Specials

Title: Specials

Author: Scott Westerfeld

Publication date: 2006

Book's setting: The ~Future

Random facts: Third book in a series of four.

Plot summary: Tally has spent the last month under the knife, becoming a Cutter for Special Circumstance. That means that basically she is a human weapon. She is smarter, faster, and more dangerous than any other Special. She and her fellow Cutters are trying to locate New Smoke for Doctor Cable, but when David captures one of the team their plan begins to unravel. Tally and Shay turn to Zane, weak and crippled from the lesions cure, in order to track down New Smoke and get Fausto back.

Favorite aspects: I was really happy with this book. Everything I thought was missing from the previous two was addressed in this volume, mainly the other cities and the international politics under the lesions system. Specials had a much broader scope, the world that Westerfeld created finally felt three dimensional and real because he finally showed me the big picture. Also Zane was wonderful. I really love that boy's character, he's so unchangeable and constant. Surrounded by characters like Tally and Shay who have had so many surgeries they hardly know who they are anymore, his consistent compassion and sweetness was a breath of fresh air.

Least favorite aspects: I know Tally is a special snowflake... literally. But still, Westerfeld! She's not a frigging god! I was a bit disappointed that after everything Tally had done to free her world from their crazy mind control government, she immediately had to prove that she was still superior and would be watching them for failure. The New System had barely got started before she decided she would be the secret Special Circumstance. I understand that it is because of her surgeries- she is still smarter and faster than everyone else... but it made the freedom a bit anti-climactic. The pessimism about the future set in before anyone could even decide what that future might be.

Other works it reminded me of: The Diamond of Darkhold by Jeanne DuPrau; The Giver by Lois Lowry.

Sadie's merciless break-down: So I was pretty happy with the way that the series panned out. I guess Tally and David will go live in the forest and raise lots of free children or something. The only thing that bothered me was the Cutters. The concept of the Cutters worked really well in his dystopian society, but it made me a bit uncomfortable sometimes. Cutting is a serious problem within youth culture today and I don't think he took it seriously enough in Specials. It was a clever plot device and he certainly didn't celebrate the concept of self-harm, but it was a bit too nonchalant. I've never done anything like that, nor do I know anyone who cuts, but considering the audience of the Uglies series I'd have thought that Westerfeld might have been a bit more sensitive.
I'm not saying all teens who read ya sci-fi would be cutters, obviously. But given the amount of people reading these books I'd bet some of them do. He made it seem almost... glamorous? Obviously it was glamorous when Tally and Shay were under the influence of the Special Circumstance surgeries, but Westerfeld didn't justify it later. It didn't really bother me too much, but I think it probably seriously bothered someone else.

Recommendation rate: Now that I finished the core three books, I'd say it's worth reading if you're into futuristic society and politics.

Hexwood

Title: Hexwood

Author: Diana Wynne Jones

Publication date: 1993

Book's setting: 1993

Random facts: Dedicated to the great Neil Gaiman.

Plot summary: A bedridden teenager, an android, a boy made blood, Mordian the Servant, Reigner Two, Vierran of House Guarantee, and the sprawling Bannus. Picture this: Earth is unknowingly being ruled by an intergalactic government. Something is wrong in Earth's Sector Controller so the Reigners send down Mordian to control the Bannus (a sort of energy field that can think for itself, changes, and grows constantly.) At the same time the novel follows the adventures of Ann, a young girl who literally has the Bannus in her backyard.

Favorite aspects: I was 187 pages in before I understood what the hell I was reading. Wait no. That's being too soft on myself. To be really honest I didn't understand the book until I was done with it... and read the last hundred pages twice. But that is Diana for you- it's why I read her books, it's why everything she writes is so fascinating. Ann was spectacular heroine. I think that she is very easy to identify with and also possesses a sort of independence and confidence that a lot of girls wish they had. But what was best about the book was it's portrayal of time. I mean, talk about timey-wimey! Think Doctor Who meets Inception. Characters like Anne had "fixed" timelines and crossed over others' in the wrong order. Characters like Yam were unaffected by the backwards timeline of the Bannus. The story had layers and layers of narrative, some of them more close to the ultimate truth of the book than others. It was told out of order and from the point of view of incredibly unreliable sources. It made you think.

