The Discworld series comes to an end (and 24 other books) - books 76-100 of 2015

I rounded out 100 books with the last Discworld novel. I was glad that such a wonderful book from an author who's had major impact on my life got that spot.

Those preceding it are a mixed bag. The post starts out with a lowlight, but ends on a high note. Can't ask for much more.

As an aside before I get on with this, as I'm now being shared by Aus GLAM Blog Bot and has had a substantial increase in traffic as a result, I intend on having all posts on here at least somewhat related to professional matters. Books well and truly pass muster, but when I'm ready to start photo, craft or personal blogging again, I'll have to think up a name for a second blog. I'll be sure to let those who want to find it know where it is!

76. 22 dead little bodies - Stuart MacBride

Starting on a sour note, I'm afraid. I chose this novella as a potential candidate for a book presentation that I give regularly as part of a program at work. My regular fiction reading doesn't really suit there, so I've been picking a few books for this. Doesn't hurt to broaden my reading, after all.
22 dead little bodies is a short book from Stuart MacBride that stands as an independent story but links into his Logan McRae series. We have ourselves a detective who feels like he's being left all the undesirable jobs while his colleague grabs all of the interesting or high profile ones for her own glory. It felt like it was trying too hard to be gritty, rough-edged and crude. In this book, dysfunctional personal relationships and icky behaviour and attitudes are abundant. I don't expect characters to be perfect - that's boring - but this lot just got on my nerves. The first half or so of the book was the worst, it did improve a bit beyond that after some of the character pettiness abated. I have no intention of reading any more though, if this book was any longer it wouldn't be on the list, because I wouldn't have deemed it worth the time.

Speed-reviewing - Books 41-75

We've got a loooong way to go in one post, so much so that I've even used a break. I'll only give more than a passing comment for books that stood out from the crowd for some reason, and I've grouped the series items for the benefit of all, with one exception. I notice that there is a very high proportion of graphic novels, probably in part a reflection on how crazy the last months have been. They're wonderful when you don't want to commit to a novel with its much longer read-time.

41 - I Think You'll Find it's a Bit More Complicated Than That - Ben Goldacre

Examining the use of data, statistics and scientific research in media and beyond, this book is excellent. It shows many of the ways in which numbers and research findings can be used or misused to mislead or misrepresent on any number of topics. That's good in itself, but it also goes some way to teaching the reader how to critically evaluate claims they might encounter, what is a good quality standard and how professional areas can reform to ensure that they adhere to high information and quality standards.

This is a collection of newspaper columns and other articles written over a number of years, polished up a bit and ordered so that there's a sense of order to the book. One of the longer ones is readily available on the author's site here, and it's interesting reading.

Past, Present and Future (books 36-40 2015)

36 - The Illustrated Wee Free Men - Terry Pratchett and Stephen Player

The Queen of the Fairies steals Tiffany Aching's sticky and irritating younger brother. As nobody else is likely to rescue him, Tiffany, a practical, sensible and responsible girl, sets out to do the job herself, with help from the drinkin' fightin' and stealin' Nac Mac Feegle.

I know the text version of this well and enjoy it very much, so when I saw an illustrated version in the library I thought I would be lovely to revisit The Chalk. The story was as wonderful as ever, the illustrations beautifully done. I especially loved the feegles trying to steal letters from the text.

Two days after I finished reading it, I found my very own forgotten copy, sitting sadly in my bookshelf...

37 - Get Over Yourself (Princeless Vol. 2) - Jeremy Whitley and Emily Martin

Adrienne, Bedelia and Sparky continue on their quest to rescue Adrienne's sisters - though she doesn't find quite what she expects the first time she encounters one. This book was not quite as strong as the first, with some unrevealed plot points being a touch obvious - though it will be fun to see certain characters work those things out. Regardless of faults, it's a fast-paced adventure with protagonists who are doing their best to work things out as they go and keep trouble at bay. There's plenty being set up for the rest of the series, and I look forward to seeing where it goes.

38 - Kaleidoscope: Diverse YA Science Fiction and Fantasy Stories

Kaleidoscope is a celebration of diversity of all kinds, and a wonderful collection of YA short stories. It won Best Anthology at the 2014 Aurealis Awards and several of the stories within were nominated or won awards in their own right. I've written a little on some of my personal favourites.

The first story Cookie Cutter Superhero by Tansy Rayner Roberts was a great start that looked at gender, disability and superheroes, focusing on the expectations that a society has surrounding its superheroes.

