Review Category: Books

What if everything we know about physics is wrong?

The book opens during the bloody Chinese Cultural Revolution where academics are murdered for being part of the ruling, corrupt bourgeoisie. Similarly, the revolutionaries are also horrifically killed, their mutilated bodies serving as warnings to others. Student Ye Wenjie watches as her brainwashed revolutionary mother calls for the brutal, public execution of her physicist father and is stunned into silence and a quiet determination to make the world a better place. Later, young and naïve, she is set up as a subversive after a copy of call-to-environmental-action book Silent Spring is found under her pillow. She is sent to work on a secret military project on the mountain side where trees are dying around the site.

From this opening, the book skips forward several decades to a series of unexplained suicides of brilliant scientists – one of whom includes Ye Wenjie’s adult daughter Yang Dong. This issue pulls in nanotech engineer Wang Miao, who reluctantly, but quickly, becomes embroiled in something bigger than a crime case – one that seems to rest on a mysterious computer game, The 3Body Problem.

The three-body problem is the actual science that underpins the book: this is concerned with the orbits of a planet, its satellite, and a star, and the effect that a physical force (gravity) has on the velocity and movement of these bodies. This is translated into a popular, complex virtual reality game that has garnered a cult following across the world. Those who complete the seemingly impossible first level are invited to secret meetings with others who have mastered the game. Wang Miao is drawn into this group, spending hours on perfecting his technique, although remaining a sceptical player.

However, the purpose of the game is darker than it seems as Wang Miao discovers during his immersion into the game. He is thrust into a shady conspiracy where he is unsure who to trust and no one is what, or who, they seem; from ageing scientist Ye Wenjie with her turbulant, tragic past, to plain-talking, idiosyncratic “tough, no nonsense” cop Da Shi. Mirroring the opening of the novel, factions have begun to form and Wang Miao has to choose which side he is on.

The novel is ambitious – culturally, geographically, and temporally – and it posits questions on scientific and spiritual dogma while preparing the ground for an event that will change the world. It’s a stunning, high-concept, rollercoaster of a novel which offers an intriguing Eastern perspective and a truly 21st century take on immersive virtual reality games.

Nominated for the Nebula Award in 2014 and winner of ‘Best Novel’ in this year’s prestigious Hugo Awards, The Three Body Problem is the first book in the Remembrance of Earth’s Past trilogy. The Dark Forest – the second translated book – is out now, and the third – Death’s End – is out early next year with a film due to be released in July 2016. This is a trilogy which, like Asimov’s Foundation epic, looks set to quickly become an essential science fiction classic.

THE THREE-BODY PROBLEM / AUTHOR: CIXIN LIU / TRANSLATOR: KEN LIU / PUBLISHER: HEAD OF ZEUS / RELEASE DATE: DECEMBER 3RD

 

Essentially a making-of featurette in book form, Sleepy Hollow: Creating Heroes, Demons and Monsters takes us behind the scenes of the joyfully mental supernatural TV series, showcasing the characters and creatures that populate it, and several of the more significant settings.

With most of the monsters featured in the show being one-shot villains (and some with mere minutes of screen time) it can be easy to miss the detail that went into crafting each of them. Here, the inspirations behind each creature and the intricacies of their design are presented in loving detail, with just as much thought and consideration given to the more ‘human’ antagonists such as the Weeping Lady or the Succubus as the most hideous of the monsters such as the Pied Piper or the Wendigo. More of a personal connection is granted by regular quotations from a number of the show’s technical crew, principally costume designer Kristin Burke, makeup department head Corey Castellano and VFX supervisor Jason Michael Zimmerman, although some longer isolated quotations are printed in an overly-elegant copperplate font that’s difficult to read easily.

There are also similar detailed rundowns relating the conceptual histories of almost all the featured characters (certain areas of the fandom may bemoan the absence of a section on the roguish Hawley), detailing how each of them has developed from their original inception to initial on-screen realisation and occasional alteration due to fan reaction.

The book is very image-heavy, incorporating hundreds of photos, sketches, storyboards, blueprints and pieces of concept art, all serving to illustrate the various stages of each design’s formation. Some descriptions include insight into creative decisions such as the costumes sometimes staying as close to historical accuracy as possible and other times being wilfully ignored for the sake of practicality or visual aesthetics, which may pacify those with enough knowledge to pick up on the occasional anachronism. Also included are some side by side comparisons of the various stages of CGI composition like the resurrection of the witch Serilda in Blood Moon, the animation of Henry’s armoured avatar in This Is War or Irving’s vision of an apocalyptic future in Go Where I Send Thee.

