Amazon.com
Meet the Bentwoods, Sophie and Otto, "both just over forty," living in Brooklyn sometime in the '60s with neither hope nor children to encourage them to work on their suffocating marriage. Such are the central subjects of Paula Fox's enthralling Desperate Characters, first published to much acclaim in 1970. The novel's action unfolds in a single weekend, and includes Otto's torturous breakup with his longtime business partner, Charlie, and a visit the Bentwoods make to their country home, which they find vandalized. Everything pivots around an occurrence so ordinary as to make us marvel at the power it wields under Fox's brilliant pressure: a cat bite.
Despite Otto's protests, Sophie puts out a dish for a stray that roams the Bentwoods' neighborhood--an area which is also home to enormous poverty, and in which they, in their renovated townhouse, sit like distant royalty. The cat sinks its teeth into her hand and instantly we are plunged into the heart of what plagues every aspect of this couple's lives: the threat of rabies. Where the cat is concerned, it's literal rabies, but the book is also steeped in the sense that a kind of social rabies lurks just outside the Bentwoods' and indeed the whole world's door. As Sophie suddenly realizes at one point: "Ticking away inside the carapace of ordinary life and its sketchy agreements was anarchy."
Throughout Fox's gorgeously crafted, unflinching portrait of a dying marriage and a country at war with itself, the Bentwoods fight the desire to self-destruct like everything around them. At one point, Otto screams at Sophie: "What in God's name do you want? Do you want Charlie to murder me? Do you wish the farmhouse had been burned down?... Do you want to be rabid?" She doesn't, of course, but in a certain way, that outcome makes sense. "'God, if I am rabid, I am equal to what is outside,' she said out loud, and felt an extraordinary relief as though, at last, she'd discovered what it was that could create a balance between the quiet, rather vacant progression of the days she spent in this house, and those portents that lit up the dark at the edge of her own existence." How fortunate and rare to discover such a perfect articulation of the human condition. --Melanie Rehak
Customer Reviews:
Near-perfect novel.......2007-04-09
This spare little novel is startlingly clear and haunting, perfectly written and plotted. It is about a lot of things, but centers around a woman who tries (and fails) to find solace in every corner of her life. Yet somehow, the tone is never depressing; instead, I found it surprisingly suspenseful. The insights into class and human nature are sharp as a knife, the symbolism is rich, and the imagery will stay with you long after you're finished reading. Paula Fox is a much-overlooked writer and this is my favorite of her novels, along with The Widow's Children. FYI: she is Courtney Love's biological grandmother, a fact that becomes even more compelling after reading her first memoir, Borrowed Finery (also wonderful). But start with this one: it is nearly flawless. It is also a quick read, which goes to show that you don't have to bloat a book up to 500-plus pages in order to pack a punch.
Destined to tickle your intellectual senses .......2006-05-16
With exceptional imagery, similar to Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Paper", or Cynthia Ozick's "The Pagan Rabbi", Paula Fox weaves a powerful drama, this one in search of questions as to the values of the modern family, the struggle for personal identity.
At the center of the book we find a middle-aged woman who, in an act of kindness, suffers a wound inflicted by a street cat. Over the course of several days, she questions not only the need for treatment, but also her marriage, her devotion to her husband and the outcome of her personal choices.
The book, although short, is packed with exceptional observations and requires numerous readings and analysis. The author masterfully paints the ever transitioning complexities of modern society, the transformation of values (both within the family, as well as within society as a whole), the degradation of dreams, friendships, the faith in the modern and the faith in one's self.
I encourage your to tickle your intellectual senses and devote a good portion of your free time to understanding the message of "Desperate Characters".
- by Simon Cleveland
OK, but nothing to be overly excited about.......2006-03-13
As much as Jonathan Franzen and the New Yorker seem to be wowed by this book, I can't help but think it falls under the same category as "The Good Soldier," a book that is well-written, but is taken to another level of acclaim, solely because critics and academics see so much going on in the story. I'm sorry, but this novel fails in the way that Franzen's own book "The Corrections" succeeds. The fine line between portraying the small happenings of life in a way that perpetuates something greater and simply portraying those small happenings is very difficult to navigate and unfortunately, Fox fails. But if you want to be a writer heralded by the New Yorker and other such literary people, then do read this and gain insight into a certain genre of literature that has been declining in recent years.