As I've read Twinmaker and Crashland by Sean Williams, I was keen to read The Legend Trap a story centred on a group of teens exploring an urban legend surrounding teleportation, a technology that is a very everyday part of their lives. They get a great deal more than they bargained for...

End of Service by Gabriela Lee is a wonderfully disturbing story in which a girl whose mother, who worked overseas and was consequently rarely present, has died. I am lost on how to describe it much further without giving the game away.

Happy Go Lucky by Garth Nix is a story set in a dystopian future. The main character lives in a society where quantified luck defines your rights, privileges and opportunities. The story has a point to make regarding the current politics surrounding asylum seekers and the "stop the boats" policy in Australia.

39 - Gnarr! How I Became the Mayor of a Large City in Iceland and Changed the World - Jon Gnarr

An autobiography of Jon Gnarr, who founded the Best Party to satirize the political system in Iceland, then won office.

Honestly, this was a bit disappointing. There were a few interesting bits but they were the exception, given what I'd heard of this public figure I was hoping for rather more than I got. Whether reflective of the original or a result of translation, the writing quality was not as good in quality as I expected.

40 - Peacemaker (Peacemaker #1) - Marianne de Pierres

Virgin Jackson is the senior ranger in Birrimun Park, the last natural landscape in Australia. Certainly, the cactuses aren't strictly accurate but tourists expect cacti in a desert, and they are necessary to keep the park open and maintained. It is in the Western Quarter of a vast megacity that sprawls along Australia's eastern coast. The night before a visiting ranger is expected to arrive, there is a murder in the park. Virgin and the visiting ranger, Nate Sixkiller, are dragged into a situation that rapidly spirals out of control.

It's difficult to define the genre, it's not unusual to find a genre-crossing book but this one has a bit of everything. It's a Western/Mystery/SciFi/Horror/Fantasy/Romance/Action/... that promises to be the starting point of a highly innovative series.

I found the romance handling a bit cringe-worthy, but I'm willing to say that's just a matter of personal taste. When I look beyond that, there's a lot to enjoy. Parallels are drawn with the political and social environment of Australia today, speculating what might come of these.

2015 in books - first five

High time I got to reviewing/processing thoughts on books again... starting with brief reviews but I may well work my way back up. This year I am to read 100 books, I'm also hoping to improve the variety in them. Titles are Goodreads linked for your convenience.

These books were all enjoyable, I think Crash was the best of them but which I'd recommend would depend greatly on who was seeking the recommendation.

1 - Camelot (Fables #20) - Bill Willingham

There's really not much I can say without spoilering earlier books in the series. This graphic novel series has been great but a few of the volumes immediately preceding it were a bit lacklustre. This was a distinct improvement and I'm looking forward to continuing with the rest of the story which should be finishing up this year.

2- Crash (Twinmaker #2) - Sean Williams

The first Australian author in this year's list. I hope to read more Australian work as I noticed there was very little in my reading last year. In this book the situation starts out badly and rapidly degrades - the sudden removal of something people use daily and take for granted leaves them reeling and drives riskier decision making.
I enjoyed this more than the first book in the series, it felt less... preachy? Not quite the word but it'll have to do for now. With several conflicting points of view, all well presented, towards the end of the book my mind went to war with itself - I think that's a good thing. Making me challenge my own opinions with a new perspective rather than the same-old arguments I hear can help me identify flawed thinking.

3 - The Empire Striketh Back (William Shakespeare's Star Wars #2) - Ian Doescher

These books are made of fun and laughter. I'd love to attend/participate in a reading of this as I did with the first. There were many highlights, Yoda speaking in haiku was one, another is this passage:

Exogorth: Alas, another meal hath fled and gone,
And in the process I am sorely hurt.
These travelers who have escap'd my reach
Us'd me past the endurance of a block!
My stomach they did injure mightily
With jabs and pricks, as though a needle were
A'bouncing in my belly. O cruel Fate!
To be a space slug is a lonely lot,
With no one on this rock to share my life,
No true companion here to mark my days.
And now my meals do from my body fly -
Was e'er a beast by supper so abus'd?
Was e'er a creature's case so pitiful?
Was e'er an exogorth as sad as I?
Was e'er a tragedy as deep as mine?
I shall with weeping crawl back to my cave,
Which shall, sans food, belike become my grave.

Highly recommended to anyone who loves both literature and Star Wars.

