Review: A Master of Djinn

A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Don't ask me about this book. Not because I hated it or simply don't want to talk about it. The reason you shouldn't ask me is that I probably won't be able to answer any of your questions. Especially as more time drags on. The bottom line is that I enjoyed this book as I read it, but would fail a multiple-choice test on what it was about.

I will say that this is a fairly well-written book. Things like pacing and characters are all well-rounded. It can be quirky without all the characters sounding the same. Simple things like sentence structure and dialogue are all on point. Everything in the text screams that this was written by someone who knows what they're doing. Just be careful about that big but that is coming your way.

I couldn't help but think that I was reading escapism. Everything in the book was technically correct (the best kind of correct), but there was a lack of flare or substance that makes good books, well, good. It's kind of like eating popcorn. No matter how much butter, salt, or various flavorings you pour on top of it, it still has that basic taste of popcorn. There's nothing inherently wrong with popcorn, but there's also nothing special about it either.

I hate to file this under "just another book". Pretty much anyone who reads it will probably enjoy it. I liked it as I read it, and looking back on it doesn't change my opinion of it. It just won't stay with me, dissolving into the ether without much fanfare. There are books out there that have thrilled, moved, and even haunted me. This book did nothing of the sort. If you are to ask about it, do it now before I even forget I wrote this review.

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Review: Abaddon's Gate

Abaddon's Gate by James S.A. Corey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Honestly, the third book in the Expanse series is weaker than the first two. Not bad, just weaker. If you're not interested in reading about how it's weaker then just stop reading here. The rest of this review is just me clarifying my feelings. I'm not mad at it enough to allow this review from turning into a rant, so, if anything, I'll probably just come off as whining.

This book's biggest problem is that it takes too long to get started. This mostly stems from certain characters not having much to do for much of the early parts of the book. They become essential to the plot in the latter half, but just kind of hang out until they're needed. A good example of this is a news crew that joins Holden early in the book. Besides a subplot that involves them, they spend much of the book invisible in the background. I literally forgot they were even there until, late in the book, Holden needs to broadcast something. This is also true for the characters Bull and Anna, who spent much of their time introducing themselves until they're needed. Melba does the same thing but in reverse. She's super important to the beginning but just stands around once she fulfills her part of the plot.

The characters Bull and Anna also didn't really do it for me. Which is saying something since Anna is a redhead. Bull feels generic in a lot of ways and Anna's background is more interesting than herself as a person. Anna does kinda grow on me, but it's a too-little-too-late kind of situation. I even have my problems with Melba since her chief character trait is motivation. But reading her chapters is at least interesting to see things from her point of view. I think my problem is that they don't bring anything new to the table. Not every character has to be a badass, but it helps.

This third book is also more of a sequel to the first one than a continuation of two novels. This is more of a note of how these novels act as a series than anything else. Anyone who keeps up with these reviews will probably see more comments like this as I work my way through them.

With a sluggish start and more sluggish characters, I had problems with getting through this one. It felt more like work, where I was reading it so I could continue with the series. It's not bad, much less a deal-breaker, just lackluster from what I've come to expect. Where everything feels just slightly uninteresting until things devolve into a gunfight. Because, in a world of space travel, we can't seem to just super nuke our problems away.

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Review: Caliban's War

Caliban's War by James S.A. Corey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm going to start with a side tangent. There's a section of the book where it is obvious that one, or both, of the author(s) is venting a social/political opinion. It comes off as uninformed and makes the typical white American mistake of assuming that if poor people were given money that they would become lazy so quickly they would open a quantum singularity. But I'm not pointing it out because I disagree with it, I'm pointing it out because it's obvious when a writer starts ax-grinding. Writers always think they're so clever and think we don't notice when their personal opinions leak onto the page. I doubt any authors are reading this, but I'm here to tell you something important: WE KNOW. It's obvious. Reading the entire library of Heinlein might have made me extra sensitive to this, but 99% of the people who have already read 'Caliban's War' know exactly which chapter I'm talking about.

Using ax-grinding to point out ax-grinding aside, I rather enjoyed this book. If you read and liked the first Expanse novel, 'Leviathan Wakes', you'll be happy to hear it's more of the same. Good pacing, intelligent plot and characters, and remains to its core belief of being a sci-fi adventure story. Its flaws are a little more apparent in this volume, but nothing that subtracts from the overall experience.

