strange and random happenstance

Stiletto by Daniel O'Malley
Published by: Back Bay Books
Publication Date: June 14th, 2016
Format: Paperback, 592 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy

The Wetenschappelijk Broederschap van Natuurkundigen, the Scientific Brotherhood of Scientists, attacked Britain. It was hundreds of years ago but the Checquy hasn't forgotten. Monsters coming out of the mist on the Isle of Wight and nearly destroying them in an unprovoked attack by unknown enemies. The Checquy won. Barely. Then they hunted their enemy down throughout Europe and destroyed them. These "Grafters" who made monsters out of human flesh have been the boogeymen of the Checquy for centuries. So when it turns out that the Grafters weren't eliminated but just really good at hiding and that Rook Thomas has decided that in everyone's best interest the two organizations will merge no one in the Checquy is best pleased. Which is why it's so important the negotiations go well. Graaf Ernst van Suchtlen founded the Broederschap with his cousin who earlier in the year was eliminated by the Chequy after a series of attacks. Therefore the peace is very delicate. Especially as the Broederschap might have a dangerous secret that could endanger themselves and the Checquy. Pawn Felicity Clements has just barely survived an attack that the Checquy doesn't realize was perpetrated by a splinter group from the Broederschap they refer to as the Antagonists. Her crew killed, she is reassigned to the Grafter delegation, in particular Graaf Ernst's heir apparent, Odette Leliefeld. Odette is a surgical genius, what's more, she's the acceptable face of the Broederschap, because she has few implants and therefore isn't threatening to the Checquy. But what Odette doesn't realize is that her very existence is a threat to the Checquy. As her and Felicity come to an arrangement, Odette learns the lesson again and again that to the people she has been raised to fear in their eyes she is the real monster. Even her innocent little brother Alessio is a danger to the Checquy and their way of life. Therefore Odette must do everything in her power to show that she could be a boon to the Checquy. Her skills, the Broederschap technology, all of this would be shared information. She brings so much to the table, but she's worried that all the Chequy see is a monster. She will dance, she will wine and dine, she will find the most absurd hat she can and go to Ascot, she will be the perfect delegate, because she has a feeling that if the talks fail there's no way to go back into hiding, the Checquy won't make the same mistake twice.

The first time I read Stiletto it perplexed me. Daniel O'Malley had created one of the most unique and original new voices in literature with Myfanwy Thomas and in his followup she's relegated to nothing more than a "featured role." She's not even around for the first fifty pages and then just pops up often throwing a wrench in everyone's plans, even if that isn't her intention. Because being stabbed by a guy who exudes crystals isn't really on anyone's agenda. But rereading Stiletto I see that it's a ballsy move that actually pays off. Because this series is "The Checquy Files" it makes sense that we'd get different stories within the organization as it continues, hopefully for many more volumes to come. This story gives us an interesting view of the Checquy through the eyes of Felicity Clements. She's not among the high and mighty, she doesn't aspire to being in the Court, she's a peon whose lifelong goal is to become a Barghest, which is basically an elite commando. She doesn't have problems with the Checquy, she does her job and doesn't complain. Even if she objects to her assignment, which she does. This shows the stratification within the organization and is a clever move because while orders come from on high, it's those lower down who have to deal with the fallout, like the Grafters joining the Checquy. Myfanwy doesn't understand the ramifications of this deal. She doesn't understand the indoctrination of hate for the Grafters. One, because she's not the Myfanwy who grew up hearing the horror stories, and two, because this new Myfanwy takes big swings in the hopes of effecting change, and this is one big swing. And personally, I can see where the peons in the Checquy are coming from. The Grafters skeeve the shit out of me. All that surgery requiring a pharmacopoeia of anti-rejection drugs? I mean just the fact that you need that many drugs so that your body won't scream at you? Hell no. Just so much no. And I know we're supposed to draw a line between "good" Grafters and "bad" Grafters, but how about no Grafters? I'd be fine without them. Though I do find their POV with regards to the Checquy fascinating because they aren't alchemists, they're natural scientists, think Victor Frankenstein, everything they do is rooted in science and they themselves are terrified of the Checquy because there is no scientific explanation for them. Which I find interesting because Peter Grant in the Rivers of London series believes magic is just science we don't understand yet, yet here, there is no scientific explanation. The Checquy is what it is, an unexplainable quick of nature that I just love.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Barghest, Broederschap, Daniel O'Malley, Felicity Clements, Grafters, London Calling, Monsters, MyFanwy Thomas, Odette Leliefeld, Stiletto, Surgery, The Checquy, The Checquy Files, The Rook, Victor Frankenstein

Stiletto by Daniel O'Malley
Published by: Back Bay Books
Publication Date: June 14th, 2016
Format: Paperback, 592 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy

The Wetenschappelijk Broederschap van Natuurkundigen, the Scientific Brotherhood of Scientists, attacked Britain. It was hundreds of years ago but the Checquy hasn't forgotten. Monsters coming out of the mist on the Isle of Wight and nearly destroying them in an unprovoked attack by unknown enemies. The Checquy won. Barely. Then they hunted their enemy down throughout Europe and destroyed them. These "Grafters" who made monsters out of human flesh have been the boogeymen of the Checquy for centuries. So when it turns out that the Grafters weren't eliminated but just really good at hiding and that Rook Thomas has decided that in everyone's best interest the two organizations will merge no one in the Checquy is best pleased. Which is why it's so important the negotiations go well. Graaf Ernst van Suchtlen founded the Broederschap with his cousin who earlier in the year was eliminated by the Chequy after a series of attacks. Therefore the peace is very delicate. Especially as the Broederschap might have a dangerous secret that could endanger themselves and the Checquy. Pawn Felicity Clements has just barely survived an attack that the Checquy doesn't realize was perpetrated by a splinter group from the Broederschap they refer to as the Antagonists. Her crew killed, she is reassigned to the Grafter delegation, in particular Graaf Ernst's heir apparent, Odette Leliefeld. Odette is a surgical genius, what's more, she's the acceptable face of the Broederschap, because she has few implants and therefore isn't threatening to the Checquy. But what Odette doesn't realize is that her very existence is a threat to the Checquy. As her and Felicity come to an arrangement, Odette learns the lesson again and again that to the people she has been raised to fear in their eyes she is the real monster. Even her innocent little brother Alessio is a danger to the Checquy and their way of life. Therefore Odette must do everything in her power to show that she could be a boon to the Checquy. Her skills, the Broederschap technology, all of this would be shared information. She brings so much to the table, but she's worried that all the Chequy see is a monster. She will dance, she will wine and dine, she will find the most absurd hat she can and go to Ascot, she will be the perfect delegate, because she has a feeling that if the talks fail there's no way to go back into hiding, the Checquy won't make the same mistake twice.

