Expressions – Bhagwad Jal Park

This work was Asimov’s third by publication date in the “Foundation Series” and some interesting concepts are introduced such as the “Hyperspace” idea. Nothing very special about the plot though and the last  twist is totally corny. Asimov apparently thought so too and this was one of his least favorite novels. He was persuaded to write the corny ending by H. L. Gold and never forgave him for it!

The Stars like Dust by Isaac Asimov

But it’s quite a pleasant read nevertheless. The hero is a bit unbelievable as he alternates between extreme childishness and stunning intellect. But other aspects are nicely told with cool explorations in the Horse Head Nebula. Earth’s history has become very foggy at this point – a certain character puts forward the theory that the horse head nebula is so called not because some “Horace Head” was the first to explore it, but because it has the shape of an animal called a “Horse” when viewed from earth (which is actually the case.)

It suddenly occurred to me though that science fiction writers have postulated so many cool advances in technology, not one of them ever dreamed up the Internet! What can it mean? That truth is stranger than fiction? That the Internet is truly one of the greatest advances of mankind?

I’ve started reading the next book in Asimov’s series called “Foundation” and it starts off with an attempt to create a centralized repository of all the galaxy’s knowledge – in other words, the Internet itself! Only Asimov never imagined it to be what it is today.

Getting nicely oriented with Asimov’s universe now…

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Asimov’s “Pebble in the sky” is the first of the Empire novels published chronologically – though not the first in the traditional reading order. Contrary to my expectations, there were no robots, but the book was sufficiently innovative and thought provoking for me to enjoy it immensely.

Without revealing the plot, I can say that the book is set (possibly) hundreds of thousands of years from our present day – a big difference from other star trek like stories where the difference is usually just a few hundreds of years.

Pebble in the Sky by Isaac Asimov

And though our Earth is at the center of the plot, no importance is attached to earth by the rest of the galactic civilization. In fact, it seems that the origins of humans have been lost and no one knows that earth was the origin of modern day humans.

I like such non-anthropocentricity in science fiction writing since it puts things in perspective. Even though I absolutely loved the original “Star Trek” series, I did find its constant focus on the importance of the human race and earth as such galling. I read science fiction to take me out of my comfort zone and widen my thought patterns, not to reiterate standard modes of thought. “Pebble in the sky” does just this.

This is the second Asimov book I’m reading in the “Foundation” series and though it was only a small one in comparison to a full blown novel, it deserves its own post and will contribute to the “Books I have read this year” list!

And though I haven’t read enough Asimov yet to get a full feel of his writing, I really like what I’ve read this far and hope to read a lot more of his work in the future.

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This is a sequel to “The Curse of Chalion” – though calling it a sequel is a bit off since the events in the book, though they take place with some of the same characters, are largely disassociated from those in the first. The main protagonist is a woman called “Ista” who was only a minor character in the first book. In Paladin of Souls, she takes off with her own story line and in my opinion, makes the story even more interesting than the first.

There’s a good bit of demon sorcery involved in “Paladin of Souls” – and some of the scenes remind me a bit of The Exorcist, which is probably the scariest movie I’ve ever seen. Just as in the first book, the five Gods are at the center point of the plot and provide the driving force behind the events. Especially the God called “The Bastard.”

Paladin of Souls

Once again, the book is very different from standard fantasy fare and is unusually, told entirely through the eyes of a single person, just like the first book. This leads to a complete coherent storyline, whereas in works by other authors, the point of view can switch suddenly just in the middle of a juicy plot and really piss you off. And I really appreciate the way the author has given the Gods great powers, but has limited them dramatically at the same time. In many ways, the story deals with concepts of free will and whether or not a person wishes to be a “vessel” for the Gods.

The demonic system is an integral part of the book with detailed insights into how a demon can co-exist with the original soul of the body and who controls whom. In the book, there is a large influx of demons into the world, and “The Bastard” is pretty anxious to get them back into his domain, thereby trying to enlist the help of Ista.

