Just Finished Reading: An Englishman in Madrid by Eduardo Mendoza (FP: 2010) [380pp] 

Madrid, 1936. It was an opportunity he could hardly refuse. Art expert Anthony Whitelands has been commissioned to appraise a selection of paintings to assess their origin and their value for a high-ranking Spanish family. With the political clouds darkening in that country, it might be the last time for several years (at least) that such a visit to his favourite European city is possible. Of course he accepts. What he doesn’t expect is that his visit is a ruse. There are no paintings, there is just one. One work that will change his career path, one work that will make his name, one work that would be a global sensation. If he can prove it is in fact as advertised, he would be the toast of the artistic world. But the word IF is a very important one. IF it is indeed by the great Spanish artist Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez its owners are sitting on an unimaginable fortune. The secret is, however, already being rumoured. The idea that the painting will be used to create a safe haven for the family outside Spain might be a lie. Will it be used to buy arms for the expected Civil War and will the authorities try to stop the sale? Will the Falangists, so desperate for weapons, intervene? Will the Socialists, or their Soviet handlers, prevent the painting leaving the country, or even worse destroy it? At the centre of everything is an Englishman. An innocent abroad – but innocent for how long? 

As usual with such things I picked this up a few years ago because “it looked interesting and different”. I had no idea, despite it winning the Planeta Prize, that it would be SO good. The blurb on the back, which I honestly usually just skim, called it a ‘perfectly balanced blend of PG Wodehouse (who I’ve never read), Evelyn Waugh (who I’ve only seen adaptations of) and Graham Greene (who I’ve never read a bad book by). It did have a Greene feel to it – so I guess the others must apply too! I wasn’t, at first, sure what to make of it. It was clear from the start that it was (very) well written which definitely helped. The description of mid 30’s Madrid and the Spanish culture of that time was super immersive. I’ve read a little about the Civil War and the circumstances around that conflict (MUCH more later) so I was aware of some of that but this really put you THERE, on the street, in the meetings, in the private smoke filled rooms and made you understand what was what – without the feeling that any great mental effort was involved. It had a quite wonderful FEEL to it that’s (obviously) difficult to describe. 

Then, as always for me, was the characterisation. Anthony Whitehead is a GREAT character. Full of passion for Velazquez and for Spain itself his rather blinkered approach gets him into trouble after trouble, but his mastery of the language and his personality make it difficult for anyone to actively dislike him. Even those who have been tasked to kill him apologise for the event and seem genuinely sad to do so! He becomes involved with teenage prostitutes (complete with babe in arms), high class ladies, aristocrats, both fascist and socialist activists, the Spanish secret police and the British secret service and even the Prime Minister of Spain itself. One of the funniest recurring jokes (there are MANY funny moments in this often-serious book) was the comments from the exasperated staff at the Englishman's hotel who have to deal with a seemingly constant stream of visitors – the police, radicals, prostitutes, spies - looking for him or leaving cryptic messages on his return. It did indeed often read like a classic farce which caused much chuckling and not a few laugh-out-loud moments.  

Needless to say, as you’ve probably picked up on by now, I absolutely LOVED this book. It is, not to put too fine a point on it, totally brilliant and is definitely one of the top ten novels of the year for me. Yet again a translated book knocks it out of the park. If you have any interest in Spanish history (especially around the Civil War period), Spanish culture (especially art and most especially Velazquez) or Spanish politics in the 1930’s, or just a VERY good read indeed that will leave you with a desire to visit that city in reality then this is definitely the book for you. A total and absolute delight and, therefore, very highly recommended. I’ll most assuredly be seeking out more by this author.  

Translated from the Spanish by Nick Caistor.   

Just Finished re-Reading: The Syndic by C M Kornbluth (FP: 1953) [160pp] 

Charles Orsino was a low-level operative for The Syndic (The Syndicate) in New York and was rather surprised when, at the theatre, one of his own bodyguards tried to kill him. On reporting the failed hit, he was even more surprised to discover that three other hits that night had been successful. Someone was looking to start a war – but who? The Mob? Maybe, but why? Or was it the rump of the US Government holding on in Ireland? They certainly had the motivation to take the American continent back but how did they imagine they could achieve that aim after 100 years in exile? In order to find out, Orsino was to be sent into the belly of the beast and discover, if he could, the Government secret plans and return to tell the tale – if he could. 

On reflection, I’m not exactly sure why I (re)read this. Part of it, I think, was that I thought – wrongly as it turned out – that this was a work of dystopia or possible post-apocalypse which I’ve been hankering after for some reason. The blub at the back helped calling this the author’s ‘most brilliant and fascinating work’ and even boldly stating that it ranked alongside 1984 as a ‘terrifying vision of the future’. As advertising goes this was, to say the least, misleading.  

For a Sci-Fi novel of the early 50’s it wasn’t actually terrible. There were the expected heavy references to psychology and even some moderately interesting views on government, but the rest of the narrative was, at best, all rather weak. The characterisation was solidly two-dimensional, the world-building nonsensical, and the eventual outcome nebulous. For reasons unknown – except a failure to ‘give the people what they wanted’ - the US government and their military had been beaten and ejected from the country by a rebellion led by Organised Crime. If that wasn’t silly enough apparently the rest of the world's nations collapsed into primitive barbarism because their crime lords were not organised enough (ignoring Italy of course). Ireland, now at least partially occupied by US Forces, had degenerated – in FOUR generations – back to the early IRON Age... Needless to say, despite finishing this thankfully short book, I didn’t exactly enjoy it. Hopefully my next dystopia will be more fun. Not recommended.  

Just Finished Reading: Julia by Sandra Newman (FP: 2023) [384pp]  

Julia Worthing is a rebel born of rebels. But above everything else she is a survivor. She has survived the nuclear war, the Revolution and the purges that followed. She even betrayed her own mother so that she could live a few more months. She has survived the coming of Big Brother and she will keep on surviving day by day, month by month. Julia is also a sex criminal, a thief and a black marketer – whatever it takes. It was only when she became involved with Winston Smith that she knew her days were numbered. Smith was a romantic, a fool who believed that the Proles would save them and a thought criminal who aspired to being an intellectual. It was only a matter of time before the Thought Police caught them. Even so, Julia knew that she would survive. She would survive the arrest; she would survive the Ministry of Love and she would even survive Room 101 – or so she believed... 

I picked this up a while back and intended to read it ‘coupled’ with the original classic 1984. But circumstances, and my pitiful reading speed presently, determined otherwise. It was, as you might imagine, an interesting read – especially so after not long re-reading George Orwell’s most famous work. Not only do we see the events portrayed in 1984 from Julia’s point of view – indeed a few sections are word for word from the original – but we also get glimpses of a time when Big Brother was still consolidating power and when his grip on Ingsoc and Airstrip One had yet to be finalised. We also see slices of life outside of Smith’s experience, with the Proles (an interesting perspective in itself), with the Inner Party and within the Anti-Sex League. It was interesting to get a broader and more rounded picture of the world of 1984 with insights at how the three power blocks (Oceania, Eastasia and Eurasia) emerged after the war and how the actual war (or wars!) was going. 

Obviously drawn from the original text, the Blitz experience of London in WW2 and the later Stalinist regime in Russia this was more than a fair stab at expanding the world of 1984 into more modern times. It did indeed have a more modern feel to it – complete with mini-spy drones keeping a CLOSE eye on people and viewscreens that would be out of place hanging on the wall of a modern house today. Oddly the feel was rather less oppressive than the original which, I think, took something away from the narrative. I did find Julia too hopeful about her personal future (though not the future of Airstrip One) which kind of, almost, distracted from the point of the book. I also thought that the end was both a little too weak and a bit muddled for my liking. We do, however, spend some interesting times with some of the MAIN characters of the original (O’Brien was particularly interesting in this regard!). Whilst I did have a few (minor) niggles with it, I still thought that it was very much worth the read. Recommended if you’re interested in more from the world of 1984. 

