A Book Review: Blindness by José Saramago

  An old woman with a walking stick stepped into a morning train and found herself in a carriage jam-packed with people. The old lady could not find a seat, and no one wanted to vacate a seat for her so she stood near the door. The train started moving, and she swayed from side to side like an old tree struggling against a storm. I saw her from my comfortable seat at the upper compartment and a thought came to me: "what would I do if this is my mother?"

"Excuse me, would you like to sit here?" I called out to the old woman and my voice boomed in the carriage. Meanwhile, I stood up and took a step towards her, my hand gestured to the seat that I vacated just a second ago. She smiled and told me there was no need, because she was getting off at the next stop and it was too much hassle for her to climb the stairs.

I turned my head and discovered an astonishing sight; in those passing seconds, an young woman with a pretty face took my seat. Did the young woman hear the conversations between the old woman and I? Did the young woman know I was vacating the seat for the old lady? While I stood and contemplated those questions, I must have had an incredulous and bewildered look on my face, because the young woman looked at me and her beautiful visage suddenly flushed with embarrassment.

"I am so sorry", the young woman said to me and she began to stand up, her tone was sincere and her eyes were downcast with guilt. I felt bad for her. I sighed and told the young woman it was ok and she should just continue to sit there. As I walked away, I caught a glimpse of the young woman squirming in the seat despite my assurance to her that it was fine.

Maybe I over-think everything, but I came away from my train experience with a realization - our society is a complicated web of relationships and its ingredients, such as accountability, empathy, fear, bravery, cowardice, sharing, etc., depend on our ability to see! But more than often, even when our eyes are working properly, we will choose to be blinded to the things that we do not wish to see, so how is that different from being physically blind? Perhaps this is why José Saramago, the winner for Nobel Prize in Literature, wrote Blindness to remind his readers, that we stop cherishing our own souls when we stop cherishing the souls of our fellows, and everyday the human dignity is shredded by those who replace the many truths in this world with an omnipresent lie.

Blindness tells a harrowing story, about a city struck by an epidemic and its people collectively becoming blind. This book is not for the faint-hearted. The story is raw and brutal, narrated in an unusual style where the author wrote VERY long sentences separated mostly by commas, with no quotation mark to indicate the dialogues. It suffices to say, Blindness is no easy reading. Under José Saramago's lyrical prose, the book tackles the worst and the best of human nature, where it presents, mostly, a pessimistic outlook for our species. Yet, in its beautifully rendered characters, we also find traces of what made humanity, humane. This book will give you brain explosions but this is exactly the reason to read it. I highly recommend this book.

A Movie Review: Wonder Woman (3D)

75 years after her creation, Wonder Woman finally receives her own movie. While the Amazonian princess is unleashing her charms and super powers at the box office, the critics are joining hands and praising her first cinematic outing with a thunderous applause. 

Finally, the DC cinematic universe is getting it right.

Indeed, DC has had a turbulent ride in its cinematic endeavors. It is impossible to talk about the DC cinematic universe without mentioning, Zack Snyder’s convoluted superhero flick, Batman Vs Superman. Late in 2016, Warner tried to salvage Batman Vs Superman with an extended version of the film. The extended cut, running an additional 30 minutes, improved Batman Vs Superman. Alas, the extended cut arrived too late to the rescue! It could not change people's initial impression of the film: Batman Vs Superman was average, and it just didn't live up to the hype. Meanwhile, I thought the best thing about Batman Vs Superman was neither Batman nor Superman, but the character of Wonder Woman. When the credit for Batman Vs Superman started rolling on the screen, I wanted to know more about Wonder Woman's story.

“Who is Diana Prince? She embodied the best qualities of both Superman and Batman, yet she is also graceful and mysterious”.

A year later, Warner released a Wonder Woman standalone movie. This is the 4^th installment in the DC cinematic universe. How was it? This film exceeded my expectations! Not only is Wonder Woman one of the better superhero movies, but it also re-energies the superhero genre. It suffices to say, Wonder Woman is a really good movie and you should go see it on the big screen.

Set in World War I, this movie unveils the mysterious origin of Wonder Woman (AKA Diana Prince). The journey of our beloved heroine opened on the mythical island of Themyscira. This is where Diana was born and raised by her mother, Queen Hippolyta of the Amazons. What is the history? Thousands of years ago, a jealous Ares, the god of war, wished to destroy mankind. In a battle of the gods, Zeus mortally wounded Ares. The thunder god then charged Diana's people, the Amazons, with the sacred duty to safeguarding the world.

