The Canterbury Tales in Space

I've been enjoying Hyperion so far, but not as much as Ilium. I think that one of my problems is that the Hyperion universe is just not quite as interesting. Nothing has yet proved itself to be as much of a mindfreak as Trojans on Mars or robots who dissect Proust. This is a somewhat more standard sci-fi 'verse: a unified consortium of planets (the Hegemony) with a possibly diabolical central government, which, shades of Firefly, may be merely a huge corporation. The central figure is called the CEO, after all.

The non-Hegemony planets are like the Outer Rim in Star Wars: dangerous, somewhat uncivilized and connected to the Hegemony mainly through trade. Oh, and the Hegemony planets are linked by farcasters, which seem to be your standard-issue portals. The Hegemony's military is called FORCE, a weird combination of stormtroopers, Navy SEALS and Japanese Samurai. FORCE combats various threats throughout the universe (including the occasional Islamic uprising; a recurring Simmons theme), but their main enemy is the Reavers--I mean, the Ousters, who are really tall, with prehensile limbs and an affinity for zero-g. The Ousters don't seem to be aliens; I think they're probably more like Ilium's post-humans: ordinary humans who have evolved while on the fringes of space. It isn't really clear what the Ousters want, but they can apparently fire guns with their feet, so it can't be good.

The world of Hyperion has only just become a Hegemony planet (or maybe it still isn't, I'm not sure) and it's quickly falling apart due to a war between FORCE, the Ousters and a monster called the Shrike. The Shrike--who is basically Sauron from the prologue of The Fellowship of the Ring, but spikier--is the central figure in a barbaric religion that almost certainly features some kind of human sacrifice. The Shrike can slow down time and then kill at his/her/its own pace, maybe do some speed-of-light shoplifting while he/she/it is at it. The Shrike is usually found among the Time Tombs, weird structures that move backward in time and hold important secrets that cannot fall into the hands or feet of the Ousters.

The problem with all this is that I'm not that engaged yet.

It's not like I'm not impressed with all the world-building, which is really something. It's that I'd rather have a couple of interesting characters than a really creative technology or long description of a battle where I don't understand what's at stake. The Canterbury Tales frame story is a great idea, but I don't feel like I'm learning all that much about the characters, who have all stayed strictly one-dimensional. Father Hoyt's story isn't even about him; all we know about him is that he's been infected with a cruciform (long story: just think evil starfish that sticks to you) and doesn't feel too good. Kassad had more of an arc, and I certainly find his strength and badass-ery appealing, and I feel bad that the woman of his dreams is a metallic monster that's trying to goad him into starting Armageddon, but he still doesn't really pop much as a character.

Martin Silenus is at least kind of fun, a space-age Holden Caulfield with a flair for bizarre statements. I don't know how much he'll develop, but, knowing Simmons, he'll probably be the character with the Key To Everything. The Consul has been set up as our protagonist, yet has failed to do much of anything protagonist-y. I'm sure there's a painful secret in his past that he's drowning with alcohol, probably involving his missing son. I can't say I really care about him, though.

But then Dan Simmons has never been the world's greatest character writer (although he did a superb job with Wilkie Collins and Dickens in Drood). The appeal of his novels lie more in his unabashedly nutty plotting and go-for-broke concepts. Once the story gets cooking and the plot twists start coming, I'm sure I'll be riveted.

Fatlining and Treeships and Shrikes--- Oh My!

I'm about seventy pages into my next book: Hyperion, by Dan Simmons. It's the chunky first volume of a four-book sci-fi cycle, which is a delicious prospect. Simmons is one of my favorite science-fiction/fantasy authors. His Ilium/Olympos duology is a truly mind-blowing piece of nutty speculative fiction. It doesn't get any weirder than the battle of Troy being staged on Mars by resurrected twentieth-century scholars. Simmons is really good at incorporating real scientific concepts (and tons of literary references, both obvious and obscure) into action-packed storytelling. Drood, his trippy, alt-history version of Charles Dickens's final years, is another favorite of mine. It's a really affecting mixture of the bizarre and the intensely personal. And you'll never look at a scarab beetle the same way again.

Anyway, Hyperion's concept is essentially The Canterbury Tales in space, which seems can't-miss in Simmons's hands. I'm still at that point in the book where I don't understand most of the offhanded references to technology, societal structure and back-story, but figuring out what the hell's going on is part of the fun; it's like a puzzle.

