Notes from Long Ago (IBC #4 - October 29, 2006)

It’s been almost months, or 119 days, or 2856 hours (or 171360 minutes) since our 4th book club meeting. Based on how I normally go about my day, and the amount of free time I typically have per day, and given that we’ve had 34 weekend days, 4 holidays (if you count either Veteran’s Day for you government-holiday grubbing types, or the day after Thanksgiving for you capitalist commercial types), and four additional days that I spent luxuriating in the balmy clime of central Florida, there have been approximately 2672 hours that I could’ve been using to compose the last summary. However, I’m gonna cut myself a break, because I do occasionally spend time with others (during which it would be rude to be typing an email), play volleyball (difficult to both type and play at the same time – although I think my typing would suffer more than my volleyball-playing), read (especially the books that I borrowed out of this last meeting) and bathe (electrical shock hazard), so in actuality, there are probably only 884 hours I spent procrastinating the construction of the last summary. Although, I’ve now spent about 25 minutes on the composition of this opening paragraph, and the inane (and presumably, largely inaccurate) calculations enclosed within it, in an attempt to explain away why the summary is coming to you three months late – and of course, we’ve had another book club… so without further adieu, here is the summary that I should’ve completed three months ago. Especially since the 5th book club meeting was a week ago.

IBC Meeting #4 (the Sci-Fi experience)
There have been brilliant moments in the course of human history, where the confluence of passion and diligent study, brought together with context and opportunity create something truly awe-inspiring to behold… Events such as Wellington’s defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815, the Wright Brothers’ first flight at Kitty Hawk in 1903, Michael Jordan’s ankle-breaking juke, and soaring Game 6 clutch shot over Byron Russell to clinch the 1998 NBA Championship in what should have been his last and defining moment in his playing career… Those of us who attended the 4th meeting of our irreverently-themed book club witnessed such an event… it all began with the words, uttered softly by Brad, ‘I brought a shopping bag…’

But first, let me set the stage. We gathered at Colleen’s former apartment, infused with the rich aroma of mulled wine, nestled lakeside in Fair Lakes on a warmer than average last Sunday in October. Gathered around her living room, we knoshed on a variety of choices as the attendees drifted in (including the aforementioned, foreshadowed Brad and his shopping bag). After everyone had a full plate and something to drink, the man with the bag got us started.

Bradford

For those of you who are not familiar with who some or all of us are outside of our book club experiences, it might help qualify the shopping bag of Brad to know that by trade, passion and paycheck, he is an astronomer. Not the kind that a former first lady consulted (that’s a-s-t-r-o-l-o-g-e-r), but the kind that gazes into the heavens, does a lot of math, and lets us know why it’s unlikely we’ll be demolished by a rogue asteroid or sucked into a black hole (actually, I’m displaying my ignorance of how Brad spends his time in the office on a daily basis, but I digress. Again.). So the theme resonated not only with Brad’s chosen profession, but his lifelong dreams. And so it began, as Brad dug into Santa’s Bag of Sci-Fi...

Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card
As a classy guy, it’s only natural Brad would start with a ‘sci-fi classic’. Ender’s Game is the first of several ‘Ender’ books that Orson Scott Card wrote, and it introduces the reader to a world where the Earth has been invaded from galaxies afar, and twice, the human race has been successful in repelling the invasion twice, but has serious concerns about its chances the next time around. As a result, they’ve started recruiting their military leaders early (waayyyy early), with the primary method of learning being video games. Out of the masses emerges Andrew (or ‘Ender’) who has a great gift for gaming, as the potential savior of the human race. Could he be the one? The book also explores the dynamics of Ender’s older siblings. Ender’s Game spawned many sequels, but according to Brad, you don’t need to read the sequels to enjoy the book – as a work of great Science Fiction, it stands alone.

Ender's Game from amazon.com

Spock’s World, by Diane Duane
Yes, that Spock. Growing up in the generation I did (a few years ahead of Brad’s time), I first enjoyed Star Trek in syndication. Although I was never a trekkie, I did look forward to Kirk’s bravado, Bones’ frustration, and the inevitable demise of the red-shirted ensign. This book is set in that same universe of colored spandex shirts and doors that go ‘whoosh’. As Brad says, there were many many Star Trek novels, some bad (some very bad), but this one had more to tell than the usual Trekisms. Interspersed with the modern day story of the travails of the Enterprise and her crew, was a treatise on the philosophy of Surak on the planet Vulcan, who inspired the Vulcan affect we came to know and love in Spock. His philosophy was one of peace, non-violence and, of course, logic. But deeper than that it was rooted in seeing the universe as it is – not how you would like it to be. Perhaps it should be required reading for Poly Sci, Law and MBA students.