Paula Fox is no Richard Yates.......2003-09-17
The amount of crtiical attention that Paula Fox has recently recieved piqued my curiostiy, to say the least. So, I ordered a copy of DESPERATE CHARACTERS from AMAZON, and I was only too optimistic about the prospect of finding yet another great writer whose work has been under-appreciated. I am a big admirer of Richard Yates, albeit a recent one, (Yates is also a writer's writer) and couldn't help but notice that, at least at first glance, there seemed to be some profound similarities between the writing careers of Paula Fox and Richard Yates.
They deal with simialar themes and have similar publishing histories. I was also impressed by Jonathon Franzen's zeal in praising Paula Fox, even to the point of calling her "obviously superior" to Updike, Bellow and Roth. WOW ! I thought, if what Franzen says is even partly true, then discovering Paula Fox will be among the happiest occasions of the year for me.
Unfortunately, Franzen and other Fox devotees are wrong. The writing is labored and feels that way. It is amatuerish at best. What you have here is an interesting thinker and potentially talented writer who never really matured in her craft. Great writing is by definition NOT boring. And Paula Fox is boring. DESPERATE CHARCTERS lacks compassion for its characters and any kind of insight into their psychological motivations. We are supposed to accept on faith that these people just [are not good]. The book is intellectually shallow, and the writing is flat.
Spend your money elsewhere. Or don't, and don't say I didn't warn you.
The Apotheosis of All New Yorker Stories.......2003-07-11
Sophie Bentwood, a charming urban woman is feeling trapped by her demeaning lawyer husband. Her hand is bleeding from a cat bite, and her neighborhood is becoming increasingly slummy and decrepit. But no matter, the bread is fresh from the bakery, the flowers arranged on the table, and she seems content to go through her life in a blank trance through which reality can only make brief, startling appearances.
Sound familiar? If it does, then you're probably acquainted with the sort of fiction that was well-nigh done to death in the New Yorker in the seventies and eighties, the kind of tale that Ann Beattie has made her hallmark: an upper middle class family trying to muffle its own despair and ennui with yet another sconce, throw pillow, or tea cozy. Most stories of this kind read like some weird admixture of Carver and Updike, but flat, very flat. This kind of fiction normally sets my teeth on edge. There are only so many times you can read about passive-aggressive people unsuccessfully battling their own ennui before you decide to successfully battle your own by throwing the book out the window. So when I read the first page of Fox's book, I knew the landscape I was in, and I prepared to cringe. Much to my surprise, she won me over, and I quickly came to love it.
I consider Fox's book the apotheosis of all New Yorker stories. It's the kind of story Beattie could write if she ever woke up to the larger resonance of her work -- that is, if she ever woke up, period. Sophie is blank and passive, but never boring. Fox pushes her heroine's emotions out into the book's lush description, and the resulting mood is both bleak and oppressive in an almost Eastern-European, gulag-survivor way. The tone of the book is dry almost to the point of deadness, but there is a creepy undertow to the plot that is simply thrilling. The concept of the book reads like an exercise from writing class ("write about divorce without mentioning the divorce"), but the execution is that of a master of craft, writing on levels that resonate both personally and politically. This book is a good antidote to those who would romanticize the late sixties-early seventies, since Fox seems to suggest that society has lost all ability to restrain its worst impulses, leaving everyone in America with a sense of impending doom.
In short, it's a little gem. Not everyone will love this book, but I imagine that everyone will be rewarded by seeing a masterwork that has spawned so many poor imitations. It has been over-praised -- one famous author compared it to "The Death of Ivan Ilych" -- but it has also been underrated. It's a good read. Check it out.
Amazon.com
Oregon lawyer Barbara Holloway and her father, Frank, formerly her partner, find themselves on opposite sides in the murder of Gus Marchand, a case with two suspects. Kate Wilhelm gives this smoothly told version of "Beauty and the Beast" an interesting added dimension, since the relationship between the two equally hardheaded and talented lawyers has usually been collaborative, at least professionally. But when the school principal, who's Frank's client, dies under mysterious circumstances, Frank's determined not to let Barbara pin the blame on the dead woman in order to deflect attention from her own as-yet-unidentified client. By the time Frank learns that the defendant in question is Alex Feldman, a horribly disfigured and immensely secretive young man who was accused by Marchand of stalking his teenage daughter, the reader has begun to understand why Barbara is so convinced of Alex's innocence in Gus's death and so determined to protect him from public scrutiny.
