Darwin's Children, by Greg Bear

It looks like I'm on a roll. Third disappointing book in a row. I truly enjoyed some of Bear's books, especially Blood Music and Darwin's Radio, but this one makes it obvious he can't keep up the quality of his production up to his own standards. Maybe the first flaw in this book is that it seems to assume that you have just finished Darwin's Radio, when the story begins. I say this because you may get up to page 100 and not care at all about the characters. It's hard to get involved in a story such as the one he is telling when, for all you care, all the characters may get blown to smithereens. At times, he lapses into nasty scientific details of molecular biology, as he did in Darwin's Radio. When you're already frustrated with the way the story is being told, however, that can be almost the last straw that you need to put the book down for good. I persevered and got to the end and, by then, I was muttering curses under my breath for having wasted my time with this book.

The plot: In Darwin's Radio, Bear introduces the hypothesis that evolution is triggered by viruses. Mankind supposedly evolved in leaps and bounds because at certain stages in the history of the species, out of the DNA of certain individuals, viruses come alive, contaminate the population and produce a new subspecies. Interesting idea that was nicely realized into a great book in the first installment of this [cringe] series. In Darwin's Children, Bear focuses on the integration of the new species "Homo Sapiens Novus" into our established and prejudiced society. We are fed stories about how the individuals of the new species are segregated, isolated in concentration camps disguised as schools, and even considered for mass execution. The plot visits topics such as sociology, archeology, biology, politics, and religion. Most of these visits, however, are superficial, underdeveloped, and unsatisfying. There are elements of personal drama, but not even these work because the author hasn't made an effort to make you care about these characters. It seems to me he was thinking that the characters were developed in the first book and he didn't need to do it again. That's where the book met its dark fate, in my opinion. Another flaw is that he attempted too cover too much, but was shallow everywhere. There are many characters and very few actually mean anything to the story. Ok, I'm tired of bashing this book. It seems that quite a bit of people liked it; I just wasn't one of them. It could have been a great book, if he had made an effort to improve and augment this rough draft.

The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown

This was at best an "entertaining" book, one of those to read on the beach while your brains sit in the refrigerator at home. First problem I had with this was that of character development. The author really made no effort to do much of that in this book. With the exception of one main character (Agent Neveau) and a secondary character (Silas), the others seem to be cardboard style. On Robert Langdon, one of the main characters, Mr. Brown drops a few clues, but never connects all the dots and the reader is left wondering.

Second, the dialogue is strangely punctuated by many "!", as if everything should be surprising to the characters even if the reader can see it coming from miles away. The supposedly intelligent and accomplished characters display the IQ of amoebas.

Third, in what regards technology and sometimes science, Brown seems not to have done much research. Cryptology, which is much mentioned in blurbs for this book appears in the form of anagrams and riddles. Agent Noveau, supposedly an expert in the field, doesn't seems to be always on top of things, what really affects her credibility in a negative way.

A major inconsistency is exhibited in his understanding of GPS technology (tracking device used by DCJP on Landgon). Noveau explains to Langdon that the device tells a satellite network where he is, so that the police can follow his every move. This is pretty much fi without any sci. A button-sized device, which is able to beam radio signals up to a satellite, without a directional antenna... hmm... interesting.

Another horrible problem regards the impossible timeline upon which the story rides. With eyes closed, the more attentive reader can figure out the time budget for the story is blown: all it takes is a back of the envelope calculation adding up time for the dialog and rough estimates of times for travel. That was very hard to swallow. Perhaps, it would be possible in a parallel universe where time follows a slower clock.

With a lot of suspension of disbelief, I managed to get through this airplane read, but I only enjoyed it as much as one can be entertained by a cheap production for television. Although this book is knowingly fiction, its rupture of all ties with the realm of the believable renders it not silly and thus not thought evoking or head scratching, as supposedly the author intended it to be.

I cringe to imagine what Brown has done in "Digital Fortress", a book that supposedly is built around arguments directly related to science and technology.