From what I’ve heard, the third book in the series called “The Hallowed Hunt” doesn’t have the same characters as the first two books, and so I don’t think I’ll be reading it. Don’t want to get acquainted with another set of characters – can get rather tiring. So this is the last book I’ll be reading in the Chalion series and it’s been an interesting fantasy set. I highly recommend it to those who’re tired of usual fantasy fiction and are looking for something different.

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For a while, I’ve wanted to read a fantasy book that’s different from all the rest. I’ve noticed that all fantasy novels I’ve read till now (barring His Dark Materials) have some elements that really become cheesy after a while. Among other things, they are:

1. Novels are always set in medieval times
2. Plots revolve around main people getting separated
3. Inordinate focus on swords
4. People spend time traveling on horseback
5. There’s some terrible fate lying over the world

Curse of Chalion Book Review

So I picked up The Curse of Chalion because I had read that it was something different from the usual. And it was. For a change, I saw a hero who didn’t have any super duper powers or potential to be a superman, but was just a well meaning sort of fellow. The Gods however, play a huge role in the book and one of the best aspects was that there was no “Satanic god” or “Dark one” or anything like that. Even the God called “The Bastard” is a benevolent, well meaning chap.

I also really enjoyed the single narrative line of the book. Unlike The Wheel of Time series, the entire book is told through the perspective of one person – the hero (if you want to call him that) Cazaril. There are no swords, no doom threatening the world and only a little bit of separation of the main characters. Instead of focusing on the people, the book focuses on the plot more than anything else and the end result is a very well told story.

A goodish part of the book focuses on Cazaril using his wit and experience of court life to keep his young royal charge safe. He himself is delightfully unassuming and the last thing he wants is to draw attention to himself. The book also espouses the fact that being touched by the Gods isn’t a blessing that it’s made out to be, but rather a burden.

So there’s no great glory for doing the work of God in this world. In fact, you undergo just the slightest touch of madness.

I’ll be reading the sequel next called Paladin of Souls next, and I expect it to be as good as the first. In any case, I’ll write a review on it when I finish it!

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I’ve decided to read all of Isaac Asimov’s books, and having read the first one I, Robot, I’m very glad I did so. This is his first book in his “Foundation Series” and is a set of short stories narrated by a “Robopsychologist” called Susan Calvin.

Just for the record, the book has nothing to do with the movie I, Robot starring Will Smith. The movie is an interesting take on the interpretation of the three laws, but there’s absolutely no similarity with the book, since the book is composed of a number of short stories.

I Robot by Isaac Asimov

It’s here we’re first introduced to the famous three laws of robotics:

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey any orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

Each short story examines various facets of the interaction between humans and robots through an interesting storyline. I don’t mind admitting that the reason I’m reading Asimov is because of his reputation for not having any “literary style.” In other words, he comes straight to the point and doesn’t bother himself with too much “artiness.” This is reflected in the short stories in I, Robot, each of which is riveting and the reader never gets bored for a moment.

Some of the stories such as “Reason”, where a robot refuses to believe it was created by humans and “Robbie” which is a touching story about a little girl’s attachment to her robot are simply splendid. Some of them really move you and expose you to new situations. With this book, I’m beginning to see why Isaac Asimov is such a great writer!

Moving on to the other books in the foundations series now!

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I’ve been reading books all my life and have encountered many different sorts. But I’ve never read a book that I so throughly enjoyed without being able to explain why. To put it simply, it’s the story of a person named Philip from the age of nine on to when he’s thirty. It’s the first book I have read that so completely explains the story of a person and all his inner thoughts.

I find “Of Human Bondage” exceptional in that the author is extraordinarily frank. It’s not difficult to see that he’s taken a lot of material from his own life. Only a person who has experienced it can write the way he does.  And while you’re exposed to Philip’s thoughts, you cringe because you realize that you sometimes react in exactly the same way. Philip is all too believable. He does some smart things, and some stupid things and you can see his yearnings and struggles for understanding the meaning of life.

Of Human Bondage by Somerset Maugham

You really begin to care for Philip and how he’s going to end up. There are many small plots within the whole life story just as with any other life. This is one book that is thoroughly real and insightful.

