The Lazarus Effect - Frank Herbert and Bill Ransom

This is one of a handful of Frank Herbert's novels I haven't read before. It wasn't particularly easy to come by. I ended up buying a second hand copy. It is a very nice fist print hardcover by Putman but it did cost me. The Lazarus Effect (1983) is the second book in the WorShip trilogy written with Bill Ranson. The series has its origin in Herbert's 1966 novel Destination: Void, of which he published a revised edition in 1978, prior to the release of The Jesus Incident (1979), his first collaboration with Ransom. The Jesus Incident was rough around the edged, mostly because a copyright issue came up that required lots of last-minute rewriting. This was written in a less frantic fashion. Interesting enough, The Jesus Incident turned out better.

The sentient kelp is dead and it's stabilizing influence on Pandora's oceans is sorely missed. All land surface has disappeared under the waves and humanity has devised two ways of surviving in a place that is, if possible, even more hostile to human life. Part of the population, the Islanders, lives in huge, crowded floating cities but the majority, the Mermen, moved beneath the waves. Kelp DNA has been stored in humanity's own gene pool through the experiment of the geneticist Jesus Lewis, cause a whole string of genetic defects in large parts of the population. Now, some seek to harvest the rewards of Lewis' foresight and reintroduce the kelp. Some even believes that this will bring back Ship, who seems the have abandoned his worshippers. Reintroducing will mean the end of a way of life however, and not everybody is pleased about this decision being taken by a small group of people on behalf of the whole of humanity. Tensions run high when the first signs of Avata's return become apparent.

One thing that immediately struck me about the writing was that it is a  much smoother read than The Jesus Incident. The writing is much more polished, more uniform. It also misses the poetic flourishes that Ransom added to the previous book. Give the history of these two volumes, some difference was to be expected but I was surprised by how much the prose had changed. The Jesus Incident is not an easy read, and the prose certainly contributed to that but I think Herbert and Ransom lost something in the polishing as well. It makes me wonder how The Ascension Factor (1988) the final novel in the trilogy has turned out. It has largely been written by Ransom due to Herbert's sudden and untimely death in 1986.

Thematically, tyranny is very much at the forefront of the story. Some pretty draconian rules have been put in place regarding children born with very serious birth defects. Deviate too much from what is considered normal - which, it must be said, is quite a stretch from what we would recognize as a normal variation of the human body - and the child is not allowed to live. One of the main characters is a judge on the panel deciding on such cases on one of the floating cities. He is a very interesting character in a way, feeling completely justified in deciding over life and death based is such a way and on the other hand highly suspicious and dismissive of the Mermen project to bring back the kelp, feeling the Merman are forcing a decision on the Islanders without taking their interests into account. His reaction to the kelp and the cults is has inspired among the Mermen is, if possible even more interesting.

Mermen and Islanders don't always seem to be at odds though. Part of the story is made up of a romance between and Islander boy and a Mermen girl, who set aside all preconceived notions and ignore blatant prejudice after she saves him from drowning. An interesting reverse of the damsel in distress I suppose but I thought the whole thing was a bit cheesy to be honest. As this love story is the backbone of the plot, the novel as a whole doesn't seem quite as intellectually challenging as most of Herbert's other novels. There is plenty hiding under the surface but not nearly as much going on at the forefront as what I've come to expect from Herbert.

In terms of the challenges presented to Pandoran society it definitely is classic Herbert. His motto 'the only constant is change' clearly shows through in this novel. Herbert and Ransom describe a society that had to adapt to radically different environmental conditions and is now on the verge of reversing some of that change. It is these moments of punctuated equilibrium if you will, that fascinates Herbert and this novel is a good example of that. Change is imminent in many areas, a species is being brought back from extinction (the title of a novel is a reference to Lazarus of Bethany, a figure from the gospel of John restored to life by Jesus), environmental changes on a large scale are taking place dooming a way of life and the culture built upon, religions convictions are challenged by the rebirth of the kelp and regaining access to orbital space flight. Change is rapid and profound in this novel.

