Audiobook Review: Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson

Book Rating: 3 ½ out of 5 Stars

Audiobook Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Bottom Line: Snarky and satirical, this book offers a deconstruction of America and an interesting philosophical connection between language, religion, and computers.

Snow Crash is a sci fi / cyberpunk novel (also referred to as post-cyberpunk, but I have no idea what the means) by Neal Stephenson.  It takes place in a near-future dystopia where the U.S. government has become mostly ineffectual and the country has descended into a state of anarcho-capitalism with business franchises such as Uncle Enzo’s Pizza, Reverend Wayne’s Pearly Gates, and Mr. Lee’s Greater Hong Kong holding much of the power.  Hiro Protagonist—a hacker/pizza delivery driver—and his skateboard courier friend Y.T. find themselves involved in a plot to use an ancient neuro-linguistic “virus” that has been converted into both a biological and computer virus to control the vast majority of the country’s population.

Snow Crash is an interesting and often acidly-humorous book that mulls on some pretty heady concepts, but I’m not quite sure that I would count it as a great sci fi novel.  A very good one, but maybe not great (and I am sure there are plenty of angry mega-fans jumping on their planks and sharpening their swords to head my way right about now).  The book introduces (to me at least) some interesting ideas linking language, religion, viruses, and computers.  It all sounds quite neat, but I’m not sure I quite buy into it.  It does present some interesting what-if scenarios as far as the way language relates to the mind, even if they may not really play out the way the book suggests.

The book has a very frenetic pace to it which can be relentless at times and makes it not one of the best candidates for an audiobook adaptation.  This is one that would likely work better reading from the printed page because it is easier to go back and read over things you might have missed in the jumble.  But then there are also times when the book slows down and becomes very talky.  Some may feel this throws the pace off, but I particularly liked these parts because this in when the history behind the book’s grander ideas is explained.  As a history buff, I love that sort of stuff, but others may find it too boring.

The book is not strong on character development and seems to do what it wants with its characters at different times.  For example, how exactly did Hiro become such a badass if the majority of his sword-fighting experience came from the virtual world of the metaverse?  But it is still a decent read and I can see where cyberpunk (and Anime) fans see this as a great genre entry.   Its satirical deconstruction of America can be quite biting at times, and there was more than once that I was laughing out loud at some of the book’s better lines.  It also acts as a precursor of sorts to Ready Player One with its metaverse which is a protoversion of that book’s OASIS virtual reality.  And considering that it was written in 1992, it is definitely quite prescient in respect to how computers, the internet, cell phones, and other technology would progress from that point.

As for the audiobook version, Jonathan Davis provides the narration and his Casey Casem-like voice at first does not seem like a good fit for the book’s snarky prose.  But that feeling passes pretty quickly and he does a mostly excellent job with the dialog (even if he does slip in and out of character at times).  The production throws in some additional sound effects, though I would not count this as an enhanced audio.  But that does add some atmosphere to a story that is somewhat challenging to adapt to audiobook.  Overall, Snow Crash is a good book with an audio rendering that is as good as can be expected and it is definitely worth checking out even if it doesn’t necessarily count as a must-read.

Audiobook Review: Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency and The Long DarkTea-Time of the Soul by Douglas Adams

Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency

Book Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

Audiobook Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul

Book Rating: 3 ½ out of 5 Stars

Audiobook Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Bottom Line: The Dirk Gently books have their moments, but I wouldn't count them as sci fi classics.

With BBC America’s Dirk Gently series debuting this weekend, it is worth looking at the two books written by Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Creator Douglas Adams that feature that rather odd detective.  When Mr. Gently investigates a case, he works upon the assumption of the “fundamental interconnectedness of all things” rather than just trying to uncover clues like your more typical detective.  In the first book, Gently stumbles upon a case that involves a ghost, four-million year old aliens, an electric monk, and a time traveling house (among other things).  In the second book, Gently finds himself investigating a case that involves the recording industry, Norse gods, a rather irritated eagle, and a malicious refrigerator.  Needless to see, as with Adams’ Hitchhiker books, the plot itself is not important, that just carries the stories from one set of absurdities to the next.

I had previously read all of Adams’ Hitchhiker books, but for some reason never got around to the Dirk Gently tales.  I decided to try them out on audiobook and found them enjoyable enough, but definitely not as good as the best of Hitchhiker series (which is essentially the first two books).  The Dirk Gently novels have the frenetic pace that you expect from Adams and plenty of his witty observations and quirky commentaries thrown in for good measure.  But I consider these very much like the later entries in the Hitchhiker series in that they may induce a smile or a chuckle from time to time, but don’t quite rise up to the classic status of the first two books.  The Dirk Gently series can be entertaining at times, and the detective is an interesting enough Doctor-Who-Meets-New-Age-Sherlock-Homes type of character, but I never felt that Adams got the best out of these stories as he seemed to be trying a bit too hard to be clever at times.  Others absolutely love these stories, though, so perhaps it is just a matter of taste.  Interestingly, Adams’ treatment of the Norse gods in the second book reminded me very much of what Neal Gaiman later did with mythological characters in American Gods.  I don’t believe he has cited Douglas Adams as a definite influence, but you can see the similarities.

BBC America has a television adaptation of the character on the way that bows on Saturday October 22nd, and knowing about that inspired me to finally read the books.  The TV series looks pretty good from the trailers and maybe it will help me appreciate the books more (though I don’t believe it follows them too closely).  Fortunately, both books are a quick read, so if you are not quite as engrossed by them like I was, they still go by pretty quickly.  Douglas Adams fans should definitely check them out, just understand that these are closer to his later Hitchhiker books than his first two.

As for the audiobook versions, I encountered them two different ways.  For the first book I listened to the version narrated by Adams himself.  Now I typically say that writers should stick with their craft and leave the narrating to the professionals, but thought that Adams might be an exception like Harlan Ellison or Neil Gaiman.  However, Adams delivered a rather straightforward reading that failed to highlight the humorous tone of the book.  I found myself longing for the voice of Simon Jones (who played the part of voice of the guide in the Hitchhiker radio series) because I was sure he could bring more life to the material.  For the second book, I elected the full radio dramatization because I thought it would do a better job of the comic tone of the stores.  The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul was definitely the better of the two audio adaptations and improved on the source material in my opinion.  The dramatization is also available for the first book and that is the way I recommend checking it out.  Adams got his start with Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in radio and that has always been the best way to experience his sci fi comedies.

Audiobook Review: Varney the Vampire by Thomas Peckett Prest and James Malcolm Rymer

Book Rating: 2 ½ out of 5 Stars

Audiobook Rating: 2 out of 5 Stars

Bottom Line: Worth a look out of curiosity, but not a must-read in the vampire / horror genre

No, this is not the story of some cuddly, purple-skinned vampire who sings songs to children or some number-obsessed refugee from the Sesame Street Muppets.  This is the mid-century tale that appeared in the British penny dreadfuls (sort of an early version of pulp magazines) that actually set many of the precedents the vampire sub-genre of horror would follow in the years to come.  Varney the Vampire (aka The Feast of Blood) ran for three years from 1845 to 1847 across 109 “issues” (a total of 667,000 words!) and followed the story of somewhat-reluctant vampire Sir Francis Varney.  And while vampires had previously appeared in literary works (mostly notably Lord Byron’s The Giaour and John William Polidori’s The Vampyre), Varney was very much the prototype of what we have since come to expect.  He is a cultured gentleman much like the later Dracula (Bram Stoker’s book was published until 1897) even though his appearance is hideous, along the lines of Count Orlak from Nosferatu.  He has fangs and the ability to mesmerize his victims, and he also possess superhuman abilities.  He develops into somewhat of a sympathetic character much like we would later see with Barnabas Collins in Dark Shadows as well as some of Anne Rice’s characters in Interview with a Vampire.  And one of the more recent tropes we have seen with vampires being able to survive in sunlight (i.e., the Twilight books and movies) started with Varney the Vampire.  The story even throws in the angry mob of villagers with torches and pitchforks for good measure.

