“In other words, crew deaths are a feature, not a bug…”

Ensign Andrew Dahl has been assigned to the xenobiology lab aboard the flagship, Intrepid.  Even though Away Missions are not necessarily part of his job description, there is always the opportunity for him to serve on one along with the famous Captain Abernathy and Commander Q’eeng.  But Dahl begins to notice something strange aboard the Intrepid: crew members scurrying out of the senior officer’s path, he is often left alone in the lab when Q’eeng arrives “unannounced” everyone having left for “coffee” or to “check inventory”.  There’s also the magic box that does impossible things and away missions that really serve no purpose but always end with the senseless death of a crew member.


After enjoying Fuzzy Nation by John Scalzi I was excited to read his latest, Redshirts; especially when I learned what it would be about.  If you are familiar with Redshirts in the Star Trek universe, you know they don’t always fare well on away missions.  I was curious where he would go with this and I was looking forward to the great dialogue I liked so much in Fuzzy Nation.


In Redshirts, I got the dialogue and while I think I understand what Scalzi was going for, I felt a little let down.  I was hoping for something a little more sinister behind the demise of the poor redshirts.  What I got was a silly premise straight out of a bad sci-fi show, with bad science and someone saying something very dramatic .  The characters didn’t feel fully fleshed out; a little too one dimensional where any of them could have come and gone without much notice.  This is what I think Scalzi wanted to present but it wasn’t what I was looking for.


I was able to take something away from this as a wannabe writer so it’s not like this book is a waste of time.  There are some funny moments that make you laugh out loud.  There are also some sentimental moments contained in the three codas at the end.  So even though I was disappointed it was still a good read and there are lots more Scalzi books out there I'm sure I'll really enjoy.

Zone One by Colson Whitehead

In Zone One by Colson Whitehead we spend three days in the life of Mark Spitz, as he and his team clear out Zone One, a.k.a. what used to be Manhattan. We’re in the cleanup phase of a zombie apocalypse and the only thing holding them back is a wall as the remaining military and volunteers try to establish a base to start civilization again.

Zone One was the final read of a trinity (HA!) of books I had a hard time choosing between a few months back. But unlike the other two that grabbed my attention right from the start, I came very close to giving up on this book. Here are some quotes that had me scratching my head and wrinkling my brow:

“Never in human history had so many delighted in removing a bit of kernel from between canines and biscupids.” – pg. 35

“A building like 135 Duane, with its panoply of enterprises, had its idiosyncrasies but nonetheless conformed to the prevailing narrative.” – pg. 33-34

“He scowled at the mail on the hall credenza, speculating anew over what misbegotten opt-in had birthed, among other bastards, his identification as a member of the opposite political party.” – pg. 69

If you’ve read the quotes above from Zone One, hopefully I wasn’t the only one who was thinking: Whaaatt??? I mean, was it that hard to write “removing a bit of kernel from between his teeth”? Are we trying to reach a word quota?

But after an encouraging tweet I pressed on. It did get better. I don’t know if I just got used to the writing or maybe the writing settled down. It felt like the first one hundred pages tried to cram a lot of information in at once. At the time it frustrated me. Especially when there was an interruption of a great zombie attack for a flash back! I was livid! Why would you interrupt a zombie attack! But I started to get used to the flashbacks and a flashforward scene.

After finishing, I thought back and could see how the book reflects the character’s journey; a life of constant fighting and moving from one place to another, never staying in one place for too long, always on the alert in order to survive. It would be confusing and frustrating like the first part of the book. Then it settles down, the character is rescued and volunteers to help rebuild, there’s a sense of stability; the second part, the part where the reading felt like it had settled down for me. Then the third part turns into a full blown zombie action event that’s intense and frightening. And this book just happens to be divided into three sections, events happening through the course of three days. Wow, can I analyze a book or what? (No, not really, I’m sure.)