I must admit I found the premise of the novel and the large scale developments Herbert and Ransom describe fascinating but I didn't care for most of the characters. The judge is mildly interesting, the lovers are not. There are a few other characters I haven't mentioned thus far, including a terrorist, a diplomat and ridiculously stupid historian none of whom were really engaging. Most of them seem to miss the sharpness, awareness and deep insights Herbert's more interesting characters share. Ship's unpredictable presence is also sorely missed in this novel. In short I have to really dig to find things I like in The Lazarus Effect. It is there for sure but buried a somewhat unfocussed plot, featuring bland and largely uninteresting characters. Add to that the unremarkable prose and you end up with a novel that readable but certainly not memorable. I'm hoping for better things from the concluding volume of this trilogy.

Book Details
Title: The Jesus Incident
Author: Frank Herbert and Bill Ransom
Publisher: Putnam
Pages: 381
Year: 1983
Language: English
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 0-399-12815-8
First published: 1983

The Inexplicables - Cherie Priest

The Inexplicables is the fourth, or, depending on whether you want to count the short novel Clementine, the fifth book in Cherie Priest's Clockwork Century. An alternative history where the American civil war has raged for two decades and all manner of strange Steampunk contraptions are in use. I've read al the previous volumes and enjoyed each of them. They are not terrifically complex books but great fun to read. Each book is written to be self-contained and centrers on a different main character, it is not necessary to have read any of the previous volumes to enjoy this book. I do think you get a lot more out of it if you have however. Priest makes a lot of the important characters of previous novels reappear as secondary characters in this book.

Priest takes us back to the location of Boneshaker, the first novel in the series. Seattle is still walled off from the outside world to contain the toxic gas that is pouring liberally form a rupture in the earth. The main character Rector " Werck'em" Sherman grows up in an orphanage outside the walls. His parents were likely the victims of the original disaster that struck the city. Life doesn't seem to have too much in store for him and Rector finds himself in deep trouble when the nuns running the orphanage decide his has reached to age of eighteen. Turned out from the orphanage, addicted to the poisonous sap an with no means of sustaining himself or feeding his addiction, Rector decides to try his luck inside the walls of the city. He finds the place full of factions, on the verge of a gang war and in the clutches of a huge creature attacking anyone unwise enough to go out alone. He will have to adapt to this new environment fast if he is to survive in this most challenging of environments.

Addiction is an important theme in this book. Sap slowly kills and Rector is pretty close to the point of no return when we meet him. His cravings and withdrawal symptoms run through the entire narrative. Even though Rector has seen the devastating effects of the drugs he dealt himself at one time, he is still sorely tempted. At the end of the novel I like to believe he will stay clean but Priest left me doubting. Even is the drug is entirely fictional I think it is a pretty convincing depiction of substance abuse. Rector's self-destructive urges don't really endear me to him but it does underline the dreariness of his life and the bad hand it has dealt him. In a way, Rector embodies the problems of the city. Both are dependent on the very thing that destroys them.

The story of Seattle's split community is also pushed forward. The revenue from the sale of sap are vital to maintain the city, which can only be in habited at huge expense. The group who tries to get by more honestly is well aware of the fact that they wouldn't survive without the investment of the local drug lord in their infrastructure. It makes the whole community very morally ambiguous. I guess that suits the main character fine. Such display of wealth and a monopoly on the drug trade is sure to attract those who want a share of the pie without fully understanding the risks involved in running the operation. A conflict is inevitable and I very much liked the way in which Seattle's inhabitants pull together to deal with that threat.

