Cat’s Cradle: One of the weirdest sci-fi (?) novels I have ever read

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This one was my second approximation to Vonnegut’s literature, but the first time I obliged myself to read a full novel by him; though I consider it a novella, due to the fact there are barely two hundred pages and more than one hundred and twenty chapters, something completely unexpected in a story of this nature. However, too many things seem to happen in the novel. Vonnegut takes us on this weird roller-coaster from one place to another, from the United States to a fictional island called San Lorenzo ruled by a dictator who threatens his people with a giant hook. The whole cast of this crazy infernal tale seems to be composed by characters from a circus: scientists, journalists, retired marines, people who are obsessed with finding a bond with others and a too-perfect woman who feels she belongs to everyone else. Yet, we can affirm Cat’s Cradle is an apology to human stupidity, an allegory to the missile crisis between Cuba and the United States and a reflection on the perils of the Cold War.

Our hero is an everyman who becomes extremely interested in knowing more about the life of the scientist considered the father of the atomic bomb: Felix Hoenikker (of course a fictional character), so he contacts his children to know more about their father’s role in the ending of Second World War and what he was like. He realizes the Hoenikkers are a set of fantastic characters that look like taken from a fairy tale story: a midget who wanted to be a medical doctor, a very tall dull blonde who had to be the mother of his brothers and his own father, and a nerdy character who despite his lack of qualifications get an important government job in the island of San Lorenzo.

Later in the story, we realize that there is more than meets the eye, such as the existence of a very dangerous substance called Ice Nine that has got the power to freeze almost everything that comes in contact with it, and a religion called Bokononism devised by an ethereal character who appears in the aftermath of catastrophe.

In the end, everything is desolation and we humans have caused our own sad demise. Cat’s Cradle seems to be a story of hopelessness and desperation, but at the same time, is a satire full of funny jokes and some others that I would not consider any humorous, at all. Cat’s Cradle is a hard novel to read. The story develops quickly, in a rush, but at the same time it seems to be too slow for my liking due to the fact there are major characters in the novel that do not appear until the very end.

Cat’s Cradle is not the kind of story I would recommend everyone, you must absolutely be a very reflective reader to make the most out of it. By the time the novel reaches its end, we are not so sure about what has just happened. We are not even sure if it was worthy spending a couple of hours going through it. Vonnegut’s style is not exactly what I would call my cup of tea. I have always been more of a Philip K. Dick’s fan, possibly because Dick tends to be a bit more visual, but at the same time elaborate in the worlds he created. Anyway, this novel is considered a classic in the catalogue of the most important stories of science fiction, and I was fortunate enough to pay for a cute paperback edition published by Penguin. Now I have got to find something interesting to read. American Gods or the second volume of Dreamsongs? Eenie meenie miney mo…

Is football and alcohol our own soma?

Clcik here to enjoy the very first pages of this novel

Soma, the comforting drug that the civilization from "Brave New World"  consumes on a regular basis to overcome depression, to vanquish the blueness that we all experience for the mere sake of having to exist. Though there is not much need of it because anyway, every inhabitant of this happy world have been conditioned to accept their life without resenting it. They know their place in the world and they do not aspire for anything else, because everyone is an important grind in the mechanism; even the semi-moronic midgets from the lowest caste: the Epsilons. Everyone does their job for seven hours and a half every single day, and then spend the rest of their lives engaged in mindless sexual activities and all types of entertainment. Everybody is always surrounded by members of their own class, fearing solitude, because being alone is dangerous; being alone is an opportunity for thinking, and thinking is not desirable in this perfect society.

"Brave New World" is a classic. It is one of the three greatest dystopian novels written in the 20th century and the one that sounds truer to our eyes and ears these days, though it was actually the first one to appear. The other two dystopias I am talking about here are "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury and "1984" by George Orwell. "Brave New World" tackles the topic of totalitarianism, but it does it in a rather subtle way, one we can actually identify with our reality. Most people feel the world is perfect the way it is and think our mission is just to be happy, but what is happiness anyway? If happiness is doping yourself with soma and surrounding yourself with people just because it is unbearable to be alone, then I guess I might not be too happy in this "civilized" society. "Brave New World" explores the negative aspects of an ostensibly successful and stable civilization in which everyone appears to be content and satisfied. However, this stability and happiness have caused humanity its ability to be critical and self-contemplate. It is a brave new mediocre world in which everything is done for the mere sake of keeping the world the way it is, forever.