Themyscira, and the Amazonian way of living, were all Diana ever knew. Until one day, an American spy crashed landed his warplane near the island and told her about the conflicts of the outside world. Diana decided to leave her home and fight in a war to end all wars, thus began the legend of Wonder Woman.

From here, this movie presented the audience with two and half hours of fun, excitements, and a compelling story. Gal Gadot's performance as Wonder Woman is stunning. She is the perfect fit to the role. Just like Hugh Jackman is Wolverine, Gal Gadot is Wonder Woman. I like the way this movie portrayed Wonder Woman, she is both confident and capable.

Remember this movie is set in World War I. It was a time when the society viewed the status of women lower to men's. Then you have Wonder Woman, who just left her island to fight in World War I. Not only had she never heard of misogyny and sexism, but her superpowers also made her stronger than every man. This created a very interesting tension between her and the foreign culture she found herself in. Yet, in all of this, Wonder Woman consistently showed her quality, not by undermining those around her, but by asserting: “these are my skills, and this is what I can do”.

I admire Wonder Woman's natural confidence. For her, gender equality is not a movement, ideology, or entitlement. Instead, it was something as natural as the sun and the moon; and I really, really like that. Five minutes into the movie, I found myself enjoying the film and spellbound to the story of this inspiring character.

Chris Pine portrayed Steve Trevor, and he brought an equally as brilliant performance to the movie. He had a very good chemistry with Gal Gadot, and his character, noble and courageous, reminded me of Captain America. Over the movie's course, they developed a romantic relationship, but it felt very natural and not forced. In my opinion, Steve Trevor is a “man's man” in this movie, a man with a big heart. What do I mean? In the story, he never undermined Wonder Woman. Steve Trevor was a very confident character. He knew what Wonder Woman was capable of, so he supported her and helped her shine. Together, Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor made a really good team.

The DC cinematic universe, influenced by Zack Snyder, is famous for its desaturated tones. But Wonder Woman, directed by Patty Jenkins, is perhaps the most colorful DC film up to date. The movie opened its first act on the Amazon island and it was an eye-catcher. The cinematography in the first act is vibrant and colorful. This is a welcomed change from its predecessors. After Wonder Woman arrived in London, however, the tone and the atmosphere did take on a dreary, smoky look, emulating the ambiance of World War I. This also means, Wonder Woman is a hybrid between a war drama and a superhero flick. But where Wonder Woman stands apart from the legions of comic book superheroes, is her high emotional intelligence, and it made her story inspiring. I like this movie's message - love is what you need to get through a war.

There are three sets of major action scenes in this movie. None of these actions scenes are gory or graphic. This is a pleasant surprise considering the movie is about war. The first major battle scene was really good. The second one, however, was the best part of this movie. It was well choreographed and emotional. I won't spoil it for you, I think you will see what I mean when you get there. The final major battle scene, on the other hand, had some overly done CGI effects and it reminded me of the messy ending in Batman Vs Superman. In fact, I would say 75% of this movie was marvelous, but the film lost some of its steams in the last 25% of it. This is mainly due to the poorly developed villains. The bad guys in this movie were interesting, but I thought the film failed to capitalize on their potentials. This movie made me feel, the villains were there because they needed some bad guys for Wonder Woman to fight against. Meanwhile, I would have liked to see more story expositions for the villains, and what motivated them.

Yet, these minor flaws could not tarnish the radiance of Wonder Woman. This movie single-handedly saved the DC cinematic universe universe from its original negative trajectory. Meanwhile, it also rekindled moviegoers' enthusiasm in the superhero genre, which has been showing signs of fatigue in the recent years. If you are going to see only one superhero movie this year, then pick Wonder Woman. Watch her story, and be inspired by its wonder.

P.S.

I watched Wonder Woman in 3D. The three dollar question: Is it worth watching it in 3D? Here is my take. There have been some excellent 3D releases in the past few months. For example, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them boasts some impressive 3D effects. The 3D effects in Wonder Woman, however, was average at the best. A few money shots in this movie were reminders that I was watching a 3D film. But on the whole, this 3D conversion just didn't have enough “pop out” scenes to make my jaw drop. Having said this, fans of the 3D format may want to check out this movie in its 3D glory nevertheless.

A Book Review: Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames

What if mercenaries are like rock stars in the fantasy world?

Yep, Sword and Sorcery, and... rock and roll. This idea lit up in the head of one budding author, Nicholas Eames, and he weaved a 492 page epic fantasy story out of it. If you want to know how this idea plays out, then check out his novel, Kings of the Wyld.

