Novel Review - Catch-22

Day 06: A book that makes you sad

This is part of a 30 day book review challnge thing. You can read my rather glib introduction here.

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Meet one of my favourite books of all time everybody. Catch-22 is a book that needs little introduction, a modern classic really unlike anything else I've come across. It has a bold, mad premise: war is so nonsensical and tragic that it's funny. Is the laughter a catharctic attempt to reconcile the horrors, or a depressed cry for help? Is this a parody, a satire or just outright dispair in prose form?

Meet Yossarian, an American pilot stationed in Italy during the Second World War. He's surrounded by madmen, dangerous all of them, and for some reason everyone wants to kill him. With the few allies in the camp he's trying to find some way to get grounded, some way to stop flying. Theoretically, after a certain amount of flights pilots don't have to fly anymore, but the top brass keeps increasing the number to make themselves look good. There is another option: if a man is not healthy enough to fly, then he is to be grounded. Only, there's a catch.

The Catch-22 is an insiduous thing. Anyone who flies is insane, therefore obviously not fit for service; but those who want to get off are obviously sane, since no sane man wants to fly, and thus healthy enough to fly.

For me, the defining feature of this book is the double edge everything has, blanced between comedy and tragedy. The real lack of any stable, sane counterpoint contributes to this, painting a world which has lost sight of the value of anything. Where are the boundaries in this world? Are there any? Complimented by the narrative style that espouses conventional structure and style to a point where many are likely to be put off. If you can stomach it, do so.

The characters will break your heart. Almost every single one of them. There were times where I had to put the book down and stop reading. In retrospect, I can still feel gossebumps run up my arms when I remember scenes, moments, captured within those nigh unhinged text. The cartoonish unreality infects the characters as much as it effects the way the story is told. These characters all leave a mark.

Catch-22 is a story about madness like none other, in any medium. It's pretty difficult to capture in words, and not spoiling a lot of it is taking a hell o' a lot of restraint. If you've not read this one already, then this is your time: never has tragedy been so funny, and never has laughing been such an expression of sadness, for me at the very least.

Novel Review (contains spoilers) - Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett

Day 04: Favorite book of your favorite series.

This is part of a 30 day book review challnge thing. You can read my rather glib introduction here.

This post will not be spoiler free, I am afraid, so go read the novel first. Seriously, do it, it's a phenomenal book.

***

Again, gonna have to bend the rules here. Asking me to pick a favourite Discworld book is a question doesn't really make sense to me. There's so many brilliant books in the series, and I'd be hard pressed to really put my finger on a favourite. So instead I'll pick one of my favourites, Men at Arms. I liked Guards! Guards!, but it wasn't until Men at Arms that the Watch series really captured me, and since the Watch series is my favourtire discworld story strand it's a logical choice.

In the city of Ankh-Morpork lies a dangerous weapon, hidden beneath layers of dust in a nigh forgotten museum. There are murders in the city too and Sam Vimes has to investigate these murders and deal with the evil this artefact releases, whilst rebuilding the City Night Watch. The plot is fast paced and colourful, an action story and a mystery. This being Pratchett, however, it is also very much a character story.

Pratchett uses the characters in ways that are perhaps not particularly original, using the different races to explore tolerance and fear of others different to us. Each character has enough heart and humour, however, that they become far more than merely representations. Pratchett has a touch with people and the way they express themselves which is almost reminiscent of Only Fools and Horses. This is how the British working classes used to talk, and their interactions give them a lot of background without explicitly saying much.

Thematically, Pratchett is up to his old tricks, both manipulating fantasy cliches and reflecting back on to people themselves. This story is about an evil force being unwittingly unleashed onto the world, yet the evil force takes shape as just a gun. A gun that seems to corrupt everyone it touches - this, at first, seems anvilciously decrying that guns are evil, a trite and slightly stupid moral. However, Pratchett is always key to place significance not on the gun itself as a physical machine, but on the power it represents. It's not the machine itself, but the power it gives people.

The mystery element of the book is really well done. For a while you think you know the answer to it, because Pratchett seems to outright tell you. Misdirection. When the true antagonist is revealed, it is a rewardingly unexpected moment. The serious side of the story is also very well balanced against the humour that runs through the story, neither overbalancing the other.

