Saturday Review Post, 1/21/2012

John Donohue - Deshi


I read this on the train from DC to Philly, rounding out my trashy book week. Connor Burke is an Irish-American academic martial artist. His chosen martial art is kendo, the art of the sword, but it is implied that he is also a black belt in at least two other arts - judo and akido, I think. His brother is a New York City detective. Connor gets called in by his brother when an execution style murder scene includes some Asian calligraphy - Connor needs to translate, and then explain. This, of course, pulls Connor into a complicated mystery involving power among gangs in New York and honor among martial artists.

It's a creditable novel. Donohue (an Irish-American academic martial artist, oddly enough) knows his material. The martial arts are all well described (but not overly so - there were only a couple of places where I felt like "you know, I don't really need to know how that particular fight went down, thanks"), and the whole work held together very well. A good mystery, with a reasonable motive and a satisfactory ending.

This is the second book in what looks to be a trilogy. Donohue does an excellent job of giving enough detail from the first book that you know the connections between the characters, but not so much that you feel like you really should have read the first book. (Nor anywhere near so much that you feel that reading the first book would be unnecessary.) I'm going to look for the first book (Sensei).

Thomas Mullen - The Revisionists


A sci-fi spy thriller. The premise is twisty. Z has come from the future to our present. So, ok, you're thinking Terminator, right? And, ok, fine - think Terminator. But Z is not Kyle Reese. Z is the Terminator. His mission is to ensure that horrible thing happen to us so that his perfect society can blossom out of the ashes of our destruction. In particular, Z has been sent to protect a series of events from "hags" - historical agitators - who have come back out of some misguided attempt to "save" us from ourselves. Z is equipped with a replica of a present 9 millimeter, and some impressive skull based equipment, including a Genescan which allows him to see hags, and mental access to thousands of files in a database, which allow him to accurately predict when, where, and to whom things are going to happen.

Leo is ex-CIA. He may or may not have leaked information about torture at black sites to the New York Times. He is currently working for a civilian government contractor, doing more or less the same things he used to do for the CIA. His current job is to monitor the activities of an anti-war anti-government secrecy group (essentially wikileaks, but not quite). While shopping for groceries one day, he runs into a confused Indonesian woman also shopping for groceries, and discovers that she is the deeply unhappy (and sadly abused) servant of a South Korean diplomat. Sensing that this could be a way to redeem himself with his former superiors (and, frankly, wanting to get to know the woman better), Leo begins weaving a plot to get information out of the diplomat's residence.

Tasha is a young African-American lawyer working in a corporate law firm in order to pay off her law school debts. Her brother died in Iraq. She doesn't believe the official story of why. When she reads memos from a client of the firm indicating that they had delayed shipping equipment to soldiers in Iraq (including armored vests and ammunition) in order to save a little money, she agonizes for a bit, then leaks this information to the New York Times, where it causes a minor sensation, then vanishes. She becomes involved in periphery of the anti-war group that Leo is investigating. She also runs into Z, who is using the alias Troy Jones, and they begin a relationship of sorts.

So, it's a spy story. It's a political thriller. It's an odd utopian/dystopian sci fi story. All mooshed together in a delightful way, and then twisted until the reader isn't sure what's really happening, and who it's really happening to. Z, who is the only point of view character, is quickly shown to be an unreliable narrator. I'm going to mask some spoilers here (those who don't mind spoilers can decypher the following here - simply cut and paste into the obvious box, and click the button.):

