Book Review: Escapement

Full Disclosure: Ciara Knight is a friend from a previous career life. When a friend tells me she's writing a steampunk series and is looking for feedback, it seems rather difficult to do. I guess I'll find out with this review won't I? And by the way, I did not receive a free copy--as a writer's courtesy, I paid full fare for the download--it's a good practice and keeps you a tad more honest.

What we have here is a steampunk romance. Actually, let me add another layer to that. What we have is a steampunk superhero romance. Ciara is trying something very ambitious here, and where it will go is anybody's guess--except hers.

I'll get my confessions/negative feedback out of the way first so I can get on to the fun stuff (though, like any author, she'll probably zoom in on the constructive criticism). My primary confession is that it took me a while to finish this book. I don't consider this a reflection on Ciara so much as my taste in books. I am not a romance reader, nor a particular fan of the steampunk subgenre, though I am a fan of The Peshawar Lancers, to name one. Romances thrive on emotional and sexual tension--of which this story has plenty--but that's not the sort of fiction I read for fun. That has probably colored this review more than it should, but then I am not Ciara's target market.




I had some difficulty "visualizing" this world in my head. The steampunk aesthetic, because it is so specific, requires a bit more attention to the reader's "eye." What are people wearing? What does the technology look like? What sort of vehicles do they use? How are interior spaces decorated--is it actually Victorian, or technology from our own time repurposed as such? Where are the characters in relationship to each other? Escapement has places where this is done well and other places where I would have preferred the extra one- to two-sentence scenic detour to help me situate myself. There are some interesting pieces of technology in this book that would bear a moment's consideration. Consider my favorites, the steampunk-flavored Borg  implants that Escapement's ruling class wear: eyepieces, heart replacements, leg replacements, primitive circuit boards. What color are they? How are they powered?

One last issue I have is understanding how old this civilization is. One learns over the course of this first (of several) stories that the primary villain, an implant-laden queen, played a key role in forming this society, which exists sometime after the "great war" of 2185. At times it seems that the war happened long ago, and others like it occurred during the childhood of the protagonist, Princess Semara. Are we dealing with a post-nuclear war world? We get hints, but not (yet enough) to fill in all the pieces. There are giant creatures in certain parts of this ruined America called "sermechtapedes," which were either mutated or fabricated into existence. How? When? We have references to the prewar world--cultural or political artifacts I won't spoil for you--but again it was difficult to situate myself in place and time.

*

So I've been poking at my friend pretty hard with the iron fist here. Time to apply the velvet glove. Ciara's got an ambitious story going on here with a lot of things going on at once: a romance, a political drama of sorts, and a culture war, with machine people (called Kantians) on one side, supernatural rebels (called Neumarians) with X-Men types of powers on the other, and a variety of plain old humans in the middle struggling to live their lives as slaves or victims or escapees.

Ciara actually introduced this story through a prequel novella titled Weighted, which tells the story from the perspective of Raeth, a Neumarian who has been captured and tortured by the machine people. Escapement continues the story from Semara's point of view.




In Weighted, we learn that the machine people have made it their mission in life to kill the Neumarians, which they view as "parasites." In Weighted, a younger Princess Semara must face a choice about what to do when it's her turn to kill a Neumarian. Escapement shows 16(?)-year-old Semara living with the consequences of that choice. Without giving away too much, suffice to say that Semara has been having second thoughts about the things she's been forced to do and decides to take action to escape that life. This puts her into the company of the hated Neumarians and on an inevitable collision course with her mother, the queen.

