So Much Promise Missed: The Difference Engine by Sterling and Gibson

This book is pretty uneven, but I suppose that comes from two authors mailing floppy disks back and forth to each other.

The world that they build is pretty interesting, and it seems that that was the basis of more of the conversations between Gibson and Sterling (I have to confess, I’ve only read like three previous Gibson books, and none of Sterling’s full-length books. I think that though they are still working writers, there’s a very 80s sense of their being, maybe like the Bright Lights Big City guy or the American Psycho guy (Yes, I know their names.)).

There are several characters in this world where some tech is advanced and the US is divided between several nations – more like Europe now than the US is now. And there’s some stuff happening about luddites fighting back and breaking down the computerized government set in motion by Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace (and many of the Eminent Victorians make an appearance).

I don’t know who invented steampunk, but this one has the fun hallmarks of the genre – tech, Victorian London, fun anachronisms…. Is this the start? Here’s the real thing though. You need interesting characters doing interesting things to make a 500-page book readable. For me, there was a lot of stuttering, and the real interesting part of the narrative spanned pages 200-400 approximately. The narrative starts to break down at the end, and I was really close to abandoning the book in the last section, but I figured that there has been ok stuff going on until that point so maybe there is going to be some pay off. There was no payoff.

It turns out the authors were trying to convey that the book was unraveling because it was being written by the computer in the book. It wasn’t obvious to me. I regret the time I spent finishing it up, hoping in vain that there would be something worthwhile. There was nothing. It could have been edited to its core and been a quality instrument. As is, there is too much chaff.

Don't Hurt Me: Ansari's "Modern Love"

For the most part, Ansari’s book can pass as a contemporary social science book.

It is so conventional, in fact, it cites both Iyengar’s “Jam Study” and the Aron / Dutton “Bridge Study”. It does not invoke Philip Zimbardo, Milgram, or the Marshmallow study, as far as I know. For what it is, it is an interesting look into the dating scene for the contemporary lonely-hearts in terms of modern courtship. It is, at its heart, a larger explication of the book “Dataclysm” by Christian Rudder (who the author cites).

What makes the book stand out is the credited author is the famous comedian Ansari (His coauthor makes the inside flap copy, but not the cover). Ansari’s voice is very noticeable throughout the text – but I had the feeling that on reading that the authorial intrusions would be relatable to people who know the speech cadences of the comedian, but perhaps off-putting to those who were unfamiliar. Aside from the fact that the argument could be made that the book’s look at modern love is one that is highly privileged to the urban and straight first world, the book works for what it is.  Fans of both the comedian and contemporary social science books should find something that is interesting and entertaining stories to pass on.

Unto The Light: Kim Stanley Robinson's "Aurora"

This is the first book I have read by the author.

I’m pretty sure I will read more.

Overall, the book was very easy to read. The plot worked. The main characters worked.

The setting: I had a bit of trouble conceptualizing the ship, which is basically a ship that is sent out with all the known biomes of earth so that the ship can seed a new planet. In the descriptions, the ship didn’t seem big enough for all the author wanted from it. But I realized that it was mostly a metaphor for earth. The idea was cool and all, so in reading I gave my world-building issues a bit of a pass.

Until the end.

I don’t want to spoil things, but the plot worked – until the end (for me, because reading is a subjective experience shaped by all my own experiences which may or may not be shared by you).

But the thing felt tacked on as if the author had created this wonderful detailed painting, but didn’t leave enough space anywhere for him to sign it. It didn’t feel true to the characters or the plot and it felt a little fantastic. Though the world at the end is interesting and worthy of more interest, how the characters got there isn’t as important.

So, like, I’ll read more.

This just may not have been the best introduction.