One night, Ye was working the night shift. This was the loneliest time. In the deep silence of midnight, the universe revealed itself to its listen
One night, Ye was working the night shift. This was the loneliest time. In the deep silence of midnight, the universe revealed itself to its listeners as a vast desolation.
I have friends who thought this was one of the deepest cleverest books they’ve ever read, and other friends who thought it was an overlong, dull stream of exposition.
The difficulty I have is that I think they’re both kinda right.
Some people said the beginning was slow, but this was the part I found most gripping. I was fascinated by all the parts about the Chinese Cultural Revolution and I thought it was very tense when Wang began seeing an inexplicable countdown in the photographs he took. What happens when the timer gets to zero? I was desperate to know.
I also love books that are like looking up into the vast expanse of space and feeling just how infinitesimal you are. It can be literal or metaphorical, but I think some of the best sci-fi concepts are ones that make me feel tiny. Blake Crouch also does it effectively for me, though his books are a lot lighter than Liu's. That feeling of being stood at the centre of something way bigger and more complex than you will ever understand is so powerful (look at me being deep!)
The story unfolds slowly, creating a sense of foreboding and just... wrongness. It was effective. There were moments in the first third or so where I felt deeply unsettled, almost scared.
The hardest part for me was in the middle. There was a lot of technical language that I had to struggle through with the help of google. I am one of those people who will profess an interest in science but, truthfully, I am most acquainted with simply-explained easily digestible science. I gotta be honest.. start talking about nanoparticles and molecular construction and my eyes typically glaze over. But I don’t mind doing the work. Google was my friend. I tried my best to follow it.
I think, though, worse than the technical language and never-ending exposition, was playing the game. In the middle of this book, the characters spend a lot of time playing a video game called Three-Body. I get that it serves a bigger purpose than simple game-playing, but also it is in fact just a game, and I found it mind-numbing to sit through Wang's adventures into each new Trisolaris civilization.
I've never been into books about playing games, never got the Ready Player One thing. I like playing games myself, but don't understand the appeal of watching others do it. And that's what it felt like I was doing for a big chunk of this book.
Add to this the fact that characterization suffers in favour of exploring the sci-fi concept, and my interest peaked somewhere in the first half.
My husband just finished the second book and liked it more than this one, so I will give it a go. I'm hoping for a little less conversation, a little more action and a lot more in the way of characters I can become invested in. Here's hoping!...more
I loved this book. It was funny, charming, sad and clever... but the overwhelming feeling I’m experiencing as I sit down to write this review is anger.
Anger at all the people who rated this book 1 star and screamed "plagiarism" after reading a title and blurb, and anger at all the mindless sheep who rushed to copy them.
I'm trying to stay calm and collected, but I confess I'm furious about what has happened here. Bradley has been hounded on twitter for a baseless accusation and had people spam-rating her not-yet-published book on Goodreads. This is not okay, guys.
I will fight to the death for your right to say if you think a book is crap. I say it all the time. But plagiarism is a serious accusation that can ruin an author’s career. I’d hope someone throwing it around would do the bare minimum… like actually reading the book. It is obvious no one here has done that because this book is so dissimilar to El ministerio del tiempo-- a Spanish TV series about time travel (it's fun, I recommend)-- in plot and overall tone that the accusation is laughable.
Anything more than a cursory glance would make it obvious that the two are not similar at all. This is a funny and charming love story between a biracial British-Cambodian translator and Commander Graham Gore who was part of the failed Franklin expedition to the Arctic. El ministerio del tiempo is a historical adventure series in which the main characters journey back to many different time periods to deal with incidents caused by time travel and ensure no one uses time doors to change history. In The Ministry of Time, we don't see any characters travelling back in time.
I don’t know what the complainers think has been plagiarised here. They fixate on the title (El ministerio del tiempo means The Ministry of Time in Spanish) but titles are not protected by copyright*. Neither is the concept of time travel, which— I gotta tell you —Javier and Pablo Olivares did not invent. They did not even invent the concept of a government agency dealing with time travel.