What I like with this story is how Ciara manages to advance the personal relationships between Semara and the other characters around her. She grows as a person and the friendships around her deepen as the narrative goes forward. That is not an easy thing to convey or do well. Another thing I like is that her Neumarian characters' "powers" have limitations or costs. They are not infinite, they require specific resources, and they take a toll on the user or others when used. Lastly, the story keeps moving through continually new conflicts or challenges. There might be too many challenges, perhaps--the reader and the characters barely have an opportunity to catch their breath before the next  big thing hits. The narrator's voice never eases up: there is always something new to worry about. Is that a function of Ciara's style or this genre or this character? I don't know, but there were a couple of times I wanted to give the narrator a hug and ask her to relax, if only for a moment. :-)

So while I have my misgivings about this type of story, I am tempted to keep reading, if only to see where Ciara takes her characters. I give her a lot of credit: she wanted very badly to write fiction when we were working together, and she's gone out and done it. And she's taking risks to grow and improve her craft. I wish I were that passionate about story telling, though I favor nonfiction. Regardless, I believe that if you are of a mind to read a steampunk-themed romance, then Escapement and the rest of the Neumarian Chronicles will probably work for you. Give it a try.

Potpourri CLVII

Good evening to clean house--my domicile, the inbox, etc.--so let's proceed.

From Jim: a little sarcasm on Amazon.com.

From Father Dan: the beer commercial as art.

From Lin, a story that will raise a lot of noise if it comes to pass: House Republicans are looking to eliminate the law that makes any child born here automatically a citizen, thereby giving its parents a legitimate claim to American social services and the like even if they came here illegally. This will probably be denounced by saying, "Republicans have a vested interest in keeping certain people out of the country!" Okay, that's one argument. But what's the vested interest of those who say it's okay for people to enter the country illegally? My ancestors didn't.

Here are some items I found in my internet "travels":
--A ponderable double standard: Julian Assange planned to sue the Guardian for (wait for it)…leaking information.
--A topic that gets batted around my office occasionally: "open-source" space mission design. My argument against this remains that even if you could design a launch vehicle or spacecraft online collaboratively using "the wisdom (or stupidity) of crowds," you still need a large, centralized factory to build the friggin' things. Boeing is learning the hard truth of trying to subcontract out a lot of piece-parts worldwide on its 787 Dreamliner, which is that if you depend on someone overseas, politics and economics make it inevitable that some other nation could hold your production process hostage. Anyhow, good luck to the open-source guys. They also might run into ITAR issues and the like if someone creates a widget related to guidance or propulsion.
--Table manners, Indiana Jones style.
--Anger management, Star Trek style.
--How to become a millionaire in three years. (Caveat, reader: no promises on this.)
--Why iPad is not a "Kindle killer."
--A steampunk Mr. Potato Head? Why not?
--And while we're at it, how about some steampunk Star Trek photographs?
--The U.S. Navy has a new gun in testing, and you really don't want to get hit by this one.
--This takes awhile, but I found some of it pretty good: actor/comedian Stephen Fry on things he wished he'd learned when he was 18.
--During the last blizzard to hit New York City, there were some allegations of purposeful work slowdowns by unions on things like trash removal.
--Here's a nutty aesthetic: making pictures of Muppets with human eyes. Gotta ask: why?
--From SciCheer video maker Randy Olson, a thought-provoking blog on how environmentalism and, indeed, most of science has "gone Hollywood." I would submit that NASA is one of the few organizations that has not gone Hollywood. If it had, we'd have a lot more money and media excitement...aside from the occasional scandals.
--Here's a new way to track the popularity of ideas across time: the memeogram.
--A couple of videos on the original concept and actual making of my favorite theme park, Epcot: here and here.
--A little light reading on the CIA and hypnotism.
--Robot solves Rubik’s Cube in ~15 seconds

--Shaquille O’Neal conducts the Boston Pops. Again, why?
--What makes music sad? It's not as simple as you think.
--Paul Kennedy says the U.S. is losing its dominance, but that’s normal, expected, and okay.
--Now this is useful: how an Etch-A-Sketch works.
--The Isle of Tune. Just check it out. Really.
--An extended essay on the state of the State of California by Victor Davis Hanson. Not for the faint of heart.

China is cutting the amount of “rare earth elements” it exports to the U.S. needed for high-tech products. In a more rational economy, we would be stockpiling these types of materials. This also would be an excellent opportunity for American entrepreneurs to develop techniques that do not require said elements. Regardless of wishful thinking about the assumed benefits of one world economy or the (claimed) gentling effects of trade on rival nation-states, we must remember Lord Palmerston’s dictum that nations “have no permanent friends or allies, they only have permanent interests.”