Alex is a man with a secret: was Frank's late client (and friend) killed to protect it? As usual, Wilhelm devises a clever plot and peoples it with a cast of well-developed, fully human and complex characters. There's Alex himself, who's found a way to cope with the circumstances of his disfigurement and the rage and bitterness that might otherwise have consumed him; Graham Minick, the elderly doctor who has been his friend and confidante since he was a teenager; and Shelley, Barbara's beautiful young associate, who sees beyond Alex's ugliness and into his heart. By the time the trial of the man they call "the devil's spawn" begins, Frank and Barbara are on the same side, but it's the younger Holloway's star turn in the courtroom, which is where the novel really shines. A solid page turner that should delight the prolific Wilhelm's (No Defense, Defense for the Devil) many fans. --Jane Adams
Book Description
Barbara Holloway has a reputation for taking on the toughest cases in the Pacific Northwest.... and winning them.But this time it looks as though she's up against an unbeatable opponent.The trial involves the murder of Gus Marchand, a hard-working, God-fearing man who was found dead on his kitchen floor. Without any real evidence linking him to the crime, the locals cast their suspicions towards Alex Feldman, Marchand's hideously deformed neighbor.At the request of a fellow attorney, Barbara agrees to defend him. But another suspect is the high school principal, Hilde Franz, who'd had a contretemps with the dead man earlier that week.He had threatened to have her investigated and Hilde was seen near Marchand's property around the time of his death, giving police both a motive and an opportunity for murder. Hilde also happens to be an old friend of Barbara's father, Frank, so naturally, he's going to defend her.Will Barbara have to square off against the man who taught her all she knows?Desperate Measures is vintage Kate Wilhelm.... which is to say, it's a page-turning delight. AUTHORBIO: Kate Wilhelm is the author of dozens of novels and short story collections.Among them are the science fiction classic Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang, the Constance and Charlie mysteries, and The Good Children, which was optioned for film by DreamWorks SKG.The recipient of many honors--the Prix Apollo, the Hugo Award, three Nebula Awards, and the Kurd Lasswitz Award--Ms. Wilhelm, along with her husband, Damon Knight, received an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree from Michigan State University in recognition of their many years as instructors for the Clarion Workshop in Fantasy and Science Fiction.Born in Ohio and raised in Kentucky, Ms. Wilhelm now lives in Eugene, Oregon, her home of many years.
Customer Reviews:
Absolutely outstanding! A fascinating story exceptionally well told........2007-01-03
Simply put, this is an absolutely outstanding novel. It was my first exposure to Kate Wilhelm and I was quite impressed. The story is interesting and retained my interest to the end, so much so that I have already ordered other Barbara Holloway novels. Wilhelm's describes her characters well, and her writing never intrudes. We immediately take a dislike to the bigoted primary victim. Our sympathy for the accused, a badly disfigured, but highly talented editorial artist, builds as the story develops. The legal machinations are intriguing and the plot unfolds in a believable way. The resolution of the mystery may surprise many readers, and if you become fully immersed in the story, the novel's post denouement conclusion may bring empathetic tears of happiness.
One Note: The number of important characters is probably slightly more than one might expect, e.g., in a cozy mystery, and the reader may need to make a few brief notes to keep all of them clearly in mind if completing the novel will extend over more than just a few days.
Disparate Measures.......2004-08-19
I concur with the reviewer who noted Wilhelm's one-demensional treatment of Christian characters, as opposed to the depth with which she treats characters who either espouse no religion or are not identified as belonging to a particular religious sect. It smacks of intellectual laziness to take the easy route and ridicule those whose deeply held religious beliefs placed them at odds with (in this case) the education establishment. While it's true that nobody is perfect, and it would be just as unfortunate if Wilhelm had attributed perfection to these characters, the story would have been far better had the Marchand parents and other Christian characters been painted with more than one color.
