Kay's Bookshelf

In a time where there are very few animals left, their value increases tremendously. They become a symbol of social status and morality (“You know how people are about not taking care of an animal; they consider it immoral and anti-empathic.“). Every person is proud to have and care for at least one animal, however small. People who cannot afford one (such as Rick and his wife since their sheep died) try to make do with electrical replacements, looking realistic enough to fool one’s neighbors (Rick is the not so very happy owner of an electric sheep). In this context the title suddenly becomes a lot more clear (I’ve been wondering about it since I first read there’s a book with this title, ages ago): in a world where caring for an animal means the ability to have good feelings, to care for the others — do androids dream to have an animal? Do they have empathy? Do they care about living things around them? After reading the book, the answer is an obvious no. Rick Deckard seems to think otherwise though (and the same goes for the other main character, J.R. Isidore, a man who befriends some androids out of sheer loneliness).

Another predominant concept featured in the book is that of Mercerism, a religious movement based on the life story of Wilbur Mercer. In short, he was a guy who had the power to revive animals; however that was deemed illegal so when he was caught his brain was treated with a chemical that was supposed to annihilate the part of Wilbur’s brain controlling his special ability. As a result, he felt he ended up in a world filled with dead animals and decay, a world that he tries to escape by climbing a mountain hill. It’s mostly this difficult ascent that his followers are trying to participate in via an empathy box — an electrical contraption with a screen and two handles that when touched put the person touching them in “mental fusion” with Mercer and the rest of the people grabbing the handles of their empathy boxes at the same time. This way, people can share their experiences, feeling others’ joys and pains while making their own felt by others too. I didn’t exactly get what happened when Mercer reached the actual top of the hill he was climbing (did he die?), but whatever it was made the cycle start all over again, forever (I imagine it much like Sisyphus and his stone). Although I found the story to be somewhat vague and hazy, I did like very much its effect on people — they became better, more ready to share, more caring with the helpless (see Mr. Isidore and his spider), so in a way I think that if that empathy box were actually invented the world would actually become a better place.

Since I am mentioning new and interesting concepts, this review would not be complete without the item that fascinated me the most, the “mood organ” (a device that could induce a person various moods, such as the desire to watch TV no matter what’s on or (my “favorite”) “pleased acknowledgement of husband’s superior wisdom in all matters”. While it had many positive emotions to offer, it also had negative ones available (such as a deep, dark depression), making me wonder why that was. Sure, Rick’s wife has found an occasion for using the depressive setting, but nevertheless I would have expected such device to be positive only (you know, like pills in our world, there aren’t any pills to make one miserable while there are plenty of happy alternatives).

In the end, perhaps I should talk a bit about the characters too. I liked Mr. Isidore, the “special” person (he had an IQ too low for him to be allowed to reproduce or leave the planet), because he was, simply put, a nice guy. Not very bright, of course, and quite shy, but he was essentially nice and I liked reading about him. Rick Deckard, having a higher IQ, is a lot more complicated. He is mostly seen struggling with the way he sees the world as opposed to the way he thinks the world should be seen. His empathy levels are good enough for me to like him though (although I do disapprove of him in one particular instance) and I rooted for him throughout the book (although rooted is perhaps a term badly matched to the level of dark moods this book has). I also found interesting the other bounty hunter (Phil Resch) because of his behaviour when confronted to the fact that he might be an android too (the very symbol of what he despised) and for the fact that it seemed to me that his purpose in the book was to represent normality itself as a reference for comparison for Rick (as in Peter was the way every bounty hunter should be; Rick was looking at him and sometimes longed to be the same, because it felt right).

What I liked most: The way the people in the new world related to animals, hands down. The fact that in that world animal cruelty has been eradicated because everyone empathized with all living creatures. Did I mention that I’d really like for the empathy box to be actually invented?

World War Terminus was quite a cool term too. Oh, and the idea of kipple (debris left behind by people moving out, quietly multiplying until taking over whole buildings) was also interesting. I wonder where does the name come from.

What I liked least: Possible spoiler: at one time Mercer appears in front of Rick and tells him something he couldn’t possibly have known. To me it seemed an impossible feat (as I saw Mercer, a religious leader in a story of long ago, as existing only in his followers’ minds not outside them) that sort of detracted from my reading pleasure (although interestingly enough I had no issues whatsoever with rocks flying out of empathy boxes when their users shared Mercer’s ascent as his enemies chased him with rocks).