Least favorite aspects: I didn't know what I was getting myself into with Hexwood. Most of the time I spend reading it I was pretty sure I didn't like it. I was just being impatient. Diana doesn't make things easy on her reader. She never does. If you don't want to have to read every single word with care, and some words twice with care, then it's not the book for you. I found the payoff to be well worth the time and effort it took me to read it, but I would totally understand someone who really disliked Hexwood, or even didn't understand it. My brain is wired to deal with weird sci-fi scenarios. I enjoy trying to decode impossible time-travel stories. However Hexwood is not for your average fantasy or science fiction fan. I think you should be very familiar with the style of Diana Wynne Jones before you read it. It was everything bizarre that Diana is capable of in one novel.

Other works it reminded me of: Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones; Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury.

Sadie's merciless break-down: Diana Wynne Jones died about a month ago. I read Neil's memoriam on his blog and he mentioned that she'd dedicated Hexwood to him. So I had to read it. I just don't cry often but I cried when Diana died. (And also because Neil is such a perfect writer that anything he says can manage to bring tears to my eyes. I've sniffled my way through everything of his. His novels, his short stories, his poems, his blog posts, his twitter. It's embarrassing.)
But back to Diana. She does these weird things with plot that really should never be done, ever. She breaks every rule. Publisher Weekly said Hexwood had a "muddled narrative and confusing finale." This whole ridiculous book shouldn't have worked. But Diana Wynne Jones gets away with it with ease. It held every hysterical cheap trick up her sleeve... and the entire story was built on this insanity. Yet it made sense in the end.
I think one thing that lets Diana get away with what she writes is that she knows what she's doing. Have you ever read a mystery and been pretty sure that the author was making it up as they went along? Have you ever read a fantasy and noticed that the author really didn't know much about their world after all? Diana can get away with being muddled and unorthodox because she has no plot-holes. She knows her entire universe like the back of her hand and she has a fantastic well-formed plot in her head and you can sense that while reading. Even if you can't puzzle anything out while reading a book of hers it's obvious that Diana does know what she's doing... so you stick with her. Sometimes you have to read the climax twice or three times or more. Sometimes you never understand what in the world happened. But if you don't understand it's not because Diana didn't. It's because your brain is limited and hers just isn't.

Recommendation rate: It's challenging. I mean, not often would I say that about a book other then like, The Canterbury Tales, but this was a challenging book. If you're ready to spend 400 pages in the dark before a muddled resolution then have at it!

Bloodshot

Title: Bloodshot

Author: Cherie Priest

Publication date: 2011

Book's setting: 2009/2010

Random facts: First novel in what will be a series.

Plot summary: Raylene is a freelance thief and investigator. She's also a vampire. She manages to stay out of vampire politics, living alone and working mostly for humans, until a blind vampire shows up and asks for her help in locating the records of the government experiments that left him permanently handicapped. Within moments of accepting the job Raylene is being tailed by government agents. She knows she should just drop the case, but the government knows about vampires and knows how to hurt them, and she needs to know why.

Favorite aspects: Bloodshot made me feel the world changing around me. The word "hipster" was in it. I'm not sure what to feel about that. There is so much internet. And thumb drives. And mixed coffee drinks. It was current and wonderful. Also, two words: GIRL. VAMPIRE. Raylene is hysterical and fresh and funny and not your classic mopey vampire at all. Actually, none of it was classically "vampire." Bloodshot reminded me of a reverse X-Files; it was from the point of view of the endangered mystical creature instead of the cops. I found it incredibly original.

Least favorite aspects: I wish we could have seen more of Ian. He means a lot to Raylene but we learn basically nothing about him, except that he's a vampire and he's blind and he's sad all the time. Also it was structured rather oddly. It was just very hard to predict. Actually, that's not really a problem... it just is.

Other works it reminded me of: Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman (sort of); Wolf Star Rise by Tanith Lee (sort of).

