The Handmaid's Tale
by Margaret Atwood
(5/5 stars)
It's just as well I didn't read this book when I bought it in December 2011 on sale. I probably would have scoffed at the idea that a hard-line fascist patriarchy could take over what was once America. Reading it in May 2012 now I'm not nearly as skeptical. Hearing the hard-line stances of those like Rick Santorum and Rush Limbaugh infamously calling a woman a [rhymes with "glut"] for wanting birth control makes me think there is a portion of this country that would enact something just like Atwood describes.
What she describes in "The Handmaid's Tale" is a patriarchal society where most women are stripped of all rights. There's a caste system of sorts enacted. At the top are the "Wives" who are (obviously) the wives of high-ranking officials in the new regime. There are also "Econowives" who are the wives of lesser officials. The Wives have servants called "Marthas" who toil away in the kitchens and so forth. And then since most Wives are older and infertile, there are the Handmaidens. The Handmaidens are tasked with giving birth to a baby, which is then turned over to the Wife to raise.
Now since this is a hard-line religious establishment where doctors and scientists are killed or locked up, they can't use scientific means like artificial insemination. Instead there's a whole bizarre ritual that takes place every few nights that involves the Commander (the male head of the household) getting it on with the Handmaiden while the wife is present. There's nothing seductive or kinky about all of it; it's all pretty sterile, which might be why it's ineffective.
The person telling the tale is a Handmaiden known as Offred (as in she's Fred's property). She describes life in her household and at other intervals talks about life before the new order took over. In that life, Offred had a real name and a husband named Luke and also a daughter. She had a feminist mother and a lesbian friend named Moira.
I think if you want to complain about anything it's that not a lot really HAPPENS in terms of plot. So if you were looking for a taut thriller or anything like that, then you wouldn't enjoy this. The obvious point of comparison would be "1984". I would also say that was a better book in that Orwell has more of a story arc concerning Winston being seduced by the "rebellion" and then betraying the one he loves in order to save his own skin, thereby crushing his spirit. (Oh sorry for the spoilers.) While Atwood's book is riveting, the world she builds doesn't really go anywhere. Offred isn't forced to make the same choices as Winston. And I have to say I found the last 6% or so, the epilogue, to be a little corny.
Still, with the recent events I already mentioned, the hard-line anti-abortion laws being enacted in "red states" and so forth, I think this is an important book to read (or reread) at this point in history. Especially if you're female you should read this to see the worst that can happen.
That is all.
Monday, May 28, 2012
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
I Am Legend
I Am Legend
by Richard Matheson
(5/5 stars)
This is one of those classic books I've been meaning to get around to. When it was finally on sale for less than a buck on the Kindle, I decided to take the plunge and I was not disappointed.
I've only read one of Matheson's other books (his latest one at the time of this review) but I'm a big fan of his work on the original "Twilight Zone" and "I Am Legend" certainly has much of the same vibe as many TZ episodes.
Many "Twilight Zone" episodes (including the pilot) dealt with a lone or small group of survivors after the apocalypse. Only in this case instead of nuclear war it's a plague that gradually turns everyone into "vampires." It's important to note that in many ways Matheson's vampires are more akin to the zombies of "Night of the Living Dead" and such than the vampires in "Dracula" or especially "Twilight." These vampires cannot go out in the light and they drink blood, but they aren't super strong or super fast and they can't change into other shapes. The way they shamble around, seemingly unable to even open a door, definitely makes them closer to zombies than vampires.
Robert Neville is seemingly the last man on Earth, or at least the last man in his neck of the woods in California. After about five months he's built his old house into an impenetrable fortress that's stocked with food and has a generator for electricity. He even has a hothouse to grow garlic that helps keep the vampires at bay. Every night the vampires gather around his house, hoping he'll come out. One of his former neighbors yells at him constantly to come out while the undead women strike lurid poses in the hope of coaxing Neville from his fortress.
Most of the story then deals with Neville's survival. In particular in how he has to deal with the crushing loneliness and isolation of being the only real human left. To help combat that, Neville begins trying to understand the disease that wiped out humanity and possibly to find a cure for it.
