Telempath by Spider Robinson #BookReview #Telempath #SpiderRobinson

Title:
Telempath

Author:
Spider Robinson

Genre:
Science Fiction

Book procurement:
Nicky of Chasing Dreams allowed me to lend this book from her. Thanks Nicky!

Rating:

A charming 3.5(4) out of 5

Synopsis:

The Muskies: spawned in Earth’s long childhood of fire and stone, they flourish in the stinking hell Man calls ‘civilisation’. They ride the wind: gaseous beings perceptible to Man only now that a monstrous experiment has heightened his sense of smell – and destroyed civilisation in the process.

And so a slow, destructive war breaks out between the Muskies and the scattered settlements of human survivors, a war that threatens humanity’s very existence.

Only the Telempath can stop it, but he’s missing one arm – and wanted for the murder of his father.

First Thoughts

I must admit that I really resonate with Spider Robinson on many aspects of his thinking when it comes to the characters, scenario, and plot of this fascinating (and of suitable length) novel. I will admit that from an emotional perspective, I was not fully invested into the story or the characters. Yes they had substance, style, wit, and a host of enjoyable characteristics. However, the only lasting impression I’m experiencing of the book is it’s ingenuity (the Muskies), and how well the story progresses – cleanly.

The Story

The story follows Isham Stone in a post-Exodus mission to kill the man who “ended the world”, and revealed the pollution humanity has been trudging through since the introduction of pollutant fuel. And also the presence of Muskies in our atmosphere. What begins as an assassination mission becomes a journey of self-discovery and personal growth.

In the course of the story, we meet a whole cast of characters, each very well written and believable, who really ground the story. They show us how we, like Isham Stone, tend to be too self-focused and able to justify our apparently necessary actions even if they are wrong – as long as they feel right. How our actions don’t just affect us but those around us, and to continually live in that state of self will invariably lead to more harm than good.

It is a story of reconciliation, healthy compromise, and beyond that – harmony.

Writing

What I enjoyed most about the writing lay in the fact that Isham has a good sense of humour. Cringe-worthy puns, witty comebacks, and an almost nonchalant persona gives Isham a sense of “newness” to characters I often read. Sure I can name a few characters who have the same qualities in books I’ve read, but this read as a different version of those qualities.

As a writer, I always struggle with writing races and Spider Robinson did it brilliantly. There wasn’t any unnecessary addition of skin colour, etc, just to remind the reader of the character. I also enjoyed the fact that there is some diversity not just in race but sexual-orientation and other things, without them being overbearing or placed into stereotypical roles. After all, this is the world after the world “ended”. Robinson handled all of these superbly in my opinion.

There were also a few traits in Isham I resonated to, particularly his thought processes and the ability to ignore glaringly obvious things in our lives and we need a strong hand (or voice) to smack us back to the truth we keep avoiding. My personal experience anyway.

While there were times when dialogue just seemed to go on forever, it felt natural considering the context. I felt that putting the “info dump” into dialogue both progressed the story and slowly revealed to us readers (and whichever characters were present) the unknown facts. The unraveling truth. The world-views and postulations. The untold stories in the bigger stories. Great writing.

PS: I feel like this is what we should all remember as people: our experiences and memories of events are limited to our perception of them. We could all experience the same event and yet all recognize and glean different impressions of it (as well as similarities). Am I then more “right” than you if I come away feeling something you didn’t? Am I “wrong” for seeing it differently? Doesn’t our world-view create a blind spot in that experience because we do not know everything and can be willingly ignorant of things that don’t concern us? *shrugs – rant over*

Final Thoughts

The opening line of the book reads: “I hadn’t meant to shoot the cat.” – and that summarizes early book Isham Stone really well. By the end of the book you still recognized him, but as two main characters in the book say (omitted for spoilers), “He’s grown up.”

I sadly didn’t come away with an exuberant love for the book or Spider Robinson. But I did feel satisfied. I did enjoy the book. It was well written from beginning to end.