I don't know what to call this book, but I think of it as a kind of "Foucault's Pendulum" for the masses. Perhaps it is an instrument of the great conspiracy theory of spreading lies to the masses and keeping them in the lowest rungs of the intellectual ladder.

Hominids, by Robert J. Sawyer

Hmmm... I'm still trying to figure out how I really feel about this book. First of all, I must say that this had a "soapy" (as in soap opera) component to it that I can't quite explain. However, at the same time, it has the classic elements of good science fiction. I'd say that in a certain way, Sawyer has a stylistic similarity with earlier Isaac Asimov. This is, I think, the best comment that I have on this book, or perhaps the only good comment.

The story is undoubtedly interesting. The premises are centered on the multiverse interpretation of quantum theory, on the supposition that "something" causes reality to split at certain points in time and give birth to new universes where different possibilities come to fruition. So far so good, even if this theme has been explored a lot in different kinds of media. Remember "Quantum Leap" and "Sliders" on TV? Haven't you heard of several stories built around the notion of multiverses? But, fine, put that aside for the moment because the author does introduce some creative, original material. There are some interesting possibilities to explore here. If Neandertals hadn't been wiped out, if they had thrived and Homo Sapiens had been driven to extinction, how would their society be? This is the main point explored in the novel and where the author gets creative.

Using the framework of Neanderthal society, the author builds a case of rape, a murder mystery, and even a bit of courtroom drama. I found it much more entertaining than interesting. Somehow I didn't feel as enthusiastic about the last third as I was in the first third of the book. I will continue to read the series and pick up "Humans", but without terribly great expectations. "Hominids" was to me nothing more than a decent summer read.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, by J. K. Rowlings

All in all, this is a different book in the series. Up until page 150 or thereabouts, I wasn't as excited by this book as I had been by the first four. It seemed that nothing was ever going to happen and, just as Harry Potter was getting frustrated that no one was telling him what was going on, so was I. (I guess this only means that I felt exactly what the author wanted me to feel, what is a testament to the quality of the writing.)

I kept plodding along and, sure enough, the suspense escalated and the story started to unfold. To summarize my thoughts before going any further: it all comes together in the end and the book is nothing short of great.

Around page 200, the pace picks up, the plot takes shape, and the book gets as exciting as the previous ones. In the end, I loved it just as much, if not a little more than the others. Harry is growing up: he's in the classical teenager emotional turmoil, his hormones are brewing, and his temper is a bit short. With all this, his relationships are getting more complex and he's deeply questioning people's motivations. By page 700, it's nearly impossible to put it down; it's like when you reach the top of the roller coaster ride and you can't do anything but speed down to the end.

The plot also got very much darker than in previous book. Hopefully by the time young readers get to this installment, they've grown up a bit and are ready to deal with the material and its almost 900 pages. Fear, blood, and death are a stronger presence in the story and I can imagine kids reading this while hiding under their blankets only to have nightmares later. In any case, not only is it great fun, but also it can serve to inspire the readers in the same age group as the Hogwarts 5th-years to deal with their problems in the best possible way. Best of all, I think the final chapters shed a light on mysteries that have been around since Book 1 and only get the reader more and more eager for the future and concluding books. Too bad we'll have to wait at least another couple of years for the next one.

White Noise, by Don DeLillo

This was my first Don DeLillo book. After reading "White Noise", I'm convinced I'll be hitting the bookshelves looking for more by this author. I really enjoyed it, but I must say it is not your ordinary book in that it seemed to do much more than just tell a story. My take on it is that the story is there almost to serve as backdrop for the critique of our modern information driven society.

Please don't take my comment to mean that the story in "White Noise" is not beefy enough or that character development is poor. There is a plot, a pretty good one, enough to keep you interested and turning page after page. There are characters and although they may seem like odd types, they are very well developed. It seems to me, however, that the value of the book is much greater than the sum of these two parts. As the story builds up, you are invited to think about how much you are bombarded with information from all directions and how hard it is becoming to figure out what is good information and what is just junk. The book reflects very well what you are exposed to in the course of a normal day: the bits and pieces that you pick up from the radio, the TV, the covers of newspapers and magazines, the speeches from your friends and family. Put them all together and look at the bizarre, seemingly nonsensical mosaic that emerges and try to figure out what in all that really adds something to your existance. Tough call.

