Ten Best Books of 2008

I know, I know this is a little late, but I didn't start writing this awesome blog until a couple of days ago. Ergo, "Ten Best Books of 2008". Mind you this is a personal list. Feel free to argue all you want. The only requirement for the book to appear on this list is that, I, John Bradley, need to have read the book some time between July 15th, 2008 and July 15th, 2009. As you can see, fairly strict requirements.

In no particular order:

Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathon Stroud
The Golem's Eye by Jonathon Stroud
Ptolemy's Gate by Jonathon Stroud



All three of these titles are part of the Bartimaeus Trilogy. I loved these books. Great plot line. Awesome story arc across all three books. I really loved the writer's use of first person writing across several characters. This structure worked so well in getting inside of the characters.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins



Amazing! I love dystopian writing. 1984, Brave New World and We are some of my all time favorites and this one was right up there with these classics. That is saying a lot in my book. Keep up the great work Suzanne.

Elantris by Brandon Sanderson



In the sci-fi/fantasy realm, this one grabbed me by the shirt collars and didn't let go until I had read the last page. This was my first intro to Sanderson and I was not prepared for his level of world building as well as just such awesome description. I am still trying to wipe the dirt off of my clothes.

The Giver by Lois Lowry



This one would also go in the dystopian category, I guess. I read this one thoroughly and enjoyed all of the beautiful symbology. I am glad that I am not in a world where everything is assigned to me. Tough freaking role.

Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury



I felt privileged in being able to read this October thriller. Bradbury is a master of mood. The man with the moving tattoos and the backwards carousel. Creepy. I still think about the imagery. What Bradbury nails the best, however, is the fear involved in growing up. It can be scary to be a kid and Bradbury handles the subject perfectly.

The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse by Loiuse Erdrich



What a beautiful novel, at the same time being one of the funniest books I have read in long time. The novel stretches a long period of time as well as a lot of odd, colorful characters: a nun that becomes a priest, Native Amercian lives (including their hilarious sex lives), and several other novel people. The best part of the book is the way it can move you right after making you laugh out loud.

The Prestige by Christopher Priest



Priest's book was made into one of my favorite movies directed by Christopher Nolan. As much as I loved the movie, I loved the book even more. Just plain fun! Can't wait to pick up another novel by this amazing writer.

Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris



There are times when I want to just not be able to sleep because I am so terrified. Silence of the Lambs put me in that state several times. There is not creepier antagonist than Hannible Lecter. At a close second is Buffalo Bill. Two of the creepiest bad guys in the same book. This one has to be on the list.

The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood



Hmm, I think I am seeing a trend in my reading. Dystopia! The Handmaids Tale again takes on an oppressive government that controls all aspects of it's peoples lives. Even the process of birth is taken away from it's citizens and given to a class of woman called handmaiden. The description of this fascist regime eerily rings true. The regime is a conservative movement taken to the extreme. What an awesome take on oppression. Hopefully, my country is not moving towards a similar fate.

Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond



This is a non-fiction book that answers the question about why some societies gain power and why others remain under the heel of those who have that power. Surprisingly, it has to do with Guns, Germs, and Steel. Very good anthropological reading. Highly recommended.

A few runners-up
Old Man's War by John Scalzi
Hocus Pocus by Kurt Vonnegut, RIP
Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathon Safran Foer

"Balanced Ecology": James H. Schmitz

Balanced Ecology is a Nebula award nominated short story written by James H. Schmitz in 1965. Short stories are often just small slices of action committed by characters that we do not get to know because of our limited time spent with them. We don't have the luxury of getting to like or dislike the characters. What we do have the time to do however, is appreciate the action that these characters take. We can applaud or disavow, feel joy or shame in just a few pages of action that our author drags us into.

