The Visitor

Aug 23,24 2005     A Christmas gift from my loving, book-addict Mother.

AH! This book was a real pleasure to read! As you may have noticed, it was so good, that I took time off everything else, so that I could finish it in two days. -I only wish that I were still reading it now. It is S/F, of the best kind, (I've said it many times, and I'll repeat it here: the best S/F should reveal facets of our CURRENT society, through fantastic tales.) And Fantastic is the word for this book. -Only partly because it's set on a future Earth, with some magic, some demons, and a minor god, going about on the earth.

At the beginning, you know nothing of that though. I love, I love, I LOVE the way this book starts, telling us nothing at all, other than the lay-out of this land, where the Heroine is sleeping, and what's going through her head at that moment. The "Happening", "The Art", a museum, and sorcery are mentioned, but only as names; Only in the minimal way that the Heroine would think of them, because they're such constant, well known things in the world in which she lives. We are slowly shown more of this world, finding that there's some ghost-like spirits, few people can see, there's also demons, who no one's Officially supposed to see, but have some kind of working relationship with this society, and there's something about Bottles. Before too long, you find out that People get Bottled, and that somehow makes them not dead -or no longer mortal. And NOTHING gets explained. It was such a rush, and a thrill for me, to hang onto every word, trying to unravel some of the threads I'd seen, or to catch onto new ones that were being shown for the first time in the fabric of the book.

Then, slowly, ever so slowly, some things start to be made clear, and you have not just a partial picture, with lots of fuzzy glimpses at what this world is, but a few clear glimpses as well. And then a little more is made clear. And then the role the Devils have is made clearer. And then the general lay-out of the power structure is made clear. And by this time, it's even clear that the planet is Earth, a long time in the future, "After the Happening came and went." -which you at some point discover was a major, major catastrophe, and it's hinted that it came from space. And so on. More and more is made clear, and it was a huge, Huge thrill for me: seeing this puzzle come together, and having more of it's secrets reviled. (Although often with some other element laid open, which is begging explanation.) Then, on page 460, the whole circumstance is made clear: what came from space, why it came, and what has been going on. It's not the Big, BIG whammy of an explanation, as it's already been made clear, that the Guardians are spirits which can inhabit a living body, that most of the magic is of the black arts, involving blood, pain, and sacrifices, that much of our technology is considered to be the Magic of the Ancients, (such as the sticks that can burst into flame... if the right procedures are taken, and incantations are placed over them; the Mage demonstrating the power of matches was a great, inspired scene of this book.) It has also already been made clear that the Devils, are just human beings, who have kept the ancient technology, and happen to wear horns on their heads. So, much is explained, by the time one reaches page 460, but the big explanation comes then.

The book does not end with that though: there's another 30 pages telling of how the Council of the Guardians meets the big Confrontation with evil, and then the after effects of it, as well as telling how the future after that evil starts to be set up, and set into motion by them.

Aaaahhhh. So, I really liked the way the book develops, leaves things hidden, and reveals them. Aside from that... it's a good book for other reasons too. The characters are well thought out. I wouldn't say they are all very realistic, because they tend to be a little towards the extremes: very, truly good, in every thought and meaning. Evil, though and through. The clever, mean Bully, in every action. The kind, clever, mysterious grandfather type. The over-ambitious, who cares for no one and nothing other than her own advancement. These characters ALL have surprises in what they have done, and end up doing, but never in their personalities. Their Personalities are always constant. (Oh, Wait: One hard-core scientist finds that there is magic, and spirituality, and comes to open her mind towards such things.) I suppose that could be seen as a flaw, but I didn't mind, and in fact didn't notice at all until right now. The fact that the characters all have hidden actions, and knowledge is enough to make me happy with them.

Ah, and then some of the things this book says about religion, government, society at large, and the human condition were... good to great. The last message, (brought by the demi-god on page 460,) was perhaps a little extreme, but it was not openly offensive or annoying to me. (It stated that the only true religion, which will lead people towards... advancement, is one where they seek TRUTH, and advancement of the people. -It's not at all about advancement of the self.) One of the ideas that I DID find interesting, was the one about prayer and God; there was some comparison of the religions of that world, as well as the ones before the HAPPENING, and pointed out how strange it would be to have a God that liked nosing around in people's bed-rooms, and snooping into every little aspect of their lives and thoughts. And it was also presented that it would have to be a bit of a strange God, who would interfere with minute in so many people's lives; after all, that is what prayers are about, right? "Oh God, help me to pass this test. Help me to get a good Job. Help me to have someone fall in love with me. Make the weather nice tomorrow." It seems to largely be "Please change the ways of Nature, as a favor to me" or "Affect the random outcome in my favor." Anyhow, I thought it was an interesting viewpoint, which I can't say I entirely disagree with; Any higher power should not, (I think,) have to interfere for us many times during the day.