Recommend it to? SciFi fans, of course. All the rest of the world too since it’s one of the classics.

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Popularity: 21% [?]

Ever since the first few lines Tally reminded me of Bella in Breaking Dawn: too strong and too close to supernatural for me to identify with/relate to her anymore (just think about it, spectacularly enhanced senses, improved speed, ceramic unbreakable bones and… internal software? really??). Add to that the fact that her mind has been messed with again and you’ll probably guess that I didn’t “click” with Tally, nor cared too much about her for most of the book. Actually, the only main character I did like and whose future I was quite interested in was Zane — I found him to be quite the hero, fighting to overcome his disabilities (and truly despised Tally seeing her reaction towards him). As such, I was very sorry that he got so little “screen time” (since the storyline is following Tally around not him; but I would have loved to know a lot more).

Speaking of Tally and Zane, I think that one of the book’s greatest faults is the lack of a plausible struggle. Tally is way too strong now for any of her difficulties to be truly believable (she does have some moral dilemmas but either the author didn’t insist on them or I did not care, but they never touched me the way the first book did). Zane on the other hand, is at a difficult time in his life, trying hard to escape the city despite his vulnerability, dreaming of “repairing” Tally and not giving her up despite the awful way she treats him.

There are still some common plot lines between the three books, but less with this one than in the previous two. For example, the intrigue: in the first two books, Tally starts out passionately wanting to belong to a superior group, and everything she does later is based on it; in this one Tally is already part of a powerful clique, but she starts out by wanting Zane to be a part of it too (and mostly everything she does later is based on it). As in the first book, Tally goes out to find Smoke, ready to betray everyone so that she’ll get the operation she so much wants (in Uglies, her becoming pretty, in this one, Zane’s becoming a Special). But, as in all three books, Tally is changed by the very fact of her being alone in the wild; and yet she ends up to blame for the bad things that happen to the new Smoke yet again.

Which is probably why I liked the books less and less — the first one surprised me in a good way, because mostly everything there was unexpected, and Tally was at her most “relatable” point back then (prior to having any operations). The second book was a lot less surprising since many of the events were “recycled” from the first book — but I could still relate with some of what Tally was going through. While admittedly this book was less predictable than the rest, the fact that I didn’t care about Tally didn’t help at all. At this point I am fairly certain I will probably never read the fourth book, Extras, especially as it seems that the old characters and issues have been replaced with new ones (a fact that, to be honest, can be both a blessing and a curse — and yet I am so not curious about it these days).

What I liked most: The fact that the author has taken into account putting in place some sort of coercive measure so that people won’t end up like the Rusties, destroying everything else around them. I would have worried about it (or rather laughed at him for not thinking of it) if he hadn’t, and so I was happy to find out that he did (though I do doubt the efficacy of the measure).

What I liked least: Icy !!! What’s wrong with these people and repeating words?? If the second book left me with a dread for hearing the words “bubbly” and “bogus” ever again, almost the very same thing happens here with the words “icy” and “random” (mostly “keeping focused” is “staying icy”, just like “staying bubbly” before; and “that’s so random” whenever something unpleasant happens, just like something being “so bogus” in the previous book). Ugh. Oh, and I wasn’t particularly happy with all the talk about people cutting themselves either :|

Recommend it to? Anyone who read the first two books and is curious about what happens next :)

This book is a sequel to:
Uglies
Pretties

Written by the same author:
The Secret Hour
Touching Darkness
Blue Noon

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Popularity: 14% [?]

For some reason I liked Tally a bit less in this book, perhaps because she spent a part of it being a vain shallow-minded creature, or at least pretending to be one. Her adventures seemed to me a bit toned down too (or maybe I was under the wrong impression since I simply cared less about what happened to her and what troubles she got into). Zane on the other hand seemed to me quite a promising character, and I was sorry to see him missing from quite a good chunk of the book (he is sent to the background about the very time the real adventures started). David puts up a very short appearance here, but I liked the maturity that he shows on that occasion (Zane too for that matter). As for Shay, I am not very happy with the direction the author has chosen to make her develop, as she has become a spiteful thing, a far cry from the person I took her for previously.