Spock's World

Hyperion, The Fall of Hyperion, Endymion, The Rise of Endymion, by Dan Simmons

Brad continued his guided tour down sci-fi lane with a more contemporary offering. This series of books by Dan Simmons (actually two series of two books) is set 500 + years into our future, when war and consumption of natural resources have forced the human race into colonizing planets afar. Advances in Artificial Intelligence led to a new ‘race’ that seceded from the human race, yet still maintained a symbiotic relationship with man (as servants or puppetmasters?). Interplanetary travel was initially accomplished through the Hawking drive (yes, that Hawking), but the AI race laced the far-reaching colonies together through a web of portals, or farcasters. A group of humans split off from the great Hegemony of Man and became known as the Ousters – outlaws, anarchists, AI-hating global warming alarmists – you know, the bad sort of people. One planet, Hyperion, which lay outside the web, possesses an area where tides of time run in reverse. This area is patrolled by the Shrike – a particularly nasty metallic creation of razor sharp appendages that appears out of nowhere, creates carnage, and disappears again. A cult has risen out of this phenomenon, whereas 7 pilgrims are chosen to seek out the Shrike. And only one returns.

The Hegemony is in crisis and the Shrike holds the key – so seven pilgrims are chosen – a Consul, a Soldier, a Scholar, a Poet, a Templar, a Detective and a Priest. On their journey, they realize their only chance of survivor is to understand why each is on the quest. And so Hyperion becomes kind of a science-fiction version of The Canterbury Tales, with each, in turn, telling their tale. The Fall of Hyperion picks up immediately (in fact, I wouldn’t recommend reading Hyperion without having The Fall of Hyperion handy – otherwise, you will scream in frustration, rush out at 1 am, commit felony breaking and entering of your local Borders, just to continue the series). The Endymion books pick up in the same universe several hundred years later.

Part of the reason I was such a slacker on getting this out is because I borrowed the first two books from Brad, and spent many a sleepless night because I could not put them down. I’ve not yet picked up the Endymion series, because I think it’s a bad idea to neglect your health, your work and your friends in the middle of winter. But if you don’t hear from me for a prolonged period of time, you can bet I’m holed up somewhere quiet with Endymion and The Rise of Endymion – if they are even half as good as the Hyperion series. Very well written, tremendous characters that you care about, and a terrific story set in a fascinating future.

Hyperion, The Fall of Hyperion, Endymion, The Rise of Endymion

Firefly, by Joss Whedon and Tim Minear
In this recommendation, Brad took the book club’s moniker to heart. Being irreverent Brad broke away from the written word, and ventured into the media of prematurely cancelled TV series. For those of you who have not heard of Firefly, you’re forgiven – but anyone who has not heard of Joss Whedon, the creator of Firefly needs to come out of their cave. Joss Whedon is perhaps best known for his very popular series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and less so (but just as passionately) for its spin-off, Angel. Firefly first aired in the fall of 2002, and had a brief, 13 episode run (16 were filmed). It introduced us to the ragtag crew of smugglers of the Serenity, a Firefly-class spaceship. They spent their days up to no good, trading wisecracks, insults and self-deprecating humor, while avoiding the Alliance and it’s near totalitarian ways. I realize, as I’m typing this, that I’ve not really presented a compelling argument for you to see it – so let me just say – I’ve seen the entire series (and I mean the entire 16 episode series) four times since I first picked up the DVDs about 16 months ago. And I’m looking for a reason to watch it again. I’ve recommended it to about a dozen people, more than half of whom have watched it. And of those, the ones who haven’t watched it again simply have not had time to. It’s that good. You’ll love the story, the dialogue, the characters. You will never see any of the actors again as anything other than the characters they played so perfectly on Firefly. The groundswell of support when the DVD was released led to a full-length movie called Serenity (and yes, I saw it on opening night. And yes, I’ve seen it four times).
So if it’s so good, why did it have such a short run? Ratings. Lack of support from the network. A Friday night timeslot – I don’t know, but it’s one of the more disillusioning missteps of modern broadcast media. Just watch it. You will not be disappointed. Oh – and Brad liked it too.

