Importantly, I'm still reading! At last count, I had hit 42 books - just ten more to go! Practically speaking, I'm not going to get around to doing a post on each of them, but perhaps I'll do a roundup where I share a couple of thoughts on each one which I've read but haven't written up. Anyway, see below for the full list.
I DID have the itch to talk about one of the books I've just finished, however. The Android's Dream, by John Scalzi, is fantastic. Light-hearted, fun and well-paced, it's something like James Bond meets Yes, Minster, but in space. Or something. Anyway, it's full of inter-, intra-, and extra-government conspiracies, obnoxious aliens, some of whom, it has to be said, are nothing but a bunch of trolls. And sheep. Oh boy are there sheep.
The opening of the book had me laughing in raucous disbelief right from the start (one of my new favourite first lines, however puerile it may be). I've seen it described online as the 'Terrence and Phillip' chapter, but in the context of the book it sort of...makes sense. That line, if you're wondering is 'Dirk Moeller didn't know if he could fart his way into a major diplomatic incident. But he was ready to find out.' Intrigued and a little weirded out? Me too.
The icing on this particular sheep-shaped cake was the fact that it was an audiobook narrated by Wil Wheaton (you may remember that he also narrated Ready Player One, to which I listened to earlier this year). I could listen to that man read anything. For days.
One thing about Android's Dream, though, bugged me significantly. In fact, if you've got a minute, it bugged me more than the head of the ant NSA installing tiny listening devices in the offices of the ant-people government. That was the lack of female characters in the book, or rather, a limited number of them, whose roles are disappointingly restricted.
Looking back, I can only think of three female character that appeared significantly. One of them appears very little overall. Another is more interesting and somewhat pivotal for the plot, but again, appears comparatively little, and comparatively late in the game.
(Very) Light spoilers follow.
The third, Robin, is one of the main characters. You could make an argument for her being the deuteragonist, but I really don't think that will fly. She is one half of the pair we follow for most of the book, but it's not an equal pairing, and the rest of the cast that we follow (male) are given all the action. Robin really doesn't get any of her own agency throughout the book - she's pushed from one thing to the next, with no real control herself, and, for reasons I won't get into here (read it!), her role in the story is heavily objectified. She's not a bad character, it's just that her role pretty much sucks.
Now, just to be clear here, this didn't stop me from enjoying the book. The book was great. I loved it, and I'm recommending it to all of you if you fancy going on a ridiculous sci-fi tear. Nor is it an indictment of Scalzi - he's known for his fairly vocal support of feminism, and the depiction of women in the book wasn't all that bad. There just aren't enough of them with any decent roles.
I get why Robin's role is what it is - it actually makes a weird kind of sense in the context of the story, which is a topic that is dealt with directly a few times. It's just a shame that she's also the only female character who gets any real 'screen time' in the story. I don't know how that compares with Scalzi's other works, but it needled me throughout.
But don't let that put you off! It's still a great book, and worth reading. This element is the one thing about it that stuck in my craw. Otherwise, pretty much high fun from start to finish.
Fragile Things - Neil Gaiman (2006)
The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern (2011)
The Revolution of Saint Jone - Lorna Mitchell (1988)
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy - John Le Carré (1974)
I Can Make You Hate - Charlie Brooker (2012)
Looking For Jake and Other Stories - China Miéville (2005)
The Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett (1989)
The Bloody Chamber - Angela Carter (1979)
Jobs* - Walter Isaacson (2012)
The Plague - Albert Camus (1947)
Ready Player One* - Ernest Cline (2011)
Slaughterhouse Five - Kurt Vonnegut (1969)
The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ - Phillip Pullman (2010)
Brave New World - Aldous Huxley (1931)
Storm Front* - Jim Butcher (2000)
Anansi Boys - Neil Gaiman (2005)
Fool Moon* - Jim Butcher (2001)
Iron Man: Extremis - Warren Ellis (2006)
Ultimate Thor Vol.1 - Hickman, Pachego & Vines (2010)
How To Eat Out - Giles Coren (2001)
How To Be A Woman - Caitlin Moran (2011)
In The Garden of Beasts* - Erik Larson (2011)
Pirate Cinema - Cory Doctrow (2012)
Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury (1953)
The Long Earth - Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter (2012)
The Illustrated Man* - Ray Bradbury (1951)
The Long War - Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter (2013)
The Player of Games - Iain M Banks (1988)
Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card (1985)
Stardust - Neil Gaiman (1998)
The Knife of Never Letting Go* - Patrick Ness (2008)
The Ocean at the End of the Lane* - Neil Gaiman (2013)
Facing Violence - Sgt. Rory Miller (2011)
The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins (2008)
Terra* - Mitch Benn (2013)
Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins (2009)
Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins (2010)
Fables vol.1: Legends in Exile - Bill Willingham (2002)
Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader - Neil Gaiman (2009)
Feed - M T Anderson (2002)
Oryx & Crake - Margaret Atwood (2003)
Carrie* - Stephen King (1974)
The Android's Dream - John Scalzi (2006)
Currently Reading:
The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman (2008)
The Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula Le Guin (1969)
The opening of the book had me laughing in raucous disbelief right from the start (one of my new favourite first lines, however puerile it may be). I've seen it described online as the 'Terrence and Phillip' chapter, but in the context of the book it sort of...makes sense. That line, if you're wondering is 'Dirk Moeller didn't know if he could fart his way into a major diplomatic incident. But he was ready to find out.' Intrigued and a little weirded out? Me too.
