Mini Reviews #2: Mistborn - The Final Empire, Valis, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.

Having been away for a prolonged period of time, it's time to play catch-up again with some more mini-reviews. Round two.

Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn #1) by Brandon Sanderson

Here I am embarking on another epic fantasy series after swearing to myself that I would avoid them after several disappointing encounters with other works in the genre. However, the first novel of the Mistborn series proved to be surprisingly entertaining with a well-conceived world and characters that don't fall into typical fantasy cliches. They are flawed and contain a lot more depth in contrast to the usual fanfare. Sanderson proves to be a very capable writer and he can certainly spin a good story full of intrigue, suspense and action but with this novel he seems to be setting the stage for the rest of the series so it feels underwhelming as a whole. I wanted more. I suppose that means the author should be complimented for writing a compelling enough story to keep me interested.
 
I also want to note that the magical system he creates here is probably one of the best I have ever come across in a fantasy novel albeit, slightly confusing at first. Even though Sanderson doesn't bring anything new to the genre in terms of story (a ragtag group of rebels plan to overthrow a Dark Lord, sound familiar?) I am still curious to see where he goes from here with the next two novels in the series. The best part of the novel for me is the final few chapters which builds up nicely to an explosive finale revealing a lot of key components that opens up the story to countless possibilities. This gives me hope that Sanderson knows what he is doing and actually has a clear idea of where the story is heading instead of other authors who tend to have no clear resolution in sight and just drag the series along. That's right, I'm looking at you Robert Jordan and George R.R. Martin. 

Valis by Philip K. Dick

This novel is insane and only the brilliant mind of Philip K. Dick could have written it. Semi-autobiographical, hallucinogenic and overflowing with ideas, the story follows Dick's alter-go named Horselover Fat (Philip in Greek translates to "fond of horses" and Dick in German is "Fat") who believes that he has been touched by the hand of God or some kind of supreme being through a beam of a light that enters his brain. He embarks on a theological quest to seek the "truth" but of course, he is seen by others as a crazy person. Or maybe he is the one who is sane and everyone else is crazy. For those out there who think that science-fiction is cheesy or has nothing significant to offer, look no further than Philip K. Dick to shatter those preconceived notions. Like several of his other novels, this one is far from perfect, containing various flaws in terms of plot development and a lackluster ending but Philip K. Dick has never been renowned for his story-telling abilities. First and foremost he is a philosopher, a man of ideas. Philip K. Dick is one of those special writers dear to my heart. He possesses such a wild and creative imagination and always leaves the reader contemplating the BIG questions of existence, reality and the universe: Valis is unlike anything I have ever read before and there has been nothing ever written like it since.

 The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

I seem to be in the minority here but I absolutely adored this novel. Winner of the Pulitzer prize in 2008, Junot Diaz came out of the nowhere to snatch the coveted prize much to the disbelief and outrage of the literary world. I'm not one to follow these prestigious book awards but I think the committee might have made the correct choice for once. Granted, Diaz's novel isn't groundbreaking by any stretch of the imagination but he has a unique voice, writes beautifully even when using excessive profanity (no small accomplishment) but above all, he packs such raw emotion into the story and characters. You can tell that he really loves his characters, which makes it easy to sympathize with them even though they aren't exactly the most honorable or likable individuals. The title is meant to be facetious because the protagonist's life really isn't all that wondrous--in fact, its actually quite ordinary without a happy ending, full of  sadness and heartbreak. Oscar Wao is a character that I can personally relate to, which helps to explain why this novel resonated with me on a such deep level: he's a book nerd who loves Star Wars and fantasy, shy, introverted,  an outsider, socially awkward, hopeless when it comes to women. Hey, Mr. Diaz, are you sure you didn't happen to base Oscar on me? 

Anyways, the story also doesn't just focus on Oscar himself but contains several flashbacks of his different family members living in the Dominican Republic (his mother, grandfather) and the narrative moves towards the present day when the Wao's eventually immigrate to America. At one point, Oscar's cousin even becomes a narrative voice. This now brings us to the footnotes. You see, not only is the author interested in telling his story, he also wants to provide a history lesson at the same time. Many people are bound to be annoyed by the long, detailed notes that provide a historical background concerning the tumultuous social and political landscape of the Dominican Republic as it transitioned from corrupt fascism to democracy but I actually found it quite informative. Diaz also uses playful rhetoric and humor as well within these footnotes so it's not as if one is being forced to endure a dry and tedious lecture. Furthermore, Diaz manages to touch upon some very important issues such as social displacement, the diaspora, racism, religion, cultural barriers, even the conflicts that arise with generation gaps. Funny, intelligently written, poignant. Diaz has a bright future ahead of him and I can't wait to see what he comes up with next. Don't let the hype get to you, this is a great novel that stands tall on its own merits.

Mini Reviews #1: Retribution Falls, Embassytown, Veronica Mars

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I've been working a lot lately and also trying to squeeze in as much reading as possible, which unfortunately, has not left much time for writing reviews. The only reason I'm even posting today is because it is a stat holiday and I finally have a day off. Truth be told, I've been lacking in the motivational department and can't seem to focus on writing anything at all, endlessly frustrated with my own incompetence. I'm burnt out. I think it might be time to take a vacation, perhaps go someplace warm and try to relax. Better yet, I ought to quit my perfunctory and mind-numbing job which is surely causing my brain cells to deteriorate at a rapid rate. Not to mention the unnecessary stress. I have even detected a few gray hairs! After coming home from a grueling and laborious shift, I tend to be in a foul mood where only alcohol and sleep is at the forefront of my mind. Reading offers a slight reprieve from my woes but I can't even enjoy my favorite past time very long before passing out due to exhaustion. 

