May 06 2022

Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero

It would have worked, too!

As the back cover of Meddling Kids says, in 1977 the Blyton Summer Detective Club unmasked the Sleepy Lake monster, a low-life fortune hunter who put on a funny suit to scare people away while he searched the grounds of the Deboën mansion for the gold hoard that was rumored to be hidden there. The four kids (plus dog) set up a clever trap, caught the bad guy, unmasked him, and got their story in the local paper. Another triumph for the teens of the BSDC!

Meddling Kids

Except that wasn’t the whole story, was it? Why did the kids never return to Blyton Hills after that summer? What did they see, what did they hear, on that night on the island in the middle of Sleepy Lake? Thirteen years later, when Meddling Kids takes place, why is Kerri bouncing through a series of dead-end jobs far below her scientific ability? Why does she wake up screaming? Why has Andy (Andrea, but nobody calls her that on pain of, well, pain) been in an out of several jails? Why did the armed forces teach her special skills and then tell her to stay away? Why does Nate keep checking himself into insane asylums? Why did Peter—golden youth, movie star—die? And how does Nate keep conversing with him? At least Tim the dog, a descendant of the teen detectives’ original dog Sean, has his feet on the ground.

Andy gets the gang back together, by hook and not a little bit of crook, to go back and face what happened to them in the night that seems both a lifetime ago and only just the other day. Meddling Kids is darkly hilarious, in bits both big and small. Kerri and Andy arrive at Nate’s latest asylum. “They switched to the nonsmoking parlor, where they could smoke and be alone.” (p. 60) The two young women explain their plan for going back to Oregon, and Nate is full of enthusiasm until, nearing the stairwell, they encounter a nurse who reminds them that just because Nate committed himself doesn’t mean he can uncommit. The kinetic slapstick of how they spring Nate would do the show to which Meddling Kids is an homage proud. There’s a contraption, a surprise or two, and a key role for the dog. It’s no Shaggy-dog story, though, and some of the things that happen in the first scenes in the asylum prove crucial much, much later in the book. Cantero slides them past readers as natural parts of the adventure; when they turn up again, readers feel they’ve been there all along.

He gets the creepy bits, too: the increasing prevalence of NO VACANCY signs as they draw closer to the rural, isolated part of Oregon where Sleepy Lake lies dreaming, as if the land all around is conspiring to have them arrive late at night and with no more shelter than their old Chevy Vega can offer. He gets the nightmares that the characters, especially Kerri, are prone to, how real they seem, so that to a reader they seem like a scene in the novel until, sweet blessed relief, the waking world returns. It was just a dream, wasn’t it?

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May 05 2022

Atlas of Extinct Animals by Radek Malý, illustrated by Jiří Grbavčic & Pavel Dvorský

God, what a depressing book. And I don’t say that as a bad thing necessarily, tho I certainly wouldn’t recommend this for anyone in need of an emotional pick-me-up. And while this is a decidedly sad volume — what self-respecting book covering the often needless extinction of entire species wouldn’t be? — it also carries a throughline of hope, as deftly written by poet Radek Malý.

Covering the life and death of forty-one different species, this is a well-researched volume of popular science that ranges the world and showcases both well and lesser-known exterminations. It’s also remarkably even-handed, even when it’s remarkably clear that the number one cause of species extinction is the, often malicious, encroachment of humans. It’s both saddening and infuriating to read how certain species, such as the Steller’s Sea Cow and the Great Auk, died from humanity’s sheer bloodthirstiness, even after other humans had worked so valiantly to stop the unnecessary slaughters.

Of course, not every extinction was necessarily our fault, or even wholly unwelcome. Am I going to lose any sleep over the loss of a species of swarming locust? Incredibly doubtful. But the display of biodiversity here, with interesting anecdotes and historical information, is both breath-taking and sobering, showing the negative and positive impacts of human encroachment, civilization and science over the past several millennia in a way that encourages readers to grieve less and do more. Science, in fact, is where the book places a lot of its hopes, briefly detailing the ongoing efforts to revive several of these species ahead of a possible reintroduction to the wild.

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May 04 2022

Hugo Awards 2022: Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form Nominees

To be perfectly honest, I’m a little peeved that The Suicide Squad wasn’t nominated this year. It was by far the best superhero movie of 2021, even before launching the excellent Peacemaker series. Given what won last year’s award tho, I suppose I shouldn’t be so surprised that my tastes differ so greatly from the average voter’s. Ah, well, one votes in hope of earning one’s favorites recognition, and while I was overall bummed by the safe choices in the nominations this year, there’s still much to like (I hope: I have yet to read much of the literary slate but am planning on doing that as soon as I can!)

