Terra, Mitch Benn

This was the perfect read for me at the point when I got hold of it. It’s funny, sometimes silly, but it also has a lot of heart. It’s sceptical about humanity and the way we behave, but hopeful too. There’s all kinds of fun glimpses at the alien culture Terra becomes part of, with its different norms and expectations. And goodness knows, if my dad weren’t pretty awesome and probably a space alien anyway, I’d want Lbbp to be my father-figure.

It’s relatively simplistic and light, written more for a young adult audience, but it was exactly what I needed at the moment I read it. It’s well written, well paced, and has a refreshingly nice take on human (and alien) nature.

I don’t know what to say about it, except that I found it a delight, and my wife had better read it soon.

Rating: 4/5

The Boys from Brazil, Ira Levin

The Boys from Brazil is a bit of a classic; I actually remember my Religious Studies teacher telling us the basic plot and asking us about the moral issues at the centre. So for quite a while, I’ve been very interested to read it. It’s a bit odd to read, because it’s written with a sort of affect-less style: ‘the man did this and then the man did that, and turned to the blond man and said…’ I mean, here’s an actual example of the style:

“The blond man, panting, stopped stabbing, and the black-haired man lowered the surprised-eyed young man gently to the floor, laid him down there half on the gray rug and half on varnished wood. The blond man held his bloody knife-hand over the young man and said to the black-haired man, ‘A towel.'”

Aaargghh.

The actual plot and the thriller aspect is interesting, and the moral dilemma is perhaps more relevant/possible now than it was when the book was written, but I do think it’s dated badly and the writing style does it no favours.

Rating: 2/5