Book Review: The Million by Karl Schroeder

Cover of the book The Million by Karl Schroeder — *The Million*
by Karl Schroeder
Tor, 2018

This review was first published by Booklist on July 18, 2018.

Schroeder (Lockstep, 2014) presents an engrossing and unique vision of the future. Most humans have moved off world, and the population of Earth is kept at one million. The Million is made up of families who are custodians of the land and resources, responsible for preserving historic skills and culture, and they’re all incredibly wealthy. Meanwhile, 10 billion people lay in cryogenic hibernation underground, waking for one month every 30 years to overrun the planet. Gavin is a young man who doesn’t belong: he is a visitor secretly adopted by one of the Million. When a rival dies, Gavin takes his place in the Academy, a training school for the elite police force charged with tracking down outcasts like him. What he discovers there is a conspiracy that could tear apart the very fabric of society. Schroeder develops a rich setting for such a short book, slightly strained but elegantly rendered, and it makes the juicy intrigue plausible. His characters are believable and the stakes are high. It’s an exciting start to what should be an addicting series.

This title has been recommended for young adult readers:

YA/General Interest: With young protagonists in a school setting dealing with the machinations of adults in authority, The Million ticks all the right boxes for older teen sf fans.

Nazis in the Library

I published a post a couple of weeks ago about neutrality and why I don’t think it’s possible for libraries (or any organization, for that matter) to be neutral in a society riven with historic and structural inequality. I cited posts by Dr. Donna Lanclos and Dawn Finch. I concluded that I would prefer to use the terms nonjudgmental and unbiased.

On Twitter, Dr. Lanclos pointed out that “unbiased” is also a problematic term. She warned, ” ‘Unbiased’ could still end up with Nazis in the library.”

I responded: “We allow Nazis in the library.”

This was the week before the American Library Association’s Office of Intellectual Freedom updated their interpretation of Article VI of the Library Bill of Rights (pertaining to meeting rooms) to explicitly include “hate speech” and “hate groups” alongside religious and political groups, charities, non-profits, and sports organizations as civic groups that must be allowed to use library meeting spaces, and how these groups are allowed to express themselves. Reaction to this change was swift and spawned the #NoHateALA hashtag.

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True Love & The Princess Bride

Ever since posting my review of Kill the Farm Boy, I’ve been thinking anew about The Princess Bride. I don’t think I understood until recently just how much it influenced my sense of storytelling.

I first saw the movie when I was in junior high. I was beginning to form an abiding interest in the craft and techniques of storytelling but I wasn’t consciously aware of it at the time. It would be some years yet before this interest broke the surface of my subconscious and explicitly revealed itself. There are several movies and books from this period of my life which influenced my understanding of the subject without me realizing it.

Like most people of my generation, I fell in love with The Princess Bride the first time I saw it. It was sarcastic and funny with beautiful young leads—I was young and sarcastic and wanted to be funny and beautiful. It was romantic and I was deeply invested in the ideal of being a hopeless romantic.

Or, everyone said the movie was romantic. It talks about True Love a lot and it has the shape of a love story. But I never really bought that part of it.

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Book Review: A Voice in the Night by Jack McDevitt

Cover of the book A Voice in the Night by Jack McDevitt — *A Voice in the Night*
by Jack McDevitt
Subterranean, 2018

This review was first published by Booklist on July 5, 2018.

A Voice in the Night brings together 24 short stories by McDevitt (The Long Sunset, 2018)—tales of space exploration and artificial intelligence, even a couple of alternate-history yarns. Many highlight McDevitt’s concerns about the future of space travel and the unlikelihood of encountering other intelligent life in the universe, as well as worries about the future of our planet. Most of the stories in this collection were published in the past two decades, with a handful from the previous millennium, so it’s not a complete retrospective. Two stories are award-worthy: “Good Intentions” was a Nebula nominee in 1998, and “Ships in the Night” was an International SF winner in 1993. Of particular interest to McDevitt’s readers are two stories from his well-known Academy series, detailing Priscilla Hutchins’ qualification flight when she first became a starship pilot, in addition to several other stories set in the Academy universe. McDevitt’s fans will welcome this collection.

Book Review: Apocalypse Nyx by Kameron Hurley

Cover of the book Apocalypse Nyx by Kameron Hurley — *Apocalypse Nyx*
by Kameron Hurley
Tachyon, 2018

This review was first published by Booklist on July 5, 2018.

Hurley’s collection revisits the world of the Bel Dame Apocrypha (beginning with God’s War, 2011) with five stories featuring intergalactic bounty hunter Nyxnissa so Dasheem (aka Nyx) and her crew on some of their dangerous jobs. The plots are taut, thrilling, gritty, violent, profane, magical—everything Hurley’s readers expect. New readers will not feel lost in this world—Hurley has created one of the most engrossing environments in modern sf—but fans will delight in learning how Nix meets Khos and the first time she hires Anneke. Though there is not much personal growth, all of the characters are well realized, even in the short story format, and each story covers familiar interpersonal conflicts and emotional highs and lows. These stories were previously published online, but fans of sf adventure stories with lots of political intrigue will welcome them in print.

