Book Review: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

Written by Gabrielle Zevin in 2022

Synopsis: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow (hereinafter TTT) traces the lives of Sam Masur and Sadie Green, childhood friends who start a successful video game company after reuniting in college.

Review: Zevin displays incredible skill at filling in the details of characters’ lives, and TTT could be convincingly passed off as a biography. The novel is incredibly sad at times, and Sam and Sadie are constantly in conflict over issues that are frustrating to watch yet understandable for their ages. Their tragedies and miscommunications alike feel authentic (I’m used to these situations being forced and used just to generate reader sympathy or unnecessary tension), and I’m glad that things don’t work out perfectly in the end. TTT kept me immersed in its main characters and was difficult to put down.

Aside from one chapter that narrates from within the perspective of a game, and a little too much internal dialogue early on lamenting that real people are so much more complicated than virtual ones, Zevin generally did not romanticize the video game backdrop of the story. Her writing suggests ample research on both the industry and insight into the challenges of publishing creative work. My mom and I enjoyed the book equally despite our opposite levels of knowledge on video games, and I’d even call it educational.

Strengths:

• Every character is fleshed out, and their relationships are organic.

• Zevin skillfully bounces a bit in time, allowing the reader to appreciate what both main characters were feeling in a particular moment.

Weaknesses:

• The very end is sappy and unnecessary, with the emotional ending hitting a few pages prior.

• Again, nobody thinks like this: “...and Sam tried to figure out a way to make her stop. If this were a game, he could hit pause. He could restart, say different things, the right ones this time.”

Rating: 19/20 Donkey Kong stages

Ideal Setting: Read this when you’re curious about the blood, sweat, and tears that went into a masterpiece.

Sequel Roundup

Here I’ll review the rest of each series for three books I’ve previously posted.

I unintentionally began reading two fantasy trilogies in parallel during the last three months. While waiting for the second Poppy War book (call it PW2 for the moment) from the library, I started Mistborn. Then PW2 became available before Mistborn2, which itself came in before PW3.

This order unexpectedly improved my experience of reading both series. The books invite obvious comparisons: one villain in the middle of each trilogy is a nobleman whose son, heir to his father’s title, is the love interest of the female protagonist. PW’s Rin and Mistborn’s Vin, despite their hilariously nearly identical names, brought very different mindsets to their shared conflicts, and seeing them side by side taught me more about their overall emotional states. In this case, Rin jarringly realizes in the final moments that she is attracted to the father as well as the son, making her motivations more about emotions she needs to sort through than the war she’s explicitly fighting. Vin instead sees as time goes on that the father is the opposite of the son’s personality, helping her put aside her moral uncertainty and do what needs to be done for the kingdom.

I’ve never been someone who can read two books simultaneously, and I can happily plow through a good, 10-book series without wanting to break for another story. Now, however, I’m more open to pairing books together like wines and cheeses, and will be on the lookout for series that can play off one another.

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The Poppy War Trilogy: The Dragon Republic, and The Burning God

Written by R. F. Kuang

Book 1 Rating: 19/20     Series Rating: 17/20

This historical fantasy whose flawed protagonist is struggling to survive a war only gets darker as it goes on. It was difficult but believable to watch Rin make one mistake after another, always costing lives in the process, as the author turns a fantasy trope on its head by showing how poorly a supernaturally-gifted, traumatized teen would actually lead if given the opportunity.

The series lost some steam in the third act, with repetitive internal dialogue and too many squandered opportunities to kill villains. That said, the alien treatment of the British, and the serious explanations of war strategy and how soldiers must compartmentalize to justify the bloodshed, make the trilogy worth seeing through. The Poppy War remains one of the most unique fantasy series I’ve read.

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Mistborn: The Well of Ascension, and The Hero of Ages

Written by Brandon Sanderson

Book 1 Rating: 19/20     Series Rating: 19/20

This series escalated incredibly well into its second book, fleshing out two members of the ensemble who weren’t yet members of the team until the end of the first book and continuing to creatively play with the tripartite magic system. One character’s growth from an idealist noble teen into a naive king trying to rule from his heart, and the genuinely helpful lessons from the person teaching him to command respect, were so much fun to follow, and the protagonists’ romantic relationships grounded the continually widening scope of the plot.

However, the third book lost this momentum for me. The trope that all of the characters’ earlier actions were driven/orchestrated by the final villain took away from everyone’s agency and past accomplishments. Spreading the ensemble cast into four groups in multiple cities meant there were literally four plots to follow, and deprived the book of an emotional center. On the worldbuilding front, Sanderson explains in depth every single aspect of this world that he’d introduced in the first. While some of these were mysteries I was glad to resolve, many were minor details or were much grander questions for the characters than for the reader. I could feel the author’s excitement building as the story rumbled forward, yet I couldn’t match it.

