The October Daye Series - Seanan McGuire

When I discovered the Newsflesh Trilogy by Mira Grant, I learned that she is the alter-ego for Seanan McGuire, Urban Fantasy writer, and I was of course curious: until that moment, my attempts at reading this particular genre had not ended well - the books I happened to pick up seemed centered on repeating clichés and cookie-cutter characters, so that I was convinced Urban Fantasy was not my cup of tea.  But Mira Grant's writing prompted me to give the genre another try: now, after seven books in the October Daye series, I'm very happy I did, because Seanan McGuire is the kind of author who gives Urban Fantasy a good name, to paraphrase the old song.

October "Toby" Daye is a San Francisco private investigator, and also a changeling - half human and half fae, therefore never fully belonging to either world: the fae generally despise mixed bloods, their contempt in inverse proportion to the percentage of fae blood in any changeling, while humans must be kept in ignorance of the differences - some subtle, some less so - in their appearance, because the secret of faerie's existence is to be kept at all costs.  When we meet Toby for the first time, she's chosen her human side and tries to build a normal life for herself: a husband, a child, a job she enjoys.  But one of her investigations crosses the purposes of a powerful fae who transforms her into a fish, condemning her to several years of this limbo while the world goes on without her.  Once the enchantment wears off, Toby's family has adapted to her sudden disappearance and moved on, and she finds herself alone and adrift, with no clear purpose in life and a defeated attitude that leaves little room for hope in her future.  It's only through her reluctant involvement with the fae world, due to a brutal murder she's asked to investigate, that she starts - slowly and painfully - to come out of her shell, and to gain a new lease on life as she rebuilds herself literally from scratch, collecting friends and allies along the way.

The first book in the series, though still fascinating, feels somewhat slow,  so I urge any potential reader to overlook that and to stay on board for the ride - it's the same advice I followed when I started, and I'm glad I did: this series gets better and better with each following book.  The world-building expands in concentric circles, creating a fascinating tapestry out of the intersecting - but never really touching - realities of our primary world and faerie, and presenting a huge variety of fae and changelings, all with their individual traits that make them alien in appearance and abilities, and at the same time very human in their passions and desires.  With each following book I've become more and more invested in these stories and characters, in the parallel world of faerie, with its complicated, often cruel politics and interweaving alliances, with its powerful allure. And of course I've become invested in Toby, her slowly growing family and her evolving personality - the clear trend of this series is growth, and I've found my initial patience more than amply rewarded.

What makes Toby special? First there is her single-mindedness: once she sets on a task, she pursues it with relentless determination, learning from the mistakes she makes along the way. Yes, she's not perfect, and that's another detail that endeared her to me - she's flawed, and fallible and accident-prone: unlike the cookie-cutter heroines I mentioned above, Toby is far from the all-powerful-ninja-warrior that seems the norm in this genre. She gets hurt, she bleeds, and she pays dearly for missing important clues, or for trusting people she shouldn't or not listening to sound advice.  There's something approaching a death wish in her, more evident at the beginning and lessening as the story goes on. Or if not a death wish, then a grim determination in completing her chosen tasks, in fulfilling the obligations she takes upon herself with little or no regard for personal consequences, an attitude that speaks volumes about her psychological make up and also explains the strong loyalty she engenders in the individuals gathering around her like planets around a sun.

What's more, Toby manages all that in spite of her shortcomings as a changeling - on the contrary, she turns what pureblood fae consider a limitation into her main strength: she can go where individuals of both worlds cannot, she can perform feats denied to others. In short, Toby non only does not make any excuses for what she is not, but shows the world - both worlds - that strength can come from those very differences.  And she pays the price for it every day, by giving of herself for the sake of others, with constant demonstrations of dogged selflessness.

With these premises, and McGuire's fresh outlook on the genre, it's hardly surprising that these books are gathering increasing success and acclaim: my direct experience is that they deserve it in full.  Let yourselves be captured: you will not regret it.



My Rating: 8,5/10

The Newsflesh Trilogy - Mira Grant

Mira Grant (that is, Seanan McGuire) just announced the arrival of a new short story in her Newsflesh universe, so - in what is becoming something of a tradition for me - I thought about retracing my reading experience with her previous novels.

Zombies were not exactly my kind of narrative trope: not on the screen and certainly not in book form. So I'm still unsure about what made me pick up the first book of Mira Grant's Newsflesh Trilogy: probably some glowing review that underlined how different it was from the usual fare - no matter the reason, after the first few pages I was hooked, and at the same time discovered a new author, one that's quickly entered my "buy whatever comes out" list.