But while this book is interesting for the precedents it set, I can’t tell you that it is a particularly great read.  I made it through volume one, which is twenty hours of audiobook listening, and it was definitely a chore.  It was written by hack writers mostly interested in cranking out tantalizing, serialized tales that would appeal to the lower class readers attracted to the penny dreadfuls.  The original story was credited to Thomas Peckett Prest, though James Malcolm Rymer apparently assisted on it as well (interestingly, that duo would also create Sweeny Todd).  They were apparently paid by the word because the prose is definitely rambling with scenes that often drag out much longer than needed or that are completely unnecessary (including the stories within stories found in the book).  There are a few moments of inspiration throughout the tale, but sadly we come across those far too rarely.

The basic story in volume one follows Varney’s attempts to reclaim his ancestral home of Bannerworth Manor from his relatives that currently occupy it.  He attacks the young Flora Bannerworth early in the story, but later resists his draw to her because of the feelings he develops for the young lady.  He then offers to purchase the house from the Bannerworths, but they are dubious of his motives even though they need his money because of their poor financial state of affairs.  The story starts out well enough, but drags on far too long with plenty of unnecessary digressions.  And the dialog can be outright cringe-worthy at times.  It also appears that after a certain point the authors were just making it up as they went along and trying to pad the story as far as they could.  Other nineteenth century genre novels I have read such as Dracula, Frankenstein, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, and more can definitely seem padded and slow at times, but for each of those the journey turns out to be worth it once you reach the end.  Not so much with Varney the Vampire.  Fans of the vampire sub-genre should check it out just for all the precedents its sets, but this is definitely not something that would appeal to the average modern reader.

I downloaded the audio version of this for free from Librivox (at this link), and it definitely demonstrates how important a good reading is to an audiobook.  Librivox books are narrated by volunteers and typically have different readers for different chapters.  My experience with Librivox adaptations has been hit or miss, with some really good ones like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as well as some just passable ones like War of the Worlds. Varney actually started out quite well with Annika Feilbach providing very moody vocals that fit perfectly with the book's Gothic setting.  If it had not been for her excellent intro chapters, I might not have stuck with the book.  Unfortunately, she reads only the preface and the first chapter and what follows is a (very) mixed bag of readers throughout the rest of the book.  To Annika's credit, the first chapter definitely seems better crafted than later ones because it was likely not as rushed.  But the mediocre writing that followed definitely could have used any sort of boost to make it more enjoyable, though few of the later readers could provide that.  I hate to knock the Librivox readers because they are all doing it on a volunteer basis, but some of the narrators for this book are downright unlistenable, which made the experience that much worse.  Fortunately, the reliable Roger Melin reads more chapters than not, and I have enjoyed other works that he has narrated for Librivox.  He delivers a very straightforward reading that doesn’t enhance the prose like Annika Feilbach’s narration, but doesn’t detract from it either.  Had he not been onboard, I definitely would have never finished volume one.

If you are planning on tackling Varney the Vampire, I would suggest the print version (you can find an economically priced edition at this link) in part because of the subpar audio adaptation currently available and also because there are plenty of sections that just need to be skimmed over, especially if you want to make it through the full three volumes (I have no plans of undertaking that burden at this point but there is a site with chapter summaries and commentaries to help you though if you are up for the challenge).  The books is definitely interesting for the influence it would have on more famous later works in the genre (as well as the 1930’s Universal monster movies), but it feels more hackneyed than original because of the often mediocre to poor writing.  It’s definitely a curio of genre literature, but not a must read.

Audiobook Review: Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

Book Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Audiobook Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars (Highest Rating)

Bottom Line: This book delivers an imaginative and engaging urban fantasy tale kicked up to the next level by Gaiman’s narration.

This story originated as a six-part television series that aired on BBC in 1996 and Gaiman later adapted it to a novel form which followed the series pretty closely and also expanded on the story in some parts.  It involves a man name Richard Mayhew--an average, up-and-coming, middle-class British chap--who finds himself dragged into the mysterious world of “London Below”.  That is a setting, mostly beneath the streets of “London Above”, where people who have “slipped through the cracks” live in a semi-Medieval, feudal-like existence.  Mayhew joins up with a girl named Door, who can open any door or lock, and a man known as the Marquis de Carabas, who procures favors from those who he encounters, and finds himself reluctantly pulled into a battle with a fallen angel.

I first encountered the television series version of this story when I ordered the DVDs during my early days with Netflix (long before they had grown into the streaming juggernaut they are now).  As with any British sci fi / fantasy TV series, it had plenty of budget challenges, but I still found myself fascinated with it.  The premise and story itself seemed a bit odd (seemingly romanticizing the homeless as mystical and magical characters), but I was drawn into it mostly on the standout performances of Patterson Joseph as the Marquis and Hywel Bennett and Clive Russell as the nefarious Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar.  The characters throughout the story are what stood out the most to me, with those three leaving the strongest impression.  Richard Mayhew basically gives us this tale’s version of Arthur Dent and ends up being one of the weakest from the show (future Doctor Peter Capaldi has a nice turn, though, as the Angel Islington).

Since I had fond memories of the series, I decided to listen to the novelization which Gaiman wrote after the TV series had aired.  I found myself immediately pulled into the story once again, and actually I found that I liked it even better than the TV version.  Gaiman’s masterful prose brings the setting to life much better than the limited TV budget could (he added back many things that the BBC cut from the original script) and his world-building delivers a fully fleshed out universe with a ton of potential (though unfortunately he has only done one more story in this world so far: “How the Marquis Got His Coat Back”).  The romanticizing of the downtrodden people of the city does not come off as creepy here like it did in the series, but the characters still jump off the page just like they jumped off the television screen.  The ending is still a bit disappointing, but the book is worth it for the journey it provides.  Consider this a darker, urban fantasy take on Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy or Dirk Gently books, but not in a derivative way.

As for the audiobook, Neil Gaiman himself provides the narration.  Now I generally say that authors should stick to writing and leaving the voice-work to the professionals, but after listening to this, Gaiman gets added into the exception category along with Harlan Ellison.  His delightful reading enhances his already spot-on writing, and you can tell that he is having a ton of fun with the more colorful characters like the Marquis as well as Croup and Vandemar.  In fact, I would dare to say that he nearly outdoes the already excellent performances delivered by the actors in the TV show.  Gaiman should definitely lend his voice to more audio productions because he surely has a talent for it.  He helps to take this book to the next level and I highly recommend checking this one out in audiobook format as it is a great book that gets the audio treatment it deserves.

Audiobook Review: Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

Book Rating: 4 ½ out of 5 Stars

Audiobook Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars (Highest Rating)

Bottom Line: This book delivers a quintessential piece of 19th Century horror / sci fi that presents some challenging moral quandaries.

