The world is a bleak place in Thomas Carpenter's The Digital Sea. Rising sea levels, changes in climate, dwindling resources and overpopulation have fThe world is a bleak place in Thomas Carpenter's The Digital Sea. Rising sea levels, changes in climate, dwindling resources and overpopulation have forced governments to enact population reduction laws and trade in population bonds. But a global one child policy isn't working fast enough for some, leading them to consider more drastic measures.
Escapism via augmented reality (AR), what people refer to as the Digital Sea, is very popular. Whether accessed via glasses or “mods”, surgically implanted neural networks, people are able to wallpaper over the despair and ruin to see a rosier reality. Or you can observe what's others have projected over themselves and their surroundings. It's geocaching taken to a whole new level. Unfortunately, just as opening an email attachment may introduce a virus to your computer, accepting someone's AR program may grant them permanent control over your perception of reality.
Zel Aurora has a daughter who is deathly ill. Fortunately, Zel is highly skilled at parting the waters of the Digital Sea to reveal what people try to hide. And she can use it to wash away her tracks. For this, she receives enough money to acquire the medical equipment and medicines to keep her daughter alive, albeit barely. They've also been on the run from a former employer, the Djed, who Zel spurned. Tired of running, and her daughter in desperate need of better treatment, Zel decides to return to his employ, hoping that his desire to use her skills overrules his anger.
Besides Zel, there are several other characters that figure prominently in the story. I wondered how well Carpenter was going to tie their individual storylines together, but he pulled it off. Even though he shifts around a lot, at no point did I forget who any of them were. Carpenter deftly shapes and defines all of his characters, providing us with a diverse group. He deserves credit for writing a story where one major character is an amputee and another suffers from Asperger's Syndrome, yet neither falls prey to stereotypes.
While The Digital Sea is well written, it could have used an editor's oversight. Overall, Carpenter does a good job self-editing but nobody's perfect. Typos got past him (“too” and “to” swapped, “artic” instead of “arctic”, missing verbs) and there were times when there were too many short, choppy sentences and fragments. An editor would've helped to catch the mistakes and offer suggestions to improve the flow of the narrative.
But despite my complaints, The Digital Sea is a good story. There's plenty of intrigue to captivate the reader's attention. The characters challenge the reader in that it's not a good versus evil situation. They're just pawns on opposing sides, trying to eke out a living in a difficult world. It will be interesting to see where Carpenter goes from here with this series....more
Mirror Shards is a short story anthology published by Black Moon Books, the imprint of indie author, Thomas K. Carpenter. This time around, Carpenter Mirror Shards is a short story anthology published by Black Moon Books, the imprint of indie author, Thomas K. Carpenter. This time around, Carpenter serves as both author (he contributed one story) and editor. He accepted submissions from unpublished and published authors.
Much like Carpenter's novel, The Digital Sea, the stories in this anthology all have augmented reality (AR) as a common element integral to each story. However, how each author incorporates AR into their story is as varied as the authors themselves. It would be difficult to provide a detailed analysis of all 13 stories so I will provide a taste of each.
We're shown how a submarine pilot guides a gaggle of tourists in the depths of the Indian Ocean in "The Watcher" and jacked in with a bio-engineered assassin dropped on a distant ring world in "El Matador".
AR is a positive force that advances the effectiveness of smart detectives in "Witness Protection" while helping a young woman survive an encounter with a crime syndicate in the cold of eastern Russia in "Of Bone and Steel and Other Soft Materials". It enables a singer to adopt new personas while Earth is under the boot of alien overlords in "Stage Presence, Baby". And it enables revolutions in the corporate dictatorship of "Gift Horses".
The darker side of AR is explored as well. It is used to bring about an advertizing apocalypse in "Below the Bollocks Line" and adds a new dimension to imprisonment in "The Sun is Real." It fosters the ugliness of narcissism in "A Book By Its Cover".
Some stories balance the two. It props up the ego of the actors in "These Delicate Creatures" but also restores their humanity when art becomes protest. And in the sexual slavery of "More Real Than Flesh" it provides an escape hatch.
I have to say that there isn't a bad story in the bunch but I was still able to pick out two stellar stories that rose above the rest: "Music of the Spheres" and "The Cageless Zoo".
"Music of the Spheres" is probably the best math story I've ever read. A math major helps his sister with her geometry homework and it doesn't come across as dull, instead it turns into a lesson she has to teach him later in life. The underlying theme is about what happens to those who are left behind when AR takes over society. The author, Ken Liu, poignantly shows how one can cope with watching dreams die.