Mira Grant is the pen name of Urban Fantasy author Seanan McGuire - I plan on recapping soon her still ongoing, successful series about private investigator October Daye, but for now I'll concentrate on the alter ego who created this stunning, ground-breaking trilogy: Feed, Deadline and Blackout.

The premise: twenty-odd years from now the world will be dramatically changed by a zombie epidemic whose origins come from the accidental interaction of two experimental viral cures for cancer and the common cold. Exposure to this mutated virus (Kellis-Amberlee, from the names of the two scientists working on the projects) does indeed cure the targeted ailments but also resuscitates the dead - in the Newsflesh world it's called "amplification".  There are two short stories that expand on this premise, and I recommend them both to better understand the train of events: one is Countdown (the tale of the incident that started it all) and the other is San Diego 2014: the last stand of the California Browncoats (the start of the epidemic seen through the eyes of the famous convention's participants).

The ground-breaking choices I mentioned come from the fact that the usual bloody scenarios of a zombie apocalypse are strictly kept as background information: yes, the un-dead move around searching for victims - not so much to consume their flesh but rather to spread the contagion, in a sort of viral prime directive - and there are whole sections of the world made uninhabitable by the concentration of zombies, but what Mira Grant focuses on is not the cheap thrill of blood-and-gore images but rather the way people and society have changed because of the epidemic.

Amplification has forced people to completely review their way of living: houses have become fortresses capable of withstanding massive attacks from the un-dead; pets above a certain body weight - say a small dog - are out of the question, because above that limit they are subject to amplification just as humans are, and the phenomenon extends, of course, to other common animals as cows or horses, whose mass makes them as deadly as infected people.  And then there is the terrible choice that everyone must be prepared to face: when one of your loved ones, or friends, dies and then amplifies before your eyes, you have to decide between survival and the impulses of your heart.  How would that change the unwritten laws of society?  How would it affect ethics and morality?

Fear is therefore the main driving force of society: fear of the infected, of course, but also fear of excessive proximity or crowded areas - someone dying of a heart attack in a crowd could amplify and start a new outbreak; fear of contagion, that requires constant blood checks before entering any enclosed space, be it a coffee shop or one's own home; fear of whatever and whoever can't be controlled.  An enlightening quote summarizes the situation all too well: "...we have embraced the cult of fear, and now we don't seem to know how to put it back where it belongs."  Fear can also be a powerful means of control, because a scared and divided humanity is much more easily subdued - or lied to.

The antithesis of fear is truth, and its… paladins, for want of a better word, are bloggers: the first to recognize the threat of the virus and to spread the word when the government still hid behind carefully worded statements. Bloggers are, at the start of the story, a force to be reckoned with, and the new heroes of a world that keeps turning in upon itself with every passing day.  Enter Georgia and Shaun Mason, highly successful bloggers who have been selected, together with their team, to follow the presidential campaign of candidate Ryman: this represents an enormous opportunity for visibility, but it will also lead them along very unexpected and terrifying paths.

This is all I dare reveal about the story, because its hair-raising twists and turns must be discovered on their own: suffice it to say there is not one moment when the tension lets go, and where drama is delivered without pulling any punches - no matter how painful they can be to the readers.

What really matters, and what I can safely share here, is that it's a fascinating look at a profoundly changed society, and also a character-driven narrative that will keep you on your toes from start to finish.

Not the easiest of books, granted, nor something I would recommend before bedtime either - but still I urge you to read them, because Mira Grant's storytelling and powerful characters are worth the extra effort needed to find the necessary strength to do it.

My Rating: 8,5/10

Favorite Authors: John Scalzi

Browsing through the GoodReads list of books I read in 2013, I noticed that one of the authors featuring more prominently is John Scalzi: both his ongoing Old Man's War series (now counting 5 volumes) and his stand-alone titles never failed to offer entertaining and thoughtful reads.  On top of that there's the person himself: as a follower of his blog I've found that he's a witty, intelligent and considerate person who often takes the time to promote other writers' work through the recurring series of "Big Idea" posts. Every time I've tried one of those books because the core theme interested me, I made a pleasant discovery (Mary Robinette Kowal being the most notable so far), so that now Mr. Scalzi is not just one of my favorite authors, he's also a trusted, if indirect, advisor on reading materials. 