Sadie's merciless break-down: I haven't been reading much lately. It's so lovely out I just want to spend every waking second under the sun. Besides, it's finale season which means that I'm basically eating and breathing spoilers. Not to mention the NYC world premiere of Doctor Who left me utterly useless for about a week. I'm still recovering. Arthur Darvill's face will do that to you. What better to ease me back into the swing of reading than a frigging awesome vampire mystery epic??
Really this was the least vampire novel imaginable. The only think that made it a vampire novel was the fact that the main character happened to be a vampire. It was more of a PI vs. CIA thriller novel full of gun fights and fun twists. If you get turned off my the idea of a vampire novel simply because they all look like teenage trash, give Bloodshot another chance. There wasn't any sexy symbolization or dark vampire guilt or innocent girls being hoodwinked. Raylene just was. Actually, Priest didn't even feel the need to explain her vampire's mythology. They just were. It was awesome. Did I say that already? It was. It was fast and crazy and really fun. Sometimes it's nice to read something ridiculous and fun. (Who am I kidding? I always read ridiculous and fun books.) I was kind of embarrassed that I was reading another vampire/fantasy/YAish novel but now I decided I shouldn't feel any shame. It was a totally trip and Wuthering Heights (review to follow) was getting dull. No shame, peace out.

Recommendation rate: If you like vampires and awesome exciting books than read it- it was awesome. There was a liberal amount of ~bad language in it. You have been warned.

Pretties

Title: Pretties

Author: Scott Westerfeld

Publication date: 2005

Book's setting: The ~Future

Random facts: Second book in a series of four.

Plot summary: Pretties picks up only weeks after Uglies left off. Tally has undergone the surgery and in the process has forgotten almost everything about her life in The Smoke. But her new life as a Pretty isn't as simple as she thought it would be. In her first weeks with the Crims she meets Zane who seems to have a much clearer mind than his peers. When a boy from The Smoke shows up with the cure for the lesions Tally decides to share her secret with Zane. Now the two of them need to find a way to keep the Crims, and all the Pretties, bubbly long enough to escape to find David and his mother and the rest of the cure. Only Dr. Cable and oddly enough, Shay, stand in their way.

Favorite aspects: To be honest I think I liked this one better than Uglies. In the first book the whole idea of the Pretties wasn't very developed... and you just started thinking of them as idiots. A book where the vapid, beautiful ones are the heroes... now that's just a bit more original. Seeing Tally and Shay (who we already loved as Uglies) in their new Pretty bodies gave the entire society more depth and took away the hesitations I had about the Uglies. I also enjoyed the fact that Westerfeld didn't punish Tally and Shay for getting surge, even after they were essentially cured. That definitely helped break down the pretty-and-dumb stereotype the first book only very nearly escaped.

Least favorite aspects: The Pretties' lingo got tiring after a while. In a way it was a strong way of establishing a culture for them that would be immediately identifiable for the reader... but my brain got tired of reading "crim" and "bubbly" and "bogus" and "surg" and "pretty-making." The lingo that the Uglies and The Smoke has in the previous book were much less offensive to my brain. Also Zane and David were awesome foils, but turning them into an over-blown love triangle took away from their individual personalities and storyline.

Other works it reminded me of: The Prophet of Yonwood by Jeanne DuPrau, Uglies by Scott Westerfeld.

Sadie's merciless break-down: I've never read a dystopian novel I loved unconditionally. When you're playing with dystopias you're playing with sensitive and complicated subject matter and you're just doomed to either be too heavy handed or offensive somewhere in your plot. Even the Ember series had it's flaws. (DuPrau, I love you, but give religion a break. For like, two seconds. Please.) All this aside, Pretties handled it's subject matter with utmost care. Perhaps it would have been an even better book if Westerfeld let his guard down and got gritty, or perhaps it would have just been awkward.
Anyway, now I am going to point out something that annoyed me in Pretties that wasn't substantial enough to be filed under "least favorite aspects." One of my big pet peeves is when teen novel authors say their characters "cursed" or "swore" instead of using real words. Westerfeld did it a few too many times in Pretties. My entire body tenses up when I see it written. Dear authors of the world, you have options: Man up and throw a few fucks in OR substitute for less offensive words OR just make cursing a non-issue. (The only time I am okay with seeing the word "swore" in a book is when Riordan does it. Simply because it brings amusing images to mind of Percy screaming strings of profanity.)

Recommendation rate: You obviously shouldn't read it if you haven't read Uglies, it's a sequel dependent on the first one. If you like dystopian lit then pick up Uglies first. If you like that one then try this.

