SEVENEVES by Neal Stevenson

Narrated by Mary Robinette Kowal and Will Damron

     Thin Plot—Thinner Story—World-Building Exercise

I like Neal Stevenson as much as the next guy and more than most. My introduction to his fiction came relatively late. I have long been a fan of Snow Crash but did not come to appreciate his other efforts until recently. And so it was with great anticipation with which I approached his new novel Seveneves, which was to be the first new Neal Stevenson release to occur while I considered myself a true fan.

Neal Stevenson here proves that his narrative voice is capable of wide variance from one novel to the next; seeming to be a different author. In Snow Crash he is a gonzo genre-busting cyberpunk virtual reality hacker. In The Diamond Age he morphs into a William Gibsonesque near-future cautionary tale teller. For multi-volume series The Baroque Cycle he explores the very nature of the scientific method as a plot device—quite successfully, I might add. In Anathem he becomes an SF religious allegorist reminiscent of Walter Miller Jr. In Cryptonomicon he deftly weaves code-breaking with World War II heroics. For Reamde he becomes a top-shelf political techno-thriller novelist. And now in Seveneves, he writes a throwback Hard Science Fiction™ global disaster novel told in the clear—some may say non-existent—style of Isaac Asimov. If the name Neal Stevenson did not appear on the covers of all these titles one would be hard pressed to determine that all were written be the same author. There is one giveaway. The common element in all Stevenson’s work is his endearing tendency toward Attention Surplus Disorder, a label given to one of the characters in Anathem, but which aptly describes his obsessive-compulsive attention to detail.

This book has a plethora of interesting forays into world-building. First is a near future world where humanity has become a space-dwelling race. The second is a post-apocalyptic space-faring group of survivors. Next is the group of their descendants engaging in re-terraforming earth. The problem for me is that in each section the world –building situation takes precedence over the story. This novel suffers from the implausibility of the situations the humans are dealing with. It seems that the quirks of our culture are still felt five millennia in the future and the races established by the survivors still remain distinct despite living in close quarters. The novel is unrealistically told as if nothing of historical importance occurs in the five thousand years between the major sections. This implausibility makes it impossible for the listener to engage with the characters who are sorely impacted by their dire circumstances; circumstances which just don’t have a strong enough connection with reality, or even to plausibility, to allow the reader to make an empathic connection with the characters. As a result the book seems to be a collection of outlines of pre and post-apocalyptic scenarios strung together with a few key characters who are mere place-holders occupying a necessary slot in the framework

It took me a few hours to warm up to the voice of Mary Robinette Kowal. And, though I grew to appreciate her narration because she tries to give each character a voice, I still cringe sometime when she reads some of the male characters as if they were surfer dudes. To her credit, she is, for the most part, not intrusive and lets the words tell the story. The second half of Seveneves is narrated by Will Damron, who delivers the text in straightforward fashion assiduously avoiding undue emotional inflection or any hint of drama. The two narrators are well matched in that they read clearly and with a steady pace. I prefer Mary Robinette Kowal since she adds a much needed element of the dramatic to her performance that Will Damron seems to shun.

Seveneves stems from a long line of Sc-Fi planetary-scale disaster novels. Other noteworthy examples in this sub-genre are:

WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE bu Philip Wylie and Edwin Balmer

THE WANDERER by Fritz Leiber

LUCIFER’S HAMMER by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle

THE DIAMOND AGE by Neal Stephenson

Narrated by Jennifer Wiltsie

     Grim Technoir Cyberpunk Fairy Tale

Interleaving elements of children’s bedtime fairy tales and cyberpunk technoir, The Diamond Age would have to be classified as “experimental.” And, like most experimental novels, it does not entirely succeed. The novel is structured with disparate sections, some focused on a young girl named Nell and the rest composed of passages related to a larger plot. At first, the sections from The Young Ladies Illustrated Primer, Nell’s sections, seem completely disassociated, but gradually Stevenson weaves these fantasy stories into the larger plot and the stark contrast between them and the more standard narrative does not feel so out of place. The world Stevenson creates is much like that of William Gibson’s Sprawl novels and, sadly, just as elusive and incomprehensible and difficult to grab onto. There are parts of this novel that are brilliant and attention grabbing. Other parts give the listener’s mind little to latch onto and require one’s full attention just to follow. I found my mind wandering repeatedly throughout much of the story, only to return when the story became more coherent. While I am appealing to William Gibson I might as well go on to say that both Neuromancer and The Diamond Age dazzle me at times with catchy street-smart prose, and glitzy technological innovations; but, at the end of the day, I would be hard pressed to relate the overarching story or to give a plot outline for either novel even if my life depended on it.

