Friday, October 24, 2014

Tick-Tock Go "The Bone Clocks" by David Mitchell

I’m a huge David Mitchell fan, but this latest is definitely one of his best.
It’s written in a similar style to Cloud Atlas or Ghostwritten, in that the narration breaks periodically and is picked up in a different time and place by a different character. However, this book is set apart in that it focuses on one person, Holly Sykes’, life and so every narration eventually runs into her.

What I find is really great about Mitchell’s books is that characters keep recurring in them, so every book feels like another window into this special universe that the author has created. As though all of his characters are running around and he just zeroes in on a few at a time. Just in The Bone Clocks there’s a character from Black Swan Green, a few from Cloud Atlas, and one major one from The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet.

This one’s more science fiction-y than before, with the fifth narration centering in on a battle between souls who get reincarnated but retain their memories (this is rather similar to that one section of Ghostwritten, for those of you keeping track) and those who steal other souls to never age. I feel like I should reread the book to fully understand it, but I’m pretty lazy.

Another reason to reread is all of the interesting tidbits throughout the book as the reader and Holly try to figure out what the hell is going on. Characters pop up briefly and then return much later, and hints are spread throughout. It’s rather similar to Cloud Atlas in that sense.

One thing I haven’t quite figured out are the images. The maze becomes fairly obvious, but each section has its own, and some seem to be less relevant than others. Also the little clocks in the upper corners of the page go through one hour in the first section, two hours in the second, and so on. Not sure if there’s a bigger meaning to that than meets the eye.

The overall message of this book probably has to do with time. There’s clocks everywhere, “the bone clocks” refers to us mere mortals, and the good guys in that war are called the horologists (studiers of time). If I had to guess at the actual message, it’d probably be something along the lines of enjoy it while you can because it doesn’t last forever (unless you use evil means). Many characters die young and civilization turns into a chaotic anarchy in the 2040s, so you never know when everything’s going to turn to shit.

If you can take obscure science fiction that’s never totally explained (personally I thrive off of doing a little literary detective work) then you will probably enjoy this book. And I would highly recommend reading the rest of David Mitchell’s repertoire, as that can only enhance the experience.

Thursday, October 23, 2014

A Summary of "The Blood of Olympus" Written with a College Student’s Sense of Humor

This is literally 6 pages of dumb, probably inspired by the Dirtbag Shakespeare series on The Toast. Now go read the actual book (do that before you read this, it might seem actually funny then).
 
Chapters 1-4: Jason
Jason: Darnit, I’m old! I can’t handle this! The future is too close! I can’t handle this! Give me back my old body!
Piper: Hey, at least I’m pretty.
Jason: I guess so. Wait this is just like Rick and Morty. Can we be Rick and Morty?
Annabeth: Not now Jason!
Jason’s mom: My baby!
Jason: Eww mom quit calling me, I’m hanging out with friends.
Annabeth: Quit talking to your mom, it’s fight time!
Jason: *makes lightsaber noises*
Stabby Guy: Die symbol of the patriarchy!
Jason: *dies*
Piper: I think this is a metaphor!
Annabeth: *starts lifting up her shirt to get Leo’s attention*
 
Chapters 5-8: Reyna
Nico: Let’s play this a good idea: falling into a volcano.
Reyna: Can you fucking not?
Coach Hedge: I LOVE THIS GAME
Nico: Fine, let’s just do stupid tourist things in Pompeii. I love dead people, they’re much less annoying than alive people.
Dead people: Did someone say it was a par-tay?
Nico: I take that back, you guys are annoying too.
 