Firefly: The Complete Series


Lee

Acorna: The Unicorn Girl, by Anne McCaffrey and Margaret Ball

Lee was next up, claiming that she would be quick and to the point. She brought Acorna: The Unicorn Girl, the first of a series by Anne McCaffrey of the Dragonriders of Pern series. This led to a sidebar about that series, as several of us in the room had read it (although it’s been 20 years since I have). Acorna is written in true McCaffrey fashion, not just dealing with the fantasy, but also social issues (child labor in this case). The title character is found by three crusty space miners, and soon demonstrates her seemingly magical abilities. Unfortunately, this attracts the attention of scientists who wish to study her, and she flees to a planet where children are kept as slave-labor. Of course, Acorna seeks to end this practice. Lee said that if you liked the Pern books, you’d like this – and McCaffrey excels at describing strange worlds and colorful characters.

Acorna: The Unicorn Girl

Tales from Watership Down, by Richard Adams

Lee also discussed this followup to the 70’s eco-classic Watership Down. In this book, the author revisits the culture he created in that field some 30 years ago, by recounting the mythologies and legends and ongoing saga of the society of rabbits in a series of interrelated tales. If you liked the original, you’ll enjoy re-acquainting yourselves with the characters and where they went from the end of the previous novel.

Tales from Watership Down

Sharla

Having seen the prolificacy of Brad regarding Sci-Fi, you would have thought that the number of items reviewed could not have been equaled. Well – you’d be wrong. Sharla took the loose definition of Sci-Fi/Fantasy and applied it to the horror realm… well – as much as Nora Roberts could be considered within the horror genre. And then she went on… and on… displaying an endurance and a velocity of speech that left our heads spinning… kinda like playing ‘Hell’ with her – for those of you who have had that experience…

Morrigan’s Cross, by Nora Roberts
Sharla’s first book is really the first of a trilogy by Nora Roberts. Nora writes would some would call… ummm… beach reads (Gretchen had a good description, but I’ll save it for her section – don’t worry… you’ll only have to wade through the plethora of books that Sharla brought to discuss), frequently with a touch of the supernatural. Morrigan’s Cross is about vampires. And witches. And warriors. And bodice-ripping romance. Six people of such species, gender and disposition to pair off romantically undertake the hunt for Lilith, last seen singing with Sarah MacLaughlin and the Indigo Girls at Merrirweather Post Pavilion… no, I’m just kidding. Sarah MacLaughlin and the Indigo Girls don’t make an appearance in this book. At least, I don’t think so – to be honest, I haven’t read it. Lilith is the queen of the vampires. Sharla reads a lot of Nora Roberts, and wasn’t disappointed in this – if you’re looking for a romantic light literary snack flavored with creatures of the dark, this may be your series.
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Morrigan's Cross (The Circle Trilogy, Book 1)

Promise Me, by Harlan Coben
Sharla took a decidedly darker turn (how could one be darker than vampires, you say?) with Harlan Coben’s latest book. Harlan Coben writes thrillers of the most ordinary variety – not that his stories are ordinary, but they happen to ordinary people. In New Jersey. Everything I’ve ever read from him was the type of novel that sucked you in, and forced you to finish it – and it never really ended up the way you thought it would. Ever read a book and wishing the author had not gone for the obvious, somewhat upbeat ending, but rather had the guts to play the story out the way it might in actual life? Harlan Coben has the guts. Promise Me reintroduces a character from one of Coben’s previous books – a former basketball star who now dabbles in sports and entertainment agency, and occasionally performs the role of the ‘knight in shining armor’. He gives a couple of teenage girls (one the daughter of a friend) his contact information to call in case they ever get into trouble… and one of the girls takes him up on it. Madness ensues. If you are a fan of thrillers and haven’t read Harlan Coben, you won’t be disappointed.

Promise Me

The Face of Deception, by Iris Johansen
Yet another thriller offered up by Sharla… The main character in this one is a forensic sculptor, with the ability to recreate a face from a skull (like Bones’ sexy assistant, whose character is the love child of Billy F. Gibbons. I’ll bet most of you don’t know who that is… sheesh, I feel old). She is dealing with the loss of her child and sinks herself into her career. The ubiquitous handsome, single millionaire contracts her to identify a skull. Madness ensues. I’m assuming (haven’t read this one, either). For more info:

The Face of Deception

Beautiful Lies: A Novel, by Lisa Unger
Sharla’s next thriller deals with kind of a unique premise. The main character discovers that what she thought were her parents are not really hers. As an infant, she was stolen and raised as another family’s child. Along comes the ever-present handsome next-door neighbor who happens to be a private investigator (editorial note: How come it’s never a mildly pleasant-looking next door computer executive? Or volleyball player?), and together they embark on a search for her real parents. Along the way the discover an undercover stolen infant ring (that doesn’t involve changelings. See below), as well as each other. Sharla really identified with the main character – and felt the author did a good job of getting the reader invested in her story.