Just Finished re-Reading: Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell (FP: 1949) [239pp] 

As a low-level functionary in the Ministry of Truth (responsible for all propaganda), Winston Smith has seen things which have disturbed him. His job is to ‘correct’ the past to more reflect the present – and then ensure that all evidence of that ‘correction’ is destroyed. But Smith has a problem, he remembers things and sometimes gets confused. Has Oceania *always* been at war with Eastasia or was it, as he remembers, Eurasia? He worries that the reported production targets – always met or exceeded – have singular failed to improve things despite the news from the telescreens. If things had never been better, why was he constantly asked for razorblades by his colleagues? Then there’s Julia. What did she possibly see in him? Was she really a member of the Thought Police leading him astray – not that he’d much leading. He was already guilty of thoughtcrime, already one of the walking dead. It was only a matter of time before they caught him. Big Brother was infallible and Big Brother was everywhere...  

The story of 1984 is SO well known it hardly bears repeating. I’m not sure if it struck a chord when originally published not long after World War Two, but since then it has woven its way into Western culture and DEEP into its psyche. Part of its pervasiveness can be explained by the fact that both the Left AND the Right use it as a warning of creeping (and sometime blatant) authoritarianism from the other side. But I suppose the fear of such a thing is universal. 

This is a re-read for me and is, I believe my third time. On this occasion I’m buddy (re)reading it with Stephen over at Reading Freely. It’s a re-read for him too I believe. The first time I was introduced to this classic dystopia I was 13 or so (so, around 50 years ago) when my English teacher at the time leant her copy to me. Why she did so I can’t remember. I can only guess that she thought that of all of the other working-class kids in her class that I might appreciate it more than most. It’s not often that I can say, hand on heart, that a book truly changed my life but this one most certainly did. It was one of THE foundations of my present political beliefs (I’m a Socialist if you were unaware). I must have read it a second time when I bought my present copy (published in 1978) possibly prompted by the rather fractious politics of the time! Although it didn’t have the same impact the 3rd time around it's still VERY relevant (especially with the present swing to the Right across the West) and more than once I found myself thinking how some world ‘leaders’ (I’m looking at YOU Donald) seem to be using 1984 as a playbook rather than a warning. 

With my 3rd read and a (possibly) more mature head on my shoulders I did notice a few things that passed me by before. I didn’t realise that the date – even the year of 1984 – was uncertain throughout the book and not just during Smith’s time at the Ministry of Love (responsible for interrogation and torture). That surprised me and made me think of the first Matrix film. Britain being called ‘Airstrip One’ always made me laugh, especially as we’d been called an unsinkable aircraft carrier during WW2 (I believe). What had really failed to register was that the world in the book took place after a nuclear war. I certainly had no memory of that from previous readings! The bombing of Colchester was mentioned (why Colchester I thought) as well as lingering radiation in London, but later a global conflict was mentioned which gave rise to the present Smith was living through. 

Naturally the idea of doublethink and most especially the control (or attempted control) of past events – crowd sizes, comments during interviews etc – was constantly on my mind. I think the one thing that jumped out at me that hadn’t really crossed my mind before was that Smith had been set up. I did wonder (and actually still wonder) if Julia was part of the plot. But there was a reference to Smith being under scrutiny for seven years before he was arrested. My guess is that he showed his native intelligence (in his work at the Ministry of Truth) a little too often to be ignored. The LAST thing the Party wanted was an intelligent person in their (lower) ranks. One amusing thing that made me smile more than once was the constant reference to helicopters spying on people. I’m guessing that as the technology was very new in 1949, they symbolised the ‘future’. I wonder what Orwell would make of drones? One of the interesting sections (for me at least) actually stopped the narrative DEAD – when Winston read through the supposed banned book by Big Brothers arch enemy Emmanuel Goldstein (a few hints/tinges of antisemitism throughout the text made me winch a bit) which honestly made a LOT of sense. I’m guessing that this was straight from the brain of Orwell himself?  

Overall, I was impressed by the depth and the still palpable power of the book. No doubt Orwell drew on his personal experiences in the Imperial police in Burma, his time in Spain during the Civil War (especially his experience with Soviet forces), his investigation into the poor published in ‘Down & Out’ and ‘Wigan Pier’ and, of course, his time with the BBC (AKA the Ministry of Truth) doling out wartime propaganda. This is one of those timeless classics that everyone – no matter their political beliefs – should read at least once in their lives. It should definitely (and always) be a set book for school children to read in their mid-teens. Definitely recommended (obviously).

Interesting... and timely....

Just Finished re-Reading: The Dispossessed by Ursula K LeGuin (FP: 1974) [319pp] 

Shevek couldn’t understand why being a revolutionary within a revolutionary society could be so difficult. He had been taught from an early age that what he was doing, what he was best for, was best for everyone. He couldn’t help being the smartest person in any room he entered. That wasn’t egoism, it was fact. Of course, that only meant that his mathematics, his physics, his theories couldn’t really be understood, be truly appreciated, by anyone else on Anarres but he couldn’t help the way his brain worked. But challenging the status quo, challenging the accepted ‘facts’, challenging so-called ‘authority’ was at the very core of their beliefs, wasn’t it? Or had things really gone that far? Where they no longer free? Would they have laws now, police, jails, censorship? Had they gone THAT far? Maybe the only thing to do was to leave. To leave the moon for the home-world Urras, the first to do so in 150 years since the original Odonians  left in order to live as they wanted, as Anarcho-Syndicalists. On Urras Shevek would be able to continue his work, meet with other scientists and maybe resolve more than his equations. Once resolved he was convinced that they would change everything. They would end human isolation and maybe, just maybe, do the same for Anarres. Maybe, by leaving, he could save his home-world too... 

I think this is the 4th time I’ve read this book, although the last time was over 20 years ago. The first time I read it I was honestly blown away by it. The political philosophy of the Odonians (named after their founder) REALLY appealed to the teenage me and helped to shape my personal politics going forward. Along with 1984 I can certainly credit LeGuin’s book as a foundational text to who I am today. So, what did I think re-reading it after such a long gap? I was actually pleased that I found it both easy to read and that my memory of the quality of the writing had stood the test of time. I found that I remembered a few specifics – calling a hand THE hand rather than YOUR hand (as in ‘the hand hurts’ rather than ‘my hand hurts’ which is considered to be propertarian) and, rather weirdly, the scene where Shevek is introduced to a child's pet otter... The rest of the book seemed new and fresh. I was surprised, having forgotten, that the Anarchist society on Anarres was starting to ‘fail’ and had started to show creeping authoritarianism. I found the critique of that shift really interesting. I also very much liked the way the world of Urras – a planet very much like ours in many ways – came under scrutiny.  

As you might imagine this was a VERY political novel essentially contrasting a (mostly) functioning Anarcho-Syndicalist society with a Capitalist one (the country of A-Io on Urras). The genius of the work is that the political side of things is the water the characters swim in rather than constantly front and centre in the narrative. This is, above all else, a character driven story. It is centred, as you might expect, on Shevek himself (who IMO is a GREAT character) but his partner Takver gets a great deal of page-time too and I liked her almost as much. They made a great couple and I loved spending time with them. For those put off by the idea that this is science-fiction I can only say that, although it has SF elements (alien planets, it's in the reasonably far future, the core idea is scientific dealing with faster-than-light communication, and there’s a few spaceship rides) if ALL of these elements were taking away it’d still be a cracking story about choice, freedom and personal belief. So, after my 4th (at least) reading I’d still rank this as one of my Top 20 SF novels and is, therefore, highly recommended. 