With such short and specific sections, the book is easy to dip in and out of, and might actually be advisable as it gets a little repetitive if read in a single sitting. A few spoilers crop up here and there, so you may want to finish watching the second season before diving in, but in all honesty if you’re someone interested in a book like this then you’ve probably watched the entire thing at least twice by now already.

SLEEPY HOLLOW: CREATING HEROES, DEMONS AND MONSTERS / AUTHOR: TARA BENNETT, PAUL TERRY / PUBLISHER: TITAN BOOKS / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Second books can be difficult things. We rather liked Ed Cox’s first book, The Relic Guild, which was crammed full of action and had an endearing rambling style that made it hard to put down. The Cathedral of Known Things is the sequel and it handles the curse of the follow-up quite well by being both more of the same whilst being filled with fresh ideas at the same time.

For a start, it’s still a blend of horror, fantasy and civilised steampunk adventure. It’s also quite a bit more cinematic than the first book. Last time we saw The Relic Guild, it was obvious that their lives were going to get worse before they get better. Thrown together by fate, this broken but still strong team of freaks and weirdos find themselves having to do the right thing yet again.

Cox has taken the time to explore both the world and his characters with this sequel. The Guild is part typical fantasy adventuring party and partially a superhero team, and this time round we get to learn more about what makes them tick. Not only do we discover more about the heroes, but the scenery-chewing bad guys also get to have their own backstory as well. Add on top the gentle bringing together of existing storylines and some rather entertaining self-discoveries by the main characters, and what we have here is an excellent middle book.

The Cathedral of Known Things is, very much so, the second bit of a longer story; starting in the middle is a truly terrible idea. Cox spent ages in the first book making you like the damned characters; in the second book it’s simply assumed we know enough about the heroes to care. For those of us already invested, this is a very good thing. The Cathedral of Known Things leaves us wanting more. Roll on the third part of this trilogy, the sooner the better.

THE CATHEDRAL OF KNOWN THINGS / AUTHOR: ED COX / PUBLISHER: GOLLANCZ / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

 

Unless you’ve been hiding in a mysteriously isolated desert town for the last few years, you’ll have at least have heard of Welcome to Night Vale; the creepy radio show-style podcast that tells creepy, Lovecraft-like stories. Over the various episodes, the show developed its own in-jokes, characters and setting. From the Mayor’s not-so-secret police, to the terrifying Librarians and mysterious Glow Cold monster (which sits on the School council), Night Vale has a legion of fans and the internet is filled with tributes and praise of the show so far.

So it is with some hesitation that we approached the Welcome to Night Vale novel. The podcast uses clever storytelling tricks and the smooth voice of Cecil Baldwin to have a real impact. Luckily, the novel proves that the crucial element to the show is Jospeh Finks’s writing. Because the book is really good.

Fink takes the opportunity to step outside the format of the show; for once we aren’t stuck in a mysterious radio station listening to one man slowly going insane. Instead we meet Jackie Fierro, a young pawn shop owner who acquires an unusual curse, and the Crayton family, who seem doomed to repeat the past. To dive into finer details would be to be to spoil it all; Night Vale is deliberately and methodically weird, and the strangeness leaks out on every page. This is an insight into trying to live normally in a reality that has gone horrifically wrong.

The result is a charming and dark work of horror. It’s also quite dense; Fink has packed this novel with every spare idea and thought he can muster, and a lot of it ties into the show. If you’re new to Night Vale you’re going to find this hard (but rewarding) work.

This novel is a shout-out to the fans as well as a treat for horror fans who like their books strange and challenging. Casual readers will find it tricky to get in to, but once you’ve got there you will find it very hard to leave. You may never do so.

WELCOME TO NIGHT VALE: A NOVEL / AUTHOR: JOSEPH FINK, JEFFREY CRANOR / PUBLISHER: ORBIT / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

 

Ghetto Klown is a curious book. In fact, in many ways it isn’t a book at all. Think of it more as a graphic novel where the content is the script from a one-man show. Throw in some showbiz anecdotes, a fair bit of personal angst and bring together with a huge amount of comedy and you’ll have something akin to Ghetto Klown. And even that doesn’t quite cover it.

