Specials

The third book in his trilogy, Scott Westerfield continues Tally's story in Specials.

As predicted, Tally has been turned into a Special; however, as one of Shay's Cutters, she's a special Special.  As the name suggests, the Cutters use self-mutilation as a way to stay "icy".  Tally is unsatisfied as a Cutter since Zane is not a part of their group.  Finding him crippled, Tally and Shay decide that if he escapes from New Pretty Town that Dr. Cable will have to make him Special.  And to help him, they break into the Armory to find a cutting tool that will remove the tracking collar he has around his neck.  Unfortunately, when they were discovered by the guard, Shay released nanos that ended up eating through the building, destroying it in the process.

After releasing Zane, Tally follows the Crims at a distance, staying undercover and helping them when they are nearly discovered.  At the pickup point, Tally stows onboard and is taken to another City which has a more liberal point of view than the one Tally grew up in.  For example, there are no standards for cosmetic surgery, so Tally is able to hide out in the open with her Special face.  While there, she finds Fausto, a kidnapped Cutter that Shay had set out to find.  However, he attempts to make Tally un-Special; in the escape, Tally winds up in a hospital where she is deemed a deadly weapon and is scheduled to be de-Specialized. 

When Shay shows up to free Shay from the operation, she explains how Dr. Cable has declared war on the City, since she doesn't believe that the Crims or Smokies could have destroyed the Armory.  The aftermath of Dr. Cable's revenge has left Zane brain-dead and Tally spends the next 3 days flying back to the Special Headquarters to turn herself in.  Meeting David in the Ruins has strengthened her resolve to make things right, and he also gives her an antidote in case she changes her mind about being Special.  Reaching HQ, Tally is tricked and trapped; but manages to slip Dr. Cable the antidote in the process.  Due to her changed perspective, Dr. Cable ends up ruining her own position in the war and all of the Specials are de-Specialized.  Just before Tally's operation, Dr. Cable saves her from the procedure and Tally runs off to the Ruins to meet up with David again.

In the end, all of Tally's friends become allies of the new movement; however, Tally is determined to keep them from becoming like the Rusties and has declared herself (and David) to be the enemy of their cause.

I liked the book and I think Tally matured in this story.  And I liked how it ended, with Tally setting herself up as the antagonist.  I know there's another story, Extras, which I'm assuming ties up the story, although the author could have let it end there. 

The next story that I'm reading is Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut as part of the Banned Book Club. 

Pretties

Yay!  Book two of the Uglies trilogy, Pretties, by Scott Westerfield continues the story of Tally Youngblood after she turned pretty.  After her operation, Tally turned into a fluffy pretty whose biggest worries were what to wear to the next party - with a hangover.  With the help of Shay and Peris, Tally is voted into the hippest clique in New Pretty Town, the Crims, and her life is complete!  On the same night, Croy comes to Tally and leaves a "bubbly riddle" for Tally and her friend, Zane.

Discovering a note written from herself, Tally splits the pills with Zane that will cure her of the lesions implanted in her brain.  Their trick results in Tally and Zane having to wear metal cuffs that could potentially eavesdrop on their conversations; however, this doesn't deter them from finding new ways to stay bubbly.  Zane and Tally have decided to run away and they use all the members of their clique to create a diversion so they can head out to New Smoke.  On the way, Peris chickens out and Tally jumps from an incredible height to a river to avoid being recaptured by the Specials.  After her crash landing, Tally finds herself on a reservation with pre-Rusty tribes, built for the sole purpose of studying human nature such as revenge.  So, what does Tally do?  Steal a hovercar, of course!   When Tally finally makes it to the ruins, she discovers that she is all alone, except for David - someone that she had forgotten about.

Special Circumstances placed a tracker on Zane and followed the signal to New Smoke.  They also brought their newest Special, Shay.  And I think that in the next book Tally will be one of them.

I still really liked this book, but Tally has a huge complex where she believes that everything is her fault.  I'm hoping that she learns to forgive herself in the next book.  I was a little annoyed when Tally was reunited with David and wasn't sure what to do; however, I feel like it was taken care of appropriately at the end of the book and I was incredibly thankful that it ended in this story.  Having just read The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins, which was 3 books of one girl having to decide between 2 boys, I was so glad when Tally made a quick decision.

This book wasn't as scientifically driven as the last, but it was anthropologically interesting with the study of human nature on the reserve.  I find it fascinating to read about the Rusties: a society 300 years ago that pretty much describes our current culture and state of mind.  It makes you wonder if the oil plague, or something similar, will happen and how will that shape the future? 

It was a little annoying when the characters spoke fluent pretty, but it made the difference between being pretty-minded and bubbly more obvious.  I am really excited for the next book though, since I am convinced that Tally will be turned into one of the Specials.  I'm also curious as to whether or not Shay is as crazy as she lets on.  And off I go to read the next story, Specials!

Uglies

The first book in a trilogy, Scott Westerfield introduces us to the concept of a world where everyone is pretty.  Before they are surgically altered at the age of 16, teenagers start out as an ugly; or, in other words, normal.  Gawky, acne-prone and all the other things that make being a teenager horrible are magically erased when you turn.

Enter Tally Youngblood, a teen who has looked forward to being pretty since she was little.  Her best friend, Peris, has already turned and a disastrous undercover trip to New Prettytown has her missing him even more.  On her way back to Uglyville, Tally meets Shay, another ugly who also shares the same birthday as Tally.  However, Shay has a secret: she doesn't want to be pretty.  Instead, she wants to escape to the Smoke, a secret community that lives off the land and where you get to keep your face.  Shay invites Tally to come along, but Tally wants to become a pretty face and stays.  Unfortunately, Special Circumstances has heard of the escapees and has given Tally an ultimatum: infiltrate the Smoke and give them up or Tally will never be pretty.

Once Tally has arrived, she discovers that she enjoys the hard work and honest living of the Smoke.  She especially likes David, a man who has never lived in the city.  And he likes her.  In a fit of defiance, Tally destroys the pendant that would've allowed her to contact Special Circumstances.  However, the destruction actually calls them and they capture everyone present.  Tally manages to escape and finds David in a tunnel.  Together they decide that they're going to sneak back to the city and rescue everyone.

Breaking into Special Circumstances actually isn't as hard as they thought; but they're too late: Shay is already pretty.  They rescue her anyway and create a new Smoke in the ruins outside the city.  When David's mom discovers a cure for the lesions implanted in a new pretty's head, Tally tries to convince Shay to take the pills.  Shay refuses, so Tally decides to turn herself in, thus giving a willing subject to test the pills.

I really, really liked this story!  The biology and evolution behind becoming a pretty is fascinating; and the concept behind why and how being a pretty made the world a better place is interesting.  In this dystopian society, the population is brainwashed into believing their lives are better when they're pretty.  Children purposefully (and equally) give nicknames to their cohorts that draw attention to their faults; for example, Squint, Nose and Skinny.  Even the symmetry behind being a pretty is about equality; pretties around the world have the same standard of beauty.

This future world also talks about the Rusties: a past civilization who built the cities, tore down the trees and polluted the air and water.  A bacteria that affected the oil caused a plague that devastated their world.  In the era of the pretties, renewable resources and green power have replaced oil and gas power.

The scientific concepts behind this book has made this story absolutely fascinating!  I highly recommend it if you have a thing for biology, like I do, as well as an interest in dystopia.  So, really, this book is pure perfection for someone like me.  I also have the next story, Pretties, which I'll start reading as soon as I'm finished typing this review.

The Running Man

Now that I finished The Satanic Verses, I have TONS of time to read other books!  Plus, I'm currently on vacation, so I hope to get heaps of extra reading done.  If I'm going to spend money for the books, I might as well read them, right?!