So let’s talk about the movies/series that were nominated this year. I actually quite disliked The Green Knight (David Lowery) which was heavy on vibe and mood but light on story or sense. It’s a visually arresting movie featuring a talented, diverse cast who were given a shockingly flimsy script to work with. I was actually disappointed when I left the theater, having expected much more and better.

Encanto (Byron Howard, Jared Bush, Charise Castro Smith) was also a movie I had much higher expectations of. It felt like a thinly veiled allegory for family wealth, and while the main character’s sisters were compelling, I didn’t really care about anyone else in that family. I mean, it was fine. My kids like to sing the very catchy “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” and the versions it’s since spawned on the Internet. But the weirdly paternalistic capitalist vibe of the movie — plus the silly romance at the end — made me rate this one quite poorly of the nominees.

The two Marvel entries on this list are tied for middle-of-the-road status in my book, with Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings (Destin Daniel Cretton, David Callaham, Andrew Lanham) narrowly edging out WandaVision (Matt Shakman, Jac Schaeffer, Peter Cameron, Mackenzie Dohr, Laura Donney, Bobak Esfarjani, Megan McDonnell, Cameron Squires, Gretchen Enders, Chuck Hayward.) The first episode of that latter is one of the best things to ever grace television, but the last few episodes were a hot and awful mess. Shang-Chi, on the other hand, was solidly entertaining throughout, if you occasionally had to turn your brain off at times to properly enjoy the story. The thing with archery being “easy” still makes me grit my teeth, but was 100% less offensive than Wanda getting away with her crimes just because she had a sad.

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2022/05/04/hugo-awards-2022-best-dramatic-presentation-long-form-nominees/

May 03 2022

Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells

By reading the Murderbot series all out of order (2-5-6-1-3, with 4 lined up to read soon) I’ve not experienced its coming to terms with its freedom or its engagement with other non-humans as a story of continuous progress. On the other hand, knowing a bit more about where Murderbot is headed — including its later preference for SecUnit instead of Murderbot as a moniker — I look at its earlier interactions with a view toward where it is going.

Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells

The main story of Rogue Protocol concerns SecUnit accompanying a human group to an abandoned space station that had been part of a terraforming effort. The team is meant to assess the station before a new company takes over from SecUnit’s corporate nemesis, GrayCris. SecUnit suspects that GrayCris had been engaging in illegal activities before the station was abandoned, and that there are still some traces of records in the station’s remaining low-level robotic denizens. Initially, the humans are unaware that SecUnit is on board the ship taking them to the station, and then on the station itself. The party, however, is accompanied by what SecUnit disdainfully thinks of as a “pet robot,” and its presence compels SecUnit to partially reveal itself. The other robot is known as Mikki, and its interactions with humans are far from what SecUnit has been used to up to this point in its existence. “Or Mikki was a bot who had never been abused or lied to or treated with anything but indulgent kindness. It really thought its humans were its friends, because that’s how they treated it.” (p. 49)

What follows is something of a meditation on trust, as the situation is not entirely what it seems, and neither are all of the humans. Things get worse when the station turns out to have Combat Units on board, which were definitely not expected. SecUnit has not been fully honest with the humans, and yet it needs their cooperation just as they need its abilities. The relationship between Mikki and the humans appears to be something like genuine friendship, an approach that flummoxes SecUnit with its warmth and apparent affection. SecUnit’s deception calls for Mikki to be economical with the truth to the humans, which is probably a new behavior for both Mikki and its humans. As the story develops, some of them see through it but do not directly expose what the robots have been up to.

The action is fast and furious, with reversals, unexpected dangers, and connections to the overarching Murderbot story, along with the droll humor that is a trademark of the series. The third novella in the series is not the best place to start. Even though the story would be a good adventure if it was the first one someone read, the larger questions and concerns are clearer if it’s not a reader’s starting point.

+++

Doreen’s review is here. In contrast to Doreen, I bought a print version of Rogue Protocol precisely because I like it as a pretty object. I’m even considering getting paper copies of All Systems Red and Artificial Condition, which I have in electronic form, because apparently I’m the kind of collector that she mentioned. (But the books are very satisfying to see and hold!)

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2022/05/03/rogue-protocol-by-martha-wells/

May 02 2022

The Mythics Vol 4: Global Chaos by Patrick Sobral, Patricia Lyfoung, Philippe Ogaki, Jenny, Dara, Alice Picard & Magali Paillat

One problem I’ve had with The Mythics series so far is that knowing mythology and religion and history as well as I do, I’m sometimes made distinctly uncomfortable by the way the authors play fast and loose with established identities. I’m sure readers with a more superficial reading of the old tales won’t even notice, but that’s the kind of thing that makes me uneasy despite vastly enjoying the rest of the book, from story to art entire.

