SNOWCRASH by Neal Stephenson

Narrated by Jonathan Davis

Babel Infocalypse

Ultima Ratio Regium – The Last Argument of Kings

This is my favorite Neal Stephenson novel.  I read it years ago and after listening to READY PLAYER ONE by Ernst Cline I thought I would revisit some related virtual reality novels. It has all the street lingo and tech savvy one would expect from state of the art cyber-punk and doesn't get so bogged down in the details to forget to make things fun. The characters are very engaging and easy to relate to, which allows the listener to navigate in and out of situations so foreign to normality that they would otherwise be alienating; Stephenson here handles them in a masterly fashion. He has created a high-tech post-civilized civilization where national governments compete with local business franchises for relevancy in the economy.

Along the way Stephenson manages to take time to deliver a Liberal’s take on some of the cherished truths of Christianity, but don’t let that disturb you too much, it is all part of an involved, and quite ingenious, explanation of Sumerian myth and how it connects to computer virus infestation. Believe it or not, that last sentence will actually make sense after you have listened to the book. It seems more like an intellectual exercise as a plot device than it does as a revisionist assault on the truth. Stephenson is prone to taking the listener on long rabbit trails, but in this book they themselves are interesting and add to the texture of the story. On such diversions your mind sort of places itself on hold and goes with flow until the side-bar is over, then the story can resume, but with the necessary background to enrich it with significance.

Jonathan Davis proves again that he is in the top rank of performers with a reading that is so spot on that it becomes transparent. The book becomes part of your consciousness like a waking dream. If you like this try his reading of Gene Wolfe’s THE BOOK OF THE NEW SUN: a completely different book, but masterful just the same on a whole different level.

Beware! The language of this novel is so cool that it will make you think you can effortlessly smooth your way into Gangland USA or hang with nuke-wielding bikers just by mentioning your mad hacking skills. Stick to reality! Remove your earbuds, take twenty deep breaths and order a pizza. And if the delivery guy’s name is Hiro it does not mean that you have lost your grip on reality. It is just a coincidence. Now if he is also wearing a Samurai sword…

INFLUX By Daniel Suarez

Narrated by Jeff Gurner

Disruptive Techno Thriller

This is a fun book with which to play with ideas. I really liked the idea of a secret organization trying to reign in the unrestrained expansion of technology. This is the most Science Fiction oriented of the three Suarez books I have listened to so far and also the most cinematic. There are scenes that remind me of some of the city on edge scenes of the movie Inception. The pace of the book increases steadily throughout until the climax where the big-screen special effects pop up.

Jeff Gurner is the reason this book casts cinematic images in my head. His performance evokes the big screen and a cast of thousands in expert fashion. It is amazing that even though this is a one-man-show it seems at times to be read by a full cast.  

FREEDOM ™ By Daniel Suarez

Cybergeddon

If you’re not playing the game. The game is playing you.

A fitting ending the Daemon story. This is in truth a horror novel. Unlike the undead zombies or immortal vampires and urban wizards that are so popular in horror fiction today, this story is horrific because it has the legitimacy of plausibility. Having lived through the dawn of the internet and witnessing its pervasive influence of the lives of people, it is not much of a leap to imagine just such a scenario that this novel puts forth becoming a reality; that makes this very frightening. Thankfully Suarez gifts us with a rousing thriller along with dishing out a look at the future of cyber-terror.

Lest it seem that this book is depressing let me impress upon you that the threat of cyber-terror is countered with the potential of cyber-altruism. It only takes a short search to discover the vast effort people today put into offering their opinion and knowledge in uncompensated internet postings and web-sites. I, for one, am not as optimistic as some of the characters in this book. I see the not only the people posting free information on the internet, I also see the spammers, mal-ware coders, and virus crackers that infest cyber-space as the best indicator of the way this story would play out in reality. If we had a twisted computer genius bent on fundamentally transforming human society like the Matthew Sobel in this book, the ending would not be happy.  

As with the previous novel in this series, DAEMON, Jeff Gurner is amazing. He makes this sound like an action movie playing in your head. And like a great movie that you watch over and over, I will be listening to this again. Maybe I’ll wait until my computer crashes from the next virus. It won’t be long.

Here are some related titles in the Cyber-Thriller-SF-Gaming genre you might enjoy:

READY PLAYER ONE  by Ernest Cline.

TERMINAL EXPERIMENT by Robert J. Sawyer

SNOWCRASH by Neal Stephenson

DAEMON By Daniel Suarez

Narrated by Jeff Gurner with Garrett Scott

Cruel Calculus

This is a cautionary tale reminiscent of PRESS ENTER by John Varley in which a computer genius reaches out from beyond the grave. But in this novel the scale goes beyond terrorizing one man, the Daemon in this book by Suarez is bent on world domination. This is an engaging adventure with just the right amount of plausibility to give it a sense of realism. Suarez starts slow then builds to a frantic pace, piling one technological marvel upon another, until the climax where we must examine the very structure of human society and our over-dependence on our toys. Under the microscope is the military industrial complex which has competition from the new Daemon on the block. I was surprised time and again at the ingenuity of the story and how it incorporates cutting-edge tech with the idea of a hostile takeover by a devious minded geek. At the end I was not sure weather to like the villain of cheer him for his genius. Of course I should be cheering Daniel Suarez for penning this fun and thought-provoking story.