A pilot was suspended, harassed, and disarmed for pointing out flaws in TSA’s security.


A Greek Antikythera device, as built out of Legos. No, really.
Obviously it's been quite awhile since I cleared out my archives. Nevertheless, this depiction of a "digital Christmas" amused me.

From the Down Under Defense Expert (DUDE):

• A new site helping users get a grip on the micro- and macroscopic views of the universe. (Hint: this won't help.)
• A new word-of-the-day site.

Speaking of the DUDE, he's made a good case for me to fly down to his hemisphere for holiday rather than blow a ton of money in some pricey place stateside. If his wife and he are willing to put up with me for a week and cart me around everywhere, I just might end up paying for not much more than an airplane ticket and miscellaneous expenses. Worth considering. There are some pretty places Down Yonder.
 
This is why I say that I have a photogenic memory: I remember things told to me by cute people.

I was going to write all sorts of profound things in response to this article, but I'm getting lazy in my old age. It does offer an interesting perspective on what happens to a culture when it cannot tell the difference between illusion and reality, though. The reading I leave to you.
 

From Melissa: another news story on how Aspartame is going to kill me eventually. Fine. But I really, really like Diet Dr. Pepper, and I haven't found a beverage that is comparable in the taste/low-calorie/non-allergenic zone yet.

From Michelle: a little late for the season, but why not a gingerbread Serenity?

From Gwen: "What Control has become, or what I like to call Big Brother."

And I suppose that will do for now. Archives and loose items now cleared back to mid-December. My apologies for allowing the potpourri to get stale.

Potpourri CXLVIII

Still lots of stuff of stuff out there in Cyberland, and I can't claim to understand it all--never mind the things happening in the real world. Be that as it may, I'll continue to dribble out new links and my reactions to them as I can. Let's be careful out there.

Economics

Since the economy continues to slog along, might as well start with this. Jerry Pournelle has some thoughts on deflation, tariffs, free trade, and the ultimate aims of economic policy. They bear thinking about, if not implementing.

Alaska and North Dakota lead the nation in job creation. Great. But they’re cold places. Got to want the job badly enough, I suppose.


Culture


This movie is just wild.



Found by Doc: a steampunk role playing game. And why is steampunk so popular anyway?

Also from Doc: apparently today is National Scotch Day. Who knew? Anyhow, I found some 12-year-old Glenlivet for the occasion. That stuff's expensive. Really looking forward to National Cheap Beer Day.


There is a reason why I no longer consider it my personal responsibility to right all of the wrongs or punish all the jackals/ignoramouses of the world: eventually they damage themselves. Case in point, socialist movie director Oliver Stone, who accused the "Jewish-dominated" U.S. media of making a scapegoat of Adolf Hitler. And now Oliver Stone has apologized for his Hitler remarks…that only took a single news cycle.

From Hu: a British comedy sketch on the real logic behind the "moon landings."

Oy… rocks are now too dangerous for school children? That’s what half my elementary school’s playground was paved with, for gosh sakes!

Why aren’t these Wikileaks guys in federal prison? Every time I submit a conference paper for NASA--a civilian federal gency--I have to submit a NASA Form 1676, signed by five civil servant officials, certifying that said paper does not reveal sensitive technologies to foreign powers. And mind you, I'm usually writing at a very high level about stuff that won't get people killed or that is already available in the public domain. I was informed that if I avoided this process, I could be punished via fines or imprisonment. These twits at Wikileaks have released tens of thousands of documents on activities that absolutely can or will put our troops in harm's way. Exactly how many forms were signed to get that cache out the door?

Jane Austen + Fight Club? Yes.

How to deal with pirates off the Horn of Africa: a handy guide.


Science, Technology, and Space


Some guy on YouTube is demonstrating a homemade carbon dioxide laser.


I’m a big fan of BoingBoing.net, as you can probably tell. If you’re ever interested in submitting to their site, they now have a “Submitterator,” which they use to gauge whether something goes in the regular queue or not.


Aside from logistical difficulties and pollution created by building their batteries, eco-friendly cars face another recurring problem: price tag shock. How does $41,000 sound? No, thanks. I’ll stick with my Honda.


