Book Review: The Scarlet Plague

The Scarlet Plague by Jack London
Release Date: 1912
Publisher: London Magazine / Macmillian
Audience: Everyone
Pages: 68
Buy the Book: Amazon
Download the Book: Project Gutenberg
Book Rating: 3.5/5








While technically a short story, The Scarlet Plague is still, nevertheless, a good read. A fairly straightforward story by Jack London, James Smith, one of the few survivors of a global epidemic half a century prior, sits down with his grandchildren and narrates the story as it happened to him. As he does this, he attempts to impart the wisdom of a bygone world to them.


While Smith narrates the story much like a news story, or radio broadcast (Think Welle's broadcast of War of the Worlds ) it is still a compelling story as you watch the collapse of modern civilization over the course of a few days. Written in 1912, it reads like much of the science fiction of the late 19th early 20th century in that it is, to modern readers, both futuristic and archaic in its description of civilization. It feels like the space age 1950s that brought us the Jetsons. Smith recalls the outbreak and 99.99% fatality rate of The Scarlet Plague and narrates his party's flight from the city towards the mountains. It also includes the renewal of tribal life as mankind is reduced, insofar as Smith knows, to around 200 people.

The story does recall The Last Man by Mary Shelley, but the author is less introspective, and the language is less flowery and dense. (It would kind of have to be given its page count ;) ). The thing I appreciate in this story, beyond the tale of survival, is the interaction between Smith and his grandchildren and how someone, who was a renowned scientist, deals with a world reduced to tribal rules and organization and is slowly becoming more superstitious and disbelieving of scientific discovery we take for granted today (germs being one of them for example).

A good read, and a shorter read, it is recommended. Unless your a sucker for the hard copy of books, I recommend downloading this from Gutenberg, or another service. I found mine on Kobo for my e-reader for free. I imagine it is available electronically for the Kindle, etc..

Film Friday: Contagion ( 2011 ) Movie Review

Title: Contagion
Genre: Thriller/Independent
Directed by: Steven Soderbergh
Written by: Scott Z. Burns
Starring:
Matt Damon
Laurence Fishburne
Jude Law
Gwyneth Paltrow
Release Date: September 9th, 2011
Rating: 4.5/5





Its Matt Damon running away from things!!! Whoo! Or, in the case of Contagion, Matt Damon and the rest of humanity are running from a deadly strain of flu which can kill within a matter of days. The movie interests itself by following a number of characters including workers from the WHO, bloggers, scientists, and your regular joe as they all attempt to deal with the disease, find a cure, and come to terms with its aftereffects (death, societal discord, looting, etc, etc.)

If you have seen the movie Crash, this movie also follows a number of individuals who are seemingly connected to one another despite differences in jobs, geography, and class because of this plague. At one point or another one or more of these characters interact with one another while attempting to find a cure. The movie and plot are delivered to the audience without the smarmyness of a natural disaster movie, rather, the story is told in a very plainclothes way that gives an accurate look at what would happen should  large plague cover the globe without becoming a pseudo-documentary or preaching to the audience.

I suppose my two main complaints are that some of the characters storylines are not as connected to the overall story or reach any satisfying conclusion. For example, Jude Law's character, a whistleblower/blogger figure, there really isn't a clear motivation for his actions nor conclusion to his storyline. You could also say this about Matt Damon's character as well.

Also, since this story is told so plainclothes I am at a loss to tell you the -exact- plot. You got people dealing with a disease and....? It is suggested by the director that this is just another episode of many of humanity dealing with a plague. So, if that's the case, then why is this plague special? Why are these people highlighted? Why this story now? What's the significance? The movie isn't a cautionary tale nor spouting a particular political agenda, rather, it is neutrally telling this tale and, for that reason, it is hard to pinpoint exactly what this movie is communicating to the audience.

However, I found Contagion to be a very compelling movie and a movie well put together and I think it is worth a watch, even if I am unsure what you will be watching.