This is the perfect book for a technophobe like me. A book that explores the dangers of technology and mass-production. Technology does not have the power to save us all especially if it distracts us from what is really important. I am not saying that we all now have to renounce to our most precious belongings and embrace a life of contemplation in a mountain far away from the biggest urbanizations. I just want to emphasize that if we want to survive as a species, it is important to be self-critical and develop the capacity to contemplate and understand what we are living through. This "Brave New World", title taken from Shakespeare's masterpiece The Tempest, is a world with no conscience, a world in which we all are supposed to be equal, where humans are mass-produced like electronic appliances in a factory. Human creation is based on eugenics and embryos are separated into different castes since their inception. There are no mothers, no fathers, no families, no Gods, everyone belongs to everyone else, supposedly. However, in the end; all castes are just minor pieces in the machinery, they are just "another brick in the wall", powerless in a society that does not want to change. Although, there are no political parties, or an omniscience big brother like in 1984, the way of controlling the population in "Brave New World" is actually more intrusive. Since humans are embryos, they are destined to play a role and conditioned to say and "think" (if there is any thinking remaining) what they are expected to do. Almost no one protests, because everyone accepts their role diligently and when they feel down and frustrated, there is always going to be soma to make them feel better.

"Brave New World" rings a bell in me and makes me think of the modern world where we live in. At times I wonder if the same strategies used for the characters in the novel are used with us, too. After all, the alarm clock buzzes early in the morning and we all rush to our jobs without giving much thought to what we are doing. At work, you know you have to be smart, but not too smart because that would actually be counterproductive. We have to learn to accept our role in life and if we feel too frustrated by the end of the week, there is always going to be booze, and women or men, and all kinds of mindless entertainment to keep us distracted, to show us that life is still worth living and that we all (or at least most of us) should feel thankful for our situation. God has been good to us, some even dare say. We have to be thankful because we have got a job and we are doing something useful. Therefore, most of us learn to pretend. We all play the game of doing something meaningful, "for the good of mankind" we boast; yet we do not really stop to think for a while, because thinking is too tiring, too boring, and too dangerous for our own good.

In conclusion, "Brave New World" is the kind of novel you will enjoy and re-read if you feel there must be more to life, if you believe there is something inherently wrong with the system. It will provide you with a moment of reflection to think who we are and what our purpose in this Brave New World of our own is. Colombia usually appears in the top ten list of happiest countries of the world. A country where most people lack the basic needs, but you will always see people content, smiling, with a (literally and figuratively) broken smile in their faces. You just have to experience the unbearable lightness of Colombians' joy to understand the stupefying state of happiness in which we all live. Bogotá is a big party on Fridays and people drink as if there were no tomorrow. A few miserable beggars come down from the poorest slums in Bogotá to flood the stadium every weekend and engage in a ritualistic fight with the supporters of the enemy team. They proudly scream at the top of their lungs, bragging their love for a piece of cloth representing a football club. Whenever I have to see all these clownish representations of happiness, I cannot stop thinking that all this insanity is our version of soma, and its power on us and the way we perceive ourselves and our miserable land is omnipotent, eternal, mindless.

The Very best of Fantasy and Science Fiction Volume 2

Click here for a sneak peek of The Very Best of Fantasy...

A weird compilation without much selection criteria though with a few wonderful treasures. The end of the collection is a magnificent wrap-up with an engaging fantasy of mix-raced issues, and that everlasting love of a mother for his son. A true tear-jerker that deserved all the awards it got for its author. There was a bonus story by Stephen King that was really compelling, though it lacked the quality he gave to the last collection of stories I read from him entitled "Bazaar of the Bad Dreams". I had to fight boredom and lack of concentration to finish the book, but luckily, I was able to enjoy reading once more. I thought the holidays were going to get in the middle of my love for the written word. However, real love is forever, I guess. Best stories in this volume: "The Anything Box", "Green Magic" (outstanding), "The Attack of the Giant Baby", "The Hundredth Dove", "The Aliens who Knew I Mean, Everything", "The Bone Woman" and of course "Paper Menagerie" by Chinese-American author Ken Liu.

