2019 in Review

Hello Everyone and Happy (almost) New Year! 2019 is pretty much over and its been quite the year. As I look back on the last 12 months, I've been thinking a lot about the books I've read. So, let's talk about all of the books I read in 2019 and what my thoughts were.

First, what are the books that I read?

Anomaly by Jessica Gilliland

Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris

The Body in Question by Jill Ciment

Bone Quarry by K.D. McNiven

Catch and Kill by Ronan Farrow

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

Days of Rock & Roll by Kelly Holm

Dune by Frank Herbert

Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert

Feathers and Fae by Crystal L. Kirkham

In A Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware

The Mechanoid Cries Within by Brock T.I. Penner

Nightmare Escapade by Waylon Piercy

Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson

One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus

The Power by Naomi Alderman

The Scarred God by Neil Beynon

The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

Facts and Figures:

In 2019, I read and reviewed 20 books and one short story. My breakdown of how I rated them is below:

Overall, 2019 was  a pretty good year. (I did round scores for this chart, since in a lot of my reviews, I give decimal scores and not whole numbers.)   I somewhat enjoyed the majority of books that I read and thoroughly enjoyed more than I expected to.

I read a number of different genres as well. 8 thrillers, 2 horror, 3 fantasy, 3 literary/general fiction, four science fiction and one non-fiction. While my experience shows that I'm not the biggest fan of thrillers, reading so many did help me figure that out and I'm willing to, one day, give the genre another chance possibly.

Best and Worst

The best book I read in 2019 overall was Catch and Kill by Ronan Farrow. This was also the only non-fiction book I read. The best fiction book I read was Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson. The two runner-ups for fiction were Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens and Dune by Frank Herbert. The worst book I read was The Body In Question by Jill Ciment.

Overall, 2019 wasn't a bad year for me reading-wise. Bring on 2020.

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Catch and Kill

Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators is a 2019 nonfiction book by Ronan Farrow. It chronicles his investigation into sexual harassment and assault claims against Harvey Weinstein, which broke in October 2017. It also depicts the attempts by Weinstein and his allies to prevent the story from ever seeing the light of day. Farrow published the story in The New Yorker and the publication shared the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service with The New York Times for the story. The term “catch and kill” refers to the practice of disreputable news sources, usually tabloids, buying the rights to a particular story, “catch”, in order to bury it, “kill”, on behalf of a third party.

Many reviews label this book as “part spy thriller, part investigative journalism piece” and that description is rather apt. Farrow effortlessly blends events he experienced with testimonies about things happening behind the scenes and things behind the scenes read similar to a spy thriller. In what began as a story about the allegations surrounding one man, Farrow unknowingly found himself entrenched in a plot to hide the truth and uncovered a network of “fixers” from high-powered attorneys to ex-spies all trying to bury the story. If not for Farrow and his producer’s determination to tell this story, it would’ve been buried, as many earlier accounts and charges against Weinstein were.

While the Harvey Weinstein expose, and its connection to the #MeToo movement, are enough to get someone interested in the subject of the book, it’s the behind-the-scenes events that made me continue reading. Because Catch and Kill isn’t just about Harvey Weinstein or his victims. It’s also about the people at NBC, the network Farrow was working at when he started his investigation, who tried to kill the story. It’s about the network of private investigators, lawyers and businessmen trying to interfere with the investigation and find some weak spot, or blackmail material, to make him drop the investigation. And, its about the tidal wave of stories, many so similar to the stories told by Weinstein’s victims, that have been printed and told since.  

I personally found it fascinating, in a sad and somewhat troubling way, the lengths that were gone to in order to try and stop the story from breaking. Initially, hearing that NBC tried to prevent the story’s release sounds ludicrous, but as Farrow outlines the timeline of events, the cover-up becomes less surprising and more saddening. It’s saddening that a news organization bowed to the external pressure Weinstein’s team put on them. It’s disturbing the incidents NBC was keeping under wraps internally due to the predator in question being a popular morning show host. It’s also frustrating hearing about how “everyone knew” what was going on, but until the story gained attention, only the victims were willing to say anything. 

Catch and Kill is a difficult book to read. It’s very hard to read the accounts of Weinstein’s victims without feeling some kind of emotion. When I was discussing the book with someone, I described it as the following: this book makes you mad, but in the best kind of way. This is a tale that’s supposed to make you angry, supposed to make you want things to change, and it does. Farrow deserves all of the praise he’s received for this book, not just from a journalistic perspective, but also from a technical one. The story is well-structured, well-paced and draws the reader in in a way that few other nonfiction books seem capable of. While I’d definitely say this book is not for everyone, I’d recommend it to anyone even thinking of giving it a try.