PS: You only learn at the end why the book is called telempath and that is fine. The name was not necessary to the story and I love that.

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Did you know: Telempath was Spider Robinson’s first novel, and is an expansion of his 1977 Hugo Award-winning novella By Any Other Name.

 

Spider Robinson is an American-born Canadian Hugo and Nebula award winning science fiction author. He was born in the USA, but chose to live in Canada, and gained citizenship in his adopted country in 2002.

Robinson’s writing career began in 1972 with a sale to Analog Science Fiction magazine of a story entitled, The Guy With The Eyes. His writing proved popular, and his first novel saw print in 1976, Telempath. Since then he has averaged a novel (or collection) a year. His most well known stories are the Callahan saloon series.

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The Gunslinger – Stephen King #BookReview #StephenKing #TheDarkTower

Title:
The Gunslinger – The Dark Tower #1

Author:
Stephen King

Genre:
Horror/Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Book procurement:
I bought the original copy ages ago and read through it. In a recent (okay maybe not so recent) Christmas gift exchange, I got The Gunslinger revised version from my cousin – see, I am easy to buy gifts for.

Rating:

An intriguing 4 out of 5

Synopsis:

In The Gunslinger (originally published in 1982), King introduces his most enigmatic hero, Roland Deschain of Gilead, the Last Gunslinger. He is a haunting, solitary figure at first, on a mysterious quest through a desolate world that eerily mirrors our own. Pursuing the man in black, an evil being who can bring the dead back to life, Roland is a good man who seems to leave nothing but death in his wake.

First Thoughts

I will admit that I’ve been meaning to reread this series for a while, and when The Dark Tower movie was announced, I was motivated further. Unfortunately, my original Tower series is in storage somewhere so I found the revised version in a box of growing “To-Be-Read” collections. This review won’t be a comparison between the different book editions and the movie, though I might make references to the original and the movie compared to this revised version.

Everyone remembers this opening line: The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed. It still gives me goosebumps as it says much in so little. It works an introduction to the two main characters of the book. We know one is a gunslinger, giving a Western feel. The “man in black” already sounds like a bad guy or someone who has done something to the gunslinger, hence the pursuit.

The second line is classic king and really sets the standard for the rest of the novel. This line goes “The desert was the apotheosis of all deserts…” and that age old King writing style throws you into the middle of quite an epic quest (when considering all volumes in the series).

The Story

In its simplest form, the story follows Roland Deschain of Gilead in pursuit of Walter O’Dim a.k.a The Man in Black (who bares many other names as seen in other King books such as The Stand). Beyond the man in black lies the “apotheosis” of every dimension in existence – The Dark Tower. And yet the tower’s significance must begin with the man in black.

This first book is basically setting precedence for what will occur in future books – the journey. We visit desolate landscapes, a seemingly endless desert, a small town (which reminded me of a scene during The Saint of Killers memories from the comic book Preacher), a way station, and various other interesting places.

The story also shifts between past Roland and current Roland, where we begin where his pursuit for Walter/Man In Black began and why. We meet a cast of characters from his youth and his travels, we explore the beauty of Gilead (and its tragedies) and the desolation that has overrun the world.

We also get to meet the fated Jake Chambers (who is nothing like the Jake in the movie, nor do their meeting of the Gunslinger match except for the presence of a desert). That is all I can say about him…

Writing

I am pretty sure almost everyone knows I am a Stephen King fan. He’s writing is something I strive for in terms of execution – I don’t want to be another King but I sure want to learn from him. What annoys people about King is his seemingly laborious descriptions, but these are what give the characters and the world a greater depth. You begin to imagine the characters as real, the worlds they explore tangible, and the emotions they express relatable. You don’t need to be the character of have a frame of reference to them, because King gives you all of that as you read.

Roland’s character is definitely written well. The stoic-yet-drained, fatigued-but-relentless, kind-but-maligned gunslinger with a past riddled with death, pain, and suffering which are also the dull motivators that drum with each heart beat. We see many facets of this tuckered-out gunslinger, and we are only in the first book.

