Visitors - by Orson Scott Card

 

 

Before you read:

 

I am so excited to read Visitors! I have been waiting for this book to come out since I finished Ruins.

I have yet to read far but I wanted to get a little something out there since this book has been out for a few months. I am on chapter 7 and it was very difficult to put it down and write for myself.

We begin with Ram Odin, Rigg, and a second Rigg now named Noxon. The discussion is about how to prevent The Visitors from sending the destroyers to scorch the planet Garden, since none of the other attempts (including killing Ram) have worked.. It is so interesting to see the way all the characters change and evolve as always, showing how people can grow and change and sometimes not necessarily for the better. I was a bit frustrated with the way Rigg dismisses Ram's ideas and gives him little credence. After all, he is Ram Odin, somewhat ruler and god of Garden.

After reading what I just wrote I realized that being Ram Odin isn't as special as it could be having so many Rams in existence at one point, but then I guess it could work out the other way where you are special because of having so many copies yourself in existence at one point.

These books are so great for making you think through time loops and causality. What would you do if there were several copies of yourself running around making a muck of things? Would you come to what seems to be the literary and film conclusion that killing your other selves is a necessity? Or would you try to find a way to coexist?

I love the trial and error of everything, it takes patience and perseverance to do what needs to be done. A lot of trial and error.

Also I learned a new word! Bumptious!



 

The Memory of Earth - By Orson Scott Card

I am trying something new again. I will do the Before You Read part first and then open up a discussion for the after you read in another post. 


This is a slightly more mature book than any of the others I have previously posted about. Its a bit more mature on a sexual level but were not talking romance novel or anything like that; more like the concepts about marriage in the society in this book are a bit looser.

This is a book about the Oversoul, a satellite computer orbiting the planet Harmony, that contains the history of humanity.
Over forty million years worth of human history.
It is also a book about a city named Basilica. A city ruled by women, where no men can stay overnight unless housed by their mother as children, or their mates as adults.

The main character of this book is a boy named Nafai; pronounced NYAH_fie, because the language of Basilica requires that in most words at least one vowel be pronounced with a leading y sound. I'm certain I will never be able to pronounce all the names in this book.

It is an intriguing tale of family and loyalty. I adore the innocence of the younger characters and the wisdom of the older ones. As with may of his books, Orson Scott Card has created a unique but believable society that draws you in and makes you want to jump right in the book.

Nafai is the youngest son, striving for his fathers approval. His father Volemak, the Wetchik and a very wealthy trader, is endeavoring to keep the peace in his beloved city as well as his family life. Elemak is the oldest son, strong, learned, and a bit cocky. Mebbekew is the second son, with the typical antagonistic middle child syndrome mixed with a touch of art. Then we have Issib, crippled third son of Volemak and by far one of the most interesting and admirable characters I've ever had the fortune to come across.

The women of Basilica are equally fascinating. Luet the Water Seer and her sister Hushidh the Raveler are brave girls with unique powers. Lady Rasa, Volemak's wife and one of the city's most revered teachers, is a refreshing take on femininity and strength. Her daughters, Sevet and Kokor, beautiful songstresses who treat each other abominably, bring a little hint of what is to come in the future of the family wrought from the fabric of basilica to save humanity.

It is hard not to spill the beans when you have read the rest of the series. It is fascinating the way human nature, jealousy, community, greed, love and survival swirl together. As with most great stories the beginning is just the tip of the beautiful and treacherous iceberg. Man and the things he creates is our story. Essentially, in the infinite possibilities conceived of our universe, this could happen. Do we destroy ourselves utterly or do we revert back to the simplicity of survival. Can humanity find the balance? Is it admirable to strive for perfection when perhaps that perfection is making us docile sheep? They always make you think.

Ruins - By Orson Scott Card

Before you read:


As always in a good series you are left with a cliffhanger at the end of each book. You bet I read this book within a week of it coming out, waiting was not an option after the way Pathfinder ended.

