science fiction - Kate Degelau-Pierce

Action books need action

What’s it about?
Armada is about a kid named Zach. A kid with anger issues. A kid with a missing father. A kid who likes to play video games. And then he sees one of the video game ships in the sky outside his classroom. Then things get weird.

Why should you read it?
I don’t know, really. I’ve fallen out of love with science fiction lately, which is part of the problem. But the other part of the problem is that I was on page 100 and I felt like the story hadn’t started yet. We were still being introduced to characters and the world was still being built. Zach had seen the video game spaceship. But NOTHING had happened as a consequence of it. NOTHING. So I put it down.

And that’s ok. I’m still convincing myself that, no really, it is ok to not finish a book I started. In fact, not finishing a book I’m not enjoying or learning from is a good thing.

Adventure story

What’s it about?
There was once a man named James Halliday. He liked D&D, then he learned to code, and he and his best friend Ogden started a video game company. They eventually created an immersive VR called Oasis – a place to escape the real world. The real world kind of sucked, so everyone and everything moved into Oasis. James and Ogden became multi-billionaires. Eventually, James dies and starts a game (via his last will & testament) to find an easter egg that he left behind. The first person to find the easter egg will be his will’s beneficiary – they will get all his stuff and all his money. Including his half of the video game company. Parzival – the main character of the book – wants to win. So do a lot of other people.

Why should you read it?
There’s a lot to like about Ready Player One: the constant homage to 80s culture, the quest (I love a good quest), the dystopia that you can totally understand how we got there.* I like that it explores ideas about how slipping into a digital world removes you from the physical world. I do find the idea that life is a game to be won a bit disturbing – winning the quest means money and power. To get all hippy-y, life is necessarily about the journey – it’s about where you go and who you meet and some of what you do, but it’s not about amassing wealth and power. That’s in the book somewhat.

But overall, it’s a fun adventure that was a good story to read on vacation.

* As much as I enjoy Hunger Games, I do not understand how the US gets into a place where that society functions. It seems inherently unstable.

Another Sci Fi Classic

What’s it about?
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is an absurdist take on the end of the world. It’s also a sci-fi classic. There’s been a movie version and a radio play. The second and third books in the series were good, the fourth book was decent, and the fifth one is eminently skippable. But those aren’t this book. This book is about Arthur Dent. His house gets torn down and then the Earth gets blown up. His friend Ford turns out to be an alien who can help him get off the planet seconds before the disaster. They end up having a big adventure, heading off to a planet that builds other planets – Magrathea. There’s also a depressed robot. You know, for laughs.

Why should you read it?
I’ve read THGTTG so many times, I can’t articulate anymore what makes it good. I can tell you that this time we listened to it. We were road-tripping to Yosemite for a vacation, and I found an audiobook version read by Douglas Adams himself. I grabbed it, figuring my eleven-year-old was ready. She thought it was weird and funny, and promptly grabbed the book off the shelf when we got home. (This is a parenting win, in my book.) The tale is a classic, and the author did a wonderful job reading it.

This book is a brain worm

What’s it about?
Station Eleven is three stories in one. It follows the lives of three people, before, during, and after a plague – the Georgia Flu – kills 99% of the people on earth. (Georgia the former Soviet Republic, not Georgia the state.) The pre-plague storyline follows an actor as he gets famous, and one of his wives. The during-the-plague story follows the paramedic who tries to save the actor who has a heart attack on stage the night the plague breaks out. The post-plague story follows the child actor who was on stage with the actor that night. It takes place 20 years after the Collapse (as it’s known in the book).

Why should you read it?
I can’t stop thinking about Station Eleven. I finished it almost a week ago, and the characters are with me. I think about Miranda, who wanted to be an artist; I think about Clark, with his museum; I think about the Frenchman stranded in Michigan starting a newspaper; I think about the lack of entertainment and information; I think about how tough Kirsten is; I think about Jeevan stockpiling food as fast as he can; I cannot stop thinking about becoming a survivalist – what if a flu came that killed people in 24 hours. How fast would it spread? Could I survive? What would life be like afterwards? How would we all react? There’s a scene where a person finds a group of people living in an airport. He starts crying, they ask him why. “Because I thought I was the only one.” It breaks my heart thinking about it. If I could give a copy of Station Eleven to everyone I know, I would. It’s that good.

(Un)necessary sequel

What’s it about?
Split Second is a sequel to Pivot Point. Which means that it’s about the choice that Addie makes in Pivot Point and its fallout. It’s also about her best friend, Laila. It finally makes her into a full character with quirks and foibles instead of just a good-hearted rebel. Also, the author begins to dip her toes into exploring some of the more societal questions when you live in a world where everyone can manipulate everyone else’s perceptions. What is real? How could “reality” be used and abused by those in power?

Should you read it?
Yes, if you want to get closure on Addie’s & Trevor’s relationship, and if you want to see Laila become a full person – she’s pretty awesome. The world-building political questions kind of felt like they were explored because the author thought she should instead of really wanting to. If that makes sense. It was an ok book, not particularly good or bad. That’s ok too – I enjoyed what it delivered. I am glad there’s not a third book. I don’t think the story could be stretched that far.

World building without a point

What’s it about?
I’m mildly embarrassed to like Pivot Point. The premise is that a group of people with special mental powers – think telekinesis or mind-erasing or healing – exist. They live in a special compound by choice, where life is better for them than for the Norms outside. (I know.) Addie, our heroine, has to make a choice when her parents divorce: will she stay in the compound with her mother, or go out into the real world with her dad? Luckily, her ability is to Search – to go down two different paths in her head to see how everything will play out, depending on who she chooses. The book alternates between the two plot lines, eventually coming back to the beginning of the story once she’s seen her choices play out.

Should you read it?
Maybe? It’s not as interesting as it could be – I mean, keeping the mentally gifted in a compound? By whose choice? How does that come about? And if you can manipulate the world around you with your mind, do you ever experience the real world? If others can manipulate the world around you, how do you ever know what’s real? There are a lot of issues to explore, but Pivot Point concentrates on the romance. Seriously. It’s a fun book, but the world could lead to way more interesting stories/ideas.