Nick Bryan

Reviews

Genus by Jonathan Trigell – Untimely Book Review

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My book reviews will rarely be prompt, as I read painfully slowly and pick most novels up in the Kindle sale. Nonetheless, I did recently finish one: Genus by Jonathan Trigell. After taking a month to read it, I should get some thoughts down before I forget them, so let’s go!

So, we’re looking at a future London, where society has turned dystopic after genetic modification becomes widespread and physical perfection becomes purchasable. Which, of course, leads to those who can’t afford it becoming a clearly advertised underclass. Crime, corruption and general shouting ensue.

Most of the story takes place among said underclass, specifically the rundown “Kross” region (formerly known as King’s Cross, London), because I suppose it would be dull to watch the pretty people be obnoxiously content. Although if you do want that, you can always watch Made In Chelsea.

This is one of those science-fiction books where the allegory doesn’t exactly hide itself– Trigell is upfront about his fears concerning gene improvement, and the real possibility of that technology helps draw you in. And yet, despite it being a grounded premise, he has a lot of cool (or worrying) ideas about where this would lead.

He’s also using a lot of stark descriptions to convey urban squalor, which I’m on board with, and despite rapid flicks between POV characters, they all have their clear vocabulary and backdrop marked out. Some of the catchphrases to identify certain characters (especially Detective Gunther) get samey, but it does fit his crude, hammering self. I also enjoyed the tangential vignettes.

I wasn’t as taken by the actual story as I was by Trigell’s vision, which is an issue for me (perhaps more than it should be) because I admit to being a very plot-orientated reader and writer. The broad nature of the climax seemed slightly predictable, although the execution meant it never stopped being readable.

So, yes, this is an interesting contemporary sci-fi book if you’re looking for one, and is available on Amazon in the usual formats if the mood strikes you. Let me know below if you’ve read it and have strong opinions. Or any opinions. Everyone is welcome. Why not tell the group how you feel about paying to improve your babies?

The End Of The Year Is Nigh

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Believe it or not, when I posted my brief and innocuous Christmas message last week, I received a complaint from one reader that I hadn’t produced something more substantial. The fact I’d provided a 2000 word story about Christmas a few days previously didn’t seem to placate this guy.

So it’s really entirely his fault, the moaning bastard, that I’m about to inflict a full-length End Of Year blog post on you. I’m planning on listing my own 2011 highlights, then outlining the best cultural “stuff” I have enjoyed during the period. If that floats your boat, read on.

Me, My Writing And I

I generally don’t talk about my life much on this blog, because I already do that on Twitter, and at a length I’m amazed anyone can stand. But just for the record, here are the events that leap out at me from 2011.
  • First published fiction work! That was always going to top the list, really. If you want to buy said story, details are here. It’s 12,000 words long and I’m quite proud of it.
  • And in general, I entered the second year of my creative writing MA. Aside from the current life-ruining essay, I’ve enjoyed it. Some of the feedback has been intense, but in a good way. Mostly.
  • Left the British Isles for the first time in two years, for 48 glorious hours in Belgium. This has made me nostalgic for the days when I could afford real holidays.
  • Moved from Android phone to iPhone. Positive effects so far: Instagram and better games. Negative: having to use iTunes on a PC, which is an abomination.
  • Got new TV writing gig for Television @ The Digital Fix, as well as continuing reviews for Dork Adore. Made glorious podcast debut which, after about six attempts, I even managed to listen to.
  • Finally started noticing the recession, after living in a bubble of childlike simplicity for ages. Didn’t enjoy this one as much as most of the above.