James H. Schmitz sets this one up quickly and rivets our attention. He dumps us into a beautiful forest of "diamondtrees" and strange animals that can only survive in this "Balanced Ecology". If the animals are taken out, they die. If new animals are put into the forest, they die. The only species that can survive that is not natural to the habitat are humans. The writer's description of the fauna is bizarre enough to keep us interested through 7,500 or so words. One of the natives is an animal that can repeat anything it hears, but it repeats it at several times the rate of normal human speach. Think of several 45 record players sitting around you playing the spoken word, all pumped up to 75 rpm and you have the idea of a "humbug". Here is schmitz description. "The humbugs were small, brown, bobtailed animals, built with spider leanness and very quick. They had round skulls, monkey faces, and the pointed teeth of animals who lived by catching and killing other animals." The descriptions employed by Schmitz set's up for the action for the finale.

The two protagonists in the story are Ilf and Auris, and through inheritance, own 100% of the forest. They will make enough money off the harvesting of the tree's that they will not need to work for the rest of their lives. Enter the corporate villain, who wants to clear cut all of the trees in order to create demand for the product and make a killing off the harvest (does this sound familiar). Enter the forest itself. The diamondwoods have a different idea of how it wants to manage the land. It takes care of the problem in a creative way using one of the creatures that can only live under it's "silver-blue" branches. The way the enemy get's it is pretty cool as well as satisfying. Take that you corporate baddies.

The action tells the tale. Schmitz' rapid fire delivery kept me engaged and interested in how the story would finish. This is a fun little diddie that can be read in about fifteen minutes. It's engaging ideas about ecology and taking care of nature are satisfying. In our modern corporate society, it's a dog eat dog world, but on the planet of Wrake, it's more like a giant turtle eat person world.

5 out of 5

As a side note, it is a little disheartening to me that the short story seems to be going the way of the dinosaur. The medium is such a great way to create ideas and put them out there for consumption. I hope that there is a revival of short stories. If there is, I think it will be lead by individuals using the medium of the internet to push forth cool (hopefully free) short stories.

The story is posted here for your reading pleasure:
http://www.webscription.net/10.1125/Baen/0671319841/0671319841___3.htm

The World of Null-A: Gosseyn or Go Home

The World of Null-A by A. E. Van Vogt is a classic Sci-Fi novel. It was awarded a Retro Hugo Nominee and is considered one of the founding books of the golden age. Van Vogt is a master of the genre and wrote another classic Sci-Fi novel, Slan. He does so many things so well. The novel was published in 1945 in one of the pulp magazines. For 19-freaking-45, the novel is in so many ways ahead of the curve. However, the book also suffers from major flaws that severely denigrate the overall health of the plot and the novel.

The plot revolves around one Gilbert Gosseyn (pronounced Go-Sane) who is a practitioner of Null-A (or non-aristolean thinking). He is on earth and in the city of the machine in the hopes that he can make a move to Venus, a utopian-like world where everyone who lives there practices Null-A and thus makes sane, logical decisions that reinforce the utopia. I will briefly point out one the considerable flaws in the novel; we are never given a handle on what the philosophy of Null-A is and thus have a difficult time understanding why it is so essential to the novel. More on this point to come.



While in the city Gosseyn learns that he isn't the person who thought he was. The machine confirms this and sets Gosseyn off in trying to figure out who he is and why he doesn't know his own identity. We are introduced to diabolical characters whose basic intentions are to take over Earth as well as Venus. Gosseyn is central to this evil plot. Muahhahahahahah! For those who are going to read this one I don't want to give away too much of the plot for fear of spoiling the journey so I will stop the description of the plot here.

Let us now focus on what is wonderful and good about this classic. Van Vogt is a master at projecting very cool, very futuristic set pieces. The novel occurs in the year 2650. His descriptions of RoboPlanes, a machine (The MACHINE) that determines your place in society, and getting from one place to another instantaneously are so 2650 and seem to me a little Brave New Worldish. The descriptions of Venus with it's skyscraper-like trees with whole mansions carved in the root system and the concept of moving and killing with your mind are incredibly imaginative. Van Vogt shines in his intense and pin-point descriptions. Reading the book, I really felt connected to the vistas he creates. These descriptions are the base that so many future Science Fiction authors stand on.