4- Dreams of Gods and Monsters (Daughter of Smoke and Bone #3) by Laini Taylor

I don't normally enjoy books with such a heavy romantic theme, I generally find them insufferable and irritating. This one certainly has a bit of pixie-girl and absurdly-tall-man syndrome but all the same, the book was enjoyable. If you are into paranormal fantasy of the YA variety, I'd definitely recommend this one.

5- A Fork in the Road - Lonely Planet

First travel reading of the year, first short stories of the year... both things I enjoy. I enjoyed the majority of stories in this book, a few were a bit on the self-indulgent side but many of them were insightful or created wonderful images (or flavours) in my mind. It won't be going down as one of the greats of this year's reading but it was well worth the time.

Book Review: Machine of Death (Disposable Edition)

(Photo source: TopatoCo sales page) 

Machine of Death has a fascinating premise, amazing creativity and brings together a diverse group of writers and artists. And that's not even the best part. What really excites me about this book doesn't even involve the content. It's doing things that I've not seen in other commercially produced books.

I came by my copy of this book as a reward from the kickstarter for the releated game which I'm really looking forward to playing in the near future.

The book was all kicked off by this comic and an open call for story submissions. Some of the authors are recognisable, frequently best known for their online work, others are largely unknown. Each story has an illustration from one of a talented group of authors. The stories revolve around the idea of a 'machine of death' which can, with absolute precision and extreme ambiguity, predict how you will die. Stories predominantly focus on how this might affect our decisions, relationships and society. The variety is incredible and some of the ideas are seriously exciting. I'd recommend reading it for that alone, but there is more to love here.

First, applying to all editions of this book with the exception of four specific stories, the book is released under creative commons licencing - while the book has certainly sold plenty of print copies it's perfectly free to copy, email and share with the only real conditions being that the authors are credited and it is not used for commercial gain. You can even download it for free directly from the book's website. For balance, if you wish to buy a paper copy it's sold here.

Given all the DRM and library distribution issues plaguing the industry this is a breath of fresh air. I'm not sure it'd be appropriate for all works but for a book of short stories it might just be a great model for quality new authors to get themselves seen and encourage readers to explore their other work.

Onto issues that some find upsetting. I believe that no modern mass-produced copy of a book needs to be treated as if it were sacred. Some are shocked to see crafts that chop up books, or to see them removed from library shelves - an issue I've discussed before. This book is clearly labelled as a disposable edition. It's really, really cheap even by paperback standards (regarding Australian pricing at least). At the beginning of the book there is a preface explicitly stating that it's okay if you don't want to keep it but would rather give it away, recycle it or whatever else. Like the Creative Commons licencing I find this incredibly refreshing. The section finishes up with a wonderful line 'This book is not a priceless artifact. Its value lies in the experience of reading it and passing it along. Enjoy! p.s. of course you can keep it if you want to.' So for now I'm going to hang on to my copy - but I'm more than happy to lend it to people wanting to give this book a go.

So go, give it a go. Buy it if you wish, or download it for free. Explore fantastic ideas in a work that's exciting for plenty of reasons beyond the brilliant writing.

Review: A Confusion of Princes - Garth Nix

I read Garth Nix's A Confusion of Princes as an e-book through Overdrive. I'm loving reading books this way. My library's selection isn't huge - nor is my phone's screen. But it is very convenient. I used to carry books everywhere but a lot of the time I find my bag is already too heavy. Few things can be worse than finding the time and inclination to read without a book in range... I finished reading this book some time ago but it was too good to leave without a review.

A Confusion of Princes is a fantastic sci-fi adventure. Prince Khemri has been raised in a sheltered environment with the belief that he is the best thing to happen to the Empire. In his imagination his future is filled with grand adventure exploring the galaxy making conquests and great discoveries. When he comes of age he rapidly discovers that as one of millions of princes (who all want to kill him) it will be a struggle to survive his first hour and that he will have to abandon his dreams to fight for survival. His journey will challenge everything he believed.

***

I've been waiting for a long time to find another Garth Nix book I really love. I discovered Sabriel when I was about fourteen and read it over and over - and when the sequels came out it just got better. Unfortunately those of Garth Nix's books I've tried to read since, most particularly the Keys to the Kingdom series, disappointed. I wouldn't go so far as to say they were bad, but they were not for me. I generally strongly encourage adults to ignore the age classifications on books but they just felt very...kiddy.