Rating: 4.9 stars

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Nothing to See Here

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Nothing to See Here is a 2019 novel by Kevin Wilson. It was published in October of 2019 by Ecco, an imprint of Harper Collins. It became a New York Times Bestseller and was named a Best Boom of the Year by New York Time Book Review, The Washington Post, People and several other newspapers and magazines. The novel can be purchased here from Bookshop.org.

The novel tells the story of Lillian, a young woman who works a dead-end job when she’s suddenly contacted by a close friend from her old boarding school Madison. Despite having not seen her for ten years, Madison reaches out to Lillian asking for help with her stepchildren who will soon be coming to live with the family. Lillian agrees to be the children’s caretaker and its only after agreeing to take the position that she learns the twins have a strange affliction- whenever they become upset or angry, they catch fire. Despite the strangeness of the situation, Lillian and the twins begin to trust each other and stay cool, but the machinations of Madison’s politician husband may ruin everything.

The story is, when boiled down to its basic elements, a family drama wrapped up in a story of magical realism. As a result, as with most family dramas, there aren’t an abundance of characters. There are only five or six characters that are seen often enough and given enough personality to warrant discussing. Lillian is the point-of-view character and at the beginning, she’s directionless. She has a dead-end job, a dead-end life and it seems like she agrees to Madison’s proposal because she doesn’t have a reason not to. Once the twins enter the picture, her interactions with them start to show the reader the person she really is. She’s also, seemingly, the only person in the story who isn’t overly perturbed by the situation. The twins are 10-year-olds Bessie and Roland, and they’re actually pretty sweet kids. When I read the blurb for Nothing to See Here, I was expecting the “kids who catch fire when they get upset” characters to behave sort of like Draco Malfoy. I thought I’d hate them; they’d be complete brats who use their gift to terrorize any nanny, teacher or authority figure who told them “no”. Instead, they’re just lost children. They both have issues they need to work through, mostly focused on their mother’s death and their father abandoning them when he divorced their mother, but from almost the first time they appear, it’s clear that the twins are just as scared of their abilities as anyone else. Madison is Lillian’s old friend and Bessie and Roland’s stepmother. She appears to be the perfect wife for a Senator and lives the perfect life. I won’t lie, I hate Madison. I was supposed to hate her. Madison is a character that’s all about appearance and meeting expectations. She went to a prestigious boarding school, because she came from a wealthy family; she went to an elite college because that’s what was expected of her; she married a politician and had an adorable, well-behaved son because that’s exactly what she was supposed to do. Everything she does in the story is about making sure that the family’s image, and her husband’s political ambitions, don’t run into any roadblocks. The twins need to be kept out of sight, with no one aware of their abilities, because it could cause the Senator some unneeded press coverage. Lastly, there is the Senator, Jasper Roberts. He’s a Senator, one who could become the next Secretary of State and by far, the closest thing this story has to a true villain. He’s a complete and total jerk and that’s the nicest way I can say it. if Madison’s main focus is split between the family’s image and Jasper’s ambitions, then his is solely on his political aspirations. He’s decided he going to become the next Secretary of State, and no one, not even his children, are going to get in the way of that. When first introduced, he just seems like an arrogant man, a stereotypical politician who talks a lot but means nothing, As the story progresses, you realize that Jasper only cares about Jasper. He divorced the twins’ mother and decided to pretend like they didn’t even exist and weren’t related to him anymore. He barely interacts with any other characters for much of the story, but when he does appear, I want to crawl into the book and deck him in the face. As I said, he cast of characters is very small.

Nothing to See Here is by far the funniest book I’ve read om 2019. Wilson does an excellent job of mixing humor into a story that would otherwise be a very somber, or downright tragic one. Rather than avoid illuminating the weirdness of the characters or the bizarreness of the situation they’re in, he leans into it, which not only makes the story unique, but compels the reader to keep turning the page. The characters are quirky and strange and the narrative embraces that before using the humor to hit the reader in a way they didn’t see coming. The plot is original in a way no other book I’ve read this year is. Wilson’s skills as a writer must be commended, as not many could take such a strange concept and make it work so effortlessly.

