Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Peter and Wendy by J.M. Barrie

This book was a delightful surprise. I'd heard that the original Peter Pan novel was very different from the Disney-fied version. Nevertheless, I was not expecting this delightfully quirky and satirical story. This Peter Pan is a timeless being, a boy who rejects with disdain all things from the grown-up work, preferring to live in a world of make-believe: Neverland.

Neverland in this story is the imaginary world of childrens' play time brought to life, where boys and girls can talk with animals, have make-believe meals that last them days, and can wage war and actually kill pirates with little consequence. The "lost boys" who live there with Peter Pan seem partially aware that all is not completely as it seems, but for Pan this is his preferred world. The story is told with sarcasm and wit. It was a blast to read, and often left me shaking my head and grinning in delight.

Monday, January 30, 2017

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

This story takes place a generation after the events in the Deathly Hallows.  I enjoyed the opportunity to dive back in with these characters and see what kinds of people they have become as adults. And the core new characters, Harry's son Albus and Draco's son Scorpius, are well-realized characters that probably have enough to them to support another series (if they can find appropriate antagonists). The story is excellent, and manages to explore both the new child characters and the adult versions of the original characters. It asks some interesting questions, such as how important small acts can be in determining a person's fate.

That said, the execution of the story wasn't quite on the level of J.K. Rowling's solo works. While plays are certainly meant to be seen and not read, there were a few too many moments that seemed to be going for a chuckle or audience applause, and yet didn't do a good job of moving the story along or fitting in with the themes of the world. Nevertheless, it's a fast and enjoyable read, and is pretty satisfying given that it is the last tale we're likely to ever get of Harry Potter and his close friends.

Sunday, January 29, 2017

Downbelow Station

Downbelow Station featured an incredibly well-built future universe, ripe with intrigue. I found the pacing to be excellent throughout--even the opening chapter, which, despite reading like a history book, was fascinating in its innovative take on the economics of humankind's expansion. I loved the emphasis on realism throughout the setting. While there were a few key technological marvels, like jump drives, there were limitations as well. Sensors, for example, became ineffective at high speeds, making ship-to-ship combat reminiscent of scenes from submarine novels as crew struggled to find the location of other vessels. Ship-based gravity still depended on centrifugal motion (no mass effect technology here!), and disruptions to course or rotation were physically jarring to crews. Similarly, while much of the book focused on life on a space station, the major challenges were often very basic: food, water, shelter, and the dangers of riots and anarchy.

Generally, it was just a great book. The characters were vivid and deep. The story was full of unexpected twists and turns, and yet managed to avoid even a hint of contrivance, at least in my view. The writing style was a bit harsh and conversational, and leaned heavily on sentence fragments for drama. Furthermore, the author doesn't always spell out the characters' intentions. Usually, this was done to positive effect, but sometimes it resulted in confusing passages. The overall narrative was just so compelling, though, that moments like this were short-lived and quickly forgotten.