Book Review: Deathstalker War

Deathstalker War by Simon R. Green
Published: July 1997
Publisher: ROC (Penguin)
Audience: Everyone
Pages: 528
Buy the Book: Amazon
Book Rating: 5/5
Audiobook Length: 15 Hours
Buy the Audiobook: Defiance Audio
Audiobook Rating: 5/5







At last. The war that has been promised to the reader for over 1000 pages has finally arrived. Out of the three books I have read so far in the series, this is by far the best. Not only does the rising action of the first two books climax with the intergalactic war between the various rebellion factions and the empire, but we also get a fair amount of character development across the board with all of the main characters.

The book was surprising for me in that an number of unexpected twists occur in the final chapters of the novel, and that the author does a good job of setting up the series for the next book(s), and does it without taking 1000 pages to do it. The author also leaves a number of unanswered questions on a number of fronts as well. I suppose I would question the author as to why he went to the trouble of going into such detail about the empire when, by the end of the book, none of it really weighs in on the story itself and is implied by the end of the book that it will cease to be or mutate into something else entirely.

While the book was quite good, full of action and intrigue, I suppose, upon reflection, what the first three books have in common is not exactly filler, but tangential material that doesn't bear upon the plot or, if it does, to little effect. For example, the storyline of the masked gladiator that runs through all three of these books, upon its conclusion, has no bearing upon the story and served no point really in the first place. So, if that's the case, why add it? All you need to say is that Finley is a superb warrior. There. Done. I have communicated the information to you that took pages upon pages in the books. Does Finley's double personas matter? No (or at least thus far) so, why have it? It doesn't add to Finley's character, or enrich the book per-se other than. The Empire has arena battles for entertainment. Bam! Information communicated. Also, the dark void device, the MAIN plot of book 1, is not  mentioned except in passing in books 2 and 3.

I suppose the novels being a space opera in part does allow for the embellishment of the storyline, but it seems that there are just too many bells and whistles in this series that bog down the reader and slow down the story. That being said, Deathstalker War is a good read.

Book Review: Deathstalker Rebellion

Deathstalker Rebellion by Simon R. Green
Release Date: July 1996
Publisher: ROC (Penguin)
Audience: Everyone
Pages: 508
Buy the Book: Amazon
Book Rating: 4/5
Defiance Audio Length: 15 Hours
Buy the Audiobook: Defiance Audio
Audiobook Rating: 3.5/5







Deathstalker Rebellion is similar to the first book in the series-Deathstalker-in that it, too, seems preoccupied with staging the pieces for the third book in the series, Deathstalker War. The main story arc in this book is the rebels various attempts to financially sabotage the empire and to destroy the new stardrive factory on Technos III while simultaneously trying to unite the various rebel forces and come to terms with the changes wrought on them by the madness maze. In addition, this book also introduces a number of enemies to humanity, including Ghost Warriors and two unknown alien species.

I think that the series, at least to this point, suffer from too many characters and too many things going on, the resulting books being slightly bloated and some of the characters getting lost in the shuffle, or pushed towards the back of a large crowd of tertiary characters. You have: the main part of rebels and all the things they are dealing with; the various rebel groups of humans, clones, and espers; Lionstone and her cohorts; the court and the various families vying for power; infighting in the families; humanity fighting aliens; humanity dealing with the Hadenmen and the A.I. from Shub; and the list goes on. . . It is not surprising that both the first and second books in the series are over 500 pages apiece.

However, that being said, the book kept my attention for the most part. There were moments when a group of rebel factions were arguing or scenes with talking that really doesn't do much but serve as filler that my attention waned. But the entire section on Technos III was really good, and Silas and Frost's (my favorite characters) storyline was really good. Although, I was listening to the audiobook on the drive to and from work, so I can't say if I had been given the book to sit down and read, I wouldn't have gotten bored with it and turned to something else.

For all the main characters, other than dealing with the changes imparted by the madness maze, really can't be said to evolve to show personal growth in this novel. Yes, Jack Random comes into his own again, and the various members of the main group start to work better with one another, but other than that, things stay pretty much the same for the characters from the first book.

Overall, this book, while entertaining, is still setting up the pieces but, like a freight train, is slowly, but surely, gathering speed.