Caliban can be enjoyed mostly on its own as much of the story is self-contained. Which, to ax grind a little more, is one hundred percent how book series should be written. It's okay to connect books with related events and characters, but I've waded through so much garbage where literally nothing happens in the entire first novel because it's all set up for the second and/or third. This is especially true in the bane of modern literature, the trilogy. That isn't the case here as much of the novel succeeds of its lone merits. I don't recommend reading Caliban without first reading Wakes, but you can and still enjoy yourself.

Perhaps the biggest problem with Caliban, and perhaps the Expanse series in general, is a lack of logical motivation from the villains. They just seem to be a bunch of mad scientists who do terrible things with science because they're mad. I call it Gargamel Syndrome. We don't know why he's trying to capture the smurfs, only that it doesn't really matter to the story because he never succeeds. There never seems to be an endgame for the Expanse villains beyond avoiding getting caught even though they do things so brazen they're obviously going to get caught. Their motives don't seem to matter because they don't succeed (spoiler?). The book, at the end, even asks why but doesn't seem to care enough to allow an answer. They might be saving it for a later book, but right now it's more of a mild annoyance.

Bottom line, at least for now, is that the Expanse novels are enjoyable. Usually, I require more than that, but I think the books do enough to set its tone so you know what you're in for. Something smart, fun, and can easily recommend. And that's what I'll do here. It's fun while it lasts, but expect to donate it when KonMari comes to your house.

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Review: Grant

Grant by Ron Chernow
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Well, that took a long while to read. Not to say I regret it or anything. It's just such an encompassing biography on someone who spent most of his life doing something important is not exactly light reading. Especially when it is so thoroughly well researched and detailed. In short, there probably isn't a more complete book on Grant outside of his own Memoirs.

I want to state upfront that I highly recommend this book if you're a history nerd or highly enjoy nonfiction works. It's well written and complied. It relies mostly on statements and events that can be backed up while acknowledging when something is likely subjective. I do have some complaints, which I'll of course get to, but this is one of the best civil war era biographies that wasn't a multi-volume set that noted every time someone sat down for tea.

My biggest complaint is that, during Grant's presidency, the narrative tends to find a few too many excuses for him. The book does successfully make the argument that he is perhaps America's most underrated President, but it also fails when it comes to assigning blame for his administration's failings. Taking a buck stops anywhere but with Grant approach. It is true that Grant himself wasn't corrupt, but being naive is a reason, not an excuse. I never felt there was a specific agenda at play, it just felt like the author felt bad for Grant because he was so often taken advantage of.

A much more nitpicking complaint is the book probably could have been a good fifty pages shorter. That sounds like a drop in the bucket compared to the sheer size of the volume, but I found the occasional segment that felt a little useless. The longest single example would be the troubled relationship between Julia Grant and Mary Lincoln. While interesting to a point, it reads more like a distraction than anything else. This point is more subjective but it's unlikely I'm the only one who felt that way while reading it.

Given how epic this book is, I hate to sum it up in a few paragraphs. Still, I can't really say much beyond exclaiming taht it's required reading. Rather than treating history as purely a list of facts, there is an artistry to the words that paint the man as a portrait. Something with depth and emotion instead of just a completed list of checkboxes. I walked away not only knowing what Grant had done but how he felt as he did it.

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Review: The Empress of Salt and Fortune

The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Given this is a short book, I'll sum up in a short review.

Meh.

To elaborate, the prose and characters are fair to strong, but seems to lack in any real sort of plot.  I mean, I get what's going on, but there doesn't seem to be any sort of point to the affair. Or maybe the point is so subtle I missed it. Being subtle is my preference, but only when it elicits a reaction or has payoff. You can't be subtle just for the sake of being subtle.

I think I can chalk this up to just being not for me. It doesn't come off as bad and my pretentious garbage alarm didn't go off. At no point I disliked reading this book, but I didn't love it either. It feels purposely written for a particular group of people. Which is great in and of itself, I'm just not it.