Those considering the unabridged audio version of this book might want to make another selection. I'm not sure whether Marguerite Gavin always narrates like this, or whether she was just having a bad day, but her work is alternately jarring, grating, and outright bad when it comes to her (mis)pronounciation of well-known Pacific Northwest geography. One such example is her pronounciation of "Willamette," which will drive anyone familiar with the Northwest, the Willamette River, or Willamette University up the proverbial wall.
leaves you wanting more!.......2004-03-29
Barbara Holloway takes on yet another difficult, unusual case. But this time her father is on the same case. Different suspect. Can they sort out their relationship enough to remain father and daughter? Or will the lawyer in them both make life unbearable as each tries to make their case for their client?
Fantastic character development and descriptions.
An unusual premise.......2003-03-22
In this mystery,Kate Wilhelm uses a disfigured man as the main suspect for a murder and as the story unfolds she makes us aware of how much importance society places on looks.I thought this was an unusual premise for a murder mystery.As always her books are suspenseful,surprising and this story also has a happy ending.I highly recommend this author especially if you love the Pacific Northwest.
Very disappointing - too much bias.......2002-11-15
As usual, Ms. Wilhelm created a great story, with plenty of twists and turns to keep the mind guessing. However, it smacked of bias.
The character of the murdered man, Gus Marchand, is flat. He's just a bad guy. He calls himself a Christian, but he is a hateful, bigoted, controlling man who demeans his wife and beats his children. There is no other side to this man, no balance, no reason for why he is such a person. It is as though Marchand has no good feelings about anything or anyone, and everything he has ever done is bad. Towards the end of the book, Barbara Holloway blames Marchand for everything, even the murder of a woman by her lover who feared he would be exposed, because "Gus Marchand was a zealot who was determined to impose his belief system on everyone around him."
In fact, anyone clearly identified as a Christian is painted with a broad brush of bias. The wife is a weak-willed woman willing to submit to Marchand's domination of the home and abusive manner towards those in the community who don't share his beliefs. The pastor of the Baptist church Marchand attended saw Marchand as a good, honest man who never lied, a hero in the home, and at the end of his testimony in court, he appeared the buffoon as he loudly launched into a prayer to protect the daughter from the devil. Many of the townspeople, who were also members of Marchand's church in the rural Oregon town, blindly followed along with his hateful rhetoric, and were too often just stupid.
Characters not associated as Christians were real people, humans that showed compassion, felt pain and anger, had high principles but demonstrated flaws, and so on. So much was well-written: one felt ill for the hatred and abuse Alex had wrongly received over the years. Unfortunately, it just appeared to have too much bias against one group to suit my tastes.
Book Description
A DESPERATE CHARACTER AND OTHER TALES is a collection of Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev's stories that spans his career. The six tales were written between 1847 and 1881. "Pyetushkov" (1847), "The Brigadier" (1867), "A Strange Story" (1869), "Punin and Baburin" (1874), "Old Portraits" (1881), and "A Desperate Character" (1881) are a showcase of the classic Russian stylist's work and a study in Russian lyrical fatalism, idealism, and a struggle with issues of will and aspirations.
Download Description
'It is so long since I have written to you, most honoured Piotr Petrovitch, that I do not even know whether you are still living; and if you are living, have you not forgotten our existence? But no matter; I cannot resist writing to you today. Everything till now has gone on with us in the same old way: Paramon Semyonitch and I have been always busy with our schools, which are gradually making good progress; besides that, Paramon Semyonitch was taken up with reading and correspondence and his usual discussions with the Old-believers, members of the clergy, and Polish exiles; his health has been fairly good, So has mine. But yesterday! the manifesto of the 19th of February reached us.
Average customer rating:
|
Desperate Characters a Novel
Manufacturer: harcourt,brace & World,Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000I3NYWK |
Book Description
"She doesn't have a name. She's got the clothes on her back, a coloring book, a necklace, and a stick of bubble gum. She's ex parte. She's not talking. That's why they want you." With these words, Dr. Sylvia Strange--the tough forensic psychiatrist in Sarah Lovett's critically acclaimed novels
Dangerous Attachments and
Acquired Motives--is drawn into the world of a ten-year-old child too scared to speak. In A Desperate Si-lence, Dr. Strange must uncover this little girl's secrets or else the knowledge she possesses just might die with her.