The social issues that have been fleetingly touched in the first book return to haunt Tally (and the reader too). Dr. Cable explains to her that what is done to the people when they turn sixteen is done for their own good, and for the good of the society, because this way everyone can be held under control so they cannot affect the environment as much as the Rusties did. Sure, Dr. Cable may have been painting all in a more beautiful light than it actually was, but it sort of convinced me that the whole Special Circumstances thing was actually an organization that fought for the greater good. Even Tally, a firm advocate of one’s right to choose for oneself, ends up having some doubts after seeing a village of “pre-Rusties” and the thirst for blood and revenge they seemed to have ingrained in their very being. Might that happen to the pretties (and uglies) that have decided to live outside the cities? Tally doesn’t know (and neither will I until I’ll read the rest of the books :) ).

I couldn’t help noticing that in some respects this book’s plot was quite similar with the first. Tally starts out wanting to be in a group she’s not; she then finds out there is another world, another way of living, out there; next, she falls in love with a guy who’s fascinated by her courage and adventures; she has an argument with Shay; her actions negatively affect (more indirectly this time) people in the free city, and she feels very guilty about it; last but not least, she ends up scheduled for surgery, a surgery that’s supposed to change her life completely. Hum. I would be mightily amused if the plot of the third book will turn out to have one or more of these elements too :)

As a less than relevant tidbit, I am a bit turned off by the book cover. Not only because the people there lack the huge eyes that pretties are supposed to have, but most of all because the guy is nothing like Zane is supposed to look like (beautiful, gaunt, with dark hair and noticeable cheekbones). Oh well.

What I liked most: I was amused by the details like the physical changes some of the pretties did to themselves (although I have my doubts that a moving swirling tatoo, or having a third eye tattooed, would actually look good). My favorite change was the one Shay got, tiny clocks around her pupils, and going backwards too (not that I can imagine it look anything but creepy but I still find it a cool idea). Also, Zane’s very own scale for measuring prettiness: in mili-Helens (one Helen being enough beauty to launch precisely one ship :) ). Oh, and all the dragon stories/dreams that Tally kept inventing/having — I found them to be very fit metaphors for everything Tally was going through at the time :)

What I liked least: All the “pretty talk” at the beginning. Many many pages of dialogue spoken by people who seemed to have a very limited vocabulary. There’s only so many times one can read a particular word on a given page, and these kids used “bubbly” (their word for anything good) or “bogus” (their word for anything bad) every few words. It became very tiring after a while (and alternately quite boring). Not to mention the fact that the author seemed to have wanted to invent his own version of newspeak, all the pretties using, instead of some words, expressions like “brain-missing” (stupid), “fashion-missing” (out of fashion), “sad-making” (saddening) and so on.

Recommend it to? Anyone who read and enjoyed the first book :)

This book is a sequel to:
Uglies

This book is followed by:
Specials

Written by the same author:
The Secret Hour
Touching Darkness
Blue Noon

Amazon Affiliate. If you click an Amazon link and buy something, I receive a small percentage of the purchase price.

Popularity: 21% [?]

I did like all of the main characters. Tally, the one who has never known there was another world outside her own, but easily adapts when the need arises (perhaps a bit too easy? I cannot even begin to imagine how it must be to come from a life of having everything you might want at the tips of your fingers and end up living very much like people did centuries ago). Shay, the determined one, the fighter (and even the smarter one in my book given her ruminations on what does becoming beautiful entail; it can be argued, of course, that she’s had a lot more time than Tally did to get used to the idea). And David too, the legend, the exotic character that has never known what modern life, life inside a city, looks like.

I have found the author’s take on society quite interesting because of its let’s call it duality. On the outside, the pretties: beautiful people made so in the name of equality, in the name of mutual benefit. Parties, endless food, unlimited clothing, anyone has everything one might want. However, dig a bit deeper and dark secrets begin to appear: a Big Brother type of leadership, wanting to keep anyone under control. Making it all a lot more believable than it was while I was seeing only the outside layer :) (I may be cynical but I don’t quite believe in egalitarian societies simply because some people are always going to want to be “more equal” than the rest).

