John Scalzi - Redshirts

Title: Redshirts
Author: John Scalzi
Pub. year: 2012
Pages: 320
Editor: Tor Books

Summary: Ensign Andrew Dahl has just been assigned to the Universal Union Capital Ship "Intrepid," flagship of the Universal Union since the year 2456. It's a prestige posting, and Andrew is thrilled all the more to be assigned to the ship's Xenobiology laboratory. Life couldn't be better...until Andrew begins to pick up on the fact that (1) every Away Mission involves some kind of lethal confrontation with alien forces, (2) the ship's captain, its chief science officer, and the handsome Lieutenant Kerensky always survive these confrontations, and (3) at least one low-ranked crew member is, sadly, always killed.

It's Scalzi time, folks! I think everyone knows by now that I kinda love what he does, and I couldn't have been more impatient to read this new book—which you must have had heard about if you live on this planet (no, really?). To the point, now: how was it?

Weeell... When I read the beginning on Tor, I was thrilled. It sounded fun, and a bit crazy, and it was totally what I was looking for. When I read a bit further though, I realized several things, the first and main one being: I don't know the references of this story. In fact, I turned to my other half at that point and asked "so, red shirts... is that a Star Trek thing?" and he had to explain it to me. And I couldn't think anything else than "crap, this is gonna be full of inside jokes that I'm gonna miss".

I wasn't right, but I wasn't so wrong either. I can not tell you what this book is about, because for once the summary is not spoiling anything and you need to read it to believe it (err, or not). But there is no boundaries to the craziness of this book, and it's really some kind of homage to the old Sci-Fi series (did you know Scalzi worked on Stargate: Universe? Yeah, me neither) and silly stuff that happens in space. It's a bit gross, a bit emotional, a lot WTF?!, and the codas at the end are the cherry on the (space) cake.

I did enjoy it but not as much as I wish I would, and that's maybe due to my lack of interest for old Sci-Fi series, or maybe I'm just a grumpy lady who does not like to not understand the title of the book she's reading, who knows? Maybe it's because the book was dedicated to Wil Wheaton and this guy gets on my nerves!! Sorry, that's my Sheldon side, I guess.

I heard that Scalzi is planning a new book in the Old Man War series... now THAT's something I want to see!

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Jasper Fforde - The Eyre Affair

Title: The Eyre Affair (Thursday Next, book 1)
Author: Jasper Fforde
Pub. year: 2001
Pages: 373
Editor: Hodder & Stoughton

Summary: There is another 1985, somewhere in the could-have-been, where the Crimean war still rages, dodos are regenerated in home-cloning kits and everyone is deeply disappointed by the ending of 'Jane Eyre'. In this world there are no jet-liners or computers, but there are policemen who can travel across time, a Welsh republic, a great interest in all things literary - and a woman called Thursday Next.

I'm sure a lot of you heard about Jasper Fforde before, probably for the very good reason that this guy is a genius.



I mean, he wrote this world which looks very much like ours, except for.. a lot of things! I mean, there's a police for crime against books, dodos are back, there's wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff involved, ...
It's like a giant cauldron in which he put a little bit of investigation, a spoon of SF, some book-related shenanigans, a bit of timetravel, some reflexions about wars and its point, and other awesome and surprising stuff, and then the series came out of it.

We discover Thursday Next, 30-something woman, who's working for the LiteraTec department of the SpecOps, which supposedly is a tranquil kind of job, but which appears not to be quite what it's supposed to be, for her ; her father who can't stay more than 10mn in the same place and jumps back and forward in time to hide (and have fun, let's be honest) ; Acheron Hades, the big bad guy, who enjoys being a villain just for the sake of it ; Mycroft Next who doesn't seem to realise that some of his inventions can be really dangerous and that some people are willing to do anything to aquire them ; Jack Schitt (another one with a funny name) who's a little bit megalomaniac and thinks he owns the world.. Well, let's say that these colorful characters are clearly responsible for most of the fun & rythm in this story.

At the end, I was almost willing to reread Jane Eyre, though I didn't enjoyed it very much the first time (I couldn't even remember most of the story, if it weren't for Thursday summary), and to read Martin Chuzzlewit (by Charles Dickens) and Richard III (I don't need much convincing to read Shakespeare books, though).

There were some disappointing points at first, but after thinking about it, I realised it was perfect this way. So in the end, I enjoyed this book very much and I can't wait to read the next ones.

Actually, it's really hard to talk about this book because it contains so many things that I cannot really put words on them, so maybe the easiest way for you to know what is exactly this book, is by reading it. Give it a go, you'll see, it's awesome!


Quotes:
" I said to him when he rebuilt the muscles in my arm, 'Do you think I'll be able to play the violin?' and he said: 'Of course!' and then I said: 'That's good, I couldn't before!' "
p.195

" 'They'd never get here in time. It's easy. A lobotomised monkey could do it.'
'And where are we going to find a lobotomised monkey at this time of night?'
'You're being windy, Bowden.' "
p.273

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Jules Verne - Journey to the Center of the Earth

Title: Journey to the Center of the Earth
Original title: Voyage au centre de la Terre
Author: Jules Verne
Pub. year: 1864
Pages: 320
Editor: Penguin Books

Summary: What a stunning discovery: an old, coded note that actually contains directions for reaching the Earth’s very core! And once he finds it, renowned geologist Professor Liedenbrock can’t resist setting out with his 16-year-old nephew to go where only one man has gone before. Jules Verne takes young readers on one of the most incredible journeys ever imagined, from Iceland’s frozen tundra far down into fantastic underground prehistoric worlds and back up again through the fires of an erupting volcano.

Being French, it's quite impossible have never heard of Jules Verne. But I have to admit I never tried to read one of his books until this month. I think I was a bit scared that it would be really hard to read, with all the science stuff and the 19th century style. Anyway, I decided to give it a go and see if it was readable or not.

And actually it is. It must be for this author to be as well known as he is, that long after his death. So, obviously, it is quite scientific, but not that much and it's not really important if you don't understand some minor details, you get what they're saying because it's written so that you understand the most important of it.

When it comes to the style, well, it is better than what I expected, even if I'm still not fond of the way of talking and interacting from one and a half century ago. And the way that people are written too. It's just too.. distant, not really endeavouring. Maybe it's because he is a pretty quiet man that I was more curious about Hans, the Icelander, than any of the other. But it didn't stop me from reading the book to the end and enjoying it.

I had never really imagined a world deep under my feet, so it was a nice change and a great adventure! Even if we can easily guess the main plot, we are diving into an unknown and curious place that is full of surprises and mysteries.

Quite a good impression then, even if it's not one of my favorite! I have some other Jules Verne books in my TBR pile, so maybe I'll come back to you with some of them, someday. Meanwhile, you can try this one!

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Susan Beth Pfeffer - Life As We Knew It

Title: Life As We Knew It (The Last Survivors, book 1)
Author: Susan Beth Pfeffer
Pub. year: 2006
Pages: 337
Editor: Graphia
Summary: Miranda’s disbelief turns to fear in a split second when a meteor knocks the moon closer to the earth. How should her family prepare for the future when worldwide tsunamis wipe out the coasts, earthquakes rock the continents, and volcanic ash blocks out the sun? As summer turns to Arctic winter, Miranda, her two brothers, and their mother retreat to the unexpected safe haven of their sunroom, where they subsist on stockpiled food and limited water in the warmth of a wood-burning stove.

Told in journal entries, this is the heart-pounding story of Miranda’s struggle to hold on to the most important resource of all--hope--in an increasingly desperate and unfamiliar world.

As Muffin says, I don't do 'it's-the-end-of-the-world' stories. But I have this friend with whom I exchange books in a way that the other has no choice but to read what the first put in her hands. So, yeah, she lent me this one and I had to read it. And as it turns out, I'm kinda glad she did.

This book is kind of an Anne Frank's diary. In a 'lol-it-didn't-really-happen' way, here. Anne Frank had WW2, Miranda has 'the Moon is getting closer and the everything is messed up'. She writes about her day-to-day life and what is happening to her. We are following the catastrophe as it happens in her life, and their consequences on it.

What was incredible is that during the whole reading process, I was like 'Oh my gosh, do I have enough cans? I should probably buy some other blankets! I miss chocolate.' and then 'Oh wait...'. When my curtains were closed, I was wondering if there really were a blizzard outside. So yeah.. I really felt like I was living the climate changes and its consequences.

It's a quite realistic book about a possible end of the world. I mean, I don't know if scientifically it's plausible, but it could be. What's interesting is how people react when this happens. And there was this bizarre effect that made me care more about new changes in climate than about people dying in the story. I don't know how to explain that... maybe the way the author wrote about it was more nerve-racking.

Anyway, I was quite absorbed in the story 'til the end, and really enjoyed it. So if you're into apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic stuff—even if you're not, I'm the living proof of it—give it a go!


