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Godplayers
Damien Broderick
Thunder’s Mouth Press (2005)
ISBN: 9781560256700
Reviewed by Alisa Krasnostein (this review was first published in October 2006)
I read somewhere recently that science fiction was a struggling genre because so much of previous SF had been realised – the internet, gene sequencing, IVF, cloning, organ transplants and so on. At the time I wondered about the implications of this generalised statement: if SF had nothing left to conquer, did it follow then that so too humanity had nothing left to grapple about the future?
How fortunate then for me to have Damien Broderick’s Godplayers next in my reading queue! Here I found scientific theory at its most cutting-edge and science fiction at its most current. Even with my background in science/engineering and reading several of the current scientific journals, I couldn’t begin to try and explain much of this book, so beyond my own understanding was it.
At the outset I was thrown into a world of chaos and confusion as I followed the main protagonist, August Seebeck into … well, chaos and confusion. It all starts when August goes home to visit his Great Aunt Tansy who informs him that someone has been leaving corpses in her upstairs bathtub on Saturday nights. Not to worry though, they are removed by the morning. And so everything August knows to be true about the world is thrown into disarray: he’s not an only child, his parents may not be dead after all and he is a Player, perhaps The Player, in the Contest of Worlds … whatever that is. Read the rest of this entry »
Tahereh Mafi
Allen and Unwin (2011)
ISBN: 978-1-74237-820-6
Reviewed by Tehani Wessely
Shatter Me is an impressive debut novel from Tahereh Mafi, employing an unusual structural style to tell a not-quite-linear narrative following characters you come to love and loathe. While not marketed as such, it is apparently book one of a trilogy, but don’t let that deter you – this book stands alone quite well, and comes to a satisfying conclusion while leaving you wanting more.
Juliette is in isolation, restricted to a cell to “protect” society from her deadly touch. She thinks she might be going insane, in solitary confinement, and when her captors throw a young man into the cell with her, she’s certain of it, sure that one or both of them is intended now to die. But Adam is not what he appears, and it seems that the Reestablishment – the organisation that gained power after the world tried to destroy itself – has other plans for Juliette. Can she somehow gain back control of her own life, and perhaps even find a semblance of a normal life?
Garth Nix
Allen & Unwin (2012)
ISBN: 978 1 74175 861 0
Reviewed by Jason Nahrung
The foundation of this YA space opera from Garth Nix in a proposed computer game is apparent, but well controlled and logical. What is a quest if not a series of challenges, each developing a strength and teaching a lesson?
For Khemri, those lessons can be lethal, and increasingly serve to acquaint him with what it means to be human, or rather, an everyday citizen. To think, that someone might sacrifice themselves for another, out of desire and not coercion…
Khemri is one of millions of enhanced, purpose-crafted princes who control the empire within a bureaucratic framework of priests under an overarching Imperial Mind. Nix’s universe utilises three core technologies: mechanical, biological and psychic. It’s a wonderfully drawn world, from its terminology to its weaponry and medical tech, communications and transport, to the computer game idea of respawning or resurrection, new Battlestar Galactica style, after death. Read the rest of this entry »
John Birmingham
Axis of Time, book 3
Pan Macmillan Australia (2006)
ISBN: 9780330423397
Reviewed by Lorraine Cormack (this review was first published in September 2007)
Final Impact is the final novel in a trilogy that tells the story of a world in which World War II is disrupted when a military Taskforce from the 2020s is accidentally thrown back in time by an experiment goes wrong. The Taskforce lands in the middle of the Allied fleet en route to the Battle of Midway. Once the resulting firefight has ceased, and the confusion sorted out, the Taskforce sets its eyes on ensuring that the Allies win World War II, as they “should”. Unfortunately the Taskforce has already considerably warped the original course of the war; and even more unfortunately, some parts of the Taskforce have fallen into the hands of Axis powers, meaning they too have access to historical records about the outcome of the war and particular battles; and access to technical information about weapons not yet invented.