Film Friday - The Surrogates Review

Title: The Surrogates

Genre: Action/Sci-Fi/Thriller
Directed by: Jonathan Mostow
Written by:
Michael Ferris,
John Brancato
Starring:
Bruce Willis,
Radha Mitchell,
Rosamund Pike,
Ving Rhames
Release Date: September 25, 2009

Rating 2.5/5

The Surrogates is an idea that had potential, but was left in the lurch when executed. The basic story is that humans, through fear of personal harm or death stay inside while their robotic counterparts-surrogates-take their place in the real world driving, at their job, parties, etc, etc. However, a sect of the population are against the concept of surrogates and a cyber-terrorist develops a program that fries a surrogate on site, with the side-effect of killing the person operating it via. computer programs.

Bruce Willis, a cop, investigates the string of murders that leads him throughout the city through high society and the camps where the anti-surrogate humans live. However, his character's surrogate is destroyed and he must face the world merely human after years of living as a surrogate. Bruce Willis must find the terrorist and stop him from frying the entire mainframe-and all the humans wired into it.

While trying not to sound pretentious, the movie just felt conventional. I really didn't see anything new as far as tropes and plot points go: corrupt upper class, corrupt rebels, main character with one foot in two worlds and having to decide which to stay in, conglomerate majority, scattered minority, etc. That, and the exploring of this new world doesn't show anything that hasn't been seen before (beauty and body are easily sculpted, you can do all sorts of crazy things with your robot body) and nothing more than that is really explored. However, I feel that the makeup/CGI for the surrogates in the film is very successful in that they look human, but are not. The film succeeds in placing the surrogates in the uncanny valley for the viewer.

Also, it feels like many of the characters were phoned in. It seems that Bruce Willis was there for the paycheck. Yes, I understand they are robots and 'expression' should be dulled and all that, but all the acting seemed tired. I would say that the main 'point' the movie was trying to get across (that living vicariously through electronics and the Internet destroys what is human inside of us) is represented in the rocky marriage between Willis's character and his wife. However, this isn't really explored enough I feel to make the audience care about the characters or the negative effected the surrogates have on their marraige and society at large.

That, I feel, is the main failing of the movie. It fails on every account to make me care for the main characters, those in charge, the rebels, and the man who created the system. The only person I felt sorry for was the I.T. guy who got held hostage. And for a tertiary character to be the only one the viewer cares whether they live or die is a bad indicator that the relationship between the characters is flawed to begin with, or the actors fail to accurately portray the characters. I still think its on netflix instant streaming so, if you are bored and want to burn a couple hours watching a dystopic film, The Surrogates has its moments amidst the blandness, but those are few and far between. It's like a bowl of lucky charms with only a couple marshmallows.

Book Review: Deathstalker

Deathstalker by Simon R. Green
Release Date: February 1995
Publisher: ROC (Penguin)
Audience: Everyone
Pages: 528
Buy the Book: Amazon
Book Rating: 4/5
Defiance Audio Length: 15 Hours
Buy the Audiobook: Defiance Audio
Audiobook Rating: 3.5/5






I am a bit torn on this book. I attempted several times to read the book when I picked it up at a thrift store, but it moved too slowly to keep my attention. However, as an audiobook it kept my attention and interest. In short, this novel takes it time telling the story of a corrupt empire and the people, willingly or forced, who rebel against the empire. Owen Deathstalker, an aristocrat, is outlawed by the empress in order to obtain the Dark Void device, a weapon capable of destroying 1000 suns. The story follows Owen Deathstalker as he flees from world to world, collecting a eclectic band of pirates, warriors, and rebels, to locate and keep the device out of the empress's hands.

I enjoy the book primarily because of the heavy doses of political intrigue that abound in the Deathstalker books I have read thus far. From the many aristocratic families trying to kill one another, to the various rebel factions bumping heads, if you desire a book that could be based off of Risk 2042 (provided it covered the entire empire) you will enjoy the book. However, for a sci-fi book, it is slow and while there are aliens and strange devices and new technology, they are few and far between and seem almost like placeholders until the multi-book story gets up to speed. Both Deathstalker and Deathstalker: Rebellion seem like their purpose is to explore this empire as its being created by the author and setting up the pieces for later books to play with.