Nobhg n lrne ntb, Ebova Ynjf ena n tnzr ba uvf yvirwbheany pnyyrq Natryf naq Bcrengbef. Vg jnf onfvpnyyl n pubbfr lbhe bja nqiragher tnzr. Rnpu jrrx, Ynjf jbhyq cbfg n yvggyr ovg bs gur fgbel, naq raq jvgu n fheirl; fbzrgvzrf gjb pubvprf, ohg bsgra sbhe be svir. Ernqref jbhyq ibgr va gur fheirl, naq gur bcgvba jvgu gur zbfg ibgrf nsgre n ernfbanoyr crevbq bs gvzr jbhyq or jung unccrarq. Gur punenpgre jr jrer pbyyrpgviryl cynlvat jnf n uhzna ntrag bs gur natryf. Gur natryf hfrq uvz gb svtug ntnvafg gur Bcrengbef, tenagvat uvz gur novyvgl gb frr Bcrengbef nf gurl gehyl ner haqre gurve uhzna qvfthvfrf. Ubjrire, jura gur ntrag jnf abg arrqrq ol gur natryf, ur erfvqrf va n zragny vafgvghgvba, jurer ur vf tvira n zrq juvpu gheaf bss gur novyvgl gb frr Bcrengbef... V qba'g npghnyyl erpnyy vs gur dhrfgvba bs "ernyyl na ntrag, be npghnyyl fpuvmbcueravp" jnf rire ernyyl erfbyirq, orpnhfr gung jnf gur prageny grafvba bs gur fgbel. Zhyyra qbrf fbzrguvat fvzvyne gbjneqf gur raq bs guvf obbx, naq qbrf abg erfbyir vg rvgure - rvgure M vf na ntrag bs fbzr shgher tbireazrag frag gb cebgrpg riragf va bhe cerfrag, naq znfdhrenqvat nf Gebl Wbarf va beqre gb svg va, be Gebl Wbarf vf na rk AFN ntrag jubfr oenva fanccrq jura uvf jvsr naq xvq qvrq va n pne nppvqrag, naq jub abj, va n fpuvmbcueravp shthr, oryvrirf uvzfrys gb or M, na ntrag bs n shgher tbireazrag frag gb cebgrpg riragf va bhe cerfrag.

In the end, it doesn't really matter. Either possibility results in the same excellent story, and the tension between the two possibilities merely makes the story that much deeper and twistier and, as I suggested yesterday, mind-fuckerier. Which it was to begin with.

It's a slow read, because the events are complicated. Also, expect to dream of spies and such for most of the week while reading it - at least, I did, and I'm sure I'm not alone in that. Some readers may find Mullen a little too cynical in re: current politics, and that may be a fair assessment - he has not, however, written a work of propaganda, so I didn't mind. There are no "good guys" and "bad guys" here - the pro-government and anti-government groups are equally a-moral and, almost, slimy. I'm ok with that.

Not a Friday Review Post, 1/20/2012

So, I said there would be a review post today. I lied. Sorry. Stuff happened - we went to look at a place to rent (there's a story. It's long. It has nothing to do with books, except the possibility that we might need to get rid of some in order to move, and yeah.) and then we had dinner out (and it was yummy) and then we came home and talked about moving, and getting rid of books, or possibly getting rid of other stuff that isn't books - do we really NEED two kids? (youngest turned one yesterday, incidentally, for those keeping score) - and, anyway, it's late now, and I don't feel like writing about the two books I have finished this week. Which were:

John Donahue - Deshi


which was excellent, and I'll tell you about it tomorrow

and

Thomas Mullen - The Revisionists


which was both excellent and really twisty in a mind fuckery sort of way. And I'll tell you about it tomorrow.

Something for the Font Fans

So, I don't know how many of you are font geeks like me, but here's an awesome thing for your inner font lover:

http://imprint.printmag.com/daily-heller/tree-of-type/

There will be a review post later, probably, certainly, maybe. (Yes, there will.)

Tuesday Library Post, 1/17/2012

Admit it, you thought I forgot. You thought that, because I was away last week, I wouldn't post a Tuesday Library post this week - you thought that, and you would be wrong. (But only because I remembered at the last minute that I got books today.)

First up, as of next week, I will be switching back to Monday, because I'll be teaching on Tuesdays and Thursdays. (and Wednesday evening, not that that signifies in any way) Those of you who schedule your visits around Tuesdays and Fridays (and my stats say that there are a number of you - thanks!) should take note.

Two books this week.

James S.A. Corey - Leviathan Wakes


George R.R. Martin calls it a "kickass space opera." I like kickass space operas. We've got large space going ships, we've got rebellion between the inner and outer planets of the solar system, we've got mystery and romance and danger and zero gravity and hard vacuum. I've loved all that sort of thing since I picked up Asimov and Cherryh, and this looks to hit all those lovely buttons at once. Plus, it's huge - 560 pages (so, you know, half of a Neal Stephenson book.) and I like big books (and I cannot lie...). Finally, there's this cover:

I rest my case.

William Fowler, Jr. - American Crisis


This is non-fiction, about the period between the British surrender at Yorktown (1781) and the actual end of the Revolution (1783), during which time the government (such as it was) dithered, and Washington averted a coup attempt from among his own officers. Yup, I'm teaching US I again this semester.