone who didn't really understand the science behind the problem.  The sheer enormity of the mismatch made my teeth itch and slapped me out of the story, whenever I felt I might start to get involved with any of the rather unlikeable characters.  Now this is coming from someone who can read fantasy and science fiction, and not worry that our technology and that of the other world don't quite match up, but, for example, when a simple technology like seed sterilization is confused with sterile seeds (usually produced using hybridisation techniques) - then I just want to tear out my hair and go - please if you don't know any science, please avoid the detail, or at least bother asking someone who has a clue.

WHY I AM WRONG TO HATE IT

Basically this book is almost certainly going to get the Hugo.  Everybody I know loves it, it's a rollicking story with flawed humans in the wake of enormous disasters, and in particular a heroine (the artificially created Wind Up girl) who feels terribly out of place, but gains strength with adversity. 

I know, I shouldn't care about the science.  Or the fact that the book makes me feel "icky" and I just wanted to throw it over my shoulder, and kind of wish that I had.  Truth is some people like to be upset by their reading material - they think it makes them feel more for the characters.  And who am I to disagree?

Except I would like to say that while it's been dubbed "bio-punk," that seems rather a sadly incorrect description, because although the punk element is there, I would like to reassure readers that the bio certainly isn't.  Maybe "geopolitical punk" would be more apt?  It certainly seems to pull no punches there.

Actually if I'd gone into the book viewing it as geopolitical punk, maybe, just maybe, I'd have liked it. 




Review by Alicia Ponder

The Rona Gallery Top 10 Books for Adults, Teens, and Picture

This year we're not doing the Late Late awards, but we are celebrating some of our favourite books with our top tens for Adults Fiction, Non fiction, Teens and Picture.  Read one today and Enjoy. 

RONA GALLERY TOP BOOKS
TOP 10 NOVELS FOR ADULTS (and yes SOMETIMES when it comes to things as important as books - counting isn't quite the skill that is sometimes emphasised in the classroom!)

1) The Distant Hours, by KateMoreton
2) Blossoms and Shadows, by Lian Hearn3) Hand Me Down World, by Lloyd Jones
4) Sex and Stravinsky, by Barbara Trapido
5) Hand Me Down World, by Lloyd Jones
6) Sex and Stravinsky, by Barbara Trapido
7) Inheritance, by Nicholas Shakespeare
8) Started Early, Took My Dog, by Kate Atkinson
9) Great House, by Nicole Krauss
10) Freedom, by Jonathan Franzen
11) Widow’s Daughter, by Nicholas Edlin
12) Villa Pacifica, by Kapka Kassabova



TOP 10 ADULT NON FICTION

1) Shortest History of Europe, by John Hirst
2) QI: The General Book of Ignorance (Bk2) by John Lloyd & John Murchison
3) The Fry Chronicles, by Stephen Fry
4) Katherine Mansfield -The Story Teller, by Kathleen Jones
5) All Blacks Don’t Cry by John Kirwin
6) Blue Smoke: The Lost Dawn of N.Z.Popular Music 1918-1964, by Chris Bourke
7) It’s Easier Than You Think, by Jo Seagar
8) Who’s Cooking Tonight, by Claire Gourley
9) Caught on Canvas, by Richard Ponder
10) Just my Type: A Book about Fonts, by Simon Garfield



TEENAGE BOOKS


1) Trash, by Andy Mulligan
2) Hunger Games Trilogy, by Suzanne Collins 3) Banquo’s Son & Bloodlines, by T.K.Roxborogh
4) The Moorehawke Trilogy, by Celine Kiernan
5) The Bone Tiki, by David Hair
6) Shadow, by Michael Morpugo
7) Fierce, September, by Fleur Black
8) The Guiness World Book of Records
9) Warriors, by Erin Hunter
10) Clockwork Angel, by Cassandra Clare


PICTURE BOOKS

1) The Fierce Little Woman and the Wicked Pirate, by Joy Cowley
2) It’s a Book, by Lane Smith 3) Legend of the Golden Snail, by Grahame Base
4) Ten Little Fingers, by Mem Fox and Helen Oxbury
5) Wind up Racing Cars, by Paul Nicholls
6) The First Christmas, by Jan Pienkowski
7) Christmas Journey, by Brian Wildsmith
8)  Tabby McTat, by Julia Donaldson
9) Eyes, Nose, Fingers & Toes, by Judy Hindley
10) Klutz Educational Games and Toys - always worth looking at, with  great ideas for activities and instructional manuals to go with it.