Along the way we learn a little more about Neville's life before the plague, in particular what happened with his wife and daughter. Though still by the end the details are a little skimpy, especially where the daughter is concerned. One bit of confusion for me was that it took a while for Matheson to really establish whether Kathy was the wife or daughter and the same for Virginia.
Still, I found this a riveting, suspenseful read. Modern readers who yearn for buckets of blood and gore aren't going to find that so much in here, but it is a fascinating tale of survival in the face of great horror and adversity.
Another note is that if you saw the Will Smith film from a few years ago you should disregard that as except for the title and basic premise they don't have much in common.
That is all.
by Richard Matheson
(5/5 stars)
This is one of those classic books I've been meaning to get around to. When it was finally on sale for less than a buck on the Kindle, I decided to take the plunge and I was not disappointed.
I've only read one of Matheson's other books (his latest one at the time of this review) but I'm a big fan of his work on the original "Twilight Zone" and "I Am Legend" certainly has much of the same vibe as many TZ episodes.
Many "Twilight Zone" episodes (including the pilot) dealt with a lone or small group of survivors after the apocalypse. Only in this case instead of nuclear war it's a plague that gradually turns everyone into "vampires." It's important to note that in many ways Matheson's vampires are more akin to the zombies of "Night of the Living Dead" and such than the vampires in "Dracula" or especially "Twilight." These vampires cannot go out in the light and they drink blood, but they aren't super strong or super fast and they can't change into other shapes. The way they shamble around, seemingly unable to even open a door, definitely makes them closer to zombies than vampires.
Robert Neville is seemingly the last man on Earth, or at least the last man in his neck of the woods in California. After about five months he's built his old house into an impenetrable fortress that's stocked with food and has a generator for electricity. He even has a hothouse to grow garlic that helps keep the vampires at bay. Every night the vampires gather around his house, hoping he'll come out. One of his former neighbors yells at him constantly to come out while the undead women strike lurid poses in the hope of coaxing Neville from his fortress.
Most of the story then deals with Neville's survival. In particular in how he has to deal with the crushing loneliness and isolation of being the only real human left. To help combat that, Neville begins trying to understand the disease that wiped out humanity and possibly to find a cure for it.
Along the way we learn a little more about Neville's life before the plague, in particular what happened with his wife and daughter. Though still by the end the details are a little skimpy, especially where the daughter is concerned. One bit of confusion for me was that it took a while for Matheson to really establish whether Kathy was the wife or daughter and the same for Virginia.
Still, I found this a riveting, suspenseful read. Modern readers who yearn for buckets of blood and gore aren't going to find that so much in here, but it is a fascinating tale of survival in the face of great horror and adversity.
Another note is that if you saw the Will Smith film from a few years ago you should disregard that as except for the title and basic premise they don't have much in common.
That is all.
Monday, May 14, 2012
The Sirens of Titan
A good analogy for this book is it's like one of those paintings that
looks great at a distance but when you look at it up-close you can see
all the brush strokes. In this case the more distant Vonnegut is from
his characters the better because up close the characters come off more
as cartoonish props than real people.
The story details the lives of three people who are moved by forces beyond their control. William Niles Rumsfoord set out into space with his dog and now through a strange phenomenon I won't try to spell he has become unstuck in time and space (take that Billy Pilgrim!) so that he appears on Earth at his house every 59 days. His wife Beatrice Rumsfoord wants little to do with him. Then one day Rumsfoord calls his cousin Malachi Constant for a visit. Constant is a billionaire playboy who inherited his money from his father and has done nothing with his life. Rumsfoord tells Constant that he will roam the Solar System, first to Mars, then Mercury, then back to Earth, and finally to Titan, where he will meet three beautiful women, the sirens of the title.
Well this does happen but none of it goes as Constant thought it might. Beatrice gets swept up in it as well. Meanwhile Rumsfoord seems to be pulling the strings of everyone in the Solar System but who's pulling his strings?
