War of the Spark: Ravnica by Greg Weisman

War of the Spark: Ravnica by Greg Weisman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Reading War of the Spark: Ravnica is like watching the latest season of a long-running TV series. There's a bunch of people with all kinds of history running around, with just enough explanation to follow the main plot but not enough to grasp all the implications of their past relationships. And on top of that, for some reason there's a big chunk of time missing from the storyline that's being doled out in weekly flashbacks.

The worlds of Magic: The Gathering have a fairly long history, and it hasn't always been very well organized. Hardly organized at all, at the very beginning in the early 1990s, and it took quite a few years for Wizards of the Coast to get their act together in terms of the game's story lore. But in the last few years, at least since Magic Origins in 2015, things have been much more coherent. (Argument can be made for some of the earlier set stories being pretty decent, too.) In general, the story behind the game has become pretty good, following a group of heroes called the Gatewatch across various planes of existence in the Magic multiverse. For the last few years they've been butting heads with a cunning Elder Dragon called Nicol Bolas.

The Magic set War of the Spark was released a few months ago, and with it the novel War of the Spark: Ravnica. I was looking forward to it, since the main storyline had largely been on hiatus for the second half of 2018. We got some background stories set on Ravnica (which weren't bad at all) but nothing to move ahead the big conflict between the Gatewatch and Nicol Bolas. The novel picks up those threads, which have been gathering for the last several years across many Magic sets on multiple planes.

Which means that I was a bit confused when I started the novel and the state of things on Ravinca was quite a bit different than what we'd been lead to expect. Dead guild leaders, plans to oppose Bolas gone awry, people mourning a character (Hekara) I'd never heard of. Turns out, there's an entire "prequel" novel that's being released one chapter at a time that took place before War of the Spark: Ravnica. I have no idea why the story folks would do this - it makes reading this book feel like I'm coming into a movie halfway through. It's a disappointing dropped ball from a story team that's been pretty good for quite a few years now.

As for characters - there's a lot of them. As a reader of Magic story articles, I have a pretty good idea of who is who in the Magic multiverse. But even so, the sheer cast of characters in War of the Spark: Ravnica is pretty daunting. Weisman makes an effort to introduce those important to the story, but that still leaves a whole lot of folks who are just kind of hanging around the background or have very limited contributions. I suspect anyone who hasn't followed the Magic story for several years will be fairly confused about who all these people are.

OK, having said all that - I still think War of the Spark: Ravnica is a pretty decent novel. Weisman is a good writer, other than the occasional tendency to toss in unnecessarily cheesy one-liners. (Haven't we heard "Can't we all just get along?" and "It's not the heat; it's the humidity" enough by now?) He does a fine job with Teyo and Rat, two new characters for this story. And once you get the gist of where things stand on Ravinca, the overall plot moves along pretty well, with very little downtime...it's action of one kind or another pretty much all the way.

If you've followed the Magic story for a while now, you'll want to check out War of the Spark: Ravnica. But if not, don't start here - you're better off reading through some of the older Magic story articles, and then if you want to know how things proceed, this book will be there.

The High House by James Stoddard

The High House by James Stoddard
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Teenage me would have loved The High House, first in the Evenmere Chronicles series. Middle-aged me has seen enough of the classic heroic fantasy genre.

Evenmere is a Victorian mansion of apparently infinite size, containing entire nations within it, somehow linked to the entire universe. Wind the clocks, light the lamps, keep Order and Chaos in check within the house, or else the entire universe suffers the consequences. The son of the Master of the House, Carter Anderson, has lived away from the House but must take over when his father disappears and is presumed lost. He has to find his way and learn the powers he needs to become Master and keep Evenmere safe and secure.

This story is very familiar fantasy, with lots of magic, some fantastic creatures, and mystical forces. It's also a pretty standard "hero's journey" story, with the unready youngster given a trial by fire and emerging heroic. Other than Carter, the characters are largely one-dimensional stereotypes who fill one role with little complexity. The idea of an infinite house is a bit out of the ordinary, but it's divided into nations and regions much like any fantasy world.

Reading through The High House feels almost like deja vu. Hey, this bit sounds like Lord of the Rings. There's a part that reminds me of Narnia. Oh, some strange people that would fit nicely into the Wizard of Oz. Hey, that odd creature could be right out of Alice in Wonderland. And so on. This isn't a bad thing, exactly, it just means that I've read so much of the classic heroic fantasy genre that the story needs something pretty significantly different to stand out. And the infinite-house setting just wasn't enough do it, for me at least.

I didn't dislike The High House by any means, but I wasn't drawn into the story either. It just was too much like other similar series to hold my interest, so I'm in no rush to read the other books. Others who like this kind of fantasy story, particularly those who aren't as prone to compare to the classics as I am, may like it better.

Plum Rains by Andromeda Romano-Lax

Plum Rains by Andromeda Romano-Lax
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Plum Rains is a wonderful story that touches on dozens of topics, from family to trauma to technology to culture. It just takes a while to get there.