While I did enjoy the book overall, I did feel slightly let down by the ending. I was happy to see that the twins and Lillian all ended up in a situation that was good for them. The resolution of what should happen with the twins was the best possible outcome that the story could have. It was as close to a “happy ending” as one could hope for. The thing that disappointed me were the lack of consequences for other characters though. Jasper never gets what he deserves. Neither does Madison for that matter. They face some consequences, but not as many or as severe as I would’ve liked. While I couldn’t find a smug satisfaction at how Jasper and Madison’s storylines ended, they do reflect the most realistic outcomes. In the real world, a Senator and his wife would get off the hook with little to no real consequences. Still, I would’ve liked at least one of them to be hurt a little more by the result of their own actions. My disappointment at the conclusion is probably a sign of Wilson capturing the real world so effective. Things aren’t wrapped up neatly in a nice little bow, regardless of how much we want them to be.

Nothing to See Here is an inventive, hilarious story. It stands out as one of the best books I’ve read this year. I found the premise very refreshing and I could’ve read another 200 pages and still wanted more. Kevin Wilson weaved a unique, relatable story while also keeping it grounded enough to appeal to many different types of people. I’d recommend any fan of literary fiction or magical realism get it a read.

Rating: 4.8 stars

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Bone Quarry

Bone Quarry is a 2019 science fiction and thriller novel by K.D. McNiven. It was self-published in November of 2019. I was provided with an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

The story follows a team of marine researchers trying to discover why a number of dead fish are washing ashore off the coast of Brazil. On their first dive to collect water and coral samples, they discover what looks like an underground graveyard heaped with bones, both human and animal alike. After calling in a paleontologist to investigate their findings, the team discovers they might be dealing with a dinosaur believed to be extinct for millions of years. The research trip soon turns into a quest for survival as they find their lives threatened both in and out of the water.

Bone Quarry was a book I found myself somewhat disappointed in. This story could very easily be a good, strong thriller, with just enough sci-fi to explain how the events of the plot could happen. Unfortunately, it waffled on both fronts. There isn’t a great deal of science in this science fiction story and based on my limited knowledge of the scientific fields shown in this story, there wasn’t enough research done. Additionally, for a thriller, it stops being very thrilling early on. About 30% of the way through the story, the reader is shown the person responsible for the creation and care of the animals responsible for the underwater graveyard. From that point, it isn’t difficult to figure out where the story is going to go and what’s going to happen in the end. It’s your classic evil scientists vs. good scientists battle. The problem with this reveal happening so early is that it really slows the plot down. By this point, the reader already knows what the animal is, and now we know who’s responsible, so the middle part of the novel, where the team is looking for proof and runs into more trouble, falls flat. It starts to get boring as the research team sets up traps and cameras to catch the animals in action and the shady scientist tries to keep them from digging further. Additionally, the search for evidence about the dinosaurs is taking place at the same time that the research team is still trying to figure out why a bunch of fish are dying. Meaning that, in at least one part, the dinosaur hunt is sidelined in favor of trying to find the source of the fish deaths. It’s jarring and I feel like, if they’d found the answer to the fish mystery, and then the plot became about the dinosaur, it would flow a lot better.

The characters themselves aren’t overly interesting and the reason for that becomes obvious the further into the book you read. Meg, the dive team leader and main character, and Rourke, the paleontologist they call in regarding their findings, are the only ones that have any real development or somewhat consistent behavior. A good deal of the “character moments” are very straightforward scenes of people talking about whatever event just occurred and how they’re going to find answers. Dialogue is necessary for storytelling, but a lot of it feels flat. Certain characters will flip-flop their feelings on the situation from one page to the next and almost no indication of why is given. As an example, as things get more dangerous, one character, Jayden, keeps insisting that he needs to come along with the others as they investigate, but there’s never any real motive given as to why. As for the antagonists in this story, they’re entirely one-dimensional. There’s the scientist that’s fascinated by this horrifying animal, one who regrets how things turned out and that people have died, but is in too deep to stop now and lastly, the shady businessman providing the money. Their interactions are all cliché, their arcs conclude in the most predictable way possible and I spent a number of pages thinking “get on with it”. Speaking of characters and character dynamics, Bone Quarry has an aspect that’s really not needed in this type of story, and that’s a romantic subplot. Meg happens to be Rourke’s ex-wife and in between trying out outrun a man-eating dinosaur, they start to reconnect, which just felt unnecessary and tacked on. Not every story needs a romance, especially if it adds almost nothing to the plot.

While I have some criticism of the story, it isn’t all bad. The cover design is mesmerizing. The tension of the story, up until the mad scientist reveal, did create a sense of suspense. I’m of the opinion that, had the reveal happened later in the book, I might’ve liked it better. I appreciated the attempt to give very detailed and accurate descriptions, even if it didn’t always work out. Another thing I liked was that the “creature feature” aspect of the plot wasn’t the reason why the team went to the Amazon in the first place. The dinosaur running around Brazil wasn’t the reason dead fish were washing up on the beach. I know this might not seem like an important detail, but I would’ve been annoyed if the dinosaurs were somehow responsible for both the dead humans and the dying fish population. McNiven clearly was passionate about this story, but there were a few things that need adjusting in order for it to read well.

Bone Quarry is an average book, but it had a lot of potential. There were just too many story elements missing, or introduced too early to keep the reader engaged. Thrillers are meant to be thrilling, but this one lost my interest about a third of the way through it. The author clearly has a passion for this type of story, but there’s a lot that could be improved upon. There was potential for a story similar to Lake Placid here, but by revealing too much too early, the story as a whole began to fall apart and fall flat. It’s a fun read, if you’re willing to not get too invested and just go along for the ride.

Rating: 2.7 stars

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Dune Messiah

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Dune Messiah is a 1969 science fiction novel by Frank Herbert. It’s the sequel to 1965’s Dune and is the second novel in the Dune series. The story was originally serialized in Galaxy magazine in 1969. Dune Messiah and Children of Dune, its sequel, were adapted into a miniseries by the Sci-Fi channel in the early 2000s. Dune Messiah can be purchased here from Bookshop.org.

Dune Messiah continues the story of Paul Atredies, better known as Muad’Dib, which was told in the original novel Dune. Beginning twelves years after the end of the previous novel, Paul is now the Emperor of the Known Universe and possesses more power than any single person was ever meant to wield. Worshipped as a religious figure by the Fremen, some of whom have attributed him god-status, Paul faces the hostility of the other influential families he displaced when he became emperor and a conspiracy taking place right under his very nose. As his enemies plotting leads to House Atredies crumbing around him, the true danger to Paul comes to his partner Chani and her unborn child, the heir to his family’s dynasty.

I found the story interesting from several perspectives. As mentioned above, Paul has become a religious figure to the Fremen and a great deal of Paul’s inner conflict comes from the result of the Fremen viewing him as their messiah. They believed he was a messianic figure during the events of Dune, since he fit the criteria of one of their oldest legends. He accepted his role as their messiah, but as a result, he unleashed a jihad which has conquered most of the universe by the time Dune Messiah begins. (As a side note, jihad is the actual word used in the text. The Dune series uses a lot of Arabic or Arabic-sounding terminology and I don’t know why). I found Paul’s inner struggle fascinating because very rarely do you read books with religious themes that show the bad parts of being the focal point of a religion in such stark lighting. Muad’Dib is the foundation of the Fremen religion now, and in taking their religion off of Arrakis to spread, billions of people have died and many worlds have been destroyed. Paul is the most powerful being in the universe, and practically a god, but he’s unable to stop or curb the violence being done in his name and by his worshippers. At the same time that Paul is resentful of his role as this messiah, due to his prophetic visions, he knows that this isn’t the worst possible outcome for humanity, as terrifying as it seems. He seems to be operating under the idea that by being the messiah, and allowing the religion to spread and accepting his god-like status, he can set humanity down a path that leads to something other than destruction. I talked briefly in my Dune review about Paul’s view towards his destiny, which is that he’s “the chosen one”, he knows that he is, he’s never doubted it, but he seems to be the only person who knows what that means and what it will really cost him. He’s destined for great and terrible things, he doesn’t want to be, but he knows he can’t change it. Not only is he unable to change his fate, he’s unable to change anyone’s which becomes a driving force in why he makes certain decisions. He can’t prevent anything, only delay it.

Paul isn’t the only person who has become a religious figure in the years since he became the emperor. Paul’s younger sister Alia, who his mother was pregnant with when they escaped into the desert, was born with powers similar to Paul and, like only the most powerful Bene Gesserit, can access the memories and personality of previous generations. She isn’t the basis of her own religion, but she is a revered figure within Paul’s and finds the strain on her, combined with other factors, to be too much. Alia is seen as an abomination by some and a savior by others, which is both sad and disturbing, since she was born with more power and knowledge than a child could ever know what to do with. I’ve got a feeling that Alia not having a great grip on reality or her true identity is going to become an issue in the next book.

Although a great deal of Paul’s inner conflict comes from the inevitability of fate and his frustration towards his own destiny, the main plot of Dune Messiah is only tangentially related to those two themes. The overarching story revolves around a conspiracy between the Bene Gesserit, the Spacing Guild, Paul’s wife Irulan who he married only to become emperor and the Tleilaxu, another powerful and nefarious organization, to destabilize and dethrone Paul and put someone they can control on the throne. They attempt many different tactics to achieve this, from presenting him with a clone of a deceased comrade to trying to manipulate him into impregnating Irulan so that the Bene Gesserit don’t lose control of the bloodline. Even though this is the main plot of Dune Messiah, there isn’t a lot done with this idea. It’s very hard to successfully conspire to overthrow a ruler who is worshipped as a god, can see every possible future and is an expert at reading people. This plotline exists, or so it seems, mostly to allow certain moments at the very end of the book to happen without them seeming to come out of left field. All the conspiracy seems to do is give Paul another reason why he doesn’t want to be emperor any longer, but knows he has to accept the role.

Dune Messiah feels very much like a transitional book. I don’t know if that’s the word for it, but that’s what I’ve decided to call it. By that, I mean that unlike Dune, this novel doesn’t introduce a huge number of changes or a great deal of world-building. It feels to me like Dune Messiah exists mostly to set up Children of Dune. Dune ends with Paul usurping the Padishah Emperor’s throne and becoming emperor. Dune Messiah ends with Paul leaving his life as the emperor behind to wander the desert, the reason why he does this is a huge part of the plot, so I won’t say exactly why. The novel consists of a lot of people plotting Paul’s downfall, a tiny bit of personal growth and interpersonal drama for a few characters and then setting the stage for Children of Dune. I know that with any series, the first book sets up the second, and the second one sets up the third and so on, but there isn’t enough story in Dune Messiah for it to be complete. I’ve heard from others who read later books that part of Children of Dune could’ve instead been part of the conclusion of Dune Messiah to make the story flow a little better and feel more complete.  The novel’s also short compared to its predecessor. Dune is about 500 pages, with Dune Messiah coming in at around 275. It’s a shorter story with a lot less plot, which made it kind of a disappointment in my eyes.

Dune Messiah is an okay book. It’s not bad, but I feel like it doesn’t quite live up to the standard Dune set four years earlier. Someone I know who read it described it as the weakest of the original books, and I can somewhat see why they’d think that. I feel like it doesn’t add as much as I was hoping, but maybe I set my expectations too high. It didn’t reduce my love for the series, but I don’t think I have as much faith in Children of Dune being as good as the original novel. I’m going to read Children of Dune, because Paul’s story, the Atredies’ story, isn’t over yet. I’d recommend Dune Messiah, but would advise any readers not to expect too much of it.

Rating: 3.5 stars

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December TBR

Well, it's that time of the month! Time to talk about all of the books on my TBR list. I'm hoping to get through all of these in this month, but we'll see. I'm not sure how many reviews I'll write this month either, since I wait until after a finish a book to decide if I'm going to review it. Some books I finish, and I don't really feel the need to write a full review. I'm getting off track. Here are the books I'm hoping to read in December, with one holdover from November.



Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert

Dune Messiah continues the story of Paul Atreides, better known--and feared--as the man christened Muad'Dib. As Emperor of the Known Universe, he possesses more power than a single man was ever meant to wield. Worshipped as a religious icon by the fanatical Fremens, Paul faces the enmity of the political houses he displaced when he assumed the throne--and a conspiracy conducted within his own sphere of influence.

And even as House Atreides begins to crumble around him from the machinations of his enemies, the true threat to Paul comes to his lover, Chani, and the unborn heir to his family's dynasty...

Genre: Fiction, Science Fiction



Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators by Ronan Farrow

In 2017, a routine network television investigation led Ronan Farrow to a story only whispered about: one of Hollywood's most powerful producers was a predator, protected by fear, wealth, and a conspiracy of silence. As Farrow drew closer to the truth, shadowy operatives, from high-priced lawyers to elite war-hardened spies, mounted a secret campaign of intimidation, threatening his career, following his every move, and weaponizing an account of abuse in his own family.

All the while, Farrow and his producer faced a degree of resistance they could not explain -- until now. And a trail of clues revealed corruption and cover-ups from Hollywood to Washington and beyond.

This is the untold story of the exotic tactics of surveillance and intimidation deployed by wealthy and connected men to threaten journalists, evade accountability, and silence victims of abuse. And it's the story of the women who risked everything to expose the truth and spark a global movement.

Both a spy thriller and a meticulous work of investigative journalism, Catch and Kill breaks devastating new stories about the rampant abuse of power and sheds far-reaching light on investigations that shook our culture.

Genre: Non-Fiction, True Crime



Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson

Lillian and Madison were unlikely roommates and yet inseparable friends at their elite boarding school. But then Lillian had to leave the school unexpectedly in the wake of a scandal and they’ve barely spoken since. Until now, when Lillian gets a letter from Madison pleading for her help.
Madison’s twin stepkids are moving in with her family and she wants Lillian to be their caretaker. However, there’s a catch: the twins spontaneously combust when they get agitated, flames igniting from their skin in a startling but beautiful way. Lillian is convinced Madison is pulling her leg, but it’s the truth. 

Thinking of her dead-end life at home, the life that has consistently disappointed her, Lillian figures she has nothing to lose. Over the course of one humid, demanding summer, Lillian and the twins learn to trust each other—and stay cool—while also staying out of the way of Madison’s buttoned-up politician husband. Surprised by her own ingenuity yet unused to the intense feelings of protectiveness she feels for them, Lillian ultimately begins to accept that she needs these strange children as much as they need her—urgently and fiercely. Couldn’t this be the start of the amazing life she’d always hoped for?

Genre: Fiction, Fantasy

 

The Savior's Champion by Jenna Moreci

Tobias Kaya doesn't care about The Savior. He doesn't care that She's the Ruler of the realm or that She purified the land, and he certainly doesn't care that She's of age to be married. But when competing for Her hand proves to be his last chance to save his family, he’s forced to make The Savior his priority.

Now Tobias is thrown into the Sovereign’s Tournament with nineteen other men, and each of them is fighting—and killing—for the chance to rule at The Savior's side. Instantly his world is plagued with violence, treachery, and manipulation, revealing the hidden ugliness of his proud realm. And when his circumstances seem especially dire, he stumbles into an unexpected romance, one that opens him up to unimaginable dangers and darkness.

Genre: Fiction, Dark Fantasy



Bone Quarry by K.D. McNiven

When the Oceanic Research Institute sends out a team of biologists to find out why there are dead fish washing ashore off the Brazilian coast, they never dreamed of what dangers awaited them. Dive leader, Megan Gerhart and her team discover what appears to be an underwater graveyard, heaped with bones…human bones!

When they call in paleontologist Rourke Wolf to investigate their chilling findings, the team is thrown into a spine-tingling adventure that could cost them their lives, both in and out of the water. Faced with death-defying odds, they must confront dinosaurs believed to be extinct for 8 million years … Does the team have the grit to escape this terrifying encounter alive, when the odds are not in their favor?

Genre: Fiction, Science Fiction


So, we've got a pretty even split here: two fantasy books, two science fiction and one non-fiction. The non-fiction book is the first one I've read in quite a while, but it has excellent reviews. In fact, most of the books on this list are highly recommended. I look forward to seeing if they live up to my expectations.

What's on your TBR?


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Dune

This post contains affiliate links. This means when you follow a link and make a purchase, I make a small commission at no additional cost to you, the customer.

Dune is a 1965 science fiction novel by Frank Herbert, published by Chilton Books. It shared the 1966 Hugo Award with Roger Zelazny’s The Immortal, and won the first Nebula Award for Best Novel. Dune is the first installment of the Dune saga and is the world’s best-selling science fiction novel. It can be purchased here from Bookshop.org or here from Amazon.

It isn’t just the best-selling sci-fi book of all time, its also one of the most influential. Even if you haven’t read Dune, you’ve encountered one media property or another that was inspired, at least partly, by the series. Herbert’s novels are as influential on science fiction as Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings series is on fantasy. Herbert wrote five sequels to Dune: Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, God Emperor of Dune, Heretics of Dune and Chapterhouse: Dune and a series of prequels and sequels have been released following his death. 

Dune tells the story of a young man named Paul Atreides, whose family is tasked with ruling the desert planet of Arrakis. While the planet is nearly inhospitable, it is the only place in the known universe where the drug mélange, also known as “the spice”, can be found. Melange is capable extending life and enhancing consciousness. (As an aside, in the original Star Wars trilogy, Han Solo is on the run from Jabba the Hutt for dumping a load of spice and many interpret this as being an homage to the spice from Dune.) The spice is the most valuable commodity in the universe, making control of the planet Arrakis a coveted and dangerous position. House Atreides is betrayed and attacked by their rivals, House Harkonnen, and the destruction of Paul’s family sends him into the desert where he joins one of the native tribes, known collectively as the Fremen and begin a campaign that could change the face of Arrakis and the universe as a whole. Ever present in Paul’s mind, and his mother Jessica’s, is the possibility that he could be destined for something even greater than he could’ve ever imagined.

Before I can discuss certain plot elements, there are a few aspects of the Dune universe that need to be explained. Dune takes place in a distant future where space travel is possible. The series is unique in that its what’s considered “soft sci-fi”, having very little technology. Taking place 10,000 years after humanity waged war against the “thinking machines”, aka computers and robots, that had enslaved them. As a result, there’s no artificial intelligence, no robots and the only technology that exists is very rudimentary such as the machines used to harvest spice. Instead of computers, humanity relies on people known as Mentats who are trained to be human thinking machines, basically human computers. As a result of the war against the thinking machines, the society is organized as a feudal empire with houses controlling planets as their fiefdoms. While there is an emperor, he doesn’t hold absolute power. One powerful group is the Spacing Guild, who hold a monopoly over space travel, given that they are the only beings able to “fold space” and thus make faster-than-light travel possible, in part due to the spice. Nothing in this universe moves without the Guild. Another important order in the Dune universe are the Bene Gesserit, a powerful order of women who’ve operated as a form of shadow government for years, leading humanity down a very specific path. Slowly building their own power and influence over the years through a breeding program with the powerful families in the universe, their goal is the creation of the Kwisatz Haderach, a male Bene Gesserit whose abilities can bridge space and time. The Bene Gesserit can tap into prophetic knowledge, but there are certain aspects of that knowledge that they can’t access but the Kwisatz Haderac can. To meet the needs of breeding program, the Bene Gesserit can control both when they get pregnant and what gender the child will be.  There’s a lot more minutia that I could get into, but this information should make it easier to understand the book and my review of Dune.

Dune takes place almost entirely on Arrakis, with only the very beginning taking place off of the desert planet, and a few scenes intermittently happening off-world as well to fill in on a few aspects of the plot that couldn’t be shown on Arrakis. These short, cut-away sections provide context that’s important for the novel’s climax and give a little more detail of how events on Arrakis are impacting the rest of the universe. One of the most interesting aspects of the story is Arrakis itself. As previously mentioned, Arrakis is a planet that’s basically one giant desert. There are settlements, but not many and the open desert is home to colossal sandworms that are at least a few hundred feet long. Arrakis is the most valuable planet in the empire because it’s the only place mélange, which is the most valuable commodity, can be found. On Arrakis, traces of the spice are in the air, in the food, and the vegetation and to the people there, it’s not nearly as valuable as water. It’s rather ironic that the spice is the most important thing in the universe to everyone except the people who live in the one place it can be found. Water and mélange are the two biggest symbols in Dune with the spice representing untapped human potential and water representing life and hope for a better future to the Fremen tribes. A major theme tying into both symbols mentioned above is the theme of power and control. The family that controls Arrakis controls spice production, which in turn controls the universe, and gives them power. This theme becomes more and more overt as the book continues until the climax becomes entirely about, on a surface level, how Paul’s power gives him control over the spice. Power gives control and with control comes power.

One of my favorite aspects of Dune is Paul’s character arc. His arc doesn’t end with this novel, instead continuing into Dune Messiah and Children of Dune, but he goes on quite the journey in this novel alone. He begins the novel as a fifteen year-old-boy who, after being told that his father will not live long on Arrakis, wants to do anything he can to stop it. By the end, he’s a leader among the Fremen and a force of change in the universe. A major aspect of this change is Paul’s destiny as the Kwisatz Haderach, and the fact that this prophesized figure wasn’t supposed to be born yet. Paul’s mother Jessica, a Bene Gesserit, was instructed to have a daughter, but chose to give birth to a son instead. This decision caused the Bene Gesserit’s “chosen one” to be born early and relatively outside of their control. Unlike most "chosen ones", Paul isn't in denial about being chosen, he knows he's the Kwisatz Haderach, he's never doubted it. He's just reluctant to take up the mantle. As if being the chosen one of the Bene Gesserit wasn’t enough, the Fremen also believe Paul is Lisan al-Gaib, who it is said will lead them to paradise. Unsurprisingly, fate is a central theme in the book, as the narrative style makes it clear that fate can’t be changed and the characters are powerless to change events, even if they have advanced knowledge of it. Dune is, in many ways, the story of Paul learning to stop rejecting his destiny and do, at least in some capacity, what he was destined to do. It’s also one of the best revenge stories of all time.

Not including Paul, there are a handful of important characters that I should mention. This series has more characters than I can count, but only a few are essential to the story of the first book. The first of which is Jessica, Paul’s mother. Her role at the beginning is confined simply by being his mother, and helping train him in the Bene Gesserit ways because she’s believed, or at least hoped, from the beginning that he was the Kwisatz Haderach. Once she and Paul escape into the desert, she takes on her own position within the Fremen that puts her at odds occasionally with her son. Paul wants to transform Arrakis, Jessica believes it needs to stay as is. Jessica is one of the biggest influences on Paul and in shaping the direction of the story. Baron Vladimir Harkonnen is the primary antagonist of this story. He’s the one who plots and executes the downfall of the Atreides, as part of bigger plans for the empire as a whole. While he isn’t featured prominently in the book as a whole, he’s responsible for the entire plot getting kicked off. It’s the Baron’s plans that lead to Paul and Jessica escaping into the desert and, in turn, Paul no longer resisting his destiny and leading the Fremen to victory over the tyranny they’ve been dealing with for centuries. He's also one of the most genuinely creepy and unsettling characters I've read in recent memory. There is nothing about him that isn't gross and disturbing. The planetologst Kynes, also known as Liet and Liet-Kynes, is a scientist who studies Arrakis and is secretly a Fremen. He wants to change Arrakis from a desert planet to a lush, green paradise, at nearly any cost. While Kynes may seem like a throwaway side character at first, his vision shapes Paul’s journey and the course of the novel. There are a number of other named characters that I liked, mostly among the Fremen, but the three mentioned above have the biggest impact on the plot.

Now, let’s discuss Herbert’s writing itself. Plot elements, character arcs and themes are important to any story, but the actual writing is just as significant to a book being good or bad. Herbert did an amazing job creating an entire universe in a book that’s less than 500 pages. Not every single thing was fully explained, but other books he released afterwards, and books released by his son, expand upon some of the unexplained aspects. Some aspects are given context later in the novel, when it makes more sense and less like what I call "exposition via dialogue". There are also appendices in Dune that fill in a little more detail. I also feel like “world-building” too easily turns into “explain every single detail” sometimes and if this happened in Dune, the story could never start. Knowing how the war against the thinking machines started and ended doesn’t really make Dune easier to understand.  Having knowledge of how the Spacing Guild started, or the Bene Gesserit or who discovered the spice doesn’t change this book’s story. There are also some terms that, while the reader might not get an exact explanation of what it means, you can fill in the blanks. Frank Herbert also managed to pack a lot of themes and motifs, some of which aren’t easy to quickly portray such as the impact of manipulating nature to suit your own ends, into this novel. The prose is spectacular and his vivid descriptions made me feel like I was on Arrakis in the desert or the hideouts of the Fremen. The sense of urgency and action in key scenes was prevalent and the tension in others was palpable. Another thing to point out is the use of foreshadowing. Paul begins the novel having prophetic dreams, which later come true, but it doesn’t just end with him. Little details and moments at the beginning of the book resurface or are referenced throughout and at the end. In fact, there’s a scene at the very beginning that foreshadows how at least one character dies by the end. Overall, very well-written and I can understand why this book is such an influence on science fiction as a whole.

While I enjoyed Dune, there are a few things about it that I didn’t like. Towards the middle, the story does drag a little bit. I feel that some of this is done to not rush straight to the ending while also giving some context to the Fremen society, which becomes important at the end, and in the sequels. I can understand the need for that, but there are some scenes that could be shortened, especially ones occurring between the duke’s death and Paul and Jessica joining the Fremen. Reading about them wandering the desert for several pages isn’t exactly exciting. Some sections of dialogue are also a bit clunky. The scenes and conversations do what they need to do, they further the plot along and relay the necessary information, but a few times I found myself thinking “no one talks like that”. The balance of “show vs. tell” when it comes to character motivations isn’t completely achieved here, and its obvious during a few scenes. Another, pettier, complaint that I have is that Dune does not have chapters, it has sections. There are three “books” within Dune, each containing one part of Paul’s journey, that range from 130 to 200 pages each, but instead of having chapters, one scene and another are separated by experts from in-universe historical texts that have been written after the conclusion of Dune. Some of the excerpts can be a little spoiler-y, but thankfully this was a reread for me, so my annoyance comes from the lack of chapters being more inconvenient than anything else.

Dune is a landmark novel in science fiction. It tells a very personal story inside of a tale with much bigger implications and stakes. It’s easy to see why so many books, films, television shows and games have made homage to it or borrowed certain aspects of it for their own stories. Unfortunately, given how much of a game-changer Dune was, it’s sometimes accused of copying material it inspired, which is a little annoying to me at least. Still, we wouldn’t have a lot of the sci-fi properties we do today without it. I can only think of one other modern writer who had close to the same impact on his genre as Herbert did on sci-fi, and that writer is, of course, J.R.R. Tolkien. I do need to give Herbert slightly more praise here though. Tolkien created a world; Herbert created a universe. Dune is an excellent novel, not a perfect one, but better than most. I’d recommend it to any science fiction fan that hasn’t read it, however few they may be. Most importantly, now that I’ve reread Dune and reviewed it, I can move on to Dune Messiah which I haven't read before, much to my father's chagrin.

Rating: 4.7 stars.

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