As I said at the start, Vonnegut is at his best in this novel when he deals with broader issues, like the history of Mars or the lives of tiny insects on Mercury. Those moments called to mind Douglas Adams and the "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" books where too the broader issues were often better than the up-close ones. The characters of Rumsfoord, Beatrice, and Constant aren't all that interesting and as I said none of them seems all that REAL. Vonnegut I don't think was interested in making real, sympathetic characters so much as in making his points about religion, Fate, and so forth.
The last 15% or so almost makes up for the book's deficiencies. Whereas Douglas Adams seemed to back away from providing the answer of life, the universe, and everything, Vonnegut tackles it head-on. Though in both cases, Earth is little more than a pawn in someone else's game; or perhaps not even a pawn; Earth might be more like a bit of dust that gets blown around when someone else moves the pieces.
I don't think this is one of Vonnegut's best, but it wasn't a waste of time either.
As a special note, I noticed quite a few typographical errors in this edition. In part I think it might be from digitizing this to the Kindle. Or perhaps not. It was a little distracting at times.
That is all.
The story details the lives of three people who are moved by forces beyond their control. William Niles Rumsfoord set out into space with his dog and now through a strange phenomenon I won't try to spell he has become unstuck in time and space (take that Billy Pilgrim!) so that he appears on Earth at his house every 59 days. His wife Beatrice Rumsfoord wants little to do with him. Then one day Rumsfoord calls his cousin Malachi Constant for a visit. Constant is a billionaire playboy who inherited his money from his father and has done nothing with his life. Rumsfoord tells Constant that he will roam the Solar System, first to Mars, then Mercury, then back to Earth, and finally to Titan, where he will meet three beautiful women, the sirens of the title.
Well this does happen but none of it goes as Constant thought it might. Beatrice gets swept up in it as well. Meanwhile Rumsfoord seems to be pulling the strings of everyone in the Solar System but who's pulling his strings?
As I said at the start, Vonnegut is at his best in this novel when he deals with broader issues, like the history of Mars or the lives of tiny insects on Mercury. Those moments called to mind Douglas Adams and the "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" books where too the broader issues were often better than the up-close ones. The characters of Rumsfoord, Beatrice, and Constant aren't all that interesting and as I said none of them seems all that REAL. Vonnegut I don't think was interested in making real, sympathetic characters so much as in making his points about religion, Fate, and so forth.
The last 15% or so almost makes up for the book's deficiencies. Whereas Douglas Adams seemed to back away from providing the answer of life, the universe, and everything, Vonnegut tackles it head-on. Though in both cases, Earth is little more than a pawn in someone else's game; or perhaps not even a pawn; Earth might be more like a bit of dust that gets blown around when someone else moves the pieces.
I don't think this is one of Vonnegut's best, but it wasn't a waste of time either.
As a special note, I noticed quite a few typographical errors in this edition. In part I think it might be from digitizing this to the Kindle. Or perhaps not. It was a little distracting at times.
That is all.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Slipstream
Slipstream
by Michael Offutt
(4/5 stars)
Slipstream starts off simply enough. Jordan Pendragon lives in Salt Lake City. He's a star hockey player on his high school team. All the girls want him, but he's not all that interested in them. Then he goes out with his sister and a couple of friends and there's an accident that lands Jordan in the hospital. He sees a young man kill a fellow patient. Later Jordan sees that young man again and after an altercation finds a strange bracelet.
While at a state fair with his sister and a couple of friends, Jordan comes under attack. With the help of the young man who owned the bracelet, they escape only to find themselves in a parallel universe. This parallel universe is similar to ours in some ways, but very different in others. In this universe much of the world has been laid to waste. A corrupt artificial intelligence known as the Shadow has taken over. What the Shadow fears more than anything is death, which necessitates it sucking the life out of people.
Jordan and his sister end up being rescued by some freedom fighters trying to defeat the Shadow by freeing another AI known as the Light. To do that involves Jordan becoming a hockey star. But even that is extremely dangerous in this world.
