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matokah's reviews
405 reviews
The Dream Merchants - Volume One by Chris Strausz-Clark
5.0
Full disclosure: I offered to beta read this book earlier this month before its launch. I don't know the author personally, but like helping out other self-published indie authors since I have a background in editing and the premise seemed interesting.
I've read a lot of self-published writing that immediately makes me think "slush pile" when considering whether or not a traditional publisher would have an interest in taking on the manuscript. Generally, these stories have interesting premises that ultimately fail due to poor editing, plot holes neck-deep, and any other number of other pitfalls new writers inevitably fall into. Generally, I can't make it even halfway through these books (which sucks even more if I've spent money on them).
Once in awhile I find a real gem though. Once in a very, very long while.
Thankfully, The Dream Merchants is one of these rare self-published story finds. It's well-written, with a world that, while wholly familiar to readers, is also uniquely its own due to a few, clever dystopian touches.
Martin Nitram lives in a world where peoples' worths are valued and traded based on their current assets and future earning potential. Powerful corporations vie for those with the most promising profiles every year, in the hopes of retaining these individuals within their company framework and, ultimately, increasing the profitability of their own companies in the process. Martin's not one of these high-achieving individuals.
In fact, Martin's not very noteworthy at all at first sniff. The graduate of a journalism program with no real-world experience and not much of a personality to stand out in a society where people market themselves as their own unique brands to up their desirability on the stock market, pretty much the only thing interesting about Martin is the fact that he somehow managed to secure a new reporter position at a decently respectable news outlet -- and, as readers will soon discover, even that isn't as straight-forward as it initially seems.
Because something large is in the works, and wealthy corporate owner Byron Brooks likely has something to do with it. How that relates to Martin and his "day dreams" that are beginning to occur with increasing frequency (and are, in my mind, the absolute highlight of elegant prose in this first volume) is teased out to perfection throughout the entirety of book 1. For my own selfish purposes, I sincerely hope more of these day dream scenes occur in volume 2.
The story hops back and forth between multiple character perspectives on a chapter-by-chapter basis. If not done well, this can easily become maddening for a reader (no one likes guessing whose head they're in on a given sentence). Strausz-Clark has his POV changes down to a science though (or maybe it's an art); I never felt that I was mind-hopping inappropriately, and really don't even think the story could have been properly told had it remained confined to the perspective of only one character throughout.
Another impressive facet of this book is just how well the dialogue between characters flows, as well as how detailed the dystopian elements are. It's clear Strausz-Clark has a good handle on everything from how stock trading works to the more philosophical financial and social considerations of his world. There's no weak link here, in terms of plotline, world-building, or the relatability engendered in his characters. The financial aspects remind me a lot of "Limitless" by Alan Glynn, while the world itself and how human beings are valued only so much as their contributions and potential in it are reminiscent of "The Giver" by Lois Lowry. Chances are if you liked either of those books, you'll like The Dream Merchants just as much.
So, I'm going to go out on a limb and say it, even though it's still just January - if you're only willing to give one self-published book a shot this year, you really won't be doing yourself any disservice if you end up choosing this one.
I've read a lot of self-published writing that immediately makes me think "slush pile" when considering whether or not a traditional publisher would have an interest in taking on the manuscript. Generally, these stories have interesting premises that ultimately fail due to poor editing, plot holes neck-deep, and any other number of other pitfalls new writers inevitably fall into. Generally, I can't make it even halfway through these books (which sucks even more if I've spent money on them).
Once in awhile I find a real gem though. Once in a very, very long while.
Thankfully, The Dream Merchants is one of these rare self-published story finds. It's well-written, with a world that, while wholly familiar to readers, is also uniquely its own due to a few, clever dystopian touches.
Martin Nitram lives in a world where peoples' worths are valued and traded based on their current assets and future earning potential. Powerful corporations vie for those with the most promising profiles every year, in the hopes of retaining these individuals within their company framework and, ultimately, increasing the profitability of their own companies in the process. Martin's not one of these high-achieving individuals.
In fact, Martin's not very noteworthy at all at first sniff. The graduate of a journalism program with no real-world experience and not much of a personality to stand out in a society where people market themselves as their own unique brands to up their desirability on the stock market, pretty much the only thing interesting about Martin is the fact that he somehow managed to secure a new reporter position at a decently respectable news outlet -- and, as readers will soon discover, even that isn't as straight-forward as it initially seems.