You can't be careful on a skateboard. My view on "It"

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"You can't be careful on a skateboard", says a random kid to our hero Stuttering Bill, and we feel this could be the motto of the author in "It". I read it in somehow record time (less than three weeks) for such a long novel ( more than 1100 pages in my Kindle). I went fast like Bill and Eds on Silver, enjoying the wild twists and somehow trying to believe the implausible explanation for the existence of a weird dancing clown (only one of It's many shapes) who likes feeding on children and their dreams. I got back to my childhood because every small town must feel a bit like the fictional Derry. Horrible things can happen in small places and most people will remain quiet. Yet, there's always going to be a story-teller to record what must be kept to preserve the memory of the past and to enlighten and guide future generations. "It" is a horror novel, sure it is, but it is also a coming-of-age tale, a love story, a story of realisation and finally the importance of memories, of remembrances; not only of the bad times, but also those ancient moments lost in our brain, in which we believed in magic. Those times when things could come true with a bit of imagination.

Dreamsongs Volume 1

Click on this link to read the very first pages of Dreamsongs

Dreamsongs is a collection of short stories and novellas written by George R.R. Martin, during a period of more than twenty years, starting with his very first story ever published. The quality of the stories varies dramatically, and by parts four and five of the book,  we can see the evolution of the author who hooked us all with the magnificent struggle between powerful families struggling for the power in Westeros.

His work is at times a bit wordy and messy. However, some stories succeed in showing us the fantastic world Martin has been creating since the age of 23. It has almost been fifty years now and he has not stopped writing. All his fans hope he does not stop any time soon because we still need to see the real ending for the saga of Ice and Fire. Yes, we all know that HBO's Game of Thrones is concluding this year, and I am really looking forward to catching a glimpse of perhaps one of the most important television events of the year. Nevertheless, for the compulsive readers who "took a course on Westeros" and who have been expectant for the real ending of this rather unnecessarily intricate story, a book written by the author telling us "this is the end" is what we do really need to overcome the hangover of waiting for so long.

Highly recommendable: "The Monkey Treatment", an extremely weird story that Martin had actually lots of problems trying to sell, but that F&SF bought happily and turned into one of its most popular tales ever to have appeared on its pages. If you are very into space horror and aliens, "Nightflyers" is a must-read.   Another novella that still resonates in my head is "Sandkings", a tale of a cruel human who turns his dangerous pets into monsters, for the mere sake of feeling like an almighty God.

Martin explores three different genres and sometimes he overlaps them: Fantasy, Sci-fi and Horror. Especially in his very first short stories published, his characters and language resemble the serialised pulp-look of graphic novels. He even created a character which seemed to be a combination between Dr Who and Dr Strange, I do not really know if those two characters served as inspiration for the short-lived hero devised by Martin. In addition, he created an iconic mythological creature that we could see in the last episode of Game of Thrones: "The Ice Dragon". This is another must-read for the legions of fans that fantasy has gained in the last twenty years due to their infesting presence in popular culture.

Martin is the real American Tolkien. He actually has more fluent prose than the British professor, and at times you can actually feel you are able to see what he is describing. He is engaging and smart without being illegible. Martin is an author who can take you through more than 1000 pages per book without killing you with boredom.  I really do not know if I will continue reading Martin, and will grab Dreamsongs Volume 2 (the first volume almost hit the 700-page tally), but I do know I am dying to read the last two volumes of "A Song of Ice and Fire" and finally know what is going to happen in Westeros. I really do not want to acquiesce to the ending that HBO will provide to the story. I hope there is more hope for my favourite characters, though you never know with George R.R. Martin. Dreamsongs Volume I is highly recommended if you are into fantasy, horror and sci-fi. If you are not a very good fantasy fan though, there are lots of books for you out there. Life is too short and unfortunately, most of us have to work dead-end jobs. Teaching has become so tiresome these days. I can barely stand it.