By Crom, I swear this is the best fantasy novel I've read in 2017!

I suppose, you would like some more descriptions for the book? All right, then can someone cast the spotlight to the left, shine it on that awesome book cover. Now, can you see those five old men standing there? They are a mercenary band called Saga. These old timers may have retired from mercenary works, but back in the days, Saga was the cream of the crop, the deadliest, meanest, most respected mercenary crew this side of Heartwyld.

In those days, a boogeyman had a nightmare when he dreamed of Saga.

Twenty years ago Saga disbanded and hung their swords on the wall, the crew went on their separate ways. But the time has come for these old boys to reunite for one last gig. One of the band member has his daughter missing, so they are reuniting to rescue her. Two decades in retirement may have rusted Saga's monster slaying skills, but with some practices, the rusty bits will come off and their swords will cut again.

And so into the monster-ridden Heartwyld walked five men. At their head is Saga's frontman, Gabriel, AKA Golden Gabe. His face, once handsome but now wrinkled, is a testimony for the passage of time. But the legendary sword, Vehllicor, is still strapped to his back. Fire burns in Gabriel's eyes, his determination to save his daughter Rose, may yet melt away the timidness wrought by the years in retirement, and returning Golden Gabe to the world. Next to Gabriel strolls a bear of a man - Clay Cooper, AKA Slowhand. A formidable shield, Blackheart, rests on Clay's back. A family man, Clay's adventure days are over. But his friend needs help, so despite his aching knees, Clay will go to the end of the earth with Gabriel to find Rose.

Trailing behind Gabriel and Clay walked a peculiar duo; a king and a wizard. For the king, a pair of priceless daggers, Grace and Roxy, embraced his enormous waist. The king's name is Mattrick, AKA Skulldrummer. He was a rogue before he is a king. Matty is hideously out of shape but he can still wield those daggers like a whirlwind. Treading shoulder to shoulder with Matty, is a wizard known as Arcadius Moog. Twenty years ago Moog's hair was already white. The sand of time has since introduced a bald patch to Moog's wizardly top. But you gotta watch out for Moog, not only does he carry a magical bag that will make Santa Claus envious, but he is also the only wizard over the age of 8 who still believes in Owlbears, which makes Moog a dangerous man indeed.

At the band's rear treads a tall and silent warrior. His name is Ganelon. A long, double ended axe sits on his shoulders. When it comes to the art of fighting and monster slaying, Ganelon is the least out-of-practice member in the band (why? Read the book and you will see). This also means, messing with Ganelon is a terrible idea, because he can easily detach your head from the neck like plucking a watermelon on a farm.

So there you have it, the descriptions for Saga, they are Kings of the Wyld. These guys may be old and rusty, but they are preparing to kick some serious monster butts in this reunion tour. Glory never gets old. If you are reading this book, then you better savor every single word in this story. This is Saga's best, and the last gig, and there will be no encore.

Indeed, despite being the first book in the series, Kings of the Wyld is a stand alone novel. Yes, you read that right. It is a stand alone novel. This fantasy novel nicely ties up every thread at its end, and it doesn't leave the story hanging until the sequel. The author said, the two sequels following Kings of the Wyld will follow two new bands. This also means, you can read this book now without having to wait for the series to “complete”. But this book is so damn good that if you read this book, then I can guarantee you will want more of it.

It is difficult to pin point, what is it that made Kings of the Wyld so good. I suppose its charm comes from a combination of colorful characters, humor, worldbuilding, and the themes. While my above descriptions (for the characters) may not be well written, but it should be easy to see, the characters in this book are a mirror to the rock musicians in our world. In the world of Heartwyld, the mercenaries are treated with prestige, holding the kind of fame and fortunate as rock stars in our culture. The difference, rock bands play music in touring concerts, but these mercenary bands in Heartwyld do “gigs and tours” in the wilderness, slaying monsters and accumulate glory. The humor in this book uses a tongue in cheek mirroring of the rock bands, and it works really well with its themes, about nostalgia and growing old.

