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Hamilton, Peter F
Herbert, Brian
Hodgkinson, Tom
Hoggard, Liz
Holdstock, Robert
Honoré, Carl
Howe, David
Peter F Hamilton
Commonwealth:
Pandora's Star
Judas Unchained
Greg Mandel:
Mindstar Rising
A Quantum Murder
The Nano Flower
Night's Dawn:
The Reality Dysfunction
The Neutronium Alchemist
The Naked God
Fallen Dragon
Misspent Youth
A Second Chance at Eden
Fallen Dragon
=============
After running away from his parents and his home planet, Lawrence Newton has
become a hardened veteran soldier, taking part in corporate "asset realisation"
raids on colony worlds. Now he finds himself on the track of something that
could both bring about his own freedom and change human civilisation for ever.
================================================================================
After the high of the Night's Dawn trilogy and the low of Misspent Youth, I
wasn't quite sure what to expect from Fallen Dragon. In fact it's a good read,
though not without its flaws. Fallen Dragon is quite a hefty book, and it
took me a while to settle in to read it - some of the early descriptive passages
could have benefited from editing, while all that predictable boy-meets-girl
stuff had me actually flicking through the next pages just to see when it would
end.
On the plus side, there's some very nice technology and decent action sequences.
"Skin" - the bio-engineered body armour/life support system - is a particularly
excellent invention. Basically an artificial outer skin or carapace, it's
adaptable, flexible, extremely strong, durable and more like a living organism
than a piece of kit (I'm sure the world's military will be trying to develop
something very similar, before long.) In addition, the starships, spaceplanes
and the various planets they encounter are all depicted with impressive,
realistic detail.
On the minus side, the characters seem rather flat, and the eponymous dragon
does not feature until well into the book. Prime (the super super software)
used by various characters in the story, seems just too good to be true
(especially if you think about its origins), and a sub-plot concerning the
cloned leaders of Zantiu-Braun is not presented very clearly.
Reading about the "asset realisation" missions staged by Z-B and its fellow
corporate behemoths gave me an eerie sensation, given that I'm writing this
in early 2004 and the recent Iraq war has been criticised for being little more
than a thinly-disguised asset-grabbing exercise. Just a couple of comments -
firstly, at times the Z-B raiders seem unduly surprised at the level of
hostility directed at them, secondly the entire asset realisation scenario
seems flawed. At one point (in one of the many flashback sequences) troops are
helping themselves to jewellery and medicine from a remote village, which
appears a pathetic and pointless thing to do, considering that they have spent
vast amounts of money and crossed light years to get there. However, in the
real world it is true that not everything that corporations or governments do
always makes sense.
In the end, Fallen Dragon provides some food for thought. It deals
with such issues as the decline of civilisations, corporate piracy and the
rise of the "uniculture" on Earth. It also has enough futuristic tech and
explosions to keep simple souls like myself happy. There are some lengthy
passages that a little editorial pruning could have helped, but overall it
was a positive experience.
© Alex Cull, 1st April 2004
Judas Unchained
===============
Judas Unchained is the sequel to Peter F Hamilton's 2004 blockbuster
Pandora's Star and concludes this story of alien invasion and subversion
on a galactic scale.
================================================================================
I made the mistake of not re-reading Pandora's Star before starting the
sequel, and thus found myself somewhat adrift at first, as it has been a while
since I read the first book. Guardians? Starflyer? Silfen? But I soon got back
into the swing of things and began my trek towards journey's end.
And what a long trek it was. The multiplicity of storylines contributes to the
overall slowness of Judas Unchained to get off the ground, although, as
in his previous novels, the benefit is that the author can present us with a rich
variety of viewpoints. I found lots to enjoy, although I was never quite as
entertained as I was by the Night's Dawn books, and have been trying to
figure out just why this is.
Certainly there is no shortage of action in Judas Unchained. Insurgents
are dropped onto the occupied worlds and start fighting it out with the Prime
motiles, using a nice variety of devastating hand-weapons. At the same time, the
Intersolar police are tracking down and eliminating agents of the mysterious
Starflyer, hampered by the fact that the alien has infiltrated the Commonwealth
authorities on many levels.
However, Judas Unchained lacks the excitement of the space battles that
punctuate the Night's Dawn books, and there is a long pause at the start
of the book where the Primes are not doing much at all, putting a damper on the
sense of urgency that was generated at the end of Pandora's Star. True,
there is some starship action, eventually, but it never quite has the raw,
exhilarating, seat-of-the-pants quality that it does in The Reality Dysfunction
and its sequels.
And the Primes are not as interesting as the possessed - MorningLightMountain,
or all its implacably hostile will, is not as entertaining or as scary as the
invaders from the beyond. After all, how could a mere hive mind, however powerful,
compete with the evil that was Quinn Dexter or the flamboyant Al Capone and his
cohorts?
It is also revealing to compare the Intersolar Commonwealth with the Night's Dawn
Confederation. The Confederation is jam-packed with diverse human (and "xenoc")
communities, all rubbing along with varying degrees of neighbourliness or unease,
forging hasty alliances as the enemy encroaches. From the stately Kulu Kingdom,
to the dodgier and more chaotic backwaters such as the Dorados or Valisk, there is
a rich, kaleidoscopic impression of teeming variety. By contrast, the Commonwealth
seems almost monolithic, in the stultifying grip of its Dynasties, each ruled by a
perpetual clique of near-immortals - to me, it appears much less attractive or
worth saving.
Maybe several of these factors combine to cause Judas Unchained to suffer
by comparison with the earlier books. Which is a shame, because there are
good things here. The author's depiction of alien worlds, in particular the rugged
and dangerous terrain of Faraway, is as impressive as ever, and he builds up a
convincing picture of these worlds as real locations, with their settlements and
thoroughfares, their mix of terrestrial and alien life. His characters are solid;
I liked the contrasting duo of Nigel Sheldon and Ozzie Isaac - co-discoverers of
the wormhole technology - and was entertained by the Barbarella-like exploits of
bad girl Mellanie Rescorai.
Maybe I'm just expecting more, because the author is Peter F Hamilton.
Be that as it may, I still consider Judas Unchained to be well worth reading,
and I'm looking forward to the (rumoured) next books to be set in the far future
of the Commonwealth universe. But I'd also say: make sure that you do also
read the Night's Dawn novels, if you haven't already. They will blow you away.
© Alex Cull, 13th January 2006
Mindstar Rising
===============
The mighty corporation Event Horizon is under fierce and insidious attack, from
both a business rival and from enemies within. Enter Greg Mandel, ex-Mindstar
Battalion, gland psychic and member of the infamous Trinities street gang.
However, even his incredible skills may not be enough to win the day...
