Book Review – Recursion – Blake Crouch

Book Review – Recursion – Blake Crouch

Facts:

Book: Recursion

Author: Blake Crouch

Genre: Science Fiction / Thriller

Year of Release: 2019

Read 330-page hardcover edition in August 2021

Book Description:

In a world that is strangely starting to see people with “False Memory Syndrome” popping up everywhere, people who think they have alternate memories of lives never lived, detective Barry Sutton is trying to track down what is going on around him. However, he winds up in a much darker and dangerous situation than he expected.

Meanwhile, neuroscientist Helena Smith is trying to create a technology that will help those with Alzheimers retain their memories. What she doesn’t know is that her life’s work may be used to create a dangerous situation of global proportions.

Book Review:

This science fiction thriller hybrid by Blake Crouch is another imaginative and outstanding piece of fiction. As with his recent other book Dark Matter, this novel takes some interesting science premises, and twists them to serve the purposes of an intense and exciting story. No, this is not hard Andy Weir science, and a lot of liberties are taken on some science concepts. But that is okay. Crouch does an incredible job taking an idea and developing it into a fast moving, propulsive page turner. The focus here is on suspenseful plot, and it is totally successful.

At the same time, Crouch has done a great job creating two interesting main characters, Helena and Barry, that the reader can get to know over the course of the novel, and really start to cheer for, as they go through various ups and downs during the story.

The action in the story is intense, but we get to know the main characters as well, and see there feelings and emotions during very difficult times. Just when you think you understand what is happening with them, or with the wider story, Crouch does a good job of pulling another twist or turn. Surprises definitely abound in Recursion.

This is a fantastic, quick read, perfect for a relaxing day outside in the sunshine, or sitting by the fireplace in the winter.

Well Done!

Overall: 5 stars out of 5 stars

Book Review – The Gravity of Us – Phil Stamper

Book Review – The Gravity of Us – Phil Stamper

Facts:

Book: The Gravity of Us

Author: Phil Stamper

Genre: Young Adult Fiction

Year of Release: 2020

Read 314-page hardcover edition in August 2021.

Book Description:

When Cal is told by his parents that they are moving to Houston from New York City, because his dad has been accepted in NASA’s astronaut program, he is mortified. He had plans to go into a Buzzfeed internship, and had a huge following on social media for his independent journalism and videos he made around the city. He has to leave his best friend Deb to go to the suburbs of Texas.

However, when he arrives he meets another guy his age in senior year of high school, Leon, who is quiet and thoughtful, with very good looks. As they get to know each other, Cal begins to feel more comfortable in Houston, and is happy to see his parents becoming happier people as well.

But all of them have to put up with a social media environment where everyone wants to see them all the time, as part of the NASA Mars missions. And things start to become very high stakes when Cal begins to disagree with the approach taken by the television show filming everything.

Book Review:

This book had a fabulous premise, with the idea of a Mars space race reminiscent of the Moon space race in the 1960s. The nostalgia was a great opportunity to add atmosphere to a modern love story between two gay kids leaving high school and still figuring themselves out. It is nice to know there are a lot more LGBT2SQ+ stories out there for youth, and a lot of choice for queer kids to see themselves reflected in literature.

Perhaps this was bad timing for me, because I just read two great books, one a memoir by Chris Hadfield, Canadian astronaut, and another great fiction book (Memorial by Bryan Washington) about two gay men. In any event, I did not enjoy this book.

On the plus side, the book is a quick read, and very propulsive. The inclusion of social media and the pressure around public persona is also well developed in the book. There is also a nice feel of nostalgia, with the space race concept from the past but in a modern context – the competition is the private sector this time, not the Soviet Union.

However, the main character of Cal is very unlikable. He comes off as narcissistic, more so than one can understand and tolerate, considering he’s the narrator of the story. Cal is always looking at things from a “me-first” perspective and it becomes aggravating over time.

In addition, unlike other young adult novels where you really enjoy seeing how a relationship develops between two characters, in this story Cal and Leon sort of fall all over each other from day one, and there is not much suspense or “pent-up” development of emotion or feelings. Instead, we just see them meet, they are immediately together, and that’s that. No building up around that story, which makes it feel flat and forced.