This is a great book, and would be very good in print but we are very fortunate to have Jeff Gurner reading the story for us. Gurner’s range first seems limited, with the various voices sounding like mere variations on a theme, but at some point his talent goes on full display when the more flamboyant characters take the stage culminating in a resounding success. The addition of Garrett Scott as the female voice of the some of the connecting sound bites is a nice touch

DAY BY DAY ARMAGEDDON by J.L. Bourne

Read by Jay Snyder

O.D.T.A.A.

This is my first foray into the literary realm of Zombie fiction. Here we are given a dispassionate, matter of fact diary account of the Zombie Apocalypse. It was touted as the best of the Zombie stories yet written. Told strictly through diary entries of a survivor, who remains nameless throughout. The account is nearly devoid of emotion. Unlike another famous horror written in the form of diary entries, Bram Stoker's DRACULA, this book downplays all feeling, all emotion, all relevance to the human condition.

Never are we given any attempt at an explanation as to how the Zombie plague works. Maybe that is in book two; if so I'll never find out. No explanation as to how these starving, decomposing damned things can have the energy to scream and chase the living months and months after their last meal. The matter of fact day by day journal presentation is an attempt at realism so the supernatural explanation is never suspected. No, we are to just sit back and endure the repetitive explanation of one Zombie encounter after another. There is only so much interest that can be generated relating the attacks of mindless Undead creatures who have lost the capacity to think or even to use fine motor skills to open door knobs. The listener who enjoys this book would have to have a real affinity for the whole Zombie concept to relate to such a story.

This novel contains no dialog. It is completely related by a first person narrator, and as a result the characters never take on animated life. The population of the novel has the feel of an assembly of character sketches and do not endear the listener to the story. They are mere place-holders, leaving much to much to the imagination. This is fiction for those who desire mindless relentless open-mouthed, hands outstretched, foot-dragging, Zombie-like action. It is one damned thing after another. It would help to actually be a Zombie to enjoy this book.

Jay Snyder is now associated permanently in my mind to this story. He has a rich reverberant timbre to his voice, that I would appreciate reading other material. Like it or not, his is now the monotonous voice of Zombie fiction. It was Jay Synder's voice that I heard for hour after living dead hour telling me how one guy managed to escape death over and over again persued by the hungry, screeching, limping Zombie hoards. Jay Snyder gives a passable reading that is probably appropriate to the tone of the novel. But the longer I went into the book I kept wishing for some sign of life, for some feeling, some human emotion, some reason to care. It never came. And, as unfairly as it may seem, Jay Snyder is to blame. Kill the messenger.

PAVANE By Keith Roberts

Narrated by Steven Crossley

Religious Themed Science Fiction

 This is a series of connected stories set in an alternate universe where the Protestant Reformation never happened. It is a biting critique of the Roman Catholic Church (RCC), but has the ring of truth. The excesses and abuse of power , let alone ecclesiastical authority, are well known and this is an extrapolation of actual history. The surprise here is that the characters come alive in your ear. Their actions, motivated by unrequited love or honor, are authentic. This would benefit from multiple listenings. .This novel will help make the case that Science Fiction can deal with grand themes as well as any book I can think of.

Steven Crossley give a fine performance. His portrayal of the many female characters is well played and his tone for the males is always clear; every character getting his own voice, instantly recognizable. His skill is very much evident here.  

STEEL WORLD: Undying Mercenaries, Book 1 by B.V. Larson

Narrated by Mark Boyett

Valor in the Face of Permanent Death

Anyone can risk their life if they know they will be brought back to life. But what if that assurance was lost? This is a straight telling of a coming of age story in a military setting with a nice inclusion of galactic civilization thrown in to spice things up. The human race is here relegated to vassal status, fighting to prove themselves useful in a universe full of ancient races. We humans are on the bottom rung of the galactic ladder in this story with nothing to trade but our lives. And, of course, there is ample opportunity to display the spunk that we all intuitively recognize as our badge of superiority. Low self esteem has never been the problem for mankind. We may be behind in technology but our eventual rise to the top is inevitable. This type of fiction is always a lot of fun.

Larson makes this an interesting tale by putting the protagonist in dire settings, always on the brink of insubordination yet just so damn useful that his talents must be called upon time and again. As the title indicates the technology of rebirth is instrumental to the plot. A dead soldier can be brought back to life, but only if the galactic machines are in range, and if the bio-techs aren’t trying to do you in permanently.

Mark Boyett delivers a stellar performance; the various character personalities instantly recognizable by his fine accents. His voicing made this a better listening experience than I would have had just reading it on my own. 