My favorite is Carpenter's own, "The Cageless Zoo", which is about a widow and her two children visiting a zoo full of predators who are kept from eating people by AR implants. The mother is confronted by a zoo official who demands a copy of her late husband's research, which she doesn't want to surrender for fear of it being buried by the Darwin Institute. Not only does Carpenter's story present us with a unique use for AR but it provides us with an excellent demonstration for how epigenetics could work in nature on a fictional beast. But forgetting the science for a moment, it was a fun read along the lines of Jurassic Park, but without the dinosaurs.
Carpenter has amassed a diverse collection of highly entertaining and thought provoking AR stories in Mirror Shards: Volume 1. As with all good anthologies, I now have another list of talented writers whose works I can explore further. I look forward to the next installment of this series. Highly recommended for all sci-fi fans. ...more
Extinction Journals picks up where the "The Sharp Dressed Man At the End of the Line" leaves off. For those of you unfamiliar with that story, it can Extinction Journals picks up where the "The Sharp Dressed Man At the End of the Line" leaves off. For those of you unfamiliar with that story, it can be found in Mr. Johnson's short story collection, Angel Dust Apocalypse. Without giving too much away, we meet Dean in the last days before World War III, a young man who believes that he can survive the aftermath of a nuclear war if he's wearing a suit made of cockroaches. As the story ends, Dean is proved correct.
Extinction Journals follows Dean around as he makes his way through the nuclear bomb ravaged wasteland of what was once the USA. He struggles to find food and water, all the while wondering if his "suit" will, out of desperation and hunger, turn on him. Along the way, he meets a new god, borne out of mankind's collective unconscious. Neither Dean nor the reader is sure whether or not he's hallucinating, but considering he just survived a nuclear war we have to give him some leeway.
Ultimately, Dean meets other entomologically enlightened individuals who are struggling to put some sense to this brave new world. At that point, they must decide how life will exist, post-humanity, or if it will exist at all.
JRJ has a knack for characterization, even if those characters are a bit twisted. Dean is a nice enough guy, but one has to really be out there to conceive of fashioning a suit out of cockroaches in order to survive a nuclear war. And his descriptions of the nuclear wasteland are convincingly real, making you shudder (and question Dean's desire to live to see it).
The story was way too short. While readers don't need to be familiar with the short story that preceded this novella, it definitely helps. Adding it as a preface, while driving up the publishing costs, would have enhanced the reading experience for new readers of JRJ's work.
I also had a feeling of repetition between Dean's encounters. It was as if he were stumbling upon the same old irradiated buildings he wandered into earlier.
Lastly, I was hoping for more of an exploration of the relationship between Dean and his suit. I really couldn't get the sense that the symbiosis between man and roach was evolving until the very end. Maybe evolution itself works like that. Rather than gradual changes, we get abrupt "do or die" situations.
While I enjoyed this book, I feel that, for the reasons stated above, it falls short of JRJ's previous works. Newcomers should pick up his earlier works first before coming here. Fans of JRJ's work will still want to add this to their collections....more
The product description is entirely accurate and to add to it would give too much away. However, I can comment on Jung's use of characterization.
Jung'The product description is entirely accurate and to add to it would give too much away. However, I can comment on Jung's use of characterization.
Jung's main characters, Raven and Christian, are very well defined and their relationship is really the crux of the story. Oh sure, there's plenty of action, but it was the interaction between the two that kept me captivated. Jung skillfully builds the tension between Raven and Christian such that, after seeing them work in their professional capacity, she had me wondering if they were going to kill one another. And that's the choice they face: either kill each other or find a way to work together. Raven is very much a loner while Christian is far more amiable. She sees him as borderline unprofessional while he's simultaneously captivated and fearful of her. The story is cleverly written from the 1st person POV of both characters. Jung masterfully grows their relationship over the course of the novel and we witness firsthand their evolution.
Jung's writing style is easily accessible and there's a glossary available for the few terms that are unique to this secret world. This was a highly enjoyable read. ...more
In Rob Steiner's, The Last Key, Raven Labrend is a Novice Dahkshari, an Order of Faith on the continent of Andea. He and his mentor, Jalen Drummond, aIn Rob Steiner's, The Last Key, Raven Labrend is a Novice Dahkshari, an Order of Faith on the continent of Andea. He and his mentor, Jalen Drummond, are tasked with escorting Seala Mesalek, a Duke's daughter and heir, to a peace treaty signing between the kingdoms of Andea and Loquath. The ceremony is to be held at her uncle's castle. It should come as no surprise that the journey is fraught with perilous adventure.