One area where Birmingham has remained consistent with the “real” World War II is in the personalities of the main players – people such as Hitler, Stalin, Himmler, Churchill. He has used this as the crux of how the war ultimately turns out – whatever knowledge they all have, however the original course of the war has been derailed, these people still make decisions in the same way they originally did. They still suffer from the same personality defects and strengths, and this influences the final outcome. Read the rest of this entry »
John Birmingham
Axis of Time, book 2
Pan Macmillan Australia (2005)
ISBN: 9780345457158
Reviewed by Lorraine Cormack (this review was first published in September 2007)
Designated Targetsis the second book in a trilogy that tells the story of a military taskforce from the 21st century, who are accidentally thrown back in time 80 years, finding themselves in the middle of World War II. In the confusion of the initial “Transition”, as the accident comes to be known, the Taskforce inadvertently does considerable damage to the Allied fleet heading to the Battle of Midway – not a great start to their new lives in the 1940s.
Birmingham has essentially sidestepped all of the usual time travel paradoxes by simply asserting that once the Taskforce had landed in the 1940s, it was a parallel world to their own. That means they don’t have to worry too much about anything they do affecting the future; and that’s a good thing, because these people are less than subtle in their impact on the world. One thing they’re certain about, and that’s that they want to make sure the Allies win the war. But if they could also do that with less loss of Allied life, and without letting some of the horrors such as the Japanese Prisoner of War camps or the Nazi Extermination camps, that would be a good thing. Read the rest of this entry »
John Birmingham
Axis of Time, book 1
Pan Macmillan Australia (2006)
ISBN: 9780330421898
Reviewed by Lorraine Cormack (this review was first published in August 2007)
I was rather disappointed by this novel, in part because I’d enjoyed other novels by Birmingham and expected to find the same pleasure in this one. I didn’t; ultimately what let Birmingham down was his characterisation, rather than his ideas, plotting or prose. Weapons of Choice is a reasonably good novel, and many people will enjoy it, but I felt it fell short of what it could have achieved.
This is the first novel of a trilogy. In this novel, a near future military taskforce is accidentally thrown back in time by an experiment gone wrong. They land right in the middle of the US fleet heading to the Battle of Midway, and the fleet and the taskforce promptly proceed to shoot each other up. Once the initial confusion is resolved, it becomes clear that there are two essential problems. One is how to ensure the Allies win World War Two as they’re “supposed” to; and the other is the impact of the cultural attitudes of taskforce members on people of the 1940s. No-one seriously thinks the taskforce can be returned to their own time, so this isn’t treated as a problem.
The novel runs into trouble early. Birmingham transports the taskforce through time almost immediately. This makes sense; since the story he wants to tell is in the 1940s, there’s little value in hanging about the 2020s. Unfortunately, the shooting starts about thirty seconds after they arrive in 1942. We’re treated to around 100 pages of people we don’t yet know shooting at and killing each other. It’s probably an accurate rendition of what would happen, and it’s vividly written. But it’s also essentially boring and somewhat confusing as we simply haven’t had the chance to get to know these people or even sort them out completely. Read the rest of this entry »
Karen Miller
Fandemonium Books (2007)
ISBN: 9781905586004
Reviewed by Joanna Kasper (this review was first published in March 2009)
Media tie-in novels can be problematic as they are often viewed by other members of the writing community as something less than real writing. With an existing fan-base waiting eagerly for anything new, there is a temptation for publishers and authors to be less stringent in standards of writing and adhering to canon. Certainly, some of the media tie-in novels I have read in the past fall into this category. Fortunately, there are many more such novels that are written by talented authors who are fan enough to ensure that not only is the writing good but that the canon survives. Alliances is one of the good ones. I’m a Stargate SG-1 fan and reading this book has given me a deeper understanding of the individual characters and a new perspective on the Stargate universe.
