Review: The Affinity Bridge, by George Mann

I borrowed this one from my housemate who borrowed it from the library, and frankly I'm glad neither of us paid for it because I can't say that I think it's worth the asking price. The oddest thing, for me at least, is that for all Mann is an editor, he's not a very good writer. I'd call him competent...mostly. His words all fit together and you know what he's talking about, but there's no sparkle to his prose. He also uses idioms which frankly sound wrong for their time and place, phrases such as "Are you okay?" Yes, I do know the etymology of "okay," nobody needs to cite it. It still sounds out of place in the mouth of a late Victorian gentleman as does him saying "For the hell of it." particularly in front of a lady. Similarly the use of "alright" within the narrative is something which is likely to throw an educated reader out of the story entirely. Mann should know better.

It's not just the language which suffers here either, but also the conventions of good story-telling. Within the space of two chapters, a character explains a situation in exactly the same way to two different people. Now this may not sound like a big deal but it's just another point at which a reader is likely to be jarred out of the story. We've heard the information once, we don't need to have it repeated almost verbatim. That's bad story-telling. Nor is the deus-ex-machina device (Which, now I think of it, sounds like a wonderful steampunk invention, doesn't it?) used in conjunction with Sir Maurice's encounter with the revenants any better in terms of story-telling. (I'm trying not to spoil anyone here; you'll know it when you see it.) It was, in fact, at that point that I came aboutthisclose to throwing the book across the room, however I reminded myself that the library might look darkly upon such an act and I restrained myself.

If there is a strong point in this book, it's the characterization, and even that is sometimes a little thin. Veronica and her sister are probably the most interesting characters. In spite of Veronica's annoying obsession with tea, she's a fairly well-drawn character, and rather refreshing. Her sister -- though interesting in a tragic way -- seems to exist solely as a plot point and possibly the set-up for a future adventure, which is a shame. The male characters teeter on the edge of being interesting, but there's something missing, some essential spark which would help them to propel the plot.

Someone called this book a pastiche, and I'd agree in the sense that it's a kind of hodge-podge. Even so, the lack of consistency in Mann's use of the elements makes the label less complimentary than the reader might hope.

The cover trumpets: "STEAMPUNK is making a comback, and with this novel MANN IS LEADING THE CHARGE..." I wasn't aware that steampunk had gone anywhere, nor do I think that Mann is necessarily either savior of or heir to the movement.

The Affinity Bridge (Newbury & Hobbes Investigation)

Review: The Magicians, by Lev Grossman

Right from the get-go, you kind of think "This can't end well" and yet magic... schools of magic, that's the stuff of pleasant daydreams and good triumphing over evil, right? Well not so much. There's not a lot of jolliness going on here.

Quentin Coldwater believes that somehow magic will make his life better, richer, happier. He's always believed in magic, specifically a magical world called "Fillory" which obsesses him. When he's invited to attend a school of magic called "Brakebills, he's overjoyed. This is it, this is the first day of the rest of his life. His real life. Only it's not Fillory and it's not an invitation into wonder and enchantment. It's a lot of hard, frustrating work for what appears to be very little return. And in fact, by the end of his five years at Brakebills, you have to wonder if magic really means much in the greater scheme of things. Magicians don't seem very happy, but whether that's an effect of being magicians or whether they're magicians because they're unhappy is something we never quite work out.

Grossman has created a clever metaphor for the years of late adolescence and early adulthood in which we are all fairly certain that there is something waiting for us just beyond our line of sight, and if we can only find the right path, our lives will be perfect. The magical world of Fillory -- a kind of promised land to the characters -- is a crazy, pointless, dangerous place. Some find their place there, more do not. Pretty much like life.

I suppose you can read this as a fantasy, clearly many people do. But mostly I think it's a coming-of-age story and not a particularly joyous one either. And yet it's compelling, and well worth reading.

As a side note I would suggest that you search for "Fillory" at Wikipedia. You'll find links there to a lot of very interesting material.

The Magicians: A Novel

Review: Architects' Sketches: Dialogue and Design, by Kendra Schank Smith

Image via Wikipedia

My artistic talents don't lie in this direction, but all the same, the art of architecture is endlessly interesting to me. This volume of sketches by architects is a kind of bridge between the nuts-and-bolts of architectural design and fine arts which are far more accessible to most people. The sketches themselves convey not just the physical facts of the structure but the feel of it, the ideas behind the design. These drawings show the physical grace of a structure, and its energy in a way that the architectural drawings can't. They show us what the structure is meant to be.

The stand-out drawing -- for me at least -- is a pastel by Cesar Pelli of the Petronas Towers. It's a simple, atmospheric sketch which trades detail for impression. It helps us understand the greater vision of the towers within a landscape. The text includes a quote from the architect explaining why he chose to image the towers in this way, and helps not only to explain the vision of the towers themselves but the creative process in which they took shape.

In fact, the text is critical to full appreciation of this book. It's a wide-ranging discussion not only of architecture but that very creative process out of which all arts spring. I can't help but feel that this volume is an excellent aid to learning about all manner of design, not just architecture.

Architects Sketches: Dialogue and Design