Final Thoughts

There are not a lot of disparities between the original and the revised except that early King edge in how the original reads. There are too many disparities between the movie and the book to even count that I will view them as two separate universes completely.

Final thoughts on the book itself however are a lot more confused between my memory of the first book and reading it again. Let alone that ending, which shocked me, as the following books clearly require this particular concept to work. I mean! What!?

So now I’m even more enthused to read through the series again and rekindle my favourite Stephen King flame that is The Dark Tower.

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Did you know: The Dark Tower was borne from short stories published to The Magazine Of Fantasy and Science Fiction? The inspiration itself comes from a poem by English author Robert Browning, “Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came“, written in 1855.

“THE GUNSLINGER” OCT. 1978

“THE WAY STATION” APR. 1980

“THE ORACLE AND THE MOUNTAINS” FEB. 1981

“THE SLOW MUTANTS” JUL 1981

“THE GUNSLINGER AND THE DARK MAN” NOV 1981.

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On a  side note, I saw the premise (and trailer) for Arrivals on Netflix, and it reminded me of “Try To Remember” which is a short story by Frank Herbert in The Priests of Psi. Here’s the premise for the Herbert short story in my book review of this anthology:

Try to Remember!

A spaceship arrives on Earth. The aliens within send out representatives who speak in weird noises and make weird body movements. The reason: interpret the message or be eradicated. Thus the worlds greatest minds across the planet converge in an effort to make sense of the message.

The story is told from a woman’s perspective, who happens to be the only female in a room full of men. And desert sand. (PS: she’s a linguist) Really well written and a commentary on the different ways men and women think or rather, interpret the world around them. Women are the future!

And here’s the premise on Netflix:

Arrivals

A linguist charged with finding a way to communicate with aliens that have landed on Earth uncovers a connection with meaning for mankind and herself.

A stretch? Perhaps, but I find the similarities quite fascinating nonetheless…

The Priests of Psi – Frank Herbert #BookReview

Title:
The Priests of Psi

Authors:
Frank Herbert

Genre:
Science Fiction

Book procurement:
Bought this anthology in a heavily secured, highly stacked second-hand book store run by such a nice, though wary, old man. He looked like the gatekeeper to a secret library, awaiting the “Chosen One”.

Rating:

A mind-boggling 5 out of 5

Synopsis:

A psychic parasite who hijacks personalities.

A couple who discovers the house of their dreams … in the wrong dimension.

The priests of Psi, custodians of a forgotten wisdom which may exalt or damn mankind completely.

Five dazzling stories from one of science fiction’s masters

First Thoughts

Following the horrors of space in the last book I read Tales of Terror from Outer Space, I was expecting a lighter and perhaps more science-religious delve into the science fiction genre. And then I had an extremely vivid and emotional nightmare after reading the last story in the book. So… yeah.

Not at all what I was expecting and in a good way. Frank Herbert is a brilliant writer and articulates himself well. Each story was different from the other, with “space” being the bond that ties them all together. There is no horror, or not in its strictest sense. It’s the emotional and psychological horror of having your beliefs and ideas ripped apart by a story, while you’re undergoing emotional turmoil. And for me, that’s scary.

The Stories

Try to Remember!

A spaceship arrives on Earth. The aliens within send out representatives who speak in weird noises and make weird body movements. The reason: interpret the message or be eradicated. Thus the worlds greatest minds across the planet converge in an effort to make sense of the message.

The story is told from a woman’s perspective, who happens to be the only female in a room full of men. And desert sand. Really well written and a commentary on the different ways men and women think or rather, interpret the world around them. Women are the future!

Old Rambling House

This was an interesting story. Ted and Martha Graham live in a trailer, and are contacted by a couple willing to trade their house for the Graham’s trailer. Frank Herbert makes all of this believable in the sense that the couple was aware. Like they knew something was off, and when something seems to good to be true well…

Murder Will In

William Bailey is on his death bed, only he’s not William Bailey. Hasn’t been for the past 200 years or so because a parasite by the name of Tegas took over William’s consciousness and body. The Tegas has been body hopping for centuries, with one single powerful motivator – the emotions experienced by a murderer are the most thrilling. In that moment he hops from murdered to murderer and carries on life.