The first time I read Stiletto it perplexed me. Daniel O'Malley had created one of the most unique and original new voices in literature with Myfanwy Thomas and in his followup she's relegated to nothing more than a "featured role." She's not even around for the first fifty pages and then just pops up often throwing a wrench in everyone's plans, even if that isn't her intention. Because being stabbed by a guy who exudes crystals isn't really on anyone's agenda. But rereading Stiletto I see that it's a ballsy move that actually pays off. Because this series is "The Checquy Files" it makes sense that we'd get different stories within the organization as it continues, hopefully for many more volumes to come. This story gives us an interesting view of the Checquy through the eyes of Felicity Clements. She's not among the high and mighty, she doesn't aspire to being in the Court, she's a peon whose lifelong goal is to become a Barghest, which is basically an elite commando. She doesn't have problems with the Checquy, she does her job and doesn't complain. Even if she objects to her assignment, which she does. This shows the stratification within the organization and is a clever move because while orders come from on high, it's those lower down who have to deal with the fallout, like the Grafters joining the Checquy. Myfanwy doesn't understand the ramifications of this deal. She doesn't understand the indoctrination of hate for the Grafters. One, because she's not the Myfanwy who grew up hearing the horror stories, and two, because this new Myfanwy takes big swings in the hopes of effecting change, and this is one big swing. And personally, I can see where the peons in the Checquy are coming from. The Grafters skeeve the shit out of me. All that surgery requiring a pharmacopoeia of anti-rejection drugs? I mean just the fact that you need that many drugs so that your body won't scream at you? Hell no. Just so much no. And I know we're supposed to draw a line between "good" Grafters and "bad" Grafters, but how about no Grafters? I'd be fine without them. Though I do find their POV with regards to the Checquy fascinating because they aren't alchemists, they're natural scientists, think Victor Frankenstein, everything they do is rooted in science and they themselves are terrified of the Checquy because there is no scientific explanation for them. Which I find interesting because Peter Grant in the Rivers of London series believes magic is just science we don't understand yet, yet here, there is no scientific explanation. The Checquy is what it is, an unexplainable quick of nature that I just love.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Barghest, Broederschap, Daniel O'Malley, Felicity Clements, Grafters, London Calling, Monsters, MyFanwy Thomas, Odette Leliefeld, Stiletto, Surgery, The Checquy, The Checquy Files, The Rook, Victor Frankenstein

The Terminal Man by Michael Crichton
Published by: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: April 12th, 1972
Format: Paperback, 266 Pages
Rating: ★★★
To Buy (different edition than one reviewed)

Harry Benson blacks out. When he loses time he commits violent acts. This has been happening ever since he was in a car accident where he retained brain damage. The Neuro-Psychiatric Service of the University Hospital has been looking for a "stage three" candidate to try a new procedure on. They believe that actual psychical brain injuries can be cured with the implantation of electrodes in the brain. The electrodes would fire a positive charge into the patient's brain whenever an "attack" was imminent. This would be perfect for Harry. Whenever an attack started, instead of blacking out, he would get a happy little pleasurable charge and everything would be fine. He'd no longer be beating up exotic dancers and gas station attendants. The only thing the NPS didn't count on when choosing Harry as a candidate is that he is actually psychotic. Doctor Janet Ross warned them that this was the case, but the surgeons in their zeal to do what has never been done brushed aside her concerns about Harry's fear of machines and went ahead with the surgery. The day after the surgery it appears that Doctor Ross's fears have materialized as Harry is triggering seizures to get pleasurable responses. He then escapes the hospital and it is only a matter of time until he reaches his breaking point. If he was dangerous before he is even more dangerous now.

Despite deciding on a whim that I would read the books for my Crichton Celebration in reverse order I have to say it's a decision that I don't regret in the least. As I read this, my last book for my celebration, and the second book Crichton published under his own name, it's fascinating to see the genesis of what he'll later explore in future books. The Terminal Man is by no means a polished book, it's very rough around the edges, and I almost like it more for this. Crichton hasn't established any pattern to his narrative structure and this gives the book a freshness. But we get hints as to his future greatness and his future themes, from man competing with technology to apes to genetic modification. Crichton had a very interesting range of subjects he was compelled to write about and seeing them in a protoformat makes the book nerd in me smile. Of course he does fall prey to some cliche ridden techniques that he would thankfully remove from his repertoire later on, the most egregious error being the abrupt ending that he would use again in Eaters of the Dead in some attempt to be edgy, but it's just lame.  

What I find interesting to mull over is the idea of the medical drama or medical thriller. While there have been innumerable shows and books and movies, so much so that we know the language and the argot, Crichton would be at the forefront of this movement. He refined and for many defined what a medical procedural should be with ER. Twenty years after writing The Terminal Man he was still interested enough in medicine to bring it to television. He was always working and playing with ideas for years and years until he found the perfect outlet, be it book or film or television. He was able to explore themes in a way that was almost always fresh and most definitely an expansion of his previous thoughts. What I wouldn't give to have him still in the world and examining how things have changed and how much he predicted and how some things were tried and abandoned. He must have been an interesting person to talk to and how I wish I had had that chance.  