The icing on this particular sheep-shaped cake was the fact that it was an audiobook narrated by Wil Wheaton (you may remember that he also narrated Ready Player One, to which I listened to earlier this year). I could listen to that man read anything. For days.
One thing about Android's Dream, though, bugged me significantly. In fact, if you've got a minute, it bugged me more than the head of the ant NSA installing tiny listening devices in the offices of the ant-people government. That was the lack of female characters in the book, or rather, a limited number of them, whose roles are disappointingly restricted.
Looking back, I can only think of three female character that appeared significantly. One of them appears very little overall. Another is more interesting and somewhat pivotal for the plot, but again, appears comparatively little, and comparatively late in the game.
(Very) Light spoilers follow.
The third, Robin, is one of the main characters. You could make an argument for her being the deuteragonist, but I really don't think that will fly. She is one half of the pair we follow for most of the book, but it's not an equal pairing, and the rest of the cast that we follow (male) are given all the action. Robin really doesn't get any of her own agency throughout the book - she's pushed from one thing to the next, with no real control herself, and, for reasons I won't get into here (read it!), her role in the story is heavily objectified. She's not a bad character, it's just that her role pretty much sucks.
Now, just to be clear here, this didn't stop me from enjoying the book. The book was great. I loved it, and I'm recommending it to all of you if you fancy going on a ridiculous sci-fi tear. Nor is it an indictment of Scalzi - he's known for his fairly vocal support of feminism, and the depiction of women in the book wasn't all that bad. There just aren't enough of them with any decent roles.
I get why Robin's role is what it is - it actually makes a weird kind of sense in the context of the story, which is a topic that is dealt with directly a few times. It's just a shame that she's also the only female character who gets any real 'screen time' in the story. I don't know how that compares with Scalzi's other works, but it needled me throughout.
But don't let that put you off! It's still a great book, and worth reading. This element is the one thing about it that stuck in my craw. Otherwise, pretty much high fun from start to finish.
Fragile Things - Neil Gaiman (2006)
The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern (2011)
The Revolution of Saint Jone - Lorna Mitchell (1988)
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy - John Le Carré (1974)
I Can Make You Hate - Charlie Brooker (2012)
Looking For Jake and Other Stories - China Miéville (2005)
The Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett (1989)
The Bloody Chamber - Angela Carter (1979)
Jobs* - Walter Isaacson (2012)
The Plague - Albert Camus (1947)
Ready Player One* - Ernest Cline (2011)
Slaughterhouse Five - Kurt Vonnegut (1969)
The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ - Phillip Pullman (2010)
Brave New World - Aldous Huxley (1931)
Storm Front* - Jim Butcher (2000)
Anansi Boys - Neil Gaiman (2005)
Fool Moon* - Jim Butcher (2001)
Iron Man: Extremis - Warren Ellis (2006)
Ultimate Thor Vol.1 - Hickman, Pachego & Vines (2010)
How To Eat Out - Giles Coren (2001)
How To Be A Woman - Caitlin Moran (2011)
In The Garden of Beasts* - Erik Larson (2011)
Pirate Cinema - Cory Doctrow (2012)
Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury (1953)
The Long Earth - Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter (2012)
The Illustrated Man* - Ray Bradbury (1951)
The Long War - Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter (2013)
The Player of Games - Iain M Banks (1988)
Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card (1985)
Stardust - Neil Gaiman (1998)
The Knife of Never Letting Go* - Patrick Ness (2008)
The Ocean at the End of the Lane* - Neil Gaiman (2013)
Facing Violence - Sgt. Rory Miller (2011)
The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins (2008)
Terra* - Mitch Benn (2013)
Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins (2009)
Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins (2010)
Fables vol.1: Legends in Exile - Bill Willingham (2002)
Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader - Neil Gaiman (2009)
Feed - M T Anderson (2002)
Oryx & Crake - Margaret Atwood (2003)
Carrie* - Stephen King (1974)
The Android's Dream - John Scalzi (2006)
Currently Reading:
The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman (2008)
The Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula Le Guin (1969)
No comments:
Post a Comment