Fascinating concept isn’t it? Except this time William hasn’t been murdered and now the Tegas and his inner companion Bacit, must survive at all costs. What an amazing story. I could see it play out like a movie in my head. Not often you root for the alien… even when you know it’s a parasite. Odd.

Mindfield!

Ah. Humans. Such amazingly adaptive creatures. So in the far future, the earth is populated only by adults. I won’t tell you why since that would be a spoiler but there’s this psi-machine that “cleanses” the adult of everything and brings them back as effectively children. Your name becomes a variation of its original but never the original.

Priests and priestesses run the world. One is not allowed to dig anything in case one of the “Old-Machines” explode but of course there’s other reasons for that.

The story focuses on the head priest in control of the psi-machine, a rebel couple and their newly awakened partner, and an old-man who just came out of the psi-machine but is remembering too much. The shocking truth at the end is absolutely brilliant way of ending this story.

The Priests of Psi

Right, the final story centers around military man Lewis Orne who is an operator for the Investigation and Adjustment Agency. A hard man who has prevented countless wars from happening. Logical in every way. Which is why it comes as a shock when the religious Priest Planet, Amel, recruit him to be one of their disciples. The I-A, who have never been able to infiltrate the planet, send Orne as a spy. What follows is a psychological, emotional, spiritual journey he will never forget.

This story just messed with my mind. A planet encompassing every religion, all ascribing to one God, and explaining that miracles and other unexplained occurrences are the product of Psi. And Lewis Orne has this ability. What will that mean to a man who has rejected all forms of religion?

Writing

It’s quite interesting to see how each story is written so differently, set across different planes of reality, and each with their own commentary on us as humans.

Try To Remember has a very humanistic approach to it and in the style of writing. Focusing on the more real descriptions of the world, emotions, and frustrations seen through the eyes of the protagonist. It’s simple but the implications are quite massive. We tend to focus more on logic and less on emotion, as though “feelings” don’t have a role. When in truth, the body tells more truth than our words. It is also a commentary on how we as humans are never fully honest with each other, even if it threatens our existence. We must have some sort of power. Some kind of control. And we’ll remain uncooperative and mistrustful – not all of us of course but usually those in power *cough Government cough*.

Old Rambling House followed the same kind of writing. We are thrust into the world of a couple living in a trailer and hoping to get out. They are just regular people and it shows in their speech and in their encounter with something beyond their comprehension. More than that, they are stand-ins for a much larger story. A deeper complication with greater implications because of selfishness.

Murder Will In this one was again just human expression in an alien form. You see its fears and worries and hopes even though you know its a parasitic alien that thrives on the suffering of others to continue its own existence. Frank Herbert writes it in such a way that I was sympathizing with Tegas and Bacit and the many trapped conscious-es within. Herbert really knows how to capture emotion.

Mindfield! brings up the idea of forgetting the past and focusing only on the present under the guise of “Faith”. We know faith should be informed. Apart from that, the writing is quite fascinating. One of the characters is in a sense a relic and on the cusp of insanity so it’s amazing to see how they interact. Each person has their own voice and in the end the overall mystery is solved brilliantly.

The Priests of Psi broke my mind. This was a far more in-depth story. Lewis Orner is a fascinating character and so well written. You understand his fears, his worries, his skepticism and the gentle fraying of his mind when these opposing forces (science vs religion?) come against everything he knows and believes. There was also a really disturbing scene which probably fueled the nightmare I had while my mind was trying to decipher all the underlying meanings and suggestions this story was making. I’m still reeling.

Final Thoughts

It was a great little book with shifting perspectives and worlds. Top-notch world building, great, varying and believable characters, concepts that aren’t just about putting horror in someone but subtle ideas planted into your mind through cleverly veiled mysteries in a sci-fi setting.