The TV series Seven Days (1998-2001) follows a secret branch of the NSA which has developed time travelling technology.
The movie Timecop (1994) sees the creation of the Time Enforcement Commission to police the threat of time travel.
The premises of both of these are far more similar to El ministerio del tiempo than this book and they predate it by about twenty years.
Then in 2017, two years after the first airing of El ministerio del tiempo, Neal Stephenson published his The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O., in which the Department of Diachronic Operations uses time travel to benefit the US government.
But I guess it’s okay when white men write about time travel.
I've seen some people actually trying to frame the argument against this book as being about Big Bad Britain being their good ol' imperialist selves and stealing from other nations! Guys, this is SO FUCKING IRONIC it's almost funny. Because if those people had actually read this book they would know that it's a book by a British-Cambodian writer in which a British-Cambodian woman explores themes of colonialism/postcolonialism.
So far as I understood the British Empire, other people’s countries were useful or negligible but rarely conceived of as autonomous.
*Takes deep calming breaths*
It's annoying that I can't just gush about how much I enjoyed this book. It deserves a review that isn't all me screaming onto my keyboard. I'll try to do that now.
Time travel and government drama are the backdrop here to some truly marvellous characters. Imagine what you would get if you put a near-future British-Cambodian woman and a man who was raised at the height of empire together in a house. It makes for many scenes of hilarity and important conversations about the changes that have taken place. The dynamic between the MC and Graham is just delightful.
“You’re a musician. How can you have no sense of time-keeping?” “You are a larger instrument than a flute.” “I bet you say that to all the girls.”
It is primarily an introspective novel and slow-burn romance, at least until the last 25% or so, but the scenes are driven by dialogue so the pacing doesn't lag. Bradley explores themes of colonialism, slavery, language, being mixed-race, being white passing, exoticization of other cultures, and inherited trauma. The MC carries the inherited trauma of the Cambodian genocide with her and it sneaks into her everyday life and thoughts in unexpected ways.
I adored the secondary characters, too, especially Margaret.
It is rare to find a book that is equal parts entertaining AND contains so many important messages. I thought I wanted more from the ending but, having sat with my thoughts a while, I think it was a good example of an author finding that sweet spot of wanting more before it tips over into too much. And the last part of the book is written so beautifully I wanted to quote it, but I won't do that to you.
*I love how some are claiming the title is too weirdly specific to be coincidence when it's not specific at all. It’s actually very generic. Countries have used the title “Ministry of…” throughout history, and the UK still uses it for the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Justice. If someone tasked me with coming up with a name for a government department dealing with time travel, I wouldn’t need to dig into Spanish television to arrive at "The Ministry of Time."...more
‘Oh my God,’ said Kat [...] How could she have been so blind?
Good question, Kat. How could you?
I was so excited for this book after reading In the
‘Oh my God,’ said Kat [...] How could she have been so blind?
Good question, Kat. How could you?
I was so excited for this book after reading In the Blink of An Eye earlier this year. I loved the characters and thought the concept of an AI police detective was both interesting and quite plausible. The dynamic between DCS Kat Frank and AIDE Lock was fantastic.
Unfortunately, this sequel gave off the impression of being rushed and poorly-edited. I saw through the mystery immediately, quickly putting the pieces together and figuring out not only who did it, but also why.
It was then very frustrating-- not to mention, boring --to watch the detectives pursuing red herrings and being clueless. I think I'm of fairly average intelligence, so I do expect trained detectives to get there faster than I do.
I actually felt like there was a lot of incompetence all round here, especially with the male characters. I do like all the strong women leading in this book, but I'm not sure why the men have to be either bad or complete doofuses (doofi?). DI Rayan Hassan is so useless AGAIN that it's hard to believe he got this job. When he isn't salivating over Professor Okonedo like a little puppy, he's stubbornly pushing stupid theories. Which was his role in the previous book also-- to keep repeatedly insisting someone did the crime when everyone else can see it's clear they couldn't have.