Men at Arms is a novel in fantastical setting, yet the fantastical elements are all treated as mundane. This, really, is central to the mythos of the Discworld book, and books like these where the fantastical elements are almost incidental really exemplify this. Pratchett is an author, as you no doubt know by now, I have nothing but the most profuse praise for. Check Men at Arms out.

Series Overview - Discworld

Day 03: Your favorite series

This is part of a 30 day book review challnge thing. You can read my rather glib introduction here.

 ***

Discworld will be appearing again and again during this project. For the sake of variety, I'd love to review a book not by Mr Pratchett, but it'd be plain untrue to pretend that any other series in any medium can really come close. Discworld started of as a parody of fantasy stories, most noticeably Lankhmar and Lord of the Rings, and revelled rather a lot in farce, but Pratchett quickly turned his subversive tendencies to real life. Discworld is a satire on politics and culture and life in general. He never abandoned his fantasy roots and much of his work involves marrying stories and real life, showing how they affect us as people and as a society.

The real draw of Discworld, however, is the characters. Populating this land are some of the finest fictional characters, fun and cartoonish and larger than life yet complex and compelling. Captain Vimes of the watch, the witch Granny Weatherwax, the wizard Rincewind and even Death himself. Each of these have a strong and varied supporting casts who could easily star in novels of their own and it is a colourful cast of characters, filled with species and nationalities of a wide spectrum. He writes a mean female character too.

Pratchett embues the stories with a rich vein of references to fairy tales, modern culture, classic literature and more. Such proliferation could easily have overbalanced the stories, yet Pratchett somehow strikes the right note, allowing for the stories to be enjoyed on a shallow level whilst more diligent readers get a reward for their effort. If this sounds all very intimidating, it shouldn't: Pratchett's novels are mostly very silly and funny creatures.

Really, the worst part of the Discworld series is that it has to end. Whether or not Pratchett intends to give us final resolutions for his characters is unknown, and I'm not sure if I want him to or not. When I was reading it, I got the feeling that the fun would last forever, but what with his diagnosis of Alzheimers my bubble has been rather popped. The Discworld should go on forever, but it won't and what we have been given is so great that I can only be thankful we even got one book. Thirty-eight and still going? Good times.

Novel Review - Discworld: Lords and Ladies

Day 2: A book that you’ve read more than 3 times

This is part of a 30 day book review challnge thing. You can read my rather glib introduction here.

***

THE FAIRIES ARE BACK – BUT THIS TIME THEY DON’T JUST WANT YOUR TEETH…

Granny Weatherwax and her tiny coven are up against real elves.

It’s Midsummer Night.

No times for dreaming…

With full supporting cast of dwarfs, wizards, trolls, Morris dancers and one orang-utan. And lots of hey-nonny-nonny and blood all over the place.

There's gonna be lots of Discworld books on this list. Favourite author, favourite series? I'm gonna have to bend the rules a little to avoice jsut reposting reviews. This should tell you all you need to know about the esteemin which I hold this series. For me Discworld is nigh unparalleled.

Lords and Ladies sees the continued adventures of Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg and Magrat as whispers arise that an enemy is coming, a race of creatures so dangerous and malicious that saying their name is forbidden: they might hear you. Another coven of witches has moved into Lancre during the witches' absense in the preceeding book in the series (Witches Abroad) and do not take kindly to Granny and co. returning. They are young and inexperienced, but their leader is extremely talented and they've fundamentally missed what being a witch is. Naturally, they are meddling with things rather dangerous. On top of all of this, Magrat is also getting married to the king of Lancre.

Lords and Ladies is a fantastic story, an interesting subversion and rather funny to boot. Pratchett's characters are magical and the real underpinning of everything he writes. They are big characters, both cartoonish and complex. It is obvious that he has a great love for his characters, and not one is thrown aside easily or skimmed over: those that don't get much time in the spotlight are still subtly and carefully sketched. And they are all so damn likeable and colourful too.

I love Pratchett's take on elves. It's the only time I've been tempted to just outright rip a concept from an author for my own work - elves are perhaps the only unambiguously evil in the Discworld novels. The build-up they are given in text is phenomenal, to the point where there's something disappointing about them actually appearing. The anonymous threat is just so well worked.