What has this fragile child witnessed that makes her so dangerous? Dr. Strange soon learns that the girl's tattered history reaches across the border to the drug lords of Mexico and across town to a killer on death row. The deeper she delves into the mute child's psyche, the more Dr. Strange realizes just how frighteningly vulnerable her patient is and how vital the bond between them has become. A second attempt on the young girl's life by a sadistic madman pushes Dr. Strange into overdrive, struggling to put the pieces of this terrifying puzzle together before it is too late.
With roller-coaster suspense, a tightly woven plot, the eerie texture of the American South-west, and a heroine as sexy as she is intellectually provocative, Sarah Lovett's A Desperate Silence cements her reputation among the best suspense writers at work today.
Customer Reviews:
Great Read!!!!.......1999-08-01
I agree. If you like Kay Scarpetta you will like Sylvia. I really enjoyed this wonderful book.
Better than Cornwell.......1997-12-31
In New Mexico, a child driving a Honda crashes the car into a train. Miraculously the girl lives, but is unable to, or perhaps refuses to, explain who she is or why she was driving the car. The frustrated Santa Fe police assign forensic psychiatrist Sylvia Strange to learn what she can from the nameless child. Sylvia quickly finds out the hard way that the child is not mute when the little girl screams as she throws a punch at the doctor. Eventually, Sylvia learns that her very frightened patient's name is Serena.
As Sylvia gains the trust of the child, she realizes that the lass is scared that a demon is after her. Sylvia understands that Renzo Santos, a blood drinking hit man wants to take the kid out. It is up to Sylvia to help the child with her inner demons and her external devils if Serena is ever going to return to the land of the living and and become a healthy, well adjusted child.
The highly regarded Sarah Lovett (just read DANGEROUS ATTACHMENTS and ACQUIRED MOTIVES to realize the incredible depth and brilliance this author posesses) has written a brilliant Sylvia Strange mystery. A DESPERATE SILENCE is compelling and clever as a non-supernatural horror theme is weaved into the story line without taking away from the horror, dread, and ultimately fear associated with the human blood sucker. Adding to the delight of this tale is the way Sylvia (and ultimately the audience) gains some insight intoto her own childhood and parentage. Thisenables readers to understand the doctor's motives better. This book is a great addition to one of the most notable series in the psychological who-done-it sub-genre.
Harriet Klausner
Book Description
If Sloane Hillyard's invention saved the life of one firefighter, it would be worth everything--even if it was too late to save her own brother. But her biggest hurdle lay ahead: To convince sensual, skeptical Captain Nick Trask to give it a chance--without getting burned herself…
As for Nick, he could walk into a burning building, no problem. But the inferno that Sloane ignited presented a different type of challenge. Still, he was up for it. Now all he had to do was convince Sloane it was possible to enjoy the warmth of the fire…without getting consumed by the flames…
Customer Reviews:
Good story, Selfish heroine.......2005-12-09
I've been in a romance mood lately - and as usual, harlequin/silhouette has been my target.
This story is that of Sloan, an engineer who has developed a product designed to save fire-fighters' lives. Her own brother was killed in a fire, and she hopes to make that situation not occur again.
She is an emotional isolationist. She's so afraid to be hurt again (she's also an orphan) that she won't let her emotions get involved with anyone. Throughout this book, and her affair with Nick, the hero, it's obvious that she doesn't look farther than her tragedy in living her life.
I didn't find her revelation to be believable. A person turned so inwardly on her own pain is not going to change that quickly. I also don't think Nick would wait around so patiently for her - she has done nothing really to make his love for her grow. So, in reality, he's probably one of those who wants to save a girl.
If this were real life, their relationship would fall apart as soon as she started to heal herself.
In fact, her own attitude kinda torqued me. I don't have patience with people who can't get themselves out of an emotional rut. So, I didn't really enjoy this story.
(*)>
Powerful Story.......2005-11-22
Where There's Smoke by Kristin Hardy is an emotional, touching book.
Inventor Sloane Hillyard has vowed to save firefighter lives with her Orienteer System. Her brother died in a fire and Sloane doesn't want another loved one to suffer such pain. She has her work cut out for her in convincing firefighter Nick Trask to test her product.