Chapters 9-12: Leo
Leo: I’ll just hide here so everyone can look at my butt. Heh heh, butts.
Buford: PUT SOME CLOTHES ON
Leo: butts butts butts butts everybody!
Percy: Could we actually have a productive meeting for a change?
Jason: We have to defeat victory and other paradoxes.
Leo: I am so ready! Let me at em, grrrr.
Frank: The animal schtick is my thing!
Hazel: Me, Frank, Percy, and Leo can challenge Nike.
Nike: I am the goddess of sports shoes! But you only ever see men in the commercials. That’s because they’re scared of female athletes! *high-fives Hazel* Compete for your lives!
Frank: I don’t wanna.
Nike: You ruin every party. Come on just one round of Mario Party.
Percy: Don’t even joke about that, that game ruins friendships.
Nike: Fine just a fight to the death I guess.
Leo: Let’s do this thing with these things I conveniently made!
*they capture Nike and drag her back as a spoil of war*
 
Chapters 13-16: Nico
Nico: I have a ton of angst so I’m just going to send people trippy dreams.
Clovis: Better than drugs.
Nico: Go back to sleep.
Coach Hedge: Hey Nico, you want to take shots?
Nico: I just woke up.
Coach Hedge: It’s shots o’clock then! Shirtless o’clock is in ten minutes.
Reyna: Could you fucking not?
Hades: My son.
Nico: Dad you’re ruining my vibe.
Hades: Fine I’ll just give you some drugs.
Nico: I can get my own.
Hades: I’m trying to connect with the youth! Now do you want one marijuana or two?
Nico: Dad leave.
Reyna: Hunter, six o’clock!
Coach Hedge: Did someone say shirtless o’clock?? *rips shirt off and gets stuck in it*
Reyna: Do I need to do everything around here?
Nico: Percy is so pretty…
Reyna: Nico, get us out of here.
 
Chapters 17-20: Piper
Piper: There’s got to be poison around here somewhere… Let’s just lick things until we find it.
Frank: *turns into a cat and starts cleaning* Hey I think I found some.
Poison Guy: Here ya go, I won’t card ya.
Piper: Wow I didn’t even have to seduce him.
*on ship*
Piper: Jason I love you.
Jason: I know, you keep telling me!
Piper: Do you like me? Tell me I’m pretty!
Jason: Fine, you’re pretty.
Piper: Giants are starting shit!
Percy: *breaks all the toilets*
Leo: Did you have to clog all of them? There’s a lot of butts around here!
Annabeth: Come on Piper, let’s go fight fear to add to our victory.
Piper: Giant! Tell me I’m pretty!
Giant: Ewww you’re gross.
Piper: Well if you won’t look at me I guess I won’t look at you. *starts feeling around* Annabeth!
Annabeth: *the struggle is pretty real*
Piper: Don’t think, feel around! Use the baby thoughts you were just reduced to!
Annabeth: Well now we have this giant ear.
Piper: Mine’s much prettier. Take it, gods!
 
Chapters 21-24: Reyna
Reyna: Darnit, we landed in my home. This means backstory time.
Nico: I had some oatmeal this morning. It was cold and tasteless.
Reyna: My backstory, not yours!
Coach Hedge: Why helloooo there alcohol! Meet liver!
Hunters/Amazons: Bazinga!
Hylla: A blast from the past!
Reyna: And my sister. This really is backstory time.
Orion: I have you now! Die recurring minor characters!
Reyna: Well, shit just got real.
 
Chapters 25-28: Jason
Jason: Oh my gods, did Percy start another storm because his food wasn’t blue?
Percy: Hey I was playing Final Fantasy when this started! Let’s go check it out!
Jason: Hold on, I just have to kidnap a wind spirit and force it into slavery.
Storm goddess: You little shits.
Giant: I’m her gigolo! Excuse me while I puke poison!
Percy: You’re excused.
Jason: Wait! If I please you with sexual favors, will you stop?
Storm goddess: Only if it’s to my Greek and Roman sides.
Jason: Perfect, I wanted to get around a lot and travel anyways.
Percy: *dying of poison* tHAt’s WhaT sHe sAId!
Storm goddess: Well I guess I don’t need you anymore. You weren’t that good at it anyways. *decapitates Giant*
Jason: Percy! Should I give him mouth to mouth?
Percy: No way! I have no idea where that mouth’s been!
Storm goddess: I think I know… You were unconscious for a while Percy.
Jason: My wound healed! Do you think this is symbolic?
 