Somerset Maugham doesn’t make use of story devices that other authors do. There is just one frame of reference throughout this very long book – and that is Philip’s. There’s no jumping around in the Chronology. Each chapter blends into the one before it. It’s the simple telling of Philip’s life, and I’ve never been so completely interested in a stranger’s doings. It goes to show that even the most outwardly dull chap leads a rich inner life which anyone would be interested to know about in detail – if it’s told with utmost frankness. In this case, Maugham couldn’t have been more open than if he was writing in his personal diary.

There are many truly exceptional characters in this book, and there are parts of it that will resonate with everyone. For example, Philip’s obsession with Mildred will explain the contradictory nature of falling in love with a person you truly dislike. His disenchantment with religion is another aspect of his life that many will empathize with, just as they would understand his simple and utter faith earlier in his childhood.

Somerset’s vocabulary is excellent and some of the words he uses are ones I’ve met for the first time. It’s a good thing I had my Kindle with me so I could look up their meanings then and there!

This is one of the most powerful books I’ve ever read. And I’m not very sure why. After finishing it, I feel as if I’ve gone through quite an emotional experience. I haven’t read Maugham’s other books, but on the strength of this one, I would say that his understanding of human nature is in the league of Dostoevsky, Balzac, and Tolstoy. A must read for any person interested in reading books in the English language.

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A while ago, I reviewed Wizard’s First Rule and later decided to read the whole series by Terry Goodkind. While there were some good points to it, I have no hesitation in saying that the latter half was predominantly bad. Now that all eleven books are over, I can pronounce my judgment. Unlike the Wheel of Time, I’m going to start with the bad since it stands out so much. In case you’re wondering why I went through and read eleven books, it’s because once you read the first 4 books, you have to know what happens!

Note: No specific spoilers here, but only a general commentary on the series.

The Ugly

Several things bug me about this series. One of them is that each book makes use of the same themes over and over again. For example, Terry Goodkind seems to be completely obsessed with people getting captured. In the course of the series, every single good guy has been rendered helpless in the hands of the enemy at least once, and many of them more than once. Each book contains people getting captured and then escaping. I’ve lost count of how many times the main protagonist (Richard) has been rendered helpless by someone or the other.

Sword of Truth - Eleven Books

Also, Richard is somehow or the other deliberately crippled in each of the books. Either he gets debilitating headaches, or he’s prevented from using his gift (or forbidden from doing so), or he’s losing his magic or whatever. As a result, we never get to see him at his full potential as a war wizard.

And what’s with everyone being tired? I mean does no one sleep in the books? Whenever we see Richard, we hear about how he hasn’t slept well for weeks – or any of the main protagonists for that matter (Zedd is the only exception. He’s my favorite character). Another means by which Goodkind incapacitates his heroes. They’re always hungry or tired.

The next huge issue is the love story between Richard and Kahlan. Ok they’re in love. We GET IT! They behave like lovestruck teenagers. Whenever Kahlan isn’t present, Richard loses all capacity for thought and the world can go to hell. It’s sick. He doesn’t behave like an adult, but some moonstruck juvenile. Kahlan is a little (just about) better. At least she can operate cogently without Richard being around. Every book in the Sword of Truth series has to have at least one mandatory separation of Richard and Kahlan. Every single book. The two are so boring together that Goodkind is forced to pry them apart and thus provide the motivation for Richard to get off his butt and do something. Sometimes it seems that it’s the only thing that works.

Richard is supposed to be the most powerful wizard in 3,000 years and a war wizard to boot, and even at the end of the book, he still doesn’t know how to use his powers. Time and time again he gets an opportunity to learn about them from his Grandfather Zedd who’s the First Wizard of the land, and each time he throws away the opportunity – and for what? Yep – that’s right. To spend time with Kahlan. He doesn’t care that if he doesn’t learn, his gift will kill him. He just wants to be alone with Kahlan. But then hey! If he learns how to use his powers, he can actually ward off the threat from every Tom Dick and Harry who captures him! And we can’t have that can we? How will he get the motivation to rejoin Kahlan then hmm?