================================================================================
Before Peter F Hamilton wrote his awesome universe-spanning epic Night's Dawn
trilogy, there were the Greg Mandel books, starting with Mindstar Rising,
all set within years of one another in the early 21st century (not long after
now, in fact.) England has been battered by extreme climate change and suffered
under a repressive left-wing government, but is beginning to emerge from chaos
with the help of Event Horizon's world-beating technology. However, a sabotage
operation directed at Event Horizon's space factory proves to be a major spoke
in the works.
Although not on the sheer Brobdingnagian scale of The Reality Dysfunction
and its sequels, the Greg Mandel books are just as good in their way. Firstly,
they are fast-paced, with plenty of action and thrills. With lasers, masers,
photon amps, spaceplanes and super-powerful computers, there are also enough
futuristic weapons and gadgets to entertain people like me, who like their
high-tech toys.
And even a decade or so after it was first published, Mindstar Rising
is still a pretty damn good read. It has certainly aged well, incorporating up-to
-the-minute themes such as global warming. It also features computer viruses,
which were not much in evidence in 1993, as far as I know, but which have been
big news in recent years.
The depiction of England in the aftermath of the Warming is imaginative and
sobering. Elms and oaks have gone the way of the dinosaur, and have been replaced
by citrus groves and banana plantations. Rising ocean levels have encroached
on the English coastlines, forcing populations inland and giving rise to
overcrowded semi-permanent shanty towns. The mild English climate is a thing of
the past, and we in the UK now have to contend with sweltering tropical heat,
punctuated by violent storms. This is very vividly and convincingly described.
However (as usual) I have one or two quibbles.
I'm not entirely sure about the politics. Greg Mandel's world is highly
polarised, with a left-wing former government notorious for its repressive
policies and Soviet-style corruption and stagnation. These are clearly the bad
guys, and the unbridled free-market capitalists are the good guys (generally.)
Is this always the case, and does it reflect the real world? I'm not certain it
does. Also, could we in the UK ever get a government as thuggish and petty as
the PSP in the next few years? Well perhaps, if things ever became chaotic
enough. However, I still found this a bit jarring.
Also, I find Peter F Hamilton's sex scenes (there's at least one in every novel
he's written, I think) slightly amusing and over the top. Maybe that's just
me, though.
Anyway, basically I liked Mindstar Rising a lot. Last but not least,
it's partly because I'm originally from East Anglia, and the thought of my
part of the country being a world-class industrial power is bizarrely
satisfying.
© Alex Cull, 14th February 2005
Misspent Youth
==============
Jeff Baker, wealthy inventor of the memory crystal technology underpinning the
Datasphere (replacement for the internet) is the first to undergo a radical new
rejuvenation treatment. He starts to enjoys an almost miraculous second youth,
but problems soon begin to appear...
================================================================================
Misspent Youth has an excellent and fascinating premise, but unfortunately
disappoints in various ways. It's a pity, really; the Night's Dawn books
demonstrated that Peter F Hamilton can write blockbusting epic space opera, the
Mindstar books showed that he can also write exciting, convincing stories
set closer to home. So what went wrong with Misspent Youth?
My view is that it fails because the author does not engage the reader's interest
or emotions, either with the science or the characters. We do not learn very much
about rejuvenation, the Datasphere or the other technological advances mentioned
in the book, such as GM crops. What would it be like to be rejuvenated, to turn
back the clock and switch from an ailing, elderly body to a youthful one? What
would walking feel like, or talking, or eating? All we seem to hear about is the
improved sex, which makes the entire process seem shallow and one-dimensional.
Overall, the science in this story either serves as a backdrop to the action, or
(in the case of rejuvenation) as a plot device to get Jeff into bed with nubile
young women.
Also providing a (rather turbulent) backdrop to the story is the political
situation in England, where much of the populace is revolting against a repressive
United Europe. In Hamilton's Mindstar books, a major theme is the aftermath of
bad government (the PSP) and it is woven seamlessly with the other elements of
the story; here the politics is largely irrelevant to the Jeff Baker story - the
government could have been a popular, democratic or ultra-nationalist one, and the
story could have turned out much the same.
This leaves us with the central theme of Misspent Youth - the transformation
of an elderly man into a twentysomething one again. It is here that the novel
could have shone, but I for one felt let down. What spoils this is not so much
the predictable sexual aspect but the fact that the characters are simply too
shallow and self-absorbed to be much of interest.
Jeff Baker, in particular, I did not find convincing. For a start, he's not enough
of a geek. We read about him bedding his son's girlfriend, but we never see him
doing much with computers to make him a very believable father of the Datasphere.
A retired footballer or rock star - yes. The next Bill Gates or Tim Berners-Lee -
sadly, no.
All right, there are some moments of pathos and places where the characters come
across as vulnerable and interesting human beings. For instance, who could not
feel sorry for Jeff's poor teenage son? Or even Jeff himself, who has attained
old age without acquiring much in the way of wisdom or emotional depth? However,
on the whole, the unattractive qualities of the personae tend to dominate.
With a few twists and tweaks, Misspent Youth could have been so much better.
The rejuvenation process could have been fascinating, possibly a lot more
traumatic and problematic - how well would Jeff's brain and nervous system have
adapted, for example? The political situation could have been depicted in a far
more subtle way, with Europe's nanny-state interference trickling insidiously down
into everyone's lives. And Jeff could have been less like a shallow stud, playing
out cliched male fantasies, and more of a real person.
But there we go. It's easy to criticise. Hard to write a series of best-selling
novels, harder still to follow these up with work that lives up to the quality and
sparkle of the earlier books. Nevertheless, it's difficult to resist playing the
what-if game.
© Alex Cull, 26th January 2006
The Naked God
=============
The possessed have been invading the worlds of the living in what has seemed an
unstoppable invasion. But now the living are fighting back - in the occupied New
California system, in the muddy hills of Mortonridge, in Earth's teeming
arcologies, the battle is joined with a vengeance. Clues to the whereabouts of an
ultimate solution in this war may lie in an abandoned alien arkship, and who
better to investigate it than ace starship captain Joshua "Lagrange" Calvert?
================================================================================
Before I launch into the review, I have to say that the Jim Burns artwork on the
cover of this edition is my favourite out of all of his covers I've seen so far.
That vast space station-city thing is just so incredibly awesome. It's like
something the Kiint would build, or maybe it's simply the Naked God's giant
orbiting glass paperweight. Whatever it is, it's beautiful.
Anyway, the review. The Naked God is the third and final instalment of Peter
F Hamilton's blockbusting Night's Dawn trilogy, and what a whopper it is.
Even in paperback this book was too heavy for me to carry around, and I kept it
by my bed, reading it last thing at night until my arms gave out from holding it
up, and I had to go to sleep. Who needs fancy gym equipment when you have several
kilograms of paperback to work out with.
I enjoyed this concluding volume almost as much as the two preceding ones. Yes,
there are flaws, and I'll come to these. But there are lots of great things too.