As a stand-alone book it feels like a series of mini-arcs confined to specific planets than a story-wide arc so, if you plan to just read this and walk away I would recommend reading other sci-fi books in your queue. However, I think once you get into the book (by that I mean several hundred pages) it will keep your interest and you will continue on with the story as it progresses in subsequent books.

Audiobook Content:

While the Deathstalker series aren't rife with sound effects and background music and atmospherics, they do have a full cast, and the narrator from the Deathlands series narrates these as well. However, when the effects are used they stand out more than the Deathlands series and, sometimes, they clash with whats in the story and pull you out of the story. Not bad audiobooks in my opinion.

Book Review: Garbage World

Garbage World by Charles Platt
Release Date: July 1977
Publisher: Leisure Books
Audience: Everyone
Pages: 120
Buy the Book: Amazon
Book Rating: 5/5









I suppose I should start this by stating that I am perhaps bias in my rating of this book as it is one of those guilty pleasure novels for me. I know its probably not a top shelf novel, but I still enjoy reading it, which is the point of books. I stumbled across this book at a small used book store years ago for a dollar (which is now a place that sells liquor and cigarettes...sigh).

The basic story is that a solar system obsessed with cleanliness exports all of their garbage to a defunct asteroid. However, the planet is also home to the descendants of the people who attempted to terraform the asteroid, exiles, and convicts.  A group of surveyors sent to update the asteroids artificial gravity equipment are faced not only with the filth and garbage that is an anathema to them, but the citizens who have learned to live in their surroundings and have developed a culture set in opposition to that of the 'civilized' asteroids.

Oliver, a low-ranking member of the expedition is tasked with the job of ambassador to the 'natives' and the driving force behind the plot is Oliver's attempts to come to terms with...well...dirt, and also how the 'natives' view themselves and the world around them. As Oliver does his own job, he notices that the 'surveyors' are not who they claim to be and perhaps the civilized asteroids have other plans for the garbage world and its population.

Probably a harder pulp novel to come across nowadays but, if you find a copy, I recommend picking it up as it will provide you with a fun afternoon of sci-fi, anthropologists, and garbage.

Book Review: Deathlands 63: Devil Riders

Devil Riders by Nick Pollotta
Release Date: September 2003
Publisher: Worldwide Library/Gold Eagle
Audience: Mature
Pages: 346
Buy the Book: Amazon
GraphicAudio Length: 7 hours
Buy the Audiobook: GraphicAudio
Book Rating: 3/5
Audiobook Rating: 3/5






Book Synopsis:
Legend Reborn: Stranded in the salty desert wastes of West Texas, Ryan and his companions find pre-Dark wheels and set out on a treacherous journey across inhospitable terrain. Hopes for a hot meal and clean bed in an isolated ville die fast when the companions run into a despotic baron manipulating the lifeblood of the desert: water. But it's his fortress stockpiled with enough armaments to wage war in the dunes that interests Ryan, especially when he learns the enemy may be not other than the greatest - and long dead - Deathlands legend: the Trader.

Review:
"A good old fashioned water monopoly" Doc Tanner's comment in regards to the ville they encounter sums up the second half of the novel as the companions, in the middle of a salt desert in Texas, enter a barony only to face a long bloody fight to escape as the baron is convinced they are agents of the thought long dead Trader. Ryan and his companions, faced with their own deaths, question the certainty of Trader's death so long ago...

Much like the previous book, 'Devil Riders' has little, if anything, to do with the Devil Riders, a biker gang. Their purpose in the book is to operate as a Trojan Horse for Trader's troops to infiltrate a ville of cannibals. However, the ruse is immediately uncovered and Trader's troops promptly blow the ville sky-high, making the Devil Riders for all intents and purposes, worthless.

My main problem with this book is that it serves as a 'setting up of the pieces' for the author, the only point showing that Ryan, Traders troops, the baron, and his men, are all going to meet up and have a big fight. Unlike the Gate trilogy, the first book in this entry doesn't really operate as a stand-alone novel. The plot of this novel is their clash with the baron and destroying his town, but, as I said, it feels more like a vehicle to move the necessary people into the necessary position rather than plot plot. Not to mention the plot is extremely rushed. No sooner do they get into town do they get attacked, then uncover the hidden water supply, blow it up, and escape into the desert.