Uglies

Title: Uglies

Author: Scott Westerfeld

Publication date: 2005

Book's setting: The ~Future

Random facts: First book in a series of four.

Plot summary: Some three centuries in the future all of humanity is broken into stages. When you're born you are a Little, just a cute kid. Once puberty sets in and everyone looks awkward and strange you become an Ugly. Uglies have to wait around till their 16th birthday, at which time they undergo full-body surgery to turn them into a Pretty. The purpose of all this is to make the world uniform, to stop racism and jealousy and eating disorders. It's supposed to make everything fair. Your imperfect body and face are enhanced to make the most perfect you possible. Pretties age with grace, undergoing two more surgeries as they age to help keep them fresh and attractive, and die at ripe old ages without much outward deterioration. Tally Youngblood is in the home stretch, just months before her big surgery, when she meets Shay, a girl who doesn't want to be pretty. Days before their surgeries Shay runs away from the city, defying her culture and government. Tally is sent out by Special Circumstances to find Shay and the band of rebels that she'd hiding with.

Favorite aspects: Somehow Westerfeld manages his touchy subject matter with care, despite the "YA Lit" label he seems to have adopted. The writing isn't anything spectacular but it's not distractingly bad either. The characters are where he shines, as well as his subtle references to incredibly sensitive topics like anorexia, racism, and beauty as something that can be measured. I don't really know how he made it work so well without shocking or offending me, but he did.

Least favorite aspects: I think that this would have been a better novel if Westerfeld had gone further. Although it isn't as annoyingly "teen" one one would guess by looking at the cover, there was a lot of unexplored territory that he could have dove into if Uglies had ended up under General Fiction or Science Fiction/Fantasy instead of YA Lit. Not that I LIKE my books full of sex and violence, but it avoided some issues I think should have naturally come up considering the subject matter.

Other works it reminded me of: The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau.

Sadie's merciless break-down: I didn't want to like this book. The concept looked kind of dumb and the cover blinded me with the ~TEEN FICTION~ glow. Despite countless recommendations from friends and trusty internet comrades I didn't want to read it. Mid-December I ran out of books to read and reserved it from the library. It must have gotten lost or something because it finally appeared in the library two months later. Too make matters worse the library sent me a large-print copy which meant I had to hold the book about two feet away from my face and turned the page every few seconds. But then something really awful happened. I liked it. It felt similar to the moment when I realized that I actually loved cheese after spending a decade mocking cheese-lovers. (Just roll with me here.) Anyway, I really liked it.
I've never been insecure about my own body, but many people I love struggle with body image which created a sort of hyper-sensitive switch in me. I hear anyone talking too decidedly about what diets and body shapes are healthiest or what sort of face is prettiest and I climb onto my soap box. I guess I thought that Uglies would rub me the wrong way because it dealt with all of that stuff I hate. Westerfeld managed to get me to genuinely sympathize with both sides of his story. I think that's rare when dealing with the question of whether or not beauty is subjective, biological, or even important.

Recommendation rate: If you like a good dystopia then definitely give it a try. If you're not fond of sci-fi in any way shape or form... don't bother.

Boneshaker

Title: Boneshaker

Author: Cherie Priest

Publication date: 2009

Book's setting: Mid 1800's

Random facts: It was nominated for the 2010 Hugo Award.

Plot summary: Set in pre-Civil War in Seattle, Boneshaker takes history and warps it into something new and exciting. Boneshaker combines the dying pioneer spirit with the tragic Industrial Revolution, adds zombies and classic Steampunk machinery, drags in Chinese gold rush immigrants and a Native American princess, and sticks them all in a contaminated city filled with diseased air that kills. Anything else I say is sort of a spoiler so I'll stop there. But zombies! You can't say no to zombies!!

Favorite aspects: This book is rotting. Every character and every visual that Priest offers us is putrid and decaying. It's the most beautiful thing. Her world is complete and disgusting and strangely appealing. Her characters are strong and emotional, especially Briar, the main character. She's a strong female is the most literal sense of the word. She's a widow, a mother, and an out-cast. And she's a total badass.

