OMG this book aaaahhhhhh how did I liiiiiive before I read it.
So this book, right. It's ok.
Where to even start. How about this: Gideon hates where shOMG this book aaaahhhhhh how did I liiiiiive before I read it.
So this book, right. It's ok.
Where to even start. How about this: Gideon hates where she lives, everyone she lives with, and her life in general. But she has plans for getting away, and it's aaaallll going to work out... except of course it doesn't and she ends up compelled to work with one of the people she hates the most for a chance at actually making her life better. She lives on a nothing rock a long way away from the bright centre of the universe (or solar system), which she hates.
Gideon is a fighter, and she's cranky, and she has a great stock of lesbian porn, and a magnificent line in snark, and a heart that she tries to bluff her way out of showing anyone. I love her to pieces.
Someone mentioned the Machineries of Empire series by Yoon Ha Lee in connection with Gideon, and it made me realise all sorts of correspondences. Both have space-faring civilisations that seem to be powered by arcane things: Lee's universe by calendar mechanics (which is still a seriously ??? moment); Muir's is driven, in the upper echelons at least, by necromancy. Yeh, if the bones didn't give it away: this book has, at its core, death magic. Some people die. I do not like horror and I did not find this to be horror: for me, I tend to characterise horror as when I actively feel afraid while reading, and while I was afraid for characters in this novel, I did not get that 'oh God is there something under my couch reaching for my legs' feeling that, say, the Doctor Who ep 'Blink' encouraged.
Then there's the characters and their interactions. Frankly, they're screwed up, in both Machineries and here. Neither main character is exactly someone you'd say was emotionally on an even keel; and neither of them have open, trusting, and healthy relationships with their closest companions. There are aspects of the key relationship here that could perhaps be seen as abuse; I have been fortunate not to experience it so certainly I'm coming from a privileged position, but somehow it didn't read like abuse. Harrow, Gideon's opponent/companion, definitely does some actively horrible things... perhaps part of the difference for me was in her motivation. Or maybe I'm just making excuses. The relationship really is quite destructive; and Muir never tries to paint it as anything but.
Finally, I seem to remember being a good halfway through the first Machineries book before having any real notion of what the heck was going on - and the subsequent books revealed more and more until it made that first book like one square on a chess board (maybe a 2x2 square at best). When I got to the end of Gideon, I still wasn't entirely sure why things were happening or where the story might go next. But in both cases, I was so utterly enthralled by the writing, and so captivated by the characters and the world building, that I actually didn't care and just threw myself along for the ride. That's a fairly uncommon experience for me - I tend to be impatient - and it's a giddy and joyful one when you trust an author that much.
And then I discovered that the sequel isn't due out until June this year, and I wept. ...more
Some people I respect were raving about this, and I like both El-Mohtar and Gladstone's work separately, so I thought I'd give it a go. Bought it on mSome people I respect were raving about this, and I like both El-Mohtar and Gladstone's work separately, so I thought I'd give it a go. Bought it on my day off (e-copies really are very useful) and made a start on it.
And then I finished it. In one sitting.
I think it's a novella... but still. Yes. I inhaled it. It's brilliant. It's about time travel and two rival versions of human history.
Why are you still reading? Just go buy it already.
If you're still reading and you're not convinced: two very different views of how human history should play out are in competition across time, and across the multiverse - or strands, as our narrators call them, which means that you get all sorts of symbolism along the lines of braids and so on. Very clever; I like it a lot. Our people go upstream and downstream and across strands and they're always looking to make their version come out on top, and thwart their opponents.
And then Red and Blue start to communicate. And then (I'm sorry) things start to unravel.
The story is fabulous, the ideas are enthralling and rich and wonderful. The characters are always somewhat opaque but honestly that fits so well with what's going on and with who and what they are, that it was fine.
The one thing that some readers might find off-putting is the language: I saw someone describe it as 'baroque' and that's probably fair; it's extravagant and ornate and rich and luscious, sometimes whimsical and playful, full of symbolism, and occasionally meandering. I loved it; it's the sort of prose that will definitely reward re-reading, and a slower read, in order to really mull over the weight of the words.
