Classic Science Fiction: The Chrysalids byJohn Wyndham, a review.

The Chrysalids, first published in 1955, is by English author John Wyndham. I remember reading, arguably Wyndham's most well known novel, The Day of the Triffids when I was about 13 and couldn't get over how exciting and scary it was. So it has been interesting for me to return to a Wyndham novel. Mind you, I am going through a bit of a flirtation with sci-fi, currently, and loving it.


Firstly The Chrysalids does not have much in common with The Day of the Triffids in terms of its plot. The Chrysalids is set in a future post apocalyptic world called Labrador, where life has returned to a pre industrialised state and the primary concern is farming. Our protagonists live in the small village of Waknuk.  When the novel opens David is 10, and largely ignored by his hard working, fundamentalist family.  David befriends Sophie who has six toes on each foot.  He is confused because under the doctrine that has been taught to him since birth, any "deviations" from the strict physical norm are seen as blasphemies and must be discovered and destroyed or banished, at all cost.  Genetic "purity" is pursued ferociously not just in people, but crops, and livestock.

The treatment of Sophie at the hands of David's father, who is a prominent community leader, leaves a lasting impression on him and he begins to question this so-called natural order of things.  Subsequently a small group of the village children, including David, discover they have telepathic powers, whereby they are able to communicate with each other using "thought shapes."  For the next decade the group of telepathic children live in fear of discovery and sterilization and banishment to The Fringes, a wild, inhospitable land where human deviations are sent, including children.

Concealment of their special abilities works, until David's much younger sister begins to show signs of very strong telepathic, projection powers; far stronger than any of the other children, and due to her young age she has little control over this power which brings the group to the brink of disaster.  They are forced to flee.

What works about about this novel?  I liked the tone and fast pace of the story.  In a way, it reminded me a little of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.  Not so much the plot, which is completely different, but the pace, and the idea of a group of young people having to fight against societal limits and tyrannical rules.  There is also a scene where members of the group have to seek refuge in a cave, which brought to mind a similar scene in The Hunger Games.  Like the Hunger Games, the adolescents' trials, form part of their development and character, as they are forced to reject a long established status quo and literally fight for their lives.  I also liked some of the literary devices used.  The "telepathy" intensifies the action as, even though different members of the group become captured and separated, they still contribute to the action of the fleeing group as they can communicate over distance.  One of the undiscovered telepaths joins the pursuing forces so he can keep David and the others informed.  Keeping everyone in contact, certainly increased the momentum of the story.

Limitations:  The ending is a bit silly, and doesn't really fit with the tone of the rest of the novel.  There is literally an "out of the blue" resolution that took the novel from being tense and compelling to a bit trite and Hollywood. 

Overall, this is a small matter, I could scarcely put the book down.  For those who haven't read any Wyndham, and would like to, I would recommend reading The Day of the Triffids (1951) first.  It's appeal, compared to Chrysalids, which is still marvellous, is that the apocalypse happens in the modern (twentieth century) era, and the Triffids are, frankly, the scariest creatures you can imagine.  I will have to read The Day of the Triffids again, because I am sure as a 12 or 13 year old reader, much of the societal comment would have been lost on me.

Review: One Good Dog by Susan Wilson (audio)

I haven't been listening to as many audio books lately, not really sure what is going on there, as I continue to drive a lot with work. Truth be told I am probably walking less which is where the audio book really comes into its own for me.

Consequently it has taken a while for me to work my way through One Good Dog.  This does not do it justice, as One Good Dog is an original, wonderfully conceived and executed story.  There are two parallel stories really, one is of Adam March, a fallen executive who has to try and piece his life back together after a rash moment at his office costs him everything: his good name, his marriage, his lucrative work, just to begin.  The dog, later known as Chance, is a battle hardened pit-bull fighter.  I don't think one needs to be clairvoyant to see that man meets dog, dog meets man, and both learn something from each other.

The audio book was deftly narrated by two men (Fred Berman and Rick Adamson), corresponding to the two, first person points of view of Adam and Chance.  Susan Wilson is clearly a dog lover as the sections of the book told by Chance are insightful and often hilarious.  Adam's story also strikes a chord in relation to how easy it is for anyone to lose themselves in the modern quest for professional power, when they are running from unresolved personal demons.

While part of me wants to complain that at times it was all just a bit too sentimental for this cat lover, I can't honestly do that, because I still found myself laughing and crying at different times.  Wilson writes succinctly, and gloriously evokes a dog's eye view, which well and truly transforms this story of self discovery and redemption, into something unique and thoroughly entertaining.

Book Blogger Hop

Well it is Friday, thank goodness for that, and time for The Hop, which is hosted by Jennifer at Crazy For Books.  This week the question to get the conversation flowing is:

What keeps you reading beyond the first few pages of a book, and what makes you want to stop reading a book and put it back on the shelf?

For me, an intriguing plot or an interesting character will keep me going for a while and then the biggest thing that makes me shelve a book before finishing it can be poor writing or cardboard characters, or both. 

What an interesting question this week.  I look forward to reading everyone elses responses.

The Scar by China Mieville

The Scar by China Mieville is so far beyond my normal reading purview that I hardly know where to begin to do it justice.  Whether it goes under steampunk fantasy, new weird fiction or plain old sci-fi, this weighty volume is something else.

We begin on a ship, the Terpsichoria, with our reluctant, self absorbed and down right taciturn heroine, Bellis Coldwine, who has taken passage on the ship to escape her beloved home of New Crobuzon.  We do know that Bellis is a linguist and sometimes translator, we don't know at that stage why she has fled.  The Terpsichoria is bound for Nova Esperium, a young colony half way across the world, eager for new settlers.

There are other passage paying characters that become important later on, including Johannes Tearfly, a naturalist and scientist who was going to the Nova Esperium, to investigate the largely unstudied fauna of the new colony. 

Bellow decks, the Terpsichoria is transporting a hull load of "remade" prisoners to see out their sentences on the new colony.  Learning what remade means is the first of many truly fantastic delights in this book, as Mieville unleashes his extraordinary imagination describing convicts who have been surgically altered as part of their punishment, to change their functionality.  I won't give away any spoilers here, except to say that part of the charm and intrigue of this story is what I think makes it fall under the steampunk category, and that is, while we are clearly in another world, the technology available is more like what was available around the time of the Industrial Revolution, steam engine power etc.  Mieville does go beyond this as well though, and creates whole new types of energy and power, but there is not a computer chip or laser beam in sight.

The Terpsichoria is intercepted by a pirate ship, and the ship, and all aboard, except the captain who is killed, are abducted and taken to Armada, which, as the name suggests, is a city made entirely of sailing vessels linked together and built upon.  This is really where the story begins, as our characters have to adapt to being citizens of Armada, with no hope for return to New Crobuzon.  For the convicts from the Terpsichoria, it is a wonderful boon, they are suddenly free.  For Bellis it is a nightmare that she spends all of her time trying to manoeuvre her way out of.  She is employed by Armada as a librarian, in a city where books are mysteriously prized above nearly all else.

Throughout, Mieville's imagination and vision reign supreme.  Besides humans, the novel is populated with characters from different made up species; there are fighters, cactus people and vampires, to mention only a few, who are all flung together on the Armada, a pirate city that has been sailing the seas for centuries.  Much of the tension of the narrative comes from the machinations of the rulers of the city in their outlandish quest for power and dominance.  We learn that the Terpsichoria was targeted for a reason and several of those on board, including Johannes and Bellis, were earmarked to play a significant part in trying to harvest an almighty power that has the potential to change the future for ever.

There are so many themes and so many levels this novel can be enjoyed on.  For me the standout character is the floating ship city, Armada, itself. Mieville's writing transported me to this dark, constantly rocking, labyrinth.  As odd as it might sound it is a bit reminiscent of some of Dickens settings, with a twist of course.  The social conscience of the novel also adds to the Dickens feel I think.  The story is about "the masses" being manipulated and sacrificed for the powerful and that sort of thing.  But even if one doesn't notice any of those allusions, The Scar reads as a complex and fast paced adventure. 

There is a lot of violence in the novel, but it is all for a purpose and adds to the narrative.  I have not read better battle scenes, Mieville has a gift, not only for beautiful descriptions of landscape, but also whirling, fast paced action.  His writing transported me into the midst of the landscape and action.

