John Love (1)

At first I didn’t think this would be my type of book, with its convoluted politics, bio-engineered super killer soldiers, dispassionate violence and casual sex, not to mention at times the narrative seemed more invested in the technicalities of hand-to-hand combat rather than the time to build a convincing world. I know I’m not exactly selling it so far, but hear me out – because now I’ve finished Evensong, and despite the fact I still wouldn’t call it my typical kind of read, the heavy emotional impact this book had on me was also something I just couldn’t ignore.
Novels like these remind me why it’s important to step out of my comfort zone, for I ended up liking it a lot. Its dark and cynical futuristic cyberpunk-ish style reminded me a little of Richard K. Morgan’s Altered Carbon, mixed in with a bit of that 007 Casino Royale vibe when it comes to the main protagonist. A biologically-enhanced operative, Anwar Abbas is an introspective character as raw and edgy as an unpolished stone, hardened by his life and work, but who nonetheless cares about standing up for what’s right.
Anwar is disgruntled when assigned bodyguard duties for Olivia del Sarto, the archbishop of the fast-growing New Anglican Church, but finds himself both repelled and intrigued by his charge’s abrasive candor. The morally ambiguous Olivia has an aggressive demeanor completely at odds with Anwar’s stubborn and systematic approach, but that doesn’t stop the two from plunging headfirst into a torrid affair – albeit one that is initially all sex and no feeling. Anwar is more than happy to satisfy Olivia’s voracious appetites, but stays by her side out of a sense of duty more than anything else, tasked to protect her from shadowy enemies who have threated to assassinate her during a high-profile U.N summit on water rights.
Character development isn’t exactly strong, with both Anwar and Olivia’s personalities coming across as rather stunted and flat, causing me to constantly question their motivations especially when it comes to their relationship. And yet, somehow their affair manages to evolve into something much more nuanced. It’s not a love story, but at times it sure felt like one, even in all its twisted and dysfunctional glory. Here you have two characters on opposite sides of the spectrum; the harder they resist each other the more they are drawn together, becoming like one another. It sounds deceptively simple, but there’s a lot of synergy happening between the lines. It makes Evensong a perfect example of a story where the whole is much greater than the sum of its parts.
John Love’s writing style also strikes me as a bit eccentric, especially since he utilizes a third person omniscient point of view for this novel, and is quite stark as he goes about his storytelling. For my part, I prefer a more personal touch, but admit that the author’s approach is also well suited for the story and its themes. I enjoyed my fair share of contemplation into the book’s more philosophical subjects – religion, human nature, etc. – but as I’d alluded to in my previous paragraph, I was mostly fascinated with the character dynamics and interactions. The author gradually adds layers to everything, so that the longer you read the novel, the more rewarding the experience gets. Like I said, there’s a combined effect at work here. At some point you’ll definitely get the sense of every piece snapping neatly into place, and suddenly it all makes sense.
I did say the novel had a huge impact on me emotionally. The revelations came at me like an explosion at the end, like one moment you’re traipsing down a sunny country lane and the next you’re blindsided by Mack truck barreling into you at a hundred miles an hour. As the dust settled, I was left with a numbness, a melancholy that even now I find hard to explain. The story definitely touched something deep inside me though, especially in light of the nature of Anwar’s character and the decisions he ultimately decided to make.
Certainly I never expected to be so powerfully affected by Evensong, since it’s such a departure from what I normally read. I can’t believe I almost dismissed this book as “not my thing”, and what a tragic mistake that would have been. I’m profoundly glad that I ended up ignoring my instincts, because against all odds, this book ended up working surprisingly well for me.… (plus d'informations)

Science fiction is the genre of ideas - anything goes as long as you can explain it and changing the laws of physics is not unheard of. The problem of course is that an idea is not enough; neither is a concept. You need an author that knows how to develop it and that knows what they are trying to do.

"Evensong" has a pretty good premise, not so bad ideas and an awful execution.

By 2060, UN had finally figured out that policies are not enough so a new branch (the executive one) had evolved to implement the policies (called UNEX). As part of the development of UNEX, the Controller General Rafiq had created a special group of super soldiers that had been genetically enhanced and are used for special missions - knows as the Dead even if they are not dead really. Meanwhile with the help of UNEX, the world had solved the problem with fuel and energy and the only big problem still standing is the water one. In the aftermath of all the new developments, old religions had crumbled, new ones had evolved... and things are heading towards a better world (maybe).

This is the stage in which the novel starts - and from here there were a lot of possibilities. Add the slaughtering of the family of Rafiq years before that, a UN meeting that is getting hosted by one of the new religion centers and a silent organization that threatens the life of the host of the meeting and the story started okey. The prose is a bit clunky at the start but not bad enough to disturb.

And then things just unravel. The big mystery is technically solved but the solution does not feel like part of the book - it is as if the author decided to go there, had no idea how and just blundered around. The language gets crass and vulgar in places (which I usually do not have issues with but here it sounded like a 15 years old that is trying to see just how much he can push until he is asked to stop. Add to this the fight moves called with single words (the way wrestlers call theirs these days) and the feeling is complete.). The story that somehow held together until the middle of the book, simply crumbled when 3 different people started thinking about a Detail (with a capital letter) - 2 of them trying to figure what it is, one of them thinking that they need to hide it. It just came out of nowhere - the author could not find a way to go to his end and just dropped it in the middle. And things went worse from there.

I almost stopped reading shortly after - the book got repetitious to a point where something we heard 3 pages ago was said over and over again; reminder of what happens at the start of the book kept getting repeated. Thankfully, with just a few chapters left the story picked up and despite the muddy middle, it started looking as if it may have a redeeming quality or two and John Love botched it again.

The how of the mystery became known; the why - not so much. The end felt worse than cheating - and no amount of attention would have helped - there was nothing point to that end. Unexpected is fine by me; plot twists are fine by me. That was none of the above - it was just an author that knew where he was trying to go but had no idea how to get there...

What really gets me in this book is that the whole premise and the world building before things went downhill were actually quite enjoyable and could have led somewhere. Another lost possibility I guess.… (plus d'informations)

Faith has a cracking premise, but the author doesn't really know where to take it, resulting in a compelling book that peters out at the end.

No one knows where the spaceship Faith comes from, or what it wants, simply that the last time it came through the galaxy it ended an empire. But this empire has the Outsiders, ships with cutting edge technology and iconoclastic crews. But will this outsider be able to outsmart something so alien?

Much of the book takes the form of a duel and pursuit, as seen from the bridge of the Charles Manson - the most dangerous Outsider ship of all. The author manages to ratchet up the tension quite effectively. The claustrophobic confines of the bridge aid in this, as do the unusual - if not sociopathic - crew. Underlying everything is the central question of what Faith is, and what it wants.

Unfortunately, the answer when it comes, is weak if not outright cliche. This is compounded by the fact that Love gives no real clues or development that could lead a reader to this answer. Thus, it feels like a deus ex machina when Faith's purpose is revealed, and a poor, deflating one at that.

Nonetheless, I found much of the book interesting and original, and I'm interested to see what Love can produce next.… (plus d'informations)