Just Finished Reading: Play the Red Queen by Juris Jurjevics (FP: 2020) [346pp] 

Saigon, 1963. It would’ve been nice to have been on the investigation from the start but since when has the Army done anything in a straightforward manner? So, with the third American officer shot dead in broad daylight on a busy street Staff Sergeant Ellsworth Miser and Sergeant Clovis Robeson of the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division are practically starting from scratch. Not that there’s much to go on. Each of the victims was a US military ‘advisor’ to the Army of South Vietnam, each was killed at fairly close range with a single shot from an automatic handgun with the killer apparently being a young girl who then escaped on the back of a motorbike. In a city of thousands of motorbikes and tens of thousands of pretty young girls riding on their backs that information was practically useless. So, where to start? There’s a basic rule in police work – if you can’t investigate the murderer then investigate the victims. The ‘random’ killings of American soldiers turned out to be nothing of the kind – they were linked, they knew each other or worked in the same department, the area of the Army responsible for the importation of American supplies into the South. It was an area awash with money. Were the officers on the take or had they refused to be corrupted? Was someone simply cleaning house prior to the much rumoured ‘coup’ that had been talked about in the local bars for months now? Was the hit-girl Viet Cong or someone closer to home? With regular in-fighting and powerplays between members of the South’s ruling ‘elite’ who could tell which death-squad was responsible for which execution or assassination? It was impossible to keep track. What made things worse, if they could get worse, was that the American ambassador was in town doing deals and making waves. His life had already been threatened and he might even be on the assassins ‘list’. Closing the case wasn’t going to be easy in a town full of refugees, undercover agents, factions and teenage killers. But orders are orders – find the girl and stop the killing... 

As usual I picked this up because both the blurb on the back and the distinctive cover looked ‘interesting’. I was most definitely not disappointed with my choice! This turned out to be one of my best reads of the year so far. The author writes beautifully and, having served in Vietnam for “fourteen months, nine days and two hours” knows his way around the city, the people and the culture of the region (like knowing NOT to pat a Vietnamese kid on the head!) which made the reading both highly entertaining and very informative. It was, honestly, like being there complete with the oppressive humidity, the constant sound of traffic (and distant gunfire), the regular random power cuts and knowledge that if you stayed there long enough you were going to open the wrong door, meet the wrong person or just start the wrong car and that would be that – Game Over. It’s a real shame that the author died not long after completing this novel – his third – so I can’t look forward to reading him in the years ahead. I’ll definitely be looking out for his other novel based in Vietnam though. If you’re interested in the very early phase of the Vietnam War – when the American’s were still in their ‘advisor’ phase before that started shipping in troops by the tens of thousands and carpet-bombing entire countries – including those not even involved in the war – this will intrigue you. If you just want a bloody good read and want to lose yourself in a faraway place and a very different time I can't recommend this book too highly. One thing I need to do, going forward, is to read up on the US Ambassador – Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. If he’s anything like his character in this novel, he deserves my attention! More to come on the region, the war and from this author.   

Just Finished Reading: After the Party by Cressida Connolly (FP: 2018) [261pp] 

England, Summer 1938. In the final analysis it was all for the sake of the children. Returning to England after years abroad Phyllis Forrester wanted them to gain a proper education. She also missed her sisters, rather surprisingly, and the fact that everything at home was always so green. Adapting, however, took longer that she expected, although things improved immeasurably after the family managed to rent a house of their own. As the summer dragged on the children, being children, become increasingly bored and increasingly under foot. School was still months away, so Phyllis gave in to her younger sister’s idea of joining the camp they’d been organising for the British Union. Slowly, over the following weeks, Phyllis found herself relaxing and even becoming interested in the lectures and ideas expressed by her sister and others. With war approaching, their ideas of staying out of yet another European conflict and putting Britain and her Empire first became progressively appealing. Working for the Union’s ideals seemed like perfect fit. Those, especially in the lower classes, who saw them as some sort of traitors had no idea what they were talking about. They were patriots, plain and simple. So, when the police arrived one night to arrest Phyliss and her husband no one was more surprised than her – even when they found the gun in the children's room...     

This was not really what I’d expected of it. Written in a series of flashbacks from the late 1970’s I thought it was going to be more of a crime/murder/mystery sort of thing. The blurb on the back hinted at something like that when it stated that ‘Phyllis lets down her guard for a single moment, with devastating consequences’. OK, something like that did happen, but it was a vanishingly small part of the plot and wasn’t in any way her fault. This is conflated with the idea that ‘years later, Phyllis, alone and embittered, recounts the dramatic events which led to her imprisonment and changed the course of her life forever’. The two events are not related in any way! 

So, not off to the best start! But was it any good otherwise? To start with I thought the writing overall was good. The characters seemed real and their motivations largely understandable and reasonable from their PoVs. Unfortunately, I only found the main character Phyliss tolerable – and even then, I found myself wrinkling my nose in mild disgust at her attitudes and beliefs more than once. The rest of the cast I generally found somewhere along the objectionable scale and often towards the more so than less so. Although it wasn’t completely obvious from the outset the ‘British Union’ or simply ‘Union’ spoken of early on was in fact the re-named/re-branded British Union of Fascists (apparently the name Fascist had ‘bad optics’ in late 1930’s England!) and the game was given away when I recognised the symbol they used – the circle with the lightning bolt through it – and the penny finally dropped. Phyllis, her family and friends turned out to be true believers, hence the all too often wrinkling of noses! 

I must admit that it was kind of interesting though – once you got beyond the fact that the main characters were English Fascists. That period of political history still isn’t talked about much here. I know it happened but I’m not exactly sure of the details. I’m not sure what kind of following they had or what kind of danger they were during the war. I know that a number of them were interned – as in the novel – and it was interesting to see the Isle of Man appear here as the internment camp of choice for the BUF and ‘enemy’ aliens of all types. I think that my thoughts on this book are still very mixed. It was distasteful for a host of reasons – I've never been much of a fan of the lifestyles of the ‘rich’ and shameless so most of the novel either didn’t overly interest me or was positively annoying – but the oblique insights into a, presumably intentionally ‘forgotten’, aspect of British history intrigued and interested me. A reasonable book that I’ll need to ponder further.   

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Just Finished Reading: The Real-Town Murders by Adam Roberts (FP: 2017) [230pp] 

Near-future England. Alma is thankful for two things. First is that she’s been hired by the owners of an automated factory to clear them of any responsibility regarding the mysterious body discovered in one of their new cars, and the fact that she wouldn’t have to solve the murder itself. That, thankfully, was a job for the police. Alma’s task was essentially a PR job to show that the factories processes were safe and that their AI manager was operating properly. She enjoyed the mystery though and mulled it over with her partner. She’d watched the video feed from multiple angles. The car had been put together perfectly, as expected, without any humans anywhere near it at any time – that sort of thing ended years ago – and yet, as the car was being inspected by the only human involved there it was, a clearly dead body in the boot. But Alma’s investigation doesn’t get very far before a government official bought off her ‘non-complete’ contract and sent her on her way. But at least she got paid for a day’s work and she already had another job to work on. So, the official at her door the next day came as quite a surprise. It seemed that the original government official had turned up dead in mysterious circumstances and they wanted to talk to Alma to work out where she fit into things. The problem was that they wanted to interview her at a secure location in Berlin. The bigger problem was that Alma’s partner needed medical attention, by Alma, ever 4 hours or she’d die. Alma needed to make a choice, go quietly or not. It wasn’t a hard choice. Unfortunately for Alma the government took this as proof that she was involved. The additional problem for Alma was that she had no idea what she was supposedly ‘involved’ in. It was time to find out... 

I ‘discovered’ this book a while back so, when I say it going cheap in my favourite Indie bookshop, I snapped it up. As I’m mentioned before I like genre mashups, and this looked like an interesting ‘locked room’ SF crime mystery – which it was, kind of. The body in the car factory was, it turned out, just the start of things. Alma, who was a great character creation, had stumbled upon (or had been led into) something MUCH bigger – a political fight at a high level for power and influence over how the country was going to be run in an increasingly technological future. The stakes were nothing short of life and death. So far so good, but what took this excellent novel from the merely interesting to the highly entertaining and then beyond was the detailed world-building and the very believable characters scattered throughout the narrative. Near-future England (as presumably the rest of the world) is largely quiet, clean and above all else empty. This isn’t because of rapid population decline but the fact that 90% of the population work and increasingly live ‘online’ in an all-encompassing virtual reality simulation called ‘The Shine’. Only those who cannot ‘log in’ for medical, philosophical or religious reasons exist day-to-day in ‘The Real’. To some this is a problem, and they intend to do ‘something’ about it. 

There’s a LOT of food for thought here – about technology, freedom (of thought & action), shadowy government agencies, the seductiveness of virtual worlds, drones and much more besides. The dystopian vision portrayed by the author is chilling both in its simplicity and in its likely inevitability. If the online world is, for all intents and purposes, perfect then why exist at all in the real-world that is anything but perfect and if that kind of world becomes our reality, then how will governments and those in power (or like to use power) react to the new way of things? As an introduction to a new author (to me at least) this was excellent and I’m still thinking about all the implications contained between its covers. I’ve already bought the sequel and will be hunting down the rest of this authors works. I think I’m going to have a LOT of fun reading him. Obviously highly recommended.  

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Just Finished Reading: The Quiet American by Graham Greene (FP: 1955) [180pp] 

Vietnam. English journalist Thomas Fowler prides himself on being uninvolved. He is there for two reasons, to report the ongoing struggle for dominance between French forces and the numerous forces ranged against them as well as staying as far away from home and his wife as possible. It's not much of an existence but a few opium pipes each evening, and the company of the ever-attentive Phuong (meaning Phoenix) helps to give his life a semblance of meaning. Until Pyle arrived, fresh and naïve from America. He was, everyone admitted, an unusual example. He listened more than he spoke, he sought out those with more local knowledge and he was, more than anything else the opposite of his colleagues – he was a quiet American. Of course, it was obvious from the start that he was more, much more, than someone looking for business opportunities or providing aid to locals in need of medical attention. It was obvious to everyone that Pyle was some sort of spy. It was also obvious that Pyle was completed enamoured by Phuong, much to the amusement and annoyance of Fowler. But there was the future to be considered. Fowler was being recalled to London and Phuong needed someone to look after her. Who better than Pyle? As the fighting intensified and bombs started going off in crowded streets, Pyles involvement started to come into focus. Maybe, at last, at long last, it was time for Fowler to finally become involved... 

This is my second Greene novel, and I can see why he has such a high reputation. I enjoyed Our Man in Havana because of its subtle Cold War comedy, but this Cold War outing was a completely different fish. Based in French Indochina during the final years of French Occupation this was a much darker novel with few comedic moments. Indeed, it had a quite lovely Noir feel to it and I could almost imagine Bogart as the grizzled journalist Fowler. I also loved the cynical hard-bitten world view of Fowler, which was in stark contrast to the wide-eyed, optimistic and incredibly naïve views of Pyle – someone straight from State-side with no life experience and a head full of political views picked up from a book. But I think the biggest selling point for this sleeper of a novel – published remember in 1955 – was how prescient it was. Not only does it present an impressively accurate account of why the French were losing and would eventually lose their holdings in the country, but it also skewered the naïve approach the Americans were already exhibiting at that early date regarding involvement in the region. Fowler/Greene laid out in great detail exactly what was wrong in the US view of the country and its people and exactly why their plans for Vietnam would ultimately fail – and fail in spectacular fashion. If the US Administration or Army chiefs had read and absorbed the lessons of this novel, then they never would have become involved in the fiasco that defined a generation. 

This was a very impressive, honestly prescient and often subtle novel of lost love, lost hope and to a large degree a desire for redemption and I was very impressed – indeed haunted – by it. I shall be looking out for more Greene to snag in the future. If you’ve ever wondered about the Wests, and particularly the French involvement in the region, but don’t fancy anything too heavy, this is definitely the book for you. Both subtle and profound, and definitely recommended. 

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Just Finished Reading: Caliban’s War by James S A Corey (FP: 2012) [595pp] 

The shooting war between Earth and Mars is over – at least for now. Not that it means everything is back to normal. Not even close! It’s almost as if the System is holding its breath, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Of course, the first shoe was bad enough with an all-out war narrowly averted to say nothing of the asteroid near-miss of Earth and then whatever the hell is going on with Venus. Holden and his crew meanwhile need to pay for things like food, air and docking fees and Fred Johnson offered to hire them out to run down the inevitable pirates looking for easy prey. As mundane and reasonably straight-forward as it feels, the crew of the Rocinante know that they’re drifting, waiting for something. So, when they hear news of a secret lab on Ganymede and the possibility that whatever is going on there involves the proto-molecule that’s been the cause of so much trouble they know they have to be there. Meanwhile, on Earth, UN undersecretary Avasarala is trying to get to the bottom of just what game Mars, the outer planets and the unknown actor are playing and how exactly she can fuck up their plans. With the help, inside knowledge and brawn of a displaced Martian marine she might just be able to do that – if they can’t sideline or silence her first. What FUN there was to be had! 

This is the 2nd book in the Expanse series (9 books in total) and covers parts of series 1 and 2 of the TV adaptation. Told from various points of view – Holden, Prax (a botanist on Ganymede), Avasarala (my 2nd favourite character in the series: book AND TV show) and Bobbie Draper (Marine Gunnery Sergeant). I was more used to it this time – to be honest this layout in the first book came as a bit of a shock and took some getting used to after seeing the TV show and being aware of things that the books can’t really show in this format – so happily flitted between the viewpoints and ‘voices’ of the main characters. Not only was I delighted that Avasarala appeared (she was in the TV series from the start but only appears in the 2nd book) but that she was written exactly the same way as she is portrayed by Shohreh Aghdashloo on screen. Likewise, Bobbi Draper is exactly the same character in the TV show as in the book, right down to her Māori roots. Although my favourite male character doesn’t get his own PoV (yet?) there’s still plenty of Amos to go round and to admire – both for his laconic speech and his violence when violence is needed. 

Needless to say, I loved this book (actually a bit more than the first one) as much as the TV show which I think is some of the best on-screen SF EVER. I LOVE the fact that they don’t have shields or FTL and how REAL the politics feels. I did love the political maneuvering of Avasarala in the book which I thought showed a real understanding of how real politics works – not the bullshit we see whenever a politician gets in front of a camera but what REALLY happens in private offices and between meetings. One of the things I did find interesting in the book is just how different parts of it was to the small-screen version. Obviously, we’re talking about two separate mediums here and SFX in print is cheap but still... The general thrust of the narrative was the same and the character to screen transfer rate was probably around 90% (more of a problem with the low-gravity Belters than with anyone else for obvious reasons), but some sections near the end of the book where quite different. We had a variation of Amos and his “I am that guy” moment, just without that excellent phrase, but a space battle fought around Ganymede was VERY different (both versions were good but I actually preferred the tensions in the TV version better). Overall, both book(s) and TV show are very highly recommended if you like your Space Opera to feel REAL.  