Because something large is in the works, and wealthy corporate owner Byron Brooks likely has something to do with it. How that relates to Martin and his "day dreams" that are beginning to occur with increasing frequency (and are, in my mind, the absolute highlight of elegant prose in this first volume) is teased out to perfection throughout the entirety of book 1. For my own selfish purposes, I sincerely hope more of these day dream scenes occur in volume 2.
The story hops back and forth between multiple character perspectives on a chapter-by-chapter basis. If not done well, this can easily become maddening for a reader (no one likes guessing whose head they're in on a given sentence). Strausz-Clark has his POV changes down to a science though (or maybe it's an art); I never felt that I was mind-hopping inappropriately, and really don't even think the story could have been properly told had it remained confined to the perspective of only one character throughout.
Another impressive facet of this book is just how well the dialogue between characters flows, as well as how detailed the dystopian elements are. It's clear Strausz-Clark has a good handle on everything from how stock trading works to the more philosophical financial and social considerations of his world. There's no weak link here, in terms of plotline, world-building, or the relatability engendered in his characters. The financial aspects remind me a lot of "Limitless" by Alan Glynn, while the world itself and how human beings are valued only so much as their contributions and potential in it are reminiscent of "The Giver" by Lois Lowry. Chances are if you liked either of those books, you'll like The Dream Merchants just as much.
So, I'm going to go out on a limb and say it, even though it's still just January - if you're only willing to give one self-published book a shot this year, you really won't be doing yourself any disservice if you end up choosing this one.
On Computer Simulated Universes by Mark J. Solomon
5.0
I came across this book during the course of researching a concept for a series of novels I've written that, while not technically related to one another in a strict sense, have underlying themes (and recurring standalone characters). At first, I was put off by this work's price, coupled with its relative brevity of approximately 50 pages. I hardly want to pay $5 for a full-length novel (particularly of the self-published variety); $7 for what's essentially the length of a Masters thesis? Heh, no.
I bit the bullet anyhow, and I'm glad I did. Solomon has written a very concise but thorough, thought-provoking book, laying out considerations and presumptive truths for our universe having been simulated by a far more advanced civilization.
Let me be clear - this book isn't arguing whether or not it's feasible that our universe has been computer simulated; Solomon starts out with the premise that it already undeniably is. Maybe it's a stretch (then again, after reading this, I'm incredibly inclined to believe it's not, which is saying something for my generally skeptical self). By starting off with that aspect of reality already settled, however, Solomon is able to present some really interesting lines of reasoning about what then may, may not, cannot, or must be true about the world we live in, as well as the primary/original advanced civilization and other potential simulated universes in existence.
Basically, it was the perfect food for thought to help me finalize the fictional worlds I've been writing in, in anticipation of publication.
On Computer Simulated Universes is a worthwhile read even if you aren't a writer hellbent on making their stories as scientifically plausible as possible though. It brings up some great considerations, some that if you're anything like me I expect you'll want to bring up among other similarly inquisitive folks. The book is written in a way that's completely digestible for those without much solid basis in the hard sciences and, while not venturing ever into traditionally philosophical approaches, acknowledges other angles this topic could be approached and cites sources accordingly.
In sum, Solomon has written a small gem that a wide variety of audiences will appreciate -- assuming they're willing to accept his initial, immutable premise that we're all existing within a computer simulated world from the outset.
I bit the bullet anyhow, and I'm glad I did. Solomon has written a very concise but thorough, thought-provoking book, laying out considerations and presumptive truths for our universe having been simulated by a far more advanced civilization.
Let me be clear - this book isn't arguing whether or not it's feasible that our universe has been computer simulated; Solomon starts out with the premise that it already undeniably is. Maybe it's a stretch (then again, after reading this, I'm incredibly inclined to believe it's not, which is saying something for my generally skeptical self). By starting off with that aspect of reality already settled, however, Solomon is able to present some really interesting lines of reasoning about what then may, may not, cannot, or must be true about the world we live in, as well as the primary/original advanced civilization and other potential simulated universes in existence.
Basically, it was the perfect food for thought to help me finalize the fictional worlds I've been writing in, in anticipation of publication.
On Computer Simulated Universes is a worthwhile read even if you aren't a writer hellbent on making their stories as scientifically plausible as possible though. It brings up some great considerations, some that if you're anything like me I expect you'll want to bring up among other similarly inquisitive folks. The book is written in a way that's completely digestible for those without much solid basis in the hard sciences and, while not venturing ever into traditionally philosophical approaches, acknowledges other angles this topic could be approached and cites sources accordingly.
In sum, Solomon has written a small gem that a wide variety of audiences will appreciate -- assuming they're willing to accept his initial, immutable premise that we're all existing within a computer simulated world from the outset.