Kleinzeit by Russell Hoban

This is going to be difficult to review, largely because I like to find something positive to focus on when I do these, but the only positive thing I can find to say about my experience with Russell Hoban’s Kleinzeit is that it was short.

Occasionally I get books that I wonder why they’re on this list. Generally it’s because I don’t think they fit into the definition of fantasy, even going by the definition at the beginning of the book. Kleinzeit is one of those, not just because of classification, but because it’s really not a very well written or thought out book, I couldn’t even really call it a novel. It reads largely like a stream of consciousness piece written by someone suffering from a mental illness as a therapeutic exercise.

There is nothing that you could really call a plot and because the author has chosen to name nearly all his characters using single names according to their position in life or physical characteristics they never really develop personalities beyond those and that includes Kleinzeit himself. He claims the English translation of his name is ‘Hero’, but it actually means small time, which is also an accurate term to describe him. The only characters that get given proper names are the fictional action hero film stars that appear on movie posters in the Underground that Kleinzeit sometimes busks in. Even those are joke names like Dirk Jockstrap, that’s a fairly cleaned up version by the way. I’m not sure if the author actually felt they were funny or satiric, it was rather puerile to me. A 12 year old boy may get a giggle or two out of it.

Kleinzeit spends a lot of the book ion the hospital being treated for a problem with his hypotenuse. In fact all of the ailments suffered by various characters in the book are literary, geometric or musical terms, I think one or two may have also referred to photography. If you use this once or twice it’s clever and even amusing, it was overused here and became very tired, very quickly and actually irritated me. I get a laugh every time I think of Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye telling someone he broke his clavichord, but that is funny and typical of the character. Holden also knew he was making it up. Hoban’s characters aren’t doing that.

One of my pet peeves in books is characters not acting or speaking in ways that are at all believable, it was a lot of what spoiled John Crowley’s Little Big (another critical success) for me, and it happens again here. If Kleinzeit had been shown to have created a false reality for himself because he was suffering from difficulties in dealing with his own reality, that may have made a whole lot more sense, but there’s no evidence of this.

The book’s received quite a bit of critical acclaim since it’s release in 1974, but I really can’t see why. It’s fairly shallow and as I said earlier in my opinion not particularly well written. Sections of it where Kleinzeit is having conversations and relationships with inanimate objects (Hospital became a character in its own right) or concepts reminded me of some of Chief Broom’s musings in One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (I would recommend reading that, it’s a great book). Some of the more unreal and pseudo philosophical passages made think of Mark Helprin’s cure for insomnia; Winter’s Tale. Looking ahead on the list I can see a title I think I’m going to appreciate far more than Kleinzeit, too. Phew!           

Flashman in the Great Game - Chapter 1

Before talking about the opening chapter of Flashman in the Great Game I feel it’s necessary to discuss George MacDonald Fraser’s introduction. There’s the usual comments about the packet and the period it covers, but also indications that by now the series and the character was gaining a following. Some eagle eyed readers had contacted the author to point out some historical inaccuracies, which Fraser attributed to Flashman’s advanced age and memory playing him false. Still other readers had provided accounts of adventures that Fraser had either not thought of or not covered to that point. I’m still not sure if he already had everything mapped out or whether he made some of it up as he went along.

Flashman begins this reminiscence by talking about Balmoral, his regular visits there, his fractured relationship with King Edward VII and the first allusion to the Tranby-Croft affair (it’s covered in detail in Flashman and the Tiger). He also remembers the first time he and Elspeth were invited to the royal holiday home and how it resulted in one of his most deadly ever missions. For once he claims this one wasn’t entirely his fault, he lays the blame for that squarely at the feet of Lord Palmerston, who was the Prime Minister of Great Britain at the time.

It’s never made clear exactly why the Flashman’s were invited to Balmoral that first time, after all the most recent connection Harry had to the royal family was getting Queen Victoria’s cousin killed in action at the Crimea (poor Willy). This allows him to recap Flashman at the Charge and recount how he managed to put Lord Cardigan’s reputation in the toilet. Never ever get on the wrong side of Harry Flashman, he will repay you in kind.

Once Harry and Elspeth are there and have met the royal couple it turns out that Elspeth and Victoria are not all that different and get along like a house on fire. Elspeth has that ability, people like her and want to be with her, curiously enough they’re never jealous of her good looks either. Harry is left to hunting with the gung ho Albert, not an experience he enjoys overall, it doesn’t help that he can’t stand Albert at the best of times.

While enjoying the royal hospitality Harry is summoned to a meeting with the Prime Minister. He’s met by Pam, as Lord Palmerston was commonly referred to, and shown some chapattis. These ones are special, they’ve been used to pass messages, which is a common thing in India, but worryingly enough for the politicals in England, it generally only happens when there’s an uprising in the wind.