Just Finished Reading: Motherland by Jo McMillan (FP: 2015) [258pp] 

Tamworth, the English Midlands, 1978. Thirteen-year-old Jess knew it was hard enough being a teenager – especially in Tamworth – but being a teenager with a reputation was worse. It wasn’t even her reputation. It was sort of guilt by association, kind of. As the daughter of the only (at least the only publicly outspoken) Communist in town it was hard to be ignored, hard to fade into the background. But standing in front of the butcher’s shop every Saturday trying to sell copies of the Communist Morning Star newspaper wasn’t exactly the best way to go unnoticed. At least with the offer of her mother teaching in East Germany for the summer would give Jess the opportunity to really disappear for a few months every year. Her mother was the excited one though. The chance to see ‘real living Communism’ was almost too much to bear. But Jess had no idea where such opportunities lead – to love, friendship, disappointment and her rise within the ranks of the UK Communist apparatus. The question was – did she want any of that? 

This was most definitely an odd one! I picked it up, completely by impulse, in my favourite end-of-run bookstore and thought that for £3 it was worth a punt. It was. Part coming of age story, part mother-daughter tale this was an often poignant and heart-warming look at what happens when you lose faith in the beliefs of a parent. Jess was an interesting character (she must be at least partially based on the author I’m guessing) who initially went along with her mother for emotional support as much as anything else. Communism was, it seemed to me, both a faux act of teenage rebellion and one of solidarity with her widowed mother, Eleanor. I did feel for Eleanor though. She was, to be honest, an emotional wreck only held together with her fervent belief in the Communist cause. This belief was all powerful and overwhelming. Watching Jess deal with this and deal with her mother’s growing realisation that she was on the wrong side of history was funny, sweet and sad in turn. Written with both warmth and wit this was an enchanting and often touching read. Very evocative of the late 80’s vibe in the UK and often laugh out loud funny. Definitely recommended if you’re after a very different historical novel. [Side Note: As the ‘action’ is almost exactly split between England and East Germany I’m going to give ½ to each country in my fictional world tour. More geographically focused reading to come].   

Just Finished Reading: Defectors by Joseph Kanon (FP: 2017) [290pp] 

Moscow, 1961. For publisher Simon Weeks it was the opportunity of a lifetime – actually two opportunities. First, he would get a book deal – KGB approved no less! - which will put his publishing business into the big leagues and he would hopefully finally learn why his older brother defected to the Soviets almost a decade previously. Simon had every right to be angry with his older sibling. The loss of friends and his job in the State Department was bad enough but the constant suspicion, whispered comments and an unbreakable association with a traitor to America should have been grounds enough for that, but Frank was still his brother despite everything that had happened. Meeting in Russia wasn’t a problem. Everything had been arranged by the Soviets. What Simon didn’t know, what he couldn’t know, was something he had kept from everyone – including his wife who just happened to be Simon’s ex-lover. Frank was dying. It was heart trouble – not exactly unknown in his profession – be inoperable in the USSR. But it was possible, just possible, that doctors in the States could save him. Of course, the KGB would never let him return to the US just like that. The only alternative: Frank would defect again, back to the Land of the Free and Simon, his younger loyal brother, would help him do it – wouldn't he? 

I’ve read several books by this author and I have yet to be disappointed. This was no exception. The whole book, the vast majority of which took place in Moscow, had a wonderful feel of claustrophobia even in open spaces. The pervading tone throughout is of suspicion, hidden meaning, double dealing and things unsaid. The whole main cast – Simon, Frank, Jo (Frank’s wife & Simon’s ‘ex’) and Boris (Frank’s KGB ‘minder’) - were wonderfully drawn and all completely believable. I actually liked Boris a lot despite being a very strait-laced Russian. Despite the fact that this was most certainly not an ‘action’ novel or really much of an espionage one (most of the actual spying took place in the ‘past’ or off-page) this was gripping in other much more subtle ways. Not only did we have the mystery of Frank’s defection to unravel – or to be revealed – we also didn’t always know who was working for who and exactly what people’s true motives were. Everything said, everything talked about and everything seen had to be viewed and reviewed through Cold War politics to figure out exactly what was, and what wasn’t, going on. The say that the book immersed you in the Cold War vibe is really a great understatement and the whole thing was, on many levels as you should expect from the time, very clever indeed. Although I began to suspect how things were going towards the end, how things progressed did come as a rather pleasant surprise all told. Definitely recommended to all lovers of Cold War based fiction. Much more from this author to come.      

Just Finished re-Reading: Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert (FP: 1969) [221pp] 

[WARNING: If you haven’t read the first book, still haven’t seen the movie (and want to) or don’t want the plot ruined for the second movie the following WILL contain spoilers!] 

A little over 20 years after the events on Arrakis and the defeat of the Emperor Shaddam IV, the new Emperor Paul Atredies known as Muad’dib still struggles with his terrible legacy. Throughout the known Universe the forces of Jihad released by Paul have already been responsible for 60 billion dead and the war goes on. Equally appalled and frightened by his fragmentary visions of the future Paul tries to reduce the carnage as much as he can, but he knows that more and more death follows his every action – or inaction. Slowly, too slowly, he begins to realise that the path of least resistance, of least death, might not be the best path. Meanwhile, although his many enemies have been defeated, they have not been vanquished. Arrayed against him are the most powerful organisations in the universe – The Spacing Guild who are, seemingly, invisible to the Emperors prescient sight, The Bene Gesserit who are desperate to get their genetic manipulation of bloodlines back on track, and the Tleilaxu, a guild of assassins and manipulators of flesh itself. A core element of their plan is to offer Paul something he cannot possibly refuse – a perfect copy of his closest friend and teacher: Duncan Idaho. Even Paul cannot see the consequences of accepting the ‘gift’ but he does so anyway – setting into motion a cascade of events that will change everything. 

I first read this around 40 years ago and not long after the first book, Dune, blew my mind as a teenager. As with re-reading anything that had such a profound impact on your youthful self it was a strange read with ‘echoes’ and memories of my first read interspersed with memories of the Sci-Fi Channel adaptation which they smushed together with the next book Children of Dune. I can see why they did that – Messiah is largely people talking in rooms, either plotting against Paul or musing on the deeper meanings of things seen and unseen. Most of the ‘action’ takes place on Arrakis with only a few mentions of other worlds. The notable addition to the Dune universe is that of the Tleilaxu ‘face dancers’ who can imitate almost anyone to get close enough to kill them. They’re an interesting group who also meddle in biological engineering and especially cloning. I think an important part of this volume is the doubt eating away at Paul and his struggle, not only with the huge power he now has, but with the fact that he knows he’s not the ‘god’ figure most people see him as. People think he knows everything because he has prescient ‘sight’. What they don’t realise is just how complicated this is and how stifling it is seeing the consequences of your actions play out in myriad possible futures – knowing that as soon as you act some of those possibilities wink out of existence leaving fewer (and sometimes worse) choices ahead. But what I found the most interesting is that Paul isn’t what people think he is – and that includes the Guilds in opposition to him – and even more interesting is that HE isn’t what he thinks he is (or has been led to believe he is). One of the many reasons why this series has gained the acclaim it has is, in my opinion, the fact that you can read it on multiple levels. On the surface its essentially Game of Thrones in the far future. But it’s actually MUCH more than that. There is just so much going on here – not just about power and its abuses but about technology, fate/destiny, free will. You can read a section, a paragraph, a sentence and go down the rabbit hole of implications built on assumptions built on deeper implications. Much more Dune to come. Obviously recommended.     

