Moving Mars by Greg Bear

Moving Mars is my introduction to Mr. Greg Bear. And if you're a fan of the Science Fiction genre, you'll like this book. I'm hoping to read more of him, but I enjoyed the novelty and sciencey-fiction and fictionalized science to this one. And what sci-fi nerd doesn't like a story of an oppressed Martian society bullied by a more powerful Earth establishment with corporate lobbyists and pure capitalist interests; only to begin a technologically unbeatable uprising to prove independence and prosper with fun Martian quasi-Utopian ideals?

Personally, that's sci-fi at its finest. Ever wonder what would happen if a Martian extremist teenager tried to prove a point in a demonstration by removing the helmet on her space suit in an act of defiance? The very blood vessels of her eyeballs bursting in the extreme low-pressure of Martian atmosphere, only to be burnt by a dry-ice sort of cold in the unEarthly sub-zero temperatures...Yes, things like this grab my attention. But it is what the scientists do to prove their point to Earth and defeat the power hungry machine. Sure, they're clever and can use their tools in ways others can't, but because this book is a creative in the genre to which it belongs, it is those tools are that give the book its quality.

What tools? Well, without giving away too much the team of Martian scientists have found away to alter the smallest known particles, subatomic in size, in their identity to those of particles nearby. But due to conservation of energy, mass, et cetera, nothing is created only substituted and replaced. The particles have a sort of binary data set to their descriptors, and changing these descriptors between 2 known points can act as a sort of teleportation mechanism. 2 particles next to each other, AB&CD, can be re-written if their descriptors are known, to CD&AB, in other words. Meaning they can move known objects of mass up to a certain size. They do this to displace the Martian moon Phobos near Earth in a show of muscle power (or brain power) and scare tactics. Earth calls their bluff and many lives are lost in the revolution but, never despair, scientists have this shit locked down.

Life on Mars highlighted this book for me, but so did the characters. Even though it is a very socio-politically charged novel with clear political ideology favouring representation from smaller parties who suffer from corporate lobbyists and large scale, high income "best interest" groups, it still is an interesting take on living in a totally alien world to us and is made enjoyable by some pretty factual and horrifying realities about living on our red neighbor.

Looking forward to more of Mr. Bear and I'd say this Nebula winning sci-fi book from '93 comes recommend, although not highly recommended, it is a solid story that well represents the genre though.

Obligatory Bookstore/Paradigm Shift Post

I'm not sure I covered this in the opening article, but this is a blog about reading. Which means, other than talking books, I reserve the right to talk about things that relate to books.

Like this.

It's a shame, but whatever is better for the war on Anti-Intellectualism in my country, by Bog, I support it!

All Hail Queer Kings!

Vladimir Nabokov's masterpiece (get used to reading that on this site) Pale Fire is the latest installment of one of my bookclubs (which just may happen to be the only book club to which I belong, but I can allude to being well-rounded).

In short, it is a book I quickly disliked (during the introduction given by the narrator), seemingly just as quickly appreciated (during the read of the great poem), and slowly, after much battling through the fragmented, non-linear recap in the narrator's analysis and explanation to particular stanzas in the poem, loved.

For a lengthier analysis, I'll proceed with just about everything I want to say. Even before it was all over I marveled at the skill with which Nabokov weaves a complex web to tell a relatively simple plot. It's not a difficult concept: Soviet Russia takes over a fictitious empire, the exiled King escapes to the United States, living in hiding he chooses to pick an alias and a profession that is most likely to allow him to meet his favourite poet, the venerable John Shade. Whilst living near shade, he befriends him and regales him about a “King of Zembla” and his exploits, and spies as much as possible on John Shade's writing of a no-doubt crowning-achievement-worthy poem. But before the Gay King can finish his story and confide to Shade his secret and why he has chosen this name, this profession and this life, Shade is murdered.

The exile, now living as Charles Kinbote, Zemblan language professor at Wordsmith University in New Wye – which, as a bit of Googling might indicate, are artistic interpretations of Cornell in Ithaca – has the good fortune of editing John Shade's final poem. The poem is written in four cantos: the first regarding a brush with death and his brief time in the afterlife; the second regarding his family and his daughter's untimely yet not-so-mysterious unfortunate death; the third on his quest for more regarding his experience of the afterlife and the irony that produces; and finally concluding with a brilliant fourth canto about artistry and the tricks of writing and what an author does to hone his craft and what it all means to him. Really more of a take on Nabokov's artistry, one presumes.

Even though it seems I've given away every detail of the plot in “spoiler” like fashion, it must be said that this novel is too Nabokov to be spoiled by anyone merely telling you what it is about. The beauty of it is in how Nabokov weaves his webs, in how sarcastically he compliments people's noble quests, in how much he really dislikes those of the anti-intellectual variety.

He truly is a master of witty, sarcastic humour, and this book not only puts it on proud display, but works in some creative magic we didn't know we'd enjoy; such as fictitious but somehow accurate regions and cultures. We know that Zembla, as in King Charles II's empire, does not exist. Nor does his US destinations. But the way he works his escape, so daring and so similar to the Nabokov family's own escape, his friend's death so similar to Nabokov's father's death, and the idea that his crown, orb, scepter and jewels are still about and the location still known, makes it all seem as though we can consult a library's broad knowledge of world history to find out if this indeed mirrors what actually happened to the last King of Zembla (note: that's not the name of a shitty movie starring Forest Whitaker).

The magic is indeed not in the plot, but elsewhere. I honestly had no idea how fun it would be to read a book where the King, forced into an escape through an underground tunnel behind his wardrobe, forced to leave his crown, scepter, orb and jewels behind, forced to trudge through the forests without much more than a cloak and a farmer's daughter as his guide, only to eventually catch a plane to New York and begin his snobbish quest to impose his will to have a bona-fide writer tell his story. It's almost a mixing of genres, really, that gives this story its charm.

I can't find any other way to describe it other than to tell every one to try it out, and stick with it even after it seems like a pompous ass trying to narrate a poem that doesn't relate to him nearly as much as he believes and is likely outside his understanding.

And if you have read it, then cheers. To Gay Kings!

Nineteen Eighty-Four

This is a benchmark in fiction writing that represents a fear-filled oligarchic police state ruling through the use of extreme militaristic war-communism and controlled entirely by The Party. The Party preaches fear and hate and controls every aspect of people’s lives, including what they believe and even what they thought they knew…this accomplished by the continuous changing of history. That is the department in which our unfortunate antagonist, Winston Smith, works.

 For me, I was actually one of the last people on Earth to have read this book. Many people have read it in high school on some assigned reading (deemed fit for the feeble minds of the masses by head Party members, no doubt) and pretty much everyone else has reached that point in their lives where they said “I need to read this.” I hadn’t, or maybe I finally had and I’m just a late bloomer. Either way, I’ve always entertained the idea but I never knew what it was about, because people just talk about what the book means and how important it is but I never knew if I’d like it. Neglecting what the plot is about, I wondered if there was going to be anything I like in it; mutated dinosaurs raised from the dead hunting cyborg interplanetary exiles in an unnamed, Amazonian Earth-like environment? No, just a really angry communist government in a dystopian future in which George Orwell pulls no punches in relating how awful they are.

It didn’t take long to figure out why nobody talks about what the book is about…because it’s that good. Books like Twilight and just about every Stephen King book are talked about in terms of what happens in the book. But not what it means. The opposite is true for 1984. You decide which I prefer. It stands alone in its genre as being not only one of the first dystopian future/political commentaries acting as a warning, but is quite possibly the best (see also: Brave New World post, out later this month)

Many stories offer little more than the actual plot, which most of us can appreciate, and say nothing about life, love, science, truth and knowledge. 1984 says much about all of it by completely banning all of these things in this society, and even torturing people wickedly for seeking them. A truly awful message to people who want to feel secure by forgoing basic civil liberties and empowering their government.

I still can barely wrap my mind around all of the concern this society brings about to the human race, but I think that was Orwell’s goal. To use an extreme case to show how terrible things someday might be. But, to make myself feel better, I think back to what an extremely unintellectual co-worker said to me during a discussion of 1984 fans in the office: “But if you have nothing to hide, what’s the problem with the government watching you’re every move?”

Absolutely the mindset that inspired this piece of literature. Thank you and kindly go fuck yourself before  you damn the human race. Anyway, if you haven’t read this one yet, or even lately, it is also highly recommended.