In this classic 19th Century tale,  a lawyer--Gabriel John Utterson--finds himself entangled in the affairs of his friend, the upstanding Dr. Henry Jekyll, along with a rather surly dwarf of a man known as Mr. Hyde. The latter, a person of loathsome appearance and demeanor, has been seen around town and was guilty of assaulting a girl, which Dr. Jekyll later paid retribution for. Hyde has an unspecified connection with the doctor and Utterson is particularly dismayed when Jekyll revises his will to include Hyde as a beneficiary. This all comes to a head when a man is violently murdered and Mr. Hyde is linked to the crime, becoming a fugitive from justice. Utterson tries to talk with Jekyll about the situation, but the doctor assures his friend that they beastly man will not return. Later, though, Jekyll withdraws from almost all human contact prompting his butler to seek Utterson’s aid. They eventually break into Jekyll’s quarters and find the dead body of Mr. Hyde, though in the doctor’s clothes. They also find a letter written by Dr. Jekyll that describes his experiments in which he tried to separate his good side from his evil side but which instead produced the alter ego Mr. Hyde. Jekyll could at first control the transformations, but later found that he would morph involuntarily into Hyde. And then he found that he could no longer recreate the potion that prompts the metamorphosis because the key (tainted) ingredient he had previously used no longer exists. Eventually both personalities succumb to death and in his dying words Jekyll writes (as he transforms for the final time into Hyde) “I bring the life of that unhappy Henry Jekyll to an end”.

This infamous novella written by Robert Louis Stevenson was first published in 1886 and has since become an iconic piece of genre fiction and has been retold countless times in film, on television, in comics, on the stage and more. The reason the story has lived on is that Stevenson managed to deliver a powerful tale that resonates with his readers and definitely touches a primal nerve of sorts. The first nine chapters of the book, written from the point of view of Utterson, give us a mystery tale as the lawyer tries to find out the truth about Mr. Hyde and his connection to Dr. Jekyll. But it is the final chapter that propels this book into the realm of literary masterpiece. This chapter unveils the final journal of Dr. Jekyll as he details his experiment and descent into the depths of his own dark side. But instead of simply looking at this from the simplistic point of view of good vs. evil, Stevenson adds another dimension to his tale by acknowledging the fact that both sides co-exist within us all and that we must learn to cope with our own dark sides in order to not be controlled by it. Jekyll tried to control his own licentiousness by devising a means to eradicate his dark side, but instead that created the Mr. Hyde alter ego. And this evil side of him gradually overtook the good side and ultimately destroyed both. Stevenson gets into some pretty heady (and cutting edge for the time) psychological territory in this chapter, and the moral issues he raises still provide subject for debate today.

I have to admit, though, that I found the ending a bit unsatisfying. After the revelations of the final chapter, all written in the words of Jekyll, I wanted to see the reaction of Utterson as well as some additional resolution of earlier plot threads left hanging. But that did not come as the novella ends on Jekyll’s words quoted above. On the plus side, this tale is not overly wordy like other important genre works from the 19th century like Dracula and Frankenstein. The relatively brief length of this book makes it a quick read, unlike the two mentioned above (or the thousand-plus page bloatfests we currently see hitting the shelves these days), but a short chapter wrapping up the loose ends would have been nice.  But then that's just a quibble and who am I to try and perfect a literary masterpiece?

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is often looked at as a horror story, but the fact is that it is also a proto-science fiction tale as well. Jekyll’s experiments that lead to the creation of Mr. Hyde come about through scientific endeavors and have no supernatural links. In this sense, the book is similar to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein which based the creation of that book's monster on scientific knowledge of the time. Stevenson also works in some of the early discoveries of psychology, a field that had established itself as a new scientific discipline at about that same time (separating itself from philosophy where it had previously been relegated). But whether you consider it horror, science fiction or both, it is a must-read for all genre fans.

Since Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is in the public domain, there are many audio adaptations and dramatizations available for this work, but I decided to check out the Librivox version and was pleasantly surprised. For those not familiar with Librivox, they are the Project Gutenberg of audiobooks, offering free audio adaptations of works in the public domain available for download. This is the third work I have reviewed from Librivox and the other two were of varying quality as far as narration goes. Their version of Stevenson’s book gets the first-rate treatment, though, with narrator David Barnes giving us a professional quality reading. Whereas some of the readers for Librivox (all volunteers) provide barely passable narrations, Barnes delivers an excellent vocal performance and makes the story a pleasure to listen to. Why pay good money on a professional adaptation when you can get one just a good for free from Librivox? You can download it as MP3 files at this link and I highly recommend this version whether you are a regular audiobook listener (used to a professional level of quality) or just trying them out for the first time.

Audiobook Review: Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

Book Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars (Highest Rating)

Audiobook Rating: 4 ½ out of 5 Stars

Bottom Line: Martin creates a unique and engaging fantasy world that comes alive through the book's well-developed characters.

I purchased this audiobook--the first in George R.R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire fantasy series--a while back but kept putting off listening to it because it seemed like such a daunting tome to tackle at thirty-three plus hours.  But as Season 6 of the series approached, I finally decided to fire it up to help remind me of some of the back story prior to diving into the new year of the TV show (which actually goes beyond the completed books).  And once I started it, I found myself making excuses to go for a drive or to extend my commute so that I could keep listening to the book!

Since I am expecting that most people reading this have more than a passing familiarity with the story, I won’t spend too much time recapping it.  I’m also going to mention one of the major spoilers (which is actually pretty much common knowledge by now), so be warned.  Basically, Game of Thrones is a fantasy tale set in the land of Westeros and the main story focuses on the power struggles to sit on the Iron Throne which rules over all the lands.  The main character in this book is Ned Stark who is the lord of Winterfell in the north and he reluctantly travels to Kings Landing with part of his family to be the adviser to the king only to find himself pulled into the court intrigues and politics aimed at controlling the throne.

One of the things that I noticed while listening to the audiobook is that things do not happen quickly in this story.  There is some travel across the lands and a lot of talking and a few fights, but Martin was definitely not trying to make this an action-packed affair.  In fact, it’s not uncommon for the book to introduce a character and then digress for several pages giving backstory on that person.  But while it sounds like this approach would make this a rather dull read, especially consider the length of the book, that’s not the case at all.  Not only did I almost never find it boring (except for some of the Sansa chapters), I regularly found myself wanting more.

Personally, the bloated page lengths of books these days is something that has turned me away from many of the newer entries on the shelves.  So often these are the result of publishers pushing for a higher page count or writers lacking editorial constraints and the story ends up turning into a slogfest or completely losing focus.  Martin maneuvers past these pitfalls as he demonstrates himself a master of words who can make even the most mundane details interesting.  There’s a reason this book series is so popular: it really is that good!  At least based on the first volume and what I have seen translated to the television series.  One of the important things Martin does in this books is dump almost all the expected fantasy clichés.  This book is not packed with elves and orcs and wizards and many of the expected tropes of the genre.  Some of that is there in the background, but he doesn’t just give us another spin on the standard setting as he builds a fully fleshed out world of his own with interesting, well-developed characters.  In fact, it is the many characters with their varying degrees of moral ambiguity that makes this such a fascinating read.

(Warning, major Spoilers to follow in the next paragraph.)

The first book sets up the grander tale that Martin has planned with his Song of Ice and Fire series, but in Game of Thrones one of the major themes is the place that honor holds in this world of scheming and maneuvering.  Ned Stark is of course the primary example of that as he follows the “honorable” path throughout the story as opposed to the moral grays evidenced in many of the other characters.  He acts as the moral measuring stick, and we make the assumption that he will be our guidepost throughout all of the books.  That’s why his beheading at the end comes as that much more of a shock.  Ned is set up as our hero and then we are left without the moral fiber he represents once he is executed.  The story is told (quite effectively) from multiple points of view with Ned’s representing the closest to the typical fantasy hero.  And when he is gone we have to scramble for which point of view will be our guide from that point forward.  That’s some powerful yet risky storytelling, but Martin pulls it off perfectly.