The modern fantasy genre evolved out of fairy tales, legends and mythology. It peaked with Tolkien and his success spawned many imitators, good and bad. As such, we've all been exposed to these stories and are familiar with the elements that go into a high fantasy story: swords and magic, mythical creatures, kings and queens, valiant heroes and fair maidens, and the titanic struggle between good and evil. It would be all too easy for Steiner's story to simply follow that well-worn path and for his characters to fall into two-dimensional stereotypes, but they don't.
Steiner's characters have a measure of depth to them. Raven, is the valiant hero who wants nothing more than to emulate his mentor, Jalen, and to do that he must respect the strict rules of the Dahkshari. But he struggles with a painful childhood memory that drives him to seek justice even if it means bending the rules. Seala is the fair maiden, but she's an educated idealist among the nobility who's unafraid to engage Raven in a debate over the freedom to practice one's Faith. Furthermore, she takes pains to demonstrate to Raven that she's no fragile flower and won't be swayed by a handsome face.
Seala's uncle, Duke Thallan Brael, is cast as evil but he's not a cartoon villain. He was a decorated war hero during the war with Loquath. Sadly, Loquathi soldiers murdered the Duke's wife and children right before his eyes. For him, signing the peace treaty is a big mistake as his heart burns with revenge.
Ferahtu could be considered for the cartoon villain role, but he's more complex than that. His malevolence possesses a dark logic. He helps Brael to see that the end justifies the means. Sacrifices need to be made for the greater good and Ferahtu is all to eager to execute those hard decisions for him. Brael is in possession of one third of the Reaping Key, a powerful source of magic that a millennium ago nearly destroyed the world when one man possessed all three pieces. With Ferahtu's help, he seeks to reclaim the other two pieces and use its power to completely destroy Loquath.
The Last Key is more complicated than a simple quest journey. One of the sub-plots involves the practice of Faith. In Steiner's world, Faith is a form of magical energy; the life essence granted to all living things by the Patrons. It can be used to heal, protect and even destroy. There are various schools of Faith in which people may enlist to learn how to properly harness it. However, there's always someone who doesn't like school. These people are considered heretics and are hunted as criminals. Steiner puts Raven in an awkward situation, as the Novice must decide whether or not he should accept the help of a band of heretics or turn them over to the authorities.
There's plenty of action and at least one fight scene was so vividly choreographed that I had no trouble visualizing it blow by blow. But at no point did I feel like it was overdone. However, the body count is high. Many a character, both major and minor, meets an untimely end. While it makes for a grim story, under the circumstances, it's realistic.
Mythical beasts are used sparingly and to great effect. The Gryphons are noble, yet prideful creatures. The Renders are terrible monsters and Steiner doesn't spare us any details to their grotesque creation or their eating habits.
The Last Key is a great fantasy story. Steiner has crafted a world where politics muddy the boundary between good and evil and forces the characters to find a clear path to solve a world-shattering crisis. His characters rise above stereotypes and engage each other with realistic dialogue that comes naturally to them. And they evolve. Although it is only his first novel, The Last Key clearly exemplifies Steiner's mastery of writing high fantasy. He is one to watch....more
After reading Pattern Recognition (5 stars), I couldn't wait to read Spook Country.
Hollis Henry, a former member of a 90's alternative rock band, is tAfter reading Pattern Recognition (5 stars), I couldn't wait to read Spook Country.
Hollis Henry, a former member of a 90's alternative rock band, is trying out a second career as a journalist. She's been sent out by Node, a magazine that she isn't sure exists, to do a piece on "locative art" (think geocaching meets VR). One of these artists introduces her to Bobby Chombo, the man who runs the servers where said art is hosted. The problem is he's extremely paranoid and her boss insists she find out why.
There's also Tito, a runner for a really small organized crime family. And he's being tracked by a guy named Brown, who's a covert operative of some kind with a strong sense of nationalism. But rather than get in Brown's head, we get his prisoner, Milgrim, an Ativan addict who speaks Russian. We meet other characters along the way, but the story focuses on Hollis, Tito, and Milgrim.
The story starts out slow. It took about 100 pages before it picked up. There wasn't any sense of danger looming over the characters nor was I able to determine what they were after that was so important. The three main characters are mild. Hollis seems capable of some decent snark but Gibson never really lets her loose. Tito's utilization of his Santeria faith is compelling when there's action, but it's sorely underutilized. He's a mushroom most of the time. Milgrim's Atvian experiences are intriguing but his objective seems to be avoiding a beating from Brown.