McLeish, too, is a total fool. It seems his only job is to sit at a desk and bitch at others.
Even Lock, whom I love, had way too many “Huh, humans make no sense” moments in this book. As I said in my review of In the Blink of An Eye, if ChatGPT can understand an idiom, then this sophisticated AI should definitely be able to.
Also, while I think myself and the author are probably politically on a similar page (as far as I can tell), even I found the messages here extremely heavy-handed. I felt a bit like I was being lectured to at times. All men are awful or stupid (or dead). And, despite the fact that this book has a female DCS, a female Professor leading the AI experiment, a female minister commissioning the project, a female local businesswoman, and a nonbinary pathologist, all of them seem convinced that men are out to get them.
Of course, the men in this book are so stupid that offensive things just fall out of their slack mouths, seemingly so that the women can give them a telling off.
I think better editing would have polished some of these themes and, had it not been so heavy-handed, (view spoiler)[I may not have so easily figured out what the culprit's reasoning was (hide spoiler)]. It's important to write about sexism and misogyny, but I don't think it was done very well here.
Yet, I do have hope for this series as Kat and Lock are such strong characters. I know I won't be able to resist reading the next book. I hope it's better....more
‘Statistics are nothing more than the aggregation of thousands of individual cases,’ said Kat. ‘They highlight what is common to most, but at the e
‘Statistics are nothing more than the aggregation of thousands of individual cases,’ said Kat. ‘They highlight what is common to most, but at the expense of what is unique.’
4 1/2 stars.
Sometimes a book is so good that it's not at all surprising to get to the end, read the author's note, and discover it was a very personal story for the author. This may be a good ol' fast-paced thriller, but you can tell Callaghan poured her heart into it.
In the Blink of An Eye is a near-future sci-fi thriller in which the Warwickshire police experiment with the introduction of an AI detective. AIDE Lock has been developed to be the ultimate detective with super-fast data analysis that can vastly reduce police hours. Seasoned detective of twenty-five years, Kat Frank, is skeptical that Lock can compete with the instincts of an experienced human. The pair turn to missing person cold cases to find out.
‘That ending could have been avoided if Romeo had taken the time to assess the evidence rather than just assume Juliet was dead.’ Kat couldn’t help smiling. ‘That’s why it’s a tragedy.’ ‘The tragedy is that humans seem incapable of learning and are forever at the mercy of their emotions.’
I enjoyed this so so much. I can see why it's becoming so popular because it does all of these things:
1) The pacing never slows down. During what should be the slower parts of the investigation, the author switches it up to interview format to keep the pages turning. I literally had problems putting this book down and returning to reality.
2) Callaghan introduces us to several memorable characters, all with distinct personalities. Some are funny, some are kinda assholes, and most are vulnerable on some level. I didn't like them all immediately, but I came to enjoy them as part of the team by the end. I also think this story creates genuine affection for an AI character.
3) This book is tense, moving and often very funny. Kat is witty and sarcastic, which, when paired with Lock's logical and literal approach, makes for some very entertaining exchanges.
4) The sci-fi spin is exciting but entirely believable. This future is likely just around the corner, so it was not difficult to suspend disbelief for.
In the Blink of An Eye is a stunning debut, but it's not perfect. I think the author occasionally overdoes Lock's confusion-- I'm pretty sure this level of AI would understand the phrase "in a nutshell" when ChatGPT already can --and there is one red herring that was never fully explained (view spoiler)[the shadiness of Tyrone's roommates, Milly and Richard, especially as Hassan kept insisting they were hiding something. I guess we were just supposed to take it he was wrong? (hide spoiler)]
But I am so excited that this is going to be a series. As the blurb promises, this is a book about AI versus human experience. Logic versus instinct. And it delivers.
I don't consider it a spoiler to share that the conclusion is that both are vital. The combination of DC Frank’s twenty-five years’ experience and instinct with Lock’s emotion-free data analysis makes them a formidable team. The implication being that humans and AI can, and should, work together.
She has been happy here, and anxiously miserable, but she has never been free.
It seems like interest in recent developments with AI is fostering a
She has been happy here, and anxiously miserable, but she has never been free.
It seems like interest in recent developments with AI is fostering a resurgence in AI fic. And this particular premise-- a look at AI sex robots --seems to be following me. In the past few months, I have read Hey, Zoey (which I didn't rate) and The Hierarchies (which was pretty good, though took some weird turns at the end).
Annie Bot is similar to The Hierarchies, though I think it makes for a more interesting character study. I would recommend this book to those who enjoy contemporaries exploring relationship dynamics; I would not be quick to give this to a sci-fi lover. I actually found myself comparing this favourably to Klara and the Sun. While it has no chance of getting anywhere near the same level of attention, I found this to be a better and far more interesting book.
It's a look at relationships, romance and love. Annie is both an outsider observing human nature, and also someone with a developing humanity of her own. Greer peers, through a third person limited perspective, at the nuances of human relationships. Ultimately she asks if love, or indeed consent, is ever really possible when one person has control over the other.
He is the only star in their system, she realizes. He has no competition, no need to listen to Annie like she’s her own protagonist because she’s not.
There is a powerful moment when one side character observes that Doug may control Annie's body but he cannot control her mind... and rather than leaving it hanging on that note, the author later pauses to let Annie consider whether having complete control over someone's body and behaviour is not a form of mind control also.
At times, the book is extremely discomfiting to read. Those sensitive to scenes of emotional abuse should steer clear. There were moments in the story when I was literally grimacing to myself and at one point I typed a note saying just "god, this is horrible."
I think the science was where my suspension of disbelief was challenged the most. Annie is a sex robot, made to cater to Doug's every whim, but I didn't understand some of the decisions made by her creators. I understand why she can simulate orgasm, but not why they created her with an actual libido that could make her very sexually frustrated. I don't understand why she is able to feel pain, especially as she is made to not be able to feel cold. At one point she says her heart rate is elevated, which is... strange. Why give her one?
Perhaps the author was keen to convince us of Annie's humanity with these details, but I don't think it was necessary. Without heartbeat, pain or libido, Annie was still an absolutely fascinating character who I felt deeply for. I hope Greer writes more....more
Consequences. We have to live with ourselves no matter what. Crack after crack at this day, but I'm always me at the end. That's the tragedy.
For t
Consequences. We have to live with ourselves no matter what. Crack after crack at this day, but I'm always me at the end. That's the tragedy.
For the past few years, I've been gradually moving away from reading YA. I used to love it, but I've increasingly felt like the same old themes and characters are being recycled, and that very few offer something to engage me. I, myself, have been moving increasingly away from being a "young adult" so I put it down to that a bit, too.
However, it seems that a compelling, well-written and devastating YA novel can still drag me in and destroy me.
The Eternal Return of Clara Hart uses the Groundhog Day trope to look at themes of culpability, toxic "lad" culture (I guess that would be "bro" culture in the US?) and the possibility of growth and change. I think this latter theme is very important when talking about boys and lad culture, because too many people are happy to believe that certain negative traits are ingrained and immutable. Boys will be boys and all that. But boys, like girls, choose how to act. What to say and what not to say. What to see and what to look the other way from.
Spence finds himself in a loop. Each day he wakes in his car, Clara Hart hits his car, Anthony throws a party, Clara goes upstairs, Clara dies. Each day there are slight variations, but each day Clara ends up dead. What is Spence missing? How can he keep Clara alive?
It is fun and engaging to follow Spence as he pieces things together, ponders Nietzsche's eternal recurrence, tries his best to change things and fails. But it is also a very dark read. In addition to the poignant themes at the centre of the story, Spence is also struggling with grief after his mother's death. His relationship with his father is fraught, neither knowing quite how to connect with the other in their grief.