It does lead to some interesting questions though. We see Mercy Lynch, the main character in Dreadnought doing research on sap and it's effects. She is very aware of the link between the rotters, the blight, the sap and war effort and if she succeeds in stopping the trade in sap, the concequences will be huge for Seattle as well as the rest of the nation. The overarching story in these novels is very far in the background but it is still there. I guess at some point Priest is going to tie all of those things up and somehow end this long-lasting conflict. As much as I am enjoying the fast and furious adventure stories that form the backbone of these novels, the alternative history intrigues me even more. Personally I wouldn't mind if it had been a bit more at the forefront.

On top of the alternate history, the troubles of Rector and the gang war that is about to erupt, there is the matter of the mysterious creature attacking people. Priest involved Princess Angeline in this story line, the oldest daughter of Chief Seattle, after which the city was named. She is a historical character and Priest makes her into quite a fearsome lady. On the one hand I liked this link with local history (I'm sure there are more but I must admit I am not that familiar with the region) but it was the one storyline that didn't really mesh in with the others. It was a good reminder that even in those dark days, money and power aren't all there is to life though.

Priest delivered another strong volume in the Clockwork Century series. Like the previous volumes The Inexplicables is a fast, fun read. People who loved the previous books will want to pick up this one. Personally I get the feeling that Priest is steadily working towards a resolution of the overarching story but I don't think we'll see it in the next novel Fiddlehead, which is scheduled for release in November 2013 and will have Belle Boyd as the main character. Readers who have read Clementine will remember Belle for sure. I'm sure Fiddlehead will be on my to read list late this year. This is one series I mean to keep up with.

Book Details
Title: The Inexplicables
Author: Cherie Priest
Publisher: Tor
Pages: 366
Year: 2012
Language: English
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-7653-2947-9
First published: 2012

A Signal Boost for Lady Business

As you know I've been trying to read more work by female authors recently. My reading habits were very skewed to the male authors at one point. I did reasonably well in 2012 even if I didn't reach parity. Gender and genre fiction has been a hotly debated issue all over the internet. World Without End for instance, is currently running a reading challenge designed to introduce readers to female authors. At this time I am unable to participate but don't let that stop you.

I came across an article today on Lady Business. Like last year, they analysed the reviewing habits of a number of blogs and looked at "the visibility of women in science fiction and fantasy reviews and whether the gender of the reviewer impacts that visibility." Their sample of blogs include some of the big names in the blogsphere as well as Random Comments.

 Have a look at their results. They are very interesting indeed. Their methodology is a bit different (and infinitely more sophisticated) from the count I did myself in the end of year post by the way, so those numbers don't match.

Immersion - Aliette de Bodard

Anticipating the 2013 awards season Aliette de Bodard has made the short story Immersion available in a number of e-book formats at her website. It was originally published in de June 2012 edition of Clarke's world, where it can still be read or listened to. I've been a fan of de Bodard's writing ever since I read The Lost Xuyan Bride a few years back so obviously I picked it up. It turns out the story is linked to Scattered Along the Rivers of Heaven but set on another space station. I think it is also related to the recently published novella On a Red Station, Drifting, which I hope to read soon. You don't need to have read that story to enjoy Immersion however. I think this one of those stories I read as just the right time in my life. Of course that poses a problem for this review. One might argue that all reviews are more about the reviewer than the work discussed but for this one it is going to be a bit more true than usual. Not the first time this has happened when reading one of de Bodard's stories.

Dreadfully spoilerish, I recommend you read the story first.

House of Suns - Alastair Reynolds

A new year so time for an Alastair Reynolds review, albeit a bit later than usual. House of Suns is another one of Alastair Reynolds' standalone novels. There is short fiction loosely related to this universe but the novel reads just fine without having read that. As with just about everything Reynolds wrote he doesn't rule out doing another work in this universe but for now it seems his new Poseidon's Children trilogy and an upcoming Dr. Who novel are keeping him occupied. Like the other novels by Reynolds I've read it is a science fiction on a massive scale. In terms of showing us how large and strange the universe is, he takes his readers to new extremes in this novel and then ends it by showing us he's barely begun. The novel is stuffed with wonder of the galaxy and nearly unbelievable technology. In a way, it proves Arthur C. Clarke's overused statement that sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

Six million years in the future mankind has spread across the galaxy. Civilizations have risen and fallen and humanity is now a species with a very varied appearance. One of the very few stable factors in this constantly changing universe are the lines. Gentian Line is one of them, founded by Abigail Gentian who sent a thousand clones, or shatterlings, of herself into space to explore the galaxy. One every two hundred thousand years they meet to exchange their experiences. The shatterlings Purslane and Champion are on their way to the next reunion. Late and knowing they will be disciplined for 'consorting', something the Line frowns upon, they try to find a way to limit the damage. When they stop in a solar system no Gentian has visited in aeons, they stumble across Hesperus, one of the Machine People. He might just be their ticket out of this mess but as they approach the reunion system a distress call reaches them that will turn their universe upside down. After six million years, someone has decided to take Gentian Line down a peg.

This novel is not the first in which Reynolds explore the implications of the speed of light as a fundamental constant for human space travel. In the Revelation Space novels for instance, relativistic speeds, time dilation and story lines that stretch across decades are an important part of the plot. Here, he takes it just about as far as things will go. Shatterlings travel the universe just below the speed of light, spending a lot of their time in suspension. They may not have experienced the full six million years of their life, but they are old enough to have seen civilizations rise and fall many times over. They speak of years as we would of days and think nothing of not seeing each other for millennia. It's hard to wrap your head around sometimes.

The time scale of the story isn't the only think epic about it. Reynolds describes technologies to refuel suns running our of hydrogen, stardams capable of containing the energies released by a supernova and space ships capable of accelerations in excess of a thousand gees and still able to keep their human cargo alive. There are clones and artificial intelligences, humans in every conceivable shape and size. Humanity is capable of manipulating the galaxy on a huge scale. If you are a reader looking for that sense of wonder that characterized some of the best of the best of the golden age novels, then this will probably be to your liking. Fans of Reynolds' usually strong scientific underpinnings may find it contains a bit too much handwavium though.

The structure of the story is a bit more straightforward than some of his other novels. There is a limited number of points of view and the plot is focussed on unravelling the reasons behind Gentian Line's misfortune. It contains plenty of twists but nothing that distracts from the business at hand. The book read pretty quickly compared to some of Reynold's denser Revelation Space novels. Surprisingly quickly for a five hundred page novel even. It wasn't quite what I was expecting but it was definitely a fun read. The previous novel I'd read by Reynolds, Pushing Ice, published in 2007, was marred by an unlikely plot and characters that generally made very little sense. This story may be equally unlikely but manages to keep my suspension of disbelief intact.

I do think that Reynolds packed perhaps a bit too much ideas into this volume though. The implications of most things we see are usually only glimpsed at. He simply doesn't have enough space in this book to properly explore them. The pace of the story simply won't allow it. I find myself torn between the sheer enjoyment on being dragged along with the story and the nagging voice telling me Reynolds is glossing over the details. It is a much smoother read than some of his earlier novels but in the process, it has lost some of what I liked about those as well. It is an intriguing novel and a thoroughly absorbing read, but when you get right down to it, there is quite a bit of unfulfilled potential in the book as well. Personally, I can't entirely shake that feeling and completely lose myself in the book. House of Suns is entertaining, thrilling even, but not all it might have been. For the fan of space opera, it is still a very fine read however. One I would definitely recommend to fans of the sub genre.

Book Details
Title: House of Suns
Author: Alastair Reynolds
Publisher: Gollancz
Pages: 502
Year: 2009
Language: English
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-575-08237-3
First published: 2008

Wrapping up 2012

My blogging over the last six weeks are obviously not everything I would have hoped for. I found a apartment last month, which is something of a miracle all things considered. Unfortunately I couldn't get any time off work in December or January so I've been forced to pour all my free time into this project. It is almost inhabitable, I expect to move in in January, joined a few weeks later by my girlfriend. That does mean I will be without internet for a while in January so I don't expect great things next month either.