Yet, Kings of the Wyld is not a story about 5 aging comedians going to their last adventure. The world of Heartwyld is dark and grim like Joe Abercrombie's First Law universe. Meanwhile, the characters in this book were mercenaries, they have witnessed enough violence and horrors to haunt them for 10 life times. Underneath the jokes and the comedic reliefs, not only are our five heroes fighting their inner battles, but they are also rekindling the old friendships. The author has a deep understanding of the human nature, this book is as much about male bonding/friendship, as it is about the love of a parent for the child – there is nothing a parent wouldn't do for the child. Kings of the Wyld is the kind of book that will make you laugh, then holding your breathe over actions and fights, and suddenly moist your eyes with heart breaking moments. I did not want to wave goodbye to these five characters when the book reached its end. Fortunately, I own the book so I can read it again. In fact, I am going to re-read this book very soon. Furthermore, in the fantasy genre where most books are about coming of age stories, Kings of the Wyld offers a refreshing take for the genre, telling a story from the perspectives of old people instead.

The worldbuilding in this book is fun, vast, and imaginative. Nicholas Eames knows his fantasy tropes well and he was having fun with it. Almost every known fantasy bestiary made its way into the book, and Nicholas also added a few new creations of his own. Meanwhile, the world of Heartwyld, as I mentioned before, radiates the kind of grimness and darkness that can only be rivaled by the likes of Joe Abercrombie. I think Kings of the Wyld lands on a good balance between epic fantasy and its grimdark cousin. This story may not be set in a world of sunshine and rainbow, but it sure has heart.

Starting from page one, Kings of the Wyld hooked me right into its story. This book is going straight into my list of favorite books. It is certainly one of the best books I've read this year. This is an impressive debut and I eagerly anticipate Nicholas' next book. I might just re-read Kings of the Wyld before moving on to the next book on my TBR. Yep, that's right. I am going to re-open this book to chapter 1 – A Ghost on the Road, and go through the adventure all over again. Meanwhile, if you are a fan of fantasy literature, then do yourself a favor and get this book NOW.

Postscript:

On his website, the author mentioned every chapter in this book is inspired by iconic rock songs, from Neil Young, ACDC, The Rolling Stones, Led Zepplin, Bob Dylon etc... I think the connections between the chapters and the songs are very interesting. Check out the author's website here.

A Book Review: Lost Gods by Brom

Six years ago, a book called The Child Thief introduced me to the weird and the wonderful world of Brom. Who is Brom? An established artist, Brom mostly works with materials associated with Gothic fantasy. I am not arty, but Brom's arts evoke in me a sense of wonder, mystery, and terror, and I like it. A simple look at his painting is enough to make you feel curious about the story behind it.

Indeed, there are stories behind Brom's paintings, and who is better to tell you these stories than the artist himself? So it is no surprise, Brom is also a talented storyteller. His debut, The Child Thief, was very well received by the readers. Since then, Brom has established a good publishing record.

So what sort of books does Brom write? He writes fantasy, but it is difficult to identify Brom's books with a known sub-genre in fantasy. Brom's stories are fairytale-like, but it is also dark, twisted, and violent, and he serves it on a plate of spaghetti western. Brom's latest book, titled, Lost Gods, is perhaps his best novel yet.

Synopsis:

Chet Moran, age 24, has done stupid things in the past and he paid for it by getting himself locked up in the jail. Now that his sentence is due, Chet wants nothing more than a second chance at a new life, with his pregnant wife, Trish.

On a night highway, lit by a pale moon, Chet and Trish drove a beat up car to South Carolina and starting a new chapter in their life. Their destination, the home of Chet's estranged grandmother, Lamia, whom Chet believed would offer them a safe haven until the little family can stand on their own feet again. When the couple reached the journey's end, they found themselves greeted by an eerie island, an island whose memory is looming with legends of witchcraft and ancient evils. However, if the place gave the couple any goose bump, it was quickly dispelled by Lamia's warmth and radiant smile.

“Lamia is still the kind grandmother from my childhood”, thought Chet.

So the couple settled down in Lamia's old house, and they were bathing in the joys of Trish's coming baby. The future is finally looking bright for Chet and Trish.

Or is it?

My thoughts on this book:

Over the years I realized, if you are longing for a dark and twisted story, then you can trust Brom to quench that thirst. Lost Gods is set in the purgatory, but this is not the purgatory from Catholicism. No, Brom's purgatory is a fascinating place where the gods and the demons fight to gain the souls of the dead. Here Brom teases a very interesting idea – what happened to those gods who no longer have any believers? (Hence the books' title, Lost Gods).

Ok, this idea is not new; in American Gods and Discworld novels, Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett both based their stories on this idea: a god's (or a religion's) power is only as strong as the number of its believers. The world, then, is a play field where the gods (religions) compete each other for believers in order to ensure their continuous survivals. While this idea is common sense, but when a master storyteller wraps it in narratives, then it suddenly opens a gateway, inviting its reader to review the nature of belief from a very different perspective.