The Running Man is a novel by Stephen King, written during his Richard Bachman phase.  Made into a movie in the late 1980's, it is loosely based on the novel.  By loosely, I mean that it involves running from people trying to kill Ben Richards.  And that's it.

In this dystopian novel, set into the not-so distant future (2025!), the social gap has been split even further.  The rich are still living the high life, but the less fortunate are so poor that in order to make money they vie to be contestants in game shows that may cause injury or even death.  Ben Richards, the novel's hero, is a 28 year old man who is desperate to keep his wife from making money "on her back" to pay for the medicine that their 18 month old daughter needs to treat her influenza.  In a last ditch effort to provide for his family, Ben goes through the extensive physical and mental testing required by the game show corporation and ends up on the highly acclaimed, and highly paying, Running Man show.

In this game, the contestant runs for his life: for every hour he survives, he earns $100 and for every hunter he kills, he gets $100.  On the flip side, the public is encouraged to help the hunters find the contestant: for a reported sighting, the person gets $100 and for a sighting ending in a kill, the person gets $500 and if the contestant makes it 30 days, he'll receive $1,000,000.  However, the longest record for survival is only 8 days.

Ben's plan of attack is to stay low; using his first 12 hour head start, he attains a fake ID to fly to New York.  Convinced that his mandatory twice daily tapes to the studio are being traced, he buses to Boston and stays in a run-down hostel.  Bored and watching cars, he realizes that the men outside the window are hitmen; to solve this problem, Ben sneaks in to the basement and blows up the hostel on top of him.  On the other end of the sewer, he meets a kid by the name of Stacey and his older brother, Bradley. 

Turns out, Bradley is an educated gang member who enlightens Ben on the issues of the poor air quality.  In his videos, Ben attempts to address this problem, but the games corporation does its own form of censorship: voice overs to increase hostility towards Ben.  Bradley helps Ben by smuggling him through road blocks and sending him to meet his contact: Elton.  Unfortunately, Elton's mother tips off the hunters, resulting in a car chase. 

Separating, Ben ends up in a small town and he hijacks a car driven by an upper class woman named Amelia.  Bluffing his way through a few road blocks, he demands a jet and for the head hunter, McCone, to join him onboard.  While on board, Ben is offered the job of head hunter by the head of the games corporation, Killian.  When Ben refuses, he learns that his wife and daughter were murdered at the start of the show.  In a fit of madness (or perhaps clarity) Ben kills everyone on board and crashes the jet in to the building of the games corporation.

I really liked the concept of this book: running for your life and money.  I honestly believe that reality tv will end up this way in a few years (hopefully decades).  I mean, look at UFC!  Sure, that isn't to the death, but it could end up that way eventually.  For example, Roman gladiators and hangings of the past were for the entertainment of the public.  However, I didn't really care for the personality of Ben Richards - who was too cynical and too quick to flip off everyone. 

Having read books by Stephen King in the past, I figured that there was a 50/50 chance of Ben surviving this show.  However, I didn't like the ending: sure, the building was destroyed, but who did that benefit?  Definitely not Ben or his family; and he sure didn't help out the poor by breaking the news of the poor air pollution and nose filters.  Essentially, he destroyed the building out of spite.

So, honestly?  If you like dystopia, you might like this book.  If you've watched the movie, you may get a kick out of the book to see the differences.  Otherwise, I don't know if you'd like it.  The language is racist and coarse, the hero really isn't a hero and some scenes are unnecessarily graphic (which is typical of Stephen King).

Fahrenheit 451

I finally finished reading it! I postponed writing this until after the B&C Banned Book Club meeting, but I don't think I'll wait in the future. The main reason being that it contaminates my thoughts on the subject if I discuss different aspects of the books that we covered at the meeting. Especially if it was a subject that I didn't even think about. The only downside to writing immediately is that sometimes I remember something that I did/did not like after I've finished the blog. Ah well.

On to the book!