I had read the print version of this novel several years age after reading Stevenson’s Snow Crash. This novel was so different from that gonzo offering that I was greatly disappointed. My second go round, and first listen, brought out some elements that I had not noticed on my own. I feel that another listen is in my future, and I imagine that I will enjoy it more. This feeling is one that I often get with books that later become favorites. Someday I will give this one another shot.

Jennifer Wiltsie grew on me over the course of several hours of listening. At first I thought she was treating me like a little child. Then when the fairy tale storyline began to merge into the main story, I saw the wisdom of such an approach. Wiltsie handles children and adults, male and female voices with great range and clarity. 

MACHINE WORLD, Undying Mercenaries Book 4, by B.V. Larson

MACHINE WORLD, Undying Mercenaries Book 4, by B.V. Larson

Narrated by Mark Boyett

     McGill’s Misadventures  Consistently Entertain

This series is, for me, now an old friend. McGill is a known quantity. He will always act on his gut instinct, which has proven very effective in keeping him from getting permed—really dead. While remaining consistently insubordinate and acting as the loosest of cannons, he manages not only to save his own skin, but time and again pulls humanity’s chestnuts out of the fire. The world of the Galactics that McGill has been forced to play in would seem to be aligned against him and his entire race, but someone is surely looking out for him, because his improvisational skills, which at first seem to result in horrible mistakes, end up in being just the thing to help McGill slip out of harm’s way, and end up getting mankind out of trouble, and earning McGill a promotion.

 I really enjoy the dialog that B.V. Larson has written, and Mark Boyett delivers it with style and aplomb. The circumstances are outlandish, need I say otherworldly? But what would you expect from a first-rate Space Opera? This is great entertainment. Along with Marko Kloos’ Frontline series, and Larry Correia’s Grimnoir Chroncles, I would use it in a court of law to make the case that audiobooks are more entertaining and engaging than any blockbuster on the silver screen. 

JOE STEELE by Harry Turtledove

Narrated by Richard Poe

     Communist Dictator in the White House

No, that is not today’s headline from the Drudge Report—it is the idea behind this new Harry Turtledove novel.

Count Your Blessings that the slow march of Progressivism driving the US of A into socialism didn’t begin with a full-blown communist in the White House. Of course, contemplating current events it may end that way.

Joe Steele relates what history might have been like if Joseph Stalin’s family had emigrated to America and Trotsky retained control of Russia. The course of WWII is noticeably affected, of course, but the most significant differences are in the USA. This can, and should, be read as a cautionary tale, warning US citizens to stick to the constitution and not to allow a strong leader to take control. Once a dictator gets to be in charge, he stays in charge.

The characterization is one-dimensional and not very engaging. I found the plot to be the driving force in this novel. The idea of “what if” applied to American history provides sufficient interest to keep things moving.

So far this book is not part of a series, and that is OK by me. Harry Turtledove’s best books are stand-alone novels: The Guns of the South, Ruled Britannia, and In the Presence of Mine Enemies. I would also include How Few Remain in the list even though it is a precursor to—but not necessarily a part of—The Great War series.

A common element in these Alternate History stories is that no matter how bad is the present, any imagined alternative would be much worse. Maybe it is easier to write such pessimistic  stories than it would be to imagine a better turn of events. The best element of an alternate history is that it forces you to reevaluate the currents of the past and the recapitulation of past events, in a slightly modified form, and doing that grants greater understanding of actual events. Those who don’t learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat it.  Those who don’t read alternate history are doomed to repetitious boredom.

Richard Poe delivers a fine effort of narration. Not as dramatic a reading as some of my favorite performers but a solid rendering nonetheless of a novel with a cast of many characters. If you are fond of the reading talents of Richard Poe I recommend John Steinbeck’s East of Eden, also voiced by Poe. 