I don’t read much literary stuff (and if you couldn’t tell already, my professional use of “stuff” should have given it away). My genre snobbishness getting over itself is probably what helped me to really enjoy this book. Those first 100 pages were the groan inducing pages for me but once I got past them I found myself addicted and surprisingly involved and actually caring about a character who had been described as mediocre; someone who had been incredibly lucky to survive the breakdown of society until what was left of the government began to pick up the pieces and rebuild. But someone able to survive the horrors described must be more than mediocre and when you realize that you begin to care what happens to Mark Spitz (a nickname that is revealed in the book).

So, slow start but it picks up when it needs to and you can’t put this book down. I recommend it.

From Miss Congeniality To Pirate Princess?

In Libba Bray's Beauty Queens, twelve Teen Dream beauty pageant contestants are the survivors of a plane crash on a deserted island. Together they will break the stereotypes society has boxed them into, discover their self worth and learn to survive on their own, becoming much more than what is expected of them; perfect role models who say the right things, wave, smile and stand around looking pretty.

I enjoyed reading about each girl embracing their new found freedom and self discovery. But just when it seemed Beauty Queens was getting After School Specially on me, head Teen Dream, Miss Texas, has a complete breakdown, and goes Rambo in the jungle! Then, after the teasing of the reality show, Captains Bodacious IV: Badder and More Bodaciouser, the muscular, shirtless stars in breeches who sail the high seas end up shipwrecked on the same island as our Team Dreamers! This book did not disappoint and sealed the deal with Sinjin St. Sinjin, the Captain with a penchant for transgender vixens, heels and fishnets with “sexxy” and “beast” tattooed on his knuckles. And I thought Confessions of a Shopaholic had a couple of nice laugh out loud moments but it has now become the forgotten runner up as Beauty Queens wins the crown and roses!

But even though I did enjoy the arrival of the sexy pirates it just led into teenage drama territory with it's boys vs. girls nonsense. I would have preferred its Lord of the Flies-lite vibe and it ending with a Cast Away feel; with the girls escaping on their own.

The end was a little disappointing with it’s "rescue" and soul train send off of the girls but it was still a fun book and the laugh out loud moments throughout made up for it. There were plenty too. You can see where I marked them:

I’d recommend it as a good weekend read when you want some good laughs.

To Be Borrowed: Divergent

After the whirlwind that was Catching Fire, I needed a book to take it easy with and Divergent by Veronica Roth seemed to be the one. I didn't feel like I had to rush through it. It was written at a pace I could sit back, relax and enjoy the journey of Beatrice (who ends up changing her name to Tris).

The book is about a dystopian society in Chicago separated into five different factions, each with their own values. It wasn't a roller coaster book like Catching Fire but it was still engaging. As I read, I visualized it in a similar style to M. Night Shyamalan's, The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable; very mellow and low key.

There were a couple of intense moments as Tris learned to navigate the waters of her new faction. However, near the end the narrative just got sloppy and confusing. A certain character was conveniently somewhere so he could be found and saved by Tris. Then after some very traumatizing events she's making out with her boyfriend in front of her brother! Oh, and there was the running across the "unyielding ground" (pg. 483) that really bugged me. Okay, yes, the ground is usually unyielding unless there's an earthquake or you're trying to escape a volcano. But considering there were no natural disasters or bombs going off, it's safe to assume the ground is unyielding without having to tell me. From that point on the book lost me and whatever I liked about it in the beginning was forgotten as I read what was a failed action/adventure ending. I finished this book on Thursday and since then, my frustration has grown as I've thought about it over the last few days.

I think the problem for me was reading three young adult books in a row about dystopian societies. I have nothing against YA books. My three woobie books are young adult novels. But there is a big difference in style (and substance) between Divergent and, for example, The Dark Is Rising, where the latter appeals to me more. Oh well, it started out well but lost me in the end. This is the first book of a planned trilogy. Will I read the next two books? Yeah, if I remember.