manuphoto's reviews
854 reviews

Hominids by Robert J. Sawyer

adventurous emotional hopeful fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

This is my first novel by Robert J. Sawyer; I’ve been looking forward to it for quite some time. 

 

The core idea of the book is very cool and is introduced in a punchy, effective way. It does feel a bit 90s TV (a sort of X-Files vibe), but it’s interesting nonetheless. 

 

From the get-go, Sawyer’s prose is straightforward and efficient. Don’t expect anything lyrical—it’s not the point here—but it’s clear and easy to read without ever feeling dumbed down. Not an easy feat, as authors tend to be boring or frustrating when they try to be more readable. Sawyer manages to avoid these traps—nicely done! 

 

I also liked the whole Canadian vibe of the book, which is fairly absent from most sci-fi novels. Everything that doesn’t happen in space is either in the USA, Europe, or Southeast Asia. It was nice to see some Canadians, Québécois, and local entities represented—I really enjoyed that. Although I felt that the Québécois slang was sometimes misused, I can imagine it’s very hard to place for a non-Québécois author. It’s really me being hard on him here. 

 

Be aware that the book can surprise with its violence (only one real occurrence). It sort of comes out of nowhere, which is the intent, I guess, to intensify the effect. I don’t mind that actually, but some might, so I thought I should mention it. 

 

The novel is fast-paced, a bit too much for my taste. As I’ve said, it feels very TV-like, like an episode unfolding before our eyes. On the one hand, it’s very entertaining and enjoyable; on the other hand, it lacks depth and gravitas, at least for me, but maybe I’m a snob. 

 

It’s strange—I’ve read some John Scalzi stuff that is even faster-paced and worked a bit better, maybe because the core concepts are so bonkers that the fast pacing makes a lot of sense. Sawyer gives us a much more interesting premise than most of Scalzi’s work, but he treats it in a way that makes me want him to slow down and let me immerse myself more in the story. His ideas are great, his characters are great—they are also very diverse, which is fantastic—and it all happens in my country. All those are positives. But I always found myself wanting more attention to those elements, for a slower-paced tale. 

 

It really comes down to me, the reader. I like a slower burn when exploring big ideas. Vernor Vinge does that beautifully, as does Kim Stanley Robinson. Sawyer is clearly aiming for something different here. Although I enjoyed reading this story a lot, I’m not sure that it’ll stay with me as much as it should have. It does feel like a missed opportunity in a way. 

 

It explores very important themes—prejudice, social and sexual statuses, violence, our humanity, etc. And you can see Sawyer does have many things to say; he clearly thought all of it through and it transpires through the novel. I just wish it transpired a bit slower. It’s really a detail in his whole approach when you think about it, but one that mattered to me a lot. 

 

In the second half of the book, Sawyer does slow down a bit and focuses on some aspects of our society, especially religion and physics. But even then, it feels a bit superficial and "too easy," if that makes sense. 

 

I'm really torn here. This is an intelligent, thought-provoking book... that reads like a quick-paced adventure novel. It's a weird mix, and I think it’d be better served with a slower pace and more analytical plotting. Then again, maybe Sawyer did just that in the sequels—I don’t know. 

 

Nevertheless, Hominids is very interesting, quite original, and very enjoyable to read.

L'Incal, intégrale by Mœbius, Alejandro Jodorowsky

adventurous funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

(English below)
Une bande dessinée audacieuse au graphisme surréaliste et à grande échelle.

L’Incal marque par des idées farfelues, son humour grinçant, ses scènes d’actions explosives et son côté totalement déjanté.

Les textes de Jodorowsky sont remarquablement fluides compte tenu du contexte étrange dans lequel ils évoluent. Les dessins de Mœbius servent remarquablement bien l’histoire, notamment par des changement de d’échelle et un dynamisme absolument remarquable.

L’impact de cette œuvre sur le monde de la bande dessinée est indéniable. Il n’y a qu’à lire les Doom Patrol de Morrison pour comprendre. Sortis peu après, ils sont très inspirés de L’Incal.

Côté négatif, l’intrigue est parfois si biscornue qu’on s’y perd et les personnages, bien que clairement définis, ne sont pas attachants. Il y a donc toujours une distance entre nous et l’histoire, un manque de proximité. Ça reste néanmoins une BD très puissante, riche et que je recommande chaudement.
—
A daring comic with surreal, large-scale graphics.