Earth appears to be gone, and humans seem to be living on some kind of World Web, which I assume is a chain of civilized planets. All of the characters are headed to a planet called Hyperion, which seems to be kind of a craphole except for something called the Valley of the Time Tombs where the Shrike lives. Not idea what any of it means, but it certainly sounds cool. I take it that the Shrike is some kind of monster that receives sacrifices from its devotees, not unlike Joel Osteen (just kidding). The humans appear to be at war with a group called the Ousters-- not sure if they're aliens or not, and knowing Simmons, he'll probably play that one close to the chest. The whole premise is pretty interesting and the main characters are certainly an unusual bunch, so I'm looking forward to where it's going.

The Girl Who Finished The Girl Who Played with Fire

I finally finished The Girl Who Played with Fire last night.

Honestly, I was ready to write the book off as a mess somewhere around the point where Paolo Roberto, Deus Ex Machina Boxer Extraordinaire, showed up. We had spent way too much with the endlessly boring police investigation and the plot seemed like a convoluted tangle that wasn't about to untangle itself. Lisbeth and Blomkvist had barely interacted and I was getting tired of the multiple viewpoints.

And then crap started to go down, and the plot started to click together. Wow. I have to hand it to Larsson: that is some really good plotting. I honestly didn't think he would be able to make it all work together, but he really did. Zala turning out to be Salander's father was just freaky and made perfect sense. Niedermann, the blonde giant, turning out to be her brother is even weirder. I have to say that Niedermann stretched credulity a lot. Come on, the guy is like seven feet tall and can't feel pain, with a unique skeletal structure and fast healing? Is this Marvel Comics? Larsson sort of waves it away by making it clear there's something Seriously Wrong with him, but still, it's pretty hard to swallow.

As is the sudden appearance of Paolo Roberto, Walking Plot Device. And you know what's really weird? He's a real person. There is a real Paolo Roberto, who actually played himself in the Swedish movie version. I don't understand why Larsson would slot a real person into the story, especially in such a clumsy way.

But back to the awesomeness! Badass Blomkvist! Lisbeth being shot in the freaking head! Major cliffhanger! The ending was pretty terrific stuff, and I was really impressed by the full story of Lisbeth's childhood. Knowing Larsson, I was afraid that she had been molested by her father, but the fact that it was her mother who was the victim makes perfect sense. The whole backstory fit perfectly into the already-established continuity, and answers the questions about Bjurman, Teleborian and Palmgren. I was really surprised by how satisfying it was.

Anyway, I have to save most of my big thoughts for the official review. Suffice it to say that 1) I ended up really liking the book, 2) although still not as much as the first one and 3) I'll be happy if I never have to read the name Bublanski again. Now I have to run off and choose my next book!

Delinquent Reader

I'm afraid that I've really been neglecting both my reading and my blogging. For whatever reason, The Girl Who Played with Fire has been sitting by itself for quite a while now. I really do like it, but there's something about the pacing that strikes me as stagnant. Maybe we're spending too much time in the superior position--the cops don't know Lisbeth or what her motives are, but we do, so spending a bunch of time watching people speculate about things we already know is not exactly a thrill-a-minute reading experience. I'd actually like to know what Lisbeth is doing, and instead I'm just trying to remember everyone's name. I do know that Faste is the jerk, though (he sort of reminds me of Tony from NCIS, except meaner, Swedish and not funny). And Hekstrom is the prosecutor. I think.

We haven't heard anything from our villains in a while now, either, which hasn't done much for the novel's tension. I do like the fact that Blomkvist is committed to helping Lisbeth, as is Armansky. It's nice payoff for their respective relationships.

In non-reading news, I just watched the first episode of Downton Abbey, the period drama everybody's been raving about lately. It was indeed pretty terrific, and it struck me as just about the closest thing to a real televised novel I've seen. Excellent characterizations, fantastic production values, rich dialogue and a nice big story that should unfold in a really interesting way. If I didn't know differently, I would say that the show was a book adaptation; it has that feel to it. Reading will always be my true obsession, but I also love me some TV. I think most high-quality shows are a lot better than movies that were made for quadruple the money. I'm currently about halfway through the second season of Battlestar Galactica (I usually end up watching things well after their popularity has already spiked), and it's unbelievably good. The writing is easily on a par with any sci-fi novel I've ever read and the stoylines, visual effects and acting are jawdropping. I can't wait to see where the show goes. Even though this is a book review blog (and will remain that way), I might write up an entry or two on either Downton or BSG somewhere down the line. 'Cos they're just that good.

Anyway, I will be back with fresh entries as soon as I get reading again in earnest!