THE GOD MAN by Bruce Biller

THE GOD MAN, SEED OF SATAN

THE GOD MAN, RAPTURE, WRATH AND REIGN

By Bruce Biller

These two volumes form one novel. I read it to gain a perspective on possible scenarios for the time of the end. These are told from a Prewrath point of view, and being a Prewrather, I appreciate that. Bruce Biller does well to incorporate a great deal of direct scripture references into the story. The approach to the conversion of the Jews is quite good. They remain blinded to the truth until the very end, until they say “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” It was enjoyable on the level of a fleshed out scenario for the end-times, but did not work well as a novel.

CONS (All notes from book 2)

Bruce Biller demonstrates his lack of understanding on the method of salvation when he depicts all the children under the “age of accountability” being taken in the rapture, including those with unbelieving parents. He clearly does not understand the concept of Original Sin whereby all are deserving of condemnation unless achieving saving knowledge. He must believe that all “innocent” children are saved until they get older.

(Location 2941) “Young children, that is, anyone unable to understand right from wrong, were also gathered to Jesus in the rapture and will forever enjoy God’s  presence.”

(Location 3589) “Children had vanished)

Some of the people receive the mark of the beast on their LEFT hand, when the scripture indicates the forehead or the RIGHT hand.

The cast of characters is quite large and scant time is devoted to making any of them seem to be real people. Very little of the action is presented using dialog. Most of the novel is explanatory, delivered by a third person narrator. This distances the reader from the characters. The people do not seem real.

The Jews are converted through dreams and visions.

A Calvinist understanding would not require such mystical means but would allow for God to remove the blinders from their eyes.

(Location 367)

The 144,000 are characterized as being Jewsih evangelists. This is one of the errors made by Pretribulationists who must have them be evangelists to account for the “Great Multitude” of martyrs supposedly saved after the rapture. Prewrathers do not need to have such a force of Jewish Evangelists because this “Great Multitude” represents the Church.

He uses Arminian terminology throughout.

(Location 360) “Christ’s death and resurrection made possible our salvation.”

Some of the people who take the mark of the beast feel remorse at doing so. As if it will be possible to accidentally align yourself with the Antichrist and be damned to Hell.

(Location 1134) “Some sympathetic business owners, at great risk to themselves and their families, compensated the unmarked  by providing food and  commodities in exchange for their labor.” (See also location 2195)

 Many of the Fifth Seal martyrs are shot by firing squad when Revelation only states that they will be beheaded. (Location 1487, 1986)

Universal Atonement is espoused (Location 1788) “Atonement had been made for the sins of the human race.”

After the end of Daniel’s 70^th Week Biller still has the Jews waiting to Make an Atonement for iniquity. Surely this must happen within the framework of Daniel’s 70 Weeks.

(Location 5073) “It had been a little more than seven years since the Antichrist had signed the Treaty of Babylon.” 

THE LAST ARGUMENT OF KINGS *: The First Law: Book Three, by Joe Abercrombie

Narrated by Stephen Pacey

 * Inscribed on His Cannons by Louis XIV

I decided to keep with the pattern of review titles I had adopted in the first two books; that of completing the quote used in the name of the book. But here are some great quotes from this novel that would have made great review titles:

Life being what it is, one dreams of revenge.

The good thing about every step being an ordeal: You learn to tread carefully.

Life is a series of things we would rather not do.

You’re never alone if you bring laughter with you

Life is the misery we endure between disappointments

In war the only crime is to lose

God smiles on results

You have to be realistic about these things

There are many small surprises in this last book in the trilogy. Some of the behind the scenes maneuvering is revealed and I like the long range planning involved.  The strong suit of this series is characterization.  I will long remember Logan, Jezel, Bayez and the twisted Glokta; all of whom undergo significant life changes, and all of whom are forced to do some serious soul searching. All the people are flawed, just like real life. All the people have something to contribute to one’s own introspection. This is an excellent series. I liked each book more than the last as the story grew in the telling it grew in my estimation as well.  This is good enough to revisit again in the future.

And in the end Logan is…

Stephen Pacey gives a performance worth of an Audie award. He was great in the first two books and is even better here as the story builds toward the conclusion. He is adept at the variety of characters here. His voice for Superior Glokta is so very sarcastic. He does a fine job at portraying Jezel dan Luther, the selfish dandy that has greatness thrust upon him. He is even great in voicing the female characters. This is one of those books that I will be listening to again just to hear the one-man-show that is Stephen Pacey. 

* BEFORE THEY ARE HANGED: The First Law: Book Two, by Joe Abercrombie

Narrated by Stephen Pacey

We should forgive our enemies, but not *

This is the middle book in Abercrombie’s Fist Law Trilogy and as such advances the various story lines but does not attempt a conclusion. The lives of four main characters are followed, Logan (The Bloody Nine), Inquisitor (now Superior) Glokta, the Dogman, and Jazel. All these characters show significant development. So now that the stage is set with all these great characters the conclusion is anticipated. The thing is, I really have no idea where the story is headed because there is no central quest to this series so far.

The characters are so good that Stephen Pacey has ample opportunity to display his considerable talents. Pacey is in fact fantastic making what could have been a plodding middle book into an engaging entertainment.