While I disagree with many of Sanderson’s big choices here, all are written well, and it’s still a fun ride through the end of this trilogy. I won’t be picking up the sequel series though.

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The Dawn of Yangchen (Chronicles of the Avatar, Book 3)

By F. C. Yee

Book 1-2 Rating: 18/20     Series Rating: 15/20

For fans who have followed all Avatar: The Last Airbender content as it’s been released, Yangchen is the 7th Avatar we meet (each show and the previous books have one protagonist Avatar and one predecessor whose life is explored in-depth to guide the protagonist). This history created an immense challenge for the author to give us someone and something new. While Yee succeeds, this novel comes at the loss of the critical emotions of Avatar stories that fans are coming back for. Yangchen lacks friends and mentors, and the end of this chapter provides a tenuous plot resolution that neither satisfies nor makes me excited to learn more.

What works here are the bending scenes, combat and otherwise; and the clever introduction of an exciting side character from the original series. A few other unique ideas, namely Yangchen’s dissociative episodes with her past lives, are made flashy at the beginning but then stay undeveloped despite their narrative potential. Ultimately, The Dawn of Yangchen is enjoyable but unlikely to become anyone’s favorite.

Book Review: How to Take Over the World

How to Take Over the World: Practical Schemes and Scientific Solutions for the Aspiring Supervillain
Written by Ryan North in 2022

Synopsis:

“It would be easy—too easy—in writing these heists to assure you of my own confidence that they’ll work. The end result would be you thinking me a poor deluded egoist, some lost soul high on the fumes of his own imagination. This is fair. So instead, I have chosen a much more difficult but rewarding task. I won’t convince you that I could pull off these heists.

I’m going to convince you that you can.

This text is your supervillain education, and it begins right now.”

Covering topics such as cloning dinosaurs, digging to the center of the Earth to hold it hostage, and living forever, How to Take Over the World is a hilarious yet not-all-that-ridiculous guide to delusions of grandeur. Presented as a genuine resource, each chapter includes an executive summary, budget, and consequences if you’re caught.

Review: I had a blast with this book. North approaches childish ideas with scientific rigor and often highly intellectual humor, and the author’s own excitement conveyed in his many tangents, sidebars, and footnotes is infectious.

I follow three webcomic artists with a scientific background who have recently written a pop science book (Ryan North: "Dinosaur Comics", Randall Munroe: "XKCD", and Zach Weinersmith: "Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal"). I’ve read parts of Munroe’s What If, and, while its short, punchy chapters about all sorts of questions are entertaining, North’s choices to stick to a unifying theme and directly advise the reader gave the book much more heart. I’ve forgotten each of the answers I enjoyed in What If, whereas I know some parts of How to Take Over the World will stick with me forever. Most notably, the final chapter addresses how to leave a message for the future. North outlines a new detailed plan for each logarithmic increase in time: 1 year, 10 years, 100 years, up to 100,000,000,000 years. The steady walkthrough left me marveling at the universe and laughing at the same time—and North’s writing implies this has been his motivation all along.

Strengths:

• The book gives the reader the ego of a supervillain. It’s a lot of fun to be addressed in this manner: “Without exception, everyone who thought they’d found a path to immortality was absolutely wrong, this idea has a failure rate of 100%, and not even a single human being has managed to live forever in the 13.8 billion years the universe has existed. Not one. But then again, it’s equally true to say that in all those 13.8 billion years, there’s never been a human being quite like you.”

• North’s explanations of computer architecture (in discussing how to destroy the internet) and high-frequency trading were helpful frameworks, and generally the author conveys complex information effectively.

Weaknesses:

• Many of the illustrations and captions are weak and could’ve been left out. However, they’re worth it for the joke that introduces them: “Illustrations by Carly Monardo, an associate of mine, are peppered throughout the text because illustrations rule and authors who keep pictures out of their books are cowards, terrified that their slight words will be upstaged by any proximity to an intuitive, evocative, and honestly more charming visual medium.”

• The Time Travel chapter fell flat for me.

• North shies away from mentioning anything legitimately harmful to maintain the book’s wholesome tone. His discussion of climate change and a few other ethical tangents are forced into an otherwise smooth read, and they may not have the desired effect of educating readers on the issues North wants to discuss.

Rating: 17/20 loopholes in the international treaties surrounding Antarctica

Ideal Setting: Read this book when news about politics gets you thinking, “I could run society so much better than this.”