Another strong point of the novel is the philosophical discussion through out. Despite the fact that there is no description of Null-A, there are themes in the book that make us ponder the basic question of who is human and who is not. Gosseyn's character drags us into discussions about the definition of consciousness and even the possibility of cheating death (which Gosseyn does literally and physically again and again). There is also a compelling side-plot about how memory determines how we process reality. How would you react if you remember being married to some one but then discover that the person is actually the president's daughter and certainly not your wife. This question is totally Philip K. Dick before Phillip K. Dick graduated from high school. It is very easy to see why this book is so influential.

I also loved the way that Van Vogt finishes this one up. We are left with a cliff-hanger that at the same time wraps the novel perfectly. The payoff of last paragraph alone probably makes the book worthwhile reading.

Now moving on to a little criticism. As I continued reading the book, the thought kept popping in my head, "Man, the dude who wrote this was ADHD." Following the plot and interaction between characters is like being strapped to a chair and being forced to watch a movie on fast-forward and cut by a monkey on amphetamines. Random and more random. The plot bounces between Earth and Venus and back to Earth and, boom, back to Venus. If all this movement drove the story forward I can probably accept it. But it doesn't. All it is is a change of scenery for changes sake.

Gosseyn gets captured and escapes. And.... Gosseyn gets captured again. Bet you can't guess what happens next. Winner! He escapes again. This repetittion occurs again and again. This is a major problem with the novel. They don't drive the plot and they certainly don't enhance character building.

The biggest problem I had with the novel, and I hope that this is not due to any mental defect I have, is that one of the most crucial aspects of the novel is left totally unexplained; NULL-A. What is it? I am still not sure. I gathered that it was a new way of thinking, different then the way humans have evolved to normally think. But I certainly don't understand how it is different or what that difference means. A majority of the plot is driven by this concept. It is hard to accept major plot points centering around Null-A without understanding why it is so damned important.

Overall, I liked the book. It had great action without the crappy dialogue and production problems that plagued the film industry during this period. It's not campy, thank Jah. The influence that this book alone has had on Sci-Fi makes it important to read if you want to know the history of the genre. One of my favorite authors, Phillip K. Dick, stands on the back of Van Vogt so I am grateful that I was able to read this one.

By the way, if any one is interested in an eBook version, feel free to email me at johngabbradley@gmail.com

3 out of 5

Runaways: or Why I Still Love Comic Books

In the beginning was Krypton, and that perfect, pedestrian Man in Blue becomes very boring, very quickly. The Dark Knight comes along on day two, but doesn't become truly heroic until the gritty realism of Frank Miller and later on the insane treating of Mr. Nolan, who annihilated the left over crust of camp from the sixties. Friday rolls around and The Watchmen changes everything. The comic book takes on global annihilation, super heroes that aren't so super, and a god-like hero that hides on Mars. Amazing!

Enter the Runaways. I have read the first year of the book (issues 1-12) and have so far been thoroughly impressed. Runaways is so cool because it has taken all of the traditional aspects of comics and thrown them on their ear. Why hasn't any one asked what happens to the kids of those super hero or villain groups? Runaways takes the logical conclusion that people (even in comics) have normal relationships and from those relationships, kids are born. If I was a super villain and I had a teenager, I certainly wouldn't want them to find out that I am part of crooked outfit that wants to dominate the world.

The Pride, this group of super villains, do have children. Once every year these uber-baddies get together to talk about their future plans. They lock themselves in a room, thinking that their children will behave, but teenagers are teenagers. They find a secret tunnel and end up witnessing a brutal murder of a young girl their own age. How would you react knowing that your parents, sacrificed someone to increase their personal power. The kids decide that they need to take off.