In Lost Gods, Chet Moran is the main protagonist. I like Chet's character. In this book, Chet is just a normal man who is fighting for a chance to make it up to his family. This is a story about his redemption. Chet may lack the martial prowess when compared to fantasy heroes such as Roland Deschain or Harry Dresden, but he makes it all up with a lot of heart, and I rooted for his character straight away. Chet is a very human hero, he has a stout heart but little prowess. This is why, when Chet steps into dangers you will hold your breath for him, but when he succeeds you will also cheer for him. This also means, Lost Gods builds tensions, it immerses a reader under a sense of real danger, and its conclusion, although bitter sweet, is very rewarding.

Brom always illustrates his own books. While there are only 6 illustrations in Lost Gods, but they are excellent. Not only do these illustrations help us envision Brom's imaginative and wonderful characters, but they also reflect the attractive qualities of Brom's arts; the mystery, the wonder, and the terror. Below are a few sample illustrations from this book.

Lost Gods is a fine tale. This is probably Brom's best book up to date. This book is Gothic, horror, fantasy, western, and fairy tale rolled into one. Once again, Brom demonstrated, he is as a talented author as he is a brilliant artist. I cannot wait to read what strange and wonderful tale he has in store for us at the next time.

P.S.

I happen to be in possession of a spare copy for this book. Therefore, I am going to do a give-away competition on my blog.

The rule:

Simply comment below and share with us, what is your favorite dark (or grimdark?) fantasy book and why. I will enter your name into a draw. In 2 months time, I will announce the winner of the draw, and I will mail the book to you free of charge. But please note, this competition is ONLY for people living in Sydney, Australia (because at this stage, I am not mailing the books internationally).

In the future, I may be doing more, occasional give-away competitions on my blog, and I may also expand the competition to my international readers. So stay tuned to my blog channel and I hope you enjoy reading my reviews as much as I enjoy writing and sharing them. Until the next time, happy reading!

A Book Review: Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

Why does the thunder rumble in the sky? Where did poetry come from? What causes the tremors in the earth?

Once upon a time, an ancient people had the answers to these mysteries. These people dwelt in Northern Europe, where the light of its summer days were as long as the darkness of its winter nights. They told colorful stories about gods and monsters in a cyclic cosmos, a cosmos that began with a creation and would one day end in Ragnarok, and then resumes with a creation again. They believed this cycle is never ending, just like the sun and the moon, the summer and the winter, and the fire and the ice. To these people, the distant heaven and the dreaded hell were meaningless to them. Instead, they believed the sacred revealed itself in all living things, here and now, because the world is full of wonders as it is full of terrors. These tales are very old.

Fortunately, these ancient stories are not completely lost in the passage of time. Today, these stories are known as Norse mythology, and it has inspired a generation of fantasy literature. Indeed, Norse mythology is the tale of all tales, it is the DNA in iconic works in the genre, such as The Lord of The Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter, Dungeons & Dragons, and A Song of Ice and Fire. Yet, due to its age, and the style of narrations, modern readers may find Norse mythology a bit dry. Just pick up one of the Eddas and you will see what I mean.

When Neil Gaiman announced, he was going to fashion Norse Mythology into a book with a novelistic arc, the news excited many readers (including me). We know Neil Gaiman can spin ripping yarns, so what can we expect from the author of American Gods and Stardust, should he directs his talents to forging a novel about Norse mythology?

The answer arrived a few months later. Norse Mythology arrived at my doorstep with thunder and lightning. And behold, Thor's hammer dominated the book's front cover. Its look was majestic! But what about its content?

Simply putting it, I really like this book!

On the other hand, to those who are expecting an epic fantasy novel, you will be disappointed. Norse Mythology is a “retelling” of the Norse myths. When I read this book, it didn't feel like a novel. This book is similar to Kevin Crossley Holland's Norse Mythology. It consists of multiple stories about the adventures of the Norse gods, starting from the creation and ending at the Ragnarok. While there is an overarching theme that connects the stories, but its structure is far from being an epic fantasy book. Instead, Neil Gaiman retold these ancient tales using words that are easy to understand. Meanwhile, many Norse gods appeared in the stories; Odin, Thor, Loki, Tyr, Freya, etc, who, in today's world, still have the days of the week devoted to their names. Colorful and vibrant, these characters are very human, but they are also deeply flawed. In my opinion, the most interesting character is Loki. He is mischievous. In some stories Loki was the villain, yet in others he appeared as an anti-hero. I also noticed, the stories at the beginning of the book were humorous and lighthearted, but the book increased in its shade of darkness as the gods gradually moved towards the Ragnarok.

When viewed holistically, these Norse myths are conveying the theme of cycle – from birth to life to death and rebirth – like the cyclic phenomena we often observe in the nature. I found this theme particularly interesting. Why? I have a hypothesis. I think every culture and its mythology (metaphysical belief) is shaped by the natural environment it inhabited. Let me explain.

Say, for example, in the Bible, the god of Judeo-Christianity is angry at the humankind. The Bible's overarching theme is the reconciliation between the god of Abraham and his people, via the offering of sacrifices. Now, let's look at the geographical climate for the birthplace of Judeo-Christian mythology. This metaphysical belief originated in the deserts of the ancient near east, where resources were scarce and the climate (such as rainfall and drought) could heavily impact people's livelihood. So it stands to reason, in the ancient near east, due to the harsh living conditions, people would think they were punished by their god because they committed some offense. Then in the Bible, they established a system of ritualistic sacrifices to asking their god's forgiveness, not only in this world, but also hoping for the arrival of a better world through the apocalypse.

On the other hand, in the case of Norse mythology, the ancient Nordic people inhabited in Northern Europe, where the days are extremely long in summer but very short in winter. The climate in the Nordic land is polarized from one season to the next. Inevitably, this also means, the amount of available resources fluctuate, cyclically, between the different seasons in a year. I speculate, from this observation, these people extrapolated a metaphysical interpretation about the cyclic cosmos. They came to believe that sacredness is revealed by the wonders and the terrors in the world, here and now, while the concept of a distant heaven or hell were of no concern to them. This is why, when Christianity first arrived in Northern Europe, the Nordic people felt no connection with Christianity altogether.

There you have it, that is my speculations, on how climate and geography can shape a culture's view about life, its metaphysical beliefs and its associated mythology, and often leading to significant cultural differences.

Ok, enough with my rant. Back to the book. Let me just say Norse myths is my favorite mythology, and Neil Gaiman did a wonderful job at retelling it. In Norse Mythology, Mr. Gaiman made these stories fun and easy to read. It serves as an excellent introduction to the Norse myths, and I highly recommend this book to fans of the fantasy genre.

A Book Review: Death's End by Cixin Liu (Remembrance of Earth's Past #3)

Imagine a life in a bubbling lake of hot tar. Is that even possible? Surely, life cannot exist at such a place, right? Yet, scientists discovered, at Pitch Lake, the world's largest naturally occurring asphalt lake, up to 10 million microbes live in every gram of this black, sticky goo. But Pitch Lake is just one of the many unthinkable places where scientists have discovered life. On the other hand, I think we can say, life finds a way to adapt and survive in the harshest circumstances - Life IS survival, those who didn't aren't alive anymore.

There are, however, many says to survive, and not all life forms are the same, so what is the best way for the intelligent life to meet the adaptive challenges? In Death's End, the conclusion to the phenomenal sci-fi epic, Remembrance of Earth's Past, author Cixin Liu explored this question, not only for the humankind, but for the survival of the entire universe. This book's scope is breathtaking, I have never read a book as vast as Death's End. This novel brings the trilogy to a satisfying (and mind-bending) conclusion. Meanwhile, I think this trilogy is a magnum opus in the science fiction genre.

Like its 2 predecessors (The ThreeBody Problem and The Dark Forest), the plot in Death's End revolves around a mystery. I racked my brain and I am still unable to write a spoiler-free synopsis for this book, so my review will just have to go without it. I think it will suffice to say, we meet a new protagonist in Death's End. Her name is Cheng Xin, an aerospace engineer. From here, we follow Cheng Xin to the end of the universe.

Author Ken Liu once again took the helm for translating the book from Chinese into English. I have not read Death's End in Chinese, but I thought the English translation is seamless, it is very smooth and well written. The book made occasional references to Chinese cultural items unfamiliar to the western readers, but Ken Liu included useful footnotes to helping English readers understanding its significance.

This trilogy is “hard” sci-fi. The first book, The Three Body Problem, was about theoretical physics. The second installment, The Dark Forest, was about evolution and sociology. In Death's End, it talks about both theoretical physics and evolution. From evolution to the string theory, Death's End covered a broad range of theories in science! Some of the sciences mentioned in this book are established theories, while others are probably speculative. There are a lot of hardcore science theories in this book. Yet, Cixin Liu has this amazing ability to graft a scientific theory from its spatial/mathematical presentation to the bone and marrow of literature, allowing his readers to envision the extent of it through literary devices.