 

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The Priests of Psi was published January 1st 1981.

Did you know: Each of these stories appeared in different publications before being compiled into this anthology, the first being Old Rambling House in 1958.

Neuromancer – William Gibson #TBR

Book Blurb

The Matrix is a world within the world, a global consensus- hallucination, the representation of every byte of data in cyberspace . . .

Case had been the sharpest data-thief in the business, until vengeful former employers crippled his nervous system. But now a new and very mysterious employer recruits him for a last-chance run. The target: an unthinkably powerful artificial intelligence orbiting Earth in service of the sinister Tessier-Ashpool business clan. With a dead man riding shotgun and Molly, mirror-eyed street-samurai, to watch his back, Case embarks on an adventure that ups the ante on an entire genre of fiction.

Hotwired to the leading edges of art and technology, Neuromancer ranks with 1984 and Brave New World as one of the century’s most potent visions of the future.

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I’ve decided to change Monday Book Recommendations to “T0-Be-Read List” since most of the books that I showcase on Mondays are books I have yet to read. When you see Recommendation then you know I’ve read it. It will still fall under the same Category.

William Gibson is a name synonymous with the sci-fi genre, especially cyber-punk. I’ve been meaning to get into his works, both old and new in my effort to read all the recommended classic works that defined so many current genres. This sounds just fantastic doesn’t it?

Author William Gibson

William Ford Gibson is an American-Canadian writer who has been called the father of the cyberpunk subgenre of science fiction, having coined the term cyberspace in 1982 and popularized it in his first novel, Neuromancer(1984), which has sold more than 6.5 million copies worldwide.

While his early writing took the form of short stories, Gibson has since written nine critically acclaimed novels (one in collaboration), contributed articles to several major publications, and has collaborated extensively with performance artists, filmmakers and musicians. His thought has been cited as an influence on science fiction authors, academia, cyberculture, and technology.

Stranger in a Strange Land #Recommendation

NAME: Valentine Michael Smith
ANCESTRY: Human
ORIGIN: Mars

Valentine Michael Smith is a human being raised on Mars, newly returned to Earth. Among his people for the first time, he struggles to understand the social mores and prejudices of human nature that are so alien to him, while teaching them his own fundamental beliefs in grokking, watersharing, and love.

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I’m on a quest to read all the classic fantasy/sci-fi books and appear more learned on these legendary literary works. Apparently it’s a thing. This particular book’s synopsis inspires a story in me, or rather fuels an existing story idea I’ve been afraid to write. Guess we’ll see.

 

Robert Anson Heinlein was an American novelist and science fiction writer. Often called “the dean of science fiction writers”, he is one of the most popular, influential, and controversial authors of “hard science fiction”.

He set a high standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre’s standards of literary quality. He was the first SF writer to break into mainstream, general magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post, in the late 1940s. He was also among the first authors of bestselling, novel-length science fiction in the modern, mass-market era.

Friday Fiction: The Dance of Death

Prompt courtesy of Chasing Dreams Publishing – Monday Writing Prompt

Prompt: They danced through the stars

Word Limit: 250 words

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They danced through the stars. Moonlit wisps coiling through vast expanse as amber-scarlet flares belched stagnant pale tendrils into the gaping abyss.

“Engine failure. Engine Failure” Droned the monotony of the ship’s A.I.

Red blossomed across the deck in incessant flashes as wailing sirens echoed off the walls. The control panel shimmered with lights, illuminating the captain’s chair and halo of gold-red-gold tresses pressed against cheek and forehead, the captain sweating against pulsing lights.

“Estimated crash time?” She asked quietly into the attached headset.

“At this rate I’d say a steady seventeen minutes and… about 23 seconds. Unless you get some balancé Cap.” The voice replied with just a hint of smile in its gruffness.

“Just keep those cannons ready.” The captain replied, a ghost of smile touching her lips.