Quotes:

'I never really thought about how when I look at the moon it's the same moon as Shakespeare and Marie Antoinette and George Washington and Cleopatra looked at.'

'It wouldn't be New Year's without a resolution. I've resolved to take a moment every day for the rest of my life to appreciate what I have.'

'I have no privacy. But I feel so alone.'

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Lauren Beukes - Zoo City

Title: Zoo City
Author: Lauren Beukes
Pub. year: 2011
Pages: 384
Editor: Angry Robot
Summary: Zinzi has a Sloth on her back, a dirty 419 scam habit and a talent for finding lost things. But when a little old lady turns up dead and the cops confiscate her last paycheck, she’s forced to take on her least favourite kind of job – missing persons.
Being hired by reclusive music producer Odi Huron to find a teenybop pop star should be her ticket out of Zoo City, the festering slum where the criminal underclass and their animal companions live in the shadow of hell’s undertow.
Instead, it catapults Zinzi deeper into the maw of a city twisted by crime and magic, where she’ll be forced to confront the dark secrets of former lives – including her own.

First time I travel that south with a book, and I must say I am happily surprised by the pleasure I had to make that trip. Zoo City is a future decrepit neighborhood of Johannesburg, where the criminals live with their animals. Zinzi is one of them: with Sloth on her back and the power to find lost things, she tries her best to get out of this mess she got herself into. But it's not by mixing with the wrong crowd that it's gonna happen...

This book is pretty difficult to talk about—on the one hand it's great and surprising, and on the other hand it's so complex and rich that I wouldn't know where to start without spoiling you. Maybe it's just a newbie feeling, but that's the first time I see a South-African story getting that much visibility (which it totally deserves) and I'm wondering, why is it so that we always read American/English stories (and well, French, because you know, French girl and all that) while there sure are wonders to discover elsewhere?

I fell totally in love with the atmosphere of the story, somewhat dark and corrupted but at the time pretty pleasant, especially when Zinzi goes exploring around the odd neighborhoods. The characters all have strong personalities, even the bad guys which still intrigue me (I wish there was more to know about them). And as if the story was not extraordinary enough, the SF side coming up with the animals, the abilities and the Undertow make it downright fascinating.

I wish I could tell you more but I think you should discover it by yourself; enjoy the fresh and exotic style of Lauren Beukes (be prepared for some African slang!) and the captivating adventure of Zinzi December and Sloth!

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Mary Shelley - Frankenstein

Title: Frankenstein or, The Modern Prometheus
Author: Mary Shelley
Pub. year: 1918
Pages: 202
Editor: HarperCollins
Summary: ′It was already one in the morning; the rain pattered dismally against the panes, and my candle was nearly burnt out, when, by the glimmer of the half-extinguished light, I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open...′

Written when Mary Shelley was only nineteen-years old, this chilling tale of a young scientist′s desire to create life still resonates today. Victor Frankenstein′s monster is stitched together from the stolen limbs of the dead, and the result is a grotesque being who, rejected by his maker, sets out on a journey to reek his revenge.

Having always heard about this story, I wanted to read it and know exactly what it was. The cover was pretty cool, which helps. I'm not fond of classic books, but once in a while, it doesn't hurt.

It's nice to know the true story as it was written (even if I was a bit disappointed by the fact that there was no "IT'S ALIIIIVE" =D), like I did for Dracula or other well known stories/myths. The epistolary style brings a much more personnal dimension to the story, allowing us to understand with their own words what's going on, like being inside the mind of the characters.

I felt sad for the creature, his loneliness. I was always balanced between affection and horror about him. Both him and his creator had ambivalant personnality. I won't judge Frankenstein (the master, not the creature, just to be clear for those who confuse them) because I don't know what I would have done if I created that kind of creature... but I don't think this story would have been the same if he accepted him, and if he faced the consequences of his acts.
It feels like everything is just working to bring both of them to a really sad ending. All the decisions, everything that's happening... It's kind of oppressing in that way.

Anyway, it was nice to enter in that kind of reflexion afterwards. I can't say I loved it, but it was rewarding and I'm glad I read it.