The first chapter of this volume closes the first story arc of the on-going series. Our six adolescent heroes — Japanese Yuko, Indian Parvati, Egyptian Amir, German Abigail, Mexican Miguel and Greek Neo — have been tricked by Evil into unleashing Chaos into the world, at the expense of the great Mother Goddess Gaia. With the aid of their ancestor gods, they must figure out how to trap Chaos once more, as the fate of the planet hangs in the balance. The denouement is both clever and Avengers-like, and opens the way to further complications in the world-changing aftermath.

The other two chapters start the next story arc, riffing off of the Seven Deadly (Christian) Sins to present first the effects of the embodiment of Lust, then Envy on an unsuspecting world. The Lust chapter is both PG-rated and hilarious, as the effects of the succubus Abrahel cause Neo and Yuko to each express their overwhelming desire for Abi. Not wanting to involve the three youngest members of their team in this mess, Abi has to figure out by herself how to get her two afflicted teammates to help her defeat the demon before the latter can sink the world into a frenzy of lust-driven murder.

The chapter on Envy is the one that made me go hrm, as the incarnation of Envy here is called Ishtar. That representation choice aside, this was a very cute adventure for the other three members of The Mythics, as they travel to Africa for the official opening of a nature preserve, only to land smack in the middle of palace intrigue. No one is safe from the temptations of Envy, except perhaps the intrepid Miss Taylor, Amir’s nanny, bodyguard and personal badass.

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Apr 28 2022

Armadillo Antics by Bill Martin Jr., Michael Sampson & Nathalie Beauvois

My children all went through a stage of obsession with Bill Martin Jr’s Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. I didn’t really understand it from reading the words flat on the page, but when they started singing it to me (particularly the Crystal Taliefero version,) I finally got it.

A similar thing happened with Armadillo Antics. Tho Bill Martin Jr passed in 2004, Michael Sampson builds on his legacy with this short book, incorporating the kind of rhyme structure used in Mr Martin’s other famous work, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?. Again as with that latter, I didn’t really understand the rhyming scheme/point (as a fast reader, even as a child, I tend to go for content over sound) and was ready to write this book off as another book I was sure would be popular though I didn’t see the appeal myself… until I recruited my 8 year-olds to come read this for me.

And wow, did those kids love this book! The escalating beat of the “Armadillo, Armadillo, Armadillo” refrain in particular was a favorite, with the kids providing their own chant-like emphasis when reading aloud to me. I almost feel as if they learned by osmosis here, as the rest of the informative text was something they read over mostly in order to be able to get to the next Armadillo x3 instance. Tho in fairness, their ears definitely perked up at the mention of twins. After all, who doesn’t like seeing themselves represented in books, even in animal form?

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2022/04/28/armadillo-antics-by-bill-martin-jr-michael-sampson-nathalie-beauvois/

Apr 27 2022

Magical History Tour Vol 8: Vikings by Fabrice Erre & Sylvain Savoia

Another enchantingly educational installment in the terrific Magical History Tour series! I wonder if I can eventually get all these in a boxed set for my kids: that would be super rad.

Volume 8 focuses on the legendary Vikings, taking them out of the realm of myth and placing them squarely in the known history of Europe and North America. Fabrice Erre details their reign of terror over the lives but more often the imaginations of 8th-11th century Europeans, detailing the unique circumstances that led to the seafaring primacy of these warriors and merchants who spread out from their Scandinavian homeland to pillage and conquer the more fertile lands to their south and west. He examines how their geography, social structure and religion made it so that Vikings, often known as Normans or in the east as Rus, felt compelled to travel far and wide, and how changing norms and cunning local politics got them to assimilate into the lands they once viewed as foreign sources of plunder.

All this, of course, is told in Annie’s trademark even-handed tone as she tells her younger brother Nico about the Vikings and their exploits. The children are at the beach with their parents, who aren’t entirely thrilled by the fierce spirit her stories are instilling in her rather more excitable sibling. In addition to being entirely charming, the framing device of the children makes the entire exercise that much more accessible for young readers, especially those who might chafe at reading something improving.

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2022/04/27/magical-history-tour-vol-8-vikings-by-fabrice-erre-sylvain-savoia/

Apr 21 2022

Queen Of The Tiles by Hanna Alkaf

Trina Low was the Queen Of The Tiles, the glamorous and hyper-competitive Scrabble champion who died abruptly and unexpectedly towards the end of a championship match when she was only 16. Her death scarred the lives of many of those around her, foremost among them being Najwa Bakri, her best friend and the girl determined to take over the title a year later on the anniversary of Trina’s death.

Najwa has been silently battling the anxiety that has plagued her ever since that horrible day. She’s fought her way back to a semblance of normalcy in the intervening year, and now wants to win the tournament in order to honor her best friend. It’s surreal to see so many of the same people competing for the prize, each with their own view of Trina. But things only get truly weird when Trina’s dormant Instagram account suddenly begins posting new stories, claiming that Trina was murdered and that one of them is to blame.