Book Review: The Final Empire

Mistborn: The Final Empire
Written by Brandon Sanderson, 2006

Synopsis: Left to pay off her brother’s debt to a thieving crew, Vin can’t imagine any life beyond starving in Luthadel’s underground. Everything promises to change, however, when she’s recruited by another crew to help pull off the greatest job in history. The charismatic Kelsier believes he can overthrow the immortal, omnipotent Lord Ruler and improve the lives of the oppressed skaa race across the empire. That gives Vin one year to infiltrate high society and to master the eight magic abilities she possesses as a Mistborn, while her comrades raise an army and dismantle Luthadel’s garrison. It’s an impossible mission. Especially for a skaa orphan.

Review: Of course, the first book of this instant classic fantasy trilogy follows an orphan who later finds out she has noble blood and incredibly strong magic. However, Sanderson has protagonist Vin share the spotlight with a team of well-developed characters—one of whom, Kelsier, has just as much claim to be the story’s main character. Kelsier and his crew fill what turned out to be a huge gap in fantasy: middle-aged characters, old enough to have cultivated their powers but young enough to excitedly participate in the action and make mistakes while doing so. The dynamic between Kelsier, a lifetime eccentric and only recently a hero, and his brother who labored silently for decades to help skaa, was especially clever.

While I’m unhappy with Vin’s cliche extra strength in the final battle, the magic system in The Final Empire was otherwise fair and unique. Kelsier and Vin have access to more abilities than most other characters, but those forced to specialize are much more powerful in their niche. The lesson each crew member gives Vin about his ability also shows his distinct worldview, serving as a clever device to bring the reader further into these characters and the magic at the same time.

On the whole, Sanderson’s pacing is perfect. Emergencies that surprise the characters similarly interrupt the reader’s expectations for a scene, and the book feels like it takes place over the full year that the plot describes, rather than having long gaps between stand-out days. Sanderson also intentionally opens up new questions about the world as he answers others. I walked away from the last page with closure for the plot but ongoing concerns about the magic and history, which I’m motivated to explore in the rest of the trilogy.

Strengths:

• Every death had weight. We watch characters wrestle with both grief and with the practical concerns that losing that specific person created. Compared with most action movies just flaring a character's drive for vengeance, the shift in attitudes here was more nuanced and evolved over time.

• It’s worth restating how well Sanderson wielded a team of characters, many of whom participate off-screen.

Weaknesses: 

• Some readers will be bothered by not fully understanding how characters’ powers work until more than halfway through the book.

• For all the sense that the magic system ultimately made, it could’ve made a little more.

Rating: 19/20 different skeletons making up one mistwraith

Ideal Setting: Read this when you’re sick of traditional chosen-one stories.

Book Review: The Poppy War

The Poppy War
Written by R. F. Kuang in 2018

Synopsis: In this grimdark historical fantasy based on conflicts between China and Japan, war orphan Rin sacrifices everything to earn her way into her nation’s most prestigious military school, her only shot at a better life. At Sinegard Academy, however, Rin is only ostracized further, forcing her to turn to an insane teacher and his esoteric practices if she hopes to stay enrolled and serve in the impending war. 

Review: I don’t mind mentioning in the synopsis that Rin gets accepted into Sinegard, because a protagonist’s success in this particular near-impossible challenge has become a trope. The skeleton of the first half of the book is all predictable, despite Rin’s challenges being presented as having an unknown outcome for her and the other characters. However, the flesh around these known plot beats is still well-written. And by the second half, the plot and its characters have grown out of their shells into something breathtakingly unique.

Rin, for example, doesn’t initially possess any talents beyond dedication, a quality shown to harm her as much as it helps. Starting with burning herself with wax to stay awake all night studying, Rin aggressively scrubs off the underdog hero that young readers (including me) dream we would be, to reveal a distinct person with serious flaws and choices I never expected.

It’s difficult to describe the rest of the book without spoiling anything, and both the plot and the fantasy element are made stronger for how they are steadily introduced—knowing them in advance would ruin the fun. Save to say, Kuang’s debut novel proves that, for a savvy author, there’s still new ground to tread in this wrung-out genre, and I’m excited to read the rest of the trilogy.

Strengths:

• Opium addiction is an interesting, respectfully treated background element throughout the novel.

• Two enemies end up fighting back-to-back against a truer enemy. Their relationship made me want this dynamic in every speculative fiction story from here on out.

Weaknesses:

• The mentor character is the most recent victim to a writing choice that’s bothered me a lot recently. The author starts out with absurd or surreal humor, then tries to use that character/element for a serious plot purpose. I always end up feeling a bit cheated and needing to forget earlier descriptions in order to stay engaged with later ones.