Captain Nick Trask has been through the promises of new, better and safer equipment before. Once the elections are over the budget is cut and no new equipment can be bought. So he is not very open to Sloane and her invention. But after a few test runs he sees its value. He also sees something in Sloane.
Sloane and Nick start a temporary affair but it turns deeper for them both. But Sloane isn't sure she can afford to lose another loved one to a fire.
Where There's Smoke is a sensational book. You feel like you are there right in the middle of the fires. Sloane and Nick are a compelling couple and you find yourself routing for them to succeed.
Book Description
ACROSS THE UNIVERSEIn the aftermath of the Hard Rapture-a cataclysmic war sparked by the explosive evolution of Earth's artificial intelligences into godlike beings-a few remnants of humanity managed to survive. Some even prospered.Lucinda Carlyle, head of an ambitious clan of galactic entrepreneurs, had carved out a profitable niche for herself and her kin by taking control of the Skein, a chain of interstellar gates left behind by the posthumans. But on a world called Eurydice, a remote planet at the farthest rim of the galaxy, Lucinda stumbled upon a forgotten relic of the past that could threaten the Carlyles' way of life.For, in the last instants before the war, a desperate band of scientists had scanned billions of human personalities into digital storage, and sent them into space in the hope of one day resurrecting them to the flesh. Now, armed, dangerous, and very much alive, these revenants have triggered a fateful confrontation that could shatter the balance of power, and even change the nature of reality itself.
Customer Reviews:
Not Free SF Reader.......2007-09-04
Humanity made artificial intelligence, and it decided it didn't want to hang around, going through its own Singularities.
As a result, lots of reall cool and weird tech is left behind, including FTL travel, and a bunch of wormhole type gates for travelling around to different places.
Humanity, after a war as a result of all this has split into various different factions. One of these controls the gates, economically, and one of their missions stumbles across a human remnant that has been cut off for some time.
This sparks off another conflict.
Still not sure what to make of it.......2007-08-16
It's hard to even come up with a synopsis of the story. A woman and her team investigate an old artifact and consequences ensue?
The first problem was the dialect in the dialog. The author didn't make it clear in the beginning that it was Scottish. (I don't always read the author's biography before selecting a book to read.) The reference alluding to it being English made it difficult for me to get into the flow of it. After I finally got the hang of it, it was OK. The back and forth usage of dialect didn't really help move the plot. The plot seemed to move better when the dialect was dropped. It might be just my preference, but I prefer dialect be kept to minimum. It can help with an emotional outburst. Prolonged usage though just gets in the way of the story. I think once the reader knows someone speaks with a Scottish accent they can fill in the inflections in their own head.
The other problem I had with this book is the ending. The middle had some drama. A sense of moving towards a resolution of conflict. The ending though seemed to just dribble out. I ended up thinking what was the point of it all? I guess in summary I could say parts are good, but don't expect a big finish.
Mishmashing your way thru the Singularity.......2007-05-20
This is yet another great idea that got screwed up along the way. Although subitled "A Space Opera" it does not approach the spectacular novels by such authors as Alastair Reynolds or Morgan. It IS like a soap opera with their long-lost twins, amnesia and absurd twists. The outstanding feature of the novel is its uneveness. A plot begins, gets intersting, then disappears until halfway through the book. The story swings wildly between interesting subplots, fluff, crazy politics (North Koreans are the good guys / Americans the bad guys - I guess we all have our priorites), virtual and real worlds and history. In the end it's a mishmash, an overload of characters with conflicting motives and not enough detail on only particular one to hold the reader's attention in the long run.
The Singularity has come and it is known as the Hard Rapture. Machines declared war on manking and took over the Earth a la Terminator style (again the Evil Americans led the way). Humans were either subsumed or perished with only a small number escaping. Lucinda Carlyle, the Scottish speaking (God, that got to be so annoying) swashbuckler bombshell, is allegedly our heroine but she becomes lost in the avalanche of endless characters that pop in and out at the pace of a machine gun.
A final problem is the inability to describe fantastic structures and complex machinery - it remains a mystery even after the telling. The ability to back up ourselves and create virtual universes and worlds opens new questions (that were touched upon) about the nature of reality and authenticity. In the end, the real question is, does it rally matter if we are living in a virtual world? As long as its the only one we know and we can make sense of it, that's all that matters.