“Better bring this crash-ballet to its finale.”

As though summoned by the remark, the emptiness of space shimmered in colossal prism-tinged glare. Then they were wholly and completely surrounded.

“Allegro, captain. Allegro.”

Trails of fire followed the diving ship as streaks of light boomed from the surrounding angular prisms of enemy forces. With as much elegance and grace a blazing ship could afford, the captain pirouetted through interminable fire,

“Fouetté!”

The ship spiralled, cannon extending outwards in explosive bursts of successive fire, tucking in to reload and extend once more for a repeat performance.

“Inbound photon torpedo.” A.I notified them. Hands and hearts froze. Silence pervaded.

“It’s been a pleasure dancing with you Cap.”

“Always Jarvis.” Tears trickling down, “Always.”

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Book Review: The Ghost Line

Title:

The Ghost Line

Author:

Andrew Neil Gray, J.S. Herbison

Genre:

Sci-Fi

Book procurement:

Received a copy for Gamecca Magazine from Tor.com.

Synopsis:

The luxury cruise ship the Martian Queen was decommissioned years ago, set to drift back and forth between Earth and Mars on the off-chance that reclaiming it ever became profitable for the owners. For Saga and her husband Michel the cruise ship represents a massive payday. Hacking and stealing the ship could earn them enough to settle down, have children, and pay for the treatments to save Saga’s mother’s life.

But the Martian Queen is much more than their employer has told them. In the twenty years since it was abandoned, something strange and dangerous has come to reside in the decadent vessel. Saga feels herself being drawn into a spider’s web, and must navigate the traps and lures of an awakening intelligence if she wants to go home again.

Book Review:

First Thoughts

The synopsis paints quite a fascinating picture doesn’t it. I remember describing it as a “what if” Titanic story intermingled with the sentient aura of the Overlook Hotel from Stephen King’s The Shining. It’s nothing like that at all. From the get go, you get a sense of character focus, where it’s more about the crew than it is about the ship itself. The ship becoming a means to an end, leading to character growth.

The Story

The story follows Saga and Michel, a husband and wife hacker team. With them is Gregor, the pilot of their ship the Sigurd. The crew is hired by the mysterious Wei to recapture a luxury cruise spaceship named the Martian Queen. Once a prosperous liner travelling between Mars and Earth, the ship has been decommissioned for twenty years and floats through space between the two planets. The ship is still in tact and seems the perfect score, perhaps too perfect. But the pay will set Saga and Michel for life, and allow Saga to pay for her mother’s medical fees.

However, once inside the ship they realize they may have bitten off more than they can chew. The ships A.I. appears to be defunct, but unexplained phenomena begin to occur. Lights coming on. The casino abuzz with figures who once roamed the ship. It becomes clear to the crew, especially Saga, that not all is as it seems.

Writing

The story is told from Saga’s perspective, written in third-person. It is much more a story about Saga than it is about the Martian Queen or the crew. The writing takes a very emotive approach, where we see all the things that Saga and Michel have to deal with, Gregor’s own dismantled life, and Wei’s suspicious behaviour once they are aboard the cruise ship. These, however, appear as side notes to Saga’s own thought processes and poignant introspection.

From within the ship, the writing flows into more of a mystery. There’s hardly any technical jargon or sci-fi heavy concepts, although they are definitely present. Instead the writing focuses on how Saga feels about the job, Wei, her mother, and the curious happenings that they attribute to the ship. Of course there are some ominous moments that creep through the story but nothing really scary.

Apart from Saga,who is very well written, the other characters fall to the wayside. We get a glimpse of their personalities yet not enough to truly set them apart. They are only noticeable because there are so few characters to focus on anyway.

The writing is not flowery or filled with prose, but the nostalgia is undeniable.

Final Thoughts

The ending was not predictable at all, although in hindsight I should have seen it coming. Especially considering that the focus was barely on the ship, but the crew inside the ship. In the end I enjoyed this novella. Not in the ghost story kind of way, but the emotional investment kind of way. Much like the Stephen King books I love so much.

