Category Archives: Reviews

The Gap Cycle

By lytspeed Posted in Opinion, Reading, Reviews Leave a reply

The Gap Cycle

By: Stephen R. Donaldson

Type: Series, 5 books:

  • The Real Story
  • Forbidden Knowledge
  • A Dark and Hungry God Arises
  • Chaos & Order
  • This Day All Gods Die

Setting: The limits of known Human and Amnion space

Description:

Through the course of five books, we follow the sick and twisted lives of a spacefaring police officer (Morn Hyland) and the two pirates who become obsessed with her beauty and personality (Angus Thermopyle and Nick Succorso.) Weaving in and out of the law and the limits of acceptable behavior, the three become inextricably entangled in a power struggle between the richest man in the universe and his immediate successor. 

Comments:

This series fulfills Donaldson’s wish to branch out after establishing himself with The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever and the Second Chronicles of same. In it, he takes on a much harsher and bleak style that put off many readers who were expecting more of the fantasy style of Covenant. Indeed, the first book in the series, which serves as an introduction to the three main characters, was nearly dark enough to make me give up on the series, but I’m glad I didn’t. By the third book, I was as inextricably caught up in the storyline as the characters were!

Donaldson weaves a phenomenally complex storyline of changing loyalties and situations. He claims to have received the inspiration for the story from the Ring operas, in which the characters change places in a cycle. Somehow, he creates situations in which we are rooting for the same character who we wanted to see dead for their actions two hundred pages before. And we begin to have doubts about the character that we thought was worth something back then. The three main characters cycle from Victim to Villain to Rescuer, all the while being pawns in a greater game without realizing it. The harsh language and actions of the characters, though tough to stomach at first, are necessary to the plot as tools to make us feel contempt for certain characters and compassion for others. In effect, they serve as a barometer in addition to being crucial to plot advancement in some circumstances. The complexity of the political struggle in the series rivals the original Dune trilogy, without the sometimes droll exposition that Herbert often used.

For me, the writing seemed to burn like a slow fuse until the beginning of the third book, at which point it immediately attained magnesium intensity and sustained that level through the explosive climax. At the flare point, the images seemed to become crisper, the metaphors more evocative. To give the reader a break from the intensity (and to satisfy the techno-nerds like me) Donaldson occasionally inserts a brief essay in the form of a historical entry about some aspect of the science or political setup of his universe. Even these read well; Donaldson definitely knows his science.

The sales of these books were disappointing. I’m sure that many of the people who were expecting “more of the same” when they picked up The Real Story were put off by the abrupt change in direction from the fantasy world. The dark, manipulative universe in which The Gap Cycle unfolds is not a fun place; neither was the Land, from Covenant, but at least you knew who was good and who was evil back then. In these books, that is not so clear.

And that is brilliant. Donaldson accomplished exactly what he wanted to do: write a hard science fiction saga with a challenging subject matter. I hope the low sales of the series don’t force him to avoid risks like this in the future. 

Recommendations:

I liked this series immensely after I got into it. Don’t let the first book fool you; it serves mainly as character introduction. The plot doesn’t really start to thicken until the second book. If you can get past the violence and vulgarity, this series will be very hard to put down by the fourth book. Donaldson undertook a risky endeavor, and the craftsmanship he shows may not be immediately visible. The more you reflect on the series, though, the tighter it becomes. He deals with sensitive issues from child abuse to emotional dominance, the rights of an individual versus the benefits of the greater good, and the high wire balance of self-interest and integrity. Give the books a shot; if you can’t stomach them, pass them along. The more people who read the series, the greater the chances that Donaldson will take risks like this in the future.

The Fountainhead

By lytspeed Posted in Opinion, Reading, Reviews Leave a reply

The Fountainhead

By: Ayn Rand

Type: Philosophical Novel

Setting: The United States of the early to mid 20th century

Description:

Howard Roark, a man of ideas and rebellion in the world of architecture, struggles through the years of his career, coming into contact with society’s critics, wanna-bes and financial overlords. Through his life he never compromises his ideals for that of the masses, despite peer pressure and financial disaster. 

Comments:

Howard Roark epitomizes Rand’s ideal man according to her philosophy of Objectivism. He strives to be the best man he can be, despite what others think or do to prevent him. He refuses to compromise his ideals in any way, even to foster a more cooperative setting. He believes that people can work together only if each is responsible for a specific part of the whole and if there is no overlap in the process. Ms. Rand’s ideas are clearly individual-based, and have been corrupted over the years to sound like nothing more than an eloquent defense of selfishness; in effect they are, but Rand uses the term differently than pop culture does. 

Recommendations:

Despite our country’s necessity to band together on such topics as the environment, health care and political involvement in foreign affairs, I believe The Fountainhead holds relevance because it promotes quality recognition. Yes, we need to cooperate and compromise to solve even some of the world’s problems, but wouldn’t it be nice if a few more people strove for quality in their work instead of just reaching for the brass ring?

Angry Candy

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Angry Candy

By: Harlan Ellison

Type: Short story collection

Setting: Various

Description:

Angry Candy is a typically thorny collection of roses from the garden at Ellison Wonderland. Ellison discovered, while putting this book together in the mid-eighties, that all of the stories dealt in some way with death. He traced this back to the fact that many of his friends and acquaintances died over a short period of time, and his bitterness and anger was manifesting itself in the form of these writings. 

Comments:

Many of the stories in Angry Candy are typically shocking: “Broken Glass,” “Soft Monkey” and “Quicktime” use sex, violence, bigotry and selfishness to wake us up. “Chained to the Fast Lane in the Red Queen’s Race” and “The Region Between” feature non-standard storylines and, in the case of the latter, a non-standard interface to the story. Other stories, like “Paladin of the Lost Hour” or “Laugh Track” touch us in the center of our humanity. Ellison has never been afraid to stretch the boundaries of the acceptable, and the thematic subject matter of this book makes for excellent stretching.

Something in “Paladin” set off a round of soul searching in me, and by the time I finished reading the story, I was in tears. I remained on the edge of crying for several days. When a short story can do that, I consider it pretty damn good. I rank “Paladin” up there with classic Ellison stories like “Jeffty Is Five” and “One Life, Furnished In Early Poverty.”

For this reason, it is a good idea NOT to read Ellison books straight through in one sitting. First of all, it can cause a mental overload because his writing style is unbelievably succinct. He draws from a wide range of metaphors and knowledge to create unique combinations and images. Simply absorbing those combinations and marvelling at how well they enhance his storyline is enough to keep your brain busy. Then there’s the emotional overload. I cried during and after “Paladin” because the writing struck a chord in my heart that triggered an emotional release. Much of Ellison’s material is emotionally charged. Combine this emotional content with the nearly constant stream of mental images and you begin to see why it is best to take Ellison in doses of only a couple of short stories a day. 

Recommendations:

Read this book. Period. If you can’t handle some of the squeamish stuff, skip it and read on. You will find something to like about this book unless you are so straight-laced that you can’t see past your own blinders. (If this is the case, that’s an even greater reason to read Ellison!)