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Review: Leviathan Wakes

Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I honestly didn't know they made good adventure books anymore. You would think everything that labels itself as genre fiction was either world-building or droning introspective that do everything they can to avoid the plot. But the Expanse series, or at least the first book I just finished, makes no qualms about what it is. An entertaining space adventure that is 110% character and plot-driven. Something that wants you to like it without sacrificing good writing. There are issues, that I'll of course get into, but this book is good in such an old-fashioned sense that it threw me for a loop.

While I think the driven nature of the book suits it well, I was surprised at the lack of world-building. Multi-book epics tend to go on and on about the universe the author(s) created. Though this is mostly known in high fantasy that elevates the lore so much it can give you a nose bleed, it's not uncommon in science fiction. There's a more minimalist approach here that only really gives you what you need. It wasn't a turn-off for me, but it might be for those with tissues wadded up their nostrils.

The dual narrative can also be slightly problematic. It works 90% of the time but can feel clunky when the two main characters are in the same room. It's still structured better than most other books, even otherwise good ones, and it remains committed to the concept. It allows the authors to draw out their strengths and mostly avoids their weaknesses. Mostly.

The pacing is solid, starting and ending at the right place, but can drag in a few spots. The longest chapter of the book just has the chapters watching a bunch of videos as the plot is unfolded for both reader and character. While each chapter justifies its existence as a whole, some of the areas could have been truncated.  This is especially true for one side of the last chapters of the book. As the character doesn't have much to do except reflect on his life. As it reaches the end, you (and even the characters) know what is going to happen, but can take just a little too long to get there. That being said, it's probably my only serious issue with the book.

I have a tendency to finish things that I start. Even completing really bad books just so I can complain about how bad they are (check my other reviews for more). But nine novels plus a collection of shorts is too much even for my Adamantium constitution. About halfway into the book, I wondered if I would continue. The short answer is a yes. While not the best thing I've ever read in the history of man, it is smart and entertaining. It reminds me of a Heinlein juvenile but more grown-up and containing less sexism (and, unfortunately, fewer redheads). The book just wants to tell a good story in a good way. And it didn't even have to get up its own ass to do it.

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Review: Light from Uncommon Stars

Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Am I picky or do I just have high standards? Probably the former, but I like to think it's the latter. I've read some books with heaps of praise that I end up giving low scores to. It makes me wonder if I'm defective or do people like certain books for inane reasons. This one is probably a mix. For the record, these thoughts don't apply to this book. I love it. But I will nick pick a few issues I think it has. Because I can't just sit back and enjoy something, I have to be overly critical of it too.

I'll say upfront that I not only enjoyed this book, but I think it's genuinely good as well. The plot is well-paced, the characters are vivid and interesting, the dialogue is strong, and it's even relevant. It's literally everything you can want in a good book. There are a few flaws, that I'll get to in a moment, but just know that you should definitely read this book at your earliest convenience.

The biggest flaw, to get the bad news out of the way, is the throughline isn't strong enough. I don't mean the character, but rather the voice. The flow from character to character feels unstructured and even somewhat lost in the earlier chapters of the book. This book has a lot to say but feels a little unclear as to who gets to say it. It slowly comes together, but can take a little bit to get there. Also, to be clear, this isn't a pacing issue. The story starts in the right place and gets right to work. Rather it took me a few chapters to get a feel for everything.

With the story that opens in such a fractured way, I was afraid that it wouldn't land the ending. As something that is 100% praise, I will say it has one of the best endings I've read in a while. It doesn't waste your time and just hits you with it like a batter looking to score a home run, which it succeeds at. Some might think it's a little too neat, but I was entirely satisfied with it.

Prose wise I think it's strongly written, offering a healthy mix of internal strife and clever character interactions. I will say that the interactions are some of the stronger aspects of the book. The dialogue and descriptions between them are charming even when they're being completely serious. We also get plenty of time alone with our characters, but this is more of a mixed bag. While what is being described fits and is necessary, it just feels far more monotone.

One last note is a plot point called the "End Plague". This idea is so damn interesting and clever that I wished the entire book was centered around it. The fact that it's not brings me back to its greatest strength and greatest weakness. I'm going out on a limb and say that this book has too many story ideas for an average-sized novel. In a weird way, it feels like two novellas having to live together in the same apartment and are forced to share a main character. While there are too many books out there that are too long for their concepts, I'm going to say this one is too short. For the time I spent with it though, I think this book is awesome.

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