Least favorite aspects: It was not very romantic. I am not necessarily the sort of person who needs romance in all of her books, but in a way Steampunk is a very romantic genre. Boneshaker did not feel as if it lacked romance, but if you decide to read it don't except any. Also (and this is a small thing) during one of the zombie chases, I found the narration rather stilted. I think that it could have used a little edit. The action was awkward and hard to follow.

Other works it reminded me of: The Shadow in the North by Philip Pullman; The Diamond of Darkhold by Jeanne DuPrau.

Sadie's merciless break-down: I love to multi-task. Most of the books I've read this year I read while watching hockey. I don't have time to read and cheer on the Rangers, so I find myself doing both at the same time. It works really well. That's not relevant to the quality of Boneshaker, but I thought that it was worth noting.
Anyway, Boneshaker had that amazing epic feeling that only good sci-fi can have. It completely enveloped me in another world. It was well formed and well executed. I find that a lot of times I don't really "get" the world that an author is trying to sell me on. Sometimes it's hard to envision what they've built; it's hard to get myself engaged in it. Boneshaker had none of these problems. This aspect of reading is obviously incredibly subjective. I'm not sure if it's because Priest is a good author or if it's because I like Steampunk or if it's because the stars were aligned in my favor. It's probably more me than the book. Diana Wynne Jones, for example, is a master at crafting worlds, but sometimes I just don't "feel" it. It's not her fault, it's mine. With Boneshaker, Priest's vision and my imagination met in the middle. It was like watching a really amazing big-budget movie. It was visual and spectacular and tense and emotional. The fact that I was so enveloped in a book while watching hockey is pretty amazing. The sci-fi-fantasy-cross-over genre is so radical. An author has so many liberties and options and they can just run with a vision. It was a beautiful book. I can still see the world Priest offered up when I close my eyes, and I think that's a sign of something great.

Recommendation rate: If you've ever liked science fiction-fantasy than this is a Must Read Book.

Out of the Silent Planet

Title: Out of the Silent Planet

Author: CS Lewis

Publication date: 1938

Book's setting: The 1930's

Random facts: First book in a trilogy.

Plot summary: A professor, Dr. Ransom, is wandering around the English Midlands. He runs into some mad scientists who drug him and fly him to a strange and unidentified planet. Ransom manages to escape from his captors and wanders the planet. He finds the alien culture who lives there and manages to make himself welcome.

Favorite aspects: It was an interesting story, really it was. It was very well written, but it is CS Lewis, so I could hardly have expected otherwise. Lewis does a really magnificent job shaping his aliens civilizations, languages, and species. More than a story with a structured plot it is a study of the history and linguistics of the alien creatures Ransom meets. Lewis' descriptions of outer space were lovely and grand. The scene where Ransom is in the spaceship, slowly drifting away from from Earth (the silent planet) is truly lovely. Out of the Silent Planet has moments of great beauty and chilling magnificence, no doubt.

Least favorite aspects: Because it read a bit more like an academic journal than a story it got dull in places and really confusing in others. So don't pick up this book thinking that it is just Lewis' take on sci-fi the way the Narnia series was his take on fantasy. It's a lot more than that.

Other works it reminded me of: The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet by Eleanor Cameron; The Man Who Was Thursday by GK Chesterton

Sadie's merciless break-down: Truth time. I thought it was boring. I was really disappointed. I wasn't disappointed because it was a bad book, it just wasn't the book I thought it was going to be. Lewis got carried away explaining the nuances of the alien's grammar to me, and forgot to develop characters or write a comprehensive climax. It sported moments of chilling beauty, but they were lost or swallowed up by effort it took for me to remember the difference between a honodraskrud and a hnakrapunt. One means "monster slayer" and one means "that drug that looks like grass." It was just exhausting.
Also I kept comparing it to other stuff. It was the unfunny or less creepy version of something I'd read before. I think that sort of sucked the joy out of it for me. Of course if you're not really well-read in the sci-fi genre than this book might have all sorts of brand-new imagery and ideas. I still can't decide if it was more like the vintage version of Avatar, the religious version of Farscape, or the speculative version of Robinson Crusoe. I probably never will decide.
Then again, maybe I was just too stupid to get it.

Recommendation rate: If you like books that sit on the fence between fiction and theology then you will probably like it. If you enjoy sci-fi... I guess giving it a try can't hurt. If you disprove of alien civilizations don't bother, even if you adore CS Lewis.