GIRL ONE (2021)

Girl One by Sara Flannery Murphy

What initially interested me about Girl One was a description that said it reflected elements of Orphan Black and Margaret Atwood's The Handmaiden. Well it does but that doesn't mean what you might think it means.

FIRST LINE: "April 24, 1972 My dearest Josephine: I've just taken a call from President Nixon, who asked me to pass on his fondest birthday regards to you."

The tale is told by Josephine Morrow (AKA Girl One) interspersed with letters, news reports, and magazine articles. It's set in, what has been referred to, as an alternative past. Part science fiction, part thriller, the story is uneven and doesn't really work in either genre. Rather than give up, I plodded through to the end. You'll find I am in the minority though as many reviewers loved this book. The writing is all right and there are some interesting and exciting scenes. Aspects of the book concern parthenogenesis (a method of self-reproduction in which the egg cells develop into offspring in the absence of a mate), which occurs in some animals.

Basically the story concerns Josie's mother disappearing and how a group begin traveling from place to place trying to find her. Of course, they are being followed by the bad guys who want to destroy them. It could make an exciting movie.

The book went on sale June 1, 2021.

DISCLAIMER: A copy of was provided to me by MCD /Net Galley for an honest review.

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THE WORD EXCHANGE (2014)

The Word Exchange by Alena Graedon
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I don't read too many science fiction books, but the premise of The Word Exchange was too tempting to pass up. While I was reading, news articles and stories constantly popped up in the media that reinforced the possibility of Alena Graedon's imagined future being much, much closer than one would like to admit. And although you can read a hardback, I was given an electronic copy, which made the experience rather eerie.

Called “a dystopian novel for the digital age”, the story takes place in the not too distant future when print in all its forms has pretty much disappeared. People rely on an advanced type of cell phone called a Meme for all types of communication, but these devices are so closely attuned to their owners that they can sense needs and can provide an answer, a word, hail a cab, or order take-out before being instructed to do so.

Anana Johnson's father has disappeared leaving her one clue: ALICE. Doug Johnson has been close to publishing the very last print edition of the North American Dictionary of the English Language (NADEL). The search for her father intensifies as a pandemic called “word flu” takes over the city and people lose not only words but ultimately the ability to speak.

The book is divided into 26 dictionary entries and the tale is told by two characters as journal entries. In fact, everything about The Word Exchange is clever and inventive. Unfortunately I didn't feel any real connection to the characters nor was there any real sense of dread communicated even when situations might have demanded it. The work seems more of an intellectual puzzle.

Although I finished the book, it took me much longer than it should have. It just seemed to drag on. I found it tedious to check foot notes on my Kindle.

Title: The Word Exchange
Author: Alena Graedon
Genre: Speculative, Dystopian Fiction
Publisher: Doubleday
ISBN: 0385537654
No. of Pages: 384 pages
Copyright: April 8, 2014
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Source: NetGalley

BOTTOM LINE: I am sure there is an audience for this book, but it's not me.

DISCLOSURE: Invited by NetGalley to request and receive this title for an honest review.

Alena Graedon was born in Durham, NC, and is a graduate of Carolina Friends School, Brown University, and Columbia University’s MFA program. She was Manager of Membership and Literary Awards at the PEN American Center before leaving to finish The Word Exchange, her first novel, with the help of fellowships at several artist colonies. Her writing has been translated into nine languages. She lives in Brooklyn. (Source: Random House)

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HUNGER GAMES (Movie)

I stopped to drop off some donations at the library and was able to score the DVD of  The Hunger Games. I watched it instead of the debate between Biden and Ryan. I don't know about the debate, but the movie was excellent. It seemed to be true to the book, as I remember it, and didn't linger over the deaths, which had concerned me.

Katniss's humanity trumped the banality of evil.

Now I need to read the rest of the trilogy! Jennifer Lawrence, Donald Sutherland, Stanley Tucci, and especially Lenny Kravitz were perfect. What a relief!

COLLAPSE: America Will Fall (2012)

Collapse by Richard Stephenson

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I thought it might be interesting to read something a little different this summer so when I was offered a free Kindle download of a first novel called COLLAPSE, I was in.

Ordinarily I don't read 'science fiction'. Once in a great while I will read something that is considered 'speculative fiction', but this is definitely 'science fiction'.