Things are dicey in Jhansi, the young female ruler doesn’t like the interference of the British, it’s Thug territory and the Russians have been agitating. They want Flashman to go there and get the lay of the land. Flashman doesn’t particularly want to get involved, but he can’t very well refuse and just to put the icing on the cake the Russian most involved with the agitating is Harry’s old sparring partner Count Ignatieff.  Flashman even ranks Ignatieff in such company as John Charity Spring, Otto von Bismarck and Rudi Starnberg, although he actually puts Ignatieff above the other four for sheer villainy.

Harry goes back to his lodgings with his head whirling and as he leaves the train station things get worse, because Ignatieff himself disembarks from the train and heads towards Balmoral!    

Flashman in the Great Game introduction

I thought in keeping with what I've done so far, I'd do my personal introduction to Flashman in the Great Game and then do the first chapter tomorrow.

Flashman in the Great Game is the 5th of George MacDonald Fraser’s books about the career of the least deserving hero in the British Army; Harry Flashman.

Fraser really got into a nice groove with Flashman at the Charge, and he continued that with it’s follow up. The book takes place not all that long after it’s predecessor. While the conflict in Flashman in the Great Game (the Sepoy Mutiny) is not as well known or celebrated as the Crimean conflict featured in Flashman at the Charge, it is however something any student of the Victorian era has some knowledge of.

It takes place on the sub continent, and owing to his own experiences and knowledge Fraser always seems very comfortable writing about that area. This shows through in the writing and makes for a highly enjoyable experience. Readers had seen Harry Flashman in action in this area once before (Flashman), and the events of a later book (Flashman and the Mountain of Light) would also take place there.

The Great Game that the title refers to is the business of spying. Harry spent most of his career as a political or a diplomat. They’re really just pretty words for spy. A lot of this particular book has the feel of a spy novel, because that’s what Harry spends a lot of his time doing, and he’s in disguise for a good deal of it, too. A few old friends and one enemy return and there’s all sorts of fun to be had. George MacDonald Fraser co wrote the screenplay for one of the James Bond adventures (Octopussy), I wonder if this was the book that convinced the Broccoli’s to hire the novelist. Although he’s nowhere near as brave or competent a lot of the Great Game did remind me of Ian Fleming’s superspy, especially the way he’s presented in the films, rather than the books.

The cover shows Harry in local getup, which makes total sense as he does spend a lot of time pretending to be a native. Again no pretty local with him, but there is a backdrop of an almost fairytale like Indian city behind Harry the jolly whiskered native.

So sit back and prepare to join Harry Flashman as he plays the greatest game of his extraordinary career.  

Red Seas Under Red Skies read along week 1

We liked Lies of Locke Lamora so much that we decided to do a read along of the sequel Red Seas Under Red Skies. Again, having read Red Seas Under Red Skies many times I have to approach this a little differently so as not to spoil the newbies.

This weeks questions come from Bryce at My Awful Reviews.

1. The Sinspire. It looks like our heroes (can they really be called that?) find themselves in search of a way into an unbeatable vault. Do you think they have what it takes to make it happen?

Maybe Locke and Jean can be called our protagonist, they are really anti-heroes I guess. This is a very common thing with modern fantasy, though. Despite the fact that they're thieves they do have many heroic qualities.

We're talking about Locke Lamora and Jean Tannen here, students of Father Chains. Gentleman Bastards. Of course they find their way into Requin's vault.

2.  Anyone want to guess how they're going to make it happen?

I KNOW how they're going to make it happen, so I'lll leave others to speculate.

3. It's a little different this time around, with us just being focused on Locke and Jean. Is anyone else missing the rest of the Bastards as much as I am?

Oh the Thirteenth yes! Especially Bug, but more than that I miss Camorr, this other uncredited character that was so much a part of the first book. Tal Verrar and surrounds are interesting and just as fascinating as any imagined place I've ever seen, but it's not Camorr, which felt almost like a second home to me.

4. I love the section where Jean starts to build a new guild of thieves. It really shows just how well trained and tough he is. Do you think the Bastards will end up training others along the way again like Bug?

I think Jean was carrying a bit of pent up anger, and he couldn't beat the crap out of Locke, so had to find someone to do it on. After the events of The Lies of Locke Lamora, I think it will be a while before either of the two remaining Gentleman Bastards want the responsibility of another group of thieves, especially Locke who still blames himself for what happened.

5. For those of you looking for Sabetha, we still haven't spotted her yet. Anyone else chomping at the bit to see the love of Locke's life?

YES!

6. It's early on, but the Bastards are already caught up in plots that they didn't expect. How do you think their new "employer" is going to make use of them (The Archon, that is)?

I know what he's going to do, but first time around I was asking myself and didn't expect the answer when it came. The Archon is a rather interesting character in his own right. 

That's my thoughts on the first part. Hope everyone can join me next week for the second part of Red Seas Under Red Skies.

Lost Horizon by James Hilton

James Hilton's Lost Horizon has left a huge legacy in that the lost city of Shangri-La has become a byword for any utopian place of contemplation.