Another negative item about the book is that it brings up important themes of mental health, anxiety, and depression in several characters, yet it handles these themes in a loose way, never fleshing out the important topics or showing us how the characters are really handling these feelings. It would have been better to spend more time on these themes and really explore them and provide more reality as to how they can be managed in the real world. Seeing characters access resources would be a great example, which was missing in the book.

Finally, the plot itself often feels fake and unbelievable. Activities in a space program would not actually happen this way, and it feels farfetched, to the point that it talks down to the young adult readers who likely know things don’t happen this way.

This book had a lot of promise and possibility in it, however it unfortunately fell flat.

Overall: 2 stars out of 5 stars

Book Review – An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth – Chris Hadfield

Book Review – An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth – Chris Hadfield

Facts:

Book: An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth

Author: Chris Hadfield

Genre: Memoir

Year of Release: 2012

Read 310-page paperback edition in August 2021.

Book Description:

In this thoughtful memoir, Chris Hadfield, Canadian astronaut shares observations and experiences from his varied and exciting career. He goes one step further though, to give advice about lessons learned from his time training and actually in space, about how best to live our lives here on earth.

Book Review:

Chris Hadfield is an interesting human being, one of only 500 (when the book was written) who had seen earth from space. His decision to share thoughts, ideas, experiences, and life lessons in a book provides us non-astronauts with great insight into how space life is, but also life lessons from someone with a unique perspective.

The book is a great collection of stories, and Hadfield is right when he says that talking in groups, the most common thing people want to know is about human life, and what it was like to live in space. It is about human connection. Hadfield does a great job writing about that in the book, and indeed when he is telling stories about his relationships with his crewmembers or day to day life in zero gravity, that is when the book really shines.

The book also shines when Hadfield talks about personal matters like stories about his wife and children, the bond he has with his son when they make the famed “Space Oddity” music video together (him singing on the station, his son producing it on earth).

Hadfield is an inspiring Canadian, and the book is fun to read. It is also educational, not only for what space travel is like and what it’s like to be an astronaut (a lot of training and study), but also for the life lessons Hadfield provides. I was actually hoping for more life lessons, and was kind of left wanting more, than the few that Hadfield emphasizes numerous times throughout. That being said, I still took a lot away from this enjoyable memoir.

Overall: 4.5 stars out of 5 stars

Book Review – Memorial – Bryan Washington

Book Review – Memorial – Bryan Washington

Facts:

Book: Memorial

Author: Bryan Washington

Genre: Fiction

Year of Release: 2020

Read 305-page hardcover edition in August 2021.

Book Description:

Benson and Mike are a gay multi-racial couple who have been together over four years now. However, they are both struggling with their relationship, and whether it is working for them anymore.

Mike’s mother is on her way to Texas to visit, but when Mike finds out his father is dying back home in Japan, he decides to hop on a flight and find him, having not seen him for many years. Meanwhile, Benson stays behind and entertains his new apartment guest, who he has never met before. Mike’s mother and Benson slowly come to an understanding of things as they live together day to day, not hearing much from Mike, who is now in Japan.

As they both proceed with their lives, now separated across the globe, they both spend time with family and feelings, trying to figure out themselves, and each other.

Book Review:

This debut novel by Bryan Washington was beautiful and mesmerizing. The characters are absolutely touching, and thoughtfully created and written. These feel like real-life people, not perfect ones or caricatures. The author has done a wonderful job of writing about both the way Benson and Mike relate to each other, but also their individual lives as well, when they are in their relationship and before they met each other too.

Washington does a great job describing the setting of Houston, Texas, and also Japan. The structure of the novel, with one half being told from Benson’s point of view in Texas, and then most of the second half being told from Mike’s point of view in Japan, was conceived well.

The story touches on so many themes. Class, wealth, privilege, ethnicity, homophobia, family, love, sex, body shape/positivity, and friendship are all explored to varying degrees by Washington. Reading about this black man and Japanese man together in this relationship, and explore the challenges each faced from society and from their own families when it comes to their gayness, is moving and at times heartbreaking.

Washington’s prose is often sparse and plain, but very effecting. He writes in a crisp, quick style, and makes his point without beating the reader on the head or writing in great detail. His style feels fresh and modern, as he explores an array of modern topics and themes. His decision to not use quotation marks on dialogue is a part of this approach – not something I personally enjoy, but I got into the rhythm of this very quickly, so it clearly worked.