The plot is centered on Jack Gladney, a scholar focused on Hitler studies in a small college. The book shows how Jack and his interesting family are affected by events ranging from cases of depression, fear, a chemical catastrophe, marriage and divorce, and teenager antics, to cite a few. In a certain way, this book reminded me of J. D. Salinger's stories on the Glass family. It was just as interesting, just as satisfying, and just as deep, but in a very different sort of way. I think I may have found a new favourite author in DeLillo and I'm looking forward to reading more of his work.

The Golden Compass, by Phillip Pullman

Fantastic start to the trilogy "His Dark Materials". The story in first volume takes place in a different universe, somewhat similar to ours (have you heard of the multiverse interpretation of quantum theory?). In that world, each human being is an individual made of two physical parts: a body just like yours, plus that of a daemon. Daemons are incarnations of the human psyche and can take the shape of various animals. For birth til puberty, a daemon can shape-shift, but once adulthood is reached, it reaches a form that it will have until death. A daemon is someone you can talk to and reason with, but also someone you can send on little errands in your place. Somewhat like witches' "familiars".

The book tells the story of Lyra, a young girl living among scholars in an Oxford college. After she eavesdrop on a secret meeting, her life takes a turn toward the adventurous and she is taken from her small world into a whirlwind sequence of events that culminates in a trip to the North Pole. She meets all sorts of interesting people along the way: gyptians (somewhat like gypsies), witches and talking bears.

The thread from which the story unravels begins with a different kind of elementary particle, a certain "Dust" which cannot be seen with the naked eye. Dust seems to be attracted to adult human beings, but not children. This book begins to explore what Dust is and how it relates to humans and the universe.

Since this is set in a different universe, which is not too different from ours, the author pitches at the reader all sorts of different words as if they should have a clear meaning. For instance: "experimental theologian" or "ambaric lamp". At the same time that I spent some energy trying to figure out what this meant, I found it reassuring that little by little the author started to explain these terms. He urges you to guess it on your own and gives you a clue here and there.

All in all, this is a wonderful book that has sparked in me an interest for all other books by Pullman. Read on, and have fun, but don't expect it to be utterly simple. "His Dark Materials" has layer upon layer of interesting questions and it's up to the reader to peel them off as the reader wishes. What is interesting is that you can take from it exactly only as much as you want without sacrificing the storytelling.

River Town, by Peter Hessler

Really great read. It only took me a long time to read it because of all the bottles I had to feed and diapers I had to change, otherwise it would have been one of those not to put down until the end. It was quite a departure from Lois Fisher's book since Peter Hessler experience was almost diametrically opposite to hers. He was a Peace Corps volunteer in Fuling, a medium-sized town in Sichuan, who spent two years teaching in a teacher's college.

His writing seems to flow from the heart and sounds much more personal. Perhaps because I lived with this book for over a month, it left a stronger impression in me. At times, I felt that I was living Hessler's experience and I could participate in his wonder, in his frustration, in his happiness, and in his dismay. It is also a far more modern account of China and the references to Tian-anmen correspond to the incidents of 1989, which are what I was aware of before reading the book. Lois Fisher's Tian-anmen uprising dates back to the time when the Gang of Four was about to be brought down for its crimes, which happened when I was still too young to acknowledge more than my toys.

It seems to me that Hessler does a good job explaining the current state of the people's mind in China. In the account of his daily life in Fuling, you can get a sense of what the local culture is like: what they eat, what they do, what is important to them, how they view the West, how they relate to religion, to technology, etc. Some bookstores file this in a section called "Armchair Travel", a section I'll probably visit more often after reading "River Town". I believe that books like this can help us expand our frameworks to encompass and understand different peoples and help us be more appreciative of foreign cultures. Reading this type of book is, in my opinion, the next best thing to traveling.