On those rare occasions when I'm able to muster enough energy to sit down and attempt to hash out a review, my mind goes blank. I really hope this is just a dry-spell and I'll be back to writing more reviews on a regular basis but as my previous track record has shown, I tend to be rather inconsistent in updating this blog with new content. Therefore, I hope to make these "mini reviews" more of a common feature. Besides, my reviews tend to be quite lengthy and not many people read them anyways, so perhaps I will be inspired to write more if I keep my reviews nice and short. 

Retribution Falls by Chris Wooding

I can see the similarities to Firefly but Chris Wooding ain't no Joss Whedon. He pays homage to his predecessor, mixes in some steam-punk, a bit of Star Wars, Pirates of the Caribbean, blends all of these elements together and presto! You get Retribution Falls. Except, I think the author forgot to add the necessary ingredient to hold everything together: good writing. The story starts off promisingly enough with a great action sequence but soon loses momentum and becomes silly, contrived, all too predictable--a flimsy rehash of its pop-culture influences. Although the novel doesn't pretend to be anything but entertaining fiction, the story never fully develops into an exciting adventure as I was lead to believe by the synopsis or the high praise bestowed by other readers. The narrative drags along at a sluggish pace and I found myself bored, anxious to be done with it. Often disjointed and clumsily written, the story has so much potential but is poorly executed. The characters are flat and the world-building is underdeveloped. The writing lacks polish and a certain level of finesse where everything comes across as amateurish. Perhaps Chris Wooding intends to expand on these narrative deficiencies with the next books in the series but I'm not in any hurry to find out.

Embassytown by China Mieville

I'm left with mixed feelings on this one. Embassytown marks my first foray into the surreal, nightmarish and bizarro world of China Mieville. Although I enjoyed my stay, it might be a while before I visit again. He's clearly an intelligent fellow, an erudite word-smith (be sure to have a dictionary handy) and a talented writer with a wild imagination. This story is unlike anything I have ever encountered before--seriously, some of the stuff he comes up with is totally insane--floaking, biorigging, bladderwrackish, polyps, aeoli (breaking apparatus), amniotic fluids and pabulum (food sources) just to name a few of the crazy aspects of this world--but I'm not sure this was the best starting place for me to experience his unique brand of weirdness. 

My lukewarm impression stems more from my own personal taste rather than faults with the author or the actual novel itself. Stepping back and viewing the novel objectively, Mieville has written an intelligent and absorbing piece of hard science-fiction. Cognitive estrangement is one of the defining characteristics of the genre and Mieville is able to take this concept and put his own unconventional spin on it. However, I tend to enjoy a novel a lot more if I able to connect with the characters or the actual story on some emotional level and found it difficult to do so here. Then again, Mieville deliberately uses narrative distance to emphasize themes of otherness and alienation that connect to the larger ideas of cognitive estrangement.

I adore Science-Fiction and Mieville certainly pushes the limits of the genre in a new direction, subverting many of the familiar tropes that have become all too commonplace in a human/alien contact narrative.  By focusing on semantics and the complexities of  "Language" in relation to understanding culture and others (humans or otherwise) makes this novel wholly unique.

 Veronica Mars: The Thousand Dollar Tan Line by Rob Thomas and Jennifer Graham

A long time ago, we used to be friends...

That song still gets me super-excited and brings back so many fond memories. Pure nostalgia. I'm an unabashed Veronica Mars fan, not going to lie. I have a huge crush on Kristen Bell. I've seen the television series many times including the disappointing season 3, even contributed to the kick-starter movie campaign and went to see it on opening night. As a fellow marshmallow (fans of the show will understand the label), I can't get enough of Veronica Mars and when I found out that there was going to be book series that will continue the story of our favorite private detective, I was all over it like white on rice. A quick and entertaining read, I burned through this novel in a few days. This also marks the first time I have read anything by two collaborative authors. I am still unsure if Rob Thomas, the creator of the show, wrote anything that made its way into the novel or just provided the  idea and left it up to Jennifer Graham to work her magic. Either way, I am more than satisfied with the end result and so happy to see that the awesomeness of Veronica Mars will live on in book form. Boo-ya.

It's difficult to review this novel without any personal bias since I can overlook some of its minor flaws. The mystery aspect of the story isn't particular exciting and is a tad predictable in the end but it is still manages to deliver a few unexpected surprises that is sure to delight fans and create anticipation for the next installment. Both authors should be commended for successfully transporting the television show into a novel. I had my doubts at first but it didn't take long to realize that they were equal to the task. The show comes to life on the pages. The quality of writing is adequate enough to suit the material and the story moves along at a brisk pace. The most striking aspect is that the authors do such an excellent job of capturing the voices and personalities of the characters. Veronica's sharp wit and sarcastic sense of humor is spot-on. A common feature of the show is Veronica's internal monologues and the novel form provides more liberty to get inside her head. Also, where would Veronica be without help from her dad Keith or best friends Mac and Wallace? What about her relationship with Logan? The authors manage do justice to these fabulous supporting characters and its hard not to see the actual actors in their respective roles.

The Thousand Dollar Tan Line takes place soon after the events of the movie so be sure watch that first before picking up this novel to avoid huge spoilers. In fact, if you haven't seen the show before, do yourself a favor and acquire the first three seasons and then the movie. You can thank me later.  

Logan: I thought our story was epic, you know, you and me.
Veronica: Epic how?
Logan: Spanning years and continents. Lives ruined, bloodshed. EPIC. But summer's almost here, and we won't see each other at all. And then you leave town... and then it's over.


*sigh*