The audiobook version is read by Roy Dotrice who does an absolute first-rate job with the material.  He makes each character stand out as a distinct presence and they come alive through his reading.  I have to admit, though, that at first I did not like the voices he used for several characters, especially Tyrion.  Having been exposed to the top-notch performances from the series, it was hard to accept the different voices he used for some of the characters.  But I can’t really fault him for not matching the performances of the actors, especially considering that this audiobook came out years before the TV series.  I did eventually accept and even learn to like his Tyrian voice, but I could never quite warm up to his Varys.  That’s probably because he played the character closer to the way he is portrayed in the books which is different than Conleth Hill’s interpretation in the series, but again, I can’t count that as a knock against Dotrice.  He delivers an excellent reading of one of the all-time great fantasy books and I highly recommend this one to anybody to enjoys masterful storytelling whether they are fantasy fans or not.

Audiobook Review: Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle

Book Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Audiobook Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Bottom Line: This minor classic provides the springboard for the well-known franchise that would follow.

Planet of the Apes is of course the seminal science fiction book that went on to launch the long-lived franchise that spread across the theaters, television, and comics.  Boulle’s novel first came out in 1963 and he intended it to act as a social commentary on his world, not dissimilar to the films that would follow.  Of course any review of the book pretty much demands comparison to the first film based upon it, which has since become an iconic sci fi entry (and you can see my review of that at this link).

The book itself in many ways lays out the basic structure for the first film as we have astronauts from Earth landing on planet (though not crashing like in the movie), and then setting out to explore it.  They then meet humans whom they find to have minimal intelligence and who live like beasts off the land.  This is followed by apes rounding up the humans and the protagonist (Ulysse Mérou) is captured and studied by the sympathetic apes Zira and Cornelius.  The more skeptical Dr. Zaius doubts the intelligence of this wunder-human, but an eventual trip to a “forbidden zone” type area reveals that humans pre-dated apes on this planet.

One of the biggest differences from the original films, though, is that these apes have a level of technology similar to twentieth century Earth and they inherited the planet when the human culture grew stagnant and they stopped progressing.  The book also suggests what we would see later in the Escape from the Planet of the Apes film (though with role reversal between humans and apes) when Ulysse becomes a bit of a celebrity when introduced into ape society, but then sees a backlash when they find out Nova is pregnant .  It also suggests some of the events from Conquest of the Planet of the Apes when the regressive memory of the native humans is explored.

In general, Boulle’s Planet of the Apes is a good sci fi book and I would call it a minor genre classic, though not necessarily a must-read.  It is well written and he tries to bring in as many science-based principles as possible, though at times it seems to veer into pseudo-science.  But I believe he develops the characters well enough and presents an interesting setting that offers some social commentary, though I believe the first three movies actually did better with that.  One important thing that Boulle handles better here, though, is the language barrier.  Ulysse slowly learns the ape language and it eventually becomes part of the proof of his intelligence.  In the movies, the apes spoke English and the astronauts never wondered why despite the fact that they were allegedly on a planet thousands of light-years from Earth.  Something that the book does not handle as well is the twist that comes at the end.  Boulle’s ending seems kind of forced and is much less satisfying than the final scene from the first movie.

The audiobook version is narrated by Greg Wise and he does a very good job with the material.  Interestingly, he gives the apes what sounds like a mid-west accent that seems a bit out of place at first, but I eventually got used to it and never found it distracting.  Overall, his voice-work carries the book along quite well, and makes this an enjoyable listen.  This book is definitely worth seeking out in audio format or in print for all Planet of the Apes fans that have never encountered the original source material and also for sci fi fans looking for a decent representation of the genre.

Audiobook Review: On the Beach by Nevil Shute

Book Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Audiobook Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Bottom Line: It's slow at times, but still engaging as it delivers a tale of a group of survivors from World War III facing a certain end to the human race.

On the Beach is a post-nuclear war story from 1957 that follows some of the last people alive on Earth as they wait for the inevitable arrival of the radioactive fallout cloud that will result in their demise.  In the book, nuclear attacks had broken out among several of the world's nations, and Russia and China used bombs with cobalt casings in their strikes on each other.  This creates a deadly nuclear cloud that gets carried across the planet by global air currents. The book is set in Melbourne Australia which is one of the southern-most populated areas on the planet and among the last that will be impacted by the cloud.  They have received strange telegraph signals from the western United States and there is a theory that the radiation levels of the cloud will dissipate, so a nuclear powered submarine is sent north to investigate.  Meanwhile, the people in and around Melbourne try to live their lives knowing that only a few months may be left to them.

I've long been a fan of the World War III scenario story, but for some reason I never got around to reading this classic book (or seeing the movie version).  So I finally decided to rectify that with the audiobook version, and it delivers a grim yet engaging end of the world tale.  Imagine that the rest of the world has killed itself--Australia was not involved in the war--and you are awaiting the fallout of that conflict to take you as well.  That's basically the story that On the Beach gives us.  People waiting for an inevitable death with just the faintest of hopes that it may be averted.  Everybody goes about their business as if they will still be alive in another year, attending school, building gardens, planning families, but there is an undercurrent of futility in their actions.  And the submarine travels to the United States in hopes of finding survivors and some evidence that the fallout is dissipating, but all the while the clock keeps on ticking and the news remains grim.

A note that this book can be quite slow at times, especially when it focuses on the interpersonal lives of the survivors.  But I never found it boring or felt like I was slogging through it, though I did wish it would pick up the pace at times.  The people face their fate with a lack of panic and a very British stiff-upper-lip, which makes it feel stilted at times and doesn't necessarily fit with our perception of the Australians as self-sure mavericks, though that image has plenty of Hollywood taint to it.  And the point of the book really hits home at the end as the people make their final decisions on how to face the impending doom.  So even if you find yourself struggling midway through the book, stick with it because it delivers a gut-wrenching ending.  This one should be required reading for any and all politicians involved with military decisions.

The audiobook version is read by Simon Prebble who does an excellent job with the narration and with distinguishing the voices of the different characters.  He has a very British accent which reinforces the stiff-upper-lip tendency of many of the characters.  And again, that seems in contrast to what we expect from the Australian population.  But he does throw in a Crocodile Dundee accent on one of the characters, so I assume I am biased by Hollywood stereotypes in thinking everybody in the country talks that way.  Essentially, Prebble gives us an excellent reading of an excellent book that should be required reading for sci fi fans and budding politicians alike.

Audiobook Review: Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke

In preparation for my upcoming review of Syfy's Childhood's End mini-series, I am rerunning my review of the audiobook. 

Book Rating: 4 ½ out of 5 Stars
Audiobook Rating: 4 ½ out of 5 Stars

Bottom Line: Childhood's End delivers an epic and masterful tale, though there are times that Clarke could have fleshed out the ideas more fully.

This classic tale by Arthur C. Clarke takes place during the late 20th century (though still in the Cold War era from the book’s perspective) when the United States and the Soviet Union are each competing to be the first nation to launch a ship into space. But before either succeeds, large alien spaceships appear in the sky over most of the world’s major cities. The aliens, known as the Overlords, contact the people of Earth but do not reveal their appearance. They take control of international affairs and abolish war across the planet as they also work on setting up a world government. Eventually, a near utopia emerges on Earth, but it has its consequences. The elimination of strife has also stifled creativity throughout the population and the people of Earth still want to know why the Overlords will not appear to those they watch over. But that moment comes eventually and sets in motion events that will change the direction of the human race.

And while that synopsis is  rather vague and mostly covers only the first half of the book, I wanted it to be as spoiler free for those who have not read Arthur C. Clarke’s Childhood’s End (and now a warning that this Review/Commentary section does have some minor spoilers). Because even though the novel is relatively short by today’s standards (a little over two hundred pages in length), it has plenty of revelations to unfold. Clarke, of course, is well known in the Science Fiction community and widely regarded as one of the genre’s best authors, having penned such masterpieces as 2001: A Space Odyssey (the novel and the screenplay, though the later with some help from Stanley Kubrick) and Rendezvous with Rama. But Childhood’s End is the one considered by many to be his best and it is actually one of the author’s personal favorite. I actually consider the other two superior (just by a notch or two), but still have high regards for this book.