DARK SPACE; Dark Space 1 by Jasper T. Scott

Narrated by William Dufris

     Tongue-In-Cheek Matinee Sci-Fi

This has a little bit of the attitude from the TV series Firefly. The level of sarcasm is as high as the level of rebelliousness. Ethan is the ever competent pilot caught in an unwanted war just trying to eke out a living while bucking the system. I like the devious war lords and the indomitable warriors fighting tyranny. And, lest I forget, the insectoid alien invaders that continue to threaten to exterminate humanity throughout the galaxy. This book has so many Sci-Fi elements included that it seems more like a television series gone amok than it does an ordinary Space Opera. If I do decide to continue with this series it will be because of the dramatic performance of William Dufris and the sheer fun of the thing.   

William Dufris is always wonderful. He put so much emotion into his performance that the story comes to life. I really like his character voices. Other great Dufris audiobook performances include Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson, and Woken Furies by Richard K. Morgan.  

THE SYNCHRONICITY WAR, Part 1 by Dietmar Wehr

Narrated by Luke Daniels

     Tactical and Strategic Space War Primer

There are some intriguing Sci-Fi concepts, especially the glimpses of the future that alter one of the character’s actions. This kept my interest and I want to see where this plot device will lead. The space battles are action-filled and just perhaps a little too involved in the nitty-gritty of space warfare. There are many scenes where the characters discuss future plans for new types of armaments develop battle strategy. I can see that this is an attempt at verisimilitude but it does detract from the pacing of the story. Is this a Science Fiction novel or a space fleet battle briefing manual? A little of both, I think.

Luke Daniels is top shelf, as always. His narration rescues this rather pedantic and redundant book from the doldrums and elevates it to an entertaining piece. Sadly, there are few moments of humor to allow Daniels to flex his dramatic muscles. 

FEAR THE SKY by Stephen Moss

Narrated by R.C. Bray

     Plot Driven Thriller Missing Personality

This novel could be classified as an adventure thriller with an element of hard Science Fiction thrown in. It had enough in the idea category to keep me listening for the entire twenty hour length but I never became invested in any of the characters. Clearly there is a larger story in development here, and with two announced sequels I can foresee that the story could progress into something more than this first installment has so far provided.

R.C. Bray is an fine narrator and he delivers a yeoman’s effort here. However, his straight-forward delivery did not enhance the listening experience. What this book needed was a more dramatic performance to help bridge the necessary slow sections of the complex plot development. 

FIRESTAR: Firestar Saga, Book 1 by Michael Flynn

Narrated by Malcolm Hillgartner

     Dry Plot Outline Without Characterization

Having recently finished listening to Micheal Flynn’s EIFELHEIM, and enjoying it very much, I thought I would try another one of his books to see if he could attain the quality reached in that book. And, seeing as this is the first of a series, I was anticipating many hours of sense-of wonder Science Fiction entertainment. Here he falls completely flat. This reads like a plot outline from a Larry Niven novel but without the magic touch required to bring the story to life. I had to punch out on this book after only four hours.

Malcolm Hilgartner is just OK. I suppose that had he delivered an over-the-top dramatic performance that this audiobook could have been made interesting, but his straight narration is not enough to resurrect this lifeless story.

ANGLES OF ATTACK by Marko Kloos

Narrated by Luke Daniels

FRONTLINES VOL. 3

     Begin At the Beginning—Every Time

The narration by Luke Daniels for this series is so good that every time a new book is released I have gone back and started from the beginning. And this is not just to re-familiarize myself with the story, but to experience Daniels’ performance over again. Only a few narrators are able to deliver the level of dramatization necessary to make the book seem like a movie playing in my head—Luke Daniels is one of them. It was great to review TERMS OF ENLISTMENT. The boot camp gung-ho grunt scenes are the equal of anything put out by Stanley Kubrick or James Cameron. This is great entertainment.

Lest I give the impression that the narration is only good thing about this series, allow me to dispel that delusion. This is a well-paced story with engaging characters. The dialog is natural and even witty at times. The overall situation of humanity fighting for their survival against an incomprehensible and overwhelmingly advanced alien foe is nicely done and I always like such scenario where those plucky humans just can’t be kept down. We are the cockroaches of the galaxy—a pest that you just can’t get rid of—one that will fight to the death. Along the way there are plenty of human to human conflicts of personality. No military story would be authentic if some of the officers weren’t jerks. They are dealt with in appropriate and often hilarious fashion. Yes, there are many things to recommend about this series. When the next installment comes out I plan to start again from the beginning and let it roll over me all over again.