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

At the Gates of Darkness by Raymond E. Feist

There's a nasty demon thing trying to break through into Midkemia, and the intrepid characters are trying to stop it.

With Magician, Raymond E Feist created a stunning world rife with potential, but the latest instalment, "At the Gates of Darkness", takes about half a book just to get everyone up to date with all his characters. As a reader I don't need character arcs that are completely unrelated to the plot -- however cool they were the first time round.

Of course if you've read many, most or all of the previous books, this is a great re-union, and on the plus side it does star demon-fighting good guys with shady pasts. The elf brothers sneaking through demon country were great -- and if only Raymond had focussed more on them, and less on Pug and that cast of "old favourites", it would have been a better story. One of the reasons his collaboration "Daughter of the Empire" series with Janny Wurts worked so well, was that although some of Raymond's characters popped up on occasion, but they didn't get in the way of the plot, stomp all over it and.... no, I wont give away the ending, but you can probably guess.

It's also a shame that like many other long-running series, some of the simple charm struggling to break through the story is overwhelmed by the huge and unbelievable forces arrayed against the protagonists -- and the huge and unbelievable resources they have to fight back with.

Review by Alicia Ponder

Brainjack: the next war starts in cyberspace, by Brian Falkner

Sam Wilson, brilliant teenage hacker, is looking for trouble. And trouble is looking for him. He's trying to get into the most carefuly controlled pieces of cyberspace there is - but he has no idea of the danger that he's getting himself into, it's not just that the police might be after him, he's being chased by an agency he can't even comprehend.
Ok, I'm a science fiction buff, so nothing in this book was particularly new, but it didn't seem to matter, it was a great roller-coaster. Lots of fun, lots of danger, and some really nice touches -- it makes me want to read his other book - the tomorrow code - to see if it's half as good as this one.

About the author:  I'm slow on the uptake (my excuse is that the book was published in Aus):  Brian is actually an NZ author -  born and raised in Auckland - which I wont hold against him, and is the author of several aother books besides this and the Tomorrow code (shortlisted for the 2009 New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children - Young Adults and the Esther Glen Award at the LIANZA Awards). The Flea Thing (shortlisted for the LIANZA Esther Glen Award, 2004), The Real Thing, and The Super Freak (shortlisted, New Zealand Post Book Awards, 2006).

The Roar by Emma Clayton

Science Fiction meets the 21st century. It's the sort of book that can distract children from television, now how often do you see that!

Ellie is chased across New London in a fighter, her pet capuchin monkey eating popcorn. Somewhere below, her twin brother has been told that she's dead, but he doesn't believe it, and he's determined to find her.

There's lies, animals, outrage, adults being so stupid only children could believe it, and this rollercoaster of a book doesn't let up until - the end - and not even then - we're all expecting a sequel.

So my advice is, strap yourself into your fighter cockpit, make sure your most trusted dog, mouse, parakeet is by your side -- and escape!

Review by Alicia Ponder


PS. becasue I've been asked so many times I believe the release date for "The Whisper" in NZ is February 2012.  Cross your fingers. :)

Sci Fi

Peace and War by Joe Haldeman


I could not help but notice this in the bargain bin section of Rona Gallery. Peace and War is one of the most celebrated Science fiction classics ever - originally published as "Forever War" "Forever Free," and "Forever Peace."

These books have haunted me since I read them almost ten years ago. I would recommend them to anyone who wants to understand what those veterans went through, or just to someone who loves science fiction that makes not only a social commentary but uses the known laws of physics as part of the underlying metaphore. And the basic premise is that people encounter aliens. Nobody is sure how the shooting started, but it has started, and the world goes to war to destroy the threat.

Only it's not that simple fighting bugs out in space, because this is one of the few Science fiction stories I've read where Einstein's relativity is a factor, and each time the soldiers return, not only are they coming home damaged by their experiences but the world is so changed they feel like they are not coming home at all...

Joe Haldeman was a Vietnam Vet and his storytelling isn't as polished as some, but the drama, and the plot, and the theme - and the sheer guts of this story, more than make up for a lack of fancy prose. Indeed it would seem out of place. There's a lot in this book, a lot of disturbing ideas about how wars are fought, and Joe Haldeman does not deny any connections with the Vietnam war, in fact when he was in New Zealand he described it as his therapy when he came back, his way of making sense of what happened to him, and I think that is why the books are so powerful and why they have been re-published again and again over the years.

Review by Alicia Ponder