Let me put it this way, you can read a journal paper about the string theory, or the 26 dimensions of the universe. You can read the mathematical equations that model these theories, but it is impossible to “visualize” what it actually looks like. For example, we can visualize a 2 dimensional world, something like a painting, from our 3 dimensional perspective. But can you imagine what a 4 dimensional world looks like from our dimensional perspective? It is impossible, right? But in this book, Cixin Liu transplanted these ideas into literary terms, which helped his readers to visualize what it “could” look like. His writings captured the grandeur and the vastness of the mysterious universe, it made me reflect on the reality that by comparison, humanity is so small and our history within this universe is so very, very brief.

The story in Death's End is rich as its scope is expansive. There are many characters in this book, and every one of them received a vivid and well-rounded portrayal. None of them are caricatures. Some parts of this book are outright frightening, while others are hopeful. Throughout the whole book, it depicted the characters' feelings and experiences genuinely. As readers, we accompanied these characters on their journey through despair as well as hope. By the time I turned to the last page in this book, I found it hard to part ways with some of these characters. I look forward to the day when I will be re-reading this trilogy and visiting these characters again.

Death's End is an interesting book. It is inherently thought-provoking. From my interpretation, at its core is a story that unifies science and philosophy, to exploring a question. That is, the question at the beginning of my review: What is the way to survival? In our world, we talk about survival with ideas such as altruism/love and selfishness. Some people assert, altruism/love is incompatible with survival. These people claim, if survival is the only thing that matters, then altruism/love is a mistake so in order to love we must subscribe to some mystic/religious view. They want to force us into believing it is all or nothing!

Well, I strongly disagree!

Why? This is because these people forgot to mention, survival have 2 levels; individual survival as well as group survival, and these 2 are not the same. Selfishness may benefit an individual's survival within a group, but on the other hand, we all need group survival, collectively, or our existence will cease; and group survival requires altruism/love. We can observe this tension, between love and selfishness, in humanity. To use an analogy, we are 90% chimps and 10% bees. The “chimps” part of us has allowed us to individually thrive in the society, but the “bees” part of us has improved our chance at survival by being collective as a group, as a civilization. I think the truth is, our fragile existence in this universe stands on the tension between altruism and selfishness, and we will probably die out without either one of them. In my interpretation of the book, I think this is where Death's End is pointing a direction to the answer to survival. I think this book provides a thought experiment, showing us that love doesn't come from some mystic/religious origin. In the face of survival, love is not a mistake. 

Instead, the instinct of survival dictates that we ARE love. 

Love may appear counter-intuitive and impossible, but to survive we have become love (and selfishness), just like the microbes at Pitch Lake has found a way to adapt and live in a sea of bubbling hot tar. It is mind-bending, rendering this naturalistic view about love equally as majestic as (if not more majestic than) the mystic/religious view about love.

I highly recommend this trilogy to the fans of the sci-fi genre, especially to those who are fond of hard sci-fi stories.

A Book Review: The Dark Forest by Cixin Liu (Remembrance of Earth's Past #2)

In 2015, Cixin Liu's The Three Body Problem won Hugo Award for Best Novel, but it was only the beginning of a sci-fi epic in three acts. The second installment in this trilogy is called The Dark Forest. Like its predecessor, The Dark Forest was originally written in Chinese, and it received an English translation. This is a “hard” sci-fi novel (think of hard sci-fi as something like Arthur C Clarke's 2001 Space Odyssey).

The Three Body Problem was great, but I like The Dark Forest even more. This book is mind bending. I am going to avoid spoilers in my book review. This is why, this review will be devoid of a synopsis. Meanwhile, I find it difficult to describe my feelings after reading this book. Fortunately, I came across a video tribute for this book, it is called “Waterdrop”. The video captured my feelings; it is free of spoilers, and it is stunning.

I will start my review this way

Take a minute and think about these 2 questions:

Question 1 – if intelligent, extra terrestrial life exists elsewhere, then what would be humanity's position within this vast, and dark, universe?

Question 2 - if there exists a technologically advanced alien civilization, then why haven't they contacted us?

Now imagine this scenario. An alien civilization, with technology more advanced than ours, is coming to earth to wipe out humanity. We have 450 years until the alien fleet arrives on earth. The clock is ticking. How will we ensure humanity's survival? How will such an event affect us? This is the premise for The Dark Forest, and it revolves around 2 axioms for cosmic civilization:

Axiom A – Survival is the primary need of civilization

Axiom B – Civilization continuously grows and expands, but the total matter in the universe remains constant.