Just Finished Reading: The Vanishing Futurist by Charlotte Hobson (FP: 2016) [293pp] 

Moscow, 1918. She knew that her parents would never approve which, she was honest with herself, was one of the driving forces behind her decision. She could have taken up the role of governess anywhere but Gerty Freely wanted something more exotic. So, when a posting to a family in Russia was advertised, she jumped at it. On her arrival in 1914 the initial culture shock was, indeed, quite shocking. But after coming to terms with the odd family dynamic and, slowly, learning the language she starting settling in. With the advent of war she was strongly advised to return to England, but the activities of German U-boats persuaded her to stay. Even as Revolution began to seem a real possibility, she could hardly abandon the family she had grown to love in their hour of most desperate need. What she never expected was how closely she found herself identifying with the revolutionaries who, right in front of her eyes, were building a new world and shaping themselves into people fit to occupy it. Even as conditions worsened day by day and the country fell into a brutal Civil War she still wanted to be a part of the commune set up by the charismatic scientist Nikita Slavkin – the now famous Vanishing Futurist. But Gerty is one of the few people who knows exactly what happened to him in those dark and turbulent days and, looking back from the 1960’s, begins to tell her daughter the story of her Revolution. 

This was yet another one of those books I picked up because of the cover – which I loved. Plus, it was out of my general reading ‘comfort zone’. I was not disappointed. Told almost exclusively from Gerty’s point of view (a very interesting and well-formed character) this was a microcosm of Russia’s descent from Monarchy to revolution to chaos during World War 1. From what I’ve read elsewhere, and in particular the works of Helen Rappaport, the author really knows what she’s talking about here. The descent from moderate gentility to at first a rather idealistic but naïve commune to the harsh reality of Communist rule (and misrule) under the Bolsheviks was quite something to behold. The fervour of those involved was very believable. The wanted, indeed needed, to believe that their actions and the hardships they were living through must be for something greater than themselves. Even when forced to eat animal feed – it was that or starve – and burn outbuildings and even interior doors and furniture to keep from freezing in the winter they still believed that their course was the correct one and jumped on any dissent with both feet. I think that was the most interesting aspect of the whole very well written novel – getting into the mindset of people who were literally starving whilst defending the very situation that was causing their starvation. If you’ve ever wondered how people can live through revolutionary times and come out the other end still being true believers then this book might give you some insights. Although not as amazing as I thought it would be at the beginning this was still a very worthwhile read and I can see what it was nominated for an award on publication. Recommended. 

Awards 

Walter Scott Prize Best Historical Novel (nominee)

Just Finished Reading: The New Machiavelli by H G Wells (FP: 1911) [396pp]

Even as a child he could see it – chaos everywhere he looked. The world was like an anthill without the co-ordinating effect of the queen at its heart. With each progressive step the world became a little grubbier, a little more poisoned, and a little less pleasant. Considering his future, especially after his father’s accident, there was only one career to pursue – politics. Not that his uncle approved. Oh, no. There was no money in politics and no real influence either. The future belonged to the businessman, the risk taker, the shaper of things in the real world. But Richard Remington was adamant and so, grudgingly, his uncle paid for his education. Making something of a name for himself Remington was elected to parliament for the Liberal party. Now, he thought, he could achieve things and start to fix the fundamental problems he saw that were deeply embedded in society. But politics, he discovered, is a slow process. He needed friends, political allies and, almost as important, a wife to support him. Slowly the contacts arrived, his articles gained approval and his reputation began to climb. Around the dinner table and in his London club the ideas still being formulated in his head began to take concrete shape – education above all else needed reform, the best of the best needed to rule, to guide the country forward into the modern age. But he was frustrated, with the speed of the political wheels, with the shallow nature of his fellow Liberals, with polemics and speeches that led nowhere. Then there was Isabel Rivers. The contrast with his wife, Margaret, couldn’t have been starker. Isabel was Richard’s biggest supporter, a tireless worker for his original election, vivacious, smart and both willing and able to argue the point with him late into the evening. Love and the subsequent affair seemed inevitable. Equally inevitable was the political fallout if the affair was discovered. They would have to end it – if they could.

I think this is only the 2^nd non-SF Well book I’ve read. I knew that it was (kind of) semi-autobiographical in that it was about a scandalous affair (of which Wells was very familiar with) but apart from that I had very little pre-knowledge. I had assumed from the title that it was more about political manipulation (House of Cards style) than the affair itself but I was dead wrong. The only link between this novel and Machiavelli was that both he and the main protagonist here retired to Italy after losing office to write a book. Such a lacklustre start didn’t fill me with a huge confidence for the rest of the book. But, as you can see, I finished it. Although it was a bit slow at times – I honestly skimmed several of the political monologues which stopped the narrative dead – overall I did find much of it interesting. The story itself was pretty straight forward – the politicians fall from grace because of a pretty face – but it was handled well. The main and many of the subsidiary characters were well drawn and especially so for Remington himself, his wife Margaret (who I did feel sorry for) and, of course, Isobel herself who was a complete delight. That alone would have made the novel at least readable (which it was). Whilst most of the Edwardian politics can be safely ignored this novel does provide some interesting insights to the thoughts of the upper echelons and to some of the major questions of the day – the place/future of women and the prospects of a future war with Germany. I found the debate around a future war particularly interesting. Not only were characters in the book actively discussing the possibility at least 3 years before the event itself – largely because of the diplomatic friction caused by the ongoing arms race of competitive ship building – but the main character thought that we’d be fighting in Europe alongside our French allies and that we would LOSE – and deservedly so! But the lost war would be a GOOD thing because it would wake up England from its present complacency and, therefore, propel the country into future greatness (once all the existing problems had been, of necessity, corrected). Overall this was an interesting experience. Naturally this is very different from his other SF works but might be worth a try to see how his more political novels compare to them. Reasonable.

Just Finished (re)-Reading: Dune by Frank Herbert (FP: 1965) [464pp]

It was an act of betrayal and an act of love that started it. Lady Jessica, sworn concubine of Duke Leto Atreides, had been ordered by the Bene Gesserit sisterhood to only birth daughters. But in an act of staggering disobedience and presumption she gave birth to a son – Paul. By this act Jessica put at risk generations of selective breeding but something could still be saved. If, that is, he survived. A great change was coming. House Atreides was to replace House Harkonnen as the steward of planet Arrakis, the only planet in the known universe to produce the spice Melange. This substance is the pivotal element in universal commerce and is almost beyond price. Without it the human star spanning empire cannot exist. Arrakis is a great prize but also a great trap. Leto is aware that the Harkonnans and the Emperor are planning to move against him but events quickly spiral out of control. In the most hostile environment in the universe the young Paul must hide, survive and seek out the local desert people – the Freemen – if he has any chance at all of striking back against his families enemies. If that wasn’t enough for someone who had yet to attain manhood, something is growing inside Paul that he can barely comprehend and cannot easily control. It started with dreams of the future and a girl in the desert. Where his dreams will lead him will affect billions and, if he can master them, bring an empire to its knees.

I first read this classic of Science Fiction a little over 40 years ago in my late teens. To say that it had a lasting effect on me would be to downplay its impact. Even then, after already reading SF for 4-5 years I had never read anything like it. Both the scope and the depth of the narrative where, to be honest, intoxicating. It was, in a most literal sense, mind expanding. I did wonder, with the passage of 4 decades and the repeated viewing of the deeply flawed 1984 David Lynch adaptation (plus the more recent viewing of the SF Channel adaptations of Dune & Children of Dune) whether it would have anything like the same impact today. It didn’t – as I couldn’t really expect. What I was impressed by, still, was the depth of the story mostly rendered in things unsaid or mentioned almost in passing. It was clear throughout the book – much longer than most SF novels of that time – that the story, large as it was, was only a small part of the overall universe in which it was set. Not only is the tale set thousands of years hence in man’s future but the canvas upon which the story is drawn covers countless worlds and peoples some of which we only hear of as a planet’s name or a reference to a family name – nothing more. But the background is *there* in the shadows waiting to be revealed. Most of the epic is, at least in the first book of the first trilogy, left unsaid and undiscovered. Naturally, as a teenager, I wanted to know more, much more….

