Axiom's End

This book is the debut novel by video essayist Lindsay Ellis, and it's a stonker. It's been a long time since I read* a first contact story, so I don't have much in my medium-term memory to compare it fairly with, so I'll just talk about my thoughts on it. If you don't find my musing particularly satisfactory here is also an excellent Q & A with the author where she talks at length about things in and around the book.

   Firstly, the aliens themselves. They're pretty darn alien - with wholly different biological, technological and sociocultural norms to humans, which always makes for an interesting read. Ellis has clearly put a lot of thought and effort into developing them as a species and drawing out how and where this conflicts with Earthling sensibility, and as such forms a heavy element of the plot (which for sake of spoilering I will not discuss here).

   Secondly, the main character. While something of an everywoman and thus a highly-engaging perspective through which to be mediated the story and world Ellis has built, I do feel that the narrative would have been a lot more compelling if written in first-person rather than third as it is. That said, and while I stand by the description of Cora as something of an everywoman protagonist - she is not in the typical sense your average main character, showing depths of empathic thoughtfulness that make her relationships with the aliens quite interesting to read as her experience is broadened and challenged. While the prose is perfectly passable I wouldn't go so far as to say it is particularly glitteringly written - but at the same time it is of course well-enough put to page that you don't find yourself rankling at its inadequacy on any front.

   Thirdly and finally, the overarching thematic concern, which (upon my reading of it at least) is the human power structure's tendency toward controlling via secrecy. This theme both helps to drive the plot forward as conspiracies are uncovered and unravelled and gives Cora and the chief alien character a lot to react to and muse upon, making for some pretty provocatively nuanced reflections on the nature of power, security, unity and such, which in the context of alien contact are arguably under-developed concepts in the sci-fi canon.

   So to conclude, I think this is a strong first novel, and while I am excited about the potential for the series to develop in sequels, I'm not tripping over myself to preorder it - but it's 100% the kind of book where when I next see its sequels in charity shops will not hesitate to buy and consume. For anyone who enjoys alien stories and/or political intrigue, and obviously especially the combination of the two, this is a novel I would certainly recommend.

* That said, I technically did write one this year. We seem to have shared idea notes for quite a bit of worldbuilding...

the Tombs of Atuan

This book is the second in the phenomenally magical Earthsea series by Ursula K. Le Guin. We are brought into the story alongside the life's-eye-view of Arha, the high priestess of the dark powers known only to her as "the Nameless Ones", who ate her soul when she was six so she could undertake her lifelong duty. This duty revolves around the protection of sanctified dark spaces under the tombstones - only for one day, Arha to discover an intruder in her labyrinth. A wizard from over the sea whose name he gives as Sparrowhawk - and she learns much of the outside world from this possibly dangerous man... I'll stop there, for spoilers.

   I'm really enjoying this series so far. Le Guin writes masterfully, and the stories she tells are so simple in scope yet epic, mythic even, in their twists and turns that it is very much like reading the real tales of a Yester-Earth dug up afresh for modern audiences. The magic system she uses is more like what real magic is probably like than any incantations found in Harry Potter or the million knock-off forms of sorcery that prevail nowadays. Facing shadows and chasing down one's own frailties is what Le Guin's characters are all about and it makes for a brilliant read.

Watchmen

This book, written by Alan Moore and turned into the resplendent comic it is by Dave Gibbons, is quite rightly affirmed as numbering among the best graphic novels ever written. And it probably is. If you don't want to fall accidentally prey to the Spoiler Virus, much less the inchoate narrative fury of the anarchist wizard* who wrote this thing, look away now and read the novel before you read this post because I'm going to talk about its plot and characters at length. Content warning first because this shit is set in the 1980's.

   First up - the nature of vigilantism in general. The way Moore portrays the motivational and psychological weights that spur someone into this kind of lifestyle is second to none in my book, with Silk Specter and Nite Owl both agreeably displaying the innate childishness (from the fuller perspective) of such activities. I just think he paints the picture so well of what it would be like growing up as a "superhero" then dealing with the fallout of your own doings - police strikes, riots, etc. It sets the scene from the start as a perfectly subversive story about superheroes failing to be super heroic - even when they succeed.

   Why then would anyone choose such a lifestyle? Well, because of man's inhumanity to man - this building strut supports the strong psychological horror elements throughout, seen with especial vivacity through the eyes of Rorschach (who, in turn, sees it through his blotch-fluid mask/face). The scene where he is cross-examined by the prison shrink is absolute genius, and the sheer brutality of some of the crimes described, not to mention acts of violence committed by this paranoid quasi-detective in pursuit of justice and/or survival - is enough to blow anyone's sense for what is normal superhero par for the course. Which leads me nicely onto...