Where are the flying cars? There were supposed to be flying cars! Oh, wait. Never mind…

Google “will conquer the final frontier.” Well, we’ll see.

An astronaut made the first sign language address from space this week. Cool!

One study says that it’s time to slow down our reading speed. Amen to that. I had a discussion with someone about this awhile back--probably in grad school because it related to the general decline in literacy. I wasn't just grousing in a grumpy-old-man-English-major sort of way, I was arguing that the loss of concentration on linear, long-form reading could have serious long-term consequences for the sciences, too. A lot of things (calculus comes to mind, but also analytical geometry and other mathematical proofs required for engineering and science) require that a person learn them in a methodical, step-by-step, linear fashion. It's very hard to think that way if you're used to random-access, hypertextual thinking, which absorbs information in smaller chunks. Mathematical proofs, especially, require the individual to show their work--their logical, linear train of thought--or they cannot in fact be proven or replicated. Now it might be possible to teach such things in a hypertextual manner, but lacking a lot of in-depth education in education, hypertext, or math, I'm not sure how you'd do it. I do know that formal, linear logic is a foundation that is more and more often neglected. Just my $.02.

Another study says that relationship breakups are akin to cocaine addiction. Hmmm.

A court has ruled that it is now legal for iPhone users to "jailbreak" (hack into) their machines and install whatever applications they want or even switch service providers. I again had to defer to Doc on this one because I read this article and asked, "So what?" The answer is that there are some apps that, for one reason or another, Apple hasn't accepted. Also, since AT&T has exclusive rights to run the iPhone until 2011, that means problems for them. Apple's reaction to this appears to be that if someone decides to "jailbreak" their phone and there's a problem with it, said phone is no longer covered by the warranty. If the user wants to reinstall their factory default settings, Apple will be happy to help, but all the new/crazy stuff the user installed will be wiped out. This isn't over.

Foreign Affairs

Is Confucianism replacing communism in the hearts and minds of Chinese citizens? From what I recall from my Chinese history class, Confucius (Kung Fu-tze) was a social reformer who emphasized meritocracy and a ruling class that was steeped in history and literature, much like the British Empire used to emphasize Greek and Roman history in training its civil servants. This approach instilled several things: respect for tradition, including reverence and worship of one’s ancestors; deference to one’s betters (caste system); and a ruling class that was expected to behave morally and justly, or else face revolt. I can see why such a conservatism could appeal in China today: capitalism can upset a lot of apple carts, at the top and bottom rungs of the social ladder.

I've pontificated a bit more than I'd planned this evening, so I'll quit for now...but as always, there's more to come.

Potpourri CXLIII

I know, I know, I really should be outside getting some exercise in the fresh air, but it's my day off, so I'm spending it in whatever lazy fashion suits me best: in my case, blogging, hitting golf balls, and having a couple of brewskis. You enjoy the holiday your way, I'll do it mine.

While I am no longer working for Constellation/Ares, my cube is still located where the Ares Projects are based. And yes, I still care about the fate of the project. It now appears that Congress is punting on passing the federal budget on time or putting any money behind their complaints about how the Administration is treating NASA. So the program--what's left of it--will be in zombie mode until someone attaches the electrodes and gives it new life or it's put down like the wounded pet that it is. Oy.

From Doc:

• A little caffeineated humor. Need a t-shirt that expresses your mental state? Try this.
• And why? Because a story on NPR indicated that caffeine might, in fact, be good for you.

Oh yeah, and speaking of the Constellation Program, the Obama administration has released a new space policy. I have thoughts, but will be judicious about posting them.

• Observation #1: Human space exploration is not listed in the top-line summary of priorities.
• Observation #2: While there's an emphasis on "space nuclear power," that could any number of things: nuclear-powered batteries (what we use on Cassini/Galileo now); space-based nuclear reactors for powering ion drives or other flavors of propulsion that result in radioactive by-products in space; or it could mean starting up a NERVA or Orion type of vehicle, which would actually use nuclear explosions to accelerate spacecraft. We'll have to wait and see.
• General comment: In theory, international cooperation is a good thing, and gosh knows the previous administration (President and NASA) did not go out of their way to push for it in space. However, there are always challenges when you deal with international partners. For example, what if we stop getting along with a major partner (e.g. Russia) over some unrelated political/military fracas? If Russia provides critical components for the mission, would the mission be stopped by diplomatic problems? And then there's our nation's oh-so-fabulous export control laws, which in theory prevent people who don't like us from getting hold of our sensitive technology, but in reality can prevent international teams from working with us because we can't allow them to see how our technologies work, or vice versa. Hopefully the administration will at least fix ITAR before putting international partners on the "critical path" for any future missions (i.e., making their participation essential for success).

Need your business cards refurbished/redesigned? Check out this site.

A variety of things I found through random surfing:

• Shushing sonic booms: http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/supersonic-concept-plane-shush-sonic-booms-100630.html
• First photo of an extrasolar planet: http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/first-alien-planet-photographed-confirmed-100629.html
• An astronaut says there's no time for sex in space: http://www.space.com/news/no-sex-in-space-astronaut-says-100629.html
• Nebula photo: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/06/blue-nebula/
• New look and origin to Wonder Woman: http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2010/06/a-new-wonder-woman/
• Teaching military history in times of war: http://chronicle.com/article/Teaching-Military-History-in-a/66023/
• Review: The Icarus Syndrome http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2010/06/28/100628crbo_books_packer?currentPage=all
• Why not socialism? http://reviewcanada.ca/reviews/2010/06/01/the-thinking-man-s-marxist/
• A different view of appeasement: http://www.nationalinterest.org/Article.aspx?id=23542
• Legislation and the gender gap: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/15/science/15tier.html
• Charlie Sheen vs. Emilio Estevez: What’s the difference? http://www.mentalfloss.com/difference/charlie-sheen-vs-emilio-estevez/

Are you really into seeing science stuff? Would you like a trip to Sweden? Check this out.

If you're a big fan of living on the Moon, you might enjoy the Moon Miners' Manifesto, the newsletter of the Moon Society. I don't want to live on the Moon, personally. I like Earth. But I wouldn't mind staying at a hotel on the Moon, say with a nice view of the Earth...

From D2: a graphic designer gets a little snarky with a friend who wanted him to do something they bloody well could have done themselves. I've tried things like this, but it usually damages friendships.

Got this through my space-geek sources:

More on the Times pay wall: http://au.biz.yahoo.com/100702/31/2e1qz.html  Did you know there are only two Space Shuttle missions left? Mark your calendars: November 1 and February 26. We'll miss human spaceflight when it's gone...

Space Studies Institute Space Manufacturing 14: Critical Technologies for Space Settlement at NASA Ames Conference Center October 30-31, 2010!



Thirty five years ago, NASA Ames Research Center was the site of the first large technical study of space settlement. We have made significant progress since then, but with the prospect of low cost space transportation in the near future, now is the time to reinvigorate research and collaboration on the critical path technologies needed for space industrialization and settlement. The 14th Space Studies Institute conference on Space Manufacturing continues in the spirit of the Princeton Conferences initiated by Prof. Gerard K O’Neill in 1974.


The Space Manufacturing and Space Settlement Conferences have always given SSI attendees great value. This conference is the only one solely concerned with the science and engineering of humanity’s expansion into the solar system. Its most important function is to bring together the engineers, entrepreneurs and researchers who do the real work. New space companies and new institutions have formed from collaborations forged at earlier conferences. We hope that this and future annual SSI conferences will be as fruitful.


The specific purpose of Space Manufacturing 14 is to identify and recommend critical hardware research that can be conducted now by SSI, NASA and other organizations.


Registration opens July 7, 2010


*Registration is $250 for a full two day conference (Saturday October 30 & Sunday October 31), which includes a catered lunch for both days and a Friday night Wine Reception.
*Saturday, October 30th, Buffet dinner $35
*Our Official Hotel for this event is the lovely Sheraton Sunnyvale. Exclusive to SSI attendees, a special rate of $89 per night includes an exclusive Shuttle pickup and drop off between San Jose Airport and the Hotel (until 9pm on Friday, October 29, Saturday, Sunday and Monday), transportation to and from the NASA Ames conference center...plus free High Speed Internet in each SSI guest's room.