Accounting
Despite the poor finish I did review 60 works in 2012. They break down into 41 novels, 5 short stories, 7 novellas and 7 collections and anthologies. I had hoped for more, but realistically that is a decent total. One of the goals was to read more works by women and I certainly did better than last year. Of the 60 works I've read, 26 were written by women, 31 by men and the remaining 3 contained work by both men and women. I hope to do a little better still in 2013. Next year's challenge over at Worlds Without End might help in that respect.

Which brings me to the 2012 Grand Master Reading Challenge. I managed to read all 12 books and review 11 of them. Ten of them were posted on the Worlds Without End blog as well. The rules only required me to write 6 so that is another goal achieved. The complete list:

1. Tau Zero - Poul Anderson
2. Prelude to Space - Arthur C. Clarke
3. Forerunner - Andre Norton
4. I, Robot - Isaac Asimov
5. The Wind's Twelve Quarters  - Ursula K. Le Guin
6. Dying Inside - Robert Silverberg
7. Beyond the Blue Event Horizon - Frederik Pohl
8. White Mars - Brian Aldiss
9. Dragonsdawn - Anne McCaffrey
10. Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
11. The Listeners - James E. Gunn
12. All About Emily - Connie Willis (not reviewed)

Books I've read but not reviewed in 2012 (some of them might still get a review later on) are What Kings Ate and Wizards Drank by Krista D. Ball, The Wurms of Blearmouth by Steven Erikson, Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang by Kate Wilhelm and the aforementioned All About Emily by Connie Wills. I don't have a page total for 2012 handy right now but it should be around 17,000. Significantly down form last year.

Best of 2012
I'll limit myself to five books this year, ten seems too many on a total of 60. The best books I've read this year (not necessarily in that order) are:

1. Range of Ghosts by Elizabeth Bear. I'm very impressed by this first volume in Bear's Eternal Sky trilogy. She tackles Epic Fantasy in her own unique way.
2. Wizard of the Pigeons by Megan Lindholm. Somewhere between urban fantasy (sans sparkling vampires) and magical realism, this is probably her most underrated novel.
3. Crack'd Pot Trail by Steven Erikson. Not what you'd expect from a Korbal Broach and Bauchelain. You'll think it either dreadful of brilliant.
4. The Man Who Ended History: A Documentary by Ken Liu. This novella should have won some of the awards it was nominated for.
5. Moxyland by Lauren Beukes. Complex and chillingly plausible, this novel is one hell of a début. I prefer it over Zoo City.

Interesting list now that I look at it.

Traffic
My traffic this year has grown considerably compared to 2011 but not as much as last year. I think it could have been a little better if I had continued posting. I've had a couple of very popular reviews this year, mostly tied to movie or TV releases. The most popular reviews this year are:

1. The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
2. Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins
3. Roadside Picnic - Arkady and Boris Strugatsky
4. A Storm of Swords - George R.R. Martin
5. A Game of Thrones - George R.R. Martin
6. Green Mars - Kim Stanley Robinson
7. The Ice Dragon - George R.R. Martin
8. The Clan of the Cave Bear - Jean M. Auel
9. Reaper's Gale - Steven Erikson
10. The Valley of the Horses - Jean M. Auel

Four reviews showed up on last year's list as well. I wonder if any of them can keep going. The Hunger Games book reviews are way more popular than anything else I've written. Despite being up less than a year they are way ahead of any other reviews in number of pageviews. The Hunger Games has almost five times as many hits as Roadside Picnic got in 2012 and Catching Fire isn't far behind. What is more interesting is that Mockingjay didn't catch on. Nor did A Clash of Kings. Still, generally speaking making it to TV or the big screen does wonders for your sales (and traffic). I'd hate to think what would happen if I reviewed Fifty Shades of Grey :P

Plans
I don't dare make too many given the current circumstances. I want to take part in the reading challenge over at Worlds Without End again and make progress on my Frank Herbert and Kim Stanley Robinson projects (I did manage a few of those last year). Other than that it will be a challenge to keep this blog going. If I manage that I'll be happy.