   The Comedian, who though he dies at the beginning of the story embodies the gritty, brutal reality that these characters inhabit better than any other. He was the man who saw the true face of the twentieth century and, as a "joke", decided to become a grotesque, borderline fascist caricature of it. He works for the American government, so that figures. I will say that I am still uncomfortable with how Moore handled his attempted rape of the previous Silk Specter (i.e. her mum) but this still serves an important thematic role for the plot, it's just an uncomfortable flashback all round. That said the Comedian's hyper-gritty aesthetic makes for a compelling read and really helps ground the story overall.

   The other superhero employed by the USA's top echelon is Dr. Manhattan, who is arguably the only "superhero" in the story but may as well be a god (the quote "God is real and he's an American" tells you all you need to know about the hype around this outrageously over-powered character in-world - although I would cite also here Manhattan's own views, "I don't think god exists, and if he does I'm nothing like him") for all the plot purposes. However - he is as fallible and imperfect as anyone who didn't have to reassemble themselves by hacking the fundamentals of atomic reality. He forgets Laurie needs to breathe when he teleports her to Mars, for Pete's sake. A fascinating character who blurs the line between hero and villain, antagonist or not - so well that the moral complexity of his arc throughout the story will leave you breathless. Not to mention imagining the scenes from Vietnam.

   And finally Ozymandias - and every other empire fell... I won't spoil the ending here, but I should just say the way Moore pulls it off is nothing short of a marvel, and his characterisation of the man behind this particular mask is as real-worldly as I can imagine superheroes being made as. Being super smart is proven to be the greatest power when combined with a bit of luck, sheer willpower and the ability to predict the actions of others. Still a whore in Rorscach's book, though I guess that's a fair critique of someone who literally sells action figures of himself and his ex-compatriots/enemies.

   That's the main characters - I've realised I've given away far fewer spoilers than I thought I would given this post's beginning, but I just wanted to give you a flavour of the characters and feel like the post can sit on its own by now. Strongly recommended reading for any fans of the superhero genre, even if you're generally similar to me in only liking the extreme end of this particular category of story. Even short of graphic novels it has to be one of the best novel-length stories out there, superheroes or no. Get reading it if you haven't - and do so before you watch the Zack Snyder film, however relatively good that may be. Thanks also to my housemate Josh, who lent me his copy of this book for my reading.

* I have nothing to corroborate this with, I just assume that if an author is a powerful enough wizard or whatever they auto-cast some kind of curse type doodah on people who disrespect their written works by feeding upon unnecessary spoilers. Oh shit, that puts me in a very precarious position for being here talking about it... Never mind

Xanathar's Guide to Everything

This book is another* of the recommended reads for new Dungeon Masters and their ilk. The eponymous Xanathar is a beholder** who is generally disparaging of humanoids and as such the information laid out here - which is ample, and of a most generous help to the discerning Dungeon Master in their trials and work - is accompanied by misanthropic comments and snide little "ooh look at you lot all being magical and whatnot" type comments, which I found amusing, and they don't really detract from the main content at all. Not one of the core books but a viable case could be made that it should be just to have all bases properly covered.

* That link should bring you to a web page wherein you can access and download pretty much all the main books from Fifth edition. If it doesn't work cut it down to just the initial web address and hunt through the clicky lists for the resource you want.

** And if you don't know what one of them is, you should read the D&D lore books as I am.

the Soul of Wine

This book by Gisela Kreglinger is an entertainingly readable, life-affirming and impressively moderation-levelled introduction to the spirituality of wine. She - coming from a winemaking family - has a deep and rich appreciation for the dimensions of life that the juice of the vine can bring out in human social relations, and she has shared with us in this short book a powerful testimony of what this can look and feel like. I was shocked at some of her theological statements but taken poetically I don't think there's anything in here that all but the most ardent of teetotaller-Puritan Christians should really be bridling at. Jesus loved wine enough to not only develop "a reputation" among the Pharisees but even instituted the sharing of wine as part of his own disciples' maintenance of their relations with him and each other - i.e. the Communion - and as such we should think not drunkenly but drinkingly of the Spirit as the gift of life that it is, given to us to share in the abundance of all good things that God has given His Creation - and call me Bernard Black but I've always held good old fermented grape juice as being one of those higher gifts. You know, like cheese, with crackers and olive paté. A recommended gift book to Christians who like a glass or two. Not a recommended gift book to those struggling with over-drinking, as it will likely just send them into Rasputin mode.