Thus forms the Runaways. The book formulaicly sets up finding out the powers of each of the young super heroes. Some of the powers are pretty cool, for example being able to mentally control a velociraptor. Others are a little bit more generic, super strength. But even when the power is generic it's owner isn't; twelve year old Molly Hayes needs a nap after each super exertion.

Runaways is cool because it knows that it is cool. The writer, Brian K. Vaughn, knows that when he brings in two "middle-grade super heroes from New York" he can make fun of all the comic book titles that have taken these type of heroes so seriously. Vaughn laughs at these heroes, tongue-in-cheek. He also dumps in great cultural references that my generation knows and loves. Runaways is hip and also very deep. Runaways is a Marvel book and often references all that has come before. During a struggle, one of the characters suggest that they call the Avenger's Crime Hotline. Chase replies that he has already called several times, but they will only respond to a nuclear crisis. I love it.

Runaways is also unique in the fact that it does away with many of the regular super hero trappings: costumes, secret code names, and tired cliches of having the super group fight a new super villain every episode. It is a breath of fresh air. All too often I have read books that just seem to throw in enough plot to keep that issue selling. Runaways sticks to the arch, and only has a few occasions where the story is not directed toward progressing the great story telling and incredible writing.

So far, I have to say I am loving the book, and look forward to catching up to the current issue. As far as I can see, the book has been published for at least five years. For those of you who enjoy a good comic book, Runaways should be the one you pick up.

5 out of 5

Night Kill by Ann Littlewood

Iris Oakley's marriage is in deep trouble. Her husband Rick has a serious drinking problem and the problem leaves the marriage limping towards divorce. Iris and Rick separate for a week. At a work party Iris and Rick decide to give their marriage one more spin depending on Rick's commitment to stop drinking and recommit to the marriage.

But, stop the presses. Rick ends up stone dead in bottom of a lion's den at Finley Memorial Zoo in Vancouver, WA. The lions do what they naturally do and Rick ends up in the stomach of one of the cats. Iris finds out from the coroner that Rick died with an obscene amount of whiskey in his stomach.

Now ladies, would you have forgiving feelings towards your newly deceased husband after you found out that right after he made a promise not to drink, that he got himself so loaded that he couldn't keep himself from falling into lion's exhibit.

What makes Littlewood's story so interesting is not that the book is an amazing mystery, it's pretty middle of the road in that respect. I was able to guess who Rick's killer was in the first fifty pages (amazingly, it wasn't the alcohol or the lions). What makes Littlewoods debut so awesome is the setting of this mystery. Iris and Rick are and were, respectively, zookeepers at Finley Memorial.



Where the book really succeeds is bringing us into this world of interesting facts, surprising political battles, and dynamic interplay between quirky characters who all work at this zoo. Littlewood does her best work when she is describing the characters routine and the intrigue between different keepers keeping such a stranglehold on their different areas of the zoo. The author also brings up the struggles of a smaller, regional zoo. The descriptions of battling for public funds to get a new, shiny exhibit and how the characters react to this interloping "fund-stealing" behemoth of a project. These descriptions make the book worth reading although the mystery ain't bad, either.

I highly enjoyed this one. I am glad that my local library highlighted this little gem.

4 out of 5

The Book Blog: Beginning the Blog

Hi, My name is John and welcome to my new book blog. I love to read. This blog is going to be devoted to the books that I have read recently. I am going to write short reviews about what I think about the books as well as a short synopsis and review. The genres that I am most interested in are (in no particular order) YA, Sci Fi, Fantasy, Noir, Mystery, Comic Books, Serious Literature, and Classics. I read a broad number of genres and am obsessed with reading all the Newbery Winners and Runner Ups, Hugo Award Winners, Nebula Winners, and all good books. I read at least a couple of books a week and sometimes three or four. I will post what I am currently reading and then review what I have finished recently. Hope I get a few followers in the process.