Just once in the series, he gets his wet dream. Kahlan is injured and she recuperates with him in a forest where it’s just the two of them. If it wasn’t for a nice evil sorceress who stole Richard away, he’d still be cuddling with her in his wooden shack in isolation. A pathetic hero to say the least.

I’ve saved the worst for the last. After the fifth book or so Richard who’s supposed to be the Seeker of Truth, mutates into the Preacher of Truth. Pages and pages (and pages) of the books are devoted to long winded black and white monologues by Richard who suddenly gets a Christ complex. The funniest part is that after dozens of pages of monologue, his listeners instead of going to sleep or throwing a rotten egg at him, stroke their chins and say “Y’know? I wish I had thought of that!” As if you can change a person’s entire nature by just boring them to death. I mean who talks like that? Goodkind tries to stuff his sickeningly righteous Ayn Rand bullshit down the throats of his readers over and over again. And then he does it again for good measure. Richard, who’s originally a nice sort of guy becomes this holier than thou – Oh I’m so wise and all knowing – jerk.

One final aspect of the entire series. What’s up with Richard losing his sword all the time? I mean I know that Goodkind has to do his usual thing of incapacitating his hero again and again, but why even bother to link the sword to Richard if just about anyone can take it and use it? Richard is separated from his sword over and over again (and Zedd even castigates him for it) – makes him seem careless you know what I mean?

Also, the whole Sisters of the Light concept was a knockoff of Robert Jordan’s Aes Sedai – complete with Sisters of the Dark resembling the Black Ajah.

The villains in the books also seem to be blessed with good luck. Somehow, the main evil guy (Jagang) repeatedly gets his hand on the rarest books in existence when they’ve been sitting right under the noses of the good guys all along. I mean his luck is simply unbelievable. All the books have a theme where things are going really really bad for the good guys and then in the last 100 pages or so, Richard the Preacher of Truth saves everyone with some jiggery pokery.

The Good

There are several really nice interesting characters in the book. They provide a refreshing break from the two main boring ones. Zedd, the First Wizard and Richard’s grandfather is the most entertaining, powerful and nicest old man in the series. Adie, the blind sorceress is an excellent complement. Nathan the powerful 1000 year old prophet is also a commanding character, but he doesn’t get much onscreen time unfortunately.

For me, the best concept was a set of scary guards called the Mord Sith. Fantastic addition. They really gave the entire series a breath of fresh air.

The villains were quite decent, though not as good as the one in Runelords (The villain called Darken Rahl however, was the match of Raj Ahten). I wish there were more good things to say about the books. I really do. After all, I spent a lot of time reading all eleven books. But I don’t feel sad that it’s over – unlike with the Wheel of Time series, or Runelords. I just feel relieved.

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So I decided to plunge into Anne Rice’s world of vampires once again. I felt I had to get those stupid wimpy Twilight vampires that sparkle in the sun out of my head! Of course, I was a bit wary after her last book “Memnoch the Devil” began to show her increasingly christian themes which I didn’t care about.

But Armand has always been such a mysterious figure for me that I thought it would be real neat to find out more about him. And overall I wasn’t disappointed. Lots about the supercool and ancient Marius as well as some nice reunions with old friends like Louis, Pandora and David (Lestat is in some kind of stupor on the floor throughout). But there was also a lot of the heavy christian stuff as well. Not very surprising in this book given Armand’s initial christian upbringing.

Image Credit: endovalswhisper.blogspot.com

Armand - A Devil in an Angel's skin

I found myself glazing over large tracts of text about jesus and god and about how he loved everyone – blah blah. Get to the cool vampiric stuff already! But as I said, we find out all about Armand and his relations with Marius – including sexual ones. Oh didn’t I mention that? There’s sex. Lots of it- and explicit. With Armand being at the center of it all. He coolly frolics with men and women alike showing no particular preference for one over the other. Marius of course, being a vampire can’t screw in the traditional way but there are plenty of kisses, as well as handjobs and (not so subtly) implied blowjobs.