Beautiful Lies: A Novel

Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven: A Novel, by Fannie Flagg
Sharla’s final offering (phew!) is not a thriller, but rather a very warm and funny novel from Fannie Flagg, of Fried Green Tomatoes…´ fame. The story follows an 80 year old woman who passes from her earthly life into heaven. Madness ensues. Just kidding. Sharla highly recommended this book – in addition to being heartwarming, it offered a vision of heaven that was as humorous as it was beautiful, and caused Sharla to reflect on life in general. Reviews at Amazon were very good:

Can't Wait to Get to Heaven: A Novel

Gretchen

Three Sisters Island Trilogy (Dance Upon the Air, Heaven and Earth, Face the Fire), by Nora Roberts
Gretchen had also read a fair amount of Nora Roberts… in her estimation.. bubblegum for the brain. But there’s nothing wrong with a little bubble gum (unless you blow really big bubbles and they explode and get into your hair, and you have to apply peanut butter to get it out. Trust me. It’s not pleasant). She recommended this Nora Roberts series for those looking for a little literary escapism.

Three Sisters Island Trilogy

Lightning, By the Light of the Moon, by Dean Koontz
In keeping with the Sci-Fi/Fantasy theme, Gretchen brought books from the traditionally supernaturally-tinged Dean Koontz. In the first book, Lightning, the main character is born during a tremendous thunderstorm and her entire life is touched by the presence of a character (who arrives by lightning, ergo the title) who you never figure out until the end is on the side of good or the side of evil. Only Oliver Stone is more prone to conspiracy theories then Koontz, and this is no different.

By the Light of the Moon also deals with a government conspiracy, with a scientist abruptly entering the life of two people who don’t know each other, injecting them with some mysterious substance, and then telling them that someone else is out to get them right before he is killed (phew!). The book centers around these two people – one a devoted brother and companion to his autistic brother, and the other a stand-up comedienne who suddenly develops visions. Koontz uses his traditional conspiracy, assassin, chase formula, along with the plot device of the autistic brother. Publisher’s Weekly spoke highly of this novel – ‘Perhaps more than any other author, Koontz writes fiction perfectly suited to the mood of America post-September 11: novels that acknowledge the reality and tenacity of evil but also the power of good; that celebrate the common man and woman; that at their best entertain vastly as they uplift.’ For information on both -

Lightning, By the Light of the Moon

Bev

The City of Ember, by Jeanne DuPrau
The question is not whether we will ever have a book club without referencing this classic – the question is rather how long before we no longer remember the name of the prequel and can only recall, ‘The Prophet of Not-So-Much’? Bev introduced all of the newcomers to the City of Ember and incandescent light, as well as the follow on ‘People of Sparks’. If you’ve not yet read them, what are you waiting for? Just forget anything by this author with a title that has the word ‘Yawn’ embedded in it.

The City of Ember

The Rumplestiltskin Problem, by Vivian Vandevelde
Why would anyone name their height-challenged child ‘Rumplestiltskin’? This is another of Bev’s young adult offerings – in this one the author tackles several holes in the traditional fairy tale – such as, why is the miller so poor if his daughter can spin straw into gold? What does Rumplestiltskin want with someone else’s baby? And how does any of this relate to Rasputin? (don’t give yourself a migraine trying to figure that out… it’s an inside joke). This book has six tales that attempt to answer these questions and more – all the while relating the fairy tale to the here and now.

The Rumplestiltskin Problem

Colleen

The Stolen Child: A Novel, by Keith Donohue
The beauty of our book club is how much it expands our selection of reading material. Colleen borrowed this book from me after the 3rd IBC meeting – but I found it as a recommendation when I was looking up information on The Time Traveler’s Wife, at the suggestion of Colleen. Since then, I happened to catch Keith Donohue on the Kojo Nnamdi Show. He wrote The Stolen Child while working downtown for the National Endowment for the Arts. While being interviewed by Kojo, he talked about writing part of it while riding the Metro to and from work, or on nice days sitting outside in McPherson Square. Another thing Donohue discussed was that once he had the idea (not inspired by the Yeats poem, but rather The Waterboys song inspired by the Yeats poem), and decided how to structure it, the book wrote itself. The Stolen Child is about a boy, Henry Day, who is kidnapped and replaced by a changeling– child-like creatures of the woods who never age – and the book alternates, chapter by chapter, of the changeling adapting into the human child’s life, and Henry (now Aniday) adapting as a changeling. Colleen read a good part of this at a trade show one day – and I would get frequent text messages as she reacted to the book. I loved the book, passed it on to Martin, who loved the book, and Colleen loved the book – so three of us recommend it – although Colleen suggests that you read it slowly – there is such great imagery, you don’t want to miss any of it. This is on my read-again list.