This plot has so many twists and turns that it would take far too long into going through all of them. It would also reveal too much of the plot and we wouldn't want any "spoilers" right? It is the most imaginative book of any genre I've read in quite a while.
The book would be even better if the publisher had hired a competent editor. I've seen self-published books with fewer mistakes. I don't know about you, but I find that distracting. Maybe at some point they can put out a revised edition.
That is all.
by Michael Offutt
(4/5 stars)
Slipstream starts off simply enough. Jordan Pendragon lives in Salt Lake City. He's a star hockey player on his high school team. All the girls want him, but he's not all that interested in them. Then he goes out with his sister and a couple of friends and there's an accident that lands Jordan in the hospital. He sees a young man kill a fellow patient. Later Jordan sees that young man again and after an altercation finds a strange bracelet.
While at a state fair with his sister and a couple of friends, Jordan comes under attack. With the help of the young man who owned the bracelet, they escape only to find themselves in a parallel universe. This parallel universe is similar to ours in some ways, but very different in others. In this universe much of the world has been laid to waste. A corrupt artificial intelligence known as the Shadow has taken over. What the Shadow fears more than anything is death, which necessitates it sucking the life out of people.
Jordan and his sister end up being rescued by some freedom fighters trying to defeat the Shadow by freeing another AI known as the Light. To do that involves Jordan becoming a hockey star. But even that is extremely dangerous in this world.
This plot has so many twists and turns that it would take far too long into going through all of them. It would also reveal too much of the plot and we wouldn't want any "spoilers" right? It is the most imaginative book of any genre I've read in quite a while.
The book would be even better if the publisher had hired a competent editor. I've seen self-published books with fewer mistakes. I don't know about you, but I find that distracting. Maybe at some point they can put out a revised edition.
That is all.
Friday, April 13, 2012
Virgin Territory
Virgin Territory
By Patrick Dilloway (aka Grumpy Bulldog)
4/5 stars
Full disclosure: I wrote this book. But I hadn't read it in years. Then someone mentioned a scene from it and I realized I didn't really remember it too well, so I thought I'd go back and reread it. Not having read it in so long I think I'm almost as objective as a regular reader.
This is what I would consider a Nicholas Sparks-type scenario. Gary Sinclair is sad and lonely in the little town of Dagger Lake, Michigan. One cold October night he's patrolling the beach to pick up the litter left by the summer tourists and finds something far more important washed up on shore: a naked body! It turns out to be a young woman who is alive. There's just one problem: she has no memory of who she is or where she came from or how she ended up by the lake.
Gary takes her to his house and since he looks kind of like his old girlfriend Andrea, that's the name he gives her. At first Gary tries not to get too involved with Andrea, but finds he can't help himself. The more time he spends with her, the more he loves her. And with all the kindness and tenderness he's shown her, she loves him too.
Some stories would end there, but "Virgin Territory" goes a step further. Five years later we pick up with Andrea and Gary trying to make a life together. But Andrea's desire to have a family starts to drive a wedge between them. Can their love survive?
As a somewhat objective reader, I like the first part better, where Gary and Andrea are falling in love. There are a few things I think are a little rushed, that I could have drawn out a little more. The finished product is less than 60,000 words so it's not like the story was too long.
The second part gets a little darker than your standard Nicholas Sparks story. Then there's a surprise twist. Maybe you can see it coming or maybe you can't. I think it makes for a satisfying conclusion, but you might think differently.
Anyway, the story is less than a dollar--FREE if you have Amazon Prime--so I think I got my money's worth out of it and so should you if you're looking for a good love story.
That is all.
By Patrick Dilloway (aka Grumpy Bulldog)
4/5 stars
Full disclosure: I wrote this book. But I hadn't read it in years. Then someone mentioned a scene from it and I realized I didn't really remember it too well, so I thought I'd go back and reread it. Not having read it in so long I think I'm almost as objective as a regular reader.