However, despite this, the book kept me interested enough to see it through to the end, though, upon reflection, the book's plot, as it stands, really has no consequence other than possibly reintroducing the Trader. That, and the city, regardless of how little we see of it, is pretty interesting. I will hold my opinion on whether it is a read or skip until I finish the trilogy.


GraphicAudio Component:
Like the last audiobook, my complaints are similar. 1. They still have the new voice actor for Krysty which I don't care for. 2. The scream of the millipedes the companions fight for the first half of the book gets extremely annoying after the 20th time. Otherwise, a decent rendition of the book.

Book Review: The Drive-In: A “B” Movie with Blood and Popcorn, Made in Texas

The Drive-In: A “B” Movie with Blood and Popcorn, Made in Texas by Joe R. Lansdale
Published: 1988
Publisher: Bantam Books
Audience: Mature
Pages 176
Buy the Book: Amazon
Book Rating: 5/5








Book Synopsis:
Friday night at the Orbit Drive-in: a circus of noise, sex, teenage hormones, B-movie blood, and popcorn. On a cool, crisp summer night, with the Texas stars shining down like rattlesnake eyes, movie-goers for the All-Night Horror Show are trapped in the drive-in by a demonic-looking comet. Then the fun begins. If the movie-goers try to leave, their bodies dissolve into goo. Cowboys are reduced to tears. Lovers quarrel. Bikini-clad women let their stomachs’ sag, having lost the ambition to hold them in. The world outside the six monstrous screens fades to black while the movie-goers spiral into base humanity, resorting to fighting, murdering, crucifying, and cannibalizing to survive.

Review:
If Amazon's summary doesn't have you clicking the 'add to cart' button, I don't know what will. Close to 200 pages, The Drive-In is a quick read and is a lot of fun. My brother tends to come across an eclectic variety of novels and loaned this to me and I read it in one sitting. The book, starting off like a coming of age story, quickly turns for the worse as the main characters, journeying to a huge drive-in, become trapped there with the rest of the patrons. Many theories are suggested but soon become moot as the people trapped in the drive-in slowly go insane. However, mere mortals are the least of the main characters worries as the people in the drive-in begin to worship a being called 'The Popcorn King'. Faced with dangers on all sides, the main characters must not only think of a way to escape the drive-in, but the Popcorn King and it's followers.

This book can appeal to the 'check your brain at the door' readers who want a good rollercoaster ride, but the book at times does explore the depth of human depravity and the quickness with which the thin veneer of society is rubbed away. Violent, funny, mad maxian, with monstrous creatures and possibly some aliens, this book is truly an homage to the 1950s scifi flick, monster movie, and slasher flick....and a coming of age for our main characters.

My brother only had the first novel in the trilogy and for his birthday I noticed on amazon that, to my surprise and pleasure, that the series had been compiled into one treasure replete with concept art for the now defunct movie of the book, and good forewords and introductions. So, I picked it up. Highly recommended. I plan to read the other two books in the trilogy soon.

Book Review: Deathlands 62: Damnation Roadshow

Damnation Roadshow by Alan Philipson
Release Date: June 2003
Publisher: Gold Eagle
Audience: Mature
Pages: 352
Buy the Book: Amazon
GraphicAudio Length: 7 Hours
Buy the Audiobook: GraphicAudio
Book Rating: 2/5
Audiobook Rating: 2/5






Book Synopsis:
Monsters, Muties, and Freaks: Eerie remnants of pre-Dark times linger a century after the nuclear blowout. But a traveling road show gives new meaning to the word chilling. Ryan and his warrior group have witnessed this carny's handiwork in the ruins and victims of unsuspecting villes. Even facing tremendous odds does nothing to deter the companions from challenging this wandering death merchant and an army of circus freaks. And no one is aware that a steel-eyed monster from the past is preparing a private act that would give Ryan star billing . . .  