Were I to rate this book I have no idea how I would do it. I liked it and some of the ideas in it, of course, but I wasn’t smitten. Among other things it seemed to me a bit forced at times. For me Tally has adapted a bit too fast to the life “out there” — sure, she was a brave kid to begin with, but everything was very new to her (in an unpleasant way) and, given that she had a choice, I was surprised to see her choose the path she did (well, not exactly surprised since to be honest it all was quite predictable, but her motivations seemed to me to be a bit lacking). Not to mention the romance: as most heroines, Tally also finds love — but it too seemed a bit forced and a bit too fast coming for it to be truly believable (although I liked the fact that the author has taken the trouble to explain in detail the reasons why the guy fell for Tally). Nevertheless, were I to draw a line at the end, I would state, again, that I did like the book despite its shortcomings. It held me on the edge of my chair at some times and my heart filled with Tally’s distress at others — what more can anyone want from a book? :)

An (almost random) quote:

In the city, she’d owned lots of things — practically anything she wanted came out of the wall. But city things were disposable and replaceable, as interchangeable as the t-shirt, jacket, and skirt combination of dorm uniforms. Here, in the Smoke, objects grew old, carrying their histories with them in dings and scratches and tatters.

What I liked most: The whole idea of making everyone looking approximately the same so there’ll be no more discrimination on physical reasons. Extra points for taking into account all the “pre-programmed” stuff, such as having good skin makes people unconsciously think the owner is healthy, or having a certain set of eyes makes the owner seem vulnerable yet trustworthy and so on. Not to mention the whole idea of normal people seeing themselves as ugly because they kept comparing themselves with the beautiful ones and, of course, came up short (interesting because, among other things, it goes to show how relative the idea of beauty actually is; as stated in the book, in a world of only beautiful people no one is truly beautiful since everyone’s the same).

What I liked least: The ending!! I hate it when the authors do that — just stop whenever the action was getting even more interesting! I know the book was supposed to be a part of a trilogy but I would really have liked it a lot better if it made sense as a standalone book too (like Outlander for example, or Harry Potter) rather than this. It leaves me as a reader feeling very… unfulfilled.

Recommend it to? Anyone. It’s a fast read and quite interesting too.

See also
The Wikipedia article about a Twilight Zone episode that may have inspired the book

This book is followed by:
Pretties
Specials

Written by the same author:
The Secret Hour
Touching Darkness
Blue Noon

Amazon Affiliate. If you click an Amazon link and buy something, I receive a small percentage of the purchase price.

Popularity: 12% [?]

My favorite character was Jason, hands down. Partially because he was very smart, but also because when he showed up and explained, theories started taking shape and things connected and made sense. Although, come to think about it, Jason was every inch the scientist (mad genius even, up to a point), as he had no other life but his work — a thing that made him less multidimensional than the rest of the cast. Next in line comes Taylor, representing the average person in less than average circumstances. He is an okay guy, a good friend and a good doctor, and I did like him, although I was a bit less interested in his fate than in Jase’s. As for Diane, I don’t think she was that good a character after all. Not only I had only fleeting interest for her (all due to Taylor’s caring for her fate), but I also found her a tad too implausible to be real. Just think about it: she is Jase’s sister and people say about her that she is very much like him, plus in the final chapters she deals with the underground world by herself; and yet she spends more than half of her life adhering to some strange religious cult? I can understand her need of reassurance, of making sense of what was happening around her — but it didn’t make her worthy of a brother like Jason, nor very interesting in my eyes.

I have found very interesting the new technologies the author “invented”. Such as the Spin itself, the so called membrane that protected the planet. The Fourth Age of the Martian people, a sort of extra life that was obtained with pain and effort but that also made the “bearer” more empathic, more in touch with others (and that could also theoretically be upgraded). The growing network of particles (if one could call them so) that fed on ice and dust and grew to became a sentient macro-organism. All these were new ideas to me and I found them very interesting as such.