Rating: An unexpected 4 out of 5

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The Ghost Line was published on July 10, 2017.

 

Are you an author who wants your book reviewed? Contact me on my site: NthatoMorakabi.com

The Fortress at the end of Time – Review

Title: The Fortress at the End of Time

Author: Joe M. McDermott

Genre: Sci-Fi

Book procurement: Received a copy for Gamecca Magazine from Tor.com.

Synopsis:

In The Fortress at the End of Time, humanity has expanded across the galaxy by use of ansible and clone technology, but an enemy stands in their way—an enemy alien in concept as much as physiology. Ronaldo Aldo is a clone stationed in the back-end of nowhere—a watch station with a glorious military past, but no future. He’s desperate to prove himself worthy of ascension—of having his consciousness broadcast to a newer clone, far away from his current post at the Citadel.

Review:

First Thoughts

Sci-fi and I are good friends. Not the best, but good. Like that friend you talk to occasionally and have a great time with but won’t talk to for months until you meet again. Yeah. That’s sci-fi to me alright.

The Fortress at the End of Time was very vague in its synopsis. I guess they were trying to keep the whole story a mystery, so I couldn’t get a sense of what I should expect. From the get go I was thrust into this technologically advanced world where humans get cloned, and it is the clone that get’s shipped off to where the original is needed. And they have with them, all the originals memories. And this is the story of one clone of many – Ronaldo Aldo.

Ronaldo Aldo is my name. There are as many of me as there are colonies.

~Ronaldo Aldo

The Story

Ronaldo Aldo is a clone sent off to a remote watch station, the Citadel, with a glorious military past. It was there that humanity made an impressive stand against an unknown, apparently alien, enemy. Now they stand watch for a possible, inevitable counter attack although none think it will come. Yet someone must watch just in case. In truth the Citadel is nothing more than a decaying way-station where clones spend the rest of their lives in routine boredom. There is every level of bureaucracy as one can expect and the corruption that comes with it.

The novel plays out from Ronaldo Aldo’s first person perspective. It is a written confession of a grievous crime he’s committed, but to get to it, he explains how it all began. From his last night as his original self – a graduate at the War College – to his clone self assigned to the Citadel, and the life there. It is a story of self-discovery and budding existential crises. A story of a clone who realises the monotony of his existence and hopes to one day change it.

Knowing the self is vital to clones, psychologically, and more so at a posting like the Citadel. If we perceive no origin, and there is no place but the Citadel, and all else is just a story, then I would prefer not to uncover the truth.

~Ronaldo Aldo

There is also a religious context to the story. A way, I think, J.M McDermott addresses the idea that no matter how much we progress as a species technologically and scientifically, there are things that even those cannot answer. Later in the book, Ronaldo gets to visit one of the colonies off Citadel. One of his few joys. There he goes to a monastery with a unique number of characters who question the military life and its absolutes. One of which asks whether people reborn through the ansible as clones, have their souls transported too.

Writing

The writing is truly captivating. I did not get a sense of the author (in the writing itself) at all but the view of the main protagonist. As though I were truly reading his confession here on my own Earth substation. It is authentic and real. No unnecessary flowery talk but a near-narcissistic, emotional wreck expunging of life. He just does his duty regardless of the obvious, unspoken occurrences by those who realise that they are stuck forever on the Citadel, and nothing will ever change that.

I was pushed to this great act by the station, the military protocols, and the lies I was told about transcendence. I sinned against the devil and beat his game. By grace of God, my sin against the devil is the triumph of my life.

~Ronaldo Aldo

Final Thoughts

 

I was rooting for Ronaldo, while at the same time wanting to punch him in the face. The decisions he made sometimes were infuriating. Then again, imagine knowing you’re a clone, sent off to some random corner of the galaxy where a corrupted bureaucracy rules and everyone knows and exploits it. A place where suicides are common. Where you have no hope of ever leaving the dreary, indifferent world you’ve been throw in to.