While waiting for his next book to come out, I'll try to put down some thoughts on what I enjoy about his storytelling.

The Old Man's War series is set in a not-so-distant future in which the elderly are offered, on their 75th birthday, the chance of a new life - literally - serving in the Colonial Union's military and assisting humanity's expansion through the galaxy: all this in exchange for a second youth. How this is made possible is something best discovered through reading the books: suffice it to say that it adds an interesting twist to a trope explored in well-known books as Heinlein's Starship Troopers or Haldeman's Forever War.  The twist comes from the fact that these are mature (and probably wise) people, not adventure-seeking youths, which gives an added layer to their personalities and actions.

The storytelling is both light-hearted and thought-provoking, in a delightful balance that is one of Mr. Scalzi's writing trademarks. The five books written up to today expand on that universe with a true space-opera scope that nonetheless never forgets the human side of living beings - even when they are aliens - giving the reader three-dimensional characters that feel true and believable.

This was one of the pleasant surprises I encountered with this series: the militaristic premise of the first book is slowly removed - as if peeling away a camouflage's layers - to reveal unsavory truths and, more importantly, individual reactions to those truths that allowed me a deeper look into some characters' personalities.  A few of those glimpses moved me deeply more than once, and further raised my appreciation for Mr. Scalzi's way of dealing with important issues in a deceptively light and offhand way.

What's more, it looks as if the first book will be soon turned into a movie: I can hardly wait to see how it will translate on screen.

Redshirts is a stand-alone book, one that won the 2013 Hugo Award by the way.

It pokes some well-written fun at one of Star Trek's most recognized tropes: if you're part of the security or technical crew (i.e. you're wearing a red shirt) your life expectations don't amount to much...      The junior officers aboard the Universal Union's starship Intrepid have come to a frightening realization: every time one of them goes on an away mission with the high-ranking officers, it's certain that he or she will die in a horrible way. Most of those in the know do their utmost to avoid crossing the officers' path and therefore being chosen for a team, but a group of newcomers understands there is a deeper reason behind what's happening: I'm offering no spoilers here, except by saying that it's a tongue-in-cheek joke aimed at serial tv.  Once the truth has been discovered, the young crew members decide to take the matter into their  hands to save their own lives and those of their shipmates.

This book has a Galaxy Quest flavor, yet it goes further on in the way it exposes the clichés of a long-standing tv show that sticks to its formulas and is afraid to "explore the strange new worlds" it's supposed to.  The author John Scalzi was creative consultant on the set of "Stargate Universe", the short-lived spinoff of the SG franchise: it's no mystery that many of the die-hard fans of SG1 did not embrace SGU because it was "too different", "too dark". Because – and here I'm expressing my own opinion – it left the beaten (safe?) path to try and find new ways to tell a story. 

When some of the Redshirts characters face the person responsible for their destinies they ask him if he can't find a better way of reaching his goals, one that does not require the death of throw-away people.  Because a good story, more often than not, comes from the exploration of the unexpected, from a bold move in a new direction.  That move might even require the death of a character, but that death must have meaning – this is what the young crewmembers are asking: thoughtfulness and respect, which is what every character in a story – any story – should receive.

Despite the humor peppering the pages, and the many hilarious in-jokes, there is a current of seriousness that runs beneath the surface because the story expands to explore more serious territory, as questions about what it means to be alive, and the meaning of life itself, assert their presence - especially in the three delightful and unexpected "codas" at the end of the book.

Fuzzy Nation is another stand-alone story, featuring a planetary prospector who discovers the proof of intelligent life on a planet whose resources are being drained by human greed. 

The story itself concerns a classic trope: the big, bad corporation working to exploit a planet’s resources and trying to ignore the existence of a sentient indigenous race, so that the controlling authorities will not stop them. Of course the trope also requires a brave hero who will defy the big, bad corporation and win against all odds.

The way John Scalzi deals with this story makes all the difference, though: with his usual humorous and carefree style he manages to present the situation without falling into clichés, so that the tale remains consistently entertaining, engrossing and delightful.

For starters, the indigenous sentients - the Fuzzies - are not simply cute creatures: they are built, page after page, toward a surprise revelation that defies any reader expectation. Their antics, in the course of the novel, are thoroughly entertaining and I found myself laughing out loud in more than one occasion.