So... now that I may have offended people of strong Religious views... what shall I do next? Don't know. I think I might have said most of the things which were bubbling in my mind about the book. It was good. Very good. And at the very, very end... a little daring, I'd say; The great powers condoned the marriage, (and reproduction) of a brother and sister, because they were both without any genetic defects. (Which is, after all, the reasons relations should not be mates, from an evolutionary, genetic view-point: because if there's a fault in the genes of the family of one parent, then there'll be a healthy version of it from the other parent.) So... the happy brother and sister are allowed to be husband and wife, and procreate away.

Odd note to put at the end of a book, isn't it? Going into such a taboo little subject? OH! One more thing: the back cover blurb was HORRIBLY written. Who ever did that either didn't read the book, or did so while dead drunk. It has so many errors about the story, it's just pitiful. It's just wrong, wrong, wrong. (And that annoys me, in proportion with the quality of the book.)

Beauty (Sheri S. Tepper)

Jan 7 - 10, 2006     A Christmas gift from my loving, book-addict Mother.

Hee hee hee. That was a fun book. Trepper's literary style is So enjoyable. (And I've had enough free time to finish the book quickly.) This is a book of fantasy, with fairies... and their magic. -And then, there's a bit of futuristic SF thrown in. (I can't say "for fun" or "for good measure"; It was a bit far fetched, but it was needed for the story.)

Yes, I'd say the time travelling was the weakest link in the tale, (meaning that I felt it was the most... contrived.) But I'd think that every reader would find it excusable, because it is needed to make the plot really work, and be understandable. (It's one thing for the seeress to Say that in the distant future, the world will be a horrible place, and quite another to have the heroine there, in that actual future, experiencing it first hand.)

The way this book was put together though, was, (to repeat myself,) So much Fun. There's the central story, based around the thoughtful, compelling,(to us, the readers,) heroine. (Who at a certain point, finds out that she's half fairy.) And we're shown that she's the Sleeping Beauty. (The one in the fairy tale: who's destined to prick her finger on her sixteenth birthday and fall asleep for a hundred years.) But... there's much more to it then this: there are numerous intrigues that we are let into, and we find out that 1) her mother was a fairy, 2) her mortal father, has sired many of the children of the town, 3) Carabosse is... planning something. Not just Beauty's sleeping. Something else.

And we soon depart from the Sleeping Beauty story, with an interesting little twist, (or Twists.) And the book continues in this way; It incorporates fairy tales into it's body. It is not a bunch of them strung together... but it is. I mean that it doesn't feel contrived or artificial, the way they follow one another. They are each... just part of the story that Tepper tells. It's marvelous. (And they each have some interesting twist added to them; Something done with them which is quite unexpected.)

So, that's how much I loved the plot(s) it's/them selve(s).

The writing style, as well, drew me into the book. It ... (I don't have a clue how to express it.) It, was interesting. It was a good read. It was enjoyable to read. And when I look back now, at the other review of her work, I think "What a great author!" (Ah: something else I can say now, remembering the last book, and combining the thoughts of this one with that;) I like the way she portrays the thoughts of children. In both books, the heroine starts out as a youngish (mid teens,) girl. It's just so... so... -Lovely; the way Tepper crafts their personalities to such shining, realistic (or at least what I want to believe is realistic,) characters. Their curiosities, interests, and decisions seem exactly accurate to me.

Once more: What a fun book!

Gibbon's Decline and Fall (Sheri S. Tepper)

End of May, 2006     A Christmas gift from my loving, book-addict Mother.

This book, like the others by Tepper that I've read, is SF. The beginning of it is much more realistic though: some time around the sixties, a girl going to Collage, and becoming part of a close group of friends. Then fast forward to the present day, (more or less.) And only about half way through the book is it clear that some of the unusual, unexplained things that happened have had, in fact, supernatural causes.

Although the world she builds is ...only somewhat believable, it is flawlessly coherent, and well thought out. The personalities of the members of this close group of women are highly varied. But that makes them so much more... real. I could imagine it feeling like the writer lacked imagination if they were all to alike. But these are different. So different, that Tepper needs to make some effort to convince us that they would in fact remain a close knit group. (After all, a Left wing Lesbian would not normally be best friends with the highly religious Nun, who believes all Earth's problems stem from women's faults.) But Tepper succeeds in presenting these disparate characters as a combination that would hold together, and always support each other. (Through a number of challenges. There were deceptions and tragedies which they came through.)

When I think of the other books though, I'm a little disappointed in the main character; I said in the last review that I could identify with the heroines. They were very full, and very lively. They had personalities that really interested me. This one was not so though. She was... flatter; She was nice, but bland. (At least in comparison with those from the other books.)

Hmmm... and then there was the ending. It was EXTREMELY open. It lacked in reality a bit that way, (If I were a super race, wishing to improve Humanity, would I give a group of five people five different options, and let them decide human destiny? No, I think I'd seek more advice. Or at least the advice of others from my super-race.) Anyhow, Humanity looses it's ability to reproduce. And at the end, we know that it will regain that ability, but in one of five different ways. (Such as having children only once in every seven years.) And we don't find out which is chosen.

I still haven't decided which one *I* think would be the best. Or the best, but in which way? It's an interesting question to pose though.

Anyhow, the message is: "Good book." A compelling read.