Rating: 19/20 prisoners of the Chuluu Korikh

Ideal Setting: Read this after a conversation about spirituality.

Book Review: Dune

Dune

Written by Frank Herbert in 1965

Synopsis: When House Atreides is tasked with governing the desert planet Arrakis, they walk into a trap. For the duke’s prescient son Paul, the move will test the limits of his training as he struggles against an uninhabitable environment and the nightmarish destiny that awaits him if he survives.

Review: Wow.

Dune’s narrative voice is third-person omniscient, meaning we get multiple characters’ thoughts in each chapter. This choice has fallen out of fashion recently, especially in stories with young protagonists. Herbert proves that, when done right, having more characters’ perspectives can be really rewarding in nonviolent climactic scenes, like the high-stakes negotiation at the end of the novel. In a story characterized by both backstabbing and deep loyalty, witnessing everyone’s thoughts as they carry out their independent actions made the book easier to follow and much more interesting.

Perhaps the best outcome of this choice is how much development we get in both Paul and his mother Jessica. Jessica is brilliant and strong, but it would be all too easy to sideline her in a chosen-one story. Herbert thankfully gives her just as much of the action, and it’s fascinating to see each character’s evolving view of the other as they face challenges together.

Zooming out, the worldbuilding in Dune is strong overall. The culture of the Fremen comes through clearly, the workings of the interstellar government are boiled down to just what readers need to follow the plot, and the worms are adorable. I look forward to reading the rest of the series.

Strengths:

• All the unique ideas that went into the Bene Gesserit. Individuals from this school can make people instinctively obey commands by speaking in the exact right tone/impersonation tailored to make that person listen, and the group as a whole has planted entire religions for distant future strategic advantages.

• The best way I can put this is that Paul earns his role as the main character. It’s not just that Herbert orders us to follow him; the author crafted a dynamic, magnetic character who’s super fun to watch.

Weaknesses:

• There was a weird, happy tonal shift in the appendices, and the cost of their awkwardness outweighs the benefit of the extra context they provide.

• The Baron is a caricature villain. His every appearance on the page is accompanied by another description of his obese ugliness and his gay pedophilia.

• This is a personal preference, but the line between natural skills/training and supernatural abilities should have been made clearer, because the increasing importance of the latter continually chipped away at all the awesome aspects of the former.

Rating: 19/20 names for one guy

Ideal Setting: Read this when you need another hero to look up to whose abilities you could theoretically learn to match.

 

Book Review: A Wizard of Earthsea

A Wizard of Earthsea

Written by Ursula K. Le Guin in 1968

Synopsis: The beginning of the saga of Ged, a young prodigy in a world where knowledge of the Old Speech gives wizards power over their environment and one’s true name is their most vulnerable secret. 

Review: Le Guin published this novel in 1968, and I worry that a lot of what I found dull here was original at the time and has since been done to death. The most off-putting example was a chapter about one year of Ged’s education at a renowned magic school. Students are sent to an isolated tower, with a professor who barely speaks except to deliver one profound quote and monitor the students’ assignments—they will spend the year memorizing tens of thousands of true names, a mind-numbingly dull task that will nonetheless make them almost instinctive experts. I still found this idea really cool, but it would’ve hit harder if I hadn’t previously read basically the same chapter in Lev Grossman’s The Magicians, published in 2009.

So the correct interpretation ought to be that Earthsea has an inventive language-based magic system and an approach to wizard education that will tickle any Harry Potter fan. However, I wish I’d seen more of it. The narrator takes an overt storytelling stance at the beginning and end, and that telling-not-showing tone keeps insidiously cropping up throughout the book. Events also happen rather quickly, with climactic encounters taking no more than a handful of pages. A Wizard of Earthsea told me a worthwhile story from the rocking chair opposite mine, but other authors have encouraged me to hold fantasy to the standard of living these stories, while Le Guin was content to keep some distance.

Strengths:

• Ged is fighting against an evil that he himself is largely responsible for, which was refreshing in a high fantasy good vs. evil novel. This antagonist also had a very interesting nature that Le Guin utilized well.

• Sentient dragons are hard to mess up, but Le Guin nonetheless created a fun secondary antagonist with a unique voice.

Weaknesses:

• Though the novel lacks a love interest, the other archetypes for female characters are as well developed as you might expect from a ‘60s fantasy novel.

• A wizard transforming into an animal for the first time should not have enough mastery over his body to defeat real versions of that animal in combat.

Rating: 16/20 improvised boats

Ideal Setting: Read this just after you mistakenly get scared by a shadow.