L'Incal is full of wacky ideas, wry humor, explosive action scenes and total madness.

Jodorowsky's texts are remarkably fluid, given the strange context in which they evolve. Mœbius's drawings serve the story remarkably well, with changes of scale and an absolutely remarkable dynamism.

The impact of this work on the world of comics is undeniable. You only have to read Morrison's Doom Patrol to understand. Released shortly afterwards, they are very much inspired by The Incal.

On the negative side, the plot is sometimes so convoluted that you get lost in it, and the characters, though clearly defined, are not endearing. So there's always a distance between us and the story, a lack of closeness. Nonetheless, it's a very powerful, rich comic that I highly recommend.

The Snow Queen by Joan D. Vinge

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

It’s not every day that I read a sci-fi novel based on a Danish fairy tale, so I had no idea what to expect from this book. Add to that the fact that it was my first Joan D. Vinge novel, and I was really going into the unknown.

The book started fairly slowly, with Vinge establishing the rules of her universe step by step, with just enough characters and locations to make the whole thing seem coherent and interesting. I thought she did a great job with her world-building, presenting it through the eyes of multiple characters. It felt a bit like a mix of Asimov’s Foundation universe with a bit of Dune’s fantasy. Although Vinge’s characters are much better than Asimov’s, and her writing is better than Herbert’s (at least in Dune), her concepts are not as creative or original. Nothing is perfect, I guess!

The whole novel is centered around a love story, something I usually don’t care for much. It actually works well here, even if it was a little tedious at times. But that tediousness was compensated by the actions of secondary characters who kept the whole thing moving forward, at least in the first half of the book.

In the second half, things get bogged down. The central character, Moon, proves to be quite uninteresting, although the rest of the cast is multilayered. I cared a lot more about them than her. They all seem to have arcs; she just goes through the motions with a clear goal in sight. She’s consistent, but I found her development thin, especially compared to the other characters.

An example is Jerusha, the police officer. She’s very well handled, and Vinge uses her to demonstrate very intelligently how sexism happens at every level of power structures and how the game is rigged against women. Very well done here.

The novel also tackles colonialism, prejudice, and bigotry in good ways. But it does so a bit too slowly and sometimes with a lack of focus or pacing that makes the whole thing feel dense.

So, this novel has many qualities, but sadly it’s not better than the sum of its parts. It’s good, tackles some very important themes, and has some very compelling characters, but it lacks something. A layer of coherence or improved pacing to make it an excellent novel. It’s frustrating, especially given how good Vinge’s prose is; I can see a great novel here, but I’m only reading a good one. A tad disappointing, in a good way, if that makes sense.

Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold

adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Building on The Curse of Chalion, Bujold sends us back into the world of the Five Gods, this time with Ista at the helm. *Paladin of Souls* is compelling, funny, and interesting but not perfect.

As with other novels by Bujold, her strength lies in the characters. Although I liked Cazaril in The Curse of Chalion, I found him a bit too perfect and straightforward—the perfect knight, but not particularly great or original. Ista is a much more interesting character. She’s flawed, troubled, and brilliant. She’s definitely a great asset to the novel.

The rest of the cast is also well-balanced, with each character having a clear role and some nice twists along the way.

My main gripe comes from the plot and pacing, especially in the middle section of the book. The beginning of the novel feels like an excuse for adventure. Even the other characters are flabbergasted by Ista’s decision to leave for a pilgrimage. Although it’s an excuse, it feels a bit forced. But we go along, as the adventure itself grabs us pretty quickly.

However, once the events of the first part of the book have happened and we get to Castle Porifors, the pace slows down in a peculiar way. Don’t get me wrong; there are compelling story elements here, but the rhythm feels a bit odd. And they stay there for quite a long time, almost the entire middle section of the novel. Part of the problem is me; I’m not much of a fantasy reader, so my patience for showcasing magical concepts is probably too short.

But luckily, things start moving again before it becomes boring. I have to say that Bujold is great at making world-building effortless, something I really appreciate in a fantasy novel. New characters and places are introduced very smoothly. That, plus the well-defined and compelling characters, makes for an easy and enjoyable read when things are moving along.

The third act is quite good, with lots of action. A couple of twists I saw coming a mile away and a couple I didn’t. But the ending is satisfying overall.

I did like this book; I didn’t love it, but I did love some elements in it. Ista is definitely a great character, as are Liss, dy Calbon, and a couple of others. I also appreciated that women are empowered in a smart way by Bujold. She manages to reverse classic gender roles while challenging conservative values—well done.

