Dragon Pearl - Yoon Ha Lee

I've been reading books with my middle reader as he gets more into deeper narratives. I loved that middle reader books have these young protagonists that make the story more accessible. In Dragon Pearl, Min gets disturbing news about the disappearance of her brother Jun. He's off serving on a starship in the Space Forces as a cadet. He went missing during his training mission and is considered a deserter. Rumor is that he was in pursuit of the Dragon Pearl, a rare object that is said to be able to transform whole worlds turning barren landscapes into lush environs - a task currently reserved for the Dragon Guild, who, for obvious reasons, is not interested in anyone else getting possession of the pearl. 

Min's family are fox spirits, able to shape shift into anything their hearts' desire and use charm to persuade others to do their will. They are therefore distrusted and like to keep their identities secret. Min goes in pursuit of Jun and must find her way onto a starship and into the eerie Ghost sector where the terraforming went terrible wrong. Ghosts now populate the colony and space pirates frequent the area. But this is where the Pearl is rumored to be so this is where everyone is gravitating. Throw in a menacing Tiger spirit captain, and Min must best them all to find the truth about her brother, and the missing Pearl. 

I didn't realize this was based off Korean folklore but I really liked that aspect combined with the sci-fi space theme. A well done narrative that will capture the imagination of a middle reader. 

3.5/5. 

Hidden Figures - Margot Lee Shetterly

I finished this book this month shortly before the passing of Katherine Johnson who lived a long and distinguished life and is a real American hero.  My daughter has a children's book about Katherine that she loves to read. 

Hidden Figures is an impeccably researched book that follows the lives of the first black Computers at NACA (later NASA). These brilliant minds like Dorothy Vaughn, Katherine Johnson and Mary Jackson worked their way up through a system that was stacked against them to gain success and respect. The fact that Katherine Johnson was brilliant enough to probably be a head at NASA is not lost on the reader, but in the 1950s-1970s, that was just not going to happen for a black woman and it's truly NASA's loss.

I loved the strong supportive community Shetterly describes among the women of West Computing. That Dorothy and Mary both made choices to boost up others around them for opportunities and deserved accolades at the expense of their own career trajectories.

The scope of the book was enormous. Beginning in the late years of WWII through the hey day of the space program, Hidden Figures sheds light on the contributions of black women and some men to the programs that shaped our imaginations and air superiority. I loved the extra details about Nichelle Nichols and how Martin Luther King Jr. himself convinced her to stick with Star Wars to show that science and the future was multi-racial and multi-gender.

While this book can get a little tedious when the science meets the page, it's the enduring spirit of Dorothy, Mary, and Katherine that keep bringing the reader back to the text.

4/5 Stars. 

God Emperor of Dune - Frank Herbert

Despite all my rage I am still just a worm in a cave....

Well, 3500 years after the end of Children of Dune (read that review here), God Emperor of Dune checks in on Leto Atreides II who we last saw donning a suit of sand trout and becoming one with Dune. Over the millennia, Leto has grown in size and become more worm like. His prescience stretches out into the future as he attempts to follow his "Golden Path". 

He's created three millennia of lasting peace (through brutal means when necessary) - an apparent irony which is lost, but also not lost on him. He's stamped out rebellion through his loyal legion, the Fish Speakers, militarized woman who use their feminine ways when they can, or the typical chop chop, shoot shoot method of militaries everywhere. 

Leto has also undertaken an ambitious breeding program, none with more attention that that paid to the offspring of his sister Ghani and all the Atreides through the ages. People have gotten faster and stronger. But through it all, he keeps resurrecting poor Duncan Idaho - a man condemned to live the later years of his life over and over. The trauma of being dropped into a time and space not his own causes Duncan to rebel against the God Emperor over and over again. So he is accordingly killed over and over again in showdowns with Leto.

It appears finally that Leto has achieved his aim in breeding an Atreides worthy of carrying on the Golden Path in Siona. Taken out into what little desert remains on Dune, Siona is given the spice essence and passes the test of not being filled with the personalities of all her ancestors. Once this breakthrough occurs, Leto knows his time is short. Despite repeatedly stating that his blindspot is his own demise, he sure seems to push the narrative forward to that end. And despite stating that the years following his death will be full of terror and bloodshed, this is somehow the best outcome possible for Dune, wherein Leto is supposed to ditch his outer sand trout skin and return to the dessert as the first worm of the empire. Well, things don't seem to exactly go his way as he spent three millennia casually ignoring all the possible work-arounds the citizens of his empire would concoct to overcome the dependence on spice that crippled the empire and focused too much power in the hands of one planet and person.