Okay, so assuming you read Pathfinder first you are eager to hear if Ruins is just as good.
It is.

Rigg and the crew have just crossed the wall! On the other side they meet a man that looks just like Rigg's dead father but is not. Meet Vadesh. Another lying, secretive Expendable.

 As the story goes on you see many more facets to the people in the book, they change and grow but still are the characters you love. Speaking of love, there is a bit of that thrown in there too.

The group dynamics are so complex in this book. Who will take the lead? Will it be Rigg since he has been taught and groomed by the Expendable Ram? Will it be Loaf because of his military experience? Will Umbo's jealousy of Rigg push him to grasp for the role of leader? What about Olivenko? Will the scholar turned solder rise to the occasion? Or perhaps the future "Queen in the tent" Pram will push for the power and loyalty her rank calls for.

There is so much time travel in this book it makes me want to map it all out.

As I type this I wonder to myself if Orson Scott Card ever gets sick of the squiggly red lines telling him the names he made up for his characters are spelled wrong. Or maybe they are real in other cultures, I really don't know, but I do wish they would quit telling me I am wrong.

After you read:

Vadesh is so tricky and scary! I love when he and Rigg discuss the possibility of Vadesh malfunctioning. He adds in some interesting and tense moments that really make you think and wonder "what if?".

I found myself a bit frustrated when it came to Umbo's jealousies and snide remarks. I wanted to reach into the book and give him a good smack; something to make him snap out of it. I felt almost like there was something else possessing him or influencing him to think that way. But then I thought back to ruins when he thought Rigg had pushed his little brother over the waterfall and the lengths he went to get Rigg punished or killed before he calmed down enough to listen to the truth. I suppose that is what makes Umbo so real or whole; maybe he is a reflection or representation of all the doubts and suspicion within a human and that is what I don't like.
I would like to think that humans are a noble, honorable, empathetic, and compassionate race but I think history has proven me horrifically wrong.

Now the Mice! That is one of the most original and inventive ideas I've ever heard of! I find the communications between Loaf and the mice comical and cute in a strange distorted way. It almost reminds me of the grown-up sexy portrayals of Disney characters you might see in Hot Topic or a tattoo. The problems are grown up logic and hypotheses but the context is childish with a grown man talking to mice. But it is definitely creative!

I only wish there hadn't been so much down time. I understand why OSC made it drag; it was quite brilliantly done but easy to miss if you aren't used to his style. He created the feeling of anticipation and waiting for the reader that the characters were experiencing, something that is hard to do subtly.

The next book, Visitors, is expected November 4th 2014; and I can't wait!

A Little More About Me

Okay so someone (my boyfriend, Mr. T) has suggested that I try to write something about my life so this is my first attempt.

I am the assistant manager at a convenience store which my grandparents own. It is one of two; the other one my mother manages. I love my job very much sometimes and not so much at others. I enjoy my interactions with my customers; we have regulars just like any other business, but ours are there at the very least once a day usually two or three times. They make TV shows about restaurants and bars but they have nothing on our stores. Some days with the general public wear you down, but its the days where you get to touch peoples lives that make it all worth it. I love having an ongoing joke or a little argument. Sometimes you harass someone and its the special attention they get from you when you're giving them a hard time about their drink choice or their silly Velcro wallet that keeps them coming back. Its just always awkward when you run into them outside of work and they call out "Hey, Jesse! How are you?" and I'm all "Heeeey . . . . . . . .!" Sometimes I think life would be a little easier if everyone had on name tags.

I started this blog because I love to read sci-fi and fantasy books. It all began with a very well known book series about a wizard named Harry Potter. I was in fourth grade when I first heard about him; on Halloween a kid who lived down the street was dressed in a black robe and holding a short thin stick. His mother had drawn a lightening bolt scar on his forehead and I remember asking him rather rudely "What are you supposed to be?".  By the end of fifth grade I had read books one through four several times over and was eagerly awaiting book five. This is a picture of my first copy of book four:

 

 

I was hooked. I was Hermione Granger for the next three Halloweens. I went to all the midnight releases for the last three books and all eight movies.