That wraps up 2012. I wish you all a happy 2013 and I hope to see you on Random Comments again.

Busy Writing Jury Reports This Weekend

Got twenty-six to write and I'd like to do at least ten of them this weekend. Otherwise I'll never make the deadline. I have read all of them by now and it's an interesting mix ranging from absolute beginner to publishable with some minor tweaking.

I was expecting more classic fantasy, since that is all that can be found in the F&SF sections of most book stores here. Most of them are contemporary though. Some leaning towards the surreal, some more urban fantasy-like. I think publishers would be wise to rethink what they choose to publish/translate if I see this selection. Not many 2012 end of the Maya calendar apocalypse tales either. I was more or less expecting that. My view might a bit skewed though. I'm reading twenty-six stories in this first round, out of ninety-one submissions.

Anyway, the point of this post is to tell you not to expect a new review this weekend, I'm otherwise engaged ;)

De Eerste God - Adrian Stone

My attention for Dutch language has been sorely lacking this year. The last time I reviewed one is a year ago, almost to the day. I am reading lots of short storied for the Fantastels contest at the moment but a full novel was a while ago. De Eerste God, final book in the Rune duology by Adrian Stone came out in September fortunately. I hate to leave series unfinished so this one was on my to read list. De Eerste God (literally: The First God) is his fifth novel, all set in the same universe. It is not necessary to have read Stone's trilogy centred around the monk Marak, but without having read De Achtste Rune, the novel makes no sense. It is a direct sequel. In fact, I think it could have been written as a single (admittedly pretty large) novel. This concluding volume is definitely lighter on social issues, I got the impression Stone had quite a bit of trouble tying up all the story lines he started in the first novel.

In Kadish, the God-Emperor Danobe has acquired the eighth rune, making him more powerful than any of his predecessors since the cataclysm that rocked the continent ages ago. This power has a price however. Danobe hears voices that drive him slowly insane. The only thing that can hold them at bay is the healing magic of Serina, enslaved priestess of Viguru. Danobe needs to stay focussed. He has a rival eighth after all. Ghelan has survived the trap set for him and has come out as powerful as the God-Emperor himself. These two men are the only ones who can stop the looming disaster created by the pair of them in the previous book. The dimension of the gods is still leaking into the world though the rift created by Ghelan. It must be stopped before it overwhelms the world. Only the eighths can do it, if they don't destroy each other first.

Stone spend much of the first novel laying out the stresses on Kadish society and showing the reader the nation was on the brink of collapse. In this novel, the inevitable happens and things come crashing down. It doesn't quite happen in the way the previous novel seemed to suggest though. Stone used his characters to show the various cracks and stresses in society in the first novel. This book is much more focussed on their personal challenges. The novel leaves very little space for what is going on outside the line of sight of the main characters. I thought this was pretty strange given all the rebellious talk, clashing interests and general discontent displayed in the first novel.

During his tyrannical rule Danobe is not concerned with the wellbeing of his subjects. His reign is one of unpredictability and ruthless action, the consequences of which can be felt far outside Kadish' borders. Stone captures the chaos and terror among his subjects very well. Even characters used to being in his presence fear his unpredictable temper. As a seventh rune magician he was already the most powerful magician in the nation. Now the eight rune distances him even more from ordinary mortals. The mad king is a figure that shows up in fantasy quite often, it is perhaps not the most original element in this novel but Danobe made me nervous so I guess it works to an extend.

His fellow eighth and adversary Ghelan faces the same challenge but deals with it in a different way. You could say Ghelan is a bit of an anti-hero. Where Danobe sought the power of the eighth rune, Ghelan had it trust upon him. It doesn't make a difference to the encroaching madness but where Danobe denies the connection and revels in the power it gives him, Ghelan would do anything to get rid of the rune altogether. He is haunted by guilt over his part in Danobe's rise and the rift between dimension he created. It makes him easily the most annoying character in the book. He is indecisive, stubborn and at times wallowing in self pity. For most of the novel I thought what he needed was a good kick in the backside to get him moving. When he finally does make a major decision, it is mostly driven by his own needs rather than the clean up the mess he got himself in.

The character the story revolved about in the first book, the priestess Serina is less prominent here. She is still being held but the God-Emperor in a strange mixture of enslavement and affection for her captor. Given the level of force being used and the mistreatment Serina is subjected to, this part of the story remains problematic. Her feelings towards the God-Emperor are hopelessly and unrealistically mixed. She does become a bit more calculating though, making sure that the child she carries will be the only one Danobe will ever have. In the novel, Serina's story line explored sexism and racism in Kadish. Something that moves to the background considerably in this book. Her healing skills are met with a kind of grudging respect but what more freedom might do for the nation is no longer of any concern to the other characters. In fact, the finale of the novel hints at a continuation of the suppression of women. I consider Serina's story line something of a missed opportunity.

In the end, the story  left we with mixed feelings. Stone delivers another competently written fantasy novel with De Eerste God but I don't think it lives up the the promise of De Achtste Rune. I got the impression he was struggling tying up all the loose ends and lost track of the implications of of what he showed the reader in the first novel. The Rune duology hides the bones of a larger, more complex tale than Stone ends up delivering. There is plenty to enjoy, De Eerste God is a decent, fast-paced read but I think it could have been more.

Book Details
Title: De Eerste God
Author: Adrian Stone
Publisher: Luitingh Fantasy
Pages: 363
Year: 2012
Language: Dutch
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 978-90-245-5120-0
First published: 2012

The Listeners - James Gunn

I haven't been very adventurous in my reading for the Damon Knight Grand Master reading challenge. Seven of the ten books I've read so far have been by authors I have read other works of, while two others were acknowledged science fiction classics. For the eleventh read I decided to pick a book by someone I knew very little of. James Gunn doesn't have as long a bibliography as some of his contemporaries and quite a lot is short fiction. He made quite an impact on the genre nevertheless. Besides writing, Gunn is a noted critic and teacher as well as the director of the Center for Study of Science Fiction. The Listeners (1972) is a fix-up novel, various parts of it appeared in Galaxy Magazine and Fantasy and Science Fiction between 1968 and 1972. It is probably its best known novel, but apparently not one instantly recognized as a masterwork. Gunn missed out on all awards and nominations save one for the Campbell award in 1973. There have been a whole bunch of editions of this book with different forewords, introductions and afterwords. The copy I've read is a 2004  edition which features an introduction by H. Paul Shuch, an American physicist heavily involved with SETI, a foreword by Thomas Pierson, founder of the SETI institute, and and afterword by the late Freeman J. Dyson, British-American mathematician and physicist. I guess this book is still well loved in scientific circles.

In 2028, the SETI's search for extraterrestrial life is still ongoing without ever having picked up a single signal that indicates intelligent life. Director Robert McDonald, a staunch believer in the project, is facing ever more difficulties keeping SETI funded. McDonald himself is beginning to wonder if the project is worth the personal sacrifices he has to make. Then, a signal is received that is unmistakably of alien origin. A broadcast is received from a the direction of the star Capella, 45 light years distant. It changes everything. The project, the world, our place in the universe. Humanity is about to enter into a conversation with a ninety year time lag.