Then along comes A Confusion of Princes and my faith is restored.

Prince Khemri is likeable protagonist who is remarkably relatable - which is a substantial achievement considering Khemri is a complete asshole. When the book begins he is the product of a highly planned high-tech upbringing that has shaped his body, mind and abilities. He has been the centre of everything thus far - most of the people he has known have been mentally programmed to reinforce his superiority. This has made him self-centred and self-important. From his point of view people and the world exist for his amusement. Unsurprisingly, the story is about to arrange him a series of wake-up calls.

The opening intrigued me and grabbed me, then threw me head first into a foreign universe where several chapters dumped an awfully large amount of information to set the scene. This created a fantastic universe for the story to take place in and was enjoyable, but one colleague has told me they found the info-dumping so off-putting they did not continue.

The narrative voice is the book's strongest point. Khemri's first-person viewpoint is funny and engaging and kept me turning pages over, or at least flicking to the next screen, far later than was sensible. I could feel the shock of successive reality checks passing through his mind and his discovery of emotions that were completely foreign to him.

There is one major plot point that felt particularly contrived - concerning one of Khemri's rivals but... spoilers. If you read the book it probably won't take too long to work out. Many aspects of the book are highly original but the foundation of tropes and clichés is noticeable. These common elements and themes are handled well with fresh twists but are hard not to notice.

Please don't take my criticisms as reasons not to read this book. Although it's not flawless (what book is?) it's a seriously fun read in a fantastic world designed with great depth. A Confusion of Princes comes highly recommended to anyone who enjoys science fiction, fantasy or adventure.

***

 Garth Nix also has a new Old Kingdom book, Clariel, due out at an unspecified time this year. I have very high expectations and hope that I will be able to tell you how wonderful it is before the end of the year.

It's not the only series I love that is getting a new installment this year either. A new Sergei Lukyanenko Night Watch book is to be translated and released in May. I can't wait! I have slight reservations with this one - the first three books in the series built on each other and got better and better but I felt quite let down by book four. Hopefully book five will bring a new restoration of faith.

Mini-reviews

The photo project will resume when I have regular internet access again - in the meantime, here are some miniaturised book reviews. I had intended to do more mini-reviews tonight but things did not go to plan - everything is okay, but I had to suddenly leave this and am only back some hours later.

These books are both excellent though unlike some I have reviewed in the past, are not necessarily books I'd recommend for all people.

I read Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey some weeks ago, it's gritty, bloody and pulls no punches. The man character talks hims toughness up, then proceeds to get the snot kicked out of himself repeatedly. Last time I read a book that did that I was seriously unimpressed as the supposedly super-powerful hero proved to be about the flimsiest thing out. Not so in this case. Stark, our serial-car-thieving anti-hero, gets away with this as he takes a lot of damage but just keeps on going anyhow.

An interesting world and a great (if seriously nasty, angry, revenge obsessed and all-round messed-up) anti-hero. I do have a couple small gripes - notably concerning a fictional weapon that just seems too convenient and the fact that I can't help but relate the name Stark to Iron Man and George R R Martin. But on the balance of things I really enjoyed this book. This is very much at the horror end of the urban fantasy/paranormal spectrum - which suits me just fine as I prefer to avoid the romance end of the genre. If graphic violence in books is a turn-off this is not the book for you as it is frequent and intense. If you can handle it, it's good fun and well written.

I've started on book two, Kill the Dead, and while it's good as well it's failing to catch me as much as the first book. I can't place my finger on why, exactly. I'm hoping it'll pick up as despite loving the genre, at least in principle, there are precious few urban fantasy series out there that I enjoy and this has potential to be added to the list.

Volume one of Saga by Brian Vaughan is probably one of those graphic novels that gathers complaints in libraries. Notably from those who open to a page and gasp in horror, not quite realising that it's okay to read comics after the age of fifteen, and thus okay for comics to be adult in nature. Or is that my cynicism showing too much?

This beautifully illustrated comic holds up a sci-fi mirror to some of the long-term conflicts in our world and does so in an original and interesting universe. The characters are well developed - I particularly liked Izabel, a teenage ghost (or at least the upper half of one). I enjoyed this and recommend it for any adult who enjoys graphic novels. If I were introducing someone to comics I'd probably choose something else. A number of scenes are sexually or violently graphic or just... really unusual. But the worst thing about this book? Volume two is not out yet. I want to know where this story goes next!