jnzllwgr's reviews
238 reviews

Square Eyes by Luke Jones, Anna Mills

5.0

Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein

4.0

A pleasant enough read after nearly 30 years… a bit a victim (or child) of its time, SIASL possesses that snappy dialog of a mid-20th century dime-store detective novel, mixed with the then emerging hippy, free love 60s culture, Tim Leary-esque concepts of transhumanism, space travel and life extension and, for efficiency’s sake, what I’d call a theosophist’s take on religion.
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Kind of a nice contrast/compliment to Neuromancer which focused similarly on the nature of consciousness and human evolution, but less dependent on tech. That’s also a weak spot of the novel where Heinlein’s dated ideas of the future technologies feels more Jules Verne than, say, Frank Herbert.

Neuromancer by William Gibson

5.0

While not as Borgesian as is my taste, Neuromancer was excellent. I am still unclear as to what is and what happens in Straylight, but it’s very well done. I am utterly shocked that they have not made this into a film. Gibson serves the cinematic qualities, the pacing and dialog on a silver platter. So it can’t be a screenwriting issue.

Under the Skin by Michel Faber

4.0

A third variation on my thematic trend of a human-like alien visiting Earth…but, this time, as it turns out, it’s with friends! I was interested in reading this because I made the effort to see Jonathan Glazer’s (director of the brilliant Sexy Beast) film adaptation and was so completely puzzled. Certainly an art house take on the book. The movie features gorgeous cinematography with minimal dialog and a solo alien, played by Scarlet Johansson. In reading the book, it’s now abundantly clear that Glazer could not have taken more liberties. As far as I’m concerned, they are standalone works, with their own merits.
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In the book, our female protagonist also hides her identity like our Man Who Fell to Earth. However, in a irreversible way. And there is no goodwill in her species intentions with visiting. I really do not want to offer too much in regards to the plot because part of the power of this story is in the manner in which it incrementally reveals the nature of the visitor, why she’s here and the apparatus that supports her purpose. In the end, however, this is very much a companion work to Stranger in a Strange Land and The Man Who Fell to Earth in that it is very light on the sci-fi, and is more about the universality of existence. This book is also very much a contemporary work (published in 2000). The optimism of SIASL is completely non-existent, the cynicism of TMWFTE has matured and given way to a melancholic, isolated individualism. Oh, I cannot help but also draw a correlation here that its set in Scotland…in winter….so, maybe April or May-ish?

The Man Who Fell to Earth by Walter Tevis

5.0

Continuing a theme from having finished Stranger In A Strange Land…an alien from Mars (? we don’t *really* get to know) visits earth, develops wealth and influence…but where Smith brings great knowledge to help Earth grow in SIASL, here, Newton has travelled in hopes of saving his species from extinction. The case of a loner on a mission, deeply impacted as an individual and derailed by his contact and life with Americans. Published 2 years after SIASL, the parallels and contrasts are fascinating. Perhaps a reflection of the Cold War, military-industrial complex era that would increasingly unravel as the 1960s moved along. You really get the sense of that both these authors are calling bullshit on the American culture and empire that emerged just a couple decades prior following the Second World War.
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A quick, worthwhile read from the author of The Hustler, The Color of Money and The Queen’s Gambit.
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Nicolas Roeg’s movie, with David Bowie in the lead role, drifts from the books story. Another case where the book is the superior form.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick

4.0

Forced to deviate from the singular-alien-visits-earth theme of the last couple months of my reading. Androids visit earth! And they’re not welcome! The re-read of the canonical classic was *much* better than I recall. And *much* better than *many* of PKD’s short stories i struggled with a couple years back. That said, nothing will ever. EVER. E.V.E.R. eclipse Ridley Scott’s film adaptation. The chaff eliminated, the best parts amplified, other parts streamlined/concentrated into a heady brew. The noir overlay in the film oozes better than the book as well. It’s great to have them both, however for some complimentary effect.

Foe by Iain Reid

3.0

Didn’t live up to the hopes of the ambiguous summary. I trusted that if the author had his first novel sold and made into a film directed by Charlie Kaufman (I’m Thinking of Ending Things, which I’ve not read or watched), its probably worth a gamble. It’s mostly about the relationship between a husband and wife and how memory plays a role in forging bonds, undermining them, preventing progress, etc. There’s a narrative plot twist that drives the book but, honestly it was predictable. Unlike Michael Faber (Under the Skin), who deftly peels back layers of the onion, once you’ve hit ~70% complete with Foe, you realize there isn’t too much depth and you just want to get on with it. And even if you don’t see it coming, you’d find it making sufficiently reasonable sense. Not quite disappointing as a M.Night Shyamalan reveal, but leaving you hoping for a bit more meat on the bones. It’s a brisk read, only about 260 pages, so no harm no foul to dedicate a few hours of one’s life to it. But not going on a shortlist anytime soon.
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#iainreid #foe #sciencefiction #relationships #simulacrum

The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch by Philip K. Dick

3.0

I read this while trying to decide what would really be next. And it was a doozy. I think it was less pleasant to read than to think back upon it, strangely. The themes are classic PKD related to consciousness, where does life begin and end, how important/necessary is the body as part of that experience. Unfortunately, the vehicle in this exposition is a drug taken by human colonists on Mars, who are so miserable in their new habitat, they are constantly seeking solace in drug-taking. And there’s a big company profiting from the drug, despite its illegality. Palmer Eldritch is the character who serves as the disruptor, but with potentially a more insidious intent. Not sure how to play this one, folks. Not sure I’d recommend except to niche SF interests.

The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber

4.0

Peter has travelled to a far off planet named Oasis to minister to the natives. He’s a (non-denominational?) Christian pastor selected by the USIC corporation to engage with them because the last one disappeared and the Oasans are demanding a replacement. Bea is Peter’s wife, not selected to travel, who remains home on Earth as a nurse in the NHS system in the UK. Hilarity ensues. Just kidding. This was a bit of slog. Faber’s style is strong. He’s got the right cadence. He finds a turns of phrase that feel natural and deeply authentic about the human condition. He keeps the language pretty straightforward. It not so Modernly stripped down where the reader is required to fill in big gaps; nor is it florid like the bloody romantics of yore. The book is replete with things lurking around the edges (the real reason the aboriginals are interested in Jesus, or the reports of societal collapse on Earth, or what USIC really is doing), but nothing ever seems to break. This is not about action or plot movement. This is not really sci-fi. It’s not even metaphysics. I think it’s mostly about inner meaning and what structures we require (or not) or are drawn to to create coherence when we are constantly comparing the present against the past and future.

The Bear by Andrew Krivak

4.0

This was a *very* quick read…2-3 hours. Chose it as an offshoot of the alien visitor theme that had been dominating the last several books I’ve read. In this, there are 2 humans left on earth, a father and daughter. There are inferences to a time when there were more people. But the father’s words give the reader the belief that they are the last. Despite the human people’s situation, the world is fecund. Life is back in all it’s wild glory. I had hoped for more of the narrative to create tension between what happened to the way the world became. Perhaps to draw understandings between our present behavior and the net result. But this was more of an encomium to Mother Nature and the interconnectedness of all things. The greatest beauty in the novel is the gentle reminder that life exists outside of homo sapiens and that it will shall be always. Fans of Wendell Berry, Edward Abbey, Alex Weisman’s ‘The World Without Us’, and Timothy Morton, perhaps, apply.