Mark, Trina’s boyfriend at the time of her death, wants to team up with Najwa to figure out what’s going on, but Najwa is hesitant to trust him. As far as she can tell, he’s hardly been the picture of grief, squiring various other girls around Kuala Lumpur in the past year instead. Worse, his relationship with Trina had been volatile at best, with Najwa often bearing witness to their escalating fights.

But perhaps the real reason Najwa doesn’t want to trust him or anyone else in helping her get to the bottom of things is that she herself doesn’t remember much of that fateful day. Her therapist assures her that amnesia of that sort is common to those who’ve undergone trauma, but Najwa harbors the fear that she might have seen something that she could have stopped, and perhaps saved her best friend in the process.

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2022/04/21/queen-of-the-tiles-by-hanna-alkaf/

Apr 19 2022

Cold Clay (Shady Hollow #2) by Juneau Black

I’m sure there’s an interesting sociological reason for the recent rise of anthropomorphism in popular culture aimed at adults, where once it was considered primarily the province of children’s books and media. From the bestselling Wanderhome role-playing game to this delightful Shady Hollow mystery series, a longing for creature comforts seems to have seized grown-ups looking for diverting entertainment in places usually dominated by violence, even as heroic and/or off-the-page as in sword and sorcery epics or, as here in the ultimate fantasy of justice, cozy mysteries.

Cold Clay is the second book in the Shady Hollow series penned by the writing duo that goes by the name Juneau Black. I was lucky enough to review the series’ debut over at CriminalElement.com, and found it perfectly charming, escapist fiction. The world-building is terrific, fully immersing readers in a world reminiscent of, as I mentioned in my other review, Disney’s Zootopia. The second book picks up a short while after the first left off, as reporter Vera Vixen contemplates how much her life has calmed down since moving to the sleepy town of Shady Hollow from the big city further south. While the recent murder certainly enlivened affairs, things have swiftly gone back to normal, and both Vera and her editor at the paper, BW Stone, are chafing slightly at the lack of hard-hitting headline news.

Fortunately or otherwise, this changes once a set of bones is discovered while workers are digging up old trees at nearby Cold Clay Orchards, a fruit farm renowned for its cider as well as its other apple products. As the bones appear to be quite old, Vera is ready to just write about an unfortunate and perhaps mysterious discovery… till all signs point to the skeleton belonging to the missing wife of local cafe owner Joe Elkin.

Joe and Julia Elkin came to town over a decade ago and established the now-beloved institution of Joe’s Mug. Alas, Julia’s ambitions were for far greater things, even after the birth of their son Joe Jr. So no one was really surprised when Julia disappeared one day. Everyone assumed that she’d just left her family and was off wandering the world. She’d never made a secret of her dissatisfaction with small town life, and everyone sympathized with poor, steadfast Joe, left behind to raise their son while running the cafe and nursing a wounded heart.

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2022/04/19/cold-clay-shady-hollow-2-by-juneau-black/

Apr 17 2022

Hugo Finalists 2022

What an exciting bunch of finalists! I’ve read precisely none of the finalists in the first four fiction categories (I had put The Witness for the Dead by Katherine Addison on my nominating ballot and am sorry to see it was not among the top six), also none of the finalists for Best Related Work, and only parts of the finalists in Best Series. So I am looking forward to some great reading between now and the time voting closes, from a mix of authors whose work is familiar to me and entirely new to me.

Hugo finalists at Lemuria Books in Jackson, Mississippi

Hugo finalists at Lemuria Books in Jackson, Mississippi

Best Related Work is back to being mostly non-fiction books, after a couple of years when miscellany dominated. Last year I was very pleased with the winner, but I also had three works below No Award, mainly because I do not think that a convention is a related work. The one finalist that isn’t book-length is a substantial article in a mainstream publication about the fall-out from what became known as “Helicopter Story” by Isabel Fall. It’s ironic that another finalist this year (Dangerous Visions and New Worlds: Radical Science Fiction, 1950 to 1985, edited by Andrew Nette and Iain McIntyre) is about dangerous visions in the history of science fiction. The field got to see the real thing with “Helicopter Story,” and did not cover itself with glory. Those two are the works I’m most looking forward to reading. I’ve read a couple of blog entries in the series that became The Complete Debarkle, and while I’m glad this history exists in compiled form, I have the sense that it will be more than complete for me. I don’t know anything more than the titles and authors of the other three (Being Seen: One Deafblind Woman’s Fight to End Ableism by Elsa Sjunneson; Never Say You Can’t Survive by Charlie Jane Anders; True Believer: The Rise and Fall of Stan Lee by Abraham Riesman), so I am looking forward to finding out more.

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