Well-imagined, nicely written, but kind of disappointing.......2006-06-25
(or maybe 3.5 stars -- a book I had trouble rating.)
Newton's Wake is is Ken MacLeod's first standalone novel, after seven books that fit into two separate series. It is subtitled A Space Opera, and so it is -- though MacLeod repeats a joke also turned by Jack Vance, in having an actual opera be part of the action. (As with Vance's novel Space Opera.) MacLeod has promised this will be a standalone, and indeed the ending leaves little room for any sequel.
The novel is told through several viewpoints -- as standard with MacLeod. Oddly enough, though, the timeline is basically linear (with arguably a wiggle or two at the end). It seems that several hundred years in the future, after the Hard Rapture, when the Earth's computers achieved consciousness and many of its inhabitants joined the computers in a Singularity event, the remaining humans have spread across the Galaxy, partly by FTL ship, but mostly through a skein of wormholes called Carlyle's Drift. There are four main factions. The Knights of Enlightenment (KE) believe that everyone will be reincarnated at the Omega Point, or something, and they have proof. Thus they eschew backups and reincarnation. The Demokratische Kommunistebund are dedicated Communists, revering for example Kim Jong Il of all people, and they are expert terraformers. America Offline are "farmers", who occupy DK-terraformed worlds and live fairly low-tech lives, as I understand it. And the Carlyles are former Glasgow gangsters who control the wormhole skein. The main character, pretty much, is a young Carlyle named Lucinda. She is leading a team that has found a new planet in the wormhole skein. Surprisingly, this planet is inhabited by humans, people who fled the Hard Rapture but had no idea anyone else had survived. This planet, called Eurydice, has spent centuries believing they are the only surviving humans. They, like the Carlyles, aggressively pursue backups of mind and reincarnation. They also have some surprisingly high tech. And their planet seems to have been formerly occupied by intelligent aliens who underwent their own Singularity, leaving some enigmatic structures behind.
Lucinda gets entangled with some of the political factions on Eurydice. Eventually, the KE show up and are ready to fight for control of this promising new planet. At the same time the main artifact left by the original aliens has become activated, and it has sent out viruses to take over, among other things, an asteroid mining ship from Eurydice. Lucinda manages to escape and return to the Carlyle's base, but she is in disgrace. Her only hope is to recruit some "lightning chasers" -- people fascinated by dangerous tech that may be on the cusp of another Rapture -- and try to recover a teleportation machine from the planet of a pulsar. And back on Eurydice, an impresario decides to resurrect a couple of uploaded singers from the time of the Hard Rapture, and use them as the centerpiece of a provocative opera about the political divide at the heart of Eurydicean history.
MacLeod keeps upping the ante. The issues presented at the outset are all but forgotten at the end of the book. He does provide answers, sometimes surprising, to the questions he raises and the mysteries he poses. The book ends up in a rather surprising place. It's well-imagined, and nicely written in MacLeod's very clever, punny, historically knowing style. But ... though it's worth reading, it's kind of a disappointment. In part, the characters don't really engage the attention. They are clever but don't seem to have much depth, nor to, well, have souls. (One could argue that that could dovetail with some themes of the book, but I don't think that's the intent.) Gobs of people are killed, only some of whom have backups, and the lack of apparent concern by anyone about most of this is distressing. The tech is interesting but after a while I got weary of too many wonders. The action and plot are logical but the way the endpoint keeps moving, though not unreasonable, ends up deflating the reader's (or this reader's) interest.
Inventive, but doesn't live up to its potential.......2006-03-30
MacLeod leaves a lot lying on the table in this excellent post-singularity novel.
Two extremely annoying things - the Scottish brogue is just too much to plough through, even in its limited usage. I can't do the accent in my head, so I can't read it well. I have to think to myself "OK, disnae is 'doesn't" "aw is 'aw'" and so forth. Unnecessary and distracting. MacLeod's editor should not have tolerated this annoyance.
