Books: Diamond, Turquoise, Time, and Stars

[woodwardiocom]

-My plane flights last week gave me plenty of time for reading, so I've gotten through three more books.

Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days by Alastair Reynolds (2002)

-Reynolds writes fun, introspective, gritty space opera. This is a set of two novellas, related only by being set in the same universe. (Well, and maybe one plot point.) The first is about people who try to solve a series of mathematical puzzles, where the penalty for failure is grisly dismemberment. It thus becomes a challenge not only of mathematics, but of how much you're willing to lose to get the prize. The second is about a world where the sea is a vast information storage system, and the question of exactly what happenes to the people who dive into it and never come back.

-I like Reynolds' stuff, and I'm going to keep buying it. His pervasive mood is one where people are not quite human, and are trying to survive in the remnants of a universe fallen from its glory. His pervasive gimmick is precursor artifacts. Indeed, many of his tales end as little more than battles between artifacts from two different kinds of precursors. I think he needs to rely on that one note a little less. It's a quick way to establish mystery and epic scale, but it's not something to be used every time.

World Without Stars by Poul Anderson (1966)

-A short adventure about a group of nigh-immortal interstellar traders, who are shipwrecked on a savage world, and must deal with complicated local politics before beginning the long process of fixing their ship enough to take them to safety. What I found most interesting about this book was the presence of a subtle polyamory vs. monogamy debate. (!!!) In the interstellar society depicted, because humans are effectively immortal, travelers may only return to the same planet or station after decades have passed. They thus often have spouses in every port, who in turn have other spouses of their own, with the expectation that only one will be in port at a time. Children may be conceived on one visit, and be adults the next time around.

-The narrator is visiting one of his port-wives, and invites his newest crewmember to dine with them. By the end of dinner, the couple have exchanged Meaningful Glances, and they offer their guest their "total hospitality".

-The new crewmember, however, is much older than they are; old enough to remember when Earth had "nations" and such. He's in a monogamous relationship with a woman back on Earth, who he intends to visit after the next trading mission (the one that goes awry). The rest of the cast of characters find this devotion odd, but his desire to get back to his Mary is what keeps him going through the decades of work it takes to escape their shipwrecked situation.

-So, to that point, the book seems to favor monogamy as a lifestyle choice. Except that, when they get back to Earth, the narrator discovers that Mary has been dead for thousands of years. She died when she was 18. So, possibly the lesson is that monogamy may have trouble adapting to a society of immortals. Whether Anderson regards that as good or bad is ambiguous . . .

Time and Again by Clifford D. Simak (1951)

-Another short novel, that tries to do an awful lot in its 235 pages. It's about a time war, a man who is mysteriously enhanced by aliens, a battle for equal rights between androids and humans, the establishment of a quasi-religion, a galactic empire run by humans, the understanding of the fundamental nature of destiny, etc., etc. It's got about six major plot threads in it, all of them jumbled up together. And, with all that, the hero mainly gets through the novel by walking around for a bit, getting knocked on the head, waking up, asking some questions of his captors, escaping, and then repeating the process. Oh yeah, and despite the fact that the bulk of the novel takes place 6,000 years in the future, people still watch Krazy Kat cartoons. I found it chaotic and poorly plotted.

Comments

[rms-butterfly.livejournal.com]

Ww/oS is one of the saddest stories I've ever read. I guessed what the situation with Mary would be before the audience actually finds out, though. From listening to "Mary O'Meara" over and over again, and it's so sad to me, even though the whole story doesn't come out in the song. (Have you heard it? It's beautiful.)

[lillibet.livejournal.com]

I read Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days a while ago and find that while the latter has almost completely faded from memory, the former has stuck fast. I don't read horror, for the most part, and I found it to be one of the most disturbing books I've read.

Have you read Century Rain yet? I found it quite different from his other work, in some ways, and have been recommending it to people for whom I think Revelation Space etc. might be too grim.

[woodwardiocom.livejournal.com]

while the latter has almost completely faded from memory, the former has stuck fast.

-Heck, I'm finding that to be true, and I only read the book last week.

Have you read Century Rain yet?

-Not yet, but it's on my list.