I know some won't like the end, but it felt exactly what it should be....more
All is fair in love and war, as the old saying goes, and our work is surely situated somewhere between the two.
Yeah, this is the book I wanted Hey, Zoey to be-- a thoughtful meditation on the ethics of sex robots as AI becomes increasingly intelligent. What does this mean for the robots? What does this mean for "real" women?
With the exception of, I think, a weak and odd ending, The Hierarchies gives a pretty good examination of the above questions. Sylv.ie is a robot created for her husband's pleasure. Impossibly beautiful, programmed to serve, unfailingly obedient... until she isn't. Until she starts to question the life she has and those who have control over her. Until she realises she is not ready to accept what she has been forced into without her consent.
Sylv.ie is seen as a sex toy by many men of the novel, but many "born" women also hate these new "created" women, for a variety of reasons. Some clear-- such as them leading their husbands astray and making a mockery of what they think it means to be a woman --and some more vague and tied into the politics of this strange dystopian world where the story is set.
"How hard it must be, to be a Born woman," Mais.ie says philosophically. "Imagine playing a game where the main rule was that you had to lose every time."
There is a very discomfiting part of this book when the naked robots are being tossed around and having new vaginas fitted by male workers who obviously see them as just pieces of plastic. Something about this particular scene called to mind Bazterrica's Tender is the Flesh and the way the characters there disassociated themselves from the humans they were farming.
While plenty of stuff does happen in this book, some of it dramatic and horrible (warning for sexual assault/rape), I would primarily describe it as a philosophical book that explores the nature of personhood, fear of technology, and exploitation.
2 1/2 stars. I think, structurally, this is excellent. The plot is clever and I didn't find the reverse-chronology to be gimmicky as I'd feared it wou2 1/2 stars. I think, structurally, this is excellent. The plot is clever and I didn't find the reverse-chronology to be gimmicky as I'd feared it would be. Also, twists and turns galore. Some I predicted, plenty I didn't.
The problem, for me, was that long stretches of this felt so... monotonous. I would go from "ooh twist" to spending fifty pages bored and trying to force myself not to skim ahead. The secondary characters like Kelly and Todd weren't bad, but Jen was such an uninteresting narrator. I felt unmoved by certain major events because they were from her dry perspective....more
If you ever read this, tell others. Don’t come here. Don’t come here.
The problem with this book, I feel, is it is just a tad too cheesy and ridicu
If you ever read this, tell others. Don’t come here. Don’t come here.
The problem with this book, I feel, is it is just a tad too cheesy and ridiculous for speculative fiction. I found it more palatable when I told myself it was horror.
Ascension definitely works better as a horror-- monstrous creatures in the night, minds being taken over by mystical forces, religious themes, campy twists --but I came in expecting something akin to Sylvain Neuvel's Sleeping Giants so I was disappointed.
Also, the epistolary format is usually one I enjoy, but it did not work for me here. I couldn't quite buy into Harold sitting down to write these exceptionally detailed letters in between being pursued by various mountain horrors. And it bothered me that he was addressing his young niece in them-- would he really include all the "fucks" and references to making love to his wife? It was one more thing that ruined my suspension of disbelief.
Then there were the extensive flashbacks, which bored me. I'm sure they were there to break up the monotony of mountain trek, run from the monsters, trek trek, run from the monsters, but I really didn't care that much.
I already mentioned the "campy twist" above, but I really feel the need to emphasise how much this made me cringe. When Harold realises the truth, it's made into a big sinister aha moment, but it was just sort of funny. (view spoiler)[Their companion Neil Amai's name spells I am alien backwards. (hide spoiler)]
None of this was helped by the fact that "The Climb" by Miley Cyrus came into my head at the start of the ascension and the more I read, the more the book seemed to parody the lyrics.
It doesn’t matter what the destination is, or what’s at the top; all that matters is that you keep climbing.
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