Book Review: Oryx and Crake

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
Release Date: March 2004
Publisher: Doubleday
Audience: Everyone/Adult
Pages: 378
Buy the Book: Amazon
Book Rating: 4/5









Oryx and Crake is centered around a man called Jimmy from upper society. The story follows two distinct storylines 1. The 'present' where civilization has collapsed years prior and Jimmy (now known only as Snowman) is an old hermit and 2. A series of flashbacks of Jimmy's life from early childhood up to and including the apocalypse.

The story is primarily concerned with the relationship between the three main charcters: Jimmy, his best friend and genius Glenn, and the love interest between the two only known as Oryx. However, it also examines a number of societal issues generally focused around the notion of a immoral and desensitized civilization and what could become of the world should social, moral and ethical restrains become lifted (child pronography, live executions on television, extensive genetic tinkering with plants and animals, etc) Further, both Jimmy and Glenn are from the upper echelons of society (geneticists and their families are protected and given all the luxuries) while Oryx and the rest of the world try to survive, serve the needs to the massive genetic companies, and, to a large extent, consume and buy the products the companies tell them they should.

However, Glenn aka Crake soon becomes dissatisfied and then resentful of the society he lives in and humanity in general and starts genetically engineering a species of human he believes was the intended end result of our evolution, not human beings as we known them today. However, Jimmy is not only in competition with Glenn for Oryx's attentions, but also in a continuing debate between the two over what makes us human, ideas about civilization, and, ultimately, if mankind should survive.

While this book includes a lot of social commentary it is not heavy handed and comes across naturally in the book as the two almost opposites (Jimmy and Glenn) take each side of the argument throughout the book. The book is structured extremely well and keeps the reader wondering as to what happens next both in the books 'present' and in the past. Atwood has engineered an fascinating world in this book that explores the possibilities of science and society without restriction, and the dangers thereof. A good book and I recommend checking it out if you get the chance.

Book Review: The Last Man

The Last Man by Mary Shelley
Release Date: February 1826
Publisher: Henry Colburn
Audience: Everyone
Pages: 432
Read the Book Here: Project Gutenberg
Buy the Book: Amazon
Book Rating: 2.5/5









A lesser known title by Mary Shelley and regarded as one of her weaker works, The Last Man follows a group of individuals (generally understood to operate as roman à cléf for Shelley and her circle of literary friends) as they flee across Europe to escape a plague that is wiping out mankind.

This book also fits the definition of dystopian literature in that Mary Shelley sets her novel in the year 2100. If one could make a definitive argument that Frankenstein is not a dystopian novel, they would be hard pressed to make a similar argument about this novel. You have social order breaking apart, with new social groups emerging as they react to the plague and attempt to survive, and, well, you have a clearly defined apocalypse. Much like a natural disaster movie in the same vein, you follow a group of people as they navigate a crumbling world and try to make sense of it all.

I have only read this book once as I have somehow misplaced my copy of The Last Man and, to be honest, it took me awhile to get through it as it moves much slower than Frankenstein and I sat it aside a couple times to read something else as well. I think the problem is sometimes it gets mired down in details of day to day and, in all honesty, extensive monologues reflecting upon the apocalypse cast in 19th century language can get tedious at times. Not to mention the blood and chaos we typically think of if the apocalypse occurred today isn't there in The Last Man. Yes, you do have some of it, and it has been several years since I read it, but I just don't recall much other than the group traveling from place to place with people dying en masse across Europe.

For those who read contemporary dystopian literature, the offerings of the 19th century are a fascinating departure from today's offerings in that ideas concerning the end of the world 100+ years ago and the general mindset was quite different. There was a lot of exploration of the idea of the end of the world and the 19th century is really worth an exploration of to see what is has to offer. As far as The Last Man is concerned, I would recommend checking your local library to check it out or, if you see it for a couple bucks, it can't hurt to pick it up, but it takes it time telling its story (to the detriment of the novel I feel) and it may lose the readers attention.