Book Review: Axiom's End, by Lindsay Ellis

So here's why I was pretty excited about Axiom's End, the first novel by Lindsay Ellis.  Like a lot of science fiction set in alternate histories (and this one in an alternate 2007), newspapers clippings and stories are found before and between chapters to help expand the world and give the reader a sense of what is the same and what is different from our own world.

The specific document that starts this story, a government document describing a potential alien language which had been leaked to a website (the creator of the site is the main characters father), and being the researcher I am, I went online to check it out.

Without spoiling it for anyone else, the result let me know I was in excellent hands, so I dove straight in.

The novel follows Cora Sabino, a university grad who is working in a dead end job (for her mother) and is about to be swept up into a first contact story with one of the most interesting aliens I've read about in some time (and over the years I've read a lot of science fiction).  I don't really want to get into any specifics (as the book came out two weeks ago, and if you'd like spoilers there are plenty of places online to find those.

What I loved best about the book was it's focus on communication and truth, and just how important those things are for any type of relationship, and the book does a great job of showing just how right (and wrong) things can go in any relationship when these aspects are respected or ignored.

Also I loved the alien, just a really great character.

Definitely worth the read.

Book Review: To Your Scattered Bodies Go

Each month I make sure to read some science fiction, partially because I like a lot of the tropes: dystopias, Utopias, time and space travel, aliens, robots, and the FUTURE! but another key reason I like to read the genre regularly is that in many ways it is dangerous fiction. It gets me thinking about concepts and my own preconceived notions, looking at problems from another angle, and in many ways, seeing how the human spirit endures.

This doesn't mean I don't like reading some good meat and potatoes style space operas, but it does mean I get to look forward every month to reading something that might really surprise me.

A case in point is Phillip José Farmer's To Your Scattered Bodies Go. This 1971, Hugo Award winning novel, and the beginning of his Riverworld Series. The conceit of the novel is simple, what if after dying you woke up on a strange world, and everyone was there? Literally everyone, all of human history, going to our prehistoric era and ending at the Earth's demise. You just wake up, find yourself in a field and back in your mid-twenties, along with people from across Earth's space and history.

There's no clear messaging, no one to tell you what to do, and yes, although many people believe you're now all in heaven, something don't match up - the stars are different, and many of the people here are not the people you thought would be rewarded with any sort of afterlife...

Why are we here, and for what reason?
The book follows famed British explorer Sir Richard Burton as he awakens and tries to makes sense of the strange new world he finds himself in.  Societies and religions begin to spring up, but again there is no clear answer as to why everyone is brought back and exactly where they have all ended up.

The novel is largely one of exploration, both physically, as Burton travels down a river which seems to connect this entire world, and existentially, as everyone he meets seems to have a clear understanding of the reasons, but with no proof.  I found it to be a fascinating read, and will keep an eye out for any other books in the series in future.

What am I reading now?

...and suddenly it's been two and a half months and although I've spent most of it in my house, I'm not spending in on my blog.

Which I'm trying to fix now - so thanks to those of you who reached out to ask what I've been up to lately.

Right now, like most people, I'm spending a lot of time indoors, watching, reading, and playing things I've been holding onto for a while or I can access for free online.  I'm still currently working and although it's 80% from home, I'm trying not to make a lot of purchases these days as I'm saving in case my situation changes.

As a habitual used bookstore patron however, I've got a lot to get through before I run out, and even then I've still got e-books and the like ready and waiting.

Although I'm still sticking with my classic; Horror, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Book Club, Book Club, reading cycle, I've taken a break from my monthly book by Farley Mowat (I was mostly getting these from the library) as well as my Ancient Rome reading list (again, libraries), but that just means I have two slots a month to fill with books I've been collecting, but not reading for years.