Chapters 29-32: Nico
Nico: My transformation into the darkness is almost complete!
Reyna: Ok, so here’s my backstory-
Nico: If it doesn’t involve darkness and meaninglessness then I don’t care.
Reyna: It’s sad, you should like it.
Roman jerk: This is the po-po! Hands up!
Reyna: I’m in the middle of revealing my past!
Roman jerk: Tell it to these dead people!
Nico: Hey! Those are my pals! How dare you use them against me! *morphs into the Hulk and kicks Roman jerk’s ass* *then promptly falls asleep*
Coach Hedge: Good news! I had a drunken correspondence with some nature hippies, and we’re either getting a ride or I just got invited to a threesome!
*pegasi appear*
Coach Hedge: That’s a little more than a threesome…
 
Chapters 33-36: Leo
Leo: Nooo! The love of my life! My ship’s butt!
Hazel: Don’t you mean the engine?
Leo: IT’S A BUTT
Jason: So who wants to talk to Apollo?
Leo: I do! And Frank and Hazel are coming with me!
Frank: He coerced us!
Hazel: Fine, let’s go. We barely get to do anything anyway.
Apollo: *playing horrible country* Well my girlfriend left me and she took my tractor so all the meaning in my life is gone-
Artemis: That’s every country song ever! Play something else!
Leo: I put all of my love for butts into this instrument.
Apollo: What a coincidence! I like butts as well! Here’s some information!
Leo: Sounds like a good way to die young, I’ll take it!
Apollo: But also check with my son, because I’m pretty useless.
Apollo’s son: I’m really pretty useless as well.
Leo: Here let me rewire your conveniently programmed things so we can get in.
Jason: Wait I think we can play Super Smash Bros Brawl on that screen.
Leo: Sick! I call Captain Falcon!
Jason: He literally just poses, he doesn’t even really move.
Leo: Well you always insist on being Jigglypuff so you can’t really talk.
Apollo’s son: You all have personality disorders!
Piper: But I’m pretty!
Apollo’s son: Oh shush. Fine, maybe Leo’s ok.
Piper: There must be something wrong with Leo!
 
Chapters 37-40: Reyna
Reyna: The Romans got some really big guns! Shit just got real again! Wait, let’s try to reason with that one.
Tyson: The cavalry is here!
Reyna: Ok you guys go start shit, I’ll take care of the huge statue.
Orion: Hey girl hey!
Reyna: You male! I am woman, hear me roar!
Orion: Not again! I hate women! *dies like the patriarchal scum he is*
Reyna: Score! I got a new cloak!
 
Chapters 41-44: Piper
Snake people: hiss hiss motherfucker
Piper: I got this guys, my name even has “pipe” in it, I’m a natural snake charmer. *clears throat* Don’t drop that thun thun thun…
Snake people: It’s so beautiful!
Rest of crew: I’M IN PAIN!
Piper: Now lead us into certain danger! And tell me I’m pretty.
Snake people: Yes wise snake mother. You’re very pretty.
Annabeth: Kay so Piper and me started a girl club so we’re going, and let’s take my boyfriend for good measure.
Giants: Oh look a snack.
Percy: I taste like seaweed! You won’t like me!
Jason: Can I cook that snack for you? *zaps giant* whoops, I missed.
Leo: I have a huge ass war machine up here! Heh heh.
Annabeth: *bleeds on them*
Giants: AIDS! Get away from her! Bleed all over the earth instead, she wants your disease.
Percy: Darnit, it’s so dry in here my nose is bleeding! Look at what you did!
Piper: Percy you’re going to stain your-
Percy: *drips blood on ground*
*everything falls to shit*
 