As I mentioned, Childhood’s End is relatively short in length, and I usually appreciate this because too often these days (and usually at the prodding of publishers), authors pad out their stories to increase the page count which can turn a book into a rather plodding affair. As an example, Dan Simmons’ Hyperian, which has a very interesting story at its core, could easily have been whittled down by a third or even a half, making it into a much better read. Childhood’s End on the other hand is one of the few instances where I actually believe the author could have fleshed out the story more without padding it. Quite a number of world shattering (literally) events occur in the novel, but Clarke never fully delves into all of the repercussions. Of course his aim is to tell the larger story of humanity’s next step in its cosmic evolution, so he is not as concerned with exploring the details of these various parts of his story. But there is more than one occasion in the book where I would have liked more instead of less. For example, humanity seems to accept the rule of the Overlords a bit too easily—I believe the Earth people would have put up more resistance. Also, the rule of the Overlords seems a bit too idealized and utopian. And I believe that when humanity finally saw what the Overlords looked like, the impact would have been much more far-reaching, especially among the world’s religions (which also seem to succumb too easily following the arrival of the aliens). There’s more along these lines that I felt Clark left for us to fill in the blanks, and perhaps he decided to do this because these elements were not his main focus for the novel. The progression of the human race from a petty, bickering people to a oneness with the cosmos is the main theme of this book. In any case, the novel’s finale, as one man gives a play by play description of the end of the Earth brings everything together and helps make this a very powerful tale and a must read for all Science Fiction fans.

Childhood’s End has actually been on Hollywood’s radar several times since its publication, and this was the story that Stanley Kubrick originally wanted to bring to the big screen before deciding to do 2001: A Space Odyssey instead. But I actually believe this book would make a better television mini-series than a movie (and a stab was made at this in the late 70's, again see the link above). In that extended format, they could actually expand upon the original story and delve into some of the areas the Clarke just glossed over. The book is broken into three sections and I believe they could easily get a two hour segment or more out of each. That would only work artistically, though, if the creative team respected the source material which is always a crapshoot when movie and/or television executives get involved. But with the CGI technology available today, this book could definitely shine if adapted into a well-made mini-series.

The audiobook version of Childhood’s End is narrated by Eric Michael Summerer who has a fair number of other genre audio books to his name as well. His narration is quite excellent and he does a great job with accents and distinguishing one character from the next. The audiobook has little else in the way of enhancements like music or sound effects, but with Summerer’s excellent vocal work, that’s not really needed. He delivers a great reading for a great book that should be on the radar of all sci fi fans.

Audiobook Review: Ready Player One by by Ernest Cline

Book Rating: 4 ½ out of 5 Stars

Audiobook Rating: 4 ½ out of 5 Stars

Bottom Line: It delivers a geek-gasm love-letter to the 80's and a decent science fiction tale read wonerfully by Wil Wheaton

Ready Player One takes place in a near future when Earth is crumbling due to wars and deteriorating environmental conditions and the majority of the population escape their sad reality by logging into the OASIS. This is a massive MMORPG virtual universe that is used by people for any of a number of purposes like attending school, playing games, having sexual encounters, building their own worlds, and more.  We learn at the beginning of the book that the creator of the OASIS--James Halliday--has recently passed away and he has set up a game for people to find his "easter egg" in the virtual reality which will bring them a sizable fortune and control over the company that runs the OASIS.  The 'egg hunters'--known as 'gunters'--must follow a series of clues derived from 1980's pop culture--the decade when Halliday grew up--to find the three keys and pass through the three gates that will eventually lead to the egg.  The focal character of the book is Wade Watts--who's avatar's name in the OASIS is Parzival--who lives a poor life in the "stacks"--literally mobile homes stacked on top of each other to maximize space.  He has dedicated himself to studying Halliday and 80's culture and proves quite adept at deciphering the clues left behind that lead to the gates and eventually the egg.

Ready Player One is a ton of fun as it delivers a love-letter to 80's--particularly the geek-centric aspects of that decade--while also creating a rather chilling look at a future that could very well happen.  The book has a rather light tone to it most of the time, but every once in a while it lets its dark under-belly show.  The glimpses we get of the real world are quite stark: the "stacks" (a true hell on Earth), the war-torn countryside, the fact that people can be killed off without authorities batting an eye, and more.  It's obvious why so many have retreated into the OASIS, and it's quite believable that if such a virtual reality existed (and it's definitely not too far-fetched) people would prefer that to the real world.  This of course creates a vicious cycle that allows the deterioration of the planet to continue due to neglect.  These ideas are more in the subtext of the book, but they are definitely present and help it rise above being just a lighthearted adventure as it actually plays with some interesting (and very plausible) science fiction ideas.

But for me, the gleefull revisiting of the 80's is what kicked it up to the next level.  I grew up during that era--I was a few years older than the Halliday character but enjoyed many of the same experiences--and I got almost all of the references.  From the "Trash-80", to the Dungeons and Dragons modules, to the Schoolhouse Rock shorts, to the Leopardon robot from the Japanese Spider-Man TV series.  Almost nothing passed over my head, and while I was not a huge videogamer in the day (hand-eye coordination is not my strong suit) D&D, and the movies, and the TV shows, and more were all my good friends from that time and revisiting them made this a very enjoyable read.  I do wonder if younger readers not as familiar with the 80's will follow the book as well because the references are an integral part of the story.  Sort of like going back and reading the Bloom County comic strip without the context.  That one delivers some classic, biting humor if you know what it is referencing, but may fall flat otherwise.

But I do believe that Ready Player One still stands up as a decent read even if you are not following all the cultural references.  There were a few lapses in the book that dragged it down from time to time, particularly the Parzival-pining-for-Art3mis scenes.  And virtual Halliday's sitcom-style speech at the end could have been handled better.  But those are just minor nitpicks of a first-rate book.  It offered a good, fun adventure while also setting up an interesting and very real dystopian future to deliver a well-rounded, page-turning science fiction novel.  I do wonder how well they will be able to bring all this to life in the upcoming movie to be directed by Steven Spielberg.  But then I questioned how well The Martian would translate to the big screen, and Ridley Scott did a knock out job with that (you can read my review at this link).

As for the audiobook version, familiar late-80's voice Wil Wheaton was brought in to provide the narration.  He is definitely a perfect match and probably only Matthew Broderick would count as a better fit since he was much more entrenched in that decade.  But Wheaton's still youthful voice (he's 43 now, believe it or not) is just right as the story is told from the point of view of eighteen year old Wade.  Wheaton does an excellent job of developing the lead character and does quite well with the voices of the other characters as well.  I will definitely be seeking out some more audiobooks narrated by Wheaton and for me his involvement with Ready Player One made it that much more enjoyable.  An excellent book, and excellent read, and highly recommended.

Audiobook Review: The Dark Tower - The Gunslinger by Stephen King

Book Rating: 2 ½ out of 5 Stars

Audiobook Rating: 4 ½ out of 5 Stars

Bottom Line: This book seems very unapproachable, but perhaps may not be best suited for an audio adaptation.

The Gunslinger is the first book in Stephen King's fantasy series The Dark Tower.  It takes on the guise of a Western with the titular character (we find out that his real name is Roland) following the "man in black" whom he has chased after
for many years.  His pursuit of this man is the first of several steps in his eventual quest to reach the Dark Tower.  The book takes place in a familiar Western desert setting, and the Gunslinger character plays very much off of the Clint Eastwood archetype.  But we find out that the land he is traveling in could be a purgatory-like plane of reality or a post-apocalyptic Earth.  Along the way he encounters several people and supernatural forces that try to stop him, but he remains diligent in his pursuit of the man in black.