The story is set immediately following the events depicted in the Season Four episode “The Other Side”. In this episode, SG-1 are faced with making some heavy moral decisions regarding obtaining new technology and weaponry to assist Earth in its fight against the Goa’uld, at the cost of supporting a totalitarian regime determined to ethnically cleanse their planet, Euronda. The divisions within the team that develop during the TV episode are carried through into the book and threaten the successful completion of their mission. Although you need to have at least a passing familiarity with the series to fully appreciate this story, don’t worry if you haven’t seen the relevant episode recently, there’s enough back-story provided for even the most forgetful fan.
After the spectacular failure of the mission on Euronda, serious questions are being asked in Washington about Colonel Jack O’Neill’s abilities and leadership. Not surprisingly, it is Senator Robert Kinsey who is leading the pack. Fans of the series will know Kinsey, and if you had any sympathy for him beforehand, that will change after reading this, he is the ultimate self-serving, slimy politician. The trouble deepens when O’Neill is temporarily suspended from duty for attempting to strangle Kinsey and there are also serious divisions between members of SG-1 over the decisions that were made during the Eurondan mission. Read the rest of this entry »
By Kim Stanley Robinson
Orbit
ISBN: 9780316098120
Reviewed by Alexandra Pierce
This book made me happy. Wonderfully, giddily happy.
There’s the gender aspects. Robinson goes beyond gender-bending and into gender-thwarting. I first really realised something was going on when a new character was introduced and for the entire interaction, there were no pronouns used. And it’s a gender-neutral name. So … no clue as to whether biologically or otherwise male or female, and it didn’t matter in the slightest; and nor did it matter for the many other characters for whom this was also true. The gender aspect is one where Robinson’s sly use of language and meta-references comes in: there’s a comment somewhere (I wish I had bookmarked it!) where the difficulty in determining sex or gender is remarked on, and the fact that humanity could now be called “ursuline” – because of the notorious difficulty in sexing bears, is the commenter’s note. But I see what you did there, Robinson, and since le Guin is one of my favourite authors, I quite literally laughed and crowed aloud. This society has what ours would regard as the “normal” genders (with “outrageous” (p431) macho and fem behaviours as something of an art form), as well androgyns, wombmen, hermaphrodites, gynandromorphs, eunuchs, and the gender-indeterminate. There are people who have fathered and mothered children at different times, people who never disclose their gender to anyone, and … really the broadest range of sexual and gender identity that I can imagine (actually, broader than I had previously imagined). So, that aspect is a lot of fun – and it’s presented as normal and as a full expression of humanity.
Julianna Baggott
Grand Central Publishing
ISBN:9781455503063
Reviewed by Alexandra Pierce
This is unashamedly a dystopia – a post-apocalyptic one even – set in the not-too-distant future. Pressia lives with her grandfather in the ruins of (I think) America, where day to day life is a struggle: for food, for shelter, and not unnaturally for any sort of meaning to life. Not only has infrastructure been destroyed and food contaminated, but the people themselves have been intimately changed by the probably-nuclear destruction a decade or so before. Pressia was holding a doll at the time of the detonations; along with scars and other injuries, its head is now her hand. And she could be said to have gotten off lightly: consider those who were walking a dog. Or holding another person.
Christopher Priest
Gollancz
ISBN: 9780575070042
Reviewed by Alexandra Pierce
1. Read the introduction.
No, really. Even if you’re an “I never read the introduction” kinda person, read this introduction. It’s part of the story, and without it you are likely to be terrible confused, because…
2. Don’t think this is a novel.
At least, not in the conventional, linear (or even non-linear) plot sense. Things happen, but not in any sort of chronological order. This is, as the introduction suggests, more of a gazette: an introduction to a few dozen of the islands which make up the Dream Archipelago. It’s a mixture of straight Lonely Planet-style description and suggestions for tourists, along with police investigations, letters, wills, and a couple of short story narratives that appear to have snuck in under the radar.