This is what I would consider a Nicholas Sparks-type scenario. Gary Sinclair is sad and lonely in the little town of Dagger Lake, Michigan. One cold October night he's patrolling the beach to pick up the litter left by the summer tourists and finds something far more important washed up on shore: a naked body! It turns out to be a young woman who is alive. There's just one problem: she has no memory of who she is or where she came from or how she ended up by the lake.
Gary takes her to his house and since he looks kind of like his old girlfriend Andrea, that's the name he gives her. At first Gary tries not to get too involved with Andrea, but finds he can't help himself. The more time he spends with her, the more he loves her. And with all the kindness and tenderness he's shown her, she loves him too.
Some stories would end there, but "Virgin Territory" goes a step further. Five years later we pick up with Andrea and Gary trying to make a life together. But Andrea's desire to have a family starts to drive a wedge between them. Can their love survive?
As a somewhat objective reader, I like the first part better, where Gary and Andrea are falling in love. There are a few things I think are a little rushed, that I could have drawn out a little more. The finished product is less than 60,000 words so it's not like the story was too long.
The second part gets a little darker than your standard Nicholas Sparks story. Then there's a surprise twist. Maybe you can see it coming or maybe you can't. I think it makes for a satisfying conclusion, but you might think differently.
Anyway, the story is less than a dollar--FREE if you have Amazon Prime--so I think I got my money's worth out of it and so should you if you're looking for a good love story.
That is all.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Twilight
Twilight
by Stephanie Meyer
(1/5 stars)
Having just finished YA sensation "The Hunger Games" I thought I might as well check out that other recent YA sensation "Twilight" as well. The two books are very different. Where "The Hunger Games" has enough action to entertain male readers like me, "Twilight" is brimming with as much estrogen as any bodice-ripper on the Romance bookshelf. It honestly has nothing to appeal to anyone with a Y chromosome.
In case you haven't heard yet, the plot involves Bella Swan moving to Forks, Washington to live with her dad. She soon meets a boy named Edward Cullen who saves her from a car wreck and later being attacked by some thugs in a neighboring town. There's just one problem: Edward is a vampire.
Except in Meyer's universe vampires aren't like in "Dracula" living in coffins and whatnot. Vampires are basically impervious superheroes. They have super strength, super speed, and are pretty much invincible. Even the sun doesn't hurt them. That just makes them "sparkle" which is why they can't go out among humans where it's sunny. Edward and his "family" in Forks are good vampires, living on animal not human blood. Quickly Edward and Bella fall in love, blah blah blah.
Anyway, the weakest link in this book is Bella herself. She's so [expletive] whiny! And she has no self-esteem. I marked a couple points on my Kindle where she's going on about what a "god" Edward is and how he's too good for her, so on and so forth. Give me a break! And despite a female author there seems something sexist that Bella's only skills are cooking and reading--and whining. For some reason (because the plot calls for it) everyone at school likes her, despite that she is a bad friend, routinely bad-mouthing all of her new "friends" in her narration and ditching two of her "girlfriends" when they go to look for dresses to a dance. Honestly, if Edward or any of the vampires had used her for a snack it would have been an improvement.
By contrast it's annoying how Edward and his family are more like the X-Men than traditional vampires. Edward can read minds, his "sister" can see the future, a "brother" is the muscle, their "father" is the wise leader. All they need are tights and capes.
But since this is a girl book, the vampire X-Men don't do any fighting on the pages. The epic vampire fight at the end is completely glossed over. Which reiterated this isn't a book for boys.
So I guess what I'm saying is you girls can keep your superhero vampires and sighing, whining "heroines."
That is all.
by Stephanie Meyer
(1/5 stars)
Having just finished YA sensation "The Hunger Games" I thought I might as well check out that other recent YA sensation "Twilight" as well. The two books are very different. Where "The Hunger Games" has enough action to entertain male readers like me, "Twilight" is brimming with as much estrogen as any bodice-ripper on the Romance bookshelf. It honestly has nothing to appeal to anyone with a Y chromosome.
In case you haven't heard yet, the plot involves Bella Swan moving to Forks, Washington to live with her dad. She soon meets a boy named Edward Cullen who saves her from a car wreck and later being attacked by some thugs in a neighboring town. There's just one problem: Edward is a vampire.
Except in Meyer's universe vampires aren't like in "Dracula" living in coffins and whatnot. Vampires are basically impervious superheroes. They have super strength, super speed, and are pretty much invincible. Even the sun doesn't hurt them. That just makes them "sparkle" which is why they can't go out among humans where it's sunny. Edward and his "family" in Forks are good vampires, living on animal not human blood. Quickly Edward and Bella fall in love, blah blah blah.
Anyway, the weakest link in this book is Bella herself. She's so [expletive] whiny! And she has no self-esteem. I marked a couple points on my Kindle where she's going on about what a "god" Edward is and how he's too good for her, so on and so forth. Give me a break! And despite a female author there seems something sexist that Bella's only skills are cooking and reading--and whining. For some reason (because the plot calls for it) everyone at school likes her, despite that she is a bad friend, routinely bad-mouthing all of her new "friends" in her narration and ditching two of her "girlfriends" when they go to look for dresses to a dance. Honestly, if Edward or any of the vampires had used her for a snack it would have been an improvement.
By contrast it's annoying how Edward and his family are more like the X-Men than traditional vampires. Edward can read minds, his "sister" can see the future, a "brother" is the muscle, their "father" is the wise leader. All they need are tights and capes.
But since this is a girl book, the vampire X-Men don't do any fighting on the pages. The epic vampire fight at the end is completely glossed over. Which reiterated this isn't a book for boys.
So I guess what I'm saying is you girls can keep your superhero vampires and sighing, whining "heroines."
That is all.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
The Hunger Games
The Hunger Games
by Suzanne Collins
(4/5 stars)
I have to admit I am not this book's target audience. As a thirtysomething man, I'm pretty far from this book's target audience. In fact I wouldn't have bought this except it was on sale and with the movie coming out and whatnot I decided to see what the hubbub was all about. I was more than a little surprised to find it engrossing enough that I decided to forsake going to bed tonight to finish the last 15%. I can't remember the last time that happened.
The story itself isn't all that new. There's been natural disasters and wars and a fascist regime has taken over what used to be North America but is now called Panem. There are 12 "districts" that each supply the Capitol (formerly Denver) with goods and materials. While people in the Capitol live high off the hog, possessing technology that sometimes rivals "Star Trek," the people of the districts live in practically the Middle Ages.
In District 12 is a girl named Katniss Everdeen. After her father died, Katniss took over raising her family--her mother and her younger sister Primrose (Prim). The situation reminded me a lot of "Winter's Bone" and like the elder daughter in that book/movie, Katniss is the one who puts food on the table by hunting and foraging with her friend Gale.
Then along come the moment of the Hunger Games. Each year there's a sort of gladiatorial fight between a boy and girl taken from each district. The 24 "tributes" fight to the death and the last one standing lives a life of comfort, which reminded me of Stephen King's "The Long Walk." When Prim is picked to go, Katniss volunteers herself instead. (I don't consider that as a spoiler since it's in commercials for the movie...) Katniss and a boy named Peeta are shipped off to the Capitol where they are eventually herded into "the arena," a landscape that if not artificially created is at least artificially controlled.
From there it's basically like the TV show "Survivor" mixed with Stephen King's "The Running Man" where the tributes are all trying to survive the elements while also trying to kill each other. As a skilled hunter Katniss has an edge in that, but she's reluctant to kill human beings.
Anyway, unlike the over 5000 5-star reviewers I'm not going to gush about how amazing the book is. It's not really. The writing is plain and there were at least four errors I highlighted on my Kindle. It's certainly not Hemingway or Faulkner or Proust but then again the book's audience has probably never heard of any of those gentlemen.
So really taking the book at what it is, it is an exciting story of survival and romance. The romance is a little blah but then I'm a bitter old man (at least to the target audience) so what do I know? Once the Games begin, it's hard not to get drawn into Katniss's struggle to survive.