James Hilton is an interesting writer in that he's best known for this book and Goodbye Mr Chips, both of which were filmed successfully and two more different works you could not find. He also worked on the screenplay for the wartime classic Mrs Miniver.

Lost Horizon is largely the story of Hugh 'Glory' Conway. Conway was a schoolboy sports star and academic achiever, who was what every student aspired to be. His experiences in WW I affected him deeply, and after a period in academia he became a minor diplomat. It was in that capacity that he was on a small plane with 3 other travellers and heading out of India.

The plane was hijacked and taken deep into the Himalayas. The four travellers found themselves at the Shangri-La lamasery. Conway is the one who discovers the lamasery's secret. It is a place where time stops, and as long as one stays there they have the ability to literally live forever and never age.

Driven by his love for Lo-Tsen; a beautiful Manchu princess, and constantly badgered by the annoying young diplomat that travelled with him, Conway leaves the lamasery, but never forgets it.

At the end of the book after having briefly met with an old friend Conway disappears again, believed to be trying to get back to Shangri-La.

It's a very short book and could have even been shorter, there's a lot of unnecessary philosophising in it. Not much really happens, but it's still an easy, even enchanting read as one strives to get to the mystery behind Shangri-La and it's mysterious ruler the High Lama.

There are countless books written about lost civilisations and eternal life. The most recent and closest to the themes in Lost Horizon that I've read and can mention is H. Rider Haggard's She, although I'd recommend Lost Horizon over that.

Anno Dracula by Kim Newman

In 1992 Kim Newman (better known at the time for his non-fiction criticism of film, especially the horror genre) released a vampire book with a difference, it was called Anno Dracula. Anno Dracula was ahead of its time in 1992. Kim Newman took Bram Stoker's classic vampire story of Dracula and tweaked it.


In Newman's reimagining Vlad Tepes married Queen Victoria and made vampirism the craze throughout England. Anno Dracula takes place in this London, and even the vampires are scared of a killer they call Silver Knife, who preys on mostly newly made vampire prostitutes. The killer later gains a new name; Jack the Ripper. 


The story follows the investigation of the killer carried out by the Diogenes Club's rising star Charles Beauregard and the aristocratic 400 year old French vampire Genevieve Dieudonne. Anno Dracula is what has come to be referred to as a 'mash up' novel. 


Kim Newman has taken the framework of Stoker's classic and added his own touches. There are references to Sherlock Holmes, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and The Island of Dr Moreau to name just a few, Polidori's very early vampire story Vampyre cracks a mention, as does the penny dreadful work Varney the Vampire. 


Real world historical events are also mixed in, not just the Jack the Ripper murders, but references to Chinese Gordon's death in Khartoum and the encounter between Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett. 


Anno Dracula is a fun romp that never got the attention it deserved on first release, and so was rereleased in 2011. The 2011 edition is far superior in a number of ways. It contains the original story, although I think the author may have reedited it. It also has a new afterword as well as an alternate ending, annotations, a screenplay and articles by Kim Newman. I wasn't really sure what to expect going into Anno Dracula, but all my expectations and more were met. It's one of the most enjoyable things I've read for the year and a worthy addition to the sub genre.

Across the Nightingale Floor by Lian Hearn

Lian Hearn's Across the Nightingale Floor is one book in the list that I have read. I read it when it first came out, although I hadn't read it since.

Since it's publication in 2002 it's become a bit of a minor classic in the home of it's author; Australia. It's particularly popular amongst young adults, and this isn't all that surprising as prior to putting out Across the Nightingale Floor Lian Hearn was best known as a children's author.

It's a lovely lyrical tale, as much love story as revenge story. Although Lian Hearn says that it is not set in Japan it is very clearly based on Japanese culture, and I have seen one review that even managed to find events in Japanese history that correlated roughly with the story in the book.

The story of Takeo, a young boy raised by a clan known only as the Hidden, who survives a massacre, is adopted by one of the Otori lords and trained as a mystical ninja assassin by his unknown father's family; the Tribe, forms the bulk of the book. The other two major sections are Takeo seeking revenge on the powerful lord who massacred the Hidden village, and forever altered his life. The final section is the story of Kaede, the beautiful young noblewoman who Takeo falls in love with.

One interesting thing about the book is the style in which Lian Hearn chose to write it. Takeo's sections of the story are told in first person, but when the story focusses on Kaede it switches to third person. The only other books I can remember doing this so seamlessly are Jonathan Stroud's marvelous Bartimaeus series.

At the time there weren't many Asian flavoured fantasies. The closest I can think of is the Raymond E Feist's Empire trilogy, co written with Janny Wurts. The culture of Kelewan is very closely based on that of feudal Japan, as is Across the Nightingale Floor. Lian Hearn did put out 4 sequels to the book, together they're known as the Otori Cycle. I did read two more of them, but they weren't able to capture the magic of the first book and I gave the series up. It's self contained enough to be enjoyed without needing to read on.