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Book Review: The World Inside by Robert Silverberg
Summary:
Hundreds of years in the future, Earth society has dealt with the population crisis by discovering the ability to build Urban Monads (urbmons). Each building is 1,000 stories and houses around 880,000 people. This vertical hive living has allowed for most of the land to be farmland, managed by communes still living in the traditional horizontal style. It’s a beautiful day in Urbmon 116, and we’ll get to meet people from each level of the city from artistic San Francisco to academic Shanghai to ruling Louisville. Their lives of enforced zero privacy, no locked doors, mandatory acceptance of sexual requests from anyone of age, and a reverence for fertility resulting in uncontrolled population growth present a unique social situation. An academic wonders if humanity has forcibly evolved itself to naturally enjoy the Urbmon lifestyle or if it is a cultural influence forced upon them. Maybe these next few days will help him tell.
Review:
This book is such a creative imagining of a possible future, one I certainly never had thought of. Silverberg approaches his storytelling by at first making it seem as if we will be exposed to a series of vignettes about the inhabitants of Urbmon 116, but then their interconnection suddenly becomes apparent as the dual climaxes approach. I was certainly not bored with the vignette portion as the society of the Urbmon is so interesting, but the interconnection moved it from being an interesting book to a powerful book.
The World Inside is a look at what would happen if the most fundamentalist pro-lifers were to win the majority and gain great power. There is no birth control, every fetus conceived is brought to childhood (although the gender may be manipulated to maintain a balance). Interestingly, in order for this pro-life construct to gain power, they also had to make concessions to the free love folks. Everyone gets married at a very young age, but there is no such thing as sexual loyalty. People are encouraged to nightwalk–leave their own abode at some point after midnight and enter another apartment and have sex with one of the adults there. Often the husband or wife will stay in the room in spite of the sex going on in the same bed as them with their spouse. This is explained as a necessary way to maintain harmony in the building. It is intriguing to see such a lack of regard for parental loyalty to each other in a society that encourages so much procreation, yet it all makes sense.
That is really what makes this such a strong book. It’s such a plausible future, given the proper circumstances, that it gives chills, and yet Silverberg still shows the basic humanity in these people, stuck in a culture, a society that they have little to no control over. If they fail to fit into the social constructs at all, they are simply put down the chute–killed and used as fuel for the building. There is no room for real discourse or exploration of where they may have gone wrong. It’s a social construct that happened out of necessity due to humanity’s refusal to stop procreating so much. They gave up all their other freedoms for that one. Even the freedom to chose to be monogamous if you want. It is such an emotional, thought-provoking warning gong. It’s definitely a book I will hold onto and re-read.
If you enjoy scifi, dystopias, or philosophical explorations of the human condition, you will definitely enjoy this book. I highly recommend it.
5 out of 5 stars
Source: PaperBackSwap
5 More Questions About Books
You guys may remember the previous meme post I did 5 Questions About Books, which I acquired from Syosset Public Library’s Readers and Reference blog. Well, the lovely Sonia of the library, contacted me with the complete list of questions they use in case I wanted to do another meme! So here’s 5 More Questions About Books, and as before, feel free to use the meme yourself.
What book is on your nightstand right now?:
The Angry Heart: Overcoming Borderline and Addictive Disorders: An Interactive Self-Help Guide by Joseph Santoro, PhD. It’s a great book, and I highly recommend it!
What is a book you’ve faked reading?:
Bleak House by Charles Dickens. It was assigned for a required course in British literature. I attempted to read it, but after a couple of chapters and with the other homework I had going on that semester, Sparknotes became my very dear friend. For the record, I aced the exam questions on it. ;-)
What’s a book that’s changed your life?:
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. I was raised in a very traditional, religious, patriarchal manner, and this book was what spurred me on to investigate other ways of looking at the world. Needless to say, I am no longer religious; I am a feminist. This book is what started me on the path to free-thought, and I will always love Margaret Atwood for that.
Can you quote a favorite line from a book?:
“…If death
Consort with thee, death is to me as life;
So forcible within my heart I feel
The bond of nature draw me to my own;
My own in thee, for what thou art is mine:
Our state cannot be severed, we are one,
One flesh; to lose thee were to lose myself.”
Adam to Eve, Paradise Lost by John Milton. One of my favorite quotes of all time.
What’s your favorite book genre?:
This should come as absolutely no surprise to anyone, but dystopian literature followed closely by scifi with horror a super-duper close third.
Movie Review: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
Summary:
Elizabeth wakes up one morning to discover her boyfriend, Jeffrey, being distant and acting odd. She nearly immediately intuitively senses that this man is not Jeffrey. The only people to believe her are her boss, Matt, and an author and his wife. Together the four of them struggle against the nearly invisible alien invasion of a type of plant that morphs human bodies in with their own personalities, thereby replacing the humans.
Review:
This is a remake of the 1956 movie of the same name. I was told you don’t need to watch the 1956 version first, but now I’m not so sure. A lot of the story just didn’t make any sense, and I’m wondering if those are plot points that were better addressed in the 1956 version. For instance, what makes someone at risk to become an alien hybrid? We know that the aliens came into Elizabeth’s household on a flower, yet her boyfriend morphs overnight whereas she does not. Why? Similarly, a process is started by the aliens and at some point it becomes dangerous for that person to sleep, for when they sleep, the metamorphosis completes. Why isn’t everyone transforming in their sleep? At what point is it dangerous to sleep? Why does sleep complete the metamorphosis? For that matter, why do the aliens duplicate the humans’ dna in a pod? Why don’t they just invade the body and combine dna that way? Why does the person’s body disappear when the pod is complete? Why have they come to earth? And for the love of god, why do they make that horrible screeching noise? I’m pretty sure plants don’t generally make noise. Obviously, this movie left me with a lot of questions and not many answers, and that’s something I don’t tolerate well from my scifi movies. If you’re going to do scifi, do it well. Build a world that is not our own but still makes sense! It ruins the experience for me if I’m continually yanked out of that world by my brain going, “Wait…..what?!”
On the other hand, the special effects are really good for the 1970s. The opening with the alien life wafting around space is impressive and reminded me of cgi. The pods are simultaneously realistic-looking and grotesque. Whatever noise they recorded for the aliens screeching is truly spine-chilling.
Two items of note. The first is that you get to see Jeff Goldblum of Jurassic Park in another brainy, geek role, which is fun. Also, there’s some brief nudity, which is always fun in a movie when it’s not in the context of awkward, obviously not really happening sex.
If you like scifi you won’t regret watching this movie. Just be sure to have something to do while you watch it–like knitting, or a game of Clue–to keep your mind off of the glaring plot holes and unanswered questions.
2 out of 5 stars
Source: Netflix
Movie Review: District 9 (2009) South Africa
Summary:
In this alternate history, 20 years ago an alien spaceship came to a stop over South Africa. It appears that they broke down over Earth. They appeared sickly and malnourished, so the South African government set up a shanty town for them just outside of Johannesburg. Now tensions are increasing between the South Africans and the aliens who they call Prawns. The government hires a corporation called Multi-National United to come in and forcibly move them 25 kilometers from Johannesburg. The leader of the project soon discovers the Prawns aren’t exactly what the media has laid them out to be……and neither is Multi-National United.
Review:
I knew as I was watching it that I was going to really like this mockumentary. Having an alien landing that is neither hostile nor a diplomatic mission from a more advanced species is really creative, as is having the humans hem and haw over what exactly to do with the aliens. The aliens wind up in no-man’s land, stuck due to red tape and a general lack of consensus.
I also enjoyed that the movie doesn’t establish certain groups as all evil or all good. There are individuals within the South Africans, the Prawns, and the MNU who are good or evil, just as it actually is in real life. The main characters are complex, trying to do their best when facing tough decisions.
Now, as for the movie elements, the special effects are amazing. I kept forgetting that the Prawns were CGI and not actors. The Prawns’ weapons are exactly what you want out of a scifi film–based on real world weapons, but decidedly more awesome.
There were a few pieces of loose plot that bothered me. A non-spoiler example is the fact that the Prawns and the humans understand each other, and it’s not explained how that came about or how difficult it might be. It almost seems as if just anyone can understand the Prawns’ clicking. Another example is it’s never explained if there are female Prawns or if they are hermaphrodites or what.
A lot of people say that this is about race relations. I disagree. While it’s easy to draw out comparisons, I don’t think that’s the main issue in the film. I think District 9 is more about how groups of people affiliated by nationality interact, and how people do the best they can given the circumstances.
I highly recommend District 9 to scifi and non-scifi lovers alike.
4 out of 5 stars
Source: Redbox
Movie Review: Moon (2009)
Summary:
In the near future, a corporation has figured out how to harvest energy from the sun via a station on the the moon. Sam Bell accepted a 3 year post as the sole human being in the station. His only company is Gerty, a computer who is faceless save an emoticon that expresses the emotions behind his statements. It starts to look like three years may have been too long of a stint for Sam. Is he going crazy or is there something more sinister at work?
Review:
This movie largely consists of just one actor performing–Sam Rockwell, who plays Sam Bell. This is not an easy task to pull off while maintaining audience interest, and he does a wonderful job. Kevin Spacey, who voices Gerty, strikes just the right combination of mechanical and human sounding vocalizations. He does a splendid job being creepy.
The concept of a future where one corporation provides most of the energy used by the planet is a great scifi concept to base a film on. The technology and sociology necessary for this to occur are both believable enough that not too much effort is needed to suspend disbelief. On the other hand, the movie never really explains how exactly the energy is harvested. This struck me as a moderately important plot element to be missing.
The special effects were surprisingly good for a low budget film such as this. In fact, I kept forgetting that it wasn’t a big blockbuster release.
I can’t say too much more without ruining the movie for you. I will tell you that at first I thought it was just average, but then I couldn’t stop thinking about it for days after watching it. Particularly when I saw a bus with an emoticon on it that looked just like Gerty’s. I love it when a movie affects you in a sneak attack way, and I highly recommend Moon if you enjoy scifi or thought provoking films.
4 out of 5 stars
Source: Redbox
Book Review: Ethan: Site 39 by Otis V. Goodwin
Summary:
In the near future Earth is destroyed by an asteroid. Luckily for humanity, a group of people had already departed for Alpha Centauri to colonize the two stars found there. After losing contact with the few survivors, the Centaurians believed Earth to be uninhabited. Five thousand years later, their descendants return to an Earth that has recovered from the chaos caused by the asteroid to begin the work of reinhabiting it. When Ethan, one of the colonists, stumbles upon a residence dug into a mesa made of granite, everything the Centaurians believe about what occurred on Earth in relation to the asteroid is challenged.
Review:
I really wanted this to be a good book. First I’m a big supporter of indie and self-publishing, as I often find the stories more creative and thought-provoking than those published by big publishing houses. (See my review of Vow of Silence for evidence of that). I also thought it was an intriguing scifi storyline. Unfortunately, Goodwin can’t write.
Oh, he can come up with a great idea for a story, but his writing is terrible. First, he tells us instead of showing us. For instance, he’ll say things like “Ethan was thinking how worried he was,” instead of, you know, letting us see Ethan’s worried thoughts. Whole parts of the story that would have been fun to read in addition to making the book longer he sums up by telling us about it in a couple of sentences, such as “They talked about their planned future together” instead of letting us read the conversation.
Not that I would have wanted to read the conversation anyway, because the dialogue is atrocious. Every character sounds like an automaton. They never use a contraction or a simile or anything really that makes a human sound human. Goodwin tries to explain this as language changing, but even when we flash back to see characters from the time of the asteroid, they speak in exactly the same robotic manner.
The book blurb says that Goodwin is retired from the military, and it frankly shows. In some ways, this is good. The military portions in the asteroid flashback are clearly written by someone who knows the military. However, mostly it’s just a rabid conservatism showing. We’re talking a world in which the small population of humans rebuilding all automatically fall in love with someone of the opposite gender and that love is automatically, wholeheartedly returned. It’s like the man never got past the fairy tales told to little girls to realize that that doesn’t happen perfectly for everybody in real life. Real life just doesn’t work out that perfectly for everyone. It makes all of the characters unbelievable, whereas having one true love situation would be believable.
Of course, there is no saving the wretched female characters. Goodwin seems to be only capable of writing the completely helpless sobbing woman or a woman who is essentially a dude with boobs. God forbid a woman be strong and feminine simultaneously.
I feel kind of bad saying all of this, because his overall storyline really is good and creative. It’s what kept me reading the book in spite of cringing and rolling my eyes. What Goodwin should have done is acquired a writing partner who could write his storyline on the sentence level well. Then he would have had a great book. Unfortunately, he didn’t do that.
2 out of 5 stars
Source: Free copy from book promotion agent via LibraryThing‘s EarlyReviewers Member Giveaway program.
Book Review: Wizard and Glass By Stephen King (Series, #4)
Summary:
Roland and his ka-tet escape Blaine the Train, but they accidentally wind up off the path of the beam and in yet another alternate version of Jake, Eddie, and Susannah’s world. They start following an interstate, heading for a palace and hoping therein lies the solution for returning to the path of the beam. One night while traveling, Roland finally tells them what has been haunting him all this time with the story of the summer he was 14 years old and his first love.
Review:
As with The Waste Lands, this book reads like multiple books in one. I was expecting that, since The Waste Lands ended abruptly without solving the problem of Blaine the Train. This book takes care of that storyline, then jumps into a flashback that lasts almost the entire book then jumps back to the present and attempts to solve a big problem. It’s a lot for one book to handle, and it would have worked better if Lud and Blaine the Train were one book taking place after The Waste Lands but before Wizard and Glass. If after doing this, King had shortened the flashback, The Wizard and Glass would be an excellent book. Of course, he didn’t do it that way.
Now that I am this far into the series, I’m seeing that King, whether intentionally or not, is writing different bits of the series as different genres. This could be why it holds wide appeal–if someone doesn’t like the genre the story is currently being told in, it will change soon enough. The first book is mainly a travelogue. The second a horror story. The third is a mix of scifi with the time paradox and horror again with Lud and Blaine the Train. Here, we get partly fantasy with the current issues for Roland’s ka-tet, but mostly a medieval romance–the story of Roland and Susan.
That medieval romance starts out well. King sets up three dialects–High Speech, In-World Speech, and Mejis accent–very well. All three are easy to differentiate, and yet are easy to read. Roland’s world is a wonderful mix of the knights of Arthur and the fabeled American west. It’s fun to read, but only when something’s really happening. That’s the problem with the flashback. It feels too long, because very little happens in large portions of it. Roland, Cuthbert, and Alain must spend most of their summer in Mejis waiting, and instead of telling the reader “wow, they waited a long time,” King makes the reader wait too, and it’s fucking boring and annoying. I seriously wanted to give up, and right when I was about to, the action started again. Finally. The action makes excellent use of this mix of fantastical and wild west, but it really takes too long to come about.
As far as the characters go, I know I’m supposed to feel for Susan, but I honestly found her annoying and dull, which is problematic since she’s Roland’s first love. Also, after all this time of Roland stating how Eddie is almost as funny as Cuthbert, I was expecting Cuthbert to be, y’know, funny. He’s not. He acts like that boy in school who used to pull your braids and think it was funny. He’s just juvenile, not witty. On the other hand, the character of the witch Rhea is excellently done. She’s simultaneously disgusting and intriguing, and she’s one of the few who manages to out-wit Roland, partly because he underestimates her since she is an old, disgusting woman. If only Cuthbert and Alain had been so vividly drawn instead of wandering shells of people for Roland to talk at.
The book is a necessary read if you plan on finishing the series. It gives important insight into why Roland is the man he is today, not to mention explains how the ka-tet escapes Blain the Train and gets back on the path of the beam. I think this is the almost inevitable dull book in an overall good series. Just take my advice and skim over the dull part of Mejis until the action picks up again.
2.5 out of 5 stars
Source: Borrowed
Previous Books in Series:
The Gunslinger, review
The Drawing of the Three, review
The Waste Lands, review
Best Discoveries of 2009–Movies, TV Shows, and Websites
You guys got to see my favorite reads of 2009, but what about all else entertainment? I do, surprisingly, do things besides read with my (little) free-time. So here’s Part One of my best of all-else entertainment list from 2009. I’m not limiting myself to things that came out in 2009, just things that I encountered for the first time in 2009. Consider everything listed as accompanied with the highest recommendations.
Movies
Coraline (2009)
The story of a little girl rightfully frustrated with her parents who discovers another world is delightfully creative, but the animation is what makes this a must-see. It is truly a feast for your eyes.- The Hangover (2009)
Bust a gut, laugh out loud funny. A groom and his buddies go to Vegas a few days before his wedding for his bachelor party, and when they wake up the next morning, the buddies can’t find the groom or remember what they did the night before. Uproariously awkward situations make you feel way better about that one night you can’t remember. 
Inglorious Basterds (2009)
A troop of American Jews led by Brad Pitt go on a Nazi-killing spree in WWII Europe. Confession. I fucking love WWII history. I have ever since I was a kid. I also absolutely love blood and guts movies. The more gruesome the better. I also love Jewish fellas (I blame my undergrad university for that one). Additionally, I love Brad Pitt. *swoon* German is also my foreign language, so I didn’t even need the damn sub-titles. Can you say must-see movie? My only gripe is that not enough time was spent on the awesome group of American soldiers.- Kill Bill Volume One (2003)
The Bride has a score to settle with her old boss Bill and everyone who helped him commit the slaughter of all present for her wedding day (not to mention almost killing her). So many epic fight scenes. So many bad-ass women. Not to mention the whole blood and guts thing previously mentioned. 
South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut (1999)
The boys’ parents get all upset when they sneak in to see the R-rated Terrence and Phillip movie, which clearly leads to a war with Canada. This basically is South Park The Musical and gave us the gifts that are the songs “Uncle Fucka” and “Blame Canada.” Top it off with a giant talking vagina, and you have a seriously hilarious movie.- The Shining (1980), review
Jack takes his family with him on a live-in caretaker job in a remote, empty hotel in Colorado. Did I mention the hotel is sinister? It takes a lot for a film to scare me, and this did.
TV Shows
- Lost (2004 to present)
The tale of the survivors of a flight that crashed on an uncharted island. I remember when this first came out that I avoided watching it because I knew I didn’t have time to get addicted to another tv show. Netflix Instant spurred me into watching it, and holy shit. This show’s mystery and scifi are so good that I am literally yelling at the tv (yes, I bought the complete set). Me yelling at the tv is a sign of a good tv show, btw. I’m on the fourth season and am bound and determined to catch up before the new season starts in February. 
The Simpsons (1989 to present)
That sound you hear is the collective shock of everyone reading this, but I seriously had never watched The Simpsons ever before this year. No, not even one episode. I really can’t explain why. I just never got around to it. Well, now I get what the obsession is with it, and I’ve watched a ton of episodes, let me tell you.- South Park (1997 to present)
No big surprise here with the movie listed above, but I also was newly introduced to this show this year. The pop culture commentary is epic. All you need to do is see the Kanye West fish sticks episode to understand. 
True Blood (2008 to present)
A small Louisiana town deals with daily life and the recent coming out of vampires with the Japanese invention of synthetic human blood. This show has everything: bayou setting, vampires, sex, drugs, comedy, and mystery. Watching an episode is like taking a vacation. It also provided me with the hilarity that is me imitating Bill saying “Sookie is mine!” I can’t wait for the second season to come out on DVD so I can watch it!
Websites
- Etsy
Buy and/or sell handmade or vintage items and supplies. It’s kind of like having a craft fair in your browser, and I love buying one-of-a-kind earrings there. - Regretsy
My friends and I were doing what this blog does for a while–finding the hideous things people offer up as “vintage” or “handmade” on Etsy (not the majority of things found there at all) and mocking them. This blog is sure to send many giggles your way. (or horror) - Sock Dreams
I love wearing snazzy socks, tights, and legwarmers, and this website has the best selection for the best prices. - Tor
I’m a scifi freak, and their theme months are great. This month was Cthulu Christmas, for instance. Also they host a bunch of amazing give-aways.
Coming up in Part Two, Boston places, web clips, and recipes!
Book Review: Vow of Silence By Robert Laughlin
Summary:
In an alternate universe, Karlan escapes the drudgery of his family’s farm by moving to the nation’s capital when it is discovered he is one of the few possessing a memory strong enough to join an elite group known as Datists. Datists, utilizing memory techniques, are responsible for all knowledge in this society that has not discovered writing. All goes well until he is assigned a specialty that wreaks havoc on his humanity.
Review:
When I first started reading this book, I was immediately struck by how much the story-telling style reminded me of European literature in the 19th century. Less action-oriented, it is much more prone toward introspection, like Frankenstein or Dracula. I enjoy this writing style as much as I enjoy the more modern style, so it was nice to see this in a new novel.
Laughlin does an excellent job of making the reader sympathize with someone who goes on to essentially lose his humanity. He turns Karlan into a monster, yet the reader, instead of being horrified, understands why Karlan does what he does. Making your main character an anti-hero is difficult to pull off, but when done well goes far in making the reader ponder things she might not have otherwise.
[spoiler warning]
I also was surprised and appreciative of the fact that Laughlin gives Karlan a chance to win back his humanity, ironically by causing a revolution by not doing anything. Even though Karlan is left essentially alone and broken, he gets to see the revolution he helped cause transform his oppressive society into an engaging one.
[end spoiler]
Unfortunately, Laughlin’s writing style is not entirely consistent throughout. Some passages are more engaging than others. While most of the book flows well, parts of it drag. This is Laughlin’s first book, however, so hopefully this will improve with time.
Vow of Silence is published by an indie publisher, Trytium Publishing. This is not the same as being self-published. Laughlin still had to sell his story to them and standard contracts are still involved, but it does mean that they don’t have as many resources as mainstream publishers. This means that the binding isn’t as strong in the book, and the type-set is a bit odd. However, I doubt that a mainstream publisher would have given this work a chance, and it is a great story. I encourage you to buy a copy and support indie publishing if you are interested in reading the book.
4 out of 5 stars
Source: Library
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Opinions of a Wolf 