 

My interests range from Greek mythology to aliens to magic.

 



My absolute favorite author is Orson Scott Card. I love the voices and personalities he creates. you want to get to know these people, be their friend. You want to join right in and help them in whatever adventure they have been roped into. 

Sphere - By Michael Crichton

Before you read:


This is a great book if you are looking for adventure, action, mystery, suspense and psychology. Odd mix, I know; but somehow it all fits together nicely. This book starts with Dr. Norman Johnson, professor of psychology, being flown out into the Pacific Ocean in a Navy helicopter. In the past the FAA has had Norman visit plane crash sites to help ease the anxiety and guilt survivors experience after the such traumatic events. At first Norman assumes that this is just another plane crash but quickly finds out otherwise. A few interesting tid-bits about Norman are that the U.S. government has commissioned him to write up a contingency plan in case of a visit or invasion by extra terrestrials (foreshadowing) and that his specialty is group dynamics and anxiety (more foreshadowing). This is a great book for teens and its fairly short, I finished it in roughly 10 hours, so I believe it would make a good book report.


After you read (Spoiler Alert):


What I loved about this book is that there were so many twists and turns and you really didn't know what to expect next. Norman is the voice of reason all the way through and though he has a few moments of doubt he stays true to himself. I hate to see a character die, lots of characters die in this book. I always hope for a happy ending, so when a story ends on a sad note it takes me a few days to get over the injury and love the book for its depth.

Now lets talk about Ted. Ted is that guy that you like but at the same time he drives you nuts. I thought he was a very full character, interesting and intricate. The references to his boyishness make you think of him as innocent and show that his intentions are good. Then he confides in Norman about how he is afraid of not making it into the history books and you finally understand his juvenile behavior. He is clinging to youth because he feels time slipping away and he hasn't really accomplished anything in the scientific world yet. You end up rooting for him even though he is obnoxious.

Harry's turn now. The twist with Jerry is misspelled Harry was awesome! Like most of this book, you didn't see it coming. When Norman was decoding the original message from Jerry I thought that there would be a secret message entirely different from the one Harry delivered. I loved how such a big clue the one wrong letter was. Crichton used the chip on Harry's shoulder wonderfully, it really brought some internal strife to the group.

Beth was another big character who rounded out the dynamics of the group. Throwing her psyche into the mix was a good touch. I felt bad that she had the credit for her work stolen from her; it made you like her in spite of her being such a big monster in the end.

Ah the end! Norman proves that humanity can triumph over our cowardly flight response and gives you hope for the human race! Then they decide to forget the whole thing! Except you never really know if Beth gave her powers up. then there is the little tid bit of the officers outside the decompression chamber becoming attentive and Beth is still beautiful. It makes you really wonder what happens next. Does the military buy their explanation? Is the sphere ever used again? Who created it? Humans or aliens? You are left with a flood of questions. Perhaps the most relevant one of all is the question as to whether the subconscious mind can ever me mastered.

I had never really heard about Michael Crichton until about a week ago; a good friend who shares a favorite author referred me. Crichton has written many famous books including The Andromeda Strain, Jurassic Park, and The Lost World; all which have been made into motion pictures. I plan on reading many more of his books since this one was so rewarding.

Pathfinder - By Orson Scott Card

Before you read:

 

This is a great book to read if you like mystery, revolution, science fiction and a little fantasy; Orson Scott Card knows just how to mix it all together without being obvious. All of the chapters start out with a short clip of what seems to be another story about a boy on a colony starship that is manned by androids, and the bulk of the book is about another boy named Rigg who is in a setting that seems to be more like Earth's 1800s. You are left wondering for quite some time what these two very different situations have to do with one another. All of the characters are unique and have heart. I love this book because as always Orson Scott Card explains the science to you.