The hero himself, Jack Halloway, is hardly hero material at all: he’s more of a rogue watching out for his best interests, and even when he sides with the Fuzzies he does so with an eye to his  advantages as well. Which makes him very human, and therefore even more likable, as are secondary characters Isabel (Halloway ex-girlfriend) and her new fiancée.  These three often engage in delightful verbal sparring that is reminiscent of comedy movies from the ’50s and ’60s and livens up an already sparkling tale.

A special mention should go to Carl, Halloway’s dog, trained detonator of explosives and wonderful comic relief, both on his own and in the company of the Fuzzies. Even if you’re not a dog person, you will love Carl without reservations.

As I’ve come to expect by now, under the first layer of humorous, entertaining storytelling, Scalzi deals with more serious issues and manages to blend the two sides of the equation in a seamless way, at the same time keeping his readers interested and involved.  The pace is quick, the characters believable and likable, the story engrossing: I could not have asked for better.

Agent to the Stars: John Scalzi's very first novel, a work that was a sort of challenge to himself, to see if he could. Granted, it's not on the same level as his other books, and yet the seeds of his narrative style are all there. It's another light and funny story about aliens - nice ones - who want to meet Earth people but are aware that their appearance might work against them, so they employ a Hollywood agent to promote their image.

Delightful, entertaining and surprisingly deep as well.

The God Engines: this is a strange story indeed, quite unlike the usual pace and tone I've come to expect from the author. First the genre, that is a curious mix of science fantasy with a dash of “magic” (for want of a better word); then the mood, quite dark and unrelieved by the characteristic wit I've become accustomed to with Scalzi's writing. And last but not least the abrupt and scary ending, that left me very unsettled.

As usual, the core themes - freedom, choices and what makes us human - raise many thoughtful questions, but still I wonder if he wrote this one while in a dark, hopeless mood...

On the other hand, a series of announcements on his blog indicates that more serious, not to mention terrifying themes, are forthcoming - at least judging from the microscopic peek Scalzi offered on his next book, Lock In, which should be available next August. You can read about it HERE. After reading the related novella Unlocked, I can hardly wait...

Revisiting old favorites: The Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold

Some time ago I embarked on a re-read of this series, one of my all-time favorites, and discovered that the intervening years have only  enhanced my enjoyment of the story, of Ms. Bujold's writing style and of her approach to important social issues. 

It might be somewhat difficult to characterize this series: some have labeled it as "space opera", others as "military sci-fi", and so on, but the truth is that there is a bit of every sub-genre one can think about in Bujold's work, combined into a well-structured, compelling story that grows and expands with each successive book, gaining in power and depth as it entertains its readers.

The hero - or better, anti-hero - of the saga is  Miles Vorkosigan, born with serious physical impediments on a world that makes strength and military prowess the pillars of society. Far from being crushed by his disabilities, Miles fights against them all his life, driven by the need to prove himself, sometimes beyond the limits of human endurance. He does indeed manage, through sheer force of will and great intelligence, to emerge and carve a place for himself, all the while regaling us with fun, exciting and wonderful adventures.

What I love most about Ms. Bujold's writing is that it flows along simple lines while at the same time managing to convey deep meanings and touch on significant themes: the mark of her ability is in the down-to-earth approach that needs no preaching to drive her meaning through.

Above all, Bujold's work is... well, "trans-generational" is the best way I can describe it: Miles' adventures can be quite satisfying both to young adults (to whom they can teach a great deal without ever being pedantic) as well as to older people. The style of writing is such that it can be enjoyed no matter your age or your preferences.

One of the reasons this character grows so quickly on his audience is that we look at the world through his eyes, experience his outer troubles and inner turmoil in a direct way. Far from self-commiserating on his shortcomings (even though they cut deeply), Miles faces them with wry, sarcastic humor that's often more mature than his years. What's more important, he's not one those stereotyped "boy geniuses" that we often encounter in books and tv, the ones that breeze through obstacles as if they weren't there, the ones, let's admit it, that we love to hate.  Miles is fallible, he constantly doubts himself and he makes mistakes, sometimes fatal ones. His path is one of constant strife, against his shortcomings and against himself, and his victories are more often than not tainted by painful losses. This must indeed be one of the reasons Bujold's readers learn to care so much about him. 

Once I encountered a sentence that sums up quite effectively this character: he happens on people - usually unsuspecting ones - and he changes their lives forever, whether they want it or not. This is true both for the fictional people in the stories and for the readers, especially those - like me - who rediscover his old stories or greet new ones with the same enthusiasm reserved for a dear friend.