There is probably little to be said about Dune that hasn’t already been said a hundred times. It IS a classic of SF and fully deserves to be so. It influenced a great deal of galaxy spanning SF from its initial publication date and probably single-handedly elevated the entire genre into something at least potentially worth reading by anyone (and everyone). One of the funny things though, at least for me, was that I never identified with the teenage hero as I was ‘supposed’ to. The hero for me (and I was to later find out for others too) was the sword master Duncan Idaho. Funnily Duncan isn’t in this novel very much – in fact he hardly gets a bare mention – but I think becomes a central character in the latter two books. Yet it is him, rather than Paul that I remember most. Weird.

One more thing before I finish. I haven’t seen the new movie (yet) but I have high hopes for it after seeing the trailers which most definitely look the part and indicate that the new director has taken the original text to heart. But one of the criticisms I’ve heard more than once is that Paul Atreides is yet another example of the ‘white saviour’ in fiction who swoops in and ‘saves’ indigenous people from disaster. This is wrong, so wrong, from a number of perspectives and shows that the critics involved simply haven’t read the books or have a basic understanding of the plot. For one thing the director himself has said this is not the case and he should know. Plus there’s the actual story.

[WARNING – The following may contain spoilers if you haven’t read the book(s) and are planning to see the movie!!]

What Paul and Jessica are forced to escape into the deep desert it is the Freemen who rescue THEM rather than the other way around. If it wasn’t for Stilgar and his tribe its probable that both Paul and Jessica would have died out there. The reason Jessica is adopted into the tribe is two-fold. Firstly for her fighting skill that makes her worth ‘ten times her weight in water’ (and also puts paid to any accusation of the plot being sexist BTW) and second because she is a Bene Gesserit and they have seeded the planet with legends that Jessica can use to manipulate the Freemen into believing her and her son are part of an ancient (false!) prophecy. Paul earns HIS place both via his mother and by the fact that he kills another Freeman in open combat. Later Paul provides technical and strategic skills the Freeman didn’t have but at no point – not even at the end – does either Paul or Jessica ‘save’ the Freeman. Before Paul’s arrival the Freeman had been living under the Harkonnan heel for decades and had been more than holding their own against their depredations. Even with the advent of Imperial forces later in the novel pre-Paul/Jessica trained Freeman managed to kill them with relative abandon. Paul and his mother USED the Freeman and their legends to save themselves and did not ‘save’ the Freeman. Looking into the future Paul’s actions actually result in countless Freemen deaths because of his refusal (cowardice?) to follow the ‘Golden Path’ that his prescience provides him with. So ‘Saviour’? Absolutely not. If that wasn’t enough the author was asked for the main theme of the book. He said ‘Don’t follow leaders blindly – especially charismatic ones’. So, no ‘saviour’ there then!    

Awards:

Hugo - Best Novel

Nebula Awards - Best Novel

Just Finished Reading: Munich by Robert Harris (FP: 2017) [429pp]

September, 1938. With war clouds gathering on the horizon it looks increasingly likely the Europe will be at war for the second time in twenty years. But all hope is not lost. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain has an idea, something that has never been attempted before – a personal appeal to Herr Hitler to come back from the brink. Chamberlain is convinced, as are some of his cabinet, that Hitler is a man they can do business with. He is, they tell themselves, above all else a pragmatist who knows that Germany, even re-armed, cannot stand against the combined forces of France and Great Britain backed up by her globe spanning Empire. Hitler, Chamberlain feels in his heart of hearts, will see sense. So begins four days of what would, in later decades, be called ‘shuttle diplomacy’ with the world’s peace in the balance. With a front row seat is Hugh Legat, attached to Number 10 from the Foreign Office, who has been pulled into the very centre of the action by his friendship with German diplomat Paul Hartmann who has information that could help stop the proposed invasion of Czechoslovakia. The British Secret Service are initially sceptical that Hartmann has much credibility but the German Secret Service are taking things very seriously indeed and could put the whole diplomatic effort in jeopardy as well as both friends very lives.

The Munich Crisis of 1938 and the whole Appeasement process has, over the years, received a lot of attention – most of it bad. The very word ‘appeasement’ has become very pejorative because, with the advantage of 20-20 hindsight it failed spectacularly in 1939 with the outbreak of World War Two (spoiler!). Here the author gives a much more nuanced and honestly sympathetic treatment of those four decisive days and the thinking behind both Chamberlain’s proposals and Hitler’s ultimate rejection of ‘peace in our time’. The overall tone of the book was that of a political thriller which was pretty impressive since most readers will go in already knowing the outcome. What was even more impressive, now knowing much more about the background to the events in September 1938 from subsequent reading, was just how close to actual events were portrayed here in fiction (or probably more accurately that horrible word ‘faction’). The only non-historical main characters were Legat (British) and Hartmann (German) which allowed the reader to be ‘in the room’ during most of action/conversations/debates around the events themselves. In effect Legat/Hartmann *was* the reader and very well handled that was too! Everything else, from the public pronouncements to the private conversations (I can only vouch for the British side on this) were pretty much accurate and taken from subsequently published diaries and letters. In other words the author’s research was spot on and he even, which I personally love, listed some of his researched books in a bibliography at the back. Not many novels would do this (unfortunately) and not many authors would bother (ditto). It just goes to show how confident the author was in the historical accuracy of his work – and he was right to be so.

Both this novel and my subsequent reading (review on Monday) actually paint a much more sympathetic picture of what Chamberlain was trying to achieve and both his motivation and doubts about doing so. His generation had lived through a cataclysmic war only 20 years previously and were willing to do almost anything to avoid a new one. In this Chamberlain and his cabinet were certainly not alone, indeed most of British public opinion was 100% behind his efforts to avoid war. But Chamberlain also was more than aware that he, the British government and the French were selling Czechoslovakia ‘down the river’ in the hope that they could avoid a wider war that could devastate the continent. They knew, as they indeed found out, that if their efforts failed they would be vilified by history but how would history have judged them if the Entente had gone to war with German over Czechoslovakia if such a thing had indeed been avoided? What a truly horrible position to be in and, in this exceptionally good novel, we ourselves are put right in the heart of things to make our own minds up about it. What would you do without the knowledge of what was coming next? It’s not anywhere near as cut and dried as you might assume. Definitely recommended for all thriller buffs and anyone interested in the last year of peace in Europe. 