First time author Richard Stephenson is right on target exploiting our fears of natural disasters, ruthless politicians, and out-of-control foreign countries in 2027. Much of his story sounds plausible today.

Coming from a military and law enforcement career, the author delivers a lot of interesting detail about those fields. The heroes are men: a crippled, burned out Chief of Police, an ex-Navy Seal now an escaped convict, and the world's richest man. Ultimately it will be up to them to save their beloved country from collapse.

Since the book brings together three different stories, the author feels compelled to restate the basics where each strand takes up again in a way that hits the reader over the head.

A good editor could pull this book together for a wider audience. Right now, there is too much of the 'deus ex machina' for my taste.  It would make a great adventure movie with opportunities for wonderful special effects.

The only sex scene occurs near the end of the book and is a bit detailed and out of place for the genre.

BOTTOM LINE: If you like Tom Clancy and manly thrillers, you might find this first book in a series, enjoyable. If you like more literary reads, the lack of editing will drive you crazy.

NOTE: The dystopian thriller COLLAPSE is free this weekend (August 4 & 5) at Amazon!

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Hunger Games News 9/12/11

Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss

It's a wrap for Hunger Games, which just finished filming in the Asheville, North Carolina area. Now comes hours of editing to create the final product for all the fans waiting with baited breath to see if the vision of the movie matches their experience of the book closely enough. Already it has been said that there ARE changes but a reporter who has been tweeting from the set said that folks will probably like them. We shall see.

Hunger Games News

"In a move bound to delight even the most wary of Hunger Games fans, Lionsgate announced today that Stanley Tucci (The Devil Wears Prada) will play smooth-talking interviewer Caesar Flickerman in the film adaptation."

I am Number Four (2010)

I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Another teen series in the Twilight vein. With all the hype for the movie, I wanted to see what the fuss was about. The premise is enticing. Nine children from the planet of Lorien have been hidden on earth after the destruction of their planet by the Mogadorians. The Mogadorians, who trashed their own planet's resources and destroyed Lorien, are now looking to kill the nine children and conquer Earth.

There are a couple of caveats. The nine, who as they age develop 'legacy' powers, can only be killed in order. Thus, the title I AM NUMBER FOUR.

A review on Amazon pointed out that the characters were flat and there wasn't much in the way of descriptive writing. I agree. But if you have a reader who loves science fiction, this isn't a bad choice. It's just not as sophisticated as a lot of Young Adult literature that's around.



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The Hunger Games (2008)

I finished The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, a few miles south of St. Louis, Michigan on the way to our Holt Family Christmas in Mt. Pleasant on December 26th. I don't like to read in the car but I had to know how this first part of the trilogy would end.

Science Fiction is not generally a genre to which I am attracted; but if the category is instead Speculative Fiction, "that extrapolates from some phenomenon or theory and postulates 'What if?' ", I am often intrigued. 

Although this is considered a Young Adult novel, the ideas are compelling ranging  from the huge gap between the ruling class living in obscene wealth while the rest of the population is near starvation to the emphasis on cruel mass entertainment. At some point Katniss remarks that everyone has broken some law or other to survive. You'd have to be blind to not see parallels in our own world.

Looking for Katniss

Book One

Book Two

Book Three

I just brought Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games, the first book in the trilogy, home from the library last week thinking it was about time to see what all the fuss is about. Apparently the large group of readers has now moved past books two and three and are now waiting to see who will be cast as Katniss in the movie. I have a lot of catching up to do!

Early Word (the Librarian / Publisher Connection) has posted this link about who might be in the movie. Looking for Katniss

Baen Free Library - Science Fiction

"Baen Books is now making available — for free — a number of its science fiction titles in electronic format. We're calling it the Baen Free Library. Anyone who wishes can read these titles online — no conditions, no strings attached. (Later we may ask for an extremely simple, name & email only, registration. ) Or, if you prefer, you can download the books in one of several formats. Again, with no conditions or strings attached. (URLs to sites which offer the readers for these format are also listed.)"

These are not unpublished manuscripts and Eric Flint has been doing this since 2000. There are titles by Andre Norton, Lois McMaster Bujold, Larry Nivin, and Fred Saberhagen to mention some of the names I recognize.