This book is about glamour. It's about how we'll forgive people things easier and treat them in a way they perhaps haven't earned because of the glamour they project. Elves are vicious parasitic creatures in the Discworld, but because they are tall and beautiful and strong people practically worship them. The younger witch coven gets involved with witching because of the inherent glamour of the gothic and occult and magic, without ever really figuring out what a witch is.

Granny Weatherwax, it strikes me, has a very Doctor-ish quality to her. She's a powerful magician, sure, but she never actually uses magic. Incredibly resourceful, knowlegable and simultaneously invincible and vulnerable. She doesn't fight people on their terms, nor does she fight them in any expected way. Really, she tends to prefer to make them fight themselves.

Pratchett is a great author, and Lords and Ladies is amongst the best of what Discworld has to offer. It's clever and interesting with great characters and a fast paced plot. It might be easy to mistake for a parody of Tolkien, and many have, but the Discworld is far, far more than that.

DC relaunch/difficult choices

So DC are rebooting their entire line (how much they are going to reboot continuity is still unclear to the best of my knowledge) and as a fan that has been hovering around the edges, picking away at the trades with no hope in hell of ever catching up to current releases. Now I have a chance to jump on! But funds aren't unlimited, and, in fact, are likely to get far tighter soon. I daresay 52 comics every months, on top of my scrabbling away with trades, is not sustainable. Therefore, choices gotta be made.

The two main things that encourage me to get books are as follows

• Writer
• Subject matter

In that order. So what takes my fancy?

• Justice League - Geoff Johns
• Probably not gonna be buying this one, but it's Geoff Johns and all of the DC's biggest superheroes. At the very least, deserving of a mention.
• Wonder Woman - Brian Azzarello
• Wonder Woman still holds some sort of fascination for me, and I've been meaning to check out Azzarello for a while. His 1000 Bullets series is meant to be good, but this might be an interesting place to start.
• Aquaman - Geoff Johns
• This one I do wanna check out. Contrary to popular opinion, I always suspected that Aquaman could be very awesome, and the Geoff Johns medicine might be exactly what he needs.
• Green Lantern Corps - Peter J Tomasi
• I intend to read some of his pre-reboot GLC stuff before really exploring this option, but if it's as good as I've heard - hell, if it's as good as Gibbons run - this might be a hard one to turn down.
• Green Lantern: The New Guardians - Tony Bedard
• Bedard is meant to be a decent writer, but really I've no idea why I find myself compelled to read this. I mean, it's just DC trying to leech off of it's most popular books in the same way there so many Batman books. Yet somehow, I genuinely am curious.
• Batman - Scott Snyder
• Snyder has been writing Batman for a whilst now, and has had generally positive reactions.And, you know, Batman.
• Justice League Dark - Peter Milligan
• I keep wanting to check out Milligan's Shade series, but seeing as it hasn't been collected, reading it isn't really an option. But this idea, a superhero team made up of anti-heroes could be cool. Could be bad too, admittedly, since labelling something "dark" always sets me on edge. Seems to open things up to possible wank. Nonetheless, very interested.
• Demon Knight - Paul Cornell
•  I want to read something by Cornell, and at first glance this fits the bill nicely. Superheroes meets fantasy? Awesome. A recent interview has revealed that he is modelling this to a great extent after A Game of Thrones and used the words "violent" and "gritty" at least three times apiece. Count me suddenly less enthused from what seemed to be a must-buy at first.
• Resurrection Man - Andy Lanning and Dan Abnett
• Dan Abnett is a great writer, stylistically and structurally brilliant. His characters are something of a weak spot, but hopefully the change of medium and co-writer can address this weakness. Probably gonna be giving this a look.
• Blue Beetle - Tony Bedard
• Blue Beetle has received prolific praise from many sources. I am very much intrigued, but I'll check out Jaimie's past adventures in the costume before making a decision.
• Action Comics - Grant Morrison
• This is Morrison, this is a must-buy. Only one in this list that is a guarantee.

So yeah choices, choices. Anyone browsing this got any reccomendations?

Novel Review - The Prestige

Day 1: The best book you read last year

This is part of a 30 day book review challnge thing. You can read my rather glib introduction here.