Review:
This book is probably one of the weakest entries in the series in recent memory. Damnation Roadshow suffers from a divided interest with the multiple storylines that occur in the book. Essentially you have the first storyline in which Ryan and his companions face off against the mysterious and mythical Magus and (now that Wolfram is dead) his traveling carnival. The second storyline involves a small town which is ruled by a religious leader of sorts which maintains control over his subjects with the help of a local biological oddity. It seems as if the author had two ideas, but neither idea was substantive enough to fill a whole book and so both storylines were cobbled together and, as such, neither story arc feels fleshed out or given adequate attention. [Full Review Below]

The GraphicAudio Component:
Personally, I did not like this particular GraphicAudio book that much. The voice actor for Krysty was changed to the voice actor who did the voice of the leader of The Gate Amazons and that voice actor does nothing to alter her voice, so it sounds like Ryan and the The Gate leader are traveling together now. Also, throughout the story arc with the carnival they use the stereotypical carnival music in the background that, after awhile, gets annoying. That and the whining of Crecca's sticky started to grate on me after awhile. The GA rendition of the second storyline was good, however, lightning and other sound effects for the bioweapon added to the ambiance. 

Book Review: Deathlands 61: Skydark Spawn

Skydark Spawn by Edo Van Belkom
Release Date: March 2003
Publisher: Gold Eagle
Audience: Mature
Pages: 352
Buy the Book: Amazon
Graphic Audio Length: 7 Hours
Buy the Audiobook: GraphicAudio
Book Rating: 3/5
Audiobook Rating: 5/5 






Book Synopsis:
Foul Impetus: In the relatively untouched area of what was once Niagara Falls, Ryan and his fellow wayfarers find the pastoral farmland under the despotic control of a twisted baron and his slave-breeding farm. Ryan, Mildred and Krysty are captured by the baron's sec men and pawned into the cruel frenzy of their leader's grotesque desires. JB, Jak and Doc enlist the aid of outlanders to organize a counter strike - but rescue may come too late for them all.


Review:
Overall, this story is a relatively bland entry in the series and seems to rely too heavily upon the novelty of a society fashioned after the lifestyle of Hugh Hefner (men and women having multiple partners, having sex daily, etc, etc...) and, as a result, does not take advantage of the more interesting aspects of novel. For example, excluding the two times the companions travel to the Alaskan redoubt, this is the groups first foray into Canada. I have always enjoyed the novels in the Dealthands series that take them out of the country; at this point in the series the history and general terrain of America is pretty much known and it is interesting to see how the rest of the world has fared since the nuclear war between America and Russia.

Another problem I have with this book (well, I suppose a number of the books) is the title. Going into the book, one would assume the central concern of companions would be with this 'Skydark Spawn' given that it the title of the book. However, the skydark spawn is rarely utilized by the author and operates more as a interested onlooker throughout the book.

Despite my problems with the book, the two story arcs in the book are fairly humorous. The three companions trapped inside Fox Farms come up with interesting ways of navigating the farm life and surviving the sadomasochistic whims of the baron and his men (including one of the most painful moments I've come across in the series involving Krysty and a knife) while the companions rescuing Ryan, Krysty, and Mildred come to a unique solution to break into the farm.

For me, the most interesting piece of information given in this book is the history behind the skydark spawn. Apparently the government wasn't the only group funding top secret R&D...

The GraphicAudio Component:
 Skydark Spawn was a decent entry in GraphicAudio's audiobook renditions of the Deathlands Series. Particularly in the third act of the book which includes an extended firefight for the control of Fox Farms is fun to listen to as it includes several large caliber machine guns, something which isn't in many of the books and its nice to hear something besides the companions usual arsenal. The voice acting for all the characters beyond the companions is done quite well, especially Baron Fox. While the book doesn't add much to the Deathlands series, its a good listen via GA.

Welcome to Salvaged Material

In part to help with adjusting the blog, colorization, etc. but also I suppose to state the purpose of this exercise in futility. I am a fan of dystopic books, and also am attempting to write in the genre as well (yet another futile attempt). Essentially this blog is for me to put up book reviews for other fans of the genre and also post now and again about the genre itself, its tropes, mechanics, and other elements, again, for those interested. I am interested, after awhile, in expanding the boundaries of this blog to include other areas of interest. Basically after escaping the desolate wasteland that is college, I am on good terms with a number of colleagues with a wide array of literary interests and it is my hope to have them post similar discussions in their respective genres.