The Scar may not be for everyone; it features some very weird creatures and it is, at times, bloody and brutal, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.  Perhaps even more so, because I didn't think this would be "my sort of thing."  What prompted me to try it,  was China Mieville's most recent work, "Embassytown" has received plenty of favourable publicity here in Australia, and I have read some wonderful blogger reviews about it.  I am glad I read The Scar first, as an introduction to China Mieville's alternate worlds, where he explores complex ideas.  My understanding  is that Embassytown is even more complex as he  explores the role of language and communication.  With my, not so secret, passion for crime fiction, I plan to tackle Mieville's "The City and the City" next where I believe he combines his weird fiction with crime fiction.  What a marriage that sounds like.  After reading The Scar, I can't wait to give it a go.

The most fun you can have with a crime novel: One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson

This is the second of the Atkinson novels featuring private investigator Jackson Brodie.  It reads differently to Case Histories, the first of the series.  Unlike Case Histories, which is more symmetrical  in it's narrative, there are more twists and complexities in One Good Turn than one would find  in the back streets of Edinburgh (where this story is set).  It is however, just as satisfying if not more so, than the first novel. 

But what really stands out with One Good Turn, is that Atkinson is deliberately turning the crime novel on its head and having some real fun with it. Nor is this book what is generally referred to as "cosy fiction" either.  Atikinson manages to combine pith and pathos with witty humour and irony.  I have read more crime fiction, of every sort, than bears thinking about, and these novels really offer something unique.

Poor ol' Jackson is at a bit of a loose end at the start of this novel. His  girlfriend is taking part in a truly awful play as part of the festival. But after witnessing a road rage incident, Jackson is soon caught up in events that include murder, dodgy housing developments, brutish felons, a risque cleaning service and a paid assassin. 

As with Case Histories, Atkinson creates a wonderful sense of place, this time in Edinburgh.  I have been to that magical fairy land city and as Jackson remarks in the novel, it does often seem like everyone there is a tourist or a student.

Mixed in with this clever escapade, is a good exploration of how guilt and longing are so often a large part of  what drives people.  All of the characters, including dear Jackson, find themselves wondering what might have been over major life decisions and how those decisions have transported them to this crazy few days at the Edinburgh Festival. 

Atkinson's nimble plotting left me breathless, but what I love most about these novels is that neither she nor her leading man Jackson, take themselves too seriously.  Whatever emotional, or physical, mess Jackson gets himself into, he promptly dusts himself off for the next dose of life.   And I for one, can't wait to read where life next takes him.

Review: Scission by Tim Winton

Scission is an early collection of short stories by Australian author Tim Winton.  "Scission" is the theme that unites all of the stories.  And yes, the word had me running to the dictionary, I will freely admit. It means the tearing, or ripping apart of of something.

All of the stories highlight the moment when someone's world is split or torn apart.  For the majority of the 13 stories, the scission represents an emotional awakening where there are often, but not always, negative real world consequences.  It is a testamont to Winton's skill as a writer that he is able to describe this subterranean world of human emotion so vividly.

I loved these stories for many reasons. One reason is because the writing is as good as the writing in his best novels.  If anything, I have found that good writers bring an even sharper edge to their short fiction, that is certainly the case with Scission.  These stories hit the reader with an almighty visceral wallop,

The first story "Secrets" is about a young girl trying to come to terms with the changes in her family as a new step father takes over the power in her home.  "A Blow, A Kiss" is a moving portrayal of a father and son's insecurities, but underlying love for each other, as, on the way home from a day's fishing expedition, they come across a motor bike accident victim, on a deserted road.  "Neighbours" comments on multiculturalism in Australia, in a poignant tale of a newly wedded couple who, move into a house in a culturally diverse neighbourhood, and are awakened to understand that differences with their neighbours are tiny compared to what they all share. Although Winton wrote this story 25 years ago, it is a tale equally relevant, if not more needed, in the Australia of today.

All of the stories are really a preparation for the the last longer short story in the collection titled "Scission", it is about the collapse of a relationship with the worst possible outcome.  This story did unnerve me because as shocking and violent as the scenario is, we hear of relationships ending in death on a regular basis in the media, even today. 

Not all of Winton's writing will be to everyone's taste, at times he does appear to completely let go and his work can feel a bit disjointed and  abstract.  There is no spoon feeding here.  But I have found that by letting go myself and just absorbing the words without worrying about the exactness of things, the whole is revealed and usually leaves me gasping.  He is a fine, original writer.

Free Short Story App

I can't not share this Short Stories Ereader application for the iphone.  It is free and easy to use and there are hundreds of old and modern stories to download.  Stories are also added daily.  I have found it very handy when I have a few free minutes somewhere and have neglected to bring a book with me.  You can get it here