The novel centers on two women, elderly Sayoko and her live-in nurse Angelica. The first third or so of the book is largely concerned with describing how these two women live and interact, and it's not a particularly happy story. Eventually, things start to happen...an android arrives to assist Sayoko, Angelica's various troubles catch up with her, Sayoko reveals past trauma that she's kept hidden for decades. The stories of Angelica and Sayoko end up affecting much more of the world than just themselves.

The setting in Plum Rains is near-future Japan, when some of today's trends...low birth rate, increased population age, significant foreign worker presence...have grown significantly. The wider world plays a role, too, most notably in development of robotics and artificial intelligence. And history is just as important as the future in this story, as events from Sayoko's past in particular come to light.

I felt that the early part of Plum Rains dragged a bit, but it gets much more interesting further in. Don't give up on it early. Romano-Lax tells a great story that's well worth the time to read.

Market Forces by Richard K. Morgan

Market Forces by Richard K. Morgan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The author's note at the beginning of Market Forces says it evolved from "...nasty idea to short story to screenplay to the novel..." and that it was inspired in part by Mad Max. And that is exactly how it reads.

Market Forces is a near-future dystopia where international finance corporations openly bankroll wars around the world, inequality in capitalist nations is extreme, and corporate executives win promotion through road-rage battles. The protagonist is Chris, an executive with lower-class origins pushing his way upward into the privileged ranks. Along the way he struggles against the other executives, against his own conscience, and against the system.

There's a whole lot of big-budget action movie in this book. The driving duels, obviously, but plenty more too. Sex and drugs and money and betrayal and bloody fights (in and out of cars). It's not hard to see where "screenplay" fit into the evolution of the novel that the author mentioned. I'm pretty sure the same story could easily have been told with a lot less drinking, drugs, sex, and graphic violence...but it wouldn't have the same spectacle feel.

For the first half of the book, I had a hard time taking it very seriously. The idea of Mad Max-style road duels didn't fit all that well into the more serious world-building. It doesn't seem like too much of a stretch from today's world to get to the idea of giant financial powerhouses abandoning all pretense of morality, or to have society stratified into the privileged rich and downtrodden poor with governments pushed aside by corporate power. Executives running one another off the road made it all seem pretty cheesy, though. But as the book went on, there was a lot more intrigue and political maneuvering than straight-up road rage, and by the time it got back to driving I was used to the idea.

Much of the novel is taken up by Chris trying to come to terms with what kind of person he is. Is he a ruthless executive driver who ruins third-world nations and rival executives alike? Or does he have enough empathy for others in situations not unlike his own background to show some mercy? What does it mean to be loyal to his own beliefs and to the people he knows? Not easy questions, and there's not really a definitive answer. Everything ends up in shades of gray, no easy right or wrong resolutions.

Market Forces paints a disturbing-but-intriguing picture of a world where amoral financial interest has taken control. It's even fairly believable, aside from the idea of road-rage car duels. But those duels and the sex/drugs/violence action-movie spectacle isn't really my style, and felt over-done. If that's your thing, though, you'll likely enjoy this one.

From the New World (anime)

From the New World is a combination of post-apocalyptic dystopia and mind-bending mystery. It's set in the far future, after humans developed psychic abilities leading to conflicts that nearly ended the world. In this world, society is strictly controlled to keep a tight rein on those abilities.

The main character, Saki, and her friends grow up in this society and learn their powers like the other children. Unlike the others, though, Saki's group pushes the boundaries set by their elders. They manage to learn something of world history and the sometimes draconian methods used by their leaders in keeping society under control. But even those methods can't prevent every disaster.

A good chunk of the story revolves around an intelligent animal race called Monster Rats. They have no psychic powers, and treat the humans as gods. And the humans behave as such, putting restrictions and rules in place for the Monster Rat society. A small number of powerful individuals holding sway over a large population...nothing could possibly go wrong with that, right?

I really enjoyed the world-building of From the New World, and most of the mystery aspect of the story. There's several points where I thought the plot dragged a bit, and some of the interpersonal relationship stuff seemed awfully contrived to me. But those are fairly minor nitpicks, and overall the show kept me entertained and interested throughout.

Provenance by Ann Leckie

Provenance by Ann Leckie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Provenance tells the story of an insecure young woman finding her place in her world. Not an unusual theme, but then add that the world is part of a human diaspora of in space and the other characters aren't all human, and it gets a bit more interesting.

The protagonist in Provenance is Ingray, who hails from the world of Hwae and is competing with her brother to be their mother's heir. She makes some questionable decisions in pursuit of that goal, meets some very interesting other humans and non-humans, witnesses a murder, and gets herself unwittingly involved in some very high-stakes conflicts between governments. In resolving all of that excitement, she grows up enough to know more about what she really wants from life.

The entire novel is written from Ingray's viewpoint and we hear much of her inner dialogue, much of it revealing a distinct lack of self-confidence. This isn't new, I've read books with similar characters before - but it's pretty rare in my experience for the character to grow and yet continue to express that weakness. Ingray never does become a heroine with nerves of steel, but she does learn to use the skills and abilities she has, even if she's frightened and unsure of herself the entire time. And a little good fortune and some good friends certainly help.

