The Anomaly

“The Anomaly” by Herve Le Tellier (translated from the French by Adriana Hunter) 400 pages

This is the weirdest book I have ever read…and I’ve read some doozies over the year. It won France’s Prix Goncourt in 2020 (a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year"). 

First, let’s talk about why I wanted to read it. From the back cover: “…an international phenomenon, the dizzying whip-smart novel blends crime, fantasy, sci-fi, and thriller as it plumbs the mysteries surrounding a Paris-New York flight.” I knew it could get a little weird because of the fantasy/sci-fi aspect and I was willing to accept that, but, honestly, I expected a more traditionally plotted novel. I had only a vague overarching idea of what was happening as I was reading. But I was curious as to what the fuss is all about, so I read Every. Single. Word.  All the way to a bunch of gobbled-gook that ended with

                                                                         e

                                                                         n

                                                                        d 

 

Don’t ask me what that was about. 

The novel is broken into two parts. The first part is about a large group of characters and their lives are told in flashbacks as they hurtle through the air from Paris to New York. I think. They hit God-awful turbulence that had me feeling queasy myself.  The air-traffic controllers along the way begin to show panic about the flight which only added to the uneasiness of the flight. The plane does land safely in New York. Trouble is, that same flight, with the same crew, and the same passengers landed at JFK in March. But now it’s June. 

I think the reason that it was noticed has something to do with the pilot, but I’m not really sure. The plane is diverted to a hanger where it and passengers and crew are held as the government tries to determine what the heck has happened. Can you hear the “Twilight Zone” theme playing in the background? 

It is determined that everything about this flight is identical. The passengers even have the exact same DNA, the exact same memories and the exact same physical. The second half of the book is about the passengers from the March flight meeting those who just arrived on the June flight. Government officials take to substituting the passenger’s last name with either March or June so they were easily identifiable. 

Unfortunately there is no viable conclusion to this work, and it sort of tapers off. I don’t even know how to rate this novel. Therefore, I’ll go to the middle of the rating system and give “The Anomaly” 3 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world. 

 

 

Exhalation

Exhalation by Ted Chiang, 350 pages

Ted Chiang is not a prolific writer; in Exhalation, his second published volume of short stories, there are only two works that were not previously published elsewhere. This is unfortunate because there is nothing I would love more than for Chiang to churn out a volume of brand new short stories every year. He somehow manages to be supremely elegant and profound in every single one of these stories and he makes it look completely effortless. How can he be so good at creating detailed scientific thought experiments (branching quantum universes! time travel!) AND sympathetic, flawed, relatable, memorable characters all in the span of a single short story? I actually took notes (a thing I almost never do while reading) about "The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling" because I loved it so much.

If, as is the case for many folks, your only experience of Chiang's craft is the movie version of Story of Your Life (aka Arrival), do yourself a favor and pick up Exhalation. Then go back and pick up Stories of Your Life and Others. Chiang is a master of the sci-fi short story.

Dare Mighty Things

Dare Mighty Things by Heather Kaczynski     377 pages

From Goodreads:

Seventeen-year-old Cassandra Gupta’s entire life has been leading up to this—the opportunity to travel to space. But to secure a spot on this classified mission, she must first compete against the best and brightest people on the planet. People who are as determined as she to win a place on a journey to the farthest reaches of the universe. 

Cassie is ready for the toll that the competition will take; the rigorous mental and physical tests designed to push her to the brink of her endurance. But nothing could have prepared her for the bonds she would form with the very people she hopes to beat. Or that with each passing day it would be more and more difficult to ignore the feeling that the true objective of the mission is being kept from her.

As the days until the launch tick down and the stakes rise higher than ever before, only one thing is clear to Cassie: she’ll never back down . . . even if it costs her everything.

My review:

This book was interesting because it's a futuristic setting, which I don't come across very often. Humanity is capable of genetically modifying humans before their bore (designer babies) and has landed a man on Mars. Though the NASA still suffers insufficient funds and there's still a general lack of space exploration - until this competition, which Cass luckily get's nominated for.

I enjoyed Cass's narrative - she is hard working, determined, and yet still relatable. She struggles with homesickness, with feeling too nerdy at times and at others not ne
rdy enough, and difficulties with making friends. I liked seeing her progression through this book as she comes to understand her fellow competitors better and, even further, relates to them and befriends them.