Earth is depicted incredibly well, with its crumbling arcologies, storm-wracked
surface and secretive, cabalistic government. Louise and her little sister, fresh
from rural Norfolk, are very much innocents abroad, and their adjustment to the
hustling, bustling, tech-savvy environment of 27th-century London is very nicely
done, as is the description of the mighty domed cities as they come under attack
both from the elements and from Quinn Dexter and his legions. One of my enduring
memories of this book is of New York withstanding a gigantic "armada storm" -
terrific, imaginative writing.
I also loved it when the scope of the story expanded to a truly galactic level,
with the Lady Macbeth and its crew off to find the wizard, aka the Sleeping God
(nb. why isn't this book called The Sleeping God, then?) The xenocs
(aliens) are well depicted, especially the Tyrathca - while other aliens appear
to embody this or that human attribute taken to an extreme (the Kiint, for
instance, are wise, benevolent yet detached, like super-yogis) the Tyrathca -
stupendously unimaginative, plodding and stubborn, yet highly successful in their
way - seem truly inhuman, and thus excellently alien.
We finally get our beginner's guide to neural nanonics (another reason why I
like the Louise Kavanagh sub-plot); where can I get some? Having said that, the
potential damage from viruses or trojans would be incalculable, so maybe I'd do
well to hesitate. But Hamilton presents the technology very convincingly; if we
ever do become so intricately and intimately melded to our computer systems, it
would probably be like this.
The ending is where the author's halo slips a bit. Yes, it does have a deus ex
machina feel to it, and the resolution makes some of the sub-plots more or
less irrelevant (I won't reveal what it is, though, you'll just have to read the
trilogy.) Also there are some parts of the novel where the pace is definitely on
the slow side. The Louise-Joshua-Ione triangle is sorted out with almost brutal
haste - if the author had sacrificed some of the slower bits (in the Valisk,
Norfolk or Mortonridge sub-plots, for example) and spent more time on these major
characters, it would definitely have helped.
On balance, though, I found much more to like than dislike in this novel. As for
the Night's Dawn trilogy as a whole, I think it stands as a brilliant example
of turn-of-the-century British SF at its space-operatic best. Peter F Hamilton's
next big project (provisionally named the Void Trilogy) could possibly be
its equal or might be even better, but I think the Night's Dawn books will
take some beating.
© Alex Cull, 6th March 2006
The Nano Flower
===============
Things had been going well for Julia Evans; her powerful corporation Event
Horizon now controls New London, a vast hollowed-out asteroid which will be the
gateway to the Solar System. Cue some worrying developments - Julia's wayward
husband has vanished in mysterious circumstances, and Event Horizon has just
received tantalising offers of a technology which could transform the world. She
will need to bring in someone to investigate - and who better than Mindstar
veteran Greg Mandel?
================================================================================
This is the third and final novel in Peter F Hamilton's Greg Mandel trilogy; the
author returns to one of the major themes in Mindstar Rising, the endless
war between rival kombinates (mega-corporations), with the prize now being
possible world domination through control of an alien-derived technology. It's
also a first contact novel, although for most of the novel the alien is merely a
shadowy presence, a truly unknown quantity.
We encounter some interesting new characters along the way, and also some
familiar faces such as Suzi, ex-Trinities gang member, now a tekmerc
(corporate soldier for hire). One slight downside, for me, was that characters
such as Charlotte and Fabian, who figured very strongly in the mid-section of the
novel, almost seem to have been abandoned by the author as he geared up for the
big ending. Also it must be said that the baddies in the novel are somewhat
one-dimensional, but this is not necessarily a failing, as it certainly felt
good to anticipate their comeuppance.
The book's biggest strength, as far as I'm concerned, is Peter F Hamilton's
well-rendered vision of humanity's high-tech future. From Frankenstein cockroaches
to lethal beam weapons to orbiting space colonies, the descriptions are detailed
and highly convincing. Maybe there won't actually be super-fast spaceplanes
powered by giga-conductors, but if there ever are, I think it highly possible
that they would resemble those in The Nano Flower.
Something I began to find rather confusing was the depiction of Greg Mandel's
psi-powers. In a universe of super computers, gene tailoring and space travel,
where do they fit in? What exactly are their limits? In the first two books, he
is basically an empath, able to directly sense the emotions of others. In this
book he's also able to communicate telepathically on occasion and launch
sophisticated, all-singing, all-dancing, full-sensory illusions. Is there
anything this man can't do? (Well actually, now I remember, he is able to
manipulate other minds directly, in the earlier books, just not on the same scale
as in this one.) Basically, I'd like to have been told a little more about the
scientific underpinnings of psi. This is a very minor gripe, however, and didn't
detract much from my enjoyment either of The Nano Flower or the previous
novels.
I was curious about the Colonel Maitland reference and checked it out. It appears
that there was a Colonel Edward Maitland, apparently the first person to descend
from an airship. As this is a Peter F Hamilton book, there's also an East Anglian
connection - the Colonel was based at the airship station at Pulham, which is in
Norfolk, about 17 miles from where I was born. It's a small world.
Peter F Hamilton hit the big time with the Night's Dawn trilogy, for which
the term "blockbuster" might have been invented. But I think the Greg Mandel
books are pretty good too, in their more modest way, and I heartily recommend
them. No messing.
© Alex Cull, 2nd March 2005
The Neutronium Alchemist
========================
Following on from The Reality Dysfunction, The Neutronium Alchemist
is the second book in Peter F Hamilton's awesome Night's Dawn series. The
action shifts from stricken colony planet Lalonde to high-tech New California,
as the menace of the possessed steadily encroaches on the Confederation. Both
sides now seek fugitive scientist Dr Alkad Mzu, as she is the key to a
potentially decisive super-weapon - the Alchemist.
================================================================================
Virtually all that I've said in my review of The Reality Dysfunction also
applies here, as The Neutronium Alchemist is basically a continuation of
the same epic story.
And what a story it is. One thing I love about these books is that the author
obviously had a lot of fun creating the various villains who emerge, as the dead
break out of the beyond and start to invade the universe of the living. The
occasional figure from history crops up here and there - even Elvis makes a brief
appearance (or does he?) Flamboyant, relentless, chilling - and, in the case of
Quinn Dexter, just plain evil - the possessed make for excellent baddies. My
favourite is the Terminator-like huntress Bonney Lewin, at her nasty best as she
tracks down the final few non-possessed in the Valisk habitat.
As with the previous book, The Neutronium Alchemist features a huge cast
and multiple narrative threads, many of these converging as the novel reaches
its cliffhanger ending. What this succeeds admirably in doing is help maintain
the impression of a truly vast situation evolving, in a human civilisation that
spans a large chunk of the galaxy. Some characters inevitably get more airtime
than others, but as a whole Hamilton does very well to juggle them and keep the
whole thing going.
There is also some excellent descriptive work that brings life to some of the
locations. In The Reality Dysfunction, it is Lalonde that comes across as
a real place, and in The Neutronium Alchemist it is the gloomy snowbound
countryside around Harrisburg on the troubled world of Nyvan, where fractious
nation-states exist in a permanent cold war situation. These scenes are some of
the most convincing in the book.
There are some witty touches in this novel. I liked the exchanges between
starship captain Joshua Calvert and overconfident newcomer Liol, which show that
the author is capable of having some fun at the expense of his main character. A
clever moment I appreciated was when the Edenist secret service release
affinity-bonded spiders to search the corridors of an inhabited asteroid; naturally
they use wolf spiders of the species Lycosidae lycosa - sound familiar?
I remember the time when I first read this book. At one point I was at work when
the office lights began to flicker, and for a moment I felt a deep sense of unease,
without knowing why. Then I realised - for a brief instant I had been worried about
the possessed. Jeez.
© Alex Cull, 24th January 2006
Pandora's Star
==============
Life is largely peaceful and prosperous in the steadily-expanding Intersolar
Commonwealth of the 24th century. However, this is just about to change. The
obscure astronomer Dudley Bose is the first to notice when two stars just outside
Commonwealth territory become confined within a colossal force field. A historic
space expedition is dispatched to investigate this genuine cosmic mystery...
which is when the human race abruptly meets its greatest peril yet.
================================================================================
With Pandora's Star, Peter F Hamilton is definitely up where he belongs
again, with the sort of wide-screen mega-epic operatic SF that made the Night's
Dawn trilogy so terrific. As with The Reality Dysfunction et al, a
threat emerges to shake human civilisation to the core, only this time the main
threat is less insidious and more overt, and the forces of civilisation are much
less prepared. Again, a lot of wordage is devoted to scene-setting in the earlier
chapters and at times it is difficult to keep track of the multiple sub-plots and
hordes of minor characters. But when the crunch finally comes, it's worth the wait.
Hamilton's Commonwealth is a different kind of entity to his earlier Confederation.
For one thing, apart from organised crime and the occasional terrorist atrocity
this society is peaceful to the point of complacency. Like the American Old West
it has a frontier but this is being expanded in orderly phases, less like a
land-grab, more like a series of planned corporate mergers. Travel between worlds
is not via starship but (I love this) by rail through a huge network of wormholes
- this is the new age of the train.
In one of the main threads of the story, obsessive detective Paula Myo is on the
trail of a shadowy group of terrorists who believe that human affairs are being
manipulated by the Starflyer, a secretive and hostile alien. In another thread,
co-discoverer of the wormhole technology, Ozzie Isaac, becomes marooned when
exploring the pathways of the Silfen, an intelligent but highly mysterious race
who may have a solution to humanity's current crisis. As with the earlier books,
all the different threads multiply and intertwine, building up to create a
complex and absorbing big picture of a civilisation in danger.
On the minus side, there are few real innovations in Pandora's Star (the
main exception being the wormhole rail system) - the nasty aliens, for example,
seem rather conventional in their nastiness, reminding me of some of E.E. "Doc"
Smith's monstrous baddie races. (Incidentally, I'm sure Hamilton throws in at
least one sly "Doc" Smith allusion - at one point a new teardrop-shaped
battleship named Dauntless is mentioned, surely a throwaway reference to Kim
Kinnison's valiant ship in the Lensman books.)
On the whole, I found Pandora's Star a great and entertaining read and
I am waiting for his next book Judas Unchained with baited breath. It
seems as though Judas Unchained will conclude the story, so this saga
will be a two-parter rather than a trilogy, but I'm still looking forward to
finding out what happens next.
© Alex Cull, 21st April 2004
A Quantum Murder
================
Greg Mandel is brought out of retirement once more, at the request of billionaire
Julia Evans, to investigate the brutal murder of physicist Edward Kitchener.
However, the more Greg discovers, the deeper the mystery gets...
================================================================================
A Quantum Murder is a sequel to Mindstar Rising but can be read as
a stand-alone novel, although I think it would be easier to read the books in
order, to more easily assimilate all the background information about Event
Horizon, the Warming, Mindstar, the PSP/Trinities conflict, etc. Where Mindstar
Rising is about corporate skulduggery and espionage, A Quantum Murder
could be labelled a high-tech whodunnit. There are no jaunts into space this time,
as the focus never strays far from isolated Launde Abbey and its environs, and
despite the near-magical future technology involved, the emphasis is squarely on
the past.
What I liked most about this book was the development of the themes started in
Mindstar Rising. Global warming and a disastrous socialist government have
wrecked the environment and economy, but England is slowly beginning to emerge
from the chaos. The way the author describes this changing world is convincingly
vivid - it doesn't just exist as a two-dimensional backdrop but is woven tightly
into the threads of the story.
Writing in the mid-90s Peter F Hamilton has also foreseen the potential chaos
caused by hackers (hotrods in the Mindstar Rising universe.)
Businesses have paper records going back decades, but then have a whole year or
so missing where data stored digitally has been deliberately wiped. (This also
reminds me of the 1975 film Rollerball, where the world computer has
completely lost all data concerning the 13th century.)
About the only bone I have to pick with A Quantum Murder is the almost
miraculous advanced technology that surfaces in this book. Some things I can cope
with: spaceplanes, giga-conductors, "lightware number crunchers" (super computers)
- yes, these are all solid, plausible developments, and we have the prototypes
for some of them already. It's when we get to "retrospective neurohormones" and
"laser paradigms" that my mind starts to boggle dangerously (I won't tell you
what these are - read the book.) Even Star Trek gives us a few more
centuries' grace before wonders like these are developed.
That aside, basically I enjoyed A Quantum Murder. A bonus for me was
learning that the late Philip Evans, founder of the mighty Event Horizon
corporate behemoth, was a Doctor Who fan. A fellow spirit.
© Alex Cull, 25th February 2005
The Reality Dysfunction
=======================
Welcome to the 27th-century colony planet of Lalonde, where settlers are
contending with the thick jungle, the endless rain and now the outbreak of what
appears to be some sort of energy virus. This is merely the start of a crisis
which will turn out to have frightening consequences for the human race.
================================================================================
If you ever decide to read anything by Peter F Hamilton, read the Night's Dawn
series, starting with The Reality Dysfunction. I really mean this - these
three books (or six, depending on the edition) are certainly the best things he's
ever written, in my opinion. Put together, they make up one humongous, stupendous
space-operatic adventure story with lashings of supernatural horror, and I don't
think that anything quite like it has been attempted before or since.
The Reality Dysfunction is excellent in several crucial ways. For a start,
it is a showcase for Peter F Hamilton's prodigious abilities as a universe-builder.
From the highest echelons of the Confederation governments down to the lowliest
arcology dwellers, he has created a diverse, many-layered, believable human
civilisation. Also by starting a large number of sub-plots, which run in parallel
and occasionally intersect, he is able to generate a multiplicity of viewpoints
and characters who add value and depth to the story, be these characters starship
captains, traders, blue-bloods, scientists or criminals.
Another way that the Night's Dawn books score highly is in the rich detail
of the locations. Lalonde, for example, comes across as a real place; Hamilton's
descriptions of the mud on the streets of Durringham, the jungle wildlife and the
river Juliffe and its maze of tributaries, bring the story to life and give the
events that take place vividness and intensity.
For explosive, fast-moving, panoramic action scenes, Peter F Hamilton cannot be
faulted. As the Lalonde crisis escalates, settlers and Confederation marines fight
desperate battles in the jungle; the action spreads to space and all hell lets
loose as a fleet of mercenaries - including hotshot starship captain Joshua Calvert
- attempt to contain the situation. It's the sort of terrific, edge-of-the-seat
storytelling at which Hamilton excels.
The element that makes this trilogy special has to be the killer combination of
horror and high-tech space adventure. Aliens take a back seat in the Night's Dawn
books (until the third book, anyway) - in contrast to his Commonwealth series,
Hamilton pits human civilisation not against extraterrestrials but against a threat
that is a lot closer to home. The author thus joins others, such as Dan Simmons,
who have successfully combined SF with other genres in interesting ways.
Well, enough praise from me - I think I'll leave it at that, only to add that if
your tastes are anything like mine, you owe it to yourself to experience the
Night's Dawn books. The Reality Dysfunction by Peter F Hamilton - buy, borrow
or steal a copy and for heaven's sake read it soon.
© Alex Cull, 20th January 2006
A Second Chance at Eden
=======================
This is Peter F Hamilton's first collection of short fiction; a sequence of seven
stories (including a novella) set in the Night's Dawn universe and
spanning a huge stretch of time, from soon after the discovery of affinity
to a point just before the start of The Reality Dysfunction.
================================================================================
These stories, by the author of the blockbusting Night's Dawn books, can be
enjoyed both by fans of that series and by newcomers alike. Several of these tales
were rewritten (or retrofitted, you could even say) to allow them to be slotted
into the Confederation universe, and fans like myself will have fun recognising
familiar names and places; however, reading The Reality Dysfunction and
its sequels is by no means a prerequisite to appreciating these shorter works.
Several of the stories are either somewhat slight or seem to have been written
when the author was still developing his style. Sonnie's Edge belongs in
the latter category, while New Days Old Times and Deathday, although
not bad, do not fully allow Hamilton's talents to shine, in my opinion.
The longest piece, novella A Second Chance at Eden is both a decent locked-
room murder mystery and a fascinating glimpse of the beginnings of the Edenist
culture which appears in the Confederation novels. This story explores the issues
surrounding a controversial technology - affinity - which allows humans to
share thoughts and emotions with one another and achieve a level of intimacy and
a consensus previously unknown in recorded history. The author handles the
subject very nicely, showing us the likely impact affinity would have on
the political and religious status quo.
Also excellent are the two stories set on the deceptively tranquil world of
Tropicana - Candy Buds and The Lives And Loves Of Tiarella Rosa -
with their mix of human drama and ideas. Greed, passion, obsession and fear all
take their course, enabled and leveraged in each case by exotic, far-future
technologies. Experienced Hamilton readers will recognise the character of laid-
back pilot Ashly Hanson from the Night's Dawn books; alternately spending
5 years awake and 50 years in the stasis of zero-tau, he is the ultimate tourist,
on a fast-forward trip through the centuries.
Last (but definitely not least) is the story Escape Route which features
the redoubtable starship Lady Mac, under the captainship of Marcus Calvert
(Joshua's dad.) Abandoned alien structures, human skulduggery, weapons, intrigue
and explosive action - just the ticket for all of us who loved the Confederation
novels.
I'm definitely looking forward to another Peter F Hamilton collection of short
stories. If I had the choice, I'd like to read more fiction set in the Night's
Dawn/Confederation universe; a good link would be the character of time-hopping
pilot Ashly Hanson - maybe he will publish his memoirs, some time in the 31st
century I'd guess. Also, more stories featuring the Lady Mac, its crew and captain
(Marcus or Joshua) would be very welcome. If you're reading this, Peter, that
was a hint.
© Alex Cull, 31st January 2006
Top
Brian Herbert
The Butlerian Jihad (with Kevin J Anderson)
The Butlerian Jihad
===================
Way back before the events of Frank Herbert's epic novel Dune, control of
the human universe was seized first by the Titans, power-hungry human brains in
machine bodies, and then by Omnius, a computer system spanning many planets. The
populations of the Synchronised Worlds became slaves and chattels, leaving the
free men and women of the League of Nobles to fight back against Omnius and his
armies of cymeks (human/machine hybrids). However, the stage is now set for a
rebellion ...
================================================================================
When Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson started writing the Dune prequels,
I was first excited and then felt let down, as they were so different to the
original novels. House Atreides and the others, although undoubtedly set
in the Dune universe, and featuring the familiar characters, seemed
superficial and somehow flat, like a fizzy drink without the fizz. The people
appeared relentlessly two-dimensional, the stories were filled with action but
lacked intensity - I often felt I was reading a novelisation, i.e. something
churned out anonymously in the wake of a successful movie.
You may well ask just what I had been expecting. Frank Herbert is dead, alas,
and it would be wrong to churn out slavish pastiches of his work. Also, I have
to admit that they're not spectacularly worse than a lot of other SF novels, they
just have a sort of made-for-TV feel about them. And after all, if the stories had
been unconnected to Dune they would not have triggered quite the same feeling
of disappointment; basically, they would have stood or fallen on their own
merits.
I felt less let down when I read The Butlerian Jihad, possibly because it
is set many generations before Dune, and the authors have a little more
latitude as to the directions the story can go. The battles are entertaining
enough, and it's interesting to read about a pre-Corrino Salusa Secundus and an
inconspicuous little world called Giedi Prime. There are some nice twists - a
heroic Harkonnen (hoorah) and a rather less than heroic start to the Atreides
line that will eventually produce Muad Dibh. I won't go on about the flattish
characters, as a complex entity from the original books such as Leto II (God
Emperor of Dune) would probably be out of place in this simple saga of war
against Omnius and his machine hordes.
However, I do have a couple more observations to make. One of the hallmarks of
Dune and its sequels was the sense that a very long time has passed since
our current era. Over this incredible span of time, a great empire has been
established in the galaxy and human science and customs have undergone sweeping
changes. The best word I can find to sum up the feeling evoked in me is awe. And
this feeling of awe is missing in me when I read The Butlerian Jihad. Long
passages of time are mentioned, but the feeling is simply not evoked.
Likewise with space. In Dune and its sequels, almost all of the action
takes place on planetary surfaces (mostly Arrakis) - travel between worlds is a
big deal, prohibitively expensive and tightly controlled (initially) by the
Spacing Guild. The reader is led to feel awe at the sheer vastness of the
universe - in the words of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - "Space
is really big."
In The Butlerian Jihad space is not really big. It doesn't take long to
flit between planets, and hopping from one world to a neighbouring one seems
little different to voyaging between Earth and the outer reaches. This makes it
difficult to appreciate the scale of the universe, as every place might as well
be next door to every other place. Maybe this is deliberate, and we'll see some
changes in the inevitable sequels, when the strictures of the Jihad start to bite
and when the awesome trippy properties of spice are revealed.
We shall see. In the meantime, I'm beginning finally to enjoy these stories for
what they are - straightforward tales of SF adventure - which just happen to be
set in the Dune universe.
© Alex Cull, 8th August 2003
N.B. The rise of the machines was predicted a few years before 1872, when Samuel
Butler (note the name) wrote Erewhon, his work of utopian fiction. You can
find his novel on this excellent site http://www.classicreader.com
- see Chapter XXIII: The Book of the Machines.
Top
Tom Hodgkinson
How to Be Idle
How to Be Idle
==============
Tom Hodgkinson is editor of The Idler magazine, and it is thus not
surprising that he has put together a useful handbook for would-be idlers and
layabouts. He discusses the merits of sleeping in, loafing, fishing, drinking,
smoking and other ways in which to defeat the tyranny of the alarm clock and the
to-do list.
================================================================================
Reading this book, I became uncomfortably aware that my life is something of a
paradox. On the one hand I tend to rush about trying to get things done, grabbing
cups of coffee to keep myself awake, eating lunch at my desk, getting out of bed
at 6.30 am even on Sundays. On the other hand, I am instinctively drawn towards
many of the activities celebrated by Tom Hodgkinson in this book. Sleeping,
dreaming, reading, going for a stroll - these are things I love. So why aren't I
doing them more often?
How to be Idle is partly a not-too-serious manual for anyone who wants to slip
away from the fast-flowing currents of our modern society and enjoy messing about
in the backwaters. Quoting from (among others) Jerome K Jerome, Oscar Wilde and
Lin Yutang, Hodgkinson sings the praises of the idle life, which would ideally
include activities such as having a good lie-in, pottering around at home,
sleeping, smoking, having a really nice cup of tea. Some of these - smoking, for
example, or rioting in the streets or going to raves - are not really for me. But
sitting on a cosy, quiet patio somewhere, lazing for hours with a good book, a cup
of tea or glass of red wine - I wouldn't say no to a bit of that.
However, there is an underlying message to this book, which concerns the way we
work nowadays in the industrialised world. Hodgkinson describes the work patterns
of weavers in pre-industrial times, in the days when weaving was a cottage
industry rather than a vast, mechanised enterprise carried out in dark, satanic
mills. They would work when there was work to do, rest or loaf when there wasn't,
and otherwise would be masters of their own time (possibly this is a somewhat
idealised picture.)
Clearly, this is not how most of us work, who are employed by corporations and
thus have jobs. Crucially, we have little control over the time we spend at work.
Those of us on nine-to-five contracts have to be in the office, at our desks,
whether things are frantic or slack. There is no option to take an impromptu
afternoon off, if you've finished all the tasks you are meant to have done. There
is also no concession to the rhythms of the body - if you, like me, have had to
attend meetings just after lunch, you will know what I mean; typically, on such
occasions, it takes all one's resources just to stay awake and look alert, let
alone make any meaningful contribution to said meeting.
This is the nub of the matter; current employment practises are based upon the
notion that humans are suited to churning out a standardised, uniform quality of
work between an arbitrary range of hours. However, the fact is that we are not
computers or internal combustion engines; we are mammals, and work best when we
have long periods of rest and idleness, punctuated by bursts of effort. Although
I don't think Hodgkinson mentions cats in his book, the ideal role model would be
your average household moggie. Cats don't work nine to five; they lounge, they
laze, they mess about, and when the time is right - they pounce.
Good ideas and insights come to us when we are idling. After all, Archimedes had
his original Eureka moment, not when he was slaving away in the office, but when
he was wallowing in his bath.
As one of my teachers used to say, though, what if everyone did that? Idled, lazed,
lounged about? My first answer would be: if everyone did that, I'd be a fool not to.
My second one would be: the author is not saying we should never do anything at all,
at any time. Life would cease, if we all did that. He is recommending that we live
our lives at our own pace, and not be dictated to by corporations or governments.
Unthinkable? Maybe for the majority at this point in history. But the nine-to-five
life would have been unthinkable in the year 1700; the world changed and it can
change again.
Time for another cup of tea, I think.
© Alex Cull, 18th April 2007
Top
Liz Hoggard
How to Be Happy: Making Slough Happy
How to Be Happy: Making Slough Happy
====================================
In 2005 the BBC launched an extraordinary project, a psychological experiment to
find out whether it was possible to raise the happiness levels of the people of
an entire town (Slough in Berkshire, west of London.) The results appeared on
four TV programmes shown on BBC2, in November and December of 2005; this book
accompanies the series.
================================================================================
I watched last year's TV series Making Slough Happy with interest, and
with quite a few questions going through my mind. Was it possible to make a whole
town happy? How would they know whether they had succeeded or not? How do you
measure happiness? Why did they pick Slough? What is this "happiness" thing
anyway?
Well, I do now have answers to some of these questions. Although it is obviously
not possible to make everyone in any given place happy all the time, it is
possible - using specific methods of measurement and statistical techniques -
to make a broad statement about the happiness levels in a place, be it a small
town or a vast nation. One such method has been used by researchers at Erasmus
University in Rotterdam, who have come up with a ten-point scale, against which
towns and countries can be measured. For instance, Britain in 2003 scored 7.3 on
this scale (the highest score went to Denmark at 8.3.)
The reason why Slough was picked was not because it is a dreadful place to live
(because it isn't, mostly) but because it scored only 6.4 on the scale. After the
project finished, this score had gone up to a heady 8.1 (almost at Danish or Swiss
levels!)
Many roads lead to happiness. Both in the TV series and in this book, the emphasis
is on a combined approach. The 10-point Happiness Manifesto lists a variety of
methods using which we can become happier; these include taking regular exercise,
having more human contact and watching less television (BBC2 excepted, presumably)
There are also chapters in the book which recommend a good diet (including foods
which boost serotonin levels), less caffeine, good sex, more laughter, better
social connectedness, better sleep, pet ownership and a spiritual (not
necessarily religious) element to our lives.
What pleased me was not so much the recognition that all these individual elements
are effective (for example, I already knew that taking exercise or having a pet
was beneficial) but the way psychologists (these psychologists, anyway) have
realised that all of them can act together in a synergistic way.
And this could be rolled out on a national level - we may all get a leaflet from
the government, telling us how to be happy. Critics of the project say that
instead of getting people to sing, dance or enjoy doing their household chores,
governments would do better to spread happiness by spending money on better
housing, more jobs and fighting crime.
However, I think these critics are missing the point. Throwing money at problems
goes so far, but it is only half of the equation. After all, if people felt
happier, they would enjoy their homes more, and be inclined to improve them. They
would enjoy their work more, and help their colleagues, subordinates and bosses
to enjoy their work, in turn. They would also generate less crime.
Well that's my two cents. If you watched the TV series, I'd heartily recommend
the book; if you missed it, the BBC may repeat it, or release it on DVD at some
point, and you'll still gain something from the book.
Either way, there's plenty of food for thought to be found here.
© Alex Cull, 26th January 2006
Top
Robert Holdstock
Robert Holdstock's homepage: http://robertholdstock.com
Celtika
The Iron Grail
Celtika
=======
Deep below the ice of a Finnish lake is the legendary ship Argo, along with its
captain the renowned hero Jason. On hand with some powerful magic to raise both
ship and hero to take part in a brave new quest is former Argonaut Antiokus -
also known as Merlin.
================================================================================
After a number of rather average science fiction novels, Robert Holdstock
hit the big time in 1984 with his truly excellent fantasy novel Mythago Wood,
which I loved. I also liked the Mythago novels that followed but found they were
never quite as brilliant as the first one. With the Merlin Codex books, the
author is mixing and matching Arthurian with Greek and Nordic legends in an
ambitious new series, which also might or might not ultimately tie in with the
Mythago books.
Central to the story is Merlin, recast as a mysterious almost-immortal wanderer,
who has spent the ages following his path around the world and sparingly using his
sorcerous powers. In Celtika his main purpose is to assemble a new team of
Argonauts and search for Jason's long-lost sons, although along the way he also
becomes involved in the quest of one of the crew, British chieftain Urtha, whose
stronghold in mist-wreathed Alba is threatened by treachery and unearthly forces.
Holdstock is thus attempting to rework and combine elements from several very
distinct mythic traditions.
Is he succeeding? Well, yes and no. The combination of Celtic and Greek legend
obviously makes for some very interesting scenarios but is at the same time
somewhat awkward and doesn't always quite gell. Also there are a number of striking
characters, but none are all that sympathetic, one of the few exceptions being
Urtha, who may (perhaps) be King Arthur's ancestor in this magical mirror-world
(I also liked the stalwart Rubobostes, the strongest of the new Argonauts, along
with his wonderfully powerful horse.) The story is told in first-person with
Merlin as the narrator but he is an ambiguous, slippery figure, not always
dependable when the chips are down.
As always in a Holdstock book, the ideas are compelling in their strangeness, and
many more questions are raised than answers given. Who is the time-defying Merlin
exactly and how did he come by his awesome but carefully-hoarded powers? Who are
the ten totemic gods that haunt his dreams? My imagination was also caught by
Holdstock's depiction of a vast and bloody military invasion, large enough to be
the stuff of history books had it not taken place in the trackless depths of the
bronze age.
However, the number of unanswered questions and dangling threads means that
Celtika is very much Part One of a series and is thus not completely
satisfactory as a novel in its own right. Nevertheless, I give Holdstock top
marks for trying, and am looking forward with anticipation to the magical ship
Argo's next voyage.
© Alex Cull, 20th July 2004
The Iron Grail
==============
Revived by Merlin's magic, the ancient Greek hero Jason is now searching for his
younger son Kinos, the "Little Dreamer", who has been kidnapped and held captive
in Ghostland by the sorceress Medea. Meanwhile, Merlin is helping chieftain Urtha
to recapture and defend the fortress of Taurovinda from enemy forces emanating
from both past and future.
================================================================================
The second book in Robert Holdstock's Merlin Codex series, The Iron Grail
pretty much starts where Celtika left off, both in regard to Jason's search
for his missing sons and Urtha's struggle to keep his fortress and children safe
from the marauding Ghostland warriors. As in the first book, there is a curious
blend of mythic traditions as Greek and Celtic/Arthurian elements and characters
find themselves cheek by jowl. This at times can seem awkward and not entirely
convincing, but on the whole it makes for some very interesting and original
storytelling.
I enjoyed The Iron Grail more than its predecessor - maybe it's a case of
the author beginning to settle into his project finally, or maybe it's just me
becoming more comfortable with the Greek/Arthurian mixture. Robert Holdstock's
writing is certainly never dull. He gives us some genuinely eerie moments, plus
all the battles and excitement you would expect with characters such as Urtha and
Jason around. There are even comic touches too, with the arrival of two chariot-
thieving juvenile gods.
Various crew members from the first book embark on the good ship Argo again, such
as the sturdy Rubobostes (as always with his fabulous horse) and the young
bagpipe-playing Caledonian Elkavar, who puts in an appearance towards the end. Even
several Argonauts who have since died are resurrected by Jason, living literally on
borrowed time as their zombie-like bodies are animated via magical metal golems or
kolossoi. The young sorceress Niiv is there too, as ever attempting to get
closer to Merlin and the source of his power.
As the various dramas unfold, we pick up a few more pieces of the tantalising
puzzle that is Merlin's past. It becomes clear, for instance that he and fierce-
eyed Medea were lovers and that both have a connection to Ghostland, that
mysterious country where mythical entities are larger than life and where the
laws of time and space seem to melt like pocket watches in a surrealist painting.
We also learn something of Merlin's and Medea's centuries-long shared childhood.
All these glimpses, of course, merely serve to raise further questions. Who
exactly are these people? What are the mysterious rajathuks, the ten
masked gods who watch over Merlin as he follows his path through the world?
Hopefully we will have a few more answers by the end of the series.
And that could be soon, as the author is currently producing a third book with
the working title The Broken Kings. Word has it that this next instalment
of the Merlin Codex series will tie in with the Mythago books and will
feature the Urscumug, the scary half-man half-boar from Mythago Wood.
This I must read.
© Alex Cull, 27th August 2004
Top
Carl Honoré
In Praise of Slow
In Praise of Slow
=================
In this thought-provoking book, journalist Carl Honoré examines and endorses the
burgeoning "Slow Movement", whose proponents are seeking to reverse the damage
done by the all-pervasive cult of speed in today's world.
================================================================================
While I was reading this book, I felt that it could almost have been written for
me. I eat fast, I walk fast, I talk too fast. I read upwards of two or three
books a week and at any one time am carrying on at least two or three e-mail
exchanges with people across the globe. I fret when I cannot read my e-mail every
few hours, or wait more than a second for a web page to load. When I send an
e-mail or post a message in a newsgroup, I start to feel unloved if I don't get
a reply within 24 hours. Yes, I too am a victim of the modern cult of speed.
Ever since the dawn of the industrial age, the watchwords (here in the "developed"
world, at least) have been "better", "cheaper" and, of course, "faster". In fact,
"better" and "faster" could almost be synonyms in the public mind. After all, who
wants a slow computer, a slow car, a slow printer, a slow bank? Several major
developments have served in the last century or so to exacerbate the speeding up
of society, including mass production techniques, the internal combustion engine,
powered flight, and the rise and rise of electronic communications. Today we can
book flights across the Atlantic with the click of a mouse, and get there and
back by the weekend.
But all this unfettered speed can come at a price. Stress, distraction, ill
health, burnout and a chronic inability to settle down and enjoy things properly,
all these can befall the average speeded-up modern citizen. Life passes in a blur,
nothing is actually savoured but is grabbed, used up and discarded at a rate
which would have puzzled and horrified our ancestors. Honoré charts the origins of
our ever-accelerating modern world, which was brought into being by the Industrial
Revolution and made even faster by the efforts of such people as Frederick Taylor,
who introduced the first time-and-motion studies.
But now a backlash is under way (if backlash is not too energetic a term.) For
instance, the Slow Food movement, founded in Italy by author Carlo Petrini, aims
to make preparing and eating food a leisurely, interesting and enjoyable experience
again, and also supports local food traditions. Slow exercise is said to be
beneficial, as demonstrated by the SuperSlow exercise regime pioneered by Ken
Hutchins. Slow lovemaking, influenced by Tantric yoga, has also gained more
popularity in recent years. There is the Slow Cities movement (another idea from
Italy) committed to improving citizens' quality of life. This has percolated
through to even the world's most frenetic cultures - in Japan, for instance, the
new Shiodome development in Tokyo has been developed along Slow lines, and there
is now a Sloth Club, founded by Keibo Oiwa.
Most exotic of all these slow developments, however, has surely to be Slow music
- for instance, the Longplayer Project, a 1000-year-old piece of music which
started on 1st January 2000 and is scheduled to end on 31st December 2999 (if the
human race is still around in its present form.) You can hear Longplayer via
streaming audio over the internet - I tuned in while writing this and am hearing
a series of chimes and bell- or gong-like tones, eerily relaxing.
One thing that has impressed me in this book is Honoré's use of the musical term
"tempo giusto" - the right speed. Not everything in life should be slow. If I were
choking or bleeding to death, I'd want medical assistance - fast! But some things,
like eating, working, exercising and making love, are better done at an
appropriate speed, not in a blind rush. Once the "tempo giusto" is found, the
experience tends to become more enjoyable and beneficial.
I enjoyed this book, and liked the author's laid-back, informative style. I agree
with a lot of what he says, even if I don't always practise it. He's currently
writing another book, this time on childhood, and I'm look forward to reading it.
It might be nice, sometimes, to have an Italian-style family banquet lasting all
afternoon. The only thing is - I'd be away from the computer. Think of all the
e-mails I could send in that time.
© Alex Cull, 16th January 2007
Some Slow links:
Carl Honoré's website: http://www.inpraiseofslow.com
Slow Food: http://www.slowfood.com
Sloth Club: http://www.slothclub.org
Slow Exercise: http://www.superslow.com
Savour some nicely eerie chimes and jangles at http://longplayer.org/
Enjoy these - but don't rush. Take your time...
Top
David Howe
On Being a Client
On Being a Client
=================
What do clients really want? How do they actually benefit from counselling? And
what do successful counsellors have in common? This book addresses these
important questions.
================================================================================
I think this book is excellent - well written, highly relevant to anyone
intending to be a counsellor/psychotherapist, and especially relevant to anyone
actually on a counselling skills course. I'm currently studying for my Diploma
in Counselling, and at times struggling to reconcile the humanistic/person-
centred approach (with which I'm most familiar) with other approaches such as
psychodynamic or cognitive. On Being a Client provides some reassurance for
those of us who tend to be overwhelmed by the weight and complexity of
psychological theory.
In this book David Howe expresses views that are echoed in the writings of David
Smail and Peter Lomas, i.e. that when psychotherapy is effective, it is not
necessarily because any specific theory has in itself proved to be more "right"
than another. It is effective because of the personal qualities of the therapist,
who has demonstrated certain qualities such as empathy and a non-judgemental
attitude.
At first glance "What do clients want?" would seem to be an obvious question to
ask. Surprisingly, until recently it appears that few psychologists were actually
interested in finding out. Practitioners seem to have been more concerned with
slotting their clients into whichever theoretical model they currently espoused,
and putting any awkwardness down to client "resistance."
So what do clients like? They like to be treated with human warmth, with
sincerity and honesty. They want to be listened to and allowed to tell their story.
What do clients dislike? They dislike being treated with professional coldness.
They do not like being ignored, patronised or experimented with.
I don't find the above truths particularly surprising. All of us, whether or not
we are clients undergoing therapy, would want to be treated in a humane way by
friends, neighbours, colleagues and professional people. We treasure human warmth
and genuineness, we are repelled by rudeness and insincerity. What I do find
surprising is that so many clients have reported having negative experiences with
the very people who purport to help them, namely counsellors and psychotherapists.
Instead of human warmth and interest, they have been treated with clinical
coldness, indifference or insensitivity.
Why is this? Partly the "medical model" is to blame, a client with personal issues
seen as being not much different to a patient in a GP's surgery complaining about
dizzy spells. After all, an aspirin will do its work in the same way, whether or
not the doctor prescribing it is friendly, so why not therapy?
In some cases, the use of new gadgetry is also partly to blame. There seems to
have been a time during the late 1980s when family therapists were experimenting
with using technology such as microphones and video links in their sessions, and
clients reported finding themselves speaking to a therapist who was effectively
being remote-controlled by a panel of psychologists in a different room, and who
would stop in mid-sentence as he received new instructions from his controllers.
This would be disconcerting in normal circumstances, and to a group of family
members already experiencing deep-seated problems, it would be potentially
nightmarish and no help whatsoever.
How is it that clients are able to process their issues most effectively when
treated in a warm, sincere and non-judgemental way? David Howe suggests that the
reason lies in the way our minds develop and the way we become social beings in
the first place. We are each of us embedded in a world of culture and social rules,
and our very brain tissue contains structures that help us make sense of the world
using language. This is why the "talking cure" works - we learn to understand our
issues the same way that we learned to understand our experiences when we were
children, through the medium of language, by talking and by listening. Provided -
and this is crucial - we are in an environment that resembles the environment that
(ideally) surrounded us as children, a warm, supportive and secure base from which
we can safely explore the world.
David Howe seems to be basing his arguments on the idea that we are beings whose
innermost selves are cultural constructs, accessed via language. This is where my
views diverge from his - I think there is a lot of evidence to suggest that much
of what we are cannot be expressed in words, easily or at all. Language, vital
though it is in our social life, is inadequate when we attempt to describe a whole
range of phenomena, including mystical and near-death experiences. Even our dreams
can often defy accurate expression - I have found myself a number of times trying
and failing to capture in words a scene, a mood, a feeling encountered in a dream.
There is a vital part of us, I believe, that goes beyond language and beyond the
limits of culture.
All things considered, though, On Being a Client is an excellent, clearly
written and thought-provoking read. In my opinion, for anyone either already in a
helping role or preparing to take one on, it is especially useful.
© Alex Cull, 8th April 2005
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