Fahrenheit 451 is a dystopic novel written by Ray Bradbury in 1953. Originally written as a short story called The Fireman for a Sci-Fi magazine, it was later expanded and then published in Playboy for $400.

This story features a society that lives in a fast-paced world, teaches destruction in school and promotes an introverted way of life plugged in to the radio or watching the wall screens. It is also a society that has chosen to stop reading anything more substantial than comics and has taken to burning books as well as the homes they're found in.

When Guy Montag, a fireman by trade, meets his new neighbour, Clarisse McClellen, he begins to question the world as he knows it. A conversation with his fire chief leads Montag to read the books that he'd been stealing from homes as they burned and a meeting with an old man in a park proves the old man to be a scholar - a closet book reader by the name of Faber. After an outburst (involving poetry) in front of his wife and her friends, Montag's hidden cache of books is burned. In the confrontation, Montag murders the fire chief and goes on the run. The infallible mechanical hound is sent to track him down and he runs to Faber for help.

To hide his scent, Montag travels downstream on a river until he comes to a farm on the outskirts of the city. Montag then meets up with some fellow scholars to discuss books and who has retained what book in their memories. In the end, the city is obliterated after repeated warnings on the radio regarding the incoming war.

I found this book to be incredibly interesting - and informative. Considering this book was written over 50 years ago, it is almost scary how Bradbury could have thought this stuff up. I found that the parts of the story that I was most intrigued by really didn't have anything to do with the immediate story: it provided information to the society that Montag was a part of and the problems that were prevalent in that era (ie, how groups of kids aged 12-16 would joyride around and run people over for the fun of it; how little parents interacted with their children outside of shipping them off to school or plunking them down in front of the tv; how people stopped interacting with eachother and would "interact" with the characters on tv - their "family").

In an age where books are already losing a battle with the internet and cell phones, it is fascinating to read about a world that is already there. And it's frightening to think that one day we may soon arrive.

The next book on the Banned Book Club list is Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie.

Oh, Darwin

How much is too much?

A friend of mine told me that I read alot, like crazy much, which, well yeah, I guess I do. I read for pleasure, to escape the stresses of the everyday world (I manage a Cafe), to live vicariously through someone else and maybe, just maybe, to see the world from a different angle.

And that angle, right now, is dystopitarian (which probably isn't even a real word). Dystopia, however, is a real word and this is what Wikipedia has to say about it:

Dystopia is a vision, of an often futuristic society, which has developed into a negative version of Utopia. A Dystopia is often characterized by an authoritarian or totalitarian form of government. It often features different kinds of repressive social control systems, a lack or total absence of individual freedoms and expressions and a state of constant warfare or violence.

I think one of the reasons why I like those books, along with post-Apocalyptic ones, is to see how the world would function or change in the aftermath of a cataclysmic event. In Ariel, for example, the Change itself was the introduction of magic and the end of technology.

These events really show the determination of our species to survive on a whole, to adapt to new circumstances and to conquer what we don't understand. It also brings out our more basic, animalistic tendencies. As a Biology major, I have a special place in my heart for natural selection and these books just prove again and again the power of Darwin's ideology: survival of the fittest.

Catching Fire

In her second book of the Hunger Games Trilogy, Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins returns us to Panem, which used to be formally known as North America.

In Hunger Games (book one), the heroine Katniss was introduced and forced to play the Game. In the end when she was told that only one would be allowed to return, Katniss and her partner, Peeta, made a suicide pact; her minor rebellion against the Capitol provided the spark for an uprising.

In Catching Fire, Katniss and Peeta hear whispers of rebellion in other Districts. Two figures from District 8 are found hiding in the woods, searching for the destroyed remains of District 13; however, Katniss is recognized and the two strangers have a wafer with a mockingjay on it. Katniss finds out that the TV reportings on District 13 keep showing the same footage and a conversation with the Head Games Master, Plutarch, has a mockingjay on his watch.

After it is announced that the 75th Hunger Games will have the tributes reaped from the victor's pool, Katniss and Peeta are forced back in to the arena. During her live interview, Katniss models the wedding dress she'll never wear and is shocked when it starts to smolder and burn away to resemble that of a mockingjay.

When she returns to the arena, Katniss has sworn to herself that she will protect Peeta and that he will be the one to make it home alive. However, protecting him is proving difficult as her allies are trying to keep them separated, even though they seem to be willing to die to protect the both of them. In the end, Katniss ends up blowing up the force field that traps them in the arena and is picked up by a hovercraft. Inside, she finds out that she is the symbol of rebellion: the mockingjay.

The first book was more straight forward: Katniss was determined to live at all costs. Having met Peeta, she tried to keep them both alive. In this book, she has resigned herself to death since the Capitol is trying to kill her anyway. She also figures that by protecting Peeta, her family will be able to live as well. So this book is more about politics and hidden agendas than the last one was. Throwing them back in the arena was a surprise for me.

I was disappointed at first since that was what happened in the first one and didn't want a replay. However, while I figured out that the Mockingjay was a rebel's symbol earlier than she did, I didn't expect her being placed back into the arena was part of the larger picture. Or that the other players were aware of it and were trying to further their cause.

Needless to say, the story was good. Katniss still hasn't deepened in character and she's still clueless about guys, but I don't think that will change much in the next book either. She still wavers between Peeta and Gale, between staying and going. It's inevitable that something will happen between her and Gale now that they're in the same place since she's affectionate with Peeta when they're in the same vicinity. However, I'm hoping she'll shed some of her cowardice and bluffing to reveal a real backbone.

Unfortunately for me, the newest book, Mockingjay, won't be available until August 24, 2010. Which sucks because the author ended after disclosing that Katniss was the figurehead for their uprising. So that means that I'm going to have to wait a few months until I can read the next part, when, clearly, I'm dying to find out right now.

The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games, written by Suzanne Collins, is book one in a series by the same name. This series centers on Katniss Everdeen, a 16 year old girl who supports her family with the game she hunts and the greens she forages for daily. Living in the Seam, a seedy part of District 12, she does what she can to protect her small family. Even if it means taking her sister's place in the Hunger Games.

The Hunger Games is a fight-to-the-death amongst the tributes (ages 12 to 18) on a televised program. A macabre combination of Running Man and Lottery, but with all the flash and pomp of a beauty pageant, the tributes are paraded in the Capitol, show off their talents before a panel of judges in private and then interviewed live on tv. By doing so, the tributes attempt to gain sponsorship by showing the crowd that they will win; sponsors will then return the favour by sending gifts into the arena (which is a closed, controlled environment) to help the tribute survive.

Katniss, along with Peeta (her fellow District 12 tribute), are told to act like a couple in love and Katniss keeps this strategy in mind throughout the game. During the games a new rule is announced: if tributes from the same District are the last two standing, both will live. This rule allows Katniss to open up to Peeta and she plays up the love angle knowing that her affection will gain them gifts from sponsors. Unfortunately, this is not an act for Peeta and when they win, Katniss is worried for her life if they don't keep it up. Peeta finds out on the train ride home and this is where the book ends.

This book was very morbid but very captivating. The book is set in a futuristic North America, where the Hunger Games were a means of putting an end to a rebellion. By creating the games, and forcing the people to watch it, the Capitol showed their citizens that rebellion was useless: afterall, weren't their children chosen at random for a duel that only ever yielded one survivor?

Katniss proves herself to be a strong (if clueless when it comes to boys) female lead. She's capable and has the drive to succeed - which is why her sister & mother were still alive - and why she was able to win. She also had a level head - another reason why she was able to win. I think these are traits that are important to be featured in female lead characters since most are portrayed as fluffy.

Overall, I really liked this book: after hearing my coworker rave about it, I moved it to the top of my "to read" list and the second book "Catching Fire" will be next. Unfortunately for me, the third and final book, Mockingjay, won't be out until August. However, I've already pre-ordered it so I'm good to go.