The plot is pretty steady, hardly dragging and once the mission begins, Kaczynski really kicks it into high gear. The sci-fi is pretty soft, so I think most readers will be able to enjoy the book even if they aren't big sci-fi fans. The book follows a pretty clear trajectory that, while predictable, is still intriguing and doesn't give away everything at once. While I knew certain outcomes early on, I was still pleasantly surprised but other little twists. Though it ends on a bit of a cliff-hanger (this book is a duology), it still manages to wrap itself up so that it doesn't rely too heavily on what comes in another installment of the series.

I am definitely going to read the follow up book and I would highly recommend it to space-buffs and YA readers alike. There is some minor romance, but it's not the central plot (it barely factors in the book) and much more emphasis is placed on Cass and her growth. It's very much a woman-power book and I appreciated that.

The History Major by Michael Phillip Cash

The History Major by Michael Phillip Cash   152 pages

It’s the beginning of a new school year. Amanda Green is rooming with friends. However, the night before classes are to start, Amanda has a heated argument with her boyfriend; his demands seem completely out-of-line. She crosses to the other side of the local watering hole and commences to tie one on.

The next morning she has a monster of a headache, and there is a strange female in her room who is insisting that she is late for class and that they are roommates. In addition, something menacing is hanging around, just outside her peripheral vision.

By the time Amanda gets it together enough to head for class, she’s not only late, but there seems to be a mix-up in her schedule. She would never, ever take a history course. Receiving no help from the college, she goes to class.

Things there are just a little weird. It seems the entire student body is taking the class. The professor is a wacko, that weird vision is beating on the closed doors, and the only person who seems to notice her is the guy in the next seat, Nick Fortune.

This is an odd little story that is compulsively readable. I had had to know what the heck was going on, yet in my wildest dreams, I hadn’t thought of the answer that Cash provides. I wish I could talk more about the ending, but no spoilers allowed.

I give The History Major 4 out of 5 stars. It gets knocked down a star for the format; that line space between each paragraph is not necessary and drove me nuts.

How to Survive a Sharknado

How to Survive a Sharknado and Other Unnatural Disasters by Andrew Shaffer, 223 pages

For people who enjoyed the Zombie Survival Guide, and How to Survive the Robot Uprising comes How to Survive a Sharknado. With things like "Who Said it? Evil Wizard Dimitar or Kanye West?" and comments like "Don't take pictures of the Elecktrokraken.- Survival is more important than page views or retweets." this book is a great read, especially if you have seen and enjoy SciFi original movies. If you enjoy laughing, and over the top survival guides I would recommend reading this book.

How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe

How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu, 239 pages



Minor Universe 31, is a vast story-space on the outskirts of fiction, where the rules of science fiction govern peoples lives, and time travel is a serious business. Every day people try to do the one thing they shouldn't ever do which is change the past. Our protagonist is Charles Yu, a time travel technician helps save people from themselves, and when he's not taking clients or consoling his boss, Phil he searches for his father, who invented time travel and then vanished. Along for the ride are TAMMY, his time machine's operating system with low self-esteem, and his nonexistent but still there dog Ed.
 
This was another book I pulled off of a science fiction display, which I kind of had mixed feelings about. To me it started off really slow in that nothing really happened to the point where I almost stopped reading. This book takes place mostly in the lead characters mind and so there is a lot of narration, and some of it felt kind of repetitive, or unnecessary. That being said the book did have some redeeming qualities, I enjoyed the whole concept of the book and how they dealt with the paradoxes of time travel, as well as how time travel worked. I also enjoyed how Yu keeps building up to the end while creating a new and fresh look at science fiction. Overall I think this book will probably be a good read for people who enjoy serious science fiction. 

I also really loved the cover with all its ray guns and its one dog.

All You Need is Kill

All You Need is Kill, by Hiroshi Sakurazaka, trans. Alexander O. Smith, 230 pages

Keiji Kiriya is a Japanese soldier fighting in a global war against aliens called the Gitai who have attempted to conquer Earth.  Sent to fight in his first battle, Kiriya dies a gory death, cradled in his last moments by an infamous, American, female soldier of great renown.  But the next morning, Kiriya wakes up, just as he did the previous morning, to find that the same day and battle is occurring again. Kiriya relives the same day, in a Groundhog Day meets Independence Day sort of storyline, with the reader guessing as to why and what the secret is to ending this seemingly never-ending loop.  This is the basis for the movie Edge of Tomorrow.