One of the things that annoys me though is that she gets a lot of help in this. It reminded me of Perseus (the guy in "Clash of the Titans" for all you kids), who was given all this stuff by the gods: a magic sword, a shield, a helmet, a Pegasus. For Katniss it was more down-to-earth things like medicine and food, but still there was always someone to bail her out. It devalues her struggle a little when she has to rely on the kindness of strangers.
Also Katniss seemed a little dense at times, especially regarding Peeta. I suppose you could chalk it up to her lifestyle in District 12, but really it was pretty obvious what was going on with Peeta. Why was she the last one to see it?
Anyway, I'm not sure what the sequels are about and I don't really care. Maybe they explain why that pin the mayor's daughter gave her was so important? I thought it must be some talisman for certain rebellious elements, but nothing really happens with it in this book.
Still, even for this bitter old man it wasn't a bad read.
That is all.
by Suzanne Collins
(4/5 stars)
I have to admit I am not this book's target audience. As a thirtysomething man, I'm pretty far from this book's target audience. In fact I wouldn't have bought this except it was on sale and with the movie coming out and whatnot I decided to see what the hubbub was all about. I was more than a little surprised to find it engrossing enough that I decided to forsake going to bed tonight to finish the last 15%. I can't remember the last time that happened.
The story itself isn't all that new. There's been natural disasters and wars and a fascist regime has taken over what used to be North America but is now called Panem. There are 12 "districts" that each supply the Capitol (formerly Denver) with goods and materials. While people in the Capitol live high off the hog, possessing technology that sometimes rivals "Star Trek," the people of the districts live in practically the Middle Ages.
In District 12 is a girl named Katniss Everdeen. After her father died, Katniss took over raising her family--her mother and her younger sister Primrose (Prim). The situation reminded me a lot of "Winter's Bone" and like the elder daughter in that book/movie, Katniss is the one who puts food on the table by hunting and foraging with her friend Gale.
Then along come the moment of the Hunger Games. Each year there's a sort of gladiatorial fight between a boy and girl taken from each district. The 24 "tributes" fight to the death and the last one standing lives a life of comfort, which reminded me of Stephen King's "The Long Walk." When Prim is picked to go, Katniss volunteers herself instead. (I don't consider that as a spoiler since it's in commercials for the movie...) Katniss and a boy named Peeta are shipped off to the Capitol where they are eventually herded into "the arena," a landscape that if not artificially created is at least artificially controlled.
From there it's basically like the TV show "Survivor" mixed with Stephen King's "The Running Man" where the tributes are all trying to survive the elements while also trying to kill each other. As a skilled hunter Katniss has an edge in that, but she's reluctant to kill human beings.
Anyway, unlike the over 5000 5-star reviewers I'm not going to gush about how amazing the book is. It's not really. The writing is plain and there were at least four errors I highlighted on my Kindle. It's certainly not Hemingway or Faulkner or Proust but then again the book's audience has probably never heard of any of those gentlemen.
So really taking the book at what it is, it is an exciting story of survival and romance. The romance is a little blah but then I'm a bitter old man (at least to the target audience) so what do I know? Once the Games begin, it's hard not to get drawn into Katniss's struggle to survive.
One of the things that annoys me though is that she gets a lot of help in this. It reminded me of Perseus (the guy in "Clash of the Titans" for all you kids), who was given all this stuff by the gods: a magic sword, a shield, a helmet, a Pegasus. For Katniss it was more down-to-earth things like medicine and food, but still there was always someone to bail her out. It devalues her struggle a little when she has to rely on the kindness of strangers.
Also Katniss seemed a little dense at times, especially regarding Peeta. I suppose you could chalk it up to her lifestyle in District 12, but really it was pretty obvious what was going on with Peeta. Why was she the last one to see it?
Anyway, I'm not sure what the sequels are about and I don't really care. Maybe they explain why that pin the mayor's daughter gave her was so important? I thought it must be some talisman for certain rebellious elements, but nothing really happens with it in this book.
Still, even for this bitter old man it wasn't a bad read.
That is all.
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