The Stolen Child: A Novel

Dave

Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson
My first adult novels were Science Fiction. I cut my teeth on Robert Heinlein’s young adult fiction, and quickly moved on to his more advanced books, Asimov, Niven & Pournelle and Arthur C. Clarke. So why, you may ask, did I bring a book to a Sci-Fi-themed book club that I don’t consider science fiction (no matter what Borders and Amazon say)? When I was a kid, it seems like every other meal was Kraft Macaroni and Cheese – because it was one of the few things my sister would eat. When I got to the point where I would do my own grocery shopping, I never bought Kraft Macaroni & Cheese. I was tired of it. In a way, Sci-Fi was the same for me – I’d just fallen out of the habit. Nevertheless, this is one of my favorite books. Cryptonomicon follows the Waterhouse and Shaftoe clans (staples in Neal Stephenson’s literature) both during WWII, and present day in converging sagas. Lawrence Waterhouse, a brilliant mathematician is recruited into the Army during WWII as a cryptographer on the European front, while halfway across the world, Bobby Shaftoe, a Marine who through his own breezy, devil-may-care outlook, finds himself bouncing and surviving from one life-threatening impossible situation to another. Flash forward 60 years to find Waterhouse’s grandson, and Shaftoe’s granddaughter crossing paths while embroiled in corporate intrigue and financial espionage. As the stories each proceed, I found myself disappointed when the narrative would flip from the war to present day and back again, because each of the stories were engaging in their own right – but as they converged in ways that I could not foresee, I found myself unable to put it down. As a warning, this book is a commitment – over 900 pages, but every single one worth it.

Cryptonomicon

Only Revolutions, by Mark Danielewski
From one mathematically themed novel to another. Only Revolutions is Mark Danielewski’s novel as an art form… or something like that. As suggested by its name, it is 360 pages long – although those 360 pages are written in sometimes nonsensical prose, in varying sizes of print, with sidebars of events to give context to the events (or non-events) on the page. Only Revolutions follows the meeting, romance, illness, flight of Sam and Hailey, two sixteen year olds from different times. Sam’s story progresses from one side of the book, and Hailey’s from the other – you’re supposed to read eight pages of one, and then flip the book over, and read eight pages of the other’s perspective. Sam’s story progresses from the mid 1800s to the mid 1900’s, and Hailey’s from the mid 1900’s to the future, as they travel in a variety of context-appropriate vehicles (while Sam is in a Model A, Hailey is in a ’69 GTO) through their adventures… I think. Confused? So was I. This book was such a challenge, and I kept looking for something in it, and not finding it. I gave up before I even got halfway around the circle. If you’d like to read this book, I’d be happy to give it to you. Maybe you can find something in it that I couldn’t. Meanwhile, it looks pretty on my bookshelf.

Only Revolutions

Virginia

Time Stops for No Mouse, by Michael Hoeye
The final offering for the fourth meeting holds a special place in Virginia’s heart – as Brad would read it to her over the phone during their long distance courtship. Half of the fun of the book, according to Virginia is. trying to sound out the names. Time Stops for No Mouse tells the story of Hermux Tantamoq, a mouse who repairs clocks and watches. Hermux is a somewhat rigid, fastidious mouse who has a pretty structured, mundane life with his pet ladybug Terfle. All of this is turned on its head with the arrival in his shop of one Ms. Linka Perflinger, an aviatrix and adventuress, demanding the repair of her watch. When she doesn’t return at the scheduled time, despite her repeated admonitions that the watch must be ready at that particular time, Hermux embarks on an adventure of his own, encountering an over-eager gopher reporter, his awful, and perhaps evil neighbor – Tucka Mertslin, a cosmetic tycoon, and a mysterious evil doctor. Virginia likened this to a bedtime story for adults, perhaps because Brad lulled her to sleep over the long distances.

Time Stops for No Mouse: A Hermux Tantamoq Adventure

And this concluded our fourth IBC meeting, as well as my long overdue summary. It’s only been a week since our fifth meeting, so I’m already behind on the summary for that. And look for the eVite for the sixth meeting, hosted by Brad and Virginia on April 22. Enjoy your books!

drs