Changing Permissions

After some feedback at the last session I've tweaked the permissions on the blog to allow anyone to post a comment, irrespective of whether you have a Blogger account or not. This means the blog is more exposed to spam but hopefully I can keep on top of it and clean up any mess before it becomes too intrusive.

Enjoy the freedom folks :-)

- Glyn

P.S. Discussion summary of Slaughterhouse 5 coming soon.

Suggestion Box

This post represents the suggestion box for books for the group to discuss in the future. There will be a permanent link to it in the right column so that long after it sinks into the depths of the blog you can find it and add your suggestions in the comments section below.

If you're unfamiliar with the procedure, essentially we'll read anything from the Science Fiction and Fantasy genres (and there are arguments for Horror, and maybe even one day the odd Graphic Novel), the book has to be readable in a month which means that exceptionally long novels might be frowned upon, however if there is a reasonable consensus that a book would be good to read we could rig it so that long novels are preceded by shorter works.

All suggestions are taken on board and the final reading list is drawn by blind ballot in book club meetings.

So without further hesitation - let the recommendation begin!

The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker

Synopsis

Liverpool born and educated Clive Barker is widely acknowledged as the master of nerve-shattering horror. The Hellbound Heart is a story of the human heart and all the great terrors and ecstasies within. It was also the book behind the cult horror film, Hellraiser. In a quiet house on a quiet street Frank and Julia are having an affair. Not your ordinary affair. For Frank it began with his own insatiable sexual appetite, a mysterious lacquered box- and then an unhinged voyage through a netherworld of imaginable pleasures and unimaginable horror! Now Frank- or what is left of Frank -waits in an empty room. All he wants is to live as he was before. All Julia can do is bring him her unfulfilled passions!and a little flesh and blood!

What Did We Think?

(notes to follow)



 

Votes were as follows: 0, 1, 1, 2, 2, 4, 5, 7

Not the most successful result for our first foray into the world of Horror. Ah well, maybe next time.

Temeraire by Naomi Novik

Synopsis

Captain Will Laurence has been at sea since he was just twelve years old. Rising on merit to captain his own vessel, Laurence has earned himself a beautiful fiancee, society's esteem and a golden future. But the war is not going well. It seems Britain can only wait as Napoleon plans to overrun her shores. After a skirmish with a French ship, Laurence finds himself in charge of a rare cargo: a dragon egg bound for the Emperor himself. Dragons are much prized: properly trained, they can mount a fearsome attack from the skies. But when the newly-hatched dragon ignores the young midshipman Laurence chose as its keeper and decides to imprint itself on the horrified captain instead, Laurence's world falls apart. Gone is his golden future: gone his social standing, and soon his beautiful fiancee, as he is consigned to be the constant companion and trainer of the fighting dragon Temeraire!

What Did We Think?

  Initial reactions to this book were very good, but that could simply be because those who loved it were more vocal than those who didn't. After a few moments of gushing about how refreshingly positive, enjoyable and easily readable the book was, the critique began in earnest.

It seemed that the easy readability of the novel was actually part of a point against it. The problems and solutions presented in the novel were glossed in such a way that it read as emotionally stunted. Not to say that we didn't care about any of the characters, the bond between Laurence and Temeraire seems a brilliant piece of characterization, but rather that it didn't seem real enough (a phrase I hesitate to use regarding a novel in which dragons fight in the Napoleonic Wars). To put it another way, the novel read in such a way to place in a spectrum closer to teen fiction than to the gloves-off grittiness of, say, Morgan's The Steel Remains (see our discussion here), on the opposite end of the scale.

However, the lack of grit is not necessarily a negative factor for all readers. Despite being at one point compared to "My Little Pony" on a larger scale, the rose-tinted view of the world presented in Temeraire was a refreshing change of pace from the dark, foreboding, negativity of a lot of modern fiction (see Cormac McCarthy's The Road). Novik's novel has a sense of humour,

Another reason the novel was found to be refreshingly different was the charm offered by the "stately language" of the Napoleonic setting. The most obvious comparison on this point is the stunningly wonderful Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke which also blends the Fantastical and Napoleonic history (in a darker, more adult - and possibly more fantastical - manner than Temeraire). The alternate-history nature of fiction means it is less reliant on the Tolkien-esque tropes which riddle the majority of other Fantasy fictions.