I also loved the tender way that Washington covered the topics of being gay men in a relationship, and that the two men were people of colour. This is needed so much more in literature! Washington also did a nice job of incorporating an HIV positive character into the narrative, as well as exploring issues in the gay community that need to be explored more, like body size and body positivity.

The story is not about a romance or a happy ending, but rather an exploration of feelings and trying to understand oneself. The closing of the novel does not tie all loose ends up, and leaves us open to consider what will happen next in these characters lives. That can be challenging, but it makes for a very thoughtful conclusion. This is a great novel and one well worth reading.

Well Done!

Overall: 5 stars out of 5 stars

Book Review – Project Hail Mary – Andy Weir

Book Review – Project Hail Mary – Andy Weir

Facts:

Book: Project Hail Mary

Author: Andy Weir

Genre: Science Fiction

Year of Release: 2021

Read 483-page hardcover edition in August 2021.

Book Description:

Scientist Ryland Grace wakes up in a spaceship, far away from home, with a desperate mission to save humankind from disaster. However, his crewmates did not wake up from their interstellar sleep, and he is now faced with completing his mission alone.

As he tries to piece together what happened, and figure out what he needs to do to try and save his species back on Earth, he encounters something surprising, that just might help him succeed.

Book Review:

Andy Weir’s third book is truly his best yet, and the popular science fiction author that focuses on the hard science has truly hit his stride with Project Hail Mary. The Martian was an excellent novel, and Artemis had an interesting plot but wasn’t as strong. With Project Hail Mary, the author has gone back to the key ways his debut was so successful. A human, isolated and far from earth, finding a way to survive. With Project Hail Mary, there is obviously a lot more built on top of that, but it is a tried and true method that Andy Weir writes with skill.

The novel’s main character, Ryland Grace, is a scientist who is a kind, lovable, friendly soul. As the book goes on, we learn he is very innocent (never swears), but also has some characteristics that are less than ideal for an astronaut. The book has some great surprises in Grace as we get more familiar with him.

The plot also has some great surprises in it, which include twists and turns that are unexpected. The fact that things don’t wrap up perfectly makes the book feel more like reality, which is a good thing. The story move somewhat quickly, although at times it feels a bit slow. Weir’s method of weaving in past flashbacks with the present moment works well here. Weir has his usual hard science and a lot of scientific explanation, which at times does feel a little too jargon-heavy.

This is an exciting novel overall, and Weir’s best one yet.

Overall: 4 stars out of 5 stars

Book Review – Ninth House – Leigh Bardugo

Book Review – Ninth House – Leigh Bardugo

Facts:

Book: Ninth House

Author: Leigh Bardugo

Genre: Fantasy

Year of Release: 2019

Read 461-page hardcover edition in August 2021.

Book Description:

Galaxy “Alex” Stern has entered Yale and college life, but what nobody knows about her is that she has a secret reason for being there. There are secret houses within the college town of New Haven that are practicing ancient magic. Alex has been assigned to the special house that is tasked with overseeing all other houses, ensuring that ancient laws and safety protocols are followed.

However, when disturbing things start happening early in her training, she begins to question who is involved, and her questions lead to danger for her and her closest associates.

Book Review:

This novel, likely the first in a series, by established YA fantasy writer Leigh Bardugo, is a fantastic and imaginative experience. Bardugo has done a great job creating a world that has a feel of urban and gothic fantasy within it, and a great description of different houses with different powers and specialties. She creates a real sense of wonder and mystery as we see the different talents and skills on display.

Furthermore, Bardugo has created a main character that readers can easily rally behind. Stern has a lot of prior trauma and baggage behind her, and is a strong female voice, a great protagonist who doesn’t back down from challenge around her.

The world is fascinating, and after a bit of a slow start, the plot moves fairly quickly, with some scenes telling the backstory of Stern and how she got to where she is today. The flashback chapters are interesting and woven into the story well, although sometimes they pull us away from the more interesting sections of what is currently happening.

Overall, this is an interesting and exciting novel, and ends in a satisfying way but with enough of a cliffhanger that readers will be excited to get book two of the series, when it is released.

Overall: 4 stars out of 5 stars