I'm currently reading Yuval Noah Harari's Homo Deus, his follow up to Sapiens (2011), and am really digging it.  The book takes a deep look at what we understand and believe about ourselves, and how this may effect us in our future.  It's very readable, interesting, and quite timely.  Well worth a look if you've got access and would like to dip into some non-fiction.

Ninth House, by Leigh Bardugo

One of my favourite things about my wife is her ability to find out about stories that are exactly my thing and send them my way before I've even heard of them. Case in point, Leigh Bardugo's Ninth House, an excellent Horror/Fantasy novel set in the Secret Societies in Yale University.

The novel follows Alex Stern, a university freshman on scholarship, recently moved from California and now working for an organization which monitors the activities of the schools eight secret societies. In Bardugo's world, the societies are each able to perform different styles of magic and Stern has just joined the Lethe, who work to ensure that none of groups step out of line and upset the balance at the New Haven, Connecticut Institution.

I found the book an excellent read and think that those who grew up on Harry Potter and want to find something darker and really engaging may have found a new home in Bardugo's world. I am definitely looking forward to the sequel.

Book Review: Taaqtumi: An Anthology of Arctic Horror Stories

Having been a long time fan of Horror and recent discover of Inhabit media, an Inuit-owned publishing company in Nunavut, Canada, I was thrilled to find this collection pop up on my FaceBook feed and then delighted to see my wife had already put an order in for it when I suggested we might want to buy it.

The stories included in Taaqtumi range from Thriller to Supernatural Horror and to Science Fiction/Horror. Standouts for me included Iqsinaqtutalik Piqtuq: The Haunted Blizzard, by Aviaq Johnston (who wrote a delightful children's story called What's My Superpower that I absolutely loved in 2017), and The Door, by Ann R. Loverock, although the book has stories that would work well for both Horror fans like me and those just peeking into the genre.

An excellent collection and from a company I hope does more like it in the future.

Book Review: The First Man in Rome, by Colleen McCullough

Colleen McCullough's The First Man in Rome is the first of her Master of Rome series; and this series of seven books (published from 1990 to 2007) cover near 90 years of history, will be my guide through the end of the Roman Republic over the next seven moths.

Following Gaius Marius and Lucius Cornelius Sulla through the events of Marius' rise from new man to soldier and eventually consul, the novel was a sweeping story of politics, war, economics, surprising romance and some really eye-opening examples of what kind of leadership qualities were needed to help the Republic evolve and grow.

A long but fascinating read, and one that has me really looking forward to the rest of this series.

Happy New Years!

Happy 2020 everyone!

Thanks to everyone who still stops by and don't worry, my New Years resolution for 2020 is to get a lot more consistent with these, although I'm likely to go to once a week.

Wishing you the best and hoping you all have a wonderful holiday season.

Your pal, Bookmonkey

Movie Review: Ready or Not

One of my favourite things about seeing movies in the fall is that once we've left blockbuster season behind us, movies have to focus on character, concept, and story, rather than simply air conditioning, to get us back into our seats.

Probably my favourite horror movie this year, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett's Ready or Not, was a delightful thriller, with a neat little twist, and just about the best theme song for a game of hide and seek you could possibly imagine.

The film follows a young woman named Grace (Samara Weaving) on her wedding day to Alex Le Domas (Mark O'Brien), a member of an extremely wealthy family which owns a board game empire. As part of family tradition, newly married in members are invited to play a game at midnight on the wedding day, and Grace draws the childhood classic, Hide and Seek. Unfortunately for Grace, when Hide & Seek is chosen, the game becomes much deadlier than expected.

Overall there were two things I loved about this movie. First off, the portrayal of the Le Domas family, a group that had inherited their status in life, was a really fun look at what can happen when your only succession plan is based on birth, rather than merit, and the fact that Grace is portrayed as a foster child who grew up to be a smart, resourceful and decent person. So often in stories foster-care seems to be used as code for damaged, and I thought the fact that Grace had basically the opposite of every member of the wealthy family in upbringing was a nice touch.

The story moves quite nicely, has a lot great twists and turns and will definitely be getting a place on my DVD/Blu-ray shelves in the future.

Book Review: Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI, by David Grann

The first David Grann book I read was The Lost City of Z a few years ago for a book club. The story, focusing on the disappearance of explorer Percy Fawcett in the Amazon in 1925, was pretty great, and really got me interested in both what drives people to explore and to see the costs that come with it.

Last year I found a copy of his 2014 book Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI at a used book store and added it to my "to be read" pile.

The book begins with a single murder in Oklahoma in the 1920s, and then begins to spin a story including incredible wealth, Texas Rangers, the FBI, Oil Tycoons, and the systemic failure of a country to protect people it has declared its responsibility. The book was fascinating, eye-opening, and I could not put it down.

In the end I found this book incredibly compelling, what started out as an apparent random killing spreads out over time as part of something so horrific I could not believe this was the first time I had ever heard this story. Definitely recommended.

Movie Review: Spider-Man: Far From Home

Ok - should you see Spider-Man: Far From Home?

Absolutely!

Now let me try to tell you why with as little spoilers as possible...

After the events of Avengers: Endgame I think there were a lot of "but what about..." questions by the audience, and Spider-Man: Far From Home attempts to answer as many of them as it can while staying true to a pretty fun, Spidey-goes-on-vacation style story.

The action scenes are a lot of fun, and the big players; Spider-Man, Mysterio, Nick Fury, and Maria Hill are all pretty great, but for my money this fill really shines with it's use of the supporting staff and focusing on Peter's normal life and attempting to balance it out with his superhero responsibilities.

For me, the standouts of the film are Peter (Tom Holland) and MJ (Zendaya), Ned (Jacob Batalon) and Betty (Angourie Rice), and a lot of great work from Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) and Aunt May (Marisa Tomei). Although the action is really great, the way Spider-Man has always worked best in balancing the focus between the fight scenes and real world stories.

In the end, the film was funny, more emotional than I had expected, and has me looking forward to more in the future.

Book Review: Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport

So I've just spent a month away from pretty much all of my regular tech (including this blog!) and it's about time I explain what is what.

In late May I picked up Cal Newport's Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World, and found myself agreeing with a lot of what he had to say. At the simplest level it came down to the following three principles:

1) Clutter is costly
2) Optimization is important
3) Intentionality is satisfying

Looking at my technology usage overall I found there were a lot of things that were taking up more and more of my time with less and less return for my effort.

So, I decided to follow the author's advice and spend a month (June) in a state of declutter - I dramatically dropped my (non-work) time online, cut myself off from video games, YouTube, Facebook, and cut down TV watching to a pretty low level (for me).

The result was to find that I'd been spending much more time on being passively entertained than I was comfortable with. So it's time to make some priority changes.

Luckily for the readers of this blog - it actually was one of the big things I really missed - writing out to all of you is a fun part of my week and something I definitely want to make a higher priority for myself - so thanks for all the reading over the years!

The book itself is a pretty simple to follow guidebook on how to cut down your technology use in your day-to-day life, and my only actual complaint was that the author should have ended each chapter with key points or added an appendix putting them all together at the end. Readers can do this for themselves (I know I did), but it's much simpler if it's all spelled out in a way that can easily remind you what the goals are.

Well worth reading and full of advice I'm hoping to take going forward, Digital Minimalism was a pretty great read!

Book Review: Ship of Rome, by John Stack

John Stack's 2009 novel, and first in his "Masters of the Sea" series is Ship of Rome, which takes place at the beginning of the First Punic War (Rome vs. Carthage) and follows two men, the captain of a pirate-hunting ship named Atticus and his friend Septimus (leader of the ship's marines). Much of the first book moves back and forth between the two men's world views (Atticus is of Greek descent and seen basically as a second class citizen throughout, while Septimus is a member of an old Roman family and resents his work on a ship rather than the work with the legions he began his career in).

The novel follows the two men through the initial outburst of the war and was pretty fun overall; there were romance subplots and a pair of senators who duel for control of the early republic, but the book really stands out in the depiction of naval war, yes there re some anachronisms (specifically the use of slave galley's for the era), but the scenes are pretty action packed and the tension gets quite high throughout.

Well worth the read and it definitely has me looking forward to the sequel.

Book Review: Roma, by Steven Saylor

One of four rereads for me on David MacClaine's list of 50 Historical Fiction novels set in Ancient Rome, I read Roma a few years back when I was reading Saylor's mystery fiction following his character Gordianus the Finder.

Roma takes place over more than 1000 years, from the earliest days of what would become Rome but was simply a good place to find salt, through its time as a trading post, a city, a kingdom, and eventually the Republic. The novel is basically eleven interconnected short stories following the ups and downs of a family line while also showing how Rome as a city grew over time.

As a follow up to Alfred Duggan's Founding Fathers, it gives a nice overview of where the first half of this fifty book list is going to cover, and also does a nice job of giving a flavour to the setting, but shying away from one simple character we get to follow priests, leaders, warriors, slaves, vestal virgins, and more, giving a much more complex picture that one protagonist could have given us.

A great way to introduce yourself to both the subject matter and Saylor's work (of which I'm a pretty big fan), Roma is an excellent read and well worth your time.

Movie Review: Us

Like a lot of people, I took some time this weekend to check out Us, Jordan Peele's follow up to his 2017 film Get Out.

Us is the story of the Wilsons, Adelaide, Gabe, Zora, and Jason, and the family vacation they take that goes terribly, horribly wrong. If you've seen the trailer, you can see the basic concept - what if your home was invaded... by you? One of the creepiest (and most effective) aspects of the film is the fact that both the protagonists and the antagonists are played by the same actors, and leads Lupita Nyong'o and Winston Duke are both really great playing both regular folk and their own terrifying reflections.

Without going into spoilers, I'll say the film was a lot of fun, kept me on the edge of my seat, and is my current front-runner for favourite film of 2019 (although to be fair I love horror and it is only March).

Well worth seeing, but bring a friend, you wouldn't want just yourself for company, not for this film.

Book Review: Hazards of Time Travel, by Joyce Carol Oates

So I picked up Joyce Carol Oates Hazards of Time Travel simply because I liked the title and I'd enjoyed her 1995 novel Zombie. The book starts in a dystopian future and follows a young woman named Adriane Strohl through her last few days of high school and her subsequent imprisonment in a University in 1959 Wisconsin.

On the surface, the book felt a lot like 12 Monkeys to me, wherein our protagonist is punished by being sent somewhere that is arguably better than where they came from. Are there problems? Absolutely, Oates has found a great way to highlight the negatives of late '50s America by showing it as a University based on blandness, everyone working hard to be consistently forgettable. Renamed Mary Ellen, Adriane stumbles through her first year learning and relearning exactly how closed off America was during the period and for me, some of the greatest strengths of the book come from the character study of Mary Ellen/Adriane, rather than the dystopian future or the science of the time travel.

An interesting read that left me with more questions than answers, but honestly, isn't that what we want from speculative fiction?

Book Review: Someone Like Me, by M.R. Carey

My fourth novel by Carey in the last three years, Someone Like Me is a really interesting look at what we do and do not control in our lives.

The book follows a woman named Liz Kendall, who in the very first chapter is being attacked by her ex-husband Marc. But as he begins choking her, something different happens; Liz loses control and quickly defends herself, incapacitating her ex and saving her own life.

Unlike the post apocalyptic setting of The Girl With All The Gifts, Someone Like Me takes place in modern-day Pittsburgh and although there are a number of genre elements (I don't want to get too specific to avoid spoilers), and works all the better for it. The novel feels like a ghost story mixed with a thriller and had me fully invested in the lives of Liz and her family almost immediately.

Although the violence may be an issue for some, in the end I found the book to be really hopeful and powerful in its look at how we deal with trauma and how it can affect ourselves and those around us.

A really great read.

Book Review: Founding Fathers

Aflred Duggan's 1959 novel Founding Fathers begins at the earliest days of the city of Rome, specifically the creation of a town by two brothers, Romulus and Remus and the bloody outcome of that founding (sorry for the 2700+ year spoiler!). The novel includes that fateful event, the capture of the Sabine Women, and the issues of succession after King Romulus.

What really stood out for me in this book however, was its shifting cast of protagonists, including Latins, Sabines, Etruscans, and Greeks, both used as a way to show the early days of the city from different viewpoints, and also to show how the city truly was greater than any of its individual citizens.

By following each of these characters, the strength of the city, its citizens clearly comes to the foreground. The novel moves quickly and does introduce many setting and institutions that will later play a large part in the history of what many call The Eternal City.

I found the book off of a list by David Maclaine at Historical Novels - you can see the list here, and having just spent three years reading his curated list of Ancient Greece, I found this to be a fascinating first read of the Ancient Romans, and although I'll be reading off of this list for the next four years, if Founding Fathers is any indication of the quality of books, I'm going to have a really good time with it.

Book Review: The Sun's Bride, by Gillian Bradshaw

Last month I read Gillian Bradshaw's The Sun's Bride, a novel of Rhodes in Ancient Greece and the final book in a 36-book list I'd been reading my way through for the last three years.

First of all, a big thanks to David Maclaine, for both putting together a really great list of historical novels set in Ancient Greece which cover both the Hellenic and Hellenistic periods. Secondly, a big thanks to Mr. Maclaine for following up that list with a 50-book list of historical novels covering Ancient Rome - the reading of which is my reward for finishing the first batch.

Although written before The Sand Reconner, Bradshaw's The Sun's Bride was a great way to finish off this series of books - it follows a young man named Isokrates and digs really deep into the subject of pirates in the ancient world and Rhodes business as pirate hunters. The novel has a lot of action and adventure, as well as a really great female lead in Dionysia, a character who starts out as a damsel in distress but then becomes much more interesting as the story progresses.

A really great read and if you are interested in visiting Ancient Greece through historical fiction, I can certainly vouch for the list as well.

Happy 2019!

 ...and here we are, another year older, another year done.

2018 was a pretty great one for me, I started work sitting on the Board of Governors for a University, finished a reading list I've been working on for three years, and helped our oldest child move into her first new home.

Although I haven't been as consistent here as I was in previous years, I wanted to take a quick moment to say thanks to everyone who still checks in and Happy New Years!

Image Credit:
https://www.fastweb.com/college-scholarships/articles/college-scholarships-2019-edition

Book Review: The Chrysalids

A side project I've been working on in 2018 is catching up on readings books that have been sitting on my to-read shelf for years, and this year that meant getting back into John Wyndham.

I had read a number of his books during my teen years (Midwich Cuckoos, The Kraken Wakes, The Day of the Triffids, etc.) but as Wyndham wrote books from the 30s through to the 70s, I had never got to them all.

The Chrysalids (1955) follows a young man in a post-apocalyptic era wherein society has fallen back into agrarian levels. His community, a close-knit, heavily religious one, focuses on the purity of mankind and deplores any who are different. 

David, our main character, is the son of a local leader, and has a pretty big secret - he's telepathic. This allows him to pass as human, but if anyone were to ever find out, it would certainly mean his death, and likely that of his family as well.

Having now read through Wyndham's earlier work (and some of it has some pretty big problems), part of what I think really works in the novel is the use of David as a our first person narrator, rather than simply have him as the protagonist - seeing the world through David's eyes as a child and becoming a young man made the book much more immersive for me and I think kept the writer much more on task.

A great read and a wonderful introduction into science fiction if you happen to be looking.