I have not read much of Stephen King's works over the years because I am not a big fan of horror (and because his books are loooong), but this entry has long been on my to read list of books because of its fantasy leanings and the fact that the Dark Tower series has been hailed as one of his greatest accomplishments.  Plus, The Gunslinger incorporates a lot of the trappings of a Western and I have always had a soft spot for a good tale in that genre.  So I thought for certain that I would love this book, but actually found myself struggling with it throughout.

In retrospect, I'm thinking this may not have been the best novel to encounter in audiobook format.  It is rife with imagery and allusions and it is a pretty dense read.  This is one of those that you probably need to reread some passages several times which doesn't fit in well with a morning commute listen.  I think I may have enjoyed this better sitting down and reading the actual book, but then looking over other reviews across several sites it appears that I'm not the only one who found it somewhat unapproachable.  Apparently the series gets better as it goes along, so I will plan on getting to the second book at some point.  But it's not a high priority at the moment as the first seemed to meander and digress and never really tell a good story, though maybe that's in part because it was pieced together from five short stories.

As far as the audiobook adaptation, I can't find any faults with George Guidall's reading.  His gruff voice fits perfectly with the Western setting as if he were reciting the tale while sitting around the campfire.  His narration definitely helps make the book more enjoyable, but unfortunately does not cut through the mire enough to improve its clarity.  It appears that he narrates several more books in the Dark Tower series (though not the second), so that will definitely be a plus if I decide to continue with these books.  But if I do so, it will be more on the reputation of the series and not on my experience with the first book.

Audiobook Review: If Chins Could Kill, Confessions of a B-Movie Actor by Bruce Campbell

Book Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars (Highest Rating)

Audiobook Rating: 4 ½ out of 5 Stars

Bottom Line: Bruce Campbell narrates the acting career of Bruce Campbell.  Do I really need to tell you this is a must-buy?

I’ll start this out with a confession:  I’ve long had a bit of a man-crush on perennial B-Movie actor Bruce Campbell.  There, I said it.  And I don’t feel a need to check into a homophobe clinic either.  He is a tough as nails man’s man, and a heck of a good actor even if the material had has received over the years has not always been up to his level of talent.

I was first introduced to Campbell back in the early 90’s when I got addicted to FOX’s Adventures of Brisco County Jr. TV series which he headlined.  From there, I discovered the Evil Dead movies which I loved and then I kept an eye on what he was doing with his career after FOX ill-advisedly cut short Brisco County after only a single season.  But I always wondered why such a great actor didn’t appear in more TV shows and movies and why he so often seemed to show up in cheesier flicks rather than the big budget entries.  After reading If Chins Could Kill, I now have a better understanding of that and how the film and TV business works, as well as a better appreciation of one of my favorite actors.

In this book, Campbell recounts his acting career from his early days doing semi-pro films when he was still in high school all the way into what he has been doing in the first part of the 21st century.  He grew up in Detroit where he was close friends with future directors/producers Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert and they all shared a love of making movies.  They produced quite a number of short films, often comedy capers, using Super 8 cameras which they showed locally in their neighborhood.  And then they made their first foray into professional film-making with The Evil Dead.  After a couple more additions to the Evil Dead franchise as well as a few low-budget indy films, Raimi and Tapert eventually graduated into A-List films as well as television production. Campbell tested the waters with some A-List films but ultimately decided he was less interested in being one of the elite Hollywood leading men and more concerned with steady work and enjoying what he was doing.

This book is definitely a must-read, not only for Bruce Campbell fans bur for anybody interested in getting into the entertainment industry, even if things have changed considerably from the time that Campbell first got started.  His recounting of how they raised money for the first Evil Dead movie is eye-opening considering that these days many indy producers often just turn to crowd-funding to get that initial cash influx.  And his tales of the grueling hours working on movies and TV shows definitely make his job seem much less glamorous.  It’s interesting to hear his take on the cancellation of Brisco County.  He enjoyed working on the show but also looked at its end as a break from the long hours he had to put in.  We wonder sometimes why some actors don’t lobby more heavily for a cancelled show to be renewed, but they are just as happy to get their lives back from the arduous shooting schedule.  Campbell ended up enjoying much more his recurring role as Autolycus on Hercules and Xena (we need a DVD compilation of just those eps) and also slipping behind the camera as director for a few episodes, even though he did speak fondly of Brisco County.

The audiobook version of If Chins Could Kill is read by Bruce Campbell himself.  And even though I usually insist that writers should stick to writing and leave the voice work to the professionals (Harlan Ellison being one of the few exceptions), could you imagine anybody other than His Chinness reading this?  Of course that said, he starts this out by delivering pretty much just a straightforward reading.  You could just see Campbell in your head sitting there and reading from a book he is holding in his hand.  But he eventually starts to get the feel of it and Campbell’s personality and snarkiness really starts to shine through after a chapter or so.  By that point, it was a sheer pleasure to listen to the audiobook and Campbell actually made me look forward to my commute for several weeks.  This one is definitely a great book, a great read, and a must buy!

Available from Amazon.com:

Audiobook Review: The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks

Book Rating: 2 ½ out of 5 Stars

Audiobook Rating: 3 ½ out of 5 Stars

This well-known fantasy novel is one that I have started reading several times over the years, but never progressed to far because I quickly become annoyed by its glaring similarities to J.R.R. Tolkien’s seminal Lord of the Rings Trilogy.  But I decided once again to give it a shot as part of my audio adventures and finally managed to trek through the entire book.

As the story begins, we learn that the evil wizard Sauron . . . I mean the Warlock Lord . . . is planning his conquest of Middle Earth . . . I mean The Four Lands . . . where the races of humans, elves, dwarves, orcs, gnomes, and trolls live.  The wizard Gandalf . . . er . . . Allanon comes to the Shire . . . make that Shady Vale . . . and tells Frodo . . . no, Shea Ohmsford . . . that the one ring Sword of Shannara is crucial to defeating the Warlock Lord and that Shea will be a key figure in his downfall.  Shea then sets off with Sam . . . make that his brother Flick . . . and meets the mysterious Strider . . . er . . . Balinor (who is the heir to the throne) and they join up with the dwarf Gimli Hemdel and the elf Legolas Durin along with his brother Dale.  This fellowship . . . make that company . . . then sets off on a journey to find the sword and defeat the dark lord.

Okay, there are definitely plenty of similarities between this story and Tolkien’s epic as The Sword of Shannara follows the Lord of the Rings template very closely through the first half of its story and continues to borrow liberally all the way to the end of the book.  But then even Shakespeare was known to lift some ideas now and then, so that’s not necessarily a bad thing.  Still, Terry Brooks is not the Bard, at least not at that point in his career and his first Shannara book definitely gives us his take on LoR, so be aware of that in advance when approaching this one.

But he did manage to throw in some original characters and ideas, or at least ones that were not lifted straight from Tolkien.  Menion Leah has no direct correlation in the LoR books that I can see and I liked the addition of the rogue Panamon Creel and his partner Keltset (who seem to invoke Han and Chewie, though this book preceded the first Star Wars movie).  The world that Brooks creates is also interesting in that it takes place in a post-apocalyptic future where humans have mutated into the fantasy character races that now dominate the planet.  That is unfortunately not explored too much in this book, but Brooks does some good world-building for his stories that will follow.

And quite a number of books in the series have hit the shelves since The Sword of Shannara with over twenty through 2015.  From what I understand, the second book—The Elfstones of Shannara—is where Brooks started to hit his stride with the series and I have that one currently in my audiobook queue.  I can’t tell you that Sword is a great book, but it was enjoyable enough and it did a good job of setting the groundwork for a much larger tale that has become well respected in fantasy literature.  It did drag at times, especially throughout the second half, but it never turned into a slogfest.  It’s worth reading for fantasy fans, if for no other reason than as an introduction to the world that Terry Brooks has built since then.  But I would definitely stop short of calling The Sword of Shannara a fantasy classic (though many people do consider it that).

As for the audiobook version, long time veteran Scott Brick provides the narration, though his talents do not seem as well-suited to this book.  I have listened to him many times reading classic works by science fiction authors like Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke and his monotone fits quite well with those stories which tend to be somewhat dry.  But his vocals just didn’t seem to work as well in the fantasy setting.  Add to that the fact that the accents he would give to several of the characters tended to fade and I would count this as a subpar performance by the often reliable narrator.  I wouldn’t say that he distracted from the material, but he definitely wasn’t the best choice for this particular book, especially considering its rather lengthy 26 hour reading time.  This audiobook would be ripe for a new edition with someone like Patrick Stewart or Ian McKellan (or Harlan Ellison) reading it.  But as it is, Scott Brick’s version is passable and a decent enough option to work your way through the first Shannara book.

Book Review: The League of Regrettable Superheroes by Jon Morris

Rating: 4 ½ out of 5 Stars

Bottom Line: A fun look at the less-celebrated comic book crime fighters that's hard to put-down.

Subtitled "Half-baked Heroes from Comic Book History", this fun little book takes us beyond the A-List comic book superheroes and even beyond the B and C listers.  Super-powered crime fighters have been smashing it up in comics since the late 1930's, and quite a number of costumed do-gooders have paraded across the four color pages since that time.  Plenty have stood the test of time (Superman, Batman, Captain America), but plenty more came and went with little in the way of fanfare.  And this book focuses on that latter group.

Author Jon Morris runs the blog Gone & Forgotten, which as he describes is "dedicated to the bottom of the comic book barrel".  And many of the characters in this book come from the nether regions of that very barrel; from the Golden Age all the way to more recent times.  Here's a look at just a few of characters he covers in the book:

Bozo the Iron Man: Before the clown adopted the moniker and before Tony Stark donned his iron accouterments, this character was running around in the pages of Smash Comics.  He was a (perennially smiling) robot who started out as a bad guy but was set on the path of good when crime fighter Hugh Hazzard swiped his controls.

Doctor Hormone: This aged scientist (whose real last name is apparently Hormone), turns himself young again then decides to "bring the mighty power of hormones to benefit the world".  That seems to mostly involve turning people young and old, but you do what you can to fight crime, right?

Dynamite Thor: Having apparently no relation to the Norse god, this mortal was particularly adept at using explosives to subdue the bad guys.  That of course set a great example for the children reading the comic . . .

Fatman the Human Flying Saucer: Um . . . this guy was fat (though apparently still rather athletic).  Oh, and after an encounter with aliens, they gave him the ability to turn into a human flying saucer.  Hijinks ensue . . .

Squirrel Girl: You can't have a book like this without this dubious character who appeared in the pages of Marvel in the 90's.  She had the "relative strength, speed, and talents of squirrels".  And a tail.  And she could communicate with other squirrels.  She apparently kicked Dr. Doom's butt, though.

Those are just a sampling of the characters that Norris covers in the book, and he does so with plenty of wit and also a great love for the source material he is poking fun at.  This is the type of book that you pick up and suddenly find that an hour or more has passed as you flip through the pages reading about the next crazy comic character.  Consider it a great bathroom reader and a must have for any comic book afficianado who wants to delve beyond the major players in the industry.   And at only $14 for the hard cover (the current price on Amazon as of this writing), it counts has a bargain in my book.

Buy it now in Hardcover or for the Kindle from Amazon.com:

Audiobook Review: Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey

Book Rating: 3 ½ out of 5 Stars

Audiobook Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Bottom Line: A good space opera tale with equal parts hard sci fi and pulp adventure

Leviathan Wakes is the first book in The Expanse series written by James S. A. Corey (the pen name for the writing team of Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck).  It takes place in a future where humans have colonized the solar system but have not ventured out to the stars yet.  Three major political entities have emerged from this expansion into space: the Earth United Nations, Mars, and the Outer Planets Alliance (primarily located in the asteroid belt).  The book starts out with two separate storylines that eventually converge.  One follows a group of crew members that survive the destruction of the ice freighter (which takes water to the outer planets) they were on, after they stumble upon some information that could break the fragile peace within the solar system.  The other storyline follows a detective on the Ceres station in the asteroid belt who is investigating the disappearance of  a girl with influential parents.  These two groups eventually meet up and find themselves at the center of an escalating conflict between the political powers of the solar system.

Leviathan Wakes is good, breezy sci fi that tries to keep its science as accurate as possible but that also throws in plenty of pulp story elements to keep it moving along.  The character development is decent, though it is the three male leads (Jim Holden, Detective Miller, and Fred Johnson) that get the most attention in this respect.  The rest of the characters are given broad strokes of characterization, but they still manage to register well enough throughout the story.  And it does pose some interesting sci fi concepts with the alien proto-molecule and the moral dilemmas that arise from its presence.  But it succeeds best at delivering a grand space opera tale that rarely comprises its science and that never bogs down as it sets up an interesting universe with plenty of potential for more stories.

Syfy is currently in the process of adapting this to a television series (to be titled The Expanse) with a ten episode order for its first season.  In my opinion these books would translate quite well to the small screen and Leviathan Wakes probably has more than enough material for that inaugural season (there are currently four more books in the series as well).  If they rely heavily on the source material, this could be quite a good series and possibly the next great sci fi show.  Syfy's two current space opera shows Dark Matter and Killjoys show some promise even if they lapse a bit too much into copy and paste sci fi.  But if the network puts a little bit more effort in The Expanse and treats the books with the respect they deserve, then they could have their next Farscape/Stargate/BSG on their hands.

As for the audiobook, Jeffrey Mays delivers a solid reading of the material.  He is not called upon to do too much in the way of accents (except the Belters speaking in their pigeon tongue), and he does a decent job of distinguishing between the characters.  He gives a clean reading that never detracts from the story and keeps it moving along at its brisk pace.  Since the book is not too dense, it translates well to audio and this a good way to experience it.

I wouldn't quite put Leviathan Wakes in the realm of classic sci fi, but it's not far off and I already have the second book in the series high on my reading list.  It's definitely worth checking out for fans of space opera and good sci fi in general.

Audiobook Review: The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick

Book Rating: 3 ½ out of 5 Stars
Audiobook Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

The Man in the High Castle is Philip K. Dick's 1962 novel that takes place in an alternate history where the Axis powers won World War II.  In his timeline, the war lasted until 1947 and control of the United States was split between Japan and Germany following the end of the conflict.  The book takes place several years later in America during the 1950's and follows several intertwining storylines.  One involves the power struggle that ensues in Germany following the death of Adolf Hitler's successor Martin Borman.  Another involves attempts to inform Japanese officials in America of a plot by the Nazis to launch a nuclear strike on their home country and thus take full control of the world.  Another involves an assassination attempt on the author of the book The Grasshopper Lies Heavy which posits another reality in which the Allied powers won the war (though it has its differences from our own timeline).

The book is quite interesting, though I found it ultimately unsatisfying.  Philip K. Dick has always been a great idea man (demonstrated by the number of his concepts that have been adapted to film and television), though I personally find he tends to come up a bit short at times as a writer.  His ideas tend to work better in short stories where he can stay more focused with less room for meandering (more on that at this link).  With his novels (including his most famous, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep), his writing tends to stray and become muddled at times (more on that at this link).  That's definitely the case with The Man in the High Castle as he fails to give a satisfying resolution to several of his storylines and some just seem tacked on (like the fascination the Nazis and Japanese have with artifacts of Americana).  The setting, though, is quite fascinating and I found it interesting that he gave an almost (though no quite) sympathetic view of the Japanese occupation of the U.S. and of that country's culture in general.  But there was so much in the book that cries out to be developed further, and when it ends rather abruptly it leaves you feeling cheated.  Ultimately, it appears Dick's goal with the book was less about exploring this alternate reality he created and more about delving into the philosophy and predictive nature of the I Ching.  An interesting idea in its own right, but not what I was looking for from this alternate history novel.

Amazon Instant Video is adapting this book as one of their original series, and they are taking plenty of liberties with it as has typically been the case with Dick's works.  But several of the basics are there with the division of the U.S. between Germany and Japan, the ensuing power struggle among the Nazis, as well as the suggestion of an alternate-alternate reality where the Allies won the war.  I'm hoping that show will dive into some of the more interesting possibilities that Dick suggested about this alternate reality but failed to flesh out. The pilot is currently available for viewing at Amazon (at this link) and the series will kick off later this year.  Perhaps, as with Blade Runner, the adaptation will improve upon the original.

As for the audiobook version (currently available from Audible.com), Tom Weiner does a decent job of narrating the story, though I wouldn't call it a standout performance.  He delivers a very mechanical reading, especially early on, and has an annoying habit of drawing out the last word in every sentence.  But he does do a god job with the Japanese and German accents and also with differentiating between the many characters.  And his robotic idiosyncracies become less noticeable and less of a distraction as you progress through the book.

Overall, The Man in the High Castle is a decent book with some very interesting ideas and worth the read (which isn't too long at about eight and a half hours for the audiobook).  But you might enjoy it better if you go in with the understanding that it is less about exploring the alternate reality that Dick has created and more of an observation on Asian philosophy, particularly the I Ching.

Audiobook Review: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick

I am rerunning this previous Audiobook review in preparation for my upcoming review of The Man in the High Castle.

Book Rating: 3 ½ or of 5 Stars
Audiobook Rating: 3 ½ out of 5 Stars

This infamous Philip K. Dick novel is set in the near future world of 2001 (the book was published in 1968) when Earth is suffering from the effects of "World War Terminus" which has destroyed much of the planet and left many impacted by the nuclear fallout that followed the conflict.  The survivors have been encouraged to leave the planet and colonize other worlds (with Mars being the closest location), and as an incentive they are given human androids servants if they leave Earth.  However, some of these androids (“andies” as they are referred to) flee their servitude and return to Earth.  In these cases, bounty hunters that work for the police departments hunt them down and “retire” them.  In San Francisco, Dave Holden is the lead bounty hunter, but he is put in the hospital by a Nexus 6 android, a superior model with a highly advanced brain.  Holden’s backup, Rick Deckard, is brought in and is dispatched to retire the six fugitive androids in the city.  Interspersed with this story is that of Deckard’s attempts to deal with his depressed wife (who won’t use the mood organs properly to adjust her temperament) and to acquire a real animal (a sign of status in what’s left of society) to replace the electric sheep he currently owns.  We also follow the life of J.R. Isidore, a “special”/”chicken-head” whose IQ has been detrimentally impacted by radiation.  Three of the androids come to his building to escape notice and he befriends them and tells them he will protect them.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep is widely recognized among genre fans as the basis for Ridley Scott’s classic science fiction film Blade Runner.  While Scott’s adaptation of the book took plenty of liberties with the source material, structurally they share many similarities.  In both, a group of superior Nexus 6 androids escapes from an off-world colony and returns to Earth.  A bounty hunter named Dave Holden (in the book and film) is incapacitated by one of the Nexus 6, and Rick Deckard is brought in to takeover the pursuit (in the book he is Holden’s backup, in the movie he is coaxed out of retirement).  Deckard then goes to the company that manufactures the androids (Rosen Industries in the book, the Tyrell Corporation in the movie) and administers the Voigt-Kampff empathy test used for detecting artificial humans on a person who works there (Rachel) as a control subject before administering it to an android.  It turns out she is an android, but did not know it (though in the book this is suggested as a ploy to throw off Deckard and to discredit the Voigt-Kampff test).  Several of the escaped Nexus 6 androids take refuge in a mostly vacant building that has only one other inhabitant (the mentally challenged Isidore in the book, the genetic designer and employee of Tyrell J.F. Sebastian in the movie).  After retiring the other fugitive androids, Deckard pursues the remaining Nexus 6 to this building where they have their last stand. 

Similar structurally, but still very different stories.  Blade Runner is much more atmospheric, moody, and action-oriented while it also offers plenty of moments of introspection and asks the viewers to question what it means to be human.  The book delves further into the philosophical side and while it questions what it means to be human it also asks what it truly means to be alive.  Are the humans in this book really living better, more meaningful lives than the androids--who have only a short life-span but who seek to find some sort of meaning to their existence?  The humans concern themselves with possessing animals (ostensibly to preserve the few remaining species, but it’s really more about social status), they control their feelings artificially with mood organs, and they fill their lives with the sham-religion of Mercerism and the daily exploits of The Buster Friendly Show.  These are interwoven into the underlying themes of the book and they help give the story its depth.

But unfortunately, these concepts don’t quite carry the book as well as you would hope.  Phillip K. Dick is very much an idea guy and his tales generally center around one or two philosophical concepts that provide the central theme, with story development really an afterthought for him.  His ideas work best in shorter form like “Minority Report” and “We Can Dream it for You Wholesale” (and you see me review of those at this link), though even those also fall a bit short of delivering a well-rounded story (they still succeed better than Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep).  With a novel-length tale, Dick tends to meander and the story feels rather padded.  And he leaves too many loose ends dangling without satisfying resolution (J.R. Isadore’s story, the mock-police department run by androids, the Phil Resch character, and more).

Another drawback of this novel is that the main character Rick Deckard is not a particularly strong central figure.  It’s not that he is an unlikeable anti-hero type, it’s more that he seems like a very weak individual and you wonder how he ever succeeded as a bounty hunter in the first place.  I realize that’s part of the point, but it makes it difficult to empathize with Deckard (hmm, maybe the book is a Voigt-Kampff test on the reader?) and also results in somewhat of a difficult read.  Of course part of my issue here is that Blade Runner is one of my all-time favorite movies, so I expect the same sort of heightened experience that the film delivered instead of the slow-burn of the book.  If I was not comparing the two as much (which I find it almost impossible not to do), I might enjoy it more.  But in any case, I find this book less than satisfying even if it does deliver some interesting questions and though-provoking concepts.

That said, I still recognize it as an important work of science fiction that deals with some ground-breaking ideas and should be considered an important work in the genre.  It’s just that its accomplishments and reputation don’t always translate to a good read, similar to Robert A. Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land and Isaac Asimov’s Foundation Trilogy.  Science fiction fans will feel obliged to encounter Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep at some point, and I do encourage reading it, just go in with expectations tempered.  And also know that you will find better examples of Phillip K. Dick’s talent in his shorter stories like the ones mentioned above.

The audiobook version that I listened to was read by long-time audiobook veteran Scott Brick who has many genre titles to his credit.  He delivers his usual good reading, though I have to admit that I did not feel like his voice fit this book as well as when I have heard him read the works of authors like Isaac Asimov.  His monotone seems to better fit the dryer writing of Asimov's works and actually complements that author's prose.  His reading here didn’t quite seem to flow as well with Dick’s writing, though I wouldn’t say it was bad or detracted from the book.  He did a decent job, I just like him better with other authors.  Still, this is a good way to encounter this book, and if you have not read it yet I would suggest getting the audiobook version.  Note that it does go under the title Blade Runner (even though that term is exclusively from the movie) and claims to be "adapted from" Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, but it is the original Philip K. Dick novel.  It is available from Audible.com.