However, the uneven pacing and relative shallowness of the plot prevent me from loving this book. I had a good time reading it, with Bujold’s easy-to-read prose being a boon, but it won’t really stay with me

The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold

adventurous emotional funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Disclaimer: I’m a big fan of Lois McMaster Bujold. I enjoy her writing, her stories and characters. They are not all masterpieces, most aren’t that “great” per se, but they strike a chord I enjoy. They are well paced, delightful to read, with often a fair amount of subtext for the conscientious reader.

Her prose is very clear, to the point, quite beautiful at times, even if she can be a bit repetitive, especially in her dialogues.

The Curse of Chalion is no exception. It’s very readable, with good and consistent pacing, well drawn (if a bit shallow) characters, a compelling plot and some nice humour. I will say that the hero, Cazaril, is a bit boring. He’s too “perfect” and that makes him uninteresting in my book, at least in part. 

That being said, his storyline is quite good and his relationship with other characters keeps making me want to learn more about him. So it’s not all bad at all, let’s just say I’d wished he was more flawed. He does have one big flaw, he’s a 35 year old man lusting on a far younger woman, but this aspect is evoked only once and doesn’t really play into the story, plus he doesn’t act on it at all. I guess Bujold wanted to humanize her perfect knight but wasn’t sure how to go about it.

Her world building is effortless, and I’m usually someone who dislikes world building in fantasy novels. I often find it detrimental to the story, although I recognize it’s actually what many readers find appealing in those novels. Here, it’s done in a very clever way, alongside the story, without ever interfering or slowing it down. Great job Lois!

The book serves as a very good, if not perfect, introduction to the World of the Five Gods. Apparently, the sequel Paladin of Souls is quite superior to Chalion so I’m going to read that right after this novel.

To conclude: an easy reading fantasy novel, with some darker themes mixed with stark humour and good characters. I do recommend it and look forward to reading the next one in the series.

Autour de la Lune by Jules Verne

adventurous medium-paced

3.0

Beyond This Horizon by Robert A. Heinlein

emotional mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

As usual with Heinlein, the novel starts out strong. He grabs you with a very interesting concept and quite good prose. The first characters you meet are interesting, and you quickly get a feeling that there is some depth to them and to the story.

However, as usual with Heinlein, the gender politics are absolutely disastrous. The first female characters we encounter are purely judged on their looks, or are beaten into submission and actually enjoy it! I know this book was written in the 1940s, but still, not every author from that era was so macho and pigheaded!

I did roll my eyes quite a few times. And it’s a shame, really, as I happened to enjoy the plot and the world-building. I usually like Heinlein’s ideas and prose, but his political and social stances are hard to swallow, even for a writer of the 1940s.

Anyhow… the book moves at a fairly good pace (in the first half or so) and touches on themes such as our humanity, societal organization, etc. There is some action too, quite well done actually, and surprisingly violent at times. Heinlein does know how to write a fight, I’ll give him that.

That being said, the second half of the book, where the most far-fetched concepts are explored, is a bit of a mess. It’s like Heinlein wanted to look into racial prejudice, telepathy, and other ideas but had no real plan as to how to go about it. It’s messy, and I actually found myself quite bored in the last 75 pages or so.

It’s classic Heinlein for me. He starts out strong and then he gets drowned in his own story. That plus the awkward social issues with the author himself. The more I read him, the more I find that he’s not an author for me. I like his ideas, his concepts, his action scenes, and his introductions. But boy, he can be boring as hell and is a pig sometimes.

Farmer in the Sky by Robert A. Heinlein

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Heinlein’s older works are definitely better than his later stuff. 'Farmer in the Sky' is definitely oriented towards adolescent boys from 1950, but that doesn’t prevent it from being a good read and a smart novel on many levels.

First, Heinlein nails the emigrant experience. As someone who emigrated from his home country at 9 years old, I could really relate to Billy’s (the main character) experience when preparing to move to Ganymede (length of the trip notwithstanding). Having to choose what to leave behind and what to take with you, anticipating your future life in that strange new place, having to trust your father that it’s the right thing to do. All those elements rang true to me and made me connect with Billy.

Heinlein’s prose also helps. It’s very straightforward with bits of humor here and there, just to keep you on your toes. In that regard, it reminded me a lot of 'Double Star', where Heinlein used the same kind of pacing and humor sprinkling.

Just keep in mind that you’re reading a book from 1950. It’s fairly campy, and the female characters are either hysterical, bossy, or completely flat. At least there are no unnecessary physical descriptions of women; being targeted at a relatively young audience, I guess it wouldn’t have been proper. Once we actually get to Ganymede, the gender roles are very, very traditional. Men work and women cook. They also 'have their ups and downs', as if men don’t have those... ah, Heinlein… you were a conservative SOB, but I’m digressing.

The plot itself is fairly simple but enjoyable, and every step of it felt real, if that makes sense. At least in the first half of the novel. We follow Bill from Earth to Ganymede, including his voyage on a huge spaceship with 6,000 others. I could always easily picture myself in every scene and appreciate what Heinlein was trying to show me, either about the adventure itself or Bill’s character.

Once the farming begins, actually fairly late in the book, it becomes a bit dull at times and repetitive. I guess Heinlein wanted to show the hardship of pioneering, but there is some deus ex machina happening to solve problems, or very handy neighbors to save the day. It never really rang true, not like the first half of the novel.

Of course, things will go south, Bill & co will face the challenges of terraforming, etc. A decent effort for the 1950s, I have to say, although nowhere near the quality of something like the Mars trilogy. It’s also nowhere near as detailed as a Jules Verne story, even though those are much older. Heinlein went for simple and straightforward. I guess he succeeded in that respect.

Altogether, a decent but not stellar novel, fairly uneven in its quality and relevance, but an interesting read given its year of publication and its author’s influence.

The Nemesis from Terra by Leigh Brackett

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

This book is an interesting snapshot of 1940’s pulpy science fiction. It reads like a sci-fi/action B movie, with all the tropes that come with it. Sort of Rambo II (with the crapy romance) meets Total Recall, but cheesier. 

It’s a quick and easy read, it does feel like an artifact of a past era in literature. It’s not really engrossing, the characters are very shallow and almost everything is quite predictable. But it’s still interesting given when it was written, plus Brackett’s style and pace makes it quite the page turner. I can see how it inspired other stories afterwards too, albeit much better ones.

It’s also pulpy as hell, with the main character Rick being the Uber macho-man, calling the women “baby” or “kid”, showing off is great musculature and healing from serious wounds like I would a little bobo.. Yeah, definitely a mix of Stallone and Schwarzenegger circa 1985, on steroids. Plus, he has charisma! See:

The novel contains passages like:

• (Rick) we’ll fight the power together!
• (The crowd) We don’t want to!
• (Rick) But I’m saying we can! And I’m me!
• (The crowd) OK, we changed our minds. Lead us to glory or death!

Deep stuff indeed…

Some funny concepts, a very “TV movie” execution, a so-so plot. Glad I read it, it’s off the Hugos list, but that’s about it.

Slan by A.E. van Vogt

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

It’s somewhat dated, it’s pulpy, it contains sexism, but for all these very 1940s faults, Slan is actually a very good sci-fi novel, noticeably better than many works from that era. Van Vogt’s prose is clear and well paced. The whole book is quite the page turner and was enjoyable to read. 

 

The core concept of the book is fairly simple but touches on the themes of  discrimination, racism and even slavery. It does so in a way that I enjoy: rather than telling us what is right or wrong, the author is showing us a speculative future to get his point across. That, to me, is one of the greatest strength of speculative fiction and van Vogt does that very well in this novel. 

 

It’s definitely a very 1940’s book, with an evil global government very akin to a fascist State, ruling over Earth. Van Vogt touches on State-enforced bigotry and racism in an interesting and influential way. It is also presented from various point of views, adding depth and context. 

 

Just be aware, every female character is introduced and often described through their looks. The males will be “handsome” or “fine looking”, but the females will be described in much more… detail. As I said, it’s a book from the 1940’s and some parts are very dated. That being said, the females have more agency than most in other books from that era, so there are some positives here. 

 

It reads like a thriller and Van Vogt was smart enough to be vague around the technology that the characters use, so it doesn’t come across as silly every other page. Yes, they still have phone booths and printed newspapers, but those are minor and forgivable quibbles. It wouldn’t be a 1940’s sci-fi story without some mention of atomic power, so there is some, but it’s not predominant at all, thankfully. 

 

The third act errs a little but I liked the ending, swift and satisfying. Definitely worthy of the Retro Hugo.