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John Scalzi - The God Engines

Title: The God Engines
Author: John Scalzi
Pub. year: 2009
Pages: 136
Editor: Subterranean Press

Summary:Captain Ean Tephe is a man of faith, whose allegiance to his lord and to his ship is uncontested. The Bishopry Militant knows this -- and so, when it needs a ship and crew to undertake a secret, sacred mission to a hidden land, Tephe is the captain to whom the task is given.
Tephe knows from that the start that his mission will be a test of his skill as a leader of men and as a devout follower of his god. It's what he doesn't know that matters: to what ends his faith and his ship will ultimately be put -- and that the tests he will face will come not only from his god and the Bishopry Militant, but from another, more malevolent source entirely...

I already told you about John Scalzi, didn't I? Yes, remember, something about an old guy going to war... Well, I was so charmed by his style and humor that I decided I would now read everything he did. And instead on continuing with the previous series, I came accross this short novella, all cheap and shiny with this wonderful cover by Vincent Chong. How could I resist that?

It could have been a simple SF novella. It could have been about this captain, utterly religious like everyone else in this universe, that goes on a special mission and meet some alien or another. It could have been about quantum physics, about spaceships coordinates, about space battles. It could even have been some funny story like I sort of expected, with improbable meetings and crazy situations. It could, but it isn't. Forget everything you thought this book was, because it is something else.

Yes, it is about religion, and I don't like this better than you probably do. But don't let it stop you! It is also about how a whole population can live solely on its beliefs, and rely on the power of fallen Gods to provide them the technology to travel through space. But being treated as they are, the Gods won't help with a smile, and Tephe will face the one of his own ship when his faith will be shaken by a terrifying event. The point of all this (at least the one I found for myself, thank you) is to make you think about what you want to believe in: an overpowering God that lies to you? That kills people? The other Gods that seem to tell the truth but also kill people? What if you've been blinded, if your world has shrunk because of a Faith too powerful to withstand science? And what if that was also a lie?

So it was not funny, but it was not disappointing either. Only 136 pages and you don't have the time to breathe with the succession of action, reaction, questions and (false) answers that shake our poor hero, to whom I couldn't help but relate. So short but oh so unnerving story, that leaves you trembling for him, forever lost in this madness. And you cannot help but think... what if God was the instrument of our ruin?

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John Scalzi - Old Man's War

Title: Old Man's War
Author: John Scalzi
Pub. year: 2007
Pages: 320
Editor: Tor Books

Summary : With his wife dead and buried, and life nearly over at 75, John Perry takes the only logical course of action left him: he joins the army. Now better known as the Colonial Defense Force (CDF), Perry's service-of-choice has extended its reach into interstellar space to pave the way for human colonization of other planets while fending off marauding aliens. The CDF has a trick up its sleeve that makes enlistment especially enticing for seniors: the promise of restoring youth. After bonding with a group of fellow recruits who dub their clique the Old Farts, Perry finds himself in a new body crafted from his original DNA and upgraded for battle, including fast-clotting "smartblood" and a brain-implanted personal computer. All too quickly the Old Farts are separated, and Perry fights for his life on various alien-infested battlegrounds.

I took the liberty of putting the awesome cover of the Subterranean Press edition instead of the ugly Tor one—I hope you don't mind. I thought that maybe, with a nicest cover, more people would try it... because let's admit it, not only the ugly cover but also the summary doesn't really give you the sudden urge to read this book. Doesn't work with me, at least—and yes, I'm not a huge hard SF fan, so sue me. But that, dear, that would be a great mistake. Because this is not hard SF. This is not a boring scientific book for nerds full of battleships and the likes. This, my lovely little bunnies, is the funniest and most awesome SF book I had the chance to read for a very long time.

I usually aren't that fond of old people, especially an old hero, but this one is an amazing old guy. His wife died and he realises that nothing really awaits for him anymore, so instead of wasting his last years, he enrolls in the Colonial Defense Force. Some people say that they only take in old people to make them young again before sending them to battle... and being young again is the dream of a big part of these old jeezers. Perry soon becomes friends with a bunch of them, naming themselves the Old Farts. Along with him being sent to weird planets needing to be protected from Aliens attacks, we follow the adventures of those guys, how they meet, how they live, how they die.

Yes, it's mostly about fun, but it's also about dying. The whole book is a deeply human adventure where people think about their lives, about all they lost, and all they will lose. About the right they have to conquer those planets, their right to kill other species for their own survival. About the rightness of their choices. Yes, you will have fun, this I can guarantee. You will also see the stars, some ships, some amazing technologic discoveries and some weird creatures, and the trip will take you to the end of the universe and back. But Perry will keep your feet on earth, that's for sure. Lucky you, if you miss him already, there are three sequels - not that any mystery is left at the end of the first book but I must say, more of this, it's hard to say no!

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