I also liked the fact that the author has chosen to deal with the human side of people being aware of their imminent doom. While their reactions were different, most people did end up acting in extreme ways. Some became fervent believers in God’s second coming (with tens of variations of the theme). Others turned to life outside law, becoming murderers and thieves, knowing there could be no punishment for them since the world was about to end. Even the main characters react to the threat in their own ways: Jase by becoming intensely thirsty for knowledge, for discovering the reason behind it all (risking his life in the process), Diane by marrying a guy with strong faith (in a desperate hope to share his views on the world, as they made sense to him in a way hers did not) and Tyler by becoming aloof, by losing touch with a part of himself (to the frustration of some of the women in his life) — practically the only powerful feeling he shows throughout the book being his attachment to his former playmates. I cannot help wondering, were I to choose, were I in the situation, what would be the path that I would myself take.

A quote I liked:

“There’s a phrase Pastor Bob Kobel liked to use back at Jordan Tabernacle. ‘His heart cried out to God.’ If it describes anyone, it describes Simon. But you have to parse the sentence. ‘His heart cried out’–I think that’s all of us, it’s universal. You, Simon, me, Jason. Even Carol. Even E.D. When people come to understand how big the universe is and how short a human life is, their hearts cry out. Sometimes it’s a shout of joy: I think that’s what it was for Jason; I think that’s what I didn’t understand about him. He had the gift of awe. But for most of us it’s a cry of terror. The terror of extinction, the terror of meaninglessness. Our hearts cry out. Maybe to God, or maybe just to break the silence.”

What I liked most: The originality of the idea of having time run with different speeds for Earth and say Mars and the incredible changes that arose from it (such as, for example, when the terraforming of Mars was in progress and Tyler was thinking how by the end of his day some generations have already lived and died on the other planet; a very impressive thing once one truly thinks about it).

What I liked least: The hint at lesbian romance. It was vague and barely mentioned and yet I couldn’t help feeling it really had no point to be there. It was like the author considered adding an extra spice to the book (only for me it was like adding cinnamon to soup).

Recommend it to? Anyone interested in science fiction (or not, I’m actually not a fan of the genre and yet I considered it to be pretty good).


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Popularity: 4% [?]

The characters are interesting and in a way unexpected, as we get to assist to a classic role reversal. We have Katniss, the girl, self sufficient with her hunting and survival skills — and also down to earth and a good person at the core. Were I to choose something Katniss is not, that would most definitely be “girlish” (in the fluffy, airheaded sense of the word); she sees the world with very serious eyes, having had to set food on her family’s table since she was eleven. Peeta, the boy, is also a good person (even kind), only his life has been a lot more sheltered and it shows. He actually manages to fend for himself for a while, but he is the more vulnerable one between the two despite his being a guy and all.

The story is told in the 1st person (Katniss is the narrator), a thing that made the author’s life easier by far — as Katniss can only see the people around her (not many at any given time) and has no way of knowing things happening in other parts of the arena, a lot of competitors’ deaths are not detailed in any way: Katniss just notices that, oh, yet another one has died, and moves on. I cannot decide whether I like this or not: on one hand there were over 20 people killed in the arena, detailing all deaths would have taken up space and probably became repetitive after a while; on the other hand I was curious about some of the events (like for example the cripple boy — he is not killed among the first, but he is killed nevertheless), plus in a way it all happened too fast and too easy (remember that Katniss had 23 opponents, she ends up encountering about 8, killing only two herself). But in the end, who am I to complain? It was a great book so the way the author has chosen to write it has definitely worked :)

For some reason I love books set in dystopian worlds — perhaps because they show how things can get a lot worse than whatever we have now, perhaps because they make me appreciate our own current world some more. Which means I find the book fascinating also due to the very world Ms. Collins has created: I liked the 12 districts, each specialized in producing something; the medical advances who allowed blood poisoning and burns to be cured almost instantly and could also erase scars; all the hype regarding the games and their live broadcast; the food shortages, the lack of continuous electricity and hot water; the police/guardians, called Peacemakers and reminding me of 1984 — and all the rest of the details, of course :)

What I liked most: The fact that the author has given some background info for the reader to understand exactly what the Hunger Games were and how they came to be.

What I liked least: The open ending :-s I know this is supposed to be only the first book in a trilogy but still — a happier ending (or at least a more decided one) would have been nice.

Recommend it to? Everyone. It’s a very fast read (it took me less than a day) and it has something of everything: thriller, sci-fi, adventure, some bits of romance even :)

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Popularity: 7% [?]