The Problem of Neutrality

I’ve written before about my misgivings regarding the ideal of neutrality in public libraries. I recently read an excellent post by Dr. Donna Lanclos titled, “Maybe We Shouldn’t Talk About Diversity Anymore.” There’s a quote in this piece which echoes the argument I’ve made about why neutrality is a problematic concept:

What about notions of ‘neutrality’ and ‘nice’ that talk about the importance of ‘all voices’ when we really should be protecting voices that historically have no platform. Let’s end false equivalencies, and recognize that people who have traditionally had power and influence (especially white men) don’t ever really lose their opportunity to participate just because we make sure that people and especially women of color get to take up space and have their say.”

(http://www.donnalanclos.com/maybe-we-shouldnt-talk-about-diversity-anymore/, posted June 30, 2018)

I want to explain a bit more about why neutrality makes me uncomfortable.

Continue reading “The Problem of Neutrality” →

Book Review: Kill the Farm Boy by Delilah S. Dawson and Kevin Hearne

Kill the Farm Boy is a delight. It’s funny, unexpected, clever. It’s a quick read without sacrificing any substance. The characters are wonderful—interesting, infuriating, and sympathetic by turns—the world is well-rendered and the plot well-paced.

Did I mention it’s funny? Like, really funny. I have high hopes for the series this book sets up.

Fair warning: you better love puns.

I read an advance reader copy of the novel and it came with a summary of the planned marketing and promotional strategy. The marketing for this book emphasizes a comparison with the work of Terry Pratchett. This offers a good way to explore what Kill the Farm Boy is really about.

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How Do You Know When It’s Time?

I’ve long been fascinated by the question: How do you know when it’s time to move on?

For example, my dad spent over 20 years—my entire childhood and into my college years—working at a state university. When he decided to leave, I asked him how he knew it was the right time. There were several factors at play but mostly, he said, it was because he didn’t feel like there was anything new to learn there. Every year, there had been something new to do, something new to learn: a new position, a new committee or task force of some kind, a new challenge. But after 20+ years, he’d gone as far in the organization as he could go. There was nothing new.

I thought about this when I made the decision to leave theater. I’d gone to college with the goal of working professionally in theater in a big city. I did that for over a decade. But I knew when it was time to stop. There were several factors at play—the manual labor of tech work was taking a toll on my body, nonunion freelance work meant I had no health insurance or retirement plan—but mostly it was because I’d reached a point where I needed to take the next step on the career ladder, and move up into technical director and production management roles. But I didn’t want to. In truth, I was a few years past the point when I should have made this transition but those jobs had no appeal for me. In part, it was because TDs and PMs don’t typically run shows, and running shows was what I loved. But if I’m honest… The thought of taking on that much responsibility, the idea of being in charge, filled me with dread.

Continue reading “How Do You Know When It’s Time?” →

Onward & Upward

I’ve written three posts over the past few weeks exploring lessons I’ve learned about customer service through a variety of past jobs and experiences, as well as from my more recent years as a public librarian. I’ve spent a lot of time lately looking back over my working life and mining it for all the wisdom I can.

There’s a reason for this retrospection:

On June 11th, I begin a new job. I’m leaving the Kansas City Public Library—today is my last day, actually.

I’ve accepted a position with the Johnson County Library system in Johnson County, Kansas (the Kansas side of the KC metro area). I’ll be the Branch Manager for three of their locations: Gardner, Edgerton, and Spring Hill.

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Book Review: Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells

Cover of the book Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells — *Rogue Protocol*
by Martha Wells
Tor, 2018

This review was first published by Booklist on May 29, 2018.

In Rogue Protocol, the third (after Artificial Condition, 2018) of Wells’ Murderbot Diaries, Murderbot is on a mission to find evidence to bring down the GrayCris Corporation for good. Their journey takes them beyond the Corporate Rim to a derelict terraforming station that hides a secret. Once again, they must protect a human crew, and when their secret identity as a rogue SecUnit is threatened, they have to decide whom they can trust. As always, the story is fast-paced and action-packed, colored by Murderbot’s acerbic commentary throughout. Though the main character remains as appealing as ever, this entry in the series feels less substantial, less happens, the plot and secondary characters are less complex, and there’s more exposition filling the pages. It’s clear the primary purpose of this book is to set the stage for the next one. On its own merits, Rogue Protocol doesn’t quite live up to the first two books in the series, but readers will be thrumming with excitement for what comes next.