Straight to my 'possible Hugos' list for next year. ...more
I had a pretty great January of reading because I realised I had time - and it was the time - to do some reading I'd beenNeed. More. Now. *************
I had a pretty great January of reading because I realised I had time - and it was the time - to do some reading I'd been meaning to do, in order to nominate for the Hugo Awards. And I'd heard this hyped by a few people so I figured it needed to feature.
It was probably my favourite book published in 2019.
And it's really hard to decide what to say about it.
It's fitting that the cover quote is from Ann Leckie, because I was immediately put in mind of her colonial/ imperial themes from the Ancillary books when reading this - although Leckie and Martine explore quite different aspects of that troubling human experience. Here, Teixcalaan is definitely imperial, but I would argue they're just slightly more subtle than the Raadch about it. Slightly. Both are quite convinced that their way of doing things is right, and it's reflected in their language. What's different though is the way the protagonist deals with this. Ambassador Mahit, whose home orbital station may be in line for being imperially expanded over, has been chosen as ambassador at least partly because of her fascination with Teixcalaan culture and society. So has she already been culturally colonised or does she know the enemy well or is it a case of appreciating beauty where one finds it? I adore the complexity of this idea.
... before you get the notion that this is an entirely cerebral book, though, don't be fooled: there are devious plots and explosions and deceitful manoeuvrings, friends who might not be friends and behind the scenes machinations, secrets that must be kept hidden until they're not, bonkers social manipulation, a great line in snark and discovery-of-unexpected friends.
Basically, I adored every single word.
Martine has enormous ideas and, I'm convinced, a much larger vision of the universe than readers have any notion of yet. There's even broader problems for Texicalaan and everyone else than are directly dealt with here, and I can't wait to see where Martine goes with it all.
And I haven't even mentioned the secret technology that Mahit must protect, and that her predecessor possibly died doing so.
... And then I discovered that the sequel isn't due out until early 2021, and I had to sit quietly for a while to allow myself to recover from the devastation. ...more
I'm going to make the call: this is the best Kameron Hurley book yet. And I say that as a very big fan of Nyxnissa.
This is... something else. SomethiI'm going to make the call: this is the best Kameron Hurley book yet. And I say that as a very big fan of Nyxnissa.
This is... something else. Something outstanding as a narrative, as a commentary, as a work of art.
First let me note that this is not exactly a linear narrative, since I know that will put off some readers. It's not exactly not linear, either... depending on what frame of reference you use. And yes, if I explain that, it will involve spoilers.
The story is set some time in the future - probably a century or so? Humans have been to Mars, and apparently we've also got so fed up with democracies (or been so conned) that Earth is now ruled by mega-corps, where you have to earn the right to be a citizen. And now there's a war, and enlisting seems like a good way both to earn citizenship (Starship Troopers?) and to get back at the enemy for their atrocities. So that's what Dietz does, and then the soldiers get broken into light in order to be transported more swiftly, and then weird things start to happen: but only to Dietz.
There's a huge amount going on here.
There's the relative merits of democracy, capitalist-authoritarianism, and socialism. There's war and its impact, in sympathetic and horrific detail; the value of citizenship, the value of life, the use of propaganda and the importance of time.... For a fast-paced military SF novel, Hurley (unsurprisingly) packs a vicious amount of political (in its broadest sense) commentary in.
Plus there's the evolving character of Dietz, as we delve deeper into back story and follow events and watch, sometimes horrified, as Dietz responds. I don't think I necessarily like Dietz; I didn't especially like Nyxnissa, either. But as a compelling and complex character, whose story I am compulsively drawn to understand? Dietz, and Nyxnissa, work.
On the constructed level, Hurley is playing with many "wilful homages" as she calls them in the Acknowledgements. It took me an embarrassingly long time to realise that this was basically a 'Mars attacks' novel, and that Hurley was playing with lots of the literary connections there. I suspected one or two other nods, early on, but wasn't sure if they were deliberate until the James Tiptree Jr reference leapt out and smacked me on the nose. I knew that one was deliberate.
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