Just Finished Reading: Leviathan Wakes by James S A Corey (FP: 2011) [561pp]

Sol System, Sometime in the 23^rd Century (I think!). Something incredible has been found on the moon Phoebe. The company that found it knows that it could change everything and, not incidentally, make a great deal of money as well as making the company – Protogen – the most powerful company in the entire system. All they need is time. Time to study it. Time to develop applications. Time to weaponise it. The only way that absolute secrecy can be maintained in a system full of high-tech and very suspicious operatives is to give everyone else something far more important to think about. The idea was pretty obvious. For years now unrest has been building in The Belt – the catch-all phrase used for the inhabited areas of the Asteroid Belt and a scattering of outer planetary moons. The political movement – labelled naturally by both Earth and Mars as a terrorist organisation – known as the Outer Planets Alliance (OPA) is gaining adherents and power. Mars meanwhile has been building and enlarging its already impressive fleet and, year on year, increasing its threat to any manoeuvres by Mother Earth. Earth meanwhile, with a population of 30 billion, and depleted resources relies on the free transport of goods within the Sol system. Any planetary blockade, to say nothing of someone dangerously ‘throwing rocks’ could mean hardship at least and economic collapse at worst. All Protogen needs is a spark, a nudge to start the dominoes falling while it works on changing the world forever. That spark is struck with the destruction of the Belter ice-hauler Canterbury. When blame falls on Mars their fleet goes on high alert but when a Martian warship is destroyed in a fight with ships of a design never seen before some suspect that other players have joined the game. Has Earth decided to become involved? Has the Belt developed a capability previously thought beyond them? What exactly is going on out there in the black of deep space? It’s time to find out before the shooting really starts!

This is the first book in the Expanse series (yes, I KNOW… I’ve just started ANOTHER series!). I first heard of it a few years ago from friends and checked out clips on YouTube. Totally intrigued I bought the DVDs for series 1-3 (so far) and totally LOVED it. So naturally I now own the first 6 books in the 9 book series. The first book is told through the eyes of two of the main protagonists – James Holden who is/was XO of the Canterbury and Joe Miller a cop/investigator for Star Helix a private security firm. The first series of the TV adaptation follows more characters so it was a little disorienting at first to have such a restricted view in the books. But the first book does fill in some of the depth and background that we don’t get so much of in the first series. Weirdly though, because we are seeing through Holden’s and Miller’s ‘eyes’ the space battles that are fully displayed in the series are only either heard about later by the protagonists or only experienced obliquely. Again, having watched the first three series already, a little disorientating! Anyway…. Both Holden and Miller are investigating the same thing from different ends and slightly different perspectives so, when put together, gives an interesting view of what’s going on. I can’t really say too much without giving the plot totally way – plus it is passing complicated! Some critics have called it ‘Game of Thrones in Space’ and I can see why. There are three ‘factions’ – Earth, Mars and The Belt – all with their agendas, strengths and weaknesses. In the first book we mainly see things from the Belter’s point of view although in the first series on TV we also see a slice of the Martians (mostly from the MCRN battleship Donnager) and from Earth (mostly from characters which don’t appear in the books until later).

Seeing how differently ‘constructed’ the books are the series are (which kind of surprised me) I’d recommended reading or viewing the first three books/series and then swapping genres. I think the end of the first ‘trilogy’ is a good break point and doing this might reduce any confusion and ‘spoilers’ as events in the book happen out of sequence to the series. This is very accomplished read which I would have enjoyed just as much if I hadn’t already seen series 1-3. Part noir detective story, part political thriller, part GoT (I have to give it that) and part high space opera this was a delight to read and an even more delight to watch it come alive on screen. I am already looking forward to book 2 as soon as I can schedule it and series 4 as soon as it comes out on DVD. Most definitely recommended.

Oh, before I forget…. This version of the future is far more realistic than most others you’ll see on TV. Most of the tech you see is completely recognisable – from little drones zooming around to everyone checking their phones constantly. Space has been made both habitable and profitable by the invention of a very efficient engine called the Epstein Dive. It’s capable of both high acceleration (high enough to kill) and LONG burns. But there’s no inertial dampeners (so acceleration matters and too sudden deceleration will kill everyone on board), no shields, no phasers – space weapons are mostly missiles/torpedo and rail guns. Torpedoes can accelerate at 100+G so there’s no way in hell to outrun them. The only way not to get killed is Gatling gun type weapons called PDC’s (Point Defence Cannon). You run out of bullets – you die. End of…. Fun, eh?

New High Score(s) (since records began 22nd October 2020)

Page Count: 561pp [+43pp]

Average page count: 335pp [+1]

Awards

Hugo Best Novel (nominee)   

Just Finished Reading: The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen (FP: 2015) [495pp]

Always an outsider. Always. He didn’t even question it any more, it was who he was. But knowing who he was and what he was turned out to be a kind of power. Once he accepted his position, his fate, he was free. Maybe he was even home no matter how far he travelled. It started the very day he was born a bastard – the product of lust between a western priest and a Vietnamese villager. As a bastard and a mixed blood he would never be accepted except by the mother who bore him. But he was smart and learnt quickly – both the ways and the words of the west and the truth of the coming Communist Revolution. He was an ideal infiltrator into the security apparatus of South Vietnam one able to mimic the South’s love of all things modern and American. He even fooled the fabled CIA into employing him. He was also ideal to leave his country on the Fall of Saigon and flee to the west as a refugee. There, embedded within the last remnants of South Vietnam’s power structure, he could observe and report on their plans for a triumphal return to power. Always on the outside, always looking in. Outside his country, outside his patriotic duty to the South, outside his belief in the Communist Party and outside his blood bond friendship. Always outside.

I remember watching the Vietnam War on the nightly news broadcasts and distinctly remember the last days of Saigon and the rushed helicopter flights onto waiting, and sometimes fleeing, ships beyond the shores of that embattled country. I hadn’t really considered what happened afterwards to the many native Vietnamese and children of American soldiers who fled when the regime in the South fell in April 1975. Here we are presented with several examples of how people survived in the new world of America through the eyes of someone who was all too aware of what had happened and what was to come. Unsurprisingly, given the amount of awards this book either won or was nominated for, this is a very well written work. The sense of isolation is as palpable as the oppressive atmosphere of Saigon in the summer time without the relief of monsoon rain. The dramatic escape from Saigon was adrenaline pumping stuff and full of tragedy as well as hope. Everything felt very real including the almost overwhelming feeling of loss as the narrator and his ex-General started to come to terms with their situation. Our sympathies were definitely fully engaged with his plight and those of his blood brother who had literally lost everything. Yet….. Although I found the first few hundred pages both affective and interesting my overall appreciation began to wane. I think a large part of the problem was that, apart from the narrator, almost none of the characters were particularly likable. The General and his wife were arrogant dreamers who I actively disliked and their rebellious daughter wasn’t much better. The Vietnamese reporter was likable enough but had too small and too short a role to play. Despite the strength of the main character his presence wasn’t enough, in my mind, to hang the entire narrative on. The plot, once they left South Vietnam, I thought wandered semi-aimlessly with the plotting of the Southern regime’s return (honestly barely touched upon) and a side plot as the narrator ‘assisted’ a movie director with his Vietnam War movie with added ‘authenticity’. Again interesting enough but I did wonder more than once, apart from causing the narrator to look back on his own reality in contrast to the US fictionalised version of the war, what the point was. I think what I’m trying to say is that I just couldn’t ‘connect’ with the book except on the more superficial ‘interesting and well written’ level. It engaged my intellect but only occasionally did it engage my emotions.

Rather oddly one of the reviews on the front of my copy said that the book was ‘tremendously funny’. That’s certainly not the tone I took from it! The book was, in many places, anything but funny (the hilarious squid episode aside!!). Apart from the combat, death, guilt, grief, torture and two rapes (one real during an interrogation and one simulated in the movie) there was little space I think for humour – at least in my reading! Although I can kind of see why it won so many awards I can’t say that I enjoyed it as much as other books I’ve read this year. It’s certainly worth a read, I give it that, but it won’t be in my ‘must read’ list for 2021.

Awards:

Winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction

Winner of the 2016 Edgar Award for Best First Novel

Winner of the 2016 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction  

Winner of the 2015 Centre for Fiction First Novel Prize

International IMPAC Dublin Literary Awards Best Book (nominee)        

PEN/Faulkner Award for fiction Best Book (Finalist)