How to Argue with a Cat

This book by Jan Heinrichs claims to be "a human's guide to the art of persuasion", to such extremes that you might not only be able to win arguments against other real people but even cats. Even cats!

   The principles of rhetoric, psychology, context sensitivity and body language discussed in this book are the direct claims of a professional in his field and they make tons of common sense. You will come away from this book feeling empowered to try out your newfound skills of persuasion on any human or cat you can - I did, and it didn't work, because I'm a rat at heart and struggled to get to grips with a lot of the theory. But I'd strongly recommend this one for anyone wishing to become a more persuasive, more effective person.

Rumours of Another World

This book by Philip Yancey is a masterfully composed, Biblically grounded and refreshingly open-minded take on Christian apologetics. Instead of dealing directly with Christian claims and how the world tries to refute them, Yancey begins with the premise that there is more to life than the mundane material lets on. He then leads us through a winding series of arguments tackling some of the biggest blockages against our as natural beings' shortfalls in perception of life and the universe's supernatural elements: the false gods of money, sex and power cloud over much of this reality by demanding God-level attentiveness from their soul-sold devotees, and we get stuck in ruts of finite perception, ignorant of the infinite love and goodness on the "other side" - this despite all Scripture over its history aiming to create and maintain communities deeply rooted in the practice of perception of such Otherness - even believers construct walls to keep out the less-than-neat-or-easy elements of supernatural being.

   I'm using lots of hyperlinks to make points in this post as the themes of this book tie into a lot of things I've read already, but moreso since Yancey's writing style is itself full of "hyperlinks" - he writes extremely accessibly, this is far from an academic slog of a book, and references to previous chapters or other things he's written criss-cross almost every page as he builds us a picture of the unseen Coming Kingdom of Christ - a picture rooted not in human institutions but the communications of a great and absolute God who loves us and desires us to know His goodness first hand. Through the intimations of poetry and work of the imagination we can take steps toward this all-filling spark of creativity and mystery that is the eternal Godhead, who is far closer than most presume to the beating heart of pop culture just as much as the dried-out flakes of gnostic "faith" in what we do not yet know fully - perhaps never will or can know. Some things are God's knowledge and no human mind ever needs to be big or complex enough to comprehend them, and as beings of an amphibious nature, that is we have both bodies and souls - we should be okay with this reality. Only obedience in faith ultimately helps us find the spiritual oases - and only grace will redeem us at the end of history, whenever that may be for us personally.

   This book is a powerful communication of the Christian faith, but philosophically speaking there is a lot in here to pique the interest of skeptics too. I would commend this book to those who are maybe new to spirituality and have no intrinsic reason to doubt or distrust the Jesus traditions - not that there aren't sometimes good reasons to be wary of such - but on the whole it is my experience that life with Christ in it is richer and realer and more enthralling than life without, and so I would hope that in the spirit of receptivity people would not dismiss the supernatural things in our world without at least trying to taste-test them to see what sticks.

Dungeon Master's Guide

This book (again, a free pdf available) is another of the Wizards of the Coast's core rulebooks for fifth edition. I would strongly recommend reading this if you are a games master - and would conversely strongly recommend against reading this if you're only a player as it helps maintain the mystique and narrative quality of the roleplaying element when the PCs are frequently given fresh new methods of stumping themselves or winding up in plot corners at the DM's behest... It's a license for all manner of cruelty should you wish to see it as thus, for Dungeon Masters must practice that sanest of all game-management principles: it's kinder to be cruel, to be the "bad guys" and give the Player Characters something to really strive for - it's more fun that way! 

Baptism and Fullness

This book by John Stott I admittedly mostly speed-read, as it was about as intellectually challenging as a typical Christianity Today article scaled up to a full book - that's not meant to sound disparaging, it's a signifier of how accessibly and readably Stott writes, while never losing the merit of soundness and authority with which he can dispense such rich theological wisdom. The core topic covered in this book is the "fillingness" by which Christ bestows the Holy Spirit on his adopted brethren; how by the sign of the water we open ourselves to spiritual baptism from heaven that sanctifies us in the sight of God and helps us on our walk in space-time by grounding us in the light of eternity. A profoundly encouraging book and one I would highly recommend to new Christians, or the friends of these, to dig out the vibrant and heartwarming truths Stott so deftly lays out about our newfound identity and flourishing through Jesus.