Category: Reviewed

Crome Yellow — Aldous Huxley

By 5t4n5

Crome Yellow -- Aldous HuxleyI was in my 20’s when i last read this, somewhere between 25 and 30 years ago, and i still think it’s a very good book.

There is, however, a problem with this book: Aldous was very clearly a product of Victorian England and his use of words really reflect this, especially in his early writing, and there are the very occasional racial words/comments used — which i counted twice.

It’s a very awkward place to find oneself, caught between two cultures.   By my standards the use of such language is completely unacceptable, yet, having read a few Victorian books and also post Victorian books, like this, written by those who were educated by Victorians, it is clear that the use of such language was, very much, the standard of the day.

Do we now throw the babies out with the bath water?   Admittedly, by contemporary standards, the bathwater we are dealing with is now considered untreated sewage, but in it’s day it was considered fit for drinking.   I certainly don’t feel that Aldous was, in anyway, being racist and derogatory, but simply using the words and cliches of his day.

As to the rest of the book it is very clearly a satire and critique of England in the early 1920’s and it’s very clear that Aldous was not supporting of many views expressed in this book, but laying bare the thinking and ideas of his day.   If you are interested you can read much more about this on it’s Wiki page.

The interesting thing for me is that just over 5 years ago i spent 3 years living at one of England’s great houses and its huge estate, including parklands, shrubberies, woods, Italian gardens, ponds, lakes, etc., and it certainly made reading about Crome a whole different experience.   Sadly, to be honest, the upper classes, and their sycophants, haven’t really changed much from the attitudes and behaviour satirised and parodied within Crome Yellow.

This book is also, very much, the forerunner to Brave New World, and i would suggest a must read for fans of that book.

Aldous’ Page

#aldoushuxley

The Lollipop Shoes — Joanne Harris

By 5t4n5

The Lollipop Shoes -- Joanne HarrisBook two of the Chocolat series.   I really enjoyed Chocolat. so this is another one of those sequels in the unenviable position of having a lot to live up to.   Did it?   Well, it didn’t do too bad a job.

I would say my only real criticism of it was that it went on for far too long.   Chocolat was a mere 359 pages whereas The Lollipop Shoes is 594 pages, and while reading it one gets the feeling that it could have been trimmed down a fair bit and the story would have benefited.

As i say, that’s my only real criticism.

I certainly enjoyed knowing that there are two further books in this tetralogy, as one can’t be certain how this is going to end.   Is Vianne going to be left high and dry with the further two books dedicated to her fighting back, or is Vianne going to triumph here and now and we’ll move on to some other tale in the next book?   We’re also not even sure who is going to be Vianne at the end of this book as it’s mostly about identity theft and Vianne becoming the target of an identity thieving witch: can chocolate witchery save the day again?

At the end, the only real judgement one can pass on this book is: am i going to read Peaches for Monsieur le Curé?   Not straight away.   As i said, this went on for a bit too long and i have a few other books i’ve been looking forward to reading, but Peaches for Monsieur le Curé is queued up on my Kindle ready to be read at some time in the not too distant future.

Joanne’s Page

#joanneharris

Annabel Scheme and the Adventure of the New Golden Gate — Robin Sloan

By 5t4n5

Annabel Scheme and the Adventure of the New Golden Gate -- Robin SloanI really enjoyed Annabel Scheme and also everything else that Robin has written, so i went into this with very high expectations: sadly, i don’t think it reached them.

While it’s not a bad book and is quite an ok read, it just all felt a bit rushed.

Yes, i know, it was written as a serial article for a newspaper and maybe Robin was hobbled with some level of word count, or maybe Robin was in a rush to get on with other things: i’ve no idea.   What i do have an idea about is that this book just isn’t as good as the original Annabel Scheme book.

But, hey ho, it’s enough to keep us Robin Sloan fans happy for a while and you can at least read it for free in it’s original form at the newspaper’s website.

In the meantime, we keep our fingers crossed for a full length novel coming from Robin soon.

Robin’s Page

#scifi #robinsloan

Good Neighbours — DeAnna Knippling

By 5t4n5

Good Neighbours -- DeAnna KnipplingI really enjoyed this.   A nice captivating little short to fill an hour or so.

In East Smithville the fog is always coming and with it, the Fairies who whisk people away, not to be seen again for years.   This is the story of one such person returning — for a while at least.

I admit to being thoroughly disappointed that it ended, i really wanted it to keep going: away with the Fairies.

Well worth a read of your time and it would be really good if DeAnna came back to East Smithville some time and wrote a few more short stories about people returning.

DeAnna’s Page

#fantasy #fairytale #deannaknippling

A Perfect Moment — DeAnna Knippling

By 5t4n5

A Perfect Moment -- DeAnna KnipplingI revceived this as an ARC from DeAnna to read, comment and review.

As a short story, anthology stocking-filler it does what it’s supposed to.   I was quite happy to read it and wasn’t put off at all but, it doesn’t do much more than that.

As with a lot of these shorts for anthologies, there’s usually a really good idea at their core but the word count to play it out just isn’t available, and i do feel that this is one of those.   There’s a greedy reader part of me that wants this spun out novel length into a temporal food-fight similar to Recursion by Blake Crouch.

