Review: Fan Fiction: A Mem-Noir: Inspired by True Events, by Brent Spiner, 2021

Fan Fiction: A Mem-Noir: Inspired by True Events by Brent Spiner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fan Fiction: A Mem-Noir: Inspired by True Events, by Brent Spiner, 2021

Weird, fun, loopy, and self-referential, I think you have to be a Star Trek: TNG fan to be able to appreciate this book. It's not groundbreaking nor probably turn into a future classic, but it had its moments. It's part memoir, part fiction-noir pastiche, but generally entertaining and makes me wonder how much is true.

The story starts off with a pig's penis, death threats from Lal, Data's android daughter, twin ladies of interest, and some killings or murders. Along the way, we get tidbits of what set life is like for an actor working on a Star Trek set in Hollywood.

Overall, Brent Spiner did manage to get more than a few hearty chortles out of me, out loud. I say listen to the audiobook, read by Spiner himself, and it'll be worth your while, mostly.

I rate this book 3.75 stars out of 5 stars.

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Review: "Noor" by Nnedi Okorafor, 2021

Noor by Nnedi Okorafor
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

"Noor" by Nnedi Okorafor, 2021

The novel is a dystopic Afrofuturism novel that touches upon late-stage capitalism, colonialism, and climate change. Our hero calls herself AO, short for Augmented Organism. She goes on the run after she inadvertently kills her assailants in self-defense, displaying the deadly range of her cybernetically enhanced capabilities. Along with her companions DNA and GPS, they evade capture from the megacorporation Ultimate Corp.

I was trying to like this book, but I feel this book fell short in many ways. I believe it is set in the same universe as the author's other book "Remote Control" and share the same villain. The character AO seemed flat without much development along the way other than acceptance of her ability to use her cybernetics and the improved manner with the effectiveness we can wield them. In the end, the climax felt rushed and somewhat of a cliffhanger. "Remote Control" is a much better story with a compelling protagonist. I sense these "powered" characters from the author's various books will eventually come together for an AfroFuturistic team-up superhero story.

I give this book a 2 out of 5 stars.

#AfroFuturism #AfroFuturistic #Dystopian #ScienceFiction #SciFi

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Review: The Tenant, by Katrine Engberg, 2016

The Tenant by Katrine Engberg
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The Tenant, by Katrine Engberg, 2016

The Tenant is a Nordic-noir fiction-crime novel that blends suspenseful drama with Danish police procedural. Copenhagen police detectives Jeppe Korner and Anette Werner are assigned to solve the brutal murder of a young woman whose face is carved with intricate patterns.

The novel started strong and interesting until about halfway when several new characters were introduced, and I couldn't follow what was going on. Part of it, I think, was the names were foreign, and I had a hard time tracking them along with their associated plotlines. Before I knew it, I was at the end of the book, and I had no clue how the bad guy was caught. I realize there were a couple of twists that were supposed to be dark and biting, but I can hardly agree they are as such and think of them more used for shock value or as red herrings.

I rate the book 2.5 out 5 stars.

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The White Tiger: A Novel, by Aravind Adiga, 2008

The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The White Tiger: A Novel, by Aravind Adiga, 2008

Booker Prize winner of 2008, adapted to screen in 2021, The White Tiger is the story of Balram's life as a self-declared "self-made entrepreneur." He is a rickshaw driver's son who skillfully climbs India's social ladder to become a chauffeur, then later a successful businessman.

The writing feels natural that the book zips along, exhilaratingly satirical with a stinging bite, just pissed-off enough. Overall, primarily amusing, darkly comic, and a wicked criticizing of India's social fabric.

I give it 3 out 5 stars.

From the publisher:

Introducing a major literary talent, The White Tiger offers a story of coruscating wit, blistering suspense, and questionable morality, told by the most volatile, captivating, and utterly inimitable narrator that this millennium has yet seen. Balram Halwai is a complicated man. Servant. Philosopher. Entrepreneur. Murderer. Over the course of seven nights, by the scattered light of a preposterous chandelier, Balram tells us the terrible and transfixing story of how he came to be a success in life -- having nothing but his own wits to help him along. Born in the dark heart of India, Balram gets a break when he is hired as a driver for his village's wealthiest man, two house Pomeranians (Puddles and Cuddles), and the rich man's (very unlucky) son. From behind the wheel of their Honda City ...

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