The nature of the relationship between a dragon and their rider was a topic discussed at length, natural comparisons were drawn with Anne McCaffrey's extensive Pern series (an essay by McCaffrey on the influence of sexuality and gender on dragon bonding can be found here). McCaffrey's dragons have an explicit psychic connection with their riders to the point that if the rider dies the dragon, in a moment of trauma, "jumps" into the void never to be seen again. Novik's rider-dragon relationship is however, much more based on an intense sense of empathy rather than any explicit psychic bond. Laurence repeatedly refers to Temeraire as a friend, an equal, and this raises interesting questions regarding whether he would have been as willing to retain his dragon had it been of a dimmer-witted breed rather than the intelligent Chinese variety which Temeraire is an example of (no spoiler here!). The relationship is seemingly symbiotic, a supporting role, but unlike McCaffrey, completely platonic.

Picking at the text causes a few threads to loosen which may or may not be addressed in later instalments in the series, not least amongst those is the question of why such intelligent creatures allow themselves to be bred, their children to be sent to war for human gains and why they accept the status of essentially being big pets. The placidity of the dragons was found by some to be annoying, an artificial smoothing of situations to allow the plot to flow unhindered by complex inter-personal relations and issues.

Overall the novel seemed to be enjoyed, though for some enjoyment was as far as it got with some readers finding it hard to enthuse too heavily about a novel they saw as being predominantly teen in focus.

The votes were as follows: 5, 6, 6, 7, 7, 8, 9, 9, 10

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

Synopsis

Pigs might not fly but they are strangely altered. So, for that matter, are wolves and racoons. A man, once named Jimmy, lives in a tree, wrapped in old bed sheets, now calls himself Snowman. The voice of Oryx, the woman he loved, teasingly haunts him. And the green-eyed Children of Crake are, for some reason, his responsibility.

What Did We Think?

Oryx and Crake represents something new for our little bookclub. It represents our first foray into "respectable literature"; it is, after all, not science fiction at all but "speculative fiction". *ahem*. Atwood herself writes: Oryx and Crake is a speculative fiction, not a science fiction proper. It contains no intergalactic space travel, no teleportation, no Martians. Whatever our opinions on the etymological differences between science fiction and speculative fiction, whether we think this is a science fiction novel or not (it is), what did we think of it? 

The overall feeling was positive. Praise was found for the writing style, the balance of "present" and flash-back scenes, the imagery, the light-hearted tone for otherwise dark material. It was called lively, spirited and well written. This was after all a novel which was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and made many critics' book of the year lists in 2003. It is a tribute to Atwood's writing at she makes genetic engineering, gated communities, big business corruption, and ultimately genocide, into readable and enjoyable literature.


In terms of the characters, Crake was a fascinating example of the ruthless genius. Hard to classify as a real villain but certainly a schemer, with an inhumanly monstrous intellect and possibly without empathy. The flipside of the coin is Snowman / Jimmy, our protagonist and the most human thing in the novel. His character arc from innocent child to mentally broken, impractically minded agent of God, via layabout student and dead-end office worker, was both fascinating and enjoyable. Equally enjoyable were the genetic creations of the novel, the eerily intelligent Pigoons and lethal Wolfogs, for example. Criticism landed on Atwood's failure to find a decent strong female character, not even the titular Oryx, despite her reputation as a feminist.

Thematically the contrast of religion and science triggered considerable debate, leading to a discussion of humanity's need for religion and/or science and whether it was inevitable that the Crakers, if they can be called human, would need one or both. Atwood's message of "science imperfect" also got noticed, despite Crake's undeniable genius his plague didn't succeed in wiping out all humanity and it seems that nature is stronger than he anticipated both in terms of an organism's ability to survive but also in the sense of "human nature" as we see familiar traits emerging amongst the Crakers such as leadership and mythology.

The votes were as follows: 9, 9, 8, 8, 3.

The sequel to Oryx and Crake is called The Year of the Flood and is out in paperback in August 2010.

You may also enjoy these illustrations for the novel provided by Jason Courtney. I particularly like his depiction of a Snat, whilst the Pigoons are just scary.

And here is Atwood's article on why we need Science Fiction, or Speculative Fiction, if you prefer...

Event News: Wednesday, 17 March 2010, 12:30PM

I felt I should say that again, it's so rare a pairing of words with regards to the little corner of fiction which I call home: Event News!

Yes folks, that rare thing - a genre book signing is about to happen at Waterstone's Liverpool One.

The author who is gracing our store is Mr. Joe Hill. If that doesn't ring any bells then I'm not massively surprised, he's a young American author just beginning what I'm sure will be an epic journey. At the moment you can pluck such works as short story anthology 20th Century Ghosts and debut novel Heart-shaped Box off the horror shelves, or the superbly gothic Locke and Key, winner of the 2009 Eisner award from the graphic novel section. Other than the Eisner award, other accolades he's collected include Bram Stoker awards for Horror and British Fantasy Awards. He's a New York Times bestselling author, which although it's a phrase we see a lot on dust jackets, is quite a big deal for a genre writer outside of crime fiction.

Obviously he's not just popping in for a chat but to promote his newest release which is a novel called Horns, due out 18th March this year in Hardback.

If none of this has piqued your interest then I advise you to go flick through Locke and Key, have a read of some of the short stories in 20th Century Ghosts ("Voluntary Committal" and the titular "20th Century Ghost" are particularly good). Failing that, if none of the above intrigues you then perhaps the knowledge that this man's full name is Joseph Hillstrom King, yes son of Stephen King.

You can see his wikipedia page here it offers a slightly more detailed rundown of his work than I've managed to provide here. Just over here you can find his official website and blog which I'm sure will be mentioning this same event in the very near future.

So whaddya say? Will I see you there? Tell your friends.

WATERSTONE'S LIVERPOOL ONE
Wednesday, 17 March 2010, 12:30PM

P.S. Whilst I'm on a horror event theme, let me just say that I went to see a play at the Liverpool PLayhouse (under the Radio City Tower) called Ghost Stories and it was superb. If you happen to be able to get a ticket (£10 each) then I urge you to go - it's scary yet satisfying stuff and will be in Liverpool until 20th February.

Martian Time-Slip by Philip K. Dick

Plot Synopsis

Mars is a desolate world. Largely forgotten by Earth, the planet remains helpless in the stranglehold of Arnie Kott, who as boss of the plumber's union has a monopoly over the vital water supply. Arnie Kott is obsessed by the past; the native Bleekmen, poverty-stricken wanderers, can see into the future; while to Manfred, an autistic boy, time apparently stops. When one of the colonists, Norbert Steiner, commits suicide, the repercussions are startling and bizarre.


What Did We Think?

Philip K. Dick is always good for interesting discussions, if not only because he can so split his readers but because everyone tends to take different things from his work. Found to be both compelling and 'disturbing in parts', Martian Time-Slip was written in 1964 and touches on some typical Dick themes such as questions of reality.

A lot of attention was given to the characters in the novel. Praise was lavished on their flawed natures, the fact that the "villains" have redeeming features and the "heroes" have severe flaws, that everyone has neuroses of some description from Dr. Milton Glaub's extreme feelings of inadequacy to the schizophrenia of our prime protagonist Jack Bohlen. A major message of the novel seems to be that everyone is abnormal and thus abnormal is normal. In this way the book was very non-judgemental of humanity's foibles.

Interestingly, the subject of the novel's female characters came up and they were revealed as being more two-dimensional than many of the male characters, not necessarily negative stereotypes but certainly drawn from stock female tropes (the widow, the wife, the mistress, and so on). This was, however, recognised not as a sign of Dick's chauvanims, but rather a sign that feminism wasn't on his list of issues, he was writing for and about very different things.

Taking the novel as metaphor it is at once the Wild West, with remote homesteads, limited resources, prospectors, and peculiar natives; whilst at the same time it's also 1960s LA with sordid backroom dealings, power struggles and a dog-eat-dog race for superiority.

However, whether mirroring Wild West, or contemporary LA society, the novel ultimately shows that society, like sanity may appear superficially functional but is at heart completely dysfunctional.

As ever, the novel's ending was found to be perplexing. Dick has always taken a different approach to endings, refusing to tie things up neatly into conclusive packages and is perfectly content to leave questions hanging and loose ends blowing in the narrative wind (it's something Stanislaw Lem praised him for). This lends an unsatisfactory aftertaste to the novel for readers who either dislike Dick's trippy style or the manner in which he chooses to conclude his adventures.

In summary, the novel was largely (but not exclusively) enjoyed, it generated some interesting discussions on time, place and perception (which I cannot hope to do full credit to here - so please continue the discussions in the comments section below), whilst stylistically awkward, and for some perplexing, the relationships and the manner in which Dick draws his characters was enough of an anchor that many of the readers left the novel feeling satisfied.


The average score given to Martian Time-Slip was 7

The votes fell as follows: 4, 5, 6, 6, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8