DeAnna’s Page

#deannaknippling

Deep Ocean Blues — Yudhanjaya Wijeratne

By 5t4n5

Deep Ocean Blues -- Yudhanjaya WijeratneAn interesting little novella based in a deep ocean thorium mine with a human, an AI and a bunch of OctoPods as workers: OctoPods are cyborg octopuses in case you were wondering.

It mostly explores the same theme as Blade Runner, as in, what is it to be me.

I am left thinking that there’s at least a full length novel in this deep underwater world and the onshore world that supports it and squabbles over the rights.   There’s certainly a lot of interesting space for a novel or three to explore and fill.

Available in 2054 and also to read for free at Yudhanjaya’s website.

Yudhanjaya’s Page

#scifi #cyberpunk #yudhanjayawijeratne

Alice — Julia Crane

By 5t4n5

Alice -- Julia CraneAnother tale from the anthology Once Upon A Curse.

I’ve quite enjoyed the previous tales from this anthology, and was quite looking forward to one that was “Alice and Wonderland” inspired.   Oh my, how utterly disappointed i was.

To begin, you’ll realise when you get to the apparent end of this tale that this is simply the beginning of one of Julia’s books and you’re supposed to be so impressed with this that you go running off to Amazon to buy it.   Julia, and/or the editor of the anthology, should — in the very least — have had the decency to warn the reader of this fact at the beginning of the tale.

It wouldn’t be so bad if this were any good and one was left wanting to go and buy the full story, but it’s an utterly childish love story and one soon finds oneself just wishing it over and done with.   So yes, there’s a part of me that’s very pleased that this is just an excerpt and i was therefore relieved of having to wade through the whole tedious story.

Furthermore, it doesn’t have anything to do with “Alice and Wonderland” other than the protagonist is called Alice and her adoptive mother is referred to as the Red Queen.   It’s an insult to your readers to take a half finished story you had lying around and rename the characters and try and pass it off as a “Alice and Wonderland” tale.

I’m putting this in “The Deleted” even though i can’t delete this as it’s part of an anthology that so far i’ve been enjoying.   But seriously, all “Alice and Wonderland” fans, just avoid this tale if you come across it.

Julia’s Page

#fantasy #aliceinwonderland #juliacrane #whataloadofcrap

Limbo — Aldous Huxley

By 5t4n5

Limbo -- Aldous HuxleyAldous’ first collection of short fiction, consisting of six short stories and a play.

All in all it’s quite a good read and one can see the young Aldous developing his writing.   Admittedly, he is incredibly pompous at times, but one does get the feeling in “Bookshop” that he realises this and that he understands that he needs to tone it down a lot if he wants to get his ideas and thoughts across to the masses.

Definitely a must read for all Aldous fans.

Farcical History of Richard Greenow

A rather interesting look at Dissociative Identity Disorder before and into WWI, where one personality is a conscientious objector while the other is firmly on the side of destroying the Hun with extreme predjudice.   Add to this that Richard’s other personality is female and when she takes over he has complete blackouts and things get a little out of control for him.

Yes folks, just because someone with DID is male does not mean that their other personalities are going to be male also.   It doesn’t work like that.   One’s other personalties are whoever they are and sometimes they will express with different genders to the host.

Superbly written in Aldous’ inimitable style.

Happily Ever After

Set in the years of WWI, Aldous introduces us to two young men, both at war, with completely contrasting views on life.   I think this is Aldous’ way of reminding himself — and all of us — to not get lost in dogmatic ideologies and, instead, to grasp and enjoy the joys of life while you’re young because you never know if today will be your last.

Eupompus Gave Splendour to Art by Numbers

One often gets the impression with Aldous that he liked to show off his classical education: “Oooh, hark at me, i know all these ancient Greek people and things.”

All the pompous whimsy aside, the only thing really being said here is Aldous didn’t much think that meditation was good for a person: “Let’s not count breaths, eh.”

Happy Families

A play.   Very much a thing of its time when it comes to race, displaying Aldous’ Victorian heritage to the full.

Cynthia

A little romance short with Aldous stirring in another good load of the “Oooh, hark at me, i know all these ancient Greek people and things.” that we had in “Eupompus Gave Splendour to Art by Numbers”.

The Bookshop

A short about an impulse purchase all dressed up in a rather lovely piece of descriptive writing.   I felt that the undertones of this was Aldous bemoaning the great unwashed and uncultured, while, at the end, he sees that he can’t escape their influence when surrounded on all sides by them: we’re all in this shit life together.   Our protagonist finally throws his impulse purchase into some bushes.

I find this story very much to have the seed of what Aldous later grew into his life’s work.   The symbolism of the bookshop with its classical music, fashions, art and books; representing education, privilege and wealth; surrounded on all sides by the working classes, poverty and need.   How can one enjoy such fruits when he’s reminded and intruded upon, at every moment, that so many don’t have these things.

The Death of Lully

Lully is an early christian martyr that is rescued on a passing ship.   A well written short but i’m not sure what the message really is.   As a devout non-christian, this kind of thing just turns my brain off.

Aldous’ Page

#aldoushuxley