Chapters 45-48: Nico
Nico: Ok losers, this is what we’re going to do-
Will: As your self-appointed doctor, you should pipe da fuck down!
Nico: This is why I hate people.
Will: Let’s just take out those things.
Romans: Hey! Listen! It’s Greeks!
Will: I shall sacrifice myself valiantly! *sprints off*
Nico: Dumbass. Let him die. Oh alright, let’s get him.
Greek extra #1: It’s a bird!
Greek extra #2: It’s a plane!
Nico: It’s fucking Reyna with the damn statue.
Reyna: Ok listen to me peasants! We need to unite!
Octavian: I don’t fucking think so.
Gaea: Too late pathetic children.
Reyna: Could shit stop getting real??
 
Chapters 49-52: Jason
Jason: Dad! That was so cool how you did the thing-
Jupiter: Not now, annoyance. We need you to do our dirty work again.
Jason: If it makes you love me, then sure!
Jupiter: Alright, everyone hold on while I bitchslap you to the other side of the world…
Leo: That was awesome! Ok Festus, morph into your dragon form!
Gaea: Not more meddling kids!
Leo: How about you get up here, old lady?
Jason: Wait, I want to be included! Come on girlfriend!
Piper: Yeah I have to say a word or something. Let’s go!
Gaea: You’re ugly!
Piper: BOOBS
Gaea: Nooooooooooooo
Leo: Great good job +A for you now leave.
Jason: What? No!
Leo: I love you…r butts guys.
Jason: What?
Leo: *explodes everything*
 
Chapters 53-56: Nico
Nico: Octavian! I’m going to hurt you!
Will: Doctor’s orders!
Octavian: I know you are, but what am I?
Will: That was an awful comeback!
Octavian: *basically blows himself up*
Nico: Jerk deserved it. Wait, do I feel sadness? What is this?
*after battle is over*
Nico: *arriving at Hades cabin* No place like home I guess.
Percy: So are you staying?
Nico: Sure. Also, you’re much prettier than Piper.
Percy: Hey thanks bro! Tons of homo?
Nico: Tons of homo. But I have my doctor Will now to give me check-ups. If you know what I mean.
Percy: Ooo high five bro!

Chapter 57: Piper
Piper: Hey Reyna, you’re pretty cool. Want to join my and Annabeth’s girl club?
Reyna: Well ok.
Jason: Piper! Let’s go on the roof!
Piper: Won’t we get in trouble?
Jason: I am a hard core rebel who don’t follow no rules. I might even kiss you.
Piper: Oh my *giggles*

Chapter 58: Leo
Leo: HOLY SHIT I’M ALIVE Yes there are so many possibilities now! Like butts!
Festus: *whirls*
Leo: Wait we’re by Ogygia? I guess my butt days are over.
Calypso: You took freaking forever!
Leo: I have returned my princess!
Calypso: Don’t you call me that or I’ll dump you.
Leo: Sorry. But I gave up butts for you!
Calypso: And I’m giving up my home for you, now let’s go off into the sunset.
Leo: Sounds great.
*iconic kissing as they fly off*
"So, yes, it happened, but ordinary life carried on at the speed of time, and the following day doesn't care about all your paranormal adventures in the days before."
-Holly Sykes, The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell

Monday, October 20, 2014

"...you don't get to choose whom you're attracted to, you only get to wonder about it, retrospectively."
-Hugo Lamb, The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell
"I think about pinball, and how being a kid's like being shot up the firing lane and there's no veering left or right; you're just sort of propelled. But once you clear the top, like when you're sixteen, seventeen, or eighteen, suddenly there's a thousand different paths you can take, some amazing, others not."
-Holly Sykes, The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell

Sunday, October 19, 2014

"People are icebergs, with just a bit you can see and loads you can't."
-Holly Sykes, The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell

Saturday, October 18, 2014


"You must be hungry… Either that, or your stomach speaks hedgehog. That was quite a statement in hedgehog."
-Coach Hedge, The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan