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No Fairytale (June Reading)
Jul. 5th, 2007 11:04 pmMonth of dystopia, apocalypse, war, and the occasional terraforming near-miss. This ain't a scene, it's the Kanye West remix of an arms race.
Fortress of Ice (C. J. Cherryh): Elfwyn gets the band back together. I remain bitterly disappointed by the lack of Cefwyn/Ninvevrise/Tristen interaction, because I keep trying to read this as Cherryh's not-Arthurian epic, and I am not sure that's actually where the multi-novel arc is going. The idea of joining the two kingdoms in a pax Tristen, then razing them with a side of brother-against-illegitimate-brother angst, amuses me a great deal, but I don't know that Cherryh's intention is to follow that model. Civil war yes, civil war crashing civilization no.
Fahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury): overrated. Book of its time. Bradbury is a loon now, but people latched onto his story and saw their future reflected in it. Consider Montag's cross-city flight in view of Big Brother and other reality TV shows. In fact, consider the entire novel in light of contemporary America. However, remember that old classics were once new potboilers (Moby-Dick, Dickens novels, I am looking at you).
Brave New World (Aldous Huxley): Needs context. Once I got to the color-coding, I had it.
( Now that you have your _Cyteen_ referents locked in, have fun. )
The Golden Acquarians (Monica Hughes): Walter Elliot is plucked from his comfortable home in Lethbridge, Alberta, when his father decides he needs a man's example to be a real man. Walt's new life on Aqua, his father's latest terraforming project, is abruptly changed by a discovery that could derail the planet's transformation from swamp to economic goldmine.
If I'd read this when I was 12, when I read Invitation to the Game and Keeper of the Isis Light, I might have fallen in love. Walt is a nature-loving boy who writes poetry! And has massive dad angst! And a plucky girl sidekick! I am older now, and find the environmental issues and contrasting of Colonel Dad's "men must be real men!" attitude with Walt's liberal arts-ish-ness blatant. Elliot's changing understanding of his dad is still rewarding, though the final resolution is a pat little deus ex machina vindicating the environmental hippies at the expense of a nuanced viewpoint. A lighthearted take on disaster and father-son relationships, bridging Huxley and McCarthy's deadly seriousness.
The Road (Cormac McCarthy): Boy and father travel on foot after the end of the world. I had to turn on "A Sorta Fairytale" after this (the five minute version, with the nice bridge transition) in a desperate attempt to cheer up. Notice how I turned on Tori Amos to cheer up. ( Reaction shot: bring your own story. )
This was violent, riveting, brutal, and as finely drawn as razor wire stretched across an abandoned trench. I may never read another novel by Cormac McCarthy ever again, but I've been acutely aware of the profligate greens and stunning blues and sweet yellows of the world this month.
Keeper of the Isis Light (Monica Hughes): Olwen's tenth Isis birthday brings news of an impending colonial transport that will change her understanding of herself and the planet she calls home.
That is the worst summary ever, but I loved this book so much when I was in middle school! ( It prefigures a lot of the things I love now, with vague spoilers. )
The Isis Pedlar (Monica Hughes): Moira Flynn cleans up after her father Mike's latest caper. And yes, that is how the title is spelled.
I was completely unimpressed with the Irish stereotypes from page one. The alcoholism, the blarney, the appeals to a Catholic God, all on the first page: this made reading the book somewhat problematic. I have no idea if I would have tolerated or hated that if I had read this when I was the target audience. This would be 90% forgettable if it weren't the third book in the Isis series/trilogy, and if I hadn't gotten to play the "fill in the book two blanks" game. However, I will forever love Moira and David N'Kumo's courtship for ( the scene where... oh, drat. Spoilers for one late-novel bit. )
July preview: there are high odds that I'll be reading the new Bujold and the new Harry Potter. Also, Vegas, so there's four hours of uninterrupted reading time right there. Watch this space for stabs at nonfiction.
Fortress of Ice (C. J. Cherryh): Elfwyn gets the band back together. I remain bitterly disappointed by the lack of Cefwyn/Ninvevrise/Tristen interaction, because I keep trying to read this as Cherryh's not-Arthurian epic, and I am not sure that's actually where the multi-novel arc is going. The idea of joining the two kingdoms in a pax Tristen, then razing them with a side of brother-against-illegitimate-brother angst, amuses me a great deal, but I don't know that Cherryh's intention is to follow that model. Civil war yes, civil war crashing civilization no.
Fahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury): overrated. Book of its time. Bradbury is a loon now, but people latched onto his story and saw their future reflected in it. Consider Montag's cross-city flight in view of Big Brother and other reality TV shows. In fact, consider the entire novel in light of contemporary America. However, remember that old classics were once new potboilers (Moby-Dick, Dickens novels, I am looking at you).
Brave New World (Aldous Huxley): Needs context. Once I got to the color-coding, I had it.
"...all wear green," said a soft but very distinct voice, beginning in the middle of a sentence, "and Delta Children [sic] wear khaki. Oh no, I don't want to play with Delta children. And Epsilons are still worse. They're too stupid to be able to read or write. Besides they wear black, which is such a beastly colour. I'm so glad I'm a Beta."
-BNW p27, Harper Perennial Modern Classics 2006 edition.
( Now that you have your _Cyteen_ referents locked in, have fun. )
The Golden Acquarians (Monica Hughes): Walter Elliot is plucked from his comfortable home in Lethbridge, Alberta, when his father decides he needs a man's example to be a real man. Walt's new life on Aqua, his father's latest terraforming project, is abruptly changed by a discovery that could derail the planet's transformation from swamp to economic goldmine.
If I'd read this when I was 12, when I read Invitation to the Game and Keeper of the Isis Light, I might have fallen in love. Walt is a nature-loving boy who writes poetry! And has massive dad angst! And a plucky girl sidekick! I am older now, and find the environmental issues and contrasting of Colonel Dad's "men must be real men!" attitude with Walt's liberal arts-ish-ness blatant. Elliot's changing understanding of his dad is still rewarding, though the final resolution is a pat little deus ex machina vindicating the environmental hippies at the expense of a nuanced viewpoint. A lighthearted take on disaster and father-son relationships, bridging Huxley and McCarthy's deadly seriousness.
The Road (Cormac McCarthy): Boy and father travel on foot after the end of the world. I had to turn on "A Sorta Fairytale" after this (the five minute version, with the nice bridge transition) in a desperate attempt to cheer up. Notice how I turned on Tori Amos to cheer up. ( Reaction shot: bring your own story. )
This was violent, riveting, brutal, and as finely drawn as razor wire stretched across an abandoned trench. I may never read another novel by Cormac McCarthy ever again, but I've been acutely aware of the profligate greens and stunning blues and sweet yellows of the world this month.
Keeper of the Isis Light (Monica Hughes): Olwen's tenth Isis birthday brings news of an impending colonial transport that will change her understanding of herself and the planet she calls home.
That is the worst summary ever, but I loved this book so much when I was in middle school! ( It prefigures a lot of the things I love now, with vague spoilers. )
The Isis Pedlar (Monica Hughes): Moira Flynn cleans up after her father Mike's latest caper. And yes, that is how the title is spelled.
I was completely unimpressed with the Irish stereotypes from page one. The alcoholism, the blarney, the appeals to a Catholic God, all on the first page: this made reading the book somewhat problematic. I have no idea if I would have tolerated or hated that if I had read this when I was the target audience. This would be 90% forgettable if it weren't the third book in the Isis series/trilogy, and if I hadn't gotten to play the "fill in the book two blanks" game. However, I will forever love Moira and David N'Kumo's courtship for ( the scene where... oh, drat. Spoilers for one late-novel bit. )
July preview: there are high odds that I'll be reading the new Bujold and the new Harry Potter. Also, Vegas, so there's four hours of uninterrupted reading time right there. Watch this space for stabs at nonfiction.