3/5 Stars

Dune Messiah - Frank Herbert (Book #2 of the Dune Chronicles)

I liked this book more than the first in the series (you can read that review here). It helps that we already have a background in the story so the names and the places aren't as unfamiliar this time around. There also just seemed to be a better flow and the characters seemed more human this time around.

Dune Messiah takes place 12 years after the events ending the first book, namely the ascension of Paul Atreides as emperor and his political union with Princess Irulan. But things in the realm are not going so well. Paul's global jihad, the one in his name, but for which he constantly wishes would not endure, has killed up to 60 million people across the universe. His Fremen armies have spread out and vanquished foes on hold out planets far and wide. 

Having the give of foresight, Paul sees no other path before him and knows each path provides only ever greater death and destruction than the one he has set himself on. He feels trapped in his present, having already seen how it all plays out. His attempts to delay the inevitable cause him more heartbreak. 

Enter the picture a plot to overthrow Paul. A group of schemers, to include his princess-consort Irulan, Reverend Mother, a Guild Steersman and a new face dancer of the Bene Tleilaxu all meet in secret to come up with a way to take back the empire. The Reverend Mother of the Bene Gesserit insists that Irulan must bear the heir to the throne. She's trying, but Paul still loves Chani, the Fremen girl he met when he was cast out in the desert at 15. Chani has been unable to bear him any more children since the death of their son in the final battle which placed Paul on the throne. The plotters plan involves gifting Paul a remade Duncan Idaho, reclaimed of his original flesh, this part man, part robot thing called a "ghola" looks like Duncan Idaho but has new memories and abilities. He is to be the secret weapon to kill Paul when the time comes.

Meanwhile, Paul's sister Alia grows frantic in her attempts to understand her brother's actions and the ever growing mix of religion and politics that is taking place due to her brother's status as a god. How to overcome this path and set the empire to rights again? And why is she falling in love with Duncan Idaho, the ghola?

The only weird thing missing in this story is Paul and Alia's mom. Maybe Herbert decided it was time to let the second Atreides generation take the highlights of the plot and keep the older generation out of the picture. But their mother would have provided some interesting insight and perspective as the person who set this whole crazy train in motion. 

I won't say how the book ends, because it's a main driver of the plot to find out what Paul decides or gives himself up to in the end. But I will say it's satisfying as a story arc to have it end the way it did, even if it didn't feel entirely necessary.

4/5 Stars.

The Martian - Andy Weir

I loved, loved, loved this book! I'm recommending it to everyone I know. I think it's the best book I've read in 2015. It's smart. It made me WANT to read about growing potatoes for 30 pages. It made me WANT to hear about velocity, atmospheric pressure, etc.

I can see why the actual NASA astronauts have all read it. It's funny and well researched. I can't think of anything Weir did not include in his piece by piece structure of the novel.

If you've never heard of the book, that is probably about to end, as it is being released on October 2, 2015 in the theaters in movie form starring Matt Damon and directed by Ridley Scott (Gladiator) (you can watch the trailer here). And oh, I'm so deliriously excited to see this movie.

The story follows Mark Watney, an astronaut on a mission to Mars. Watney is lost during a massive storm on Mars and believed dead. But, he's not. Because, as you'll see when you read it (seriously go read it), Watney is AWESOME! This is a guy you can go have a beer with, watch a ball game with, talk about plants with. He's a mechanical engineer/botanist and he's hilarious. Following him around Mars is some of the best moments I've spent in a fictional world.

Most importantly, the book captures some of the magic of space exploration that I felt as a kid watching shuttle launches on TV. I'm not sure how Weir does it, but he does. And I followed along like a person reading news accounts of the effort to bring Watney home. I so hope the movie lives up to the book, because I want to like it and I want to spend more time with Watney, even if it is on screen as Matt Damon (don't screw this up for me Matt!).

Love, love, love this book.

5/5 Stars.