Second, I got lost a couple of times in action sequences. [spoiler follows]At one point, the viewpoint character is driving in a convoy with some allies, directs them up a hill, then she jumps off her vehicle and through a hidden wormhole into another world. How did she know it was there? I felt like I skipped a chapter. Very confusing - and I read a lot of this stuff.[/end spoiler]
MacLeod doesn't satisfy our curiousity or explore the idea of identity. Is a person with artificially constructed memories as real as you or me? Is a person who is backed up, killed, and restored to a new body the same person as before? MacLeod introduces these ideas, but they are really just set-pieces.
If you enjoy the first 50 pages, you'll get through the saggy middle and forgive the other annoyances. I do recommend this novel. It is deftly written and interesting. I didn't have any trouble telling characters or factions apart. Overall, a good effort by MacLeod. I will read him again.
Book Description
The only Bible study available for the Christian writer. Now in a revised and expanded edition.
Customer Reviews:
A wonderful Bible study for all Christian writers.......2006-12-16
This is a wonderful Bible study for all Christian writers. I used it for a personal devotional book. It will encourage you to do more writing.
Read and reviewed by Jimmie A. Kepler
Miracle Grow for Writers.......2006-11-05
This book has so touched my heart and helped me work through God's plan for my writing. Marlene has an incredible ability to put into words the perfect perspective and insight to draw out a writer's thoughts. I'm taking my time with this Bible study so that I can glean from it every ounce of spiritual nutrients I know I need. God obviously knew I would need it also because he laid it on my heart to buy the book.
I encourage anyone who wants to be led by the Holy Spirit in their writing to buy the book. It's worth every penny and then some.
Some good information........2005-09-26
I enjoyed this devotional. The only thing I would change is the number of Bible references in the Appendix. It's too hard to read in a daily devotional way, when there are so many verses to reference. Other than that, it is really chalk full of information that helps in the writing process. I think you will really enjoy it!
great , inspiring book.......2004-07-20
I just finished reading this book for the third time and it continues to inspire me. I am amazed that the message in the chapters is just what I needed to hear that day. This book is a real encourager for all writers!
God used this in my life.......2004-02-12
Rating System:
1 star = abysmal; some books deserve to be forgotten
2 star = poor; a total waste of time
3 star = good; worth the effort
4 star = very good; what writing should be
5 star = fantastic; must own it and share it with others
SYNOPSIS: This is a book of 33 short chapters that can be done as part of a person's daily devotional. Chapters include: Called to Write; Overcoming Procrastination; Seek His Kingdom First; Conquering the Deadly D's; Driven or Led?; and Proclaiming Truth to a Dying World
Also included are nine Appendix consisting in part of: Laying a Bible Foundation for Your Writing Ministry; Helps for Forming Critique Groups; and From Idea to Published Manuscript
Amazon.com leads me to believe that Lee Roddy coauthored this book. He only writes the forward, so Roddy fans shouldn't expect more from him.
MY FEEDBACK: I really enjoyed this book. A couple of chapters I felt were slightly cliché and/or close to stretching scripture out of context in order to get a point across, but that was all very minimal and easy to forgive.
Overall, the Lord used this to really speak to me and confirm the direction I've been headed with writing and/or to kick me in the rear about a few things I needed to get better at. I really like the chapter on whether I'm driving myself of my own strength or being led by the Spirit.
Each chapter has a quick example or two so it doesn't get bogged down like many Christian books by being 90% examples and only 10% content. This book I felt was more like 85% content and only 15% examples which made it very enjoyable and able to get right to the point of the chapter.
If you are a writer who is a Christian, whether you write Christian pieces or secular, get this bible study as it is a nice temperature gauge of where you are at with God and what he has called you to really do with your writing.
If you are a Christian thinking about writing as a hobby or ministry get this book as it will set some good foundations for you.
I personally see myself going through this book at least once a year in order to remind myself of a few things I need to keep in mind and stay on track in as I work at the writing God has called me to do.
Books:
- El Tren Pasa Primero/the Train Passes First
- Eternity and Other Stories
- Exiles Vol. 1: Down the Rabbit Hole (Astonishing X-Men)
- Family Linen
- Far Tortuga: A Novel
- Father Melancholy's Daughter
- Footsteps of the Hawk
- For Us, The Living: A Comedy of Customs
- From the Bottom Up: One Man's Crusade to Clean America's Rivers
- Galatea 2.2: A Novel
Books Index
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