For history buffs, a time-lapse animation of Middle Eastern empires: http://www.mapsofwar.com/images/EMPIRE17.swf

This sounds interesting: someone is developing a crowdsourced documentary: http://www.onedayonearth.org/

An online introduction to Einstein’s thought: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=FE3074A4CB751B2B

Using “cognitive surplus” to change the world? http://www.openculture.com/2010/06/clay_shirky_how_cognitive_surplus_will_change_the_world.html


 
Like me, my buddy Martin luckily got moved off of Ares and onto other duties, including speech writing for executives at Marshall Space Flight Center. I suggested the following books/links to help him "think like an executive." Or something. Here to help...
 

Lend Me Your Ears: Great Speeches in History: http://www.amazon.com/Lend-Me-Your-Ears-Speeches/dp/0393059316/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1278081799&sr=8-1

Bartlett’s Quotations: http://www.bartleby.com/

The Complete Works of Shakespeare: http://shakespeare.mit.edu/

Not sure civil servants are allowed to quote the Bible anymore, but what the heck: http://www.blueletterbible.org/

This site is useful for finding random “stuff” out on that-thar interwebs thingy: http://boingboing.net/

Also, if you want to absorb the zeitgeist of the early 21st century (and understand what sorts of books that managers/leaders read), consider the following:


Outliers (Basic theme: there are other things that account for success than money, luck, and hard work. Stupid.) http://www.amazon.com/Outliers-Story-Success-Malcolm-Gladwell/dp/0316017922/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1278082187&sr=8-1

The Wisdom of Crowds: http://www.amazon.com/Wisdom-Crowds-James-Surowiecki/dp/0385721706/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1278082257&sr=1-1

The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable: http://www.amazon.com/Black-Swan-Improbable-Robustness-Fragility/dp/081297381X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1278082272&sr=1-1

Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything: http://www.amazon.com/Freakonomics-Economist-Explores-Hidden-Everything/dp/0060731338/ref=pd_sim_b_12

The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century: http://www.amazon.com/World-Flat-Updated-Expanded-Twenty-first/dp/B002N2XI02/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1278082396&sr=1-4

The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less: http://www.amazon.com/Paradox-Choice-Why-More-Less/dp/0060005696/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1278082577&sr=1-1

Fish! A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results:
http://www.amazon.com/Remarkable-Boost-Morale-Improve-Results/dp/0786866020/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1278082506&sr=1-1

Servant Leadership: A Journey Into the Nature of Legitimate Power and Greatness
http://www.amazon.com/Servant-Leadership-Legitimate-Greatness-Anniversary/dp/0809105543/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1278082603&sr=1-1. (Okay, most leaders are NOT reading this one...but more of them should. A great recommendation I got from D2!)

 
Apps, apps, and more apps...I got a little spooked today trying the "Shazam" app on my iPhone for the first time. The gag is, you turn it on, put the iPhone up close to the radio, or even sing a few bars of a song, and it will identify the song's title and artist. That's just creepy. Oh, and speaking of apps, the U.S. Government is now getting in on the act, as reported by my buddy Dar.
More on Constellation: job losses are now estimated at around 5,000 people nationwide. Boo.

John Logdson is apparently a mentor of the folks who created the current space policy. Here are some of this thoughts here.

From my buddy Melissa, a short movie on teamwork.

From Anika, for Star Wars and Joss Whedon fans: a "Joss Whedon is my master now" t-shirt.

From Lin: News coverage of the oil spill is now being regulated.

And lastly, steampunk is making a bit of a comeback, in a variety of formats, including computer keyboards and apparel. For those unfamiliar with steampunk, I recommend reading The Difference Engine by Bruce Sterling and William Gibson. It's an alternate history science fiction story in which Charles Babbage got his mechanical computer ("difference engine") to work in the Victorian Era, thereby extending the Victorian aesthetics into the future.