CV Rick's Reviews

Worlds Enough & Time

The first book I read by Dan Simmons was Children of the Night.  It was a cool new take on the Vampire mythology which didn't quite work for me because he bucked too many mythologies in order to create a predictable new explanation.  As happens with me I didn't really go back to his books for a long time.  My reading list is already very long.

When I pulled Worlds Enough and Time from my bookshelf, I figured that I'd uncover a couple of good shorts in the collection and get a better idea of what Dan Simmons is all about as a writer.  I'm happy to say that I'm not disappointed and that his novels are moving up my reading list. 

This book contains five novellas, each one very different from the rest.  What ties the narratives together is Simmons ability to make you care about the characters, to make you feel like they do, and to make you understand their choices no matter how outlandish they seem on the surface.  My own recommendation while reading the work is to skip each story's introduction.  Read each after you've finished the associated story because these long introductions have more relevance afterward than before. 

The first novella is Looking For Kelly Dahl.  A troubled, suicidal former sixth grade teacher is pitted against one of his students in a kill or be killed scenario.  The twist?  The student, Kelly Dahl can alter reality so the game is essentially being played out in her own ever-changing universe. 

Orphans of the Helix is a story set in Simmons Hyperion universe and it's my first experience with that.  A generational ship (okay, not precisely, but this a review, not a retelling) pulls into a binary star system and awakens several passengers out of stasis because a distress beacon emanates from the inhabitants.  The choice is whether to help and whether that help will do more harm than benefit.   It's a cool setting and a unique idea, but this story was the hardest for me because the characters didn't feel all that sympathetic.

The Ninth of Av is a future in which humans are a relic.  A race that's about to be finalized.  In the process, there are several people who have loose ends to tie up. One is on an arctic expedition where she tragically gets stuck right at a monumental discovery which changes how she perceives the world and its people.  Two others are trying to reach her but don't know how.

On K2 with Kanakaredes is my favorite of the collection.  Climbers preparing to ascend K2 are strapped with an unexpected burden – the son of an alien diplomat wants to go along.  Kanakaredes is insectoid and an amateur, but the UN Secretary of State made them an offer they couldn't refuse.  It's a beautiful climbing story meshed with contact story wrapped in a song.

The End of Gravity is the story of Norman Roth, the most sympathetic of all the characters in Simmons collection.  He's a writer sent on a journalism assignment to write a human story of the Russian space program.  He's not only looking for a different angle from which to tell of the hard-lived organization, he's looking for meaning and he looks in the unlikeliest of places.

It's a very good collection and you'll become a Dan Simmons fan by reading it.

- CV Rick, February 2008

I'll Be Quoting This Movie For Years

This film is quotable in the model of The Princess Bride, with one memorable line after another. 

Ken and Ray are hit men for a powerful criminal figure, Harry. Ken (Brendan Gleeson) is a kindly older gentleman while Ray (Colin Farrell) is a brash young man anxious to live all of life this minute.  After a botched hit in London, Harry (Ralph Fiennes) sends the two to the town of Bruges, Belgium.  For Ray, this is the worst spot on earth:

“If I'd grown up on a farm and was retarded, Bruges might impress me, but I didn't, so it doesn't.”

So while Ken tries to get Ray interested in sightseeing, ancient canals, historic cathedrals, and architecture, Ray is more interested in movie being filmed on location which features a midget and a beautiful blond.  The idea of keeping a low profile seems to escape the younger killer and keeping control over his partner is daunting for the aging killer.

This movie masks the underlying tragic story with hilarious comedy and the craftsmanship to give opposing emotions like that is masterful.  All the way through everything bad that can happen does, stacking the tension like a playing card castle.  You'll love Ken from the beginning and grow to love Ray by the end.  And at the ending, right at that final scene you'll realize that the filmmaker, Martin McDonagh wrote and directed a perfect concluding sequence.  If you ask me, it couldn't have ended any other way and been convincing.

I can't write anymore without giving something away.  Go see it, it'll make you happy and sad.

- CV Rick, February 2008

A Great Story Told Well

Louise Erdrich is among my favorite authors.  She weaves moving, human plots together with the intricacy of a well-told poem.  Her landscapes make one gasp and her characters make one believe.  So it is through this biased lens that I picked up Four Souls, read it, and also loved it.

Fleur Pillager walks to Minneapolis to kill John James Mauser.  That's the premise, but along the way she devises a punishment worse than death. See Mauser stole her family's land and clear cut the prized trees, leaving her family as poor as destitute as the rest of the Ojibwe in Northern Minnesota.  What's her plan?  Nurse Mauser back to health from his poison-gas induced illness and get him to fall in love with her.

It's such an accomplished story told beautifully that I really can't add to it in a longer review without giving away more of its magic. Please, read this one, and Tracks the novel about Fleur Pillager that precedes it.

- CV Rick, February 2008

12th Planet and a Race of Retards

There's a planet orbiting through the Oort cloud at the edge of our solar system which comes in close proximity to Earth every 3600 years.  On this planet is an advanced race of creatures who need gold and other valuables in order to create and maintain their atmosphere.  They came up with a solution – Earth.  It was to us that they did a South-Central style genetic drive-by.  With the seed material from Ape Men they genetically altered their DNA Structure with bits from their own to create HUMANS.  Then they tasked these humans to dig up all the gold and hold it for them for when they returned. 

Now, this explains all the “god sightings” throughout time.  Our creators swing past, take all the gold, steal some of us for labor, perform great miracles and tell us to behave because when they come back they'll be “judgment.”

It sounds like an interesting work of science fiction, if only it were. It's being marketed as nonfiction.  Zecharia Sitchin makes a claim to be an ancient languages scholar and an expert on the Sumerian language and religion.  If he is, it's a self-taught expertise for his actual training is as an undergraduate in economic history.  He ignores mathematical evidence that refutes the 3600-year elliptical orbit hypothesis, since such a drive-by would leave a trace in our own orbital pattern.

So, we're slaves to the Anunnaki overlords from the mother planet Nibiru. We're required to give them gold and tribute, and in turn they teach us a little about morality in the form of brutal, biblical, object lessons.  If amazon would let me swear in my review I would. 

Our Nibiruean masters live on a cold world – except in its 3600 year brief solar drive by – so they can't have plants or animals on their planet.  It's physically impossible – except that they have to have those things if we are a product of their DNA, don't you think?  I mean, wouldn't it be reasonable if we are made in their image, they can't be isolated from food and warmth?  Maybe if they needed our gold so freaking badly and maybe a burger and a veggie tray, they'd have left that nutty rocky world that no scientist can explain and they'd have moved in right here.  Then they could've created us and overseen the mining operations for themselves.  Right? Nope, they aren't that smart. 

And neither is anyone who believes this tripe.

- CV Rick, February 2008

A Tension Let-Down

The setting is strong and the characters are interesting.  This series has been given accolades for a quarter-century, and I know it has promise, and I know I'll keep reading.  Even with all this, the sophomore entry in this series was a let-down in tension. 

Tension doesn't have to be big sea battles between military-grade warships, but it does have to be engaging and threaten the protagonist.  Other than a somewhat minor relationship issue between Jack and Sophie and Diana the only real novel-length theme was Jack's continuing struggles with his finances.

As a chronicle of the life in opening  of the nineteenth century it is a great book.  It demonstrated the core of military power - the Navy and it's ongoing internal political struggles as well as a rivalry with the Army.  More interesting than Jack Aubrey and his money troubles is the revelations in this volume of the hidden life of Stephen Maturin, land-heir and intelligence spy - but for whom?  His mini-adventures and influence keep one interested in the book and keep one guessing. 

It's a serviceable book in the series, which put it above many author's best work.

- CV Rick, February 2008

A Frustrating Masterpiece

As a philosophical exercise this novel succeeds, as entertainment it's lacking.  What I mean is that Kafka's frustration with bureaucracy comes through clearly in this work.  It's his nightmare. K, the protagonist has been contracted to do work at the castle, but he cannot get there – no roads lead to the castle, no one can introduce him or take him there, and despite finding a place in the village his ultimate goal is continually thwarted. 

I did appreciate how Kafka demonstrates the villagers loyalty to the officials of the castle, even when they didn't understand what the officials did, or why, or how.  It's surely a commentary on questioning authority. 

But the novel was frustrating and that, I believe is Kafka's intention – to evoke a strong emotional discontentment through a frustrated main character.  That's the success of the novel – and it did make me think about the condition of life, being guided like a mule after the carrot on a stick. 

I didn't enjoy the novel, but I learned from it and maybe that's the highest compliment of all.

- CV Rick, February 2008

Harry S. Truman

This is far and away the best Presidential biography I've ever had the pleasure of reading.  The subject, Harry S. Truman is a likable man who rose to the office of President in an unlikely manner and is the last common man to earn that office.  The Biographer is a fabulous storyteller who creates a tapestry of Truman's life that is complex in detail but simply explains his rise and the choices he made along the way. 

 

Reaching back to the earliest white Missouri settlers, McCullough mixes together the elements that formed the family into which Truman was born – poor, hardworking farmers whose luck was never good, misfortune piling upon misfortune.  From this Truman grew and became self-made time and time again. It always seems that Truman's about to thwarted in life, but instead he's just propelled in a new direction.

Things I really like about Truman – he was loyal.  He was loyal to his friends to a fault.  He was loyal to his country and his family.  To his wife whom he adored he was completely faithful.  He was humble, wondering always at his good fortune even when his business was crumbling, the farm worthless, and his mother-in-law (who thought he was never good enough for her daughter, even when he was president of the United States of America).  He took responsibility.  When was the last time we heard the Chief Executive say, “I made the decision and I stand by it.”  Truman stood by his decisions and took responsibility for those under him.  The Buck Stopped There. 

How did he come to prominence? - He joined the army late in life despite horrible eyesight, but he quickly found that men liked him and he could lead them.  As an artillery officer he commanded respect from large groups of men.  After World War I, he went back to Missouri and attempted to be a businessman, but failed.  During that time he caught the attention of local party bosses because of his ability to lead men and influence their decisions, and he earned a spot as a county judge.  From there he rose through the corrupt party organization of local boss, Tom Pendergast.

He wasn't a wealthy man – ever.  He was always worried about paying the bills and even when he was in the White House, he and his wife stuck to a strict budget to make ends meet.  Despite his humble circumstances he never sold out his principles for money.  He stayed true to himself.

Truman was the most progressive president we've had.  He proposed universal health care in the 40's. He pushed civil rights legislation, despite his own racism and antisemitism.  Under Truman the G.I. Bill came to be, which arguably created the modern middle class in America by improving and not abandoning the veterans. 

He dropped the bomb.  Yes he did.  He did it and he took responsibility for it and he believed that it was the right thing to do.  That's a point that can be argued ad infinitum.  But what he did do is keep the control of nuclear weapons in the hands of civilian authorities. Why?  Because it's not a military decision to kill hundreds of thousands of civilians, it's a political one.  He was right about that.

I could go on, but I won't.  It's a startling work of nonfiction and I can't recommend it highly enough. 

- CV Rick, February 2008

Southwestern Flavor - Wise and Comfortable

I really enjoyed this book.  It's a small volume with a series of essays that Tony Hillerman submitted as part of Master's work in journalism.  They read just as you'd expect from the premiere Southwest mystery writer of our time – slow, lazy, and full of humor.  They're true tales woven to feel like fiction and the characters step right out of the terrain of New Mexico.  Funny antics and folk wisdom are interspersed with character quirks.

The title story is the best, but all of the others held my interest and I read them in a single sitting. 

As is my custom with anthologies, I'm including the table of contents in my review

The Great Taos Bank Robbery
The Very Heart of Our Country
We All Fall Down
The Conversion of Cletus Xywanda
The Hunt for the Lost American
Las Trampas
Othello in Union County
Quijote in Rio Arriba County
Mr. Luna's Lazarus Act

- CV Rick, February 2008

Live the Grindhouse Experience in its Fullest

Back when movies didn't make a statement, but instead exploited every adrenaline surge they could possibly muster, the Grindhouse cinemas churned out horrid gore, cliched characters, sexploitation for no purpose other than to objectify women, and complete unbelievability in drama. They were exactly what you expected and the theaters were noisy, smelly, and the equipment always faulty. This wasn't for your first-run movies or even for your Oscar Contenders held over for another month. This was back to back gratuitous adrenaline for those of stunted maturity.

From missing reels to stretched film to spots on the lens and burned sections, it really recreated everything one would expect out of a place where missing a 20 minute section had no effect on plot nuance. Besides that, this film was a veritable treasure of cameo appearances from every actor and actress that makes you say, "I know that dude, he was in . . . " or "I've seen that hot chick before." You know, all those actors that you know but don't know the names of, like that guy from Lost, Sayeed; or the guy who was the Hispanic undertaker on Six Feet Under. Amazingly well-cast, it looked like everyone was in it for the fun - the over-the-top ridiculousness of a gore-fest.

Comparing the two films, however, brings me to a bit of a deeper insight. Rodriguez wrote and directed Planet Terror, a movie about a biological weapons release that threatens destruction of the human race by turning everyone into flesh-eating zombies. Tarantino wrote and directed Death Proof about a stuntman turned serial killer who uses his car as a murder weapon. The both have their strengths, and they both belong in the double feature for different reasons. Planet Terror is soaked in blood and lacks nothing in gratuitous gunplay, down to Rose McGowan's leg amputation and machine gun prosthetic. There are no surprises in this film, it's exactly what the Grindhouse genre is all about, in fact so much so that I feared that this was a movie which would inspire a market flood of resurgent movies. Freddie Rodriguez as the gun toting hero was a colorful, but only hinted at, secret life. (he's the dude from Six Feet Under)

Tarantino's film was a psychological thriller as much as a grindhouse. He spends a lot of time setting up Kurt Russell's character, Stuntman Mike, and creating a semi-believable obsession and a reputation for the viewer as a bad-ass, but then blows the audience away was the expected turned unexpected, twisted and snapped around like a drama whip, finally ending in true Grindhouse form. Wow. It was my favorite of the two.

Not for the timid or squeamish. Not for the critic or the connoisseur. Perfect for the rest of us.

- CV Rick

Climate Change is Not in Doubt

Elizabeth Kolbert chronicles the true face of what so many refuse to believe to be real: Global Climate change. Far from being alarmist, she carefully assembles eye witness experts and scientific papers to such disparate topics as species migration, toad species extinction, ice sheet core analysis, and ice flow consistencies from all over the globe. It's as careful as her journalism and as sourced as a dissertation and rightly so, since it springs from the series of articles she wrote for the New Yorker on the subject.

The work isn't new and it isn't hidden, this is what has been available to all of us for quite some time. The earth is warming and the human contributions are no longer deniable. There are things that can be done, if only we are willing.

A truly striking theme in the book is the notice that scientists are being characterized as alarmist and extremist. When have scientists ever fit that bill? When have they thrown the scientific method to the wind and gone on the vagaries of belief as a crux of argument? They have not ever done that and they aren't now. As a group they agree on the principle elements - the earth is warming, humans contribute to that, and it's going to be a major and drastic change that no one is sure whether we can survive - provided nothing is done to stop it.

Never before have we been so threatened by simple profit motive. But who is out there to actually discredit science? Kolbert takes us carefully through the science and also through the opponents of the science to show that there is no real benefit in lying about the warming, but there is profit in denying it.

It's a valuable book, with beautiful material and illustrations. It's also a sad book which shouldn't be read by anyone who has already lost hope.

- CV Rick