***

Two 19th century stage illusionists, the aristocratic Rupert Angier and the working-class Alfred Borden, engage in a bitter and deadly feud; the effects are still being felt by their respective families a hundred years later. Working in the gaslight-and-velvet world of Victorian music halls, they prowl edgily in the background of each other's shadowy life, driven to the extremes by a deadly combination of obsessive secrecy and insatiable curiosity. At the heart of the row is an amazing illusion they both perform during their stage acts. The secret of the magic is simple, and the reader is in on it almost from the start, but to the antagonists the real mystery lies deeper. Both have something more to hide than the mere workings of a trick. 

The Prestige was something of a first for me. It was the first time I had listened to an audio book since I was a child, but I was surprised by just how absorbing the activity was. Surprisingly it was very similar to reading, but a damn sight easier. I also managed to avoid the Christopher Nolan film, so went into it without much prior knowledge to it. I'd heard something about feuding narrators that sounded intriguing, but little else.

The book opens with a man who has come to investigate, as a journalist who specialises in writing about reports of the paranormal, an old mansion that is being used as a monastry of sorts. Immediately there's a subtly creepy feeling to the text, a strangeness to it. It's a classic horror set-up, and from the start Priest adeptly conveys a sense that there is a lot we aren't being told about both the protagonist and this place. Soon he meets up with a woman who requested he meet her, one who also sent him a book written by his great-great grandfather: a book on magic and his life as a magician. With the use of this and the journals of her great-great grandfather, she shows him the deep link between their families.

This is a quiet book of mystery and incredible subtlety. It's about secrets and obsession, and carries the quiet sort of intensity such subject material demands. Both Rupert Angier and Alfred Borden are compelling narrators, both flawed and walking the line between villain and hero. You can feel the terrific power of Borden's obsessive nature embued deeply into everything on his side of the narrative, whilst Angier's accountants suggest he has found a rival well matched in this respect.

Really, the central triumph of this work is the structure. The first story we get is Borden's complete accounts of the matter, then Angier comes along and fills in holes and outright contradicts Borden in some respects. By giving us Borden's account first, Priest sets up a very strong context for us to view the story in, so he can then pick it apart again. By the end, we're not enitrely sure what was right or who to support. Along with these two perspectives, there is a third, the metastory in which their descendents read both their accounts. In this narrative is the true brilliance fo the structure revealed. Not only is this a story about two rivals, this is a story spanning generations. Most of the story is being told between the lines.

This novel practically bleeds atmosphere. It's an absorbing and evokative experience, but also one that has a strangely genuine feel to it. it doesn't wallow in melodrama or have a specifically narrative driven structure. Both Borden and Angier swither and debate and act like real people. Considering that this is very much a fantasy book, it ends up feeling incredibly genuine.

Also, the ending still gives me goosebumps when I think about it.

It's probably rather clear that I love The Prestige, and really shouldn't be trusted to review the book subjectively. Nonetheless, I truly believe this is a technically brilliant and haunting novel. Read it.

30 Days of Novelling

Day 01 – The best book you read last year
Day 02 – A book that you’ve read more than 3 times
Day 03 – Your favorite series
Day 04 – Favorite book of your favorite series
Day 05 – A book that makes you happy
Day 06 – A book that makes you sad
Day 07 – Most underrated book
Day 08 – Most overrated book
Day 09 – A book you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving
Day 10 – Favorite classic book
Day 11 – A book you hated
Day 12 – A book you used to love but don’t anymore
Day 13 – Your favorite writer
Day 14 – Favorite book of your favorite writer
Day 15 – Favorite male character
Day 16 – Favorite female character
Day 17 – Favorite quote(s) from your favorite book(s)
Day 18 – A book that disappointed you
Day 19 – Favorite book turned into a movie
Day 20 – Favorite romance book
Day 21 – Favorite book from your childhood 
Day 22 – Favorite book you own
Day 23 – A book you wanted to read for a long time but still haven’t
Day 24 – A book that you wish more people would’ve read
Day 25 – A character who you can relate to the most
Day 26 – A book that changed your opinion about something
Day 27 – The most surprising plot twist or ending
Day 28 – Favorite title(s)
Day 29 – A book everyone hated but you liked
Day 30 – Your favorite book of all time

So since a coastal dwelling friend of mine has laid down a challenge relating to the above internet trend thing, I've decided that it would be cowardly of me not to meet his challenge. So, as I try to review a book a day for a month, be sure to follow. This was originally intended primarily as a novel reviewing blog anyway (and look how well that is turning out), so it's about time I got to it. See you on day one! (which is today)

En Garde!