Micro Review: Sixty Days and Counting by Kim Stanley Robinson

Book Three of the Science in the Capital Series

Publisher's Synopsis

By the time Phil Chase is elected president, the world’s climate is far on its way to irreversible change. Food scarcity, housing shortages, diminishing medical care, and vanishing species are just some of the consequences. The erratic winter the Washington, D.C., area is experiencing is another grim reminder of a global weather pattern gone haywire: bone-chilling cold one day, balmy weather the next.

But the president-elect remains optimistic and doesn’t intend to give up without a fight. A maverick in every sense of the word, Chase starts organizing the most ambitious plan to save the world from disaster since FDR–and assembling a team of top scientists and advisers to implement it.

For Charlie Quibler, this means reentering the political fray full-time and giving up full-time care of his young son, Joe. For Frank Vanderwal, hampered by a brain injury, it means trying to protect the woman he loves from a vengeful ex and a rogue “black ops” agency not even the president can control–a task for which neither Frank’s work at the National Science Foundation nor his study of Tibetan Buddhism can prepare him.

In a world where time is running out as quickly as its natural resources, where surveillance is almost total and freedom nearly nonexistent, the forecast for the Chase administration looks darker each passing day. For as the last–and most terrible–of natural disasters looms on the horizon, it will take a miracle to stop the clock . . . the kind of miracle that only dedicated men and women can bring about.

MY REVIEW

The Science in the Capital series marks Kim Stanley Robinson's best work so far (for an author with the Mars Trilogy and The Years of Rice and Salt under his belt - that is saying something).

Sixty Days and Counting, picks up after the election of Phil Chase as President of the United States of America. All of the major characters from the previous books return - the Quibblers, Frank Vanderwahl etc.

The novel has the same engaging mix of smart science and excellent characterizations that has been the hallmark of the series. The portrayal of Frank Vanderwahl in particular, sticks with the reader and the conclusion of his story arc is very satisfying.

In contrast with the previous two books, which focused on the dramatic effects of abrupt climate change, Sixty Days and Counting has a much more optimistic tone, as the new President and his administration start to tackle abrupt climate change head on. Don't get me wrong, the hugely damaging impact of abrupt climate change is still felt heavily in this novel, but in Sixty Days and Counting if feels like the human race may actually have a chance of rising to the challenge.

Sixty Days and Counting also has a much better pace than the other two novels in the series and feels more focused.

All in all, Sixty Days and Counting is a worthy conclusion to this series, which should be required reading for every climate change denier on the planet (particularly conservative politicians in the Western world).

9 out of 10.

Mirco Review: The Children of Hurin by JRR Tolkien

Here goes for one of the review formats that I want to trial on the blog. The micro review - a review of a book in approximately 150 words. Hopefully the format will force me to convey my ideas in as concise a way as possible, in the hope that they are easier to understand. So...

The Children of Hurin by JRR Tolkien
Edited by Christopher Tolkien, Illustrations by Alan Lee.

The synopsis from the Publisher, Harper Collins' website:

Painstakingly restored from Tolkien’s manuscripts and presented for the first time as a fully continuous and standalone story, the epic tale of The Children of Hurin will reunite fans of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings with Elves and Men, dragons and Dwarves, eagles and Orcs, and the rich landscape and characters unique to Tolkien.

Turin is born into a Middle-earth crushed by the recent victory of the Dark Lord, Morgoth, and his monstrous army. The greatest warriors among Elves and Men have perished and Turin’s father, Hurin, has been captured. For his defiance, Hurin’s entire family is cursed by Morgoth to be brought down into darkness and despair.

But, like his father, Turin refuses to be cowed by Morgoth and as he grows so does the legend of the deadly hero. In a land overrun with marauding Orcs, Turin gathers to him a band of outlaws and gradually they begin to turn the tide in the war for supremacy of Middle-earth.

Then Morgoth unleashes his greatest weapon: Glaurung, Mightiest of Dragons, and he proves an unstoppable foe. As the Dragon carves a fiery swathe through Middle-earth there remains only one man who can slay him, but to do that he will first have to confront his destiny.

The Children of Hurin was one of three Great Tales begun by J.R.R. Tolkien as he recovered from the horrors of the First World War, and he worked on refining and improving it for the rest of his life. This tragic tale of adventure, heroism, suffering and love stands as one of the finest expressions of his skills as a storyteller and the narrative is as powerful as anything contained within The Lord of the Rings. Painstakingly reconstructed by Christopher Tolkien from his father’s manuscripts, it can finally be enjoyed as the author originally intended.

MY REVIEW

It is fantastic to be back in Middle Earth and Tolkien's work can still weave a spell over the reader. The Children of Hurin has all that readers have come to expect from a work by Tolkien – great battles and landscapes, epic figures and a stirring (if in this case, rather tragic) story.

However, it also suffers from some of the negatives that can be associated with Tolkien’s work. Such as poorly drawn characters that are little more than sketches. The Children of Hurin also suffers from a wildly varying pace and tone.

Tolkien is Tolkien however. He is the father of the epic fantasy genre (If not its master anymore? I think the likes of Martin, Erikson and Bakker could challenge for that title). I would recommend The Children of Hurin to not only those who enjoyed any of Tolkien’s previous work but fans of the epic fantasy sub-genre of speculative fiction in general.

7 out of 10.

...159 words. Not bad. Any feedback on this review format (or the review itself) would be most welcome - feel free to leave some in the comments to this post.