The Gap into Conflict: The Real Story (1990) (The Gap Cycle, #1) by Stephen R. Donaldson

I came into this one pretty free of any prior expectations, going only off of a set of solid recommendations from Redditors who praised the series as a well-written space opera. I was pleasantly surprised with a relatively straightforward story, propelled forward by Donaldson's strong prose and excellent characterization. After a few of the early chapters I peeked at the top reviews on Goodreads and was surprised to see that several reviewers indicated shock and disgust at where Donaldson went with the story.

I continued. It's true that Donaldson doesn't hold much back in his characterization of a sociopathic, sadistic protagonist whose qualities as a survivor don't come so much from innate intelligence as they do from instincts honed by years of survival via selfish cowardice. Angus is a weakling who happens to be good at surviving and when handed power he uses it without conscience. This is certainly not a book for children. Or teenagers. Or even adults with sensitive stomachs. I was glad to have steeled myself beforehand.

I've seen some claims of misogyny targeted at the character of Angus Thermopyle but I tend not to agree with them. Angus strikes me as more of a sadist; an insecure, weak man who assures himself of his own superiority by hurting and humiliating his adversaries... And anyone else unfortunate enough to find themselves in his way. That the particular person this barrage of misery happens to fall upon is female seems inconsequential. Angus doesn't hate her because of her gender, he simply uses her gender as an opportunity to inflict more pain upon her. In this case it seems the severe physical and sexual abuse depicted in the novel is more about the offender than the victim. Angus, though obviously a reprehensible human being, is not less interesting to read for all his despicable actions in The Real Story. I imagine my fascination with his character is not unlike those who can't get enough of the numerous works written examining the psychology of a Manson or a Dahmer, or a Hitler or Pol Pot.

This could be a difficult read for those not well-briefed on what type of book they're about to read. There are no bright lights at the end of this tunnel, but there is excellent writing and a superbly interesting character study if that's your type of thing.

I found it well worth the read, if a bit lacking in meat. At just over 200 pages this felt more like a novella (which I later learned it actually is), and though I enjoyed it, I felt a bit disappointed that there wasn't more to chew on. I came into this expecting a space opera but was pleasantly surprised at the limited scope and more narrow focus. I look forward to continuing the series just to see where Donaldson takes these characters. There's real potential for some great growth and development.

Further note: I've since learned that there exist editions of this novella that are combined with the second book to form a single novel. If you can find it, go for that one.

⭐⭐⭐

Use of Weapons (1990) (The Culture, #3) by Iain M. Banks

Banks' books don't always hit on all cylinders for me, but his sheer creativity and brainpower make this series so enticing. I get the sense, whenever reading him, that he's a dude who's way smarter than me. And his mind is capable of going into spaces so dark I couldn't possibly come up with them myself. Yet, even so, what's so appealing about this series is it's one of the first true utopias I've read that actually manages to still feature compelling conflict.

The ending of this book is phenomenal, and its main character turned out to be a poignant and sympathetic anti-hero for me even after the reveal contained in its conclusion. But its strange structure made it a chore to read when compared to other Culture novels.

Still a worthwhile read. I love being made to feel dumb by Banks.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Notable Highlights:

“He lay, often, looking at her sleeping face in the new light that fell in through the open walls of the strange house, and he stared at her skin and hair with his mouth open, transfixed by the quick stillness of her, struck dumb with the physical fact of her existence as though she was some careless star-thing that slept on quite unaware of its incandescent power; the casualness and ease with which she slept there amazed him; he couldn't believe that such beauty could survive without some superhumanly intense conscious effort.”

—

"In all human societies we have ever reviewed, in every age and every state, there has seldom if ever been a shortage of eager young males prepared to kill and die to preserve the security, comfort and prejudices of their elders, and what you call heroism is just an expression of this simple fact; there is never a scarcity of idiots.”

—

“The bomb lives only as it is falling.”

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

I really don't read too much stuff like this so I'm not sure how great I'm going to be at reviewing it.

'Twist' books like this are always highly recommendable before they're too talked about and the twist is inevitably ruined by its presence in pop culture, which spoils it for people by sheer existential osmosis (looking at you, A Game of Thrones). I feel like I could recommend Dark Matter to my mom, a teenager, a hooker, a priest; you name it. It might be a little bit too mind-bending for idiots, I suppose. But it's pretty consumable, which is a testament to Crouch's talent as a writer.

I consider myself a pretty adept truffle pig when it comes to sniffing out twists and curveballs, and I thought I had this book totally figured out very early on. From the first scene in the car, in fact. I want to try really hard not to spoil anything, so I'll just say that this book did not at all go where I thought it was going. Crouch turns it up to eleven and he completely blew me away. It finishes spectacularly and I found it incredibly satisfying to carve through its climax.

Reading this is like reading Murakami if he were a humorless theoretical physicist rather than a hopeless romantic dreamer. Dark Matter is very concrete and it lacks any poetry or ambiguity. There's nothing too profound going on here. When you whittle away the bells and whistles it's basically just a mind-bending thriller. But sometimes that's enough. It's so tightly plotted and it surprises you so effectively that I'd feel comfortable recommending it to just about anybody.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

READING PROGRESS

September 18, 2016 – Started Reading

September 18, 2016 – 

page 312

  

  91.23%

September 18, 2016 – Finished Reading