Stuff I Liked

That last section went on a bit longer than intended, so this will be fairly brief.
  • TV: Not sure the world needs more long rambles from me about television. Some things were good, especially Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle, The Hour, Exile and The Killing.
  • Film: A raft of superhero films, many I suspect I only liked due to reading the comics. X-Men: First Class is the only one that might’ve been objectively good. Outside that subgenre, Studio Ghibli’s Arrietty was lovely, and I completely failed to catch most proper films at the cinema. Oh, Real Steel. I saw that. Um.
  • Music: Annoyingly, many artists I like released records this year, but often weren’t as great as I hoped. Best album probably England, Keep My Bones by Frank Turner. Suck It And See by Arctic Monkeys also very cool in a pop-rock way, and they’re not even a band I normally listen to. Collapse Into Now by R.E.M. was a triumphant rattle through their style, especially poignant since they later split up. Great if you’re a fan, others may not care.
  •  Podcasts: An art-form I’ve only recently started paying attention to, but Please Don’t Hug Me is very funny, and if you like that, consider The Daniel Ruiz Tizon Podcast, a solo effort by one of the presenters. If you like comics, I recommend House To Astonish most highly. Commenters: feel free to mention any other podcasts you recommend, I could use more.
  • Theatre: I went to see the Matilda musical the other day. It was fantastic.
That’ll probably do. If you’d like a short story themed around New Year as well, read this one from last year and pretend it’s called “Operation 2012”.

So, that was 2011. I could make some kind of prediction or publicly declared resolution for 2012 now, but I’ve learnt to stop doing that. Happy New Year, regardless. Hope it’s excellent for all of us.

A short review of The Divine Comedy’s "Bang Goes The Knighthood"

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I have a free half hour at lunchtime, so I may as well do a few words on Bang Goes The Knighthood, the new album by The Divine Comedy. I always feel a bit awkward reviewing music, because I don’t know anything about it. Books/films/TV shows have stories, and I’ve got much more experience with those. Music, not so much.

Still, clearly I’m going to have a crack anyway; it just might not be as long as it could’ve been. If you have Spotify and want to listen along as you read, you can hear the album by clicking this link. More Spotify links are sprayed liberally throughout the piece.

Anyway, since I am a fan, I quite like it. It’s not Neil Hannon’s best work ever (I still prefer Fin De Siecle) nor does it contain his best song (which, obviously, is this one). Still, there are some great tracks. The Complete Banker is sniping at a rather obvious target in its lyrics, but almost makes up for that by being such a fun, straightforward song. And I desperately hope I Like becomes a single, because it’s by far the most immediate thing here.

Aside from those two, other tracks are less obvious and jaunty (so may not appeal as much to people who only listen because they liked National Express), but there’s a pleasant mix of thoughtfulness and breezy music, as well as the usual clever lyrics. See the title track for an example. Oh, and Down In The Street Below is an excellent example of a Divine Comedy ballad.

Like most Divine Comedy albums, it includes at least one song which I find a bit annoying, namely Can You Stand On One Leg. As a b-side, it’d have been kinda fun, perhaps. But making it penultimate track just diminishes the aftertaste of the whole album.

Anyway, that’s probably enough. If you like The Divine Comedy, this is another solid album. If you want a pleasant, hummable record to start the summer off, you could do a lot worse. And yes, I did write all of that in half an hour.

Four Lions – One Review

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Earlier this week, I lucked into an early screening of the new Chris Morris movie Four Lions, which I gather is not on general release for another week. So, with my exciting advantaged position, I thought this was a good time to post a review on my blog. So, was it any good?

Well, obviously. This film has been knocking around for a while, talked up by millions as the next big topical controversial sweary Brit flick of the times. Basically, the press think this is the next In The Loop. And I fucking loved In The Loop, so I was excited.

The film itself is about a bunch of would-be terrorists in Britain, trying to plan their epic, world-changing jihad. Really, really badly. Farce ensues, and considering this is from Chris Morris and the writers of Peep Show, it does so with the exact mix of satire and cringing humiliation that you’d expect.

Yes, it’ll probably be done by the media as somehow “endorsing terrorism”, but all you need to do is glance at the actual movie to realise that almost all the terrorists are portrayed as being ridiculously thick. The only exception is the lead character, who is allowed to seem sane, albeit obviously misguided.

If the comedy had been less brilliantly honed, this film might have been disturbing, but it’s so expertly done that you honestly barely notice the subject matter much of the time due to being busy laughing. Even when reality does intrude, it’s in a measured way, and with jokes interspersed.

If you’re easily offended, I suspect you will be, but I think we have to live in a world where we’re allowed to mention these things, joke about them and discuss them in an adult manner. Turning them into taboo subjects and leaving them permanently out of reach makes them seem mysterious, horrible and terrifyingly efficient.

In short, if you don’t see this film, or at least accept its existence, the terrorists win.