These 2 axioms provide a key to humanity's salvation. Can you figure what it is? Halfway into the book, I figured out the solution to the problem, but it did not diminish my enjoyment of this book. Not at all. This book had me eagerly turning the pages because its plot twisted and turned unexpectedly. Meanwhile, the book's deeply flawed, but humane characters sank me right into this story, where I stood on these characters' shoulders, and witnessed the struggle for humanity's survival. This book seated me on an emotional roller coaster, some chapters landed me in a bottomless despair, while others lifted me to the crest of hope. What a remarkable journey this is!

In terms of its storytelling, The Dark Forest differs greatly to The Three Body Problem. This is a character driven story, and it thoroughly explored each character's life, thoughts, and emotions. I like what Cixin Liu has done here, it shows that he is a versatile author capable of varying his storytelling method, to establishing a different ambiance in the sequel.

The Dark Forest also differs to The Three Body Problem in terms of its themes. While The Three Body Problem was based on theoretical physics and numerical methods, The Dark Forest is mostly about evolution and sociology. This also means, some readers may find The Dark Forest more accessible than The Three Body Problem. For me, while I found the themes in both books equally attractive, but I did find the themes in The Dark Forest more thought provoking than its predecessor, it invites an exploration in philosophy.

I am going to stop my review here lest I spoil the story. Let me just say, The Dark Forest is a stunning piece of work in the sci-fi genre. This is one of the most satisfying, fun, and thought provoking book I have read. I highly recommend this trilogy.

End of book review

Below is an extra section, this is where I will share my personal reflection on this book. If you don't want spoilers, then please refrain yourself from reading this section.

WARNING: spoilers ahead:

Humanity has been asking this question: “Are we alone in this universe”?

This question has prompted numerous scientific researches into ET life, and it also inspired a generation of science fiction stories. Personally, I think it is very likely that we are alone. That is, we are most likely alone even if intelligent alien life exists elsewhere.

Huh? How can that be?

We have the tendency to anthropomorphizing the universe. We project our human morality (or, local morality) to the universe, believing that our local standard on earth, about kindness and generosity, is some sort of a cosmic standard to measure how things ought to be. The extent of this romantic notion can be seen in our popular sci-fi movies, such as Star Wars and Star Trek, where it imagines a galactic civilization in which various species of sentient creatures can peacefully co-exist. Yet, this is a scenario entirely based on the human values.

Think of it this way. Morality and cultures are products of adaptive challenges, for survival. It is a product of nature as well as nurture. Most human cultures share similar moral values, because we have similar biological makeup; we all live on earth, where the geological environments are similar and our distances from each other aren't so great. But if there exists some intelligent alien life on some planet thousands of light years away, then there is no guarantee they would be similar to us in anyway, both biologically and culturally.

This means, who knows what moral value may exist in an alien civilization, whose biological makeup and planetary environment are utterly “alien” to ours?

This is why, even if alien civilizations exist, then their values may not align with ours, leaving us "alone" in this universe.

Now, given those 2 axioms for cosmic civilization, is it really wise to persist in our romantic notion about the universe? Or perhaps such a romantic notion could invite our extinction?

The universe is 13 billion years old. If intelligent alien life exists elsewhere, and their civilization is older than ours, then there is no telling how technologically advanced they are. For the last 50 years we have made tremendous progress, reaching the information age. Yet, according to Kardashev Scale, for all of our progress in computers, energy generation and space flight, we haven't even reached type 1 civilization! So imagine, what would a type 2 or type 3 civilization look like? The depth of their technological prowess may be beyond our wildest imaginations!

In fact, if there exists an older, and more technologically advanced alien civilization than ours, then could it be that they are hunters stalking the dark forest that is the universe, scourging for its limited supplies and resources? Meanwhile, humanity, whose progress is comparable to a young child, lit a bonfire for the hunters and shouting naively: “hey I am here and I am nice, come to me and let's be friend!”.

Is that really wise?

This is why, I think we should discard our romantic notion about the universe. Just because our value is X doesn't mean others' value is X too. Instead of naively extending our invitation and generosity to the sky above, we ought to extend our standard, that of kindness and generosity, chiefly to our fellow human beings. Meanwhile, we should forever stay vigilant against the vast universe, to safeguard our fragile civilization therein.