But it’s all done very artistically in Anne Rice’s impeccable style. It’s very refined and naturally we can’t imagine Marius being coarse. He finds Armand irresistible, as does everyone else apparently and Armand is mightily pleased about the whole situation.

So if you’re comfortable with skipping over tedious christian themes, and you want read more about Rice’s awesome vampires, then get a hold of this book. Lots of succulent backstory that you would no doubt be thirsting for (no pun intended) after finishing her big trio – “Interview with a Vampire”, “The Vampire Lestat” and “Queen of the Damned.”

Oh and one more thing – those who’ve seen the movie “Queen of the Damned”, please please forget it. The book is nothing like it. The movie is quite simply pathetic and my wife and I almost puked while watching it. “Don’t judge a book by its movie” seems to be the latest mantra these days, and it applies in this case particularly well.

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I have to admit I’m embarrassed to be reading a book with such a clichéd title. I mean the whole idea of a magic sword is so passé, it reminds me of He-Man. But let’s face it – almost all epic fantasy novels are set in a middle ages atmosphere and the attraction of a special sword can be too powerful to resist.

Wizard’s First Rule by Terry Goodkind is the first book in the Sword of Truth series and my feelings about the book are mixed. I don’t know if I’m going to move onto the next one or not. There’s something missing for me that I can’t quite put my finger on. I think it has to do with the fact that I don’t really care about the characters in the book. The only really interesting ones are the bad guys who engage in some pretty unusual practices to say the least.

Wizard's First Rule - Sword of Truth Series

There are a few new concepts that I kind of liked, but really not as much as the “endowment” logic in the Runelords series or the Saidar/Saidin concept in the Wheel of Time. In those two, the magic system is just that – a system. So far in the Sword of Truth series, there’s not much logic to how magic works. It’s haphazard and things become possible as and when the plot dictates it must.

Also, unlike the Wheel of Time and the Runelords series, I’m not really keen to find out what happens to the hero. Perhaps the problem is that I don’t really feel the sense of destiny that characterized the protagonists in the other two despite late references to “prophecies”. Another problem may be that he has things a little too easy. He has a tutor right from the word “go”, and the realization that he’s more than just the sword he carries comes a little too late.

It also pisses me off when close friends in the story keep vital secrets from each other for ridiculous reasons. This is a flaw shared by other series’s too by the way. People must tell each other everything. Only then is it believable. I’ve decided to read an “in-between” book before I determine whether or not to read the second book in the series. Let’s see how I feel about it then. I might give the series another chance and see if I start caring more.

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The latest book in the Wheel of Time series is a mixed bag of success. Brandon Sanderson seems to have picked up nicely from where Robert Jordan left off, but at the same time, he seems to have inherited his weakness for dithering. Don’t get me wrong – there’s a lot of action in this book, but the actual plot advancement is limited to just two or three steps.

It makes me feel there was no need to break down “A memory of light” into three books. With the amount of filler material in this book, I think perhaps a single mammoth work would have easily taken care of the remaining events.

The Gathering Storm

I won’t spoil the plot for readers here, but I can give the storylines which have important action in them. At the end of the book, only the two following characters have advanced:

1. Egwene’s storyline moves forward one notch
2. Rand is no closer to Tarmon Gaidon though one or two interesting things happen to him

While this rate of progress is nothing unusual for Robert Jordan (perhaps even more exciting than some of his later books), I was expecting more advancement of the storyline from Sanderson. There are some characters who are completely missing (though that can be a good thing – the last thing I want to hear about is Elayne) but the last battle is still nowhere in sight. This series has been going on for 20 years now and I would really like to wind it up…

The book started slowly. It failed to live up to the promise of the prologue which showed some people getting off their asses and actually moving towards the field of the last battle. And while the book features some very memorable scenes, I feel like a person who’s got down from a merry-go-round not far from where he got on. I’m breathless, but still in the same place more or less.

Oh well, I’m committed to the series now and can’t turn back. Two more books to go and two more years to wait. My only consolation is the promise of it all ending at the completion of that time. So there must be something that happens in those two remaining books!

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