There's plenty about the wider world - aliens, political intrigue, other cultures - that Ingray doesn't know, and so the reader tends to learn about those things along with her. That's convenient for explanation, but it does make some of the plot points feel like deus ex machina when she suddenly becomes aware of something new and it causes significant changes. I didn't like that at first, but then I realized that's pretty much how Ingray herself would have felt, and then it made more sense.

Provenance is set in the same universe as the Imperial Radch trilogy, which I read a few years ago. This book doesn't really touch on the events in the trilogy, though there are a few references to what happened. Even a few bits that could be considered minor spoilers, so be warned if you haven't read the trilogy. And we learn more about the universe, most notably the alien Geck.

One part of Provenance that I found particularly interesting was the Hwae culture's reverence for "vestiges" - basically souvenirs from important dates in a person's life or the history of the larger culture. Some pretty significant parts of the book rely on the way the Hwae assign importance to these objects...whether they're the real thing or not. As long as everyone believes they're seeing an important bit of history, it might as well be the real thing.

I enjoyed Provenance, and anyone who's read Leckie's other work certainly will as well. If you haven't yet given her work a try, do so...though I'd start with the Imperial Radch trilogy.

Kill Decision by Daniel Suarez

Kill Decision by Daniel Suarez
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Kill Decision is a near-future techno-thriller based on the disturbing concept of financial interests using technology to further their profit goals without morals or accountability. That's not a new idea, of course, there's been plenty of other books (and movies/TV/etc) based on the same idea of some shadowy conspiracy manipulating events with no regard for consequences to the world. I think Suarez does a fine job of implementing the concept using modern society and technology, so it didn't bother me that there wasn't much in the way of new ground covered.

The novel revolves around advances in autonomous drone technology, most notably vision processing and swarming behavior. I'm no expert in those fields, but I consider myself an informed layman, and it certainly doesn't feel like Suarez is reaching all that far past what's possible right now. What the novel proposes in these fields is advanced refinements of capabilities that we're already seeing in labs today - years away, not decades, if someone really wanted to do it and dedicated the resources.

It's not all techno-games, of course; there's plenty of interesting characters with personality in Kill Decision. The main character is Linda McKinney, a scientist who studies ants. Her work is co-opted by the bad guys, and she's saved from elimination by a team of black-ops soldiers. They proceed to spend the rest of the novel roaming around the world to stop the conspiratorial disaster. My favorite character was the heavy-metal-loving commando Foxy, right-hand man to team leader and hero Odin. All of it is well-written and engaging, if not particularly unique.

Kill Decision is a enjoyable read, fast-paced and interesting. The reader can just enjoy the action, or think a little deeper about some of the moral questions. (What kind of danger are we in from certain kinds of technological advances? Do we have any real control over bad actors using such technology?) Either way, I recommend it.

Less by Andrew Sean Greer

Less by Andrew Sean Greer
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Less won lots of prizes and is clearly a work that many people appreciate. It's a good case in point of the fact that I am not one of those people, because I thought it was largely boring, and the main character uninteresting.

Less follows middle-aged author Arthur Less as he jets around the world avoiding reminders of twin impending disasters: his ex-partner's marriage and turning 50. He spends a lot of time feeling out of place, unsure of himself, nostalgic for a simpler past, and unable to write. Eventually he sorts out his feelings (somewhat) and manages to write again (but not finish his novel) and finds resolution for his romantic woes (but not on purpose). This is not a book with an exciting, gripping plot.

Arthur is gay. There were maybe one or two places where this actually mattered, as far as I can tell, most notably one bit where one of his books is rejected because it deals only with a white gay man instead of something more exotic. Other than that, you could swap the gender of a few characters and maybe a few locations to make this a straight novel and it would read very much the same. Arthur has no struggles over being gay, there's no discrimination, practically everyone he meets is either also gay or could care less. Which is fine, something of an ideal world in fact, but it begs the question of why write a novel about it? Ideal isn't interesting.

Romantic relationships seem to define Arthur's self-image. He's with an older partner in a long-term but still somewhat casual relationship; that ends and he finds a younger partner to do basically the same thing in mirror image; then that ends and he's alone and pathetic. Completely alien to my mindset, putting this kind of weight on romance and yet not actually pursuing a solid lasting relationship. To me, it makes Arthur simply look like someone unable to decide what he really wants out of life...not uncommon, but not interesting enough to base a novel on. This being a romantic novel, there is an eventual resolution to Arthur's love woes...but it fell flat with me, as it basically falls into his lap, through no fault of his own.

The writing style of Greer reminds me of when I was reading classics in school. Some genuinely funny or moving prose, surrounded by a whole lot of flowery language meant to convey characters' mindsets that goes off in all directions and is either uninteresting or confusing. So I can see why the literary critics loved it, but it is definitely not to my taste.

There are obviously lots of people who enjoyed Less, most notably a Pulitzer committee. However, I am not one of them.