What would you do?

I do not deny my guilt, and will never deny it.

~Ronaldo Aldo

Rating: An entangled 3 out of 5

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The Fortress at the End of Time was published on January 17 2017.

Did you know:

An ansible is a category of fictional device or technology capable of instantaneous or faster-than-light communication. It can send and receive messages to and from a corresponding device over any distance or obstacle whatsoever with no delay. The term ansible is broadly shared across works of several science fiction authors, settings and continuities.

In The Fortress at the End of Time, the McDermott uses the ansible as an instantaneous cloning tool.

Are you an author who wants your book reviewed? Contact me on my site: NthatoMorakabi.com

vN – Recommendation

Amy Peterson is a von Neumann machine, a self-replicating humanoid robot.

For the past five years, she has been grown slowly as part of a mixed organic/synthetic family. She knows very little about her android mother’s past, so when her grandmother arrives and attacks her mother, little Amy wastes no time: she eats her alive.

Now she carries her malfunctioning granny as a partition on her memory drive, and she’s learning impossible things about her clade’s history – like the fact that the failsafe that stops all robots from harming humans has failed… Which means that everyone wants a piece of her, some to use her as a weapon, others to destroy her.

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Now that is both a cover and a synopsis that will get me to pick up a book even if I don’t know the author. As I don’t in this case but it’s definitely on my To-Read list.

The Warren by Brian Evenson – Review

Title: The Warren

Author: Brian Evenson

Genre: Science Fiction

Book procurement: Received a copy from Tor.com for Gamecca Magazine Vol 8 Issue 88.

Synopsis:

X doesn’t have a name. He thought he had one—or many—but that might be the result of the failing memories of the personalities imprinted within him. Or maybe he really is called X.

He’s also not as human as he believes himself to be.

But when he discovers the existence of another—above ground, outside the protection of the Warren—X must learn what it means to be human, or face the destruction of their two species.

Review:

First Thoughts

X, if that is his name, is a but a single person. Within him lies the imprinted personalities of others before him, salvaged minds seeking to keep knowledge within the last remaining human. However, X begins to question his humanity when he discovers another on the surface of what he calls, the Warren. Things begin to spin out of control as the two wrestle with an existential question: what makes one human.

I won’t say this was an easy read. Sometimes confusing. Sometimes annoying. Most importantly, it really did what it’s supposed to do: make us question the concept of what makes us human.

Writing

The Warren is a fascinating science fiction thriller, a dive into the mind of a man with multiple-personas within him. Only they aren’t just personas, bu the minds of people who came before X. Imprinting what remained of their minds into the remaining living being. The really creepy part was when X described the opening of eyes within his mind, as the individuals grew coherent of the fact that they too are fragmented minds living within another conscious mind. *shivers

Unable to comprehend the individuals within, X begins to seek out questions regarding his existence in the Warren. The personalities don’t share much and his only other source of knowledge is Monitor, a computer of some sort. It carries some of the information from before, but not enough to make a lot of sense to the questions that X asks. Questions that plague his existence. The most pertinent question, especially when X finds another human on the surface of the Warren, is: what makes someone human.

In light of this, you can imagine the conversations that occur. Also, the surface above the Warren is poisonous to all who stand in its air, and no one who has left has come back. Only there’s no way to know why it’s so bad, and why this person on the surface even exists. The only way to survive is to look for resources and continue your existence yet even resources have become scarce.

Not only that but imagine being the only living person with just a computer as your companion, trying to figure out who or what you are, and who the other person could possibly be. Would you risk the possibility of death to find out? Or continue in the routine of solitude and scouring where you can for resources.

Final Thoughts

Brian Evenson captures the isolation and alienation really well. One can almost imagine the paranoia and anxiety of solitude and confusion. Of having multiple minds just sitting in the darkness of your mind. More importantly, of trying to understand the world around you when there’s nothing to truly help. Except for the one thing you know you shouldn’t… exploring the surface.

Rating: A borderline 3 out of 5

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