There are some minor characters which try to save us from these mild mannered and mellow trio. Chombo isn't one of them. He's annoying. But most of the characters in the novel get along so well that there's hardly any conflict.
We do find out what everyone is after. It's partly based on reality. I remember reading about the item in question in the news, but it never really seemed to garner the attention it deserved. I don't want to spoil it, but it concerns the Iraq War. The premise is believable, and what the characters set out to do seems cool but there's never any real danger. The plan is so well executed that when the story's climax comes along, I was left saying, "Oh, that was it."
William Gibson founded the cyberpunk sub-genre of science fiction, but there's really nothing in this novel that comes across as sci-fi. It's been said that the world has caught up with Gibson's vision and I have to agree. There's nothing here to chase away sci-fi phobic readers. But will they want to read it? Gibson's prose continues to be efficiently rendered, sparse yet beautiful. But as it's presented here it amounts to an ornately decorated cardboard box....more
In Dreamcatcher, four men, friends since childhood, are out hunting in the woods of Maine. A lone hunter stumbles upon their cabin sputtering nonsenseIn Dreamcatcher, four men, friends since childhood, are out hunting in the woods of Maine. A lone hunter stumbles upon their cabin sputtering nonsense about mysterious "lights in the sky" while being plagued with the worst case of gas ever imaginable. It's Stephen King so you know what's coming.
The first third of the book is great. King hooks us right in and then beats a frantic pace: a snowmobile barreling through the woods with the reader being dragged gleefully through the snow. We can't help but stay up late turning those pages to find out what happens next. He seems merciful when he idles down the pace for the middle third so that we can catch our breath and brush off some of that snow.
But it dawns on me that some of this landscape seems familiar. We're given backstory on the protagonists, a group of men who've been friends since childhood, albeit a bit more distant (It). We get the long-winded side trip flashback, a King staple, where the boys confronted an evil back then (though it was a different evil) and now, as adults, face an evil alien threat in the woods (Tommyknockers). And then there's the psychotic government agent who becomes obsessed with one of the protagonists (Firestarter) and starts to hunt him down. Stephen King is one of the most prolific writers of our age. So, it shouldn't come as a surprise that he began re-using some elements of past stories. But I was willing to let all this slide if the book ended well.
The final chase consumes the last third of the book, but it drags. And when the crisis is resolved, it felt anti-climactic. Although King doesn't use the old "it was all a dream" cliche, the ending, for me at least, was just as insulting. I had to re-read it a couple times just to make sure I was reading it right. Maybe this was some kind of catharsis for King. He wrote this story while recovering from the accident where he was struck by a minivan (which is paralleled by one of the characters here). I haven't read any other of his post-accident works and after reading this I'm not sure when I will....more
Maybe it's just me but Neverwhere doesn't seem to have the mind share that Gaiman's later novels American Gods and Anansi Boys have. It's not to say tMaybe it's just me but Neverwhere doesn't seem to have the mind share that Gaiman's later novels American Gods and Anansi Boys have. It's not to say that the novel wasn't good. I just think that his career hadn't snowballed enough by 1997, when the book came out, that people outside of his fan base paid much attention to it. After all, Gaiman was a comic book writer (graphic novelist, if you must), not a novelist, and this was his first.
I stumbled upon Neverwhere in a local used book store last year (2006). I hadn't heard of it either, nor had I ever seen it in any of the chain bookstores. Anyway, I decided to pick it up, along with a couple other books.
The story proved that Gaiman could indeed write novels. He needn't be relegated to graphic novels. If you want to read a short synopsis of the story, read this and come back. Not having the artists from his Sandman days here to flesh out the scenery, Gaiman does it for us. His words paint London Below as a dark, damp, brooding place of fallen majesty. I half expected the Sandman himself to show up as the imagery conjured here mirrored that of the Dream King's universe. The characters are just as real with their flaws as those that we met in the Sandman series. And the tale that Gaiman weaves is just as suspenseful and imaginative.
My only complaint would be that it seemed to take just a little too long for the main character, Richard Mayhew, to get it. Perhaps that was Gaiman's intention. Maybe he wanted us to yell at Richard, "C'mon man! Don't you get it yet?!" I won't say he was annoying, but he was close to it a few times.
I believe that the story attempts to answer two questions: Can you really go home? If so, would you really want to?
All in all, a really good modern, urban fantasy. Definitely worth the read if you're a Sandman or Gaiman fan or if you're into stories with elements of suspense, horror (not gore), and modern fantasy (no elves)....more
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