Though with this prevalence of medical shows over time I think I have become desensitized to blood and guts. I can sit and watch Hannibal eating Eddie Izzard's leg and think nothing of it aside from the wonderful ability of Eddie to deliver a wry line. Adaptations of some of the bloodiest murder scenes, such as those of Jack the Ripper, nary an eyelash is batted. Yet reading about the brain surgery of Harry Benson I had this odd visceral reaction. Perhaps it's because I'm used to visual stimulus and this was written and therefore my mind's eye was left to imagine the worse, but the impact this simple surgery had on me was remarkable. It had such force my gorge was actually rising as I thought of the brain being cut into. Also, the fact that the brain has no nerve endings and that you can hack away without the patient feeling any pain, ugh, no. I don't know what it was about this but it struck a literal nerve in me and made me connect to Benson on a level I never thought I would.

Another medical aspect that struck me was the doctor patient confidentiality between Harry Benson and all his doctors, in particular Doctor Janet Ross. In other words, they didn't seem to care about it or even mention it once. Yes, once Harry goes on his little rampage every sane doctor would give the police everything they needed to catch him, but shouldn't there be at least a nod of acknowledgement that Harry is a danger and that is why the confidentiality is being breached? When Captain Anders comes to Doctor Ross's apartment after Harry tried to kill her she calmly sits down and tells him everything about Harry not leaving out a single detail. Would this fly in court? Can she really tell him everything? It not only seems like a breech of trust, but as if she's being vindictive against her patient. She keeps saying that she wants to help him, yet she's laying all his secrets bare and that seems like a negative response to almost being killed more then a helping hand.

But maybe in the early seventies people didn't dwell on potential litigation. Ethics and standards have changed drastically in the past forty some years. And, as the book is written to point out, technology is changing rapidly too. One of the aspects of the book that I found disturbing was the fact that research on monkeys wasn't in the least bit controversial. Ellis mentioned hundreds, yes, HUNDREDS of monkeys he'd worked on to prepare for this one procedure in a human. Also, the monkeys apparently cost $80! Not only the cruelty to the animals but that such a low sum could be placed on their lives disgusted me. Which if extrapolated outwards, you can relate to Harry's predicament and how the surgery being preformed on him both disgusts and horrifies him. Morals, standards, ethics, all is in flux constantly within ourselves and within society. There is a palpable fear of technology that is logical. But there is also a fear of what we have been and what we could be capable of. It's not even the technological advances and the fact that a computer knows what a cat is that's the real danger, it's the human element that is unpredictable and terrifying.

And isn't that always the way? The human element is where things break down. This idea that we can control humans, that we can program them, drug them, retrain them, it is always in playing god in this sense that things go awry. Yes the technology is terrifying, but the fact that humans then try to use it, try to play god, that's what really scares me. Despite the fact that Harry is quite literally insane, I truly felt sorry for him reading this at this time in my life. These doctors that were there to help him were really, despite them objecting that the press was sensationalizing it, preforming mind control. Because changing someone's behavior, be it as simple as them biting their nails, is mind control at a basic level. Look to all the drugs prescribed for anxiety and stress; I'm on a few myself. These drugs don't magically solve anything, they are their to rewrite your behavior and get you to stop anxiety in it's tracks. If I get over emotional I feel the drugs kicking in and it feels like a band around my head which won't go away unless I calm down. This pressure has taught me to calm down. I have been reprogrammed in the simplest way, with negative reinforcement. Now imagine having wires in your brain doing that? I shudder to think. Having them in the mind of someone actually psychotic? That is why The Terminal Man is both terrifying and a cautionary tale.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Brain, Crichton Celebration, Doctors, Drugs, Eaters of the Dead, Eddie Izzard, ER, Ethics, Hannibal Lecter, Harry Benson, Jack the Ripper, Michael Crichton, Psycho, Surgery, The Terminal Man