For many people, John Leguizamo will always be a supporting actor from films they like, and someone who they will always recognise but may sometimes struggle to remember his name. He has appeared in over 100 films, from Carlitto’s Way and Romeo + Juliet to Ice Age and Chef, but it is on the stage where he truly belongs. Ghetto Klown is the graphic novelisation of his highly regarded show, and is at times a blunt and unforgiving appraisal of his own life and that of his family and friends. Autobiographical to a fault, but with much of the day-to-day mundanity removed, this is a witty, engaging and cringe-inducing account delivered without a hint of irony and no discernible filter. This inherent self-awareness is what makes this the entertaining read that it is, and makes it a book you will come back to time and again.

Written like a hip hop journal from the dark streets of Hollywood, Leguizamo reveals himself to be a character far more interesting than any he has portrayed on screen. Unflinchingly honest, Ghetto Klown is fascinating and funny in equal parts, and Leguizamo is an entertaining author. Whether you consider it to be a coffee table book or a graphic autobiography, it is a fantastic read and one to buy for yourself or give to a friend; then borrow.

GHETTO KLOWN / AUTHOR: JOHN LEGUIZAMO / ARTIST: CHRISTA CASSANO, SHAMUS BEYALE / PUBLISHER: HARRY N. ADAMS / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

 

With the re-release of this novella, readers can see how Jack London joined the legion of people who got things so wrong when it came to predicting the future. Able to foresee worldwide devastation and crisis as a result of diseases, he didn’t quite realise that humanity would invent a suit designed to protect against germs and viruses. In his world, the ‘Red Death’ plague swept through the world in 2013, and the story takes place in 2073 when the last survivor of those times is telling his tale.

It must get tiring to live in the post-apocalyptic era. It was certainly tiring reading this novella wherein the same things happen again and again with apparently the same degree of surprise each time (this plague that has killed literally billions of people has claimed yet another victim? Surely not!). For example, as the former professor describes his escape from the plague he relates an incident in which a doctor decides to stay with his wife to see her to the next life in comfort. This would be fine (lovely, even) but this is not exactly a rare event in the book.

There are good aspects to the book, of course, or it wouldn’t be worth bringing it back into print. The descriptions here are very well done and do really help the reader in visualising how the world looks 60 years from now (it also helps that there are little macabre illustrations throughout). The standout section of the book is easily the chilling part where the old man recalls how he watched a love interest viciously beaten and enslaved because he was not strong enough to stand up for her.

But whether the story itself is effective for the reader depends on if you agree with his vision of a post-apocalyptic humanity. Part of the entire point is how Homo sapiens would degrade very quickly after such a catastrophe. If you don’t agree with his dim view then it might fall a little flat for you.

Though London does manage great descriptions, and there is a lot to be said for the historical curiosity of reading one of the first ‘last man on Earth’ stories as we know them today, ultimately this has long since been beaten by any number of books or films. Probably not worth your time.

THE SCARLET PLAGUE / AUTHOR: JACK LONDON / PUBLISHER: CREATESPACE INDEPENDENT PUBLISHING PLATFORM / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

 

Released as a freebie with the novel Mutually Assured Domination, Andy Frankham-Allen’s The Dogs of War is a short (40-page) story for Lethbridge-Stewart, set almost immediately after the events of The Beast of Fang Rock. If you haven’t read that story, not to worry as this short story is entirely self-contained.

Dogs of War provides more pieces for the story of how UNIT was formed and the future Brigadier’s role. It does this by joining to another piece of Doctor Who continuity by having Lethbridge-Stewart meet the character of Ian ‘Chunky’ Gilmore. Gilmore originally appeared in the seventh Doctor story Remembrance of the Daleks and this story sets out a little of the difficulty of pinning down a time traveller in normal chronology. The story has the approval of Remembrance writer Ben Aaronovitch and then script editor Andrew Cartmel.

Of interest as well is the careful way the story edges around a whole piece of Big Finish continuity; the character of Gilmore (along with other from Remembrance) has appeared in four boxsets in the Big Finish Counter Measures range. While this story doesn’t crash the Counter Measures range, it does put some stakes in the ground as to what might happen in future releases.

As to the story itself, it has a good mix of chances for Lethbridge-Stewart to reflect on his developing situation and action sequences (the dogs of the story’s title being relevant here). The relationship between Lethbridge-Stewart and Gilmore is convincing and enjoyable and this is a good addition to this range of titles from Candy Jar Books.

Dogs of War is a worthy accompaniment to Mutally Assured Domination and a good read in its own right.

THE DOGS OF WAR / AUTHOR: ANDY FRANKHAM-ALLEN / PUBLISHER: CANDY JAR BOOKS / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW