<![CDATA[Nicholas Rawlins

<![CDATA[Nicholas Rawlins - Outatime]]>Sun, 06 Nov 2022 06:56:18 -0800Weebly<![CDATA[In Times Like These]]>Mon, 24 Oct 2016 21:19:43 GMThttp://www.nicholasrawlins.com/outatime/in-times-like-these

In Times Like These
by Nathan Van Coops

In Times Like These is a time travel adventure novel following a group of five friends who are inexplicably sent back in time to 1986 from the present day and must try to find a way to return home. Their search to find answers regarding why they traveled through time and how they can get home is interrupted when they realize they are not the only ones who traveled to the past. Now, not only do they have to find their way home, but they must also avoid an unpredictable serial killer on the loose.

The premise is fairly interesting, and I’m a sucker for good, well-thought-out time travel, so I was all on board. Unfortunately, the first half is quite honestly a drag. The characters are poorly defined and it took me far too long to even be able to distinguish them apart from their names. Blake’s defining characteristic is he has an engagement ring he wants to give to his girlfriend. Carson. . . well, I think he plays guitar. Yep, okay. He plays guitar. Robbie has a grandpa in 1986, so there’s that. Francesca is a spunky, sarcastic Hispanic girl. And the main character, who is narrating the story in first person, is named Benjamin. It took me over half the book to remember his name, let alone figure out why I should care about who is who. They eventually get slightly more defined, but the dialogue spoken by Carson is indistinguishable from Blake, or Benjamin, or Robbie, and it all just blended together for a while.

The worst characterization by far is seen in the antagonist. The villainous Stenger is a bad dude, because we’re told he’s a bad dude many times, so trust them, he’s a bad dude. He’s a serial killer, and unpredictable, so (*yawn*, sorry) watch out. When he does show up, you know you’re in for it. He’s not a very compelling character, just a device to add some tension.

It’s unfortunate to even have him in the novel, honestly, because the best parts of In Times Like These have nothing to do with the characters or their paper-thin motivations. The best part of In Times Like These is by far the mechanics, consequences, and limitations of the time travel itself. And boy, let me tell you, Van Coops has some great ideas when it comes to time travel.

The “time machines” they use are mostly personal watches the characters wear, allowing them to dial in how far forward or backward they wish to travel. This requires physical contact with an object that is stationary in time, transporting them in relation to said object. It could be a sign post, the roof of a house, or even the shell of a tortoise. If the object moves through space, so do they. For example, if they were to ground themselves on the roof of a car and travel one hour in the future, if the car has traveled during that time they will find themselves in a completely new location. Its honestly pretty cool.

Van Coops makes a point of describing the inherent dangers of time traveling in great detail. They have to worry about being fused with a solid object, hurtled through space, or just disappearing altogether. I found myself actually worrying about the characters as they traveled around time and space simply because the dangers involved have been built up to such a degree. It brings a feeling of weight to the act of time traveling and helps to make it seem like less of a deus ex machina device and more like a nuclear bomb that could go off at any second.

A lot of this doesn’t come into play until the second half, so again you’ll have to trudge through some weak characters and a lot of explaining and re-explaining of events. If something happens with only two characters present, but you spaced out, don’t worry. It’ll all be explained again when those two characters explain what happened to the other three. This happens over, and over, and over, and over. . . You’ll be constantly bombarded with exposition, including exposition that covers events you just read about a couple of pages ago. It can be a little rough, but once the time travel really gets going it becomes much more forgivable.

Your enjoyment will be determined mainly by your reading preferences. If you love great characters and an interesting plot, you might be best served by skipping this one. If, however, you’re more interested in the process and details of time travel and would like to read one of the most unique takes on time travel I’ve encountered, I recommend giving this a try. It is the first in a series of three, and to be honest, I’m more excited about what’s to come in the next book after hopefully coming up to speed with Van Coops’ great vision of how time travel could work.

- Nicholas Rawlins

]]><![CDATA[Oryx and Crake]]>Tue, 06 Sep 2016 03:45:22 GMThttp://www.nicholasrawlins.com/outatime/7317413

Oryx and Crake
by Margaret Atwood

I recently read Oryx and Crake as part of the Science Friday radio show/podcast book club and thought I would include it as the first entry in my blog. I hope to be writing a new book review about once every two weeks. While I'll be focusing on the science fiction genre, including several other time travel books that engage my interest, other genres may drop in now and then.

Now, Oryx and Crake! This was a very interesting book to be reading now, having originally been published in 2003. Despite a few rough edges in the world, such as a lack of online social media presence and the prominent use of CD-ROMs for data storage, it was definitely ahead of its time in regards to the science of bio-engineering. With new technology available in the world, such as the endlessly fascinating CRISPR, Margaret Atwood's bleak interpretation of the future of bio-engineering gone amok is even closer to a reality than ever before.

In Oryx and Crake, the world is basically separated between the rich and the poor. The wealthy and elite primarily consist of scientists and thinkers who live in walled off compounds. Much like my depiction of the CCC in Time Traveler's Odyssey, the police force is largely a private security firm known as the CorpSeCorps. The compounds themselves are run by biotech companies, with rampant corporate espionage and headhunting of employees. The poor simply live in what is known as the pleeblands in what can only be described as severe poverty.

The interesting part is what goes on within these compounds. Inside they experiment on, and create, new life forms. Combining a skunk and a raccoon to create a rakunk, an odorless, docile, adorable hybrid that makes a great family pet. Creating a breed of dog called wolvogs that display all the signs of your loyal family pet, but with the intelligence and ruthlessness of a demented killer. These un-tameable (is that a word?) dogs are used as a deadly security measure. There's also the pigoons, pigs that are bred for the sole purpose of farming the human organs growing inside. One pigoon can hold up to five human kidneys that are used for life-saving transplants at a hefty price. Perhaps the most hilarious, Chickienobs are strange plant/animal hybrids that grow to become chicken breasts or drumsticks without any cognitive functioning whatsoever. With no brain, the PETA's of the Oryx and Crake world can't complain about their treatment, while half-sentient chicken breasts wobble around waiting to be sent to the nearest fast-food chain.

"One pigoon can hold up to five human kidneys that are used for life-saving transplants at a hefty price."

This world of bio-engineering is by far the most interesting aspect of Oryx and Crake. It is also clearly what Margaret Atwood was interested in the most herself, because the basic plot and story of Oryx and Crake suffers as a result. The novel begins with Jimmy, the main protagonist, living in the post-apocalyptic remains of our world. Now calling himself Snowman, he believes himself to be the last surviving human. The only company he has is in the form of the Crakers, or children of Crake, bio-engineered humans that have been heavily modified from their original form. I won't spoil much of their alterations, but these changes to the human genome, and the reasoning behind them, are the elements of the novel that have stuck with me the most. It is a tragic, chilling, and fascinating aspect of the book.

Crake, the titular man behind the Crakers, is a friend of Jimmy's. Half of the novel is told in flashback form, revealing the life of Jimmy and his friendship with Crake before the event that wipes out the human race. For about 3/4 of the novel this is the much more engaging part of the story since the present timeline, the one with Snowman in the post-apocalypse, tends to be slow and dull until the end. I think Atwood understands this, because she spends much more time in the past than in the present.

The scientists who create and alter the genomes of lifeforms, and engineer medical cures (and the diseases they cure) to be sold at exorbitant prices, are completely oblivious to the world of the pleeblands. They place no value on the arts and humanities, busy solving problems with no respect for the people they "help". This is where the strongest theme of Oryx and Crake shines through. The world of the arts, and the value of fiction as well, is that they can teach us about our own world and cause us to think about abstract concepts. The scientists reject art and fiction as a waste of time and intelligence, focusing on facts and numbers instead. They lose sight of the concepts of ethics and morality as a result, and simply pursue the next big idea that will increase profit for themselves and their corporations. This disconnect is what eventually causes the downfall of the human race.

Overall, Oryx and Crake is a fascinating read. Although the plot can be a little slow, and the end payoff not altogether satisfying (if not downright disappointing), the themes and questions it raises are strong enough to recommend. It is the first in a trilogy, and since I have yet to read the other two books I can't comment on how it all ties in as a complete story yet. There are also a few weak characterizations throughout, especially that of the other titular character Oryx, but the inner workings of Crake and the absolutely chilling conclusions he comes to about the human condition almost make up for it. If you have a strong stomach for the darkness of humanity and are looking for a slower, more philosophical/thoughtful read, give Oryx and Crake a try. Just don't expect a fun, jolly summer read full of rainbows and sunshine.

- Nicholas Rawlins

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