Pathfinder is the first book of a saga and it promises to be very interesting.

 

After you read(Spoiler Alert):

 

After reading this book I cant wait to get my hands on the next one and see what everyone does next. The expendables are an unknown variable throughout the entire book. You begin by trusting them because they serve Ram and seem to be your normal everyday garden variety android but then you throw in the 16 Rams and they instantly annihilate 15 of them. For a minute you are left with a what the hell feeling, then everything is explained to you and you understand the necessity. Then you are left thinking about Ram and how he ordered the expendables to kill the other Rams and the only reason they obeyed the one Ram was because he didn’t say immediately like the others, so his sentence ended before theirs. Talk about close call.

I love Rigg because he as so many skills. And he is one of those altruistic individuals. I think that’s why I like Orson Scott Card books, because the main characters are all innately good people who are given these huge challenges to overcome. Rigg and the rest of the gang managed to escape the city and make it to the border; and the way they get through is ingenious, creative and inventive! Of course they had to be to cross such a loathsome but effective wall. I love the time traveling and how it takes more than some silly machine to do it, it takes practice and skill. And it was so interesting the way Param's skills worked, Mr. Card how the hell did you come up with that?!?!

The idea to make 16 different colonies and let the 16 hopefully different cultures develop was magnificent. I cant help but wonder if the people in the other colony sections have stayed the same and only the cultures are different or if they have mutated in some way as well. Or if by some accident of human nature and biology the people are identical and managed to marry the same people as the people in the other colonies. But even if it started out that way it would probably stray after time because of accidental deaths. Or I wonder if the expendables would kill the same genetic match in the other colonies to keep them all the same for some sort of experiment. Now my imagination is running away with me, I better stop while I'm ahead.

In summary this was a very intriguing book and I cannot wait to get my hands on the next one and find out what has happened in all the other colonies.

The Time Machine - H. G. Wells

Before you read:

I thought I’d start with abook well known and part of the beginning of the Sci-Fi and Fantasy scene. Thisbook moves fairly slowly as most books of its era, but it is well worth the wait. H. G Wells infuses his story with beautiful scenery and an intriguing mystery. It is a story about a man who builds a time machine and travels to 802,701 A.D. where he comes across the Eloi and the Morlocks, the beings that inhabit future earth. The man, who is referred to as the Time Traveler, ends uplosing his time machine and has to fight to get it back. One of the reasons I love this book is because contrary to popular time travel books and movies, the main character’s purpose is not to change the past or use the future to make himself rich or well off; his is an innocent exploration of scientific inquiry. I also love this book because it makes me think and challenges my own idea of the future.

After you read (SPOILER ALERT!): 

It blows my mind to thinkthat when this book was written, nothing like it had ever been written before.  While I was reading it, I imagined the time machine to be just like the collectable time machine that the guys on the TV show Big Bang Theory bought and shared. Come to find out it was actually a portrayal of the time machine I was reading about. After I finished reading the book, I went back and watched the episode of Big Bang Theory and found it five times funnier when Sheldon was dreaming while asleep in the time machine and the white apes with glowing eyes wearing jumpsuits labeling them as “Hungry Morlocks” attacked him.

The difference between the two races, The Eloi and Morlocks, is interesting. In our society now days I have a hard time imagining that humans would ever separate out into two verydifferent races, but after a bit of thought I realized that when this book was written (1895) the classes were much more separated, so it was much easier to conceive a world where they had grown so far apart. I find it a bit horrifying that the Morlocks feed and take care of the Eloi just to eat them later, but I suppose that is what humans do right now so . . . .

I wasa bit frustrated when the Time Traveler loses Weena, I hate when an innocent character dies, but I guess it gives the story more depth and evokes emotion so I suppose it was necessary to make the story as good as it is.