I like science fiction a lot but in my mind at least, it doesn't tend to get really interesting until the late 1960s. A time when writers started to incorporate more social sciences into their works, pay greater attention to their characters and move towards more literary forms of writing. The Listeners is a novel that tries to do some of these things. It is in essence a first contact story, which are a dime a dozen in the genre. With a lot of attention dedicated to radio telescopes, it is also firmly rooted in hard sciences. I've been to an installation in Westerbork, the Netherlands many years ago and it is an impressive sight. It is also not the exciting kind of science one might expect in a science fiction novel. It is painstakingly clearing up and deciphering signals, it passive, it is what the title suggest, listening. When you think about it, it isn't an obvious choice of subject for a science fiction novel.

Because of the fairly slow pace of events, Gunn as a lot of time to delve into the psyche of his characters. The story is very introspective. McDonald in particular thinks a lot about what he is doing and why it is worthwhile, but also if it isn't taking too much of a toll on his family. Other characters reflect at length about the changes in society over the course of the novel which spans almost a century. As the novel progressed and society gained more and more utopian characteristics, I kept wondering if Gunn thinks that contact with extraterrestrials will change our look at the universe in such a way that the world's problems become fixable or that it would have happened anyway. Fear would have seemed an equally likely reaction to me, even if realistically the aliens were too far away to be a threat.

Limited but the power of With radio waves taking ninety years for a round trip, it is essential to pack as much information as possible into one broadcast. The message received is deceptively simple, even if it takes the best minds and an enormous amount of computer power quite a while to decipher it. The process of understanding it, the debates and speculation, the attempts at suppressing the find, efforts to fit it into existing religious frameworks and of course the question how to respond all make for fascinating reading. It is not as flashy as an alien invasion but a lot more realistic description of how first contact might happen.

Structurally it is an interesting novel as well. Gunn litters the McDonald sections in particular with quotes from literary greats, usually in the original Spanish, Italian, German, Latin and French. Quite unusual for an English Language novel. The Listeners is divided in five sections, four of which are followed but what Gunn calls a computer run. These are snippets of all manner of news sources, quotes from scientists (Carl Sagan and Frank D. Drake and Guiseppe Cocconi to name a few), philosophers and science fiction writers. They add a lot of detail to the reader's understanding of the SETI project although it appears to have expanded and changed beyond what Gunn envisioned in 1972. One might say his selection is a bit one sided. Quite a lot of it is very supportive of the project and its goals. There has been quite a bit of criticism of the project for as long as it has existed. Ranging from people who consider it dangerous to alert aliens to our presence, to those who SETI is unscientific to begin with. Most of the characters have links with the organization, Gunn might have used the computer runs to balance it a bit.

In the end I thought The Listeners featured a little bit too much promotional material for the SETI project but it is a fascinating read nonetheless. Gunn picked a subject that isn't particularly sexy and yields very little in the way of visible or easy to understand results and turned it into a good story anyway. It is a bit melancholic at times, some readers will not particularly care for the characters. I guess I can see why it didn't sweep the awards or turns up in lists of must read classics. After having read it, I think it does deserve more recognition than it has received. This novel is definitely one of the pleasant surprises encountered in my Grand Master Reading Challenge reading. I may have to check out some of Gunn's short fiction in the future.

Book Details
Title: The Listeners
Author: James Gunn
Publisher: BebBella Books
Pages: 195
Year: 2004
Language: English
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-932100-12-9
First published: 1972

You May Have Noticed...

...that I didn't post a new review this weekend. I had hoped to write two, but unfortunately I seem to have developed bronchitis, which left me in a zombie-like state for most of the weekend. I have a lot of others stuff to do this week, looking for a new apartment for instance, and there is always work of course, so I very much doubt I'll be able to catch up before the weekend.

To make matters even more interesting the first batch of stories I have to read for the Fantastels 2012 short story competition. Twenty-six in total. I just had a look at the first one, which pushes the 12,000 word limit. I figure this is going to keep me busy for a while. In other words, November is going to be quiet on Random Comments. Maybe I should get an intern, or a house elf.