Visit us at our website here

Mr Rosenblum's List by Natasha Solomons

This is such a great book  - I got a reading copy about a month ago and I couldn't put it down.  Best read for two years!  So I was really excited to see it come into the shop yesterday. 

Eight years after WWII  Mr Rosenblum still feels like a stranger in a strange land, so he determines he will become an English gentleman at all costs.
There's some sad bits, and some unexpected turns in the plot. It's charming and funny and I thought it was brilliant. Did I mention best read in two years!


Review by Richard Ponder

The Gathering Storm, Book 12 in the Robert Jordan Wheel of Time series by Brandon Sanderson

Death is merely an inconvenience for Robert Jordan, as his long running series The Wheel of Time continues to turn.

It is in fact (thankfully) turning a little faster now. Under the hands of Robert Jordan, the Wheel of Time was becoming little more than a cash cow. Nothing happened, and then still less happened, while the most powerful women tugged at braids like nine-year olds - and had nothing better to do than sit through endless meetings and choose which clothes to wear. NO MORE.

Brandon Sanderson has injected new life into the characters, sped up the plot, and rekindled the flame of the first few books of this series. The threads are now finally coming together as the different factions battle it out for supremacy while a still greater evil threatens to wipe them all out of existence - forever. So yes, this book is worth reading - the only thing that's vaguely frustrating is this is BOOK 12 - and I can't help but think, are we there yet?

Two more to go.

I can't wait.

LINKS

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wheel_of_Time  (useful for abridged plots)
http://www.brandonsanderson.com/

"And Another Thing..." by Eoin Colfer from the Douglas Adam's Hitchhicker's Guide to the Galaxy -- universe

Part 6 of the Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy is one of the more controversial books to come out this year - all the hard-core Douglas Adams fans were out asking the hard questions before it was even released, like; "is it as good as the original?" "Is it funny?" But most of all, "how dare this upstart take the place of our beloved demigod and creator of the answer to the question of life, the universe and everything?"

Fortunately the answers to the fan's questions don’t require a computer the size of a planet. In terms of readability "And another Thing" is somewhere between the good hitchhiker's books and the crappy hitchhiker's books, with a smattering of fantasy, and good eye to adventure -- which admittedly takes a while coming but is well worth the wait.

In some ways "And another thing" is fresher with more of a story feel, and I liked that a lot, but I thought the humour was also cruder and less godlike and so I liked it less.

And finally, I'm not exactly sure how Eion Colfer had the balls to take on this project knowing full well that he'd be caught in the crossfire of the purists and all the infidel who remain blissfully ignorant of the significance of the number 42. Was it money? Probably. The fun of playing with gods? Well he certainly took that opportunity in both hands. Maybe we do need a computer the size of a planet to answer that question after all.

In the end though, the only real question worth asking is -- is this new instalment of the Hitchhikers guide worth reading, and, yes, I think it is, so don't be shy -- give it a burl -- even if it's only so you can complain about how Eion Colfer should have done everything differently, which is admittedly, rather fun.

Johannes Cabal - The Necromancer, by Jonathan L. Howard

Necromancer, Johannes Cabal, needs his soul back. Problem is, he's dealing with the devil, and the devil wont be satisfied without at least a hundred more souls to take its place. Armed with a carnival, and a conscience that he could do without, Johannes has to collect the deeds to those hundred souls -- and beat the devil at his own game.

This book is being widely recommended on the coat-tails of Tim Burton and Terry Pratchett, and stylistically this is pretty much on the button. The story does however contain more adult content, and so is more appropriate for the older teen/adult crossover market. Otherwise anyone who enjoys a good story with plenty of off-beat humour will love this book - I did, so did others in my family -- it's already being farmed out to more people. So why don't you hop on a wagon and see where the Johannes Cabal's carnival is headed - just be careful not to sign up.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austin and Seth Grahame-Smith

Review by Alicia Ponder

There's something wrong about this book. There's no denying the idea's a little sick, but then every Zombie story ever written is a little sick. Nor is there much denying that the book struggles to have a plot, but that never stopped the original from being a classic. So the thing that's screamingly, horribly wrong is only that somebody dared put the two together. It's just wrong on a gut level -- and that's the exact reason I had to read it, and probably why I kind of enjoyed it -- but I wouldn't rave.

Yes, there are moments of brilliance, but there are also moments of drear drudgery. Whole sections where a stray Zombie or two -- just to put one or two of the characters out of their misery (and consequently out of our own) would have been heaven-sent. Whatever point Jane Austin may have been trying to prove about how shallow it is to be only interested in men and fripperies, did she have to make it so well that even the zombies Seth Grahame-Smith injected into the script, seemed more full of character than the majority of the heroine's family?

So is it worth reading? Yes, in the end, why not? It is a bit of culture -- and there's the added bonus that the character you dislike the most may yet succumb to those dreadful zombies..

The list of books nominated so far....

We're still making our final decisions, and wondering if we've forgotten something -- so feel free to e-mail us if you feel we've forgotten about your favourite book!

NOMINATIONS SO FAR

Best Produced book :

CK Stead Collected Poems -- Auckland University Press (2008)

Best Book Non fiction - Encyclopaedia of Bob Dylan (2006 - not eligible) Continuum

Outliers: the story of success by Malcom Gladwell. Penguin.

A Writer's Tale - Dr Who (2008) BBC books

Children's

The Roar , Emma Clayton (2008) The Chicken House

Verdigris Deep pub - Macmillan Children's Books (May 4, 2007)

Juno of Taris - Fleur Beale 1/7/08 Random House

The Graveyard Book Neil Gaiman - Sept 30 2008 Harpercollins

Best Adults Book Disguised as a Book for Children

The Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World - E L. Koningsburg - Ginee Seo Books (September 25, 2007)

The 10 Pm Question by Kate De Goldi , Longacre Press 09/08

Then - Gleisman

A small free kiss in the dark - Glenda Millard

Best Adult Teen Crossover

The Nostradamus Prophecy by Theresa Breslin -- Doubleday (1 May 2008)

Best Adult -- The Other Hand by Chris Cleave - Sceptre (7 Aug 2008)
The Guernsey Potato pie society - The Dial Press (July 29, 2008)

The Gone-Away World - Nick Harkaway

Interesting book, the brilliant writing dragged me along even though at first I wasn't that engaged by the story. Something was missing. Something was wrong, and I couldn't figure out what it was until about half way through, when suddenly it clicked. This isn't fantasy, or science fiction it's political in the same way that Animal Farm is a rubbish Fantasy/Science fiction story, but a brilliant political commentary. Ok, I dare say if you liked Animal farm you'll hate this because in every other way they are completely different, but if you're going to get the best out of this book, that's the way to read it!

Have fun reading

And a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

from Alicia Ponder and everyone at Rona Gallery

Fantasy

Shadowmarch & Shadowplay - by Tad Williams

Every so often I take a deep breath and immerse myself in what can only be described as Epic Fantasy -- with capital letters.

Yes, the cover does not lie, this is such a book, and yes it has fairies and gods and strange races with odd names that might as well be called dwarves and selkies and borrowers. Yes borrowers, bless him. I loved the borrowers growing up, and these truly perfect little people remind me of their vigeur, sans the overly cutesy angle.

The story begins with the threat of the fairy shadowline moving near the kingdom of Southmarch. The king has been kidnapped, and the world they had been a small part of is now threatened, not only by an evil ruler who believes he is a god, but by an incursion of fairies. Not the nice, sweet ones many people grew up with, but big, nasty, dangerous ones.

A fiesty princess -- yes of course there's a fiesty princess otherwise why would any girl ever pick up such a book? -- is kept pretty busy even as her twin brother is beset by nightmares and unsurprisingly eventually finds himself on the wrong side of the fairy "Shadowline." Notice the Capitals. High Fantasy, after all seems to demand them.

Anyway, I'd love to make this a complete book review with an ending, but it's impossible. The series isn't finished -- and wont be for some time by the look of it -- so I can't help but wonder if I've started this series a little too early, on the positive side Tad Williams is relatively young, so he's unlikely to die before writing the last book -- unlike David Gemmel and Robert Jordan, on the negative side this could turn into another of those, "walking, walking, walking," epics where nothing heappens as the publisher and author take all the money they can. There was a small section in the middle of Shadowplay where I was terrified this was about to happen, enough to make me think it didn't quite get the stronghanded edit it deserved, especially as I was thrown out of the story too often by typographical errors.

Still, I can't help but feel the gandness of this is Tad Williams at his best, at his peak of writing, and he's never been a slouch, the plot so far is strong, always keeping me reading from one chapter to the next. In the end I can only surmise the weaknesses are only those that can be expected in this strange genre where writers aren't thinking in hundred pages, but in thousands. And the strengths are those that can possibly only be appreciated by people who aren't immediately put off fiction because there might be fairies and gods and ... doesn't Shakespeare have such things? --

Anyway if you love fantasy, and just can't get enough, or you want your fantasy-loving teenager to be invisible for several days, this is the series you're looking for. Plenty of blood and gore and violence for the boys - without straying too far into graphic realism, but most of all there is a cast of definite characters, a sense of adventure, and of our protagonists rising to enormous challenges to cope with events that, despite their best efforts, keep spiralling out of control.

Review by Alicia Ponder

Adult Fiction

Acid Song by Bernard Beckett.

Every so often I take a deep breath, focus really hard and attack the writing of a New Zealand author. Such exertions often bring mixed results, mostly because they are so mainstream oriented and I'm not. But I went there again, because Bernard Beckett is ostensibly a perfect science fiction writer because he's an ideas man, and I was pretty impressed with his award winning children's book. Anyway, Acid Song is quite a departure for Bernard Beckett, being his first adult novel.



The beginning of Acid Song stumbled around with a deliberate incoherency, enhancing the theme of a frayed, but intertwined destiny, with all the characters bathed in a social acidity that has them so disconnected from their feelings and their relationships. This theme was enhanced by the characters themselves being quite male-centric, as though the only purpose for females was to in some way define the men and provide them with something to ogle. Well, I like to think that this was a deliberate comment on society, and that the ambitious female documentary host on her big break was demonstrating a kind of modern shallowness -- that she was not simply a cardboard character. Easily enough she could be both, I suppose, even as she was also the glue, or more accurately the hinge around which all the bigger, "more interesting" characters took their cue.



In the end, the interesting part of the book wasn't the characters, however enjoyable, and insightful they were. The interesting part about the book was an idea. The idea of a fraying society busily trying to hide socially unacceptable facts, even as the loose knot of characters and their lives fray around the edges and are left indelibly etched by the lack of support and respect that truth and honesty fail to gain. Not just generally in society, but most particularly in the educational and academic worlds.



A must read for everyone in education, and not just for the wonderfully sad-funny resignation letter that is never posted. Well written, well paced, and of course most interesting for anyone who wishes to understand how science and society sometimes clash, and how most important and influential ideas are often released against the tide of the status quo.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Review by Joanna Ponder

The book rep told us, 'you've got to read this, we're really excited about it and it's your cup of tea!'

Cup of tea? Breakfast, lunch and dinner more like. I loved it, I didn't want to finish it. I'm still think about the wonderful mix of history and humanity, and all delivered through exquisite letters that work to form a whole story you can't forget.

Set in Guernsey just after the second world war, the book deals with the German occupation of the Channel Island. Juliet Ashton wjho lives in Chelsea is a writer of witty columns and has just had a book published and is about to set forth on a promotional tour. She starts receiving letters from members of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society who admire her work. They come to reveal the personal stories of a range of fascinating characters who belong to the society. And her own story becomes part of their story.

It is a heart-warming and moving tale. Sweet and funny. I can't think of anyone who wouldn't like it. Perfect for gifts for mothers and mothers-in-law! I think I'll make a cup of tea and read it again.

BOOK OF THE WEEK

Wendy's Pick

Hunting and Gathering $22.50 this week only, until the 19th of May or while stocks last - you know the usual disclaimer -- although you will be able to order it.

O.K. Yes, it's been made into a movie, but as with nearly all really good books the movie doesn't hold a patch on the book.

Quirky and endearing French novel about three disperate characters, Camille, an artist who is working as a cleaner.

Philbert, an erudite French aristocrat who sells postcards for a living and Franck, an angry chef, who loves his grandmother dearly, but could otherwise be described as womanising and cantankerous.

This is the story of how they come to care for one another as a family and regain their faith in humanity.

Wendy's Recommended Book - The Book Of Everything

Author: Guus Kuijer
Translated by: John Nieuwenhuizen
Fiction

This delightful book tells the story about a family, and one particular boy, Thomas who sees amazing things that no one else can see. He writes what he sees in the Book of Everything including his wish: To be happy.